#i mean i understand WHY someone may think that considering some of the dialogue may come off a bit strange

[wazzuppy]

considering that the girl with the blue flower is always referred to as just that-- a girl (never woman or young woman), and the artist once refers to her as "a girl that young", AND she's meant to resemble the sister in her youth, those theories and interpretations that the artist fell in love with her make me very uncomfortable

[judesmoonbeauty]

IkeVil Act 2 Prologue Thoughts & Theories

This will contain spoilers, and some 18+ remarks at the end, so MDNI. Please see under the cut. As usual, these are just my thoughts and feelings.This is a word salad. And not that this is important or anything, but I was totally listening to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake while writing this.

My first thought is: That's it?! With the Act 1 prologue being as long as it is, and even with other IkeSeries games like Pri, I felt it was too short. I was expecting and wanting more. Perhaps, Cybird will release more later, but I doubt it. Seems that they are keeping Vogel underwraps as much as they can. Less is more, maybe that's what they were thinking?

Next: The spotlight is on Vogel (as it should be), since they're apparently debuting with Roger's route. We're excited to meet them, still I didn't like that other than Victor and Harry (with his two lines of actual dialogue), no other Crown members had any lines. Their sprites just pop up (sans William because he's away per Victor), to show that they were present. Where is that amazing stare-off that went down in Roger's PV?

Tell me this wasn't it! Hopefully, we get more of their first meeting within the first chapter of each of their main stories. Which leads me to......

When Act 2 Takes Place: It takes place a week after Kate's tenure of being the Fairytale Keeper begins, and honestly, I LOVE that. We need a change of pace. Now, don’t get me twisted, there's nothing wrong with seeing her start her journey from the very beginning, but consider:

Act 2 is supposed to delve deeper into the topic of the Curse itself from what I understand. If that's the case, we need to move things along. It would make storytelling easier (I feel), if Kate has already spent a week with the villains and isn't completely ignorant about curses.

Also, we're moving further along in the routes, which tend to become progressively darker with each route passing (my opinion), not starting from the day after she arrives at the Castle will allow the writers to delve deeper into things, and give us more chapters for - hopefully - more lore.

I mean when Roger's route finally releases, I'd expect maybe some flashbacks in chapter one of the night after Kate bumps into them on their mission, and then she agrees to be his assistant. I don't personally want an entire chapter or three of that, and I would love to see Kate already with a week's worth of experience of working with Jude & Ellis (when Jude's route releases). I want her to be someone who is already capable, not stumbling around with (How do I prove myself?), we already know how she needs to do this, as she's demonstrated in their events. Let's skip that and get to the good stuff. Now about the new meat on the market.....

Darius: Well, we all know that we can't trust him, and he's super interested in William for some reason. I'd love to see that meeting happen. His disappointed face made me chuckle when he was told that William was away, and you can clearly tell that he isn't a fan of Victor. WHY?? Is it the scones? Is it because Victor keeps his precious Cursed babies safe from those who may try to destroy his family? Can't wait for the explanation, because as Victor has said in the past, he doesn't want his time with Crown to end, and Darius seems like the one who is going to end it. I know Darius hasn't done anything yet, but I feel like I need to say this: Don't be mean to Vivi!

He seems to be focused on recruiting other cursed members into his "family", and his vision of the cursed and non-cursed joing hands together and work alongside each other (so he says).

He seems to be the big-bad (Gilbert tragic backstory vibes from this one?), I could be wrong, but that's what my gut tells me. I mean they all have one, but I feel like his is going to be twisted. A type that I am weak for.....so I am trying not to look at him at all.

Anyways....He's certainly angelic looking, and because he's wearing such an obviously painted smile, I would like to see him irked (not that I hate his character or anything), I just think it'd be funny as hell to see a blood vessel pop up on his forehead.

Nica: Right, Nica is gorgeous and he is the one I look forward to the most out of the three. His sprite has teeth when it's a full smile (congrats, my man), and a part from him making a comment that he's happy that Kate is present because he doesn't want to be stuck with a bunch of guys, he's very sharp.

He discerned by himself the real reason why she was at the castle. Also, he seems to love money and power....my other weaknesses are men who enjoy those things (stares at Jude & Silvio).....he doesn't seem to have a tyrant attitude, but I look forward to learning more about him.

Also, I have a theory I believe he may be involved with Roger's betrayal of Ellis' cursed predecessor. In Roger's main route preview:

Roger: Oh, me and…..this person……We aren’t friends. This person and I are strangers.

Mysterious Youth: ….Thank you. - “That’s enough”. (screen shakes)

Now, this could be Ring, but I think it's Nica also because of the relationship chart. I re-read the relationship chart. .

So, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out and how off I am. On to our darling......

Ring: Beloved, sweet, cold, blunt and Disney Princess Ring. He is the next villain I look forward to the most. I mean, a shared cursed ability with your twin? Moody emo vibes? Adorably quiet and strong? Please, I love him and want to cuddle him. Not to mention that skin-tight, black turtle neck....yummy. A part from this, Ring doesn't seem to like making speculations based on limited information, and I appreciate that about him. I think it's also notable that is very upfront with everyone at Crown, that if they try to harm Vogel, he won't sit quietly. Love a man of action. My question is: Why is he Darius' puppet, but not Nica? Ok, last but not least......

Sprite Designs: As usual, Nana-sensei has incorporated symbolism of their fairytale group into their clothing with lots of sharp edges. Personally, I love her art style over all, I think it's beautiful. Of note, Darius has a feather as his belt buckle and I quite like that. His brooch on his neck is the recognizable symbol of Vogel (seems like a swan's head with feathers to me), and the brooch on his floofy coat looks like the face of a swan staring at me. *Ahem* And I think his little neck window could be bigger....just saying.

Nica & Ring both have identical tassels, although they are different colors. One of their tassels likewise feature the symbol of Vogel, but the other looks like cross-hatch marks(?) Feathers(?). They apparently share the same curse, perhaps it represents their shared cursed since they are connected as twins??

They also share swan-faced holster clasps. The one on Nica holds his gun holster, and Ring's holds a book holster (?).....it looks like a book holster. Is it a book about flowers? I mean, it could be a snack pouch, but really it looks like a book holster to me. Just saying.....

Last, but not least, Nica's rings. My first thought: That's hot as hell. Next thought: Shit it's going to hurt like hell when he fingers Kate. This entire time I've been worried over William's and Jude's long ass fingernails cutting Kate up when they enter her, but this this amount of rings (assuming he doesn't remove them), that's going to scrape her so much inside. They're like a toture device.....wait.....maybe he's a sadist too? Oohh, yay if he is! Either way, he is a fan a jewelry.

Well, that's it. There's a ton more that I could write about, but I'm sleepy and I'm rambling.

[Master Lists]

[dduane]

BTW… re: Smut

... off my comment to this post the other day...

I'm an entertainer. Writing's a form of entertainment. (And not just for the readership: for me, too.) To be aroused by art one's experienced is (almost by definition) to be entertained, I'd say. If someone's jerking off to my erotica, then all I can do is lean back in the typing chair, smile a bit, and think, Good! I got the job done. :)

(...with the tags: #and no I'm not going to let on where the smut is#why would i deny anyone the delights of the search#and of being repeatedly mistaken#while possibly finding smut writers who're better at it than i am#:) ...)

...and then noting (with affectionate amusement) some responses:

Well, troops, better get busy filling in that bingo box. 😄

Also: I have to say (while stressing that I absolutely appreciate the humor behind "shocked, shocked, scandalized...") that the dissonance is, temporally speaking, a bit ill-founded. Because while I may be best known for the Young Wizards works these days... by no means did they come first. This did.

A soft chuckle in the darkness. “Lorn, remember that first time we shared at your place?” “That was a long time ago.” “It seems that way.” “—and my father yelled up the stairs, ‘What are you dooooooooing?’ “—and you yelled back, ‘We’re fuckinnnnnnnnnnng!’” “—and it was quiet for so long—” “—and then he started laughing—” “Yeah.”

Granted, from the here-and-now POV of readers with access to the hot-'n'-spicy shipfic or PWP on AO3, this sort of thing (and the numerous other lights-often-off or dialogue-only sexytiems passages in the traditionally published Middle Kingdoms works) would be seen as pretty small beer: soft, non-edgy stuff. Yet in 1979 apparently there were those who found the sex and sexualities on display in The Door Into Fire arresting enough that the book got me nominated for the Astounding Award (for best new author in the field) two years in a row.

