#I'll probably break it into chapters and just post the first part during it and finish the rest later

[soaps-mohawk]

Plans For The Rest Of The Year

Since we are in November, it's time to touch on some things I've been thinking about over my month long break.

First things first, CRCB will continue but there's going to be some changes to the update schedule. I will not be doing weekly updates anymore. It's just not possible anymore. It was a stretch back when I was lucky enough to have the ability to do weekly updates, but now with work and the upcoming holiday season, it just won't be possible anymore for me to do weekly updates.

Instead, I'm going back to how things were in the beginning. Those of you who are OGs will remember that I kind of just updated whenever I had a chapter done and that's what the update schedule is going to look like going forward. It probably will remain that way for the rest of the duration of the story since come January I will be going back to school and also working on moving. This will also allow more time to answer comments and asks and not make me feel like I have to crunch to get things answered within a week along with writing the chapter. I'm very sorry to everyone who will be disappointed, but for my own sanity I have to just update whenever I can manage to get a chapter done.

That being said, there will be some other changes. During the break I worked on an old fic for a different fandom, and I honestly kind of miss writing for other fandoms. So that's also going to play into CRCB's update schedule. Sometimes I just want to (and need to) write other things, and I'm going to allow myself to do that. I also have some other COD fics (shorter fics) that I'd love to work on as well when the inspiration comes so it won't just be no content until the next part of CRCB. There will be other things posted as well. Those of you subscribed to my Patreon, you'll be getting a similar post but with some other things regarding content there soon.

That's the plan moving forward at least for now. The end of this year and next year are going to be very busy for me with a lot of changes, so I have to adapt this hobby to fit into my real life schedule. Since that's what this all is. A hobby. It's not my job (even though I wish it could be) so it has to be sacrificed a bit in favor of things going on in my real life. I'll still be writing and posting and updating stories, it just won't be nearly to the extent that I was before October.

There probably won't be a CRCB chapter this weekend since I don't have one ready yet, but potentially at some point next week. I'll probably make a post here the day before the chapter will be posted, and I for sure will post on my taglist blog the same time that the chapter drops here so make sure you're following there and have notifications on if you want to be notified of when the new chapters are coming out.

I think that's all I have for now regarding this blog and CRCB and what's going to happen going forward. Again, I'm very sorry for everyone who I'm going to inevitably disappoint with this news, but things just have to be this way.

I hope you all have a good day and I will see you probably later when I answer some of the asks sitting in my inbox.

[samusamab]

In Golden Flame Live-Blog Chapter 1 Recap

I wasn't planning on posting this so soon, but fuck it, I've got the time. Far be it from me to deny Vex's hunger for empanadas. So, without further ado, the highlights of Chapter 1: The Tachyon Returns

At the start of the first session, all of my players independently decided to message me privately to claim ownership for their pilot having been the one to break the printer. Delighted, I ruled that all three of them submitting conflicting print orders simultaneously is what actually broke the printer.

Pluto & Student invite several people (including their teammates) to a book club they're trying to start up. They also invite Calamity & Jerry.

Walter runs into Switch, who tries to sell him on letting them do a livestream ridealong on a mission sometime with the party. Despite being 3 years old, Walter has the soul of a fourty-something, and has a deep misunderstanding and dislike of Switch because they're a omninet celebrity.

The party ends up accompanying the food negotiations with Impact Dynamics. With the powerful combo of Vulcan's air of authority, Walter's over-the-top flattery, and Pluto doing some light hacking and blackmail, the party manages to secure the food with a healthy "discount".

When fighting off the pirates ID sent after them, Pluto engages with the Squad of pirates in hardsuits and, you know, kills them. Turns out mech weapons are very effective against normal people. Oops...

After defeating S1GN4L, the party decides to let him leave alive, but refused to protect him from the Hellhounds. (Unbeknownst to them, he fled to Icebreaker to lie low and hide from Andros Capella.)

En route to finally get the parts to replace that broken printer, the party spends some time on their ship with Siren. Pluto briefly gets a flamewar on Muse to stop while they all roast him until he logs off. Vulcan gets roped into playing a lot of FleetComm 5014 with Siren, and Walter experiences a strange pang of déjà vu watching a freighter jump to nearlight on the way to Dawnline Shore. Huh, that's probably nothing important, right?

The party investigates the wrecks of the Weasel and the Tachyon. They find the Weasel's flight recorders and decide to enlist Striga's help decoding this when they get back. (I don't know why they made this decision either. None of them have spoken to her "on-screen" before.)

Student and Hathor both start getting a little antsy the more the party explores the Tachyon. But we don't have time to worry about that because...

Andros Capella is here! The party wants to run, but decides not to after Andros gets Vulcan's mech with his boarding leash. Walter ends up getting the final blow on Andros's mech (which has done nothing to help his oversized ego.) The entire party is shocked and confused when Andros seemingly allows himself to be vaporized.

Pluto in convinced that Andros isn't just dead, despite all evidence to the contrary, but the party has to leave before they can do too much more investigating.

And that's the highlights for Act I: Chapter I! I'll have another post up soon about STRIGA's exploits during downtime and the start of their misadventures on Icebreaker Borealis. After that, y'all will be caught up to the campaign as it stands now. (Also, I may post more little fun facts and other tidbits in between session recaps in the future. Idk I'm still feeling this out)

[elkian]

Deltarune chapter 4 spoilers

So I haven't finished chapter 4 yet but I'm really emotional about Susie so I'm making this post.

Susie's transformation from "mean kid too cool for school" to her current state is so amazing because she hasn't fundamentally really changed so much as she's been given space to be vulnerable in ways that weren't safe for her before. (The same is true for Ralsei, come to think of it. Cinematic parallels.)

She's had to move over and over so even when she managed to make friends she had to leave them behind almost immediately, and more often people treated her as scary and only got close to her as a joke, which, felt. Her confession about that and her ability to relate it to someone else's problems was unexpected but really emotional.

And in only a couple of days she's opened up to an incredible degree, and especially I'm thinking about Susie in her friends' rooms. Susie takes the time, after protesting, to help Kris clean up a stain on their floor. Susie snatches an award from Asriel's side of the room and pastes it on Kris' because she's affronted by the lack. "Award for knowing Susie" is one of those things that sounds like a joke but is all the more meaningful for being real, because that IS what it is once she puts it up.

Susie is upset by Ralsei's empty room and immediately jumps to rectify it; Susie spends time during your fraught, dangerous adventure scouting out and picking up new furniture for him.

And I have to wonder what Susie's Light World Room looks like. If there's... anything at all, in there. The way she's constantly hungry, wears torn jeans, and talks about playing games from the lost-and-found really makes me think her financial situation isn't great. Toriel is one of the only adults she really talks about (in glowing terms, for a single moment of care). I've read her that way from the start and haven't really gotten any contrasting info since, only supportive. Susie's family life, whatever the case may be, doesn't seem great.

(Apparently she might be related to Gerson but shhh I haven't gotten that far.)

Susie's Friendship Arc with Lancer is my favorite part of chapter 1 by far, and I love that it's continued moving forward. Each chapter, she becomes more open, more connected, making more friends and expressing more emotion. Her and Noelle chilling in Noelle's house (which, given Susie's probable life situation, the contrast with Noelle growing up fairly privileged is interesting) is absolutely delightful and I'm sad we had to interrupt it.

Susie gets embarrassed and defensive easily early on - she reminds me of a lot of Undertale Undyne in a myriad of ways. Both are (eventually, in Susie's case) willing to display affection without regret.

Honestly, it's kind of painful to see how easily and quickly Susie becomes someone who's quick to help and deeply affectionate in her own way, because it means she was always like that, she just never had the environment where she could express it. It makes the whole Kris situation (more on that once I get much, much more info) give me some dread, because it's dubious if Susie really KNOWS Kris whatsoever, and I hate the idea that she's going to find out that one of her first ever friends never really interacted with her on their own. On the upside, if that is going to happen, it's going to be at a point where Susie has made other friends in Lancer, Ralsei, Noelle, and hopefully more, so at least she won't be left alone if things break that badly.

(I also like how Noelle is becoming more assertive in parallel with Susie becoming more open, they help and balance each other in a really fun way.)

Also there's the whole thing with her getting mad at Ralsei for not treating himself as a real person but I suspect we're going to see much more of that so I'll check back in later.

Idk, just... it's a concept that's been done before, dozens of times, but something about the way Deltarune is telling the story feels new and more impactful. I'd love it anyways but it really feels like this side Susie has always existed, it really feels like she's growing more confident in expressing herself than Learning To Care, I dunno. She has a lot of empathy and a lot of sympathy and a lot of compassion for others tucked behind a hardened shell of self-protection. I think part of is that she didn't wait until she was REALLY, super safe, she's been bursting to show this side of herself from the beginning. She wants to care so fucking badly and so rarely has the opportunity to do so without getting hurt! Fuck!!!!

