#the accuracy in the title is massive

[vettelsdarling]

Okay so if it's okay I have a seb (rbr seb to be precise) request. We all know rbr seb was a menace, chaos lover and flirty (we all love him for that) so enemies to lovers (at least one sided because I have no doubt this man while loving by all grid also hated by some) with seb would be amazing... Imagine all the tension 🫣🫣 but happy ending of course because nowadays I need my healthy dosage of fluff with a bit of angst sprinkle 💗🙏🏻

𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞

Lissie note… I am SO happy someone finally requested Seb<3 An enemies to lovers too!!! This prompt is pure gold! Really love the one-sided touch too. Thank you!!!

Things to note

This is set to start in late 2010 and progress from there on (only until Seb’s last year at rbr)

Accuracy to real driver standings will be off due to the reader insert

Michael did not get in any accident here<3

Reader is 22 and Sebastian is 23

Reader is with Mercedes, driving alongside Michael (put him instead of Rosberg because Michael knows Seb better. You’ll get it when you read)

Pairing: Sebastian Vettel x Mercedes!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Angst, a little bit of cursing

Word Count: 6.4k+

Playlist Recommendations: 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟💗, 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭💔, 𝐒𝐕𝟓

Taglist: @drugged-kitkat , @darleneslane

𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

A master of your art. That’s what you liked to think of yourself as. You weren’t driven by fame or money. Rather the excitement of the rush. The feeling of hitting each apex just right— you relished in it. If there was one thing you really were driven by, however; it was winning a championship. You’d won a few races in your career and had your national anthem played for everyone to hear, but no more of that. Your sole goal was to receive the title above all other titles.

Your dreams of such were cut short by one Red Bull driver. Sebastian Vettel. You sat there at the prize-giving ceremony, waiting for Formula One racers to be called up. Michael sat next to you with Corinna. She gave you a sympathetic smile, knowing you missed out on the championship and landed 2nd overall.

Michael claimed Sebastian meant no ill will. He was just young and spirited. You begged to differ. The smirk he’d give you after winning a race begged to differ. His whole… shtick… begged to differ.

Alonso was called on stage to receive his award for landing 3rd, which meant that you had to be ready to receive yours too. You brushed down the sides of your dress, asking Corrina if you looked okay. She seemed surprised you’d even ask such a question but reassured you with a smile and a nod.

When your name was called, a thump in your heart reached the base of your throat. Podium celebrations were one thing, but the prize-giving was an entirely different thing altogether.

Although it was supposed to be a celebration, all you saw was a sea of pitiful glances. Most people knew of your unfortunate position, though many were too afraid to comment on it.

“Sebastian Vettel” Oh the great Sebastian Vettel! World’s youngest champion yet! That could’ve been you. Easily. You hated the thought of not being there on the highest step. The young German gave you a wink before he received his massive trophy. You were in front of hundreds of people and the ceremony was being taped, so you did nothing but smile and seem grateful.

Sure, you were actually grateful for receiving anything at all, but it all seemed like pity. All that was left was to throw your own pity party with a pint of Pinot and a sad romance movie.

The interviews were a nightmare. Every single one of them kept trying to sell you their act. All the while the questions surrounded your relationship with Sebastian. One of undoubted hate for one another. At least on your side.

You didn’t even bother going back to the hotel. The after-party was the one thing you actually looked forward to. The booze, mainly. Anything to drown out your sorrows, really. Oh, how you despised all the small gestures people did for you as an act of congratulating you. Your mixed feelings nearly slapped the vodka shot out of a waitress’ hand. You were a menace in this state.

“Easy on those shots, you came here alone. Wouldn’t want to go home too wasted.” A voice came up behind you.

“Well, that’s a little too late, Hamilton.” His look was that of genuine concern. He knew what you were doing. He knew exactly what that vodka was for.

“You’ll get him next time. At least you’re on the podium, right?” Great. Even one of your closest friends started to pity you.

“Fuck off, would you?” Luckily, he was very understanding and didn’t take any of your words to heart. He got out of your way and went to socialize. That’s when the coin fell. You were alone. He was right. You had no means of getting home. Taxis were rare in that part of town, and your hotel was far away. You were really in a pile of shit.

“Whatever,” you mumbled to yourself and one-shotted a sipping whiskey. It burned your throat with vigour and surged through your body like a pest.

Completely wasted, you felt extremely hot. It didn’t cross your mind to take a breather outside. No, instead, you slowly pulled the sleeve of your dress down. With your shoulder exposed, you could only chase that relief of cool air.

That attempt? Cut short. By none other than Sebastian Vettel. Perhaps a championship in interference would serve him well. He stopped you and pulled your sleeve back up. It felt like an insult. Another jab that he wanted to throw your way.

“Fuck off and let me do my thing,” you kept aimlessly pulling at your sleeve. The feat was just as great as your races against him.

“Stop it. You’re drunk.”

“Wow, I hadn’t noticed. You want another trophy for that discovery?” The friction against the soft satin of your dress eventually made it tear. Both of you froze before you got up and b-lined towards the exit. Anything to get away from him. You pushed through the masses of people in the club and eventually got outside.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to rip your dress.” Much to your misfortune, the constant bother had followed you outside.

“You’ve already ruined more than just my dress. Must you ruin the rest of my night too?” You looked him deep in the eyes. You didn’t even have to act like you’d given up— because you most definitely had. No question.

“I’m about to make your night bearable if you’ll let me.” He took off his blazer and wrapped it around you, so you wouldn’t catch a cold in your skimpy dress. You hated the sentiment. You hated his whole “holier than thou” personality. Why? Because it was for show. He was nothing but a monster. He was behind many of your crashes and never gave you any space. You resented him for his quirky little stunts.

“Whatever, youngest world champion.” You couldn’t help but scoff at the title. He had played foul to win it. That title should’ve been yours, but no. Sebastian Vettel stole your glory.

“Come on, don’t be like that. At least value your own well-being. Let’s just get you a coffee to sober up with. You can curse me out as much as you want in the morning.” He tried to guide you forward, but you hunched over and up came all of your vodka shots. He held your hair back as you emptied out the contents of your stomach. It was revolting. You felt disgusting.

“I sure hope I won’t see you in the morning— let alone tomorrow.” Not exactly the toughest thing to say when you’re coughing for your life.

“You won’t even remember this, you know?”

“Makes it better. Then I don’t have to remember how I actually spent more than 10 minutes alone with you.” You were still hunched over, but the snarkiness in your voice triumphed that.

“You really dislike me, don’t you?” He chuckled.

“Sebastian Vettel, I hate you.”

The Red Bull champion ended up being right. You had completely forgotten about the exchange. Someone had hailed you a taxi and you’d drunkenly gotten yourself to your hotel room. That’s how you remembered it. You were still bitter about the ceremony and Sebastian’s selfish attitude. Sure, you’d expect nothing less from a racer, especially in Formula One, but he was a different kind of heartless. He mocked you. He didn’t care if he hurt you on track. That was your own fault.

Sebastian Vettel was your sworn enemy.

The media had become desensitized to your drama with him, as something always happened at every race. It was impossible to not argue with the guy. All he cared about was winning and he wasn’t in the sport to make friends. It was almost as if he wanted to be hated. You simply couldn’t understand how he and Lewis managed to get along. They somehow managed to separate their work from their friendship. You had that relationship with most of the grid, but Sebastian was too unsportsmanlike for your taste. Michael always tried to reason with you, often softening the blow of some of Vettel’s words, saying he “didn’t mean it” or was “just worked up”. You looked up to Michael, but you could never back that. It was bull. Sebastian had no redeeming qualities. He was overly flirtatious and aggressive. You hated that.

Every interview he had with a woman was met with his flirty remarks and his devious smile. You always had to sit there and soak in his gloating. He was insufferable.

“I really don’t see what the problem is. He’s just really obsessed with his career, no?” You had invited your friend out for brunch before your plane. The first race of the season was in Australia. Mark Webber’s home race. A challenge for Sebastian. Mark was tired of his teammate. Much like yourself. You could smell a possible truce. Although that’d be foul play. Unsportsmanlike of you. Were you going to be the bigger person? Of course. You were mature.

“He makes me want to crash my car into his. I should definitely do that in Australia.” You were not mature.

“You don’t mean that. Besides, it’s not even that deep. You don’t have to make something big out of the rush he gets from being in the moment. Don’t you also cuss at your engineer from time to time?” She had a valid point, but it went into one ear and straight out the other. You loved her to death, but she was spewing nonsense.

“Sebastian is an asshole. That’s the bottom line. Whose side are you on anyway?!” You scolded. She twirled her fork in the pasta and let out a faint chuckle.

“Of course, I’m on your side… but you can’t lie. Sebastian is cute.” It was official. Your friend was possessed.

“In what world? I told you about his dirty tricks. How is he still cute?” He was the devil in disguise. Some drivers were able to see it, but most were gullible enough to even befriend him. Your hatred didn’t come from a place of jealousy. It came from a place of being cast aside because of him. Time and time again. It was tiring, and you couldn’t do anything about it. The Mercedes car wasn’t nearly as fast as Red Bull. You desperately wanted it to be.

“Whatever. What I’m saying is, maybe he’s not all that bad off-track.” Oh, but he was. His flirtatious behaviour off-track was nearly as bad as his insufferable one on track. You couldn’t stand it.

“He is. I don’t know what to tell you.”

Your friend drove you to the jet and the two of you exchanged a few hugs and whatnot. She wished you good luck before you got on.

Inside, you saw many familiar faces. Michael being one of them. He pointed to the seat across from his own and signalled for you to sit. When you did, he leaned forward and you could already tell he was going to talk about your least favourite driver again. For whatever reason, he was set on trying to change your mind. “Seb is not a bad person”, “He’s just young and hot-headed”, and “He doesn’t know any better”… all of those excuses meant nothing to you. Sebastian was just that; a dirty driver.

“So, let’s find a way to beat him this year, yes?” You were taken aback. He never said something like that. Sure, he’d console you and help you through your sorrows of finishing behind Vettel, but he was always neutral. Never on either “side”. Though he did tend to seem like he was on Sebastian’s.

“We’re in a Mercedes. I don’t see any way for us. It’s just straight down on the charts. I mean, will I even be able to land a podium this year? I heard McLaren have been pulling their weight for this year. Like… a lot.” Michael contemplated what to say for a moment, but tried to console you nonetheless. He was a father, so he’d gotten quite good at that.

“We can still put up a good fight, right?”

“I suppose.” You could only hope for a miracle. Christian Horner was unrelenting with his new golden boy, Sebastian. The Red Bulls were unstoppable. You had no other choice but to follow Michael’s spirit. Just put up a good fight.

Sebastian Vettel, I hate you.

It was practice day. You were getting ready, suiting up, and seating yourself in the car. Your heart was beating fast. It had been a while since you last sat in a real car. You’d done your fair share of sim racing whilst on break, but it was nothing compared to the real deal.

“Good luck,” your engineer clapped your helmet before you were released. The car felt surprisingly great. It was smooth and you felt like it synced well with your driving style.

Then came Sebastian. Again. He sped past you. Although you couldn’t see him, you just knew he was smirking behind that helmet of his. He relished in your mental torment. It was his source of amusement.

You finished P3. Lewis finished P2 and Sebastian, yet again, finished P1. It was only the first round of practice though. You promised yourself that you’d do everything in your power to finish P1 in the qualifying session.

You didn’t keep your promise. You fell short and landed a finishing spot at P2. Devastating, but your team was happy you got a front-row start anyway. Whenever the interviews finished, you tried to find Michael. Only to see him chatting with him. They were having a laugh— joking around. The sight made you furious. Again, not in jealousy, but the sheer thought that Michael fell for Sebastian’s shtick.

“Hey, Michael. Could we talk? There’s something about the car.” The interjection was abrupt and one might even call it rude, but did you care? Absolutely not. You had no reason to whatsoever. It was Vettel after all.

“Actually, I was just saying goodbye to Sebastian. Corinna is waiting for me outside. How about you tell me tomorrow? Maybe talk to the engineers too. Anyways, see you guys!” Just great. You sighed as you watched your teammate leave.

“That’s some rejection,” said the German standing next to you. Ugh. Wrong German.

“What do you want?”

“Let’s grab coffee sometime soon.” What? You were used to his flirty remarks being directed at the interviewers and whatnot… but this?

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Unbelievable. He was unbelievable. You scoffed and put your hand in front of his face before walking off. Giving him the satisfaction of an answer wasn’t exactly your style, and it wouldn’t ever be.

“You didn’t say no!” He yelled from behind you. Ignoring him, you made a turn so that you’d disappear from his sight. His presence was exhausting and downright draining.

Sebastian Vettel, I hate you.

“Box box,” said your engineer. You were on hards and chasing Sebastian who was on hards as well. It made no sense to pit after a mere 23 laps.

“Are you sure? I’ve got a good chance here. I don’t think it’s time. We didn’t discuss this.” The original plan was to pit when Sebastian would, and it seemed like he was going to do a one-stop.

“We’re sure. You need to get on mediums. We just switched Michael too. Get in.” You sighed and got ready to slow down in the pit lane. It was painful to see Sebastian take the win like that. P1 felt like a distant dream for you at that point.

“This better work. I swear, this better fucking work.” You were beyond frustrated about your current position in P8. The pit stop had taken longer than expected, making you lag a few places behind. Oh, how you couldn’t stand the idea of Sebastian rubbing his victory in your face. His first victory of the season.

You upped your game, completing smooth overtake after smooth overtake. All the way up until you regained your position right behind the Red Bull. There was a slight problem though. The car was starting to feel unusually hot. Sweat trickled down your face and the visor looked as if it was raining. You weren’t going to report rain though, as you knew your team would if there was any.

“Fuck, guys, it’s too hot!” You yelled over the radio. As expected, all your engineer replied with was a simple “copy”. It was swift communication, you knew that, but it sure as hell was frustrating. It felt like you weren’t getting any attention at all.

Your team performed pit stops rather quickly, which was a plus whereas everything else was a minus. It didn’t cancel out, but at least it helped combat some of the other problems your car had.

As most had predicted though, you were unable to overtake Sebastian or his new nickname “the finger”, and were stuck in P2. You couldn’t even enjoy the podium celebration. Sure, you sprayed some champagne and chugged a bit, but did you enjoy it? Not particularly. Michael had told you to not worry and just give it your all, but it was hard to forget when Vettel was in the way. His smug grin as he held his trophy and stuck his pointer in the air… you wanted to crush his ego. So bad. You were going to relish in the moment when Sebastian would lose out on a championship. It was going to be an unforgettable moment to be sure.

“You can’t be satisfied, can you?” Sebastian came up to you after the celebration. He was the last person you wanted to see at that moment, but his gloating was inevitable. Might as well get it over with.

“Not by you, I can’t.”

“You must know how that sounds.” Yeah, you were going to lose your mind. He successfully pulled off a tasteless and baseless trap. You walked straight into it like an insect stuck in a spiderweb.

“Whatever.” You took off your race suit, leaving on the fireproof suit to cover your body for the time being. It was already hot enough as is.

“Cute.” You’d gotten used to his little flirty remarks and comments. It was basically white noise.

“You’re not.”

“I was referring to you, you know.” He was quite literally impossible.

“Must you really make me suffer with your presence any longer? Isn’t winning and doing your little finger thing enough?!” When you started raising your voice, it grabbed people’s attention, so the young Red Bull driver pulled you with him to his motorhome.

“Did I not just enlighten you about my discomfort in your presence or did I daydream that?” You scoffed at him and pulled your arm from his grip.

“Look, I’m done trying to ignore your contempt for me. Do you seriously think that I will apologize for winning? This isn’t grade school. I was driving, I was faster, I won. Simple as that. If you can’t accept it and take the loss, then you really shouldn’t be racing.” Your heart sank to the bottom of your chest. Each sentence was like a dagger to the chest. You felt every little soul-crushing word in your gut.

“Wow… you really are more of an asshole than I thought. I don’t care that you won. I care that you gloat. I care that you don’t care about me. You don’t care about any of the others. We could die for all you care. Do you want me to die? Is that it?” All rationality had left your mind the moment he insulted you. Red was all you could see.

“You’re twisting my words. I merely said that I won’t apologize for winning. I never said I wanted anyone injured.” He was right, and you knew that. Deep down, you knew that he was just like you. Passionate about the sport. The only difference was that he was in a winning car… and you unfortunately weren’t. Was it his fault? You were too blindsided by rage to even consider any other possibilities.

“By the way you drive, I beg to differ.”

“You’d be lying to me and yourself if you were to tell me you’ve never gotten caught up in the moment. You know exactly how that feels.” He somehow had a counter for everything you threw at him.

“What about your constant flirting? Why do you keep rubbing your victory in my face like that?” The look on his face contorted into that of a confused one.

“What do you mean?” He asked, obviously at a complete loss.

“You asked me out for coffee.” You said whilst confidently crossing your arms over your chest.

“You seriously think that’s a front for something?” He almost found it amusing. The way you overanalyzed his motives.

“You don’t think a guy can be the least bit interested in you?” Before you had the chance to respond, Mark walked in with Christian behind him. That was your cue to leave, so you did without hesitation.

Sebastian Vettel, I hate you.

It had been a good while since you last had a real talk with Sebastian. A few years to be exact. The jabs and games were still happening. Neither of you had dared address any of it, but one thing remained stuck in your head like a broken record; “You don’t think a guy can be the least bit interested in you?” Every day and night, that thought passed through the thousands of others. It stood out. It was like the moon in a starry sky.

During those years, Michael had retired. It broke your heart, but seeing as Lewis replaced him; it wasn’t all that bad. Mercedes had gotten increasingly better as well— which meant that you had a better chance at beating Sebastian for every year that passed.

Lewis, being one of your closest friends on the grid, agreed to help you win your first championship. The Red Bulls had their run. It was time for Mercedes to shine. You needed to win.

“Lewis, I don’t think I can do it this race. There are too many low-speed corners. Red Bull will take this one home… Sebastian will take this one home.” You sat in your garage and moped as Lewis leaned against a pillar opposite you.

“It’s fine. They’re basically useless in high-speed corners this year. Besides, you already have 3 wins over him. Just one race won’t hurt. Well… it’ll sting, but see if you can land a podium, yeah?” Did you even want to try? You knew that Sebastian would mock you either way. It was almost as if your world didn’t revolve around the championship anymore. It was all about him. All about Sebastian.

“Yeah nah. I don’t think I can.” You stared at your feet. The race shoes were starting to feel clammy around them.

“Do you really believe that’s the mindset of a winner? No. Just think about doing whatever you can do. You don’t have to care about anyone else when you’re out there. Let yourself loose.” Lewis was right. You did care too much. You seldom crashed into anyone, all because you cared for their safety.

You ended up winning. You didn’t know how it happened or what you did to make it happen. Lewis’ words just kept swirling inside your brain; “Let yourself loose.”

You stood patiently and waited for the interviewer to finish up with P3 and P2, watching as Sebastian looked ever so disappointed. It was humorous. You felt amazing. The other wins you lorded over him didn’t feel that liberating. They felt good, but not great.

“—And here’s the deadly Mercedes! You were on fire today! We did not expect this aggressive approach from you. It was breathtaking. What did you do differently?” That was the question. What did you do differently? You stopped caring. You remembered you weren’t in the sport to make friends. You were there to win.

