#because im in it for the theatrics and the Fun and not the story

[stellardeer]

I'll be honest, I HATE when media is spoiled for me. Like any amount at all. Idc if it's just like "This person has a sibling" I DON'T WANT TO KNOW, LET ME FIND OUT.

and the WORST is when people are like 'it's okay this isn't really a spoiler' and then explain half the plot to me like?!?!??

I'll see spoiler warnings for media I've never even HEARD OF and still skip the post just in case XD

[itsss4t4n]

How long is Forever? - Harry Hook x daughter of alice in wonderland

Headcanons but the longer version of this post:

a/n: this is based more on tim burtons aiw adaptation as it is the only one that i know, and i might have misremembered some of the story/ characters so i apologize if its inaccurate to wonderland or its characters in any way. I got way to invested in creating the character and story and almost forgot that that wasnt the point. At some point i think the character just completely changes and i low key hate it. Im really bad at writing headcannons instead of full fledged fics.

Trigger warnings: fighting, she /her pronouns used, slight angst toward the end but happy ending, not proofread

-being alices daughter you are considered kind of weird by the aks, (think luna lovegood), you are kind of dreamy and constantly in your own thoughts but you still have a very strong own opinion on everything. You say what you think even if others might not like that. 

-You also have a very different sense of style than most girls in auradon. You played alot with different colours and textures always looking slightly crazy (you took inspiration from your godfather, the mad hatter). Your blonde hair was cut to a short messy bob with short bangs, and always changing coloured streaks throughout.

-you dont have the same view of good and bad as most others , and you dont think the vks should be judged by what their parents did and immediately try to befriend them and continuesly defend them

-when mal runs away to the isle you insist on joining the other vks and ben, as you do well in new and different invironments and later because you are an incredible sword fighter, your mother having thought you all she knows, just in case you ever needed to fight a jabberwookie type beast yourself.

-Due to your personal style not being very auradon, you didnt really have to disguise as much as ben when going to the isle. 

-On the isle you felt surprisingly comfortable, as you liked the weird and almost liminal athmosphere that it had 

-the first time you met harry was right after bens kidnapping, when harry came to tell you all about it.

-Harry has this theatrical almost a little eccentric way of talking and moving, which intruiged you pretty quickly. Of course , You didnt like or trust him, he did just kidnap one of your best friends, but you were intruiged non the less.

"And who is this little lassy?"

You told him your name with a glint of interest and mischif in your eyes. "Daughter of Alice in Wonderland."

"How interesting."

"I was just thinking the same thing. Whats your Name?"

"Harry Hook." He introduced himself with adramatic bow, before making fun of jay and barking at carlos.

- The other three had watched the interaction in confusion and wonder. They knew you were a little odd but seeming this confortable with harry after knowing what he did to ben?

"What was that?!" 

"What?" 

"Dont be nice to hook! He just kidnapped your best friend!"

"yea.. But he is quite interesting." And as an afterthougt: "and kind of pretty dont you think?"

"NO! Concentrate please. He is the enemie alright?!"

"Yea whatever, lets go tell mal about this shit."

-You go with Mal and evie to see dizzy, and instantly get along.

-Later while Mal and Uma are talking (singing), you cant help your eyes from glancing over at harry every few seconds. He did look good, with his red coat, the old silver jook on his left hand, and the messy black eyeshadow around his striking blue eyes.

"He is really beutiful dont you think?" That question was mostly directed towards evie who just shot you a dissapproving look. "I'm just saying. purely aesthetically."

-You simply shrugged and watched the situation continue to unfold, swordhand on the hilt of your sword at your side. When the fight breaks out you stand against harry. For better of for forse.

"Hello Pretty boy." You raise you swordand get into a defensive position.

"Wonderland girl."

-You kept making little comments about his looks and his sword fighting which he of course returned in his own flirty way. You quite enjoyed going back and forth like that. Witty comments, smirks and flirty smiles, and fighting more for show at this point instead of actually trying to beat each other. Trying to make this surprisingly pleasant moment last as long as possible.

-until you heard an urgend shout of your name from Mal.

"Sorry in advance." In a quick movement you snatched harrys hook and threw it down into the water. Before a shoked Harry can jump after it you catch his arm and talk to him in a slightly hushed voice.

"I really hope this wasnt our last meeting pretty boy." Before running off with the others.

-You dont see each other again until Audrey turns evil, but you do still think about harry. Is it stupid considering you met like twice and he was you enemy? Yea. Did you care? not really. He was georgeous, funny, good with a sword. Your dream guy. Except for the fact that he was supposedly your enemy. but then again when had you ever cared about that kinda stuff.

-His black lined blue piercing eyes were burned into your brain.

-In the six months until you saw him again you had become mal and bens unofficial bodyguard, spening most of your time with them or with evie, your sword has taken permanent residence at your side, only taking it of to sleep or shower and even then it was always in grabbing distance. Mals paranoia about uma had actually started to get to you.

-You are at evies house when audrey shows up and spells mal. You join them in going back to the isle to retrieve hades ember.

-When your bikes get stolen you cant help but smile at the sight. Yea its shitty but he is still beautiful.

"Pretty boy!"

He drawls you name in his scottish accent and you mentally swoon.

"Thats my bike!"

"Oh yea? Come and get it back then." Before driving of.

-You run after them (except mal and celia ofc),and at one point you split upbecause the boys on the bikes did so. You follow harry and when the others are out of sight he slows to a stop. You catch up to him with a grin.

"Nice to see you again Hook. I was hoping we would meet again."

"I was too Lassie."

-The next 10-ish minutes are filled with flirty banter and tales of what happened in the last six months. It felt like you've known each other for years (as clichee as that sounds). 

-You almost forgot why you were there until you heard jay shouting your name.

"Where are you, Mal got the thing come on."

You quickly turn to Harry again.

"Go! Before they see you and make it a whole thing."

"What bout your bike?"

"Keep it pretty boy, i doubt the others got theirs back so it would be weird if i did."

With a last sly grin harry leans towards you "I will see you again very soon." 

Before you could question what 'very soon' meant, he had already driven of. 

Just in time because Jay and the others turned the corner behind you.

"There you are! What are you doing? come on!"

"Sorry. Was chasing after the bike." You Give them a small smile before walking past them. "You coming?"

-To say you were surprised when harry and gil jumped through the barries after them would be an understatement.

"Pretty boy?!"

"'ello Darling. we're just coming for a wee visit" 

-You tried , just like evie, to get the two groups to work together. Harry mostly walked next to you or Uma. At some point you hung back so he culd walk in between you and doesnt have to kep switching. He caught up with uma but still kept the constant flirts towards you up.

-Everyone was really confused on why you two seemed so good and almost comfortable around each other, not to mention the flirting. Evie was the only one who knew of your little crush so she send you a few knowing smirks.

-During the knight fight you and harry fought as a team. Incedibly well might i say. 

-You were somewhat enthusiastic about evies icebreaker idea, enjoying the idea that the two groups could finally work together.

"Harry great accent."

"Shes right. It is a good accent."

-The flirting just wouldnt stop, comments thrown at each other, bumping shoulders while walking, even brushing your hands against each others on occasion. You had joined the boys in looking for ben.

"To make sure jay and harry dont kill each other."

-Gil doing the icebreaker and bonding with jay. 

meanwhile you and harry in the background:

"We should do that icebreaker pretty boy."

"oh yea?"

"Yea. You've got really pretty eyes."

"And you are really good with a sword lass." His hook just slightly gracing your cheek before something in gil and jays conversation sparks his interest.

-When finding ben you had immediately pushed harry behind you and unsheathed your sword out of instinct. Jay has to pull both of you out of bens way because both of you got distrcated by how close you were standing to each other. After making sure ben was alright you made sure harry was too.

(instead of flirting with jane he flirts with you)

"Well well well, thank you for trying to protect me there darling." The hook was under you chin this time.

"No problem pretty boy." You smirk back.

Ben had his little freak out. Jay and carlos had one too for slightly different reasons.

"when did this happen? you and hook?"

You just shrugged and started walking off.

The boys just looked at eachother thouroghly confused.

-After everyone reuniting and you secretely updating evie on the harry situation you all made your way to fairy cottage. When you found chad you had to half hide in harrys shoulder to hide your laughter because god was it good to see chad taken down a few pecks like that.

-Then Mal dropped the bomb. Closing the barrier forever. You couldnt believe it. You were always a firm believer in the vk programm. And you had honestly hoped that even if harry etc were send back, they would get out someday, or you might go visit them. You considered them freinds at that point. But now that wasnt possible.  You tried to comfort harry and uma in some way but it was to no avail.

