#hes the only character ive strongly related to

[kikiswords]

when the character you like and relate to starts posing questions you've wondered and now its hitting too close to home

[oceanwithouthermoon]

Talking about Saiki and SA here a bit, btw, just a warning~

Thinking about how you said Saiki was a victim of SA and you’re literally so right. I feel like people sometimes just blow right past the fact that Kusuke is like that with his brother, but I think it can add a lot to interpretations of his character. But even if it only goes as far as what is shown in canon — which I almost doubt — it still remains the fact that Kusuke is doing all of that knowing fully well that his brother can hear him. It’s literally sexual harassment.

People point it out more often with Teruhashi and her brother (back to the reasons you said, people think it’s more serious if it happens to women). But the things he does, that’s all sexual harassment. And yet when Kusuke does similar things, it’s often brushed aside. Just,,, a bit crazy to me.

(And that’s not even mentioning when people completely disregard this part of Teruhashi’s story and act like she’s one-dimensional,,, but that’s another story)

But all this to say you’re literally so right. Anyways love you mwah =^•w•^=

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I NEEDD PEOPLE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS MORE.

(heed the sa warning + abuse and incest warning before opening, i talk a LOT here.. im mostly just reiterating what happens directly in the manga though.. ALSO EXTREMELY LONG POST WARNING..)

I always viewed kokomi and makoto + kusuo and kusuke as like.. paralleling each other ? not sure if thats the right word, but IMMEDIATELY when i saw both of these dynamics i made the connection.. i guess since it was so clear to me, i assumed that it was so obvious and on purpose that everyone else knew too, but so many people just.. ignore it..

i think most people that read/watch saiki k have recognized the fact that most main characters are meant to parallel or relate to saiki in at least some way, (if anyone who doesnt know what im talking about is reading this, im sure at least someone on here has done a better breakdown on that, i just.. dont know where to find that..) but this particular connection is one i dont see often and i genuinely believe that its almost entirely because of the whole "sexual assault/harassment isnt as serious when it happens to men as when it happens to women" thing.. most of the fandom acknowledge that what makoto does is awful and kokomi is a victim, so why is it different when its kusuke and kusuo ??

its EXACTLY the same.. what we see on screen with the saikis is WORSE, actually.. and what WE see from these two relationships isnt the full extent of what the two victims experience off screen, and i strongly believe that its heavily implied that both kokomi and kusuo have been through much worse with their brothers than whats shown..

we have no idea what kusuke couldve done BEFORE moving away and creating the telepathy canceler (and dont say that he couldnt have done anything cuz they were kids, cocsa [child on child sa] is still a thing and still valid, ESPECIALLY since they were both kid geniuses and kusuke definitely KNEW better.. but yea, kusuo implies that hes been like that for a long time, way before we ever saw them, sooo..) and its highly likely that whatever happened that we didnt see, before or after the move, was WORSE than what he does ON screen (i honestly dont want to think about what a guy with an incestual obsession with his brother does with cameras everywhere in his brothers home..) and what we see him do is already insane..

literally using his brother to get off, manipulating him and forcing him to play the games that give him sexual pleasure.. actually, speaking of, ive seen some people say that what kusuke does isnt really incest because the only reason he uses kusuo is because hes a masochist and kusuo is the only person that can overpower him.. this is a total misfire LOL, his upbringing alongside kusuo and his relationship with him is the REASON that hes a masochist, the ENTIRE REASON why thats what he gets off to.. its not just CONVENIENT that kusuo is there to get him off, he SPECIFICALLY seeks kusuo out and forces him to do things that give him sexual pleasure.. he believes that kusuo is the only person in the world that can ever give him sexual pleasure, what about that doesnt sound incestuous?

and one of the worst parts of it is, kusuo BARELY acknowledges how weird it is.. in fact, he's COMPLACENT in a lot of the games, obedient even, being bribed into them the same way he does with simple things like bringing kuniharu to work.. this is the biggest reason why i believe the off-screen stuff is probably worse, because kusuo is obviously conditioned to think that letting your brother get off to you is just.. fine.. we hardly see him try to get away from this situation beyond simply calling him gross.. theres one moment during the cat tank situation where kusuke tries to get him to grab the limiter off of his crotch specifically so that he can see him in that position and kusuo looks terrified and cant do it, BUT its unclear whether the expression of fear was entirely his concentration because he didnt wanna break the limiter or because he didnt want to let his brother get off to that, and i think its mostly the former ? idk, i dont remember this part that well but im preeeetty sure..

he does acknowledge that MAKOTOS behavior is bad when he sees it, but he never thinks its a big enough deal that he needs to help her or anything, (except for maybe the okinawa situation) which i know is probably just for the sake of not letting the gag manga get too serious, BUT it can also be explained pretty easily by this whole thing.. the way kokomi is treated is literally the same way kusuo lives his life, even down to their incestuous brother being possessive to the point of berating their potential love interests.. (which in this case happened to be each other, kusuo and kokomi..)

so yeah, kusuo just. doesnt really know how bad it actually is ? or maybe he does, but doesnt acknowledge it because he doesnt WANT to.. him barely acknowledging it and being complacent is part of why some people dont really get that its sa and incest, but his complacency obviously plays a big part in how its effected him too, like thats purposeful.. like i said, hes been CONDITIONED not to acknowledge it..

to me, it looks like a classic situation in which kusuo doesn't acknowledge his trauma because he knows that if he did, it would change his outlook on his life, his family, and his childhood FOREVER. he would never be willing to tell anyone or ask for help on his own accord, and accepting that there was anything wrong in the first place means, to him, dealing with that issue by himself for the rest of his life.

why would he ever admit that anything was wrong if nothing would change either way? the only thing that WOULD change is HIM, and why would he want that? isnt it better to be blissfully unaware than to knowingly suffer in silence?

plus, he genuinely does love his brother and knows in the back of his mind that kusukes feelings toward him comes from their unhealthy upbringing and relationship and its more complex than just "hes an evil guy blah blah.." because he isnt really evil and kusuo KNOWS that.. actually, he might be the only person in the world who COULD understand..

so yeahhhh.. kokomi and kusuo are both CANONICALLY victims of sexual harassment.. (and incestual abuse at that..) and, by my interpretation, implied victims of sa as well !! (im not really sure where the line can be when it comes to this sometimes, like when your brother sniffs your bedsheets and rubs himself on them or gets off to you right in front of your face or tries to get you to grab something positioned over his crotch so he can see you in.. THAT position.. but i already said that its pretty likely that both brothers have gone farther than that off-screen..)

anywayyyy.. this is so important to me and i wish people would talk and write about it more instead of pretending it never happened and mischaracterizing every one of these characters, especially for the sake of a ship like i was talking about in my other post.. it sucks that people so often just cast kusuos canon issues aside..