“I mean, I did what I had to do, really. I focused on winning and I listened to great advice. I simply just won.” The interviewer looked at you with a question mark etched onto her forehead but didn’t press further on that question.

“I know your first loss to Sebastian proved quite upsetting, would you say the tables have turned?” She smiled at you. It was clear from the beginning that she was on your side. After all, being the only female racer on the grid— you had a magnetic effect on fans of the sport.

“I can’t say for sure yet, but I can definitely hope!” Your voice was cheery and sweet, but that was just a front. You couldn’t wait for his downfall. Standing on that stage at the ceremony, watching all life drain from Sebastian’s eyes. That was your goal.

People had every right to tell you off, but at what cost if you didn’t care? Lewis had just helped you unlock the very thing that could potentially destroy the smug Red Bull driver.

Sebastian Vettel, I hate you.

The season was going smoothly. Fans roared in your favour and even threw gifts at you whenever you went on the scene. Yours and Sebastian’s roles had switched. You were the new fan favourite. Everyone could attest to that fact.

There was a slight thing bugging you, however. The many Instagram and Facebook fan pages that were dedicated to shipping you with Sebastian. They made edits, they came up with extreme theories… It was mortifying.

People in the Mercedes garage weren’t quiet either. If anything, they were even worse. Constantly bugging you about your “obvious” chemistry with Sebastian and whatnot. Which, in your opinion, didn’t exist.

You only harboured hate for the man. He was foul. Through and through… right?

Lies. Although you didn’t dare tell anyone, you didn’t quite hate him anymore. After letting go and caring less, you felt like you could finally see things from his perspective. It made you realize that he just wanted to win. Well, on top of mocking you. That was what had your mind in knots. He claimed he only teased you because of your reactions, but he refused to acknowledge your obvious distaste for it.

He had, however, begun to limit his snarky comments and cruel smirks. He actually started distancing himself. He rarely spoke to you and only ever interacted with you when the two of you landed a podium together.

You felt like something was missing.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Lewis asked. The two of you were sitting in your respective chairs in the cooldown room. He had somehow scored a P2 finish, with you upfront and Vettel in P3.

“Oh, nothing. Sorry. Zoned out, I guess?” You stretched your arms and wiped a bead of sweat off your forehead. Sebastian watched you throw the towel onto Lewis’ lap. Your teammate threw it back and the two of you shared a silly moment.

Something brewed inside the young Red Bull racer. He had been slacking off. He knew that all too well. His teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, was going to outscore him. There was nothing he could do about it. Not when Mercedes had gotten the upper hand. Not when you were in the way. The only pain he felt was from watching you with Lewis. He despised seeing you all happy-go-lucky. That was it. No, it wasn’t. He hated seeing you joke around with the other drivers. The sight of you laughing at a mechanic’s joke? His blood boiled.

The courage he once had was slipping. Much like his performance. He couldn’t focus on winning when losing was his only way to reach his ultimate goal.

“We should probably get going. Time to listen to your national anthem… yet again,” Lewis jokingly sighed and ruffled your hair, whilst you rolled your eyes with a chuckle.

You saw a cheerful sea of Mercedes employees. A 1-2 finish. Any team would be ecstatic if their drivers pulled that off.

Sebastian stood next to you. He couldn’t bring himself to muster even the smallest smile. Putting it mildly, his plan was starting to look like it had gone to shit. Not only was he losing the races, he was losing…

“Lew, look at this,” you grinned. Lewis obliged and was met with a burst of champagne. He let out a small yelp before picking up his bottle and spraying you.

Although he probably had a reason, you were beginning to hate how Sebastian never even spoke to you. The only solution; spray him. You poured a cold shot down his neck, to which he jerked his shoulders forward in an uncomfortable motion. It made him smile. Your heart swelled with some form of comfort in knowing you could make him feel some sort of joy.

Was that Lewis’ design all along? Making you see things from Vettel’s perspective? Perhaps. Whatever it was, you knew that your hatred for him had faded. This was replaced with stealing small glances and a spike in your heart rate when he was near.

You often felt your heart pump thickly in your throat. Your insides were littered with butterflies. You felt all jittery around him. Well, until he stopped with his flirting. He completely stopped interacting with you. It had your stomach in a twist. Were you too late? Did you not do enough?

“You don’t think a guy can be the least bit interested in you?”

You knew exactly who you had to see.

It was perfect, given that the next race wasn’t that coming weekend. You decided to give Michael a call, asking if you could see him at his house in Switzerland. Him being something of a father figure— said yes.

It was time to dig into the past. Not through the eyes of who you once were, but who you became. You were able to see things from every angle. Sebastian had clearly flirted out of sheer fun and mischief, but something underlined that cause. You. It was foolish of you to be so blinded with rage and hatred, that you couldn’t see him for what he was. A man who was struggling to keep your undivided attention. You weren’t yet convinced, but surely Michael would be able to set you straight.

You first greeted Corinna and the kids, who were not so much kids anymore. Michael came down to give you a hug and invite you to his cosy home office. He brewed some tea and placed it on the table.

“It’s so nice to see you again. I haven’t quite gotten used to retirement, but I did it once before, so I can definitely do it again!” He chuckled.

“I’m glad you’re still holding up well. I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know that Mercedes is leading at the moment.” You smiled at him and took a sip of the tea he’d made for you.

“I have been following up. I watch almost every race, actually. Whenever my kids have time, we throw on the sports channel and watch you and Sebastian. That’s to say they always have time for that. In fact, my son, Mick— his dream is to race for Mercedes.” Mick was growing steadily and did karting regularly. You didn’t see why he wouldn’t be able to earn a seat at Mercedes eventually.

“About that… I came here for advice… regarding Sebastian.” As embarrassing as it was to beat around the bush, saying things like that outright was not exactly your forté.

“What, did he finally confess?” You were dumbstruck by his sudden question.

“Excuse me? What?”

“Well, you see, he was always coming to me and asking me how to get you to talk to him. I always said that he could figure things out for himself. By your reaction, however, I’m guessing that didn’t exactly work?” He leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index fingers.

“He was crazy about you, I remember. The more riled up you got, the more he’d come to me for advice. It became routine for us to sit and talk, actually.” You had your suspicions, but never did you know that he was actually into you. Those fan pages and edits could’ve only fueled it. Your heart was beating faster and faster. It felt like it was nearly about to burst. Definitely, because you didn’t like him like that. You were just starting to sympathize. Nothing romantic. At all. No. Nothing.

“You know what I think?” Michael added when he saw your tomato-red face.

“I think he’s losing those races on purpose. Just to satisfy your needs. For a long time, he wanted to earn as many world championships as myself, but recently… something else seems to be stuck in his mind. I think his priorities lie elsewhere now.” You ran your fingers through your hair in frustration. Your heart couldn’t stop going faster than your car on race day.

“I also think you may feel something for him too.”

“Thank you, Michael. Truly… but I have to go.” You booked the earliest flight out. Needing some time alone with your thoughts.

Michael was almost always right. In this situation? There was no way he wasn’t.

Sebastian Vettel, I hate you.

You were back on the top again. The podium was the exact same as the last race. The celebration was grand. It was all pretty much the same. Your focus was more on getting time alone with Sebastian.

After everything had died down, you decided to visit the Red Bull motorhome and knocked on Vettel’s door.

“What are you doing here?” He asked with a surprised look on his face, upon opening the door.

“We need to talk. Invite me in?” He let you walk past him.

“What is it? Are you here to blackmail me?”

“What? No. Why would I ever do that?” Your face grimaced at his idea.

“I don’t know, I’m just not feeling that great right now.” He was all mopey and looked as if someone had sucked all the life force out of him.

“I actually came to talk to you about… um… well, us.” You were fiddling with your fingers in your lap, too scared to look him in the eyes.

“Us?”

“I spoke to Michael.” You weren’t sure how to lead the conversation from start to finish.

“You did?”

“He told me about everything.” Your eyes met his in a flash of awkwardness.

“Look, that was a long time ago and—”

“I don’t hate you anymore,” you cut off. His eyes lit up at your words.

“What do you mean by that?” Was he really that desperate to hear you say it, or were you too scared to say it?

“I don’t know… I guess it means you can start flirting with me again or whatever…” you mumbled sheepishly. It felt so embarrassing to tell him face to face. Your heart was thumping louder than the pit stops Mercedes did. Your face was redder than the Ferraris.

“Could we see where this takes us? I mean, if you’d like.” He seemed to be just as embarrassed about it as you. It was kind of cute, actually.

“Yes… I’d like that.” Although the conversation was surprisingly short, it left a huge impact on Sebastian. He was more or less depressed on the podium but the interviews that followed? He was a firecracker. He acted as if he’d won the lottery, smiling like an idiot and stealing glances from you here and there. It was an odd but welcome, warm feeling that spread throughout your body.

Who would’ve thought? Both Lewis and Michael were able to set you straight. You used to care too much. You used to think about yourself only, when it came to Sebastian. It was impossible to put yourself in his shoes until Lewis taught you otherwise. Your feelings? You would’ve let yourself crush them over time, had it not been for your talk with your mentor.

Much time passed, and you had won races upon races. You were still getting much-needed advice on everything from races to simple daily routines, by Michael. Sometimes you went to Lewis. He was easier to reach and you were always able to have quick conversations with him before the races. Everything had accumulated to the current momentum. The glory that you were about to relish in. The people you were about to make proud.

You sat in your seat with Sebastian on your side. He had only recently asked you to be his. It took some dates and deep, meaningful talks before you got there, but the wait was worth it. Life had never felt better. You were completely enamoured with Sebastian. The feeling was more than mutual. He was helplessly and irrevocably in love with you.

He was called to the stage as 3rd overall. The crowd cheered, but you cheered the loudest. If you had told your past self that you would be cheering him on at the ceremony, you would’ve never believed yourself.

Lewis was called next and you were called last. Sebastian couldn’t stop smiling at you. People were cheering and you were in a state of euphoria.

Your trophy was the biggest, brightest, and most grand in the room. However, it could never compare to the adoration on your boyfriend’s face, as he saw you hoisting it up into the air.

After all the interviews and the longest ride back to your hotel, you crashed onto your shared bed with your lover. The two of you stared at the blank ceiling, feeling a state of absolute tranquillity. The two of you had come so far.

“I’m so proud of you.” Sebastian turned his head to face you.

“Thank you, Seb.” You followed suit.

“Do you think we wasted too much time?” You asked. In all honesty, a tinge of guilt hit you every now and then. If only you had come to terms with yourself and your feelings earlier…

“All that time was worth hearing you tell me that you love me. I don’t think we wasted even a single moment. Everything that has happened so far… you know, it all built up to this.” You smiled at him and pulled him into a loving kiss.

Sebastian Vettel, I love you.

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻...

𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚!

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩! (𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙙𝙢𝙨, 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨: 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧(𝙨) 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚(𝙨) 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣.)

#fanfiction #fanfic #f1 #formula 1 #formula one #x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fanfiction #reader insert #fluff #enemies to lovers #sebastian vettel #sebastian vettel fanfic #seb vettel #sebastian vettel fluff #f1 fic #red bull f1 #red bull seb #red bull racing #formula one fanfiction #formula 1 fanfiction #f1 fandom #mercedes #lewis hamilton #michael schumacher #f1 imagine #sebastian vettel imagine

[bonefall]

Clanmew Expansion Pack: Moths and Butterflies

A guide to the beautiful fluttering insects seen in this region, and how Clan cats classify and describe them.

[ID: A cat with a butterfly on its nose]

In Clanmew, the vocabulary used to describe butterflies is massive compared to English. As a species less than a foot tall and spending their entire lives in the wilderness, Clan cats observe lepidopterians up close and far more personally than humans have done historically.

Combine this with the fact that cats are crepuscular, active in the morning and evening, and you'll realize that they encounter more moths than butterflies. While English-speaking humans tend to think of moths as being dingy and butterflies as being colorful, Clan cats don't find those categories helpful and classify them in a completely different way!

So the very first thing to know is that Clanmew does not have the same conception of "moths" and "butterflies." They have a super term, "Ffyy," and no less than 9 terms for the various groups with related behaviors.

This guide contains 51 new words for various moths and the unique behaviors of lepidopterians. Below the cut, you will find;

An overview to the 9 classifications Clan cats use, plus words for things like cocoons, metamorphosis, caterpillars, etc

A straightforward list of species, in English (Science) = Clanmew format

Expansion on behaviors of noteworthy species within their groupings

Translation trivia on Moth Flight, Mothwing, Archeye, and Mothwhisker (TC) for Better Bones.

(Translator's Note: I have tried to pick English words that will work nicely as warrior name prefixes, to be translated as specifically or as generically as you desire. They don't reflect cladistic accuracy.)

Types of Ffyy:

Flutter = Kffa Ffyy with large hindwings that flutter around erratically. The closest to the English image of a "butterfly." Most of these are daytime species but this also refers to moths that are drawn to flame. Species depicted: Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria)

Hawkmoth = Uff Fat-bodied ffyy that tend to be wider than they are long, with powerful wings. Fantastic fliers and important pollinators, they have several gigantic species and are beloved by Clan cats. Species depicted: Elephant hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)

Tortrix = Owyy Round-winged ffyy that rest with a slightly splayed pose with their wings folded down, almost resembling a turtle. Species depicted: Privet tortrix (Clepsis consimilana)

Veneer = Iff A thin, lanky ffyy that rests in a sticklike pose with a defined head, sporting big, buggy eyes and sometimes a large nose. Any moth with the characteristic eyes or nose gets brought back into this category. Species depicted: Garden-grass veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Herald = Hawof A very unique type, it can apply to just about any type of moth but is always given to the species with significance in prophetic divination. There are some moths rarely seen in this region which appear only as heralds, thus they are named accordingly. NOTE: This is the sort of word bestowed in Honor Titles. Species depicted: Common Hairstreak, Moth Flight's moth (Callophrys rubi)

Dowd = Gyyff Stiff, fluffy moths which rest as straight as a twig, usually mimicking wood. Their heads aren't as well defined as a veneer, but they aren't as fluffy as a raoff Species depicted: Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala)

Prominent = Raoff "Lion moths," large species with fluffy antennae and big manes. Something between a dowd and a tortrix, but usually larger and fluffier. Species depicted: Muslin moth (Diaphora mendica)

Plume = Ffip Very thin, slender moths that rest in a T-pose with very interesting wing-types. Species depicted: Beautiful plume moth (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla)

Fritilary = Ffow Somewhat between a Kffa and an Owyy, refers to Ffyy with a smoother 'cape' shape when they're resting.

In addition, there are words for shapes associated with Ffyy and other insects, especially in the wings and patterns. Some of those words are;

Fluttered/Fluttering/Will flutter = Afafaf/Afafa/Afaf The erratic wingbeats of Ffyy and small birds of prey.

Hovered/hovering/will hover = Hyyffuhu/hyyffu/hyyff A very special aerial maneuver where an animal can hold their exact place in the air and move in any direction. EXTREMELY rare; only achieved by certain hawkmoths, hoverflies, and dragonflies. NOTE: The UK has no hummingbirds! Their ecological niche is occupied by hawkmoths!

Shy = Wro An emotion, but also a pose. It's when an animal shrinks back and tries to make itself smaller or more hidden, much like a Dowd or a Veneer, or the flattening of a terrified cat's ears

Cape/Humble = Froom An emotion, a shape, and a pattern that is seen on the backs of some animals, describes the way that Prominents and Tortrixes hold their wings.

Flare/Confident/Perpendicular = Akeye An emotion and a shape, describes things that 'stick up,' like the wings of Plumes and Butters. Not like "raised hackles," more like fluffing one's fur out or puffing your chest.

Caterpillar = Poog A word that comes from Parkmew! Caterpillars were significant to Park cat culture because of their old naming system-- cats were born unnamed, and were expected to find one as they grew, like butterflies.

Pupa/Chrysalis = Higab Hard, scaly insect cocoons

Cocoon = Mooun Soft, silky insect cocoons

Silk = Mirro The material that silk cocoons and spider webs are made of. Only cob spiders produce though of this material to be useful to Clan cats; they do not have access to silk moths (bombyx mori) in this part of England. Clan cats also believe that moth wings are made of this.

Chitin = Higko The material that hard pupa and insect exoskeletons are made of.

Exoskeleton = Babaak The hard shell that surrounds the meat of invertebrates such as crabs, moths, beetles; Clan cats do not think this applies to insects that 'shrivel' such as soft-bodied caterpillars.

Metamorphosed/metamorphing/will metamorph = Peb'bep'arr/Peb'bep/Peb'be To massively change between stages of life, the unique way that moths and some other insects grow.

LIST OF SPECIES

This list is arranged with several species of each group, separated by grouping. You can expect for this list to grow, if additional species are translated as time goes on!

Last update: 6/17/2023

HAWMOTH/UFF

Elephant hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor) = Beksu

Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) = Skepb

Hummingbird hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum) = Lipfu

TORTRIX/OWYY

Privet tortrix (Clepsis consimilana) = Frooke

Oak lantern (Carcina quercana) = Byoff

Common footman (Eilema lurideola) = Yyowo

Dark Arches (Apamea monoglypha) = Oyiw

VENEER/IFF

Garden-grass veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella) = Chuo

Drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria) = Ssbwohl

Bronze alder moth (Argyresthia goedartella) = Holipo

DOWD/GYYFF

Buff-tip (Argyresthia goedartella) = Kooko

Apple leafminer (Lyonetia clerkella) = Rugna

Hazel slender (Parornix devoniella) = Geehees

PROMINENT/RAOFF

Muslin (Diaphora mendica) = Goorf

Iron prominent (Notodonta dromedarius) = Orge

True lover's knot (Lycophotia porphyrea) = Urmrri

Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) = Genra

PLUME/FFIP

Beautiful plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla) = Lebl

Twenty plume (Alucita hexadactyla) = Arrffip

FLUTTER/KFFA

Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) = Yaero

Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) = Luya

Clouded border (Lomaspilis marginata) = Oogwo

FRITILARY/FFOW

Magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) = Peewo

Mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) = Mwifg

Riband wave (Idaea aversata) = Fisip

HERALD/HAWOF

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) = Ssefyy

Lunar Hornet (Sesia bembeciformis) = Offes

Death's Head (Acherontia atropos) = Wayoff

HAWKMOTH/UFF

[ID: An "Uff," 'Hawkmoth' in English. It is a large, yellow-and-pink moth. The species depicted is an Elephant Hawkmoth.]

Hawkmoths are the largest types of Ffyy that Clan cats encounter, and deeply beloved. They are considered the 'warriors' of moth-standards, large, honorable, and acrobatic. What defines an uff from other butterflies is primarily its large, bulky body. Some uff, such as the skipper, could be mistaken by outsiders as being a type of ffow or perhaps a kffa.

They are pollinators, jumping between various flowers and mostly seen in grassy, floral environments, such as meadows and moorland. The skipper in particular is one of WindClan's most common butterflies, and a favorite target for pouncing kittens.

Most of the largest hawkmoths survive the winter snug in their cocoons under leaf litter, and more specifically in ThunderClan. Being able to witness a hawkmoth emerge is sometimes taken as a little blessing, like StarClan rewarding you for staying observant on a patrol.