"Im so sorry you guys... I didnt know." You had tears in your eyes yourself.

"Dont worry about it Darling. Its nae your fault." Placing his hand, his actual hand, on your cheek for a second, to wipe away the tear that had fallen. Before he walked of with uma.

"Harry....."

Mal was shocked to see your tears at the fact that harry was leaving. she had absolutely no idea this was a thing. It wasnt really. you didnt have enough time for it to actually become a thing. You watched harry and uma leave before evie walked up to you to hug you. 

She talked to mal but you didnt want to listen.

suddenly there was a bright light before it went dark for a bit. When you came to again, Mal was gone. It didnt take you guys long to piece together what must have happened. so you went to find mal.

-You and harry were both incredibly relieved to see that the other was okay. *cue big hug and an almost kiss that turned into a kind of awkward cheek kiss before another hug * 

-Harry announcing that he is actually going back to the isle felt like another punch in the gut. Again that sounds dumb considereing how little you actually knew each other but you didnt care. 

-Harry and you talked before he left. He gave you one of his rings "so you wont forget me darling". So you give him one of yours "then dont you forget me either". *cue more crying and hugs, between all of you *

-Mal announcing that the barrier will be taken down during the engagement party was the best thing that couldve happened to you at that point.

"Looks like you get a chance with your pretty boy after all." Evie.

Uma to harry on the isle: "Now you can get your pretty girl, pretty boy." While bumbing his shoulder.

As soon as you could spot eachother on the bridge you ran into each others arms.

-Kith

-like a lot of em

-Your friends from both sides were incredibly happy for both of you.

[elusianknight]

Wyll vs Astarion vs some fanon stuff

im not ragging on ppl for having fun w model swaps and whatnot. play bg3 however u want it's a masterpiece!

but i got thinkin after hearing apparently some ppl ACTUALLY believe Astarion is like a fairy tale prince and should be acting like Wyll--

Wyll is a young idealist, a LITERAL prince, believes wholeheartedly that there is good in the world - because he most certainly is a force of good! his dancing and twirling his lover and all this fancy courtship comes from, frankly, his own confidence and ideals about what kind of relationship he wants to have. you can make fun of him for being a prude or w/e and he doesn't take that shit even for a second!

Astarion is the literal opposite. He has a trash charisma score. You can argue a separation of mechanics and story, but I think it's plenty meaningful. He has learned through sheer force of practice, memorization, and terrifyingly negative reinforcement, how to tell people what they want to hear. how to guess at others' desires and fulfill them for the purposes of manipulation. His flair for the dramatic, his dandy persona (loving finery and rich things) all stem from his extreme insecurity, imo. Upon first glance, his starting outfit is a nobleman's garb, but if you read the description you realize it is very old and worn and has been repaired countless times.

Astarion's fear makes him crave power, and we often talk about that in terms of literal strength (and magic power), but I think we sometimes miss how that also includes wealth and political influence. Sure, Astarion certainly has an appreciation for fine things and a discerning eye when it comes to aesthetics, and especially clothing, but I really think much of his... pickiness? about these things is just him bullshitting for the purposes of seeming superior to others. both in terms of, being superior and lording himself over them, and also being seen as superior. because it's a performance.

We can see this manifest in spawn vs Ascendant Astarion tbh.

Spawn Astarion's epilogue outfit is specifically described to be made of "cheap leather." In most endings, he's either holed up in the Underdark with the other spawn, or a wandering folk hero. In either case, he's very genuine to himself and to others - he's a bit self-deprecating even (basically saying "yeah it's crazy that i'm actually the GOOD guy for once!"). He doesn't have to project an image of anything else, he doesn't have to perform, he simply is. So he wears something decent, but practical. And, crucially, he burned the shithole of Cazador's mansion to the ground.

Ascended Astarion... well. He shows up in a custom embroidered fit (with crimson dragons on it!!) which is absolutely gorgeous! He took over Cazador's palace and hosts masquerades and balls and invites important nobility to the estate. He is condescending to the other people at the epilogue party, including his lover if they displease him. He's still quite clearly putting on a performance.

Uhhhh so yeah this got long but! the differences between Astarion's cynical theatrics and Wyll's idealistic shows of courtship.

[fakevalentine]

How did you meet your gf?

I NEED THE LOVE STORY!!

ok fasten ur belts its long bruh

we met when we were both in bad places mentally & personally speaking, nat saved my life more than she really knows

we got close reeeaally quickly because we had the same interests and what not. and i was crushing hard she had me giggling and kicking my feet almost every hour of the day (still does...)

BUT she had a girlfriend at the time. and god help me because i was falling in love with someone i couldnt have

and then we get to APRIL. on the 10th of april i wake up, and im unfriended on everything and we dont talk at all, im miserable all day blah blah AND THEN SHE TEXTS ME

"i dont think we should be friends because it makes my girlfriend uncomfortable" UMMM........ ok. and then i proceed to cry for three days straight. i dont eat, i cry myself to sleep, i r*lapse. very theatrical of me but i was heartbroken

but through the tears i was lowkey whoring myself to other girls, which is when i found my now ex. but i just wanted someone to fill the void nat left (didnt work)

SHE EVENTUALLY COMES BACK, and we're friends again. she is still with her girlfriend and i am talking to like... 7 different women AND men i mean i was really slutting it out

eventually i get with my now ex but i am anything but loyal (shoot me I KNOW.) i was still flirting with other people and MORE, just searching for someone that reminded me of nat in even the slightest. but none of them were her

SEVEN MONTHS GO BY. im in a relationship but also actively fucking around with other ppl, nat and her gf BREAK UP. oh im pissed because now she enters her playboy era and is flirting with every girl that breathes and then shes telling ME about it

and i am mad as hell, i start taking it out on MY girlfriend. just causing conflict and tension to get the jealousy out of my system which i know is bad you dont have to tell me. am i sorry? not really

17TH OF NOVEMBER. nat decides to confess she used to like me when she was with her girlfriend, and she was falling in love with me. AND IM LIKE???? WHAT! it just flips my world over and of course i tell her that i felt the same, (both of us failing to mention that we were still in love...)

and literally the day after this happens, my girlfriend finds out this. now i had previously told her that i had never been in love before, a lie but i love to lie. so obviously she is real upset and breaks up with me

and i jump on nat's dick like... IMMEDIATELY. i ditch all my fuck buddies, my attention just fully on her. and we start flirting a LOT and its so cute theres so much tension and things we both know but dont say omg it was so fun

and finally FINALLY she asks me to be her girlfriend and i very happily say yes!

moral of the story i will do anything for my girl

[marimbles]

Hope you don’t mind me asking lol, I stumbled upon your blog and I see you are in the throes of Ouran hyperfixation 😅 What are your opinions on each member of the host club?

yes im definitely in the throes thanks for noticing<3 lol. i'd be delighted to share my opinions on each member of the host club !! this will be LONG bc i have a lot to say about these binches (also this will have manga spoilers). so i'll put it under a cut

Haruhi—honestly what's not to love. she's scruffy and apathetic and grumpy and direct and 300% done with everything, including gender conformity. "these damn rich people" yes king go off. also you're so valid for being 90% motivated by food. it's such a perfect and fascinating idea to drop a person like fujioka haruhi into a group of ridiculous dramatic people like the host club and see how they fare. impressively well, actually. she cleans up nice and is surprisingly charming and intuitive underneath the apathy. but this is only what you find out in like the first episode!!! she grows so much over the course of the story, especially in the manga, and it warmed my heart so much and made me so proud of her 😭 how her relationship with the host club members changed her as a person and even enabled her to better pursue her lifelong dreams. ugh. i love how falling in love with tamaki gave haruhi such a beautiful character arc. first her resistance (which was both understandable and hilarious), because he's so STUPID and RIDICULOUS and in her mind is the last kind of person she'd want to be with, but then she realizes how much she has learned from him and how much he's opened her heart, and she's so inspired by him—to experience new things and understand people better and challenge her preconceived notions and grow to be a better, kinder person, which will make her a better lawyer too. she's actually so brave, to step out of her comfort zone, and connect with others, and to learn how to accept help, when she closed herself off as a coping mechanism when she was so young. she has so much patience to deal with the host club theatrics and a lot of patience with her dad, who is also rather theatrical lol. she had to grow up young and mature so fast and i like how through the host club she learned how to have fun and let other people support and admire her too. ugh i just love her! she has such a soft and good heart and she learns to love so deeply even though it initially went against her nature! she's soooo stray italian greyhound coded to me.