[lepoppeta]

For the song asks: Charlestor

charlastor/radiobelle has the benefit of relating to a lot of tropes and aesthetics in media that i already really enjoy and have a lot of content for. that being said, the songs ive chosen for them relate more to the pilot versions of these two characters, where it was speculated that alastor was going to be more of a mysterious, unflappable background mentor figure. ive heard their relationship being compared to that of clarice starling and hannibal lecter from silence of the lambs and hannibal, and i think some of that can vibe definitely be used here.

the first song that ever came to mind for these two (in recent memory) was a dangerous game from the jekyll and hyde musical (sung by anthony warlow and linda eder).

at the touch of your hand, and the sound of your voice, at the moment your eyes meet mine - i am out of my mind, i am out of control, full of feelings i cant define.

its a sin with no name, like a tiger to tame, (and though no-ones to blame) its a crime and a shame, and the angels proclaim its a dangerous game.

im a bit of a sucker for melodramatic gothic musicals, and the vision this song brings to mind is charlie wandering the empty halls of her dilapidated hotel and cautiously dancing with alastor and his army of half-sentient shadows. it relates to charlies pov more than alastors (as in this case he would be singing about her) and how they would have to tread carefully no matter what kind of close relationship they choose to partake in.

next up is me and mr wolf (the real tuesday weld).

you have the thing i love but the fear in me is way too much. if i open wide one of us may get lost inside. me or you, one of us is going to need to die.

my favourite version of this relationship is them being mutually fucked - alastor has never really given much thought to romantic love and hes shocked that hes willing to break so many of his own rules for this silly little slice of heaven in hell; charlie responds well to alastor setting clear boundaries against her sometimes-invasive behavior, and, like any good theatre kid, he "yes-and"s her (instead of vaggies pretty consistent "no"s). however, this song also touches on the fact that charlie is (or should be) at least alastors equal in power, if not far beyond him, and its a warning that neither of them should overstep in either love or anger.

the last one ill leave you with is actually one that was made canon by helluva - its look my way (paranoid DJ, but the alternate version sung by bryce pinkham) and its a bit of an ooc situation from alastors point of view.

unless its me, and no matter what in this world i could give - its not enough to get through the walls youve conjured up to live. is this what you feel? scorned by a world that cannot comprehend what you are, so ill grant you this mercy - this bind on our souls needs to end.

this is taking into account the deal that charlie makes with alastor in the penultimate episode of the first season of hazbin. the idea is that alastor (or at least, the speculative pilot version of alastor) strongly admires charlies perseverance against her own people - the very beings shes trying so hard to save. while charlie is a relatively open book he knows that she probably doesnt let anyone, not even her own girlfriend/best friend, see the emotional toll this project has taken on her (again, this tying in more to the pilot personalities of these characters), and hes upset that her deal with him has only made things worse in that regard. he makes the choice, to his own detriment, to sever the deal without her knowledge, so that if she doesnt keep her end of the bargain it will be of no consequence to her.

[chryblossomjjk]

bts fic recommendations | 01.17.23

→ hi friends! this is a little segment i do every tuesday (reviewsday get it, aren’t i funny, pls tell me how funny i am) where i read and review two-three fics. as a content creator, i know how big of a role other creators play in your growth, therefore, i want to do my part in making sure everyone gets the recognition they deserve! so with that being said, please check out the amazing fics listed below. make sure to like, reblog, and leave feedback! ♡ #reviewsday #kikirecs

motor head - @jeonjcngkook (jjk x reader | fwb, angst, smut, pwp)

summary: jungkook doesn’t like seeing someone else have your attention, so he decides he’s gonna do something about it.

feel like ive been here since the conception of this majesty?? like i was here for the horny discord chats n edits about motorcycle jk, therefore, it's only fair that i can gatekeeper him... mine. ALSO NOT U STARTING IT OFF W GETTING SANDWICHED BETWEEN MY BIAS N BIAS WRECKER?? THE DISRESPECT OF IT ALL!!!

^the feminism leaving my body when sav writes about jk manhandling oc n having her use his bike as a vibrator

^^me regaining the feminism when she whips a whole tape measure at him theme shits is HEAVY LMAO

also like... your brain w this fucking smut bro?!?! it's literally one of the hottest smuts ive read in a v v v long fucking time?? THE JUMPER CABLE HANDCUFFS LIKE GTFO??? SHAKESPEAREAN OF SMUT REALLY!! and i completely get where oc is coming from bc some of the things he said had me side eyeing like... repressed feelings maybe? but then is he just super possessive and his anger/hurt came from ego n not emotions... genuinely love when the characters are hard to read like thats everything. n she better fuck taehyung >:( BUT RUN DONT WALK TO READ THIS UGH IT WAS SO GOOD BBY LIKE NO WONDER SHE WAS DOING ROUNDS IN THE TAGS!!!!!!!

tales of broken hearts - @taegularities (kth x reader | ex2l, childhood sweethearts, fluff, angst, smut)

summary: when a work trip brings you back home, you don't expect for anyone to await your return or remember you. but despite the time apart, taehyung still does - still looks at you the same way he used to five winters ago.

rid, im not joking when i say this is everything i want in a fanfic. like ex2l always gets me, and you legit mastered it with this one. something about right person wrong time just does it for me. that opening line was so simple but so so so beautiful:

"Love doesn't bloom during frigid winters."

and your ability to fully write in the pov of the character that you've crafted is nutty. like on the outside, it seems like a simple thing to do, but ik from experience that it's really not. like the way you perfectly represented oc's bleakness in the beginning through the word choices, that only shifts when taehyung is being discussed, is a1 storytelling. and same with him, like even when things are falling apart, the metaphor compares oc to a star, n that's how he sees her despite the circumstances. IM EMOTIONAL!!!

and idk dude i think i feel so strongly about this piece bc i relate to this oc sooo much. like the way ur desire to get out of ur current situation bleeds into every aspect of ur life n ruins relationships n u end up even worse than u started off in a lot of ways- NOT THIS FIC BEING A WHOLE HIT PIECE RID LMAO >:(

they deserve eachother sm and oc deserves a happy easy love and THE ROUNDABOUT MOMENT IN THE END LIKE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME I LOVE WHEN EVERYTHING TIES IN AND UGH I FUCKING CAN'T THIS WAS A MASTERPIECE LIKE I NEED TO SEE THIS ON FILM BBY THE BIG SCREEN!!!!!!!

posting this a lil early but who gaf :')

[dkniade]

What does albedo's title actually means,"Kreideprinz" in German it translates to chalk prince,but i tried to translate the Chinese one and it said "son of the chalk" what is the difference,can you tell me??

Kreideprinz, Albedo’s Chinese Title, and Albedo and Rhinedottir’s Relationship 

(Albedo Character Stories, 1.2 The Chalk Prince and the Dragon: Act IV, 2.3 Shadows Amidst Snowstorms: Act I, 3.5 Windblume’s Breath: Act III)

-

Hello! Thank you for the question.

(This was actually one of the first Genshin things I tried to translate back in late 2021 but I couldn’t explain it very well so here’s an encore.)

Okay so Genshin Impact’s English localization does this thing sometimes where they’ll take the Chinese name of a noteworthy group, building, or other special item/concept, and localize it into the language(s) from the culture(s) the region is based on. (E.g. In the English version, Fischl’s speech is often localized with German terms but she’s just using lots of purple prose in Chinese.)

With that being said, Albedo’s title in Chinese is 白垩之子 (baie zhi zi). 白垩 means “chalk”, as in limestone (compare with 白垩纪 (baie ji, Cretaceous Period). I don’t know much German if at all, but to my knowledge, the “kreide” part of “Kreideprinz” also means “chalk”, and “prinz” means “prince”, meaning “Kreideprinz” is “Chalk Prince”.

子 however feels a bit ambiguous in this context… It could mean “son” (e.g. 儿子 / erzi), or “person” (e.g. 男子 / nanzi = man, 女子 / nüzi =  woman), and 子 doesn’t necessarily mean “prince” by itself, however 王子 / wangzi (lit. king’s child) does mean “prince”. (Compare to 公子 / gonzi = “young master”, aka childe. Yes, that Childe.) Also, 弟子 / dizi means “follower”, or “disciple”, be it in a Daoist context or a scholarly context. 

All in all, 白垩之子’s meaning depends on the context a lot, specifically in terms of how Rhinedottir and Albedo see their relationship. Perhaps HoYoverse is intentionally being ambiguous. 

In order to know the nature of Albedo and Rhinedottir’s relationship from both their perspectives, we need to examine Chinese terminologies used to describe their relationship. (And even then, it varies a bit over time…)

------

Character Story 3

In Albedo’s Character Story 3, Rhinedottir is described as both 师父 (shifu, master/mentor) and Albedo’s only 亲人 (qinren, family member). HoYoverse translates this second term to “kin” (one’s family and relations).

Original CN: “师父的地位显然最为特殊。对阿贝多来说，她是唯一的亲人”

My EN TL: “It’s obvious that his master’s position [in relation to him] is the most special. To Albedo, she’s his only family member.”