TORTRIX/OWYY

[ID: An Owyy, "Tortrix" in English. It is a humble brown moth with a negligible mane and round, capelike wings. The species depicted is a privet tortrix.]

Tortrixes are the largest classification of ffyy in Clanmew, with many of them being drawn to lights in the dark. They hold their wings 'humbly' (froom), tucked behind themselves and slightly angled. Many prominent share the general shape of tortrixes, but they are separated by a prominent, impressive mane.

Because they are so varied, classifying behaviors of the group as a whole is difficult. Some of them like fruit and others like leaves. Some are large and others small. Some are drab and others colorful.

Most end up named after the species of plant they like most. The Oak Lantern (Byoff) for example can skeletonize entire oak leaves! Others can absolutely mob apple trees, making them a pest to ThunderClan.

Funfact: The cartoon idea of an "apple worm" comes from some species of tortrix moths!

FLUTTER/KFFA

[ID: A Kffa, "Flutter" in English. It is an orange-and-brown butterfly, with wings that stick out perpendicular to the body. The species depicted is a sunspot butterfly.]

Dominated by strange daytime species with bright colors, these confident little creatures are defined by the angle of their wings when resting. They "Flare" out, or Akeye in Clanmew.

The Yaero (sunspot butterfly/speckled wood) is the most well-known of the flutters which isn't also a herald of some sort. These plucky bugs have short lives and spend the ENTIRE time fighting, choosing a sunny spot and engaging in clumsy aerial brawls to defend it. To be compared to a Yaero in Clan Culture is like being called 'scrappy,' fighting until you drop dead of exhaustion.

It's a VERY admirable thing to be!

PROMINENT/RAOFF

[ID: A "Raoff," or a Prominent in English. It is a very fluffy moth with a big mane. The species depicted is a male muslin moth.]

The obvious thing that sets this sort of Ffyy apart from all others is its luscious, majestic mane. Much like how the "Leopard" is a mistranslation and is a mythical composite of several animals, the Clan cat "Lion" is a composite beast whose mane comes from moths!

Thus, it is how they were named. Lion + Moth.

And, of the various raoff, the muslin (Goorf) is one of the most interesting. It comes in black or white, with many cats speaking of a herald coloration that is split perfectly down the middle with black and white. This species' name comes from "Gender + Moth." It is thought that if a pregnant cat only sees black muslins, they will have an all-tom litter. All white, and they will all be mollies. If no muslin moths are seen at all, then they will all reveal themselves to be gib.

FRITILARY/FFOW

[ID: A "ffow," or a fritilary in English. Note, this is the moment where the English names diverge the most because this is not an irl fritilary. It is a moth with a 'cape' that is both froom, and akeye. The species depicted is a magpie moth.]

A family of ffyy remarked upon for their 'savviness.' Not as 'confident' as kffa, nor as humble as an owyy, the animals in this family are typically quite interesting.

For example, the magpie (Peewo). While notably beautiful like a calico cat, it's also strangely left alone by other animals. If caught in a spiderweb, the spider will take a bite and let go. Birds leave them alone. Clan cats believe this must be because they will eat lots of unappetizing plants and become distasteful-- a clever creature!

The thought probably came from watching another ffow, the Mwifg, the "mint moth" in English. Mint is a deadly poison to Clan cats, but the creature eats it up, and goes unbothered by other animals.

So, Peewo and Mwifg are cited often as living examples of how you, "are what you eat."

PLUME/FFIP

[ID: A plume moth, "ffip," a thin insect with a T-shaped body and long legs. The species depicted is a Beautiful Plume Moth.]

Widely considered the least appealing type of moth, often clustered in reedy areas. They're known by their distinctive T-shape and long legs.

Clan Cats find it unsettling that they resemble midges, and have only two unique names within the classification; Arrffip for the 20-Plume, and Lebl for the Beautiful Plume, which resembles a mottled cat which makes it more okay to them.

VENEER/IFF

[ID: A moth with big eyes and a long nose, called an "Iff" in Clanmew, and a veneer in English. The species depicted is a garden grass veneer.]

The silliest moth of all, associated with being panicked and anxious at all times. To be compared to an Iff is to be called a worry-wart in Clanmew!

Most veneers have a big, distinct fuzzy nose, and any moth that displays the same feature gets thrown into the Iff classification. But that isn't the only way to end up in this category! Any moth with big, worried eyes goes here as well, such as the Bronze Alder Moth (Holipo).

Alderheart was compared to a holipo often. Poor guy.

There is also the drinker moth (Ssbwohl), which is known for dunking its head into dewdrops and taking a big sippy.

DOWD/GYYFF

[ID: A moth that looks like a twig, called a Dowd in English and a Gyyff in Clanmew. The species depicted is a buff-tip.]

To be considered a Gyyff, the moth must be long and sticklike. The apple leafminer (Rugna) is a good example of a moth that is not using buff-tip (Kooko) mimicry, but is still a Dowd in Clanmew standards.

The word "kooko" in Clanmew is used for harmless fibs, little pranks, and the buff-tip moth!

HERALD/HAWOF

[ID: A green butterfly with shining wings, facing the camera. It is called a Herald in English, and a Hawof in Clanmew. The species depicted is a Green Hairstreak.]

The defining example of the Herald classification is the Green Hairstreak, an iridescent green moth that lead Moth Flight to the Moonstone so many years ago. A vitally important species to WindClan culturally, a burst in its population is said to be a sign that they need to listen carefully.

Any type of moth can end up going into this category, if it becomes significant in divination. Some moths have even shifted over time out of one classification into Hawof, and back out as they stop being seen as holy in some way!

Another example of a moth of great significance is the death's head moth, called a Wayoff in Clanmew. It's a massive type of hawkmoth, and an exceedingly rare sight. It warns of grand doom, threats so large that they threaten all the Clans at once. Floods, famine, deforestation... these were all preceded by the freak sighting of a Wayoff.

Meanwhile, the Lunar Hornet, Offes in Clanmew, mimics a wasp perfectly. It's a strange creature said to be a piece of the cosmic dust between this world and StarClan, an example of the fantastic creatures they can make if they so choose. It signifies change of some sort, which a Cleric will attempt to interpret for the cat who saw the moth.

And lastly,

Translation Trivia

[ID: A cat chasing a butterfly]

Specifically for the way I have chosen to translate the names of these characters for the Better Bones AU

Moth Flight

Mothwing

Archeye

Mothwhisker

Moth Flight Hawof Faofwe (Herald + Pilgrimage)

A VERY interesting translation quirk, as her name is a remnant from Old Tribemew, one of the ancestral languages that would eventually form Clanmew!

Hawof was the ancient word for moths and butterflies, and still the word in-use in Tribemew to this day. Once they moved down from the highlands, Clanmew adopted and created several new words to describe the hundreds of new types they were seeing on a regular basis. Yet, "hawof" fossilized, coming to only describe those that were particularly holy!

"Faofwe" is another fascinating example. While it once meant 'flight' in Old Tribemew, an animal flying from one place to another, it has come to mean "pilgrimage." This is the word being used for a cat going to visit a holy location, or somewhere else that they will reach a higher religious understanding of the world.

Both of these words are sacred; the type only given to modern cats in Honor Titles.

Mothwing Beksuwesk (Elephant Hawkmoth + Insect Wing)

Sasha fled the violence of TigerClan at her first opportunity, after being trapped in the dangerous situation with no escape. After the death of her son, Tadpole, she brought her kits to RiverClan in the hopes they would be safe. Their names were Ffyy, and Yassga.

Leopardstar saw that their father was Tigerstar, and accepted... though she would change their names. They had to accept what the Clan was to decide for them.

So Yassga (Raptor, any large bird of prey) became Yi'i (sparrowhawk), and Ffyy (Any butterfly) was pigeonholed into a type of hawkmoth as Besku. She thinks of this often, that RiverClan took the name her mother gave her, that she followed Hawkfrost to the Lake, and now she is all that remains. With nothing left of her family.

Archeye Oyiwipo (Dark Arches Moth + Eye)

A simple one! He has a stripe just above one eye that perfectly resembles the tip of a Dark Arches' wing.

(note: i updated this translation from an earlier statement.)

Mothwhisker Yaerohussk (Speckled Wood Butterfly + Hussk)

Fresh from the ThunderClan Family Tree fix, Mothwhisker is a parent of Adderfang and Seedfall.

An old Oakstar loyalist, Mothwhisker was spitting from the moment he was born, clawing the nose of his Ba. On the spot, he was given the prefix Yaero, and he eventually grew into a ferocious Crusader after the death of Mapleshade's kittens and the creation of Darkstar's Commandment.

Though "Butterflywhisker" would technically have been accurate, the translator chose 'moth' for brevity. Clan cats don't distinguish between the two, regardless.

#I HOPE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND #THIS IS THE RESULT OF ME SORTING THROUGH HUNDREDS OF INSECTS #AND COMING UP WITH A UNIQUE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION #IM SCREECHING #clanmew #buttterflies #moths #insects #lepidoptera #clan culture #fauna guide #better bones au

[theoutcastedartist]

"The Last Day of Peace"

Shadows & Lights AU

Characters (Oldest to Youngest): Silver the Soothsayer, Blaze the Indomitable, Tikal the Echidna, Olgivile Maurice the Hedgehog, Sonia Bernadette the Hedgehog, Manic Theodore the Hedgehog

Silver was gifted with the power of fortune telling and served under the guidance of one of the leaders of the Ancient Empire, Jules the Hedgehog, whose eldest child, Olgivile Maurice, had been blessed by the half of Solaris that is Iblis, taking on a striking similarity in appearance to the diety. Silver is held in highest regard by the leaders for his wisdom and accuracy of what lies in the future.

Alongside being a consultant to the Ancient Leaders, Silver would look after Jules's three children, Olgivile, Sonia, and Manic. His best friend, Blaze, would also soon take on a similar task with guarding on of the other leaders' kid, Pachacamac's daughter, Tikal the Echidna.

Blaze served the Ancient Empire as a soldier under Commander Aleena. She became well known for her indomitable spirit and strength during battle, earning her the title of "Blaze the Indomitable". For this, she had been tasked to guard Tikal, who was undergoing teachings to become the new guardian of the Master Emerald, gifted by Iblis the Flame over 100 years ago alongside the Phantom Ruby from Mephiles.

Tikal became quick friends with Olgivile, who introduced her personally to the Solaris deities, Mephiles and Iblis. While the two halves were of no stranger, most notably Iblis, to the leaders of the Ancient Empire, they were only ever referred to with the utmost highest formalities and respect (which Mephiles gets bored of very quickly).

Olgivile, being blessed by Iblis, had a much more direct and closer connection with the Solaris deities than almost anyone else. Mephiles would often play with him, his siblings, and Tikal in the form of a mischievous little shadow, finding humor in how long it would be until they were spotted by others close-by.

Iblis would sing lovely lullabies, often described as the sound of the wind, to those who are connected to themselves freely. To be strong is to not be afraid of one's self. Olgivile loves Iblis' lullabies and how comforting and safe the deities voice would easily put him to sleep. Iblis also reminds Olgivile of the stars in the night sky.

Jules's children also had a strong bond with Lyric, before his betrayal to the Ancient Empire.

He would be tinkering in his laboratory and the tiny hogs would be curious and ask questions, Lyric in turn would be delighted to answer. While he loathed their father, he did truly care for Olgivile, Sonia, and Mania.

Silver, on the other hand, had an awful feeling about him and Blaze found Lyric suspicious during the few times Tikal would accompany the sibling trio to his lab.

They would soon be proven right on the Last Day of Peace in the Ancient Empire. Which had been foretold by Silver five years prior that it would be "the most beautiful and last day in our lifetimes". To which it was the only time a vision had ever been disregarded by the Ancient Leaders, blinding by arrogance.

It turned out that Lyric had been selling out top-secret information to the Ancient Empire's rival civilization in space, The Black Arms Race ruled over by Black Doom, in the hopes of funding his projects in secret on the moon.

The result of Lyric's betrayal resulted in the death of both civilizations.

The Black Arms Race had crashed their meteor into the massive continent the Ancient Empire had control over and wiped out both themselves and almost all the Ancients, the only "survivors" being Lyric (who had fled the moment his betrayal had been discovered) and Tikal, who had been sealed away inside the Master Emerald with her father's dying breath.

Tikal never got the chance to say goodbye...

#ShadowLightAU #shadows&lightsau #sonic boom au #sonic boom #tikal the echidna #Olgivile Maurice the Hedgehog #manic the hedgehog #sonia the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #blaze the cat #silver the hedgehog #lyric the last ancient #sonic fanart #sonic fandom #sonic #artist on twitter #artist on tumblr #sonic au #sonic boom fanart #the ancients #sonic boom the Ancients #sth fanart #sth #sth fandom #digital art #TheOutcastedArtist's art

[random-iz-stuff]

Invader Zim Deathmatch:

ROUND 3, FIGHT 1:

ALMIGHTY TALLEST MIYUKI VS NUMBER 2!

The rules are as follows:

1. We’re assuming that both participants actively want and are willing to kill each other unless actively specified otherwise (for example: Chammy Wamboo).

2. The fight must be one on one so no outside help is allowed, but prep time is allowed.

3. The rule for prep time is that if one contestant gets prep time, the other contestant gets an equal amount of prep time as well.

[Masterpost]

Information about both contestants (who they are, powers and abilities, etc) can be found under the cut.

Contestant Stats:

Tallest Miyuki:

“Why did we never get to see you?”

Appearances:

Miyuki only appears in the unfinished episode “The Trial”

Powers and abilities:

Irken physiology (can lift over 3 times their body weight and is extremely durable)

Massive Height (as the Tallest, Miyuki is the tallest Irken alive. This is mentioned as a power because Irkens can lift over three times their body weight and since Miyuki is way bigger and therefore heavier than most other Irkens, she can lift WAY more as well)

PAK (PAK legs, PAK lasers, shield generator, all the things an Irken PAK can do)

Hovering (as a Tallest, Miyuki has access to special equipment that lets her hover above the ground. This improves her movement speed and general maneuverability, but doesn’t grant her the ability to truly fly)

Fun Fact:

Despite being constantly depicted as blue by fans, no coloured pictures of Miyuki or anything confirming her colour actually exist.

Number 2:

“Second best (technically THE best) Zim in the Zimvoid”

Note: due to me doing a LOT of different analyses of Zim’s combat capabilities, intelligence, and competence in general, this section goes way further into detail than with any other contestant, to the point where I can say almost exactly HOW Zim fights along with his general abilities, which gets its own section.

Appearances:

Number 2 appears in the Zimvoid Arc of the comic that spans Issues 46-49

Tactics:

Zim is a very environmental fighter that uses his mind and the environment around him a lot in combat, quickly setting up traps, leading his opponents into bad positions and using anything he can get his hands on to gain an advantage.

Zim also uses his PAK a lot in combat, mostly for the extra maneuverability it provides. Leaping around and dodging attacks with it and using it to quickly climb and move around.

Zim also knows how and when to briefly get into his opponent’s head, confusing them by briefly putting on an act to seem dumber than he appears (Take his fights against Hobo 13 and Pilot Dib for very good examples). Once his opponent is distracted or thrown off, he strikes fast and hard.

Powers and abilities:

Irken physiology (Can lift over 3 times his body weight and is extremely durable. Also, Number 2’s rather tall size means that he weighs more and can therefore lift more than the average Zim)

PAK (PAK legs, PAK lasers, shield generator, all the things an Irken PAK can do)

Elite military training (Zim is an Invader, meaning that he went through irken military training and became an elite soldier before going through Invader training. This means that Number 2 has the combat skills of an elite soldier)

Invader training (as an Ex-Invader, Zim is trained in espionage, stealth, sabotage, and other invader-related things.

Deathmatch Skills (Number 2 has extensive experience in combat, as he got his title of Number 2 by fighting and defeating every other Zim in the Zimvoid Arena, along with presumably needing to fight multiple times to preserve his title)

Throwing Knife Mastery (Number 2 has a 99.4% accuracy rate with throwing knives, and it’s very likely that this accuracy rate also applies to other throwable things)

Superior Intelligence (Zim is the single smartest Irken we’ve ever seen and is a lot smarter than he appears, being able to build things in less than an hour that artificially enhanced irkens take days or even weeks to build. This significantly reduces or even removes the amount of prep time Zim needs to create something. Zim is also capable of manipulating people by playing dumb, a tactic he sometimes uses in combat to throw his opponents off their rhythm (take his fights in Hobo 13 and the Pilot for example))

Shock Spear (as seen in Nickelodeon All Star Brawl of all places, Zim owns, knows how to use, and always has on his person: a unique Shock Spear. This Shock Spear can presumably do anything a regular Shock Spear can do, including shocking anyone hit by it and discharging energy from the blades for a ranged attack)

[Weakness] No common sense or impulse control [Averted] (Zim normally has little common sense or impulse control and seems to struggle with motivation, a fact that usually leads to him defeating himself. HOWEVER, in the right situation where Zim properly focuses on the task at hand (usually either when he wants revenge or when he thinks his life or his mission is in danger), Zim completely loses this weakness and not only becomes completely motivated, but also starts thinking things through, becoming far more dangerous. A fight to the death like this competition definitely fills those requirements, meaning that Zim in this situation would be completely focused at basically all times)

Fun Fact:

Number 2 claims that his divergent trait is that he’s slightly worse at throwing knives (99.4% accuracy instead of 99.7), but that claim seems rather suspicious when you take into account things like Number 2’s height, which a slightly worse accuracy rate would never affect. So it’s possible that he’s lying about his divergent trait. For simplicity in this competition, we’re going to assume he’s telling the truth.

#invader zim #invader zim deathmatch #polls #tallest Miyuki #Zim #number 2

[kosher-martian]

Napoleon & Josephine

Spoiler warning for Napoleon.

So this weekend I had an opportunity to see Ridley Scott's Napoleon. It was weird.

The movie has some problems. I'm not going to mention the historical accuracy of the film (it takes the same liberties all other historical dramas do) nor am I going to talk about the dialogue / delivery (though I will gladly let "You think you're so great because you have boats!" live rent-free in my head for the rest of forever). I think the movie had too much material it wanted to cover in one film, but tried to cover it anyway (the exact opposite of the YA movie "Divided for Adaptation" trope that swept Hollywood ages ago). Before some (likely extensive) edits the final film was probably close to 3.5 hours long, so they cut an hour's worth of scenes from the final product resulting in the choppy mess with massive pacing issues that have divided audiences and critics alike.

Scenes play at breakneck pace one after the other, each in a different location, with different characters, and occurring at different points in history, but there was either no attempt at linking the scenes together or the majority of those bridging scenes hit the cutting room floor. As a consequence, the movie just comes across as a feature-length recap of the previous season of some prestige historical drama show. If this were a pre-existing show the scenes make sense. You vaguely remember last season and you are only watching to jog your memory before jumping into the next season. But if you are going into this without familiarity of the subject matter (or only mild interest) and expect the film to tell you a narrative about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, it's just a cluster of confusion. I had a similar experience with the Saoirse Ronan / Margot Robbie Mary Queen of Scots film. It had almost the exact same "not a film, just a series of scenes" issues. Unlike with Napoleon, I was less familiar with the historical events surrounding Mary I of Scotland and Elizabeth I of England. I ended up disliking the film and only ever watched it the one time.

