#and he's like a millenium older!

[helianthus21]

I love that both armand and marius are painters but while marius' paintings are kinda mid, about armand they say he has god-given skills like literally everything marius can do armand can do better

[volturiprincess]

heheee🫢 I changed my profile pic to this

Its been sitting in my photos for to long and it seems right to use if as my profile pic. It might seem familiar to some because I basically did a whole post on thirsting over this pic of him. Like sir I see that arm of yours and that large hand of yours too. i might edit it later and add a little flower on him or a crown.

[fumifooms]

People should talk about Yaad and Thistle more. Weird granduncle that killed your dad in a petty impulsive punitive act, leaving you very scared of him as you live under his control for centuries. Imagine growing up hearing stories of the King’s brother, the kind, clever, collected and calm advisor and right hand man. But only knowing him by how warped he’s become, violent and erratic. He punishes you, too, robbing you of any agency by putting you inside of a doll. And then despite, he becomes catatonic and you’re left to take care of him in his brother’s body while he thinks you’re him. And then you see those slivers of that nice caring person you heard so much about in your childhood a millenium ago, and as he babbles about Delgal thinking he’s you, recalling memories and old habits, you wonder about how things must have used to be, before, and how they’ve changed irreparably. Today is melancholic again.

Yaad being like, Thistle’s sort of great-nephew who’s lived most of his life seeing him as being out of his mind and only a mirage of the noble attentive person he once was, now having to take care of him, someone who was an older familial figure to him… Seeing him gentle, soft and unhurried after all this time spent in an emotional anxious paranoid frenzy... Yaad and Thistle post-canon is so special

[hyzenthlayroseart]

I wanted to save these for when I was done with the whole project but I have a feeling the next few entries will take a long time to make since each era has so many movies (Renaissance Era, Experimental Era and the Modern Era) and I got impatient with myself so I'm posting what's done so far.

So I decided to do a project where I draw films from each Disney era together. For those who don't know about Disney's animation eras, here's a good guide: https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/many-merry-eras-disney

Another one that had to be split into two drawings, I'm sure the Revival Era and the Modern Era will have to each be split as well.

Now in a new millenium, Disney was moving away from the Renaissance era's Broadway inspired films and entering a new era experimenting new technology and new ways of storytelling. While it was an exciting time for being creative and taking risks, they didn't always pay off. Thankfully some of the films from this era that failed at the time have been reevaluated over time as underrated masterpieces, and even some that still aren't viewed in a positive light still have a cult following. Many critics viewed the failures from this era as a consequence of putting technical innovation over storytelling.

The first film from this era was Fantasia 2000, the sequel to 1940's Fantasia. Interestingly, Walt initially planned way back in the day to have Fantasia be a continuing film series with new segments replacing older ones in each release. Tragically, plans for this were scrapped when the original film unfortunately ended up being a box office failure. It wasn't until 1984 when Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney suggested the idea of a Fantasia sequel to then-CEO Michael Eisner that the idea was revived, however, then-chairman Jeffery Katzenberg was uninterested. After the 1990 re-release of Fantasia was a financial success, Disney saw it as a sign that there was enough public interest in Fantasia to justify a sequel. Michael Eisner finally gave the film the greenlight in 1991, and years later in the year 1999, the film premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York, then in 2000 the film had a wide release in IMAX. The film was a critical success but sadly ended up becoming a box office flop like its predecessor.

The next film was Dinosaur, and while it's unfortunately a forgotten film today, it has a significant role in Disney animation history as their first CGI animated film. The idea was originally conceived by director Paul Verhoeven and special effects artist Phil Tippet as a stop-motion animated film and pitched to Disney in 1988 but due to budget disputes with Jefferey Katzenberg, the two filmmakers left the project and it ended up shelved in development hell. It wasn't until 1994 that development on the project began by shooting various test footage of computer-generated characters placed digitally in miniature model backgrounds. Computer-generated backgrounds were considered as well, but ultimately it was decided that the film would combine CGI characters in live-action scenery. Michael Eisner greenlit the project, however he insisted that the characters talk during the film; previously it was planned for the animal characters to be silent while a narrator spoke throughout the film like a nature documentary. When the film premiered it was a box office success, and the film received positive reviews for its visuals, however the reception story and characters were more mixed in reviews.

The next film was The Emperor's New Groove, which was actually a complete rehaul of a cancelled film called Kingdom of the Sun, a musical taking place in the Incan empire with a Prince and the Pauper story involving a selfish emperor switching places with a peasant who looks just like him, however the emperor gets turned into a llama by an evil witch who threatens to reveal his identity unless he obeys her. The emperor would learn humility as a llama and fall in love with a llama herder, and the two would team up to undo the witch's plans. The film ended up in a troubled production, and in the end it was clear that it wasn't far enough in production to be released on its scheduled released date. Roger Allers, who would have been the director for the film, quit the project. This lead to Michael Eisner telling producer Randy Fullmer that he had two weeks to salvage the project or production would be completely shut down. The film was ultimately changed to The Emperor's New Groove, and instead of being a musical inspired by The Prince and the Pauper it was now a buddy comedy with no love interests. Since the film had to salvaged in such a short time-frame, it was actually made without a fully finalized script and was made unconventionally with a more improvisational approach with the writers basically given free rein which lead to the film being as hilarious as it is. When the film premiered, it was unfortunately not a box office success, however it did receive positive reviews and to this day is considered one of Disney's funniest animated movies.

Disney's next film was Atlantis: The Lost Empire, a science fantasy adventure film inspired by works of Jules Vernes such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The filmmakers used the Internet to research mythology surrounding Atlantis, visited museums to study 20th century technology, looked at ancient architecture as inspiration for Atlantis, and even hired Mark Okrand, who invented the Klingon language for Star Trek, to create a language for Atlanteans. At the time of the film's release, it was known for using more CGI than any other traditionally animated Disney film. When the film premiered, it was not a box office success and received mixed reviews, although the animation received positive reviews.

Their next film, Lilo and Stitch, would have a much better fate. The idea for the film started in 1985 with a failed children's book pitch made by Chris Sanders about a creature named Stitch who lived in the forest. In 1987 he was hired at Disney to work in the visual development department for The Rescuers Down Under, but he soon transitioned into storyboarding for Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and eventually promoted to head the story on Mulan. In 1997, it was discussed that Disney should try its hand at creating a smaller and less expensive film in wake of the large-budget films they had already done, an idea inspired by the similar production history of Dumbo. When Chris Sanders was asked if there were any stories he'd be interested in developing into an animated film, and Chris Sanders pitched an idea based on his failed children's book project, pitching an idea about Stitch crash-landing in a forest surrounded by woodland animals, but then-vice president Thomas Schumaker suggested that Stitch should interact with humans instead. The story was pitched as taking place in Kansas, but after glancing at a map of Hawaii on his wall and remembering a vacation there, Sanders decided to change the location to Hawaii. Unlike previous Disney animated films, the film's pre-production team remained relatively small and isolated from upper management until the film went into full production. When the animation team travelled to Kuaui for research for the film, the tour guide explained the concept of Ohana, a Hawaiian term meaning "family", a concept which became an important part of the film's theme. Watercolor paint was chosen for the film's background art as opposed to the traditional gouache technique. While watercolor had been used in early Disney shorts as well as Snow White, Pinocchio and Dumbo, the technique had been abandoned in the mid-40s in favor of less complicated media such as gouache. When the film released, it was both a critical and box office success, and to this day is considered one of Disney's most beloved movies.

