#i am so sorry if the readmore doesn't work on mobile

[7wolfmoon]

Architect INTJ-T 

Analyst Constant Improvement

before i c&p five novels’ worth of text, i just want to point out how funny and also fucked up it is that he is By Nature very curious, prone to doubting what he’s led to believe, comfortable striking out on his own, etc. but he still Tries So Fucking Hard to restrain himself with rules and others’ expectations and to fit into the roles that people expect of him. any and all of his rebellious acts are accidents that he tries desperately to prevent but they happen anyway. i just think it’s super funny and sad

anyway on to the wall. and i DO mean a fucking wall.

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

A Pioneering Spirit

Architects question everything. Many personality types trust the status quo, relying on conventional wisdom and other people’s expertise to guide their lives. But ever-skeptical Architects prefer to make their own discoveries. In their quest to find better ways of doing things, they aren’t afraid to break the rules or risk disapproval – in fact, they rather enjoy it.

Architects, independent to the core, want to shake off other people’s expectations and pursue their own ideas.

This personality type comes with a strong independent streak. Architects don’t mind acting alone, perhaps because they don’t like waiting around for others to catch up with them. They also generally prefer making decisions without asking for anyone else’s input. At times, this lone-wolf behavior can come across as insensitive, as it fails to take into consideration other people’s thoughts, desires, and plans.

It would be a mistake, however, to view Architects as uncaring. Whatever the stereotypes about their stoic intellect, these personalities feel deeply. When things go wrong or when they hurt others, Architects are personally affected and spend much time and energy trying to figure out why things happened the way that they did. They may not always value emotion as a decision-making tool, but they are authentically human.

A Thirst for Knowledge

Architects can be both the boldest of dreamers and the bitterest of pessimists. They believe that, through willpower and intelligence, they can achieve even the most challenging goals. But these personalities may be cynical about human nature more generally, assuming that most people are lazy, unimaginative, or simply doomed to mediocrity.

People with the Architect personality type derive much of their self-esteem from their knowledge and mental acuity. In school, they may have been called “bookworms” or “nerds.” But rather than taking these labels as insults, many Architects embrace them. They recognize their own ability to teach themselves about – and master – any topic that interests them, whether that’s coding or capoeira or classical music.

Architects don’t just learn new things for show – they genuinely enjoy expanding the limits of their knowledge.

Architects can be single-minded, with little patience for frivolity, distractions, or idle gossip. That said, they’re far from dull or humorless. Many Architects are known for their irreverent wit, and beneath their serious exteriors, they often have a sharp, delightfully sarcastic sense of humor.

Social Frustrations

Architects aren’t known for being warm and fuzzy. They tend to prioritize rationality and success over politeness and pleasantries – in other words, they’d rather be right than popular. This may explain why so many fictional villains are modeled on this personality type.

Because Architects value truth and depth, many common social practices – from small talk to white lies – may seem pointless or downright stupid to them. As a result, they may inadvertently come across as rude or even offensive when they’re only trying to be honest.

At times, Architects may wonder whether dealing with other people is even worth the frustration.

But like any personality type, Architects do crave social interaction – they’d just prefer to surround themselves with people who share their values and priorities. Often, they can achieve this just by being themselves. When Architects pursue their interests, their natural confidence can draw people to them – professionally, socially, and even romantically.

The Chess Game of Life

Architects are full of contradictions. They are imaginative yet decisive, ambitious yet private, and curious yet focused. From the outside, these contradictions may seem baffling, but they make perfect sense once you understand the inner workings of the Architect mind.

For these personalities, life is like a giant game of chess. Relying on strategy rather than chance, Architects contemplate the strengths and weaknesses of each move before they make it. And they never lose faith that, with enough ingenuity and insight, they can find a way to win – no matter what challenges might arise along the way.

(INTJ) Strengths

Rational – Architects pride themselves on the power of their minds. They can reframe nearly any challenge as an opportunity to hone their rational thinking skills and expand their knowledge – and with this mindset, they can devise inventive solutions to even the most arduous of problems.

Informed – Few personality types are as devoted as Architects to developing rational, correct, and evidence-based opinions. Rather than hunches or half-baked assumptions, they base their conclusions on research and analysis. This gives them the conviction that they need to stand up for their ideas, even in the face of disagreement.

Independent – For these personalities, conformity is more or less synonymous with mediocrity. Creative and self-motivated, Architects strive to do things their own way. They can imagine few things more frustrating than allowing arbitrary rules or conventions to stand in the way of their success.

Determined – This personality type is known for being ambitious and goal-oriented. Architects won’t rest until they’ve achieved their own definition of success – which usually entails mastering the subjects and pursuits that matter to them.

Curious – Architects are open to new ideas – as long as those ideas are rational and evidence-based, that is. Skeptical by nature, Architects are especially drawn to offbeat or contrarian points of view. And if the facts prove them wrong, they are generally happy to revise their opinions.

Original – Without Architects, the world would be a far less interesting place. This personality type’s rebellious streak is responsible for some of history’s most unconventional ideas and inventions. Even in their everyday lives, Architects force the people around them to consider new (and sometimes startling) ways of looking at things.

(INTJ) Weaknesses

Arrogant – Architects might be knowledgeable, but they’re not infallible. Their self-assurance can blind them to useful input from other people – especially anyone they deem to be intellectually inferior. These personalities can also come across as needlessly harsh or single-minded in trying to prove others wrong.

Dismissive of Emotions – For Architects, rationality is king. But emotional context often matters more than people with this personality type care to admit. Architects can get impatient with anyone who seems to value feelings more than facts. Unfortunately, ignoring emotion is its own type of bias – one that can cloud Architects’ judgment.

Overly Critical – These personalities tend to have a great deal of self-control, particularly when it comes to thoughts and feelings. When the people in their lives fail to match their level of restraint, Architects can appear scathingly critical. But this criticism can be unfair, based on arbitrary standards rather than a full understanding of human nature.

Combative – Architects hate blindly following anything without understanding why. This includes restrictions and the authority figures who impose them. People with this personality type can get caught up in arguing about useless rules and regulations – but sometimes these battles are distractions from more important matters.

Socially Clueless – Architects’ relentless rationality can lead to frustration in their social lives. Their efforts to defy expectations may leave them feeling isolated or disconnected from other people. At times, they may become cynical about the value of relationships altogether, questioning the importance of love and connection.

Roles: Analysts

Shared personality traits: Intuitive (N) and Thinking (T)

Thinkers, Not Robots

The personality types in the Analyst Role are known for their love of rationality. Because they share the Thinking trait, these types often aim to make decisions with their heads rather than their hearts. But Analysts are far from being robots. Their Intuitive personality trait energizes their imaginations, helping them to come up with creative strategies and motivating them to explore things deeply – whether that’s an intellectual pursuit, a new interest, or even a crazy scheme or thought experiment.

These personalities are driven to understand and create. They have no problem switching between speculative musing and tactical problem-solving. Of course, these broad abilities need to be honed – and, when appropriate, they need to lead to action. Otherwise, Analysts’ active minds can give them a false sense of accomplishment.

Driven by Curiosity

Analysts are innately curious. This helps them to ensure that their ideas are workable, rather than just clever. These personality types have a strong drive to learn, and they want to find out things for themselves rather than accept received wisdom. These types may be found stockpiling books, questioning teachers, spurring debates, or driving conversations in forums across the Internet.

88% of Analysts say they’re intrigued by things labeled as controversial.

Analysts are also relentless self-improvers. Once they’ve recognized a flaw, they apply all of their rationality, imagination, and desire for results to make it right. Especially when it’s balanced with self-understanding, this drive can enable Analyst personalities to push the boundaries of what’s possible – no matter what anyone else may think.

Socially Selective

Analysts can have a reputation for being lone wolves. These personality types don’t necessarily care about befriending everyone they meet, and they definitely don’t surround themselves with random people just for the sake of having some company.

85% of Analysts say they can spend a whole weekend by themselves without getting bored.

Given a choice between spending time with someone incompatible or spending time alone, many Analysts would choose the latter. And they may not be so subtle about it. 71% of people with Analyst personality types say they’re good at shutting down unwanted conversations – far more than any other Role. This brusqueness can make Analysts seem rude, unapproachable, or antisocial, particularly to types that value social harmony.

That said, it’s important to note that only 17% of Analysts actually describe their ideal social life as “mostly by myself.” Much greater numbers – 30% and 41% respectively – say they’d prefer to have a few good friends or a partner and a few good friends. As a result, it’s inaccurate to view these personality types as antisocial.

Instead, it makes sense to view Analysts as socially selective. Like other types, they crave social connection. But these personalities won’t feel socially fulfilled by spending time with just anyone. They want to surround themselves with people who really get them – even if it takes effort to find those people. That might be why 46% of Analysts say they actively seek new friendships – which is more than any other Role except Diplomats.

Independent Minds

Analysts have little patience for following in others’ footsteps. 58% of these personality types describe themselves as “very independent” – far more than any other Role. Independence isn’t just a characteristic of these types – it’s an important part of their self-image.

77% of Analysts say they’re proud of their independence.

This mindset shows up vividly in how Analysts approach academic and professional settings. These personality types are questioners, reluctant to take anything on faith. And “anything” includes what their teachers or bosses say.

From the outside, this might look like a lack of respect. In our Teachers Survey, Analysts were far less likely than other Roles to say they admired their past teachers. And this mindset persists in the professional sphere as well. 43% of Analysts in the workforce say they would be better than their boss at their boss’s job – again, far more than any other Role. Analyst personalities are also far less likely than other Roles to express admiration for their bosses.

But does this represent a lack of respect? Maybe – but this choosiness might well have other roots. Analysts tend to hold themselves to high standards, and they often hold the people around them (bosses and teachers included) to these high standards as well. In addition, Analyst personality types tend to care a great deal about learning and professional success. 85% of Analysts say they have a strong desire to be an important and successful person.

It makes sense, then, that these personality types hold their teachers and bosses to rigorous standards. After all, an Analyst with a poor teacher or boss may be less likely to become successful. Of course, Analysts – just like anyone – will almost certainly find themselves faced with a less-than-stellar teacher or boss. As a result, figuring out how to navigate these situations is an important part of their development.

Problems? What Problems?

You know who talks a lot about their problems? Not Analysts. In fact, 83% of Analysts say that most people complain too much about their problems.

But that doesn’t mean that people with these personality types don’t think about their problems, and they certainly don’t shy away from challenges. 61% of Analysts say they’re excited by the idea of being responsible for solving problems, and 85% say they enjoy tackling difficult challenges.

A core strength of Analysts is their faith in their problem-solving abilities. Analyst personalities tend to express the highest intellectual self-confidence of any Role, and this gives them the willingness to try their hand at things that may be hard. Taken too far, this can turn into cockiness – which is rarely an asset, whether in relationships or in other spheres. But as long as Analysts balance their intellectual self-assurance with their innate curiosity, these personality types can find success and even enjoyment in the face of challenges both large and small.

Strategies: Constant Improvement

Shared personality traits: Introverted (I) and Turbulent (-T)

Sensitive Souls

Constant Improvers tend to be sensitive and introspective. They are often deep individuals who enjoy having their own space and freedom. In general, these personality types feel more comfortable on their own than mixed up in the judgment of the real world.

This may be because they share the two personality traits most representative of sensitivity to their environment – Introversion and Turbulence. As a result, they may find it stressful to deal with tense environments or new situations. In these moments, Constant Improvers can be deeply uncomfortable – although they may not want to let on how they really feel. In reaction, these personalities might retreat inward, react defensively, or try to escape the situation altogether. Alternatively, they might give up their own wants or needs in an effort to keep the peace.

Driven by Doubt

Constant Improvers tend to experience self-doubt. They have a strong drive, but it comes paired with a strong fear of failure. These personality types invest a great deal of their identity in their successes. As a result, even a minor misstep or embarrassment can be crushing.

On the upside, this vigilance offers these personality types a knack for sensing trouble. This can be quite useful in situations that need to balance risk and reward – whether a financial investment or a romantic opportunity. When faced with a potential risk, these types look for ways to prevent problems. Although it slows them down in the short term, this approach can prevent longer-term issues.

79% of Constant Improvers say they often dwell on their regrets.

Constant Improvers direct much of their attention toward their personal interests. They strive to master hobbies, careers, or new means of self-expression. This level of dedication can create impressive, beautiful results.

People with Constant Improvement personality types can be perfectionistic, dedicating tremendous time and energy to their pursuits. Unfortunately, if they put too much pressure on themselves, this approach can backfire. For example, Constant Improvers may feel forced to abandon an endeavor because a single detail doesn’t line up right.

The “Right” Career?

Constant Improvers’ longing for “something more” extends to their professional lives. Just over a quarter of these types say that their career is a great fit for them – a rate of agreement that is less than the other Strategies.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Constant Improvers are in the wrong careers for them – although they might wonder if they are. More than half of these personality types say they often think about switching careers, and they’re more likely than the other Strategies to say that they feel stuck in their current job.

This restlessness doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, restlessness can be an incredible motivator to do great things. The trouble comes when Constant Improvers feel trapped: wanting to make a change, but suspecting they’re unable or helpless to do so. This feeling can have a number of roots, such as self-doubt or a general worry that other people don’t “get” them.