Official EN TL: “And yet his master is unquestionably the most special to him. For Albedo, she is his only kin.”

Here, from Albedo’s perspective, Rhinedottir is his master and only family member.

-----

Character Story 4

But we know from Albedo’s Story 4 that 白垩之子 is a title Rhinedottir gave him when he finished his studies under her, so it’d be helpful to know what the title 白垩之子 meant to Rhinedottir, and whether in that moment she saw him as her son (儿子, erzi), or apprentice (弟子, dizi), or creation…

Here, 出师 (chushi) is “to serve out one’s apprenticeship”, and Rhinedottir is again referred to as 师父 (shifu, master/mentor). The official English localization does not specify these two concepts.

Original CN: “此外，还有一件较为特殊的礼物：师父对阿贝多出师一事给予书面认可，并授予他「白垩之子」的称号。”

My EN TL: “Aside from this, there was another relatively special gift: his master left him a written acknowledgement that he’s served out his apprenticeship, and gave him the title of [Chinese equivalent of Kreideprinz].” 

Official EN TL: “If one were to push the definition a little, she had left him another gift — the title of Kreideprinz, and with it, a written acknowledgment that she had nothing further to teach him.” 

Here, Rhinedottir and Albedo are explicitly described as having a master/apprentice relationship. 

----

Character Story 5

And in Albedo’s Story 5, his nature as a homunculus is strongly implied. Rhinedottir is described as, again, 师父 (shifu, master/mentor), but also that she is 有别于父母 (youbie yu fumu, different from a parent) yet it’s also explicitly stated that “Albedo’s life comes from her”. 

Note that 父母 (fumu) is (technically) “father and mother”, but it can refer to both birth parents or adoptive parents because the nature is not specified. The English localization doesn’t go into detail here and Rhinedottir is simply stated as “not his birth mother”.

Original CN: “师父固然有别于父母，可毫无疑问，阿贝多的生命来自于她。”

My EN TL: “His master is of course different from a parent, but there’s no doubt that Albedo’s life comes from her.” 

Official EN TL: “She was not his birth mother, but there is no doubt that his life stems from her.”

Applied to Rhinedottir though, parent is used as a counterexample here in Chinese. Sounds like some sort of experiment with dubious morals (confirmed in 2.3). 

So how would a master who’s not a parent see a living creation such as Albedo…?

----

1.2 The Chalk Prince and the Dragon: Afterword (Act V)

Albedo again refers to Rhinedottir as his 师父 (shifu, master/mentor) in his soliloquy at the end of 1.2 The Chalk Prince and the Dragon, when he talks about Durin.

Original CN: 莱茵多特…师父…这就是你曾经创造的巨龙「杜林」吗？

My EN TL: Rhinedottir… Master… So this is Durin, the great dragon that you created back then?”

Official EN TL: “Rhinedottir… Master… Is this your creation, the giant dragon Durin?”

And yet—

----

2.3 Shadows Amidst Snowstorms: The Snowy Past (Act I)

We also get confirmation in 2.3 Shadows Amidst Snowstorms that Albedo is a synthetic human (“artificial human” also works) created by Rhinedottir, who, according to him this time, is his mother and teacher.

(Though, Shadows Amidst Snowstorms happens in Mondstadt, meaning he’s known Klee and Alice for quite some time now, so perhaps Alice taught him the meaning of “mother”.)

Original CN: “我是一个人造人。将我创造出来的，正是我的母亲和老师——坎瑞亚学者，「黄金」莱茵多特。”

My EN TL: “I am a synthetic human. The one who created me is none other than my mother and teacher—the Khaenri’ahn researcher, “Gold” Rhinedottir.”

Official EN TL: “I am a synthetic human being... a human forged by human hand. The one who created me, my mother and teacher, her name is Rhinedottir — a researcher from Khaenri’ah, also known as "Gold."”

BUT WAIT, WE’RE NOT DONE YET. ‘CAUSE WE STILL NEED TO CONSIDER, OF COURSE—

---

3.5 Windblume’s Breath: Joy Above the Clouds (Act III)

…which changes everything, so much that I was quite frustrated when I first watched it, but let’s look at this again from a more rational perspective.

Rhinedottir says, in a casual tone as the animation shows flasks and test tubes—

Original CN: “我养了一个儿子呢。许多个孩子，最终只剩他一人。也算是当了母亲吧？” 

My EN TL: “I’m raising a son, you know. Of the many children I have, only he remained in the end. Guess that would still make me a mother?” 

Official EN TL: “I'm raising a son. Of all the children I had, he's the only one left. But I suppose that still makes me a mother?”

Okay, so in the 3.5 cutscene, Rhinedottir sees her relationship with Albedo as a mother/son relationship.

----

Interpretations?

So where does that leave us, with Albedo’s title 白垩之子？

…

Remember how I said 子 (zi) depends on the context?

Some interpretations:

Albedo Story 4, Albedo’s POV: Rhinedottir is the master; Albedo is the graduated apprentice — 白垩之子 could mean “Disciple of Chalk”

Albedo Story 3 and 5, Albedo’s POV: Rhinedottir is the master, family member, and not-really-parent figure; Albedo is the apprentice — 白垩之子 could mean “Son of Chalk”

1.2 Dragonspine Act IV, Albedo’s POV: Rhinedotir is the master — 白垩之子 could mean “Disciple of Chalk”

2.3 Dragonspine Act I, Albedo’s POV: Rhinedottir is the mother and teacher; Albedo is her creation and homunculus. — 白垩之子 could mean both “Son of Chalk” and “Prince of Chalk” (Kreideprinz)

(Prince in a metaphoric “fancy title” way, like how Childe is not actually a nobleman despite his title…)

3.5 Windblume Act III, Rhinedottir’s POV: Rhinedottir is the mother, Albedo is the son — 白垩之子 could mean “Son of Chalk”

----------

…Albedo can’t seem to define clearly his relationship with Rhinedottir, even though Rhinedottir seems to consider him her son, at least in the cutscene.

*like it’s a dramatic monologue*

What is “mother”? What is “ master”? “Son”? “Apprentice”? What is… 白垩之子?

The truth of this title, does “Kreideprinz” encompass all this…?

I don’t know.

Or in other words, maybe he’s whatever you want him to be, based on the context.

…Thank you for reading! ^^

[acourtofthought]

What are ur thoughts ?

There’s an ig live with sjm and her friend steph where Steph asks if Azriel will be getting book. Sarah excitedly says she “Cant confirm anything yet, but once we get to the end of SF we will know who the next book is about” (indirect answer from Sarah but directly after steph asks about Azriel book)

It almost feels like she’s saying “I can’t say it officially for legal reasons but the question about Azriel— YES”

Ive seen the clip where Sarah is asked if we will see Elain in next book and Sarah answer “we’ll see her in some form.” The way she answered this didn’t sound nearly as enthusiastic

(My point is wouldn’t Sarah sound just as excited when she starts writing Elain’s book; she comes off as someone who can’t contain her excitement while writing about her characters when they’re in the forefront of her mind )

That's definitely one way of looking at it and I think many would agree with you!

But SJMs phrasing in response to the question was "when you get to the end of the book, I think you'll know who the next one is about and Azriel's JOURNEY is one I'm very excited to write about.

First, at the end of the book we're told it's Beron, Koschei and the treaty they still need to worry about. It's specifically stated those are the threats they need to focus on versus Gwyn and Emerie joking how the Illyrians will be "in hysterics for decades." The end of the book also ends with Nesta placing Elain's rose carving on their fathers grave as a permanent marker of the beauty and good he'd tried to bring into their world (Elain is often symbolized by roses and is full of light, kindness and generosity). Nothing at the end of SF points to an Az related plot in my opinion, because Koschei, the treaty and Beron are things more strongly connected to Elain and Lucien. While the treaty is something Mor was working on, she's not been able to accomplish it and Az is definitely not going to be the character who tries to secure Vallahan's signature, that's a job for emissary's and courtiers.