So now I want to pivot to the reason I'm making this post at all. I want to posit a ludicrous and patently untrue conspiracy theory: They made two movies and then spliced them together!

To be clear, I don't actually believe this happened, this "conspiracy theory" will be more my wishful thinking than anything else.

Contrary to all evidence, I want to believe that Hollywood had planned Barbenheimer from the very beginning. Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, and other major studios saw the collapse of "cinematic universe" films on the horizon and wanted to create a new fad that would be both cheaper to produce and more easily controlled: Pick two films with markedly different audiences, market them as being in competition with each other, and use polarizing social media pushes to drive people into two constituency groups. With this model, studios could take two films that would otherwise have middling performance and turn them into blockbuster hits of then summer with marketing alone. People would go running back into the theaters to ensure their constituency's film "won" the battle. Hollywood solicited ideas for film pairings from a variety of sources. Ridley Scott got wind of this secret operation and decided he would condense the idea into an even easier exercise: Make the same movie twice for two different audiences.

Scott would direct two films with the exact same cast. One film (the "boy" film) would be an epic film covering the military triumphs of Napoleon Bonaparte, his tragic fall from power, his unlikely return, and his final defeat. This film, titled Napoleon, would feature fantastic set-piece battle scenes, tons of meme-able lines ("You think you're so great because you have boats!"), and gorgeous special effects. The "girl" film, Josephine, would depict the contentious and all-too-captivating private life of Napoleon and Josephine. It would be a more cerebral and emotional work, showing the complexities of their relationship. It would place the competing demands of Napoleon's ambition and longing for true love at center stage. Josephine might have made Empress Josephine our focal character or it may have continued to use Napoleon as entry way into the rich interior lives of the Emperor and Empress of France, but in either case the film's overall story would have been those moments when they were alone with one another or totally alone. Napoleon's story is the story that shaped the modern world, so it was more than enough to support both films. Audiences could choose which movie to support or might have found the format of "two films, one story" just too enticing to pass up seeing both.

But then something - and I'm not sure exactly what - happened. Instead of creating both films and releasing them separately, the decision was made to condense the two films down to one. Both films had nearly finished production. Two interpretations of Napoleon, one the legend and one the man, now needed to be brought together. Left with tonally dissonant films, the choice was made to just try to make the editing "choppier" and more "modern" (code for "we know flashy cuts and transitions won't save this colossal mistake, but we've got sunk cost fallacy now"). Scenes were lifted wholesale from both films and spliced together seemingly without regard for the final product. It's possible the final dirty work was handed to a trailer house, as evidenced by the trailers release earlier this year that paired action sequences from the film with modern music that not only didn't fit the film's aesthetics, but also didn't fit the scenes used.

Did this happen? No. As stated previously, Napoleon's story is too big to be contained in one film. The only film to pull it off was the 1927 silent film, which runs anywhere from 4 to 9.5 hours long depending on the cut. That's why other films focus on extensive portrayals of discrete battles (Waterloo), specific parts of his life (Eagle in a Cage) or his romantic life (Desiree, though it does show other aspects of Napoleon's life). Some artists have tried to do a broad retelling of his life, but those are always multi-part miniseries.

But go watch the movie yourself and tell me there's not a Josephine movie lurking on a hard drive somewhere in Hollywood. I know it doesn't exist, but also there's no way it doesn't exist, right? Too many scenes fit perfectly into another movie for it not to exist. Napoleon is not a cohesive film, it's a compilation of scenes from two separate movies featuring the same actors.

#napoleon #josephine #release the josephine cut #you think you are so great because you have boats! #barbenheimer #napoleon 2023 #napoleon bonaparte #josephine de beauharnais #Youtube

[bragganhyl]

a kiss to distract for whoever>:)

Yay, thank you 🥰 here's an Edér x Watcher thingy, inspired by a certain book in the Forgotten Sanctum dlc.

Word count: roughly 1600 words

Gaura never thought she would ever grow sick of browsing a library, but the Archives of the Hand Occult truly put her patience to the test. The Restricted Section was somewhat smaller than other parts of Wael's sanctum but even so, the Watcher had to split up her team to search for whatever book Bekarna needed. And for the book Llengrath needed. And for clues about Maura's whereabouts. And for anything that could help them deal with the strange wizard they've encountered in the Collections. She groaned as she watched the massive bookshelf stretching along the wall in front of her, then allowed her eyes to close. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, trying to bury her own frustration and exhaustion under her lungs as it expanded with rejuvenating air. She exhaled and reached forward, still blindly, still tense, still wishing to be somewhere else, somewhere such as... Caed Nua.

The Watcher's eyes popped open, surprised at her own mind. True, she missed her fortress, but for some reason it wasn't her home, that she remembered. It was the ruin she found. Gaura blinked a few times, trying to focus and it was only then that she noticed: she was touching a book. Even through her gauntlets the book felt strange to her touch. It reminded her of the air in Caed Nua, while the place was tied to Maerwald's soul and carried his agonies. It reminded her of the unnatural cold in Durgan's Battery while the souls of the Pargrunen were still bound to it. It reminded her of the impenetrable darkness in Sun-in-Shadow, formed by the fractured souls imprisoned there. The book didn't feel quite as suffocatingly... wrong as these places did, but even the slightest hint of it got Gaura snatching it off the shelf and examining it closely. For the most part it looked like about a dozen other volumes that she has seen, even down to the cover decoration. It was just a book about the Saint's War. Only the title seemed strange: A True and Accurate Account of The Ten's Final Stand. The Watcher raised an eyebrow at it. She turned to the cover page, that was emblazoned with a sigil marking the book's accuracy and authenticity. Normally, Gaura would have laughed at it, bitterly, unable to decide if this was an obvious mistake or a very clumsy attempt at misinformation. But she couldn't shake that feeling of... misplacement that she noticed. Something told her that what she held was a remnant of the wrong time in the wrong place. She flipped the book and started turning the pages from the back, until she reached the final page recounting the events at Godhammer Citadel.

They really expected ten of you to stand against the dawn?

Gaura remembered Waidwen's final memories on the bridge: the way Eothas' voice boomed from his throat with earth shattering power and volume. This recounting showed a calmer Saint on the bridge, more in control, more at ease, and for some reason that sent a shiver down the Watcher's spine.

...lighting his pipe and pocketing the tinder...

'Waidwen didn't smoke,' Gaura whispered to herself, hoping that her voice would repress an image her imagination painted for her. 'Silly,' she scolded herself with a chuckle. She found it a little ridiculous how even the most accidental reminder would have her thinking of Edér. She shook her head, and continued reading.

Reckon you’re going to have a hard time standing in our way. Plan is to march right on over you folk and stick anyone between with a pike. Nothing personal about it. So, here we go.

Gaura felt nauseous. This wasn't funny. She couldn't remember if she ever felt as terrified by familiarity as she did in that moment.

Such were the last words of Saint Edér before the Godhammer Bomb cauterized him from-

'Gaura.'

The Watcher spun around with a gasp when she heard Edér's voice. The farmer stood by the entrance to the room, frozen in surprise by her reaction.

'Did I startle you?' A faint, reassuring smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he cautiously approached her.

Gaura reflexively hid the book behind her back. As well as her shaking hands clutching it.

'A little, I was lost in thought. What's up?'

'Aloth found some papers about the vithrack we ran into. Looked like something we could use,' Edér replied as he closed the distance between them. Without hesitation he reached for the Watcher's shoulders and lightly ran his hands down her arms. A part of her cursed him for knowing her so well. But she didn't resist him. She let him pull her wrists forward, revealing the book in her hands. 'A True and Accurate Account of The Ten's Final Stand,' he read the title out loud. The last few words rolled off his tongue somewhat staggered, putting a frown on Edér's face. 'This...is what got you so spooked?'

'I wasn't spooked, I was... mortified by the historical inaccuracies,' Gaura tried to speak casually but all it took was single look at the veteran to see she wasn't convincing. His gaze was warm with his concern for her, but something steely was hiding under the surface: frustration over being lied to.

'Those can be funny though,' he took the book before she could say anything else, and opened it at a random page. Gaura's heart skipped a beat. Deep down she knew he deserved to know about this strange, tragic life he had in a different time and different place. But another part of her remembered the Hel his doubt put him through all too vividly.

'Edér...' she called out to him, not quite sure what else she wanted to say - what she was supposed to say - and as he looked to her she found that whatever words formed in her mind got stuck in her throat.

The next thing she knew, her lips were on his and she was clutching the collar of his breastplate, trying to steady herself. Edér was stunned for a fraction of a moment, but once he regained his composure he kissed back slowly, cautiously. He placed his free hand on the small of her back, giving her just enough support so she could let go of his armor and let her hand slide to his chest instead. She pulled away but before the farmer could voice the questions she glimpsed in his eyes, she lightly pushed against his chest, just forcefully enough to move him if he too allowed it. And Edér obliged her. An astonished grin brightened his face as he let himself be shoved against the bookshelf behind him. Gaura claimed his lips again, and this time she poured all her certainty and reassurance into their contact. Whatever other lives they've lived, in that very moment, at that given place, they had one another. Edér sensed her insistence and answered it with his hunger for her. The Watcher heard the book hit the floor before she was embraced as tight as her and the veteran's armor allowed it - which was far from enough for him. He broke the kiss with a frustrated groan, and reached for the straps on Gaura's side.

'Gods damn it,' he struggled to loosen the buckle with his gauntlets on. 'You gotta help me out here, Honeycake,' he held his hands out to her, his plea and complaint clearly written on his face.

Gaura softly chuckled as a response and instead of helping him, she took his hands and held them against her heart.

'I don't think we have the time.'

Edér sighed and gave her a hesitant nod. 'Right... Shouldn't keep Aloth waiting.' He leaned forward and left a kiss on the Watcher's forehead before he pulled his hands away from her. He was just about to turn and leave, when he noticed the book he dropped. He picked it up and made a flimsy attempt at dusting it off, then he offered it to Gaura. 'You're feeling any better?' He asked, remembering the state he found her in, only to be met with soft laughter.

'Yeah. I suppose the mind games of this place started to get to me,' she said as she took the book. 'I just needed something... certain and real to ground myself, I guess.'

'Don't forget "true",' Edér said as he gestured at the book. Gaura's smile faltered. It would have been so much easier if she could just treat the contents of the book as a lie too.

'Are you going to be alright?' She asked back. A small but insistent part of her already expected the worst reaction to the truth that she could think of.

'Why wouldn't I be?' The farmer shrugged with a smirk. A moment later he made his way to the entrance and called back out to her. 'C'mon, we ain't got all day.'

The Watcher sighed as he stepped outside and left her out of his field of vision. Gaura turned to put the book back to it's original place, now blocked by another tome that was no longer supported. She glanced at the cover with the wrong words adorning it. She truly wanted to set it on fire. She could have easily put it back on the shelf, as well. And yet the book quickly disappeared in her pack. Edér deserved the truth, and the love that would make it easy for him eventually. And she was going to grant them both at the right time and the right place.

#pillars of eternity #edér teylecg #edér x watcher #wrytinge #oc fic: gaura #gaura sélfolgh

[giriduck]

I’m not referring to rhe “he don’t cate about the timeline article” I mean the “No Comment” article when he was asked about an OoT remake. It’s on gameinformer and twitter, and I think i might be skeptical bit time

Ah! I have a several thoughts on this!

(Disclaimer: I do not work for Nintendo and this is all speculation.)

Given Aonuma’s high profile in games, “no comment” is really all he could say in that situation. If they were considering an OoT remake, HD re-release, anime series, etc. in the indeterminate future, he couldn’t hint to it in an ad hoc interview question and certainly wouldn’t announce anything outside of a larger, Nintendo-driven marketing reveal. Given the interest in the topic, anything other than a hard “no” could easily be interpreted by the fandom and game media as a “maybe yes” (hence all the speculation around the “no comment” response itself). If they are not planning on making anything OoT related at this time (or even if it’s not on any future long term release roadmap), they also wouldn’t want to commit to a hard “no” there, either.

My guess is that if they were to “remake” OoT, it’d be like all of the other Mario and Zelda HD remakes: “upres it” to significantly higher detail and frame rate, modify the controls to make sense on Switch, and don’t change the content at all (other than adding additional graphical details—like what can be found in the delta between the original N64 OoT release the later 3DS re-release).

The “upres” of an older game is a massive undertaking. The OoT 3D port came out in 2011. For the sake of accuracy and feel, they might be able to rebuild / extend the engine they used on the 3DS to run on Switch, but that would likely be extremely difficult. Or maybe they could recreate the entire game in an already Switch-compatible engine (perhaps the Skyward Sword HD or BotW tech), but then it would be difficult to capture the core gameplay experience. Perhaps they could just start from scratch, but that’s even more expensive. No matter what they run it on, they’ll have to reproduce all the assets. Because OoT is such a beloved game—and there is precedent here with WW HD, etc.—they would likely choose to closely and carefully recreate the style of the original game, vs. drastically changing the art, sound, etc.

Regarding the narrative content, as others have mentioned, the game is 25 years old and from a less inclusive era, so aspects have not aged well. If there were edits made, it would perhaps be to modify those rougher spots, but likely not be a drastic rewrite.

To quote Husband, “There are very low odds they’d go the Final Fantasy VII Remake route” and retcon / change a bunch, especially since Nintendo already has such a strong HD re-release precedent. Because it would essentially be a port at that point, it would likely be given to another company to handle as the first-party TotK team moves on (if they haven’t already) to their next big project.

I have no idea what Aonuma’s role entails at Nintendo, but at the very most he would be part of the greenlight process to have another studio work on a re-release of OoT, and would likely not have any creative nor directorial influence on the game itself (there even are several interviews in which Omega Force described having very little oversight from the BotW team as they worked on AoC). So if folks are worried about him taking the game in a different direction, if he’s even still in a creative position at Nintendo, he will undoubtedly mostly focus on the Next Big New Title. But it sounds like maybe he’s moved to the more corporate / franchise level now, in which case he will not be in the weeds on creative direction much at all.

In the end, if Nintendo did decide to tackle the heavy lift of delivering a new generation of OoT to players (including getting it running on the Switch, redoing the art and audio, and making then localizing specific string changes, etc.), the end result probably won’t be different enough to risk undermining the long-established OoT lore nor impact the game’s place in the hearts of the fandom.

If anything, it could be a great chance for returning and newer players to experience this chapter of the older lore at >20fps.

#legend of zelda #ocarina of time #game development #long post

[vr-trakowski]

I’ve been seeing a lot of fic and fic ideas set in the 1980s show up on my dash lately.  It’s great stuff!  But every so often I (as someone who lived through that decade) trip over an anachronism.  It happens frequently in writing - if you weren’t there, or then, sometimes you just can’t see the error.  I used to do it all the time when I was writing stuff set in Britain.  

So in the interest of accuracy regarding the United States in the ‘80s, let me just say:

Gel pens didn’t make it to the U.S. until 1989.  They weren’t sparkly, either, sorry.  There were cool paint pens that drew in various colors outlined with silver - they had to be shaken like spray paint cans, with pleasantly rattly ball bearings inside.  They dried up at the slightest provocation, though.

Other things that are out of period:

Earbuds.  They did exist, but they weren’t at all common.  Headphones were the big over-the-ear kind, or cheap ones on flimsy metal bands with foam caps.  Mono vs. stereo was a big thing.  If your headphone wires started to wear out, or the jack on your device started to go, you might end up getting sound in only one ear.  Also, those foam caps wore through really quickly, and the metal earphone part hurt.  

Also, you might have a Walkman that played cassette tapes, but transistor radios were out of fashion by then.  Boomboxes were a thing, but people didn’t really use headphones with them.  

Multiple phone numbers for one house.  This was possible, but very rare.  More likely someone had a phone jack in their room that was part of the house phone line, so anyone picking up another handset elsewhere in the house could listen in on the conversation (or join it).  

Also, unless you were calling long-distance, you wouldn’t have used an area code.  Long-distance calls were expensive, and were often planned so that no time would be wasted.  Pre-purchased phone cards came into common use, and there were public pay phones all over the place.  A local payphone call in the late ‘80s probably cost 25 cents.  

Crop tops - sort of.  They were much more common on boys than girls, unless the girls were wearing athletic outfits (over a leotard, for instance).  

Bottled water.  Designer/fizzy water, such as Perrier, was available, but otherwise nope.  Reusable water bottles weren’t available, either.  Thermoses were common, like the kind that came in lunchboxes, but the only people who carried water were hikers, and they used canteens.  Find a water fountain, or buy a soda.  Occasionally people would fill up a soda bottle and carry that around, but again, not often.

Energy drinks.  Gatorade was a thing, but it only came in one flavor.  

String lights - at least the kind that are currently popular.  Christmas tree light strings were available in stores around the holiday, but using them the rest of the year as decoration wasn’t a trend, and they would have been finicky and slightly dangerous (due to the heat of the bulbs).  

Things that did exist:

Neon colors!  These came into popularity in the late 1970s and were part of the clothing trends for some time - especially for jocks and athletic types.  Also animal prints!  Leopard spots in particular.  Terrycloth sweatbands for heads and wrists.  Massively puffy jackets for girls.  Leg warmers.  

Digital watches.  The calculator watch was a huge hit.  Also Swatches.  Look them up, the colors were incredible.  

Multiple ear piercings, running from the lobe up through the shell of the ear.  Mostly girls, except for punks.  Boys might have one earring, but it wasn’t common.  Outside of cultural traditions, facial piercings were considered very radical.  

Bookstores were much more common.  The local mall would have had one, B. Dalton/Waldenbooks/Crown Books, and a decent-sized town would probably also have had at least one used bookstore somewhere.  The prices were much cheaper, and while quality-sized paperbacks existed, most popular titles were hardcover and/or mass-market paperback only.  Bookstores also sold a limited selection of porn magazines, discreetly blocked off at the top of the magazine display.  

Trapper Keepers!  Sticker collections (particularly for the younger crowd) - the range of stickers available for purchase was huge.  The original My Little Ponies, but also Cabbage Patch Kids, Gremlins, Care Bears, Pound Puppies.  Rubik’s Cube, and similar puzzles.  Star Wars toys (no SW Legos yet).  Hot Wheels track setups.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Quad rollerskates, but not inlines.  Mittens that changed color when the temperature dropped.  Underoos!  

[fandomscraziness22]

No Middle Ground - a Kanej GOT au

I loved getting to write this for the @grishaversebigbang (my first fandom bang ever!)

artwork by the incredible @gigi-drxws which can be found here and co-written with @nerdyhuntress (thank you for getting the title lol!)

The Wraith never turned down an assassin job.

Her knives were sharpened on a day to day basis, gleaming brightly in the weak winter sunlight. Living in the north of Westeros meant dealing with harsh winters. She bundled herself in layers to stave off the freezing temperatures. However, for the sake of her accuracy in knife throwing, Inej refused to wear gloves. Her hands grew calloused and dry from the winter winds, but it was preferable, so she could use her weapons correctly.