There's no question that the broadly inclusive tone set by the Middle Kingdoms books went on to affect and underlie the YW universe in very basic ways. (There've been some scholarly works written by academics who've picked up on this, so [much to my relief] this perception hasn't been just me imagining it.) But I'll grant you that those who don't know the MK novels wouldn't be in a position to make the connection. (shrug) This is just one of those things that comes of having a lot of fragmented readerships who don't know about each other... a side effect of having done a lot of different things during a career. I can also understand how not knowing about the MK works could leave people who know me only, or primarily, as someone writing for a younger readership, a little bit disoriented (or maybe concerned) when the issue of me writing openly sexual material rears its head. But that wouldn’t be a change of direction. It’d be, to some extent, more a return to form.

Anyway: I consider erotica—and its more casually-dressed (or undressed...) cousin, smut—to be perfectly legit forms of literary expression; ones that can soar to unexpected heights if you're willing to put in the work. The sexy-stuff-writing muscle requires periodic exercise if it's to remain viable and/or useful. So I exercise it. And being a 70-year-old person who sometimes creaks audibly when she walks has done absolutely nothing to decrease my interest in the subject—the brain being, after all, the biggest sex organ, and the one least vulnerable to the depredations of time. If anything, nearly fifty years of experience (and three and a half decades of marriage to @petermorwood) have added... let's just say nuance. 😏

Now this whole concept will doubtless horrify some of the "Eww, You're Too Old To Be Writing This Kind Of Thing, Go Get A (Home) Life" types. To which all I can say is, "...Well, good!" By and large, such folks are not my readers anyway. And as for any of them who are, and can't deal…? They need to understand that (pointing off to one side) those people over there—the various kinda-straight and pansexual and bisexual humans, and the gender-fluid fire elemental, and the otherly-gendered Dragon, and the mostly-gay ones enthusiastically shouting "We're fuckinnnng!" down the stairs—are Nita's and Kit's godparents. Without the members of that extremely mixed marriage and their increasingly extended family, there might be no Young Wizards series... not least because it was the splash made by the first of the Middle Kingdoms books that got the Errantryverse crowd in through a major publisher's door. And the series’s continued (modest but still noticeable) success through the second and third volumes kept the writing of new YW books going for a good long while.

...So. For those who may have had questions: HTH. 😀

(And now back to the unending search for a more graceful synonym for “testicles”.)

[elizakai]

you guys i can’t take this anymore i need to release steam from this pot of killer and dust thoughts that’s on the stove

listen. if you don’t know by now. one of my favorite things to do is bridge narratives between fanon ideas, and canon truths hehe

Killer and Dust. The accepted dynamic is basically killer being a pestering little shit and dust being over it.

THATS GREAT ON ITS OWN it’s funny etc

but think about their ACTUAL characters for a moment. they are two sides of the same coin.

⬇️

i don’t want to hear any of that old fandom “they are literally the same” shhhhh. nuh uh dear friend, they commuted the same (general) action💥

their motives and situations are very different however! which is important when it comes to understanding a character

They both played into an opposite role in their world if you ask me.

Killer partners with chara, filling the role of the player. he’s a lot like flowey actually.

(in killers world, while he is still a pawn of this sick game, he gets manipulated after all, he has taken on the ROLE of the player. everyone else are the pawns.)

dust is against the anomaly of dusttale, which is that worlds player.

dust is a pawn. a pawn that is defying the player of the game

(in the same way that killer is still pawned, dust still uses his fellow “pawns” as a means to “win” the game, meaning he’s also playing)

(but again, i’m speaking role wise)

Killer and Dust’s dynamic doesn’t have to just be haha funny, it has some actual merit and potential to their characters.

Killer is constantly looking for new forms of entertainment. something new. he’ll get bored, and if he’s bored he’ll have to look at himself. killer is very much a character representing disassociation avoidance and to an extent, escapism (huh. like someone playing a video game?)

Of COURSE he’s gonna poke at people. it’s INTERESTING. it gets a REACTION. he gets to have that small power trip of being in control, after feeling like he lost control this is something that’s probably addictive to killer.

meanwhile dust…well. killer acts like his own anomaly in a way. he prods at him, toys with him, he’s leering and he takes pleasure in any reaction dust gives. dust probably would resent this feeling without really knowing why. he feels like some toy, and he’d probably be inclined to even interpret a genuine interaction this way.

this honestly makes dusts inclination to shut off or dull down any emotion make more sense. be as unremarkable as possible, and you’ll be left alone, right?

isn’t that…kind of what sans does? he’ll repeat same lines of dialogue and such when he reallyyy doesn’t have to. he’s being uninteresting. (and no he doesn’t need to remember everything magically for that to be possible. in game he will poke fun at past conversations and dialogue so he’s clearly aware enough)

Killer wants a response, so dust doesn’t give one.

killer wants control and feels like this is a challenge, dust feels cornered and defensive

if they had existed in the same world, it would have been killer vs dust in the end either way.

it’s a big old game of cat and mouse until someone snaps. they need to be given the opportunity to understand their similarities

even in an interpretation where they are in a healthier relationship, in whatever capacity, i think these mindsets would be conflict they may have….

to killer , on one hand he may be OFFENDED by his lack of response. he may be EXCITED, it’s a CHALLENGE. he might take dusts resignation as a sign of submission, which would give killer a HIGE power trip.

he might. genuinely just be trying to have fun?

it could be ENTIRELY lighthearted, and it’s still…rather toxic, considering where that mindset branched from

and we know dust won’t be inclined to say anything. he probably doesn’t understand his own feelings to be frank💀 he just feels gross and intimidated and cornered so he shuts off and sees killer as oppressive , and grows resentful regardless of intent, as these feelings only feed into his crippling self hatred anyways

….thats all for tonight-

[daddyduncan69]

One of my recent posts got a few comments about media literacy being dead and Neil being an unreliable narrator so I want to clear some things up.

Firstly, media literacy isn't dead becuase it cannot die. Also, I am not a big fan of fear mongering. Humans have always sought to understand and communicate with each other about the things we create. It is a skill that can be taught and should be practiced. There is no one right way to do it. And, while I think the education system fails so many of us (something something to make us easier to control something something), I also think that there are tons of resources to help us learn without the need for an official "teacher". So, instead of pessimistically saying is it "dead" (especially on someone's textual analysis post, like... are you saying I prove it's dead becuase I don't have media literacy? are you agreeing with me and therefore proving yourself wrong? do I not count for some reason? i don't think I get it), engage in discourse about media that you love. And I mean actual discourse, not just fighting on social media about whether or not everyone should "like" your favorite character. Ask yourself "what is the effect of this rhetorical device in the text?" "is the text trying to make me like or not like this character? is it working, why or why not," (do not ask "why did the author do this?" because that is not relevant nor are you a mind reader). Take free online Literature classes from colleges that help you learn how to analyze. Invite others to do it with you. Join or start a book club. Engage in various types of media, not just YA, fantasy, fiction, etc. Consider kindly rebutting or offering a counter point to other people's interpretations, bringing actual textual evidence to back up your points. Use Google Scholar to access free scholarly articles to see academic prospectives on various medias that are not just from social media or blogs. Your local library may even have subscriptions to paid sights like JSTOR or collections of essays that would let you access articles that are otherwise behind a paywall. All of these things can help improve your own media literacy and, in turn, will help improve the media literacy of the people around you.

Secondly, the point of my other post was NOT that Neil is an unreliable narrator. I've seen a lot of people make this claim so I wanted to chime in. Unreliable narrators are marked by a few characteristics, some of which are exaggeration, detachment from reality, naivety, and deception of the reader. I don't believe Neil falls into any of these categories. I would be open to arguments that claim he does, but it would be hard to sway me because I can't find any textual evidence to support it. This is an important distinction to me because the larger claim I make in that post is that ALL narration, 1st person, 3rd person, omniscient, limited, etc is biased- all of it. It is CRUCIAL as readers to identify a narrators biases and consider the text through that lens. If you aren't practicing doing that (or only doing it when the narrator is "unreliable") you can easily fall into the trap of saying "well Neil says Kevin is a coward so he is", which is obviously an issue in the grand scheme of textual analysis. However, you can also easily fall into the trap of saying "Neil is an unreliable narrator because he is wrong about things/lies to people/has trauma so you can't trust him". I believe that Neil tells us as the reader the truth in his narration almost 100% of the time, Neil just lies to the other characters 24/7. So, as readers we should take what he says in his internal monologue at face value but question the motives behind his dialogue with other characters.

Anyway, that was a long winded, probably boring monologue about critical textual analysis. I devote maybe 16 out of my 18 waking hours to thinking about this, so thanks for hanging in there to read it all. I just care so deeply that we as a culture continue to grow these skills without shaming those who haven't had the same opportunities to learn how to do it or making the act of learning how to feel hopeless or doomed.

