#her >>>>>>> every other character in the history of characters. btw. if you even care

[woozapooza]

😍🫶🥰👏👸🏻🌟💖 Dr. Melfi 💖🌟👸🏻👏🥰🫶😍 in season 2

[skyeistrying]

can you do vi headcannons in a similar way to the sevika one?

♥️Vi HCs♥️

broken up into categories for general, romantic, and nsfw headcanons respectively.

safe for bisexual women, trans, and enby lesbians :)!

lower case is on purpose. not beta read, sorry for any typos.

men dni minors dni men dni minors dni men dni minors dni

general

her carabiner is on the left. it has the basics and a couple of cute handmade charms courtesy of her sister.

if she wasn’t an enforcer, she would be a professional boxer/pit fighter AFTER fighting becomes less of a coping mechanism for her.

i am not the first person to think of this but … she plays the guitar. she would be self taught.

she can sing pretty well too. used to sing powder lullabies their mom would sing.

LOOOOVESSSS HORROR MOVIES!!! she could probably go on a long rant about the history of horror as a genre, especially slasher films.

dog person. asks to pet almost every dog she sees on a walk.

she apologizes first after almost any argument she’s in.

it takes her 10-15 minutes TOPS to get ready, usually less than that.

smells like old spice and just her natural scent. very plain, but very comforting.

gives the best, most comforting hugs

sends streaks on snap.

romantic

and the world's best kisser award goes to…

seriously, she’s like a kissing god. gives the kind of kisses that have you weak in the knees. you get butterflies at the thought of kissing her.

every day before she leaves for work she kisses you SILLY!! like, you will be thinking about that kiss ALL day.

her giving and receiving love language is physical touch. no questions asked. she is constantly seeking your warmth.

she’s almost always touching you; an arm around your waist or shoulder, pinkies intertwined, hands brushing, holding hands.

if you aren’t keen on physical touch, don’t worry! she would be willing to set boundaries with you.

she isn’t very good at drawing but she loves to draw you in the margins of notebooks. tries her best to remember what your smile looks like and how your eyes are shaped, even for low effort doodles.

she is such a sweetheart. goes out of her way to get you flowers or chocolates, even when it isn’t valentine’s day.

will call you sooo many petnames. her favorites to use would be honey, baby, and sweetheart.

loves spooning. she looooves to be little spoon!! please let her be little spoon at least twice a week!!!

nsfw

She is almost exclusively a top, and she prefers it that way. However, for the right person, she might bottom once in a blue moon.

when it comes to dominance or submission, she mostly follows your lead. she's usually okay with either but will have moments where she prefers one over the other.

when she's feeling more dom, she lets you know immediately.

she has big hands and let’s just say she knows exactly how to use them.

sit on her face. just do it, please sit on her face or else she will die. sit on her face!!!!!

vocal!! in like, every way you can imagine! has the prettiest moans and tells you the sweetest things.

even when shes feeling controlling or dominant, she takes care to be gentle with you.

buuuut if you get her riled up enough she has no issue with a little man handling.

very experimental!!! down to try almost anything once.

hello dear anon! if you’re reading this, i hope you enjoyed. i had a lot more ideas for vi than i thought i would. i’d love to know if we have any common headcanons ^^!♥️🎠

my inbox is open for requests! i’ll write for any arcane character and have lots of other fandoms i write for too. i do more than just headcanons btw ♥️🎠

[captaincowabunga]

“The writers nerfed vi’s character in season 2!!”

Did they tho? or are u just allergic to character development?

one big thing im so tired of seeing in this fuckass fandom is all the people saying shit like that. Her character was not nerfed or badly written in s2. it developed. as it shouldve. all those people saying that it was out of character for vi to join the enforcers and suddenly wanting to get jinx just didnt watch the show imo. jinx did a lot to vi in s1 and vi has EVERY right to feel resentment towards jinx for it. Me personally if my sister killed my whole family and then teamed up with the man who tried to kill our adoptive father I’d wanna beat her ass too. and saying that “vi chose cait over jinx!” is such a stupid thing to say to defend your dislike towards vi or caitvi. Powder chose jinx over vi when all vi wanted was her sister back and was willing to leave cait in s1 for that. She just didnt want jinx to shoot cait. that was all she wanted was her sister back and cait to not be killed in front if her face. but as i said powder chose jinx over vi so like c’mon yall.

also the caitvi haters pmo. Amanda has made statements which ARE CANNON BC SHE WROTE CAITVI BTW and yet caitvi haters are denying everything shes saying? Like sorry, just because you think “Vi deserved better and everything caitlyn did was awful and unforgivable and im now gonna compare this fictional character to a very awful man that existed in history and destroyed countless innocent lives that were real!” does not make it at all reasonable.

You’re feelings are not cannon.

stop acting like everything Amanda said abt caitvi is wrong when she’s the one who wrote the damn couple.

No, i do not think the things caitlyn did are okay. However, the acts she committed for one killed no one (deleted scenes arent cannon btw!) and as the writers have said, she used the gas only to target the chembarons and dismantle shimmer which was ACTIVELY MAKING ZAUN WORSE. even in her unhinged anger she still cared about taking down shimmer and silco’s goons despite actively wanting to hunt down jinx as well.

AND MIGHT I ADD ambessa was fuel for caitlyn’s fire. AMBESSA! wanted the violence. AMBESSA! did not care abt the innocent lives and AMBESSA wanted the war. not caitlyn. yall criticize everything caitlyn does while you are letting the things, silco, ambessa, jinx and other antagonists in the show had done slide. which is odd because i fear silco was the one causing harm to the under-city and using children for labour, and filling the streets with drugs, while also working with enforcers! so no, caitlyn is not perfect but no one in the show is. however caitlyn haters are somehow taking everything this woman does out of context and making it seem like she’s the worst character in the show.

(disclaimer no hate to ambessa. I personally love every character in the show except for viktor and silco. but i dont HATE them and im not gonna pretend like theyre terribly written characters and compare them to awful real people in history CAITLYN HATERS LOOKING AT YOUU!! 🥰🥰)

but for some reason vi, caitlyn, and caitvi haters just love to make up their own bs to defend their ass arguments and tell the writers of arcane that they’re wrong? about their own characters? and story plot and writing?

you can dislike the character, the ship, the story. but lets not pretend the reasons you dislike it is cannon.

like i said

YOUR FEELINGS👏ARE👏NOT👏CANNON👏

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. caitvi/caitlyn haters dni unless it is to have a RESPECTFUL, CALM, AND MATURE debate about the topic. which means not comparing caitlyn to mustache man or a very awful cult or calling her a fascist or me a fascist apologist bc for some reason thats a big thing yall like to do.

[cod-dump]

HI HELLO UH

I've never really done asks before but this question is burning a hole through my skull

is there any way you could provide a list of the characters from COD that are present in your teen!au and their roles? I have many ideas and silly situations in my head that need context >:)

(love your stuff btw, very cute)

From my notes to you! Hopefully this satisfies!

The characters and their roles and backstories

———

Ghost:

Simon R. Price is the adopted son of Price and brother of Kyle. He is sixteen. Simon was taken away from his bio family at the age of eight after his bio father god into some shady business and those people came after his kids and wife. He was a flight risk for every caregiver he was given to, so Laswell had to step up her game and find someone more capable. Price turned out to be the perfect one for the job, the man ending up adopting Simon when he turned thirteen. Price helped Simon get in contact with his brother and mother and helps to make sure they stay in his life. He can’t go back with his mom, it’s too dangerous, and Tommy had found his own family. Simon is able to spend time with his mother and brother on some holidays and every other birthday.

—

Gaz:

Kyle G. Price is the adopted son of Price and brother of Simon. He is fifteen. Kyle was abandoned when he was nine. It was rough for him, leaving him abandonment and trust issues which ultimately made it hard for him to find a new family. Laswell sent him to stay with Price and Kyle ended up never leaving. He was adopted by Price when he was twelve. Though he butts heads with Simon a lot, it’s out of playfulness. Kyle loves his father and brother very much. He started dating Laswell’s son, Alex, and has been pretty secretive about it. He’s worried about how dating his dad’s boss’ son might affect him, so they keep quiet about their relationship.

—

Price:

John Price is the adoptive father of Simon and Kyle. He is thirty-seven. Price is ex-military and currently working for CIA’s own Kate Laswell as a ‘free agent’ as Laswell calls him. An issue arose involving an ongoing threat that required Price to care for Simon. he ended up loving him so much that he adopted him. It did complicate Laswell’s work but she didn’t try to stop him. Price had devoted his life to caring for and loving Simon, and when Laswell sent him Kyle to look after he did the same for him. He ended up getting in a strange romantic relationship with one of Laswell’s contacts. This is something both he and Nik keep from Laswell.

