#consider aliases online

[bigboobshaunt]

Idunno! Alex and Sandra are soooo clearly both alter-egos to Alexandra* that I can't help but feel any read that would treat them as different people is very disingenuous, like... their genderfluidity is a reference to the color-changing nature of their alexandrite core, it could not be any clearer...

[spitdrunken]

relationships: robin x reader, sunday & robin, sunday & reader

notes: ambiguous relationships, implied mind control (not with robin/reader)

Robin is pretty particular about the people she wants to date, and has a certain modus operandi. Due to her cross-galaxy fame, it’s pretty much impossible for her to go on dating apps, at least via the usual channels. But she doesn’t want to limit her dating pool to just fellow celebrities, either. Masterful at disguises as she is, during first contact and first dates she has a tendency to hide her real identity, though she would never wait long before revealing herself. Even prior to how famous she is now, she has been burnt in the past by people being interested in who they think she is, rather than who she actually is as a person.

She has a special fondness for romance novels, and spends quite a bit of time discussing them on online forums. Online is one of the places she does not have to worry about how she presents herself, and she can gush in anonymity like anyone else. Thinking of a meet-cute is one of the few unrealistic dreams Robin allows herself, but perhaps she meets you through prolonged chatting online. Starting from your shared interests and underneath fake aliases, before spreading out to subject such as your actual lives and the people around you. Your friend is rather secretive, not giving out her exact name or showing pictures, but you assume it’s just in the name of privacy, until…

You: no waaaaaayyyyy You: where’s the /j?? birdie i swear lmao You: you’re kidding right You: or are you actually being serious?? wait wait ok You: ok if you’re serious. ily girl and no offense but like. send me a picture of you and a note with my username on it or smth? cuz im sure you can imagine it’s kinda hard to believe you’re THAT Robin

And she does! She sends you multiple pictures in fact, in multiple poses, to reassure you that the images aren’t A.I.-generated. When she apologises to you for hiding who she really is, she does it through a voice message, and you can hear one of the most envied voices in the galaxy speak just to you. It’s… Kind of overwhelming? But at the same time, it doesn’t change all that much.

She’s still your friend, who you’ve talked about to your struggles and gushed about your interests to, who always listens and always has a nice word to say. Who, if she has any faults, is always too hard to herself, never seeming to cut herself a break. Who always seems to be asleep at different times, and can disappear for days at a time. You thought she just had a horrifically wrecked sleep schedule, but this would explain that! Maybe it helps that, though you’re definitely familiar with Robin, you wouldn’t call yourself a fan or stan of hers.

When she confesses her feelings for you, it’s over the phone, a rare trembling enter his voice as she carefully considers her words.

“I’ve thought… A lot of times about how to put this. I still don’t really know how,” she says, laughing lightly. “I don’t want to lose what we have now. In my life, you’re one of the few people I can always turn to— Who I can show… Other sides of myself. I’ll just say it. It’s not really as romantic as the books we’ve read, but, I’ve fallen for you. Would you care to meet, sometime? And go on a date? I don’t want to pressure you, or feel like you have to do this. If you’re not interested, I still really, really would like to be your friend.”

There are a lot of conversations to be had when you begin to date Robin. It’s not going to be exactly easy. Not only do you need to be prepared to be put on blast on social media and feature in gossip articles, you’ll have to deal with the fact that she’ll be away on travel most of the time. Including to dangerous places, such as active warfronts.

This is something that, regardless of their love for you or anyone else, is integral to Robin’s life, and one thing she’ll never change. If that is something you cannot come to terms with and this reveals itself during your conversations, you’d be better off remaining friends. You can accompany Robin on certain travels, maybe even all of them, depending on the kind of person you are, but for a long while at least, Robin won’t settle anywhere permanently.

But if you manage to get through all of this, Robin is a wonderful girlfriend. She writes you letters and sends you gifts no matter where she goes, and makes time to call you at least once a day whenever she can. In interviews, she’ll bring you up as one of the people who give her strength, and her face lights up when she speaks of you. At events, she’d enjoy helping you dress up in whatever style you want, and constantly keeping your arms interlinked as you walk around.

While she isn’t all that touchy in public, she’d be clingy whenever it’s just the two of you. Making up for lost time together. Another thing she would enjoy is putting the both of you in increasingly elaborate disguises for public outings together! She has to make the fact she’s nearly always followed around by paparazzi fun somehow.

One of the largest ‘hurdles’ when dating Robin is, funnily enough, meeting her older brother Sunday. She speaks of him with nothing but affection and the occasional tinge of worry (though, when you tell her that she has the exact same kind of habits towards overworking herself, it’s suddenly not so bad after all).

Robin herself seems to have no fears that you won’t meet her brother’s standards, but you have your doubts, really. If your glances over the letters he’s written her are anything to go by, he loves Robin just as much as she loves him, if not even more so. While his approval is important to her, you’re certain that she would never break up with you over it, or anything of the sort. Still… You can’t help but feeling nervous.

Your worries aren’t unfounded. Over a dinner in Penacony’s Dreamscape, Sunday seems to scrutinise you, gaze boring into your forehead. All the time, there is nothing but a gentle smile on his face. Yet, you’ve never felt to be under such a strong spotlight, not even at events accompanied by Robin, walking across massive stages. Your head hurts, but you’re guessing it’s just from the general stress that you’re feeling.

As Robin laughs about the type of meal manifested on her brother’s plate (“An Alfalfa Salad for yourself? I really thought you would’ve gone for something sweeter, brother!”), you shift on your seat in discomfort and attempt to keep small talk conversations going.

Perhaps it’s your mind being tricks on you, perhaps you are ‘spiraling in on yourself’, as Robin sometimes calls it, but you really do believe that this man does not like you whatsoever. When you can’t take it anymore, you move your chair. Its loud scraping breaks up any conversation.

The smile on your face is wobbly. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom for a second. Excuse me.”

Robin puts her hand on your arm. “I can show you where it is? The mansion’s layout can be a bit confusing at times, even though I’ve been here plenty of times myself.”

Sunday, across the table, shakes his head and gets up. “Please stay seated, sister. As the host, it is my duty to guide your… Partner, to wherever they may need to go. Allow me to guide you.”

Somehow, your attempted escape has become a new trap in and of itself. It’s practically impossible to deny to go with him now, though, so you straighten your shoulders, nod, and follow Sunday further into his home. The clacking of his shoes on the marble floor is the only noise keeping you two company as you walk a step behind him. He stops. There is no bathroom, here. Only a giant paint of Robin situated on the wall. She’s smiling. Sunday turns half a circle around and stares at it, hands folded together behind his back.

“You…” he speaks slowly. “Do you think you can make her happy?”

Your head throbs. Your head hangs a little to the side, as you stare at the painting. “I think… When I met Robin, she was already happy. In a sense. She has a purpose. A goal she’ll always keep striving for— No matter what. Chasing that, I think it makes her feel more fulfilled than many people… Like me.”

You slowly shake your head. “So, no, I don’t think just myself could make her happy. But as things are now, she is. I do add something to her life, but… I don’t think the rest could be taken away.”

You stare at Sunday. If there is a thought that hits you now, in the painfully placid nature of his expression, in the manner he has watched you all evening, it is not merely protectiveness that fuels him. In part, it is jealousy, too.

You sway a little on your feet.

“You act as if Robin does not care for you,” you smile wistfully, turning to the painting in turn. “You don’t know how she talks about you, if you aren’t around. I think about it, sometimes. If you and I… Were hanging off of a precipice, and she could only save one of us— I can’t say for certain who she would pick. But if I’m honest with myself, as much as it would pain her, and how much it hurts me to think, I really do believe she would save you.”

You squeeze your eyes shut as the corners of your vision turn blurry. “I— I don’t know why I’m saying any of this.” You press your hand to the side of your head, and drag it down your cheek. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m feeling very well.”

“Is that really the truth?” Sunday asks.

“To me it is, I guess.” You mumble. “If you asked Robin, she would answer… That she would find a way to save both of us. No matter the cost. Because that is the kind of person she is. But I can’t seem to think that would be a reality.”

Sunday hums, then turns around you. When he nods, your nausea dissipates, you straighten your back, and whatever stupor you had found yourself in leaves your mind. All at once, shame crashes into you. What the hell have you been babbling on and on about for the past five minutes? When he looks at you now, his gaze is not quite as oppressive as before, though you are not entirely sure how to feel about him.

He lowers his head a tad, ears fluttering. “Thank you for allowing me to understand you better,” Sunday tells you. “You are a different type of person than I imagined you to be— Perhaps you and I are more similar than I believed. Due to my personal feelings, it seems I led my thoughts stray into disharmony. Will you forgive me?” Though the ice has left his tone, it is now as if he has shaved off every edge, covering it all in fabric. It is almost condescending.

But you, honestly, still kind of need to piss. And you’re over all of this, really. “I— Yeah. Yeah, sure. Spirit of harmony, and all that.”

Sunday smiles. “Well, then I believe a reintroduction is in order.” He extends his hand towards you, and you hesitate only a moment before taking it. “I suppose we are family now, too. Know that, whenever life’s troubles seem to be consuming you, Penacony will always opens its arms to you.”

[luigiblood]

Why Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online is shit

I have been very critical of Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online since the beginning, not only the very noticeably broken graphics emulation was certainly a case that everyone understood, but it did certainly make me completely avoid the Expansion Pack subscription entirely for a year because that was genuinely shit in 2021.

Now how is it in 2024? Well, it's not that much better. They did fix a lot of problems during that time for sure, and that's something that we do need to acknowledge to do at least something resembling fair criticism.

Current context

That one Dark Link room in Ocarina of Time was fully fixed, as the fog and even transparency emulation was just outright broken, somehow worse than its Wii U Virtual Console counterpart (which was already not very good), it also affected other games like Super Mario 64 where the fog was actually not correct, but oddly enough, it's not as much of a problem in Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and I'm not entirely sure what happened between that and Nintendo Switch Online for it to have such a massive emulation downgrade.

I've done some analysis of the software, though not a ton because I don't have that much time to waste reverse engineering emulators. Through that, I found out that iQue was responsible for the Nintendo 64 emulator on Wii U and Switch, because of the emulator framework, named "TRL," being 100% identical to their NES and GBC emulator for 3DS, confirmed to be iQue through leaked source code among other things, and the debug menu is seen on Wii U if you have more than one game ROM in the folder, and it's just like the 3DS one.

The Wii U Virtual Console N64 emulator was already seen as worse than its Wii VC counterpart, mainly due to the dark filter, but that thing has nothing to do with the emulation quality it was providing, aside from apparently some additional slight input lag on top of the already massive input lag which I find mindboggling, the graphics emulation was already considered worse than on Wii, a lot of issues that people saw on NSO were already on Wii U VC, which turned into a massive mess of complaints because, yeah, it turns out the Wii U was just not successful, but the Switch is, making obvious complaints very much more important.

The Dark Link room just happened to be using a bunch of graphical features at once which made it very noticeable when they don't work as intended. When I discussed this with other people, I couldn't help but feel terrible at the answer I get: "It's good enough."

This response annoys me to no end, but in truth, yes, the games are playable, nowadays graphically you probably wouldn't tell the difference from the real N64 with an untrained eye, and in fact, so am I at times too. But the problem is that it now becomes an actual history rewrite of how the game actually was, and you could still say that you would prefer the N64 games now than before with better framerates, better resolution, all that.