Tamaki—my favorite. one of my favorite characters of all time now actually. im just obsessed with him. i already have a weakness for blond boys with sad backstories and i blorbified him so so fast. as a longtime adrien agreste stan it was inevitable, once i learned about his existence. i saw the most pathetic drama queen loser in all of fiction and i went "yeah he's perfect." i loved him as soon as i watched an episode but i think it was this post that really sold me on him and convinced me to read the manga. i mean isn't he just the guy of all time. as a sillyguy myself i can't not adore him, because he is SO silly and SO dramatic and SO larger-than-life ridiculous, and i am just a big fan of that. but at the same time he has a surprising amount of depth, revealed little by little, that just made me fall even more in love with him as i learned more! cause the thing about tamaki is that everything about him is over-the-top and outlandish—including the size of his heart, and the way he cares about other people, and the lengths he will go to to help them. he's like incredibly narcissistic and incredibly selfless, at the same time. such a fascinating contradiction to me. he has such big feelings whether it's overwhelming grief over a stranger's sob story or unbridled excitement over a mcdonald's happy meal toy. i think all in all tamaki's character can be summed up with one word: love. he just loves everything and everyone to an incomprehensible degree, and that love is transformative. he loves his broken family to the point of wholenesss, and his lonely schoolmates the the point of chosen family, and haruhi to the point of courage—because he was just as confused and afraid as she was, and they both learned to be brave enough to love in a way they always thought was impossible for them. he just loves the whole world and it loves him back, because when you put that much love out there it's bound to be reflected back to you. i love how essentially tamaki annoyed all his friends into becoming his found family lol, because as stupid and obnoxious as he is, he cares SO much, and that's how he won each one over individually, to the point that they'd do practically anything for him. despite being pretty obtuse about himself he's very intuitive about other people and he is able to see them as they really are, in a way they couldn't even see themselves yet, and understand them to a degree that allows them to understand themself. anyway im always crying about him, cause. yeah.

Kyoya—man i love him. so calm and cool and collected and lowkey an evil genius. i love how he plays off tamaki so perfectly. they truly are a married couple lmao. but again!!! in signature ouran fashion, there is much more to him than meets the eye! they're all so much more than the "type" they are assigned! because yes kyoya is the "cool one," the genius one, the guy who always has a plan, the one who's constantly strategizing internally and weighing pros and cons and thinking 9 steps ahead, who only does things for his own benefit … but also underneath he is so passionate. he has all the emotions he tends not to show. fear and anger and grief and love. the anime did such a good job of portraying this because sometimes i think about that scene with him painting inside the golden frame and then it zooms out and he's made a giant beautiful work of art outside the frame, with every color, and i just sort of wanna cry about it. the hidden depths of kyoya ootori...i love that, like haruhi, he learned that it's important to have fun, and if your best friend is a complete idiot, it's good for you! (albeit sometimes detrimental to your health and sanity, lol.) again i loved how they handled it in the anime where in the end he shows his father how intelligent and powerful and in control he was, just to let all of that go, because he found what made him happy, and that was more important than any of it. i love a guy who forms unbreakable bonds first against his will but then puts his whole heart into them! who learns to defy expectations and forge his own path! who learns that happiness is its own end! MAN!! ok also the part in the manga where he spends his whole paris vacation searching for tamaki's mom and completely exhausts himself and falls asleep in the street because of it, just because he wanted to be able to report back to tamaki that she was alive and well. i might cry. im a tamaharu shipper but i have a very soft spot for kyotama.

Kaoru—i get emotional about him sometimes. he is sooooo 😭 ok because at first, the twins are identical both in looks and personality. but as the story progresses, their individuality becomes more obvious, and kaoru reveals himself as the more emotionally mature twin. i love the twins for being mischievous and silly and obnoxious and just a tiny bit evil sometimes, and for always making fun of tamaki (i mean SOMEONE has to), but they both have a lot a depth underneath that which makes them so dear to me 🥺 and kaoru. oh. baby boy. he's so intuitive, often seeing what hikaru is unwilling/unable to see, and so self-sacrificial, always willing to put his brother's needs over his own. the way he was developing feelings for haruhi the whole time, just like hikaru was, but he was the first to realize and admit it to himself, and he gave hikaru space to figure it out too. and then how he is honest with haruhi and confesses to her but in the same breath tells her that his relationship with hikaru is too important to jeopardize, so he bows out gracefully even as he speaks up. UGH! sometimes i just think about that part in the manga where he talks with haruhi about how he wouldn't know what to do if he and hikaru wanted the same thing and both couldn't have it, and then later they have a box of cookies and there's not enough for everyone so he saves his for hikaru, and then haruhi points out that he found the answer to his question, didn't he? about what he would do if they wanted the same thing? so then he ends up stepping back to let hikaru pursue haruhi instead of him, promising to support him, and helping him grow and mature into a better person. wahhhh...... he's a sort of tragic character to me honestly. like it makes me a little sad to think about him. but he just has a good heart, and he ends up happy because the change he was afraid would make him lose the relationships that were most important to him actually made them even stronger.

Hikaru—i think i have a slightly softer spot for kaoru, but i really really love hikaru as well, and i think his character arc is one of the best in the series. he's definitely the brasher/less mature twin in the beginning, who tends to let jealousy and anger get the better of him and he lashes out sometimes because of his frustration and confusion about his own feelings. he struggles with self-awareness and kaoru knows that, which is why he gives hikaru opportunities to self-discover and figure himself out. hikaru falling for haruhi and admitting that to himself and others, even haruhi, was so important for him as someone who always defaulted to keeping others out and viewed everyone but kaoru as an outsider. he really didn't trust anyone but kaoru with his thoughts and feelings, but being part of the club made him open up, examine himself, and consciously choose to mature. one of my favorite hikaru moments is when he dyes his hair dark to show that he's an individual who is separate from his twin and wants to be viewed as such, but at the same time he makes it clear to kaoru that being individuals doesn't mean they have to drift apart or be any less important to each other—and he's determined for them to stay just as close even as they pursue separate paths for the first time in their lives. i also love his rivalry with tamaki over haruhi and how that affects him and forces him to grow. another favorite moment is when he demands that tamaki open his eyes and encourages him to not let his trauma get the best of him. instead of letting tamaki stay ignorant of his feelings for haruhi, which would be to his advantage, he makes tamaki realize them so they could have an equal chance to pursue her. he has so many sweet moments where he feels conflicted about tamaki, wishing he was out of the picture but also feeling so much gratitude and affection for him. he just really loves tamaki, and really loves kaoru, and really loves haruhi, and that love that started out with so much hurt and jealously makes him grow into a more selfless and genuine and mature person, when he finally, like kaoru, bows out and chooses to be happy for tamaki and haruhi. ugh he's a good boy even though he acts like a turd sometimes. lol.

Honey—i don't have as strong of feelings for honey as the others i've gone over but he is still a great character! obviously he's adorable, and i just find him very sweet and enjoyable. and of course the fact that the sweets-obsessed boy lolita who carries around a stuffed bunny is actually a genius and also a martial arts master who can take down 50 guys singlehandedly...yeah it's pretty dope lmao. i love how he learned from tamaki the meaning of true inner strength—not pretending to be something your not for someone else's sake, but being unapologetically YOU and embracing what makes you happy! honey learns to comfortably live a seemingly contradictory life, because he openly loves his cake and cutesie stuff but he remains a strong and well-respected leader and master of the haninozuka martial arts. it's funny and but also very fitting to me that in the manga he ends up with the girl from the black magic club—someone who's different from him in what appears to be every way, but honey is not afraid of contradiction and appreciates people being themselves!

Mori—he's the host i least connect with, just because he doesn't get much focus and also barely speaks lol. but i still love mori! i really admire his loyalty—just the truest friend anyone could ever ask for. he and honey are such an iconic duo. his "lovely item" lol. it's really sweet how much of a natural protector he is—not just how he looks out for honey but also haruhi and the whole host club. he's a very compassionate person with strong principle. one of my favorite mori moments is when he demands a fight with honey just so he feels like he has the right to tell him what to do and remind him to brush his teeth when they're apart for college haha. also shout out to the part where tamaki desperately asks "do you ever think about kissing honey-senpai" because he's freaking out about haruhi and mori says no but later is shown worrying that he screwed tamaki up by lying, because he does actually think about kissing honey 😂

ok this concludes my Opinion Of The Hosts soapbox hour, thank you for asking and sorry i answered:) tldr i love them all lol

[moon-upright]

Julian personality styles brainrot. . .

so i was taking personality tests on behalf of julian devorak, as one does, and i thought this was actually kind of interesting.

disclaimer: while i believe this is pretty true to julian as a character, it's probably at least a little biased because i did answer based on how -> I <- see him, so it might not align with your opinion.

