#also trying a personal challenge with this one to NOT isolate the MCs as they develop their bond

[reploidbuddy]

This is 3 days late im sorry but - if it's open for qs, I'd love ti hear about your shared dreams au if you havent already answered?

No need to be sorry!!! Qs are always open <3

And I'm so glad your asked!!! So far, I've only posted Silver and Espio’s designs with some basic info if you're interested :3 (crazy that when I re-read Espio's I found a few details had already changed. Nothing big but it's still funny to me, stuff change so fast when it simmers well in planning).

But the basic premise/summary-like description is that Espio comes in contact with an odd gem to study it so he can do an important research paper for school (and like, get his degree lmao), but ever since he brought it homes he starts having oddly similar dreams where he meets a mysterious young man around his age (that talks a little oddly and is weirdly dressed too).

The vocaloid song The Apocalypse 30th gave me the basic "two people meet each other in a dream and fall in love" premise along with a few details here and there. So yes it's Espilver, I like them B)

As always, there's a lot of lore that'll come with the story. I get excited when I think abt it but I'm scared it'll turn into yet another really long story ;-; I'm already struggling to write Where the Water Narrows due to irl stuff I don't want to keep 2 audiences waiting and split my already thin focus ;-; but the story itself do be sparking joy to think about so I get to plan it when I'm away from a mechanical keyboard.

[mymarifae]

every time someone says "an should have been vbs's leader" or "saki should have been leo/need's leader" i want to . slam my head through concrete. oh you missed the point so bad

1. the "leader" thing is kind of really fucking insignificant outside of where each group's story begins and promo materials. it doesn't mean one character is the "main character" of the group. project sekai doesn't HAVE a main character in the first place it's not that kind of story. each individual character is equally important to not only their group's story but the over-arching story of the whole game

2. leo/need's story begins with ichika because she is ultimately the one that brings them all back together. not saki. it is ichika's determination and frankly stubbornness that gets through to shiho and honami. like, saki was literally ready to give up on reconnecting with honami! (out of love and respect for her choices but like) if she was the focus leo/need would have been honami-less!! but ichika refuses to let it go. much like she refused to let go of their friendships throughout all of middle school.

when the story begins, we see ichika burnt out and hopeless. but that's only after years of trying and trying and trying and trying again to reconnect with shiho and later honami. this fandom does not understand ichika's character well . she's not meek and she doesn't back down easily she's not some like... fumbling "girlflop" she's incredibly driven and strong-willed. she lost some of that due to depression and isolation but as of leo/need's most recent arc ender she has pretty much regained her fiery spirit. she's leo/need's lead singer and MC for a reason

3. vivid bad squad's story opens with kohane because she's the only one who hasn't grown up/partially grown up on vivid street. if an or akito had been the "leader" we would have lost the magic of getting to know vivid street and its people and unique culture. it's all average every day life for them, but kohane is experiencing it all for the first time. it's only through her eyes that the audience can understand just how very special vivid street is

4. one more thing: you could say that the "leaders" represent the themes of each group and the general direction of their story arcs. vivid bad squad, among several other things, is all about improvement and growth and overcoming challenges and creating something new and finding a place to call home within a community. who better to represent that but the socially anxious newbie who never felt like she belongs anywhere and would never do anything with her life?

leo/need is about love and the ability to endure all hardships and preserve that love . it's about having a heart big enough to hope for the impossible and the willpower to make it reality. ichika, in all her hard-headed stubborn painfully persistent glory, is perfect for that.

similarly, mafuyu isn't nightcord's leader because nightcord is ultimately about healing. hope. finding a way to make life worth living again. these aren't paths he would have chosen on his own. he gave up on himself a long time ago. as did ena and mizuki, in their own ways. the best person to represent hope is the one who refuses to give up on anyone and stubbornly believes she can save them all

wonderlands x showtime is about moving forward to a brighter future and not letting the past keep you shackled in place. it's also about having lofty dreams and the selfishness to pursue those dreams. both of these things are why emu Isn't wxs's leader; she lacks that selfishness (i'm not using this word in a negative sense btw; i think being selfish can be a good thing. and sometimes being selfless is a bad one) tsukasa (and rui) has, and she often clings to the past.

and as far as more more jump and all their own themes of hope and never giving up go, of course their leader has to be minori. she brought three disillusioned, jaded ex-idols hope and reignited their passion! she's the walking embodiment of hope itself

[a-local-idiots-shitpost]

Can I request the brothers with a half demon MC?

Yes and I hope you´ll like it, I also added Diavolo because I thought it would be interesting, hope you don´t mind :D

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

Lucifer:

a half Demon? how interesting, it seems like Diavolo´s plan to unite all three realms already succeeded, even more so without them knowing

honestly he will be a lot more strict in the beginning simply because he thinks your more durable than a simple Human

I mean he´s right you are more durable than a simple Human but he still shouldn´t treat you like his Brother

he´s pretty brutal sometimes

after that? I mean everybody knows they will be simps

but he will show you of every chance he get´s only difference between normal Mc is that when you can use your Demon form he will invite you only to show off

bonus points if your a Pride Demon, this will just increase his Pride

Mammon:

during the first meeting he mistook you for a new Demon and tried to take your money

needless to say Lucifer caught him

didn´t stop him from trying to take your money afterwards though, or any time after this until you got your pact with him

he will definitely say he doesn´t care that your partially Demon but watch his face when he finds out your Parent was a Greed Demon, which in turn also means you are one

he´s trying to impress you with things any Greed Demon would be impressed with, mostly a lot of valuables

it might take him a while to understand that you won´t be swayed by this

and that you don´t even act like Greed Demons usually do (blame the Human parts)

Leviathan:

he feels threatened by you for some reason??? a Human who until a short while ago didn´t even know they were partially Demon???

or maybe it´s because he can tell your an Envy Demon and doesn´t want you taking his title, actually would that even be possible?

Whatever! he only needed you to trick Mammon no reason for the both of you to ever interact again

if only he knew that not only will he eat those words but also deeply regret them

because not only are you very charming but now he has someone who can understand his Envy

I mean his Brothers can say they understand how he feels (they won´t) but there is no one better than Envy Demon to know what another Envy Demon is gong through with!

even if they are just half

honestly I feel like you guys could have an even deeper bond, more so if you´re an shut in Otaku too (but he probably won´t believe you)

Satan:

was genuinely curious if your birth was as weird as his

he knows it won´t be but he´s curious about the challenges of a Half Demon, Half Human (especially if you´re a Wrath one)

did it cause you problems later in live? for example more aggressive behavior? social isolation? trouble seeing yourself as your own person and not an extension of your parent?

the last one might be more personal

will definitely invite you to fuck shit up with him and maybe the occasional murder

just casual Wrath bonding you know?

he´s very curious about your life until you meet them, for example how old are you? I´m sure you´ll live a lot longer than the average Human

oh? why he´s asking that? no reason :)

Asmodeus:

doesn´t matter what type of Demon you are, even if you were his own Sin, as long as you aren´t interesting he won´t care about you

until he finds out you are immune against his charm and of course most important of all the untapped potential and power you have

then he´s all over you, the both of you are actually quiet inseparable

more so because of Asmo but you also enjoy spending time with him a lot

he´s very nice to you and always makes you look great

when he doesn´t get distract by you literally just looking at him that is

if that happens he will drop (metaphorically of course, those things are very expensive!) everything to keep eye contact with you

despite his charm being very useful it´s just so nice to look someone in the eyes without them being under his spell

I mean of course you are under his spell but it´s not because of Magic<3

Beelzebub:

definitely won´t like you staying with them

what if you eat his food? he knows best how Gluttony Demons are, even if you say no there is no way you would be able to hold back

didn´t believe you when you said Mammon made you eat the Custard and actually tried to kill you

Lucifer was actually surprised that despite this both of you befriended each other

Beel literally went from “I don´t want them” to “if anything happened to Mc I would kill everybody and then myself”

because your friends now he doesn´t mind sharing his food with you either, especially when he notices you haven´t eaten in a long while (ten minutes)

he does not know because your only Half Demon your Sin doesn´t affect you as bad

Belphegor:

well this will be awkward

I mean you did free him and made pacts with his brothers, but your still partially Human so…

yeah he was still a dick but at least he hesitated for a moment and got kicked in the face :)

which ended in a brawl between both of you, they needed Beel and Mammon to separate both of you

after that you became friends? everybody is just as confused as you on how this works

honestly it seems like the only time he was interested in you being partially Demon was when both of you meet

now he just uses you as his pillow and doesn´t care what you are

Diavolo:

a Half Demon how marvelous! he didn´t even start the exchange program and it already shows results

now all he need to find you an Angel and all three Realms would be united…

oh you heard that!? oh… you didn´t actually? great! it wasn´t anything interesting anyway!

spoilers he will regret thinking about setting you up with an Angel, he thinks you would be a better ruler for the Devildom :D

he´s definitely interested in the history of your family, which parent is the Human? did you ever enter the Devildom? can you use magic? do you have a Demon form? and countless more

maybe you would be willing to talk with him over Dinner?

[dazaispinkietoe]

Levi Analysis !!

OKAY LEVIS BIRTHDAY ANALYZING HIM WITH DR PEPPER IN MY DR PEPPER SHIRT LETS GO YIPEE

Brief description of his character, Leviathan is the 3rd eldest/most powerful brother of the seven. He’s the sin of envy, for some reason a Navy general, but mostly known for his introverted personality and social anxiety. 

