#but also if I'm allowed to branch out of the main characters which I mean it's my rules so yeah I can do whoever I want

[aberooski]

I've really got my work cut out for me this time I have NO IDEA which GX character I'm gonna draw on the cover of tortured poets ✋😭

[hotmusclebabe]

murky water

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sevika x reader oneshot/headcanon combo .ᐟ.ᐟ 3k words.

tags: socially awkward/strange/offputting reader x sevika .... sevika and reader are coworkers! fluff, sevika has one sided beef with the reader for a portion of the fic. completely sfw! :)

summary: a scenario in which sevika and reader both work for silco and rarely interact. co-worker!reader pays absolutely no attention to sevika and has the main goal of keeping to themself and avoiding any human interaction possible. reader is kinda just a weirdo and minds their business... leads to sevika having one-sided beef with the reader, because in sevika's mind quiet means plotting something mischievous. (the beef is NOT REAL!! sevika has a crush > < )

notes: this is sort of a mess but also the first fic i've felt compelled to upload... BIGGEST shoutout to @massiveragingdyke for proofreading my work and being the source of most of my motivation to finish writing .·°՞(˃ ᗝ ˂)՞°·. wouldn't have uploaded this without them! hope you guys enjoy <3

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You've worked under Silco for quite some time, purely on the basis of, "I need money and I also would like to keep my life so I'm going to work for a drug-lord that will provide me money and security. Having said that, you don't quite branch out of your own bubble of comfortability if you can strain against it. You work, grab a bite to eat, and then go to your flat.

When it comes to Sevika, all you can say is that you know of her. You don't speak to her at work, nor do you have the desire to— you don't want to speak to anyone, not if you can help it.

Sevika would be lying if she said it didn't rub her the wrong way. She thinks you have some sort of vendetta against her. Moments you interpret as brief and to the point are the same moment Sevika quotes to Silco as "acts of defiance and disrespect."

Sevika sitting in Silco's office and saying, "Told her to get me a whiskey and she went, is that all?" and Silco replying, "That's her job, Sevika."

Not once had you ever considered that Sevika thought you disregarded her character in this way, which is why you never quite had a change in your attitude about her.

Sevika will eventually start doing things to "get back at you." You don't take it as a sign of hatred or frustration at all, and will completely brush it off— you think she's either made a mistake or did not mean anything by it. It is absolutely shredding her soul that you just do not give a shit.

The back of your hand swipes your forehead as you finish closing up after your shift. Every time you've worked the bar, you'd been the unlucky one who wound up having to wash the dishes. So long as you were allowed to choose what was playing on the juke box, you had no qualms about that. Unbeknownst to you, Sevika had been sitting and stewing on her annoyance. She'd been holding onto two cups of whiskey, half full. She downs both of them, walking straight up to the counter after. "You forgot two," she tells you, voice rough. She'd done it intentionally, right when you finished washing all the dishes up and washing your hands. That'll show you! "Oh. Thanks." You reply, taking the cups to the sink without any other reaction. Sevika's eye twitches.

For the life of her, Sevika cannot understand your attitude. You don't care about dishes. You don't care about annoying patrons. You don't care about cuts or raises in your pay, which she had done through Silco strictly for the purpose of seeing what you'd do.

Most of your other coworkers have noticed your attitude, or, your lack thereof. The better half of Silco's goons and pinheads cannot seem to comprehend why Sevika has such a bone to pick with an employee that does nothing but their job and heads home.

Ran, who is just as silent, if not more than you are, has picked up on Sevika's growing disdain for you as well. Being the curious creature they are, they begin to wonder the extent of what you will not care about. They let patrons in later than allowed. They swap your coffee with water. On one occasion, a man had hopped onto the table, removed his shirt, and swung it over his head— to which you did not even bat an eyelash at, simply shouting, "no climbing on furniture!" before you went back to serving drinks.

One day, Silco calls for the bar to close early— something about an enforcer visit. So, rather than closing at 3 in the morning, the bar closed at 9. Sevika decides that now is her chance.

Getting a break like this is extremely rare. Though you could have utilized your free time to perhaps go out bar-hopping, clubbing, something of the sort… you simply didn't have the energy. Sitting on one of the dusty couches in the backroom, you lean back, head tilted towards the ceiling. There's a bag of cheese curls at your side, and you shove chips into your mouth while your eyes are shut. God, you needed this break… "Hey." A voice beckons out to you, and you nearly jump out of your skin. "What the hell are you doing back here?" You don't have an explanation. "Um," you rub your eyes with the back of your hand, not wanted cheese dust on your face. "Taking… a break?" You swallow, sitting up and looking at Sevika. "Its, um," You don't know how to speak to her. Is she considered your boss? Your superior? Your coworker? "Pilite snack. I stole them from Jericho's stand when he wasn't looking." Without thinking, you hold the bag of cheese curls out to Sevika. "Do you… want some?"

After this interaction, Sevika doesn't know what to make of you. You were strangely nice to her. Moreover, Sevika realized that's the only time she's really approached you. Now that she's done it once, her efforts to speak to you have increased.

Ran, already having been curious about you and Sevika, starts paying attention to how the relationship between you and Sevika was unfurling. They're enjoying the drama. They picked up on the fact that it was very likely Sevika already liked you beforehand, but just did not know how to form a relationship without you approaching her first.

Sevika was usually the one being chased. Women at the brothel fawned over her, Silco's henchmen envied her… and here you were. You just didn't pay any particular mind to her if she didn't approach you. Having to actively ask for attention was a large shift, but Sevika's come to be more partial to the idea of pursuing you-- she's starting to enjoy it.

The Last Drop had hollowed out for the night. Most patrons had either left, or had been dragged out after passing out while drunk. To no one's surprise, you were on dish duty yet again. Humming quietly along to the song playing on the jukebox, you carefully pack away all the cleaned dishes. Sevika had been sitting at the counter, waiting for you to finish silently. She's found herself in your presence more often lately. "Quiet night?" "I wish," is all you sigh in response. "What're you waiting for?" Sevika pauses once you ask her that. What is she waiting for? She thought that to you, the answer would be obvious— she's waiting for you. But she hadn't put much thought into it. "Thought the one thing you were good at was minding your business." Despite the defensiveness in her tone, you smile. "Fair enough. Keep your secrets."

Oh, how Sevika loved that. You never pried, not unless she made it clear she wanted to talk. You weren't quite so interested in her past, rather in what she had to offer towards the future. As more time passed by, Sevika found herself becoming more and more fond of you.

If you're more oblivious to the fact that she likes you, Sevika will begin to feel out of her element. Not one to beat around the bush, Sevika would do things portray her interest in you— but maybe it's a little subtle, too subtle for you to pick up on. She waits for you after your shifts, personally buys you some snacks that she thinks you might like, wards off drunk or annoying patrons; anything she could do to make the burden of living in Zaun a little lighter, she would do.

Due to you not being aware of her silly crush, Sevika begins to think you just don't care. And then she'll become frustrated again— she's not going to be running around and doing little tasks and errands to catch your attention. She's Silco's right hand, one of the most dangerous women in Zaun, and here she is buying cheese curls for a bartender that won't give her the time of day!

In an act of defiance, one day, she won't wait for you at the end of your shift— or interact with you act all. And then one day turns to another, and she's gone a week without speaking to you. The first day, you had noticed, but rather assumed that she was not ignoring you, but instead was feeling under the weather. You assumed the same on the second day, and then the third day began to feel more suspicious…

Sitting at the small coffee table in Silco's office, Sevika holds a clipboard in her lap, eyes skimming the recent shipment reports. Too much work for one person, and not a whole lot of time. Wedged between her fingers is a cigar, ashes falling ungraciously onto the ashtray beside her. Her eyebrows are set in an annoyed expression, which doesn't alleviate when she hears the door knock. "Silco's not taking any visitors." When you realize she's in there, you inhale deeply before opening the door. "Not here for Silco," you say as you step through. She doesn't say anything, her eyes still glued to her report. "You doing okay?" Raising an eyebrow, Sevika gives you a look of confusion. "Why are you asking?" "Haven't seen you in a week," you reply. "Thought you got sick or something." Ego slightly bruised, she sighs. "No. Just got busy." She shifts over on the couch, leaving some room. "Come sit."

Sevika is more direct with her feelings after this. She's more or less aware that you feel something about her, she's just not sure what. Having worked under Silco for so long, especially under the shimmer industry, Sevika has met maniacs and lunatics— though you might just be the strangest person she's ever met. Slowly, your relationship progresses outside of work, and though nothing has been officially established, you've been sleeping over at each others' places…

Eventually, you'll ask her yourself. You're not stupid— you're aware of the romantic connection between you and Sevika. You've just never thought to ask until now.

Having worked the whole day, you finally get off your shift, heading to Sevika's flat the first chance you get. You're not even positive she's home, but you have a spare key anyhow. After taking a shower and throwing on one of her shirts, you gallivant over to bed, laying on your back and staring at the ceiling. The door creaks open, and you hear that familiar loud sigh. "Hi," is all you mutter. "Couldn't even get under the blanket?" Sevika sighs as she sits next to you on the bed. Ignoring her jab, you'd been too lost in your own thoughts. What is this called? Friends? Friends with benefits? Is she your girlfriend? Partner in crime?? "Sevika, what are we?" Tugging the blanket from beneath you, Sevika lays down in bed after she covers both of you. "What do you mean?" "Are we dating? Like, officially?" You hook your leg over Sevika's waist. The answer is obvious, but you'd never established it. She grumbles. "I'm not gay." "Sevika, please."

Now that you've formally established your relationship, you realize that she's truly the sweetest girlfriend. One of the best things about your relationship is that you can both co-exist; working the job that she does, Sevika realizes that she spends a lot of time apart from you. But you never question her feelings or whereabouts, not when she hasn't given you any reason to. Most women she'd spoken to, whether it be at the brothel or the bar, had obsessed over her— so when you brought the form of normalcy into her life that you did, she had assumed you just didn't care. She knows better now.

Before you move in with her, Sevika will just find you in her apartment. Whether you're grabbing something out her fridge, laying on the floor in the living room, taking a nap in her bed— you're usually there. Eventually you'll move in, but it would be lying if Sevika said she wouldn't miss getting surprised with you in her apartment when she gets home from work.

There's casual affection and banter constantly. She usually leaves for work earlier than you, so when she kisses you goodbye, you're still in bed, grumbling, "don't touch me, freak," beneath your breath.

Thumb on the corner of the page, you flip through an old Piltovan magazine. It astonishes you that when given an infinite budget, rich pricks in Piltover will waste their money and fabric to put more ruffles on clothes. Ugh. You curl up into yourself further on the couch, blanket draped over your lap. The front door creaks open, and the sound of Sevika's boots being thrown carelessly into the corner of the room fills the air. Before you can even look up, the couch dips beside you, and Sevika's arm wraps your neck to pull you against her. She presses a kiss to your temple, and you wonder when headlocks became an act of romance. "Hey," is all you mumble, leaning into her touch. "This what you do in your time off? Read Piltie shit?" She questions, looking at the magazine you're reading. You simply hum in response. You had a day off today, miraculously— Silco had given you a raise, as well as today's break. Sevika definitely orchestrated all of it, but you didn't pry. She'd probably avoid the question anyway. "You got a raise," she points out. "Maybe you can start investing some money into the cheese curl debt you've gotten yourself into." Not paying much mind to her jibe, you reply. "Why would I do that when I have you?" "Because you're the one eating them, smartass," she replies. Her body weight is nearly entirely projected on you, but you have no complaints. "Should leave you for your addiction." "Leave me? Didn't realize we were together. You said you weren't gay." Her prosthetic arm is off and laid on the coffee table, so she can only use her one arm to wrap around you. Arm wrapping your waist, she tugs you into her lap, which finally persuades you to put the magazine down. "I'm not," she replies as she allows you to press kisses all over her face.