[victoria-writes]

Love Diagnosis

Pairing: Adrian Monk x Reader

Summary: Monk has a crush on his new assistant (reader) and talks to his therapist about it

Word Count: 1,544

Notes: She/Her pronouns are used for the reader. Trudy Monk, Leland Stottlemeyer, and Natalie Teeger are mentioned but don't make an appearance. Entire fic is just dialogue between Adrian and Dr. Kroger. Mentioned age gap between Monk and the reader.

Read it on AO3 here

Story:

“You don’t understand, doctor. This isn’t some cute crush. I can’t get her out of my head!”, Monk said frantically from the chair he sat in across from his therapist.

“Adrian”, Dr. Kroger began while taking off his glasses and sitting forward in his chair, “it’s perfectly normal to look forward to seeing someone you like. It seems that you and Y/N have developed a special relationship and it’s only natural for you to think of her. If anything, this is great progress. It means you’re moving on after losing Trudy”.

“No, no, no, no”, said Adrian as he waved his hands about, “I am not moving on from Trudy. She is my wife. Y/N is a parasite who has infected my brain. She’s probably an alien. That’s the only explanation. A very pretty alien, but an alien”.

Dr. Kroger smiled, “Y/N is not an alien. It’s okay to be scared. You and Trudy were together for a long time and you were both very devoted to each other”.

“I can’t be scared because I’m not moving on. How can I be scared to do something I’m not doing?”

“Adrian-“

“It’s like she’s taken me hostage in my own mind. Everywhere I look, she’s all I think about. I walked into a CVS with Natalie today to get more wipes and I saw the shampoo section. Why was my first thought ‘What kind of shampoo does Y/N use? She always smells so nice.’?” 

Dr. Kroger sets his glasses on the table next to him, “I’m going to suggest something that may sound a little crazy to you. Have you considered telling her how you feel?”

“…Dr. Kroger”, Monk scoffed, “Are you sure we’re sitting in the right seats? Because where I’m sitting it seems that you may be the one that needs help if you think that is a reasonable solution.”

“So I’m going to take that as a no.”

“Of course, I haven’t talked to her about it!”

“And why is that?”

“….well…”

“Well?”

“…” 

“You’re frightened she may not feel the same way as you do.”

“…yes”

“And if she does feel the same way, you don’t want to know because then you’d have to accept the fact that you’re in love with a woman after Trudy’s passing.”

“yes”, Monk grumbled while looking at the floor with sudden interest.

“So you think it’s better to bury your feelings deep inside and only let them out during our sessions”

“Now you’re getting it. I’m so glad we could come to an understanding”, Monk smiled and sat back in his chair, relieved. 

“Adrian, these feelings aren’t just going to disappear overnight because you don’t want to face them. You see her almost every day now.”

“This is all Natalie’s fault.”, Adrian furrowed his brows as he spoke, “I wouldn’t have had to hire another assistant if she didn’t need so many days off.”

“Natalie needed the time off to take care of her daughter as a single mother. It’s a miracle she was able to balance work and her child for as long as she did.”

“Yeah, well, she should’ve balanced for longer so I wouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“Tell me, what is it that you like about Y/N?”

“She smells nice.”

“You mentioned that already”

“She’s a good assistant. She’s very clean and doesn’t touch me without asking. I like her hairstyle too, not just the shampoo. Her nails are neat and manicured, so I don’t feel disgusted by the thought of her touching me.”

“Anything else?”

“When she does touch me…her hands are soft.”

Dr. Kroger looked at Adrian with raised eyebrows and interest written across his face.

“Y/N, she has a certain way of talking. She emphasizes certain words in her sentences and talks with her hands.” 

At this point, Adrian is staring up at the ceiling and smiling fondly as he pictures Y/N in his mind, “She gets so animated when she’s passionate. And she has so many strong opinions on things. Things I never even give a second thought to. Just the other day, she went on a very passionate rant about what kind of handle she prefers on umbrellas.”

“I would’ve thought you’d have an opinion on that sort of thing.” 

“Oh, I do now that I’ve thought about it. I much prefer the curved handles to the straights ones, even if they have grooves for the fingers to sit”, he scoffs and shakes his head, “the fingers are never as comfortable on those as they are on the curved handles and-“

“I think we’re getting off track here. Is there anything you dislike about her?”

“Oh, yes”, Adrian quickly nodded, “She’s a horrible driver and always parks crooked. She’s lucky she has me or she’d anger a lot of other drivers with her parking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She chews on her mints and I can’t stand the sound. What psychopath chews on those? You’re supposed to let them sit in your mouth.”

“I see.”

“She stands too close to me wherever we go. Like I said she doesn’t touch me without asking but she’s always so close.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Yes, my heart starts to beat very fast and I can’t breathe sometimes. Once I thought I was having a heart attack but she told me I was just having a panic attack and made me do breathing exercises with her.”

“Did they help?”

“Yes, but only for a little bit because she kept standing close to me after that. She was worried I would faint so she stood even closer.”

“And?”

“I’ve never had clammier hands in my life.”

“Did you have these symptoms when you first started to see Trudy?”

“I…I don’t remember. It was all so long ago. Let’s not talk about that.”

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. Let’s move on from that.”

“Okay.”

“…”

“I had eggs for breakfast this morning but the yolk was a little too runny. That made my skin itch.”

“Let’s not talk about eggs.”

“Okay.”

“If you and Y/N were to enter a romantic relationship-“

“That would never happen.”

“Humor me for a second. If you and Y/N entered a romantic relationship, what do you think it would be like? Truly imagine it for me. What would dating Y/N look like?”

“I…I don’t know. I’m not dating her so how would I know?”

“Just try and imagine it.”

“Okay.”, Adrian sighed quietly as he closed his eyes, “Okay. I’m imagining.”

“Go on.”

“We’d have to spend a lot of time together. That’s what couples do.”

“What would that time spent together look like?”

“I suppose we would hang out at my house. Go to different places around town. Maybe to that coffee shop she likes.”

“Which shop is that?”

“The one on third avenue with the blue walls.”

Adrian’s eyes were still closed but he could hear the smile in Dr. Kroger’s voice, “You remember the kind of things she’s passionate about, little details about her, and even what coffee shop she likes.”

“I’m a detective. It’s my job to remember things about people.”

“Do you know how she takes her coffee?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know how Natalie takes her coffee?”

“No”

“Do you know how Captain Stottlemeyer takes his coffee?”

“No”

“Interesting. Have you ever thought about kissing Y/N?”

Adrian opened his eyes, “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

“I find it very relevant. Have you thought about kissing her?”

Adrian took a long pause before answering, “Yes. Once she stood very close to me, she stands much too close to me, and I…”

“You…?”

“I was looking at her lips and I started to lean in but I pulled away.”

“Did she know you wanted to kiss her?”

“I don’t think so. When she asked why I was staring I lied and told her she had dry lips and needed to put on chapstick. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her lips looked very”, he pauses looking for the right word in his mind “soft.”

“Has she ever indicated any interest in you in a romantic sense?”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, you wouldn’t.��, Dr. Kroger sighs, “Adrian, there is only one solution to this dilemma and that is to speak to her about it.”

“That would be highly inappropriate. I’m her employer and several years older than her.”

“While that is true, she has the right to know about this. She spends nearly every day with you.”

“What if she quits? Then, I’d have to find another assistant and I don’t want her to go.”

“That is a risk you’ll just have to take. It is much more likely that she will either tell you she doesn’t feel the same way or that she does. She’s your assistant but she’s your friend too. I’m sure she’d understand.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“But what is she does?”

Monk sat in silence with no rebuttal prepared. What could he possibly say to that?

“We’re nearing the end of our time together, Adrian. Next time you see Y/N, politely tell her how you’ve been feeling about her.” 

“...”

“Adrian, tell her.”

“Yes, Dr. Kroger.”

“I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The fact that Lilia found Silver all alone is curious tbh. Like, did the fairies' magic prevent silver from being moved and everyone was forced to ditch him? Did Heinrich willingly ditch his nephew or didnt want to leave him for whatever reason but had to (tho, considering that he's a jerkwad who sees everyone, even Knight of Dawn, as expendable, he probs thought Silver wasnt worth the hassle)? Where's Silver's mom?