Second, way back when Sarah spoke about how the second the sisters came back on page in book 2 she realized that they had their own journey's beyond what Feyre was seeing and that she'd like to write their own books someday.

She then spoke about, because she knew early on where she wanted the sisters stories to go, she was able to plant seeds for their journey's early on in ACOMAF, ACOWAR and even ACOSF for Elain.

Journey is different than a character getting the next book. Journey is all the information the author lays out for a character to build up to their eventual book.

When we have lines like "She has no interest in him anyway" (Az in regards to Elain and Lucien), and "I think Lucien will never be good enough for her." and "I'll defeat him with little effort" I feel strongly that Az's "journey" is going to involve him seeing exactly how Elain is very much interested in Lucien, that Lucien is extremely good enough for her and he's not really going to be able to defeat Lucien with little effort. When we have a character like Az going off half-cocked and arrogant, authors don't usually reward that behavior by giving the character a HEA of their own while the characters he belittled are left suffering. Remember Az rejected Elain and hurt her, he claimed she couldn't handle the Trove, claimed Lucien wasn't good enough. Narratively speaking it makes more sense for them to prove him wrong first before he gets his HEA.

Also, SJM was very quiet on Rhys before ACOMAF and said she was so excited to finally be able to gush about him after the books release. She was very quiet on Chaol to the point that readers thought she hated him only to later say how she had been building up for his story for a long time, people needed to just wait for it to all come together. Sometimes, her going quiet on a character has meant she's getting ready to give them a book.

As far as "you'll see some of Elain in the next book", I'm not sure why that's being taken as she's not getting the next book. There was no way for Sarah to answer that question any other way. "Elain is going to be in the book a lot" and people would use that as confirmation she's next. "Elain is not in the book much" and that confirms she's not the next POV. Since they have wanted to keep the next book a secret, she answered in a way that keeps everyone guessing.

While I do understand why some are taking her IG Live with Steph and using it as confirmation of Az, I think it's safe to say that nothing in these interviews is true confirmation of who is next. If they wanted us to know, they would have come out and told us but it's been said time and again that when the time does come, Bloomsbury is going to want to make it a thing so until then mum's the word.

We have no way of knowing whether she's trying to throw readers off, keep them guessing, phrasing things in a way that is purposely ambiguous, and so on. At this point I think everything is on the table for who's next because valid arguments can be made for all sides.

[twistedtummies2]

Top 10 Grim Reaper Battles from Castlevania

We’re taking a slight detour on my “Dracula Month” extravaganza to look at something not necessarily directly involving the Count, but instead closely related to him. Earlier this month, I made a list of my favorite Dracula Boss Battles from Castlevania: one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. I think it’s only fair that I give the other main antagonist of the series some credit, as well. I speak, of course, of the Grim Reaper himself: Death. Just like Dracula in the Castlevania series (as well as both Dracula and Castlevania in general), Death has evolved and taken on several different roles within the franchise. In some continuities he is Dracula’s right-hand skeleton, and the closest thing the King of the Vampires has to a friend. In other continuities, their relationship is far less chummy. Regardless, however, the spirit of Death and the Prince of Darkness are inextricably linked in each rendition: just as closely connected to Dracula as the Belmonts may be. No matter the incarnation, the specter of the Grim Reaper hangs over the whole franchise: every Castlevania universe features him to some greater or lesser degree, and nearly every single game features Death as either a major villain, a noteworthy boss fight, or both. So, having already discussed Dracula himself, it’s time to give the other main villain of this series some kudos. These are My Top 5 Death Battles (not THAT kind of Death Battle, YouTube lovers) from Castlevania!

5. Super Castlevania IV.

Arguably the most classic of classics. It’s honestly hard for me to say why I like this particular battle with the Reaper so much, compared to a lot of others. It’s not the most challenging of the bunch, it’s not the most spectacular visually, and since this game is MUCH more focused on gameplay than story, there’s no personal touch to it: Death is one of the final bosses in the game, sure, but it’s not like he’s been causing trouble for us before we meet him. For whatever reason, however, this version has always stuck with me: something about the particularly moldy-looking design, the ghostly way Death phases and floats around the field, the glowing red eyes, and the tense music in the background…it lends a sense of atmosphere that sticks with me strongly. Not much else to say, I just…really like this one, plain and simple.

4. Curse of Darkness.

Throughout “Curse of Darkness,” our main character - Hector - has encounters with a recurring, mysterious figure called “Zead.” He claims to be a man of the cloth, who offers Hector help in tracking down the Devil Forgemaster’s nemesis, Isaac. However, it’s made pretty clear from the start that Zead is untrustworthy: we know that, whyever he’s doing what he does, it can’t be good. Finally, the shoe drops as Zead reveals he’s actually the Grim Reaper himself, disguised in human form, and has been using Hector to find a way to bring Count Dracula back from the grave. Naturally, Hector - who has been trying to find a way to stop this exact thing from happening - can’t allow this. Thus, Zead takes on a monstrous true form, and the boss battle commences. During this battle, Death remains static in the center of the battlefield…but if you think this makes things much easier, think again. The Reaper spends the battle hurling various magical sickles at you, and using either his scythe or a fiery punch to swing at you when you get too close for too long. Once you remove enough help from Death’s life bar, he summons a fireball and creates a powerful explosion, engulfing nearly the entire field. If a player is quick and cunning, they can use this opportunity to grab a rare item from the Reaper to create the “Death’s Pulse” weapon…but again, if you think wielding that will make the battle a lot easier, think again. It’s still cool to have, though.

3. Dracula X Chronicles.

As a brief reminder, “Dracula X Chronicles” is 3D graphics remake of the earlier Castlevania game “Rondo of Blood.” Death’s battle is therefore basically a visually updated version of the same boss from that title. Early in the game, the Reaper appears in a prologue tutorial, helping the player (in the role of Richter Belmont) learn the ropes of using their weapon and basic moves. Once defeated, he retreats, but promises to come back. Sure enough, later in the story, Death returns to stop the protagonists from progressing any further. In his first form, Death floats about the field, hurling miniature sickles and summoning flaming skulls to attack the player. Once he loses enough health, Death transforms into a more traditional-looking version of the Grim Reaper - hooded cloak, giant scythe, and all - and fights the player more directly, using leaping and slashing attacks to combat his opponents. It’s a quintessential battle with the character for these games, and one of the first I think of.

2. Lament of Innocence.

This game is the prologue/prequel to the entire “classic era” of Castlevania. It tells the story of how the feud between Dracula and the Belmont Family began…but Dracula, himself, is not actually the final boss of the game. In fact, this is one of the few games of the franchise where Dracula isn’t fought at all. Instead, the final boss of the game is Death, as the game also shows how the Grim Reaper became the vampire’s chief flunky. After being summoned by Mathias Cronqvist (the man who, in the original Castlevania continuity, later becomes Count Dracula), Death squares off with the sire of the Belmont Clan, Leon, at the end of the monster hunter’s journey. This battle is sort of a cross between the two previous bosses: Death floats (and sometimes teleports) around the arena, sticking to the edges of the battlefield. Throughout the fight, he alternates between swinging his scythe and hurling it like a bloodstained boomerang, and summons exploding skulls and wisping ghosts to chase and attack the player. Sub-Weapons do not work on this boss at all; attempting to use them only causes them to backfire on the main character, which naturally just makes this boss all the more challenging. As the battle rages on, Death becomes more elusive, more hard-hitting, and gains new attacks to try and strike the Leon down. For many fans, this extremely wild and difficult boss fight was and still is Death’s finest moment…yet it’s only second place for me. So…what could top it?