Better performance is always better?

Now this is still more of an opinion piece so here's my opinion about better framerate and better resolution: It's fucking misguided. Doing better framerate and better resolution works a lot better for games after that generation than the 32-bit and 64-bit era of the mid 90s to 2000, because the graphics looks a lot better for it and the standards are closer to the current era that we're in.

For N64 however, simply running the game better does not work as well as it should most of the time, and, frankly, seeing big polygons in 720p does not work as well as it should for most games. 2D games especially suffer from this and get some really weird filtering that just bothers me, especially in games like Yoshi's Story and Harvest Moon 64, where the emulator seemingly can't decide whether the graphics should be almost pixel perfect, or become vaseline.

Speaking of vaseline, where's the anti-aliasing? The N64 is very much known for its blurry anti-aliasing! While I'm pretty much immune to aliasing myself, I can still see it's not really respecting the original N64 very well about that, and it only deepens one of the biggest history rewrite of the N64 nowadays, where most people is more likely to look at badly emulated footage of a N64 game than seeing the game running on the original system, and this really bothers me that when you have every single other system on the service to care about this to the point of having a CRT screen filter, and even outright and pretty faithful reproductions of the Game Boy series' screens, N64 is the only one that forces you to play in its uglier HD resolution with no actual option to play games in their original resolution with some CRT filter or not, and that is just a real evidence of a lack of care to me compared to the rest of the systems.

When it comes to better framerates however, as much as I love that (Pilotwings 64 on NSO is actually one of the few experiences I can recommend on it), a lot of the games' speed are tied to the framerate, potentially making games harder than they should due to its speed being more accounted for the actual system, and sometimes, causing actual desync problems that iQue had to implement ways to manually slow the framerate down in specific moments of games just to account for it, but this only works for games that can run faster than intended. A lot of games sometimes have their framerate completely capped and doesn't run any faster.

But emulating the N64 lag is genuinely complex, and it's a problem that's not fully solved to this day even on unofficial N64 emulation, because there's way too many factors to take into account that it would probably take too much performance to figure out where it should take more time to process or not, so, on this one, I have a bit of sympathy about that as a developer, but it is still possible to roughly approximate that, even if the result can be weird; but I don't seem to notice any legit attempts about that.

Besides, a lot of people would be annoyed about the N64 lag and bad framerates, but to me if you want better framerates, in my opinion, it would be done differently, and unofficial emulation absolutely can deal with it in ways that isn't intrusive to the game's performance: If you played the N64Recomp PC port of Majora's Mask, you would know this, as RT64, the new graphics plugin powering this port (and hopefully emulators soon), actually handles interpolation between frames, allowing better framerate without sacrificing the game's performance to be better or worse than intended, and it makes for some real impressive results while still being relatively low in cost. For me this seems like a potential avenue to attempt to ease in comfort with N64 games.

Is N64 emulation really that hard?

…frankly, if you asked me this question 10 years ago, I would have said yes, at least to my understanding back then, but also now. But if you ask me this same question now, the answer is no, mainly because of brand new standards that actually makes a huge difference in how to handle N64 emulation in current systems, even through unofficial emulation.

I know it's very easy to mock unofficial N64 emulation as relatively hard to play, and this I would agree with, but this problem is purely user faced now. The old problem of unofficial N64 emulation was mainly that not many people were doing work on it and their time is just not infinite, but that is very much changing nowadays.

The Nintendo 64 is actually a well understood system, additional research are still being done, but for the most part, we can understand the N64 to a decent degree. The actual bottleneck of N64 emulation was actually how to emulate it on current systems, when we were stuck to older graphics API standards like OpenGL and DirectX 9.

However, a shakeup happened since with Vulkan and DirectX 12, allowing deeper GPU control. This, is actually one of the most important events of computing that actually unlocked bigger N64 emulation potential and finally get rid of problems that plagued N64 graphics emulation and it started with an adaptation of THE most accurate N64 graphics plugin as Parallel-RDP, and its extremely good, but its pretty much asking on performance and requires a decent GPU (no need for the latest stuff though).

Unfortunately, not much happened since on that field, due to as I said before, a lack of developers, but now RT64 exists, and is made to be extremely performant, and especially made to be accurate without relying on any game specific code for it, which is extremely impressive and shows a lot of potential for the future, while providing tons of new features that allows enhancements like frame interpolation and more. RT64 was fully enabled because of Vulkan and DirectX 12, else it would simply not exist!

Now why did I talk about this stuff that's seemingly unrelated to NSO? Well remember that Majora's Mask PC port I talked about earlier that uses RT64? I saw that thing running on Nintendo Switch, seemingly perfectly fine, with enhancements as well.

This makes me look at N64 NSO differently, and with even more criticism than before. Instead of making good graphics emulation through Vulkan, they seemingly instead just ported the graphics emulation from Wii U VC's GX2 API to Vulkan. That isn't without effort, but it is quite frankly lazy, and means that whatever they're doing, they're not using the technology at their disposal to the fullest, especially since Vulkan is a standard that applies to pretty much every current GPU under the sun now, whatever the work is done here, it would likely work on the long term, especially the next systems after the Switch. Why Nintendo did not allow that is just sad, and a waste of time. RT64 was done by mostly a single developer, and while it took many years to be developed, these years could have been reduced a lot more if it was handled by a team fully dedicated to this, with possibly even more cutting edge to it. The ingredients are there, but the recipe was just botched.

Genuine trust issues with the quality

But aside from all this stuff I just talked about, if you didn't understand much of it, hopefully this part should help you understand other issues that I have with N64 NSO.

Remember that the first version of N64 NSO was graphically buggy, and while they did fix that over time, new games sometimes were outright buggy and possibly game breaking:

When they added Paper Mario to the service, while the game did actually receive some improvements over the Wii U VC emulator, the game, somehow, was more prone to crashes. If you game over with Watt as a partner, the emulator crashes, and you lose your progress. If you have the curiosity of hitting trees with your hammer, one of them in the snow town actually crashes the game too! Thankfully both were fixed, but you still needed to wait months! If you had no idea why crashes could be caused as Nintendo just never warns about that stuff, that is genuinely inconvenient.

When they added Kirby 64; the western version actually had a game breaking bug that makes you softlocked if you get hit in a particular way underwater. That is genuinely a terrible bug that could affect just about anybody playing the game. Thankfully, they fixed it the next week, but that REALLY shouldn't have happened to begin with!

There's also the smaller problems like Yoshi's Story's boss, Inviso, where the point of the boss is to be invisible. Except he's very visible at all times making the point of the boss moot and any respect to the original game gone. For some fucking reason, they took more than a year to finally fix it, and that's just a huge shame.

There's also how Jet Force Gemini had a worse widescreen mode and somehow thought it was good for release, thankfully fixed 2 months after, but you still had to wait 2 months!

And then F-Zero X still has genuine framerate problems to this day where the game just runs worse over time. That game is known to run a perfect 60 FPS on the original system, so there's no excuse here.

I could also mention Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, but just look up Graslu's videos on them, he has done a full comparison, showing what's wrong with them with enough detail.

For these, I just mentioned the glaring issues plaguing several games, but a lot of times these issues just comes on their addition to the service, and then only gets fixed months later; and for me, that's an actual disrespect to the player. I understand the developer is doing their best here, but frankly, what that looks like to me is a legit constant: they visibly seems just scrambling to get games to work to a "good enough" state. I am NOT accusing iQue of this, however I accuse Nintendo to not have taken any measures to stop having these kinds of problems to begin with.

To speak better of iQue, they seem to be good at reverse engineering, as they do patch games to fix issues, or sometimes just modifications like anti-epilepsy measures or other kinds of hacks.

The controls

I had some really bad things to say about the controls, but it got partially invalidated when I played Perfect Dark on the service to see how bad it got. I think I simply overthought about it.

Now I have an opinion about the controls of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark that will not please people: They're… fine. The default controls I mean. I know people have some real aversion to FPS that doesn't use a double stick, but frankly I dare say those controls didn't age as badly as you'd think. Some people say it's best played on a N64 controller but I don't agree about that, it's also okay on a regular Switch Pro Controller.

Turok however, oh boy, the default controls can be a double stick FPS… except it's reversed. That's where the ability to remap controls would be very useful here, or possibly just one moment where better forced control setups would be actually nice here.

Or how Pokémon Stadium has minigames that uses actually both the D-pad and the Stick, it could be great if the right Stick acted like the N64 Stick at that moment on a Pro Controller instead of the C Buttons!

Instead, I sometimes get told it is an excuse to get the (frankly expensive) N64 controller. Fuck no. I should not be forced to buy that, and I actually dislike using that controller, and I played tons of N64 games through emulation with different controls without having serious issues either, so for me, this isn't an excuse. Wii U VC also provided button remapping!

The forced use of ZL as the N64 Z button, and L for N64 L button for every game, also bothered me. I know they care about consistency, but then, I got actually curious to check how they handled Z and L on Wii and Wii U VC… and holy shit. They handled it right from the start. On Wii they actually just used the L button for the N64 Z button! But, the N64 B and A buttons do correspond to the B and A buttons on the current controllers regardless. Though, on that one, for most games, it's not as much of a bother, but if you're playing games like, let's say Wave Race 64 or F-Zero X, this is particularly worse.

F-Zero X has the use of strafing left and right, so I'll let you imagine how worse that sounds if you use ZL and R. NOT ZR, that's for C Buttons macros on the face buttons. It feels horrible and unintuitive, but also there's how the B and A buttons on N64 are vertical, and you just use your thumb on both buttons, making it easy to boost or to soften bounces on waves in Wave Race 64, which is a pretty darn important thing to understand, but instead you have to handle it on horizontal B and A buttons, making it a slight bit more annoying to your thumb, physically speaking. It just feels unintuitive and actually bad for your thumb, frankly.

It's where I wish games would actually make either ZR or R buttons to be swapped depending on the title, to be the R button and C button macro, and also offer an option to rotate the face buttons so that B and A would be placed on Y and B instead, corresponding more to the actual feeling of the N64 controller.

Sin & Punishment is oddly enough the only game of the bunch that comes with slightly custom controls, more adapted to the game, and I'm sorta glad that they bothered.

Just to go back to the N64 stick emulation, I also wish the sensitivity of it was managed better on current controllers. It really seems like when some games run faster than intended, added with the fact the stick isn't reproduced faithfully, some games are a lot harder to play, especially with Joy Cons if that's your only and basic options, where for example, turning the camera is way faster and you just keep wanting to reposition all the time.

Missing features

Man, imagine emulating the Controller Pak for the ability to save in games that only uses it instead of battery backed save memory in the cartridge, but then, literally never use it, ever.

Well that's what happened to Wii U VC and N64 NSO. iQue has actually emulated it, but for some reason, they never use it, and I just do not understand why, especially in games where the Rumble Pak isn't supported.

Speaking of the Rumble Pak, it is emulated, but there's one thing I just do not understand: Why isn't there code to automatically swap the Controller Pak and Rumble Pak? They have the best ways to actually handle this in ways that is pretty transparent and unobtrusive, but somehow, they don't bother with it, and it's just very strange. I know the N64 games are weird about it, but some outright allow to swap them, sometimes they even bother to remove the No Controller Pak message in Winback, but in other games they don't even bother removing the Rumble Pak swap message. It's just inconsistent and weird.

