#i would say i enjoyed it overall. but that is in the framework of my choosing to see it in the kindest light possible

[prongsmydeer]

Things I liked about My Personal Weatherman (2023):

The much-remarked-upon idea that you can create a Pavlovian response in your partner to find sunny weather erotic if you date a meteorologist who only wants to have sex when it's going to be nice out

The reason for that accidental Pavlovian response being that they didn't have a dryer or extra sheets so the meteorologist wants to be considerate of their bedsheets drying on the clothesline

The absolutely unhinged behaviour of being friends with someone for ages and talking about your fave local celebrity crush with them every day, and never once telling that friend that the celebrity crush is your boyfriend

Two people being so incapable of voicing how they're feeling that despite being in a long-term, committed relationship, sleeping together, going on dates and arguably being engaged, they're still confused about if the other person likes them

The idea that despite all of those communication issues, you can maintain a relationship mostly by merit of being really open to constructive criticism, non-verbal gestures and having an obedience kink

A lot of the non-verbal gestures themselves (holding hands, the buying of extra sheets, smiling more, the feeding each other and caretaking when one person isn't well, the moment where Yoh wants to make a charm to make the rain go away)

The concept of falling in love with someone because you think their cooking is terrible and you find it very endearing and you will never tell them how bad it is

Things I didn't like about My Personal Weatherman (2023):

While it is good that Yoh doesn't actually do everything he is told, having the type of relationship they do (ongoing dynamic of obedience and control) and not talking what your boundaries and needs are is a hard pill to swallow, and can lead to concerns around consent

The repeated themes of jealousy and control without actually interrogating what it means for the characters (i.e. just moving past using a tracking device on your partner, lingering questions about financial and emotional dependence)

Mizuki, like many a protagonist, seems to have no friends in his life beyond his partner, and has a hard time accepting his partner spending time with friends. Get some friends, Mizuki!

Absolutely tired of shows framing interest in someone of the same gender as an exception to the rule rather than a part of a person's orientation

They don't get that much better at communicating as the shows goes on! There's hints of it (establishing desires and needs like being greeted at home, acknowledging the enjoyment of the obedience, asking what traits the other finds most appealing) but by the end, they still have not found a way to be more direct with one another. It leaves the plot feeling a bit listless

[cerastes]

i have not gone through the stream vod of arknights, but did you enjoy eblana and her not-quite-that-much-fucked-up-evilitude?

We didn't read that in the stream but I did read that after the stream by myself and I Liked The Event quite a bit!

It goes without saying that I went into it with a lot of enthusiasm because I've loved Reed as a character since her release, and I really wanted to know What Was Her Deal. We get some of it in the main story, since she's tied to the Victoria arc, but her getting an event specifically as a new character in another class is fascinating because it would, logically speaking, serve as a character piece more so than a big stakes event. This is what was delivered, so I couldn't be happier.

It's not that I dislike big stakes or grander scale stories in Arknights -- the Abyssal Hunters arc and the Sui arc are my favorites! -- it's just, sometimes, I really want to know more about the characters more so than everything that surrounds them. Character pieces help understand the grander scale with a lot more emotional weight, because if done right, I'm now emotionally invested in the character and their overarching goal, not just the goal as the framework for the story. For example, 'Maria Nearl' was first and foremost a character piece, which then informs the overarching Kazimierz arc, so by the time Near Light rolls in, not only do I know what we're fighting for, I know who we're fighting for and why we are doing so, I know Maria's motivations, efforts, struggles, and trials, and so, I am invested in wanting to see her succeed. 'Maria Nearl' being a character piece doesn't mean it ONLY centered on Maria and nothing else, it sets up the scene and the cast, but through the lens of someone in the story as opposed to through the effects of events in the story.

What The Firelight Casts does a little inversion in the overall structure compared to 'Maria Nearl': It's a character piece after the bigger scale narrative. We know what the bigger picture is... But what about this key character in the whole story? And will knowing about this character recontextualize or add even more meat to what we already know? With this in mind, let's talk about it:

Reed detests her circumstances, because Reed had very simple, domestic desires: She wanted a simple, quiet life reading and writing poetry, immersing herself in words and stories. She didn't have any grander aspirations, experiences, or desires beyond "loving poetry" because she was a simple child when she got her head pushed under an ocean of conspiracies and was drowned in them. Since she didn't have the strength of character to really do anything in such a horrifying world, her sister, Eblana, endowed with far stronger character, made her her body double. Reed never questioned it, because she had nothing else going on for her, but the more atrocities she was forced to commit as "The Leader", the more she hated it, and herself for not having it in her to stand up to Dublinn.

Hence why she attempted suicide via standing in an open field that was currently being bombarded. In a turn of events she couldn't have predicted, she was saved by Outcast, and was sent to Rhodes for recovery. She then spent some time in Rhodes Island, recovering, but also, learning. It's noted in her Files that she'd spend a significant amount of time pestering the medical teams in RI for knowledge in the clinical fields. She also requested a new weapon to her specifications, because she hates her spear. This may seem a matter of preference, until you realize that the spear is just Eblana's old weapon, just furthering exactly how much of an un-person she was. She'd use her sister's name, her sister's title, her sister's reputation, her sister's authority, even her sister's damn weapon.

