#They both feed into each other's not-so-good attributes just in a different way then the show's rick and morty do lawl

[danechka]

Behold: Dimension J-8188, my rnm OCs lolz

[skye-huntress]

I’m in Love with the Villainess Reaction

Episode 5

I’ve wondered about this but it seems like familiars are extremely rare and almost unheard of. In the entire series, Ralaire is the only one we know of.

Yep, Ralaire is a ship name, and in the game, Rae named her familiar the same thing every time.

Ralaire doesn’t need to attack anyone, she can just continue to look cute and humans will dote on and feed her.

Let’s be real, those six names shown are the only ones that matter.

Oh, Miss Claire, how very forward of you grabbing Rae’s hand like that. I find it funny that everyone is watching those two, and this will no doubt fuel the misunderstandings about the nature of their relationship.

Ralaire cannot be confined, the whole world must see her adorableness. Plus the more humans she enthrals, the more treats she will be given.

“The other guy?” Just admit you don’t remember his name, Rod.

Even though they mentioned them last, I bet Rae and Claire was the first match up that was proposed.

In the books, the participants were allowed to request their opponent. Naturally, Claire immediately requested Rae, much to Rod’s disappointment.

Their aptitudes may not be nearly as high as the commoner transfers, but the Bauer siblings have had the privilege to spend years practicing their magic, and finding ways to make the most of their attributes.

Two fangirls on either side, and Rae in the middle probably excited to see boys beat each other up instead of chasing her.

After being on the defensive for so long, Yu looks a little too eager for returning the favour.

Ah, the “Ice Prince”. Yu’s not fond of that particular nickname, perhaps for more than one reason.

Okay, walking on compressed air is pretty much a step away from flying.

Misha is not a very expressive person, but I can hear the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. Honestly, I’d be the same if I were up against Rod, but probably for a different reason than hers.

Rod doesn’t command the same amount of firepower as Claire, but he makes up for it with his ludicrously large MP stat.

Hmm, I see they didn’t clarify the real reason Misha lost the match. She could have easily won, but her reverence for the Royal family meant she was unwilling to attack the First Prince, even though she was more than strong enough to beat him, which just ended up annoying Rod.

I’m glad Misha’s feelings for Yu are mutual.

Who left the baby unattended? You know how dangerous that is, the number of humans she can enthral with her cuteness.

Now for a proper fight between two real powerhouses.

Her aptitude may only be High but Claire certainly has some serious firepower to melt stone.

Red Lotus Queen? Seriously, who comes up with all these nicknames.

One of Rae’s hidden strengths, her knowledge of science from her past life. Even if her knowledge is only at a high school level, that’s a significant advantage over this magic-based medieval-ish society.

Why all the explosions every time she uses a spell? Well, because it looks cool as hell, of course.

Wow, pretty good impression.

Yeah, Claire’s actually pretty athletic, and she’s had some non-magic defense training.

Busting her signature move. It’s impressive, but there’s something Claire still hasn’t figured out about Rae’s strategy so far.

“Stubbornness is my biggest pitfall.” She was definitely waiting to use that line.

A surprisingly effective spell. Not easy to get out of without an earth or air attribute.

Yep, Rae has two attributes, one that is strong against fire, the other that’s weak to it, and the one she’s been using during the entire battle was the latter. Claire is hopelessly, hilariously outmatched.

Oh wow, who could have foreseen all six of them would get in? Seriously though, the reason they were all matched up together was because they were the top contenders and needed worthy opponents that would allow them to really show off their skills. They were pretty much already guaranteed to pass.

Seriously, Thane?

Now they’re both singing the ED. I really got to look up a translation at some point. Should be interesting to see how it changes and their relationship evolves.

[allaboutmimi]

Nothing Says True Love Like A Chin Whisker

June 15, 2022

by Mimi Williams

All About Mimi

Many relationship experts will tell you, leave something to the imagination.  Some things aren’t meant to be shared.  It’s good for couples to retain a bit of mystery.  I used to buy into this as well.  I remember when I used to sleep in my makeup so my then boyfriend (now husband) would think I just naturally woke up with flawless skin, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick.  I never belched or vomited, and I sure as hell never farted.  I was a walking miracle of modern science!

Then we had a baby together.  And let me tell you, if anything is going to rip the veil off that relationship and put it all out there it’s being in the delivery room with your one true love when her abdomen is a gaping wound, her uterus is on display, there’s blood everywhere and she’s crying because she’s scared and uncomfortable. I was more interested in surviving the ordeal, while my fiancé was more interested in doing his own Lamaze breathing techniques and avoiding any glances at the gore that might result in him fainting, to even think of hearts and flowers.  There isn’t much mystery, romance or flirtation involved in an operating room during a cesarean section, or for the 9 months leading up to it, for that matter.  Swollen ankles, back pain, nausea and indigestion aren’t really the most attractive attributes a women can possess. And being scared shitless isn’t really what turns a woman on.

I went from never farting in front of my man, to whipping a boob out in a shopping mall and feeding my shrieking newborn while I shopped for a wedding dress.  (An experience that my husband has still not recovered from to this day.)  Why he should have been surprised at this development, as in the previous few weeks my favorite cure for boredom, and new way of letting off steam as I sat in my basement apartment without a car, unfamiliar with the city, broke and pregnant, was ambushing him by the front door when he got home from work each night, and greeting him by squirting him with breastmilk from my suddenly overflowing and abundant breasts.  What can I say…I had read all my books, we couldn’t afford cable, I didn’t have any friends in my new town yet, and I needed a hobby. And I was suddenly in possession of two built in squirt guns. Oddly enough, as he ran screaming through our one bedroom apartment, with me waddling behind him, giggling in hot pursuit, we were having fun. We were in love! As they say, thanks for the mammaries…  (Ok, so no one says that. )

Over the years we have changed smelly diapers, cleaned up vomit and dog poop, cared for sick kids, cared for each other while we were sick, and grumpy and gross, and survived teenagers.  A lot of marriage and true love is taking care of each other and about the day to day grind.  Popping the zits, looking at that rash on your partner’s back, inventorying each other’s moles.  It’s slogging through the bills and the boredom and the moods and the different phases of your lives. It’s getting older with someone, both of you physically falling apart and laughing about it together and helping each other out. Because sometimes you can either laugh or cry, and we usually choose to laugh, though we’ve shed our share of tears together too.  Sure, there are many great times, fun, romantic dinners out, and plenty of sexy moments in between all the hard stuff.  But it’s being able to ask your partner to pluck your chin whisker that really encapsulates the trust, security, companionship and unconditional love of a good marriage.  Nothing says true love, like a chin whisker!

[cultleads]

❇️ SPARKLE - what is their most prized possession? what do they value? 💡 LIGHTBULB - is your oc a planner? do they write down every small detail or just wing it? 💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around? 🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people? 💥 COLLISON - what emotions do they have trouble dealing with?

👽 𝘖𝘊  𝘌𝘔𝘖𝘑𝘐  𝘈𝘚𝘒𝘚 /  closed  /  @timbremorse​​

❇️ SPARKLE - what is their most prized possession? what do they value?   :   He  generally  teaches  not  to  give  too  much  power  to  material  possessions  considering  they  won’t  need  them  where  they’re  going  in  Paradise  but  .  .  .  he’s  actually  a  bit  of  a  sucker  for  his  sentimental  possessions  such  as  hand - crafted  things  or  cards  or  letters  given  to  him  by  people  in  the  church.     Which  may  seem  like  a  wholesome  attribute  on  the  outside  but  it’s  really  just  him  enjoying  his  ego  being  coddled  LOL,   y’know,    feeling  important.

💡 LIGHTBULB - is your oc a planner? do they write down every small detail or just wing it?   :   Silas  is  good  at  following  impulses  and  thinking  fast  on  the  spot.    But  if  the  opportunity  is  there  he  will  always  plan  ahead  and  create  backup  upon  backups.     He  likes  security  and  feeling  in  control  of  a  situation  no  matter  how  big  or  small.

💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around?   :   He  does!     Micha  is  his  right  hand  man  ( 😏 )  and  it’s  kinda  like,    can’t  be  king  without  any  people.     Silas  views  Micha  as  perhaps  the  only  person  who  truly  understands  him  and  is  on  the  same  or  at  least  a  very  similar  level  to  him.     It’s  a  mix  of  co - dependence  but  also  a  genuine  bond.     Even  though  Silas  is  surrounded  by  all  these  people  who  worship  the  ground  he  walks  on,     Micha  isn’t  a  sycophant,    and  Silas  loves  the  depth  of  his  “ truest ”  devotion.      They’re  both  crazy  for  different  reasons  -  but  they  really  do  feed  off  each  other.     So  Silas  gets  a  little  antsy  and  also  a  little  bored  when  Micha  isn’t  there,     as  well  as  feeling  awfully  alone.

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?   :   Oh  man.     Well  it’s  so  difficult  to  get  a  real  rise  out  of  him  as  far  as  negative  emotion  is  concerned.     But  I  know  he’d  hate  it  if  anyone  saw  him  vulnerable  or  defeated.     Silas  is  highly  intelligent  but  he’s  also  deluded  -  I  think  he’s  reached  a  point  where  delusion  has  overtaken  his  intelligence,    though  I  also  think  if  he  were  to  slip  up  somehow  or  if  someone  made  him  feel  like  he  was  a  fraud,    it  would  send  him  into  a  meltdown.     He’s  banking  so  much  on  his  convictions  that  to  feel  weak  or  wrong  in  any  way  would  stir  up  WAY  to  much  for  him  to  cope  with.      Alas,    his  confidence  keeps  him  afloat!

💥 COLLISON - what emotions do they have trouble dealing with?   :   Affection  in  all  honesty!     He’s  been  praised  all  his  life  but  never  truly  loved.     His  parents,    on  the  outside,     appear  to  love  them  but  that’s  only  cause  he  became  what  they  wanted  him  to  be.      It’s  a  very  conditional  love.       He  thrives  off  being  exalted  and  being  seen  as  close  to  what’s  holy.      It’s  all  he  really  knows  &  adores,      so  I  think  even  though  he  recognizes  what  he  sees  in  Micha,     but  he  definitely  doesn’t  realize  the  extent  of  it  currently.     He’s  focused  on  their  goal  and  Violet  Crystal’s  beliefs.      Those  obsessive  ideals  prevent  him  from  thinking  about  little  to  anything  else.

[thatgirl4815]

Red

Totally random thought, but I’ve been thinking and..maybe red isn’t Kinn’s true color? ‘True’ as in, it represents something that has been applied to Kinn but doesn’t fully represent who he is. 

The Hidden Messages preview highlights Kinn’s color as red and Porsche’s color as blue, so there’s really no doubting that they’re intending us to view them as (at least partial) representations of these characters. For the purposes of this post, I’m going to focus exclusively on the color red. 

Symbolically, red often represents themes like dominance, anger, wrath, and strength. I’d argue that, in many cases outside of the romantic sphere, red has negative connotations. Aside from white and black, blue and red often represent forces of good and evil, respectively. Looking at it from this perspective, it makes sense that Kinn would be marketed as the “evil” of sorts given his ties to the mafia. Porsche would then be defined as a symbol of purity. We, of course, know that these are mere generalizations, but they seem to hold up for many fictional works. 

I mentioned how red has mostly negative connotations, but it can also represent warmth and security, both of which I think we see Kinn trying to encompass over the course of these past 7 episodes in his relationship with Porsche. On the surface, red might appear negative, but there is more to unpack if you look deeper. If Kinn’s color really is red, I think it’s meant to deceive us. I’m thinking back to Ep1, when Kinn’s persona seemed so stone-faced and mafia-like (for lack of a better term). He was embodying these negative associations with the color red: namely, dominance. 

Now, this is where I’ll bring in Vegas. The whole reason I was tempted to write about red at all is because of the use of color in Ep7, both in his clothes, and in the light that shines on his face in certain scenes:

And he’s been cast in a red light in other places as well:

I believe Vegas represents the kind of cruelty we typically associate with red. Not to imply that Vegas is a one-dimensional character, but from what we know of him, he is just plain evil: twisted, sadistic, and cruel. He is also power-hungry. He mentions how Kinn wants control, but he wants control also--he feeds off of it, in fact. I don’t want to attempt to completely psychoanalyze Vegas’s character here, but I do think that red suits him.

Vegas and Kinn

What, then, do we make of the fact that both Kinn and Vegas are associated with the color red? As I’ve said, I think that Vegas embodies the true meaning of red’s relatively negative associations--dominance, control, and wrath--while Kinn is merely posing as the color red. I’d argue that for Kinn, red represents his mafia persona that he tries so hard to embody. I don’t think this means that Kinn doesn’t represent any of these other attributes of the color red, such as dominance and control, because he certainly does, but I’d argue that it’s a result of this role in the mafia (and Korn’s pressure) more than who he really is at his core. 

And really, when I go back and watch that Hidden Messages video again, I can’t help but think how different Kinn seems there--it doesn’t even feel like the same character. Maybe it’s because we’ve been enlightened so much to his struggles (Ep6 ftw!!), but it’s interesting to look back on early promotional materials and consider how much they differ from the final product now. It’s not necessarily a bad thing (in fact, I think it’s quite the opposite). 

I’m probably reading into this too far, but I wonder about the colors that each character has been assigned. I don’t think their associations are nearly as black and white (pun intended) as we’ve been led to believe, and if we view them this way, then we miss out on some of the richer nuances of the characters.

[septembercfawkes]

Sanderson’s Character Scales

Hey everyone, today I'm here to share a perspective on characters that comes from #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson. I love learning from Sanderson because he's prolific, experienced, and successful (Wheel of Time, Mistborn, The Way of Kings . . .). I also love learning from him because he shares concepts and techniques that I have found nowhere else. Lately, one of his concepts has been revisiting my mind--his character scales.

So in this post, I'm going to explain what they are and how they work, while sharing my own ideas and interpretations along the way. Let's dig in!

Brandon Sanderson's Character Scales

When it comes to characters, Sanderson envisions that each one has three "scales" or "dials." Basically, these are three different components that make a character interesting to the audience. They are . . .

1. Likeability--how much the audience likes, empathizes with, or relates to the character

2. Competence--how skilled the character is (this often appeals to the audience through wish-fulfillment)

3. Proactivity--how motivated and proactive the character is (when the character has a significant goal and is taking action to reach it, the audience becomes invested in their journey)

These aren't either/or attributes, but spectrums.

For example, we could say that each category can be measured from 1 - 10, one meaning the character scores very low in that category and ten meaning he or she scores very high in that category.

In BBC's Sherlock, Sherlock scores high in competence and proactivity--he loves solving cases and he's very good at it. In those categories, he may be an eight or nine. But when it comes to likeability, he scores lower--he's a sociopath who can be a real jerk to people. In that category, he may be a three or four.

In contrast, Katniss from The Hunger Games is quite likeable (she volunteers herself) and competent (have you seen her shoot arrows?), but in regards to the real antagonist, she's rather passive. She doesn't really believe Panem can change. And for most of the series, she's actually not very interested in defeating the government. However, by the end of the series, this is her primary goal. She grows in proactivity.