—

Nik:

Nik is the unofficial second father of Simon and Kyle. He is forty-seven. He was stationed to look after Simon while he was being cared for, chasing off anyone that would try to do him harm or take him. He was the one who took Simon to Price. Even after Simon was confirmed safe in Price’s care, Nik never left out of worry for the boy. He ended up getting romantically entangled with Price, both refusing to put a label on their relationship, once they did it becomes all too real and Laswell would not approve. Nik has helped raise Simon and Kyle. He loves them like they’re his own. He often leaves to do work for Laswell, being gone for days at a time. This does not bother him because everything he’s doing is making the world safer for those he loves.

—

Laswell:

Kate Laswell is the mother of Alex K. Laswell and the wife of Annie Laswell. She is forty-five. Laswell is the boss of Price and has been dealing with a growing threat to the UN. Big or small, she’s on the job. One of these jobs involved placing two at risk boys into a capable caregiver’s care. This ultimately lead to Price adopting his first child, Simon. While it made things more difficult for her by capacitating one of her best men, she did nothing to stop the adoption after seeing how happy they both were. Laswell has a rough history with Nik, seeing they’ve met each other’s guns to the face more than once. Nik has turned a new leaf, but Laswell has a hard time trusting him.

—

Alex:

Alex K. Laswell is the son of Kate and Annie Laswell. He is seventeen. Alex was first introduced to the Price family after Kyle was adopted. He and Kyle hit it off almost instantly and became inseparable, which lead to them dating. Alex is very nervous about how Kyle’s father would react to him dating his son while Kyle was worried about what his dad would think about him dating his boss’ son, so they both agreed to keep it a secret for now. Simon knows about their relationship and has agreed to keep it a secret, but this is anything but comforting considering how protective Simon is of his brother and how Alex is convinced the guy would kill him if given a reason.

—

Farah:

Farah Karim is the childhood friend of Simon when he was first taken in by Price. She is eighteen. Farah was close with Simon since he was first taken in by Price. Being neighbors, they often played together and hung out. Though after Kyle was brought into the Price household, Farah had to move away with her family. She kept contact with Simon but did not speak to him as much as she would’ve liked, having been dealing with a less than favorable home life. After Farah turned eighteen, she was kicked out of her parent’s home, sharing the Sam fate as her elder brother. With no where to go, she went to the Shadow Company Shelter, where she was stay until Price took her home to stay with him and his family. She’s determined to make up for lost time with Simon and has become an elder sister to him and Kyle.

—

Soap:

Johnny MacTavish is Kyle’s best friend and Simon’s crush and inevitably his boyfriend. He is fifteen. Johnny lives across the street from the Price family with his parents and three older sisters. He became friends with Kyle soon after Kyle was sent to school, taking him under his wing and helping him adjust to his new environment. Johnny would develop a crush on Kyle’s older brother, which would blossom into a romantic relationship. Johnny introduced Kyle to his friend Hong-Jin, which would lead to an inseparable trio of friends. Though there is no such evidence, Johnny is thoroughly convinced Simon’s dad’s friend would make him disappear if anything were to happen to Simon.

—

Horangi:

Hong-Jin Kim is Johnny’s long time best friend. He is fifteen. Being a immigrant, it took time for Hong-Jin to adjust to his new life, thankfully Johnny made things much easier faster they became friends. He was originally jealous and bitter when Johnny started hanging out with Kyle, feeling like he was losing his friend. Then the bitterness and jealousy turned into a crush that Hong-Jin is certain will kill him. He doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with Kyle or Johnny, so he keeps his feelings quiet. He’s happy to be his friend.

—

Graves:

Phillip Graves is the caretaker of the local runaway shelter for teens and young children. He is forty-two. Phillip is an associate of Laswell, the two having a less than friendly work relationship. While his day job is running a shelter and caring for and protecting children and teens in unfortunate situations, Phillip also does work with Laswell when it’s called for. Many call him an asshole and selfish, but Phillip genuinely cares for the kids under his care. He’s been running the shelter for a goof several years, and quite a few kids who he cared for that had long since become adults now work with him as caretakers themselves. These caretakers, these Shadows, are what keep the kids safe. Phillip is very proud of them.

—

Alejandro:

Alejandro Vargas is the best friend of Simon and boyfriend of Rudy. He is seventeen. While almost al the kinds in the neighborhood avoided the violent new kid, Simon, Alejandro saw a challenge and ran to meet him. It didn’t take long for him to consider Simon his best friend and included him in everything he did. Simon was there for him when things didn’t end well with Valeria, the girl he was certain was his everything. Simon helped him put his head back on straight, which lead him to asking out Rudy. Now he is certain he’s on the right path, organizing a gang of kids that live on his street to be ‘heroes’. It’s more or less just a very large friend group, but he likes to pretend.

—

Rudy:

Rudy Parra is Alejandro’s boyfriend and friend of Simon. He is sixteen. Rudy grew up next door to Alejandro and Valeria and was Valeria’s friend before he was Alejandro’s, having gone to the same school as her before they both transferred. He developed a crush on Alejandro but said nothing due to not wanting to become between his friends’ relationship. The two eventually ended things and Rudy’s home life took a turn then after he came out to his parents. The outcome was brutal and Rudy ended up running away, ending up at Shadow Company shelter where he’ll remain until he can get a place of his own. Eventually a relationship sprouted between him and Alejandro, the two officially becoming a couple after Simon’s fifteenth birthday.

—

Valeria:

Valeria Garza is the ex-girlfriend of Alejandro and the local troublemaker. She is seventeen. Valeria has always been getting into trouble, getting kicked out of the all girl’s school she originally went to, getting into trouble with the law, stealing— She’s always been a bad influence. Yet somehow her best friend has never went down the same path as her. She’s not sure where she would’ve ended up if it wasn’t for Rudy. She started dating Alejandro after her and Rudy started going to his school. It didn’t feel right to her, which is what lead to her finally ending things. Alejandro was upset but it was for the best. Besides, now Rudy cold be with him. She knows Alejandro would never hurt him.

—

There are more characters in the au but these are the ones with the biggest roles in it. The au of course focuses around Ghost and his new family and friends. The au is wholesome but the world it’s set in is anything but.

Might add more characters later on

[jungkoode]

hi! this might be totally random, and of course i don’t expect a reply—especially with the sheer amount of asks and notifs you must get on the daily (not to mention you’re out of town this weekend, i hope that’s going well btw!)—but i really needed to share this thought spiral with you. it hit me out of nowhere and honestly i haven’t been able to shake it off, and it feels important. so i hope you receive this simply, and read it when you can. no pressure, just—this one’s been sitting in my chest all day and it’s your fault (in the best possible way).

so. i was watching one of those short-form chinese dramas that tiktok loves to throw at me—something light for a saturday morning after walking the dogs. the premise was peak melodrama, which, fine, love that for them: emperor disguises himself as a homeless man to find a wife, a princess drops the satin ball (we’ve all seen this plot), and he catches it while in disguise. the court and her family are scandalized. but of course, our girl doesn’t care about wealth or appearances (because obviously—god forbid a female lead has material standards lmao). anyway. it was campy, it was dramatic, it was something.

but the more i watched, the more i started to unravel. not because the drama was particularly intense or bad, but because it made me realize something very specific about why your writing hits so hard. see, the show had all the beats of a classic story—conflict, betrayal, stakes. and yet… i couldn’t take it seriously. i was angry. i was bored. i was waiting for nuance that never came.

like—the protagonist’s parents were just cruel. unrelentingly, senselessly cruel. there was no arc, no remorse, no deeper motivation—just this weirdly flat, endless loop of them hating their daughter and loving the one who married rich. they threw handmade gifts in her face. the sister literally made her walk barefoot over burning stones. like?? is this tragedy or satire?? because it had none of the emotional grounding to justify the former, and none of the self-awareness to pull off the latter.

and that’s when it hit me. i’ve seen this before. i’ve felt this frustration before. but it’s only after reading your work that i could name it.

you write with coherence.

i mean that in the most jaw-droppingly sincere way. you write with intention. the drama in your stories never exists for its own sake—it comes from the characters themselves. their backstories. their fears. their desires. their specific, recognizable humanness. and it’s so seamless that you almost don’t notice until you do, and then you start seeing everything else fall apart by comparison.

because here’s the thing—it’s easy to create a hook. to throw conflict into a story and let it spiral. but it’s hard—insanely hard—to create tension that matters. to make a reader feel like every moment is inevitable and surprising. to have them see the betrayal coming, and still gasp when it happens, because it makes so much sense. and you do that. consistently.