We don't have Transfer Pak emulation unfortunately, but that one, I can partially understand, it's definitely a bit messy, but it would still have been cool to play Mario Tennis and Mario Golf with your GBC characters and to level them up on the N64 games. Instead, in Mario Tennis GBC, you actually get the Transfer Pak content unlocked from the start, which is still pretty cool of Nintendo to care, and a mere reminder that they do care about these details in other apps. But in Mario Tennis on N64 NSO, the Transfer Pak courts are yet to be unlocked.

Then there's the wish to see 64DD emulated, which they initially did some work towards that back on Wii U VC, but then simply never touched in years, and then removed the code after I noticed they tried to support the fanmade cartridge ports of them. It's probably just for testing though, I don't really care that they do it like that, but I would think it's particularly crass had they used them officially on the app. This has yet to be seen again, so I don't have my hopes up. Here's hoping the Nintendo Museum made them care though, considering Doshin The Giant 64DD actually showed up there.

The future

I think I pretty much said what I wanted to say the most in one place. It might have been a little hard to read, but I really wanted to make my points very clear.

When I look at N64 NSO vs the rest of the service, I just cannot help but see how worse it is in general, I have genuine trust issues as it is very badly managed as games get added but then doesn't run properly, only to get resolved, if it does, only months later. It just makes me want to put off for later any time I wanna play a N64 game on that service, and I really want to love that service, I want to recommend y'all the biggest N64 library so far that Nintendo has given us that surpasses both Virtual Console libraries on Wii and Wii U, but I just can't.

Unfortunately, I don't see the future to be that bright. I see no reason to believe Nintendo has done any big efforts to allow a better N64 emulator, and of course, Nintendo has never really addressed complaints, and I partially blame the "good enough" feeling. When I read ArsTechnica to make an article just to complain about the borders after the N64 NSO ordeal, it just makes me feel like no matter what, this bigger complaint of mine across all of N64 NSO just cannot be seen seriously. It's a much bigger problem than borders (though, I agree, they should allow more, including pitch black borders).

I don't see any reason for Nintendo to read this either, but that's my full impressions of N64 NSO so far. Nintendo 64 NSO is just shit, and disrespectful to the legacy of the N64.

I outright accuse it to force people to buy a N64 controller just to play it correctly, which definitely worked as it definitely was out of stock several times, but if that's truly what they aimed for, then it's an app that doesn't know what audience it wants. If it aimed to be played by casuals, they'll be put off by the controls. If they aimed for the hardcore, they'll find problems, no matter what.

And it really cannot be helped when the emulator is clearly designed for the developers to manually fix problems per game instead of having a better emulator overall.

[charliemwrites]

Character File

Name: Rook “Duke” Alistair Aliases: Daisy Dukes, Daisy, Sunshine, Blondie

Age: 26 Gender and pronouns: AFAB using she/they Marital Status: Single Surviving family: biological father (estranged), adoptive mother, adoptive father, brother

Physical description: Standing at 5’9” (175cm) and 135lbs. (61 kilos) Rook stands tall and wiry. Though slighter than her brother, Castle Alistair, she’s still packed with muscle that is carried primarily in her thighs and abdomen. Her hair is strawberry blond, cut into a medium length bob – though it curls quite a bit. She is often seen with several pins and clips in her hair trying to keep it back from her face. Her eyes are green and large, set in a round face that makes her look young for her age. She had braces in her early teens to straighten her teeth.

Identifying/Unusual features:

Light freckles across her nose and forehead

No facial scarring

Tattoos: A daisy behind her right ear A simplified castle outline on her bicep (for her brother) A stylized sun on her left shoulder, crawling across one side of her chest and up her neck Binary for “service” on her forearm

Several burn scars on her hands, wrists, and arms

A birthmark on the bottom of her right foot that few people have ever seen

Special file note: Rook holds the records for most and dumbest injuries on base. Often the smallest and most unexpected incidents have led to a medbay visit. She is often seen with bandages, bruises, scrapes, and scratches. Thankfully, she is a good patient and most of the medical staff enjoy her cheerful demeanor.

Early Childhood:

Rook’s earliest memory is her older brother walking her to preschool. He was sharing an orange with her, carefully peeling off bits of pith for her to munch on.

While he, Helena, and Clancy are technically her cousin, aunt, and uncle respectively, she has always considered them her immediate family. She only met her biological father once when she was twelve and was not impressed.

Her childhood was filled with laughter and love, though she often felt oddly displaced. Helena and Clancy were much older and had never planned on a second child – never mind a girl. And her brother ended up shipping off to college when she was only five. He visited when he could, but she spent a lot of time on her own or unsupervised when she hit eight years old.

She was very close with Helena, the two of them playing the radio loud to sing along while they did chores around the farm. Rook absolutely adored her mother, and to this day dreams of her peach cobbler when she’s away from home. As a result, Rook picked up her love of clothes with interesting prints and bright colors.

Her relationship with Clancy was not strained, but not as easy as with Helena. Of course, he loved his adopted daughter, he just wasn’t sure what to do with her beyond that. Oftentimes, it led to him treating her like Castle, though her flightier and more energetic nature made some of those lessons take differently.

Rook was often praised for being an inquisitive and intelligent child – though some of her teachers found the constant barrage of questions to be disruptive. Somewhat unexpectedly, she excelled in math from an early age, followed quickly by the sciences.

In middle school, the blond farmgirl jokes began. Unlike her brother’s quick temper to defend himself and his family, Rook usually took the route of laughing along with them. (That said, nothing stopped her from pushing a girl down for trying to step on a frog one rainy April day.) This developed into a tendency to hide behind a ditzy persona, which felt safe and easy.

In high school, she took a special liking to physics and engineering. Focused more on schoolwork and helping around the farm, she didn’t date much. (That said, anyone with an interest in her had to debate the merits of her marine brother coming home to meet them.) She much preferred learning to code online and rescuing strays that happened across the farm – much to her parents’ chagrin.

Throughout her life, Castle was her role model. In her childhood, he seemed like a third parent, but as she got older, their relationship developed into a more typical brother-sister bond. Even so, she needed no proud rambles from her parents to look up to him.

So, as her future began to loom, and decisions became necessary, she followed a similar path to him. Rook enrolled in the ROTC program at the same college he attended – though she chose a double major in engineering and computer science that set her down a different road.

Military Career:

Alistair’s early military years in the Air Force are riddled with ups and downs. Intelligent, positive, and respectful, she was well-liked by both superiors and comrades. Quick to finish tasks, solve problems, and aid others. That said, she had something of a disciplinary record for small but repetitive issues. Uniform violations, minor misconduct (forgetting to salute officers or speaking out of turn), and general… regulatory issues.

While not headed for dishonorable discharge, she was dodging demerits and often faced disciplinary action. However, upon finding a major leak in one of their information networks, she came to the attention of one Kate Laswell.

Laswell, impressed with her intelligence and work ethic, found that her military-defying eccentricities were easy to overlook considering her benefit to the military. Alistair was soon transferred under Laswell’s direct purview to aid different missions and teams as a “hacker” and engineer. While Alistair remains something of an oddball, she and Laswell have built a solid working relationship.

(During her employ with a certain Shadow Company during her Air Force days, Alistair earned the callsign “Duke” – a derivation of Daisy Dukes due to Alistair’s appearance and farming background.)

[indigosabyss]

Samkamiles Prompt: Checkup

"Sam, come on, what about mini golf?" Paul demanded, "Can't believe you're flaking out on us like this, man."

Sam laughed nervously, "Listen, guys, I really can't. Been feeling crappy all week, and just want to chill for a bit."

"Because mini golf is such an intense sport." Blake muttered under his breath.

Sam knew why he was feeling crappy. Two days ago, he'd taken a hit to the head by an asteroid. Yeah, the helmet fixed most of the damage, but there were only so many times that could be done before it was more of a simple surface-level fix.

He couldn't exactly tell these guys that, though. So he had to let himself be dragged out to mini golf, with his ears ringing and eyes dotted with spots that really had nothing to do with abandoned helmets this time.

"Sam?" A familiar voice suddenly called out from across the street, and for a moment, Sam was thrown, even though he didn't understand why.

Then he registered Miles walking towards him in plainclothes, side by side with a brown girl wearing blue-framed sunglasses and a Nova hoodie.

It was the red scarf that made it click for him that she was Ms. Marvel. Probably stupid, considering they had been friends for nearly a year now, but it was bound to happen, with her insistence on having a secret identity.

Now he was starting to remember why he was confused to hear Miles' voice here. They were in Carefree. States away from their home turf. Talking in plainclothes.

"Is everything okay?" He asked worriedly, reaching for his bag to silently ask if the helmet inside was needed.

M shook her head, "We should be asking you that, right? Heard you weren't doing well."

Sam made to nod his head, and the world started blurring and fizzling around him. Yup, that train had definitely left the station.

"Who're these guys, Sam?" Blake asked, looking between the two curiously.

"Uh..." He wasn't good at improv on a regular day, and now it felt like his brain was short-circuiting at the potential of his hero life and regular life colliding. Wait, brains ran on electric impulses, right? So a brain could actually short circuit-

"Miles. And this is Ma...ndy?" Miles looked helplessly at Marvel.

"We're from the tristate area." Marvel filled in, smiling just as nervously, "And since my school got shut down for emergency reconstruction this week, we thought to come visit!!"

"Aw, that's sweet." Paul was immediately won over, "Why didn't you tell us, Sam? We would've totally let you hang out with your other friends for the day."

"If you had ever mentioned these friends before." Blake eyed them both suspiciously.

"They're... from an online forum. That I don't really want to talk about. Because I think you guys wouldn't be interested." Sam replied, his head feeling stuffed with more cotton than usual.

Blake and Paule exchanged perturbed glances, but let the lie hold.

"Let's go to your home, huh, Sam?" Ms. Marvel turned to him expectanly, leaning in slightly as she mumbled to him, "You're clearly not recovered from the last concussion."

"Y-yeah." He agreed, the sun becoming overpowering to his eyes at this point.

The three walked away, shoulder to shoulder.

"So, Mandy?" Sam asked, giggling under his breath.

Marvel scoffed, "Really, Miles, you couldn't pick a less gora name?"

"You didn't prepare any aliases!" Miles threw his hands up.

"Is your school really shut down?" Sam asked worriedly, even though he knew for them, with Amadeus's machinery, the travel time meant nothing at all.

"Oh, that was real." Ms. Marvel admitted, "Fing Fang Room left a dragon-foot-shaped hole in the roof."

---

"No way these two just happened to be good enough friends to drop by unannounced." Blake crossed his arms, "So... which one of those two is he dating?"

"I mean, the girl, right?" Paul replied, "If he's even dating either at all."

"Are you kidding? He didn't even seem to recognize her. Clearly he isn't telling us anything about his life because he thinks we're homophobic!"

"You guys... are so close." Carrie commented, passing by them sipping on a drink, "Yet so far, it's further than even Nova can go in an hour."

"What does that mean?"

[genshin-scenarios]

Teammates, In Two Senses (Diluc x Reader)

Summary: You and Diluc are online friends that often game together, but one day you find out he goes to the same university as you. Just a chill college AU!

Reader is an art major, and has a playful type of personality!