1. Lords of Shadow II.

In the universe of “Lords of Shadow” - a trilogy of games that attempted to reboot the Castlevania series, with its own unique continuity - Death is given the true name “Zobek,” and his role in the series is changed. Instead of being depicted as Dracula’s faithful lieutenant, like in all the other games on this list, Zobek is instead Dracula’s nemesis, as he is either directly or indirectly responsible for everything wrong that goes on in the Count’s life, both before and after his transformation into a vampire. After two games where we never faced Zobek directly in combat, the penultimate boss battle of the game - pitting him against Dracula - felt SO satisfying and exciting to play through. There are four reasons this fight is great, in my opinion. One: the battle itself. It’s just a fun and challenging ride, as Zobek alternates wielding his flail-like death’s scythe and summoning hordes of zombies to fight Dracula. Two, and tied to that point: the fact we get to play AS Dracula, while fighting Death. It’s pitting the two main antagonists of the entire franchise, and arguably the two most important characters in the “Lords of Shadow” universe, specifically, against one another. That’s just AWESOME. Three, and again tied to THAT point: the personal connection. Dracula and Death have a lot of history with each other in this universe, both good and bad, which makes this encounter more meaningful than arguably any other boss fight against the Grim Reaper in the entire franchise. Fourth, and finally: Zobek is voiced by PATRICK. GOD-DANG. STEWART. And MAN, does he deliver! Stewart’s boss dialogue is absolutely golden, and is the ripe cherry on the dark, rich cake for this whole encounter: hearing him bellow lines like “Chamberlains! Let the banquet begin!” and “You’ve never been a match for me!” is just glorious. I know placing a boss from the reboot trilogy will probably be controversial for many, but for me? This battle with Death trumps even “Lament of Innocence,” and by a pretty wide margin, to be honest. It is easily my favorite boss battle against the Grim Reaper in the entire Castlevania franchise. And if you have any problems with that? “MAY YOU AND YOUR SPAWN BE DAMNED FOREVER!” (I really freaking LOVE that line. God bless Patrick Stewart.)

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Symphony of the Night.

A classic game and a classic appearance of the Grim Reaper: after stealing all your goodies at the start of the adventure, it’s good to finally get a chance to use all the things you’ve regathered against Death near the end. However, the fight is ultimately surprisingly easy, compared to many others, and I’m not fond of the design Death has in the second stage of the battle.

Portrait of Ruin.

The Grim Reaper’s solo battle is ultimately overshadowed by the battle with Dracula AND Death, together, at the end, which is why this one gets just an Honorable Mention. It’s still a good battle, though; Death takes on two forms throughout the fight, one which is specifically weak to Jonathan Morris’ attacks, and one which is specifically affected by his friend Charlotte’s. Great way to use the buddy system here!

Dawn of Sorrow.

Not much to say about this one, to be honest; just a solid battle against the Grim Reaper with two fun stages. I love the look of the second stage, very unique while still feeling like…well…the Reaper. Take notes, Symphony of the Night. :P

The Adventure ReBirth.

I haven’t actually fought this boss, and I don’t know much about this entry in the series in general, to be honest. However, the battle certainly LOOKS like a good one, and I love the design of Death in this particular game, so I still feel I can give this an Honorable Mention.

[socialcarcrash]

Why do you like Hodgins so much? (I like him as well) Also, do you have any Hodgins headcanons?

Right this is gonna be so long so hang on tight:

First to preface, I strongly headcanon hodgins as trans ftm and audhd which definately influences my love for him.

To begin, when I was younger (6+) i began to watch bones and I saw myself, an undiagnosed audhd person, in hodgins so much- and not only was i full ass in love with him. I also felt understood and seen, for the first time i saw a realistic character that I could relate to in so many ways. Also he was one of my first gender envies for real!!!

Hodgins fully encompasses the autistic rage that I for sure experience and I think thats so real of him. The therapy scene between him and sweets changed everything for me, and i stopped feeling guilty for feeling so sad and angry all the time and I started to view my anger differently and instead of surpressing it i found healthier coping mechanisms.

On the subject of Hodgins so totally being autistic, I just fully think that he expresses so many of the traits I do. Most of these traits are from headcanons ive seen but then i see them again expressed in the show and it makes me happier than anyone could ever imagine. He so clearly has special interests of conspiracies and of course his entomology/botany and I also have super strong special interests that I am known for a lot! I think when you see a character on screen for the first time that you dont feel like you change anything about yourself to be more like them, and you are just them it is special! So many times have I hyperfixated on a character and changed my whole personality to be like them, but he is actually just like me!

He encourages me to try and be comfortable in myself and to openly talk about my special interests because they are part of me so I should be able to express myself! This lesson is helping me heal and become so much happier, but also helps me feel comfortable with not being okay sometimes- which is even more important.

-i think hes pretty.

STUPID HEADCANONS!!!

- his first hyperfixation was dinosaurs (me fr) and he collected the mini plastic figurines.

-huge fidgeter and never stops stimming, he legit is never is still: its seen in canon lots! (that one episode where he does push ups when he is stressed for example). He gets that whole body thing where hes gotta move!!!

-hates oliver and pickles (angela loves them both and eats his from his burgers)

-folkpunk enjoyer as a teenager, his style would have been the coolest as a way of rebelling against his parents.

- the big light is the devil. his house has lots of lamps and small lights to avoid using the big light.

-during school/uni he carried around a sketchbook that he sketched bugs in during class when he got bored, he never skipped any years or anything as he performed only just above averagely. This was because he never got the support he needed during school so he wasnt able to meet his full potential until he found his passion for entomology. This frustrated teachers so he didnt always have the best relationship with them, but he had a few that he wasnt close with, but he found comfort and support in them as he struggled through his teenage years.

INFODUMPING WOOOOOO

this is basically entirely projection but i love him.

[thatgirlwithasquid]

tag game: stranger things edition 👻

tagged by @ratbastardbilly and @intothedysphoria (ty guys xx)

1. ride or die ship (your otp): CUNNINGWAY!!! They’re my girls. Chrissy and Heather my beloveds. I have never been so hyped for a ship before and this is the first time I’ve put this much effort into one, but if I don’t advocate for this rarepair then who will? (the answer is bambi. bambi will. but whatever, you get the point)

2. most annoying ship: there isn’t really a ship i find WHOLLY annoying. stancy maybe. i also think jancy and mileven have ran their course and jopper gives me a lil bit of the ick. obvi no hate to the ships or those that ship it!!

3. second favourite ship: ima have to say harringrove, but there are others i like a lot too!!

4. favourite platonic relationship: heather, chrissy & billy. the chaos trio. more should be done with them <3

5. underrated ship: there are so many!! argyle/chrissy (which i am lovingly referring to as pompompinapple, just try and stop me)? byergrove (billy/jonathan)? calicheer (billy/chrissy)??? how can i possibly choose????

6. overrated ship: uhhhh this feels dangerous. but steddie. dont get me wrong, i love this ship, but the boom in works for them was INSANE cause i dont think they have TOO MUCH chemistry in canon (tho there 100% is a good bit and it makes sense)

7. one thing i would change in canon: the blatant lack of care the main cast have for characters outside their group. no empathy for billy, barely anyone looking into heather, characters dying that no one mentions again…

8. something canon did right: I really liked steve and dustin’s dynamic. like, a LOT. they cocked it up a bit in s4 for the sake of ‘haha, dumb steve’ but yeah. theyre sweet :)

9. a thing i’m proud of creating for the fandom: my sideblog @poolsidepanic . i know that its a niche ship but i hope i help other people who love them as much as me actually be able to enjoy their ship and not just… be disappointed when they come up empty handed. the art and little fics and such i make over there make me so happy <3

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldnt change a thing): heather. sassy, bitchy, yet kindhearted lifeguard? yes. the only thing id change is the DISSERVICE THE DUFFERS GAVE HER WHEN THEY KILLED HER AND IGNORED HER EXISTENCE.

11. the character i relate most to the most and why: steve. just how he responds to the offhanded comments the people he cares about make to him, that they never seem to realise hurt.