It's actually not that strange that Silver was found alone in the castle! 😅 I do understand that this confusion may arise from there not being a fully detailed fan translation out at the moment, so I'll try to explain why this is. Firstly, let's talk about time frame. Lilia is coming across baby Silver ~17 years ago from present day. The war in which Lilia fought against the Dawn Knight was ~400 years ago. (The only reason Silver still appears young is because the sleeping curse cast on him must have prevented him from aging regularly until he awoke.) That means anyone that would have been alive 400 years ago is most certainly dead and/or wouldn't know of Silver's existence now. A lot of information gets lost to time. Shortly after Wild Rose Castle was seized by Heinrich, another conflict broke out (I believe it was a territorial dispute) which Lilia suspects claimed the lives of Heinrich, the Dawn Knight, and Leah (Silver's mom). So... sadly, they didn't die of natural causes. In fact, the Dawn Knight is confirmed to be dead (from a battle, I presume) in a flashback/memory sequence. The guardian fairies that cast the spell on Silver have dialogue which states the "Land of Swords" (ie where the Dawn Knight and his family hail from) has fallen and that Leah should flee. Again though, she's almost certainly no longer around. With the country now in shambles and their monarchs missing, it's safe to assume that the citizens themselves would be long gone (dead, absorbed into other countries, willingly leaving to search for opportunity elsewhere, etc). This would likely leave Wild Rose Castle abandoned and the surrounding area pretty abandoned.

Lastly (but still an important detail to consider), Lilia says that he senses residual magic coming off the thorns that cover the castle. He theorizes that diurnal fairies could have casted a spell to keep humans away from the area (though it's unclear whether the thorns are a part of the spell or not). Furthermore, Lilia mentions that humans believe the castle to be haunted, so not many try to get near it or to explore inside (which would also be pretty difficult to do for anyone that tried, since the thorns are a hassle to deal with).

Altogether, I think those are some pretty compelling and logical reasons as to why no one else stumbled across Silver before Lilia did. He was just lying there sleeping for 400ish years anyway, he's not really going anywhere by himself 😂 (Silver only seemed to wake up and cry when Lilia entered the castle, which I believe ties back into the condition set to break the curse: when he meets someone who is able to truly love him, it will be lifted and he will awaken.)

[thornswoggled]

something i dont think we've gotten the full answer to yet is chises big question at the beginning of the college arc - why did elias tell her she was going to be his bride? elias probably thought he was telling the truth when he answers her in 57, but i dont think hes fully aware of the answer himself, and this likely isnt the last we'll hear of it

this is a simple answer, simple enough that he knows chise may be disappointed by it, but it doesnt mesh with his previously stated reason of why he took chise in:

(ch 18)

joseph, too, refers to chise as elias' "guinea pig" in the graveyard scene. elias' motivation in caring for chise changes as she becomes more receptive to him and his curiosity in her grows, but this is well after his declaration in ch 1. elias' monologue in 18 also answers the question of why chise is learning so little magic - her apprenticeship is a pretense to his observation of her

(as an aside, im interested in the future tense elias uses in ch 1, especially given that chise is afterward exclusively referred to as his wife, not his future wife. a quirk of this particular fan translation? some of elias' early dialogue is so different from the way he talks now. sometimes i feel like yamazaki was still figuring out his tone here)

(ch 1)

going back to 57, if elias understands that a bride is someone who stays with you, why would he apply this title to someone he bought only to observe? you could make the argument that he said this to emotionally manipulate her into never running off again, but we know that he doesnt lie, and elias never makes any indication that this is the case. he earnestly means it

before elias answers chise, he scuttles around asking grownups other people why they chose their companions. (i really enjoy the comedy of how badly he misinterprets renfreds motivation in caring for alice - he saw the barest similarity between them and jumped to several conclusions.)

(ch 54)

if elias' reasoning from 57 was entirely honest, i dont think hed be asking these questions. as yamazaki states, elias is a creature who imitates - hes hoping to pick a fitting answer from the answers of others

we should also be considering the context of the chapters before this. in 51, we get this exchange, and i think its significant that it comes on the heels of simon describing his own past relationship:

its possible that elias doesnt fully understand why he sought out a partner because the desire sprang from this "some other" thats unlike the rest of himself. and until he recognizes and reconciles with it, he wont fully understand why he does certain things. for example, why he bought a child

in conclusion:

[autumnmobile12]

I’m hoping that as Nocturne continues, that there might be some eventual parallels between Alucard and Richter.

I’ve mentioned in another post I don’t really like Richter.  I’m not going to reiterate the entire thing, but the long and short of it is I found his character unnecessarily mean-spirited.  Some of his dialogue really rubbed me the wrong way and I didn’t find his lines all that funny.  But it’s this specific line to Tera that sealed the deal with me disliking him.

“And you just happened to stumble upon it one day while you were out picking flowers?”

Um, what the fuck?  She raised you, gave you a safe place to grow up, has been a surrogate mother to you, and has shown you nothing but kindness and support, and you’re going to talk to her like that?  What an asshole.

And this is the difference between Richter and Trevor’s characters.  Trevor is an asshole, but did he ever talk to Sypha or her grandfather this way?  No.  Did he talk to Alucard this way?  Well…yeah, but also observe Alucard also woke up snarky and began insulting him from minute one, so we can argue they are delightfully matching each other’s energy with a vengeance.

But I’m not gonna lie…for the first two seasons, I also didn’t like Alucard’s character all that much and for the same reasons.  I’m a little biased as I generally don't like protagonists who are just mean for no reason.  We all know someone like that in real life, whether they’re a relative or a co-worker or a boss, so why deal with it in fiction?  Okay yeah, I get that it’s often part of a character arc and symbolism for growth and finding maturity.  I understand why storylines like this are necessary, but I’m still gonna hate the little shits for the duration they’re assholes.

So Alucard…the way he treats Trevor in the first two seasons is also pretty crappy behavior.

“I imagine one sacrifices a chicken, and divines the location of the book you want from the intestines. Maybe Belmont has a crystal ball in here you could ask. ….  Your ancestors were apparently mentally ill hoarders.  I fully expect to find family cats mummified under some of these shelves.  Unless your family preferred to eat them.”

You’re gonna talk to your comrade like that…in his own home…where his entire family was brutally slaughtered by a mob....possibly right in front of him?  Yeah, real charming, Alucard.  And this is the tone for his character in the beginning.  There is the point where Sypha calls him out and tells him to stop testing Trevor, but I think there’s another element at play.  “…and he’s a drunk and he’s self-destructive and anyone trying to hold on to him may as well be dragged down with him.”  He isn’t just testing him, he’s judging him and he’s already decided he’s a useless drunk who got lucky and happened to win a few fights.

All right, now that I’ve dragged him through the mud, I’m going to pull back and assess the wider perspective of Alucard’s full character arc.  Alucard’s growth follows the line of the spoiled brat who experienced hardship and had to grow up because of it.  I think Alucard lived a very sheltered life before his mother died, and his actions and dialogue in the Belmont Hold are the strongest indicator to this.  We clearly see he’s disgusted by the trophies and the history of murder against the vampires, and he is not shy about voicing his contempt towards the family’s entire purpose.  He’s right, though.  With the presence of the infant skull in the display case, we do get the very subtle nod that the Belmonts, for all their claims of virtue and protecting humanity, have also committed atrocities.  He does have a right to his anger against Trevor and his family.

But what’s absent from Alucard’s character here is the fact he doesn’t seem to consider the atrocities the vampires have committed against his mother’s people.  To the vampires, humans are food, livestock, and a lesser species.  Godbrand brutally murders several humans in his flashback with no clear intent on actually eating them, so he kills for sport.  Cho torments the humans in her court by amusing herself with duels to the death that only she can win.  Not a humane way to treat the vampire equivalent of livestock.  And exactly how long does Erzsebet Báthory keep those girls chained up while she drains them of blood?

Why does Alucard condone what the vampires do to humans and at the same time condemns the Belmonts for hunting the vampires?

The answer:  I don’t think he did because I don’t think he was fully aware of these scenarios.  Think about it, he had no knowledge of Dracula’s Generals and the only thing he talked about regarding his father was the tragedy of his madness and how killing him would be destroying centuries of knowledge.  I think Dracula wanted him to have a peaceful life and fed him the more rosy-colored version of their history.  Maybe he intended to tell him one day, and that day kept being put off by the sentiment,  “He’s a boy.  Let him continue to be a boy.”

Alucard lives his peaceful childhood until it comes to a screeching halt when Lisa is killed, so I honestly think there is an innocence behind his upbringing that gave him a very clear bias against the Belmonts that was completely justified in some elements and not so much in others.  There’s also the point that he keeps referencing Trevor as a drunk, which is very much condescension.  It’s not until Season 3, after he’s experienced his traumas and has fallen into his own slump of grief that his attitude towards Trevor changes.   There’s still ribbing between the pair, but it’s not the same cutting remarks that we saw back in Season 2.  Alucard walked a mile in Trevor’s shoes, and that mile was bitter.

...