It's possible to have a protagonist score low in two of the three. Harry Potter is likeable, but he's not very competent or proactive when it comes to dealing with his problems. Through his journey at Hogwarts, he becomes more competent and more proactive.

Before we continue, there are a few points I need to make.

- The likeability scale is based on how the audience feels about the character, not necessarily how other characters feel about the character. You may have a character that no one seems to like (such as Harry), but the audience still likes, so he may score high there. Likeability typically relates to how the character treats others (petting the dog), is treated (usually unfairly), or how similar he is to the audience (relatability).

- Competence can be measured a few different ways. It might be something like learning magic or shooting a bow, but it may also be something more subtle, like being a skilled negotiator or a born leader or having a silver tongue. A character may be competent in more than one thing, of course, but often this category relates to skills used in the plot. For example, if Katniss is really great at card games, that's not really related to competing in the Hunger Games, so she might as well not be great at card games--it doesn't matter, because it's not pertinent.

- "Proactivity" is always a term I hesitate using in the writing world because it actually means slightly different things depending on how you apply it. Structurally speaking, a protagonist must be proactive to have a great story. The protagonist has to do things to make plot happen. The protagonist has to do things to make story structure work. But characteristically speaking, a protagonist can be innately passive--meaning he or she has no real desire to move forward in the story, but is forced to because of the stakes. For example, Shrek really has no desire to save a princess, but if he doesn't rescue a princess, then he'll lose his swamp (stakes). He doesn't care about Fiona, he just wants to not lose something. This is what Sanderson's proactivity category is about--character not structure. To learn more about characteristically passive protagonists, check out "Getting Passive Protagonists to Act."

The character scales are not restricted to protagonists. They can be applied to any character to get a better understanding of him or her. For example, John Watson scores high on being likeable--he's probably the most relatable character in Sherlock. But he's lower in proactivity (sometimes he wants to have a normal life) and competence than Sherlock (which is why he works well as Sherlock's Influence Character).

In The Hunger Games, Peeta is decently high in likeability and proactivity (early on he says he doesn't want to be a piece in the Games, he wants to show the Capitol they can't control him), but he's not particularly competent within the context of the plot (the Games). (However, one may argue that his likeability helps him in that he's more likely to get sponsors.)

Let's round out our examples, shall we? In Harry Potter, Hermione starts off as rather competent and proactive--she's doing everything she can to learn magic. But as a bossy know-it-all, she's not very likeable. By the end, she becomes more likeable.

Most characters will start with one or two categories high and one or two categories low.

For example, in the Farm Boy trope, the character is usually low in (pertinent) competence, higher in likeability, and maybe in the middle (a five) for proactivity (generally speaking).

Villains will often be low in likeability, high in competence, and high in proactivity (generally speaking).

Positive steadfast protagonists are often high in likeability (unless the author is making it too easy to be good, in which case, they get annoying) and usually lower in proactivity (the reluctant hero, if you will). Often they are fairly competent (generally speaking).

With that said, it's not impossible to have a character start with all high (like perhaps classic Superman) or all low, but the more focal that character, the more difficult that character will probably be to write, in a satisfying way. It can be done--for example, Leia in the original Star Wars scores rather high in all three categories--but it can be challenging. (I've heard plenty of people and writers complain about how difficult it is to write an excellent Superman movie.)

It's also possible to write characters who are about average in everything--but still, usually not as interesting.

If you start looking around at characters, you'll almost always find them to be high in one or two and low in one or two.

So, what is the point of all this? Well, a few actually.

One, with these scales, you can get an idea of how interested the audience will be in the character. If your protagonist is a jerk, and you are worried about it, you can bump up the other two to help compensate, a la Sherlock. You can also make sure to emphasize the other two more than the low likeability. You can check to make sure you aren't trying to write a "Super" man--unless, of course, that's the point. And you can make sure you aren't trying to write someone who isn't that interesting--someone who scores low in all three.

Two, using these scales to measure your characters can give you a sense of how your cast functions. Sherlock and John pair well together because they are opposites in likeability. They are also sometimes opposites in proactivity. Same goes for Katniss and Peeta, and Harry and Hermione.

However, this is not to say you can't have characters together who are close to the same--like Harry and Ron. But when that happens, often, the two are more likely to function as a unit. Harry and Ron are both learning to be more competent and proactive together (and thanks to the help of Hermione).

You can also find interesting combinations, like pitting a very competent and proactive antagonist against a passive, incompetent protagonist. Or what about a likeable antagonist and unlikeable protagonist?

It's just another way to gauge and measure. In one of my WIPs, each of my trio members is low in a different category, and I feel like that brings a sense of balance to my cast.

Three, the scales can give you an idea of how a character may grow or regress through the story. By the end of Sherlock, Sherlock becomes more likeable. By the end of Harry Potter, Harry becomes more competent and proactive. By the end of Hunger Games, Katniss becomes more proactive.

It's also possible to slide down. Anakin becomes less likeable (and yet, more competent) as he becomes Darth Vader.

And you can slide a character one way through the middle and back by the end. In Sam Raimi's Spider-man 2. Peter Parker slides down in competence through the middle, as he loses his powers, but regains them by the end.

In a sense, you may say that moving a character through these categories is a sort of character arc. After all, technically, a character arc just means that a character grows or changes (or . . . maybe doesn't). But I wouldn't say this is the same as The Character Arc--which is thematic. The Character Arc is about worldviews and value systems. It's about Harry learning love is the most powerful force. It's not about Harry learning to do magic or sticking up for himself. Those may be "character arcs" but they aren't The Character Arc (if you get me)--that's how I look at it.

However, these scale "character arcs" may play into The Character Arc. Sherlock's Character Arc is about valuing emotion and social relationships, which feeds into the theme of the whole series. So surely, growing in likeability--starting as a jerk and ending as a caring friend--connects into that.

In short, while moving along these scales may be thematic, it's not necessarily directly thematic. It may be part of The Character Arc, but it isn't exactly the same thing.

I believe these scales can be particularly useful for steadfast characters, as it gives them more motion, without compromising their steadfastness. This helps keep them from feeling stagnant.

For example, in a show I recently watched, the positive steadfast protagonist holds the correct worldview in the beginning, is tested to his breaking point in the middle, and proves his belief true at the end.

However, in the process, he must move from being passive to proactive. He doesn't really want to deal with the antagonist--he is only dragged into the story by high stakes. In the second half of the middle, he struggles with trying to be proactive. At the end, he completes a "character arc" by initiating the final confrontation with the antagonist.

In this sense, a character may have multiple character arcs. And heck, if you have more than one theme in the story, he or she may have multiple thematic arcs--which we'll talk about on a future day.

For now, I hope you find Sanderson's scales useful to you.

You can hear Sanderson talk about the scales himself, in his Youtube lecture on characters.

[wangxianficrecs]

Tips On Making A Fic Rec Blog

*Please reblog? This post is (ironically) not showing up in the tags*

These are just suggestions for a Nonny, so please remember that ymmv!

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Start with a clear idea of what your blog will feature.

Different rec blogs focus on different things. Some are more about archiving/retrieval, some include tumblr fics and twitter threadfics along with ao3 fics. Some reblog other people’s rec posts alongside their own. You might want to run a blog that only recs fics suitable for minors, or only kink, or only fic from sites other than AO3, etc. You could focus on a single pairing, or all ships; a single show or multiple fandoms. It helps if you know your focus in advance, so that you can advertise yourself.

For example, my blog only recs stories that I’ve personally read (excepting clearly differentiated Follower Recs, Fic Finders and Mood For posts). My focus is on adding my own comments/summary and my own tags to each rec, because that is what matters to me when I’m selecting a fic. (My cover graphics get attention, and they’re tremendously fun to do, which is why they’re there—I appreciate visuals!—but it’s a huge time commitment, which is probably why no one else does it.)

~*~

Keep it Streamlined

I would suggest that you not use your rec blog to just reblog random fan content (art, gifs, meta, etc.), personal stuff, current events, etc. Save that for another, messier blog. The more concise your offering is, the more people will be willing to follow it. But that’s entirely up to you.

~*~

*Always assume the author will read your rec/bookmark*

Fandom is actually a small world. Be kind and stay positive. Please don’t say things like, The story was great but the grammar/characterization was terrible. Just. Don’t. It’s so harmful. Authors do this for free, and don’t deserve to be stripped raw in public because you want to write a critical review. (This goes for your AO3 bookmarks, too, which are public by default and ALWAYS cruised by the authors.)

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Tag Page - make one!

One of the most important things about running a useful fic rec blog is archiving, which means you should create a tag page (here’s a how to). Find other people’s tag pages to use as a guide, so you’re not overwhelmed by categories. I’ve used the very well-organized wheredidhiseyebrowsgo and mdzs-fic to help me figure out the best way to categorize themes, tropes, etc.

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Tag Your Posts

Only the first 5 tags will show up in public tag feeds (for example, if someone tracks #wangxian, and you use that tag, they’ll see your post on their dash feed even if they aren’t following you). So pick your first 5 tags very carefully, because that’s how people are going to discover your posts. Pick tags that are popular and common, so that you’re seen.

Only the first 20 tags will show up in a dashboard search, so tags 21- ∞ are only useful within your own blog. (Actually, tags might stop at 30, these days, I’ve been cut off a few times when I go over.)

On your blog, ‘search’ and ‘tagged’ will find different posts even if all of them have your term in the tags. So when you’re making your tag page, try both of them on for size and then pick the one that pulls up the most/best options. (I usually use ‘search’.) [Example: https://wangxianficrecs.tumblr.com/tagged/3zun vs https://wangxianficrecs.tumblr.com/search/3zun]

Be consistent! Don’t tag wangxian one time and lan zhan/wei ying the next, for example, or fox!wwx and later use fox wei wuxian. You’ve only got maybe 30 tags to work with, and one tag page!

The tumblr censor-bot will often render your posts invisible to all but your followers, so be careful what you put in tags. *cough* sex acts *cough* Tags that have set off the censor-bot: #prostate exam, #role reversal, #virgin, #explicit. (ETA: this post is actually invisible to searches, probably because of this very paragraph. Sigh.) As you can see, the list is puritanical along with occasionally being simply baffling. Check your post once you’ve posted by clicking on one of the first 5 tags to see if it shows up. If it doesn’t, no one can find it except your followers, so start eliminating any tags or text you think might offend a conservative granny… it’ll show up eventually. Hopefully. Maybe.

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Tumblr Limitations

Tumblr tag searches only pull up the last 200 posts with that tag. Do with that what you will. (My blog has nearly 700 recs at this point, so the common tags, like ‘wangxian’, will only pull up the recent posts.)

Tumblr will sometimes just… remove your links. I haven’t figured out a pattern, it’ll just take some out randomly from here and there. You are limited to only 200 links total (soon to be only 100 😟). So be aware.

Sometimes your posts won’t show up in searches or tag feeds for no discernable reason. If you don’t see an obvious culprit (like the word ‘prostate’), just attribute it to chaotic coding nonsense and decide whether you want to re-post (not reblog) a day or so later to see if that works better.

On your dashboard, a ‘search’ will sort through titles, some content, and tags 1-20 —whereas ‘tagged’ only covers the first 5 tags.

~*~

Searches on AO3 vs. Tumblr

AO3 has a MUCH more robust search feature, and it’ll pull up so much more than your tag page on Tumblr... due to Tumblr’s limitations, not your own as an archivist. So if you keep your AO3 bookmarks in order, you can direct followers to search those if they need more granular or complete searches.

AO3 Collections is a fabulous feature—mine is WangxianFicRecs. You can make one for your rec posts so that you and others can select and exclude multiple tags at a time. I suggest you just do a bookmarks collection rather than a works collection, because the latter requires the authors to approve their inclusion, while the former is something you control completely. @ao3commentoftheday has helpful posts on #How To AO3.

One last thing about AO3 bookmarks. This being a fandom where many authors get bullied out, I've begun adding the fic title & author to my bookmarks, so I can still find it once a work has been hidden or deleted. I also download PDFs of each work I rec, so that it doesn't vanish forever. (I don't make them publicly available, but I will share them on an individual basis unless the author asks me not to.)

~*~

These are things I’ve worked out over the entire past year, so don’t get overwhelmed, you don’t have to do all (or any) of this, and certainly not all at once.

I hope this helps, good luck, and have fun!

~ mojo

P.S. I don’t have a clue how tag pages work on mobile, since I don’t use mobile for any of this. I think it sucks, though?

[I posted this once before, here.]

[ouyangzizhensdad]

Do you think that making Chinese food is cultural appropriation? I'm white and started making some of the foods I saw in the shows I've watched since the untamed, but now I'm worried I'm appropriating the culture.

Hi anon,

As a fellow white person, I am also someone who needs to critically reflect on how I engage with different cultures. I can't give you the definitive answer you seek, the clear absolution from any potential wrongdoings; in its stead, I can only offer to share my current thought process on this topic. I’d still encourage you to seek other perspectives, and many people have written or spoken on this topic.

I believe we must first acknowledge that, on the terrain of the internet, discussions regarding cultural appropriation have reached a certain... extreme where some people view all forms of cultural exchanges as inherently suspect. They purport that so long as you stay within the bounds of ‘your’ culture, you will problematic behaviours. That perspective is inherent flawed. That is, it relies on a vision of culture as ‘bounded entities’ that exist in themselves. In reality, the ‘stuff’ that makes culture is emergent, existing only relationally, dialectically--it is a not a ‘thing’ that moves through time but an idea which is constantly negotiated and reproduced in relation to power and changing material realities to remain relevant and intelligible. The boundaries of cultural and ethnic groups are fuzzy, overlapping, and constantly being reworked and made meaningful. As an illustration, many of the food I grew up eating was influenced by ingredients and recipes immigrants brought in the 19th and 20th centuries, yet these dishes were understood as 'typically ours’. And it needs to be acknowledged that most of what is currently considered ‘white people food’ relies on ingredients that were introduced to our diet through colonialism and the violent dispossession of indigenous peoples (and, often, the current day exploitation of workers in the South and of migrant workers). No food can be truly ‘traditionally ours’, whatever the purported ‘we’ ends up being brought into the equation, and no eating behaviours can avoid the historical legacy and continuity of violence and power.

Of course, as people who exist in the world, we know that there are cultural differences. Bakhtin’s insights on language through the tensions between centripedal (ie towards uniformity, a common meaning) and centrifugal (toward diversity and change) forces can be expanded to help us conceptualise how we make sense of the way a ‘culture’ is perpetuated through time as something meaningful in our daily lives. Uniformity allows intelligibility, sense-making, but diversity and change are inescapable by-products of individuals and groups repeatedly going through life, meeting and trying to create intelligibility and sense together in a world that cannot stay the same. It is at the intersection of these two conflicting forces that something can be different yet considered the same--that we can create continuity out of change. But something perhaps less emphasized in Bakhtin’s discussions is how much power and material realities work on these forces. Power influences both centripedal and centrifugal forces, if only in orchestrating circumstances that shape how one encounters ‘different cultures’ or reproduces their 'own' culture.