In Celestia, Leviathan carried out a similar role. But unlike the other brothers, he wasn’t much happier than he was in Devildom. In Nightbringer, Leviathan says that he felt like he didn’t belong anywhere. He felt like he had no purpose, which is likely why he took on these big roles, feeling like without them he’s just a waste of space. Touching on this, that’s one of the reasons for his sin. I’ve talked about this before, but because of the displacement Leviathan felt, his reaction was one of envy, looking down on himself for what others had that he didn’t, and once he did have it, moved on to something else. He can’t be satisfied because of this, which is why he constantly plays games that he can consistently level up in or at least use to distract himself. That could also be one of the reasons he has so many outbursts. If you’re constantly distracting yourself, when you’re not able to, you don’t handle it as well. Instead of being like Belphegor, though, all of the external and internal self hatred causes Leviathan to lash out in a different way. Instead of having an annoyed reaction, he has more of a “How dare you?” reaction. I can assume this is because he feels like everyone has so much more than him, which leads to him thinking that because everyone must have so much more than him, they must be trying to brag. 

This is also why he is so protective and obsessive about his interests. When he finds something, he wants to make sure he stays at the top of it, so he can at least be good at something. When that’s challenged, he starts feeling worse than normal, and that form of escapism isn’t really escapism but more like a chore or something he has to do to just stay at the top of. I could imagine that he also feels like a failure and blames himself for Lilith’s death. His job in Celestia had to do with keeping people safe after all, and he couldn’t even do that for the person closest to him. Not only that, but after everything he was still thrown out. Now he had to start over again, with people actually judging him. After he fell from Celesita, Leviathan felt isolated. He didn’t have a title here, or anything to do but sit back and play his games. Until he met Henry, he felt totally alone, his brothers didn’t really want to interact very much, and if they did there were pretty much always arguments or fights. Once he met Henry, he felt like he could understand someone for once, even if that someone was just a snake. Snakes are known for being feared, or seen as vermin that need to be removed. He could probably empathize with the snake, especially after Henry had pretty much wandered into their house, where he wasn’t really welcome. Leviathan had similar features as Henry, too, with his tail being similar to serpents or sea snakes.  

But eventually, he had to let that snake go. Not because it was unhappy, it was really the opposite. Him and the snake got along too well, but Leviathan was too insecure to see that. He thought he was holding the snake back, so he opened the tank to let him go, and Henry left because he thought Leviathan needed more friends. This reminds me of Leviathan’s relationship with MC in a way. In a lot of the chats Leviathan is in, he’s insulting himself, talking about how MC is the only person to understand him, or apologizing in the form of self deprecation. He probably feels like MC deserves better than him and is trying to give MC excuses for why they should leave him. 

Leviathan is also extremely empathetic. I feel like a lot of people ignore this side of him, but he has a tendency to give inanimate objects personalities or feelings, like how he was afraid to go into a store alone because he felt like the clothes were judging him. One of the articles I read on this said this could be because of over inclusivity, which would make sense because if you feel left out you’re more likely to try harder to not let anything else feel the same. 

I HAVE MORE TO SAY BUT IM RLLY ON A TIME CRUNCH RN AND HAVENT HAD MUCH MOTIVATION IM SORRY </3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEVIATHAN I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH

[ravenadottir]

writing as a producer, not as a writer

to explain that title i need to talk about writing as a writer first. i promise everything will make sense in a bit.

as a writer you have a few steps to follow when writing fiction, whatever genre that might be. one of those steps is characterization. building a solid foundation over a trope so you have a well constructed person. it's called a person because there must be a personality attached to them, and not all writers follow this step... which can result in all those main characters syndromes known as "everybody loves her but she has the charisma of a bag of flour".

now, writing drama requires you to understand people and motivation. if you don't comprehend those concepts, all you have is isolated events and no connections or links to your characters.

let me give you an example using season 2 of litg.

if you trade hannah and chelsea's lines after day 24, will the characters make sense? would you say they're exchangeable? exactly, NO! because both of them have very defined personalities and individual traits. they might share an interest, sure, but they're not the same person.

now that we got these steps out of the way, let's write as a producer, which is what writers of seasons 1 and 2 were doing.

i've always hated seasons 3 and 4, but for one of them i couldn't quite put my finger on why.

season 3 is honestly a rainbow festival where kitties lick your face and shit bombons, i hate it. nothing exciting happens, and when something slightly more filled with energy comes along it's accompanied by your li forgetting your name... it's a laughable attempt on drama, and to me personally, no. it's a fuck off from me dog.

season 4, however, seemed to be coming strong for the drama because so many players asked for it. we badgered them asking for something, and um... the delivery was absolutely, for lack of better word, shit. and now that i've replayed a few episodes i understood why: producing.

seasons 1 and 2 were written from producers' perspective. once you have defined traits and characteristics, you have real people. now, if you want to instigate drama, how do you push those people's buttons?

by introducing raunchy challenges that make sense, bombshells that are irresistible to them, intriguing games that will plant a seed of doubt in their minds about certain people... contests, casa amor, more bombshells right after a brutal dumping, returning islanders.

for the most part the drama in those first two seasons was pretty realistic, and that is the reason! mason and levi getting angry, squaring up because the other is hitting on mc, mc not taking shit from anyone, lucy trying to sabotage her ex's current relationship mostly because she wasn't over them, erikah being mad and jealous and acting out of impulse... and that's to mention only a few of the feuds on season 1.

season 2 had so many classics: roccogate, lottie's explosions, every single fight about loyalty but the one instigating was also a flawed person (sitting on their own ass and talking about someone else). clandestine kisses, clandestine plans, doubt about loyalty through producers' doing, such as the tweet challenge. this season was built so well because the writers were thinking as producers!

it was a powerful combination of producing-writing and realistic characterization.

and after you introduce things or people that will cause the drama, one thing you need to do is to give your characters some development, whether positive or negative, BECAUSE PEOPLE REACT TO THINGS, and depending on who that person is, they'll react DIFFERENTLY.

did we have that on season 4? 3? ex-in-the-villa? did we have anything remotely human such as emotions or people? yeah, didn't think so.

the reason why i was put off from replaying season 3 is because they act like a bunch of pixels, and not like people. the writing is so weak and so convoluted, tired and lazy, i can't bring myself to play those seasons repeatedly. it takes me out of the story because there's nothing serious or entertaining happening.

individually, the characters might be hot, or cute, or both. together, as a group, MOST BORING SHIT I'VE EVER READ.

take the rahim-jo kiss as an example of how to pull your reader in. elisa told chelsea about the kiss because she knew the girl would blab, since she'd done it before (lottie and gary's event). that single piece of gossip goes to show almost everyone's expectations and reactions, consequentially showing us, the players, new things about the ones involved and it worked so well from a writing perspective. this is what it caused:

elisa blaming chelsea even though she was the one who gossiped. we get a pretty good idea of how elisa deals when in crisis, specifically when she's trying to get rid of the guilt.

shannon being sexist and aggressive towards jo instead of bringing rahim to the ordeal, which also reinforces the fact that she didn't want to let rahim go because he was her safe bet to the finale.

chelsea crying out about not wanting to hurt anyone, and dealing with her problems by drinking and trying to pretend nothing is happening, or that it's not that serious (even though she yells about gary in a challenge right after face-sucking elijah).

jo lying about the whole thing, clearly scared of shannon's reaction, and throwing insults around because she doesn't know how to deal with being caught.

ibrahim hiding because he can be such a pussy, and honestly doesn't really care for shannon.

the boys walking out because they don't think this is worth the drama

lottie provoking people by ignoring the questions about the kiss and asking about the towel.

hope trying to minimize the damage, always the mother.

and mc can do pretty much nothing about anything, it's our choice.

finally, the pool dialogue we have with bobby, and how emotionally drained he is despite this not being about him. it shows that he cares about the group.

just by introducing someone that rahim would surely like, the "producers" hit jackpot. they brought a girl that is an athlete, awkward, tattooed, and sent that girl on a date along with the guy that has a taste for girls like that, to a fucking spa. GUESS WHAT? they didn't have to push their lips together, they just knew rahim, and they knew he was frustrated with shannon.

by the way, introducing a strong-minded girl who knows what she wants, and doesn't fiddle in casa amor, is how they managed to make rahim choose her, because at that point, priya was history due to her pass at noah.

there you go, two dramatic events just by introducing people that would turn his head. drama that can last for days, and generate so many meme's, so many gif's, so many quotable pearls and classics to push the show on social media further more.

season 4's drama was like elisa telling chelsea the secret, and then chelsea blabbing about it but never once hinting she was dramatic as hell. on season 2 we have multiple instances of chelsea doing that, and not just with other characters, with us too, so it makes sense elisa would seek her to get the word out.

so when lexi pulled and threatened mc, i was like "yesss, finally, some drama!!" but then the next day she was like "ah yes, i was the little bobeep of the fucking i don't care tv show-shire" and i was so... confused ???? because why would the girl that was so passive-aggressive with me yesterday join me in the kitchen and tell me an anecdote??? one that is not relevant to anything and doesn't tell me how she was affected by my presence there ???

it was SO FUCKING RANDOM.