You find out through Ran that she didn't like you when she first met you, on the strangest basis possible. Sevika hadn't told you because she thought you knew. You make fun of her for it constantly, much to her annoyance. It amazes you that even though you tried your hardest to avoid getting into anyone's business, you still managed to attract the attention of "the most dangerous woman in Zaun."

She absolutely hates the fact that you tease her about her previous hatred towards you. When she threatens to retaliate, you ask her if she's going to make you do more dishes.

Given that you're dating her, most of Silco's goons, as well as the patrons in the Last Drop, are aware that messing with you is not the brightest idea. Much to your content, most people leave you alone when they realize that you're Sevika's partner. Being socially awkward has never been better.

If Theriam is tending to the bar, you'll join Sevika at her table while she's playing poker, and she'll allow you to sit in her lap. When you keep drinking her whiskey without her permission, she'll threaten to put you up as an offering, and then quickly take it back because "you wouldn't sell for much."

Though she'll attempt to convince you otherwise, she's absolutely whipped for you. You're the strangest individual she's ever come across-- you're also her best friend and soulmate.

The gray, murky waters of Zaun's only river pushes against the shoreline. Legs dangling over the water, you sit next to Sevika on the docks, waiting for a shipment of shimmer to depart. Its 6 in the morning, and the shipment doesn't leave until 8:30. Sevika had made up some bullshit excuse about needing to be there early, but you knew better than to trust that she was telling the truth about it. She actually just wanted to spend time with you somewhere that wasn't the Last Drop. Her cloak is draped over your shoulders, and your head is leaning against her shoulder. "Why'd you drag me out here so early?" For a moment, she doesn't reply, which isn't uncommon for her. You're about to start speaking again, assuming she had just ignored your question, but she lets out a quiet sigh instead. "I wanted to take you somewhere. Its not ideal, but its somewhere." Her head gently presses against yours, and your heart melts. "Just wanted to tell you that I appreciate having you in my life. Even if I did hate you before, it wasn't for good reason. It was because I wasn't strong enough to chase something I actually wanted." Hearing her speak of herself as if she wasn't strong enough was absolutely astonishing. She's the strongest person you know, literally and figuratively. "You know," you start, trying to find the right words to say. You allow your fingertips to run down the length of Sevika's arm. "You're the strongest person I know. I mean, even without your muscles. You work hard everyday, and you deal with more idiots than I can manage for even a few minutes. I'm glad I met you." Your fingers intertwine with hers. "I think my life's become a lot easier since I started loving you." You weren't just saying this to make her feel better; you truly meant the words you were saying. Since you had gotten with her, work has been easier, you have a home rather than a cheap rented out flat, and most of all, you have something to look forward to at the end of the day— getting to spend time with her. Sevika doesn't reply to your words or compliments, and you weren't going to force her to. You know that a couple words wasn't going to change her perception about herself completely. She shifts, pressing her lips against your hair. "I love you too." She whispers, quiet enough to the point that you nearly don't catch it. You hope that you'll get to say it to her enough to change her mind.

[gingersnaptaff]

It's time for Who do you think is Welsh mythology Arthuriana's most sexy man, lady, God or dubious entity (Part 3 - thr five G's edition.)

First off: Gwydion - Absolute tricksy bastard. Man I legally have to hate or I will perish. Arguably the main character of the fourth branch of the Mabinogi. He proceeds to cause chaos to allow his brother, Gilfaethwy, to rape their Uncle Math's foothold Goewin. How do they do this you might ask? BY STEALING PRYDERI'S FUCKING PIGS. When Pryderi finds out about this - Gwydion had given him dogs made out of magic essentially - he's fuckin livid and declares war on Gwynedd. (As u do.) When the war doesn't work Pryderi and Gwydion have single combat on top of Y Felen Rhyd. Pryderi loses because of [Gwydion's] 'strength and valour and magic and enchantment' and dies. Later - after three years once he and Gilfaethwy are forced by Math to transform into a stag and a hind, a pig and a sow, and a wolf and his bitch (and they also have kids who Math then adopts) - he aids his nephew/possible son, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, in his escapades with Blodeuwedd.

Gwyn ap Nudd - simply the coolest man. Often gets confused with Arawn which I don't get. Brother of Edern, Creiddylad, Lludd and Llefelys. Sometimes has antlers which I mean that's not Gwyn, that's Cernunnos. Best known for featuring in Culhwch ac Olwen where u get the full rundown of his May Day fight with Gwythyr (which yes I imagine gets him fucking battered each year) after Gwyn's abducted Creiddylad. Gwythyr also does the - admittedly unwise - thing and wages war against Gwyn. In the process of this Gwyn 'captured ... Nwython and Cyledyr Wyllt, his son, and forced Cyledyr to eat his father's heart and because of that Cyledyr went mad.' Also, 'God has put the devils of Annwfn in him.' I have to stand. He's also king of the Tylwyth Teg, and once tried to trick Saint Collen. Also wears a blue and red particoloured tunic like 🤷 incredibly fashion forward. Plus he has a cloud white dog called Dormarch and his nose glows red. Djdjddjdjd

Gofannon - God of smithing. Brother of the aforementioned Gwydion and also Aranrhod, Amaethon, and Gilfaethwy. Dôn, u have way too many kids. Sndjdkd He's a bit-part character in all honesty, but he's mentioned in Culhwch ac Olwen as being needed to 'set the plough. He will not undertake work willingly save for a rightful king, nor can u force him.' He also BATTERED HIS NEPHEW, DYLAN AIL DON, TO DEATH IN A PRIME DICK MOVE. 😡😡😡 I want to gnaw his fuckin arms off.

Geraint - pls don't vote for this man. PLS. He abuses Enid and is just The Worst. I can't think of a single good thing he does. Horrid bastard. He was put on this earth to make my life hell, I'm only including him to make up the numbers. DON'T VOTE FOR HIM. I'M PUTTING HIM IN THE BIN. PUSHING HIM OFF YR WYDDFA AS WE SPEAK.

Gwenhwyfar - OG GUINEVERE. MY WIFE. I AM LEGALLY MARRIED TO HER. I HAVE A BOOK I AM (hoping) TO GET BACK INTO WRITING ABOUT HER. I THINK SHE'S THE BEST OKAY?! Her name means 'white phantom' and she's amazing. Either there are three Gwenhwyfar's or one Gwenhwyfar depending on what u read (triads or the Mab) Probably best known as Arthur's queen, she features in the three romance tales - and is mentioned by Arthur in Culhwch ac Olwen where he's like 'yeah my wife is like the seventh thing ur legally not entitled to AFTER PRYDWEN, HIS FUCKIN B O A T (Arthur, get ur fuckin priorities in ORDER. UR WIFE CAN FUCKIN HEAR U.) - she's known as being the cause of Camlann after either her sister Fach slaps her or Medrawd- who Fach is married to - pulls her from her throne and strikes her. There's a ref in a Hywel ab Owain poem about a possible question Arthur had to undertake to get her from her father Ogrfan's hall. I don't know what but like I go CRAZY thinking about it. She's a giantess, she had a cross - Croes Gwenhwyfar- in Llangollen that Edward Lhyud mentions, her son, Llacheu, dies by Gwalchmai's hand, she's honestly so so so so fun and fuck it it's my poll so like VOTE FOR MY WIFE. In my head, she looks like this:

(I can't take the credit for drawing her. @wildbasil drew her for me.)

[thewertsearch]

[Dave] goes underground and discovers gold ruins. Before entering, he's interrupted by Karkat who uses a memo to warn both him and John about their involvement with Terezi and Vriska, telling them the scourge sisters are partaking in a dangerous game of rivalry fueled flirtation which has gotten both him and John killed at least once each.

Initially, I wasn’t sure we’d seen all four of these deaths - but on reflection, I think I can actually list them.

John was manipulated to his death by Terezi, creating Davesprite’s timeline.

He was also killed by Jack, as part of Vriska’s plan to turn him into a god.

Green-Suit Dave was killed as the result of Terezi’s game/experiment.

Red-Suit Dave was killed by DD, who was acting on Vriska’s suggestion to create Bec.

Bro is slain by his own sword, and the body is discovered by Dave later, who can't bring himself to retrieve the sword.

Bro's death is canon - but, at least for now, Davesprite's death is not. Hope is the thing with feathers.

[Dave] then goes on to make all the money needed, to buy all the fraymotifs, which are powerful battle techniques purchased from consorts, and to reach the top of his echeladder.

I’m interested in seeing these Fraymotifs in action – particularly the combined ones that we saw in John’s walkaround.

John appears to be getting a combination attack with each of his co-players. Based on what we know of their respective Aspects, I'll brainstorm some hypothetical techniques that match these names.

Ivories in the Fire [Breath/Time]: I'm picturing John and Dave's combination attack as a time-accelerated hurricane. The main problem with weather manipulation is that it tends to be rather slow; John's storms come out relatively fast, but Dave's help, he can bring them out instantly, firing gales off with the speed and precision of lasers.

Mixolydian Maelstrom [Breath/Light]: A maelstrom of light and wind sounds like something John and Rose would use to distract foes, rather than directly harm them. I think this could be a smoke-and-mirrors technique, summoning strobe lights and clouds of dust to confuse and disrupt large groups of enemies.

Fantasia’s Inhale [Breath/Space]: This sounds like some reality-bending shit. Maybe the Prospit siblings can warp space in a way that synergizes with John's normal fighting style. For example, they could lower the mass of any objects in their vicinity, allowing John's wind to launch much larger objects than normal.

With [Dave’s] massive reserve of grist accumulated in his travels and his more advanced torrenting capabilities, he allows Jade to alchemize some sophisticated equipment right away.

This is a good point that I didn’t catch at the time. The GristTorrent we saw in the comic has an extremely slow download speed, but Jade quickly had millions of grist to spare. Dave had to have a way to speed up the transfer.

[Jade] makes her entry item from the pre-punched card. A tree sprouts from the alchemiter, and a green Bec-shaped pinata dangles from a branch.

Oddly enough, Jade’s entry item spawned the same tree that John’s did. Rose and Dave’s items didn’t have anything in common, so it's just the Prospit siblings whose items share traits.

How typical is this phenomenon? Does it mean anything? With this comic, it's often difficult to tell.

As the clock ticks down to the CRITICAL EVENT, the most important character in Homestuck sits and watches this pandemonium ensue. And then, the second most important character in Homestuck positions a shitty drawing of himself in front of a typewriter and writes this recap.

Gamzee is now more important than Hussie, for whatever that’s worth. What the hell is going on with this guy?