[droppingartintotheinfinite]

ok so i’ve watched a stream of chapters 3 and 4 and also read a bunch of posts about them and now that i’ve had some time to process i have a variety of Thoughts

said Thoughts are very spoilery and also very long, so i’ll place them under a read more:

note: i missed the first 15 minutes or so of chapter 3 because i was slightly late to the stream, so i’m not going to comment on that until i’ve had a chance to go back and watch a video of it.

alright so starting with tenna: he’s fun! i didn’t really follow All of the theorizing about him so i wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but he’s definitely Completely dissimilar to the little sprite hint we got (the tv face with the big grin and spamton eyes) despite nominally having all of these features on account of being a fucking. 3d model?

i love this. fucking hilarious design choice. no idea how i’m supposed to translate it to fanart without losing the impact but that’s a me problem lmao. his stupid little dances, him growing or shrinking for comedic purposes, the fucking. 3d text? god he’s so good

you can also really see why him and spamton would get along (and have an explosive break-up) - they are very much the same brand of guy. in a lot of ways tenna feels like we’re seeing what spamton would have been if we’d met him before his fall from grace. i’ve seen some people complaining about how similar they are but tbh i like it. they very much feel like foils to one another i think

it’s fun how darkners get knowledge of things that happened around the objects they’re created from. it’s especially fun how this means tenna had a front seat to the dreemurr divorce drama!

i was already on board with the theory that each dark world is designed around a different character, but i’m even more in support of it now. the chapter 3 dark world is very obviously built around kris and their lingering Feelings about the divorce and asriel leaving, which they don’t seem to be handling amazingly well

i get the vibe kris wants their parents to get back together and that part of their character arc will probably be accepting that this is a bad idea - tying into deltarune’s existing themes re: decay and inevitability and accepting loss

if not kris, asgore definitely seems to be on this track, jumping ahead a bit to chapter four: whatever happened with dess and with him leaving the police force, he seems to think that if he Just Solves It then everything will go back to how it was before, and i think accepting that life doesn't work like that is going to necessary for him. especially if he ends up being chapter 5's secret boss which is my current pet theory on account of some sus dialogue during the free-roaming soul section and some of gerson’s battle dialogue

or maybe i'm just projecting. could go either way

back to chapter 3: who the FUCK is mike, seriously. is he gaster? is he not gaster? i am increasingly unsure what the fuck is going on there. i'll wait for the theorycrafters and lore analysis guys to catch up on that one. i don't even know if his door opens. hazard of writing this literally the day after the game came out L

the zelda-esque section of chapter 3 is definitely interesting. the secret version even moreso. it felt very fnaf (in a good way) though that might just be because fnaf was my first exposure to that kind of thing. the fact that kris is alone for the secret portions is Very loaded, albeit not in a new way as it went much the same with both spamton neo and the weird route in chapter 2

the fact that in the last section you do actually have susie and ralsei's game characters with you (though still not the real ones) and you have to kill them to progress is Very Something. that entire section was intensely evocative of the weird route, but that bit is a fully original kind of fucked up!

though it's plausible it was just a stand-in for berdly ig. though the penguin thingy seems to be More that it doesn't really carry the same emotional weight so i could definitely see that bit being there to preserve the "you are straight up killing people" aspect of the original weird route

"it was used up. she was used up. you were used up." i'm going to be insane about these lines forever. what the fuck. also: disconcerting implications for the eventual fates of kris and noelle in the weird route! or perhaps the fates of noelle and the soul? tough to say for sure. narrator uses "you" for kris and for us with about equal frequency iirc

the shadow mantle is. uh. a loaded name for it. already made one "taking up the mantle" pun in an art piece i did but that is very much the vibe i'm getting here. suspect in the weird route we may end up taking the place of the normal route's main villain, whether that villain ends up being the knight or gaster or something else

though i think the mantle itself is a neutral item, since kris is just playing a video game so who cares if we're having them kill people? though then again WE'RE just playing a video game… lot of thematic depth to that entire section, honestly. it's definitely capital I Important

toriel remains ignorant of dark worlds and undyne's been fucking kidnapped?? wild shit. i am So curious about the Implications of how worried tenna was about toriel waking up, though. suspect we'll see followthrough on that with her being brought into another dark world at some point and get to learn why tenna was so freaked out about it

also: HOLY FUCK IT'S THE FUCKING KNIGHT WHAT THE SHIT

toby's definitely firmly jossed the theories that deltarune would be an episodic "dark world of the week" type structure with the end of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4, and he starts that by throwing the fucking roaring knight at us as chapter 3's secret boss!

who isn't even a real secret boss, the secret is just that you can actually beat them because they're so fucking difficult!

but at last we have some solid clues to the knight's identity! i'd say at this point there are 3 main possibilities for who it could be, with some allowance for changing my mind if i see a good theory for someone else

option a: dess

a classic theory. i've never been a dessknight truther myself but i'll admit when i first saw the ending of chapter 3 i was fully convinced it was her for a Solid bit of time. like, the knight has antlers, their weapon looks like a bat, dess is associated with the shelter (the official name for the bunker because guess what! we know that now! god so many reveals in these chapters), etc.

however, my conviction that dess was the knight unfortunately only lasted until the stream i was watching finished the holiday house section in chapter 4 because holy fuck. hollllly fuck

option b: carol holiday

first of all, holy shit her name is actually carol we were right! second of all, oh shit she's definitely an antagonist. i'm not going to say she's evil because we all remember how that went with the spade king in chapter one - toby makes a habit of avoiding "evil" characters, and has been doing so since undertale. i would be Very surprised if he suddenly switched gears and made carol a one dimensional villain

she is, however, DEFINITELY an antagonist. also she knows about the soul and appears to be on friendly terms with it?? i wonder if the soul might actually be another frisk style fakeout where the apparent player character is actually a separate entity all-along… i mean doing that for the soul on top of kris would be a hell of a twist but i wouldn't put it past toby to do something like that

anyway carol apparently has a fucking katana according to noelle, and this combined with her apparent knowledge of the soul and the fact that she seems to be who kris called about the guitar given she came home early (something we know is Very unusual for her, she's been established as a workaholic) makes her by far the most likely candidate for the knight right now.

of course, there could still be a fakeout, we all know toby loves defying expectation, but as far as canon evidence? carol is definitely in the lead.

option c: left field option

while the knight being a holiday definitely seems most likely right now, given the antlers, it's not Completely certain. one thing i noticed is that the knight's design is eerily reminiscent of the titan, especially when they do their big attack, which is weird for a lightner? plus they have holes in their hands which we all know is a classic gaster signifier. i don't think the knight Is a titan, as we've been told titans aren't actually sapient and the knight appears to be, but major lore reveals remain a possibility for future chapters, so i'm keeping this option for "something we currently have no way to anticipate"

the knight is apparently in cahoots with kris, given their Extremely sus interaction post "beating" the knight. kris is also in cahoots with an unknown party they contact over the phone. i think it's probably carol both times but again, toby loves curveballs so there's no way to be sure barring more evidence

THE FUCKING SHELTER/BUNKER HOLY SHIT

ok so kris definitely seems to know the code. the code is almost definitely 1225, aka christmas day. we know this and kris knows this and carol knows this and poor susie knows absolutely fuck all, she still thinks she's having her hero's journey she is completely unaware of all the insane nonsense happening in the background

the fact that the code is in dess' guitar and is also, again, christmas fucking day, is further support for the theory that dess has something to do with the shelter. tbh i don't think that even is a theory anymore. it's just true. the exact details are still mysterious as fuck though, please asgore let me look at your conspiracy board

susie is so main character coded it's insane. she is the hero of this story. she gets a solo segment in every chapter, her character arc is perpetually front and center, she's the one who makes dramatic heroic speeches… she's the hero of this story, not us

i think kris will be an antagonist to susie at some point, given their apparent cahoots with the knight, but will ultimately side with susie after some sort of dramatic confrontation and will end the story solidly a hero. i think this partially because of observable facts about them as a character and partially because i think toby is deliberately playing into archetypes with the main heroes, just not the ones you'd initially assume in chapter one

susie is telegraphed as a zuko but she's actually the main hero, kris is telegraphed as the main hero but they're actually a zuko, and ralsei is almost exactly what he looks like but there's several layers of fakeout in between

…is my current read on it, at least. we'll see how things develop.

i'm not really sure how the soul will play into things. we aren't exactly an "evil" character either, at least outside of snowgrave, but the whole possession thing does remain a thing and barring the soul turning out to be its own character outside of us, it can't stay with kris forever because eventually the game has to end

like there's no happy ending with the cast for the soul. we have to leave eventually. the story can't keep going forever. but the context of how we get to the inevitable split will change a lot about it feels. we might be an antagonist or even a full on villain. we might be an antihero whose existence isn't fair to kris but who still tries to do good where we can. we might be something else entirely

deltarune only has one ending, but how we get there will change the context significantly. the more of the story we see, the more i feel like i understand that.

or maybe i'm completely off base who knows

this is over 2000 words long so i'm going to leave off here, but god i have So Many Thoughts. i didn't even get to the gerson thing or the song lyrics or the other gerson thing or the weird route dialogue or the FUCKING TITAN HOLY FUCK-

but no. i must resist. i have finals this week

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 41

I love the snowman on the title image. It has living mushroom feet for eyes, a mandrake for a nose, a pearl centipede mouth, and treasure insects for buttons. The scarf is a snakeskin.

I'll just call her Izutsumi for this post since she tells us that's her name at the end of the chapter.

Was Marcille's "Not this again..." thought referring to when Shuro's party caught them, how they've been captured by other parties several times, or how Marcille has been grabbed more often than the others?