did we have random chats in the villa on seasons 1 and 2? ABSOLUTELY. but who started those? the crackheads! tim, gary, bobby. it was never hope or lottie who tried to diffuse drama by talking about random things, no! that was always the boys, mostly because they were either bored or uncomfortable, which falls into place with their personalities!

i sincerely can't bring myself to play season 4 because all the drama was apparently fabricated for shock value, and wasn't rooted in a true concise storyline or plot.

again, i'll use lexi and "YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY MAN" ordeal. what did she do after we picked kobi? ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOTHING. i was ready for her to pull a butterfly knife and start swinging, mortal kombat style... maybe even try to pull our mc's spine right out of our noses, but instead... she was just there, not saying or doing anything.

the repercussion of our choice doesn't match the promise, or the characterization that was given before. if lexi had drowned my mc i would be like, "ok, work, that makes sense." but she didn't do anything about it.

bobby had to hold lottie back when we chose gary on day 10, and she's incredibly creepy and cryptic the next morning. even takes a few jabs at pissing mc off until the very end, because she doesn't give up on gary and thinks she's entitled to have him. her actions match her personality, and lottie walked so lexi would trip, fall and crack her skull.

the producing worked in so many instances, more than times that didn't, so explain to me, WHY DIDN'T THEY REPEAT THIS FORMULA IN UPCOMING SEASONS.

for instance, boat party. instead of having an episode or two with your li, and building up for them to leave after a serious fallout, and that being the climax in your storyline, NO! that was the setup for the boat fucking party. it happened in 50 taps or less. WHAT WAS THE REASON?

i hate everything fusebox produced after season 2 but like... for different reasons.

everything feels like riverdale, it's a bunch of absurd and over-the-top shit happening, cringe dialogue, only to have zero any impact on the people involved, no consequences, not even vestigial feelings. it's for the shock value and shock value alone.

it seems the writers and writing directors are thinking episode by episode, instead of making an outline for the season, so we're left with a lot of isolated incidents that overall don't make any sense, and don't foreshadow or create any repercussions.

you cannot draw a timeline with any season beyond season 2. and i hate that lazy shit. i truly do.

i was going through the litg s5, the ex-in-the villa tag here, and... so many complaints about the toxicity of the characters! it's giving after saga. no real motivation behind the drama, no real repercussions, over-the-top scenes for no reason, obnoxious and unlikable people. it's a slap on the face of the players, it truly is.

but still, i was pushing myself to persevere and try to play season 5, and then i saw the design.

YOU CAN'T BE BAD AT THE WRITING AND THE DESIGN, PICK A STRUGGLE.

so... to sum it all up, writers were successful on early seasons because characterization and situations walked hand-in-hand. one caused the other and we were able to witness the consequences, and whether positive or negative, they EXISTED. they PRODUCED the show after coming up with characters that felt human, then just wrote the consequences for whatever it was.

anyway, just wanted to talk about this because it had been a while since i last touched an litg season, and when i realized why i hate recent ones, i had to write about it.

[zkwoodrow]

I should probably make an introduction oops..

Hello!! My name is Khrisz but by pen name I go by z.k woodrow (or just z.k)!

I am a 16 year old genderqueer person with a passion for storytelling and art. I aspire to become a YA horror author someday in the future!! I've been drawing digitally for around 5-6 years.

SO! What is there to expect from me?

• I am currently working on my first YA horror book: THE NEW NORMAL which has started its official first draft on March 31st of this year (2023) and WILL include illustrations drawn by me! :) I don't go by a schedule, so the date for this books release is a mystery of the future! But fear not, for I will be giving out updates from time to time ^_^!

• On the side of art, I occasionally draw characters from my book(s) and I'm mostly original content centered. Though I also SOMETIMES draw fandom artworks (Current hyperfixiation is The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White)

• My works heavily rely on symbolism! I like to work with animal symbolism the most. Though surely other topics will appear later on!

• And finally, A summary of all the projects I work on/will work on in the future:

- THE NEW NORMAL: Story about an autistic and intersex teenager who believes in monsters and looks up to "the humans" despite not being one. Her brother gets mysteriously kidnapped so she sets out into the world to bring him back. But her beliefs get challenged as the line between human and monster blurs... (YA HORROR NOVEL WITH ANIMAL SYMBOLISM ABOUT HUMANS THAT ARE TRULY MONSTERS AT HEART)

- KING OF CROWS(UNDECIDED TITLE): Story about a semi/non-verbal boy born into a strict (and somewhat abusive) catholic household who lives in a christian neighborhood with a few trouble making friends. Then the "angels" come and the world erupts into armaggedon...teens develop powers and everything they've ever been becomes a thing of the past as they try and not become 'saints'. (CONCEPT YA HORROR NOVEL ABOUT RELIGIOUS TRAUMA)

- TO ESCAPE BY A "HARE": Story about a boy with unusual rabbit-like ears who lives with his overly protective mother in an isolated house in the woods. His mother says the outside world is dangerous and he must stay at home. A few "bad apples" show up on his yard and tell him he's in danger living in his house. Then he starts seeing ghosts that beg to be freed and are thirsty for revenge. (CONCEPT YA HORROR NOVEL ABOUT THE ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MOTHER AND SON)

- BIRDCAGE (UNDECIDED TITLE): Story about a 16 year olds car crashing down in the forest so they are forced to stay the night in a strangers house who has dreams of becoming a well known artist. Soon they realize they can't leave, and find themself stuck in a cycle of torture with the painter who is mentally un-well. After 2 years of torture, a mysterious car pulls up in the driveway. It's the MC's car. (CONCEPT YA PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR NOVEL WITH A TIME PARADOX PLOT)

That's all there is for now! I hope you stick around!

-z.k

[sevenai]

Ikémen Prince Theory

warnings; includes possible spoilers for gilbert, me possibly being delusional

Hey, so this is kind of long but i wanted to post it now since his pv for the Japanese server just dropped. I know I said I did not want spoilers but I already saw the trailer before I realized lol. I came up with this theory a while ago and was planning on posting it later but since his route is getting released, I decided that I’ll do it now so that I don’t sound stupid for my theories while everyone who has already read the route will look at me like "what in the world." Again, this was my thought before the pv came out so if it’s wrong oops. Also, I am not sure but I think some people may already theorized this or thought about it; however, I still wanted to share my thoughts since it’s so fun! Please enjoy and let me know what you think! :)

Theory:

From what I have seen so far from events and stuff with the fan translations, Gilbert seems to have been betrayed/lied to, which is why he hates lies so much. There has been an unknown person in some of his recent events from his flashbacks and it seems as their relationship were close. That person may be his caregiver when he was younger or at least someone he trusted/had a soft spot for. It’s not entirely impossible to say that he loved them. It could be his mom (obviously not his dad lol) or someone else altogether. He even lied to save their feelings about the raisin food they made in that one event. Possible theories may stem from them betraying and ended up trying to kill him. This is a possibility as Gilbert tend to give hints of the normalcy for murder and betrayal in Obsidian. That can be the reason for his eyepatch, as he was nearly killed but ended up having to kill “that person.” This can be his first kill, which leads to how he is today, someone who loves to trample and conquer so that no one can lie and betray him again (or something like that). Saying this, it kind of reminds me of Gaara from Naruto. He was a sweet boy but his father and everyone hated and fear him besides one person, who ended up betraying him, causing him to build up a wall and end up in isolation.

Another possibility, one I’m more drawn to is that, maybe that “that person” was killed, most likely in front of his eyes. Why? Maybe because “that person” was close to Gilbert. Maybe little gilbert didn’t want violence and to kill (I’m sorry I laughed typing that) so the king set up an assassination to bring out that side of Gilbert. (This part is a little far-stretched) But wouldn’t that be suspicious? Of course, so the plan could’ve been to “kill” gilbert and “that person” will get in the way to protect him. Gilbert’s eye gets hurt and is about to die and “that person” jumps in. I am leaning towards him loving someone who died so that’s the main bases. MAYBE “that person” had “naive” ideals. Which may be why he is so taken with Belle. She reminds him of “that person.” “That person” who gave gilbert those ideals and those “hope” to maybe someday fix his country into one of peace or something like that. An beautiful ideal that doesn’t involve bloodshed, pain, and lost. The hope and belief that he doesn’t have to be like the emperor or like any of the other ruthless Obsidian.

What challenges these theories is the fact that we can see gilbert is automatically interested in Belle as soon as we meet him. We can argue that maybe that’s just how he is or maybe he had knowledge of the king passing so he knew that a Belle would have been appointed, in which he is finding out who. Which when he finds mc, he knew it was her and that’s when his interest started. It can also be argued that he knew who mc was. Maybe they met before? Past chance encounter trope? Maybe that person that died had connections with mc? There’s so many possibilities!

I would say that his intense desire to “trample and conquer” is so that he won’t ever feel that pain again. He does not want to know love just to have it taken and destroyed before him, not again, not ever. I also thought about how maybe “that person” that Gilbert holds so dearly could have died from all the wars and he is upset the emperor did nothing to help stop it, making him wanting to take control of every country, like how Chevalier believes that in order to protect Rhodolite, he must gain control of every country in the continent. I know that the theory of Gilbert being included in the "secretly dying trope" is a popular one and at this point, it may as well be true with how many foreshadows we’ve been given. So with that, I want to include more angst and add in the idea that he may have been "sick" (or whatever is happening with him) since birth or he had got a major injury during the event with “that person," which is life threatening. Pretty likely that they made a promise. Okay listen, they either promised each other something before "that person" died or Gilbert is doing it because they died. Either way it has something to do with "that special person."