[4aceclover]

Trolls AU (Hypnosis Au)

A unique idea I've had What If instead of music being the main ruling deciding factor of things in the trolls universe there was something else that also allowed people to have power hypnosis more accurately my manipulation as there's multiple different types of this

The best part is is that depending on your type of music it will determine what kind of manipulation you're born with naturally

Are protagonist Branch is a unique case as he's the only troll in the entire known trolldome to be born with out a hypnotic ability of his own which makes things a little more interesting for branch instead of being ostracized for this lack of ability a lot of trolls actually see him as a light in the darkness they see him as something special and that means everyone's going to be vying after him even our other lead Poppy who isn't in the best state

But trust me when I say if poppy is in a bad state to the point where she feels like she needs him in her life just imagine what everyone else in his life is going to be like

I'm talking every single character that branches met specifically in the movies with one TV show cameo as this character is just as important as the rest of them

Brozone

Kismet

K-pop gang

Reggaeton

Yodelers (mostly Hickory)

Chaz (hypnotic smooth jazz duh)

Synth

Viva

And the most dangerous of all Poppy

All the other troll tribes want him too for different reasons some more selfish than the others and mind you this unique ability well it's mostly seen in trolls can work on any species and can even be developed on in any species like the bergens and Mount regions

Poor Branch is in for a wild ride as his life will never be the same

[rainbowvally]

Small Trolls Rant Thing

Don't at all hold any hate for Viva with this, I was just reading some stuff and it got me thinking about it and I just wanna put it out somewhere. Maybe someone will like change my mind or something even??

Unpopular opinion?? I feel like Viva had no reason to exist as a character. 💔

She didn't really do anything/bring anything new to the table or even really effect Poppy much? Taking her out probably wouldn't change a lot past giving more screen time to the giant gap in information we were left with. And allowed for more focus on the accountability that we didn't get to see taken you know.

It's a kids movie and all but like ahh I know they can tackle these things better than this. I still love the movie but Viva is such a ?? for me.

The first film did such a perfect job at giving both leads balance. The second one handed the focus to Poppy, but Branch was still important as a strong support. Why wasn't he allowed to solely take the wheel this time with her as the support? Like why did they need to shove something in for her you know? It just bugs m, and it's something that ultimately made things confused with some past information? She was just not necessary to me I guess. 😭

As a character I don't hate her or anything but the idea of what we could have used her time for is just so hmm. Like there's so much there that felt missing in the end, even though I love the film.

Like why did she get a whole song and back story drop scene just for her to not really be anything?? While we didn't get any sort of information on how the main problem even started. That just feels sort of crazy you know? Like there's no point where we learn why and how they got Floyd. I guess it leaves us in the same position as Branch with not knowing that, or what any of the brothers' journeys were for the last 20 years butttt ahhhh

There wasn't really anything fresh that came with her as a character either to be honest? Cause I mean on a base level she's just Branch but not pessimistic? Like her situation is similar where she's living in fear, and it's stopping her from doing things; there's basically just less there than with him? If that makes any sense? Mhhh It's just a shame.

What did she even ultimately do for Poppy as well that she maybe could have found through coming to understand Branch's situation once the rosed-coloured glasses fell off?

It feels like while a lot of fans are invested in learning more about the brothers the company's kind of running with the sisters at the moment? Which is just odd; the balance has always felt so well done but something just feels off right now to me. It's weird.

Last note: Poppy has multiple friends they could build upon that could give her a sisterly relationship. She already had one going on with Bridget so. Could have focused the energy with Viva on her connecting with the brothers beyond the idolization? I don't know! It just feels so ahhh I don't hate her but I don't understand her inclusion? Viva's part ends up feeling so random the more I think about it all. I feel like the movie's so good, I love it so much and it's like full but also weirdly empty? Like I know these characters by the end but I also don't as well. I feel like I know more about her than I do some of the brothers sometimes and they're like pivotal characters. The movie's entire plot wouldn't exist with out them.

I literally don't even know how to conclude my thoughts so I'm just cutting it off. I guess I just really need more canon information and stuff? I do hope they expand on her more I guess.

[warning-heckboop]

The Day the Trolls' Music Died (and then Came Back Again)

Okay, so I've been thinking about the events of World Tour again, especially the scene in which Poppy destroys the strings and all members of all the tribes go grey. The question that I've seen quite a few people ask, including myself, is how did this event effect the trolls who weren't present at the concert at the time.

Now, before Band Together, there wasn't really any particular reason to assume that there were any trolls, of any tribe or smaller subdivision, who weren't at the concert, because Barb's plan explicitly involved gathering all known trolls to ensure that all types of music other than rock were eliminated. Of course it can always be assumed that there would be a few stragglers out there, but the thing that changed with Band Together was the confirmation that this was in fact the case. At the time, there were at least three individual trolls on their own (at least in terms of not being around other trolls) in John Dory, Bruce, and Floyd, and then a whole community in Viva, Clay, and the Putt-Putt trolls.

So lets say they all went grey as well when the strings were destroyed (there is an argument that they wouldn't've been affected, considering the explosion that happened when the guitar was smashed that took everyone's colors away only seemed to have a range of the stadium, but I'm going to proceed under the assumption that the effects were even farther reaching than that). Obviously it would have been a big shock, and confusing as all hell, but that's not my focus here. What I'm wondering about is how they got their color back.

Sure, we can just say they automatically got their color back suddenly with all the other trolls during the big glitter explosion that the leaders caused, but where's the fun in that? I'd prefer to think they got their color back gradually--and that they experienced the same realization that their color, their music, their life comes from inside them. When Poppy and Branch's heartbeats glowed to life, so did their siblings'.

But let's back up a little. My focus is mostly based on family bonds, and this is largely because of the first trolls at the concert who realize they still have music inside of them. If you haven't seen the movie in a while, it's not Poppy or Branch like you might expect. It's Cooper, who is then joined by Prince Darnell, and then also by King Quincy and Queen Essence.

This is something I threw together based on my train of thought. Cooper's heart is the first to come to life. When he then lets it play over the speaker system, any of the trolls present, including Miss-Main-Character Poppy, could have been the one to react to it and see that it was music. But it wasn't anyone--it was his brother. Cooper's light lit the light in Darnell's heart, and then both brothers making music together lit their parents' hearts as well, allowing the Queen and King to be the first two trolls to acknowledge the fact that the trolls all still had music within them. The way I see it, these trolls all have a sort of connection between them, because they're family. Strings connecting them, so to speak. That's why they don't need the six strings to give them music anymore--because the ability to create music now comes from the strings of their relationships with one another.

Cheesy, I know. But it's a kids movie. Stick with me.

So how does this apply to the trolls not at the concert? Well, just because these other trolls weren't there physically doesn't mean they didn't have bonds to trolls who were there. For Viva and Brozone, they have Poppy & her dad and Branch, obviously, but even for the other Putt-Putt trolls, it's pretty likely most if not all of them had some connection to someone at the concert, considering they were all once members of the Pop tribe too.

So, just like how Darnell and his parents were drawn to respond to Cooper's actions, I think these other trolls would be drawn to action by the trolls they have connections with, too--because bonds of family can't be severed, not completely, by time and distance.

When Poppy finally starts to sing, I think Viva does, too. They're hundreds of miles apart, but their hearts still beat together as one, and so too do their voices sing out. The same goes for Branch and his brothers, too, and all the other trolls who had connections to those back at the concert.

And so, through the same song, all of troll-kind, everywhere, got their color back--even if many of them couldn't truly understand what had even happened until much, much later.

(Bit of a shame, though, really. If Floyd had stayed grey, maybe Velvet and Veneer would have just seen him as useless and let him go. Ah well.)

[notwarriorswiki]

Main Story - Into the Wild #3

The world was spinning.

Attempting to push himself back to his paws, Rusty could only wince as a dull pain persisted in his back. Cool air brushed against his neck, causing his fur to rise and his skin to tingle. He craned his neck back and forth, feeling the fur brush against the groove of his chin. He softly exhaled, blinking back the blurriness to focus on the item before him.

His collar.

Snapped in two, loose, brittle thread jutted out from the breaking point. The bell that always jingled in his ears with every small movement was now a short distance away, alone and hanging from nothing. The sunlight caught its golden shell, allowing it to glisten in the sunlight.

Rusty stared at it, green eyes unable to look away. He lifted his paw, as if he might reach to gingerly scoop it back up. However, the golden light would fade, the sun's rays shifting.

He looked up. A cloud loomed overhead, passing by a portion of the sun. The glitter of his bell faded, and instead the sun's rays danced to rest on Rusty himself.

His fur felt warm, his neck especially. The soft intermingling scents came with a faint breeze, tickling his chin as a smile spread across his face. His green eyes shifted to instead look up, his gaze expectantly fixing upon the blue gray she-cat that had invited him here.

She stood powerful and stern, blue eyes betraying none of her thoughts. And yet as Rusty purred proudly, he couldn't help but notice the smallest twitch of her whiskers.

“The newcomer has lost his Twoleg collar in a battle for his honor," Bluestar called. "StarClan has spoken its approval—this cat has been released from the hold of his Twoleg owners, and is free to join ThunderClan as an apprentice.”

A swell of excitement filled him. Rusty basked in the sunlight's warm glow, his ginger fur radiant under its eyes. He waited for Bluestar to come down and congratulate him, but the she-cat remained perched atop the Highrock.

"You look like a brand of fire in this sunlight..." she murmured, causing Rusty's ears to prick. Her eyes flashed briefly, as if her words had more meaning for her than he knew.

“From this day forward, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be called Firepaw, in honor of his flame-colored coat.”

The gazes of the clan were fixed upon him, Rusty's fur prickling with full awareness of their presence.

Smudge could never be a clan cat. Not like me.

Instead he basked in their attention. He raised his head proudly, turning to gaze once more upon the collar. The cloud's cover was fading, and sunlight once more rested on the bell. But this time he didn't admire its beauty.

Firepaw trotted over and stopped just before the mangled scraps he once wore. With a quick turn, he kicked dust and grass over his collar as though burying his dirt.

Longtail growled, turning to saunter away.

"Not so fast," Bluestar spoke.

The clan cats looked back at their leader, uncertain what she would say next. Firepaw straightened up, ears pricked and attentive.

"This young cat will need a mentor." Bluestar looked to Longtail. "And I think you'll do just fine."

Firepaw and Longtail both froze.

"What?!"

-------------------------------

What you have read here is a sample of a Warrior Cats Rewrite, using a concept that I have been contemplating for awhile now. This concept seeks to combine both an art and writing medium, using Tumblr's post and tagging system to tell a Main Story, episodic series that does not rely on Chapters. This also opens up opportunities for Side Stories about the various characters in the clan, which while not required, will provide insight into some of their behaviors, as well as allow viewers to get to know them.

This concept is not unique, rather there are many Warrior Cats blogs who use a format like this. I'm unsure if it has been used for a rewrite, as well as with the branching pathways I have in mind, but I find it is a more viable way for me to share the Power of Twelve Rewrite with people after the Ao3 Series died out.

The question is if you enjoyed it. Do you like this concept? Are you interested in it? Would you follow Power of Twelve with this concept? I'm curious to get people's thoughts, as well as other things that could be implemented. There's also the question of if you don't like this, and I want to hear that too!

Either way, thanks for reading, and I hope this post was a fun read!

[icharchivist]

can you allow me to be a Grade A Bitch for a sec

(this is a DA4 AND a FF7Remake Hate Post)(but also i swear i'm making relevent points there. I think.)(i mean beyond just being a hater.)

so for the tldr the original FF7 has been one of the biggest impactful stories of my life when i was an early teen, and i was an adult when i got into DA and DA is part of the few stories that are like. super mega important to me. I hold both stories very dearly into my heart.

I was really looking forward the Remake and VG, mostly optimistic about what would come, trying not to set my expectations too high either.

But i ended up really disliking the direction both took so it's my cross to cringe, i guess.