We live at a moment where the world seems to have reached an apex of connectivity--where goods, people, ideas (and viruses) move across distance and borders at speeds that defy comprehension. Yet the way goods, people and ideas move (through which canals and systems? in which direction? to the benefits of whom? at the expense of whom? to what reception or use? in the service of which institutions and ideologies?) or are, inversely, incapable or unwilling to move, is influenced by power and material realities. It is inescapable.

In a roundabout way, what I’m trying to say is that it's useless to try to live life in 'your lane' by turning to a baseline 'culture' because we simply do not have a baseline culture to return to that is 'safe' from the influences of other cultures or the taint of the historical legacy and continuity of violence. So how do I personally reconcile that with how I engage with content that is produced from different cultural contexts, and how I engage with cooking food that is influenced by different cultural contexts? For me the guidelines I take into consideration are respect, attribution and avoiding forms of dehumanisation. These emerged out of witnessing how other white people have acted as well as critically reflecting on how I have acted in the past, and trying to do better (including of course, by listening to different perspectives on the topic). [just in case, warning for examples of racism/micro-agressions] I've been in China with white people who would praise the cooking we were eating in the same breath they were making jokes about dog meat. I've witnessed in Japan a dude decide not to come to an izakaya with Japanese colleagues, fucking off on his own to Akihabara instead, because he was disappointed he couldn’t talk about anime with them--too obsessed with the idealised version of Japan he’d created in his head to treat the Japanese people he met as people. The internet is full of white people telling you how to cook food from places they've never been and taking credit for 'popularising' that dish or 'making it better'. That's not even talking about the tendency for food to become a mark of a cosmopolitan, metropolitan identity in the West--the open-minded, the liberal, the traveler, the hip white person up with the times and beyond the mainstream. Hell, I've even seen people who act as if eating ‘ethnic’ food prepared by immigrants is the singular proof that they were people who cared about immigrants' well-being.

Food is rarely just about food, even when consumed at home. At the same time, we’d be remiss in all these discussions of power to dismiss how food is also one of oldest things we, as humans, want to share with others--including strangers. Feeding is nourishing and giving, eating is accepting into ourselves something made by others. Most people appreciate it when the value of a dish that holds importance for them is recognised by others--although, of course, many might understandably also resent that they have been discriminated against or mocked for eating that same food. Every time I’ve been invited in an immigrant household or at events with mostly immigrants, I’ve felt this sense of almost trepidation emanating from them, waiting for my reaction, and satisfaction once I was seen eating and appreciating the food they had served me--as if the acceptance of the food that was tied to their identity was a form of acceptance of who they were. Of course this can’t be disentangled from past experiences where other people might have been disrespectful, dismissive or outright racist: but the excitement they had in sharing food that had meaning to them and seeing others appreciate it was genuine.

Beyond situations of clear cultural sharing, where we get closer to what appears to be ‘cultural appropriation’, I believe that we cannot act as if there is something inherently sacrilegious in the idea of adapting recipes or using a specific ingredients in new ways--that’s centrifugal forces at play, and they have provided us with many dishes we love today: from immigrant creations like butter chicken to things like spicy kimchi. We cannot work with the assumption that people will only react with hostility at the idea of other people cooking the food they grew with, even in ways that are different from how they’re traditionally used and are thus “not authentic”. I still remember an interaction I had in a Korean grocery store, once upon a time when I lived in a metropolitan city. A man in front of me at the cash register who had been buying snacks and chatting with the employee in Korean looked at my stuff and suddenly asked me if I knew the name of the leafy green I was buying. I wasn’t necessarily surprised because I had overheard in the past customers and employees commenting in Korean about being surprised about the ingredients I, a white person, was purchasing, thinking I couldn’t understand them. I confirmed to him that I knew I was buying mustard greens. He then asked me what I was planning to do with them, and I explained that while I didn’t think it’s a traditional or common way of using it, I personally liked to add them to kimchi jjigae because it compliments their bitter/strong taste and I like leafy greens in my soups and stews. He said it was interesting, and that he was kind of impressed. The employee chimed to tell me I should be honoured at the compliment because the man was actually a chef who owned famous Korean fusion restaurants in the city. That was clearly someone who took Korean food very seriously and clearly had a certain degree of suspicion regarding how white people interacted with it, but he was also curious and interested in seeing how I approached ingredients without having grown up eating them.

Another point of contention is also that we cannot ignore that food is a sensual experience and that, while tastes are greatly influenced by our environment, they are not solely so. I grew up hating most of the food my parents would serve me, and started cooking in my early teens to avoid having to eat it. Before I started cooking, I would often just eat rice with (in hindsight horrible) western-brand soy sauce instead of the meal my mom had made. When I ate Indian food for the first time during a trip at the ripe age of 16, it blew my mind that food could taste like this. Of course I never wanted to look back, and with each years I discovered that a lot of Asian cuisines fit my palate better than what I grew up eating or other cuisines I had tried. When I was a teenager we visited my mom’s friend in France and I hated what she served us so much I’d simply choose to nibble on bread, prompting her to try to stage an intervention for my ‘obvious’ anorexia. Yet, being in China made me realise ingredients I thought I hated had just been cooked in ways I disliked. Do my taste buds absolve me from any need to think critically about how I interact with food? Of course not. But sometimes the reason we want to cook certain recipes and foods is just that it tastes great to us, and we want to reproduce the recipes we enjoyed with the ingredients and the skills we have. Or, really, sometimes we just want to try new tastes because we do a lot of eating throughout our lives, and it seems a waste to limit ourselves to a narrow number of dishes for decades to come.

So that’s where I currently am in my thinking about this topic, as a white person who cooks dishes influenced by a number of different places but who is also not trying to cook in a way that is necessarily authentic. Some things that I keep in mind that you can ask yourself now that cdramas and cnovels have made you interested in Chinese cooking is: are you taking this as an opportunity to support immigrant businesses when getting your ingredients? are you supporting white creators when looking for chinese recipes (some suggestion of youtube channels: Made with Lau, Chinese cooking Demystified, Family in Northwest China, 西北小强 Xibeixiaoqiang, 小高姐的 Magic Ingredients)? are you being respectful (not reproducing harmful stereotypes in how you talk about chinese food and the people who eat it)? do you use your interest in Chinese food to create a narrative about China and Chinese people that denies them, in some way, of their complexity and humanity? are you using your interest in Chinese food to create a narrative about yourself?

In conclusion I will leave you with a picture of some misshapen baozi I’ve made.

[bufomancer]

Comparing Pacman Frogs, Tomato Frogs, and Chubby Frogs

Pacman frogs, tomato frogs, and chubby frogs are perhaps the three most common terrestrial frogs in captivity. At just about any pet store or reptile expo you’re bound to find at least one of these delightful little fellows. While they’re relatively similar to each other, they’re not identical, and their ideal care in captivity will look somewhat different. Today we’ll be going through some of the main points regarding their care and comparing and contrasting the three species!

This is NOT a care guide, just a brief overview of some of the similarities and differences between these frogs and how that will influence their optimal care as pets. It is critical to do in depth research prior to acquiring your new pet. Additionally, “pacman frog” can refer to any of 8 different species in the genus Ceratophrys as well as any hybrids thereof. In this article we will only be talking about the one most common in captivity, Ceratophrys cranwelli. While their congeners share many similarities, their care is not identical and they should not be treated as interchangeable.

Lastly, please do not share the above graphic without the included written text here, and please attribute myself as the author, as well as the photographers of the frog images.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the details.

Cranwell’s Pacman Frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli)

Pacman frogs are native to the Gran Chaco region of South America, a hot, semi-arid expanse of land containing forests, wetlands, and savannas. During periods of extreme temperature or dryness, pacman frogs burrow into the soil and encase themselves in a thick protective layer of skin until conditions are more suitable. During the day they are often found partially buried with their heads exposed. They are ambush hunters and will find a place where they can both find prey and hide from predators. Insects will walk right past the motionless frogs, unaware that they are being watched- until they strike. They are nocturnal and primarily active at night. During this time they may move to find water, or a better place to settle in the morning. When it is breeding season they gather in temporary pools of water to seek out mates and lay eggs.

Pacman frogs are generalists, eating anything they can get their huge mouths on. Invertebrates, other amphibians, reptiles, and small rodents are most common but even crabs have been found on occasion in the stomach or gut of a wild specimen. They are solitary and cannibalistic, and must be kept singly in terraria. Otherwise, you’ll quickly end up with just one pacman frog anyways, especially if there is a notable size difference. Female pacman frogs have no qualms about attacking males whom they do not want to mate with, though this species is not difficult to breed in captivity with the right seasonal cycling and a little effort. Their powerful bites can draw blood, so be careful during feeding and handling.

The ideal terrarium for a pacman frog has a deep layer of substrate for burrowing into, mixed to mimic the sandy soils of their native habitat. A large water dish is very important, large enough for your frog to soak its entire body in. While you want a few plants (live or fake), they do not require a thick jungle. It is good to provide a hide or two for them, but typically they will burrow into the soil with their heads sticking out instead. A halogen bulb is best for daytime heat; they typically require no additional heating at night. It is also key to provide UVB in the Ferguson Zone 1 range. Many issues with frogs burrowing constantly are resolved when proper lighting is provided, encouraging their natural cryptic basking behaviors. Be sure that there is room for your frog to choose between full exposure, partial exposure, and zero exposure to the lights.

A male pacman frog grows to roughly 3-3.5 inches, whereas a female can grow to 5-6. Males may be kept in an enclosure with a minimum of 360 square inches of floorspace, such as a 20 gallon long terrarium. Females should be kept in an enclosure with a minimum of 650 square inches of floorspace, such as a 40 gallon breeder terrarium. Height is not very important except to provide a deep substrate and safe distance from lights. Your frog may use minor climbing opportunities such as rocks, the tops of hides, and broad branches, but they’re certainly not tree frogs.

Pacman frogs can live 10-15 years in captivity.

Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)

Tomato frogs are endemic to Madagascar, in swamps and moist forests. Their red, orange, yellow, and brown coloration blends in with fallen leaves. Captive bred specimens are generally selected for the boldest reds and oranges, like a ripe tomato. Tomato frogs breed during the long rainy season and lay their eggs in pools of water. At night they roam the forest floor hunting invertebrates, while during the day they hide in the leaf litter. They are often found in soggy areas of land near slow moving bodies of water.

Typically, tomato frogs, male or female, max out at 3.5 inches though specimens just over 4 inches are not unheard of. Generally, a terrarium with 360 square inches of floor space is suitable for a single tomato frog, but an individual on the large end of the spectrum would benefit from an upgrade. Of course, you can go as big as you like for your frog no matter their size!

While they are not considered to be truly social, they lack the same bloodthirsty instinct as pacman frogs and can sometimes be successfully maintained in breeding pairs or groups. Small tomato frogs may become prey for a larger one, but they are not as cannibalistic as pacmans. Cohabitation in captivity requires a larger than minimum enclosure and special care to prevent competition over resources, such as fighting for the prime basking spot or to soak in the water dish. This can be solved by providing multiple larger water dishes, and a large enough basking zone for all individuals to share without being crowded on top of each other.

The ideal terrarium for a single tomato frog includes ample substrate to burrow into, and a layer of leaf litter on top. You may find they snuggle into the leaf litter rather than actually burrowing all the way into the soil layer. They will appreciate plenty of vegetation to hide beneath, and a large water dish for soaking into. A drainage layer is recommended to prevent buildup of harmful bacteria from the damp conditions tomato frogs prefer. Ensure that parts of the terrarium remain drier, rather than the whole setup being waterlogged. A halogen bulb is ideal for daytime heat, in most homes supplemental nighttime heat is unnecessary. Include access to UVB in the Ferguson Zone 1 range and ensure they have the room to choose between full exposure, partial exposure, and no exposure to the lights. Tomato frogs may not use hides, but it is good to provide one or two anyways. Usually they are right at home nestled amongst the leaf litter and various foliage in the terrarium. They are a little more agile than pacman frogs and may use minor climbing activities, but they are also primarily terrestrial.

Tomato frogs live on average 5-10 years in captivity.

Chubby Frog (Kaloula pulchra)

Chubby frogs are native to the forests and rice fields of mainland Southeast Asia. Despite their wide range and prevalence in the pet trade, their wild behavior is minimally studied though there is still some interesting information to be found on them. Multiple papers have recorded chubby frogs and their congener, Kaloula taprobanica, several meters up in trees. This suggests that they may potentially be best described as semi arboreal rather than solely terrestrial. While all species, no matter how terrestrial, are capable of climbing here and there, scaling trees is a little different from clambering over hills, logs, and other obstacles in your path.

In any case, those papers should be taken as evidence that chubby frogs in captivity should be provided with climbing activities, which is why a 29 gallon terrarium is recommended as the minimum enclosure size for a single chubby. It has the same base dimensions as a 20 long, but an extra 6 inches of height. A 24x18x24 inch terrarium would be even better. Chubby frogs are quite small, typically getting no larger than 3 inches.

They are the most placid of the three species, with many keepers maintaining them in pairs and groups without issue. Their small mouths make it difficult for them to cannibalize each other, though care should still be taken to prevent stress from competition over resources. Their diet primarily consists of ants and similarly sized prey, though in captivity they can take suitably sized crickets, roaches, and small worms.

The ideal terrarium for a chubby frog includes deep soil with a layer of leaf litter. They should have plenty of foliage for hiding in, though live plants should be hardy enough to withstand a squashing from a small but chunky frog. Broad branches can create climbing opportunities, which are sure to be appreciated- just be aware as primarily nocturnal frogs you may not see them being used! A halogen bulb is ideal for daytime heat and typically no supplemental heating is needed at night. UVB should be provided in the Ferguson Zone 1 range and as always your frog should be able to choose between full exposure, partial exposure, and no exposure. A large enough water dish for soaking in is required.

Chubby frogs live on average 5-10 years in captivity.

Conclusion

Pacman frogs, tomato frogs, and chubby frogs share a lot of similarities- they are Ferguson Zone 1 animals, they are insectivores, they are primarily terrestrial and nocturnal- but they are not identical. They are different sizes, live in different habitats, and use their environment differently. Their ideal setups are a little bit different. All three of these frogs make great pets, and are a delight to care for and observe. Knowing what makes them similar and what makes them different is key to figuring out which you would most like to own. Maybe you even want one of each!

The information above is, once again, merely an overview and not a replacement for in depth research on their care. This information has been compiled from a variety of sources such as websites containing habitat information, scientific papers about these species, images of the frogs and their habitats in the wild, personal experience with caring for these frogs, discussion with keepers and breeders, discussion with those living in the native ranges of these frogs, and more. Below are a few resources to get you started with learning more in depth about the care of these frogs, but by no means an exhaustive list.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Pacman Frog Resources

Image used in graphic:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/adrian-afonso/1664147176

iNaturalist photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/22844-Ceratophrys-cranwelli/browse_photos

Vera Candioti, María Florencia. "Morphology and feeding in tadpoles of Ceratophrys cranwelli (Anura: Leptodactylidae)." Acta Zoologica 86.1 (2005): 1-11.