The war wasn’t going well. For the last few months, scouts claimed that Night Walkers from the far north were amassing an invasion. Kings and monarchs frantically searched high and low for answers, sacrificing countless innocent lives to negotiate treaties. Inej didn’t get too caught up with all the news. She only heard bits and pieces, scraps of rumors from trusted sources at taverns and inns during her late nights at work. As kingdoms rose and fell, she knew it would have no effect on her personal life.

People like her, who weren’t born with crowns on their delicate heads, had to struggle to survive in this harsh world.

continue on ao3

After her kidnapping and recent escaping from the Menagerie, she could finally breathe freely. A heavy weight like a massive yoke had been yanked off her shoulders. The Dregs were an assassin’s league, who had reached out to her when she was living alone on the streets. One evening, while sleeping in a tiny alleyway, she was approached by a sleazy beggar, asking her for another night of pleasure. She figured he must have been a client at the brothel, but in those traumatizing years, her memory had grown murky. At that moment, she was backed up against a wall and only had a sharp shard of rock for protection. Thinking fast, she pressed it against the man’s eye before aiming a kick at his groin and escaping the alleyway.

Little did she know, the Dregs were watching this encounter with a curious eye.

They sent her an invitation the following week, pressed into her hand by a passing courier. She frowned, thinking it was a clever trap created by Tante Heleen. Inej almost didn’t go, but a thought persisted in her mind: after that dangerous encounter with the beggar, she couldn’t possibly survive on the streets alone. Perhaps some extra connections from dangerous assassins would help her. When they interviewed her, she displayed her knife throwing talents and demonstrated an acrobatic routine. Though she hadn’t expected it, they were impressed and gifted her with a set of rusted old knives for her to use. The assignments came nearly every single week after that, asking her to kill important members of Westeros to destabilize the new government.

But Inej still hadn’t met Dirty Hands yet. Supposedly, he was the man who started the whole operation. Rumors abounded concerning his origin story and appearance. Some claimed that he wore thick leather gloves every single minute of the day, not to stay warm, but to cover up his hideous clawed hands. Others said that he was a demon, born of the blood and bones of damned souls. Many said that he didn’t even exist. He was merely a shadow created by a living saint, who had let his creation run amok.

Every story was more wild than the next, and Inej didn’t believe a single one.

She kept her head down and accepted each assignment without a fuss. It was usually very simple to find her targets. They tended to be loud and boisterous, spending their ill-gotten wealth on gambling dens or underage brothels. Inej always wore her hood and mask, refusing to reveal any personal details. Sometimes, they caught a glimpse of dark brown eyes before life bled from their tattered bodies. Guilt would often consume her soul for taking another life. Even if they were horrible, ruthless rich people who destroyed the lives of innocents, how would the saints react to her sins? Would she be rewarded or terribly punished in the afterlife? Surely, the merciful ones would sympathize with her situation.

Better to die fighting with a knife in her hand, she figured, than perishing inside that hellish brothel.

Inej was sitting in the Dregs headquarters one early morning, pouring herself a warm cup of tea, when a courier passed her a note. She blinked in surprise, scanning the contents of the paper. Her heart skipped a beat and then began furiously pounding in her chest. Dirty Hands wanted to meet with her right now. Inej looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but nobody like the rumors described was in sight. She only saw the familiar faces of their gang, chatting about the invading army that approached Westeros or sharing gossip about their friends.

Inej’s eyes fixed on the staircase that led to his office. Very few people were ever invited up to his private rooms. She wondered if he truly was a monster. Did he wish to fire her or did he want something else out of her? What if he was worse than all those clients at the Menagerie? Her throat closed up as memories of the past threatened to drown her in a sea of despair. However, no assassin could refuse a summon from Dirty Hands. She shuddered to think what would happen if she simply discarded the note.

Inej closed her eyes and silently sent a prayer to her saints before standing up.

Saints, please. Don’t let him be like the others.

The staircase was daunting, but she managed to make it to the top without her legs shaking. In these last months, she hadn’t made a single friend in the Dregs. Would it be easier to meet him if she had gotten close to his friends? Did he even have close associates or did he spend his days alone? Inej lifted her hand to knock, but she heard a deep voice speak.

“Enter, please.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. What type of a heartless demon spoke so politely?

Inej opened the door and stared at the office in surprise. After all the rumors, she expected to see a place akin to a dragon’s lair: treasures and jewels haphazardly scattered around the place, while the blood of his enemies decorated the walls. Instead, she spotted a pristine, clean table with plush armchairs. A large bookshelf stood on the side, neatly organized with large, ancient tomes of Westeros history. This place could have belonged to a wealthy merchant or a clever chamberlain to a monarch. Why would the head of an assassin's operations work in a place like this?

He cleared his throat and Inej finally spotted him. The first thing she noticed was the much-rumored-about gloves, the black leather covering his hands completely. She wondered faintly which of the stories would prove true, in the end. He sat behind a large wooden desk, papers and books and writing utensils covering most of it. Inej was surprised at that too; she assumed that Dirty Hands would want to keep things neat and organized, if he truly was the one who started the Dregs.

“Ah, the Wraith,” Dirty Hands greeted her. His voice was raspy and drew her attention to his face, where yet another surprise awaited. He was about her age, maybe a year or two older. Inej hadn’t realized he would be so young; not that age takes away from lethalness, as she herself knew full well. It certainly made some of the more brutal stories take a new shape in her mind.

“You’ve become one of our most prized assets. And in only a month,” he mused. Inej’s eyes darted up to meet his in surprise. She knew she was good at her job, but she hadn’t realized Dirty Hands knew who she was.

His eyes were the color of coffee, dark from the violence he had committed in Westeros, she assumed. It was just another way his exterior matched the many rumors that swirled about him. They stared intensely at Inej, waiting for her to respond—almost daring her to.

Inej kept quiet, though fear and apprehension rippled down her spine. She wasn’t sure that it was a good thing to have caught the attention of a man so powerful and vicious. Yes, she worked for him and the league he ran, but she didn’t really have a choice in the matter. It was work for Dirty Hands or risk dying on the streets of Westeros, with no one the wiser. Inej just wanted to make it out of this conversation alive. She wasn’t sure what the procedure was for spies and assassins of Dirty Hands who did too well at their jobs.

The man sighed, though he didn’t seem annoyed by her silence. It was a bone-weary sigh, one that could only come from a person who was tired of the world, tired of working and pushing themselves with nothing to show for their troubles. Even though that wasn’t the case for Dirty Hands (the trail of bodies left behind by the Dregs could attest to that), the sigh somehow made Dirty Hands human in a way that Inej would never have guessed.

“Your name is Inej, yes?” he asked. Without waiting for a reply Dirty Hands reached for something under his desk. Inej heard a drawer open for a moment before closing again. The man set something down on the wood between them.

A knife.

It was a beautiful piece, covered in emeralds at the hilt. The blade was polished to a shine and the handle had a firm grip. Inej hadn’t seen a weapon so beautiful in her entire life. Most she saw were rusted and nearly dull, requiring extra force to dig into an enemy’s unsuspecting flesh. Her own, of course, had been carefully sharpened and cleaned after each kill, but with each knife she collected, she had to put in hours of work to make it usable once more. However, Dirty Hands seemed to possess more extravagant methods of killing people than a simple knife, beautiful though it may be. Who was he, truly? She yearned to know all his secrets and figure out his true motivations for hiring her in the first place.

“You speak, don’t you?” he asked abruptly, as her hand reached out to touch the knife.

“Yes, I do,” she replied firmly. “Why have you summoned me?”

Dirty Hands took a seat at his table, his gloved hands clutching his chair’s armrests. “I have a job for you, Inej.”

He spoke her name with such reverence, like it was a prayer whispered in the halls of a church. Nobody spoke to her in such a manner in Westeros. Her name had almost become foreign to her ears; the Menagerie didn’t allow for real names (because who wants to be reminded that the person being used was a real person with their own identity?). In the few weeks she had worked for the Dregs, her code name of the Wraith was what people called her. And certainly no one in all of Westeros had ever said her name with such awe and respect.

“A job?” she asked. “What kind of job?”

It couldn’t be the normal kind, the ones she’d been sent on day after day, week after week. If it were, she would have been handed a note and a passing “good luck” from the messenger.

Dirty Hands’ eyebrow quirked up; it would have led to a smirk if he’d been anyone else. “You’ve a good intuition, Inej. I need your alleged acrobatic skills for this mission. In six days, the Targaryens are hosting a party of special magnificence. A dreadful display of the ruling class’s desire for opulence, I suppose. They can’t be bothered to worry about the incoming armies.”

Inej nods along, waiting for more directions. She’d be tempted to scoff at his mention of her ‘alleged’ skills, but now he’s on a roll about the upper class, and she really isn’t looking for a fight today.

“I need you to infiltrate their performance company. Blend in and find out when the Targaryens intend to make his move against the crown. His wife is far too fond of drink, and it’s a drain on our city’s resources to keep importing it, among a number of other sins. Once you get the intel, you will make your way out. Without getting caught.”

Inej blinked in surprise, inspecting the dagger with a shrewd eye. “And what’s the dagger for, exactly? Why do you want me to have this?”

Dirty Hands leaned forward, staring at her with a fierce expression, like he was trying to memorize every crease in her face. She was reminded of how one might stare at a priceless, pilfered painting. It unnerved her for a second, so she looked away, her face burning with embarrassment.

“It’s Grisha,” he explained patiently. “Covered in an untraceable, invisible poison. I’d advise you to keep it in a scabbard and only unsheathe it when necessary. Just a few drops into a person’s bloodstream and they’ll be dead within seconds.”

Inej was stunned. “And you would trust me with this?” she couldn’t help but ask. Grisha weapons were particularly hard to come by, and this dagger would fetch a pretty penny on the market.

Dirty Hands caught her eyes once more, and in that moment, Inej glimpsed a reflection of her own anger at the world that took away her childhood, her freedom. In his eyes, she saw something so human Inej knew she would follow his orders no matter what. A strange sort of agreement passed between them; two people both hungry to prove that though Westeros had taken something from them, they would not let that stop them; they would demand something of the world back.

“The deal is the deal,” Dirty Hands said, sticking out a gloved hand to Inej.

“The deal is the deal,” Inej repeated as she shook the offered hand.

And thus began the longest-running partnership in Westeros—Dirty Hands and the Wraith, armed and ready for the harsh times ahead.

#kanej #soc #au #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #gvbbrmbfic22 #gvbbrmb22 #six of crows #got au

[professorspork]

For the writing game, 5, 17, 19, 94?

5. have you ever made a playlist about something you were writing as an elaborate means to procrastinate when you could have been actually writing and if yes drop a link, son

PLAYLISTS ARE NOT PROCRASTINATING I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL. I cannot link any I have made because I, uh… don't believe in streaming music services, standing by my trusty analog media is another hill I will die on… but for most projects I always end up making some sort of playlist, even if it's only ever in my head instead of iTunes.

the unique aspects of music-- the way lyrics and melody and composition come together to be greater than the sum of their parts-- is massively inspirational to me. it conveys tone and vibe and purpose; it can help me see characters in new ways or remind me of certain aspects I really want to hit in any given chapter.

it's very easy to see the playlist I made for my massive Kristanna story because the chapter titles are all from the songs in the right order. writing Newsbees has actually been a bit of an amusing mental challenge in this regard, because while the Newsies soundtrack has PLENTY for me to work with I also have lots of other songs I would normally have put in the running for chapter title status, were I not trying to stay on-theme. I did end up making a little baby playlist just for my own edification, there.

Actually, this is a fun anecdote I might as well say now: when I first started writing Newsbees, I thought that every chapter would have an epigraph of lyrics of songs from other musicals, in addition to their titles which are all taken from Newsies itself. and then I realized that this was a) excessive even for me and b) distracting, so I took them out.

17. what is your favorite line you’ve ever written?

Can't pick; my style isn't really designed for me to be able to pick.

My sentences are meandering monsters or staccato fragments, and they don't really lend themselves to picking out soundbites. that's not how my brain works. my focus is always on how a sentence works within a paragraph, how a line of dialogue furthers the scene its in, rather than making any one of them stand out. I'd like to think that means I polish all of them to equal shine, but your mileage may vary on that.

Like, if I had to pick one, it would probably be the "Emerald brings the rain" bit from send 'em howling, but the line doesn't stand on its own. The whole reason it works is because of the meticulous set-up I put in front of it, and several paragaphs of set-up followed by the punch probably doesn't meet the definition of a "line."

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

Oh, goodness. You know, I'm not sure? I don't think my writing sounds at all like Douglas Adams but I can't think of an author I turn to more often for inspiration when I'm trying to find a novel way to convey an emotion or come up with a simile; the man just had an absolutely marvelous brain for connecting two seemingly-unrelated thoughts and turning them into the perfect metaphor. I haven't touched my H2G2 anthology or Salmon of Doubt in years, but that's the drawer I'm drawing from. Which means I'm probably actually drawing from Wodehouse, whom Adams was aping in the first place. (I have never read Wodehouse myself).

Jacob Clifton, who used to write recaps for Television Without Pity, is not a book or an author but was also massively inspirational in terms of the way I think of themes and turn phrases.

Honestly, though, I think the biggest influence on my writing lately has been other fanfic authors. I don't mean this in the terms of how certain kinds of fanfiction (like the kind i write, with all-caps titles that are song lyrics) tend to have a poetic sameyness to them and we all mutually decided that carding hands through hair and toeing off shoes are a thing-- though I'm as guilty of that as anyone-- but there are definitely specific writers I can think of whose thoughtfulness and accuracy when it comes to word choice, lyricism and cadence has affected me greatly. And I shan't name them here because then you'll all see my writing style for what it is, a clockwork automaton I've built using stripped-out parts stolen (borrowed!) from these other writers I admire and the illusion of my individuality and lone genius will be shattered.

94. do you prefer dialogue or description?

I will always be a dialogue-forward writer and consider dialogue to be the engine that actually makes the story go, and it will always be the thing I find easiest and go to first. See again-again my answer about characters affecting my style-- the way I learned to not hate description was to turn description into yet another way to write dialogue, by doing it in a character's voice.

[dramavixen]

It’s an Oldie, But Is It a Goodie? – Akai Giwaku (Japan, 1975)

Yeah, 1975. By watching this one, I took a stroll down my parents’ and grandparents’ memory lane. The subject: one of the hottest Japanese dramas of that era, Akai Giwaku (赤い疑惑) (“Red Confusion”).

(Do I need to tag spoilers for this...?)

Speaking for better accuracy, this drama wasn’t hot in my parents’ home country of China until the 80s, when it was dubbed over and broadcasted under the title 血疑 (“Blood Confusion”). And then it was...red hot.

As we sat in front of the TV, watching this blurry drama on YouTube with cheesy dubbing and spotty audio, my mom wistfully reminisced about the days when everyone was watching it. Akai Giwaku prompted a massive wave of girls and boys who changed their hairdos and revamped their wardrobes to match the female and male leads’. Everyone had a crush on Yamaguchi Momoe, the lead actress, and singing along to her voice as it carries the melody of the drama’s opening song was an innate reaction that’s followed my parents to this day. It can be hard, grasping what your parents’ youth was like. But seeing them reliving their drama fever, I suddenly couldn’t understand them more.

So exactly what kind of show is Akai Giwaku that so many fell in love with it? Well. It’s sad.

---

A Cliché Pioneer

Nowadays, we’re neck-deep in the territory where every piece of media comes off as “cliché.” Your chances of finding anything with a totally new storyline are effectively zero—while creativity is abundant, the spring of innovation has long since run dry.

In the case of Akai Giwaku, years of modern-day drama-consumption makes you feel like it’s just running down the list of drama tropes:

Our female lead, Sachiko, is a cheerful ray of sunshine. She’s a high school student with a loving family and skips and hops her way to school every day. Friendly and optimistic, you can immediately tell that something terrible is going to happen to her.

With a stroke of horrible luck, Sachiko is exposed to a large amount of radiation and subsequently develops leukemia. Her father—a doctor—notices her symptoms, discovers what has happened, and concludes that she has the illness. Unless a miracle cure is discovered, she will die within the year. Her parents agree that they should hide the truth from her, hoping that she will be able to live her life with unperturbed joy and perhaps hold out long enough for said cure.

Sachiko meets Mitsuo, a handsome and charming medical student of her father’s. They click and fall for one another, fast.

Like two episodes later, Mitsuo finds out that Sachiko is his biological half-sister because his dad is a two-timing piece of garbage.

So Sachiko’s actually adopted, a truth that she is again unaware of. Who’s her biological mom? Her famous paternal aunt, who she’s looked up to her entire life as the “cool aunt who does things I want to do.” Sachiko...I can think of a few things she does that you shouldn’t want to do, one of them being how you were conceived.

Sachiko’s blood type, AB-negative, provides problems when it comes to needing constant transfusions. But never fear, because guess who shares her blood type? Mitsuo! And their dad; but no one wants to talk about that dude. The half-brother boyfriend is a far more reliable blood bag.

To the modern mind, this sounds like an absolute dumpster fire. Terminal illness, check. Lovers are actually siblings, check. Birth secrets, check. Of course, it’s rather anachronistic to be calling Akai Giwaku “cliché” when there wasn’t such a wide selection of shows back then at all. If anything, it’s like a mother to all soap opera-style dramas that followed. I almost want to see someone attempt something even halfway as traumatically dramatic today, just to see if it would even work. (Korea had a similar stab at it in Autumn in My Heart, which I’d love to reserve discussing for a different time because oh my god. 2000 was just a different time, man.)

Funnily enough, neither of my parents even remembered that the leads are half-siblings. Yes, the plot point whose tragedy is of equal weight to Sachiko’s illness was left behind in the dust of faded memories. They spent the last thirty-some years believing that this show was only sad because the girl was dying— which when you think about it, is also sad, but every show back then loved killing off a protagonist...so, not all that riveting. Watching them piece the “they’re actually related” part together was as entertaining as the drama itself: wait. I remember that guy being her dad. No, no; that guy is the boy’s dad. Maybe their dads just look alike. I think we’re being racist. Wait.

Like boiling a pair of horrified frogs, while being a horrified frog myself.

---

It Hurts More Than You’d Expect

If you’re a normal human being, Sachiko and Mitsuo’s romantic relationship is inherently off-putting. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one—Mitsuo, upon learning that they’re related, faces an internal struggle so huge that he flees to the countryside. And he likely would have stayed, if it weren’t for learning the second bit of information that Sachiko is dying.

Perhaps no amount of context matters. Their relationship is gross, end of story. But any amount of biological and/or ethical fact only makes your heart hurt more for them, not less.

Timeline-wise, Sachiko and Mitsuo fall for each other long before finding out that their shared biological father screwed them over all those years ago. Imagine the trauma from their discovery of the truth. How unfair the world is, to make them find one another, love one another, and be there for one another through the torture that are their circumstances. I’m not saying their relationship is justified, but yeah that’s basically what I’m saying and I guess I’ll just have to live with that.

Okay, but once they know they’re related, that should be the end of it. As insane as I can be, I agree with that. And Sachiko’s father thinks the same. When he notices the two growing closer, he tries to create a rift between them. But realizing that Sachiko’s last remaining happiness may rest with Mitsuo...well. Her father is the one who tracks down Mitsuo, imploring him to come home for Sachiko’s sake. She loves him enough that he’ll give her the strength to live.