96% of Constant Improvers say they often feel misunderstood.

As in other areas of their lives, Constant Improvers who pursue personal growth often discover that their feeling of helplessness is exactly that – a feeling. This can be a powerful discovery. In its wake, these personality types are better able to harness their personal and professional strengths and deal with their feeling of “stuckness.” This may take the form of finding a new career, or it might involve advocating for themselves in their current workplaces so that they get more of their needs met. Either way, Constant Improvers often find that they have more agency in their professional lives than they’d realized.

The Strength of Sensitivity

In general, Constant Improvers care a great deal about what others think of them. This can trigger insecurity, to be sure, but when kept in balance, it can create some truly wonderful traits. These personalities are often curious about and sensitive to others’ feelings. This can make them excellent listeners, friends, confidants, and partners.

Some types might think that sensitivity is synonymous with weakness, but Constant Improvers know that isn’t the case. These personality types often exemplify how sensitivity and vulnerability can be hidden strengths. Their attunement to their own struggles and insecurities can help them to bond deeply with others. It can also motivate them to act with kindness and compassion.

Although they may not always realize it, Constant Improvers offer the world a wealth of gifts. Once they learn to trust themselves as much as they trust others’ opinions, these personalities can shine.

[schoolbusgraveyard]

If this doesn't work I am So Sorry mobile and I are constantly fighting/it says it worked in my drafts, but SBG fastpass discussion under the readmore

So. The kids are all split off right now. Ben, Ashlyn, Logan, and Taylor are all at the school to talk to the coach/essentially locate the keys with Mike in the car, Aiden is home with his parents+presumably Logan's grandparents and Ben's parents, and Tyler is in the hospital with his mom.

So just take a second with me. And imagine. Doctors tell Tyler and his mom that he needs to be put under for something. They let Mariana stay in the room while he's going under, or they don't, I just think it's worse if she's there for this.

And as Tyler's going under, the last thing he sees is Jasmine smiling through a surgical mask, getting ready to move him into the room. And he's pretty much Out Of It by that point, but his last conscious thought until he wakes up again is "It's the lady from the Sorrel Weed House, I have to tell mom." But obviously. Yknow. He Cannot.

[waywardstation]

I love the train of thought au! I hate Tumblr though, especially mobile Tumblr. Had to scroll for 30~20 minutes to reach the bottom of the tag. (Mobile Tumblr reloaded at least a few times and I almost threw my phone. I think I cried twice in frustration.)

I am absolutely foaming at the mouth because I've always liked the way Ingo and Emmet get presented, the characterizations are just so... Mwah 🤭.

For some reason the only thing I could think about after spending an entire night reading that wall of posts was the concept of big brother Ingo.

Sorry if I'm ranting here, it really has nothing pertaining to the au at all but I hate this concept, especially the societal concept that the older brother takes care of the younger one. Twins especially since they are usually born minutes from each other and that really doesn't mean anything different in experience.

Yes, Emmet is younger but I've always pictured him as the headstrong one that stands up for Ingo more often than not. (Honestly that's the vibe they give off collectively). I like to think of them as not in a big brother, little brother dynamic but a "we been through so much shit together we support each other fully" dynamic. I do understand why people like using it though.

Wait, what was this post about again? I swear I'm not trying to negatively rant right after bringing up stuff that plagued my mind while reading. I guess all I want to say is thank you for hosting this wonderful community au on your blog.

Expect Tumblr crabs in your blog later on. This is a warning.

Hey there OP! Glad you like it, I do too!!! (Still working on that masterpost ^^;) and apologies with tumblr mobile, I know it’s not the best with optimization!

I’m putting a readmore below because I got a lot more detailed than I intended to, regarding Ingo and Emmet’s sibling dynamic.

I like your views because it really isn’t as black and white (ha) as all that. I am a twin myself, the younger between us (and also by a few minutes) and throughout our lives it certainly has gone back and forth with us, but there’s really no definite position of looking after the other, just like with any other sibling relationship.

Given how Ingo and Emmet are, I imagine their dynamic very similar to what you’re talking about, being each others’ full supporters. Multiple lines in Masters EX show this, like these few from Emmet:

"Ingo and I are twins. We're both Subway Bosses, and we're each other's closest rival! We always challenge each other to get better. That's the kind of relationship we have! It's always a lot of fun when we're together!"

However, I feel like Ingo might feel… I don’t want to say obligated, because it’s certainly not work, and he knows very well Emmet can fend for himself, but perhaps inclined (pressured? By himself??) to carry through with what’s normally expected of an older brother. He might feel like he should look out for Emmet when he can:

“My younger brother, Emmet, would always entertain passengers on the Battle Subway... Now he is enjoying being a host here on Pasio. However, he's still new to this style of hospitality. Would you mind keeping an eye on him?"

And this might be somewhat spurred by the fact that Emmet looks up to Ingo, which I am sure Emmet has made Ingo aware of - he just might not want to let Emmet down:

"Do you have any siblings? I have an older brother, Ingo. He's verrrry strong. He hardly ever loses in Pokémon battles. Even though I also hold the title of Subway Boss, I really look up to him."

I do feel Emmet is very ready to support Ingo as well, seeing as how in their story event in Masters EX, Emmet was trying very hard to help Ingo with a project of theirs:

"I want to make Ingo’s idea a reality! Please, let me do this!"

And regarding your thoughts that of the two, Emmet is more headstrong, I feel similarly, and think he would always very clearly stand up for Ingo when needed.

I do headcanon that growing up, Emmet was more outgoing than Ingo (and that this led him to meeting Elesa, the new exchange student at their school, and taking her over to Ingo to introduce her to him, since he was more reserved and shy - not terribly so, but more so than Emmet)

ALL IN ALL - both Ingo and Emmet fully support and help each other out whenever they need it. And while Ingo might feel pressured by himself to look out for Emmet as the older brother, Emmet naturally does it for Ingo just as much, if not a little more, simply due to his outgoing nature

To try and tie this back to Train of Thought AU, I’m sure Akari and Irida would see a lot of moments expressing this dynamic of theirs in the many memory traincars throughout the mind station.

AND MG Emmet himself is pretty much a monument to this. MG Emmet is doing everything he can to keep Ingo safe from the Remnant and to protect him, even at his own expense to some degree. MG Emmet might only be a mental projection of how Ingo sees his brother, but the fact that MG Emmet is doing that means Ingo knows Emmet would do things like that for him, and he would.

Thanks for your ask OP!!! Very glad you like the AU, and happy you gave me a chance to go into all of this - I did not expect to dissect things like I did haha.

(And tumblr crabs? oh boy!!! Those would be my first!!)

[careful-pyromancer]

777 makes her appearance

content warnings: kinda intense descriptions of spiders

context: after a very unfair fight, 402 finds herself dizzy on the ground with a giant robotic spider lady asks her existential questions.

taglist, ask to be removed/added: @writing-is-a-martial-art @asher-orion-writes @memento-morri-writes @athena-anna-rose @verba-writing @from-midnight-with-love @writingpotato07 @fearofahumanplanet @nivahiem @lucysnotebook @wip-nook @writeblrsupport @365runesofpassion @fairycosmos @theimperiumchronicles @cryptidsandqueers @kjscottwrites

The entity set 402 down, and the cool earth felt like a kiss on the forehead. The balance wouldn’t be an issue for long.

“Take your time, think about the question. What. Are. You?” The voice rasped. *

What are you?

Something to be toyed with.

Something to be broken into a thousand tiny pieces by cruel gods who exude their superiority over her.

A shell for something artificial.

Someone who would never exist on the Outside.

Bleary brown eyes stared up at the assailant. A female human, like her.

:readmore: (I'm on mobile so I'm sorry if it doesn't work, I'll fix when I have my laptop)

The only difference between 402 and her was the spider-like appendages that protruded from her back. Her body hung high in the air, supported by all eight limbs. If 402 looked any longer at the horrifying concoction of metal and flesh, she would be sick.

She instead focused on the number on the spider-woman’s cheek.

777.

“Do you have an answer for me?” She asked, standing haughtily over 402. “Can you even talk? Do you even understand me?”

“I am a survivor.” 402 whispered from the ground, clutching her metal pipe. “No one will kill me without a fight.”

[sherifftillman]

i need to get some stuff out and my twitter app isn't working so. feel free to ignore this. i'm trying to put a readmore but it's on mobile so if it hasn't worked, i'm sorry, just keep scrolling, it's just a vent

i feel the way i did when i last had covid, but i couldn't go in for testing when everyone else did and now my managers telling us all that we're so stretched thin that she doesn't want any of the rest of us calling in sick. i'm testing negative even though i have symptoms but that's what happened last time too. so i have to just go into work, even though i'm sick, because nobody else can.

and it's all just a bit weirdly poetic that that's the theme in my life rn. despite the fact that i'm not good enough to be recognised for what i do, people still rely on me. even though i'm exhausted and i'm full of sniffles and coughs and even though i wasn't good enough to be promoted after 9 years, i am just about good enough to not be allowed to take time off because i'm that needed. not for me, myself, but for the work i do

i was supposed to spend my birthday catching up with some pals. getting out of luton for a few days. couldn't wait. now that the time has come to plan it all, guess who all conveniently couldn't get annual leave approved/suddenly can't make it, even though its TWO WEEKS AWAY. but still want me to give them advice bc two of them are fighting over something pointless

and THEN!! THEN!!! i had to try and go to sleep today ready for my night shift assuming that when i woke up my parents would no longer be together after my fuckass dad decided that going into work despite taking the day off to be there to support my mum while her mum is dying, was more important than honoring what he said he'd do for mum. i was the one who called her a taxi to take her straight there after i was the one to cradle my grieving mother in my arms. i told her to take no shit from him. but when i woke up and phoned her she just said that it's all fine bc he's here in the car with him now. so all of that shit and she's not going to stand up to him and his dickhead ways. so i just put myself through all of that stress for fuck all, too

i'm sick and i'm tired and i'm sick and tired of it all. i just wish i was enough to be allowed to be sad or angry or tired or ill. everyone else gets to have problems except for me bc i fix them. that's all i am. a solution machine. i just want someone to think of me as a person that just wants to feel wanted because i'm me

[giratinazero]

ugh can't get the readmore to work on mobile sorry

I'm literally just always so scared about my vision. I,,,,,, am going to attempt to make myself get to bed early these next few nights, in the hopes that this new blurriness is just lack of sleep, bc I have been up later than usual lately, but like.

that doesn't stop my brain from screaming. my father is actively going blind in his early 50s. I am far too similar to him genetically. it's inevitable. inevitable. inevitable.

I'm 24. and I don't feel like I was supposed to make it to 24. so it is very difficult to do anything than just... give up all at once.

[synthient]

Could you elaborate on what you mean about Death T re stanning and fairness? It sounds interesting and I'd love to hear about it if you don't mind sharing.

ajhfakj hoo boy. Okay.

So some time around the summer before last (judging by the point where the first baffled and frustrated readmores start showing up on this blog), I read Death-T. It made me feel…some kind of way. An…unpleasant kind of way.

Here’s the thing about me: I can’t just let myself have an emotional reaction to a piece of fiction. I have to, first, pick apart my own emotions to figure out why I had that reaction, and second, pick apart the story to figure out how it works and how it made me feel that way.

On the Feelings Front, I’ve isolated two main causes:

1. I have a brain that Needs Things To Be Fair. That doesn’t mean I can’t handle unfairness in a piece of fiction. Unfairness creates conflict, and conflict is what makes for good storytelling. But it does mean that I need the story to be aware of its own unfairness. I need the unfairness to be the point. Otherwise I start vibrating at high speeds and shaking my fist at clouds.

2. I’m a Kaiba stan. I accidentally got emotionally attached to the Funny Card Game Boy from the Funny Card Game Show. 

There’s the feelings part. That leaves the “picking apart the story” side of the equation. And I’ve been trying to do that in nice punchy little one-or-two-paragraph text posts for the past year or so, but I don’t think I’ve ever really done the argument justice that way. So I guess that leaves only one option: writing a giant wordvomit essay on Yugioh (1996-2004).

Why This Is A Death-T Hateblog: The Masterpost

An important note: I like being able to back up my thoughts with Evidence From The Text, but I’m specifically working off the (Viz translated) manga. You can read Cards with Teeth here, Capumon here, and Death-T starting here if you want to check any of my facts or draw your own conclusions. Keep in mind that the Toei anime made pretty huge changes to the s0 Kaiba storyline, and the DM anime skipped most of it entirely–if you’re more familiar with those continuities, there’re some major differences in the manga.

(Also this thing probably reads better on desktop. I think the formatting got screwed up on mobile)

How We Got Here

Before we can actually dig into Death-T, we need to start at the very beginning (♫a very good place to start♫). So that means taking a look at “The Cards with Teeth (Part 1)” and “The Cards with Teeth (Part 2).”

For its first 8 chapters, the Yugioh manga chugs blissfully (if repetitively) along with an episodic, conflict-of-the-week formula. No overarching plot. Next to no sense of continuity. No trading cards in sight.

Then this asshole shows up. 

His name is Seto Kaiba (or “Kaiba,” at least–not sure if this is just a Viz thing, but my copy of CwT never mentions his given name). Not that he bears a whole lot of resemblance to the Seto Kaiba we later come to know and love (and/or love to hate).