MAN IDK WHERE IM GOING WITH THIS THERES SO MANY THEORIES I HAVE AND THEY SEEM SO FAR FETCHED IDK….. if you read all of that, thank you, I love you!!! Let’s cry over Gilbert’s route together when it’s released in English!

[reinekes-fox]

how would the ros react if MC were bullied

In the Swan route this will actually play a big role!

Bullying as we know it (cause the way you look, behave, money or such) itself isnt that common in the Avis Academy, its more of a system of it and built on ranks and the people who want to climb them. Its much more likely that someone would spread rumours that someone earned their rank through bribes or similar ways, or groups supporting one person to ascend to a certain rank to try and beat up the "enemies" faction.

ROs reaction under the cut

Chase:

Tbh he isnt surpried, just another nest of backstabbing vipers. Will stand up when he sees it happening, but he knows very well that there is very little he can do to challenge a system that rewards that kind of behaviour. He will talk with MC about how to best get revenge. Will he go through with it? Not even Chase knows.

Fuchsia:

She hides her shock very well, her training hasnt prepared her for the way the Avis Academy treats its ambitious students. She will smile sweetly, remember every word and glance that is aimed against MC and talk to those people later... asking them to reconsider their behaviour before things go unpleasent. For the bully.

Thrush:

Off course he knows how this game works, thats the reason why he is keeping his head down and focuses on his grades. Should he see it happen to MC, he will try and use his influence to stop it. But he wont actually do anything else, knowing it wont work, instead offering an open ear later to MC, always reminding them that the Academy will soon be over and that none of those assholes will matter by than.

Astoria:

So you remember how I called her the red flag RO? She wont care. Unless MC got seriously hurt or visibly troubled. And the words she will say also wont be comforting, instead she will chide MC that this is how the world works and they should and will get used to it. Besides they shouldnt listen to people beneath them.

Marter:

They would probably know about what happened because they have eyes and ears everywhere... the revenge for MC would be swift and probably unnoticed by MC themself. Bulies would get messages that are veiled intimidations. The Bullies would actually stop with their behaviour, thinking they just managed to piss of some really powerful person within the Divine Flock. However the glances and isolation for MC would get worse, since to the Bullies that just confirmed that sth is definitely going on.

[jerzwriter]

Hi!

#17 and #34

I don't know if the questions are for MC and this counts as cheating lol but I'm really curious about #36, for Ethan, Tobias & C/K!

Hey there, I am so sorry it took so long! I am finally catching up on asks! From this list.

17. What did they write on their resume that made Dr. Ramsey personally select them out of the pool of applications? Did they attach an essay? Did they have any remarkable accomplishments?

I think it was a combination of things. First, her grades and accomplishments were outstanding. She was clearly one of the top candidates based on that alone, but that alone would not have impressed him. But Kaycee/Casey also had also been involved with ground-breaking research in med school and remained committed to volunteering and providing healthcare to those who did not otherwise have access. He was flummoxed over how anyone could manage to do that much during med school. I imagine he was supposed to be part of an interview process but was unable to do so. I think the team of doctors that spoke with MC relayed positive results back to the board that made the decision and Ethan advocated strongly for her.

34. In case your character is in a relationship, what is their approach to managing a work/life balance, all while working 16-18+ hours a day?

And you wonder why they have friends/partners at work? lol at least it's possible to see them. Here's the thing, it's going to be challenging as a resident, for sure, even as a new attending who needs to prove themselves. But most attending physicians in the US work in the 40 to 60-hour range. Sure, some work more, but I don't think 16-18 hour days 5-6 days a week is in the long term for my MCs (or their LIs for that matter).

With Ethan/Kaycee, I think their own workaholic tendencies will be the real issue. When it's just the two of them, I can see them putting in tons of hours at work, but they see each other there all the time, and they're both doing what they love, so it doesn't seem like a sacrifice. Also, they make a rule early on that one day a week is all theirs - they're off together, and the day is spent together. But when Emma comes along, I think there will be a seismic shift in that. They will reassess and change the way things are done for sure. This is also one reason why they only want one child; they know more would not be wise for them.

With Tobias/Casey, I believe they are workaholics too, but not to the same degree. I view E/K as more live to work, whereas T/C aren't exactly work to live (especially since Tobias has the means to work very little if he chose to), but they definitely see that there is much more to life than work alone. They saw that as individuals, and once they were together, having time away from work was even more imperative. Their careers were still active/demanding, even after their first two girls were born. But after the third, they started a private practice. They were committed to making their family their priority and focal point from that point on.

36. If they're thrust into a zombie apocalypse, what is their go-to move as a medical professional? Preventing the disease by exercising people to quarantine themselves or isolating themselves and figuring out a cure? Prevention or cure?

I'm a little befuddled by this question because as medical professionals, there really is no isolating themselves during a crisis like this, as we all just witnessed with Covid. Physicians and other medical workers had to work, had to be exposed, often not even being able to be near their own families at the time. I have many friends in the medical field and, holy shit, the stories of what they endured.

I think all 4 would encourage people who could quarantine to do so, to try to prevent the situation from becoming more dire, but, they'd be forced to be out there and dealing with it, and I don't see any of the four saying they'd want a pass.

Thanks for the asks and again, thanks for your patience! :)

[wordstro]

oh dear. reading the got au felt like watching a car crash in slow motion JGDGJDGJDJFDS like u just know. u just KNOWW this is gonna end horribly and yet u just cannot bring urself to look away??

the loneliness, ohhhh the loneliness. i find it so interesting how u manage to isolate ur mcs from the rest of the world in so many ways and then always dig INTO what that means for a person and how it affects them. it's always so tragic too :((( let me give your mcs a good ol' hug, every single one of them :((((((

and even when they have people around them it does nothing for them, often makes it even worse. like here, yeosang likes to play his games but ultimately does not really care for y/n when it comes down to it, mingi (my BOY <33333 *sobs* i lov him) is sweet and kind and the closest thing to a friend they have but ultimately can't do a whole much for them, can't protect them from the court's games or even really be there for them, and for hongjoong, at least i feel like, this whole thing is just about possession. i don't believe that he loves y/n, i don't even think he likes them very much, but in his eyes they're his after all the time spent together and every time they have challenged him in the past and he WILL make them realize it by having them completely dependent on him.

i think that's what his whole "you will ask for my help" schtick is really about: wanting the mc to be so vulnerable and so helpless and defenseless that they have no other way to go but to him. and marrying san would save them from exactly that: their mother, who would want to elevate their pain as much as she can from how far away she is, would want the best for them suggested him, and even mingi, who seems to be at least a little in love with y/n, has nothing bad to say about him. and it makes it all even sadder imo: knowing so well that marrying san would save them from so much pain, and maybe they could have a better, happier life even. and instead, from the looks of it, they're getting pulled straight into the black hole because hongjoong and his stupid little ego can't stand not being all-powerful💀

ON ANOTHER NOTE: suffering immensely under brainworms planted into me by imagining hongjoong with long white hair. HE'S PRETTY ENOUGH ALREADY WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!!!!!!!

thank you so so much for the thoughts and also the wormies. cannot wait to see where you're gonna take this!!💕

🍋 anon

omggg hi!! car crash in slow motion is the perfect way to describe the got au I literally feel like I'm writing one omg

every one of my mcs are always so SAD and I try so hard not to make them so sad, but dkjsfnskjn

yeosang's games here are so unfortunate, because the consequences are SO much worse and everyone knows it you know? also mingi is my LOVE so I always write him so sweetly. in the end he can't do anything and it sucks because in another life y/n and mingi could have been friends :(

ohhh i'm 👀regarding what you said about hongjoong. maybe he cares, maybe it's all just a game for him, but either way the man is toxic as hell as targaryen men are lmaooo :(((

ALSO PLEASE IMAGINING HONGJOONG WITH LONG WHITE HAIR IS THE EXACT REASON WHY I STARTED THIS. i thought targaryen hongjoong and was watching house of the dragon and then i was like DAEMON HONGJOONG????????????? and my brain exploded. just imagining him all pretty with white hair and robes and riding dragons 😳

[thephoenixandthecrocodile]

First Week of NaNo Update

The first week of NaNoWriMo is over and I've made a lot of progress in terms of word count, but have been stuck in terms of plot.

Word count wise, I've written 13,070 words so far, making the Demon Book 43,964 words in total. However, I'm only on chapter seven and not even halfway through part one. So, this is going to be a fat book, haha.

Plotwise, I'm still stuck where I've been since October, Part One: Vasily. This started as one chapter broken into five sections, but each section ranged from 4000-7,000 words, so then they became chapters and it went from five to nine chapters. This section is giving me a lot of trouble and I think because it needs to do so much at once. It needs to introduce one of the main forces of the book: Vasily Karaminov, a child soldier turned spy turned priest turned most wanted man in the world. It needs to introduce the people who knew Vasily personally, who was affected by Vasily's work, either as a spy or a priest, and the world Vasily helped create. It needs to introduce the antagonists and their twisted world view. It also needs to introduces a lot of the social, political, and religious set up of the region. And, finally, it establishes Vasily's relationship with his LIs: Dmitri, who has so many secrets I can't keep track of them all, and Sophia, a misplaced middle class white lady who is running from her family and homeland.