The next film was Treasure Planet, a steampunk science fiction take on Treasure Planet but in space. The idea was originally pitched by Ron Clements in 1985 (at the same meeting where he and John Musker pitched The Little Mermaid) but was rejected by Michael Eisner, pitched again then turned down again in 1989, then pitched and rejected a third time after the release of Aladdin. These rejections angered Clements and Musker so much that they approached then-chairman Roy E. Disney, who backed the filmmakers and made his wishes known to Eisner, who in turn agreed that the studio should produce the movie. In 1995, their contract was re-negotiated to allow them to commence development on Treasure Planet when Hercules reached completion. When the film premiered it was a box office failure but received positive reviews, and throughout the years after it's been considered an underrated gem.

The next film was Brother Bear, with the idea for a film about bears being suggested after the success of The Lion King in 1994, leading to Michael Eisner urging for more animal-centric films. Initially the story idea was inspired by King Lear and centered around an old blind bear who travelled through the woods with his three daughters, but in 1997 animator Aaron Blaise joined the project and wanted a more naturalistic story, so he and producer Chuck Williams produced a two-page treatment of a father-son story in which the son is transformed into a bear, and in the end, remains a bear, which then-president Thomas Schumaker approved. After the project was greenlit, the team went on a research trip to Alaska in 1999, and a year later went to Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Sequoia National Park. In 2000, the story evolved into a tale where the transformed bear Kenai is taken under the wing of an older bear named Grizz, but after struggling to get charm into the story, Grizz was changed to a bear cub named Koda. When the film premiered, it was a box office success but received mixed reviews. As the years went on, it became known as another underrated masterpiece from Disney.

Their next film, Home on the Range, was originally conceived in the 90s as a supernatural Western called Sweatin' Bullets, about a timid cowboy who visits a ghost town and confronts an undead cattle rustler, inspired by the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky". The story was changed to one about a little bull named Bullets who wanted to be more like the horses that lead the herd, then finally in 1999 it was changed to a story about three cows who become bounty hunters to save their farm. The film was originally scheduled for a 2003 release while Brother Bear was slated for a 2004 release, however Disney ended up switching the dates in order to promote Brother Bear on the Platinum Edition release of The Lion King. When the film premiered, it received mixed reviews and was a box office disaster, and went on to be blamed for killing 2D animation at Disney (at least until The Princess and the Frog released in 2009, but that's for a future upload). Nowadays the film still is looked at unfavorably, but it does still have its fans.

The next film Chicken Little, was basically Disney's attempt at making a film like Shrek, meaning that they made a fairy tale parody with crude, edgy, self-aware humor and pop culture references, but needless to say, their attempt was unsuccessful. When the film idea was developed in 2001, the character of Chicken Little was a female, and the story would be about her going to a Summer camp to reduce her anxiety as well as repair her relationship with her father, and discovering her camp counselor planning a nefarious plot against her hometown. When it was pitched to Michael Eisner, he suggested Chicken Little be changed to a boy because boys wouldn't want to see a film with a female protagonist (yes, really). When David Stainton became Disney animation's new president in 2003, he decided the story needed a different approach, and during the next three months it was changed to a story about Chicken Little trying to save his town from aliens. When the film premiered it was a box office success but received mixed reviews, and today it still isn't viewed favorably (but like Home on the Range, it does still have its fans).

The next film was Meet the Robinsons, based on a 1990s children's book A Day With Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce, who pitched the story idea to various filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, George Miller, Peter Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola and Diane Keaton as a live-action film before eventually being acquired by Disney as an animated film. This film would be Disney's first time animating humans in CGI, so they ended up using Pixar's The Incredibles as inspiration, as well as looking at their own films from the Silver Age such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan and some Warner Bros. cartoons as inspirations for 1950s aesthetics. When the film premiered, it got positive reviews but was unfortunately a box office failure. Thankfully it also gained a reputation as an underrated classic like several of its other predecessors in this era.

Finally, there's Bolt, a film which originally began as a story by Chris Sanders called American Dog, a story about an anthropomorphic dog celebrity named Henry who one day finds himself stranded in the desert with a one-eyed cat and a rabbit, and the three of them search for new homes, all while Henry still thinks he's on TV. Chris Sanders was eventually removed from the project after resisting changed to the story and went to work at Dreamworks instead, however in recent years Sanders has assured that he has no ill will over the decision and approved of the final film. The dog Henry was changed to a normal dog thinks the show he's the star of is real, and when his owner Penny gets "kidnapped" in the show, he runs away from the studio to "rescue" her, but gets lost and and ends up teaming up with a sarcastic female alley cat named Mittens and a fanboy hamster named Rhino to get back home, and along the way realizes his show was never real. When the film premiered it was a box office success and received positive reviews, and was overall a sweet and heartwarming film to end the era.

[icedoatlatte29]

Caleb was beyond ecstatic, to say the least. He was anxiously refreshing the cinema's website, waiting for the sale to go live. The moment the tickets were available, what was it, maybe 5 seconds max? Bamm, already bought them. It's the 20th anniversary of his favourite film of all time, of course he wouldn't miss the opening night.

It all started on a sunny April day when one of Caleb's middle school classmates was talking about this cool new film he watched with his brother. According to him, it was called Star Wars and it had cool spaceships and lightsabers? Caleb was immediately sold, just the mentioning of spaceships and lightsabers was more than enough for him to look up this film.

After watching the very first episode, the young boy was hooked beyond salvation. Everything about it was pure perfection to him: the spaceships, the droids, the Jedi. Ever since watching the films, all he could talk about how he would become a pilot and drive a fancy spaceship, just like in the films. Caleb would watch and read anything Star Wars related, he probably knows the lore like the back of his hands. You could ask him any obscure question about the series and he would tell you the answer in a heartbeat.

Even to this day his favourites haven't changed, but as he got older, he started to appreciate the prequels more. Sure, the prequels are a tad more on the emotional side that his childhood self could not quite understand, but the Caleb of today finds immense pleasure in the story of Anakin Skywalker. Years later, even though he got older and his collection grew with various figurines and spaceship models, including the infamous LEGO Millenium Falcon (which, according to him, is his most prized possession), he is still the same little boy who watched these films with big eyes. Now, he is going to watch The Revenge of the Sith on the big screen with you dressed as Padmé and him dressed as Anakin.

[doodler-jpeg]

Thinking about self aware! MW characters (plus Roach) who absolutely adore your laugh.

CW// gender neutral, unfunny men deserve to be slandered, favoritism is seen, badly translated Scottish and Spanish, this is based off of my interpretation (you can find the main fic link on my account)

Feedback and criticism are highly encouraged! Please tell me if anything is badly translated, out of character, or something else!

Ghost actively makes jokes that are guaranteed to make you at least giggle. Even through this weird mental barrier (for him) and your monitor's screen, it's so invigorating to hear some form of joy out on the field, especially when it's from you. It just makes that fuzzy feeling in his heart multiply.