Almost none of his most defining traits are there yet. There’s no mention of Mokuba, no mention of Kaibacorp, no indicationthat he’s especially rich (besides the fact that he’s carrying around a wholebriefcase of trading cards), no reason to believe he has a specific obsession with Blue Eyes (he just thinks it’s a strong card and it’d help him win tournaments), and no sign of any special hacking/strategy/hand-to-hand-combat/etc. skills (the kid is hilariously incompetent). 

This dude was never supposed to be a recurring character, and it shows.

But anyway, let’s run through the basic series of events:

- Kaiba wanders into the game shop looking forbooster packs. Yugi recognizes him as an acquaintance from school (not as a famous kid CEO, and not as a recent transfer student)

- Kaiba happens to notice the Blue Eyes card lying out onGrandpa’s counter (in this version of events, he hasn’t been stealing rare cards for months before this, he didn’t creep on Yugi’s conversation and followhim home, he had no idea going in that the Blue Eyes was there, and he didn’t already have the other three)

- He offers to trade all the cards in his briefcasefor the Blue Eyes (although he doesn’t tell Grandpa to name his price—again,the millionaire CEO element isn’t a thing yet)

- Grandpa refuses, so the next day Kaiba comes up with alaughably badly thought-out plan to steal the card

- Shockingly, Yugi notices that the “color copy from the catalog” isn’t the real deal. He gently tries to confront Kaiba about it in private

- Kaiba (without showing an ounce of the cool head you’d think you’d need to take over and run a company) panics, starts stammering and unconvincingly denying it, and then smacks Yugi with his briefcase

Annnd then Part 2 plays out like a standard s0 chapter.

“Yami Yugi” takes over. They play a shadow game. Kaiba cheats by slipping the stolen Blue Eyes out of his sleeve (Atem’s like “That’s my Grandpa’s card!” and Kaiba straight up goes “Whaaat, nooo, that’s my card that I, uh, found on the street just now.” A teen genius criminal mastermind, everybody). The shadow magic gives him a spritz from its metaphorical Karmic Cat-Training Spray Bottle and makes his Blue Eyes dissolve (I’d like to think that was Kisara going “I’m not mad, just disappointed,” and Memory World tries to retroactively make that connection, but it’s pretty abundantly clear that nothing about this series was planned that far ahead). He loses. Yadda yadda yadda.

And then Atem goes in for the penalty game.

To recap: 

Some random 10th grader from Yugi’s school stole a trading card, hit someone, and was generally kind of a jerk. As punishment, he was trapped in a hyper-realistic illusion of being ripped apart and slaughtered by half a dozen monsters at once.

Y…ay…?

Let’s Stop and Reflect for a Sec

In theory, I shouldn’t be that much more upset about Cards with Teeth than I am about any other part of s0, right? It’s not like the manga framed it as horrific and wrong when Atem set off an explosion in some teenage bully’s face a couple chapters ago. Giving us the vicarious pleasure of punishing our bullies in over-the-top, Carrie-style ways without actually exploring any of the consequences is, like, the early manga’s whole thing.

But even taking into account the fact that I already had an attachment to this Nasty Bowl Cut Boy thanks to the anime, I do actually think that there are at least two factors that set CwT apart.

The first is that Atem’s karmic punishments are usually…well, karmic. If he inflicts physical harm on someone, it’s because they already inflicted or tried to inflict roughly the same amount of harm on Yugi & co. If the crime was relatively minor, then he only gives out a minor punishment–like, say, when the homeroom teacher was Just Kinda Mean, all he did was allow the class to see her without her makeup on (…setting aside the Let’s Get Into Gender Politics-ness of that chapter).

There’s even a few cases where you could argue that the punishment is too light to fit the crime. Ushio beat Jonouchi and Honda half to death and tried to murder Yugi with a knife, and all he got was this lousy t-shirt an illusion that made the trash on the ground look like money.

In another chapter, the villain of the week tried to rape Anzu, and the only punishment he faced was having his side business exposed as a scam (Let’s Get Into Gender Politics).

Yet in CwT, we see one of the most harmless villains in all of s0 (no prolonged beatings or attempted murder? unheard of!) receive what’s arguably the most horrifying penalty game in the whole manga. At least when that guy got set on fire, it was over fast.

And that brings us to factor number two: Kaiba is the first penalty game victim in s0 who comes back. 

Capumon: Gotta Catch ‘em All!

Well, technically he doesn’t come back in person, at first. Someone else shows up to fight in his name.

Oh hey Mokie. How’s it going?

Rather understandably (imo), Mokuba wants the guy who tortured his brother last week to face some actual consequences for it.

Now here’s an interesting opportunity that the manga has set up for itself. Is it going to dig deep into the balance between defending yourself vs lashing out and causing undue harm? Is it going to remind us that most of the penalty game victims so far, whatever their crimes,have been children? Is it going to demonstrate that when you take out your anger on someone, you don’t just hurt your immediate target, but their loved ones as well?

Nah, who am I kidding.  

Hurting or inconveniencing the Good Guys in any way is Bad. Anything the Good Guys do is Good and Justified. Using magic to stick an already-hurting eleven-year-old in his own personalized hell? Good and Justified.

Before he’s shoved screaming into the Giant Vending Machine Capsule Where Bad And Naughty Elementary Schoolers Go To Atone For Their Crimes, Mokuba mentions that the other penalty game he heard about “made my brother go crazy!”

He also drops a hint of things to come with all the subtlety of an anvil. So I guess by this point, the numbers had come in and the card game chapter had proved unexpectedly popular enough that a sequel was in the works.

Death-Twink? Death-Tastic?Death-Two: Electric Boogaloo?

I’ve been pretty hard on Cards with Teeth and Capsule Monsters Chess so far. But you want to know the truth?

On their own, they aren’t necessarily that bad.

What really matters in a story isn’t the literal events: it’s how those events are framed. At the moment, we’re only midway through an incomplete storyline. Maybe we’re supposed to be horrified. Maybe we’re supposed to be questioning whether or not the hero is really in the right. It all hangs on what these chapters are building to.

As it turns out–as Mokuba just helpfully clued us in on–they were building to Death-T.

And that’s where the shit hits the fan.

Over a dozen chapters after we first met Kaiba, a whole bunch of completely-unforeshadowed facts about him are suddenly dumped on us all at once. He’s rich! The kind of rich that allows for limo rides, a giant mansion, and flouncing around in a fur-lined cape like feudal European nobility! And he’s the president of a company, even though “Whaa?!! But he’s still in high school!” Speaking of which, apparently Kaiba “hasn’t been at school recently.”

The Death-T arc opens with Yugi and Jonouchi attending the world’s most awkward sleepover–the host never shows up, and they don’t even get to paint each others’ nails or watch movies. Also Mokuba tries to murder them in the night, but you know what? If someone tortured my brother, “made him go crazy,” and left him huddled in the house feverishly working on a bizarre project and refusing to go to school for the next few weeks, I’d probably poison them too.

The morning after the sleepover, we learn another new Kaiba Fact…

Ever since the Experience of Death happened, he’s been having horrible recurring PTSD nightmares about it. As you do. When you get tortured.

(This is why, even though I know intellectually that it’s Not That Deep and people arejust having fun, I still get a little skeeved out when I see jokes about howDeath-T happened “just” because Kaiba was that mad about losing a card game or “just”because he had a crush on Yugi and he didn’t know how to deal with it. I’malways internally like “Nnno, I’m pretty sure it was the torture?”)

So far we’ve been shown in pretty brutal detail that our “hero” psychologically broke a fifteen-year-old for no good reason. The manga’s going to have its work cut out for it if it really wants to do a convincing redemption arc for its protagonist. And there’s no way it could possibly try to spin that random act of torture as an acceptable thing, right?

…right?

Crime and Punishment

That’s one of my first big problems with Death-T: to me, it reads as a way of trying to retroactively justify the Experience of Death.

That seems to be the purpose of suddenly giving Kaiba all this wealth and power that was never hinted at in Cards with Teeth. See, he wasn’t just some random high school kid who had the bad luck of crossing someone with magic powers; he was (however improbable that is, as the story lampshades) a high school-aged CEO. He’s so ludicrously powerful that he can torture an old man in front of a live audience and get away with it. Punching up looks a lot better than punching down, doesn’t it?

And you can’t really fault the hero for torturing someone evil, can you? Kaiba used Grandpa’s sanity as a blackmail chip! He ran experiments on human test subjects! He wants to kill Yugi and everyone he loves! Surely a little torture is no worse than he deserved.

There’s only one one problem with that: the Experience of Death happened before Death-T. There’s no way Atem could have known any of this was coming. The audience couldn’t have known it was coming. Takahashi didn’t know. Chronologically speaking, the Experience of Death wasn’t revenge for Death-T. It’s the other way around.

Best Served Cold

So Death-T is a form of eye-for-an-eye vengeance: “Yugi” beat Kaiba at Duel Monsters and tortured him, so now Kaiba’s gonna beat Yugi and torture him, using his own perfect virtual recreation of “Yugi’s” penalty game (oh yeah, that whole “the average person goes insane in about 10 minutes” thing? Kaiba was able to program that detail from personal experience).

But wait! This isn’t really eye-for-an-eye! Kaiba’s going after Yugi’s loved ones, not just Yugi, and that’s worse than what Yugi did to him! And even if it was proportionate, revenge is bad and wrong. That’s how you get endless back-and-forth chains of vengeance and generational blood feuds and stuff. Two wrongs don’t make a right!

And those could all be reasonable points, except…

This entire story is about how great and badass eye-for-an-eye justice is.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if you could take everyone who ever hurt you and make them suffer even worse” is practically the thesis of Season 0. You can’t make something look awesome when the protagonist does it and then turn around and make it seem evil and inexcusable coming from anyone else.

And while Kaiba does wind up targeting Yugi’s friends, that wasn’t part of his original plan. He’s surprised when random people start jumping out of the bleachers/the Kaibacorp employee roster and insisting that they won’t let Yugi do this alone. The writing uses his surprise as proof that he just doesn’t understand The Power of Friendship, but it’s also evidence that his original target was just Yugi.

“If you’re gonna side with my torturer, then you can have the same fate as him, I guess.” It’s not even that far outside the logic Atem’s been using all this time. Just because there’s only one main gang member who personally hurt his friend, that doesn’t mean that Atem won’t rope every random mook who gets in his way into the death game too. (Granted, this doesn’t really apply to Kaiba’s treatment of Grandpa. Or the offscreen experimentation/blackmailing. Or Mokuba, but…we’ll get to that).

…But like I said before, the big issue isn’t the events. It’s the framing. Maybe the point will ultimately be that if penalty games are wrong when the bad guy does them, then they’re wrong when the hero does them too. Maybe this is all leading up to a big reexamination of Atem’s moral code and some much-needed character development.

Maybe. Let’s keep going and see.

*Great Gatsby comic voice* Baby? What Baby

Death-T runs for 14 chapters, but Kaiba isn’t actually there for, like…half of them.

I mean, he’s technically there? Occasionally? He’ll show up long enough to dramatically play chess for a panel or so, or to stick his head on a TV monitor and provide some Helpful Death Game Hints. But for all practical purposes, he’s pretty much absent for the entire middle section of the story arc.

And, uh…let’s just say I 100% understand and respect the DM anime’s decisionto go straight from Grandpa’s heart attack to the final duel and skipeverything in between.

If Kaiba’s real goal is to beat Yugi at Duel Monsters, then all the death games leading up to that one are basically filler. And they manage to be just as contrived and nonsensical as any anime filler arc, without a fraction of the fun.

It’s largely a tonal issue. The writing swings wildly between grimdark dramatics, sentimental conversations about friendship where everyone hugs and cries (tbh that’s one of the few redeeming qualities of the arc), and “comic relief” where the “““comedy””” is all either bodily function jokes or sexual assault jokes (L̠̤̯͍̦e̮̪͎̞t's̞̮̳̱̰̦̲ ̲G͖͉̹̻̯͉͖e̜̝̗͓̟͚t̖͚ ͚̰̞̮̝̫͎I͓̜̦̳̭͚͎n̪̪͈t͍̥̰̼o͚͎͇̣̘̝ ̪̼̜̣̳G͈̠̫e̳̝̗̪ṋ͚̞͎ͅd͔̙͓̯̹e̯̺̯̩r͔̣̲͔̳̗ ̘͙P̖̦o̩̺͖͎̞̬l͎̺͕̹i͇̣̼̦t̰i̬̰̝͙̗̝c̜̼̺̪̲̞s).

Honestly, in terms of the “stanning and fairness” argument, there’s not much to talk about here. It just adds insult to injury that not only does Death-T throw my fave under the bus, but it’s really badly written.

The Mokuba Thing

Okay, let’s fast-forward through the filler zone and stoppp…here. 

In the context of the anime, where we know (and see multiple flashbacks demonstrating) that their whole life has been an “us against the world” story, this scene is tragic. Seto’s trust in people has been eroded so much that he even thinks Mokuba is conspiring against him? Their love and support for each other, which has survived through so much hardship, has finally cracked under the weight of this latest trauma? There’s a lot of dramatic and tearjerking potential there.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that most of us bring our baggage from the anime with us when we read the manga. The vast majority of the western Yugioh fandom did start with DM. 