Grayson, Kristine L., et al. "Effects of prey type on specific dynamic action, growth, and mass conversion efficiencies in the horned frog, Ceratophrys cranwelli." Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 141.3 (2005): 298-304.

Souza, Paulo Robson, et al. "A voracious female during the courtship of Ceratophrys cranwelli (Anura: Ceratophryidae) in the Brazilian Chaco." (2014).

Schalk, Christopher M., et al. "On the diet of the frogs of the Ceratophryidae: synopsis and new contributions." South American Journal of Herpetology 9.2 (2014): 90-105.

Miller, Mark D.H. , Webb, Kempton E. and Martin, Gene E.. "Gran Chaco". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Feb. 2015, https://www.britannica.com/place/Gran-Chaco. Accessed 15 August 2021.

Tomato Frog Resources

Image used in graphic is my own, © Aster Laurel Montor

iNaturalist photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/25152-Dyscophus/browse_photos

Monroy, Jenna A., and Kiisa C. Nishikawa. "Prey location, biomechanical constraints, and motor program choice during prey capture in the tomato frog, Dyscophus guineti." Journal of Comparative Physiology A 195.9 (2009): 843-852.

Brenes‐Soto, Andrea, and Ellen S. Dierenfeld. "Effect of dietary carotenoids on vitamin A status and skin pigmentation in false tomato frogs (Dyscophus guineti)." Zoo biology 33.6 (2014): 544-552.

Segev, Ori, et al. "Reproductive phenology of the tomato frog, Dyscophus antongili, in an urban pond of Madagascar's east coast." Acta Herpetologica 7.2 (2012): 331-340.

Andreone, Franco, Vincenzo Mercurio, and Fabio Mattioli. "Between environmental degradation and international pet trade: conservation strategies for the threatened amphibians of Madagascar." Natura 95.2 (2006): 81-96.

Chubby Frog Resources

Image used in graphic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rushen/20253335546

iNaturalist photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/326303-Kaloula-pulchra/browse_photos

Vyas, Raju, and B. M. Parasharya. "Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) from Anand and Surat, Gujarat, India." Zoos’ Print Journal 19.4 (2004): 1444.

Kanamadi, Ravishankar D., Grish G. Kadadevaru, and Hans Schneider. "Advertisement call and breeding period of the frog, Kaloula pulchra (Microhylidae)." Herpetological Review 33.1 (2002): 19.

Major, Tom, et al. "Observations of Arboreality in a Burrowing Frog, the Banded Bullfrog, Kaloula pulchra (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae)." Current herpetology 36.2 (2017): 148-152.

Soud, Rakesh, et al. "Defensive and burrowing behaviour of Kaloula assamensis Das et al., 2004 and Kaloula pulchra Gray, 1831 (Microhylidae)." frog leg 18 (2012): 48-50.

Bhattacharjee, Partha Pratim, et al. "Sighting of Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) from West Bhubanban (near Agartala city), West Tripura district, Tripura." (2011): 18-19.

Lalremsanga, H. T., Saipari Sailo, and R. N. K. Hooroo. "External morphology, oral structure and feeding behaviour of Kaloula pulchra tadpoles Gray, 1831 (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae)." Science and Technology Journal 5 (2017): 97-103.

Ganesh, S. R. "Arboreal behaviour in the Indian Painted Frog Kaloula taprobanica parker, 1934." Herpetotropicos 8.1-2 (2012): 67-70.

[britishassistant]

The Villainous Paranoiac Did Not Ask to be a Senpai

It’s been maybe two weeks since you woke up with a blade to your throat in a strange, ninja-and-pirate themed afterlife, and then woke up in a maximum security prison the next day. On the third day, thankfully, you woke up again in your bed in Ramshackle dorm with Grim snoring beside you.

There was even a surplus of food in the fridge and pantry, and some recipes for it in one of your notebooks, which you appreciated.

After three days, you let your guard down enough to assume you weren’t going to travel to anywhere else in your sleep and began to work on your essay for Professor Trein again.

On the seventh day, however, you woke up to an attempting smothering that was only foiled by Grim screaming and a second preteen tackling your would-be murderer off of you.

You then had to separate the two brown-haired children who were fighting on your bedroom floor and looking more and more like they would actually kill each other with every blow.

You got a broken nose for your trouble.

That was how you met the two brats who you temporarily swapped places with, and who are currently living in your dorm with you as “hopeful potential students” as the birdbrain headmaster put it.

It’s clearly just a clever way for the dumb bird to avoid taking direct responsibility for the lives of under sixteen years olds. If they die from a magic mishap or getting squashed by an overblot, he can pin the blame on your incompetence instead of the school’s.

Joy.

Epel’s still sulking about you “swiping his kohai” from him. Vil-senpai acts as if he doesn’t care, but the number of times he’s dropped by to complain about your standards of beauty care begs to differ.

Honestly, they and Pomefiore can have Nana if they want him so badly... is what you would say if Crowley weren’t increasing your funding per temporary occupant. You were quite pleased with negotiating that, as previously the birdbrain acted like he expected you to somehow feed two growing children plus yourself and Grim on just your paltry allowance.

Grim and the ghosts would be glad to see the British boy who introduced himself to you as “Johnny-Powers-but-call-me-Nana” gone in spite of the added money. They’ve made sure to tell you so, multiple times.

Even without hearing about how well he played ghost exterminator first time he was here, you can kind of understand what they’re talking about. That kid can go from homicidal to ingratiating so fast it feels like you’ll get whiplash, and he’s disturbingly quick to bring up maiming as a solution to your problems. You attribute this to him being an incarcerated thirteen-year-old gang leader in addition to a model Pomefiore student and resolve to keep him as far away from Octavinelle as humanly possible.

He and Leech-senpai would either give each other ideas, or he’d overthrow Ashengrotto-senpai and have him served as calamari by the end of the week.

You quite like Ashengrotto-senpai where he is, whole and healthy, so you stay vigilant.

At least he can speak Japanese well enough despite being a foreigner, and does his share of the chores around the dorm without complaining. You’ve even caught him doing Grim’s share with no fuss, because of the sudden increase in quality of the finished job. He responds well to praise and is very bribable with chocolate, which makes your life a lot easier in many circumstances.

Now if you can just find him a good child psychologist for all the issues he clearly has, Nana might make a passable dorm-mate.

You’d keep Mayu in a heartbeat though, even without the added benefit of payment.

Ketsugi Mayu’s an absolute sweetheart, if a bit on the... straightforward side, to put it nicely. She’s an amazing cook, able to create feasts out of the barest essentials and haggle with Sam to get groceries for a much lower price that you’re able to. You’re not sure if you’ve ever eaten better. If not for how clearly homesick she is and the fact that her mother terrifies you, you’d offer to let her stay here forever.

Of course that’s not to say the kid doesn’t have some quirks. She keeps making odd remarks like, “it feels weird to be watched only some of the time” and “oh right, you have lawyers here” that make you very concerned about the ninja afterlife she was in. And a bit about the place you’re currently living in.

She’s also obsessed with this one comic about pirates to the point where she puts Shroud-senpai’s fixations to shame, claiming she wants to become a pirate chef when she grows up and praying to the main characters. This has given her one of the weirdest moral compasses you’ve ever seen, which treats theft as an excusable offense but wasting food as a crime that she needs to go and beat up people for.

This would be less of a problem if the child wasn’t strong enough to break bones.

You’ve had to break up more fights for her than you have for Nana honestly, just because she’d spotted someone throwing something away half-eaten in the cafeteria and quietly made a beeline for them before you wised up to her shenanigans.

Nana was no help on that front because he immediately tried to join in, only to play innocent bystander the moment the teachers and dorm leaders came.

The fact that her mindset has a lot in common with Deuce’s and Kalim’s is just the cherry on top of the problem sundae. Ace and several other students have already tried to con her into giving them free food, because apparently this child thinks it is her gods-given mission to feed the world’s hungry.

Which is noble and all, unless you don’t have a lot of food that you can afford to share around in the first place. Especially not to greedy freeloaders who call themselves your friends and claim to want to test Mayu’s gullibility “for her own good”. Grim’s perpetually rumbling stomach and puppy-eyes have been some of your best allies in thwarting these attempts.

At least your guests get along with each other after their rocky start.

After a few days of him refusing to eat anything on his plate unless Mayu or you had eaten a bit of it first, the twelve-year-old roped Nana into helping out in the kitchen to try and get him to be less picky. Amazingly, it worked, and you usually seize the opportunity work on your homework while they’re distracted preparing meals.

From there, they became friends pretty quickly, though you think that has more to do with Mayu being a reliable source of chocolate than anything else.

Nana flips between nervous child and overprotective gang leader on a dime for her, which isn’t helpful when you’re trying to stop any more Cafeteria Incidents. Mayu at least has the maturity to help you talk Nana down from some of his more extreme responses to problem-solving and keeps him entertained by telling him more of that pirate story she’s always going on about.

It’s nice that they both found at least one friend around their age to help them survive here in Twisted Wonderland.

Now if they could stop teaming up to make you go grey before you turn eighteen, that’d be swell.

[thatgamefromthatad]

Seen these ads? (Obey Me! Review)

This is a visual novel/otome/gacha card RPG game with the same characters and themes as featured in the ads.

As stated in many of the ads this game centers around seven demon brother love interests (as well as some other potential love interests) although the game has a lot of plot elements other than just romance. Most of the ads that I’ve seen feature real art that appears in the game one way or another, and the ads tend to be focused more on the characters and theme in general rather than specific gameplay. Of the ads that do appear to show gameplay, most of the time it’s not really what you’ll see in the game but still follows fairly close to the actual game (for example, the “kiss, free, whip” ad on the top left doesn’t show real gameplay, but you can kiss or whip that character. But that specific art comes from a gacha card I believe and isn’t what you see when you do the kissing and whipping).

A few notes before I get into the full review:

I’m a lesbian, so I’m definitely not the target audience for this game, but I always try to be objective and open-minded when playing any game I’m not the target audience for (other examples I’ve reviewed in the past are Moments, which was also primarily targeted toward women who are attracted to men, Immortal Taoists, which involved a genre I had never heard of before and really had no interest in, Time Princess, which also wasn’t my favorite genre but was still a great game, and various Genius Inc. visual novels, which are targeted more toward high-school age boys as far as I can tell).

Speaking of lesbians, this game weirdly censors the word “lesbians” but not any other LGBTQ+ terms (that don’t include the word “sexual”) as far as I can tell; I decided it was enough of a one-off thing that it wouldn’t factor a huge amount in my overall review of the game, but I think it’s still something to take note of and not let off the hook since it definitely shows bias and can be offensive to players.

This game is rated 12+ on the Apple App Store, and I was pretty harsh on Crush Crush for being rated that way because I thought it crossed the line with some of its sexually suggestive content. I kept that in mind while playing this one, and personally I don’t think it crossed the line in the same way, at least not from what I’ve played so far; although it does have sexually suggestive content (most often when interacting with the character Asmodeus, who is literally known in the game as the “Avatar of Lust”), it’s much more occasional through tidbits of dialog as opposed to in Crush Crush where it involved a whole section of the game and was more interactive in nature. I would definitely still cringe at the thought of a 12-year-old reading some of this dialog, but I think it fits fairly within the App Store descriptors of “Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity” and “Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes.”

Last note - there is a character in this game (Luke) who has the appearance and demeanor of a small child who you can interact with in a similar way to the other love interest characters, which concerned me for obvious reasons. I looked more into this, specifically reading into all of the different dialog options involving this character, and his responses never seem to be more than platonic, which is good. He still blushes when you give him gifts and stuff, which is kind of awkward, and it seems weird to throw a kid character into an otome game, but all considered I wouldn’t say the game is promoting anything inappropriate (unlike one of the Genius VNs that clearly involved relationships between an adult and minors).

Sorry I know that’s a lot of notes and disclaimers but I just wanted to that all out of the way as general concerns anyone might have trying this game or reading this review!

Without further ado, read my full review below:

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(I’m trying a new color-coding system to help highlight some of the main points of my review if you don’t want to read my entire essay word-for-word lol. Pink is a positive aspect of the game, red is a negative aspect/criticism and purple is not necessarily positive or negative but just something I wanted to highlight.)

😈 Is the game actually fun? Yes! Just in terms of production value, this game is top notch: the art and character designs are very appealing, the transitions between characters’ poses and facial expressions during VN scenes are actually animated (which looks much smoother and more natural than switching between still images), the voice acting is great (although the VN scenes aren’t fully voice acted, some parts like phone calls are and the characters say different phrases during scenes and battles as well)(Note: all the voice acting is Japanese), and the music is FANTASTIC and perfectly sets the vibe throughout the game.

The best parts of this game in my opinion are the different personalities of the characters and the overall plot; although some of the characters’ personalities can be a bit one-note at times (for example, one character’s entire personality that I’ve seen so far is that he likes to eat and is always hungry), the characters each have their own charm and play off each other well. I found myself getting invested in each of the characters’ desires and goals throughout the story, even the characters I didn’t particularly like. The story is also chock full of humor which is always fun, and the whole world and backstory built around this game (the “Devildom” setting and the idea of an exchange student program with angels, humans and demons) are also unique and impressive.

I really enjoyed the multiple modes of storytelling i.e. how the VN chapters are supplemented with text messages and phone calls from characters and an Instagram spoof with additional side stories to unlock. I know this isn’t a new thing in mobile games (even Gardenscapes and Homescapes do it to an extent lol) but add the compelling characters and overall production value on top and it’s a really enjoyable experience. Since the home screen of the game is set up like it’s your phone, with the different parts of the game represented as “apps,” the game kind of creates a feeling like you’re really living in this world with these characters where you can freely scroll through their Instagram feeds and check the messages you get from them on your own time. The shop where you can buy items and premium currency is called Akuzon (an Amazon spoof) and the place where all your gacha cards are is called “contacts,” which further adds to the immersive effect.

The “dating” part of the game is pretty cute although I haven’t gotten super far so I’m not sure of the full scope of the romantic interactions. From what I can tell, in addition to the dialog, blushy faces and bedroom eyes you get from characters when you give them gifts and touch different parts of their body (above the belt lol), when you raise your intimacy level with them you get additional phone calls and messages from them (I haven’t played a lot of otome games but I think that’s how a lot of them go). I wasn’t that invested in this part of the game but I think there’s some strategy that goes with using the right combination of gifts and touches to maximize intimacy boosts and get certain dialog, which adds a whole other aspect of gameplay in addition to the main game. I also noticed that occasionally your choices throughout the VN chapters will give you a small intimacy boost with a certain character; I kind of wish this was even more integrated since most of the time I felt like no matter what I chose it didn’t make any difference in my relationship with characters. Also, I don’t think there’s a way to “officially” date a specific character, it’s more about raising the intimacy level to earn more interactions but it doesn’t actually affect the main plot.