The fic features friendship group cameos: Yanfei (your flatmate), Albedo (a close friend), Kaeya (wingman #1), and Venti (wingman #2)

This was written for a close friend, who's very big brained 😌

Wordcount: 5-6k

It’s early in the evening when you’re trying to work on your assignment. As an art major, you generally find it easier to make progress in your room or the dedicated studios since you need the equipment, but the same can’t be said for a written report.

The perfectionist inside of you crumbles at the blankness in your head. With an annoyed sigh, you push your keyboard away to instead rest your head on your desk; how is it that out of four chances, you’re the one that got stuck with the most boring part of the project writeup?

…Well, it’s not particularly hard, but you’re really not in the mood to do work right now - and even if you push yourself to finish, the report won’t be that good since you’re unable to focus. 

Music isn’t working, moving back into your room isn’t working… You need to blow off some steam instead, which is why you sent a quick message to your online friend to ask if he was free right now. Gaming uses a different part of the brain after all, so hopefully you’ll be back in a productive mood afterwards.

While you’re manifesting to have someone join before your brain melts from boredom, Yanfei pops her head in from the door you left open. Her brow narrows as she notices your defeated posture hunched over the desk.

She tries to cross her arms like a stern parent. “Get back to work. Didn’t you want to finish so you can relax on the weekend?”

“I do, but–” At the sound of a discord notif, your eyes light up as you switch tabs with a silent victory. “Oh, would you look at that? Someone needs my help, so I guess I’ll just finish the report later!”

“Is it that Darknight guy again?” Yanfei sighs. “Honestly, if he’s a student too, I can’t tell if I’m impressed or annoyed that you guys have time to game so often.”

“Maybe I’m just talented?” You reply cheekily, glad that there’s nothing in Yanfei’s hands that she could throw at you. She shakes her head and leaves, giving a reminder over her shoulder about what time you’re heading out; your friends are cooking at their flat, so they invited you both over for dinner. You and Yanfei planned to buy the drinks, so you’d have to leave a little early, but…

You look at the time on the corner of your laptop. Two hours should be enough.

Because of time constraints, all you’re able to do is complete a dungeon crawl and some world-bosses, but that combined with some conversation is enough for you to start feeling refreshed again. The tension is gone from your mind, and you think you should be able to get the work done tonight, so long as the dinner party doesn’t go on for too long.

Now that you think about it… Yanfei’s comment did make you curious about what Luc’s situation is like in real life. You’re not one to prod too much, but just asking if he’s working or studying shouldn’t be too big of an issue, right? You’re still using aliases after all, and everything else you know about each other isn’t enough to track down a person’s private account online.

Traveler: Hey Luc, do you work or study?

DarknightH: Is this another one of your bad jokes?

Traveler: My jokes are NOT bad 😒

Traveler: I was just wondering, since you’re able to game during the weekdays quite often and all.

He takes a while to type, and you wonder if you’ve scared him off, until:

DarknightH: I kind of have both, if you consider part time jobs.

Traveler: Hmm... You’re not a college student, right? You’d be way too busy - unless you’re a hermit?

DarknightH: Is it so hard to imagine? Maybe I finish my assignments during the day, and use the night to rest.

Traveler: Friendless…

DarknightH: Efficient.

Traveler: You’re still kind of suspicious, so i won’t believe your story for now

Traveler: Thanks for entertaining my question though, and I guess if I had to answer in return, I am a type of student. So if you ever need your senpai’s help, just let me know 👍 I can be kind once in a while.

DarknightH: There’s no way you’re older than me.

Traveler: Hehe, I guess we’ll never know? It’s already six though, so I’ll log off first, Mr Darknight Hero 💖

-

"...What?" Diluc sighs, looking at Kaeya from across the counter. "Do I have something on my face?"

Kaeya shrugs. His head is propped up lazily in the palm of his hand as he waits for his brother to get ready. "I'm just trying to figure out if you look like a gamer or not. Everytime I joke about your all-nighters, people think I'm crazy."

Diluc raises a brow. "I don't think there's a look you can identify."

"Of course there is! Wouldn't you wear a jacket or sweater to play for long hours?"

"Maybe you should stick to law-related debates." Diluc throws his coat on, giving Kaeya a wry smile. "Let's go. We don't want to be late - or do you want to be scolded by Amber again?"

"I do wish she'd stop with that favoritism," Kaeya sighs with the hints of a pout. "Why doesn't she ever think you're the problem?"

"Because I don't go around scheming when I'm bored."

There's a glint entering Kaeya's eyes, making Diluc raise his guard out of habit. "Nope, instead you co-op with that online friend of yours. Maybe you should call them and see if they actually live close by. They're in the same time-zone, aren't they?"

"No thanks," he rejects, "I'm not about to dox myself by doing something like that."

They get into the lift, and that's when Diluc's phone buzzes with a notification from you. You're just asking if he's used the redemption code already before it expires, and when Diluc presses the corner of his screen to search for it within your chat, his finger accidentally hits the call button.

Before he can even swear in reflex, Diluc freezes at the sight of your icon joining the call. There's a beat of silence, then another, before he gathers his wits and brings his phone to his ear.

"I–"

"Did you–"

Blank, again. Diluc isn't sure if he's more flustered about making such a dumb mistake, or if he's just stunned into silence from hearing your voice. "I pressed it by accident - sorry for bothering you. Bye."

He ends the call in the flash of a second, and Diluc clenches his fists in an impressive feat of self-control. Did Kaeya press the button? No, but he did mention calling you, which jinxed Diluc's next actions as he unconsciously did just that. Therefore his anger is justifiably directed, he thinks. He'll be sure to swap Kaeya's drink for grape juice later into the night.

Diluc closes his eyes, but he can still hear Kaeya coughing into his fist, trying to stop his shoulders from shaking. "Stop laughing."

"Pfft– you hung up so quickly! Did you even hear their voice?"

"I did," he rolls his eyes, feeling something akin to curiosity bubble in his head. You sounded a little different than he imagined, but now that he's calmed down, he thinks it fits you a lot.

-

The day after Luc’s voice call, Yanfei takes up the role of a detective (loosely speaking) while the both of you head to a cafe nearby campus. You try to ignore her gaze burning into the side of your head as you speak to the cashier.

“Thank you, your order will be served shortly!”

As you started to step away, Yanfei wastes no time at all to continue her inquiries. “Don’t you two ever call while gaming?”

“No,” You sigh, “Because we don’t need to. There’s a chat function for a reason.”

“Then… Since he’s already done that by accident, you can just—”

“Yes, that’s all. Thanks.” A voice from the cashier catches your attention, making you look over in surprise. It’s a student with a notable shade of scarlet hair and handsome features - probably in a different major, since you’ve never seen him before.

His voice sounds a little familiar. 

…There’s no way, right? You’re probably just imagining things because of Yanfei’s questions!

Feeling your gaze on him, the stranger looks up. You’re surprised by the warmth of his eyes; there’s something quietly intelligent about them that draws your attention, but when he tilts his head slightly in question you finally realize that you’ve been staring.

“Well! Is our coffee done?” You whip your head away to face Yanfei, suddenly too embarrassed to stick around any longer. “The weather is really nice, so why don’t we take a walk?”

“Hm…?” She looks behind you, quick to catch on. Yanfei starts to smile. “Are you sure? You don’t want to stay behind and see if that guy drops his name while picking up his order?”

Maybe at other times, but he just caught me staring! At this rate, your ears are going to be on fire along with your face. “Today’s not the time for that - I’m here to spend time with my bestie!” You blink at her innocently. “You have a class later anyways, so I need to escort you there.”

“Sure, sure…” As you drag her out of the cafe, Yanfei shuts an eye in thought. “He looks pretty familiar though. I think I’ve seen him around Kaeya?”

Kaeya: a law major that Yanfei is acquainted with. You’re aware that Albedo is friends with him, but haven’t really heard much about a redhead. “Really?” You muse. “I wonder what year he’s in.”

“So you are interested!”

“You’re the one that brought him up!” You cross your arms. “Besides, it’s like a photographer with a perfect sunset. It’s part of my craft to have an eye for pretty people.”

“I can’t tell if you’re shameless or in denial.” Yanfei hums, patting your shoulder. “In that case, it’s part of my work to have great intuition… and it’s saying that you liked him enough to compare him to a sunset.”

“Wow would you look at the time? You’re going to be late!” You duck out of her reach and wave goodbye. “Remember to work hard! Don’t fall asleep.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be reciting my textbook to you at dinner.” She rolls her eyes lightheartedly.

Yanfei asks you to stay safe and departs, leaving you with an afternoon of nothing to do. Maybe you’ll browse some stores for fun, or buy something from a bakery for breakfast tomorrow..? Your gaze trails down to your phone as you discard your empty coffee cup. Out of reflex when it comes to boredom, you tap on a familiar icon.

Traveler: Hm… How lucky would it be if you turned out to be a cute guy?

For a moment, you thought Luc was offline until your phone proceeded to buzz in quick succession.

DarknightH: .

DarknightH: What.

DarknightH: Are you drunk??

DarknightH: Why are you suddenly asking that?

(Unbeknownst to you, Diluc almost choked on his coffee when he saw the message, wondering if you sent this to the wrong person. 

You’ve always been the type to joke around, but after that accidental call he’s been growing more and more wary about you. Is this insecurity? Paranoia? He’s not sure, but he is aware that you’ve been acting flighty after that incident, so Diluc is staying on his guard.)

Traveler: I was at a cafe earlier and heard someone whose voice was a bit like yours.

Traveler: Haha… there’s no way you live in my area, right?

DarknightH: If it’s bothering you that much, we can just test it.

Traveler: Huh?

DarknightH: You’re not normally this indecisive, and it was partially my fault for surprising you that day.

DarknightH: So if you want to, I don’t mind clearing your doubts.

Holding your breath, you quickly weigh the pros and cons. A little test wouldn’t hurt, right?

Traveler: Okay, call me. We can give directions from there.

This way, it’ll be harder to leave behind written traces of your personal info. Of course, either of you could still note it down if you’re determined enough, but this straightforwardness settles your nerves a bit.

Your screen flashes to show an incoming call. You click, bracing yourself to hear his voice again. “Hello?”

“Hi,” Luc sounds a little breathless, but you force yourself to tune out the meaningless details. “I guess we should start with your location - what was the cafe’s name?”

“Umm…” Why is it suddenly hard to speak? “I was at a place called Good Hunter.”

A beat of silence. “The one near Teyvat University?”

No way. “–Are you a student?”

“...Yeah. If you’re the same, you should know where the closest park is, right? Meet me there in five minutes, it shouldn’t be a long walk.”

“Hey– wait a minute!” Even as you protest, your legs are carrying you towards your destination as your heart speeds up. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“You don’t, but it’s the same for me.”

“You could just be some office guy that works nearby.” You start to fill the silence with whatever comes to mind. “Or maybe you just look super young for your age, and it turns out you’re a higher-up that can get me an internship at my dream job?”

A scoff. “You read too much manhwa.”

“If you’ve never read any, how’d you recognise that plot?” You counter, before cutting off as you realize you’ve arrived. “How should we find each other anyways? The park is pretty big.”

“We can meet at the Lionfang statue. What color is your phone?”

“It has a heart charm on it, with a red and white pattern.” You mutter, looking around. “What are you wearing?”