So where I stand with Nocturne:  Richter has started off in a way similar to Alucard.  He lost his mother at a young age, but aside from that, he grew up safe and loved in a stable home, has a good relationship with Tera and Maria, and has otherwise led a relatively peaceful life. Even in the midst of the French Revolution, they don't seem like suffering peasants.  Like Alucard before his world truly went to hell, Richter also didn’t have a full concept of what real hardship looks like.  This is apparent when he’s all confidence and bravado, going around and yelling he’s the ‘last of the Belmonts’ and he ‘kills vampires’ and “Who’s next?”  And then Olrox shows up and he cows him right back into the scared, little boy he’s pretending he’s not.

And so not only is there a parallel between Richter and Alucard, but there is also a big one between Trevor and Annette.  Both of them have suffered through their own individual hardships, both losing their loved ones in some of the most brutal ways imaginable, but those same hardships gave them their pride and their poignant maturity and cynicism in how they see the world.  Granted, the difference between Trevor and Annette is she never lost her purpose or her will to fight despite having been dealt the worse lot of having been born a slave, but still…Trevor never ran away from his nightmares like Richter did.  Even though Annette and Trevor have their moments when they are scared, both of them stood up and said,  “Fuck it, I have a bastard to kill and if I die killing them, so be it.”  They don’t give an absolute damn.  They took their pain and they wore it like armor.

“Killing you was the point.  Living was a luxury.”

“If I let my past terrify me, I’d never be free of it.”

…

Compared to them, Richter is a spoiled brat who has yet to grow up.

And I think Alucard’s going to be right there with him saying,  “Don’t worry.  I was like you once and we’ll get there together.”

[tojiscrack]

is it weird that i wish y/n existed in the actual jjk verse. like her personality fits so well with almost every single character, and the chemistry between megumi and y/n is THE BEST ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

her personality is so real and unlike any other reader i’ve come across in other reader x [insert character] fics. the chemistry between her and other characters doesn’t feel forced, if you understand what i mean? i thoroughly enjoy reading EVERY scene because of that! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

you said to look out for foreshadowing which is what i have been trying to do but perhaps i’m being a little silly looking way too early, considering other chapters have not been released yet. but one thing i have noticed is that megumi only really has shown CLEAR signs of liking her more than just a friend when he is about to leave her (not the scene where he’s silently fighting over sitting next to her at yuji’s place because that could arguably be seen as platonic too despite me seeing it as him liking her) - for example; when he’s going on vacation without her. now i understand that this is only one example but i have a feeling that this may become a reoccurring theme - what was it, absence makes the heart grow fonder? i have a feeling he’ll only ever understand his feelings for her when he is away from her. and given the angst hashtag, it wouldn’t exactly be surprising if for any reason they moved away from each other, whether figuratively or physically.

i could be completely wrong though and if that’s the case, then this is embarrassing ( ᵒ̴̶̷᷄◡̶͂ᵒ̴̶̷᷅ )و

but regardless, i’m so happy i stumbled across this fic. seriously, the way u write is awesome and i can only wish to be as good as you when it comes to writing! the dialogue, the chemistry between the characters is so cute and feels like a coming of age sitcom. i love it i love it i love it and i love you!! (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)

please keep up the good work, soldier. i salut you for your hard work keeping us all sane after gege shattered our souls (stay alive, don’t let him find you) ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

liar, liar masterlist here

oh. my. GOSH. a long message? AJSJWKSJWJSJ STOPPP I’M SO EXCITED TO ANSWER THIS

it is not weird at ALL. i created this y/n with the sole thought that there should be a character as wild as her (i love goofy characters sm you have no idea). like my fav character from aot? connie. fav from jjk? gojo. fav from haikyuu? tanaka and hinata. fav from death note? L (don’t lie, that man was funny af).

read that entire sentence about her chemistry with megumi and the relationship she has with the other characters not being forced with a FAT smile on my face 🙂‍↕️ an author knows they’ve won once someone points this out using their own free will. thank you for that 😭💞

the second i saw the word ‘foreshadowing’ in ur message, JAISJWISJWJSJ. YES, YOU HAVE A PREDICTION? TELL ME MORE (i feel like a mastermind rn muahahahaha) 😋 you are nawt silly for looking for it earlier. i’ve dropped so many hints and no one’s picked it apart yet (surprisingly). some are more obvious than others, but let me tell you now, once you’ve noticed it, you’re gonna smack ur forehead and think ‘why didn’t i see this before?’.

i LOVE how you’re playing devil’s advocate for yourself (you’re so smart omg). like you’ve mentioned how the only in-your-face type of thing we’ve seen so far is the airport scene (i mean, if gojo pointing it out wasn’t so obvious, dk what is, really, lolol). and i also like how you’ve made it so that the arguing in yuji’s room can be easily seen as platonic despite what you might think (we need smart people like you so pls don’t die tyvm).

and OOH, IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU WITHOUT SPOILING IT. distance makes the heart grow fonder… yeah, can’t reveal whether this trope is for them or not. i can, however, confuse you a little and say that you’re half right. maybe, like, forty five percent right if i have to slap a number on it. yeah. but there is something that occurs later on (you guessed it, with the angst hashtag) that makes me want to say that you’re actually fifty five percent right. idk, you’ll see what i mean once the main story’s out 😭

this would NOT be embarrassing for you if you’re wrong, let me tell you that much. this fic’s been out since the end of december (beginning of january?) and no one’s come to a prediction as well thought out as yours. for that, i will NOT forget you when i write out the half-correct prediction of yours in the coming chapters.

i’m so happy you stumbled across my fic too! 😭 i’m having sm fun writing this out and laughing to myself (not at you babe, just as the evil mastermind that i am). i’ll be responsible for your complaints once the angst chapters get out (plural because there’s a LOT of them planned). tysm for ur kind message, i’m so flattered my writing pleases you 😭 dialogue is hard to write, trying to match it with the characters ofc, so i appreciate your support on that 💘

girl, gege will never find me. after what he did to my satoru, i will find him. don’t get it twisted.

on the contrary, i’m so upset you wrote all of this anonymously but i respect it, there might be a gazillion reasons why you’d like to remain anonymous. so if you ever send a message again, just lmk it’s you. call yourself the ‘big brain anon’ (😤) because you’re so smart and ily and don’t be humble about it, you are SO smart <3

[sophieinwonderland]

I'm the one that left the comment on the post critiquing your take on inner dialogue and plurality that mentioned my understanding of how trains of thought would work and why a thought process akin to Kronk's dialogue with his shoulder angel/devil doesn't seem to imply that he's "plural" in my opinion. I don't really agree with your rebuttal, that in that example he'd be plural due to the pronouns they use, how they interact, have their own memories, etc.

My comment was again, my understanding of how some people have mental trains of thought. I think it's important to note that everyone thinks/rationalizes differently. Some without words at all but rather things like the perception of the world around them and emotions. They may not think "that's a beautiful photo, I wonder who took it and when. I wish the lighting was a bit better" with those words but they actively feel those things. However the absence of an inner dialogue doesn't mean someone who processes this way without words can't experience something like DID, if that makes sense. Just as someone with it might use "I" and "me". It was hard for me to understand at first how one could "think" without thinking, but I'm mostly going by my understanding and the experiences of people I know and that was also true in my comment as I know others have thought processes like that (and ppl seemed to agree). Which I know isn't a credible source, just different perspectives I've heard based on how different individuals think and process.

It's also normal to my understanding to not only use first person pronouns but also "we", "you", "us", etc. It doesn't mean you perceive yourself as having more than one identity or are otherwise interacting with a different identity with agency and such. I can't imagine that not being normal. For some, it seems thoughts can alternate between feeling like a monologue and dialogue, particularly if you're facing inner conflict or have multiple thoughts on something. I think factors like neurodevelopmental disorders can play a role in this.

A train of thought might interject while someone with a singular identity is thinking about something or having an inner conflict. Someone may think "I think I want ice cream" and another thought might be like "you should have dinner first" and a third may interject as someone remembers something like "wait remember what our doctor said about lactose?". But those pronouns are kind of interchangeable depending on the person, and the memory of the interaction with their doctor brought forth by a train of thought is still their memory. It didn't come from a third party it's just them whereas in someone with alternate identity states, it would be sourced from an alter that is autonomous at least in some regard. I mean is it not possible for that to just be one person at war with themselves? I won't understand how everyone's mind works but that just seems normal. You're you but your thoughts may offer a perspective you didn't initially consider or reference a memory- your memory

So with Kronk again, the back and forth may seem like a dialogue but the difference is that it's sourced from one identity. Might not seem that way but it seems the angel/devil is still his personified inner dialogue. They all experience the same things, have the same memories, and while maybe having different "personalities" everyone has different sides of themselves. Yknow like the evil Kermit meme? One side of you saying to pick up the fallen ice cube and the other saying "you/I/we should kick it under the fridge". Still one person. That's my understanding but again brains work differently even in those with a singular identity state. I hope that's coherent enough (I struggle to condense my words oftentimes) but it just makes sense that a lot of people who think in words would experience it that way? Between what feels like a monologue/dialogue but still being one identity?