**also, any terms used in this are NOT talking about or diagnosing any disorder, just used as ways to describe a personality. this is a for fun test and isn't meant to be taken very seriously. (i.e., scoring "histrionic" does NOT mean this is a representation of hpd). ok? ok.

the results i got (or the results that Julian got) were "Multiple Personality Styles," which basically means i either pressed "agree" too much or he has more than one equally prominent personality style. tied for first, as you can see in the image, are "histrionic" and "depressive". the idea that these two personality styles are expressed equally in julian is lowk funny to me, but also makes perfect sense. those two go hand in hand when it comes to his personality.

histrionic is defined as "overly theatrical or melodramatic in character or style"

depressive personality is related to traits that include (but are not limited to) nonassertiveness, gloominess, self-criticism, low self-esteem, guilt, and anxiety. depressive and histrionic seem to contradict a bit, but julian is a PTSD-ridden, depressed, flamboyant bisexual theater kid who loves people. that's a lot. and if anyone would have two strong personality styles concurrently, it's him.

his next highest is "masochistic" which is, well. yeah.

3rd place is hypomanic, hypomania being considered a milder version of mania (elevated mood or energy, overactivity, etc). this makes sense once again, since we know he can be restless and energetic, has consistent difficulty with sleep, and even worked so hard during the plague that he apparently didn't even notice his apprentice (potentially his love interest, depending on your interpretation), getting sick.

im not going to discuss everything on here, but i do want to define the 0% ones. Sadistic means hurting others and enjoying it, Narcissistic is inflated sense of pride (and a sensitive ego), Negativistic is opposing what other people say and do, and Schizoid is characterized with aloofness and being solitary. for all of these, - for the reason that julian is very sociable, selfless, and doesn't want to hurt a fly - 0% is the right level in my eyes.

so long story short. i just wanted to share these silly personality test results. it makes me understand why valdemar wanted to dissect julian's brain so much (though i will never support that). this was kind of a mess but really im just brainrotting and i don't post that often so 😭

here's the link for the quiz if you want to take it for yourself or even try to see if your Julian results match with mine !

[enkinaru]

So, despite FFIX being my second favorite in the series, I havent actually finished it until now.

Somw gameplay moments were questionable (IM LOOKING AT YOU, PERMANENTLY MISSABLE ABILITIES AND MECHANICS WITH ZERO EXPLANATION), final battle is (pretty famously) out of nowhere and uncalled for, and some characters could have more time in the limelight (yes, I am profoundly sad that Amaranth with his insanely cool design have virtually zero relevance to the plot), BUT HOLY HELL

THOSE CHARACTERS

THAT PLOT

THAT CHEESINESS

THOSE THEATRIC MOTIVES ACROSS THE GAME

THAT DRAMATIC MIRRORING

I am completely willing to ignone all downsides because I just had so much fun with the story and the cast.

Tried to play without guides and with minimal googling, so missed a bunch of sidequests (and Vivi's tier 3 elemental spells which I am very salty about, yes), still managed to finish it at pretty comfortable pace. Some grinding, auto-regen on everyone and Freya damagecapping with Dragon's Crest made for a pretty easy disc 4.

10 permanently missable Octagon Rods of 10

[bilberry-jam]

One day when I have enough free time to properly sit down and focus on it, I'm gonna do a concept project on how I'd adapt the Witcher :3 for fun.

I have a lot of thoughts on it and fun ways I could make it visually interesting. I don't know if I'd ever share it because I worry that my personal readings of the books and how I'd portray them probably wouldn't be favourable and I'm sensitive to rejection around my special interests.

But I think it truly deserves so much better, I'm forever bitter with the Netflix adaptation. I don't think their character designs and costuming are strong nor do they clearly communicate the characters personalities imo. I also need an adaptation in which the cultural context of the stories is held with the importance it deserves and not completely thrown out to appease a western audience. Similarly with the writing and pacing I feel it was really lacking. Also I want to put more colour into it because I'm personally tired of the grungy fantasy aesthetics.

I do really like more experimental and theatrical approaches to film tho, playing with what maybe isn't accurate to real life but evokes feeling and whismy. So I'd really want to play around with that, though im only trained as a concept artist. It's not like I'd be pitching it to anyone though at the end of the day, would be entirely for fun.

[egg-emperor]

Maybe that question was somewhere already, but, how your selfinsert and eggman met? What was the first Impression on each other?

Btw i ship you two because i can name no one who would understand him better than you! :D and im always happy to see you on my dash.

Omg thank you so much, it really means a lot to me that you think so, that's a huge compliment with the effort I put into understanding his character and it makes me so happy that you ship us! I'm glad you enjoy my posts and I hope I can continue to deliver 😊💜

I have a lot of different first meeting scenarios that I like to daydream up and write, so I have multiple first encounter ideas of different times and ways it takes place (like depending around/during what game's events I imagine it taking place for example) so I don't set a single solid timeline or plot in stone overall. All the what ifs are endlessly fun to explore!

But there's always the same basis at least which I've talked about a bit throughout my blog but it's been a while and it could've been told better, so I'll happily share again. I like to make my s/i as accurate to me as possible, so I base it on how I came to love him in real life, biggest difference is I'm in the universe the beautiful man exists in for real!

So here we go:

I lived in a small place with a simple life that I found boring and eventful, I longed for adventure and to see more of the world but didn't have the means nor the confidence to get out there if I could. So instead I'd learn about the outside world, admire it from afar, dream of a more exciting life and just hope that it would somehow come one day.

When I was old enough to understand, I'd hear stories about Eggman and his past crimes and the latest news through my desire to learn about the world. But for as long as I'd been alive, he hadn't targeted the place I lived because it was small and insignificant, and it hadn't been caught in the crosshairs of him targeting anywhere nearby either.

But the things I heard from others with experiences before I was born and stuff he was still doing in the present and how common he was in the news caught my interest. I started keeping track and learning of his terrible crimes and atrocities in the past. I knew I should be horrified and disturbed but instead I was moreso curious and fascinated.

The way he'd seemed to have been everywhere and done everything and made such an impact on the world, as negative as it was, was impressive to me. He was the exact opposite of myself living in the middle of nowhere, never doing anything that interesting in my life, and nobody ever knowing who I was and being an outcast and it pulled me in.

I started collecting news coverage that existed and closely following all new stuff. My favorites were photos and footage, whether photos of him during his schemes or videos from when he'd broadcast himself onto devices while making threats or just to mess with people- which isn't something he'd done on a global scale since I'd been alive.

When exactly this took place and what it specifically entailed varies in my multiple concepts but at some point, I do finally get to see him on TV live when he hijacks it! I know I should be scared, it certainly is startling to see him suddenly pop up, make demands and threats, and talk about a world under his control. I know it's very bad and dangerous.

But I couldn't help but be excited to finally get to see him live and finally feel like a part of what's happening to the rest of the world too after years of just hearing about it! While I don't fully acknowledge and admit it to myself, my heart isn't just racing from fear, it's uncontrollable excitement too and I'm mesmerized watching him do his thing.

There are things I can't help but find fascinating and impressive, admirable even. Such as his theatrics, confidence, and crazy desires. Even though he was terrible, dangerous, egotistical, and greedy with it, he did it in such a unique and fun way. He was entertaining to watch and everything he was capable of was as impressive and exciting as scary.

His determination to keep trying and following his dreams and his enjoyment in his terrible crimes shows passionate devotion. The way he builds robots with awesome crazy designs and theme parks, carnivals, circuses, casinos, etc is so fun and cool despite how malicious it is. It's charming how he'll be himself and follow his dreams no matter what!

While I don't admit it to myself, I find him very handsome too. I subconsciously have a big crush on him and I'm admiring him more by the days. I know he's bad all along but he's so charming and entertaining about it, I can't help but be hooked and he makes me feel dizzy! He lives such a crazy, fun, eventful life and I wish I had that too.

Eventually after the broadcast hijacking, Eggman visits multiple locations and deploys his robots to scour areas for useful resources. I live in a place with lots of land and woodland in universe too and I go there a lot for walks and to just wander around and think and dream of traveling the world far beyond this, since I don't have much else to do.

When walking through the woods I hear the sound of a motor and mechanical noises. I peer through trees and bushes and see a Motobug driving along the grass! It's looking for animals and trying to round them up for Eggman to use because he needs a very big army for his new plan. I'm so delighted to finally see some of his tech in person!