Troublesome MC - Sophia Henderson

Sophia is actually one of the books MCs and writing from her perspective has been really challenging. I normally don't write from the POV of female identifying characters (except for my lesbian witch who came from a gangster family) and she is both a boring character but also surprisingly complicated, haha.

She comes from a middle class, white family who work in real estate. She is a Hevian from Heva, a colonial "democracy" that has colonized a third of the world. Her father is an abusive asshole who is invested in keeping the status quo while her mother tries to survive the asshole that is her father. She has six brothers, is the middle child, and the only girl. Because of this her father put her on display a lot and his friends, who never touched her, got very friendly as she became a teenager. Meanwhile, her father pressured her about marriage and having kids and she rebelled by having meaningless, sexual relationships with the dredge of the upper class. She went to college for an education and worked in her father's real estate company, finding a way to escape by taking a job in the newly colonized city of Potushar in the Hcasza region.

Problem is that Potushar is being colonized by Heva's neighbor: Gargain and they're still working out several trade and land agreements. The Hevians have a bridgehead in Hcasza which they call New Bearcaska. The Gargainians have complete control over the northern city, Brost, and have even restored most of it's railroad. Brost sits on border of Heva's colonies in the Ignis Desert and the only way to connect New Bearcaska to Brost is through Potushar. Despite the Gargainian's claims otherwise, Potushar is on the eve of full out revolt, led by people who survived several civil wars and warlords.

When Sophia arrives, she finds herself isolated and unwanted by the Gargainian officials who are trying to break the spirit of the people who called Potushar home. She finds herself drawn to non-Gargainians and quickly makes friends with the people most interested in seeing the Gargainians gone. This forces her to challenge many assumptions she has about the world, about Potushar and the Hcasza region, about her own country, Heva, and about herself. Heva is a multi-national, but segregated nation that tries to force Hevian as the only language spoken. Hcasza in general, and Potushar in particular, is a multi-national, multi-lingual, and multi-religious area, which makes Sophia uncomfortable at first. I'm having an interesting time exploring what that feels like for her and the things she has to work through to not be an ass like her father, especially since I've only experienced this a few times myself. It does allow me to slip in exposition without being too expositiony (hopefully).

Relationships are Hard

Funnily enough, Sophia's own uncertainty about her place in Potushar and amongst her friends isn't the biggest thing I'm struggling with. She is in a seven year relationship with Dmitri and develops a relationship with Vasily. The problem is that their relationships are just...well they're so fucked up.

Because of her father and the bullshit expectations he put on her, she has complex feelings about relationship. I also think she's is aro, which changes what she wants from relationships and can make them seem weird to non-aro people. Aro or aromantic means you feel little to no romantic attraction. I, myself, am aro-ace which means I feel little to no romantic or sexual attraction. It also means I struggle understanding what makes a relationship work and the difference between romantic and sexual attraction and what makes romantic feelings different from friendship feelings. Sophia has similar issues.

She met Dmitri first and was attracted to him during their first conversation because of his accent and because he is a charming person who thrives at making people feel special and wanted. They strike a friendship first, Dmitri feeling her out before introducing her to all of his friends and the important people of the city. They eventually strike up a sexual relationship that has its highs and lows and they break up now and then, but it's the only consistent relationship either has. They are both poly and have multiple partners, Sophia striking a relationship with a journal editor and activist, Nadya, which ends up being a friends with benefits type deal. Dmitri, however, Dmitri becomes something different. However, neither partner is willing to admit it because they both have relationship issues.

They also both have communication issues because, while they like each other, they only share the bare minimum with each other. Dmitri has so many skeletons in his closet he needs a walk in and while Sophia's secrets aren't as many or as dangerous, she sees no need in filling Dmitri in on her history. And so they have a sexual relationship and close friendship while knowing nothing about each other. As the years past, they learn little things about each other, like Dmitri has a Gargoyle sister and grandmother and suffered during the various civil war, but that's all Sophia really gets and she's ok with it. She knows who Dmitri is now and she figures if it was important he'll tell her when the time is right. She even asks him to move in with her and he agrees (that's how she meets his Gargoyle family who also move in with her).

Text in the aesthetic is from the song "For the Departed" by Shayfer James, so you know this relationship is going to end well.

Then they meet Vasily and they're both smitten. They both strike a sexual relationship with him and in the course of a month, Vasily becomes something different as well. Vasily who is tragic and shattered, but also charming and warm and gentle. Dmitri isn't gentle. Dmitri is a wild ride or active live wire that can make you feel wanted and needed, but there's also no rest, no moment for peace or quiet. Vasily, however, is quiet and comforting and knows how to make you feel safe, even though he, himself, isn't safe. That dynamic works and it's nice and in a city that is on the brink of war, it's a relief and so Sophia doesn't question it. Dmitri doesn't question it.

Then the assassins come after Vasily and Sophia's approach to relationships and her life is turned upside down. That's the scene I've been stuck on. We're both trying to figure out what she wants, why she's with Dmitri, Vasily, and Nadya, and what she needs to know to decide if she wants to continue being with them.

Judging from her past relationships, I think she may be demiromantic, which means she only develops romantic feelings after developing a strong romantic connection with them. Apparently that took a few years for Dmitri and Nadya, but only a month for Vasily? I suppose that either means that Dmitri and Nadya have been good for her or that feelings aren't predictable.

I feel that this relationship drama and exploration is really slowing down the plot, but it's also important because Sophia's relationship with both Vasily and Dmitri is one of the core relationships of the book and it's allowing me to develop Sophia into a full-fleshed out, complex character, but I also just want to jump ahead to the assassins hunting them through the city, haha.

So, that's how my NaNo is going. How is your NaNo going? What are some wins from your first week? What are some of the challenges you've encountered? Goals for this week?

[luckyqueenreign]

I’m now fully convinced this entire season is FB trolling us. Nothing else makes sense.

1. How in the hell can you put out a season of LOVE ISLAND and give the player literally no say in who we couple with? WITH ONLY 8 EPISODES LEFT! Every pairing has been forced on us. Sure…we can choose between Johnny and Nickasshole but they are literally the same damn person post CA, so it doesn’t count.

2. There were so many complaints about Nicky/Seb being friendzoned in season 3 that FB said “alright, bet” and now we have no friends. Clearly that’s not what we meant FB…you can’t really be that stupid.

3. All the complaints about season 2’s CA boys not being able to take no for answer…FB says “Problem solved. Now NONE of your choices matter.” Again…THAT’S NOT WHAT WE MEANT!

4. Season 2 MC was (until this season) one of the biggest doormats I’ve met in the interactive fiction world. But season 5 MC takes the fucking cake and scarfs it down. Only…she’s not getting her LIs fav shirt for it because there isn’t a LI to be found on that godforsaken island. She’s like the isle at a royal wedding, getting walked on for miles and miles while the entire world watches in boredom. And she has very little reaction to it! No internal dialog about how isolated these people should be making her feel. No worrying about how it’s nearly the end of the damn show and no one gives a damn about her. Nothing. She’s just strutting around, throwing out the occasional rebuttal to the onslaught of BS they are piling on her.

5. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “we want drama that revolves around MC”. Well…we got drama that revolves around MC. I guess most people didn’t ask for the drama to be logical, so sure…make it nonsensical BS. Speaking of, why is Kat pissed at me for not telling her I DIDN’T kiss Finn on the date?! WHY?! Even sitting aside the fact that she wasn’t coupled with him and didn’t even have her date with him yet, it still makes no damn sense. Who cares if you liked him…NOTHING HAPPENED. I also didn’t kiss Eddie, Suresh, Dana, Alfie or any of these other hoes. Should I run that by you too?

6. There’s been a fair bit about how everyone falls at MC’s feet and how annoying that can be. Some people like to be the pursuer from time to time. But we didn’t mean turning MC into Allegra where only one person is even remotely interested in her. Again…FB…you can’t be this stupid.

7. Not only have they taken our complaints and turned them into a textbook “careful what you wish for” lesson, they’ve taken the stuff we liked and went in the completely wrong direction with it. No Lottie-esque redemption for the Villa Bitch (or bitches in this case). We get CA again but only, they all suck…at least s2 CA boys aren’t toxic asshats. They give us fun challenges…only they make them terrible.

I’m going to finish this season because I’m a completionist and my anxiety won’t let me not finish it, but after this, I think I’m done. I thought I hit peak annoyance with FB last season, but holy shit was I wrong. And I’d love to say that it can’t get worse than this…but FB cannot be trusted and I am far less forgiving than my Suresh-loving MC.

And one more thing I need to vent about that I haven’t really seen mentioned too much today. How can Suresh not stand up for MC with this Niconny drama? Everyone else has known MC for a couple of weeks at best, but this guy spent over a year with her. He knows her. FB is out here trying to tell us this man still loves her and wouldn’t, at the bare fucking minimum, be like “huh…that doesn’t sound like the MC I know”. And why does Alfie ask US if we can be trusted but not the guy that’s known her for more than two years? What sense does that make? The writers ruined something that could have been great with this lazy writing.

lots of valid points here anon 😩😩😩

[isolatedbubble]

Romance in MXTX, Priest, and SHL

MXTX: Flower, Wine and Dreamworld

The romance in MXTX's works is like flower that grows in ice and snow; colorful, bright and hopelessly romantic, blossoms in misery and hardships.