But if we look at this purely in the context of the manga–if we can pretend, for a second, that none of us have ever heard of the anime–this is the first time we see the two of them interacting onscreen. And none of those touching flashbacks of Seto comforting Mokuba and defending him from bullies and promising to be his father exist here. All we ever really learn about their relationship before this point is “They used to be a little closer when they were younger. Source: one (1) photo of them playing chess.”

So instead of serving as the tragic lowpoint of their relationship, this scene sets the baseline for it: Mokuba desperately wants to make his brother happy and earn his approval, while Seto responds with dismissal and cruelty.

In the anime (and to a certain extent in the later manga), Mokuba’s purpose in the narrative is to humanize Seto. But in Death-T, he serves the opposite function. Every interaction they have is an opportunity for Seto to kick the dog and prove what a monster he is.

And it’s all downhill from here.

………………

…So.

I have…mixed feelings about this.

On one level–a meta level–I think this scene serves the same purpose as taking that random high schooler from CwT and suddenly giving him ridiculous amounts of money and power and mustache-twirling levels of villainy. It’s a way of making the Experience of Death seem retroactively justified (and also a way of making the upcoming penalty game look fair).

On the other hand. It’s. 

Horrific.

This scene is supposed to make us hate Kaiba, and it does it’s job really really well.

Personally speaking? I’m of the opinion that trying to hurt the child under your care as badly as you conceivably can is a “don’t pass go, don’t collect $100″ kind of deal. There’s no coming back from that. There’s no fixing or salvaging this relationship.  

(God, this whole thing is wrapped in so many layers of fantasy that I’m not even sure what the real-world equivalent would be. Trying to beat your child not quite to death?)

Mokuba should not have had to continue living with his brother after this, any more than the Ishtars should have had to stay with their dad or Seto should have had to stay with Gozaburo. Mokuba forgiving Seto for this isn’t touching to me, it’s gut-wrenching. Every “heartwarming” brotherly moment in the later manga (all, like…2 and a half of them) feels hollow and sad.

As far as I’m concerned, this scene doesn’t “complicate” their relationship in any interesting or meaningful way. Their anime relationship already has plenty of complications–their sometimes unhealthy co-dependence, the fact that Seto is still a kid himself and he’s not really equipped to be a parent,Mokuba’s difficulty understanding that Seto can’t just “go back to who he was” before his trauma, the times when Seto is too caught up in his own pain to really be there for Mokuba, the manipulation involved in Seto’s takeover plan, etc. This just makes their relationship outright child abuse.

But hey, they hugged that one time in Duelist Kingdom, so it’s fine, right?

ExODiA iiiIIIIT’s not pAHsible

The final duel happens. The big Blue Eyes vs Exodia showdown.

*Bill Wurtz voice* So that’s pretty nifty, I would say.

It’s..? A genuinely cool and dramatic duel. There’s a reason it’s one of the, like, three Death-T elements the DM anime actually bothered to keep. Not much to say about it.

Sure was a whole lot of buildup just to end things with one (1) deus ex machina instawin card, tho.

The Tragic Backstory

So if all this happened because of a penalty game, what do you think the solution could be?

Did you say “another, even harsher penalty game”?

Ding ding ding!

This time, instead of torturing the fifteen-year-old, our hero puts the fifteen-year-old in a vegetative state as he begs for mercy.

Yaaaayy! 

Some fun facts about the Mind Crush that we don’t actually learn until Duelist Kingdom:

1. It lasted for 6 months

2. Mokuba spent that entire time alone, in the big empty mansion, with no parental guidance or adult supervision except the butlers and maids, caring for his brother’s comatose body 24/7

3. When Atem put Kaiba in that coma, he had absolutely no idea if he’d ever be able to wake up or not. He thought he could, maybe–Kaiba’s pretty strong, right? But he also finds the idea that Kaiba died in his coma and came back to haunt him perfectly believable. “Fixed,” dead…eh, it was kind of a coin toss.

But wait, the story’s not over yet! First we have to find out Why Kaiba Is The Way He Is (“Because your buddy tortured him last month” isn’t enough of an answer, apparently).

This is communicated in the most natural way possible: Mokuba just starts monologuing about all his brother’s deepest darkest traumas to a bunch of strangers his brother hates.

The claim that Kaiba’s backstory is “more complex” in the manga than it is in the anime has always confused me, because this is…it. These three pages are the whole backstory. I mean, in Battle City we do get one more passing line of dialog about how Kaibacorp used to be a weapons manufacturer and Gozaburo “sold Seto’s soul to the military industrial complex,” but other than that… The anime took these bare bones and fleshed them out significantly, but from a pure manga canon standpoint, it’s not a whole lot to work with.

But there’s still enough here to rub me the wrong way.

For one thing, this sequence is almost an exact parallel to two later moments in the manga: Pegasus’s backstory dump at the end of Duelist Kingdom, and Malik’s backstory dump mid-Battle City. In both of those cases, the purpose of the scene is to take a villain whose motives seemed cruel and inexplicable and finally reveal the reasons behind his actions. We’re supposed to be seeing these characters in a sympathetic light for the very first time.

But Kaiba’s motives in Death-T, uh, weren’t exactly a mystery. He already made it pretty explicitly clear that this was about the torture. So as a narrative tool, Mokuba’s monologue:

1. seems a little superfluous

2. seems like a way of taking any responsibility out of the protagonist’s hands. Kaiba didn’t snap because of anything Atem did, he just had a bunch of fucked up baggage that Atem couldn’t possibly have known about or accounted for. Who knew some people take it badly when you torture them??

3. seems to suggest that we weren’t supposed to be sympathizing with Kaiba before this point. If this is the big “oh, now that I know why he did it, I guess I feel a little bad for him :(” moment, then that means the part where he got tortured…wasn’t?

And, as always, there’s the issue of the framing.

The grace note of the monologue–the thought it leaves us with, the intended takeaway–isn’t “If only he hadn’t gone through years of abuse, in circumstances he had no real control over because he was a child.” It’s “If only he hadn’t brought all this upon himself by cheating.”

Even if we ignore the fact that it’s physically impossible to cheat at chess (which seems like kind of a big oversight for a gaming manga, but oh well, That’s Yugioh Babe)…

How can you possibly present a ten-year-old cheating at a board game in a desperate gambit to get himself and his brother out of an orphanage as his start of darkness?

Yet that’s exactly what the writing does. This is a story about how games “reveal the true hearts” of their players and bring karmic retribution down on anyone who doesn’t respect the game and follow the rules. The implication is that the child abuse Seto suffered was karma. He rightfully earned it by cheating at chess, just like he brought the Experience of Death upon himself by cheating at Duel Monsters.

Oh yeah, speaking of which…

Wheel of Morality, Turn Turn Turn, Tell Us The Lesson We Should Learn

What was the outcome of Death-T? What impact did it actually have? 

Did it bring about any big moral reckoning? Any questioning of the heroes’ values? Did Atem learn the difficult but important lesson “torture bad”?

Nnnnope!

Death-T is immediately followed by a series of episodic chapters that take us right back to the status quo like nothing happened. Atem keeps merrily handing out penalty games all the way up to the very end of Duelist Kingdom. When he does finally stop doing them, his decision has nothing to do with Death-T. It takes a comment from Pegasus about the Millennium Items having an “evil intelligence” to make him wonder “wait…I’m from a Millennium Item…I’m an intelligence…could evil…maybe include…torture????”

And even after the manga lukewarmly reverses its position to “torture sort of bad I guess,” it never really does anything with that revelation. None of the past penalty games are ever reexamined. No apologies are made. The Experience of Death is quietly swept under the rug, and the Mind Crush, when it’s brought up at all, is framed as noble act that “fixed” Kaiba (because “if you make someone suffer badly enough, you can hurt them into being a better person” is a great message).

Basically, we learned nothing from Death-T, nothing changed, and our takeaway is supposed to be “Atem was 100% in the right and Kaiba was 100% in the wrong, and also he’s an evil monster who deserved everything he got.”

Guess I Need A Satisfying Conclusion of Some Kind Even Through Death-T Didn’t Really Have One, Huh

Wow.

That was…a whole lot of words of Death-T rage that I apparently had in me zjkghzkkf. 

I tend to feel less justified about constantly harping on Death-T then I do when it comes to, like, the racism in Memory World, or the series’ general Miss O’Gyny. It’s not like “magical vigilantism” is exactly a real-word social issue that’s being reflected in this piece of fiction. I realize a lot of my anger pretty much boils down to “hey,, ! thats…my fave. stopp...being mean to him >:(”

But I also feel like the issues in Death-T aren’t limited to Death-T.

The manga has this…this thing where it wants to be able to pinpoint a few clear, unchanging moral rules (“cheating is bad!” “graverobbing is bad!” “patricide is bad!”) and just apply them neatly to every situation, without having to take into account any of that inconvenient stuff like “what were the circumstances of this specific situation,” or “how many choices were actually open to this person,” or “how much harm was done by this choice compared to its benefits in terms of basic human well-being.” Yet at the same time, that moral absolutism is somehow coupled with a reluctance to apply any moral judgement to its protagonists at all. 

The two points where that becomes clearest are Death-T and Memory World. And I feel like even when people acknowledge the issues with those arcs, they still want to be able to write it off as “oh, that was just a problem with the early chapters, it was fixed as the writing matured,” or “oh, that was just a problem at the end because of the mad rush to finish the story before it got canceled, it was never a thing before then.” But it’s not an isolated problem. It’s there at the beginning of the story, it’s there at the end, and it’s baked into everything in the middle.

…but anyhow. 

hey,, ! thats…my fave. stopp...being mean to him >:(

[astralarias-old]

A couple of snapshots of how Casiyn was convinced and manipulated into joining the Nightmare Court. This takes place over the course of about two months, starting from when Atlaki goes to the Crystal Desert and ending a short time after he is killed by Balthazar (and comes back, of course, but in this story, almost no-one in central Tyria gets news of his return until a little later on). 

••• 

  Silence hung over the grove like a heavy blanket. It was early morning, and not even the birds were awake to sing. A few wardens patrolled here and there, but otherwise, they were alone - ‘they’ being Casiyn, and the two unknown sylvari whose eyes glinted in a way he wasn’t sure he liked or not. It didn’t make him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t quite place it, the way they looked at him.

What made him more uneasy was how little he could feel from them. Being as sensitive as he was, it usually only took a few seconds for him to get a feel for someone’s emotional state. But with these two, there was nothing. Only the muted echoes of joy or sadness every now and then. But they acted friendly enough, and he didn’t mind the company now that Atlaki had abando- no, now that Atlaki had been called away. To save the world. He was the commander, and Cas was just another naive, over-empathic sapling. He’d never be his first priority, and he knew he needed to accept that.

Speaking of Atlaki -

“What was it he taught you?” one of the two asked. “The Commander, I mean.”

Was he imagining it, or did they almost seem to spit the word? Maybe he was just tired. He cleared his throat, giving his head a quick shake to clear it.

“Um. He was - he said it’s okay to feel things so strongly, but I have to learn to manage it or I could hurt someone.”

The other sylvari joined in now, putting a hand on Cas’ shoulder. His heart skipped a beat.

“You hold your true self back to protect others? You restrain your emotions out of fear? I don’t think that’s healthy, dear.”

Cas’ cheeks grew hot and he brushed their hand away. “So you’re saying I should lash out and hurt people?”

The second sylvari recoiled a little, glancing across to the other for the briefest of moments before rearranging their face into a smile.

“No,” they said. “Of course not. No, no. But all that anger. Where does it go?”

Casiyn shrugged with a little too much force, a frown appearing on his face. Perhaps he should ask a warden to make them go away. They were being rather annoying with all those questions, especially since he found himself fumbling for answers. He blinked back the hot tears that stung his eyes. Breathe. Breathe. Don't let it overwhelm you.

“I don’t know. But Atlaki’s teaching me to cope in ways that don’t hurt people. He gives me ideas of how I can let it all out. Like painting. He got me into painting, and that really helps when I—"

Now the first sylvari joined back in. "You sound like you loved him a lot. I’m sorry.”

Casiyn’s mouth went dry, his heart dropping like a rock. No. What were they implying? That Atlaki had been — could he have — oh, it hurt even to think it. He spoke with a tremor in his voice, both desperate for an explanation yet reluctant to receive one.

“Why are you sorry?”

The sylvari fixed him with an unreadable expression, and their eyes seemed to glint more brightly as they met his. For the next few moments, the only sound was the pounding of his own heart, erratic and fast.

Then they spoke.

“Well, because he left you, of course. He’s not here any longer.”

Cas heaved a sigh, wiping the corners of his eyes. He forced a weak smile. “Oh. Right. I’m…I’m okay. I’m coping alright without him, I think.”

“We’re glad to hear it,” the stranger said, and got to their feet and beckoned for their friend to do the same. “We have to go now, my dear, but we'll be back later. I hope your Commander doesn’t get hurt too badly out there. If he was killed, I don't know what any of us would do."

With that said, they strode off together into the early morning fog and vanished, and Cas was alone with his thoughts once again.

•••

“Has he wrote to you?” Eira asked. "Atlaki. That's his name, isn't it?"