your characters don’t just act—they behave. they respond in ways that feel psychologically sound, emotionally layered, real. and when something hurts, it hurts because it was earned. because it’s not just shock—it’s history. it’s logic. it’s everything unsaid coming to a head. and that’s the difference.

that’s why your writing is revolutionary, actually.

not because the stories are wildly experimental (though some of them are, like 25H—i’m still not over that), but because they’re honest. grounded. you’ve set a new standard for what “good storytelling” actually means, and i think a lot of people are slowly starting to realize that. it’s not about originality—it’s about authenticity. about the care you put into making sure everything lines up: motivation, arc, internal logic, plot. even when things break, they break with intention.

i’ve seen people in your asks saying you’ve ruined other fics for them—and i get it now. because once you’ve experienced storytelling where characters fall in love for a reason, where their wounds and fears and decisions are in character, where the plot grows organically from who they are… you can’t go back. you notice when something is lazy. you feel it when a choice is unearned. and it’s jarring.

so yeah. this ask is long and maybe dramatic but i needed to say it: you’re doing something quietly, devastatingly brilliant. and even if not everyone can articulate why your writing hits the way it does, i promise they’re feeling it. subconsciously, absolutely. because once you read something like this, you change. you start to expect more.

thank you for ruining bad writing for me. sincerely. i wouldn’t have it any other way.

What. The. Fuck. :(((((

I read this in one breath. I think I forgot how to blink. My chest physically hurt a little from the recognition in it. I don’t even know where to begin except just—thank you. Thank you so much. This is not just “feedback.” This is like… the anatomy of storytelling reflected back to me in full color. ☹️

What you said about coherence—about the emotional grounding and behavioral logic—I think that’s it. That’s exactly what I lose sleep over trying to get right. I genuinely believe stories don’t have to be shocking to be shattering. They don’t have to be cruel to be compelling. They just need to make sense. And “sense” doesn’t mean clean. It doesn’t mean likable. It means: can I trace this decision back to who this person is, what they’ve been through, what they’ve internalized, and what they’re afraid of?

And when you said they don’t just act, they behave—I don’t know if you realize how rare it is for someone to see that. Like truly see that. That language means so much to me. Because I think often people read behavior as just noise or mistake or messiness, when really, it’s patterned. Even when it’s self-sabotaging. Especially when it is. And you named it. You named the pattern. That’s so rare.

You said it wasn’t dramatic, but this ask is honestly devastating to me in the softest, most humbling way. It means more than you know that you noticed. That something I built with a trembling hand and a hundred second-guesses managed to sharpen your sense of what matters in a story. That you now expect more. That you want reason. That it jarrs you when it isn’t there. That… woah, it means the world to me. Really.

This… message is something I’ll carry with me. For real. It’s not just kind or generous—it’s sharp. It’s incisive. You didn’t just compliment the fic. You named the standard. And I feel honored (and a little terrified??) to be the person you held that standard to.

Also—your read of that drama?? How it collapses under its own weight because it lacks the emotional logic to stand up straight—is exactly the thing that makes me want to write at all. That ache, that hunger for sense, for truth, even in the most heightened, fantastical settings. Especially there. Because when a story asks you to suspend disbelief, I think it owes you honesty in return. And when it doesn’t—when pain is used cheaply or people behave like plot puppets instead of humans—it’s not just frustrating, it’s alienating. It makes you feel like your own depth of feeling is too much. Like you’re wrong for wanting more.

So to hear you say this—to feel like someone else sees the intention, the spine under the story, the why behind every moment—god. It matters so much to me. Not just as a writer but as a person trying very hard to make sense of her own world, and finding shape and safety in fiction first.

And the fact that this all began with a Tiktok drama and a satin ball and a barefoot girl on hot pebbles. That’s poetry. That’s meta. That’s you, already thinking like a writer.

Thank you. For real. Thank you. I’m saving this in ten places and reading it when I doubt myself. Because this isn’t just kind. It’s true. And I believe in truth over praise every time.

Come closer next time. I’ll make you tea and cry with you in the corner.

And then maybe talk shit about the emperor’s wig. (Maybe he should’ve been bald.)

[platinumrosetail]

Could I request a Runaan x male reader who's the son of viren.

So m!reader can use magic to transform into animals (idk if that's possible but let's pretend it is, btw when he transforms back sometimes some parts of the animal remains, the ears/tail etc, and it can last a few hours)

and he decides to transform into a cat to see Runaan and it just becomes a thing he does frequently and what if one time he accidentally falls asleep (Whether he's laying on Runaans lap or sm you choose) and transforms back (he keeps the ears and tail btw so Runaan knows it's him)

Interesting! I don’t know if ethari is in the relationship as well and it’s just focused on the reader and runaan or if this is a au where runaan and ethari aren’t in a relationship so I’m going to not mention it the best that i can so y’all can choose on which one it is. Might have to mess with the ages in order for it to work but it’s not really mentioned as far as I can see.

Warning: noob author, male reader, possible au, and others.

Character: runaan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were the oldest child of Viren and the older brother to Soren and Claudia. Unlike other humans being born without magic you somehow was born with magic, your father has no idea as both he and your mother have no natural (not dark magic) magic history in their blood as far as they knew in order for you to inherit it.

You don’t really follow your father in his dark ways the only reason why you didn’t go with your mother like you wanted to was because your little siblings went with him and you wanted to protect to the best of your ability in case your father does something to them for dark magic, which your mother understood when you told her.

You met runaan while out in the forest as that’s the place you practice cause of the privacy it gives you than any other place plus it gives you time away from your father when he irritates you.

He first saw you as an animal that you had transformed as but soon you transformed back, you have animal features every time you change back into a human.

He was shocked to see a human that has magic without using dark magic at all. He was thinking of killing you but decided against it as he wants to find out how you can shapeshift and if it’s by dark magic or not.

It was shocking on how you two ended together even though you both are from different worlds, you were always reminded of the forbidden love trope some of the books you read had in it you even based your relationship in a little book of yours but it’s mostly for you to read for now.

You two couldn’t talk much unless you want to get suspicion and found out by your father so you two have to be careful about your relationship, it wasn’t until he and his group did you see him again but not in the way you wanted. You found him in the cell while in your animal form, he was passed out while chained up so you lay your animal form on his lap to give him some comfort even if he won’t know, you quickly unchained him and brung him back to your room so you can patch him up, he was resting on your bed so you decided to rest on on his stomach after making sure no one can get in your room without your permission.

(A/n: hope y’all like it! I don’t think I have anything else to say so hope y’all have a wonderful day/evening/night!!)

[nyaagolor]

Vex's big fat SV fic recommendation list

Being stressed while waiting for reviews and thesis feedback had me tearing through the SV AO3 tags like a rabid animal. Bright side to this is that I've been through basically the entire tag for a few characters so you don't have to. Below the cut is all the fics that really stuck with me

Invasive Species by hiratake Hassel/Brassius oneshot. You know that popular post that says the holy grail of AO3 is a 10k oneshot that changes your life when you binge it at 3am? yeah that's this one they meant this fic. It's a look at their younger years and the falling in love stuff these two go through and it's fantastic. There's cute cameos, excellent prose and really fun themes throughout

Team Building (and other remedies for loneliness) by viodef Arven Gen multichap. By the time I finished this fic I was convinced it's canon. It fills in the unseen parts of the game absolutely expertly, telling the story of how Arven caught and raised his team, and balances emotional angst and cute moments within his team flawlessly. It actually got me to care immensely about Arven's Toedschol. btw, this fic is part of a series-- and every fic in it is just as excellent as this one. They're some of the best Arven fics I've ever seen and I cannot recommend them highly enough

I Love You (just in case you didn't know) by WizardGlick Hassel/Brassius oneshot collection. "Where are all the incredible writers for SV?" making old man yaoi content. The Hassel/Brassius scene on AO3 is killing it. This fic has been on my mind since I first read it, it's so GOOD. It's tender it's emotional it's cute it has it all. Even if you don't care for this ship you will by the end of it. Read it

normal people by golden_blue Larry gen oneshot. I'm actually astounded at the charm people are putting into fics about Larry, a character designed to be as basic as possible. This is a fic that really just brings the pokemon world to life, giving so much depth to characters and making everything feel so grounded and lived in. If you like Larry, or even if you don't, read this fic, it'll leave you loving Medali and everyone in it