For obvious reasons, this request is one of exceptional cruelty to Mitsuo. He’s being asked to keep a lot of unreasonable secrets: the nature of Sachiko’s birth, their relation to one another, and now her looming death. Any of these alone amounts to them parting ways, yet he’s being asked to act as if none of it is a facet of reality. But he agrees, believing that it will be worth it to make Sachiko happy. And if she’s ultimately cured, that would be even better.

A lot of this drama is just a compilation of watching an unreasonably attractive Mitsuo suffer. In a way, the happier Sachiko is, the more tortured he must be to balance it out. But what are his other options? He can either a) tell her the truth and have her grieve her illusion of a life, possibly speeding up her death or b) keep it a secret and suffer alone in silence, either until she dies or a cure is discovered. Or—and this is his first inclination—c) keep it a secret, distance himself, and pretend not to like her so that maybe her feelings for him will die and maybe she’ll just get over it, or maybe she’ll die before then. Scenario B is the only one that gives Sachiko the greatest chance at life.

Gah. I really wanted to strangle Mitsuo’s father for what he did to these poor children. Need an argument against cheating that has nothing to do with ethics or morals? Here’s one: your children from different partners might end up unknowingly dating each other. Someone, throw this man off the top of a skyscraper.

Anyways, it’s hardly surprising that their love story ends in tragedy. You really don’t want to see them part by having one party die, but you also don’t know how much better you’d feel by seeing them split up because they’re related by blood. Either way, there’s no avenue to take where they can walk toward a happy ending. Everyone in the show recognizes this, which is why they can only watch the two with bittersweet smiles.

And it’s pain for you, as someone who has to watch it all progress exactly the way you think it will. Especially after Sachiko discovers her birth secret, I embodied emotional turmoil. In her distress, she even says something like, “yeah, I bet you love me—as a sister” and Mitsuo gets so pissed off that I’d find it cathartic if it weren’t for how heartrending it all is.

They come to accept the circumstances, as Sachiko’s condition is worsening by the day. The end of the show comes with Sachiko peacefully passing away in Mitsuo’s arms as they sail on the sea. She thanks him for everything and wishes that he can move on before leaving. It’s also the first and last time he kisses her—in a farewell. I can’t put into words how absolutely terrible I felt watching her go like that, but maybe it’s best that I’m speechless because you probably wouldn’t be able to understand anything I’d say through my hideous sobs.

If it’s any consolation, the lead actors actually got married in 1980 and have been together ever since. Yamaguchi retired upon their marriage and totally erased herself from the radar, leaving Miura, Mitsuo’s actor, alone in the public eye. He initially struggled to build a name for himself due to exclusively being known as Yamaguchi’s costar (indeed, my mom loves the mental image of Yamaguchi announcing that she’s not going to work anymore as they sign the marriage papers and Miura being dumbfounded), but eventually paved a way to a steady acting career.

To close off the discussion surrounding Sachiko and Mitsuo’s love story, I’d like to bring up an important observation I had while watching: Mitsuo has some kind of compulsive need to take off his shirt during blood transfusions. Initially, we simpletons tried to excuse it: well maybe back then, that was just the process of donating blood? Guys gotta strip? Then, there’s a scene where he and his dad are laying right next to each other to donate blood, and he’s the only one shirtless:

(This has the same energy as Dongfang Qingcang in Love Between Fairy and Devil ripping off his clothes as he’s about to suffer severe corporal punishment. Immediately before, his brother suffered the same punishment. Fully clothed.)

I really would just like to know: why. I require an explanation.

---

What Counts as “Living”?

As my parents rediscovered, this isn’t just a show about a girl who is going to die. Nor is it just a show about a girl who is going to die, but in the meantime is dating her half-brother. Sachiko is certainly going to die. But she also needs a reason to live.

No one tells Sachiko anything that she arguably deserves to know. She spends half of the show not knowing the truth behind her disease, having been fooled by her parents that her symptoms are those of a minor and curable illness. She spends even more time not knowing that her parents aren’t her biological parents and that the person she’s in love with is her half-brother.

I pitied Sachiko because no one tells her the truth and gives her the option to choose until she stumbles upon reality herself. At the same time, with how emotional of a person she is, I can see why everyone fears risking her life by telling her something that would stress her out. Being faced with both cancer and incest would be rather stressful for anyone, don’t you think? Also, she has a habit of literally running away from her problems, which leads to quite the pickle when she inevitably trips and scrapes her knee and can’t stop bleeding due to her leukemia.

For the most part, every conflict that surfaces is both rooted in and resolved by Sachiko’s leukemia. Akai Giwaku at its core is less a story about fighting cancer and more about how her illness gives everyone the motivation to cherish life, especially Sachiko herself. Her character grows fast in spite of her mounting illness, primarily due to her family and Mitsuo’s encouragement. She learns the horrors and unfairness of life, and then by contrast how beautiful life and people can be.

Many around her can be considered selfish. A nosy paparazzi initially sniffs out that Sachiko’s aunt has a secret daughter and has the full intention of publishing Sachiko’s identity. But upon fully grasping the details of her circumstances, he definitively decides to drop the scoop. Sachiko’s aunt herself is quite tempted to tell her that she’s her birth mother, especially once she discovers that Sachiko is ill, but she ultimately puts aside that desire in favor of Sachiko’s health. Even when Sachiko directly asks her for answers regarding her birth, her aunt only insists that her current parents, the ones who raised her, are her real parents. (I’d just like to say here that thank goodness this show expresses this worldview so plainly—maybe we should feel thankful towards those who brought us onto this planet, but if those people are not the same as those who raised us, then the latter are true “parents.”)

Though it may be easy to dismiss such goodwill as pity, I prefer to view it as the idea that most people know where to draw the line. There are some things that no amount of benefit could justify. Life is fleeting for everyone, but few things hurt more than watching a young person have their future stripped from them before they’re even able to touch it. And when you see them so desperately trying to live, how could you not be affected by that?

Of course, Sachiko has her struggles. She despairs after learning she has leukemia, and even more so after discovering that she’s blood-related to the love of her life. She constantly wonders if dying would be a form of liberation. People transitioning into adulthood in general are prone to such thinking: is this all there is to life? I do this every single day until I die? Then what’s the point?

Sachiko is a testament against that nihilistic pointlessness: there’s no point that someone else can give you. Life is about being diligent and believing that your efforts will amount to something fulfilling. She stumbles backward sometimes, but through the support of her loved ones, she strives to live a life with meaning. She keeps having fun and doing all the things that teenagers are meant to be doing. She studies to go to medical school even knowing that she won’t live to attend, and rejoices when she is accepted. Because at least she did something that she deeply wanted to before she dies.

In some of the show’s final moments, Mitsuo arrives at Sachiko’s home. “I’m here to pick up Sachiko,” he tells her mother when she opens the door.

Her mother heads up the stairs to Sachiko’s room. “Sachiko, Mitsuo’s here to pick you up. Let’s hurry and get ready.”

No one is in the room. But a backpack is neatly arranged on the desk where Sachiko used to sit.

Her mother carries the backpack down so her husband and Mitsuo can take it to what would have been Sachiko’s first day of college, where she would have sat through her own father’s lecture. As Mitsuo and her father move forward to create a world where she could have experienced her future, she lives on in their hope and desires.

---

Everyone’s beloved Sachiko survives vibrantly in my parents’ generation. What stirs their memories of it the most is that classic opening theme, which ironically serves as a fitting conclusion to her story. It opens with the fanfare of a somber trumpet before Yamaguchi sings:

If it is my fault, then please forgive me For making you suffer such pain Completely forget everything about me I hope that you walk toward the bright sunlight

Falling alongside the dying leaves, one-by-one Our sad parting approaches us We cried, we laughed, we fought So long as I was with you, I could be at rest

Thank you

How many more days remain, where I can be loved? How many more days remain, where I can live?

If it is my fault, then please forgive me For hurting you without knowing By myself, I will take care I hope that you will absolutely find someone nice

As if I am carefully putting small rocks in a line I trace all of our different memories The meaning of a happiness from being loved by others Is something that you taught me

Thank you

How many more days remain, where I can be loved? How many more days remain, where I can live?

#akai giwaku #赤い疑惑 #scribbles* #i'm interested in knowing how many middle-aged chinese people adored this show #i feel like this is one of those things where you'd just have to say it and suddenly their brains take a time travel trip #i wish i could find this drama in full anywhere online #but tbh it's very hard #so i apologize to any eng-only viewers #just take my word for it #it's good lol

[todayisafridaynight]

SO! I've wanted to talk about The Clip all day but felt like I should wait until the tumblr "premiere" (even though I think you were literally one of the first people to see it on Twitter lol). Thank you for defending my honor btw even if I am just Someone <3

But. Yes. Yeah. Yokoyama's absolute certainty in saying that??? Without anything to even buffer it? No maybe. No "don't expect too much." Just point-blank in front of a huge fan (whom I believe he's now going to be working with), a staff member, and a massive audience. As if that part isn't the matter of contention. I WILL be injecting those words directly into my veins for some time.

I was on the verge of choking and/or spewing blood and/or crying before posting it though lol, so I really appreciate the vote of confidence regarding the translation and I love your redraw! The reception as a whole has been really nice, although I wish people would keep it to themselves if they'd rather have Nishiki or Ryuji back or whatever. Not like it's a race, but even if it was, Mine's been in last place for ages lol.

And while I enjoy Y3's writing more than most, Mine's death wasn't some Grand Meaningful Statement, it was the decision of a fledgling studio that never knew if it would be able to keep making these games trying to tell a self-contained story. It did have far-reaching consequences for the series, but those consequences are also... not really relevant anymore?

Like, I can and have argued that Mine's death caused the fall of the Tojo Clan, but the clan has already fallen. So I don't see why some people are acting like revisiting his character would be A Spit In The Face to the saga somehow, but I guess I've never really been against characters being brought back...? A quote from the staff that's always stuck with me from the staff is that RGG is always going for RGG-ism, not realism.

Ranting aside... I honestly don't know if I should be saying this, but there's this new guy working the counter at Survive in some LaD8 behind the scenes footage. Now, upfront, I'm 99.8% sure it's not Mine (I happen to have a 100% accuracy rate so far identifying major RGG characters from extremely blurry images and silhouettes lmao), and I have no idea who it is, whether it's a new character or an old one heavily redesigned or Just Some Guy.

But he's not Kashiwagi. And he happens to have slicked-back dark brown hair with what appears to be an ahoge in some angles. And, unless the materials are temporary, he also dresses A Lot Like the celebrity Mine's design was based on. And his features... line up closely enough to piss me off, even though they don't fully match in the end, which is why I don't think it's him.

I'm in argumentative essay mode 100% of the time which is why I'm saying this in a "convincing" tone despite literally not believing it myself, but like... wouldn't that be something? To just have Mine part-timing at Survive or whatever and no one makes a big deal of it because they don't know any better? If nothing else, I really do think he should get The Bartender Treatment.

I dunno, I might post about it with a comparison tomorrow because it's been on my mind lately, especially with The News, but I really don't want people to get the wrong idea either. Or embarrass myself if it was too tenuous of a link to look that deeply into from the start lol

I remember seeing it two minutes after you posted it, so I can imagine I was one of the first to the scene of the crime (so my friends put it LMAO). AND OF COURSE I- and a lot of us- can't be any more grateful for all the work you do than we already are. I'd go insane trying to document and manage everything you do! especially when you have insane people like me ready to pounce on the smallest thing like I know I'd cry FJLKAJ The least I can do is give a proper title/credit to you when I can o7

If Yokoyama had any remaining hesitance about Mine being alive, then he REALLY would have fumbled by sounding so certain. Like in his old tweet, he certainly sounded more ambiguous, but this time he really had no extra notes and sounded more sure of himself. I won't expect RGG to do anything with Mine, but the concept is still very much exciting and the idea that Yokoyama almost seems earnest about the idea of bringing Mine back for whatever reason is very nice to know :] And thank you about enjoying the art I did! I can't lie in the slightest, since the last ask where you alluded to posting the clip, I had that drawing saved in the back of my head ready to make once you had that posted LMAO

But oohh not to touch drama since I generally try to Not touch it, but yeah I can't act like I haven't seen some people be. ""Interesting"" about the idea of Mine being alive. I won't dive too deep into it, but I think my major issue with the few grievances I've seen is that RGG hasn't done anything with Mine's alive status. As of right now, it's just a thing Yokoyama said, so I don't understand the need to be so angry about it (it's especially weird to say Ryuji hasn't been back when he not only got to be a playable protagonist in Dead Souls, but he was also the protagonist of RGGO- though I suppose I can understand wanting him in the mainline series again. Still, it's weird to act as though Mine's back any more than he is and being upset about it just because Yokoyama said he was alive)...

Moving on though, I'm really curious as to this 'mystery figure' you mean. I've been missing out on LaD8 production material, so I haven't seen this bit myself but I'd love to take a stab at it and analyze myself too. I agree though: if Mine does come back- whether he's working at Survive or anywhere else- I would greatly prefer if he had The Bartender status and was just never really called attention to and only existed in the background

#long post #snap chats #it'd be hilarious if mine came back and he was just there... just slap glasses o him and call it a day #like pleeaaasssee that'll be so funnyy if he does come back in LaD8 i dont want a dramatic reveal or whatever #i want the exact same shit like with kashiwagi just have the gang like. visit daigo and co at the security company #and the bitch at the front desk You Wouldnt Fucking Believe It Oh My God #i'd laugh so loud oh my god pleaaase yokoyama do it. you should also make ryuji just a random takoyaki salemen in 8 #just so we're covering our bases here because im a ryuji-just-sells-octopus-balls truther #oh but on Mine's Death Fucked With The Tojo i definitely support the notion that he was a huge. Forgive The Pun asset to it #like i guess there's a lot of speculation and suggestions- at least on my end- when it coems to mine's importance #i mean we KNOW he was incredibly impotrant financially if katsuragi was anything to go off of #and listen ik i make the Widow Daigo joke a lot but geniunely i can imagine if daigo lost someone close to him he wouldnt be 100% #liiiiikkee i'll reserve the rant/ramble for my Daigo Essay but im just saying it cant be easy running a ship on your own with no real peers #yk cause pretty much everyone was older than him or only there for an ulterior motive and Blah Blah ill save the rest for another day #im rambling as is LMAO and i dont wanna say anythin FOOLISH #but yeah on mine coming back tho i dont think itd really tarnish any kind of thing his death could have done #like he died. or 'died'. 15 years ago (at the time of 2024) #the tojo's long gone by then it's been gone for five years at that point so it's not like mine would just Resume As Usual #he'd be starting over just as much as the other tojo clan members are yk what i mean #like i really cant think of. what else mine's death has done for the franchise that wolud be 'undone' if he was back #so yk. Why Not. it'd be funny and i think that's the only thing that matters ☠️ my dedication to the bit lets me forgive Insane Shit LMAO #but thats enough blabbering from meeeee thank you for writing in !

[japari-park-companion]

Tone will be impersonal, neutral, and informative.

ID Text in Keep Reading. Descriptions of regions in Keep Reading. Spoilers for KF (2015), KF (2017), KF2, and KF3 once you reach the region descriptions. Thank you to everyone who helped with this.

The following two photos consist of two Kemono Friends 3-era Japari Park maps. The first is unedited and directly from the game. The second got edited by Japari Park Companion to contain each known area name. Major credit to the fan-run Japari Library and its users for its titled maps over the years, referencing a couple.

As much as it attempts to avoid headcanon, please do not take it as absolute accuracy. These have no association with Japari Library or Kemono Friends Project outside of using their content as sources. All are free to sample it for their appropriate and KFP-friendly needs.

Kemono Friends 3 is not after Kemono Friends 2 or Kemono Friends 2017. It is an indirect sequel to Kemono Friends 2015, the original mobile game that started the franchise.

Japari Library Wiki’s own version of this map is on this page.

[ID: The first photo is a fictional map of Japari Park from Kemono Friends 3; it is on a cyan ocean background with a tan border:

The tan border has “Japari Park” written as a title. It is from an official mobile game that roughly takes place in a time known as Generation 2 in Japari Park. Japari Park is an archipelago; with several islands surrounded by water and near each other. Japari, in full: is one large island and six smaller ones. Japari’s geographical landforms are based on real-life Japan but are still fictional. It is often described as a large open zoo far from the world’s continents.

The second photo is an identical map - but is this time edited to list several of the geographical regions, being:

Park Central.

Sankai.

Nakabe.

Rikuhoku.

An’in.

Anyo.

Gokoku

Kyōshū.

Akushima.

Riukiu.

Hokkai.

And finally, Hōtoku.

The contents and appearances of these regions go as follows: 

Park Central. 

Being the bottommost middle part of the main island, Park Central can be described as an equivalent to the real-life Japan’s Kanto Region with a capital also known as “Park Central” akin to real-life Tokyo. The region is known for its green forested scenery. Park Central’s capital resembles a huge circular theme park surrounded by a large wall. 

Said capitol has rides such as Ferris wheels, structures such as the Kemono Hospital, and attractions such as the Japari Park Pavilion and the vast Kemono Castle. Earlier into Gen 2, said castle was occupied by the defunct original mobile game’s antagonist, the Cellien Queen, resulting in its destruction until being repaired in Kemono Friends 3.

According to the fan-site Japari Library, not the location of Japari Library, by the time of Kemono Friends 2, Gen ?, around Park Central somewhere are the Azura Park bamboo grove, the cruise-able stage show inhabited coastal aquatic Marine Life Park, the densely tree-covered Jungle Park with a nearby research lab, the scorching cactus-strewn tropical savanna South Maerica Park, and the whale-shaped Japari Hotel, all connected to the Japari Line monorail service. The monorail was still under construction around early Kemono Friends 3, Circa Gen 2.

Sankai Region. 

Being a part of the main island to the left of Park Central, Sankai can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Kansai Region. The region is notably home to various caves and is known for its tannish and sandy desert scenery. Notable locations of the said region include Oasis No. 1, the region’s primary water source. And an expansive underground shopping mall called the Odyssey. 

Due to its harsh climate, several roads dot it that occasionally pass-through tunnels. Following an incident during Kemono Friends 3, disrepair temporarily fell upon the Odyssey. During Kemono Friends 3 as well, there was a Japari Museum, a massive warehouse. The Sankai Region is occasionally described by the name of the Desert Area.

Nakabe Region. 

Being a part of the main island above Park Central, Nakabe can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Chubu Region. The region is known for its largely swampy, brown, and green waterfront scenery. Notable locations of the said region include the renowned Amatatsu Waterfall and the nearby mechanized “Undine” water treatment plant in Serenity Jungle. It is most known for the extensive concert venue located inside the region. The Nakabe Region is occasionally described by the name of the Waterfront Area.

Rikuhoku Region.

As part of the main island, not much is known about the Rikuhoku Region by the Japari Park Companion team. On the map Rikuhoku is located near mountains and has green mountain scenery. It is close to Nakabe.

An’in Region.

Being the farthest left part of the main island, An’in can be described as equivalent to real-life Japan’s San-in Region. The region is known for its sometimes mountainous, other times densely forested, and infrequently open green jungle scenery. 