"Thank you, thank you - I'll be here all night."

Gaz takes absolute advantage of this. He makes a few jokes here and there, but keeps it to interesting stories. In some instances, he just starts laughing out of nowhere and you can't help but join in. It's very clear he gets bitches on the daily.

"Didn't know I was that funny, but I'll take what I can get."

Price uses all of his past experiences with courting to get, at the very least, a giggle or two out of you. He doesn't have millenium of experience (contrary to your belief), but he's certain that his "old-man" charisma and his weird way with words. But he still tells some older jokes, so your assumption that he's older isn't completely wrong (he was totally raised by his grandparents).

"Would you like to hear a story?" *Tells one of the pointless joke stories that lasts for 10 minutes and has the stupidest punchline*

Roach can't really come up with ways to make you laugh. His preference of keeping quiet and faceless doesn't really help, either. Instead, he tries to point out some enemy on the field, signing insults to them that you're sure to understand.

'His head looks like a donkey, and he acts like one, too.'

Soap physically cannot keep you from laughing. He doesn't even have to make a joke, you just start laughing. He believes it's because he's just an immediately funny dude, but you're not going to tell him that he looks stupid with that hairstyle. If he does tell any jokes, they're not even funny.

"Dinnae ken how come ye'r laughing, bit keep daein' it."

Alejandro tries, he really does, and it doesn't work most of the time. It's kind of funny seeing this overly-confident dude absolutely fumble because of his lack of realization that your personality and humor aren't really the same as the people he usually catches. On occasion, though, he does get a rise out of you and can't stop smirking about it for the rest of the day.

Valeria has subtle jokes that rely mainly on her tone, but those aren't her priority. She doesn't mean to be rude (lies usually, but with you?), but she does impressions of your laugh and then comments on it. Usually they're not bad, but it does feel demeaning sometimes.

"Me gusta esa risa. Jejejejeje."

"You know why Mexicans call Americans 'gringos'? ... Would you like to?"

Rodolfo doesn't always try to make you laugh - he still gets a bit disoriented that you're no physically there (which means he can't see your face, but what is he gonna do about it?). His humbleness and large range of jokes really comes through, especially since he'd been the family entertainer at parties. If you can understand simple jokes in Spanish? You're practically set to be unable to keep a straight face, and he loves it. (Even if he doesn't understand it, he'll turn it into a mini lesson so you do)

"¿Qué dijo el gato cuando chocó su carro? 'Miau-to.'"

Nikolai has a handful of Russian jokes at his disposal. Are you completely guaranteed to understand? No, and he doesn't expect you to. If you do understand Russian, boy howdy is he gonna have the time of his life! You won't be able to breathe properly until he's out of sight!

"You see, it's funny because-" *explains joke if you don't understand*

Laswell is a huge fan of subtle jokes. She often makes small, funny comments that get light-hearted chuckles out of her. However, she also has older humor, which means you're less likely to understand unless you, too, are old (which isn't likely, but it's still a possibility). She likes hearing you laugh and really does try to get some sort of connection with you, even if it doesn't work.

"What did the chicken say when it crossed the road? 'Damn it, I missed the bus.'"

Alex is a funny man. He's aware of his effect on people and uses it to his full advantage. As a people-pleaser, he makes it his duty to get you to laugh as much as possible. If he doesn't make you laugh, he'll make himself laugh, and then you laugh. He's totally not putting all his effort into jokes just to get you to laugh or anything. He's just that guy.

"Me? A tryhard? Whaaaat? Psh- as if."

Farah has no business with nonchalant jokes, but she makes them work. While she does like the sound of your voice, she doesn't want to force it. She believes that intentionally funny words can diminish any genuine laughter, so she sticks to half-assing it in hopes you at least giggle. That's not to say she doesn't try to get you to laugh - she just does it far less, since she can't see your face (but she can just imagine the glee on your face if you get the giggles because of her).

"What is your type of humor? Asking for a friend."

Graves is unintentionally funny. When he tries, he fails miserably. He says a southern phrase that might not be super known? You're cracking up. He doesn't get it, but at least you're going 'teehee'.

"What's so funny 'bout me sayin' cattywampus? It fits the situation!"

[sharenadraculea]

H:tP Math!

So Hunter: the Parenting is set in 2006 Norfolk, England. And we have some characters ages, so we can do Math

Boy: Boy is eleven. This means he was most likely born in 1995.

Door: Having a elevenyearold son means Door is at minimum in his twenties (which would be kind of yikes). Taking what I would consider a fairly reasonable and realistic timeframe for a normal human to have kids in (somewhere between 20 and 50), Door in current Htp would be somewhere between 30 and 60, tough he could be older if he isn‘t a normal human. Now, Door also talks about his old mining days. So he seems to have had a whole career several years ago (possibly before having boy), making it more likely for him to be somewhere between 40 and 60, which also matches up decently well with his appearence in the flashbacks to 1988

Marckus: He‘s thirty, so probally born in 1976.

Kitten: Iirc he‘s 32, so likely born in 1974

Kevin: He‘s 27. I‘m not sure if that means he was born in 1979 or if he was turned/dies at 27 and was born earlier, but since D get‘s his age from a ID, the first option is more likely. Which means Kevin had a very busy life so far and also apartements in the 2000s were really cheap if someone can afford on in their early twenties

Horse: D tells a story about going to a speakeasy with horse. Assuming he doesn‘t just mean a bar that‘s styled to look old and isn‘t lying, this means that Horse has been with the family since the 1920s to early 1930s, but possibly since the 1880s

Big D: He is probally the most interesting one and there are also several options for his age. Option 1: Just ignoring everything D has said. For this we take Dorn‘s likely age of 40 to 60 and add our reasonable and realistice ages to have a child at, which gives us a possible age-range for D as beeing between 60 and 110. Definetly possible with a but of magic bullshittery that makes him look younger Option 2: Believing that D has been hunting since the 90s. This puts his latest possible birthyear at 1899, assuming getting carried around while his caregivers hunt counts as hunting, since we know he has been hunting since before the 1990s (the thing with Anton happend in 1988 after all and the family has been hunting since a while before that). Tough Calenders accurate enough to date something this precisely have existed since about the second millenium BCE, so D could be pretty old while still getting this factoid correct (assuming he did the math correctly). Option 3: The 90s-factoid is wrong and D is very ancient. In which case like, Homo Sapiens has been around for 200‘000 years and there were other human species before that. So for any closer, tough still very rough, estimate I‘d need D‘s skull and/or DNA. Tough even just a quick questionaire about like how well he tolerates lactose and wheter he straigthens his hair would be quite helpfull I think my favorite option would be for D to have been born within like the last 200 to 500 years, so he‘s definetly unusually old and has way more experience than a regular human, but like he isn‘t unreasonably, has been there for most of human history, barely comprehandable how old he is old

[cult-of-the-placeholder]

I like to imagine that Shamura always knew.

They have the gift of prophecy, after all: on the day of Narinder's birth, when Shamura first takes the infant god into their arms, they know. Their clairvoyance shows a distant future, an angry, hateful Narinder, wielding a great, cursed scythe with terrifying mastery, bellowing at Shamura to take up arms and fight him.