But I also remember Epler talking about the ff7r saying it's an incredible game and even saying stuff like "this is the best and only way you should do a remake/a continuation" which means i'm also just 😬 because i fundamentally disagree.

I wrote a 10k words reviews of things that annoyed me about ff7r and like.

Some of the elements i was already hating in the RG happened in VG and i don't even know how on purpose it was 💀

on the complains i had:

-The lack of agency of the Main Character/Player.

FF7OG is about dealing with identity a lot and the OG does that by giving choices to how Cloud will approach some situations which doesn't amount to much but at least are because of dialogue choices, and the conclusion is "every dialogue choices isn't himself talking actually". Once Cloud has dealt with his identity problem in the OG you don't get to pick his dialogues for him anymore because he figured himself out; But still it gives some branching storyarc. In the Remake those options are fully replaced with "different branching depending on the number of quests you do with each girls" On top of that actual choices Cloud makes in the OG (like crossdressing) ends up imposed on him with the remake.

And i'm thinking about how one of the big problem with VG is that there is no real control on Rook. Even the dialogue wheels' options aren't so different from one another because you have a set path. The only thing you can change is the romance per se and even there it will depend more on how many quests you do with your companions than picking specific choices.

-"Weird on Flashbacks" They were super weird on how to time Cloud's flashback which also therefore completely ruins the 2nd Act twist when Sephiroth manipulates Cloud making him think none of his memories are real.

DA4 meanwhile is just weird about the flashbacks, you stumble upon them so they're not exactly linked together and all of that.

-The Pacing Complained about the major padding in the remake which was just very visible when you see a part of the game that takes me 8 hours in the OG took me 80 hours to clear in the remake. Like come on. And while some thing are relevent some others are just really annoying, or try to further a character arc at the expense of the plot (re: giving Barret two chapters (yay!) by making so the team doesn't go to save Aerith right away after she was taken to protect Barret's daughter (wait what?))

DA4? same thing. You keep being distracted from the main story by padding quests of having to take care of your companions' unfinished business instead of focusing on the main story. And then the ending goes too fast and with a terrible pacing.

quoting:

"-The Fear of Committing to the Fucked Up aspect of the game". DA4 took the hard pill out of this one.

In the OG the horrors Shinra pulls are truly horrifying, but there's also ambiguity like -- when Avalanche bombed the Reactors and the news said it killed many people, was it our bomb that did that? or was that propaganda? The game will give you no answer and will just have Barret and Reeve fight over it, whether it may have been something they had to do still against Shinra. Avalanche isn't all white in their actions, and because we stay on Avalanche's point of views there's aspects of Shinra we can't know about, and can't know therefore if they're THAT evil. (i mean. they probably are. but the game leave it up to discuss because then the convo between Barret and Reeve hits harder.)

In the Remake? Don't worry bestie like every bad things Avalanche did was from another branch, and Shinra purposingly made the explosion worse to kill people to frame you and start a war with another country. you did nothing wrong, they're using you, you're fine <3

The ecological aspect of the game is also severely undercut by the remake to focus more on Sephiroth, therefore removing any of the early political nuances of the game that is supposed to serve to set up the allegory Sephiroth represents.

in da4 do i even need to say it. We barely talk abotu the bad sides of Thedas, when we do it's from like, arguably horrible people, cultists, they're not regular people on the street, so you don't get to think about it. The Evanuris? just evil for the sake of evil. Don't worry about it. And instead of elaborating more on them, it focus back on Solas in a way that betrays what he represented in the previous game.

never thought i'd be comparing Solas and Sephiroth like that. Look what you make me do.

-Moralizing Revolutionaries for Taking Drastic Approach.

FF7 OG does have this one convo with Reeve i mentioned but in general the game mostly supports Avalanche's actions because they have to take drastic measures because Shinra IS that bad. Reeve is biased as a member of Shinra who was trying to change it from the inside and was also fed their propaganda, but he turns around eventually and commits fully to Avalanche when the rest of Shinra betrays him and shows him that there is no peaceful alternative for him to take.

In the Remake however you get multiple convo trying to have them wash their hands clean of it. Tifa is constantly doubting what they're doing (she wouldn't. let Tifa be angry. Why is Tifa no longer angry in the remake.), Barret not even being sure of his goal, clearly telling us the worst of Avalanche is another branch, "see we didn't mean to bomb the reactor to make a statement, we just wanted to make it unfunctional" untrue Jessie but okay!

But also the President of Shinra gets a whole new scene lecturing Barret about how he's not a revolutionary, he's just doing that to bloaster his own pride! that he's not mad Shinra killed his people, but mad that they don't look like hero. And Since then the convo is stopped by Sephiroth killing the president, you never get to talk about it ever again, almost validating him.

(which is repurposing a scene from later in the game that did call Barret's motivation selfish because he was in for the revenge more than for a change on earth, but THAT DOESNT MEAN IT'S ABOUT FAME AND PRIDE????? HELLO?????)

Because, you see, Revolutions being violent are bad :( you can't change the world by being violent :( you must always feel like you're punishing yourself for it :( oh and if you care a little too much actually have you considered that your desire is Selfish and therefore it doesn't matter?

the wild thing is that in the OG the conclusion was more like "yeah we're "selfish" in the way we want to save the planet, but that's because it means we want to keep living in it, keep making a future for people in it, we have to care personally to see it through". But there in the remake the only time it's brought up is to shame Barret for not being authenthic in his goal to save the world.

This also happened to my husband Solas, where all of the extreme positions he took were shamed by the narrative, and framed as him being selfish for caring so much, and don't worry you don't get to see revolutionary do violent things anymore, that's soooo DA in 2011 we don't do that anymore.

Who needs to talk about ecology or slavery when you can make the villain who was always a symbolism of how this society has failed people to be Bad People Because They're Bad, Guys.

-Also on that Tifa point: Girlboss means you're not allowed to want to take revenge anymore and you have to embrace your position as a motherly figure.

Tifa is SOOOO angry in the OG and is like. Downright mean at time?? she insults the boys really often? Because she's traumatize, she wants revenge against Shinra, when Aerith gets kidnapped she doesn't have time for the boys' nonsense when Aerith was taken because of her, so she stresses and insults the guys to move faster because Aerith is in danger.

In the Remake, don't worry, she doesn't want revenge. She wants to just make a change in the world! but not like this :( not with violence. Barret has to encourage her with "violence is the answer" and he barely believes himself when he says that. Instead Tifa's motivation becomes much more about protecting Marlene, the little girl she helps out. And so when Aerith gets kidnapped saving Marlene for Tifa, Tifa does the normal thing to.... ask Cloud to give up on saving Aerith because both her and Barret are very tired and Aerith knew what she was doing and both Tifa and Barret need to grief for a while. It's only after 2 chapters worth of content that weren't in the OG that Tifa suddenly remembers her original character and sneaks on Cloud when he sneaks out and says "i thought about it, but actually i can't just do nothing for Aerith, so i'm coming with you :(". Cool. In the OG she nearly threatened Cloud that if they didn't go asap to save Aerith she will Do Something. So then when you go save Aerith instead of Tifa nearly starting a fight with Barret because they have different plans to save Aerith and Tifa doesn't vibe with Barret's, it's Cloud and Barret who fights and Tifa who is the voice of reasons going "ahah guys calm down :)"

Because you see, women cannot want revenge. They cannot be angry. They cannot have a selfish desire out of her selfish relationships. Out of feeling personally wronged. We don't want women like that. Women needs to just scold guys for being silly boys for being traumatized by what she's stronger about. Don't forget to emphasis she really just wants the best for others people, especially those she's motherly about. Because a woman has to be a sweet mother figure first.

This also happened to my fiend Mythal, see. Stripped of her desire for revenge, her vindication, because "wow Solas is so silly wanting to fight back against people who hurt us, i care about the people and the daughter i abused all her life now."

Don't worry; She has the last wise word when Solas is being silly. That's what Women are for.

next point again, quoting:

"-No respect for the mysteries of the saga."

Listen for more ff7 reasoning read the blog post i linked, for da4 do i need to say it. the way they just handwaved some lore we have theorized about for more than a decade, and the fact they almost didn't address it? (they revealed that the "elves=spirits" reveal was supposed to be revealed by Anaris but since some people wouldn't play Bellara quest they realized they had to tell it elsewhere. Imagine that. imagine THAT.)

ff7R was so convinced people would know aspects of the saga so they didn't bother treating those aspects with respect. both game wrote themselves with "here what we expect the players to know about us, and what players wouldn't know, and only then we'll care what we talk about" instead of telling a story.

re my ff7 post but i got upset at how they spelled the lore out in ff7 way earlier than in the OG and in a way less subtle way, and honestly, the lack of subtility in the lore reveals counts also for da4.

-Sephiroth/Solas are fundamentally different from previous games because they want to sell you the aura of the character without any regard to what those characters represents, and they get away with it by just handwaving it with "well they're manipulators anyway so of course they would" instead of genuinely focusing on the fact they are people who have been pushed by the system they were a part of all their lives and why the fuck am i NOW putting comparaison between Sephiroth and Solas; It's going to piss me off so i'll stop -- OH GOD IS THAT WHY THEY HAD SOLAS STAB VARRIC. REPRESENTATIVE. REPRESENTATIVE TALK TO ME. BECAUSE I'LL BE IN YOUR WALLS.

-Meanwhile also no nuance with the villains.

That's a bit carried over from FF7OG on here except when it comes to Sephiroth, but they somehow made the Evil People Even More Evil, Reeve is much more conflicted about being Part of Shinra than he was at first in the OG, and Sephiroth was stripped of his complexity since it's AC!Sephiroth, not OG!Sephiroth.

But no nuance. in my DA4 villains. "people are just bad sometimes."

"-Desamorcing any emotional scene by the new mysteries." dfjdlfkjdfjfdhd THEY'RE THE SAME GAMESSS IM SO

sorry ff7r bad with the whole "those are the ghosts that are maintaining the original timeline and it's bad uwu" but this wording applies to everything about the Executors, fuck the Executors, i'm out of fucks to give.

-paraphrasing "why would you pretend a character who's death is important is still alive just to play with us until reality will eventually settles in" i'm this close to say Varric=Zack the situation is dire.

"-Aerith and Nanaki becoming dev's mouthpieces at the expense of their own character arc." i don't want to get deep into it but legit sooo many chara in VG do that, especially when they criticize Solas. Morrigan first and formost because of her situation, but eventually characters will just starts to act out of characters to tell you what the devs want you to think. Re: the Murals discussions scenes.

Also both Aerith/Nanaki and Solas who are the "last of their kind" in some way and instead of it being to further their characterization, it's just used so you get some lore info, infodumping, and then disregard them as soon as you do.

-The Themes are no longer theming.

Big Themes like Ecology, War, Capitalism, science destroying Nature, Nuclear power, ect on FF7 side, or Slavery, War, Religion, on DA side, are fully taking a backseat over personal plotline that takes away from the impact those had on the world.

FF7 becomes about how those specific fuckos are stuck in a fate loop and have to replay fate over and over again, making them special while in the OG they were a bunch of nobodies doing what they could with the issue they had, while in DA4 you're so focused on people's personal regret you lose the big picture of how the world actually works.

And in turn therefore the new themes are incompatible about the original themes.

Solas must let go of the past because screw the ancient elves. FF7R players are put in a position of asking themselves "sooo will the characters we know die die this time?" and the game will bait and switch it because "maybe you can challenge fate!" when one of the big themes of the OG is "the destructive consequences of the Denial Stage of Grief."