This time, his voice doesn’t just come from your phone. “A dark coat, but you’re more likely to notice my hair first.” You turn in surprise to see who’s behind you, mind blanking at how the pieces have fallen into place. “...That’s what my flatmate says, anyways. You’re Traveler, right?”

He’s taller up close. And, and… “I– Yes. But that’s just a nickname online, you can call me Y/N instead.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” He nods his head in greeting, and your gaze can’t help but follow the way his ponytail sways behind him. “I’m Diluc, a third year P.P.E. student. But if you still think that I’m running a scam, I guess there’s nothing more I can do to convince you otherwise.”

Well, at least his attitude is still the same. 

So this is Diluc… Your shoulders relax a bit at the familiar flow of conversation.

“We went so far as to meet like this, and you’re giving up now?” You shake your head, though it’s more in disbelief that something like this happened instead of thinking he’s a liar. Since your student card is at the back of your phone case, you cover your ID image and show it to him. “I’m a fine arts student - second year. Though even if we were in different departments, isn’t it kind of weird that I’ve never seen you before?”

“I was doing an exchange abroad last year, so that might be why.” Not to mention, you wouldn’t have time to pay attention to strangers in passing. He tilts his head curiously. “Did you have anything to do today? I won’t keep you any longer if you’re late for something.”

“Not really,” you admit, but the conversation is quickly sizzling out. Figures, putting you both on the spot in such odd circumstances. You smile anyways though, genuinely happy that something good happened today. “But even though this is all ridiculous, I’m glad you didn’t turn out to be a creepy person leading me on.”

“The same could be said for you.” Diluc returns lightheartedly, crossing his arms. “Though your willingness to get to the bottom of this worries me. Do you always follow random clues in the dark?”

“Are you worrying for my safety, Mister Darknight Hero?” You try not to laugh at the way his expression immediately drops from the name. “Jokes aside, I only did all that because we’ve been talking for a year. I wouldn’t do it with anyone I find suspicious, and we’re in a public place during the afternoon.” You turn around, tucking your hair behind your ear as you look back at Diluc. “It was nice meeting you though! Maybe we can meet up again at an internet cafe or something, after our brains process this.”

Diluc’s lips quirk in a small smile, which you instinctively mirror back. He looks more handsome with that expression. “Alright, but don’t forget that we’re entering a tournament this weekend. I won’t tolerate tardiness, even if you’re my junior.”

After you get home and shower, you sit on your bed in a bit of a daze, trying to figure out if today was a fever dream or if your internet friend really turned out to be a student on your campus.

Not to mention, a really cute one. You hide your face in your hands, remembering Yanfei’s teasing. You’re not sure if you’re super lucky or cursed for things to turn out like this! 

You remind yourself that this is still the same person you knew from a year ago - there’s no reason for your interactions to change, especially online.

Traveler: You’ll never believe what happened today.

Traveler: I just met someone pretty cool, and his hair was a pretty shade of red… I wonder how he gets it to look so soft?

DarknightH: I don’t really do anything to it, if that’s what you’re asking. Just invest in good products and don’t skimp on things for yourself.

Traveler: That’s the opposite of what a college student would say. Are you actually the heir of a corporation or something?

DarknightH: Go to sleep, Y/N.

Traveler: I heard that guilty people tend to avoid questions... Which means-? 🙀

DarknightH: You need me to block you until tomorrow?

Traveler: Okay okay, I’ll stop. Goodnight ✨

…But of course, saying goodnight is usually a lie when it comes to texting. You turn to your laptop and open your most recent assignment tabs, getting to work in the dead of the night.

Your body feels a little lighter now - it seems that solving the mystery really did release some of your tension. With no more distractions left, you’re glad that a feeling of normalcy is starting to return.

-

You met Albedo at the start of this year in the arts department during the evening. As it turns out, he likes to use the facilities to paint whenever he has the time, and you were quickly drawn into interesting conversation when you found out he was a science student. One meeting led to another, and now you’ve become pretty close after a month or two.

What you didn’t expect however, is being introduced to another one of his friend groups - by which at your first meeting, you miraculously survived an awkward encounter with one Diluc Ragnvindr.

Being too surprised to think straight, the both of you pretended to not know each other when the others waited for you to exchange pleasantries. It was kind of cute, seeing Diluc hesitate for a moment before extending a hand to you to shake.

“I’m Diluc, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Ah, yes– same here!”

However, the others are nothing if not perceptive about the bit of awkwardness between the both of you as you tried not to glance at Diluc throughout the night. You want to ask him something to keep your stories straight, not to mention that Diluc being dragged around by his friends’ whims is funny to watch.

You finally do talk to him alone when the others are arguing over where to go next. Kaeya keeps an eye on you and Diluc while he supports Venti’s suggestion of going to another bar. There's a sort of familiarity between the both of you despite some uneasiness, but what Kaeya does know for certain is that Diluc is talking a lot more than usual; so if nothing else, he’ll be supportive of his reserved brother’s social interactions - just maybe in a mildly annoying way, because he can.

“It’s rare to see Diluc so relaxed around a stranger. Are you actually a magician of some sort?”

“You make it sound like he’s a cat that’s hard to tame.” You laughed. “The secret is… to not get on his nerves?”

…As if you’ve never done that, trolling in co-op when Diluc was especially done with your teammates. Not to flatter yourself, but you’re pretty sure he found it funny after a while, as long as you weren’t messing with him specifically.

Out of the many other times you met, game night today was probably the riskiest of outings. When you all went to an arcade, it’s safe to say that the competitiveness between you and Diluc felt like an inside joke - something that Venti and Kaeya were quick to start scheming from, down to the moment they convinced everyone to excuse themselves so that the both of you would be left alone for the remainder of the day.

Venti is the last one to be with you guys, before he gets an ‘urgent’ phone call from Kaeya, who needed his help with something (honestly, they aren’t really trying to hide their intentions beyond making it seem like a convenient accident). Even Albedo played along, though you’re aware that his excuse is a real one because he spent the entirety of last night at the lab for a project.

With a quick “have fun with Diluc!”, Venti abandons you both nearby the bar you were initially going to. Truth be told, neither you nor Diluc liked to drink that much, so as soon as Venti disappeared from sight, Diluc crosses his arms with a sigh.

“They…”

“Abandoned us.” You finish, looking around the streets for something interesting. “Hmm, is there anything else to do around here? There’s still some time left before the evening, so we could go somewhere else before returning to our flats?"

“There’s an internet cafe five minutes away,” Diluc suggests, checking its location on his phone. “We could do some work there.”

“You want to go to that cafe to work?” You stare at him incredulously, to which Diluc rolls his eyes. “Let’s see what else they have on their computers, maybe we can find a new game that’s pay-to-play and try it out!”

“Knowing you, we’ll be there until midnight.”

“Knowing you, you don’t sleep that early anyways.” You quip, smiling at the way he follows along with you. Despite his words, if he was truly opposed, he would’ve just gone home already. “Let’s do it - whoever does worse will have to run through ToF with zero equipment.”

“Fine, but if you lose, don’t come crying to me about how ridiculous that challenge is.” Diluc opens the door of the cafe for you, reserving two stations under his name. He looks at you with the smallest of smirks, crossing his arms. “I’ll order some food and watch you struggle.”

You hit his shoulder in indignation. “That’s horrible?! What kind of things are you saying to a weak, defenseless junior?”

He scoffs. “Weak, defenseless? You’d sooner throw a textbook at someone’s head.”

“And now you’re calling me aggressive.” You huff, trying to hide a smile. You’re starting to feel a little competitive now. “Alright. When I win, you have to buy me dessert.”

As it turns out, because the game you ended up picking was storyline focused and singleplayer, the both of you spent the entire evening just playing through it, forgetting about your bet. You’d glance at each other’s screens when something interesting happened on your own, wanting to see how the other person reacted - all things considered, it was really fun and relaxing.

You’re on your third drink and finishing some snacks when your phone screen suddenly flashes with Albedo’s contact. Diluc raises a brow (you’re both taking a break to stretch and lounge), and when you pick up, you immediately pull your phone away at the flurry of questions thrown at you.

Albedo is evidently the calmest person, but since he put you on speaker, Venti and Kaeya’s voices overpowered him.

“Are you alright? You haven’t been replying to any of the group messages.”

“Neither has Diluc! Are you both having too much fun and ignoring us?”

“If he took you somewhere you can’t talk about, just give us the signal and we’ll break in.”

Your expression turns deadpan at Kaeya’s somber tone. “I was just busy, no I wasn’t kidnapped, and no we weren’t ignoring you on purpose.”

“It’s okay,” Venti says to you tearfully. “You can tell us if Diluc is torturing you with something unbelievably boring.”

He’s clearly joking, seeing as Diluc told you Venti games as well, but Diluc gestures for you to pass him your phone. You do, curious about the poker face the redhead is wearing.

“We’re doing assignments since you both wasted so much of our time. If it’s nothing important, stop shouting into Albedo’s phone.”

“You–”

With a click, Diluc hangs up on them and gives you back your phone. You have to cover your mouth to hide your smirk, but spot a little smile on Diluc’s face as well when he scrolls through his texts.

“That was pretty cheeky of you.” You feign nonchalance.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Diluc types out a reply, telling the others to calm down in the group chat. “But it might be best to just reply to everyone before we head back. It is getting quite late.”

You hum in agreement, only to freeze at the sight of… Many, many unread DMs.

Venti: Don’t worry, while we might be joking around a lot, you can trust Diluc. Just have fun and buy me a drink next time~ I did drop you both off at a very convenient place after all!

Venti: Wait, you’re not actually studying, right? Did you waste an entire evening??!

Albedo: Sorry for the mess, just ignore those two. As long as you’re not out drinking, it’s not like going out will affect your attendance for tomorrow’s classes.

Kaeya: Did Diluc kidnap you? I assure you that while he can be bad at making friends, he’s not normally the type to do anything illegal.

Kaeya: Ahem, what I mean to say is, even if he does something embarrassing, try not to hold it over him too much.

…They’re quite the loud bunch, aren’t they? But above your exasperation, you’re a little charmed by how much they’re worrying about the both of you. Seems like they care about Diluc a lot, to check up on something like this despite ditching you together.

-

Diluc sends Kaeya a wary look, drying his hair as he steps into the living room. “You have that look on your face again.”

“It’s just, don’t you think that you and Y/N got close pretty quickly?” Kaeya leans forward in his seat at the dining table, using it as a makeshift study desk. “Quite unheard of for the Diluc Ragnvindr.” Could it be that you’re in love~?

While Kaeya didn’t utter the last sentence, the words might as well be painted on his forehead. Diluc wasn’t keen about explaining the long story of how the both of you met (at least not right now, after a long day), so he simply threw his towel at Kaeya, who dodges and catches it with his right hand just as Diluc turned to return to his room.

“Denial is the first step to acceptance!” Kaeya unhelpfully teases. “But for what it’s worth, you do seem more relaxed around them. It’d be nice if you can at least be good friends.”

Is he my brother or my mom? Diluc sighs, grabbing a new towel to hang on his neck as he starts up his laptop. He didn’t expect the internet cafe to turn into something he felt invested in, but it’s true that single-player games are best shared when you’re in-person together. He can’t imagine it feeling the same if one of you simply streamed or voice-called while playing it, since you’d be too focused on the game itself to really spend time together.