Despite the danger, I get as close as I can for a better look and admire how well designed, creative, and fun it is, and how well made it is with such high quality. It's clear that he's very smart and imaginative and I see it for that instead of just "stupid silly toys" like others do. It's cute for a dangerous killing machine and that's part of the charm to me!

I enjoy it a lot for it being the closest I've ever gotten to him a sense, as it's something that he's created and I've finally been lucky enough to see it in person. And after getting to witness him on TV live too, dreams of mine are coming true. I'm finally a part of something he's doing and it's bringing so much more excitement to my life!

And knowing how unpredictable he is, one can never know what he might do next! And that's thrilling to me, though I should be afraid with the terrible things he's capable of, I'm instead always eager to find out because this is huge, finally being one of the locations on his radar for the first time since I've been alive. I finally get to experience it!

I'm very pleased with that encounter with a robot of his. I don't report it even though I should, I just let it go and do its thing. Nobody else finds out his robots were scouring the area to report on it and I like keeping the secret, knowing something about Eggman the rest of the public doesn't. And I didn't want them ruining it before it's truly began.

At a later date, news breaks that Eggman is attacking the city that I live just on the outskirts of and I'm in disbelief! Before I can even properly hear all the details of the report, for the first time I don't wait to hear every precious detail like I usually do and instead rush out because it could be a once in a lifetime thing and I can't miss this!

I don't even worry about the danger nor not having confidence to go out when there's probably a lot of people despite usually being uncomfortable, I just need to get there and see what's happening, that's all that matters to me. I manage to approach the scene as closely as possible while still keeping distance from the danger and heart of the chaos.

I climb a building and hide behind a tower on the roof and can see there's fire and shooting and explosions in the distance as robots are attacking, the action is gripping and gets my adrenaline up. But what makes my heart race faster is when I hear something in the sky and look up to see the man himself in his Egg Mobile watching it all!

I barely get to see much of his face as his back is to me watching it from a distance himself too, but closer than I am. But I can see enough of him to see that he has a big smile on his face, looking very smug and laughing. Just that and the fact that he's really here has my jaw drop in awe and then smile uncontrollably at his infectious joy!

After standing there watching, I don't expect him to look over his shoulder, he must've been looking for the best area of escape when he was done and he looked into my direction! He actually sees me and just as he notices and perks up in curiosity to why I'm there on my own, I run. He puts it down to me being scared and I didn't look to be enemy forces coming to stop him in my casual wear.

That moment was so small and brief but it stuck with me for weeks after. I keep replaying the sight of him admiring his robots wreaking havoc and the sound of his laughter. It was deeply precious to me to finally get to see him in person and be so close to him, albeit still many feet away but we were really there together in the same place!

I start to imagine how things could've gone differently if I'd stayed. Would he have questioned me? Would he have attacked thinking I was going to try to stop/report him or just for fun and to make sure nobody goes unscathed? I would've found all of those potential scenarios cool! But unfortunately I ran because I felt I had to. Still, I treasure it.

For a while I think that's the last of being lucky enough to get to catch. I mean getting witness a broadcast hijacking, then seeing a robot in person, then the man himself? That's way too much luck! I'm appreciative of what I got to see and will treasure it forever. Things seem quiet for a while after all the chaos and it looks like he's done with the place.

It's been a while since I last went to that certain woodland area for a walk and decide to go again and at night because it's been hot and because I'd like late night peace and privacy in my quiet place. Part of me hopes to see a robot or something even though it's unlikely they'd still be around when he's seemingly done with his work here.

I'm walking, listening to music, entertaining myself with my thoughts to avoid disappointing myself and- suddenly I bump into something and fall back. Never in million years would I ever expect to look up and see none other than Eggman! My glasses fell off when I fell and when I put them on and see him clearly, I still can't believe it!

We both didn't notice each other in the dark, with me looking down and Eggman's shaded glasses making it even harder to see in it. He squints and looks down at me through the darkness and teasingly says "What are you doing out here this late, little boy?" He has a playful approach and smirks because I look stunned and he's amused.

He thinks I might be scared but I'm actually just frozen in awe that he's really right there in the flesh in front of me. I finally pull myself up but still feel stuck in place, unsure of whether I should run or not. I also don't know how to answer his question and just manage to mumble that I was out walking and my breaths sound shaky.

He strokes his chin in wonder with a "hmm". Something about me is familiar. It quickly clicks with him as he connects the dots, not only did he catch me watching during his attack on the city, he also saw me in a Motobug camera when reviewing the footage to see if it saw good land to build on and that's how he knew this was a good place for it.

He points this out to me and says we finally meet at last, then asks if there's any reason he keeps seeing me around. I don't want him to get the wrong idea and think I was trying to spy on him and gather information to try to stop him so despite the shyness, blush in my cheeks, and small smile, I say I'm a big fan and have admired from afar for a while.

He's smart enough to still be wary in case it is a trick but at the same time he can't help but smile at that as he says "I'm pleased that you recognize my brilliance." His confidence and happiness from the ego boost he gets from that is precious to me. There's a funny warm feeling in my chest seeing the pleased grin that slightly tugs at his cheeks.

He's just as handsome in person as the videos and pictures. He has a gleaming white smile, cute big pink nose, and big magnificent fluffy mustache with soft round cheeks hidden behind it. He's so big and tall with his big round belly that looks soft and cuddly, big bear paw sized hands and feet, and long sleek legs. He looks like a big bear of these woods!

He looks stunning and I can't help but admire it. Eggman can certainly tell that my admiration is genuine by the way I look at him as I get lost in his beauty and don't realize how obviously I'm gawking. And there's no way I would've known of the hidden camera in the Motobug but I looked so happy and fascinated while trying to get close to it to admire it.

He can't let me roam around after all that I've seen in the past few encounters of him and his creations. Sure I didn't report it before but he'd rather assure the chances of it happening are zero. So he asks me to come back with him and says that if I enjoy his work so much then I should come serve him. I can't believe my ears and accept immediately!

He's surprised that it was that easy and is used to having to make demands and threats, so he's happy to see such enthusiasm. While I know I should be afraid to go away with such a dangerous infamous man, it would be a dream come true! I'm instantly ready to go away with him and don't need any prep. I get in his Egg Mobile and away we go.

The idea is that I stay with him while he works on the land by the woods that he took an interest in after seeing it in the Motobug footage. It's a good place to find animals for his robots and build a new base as it would be well hidden. I'm useful to keep around because I know when people are unlikely to be around to potentially stumble upon the site.

His first impression of me is that I'm a funny fan of his and that my admiration is pathetically cute and most importantly useful and ego stroking. He finds my eagerness to help him, keep him safe, and make sure he doesn't get caught very valuable for him, and how I become a servant in happily bringing him things he needs whenever he asks.

My feelings on him don't just remain the same as when when I first started to take an interest in him, they get stronger. Getting to know him for real and finding he really is as charming and admirable as I saw him is a delight. And it gets harder for me to escape the fact that I find him very attractive for his strong personality and beauty.

He still keeps a lot of secrets from me he can't have me knowing just in case but getting to learn anything and seeing around his base and his creations is a great joy. Especially when the man himself is proudly showing them off to me. He likes how I share multiple of his interests, love to listen to him talk, and gush over it and praise it all highly.

Eggman was ready to entertain any delusions that made me a fan but is pleased when he finds I know exactly who he is, what he wants, and how terrible he is but specifically admire and support it. I love him as he is, want him to succeed in his selfish goals, and get everything he wants. It feels good to be understood and loved for the real him.

My loyalty and enthusiasm making me useful to him and boosting his ego makes him consider keeping me around for longer, after he was initially planning on letting me go eventually. It would also be best to make sure I never have the chance to tell anyone else about him after going to know him on this level. And I don't want to leave anyway!

I have to keep proving my worth so he knows he made the right choice and that my admiration is real for sure and not just a really convincing agent, though there's no way it could be faked to this degree. Despite his caution we get along well and get closer and he's more certain and likes having me around to serve him and stroke his ego.