-In the end both games are telling you to let go of what the previous games tell you to enter into a "new era" for a "newer audience" that apparently can't handle moral nuance, systemic problems, and stuff like that.

"-It feels unfinished."

And that's just for stuff i can compare to reading my FF7R review at the time!!

to me FF7R is a bad game because it betrays the themes of the Main Game, mischaracterize most of the characters especially for the sake of new, badly written twists, and it completely refuses to let you Think about the Society the characters live in. Don't worry about it. Blame Solas/Sephiroth. It's fate/the Executors. You don't need to think about the system that led to those things. You don't need to think about your influence in those. you don't need to think.

But hey it's escapism media right. Enjoy your witch looking for her cat in the Alps. I'm going to seethe, for having starting my year playing ff7r to see if i was too hard on it only to feel like i wasn't hard enough, and finishing it on DA4 where the betrayal came out of nowhere.

And i wouldn't drive as much the comparaison if i hadn't seen DA devs praise the damn game like. Maybe this and "who's Zevran again" should have been the two Red Flags to make me think i shouldn't care, actually.

[evertidings]

Hey! I loooooove your game. So much. Nikolas is my comfort character for sure 😭 I did have a question too! I was wondering how you went about writing the branches of your story. I'm writing an IF of my own and reading your updates it seems like we have a similar method of NOT sticking to our plans (lol). Atm I find myself constantly pinballing around to build up each branch at the same time and I was wondering how effective that method actually is. And I do it straight in the Notepad++ app which feels like it's maybe the wrong way to go about it? I'm sorry if you've been asked this before! I've only been on tumblr for a short while

hmm. well obviously we all have our different methods and whatnot so what might work for me might not for you, but this is my rule of thumb when it comes to branches.

start off with a mindmap/tree diagram

if you're a visual person like me, creating some sort of diagram for how your chapter will go is a lifesaver. i find that this allows you to see how complicated your branches become and how to rein them in before they get too out of hand (more on that later).

know how the branches will end and reroute to the main story

this one pairs well with the mindmap suggestion. the point is here not to get so lost that you don't know how to find your way out, so to say. if you know how your branch will be initiated, make sure you also know how it'll end. i tend to have all my branches end similarly (characters saying goodbye, leaving a certain location) to make it easier to transition to the next scene.

make sure all your branches convey the same information

this one's a little contradictory. if you're rewarding readers by choosing a specific branch, this doesn't apply. i'm talking about the smaller bits that are easier to get lost. you don't want to randomly mention that a character is in the hospital in one branch, for example, and not in another. you'll confuse the hell out of your audience. the general idea here is that if you're telling your reader something that will be relevant in the shared common text later, make sure you're putting it on all branches.

make sure your branch has a goal

if you're going to take anything from this post, let it be this. and when i mean goal, i don't mean conveying information. every plot point in your story should have some sort of purpose to it, whether it be to progress the plot, develop the relationship between the mc and ro or add depth to a character. branches are no different. don't be making branches for the sake of making branches. which leads to...

don't overcomplicate it

this one's self-explanatory, i think. the possibilities with if are endless and with branches, it's easy to get carried away. i'd advise from things like branches within branches until you get more comfortable with how the process. remember, writing an if may feel similar to a linear novel, but it's not. don't overwhelm yourself.

i hope this helps ! <333

[beawritingbooks]

Have you watched Stranger Things?

If yes, what are your thoughts about it?

Your favorite characters?

Your ships?

I have seen Stranger Things and I love it!

So, there are some parts that I do have issues with. For example, I really don't like what I have heard about how they treat their BIPOC cast members. I also don't like how they treat their women characters, either.

Like, as a woman, I cannot see any woman being so flippant about a guy taking and developing dirty pictures of her w/out her consent. I will never get over that they had Nancy be okay with that. No real life woman would be so unconcerned about that kind of behavior.

Also, I thought Argyle (Eduardo Franco), was such a fun addition to the cast. I was really disappointed when I heard that they weren't bringing him back. I liked Eddie & Chrissy, too, and I think that they could have been fun longer-term additions, as well.

That being said, of the remaining cast, I love Steve, Robin, Hopper, Joyce, Dustin, Erica, Eleven, Max, & Lucas!

I am a multi-shipper.

However, when it comes to the kids, while I think that some of them would make cute couples, I don't read stories with them as the main pairings.

I honestly think that all the kids should have time when they are in university to go to therapy, be single, and go their separate ways and figure out/find themselves. They are unique individuals & their current situation understandably requires an unhealthy level of codependence.

I'm not saying that they should stop being friends or hanging out. I'm not even saying that they shouldn't end up together one day. I'm just saying that they should branch out, heal, and live their lives to the fullest because you can't fully heal in the same environment in which you were hurt.

All of that aside, I ship:

Joyce/Hopper (they work so well together!)

Steve/Robin (they are Platonic Soulmates & they belong together. I hc that they will eventually be in a QPR when they find out what that means)

Steve/Eddie (I do not care if anyone finds this cringe)

Eddie/Chrissy (I think Eddie & Chrissy had chemistry, but I could also see Chrissy becoming Eddie's Robin. So, I can hc them as either romantic or platonic)

Robin/Chrissy (I love the idea of Robin & Chrissy becoming girlfriends. I think they could work)

Eleven/Max

Lucas/Max

I also like the idea of letting Eleven be asexual/biromantic, or even allowing herself to be single. Women & girls can be happy when single & they do not need to be defined by their relationships. Also, Eleven really needs to find herself outside of her relationships, because she has been robbed of her independence & her free will for her entire life.

[sassmouthsimmer-thehallowslegacy]

Mobile Navigation:

Current gameplay:

• Written in the Stars: Origin Story • Written in the Stars: Main Storyline • Easy Tiger (nsfw content 18+) • Willow : Evermore Series – a Simself story • The Hallows Legacy Challenge > gameplay coming soon Disclaimers 📣 FYI – I'm in the process of knocking off the dust on this tumblr account of mine; and still working on page updates, character cards, a page referencing story lore, and upcoming blog posts for each story. Keep checking back for more updates! 👽

Welcome to:

About this 'Let's Play' legacy 'story': This gameplay 'story' is inspired by and based from 'The Halloween Legacy Challenge' and in celebration for the release of the new expansion pack – Life and Death.

Since the L&D pack release, it has me in a chokehold – its so damn good! I am playing this save file according to the rules of this legacy challenge but I am including several twists in Gen 04 – Gen 10 of the generational legacy. More about that in the challenge 'rules' below, which will be notated by the asterisks * and italics. I decided to name this version of gameplay as 'The Hallows' because I wanted a name that referred to the Halloween challenge without calling it 'Halloween' since it's currently past time of the spooky season. I discovered the Halloween Legacy Challenge on @anxiousplumbob's tumblr account but the challenge was originally created by Snowiii (@Snowiii95) and Herald Sims (@HeraldSims). If you'd prefer to play through the original Halloween challenge, instead of this quirky 2.0 version I've created here – then go check out the op creators tumblr accounts listed above. Their original challenge was created in spirit of the spooky season and is a great opportunity to play with all the occults in game; explore many of the packs and create a cool legacy!

RULES:

NO money cheats allowed!

You must complete all 10 generations

The Sims traits can be chosen as you please, unless the rules specify a trait

If you don’t own a pack you can adjust the challenge!

You’re allowed to use mods unless they give you money or make things too easy –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 01 : The Bad Witch! As the name says, you’re a bad Witch! You seek as much knowledge as possible to make sims lives hell, while at the same time focusing on your brand new potion shop.

Complete the “Spellcaster & Sorcery aspiration"

The heir must have the “mean” trait

Master the mischief skill

Master the charisma skill

Start a potion/herb shop

Master the retail skill

The heir can’t have a normal job, all the money should be made by selling collectibles and by selling potions and herbs in their potion shop! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 02 : The Good Witch Unlike the first generation, you’re a kind hearted little witch. Now that you own the shop, you sell potions to aid other sims, but also herbs and crops that you carefully planted!

You have a deep phorbidden love for vampires which is ironic due to your nature. But you can’t shake that feeling!

This generation can start helping with the shop as a teen, but can only own it as a young adult

Complete the “Purveyor of Potions” aspiration

Master the herbalism skill

Master the gardening skill

Master the retail skill

Just like the previous generation they can’t have a normal job, only the shop!

They must date/marry a vampire and have a baby with them –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 03 : The Hybrid Half spellcaster and half vampire, you want to know everything about your origin and ancestors! For that you’ll spend many years reading countless books about it and even write your own journal entries about your discoveries!

Complete the “Master Vampire” aspiration

Master the vampire lore skill

Master the writing skill

Achieve level 10 of the Freelancer Career in the Writing branch –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 04 : The Cure * Tired of the vampire lifestyle you just want to be healed. You’ll be studying and find any clues that can heal you from this curse. ***[ Another reason you want to find a cure is so that you can finally marry your secret lover – a sworn enemy to your vampiric bloodline.]

Complete the “Master Mixologist” aspiration

Master the mixologist skill

Master the vampire lore skill

Achieve level 10 of the Culinary career in the mixologist branch

Cure the vampirism

*Earn the 'Lunar Confident' trait

*Fall in love and marry a Werewolf.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– *** [ Sass notes: I'm adding in a twist to the remaining parts of the challenge to include overlooked/additional occult sims that are included in the newer expansion packs – consider this as the 2.0 version ] NEW! version of Generation 05 : The Mooncaster Being a hybrid and shunned by the vampire side of your family, you seek to find answers to the vampiric feud, so you ultimately move away to embrace the 'wild side' of life and everything it has to offer. That is, until you meet your fated mate – a human and so your focus shifts to finding a cure for your future family.

Traits: Home Turf, Loner, Socially Awkward

Live in Moonwood Mill

Master the Fishing skill

Become an Apex Wolf and defeat Greg in a Werewolf Brawl

Bite and contract Werebies to a human Sim, ultimately becoming your fated mate

You can't have a normal job, except by selling fish and catching frogs to breed and sell.

Complete the 'Cure Seeker' Werewolf aspiration, but not until after the birth of your first pup.

Master the Mixology skill

Create the 'Wolf-B'-Gone' elixir to cure your family

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Generation 06 : The Scientist * You’re a curious cookie and you have a fascination for aliens [ever since you found out your family of Mooncasters has a connection to the planet Sixam!] Your dream is to meet an alien! You’ll be studying in university to get a boost in the science career. Once you reach the top of the career you’ll visit Sixam to meet your future love!

Complete the “Nerd Brain” aspiration

Sign up to the “Computer Science” degree

Achieve level 10 of the Science career

Master the logic skill

Master the mischief skill

Visit Sixam

Must date/marry an alien and have a baby with them (from Sixam, unless they’re abducted!) –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 07 : The Curator Being an alien you’re highly intelligent, curious and skillful. You want to collect everything you can find from the world and study it in detail.

While studying, you’ve found out the existence of mermaids. Using your alien power, you must find a male mermaid sim to mate with!

Complete the “Curator” aspiration

Master the robotic skill

Master the programming skill

Achieve level 10 of the Engineer Career

Must date/marry a male mermaid sim –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 08 : The Siren * As a mermaid the last thing the previous generation wanted was to get pregnant by an alien. Having mixed emotions, the pregnancy had its problems! That resulted in you being a resentful Siren!