Would it be worth inviting you back? Probably not so soon, since studies will keep the both of you busy, but Diluc will admit that he’s tempted to repeat this evening again.

-

On a pleasant winter’s day, Diluc is at a cafe when he gets reminded of you. It’s been a season since you’ve met in-person, and by now it’s hard to imagine their friend-group without you in it. 

This time, his remembrance is because he saw someone sketching as they sat by the window seat, and also because he saw your instagram story earlier about a work-in-progress. From the looks of it, you were in the arts department painting for an assignment - instead of distracting you too much, Diluc sends you a text to ask if you want a drink or food, since he’s at Good Hunter right now.

His phone pings with your reply, and Diluc barely conceals a smile. All you asked for is a hot chocolate to stave off the cold, but he’s aware that you tend to complain about craving for sweets when you’re stressed out.

While he can’t read your mind to see if you’re actually that stressed, he thinks the macarons today look pretty good, so Diluc buys a box of them to-go as he finishes his order. The walk to the arts department is under ten minutes, so Diluc uses the trip to sort out his thoughts.

The first time he visited this part of campus, it was because they were here to view Albedo’s showcase. Now, he’s coming over just to visit you since he’s completed his last projects for the term.

You were more than incredulous and in disbelief when he told you as such, but Diluc has always been the diligent type, even if his destressing activity is something as whimsical as gaming. When they were younger, Kaeya was actually the one to introduce him to this hobby, even if his brother dropped it for a while because of other interests.

A larger get-together will happen in a few days, where everyone wanted to take advantage of the snowy weather that’s settling in the area. Ice-skating happened last week, but this time even your extended friend-groups are joining on a trip to a ski resort.

Since it’s fairly convenient to get to the resort by driving a few hours, the plan was to rent two vans and go. Diluc wanted to ask you about the trip when he arrived at the studio, but the moment he entered and saw your work, any thoughts about that washed away from his mind.

…Are all the people that paint here this good? Your style is different from Albedo’s, but the way you drew portraits have always been eye-catching. And now that you’re painting on a canvas much larger than your usual sketchbook, the eyes and hair of the character have become so much more vibrant and alive.

Diluc has always admired the way you get absorbed into your workflow. There’s a charm to the way you forget about the colors staining your elbows and hands after a painting session, or the proud look in your eyes after you finish a piece.

You look over, giving him a smile and wave after you finish some last touches for this layer. “You were faster than I thought. Should I turn up the heaters for you?”

“No need, I’ll be out of your way in a moment.” Diluc clears his throat, placing the bag and drink onto the table near the door. “Good luck on your work - it looks impressive so far. If you need anything else, just text me again since I’ll be around the area.”

With that, Diluc unceremoniously exits the room with a goodbye, leaving you understandably confused.

Was he… embarrassed? You blink, trying to process his behavior. He seemed normal when you texted him earlier though. Maybe something happened while he was on the way here?

As if on cue, your phone lights up with a message from him.

Diluc: Hopefully the macarons are to your taste. They were newly stocked, so I thought something sweet might help as you finish up your work. 

With a fond smile, you washed your hands by the sink in the studio before opening the box Diluc left. Just like he said, they were macarons from Good Hunter with various flavors.

Maybe you’ll reward yourself with one every hour? While you don’t want Diluc’s gift to go to waste (he refused to let you pay him back), macarons are expensive, so you want to savor them.

They’re a little like him, aren’t they…? Someone with a hard shell, but can be sweet once you break through it. 

Y/N: They’re great, but I can’t just let you treat me like this without doing something in return. I have some pride too, you know?

Diluc: Just make sure you come along for the ski trip then. I don’t think I can handle being around Kaeya and Venti for an entire weekend.

Y/N: Alright! Since you asked so nicely, it’s a deal~

You look forward to what other sides of Diluc you’ll see - hopefully you won’t get addicted to his presence too much, even if you’ve already become quite close. It might be clear to everyone under the sky that you like each other, but doing things casually can be pretty fun too.

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community! I’m Malice and I’ll be your host today. 

Here with us today is the one and only @redd956!

Good to have you here! How about we start off with a fact or three about yourself?

I got by two other names online, as my aliases are many, such as Dezert and Usarin. My blog itself isn’t fully a whump blog, but also writing/worldbuilding, it’s just quite well known in the whump community and I do see myself as a avant participant. Worldbuilding is my true passion, but it’s notable I also play tons of video games. My blog, and other online names are all after randomly chosen OCs of mine.

Let’s get straight to the point! What does whump mean to you?

Whump as a kid meant to me something strangely dark or violent to fall asleep to, now a days character arcs are expected in that. I realised I wasn’t alone upon joining finding the community. So now I guess it just means storyline violence/conflict in hopes to show a character arc unique to characters who go through a lot.

And how did you find the whump community? What made you want to join?

I found it while searching for writing tips & tricks stuff for a pinterest board. I realised when out of night ideas to sleep to I could use this, and lurked around the tumblr side of the community for half a year. Finally I noticed a lot of my favourite tropes weren’t as prevalent or there at all, and couldn’t take it anymore. Sometimes you just need to do something yourself.

Do you think your view on whump changed since you joined? 

My view hasn’t really changed at all, but I do have some new favourites, primarily the whole Hero contrasting with Villain character dynamics in whump.

What do you consider to be your favourite whump trope?

Oh boy… I guess my favourite whump trope would be taking down a powerful stoic character. The power itself is meant to be vague, as I feel it changes depending on whatever I’m feeling, whether it be physically, magically, role, whatever. I primarily love this because it forces the powerful character to show vulnerability they are not used to, and I absolutely love that.

Do you mind sharing a favourite piece you've written?

My favourite piece I’ve written isn’t on my blog, and probably never will be, as I write a lot. And I mean…a lot. It changes every year, so right now I’d give it to a 7 page piece of mine dedicated to my OCs from my worldbuilding universe, labelled Apocalyptic for obvious reasons. For my blog… I’d say my favourite piece is Prompt 8. I did once attempt to post a sequel because of requests but I absolutely hate it and refuse to acknowledge it’s existence. 

I love a good hero/villain story! Do you have a regular writing routine?

I only write whump via striking sudden inspiration. I do have a major overwriting problem, that I’m still trying to fix. I write a lot! I am a studying creative writing major, and will likely be working as a writing tutor next school semester. I usually play lo-fi, hopefully themed to whatever I’m writing, and write any time of day or night.

And do you find that some things are easier to write than others?

I excel in military and nonhuman whump in my eyes, as well as a lot of cold whump. I’m great at the first two, because a lot of my personal creations include them. I’m bad at writing long form captivity/torture stuff. I just don’t exactly like most of it anyway, for no reason in particular. But I find it very difficult to describe.

Is there anything you're working on at the moment? 

I’m currently working on starting and continuing the beginning of two whump series on Ao3. Other than that I’m always continuing my personal work. 

Do you have a joke or pun you would like to share to spread some smiles today?

foap

Give us some writing advice. Bless us with your wisdom, oh awesome one!!!!!

Write whatever you want, practice in whatever way works for you, and keep doing that!

Shout out to your favourite writing/whump blogs, bffs or people who've inspired you. We're hyping everyone one up here!!!

Oh dear, there’s so many! Uh @mottinthemainpot, @theres-whump-in-that-nebula, @whumpsday, @leyswhumpdump, @painful-pooch, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams, @wither-wander-whump , @whump-me @thebewingedjewelcat @i-eat-worlds and so many more

Also for good measure, the non-whump blog, @heckcareoxytwit

Anything you'd like to add?

You’ll probably notice me and my partner being occasionally unashamed madly in love on my blog, and especially on theirs. 

Thanks for joining us today, @redd956! Great to have you here!

And to all you wonderful folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[panlight]

Hey, my mind keeps going back to how the Cullen clan is barely known as the "Olympic Coven" (idk why but I think of Greek mythology). I feel like if they HAVE to have a title, not including last names, it should represent an aspect they all share rather than where they live or came from.

They travel like every decade or so, right? Different aliases are used every time they do so it doesn't really make much sense to name the whole group after ONE place (even if it is a favorite of the family).

So, what about the "Golden Coven"? Or maybe something related to the lion on their family crest? (I like to think it's kinda canon but not too in-your-face a la SM's style.) It can be a symbolic word or a term for transformation, rebirth, peace, faith or hope, family...

We could go all day talking about this and maybe even make a poll tbh.

I am firmly in the "it makes NO SENSE to call them that" camp. I fully blame the Twilight fandom wiki; they really latched on to the term (that, again, was used one single time in the back of Breaking Dawn) and people who look up Twilight info online usually get it from that source, so everyone uses "the Olympic Coven" even though the actual Illustrated Guide does not use it. Seriously, open the guide. It's "The Cullen Coven" all the way through. Also literally no one in the actual text of the books calls them that, either (source).

It also bugs me because it's, again, so Bella-centric. The only two members of the coven who are actually FROM there are . . . Bella and Renesmee. Naming it after them erases all the earlier history.

I fully believe that SM came up with that name when writing BD being like OH HOW COOL! LIKE THE GODS OF OLYMPUS! and then later, as she worked on the guide, realized like "oh hmm kinda weird to name them after a place they have only lived for three years when canonically most of these vampires have known Carlisle for way, way longer than that." And for me it's like, how many international vampires would associate "Olympic" with the Olympic peninsula in Washington state, USA, and not, like, Mt. Olympus in Greece? I'm American and I STILL think Greece when I hear 'Olympic.'

No, sir, I don't like it.

The Denali and Volturi are named after a very specific place, but they notably have been there for a very long time and don't move. The Denali coven has been there since at least the 1930s, probably longer, and the Volturi have been in Volterra for centuries. So it makes sense to tie them to such a specific place. Doesn't make sense for the Cullens.

They could be "The American Coven" or the "North American Coven" since they have lived in Canada. Technically the Denali would also fit there, but they do consider them extended family so it sort of works? Like it's the North American Coven with the Denali and Cullen branches. In this way it would mimic the Egyptian, Irish and Romanian covens.

But the Golden Coven is kind of cool, too! Meeting them for the first time, that's obviously what any vampire is going to notice about them.

"Those animal-eating weirdos" is probably what most vampires call them tbh.

I do kind of like Cullen Coven though--I think Carlisle is famous enough in the vampire world as the strangely charming weird vegan friend that naming the coven after him works; it also reinforces the family vibes by having them use an actual human last name, which none of the vampires really do. Because this dude's weird and has a job and a house and a wife and kids and pays taxes.

But literally anything but the Olympic Coven I'm begging. Sounds cool but makes no sense.

[the-monkey-ruler]

SonSon (1984) ソンソン

Date: June 1984 Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System / Arcade / Wii Shop Developer: Capcom / Micronics Publisher: Capcom / Romstar Incorporated Genre: Action / Platformer Theme: Fantasy Franchises: SonSon Aliases: SonSon / Son Son II / Capcom Generations / Capcom Generations 3: The First Generation / Strider 2 / Capcom Classics Collection / Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded / Minna to Capcom All-Stars / Rockman ×over / Capcom Arcade Cabinet / Street Fighter X All Capcom / Capcom Super League Online / Capcom Fighting Collection / Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium Type: Retelling / Crossover

Summary:

Son Son is Capcom's tribute to a Chinese legend called Xiyou Ji, meaning 'Journey to the West', considered to be one of the four classic pieces of Chinese literature. The main character in Xiyou Ji is Sun Wukong, or, when the words are pronounced as if they were Japanese kanji, Son Gokuu (hence the name Son Son).