Kitchen Confidential by aclockworklemon Zerotrio Gen Twoshot (for now). People who characterize the player's mom are the most powerful among us and this is as good as it gets. There's a lot of subtlety in how the characters emotions are explored through the perspective of the character's own mom, and honestly I just love a fic that feels so grounded and sweet. Everyone is characterized so well, and the conflicts feel so real and personal. Good times all around

lost in translation by fivveweeks E4 gen oneshot. This fic is fucking hilarious I am actually begging you to read this one. One of the few times a fic actually got me to belly-laugh. Every work in this author's series about the E4 is equally as funny and equally as good so just do yourself a favor and read them all

holding onto the past (just like her) by centispores Arven oneshot, focused on grief. This one absolutely destroyed me. It has a real mastery of prose, a slowly building sense of dread and confusion that really hammers in the emotional core, and a really good understanding of flow. Setting the fic to a flu delerium backdrop lets the author's talents really shine and also gut punch you right at the end! It hurts, highly recommend

Tenderhearted Trust by infaredlove Jacq focused oneshot. SV introduced the best cast of side characters (the teachers) in the history of this franchise and some valiant authors took it upon themselves to just make banger after banger all about them. This is honestly a recommendation for this author's entire catalogue of work because I adore how they characterize the academy staff, Jacq especially. The prose is great, the feelings are tender, and who doesn't love seeing some nice stories about the adults in the room?

kids and their newfangled lingo by rentaldragon Rika/Geeta oneshot. This one is less than 1k words and as cute as it is funny. It needs no introduction, it's got silly lesbians in it!!

Up the Creek by neutralize Arven oneshot, focused on his failed attempts to heal Mabosstiff. Another ouchie of a fic. This one stings real bad, and the depth of emotion in this one is an absolute killer. The ever increasing desperation here and the ways that Arven's own trauma prevent him from reaching out or getting help for his own mental state are absolutely brutal and an incredible way of illustrating the pre-canon events. This one is rough but it's a very worthwhile read

YOUR _____ APPEARS ABNORMAL. by johnchurch Larry oneshot, Geeta POV. This fic is absolutely genius and even if you don't like either character you have got to give it a shot. It's such a fun and clever way to integrate in-game glitches to an in-universe headcanon. Genuinely delightful. Also watching Geeta slowly lose her mind is more fun than I initially expected

Cool, Cool, Cool by Chumpy Arven/Giacomo oneshot. Really and truly who is doing it like rarepair shippers. They are the backbone of fanfic society and I mean this. This fic is pretty lowstakes in comparison to the others on this list, but man is it cute. I love the characterization, the realism of teenage dialogue and all its awkwardness, and just the way the relationship progresses during the story. Sooo cute, give it a read!

Perennial by Seasonal Penny twoshot. Fics that are canon to me. I'm not even sure how to properly articulate how much this just feels like a legitimate explanation of canon events that happened offscreen. This fic is perfect and also canon. Real to me.

The Fellowship of Glimmora by dragons_tree Geeta multichap, unfinished. This is THE Geeta fic to me. The prose is incredible, the characterization is incredible, the worldbuilding is incredible. If you read one SV fic today make it this one, it will leave you with so many new thoughts on Geeta and her relationships with the gym leaders. Genuinely so so so good I think I would kill to get this fic to update again

Ortega's Drag Race by MimeOfATime Team Star oneshot. This fic is canon in my brain. This is so real to me. The characterization is perfect, the worldbuilding is perfect, begging you to read this fic Right Now. Pls. For me.

Push by agendergrim Professor-focused oneshot. This one is short and also just cracked my brain wide open. SUCH an interesting take on what happened to the other professor and well-written to boot. Do yourself a favor and read this one when you have a few minutes

Historical Perspective by n7punk Sada/Raifort exes oneshot. No one understands Raifort like this author I stg. The characterization of everyone here is absolutely fantastic and is filled with concepts and ideas that feel so authentic to the story of the game. I too love disaster lesbians so this fic was an absolute delight

regret, reflected in crystal by Emolga Turo and Arven focused oneshot. This one is INSANELY rough, big tw for child abuse and an absolutely gut-wrenching internal monologue about it. This fic is really heavy but insanely good, I had to sit down for a while to process it all when I was done. I highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a fic to blow them away, the author is insanely talented and a master of their craft, but also OOF.

oh, just one more question… by pistachiosoda Penny focused oneshot. Such a sweet Team Star character study, it's really neat to see the unique ways that each character speaks and reflects about the boss and how it serves not only to characterize Penny, but them in turn. This genuinely feels like it could be dialogue ripped from some DLC of the game. If you like Team Star def give this one a look

irony by mousewritings Penny and Arven oneshot. This author REALLY understands teenage dialogue. It feels so real it's almost painful, so if you want something that's really gonna captivate you, give this a read. There's something about the way the characters fumble that feels really natural, and this author is extremely talented when it comes to dialogue and attitude. I adore this fic

Endearment by Sarajaye Penny focused oneshot. Centers around Penny's feelings about her dad-- it's like 400 words and super sweet, just do yourself a favor and read it right now. Click on the link and go for it it'll take like two minutes. You'll thank me later.

Glimmer by WolvZephyr Geeta focused oneshot. Good Geeta focused fics are few and far between, so it was fantastic to see one that really delved into her philosophy and attitudes and personality. This is one of those fics that really puts so much depth into a character that it feels like a natural extension of everything in game. Whether or not u think ur a Geeta fan, read this, because it'll absolutely give you a fresh perspective on her

Patch Up by ColourfulVoid Nemona and Miriam focused oneshot. This might actually be one of, if not my absolutely, favorite fic I've read about Nemona. It so perfectly captures the masking she does and the ways that the adults in her life WANT to help but can't because of all the fronts she puts up. This is filed under lists of fics that changed my brain chemistry. Read it

hues by aukai Nemona and Jacq focused oneshot. Similar to the above, this focuses on Nemona's unhealthy habits and masking and I just absolutely adore it. It's a brief glimpse into her pre-story school life and really adds depth to everything happening offscreen. Nemona my beloved

If you don't wanna use a tumblr post for the links, I have all these bookmarked on my AO3 Vex_ation, which is linked here

[ramunereads]

Yozakura Quartet: Vol.1-33

Original Title: 夜桜四重奏 ～ヨザクラカルテット～

Author: ヤスダ スズヒト

Format: Manga

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I complete binged the entire series of Yozakura Quartet.

Having watched the original anime years ago, as well as the remake (?) also quite a while ago, I had known of this series prior. I was driven to the manga after all this time after discovering the author's newest work Bootsleg. The art style suited my tastes quite well, but the story was lacking imo and I'm currently on the fence about continuing to follow the series. I wanted something more substantial, longer, and with a cast I actually liked. So I retraced my steps and dived head first into Yozakura Quartet, the author's longest running and most popular series.

I will say, I like it a lot. I'm a sucker for community based stories. Stories of found family and friendship make me so happy, I will never get tired of reading series with those themes. So, I was very pleasantly surprised when, the more I read, the more it became clear just how deep the bonds run between every single character in Yozakura, even the background characters.

All the main cast characters care deeply for each other, in such a way that it struck me as even being just as potent as typical shounen friendships. Maybe even more so since the Yozakura manga has long chapters of just Slice-of-Life where we get to see the cast interact and bond with each other organically, not just in tough or life threatening situations.

Side Note: We even got some LGBT rep within the main character circle so that's always nice.

Now about the characters. I feel it's been a while since I've liked so many characters. Hime, who is responsible and strong, yet spoils her friends and is actually quite timid. Ao, who is like the secret rock of the group, always cheerful, terrible at lying, and cares so so much about everyone. Kotoha (my favorite character btw), a bookworm who strives to always improve herself and her powers for the sake of her friends, community, and self while also being the goofiest of the main quartet. And those are just 3 out of a rather large and colorful cast. After all, the story is about a town's close knit community.

I also really enjoyed how all the gods are portrayed. Silly, whimsical, seemingly approachable but always retaining divinity, unfair, loving (whether that be the affectionate or tough kind), etc.

In Yozakura, everything the gods do have meaning because the gods are all knowing. From when you'll trip and fall, to what you'll eat for breakfast several weeks from now. Even how and when the world will end. However, because of various restrictions, the gods cannot interfere with people's--or the world's--fate. So they do nothing. And I found that fascinating. In some mythology and pantheons, there are quite a few meddling gods. Whether they be tricksters or just bored, there are plenty stories of gods or higher beings messing with humans for various reasons. So to see them quite literally sit back and watch from afar as the world neared it's end was what I thought was to be quite an interesting take on the relationship between gods and humans.