That was one of their names, the pair of sylvari who often sought him out to talk nowadays. He still wasn’t sure what to think of the two, but they’d done him no harm so far, although he remained unable to sense much about them. They almost felt like the soundless. Yet unlike the soundless, Casiyn could feel something from them. It was just quiet, muted, almost as if it was hidden on purpose. But he liked the company and, really, it was nice to not get bombarded with their feelings as he did with most others.

The other sylvari, Killien, tilted his head and chimed in. “He said he would, yes?”

Casiyn bit his lip, lowering his gaze so they wouldn’t see his frown. Yes, Atlaki had promised to write. But it had been almost a month, and not a single letter had arrived. Cas didn’t doubt they would eventually, but he was getting worried. His sleep was suffering, and he found himself prone to outbursts far more often than usual. His two new friends assured him this was fine, to embrace what he felt and go deeper into it, but he wasn’t so sure. The other day, he'd made a sapling cry. That hadn't felt too good.

“Well, he did say that,” Cas began, keeping his tone as casual as he could. “But I haven’t got any letters yet. It's far away, though, isn’t it? A whole different continent. And he’s busy with Balthazar. That’s probably why, right?”

Eira smiled, perhaps too sweetly. "Of course, sweetpea. He doesn’t have much time for you anymore.”

She reached out and patted his shoulder, yet he felt no comfort in the touch. A wave of cold sadness washed over him. He choked on a sob, clapping a hand to his face to try and hide his tears from the others. It didn't work. They saw, and watched, eyes like hawks, eager and unmoving. And he drowned.

•••

That morning, his two odd friends approached with heads bowed, hand in hand. For once, Casiyn could sense something from them. Sadness. It was so intense it was almost electric, after so long of getting so little. They wandered over to where he sat in the grass and stopped before him in silence. He put down his lunch bowl and looked up to greet them, trying for a smile but unable to keep it up for more than a second.

“Hey,” he said. “Is anything wrong?”

Eira sniffled. “Oh, Casiyn. Haven’t you heard? Killien, can you tell him?”

Killien gave a brief nod, and for a second Cas thought he saw the hint of a smile on his face. That couldn’t be right, though. He felt so deeply sad. It was weird. They were weird, sometimes unsettlingly so. But they were also the only ones who ever spoke to him anymore, and he appreciated that.

“Casiyn,” he began quietly. “We’ve found out something terrible. We all know Atlaki abandoned you, yes? But you still loved him once.”

Cas scowled for a moment, a little hurt at his blunt phrasing. “Atlaki didn't - well, I guess he - never mind. Yes, I suppose I did. I think I did, anyway."

Killien drew a deep breath. He put a hand to his chest as if his next words pained him and he needed to steady himself. “I'm sorry to say that he has been killed. By Balthazar."

Time froze. The words played on an endless loop inside his head, one word louder than all others - killed. No. It was a joke. It had to be. It wasn't like he cared about Atlaki anymore after he'd left him in the dark, of course he didn't, but - dead? No. That wasn't possible. It wasn't. Atlaki couldn't die. He'd left him once already! How could he do it again, in the worst way possible? He'd never even wrote back. Not one letter. And now there would never be.

Something brushed his cheek. It was Eira’s delicate hands. He closed his eyes.

“It’s not real,” he muttered. “It's not real. It's not! Stop it! Tell me it's not real!"

Eira cast him a sorry look, turning her head away. Killien remained silent but kept his eyes trained on Cas, as unreadable as ever, searing into his soul.

Cas scrambled backward away from them, knocking over his lunch bowl in the process. He couldn’t breathe. His body felt as if he was on fire, and he was trembling. Tears streamed down his cheeks in silence as he looked between the two with a mix of anger and betrayal blazing in his eyes.

Before he’d met them, he would've said it wasn’t their fault. That it was unfair and cruel direct his emotions at them for something they couldn’t possibly have caused.

But he knew what was unfair and cruel. That Atlaki had gone, and left him, and hadn’t written a single time, and now he wasn’t ever coming back. That Balthazar had taken him away — or perhaps he’d been relieved to leave. Casiyn wouldn’t want to care for someone like himself either. Stupid, over-sensitive little sapling he was.

And he also knew, thanks to them, that he didn't have to cope. He didn't have to manage. He had to let it out, on whoever or whatever he could. He got to his feet and kicked at the ground, sending dirt flying at the two.

“I hate you!” he screamed, with enough force to make them flinch a little. “You let this happen! You could’ve — you just had to — it’s not fair!”

Deep down, he knew that wasn’t true. Atlaki’s death had seemed unavoidable from the moment he left for the desert, although neither he nor Cas had wanted to admit it. Who could fight a god and win? But he’d let himself have hope. Perhaps by some miracle, everything would be fine.

He saw how stupid that was now.

Eira and Killien exchanged a look but didn’t move. Casiyn balled his fists, shaking, chest heaving with each sob.

“Leave me alone! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! You’ve ruined everything!”

Although he spoke to them, he knew deep down he was talking about himself. Yet to admit so out-loud would cause too much pain to his already aching heart. He couldn't do it. He was so caught up in his rage and grief that he didn’t notice a warden approaching until they put a gentle hand on his arm. He yelped and struggled to pull away, but they didn’t let go.

“Calm down, Casiyn,” they said, in a low voice. “You need to breathe. No more shouting. What’s the matter?”

How could no-one know? Did the commander really mean so little to them? Cas yanked his arm free, scowling at the warden.

“He’s dead.”

Even saying the word felt as if it was breaking his heart into more little pieces. He put his hands over his face, trying not to go into an outright panic. Hold onto the anger. That’s what Eira and Killien had taught him. Feel it. Relish in it.

The warden paused for a moment. “Yes,” they murmured. “We know.”

And then, all he could do was cry. It was real. Not another bad dream. Real. Atlaki was dead. Gone.

The warden continued. “But that’s no excuse to scream at your friends here. They did nothing wrong to you. Why don’t you try—“

“No!” Casiyn snapped. “Just leave me alone. Please.”

The warden looked, for a moment, as if they wanted to refuse. Their eyes shone with sadness, and Cas could feel it coming off them in waves. But they simply gave a curt nod and turned to go.

“Alright,” they said. “But please remember we’re here for you. All of us.”

Of course they weren’t. No-one ever was anymore. Even back then, Atlaki had always been the only one who gave him more than a moment’s notice, who gave him what felt like real, deep affection and love. He was always too much. Too sensitive. Too emotional.

His two friends got to their feet.

“Don’t listen to that warden,” said Killien. “Did you hear what they said? They wanted you to hide your emotions. To pretend to be fine when you’re really hurting. You won’t do that, will you? You’ll let it out.”

Cas turned on him with a frown, even as tears still ran down his cheeks. “Of course I will. You’ve taught me that much.”

Eira stepped forwards, smiling her sweet smile. Casiyn resisted the urge to move away from her. How could she be smiling now?

“Sweetpea, I think it’s time we tell you,” she said. She took Cas’ hands in her own and gave them a little squeeze. “Now, you mustn’t call for anyone, alright? You wouldn’t want to get more friends killed. Do you promise?”

His chest buzzed with something like apprehension, and for a moment he had half a mind to refuse. Yet he nodded if only to satisfy his curiosity at what they were so eager to tell him.

“Good boy,” she praised. “Killien and I are…recruiters. For the Nightmare Court. Now, don’t panic — we wish you no harm, and we are still your friends. We only wondered if you would like to join us? We will not force you if you decide against it, of course."

Cas took a step back, eyes flitting between them like a bird trapped in a cage. With a jolt, he noticed something had changed about them. He could feel their emotions. No longer were they muted and dull, or fake like he now realized their earlier sadness must have been. He could sense eagerness, and a little fear, and something else he hadn’t felt before on anyone. It seemed to call out to him, and strangely enough, he wanted to listen to it.

Nightmare.

He struggled to find words. “But the court — you hurt people. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“But you already have,” Eira countered without missing a beat. “You hurt everyone when you lash out. I think I recall you saying you hate us, yes? That sounds pretty hurtful. But the court isn’t all about torture. It’s about being free to express who you truly are as sylvari, and all the emotions that come with it. Come on, Casiyn, dear. Atlaki’s dead. What do you have to gain by staying here, other than being told to hide your pain to make others more comfortable?”

Cas tilted his head. “I wouldn’t have to torture anyone?”

“Not unless you wanted to,” Killien said, chiming back in. “But you’d never be told to calm down or to feel less again. We accept you. All of you.”

Some part of him wanted to scream no! That this isn’t what Atlaki would have wanted, not ever. But Atlaki wasn’t here, and he would never be here again, and already Casiyn was drowning in the pain of trying not to feel it too much. So he didn’t upset anyone, as he always did. To make others comfortable, just as Eira had said.

Perhaps he’d been wrong about the court. They didn’t seem too bad. In the months he'd known these two they’d never done anything wrong to him. In fact, all they’d done was to encourage him to feel his emotions to their fullest extent. To cry and yell and lash out. And it felt good.

“Alright,” Cas said, keeping his tone guarded. “Let’s say I decide to join. What do I do?”

Eira smirked. “Oh, you don’t have to do a thing. Can’t you feel the first sprout of nightmare within you? I can. All you must do is let it grow. Meet us outside the grove when the moon rises, and we’ll take you to your new home if you wish.”

Now that she mentioned it, he could feel something inside him. It felt as her own nightmare did, dark and twisted and totally liberated. Something about it was almost reassuring. He didn’t have to hide anything anymore. No-one would ever tell him to stop, to breathe, to cope.

He was free.

[saprophetic]

[image descriptions under the cut]

well, you heard it here folks! wheelchair wheels are expensive!

whaddup i’m arty and i desperately need new wheels! the ones i currently have are secondhand and extremely worn down, and while that was fine when i was rarely using my chair and only inside the house, i’m now permanently confined to my wheelchair, and it’s just not feasible to have bald tires anymore. i was going to use my tax refund to buy new ones, but after looking at how much it would cost to buy a pair (because the price i thought was for two was actually only for one wheel) i know i won’t be able to afford that, even with my refund.

SO. i decided to open up commissions.  

for $10, i’ll draw a bust of one person. for $12, i'll draw one person from the waist up. for $15, i'll draw one person full body.

each additional person is +$5. all art will come colored because frankly i prefer my art that way.

i will draw:

fictional characters, even from fandoms i don’t know (provided i can have a physical description if i don’t already know/can’t find what they look like) 

dnd characters

ocs

ship art

light gore/blood

i will not draw:

abusive ships/dynamics of ANY SORT

sexually explicit art

animals or robots (i just can’t do it)

if you’re unsure if i’ll draw it, just ask! since i’m unemployed i should be able to fill commissions within 1-2 days. i’ll keep an open line of communication with you and send you a screenshot of my progress once i’ve finished the lineart to make sure you’re happy with the pose upon your request.

(NOTE: there are some characters/ships i simply will not draw for my own comfort, and i will let you know that’s the case if/when it comes up.) 

if you don’t want to commission me but still want to help out, my paypal is paypal.me/arvandor or artemisgrowl@gmail.com

if you do want to commission me, email me at artemisgrowl@gmail.com

thank you!

[ID: five digital drawings. 

the first image is a long banner with the words “Arty needs a new set of wheels!”, a drawing of myself, a pale dark haired person with glasses, green eyes, and a nervous expression, saying “yikes!”, and a wheelchair wheel, all on a pale green background.

the second image is a  drawing from the waist up of a male drow with purple skin, white hair that’s longer on the top, and top surgery and battle scars. he has multiple ear piercings and a silver ear cap and is wearing a red mesh tank top. he’s looking up and to the left of the image and appears to have his hands on his hips. the background is light blue and the lineart is sketchy.

the third image is a bust drawing of the fullmetal alchemist character envy, a pale androgynous person with long dark green tendrils for hair, with their chin resting on their hand. they have violet eyes and multiple piercings, and are wearing a black headband with a red upside down triangular symbol on it, a black binder, and a long black fingerless glove. they are staring at the camera while licking their lips, and the background is a dark red and the lineart is sketchy.

the third image is a 3/4 image of the yu yu hakusho characters kuwabara kazuma and hiei. kuwabara is a light skinned man with an orange pompadour and grey eyes, with an upturned nose and emphasized cheekbones. he is wearing a white t shirt with rips on it and blue jeans, and is carrying hiei piggyback while looking back at him with a concerned expression on his face. hiei has a medium skin tone and is extremely short, with black hair that’s styled up in a style similar to a troll doll, with white outlining his bangs. he has his arms loosely around kuwabara’s neck and a dissatisfied expression on his face. two of his eyes are crimson while the eye on his forehead is purple. he’s wearing a black tank top and black martial arts pants with multiple white belts, has his ankles wrapped in off-white wrappings, and black shoes. the only parts of hiei that are visible are his arms, his face, his left leg, and his right knee and toes. both of the boys have dirt on them and look battle-weary. hiei has a speech bubble that says “if you drop me, i WILL bite you and give you rabies. the background directly behind them is a dark green, and the rest of the image is transparent and the lineart is sketchy.

the fifth image is a drawing from the thighs up of the yu yu hakusho character hiei. he has black hair that’s spiked up, with white outlining his bangs and a medium skin tone. his eyes are crimson, and he has a headband covering his forehead. he’s wearing a bright pink tank top that appears to have the sleeves and collar torn off, and says “we all have demons / and sometimes / THEY WIN”. he is also wearing flowy high waisted black pants with four thin white belts with bronze fastenings on it, and has his right arm covered in off-white bandages. he’s wearing a hiruseki stone necklace (a chain that has what appears to be a light blue pearl on it). he has one hand in his pocket and the other hand is slightly toward the onlooker. he has a dissatisfied expression on his face and is looking to the right of the image. the background is multicolored.

end ID]

[thekeatoncadet]

I DIDN’T FORGET

a bunch of totally irrelevant thoughts about okamiden under the cut because I love you all and also the game is almost nine years old but that won’t stop me from yelling about video games

praying for you on mobile that this read more functions properly

there’s no coherent order here btw I’m just rattling shit off while this movie buffers. Also I recently 100%’d both (I hope I never see a stray bead again in my life) so I’m probably motivated to do this since they’re both Fresh in my mind

I’m gonna get this out of the way first since this is about to become a rant mostly on okamiden, so to be clear: I like okamiden. If I didn’t I wouldn’t’ve played through it at least three times now. It might not sound it for a few minutes here, but I do enjoy the game, adore the series as a whole, and am still happy okami even got a shot at a sequel. 