As far as the main mode of progressing through the game, which is winning “dance battles” with teams from your gacha collection, this part of the game has its own positive qualities such as the cute chibi forms of the characters that appear on screen and the fact that some of the special attacks show a little anime clip of the character (of course it’s less exciting when you see the same clip every battle but I still thought it was a nice touch). I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a rhythm aspect as the “dance battle” name would imply, and your main interaction during the battle itself is basically just tapping hearts that pop up and tapping the characters when their attacks are ready, but you also have the option to skip that whole interactive sequence and just get a result based on your team’s stats, so there’s not much to complain about there (especially since the battles are sort of a side note compared to the storytelling aspect of the game despite being the main element of RPG-based gameplay that allows you to progress). If you are interested in the RPG aspects, there’s plenty of that to work with (building teams, balancing attributes, managing resources/rewards to level up cards and progress through skill trees of sorts, all that good stuff) although you’re limited to an extent by how difficult it is to get a lot of gacha draws without paying real money. It’s even harder to be able to focus on both strategy and character relationships while playing for free when the same scarce currency is used for both gacha draws and gifts.

👿 Is this a free game or a “free game”? Despite what I just said, I would still consider it a free game - you can gradually save up some of premium currency the game gives out through tasks in order to pay for more gacha draws and other items, and as far as I can tell you can access the main story and the other parts of the game without hitting a paywall. I only got to the fourth chapter so far though so don’t take this assessment as gospel. Like with a lot of other freemium games you might feel pressured to pay (especially when you run out of gifts to give your lover boys, which was the biggest downer for me, or if you’re obsessed with wanting to collect a lot of cards or get a specific card) but since you don’t actually need to pay to progress I still consider it free.

There’s also an energy system where you hit a wall and have to wait if you run out, but I never ran out because of the huge amount of energy the game dumps on you when you first start, and it seems like there are a bunch of other ways to get extra energy as well. There also aren’t pop-up or watch-to-earn ads in this game that I saw.

💀 Features

Main visual novel scenes and storyline (the visual novel scenes come between dance battle stages and there are a few short side routes that branch off but still one main route as far as I can tell, I don’t think your dialog choices really make a different except for in how the characters react to you immediately afterward. Still the main storyline in itself is fun to follow and it’s fun to get different reactions out of the characters based on what you say)

Dance battles (I’m not fully knowledgeable about the minutia of the RPG system at play here but in general the outcome of the battle will depend on the level, rank and attributes of your cards compared against the difficulty and attributes of the stage you’re playing. There also “memory cards” that can be assigned to support your team and expendable temporary boosters called “glow sticks” that boost your stats for one battle. During the battle itself you tap hearts that appear to earn extra points and you can tap your characters when their power is charged up to “attack” your opponent and use special skills. There are guides online that go deeper into stats and strategies and such if you’re interested. Different stages have different rewards for completion and you can quick complete levels you’ve already beaten to mine resources you need)

Gacha mechanic and cards (the gacha area of this game is called “Nightmare” and there are a few different pools along with event pools each with their own odds and sets of cards you can get. For the default pools you get free draws periodically and I believe you get one free draw for each event pool IIRC. You also get a bunch of vouchers for draws when you first start the game which got me handful of SSRs and a couple URs to build a couple of solid teams right off the bat. In addition to drawing directly from gacha pools you can get some cards by collecting card pieces as rewards from stages and events until you have enough to get the actual card. Each card has its own set of stats/attributes, can be leveled up and has a skill tree of sorts that can be progressed through with resources mined through beating stages, although it’s more of an attribute tree than a skill tree since most of the branches just add points onto one of your card’s attributes. Some cards, the rarer ones, have special skills that can be used in battle)

One-on-one characters interactions and intimacy i.e. the “dating” part (there are two ways this occurs: 1) you can set a specific character to your home screen that allows you to enter into an interaction with them, with a refresh period in between interactions 2) the main way, which is through “surprise guests” after dance battles. These surprise guests show up frequently but not always, and they’re always one of the three team members you used in battle, selected randomly. For each one-on-one interaction you can do three actions - either give a gift, touch the character or ignore the character. Sometimes the character will also offer you a high five which counts as an action if you oblige. Different characters have different favorite gifts and touching different parts of the body can get a different reaction depending on the character and your level of intimacy I believe. Your intimacy level with a character increases depending on the combination of actions you perform, and sometimes the character also gives you gifts back like more energy or resources. There are guides for this online as well)

Text messages and phone calls (text messages are the main mode of storytelling outside of the main VN scenes - you get messages from characters or multiple characters in group chats that you respond to with preset messages or stickers similar to how you make choices during the VN parts. Some of the text messages correspond with the main plot as you progress, ex. A character texts you to be in a certain place at a certain time and next VN scene is of you two meeting at that place. I think other text messages also come up when you reach certain intimacy levels with characters. There are certain group messages that you don’t respond to where you’re basically spying on a group chat among characters and just get to see what everyone’s saying. In addition to written messages and emoji stickers characters will also sometimes send pictures. Phone calls are fully voice-acted dialog you have with another character and they seem to pop up when you reach certain intimacy levels - I’ve only gotten ones so far with the two characters I have the highest intimacy with)

Instagram spoof/“Devilgram” (Devilgram is an in-game photo sharing social media app similar to Instagram and the photos on there correspond to gacha cards. When you acquire the gacha card that corresponds to a Devilgram post you unlock a side story, but you also need keys to unlock further scenes from that story, which can be gradually earned through completing tasks and such)

To Do tasks (completing tasks on your To Do is the main way to earn premium currency in the game along with other rewards and resources. There are daily tasks, overall tasks and tasks specific to each character. Examples of tasks are completing a certain stage or number of stages, beating a stage using a team that includes a certain character or reaching a certain intimacy level with a character. There are also beginner missions when you start the game that I think stay available until you complete all of them)

Events (there are sometimes side story events called “pop quizzes” and gacha events that are available for a limited time, or sometimes an event has both a corresponding pop quiz and gacha pool. The pop quizzes are separate chapters with their own dance battles and VN scenes, and the battles will come with reward points that you can spend on different prizes. Sometimes there are unique cards you can only get from an event. Other minor types of events include log-in bonus events and events where you can get special types of gifts for your love interests. There’s also a feature where you can “time-travel” back to old events at some cost but I haven’t explored this much)

Jobs (you can assign characters to passively complete jobs that earn you a small amount of non-premium currency over time and also increases your intimacy with the assigned characters by a small amount)

Customization (you can unlock avatars of different characters to use for your profile and set the name you want characters to refer to you by throughout the game. You can also change the outfit of your homescreen character, change the homescreen wallpaper and change the homescreen background music by making purchases in the Akuzon shop or acquiring certain gacha cards)

⚖️ Ad Honesty Rating: 4/5 (just from the ads I’ve seen, especially the ones that appear to be running currently, there don’t seem to be blatantly fake ads and the ads show real art and do well conveying the theme and characters in the game. However some of the ads are misleading about the actual mechanics of gameplay and may also lead you to believe there are actual romance routes with the characters which is not really the case)

⭐️ Overall Rating: 5/5 (I definitely didn’t want to give this game a great rating just because it’s super popular on Tumblr but I can definitely see why it’s so popular. There are lots of things to do, the characters are very lovable, it’s funny, the art is great, the music is great and the lore and overall vibe are compelling and unique. It’s a high-quality game with a good story and I’ll probably keep playing it)

▶️ Ad Example:

▶️ Gameplay Examples:

Dance Battles

Surprise Guest

If you got through this review bless your heart ❤️ Special thanks to @human-watching-ads-from-devildom which is where I was able to view some of the ads since I was having trouble finding them elsewhere online and viewing some of them on the Facebook ad library.

Follow me for more reviews of those free mobile games you’re always getting ads for! Thanks for reading! 🥳

[justice4harwin]

Light’s Corruption-Chapter X

Summary: With few friends at the Little Palace, Alina must work to win the favour of her fellow grisha and their commander, who makes her feel light headed every time she sees him.

After training in Os Alta for two years, the king grows tired of waiting and demands the Sun Summoner joins a western post near the Fjerdan border along with the rest of The Second Army to test her abilities.

Something happens. Suddenly, Alina wants blood to run down the rivers and those who stand in her and The Darkling’s way will be blinded by her light and swallowed by his shadows.

It won’t be pretty.

Pairing: The DarklingxAlina

Rating: 18+

As usual, the tags are in the comments; if you no longer want to be in the list or wanna be added, please don’t hesitate to let me know :)

Click here for chapter 9 in case you missed it :)

Chapter 10: I haven't met the new me yet

 "Again!"

Maybe this wasn’t just training; maybe he was punishing her for her demonstration at the Fete. He had said nothing about the event during the last few days, but Alina knew, somehow, that it was on his mind, and she was nervously waiting for the grenade to go off.

Alina heaved a breath, calling her light and pushing against The Darkling's shadows, but it was to no avail. She couldn't fend them off.

She had her questions, but was a bit afraid to ask. He seemed rather…cold, that particular morning, but she dismissed it as being pissed at the waste of time the Winter Fete was.

"I can't." she struggled to get the words out.

"Do you know what your problem is?" he asked. She couldn't see him, and his voice seemed to be coming from everywhere, as if the shadows themselves were talking. Oddly, this didn't scare her at all.

"What?"

"You do not fully understand light."

Alina snorted.

"I call it and then I lit or melt things. That's it."

"I am disappointed, Miss Starkov." his cool voice made her heart shrink. She didn't want to disappoint him.

"I am an idiot."

"Alright. Enlighten me, then." she said.

He didn't seem to catch the joke, or maybe he just didn't find it funny.

"A real idiot."

"When you light up a lantern, what do you have?"

"Is this one of those instances where the question is so obvious, I'm not even supposed to answer."

"Tragically, no."

She huffed.

"You get light."

"Right. And what does that light casts?"

Alina didn't even have to think about it.

"Shadows."

"Correct. So, that means-"

"I've been trying to destroy your shadows instead of pushing them away?"

"You could destroy them, but let us leave it at pushing for now, yes."

"Oh! I think I get it now."

She closed her eyes -even though it made no difference in the infinite darkness he had casted-, and summoned.

Slowly, she pushed her light to meet, not fight, the shadows, and gently ushered them back, little by little.

When she was done, she could see a giant orb of black and gold around them. Just like the rose he had given her a few months prior.

Alina looked at Kirigan, and something akin to pride shone in his eyes for a moment before it turned off into nothing.

"Good. Again."

Their world went dark once more, but this time, Alina was more excited about it. 

Later that day, Alina shyly sat at the Corporalki table next to Nina. She wasn't sure if the woman was expecting something from her after the events of the previous night, but when she smiled and leaned in to kiss Alina's cheek, she felt herself relax.

She looked over at the Fabrikator's table and frowned.

"Do any of you know where Lada is?" she asked, taking a bite of their awful breakfast. Really, even in Keramzin, with so many mouths to feed, the kitchen staff managed to produce much better things than herring and rye. "I've been wanting to talk to her about those new keftas she's working on."

"She left to go visit her grandmother." Fedyor answered, covering his mouth to speak. "She's ill, I think, and The General gave her permission to go say her goodbyes."

"Oh, that's so sad." she said, sincerely.

"She should've been back a few days ago." Michail added, the only one who seemed to enjoy their meal. "The General will send a party to go find her if she doesn't show up soon."

Nina shifted in her seat and took another bite.

"Do you think something happened to her?" Alina asked, almost concerned for this woman she barely knew. She was Grisha as well after all.

"Maybe." Michail shrugged. "Drüskelle, Shu Han agents, desertion, slavers-"

"Desertion?" Alina asked in disbelief. "From The Second Army?"

Fedyor and Michail moved uneasily in their seats.

"It rarely happens." Fedyor said in a hushed voice. "And The General doesn't like to talk about it. He does it when he has to but…"

Alina nodded, storing the information away.

Desertion from the First Army she could understand. They lacked plenty of things and life was tough in pretty much all the senses life could be. Many times soldiers would go to bed with a half empty stomach, scooting together with a group in an effort to fend off the cold. Many times, Alina would hear them waking up from nightmares with screams that would make a volcra shrink, or seen them in pieces as she passed by the infirmary.

The Second Army however, faced almost none of those complications. They lost soldiers, and a few soldiers even lost a limb or two, but they were well taken care of at the Little Palace; The General always seemed to find something new they could do to occupy their minds. Sure, Alina was learning the game of court, but she'd rather risk her neck behind the Little Palace's walls than risk being taken by the enemy, which desertion would leave you vulnerable to.

"I'm sure she's fine." Nina dismissed with a wave of her hand. "She's never been exactly punctual. And if you want to discuss the keftas, you can always go to David or Dima; they've had a part in the process as far as I know."

Alina settled for that answer.

She would speak to David. She had to talk to him anyways. Genya had delivered the gloves made by him which she rejected, and she wanted to make sure he wasn't offended. Besides, maybe, just maybe, she could help her friend gain some ground with him.

Still, as she ate her breakfast in relative peace, the thought of Lada not appearing at the Little Palace unnerved her. They weren't friends, and maybe she didn't truly have a reason to care at all besides being Grisha like her. Still, something didn't sit right with her.

"Six languages?!" Alina asked Nina as they shared some tea, leaning over the table.

The Heartrender shrugged, her legs resting on the Summoner's lap.

"Yup." was all she said as she took a sip and placed the cup on the carpeted floor.

They were sitting by the fire, and they had been talking most of the early afternoon away. Well, …there had been a little bit more than talking from their mouths, but Alina wasn't duelling on that at the moment, too amazed by the woman sitting next to her.

A few days had passed in a similar manner. Genya was too busy at the Grand Palace to come over, and between her sessions with Botkin and The Darkling, Nina took her chances to spend all the time she could with Alina. The Sun Summoner found herself beginning to form an attachment to the woman, and she was­…content.

"H-how?"

"Part of the job." Nina shrugged.

She bit her lip. "Will I be expected to learn six languages?"

"Probably."

At this, she began to feel her nerves stirring. Nina seemed to sense it.

"I can teach you a little if you want."

"Would you mind?" Alina asked almost too quickly.

Nina smiled. Alina wanted to lean in and kiss her again, but there had been more than enough distraction already from the Heartrender's attributes.

Or had it not?

"Of course not." crossing her arms over her chest, the brunette woman began to ponder. "I'm thinking either shu or fjerdan, for obvious reasons." she said, a finger running under her chin. "But I think fjerdan will be the best choice. Their way of writing is not that much different from ours; the shu language it's much more intricate in that aspect… and every other one."

"Saints." Alina uttered under her breath.

"Oh, no. It's a beautiful language, just hard to learn."

"Good to know." was her dry reply. She sat straight. "So, how do you say 'Grisha' in fjerdan?"

"Drüsje." Nina said, sourly. "It means 'witch'. 'Wej' if they're nice about it, which doesn't happen a lot."

The mood seemed to dim a little.

"Maybe we should've started with something simpler," Alina tried to cheer her up. "Like, 'hello' or 'please, no more waffles'."

"I'll never teach you to say that second one." Nina replied, her voice smooth and fast, making the Sun Summoner laugh.

"He wants you to go riding with him." Genya said promptly, walking in without knocking. She stopped dead in her tracks upon the sight before her, but her face gave indication of nothing.