The vision splits, two possibilities at once: they can either do as demanded and fight their little brother--who's no more than a soft, mewling infant in the present, delicately holding onto their finger and cooing at them in wonder--and their overwhelming power of the eldest all at once will quell him. They can strike him down there with a single, decisive blow, and Narinder will collapse to the ground, crown shattering and lifeless body splayed out grotesquely. Shamura's siblings will shun them for killing Narinder, and the grief will slowly drive them insane.

Or... they can refuse to fight. If they refuse to raise their hand to their brother, Narinder will best them easily. Becoming increasingly more angry as he slashes and strikes them, shrieking at their older sibling to, "Fight me, damn you! Fight me!"

Shamura sees their own skull cleaved, sees the other bishops rush to defend them. They see Heket's throat torn out, Leshy's eyes gouged, Kallamar's ears ripped from his head. He sees them all, bloody and beaten, retreating. He sees them bandaging one another's wounds, sees them forging unholy shackles and chains that could hold their brother. His death is something they want to avoid, even after he injures them so.

Shamura knows better than anyone that a prophecy cannot be outrun or outsmarted, but they still try. What else can they do? The vision leaves them suddenly and the newborn god in their arms is whining with discomfort--tears have begun to drip off their cheeks and have speckled the poor child's face. They gently wipe them away, heart pounding with nerves, and nestle the baby close against their chest.

They try so hard. They run themselves ragged over the next several hundred thousand years, taking every preventative measure they can. They search endlessly for more visions, for some kind of hint, something they can do to change it. They vow to love Narinder completely, infinitely, and their other brothers and little sister as well. Perhaps if they loves him enough, treasures and cherishes them and gives them each the entirety of their heart, this horrible future can be evaded. Delayed. Denied.

Surely something must cause Narinder to raise his blades against them. They nip every problem in the bud, they raise the four other gods with grace and love, hands warm and kind when they need to be, just as they are firm and stern when it is necessary. The other 4 bishops grow in great power, and they love each child endlessly. Especially Narinder. The little god of death is the only one that shares their passion for the written word, and so often retreats into Shamura's vast libraries to study poetry and prose alike. Sometimes they read together, first with Narinder seated directly in their lap, then sitting together shoulder-to-shoulder when he's grown too big for that. Shamura is sure to express their affections each and every time, so that Narinder can never forget how loved he is.

Millenium pass by the hundreds, and the horrible prophecy hasn't yet come to pass, and Shamura tries valiantly to forget it. The world grows and matures and worships them, and their siblings have become fine rulers indeed. The lands prosper, endless devotion for them to dine on and grow ever stronger.

Then... Narinder asks Shamura about the prospect of change. Changing death's rules, carving out a new and uncertain future, letting the mortals walk again after having left the waking realm, and not in the means of rebirth, no: rather, instead, he spoke of granting their souls a second chance in a revived body.

It's blasphemous. It's heinous. It's unnatural.

Shamura cannot allow him to violate the laws of nature. They forbid he do such things, and that night they're plagued with the nightmarish vision again, but this time only one ending plays out: their skull is split because they refuse to fight him. It's happening so fast all around them, and they go to Narinder in the middle of the night. Hugs him desperately, grasping his shoulders with all four hands, begging him to remember that he is loved and that something like this shouldn't come between them. Begs him to reconsider, but refrains from telling him about the prophecy. Telling someone of a percieved inevitability often acted to push them directly towards it. Fate was ironic like that.

They beg Narinder not to, beg him to just stay as he is, and their little brother is so confused. And when Shamura refuses to tell him what is going on, he becomes suspicious. Bids they go away, and disappears into a dark portal to a place where Shamura can't track him.

It devolves from there. Shamura knows what's coming and is powerless to stop it--they stop sleeping, they stop eating, they withdraw entirely and throw themselves desperately into their forbidden library, searching for something, anything they can do to change their fate. A loss like this will be felt for thousands of years to come, and their heart can't bear it. Shamura spends days, weeks, months, years in a restless trance, mind stretched thin as their desperation drives them to search for a solution that does not exist. A long time for mortals to be sure, but for a god it could be the blink of an eye. While they have been deep in the recesses of ethereal knowledge, Narinder has grown considerably more bored, more angry, more isolated.

When Narinder comes to them, scythe in hand, Shamura is exhausted. It has been so long since they drank from their followers' devotion. Narinder comes to challenge them, a fight for death, he says--death will evolve, and if Shamura wants to stop it they will have to kill him. Or at the very least beat him into submission.

And Shamura can't. Their worst nightmare is playing out in real time right before their eyes, and they do nothing when Narinder's pitch black blade comes down on them. They're crying, silently, tears of grief flowing down their face because they know what's coming. If they raise their arms and fight their brother, Narinder will die.

They can't. They won't. Not to their baby brother.

[ggukkiedae]

When an introverted puppy meets an extroverted cat | NCT JENO & TOMORROWXTOGETHER SERI [SELF-ON KODE]

Click Below to See the Video

(pink chats for for jeno, blue for seri, based on which color of the wall they’re sat on. fair warning, this is unedited aksjdj)

*insert teaser clips here*

jeno sits on the pink wall side this time and sighs, putting on the airpods “i really hope this isn’t a prank again”

interview jeno: zhong chenle if you come out again… i think i may develop trust issues

seri walks in, hopping slightly into her seat, airpods already on and a grin on her face

interview seri: i’m excited. i really want to grow as a person through experiences with and experiencing more people

they scan the codes to enter the chat

moeongmeong: hi

nyangi: hi! how are you today?

m: i’m okay, just a little skeptical because my friend pranked me last time i was here

n: really? what happened?

m: he pretended to be on the show with me, but he knew who i was and wasn’t wearing airpods

seri laughs

interview jeno: i’m still upset

seri: this person seems to be innocent if they fell for that

n: how old are you? you seem young

jeno snickered “should i say how old i am? should i be nice or not?… i’ll be nice”

seri stared at her phone "this person isn't answering... oh, wait"

m: i’m a millenium kid

seri’s eyes widened “this person’s older than me?”

n: you’re older than me!

n: only by one year though

jeno straightened in his seat “oh? oh no, now i feel like i have to lead the conversation… unless this is chenle again”

seri is thinking “i know a few people born in 2000… soobin oppa? did he follow me here?”

m: yah

n: what?

m: i swear if this is you from last time again

seri laughed out loud at that. “they must let their younger friends pull pranks on them, huh?”

jeno gave his phone a skeptical look "zhong chenle... this is ridiculous, am i actually being pranked by chenle again?”

n: you seem like a nice person to let someone younger than you mess with you

n: your younger friends must find it funny

n: my younger friends become babies when they’re with me

"it isn't chenle," jeno tilted his head with a curious smile, "it feels almost like this person is in an idol group, too"

m: are you perhaps an idol?

m: is that why you’re nyangi? your fans say you look like a cat?

seri looked to her right curiously “how did he figure that out so fast? or was that a lucky guess?”

jeno laughed at the momentary lack of answer, "i must be right"

interview seri: i deducted they must be an idol too. by that logic, they’re an idol who’s known to look like a puppy, right?