It features a distinct "us against the world" mindset, depicting love as the only constant in the world. It's an eternal "dreamworld" detached from worldly matters, the perfect escapism as well as a source of strengths in the face of cruel reality.

Both MDZS and TGCF are a critique of mob mentality.

The contrast between CQL and MDZS is very interesting. While the former ends with LWJ taking charge, and therefore changing the world for the better, the novel ends with wangxian isolating themselves from grand politics and focusing more on helping individuals as recluse. It has an essentially pessimistic attitude towards the morality & intelligence of the collective. 

TGCF takes a slightly more optimistic approach, featuring the crowd being courageous under the right circumstances. However, both works share a similar undertone: putting one’s absolute faith in the collective is dangerous, whereas unconditional trust and devotion can be only found in one-to-one connection

MXTX herself compares MDZS and TGCF to 花间一壶酒 (A cup of wine among flowers), MDZS being the wine and TGCF being flower. She also compares MDZS to 风雪夜归人, the person returning home from snow and wind, and TGCF to 红泥小火炉, a small red furnace.

Priest: Breezing Wind and Burning Iron

The romance in priest's works is more complicated. It's the most gentle in its normal state, when it is rational and collected, in which case it's like the breezing wind, soothing, sweet and light-hearted. It gives the individuals more incentive to achieve their individual and/or societal vision, as well as more reason to value their own lives & well-being.

In Faraway Wanderers, the most distinct feature of WenZhou relationship is how in naturally sync they are, and how comfortable & smooth their dynamic is. They both have past burden, but it doesn’t matter, because they bring simple joy, understanding and happiness in each other’s lives.

In Sha Po Lang and The Guardian, the ML’s lingering love for the MC motivates them to become better version of themselves, to care about others, and to form a holistic vision about bettering society. 

In The Defective, Lin Jingheng(MC) explicitly said that Lu Bixing(ML) is the only meaning in his life. He had little incentive to care about his own life after his revenge plan fell apart. LBX helped him reconnect with his inner idealism, and gave him a reason value his life.

When the passion and fiery energy manifests itself, however, the romance is like burning iron, blood and fire. It isn’t actually toxic or unhealthy, but it's not pure and innocent either; in this case, it strives for something deeper and more intense, never content with the past or the present. The sheer intensity of relationship is like a double-edged sword, walking the fine line between unconditional devotion and dangerous obsession. 

SHL: Spring Water and Healing Open Wounds

The romance in SHL is like "spring water"; it's warm, gentle, nurturing. It breaks through the boundary between individuals to bring the couple closer to each other, taking them back to a utopia of their childhood dream, away from social pressure and responsibility. The theme central to their relationship is “salvation”: how love is able to bring people back to integrity.

Both drama wkx and drama zzs have lots of regret about their past sins and wrongdoings. Four Seasons Manor is essentially a metaphor for purity, acceptance and the safety of childhood home. How to make drama wkx open up and accept this safe harbor as his home is one of the most significant plot-lines of the show.

SHL couple is way more emotionally vulnerable and expressive. A significant part of SHL arc is healing the wounds in an open and honest way. They cuddle and confide in each other way more often, talk about their shameful past and even cry about their regrets in front of one another, which is very rare among MXTX/Priest works.

The heat of the relationship sometimes gets too hot and even burns; in other words, there are constant miscommunications, conflicts and misunderstandings in the relationship. However, they can never let each other go, because it's the only source of warmth left for them in their hopeless lives filled with regrets and guilt.

Similarities and Differences

*Note that this is not a SHL/TYK comparison. TYK is kind of an “unorthodox” priest novel; you will know what I mean if you have read 3+ of her works. 

Relationship Dynamic & Narrative:  

In MXTX’s works, the concept of “romance” itself is divined; and the characters are illustration of the ideal of “undying love”. People are made for one another, to complete one another. Her works use colorful symbolism (silver butterflies, the emperor’s smile, the 3 thousand lanterns, etc.) to depict this romanticized ideal of love. 

For MXTX, the romanticization of “destined love” is one of the most recurring themes of her novels. Therefore, the readers look at their relationship through rose-color glasses. Obsession is usually framed in a jolly & romantic light, and doesn’t feature much tension or stress, and has less negative or unhealthy undertone. 

In most of priest’s works and SHL, soulmates are not born but made, so they have to figure out how their relationship works step by step. Therefore the narrative is less of a “rosy picture”. 

Priest has a habit of using derogatory terms to describe relationships that are mostly healthy, but somewhat “bloody” and edgy, full of excessive passion and obsession. The most common phrase is “爱生忧怖”, a Buddhist term meaning “love results in worry and fear”. 

SHL obviously has to be more subtle in expressing love. That said, drama WenZhou are way more emotionally vulnerable and expressive than their novel counterparts, as well as most Priest & MXTX characters. They have a dramatic falling out once in a while, even towards the end. They barely fit the Chinese definition of Zhiji (to know me/to understand one another), but are “lovers” who are buried deep in their passion instead. 

Past, Future and Evolvement: 

In SHL, characters are encouraged to treasure past impressions that are thrown in figurative “wrappings”, whose luster is derived from age-old experiences (Psychological Types, Carl Jung). In other words, they are encouraged to root their love in a shared past, a Utopia of innocence. 

The contrast between The Defective and Word of Honor is very interesting to observe. Both involve long separation, and the suffering and personality changes hat comes from it.   SHL narrative frames their innocent childhood as something to cling to and return to. Drama WKX is encouraged to accept his identity as Four Seasons Manor disciple because it was part of his childhood past. This is a significant part of drama WenZhou relationship.

In The Defective, the narrative doesn't encourage the couple to dwell on the past that much. On the contrary, the all-knowing AI explicitly discouraged the MC from “comparing past to present”. They are advised to accept changes, however painful it might be, and build a better, more equal dynamic out of it, evolving from one-sided pandering to fighting side-by-side.  

In Priest’s novels, the characters rarely return to something in the past, but look into the future. Change is usually framed as inherently beneficial, albeit usually painful and rocky, the implication being that you need to constantly strive for something better.  

Sha Po Lang is a good example of this, with Gu Yun’s changing attitude towards Chang Geng after he as he matures, gradually showing his intelligence in politics. CG starts referring to GY as Zixi instead of YiFu is also a sign of this change---to see him as equal rather than a parental figure & protector.

The Defective is even more obvious in this regard, with both parties uncomfortable with the change initially, but gradually adjusting to the changes during their 16-year separation. The ML also stops calling MC by his surname “Lin”, as a sign of viewing him as equal. 

In MXTX’s works, change in personality or relationship dynamic is neither framed as painful or good. It just happens. It’s a natural flow that take place when it does. Their relationships are rarely challenged by change. They are objectively at a better place compared to their past, but it’s merely the result of a series of events rather than a deliberate choice or struggle.  

WangXian’s relationship naturally changes over time after WWX’s rebirth, but neither of them really struggles with the change. 

Xie Lian doesn’t even recognize Hua Cheng as the someone from his past, so they start out as friends getting to know each other. 

Salvation and Changing one another: 

Priest herself stated in an interview that she doesn’t believe in the concept of salvation, since people have the inner capacity to be their own savior. Therefore, priest characters usually don’t actively try to change their partner’s morals or personality. Some might be willingly influenced by their partner, but there’s rarely an element of moral condemnation. Even when there is a conflict between different values, the options are 1) to reconcile them by choosing the middle ground 2) to maintain their independence and tackle it with nuance 3) to break up.

On surface level, Mo Du/Silent Reading is about Luo Wenzhou being Fei Du’s salvation. However, as LWZ pointed out himself, Fei Du would’ve been a good person at heart with or without his influence. 

In The Defective, when Lu Bixing mistakenly thought Lin Jingheng stayed in the Eighth Galaxy against his own wishes because of their relationship, and that their priorities are irreconcilable, he even thought about breaking up. Of course he was not serious about it, but this showcased that he would never try to change LJH’s convictions. 

In SHL, however, the concept of salvation is central to the theme. Some find it strange that SHL make drama zzs the more “moral” one of the two, despite his action being more objectively questionable. In fact, the only reason he get framed as more “moral” is that he admitted his fault sooner, and therefore could guide drama wkx’s path back to salvation: to recognize the goodness in people, make peace with external world, to clear his name in Jianghu, and to follow due process with his revenge plan to avoid collateral damages. 

“I tried to change you, but you end up changing me”, said drama ZZS. This relationship dynamic is never present in any of priest’s works I’ve read. Priest characters don’t *try* to change one another. 

Does MXTX believe in salvation? Hard to tell. One could argue that Hua Cheng would have be way more amoral and even immoral if it hadn’t been for XL. This is complicated and is a topic for another time.

However, it is certain that MXTX MCs don’t condemn each other morally. “The orthodox one defending their unorthodox partner in front of the world” is a common wuxia trope, but the way MXTX novels approach it is very different from SHL. 