Izutsumi has really long nails.

And yeah, her race reveal is a big deal. It's not an established one though. Izutsumi is a cat beastman. Chilchuck said she's an engineered one, which implies the existence of natural beastmen.

Kuro probably acted the way he did at the end of chapter 32 because he sensed the black magic that was used to make Izutsumi. He made the same face when Falin appeared as well.

The detail on Izutsumi's hands implies she has fur on her hands and fingers.

The only other chapter where Izutsumi's hands are drawn with any detail was that panel I brought up in chapter 37, and that panel only shows her thumb. I looked at it again and noticed two new details. First, the general outline of her hand in that chapter didn't have the smoothness that other people's hands have. Second, Kabru was standing behind her and his gaze was on her hand. He probably figured out she's a beastman.

If Marcille was bolder, she could turn this entire hostage situation on its head. Izutsumi needs Marcille to do something for her, but the party doesn't need anything from her. If Marcille were bold, the next time Izutsumi threatened to kill her, Marcille could just say "If you kill me, no one will be able to break the spell on you and the others will kill you."

Even before her picky-eating habit is explicitly stated, there's a small hint when Chilchuck gives her their supply bag and the one thing she chooses to eat is the ration pellet, aka the only food item she would be familiar with.

Secret monster info lore dropped. Walking mushrooms initially grow like normal mushrooms but then grow legs.

I'm probably wrong about this but I think the parts of the mushroom that grows above-ground are the reproductive parts of the fungus. If so, then maybe walking mushrooms proliferate by spawning the caps and simply letting them run off somewhere. Then the offspring plant themselves in a good spot, spread their mycelia, and repeat the cycle.

It's not just the spoon she doesn't hold properly. Izutsumi also stuck her thumb in the bowl.

She licked the bowl like a cat!

I have never feared for a fictional character's life more than in this moment.

In her defense, depending on how that cat soul is integrated into her body, Izutsumi might not be able to eat mushrooms like a regular human could. Cats are obligate carnivores so they have to eat meat to get any nutrition.

Senshi is about to take this child up on his knee and give her a spanking.

So if Maizuru can't touch the collar on Izutsumi's neck periodically, it summons a hag who attempts to kill her. And did Shuro abandon her knowing this would happen?

I just noticed Marcille and Senshi have been wearing little bags around their feet since chapter 39. They normally wear sandals.

It looks like they're made from pieces of the frog skin used to make Chilchuck's outfit from chapter 21. Maybe they're stuffed with harpy feather or some type of animal fur? After this is over, they could try tanning some of the shapeshifter's fur to make them more insulated.

We don't see it properly, but Senshi knocked Marcille to the ground as well when he tackled Izutsumi. She got knocked out during the whole fight with the hag.

Senshi and Laios were amazingly competent dealing with that hag. Senshi was acting as if it was a minor annoyance to get rid of. Meanwhile, Laios figured out immediately how to destroy it when he realized it was made of paper.

Quick guess: Hags are an eastern variant of golem. Marcille mentioned the spell that summoned it was a repurposed gnome spell, and golems seem to be a gnome creation based on MMT2. So maybe the hag uses the same general magic formula to make an automata out of a certain material, but it conjures the material and controls it remotely when activated rather than needing to be inserted into it first.

Izutsumi is making the face of a cat that has decided you are trustworthy.

Marcille is trying to remove the stigma against black magic by calling it ancient magic instead, but she nearly slipped up for a moment. After what happened to Falin, maybe she's starting to think that black magic really should be forbidden.

Everyone thinks it's Marcille's fault Falin turned into a monster. No one was around when the magician transformed her.

She's so cute in this panel.

Why is Laios blushing while talking to Izutsumi? Is he excited to have finally met his monster waifu?

Izutsumi really didn't plan ahead here. As Chilchuck pointed out, she can't get back to the surface on her own. She deserted from Shuro's team so she could force Marcille to remove her beast soul, and that was as far as she thought. And now she has to travel with them because she has no other option. She's going to find out really quickly that the Touden party is not stuck with her, she's stuck with them.

It's a start, but Izutsumi is at least holding her spoon properly at the end of the chapter.

Izutsumi was a character in the Chapter 0 oneshot. Her interactions with the party made it clear that she had joined them at a later point in their adventure and wasn't aware that they ate monsters.

The party was on a journey to save Falin, but the end goal of the oneshot was to fight the red dragon. With some light tweaking, chapter 0 could easily be a miscellaneous story after this point.

I definitely feel like Ryoko Kui had the whole story planned from the start. She might have wanted to add Izutsumi sooner but held off until after Falin's transformation to establish human-monster chimeras before introducing a cat-girl ninja.

Izutsumi is definitely going to add a new dynamic to the party. Kind of like how Shuro represents the dangers of not taking time to eat and sleep, I feel like Izutsumi is going to represent the importance of eating a balanced diet, eating your food properly, and not letting yourself be picky about food.

SENSHI FLASH!!

back

[hervygervy]

Well... long time no see.

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus. School and work got really busy, to keep things short. But I'm done with school for good! ...I think. I have no plans to go into graduate school but who knows if I change my mind in the future. That's irrelevant though. To celebrate my graduation, I wish to share with you all a bite-sized KIU localization post.

You've probably guessed it--I'll be talking about another one of those random conversations that can trigger during levels you've cleared. Most of them pertain to the type of weapon currently equipped. One that always confused me as a kid was this particular convo about blades:

I mean... I get the overall joke but honestly where is the "strike" coming from? Well, my theory is the English writers wanted to replicate the kind of joke expressed in the Japanese version... and this was the best they could come up with I guess.

The joke in the Japanese version hinges upon the name for "blade" itself. Take a listen, and then I'll explain.

First I should translate:

Palutena: Pit, I see you have a blade equipped.

Pit: Yeah! It's really easy to use.

Palutena: The blade is literally a "blade that can shoot." It has no blind spots at any distance! You could say it's a weapon among weapons.

Pit: But couldn't a "blade" also be interpreted as a "blade that can strike?"

Palutena: ...Pit?

Pit: Yeah?

Palutena: Then wouldn't it be just a blade?

Pit: C-certainly! I didn't realize that!

I guess for what I wrote to make any sense in English, the line would be more like "then wouldn't it just be a regular blade?" Anyway, let me explain:

In Japanese, the blades are called 撃剣 (gekiken), which is a word for a fencing sword, I think. During the animation for rapid-fire attacks, it kinda looks like super fast fencing, huh? Anyway, to understand this conversation, we gotta break this word down. The first character, 撃 (geki), means "to beat" or "to attack," while the second character, 剣 (ken), can actually stand on its own as a word for "sword" or "blade."

So, when Palutena says that "撃剣" literally means "blade that can shoot," she's referencing the "撃" part. The phrase she actually uses is 射撃できる剣 (shageki dekiru ken). "射撃" is "shooting" or "firing," and this is the term the Japanese version uses for any instance of "ranged attack" in the English version. And did you notice anything in 射撃? Yup, the 撃 part is there.

Pit then brings up another type of "撃" when he notes that "blade that can strike" is a possible interpretation. The phrase used here is 打撃できる剣 (dageki dekiru ken). You've probably figured it out by now, but "打撃" is "striking" or "batting," and it's the Japanese version's equivalent of the English version's "melee attack." And of course, a sword that can do close combat is just a regular old sword (or ただの剣/tada no ken, or “just a sword,” as she says), which is what Palutena's getting at.

The English conversation seems to be trying to replicate this wordplay expressed in the Japanese version, but it frankly just comes across as random and unrelated. Typically, in the localization field, when there's something that can't easily be translated, it's usually replaced with an entirely different thing that compensates for whatever's lost. In the case of KIU, we've seen it in places like the moon scene in the flight segment of chapter 13, where a joke about buying more dango to offer to multiple moons for moon-viewing is replaced with a joke comparing the two moons to watchful eyes and how it incites stage fright. There are other random conversations that are just entirely different between the two versions, so I wonder what made the English writers attempt to go with the replication strategy for this conversation rather than a compensation strategy.

Now that I have no real pressing responsibilities at the moment, I shall try to write these more consistently. I still have a few things I'd like to talk about. But of course, throw an ask my way if there's anything specific you'd like me to look at that I haven't already. See y'all in the next one 👋

[honeybeenibbles]

I was scrolling YouTube this morning listening to music and watching videos to wake up as i always do and stumbled across a question. "What was the aftermath to DICE losing their leader to the game?" Now. I'm not super good at nuance and I'm quite bad with words but for reasons I can't really explain, my brain said this would be an interesting one to break down my thoughts on. Now, please mind, I haven't finished the game, and have barely touched chapter 2 because life likes getting in my way. Buuuut since this isn't a breakdown of DICE as a whole and just my thoughts on the aftereffects of losing their leader, figured it was worth a shot. I'm going to cover three scenarios I can see happening.

1. Was Kokichi the first member of DICE involved in the game?

2. Was he not the first?

3. Simulation vs Reality

Yeah. This might get a little long but I'm going to try to be concise as I can and expand later as needed.