n: ooooh, you’re right

n: you must be an idol too, meongmeong

jeno laughed

m: right!

m: good

m: so you like music?

n: i do!

n: i’ve been doing music even before my i entered my company

jeno looked up for a while “they’re an idol…”

interview jeno: they must be someone who debuted after me, right? the only person i can think if younger than me who debuted before me is bts miya”

seri looked at naver for idols who look like puppies born in 2000, then a familiar face popped up

she snorts and shakes her head

interview seri: if this is kim seungmin, i'm walking out. he's gonna start nagging me again. that was my first thought

n: *one image attachment* (a picture of seungmin)

n: it’s you, isn’t it?

m: ???

jeno had to put his phone down for a bit while laughing

m: did you search naver?

n: i did!

m: no

m: wait

m: we shouldn’t play like that

seri was just laughing “cute! there’s no way this is seungmin! they do seem a little bit familiar though”

n: okay okay

n: i got it

n: HAHAHAHA

n: but are you a girl or a boy?

m: do you want to guess?

m: i can put my hand over the corner

seri looked at the staff “are we allowed to do that? yeah? okay”

n: go, i won’t look

jeno got up, putting his hand over the edge of the corner

seri got up as well, looking away and reaching her hand out, jumping slightly when she found jeno’s hand

jeno’s jaw dropped in shock while he let go, “it’s really not chenle, it’s a girl”

“boy hands,” seri nodded to herself, laughing

n: so you’re a millenium boy?

n: you’re an oppa, then

m: you’re a girl

m: your nails felt long, by the way

m: i have a friend that likes doing nails, i can recommend you to her

interview jeno: her nails did poke me, and they felt long and textured

interview seri: i did my nails last night! it's like a hobby, but i didn't think he'd notice them

n: *one image attached* (a picture of her nails)

n: pretty, right?

m: woah

m: they’re my favorite color

n: oh?

n: blue is my favorite color too!

jeno smiled at his phone “good, there’s common ground”

seri tilted her head, "i wonder what else we have in common"

m: do you want to exchange song recommendations?

n: sure!

seri looks at the screen, tilting her head with a smile “what is this? he sent me one of the somgs on my play list”

the song jeno sent is my favorite part by mac miller and ariana grande

jeno laughed “yah, i have this song in my playlist!”

the song seri sent is ... smile by juice wrld and the weeknd

m: lol we must have similar taste

n: i think so…

m: the song i sent…

m: was it already in your playlist, too?

n: yeah!

n: i think we’ll get along well

n: want to go out to eat after this?

jeno’s eyes widened as he read this, and he burst out laughing “what is this?”

meanwhile seri tilted her head a little “is that too straight forward? i hope not”

jeno was looking off camera towards the staff “yes? you’re telling me to say yes?”

m: will you treat?

n: since you’re the oppa…

n: shouldn’t you treat?

jeno gave an incredulous look

seri was laughing her ass off while typing

n: kidding! i offered, so i’ll pay

m: we’ll see after the reveal

m: let’s send our home screens!

seri takes one look at jeno’s black home screen and laughs

jeno pulls a face at seri’s homescreen. it’s pure white

n: we match well

m: your home screen is so bright

m: kinda like your personality

jeno cringed as soon as he sent that

seri straightened “oh?”

n: was that flirting?

n: because i can up my flirting game

m: no!

m: i wasn’t flirting!

jeno drapes himself over his chair “oh no, this person must think i’m weird!”

n: it’s okay! my friends have a habit of flirting all the time, so i’m used to it

n: let’s send baby pictures!

seri sends hers first, and jeno looks at it closely “i don’t think i can guess who this is… she looks familiar”

before jeno could send his, the chat disconnected

the two now stood on opposite ends as the staff counted down

they both looked around the corner

seri burst into laughter, turning and heading back to her chair while jeno stood there with an amused shock expression

“yah!” he called to her, “what are you doing? you’re so straightforward!”

seri was still laughing on her chair, “oppa it was you! then whoever pranked you must have been either chenle or another 00 liner!”

jeno looked down “you’re right, it was chenle”

interview jeno: i guess i shouldn’t be surprised. the way of messaging felt familiar… yah, you shouldn’t search for people in stuff like this”

jeno looked at her weirdly while pulling her to stand from the chair, “you don’t listen to juice wrld?”

“you introduced him to me,” she shrugged, “and i kinda just started”

jeno smiled at that

interview seri: i’m happy it was jeno oppa! now i guess why he just let his member prank him like that without holding a grudge or getting angry

int jeno: we found out we had a lot in common in chat, but these are things we already knew in real life

she leaned against the wall while jeno looked at her, arms crossed

“so we’re eating out today?” “yeah, i’ll pay” “oppa, i said i’ll pay!” “how can i let you pay when you paid last time?”

interview seri: it was a good conversation, honestly. it didn’t feel forced, and it wasn’t too deep or too shallow, but this oppa held my hand…”

jeno in the background of int seri: to my defence, chenle did it to me first

interview seri: oh, oppa you’ve gotten bolder because you would have never done that when we first met

jeno got up from the chair and stood next to int seri, placing an arm around her shoulders “okay, thank you for this opportunity, even if i already knew the person, it was a fun experience, bye!”

seri just looked at him and laughed while he was waving. he looked at her and gestured to the camera “say bye, seri-yah”

“bye” she’s laughing while the screen fades to blank screen

you hear them talking with their icons popping up to show who was speaking

“you know, i was going to call you after to recommend this person to you for nails” “really?” “hannah says you do her nails really well” “that’s sweet of you to think of me, oppa… can i do your nails?” “with the extensions?” “if you want? i can do plain ones or nail art on your natural nails, too!” “okay”

you can hear the sound of seri clapping while jeno chuckles

-end-

taglist: @choisoobiniscute @strwberrydinosaur @1-800-enhypennabi @caratinylyfe @sunflower-0180 @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @jkebabayy97 @stopeatread @allthings-fandoms @jammingjaem

drop an ask or a dm if you wanna be added or taken out of the taglist 🥰 requests are also open!

[zestyaahbutler]

Walter and Roman head canon?

Thank you so much for your ask bro! Took me a little while but I doodled a Roman earlier so I figured it was time to get through it. If anyone has any requests for Walter or questions about roman/orthodox church, let me know! ☺️

CW drugs and sex mentioned briefly

Walter and Roman Headcanons:

Walter:

It is a given that Walter was unhappy about aging in the manga. I like to think it came out in smaller ways. Even if it was only to himself. Sometimes integra pointing out his wrinkles did hurt a tiny bit. Not in a rude way but more a cheeky curiosity kind of way. Of course he'd humor her and say that someday she'll be as old as him but hopefully not as many wrinkles.

I can't help but think he'd be a little salty at his smoking habits when he was younger. Sure he still does have the occasional cigarette but what if all those younger years caused all those wrinkles he really doesn't like. Not that he'd exactly be looking as great as he did in his 30s but a man can dream.

Whenever Arthur Hellsing passed, Walter had to step up as an even bigger father figure than he already was. Sure Walter had already been taking care of her but now he had to help her grow into her position.

I don't think integra would have really have worked until she was much older. By how the roundtable treats her in the manga and how protective Walter is of her, he must have been running Hellsing for her until she was old enough to make decisions for them. Ideally Arthur would have been the one to do that.