HuaLian never had a serious falling out about being on different sides. Even when they disagree, they respect each other and love each other exactly the way they are. Hua Cheng didn’t approve of Xie Lian saving Mu Qing, but he didn’t interfere with Xie Lian’s decision. Xie Lian feels responsible for helping Shi Qingxuan in Blackwater arc, but he is perfectly fine with HC helping He Xuan keep secrets. In several cases where they have different values, they are able to make it work with ease.

LWJ never *morally* condemned WWX for his action, and never once objected to WWX practicing demonic cultivation after his rebirth. In fact, LWJ never objected to WWX’s morals; in their previous life he was worried about his safety, and struggled with what to do about certain situations due to his family background, but difference in morality is not an issue for them. 

The “righteous” one does not feel the need to guide their unorthodox partner or to be their salvation with regards to integrity. 

*The similarity & differences part is a bit messy and some points are not fleshed-out. Sorry about that. 

**I don’t claim to have the right interpretation. The lens by which we see different styles of romance is ultimately subjective. 

[ingenio-academy-if]

Can you give brief summaries of the ROs personalities and their romantic routes please? Thanks!

Hello! thanks for the ask! I am more than happy to provide that information, however, before we start a quick PSA.

I reserve the right to change any of these statements that I'm making in this post. The game is in early development, I am still learning new things about my characters every day! Changes are to be expected.

Are we all good on that? okay? okay.

This ended up not being brief at all...

Zane:

When you were friends Zane was a calm, loyal friend. A bit blunt and doesn't have the habit of smiling at strangers, but he was kind and mischievous.

Now he is simply cold. Angry, Very tense. He will not go out of his way to help you out, and honestly, he'll be mean. It all comes from a place of hurt though... and well, something else too.

His romance route is all about forgiveness. It's going to be a slow burn with some delicious tension once you've broken through the initial hatred he'll feel towards MC at the start of the story. But afterward, it'll be a tender love that the two of you will need to navigate together as plot shenanigans happen.

It will be easier to romance him in the poly with Aimé.

Evander:

Evander is aloof, he makes it very clear that he has absolutely no interest in being here. He doesn't really want to be in this class! But, he can't go against his father. He is a bit socially dense, having a hard time understanding the subtleties that happen in communications with other people. But he loves being right, and you will catch him smugly smiling whenever he is.

His romance will be tension, he obviously wants you but something is holding him back. Goes out of his way to be meaner because he doesn't know how else to push you away. Entering a relationship with him will reveal a childish side of him that he hides from others. And it will help him realize that hey, maybe he shouldn't just give up on himself and those around him.

Aimé:

Aimé's whole theme is love. They love fiercely and hard, they crave softness and understanding. They don't want to be alone yet find themselves somehow isolated in the school. They also don't speak of their past, how they got turned into a vampire, when. They can be pretty airheaded, but they're so so SO polite!

Aimé's romance will be sweet and cute, they will be happy to have you around. There's just one problem. Their fanclub, and well society too since vampires are thought to be evil bloodsuckers but lets focus on the real issue. Actual people will try to stand in the way of your blossoming relationship, and you need to come to terms with the reality that dating an immortal might get... tricky.

Nova:

Nova is a go-getter, a top-grade student, with that you'd think that they're the serious type. But no! They're pretty bubbly, they love interacting with people. But most of all, they love being in charge and they love a good challenge. If your mc gets popular, she might view them as a threat, which will excite her a lot.

Nova's romance route will be a whirlwind romance, you can start it off quickly and she is all-in almost immediately. She will try to treat you well but issues will arise that are connected to dating a werewolf. She will be a jealous and slightly possessive lover.

Kane:

Kane is weird. They are happy to see you before you even know who the hell they are. They treat you like an old friend who they haven't seen in years, a person that's important to them. Yet if asked they dont reveal why that is. Something about them isn't right, they want to get close to you, but for what reason?

Kane's romance can be a whirlwind romance, similar to Nova, you can start it off early and then have all the secrets revealed when you are already in deep with Kane. Or, you can slow it down and learn the truth before being in a relationship with them, but after you've started having serious feelings for them. Kane's route will have many secrets, and suspicious behaviours, you just need to decide if they're worth it.

[mimondee]

Hello 😊 i'm a new follower! how are you? i hope you're doing great.

and i would like to have astrology reading. i specifically want to know which career best suit me(should i pursue), if you don't mind 😁

and the reply you can post it publicily. thankyou in advance ✨

here's my chart:

Whole house system

Placidus system (if necessary)

Hello there @faustina-christ! Thank you for requesting a free reading!

I'm doing wonderful, thanks for asking. I hope you're also doing alright :)

Starting this by mentioning that if something is completely inaccurate, feel free to point it out as that will help me improve my knowledge and approach. Feedback is also very much appreciated.

Without further ado, let's begin!

First I want to point out that you have a cradle "configuration" in your chart which goes like this: Moon sextile Saturn, sextile Neptune; Neptune sextile Pluto | Moon trine Mars+Pluto, Saturn trine Neptune | Saturn opposition Mars+Pluto. Usually, it means that there's a real creative potential, though the problem that comes along with it is that you may be tempted to just distribute your energy/focus everywhere, attempting to focus on multiple areas rather than putting everything in one place. If you're aware of what you're good at but are either going through a bad period or you're struggling with dealing with problems, there's a chance that you might take this talent of yours and use it as an escape. Worth mentioning that you may also feel the need to have your talent/skill validated by other people.

The challenge here is being portrayed by the Saturn opposition Mars+Pluto: <<note: the right way of writing the Saturn opposition Mars+Pluto is Mars opposition Saturn and Saturn opposition Pluto, but for the sake of keeping this simple and clear, I'm writing it like that>> saturn opposition mars: - it represents that there are obstacles you have to deal with when it comes to pursuing your goals. you may also find that your timing may lack too which can lead to either acting out of frustration (being irrational) or feeling blocked/inhibited. this is why another thing that the Cradle shows is that you may be inclined to use what you're good at/talent to run away from reality because if this "opposition" happens too many times, the trines and sextiles are kinda like a safe zone. - saturn in the 12th house: can support your efforts in creating, especially if it involves artistic creation, but it also shows working in isolation - mars in the 6th house+retrograde: when mars is retrograde, among other things, some of its drive is being washed away so it becomes more passive than active. the thing that it points out though is that even if you're aware or not, you strive for perfection and self-improvement. so I'm thinking that whatever and whenever you're creating, you may focus a lot on perfecting that creation, as well as you want to see your improvement in it.

This leads me to my next point and that is you have a lack of earth. In the context of a career, I'm seeing this as you have the mind and drive for it, but the problem comes when you're trying to turn your talent into something stable, therefore making a career out of it. The reason why I'm saying this is, your chart points towards you being a creative person and taking that as a potential path for you, especially if it means you starting your own business/independently promoting yourself (Aries MC). You may even like this because it puts you in an active and competitive environment, which can bring fulfillment to you (aries moon). Though I feel like you might have considered this already but you never managed to bring yourself to take that leap of faith, due to having to deal with a lot of changes throughout your life that probably left you frustrated and somehow insecure.

If you look at your 1st house, you'll find the north node there talking about how you need to learn to have trust and confidence in yourself, as that will help you with finding/following your path easier. And if we look even further, on top of your 2nd house is Leo and one of the things that Leo energy speaks about is expressing yourself. With it being on the 2nd house, the house that's being associated with finances too, it points out that you could potentially make money through expression/creativity. And not to forget your Cancer Sun that gives you vivid imagination and lots of sensitivity.

All in all, I think you would be best suited for something that allows you to be active, competitive, creative, and is being expressed through/by using your body. One quick example would be dancing.

I hope this will be useful to you in some way. Again, thank you for requesting a free reading! 💜

- Dee✨

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Idle Chat with Kiro

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a feature which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

The CN server was recently graced with a new feature called 随便聊聊 (“Idle Chat”), where you can select a mood and talk to the love interests about work, life, and studies :>

Idle Chat with: Gavin / Lucien / Shaw / Victor

[ WORK - Topic 1: Overtime ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: We can visit that dessert shop today! Because I. Don’t! Have! To! Work! Overtime!

Kiro: Although we’re separated by the screen, I can sense Miss Chip’s happiness~

Kiro: Since this is the case, our challenge today will be to--

Kiro: Wipe! The! Dessert! Shop! Clean!

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: Went to work feeling muddle-headed today, which left me with a stack of incomplete work. Sigh, I might have to work overtime today.

Kiro: Did you spend too much time watching dramas last night?

Kiro: Next time, you have to stick to a regular sleeping timing.

Kiro: Also, isn’t the male lead by your side?

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: The market hasn’t been good lately, so the income I received has also gone down. I feel like I’ve left everyone down...

Kiro: Back then, MC went through such difficult times.

Kiro: I think these little twists and turns don’t account for much!

Kiro: Because you’re always producing miracles!

-

[ WORK - Topic 2: Income ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: I’ve received my pay~ I even have a bonus this month! Aren’t I incredible?

Kiro: As expected of Miss Chips!

Kiro: As a reward, I’ll give you a present.

Kiro: Want to know what it is?

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: I have no idea why, but I haven’t been interested in anything I do. Could it be because it’s a long time till payday?

Kiro: Mm... want to consider changing occupations and becoming my assistant?

Kiro: You’ll be paid daily.

Kiro: Also, there will be an additional, exclusive Kiro hug every day.