The longer I read and the deeper I got into the story, I truly came to appreciate and be impressed with how much the author put into this story. From the yokai and half demons and the interpretations of their powers and quirks, to the hierarchy of the gods and of course all the Japanese history and mythology intertwined in the plot and settings of the story. As someone who loves mythology and went through a bit of a Shinto-crazy phase years ago, learning so much Japan's history and mythology was just the cherry on top of reading this series.

This series is currently still ongoing, but depending on how it ends I might have to give Yozakura a place on my top favorite manga list.

PSA:

This manga has crazy fan service in it. Like, an excessive amount. If that makes you uncomfortable then I wouldn't recommend this to you despite all my gushing. I cannot emphasize this enough--there is a ridiculous amount of partial and even full nudity in this series. Everything is censored....but like at a minimal degree.

Everything else about this series is close to being typical shounen or Slice-of-Life, but the fan service is quite glaring.

[bstroobery]

Tips for writing trans characters from someone who was afraid of writing them wrong:

Write their narrative in a way that makes sense for the characters.

For example, my character Dex Dieunarrah discovered he was trans very early in life (after entering kindergarten). This makes sense for his character because he is someone who knows what he wants and doesn’t stop in pursuit of it. He knows who he is and is extremely self-confident. So it makes sense that he knows he’s trans early on in life.

My character Currant Numerfein’s story revolves around how much her life changed after a traumatic family accident when she was young, and revolves around self-discovery and free will. She discovers more about herself and family history through others. So Dex was the one who explained what his experience with gender dysphoria was like and why he socially transitioned when he was younger. Currant decides to give it a try, and finds she much prefers living as a girl instead of a boy. So she sticks with it. It also affects her brother Leno, who is having difficulty moving on with the trauma but loves his sister anyway, despite how much he wishes to return to the past. Furthermore, after noticing how much happier his sister is now that she’s socially transitioned, it helps him realize that the past was actually worse for the people he cares for. I would also like to add that Currant does face a lot of transphobia throughout the story, and biphobia as well since she is also bisexual, which is a major part of her story as she fights to have the freedom to choose for herself in her life instead of allowing others to choose for her.

Another tip is to not bring too much attention to the trans-ness of a character unless it fits in with the narrative.

Such is the case with Ghost Long. He discovered he was trans relatively early on in life too, but he’s a character from a completely different culture as well (one completely fictional btw). He’s been around trans people his entire life, because he lives in a culture that is extremely accepting of a lot of things, and where gender identity is explored very early on for children and it is encouraged that you try out different things at a young age. So of course it makes sense he knew he was trans since he was little. When he decided to socially transition, his parents didn’t even bat an eye. They just said they would accept him and moved on with their lives. A major part of his character is the massive culture shock when he arrives on Earth, because it’s so different from where he’s from.

Then there’s D’Ghala Kanabo, a genderfluid alien who knows who they are, but hides it constantly until they finally feel comfortable around the main cast and embrace their full identity, including their quirks and bad parts of their history. It’s a major part of their character, since they try to hide their kind’s history and pretend it never existed and a huge part of their character is learning to accept that part of their heritage.

The final trans character I want to mention is Squid Fisk. They’re nonbinary, and absolutely refuse to elaborate on what they were identified as at birth. It’s no one’s concern. They already know they’re nonbinary when the reader meets them, and the reader never finds out their sex. Because it doesn’t matter. Their character struggles with trauma and depression, but their past remains mostly a mystery to everyone but their fraternal twin brother Pallet. No one else learns of this, because they deem it unimportant as they attempt to move on from the past at every turn and accept that what was will never be again.

With those three characters, they’re mentioned to be trans and the narrative brings that to a focal point only when necessary, such as when D’Ghala breaks away from their toxic ex-friend group and proudly expresses that they’re genderfluid because now they’re no longer tied down to the expectations had on them by others.

Sometimes you don’t need to write in how a character figured out their gender identity. You can just have them start off that way and never explain it, but give hints here and there. Sometimes you can write about a character discovering that they’re trans. Just remember that the story should fit the character. Don’t force the representation. Make it make sense to the character that you are writing.

Have a great day!

-🍓

[gachagon]

Read your Caitlyn post and yeah, it's infuriating to me how she's treated by the fandom. She did lots of fucked up things... in a show where almost everyone has. honestly on the grey scale of the show she's.. still mostly on the lighter shade of it among the leads (or really Id say she's pretty in the middle) but people treat her like she's irredemable, overexaggerate her actions (using the Grey was bad, but no she did not fucking drop a gas bomb on all of Zaun, there's literally nothing in the show to back this up and you see this repeated ALL the time) and just generally act like because she's rich her trauma is less valid and she should just get over herself like it's nothing after getting kidnapped tortured and watching her mom get killed (which they also minimize as not such a big deal).

Meanwhile the fandom tries to write away Viktor and Jayces flaws, which... are largely the things that make them interesting in the first place, tries to paint Silco as a class based revolutionary he hadn't been since basically his backstory. God even when people talk about how he flooded the lanes with Shimmer I don't see it brought up how he was making everyone dependent ON HIM, the guy who controlled production and distribution.

And I mean fucking hell to go beyond Caitlyn, Vi is probably alongside Ekko the most morally upright character on the show but I see so many people just tearing at her for... joining the Enforcers to try and prevent a war like that makes her worse than the actual villains.

The way this fandom treats the female cast really just grinds my gears because all of the talking points are repackaged misogyny that's all tied up in a neat faux progressive present box. Caitlyn and Vi are the only openly queer women in the show with any real purpose to the plot and story and they're also both the most hated because they made the egregious mistake of having characters flaws and being imperfect.

Jinx is boiled down entirely to her mental illness and people can only attribute the only other relationship she had with another female character as "motherly" instead of sisterly which is so clearly the bond those two have (this is about Isha btw) People misconstrue all of the scenes with her abusive father figure as "sexual" because they are sexualizing her in their own minds and cannot see abuse beyond that kind of dynamic, AND people excuse the abuse she went through because the man who did it is a charming villain who monologues sometimes and also he was "nice" to her in some scenes so I guess that makes him a GREAT dad despite the whole grooming and abuse thing.

Mel is a black woman with a complex family history who literally cares about her legacy as a Medarda and who had a whole arc dedicated to finding her place in Zaun and being accepted for her strengths by her mother, but everyone in this fandom seems to think she "had no arc at all" and was just pushed to the side or rushed or that her ending sucked because she didn't get a boyfriend in the end. So to fix this they just decide to ignore all of the glorious development she got as a character and person and revolve her character around not just one man, but two at the same time. And now when you search for content about her no one ever talks about her actual character and personality, they just talk about her in relation to the guys (one of which didn't even really like her like that) And she still isn't even really a person in any of the godawful ship content they make of her with those two men they've turned her into one of those incredibly boring, stilted "She's the REAL brains of the bunch" type of woman who's perfect and never does any wrong ever.

Everyone just sexualizes Sevika and Ambessa because they're hot older women and that's about it.

I mean this fandom tries so hard to paint itself as this "progressive safe space" but every post about any woman in this fandom is some incredibly misogynistic bullshit. And it's gotten to the point where now everyone is just gladly repeating old misogynistic talking points about every single woman in this show with no introspection at all. When you point out the bigotry of their statements or how they treat the female cast its always just "B-but I DON'T dislike or treat the characters that way because their women at all! It's because of blank!" I also feel like people do this because they themselves are women or are queer and therefore they believe they could NEVER say ANYTHING wrong about a woman ever! but they do all the time because this happens anytime there is a TV show that is popular that has women in it who are morally grey.