Things progress from there and I start faller for him harder and he enjoys having me as his assistant and servant more over time. It eventually leads to point where we first become intimate, when he takes the last step in assuring that I'm definitely not an agent and 100% real in my love for him- by asking for me to kiss him hehe 🥰💜

[orange-locust]

thinking about screen time for oluwande in s2. i'd love it if the pre-reunion arc of s2 had a focus on the dynamic between olu and stede as they try to get back to the revenge. i think it would present really good opportunities for developing both characters

like: oluwande was elected captain by the crew not long ago. now stede rolls up, broke, with no actual skills, and does - what?

my guess is: greets them as their captain. which creates a very interesting moment of tension in which i suspect everyone on that sandbar stares at oluwande.

it's loaded because, on one hand, i still do not think the crew of the revenge find stede especially capable; i think they just learned by the end of s1 to like and appreciate him as a person. this does not mean they necessarily trust him with their lives! on the other hand: stede has a rowboat.

there's still a power dynamic here but suddenly it is much closer to being balanced. oluwande is experienced, a competent leader, trusted by the crew - what does stede have on him anymore? not a salary, not a ship, not even a legal identity. stede has white privilege, a certain amount of upper-class cultural capital (though who knows how far that will get him without the clothes to go with it or how many spaces he still has access to where it will do him any good), and a rowboat.

but it's this show! and so i think it will be treated as an opportunity to unpack all that stuff with a great deal of heart. im curious about, like...

oluwande's development as a leader. what is he a natural at, and where do we get to see him grow? why does he avoid leadership? has he had much opportunity to try?

if we're going by actors' ages, olu is the youngest among the remaining crew by about 10 years. yet everyone, including stede, seems to look up to him. how does he feel about that? (it can be very complicated, when you're a younger person who perhaps has some insecurities and is not going out of your way to Be Important, to be treated like a leader figure.)

the reshuffling of power dynamics among the crew now that inherited wealth is out of the picture, but race and class aren't

stede being forced to actually talk it through, as a crew. what is "it"? dunno. a lot. maybe they decide to do music therapy after all

oluwande and the crew getting to demonstrate some object lessons in what power can be in the absence of wealth. violence, sure, but also collective power, charm, skill, trickery - i suspect they'll all make a name for themselves and i'd love for it not to just be the stede bonnet captain thomas show but a fierce irrepressible gory theatrical weirdness that emerges from all of them.

who is explicitly, and implicitly, the captain at any given point in time? does stede have trouble handing off leadership? oluwande seems sympathetic to stede in s1, but how does he navigate his loyalties to stede and to the crew when they're placed at odds with each other?

obviously, i would also like backstory - i'm very curious how someone with oluwande's temperament ends up a pirate. we've all seen the text post that says oluwande has veteran mcdonald's manager energy. this being the show that it is, i don't think the answer is just going to be Upsetting Colonial Violence, either, although i doubt they would ellide the role of empire completely either. so what happened? did oluwande run away as a young man and have a rude awakening, only to realize you can't really come back from being an outlaw, and maybe that's why we saw him being so sympathetic to stede? did he work on a ship that gradually slid into piracy?

to get sentimental for a second: does oluwande love the sea? or is he dreaming of a home on the shore? has jim changed that? how?

oluwande was a really great supporting character in s1, but i'd really love to see him driving the story in s2. i think it would take the show to some really interesting, fun, heartfelt places

[cottoncloud0]

little hope review *SPOILERS*

i was gonna write this ages ago and i literally forgot about this lmao but i promised the two people who are interested in these reviews that i would write another and tbh i find these really fun lol.

(reminder that this review is in no way professional, it is just my personal opinion and a bit of fun)

(side note i will only be talking about the theatrical cut)

PROLOGUE

this prologue was really interesting for me, both parts. i love that they didnt actually show any of the bus driver and it gave a really good mysterious aspect to the town of little hope, especially with the state trooper warning the bus driver about the town.

omg i cant even begin to say how much i enjoyed the second part of the prologue. the character building of the 80s family is so good. it established the dynamics of the group brilliantly without it being too obvious what the actual plot will be. i also likes that it kind of left you in the dark of whats going on, almost connecting itself to the first part of act one.

quick side note, i just learned that the choice you make on how tanya should escape the fire (going down the drainpipe or going through the window) directly affects taylors and tabithas deaths e.g if you chose the drainpipe like i did taylors demon will be the hanged demon and tabitha will be hanged and if you chose the window taylors demon will be the burned demon and tabitha will be burned at the stake.

ACT ONE

if im being completely honest i really didnt like taylor in the beginning lol. but i think thats a good thing. i mean its boring as fuck to play a game where you like every single character and none of them have flaws (this is also why i have a mixed relationship with locked traits but ill talk about that later).

okay lets talk about the pacing. when i first played little hope i thought that by the time i finished act one i thought i had ALSO finished act two. i think that says everything that needs to be said.... but seriously act one was way too long. this seems to be a theme in the early dark pictures games, like i said in my man of medan review.

i do think that the introductions to the characters were done really well though because even though almost of the characters had relationships previously to the game you could still develop or break any of them during the game. even when youre still in the first few chapters you can affect ,for example, taylor and daniels relationship drastically only with a few choices.

(i know this because i accidently got their relationship to like under halfway with like three choices 😭)

ACT TWO

what do you mean the supposed main bit of the story is the shortest section in the game? what do you mean it has less than half of the amount of chapters act one has? WHAT DO YOU MEAN????

in all seriousness, i completely forgot about some of the chapters in this act like 'lost' and 'troubled history' but on the other hand it also gave us one of the most memorable chapters in the game 'surrounded'. this is actually baffling to me because how do you make the most boring sections of the game immediately move onto one of the chapters i enjoyed most? its just quite inconsistent so now in my memory i can only really remember the bus crash, the bridge, the church and the house. and can i just add that only one those segments is in act two, which i think is supposed to be the main part of the story.

although, i did really enjoy the demons in this act and i think the developers did a great job of introducing the demons (the only gripe i have with it is that they were introduced quite late into the story but i think i feel that way because act one was so long and the demons were only introduced in the ending chapter of act one). i feel its a massive improvement to man of medan when they were trying to introduce two threats at the same time with one taking a backseat almost as fast as it was introduced.

i also liked how all the characters got back together about halfway through act two and in a completely natural way as well. it doesnt feel forced or rushed it just feels normal and how i would expect a group of terrified civilians to act with each other.

ACT THREE

there seems to be a pattern in all of the acts in little hope. forgettable first halfs and memorable and incredibly fun second halfs. act three is no different.

i think the fact that i could remember almost everything that happened in the ending but i had to go back on the chapter wikis to remember any of the first two chapters says a lot.

honestly the start of this act just feels like a plot extender and an extra opportunity to get people killed. BUT THE ENDING OF THIS ACT I LOVE <3. i like that i takes a quick break from running away from the demons to develop the mary storyline (which i will ALSO talk about later) and the choices you make really do matter and they actually make the players think about the choices theyre making because the 'right' answer isnt clear throughout the game so youre really left in the dark and have to make the call completely off your own accord.

quick final bit before we get onto the ending, but i also love the segment when everyone is running away from their respective demons and john and angela are the last one out there. the reason i love this section so much is because it can really define how angela is as a character or how you want to play her, which can also affect the ending.

right. time to talk about 'full circle'. i dont think words could describe how fucking annoyed i was when i had kept everyone alive right until this chapter only for taylor and john to be killed because of a mechanic that i didnt even know existed. AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THERES MORE PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENECED THIS.

the locked traits mechanic is very cool, trust me, but the fact that it was never ,at least, given some hints that it would be the decider of the characters fate and that they were something that genuinely matter.

at first i thought that they were just pre-determined flaws that each character had lol.

THE END

little hope has a total of seven endings and i do actually want to touch on a few of them because holy shit some of them are insane 😭

the ending i got was: vince called the police and another protagonist was alive. this resulted in andrew being revealed to be anthony (like in all endings) and being taken away in a police car as it is also revealed that the other protagonists (in my case daniel and angela) were hallucinations.

i get why some people would hate this ending, i do too, only because the previous game also had the exact same plot twist??? and that is just so uncreative that they couldnt figure out a different ending to give to one of the games. in my opinion if they DID actually give a new ending to man of medan or little hope i would 100% want it to be man of medan, which i can now confidently say is my least favourite game made made by supermassive.

quick side note, ending 5 is fucking insane and if you got it on your first ever playthrough i would have loved to see your reaction lol.

for those who dont know what the fuck im talking about ill give a quick summary of ending 5.

to get this ending vince must have not have called the police, andrew has the gun and it has at least one bullet in it and mary had to have been excecuted. after the initial cutscene, andrew aims the gun at his temple. megan then appears behind andrew and screams at him, causing him to shoot himself. After it was revealed that andrew was anthony/the bus driver all along, his corpse is shown laying at the doorstep.

like what the fuck.

RANDOM SHIT

in all honesty i had no clue on what to pick regarding the mary situation. i think i chose like 4 different choices all contradicting each other in my playthrough, but seriously what is the objective 'right' path defending mary or killing her?

as for collectibles, i found i think 43 (?) secrets, all black pictures, 4-5 white pictures and the gold pictures. in this game it is already such and improvement to man of medans exploration system. for example, if opening a certain door or picking up a certain item the game will show you this '>>>>' which means it will move you onto the next segment and oh my god this has made exploration so mad more enjoyable and easier can i just say.