"Hi, Genya."

"Nina."

The women smiled at each other, and Alina couldn't help but bitterly notice that Nina was one of the few Grisha who didn't look at Genya with disdain.

She smiled. Nina kept on gaining points.

The woman stood up, as did Alina, and eyed the outfit the Tailor held in her arms with one raised eyebrow.

"Well, sun bean, you don't wanna keep Kirigan waiting." she breathed out, coming over and planting a loud kiss upon Alina's lips.

Alina felt herself blush under the presence of Genya, but returned the kiss and gently cupped Nina's cheeks.

When they parted, her heart was beating fast. The Heartrender winked at her.

"See you later, Alina." she nodded to the waiting friend behind her. "Genya."

"Bye."

The woman left, and ever so slowly, Alina turned to find Genya staring at her with worry in her eyes.

"What?" she asked, exasperated. "Nina isn't up to your standards?"

Genya almost smiled, placing the clothes on top of the bed.

"It's not that." she said, fumbling with the fabric. "Just…be careful. For both of your sakes."

Alina was about to refute, but then Genya looked up, blue eyes so full of concern that she took a step back as the words died in her throat.

She didn't question her further and let her friend work on her silently.

 "What do you see?" Kirigan asked as they leaned over a forgotten fountain. The gardeners had clearly disregarded the place, but Alina found that she liked it the way it was. It seemed more natural than the beautifully perfect maze and flower roads.

"A version of me."  Alina tilted her head, watching the water oscillate as the coin sunk in. "A new one. But she's kind of blurry."

"Maybe she is still taking form." The General answered, pulling some branches off of the water and throwing them aside. "One cannot change from one day to the other…most of the time, anyways."

Was he making a joke? Alina wondered, trying to supress her smile.

She turned, elbows on the stone as she watched the snowy picture. It wasn't much, but its wild simplicity appeased her.

"Did you bring me here to berate me?" the question had been on her mind ever since Genya helped her into her blue and gold riding habit and boots. He had said nothing about the matter during the past few days while he trained her, but she had been expecting it at some point.

"Berate you?" he asked, turning towards her, his face questioning.

"About the Fete." Alina offered as an explanation. "I know you were expecting a different type of demonstration, and gloves, and a black kefta but I-"

"Allow me to interrupt you, please." he requested, to which Alina sheepishly nodded. "I did wonder why you would reject such things and suppress your power that night, but after what you told me once the presentation finished…I understood." he said, the last two words solemn as he looked her in the eye. "I must congratulate you, Alina. You truly are a fast learner."

She couldn't help but beam at his praise, heart thundering inside its ribcage, something warm blossoming on her stomach, an odd sensation pulling her towards him, so strong she almost closed the space in between and embraced him, burying her face in his chest.

Had she done a demonstration that was up to her level, the stupid king would make a stupid decision; had she used gloves, the nobility would think her weak. Concerning the black kefta, as much as it was a sign of power and protection, it was also a target, one she didn't want on her back yet. Besides, she didn't think she deserved to wear Kirigan's colour; she wasn't up to his level for now and doing the small show she offered while wearing his colour might slander his name and thereof all the other Grisha.

Blue it was for now, until she felt secure enough of both her powers and station.

"Thank you." she answered, her voice a mere whisper. "I meant it, you know."

"What?"

"When I said I wanted to help you;" he opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "It's true, what you said to me. There's no one else like us, so it would only make sense to share some duties, have each other's backs …if you don't mind, that is." she added the last part quickly, feeling how she was about to lose her nerve. "It could make things less lonely."

General Kirigan watched her closely, head barely tilted to a side, and finally nodded.

"I think that is a good idea, Alina." he then did something she had never seen him do before, and smiled. It was small, and if she didn't know better, she'd say it was tentative. Her heart made a strange jump at the sight, and her cheeks threatened to gain colour but she pushed the feeling away. S

Saints damned that man.

His eyes returned to the waters, so hers followed the same path. "Look. Not so blurry anymore."

Alina looked down, and sure, although the water still undulated, her reflection was slightly clearer.

[lyranova]

Leon and Alistar Pt: II

Hi guys! Here’s part 2 of mine and @thoughtfullyrainynightmare ‘s co-op fic, i think we had too much fun with this part hehe but that’s ok! Because I can’t add any notes at the end due to tumblr’s block count thing I wanted to thank Laura for doing this with me it was so much fun hehe 🥰! I hope you guys enjoy~!

Taglist: @eme-eleff @jovialnoise @simpingforthisonedeer @succulentsunrise @ckjwnnbc

Warnings: None

———

Inside the box laid a small crystal full of mana and..a leaf?! Alistar and Leonidas blinked and looked at each other then back at the box. This was it? This was their treasure?! Alistar shook his head and placed the box back onto the small pedestal.

“ Of course our parents would play a sick joke like this on us.” He said with a sigh before he crouched down onto the floor, looking to see if there was maybe any hidden traps that could be hiding the real treasure.

“ Well, you could say this is unbeleafable.” Leonidas said with a chuckle, he found his puns to be quite funny. Alistar suddenly stood up and looked at him , Leonidas rubbed the back of his neck nervously as silence fell around them.

“ Hey; don’t leaf me hanging!” Alistar said suddenly before bursting into fits of laughter. The orange haired boy blinked in surprise before he himself began to laugh.

“ Ah I’ve got one; Where did the plant like to travel?” Alistar asked and Leonidas shook his head. “ All clover the world!”

Both boys began to laugh even harder.

They both sat there. Just sat there, trying to gasp for air through their laughter. Tears started running down their cheeks from the released tension, and their stomachs and sides started to burn from the sensation.

But Little by little they were able to catch their breaths.

"I didn't know you were into puns," Leonidas commented with a grin.

"I could say the same," Alistair replied with an equally wide grin.

The two chuckled for a moment longer until their eyes landed back into the box. But all they could do was shake their heads. After all, time was running out and there was clearly a trick to it.

" What do you think it means? A crystal and a leaf?" Alistair inquired while turning his head to Leonidas.

"Honestly," the orange haired male began, "I have no clue." He paused for a moment while gazing into the ceiling. "It's not even that both of the items would have mana in them. But only the crystal. Now that could potentially be a key of some kind, but even then there'd need to be a magical lock to match. And the leaf is... Just a leaf? What is it even from?"

Alistar inspected the leaf forwards and backwards for a moment as Leonidas looked over the crystal in his own hands. Finally after a few moments, Alistar snapped his fingers as he recognized the plant.

“ Humulus Lupulus ‘Aurea’!” Alistar said as he began to look around the room, the orange haired boy frowned.

“ English please?” He asked politely as he saw Alistar began to inspect the room, apparently looking for where the plant belonged.

“ Ah sorry,” he laughed nervously before rubbing the back of his head, a nervous habit he had developed. “ Golden Hops is the common name for it, it’s a vine that when grown onto something provides excellent privacy. But they don’t grow on brick or stone walls, they have to grow on a lattice or trellis. They’re also used to provide a bitter bite to beer.” Alistar explained and Leonidas blinked.

“ You really like plants.” he said with a laugh as he began searching the walls for the same vine as Alistar.

“ Ah yeah, my mom was a florist so she had a ton of books on different plants, herbs, and such things. I guess my love of plants is something I inherited from her.” He said with a small laugh. “ Ah here it is.” He added as Leonidas came walking over to him. Alistar quickly used his plant magic to make the vines retract and moved the trellis out of the way. Behind it lay a stone door with a small crystal shaped hole in the center, but the designs around it appeared to look like fire and flames which seemed odd in Alistar’s opinion.

“ Leonidas, see if the crystal will fit.” Alistar asked.

Leonidas nodded in agreement and placed it onto the supposed lock. And as expected, the crystal did fit into the hole, but nothing happened. Seconds ticked away, making the two frown as there was no change in the crystal or the lock.

"I guess it would have been too easy," Alistair commented with a disappointed smile.

However, Leonidas frowned as that mechanism seemed perhaps far too familiar for him. "Maybe it just needs a bit of mana for it to activate," he pondered aloud.

"What do you mean?" Alistair inquired with a curious tone.

"Ah, well, let's say that a key gets into the wrong hands. Then for the purposes of keeping, whatever is guarded by the lock, safe, it's better if the mechanisms used to operate the key aren't clear. Or better yet, if there's only a handful of people who can do so. For example if only a certain type of mana interacts with the key itself.” Leonidas explained factually.

" You seem to know a lot about these things," Alistair chuckled in turn.

Leonidas smiled while picking up the crystal and feeding it some of his own mana, making the crystal glow bright yellow.

" Yeah, it's something I've learned from my mom," he replied," Thean can be... very private people. "

“ So I’ve heard.” Alistar agreed with a nod, Thea was a very private country. Alistar had heard very little about it himself but he had to admit he was curious about it and it’s magic. “ Maybe when this is all over you can tell me a bit about it, and I can teach you about botany.” He chuckled.

“ Hm, there isn’t much I can tell you about Thea but I’d be more than happy to share what I can.” Leonidas said with a nod before he gently placed the crystal back into the door and the runes on it began to glow yellow.

It opened with a hiss as the door swung open slowly. Alistar and Leonidas smirked at each other before they walked inside the room.

“ We make a pretty good team, considering this is the first time we’ve worked together.” Alistar admitted as he looked for a light source, which was soon provided by Leonidas.

“ Hm, I wonder why our parents would hide the treasure here?” Leonidas mused as he picked up an overturned crate and looked inside it.

“ To test our problem solving skills as well as our team skills perhaps? Especially considering the puzzle used both our magical attributes.” Alistar said before Leonidas picked up a box that was bigger than the one in the other room.

“ What’s that?” Alistar asked curiously as he walked over to the orange haired boy.

"Umm...." Leonidas uttered after opening the box. He shuffled something in his hand and let out an amused puff of air. "It seems that you had a thing for bunny plushies while growing up," he grinned.

A brief silence passed through the air, before Alistair spoke in a low, disbelieving, hushed voice: "...what?!"

Leonidas turned around and showed Alistair a small portrait of him when he was younger. And in the picture, Alistair with his bright, blue eyes and white hair, no more than 3 years of age, was holding a bunny plushie. The sight made Alistair turn bright red, which was emphasized by his otherwise fair appearance.

"Why me?" He asked while burning up.

"Well..." Leonidas grinned forcefully. "It's not just you...." he admitted while showing Alistair another, similar, photo, where an orange haired boy was hugging a lion plushie. "It seems our parents really aren't short on... surprises..." he continued while averting his gaze.

“ Nope they certainly aren’t.” Alistar grumbled as he snatched the portrait out of Leonidas’s hand and quickly put it in the inside pocket of his robes. He had hoped no one would ever see his baby pictures.

“ Well, it could be worse,” Leonidas said, trying to suppress a chuckle while being slightly optimistic. Alistar quirked a brow, silently asking him to elaborate. “ They could’ve been naked baby portraits.” Alistar blinked but laughed, it was true.

“ Knowing them; they probably considered it.” Alistar said before turning and walking out of the room, he was slightly glad now that he hadn’t been paired up with Hikari, otherwise he would be teased a lot more now than he currently was.

“ Come on, let’s head back.” Alistar called and Leonidas quickly followed him out of the room.

“ Hey Alistar? What kind of books do bunnies read?” Leonidas asked suddenly, the white haired boy shook his head. “ The ones with hoppy endings.”

Alistar couldn’t help it; he started laughing, as embarrassed as he was he still found the bunny pun hilarious.

“ Alright, What do you call a lion with a fancy hat?” Alistar asked once he caught his breath, Leonidas shook his head. “ A dandy lion.” Leonidas snorted before laughing himself.

The two boys steadily cracked puns as they made their way back to the starting point.

Sadly they were having so much fun on the way back, that they lost track of time. And it wasn't until they were getting close to the headquarters that they realized they had to hurry. So, they shared a quick glance before dashing forward towards the starting point.

They made it. They just made it until the time ran out. But It was at the cost of their muscles aching, and their lungs burning because of the lack of oxygen, so they slumped against a wall.

As they sat down, Alistair let out a little whine, which made Leonidas' lips turn into a smirk.

"Like a grape," he commented.

"What?" Alistair huffed out of breath.

"It-, um, it's...." he took a moment to catch his breath. "What did a grape say when it got crushed?"

"What did it say," Alistair grinned while turning to glance at the orange haired boy.

"Nothing. It just let out a little wine," Leonidas grinned back, making both of them burst into laughter and slide further down on the floor while holding their sides.

After a small moment, Hikari and Cyraleona walked over with a few smoothies in hand, while sipping their own, talking about how cute they were as toddlers.

"Did you actually lose brain cells on that treasure hunt?" Hikari quirked an eyebrow.

"They just might've done so," the red headed girl commented.

"No..." Leonidas tried through his laughter, "you don't get it!" He laughed.

"GRAPES!" The boys yelled in unison.

Both of the girls quirked an eyebrow at them.

"I do believe they have lost it," Cyraleona still commented with a hushed tone.

"You can say that again," Hikari rolled her eyes.

Alistar started wiping tears from his eyes as he looked up at the girls and saw the disapproving looks on their faces. The looks on their faces only made the boys laugh harder.

“ Phew, that was a good one Leonidas.” Alistar said as he caught his breath. Leonidas looked over at him and waved his hand.

“ You can just call me Leon if you want, and thank you. You’ve got some good jokes, yourself.” He told Alistar as he caught his breath as well. Hikari rolled her eyes before holding out a hand to the white haired boy as Cyraleona held out a hand to her twin, the boys looked at each other before taking them and standing up.

“ Go get some smoothies, they’re about to wrap the exercise up for the day.” Hikari said as she walked them to the smoothie stand.

“ Oh, what did you two get in your treasure box?” Cyraleona asked softly, causing Alistar and Leonidas to both blush.

“ N-Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Alistar stammered and Hikari smirked before she and Cyraleona looked at each other.

“ Baby pictures.” The said in unison before laughing as the boys faces turned even more red.

In the distance, Fuego and William watched their sons with small smiles on their faces. The white haired male glanced at the Crimson Lion for a moment before speaking.

“ It seems our sons are getting along well.” He chuckled and Fuego nodded in agreement.

“ Yes they do, which is exactly what we wanted from this exercise, was for all the kids to try and get along and become a more cohesive unit. Although, I wonder what was said that made them laugh so much.” He muttered curiously before William stood in front of the mic to address the kids.

“ Congratulations on a job well done kids,” William announced before moving out of the way to let Fuego speak.

“ Yes you all did amazing today, you showed teamwork, determination, and that you can all solve any problems that come your way.” Fuego said with a smile on his face.

"We are all very proud of you," Charlotte commented with a smile, looking at each of the kids, but keeping her gaze at Hikari for a moment longer than the others.

"Yeah, good job on not trashing half of the Kingdom while doing so," Yami stated with crossed arms.

The rest of the captains looked at him, but brushed it off as they all still remembered everything the Black Bulls had put the kingdom through over the years. They shook their heads before William continued: "And though it wasn't included into the schedule we have prepared for a small banquet."