[corpsentry]

SORRY i keep coming here to yell !! you got me thinking about cdramas (& t dramas) i enjoyed and then forgot about :"] i watched 如果奔跑是我的人生 earlier this year and the ending lost me, but i was quite captivated by its 20+ episodes before. it centres around parental relationships (asian) and, i don't know much about dance at all but a main character is a dancer and her story made me feel things. the performances were sick, in my unprofessional opinion! I'm Fine is a gorgeous ost track. btw.... i've started rewatching 不良执念清除师 again and i CANNOT RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY ENOUGH. i've been thinking about it (on ep 5 LOL) and i actually don't think the ending dropped the thread or ball or 链子 or however that saying goes (im fever SORRY.... i think it was cathartic and beautiful in the way a galaxy is— i just could not get enough of those guys T__T 不良执念清除师 is about sulky teen (??) guys moving through the world with so much heart. it's about LOVE and ART and how the living go on after tragedy, it's about how. how (PARDON ME....) we get to keep everything we've ever loved for even a fraction of a moment & what we are doing is worthwhile even if it is very small !!!!! it is a show that is, in Voice from IMBD's words, an outstanding Taiwanese drama that excels in every aspect, because it was made with so much care and love...(meta!) also, gay people

first of all No Apology thank you for coming to yell!!! you have a big heart full of love for the world and it moves me!!!! i went down this rabbit hole on m*dramalist after watching 我们的少女时代/our times (2015)-

(tangent incoming) this movie Shook the secondary 2 scene in singapore when it came out everyone and their dog was sobbing about it and i listened to 小幸运 Religiously despite never seeing it myself. Having Seen It Now, it is a sweet little thing and it makes me feel desperately old. it also made me CRY, what can i say i’m a sucker for distances and ships passing in the night and i was soooo happy when liudehua appeared and then adult xutaiyu showed up and he Fuck Ass Hair. my lord, his hair looked like SHIT. PICKLED SEAWEED……… i couldn’t cry after that because i was so busy clenching my asscheeks out of sheer despair FUCK HAIR AND. AND!!! A TOO SHORT BLACK BLAZER ON SKINNY JEANS??? I MEAN REALLY??? I KNOW 2015 WAS NINE YEARS AGO but i don’t recall fuckass hair being the in thing then…. this memory i do not have…. you have to understand how emotionally devastating this was to me…… (tangent end)

(tangent part 2) (please look at the way they styled this poor man’s fuck ass hair. i don’t care how earth shatteringly sweet they were in high school if my first love turned up ten years later and he looked like this i would simply walk away)

(tangent end)

the point is, that i then went through vivian sung’s acting history to see what else she’d been in bc she was soooooo lovely and realized that 不良执念清除师 was in said history and then remembered this ask! and your heartfelt words about its story! and i was like Oghey, i watch—

just finished the first episode and mein gott yiyong is such a Teenager…… man i look at 18 year olds and i’m like i don’t remember being like that but i Know i must’ve been, once upon a time. but the range of emotions the script wrung out of him in one episode was kind of insane and his actor is kind of vibey as hell (perhaps this is my sign from god to finally watch your name engraved herein…) and vivian sung is still epic as hell and sooo goofy and i’m excited! i think of u in my head for some reason as the epic tight as hell short chinese dramas anon, i Trust your eyes. they’re good eyes. i’ve also locked down the first 20+ episodes of the other drama you mention here, especially because yang chao yue is in it and she was Breathtaking in the double T T T thank you for the recs! where do you find all of these? i don’t know but you must be doing good out in the world. be well anon. meet a chicken

[ideas-on-paper]

Gamescom 2024 résumé

It’s that time of the year again when Gamescom has come to an end after 5 intense days of playing Steam demos, and after sobering up from my "gaming beano", it's finally time for me to collect my own thoughts - or, at least that’s been my usual experience of it in the past few years (I haven’t been there in person since 2019). While I did my “mini reviews” for indie games that I tried out on Mastodon, I’ve decided to publish my general résumé on Tumblr this year, since I have quite a few thoughts that I wanted to take the time to address in detail (and frankly, I just didn’t want to put up with Mastodon’s character limit and a mile-long thread of posts). So, without further ado, here are my impressions of Gamescom 2024.

First off, let's start at the beginning: Opening Night Live. My opinion on this year's ONL is essentially the same as the previous years: pretty okay. I should mention, however, that I don't really care about modern triple-A gaming - the stacks upon stacks of open world graphic marvels with a maximum of uninspired game design just bore me to death.

The only thing that could've made this showcase potentially interesting to me would've been an announcement of the Lies of P DLC - however, since Neowiz wasn't even among the exhibitors, any hope I had for that deflated before Gamescom even started. (It's strange, actually - Gamescom would have been the opportunity to announce it if they're sticking with the release window of late 2024.)

One good thing that ONL did though was reminding me to check out Ara: History Untold. I was already intrigued by it when I heard about it during last year's Gamescom, and since the game will release soon in September, they finally showed some more extensive gameplay. It's strange that despite being such a big strategy fan, I've never played a Civ game before (except the Nintendo DS variant I had as a child where I lost horribly due to trying to play the game as a pacifist), but I'm actually very tempted to give this one a shot - a grand strategy game with environments rendered in an amount of detail comparable to Anno sounds really great. (One of my favorite things when I was playing Anno 1503 as a child was to stop for a brief moment and just look at everything that was going on.)

Also, I'm really intrigued by the feature that you can create your own leaders. I used to say “the moment I'll pick up a grand strategy game is when I'll be able to play as Vercingetorix and absolutely blow Caesar to kingdom come” - and even if Vercingetorix isn't in the game by standard, I can simply create him. I kid you not when I say that I could cry every time when I think about how the Gallic Wars were essentially just instigated by one person to gain political power and money - Rome itself wasn’t even interested in conquering Gaul, and Caesar had enough enemies in Rome who would’ve loved to see him fail in his self-staged glory campaign. A Gallic victory might have even inspired other peoples and nations to push back against Roman expansion and Romanization, leading to a more diverse European legacy as a whole (fun fact, btw: a lot of “Roman” inventions were actually just taken over from other cultures). Now, this is an alternate reality that I would love to see - plus, I’m always open to bullying some Romans. Who knows, if I’m really getting to rewrite history, maybe Carthage can join in the fun too. (Bring me those elephants, Hannibal!)

Since I've been a bit confused that they chose Nefertiti over Hatshepsut as an Egyptian leader*, I would love to play a campaign as her, too - the, according to James Henry Breasted, “first great woman in history of whom we are informed”. Not only that, her rule was so successful (especially in regards to trading and construction projects) that the patriarchal authorities of Egypt saw their worldview threatened, and because they couldn't have any records of an actually competent woman, they went out and erased her name on almost all of her monuments so she was basically forgotten by history for a long time. Well, I'd love to change that - as usual, though, I will wait what the reviews for Ara are going to be like, and maybe wait a little more until I can snatch the game at a good price.

*It's not that I'm unhappy with Nefertiti as a choice, I'm just a little surprised they wouldn't choose Hatshepsut in the light of her achievements. It’s also a little baffling that they announce Nefertiti as “pharaoh of Egypt” when she was just Great Royal Wife (albeit a very influential one) and Hatshepsut literally held the position of pharaoh. (There are theories Nefertiti ruled briefly after her husband died, though this is a matter of debate.) Also, tiny detail, but that Nefertiti starts out with Waset (aka Thebes) as a capital is hilarious to me, since she and Akhenaten demonstratively left Waset to establish Amarna as the new capital during their reign.

One novelty this year was the German Indie Showcase (“Deutsche Indie Showcase”), which took place about one hour before Opening Night Live and focused on upcoming indie games from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Although a lot of them weren’t really “world premieres” in the sense of the word - more like new trailers for already announced titles or new content releases/updates - I still found it way more interesting and entertaining to watch than ONL, in no small thanks to the commentary by German YouTubers Gronkh (whom I’ve been a long-time fan of) and PhunkRoyal.

Speaking of which, some people may know Gronkh as one of the “regular guests” of Gamescom, but this year, he actually didn’t make an appearance at the fair. This is something he announced last year, after he realized that more and more influencers who had nothing to do with gaming tried to use Gamescom as a means to gain publicity. Because of this, Gamescom was increasingly criticized for turning more and more into an “influencer convention” in the past years, which led to Gronkh clearly positioning himself and saying “I don’t want Gamescom to exclusively become an influencer event, and I don’t want my presence to divert attention from what’s supposed to be the main attraction: the games”. As a consequence, Gronkh announced he wasn’t going to be at Gamescom 2024 and instead would organize smaller events for his community. I think this is actually a very commendable move, and that he uses his range to give more visibility to local indie games is something I appreciate all the more.

The German Indie Showcase itself was hosted independently of Gamescom, featuring no third-party advertisements, show acts, or any other useless knick-knack. This is a development that I welcome a lot, not only that we get a special event with a spotlight on local developers, but also that the showcase focuses on what it’s actually about: the games.