CONCLUSION

this game is miles better than man of medan. i enjoyed the aesthetic, gameplay, concept, characters (some more than others) and yeah it was overall a good game (not better than house of ashes though ;) )

EXTRA

CHARACTER RANKING

Angela (the funniest character in lh, she had humour but also a serious personality, where was she for half the game? 😭)

Daniel (so sweet and caring to everyone, love him and taylor)

Andrew (he is THE male protagonist but we love him for that, anthony is deeply traumatised 🙏)

Taylor (hated her in the beginning but she grew on me, he deaths are so brutal lmao but she is so incredibly funny)

John (alcoholic and annoying, he did really care about angela though)

RATING

6 or 7/10 / 3 1/2 stars

as always if youre still reading by this point respect to you my friend and tysm for reading i hope you enjoyed me waffling about random games for 1,750 words ilysm <33333

[blorbologist]

hello did you say something about a lotr style retelling of campaign one???? if you're willing please do tell

Hi anon - this one likely won't be written for ages yet, I'd be happy to <3

So it's a very amorphous idea (like my Filles du roi AU) because I want to reread the books front to back before touching the project. But the ghist of it is that it'd be a mythological retelling of Campaign 1 with a similar framework to LOTR - a book built from the accounts of a few characters and them getting accounts from their friends / likely flat-out imagining some shit (hard to get a Sauron POV), written in prose of Tolkien's style. Characters will sing beautiful songs mid-battle, the hearts of men and their like are fundamentally good, and etc.

Here's the thing: Scanlan is the primary author, here, so he deliberately exaggerated and switched up a lot for the sake of the story. It might actually follow TLOVM's plot more closely than canon, because it already does a lot of the streamlining he would want to do.

I figure he only publishes this in his old age - when only he, Keyleth and Pike are left - and the girls both think the rest of the party would be delighted by this story so they don't go out of their way to correct it. Also Scanlan clearly worked hard on it with all the prose, illustrations, poetry and songs - it's a love letter to Vox Machina. (Some sections are from Vex when she was still around, with notes she got from Percy's journals. Tbh half the poetry is his, and all the Celestial.) There are also probably contributions (coughcorrectionscough) by Keyleth and Pike.

BUT ENOUGH WITH THE SAD SHIT

The main problem would be finding the right balance of LOTR elements and nailing the writing style. But I'm excited!

My thoughts so far include:

Given this is Scanlan writing this story, he and Pike are the main characters, taking up elements of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. Making them get separated and be present for the reclaiming of Whitestone (battle of Pelennor Fields, Merry & Pip) and their bond being pivotal to defeating the dark lord (Frodo and Sam. Pike doing the 'but I can carry you' thing <33)

Percy just... is Aragorn. It's stupid perfect for him: heir to an empire fallen from grace heavily associated with white and trees, hello?? Except all his names are part of his full name, not a host of aliases and titles.

Vex would likely be a combination of Faramir (ranger of Gondor, daddy issues galore) and Éowyn (I AM NO MAN, close friendship to one of the hobbits/gnomes, Trinket could be her horse). Both of them have a close bond with a brother that makes things absolutely heartbreaking. Except given she’s both Faramir and Éowyn she gets to smooch Percy-Aragorn, and their roles in the House of Healing are swapped (true love's crit).

Vax would likewise steal elements from Frodo (tragic bearer of the burden, cannot really go home) and Boromir :)

Keyleth and Grog neatly slot in with Percy as the Three Hunters. Grog and Percy n Kiki and Grog friendship time <33

Scanlan compresses the timeline so multiple great forces of evil act at the same time. Vecna is obviously Sauronlike, with a great evil land of evil. Undecided if the Briarwoods are Saruman (manipulation, sorta serve the great evil for their purposes) or Denethor (stewards of the white city, motivated by despair and in a twisted way love). Conclave could be akin to the Nazgul, or Saruman (Raishan namely, plus Saruman of the Many Colors = Chroma Conclave).

Look getting the balance Right between LOTR and CR and TLOVM is gonna be a bitch is what I'm saying, but taking some elements from LOTR would make it more fun.

Anyways apparently the theatrical edition doesn't include Éomer's cry of agony when he finds Éowyn on the battlefield???? Or Pippin looking for Merry amidst the corpses long after dark? I only ever watch the Extended Edition so im Heartbroken :c

Anyways watch this and think of the Twins (Éomer and Éowyn), Percy (Aragorn), and Pike & Scanlan (Merry & Pip):

[grayintogreen]

I'm actually really excited after reading this interview! It hit a lot of good points !

Lucien hype Lucien Hype Lucien Hype!

“He’s not a good guy,” Roux said. “That was actually one of the best challenges of the book. How do you flesh this person out and how do you explain their life without excusing their behavior? How do you build in these steps where he has all these opportunities to do the right thing, change for the better, self-reflect in a way that might move him down a better path?

Showing that there were ways out and showing that it wasn’t just a foregone conclusion that he was going to be a villain, but always making it a choice that he’s making, to do the selfish thing or to do the easier thing,” Roux continued. “That was sort of my approach — we have to keep his sense of humor. We have to keep his sort of smugness. We have to keep these indelible things that make him a fun villain. You know, the monologuing and the sort of wickedness that he has. Those things have to remain. But always keep in mind, at the end of the day: I don’t want this to be an apology.”

OKAYOKAYOKAY SHE GETS IT. SHE GETS THE ANAKIN SKYWALKER OF IT ALL!! SHE EVEN MENTIONS THE MONOLOGUING.

“I don’t think you can do it correctly if you don’t take into account that this person is an amalgamation of these different souls that end up inhabiting this one body,” Roux said. “And what would that do to you, and does that mean that there’s crossover? You try slipping in juicy little hints here and there. Maybe they’re all meshed together in some sense — or maybe when the spell was cast they were broken apart.” She relied on Jaffe’s performance and Mercer’s improvisation and dialogue to nail down Lucien’s persona. One of the biggest throughlines she identified was Lucien’s reliance on theatricality.

OKAY OKAY OKAY. SHE IS REALLY GETTING IT.

“It’s just performance all the time,” she said, “and how exhausting that is and how draining that is, and how ultimately it’s kind of what leads to his isolation.”

BITING MY FIST. EXCELLENT. PERFECT. Oh my god if I get NOTHING ELSE AT LEAST MY CHARACTERIZATION IS VALIDATED. YOU GET ME MADELEINE. YOU UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT.

Getting to explore his story in a novel meant that Roux got to flesh out Lucien’s connection to the Somnovem and how he became the Nonagon, as well as the sinister impact that those changes have on his psyche and his body.

“What would it feel like, to stumble across something like this that has its own magical sway over you?” Roux said. It also meant reshaping the established understanding of other villainous NPCs, including the Tombtakers and Cree, the catfolk who Lucien seemed to be closest with in the actual play.

OHHH SHIT. YES PLS. GIMME THE CREECIEN.

“He didn’t come out of the womb monologuing,” she said. “I think what you’re trying to do is find little nuggets of surprise and revelation that you have along the way, so it doesn’t feel like a retread of what’s on screen. You can’t get away from it, but I wanted to stay away from [that] as much as possible because it’s not a book about the Mighty Nein. They are the antagonists of this book in a sense. Although I would argue that it’s mostly [Lucien] himself, it’s man versus man, man versus internal dialogue.

THIS IS ALL I WANTED OH MY GOD IM GOING TO SCREECH.

“But, you know the ending, right? You have to build in surprises,” Roux said. “And not just outside of this new biographical information, which is fun and good. I think what people want to see is: What makes this guy tick? And how did we get here? How did we get to this place? Let’s never lose sight of what people want out of this, and what’s interesting. But I think just [biographical] information is not necessarily compelling. I think we need the heart of him and the heart of his relationship with Cree — she’s the most steady presence in his life. And eventually the other Tombtakers as well.”

CREECIEN CREECIEN CREECIEN.

In conclusion: shaking, crying, throwing up.

[missmungoe]

You do such an incredible job writing Blackbeard. There is just something about the way you write his character that makes him so menacing. Every time he appears it just gets so eerie. I absolutely HATE him in your writing. I mean that as a compliment lol. You’re portrayal of him is fantastic and he seems like a fun character to write. <3

Thank you!!! That is the greatest compliment I can imagine receiving about a villain, and my favourite villain to boot! And I love writing Blackbeard. He's a recurring feature in my stories in part for his personal history with Shanks, but also because he’s just so goshdarn fun to write. The scene-stealing theatrics, the ridiculous, swashbuckling flair and the calculating mind behind it all brings a kind of joy to the table that you don't see that often in villains anymore. Of course, it's a fine balance to keep someone like that from tipping over into cartoonish, so I'm delighted he comes off as menacing in my writing!