For a little context on how I view DICE's makeup. They are a found family unit, most likely post tragedy or even late tragedy for some. Some could be related directly but I see it more as a "didn't fit in" or "lost family during the tragedy" or any other number of reasons. They all have their issues, sure, but they support each other in any way they can and love each other dearly. Their ages may range, from all being right around the same age within a few year range, to a few adults even being trusted enough to be within their ranks. Lies are a daily thing to them, being a way to joke and play or even say "I love you" without needing to say it directly. And for people who have been hurt? Not having to be as open and honest could be nice. For some members it could even be a safety blanket.

Now. Question 1. Was Kokichi the first DICE member in the game?

It's hard to say for certain. For all we know, he's not. Others could have gone in before him and been lost. DICE theoretically could have been bigger at one point, and there could have been loss for them prior, but I'll cover that in my next point. If he was the first, I can see it being a lot for DICE to have their leader away and be terrified for his safety.

Their leader is strong and clever. And the bestest one out there. Hands down. And that's not just because they're his subordinates. I can see this being a true belief to them. The rest of the class treatment towards Kokichi would probably hurt or even piss off some of DICE. His lies aren't hurtful, they're playful, or even guiding at times. DICE can see it, why can't Kokichi's classmates at least try? Do they not see that he isn't being cruel with them?

The first trial would probably be hard for all of them to watch, and lead to a whole slew of emotions; anticipation (to see how their leader will handle it and take control), sadness, fear, hope, frustration, disgust, mild mocking at Akamatsu-chan's sad attempt to lie, any number of things. And the first investigation probably more so. Kokichi seems the kind to me who'd want to protect even those he doesn't know well, and I can see both Amami and Akamatsu's death hitting him hard. No killing. It was their one rule. So having to watch their leader deal with it again and again can not have been easy for any of DICE, especially Kokichi. And I can't imagine it got easier the further in they got. Every trial, every cruel remark to Kokichi was probably hard on all of them. Watching someone you love be beaten down again and again can't be easy after all.

But what if he wasn't the first DICE member to be part of the killing game? What if he was the second, or even third to be dragged into it? Is it possible he'd lost members of his found family to the bears and game? Was his motivation to join for revenge? Or an attempt to make it all stop permanently so no one else has to lose loved ones? To show how messed up it all was? Who knows. I personally subscribe to this thought process, but that is neither here nor there right now.

If he wasn't the first, it makes more sense to me why he'd join. I know the game seems to want you to believe at the start that none of them are there by their own choice but that just feels.... wrong to me I guess? Like it's not entirely the truth at the very least. My best guess is some of the kids are there for a reason, but I won't pretend to know why. I'm sure DICE discussed it, but I know if it was me, I would have fought tooth and nail to keep him from having to experience that, even if he had his own reasons, and I'm sure he'd do the same. But loss and grief can be hard and make you do stupid things sometimes.

If it was discussed as something he needed to do, it probably wasn't something easy for DICE. It would have been a last resort for any of them, and left them all a little broken that they even needed to consider sending another of their own to the slaughter, especially their dear Ultimate Supreme Leader.

Now, if Kokichi made the call on his own though and left during the night or with no warning after school or something, DICE would have woken up in quite the panic, wondering where they're beloved leader had gone until they found a note or saw the roster for the upcoming game? This could have multiple effects, from the entirety of DICE shattering and separating to being forced to helplessly watch their dear leader play a game none of the wanted involved in. And if he failed and it was all for naught? How would that effect his subordinates? Had he considered that? The effect of watching another person they loved being destroyed by that damn game. No. Wouldn't feel like that in the moment. I don't think they'd resent him, but I do think they'd be hurt beyond belief, left to flounder without any direction, maybe even leading to further bloodshed to the group trying to finish what he'd started..... or a desperate grab to understand why, or save the little family they had left before that's gone forever too and they're alone.

But if it was just a simulation it would be okay wouldn't it? Not like anyone actually died. Let me make this perfectly clear. NO IT WOULD NOT. I honestly think it could be worse than actual death in game for them.

Kokichi and anyone else in DICE who'd been through the game would probably be traumatized beyond reason, maybe even scared to even hide behind their own lies because it had just caused them so much pain in the game. And that could just lead to them bottling it all up until they'd break. Or it could lead to hiding even more heavily behind lies or whatever that member's coping mechanism is, maybe even unintentionally hurting themselves and further DICE as a result. Either way. Not a good outcome.

As for Kokichi, I can see it leading to DICE constantly worrying for him. Wondering if his lies are truly kind or if he's hiding behind a cruel lie thinking it's kind. It's not hard to do. People do it all the time without realizing, so who's to say that someone who excels at it could fool himself into it? And if he can pass it off, what is it doing to him and DICE in return?

[hergrandplan]

writing tag game!

So many people tagged me in this so first up thank you @enjoythesilentworld @filmspring @malinowaj and @iwouldnevergetintofanfic for this fun little kinda confronting tag! (i dont like to think about my fics all the time but pushing through uncomfortability!)

1.How many works do you have on AO3?

As of yesterday, 24

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

148,768 (i have one collab, but also. it's not that much anyways lol, oh the joys of being a really slow writer)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Young royals the love of my life

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

You're the risk I want to take - I posted the final chapter of this fic half a year ago, and I still see love for it every now and then which just makes me so happy. This fic is still (and I think will always be) the one I'm most proud of, just how everything worked and fit together, the ease I had with writing it, the story itself... this version of Wilmon, meeting each other online, falling in love for the person and not the face, are still so near and dear to me and I'm so glad that so many people love them just as much. Like... even the other day I got the sweetest comment on it that brought some tears to my eyes, so thank you to everyone who has read this and loved it 💜 (and don't worry, I'm still planning for them to come back)

Got My Heart On Your Hand - Or also known as: the fic that got me through Hell Week (tm) last year while we were all anxiously waiting for the final episode, and in which I was absolutely convinced that they hadn't broken up. Still, I wrote this little fluff fest to cope and it still holds a special place in my heart. I really do believe Wille ended up getting that tattoo by the way

Suburban Legends - ... this I'm not gonna dwell too much on since I discontinued it earlier this year because I don't feel good about the way I handled parts of that story, and mostly the pacing. I let myself get influenced a bit too much rather than sticking to what I'd planned, and that just threw everything off kilter, which is why I made the decision to abandon it. I'll revisit the plot at some point, but this version of that plot... yeah, don't feel the best about it

Familiar Places - over a year of writing for Young Royals, and this has yet to be kicked out of the top 5 by kudos (it has been kicked out of the top 5 by pretty much everything else, but it's going strong by kudos)(again, might also have to do with my just being a slow writer). But this was when I still actively wrote for Percy Jackson, and was in collaboration with an old friend who's url I've definitely forgotten, but it was a fun thing nevertheless 💜

It'll tear me apart when you go - is it weird that my little smut fic that i only posted a few weeks ago has already sneaked its way into the top 5? this story genuinely scared me to post but GOD did I have fun writing it, and I'm still so overwhelmed at how it was received 💜

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! There was a moment during You're the risk where I had way too many comments to respond to (at some point there were like 100+)(which was my own fault because people asked questions in comments that I didn't want to answer at that point for Suspense Reasons) but I managed to respond to them all eventually, and for Breaking Beds I hope to stay more on top of it (which... honestly I think I'll be able to do lol)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I usually give them a happy or open ending at the very least; even with It'll tear me apart when you go, I couldn't give them an angsty ending, even though that would have been the perfect set up for someone being left alone in a bed. but I just can't! I need them to be happy. The only actual angsty thing that I wrote that doesn't have a happy ending is a drabble that I wrote for YR Drabble week (One last time), but if I'd had more than 100 words I probably would have given that a happy ending too.

OO actually, there is a ficlet here on tumblr that I have yet to post on ao3 (even though I can, it's fully finished) that definitely had the most open ending, so maybe that

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Definitely You're the risk. Mostly because so far it's my only finished chaptered fic that wasn't a collaboration, and the rest are just fluffy (or angsty) one-shots, so the happy ending is the entire story, whereas with You're the risk there's that actual build up to the happy ending (after things get a little bit messy)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far not! at least I hope so

9. Do you write smut?

as of January 3rd 2025, yes (and thank you to all wonderful writers within this fandom who inspire me with their smut fics, y'all are incredible)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet, and tbh, I don't think I ever will

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope, not as far as I know

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered once, but nothing has come of it (yet)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Absolutely!! and it was the best time. I also have a few in the works that I really hope happen some day alskjdgklas

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Suburban Legends ... we don't talk about her. on another more hopeful note, I do plan on actually finishing my contributions to Wille's month even if it's the last thing I do and even if no one but me cares

15. What are your writing strengths?

hell if i know. Some people say I'm good with describing their emotions and feelings? Like I make the reader feel what the characters are feeling very well?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Repetition is the bane of my existence. I'm also always scared that my writing falls flat

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Love!!! I do try to keep in mind what the reader knows or doesn't know, like with YR I'll throw in some Swedish words everyone should know, and some basic Spanish. and honestly as long as there's either a direct translation in the text, or in the notes, or it's clear from context, then i don't see the harm.