Besides work, he would have to answer the questions Integra would have for a parental figure. One of the hardest topics to broach with her was feminine health. Poor girl was far too embarassed. They had a mutually understanding relationship of "don't ask, don't tell" unless she was confident enough to ask. He never wanted to make her uncomfortable. He was always there but there were times where she simply wanted him to ignore it. It wasn't that she was upset about being a woman but rather her being shy. She lost a parent during a very important transitional period in her life. She never even really had a mother for that either.

Walter would do small gestures for her during a hard patch like making her hot chocolate, giving her more leniency on what she had to do during the day, and some new clothes/makeup.

He is a big fan of traveling when he can. He has the rare times he does take off work to fly to Brazil. It has to be one of his favorite spots to vacation. He's become fluent in Portuguese as a result of his many travels there.

Seychelles was on his bucket list for years.

He prefers beans cold from the can. Eats it with a spoon. Don't judge the man because he's already ashamed of it as is. Screw millenium... that could really ruin him.

Roman:

Roman's scar is due to acid being used on him during an interrogation when he was kidnapped by the enemy in Afghanistan. The scar covers half of his face and reaches down to parts of his back, shoulder, and both of his arms from trying to defend himself. Despite being such a flirty guy, he is terribly worried about how scary he must come across to the women he meets. He doesn't know that it makes him all the more loveable.

Roman has a habit of sleeping with prostitutes whenever he travels. As much as he enjoys the action, he often prefers having someone to feel close to. He'll ask about their life, family, plans for the future, etc. It feels good to make that connection even if it is temporary.

He had a taboo relationship with a nun who worked for the Vatican in his mid 20s. They were madly in love and even had planned to run away together. Unfortunately, she ended up being part of a massive accident and died. Roman only found out months later from a superior of his.

The orthodox church pumps their regenerators up with all kinds of drugs to keep them lean, strong, and durable. Roman had developed a really strong resistance to drugs.

Due to his past and situation with the church, he uses drugs and alcohol to temporarily escape what's going on in his life. He's often high on his job too. He has a preference for x and cocaine.

Because of his resistance, he has to consume quite a hit to actually get high. He's overdosed numerous times but being a regenerator, he always gets back up.

He does know that what he does is unhealthy but he's here for a good time and not a long time.

His favorite artist is Pitbull

He has a thing for the older gals ;)

[anarchy-and-piglins]

Immortal em-duo but maybe a different flavor: phil who died, was chosen by lady death, came back to life and has stopped aging after that. So he looks the same as he did when he first died so like- probably mid-late 30s? Idk. Techno, who was chosen by the blood god as a baby and ages way way slower than any other living thing. Like- a year in a century. He looks like he's 20 but is actually over a millenium old. People assuming phil is the adopted dad when SIKE techno's older than phil by a pretty significant margin lol. They don't count their age in years but centuries. "Oh I'm 16" ".... Phil you don't look 16 years old" "oh no, mate, 16 centuries :)"

LMAO, I'm not too big on immortal!Techno but I do feel like this has silly humor potential

[spacecadet-ticklesinspace]

Wake Up Call

Summary: Luke has passed out asleep at the table in the Millenium Falcon. To bad Han has to wake him up.

Another day in the rebellion. Another day Han found Luke passed out asleep at the holo chess table.

Honestly, it amazed Han how the kid was able to sleep just about anywhere. The smuggler swore he was never like this at that age.

With a heavy sigh, Han turned to glance at the time. If he let the kid sleep too much later, he'd never go to sleep tonight. That would cause a lot of issues on top of an already messed up sleep schedule.

The smuggler stood, crossing the room to the table. "Luke."

That did nothing.

"Luke."

Still no response. Didn't these Jedi have a built in alert system for danger or something?

Maybe he just didn't recognize Han as a threat.

So the smuggler patted the blonde's shoulder. "Hey, Luke. Come on."

That did absolutely nothing again.

"Come on Luke, you gotta get up." Han tried again while shaking his shoulder. "Luke!"

Yet the blonde still slept on, peacefully unaware. Many a mission had finally caught up with him.

Han huffed. This was going to be much harder than he thought.

That's when he noticed how the kid was seated. His arms were crossed on the table in front of him with his head resting behind them. That left the entirety of his torso exposed.

The smuggler lifted an eyebrow. An idea formed in his mind. A ridiculous one, but it just might be stupid enough to work.

Han moved around the table so he was standing behind the sleeping Jedi. "You have three seconds to get up or you're getting it."

Of course, Luke didn't listen to the warning. He never heard it.

"3 . . . 2. . . 1."

When Han dug into the blonde's ribs, Luke immediately stirred.

He broke into surprised, sleepy laughter while his limbs launched an uncoordinated grab attack at the two hands currently attacking him.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead," Han greeted in a very loud overly cheerful voice.

Luke finally woke up enough. "Hahan?"

"Yeah kid?'

"Whahat ahare yohou doihing!"

The smuggler moved his hands higher. "Waking you up so you can actually sleep later."

"I wahas ahasleheep!"

"Hence the later." Han finally reached the Jedi's armpits. "Unless you want to stay up all night again."

"AH!" Luke's arms came crashing down on his hands.

"Which I do not recommend."

The younger Jedi finally peeled himself up off the table. He threw himself back to try to throw the older smuggler off balance.

However, Han managed to avoid the attack. And he still kept his hands on his armpits and ribs the entire time.

Luke pitched to the side to try to escape and ended up slipping to the floor.

Han let him go, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. "You awake now?"

The blonde let out a few more residual giggles from his spot on the floor. "Yeheah."

"Great." The smuggler moved toward the door. "Come on."

Luke pushed himself up, glaring at his back.

Han paused at the door before turning back. "You coming?"

The glare on the younger Jedi's face dropped into grin.

He then pushed himself up before following the smuggler out of the room.

[skyeoak]

Episode 28 thoughts

WHOAH ok buckle up

What car does Trevor drive 🤔 and did they make this bet after hearing the murder carriage case.

Hey Alice, uh, slipping out right before your coworker gets attacked is a little suspect, but it could just be setting up finale character placements so you’re probably fine.

On to the main event:

Oh Sam. All he wants is to be intellectually recognized, to the point where he’s put into multiple dangerous situations. And the creature who does want what he knows only wants to dredge up the trauma from his mind.

Speaking of those traumatic events…hell yes. The skeleton wants to be free. [funny story I got a picture of my actual skull on monday for a medical consult. Lmfo] I liked this story! It has the energy of a field trip gone wrong, but even the mundane bits were packed full of details that foreshadow or connect to the wider narrative. When shit hits the fan, we’ve got some nice visceral [wet] imagery. There’s also another nice parallel between Sam and TMA Jon here, the “Hello” setting off an unforeseen chain of events. And an honest-to-goodness Johnny Sims Zinger^tm at the end!

Also this was a great vocal performance 10/10 no notes.

Speaking of details about Magnus Institute works…Yellow light? Two older women? A chair? What was Welling trying to do? Was that a body hopper? Huh?