Your goal is to spread your anger across Sulani, luring as many sims as you can and killing them.

Complete the “Public Enemy” aspiration

Master the charisma skill

Master the mischief skill

Achieve level 10 of the Criminal Career in the Boss branch

Must kill at least 5 sims

* Must have an Enemy-to-Lovers relationship and marry them

* Give the lover a forbidden fruit to eat in an attempt to kill them

* Have a child with a Plant Sim

[ *Sass notes: I'm adding in a twist to this part of the challenge to include an overlooked occult sim – the Siren in an murderous attempt, gives the Forbidden Fruit to their lover to eat; the Siren thinks this fruit will kill them, but instead they become a Plant Sim – I think this makes sense for the next heir to be a Plant Sim hybrid for the eco 'green' portion of the next generation of the challenge ] –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 09 : The Hopeful One* You see Sulani and your hybrid mermaid / [plant sim] life in a different way. You despise the people that are destroying the island’s nature and you want to recover its true beauty!

Complete the “Beach Life” aspiration

Master the logic skill

Master the fitness skill

Achieve level 10 of the Conservationist Career in the Marine Biologist branch

Clean the entire island of Sulani

Sulani must have the green footprint

*Live off-grid and maintain a garden with a scarecrow

*Fall in love with the Scarecrow, marry and have a child with them. (this may require pregnancy-related cheats or a science baby)

[ *Sass notes: Continuation of the twist to this part of the challenge to include gameplay for an overlooked occult sim – the Plant Sim paired with a unique Sim – Patchy the Scarecrow. I think this makes sense for the 'green' theme of this generation. ] –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 10 * : The Adventurous Do you ever feel like you don’t fit in? Well, it’s one of those cases! You hate Sulani weather, the heat, the ocean, everything! So you want to move across the globe and explore Mt. Komorebi! **You're obsessed with everything to do with winter since you've never experienced it. Winterfest becomes your favorite holiday and you always partake in all the holiday traditions.

Must move to Mt. Komorebi

Complete the “Mt. Komorebi Sightseer” aspiration

Must have the adventurous trait

Master the fitness skill

Master the logic skill

Master the writing skill

Master the charisma skill

Achieve level 10 of the Salary Person Career in the Supervisor branch

* Fall in love, marry and have a child with Father Winter, so the next heir earns the 'Child of Father Winter' bonus reward trait

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 11 * : The Conspiracy Theorist ** Being a child of Winter, you tire of the winter wonderland of your life and dream of endless summers. Naturally curious, in your teens you discover a book about conspiracy theories, aliens, and a secret underground lab in the desert. Your quest for knowledge to discover the truth becomes your childhood obsession; so you find yourself moving to this mysterious desert town as a young adult. Your answers will be in StrangerVille. Your job is to solve the terrifying...huh?... problem that is going on!

Must move to StrangerVille

Complete the 'StrangerVille Mystery' aspiration

Master the programming skill

Master the photography skill

*Master the fitness skill

Achieve level 10 of the Military Career in the Covert Operator branch

*Have a child with a Conspiracy Theorist

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Generation 12 * : The Paranoid Paranormal Growing up in StrangerVille, you'd hear about the odd and unusual; there's danger lurking around every corner; or so you've been told by your conspiracy theorist parents. Living your entire childhood in constant fear, you are a little erratic, paranoid and – a bit skeptical since nothing ever really happens. In your teens, you attend a slumber party, where you and your friends attempt a seance and share tales of ghostly urban myths. Your best friend dies from fright after sharing a horrific urban myth. Devastated, it leaves you wondering if there is life after death, and so you dedicate your life to finding out.

Traits: Erratic, Paranoid, Skeptical

Must move into a haunted house in Willow Creek

Master the Medium skill

Master the Logic skill

Master Thanatology skill

Complete the "Ghost Historian" aspiration

Earn a Paranormal Investigator license

Master the Paranormal Investigator career

Summon and befriend Guidry and Bonehilda

Woohoo and have a child with a Ghost

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– [* 'Lucky 13' the Final generation of the 2.0 twist to include the new 'Life and Death' pack gameplay. ]

Generation 13 * : Back to the Origins As a child of Paranormal parents, you find yourself obsessing over death, you have visions of both the future and the past. You grasp the meaning of 'Momento Mori' and seek to know more about the ancestral lineage of your parents – What is your origin? Is it true your ancestors had dark, mysterious secrets? Even powers?! ...Witchcraft!? a gift of sight into the Afterlife?! You've heard that it all began in Ravenwood, so you follow the whispers of the ancestral elders to discover your destiny.

Traits: Gloomy, Overachiever, Macabre

Move to Ravenwood and live on Hallowed Grounds

Master either the Undertaker or the Reaper career

Have a pet crow

Master the Cooking and Gourmet Cooking skill

Master the Gardening skill

Conduct Tarot card readings to earn extra money

Master the Thanatology skill

Create a bucket list, a will and an heirloom

Collect all of tarot cards to earn Lady Ravendancer's coveted Tarot card deck

Grow a Death Flower

Make Ambrosia (your choice as to how or whom you'll use it on)

Woo hoo and have a child with the Grim Reaper – the future heir will earn the Grimborn trait

Become a Ghost and complete any 'Unfinished Business' then choose to move on, remain as a ghost or be reborn to continue your family legacy.

[allmydokkuns]

the brainworms have decided it's time for another ramble so on tonight's menu is Lan Qiren, no not like that please do not consume someone else's fictional uncle without said fictional uncle's consent. Vague spoiler alerts for character backstory and plot IG?

The running motif (might be the wrong word? Coincidence maybe?) of "younger uncle having to step in to parent the next generation because someone died or is Otherwise Unavailable" is really obvious with Lan Qiren. Very unfortunate for him, and I don't get to see a lot of interpretations of him in fandom that expand beyond the "stickler for the rules suffocating teacher ish figure" that we see of him re: the Cloud Recesses arc from Wei Wuxian's perspective. Therefore I'm just gonna slap some text into this post about all the things we don't really know about him but some stuff I assume or infer based on some shit in my brain yeah.

Lan Qiren, birth name and age unknown, is the younger brother of Qingheng-jun (name and age both unknown), and the paternal uncle of the Twin Jades of Lan. We know this cause both Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji address him as "shufu," which is the more formal version of the "-shushu" WWX uses for Jiang Fengmian. In the absence of any other known siblings or close blood relatives of the main branch of the Lan clan, this also automatically made him, from his birth until the birth and successful upbringing of (at least) his elder nephew, the sect heir to Gusu Lan. I say this because it's important context for the role he plays in both the sect and his nephews' upbringing.

I'll talk a bit about Qingheng-jun and how the choices he made re: Xichen's and Wangji's mother/their marriage completely ruined Lan Qiren's and his son's lives. I don't think we know much about Qingheng-jun and Qiren when they were younger until Qingheng-jun apparently meets his wife-to-be and the situation escalates until he married her to protect her from execution (?) and proceeded to punish their whole immediate family by choosing to go into seclusion as well. You might argue that it was a good thing he recognized what a disaster this all was and took some kind of punishment for it, but. But. As the oldest son and older brother, he serves as the future sect leader, role model for the disciples, and has the duty to not only lead the sect but also guide any siblings he has from "taking the wrong path," so to speak. His choosing to go into seclusion is a punishment, yes, but was completely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Even assuming his now wife was a guest cultivator of some kind, he would have been well within his rights to step back and allow the rules to run their course once she committed a crime, to be startled out of his infatuation (?) with her into realizing that maybe she wasn't a good choice (or the only choice) for the future sect leader's wife, do his penance, and then move on. So why didn't he? Love, panic or obsession?

His choice to be secluded himself with her can mean different things depending on how you interpret the Gusu Lan practice of seclusion. Is it physical seclusion only, or did he take it to the extreme and was completely hands-off for everything from sect affairs to his children's upbringing? Obviously he had kids with his wife but that would be allowable since you know, marriage and heirs. The fact that the kids' monthly visits to his wife are mentioned but none to him kind of suggests that he had a minimal role in his sons' lives. Also it's super weird in the context of filial piety and the importance of a father in that role ethic. Fortunately for plot purposes, this role (and the duties thereof) he so very conveniently vacates can also be fulfilled by Lan Qiren.

The visits to their mother could be excused under the guise of letting LXC and LWJ exercise their filial piety, i.e. their respect for their mother. But all other duties normally carried out by the husband and wife as well as the sect leader and sect leader's wife would fall on Lan Qiren and whatever sect members/servants/caretakers were appropriate. E.g., as a man, Lan Qiren cannot nurse his nephews until they're weaned, but can choose nursemaids and servants who have the right skillsets to care for very young children. When they're older but still not old enough to be granted courtesy names/live in their own households, he is the obvious choice for them to live with, so they can be taught the rules, proper etiquette, how to read/write, etc. Again, as an elder, this would be part of his purview as their uncle, but he would not be primarily responsible for these things in their lives if it weren't for the extenuating circumstances of his brother's disaster of a marriage. Also important -- it seems he's also the face of the sect and is entrusted with handling politically significant intersect matters such as the guest disciples and the whole incident with WWX punching Jin Zixuan, which tracks with him being the only other candidate in the main family to lead the sect in his brother's absence.

Politically Qingheng-jun would have been doing Qiren a favor because he wouldn't be as important otherwise as a second son, if it weren't for the fact that Qiren gets all of the thankless work with none of the recognition. Qiren's significance as sect heir expired as soon as his sister-in-law gave birth to two healthy sons, at which point he's just a placeholder until Lan Xichen comes of age, UNLESS both of his nephews die with no heirs. And by all visible criteria, he's done a fucking good job too! If he was power hungry and coveted his brother's position, he didn't have to do such a damn good job of raising his nephews that they became the first and second highest ranked young men of their generation, you know?

Speaking of heirs, why is Qiren raising his nephews alone? Given the familial and sect obligations he has on his plate, it would have been reasonable for the sect to shore up any instability by finding a good match for him posthaste, which would have the added bonus of giving any potential nephews a maternal figure in their everyday life to handle the manners and etiquette bit, at least. Depending on the amount of time between marriage drama and Xichen being born, I can think of a couple of reasons:

Gusu Lan came out the other side of marriage drama and collectively went, we're not doing that shit again, and conveniently does not give Qiren any marriage prospects.

The rest of the jianghu hears rumors about the marriage scandal and maybe isn't as eager to marry off daughters into Gusu Lan as they might have been otherwise (yes, Qiren isn't as attractive a prospect as a first son, but he's still unattached, unless he has a reputation that dissuaded prospects in the first place)

Lan Qiren came out the other side of marriage drama and internalized that trauma, or maybe wasn't the marrying kind anyway (see marriage dynamics of the other sect leaders in the Big Five), and went "oh fuck no"

Gusu Lan's elders saw that Xichen had a lot of potential from a young age, and decided marrying Qiren off with the obligations of his own wife, children and household would be distracting him from nurturing the sect heir(s once Wangji is born) that they already have, with special emphasis on Qiren teaching them The Right Way To Be A Lan and maybe even fobbing more stuff to do on him so he never has the time to court and get married. Normally such things would be under the watchful eye of Qiren's parents, or Qingheng-jun once their parents were dead, but as we've already established, sect and familial duties don't seem to be a priority for that guy so.