And honestly... one particular chapter of a particular fic comes to mind in which the Spanish was very much not translated on purpose and yeah...... that was something alright

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Either The Hunger Games or Percy Jackson... both on Wattpad. I think I've deleted all those fics now

19. Favorite fic you’ve written?

You're the risk I want to take !!! it just brought me so so so much joy to write

I have no idea who has or hasn't been tagged and hwo has or has done it so if you've been tagged already... ignore this please @bigalockwood @skibasyndrome @wildcalendula @toffeelemon and anyone else who might want to do this

[collapsedglasshouses]

LOST IN ALL THE CITY LIGHTS

CHAPTER FOUR aka It's Just A Game ♫ PAIRING: Vinny x Jean (f!singer) ♫ SUMMARY: Jean, part-time streamer and programmer, and her band Join Me In Pieces are invited to be the support for Motionless in White at their upcoming US tour. Adding to her anxiety about meeting the people she had been a fan of for over a decade at this point, is the fact that the internet seemingly seems to think that her and Vinny would be a perfect match. ♫ WARNINGS: SLOW BURN, Jean being an anxious mass for weeks straight, swearing, corny af, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of drug use, eventually smut (specific warnings at the beginning of the chapters), too much tension too little spoken words, MDNI, 18+ ♫ A/N: sorry for the late update. i had a terrible flu last week and really couldn't get myself to do anything. but i'll probably post two chapters next week. ♡♡

MASTERLIST || MASTERPOST

Jean took a deep breath as she reached her hotel room. The first full-band rehearsal was over and she couldn’t quite shake off the energy that had buzzed through her the entire day. The adrenaline from performing was still coursing through her veins and as much as she would have loved to focus on the good vibes – on the fact that MIW had genuinely enjoyed their set and praised them – there was something else that kept looping in her mind.

Vinny.

Specifically, the fact that he had been watching her streams for a while. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.

Her bandmates didn’t seem to push her too hard about it – yet – but Mars, of course, kept giving her knowing looks. The sly glances, the little smirks, it all screamed that Mars knew exactly what was going on.

Jean, however, was still caught in a whirlwind of confusion. Vinny was undeniably talented, and from what little she knew, he was also just… so damn nice. Too nice. The same guy who could flawlessly drum through the heaviest of tracks was also the one who casually mentioned that he watched her streams that mostly contained of her saying the most unhinged shit. It wasn’t a big deal, right? He was just enjoying it, being a gamer himself, and it was no different from the hundreds of others who tuned in to her Twitch streams.

But the fact that he admitted it during their one-on-one moment kept playing on a loop in her head. For a while. The words echoed, louder than any of the music they'd played that day.

Her mind drifted as the air conditioning rumbled quietly. Everyone else was already knocked out after a long day of rehearsals, and Jean was left with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company. After a quick shower, she slipped into her bed, scrolling through her phone, trying to find something - anything - to distract herself from the gnawing feeling that was settling deep in her chest.

For about an hour, she just enjoyed her alone time. Her laptop was open, and she was idly scrolling through some code for her side project she was working on. She loved coding – it was a skill that had always brought her peace, a break from the whirlwind of her music career. But tonight, her mind kept drifting back to everything but her project.

Before she could even stop herself, she had opened discord:

jeanscreen: wanna game something?

Jean blinked, pausing. It had only been a few hours since their rehearsal ended, but here she was, reaching out again. She sat for a moment, staring at the screen. She’d almost forgotten about how casually they’d talked that afternoon. How easily it had felt.

sachetti: yeah. you in?

Her fingers flew over the keyboard before she could second-guess herself. What was the harm? They’d already gamed before. It wasn’t anything special.

Within seconds, she clicked into the voice chat, and the familiar sound of Vinny’s voice filled her headphones.

“Sup?” His voice was light, like they hadn’t just spent a full day together in rehearsals.

“Not much. Was just finishing up some coding,” Jean replied, relaxing into her chair. This was familiar. Comfortable.

“Yeah? What, like… are you still working on that project thing?” Vinny asked, his tone curious.

Jean chuckled softly. “Yeah, I’m trying to implement this game mechanics and something keeps failing. It’s a mess, honestly.”

“Well, I don’t know about that exactly, but if you’re looking for help, I can totally give you some tips,” Vinny offered, his voice shifting slightly into that confident tone he seemed to effortlessly adopt when talking about anything drum-related.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jean said, grinning. She was about to say more when the sound of the game loading up interrupted her thoughts.

“Alright, alright,” Vinny said, his voice brightening. “Let’s play. What’re we going for tonight?”

“Maybe some Phasmophobia?” Jean suggested. It wasn’t their first choice of game, but it always guaranteed plenty of laughs and chaos. Plus, it was easy to talk while playing.

“Sounds good,” Vinny agreed.

And just like that, they were off. The first few rounds were easy, playful, as they casually made fun of each other’s gameplay. Jean could hear Vinny’s laughter in the background whenever she messed up something ridiculous, like trying to get the spirit to talk with awkward questions. 

“Dude, I didn’t even do anything! How’d I almost die already?” Jean laughed, trying to get her character out of the corner where she had somehow gotten stuck.

Vinny was already way ahead on the map, his voice coming through with the usual teasing edge. “Guess you suck. Maybe you should have listened to me and not run in there.”

Jean couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head. “Yeah, I’ll just go ahead and take all your advice, Master Vincenzo.”

“Good call,” he shot back, the banter flowing so easily. “You’ll be a pro in no time.”

As they played, it felt like the game was a background to something else - something softer. Their conversation started to drift away from gaming, moving into more personal territory.

“So, you ever get tired of streaming? With all your other stuff going on.” Vinny asked out of nowhere. It was one of those questions that seemed light on the surface but hinted at something deeper.

Jean paused, her character still standing perfectly still in the game. She leaned back in her chair and thought about it for a moment. “I mean… sometimes. I love it, but there are days when it feels like a job, you know? I’ve never intended it to be that. The pressure, the expectation to always be on, always be entertaining - it gets to me sometimes.”

Vinny was quiet for a moment before he answered. “Yeah, I get that. For me, it’s different. I like streaming, but I don’t take it as seriously as you do, I think. It’s just… a thing I do for fun.” His words were casual, but there was a certain hesitation in his tone that caught Jean off guard.

“You?” Jean echoed, raising an eyebrow. “But you could. You’re a natural at it. I’m sure you’ve got more than enough fans to build something big.”

Vinny chuckled at that. “Nah, I don’t have the patience for it like you. Plus, I suck at networking.”

Jean tilted her head, not sure whether to take that seriously. “I think you’re selling yourself short,” she said, her voice warm. “But I get it. It’s a lot of work to keep up with. Especially while managing all the band stuff.”

There was a brief silence, a comfortable one.

“Well, you’re good at it,” Vinny said, breaking the silence with an unexpected compliment. “You’ve got the whole Twitch thing figured out, while handling your band stuff and you still do programming projects. I don’t know how you manage it all.”

Jean blinked, caught off guard by the praise. “Uh - thanks?” She couldn’t quite find the right words, not expecting this side of Vinny to emerge so suddenly. Was he actually complimenting her?

It wasn’t often that people she admired would say something nice without a hint of sarcasm or a joke. She swallowed, trying to compose herself. “I mean, I work at it. It’s not easy. Sometimes I feel like I just load a lot of tasks on my back to keep myself busy.”

Vinny seemed to sense her awkwardness. His voice softened slightly. “You’re good at it. Really.”

Another brief silence fell between them. For a moment, Jean forgot she was gaming entirely.

Then, Vinny casually asked, “So, how does a computer programmer end up in a band, anyway?”

Jean leaned back in her chair, her gaze shifting to the ceiling as she thought. “I guess… I thought I’d do the safe thing. Get a degree, get a stable job. But music was always there, you know? We started this whole thing in my second semester. Cat and Will were in some courses with me. Mars I met in highschool and Callum just kinda spawned after he and Mars started dating. And when the band actually started picking up traction, I had to make a choice.”

Vinny listened quietly, and Jean could almost picture him nodding along in understanding.

She chuckled softly. “What about you? Computer science drop-out turned drummer? That’s a shift.”

Vinny laughed out loud. “Yeah, well… To be honest, I really hated studying. Not for the subject, but the people. I just didn’t really click with anyone.”

“That’s hard to believe.” Jean exclaimed before her mind could stop her.

“Why’s that?” Vinny wanted to know and Jean felt her face flush.

“I mean. You’re kind of… I don’t know… Charming?” She said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Is that so?” He teased and let out a soft chuckle, causing her to roll her eyes with a smile.

“Don’t let it get to your head.” She warned.

“Oh, don’t worry. I definitely will.” Vinny joked and for a moment they just started playing again.

It was one of those rare moments when both of them didn’t need to say anything more. It was just… understood. The weight of the conversation hung in the air, neither of them rushing to change the subject.

Time seemed to blur as they continued to play, but as the night wore on, Jean realized just how late it was. 

“Shit, what time is it?” Jean muttered, her mind buzzing from both the conversation and the game.

Vinny checked his own screen. “3 AM. Whoops.”

Neither of them made a move to log off. There was no awkward pause, just the feeling that they could keep talking, keep playing, and maybe never leave the space they’d carved out for themselves.

After another beat, Vinny’s voice softened. “We should probably crash.”

Jean sighed, her eyes slightly hurting from staring at a screen for hours, but a strange flutter filling her chest. “Yeah. Probably.”

But neither of them moved.