Notable locations of the said region include the vital An’in Ferry Terminal and the Japari Park Security and Research Team headquarters that acts as JSRT’s main base. In Season 3 of Kemono Friends 3, by referencing the An’in Ferry Terminal in-game collectible photo, the Ferry Terminal may be the one notable for being the perceived site of the first long-term guest to Japari Park, Hikari. The An’in Region is occasionally described by the name of Jungle Area occasionally as well as Forest Area.

Anyo Region.

As part of the main island, not much is known about the Anyo Region by the Japari Park Companion team. On the map Rikuhoku is located near mountains and has green mountain scenery. It is close to An’in.

Hōtoku Region.

Being the farthest right and the last currently recorded region on the main island, Hōtoku can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Tohoku region. The region is known for its often cloudy and broad green high mountain scenery. Notable locations of the said region include sites for holding sky races. It is often known as the Sea of Clouds by inhabitants and visitors alike. The Hōtoku Region is also occasionally described by the name of Sky Area.

Gokoku Region.

Being the closest smaller island to the left mainland shores of the An’in Region, Gokoku can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Shikoku region. The region is known for its varied climates and sometimes mountainous, occasionally cavernous, largely green open scenery, lush forests being the most common of them during Kemono Friends 3.

Notable locations of the said region include sites for holding art festivals, sites for producing independent films, and the presumed headquarters of the Japari Park Guard Team. Due to the positioning of the archipelago - in Chapter 4 of Cellval's Hang Out Story in Kemono Friends 3, it could potentially be the site of the Chinatown-Esque Japari Night Market, although it could not be.

Kyōshū Region.

Directly below the island region of Gokoku and the left mainland shores of the An’in Region, Kyōshū can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Kyūshū region. During the times of the defunct original mobile game in early Gen 2, Kyōshū was well known for being a collection of mild grasslands. But by the time of Gen ? Sandstar had morphed and split the region into at least ten to eleven or more distinct climate areas with a colossal Sandstar volcano in the middle.

Notable splits of the said region include the Savanna Area, the Jungle Area, the High Mountain Area, the Desert Area, the Waterfront Area, the Plains Area, the Forest Area, the Snowy Mountains Area, the Ocean Area, the Tropics Area, and the Sandstar Volcano Exterior.

Notable locations of the said region include the Savanna Area Mountaintop Watering hole, the Savanna Area Gate to the Jungle Area, the Jungle Area Tour Walkaway, the Jungle Area An’in Bridge, the High Mountain Area Mountaintop Japari Café, the Desert Area Underground Roadside Tunnel, the Desert Area Underground Labyrinth, the Waterfront Area Lake Shore, the Plains Area Castle, the Plains Area Dojo, the Forest Area Japari Library, the Waterfront Concert Venue, the Snowy Mountain Hot Springs, the on the way from the Snowy Mountains Area to Hinode Port Lodge, the Sandstar Volcano surrounding Hinode Port, the Sandstar Volcano far-off surrounding Amusement Park, and finally the Sandstar Volcano itself. 

Additionally, there is a Japari Museum, a massive warehouse, and in circa Gen 2, replacing the Gen ?-era Café is the High Mountain Area Mountaintop Japari Cabin. The Gen 2 Japari Café‘s location is currently not recorded.

Akushima Region.

Directly to the right of the island region of Kyōshū and below the in-between between the middle mainland shores of Park Central and the Sankai Region, not much is known about the Akushima region by the Japari Park Companion team. On the map, Akushima is the smallest island and has green scenery. In the defunct original mobile game, there are some forests with large trees, a few mountains, and an open shore.

Riukiu Region.

To the lower left of the island of the Akushima Region and below the mainland shores of Park Central, the Riukiu Region can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Ryukyu Region. The region is known for its palm tree-strewn green climate and tropical sandy beach scenery.

Notable locations of the said region include Riukiu Aquarium, the Starry Sky Data Library, a Japari Café, and the Shiserval Dojo. And by at least Kemono Friends Festival, similar to Kyōshū, Riukiu is home to Area splits of its own. The eight are the Tropics Area, the beach-filled Ocean Area, the shipwreck-strewn droughted Desert Area, the Jungle Area, the High Mountain Area, the Lake Shore, the Snowy Mountains Area, and the Savanna Area.

Hokkai Region.

Being the closest smaller island to the right mainland shores of the Hōtoku Region, the Hokkai Region can be described as an equivalent to Japan’s real-life Hokkaido Region. The region is known for its harsh tundra climates adorned with frozen over huddles of water, scattered hot springs, and mountain scenery.

Notable locations of the said region include the Tsubekuri Snowfield, various cabins, and one Hot Spring near a Sandstar volcano in the vicinity. The Hokkai Region is occasionally described by the name of Snowfield Area.

End ID.]

#Kemono Friends #Kemofure #Kemono-Friends #Japari Park #ID #ID Text #ID Text in Keep Reading #Lore #Japari Park Companion to Japari #Fictional Map #Kemono Friends Project #Textwall #Textwall in ID #Kemono Friends Spoilers #Kemono Friends 2 Spoilers #Kemono Friends 3 Spoilers #Japari Park Companion #Longpost

[thebleedingwoodland]

⚠️ Long post as usual. ⚠️

I repeat again, I’m senior 3D designer who used to work in video game company, now in field similar to video game (I don’t want to reveal my current real life work due to privacy), it’s my job to analyze game content. Gamer for many video game titles and customer for EA (Electronic Arts) since The Sims 1. English is not my first language. 

Continuation from post:

EA Misinterpretation About China And Chinese Culture About Shang Simla World

Reply About Somebody Asked About Chinese Clothing And Accuracy About Shang Simla Clothing

EA Maxis Studio Is In San Francisco That Is Heavy Chinese Population And Has Shanghai Headquarters But Didn’t Know What Chinese Gate Looks Like And More Information About Manchu Queue Hair, Dragon Cave, Obscure “Chopsticks” Holder Clutter

Yes, I’m planning to write formal letter to EA. Not just about Shang Simla inaccuracies, but ALL. How low quality The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 despite the developer has already earned massive profits from The Sims franchise titles 1,2,3,4. So far, EA has been developing The Sims 5.

@murfeelee​

No, actually EA Maxis Studio made the content based on stereotypes 😜All countries: Al Simhara, Champ Les Sims, Shang Simla are modern times at village. Sims in their hometown (present time) travel to the three countries immediately (logically by plane). No time machine portal to ancient times. Logically, the three countries are in modern times, right? 

There's ancient Egyptian hair for Al Simhara. Very far B.C years. Must be because the famous “Cleopatra” stereotype. Obviously not recent historical period before modern times. 

And there are modern hairstyles and clothing for Champs Les Sims. France is stereotypically associated with “high fashion” & “romantic”. Definitely not year 1900-1920. 

Despite the place Champs Les Sims taking place at village, far away from Paris city. 

Conclusion?

The designers must be picking what stereotypes of the countries came in their mind first. They obviously didn’t consult or research about the history what dynasty or time period about the item they created for the game.

Where is Napoleon reference? 

I demand Napoleon hat, costume, French Revolution Era, Medieval clothing, mime clothing, but there are none in Champs Les Sims. 

France is Western country located in Europe, the closest thing U.S.A. and Western people in general can relate, so I can understand why the portrayal of France is modern. No weird controversial historical content or major inaccuracies/wrong portrayal. 

I watched Youtube virtual tour about France village. Champs Les Sims resident houses look like real resident houses in real life. 

Champs Les Sims has correct icon symbol, it’s Eiffel Tower. It has hidden Eiffel Tower that player can access in Buy Debug mode. 

Champs Les Sims has four local dishes. (Cheese Plate, Bouillabaisse, Frog Legs, Crepes, indeed correct French Cuisine). Shang Simla and Al Simhara only has 2 local dishes, both are not correct and not authentic. 

“World Adventures” There is obvious dangerous & action element in Al Simhara (Tomb, torch, mummy), Shang Simla (Martial Arts), then what is so dangerous & action in Champs Les Sims? 

Making wine? 

Collecting fruits to create wine (EA censor it as Nectar) is adventure? 🤣

There are so many countries which better candidates for adventures setting. I prefer Russia (Yeah, because everything associated with Russia is “Strong & Dangerous“ such as cold climate, espionage, military, vodka, missile, tank, ever launched astronaut to space, Chernobyl). But because it’s EA who wants European country that is more famous internationally, fit for casual gamers and has selling points, I can understand why they prefer France instead of others.    

Back to your argument again 

If you said Manchu queue hairstyle is chosen because it’s recent time period before modern times, why EA designers included “all time period” to Shang Simla? There is Hanfu, there is traditional Tang, there is modernised Qipao. Hanfu is from many many Dynasties way back before Qing Dynasty. 

Years 1912 onwards, Chinese men have short hair.  

Double braids were popular for Chinese women at that time. 

Manchu queue/braid hairstyle is chosen because of stereotypes about Chinese men in USA country. Historically because first immigrants of Chinese men came to work in USA having queue hairstyle. They retained the queue/braid hairstyles because of under Qing Dynasty’s Manchurian rule. History of Chinese American. 

I doubt the designers in EA Maxis studio ever know what dynasty or what period queue hairstyle belongs to. If only they did research and consult to actual Chinese people (at least did effort ask to Ayi & Shushu who are Chinese elder women and men who are shop owners in San Francisco’s Chinatown nearby their EA’s Maxis Studio for 51 minutes by car or asking their own employees in Shanghai Headquarters), the Chinese people will strongly suggest popular hairstyles by celebrities and long haired with bun for ancient times. They would tell the EA designers why Qing’s queue/braid was very painful historically. 

Why are many Chinese people disgusted with the Qing Dynasty? (Quora answer)

Western equivalent must be Adolf Hitler/Nazi/Holocaust-related something.  If EA Maxis released Nazi-related moustache/costume, I bet somebody complained to EA on Sims forum for being “insensitive’.  

The designers would say sorry and chose to not include Queue/braid hair in-game, but instead, ancient long hair with bun. 

Jay Chou, Andy Lau, F4. They are idol superstars known by Chinese people, were very popular in year 2000′s. 

Must be argument again, “But Shang Simla is supposed to take place at village! The “emo” hairstyles are too modern Western & Japanese! Not Chinese enough! Blah blah blah” 

Relax alright...have some entertainment. Because in reality, I bet actual Chinese people in year 2009 would answer like that. (When I was in college year 2009, I had emo haircut similar to Jay Chou! 🤣 ) The fact that China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the people are modern not too different than France, U.S.A or any Western countries. Not stuck in the past having ancient hair. 

I already answered in my previous post. The usual Chinese men hair either: 1) Short hair for modern times  2) Long hair with bun for ancient times (for traditional style, usable for storytelling purpose taking in ancient times especially for Chinese Simmers）

Ordinary farmers in China with very short hairstyles. 

That’s it. Perfect for in-game local Shang Simla Sims, alright. The Sims game needs a lot of varieties for short haircut for Male Sim, because it’s very lacking real ordinary men hair, others are too fancy/girly/weird male haircut and female hairstyles. Hats and weird hairstyles are not really usable in-game. Who the hell uses “Queue/braid hairstyle” anyway?

I’m not talking about painful history, but technically, this kind of “weird” and “ugly” hairstyle will not be used by general Sims players worldwide. 

Too many hats...

”Straw Hats“ must be stereotype about Asian people by Western people. Asian in general, not just China. Wearing Straw Hats while planting rice plant at paddy field looks very “exotic” and “very Asian” in Western people’s eyes. 

In real life at Chinese village, there are farmers wearing straw hats. But technically in-game, they are taking too much space in catalog and not reusable. Who else creating Sims with straw hats? Probably almost none. Very rare occasion such as my Sim wearing straw hat only to commemorate World’s Food Day just for once and using EA’s content that never been used. After that, never been used at all. 

Except you want to make your Sim cosplaying as Raiden from Mortal Kombat. I doubt majority Sims players worldwide big fan of Raiden and will make use of straw hats in-game.

 It’s supposed CC creators for creating specific hats for specific use, not game developer. 

There are Inaccuracies in Al Simhara, Egypt world. Not just Shang Simla. 

Snake charming with the shape of flute and basket is obviously from India. 

I know because I read a lot of encyclopedias when I was kid way before internet. When I first seeing trailer for “Al Simhara” in year 2009, I was confused. Why EA added snake charming for Egypt world? That is from India. 

Al Simhara local foods are Shawarma & Falafel, which are Middle Eastern cuisine. 

Egypt is different country in North Africa with separate culture, then do not mix them with India, Arab and other Middle Eastern countries. Yes actually Shawarma & Falafel are exist in Egypt (spread from Arab) but there are more dishes that are more authentic in Egypt.  

Egypt’s national dish is Koshary. 

List of Egyptian dishes: 

Foul Mudammas/Medames and Taameya (Fava Beans Stew and Falafel)

Koshary (Mixture of Rice, Macaroni, and Lentils)

Hamam Mahshi (Stuffed Pigeons)

Tarb (Grilled Kofta Wrapped in Lamb Fat)

Molokhiya (Jute Soup)

Halabesa (Chickpea Soup / Drink)

Mahshy (Stuffed Veggies)

Kawaree (Cow Feet)

Hawawshi (Meat Sandwich)

Macarona Bechamel (Egyptian Baked Pasta)

Feseekh (Fermented, Salted, and Dried Fish)

Feteer (Egyptian Pie)

Akawi (Ox Tail)

Keshk (Savory Pudding)

Katayef (Mini Pancakes)

Egyptian Sobia Drink

Om Ali (Egyptian Bread Pudding)

Konafa

Medalaa (The Spoiled Girl Dessert)

Meshabek (Egyptian Funnel Cake)

Must be too foreign/never heard before for general Westerners & USA people, so I can understand EA chose Shawarma & Falafel that are more famous and sold in Western country while they are actually Middle Eastern dishes. 

Yeah, how disappointing. I bet EA’s Maxis employees must have ever eaten Chinese food in Chinatown, probably the cheap ones 🤣 all-you-can-eat buffet style, westernized, not authentic, and be served Fortune Cookies. No wonder the food portrayal in Shang Simla looks like that. There must be a lot of Chinese people that they can ask for interview and they can see actual big Chinese gate. Very very different shape from Japanese Torii Gate, that elementary school kid can tell the difference. *facepalm*

I understand you like Wuxia/ancient fictional settings, but please be logical & rational. The worlds (Shang Simla, Champs Les Sims, Al Simhara) are in modern times but at village. If you say “ancient fictional” then it should be separate game, not together in the same timeline as The Sims. Example: The Sims Medieval is standalone game, not Expansion Pack. The game takes place in European Medieval ancient times.

The better idea is, made by other game developer, not EA. 

Game developer from the country origin itself, from China (Everstone Games) You must be heard When Winds Meet which trailer was out late August. The settings are Wuxia during the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty. Looks very Assassin’s Creed-like. I used to wishing there’s Assassin’s Creed taking place in ancient China but can’t expect Ubisoft or any Western game developer to make it.  

EA’s idea of “World Adventures” taking place in real life actually great idea, original for The Sims game, but bad at execution. The only EA’s fault that they did not do research and consult to the person who is expertise and definitely lacking real life resources. China is actually suitable country for “Adventure” because of rich culture and fortune, which are very blended well with the game. 

Argue again that “The Sims 3 World Adventure was released in 2009, there’s not enough Chinese exposure in USA/West/etc at that time...?”

There’s no way “not enough exposure” while you can see Chinese ethnic are everywhere and migrated to almost all countries. Biggest human population is in China country. Biggest population Chinese ethnic outside China/Taiwan/Hongkong is in Southeast Asia region (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand). Visit websites that show counts how many population of Chinese ethnic in USA, Canada, Australia, that’s quite high too. If anyone with this question, don’t forget that The Sims 3 game is sold in Taiwan, Hongkong, China too.

I’m talking about corporate/professional level, not amateur free custom content creator. If big corporate wanted to do portrayal about other countries, then do some serious research and ask the experts, as they clearly have the budget and resources.

Many video game titles taking place in real life countries, able to portray them well due to effort they did on research and consultation to the person originated from real life countries. 

Take an example from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Developer: Naughty Dog. The game was released in 1998 (when I was kid). Game levels taking place in several countries and obvious ancient time machine portal. 

I can tell you whoever taking charge in designing Crash Bandicoot did research very well. Even thought the game theme is cartoon and fictional. The dragon, colour, Great Wall, Chinese writing 《萬里長城》 on banner, music, sound effects, everything are very good. NPCs wearing hanfu, long hair with bun, no Manchu queue braid hairstyle, no straw hats.  

Crash Bandicoot 3: Orient Express (1998)

The dragon colour is yellow and blue. That is correct. Good portrayal for old game released in 1998. 

Crash Bandicoot 3: Orient Express (Remastered version) 

The dragon was updated with actual Chinese dragon design. The colour is right: Orange, yellow, blue, green. 

The colour of Great Wall floor is jade green colour, which the colour meaning is prosperity and good luck in Chinese culture. 

Compared to EA’s Maxis Shang Simla: 

Had EA’s Maxis employees ever seen actual Chinese dragon statue？？ 

Red is not suitable for statue at all, especially the statue for fountain!  Really hot in the eyes (I speak this as designer). 🔥🔥

Red is lucky colour in Chinese culture, but not for the dragon. Chinese dragon brings luck and prosperous. The sculpture is usually colorful: Yellow (symbolizing gold for fortune), green, orange, sometimes blue. 

Chinese dragon fountain （Google search in English language）

“Dragon cave” statue does exist in China and other Southeast Asian countries that have big Chinese population. Definitely not like EA’s Shang Simla. 

Yellow Dragon Cave, Zhejiang, China. 

Cave entrance at Guilin, Guangxi, China. 

Dragon tunnel at Yong Peng, Johor, Malaysia.

Kwan Sing Bio Temple, Tuban, East Java, Indonesia.

Dragon Tiger Pagoda, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The dragons are colourful. 

Disney’s Mulan animated movie (1998). Portraying men’s hairstyles with bun. No random Manchu queue braid hairstyles.

EA’s other version of The Sims actually can portray authentic Chinese culture: The Sims Freeplay 

Because it’s made by Firemonkeys Studio, mobile game developer based in Australia. Not Maxis from San Francisco, USA.  

// Youtube Link 1  //   Youtube Link 2 //

Don’t forget Sims Freeplay has Chinese New Year Update. I can say the portrayal is accurate. The clothing (modernized Qipao, Tang, have pattern, good design), Lantern has details, there’s Lion Dance with loud attraction music, Hong Bao (Red Envelope), Hong Bao tree, Chinese candies, decorations related to Chinese New Year (oranges), Sims can sit and pray in front of table with food offerings. 

I can relate to this, very true to real life in modern times, no matter live in big city or at village. Definitely cannot feel the same for TS3 World Adventures Shang Simla.  

Eating animation is much better. Sims use both hands knife and fork, not too stiff unlike The Sims 2,3,4 for PC.

Back to Maxis again. 

The Sims 4 “Chinese” food from City Living Expansion Pack (I can smell Maxis employees eating cheap, westernized, not authentic “Chinese” food. Typical American Chinese food.)  There’s Fortune Cookies aka American cookies on food stall logo.

Chinese food is far more variable not just sour-and-sweet something. No Peking Roast Duck? Chicken Feet? Stinky Tofu? Char Siu? Crispy Pork Belly?  Wonton soup? Noodles? Then not authentic. 