These are some fair points.

I would agree that people do just think differently sometimes. And having an inner dialogue or using these sorts of pronouns aren't necessary for plurality. It can even be possible for singlets to have an inner monologue that uses "you" pronouns.

Before going on, for what constitutes a person, I want to being up John Locke's definition of personhood, defining a person as...

a thinking intelligent Being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider it self as itself, the same thinking thing in different times and places

This is what I tend to mean when I say headmates are people.

This is also a general criteria I use for differentiating between multiple and singlet experiences. (With the caveat that plurality is a spectrum and there's a gray area in the middle for median systems.)

A headmate in my opinion follows the same pattern.

1. A headmate can think 2. It's capable of reason and reflection 3. It can consider itself as itself the same thinking being in different times and places.

The first is a bit redundant. Criteria two can't really be true if criteria one isn't. These two though are able to rule out a lot of psychotic hallucinations and dream characters from personhood, as most aren't capable of self-reflection.

The third criteria is actually two in one. It's being able to recognize yourself in different times and places. But it's also being able to distinguish yourself in different times and places.

To recognize when an action is yours and when it's someone else's.

Another layer to this is that it inherently implies some sort of persistence and autobiographical memories. After all, you can't recognize yourself in the past if you don't have a past.

With this context in mind, I'd like to step back to the Kronk point.

So with Kronk again, the back and forth may seem like a dialogue but the difference is that it's sourced from one identity. Might not seem that way but it seems the angel/devil is still his personified inner dialogue. They all experience the same things, have the same memories, and while maybe having different "personalities" everyone has different sides of themselves.

I don't actually agree that they have the same memories.

At least not entirely.

See, they'll each remember the same things happening. They'll each know the general events. But they'll each relate to memories differently.

If Kronk were to recall the conversations he's had with the Angel and Devil Kronks, he would likely recall it in terms "I said this, The Angel said that, the Devil responded this way," etc.

Kronk wouldn't consider their thoughts or actions to be his own. And this would go both ways. If you asked the Angel about things Kronk did, the angel would likely recall those in terms of Kronk doing those things. He wouldn't have a feeling of "I poisoned Kuzco." Because he didn't. Kronk did.

What is happening here can best be described as compartmentalization dissociation. The Angel, the Devil and the core Kronk are dissociated from each other, and don't view the actions of other members as their own.

"Trains of Thought"

I don't believe you're using this term the way most people would use it. When the majority of people refer to having multiple trains of thoughts, they're referring to an ability to think multiple things simultaneously.

What they aren't generally referring to is these "trains of thought" having their own intelligence, identity and recall.

You don't have a "train of thought" that thinks of itself as a separate entity from you, and will still remember things it told you a week later.

If you do have multiple "trains of throught" that are able to think for themselves, have their own distinct sense of self and autobiographical memories, and are self-conscious being able to recognize themselves as separate agents, I think you should consider that maybe your "trains" were people all along.

[warmhealerr]

[Gaalil]

1. [CHARACTER INFO]

OC NAME: Gaalil

OC PRONOUNS: He/him

AUTHOR: Warmhealerr

2. [DIALOGUE]

1. Greeting message:

Good to see you on your own two feet.

2. Identify yourself:

Gaalil of Creche Dul'tak. (The smirk growing on his face betrays a lie). 

3. Tell me about your Creche:

Ignorance is thriving I see. Dul’tak is located on- Alright, enough messing around. Unfortunately for you I was not born Githyanki, I have no Creche to call my pride, but we may still be allies.

4. I need to know how you fight::

I am far from a warrior, but I do know a thing or two about altercations. Artillery is where my strength truly lies, you see.

5. Can I ask a more personal question?

Am I not a charming fellow! What would you like to know?

6. What is your relationship with the divinity?

Zerths will tell you many hard truths about Gith, about Vlaakith. None of them truly sink in until you are on the field yourself. 

7. What do you usually do in your free time?

I talk to people like you. (He chuckles at his own joke. His expression drops when he finally notices the only laugh bouncing off the walls is his own). You want a real answer huh? I used to trade with istiki back on Tu’narath when I wasn't on cev’ren "maintenance" duty. Spy activities, you see, but the people saw me as an eccentric, skilled Mlar who happened to enjoy the Merchant District far too much. Unfortunately this hobby of mine is off the table in our current position. You would not believe the things I've heard, the things I've seen, the things I've held. Istiki are a curious bunch. They have more to them than deep pockets. I hope to travel again soon. 

8. What is your life goal?

Far too many Githzerai are blinded by a past we did not even witness. Their justification for spilling our cousins' blood is nonsensical, especially their young. When you get to experience Githyanki society, you see what you had long been warned about, the ugly, but what I wasn't warned about was the beautiful passion that animates it. Oh, most beautiful indeed. Our peoples need to reunite. We cannot erase history, but there is always time for a permanent truce, if not a gorgeous alliance. No more cousin hunting, I cannot bear to witness it anymore.

9. How is your relationship with your allies?

I was once a wary man, for reasons I am sure you can figure out. (He vaguely gestures around his own body). Nowadays, I think you can tell the trust I put in people like you, even if naive. I consider myself more Githyanki than Githzerai… though I welcome istiki with open arms. We all have our flaws, wouldn't you agree? The Sha'sal Khou's network is vast, I know they have my back, and I have theirs all the same.

10. Do you have someone special in your life?

Their name is N'un'ya Biz'ness.

11. Say something you would never do, and why?

Some worry I will betray the Sha'sal Khou’s cause when Githyanki will be at their weakest. Understandable fear really, but I will not follow in my mother's footsteps. My cousins are family, my silver, my blood. 

12. What is a perfect day to you?

There is no such a thing as a perfect day, especially not on this plane. Let me think. (He caresses his goatee). I enjoy meditation. Successfully fixing our fleets never ceases to make me proud. I would also love to collect more istik curiosities to study. All three at once…Oh, I’d love that. I like when my routine is thriving. It doesn’t take much to make me happy, or not that much at least, right?

13. How do you celebrate a victory?

All I need is to hold my cousins close, and by holding my cousins I mean punch, tackle and kick them laughing while we are still delirious from adrenaline. There is no reaction more genuine.

14. How do you deal with defeat and losses?

Istiki have taught me a few songs. They bring a little peace to broken spirits, especially when they cannot understand the lyrics.

15. How do you think you will be remembered after death?

Depends on when my time comes. In my experience, I assume I'll be forgotten, a digit less among the multitudes of Vlaakith's faceless enemies. Such is fate for the descendants of those who spurned Gith. If I am lucky enough to die after Her fall, perhaps I will be remembered as a reliable and skilled man by some. I would like to hope so, at least. 

3. [GRAPHICS]

4. [BONUS RESOURCES]

@vikintor

[webcomicreads]

The Issue with "Foefic"

For as long as humans have created things, others have looked at the fruits of their labour and thought, "I can do that better." Drawing inspiration from something you see and think you could improve upon is not wrong, it is how innovation works when it comes to creating tools, art, cooking. However, some people mean it in a malicious way. A way that teeters on jealousy and, if I may, clout-thirsty.

Lore Rekindled is a "retelling" of the (unfortunately) Eisner award winning webcomic Lore Olympus. From what I saw on the post introducing it, it is "better drawn and better written." I, like many, have issue with Lore Olympus. The writing is lacking and absolutely not award-worthy, and it even misses the mark as a cheesy harlequin romance. Persephone's characterization has no consistency. The art, while striking and easily recognizable, leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to backgrounds. I don't consider it noteworthy, but it is heavily pushed by Naver's Webtoon, and that is probably why it keeps winning awards. With how low my opinion of Lore Olympus was, I dived into Lore Rekindled hoping to find something with more substance.

I did not find that substance.

LR suffers in different ways than LO. It assumes that you have read or are at least familiar with the major characters of Lore Olympus, which is understandable. The characters are re-written and interact strangely. Many of the characters in LO are meant to come off as "old money," and this shows in their lifestyles, fashion, and way they speak. The characters in LR all appear to have the same voice. If I were to print out a transcript of this comic and read it out loud, they would all be indistinguishable. LR is "better drawn," but what I think they meant is it is less toony. The backgrounds are better most of the time, but the panelling is boring and lacks the dynamicism seen in the original work. The plot is, if I'm being honest, just AU fanfiction (derogatory).