The kids glanced at each other with knowing looks as the adults made their way to them. Of course their parents had something like that planned. After all, it had been several hours since they last ate.

"And I hope that you had a good day," William still continued with a smile, stopping his gaze at Alistair.

"Yeah, we-," Alistair paused for a moment. "You could say that it was a pun-tastic day."

Leon snorted with the comment, immediately placing his hand over his mouth afterwards and shaking his head.

The fathers quirked an eyebrow at their sons, not really knowing what to make of it.

"But yes father, it was an excellent day. And I'll be sure to treasure the lessons and relationships gained on this day," The white haired boy continued.

"Yes," Leon agreed. "Our friendship is unbeleafable," he grinned while glancing at Alistair from the corner of his eye, which made him snort in turn while the girls let out disappointed sighs.

William and Fuego blinked before looking at each other with a look of near horror in their eyes; both their sons were punny. Oh no. Maybe this was a mistake after all? Now that the two had met and were friends the punny jokes were sure to be in abundance now.

“ You two are dorks.” Hikari said with a shake of her head as she walked past them with Cyraleona in tow, Alistar saluted his father quickly before following after her, Leonidas doing the same before running to catch up with his sister.

“ Hey, only good chives will be accepted here.” He told the raven haired girl with a smirk, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed at him. She had been victim to his terrible puns since they were young children so a small piece of her was happy that he now had someone who he could be punny with.

“ Uh huh, you and your good chives can go sit at a different table until they stop.” She told him with a smirk, he sighed in defeat but nodded. Leonidas watched the exchange curiously.

“ Hey Alistar,” The white haired boy turned toward him. “ Do you have a crush on Hikari?” Alistar smiled but shook his head.

“ No, we’re just good friends. Our relationship isn’t like that.” Alistar said with a small laugh, he looked calm on the outside but inside he was freaking out. ‘How did he figure it out so quickly?! Was it that obvious? I need to keep my emotions in better check.’ he thought to himself as the children walked.

William shook his head as he began to laugh, which caused Fuego to look at him curiously. William turned towards the Vermillion haired Captain.

“ What are the chances, of both our sons being into puns?” He chuckled and Fuego shook his head.

“ Perhaps one in a million? I’m not quite sure myself.” He said but with a warm smile, he was glad his son had found a friend around his own age, and he was sure William was thinking the same.

"I know that look," said a voice behind them, which made the fathers glance behind them.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't," Fuego smiled at the sight of his wife.

"Good day, Solara, " William greeted with a polite nod.

"Good day William," she replied before continuing from the topic. "Yes, they're terrible puns. But Don't go pun-ishing them too hard," she smirked, making the eyes of both of the men widen in slight horror.

"Darling... " Fue began. "I think I died a little bit inside..."

William just shook his head while letting out a sigh.

"They're just exercising their brain cells. There's nothing wrong with that," she continued with a passing shrug.

"They could use their brains more constructively," William commented with a hushed tone.

"Oh? Can you think of a pun from the spot? No? That's pun-fortunate," Solara grinned.

William's lips parted for a moment to reply, but nothing came out. Instead he let out another sigh, much deeper this time while pinching the bridge of his nose. Meanwhile Fue let out an amused huff before shaking his head.

"Point taken dear," he commented.

“ Well we know where Leonidas gets it from.” William said with a shake of his head, Solara looked at him curiously for a moment.

“ Your wife was a jokester herself was she not?” She asked, Fuego looked at his wife and shook his head slightly, even after all these years William’s wife was still a somewhat sensitive subject but William quickly waved his concern away.

“ It’s alright. Yes she was a bit of a jokester,” William chuckled before he looked towards the sky with a small smile. “ she was partial to plant jokes especially.” He added before looking back at the husband and wife, his smile turning solem suddenly.

“ Fuegoleon, I know...there’s some issues between us and some things that have happened that may not ever be forgiven but,” he paused for a moment as he searched for the right words. “ I don’t want the things that have happened between us to affect our son's friendship. They deserve the chance to become friends and get along without our personal issues getting in the way.”

Fuego nodded along as he listened, William was still trying to atone for his actions after all these years, especially for what he did to Fuego, he gently gripped his fire arm as he got lost in thought. He looked up at his wife’s face and, for one of the few times, he couldn’t read it. This was something he would have to decide on his own.

“ I agree,” Fuego said after a moment of silence. “ our son’s deserve a chance to let this friendship have a chance, to let them decide for themselves if they wish to continue it without our influence. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even start a rivalry or something similar.” Fuego chuckled, remembering his own rivalry with Nozel and William’s with Yami.

“ Yes that would be something wouldn’t it?” William agreed with a nod. “ Well, shall we head in and have dinner with the children?”

"Yes. Let us do just that," Fuego commented with a faint smile before they all started making their way to the banquet hall.

Fuego knew that he and William wouldn't become the best of friends, possibly not even great friends, but they certainly had come a long way. It was clear that William did try his best, as well as admit his wrongdoings. And he tried to seek his own atonement, even though it wasn't served to him in the form of a juridical punishment. No, he had to look for redemption harder than that. But, as William had said, and he had agreed, their personal relations shouldn't come in between their sons' relationship.

Fue felt a slight tug of his arm, and as he turned to look, he saw an expression he recognized just as usual.

"It's alright," he assured, intending to stop there, but being forced to continue as a result of the settling silence. "I assure you, it's alright."

The moment ended and whatever tension had gathered in the air slowly dissipated away. And it was again just as usual.

"You didn't bring Nora with you?" Fue asked after a few moments as his thoughts emerged from his eldest.

"No, she's out with Mereo," Solara commented. "A few puns will be the least of our worries today."

Fuego chuckled to himself and shook his head. Indeed. A few puns didn't seem all that bad suddenly.

[sunset-embers-warriors-designs]

I am too tired to draw right now but I want to talk more about my Darkstripe and Longtail are brothers AU

- Darkkit and Longkit are the two oldest sons of Willowpelt and Whitestorm. Willowpelt and her littermates are very close so the kits grow up visiting with Spottedleaf and Redtail a lot, as well as Bluestar. They’re a very competitive pair of brothers and they’re always competing to impress their clanmates. Longtkit is a lot like Whitestorm; Kind, curious, and forgiving, and Darkkit reminds Willowpelt of Swiftbreeze; Sassy, brave, and stubborn

- When they’re apprenticed, Darkpaw gets Tigerclaw as his mentor and Longpaw gets Goldenflower. Tigerclaw recognizes that Darkpaw is Thistleclaw’s kin (grandson) so he’s inclined to focus more on battle training for the sake of his former mentor’s “legacy.” Goldenflower is a much less devious mentor and is focused on taking Longpaw’s tail into account - his tail is a huge advantage for balance but could also cause trouble while hunting if he lets it drag on the floor. Sometimes Darkpaw and Longpaw get to train together and thats how Goldenflower and Tigerclaw start talking and become friends.

- Darkpaw experiences much higher standards and more difficult training sessions than his brother, but he manages to just barely keep up with Tigerclaw’s demands. Darkpaw begins to get smug - He’s a lot better at most battle moves than Longpaw is. Longpaw’s noticed his brother’s battle skill too. Both apprentices attribute Darkpaw’s success to Tigerclaw’s teaching, and they both look up to him a lot (Though Goldenflower is still Longpaw’s favourite teacher; he likes that she’s patient and likes to joke around).

- Darkstripe and Longtail become warriors about half a year before Into the Wild begins. Goldenflower retreats to the nursery around this time and has Swiftkit and Lynxkit (Patchpelt’s kits, though he doesn’t have any part in raising them. Goldenflower’s like a single mom and Patchpelt is just a donor; She and Tigerclaw are still friends but they haven’t considered being mates yet). Longtail sometimes finds the time to visit her and her kits, but between his warrior duties and how many naps the kits take a day he doesn’t see his former mentor as much as he’d like. Longtail spends most of his days with Darkstripe, who spends most of his time following around Tigerclaw on patrols. Thus the Tigerclaw posse forms

- Graykit, Darkstripe and Longtail’s little brother, is born. Graykit is a blend of Willowpelt, Swiftbreeze, and Snowfur: Brave, goofy, and sweet. Since the difference in age is so great, Darkstripe and Longtail aren’t super close with him. Longtail is Graykit’s favourite brother though (He makes fun of Darkstripe for always scowling)

- Longtail begins to adopt a couple of Tigerclaw and Darkstripe’s opinions as his own - Thunderclan deserves only the strongest warriors, and outsiders suck. He’s certainly not as into it as Darkstripe is because Tigerclaw has been feeding him that nonsense for much longer, but Longtail believes it enough to challenge Rusty, who is like a baby, to a fight in front of everyone. When Longtail loses, Spottedleaf, his aunt, scolds him for his actions and it actually stings him a little bit.

- Redtail’s death smacks both brothers upside the head. Their uncle had been there for a good portion of their kithood, and their first role model. Tigerclaw claims to be the one to have avenged Redtail’s death at Sunningrocks, which earns him more points with Darkstripe and Longtail. 

- Darkstripe takes in Dustpaw as his apprentice and tries to mimic Tigerclaw’s training method, but he’s actually not a very good teacher. Longtail tries to offer advice but Darkstripe’s pride won’t let him take it.

- This AU works in collaboration with my other AU about Dustpelt, Ravenpaw, and Sandstorm all being littermates taken in to Thunderclan after they were found on the border. Darkstripe is particularly hard on Dustpaw because he was born an outsider, and has him turn on Ravenpaw for the sake of proving his loyalty. The three kits were found on the border with Shadowclan, which sparks rumors about them possibly being Shadowclan kits, and in turn gives reason to Tigerclaw’s lies about Ravenpaw being a Shadowclan spy.

- Goldenflower specifically requests Longtail as Swiftpaw’s mentor, which Longtail is very humbled by. He sees a lot of Goldenflower in Swiftpaw and the two work really well as a team. 

- When it’s revealed that Tigerclaw’s a traitor, Darkstripe and Longtail are absolutely stunned. When Tigerclaw is asking his allies to go into exile with him, Darkstripe initially refuses. According to what Tigerclaw taught him, Thunderclan was what mattered most, and it needed strong warriors. If Tigerclaw wasn’t going to be around anymore, Darkstripe figured he would need to be there. However, Darkstripe soon realizes that he’s not as strong as Tigerclaw is, and he can’t seem to build up that same reputation. He falls into thinking that perhaps Tigerclaw was what made Thunderclan great, not the other way around. Longtail however completely disowns Tigerclaw as a role model the second it’s revealed. He recognizes that everything Tigerclaw ever said about Thunderclan demanding loyalty and strength was never actually true, thats just what Tigerclaw was demanding. At first, the shock of losing their group leader brings Longtail and Darkstripe closer as brothers, but after the dust has settled and Darkstripe begins to express some of his pro-Tigerstar thoughts, the brothers begin to drift apart.

- Swiftpaw’s death is Longtail’s waking nightmare. Not only has he failed his student in the worst way, but he failed Goldenflower. He can’t bear to look her in the eye. The fact Tigerclaw lead the dogs there makes it even more horrifying.

- Willowpelt and Whitestorm have their third litter of Rainkit, Sootkit, and Sorrelkit. Again, Longtail and Darkstripe aren’t super involved with their siblings but they visit sometimes. Longtail visits more than Darkstripe does. Rainkit is like a carbon copy of Willowpelt, being mellow, sweet, and attentive, Sootkit is a lot like Adderfang, strong silent type with very sharp eyes, and Sorrelkit is somewhere between Whitestorm and Willowpelt; Adventurous, friendly, and curious. It’s Sorrelkit’s sense of adventure that leads her to follow her older brother, Darkstripe, out of camp. Darkstripe poisoning Sorrelkit gets him swiftly disowned by his whole family. Longtail feels hollow - he’s lost two cats he really thought he could trust, and it’s gonna take a while to reconnect with the cats he’s been putting second place to Darkstripe.

- Darkstripe becomes part of Shadowclan/Tigerclan under Tigerstar’s rule, but Darkstripe doesn’t feel any better. Despite being part of Tigerstar’s crew again, he doesn’t feel strong, and he clearly takes a backseat to some of the Shadowclan born cats such as Blackfoot. Darkstripe spends the remainder of his life chasing this illusion of strength that he gets from being Tigerstar’s ally

- The battle with Bloodclan is where this AU gets COOL okay. Longtail is the one to intercept Darkstripe’s attack on Firestar. This fight is the first time they’ve seen each other since Darkstripe’s exile. Longtail hopes Darkstripe will give in and surrender, but Darkstripe won’t let up, and he’s still a much fiercer fighter than his brother. Longtail doesn’t have a choice but to kill him. During Whitestorm’s death, Graystripe and Firestar are still the ones to be with him during his death, but instead of nominating Graystripe as the next deputy, Whitestorm gives the much more ambiguous “Make my son deputy.” Firestar just assumes it’s Graystripe since Graystripe is his closest friend, but Whitestorm might have been suggesting Longtail. 

- After the battle is over, Longtail finds Willowpelt. He tells her Darkstripe is dead, but leaves out the detail of how he died. She doesn’t need to know that. When they head home, Longtail makes the time to be more present for his youngest siblings since Whitestorm is gone now. During Firestar’s quest, he loses his sight and his mother all in a very short period of time. This is a bad era for Longtail.

- The end of new prophecy and the time before power of three is also a bad time for Longtail. Graystripe is missing, and Sootfur, Rainwhisker, and Goldenflower have all died. Longtail tries to be there for Sorreltail. He visits with his nieces like Redtail and Spottedleaf used to visit him. Graystripe’s return is joyous though, and Longtail, Graystripe, and Sorreltail end up with a nice reunion. They’ll never really understand each other completely because they’ve all lived such different lives, but they all enjoy each other’s company. Longtail is also a good uncle to Graystripe and Millie’s kits; That’s why Briarpaw wouldn’t leave the elders den without Longtail right before the tree fell.

- In the battle with the dark forest, Longtail finds Darkstripe once again. They fight, and like last time, Longtail really hopes Darkstripe will give up. He doesn’t want to have to kill his littermate twice. This time, Darkstripe does give up, scared of being completely erased from existence, and he slinks back into the dark forest. That’s the last time they’ll ever see each other. Darkstripe spends the rest of his dark forest existence in an even deeper personal hell - Tigerstar has completely vanished, and Darkstripe is completely alone with nobody but himself.

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

my experience reading The Joy Luck Club

I have a lot of thoughts on The Joy Luck Club, most of them uncomplimentary. I had to read almost all of it in one day for school because I procrastinated. That is entirely my own fault, but a mistake nevertheless, because it was not a book I should have read in one sitting. It made me physically uncomfortable and almost ill on multiple occasions, so I had to put it down and take breaks every chapter. 

I am still not entirely sure why I had such a visceral, negative reaction to this book when everyone else seemed to have parts they liked. Though, I think I can attribute some of it to the fact that I have a very good relationship with my mother and my culture, and I am very passionate about representation in books.

Before reading, I knew Amy Tan as the Asian American author. She was the one everyone talked about, and JLC was the crowning jewel of her works. I went into this book cynically, however, because I had read Fish Cheeks and Two Kinds and been bitterly disappointed with what seemed like stereotypical caricatures of Asian characters. 