12. character i hate most and why: neil, karen, brenner. no explanation needed

13. something ive learned from the fandom: idk. ive always wanted to be a positive person but seeing some of the toxicity in the fandom has made me really want to keep my little blog as positive and safe as i can for everyone. some things we see SUCK but if i can make someones day a lil better id like to? so not really a learn but an encouragement to be nicer wherever i can

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: i dont read a lot of st fanfiction, actually. i havent been in the mood for it for AGES!! but in general im a slow burn, hurt/comfort, angst kind of person. i love the occasional, agonising right person not enough time or some character bashing for the sake of compelling suffering (if done right!!!)

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: ooooh fun!!! ‘Groan’, ‘Wet’ and ‘Maggot’ by Dazey and the Scouts are so Billy. ‘Drunk Walk Home’ by Mitski gives me Chrissy vibes, and ‘Maggot’ again for her tbh (billy and chrissy, my sad beloved blorbos). there arent any songs i associate with cunningway yet tho 😔

tagging: @bigdumbbambieyes @hargrove-mayfields @billyhargrovesupsidedownshadow @every-dayiwakeup and anyone else interested in sharing :)

[inkedtae]

im OBSESSED with rotten angelcake. the story is amazing, though i do wish yn to be a little more assertive and just TALK to tae instead of getting distracted by literally how he breathes (can relate yn, i can Def relate), im loving the character development. tae is UGH i love him hes so so so charming but so so so annoying sometimes lmao maybe im trash at slowburns, like i know he has eaten her out and she has given him a handjob and she has riden his thigh and all But i just want them to KISS!!!!!! and yn wants too and tae wants too (i think . its been a while since ive seen a character so enigmatic like him, maybe you dont mean to but hes so cryptic it makes me wanna tear me hair out) but neither of them go for it and yn wonders why he hasn’t kissed her but she doesn’t ASK him. UGHAHWIDJDBK help im frustrated cus i read their only drabble and thought WOW THIS IS IT!!!! but then he kissed her other lips 😩 im a romantic . ANYWAYS this is getting too long and i hope you can see from my dumb and maybe annoying ass ESSAY here that im totally invested in this story and cannot wait to read more! pls forgive me if i overstepped w anything said here . it’s currently 3:20am and i’m trying not to freak out bc i finished this series and now i havE NOTHING

hiiiii!! this whole ask made me smile so much omg!! i feel so bad for all the unanswered questions but there are reasons so i guess there’s some comfort in that?? there is more to come though so i’m really glad that you liked it and so touched with how strongly you feel about the series!

by the way you did not overstep at all!! i really appreciate this and you ☺️💗 more to come soon…

[thehandwixard]

for the character ask thing: jake the dog perhaps ?

YAY jake my friend ok

First impression: im gonna pull from 11 year old me for this i didnt think about him often but he was like. you know. cool presence like spencer from icarly. very funny character very chill guy

Impression now: hes probably the single most generally important character to understanding the overall Vibe of adventure time holisitcally. hes so important. he sucks. hes incredible. he struggles intensely with the fight between his spirituality and denial of pleasure and his fleshly desires. and he has so much flesh

Favorite moment: How to fucking pick. gut reaction is just most of the episode 'No One Can Hear You' because while that episode is famous for the deer with hands its famous to me because during my most recent rewatch of the show it was really where i went. oh. thats a psychotic break. this is a noticable pattern with him where he decides to not confront reality when its scary to him. its so fascinating. i think its the most frightening he ever is in the show, partially cause we are having this realization at the same time as finn is. that jake may not always be stable. second choice is princess cookie, as it comes well before jake's criminal past is strongly established and yet his empathy towards someone unstable in a rough situation comes Full Force. ill talk about this more in relationships because..

Idea for a story: I want to put him in resident evil 7 and 8 situations ive talked about this before. i want to put him in ethan winters situations. my current largest story idea for him is him slowly losing his sanity over a period of time trying to find finn while playing both sides in a war and losing sight of trying to stop it. I also want to write my own story kind of exploring his like. gestures vaguely unresolved feelings about his alien form. i dont think he should have ever gone back to complete normal it feels cheap.

Unpopular opinion: im the only one on this goddamn earth who understands the point of why he was kind of a deadbeat dad. i.e HE WASNT it was a messed up situation with no true irl counterpart. he wanted to be a mother. he has fantasies of being a mother up through the twilight of the series, and the fact that he was not present in his children's life while they were children is something that was completely out of his control because they grew up so fast. the fact he was not Allowed to nurture them is the tragedy of it!! ocarina is as much about kim kil whan reconciling the idea of his father being the way he is as it is jake trying to reach out for any connection that anything he cares about means anything

Favorite relationship: Finn and jake's relationship is quite literally the most important thing in the show and its so easy to flatten but its so so so so so so so complex and also. they love eachother. the depths of that love are unfathomable. simple as that. its a kind of undefinable relationship i find so compelling.. its. jake and finn rely on eachother so much youd think itd be unhealthy but it ISNT and its because they never expect anything from the other that they arent. jakes feelings about finn though related to that are so fascinating because he has a kind of consistent.. discomfort? whenever faced with the fact that finn can hurt people in a meaningful serious way. he doesnt like it. he doesnt like when finn, panicking in the water, attacks him. it makes him wanna shut down and not deal with the situation and its so interesting to think about. and this doesnt detract at all from how much jake depends on finn in a real, loving, genuine way. he loves that kid. hed get sick and die if he thought finn was turning out bad/like him. they protect each other (I AM FORCEFULLY DRAHHED OFFSTAGE WITH A CANE

Favorite headcanon: he loves any depressing indie game protag he has a plushie of mae from nitw and brad lisa at LEAST. I am also incredibly fond of jake and his fam being jewish but i consider that less of a hc given that in one title card art hes literally wearing a kippah

[leam1983]

Diablo IV - Thoughts

If you'd told me that I'd eventually hear Ralph Ineson serving as one of the main Blizzard releases' characters back when the first title released, I'd probably never would've believed you.

Diablo began as a very grungy series, where the studio formerly known as Blizzard North had to scrounge up voice talent amongst the game's own designers. The Lord of Hatred himself was actually voiced by North's CEO, Bill Roper. From the first game to the third, there was a bit of a sense that you were watching a WWE Summerslam special in terms of acting chops - just with more grandiose stakes. Diablo III's killing off of Deckard Cain for the sake of cheap pathos felt a bit like the end of an era, notably.

In the ten years since, it feels like the wordsmiths at Blizzard either changed or strongly matured. Killing off demons that have no other characteristics than the one sin they represented got old pretty fast, I'd wager - so now we're left with a demoness who resents the order of things and who intends to reclaim Sanctuary for her own ends - as the world is now little more than the staging ground between Heaven and Hell, in a complete mockery of the, well, sanctuary that Lilith and Inarius built for one another.

Imagine that: a relatable antagonist... Yeah, the purists are going to crow that Lilith isn't Diablo and that you can't plaster the Lord of Hatred's name on the box without actually invoking him - but now we've got the Big Cheese's own daughter - which stands to reason that Diablo himself isn't far behind. I'm not so far into the game as to have seen Diablo myself, so I don't really know in which capacity he's present. Yet.

No, the real shocker is in the game's structure. Diablo-by-way-of-live-service feels like a travesty to some, seeing as it leaves many of the series' cornerstones on the chopping block. Gone are the procedurally-generated levels, gone is the traditional four-Act structure interspersed with map changes, what we've got instead is a plot that atomizes itself across Sanctuary and that can be followed mostly non-linearly. No more Inventory Tetris, now every item takes two squares no matter its size. No more potion-hoarding, now you've only got four Health ones by default and a smattering of stat-boosting Elixirs to carry. Not all changes are like to seem sacrilegious to the purists, however - as now every single 'toon starts with the Town Portal spell permanently bound to T on your average keyboard. You'll need it, too - Sanctuary's a big place, and hopping between settlements is more vital than ever. If you're open to experimentation by a team that clearly knows what it's doing, you're likely to tolerate this new mixture.