Finally, Vinny chuckled softly, causing Jean to smile. “Alright. "Goodnight, Jean.”

“Goodnight, Vin.” Jean whispered, smiling even though he couldn’t see it. She logged off, but deep down, she knew she wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon.

dividers by @saradika-graphics

TAGLIST: @ladyveronikawrites @sitkowski @deathblacksmoke

@bugseatmesoon @circle-with-me @measuredingold @cncohshit @jilliemiw86

@exitwoundsx @vinyardmauro @devilsfuckingdance

[f1stargirll]

Conversation Friends ° Lando Norris

Chapter Two

Word count : 1.658k

Description : slow burn, college!au (enemies to lovers) and more to come

Hey guys, sorry this chapter came out a week late, I was suffocating from homework. But here we are! And I'm currently on a week break from uni so I'll try to write as much as possible during this time, I have sooo many ideas. I think I'll even try writing oneshots so if anyone has requests I'm open to them! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter, and feel free to message me if you want to be tagged in the next parts 🧚🏼‍♀️

PSA : Since I’m STUPID, I’ve started writing on a side blog which means there’s a lot of things I can’t do!! So I’m switching to my main blog which is @f1stargurl !!! The next parts and the rest will be posted on there, so if anyone follows me here, if you could pls follow me on @f1stargurl 🤧 To quote mister Leclerc once ai gain, “I am stupid”

Hi Lando,

I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I’m sure that stupid encounter at the supermarket was just a result of the both of us being irritated and tired. As you can probably tell, my first few days here weren’t so easy and it might’ve been one of the reasons why I was so unpleasant, and once again, I apologize. 

I really am willing to put this stupid history behind us and get this program started!

I hope you’ll give it a thought and I look forward to hearing from you soon, have a good week! 

Sincerely, y/n

It’s been six days since I’ve sent Lando that email and pushed my pride to the side to organize a date. Well, it’s not a date, but still- I guess it is technically a date? Is it a date if we hate each other? It’s a meeting. Yeah, I was trying to organize a meeting. 

Still no response. 

Closing my laptop, I decided to take my mind off this situation and take a break at a coffee shop near campus. 

Taking a step inside the coffee shop I spot Daniel and Alex sipping on their drinks. Seeing Daniel again instantly put a smile on my face, we’ve been hanging out these last few days and having him by my side feels great. 

“What’s up guys!” I say while waving at them across the room. 

“Hey y/n!” They both got up from their seats to give me a hug.

 “Go get your drink and come join us,” Alex invited me, pointing at their booth, “we were talking about the party this weekend.”

“Don’t mind if I do then”, I respond smiling from ear to ear. 

After picking up my hot chocolate I sit down in front of them, Daniel makes fun of me for not liking coffee, again.

“I swear y/n you’re 21 and you still don’t like coffe? You need to grow up,’ rolling my eyes, I playfully shove Dani’s shoulder feeling his muscle tense under the light punch, so annoying, and buff, wow. We kept talking for more than two hours. I got to tell them all about Lando ghosting me and about the amazing cheese and garlic pasta I made last night. 

“I think he’ll come to his senses. He has to,” Daniel insists, crossing his arms in front of him. Ooh, veiny forearms… “the reason you guys hate each other is so ridiculous anyway, over freaking pasta!” he shakes his head in disbelief. 

“I think you did the right thing trying to reach out, at least you’ll be the bigger person” Alex says, his hand reaching for his matcha latte, “I’m sure you’ll be able to figure this out together.”

“Thanks for the optimism I really appreciate it” I say with a weak smile, not really believing in Linguini’s philanthropist potential, “I just hope this won’t ruin the program for me…”

“What? No way!” Daniel exclaims sitting up on his side of the booth, “Look, you’ve got your Conversation Friends right here” he says putting his arm around Alex’s shoulder who’s nodding and smiling in agreement, “and you’ve got Lola!”

“You’re right Dani, I’m not gonna give myself anxiety over a guy who can’t even be polite,” I state with confidence, “anyways, I’m so excited about the party this weekend!”

Once back in my room, I decided to check my inbox one more time. Just in case.

Still no response. 

The sight tugs at my heart a little. We have our first mandatory meeting in a few days and I still have no contact with my partner. I wouldn’t care so much about it if it was just about the two of us, but the whole group is supposed to visit a museum and I don’t want to be the only one there without a partner, that would be too embarrassing. 

But as I reminisce on the topic, I realize I’m not just sad anymore, I’m bitter. All week I saw everyone meeting up and doing fun activities with their partners, but I can’t get an email back? Even a “k” would’ve been enough… I’m stunned at how childish this boy is being. 

Putting my phone on my wooden nightstand, I close my eyes and try not to overthink about the situation. Is it my personality? Maybe it’s because of the way I look.

But I catch myself slipping, the last thing I need to do is to start doubting myself because of a man again.

God, this British Society class is really kicking my ass right now. Why did I even choose the 8am one, what is wrong with me? The professor starts off the first chapter of the class as we hear a loud knocking on the door. 

“Sorry I’m late,” I see Lando standing in the doorway, out of breath, his cheeks a light pink from the rush. His eyes search around the room for any seat still available until they meet mine. There’s one right next to me, but of course he’ll never take that one. He sets down his bag on the table front row and I feel my heart racing from embarrassment as my mind instantly jogs back to the email and how vulnerable it was. He turns around a final time and blankly looks at me. What is that supposed to mean? 

The class went by slower than ever, my mind speeding about different ways to go up to him and finally settle this ridiculous situation. 

8:55 finally strikes the clock as the professor concludes his explanation. As I put away my computer I see Lando clutching his books and bolting towards the exit. 

Not on my fucking watch. I head for his direction, calling out his name, “Lando! LANDOO!”

He turns on his heels in a swift motion, “What do you want from me?”

Suddenly feeling small, I still mustered up the courage to ask him about what’s going on, “Well you’ve read my email so I don’t know why you’re acting like you don’t know,” I grumble. “I feel like I’m making way too much effort here.”

“What email? What are you even talking about?” he asks, his thick brows furrowing in irritation. “I didn’t even give you my real email, the one I wrote down was just to fill the blank so the teacher won’t bug me,” he explains, still slightly confused as to what I was on about, “I just don’t want us to communicate outside of the mandatory attendings, got it ? We’ll meet there and that’s it.”

Well, at least that explains the total ghosting, doesn’t make it any less humiliating though. My lips close in a tight line, “Message received then, glad to know you’ll still be there for the museum,” I slowly nod my head trying to process what I’ve just been told. I feel my throat tightening up a bit and decide to leave before embarrassing myself any further, never looking behind me at the curly haired boy. 

Standing in line in front of the museum’s ticket office with my two favorite boys feels like we’re high schoolers on a field trip. I still feel uneasy about this upcoming afternoon, even if the run-in we had was terrible, he still assured me he’ll be coming today. 

But now, I don’t even want him to be here, I’m done with the idea of making any efforts with him, I’ve been way too kind to him. I’ll just stay glued to Dani and Alex and spend a nice afternoon at the museum with them, it’ll be way more fun than if he ever was to be here. 

“Still no news from Linguini?” Alex asks, trying to make sense of this situation, probably feeling bad for me. I really was pitiful.

“It’s not like I have a way of having any.” I half-joke trying to keep face despite anxiety and sadness creeping their way into my heart;

I found myself gazing at a beautiful photograph of a peony field, my favorite flower. The exhibition was showcasing the origins and the beauty of perfumes around the world. It involved a path filled with elements used to make our favorite scents through the use of pictures and different aromas being diffused all around the museum. I had clinged on to my favorite boys for twenty minutes before the teacher noticed, “I don’t care if your partner isn’t here, it’s a pairing of two only.” So now I was wandering around the exhibition and taking in the great sights and scents on my own. 

“Hey,” I turned around to see Lando looking ahead standing next to me, his hair covered by a green cap matching the crew neck sitting on his shoulders and the color of his eyes. Last time I thought they were blue, but they’re not. They’re the most gorgeous shade of olive green I had ever seen. It bothered me that I noticed these kinds of small details about him, he was the last person to deserve it. “Sorry I’m late.”

I kept my focus on the piece in front of me, “Alright.”

“Alright.”

“These are my favorite, my grandma used to grow some in her garden,” I tell him without really knowing why.

“My grandma had roses, those are nice too,” he answers, I just nod in agreement. We both keep looking at the photograph in silence for another minute when his phone starts to ring. 

“Hey babe,” he quickly picks up, “yeah it’ll be quick I promise - no I don’t care I just have to do this, you know that.” Wow, way to ruin the last speck of hope I had. He hangs up as fast as he picked up.

“You know you could’ve just told me you had a girlfriend and didn’t want to talk to me for that reason, I mean, It’s a little extreme but I get it.” I know that some girlfriends are overprotective and the idea of their boyfriends spending time with another girl can be a nightmare.

“It's not about her,” he spits out, “I just don’t want to be here, I’ve got better things to do,” and with that final sentence he rubs the salt in a wound that’s already way too deep for what it’s worth. 

“You don’t have to be here though, nobody’s forcing you to” I remark, my voice filled with resentment. I’ve had enough. 