Now without further ado, stuff that annoys me to no end:

My biggest gripe hands down is that for some reason god only knows, they made the choice to NOT have all the brush gods return. FOUR brush gods didn’t make the cut and it’s such a disappointment. I miss Moonrise the least, since it wasn’t really practical beyond quick demon scroll farming ig, but missing Mist, Blizzard, and Catwalk (for a reason I’ll get to in two seconds) is just disappointing. There’s no shortage of ice monsters, and there’s an entire ice area, but no Itegami? Mist warp is replaced by kagu’s charm which is alright I guess, but slowing down time was satisfying against monsters and for the occasional puzzle. NOT getting to see a kitten god is a tragedy. You give me baby gods but remove the cat? Cowards. Sure, young Gekigami is there and I would die for him, but where’s my kitten, Capcom?

What annoys me further, though, is that despite having four unused brush gods, they decided to add two new ones? I’ll totally admit that “it ruins the zodiac motif of the first game!” is a nitpick, but that was always a cool little detail to me so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But what really bugs me is the penguin. His only technique is to guide your partner around - basically making your partner WALK - but we get him instead of the god who has “walk” right in their technique name please capcom I really want this baby cat. If we’re gonna get a mostly pointless skill (not in application, but it could’ve been some other brush god’s deal, or just an accepted mechanic like Rao or Kagu and their prayer slips - you don’t get a brush technique to use them, you just guide them WITH the brush) but nah we got penguins. Like cool, but also why?? The whale annoys me too since again, it goes against the theme of the first game, but at least its technique is kind of interesting for puzzles, and it has a less obvious existing god it could come from. (I guess Gekigami could work? but magnets aren’t his thing, being a badass lightning tiger is his thing) idk it could’ve been an item or something perhaps. Idk, credit where credit is due, at least they were trying new things.

Also a brief aside here, but it also bugs me how basically all of the upgrades/alternate brush techniques (like deluge, or the lightning bolt) are locked behind the Yakushi village quest. I don’t mind one or two being that way, but they ALL are, and I’d rather they have more story/sidequest significance. Like rather than inviting x number of people to the village to get a technique every. single. time. You could have more of those fun little interactions with characters, or doing something kind for them, and surprise! New technique! It just feels a lot more rewarding to stumble on to a new technique because you helped Himiko’s attendant honor her grave, or helped a dude catch a big fish, or won a race and got a key item, as a more straightforward reward for talking to and helping people, versus just mashing A and checking back every so often to see if you have access to a new upgrade.

What’s completely unforgivable to me on a TECHNICAL level is. So. Fucking many. Loading zones. Each major area has like ten, and some of them are a tiny transitional area that are maybe three Chibi’s size. (Off the top of my head is southern ryoshima, not that I expect there to only be one loading zone, the DS can’t handle that, but there are a LOT.  Even just a tiny room (things like when you bomb a whole in the wall, it needs a loading zone to load one chest and nothing else) 

(this little area)

Another would be the upper area of the playhouse, but at least there’s a little more going on than “we can’t load a straight line and three npcs, OR a single gate and two npcs. One or the other” I understand that the DS was a limited hardware. I don’t expect okami levels of size/performance/detail on this considerably weaker handheld. It’s not a fair comparison. But when a game like Phantom Hourglass, a ds game that came out a whopping three years before yours, with similar detail and animation quality, handles open world segments and loading zones much better than you do, there’s a problem. That’s one of the biggest reasons I sort of wish it was delayed til the 3ds came out, because at least they may have had a bit more technical wiggle room. Fortunately the load screens are just a quick black out, but when you constantly need to back track to talk to someone or get a chest you missed, its just. Very irritating. Maybe I’m overestimating the DS’ processing abilities but it doesn’t seem to be as big a deal on other games I’ve played.

Also, I can’t tell if its just me or if its actually happening, but it seems like okamiden is...slow? Not so much chibi’s movement speed (he IS slower than Ammy but given how this game handled those loading zones, having him dart around the area would probably be more of a pain) but combat feels slower and a bit less smooth than Okami. Again, yes, different hardware, but other DS games have handled quick, smooth(er) combat so I’m not sure why it just seems like everything combat oriented is a bit stiff. It also seems like using brush techniques in the overworld, (things like galestorm and inferno come to mind, but even cherry bomb) seem to drop the frame rate? It definitely feels like the game lags when these are used, especially in more populated areas (which for okamiden, means even two entities on screen). It just feels like this game had optimization issues.

They also made some just strange gameplay decisions. Like, this game is obviously geared towards younger audiences, which is fine, but it’s obnoxiously handholdy sometimes, especially early on, even when you pick the option at the start of the game that says “hey, I know what I’m doing, I’ve already played okami and/or okamiden before, leave me be” and it’s especially frustrating to be trying to perform the solution to a puzzle only to have to wait for a cutscene or dialogue to tell you the solution before you can finish what you were already doing (like, for example, drawing the sun in the sky in hana valley (iirc?) but you have to have Kuni prompt you to do it first, and the game lines up the screen for you, even though I already drew the sun in the sky in that spot. At least the first game acknowledges that you’re trying to draw the sun)

What’s EXTRA weird about that though, is that despite making the game easier/more accessible for little kids, they made some weird changes that would seemingly make it more difficult. Like, why is there a timer on your celestial brush now? I know the in-universe explanation is “Chibi’s a puppy he’s not as good!” but what’s the actual, game design reason? Similar is the decision to not have ink regenerate over time. It’s not like it was hard to run out of ink in Okami, especially if you use the celestial brush to fight, and inkfinity stones certainly got plenty of use in my playthroughs so I don’t think it was a balancing thing. Was it to hammer in that chibi isn’t as good as Ammy cuz He’s Baby? A difficulty thing? Because if so, why? It’s so counterproductive to the kid-friendly, easier, more accessible direction to add a kinda arbitrary difficult mechanic. It feels like either they were making changes just to make changes, or they just did it to make chibi a less good amaterasu without stopping to consider “oh right, this is supposed to be easier”

The other technical issue, albeit (much) more minor, that bugs me is good god the models on the adult dogs are bad. There’s some other bad models, but honestly most of them are fine, even charming, but oof. Ammy, who hurt you? They occasionally look okay during shiranui’s cutscenes, but they look pretty wonky most of the time, esp in the legs. I wouldn’t mind if it was just the canine warriors when they make their cameo, but Amaterasu looks a bit different than I remember. Again, not expecting the same quality on the whole as okami because they’re on two very different systems, but some of the models just really coulda used some tweaking. Again, while probably consequence of hardware limitations, a lot of animations just feel stilted and lazy. It’s just a little hard to get into some of the more emotional or dramatic scenes when they’re clearly cutting corners. It doesn’t ruin the game for me, but it does stick out, especially when you inevitably compare the two. I can’t really get a good clip of them moving around but, here’s at least one clip

also, just for pure viewing pleasure:

Leggy

Also this is disgustingly long so I’ll try and be quick about this, but the dungeons and bosses feel rather repetitive or samey. Not in design (I like most of the boss designs) but mechanically. They mostly just all follow the puzzle formula of “use your partner’s skill to get them across an area you can’t cross, then pull yourself over to them. Maybe use a secondary skill of theirs to turn off a switch/barrier. Boss fights are much the same, and they feel like a much more of a pattern to follow than okami’s boss fights. Like, there’s still definitely a pattern, but they seem to have a few more attacks or a little more variety to what they do than a simple dodge twice > use skill > repeat (Orochi do NOT interact. Please. Three times was enough.) Okamiden’s bosses also seem to have less of a build-up/impact than okami’s. Orochi, blight, definitely ninetails, and lechku/nechku all were in one way or another presented in the story before you enter their respective dungeon, and you’re given a sense of why your fight is dire, often on a large scale, and given time to care about the people you’re helping. And none of them are the final boss. Okamiden doesn’t really touch on this as much, and usually won’t address that area’s big bad until you’re already going after them. Not inherently bad, most games follow this route anyway, so I wouldn’t really rag on okamiden for this except its a sequel to okami who, imo, handled bosses from a story perspective better.

Also I gotta be real. Akuro? Not at all my favorite villain. He’s. Very cliche. Which isn’t inherently bad, I’m a sucker for cheese, but its just kinda underwhelming? His design isn’t at all interesting - look yes yes I know I know. The final boss in Okami is a manatee fetus in a big red ball but at least he mixes it up and hits that neat note of how he’s Ammy’s opposite in so many ways. Akuro?  He’s a floating mouth with an eye in it and he just. Does nothin else. At least they were sensible enough to not have Yami talk at all because Evil Overlord Of Darkness talk is always clunky. Akuro talks too much. His evil laugh is definitely a stock sound effect. Also I hate, literally always hate, the “everything you’ve ever done was all according to my plan!!!11!1″ trope. It’s stupid. I’m sure it’s been done well but not here. I actually genuinely forgot that stupid detail because it was so unnecessary and tired. I guess that means they got me with it twice? Good for you Capcom, good for you.

Also his final form is. Oh man I dunno. It’s cliche, okay? Cliche as all hell, Dark Version of Yourself is a very basic concept to use especially on a FINAL BOSS! LIKE HIS FINAL FORM EVER!! and I can’t help but be a little disappointed especially since we’ve basically seen it with Ninetails already - and fuck, he had brush techniques we COULDN’T use (yet)

...but I’m also an edge lord and dark chibi looks cool as hell, and it IS a challenging fight more so than most of Yami’s forms. Also, while annoying, the glowing red eyes during the dark sun parts of the fight is a cool effect. I’m here for it. And yes I was thrilled we got a transformer for him AND his cool weapon and yes I used it the whole second playthrough.

Like admittedly, that’s a good boy, but I just am kinda :T about him as a final final boss.

There’s other stuff, mostly at the fault of bringing back another time travel deal (which means I have to see that stupid, eight-headed, scaley motherfucker AGAIN!! TWICE!!! AGAIN!!) but that’s a gripe too. I don’t like doing the cutting QTE thing with orochi again. Don’t detract from what I did the first time around, and especially don’t ruin the fact that nagi killed orochi’s last head on his own! (at least iirc, and im pretty sure I do, but this shit starts to blend after 60+ hours of wolf god) They let Susano kill orochi’s last head on his own which is good, but let my man Nagi have his moment. Just sit your ass back and let me know I beat the first game without the little puppy’s help. That’s a total nitpick but cmon. Let me have this.

Also, the pacing feels...off. During the end bits. Kurow has his whole heel-face turn thing a bit abruptly, which I get but, if they really wanted to hammer in the betrayal thing, might as well either do it as Akuro’s going for orochi’s blood, or just give the kid more time to react and give us a better sense that something isn’t right. I dunno, it’s not a big deal, but there’s just parts of the game that seem to drag or be over super quick, and it doesn’t strike that happy medium often, but that may just be taste. 

I do like okamiden, I promise, and most of the characters are still really solid, the world is still charming, I love its aesthetic, chibi is a good boy and I am so, so glad they gave him a little baby victory howl, I appreciate that they tried to do some new things - and some of them did work for me! - I just think it could’ve been a lot better too.

The music is still fucking excellent though. 

[bloodofthecovenants]

Headcannon post: Early development

(Since now i’m thinking about it, I’m going to divulge into the biggest issues that plague bede today due to the lack of play and proper familial structure affect, Going off studies found HERE (Play related), HERE (Peer related) AND HERE (Morals related). As they are probably the biggest factors, I’m including an extra one HERE on the lack of affection in childhood)

(Also readmore because whoops, This got a LOT longer then i intended)

- Bede is if nothing else as stated a good actor, He can pretend very well, Extremely well. To the point that you’d never know he didn’t have any semblance of a childhood, It’s not until you start digging under the surface that you start to see the underlying issues that arise from this utter lack of everything and anything he needed in this field.