Depending on how shitty you wanna believe the Gusu Lan elders are, maybe Qingheng-jun made a deal with them that he would have no part in raising any children from his marriage to help protect the woman he loved, idk. Can you tell I'm not very sympathetic to him? As far as I can tell, he trapped his wife, his sons and his brother into the consequences of his own actions and is basically the whole reason for LWJ's tragic backstory™ because God forbid any sect heir in this series have a healthy father-son relationship, am I right?

And then Qiren has to watch his younger nephew get whipped to within an inch of his life for finally breaking the rules (that he taught Wangji) they lived under so disastrously, and then his older nephew is so torn up about all the fun, fun revelations from Guanyin temple that history repeats itself and Xichen shuts himself away and Qiren can only hope that time will help Xichen heal, because Wangji's gone as soon as he possibly can to chase the man he almost died for once already, and he's older and tired but he might as well be young again and holding A-Huan for a walk around the courtyard until he stops crying for all that everything else has changed.

Anyway. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk about Lan Qiren, Gusu Lan's original Lan er-gege and Tragic Lan Backstory™, I'm gonna drop some headcanons about him and y'all feel free to reblog, reply, whatever with y'all's thoughts.

Lan Qiren's likes, in no particular order:

Respectful students that are diligent and work hard.

Hearing his nephews play music together.

A good pot of tea after a long morning's work, just before training and between meetings, paperwork, etc.

Copying over manuscripts/poetry/what have you in his spare time

Poetry

Lan Qiren's dislikes, in no particular order:

People that rely solely on luck, talent or family background to gain accolades

Things being wasted, food, potential, time, etc.

The gentian house.

Having to wait until it's almost curfew to meditate in the rabbit meadow.

Splinters

[gingersnaptaff]

Are there any characters from Welsh mythology that didn't get into popular Arthuriana, but you think would fit in really well there?

Okay, so this is a bit tricky because the whole of the Mabinogion can be interpreted as being just another facet of Arthuriana in a way. After all, a) Pryderi and Manawydan are two of King Arthur's attendants in Culhwch ac Olwen which, therefore, means that they must be there after their adventure in Branches 1, 2, 3 (thankfully not 4 in Pryderi's case) have already concluded. Bendigeidfran - Manawydan's brother and giant lad - has his head dug up by Arthur and so that also has to happen after branch 2 cuz that's what allows the Saxons to eventually gain a foothold in Britain after Arthur's death. Also, Gilfaethwy - Gwydion's bro, the main cause of chaos in branch 4 - is the inspo for Griflet.

HOWEVER, Because of that you can neatly slot them into wherever works best for u.

Who you can't slot in best - because where are u gonna put her? - is Blodeuwedd. She's not somebody who I'd consider as able to slot in because she's an owl. Her entire thing is tied to the Branch Four escapades. However, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HER THERE. @wildbasil has some real great art where she in owl form hangs out with gwyn ap nudd and his brother edern and that works superbly well.

I also think that the entirety of what occurs with Cantre'r Gwaelod would be fascinating to explore through an Arthurian lens. Think about it. A whole kingdom - a whole island! - gets swallowed in the sea! And you can still hear the warning bells ringing out across the sea. You could tie them back to the fall of Camelot, to the failure to keep things in check, to people gradually getting complacent and perhaps a little corrupt. It would be SO FUN. And also you could perhaps have it be God's vengeance too.

Plus Lludd and Llefelys. It's BANGING. It could be another quest for the knights to undertake. You have three magical 'quests' that Lludd has to undertake (which are pretty easy to overcome but the possibilities? Endless.) There's a race of magical creatures called the Coraniaid, a demonic race of people who can hear EVERYTHING (which is also the same power Gwydion's uncle, Math, has who is another dude I think would be BRILLIANT in an Arthurian story!), a mysterious screaming that causes every woman to miscarry which is eventually found to be a red dragon (Y Draig Goch my beloved) and a white dragon (those peaky Saxons) fighting, and last but not least a wizard who he has to defeat by dunking himself in a bucket of water so doesn't fall asleep. (It makes sense in context, I promise.) Lludd - king of Londonium - undertakes the quests while his older brother, Llefelys, King of Gaul gives him invaluable advice. I have always thought that it should be made into a story because you could connect it to Merlin (the dragons are buried I'm Dinas Emrys which is literally 'Emrys'/Merlin's Hillfort' because he uncovers them and lets them FIGHT!!!! (Red dragon wins if ur wondering.)

(Also, you could slot Tŵm Sion Cati in there if u wanted. He's very much a Robin Hood archetype - and also his stories are set centuries after the Arthurian mythos (16th century during the time of Mary I /Bloody Mary) - but I mean that should not stop u.

(Doesn't stop me trying to combine all this shit together.)

Anyways!!! This ran away from me so I heartily apologise! Also, somebody will tell me, 'Sarah, you utter tit, somebody has already done these things' so I am prepped for that being the case.

[auncyen]

I finished the metaphor refantazio demo today and by 'finished' I mean I got to the point of the dungeon where the demo automatically cuts off rather than doing the full three days. (Note: there is a whole prologue, then the three days, so if you're familiar with Persona and going "three days isn't that much" no it's a LONG ass demo. Like a fool, I did not make a separate save to explore other options once the prologue ended and more gameplay options opened up.)

My verdict: I don't think I'm buying this game for ps4, and it's not tempting enough to make me buy a ps5. If I get a ps5 for other games, I will come back and see, but like...more and more I question the point of new consoles because does graphical advancement really mean much anymore? Metaphor has flashy UI and neat transitions and all but there's an annoying amount of lag on the ps4 (don't think it'll put off anyone who's invested in the game, but when you're on the fence, well) and then you get to actual scenes and there are awkward transitions (where'd that hostage come from) and basically like. I don't feel like the actual cutscenes always look good. Which is not what I expected here.

Character-wise, I'm curious what Louis' deal is, I liked the bounty hunter who pops up later, and I like the MC being given more of a voice and character of his own, but I'm also not really invested in any of the main characters yet. Like, I'd love to see MC possibly go from "I have to become King to stop Louis and save my friend (and then I'll give up the throne to him)"/just having this default assumption that winning the throne is necessary but he's not actually going to be king, this is all for his friend, to "hey, actually. I want to save my friend, I'm winning this throne for both of us, but I want to rule to try fulfilling my ideals." But like I also wouldn't be totally surprised if he doesn't get to do that...probably depends on if there are branching paths/multiple endings or whatnot.

Combat: so while I got to the end of the demo in dungeon in one day (I spent the other two days doing attribute-raising stuff and the like), it was a genuine challenge and near the end I was passing up stuff because it had enemies nearby just because I really wanted to see where the demo ended and was worried about running out of MP lol. The battles are generally a cakewalk if you can stun the enemy before beginning, but depending on their toughness you might not always be able to do that and you can very easily be headed toward a game over if you accidentally allow an ambush (I LET MYSELF DO THIS WITH A HUMAN AND TWO MORE ENEMIES, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH COULD INFLICT AILMENTS. WHOOPS.) So while I'm sure people will still be able to one-day rush dungeons once they're experienced with the game, I was definitely feeling the strain toward the end of the demo. And also just whapping enemies without entering battle is fun. But yeah I just don't know if story & characters would hold me for however long the game is and I feel it'd be more fun with less lag, so...wait and see the reviews and if a ps5 ever gets more tempting.

[northwest-cryptid]

Hihi what was Wonderlab about? I see you mentioning it a lot and it's never crossed my path until now. When did it run? Why is it lost media now? If you know

OH BOY HERE WE GO! I'm going to do my best to cover this in a way where even if someone doesn't know jack shit about ProjectMoon they'd at least somewhat understand things about the plot and overall what happens with ProjectMoon as a company because it's sorta wild.

Considering you can't exactly go find this online and read it yourself and I'm not allowed to repost the whole thing (if I even had it on hand which for legal purposes I am not claiming to) so I'm absolutely going to explain the broad strokes of the plot spoilers included. Obviously I'll be showing as little as possible out of respect for the author's request to not republish it. While I'm sad to see it become lost media due to thinking it's actually really good; I also wish to respect those who would stand against my favorite video game company, ProjectMoon.

I understand how insane that sounds but we'll get to that in the whole "hey why is this lost media now?" Bit of this ask; because boy is this a doozy of a post.

The comic takes place in the ProjectMoon Universe, which portrays a future in which humanity is reduced to living in a single city, where corporations have gained a massive amount of power through discovering singularities, essentially what you could equate to some kind of magic. That's a SUPER simplistic way of looking at it but I think it beats going super into detail about singularities and how they work.

The important thing to know is that Lobotomy Corporation has a singularity that allows them to basically create monsters and then harvest energy from interacting with them; which means they're often hiring people to deal with these monsters, each have their own methods of "working" and some of these monsters outright make the most energy when killing people.

So Wonderlab was a web comic that came out a few years ago, it was about a branch of Lobotomy Corporation that was running during the same time as the game Lobotomy Corporation. Though it wasn't the same branch that we see in the game, it followed three main characters;

Rose is the main focus for the first bit of the story, their whole shtick is that they grew up in a wealthy family but they were all too aware of how the poor were treated in the outskirts. They saw people suffering everyday while they got to live a comfy life and they sought out equality, but they understood that you can't bring change without power; I think one of the more defining moments for their character is this panel right here:

It's important to note that in this universe the words they are using have meaning, with Nests being literally the high security places where the wealthy elites get to live, likewise the Wings are sort of the mega-corps who actually run the city. In this scenario they are literally being attacked by an abnormality in such a fashion where they are growing feathered wings against their will; however they are more metaphorically explaining that they are willing to leave the comfy living situation of their life behind if it means breaking free of the Nests and Wings that control everyone and everything. This is a trait we see them growing throughout the entire run of the comic. They're generally selfless and acts in a manner that benefits the whole over the individual, even if that individual is Rose themself.

Throughout the run of the comic we see Rose become closer friends with not only their department mates but specifically with another two of the characters, Taii and Catt; who we'll get to. However, first let me explain Rose's major story arc.

Without getting too into the weeds over minor details, and without basically just posting every panel they're in; I'd summarize Rose by saying they're an overwhelmingly positive force in an otherwise bleak world. They strive to pick everyone up, no matter the individuals social standing. In fact their first real friend, Taii; is a clerk when they first meet and Rose doesn't take this into consideration at all. While others may question why they'd even talk to or be kind to a Clerk, Rose sees Taii as just another person.

In fact, what Rose knows of the world around them is exactly what leads them to their own self hatred;

They understand that they're able to help others with the money they have, and their position gives them power necessary to bring change. But they resent it all the same, as they felt responsible for the way the world works; they felt like part of the problem,

and we're gonna do a little bit of a double whammy here because in telling Taii about their life story, we also get to see Taii's reaction as a very big part of their own character and their character growth:

But we'll get to that in a bit. The important take away here is that Rose is a sort of infectious positivity on those around them. They seek to "embrace all" and build others up no matter the sacrifice; as they see themself as a part of the problem as well as the potential solution.

Rose's story is a tragic one, inevitably ending in self sacrifice; as they are told of an Abnormality (basically a monster) within the facility that will absolutely kill that who it works with it, but will be able to spare everyone else in the process. Someone HAS to work with it, there is no choice about it; the only decision the department can make is WHO has to work with it. I love the interaction they have with the head of their department regarding the work; I feel like this above all else mirrors the first panel I showed of them. This is a great depiction of Rose at their core, both in the sense of who they are and also in the sense of what they wish to achieve.