“I do, though. I’m only doing this to pass my semester, so let’s just wrap this up,” he starts going for the rest of the exhibition in hopes of finishing early. When he doesn’t feel me following him, he turns around and stops, staring me down with his hands in his back pockets, his shoulders slumped in frustration.

Slowly shaking my head, I stand my ground and head towards the next step in the exhibition in silence, disregarding the icy stare from the green boy across the room. I’m not letting him get away with it this time. I’ll enjoy the rest of the tour and make sure to take my time. Might as well enjoy my own company if that’s all I’m gonna have for the rest of the program.

Taglist : @u5dthsduttd

[hanafubukki]

Hii Hana!! (⁠*⁠＾▽＾⁠)⁠/⁠～⁠♡

I finally watched and read Moriarty the Patriot :D I managed to find time to squeeze in a few series (along with another Haikyuu rewatch because why not) during the few days of break I had left and the first week of the new semester xD 

I'm glad you suggested that I watch the anime before the manga because after reading, I'm pretty sure I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the anime as much as I did if I read the manga first. I didn't dislike it, though. It was pretty good with the storyline they chose. I do prefer manga over it because of how much more in-depth it went with the story. Also, how at some points the story seemed to flow better in the manga because of how they introduced certain characters and situations beforehand, so in the future chapters the callback made more sense. 

I wasn't expecting it, but Albert kind of grew on me. I didn't really think much of him during the anime, but in the manga I started liking him (especially post time skip). I still need to roll his character arc in my head to fully grasp his personality, but I really like his character. 

I think I'll give it another read, slower this time, because I kind of zoomed through the manga in the first go :') But it was a fun read. I had almost forgotten I once added it to my list so thanks for reminding me about it!! <33

Hiiii Soul 💞🫂💚

YESSSS YESSS IM SO GLAD 💞💞💞💚💚💚

So happy you loved Moriarty the Patriot 🫂🫂🫂🥳🥳💚💚💞💞💞

(Haikyuu rewatch is always a must 💞💞💚💚 one of my fave comfort shows next to ccs and yyh)

Yesss I agree. I love how the manga doesn’t hold back and goes darker and more detailed in its execution. I feel that was one of the set backs in the anime. They couldn’t go all out. Did you get a chance to see the OVAs?? I’m sure you’ll love them!

The tea party is so funny!! And… cough, they also adapted the hot springs scene 🥰🥰🥰

Ohhh Albert!! You know I’m not surprised that you like him?? He kind of reminds me of Suo!! 🥰🥰💞💞

Both are secretive, hides their emotions, protects their loved ones, can easily navigate social settings and people, has a ‘smile’, will sacrifice themselves, can fight, etc.

They could be practically twins 🥰🥰🥰😂😂 He screams “Soul’s” type 💞💞

I’m so happy that you enjoyed it so much 🫂🫂💞💞 I need to give it a reread too, it’s been so long and I know the author just started part 2 arc so it would be a perfect time to do it. (<- been saying this for months lol)

There’s also light novels and a manga based on the light novel that you can read too that you might enjoy 💞💞

The light novel can be found here

And you’re welcome 💞💞🫂🫂 I’m so happy I could introduce you to the series 💚💚 found family is one of my faves 💞💞🥹🥹

Cough cough more found family genre can be found in the hit mobile game twisted wonderland cough cough AHSJJDJDD

[comfortlesshurt]

alrighty, I locked in for a couple days and now I get to reward myself by yelling into the tumblr void about the series progress

first off, there are TWO FICS over 50% done, v exciting stuff. I know they've been over 50% for a bit now, but like... let me have my motivation, okay? we are in the HARD PART of the project where it all looks overwhelming, so I'll take the wins I can

also tex fic is finished and through round 1 of editing. it still needs another major edit and i need to finish fic 1 to make sure no info conflicts between the two, but the serious work for that is done

there are a few more days left before NotNaNo, but even going in with today's word counts, focusing on fics 1 and 2 should put them pretty close to finished by the end of November unless I was super off with the word count estimate

also had a really good writing day yesterday!

ignore those date projections at the bottom because like... those assume either i write 3k every day or i write 3k twice a week and 1.2k the other 5 days, and I canNOT do that consistently. but that July 23rd date is realistic! that's me continuing to hit my average based on the past 106 days since starting this project, so there's a good chance I finish this project in a total of just over a year (in which case I will never shut up about writing 450k in a year, so watch out)

finally, fic 1 is a huge portion of that daily par number in the first row, so... unless I fall majorly away from the intended timeline, that required daily par will go down a LOT at the end of december, which will be nice. the goal is still to focus a lot on this project and only really jump over to side projects as they call to me, but it's easier to do that when your average isn't struggling to keep up with your daily par number. it simply does not feel good to be constantly working just to barely get over the par.

as far as editing, i'm starting to fear i didn't budget enough time for that in my early projections, so the timeline might be off there. those due dates listed are for the final rough draft, which doesn't get a chance to rest before immediately going into a month of editing. something just tells me now that a month isn't going to be enough to cover a content edit for each fic. it's also relying on the technical edits being done week-to-week as each chapter goes up.

also added one more tracking tool recently:

this is to look at all the projects week-to-week, and really what it's done is made it obvious that I am in fact very focused on fic 1 lmao. in my defense, that's the one that has consistently had the highest required par, so it's easy to treat it as the most important. also, up to 27-aug is rough. I started writing these fics in Word, so I didn't have day-to-day stats to go back and check. I could only find those once I switched to Reedsy, so for the record I did not write 54k between 20-aug and 27-aug. same with the tex fic--that wasn't all written in one week.

this chart still only looks at ILaD progress, so you can see where I take my break in October and it cuts down a lot... but that's excluding the 10k that went into an unrelated fic, so I don't think taking this break has actually cut down on my writing much. it's just made me have a better time with it temporarily. i took a couple days off writing completely during October but like... I didn't really enjoy that? so I don't think that's the solution I'm looking for long-term.

anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk. i will infodump again, and probably soon since all the end of the month posts are coming up in the next week.

[pedgito]

wip wednesday

love you @ovaryacted thank you for the tag after a much needed break. i've got some ideas brewing BUT, i had a few series that i left unfinished during my hiatus that i do plan on finishing, i swear.

this is a little ramble-y so i'm putting it under a read more

remorse for remedy (kink series)

i've got the remaining chapters outlined and half written, so those will be released as i tie them up

absolution (step!uncle joel)

part two was nearly finished, so that will come pretty soon and then i'll be onto part three. i never stopped thinking about these goofs, so i don't plan to abandon it

i've got a part two for placatis on the horizon, which will probably come after gladiator ii is out.

as for outstanding wips/ideas

dating apps + max phillips is still a thing

some enemies to lovers javi involving hand written, snarky notes left on each other's desk

AND HEAT ABOVE, this is still on the road to becoming a full blown tommy miller series for my tommy girlies (gn)

also, mma frankie is sitting in my drafts awaiting a post

alongside a joel fic that i didn't have the courage to post, given some of the context of it. but i tend to lean more toward darker writing as of late and may post if i find the courage, i'll include a couple snippets of both below.

strangers (jackson!joel, dubcon elements)

You settled between his legs more comfortably, raising up on scabbed up knees and dragging your fingers delicately along the shaft and down to his balls, watching them tighten at the attention you showed before you’re leaning down to take his cock into your mouth without much of a warning. Joel shifts slightly and you anticipate him to push you away. But, really, you just wanted to thank him. It was the only way you’ve learned how. He breathes out softly, the first sound you’ve heard since you touched him. You drag your tongue from base to tip, hand pressed his cock flat against it as you circle around the tip before dipping back down, slipping back into the motions so easily it feels mind-numbing.

make you mine (mma frankie)

“You’re off your game,” Frankie comments, “tucking your thumb like that.” He nods down and corrects it for you, “Come on, seriously?” “What?” You bark through a laugh, trying to yank your hand away but Frankie holds it in playfully, testing your strength. “You know better,” Frankie smirks, tilting his head slightly. This was so much of the boy you missed—that glint of excitement in his eye, the soft smile and kind and innocent eyes. But, the longer you stare, the less it feels like innocence. Fuck, you couldn’t do this. But, still. You allowed it.

no tags this time around, but if you're wanting to share wips feel free to tag me!

[nono-uwu]

Ons chapter 135 thoughts!!

Spoilers duh (also very long post. Lmk if I should add the read more cut)

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- KAGAMI I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT IN YOU TO GIVE CHESS AND HORN MORE SCREENTIME BUT THANK YOU ANYWAYS

- I am so glad that the whole digestion thing is more symbolical bc... that inital wording really threw me off lmao

- on that note, the immagery of the dead trees with the bodies sticking out of 'em... very creepy and on point, I think it's neat

- they actually adressed Crowley forgetting them! Wowzers (side note she looks hella adorable. My little skrunkly)

- ouugh the dynamic... where was it earlier? It seems so much more casual than during the Nagoya arc (probably just wishful thinking on my part lmao)... idc how give us more of this

- "you two were my first servants", LORE CRUMBS! I guess.