All of Son Wukong's companions besides Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) are snatched by a demon and it's up to the two of them to chase after the demon and rescue them. The game auto-scrolls with multiple platform "tiers" and the player must switch between them and attack incoming enemies with their weapon. By switching tiers, the player can collect score items.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SonSon

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aI62ns_zTk&ab_channel=OldClassicRetroGaming

[scary-ivy]

I found my radio station's collection of old Elvis Costello and the Attractions records and I'm going to share pictures of them because there's so many cool details

First up, Goodbye Cruel World

The radio station uses these stickers to highlight recommend songs, but the DJs love to put in funny little comments as well. Usually these stickers are written on right when the album came out, so they provide a snapshot into what contemporary listeners though of the records. Apparently the DJs of the time liked Goodbye Cruel World, but what does (Don't Ya Wish He Really Meant It?) mean?

Having only seen this album cover at really low resolutions on streaming, I was surprised to discover who those indistinct figures were

Really cool art on the back of Goodbye Cruel World, once again we never get to see this stuff with streaming :/ love the blatant political message of "nuclear ban now"

Lots of weird little in-jokes in the credits to this one. Maurice Worm is one of Steve Nieve's aliases.

Really interesting radio promo copy of Spike featuring an hour-long interview, I have to check if it's been uploaded online before. It also promises "This Town (The Bastard Mix)", which might be the censored version of This Town where "bastard" was replaced with "sweetheart" that I was looking for online but couldn't find. Or maybe it's the other way around?

Recommend songs off Punch the Clock. I'm surprised because none of these are what I would consider the "big hits" of the album.

The back of Punch the Clock. I'm noticing the other Attractions often wind up on the back of these records.

Probably my favorite detail out of everything is the title of "The Invisible Man" being written to look like it's becoming invisible (It's not just faded like Boxing Day above it).

Very green Veronica single. I believe it's just the same version of Veronica on both sides. These weird radio promo vinyls are the ones I'm most excited about because they so rarely see the light of day after their release...I just realized since Paul McCartney was involved with this one I can play it on the Beatles show!

Get Happy!! without the iconic worn-out ring on the cover? I guess the vinyl can just get worn out on it's own...I believe the 7/25/83 might be the date the vinyl was acquired, or perhaps the date it was supposed to be deemed "old" and thrown out (can you imagine?)

The back features this nice art of the Attractions

The song order of side one and side two is reversed from how the album is presented in streaming. Is this an error, or have I been listening to it in the wrong order this whole time??? Also the song is apparently supposed to be called "5ive Gears in Reverse".

Really cute letter from Nick Lowe promising that the audio quality has not been compromised for the length of the album. It's so fascinating to learn about these types of technical limitations that no longer exist. Like if it released today it would just go to streaming and then probably get a double vinyl release to wring more money out of collectors.

The American "paint-splatter" Armed Forces album cover features the Elephant cover on the back. I already knew this but it was still cool to see.

This Years Model! This record features one of the alternate cover photos (probably my favorite one), and it is a genuine demo record complete with a label from Columbia.

They put the runtimes and little recommendation check boxes for the sake of the DJs, but it looks like every song got checked and stared multiple times (except for Little Triggers :/)

Glowing reviews...it's so exciting to imagine being a young DJ in 1978 hearing This Years Model for the first time and correctly calling it a masterpiece.

"Martial more consistent throughout than My Aim Is True" lol.

I can't really read the cursive, but I it's interesting how they called Pump It Up a mixture of old styles (immediately picking up on the Dylan ripoff), and I wonder what the scribbled over parts say?

The back cover, which I'm seeing now for the first time. Love that 70s bedroom.

The Only Flame In Town single has this really striking artwork of a illustrated woman in a real scene. It's dated 12/4/84.

Pump It Up version? I'll have to listen to it. Also glad someone else loves this version of Baby It's You.

Nothing interesting here I just think it's funny they decided The Only Flame In Town deserves to be on a greatest hits compilation.

A collection of Almost Blue era songs, including a note from Elvis.

That's all I was able to photograph this week, but there's still about 5 Elvis Costello /the Attractions records I haven't looked at yet, I will update this next week!

[thedevotionaltour]

i really am glad i've learned to enjoy my name in full (maybe not my full full name bc for whatever reason i feel embarrassed on it. it's literally a normal name but the one of the times i said that about it well the one time someone also agreed it was ah yeah not great it unfortunately stuck more than the times people disagreed bc i was Stupid as a child and teenager. one day i'll get over this too). i will always introduce myself as my nickname and prefer to go by it but then i get the fun special thing of well i trust you with my full name and you may use it if you wanna. it's also how when i feel close enough to some online friends they also get to use my irl name (well nickname but it pretty much operates that way bc even on my school records for college it's that name instead for what to show up as in like classes my email etc). i consider my aliases my names too theyre just as important to me and are who i am but you know. the mild separation etc. but anyways the point is my irl name is like a fun bonus thing.

[crudevillain-a]

♡ independent. private. highly selective.♡

♡ Deadman Wonderland canon roleplay blog, based in the BNHA / MHA fandom and DMWL canon

♡ AUs & crossovers available ( upon request ). ♡

♡ carrd  ♡

♡ affiliated with: TBA ♡

♡ muse(s): Minatsuki Tamaki, Toto Sakigami, & Yosuga Mitsuzaki 

hello, I'm Wrennly. I'm 25 years old, American, & taken. I go by she/they or she/her pronouns as well. I am pagan, practice witchcraft, & own 2 lizards ( Fiona and Hildagarrd ) & a cat ( Addison ).

♡ mobile rules below cut ♡

♡ there will be no comparisons to deities, whether that's ic or ooc.

♡ I will wait up to a week or two for a message back whether that's IC or OOC if I've followed you recently. I will unfollow after not hearing anything. if I'm the one who continuously reaches out, with no reciprocation, I will remove you. I understand being busy, but if I reach out and don't get a reply after a while, I will end our relationship.

♡ relationship depreciation does not apply here, & let me explain. "whether I talk to you in a day, or in a year. I'll see you when I see you; until then, take care". this means that if you disappear, and stop replying, I will not be angry. however, I will remove you from discord or tumblr because I like to keep my circle to those who actively enjoys writing with me / speaking to me.

♡ I am neurodivergent; I have PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, Anxiety, & Depression. I work part-time as well as have a life outside of tumblr. I'm in a committed relationship, & that takes up a lot of my time as well as another blog ( @qvartzdied ).

♡ I frequently engage in cannabis usage, and are pro-cannabis as medicine. as such, sometimes ( usually later in the evening ), I will be intoxicated. if this makes you uncomfortable, do not follow me. I will not curb my personality for the comfort of yours.

♡ I also follow a lot of people, so I may forget your alias/pronouns/muses! I always try to reread everything before contacting people, but sometimes I am a forgetful bean! please offer me grace!

♡ I am closing my circle down to select people and friends. this means that I am private and highly selective. I will not follow if a muse page, rules, and age of mun ( you must be 21+ ) aren't readily available on the blog. 

♡ muses are written at an age-range. meaning, some may be underage in one thread scenario, but of age in another. always look at tags for extra information. most times, consider adult ages as default.

♡ NSFW and other content will appear on the blog, which includes but are not limited to NSFW: smut, mentions of rape, explorations of human psyche, religious mentions, drug usage, sex work, abuse, pregnancy issues, abortion / miscarriage, sexuality, cannibalism, blood, gore and so many more. do not follow if under 21+.

♡ also, please reblog from source. I will post frequent in character musings, aesthetics, fanart, and so on for my muses. it helps me maintain muse

♡ blog is drama-free, will never post roleplay drama or politics drama. life updates will be periodically given based on how often I'm promising to be online, but cannot for any reason.

TOXICITY CLAUSE. I used to be a shitty rp partner & friend! I never committed bigoted acts like racism or sexism, but I'd have the tendency to collect ships or participate in drama etc. my past aliases include Sam, Sammi, Stormi, Peaches, & now Wrennly. all problems have been fixed.

[dav-p]

Biopic (with Matsu Dodo)【UTAU Original】

Illustration by Blythette

Hi hello yes I have the silly brain disorder that makes me dissociate and have an entire high school classroom in my head, so I made a song about it.

If you too enjoy silly songs about having a silly fucked-up brain, you should check it out mayhaps methinks.

I'm also very very silly and wanna maybe go in depth about it so if you're interested at all in that feel free to read more.

‌

Content Warning: Topics of mental illness, dissociation, and trauma will be discussed.

"Biopic" is the opening track on my album "11:11", and it features the vocals of UTAUloid Matsu Dodo.

Biopic is a track that, in it's rawest form, is about being a system, living with a trauma-based dissociative disorder, and how these factors affect the relationship you form with your memories. I have a dissociative disorder, and I am a system myself, which is why I went with this theme.

The goal I had in mind when creating "11:11" was to have it sonically transition from industrial distortion to electronic to piano ballads. So as Biopic is the first song, it's arguably one of the most distorted, industrial, and aggressive tracks in the whole album. Despite this, it simultaneously has a more melancholy sound to it in comparison to other industrial tracks on the album.

Overall, I wanted it to have a more spaced-out sound to it, simulating dissociation in a way. I like to think of the aggressive beats and noise amongst the dissonant synthesizers as representative of memories (more specifically, traumatic ones) and how sudden and chopped up in nature they can be in contrast to the present, to sufferers of dissociative disorders.

The song samples slamming doors, breaking glass, and screaming. Briefly touching on the scream for a moment: It's actually from an audiobook I played a role in. It's from Chapter 15 of The Omega Event, in which [SPOILER INCOMING] the character I play (Hunter Jackson) dies saving his friends. That scream was essentially the conclusion of me playing the role of Hunter Jackson, a character that legitimately changed my life. Playing him was the one thing that got me through the bullshit I faced in 2020. So make of that what you will.

With the artwork and music video, I had the same idea and goal in mind. As the character at the center flashes and fades in and out of sight and videos play in his silhouette when he isn't visible, his surroundings are somehow staying perfectly still. For myself and my system, this is how a lot of our memories manifest to us in our mind. They feel contrasted to reality, to our surroundings, and to what we truly know. They feel distant.

The artwork was created by my really talented friend, Blythette. And the video was created by myself and my alter, Ryuto. (For context, some of my headmates and I go by our own separate aliases online. Hence why Ryuto is credited under his own alias and not mine.)

FUN FACT, most of the videos that play in the character's silhouette throughout the music video are old videos of ours which were taken while we were in middle school and high school. There is only one clip that isn't the case, and that is the very first one with the sunflowers, as that one is a stock clip. I wanted to include sunflowers because I have a very positive association with them in my memories, mainly pertaining to an individual I was really close with in childhood.

Getting into the lyrics, overall they're about experiencing loneliness as a system amongst your memories. As a system, we chose to make each other our family over a large portion of our actual family. However, despite how close we are with one another and how familial we consider each other, it feels like that isn't genuinely real due to the fact that we're a system and share a body. It feels like it's all in our head, because the things we went through together were merely in our head and did not manifest into the material world. It's an isolating feeling of having a true family, but only because YOU and YOUR OWN BRAIN made them, not because anybody actually cared enough to understand your reality.