What I’ve figured out from comparing this episode to TMAGP 21 is that there seems to be a sort of a magnus institute brotherhood/gn with various sects, all trying to ‘transmute the great work’ or ‘achieve universal transmutation.’ (In Magnus’s time, only personal transmutations had been proven.) Welling was in the more popular sect it seems and led the team investigating the millenium dome (january 1998) before his [death? de-ossification?]. Episode 21 was a letter by a concerned objector in a different, more constellations/zodiac/(astrology?) concerned sect. Potentially the same interested party that asked for the constellation map looking east from a specific property in mag 27. Whatever the kids+chair situation is may be another magnus institute project entirely, or connected to one of the above sects in some way.

(Tmagp 21 also mentions that the magnus institute has political sway in England. Not sure how this translates to the 2024 tmagp government)

GOING BACK TO FIND WHO SAM? Find answers? One of your pals that you canonically have a guilty conscience over? A secret third thing? HMMM?

[mentallyisekaid]

「 ✦ Fatui Harbingers x La Signora's Sister! Reader, PART 2.5 ✦ 」

---

Part 1 Part 2 [Part 2.5] Part 3 Part 3.5

It's highly recommended to read the parts in order, otherwise few things will make sense!

Warnings: just me messing with Signora's lore because I can~

Word count: 1.3k

---

And so, with Columbina serenely laying on your lap - and Scaramouche and Ajax's intimate gazes dispelling a part of those doubts that had haunted you for half a millenium...

a glimpse of your past was finally unveiled.

"Rosalyne and I were only half-sisters, and it sprouted a seed of discord between us before I was even old enough to understand what family meant. Albeit, what really drew us apart in the end was my father... or rather, the crime that he committed against the divine."

Twiddling with the warm, red crystal in your hands brought you no comfort - only reminded of a life time's worth of regret.

"A crime that manifested as the Pyro Vision I'm now holding. You could say it's... a symbolization of the Lohefalters' curse. But I was the one who made it possible, and what followed..."

You shook your head. "Well, I'll start from the beginning?"

"Our mother, Freya, a Mondstadter, once met a traveling alchemist from an unknown land. Papa and mama shamelessly fell in love, even though she was married with another man and had a young daughter. After she became pregnant with me, an illegitimate child, Rosalyne's father soon found out and they got divorced. She then married my father, and we all took his surname."

The looks in their eyes revealed that La Signora's colleagues had truly known nothing about her past.

But now, all they cared about was yours.

"Papa was quite fanatic when it came to his alchemic research, and one thing fascinated him above all else: the nature of Visions. He'd become particularly obsessed with a certain thought... could Visions be created alchemically and thus acquired without the blessing of the gods?"

A pained look flashed across Scaramouche's face - maybe one day he'd share why.

"Seeing as he was an outlander, the favor of the divine would never fall upon him in such a way. Maddened, he set out on a journey to achieve a Vision, not as a gift from the gods, but by making one himself."

Columbina tilted her head. "And... did he?"

"It sounds crazy," you sighed, "but he did. He managed to create an artificial Vision. It cost him his sanity and so much more, but regardless; decades of endless research and a myriad of sacrifices materialized in the form of a gemstone - a bright red crystal with a faintly glowing Pyro symbol in its core."

Your next words gained a spiteful undertone, not unnoticed by the others.

"But, he needed a test subject to confirm that this counterfeit Vision was applicable. That was me. Not just because he was insane, but because I was a fool. I only had to promise that I'd never tell the rest of my family, or anyone, about how I had received this 'acknowledgement' from 'Celestia'."

Ajax had an unreadable expression on his face - pity with a hint of disappointment and anger, perhaps.

"You agreed, then?" he asked.

"I was nine years old and rather naïve, so yes." You frowned. "But even as I grew older and understood better, on some level, I still accepted what papa had done..."

Scaramouche crossed his arms.

"But, surely... you didn't do this just to please your parent?"

"No," you shook your head, "or maybe that was a part of it as well. I couldn't say."

Yet someone saw right through you, as always.

"It had something to do with your sister, I presume?" Columbina's voice was gentle, like a mother

Ah, there it was - the void in your heart left behind by a broken kinship with the only sibling you ever had.

It was... more painful than you admitted.

"...I knew my Vision was a fake, but even so, it made me feel special. I'd always felt meritless, living my life in the shadow of the oh-so brilliant Rosalyne, who was both beautiful and academically talented. I... I was never looked at with such admiration."

"Although," your lips curved into a rueful smile, "ever since that day, I had something that she didn't - a Vision - and it harrowed her proud heart. Thus, a mutual feeling of jealousy grew between us, creating a rift that we never tried to overcome."

You shook your head. "At least I never did."

But a question still remained in the air, one that you were consciously avoiding for the sake of the horrible things that had once happened and could yet again occur because of it.

You didn't want to betray or hurt anyone, and even more than that, you wanted to protect yourself.

Yet the other Harbingers cared about you in such a strong, unconditional way, and you had started to harbor these strangely intimate feelings for them as well.

Perhaps you... really didn't need to hide anymore?

Columbina had sat up next you and now pulled you to lay on her lap instead, as she softly spoke:

"This Pyro Vision... you called it a curse - the Lohefalters' curse, or perhaps yours, but what makes you say this, I wonder? Was the cost you had to pay for this power much greater than you have let on, my angel?"

Scaramouche was staring at you intently. "I think we'd all like to know that."

You averted your gaze. "Even if it only gets darker?"

Ajax smiled, uncertain yet encouraging. "Even so."

"I... see. Well, if I had known that my broken relationship with Rosalyne wasn't even a foretaste of this horrible curse that I would end up carrying for centuries... that what papa had done would end up destroying things far, far more precious than just my family, I... I would have done differently, I'm sure of it..."

You sighed. "It's too late for amends, though. And this is all I have to say. For now."

No one was left satisfied by this, not even you yourself.

Their first instinct was to somehow confirm whether you had been telling the truth, having sensed that you were probably quite an adept liar (when you wanted to be).

But your reserved yet sincere eyes didn't invite any distrust.

Childe looked sympathetic, though there was a nuance of something else behind his cerulean gaze. When he smiled at you, the mannerism lacked his usual assertiveness.

"I... see. I'm... at a loss for words here, girlie."

The thought of you carrying these grim secrets all by yourself made the ginger Harbinger feel strangely protective of you, and he wasn't the only one - albeit the other two did a better job at hiding it.

Damselette's expression was curious yet enigmatic, indicating that she'd perhaps already figured out much more than you had told them.

Behind her innocent, uncaring demeanor, Columbina was a very shrewd person.

"Our little angel never ceases to fascinate~," she chuckled, caressing your hair.

The Balladeer's displeasure was evident.

"Ha!" he scoffed. "You've got some nerve, disclosing something of this gravity and then conveniently deciding to leave the rest of our questions unanswered. Moreover, with each secret you reveal, another one just takes its place."

Scaramouche's tone now took a softer hint - then again, maybe you just imagined it.

"Who am I to judge, of course... but isn't centuries of hiding enough, Twelfth?"

Though his opinion was harsh and undisguised, it had voiced the truth you wanted so hard to admit, but just couldn't. You found this... soothing, in a way.