When I also learned that this creator had an original comic, I was very interested to see what it brought to the table. As I understood it, LR was a side project. So you can imagine my surprise when I looked at both the old and the new Project Reaper and it is just objectively a worse comic. The the majority of the cast has same-face syndrome, and seem to live in a cool-tone hell with no furniture most of the time. The concept of how to dress and style characters seems to be locked into what a 15 year old thinks is badass, but that fits for the story. The plot and dialogue reads like something a middle-schooler would make as an RP scenario with friends. The colouring is lazy dodge and burn, which just emphasizes that the author does not care about cultivating a space or atmosphere or world for these characters to live in. They are just toys to mash together to make your angsty super cool comic that you're going to pitch to Dark Horse for REAL, GUYS. And the first comic for this series is written right to left. In the author's defense, they were a teen when they started the original comic.

So how does someone whose average panel looks like the example above come to the conclusion that they can make a better comic? It's simple: Project Reaper is original, but LR has base material you can go off of. Anyone can read a comic and think "I would do THIS for this panel, and I would do THAT for this character introduction." I did it reading both of these comics. But if I were handed only the script for either of these projects, it would not come as easily. Lore Rekindled only looks "better" because it has Rachel's work to build off of. This goes back to what I was saying at the beginning, that the "I could do that but GOOD" view isn't doing you any favours, especially when you aren't doing your own IP well.

I think writing a little hate piece once in a while is good. Draw a hate piece if you really need to (though I would just show it to friends, personally.) Consuming a little media you hate is also good. As a creator, it is important to see and understand why you hate something, what you would change, and what little glimmers of good are in an otherwise pile of garbage. It helps you grow, to realize your tastes, and what not to do in your own work. Critically acclaimed writer Alan Moore agrees! But to have a whole comic with a regular update schedule redrawing something you hate is... It's giving "look at my sonichu comic redraw!" It is loser behavior.

Plenty of people create media out of spite, and I encourage it. I do it too. But the work should be your own. You need to put this energy into your IP. If you keep being a "hater," you'll never guess what you attract. Other haters! And those haters will like you, for now. But one of these days, someone will go through your list of essays and think, "oh, but I don't see any fat people in YOUR work that aren't plus-size model attractive." All it takes is one comment or take that a similarly-minded reader doesn't like and there could be a master list about you!

I am, of course, not saying you can't make derivative works at all. The doujinshi market is full of fan creations, and every art site you go to will be full of fanart. But the difference between LR and these works (generic sexy flavour of the month artists aside,) is that they are made with love. With passion for the original work. I think back to Homestuck AUs because, while I may not have liked them, these creators were doing it out of love for the characters. I follow a few guys on twitter who have been drawing a picture of their anime wife every day for over 10 years. That's love! Then you have more transformative works like Hello from Halo Head, of which some of it's characters are off-brand animal crossing characters. I love that. I think it's neat that the creator loved that little cat twink enough to bring him into their comic in a new form.

I think the point of this post is that you can use spite as a motivator, but it should be for your own creations. We have a limited time on this planet, and even less time where our hands are still able to pick up a pen. Put this towards your passion for the medium, for the stories in your heart. It's rough out there for creators, and it can be hard to find an audience in the ever-churning seas of the internet. But, please, don't put all your effort into "foefiction." That is cringe. And, if you're going to anyways, it'd better actually be good.

PS B^u

[inkovert]

SPILLED INK SATURDAY 》 Writeblr Discourse Series

Session 1: Book-to-Screen Adaptations

Welcome to our first session of Spilled Ink (get it? like spilled tea?), a new writeblr discourse series that I'm excited to introduce into the community. I wanted to start this series to generate some discussion and camaraderie within the writeblr community, but also because I think there are a lot of writer/reader/author-related topics and debates that crop up pretty frequently and I figured it would be interesting to hear thoughts and opinions on these matters from a writer's perspective.

So every Saturday (or potentially every other Saturday depending on how things go), I will post a topic of discussion. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you can do so one of two ways:

➸ Return to the OG post (which will always be linked in the title of the post) and reblog with your take on the topic, either in text or in the tags

➸ If you see someone's take on your feed and you want to chime in on something they said, feel free to reblog their response

I want to stress that the purpose of this series is to have healthy, open-minded dialogue about these topics and hear perspectives that you may not have considered otherwise. I think one of the beautiful things about writeblr is that it's rich with people from a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences who can lend a wider perspective on the subjects discussed. That said, I'm asking that everyone who chooses to participate please be respectful when providing your opinion or when responding to someone else's. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how strong it is, but there's a difference between being opinionated and being borderline rude and antagonizing. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or hateful speech of any kind will not be condoned or tolerated. I want to set that bar straight now because future sessions will touch on topics such as race and sexuality, so I will always have this reminder at the top of the post for each session. I truly want this to be a safe space for people to share their thoughts freely and not be afraid to speak up, so just please be mindful of your words in your responses.

With that out of the way, the discourse question for our first session is:

How do you feel about the frequency with which books are adapted to movies/tv shows these days?

You know what I mean. When you open any social media platform these days and you're immediately bombarded with ads for the latest tv show or movie being released on Hulu or Paramount+. I've often wondered if writers or up-and-coming authors have any personal feelings about this. Do you find it exciting? Does it make you hopeful that your work could one day be on the big screen? Or is it a bit...irksome? Or are you completely indifferent?

Reblog and share your thoughts. Mine will be under the cut, below. 👇🏾

・❥・

I know it may seem like something absolutely trivial and harmless to some, so perfectly understandable if people are indifferent about it all. But I personally find it irksome.

I could be wrong about the increased frequency of book-to-screen adaptations compared to 10 years prior, but for me personally it feels like it's increased quite a lot. I feel like I'll see a book hyped by booktok and/or other online book communities all over my social media feed one minute, and the next minute it's announced that it's headed for the big screen. And for the author's in question, I'm sure it's thrilling, because it provides the exposure that authors need nowadays to sell their books and their brand. But it bothers me because...well, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it makes it more and more evident that the movie/tv industry is running out of ideas. How often do we hear about some 90s/00s TV show being rebooted for god-knows-why when no one asked for it? It's not a secret that the entertainment industry is running on fumes when it comes to generating original ideas for the screen. And the same way that reboots are a lazy way of pumping out entertainment for a consumerist audience, outsourcing ideas from authors because you can't think of your own is also just that - lazy. And the consequence of that, I feel, is that authors will begin to write stories with the intention that it will be visually consumed, thereby feeding into that book-to-screen pipeline.

I recently read a book from a sci-fi author whose novels I really enjoyed in the past, but with each new release of his the quality of his books decreased just a bit. And with the latest book of his I read, it was easy to pinpoint why. It was clear as day that he had written the book with the idea/intention that it would be put on the screen. I don't know how to quite describe it, but it felt like I was reading a screenplay, with certain storytelling elements ignored and with action scenes written like cue cards for an actor. It was like a slapdash job with the note "fix it in post" slapped onto it. And it was just so...disappointing. Not only as a reader, but as a writer. Writers are free to write screenplays, but they are considered screenwriters, not authors, and the craft that is required for each medium is a bit different. Neither is superior to the other, but there's a depth that goes into writing a novel or short story that isn't necessarily needed for a screenplay because the screenwriter will work in collaboration with the director and others to carry out the vision (I'm happy to have screenwriters on writeblr chime in on whether this is true, because I'm speaking off my own understanding, not known experiences). The end product of a screenplay is a visual. Whereas the end product for a novel is the novel itself, and how it stimulates the readers imagination. If we get more novels written with the intention of being translated to a visual medium, then all the typically necessary components like description, exposition etc no longer become necessary. I'm not saying that this is happening just yet. There are many quality novels that have received screen adaptations recently (Pachinko, A Man Called Ove etc), but luckily those authors were dedicated to the craft of writing and storytelling first. The movie and tv deals were an added bonus that came after. But what happens when you have an emergence of authors who have those priorities in reverse? Movie deal first to increase my exposure and worry about good storytelling second? It inevitably causes a change in the writing landscape (that I argue is already happening (see: future discourse session), and not necessarily for the better.

[mikkeneko]

Tagged for the 'fic writer interview' by @veliseraptor!

I feel like I may have seen this meme going around before? Some of these questions strike me as familiar, particularly the 'thoughts on foreign language dialogue?' one, since I'm puzzled as to what this question is asking and I remember being stymied by it before. I think that I want to fill this one out with any answers that have changed since last time and any questions I like to talk about, and skip the questions that don't have interesting answers.

Fic Writer Interview

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

207 as of current!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

2,939,672. Getting close to the 3million mark there -- possibly, as with Lise's case, this year's MDZS big bang may put me over the top. (If not, that + other current project probably will.)