After catching up on some of the other showcases after Gamescom (because I was too preoccupied to watch them live), one nice surprise for me was Planet Coaster 2, which I didn’t even know about before seeing the trailer (for some reason, the announcement about a month ago just completely flew over my head ^^'). Frontier Developments took some inspiration from Roller Coaster Tycoon 3's "Soaked!" expansion this time, adding water attractions as the brand-new feature. I would be interested in checking it out if I didn't know I'm 100% going to get stuck again trying to make everything as pretty as possible, which is exactly why I never got very far in Planet Coaster 1. xD

Meanwhile, in my opinion, the indie game division had a lot more interesting titles to offer. Same as last year, I checked out a selection of 20 Steam demos from Indie Arena Booth during Gamescom, plus 4 I already played preliminary. Out of the 24 games I tried out in total, my highlights were:

Moses & Plato - Last Train to Clawville

Songs of Silence

Closer the Distance

Winter Burrow

Goodbye Seoul

Steel Seed

30 Birds

Once Upon a Rogue's Tale

Awaken - Astral Blade

Bloodless

I want to thank all the devs who provided online demos of their games for this wonderful experience - the indie games are what I’m looking forward to the most every Gamescom, and I had tons of fun checking out all the awesome demos, even those that didn’t make it into the top 10. If you’d like to read my full thoughts on all the demos I played, here are my review threads from Mastodon:

Preliminary/New in August

Day 1: Strategy

Day 2: Detective, point & click, visual novels

Day 3: Action, platformers, metroidvanias

Day 4: Puzzle

Day 5: Sim, story, cozy games

In general, I had the impression that way more indie developers provided demos of their games than last year, and some even held special events in celebration. Awaken - Astral Blade, for instance, had a Gamescom Special Demo (it was essentially just a slightly more polished version of the normal demo, but it’s still nice the devs used this opportunity to show everyone how things are coming along) and Goodbye Seoul held a simultaneous Steam giveaway event.

Other games from Hall 10.2 had playable Steam demos as well, including Paws and Leaves - A Thracian Tale, Reka, and We Harvest Shadows. Even some bigger developers followed the trend, with Krafton providing a Steam demo for inZoi’s character editor.

Given that more possibilities to take part in Gamescom online was one of my biggest wishes last year (due to the online section diminishing somewhat after the Covid years were over), I am especially heartened by this development. Due to chronic illness, it has become increasingly difficult for me to travel to Gamescom myself (not to mention the noise level and crowds, which were always a challenge for me as a neurodiverse person), and it’s so great that people who can’t visit Gamescom in person for whatever reason also get opportunities to take part in it. Also, since more accessibility was a huge topic this year, I think online presence can also be used to further improve on that - and since Gamescom 2024 set a new record in regards to online reach with 310 million digital accesses, this development will hopefully continue.

Finally, I’d like to make a brief comment on this year’s “motto” of Gamescom as formulated by the organizers: One of the guiding principles was “games foster democracy”, which, understandably, has caused quite a bit of confusion among some commenters. One German journalist even humorously remarked: “As long as I haven’t formed a conclusive opinion on that, I’d rather rely on the Federal Constitutional Court than Candy Crush Saga.”

While I wouldn’t make a general claim that video games foster democracy, I would like to add that games can foster diversity. If we have a diverse range of games made by a diverse range of people - such as we see in Indie Arena Booth - it can lead to more diversity in the medium, which in turn can increase open-mindedness among the people who consume it, and thus foster democratic values.

Overall, the impression Gamescom 2024 left me with is a very positive one, and I think there were a lot of steps in the right direction.

What’s your opinion on Gamescom 2024? Do you have anything you’d like to add? Feel free to share your own thoughts!

[chrkrose]

Hey just so you know, Mushroom is the only one who said salacious stuff about Daemon and Nettles. All other accounts by the people around them said they just have a close bond. What book did you even read??? Also, why are you so obsessed with talking about daemyra if you so hate them??

LMAOO y’all truly went to Wikipedia, skimmed through their summary real quick and called it a day huh

Let’s see then. This is how Nettles and Daemon relationship is described in the five sources we have so far for The Dance of The Dragons:

1) The Princess and The Queen (2013): It is suggested they are lovers. There’s no ambiguity in the text.

2) The World of Ice and Fire (2014): They are confirmed to be lovers.

3) HBO Histories and Lore content for Game of Thrones DVDs (2016): They are confirmed to be lovers. Transcription of what the video says:

“But, there was a… complication. As well as her dragon, the girl had taken to riding Daemon”

4) Fire & Blood (2018): The character of Maester Norren at Maidenpool suggests that Daemon acted paternal towards Nettles because he taught her how to behave at court and dotted upon her. The characters of Mushroom believes prince Daemon fell in love with Nettles; the unnamed maidservants of Maidenpool that attended to Nettles and Daemon while they stayed there said they took baths together and he washed her hair and back; Lord Mooton’s men openly discussed how to kill her without having to harm Daemon because he slept next to Nettles every night and they didn’t want to do it because she was young, “however foul her treasons”. They were terrified of what Daemon would do to Maidenpool if they killed her because “he was more than fond” of her and if they killed her, he would certainly burn Maidenpool to the ground. This is actually present in Norren’s account btw, it comes from him. And finally, the book narrator, Maester Gyldayn, who is always disbelieving Mushroom, in this case thought he was actually right because analyzing all the information he had, he believed Daemon and Nettles to be lovers.

5) The Rise of The Dragon (2022): It suggests they are lovers, even going as far as saying that Norren’s account actually supports that notion instead of disproving it.

However, Mushroom suggested another cause for Daemon's unwillingness: that he and Nettles had become lovers. This theory is supported by the Chronicles of Maidenpool, maintained by Lord Mooton's maester, who remarked that the prince and Nettles were inseparable, their bedrooms were adjoining, and that Daemon often gave her gifts and even shared a bath with her.

So we have 2 sources that confirm them to be lovers; 3 sources that suggest they are lovers, with one of these sources, Fire&Blood, having a ratio of:

1 character thinking they are platonic vs 4 instances of other characters thinking they are lovers, the majority of them who were in Maidenpool as well, and the book’s narrator agrees to that version. And then Rise of The Dragon contradicts the one character who thought they were platonic by stating that his account actually supports the notion they were lovers. Idk anon, I think your math isn’t mathing.

Truly, try to read the books instead of asoiaf wiki if you want to engage in book discussions.

And about your last point: I don’t talk about Daemyra. I talk about the shippers who are 50% of the time posting discourse on Nettles’ tag because she lives in their mind rent free. The other 50% they are either being racist without even hiding it or pretending they care while being just a little bit racist thinking nobody is noticing it. So maybe idk, take up to them and why they can’t stop thinking of a character who actress hasn’t even been cast yet and who’s story we don’t even know how it will be adapted, maybe they can answer u better ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[snellyfish]

Obligatory “what did you feel about the new episode” ask 👀💕

HI ive been out travelling and im an old man when it comes to mobile but ill try to gather my thoughts :)

Ace eating disorder represent,,, woo,,,,,, sad party blower sound,, love thst for us,,,, Holds his hand and makes out with him. Also eternally banger voice actor choice for him. Absolutely amazing performance every time he speaks.

Obligatory I love Arei. recently revamped an OC I made 5 years ago and basing a lot of her personality and stuff off of Arei. Just felt like sharing. I love Arei so much I will make her my oc methinks.

THE MOTIVES MADE ME SO FERAL I PAUSED THE VIDEOS SO MANY TIMES AND WAS LIKE AAIOGIGOGOUUGHHHH SO MANY HORRIBLE HORRIBLE FUCKED UP BLORBOS I CANT WAIT TO LEARN EVERYPONY'S SECRETS OM NOM NOM<33 Speaking of which JESUS CHRIST I really feel like the secret motives some ppl held onto, like, REALLY shouldn't have been kept to themselves omg. I'm sure there's been some behind the scenes stuff of characters gaining distaste/distrust/avoiding certain ppl after receiving certain motives;; I'm not entirely sure WHO specifically, but these are like CRAZY things to not warn the rest of the class about. Was David's the one that Arei got? Killed a man with no remorse? Huh? Shoves you pushes you shoves you into locker and swallows the key

The entire time during episode 9 I was trying and failing to open a jar of ice cream so I was a Little out of it, but from what I gather I'm really dumb and not good at mysteries so i have no clue who the hell did it. At one point I asked "alright who killed a man?" but my bestie heard "who killed min?" so I just kept saying that for the rest of the episode and crying of laughter. Guys, be honest, who killed Min- I'm not mad I just wanna know, guys-

Nico continues to piss me off a little. Teruko goes without saying she pisses me off to no end. When everyone started dragging her handwriting I was whooping and cheering and hollering it was so funny GET HER.

I liked how the two main people investigating the corpse were Arturo and Veronika. They really do get a lot of screentime together and it's starting to scare me a little. Is this like subtle ship fanservice or am I about to meet horrors beyond my comprehension as the story and cases develop. I hope one of them kills the other. They're so in love.

I also liked at one point Veronika dragging Ace's ass. They're ALSO in love btw. Yeah I'll ship my top 3 faves together, what else would you expect from me, man

Rose....<3

DAVID!!!!!!<3333 I know his ass was lying about history of depression that shit was so funny be honest bro you have unfathomable sins keep it 100% with us. If you turn out to not be fucked up or morally grey ykno I'll be a little disappointed. Just keep it real with us.