Her chosen codename, "Reed", comes as no surprise: She explicitly says it's because that's how she is: Bland, an accessory, unremarkable, insignificant, like reeds by the river. In this event, we also learn another reason why "Reed" is apt for Loughshinny: Uncontrollably flammable if set ablaze.

Reed was terrified of her own powers. She is a direct descendant of the Red Dragon of Tara, and has insane innate power, namely, power over life itself: The way her flames work is explicitly not fire-aspected Arts: Her Arts allow her to inject pure life into objects and creatures, and the consequence of overcharging skin, muscle tissue, etc with so much life energy so fast and strongly is that it becomes unstable and explodes into raw energy, generating fire as a consequence. It's also why parts of her body, like her tail and her chest, seem to be constantly "ablaze": She is literally overflowing with the essence of life at all times, to the point it hurts her, and coming into contact with her means exploding. She is an almost perfect weapon. She hates it. Even her Rhodes Island evaluation files basically describe her as a stupidly powerful individual.

There's only one thing she doesn't regret about her time in Eblana's Dublinn: She really does care for Tarans, and wants to do anything in her power to help them. The reason she put up with being used and abused in Dublinn (about the only person that showed Reed any kindness in Dublinn was Harmonie, and even then she claims it's because she's interested in Reed and that she may have use for her) was because, Reed told herself, "at least it's for the Tarans". But Reed is not stupid, and over the time, realized that Eblana doesn't mind sacrificing countless Tarans that trust her if it means securing an advantage. That's when Reed decided she'd rather get blown to pieces by artillery rather than continue doing horrible things for someone that doesn't even care about the people that she claims to fight for.

Reed in the event is trying to help this very "little guy", this very scorned Taran, find a foothold. Her story here is, by all means, low stakes for the most part, but it's important in understanding who Reed has finally resolved to become: Her time in Rhodes Island and her new Arts unit allows her to far, far more precisely control her Arts, and now she can use VERY controlled bursts of her Arts to inject life into others without sending their living tissue into disarray, effectively becoming a potent healer. The wounded Tarans even remark that while she didn't give them the most involved treatment for their wounds, they still felt as good as new: It's because Reed isn't doing more than basic first aid, and using this as a disguise to her carefully injecting their wounds with life energy. For Reed, this is massive: She's finally able to like her innate Arts, an intrinsic part of herself, for the first time, because she's finally not using it to turn people to ashes or make them violently explode. She can finally do things differently, and without Eblana pulling her strings, she's finally able to do as she wishes. She ends up creating her very own "Dublinn", with a few Tarans, and looks to the future to do what she never thought she could do, and that's what I really loved: It's a small scale event, but it makes it very clear that from here on, Reed not only has a purpose, she has agency over herself, and finally, finally, she is her own person.

The final "map" of the event was fantastic, narratively speaking: It's a fight with Eblana entirely within her mind, with Eblana wearing a mask in the first phase. Eblana's mechanics involve killing her own units to empower herself, representative of how she's completely willing to kill Tarans for the purposes of Dublinn without any regret, then, in the second phase, she discards her mask and sets every reed in the map ablaze: No matter how much Eblana speaks of loving her and saying she's important to her, Reed has finally come to terms that Eblana WILL simply sacrifice even her when the moment comes, just as she has no issue setting the world on flames if it furthers her desires. The entirety of the map is just Reed finally coming to terms that if she wants to help the Tarans, in her way, she inevitably will come to blows with Eblana at some point, and that there's no space for hesitation, because Eblana sure as hell won't hesitate.

What The Firelight Casts is ultimately a high-impact bildungsroman in which our protagonist finally finds herself, perhaps for the first time ever since she was a toddler, and finally has agency over what she does and why she does it.

There's other parts to the event that I'm not covering that I think were great as well, such as Bagpipe's characterization being pretty damn good and once more winning me over (I started not really caring for her in any way, but her writing is something I like a lot) with how she's clearly not book smart, but is sharp as all hell, and most would call her "naive", when in reality, it's that she has a rock-hard moral compass and will NEVER stop going where it tells her to go, as well as the Taran survivors having plenty of nice scenes, including the incredibly chilling scene where the older lady that can't see in the dark is holding onto Selmon's hand and suddenly she can feel Selmon's blood all over her arm... We just never know what actually it is that killed her in that night skirmish. Fionn's characterization as this cowardly but good chum that will take responsibility no matter what is... Honestly, man, if you hang around sectors with low education and wealth, you know a Fionn or two. Especially when it comes to oppressed and displaced peoples... And the way the narrative portrays the opportunistic and almost callous nature of a bunch of the Taran runaways at times without vilifying it? It's great, the narrative immediately points out, through Reed and Fionn, that yeah, it's just natural because of how awful they've been treated their entire life, there's always people like that in such groups, doing it not out of cruelty, but simply because, damn, they have to survive, and nothing guarantees to them that this stranger with good intentions actually had good intentions. Trying to survive does things to people. This all becomes water under the bridge after Reed properly bonds with them.