Where this takes a ding from me is in the inclusion of World Events. As everything is shared in the same fashion as with Bungie's Destiny, now, some bosses appear not as plot contrivances but rather as randomized instances that anyone can attack. This makes multiplayer more of an emergent feature than your usual toggleable option, seeing as you can more or less luck onto Darin DePaul's version of the Butcher - iconic voice line included - at any point in the campaign and more or less stumble into two or more characters spam-casting like their lives depend on it. You can still book private sessions with people on your Friends list, but you'll always see randoms going off on their own thing. That's fine in and of itself, but it also means that World Events feel generic by default. They involve souped-up regular enemies in most instances, and only rarely feature named mobs or iconic demons like our cleaver-wielding friend.

Consequently, the challenge factor seems to have been tweaked a bit. Corpse runs no longer seem to be mandatory, and death only sends you back a few hundred meters away - and typically wipes your immediate surroundings clear of all enemies. There's no death tax, no sense that your biting it is a bit of a punitive measure in and of itself - it feels quite light, all things considered.

The same can't be said about the game's tone, however. This is Sanctuary at its darkest, an obvious response to the previous game's notoriously lighter palette - to the point where it's a bit detrimental to panels with adaptive brightness or a good color range. Your blacks are about to get really fucking black, which does wonders for the Dark Fantasy universe's expected grim and dour undertones, but also makes certain elements of the navigational experience a little uncomfortable. If you're like me, you'll spot the map markers denoting interactable changes in the terrain's level, like cliffs to climb or ladders to slide down from, but you'll have trouble seeing the objects they refer to. It might take you a little while to really dial things in with your monitor of choice.

Generally speaking, I'd consider this a return to form for the franchise - despite the cringe-inducing inclusion of microtransactions in the final package. There's no Diablo Immortal-esque character boosts in sight and everything is cosmetic, but everything feels rather pricey for what it is. The rate for Platinum is exponential, with the only decent value being the exorbitantly-priced 115$ bundle. Considering Kotick's latest comments regarding player spending habits and monetization, this is both egregious and sadly unsurprising.

Diablo IV gets a cautious recommendation from me, seeing as I'm well aware that first-hour fans might not entirely appreciate it.

[twizzta]

for the oc ask: 25,35 and 45 8-)

25: which oc resembles you the most? (in any way)

i feel like i always make guys who r very distinct from me myself but with an essence of me in every one so i dont feel strongly about any in particular but... sik is probably just like me from a year or 2 ago even in age but w added skulls but i dont think we are similar at all in what we do but even current day i think we are similar. i think ir too i think we act alike when with friends also like similar facialhair i dunno. im chill af like cefax and i love dnb. ossicog my tf one is probably most fleshed out vaguely self insert guy ive made so that. also i am just like the sagacity of known malady

35: any sibling characters?

i barely think of siblings for them im an only child u can see why. made (currently) unused sik sister idk if they will be even be related if i bring her back but i do like her so i think i should implement her.. helbo and hloi are the mascot siblings of the skullverse [pictured below scrapped sibling design not final⬇️]

45: a character you no longer use?

a lot of my guys get cycled thru just due to me thinking abt new world concepts so i forget about them a lot but if this is talking about a guy who was there and then i took out of it for whatever reason.. there was a fishy cyclops guy in landmass posse [texxe,dion,salmon,hurdygurdy] who i had NO reason to wipe but he just got eviscerated one day never to come back. i just didnt draw him ever again i dont even know his name.. hes like graggle simpson ⬇️

⬆️old art

[boypussydilf]

HUHH?? I didn't know how were also a trekkie, fuckin rad!!?

yeah babey :) i’ve only watched TNG thru ENT, i don’t really plan to watch anything from after that and i still haven’t gotten around to TOS, but yeah i like star trek and ds9 especially is one of my favorite shows ever

anyway its been a couple years since i watched voyager and i don’t think ive even rewatched a single episode since so i don’t have a Concrete neelix opinion informed by Having Seen Him Recently but. neelix is fine! i like neelix! i don’t strongly like neelix, but i don’t feel very strongly about any voyager character. i don’t think he deserves the hate. i really can’t relate to the idea of feeling Annoyed by fictional characters, it happens to me really rarely. the guy’s just trying to exist and make people happy. he’s fine! i’m fine with neelix!

[actualbird]

first let it be said that i am a giant advocate for polycules. everyone in the nxx should be holding hands.

with that out of the way. HELP I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT VYN/LUKE. it is now crucial for my mental health to pick up this dynamic put it in my mouth like a dog toy and bite with the ferocity necessary to break the little noisemaker. i came for luke but vyn came for ME and now i will never be free.

i don't just need them to hold hands. i need them to play mind games with each other your honor. i need both of them to be hyperaware of what nonsense is going on, analyze it and hide it behind knowing smiles. i need them to then discuss said findings and come at it from two different angles, i need to see the battle of academics and firsthand experience firsthand. i need them to have deep academic discussions about their medical fields. i need vyn to call luke out and have luke bite back with unexpected ferocity and accuracy. i want them to get into such weird niche conversations the other members can no longer follow. i want them to try and figure out what is UP with the other parties secrecy. i want vyn to say some peak horse girl shit and have lukes only point of reference to relate to the man be a mark from 2 years ago that went south. he had to tail the farrier and he now knows way too much about horse anatomy. i need luke to drink instant coffee in front of the man who got a 20 year old pu'erh cake from yunnan for the evening who is currently looking on in barely concealed horrified fascination.

tl;dr: bark bark bark

-💚

heyyo, greenheart! and also this anon who sent this ask MONTHS AGO but finally my vibes are Aligned To Talk About Vyn/Luke

GREENHEART R U PSYCHIC? AND/OR FOLLOW ME ALSO ON MY PRIV TWT? cuz just yesterday on my priv twt i briefly went mildly insane about vyn/luke and YEAH EXACTLY THEIR DYNAMIC IS SO INTERESTING TO ME

at first glance, vyn and luke seem like characters who are LEAGUES APART. but in my prev analysis, "the nxx boys and bad things", i realized a commonality when i made the diagram in there

vyn and luke are both on the active end of the spectrum, in terms of their behavior and tendencies towards their respective "bad thing" but i wont into that again cuz i already explain what i mean in the analysis itself

what i do wanna delve into is how this active-ness makes vyn and luke's dynamic so interesting. like, vyn likes being in control and uses his expertise of it with no holds barred. luke has a very clear "i'll do it myself" mindset in so many situations. in moments that matter for one reason or another, they dont idle, they act.

it's almost as if theyre both on the "offensive", so to speak

to make this clearer, i'll bring up the only thing ive written thus far that focuses on vyn and luke's dynamic (not ship but still i feel strongly about this): chapter 5 of "filler episodes of the lost gold"

as context for u, greenheart, this fic is all little inbetween scenes of the plot heavy event Mystery Of The Lost Gold that happened back in september. i very VERYYYYY MUCH RECCOMMEND u watch recordings of this event because up to this day, it's my fave tot event of all time

but yeah, in this chapter, vyn and luke hang out and it's vyn pov and i wanted to put vyn at a disadvantage but i know hes also such a perceptive and analytical person. and ive always had this feeling that of all the boys, vyn would be most cautious about luke. afterall, luke is new on the team. vyn hasnt known him as long as marius or artem. additionally, luke comes from a background of espionage. all this makes vyn wary about luke, makes vyn want to "figure luke out"

but heres the thing about luke: very often we fixate on his tank/combat abilities that we forget hes an investigator

luke, adept at solving puzzles, can easily perceive vyn just as vyn perceives him. i would even go as far to say that luke, sometimes, has the upper hand. cuz i think vyn approaches the unknown with this mindset of "what are the weakpoints?" so that he can leverage himself to a place of control

luke does that too but also hes an engineer and inventor. hes not looking just at weakpoints. to metaphorize, he looks at things in terms of taking it apart and seeing what each piece means.

all that is why that chapter ended up like that.