- To start off with, The lack of play, Play is something that every creature in this world does. Whether it be to playfully pouncing on a parents tail to encourage hunting techniques (Say like lion cubs), A toddler playing with blocks of various colors, Shapes and textures. Encouraging exploration later on, For bede specifically much of this comes in from his more human genetics lacking stimulation and his pokemon side to lack a lot of the skills a young hatchling usually learns.

- Bede’s lack of playing has most genuinely affected his emotional health and self image, bede is an extremely violent individual if he’s left to his own and allowed to indulge, Finding nothing wrong with taking the life of another. In often times brutal and horrible ways, It’s lead to him bottling up his emotions, Forcing them away and prioritizing usefulness as opposed to joy being around someone.

- His lack of play has also made learning new skills for bede now incredibly difficult, Bede can learn new skills but it takes ten times the amount of effort it would for someone who regularly learned as a child, The biggest is bede cannot read and he cannot write. He’s learning (Thanks to @wanttoshine‘s kharon), But his progress is incredibly slow, If i had to give a comparison. Bede can maybe read and write at the same level of a first grader right now and chances are, He’ll never get past a reading/writing level of a middle schooler, His brain simply isn’t wired to learn and forcing it to is extremely slow work.

- Bede’s anger most often correlates into self destructive behavior rather then outwardly at other people, His most common self destructive behavior is visible on his hands, They are rough. Scarred up and he’s broken them multiple times, Sometimes willingly, Pain gives him a form of mental clarity he doesn’t have otherwise when he’s mad. He’ll dig his nails into his skin, he’ll hit things (Tree’s, rocks, etc), He’ll pull at his hair. Sometimes this’ll even correlate into sex, Rough sex that gives him a sense of satisfaction and a controlled measure of pain.

- There’s also his lack of other children, Bede never had any other children to emulate off of and learn how to grow as a person, He only had adults to learn off of and mimic as a younger child. leading to him trying to be an adult long before he was mentally ready. Bede has no sense of self, He was simply set to follow the line, Listen to the rules and don’t disobey or face severe punishment. That he was a god and he should act like it, Gods didn’t cry, Gods didn’t need to play. Gods were above the consequences.

- Bede wasn’t punished for most behavior, He was a god after all, He could do whatever he wanted right as long as he was obedient to arceus. That nobody could fault him since he was a god, The only time he got punished was when he decided not to pray to arceus as his pantheon did daily and got severely punished as a result (Also leading to him to be religiously conflicted and god fearing)

- His morals are screwed as well and this is something bede’s still fighting with, He knows killing is wrong, He knows treating some people a certain way is wrong. But he often fights with himself if it’s really wrong or if it’s only wrong to some people? That does it still apply to him because he’s a god? even if his status doesn’t mean anything. It’s how he associates it.

- Finally, the lack of affection, While bede got some affection from his mother. A lot of his time was spent without it, He puts a lot of value in materialistic items, Getting hyper attached to things especially because those things will never leave him. To try and take something bede considers a prized possession is not a good idea, however this correlates to pretty much anything he gets attached to, making him in some forms. A hoarder, He has a large collection of sea glass, Sea shells and other various items he found in the ocean surf. Far more then he could ever need even if it’s all stored away so it’s not outwardly obvious.

- This lack of affection also correlates to people, Once he’s attached to someone (Even if they are only nice to him once), he hates being away from them. He’s affectionate, Clingy and 100% touch starved, Another reason he likes sex as much as he does. It’s fun, It satisfy’s his need for touch and provides him with happy feelings, he’s never felt guilty having sex (As it’s the one thing not linked to his upbringing, He only ever had sex after he’d been kicked from his pantheon) Even if his lack of self has led to him having some kinks he might not otherwise (Hair pulling, Self deprivation, Rough sex over all). 

[sparatus]

20-30 for the OC asks 🖤 let’s give that OG Verse some love!

;) ;) ;)

i’m gonna be referencing like 4 different verses, here’s a quick summary:

lativerse: the og. me and eli ( @ardentzer0​ ) have been working on it for almost a decade now. we only very recently came up with a plot for it, otherwise it’s mostly just a character dump and playground that grew out of an rp au. basically our world, but all the fairy tales and ghost stories are real. the most notable aspects are the existence of demons/hell and angels/heaven, a “supernatural investigations squad” that’s basically cops for supernatural beings around the world, and eldritch horrorterrors that exist beyond the scope of our world and are just sort of watching and waiting and toying with us at their leisure. the apocalypse is when the eldritch break through.

project phoenix: eli’s story, i just help with backstories and worldbuilding ideas. dystopic world set in an alternate timeline where the cold war kept going and the government kept coming up with more and more ethically questionable (at best) experiments and getting more and more dystopically authoritarian. the most notable is the titular project phoenix, which takes civilians and turns them into cybernetically-augmented supersoldiers. also heavily features a band of rebels running a refugee camp, which the two main characters* spend the first part of their plot attempting to get to.

hounds bay: my story, eli helps. urban fantasy mixed with high fantasy. ghosts roam freely, kept in line by a roving pack of black dog ghosts led by the malicious dresden. dresden in turn is held at bay by the local fae lord halwn. the main plot: the barrier between the realm of the dead and that of the living is thinning, a local budding necromancer who isn’t even aware of the supernatural scene is blamed, and he teams up with the fae, ghosts, and other local magic beings (dragons, nature spirits, human sorcerers, a primordial rock elemental, and so on) to figure out who’s really doing it and why, and how to stop him.

eijalsen-verse & broken mirror: the two running aus of mass effect. you know these. jai shepard’s corrected canon and no-reapers au, respectively.

pretty much every major character in pp and hb is an expy of an existing character in lativerse, and some of them were also ported to the mass effect verses (most of them are niazmina’s boyfriend’s family, lol). they’re our children. there’s a lot of characters in there we used to explore ourselves, our pasts, and how those things affected us.

*fun note: the two main characters of project phoenix, theo and azzelino, are expies of lativerse characters of the same name, who were also the predecessors of thie and axilus in eijalsen-verse! i mean it when i say we like to recycle these characters a lot.

oc questions

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

lativerse lucifer is the former angel of music, lol.

lucifer’s expy in project phoenix (and later mass effect), dallin copeland, is also a singer. as a kid, he sang in the church choir, which he later turned into singing punk rock at underground venues with a friend’s band when he was getting into rebelling against his abusive dad. think rise against for what kind of music he sings. he didn’t turn it into a career or anything, but he’s still pretty punk at heart, and he’ll sing some of the old music and compose new songs in his head from time to time. it’s stress relief for adult dallin. for how he actually sounds weirdly enough i think hugh jackman?? his singing voice in the greatest showman fuckin floored me, he’s the last guy you expect to have such a nice singing voice

also in mass effect there’s haziko sitrith, a salarian pop punk star. very all time low kinda music, sounds like alex gaskarth or adult zac efron. in broken mirror specifically there’s also taniria, who i haven’t really nailed down a specific sound for yet (to be fair, she’s still young and learning about herself) but i feel like. she wants to be punk, but her personality is too bubblegum pop, so you end up with turian avril lavigne, basically. i think for her voice probably halsey?? she also sometimes has a similar aesthetic to halsey depending on the song

21. Your most artistic OC

hum hmm. i think probably amani!! in lativerse she’s a pride demon, reincarnation of lilith (long story), wife of satan aka chamuel [“satan” being more of a title for the reigning monarch than an actual person], queen of hell, beloved of basically everyone, and she’s a talented weaver. her tapestries are so intricately detailed they’re about as close to photorealism as you can get with weaving, and her work is in HUGE demand, which is what draws chamuel’s attention in the first place.

in hounds bay she’s a green witch and a friend of the fae, made immortal and eternally youthful as thanks for helping a woman in the forest who she didn’t realize was the local fae lord’s beloved, and also the business partner of said fae lord, co-running a mega-influential company that helps maintain natural areas (which are, unbeknownst to the local mundies, very important to the magical beings in the area, such as the mountain range to the south that literally houses a dragon’s nest). similar situation in mass effect, she’s the business partner of niazmina’s boyfriend’s dad’s adoptive father cameron, a very close friend slash surrogate mother figure of the family after cameron’s wife dies, and sort of the unofficial matriarch of the whole big clan after cam also passes. in both verses, she’s a painter instead of a weaver, but she’s still very good at it. it’s more of a side thing than in lativerse, but she’s been doing it as a hobby since she was a kid, and she likes making pieces for her loved ones, and she sometimes makes decent money selling them at local shindigs or doing commissions.

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

mmm ig nobody really knows my ocs enough to mischaracterize them but ig i used to have this one asshole bitch friend (we are obviously not friends anymore) who like. sorta kept making teia out to be weaker and more uwu than she is?? like yeah ok she’s very maternal and she’s really soft-hearted but she’s also not afraid to be tough and put her foot down when she needs to, she’s still turian, she’ll fuss but she’s not a doormat. she’s the “cute as heck but will break your neck” type, and u better fuckin believe she wields the “my husband is the councilor” bat with extreme prejudice

i also had a turian oc named keractis vynos who was dating one of theirs and they kinda kept pushing him into being a bit of a bumbling oaf who wasn’t very smart and tried his best but was still generally useless for everything except sex and fretting over their character, which in retrospect they did to A Lot of male characters so uhhhhh Yikes™, in reality he wasn’t book smart no but he was really practical and a good planner and had a good head on his shoulders and was typically the resident voice of reason

edit: eli has reminded me this friend also frequently mischaracterized freiya as a maternal dictator and axilus as a bad, distant father, which is patently untrue and completely opposite of their actual personalities. axilus is extremely good with kids and almost embarrassingly dedicated to his family, and freiya isn’t really sure how to be a mom but she’s trying her best and mostly tries to approach it the same way her mom did, which is very supportive and very open, not afraid to discipline as needed but preferring to try to talk it out first

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

hmm. right off the top of my head is kjetil, who was originally a normal human but we recently decided to turn him into a selkie just for a reason to use him in more things (he was a VERY old oc and i wanted to bring him back cause i missed him :( ), but ig that’s really the only way he changed, his personality is still pretty similar

oh i know. mircea. mircea is a vampire, originally he was a deserter from world war two and very reclusive, borderline hermit, and super shy and quiet. now he’s a world war ONE deserter, he’s less shy and reclusive and more just kinda quiet and grumbly, and he says fuck a lot.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

listen i would love to say asy cause that boy hits all the right buttons for me but he’s eli’s so he doesn’t count, so

asmodeus where the fuck you at, hmu and raw me

(it occurs to me that this response also encapsulates asmodeus’s reputation, because he’s the demon lord of lust and king of incubi and succubi in lativerse, and his personality is abhorrent, and most of his subjects realize this, but he’s so attractive and so good in bed they’re all willing to let it slide, and if that ain’t me)

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

hum hmm. ig none of them are really THAT close, but like.

fridtjof (lativerse demon, dallin’s son lucien in project phoenix and mass effect) is basically an idealized version of me

lucifer/project phoenix dallin has A SHITLOAD of me in him, he’s basically been serving as my outlet for exploring my feelings regarding my past and an allegory for my feelings about the catholic church (not an exact replica, but his backstory and arc follow how i felt about what happened to me and my personal growth regarding the church) for the past near-decade, sympathy for the devil don’t even begin to cover it, he’s also got a lot of traits i either share or want, really the main difference between me and him is that he’s super goddamn tall

axilus is my turiansona let’s be totally honest

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will?

i don’t?? think so?? not that i’m aware of….. i did feel kinda pressured to shape ocs a certain way when i was in league with that asshole i mentioned earlier

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

nnnnnah, not really, more like i find songs that fit them after i’ve already made them

28. Your most dangerous OC?

UHHHHH………. LATIVERSE DAMIEN…………… LITERAL ANTICHRIST, SON OF SATAN WITH AN ELDRITCH HORRORTERROR RIDING SHOTGUN

like in lativerse there’s a demon named astaroth who’s literally the most powerful being in existence other than god before damien comes around, the only reason chamuel is in charge instead of him is cause he has no ambition towards the throne and is instead a dedicated servant of the throne. as in, so dedicated it can loop back around and become a flaw in some situations. even he is afraid of damien. the second-most powerful being in the universe was afraid of a six-year-old child. that’s how ridiculously dangerous damien was even before he got older and could actually control and direct that power of his.

in hounds bay there’s also dresden, a super-old ghost with magic that doesn’t obey the known laws of magic in the world of the living, and so he can effectively warp reality to suit him. he is also very malevolent, because he was murdered and is still very pissed off about that, and he’s also mad that some fae lord is holding his leash and bossing him around. his brother taliesin is equally as powerful, but significantly less nasty in temperament, so he’s a lot less dangerous.

oh and hounds bay also has otto, a primordial rock elemental (so obviously “otto” is just short for his real name) who is very much omnicidal. he’s only begrudgingly letting halwn (the aforementioned fae lord) run things, and is kept sealed in a non-world-destroying form by heavy-duty magic. should that magic be broken, he could turn entire nations into fields of massive crystals, and every single one would have his consciousness in it. think the crystals in atlantis, except sapient and hell-bent on destroying things instead of protecting a city (so, i guess like the crystals after they’re removed from the city, rourke).

i should note that hounds bay otto is very different from his project phoenix counterpart, otto pfyffer, who also appears in broken mirror and wouldn’t hurt a fly. hounds bay otto is an omnicidal monster who won’t hesitate to encase another living thing in crystal for accidentally brushing up against it. project phoenix otto is very shy but quite pleasant once you get to know him, and will cry if he’s yelled at. i will probably end up renaming hounds bay otto to make the distinction more clear.