- wait so, they're still becoming demons? But isn't that a form of reincarnation, the thing Ferid is specifically trying to stop? But he's also devouring them... to absorb their power I guess? Since later on Ferid mentions now being more powerful after devouring Crowley (I'll get to that asspull later)

- Also Horn looks a teensy bit weird with the new artstyle but she's still super pretty 🫶 be my wife pls

- So, 16 year old Ferid is inside himself as his 'true self'? I assume that because he got the idea to stop reincarnation when he was 16 and hasn't changed his mind since (never let 16 year olds make big decisions in this world, it only leads to disaster)

- the skrunkle part 2. Also I doubt being digested like that feels good in any way. And with how slow it's supposed to be, yikes.

- I have a theory (aka major amounts of copium): Yuu will bust in and save Crowley because of 'fAmiLy' and also save Chess and Horn since they're family by association

- No one can reach Ferid, eh? And then Corwley's voice reaches him. Kagami and his queerbaiting amirite

- However Ferid then snags Crowley and ig he's on the priority list of getting devoured. Probably bc he's the strongest vampire Ferid has eaten. Cannibalism as a metaphor for love and devotion or whatever, except it's very literal and I doubt there's any love beyond 'u and interesting critter dude' from both sides

- Ok here's my major nitpick with this chapter: KAGAMI STOP BREAKING AND BENDING YOUR OWN FUCKING WORLDBUILDING AND POWER SYTEMS. Until now it was established that a vampires strenght is dependant on 1. their rank (as in who's blood turned them) and 2. their age. But now appearantly Ferid can eat vampires and absorb their strenght? If this was some universal but very difficult thing for any vampire to do, then I wouldn't be this salty. Also one of my favourite things about Ferid as an antagonist was, that power-wise he was on the weaker side. Despite being 'weak' he was still a major threat. He made up for his lack in actual fighting power with smarts and immaculate planning. But now he's another uber-strong genius. C'mon we already had Shikama and Rigr for that department. Bleh.

- now for the Yuu / Rigr and co confrontation, it's fiiiiine. I guess. At least Shikama is still somewhat of a formidable threat. Not to the major characters obviously but yk, it's something.

- rip Basteya. You showed up, slayed for a little and died.

- Kirsten still looks fugly as hell lmao

- so do Ulrich and Roger

- So, who will be faster: Shinoa in absorbing Shikama or Yuu in saving him? My bet is on Yuu purley bc he's supposed to be the main character but ig we'll see next chapter

- KRUL!!! AND THE BAT THING I FORGOT IT'S NAME

- sadly no Ferid / Krul brawl this chapter but yk what makes me excited for next chapter

- my guess is that now Krul is Ferids next target to be chomped. Hopefully she will beat his ass. Like when she first appeared. Ahhh the good old times

- 'A big fan of yours... M'lady Queen' lmao. What's next Ferid, will you put on a Fedora? Bro that last panel ain't it. Fuckin Sebastian of black butler wannabe 💀

[eponastory]

Writing Characters without Names!

Okay, Buckle up here because this subject can get a little in the controversial territory.

1: Starting a book with a Nameless Character.

There are several instances I can think of where the main character is introduced. However, we don't even know their name. We get a wonderful perspective of this character on their own in some village or forest (perhaps even in a modern setting), and we are seeing everything through his/her/their eyes. This can be a wonderful way to start a story if you intend to do a name drop at some point during your first chapter. Personally, I like getting at least halfway or close to the end of my first chapter to reveal the name.

But, for those of you who want to keep your character nameless through the entire story, all the way up to the end, ignore this advice.

2: Good/Bad Writing Advice

The trope of writing a nameless character often comes with bad advice given in the context of good and the other way around, too. I've seen readers/writers say, 'It's always a good idea to name your characters in the first five sentences' or 'If you don't name your character, everyone will get confused'. Well, to put it bluntly, yes. Both of these things are true, but they are not necessarily good or bad.

For new writers just starting out, it may be difficult to work with tenses, multiple characters, and keeping your pronouns in order in a scene. It can become really confusing, but it is possible to pull off if you have enough experience with thinking outside and around the box.

Actually, there are some really great books that have nameless characters all the way through. I've even read some really good fanfics where the character is nameless (and I'm not talking Y/N Reader/Character fanfics here). It definitely can be done.

3: This is Freaking Difficult

If you like to challenge yourself as a writer, a nameless character is the way to do it. As I mentioned in the last part, writing purely from the perspective of a nameless character can be a very wonderful experience. Actually, it can help you work on some of your own weaknesses, and you may even discover some really useful writing skills by having to work around a scene with your character and others. It's almost like doing a social experiment with characters in one room.

I definitely encourage any writer to challenge themselves. However, if you get frustrated with it, take a break and think around the problem.

4: Perspective!

When I think about perspective, I think about what I want readers to experience in the shoes of my characters. Part of writing compelling characters is seeing their world through their eyes and knowing them intimately.

I'll start off with the most annoying POV (Sorry to those who love this POV, I don't, and I'll explain this in another post at some point), 1st Person.

1st Person is a very static POV, but it is actually a really good place to start with a nameless character. It's perhaps the easiest way to write your character, and you can definitely do some witchery with 1st Person (I'll be touching on this later).

3rd Person is probably the trickiest one for reasons stated above and the use of pronouns, tenses, and just overall clutter in a scene with multiple characters. However, you can also do some really cool witchery with how your character perceives themselves. More on that in a bit.

5: Get your spellbooks out cause we are cursing characters!

Okay, okay... so you want to make your nameless character stay nameless when talking to other characters. You want to drop little hints to their identity, but you don't want to outright say who they are. You want your reader to fall madly in love with this character even if they are not particularly the best person to be around, but they are so damn mysterious it's... well, it's almost sexy.

This is where thinking around the box and getting out your book of useful tricks comes in handy.

Your character has been invited to the bar with a new group of friends they just met at college. They can't introduce themselves because when they say their name, nothing comes out. Nothing. It's like someone pressed mute on a TV remote, but everyone else heard it. Then, later, when someone says their name, the same effect happens. Only the name is just muffled to where your character can't understand it. Your character has no idea what their own name is, but everyone else does.

Now bonus points if your character tries to make up a name to get around this, but anything that he uses has the same effect, therefore removing their identity. This could be a really cool concept because it involves the use of a curse, and Curses can be a really cool way to spark motivation in your nameless character.

Curses aren't the only things you can use. Another trope I've seen used is Amnesia, where a character starts out with no memory, no identity, and only has the words of others to go off of.

There are several ways to go about keeping your character nameless, and all of them are super fun.

But they take some practice.

In conclusion:

Just because someone says a nameless character is a horrible idea doesn't mean it can't be done in a very good way. I'm not an expert, but I have been writing fanfiction and original works for over 20 years now. I've seen some interesting things at that time. I've read some really amazing books that break the mold. These books work because the author has learned that YOU CAN NOT PLEASE EVERYONE. Some readers will love it, and others will stop reading after the first five chapters. You aren't going to fit everyone's taste. Having a nameless character is super interesting if done well and can give your readers a chance to feel something that can be a little terrifying or sympathetic. Nameless characters can represent a whole base of people who are trying to learn who they are in this crazy world of ours. There are people out there who are building their identity as a person, and a nameless character is also doing the same.

I encourage everyone to think outside and around the box. Don't let someone tell you it can't be done and that no one will read it, they are wrong because there are almost 8 billion people on this planet. At least a handful of them are looking for a story like yours.

Stay Classy.

[those70scomics]

Update

Today, six months have passed since I've come home from the hospital!

I've made a lot of progress during this time. I have muscles again 💪 😁. Instead of needing a Walker to walk, I'm climbing stairs and getting in half-hour walks with 3.5 lb weights on each ankle. Working on stamina is my current focus in physical therapy. But I'm also continuing with strength-training and balance.

I came home with a frozen right shoulder (staying in the hospital a month, while life-saving, also deconditions the body big-time). My shoulder unfroze with stretching a month ago, and now I'm rebuilding the muscles around it.

I also came home with a feeding tube in my stomach. That came out two months ago, and I'm eating a variety of foods, working with a specialist nutritionist.

I had a liver drain, too (that suuuucked), but that was removed a few weeks after I got home.

My surgical wound was the Grand Canyon. It's healed a lot but still has months to go. It prevents me from doing certain things, including working on my laptop. Can't finish the batch of comics that just need dialogue boxes. 😅

But I'm using my tablet to write, continuing to work on *Those Who Play with Demons*. This T7S fic is going to break my chapter record. I'm such a sweet summer child when I let my imagination run free, thinking all these story and character elements can fit into 1/5 of the chapters they actually need. This one's breaking the hundred-chapter barrier easily. (But it's organized is such a way that I haven't done previously.)

The characters of Point Place have never experienced what my story is doing to them. 😈😇

Although I have a ways to go to regain all the things I can regain without a colon, my health is very good! And I'm going to keep moving forward.

Another surgery is on the menu, but that probably won't be for a year. I'm seeing my surgeon next month to talk about it. This one won't be done in a life-saving emergency situation like my first one. All the work I'm doing is, in part, to be in the best shape possible for the next (and last, let's hope) surgery that will put my small intestine back where biology intended. 😂

When the time comes, I'll make a post here. No disappearing without a word (barring unforeseen events). I shouldn't be in the hospital longer than three to five days. But, again, I'm talking a year from now.

Thank you to everyone who's given me kind words and friendship during this journey. It all helps with my healing, and I appreciate all of you. 🤗❤️