I've also dabbled in a few One Piece villains by now, and while it's a fun challenge writing someone lawful evil like Sakazuki, or mysterious and otherwordly like Im, there's just something about Blackbeard that gets me, maybe because he feels like the most human out of all the OP villains. I also love writing him in opposition to Makino, because while he's a good narrative foil to both Shanks and Luffy, their differences are highlighted by their similarities - the same joie de vivre and carefree approach to piracy, and prevailing belief in people's dreams, but with completely opposing motivations. He’s also selfish, like Luffy, and ruthless, as Shanks has shown he's capable of being, but Makino is the antithesis of all of that, and if Blackbeard ever had a natural oppsite, it would be her, compassion incarnate, and the inverse of everything he is, and who represents (at least as I write him) the one thing Teach desires more than anything, One Piece and Pirate King included, because the respect (and affection) of someone like her can’t be bought or seized by force; it’s given, and he knows someone like him would never earn it.

[is-jan-jan-is]

Best comics by publisher:

I am bored and autistic and gay and so I've compiled an objectively subjective list of the 'best' books from each publisher. You're welcome, America.

IDW-honestly the current Star Trek run is phenomenal and we all love TMNT but I gotta give it to Atomic Robo.

Scout-Metal Shark Bro is so good that it honestly skewed my expectations for the entire publisher. They truthfully have two solid lines and the rest is an odd marketing campaign. The Black Caravan stuff was fun, though.

Boom!-SIKTC is undeniably amazing and 'We Only Find Them When They're Dead' is objectively top tier but for me, it's all about Coda. The art, the writing, the straight dude getting dunked on by his orc paladin wife-perfection. The first issue of the continuation just dropped and reading it was like returning home.

Ahoy!-Penultiman is pretty good but I think 'The Wrong Earth' is clearly their best title.

Valiant-hear me out, hear me out. I've collected ALL of Valiant's reboot, 2012-present. Unfortunately I must report that peak Valiant is X-O Manowar: Retribution. 1993 was a good year for whacky sci-fi comics. There is a scene wherein Aric of Darcia proclaims:"he must be like those men who prefer other men. I do not understand these men; but damn, do they make the best wizards!" That's peak fiction.

Dark Horse-look Hellboy is great. It's so good that I almost gave it to Mike Mignolia just on merit and industry influence alone. Unfortunately, Jeff Lemire exists. Black Hammer is perfect in every way. MIND MGMT was a strong second.

Image-Astro City. The characters are deep, emotional beings. Their stories breathe in the most human way. Most other titles conflate grit with maturity while AC makes you feel without several arcs of trauma porn. Also, im happy to see creators who remember that comic books are the home of wackiness. Its a slice of life hero series-10/10. Also Alex Ross. This (image) was annoying to choose because-despite suffering the unforgivable scourge of Robert Kirkman- Image has so many other good titles. Bitch Planet, Savage Dragon and Spawn (obligatory, obvi), Rumble, Chew, Outer Darkness, Descender/Ascender, etc .. not to mention Radiant Black. I still want to give it to Saga. Due to all the confusion with inage/wildstorm/dc having some claim to Astro City I almost skipped it entirely which is a shame but, yeah-Astro City.

TKO Studios-honestly, I'm not sure that this company is still kickin'. They were a fun little experiment though, with several enjoyable titles. I can't say any of them really blew me away. But, if I had to pick a 'best' I'd give it to 'Sentient'. Jeff Lemire can do no wrong.

AWA-they're too new for a selection to have any real meaning but 'The Resistance' is pretty good. It's been a couple years and I hope they produce something else that's quality because E-Ratic was a pretty big let down.

D.C.-Crisis on Infinite Earths. It's a given. There is something to be said about the cultural impact of Crisis. Originally, 'crisis' stories were crossovers of varying stakes. The comic gods(Perez and Wolfman) changed the game with this one. Also,every Crisis story which follows was similarly silly and serious. The pseudo science wackiness and over the top theatrics gets me every time. No other comic company gets it right. D.C. has been getting progressively better and better these last couple years, especially now with the phenomenal 'Dawn of D.C.' stuff. But if I was stranded on an island and could only bring one D.C. title it would be Crisis. ('83 New Teen Titans is of course a strong second)

Oni Press- their Rick and Morty stuff was a guilty pleasure (because it's really quite good but that means I have to spend money on Rick and Morty) and 'The Sixth Gun' was well made. Regardless, their best title was clearly 'Pink Lemonade'. Its chaotic indie fun that doesn't make sense and doesn't have too.

Massive/Whatnot Inc: these guys are really new, started 2022 I think. Not really sold on them yet but one of their first titles, quested, was lots of fun. Pretty small selection so far but what they do have is quality. 'Best book' goes to Plot Holes. Not only did Sean Murphy give us the most tolerable Bruce Wayne, he also gave us this creative joyride. It's equal parts wacky and sincere and best of all, it's in the Murphy style. Even though its early on in the run it's one of those titles you look forward to. throughout the month.

Marvel-Marvel peaked in 1999 with Earth X. Don't get me wrong, I love a great deal of Marvel books. Al Ewing's Ultimates (NOT Bendis) was great. Personally, my favorite Avengers story was the Celestial Madonna saga of the sixties, but Waid's run was great(obvi) and Hickman's was too. Hickman's Xmen stuff...also happened. Cates and Jason aaron had good Thor runs. The first and last of Aaron's avenger arcs were great. Peter David's many 'Spider' runs were fun and Dan Slott sure does exist. The Sam Wilson cap runs were all phenomenal, especially the Symbol of Truth run-and Kelly Thompson's run on Carol was one of the best ever. Good Marvel books have been dwindling lately but Jed McKay's 'Avengers' is honestly one of the best books out there. Unfortunately, none of that good stuff comes close to Earth X. The prose, the thorough examination of human nature, the Alex Ross of it all. Earth X was an ode to Marvel lore which read better than most of Marvel history. 'Nuff said.

[aliens-took-my-iwa-chan]

I KNOW YOU REPOSTED IT LIKE 11 HOURS AGO BUT

21, 2, 5, 7, and 8 with hyde for the character asks :>>>>>

UR GOOD!! IM ALWAYS HAPPY TO ANSWER ASKS LIKE THESE!!!! also im assuming you mean tgs hyde when you say hyde? just bc that’s the hyde that we always talk about? so im just gonna go with that lolol

21: If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

oooo okay for something good… oh god I cant choose 0.o literallt everything about writing him is my favorite, hes the best to write T^T im gonna go with his interactions with lanyon though, just because its really funny to see him flirting and/or arguing with a guy who has no clue as to what his true identity is xD

my least favorite thing to write for him is probably gonna be emotional hurt? I love making him bleed but sometimes making him cry is very difficult to get right :/

2: Favorite canon thing about this character?

oh goodness another difficult question- literally everything?? hes my dream man fr xD

but uhhh lets see lets see… im probably gonna go with his theatric dorkiness?? like this man will full on monologue about himself and how evil he is while jumping from rooftop to rooftop. he is so unapologetically himself and the way he basks in the glory of his freedom practically transfers to the audience. I love it. I also love how annoying he is about it like this man cannot shut up- his purple prose and ✨ drama ✨ is everything to me <3333

5: What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Mister Hyde by Mister Misery :3

7: What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Humor!!! character development!!!!! character interactions!!! people put time and thought into his character and I love it!!!!

8: What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

okay when I say this I want to make it clear that this is an opinion and the stories/art that do this are by no means bad, they just make me very sad

theres a very thin line between merging aus that I like and merging aus that hurt my heart. whenever j&h accidentally combine and continue to have two consciences, I usually find myself enjoying that storyline. you know, stuff like them having equal control over what they do or say, being unable to leave their room because they cant figure out how to act, etc etc. I love that.

However, there is the other kind of merging au that is pretty much just hyde being melded back into jekyll’s personality and ceasing to exist. once again, this is by no means bad AT ALL, and the fics for this idea are very good! still, I can barely ever make myself read them because it makes me so damn sad. it feels like major character death to me, of my favorite character nonetheless ;-; also it hurts because im slightly convinced this is how tgs is going to end T^T so yeah, not something thats bad, just a trope that’s not for me

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK!!! im sorry I answered this so late, I had a lot of fun with it :D