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

fridtjof, for definite. that boy has no sense of self-preservation. also sorin [lativerse half-gluttony, half-greed demon noble], who is also a dumb idiot with more curiosity than is good for him. both of them have the habit of overestimating their own abilities, too. frid’s a fire demon, sorin as half-gluttony has temporal powers (control over space and time, basically, gluttony demons are tied with sloth for “most op sin” in lativerse), they both assume their powers can get them out of any given jam. it doesn’t help that they’re usually right, so they have next to no ability to judge when something is maybe too dangerous to risk and so need a second opinion hanging around to talk them out of it. frid has his mate sinni, sorin has his cousin vasil.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

taniria. tanni baby. she wants so bad to be all tough and cool and adult but she likes cute things too much.

also i would say lorcan but like. he’s a merman. stuffed animals don’t do so well in water.

[kanamesengoku]

If it's not much of a trouble, can you tell me what happened in the BEY manga till now?

OOOOH WOWOW this might take a bit, but I will do my best anon! I’m putting this under a read-more cause it’s more than likely gonna get really long even if I try to be as simple in my summary as possible. it got long. Really, really long. Actually, I think I’m gonna do this via bullet points, and try to group it by story arc if I can. 

ok HERE WE GO ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

we meet Fujita Tatara, a middle schooler with no special interests/sense of purpose, who gets bulled, rescued by Sengoku Kaname, and pulled into the Ogasawara Dance Studio. There he meets Hanaoka Shizuku and eventually gets inspired to learn how to dance

Shizuku is paired with Hyoudou Kiyoharu, the Junior dance champ, who Tatara at first believes is too aloof and indifferent, but eventually realizes is very dedicated and extremely hardworking.

Shizuku and Kiyoharu compete in the Mikasa Cup, a big deal tournament, but we find out that Kiyoharu has a leg injury and he falls down some stairs, leading to Tatara standing in for him (on Sengoku’s suggestion, and completely against the rules) to dance the waltz with Shizuku. Kiyoharu recovers enough to dance the Tango, but then collapses again and their pair is disqualified and banned from competition for several months

     - - -

Shizuku is without a partner as Kiyoharu’s leg recovers, and suddenly in swoops Akagi Gaju (and his little sister Mako), who are also dancers and a pair of their own. Gaju is tired of dancing with Mako, who is having trouble keeping up with him, and therefore wants to snatch Shizuku as his new partner. Shizuku agrees, and since Mako is left in the dust, Sengoku pairs her up with Tatara.

Tatara eventually challenges Gaju to dance at the Tenpei Cup, an informal “competition”, on the condition that if Tatara & Mako win, then Gaju will have to leave Shizuku and partner with his sister again. Gaju agrees and everyone starts preparing (which involves a lot of Tatara actually learning how to dance in competition and with a real partner)

At the Tenpei Cup, lots of stuff happens- Kiyoharu shows up because his mom (a former pro dancer) is a guest judge for the Cup, Tatara and Sengoku realize that Tatara doesn’t have the stamina of a dancer who’s been doing competitions for years (like Gaju), Gaju taunts everyone, Shizuku shows that she’s amazing, and Tatara and Mako show everyone an amazing waltz

After a heated finale, Gaju and Shizuku end up taking first place- however the wager between Tatara and Gaju wasn’t necessarily about who would take first, but who the better partner was! Mako ends up taking the prize for Queen of the Ballroom due to their epic waltz, Gaju has to break up with Shizuku and pair with his sister, and everyone is more or less happy with it

     - - -

Three days later, Shizuku and Tatara are at the studio practicing together. Shizuku praises his dancing at the Tenpei Cup and encourages Tatara to find a permanent partner of his own, telling him she wants to compete with him again. This lights a fire in Tatara and makes him want to try even harder. He also devotes time to school, studying hard so that he can get into a good high school.

Tatara’s first day of high school ends up with him being made fun of by a girl in his class for having ballroom dancing as a hobby (as she calls it, “lame”) and meeting bullies (again) but being rescued by none other than Gaju, who is a year ahead of him at the same school. They begin to hang out at school and any hard feelings are mended. They both get invited by Sengoku to see him at a pro competition, which they eagerly attend.

at the competition, Tatara eagerly watches to see what he can learn from Sengoku. Both he and Gaju meet Sengoku’s partner, Hongou Chiduru. Then Tatara is surprised to run into the girl from his class who had mocked him for dancing, who warns him not to talk to her at school and leaves in a hurry.

Tatara learns later at school that the girl is Hiyama Chinatsu, and is confused by how much she knows about dance/dancers and muses that she carries herself like a dancer. She later follows Tatara and Gaju to the Ogasawara Studio since she overhears that the Sengoku pair will be there (we find out that she has crazy admiration for Chiduru and wants to be just like her). Sengoku invites Chinatsu to “try” dancing with Tatara, which she hesitantly does, which only furthers Tatara’s belief that Chinatsu has danced before.

We find out that Chinatsu used to dance, but since the ratio of boys to girls is very low in young dancers, she was made to take the part of the leader in her pair. Her partner (Koumoto Akira) has since moved on and found a new leader, but Chinatsu decided to give up dancing. Tatara senses she doesn’t really want to stop and invites her many times to practice with him.

Eventually, Chinatsu’s rivalry with Akira spurs Chinatsu into action and she decides that she will pair with Tatara, become and amazing pair and crush Akira in competition. Tatara and Chinatsu register as an official pair and begin practice, but continually run into problems based around Tatara’s overall passive skills as a leader vs. Chinatsu’s more finely honed and aggressive ones (aka she’s a better leader than he is and they fight constantly)

     - - -

Tatara and Chinatsu enter their first competition to move up in the dancer rankings (which is necessary for Tatara since he still wants to compete with Shizuku and Kiyoharu before they leave in a year to study abroad, meaning he’s on a strict time limit to reach high level competitions)

during the competition (where Akira is also present as a competitor), Chinatsu once again flares up and takes the lead. In order for them to even have a chance at moving up, Tatara ends up following her but simultaneously trying to look like he’s the one leading

Hyoudou’s mom (Marisa) is there since another pair of her students are competing (the pair that coincidentally wins) and sees Tarara, noticing what he’s doing and calling him “sly”. Tatara and Chinatsu win runner-up in the competition.

Tatara decides to pay a visit to the Hyoudou studio to get advice on how to be a proper leader. He meets Kiyoharu there (who has since healed and is killing it once again in competitions with Shizuku) and also meets the pair that won the other competition, Kugimiya Masami and his partner Idogawa Tamie. Tatara tries to dance with Kugimiya (on Marisa’s request) but ends up getting shoved back into the role of partner again (lol)

Tatara and Chinatsu end up moving studios to be coached by Marisa

     - - -

Because Tatara has his self-imposed deadline and wants to move up through the ranks quickly, he and Chinatsu decide to take part in another competition, the Shizuoka Grandprix- but since Marisa doesn’t approve of it, they enter without her permission

At the competition the usual issues present themselves (Chinatsu leading, Tatara not knowing what to do, etc.) and they find themselves competing not only against Akira and her partner, but also against Kugimiya and Idogawa again. 

after Tatara has a bizzarre out-of-body experience (where he feels like he has 4 legs), he and Chinatsu miss their next heat and are dropped in the preliminary round, so they leave. What they don’t know however is that they were awarded full checks for the dances they completed.

Marisa knew the whole time that they were going to enter, and though she’s displeased she tells them she will prepare them properly to enter the next competition. She invites them to a training camp at her family home, which they accept.

     - - -

At the camp (which the Kugimiya pair is also attending), they meet up with the Akagi siblings, Kiyoharu and Shizuku who are all there resting up. Everyone trains together and tension grows between Chinatsu and Tatara, who just can’t seem to get it right.

The pressure builds up to a huge blow-up and Chiantsu won’t speak to or practice with Tatara. Kiyoharu (at his mom’s insistence) becomes their “coach” and tries to give them advice (which 99% of the time just confuses Tatara further)

Shizuku has another talk with Tatara where she initially tells him not to worry about reaching competition with them by the deadline (ex. to ignore what she told him before), but ends up with her praising his dance again and telling him that she truly does want to meet him as a competitor. Tatara renews his decision to work hard and fight for his goal

Eventually Chinatsu decides to give it another shot and she and Tatara begin practicing in earnest- still arguing constantly, but at least making progress. Their next competition is the Metropolitan Tournament, where they will be once again competing against the Kugimiya pair (who have been winning every competition they enter) and Akira’s pair

      - - -

The Metropolitan Tournament begins. The usual difficulties present themselves. Akira and her partner are eventually dropped, but first we get backstory about Akira and Chinatsu (they attended elementary together, became friends, began dancing, and Akira wanted to keep Chinatsu to herself *, Akira’s feelings got hurt when she felt Chinatsu didn’t value her as a dancer, and then Chinatsu quit dancing, leaving Akira indignant and solo)

(* basically Akira’s totally in love with Chinatsu, there’s not really another way to explain it succinctly lmao)

The Kugimiya pair is crushing it

Gaju, Mako, Shizuku and Kiyoharu are all there to watch and Kiyoharu once again gives “advice” to Tatara, but this time he also stretches out basically every muscle in Tatara’s body to help him be more flexible. This pretty much backfires and Tatara can’t dance the way he wants to, with Chinatsu left to pick up the slack

Chinatsu finally decides to up her game and match Tatara, thinking about how much she owes him for being the one to match her this whole time

Tatara once again experiences the weird 4-legged feeling, which he now associates with partners matching up and a sense of unity

Tatara and Chinatsu are finally putting up a real fight against Kugimiya and Idogawa….

AND THAT’S THAT UP TO THE LATEST CHAPTER

……. PHEW

[gaslightgatekeepgodot]

What if the fleshbud was, like, advanced kinning

(see link for the birth of this really dumb idea)

There is a criminally small amount of info on what fleshbuds Actually Do in canon, and I'm frankly quite sick of it. So, fuck you Araki! I'm creating my own terrible crack fleshbud lore based on one (1) manga panel and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me.

...I also don't currently have internet access on my PC, so fuck my followers too! I can't add a readmore to this post until I find a new wi-fi receiver that actually fucking works. I apologise on behalf of the tumblr devs for their dysfunctional mobile app. : D

~

So, this is a capture from the Stardust Crusaders manga, where Shadow DIO seems to be admiring his own shoddy Kakyoin cosplay in the mirror:

Truly the height of fashion.

I don't know where in the manga this comes from, and I don't really care to know - I am a crack connoisseur and, depending on my mood at any given moment, I Will make canon my bitch - however, we will make the assumption that this image dates to a point in time after DIO took Kakyoin under his control, but before he is sent to assassinate Jotaro, subsequently leading to the removal of his fleshbud by Star Platinum.

As we all know, fleshbuds created from DIO's cells take control of their victims' minds to some extent, ensuring their loyalty to and willingness to work for their beloved vampire overlord DIO-sama~. It doesn't seem to make any fundamental changes to the personality, maybe dulling their emotions a little and inhibiting their ability to ask questions like "should I really be travelling halfway across the world as a seventeen-year-old schoolboy to kill this random guy I've never heard of before?"

But like, what if "dulling their emotions" really means that DIO is inadvertently stealing them for himself?

I realise how fucking stupid this sounds, but also shuddup rational brain you don't belong in a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure crack dissertation

(ahem) But it makes me giggle to think about DIO just standing in front of a mirror in the dead of night, all brooding and depressed like, styling his hair to look like this random Japanese guy he picked up off the street and probably rawed half to death an hour beforehand because he accidently stole like a third of his personality

I also enjoy the idea of him budding Polnareff and then panicking because he thinks the assimilation of Polnareff's strong moral compass into his own is Jonathan's soul trying to possess him and steal back his body or some shit

i kinda lost my gusto in the middle of writing this because i don't words very well. sorry about that. please feel free to reblog and add your own input to this shitty idea

[cephalopuff]

how i diy eye chips PART 1!!! (this post is long bc readmores dont work on mobile im so sorry)

my pal asked me for a step by step when i posted pixy stick's eye chips on twitter!! so here i am with step by step, with photos attached!!

here's what you'll need:

eye chips (i remove the factory paint on old chips because the ones i ordered aren't in yet haha.)

acrylic paint in the colors you want

nail polish in the colors you want

glitters!!

paintbrushes

here's what i used for these eye chips. i specifically wanted to challenge myself to do two different colors, so i chose red and blue!

cool!! got your stuff? let's begin!!

we have to paint on the BACK of the eye chips, layer by layer, which means you'll be doing them in backwards order. you're going to want to start by adding eye shines!! start with your white acrylic paint, and attempt to keep the shines even (but it doesn't matter THAT much)

great!! next i like to add glitter. i stick on colorful glitters with some glue, then add a layer of holographic glitter polish.

keep in mind, you are going to have to wait for these layers to dry!!!! im not good at that so i had paint and nail polish sliding around which isn't the funnest thing to deal with. learn from my mistakes.

TO BE CONTINUED HERE IN PART 2