The motive that's like "where do I even start, everything about your life is worth killing for" is so funny bc if that was mine I would be like. okay. not my problem. That's so incredibly vague that means NOTHING. I'm also assuming it's Teruko's tbh, it's the only one vague and weird enough for her to be like "imma keep ot real with you chief idfk which of these are mine 🐸"

What else. I'm a little hungover

every time they brought up the fish I was like haha. like snellyfish. I'm an accomplice in Arei's murder and I didn't even know!!

kinda hashtag don't blame Hu for not telling whose motive she got bc it was a little suicide coded and very personal

That's all I'm done I forget what else happened xoxo love you all I love drdt so much--

I lied I just remembered that Eden lesbian (sapphic whatever I don't care) and laughed really hard at the idea of like. Charles opening the motive without reading the name and just thinking like "I'M A LESBIAN?????" real

Eden/Nico could be real if I didn't have a leaning negative opinion of Nico rn. I am still patient and hearing them out for now tho.

Ok Now I'm done.

[happilylovingbitch]

Yes to your points— but BOY am I holding out hope that 9-1-1 Lone Star navigates with good writing because things always change with that show. And with the rewatch of season 4 still going, here’s my headcanons for both shows (one for the mother show, one for Lone Star).

Instead of a full-on crossover episode, maybe there will be hints that the shows still share a timeline and universe. Mayhaps that drug cartel Bobby, Amir and Athena ran afoul of was also a cartel group (or knows of another rival group) that Gabriel Reyes has/ had history with. And/ or, if the Diazes make cameos in Austin during one of the 126’s emergencies.

Anyway, my headcanons are only a few sentences long, but for 9-1-1:

The Wilson-Buckley-Hans will def need to play their cards smart and/ or lay low around Bitchy Councilwoman Ortiz with getting an adoption status renewed. Hen may or may not have a group session with the characters/ families of characters she’d saved (much like Maddie did) and they team up to bolster the Wilsons’ adoption appeal to Ortiz and CPS.

Gerrard either goes out pathetically or “heroically” (like, a “morally right” rescue for the wrong reason) saving an MC’s life (Buck, Bobby, Tommy, Chimney or Hen). Like, he tells them something like “Hasta la vista you plebes, oh and btw you’re welcome” but their bad opinion of him doesn’t change.

Ravi FINALLY gets a “begins” episode or at least a bit more character exploration.

Every MC affected by the events of season 7 get moments with Frank because they are in dire need of real emotional help for their re-triggered traumas (Bobby, Eddie, I’m looking at you two) outside of each other.

Tommy (Kinard) and Buck have many heart-to-hearts before they decide on getting married or anything. (Because it’s very possible the writers will make this a speed run of Tarlos’ story arc.)

For Lone Star:

Regarding why Grace is absent, which is the main one I’m holding out hope for: it’d be devastating if she’d died, OOC if she and Judd divorced/ broke up. Considering that Grace’s father has bad cardiac health (which, spoiler alert, he has had 2 in-universe with #2 in “Open” being the most recent and critical), we would hear that him having another one would definitely kill him. So when Grace hears that her father just went through heart attack #3 or another health condition that worsens his heart enough that that he gets only weeks left to live, she would be gutted about leaving Judd to care for Wyatt and Charlie alone. But Judd, even with his misgivings— hell, he’d rather carry the weight all by himself than keep his wife from her family while they’re suffering through losing their patriarch. So, he lets her take the leave, probably with “Grace— no matter how tired I’ll get, how much I’mma miss you, don’t you ever blame yourself for needing to be with your mama and sisters. Keep me posted on your daddy and them, take all the time you need— we’ll be here, my heart.” There you go. No breakup needed, and no need for Grace to be killed. And it leaves room for Sierra to come back on the show in the event that the show is greenlit for season 6 and she can get a better contract on the show with Fox.

If Enzo somehow put off Gwyn’s funeral for close on 2 years (minus the burial which already happened in season 3 I presume), and that coincides with Carlos having gotten closure, TK gets to have a private mourning service for both her and Robert. Or we get a flashback episode that features scenes with him as a troubled teen and how things were with him and Enzo (like, this is before/ during his drug use).

Judging by the bts bits, it looks like Carlos may stay in law enforcement and likely choose to transfer from APD to the Rangers. I think this has to be Carlos’ own decision, though, not just an honoring— that “killing parts of himself” quote already sounds foreboding even if there’s a chance it’s hyperbole. Most of what I have to say about Tarlos this season were things already voiced by tumblr friends, so there’s not much besides these two hcs about their arcs this coming season. I just PRAY they get a real reprieve!

Bro i am literally so excited for 911 season 8😭😭 i just wanna see how Buck and Tommy’s relationship will go, i wanna see how the 118 deals with Gerrard as their new captain, i wanna see how Bobby gets his spot back at the 118 as captain (cus we all know damn well Gerrard is NOT staying for long). I want to see what happens with Eddie and Chris and whatever they got going on, I just cannot WAIT!!! This fall needs to hurry up NOW.

I’m also excited to see 911 LS season 5 because Grace isn’t gonna be there, so i wonder how Judd is going to act throughout the season, especially with the baby, i want to see Carlos and TK’s marriage progress, and i want to see Carlos grow closer with his mom, following his dads death, and much more.

Apart from the 911 series, SWAT season 8 is also coming out this fall and i’m excited for that too. Chris, Street, and Luca all left, so i would like to see how the rest of the team deals with it. I’ve only gotten to season 5 so far, but I’ll be done before this fall, trust!😭

[gunshou]

You need to understand that not everything is specifically about you. I was likely bullied more in school for being fat than you were for your nose specifically because youre Jewish. Unless you live in some other country than I do that really hates jews.

Idk what your problem is but being made fun of for your nose a couple of times does not mean the whole world is out to get you. Like I said. I'm over 30 and I had never even heard of this stuff until recently. And it's all over some stupid ass video game or fictional book. And I don't even like Harry Potter books because it's boring as fuck I can't even make it through the movies without cringing a quarter the way through and getting bored.

BUT I have played dnd and roleplay tabletop games for most of my life and not once have I heard anything about goblins being some Jewish hate type thing. Even if they started out as that the thing is that no one fucking knows or cares about it anymore. No one besides people looking for problems has ever made a connection between goblins and jews.

That's the problem here.

It's people looking for problems when there isn't even any. Especially with other mythological beings where jews had zero influence on their appearance or behavior. Which is what the submission was about BTW.

Everytime I hear something or other about Jewish people or big noses it's always about some work of fiction that either has no correlation to jews or people who just want a reason to hate something and feel morally rightious about it go and look for any reason they can to say its whatever *bad thing*.

And ofc YOU as a jew might know about it and the people who did bully you probably looked specifically for something to hurt you for and not because they were taught it. But MOST people don't give two rat asses about it and are TIRED of hearing people with nothing better to do, complaining about some fictional character have a big nose so it's apparently nazi propaganda. It's fucking stupid. It's tiring and I'm sick of having people (in general) telling me I can't enjoy shit because of some dumb fucking reason that no one even knows or cares about anyway, and most certainly don't care even if they DID know about it, because most people have enough brain cells to understand that they can still enjoy things like goblins without supporting their past (or even present) meanings.

And if say that I made something specifically like that (I wouldn't) but didn't say it's about hating *xyz* and a bunch of people loved it. People would still be allowed to enjoy that thing and are capable of separating it from it's hidden meaning if they ever found out. I mean that's what most of the Harry Potter Fandom did with jkr and her books. They separated the art from the artist. And anything that's bad is just coincidentally that way and doesn't actually mean those things at all.

It's not fucking impossible. Cast aside your victim complex and touch grass. You'll be a lot happier when you stop thinking every little thing is some slight against you.

Well, I'm fat too, so there you go.

It's not about me, and I'm not the one taking this personally. You can like what you like, literally no one is stopping you. But the fact that you're a grown adult who doesn't know basic world history isn't the flex you think it is. You really came into my house here to yell at me that because *you* never personally heard of something in your vast experience playing DnD then hundreds of literary analysts must be wrong. That because you never heard of something it doesn't really exist and people who do know about it are just being stupid. That your weariness at being told a fact is somehow more burdensome than actual antisemitism and so you don't want to hear it anymore. I don't think I'm the one who needs to touch grass and maybe broaden my experiences.

Absolutely people can separate art from artist and like problematic things. I do that all the time. Go enjoy your goblins and have fun! I don't know where you picked up the idea that I feel persecuted by fiction, but I didn't write the original submission - I don't even know what it said.

Go be free, gobbo. Enjoy your day! May you be unbothered and blissful.