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: Working overtime again and again and again and again! There’s even a rainstorm outside! The most enraging thing is that I didn’t bring an umbrella!

Kiro: I checked the weather forecast beforehand

Kiro: So I knew there’d be a rainstorm

Kiro: Give me five minutes - I’ll be there soon!

-

[ WORK - Topic 3: Program Progress ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: Do you still remember the collaborative program I mentioned before? We plan to invite a mystery guest. Want to guess who he is?

Kiro: I’m guessing he is -- Kiro!

Kiro: If Miss Chips doesn’t invite me,

Kiro: I’ll be very hurt.

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: The reaction from the other party regarding this collaborative program seems bland. Actually, I also find the content a little boring. I have no inspiration at all...

Kiro: In my eyes, everything Miss Chips does is very interesting.

Kiro: But if you really have no inspiration,

Kiro: Need me to help you grab it back?

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: I’ve already made over thirty amendments to the proposal for this collaborative program. What more does the other party want?! What do they mean by a “vibrant black”??

Kiro: Oo... a vibrant black...

Kiro: It does sound like a difficult operation.

Kiro: Maybe it’s the same thing as how Apple Box’s jet-black eyes are bright even at night?

-

[ WORK - Topic 4: Program Results ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: The program I’ve been working on for months has finally gotten approved! If I were to continue doing it, I’d probably have gone bald... Should I place an order for hair-growth shampoo?

Kiro: Instead of hair-growth shampoo, I think what you need more is sufficient sleep.

Kiro: Or a limited-edition Kiro hug?

Kiro: I’ll decide on both of them on your behalf~

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: My daily self-reflection -- Has the program been approved? Not yet :(

Kiro: My daily self-reflection -- Do I think about Miss Chips?

Kiro: Always. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, do your best!

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: Good news. The program I’ve been painstakingly working on for several months has been rejected. :)

Kiro: Whenever my albums get delayed, I’ll take Apple Box out for a walk.

Kiro: Since Apple Box doesn’t have a slot recently,

Kiro: Why don’t I take you out for a walk instead?

🌻

[ LIFE - Topic 1: Losing Weight ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: I've reached my ideal weight! I’m really happy~ I can finally toss away the salad that even Apple Box dislikes.

Kiro: Although I didn’t think you were fat before,

Kiro: What’s most important is that Miss Chips is happy!

Kiro: P.S. You’ve stopped eating snacks recently - Apple Box and I are both very upset.

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: A sincere question - If your weight remained the same after dieting and exercising for a week, would you choose to feast ferociously on crayfish or barbecue? 

Kiro: Since your weight is so disobedient,

Kiro: Let’s punish it fiercely!

Kiro: Why don’t we have barbecue along with crayfish!

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: Why is it that every time I indulge in extravagant eating and drinking, I always scroll to a page showing models with incredible figures?! I’m once again putting up a flag to lose weight!!

Kiro: Promise me that you won’t go on a diet to lose weight.

Kiro: Effective exercise and a reasonable work-life balance is the correct way to do it.

Kiro: But will our weekly dessert day continue?

-

[ LIFE - Topic 2: Meals ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: Burp-- I had a buffet this afternoon, and I’m so full now. Let me secretly tell you that I had to support myself on the wall to get out.

Kiro: Hahaha, I’m also the same after a photoshoot,

Kiro: Wanting to stuff myself to the brim.

Kiro: Next time, let’s compete to see who is the true buffet killer!

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: I’ve entered a special bottleneck period - What should I have for lunch? What should I have for dinner?

Kiro: Mm... this is indeed a big problem which frequently stumps me.

Kiro: Want to watch a documentary on delicacies?

Kiro: You might be able to find some “inspiration” on what to eat.

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: I was seized by a whim and did some cooking. When I changed the seasoning just slightly, I ended up creating a mysterious, indescribable taste...

Kiro: Mm... has your cooking magic lost its touch temporarily?

Kiro: That’s all right 

Kiro: Tomorrow, we’ll try again together. 

-

[ LIFE - Topic 3: Reading ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: I came across a picture book today, and readers can use their fingers to make a dot in the book grow bigger or smaller~ It’s very adorable!

Kiro: I really wish Miss Chips were that little dot.

Kiro: That way, I can make you really tiny

Kiro: And store you in my pocket. 

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: There’s a book wasteland... Why can’t I find a single good book...

Kiro: Someone said that the most interesting book is a person’s life.

Kiro: Could the reason you’re unable to find a good book

Kiro: Be because your life is already very interesting?

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: I’ve been keeping up with a web series, but the author said that he decided to go on a hiatus today after receiving negative comments. My spiritual nourishment is gone...

Kiro: Negative comments truly make people upset

Kiro: Want to leave an encouraging comment to the author?

Kiro: Tell him that there are many readers who like his work!

-

[ LIFE - Topic 4: Games ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: Ding-- Dear respected customer, your gaming partner has found another interesting game. If you wish to know the name of the game, kindly reply with a ‘1′

Kiro: Rejected.

Kiro: Hahahaha, I’m just teasing you.

Kiro: 11111!

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: Help... I’m stuck at the fifth stage of this riddle game. What do I have to do so the squirrel would release its hold on the key?

Kiro: There’s actually such a mean squirrel?

Kiro: Let me handle it!

Kiro: If it doesn’t work, I’ll let Cello catch it!

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: My hand slipped when I was playing a game today, causing the entire game to restart :) Don’t stop me - I’m going to chop off this troublemaking hand!!

Kiro: An urgent appeal to spare your hand!

Kiro: Think on the positive side,

Kiro: We now have another thing we can complete together~

🌻

[ SCHOOL - Topic 1: Progress ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: I've prepared a studying schedule, and am filled with confidence for this new life of studying! Kiro, please supervise me from time to time!

Kiro: Understood! 

Kiro: If you get lazy--

Kiro: Heheh, there’ll be punishment. 

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: I’ve been staring at my book for an hour in a daze. Why do I understand the words in isolation, but not when they are strung together?

Kiro: Mm... from a certain perspective, isn’t knowledge a series of code?

Kiro: Read them as though you’re playing a riddle game. 

Kiro: Perhaps you’ll find a way to pass the stage!

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: Why does my brain function so slowly the moment I start studying? Isn’t it very amazing when I play games?!

Kiro: I’d like to correct two mistakes Miss Chips made--

Kiro: Number One, whenever you get stuck in a game, you’d let me take over;

Kiro: Number Two, your brain isn’t functioning slowly. It’s just time to take a break.

-

[ SCHOOL - Topic 2: Homework ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: Because I remembered the reward you mentioned, I finished my homework really quickly today! What’s the reward, what’s the reward?

Kiro: I already said that you could definitely do it!

Kiro: As for the reward,

Kiro: Come closer, and I’ll tell you.

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: Whenever I do homework, it seems that aside from the homework, I become curious about everything else. Oh yes, do you think a dog sees itself as a dog?

Kiro: Miss Chips, concentrate!

Kiro: But for your question, I’ve asked Apple Box about it

Kiro: It responded and said...

Kiro: Bark!

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: A sincere question - can homework be done in stages? I really can’t finish it ahhh!

Kiro: Take your time, I’ll accompany you.

Kiro: Although I don’t know if homework can be done in stages,

Kiro: But my care for you is a fixed asset.

-

[ SCHOOL - Topic 3: Pre-exam Revision ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: The exam is coming up soon. It’s a good thing you supervised me and ensured that I studied seriously. The scope of the exam was also very clearly detailed by the teacher!

Kiro: I think you forgot the most important thing--

Kiro: Miss Chips’ own diligence and hard work.

Kiro: Miss Chips, all the best for your exam!

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: Memorising the examinable points is really difficult. It feels as though the moment I memorise a sentence, I forget the earlier one. How do you memorise the lines in your script?

Kiro: I have my exclusive Kiro memorisation technique of course!

Kiro: It’s exceptionally effective!

Kiro: If you want know about it, bring a bag of chips over to me~

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: When the teacher was pointing out the important segments, he said the first three chapters are the foundation, the following three chapters are important, and the final three chapters are examinable. Doesn’t this mean I have to revise the entire book!

Kiro: It takes a long time to revise the entire book.

Kiro: Do you need a Kiro exam buddy?

Kiro: It comes with a massage, milk tea delivery, and hugs.

-

[ SCHOOL - Topic 4: Post-exam celebration ]

1. Mood: Happy

MC: The exam is over~ After comparing answers, there doesn’t seem to be any big issues! Kiro, who supervised me in my revision, is the best!

Kiro: Congratulations Miss Chips!

Kiro: Since I’ve rendered outstanding service, as a reward,

Kiro: Give all your post-examination resting time to me~

-

2. Mood: Upset

MC: The exam is finally over... I actually don’t feel very happy... Could it be because the final question was simply incomprehensible? 

Kiro: Hasn’t Miss Chips been looking forward to this day for a very long time?

Kiro: In that case, I have to find a way to cheer you up.

Kiro: Let’s laze on the sofa and watch your favourite movie. How’s that?

-

3. Mood: Angry

MC: I messed it up... I gave up on the last two questions... I think I’ve definitely messed it up...

Kiro: Maybe all the questions in front were correct!

Kiro: Also, one exam doesn’t mean much

Kiro: You’ll always be the smartest Miss Chips in my heart!