Okay I think that's all. Overall this is one of my favourite songs I've made thus far, both musically and lyrically. I'm extremely proud of it!

Thanks for reading if you've come this far! Maybe I'll post more analyses of my music in the future if that's something someone might enjoy reading.

[odaclan]

Nobukatsu's headship of the Oda family after Kiyosu Conference

The state of the Oda clan succession is kind of confusing, with various narratives flying around about what exactly came out of the "Kiyosu Conference". The latest research determined that the official heir is indeed Sanboushi, with Nobutaka and Nobukatsu intended to serve as guardians. The old fashioned narrative of Shibata Katsuie putting up Nobutaka as heir candidate while Hideyoshi supported Sanboushi against him is considered incorrect.

I have finally found more detailed info that seems to confirm the state of the affairs. This is a letter transcript from the 12th month of Tenshou 10 (approximately January 1583):

御状拝見候、よってこの表の儀、三介様御名���に相究め、若子様今日請け取り申し、供奉いたし候、当国不届の仁は曲事に相臥せ、ことごとく一篇に申し付け候条、その御心得あるべく候、はたまた委しき儀森勝申さるべく候、恐〻謹言、 　極月廿一日　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　羽筑秀吉（花押） 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　惟五郎左長秀（花押） 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　池勝恒興（花押） 遠山佐渡守殿 　　　同　半左衛門尉殿 　　　　　　　　　御返報 I have read your letter. The Oda administration has decided to appoint Sansuke-sama (Nobukatsu) as the interim head, and as such he has assumed responsibility for Sanbōshi-sama today and joined the ranks of his vassals. Should there be anyone in Mino who does not accept this, we will bring to heel this individual for unlawfulness, and the whole province shall follow suit. Mori Nagayoshi will relay the further details. Respectfully submitted. 12th Month 21st Day Ha-Chiku Hideyoshi (signature) Kore-Goroza Nagahide (signature) Ike-Shou Tsuneoki (signature) In response to: Tooyama Sado no Kami-dono idem, Hanzaemon no Jou

The transcript is quoted from this post, and I unfortunately cannot find where the artifact is or what it looks like. Presumably this post's author took the transcript from a book.

At some point, I had found articles that claimed that Hideyoshi somehow flipped the Kiyosu Conference decision on a later date. He put up Nobukatsu as the actual new clan head, and sidelined Sanboushi. Wikipedia cites the source of this claim from papers from Aichi prefecture's historical archives.

However, we can see now that the claim is not entirely true. It is stated that clearly, the official head is Sanboushi. Nobukatsu is only serving as the interim head/temporary lord in his stead until he is of age. Still, even as just an interim head and not the actual new lord of the clan replacing Sanboushi, this would put him above Nobutaka. It does make sense why Katsuie and Nobutaka would be offended by this decision, and thus led to the Battle of Shizugatake.

Wikipedia claims that this decision to appoint Nobukatsu as the interim head was actually done in the tenth month, quite interestingly not very long after Hideyoshi wrote this exaggerated letter offering to commit seppuku and "follow Nobunaga to death". The cited paperwork (same as the above Aichi prefecture archive material) is unfortunately still paywalled and cannot be viewed online, so I cannot verify this.

Also, a note on the funny-seeming names in the signatures. It is common for people in this time to abbreviate their names and aliases or titles in that manner in letter signatures. "Ha-Chiku" is Hashiba Chikuzen, "Kore-Goroza" is Korezumi Gorozaemon, and "Ike-Shou" is Ikeda Shouzaburou.

Niwa Nagahide was granted the new surname "Korezumi" when he was promoted in 1575.

Tooyama Sado no Kami is Tooyama Toshikage 遠山利景, a lord who holds territory in Mino Province. Hanzaemon no Jou is his son. Notes in the article mentioned that Edo period chronicles from Iemitsu's reign claimed that the Tooyama family had already pledged to serve the Tokugawa at this time. However, since the original inquiry from the Tooyama side (to which this cited letter is a response) is nowhere to be found, we don't know for certain what's really happening here.

[freedkenna-a]

♡ independent. private. highly selective. independent Scottish selkie oc blog.♡

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♡ affiliated with:

hello, I'm Wrennly. I'm 25 years old, American, & taken. I go by she/they pronouns as well. I am pagan, practice witchcraft, & own many animals. these are the rules & basic muse bio below.

♡ there will be no comparisons to deities, whether that's ic or ooc.

♡ relationship depreciation does not apply here, & let me explain. "whether I talk to you in a day, or in a year. I'll see you when I see you; until then, take care."

♡ I am neurodivergent; I have PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, Anxiety, & Depression. I work full-time as well as have a life outside of tumblr. I'm in a committed relationship, & that takes up a lot of my time.

♡ I also follow a lot of people, so I may forget your alias/pronouns/muses! I always try to reread everything before contacting people, but sometimes I am a forgetful bean! please offer me grace!

♡ I am a shipping whore and prioritize bonds held with other people & their characters. friends receive favoritism over strangers, but I try to play fair! I want to write & ship with people I'm comfortable with & who know me very well!

♡ muses are written at an age-range. meaning, some may be underage in one thread scenario, but of age in another. always look at tags for extra information. most times, consider adult ages as default.

♡ NSFW and other content will appear on the blog, which includes but are not limited to NSFW: smut, mentions of rape, explorations of human psyche, religious mentions, drug usage, sex work, abuse, pregnancy issues, abortion / miscarriage, sexuality, and so many more. do not follow if under 20+.

♡ blog is drama-free, will never post roleplay drama or politics drama. life updates will be periodically given based on how often I'm promising to be online, but cannot for any reason.

TOXICITY CLAUSE. I used to be a shitty rp partner & friend! I never committed bigoted acts like racism or sexism, but I'd have the tendency to collect ships or participate in drama etc. my past aliases include Sam, Sammi, Stormi, Peaches, & now Wrennly. all problems have been fixed.

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬

full name: Mairi Rose Kenna nickname: Mai, Ri gender: CIS female height: 5 foot 9 inches age ( verse dependent ): 17 - 25 zodiac: March 21st; Aries species: selkie

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥

hair color: dark brunette eye color: hazel skin: fair body type: thin, but curvy dominant hand: left scars: on her hands, arms, and thighs most noticeable feature(s): her eyes

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝

place of birth: Scotland siblings: none parents: unknown ( mother - escaped, father - alive )

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

occupation: jobless current residence: homeless close friends: none relationship status: multiship financial status: poor criminal record: nonexistent vices: stealing, but she's not good at it ( but she's never been caught )

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

sexual orientation: biromantic bisexual preferred sexual role: submissive | dominant | switch | top | bottom | vers. libido: medium turn on's: prefers making love turn off's: quick sex relationship tendencies: relationship unsure

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

theme song: honey and glass - Peyton Cardoza mental illnesses: PTSD, anxiety physical illnesses: athsma phobias: drowning self confidence level: medium vulnerabilities: her fur

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Mairi is on the shyer part of the spectrum, she means well whenever she's talking to others. Mairi has a unique sense of justice ( where stealing to survive is alright ). she is supportive of the communities she's part of, and identifies as a queer woman. Mairi enjoys cooking.

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲

Mairi's childhood was spent indoors where she wasn't allowed to play. her father was a domineering man who would force Mairi into aligning with his pre-concieved notions of what a daughter should be like. one day, her mother found her fur and escapes, never to be seen again. Mairi mourned the loss of her mother for a long time, and her father equipped a more extensive measure to keep Mairi under his control.

eventually, Mairi found her sealskin and escapes as well, abandoning her father.

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬

species ability: selkie - ability to turn into a seal special ability: Mairi also aligns herself as a witch so she has powers of witchcraft

[sailor-strawberry-moon]

Hello!

I'm so glad you could find me here on Tumblr!

INTRODUCTIONS

Name: Kitsune Aliases: Kit, Kitsu, KitKat, Aimer, Sailor Birthday: 9/25/09 Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual Personality Type: INFP-T Region: United States of America (Type EUROPEAN, Half-Irish) Languages: English (Native), Spanish, Japanese, Latin, French, Korean, and a little bit of German and Russian Other Social Media (Crossed out text means: not as active on the social media): Character.ai, Wattpad, Online Sequencer, Music Box Maniacs

INTERESTS (Biggest interests/hyperfixations are in bold)

The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants Friday Night Funkin' (Especially Mid-Fight Masses) Countryhumans/Countryballs Gumby VeggieTales (Especially LarryBoy) Sailor Moon My Little Pony (MLP) SEGA (yes, all of it) Star Wars Anything starring Bruce Lee (especially Fist of Fury, from 1972) The Terrible Two (a book by Mac Barnett and Jory John) Minecraft Dumb Ways to Die Unikitty Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss AVGN (Angry Video Game Nerd) Vocal Synths (Vocaloid, Utau, SynthV, etc.) Spy vs. Spy Dog Man Futurama Kelton (a series by a user named "inkspecco") Interland (a game made by Google) FNAF: Security Breach Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) Bibleman "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" by Art Spiegelman The Owl House Teen Titans (2003) Thomas & Friends

DNI (DO NOT INTERACT) IF YOU...

Basic dni (racist, sexist, ableist, MAP/lolicon/shotacon/pedophile/child fiddler, zoophile, lgbtphobe, nsfw accounts, all that jazz) Proshipper (this includes, but is not limited to, minor-adult shipping, incest, and/or sexualization of minors regardless of if they're fictional or not) Support the Westboro Baptist Church, PragerU, Autism Speaks and/or PETA Neo-Nazi/Anti-Semitic Use disorders/disabilities/mental conditions as an aesthetic MCYT/DreamSMP stan (the kind that made up fake sexualities and races based on Dream and/or ship DreamNotFound) Call the UN and/or other do-gooder organizations "the antichrist" and harass supporters of said organizations for it only slander me for my toxic past (mostly dumb shit i did when i was too young to be using the internet) Use the "fatherless" term as a way to describe people who are cringe Wish to spread negativity about my interests (especially TETOCU and VeggieTales)

THINGS I'M IFFY ON

K-Pop stans Go!Animators/Vyonders People who used to be friends with people i don't like but got away from said people People who were my friend for a while but left because i didn't make them comfortable anymore People who use "Jesus" as a slang word (I am, or at least am considered, half-Christian-half-Buddhist for context, and I was always told to not use Jesus's name as a slang word) People who preach religion too much to the point that it sounds like they're forcing the religion on others

OTHER STUFF

If I tell you my past at any point in time, it means I have a certain amount of trust in you

If you're gonna be my friend then please tell me what it is that makes me uncomfortable to be around before asking me if we should end the friendship

sometimes i dont know the best way to respond to things and sometimes when you talk to me i'll need you to include a tone tag since i cant immediately figure out your tone

I don't take art requests because one, I want to feel independent, and two, I don't want to accidentally butcher anyone's ideas in my own artstyle

I use curse words and I'm used to hearing curse words, so if you berate me for using curse words yet don't berate others for the same reason, consider yourself blocked

I'm a very curious girl so expect to see me reblog things that interest me

Before you send me an ask, I would like you to read this post about why I don't allow anonymous asks ===========================

Have fun on my profile and remember, A smile makes every day worthwhile!