As flames flickered in the fireplace, your heart wanted to stay here with them for a little while longer - each of their gazes embracing you very differently but all in a way that made you feel warm and safe; something quite rare in Snezhnaya.

Yet, with a cryptic smile, you stood up and walked away.

Whether sharing a part of your past had been a mistake, or the first step toward some kind of redemption, you couldn't yet tell. But it was clear that it had set into motion something irreversible.

It was only a matter of time before everyone would know...

[doorplays]

Door Reviews: The Roottrees are Dead (2025)

Evil Trout is a man I know specifically from one game I played in my youth: Forumwarz. It was released in 2008, and was very much a product of its time. A browser game about being an internet stereotype, it had a decent playerbase for a while. I eventually fell off of it as I became busy with college, but I have fond memories of hanging out with a bunch of other nerds online, making jokes, discovering IRC, doing guild things, and roleplaying on the internet.

Now, he has returned after what, 17 years? He has adapted someone’s entry into a game jam. Jeremy Johnston made The Roottrees are Dead for the 2023 Global Game Jam. I haven’t played this version because of its reliance on AI art, which I do not like on principle. So I’m glad Evil Trout helped make an adaptation with actual art. The two of them together also included a bonus mystery with this game, Roottreemania, which is essentially a sequel of the original mystery. Various quality-of-life improvements were also made.

As far as adaptations go, this one is pretty good. I heard a lot of murmurings on the internet saying that this game scratched that detective game itch. So with me being a fan of such games, I HAD to get it. And now, I’m here to review it!

What’s it about? An airplane crash is reported over the news. In it were the Roottrees, a famous family known for their old candy company. And they just died. A mysterious person now comes to you, requesting that you map the entire family tree of the Roottrees, from their great great grandparents to their current generation. Why this person asks this of you, you do not know, but you DO know that they’ve come to the right person for the job.

STYLE (Gameplay, Graphics, Music)

As a person who is great at mapping genealogies, your job is to identify each and every member of the Roottree family. You have to find a picture of a family member, find their name, and find their profession, slotting these into their right place in the family tree. You find the information you need with your trusty turn of the millenium PC equipped with a cutting edge 56K modem. You search sites, trawl through periodicals, scan online libraries, print evidence, burn CDs of relevant audio, and whatever else you need to complete your job. When you see familiar faces on the evidence, you can click them to add them to your records and slot them into potential entries.

Once you get three (3) Roottrees right, the game automatically locks them in. This act validates your assumptions and reduces the effort you have to make on future guesses. Jeremy Johnston himself cites Return of the Obra Dinn and Her Story as influences, and it shows.

This gameplay makes for a nice experience. It felt like I was clicking through Wikipedia links, finding all the connections, getting lost in the sauce. It’s a uniquely internet experience, hyperfixating into certain topics and clicking every relevant link, and this game manages to replicate it.

The aesthetic of the game feels very Y2K. You have the 56K modem, the burning of CDs, and a lot of the action of the game happens in your computer. There’s also the aesthetic shown by older evidence, a peek into the 70’s and earlier eras. You get to see how each generation differs from the last. It gives character and color to the game.

The music is um… a lot of copyright-free jazz? Which is fine. There are also a few songs that embody some eras, and some are actually relevant to the game as hints. There are also some voiced lines in the game, which surprised me, as I didn’t feel it necessary. I like that they still made the effort for it.

The art is distinctive enough that each person can be identified. I had a bit of trouble with it, but that’s par for the course for detective games like this. I definitely appreciate the devs moving away from AI art.

Of note is also the hint system. You can consult your own rubber ducky for hints that start out light and progress to more obvious hints until fully saying the answer that will help guide you further in your quest to fill the tree. The hint system itself is a reference to rubber duck debugging, and it’s a nice little thing to set up.

The gameplay of this game is the draw, as the devs included a lot of things to make the detectiving be more comfortable to do, like the capacity to highlight some lines, a sort of notebook you can take your own notes in, a History tab within browsers that lets you go back to past sites you visited… it’s a lot of quality of life stuff. And they make it a much tighter experience that had me not wanting to put the game down. High marks for the style!

SUBSTANCE (Story, Characters, Impact)

This game’s story is so fun for an inveterate gossip like me!!!

It’s like you are thrown behind the scenes into a will reading, and now you have to support your patron in finding all the possible people getting a slice of the pie. And now you’re digging your heels finding out all you can about this old money ass family, and you just find out SO MUCH HOT GOSS GUYS, SO MUCH. The stories won’t be out of place in a Filipino teledrama, and that’s why it’s so fun!! I did not expect this kinda story to be in a detective game!!

You get to know more about the lives of each Roottree, and you see that they have different mindsets to things, different ways of coping with the times. It’s nice seeing all these small stories weaving together in this tapestry of a family tree, disparate yet connected together by blood.

The humor in this game is so fun for me. There’s a fair amount of stories parodying some real life people and some real life experiences. I wanna say it’s rather tongue-in-cheek? I found myself laughing a lot.

I liked the story a lot, and I liked how the gameplay let me discover the story bit by bit. It tickles me a lot how this feels like such fresh ground to explore. The case isn’t really a whodunit and more of diving into a mess of a family, and I think more detective games should be fun like that without resorting to be cutesy cozy games. Those games are still fun, I just think there’s a lot more to explore in this genre. Maybe I haven’t explored detective games much, but this game’s topic feels fresh to me. I loved experiencing this game!

VERDICT

This game is FUN. A refinement of the Obra Dinn formula and the Her Story experience, The Roottrees are Dead does a lot of experimentation with how detective games implement their gameplay. The discovery of evidence, the way you ascertain the answers, all of it feels fresh enough to me that I ended up enjoying my time with it. It’s a modern hit for the genre!

DOOR JUDGMENT: A fun Detective Game that pushes the genre forward. Recommended!

[sonicasura]

In the Bleach/Yu-Gi-Oh Crossover I imagine a lot of the Soul reapers after the Soul Society Arc and Ash's Duel too make sure the HQ wasn't a smoldering ash ( HA) would want too fight against quite a few of the Duel Spirits like Chengying, Gearfried ( Swordmaster), Enlightenment and Nirvana High Paladin, Silent Swordsman LV 7, Flame Swordsman, Gagagigo The Risen, Elemental Hero Bladedge, and a bunch of others I can't think of at the moment

I think they would want too spar and test the Duel Spirits and Vice-Versa too gauge each others strengths, but someone did call dibs first on that, ain't that right Kenpachi Zaraki!

Considering Ash is more likely to pull out Slifer the Sky Dragon, Dragon Master Magia, Millenium Eyes Restrict or the Unstoppable Exodia for the duel, it would be a miracle if anything wasn't damaged. Pissed off Duel Spirits tend to have an area of effect when dueling. So insane shit like Field Spells will feel a lot more real.

It's absolutely the 11th Division who wants to spar with Ash's Duel Spirits the most. Especially Zaraki as he could feel their power even during the duel. He also wants to throw hands with Tecuhtlica too because Ichigo's rescue and fight against Byakuya was a bit more extra.

The Creation King lends him a hand in both affairs, even pacifying the Soul Reaper's Hollowified Zanpakuto when Shiro takes over. It is the Substitute's fight in the end, a matter between older brothers of different families. The assist is appreciated though.