Those are Spring Rolls (春捲）, not Egg Rolls. 

Furthermore, Spring Rolls are more popular in Southeast Asian countries rather than China itself. 

Genshin Impact,  game developer from China. 

Egg Rolls are these. Literally EGG ROLLS. 

Simplified Chinese characters used in China:

蛋 =  dàn  (egg)      卷 = juǎn  (rolls)    Egg rolls can be thin biscuit and omelette.

Furthermore, the same Egg Rolls in Japanese: Tamagoyaki. Since Genshin is more into Japanese culture. The food recipes are mostly Japanese. 

Genshin has anime cartoon stylized aesthetic. The texture and details (especially the food) are much better than TS4. 

More Additional Information (Read More):

Chinese New Year Greetings made by China people themselves. The boy and girl illustrations are stereotyped as well. Both wears modernized Qipao and Tang inherited from Qing Dynasty. The girl usually has double buns. The boy wears hat. Notice the boy usually has short haircut. No Manchu queue/braid hairstyle. 

Now you can understand why no Chinese CC creators create Manchu Queue/Braid hair, many of them created long hair with bun as original ancient Han Chinese men’s hairstyles before Qing Dynasty.

Shawarma is delicious, but it is Middle Eastern dish. 

Watch Youtube documentaries to see what Egyptian food looks like:

10 EGYPTIAN FOODS You Must Try Forbidden Food Tour in Cairo!! Egypt’s EXOTIC Food!!

Egyptian Street Food - Seafood HEAVEN + Traditional Egyptian Food Adventure in Alexandria, Egypt!

#the sims 3 #the sims 3 world adventures #shang simla #champs les sims #al simhara #chinese culture #asian culture #the sims #innacuracies #video games #chinese #french #egyptian #chinese dragon #chinese food #the sims 4 #egg rolls #spring rolls #electronic arts #maxis #murfeelee

[moopsloops]

Maple’s Melfel Megapost: Lovesick Obsession and Conspiracy-Style Origins

I mean the title says it all. I’m here to scream about Melfel. Main points are his relation with Elhaza and my thoughts regarding backstory. Very long post ahead, feel free to read but uhh TL;DR I love melfel a very normal amount. BF2 spoilers ahead, questionable accuracy at some parts bc I’m not a lore expert, but I put a lot of time into this so hopefully it's mostly accurate, coherent, or entertaining to read if nothing else.

First off, shoutout  to @/symonynii for sharing the bf2 translation w me, all the script quotes are from their work, thank you for fueling my brainrot and permanently altering my brain structure. Quotes from that translation will be this fun purple >:) Translations from Rexona will be this cool green :p Also melfel is referred to with he/she/they in this doc just fyi

Melfel is a massive simp for Elhaza

When investigating this relationship, it’s very obvious Melfel has this obsessive near-worship level of respect for Elhaza. If you took a shot every time Melfel reiterated that everything they do is for Elhaza (or “that man”... haha edgeworth vibes just call that mf your husband) you would die from alcohol poisoning, he constantly talks about it. But they also trust Elhaza with their life, or at least enough for some soul-related experimentation to take place:

"Melfel: Yes~ Oh, but don’t worry. I’m only a clone that contains part of my spirit. I was made by Elhaza"

"My existence is only for Elhaza, please do not misunderstand that..." (Resonance line from BFR). This level of devotion is just ffsdfdfsldfldfsdfldf. My brain melts. He gets irked if you assume he's working for Nogreth due to loyalty for Nogreth's cause, he wants to reiterate that he is loyal to Elhaza above all else. Man. Same sentiment is shown here too:

"Tiny Melfel: ...Of course. Everything is for Neo Orcus. Of course~

Tiny Melfel, to himself: Well, for me, it’s more like “everything is for Mr. Elhaza”. I only exist for that person..."

I have already gushed about this development multiple times but it drives me crazy. Melfel starts the game being completely unable to comprehend how someone can sacrifice themselves for the sake of others

"Melfel: Oops... hey, I wonder what I should do now... To give yourself up to protect others... how does one act on such a feeling?"

And then at the end of the game he sacrifices his life to protect Elhaza and his work from the protags it drives me feral. Their bond with Elhaza, their love for him pushed them to make the ultimate sacrifice all for him. It makes me crazy, how much love and devotion one has to learn and accept how much they would give up.

Adding on, Melfel’s last words?????

“Elhaza......I... always….”

I always WHAT?? I always loved you???? It’s very specific structure, it can’t be spun in some way like “I was honored to serve you” it sounds like a full-on love confession. Having a man’s name be your last words as you try to address them one last time,,, idk seems pretty gay gay homosexual to me.

Also, this bit kind of dives into headcanon territory, but I view the tiny melfels as fragments of Melfel’s soul, so it’s crazy and emotionally gutting how even after death a part of Melfel’s soul cares about Elhaza, it makes me feral this clown is so in love. Her love extends past life and death and every part of her soul screams about her love for Elhaza, it's just aaahdjshjkssdskadsdk peak romance.

“(we see tiny melfel carrying elhaza’s mask across a black screen, and he grins at us)”

And this Rexona voice line drives me crazy like OH MY GOD???? This is so much. mf wants him so bad.

"Elhaza is everything to me. What he wants is what I want. His enemies are my enemies."

Elhaza’s feelings (or lack thereof)

Now it’s a lot more difficult to find examples of Elhaza’s thoughts about Melfel bc we just. Don’t see much of him and he rarely talks about them which is :/ And it also can just read as Elhaza doing the bare minimum to keep Melfel in line with him instead of genuine sentiments. But there are some instances.

Most notably when Melfel leaves for their final encounter with the protags, they mentions how they had to ask Elhaza to face you, Elhaza didn’t originally want/order Melfel to be out there and likely took some persuasion to agree to let them go. So maybe he does care? He seems to have held some concern for her safety, because as this point Nogreth’s demon lords have kind of been falling apart both internally and with the protags taking them down

“Melfel: ...You can say whatever you want, but we have something to do. It’s for that reason that I asked Mr. Elhaza to send me back here. It’s ridiculous to think that you’re the protagonists of this world~”

Additionally there’s this whole dynamic they have before encountering the protags and og gang together ft. Melfel being so so excited and hyped about working with Elhaza while he’s just like “cool :/ ”.

"Melfel: Mr. Elhaza himself will go? This is unusual. I thought the interception would be left to me.

Elhaza: ...It’s not a bad idea to get a look at their faces.

Melfel: Oh, I’ll come and help you! It’ll be an honor~

Elhaza: ...Hmph."

Just gonna drop this here too because it’s a fun moment, Elhaza really just said “lmao go crazy”. I think he has some sentiments towards Melfel, but it’s not nearly as much as Melfel holds for him.

“Melfel: Of course~ I’ll get support for Hilda and Lune... And above all, the killing of weak summoners~

Elhaza: Hm... enjoy yourself. You might be able to use support from Shaia in some cases.

Melfel: I understand~ And now, I’ll…”

They both really have a thing for encouraging each other to kill and complimenting murder. Typical evil lovers behavior.

"Melfel: As expected, Mr. Elhaza! An instant kill as always, it’s wonderful~

Elhaza: ......

Melfel: Ah.... but it looks like you’re not pleased.

Elhaza: ....... It seems like the damage was much lower than normal. I’ll entrust you to the rest. Do whatever you want.

Melfel: Is it alright to kill that Weisser as well?

Elhaza: I don’t care.

Melfel: Wonderful. Then I’ll have a great time~"

Of course Shida's whole character plays a role in how he expresses himself. Due to how long he's lived and extended his life, he's become very disconnected from human emotions and bonds, viewing them as something interesting to study rather than an actual experience.

"Human beings are truly interesting.

Life and death, bonds, negative emotions…no matter how much we study them, there is no end to them.

They are silly, beautiful, and irrepressible."

So it makes sense how neutral and even dismissive he is towards Melfel and his clear expressions of devotion. Additionally, Shida seems to be focused solely on his research, he sees everything as a way to advance his work.

Their relationship is inherently tragic because of how little Elhaza cares when compared to Melfel’s obsession. But because of Melfel’s nature they just don’t seem to care. Even the smallest recognition is enough for him. They feel fulfilled with what they get, even overjoyed. It makes you wonder… what did Elhaza do to cause such a strong infatuation? Well, I have a buckwild frankensteined mess of canon, headcanon, and stretches of connections to potentially explain it.

Smashing together a backstory for Melfel

Brave Frontier Rexona actually flat out states Melfel's backstory, which genuinely surprised me ngl. I just tossed this from the brave frontier library site into DeepL so hopefully it's somewhat accurate:

-Blind faith in Elhaza-

He joined Nogreth when they invaded his home world of the Otherworld.

As a man of very low status, Melfel saw Nogreth who had destroyed his world as a god of salvation.

His cunning mind and talent for magic were bought by Elhaza, and his absolute loyalty to him led him to become the head of the legion in the blink of an eye.

In addition, he seems to have led many insane subordinates.

So, Melfel is from the Otherworld, which made me cry because I had to watch all the cutscenes from the Otherworld section of the game to piece together the lore since I never reached there lmao. But more notably, Nogreth invaded Melfel's home and he viewed them as his savior. He hated his life and saw the destruction of it as a saving grace, a moment for him to achieve the greatness and power he likely desired. This low-status background ties in really hard to what Roy brought up to Melfel in their trauma mirror confrontation.

“Melfel: Every human has a wound in their heart. This mirror picks it out and shows them it~ It’s prized in my collection.”

....

“Roy: I know, Melfel. You just fool around with all your cowardly tricks, but your strength is well-hidden. You must have suffered, and harnessed that suffering for your power. And... now you’re fighting for your own reasons... right? 

Melfel: ......”

That inferiority and struggle in Melfel's early life is what pushed him to follow the one that tore it all down for him, Elhaza.

Ngl this revelation made me have a mini meltdown because I didn’t notice Rexona on the brave frontier library site when I wrote the next part and this revelation poses quite a big complication which sucks bc I think it ties together a lot of themes and arcs together well and deepens melfel’s character so I’m about to commit crimes against canon.

Okay forewarning:  this next part delves into unhinged conspiracy theory shit so if you’re not interested I completely understand. But this relationship gets like, 100 times crazier and more fascinating if you consider that…

Conspiracy theory: Melfel is Malef.

Hear me out please. There’s just too many similarities and connections to be coincidence:

Evil nightmare clown with prominent eye motif is a character design archetype that is ripe for possibility, the fact that Melfel and Malef are the only two (as far as I know) to exhibit this theme is crazy. And their designs are kinda similar? The Parch Misfit Malef design especially retains the similar purple stripes and eye motifs. Also it’s a fun contrast that Malef’s element is fire while Melfel’s is nature, practically the complete opposite it’s neat. And it’s reflected in their designs, transforming from Malef’s predominantly red design to the complementary green of Melfel’s design, ties into the themes of transformation and significant change between the lives of Malef and Melfel

Little bonus find: Melfel does constantly switch elements in his battles of brave frontier two dungeon and that can relate to why he has a completely different element as malef, but that has questionable canonical weight it could just be a fun mechanic. Additionally, Malef’s extra sp skills allow him to add extra elements to his bb/sbb attacks which is similar to Melfel’s event, but once again: questionable canoninity due to how frequent that buff pops up in other unrelated units’ sp buffs. It's also interesting to note that while Melfel is technically a plant/nature attuned unit his attacks are primarily flame-based, which can tie him back to Malef (ik brave frontier isn't the best at sticking with units' elements when designing attacks but it's another interesting connection).

The similar names. Idk it’s a bit too similar to be coincidence or laziness imo. There are similar names of characters throughout the games’ rosters but like. This is different. I feel it’s a bit too similar to just be unintentional.

Malef’s research being very very similar, almost identical to what Elhaza has been researching, it makes sense why they would become allies. They both are studying how to extract the powers of demons and other living magic users to create an ultimate being. Very very specific, very very fascinating how it’s these two of all characters to study this. (I elaborate more on this later, just wanted to mention this as theory proof over here).

I think that if Melfel and Malef were the same then the contrast between their two deaths would be so cool. The first time Malef "died" it was from selfishness and a desire to keep the research for himself by killing his co-researcher Holia. The second time Melfel dies it’s a selfless sacrifice to protect Elhaza and his work that he’s so passionate about. The near opposite cause of death, the growth and development and parallel is just mmmmmm it's perfect it just feels so fulfilling it all comes full circle.

Melfel is hinted to have had a tragic backstory centered around failure and not being enough.

“Roy: I know, Melfel. You just fool around with all your cowardly tricks, but your strength is well-hidden. You must have suffered, and harnessed that suffering for your power. And... now you’re fighting for your own reasons... right? 

Melfel: ......”

When Roy calls him out for it it’s notably the only time the theatric, always talking Melfel is left speechless. This focus on inferiority and inner turmoil is so etched into Malef’s character that it pushes him to murder Holia and take all the credit for their research, it makes sense that this deep fear pushes Melfel to weaponize others’ trauma and insecurities because knows firsthand the devastating mental effects it can have on a person.

Ngl I don’t know the timeline very well and am not 100% certain when Mora saved Malef  but for the sake of this spiel we’re gonna assume it was wayyy before Nogreth encountered Melfel.

Eventually Melfel and Elhaza met (which I believe was quite a long while ago, I headcanon he was the first one after the OG Nogreth crew to be recruited). Anyways, Melfel repeatedly cites Elhaza as his savior and all, so what if Elhaza quite literally reconstructed Malef’s body or gave him a new vessel to inhabit? I know he was technically saved by Mora, but he’s very much lacking a proper physical form. My man is just a ball of fire with limbs, his whole torso is gone. He was also condemned to servitude for Mora. Perhaps Elhaza gave him a proper physical form and was his second savior in a sense? I think that slaps. And of course in Melfel’s eyes the role of savior demands his servitude, so out of gratitude for being freed and fully restored, he moved to serve Elhaza and join Nogreth.

Additionally, Malef’s field of study was near identical to Elhaza’s goal: creating an ultimate being by extracting and utilizing demons’ powers. Perhaps Melfel was saved because of his knowledge overlapping with Elhaza’s research. It's clear that Shida values his research over anything, so to come across someone who may have knowledge and experience that can further that knowledge? He would try and recruit them in a heartbeat lmao. Idk it’s very cool and adds so much more connection and bonding material between them. It also serves as Melfel’s backstory and an explanation for why he’s so infatuated with Elhaza (besides being rly gay ofc).

This convo shows how Melfel is more familiar and able to understand the contents of Elhaza’s research, probably because of his researcher background as Malef (side note it also shows Elhaza and Melfel reassuring and checking in with each other,,, a small chill moment between them :,) )

“Melfel: After that, my alter ego was discovered in Akras.

Elhaza: Good, you played your role well.

Melfel: By the way... how is the plan going?

Elhaza: ...Everything is going according to schedule.

Melfel: That means more to me than anything~ Finally, Mr. Elhaza’s research is in the final stages~

Elhaza: ......

Melfel: Oops, I may have snooped a little bit. I’m sorry.

Elhaza: What you did... do you know what’s going on?”

Now is it possible to tie this all in with the Otherworld backstory that Rexona presents? I will try, but we can also just take the easy way out and pretend Rexona's lore drop doesn't exist because canon is a joke. Maybe Malef fled to the Otherworld?? idk it's possible. He would have to have given up everything to flee anyways, no research no status no nothing, he would be living it rough out there, which lines up with the low status Melfel found himself living in.

To add to my case on why this theory is based and would be so good if true: there can be a lot of parallels drawn between Shida and Malef. I touched on it earlier but their similar research into harnessing god/demon power to create an ultimate being is damn near identical, as well as their undying devotion to research above all else. So in a way, Shida can be seen as a foil of Malef, as he was successful whereas Malef was horribly disfigured and condemned to servitude. So Melfel's devotion to him could also be stemming or strengthened by the perception that Elhaza is everything he wanted to be as Malef, Shida possesses the success and power that he wanted to have. He was saved from his unfulfilling life by the embodiment of everything he wanted, how could he not fall in love with him? Melfel quickly chose to work under Nogreth likely because of her insecurity she felt for her failing research as Malef, perhaps seeing this as the closest way to meet that. Then eventually along the way, likely while she chimed in input from her own similar research, her research-related motives turned to a genuine love for Elhaza. Hell, it can also provide a case for Shida having genuine feelings for Melfel. He would naturally be closer to Melfel if they had research knowledge that interested him, and through those interactions maybe that interest moved away from research to Melfel themselves, similar to how Malef's obsession with research morphed into an obsession for Elhaza.

And of course the theme of rebirth/given a second chance and falling in love with your savior, I eat that shit up it’s just so good, it fits so well and adds more dimension to Melfel’s worship, Elhaza is literally his god in this scenario, he gave him a purpose in life and a second chance to prove himself. It doesn’t get gayer than that. Melfel’s obsession with his research also seems to curb away and begin to turn into an obsession with Elhaza. If this theory is true, Neo Orcus can be seen as a fusion of Malef and Elhaza’s research, it can be seen as the embodiment of Malef’s research that he killed and died and dealt with demons for. So to see Melfel grow tired of his work, but instead have that passion turn towards Elhaza… idk it shows some sort of growth I guess? More ties to the transition from Malef caring only about research instead of partnership to Melfel caring for partnership instead of research. It draws parallels to how much passion Melfel has, how fixated they become on what they deem to be more important than life itself. It even ties into the idea of Melfel understanding sacrifice through his love for Elhaza. He would be familiar with sacrifice for research, his whole work with Neo Orcus reiterates that, but sacrifice for people? Only when he falls for Elhaza and grows more devoted to him rather than his work does he finally decide to die for a person he loves. How much love is needed for that? It’s simultaneously tragic but… beautiful in a way.

Closing words & more Nogreth ideas

Is melfel/elhaza a healthy relationship? Probably not. Is it cool and sad and fascinating to look at? Absolutely.

Yeah, thanks so much for reading, I’ve been brain-rotting over this for a while and just wanted to scream about it. Melfel obsession hasn’t died yet, it’s only become more all-consuming. Now that brave frontier died, the characters just exist in my head like ocs due to no longer having the source material being accessible in its original form so they just. Consume all my thoughts. I treat them like left-behind dolls with interesting bits of history to build off of, as if this doc doesn’t reflect that.

Uhhh some extra Nogreth thoughts real quick to cleanse your palate: Shaia was painfully underutilized and unexplored, Hilda is a lesbian it’s so obvious, Barragan and Lanford are quite possibly even gayer than melfel/elhaza, the whole Zaad being a demonlord instead of Gustav debacle is hilarious alongside Hilda and Rene having to fight over their single Demonlord position, melfel canonically hates uwuspeak, and I want Hilda to crush my skull. Thanks for reading.

#ITS FINALLY DONE #FUCK THIS TOOK FOREVER BUT IM HAPPY #melfel #elhaza #shida #brave frontier 2 #brave frontier #the way the otherworld revelation from rexona tore me apart #i wrote the conspiracy theory before I found the profile in the library #and I didn't want to scrap it because a: copium and b: it works so well #bf is literally gone so I think I can stretch and alter canon a little bit right? #long post

[greylagwriting]

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