Rose's entire story is about how they desperately want to bring change, but understand far too well that they alone cannot. They do their best to change what they can; to help who they can. However they know in their heart they will always fail to change the system, that's just not how reality works at the end of the day.

Their final few panels are genuinely such a great end for them, absolutely beautiful illustration and gut wrenching dialogue for anyone who has been reading the comic up to this point;

I appreciate that we get to see Rose actually scared here at the end of it all. As someone who we've seen stand up bravely to monsters time and time again; it's this final act that scares them. So much of their life left unfulfilled but they know they're the only one who can do this; and that final panel revealing the "demon" that is Catt showing genuine sadness says everything we need to know about their character in this moment.

Throughout the comic we see these characters discuss death, what it means to die; and how it feels to be without someone. However this is really the first time we get to see the confirmed death of a main character, and we get to see how they all react to it.

Oh and I will be using they/them pronouns for the main cast as they never have a confirmed gender, and the they/them pronouns is how the translation mentions them.

Our second main character Catt even has a moment where they mention they don't use honorifics one way or another. Catt as a character seems cold and emotionless for most of the comic; this is because they are. They feel a need to be after they came to a place like Lob Corp and learned the horrors of what go on within it's walls. They made a friend, and they saw that friend as strong; they wanted so badly to have a strong heart and the willpower to continue smiling; only to see their very friend go mad and kill their co-workers before being put down themself. This prompts the catalyst for Catt as a character:

When we're introduced to them, they're the Captain of the branch Rose and our other main character Taii are in. They come across as this very capable, but cold and calculated individual. Though we find that this is all a mask they use to not get close to those who might leave them. They can save themself, but they can't save others; no matter how skilled they might be. They have been shown to even put themselves in harms way to protect those they care about, likely because they feel as though they can handle themselves better than others could.

Oh, and they always talk in third person. As you can imagine, Rose caring way too much about their friends; and Catt caring in much the same way causes them to be at odds quite often. Catt will even go so far as to tell Rose and Taii not to act in situations where they feel strongly someone else can handle the problem and not risk their friend's lives in the process.

Mind you there is an abnormality they work with at one point which focused heavily on the idea of loving others; and being loved. Catt is forced to realize their very gay thoughts and ultimately doesn't handle it well:

Unfortunately this causes the abnormality to breach, and Catt takes matters into their own hands to deal with it:

But before we get to Catt's conclusion, we need to talk about Taii; the one we've yet to discuss, and realistically the MAIN main character of Wonderlab. I say this because they are the one we see grow and change the most, with their actions being those which are focused on in the end.

When we first see Taii they're this sort of clumsy, scared, and overall dare I say "incompetent" clerk who is basically just trying to do their job as best they can.

The thing about Taii is that, as we learned previously; they're basically going through their day to day life just surviving. Letting each day come and go without much agency one way or another. Taii doesn't have any grand ambitions, they don't strive for lofty goals; nor do they necessarily hold out hope for a better future. They simply exist and do their best to survive in this crazy fucked up world.

They are promoted when they use their company issued handgun to help Catt fight off an Abnormality. Important note from the Lob Corp Manual; the handgun given to Clerks is a mercy, far too weak to really deal damage to Abnormalities, but more than enough to let them take their own life without the pain of whatever the Abnormality would have done to them.

Taii doesn't act out of bravery, but rather desperation; and it shows. They aren't a very brave individual and most of their actions are taken out of pure necessity for survival. However as they interact more with Rose and Catt they find a need to be better within themself. They begin to look up to the two and find comfort in the idea of becoming like them.

This is one of the first times (if I recall correctly) where we can see them actually saying they want to do something for the good of everyone. It's not that they're selfish about their ambitions, it's that they don't see themself as someone strong enough to help others. They see Rose and Catt as those kind of people, but Taii just isn't that brave, nor capable; at least not in their own eyes.

The following scene actually shows Catt working with the abnormality for Taii; giving them the information on it after the fact and basically saying "you couldn't handle it, so I did it for you; but I won't say anything, if I snitched your paycheck would suffer." But obviously doesn't admit to doing it out of the goodness of their heart. Rather just telling Taii to forget it. This is when it starts to become pretty clear that Catt and Rose are both putting up an act respectively.

One of the first big moments we see Taii act bravely is when they finally actually have to fight something; again we can note the words "I'll be left with no choice" Taii doesn't actively want to fight here, rather they believe it's the only option they actually have.

At this point it's still unclear if this is because they don't want to hurt the abnormality, or because they're scared to fight. However this scene does show us that they're a lot more competent than they'll admit to themself.

At this point we have an understanding of these characters and we know of Rose's death; so now we can get into the finale; essentially there's a few more chapters between the death of Rose and the actual last chapter. In this time we see our two remaining main characters react in polar opposite ways.

Taii begins to actually try to work hard, not just for their own sake but for those around them; they carry on Rose's dream of a better future as it gives them a life purpose they didn't have before.

Meanwhile Catt hasn't shown up for work, everything they thought they had in life was taken from them; and they can no longer handle it. They felt they were stronger to cast their heart away and simply feel nothing; and their complex emotions cause them to distort.

Distortion is hard to explain but it's essentially a person becoming a monster through a powerful enough emotion for lack of better explanation.

Catt now distorted, begins to cause quite a bit of damage back at the facility; unleashing basically every Abnormality we've seen thus far; and Taii is very aware that this is in fact Catt's doing, which results in some absolutely raw growth on Taii's part as we see them finally take action and become the person they have wanted to this entire time.

An important note for those who don't know, when working with an Abnormality; it's possible to create gear called E.G.O from them; so here we see Taii literally wearing the E.G.O of "Staining Rose" the very abnormality that killed Rose.

The two have a bit of a heart to heart, with Taii admitting that Catt was correct; that it's not wrong to indulge in the better parts of life and leave the complex emotions of the heart behind. That is what it takes to survive, something Taii understands far too well as someone who spent so long just trying to survive.

The following panels show that while they might be gone, Rose never truly left Taii; and that their ambition lives on within Taii now.

Literally declaring "we will save you" with the depiction of the fight ending with Taii and Rose pulling Catt from their distortion; something that doesn't ACTUALLY happen; but is how Taii perceives the event.

The reality is that Catt very much remains distorted, and escapes somewhere into the ruins of the facility where Taii cannot follow.

The comic concludes with most of the cast now living out their lives outside of the facility, working odd jobs or opening their own fixer offices. As for Taii, they have a life purpose; in that they refuse to stop looking for Catt,

There's a TON that I couldn't cover here, plenty that goes into these characters and fleshes them out really well. The writing is unironically really good, even though I'm highly bias as I have a deep love for the source material they're working with.

There's a lot of conversation around ProjectMoon characters, plenty of disagreement over things like gender, sexuality, and even mental illness. Normally I'd argue "most of it is just headcanons or something" but ProjectMoon has gone to lengths to actually include not only LGBT rep in both gay characters and non-binary characters; but furthermore has given their characters everything from ADHD to Depression in depictions that never outright say "this is Netzach he's depressed" but rather show you Netzach's depression first hand, right down to Netzach having one of the best lines about suicide; literally saying "you have to worry about the quiet ones, the loud ones want to live more than anyone; that's why they're crying for help." I'm paraphrasing but like, ProjectMoon GETS IT. Malkuth is a character who I will not accept people saying doesn't have ADHD, not only does she have literally every symptom in the book, but one of the core aspects of her character is needing to keep a visible notepad on her at all times to write down essentially a detailed plan or else she won't be able to keep track of what needs to be done.

So you can probably see why I enjoy ProjectMoon as a fan of horror media and generally as someone who enjoys well written characters; I've not gone into detail about Lobotomy Corporation, nor Library of Ruina; but both have a ton of references to everything from Religion to classic literature. They touch on topics like modern capitalism and mental illness; what it means to be human, and ultimately what it means to have an identity of your own.

This is a company who's aesthetics, writing, and even gameplay interest me greatly so you might be wondering why this is somehow lost media, and why even I stand in opposition to this company currently.

And for that, we need to look at Limbus Company; the worst thing to ever happen to ProjMoon in my opinion.

So let's quickly look into ProjectMoon, they're this little indie company who no one has heard of; they make Lobotomy Company and it's a cult classic of sorts. A very small but dedicated group of people absolutely love this game, they mod the hell out of it just to keep the content alive; and then finally ProjectMoon announces their second game; Library of Ruina. Now we're all hype as hell, with music being done by Mili this is sounding like it's going to be amazing for fans of the IP; and it was!

Library of Ruina has a story that stands among even my favorite like JRPGs it's a great game with a perfect conclusion for the characters we got to know in Lob Corp (in my opinion at least it's a great place to leave them and go off to focus on the Sinners and their stories)

and now the games are getting popular, the company actually opens a few cafes; and they need funding for more stuff to come. Well how do you get that funding? They believe a Gacha game will be a good way to secure funds and also deliver constant updates about the world and characters their audience has come to love.

This isn't inherently a bad thing, rather the problem comes when a few of the character designs set off a group of men in Korea. A rather large, loud; group of men; who are displeased by how these characters were depicted. From what I understand the claims were that the way they drew a specific man was too feminine and the way they drew a woman, fully covered; wasn't sexualized enough for their liking. This sounds pretty insane, and honestly; it is.

However it's not as insane as the CEO deciding to fire a woman, one of their artists; despite the art design/concepts coming from a man on the team (from what I've been told). This all in an attempt to appease the mass of incels who aren't even really fans of ProjectMoon but are threatening the company with bad reviews and harassment.

This is when it comes to light that ProjectMoon has been having shady business practice for a while now, continuing to underpay those they work with on the grounds that they're "just a small indie company uwu" even though they are now raking in the big bucks and honestly, have been financially stable for a good while after the launch of Ruina.

As people heard the news, and boycotts began to happen; the CEO began to also throw around the idea of taking legal action for slander against those who spoke out against the company claiming the accusations lacked evidence and the like.

Eventually the news hits the author of Wonderlab, and they request to have Wonderlab removed from the internet. Whether this was to remove any ties to the company; or to do their part to rebel against the mistreatment of women on the companies part; I'm unsure. Either way they've asked those who may or may not have a copy of the web comic to not go reuploading it.

I may not have all the facts on this one, so anyone who may know better than me on this is more than welcome to add their two cents; but that's sort of where we stand now, there's an active boycott on Limbus Company that, unfortunately it doesn't seem like many are actively participating in though I won't be getting into all that.

I am sad to see the comic become lost media though, it had a lot going for it; there are some genuinely just beautiful panels, plenty of LGBT and NB rep throughout; and generally just a solid story that has a lot to say about life, morality, and the effect one person can have on the world around them.

Something I will always find funny is that looking at Lobotomy Corporation, Wonderlab, and even Library of Ruina; the characters that ProjectMoon writes into their stories and games, are absolutely the sort of people who would stand against the company itself and it's behavior and treatment of not just it's employees but it's fans who refuse to support it further given it's crimes.

ProjectMoon really has become the very thing it writes about being bad. Which is a shame, because it has so much going for it; and no matter how shitty the CEO is; I can't blame the company as a whole; doesn't mean I'm going to go giving them my money or anything, but I will always stand in opposition to them while remaining to call myself ProjectMoon's #1 fan. I think if you're going to call yourself a fan of ProjectMoon you have to at least be disapproving of their actions, otherwise I fear you've entirely missed the point of the games and web comics.

Anyways I started writing this all at like, 4 and it's about 6 AM now so I'm just going to call it here and hope this answers your question lol.