and all that to say the like, vyn and luke's dynamic (be it romantic ship or platonic interactions) is so so sOOOO FASCINATING TO ME BECAUSE THEYRE BOTH ACTIVE, theyre both PERCEPTIVE, but due to personality and background, that active perception is different enough to keep the other on their toes

vyn would call luke out on all his unhealthy and over excessive self destruction. luke would call vyn out acting as if the whole world will regard him only with cruelty. vyn and luke r deffo two characters that, once they come head to head, would push each other to confront things the other probably wouldve wished to leave alone.

dumb overthinking meta aside, their vibes are just so HILARIOUSLY DIFFERENT AND IT IS DELIGHTFUL TO ME

vyn: luke, what are you drinking?

luke: oh this? homemade energy drink! i call it "Raise The Roof!" haha

vyn: and what is it made of?

luke: uh. monster energy, red bull, and kool aid?

vyn, at a loss: no

alternately

luke: aw man, i passed out on my bed a few nights ago after a mission and got bloodstains all over my sheets and they wont wash out >:/

vyn: oh?

the next day, a delivery comes to luke's doorstep and it's SINFULLY HIGH THREADCOUNT SILKY SOFT SHEETS FROM SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRY

[hermette-historian]

A Comedy of Errors: The B-Team vs. TEA

You know it's funny, sometimes, how history repeats itself. How many of you knew there was in fact a full on Hermitcraft war all the way back in Season 1? Oh, there was chaos before Grian alright. Have an "abbreviated" summary of events, and see for yourselves just how little our favorite characters have changed.

Part I: The Setup

Biffa2001 is a chaos gremlin. He's has already shown earlier in the season just how bold he can be with threats (however empty) and interfering with other people's stuff. Biffa decides that holding everyone's bases hostage for diamond blocks isn't chaotic enough for him, so he goes in and closes down every shop in the bazaar under threat of foreclosure.

Biffa also has a best friend, our beloved Xisuma. X finds out that his shop has been closed and instead of confronting Biffa goes after DMAC, whom he discovered has not only "illegally" reopened his own shop but has been buying up and undercutting Xisuma's own prices on enchanted iron tools for weeks. (In the meantime, DMAC covered Biffa's entire base in iron golems in retribution for closing the emporium).

Biffa and Xisuma decide that too much shady shit has been going down on this server lately, and that they need to be the ones to bring down the hammer and stop it. They form "The Agency" (later TEA for Tea Eaters' Alliance) and their first target is not DMAC, but GenerikB's Hermits Hurtin' Hurdles from way back at the beginning of the season. The gauntlet has been long abandoned at this point, having been bested by both Joe Hills and Hypnotizd, and parts of it have even been torn down to make way for a slime farm. The Agency decides that it's far too dangerous to be left standing, and bricks the whole passage up with wooden fences. A few days later they return while GB is still out with food poisoning following his vacation. Having decided that the Hermit himself is dangerous to the well-being of the server due to his nasty habit of having a literal hit list, they punish him by filling every air block in his entire underground base with the same wooden fences.

GB, obviously, is pissed. He comes back from his illness to find he's been quarantined, spends several hours trying to tear down the fences by hand, and finally with a heavy heart resorts to burning them. He bricks off as many of the offshoot farms as he can, rescues what important materials he can find, and sets fire to the inside of his base-burning out not only the fences, but nearly a year's worth of carefully placed wooden structures and decorative leaves.

Now effectively homeless until he can hire Topmass to build him a new base, GB decides he needs backup if he's going to go up against The Agency. Within a week the other half of the B-Team (Bdubs, of course) and the "Goon Squad" (Skyzm, Pungence, and Juicetra) join the server and descend on The Agency's respective bases like flies, leaving their calling card: Several extremely large cobblestone Bs.

That, obviously, is not enough. While TEA is building their diamond-studded headquarters at a sit e offshore from Xisuma's base, GB puts up a new shop in the bazaar: The Angels with Bent Halos Foundation, where one can become an "involunteer" and donate their items to the poor and needy of the server (himself. He's just stealing Biffa's stuff.) He also decides that Hypnotizd is a suspiciously neutral party, and sends the Goon Squad out to the remote reaches of the server to investigate his massive, technologically advanced base...

Part II: The Escalation

Enter Joe Hills, and the errors with him. Joe realizes his shop has been closed a few months too late, and misreads the "B" on the sign as meaning "B-Team" regarding recent events. In a fit of righteous anger he griefs the AWBH foundation. The next day he realizes his mistake and very quickly shifts the target of his rage, beginning construction on a courthouse in which he plans to put TEA on trial. Meanwhile TEA builds their own shopfront in the second floor of the bazaar, a sort of police station in which neutral parties can leave complaints and report crimes.

Before Joe can realize his mistake and clean up the mess he made, Juicetra arrives at AWBH and assumes that TEA is responsible for destroying it. He rushes upstairs and leaves a very strongly worded message in their dropbox before bricking up their own shop, "a taste of their own medicine".

GB follows up close behind. Unlike Juicetra, he knows who vandalized the shop and leaves a report formally suing Joe for the damages in the form of an involuntary donation-forcing TEA to work on his side. (He also leaves a second report complaining about the noise from the chickens that X hid in the walls of the bazaar, but that has little to do with the situation).

The turnaround time on the complaints is mere hours. TEA arrives on the scene of the crime to help GB clean up the mess and retrieve his missing items from Joe's shop, and promises that justice will be done. In possibly violent ways.

Part III: The Suspense

The Goon Squad senses the impending "shit's about to go down" and retreats to the mountains, building a secret hideaway for neutral parties to use when bits start to explode. Topmass and his build team finish GB's new base in creative mode (we'll talk about the implications of that later). Hypno pokes his head into the rest of the server for about 0.2 seconds and sees that Bdubs has involunteered the decorative emerald blocks at his nether tunnel, but shows little interest in the whole affair. The neutral parties begin to take sides...

Part IV: A Long-Expected Party

Weeks pass, and nothing is heard from either side of the conflict. And then, a spark.

The Agency receives intelligence containing the coordinates of the Goon Squad's base, and deeming them a higher threat than either the B-Team (due to the substantiated squashing of GB's base) or Joe (who hasn't been seen on the server for weeks due to the birth of his child) decide it's time they paid their due. It takes a reasonable level of hunting, but eventually they are able to track down the coordinates and...redecorate a bit. Just to remind the Goons that the Agency is watching.

It takes a few days, but Skyzm discovers the vandalism and on his own swears revenge from the Goon Squad. Word then reaches GB-famous for his fairness and generosity and certainly not killing people-who is righteously angered by the Agency's actions and leaves the Goon Squad a voucher for an involuntary donation to them such that justice might be done.

A few days later, the Goons come back to the hideout and in a familiar move, angrily burn the vandalism out from the inside. They proceed on a tnt-fueled rampage through all of the little marks that TEA left on their home, and in a final act of revenge vandalize the police station as well as the neighboring TEA-owned Tnt shop and chicken farm.

Here's where things take a turn for the IRL. Juicetra enlists the help of his fanbase via Twitter, and asks them one fateful evening if they have the coordinates or approximate location of the TEA headquarters (which, you may recall from several paragraphs ago, is a) full of diamonds and b) severely lacking security). But before the nosy fans that had scouted the location during the world tour could spill the tea, Xisuma catches wind of the possible heist and very quickly moves the diamonds to a safer location. Only he forgot to tell Biffa. Responding to the emergency call of “someone stole our diamonds!!” results in awkward apologies and a trip to view the damage to the police station, and then…to do nothing about it?

Unfortunately, this is pretty much where the story ends. The server was wrapping up at this point, and two weeks after the last installment both members of the B-team left for good. Two of the three members of the goon squad remained active until the very end, but the third was too preoccupied with FTB to focus on any shenanigans. Joe Hills did return from his baby-related hiatus, but the courthouse went unused. And the tension regarding the dictatorial Tea Eater’s Alliance dissolved.

For now.

See you in season 2! /t