I have heard of the “piano-playing Asian” and the “prodigy Asian” all my life, and it gets tiring. Waverly fulfilled this stereotype of the genius Asian child to a T, complete with the accolades, the parental pressure, and eventual burnout. It is a story I have heard about since I was small, with some variation each telling, and it has never failed to make me angry—because Asians are already held up to an impossible model minority standard, and in reading this book, I saw it reflected over and over again.

It was brought up in the discussion that Amy Tan’s characters are not meant to be heroes. They are flawed and human and this is supposedly their selling point. But I have read books with characters who are flawed and human, and I have enjoyed them. 

The issue I have with Amy Tan’s characters, then, is not that they were morally ambiguous and imperfect. It was that I could not see myself in any of them. They are miserable people defined by their trauma. So instead, when I read it, JLC was a chronicle of eight unhappy women and their unfortunate lives, because the majority of what happened to them was not even a consequence of their own characters—that would have been compelling. JLC read like tragedy without a message, pain without a point.

And I also understand that JLC was written in 1989 and set in the fifties. It was a different time. I have issues with the cheap shot at gay people taken by Waverly, the racist remarks by her fiancee that go unaddressed, and the crossdressing scene. 

With the latter, it is because the revelation that the Moon Lady was supposedly a man all along is reminiscent of a rather transphobic trope: the one that metaphorically equates the discovery of someone's “real” gender with the loss of innocence or as a deception. 

I also dislike the way eating disorders were brushed aside and treated as, instead of a consequence of remarks made by her mother, as a quirk of character and a plot device. But I do understand it was a different time, though part of me protests loudly that it is not an excuse for poor writing.

I also find the Chinese mysticism trope to be old and tired. Amy Tan spends the whole book portraying Chinese culture as backward, primitive, and superstitious. A woman cuts flesh out of her arm to feed to her mother. Pithy sayings are recited every few dialogue lines. There is an undercurrent of prejudice to the way the mothers in JLC are portrayed. 

This is an old trope, and a poorly used one in a book supposedly held up as good representation. What few “positive” aspects are shown, there are glaring downsides. One of the mothers, for example, spends an entire chapter extolling the virtues of hiding one's emotions and repressing one’s true feelings in order to survive. I do not read about this woman’s pain and empathize with her. Instead, I pity her, because in my mind, she is not real.

I still believe Amy Tan’s overall message is that you cannot be both your culture and American, perhaps because she spent her whole life internalizing racism against her own people. I violently disagree with this, and I think it is a harmful message overall. 

Perhaps it is period-accurate. Perhaps it was a different time. Perhaps it was true for people other than Amy Tan. Regardless, the only feeling I got from JLC was that the author, speaking through the characters, greatly disliked her own culture. I did not enjoy reading it. I hear enough disparagement of Asian cultures from non-Asians and the internet, and it hurts to hear internalized hatred coming from one of our own.

Because Amy Tan’s writing reads as if she is disgusted with where she came from. Where are the lovely parts of Asian culture? Where is the enduring spirit that allows people to experience trauma and come out kind, rather than spiteful and broken like the characters in the book? Where are the tender moments of American and Asian culture in agreement? I did find any. Instead, the book reads like an indictment.  

Every character in this book has a fraught relationship with their mother. The mothers put down their children at every opportunity, and yet they always come out justified. Perhaps they were right about the state of a marriage, or they gave their daughter a jade pendant to make up, somehow, for the years of neglect and belittling. 

I understand that the message is that the mothers never meant to damage their children. I understand that the message is that mothers love their daughters and want the best for them, and the barrier is communication and culture. But the best of intentions cannot make up for the fact that every single one of the daughters went through pain and trauma at the hands of their parent, and that makes me incredibly angry and sad. 

I dislike how Amy Tan justifies their actions. I dislike how she attempts to humanize these mothers, who have their own share of suffering, but pass it down to their kids in the cycle of generation trauma. I dislike the message that laughing over Taiwan jokes, or a jade pendant given as a gift, can somehow make up for the utter failure of these mothers to connect with their children—because it is the parent’s job, the adult’s job, to be the mature one in a parent-child relationship. I have heard too many stories from friends of mine to ever believe that putting one’s child down can ever be justified.

My experience with reading JLC was, in a word, painful. I found it difficult to engage critically with a work that made me angry in a way no book has before. I may just be holding it to a higher standard because of how few Asian American books make it into high school curricula, because Moby Dick certainly had problematic themes, but I enjoyed reading it anyway. 

All I can really say is that I was disappointed with Amy Tan as a writer and JLC as a book; rather, with Amy Tan as a prominent Asian writer and JLC as Asian-American representation. Asian American culture is not about pain, or about trauma, or about repressing one’s problems—it is not about unbridgeable divides, failed attempts at communicating, or abuse. And yet, the main message I took away from JLC is that the book is about suffering, and a culture of suffering. It was difficult to read.

[ghost-band-aids]

Interview with GHOST and TRIBULATION

The Undisguised Truth

TOBIAS FORGE and JONATHAN HULTÉN have a lot in common. While one of them currently slips into the role of the exalted charmer Cardinal Copia as the singer of GHOST, the introverted TRIBULATION guitarist on stage transforms into a fascinating, expressive being who exists beyond genre and gender boundaries. What is real, what is an artificial figure? METAL HAMMER met both of them during their tour together for a conversation that allows far more than just a look behind the scenes of two of the most popular metal bands at the moment, but also unexpectedly intimate insights.

Tobias, originally you didn't want to be the singer of Ghost. Did the mask help you to come to terms with this exposed role?

Tobias Forge: Yes, well, at least from today's point of view. But I never wanted to be unknown.

What function does your stage make-up have, Jonathan?

Jonathan Hultén: It helps me to put myself in a certain mood. The idea behind it is to isolate and reinforce a fraction of myself, an aspect of my personality. To immerse myself in this is an experience beyond the everyday state of mind.

Strengthen also Cardinal Copia or Papa Emeritus facets of your personality, Tobias?

Tobias Forge: I'm not shy, but I'm not as sociable as Cardinal Copia - and also not a "physical clown" like him. What I do is a kind of mixed bag. I imitate people I find funny or interesting.

Basically, the way actors do it. If you asked Robert DeNiro how he came up with the young Don Corieone, he would probably say: Well, there was this guy in my old neighborhood... The costume gives you the opportunity to completely surrender yourself in that moment and just be that new person. That's interesting, because you only reveal it to a few people for a limited time. You don't have to see how that person lives the other 22 hours of the day. Like with actors: James Bond is cool because you only see certain sides of him. Never in the bathroom or shower. Well, not in the toilet, in the shower. But always in the company of a snake or something he kills.

How long does the transformation take?

Tobias Forge: But you finished much sooner than I did.

Jonathan Hultén: For pragmatic reasons. I like to get it done as soon as possible so as not to get in a bind later. How about you?

Tobias Forge: We have a very tight schedule. Pretty much exactly one hour before the show starts I walk in the door as Tobias and come out as someone else.

What does this transformation do to you?

Jonathan Hultén: You have to enter a stage with emphasis. So it's good to be prepared.

Tobias Forge: And that's what happens within this hour. You slowly start to move differently... I love being a different person for two hours and then changing back. But I need some time for that, usually I stay alone for an hour after the show.

Jonathan Hultén: That's good. As far as I can, I try to do the same. Mostly by doing something that I can be introspective about... ...carry things back and forth or something.

Tobias Forge: I think that's very important. There is potential suffering in art, especially in mental health. The smaller the discrepancy between yourself and the person you are portraying on stage, the harder it is to deal with. If you are merely associated with your stage character, people expect you to behave like that in real life.

And that can be problematic...

Tobias Forge: Exactly, because they created this super human being who can do anything, who has a carte blanche. Everyone applauds, everyone laughs, and everything you do is funny or cool. And if you take it to the bar afterwards... There are bad examples of people who can't get down in normal life, become alcoholics or, well, die.

Jonathan Hultén: Sure, all that can be destructive. But in my case it was very helpful to discover my more explosive, extroverted sides. And to dare to give them more space, because privately I am quite shy. That's also part of the process of building up, which takes a long time.

I gradually gain self-confidence from this, so that I can now express myself better in everyday situations.

Tobias Forge: I think they are one and the same. It's like mental martial arts, where the person who doesn't like the fight, but still has to face it - within the limits of the dojo, of course, so as not to hurt anyone. And, yes, art is basically good for anyone who has the desire to become someone else. It's a generalization, but I think there's a lot of truth in it: many artists choose this path because they weren't very popular at school. Or they can't come out of themselves, but their art offers them an opportunity to do so. It's fun to go on stage, to transform and feed off the energy or admiration.

How you interact with the audience has changed over the years.

Tobias Forge: Sure. The masked person has an advantage of about 70 concerts, so 1,000 hours on stage. If I had given myself the same amount of time to develop without the make-up, without the role, just with acoustic guitar, I might have created a completely different stage personality. But this is completely uninteresting for me, because I prefer this super character! (laughs)

Jonathan Hultén: transformation would then no longer be so dramatic, but much more subtle.

Tobias Forge: And you'd have to be comfortable in your own skin.

Jonathan Hultén: I'm working on it. (laughs)

Jonathan, your solo debut, CHANTS FROM ANOTHER PLACE, will be released soon and you will also be touring with Chelsea Wolfe. Will you be different on stage there than you are here with Tribulation?

Jonathan Hultén: It has become harder to separate the two. They are like different shades of the same color. And I've found that they both borrow a lot from each other. The tribulation performer exists much longer, so he has much more experience. He/she is like an archaeologist who explores an inner wildness and passion. Over the years a lot of weird stuff has been dug up and included.

On the other hand, the solo performer, who has only been around for about three yen and is still is at the beginning of the excavations. However, I expect that also here many interesting things will appear

What can we expect from you live?

Jonathan Hultén: Just like with Tribulation, the atmosphere will be very important. But apart from some dramatic excursions, the show will be mostly silent and contemplative. The silence gives more room for more complex emotions to unfold in a way that I miss in the energetic performances of Tribulation.

These in turn defy the unwritten rules of a traditional metal show, not least thanks to you. Tribulation are considered a death metal band...

Tobias Forge: I wouldn’t call you guys like that.

Do you see yourselves as pioneers? Do you enjoy being different?

Jonathan Hultén: I stopped thinking about whether people see me as stupid, weird or whatever. It's the only way I can do it. Headbanging just wasn't enough. I felt there had to be something bigger, some kind of ectase. This may be weird, but it feels good.

How important are grace and style to you?

Jonathan Hultén: Both are important, but it's equally important not to be obsessively attached to them. Someone once said that grace is a combination of spontaneity and control. It's a good rule of thumb - on and off stage. It's always about balance. Every situation is unique and requires a unique approach.

Tobias Forge: You should be really proud of it, apart from the fact that your music is great. Your performance is dramatically different from any other. Besides the music, your physical attributes and the way you present yourself make you a very unique and interesting person. Strange, cash, different. You should definitely pursue that. Yes, I think you should see yourself as a pioneer.

Jonathan Hultén: Mm, thank you. (chuckles)

What does that do to your audience?

Tobias Forge: If you are a live musician, have an antenna for it and you don't completely care, you always enter a symbiosis with the fans. Give and take, almost like in a physical relationship. You will try to perfect ways to give pleasure to each other. I know it sounds weird, but every decent relationship changes with age. You grow together, you have new needs or ideas. That's why some couples bring in other people, or whips or plugs. It's the same with you and the audience. During our second show I noticed that our audience is very positive, but I couldn't make a rhyme out of it.

Why that?

Tobias Forge: The room was filled with Hard Rock people, the kind of people I've been playing to since I was a teenager. But they weren't headbanging as usual. Instead they did something else.

Jonathan Hultén: Wiggle.

Tobias Forge:  Yeah, they were wiggling around. (laughs) And singing and laughing, very different from what I knew from Death or Black Metal shows.

Are there any other special features of your fans?

Tobias Forge: When we played the first headliner shows in America, I noticed for the first time the gender diversity in our audience. Our fans are a lot of girls, a lot of guys, and a lot in between. We've always been a magnet for people who are unhappy with their gender or don't feel they belong anywhere: Kids, many outsiders and outcasts in various fragile states.

Jonathan, Tobias' words seem to resonate with you.

Jonathan Hultén: Yes, they do. I don't speak for tribulation as a whole when I say this, but I personally don't feel I belong to either gender. But I've never felt the need to choose either. Androgyny is what I feel most comfortable with. This tendency probably also applies to performance, whether tribulation or solo.

Tobias Forge: The best portrayal of the devil I've ever seen is from the movie 'The Passion of Christ'. Satan is portrayed by a woman, but speaks in a man's voice and thus becomes the epitome of androgyny, completely genderless. For incorporating this aspect into your stage personality, I give credit to you and the band. Especially when you get together with Adam (Zaars, guitarist of Tribulation) on stage, it seems elfish and feminine, but also masculine. This is incredibly interesting and unusual, especially in the rigid heavy metal genre with this "men are men" and "women are women" thing: Doro Pesch, girl, Manowar, guys, great. But when I think of all the metal bands I like, there are also examples of very attractive androgyny, which is not necessarily sexual. Not to mention seventies rock bands.

You have been confronted with different kinds of music and art forms from a very young age. Does that give you an artistic advantage?

Jonathan Hultén: It helps me to keep my relationship to art fresh, to get excited. Whether in childhood or in adulthood: open-mindedness helps the creative process. If you're not afraid of opening up to all kinds of different music styles, you can find inspiration in the most surprising places. No matter where the idea comes from - the important thing is whether it works. Certainly, this is reflected in all areas of creative work. Become the medium through which the flow of inspiration flows - then collect the gold pieces that this flow carries with it and create something beautiful out of them.

Does the metal context limit your expressiveness?

Tobias Forge: I don' t feel restricted with Ghost at all. There are only a few ideas I can' t realize with the band, because Ghost is a combination of all the things I like about music, cinema and theatre. But if there is enough time in the future, I would love to be in a completely different band where I am not the center of attention. I am a guitarist and would like to sing backup. That corresponds to me much more.

Jonathan Hultén: I'm exploring something new, and it's been quite interesting - and different. There are endless possibilities to discover yourself, artistically and as an artist. Only unfortunately there is not enough time.

I'm afraid that we don't have enough time either.

Tobias Forge: Yes, but these things are existential. They are not only about art and being an artist, but also about how both are connected to the human psyche and why people, artist or not, need art to function in modern times. That, by the way, is also one of the things I appreciate about tribulation: You are artists, not just any death metal band. I don’t want to hang anybody on the fence but especially in metal many musicians claim that they make music for themselves first and foremost. That’s not true! As soon as you go on stage you want to get something back. Even GG Allin! And his gigs were really a confrontational and bad experience for every lover of the fine arts. Playing just for yourself? That's not how it works. You either do it to please or to deliver something. People laugh, cry, clap, scream, whatever... And when they leave, they feel a little bit better. That's entertainment!

Anja Delast/ Metal Hammer

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