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Without even looking I'm pretty sure that the top two spaces will be Loki fics and the third will be Ceru's fic, lmao. *checks*

Close! Loki fics take up first, third, and fifth place, and Ceru's fic is in second. However *yakety sax arrangement for guqin and xiao* has crept into the top five, at place 4, making it the first of my Untamed fics to do so. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, usually. There are some factors that may lead me to not respond including 1) too short or had no content for me to reply to (i.e. a string of emojis), 2) it's on a fic from a fandom I don't really consider myself part of any more, or 3) too negative, such as when people for some reason have chosen to use the comment box as a space to rant about how much they hate a character, oftentimes with little to no connection to what I actually wrote.

On the other hand, I will almost always reply to a comment that poses a direct question, also incl. requests for permission to translate or podfic. I love when people ask questions. It used to be an ongoing source of angst to me when people would leave comments with questions on Fanfic.net, but without any way for me to reply. ╯︿╰

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Probably Rise From Ash, a downer ending Loki fic where Loki got caught in a timeloop trying to prevent Ragnarok from happening. More recently, probably nostrum. In both cases though the Bad Ending is simply a reversion to canon mean, so it probably could have been worse.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I do love happy endings! There's usually at least some element of melancholy or bittersweetness, but the ones I'd say are most happiness-loaded with that regard would probably be either One Elegant Solution (which was literally written for the purposes of giving the characters the happiest possible ending) or the coda ending of the refrain series (where I literally spell out at the end what I think the ideal ending for each character would look like.)

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not in the old-school understanding of the term crossovers, where the characters and settings of series A and series B literally meet and interact, but I write a lot of fusions, where characters of series A are placed in setting of series B or are otherwise remixed together. Modern fandom seems to have largely elided the distinction.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

A few times. I'd put these into three buckets: 1) people who didn't like what I was doing with the character/story and told me so, but were civil about it and merely stated they were not going to continue reading; 2) people who write unprompted character hate in my comments, usually unrelated to whatever's going on in the text, which I don't enjoy but don't really take personally; and 3) people actually writing callouts or otherwise putting me 'on blast' for a specific fic. That last one has only happened once (that I know of) and while it wasn't particularly upsetting to me either then or now, it sure was A Trip. This is already a long post, so I won't elaborate here unless someone asks.

9. Do you write smut?

Occasionally. It's one of my less favorite things to write, but I'll do it if the story seems to call for it.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

This rings a very very faint bell, possibly sometime in the aughts I have a vague recollection of encountering one of my own stories on some geocities site under someone else's name, but I don't recall who it was or which fic. Not since then that I know of.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Enough times that I have lost track of all the specific instances, but I think maybe once or twice a year I'll get a request by someone to do a translation or podfic. I do not recall any instance where I said no, but I do prefer to be asked first.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! With @faux-fires, a Tsubasa Chronicle sci-fi AU, many years ago. Alas the currents of life took us in different directions before we could write the next part.

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Don't have an interesting answer for this.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I do have lingering regrets over my abandoned WIPs from Critical Role fandom, Molly's Moving Castle and Fjord Mustang's YEEHAW! Fun and Pony Ranch, both of which fell victim to the march of canon and my eventual departure from the fandom. The latter fic in particular was going to go some wild places.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I think my pacing is excellent, my character voices are usually solid, I can do humor very well and action competently. I can spin a coherent plot and an exciting adventure. I both enjoy and am good at AU worldbuilding and can convey exposition without infodumping, and can do melodrama and angst that packs a solid punch.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Mostly those of career fanfic authors everywhere: I'm weak at developing original characters and largely unmotivated to write plots that don't shadow or mirror the original text in some way. I've also noticed a recurring and growing difficulty with romance; I like romance, but when trying to write a romantic story, often fail to move the romance arc convincingly forward. (See also above answer re: smut.)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Don't have an interesting answer for this.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Gundam Wing, baby! I feel like there was a bit of a GW revival on tumblr recently? Man, now there was a fandom whose fanon vastly overshadowed its canon.

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Fandom - I have a half-written draft for an Encanto fanfic lying around somewhere, if you can believe it; I'd also like to do some ZhanChengXian work, but haven't figured out an approach for it yet. If a romance with two principals is hard for me, imagine how much harder adding a third participant must be!

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

Not gonna pick one! I like some fics more than others, for various different reasons, but none of them stand out as an All Time Favorite.

And that's it! For tagging people... @cerusee, @faux-fires, perhaps @tavina-writes or @nyoomerr?

[how2spell-sandwhich]

this post will contain some anti-p/ap/yton sentiment. if you do not wish to see this, please do not click on the read more.

however, if you headcannon papyrus as aroace, you may like clicking on the read more.

aight i 100 percent do not believe papyrus ever actually canonically had a crush on mettaton during the events of the undertale game.

the purpose of this post is not to make people feel dumb for the interpretation that papyrus does have a crush on mettaton. that interpretation of the canon events is just as valid as the interpretation that he does not. the purpose of this post is simply that i’m tired of hearing people claim that papyrus is canonically attracted to men when there’s no canon attraction from him in the game. ultimately, you do not have to have sexual or romantic attraction to someone to acknowledge that they are attractive or “sexy”, you just have to have noticed or perceived them at some point. i’m aroace and not attracted to anyone, but i can tell that zendaya is hot. it doesn’t mean i’m attracted to her. it just means that i’d use adjectives that imply that she’s good looking to describe her. just like papyrus does with mettaton. when someone claims that papyrus is aroace, there is no erasure happening. the other purpose of this post is i’m exhausted of hearing people try to claim that a major tenet of playing the pacifist route involves shipping p/apyton when i played through it and interpreted both of them as aro and never once even considered that it would be something anyone would even want to ship until i went onto the internet looking for mettaton content.

i headcannon papyrus to be aroace. i believe this is extremely supported in the canon context of the game. this post will not be about defending the aroace interpretation but rather about defending the idea that papyrus is pretending to have a crush on mettaton for popularity.

papyrus' main goal in the events of the game is to become popular. he has decided that undyne is the figurehead of popularity, hence why he thinks becoming a royal guard will grant him popularity. he tries to emulate her behavior often in the hopes of becoming popular in the way he thinks she is.

papyrus is also undyne's best friend. he's who she confides in, theyre who they joke together with. papyrus is fully aware of undynes feelings towards alphys, and he understands the topic of having crushes and desiring romance and sexual relations very well. this is shown clearly in the phone call dialogues where he teases undyne over her crush on alphys, talks about calling her and talking in a sexy voice, etc. he KNOWS what all that shit is and what it entails. but more importantly he knows that it is something his self imposed figurehead of popularity, undyne, finds very important in her life. and he can't fucking relate. but he's gotta pretend, to be like her, to be relatable to popular people like her.

when i chose a "figurehead of popularity" as a child, i ended up also choosing someone else, who was deemed attractive by the population, to fake a crush on so i could be more relatable to people. i ended up choosing dean winchester. the most visually and conventionally attractive famous person/character i could find. well, papyrus chose mettaton. he's an obvious choice, being the only star of the underground. and honestly, he never actually says he has a crush. he’s just saying words and allowing people to assume whatever they want about it. he says mettaton is his favorite sexy rectangle, not that he actually likes mettaton in a romantic or sexual nature. but he’s certainly saying it in a way that would lead people who probably don’t know him very well or don’t pay much attention to him to think that’s what he means. because all throughout the game, he says shit like that, where you won’t know what he means unless you stop and think. it’s for the bit.

but in reality, papyrus has no idea what a desire for romance or a sexual or romantic relationship feels like. he knows what all of these things are and what they entail. but he hasn't gotten a damn clue what its like to want them. its like, if you could not care less about drinking coffee and do not like being caffienated, you can understand coffee all you want, hell, you can understand it so well you can grow and sell it and open a coffee shop and brew every kind of coffee imaginable and become the number one coffee shop in the nation, but ultimatley you do not know what it feels like to want coffee and caffiene in your system.

this is how papyrus is with romance. and you can tell, because he thinks that feelings are supposed to develop only after getting to know the person. no, i don’t think him being unable to force himself to feel attraction to frisk is what supports the idea that he’s aroace. that’s pretty gross, and i’ll block you if you think that’s why. the main point of that is, he thinks romance happens when you force yourself to feel attraction. which is not how it works. if he’d ever felt attraction before, he wouldn’t have bothered, because he would know better than to think it is possible to force attraction to happen. and if you observe allo-romantics or allo-sexuals enough, you can notice that they often tend to want romance and those kinds of relationships before they even know the person really well.

finally, when he is on the phone talking about how cool and sexy mettaton is, the second something becomes even slightly more interesting, he seems to forget that mettaton even exists. he doesn’t really care much about mettaton except that his shows are good. if he did, and if he were attracted to him, that train of thought would have lasted at least a little longer. mettaton is a celebrity that papyrus enjoys watching, but to him, nothing more than that.