I focused on Reed with this post because she's a favorite of mine and I'm happy to see her growth and where she's aiming for, and how she's grown narratively through her experiences and how that reflects on her Arts: True, Arts are a cool power in the narrative, but for Reed, it's more about how her Arts are intrinsically to her self-loathing in the past, and how they reflect her growth as a person: She went from a reluctant walking nuke who could only destroy and justified this by simply saying "it's because my sister knows better and she's doing it for the end goal of the well-being of Tarans... The end justifies the means" to someone who uses her almost unique powers to soothe others after learning some control over them, control that causes physical pain to her, as controlling her immense power feels as if she's searing from the inside, as if her organs were on fire, and comes to believe that, no, the means do in fact matter a whole damn lot, and that she'll one way or another achieve the end while being mindful of the means, even if it means suffering, if it's for her people. Eblana, who also can control life, uses her powers to 'resurrect' and control the dead like puppets, whereas Reed now sears herself from within in order to precisely control this power in order to help those she wants to protect, and drive away those who would hurt her or her friends. In what's a bit of a segregation of narrative and gameplay, whereas she's known for Explosions in gameplay, in the event, Reed exclusively fights with martial arts. In fact, the only time when she actually uses her Arts, she has to suppress them instantly or she was going to just completely incinerate everyone around her. She turns her surroundings to ashes so quickly that Ch'en can only just stare, wide-eyed, at how she completely incinerated a complete installation of military tents in less than a second, with just a small release of her power.

It's great! I love Reed! I wanted to see her growth, a piece focused on her, and it's what I got. I want to know more about the most loving and caring walking nuclear missile in the world with the most hypnotic tail swishes.

[writerswhy]

When I have too much on my mind I start making lists to help me sort it all out. It also serves as a reminder as I have the attention span of a goldfish and the patience of a squirrel: 

Kaname. I think he’s a very important character, especially once you start thinking about the Seireitei, captainhood, and the nature of justice. (I’m rereading Frankenstein and I can’t stop thinking about him. Like, he’s the Seireitei’s monster, and he’s his sword’s [and Kakyō‘s soul] Frankenstein. Also Les Misérables.)

Anon asks! I’m so sorry, I will try to get to them as soon as possible.

There’s an entire section in the Poetics of Space dedicated to poems about forests and I’m thinking of Hinamori here, always: 

“Silently the birds Fly through us. O, I, who long to grow,  I look outside myself, and the tree inside me grows.  This is a tree always destined for grandeur, and, in fact, it propagates this destiny by magnifying everything that surrounds it.”

The nature of zanpaktou and its relationship with the soul, inspired by Jeff Wall’s “Photography and Liquid Intellegence”: 

“I think this is because the mechanical character of the action of opening and closing the shutter—the substratum of instantaneity which persists in all photography—is the concrete opposite kind of movement from, for example, the flow of a liquid.” 

Mmm, maybe it fits kidou more, now that I’m thinking about it.

Soul Society headcanons on time and existing and death and dying. I don’t think it’s canon and this may go against the overall theme, but I like this idea of failing to accommodate for death/spaces left by loss and what that looks like. From shoving ghosts who will reincarnate in a day with those who take decades to do so, to grieving the “wrong” way (like Orihime who thought she was mourning her brother the “right” way - by moving on - only to have that result in her brother’s hollowfication).

Vaguely related, but this GIF set of one of my favorite ships from Until Dawn sparked a little Hitsuhina interest. Like, maybe it’s best to not know everything and experience everything with a person, no matter how much you love them. I’m sure Hinamori would rather enjoy a nice meal with Hitsugaya than fight alongside him or I don’t know, train with the purpose of becoming a captain as well (which I think Hinamori would very much not like or enjoy. That’s not where her ambition lies imo).

Bleach’s orbital laser - the hogyoku! I’m really excited about this one :)

I want to rewrite this post. Maybe break it up into parts.

Aizen and Hinamori. I have a lot of thoughts on these two and they’re the reason my interest in Bleach never truly went away. I already stated that Hinamori saw in Aizen what she was looking for outside Seireitei’s framework as the wonder started fading not just as a captain but as a man, and given she quotes him from time to time post-TYBW (quotes that openly question the order of things), I think Hinamori had an inkling of Aizen’s opinion on SS.

In @sillier-things’s Becoming (one of favorite fics of all time <33), Hinamori says his title rather than his name when they’re together and I love it <33 Love the desecration of his title in the captain quarters.

Also, I don’t know why this stuck with me but it briefly came up during a convo with @graphesthesia (hey friend~) that Aizen never creates his own kidou like Hinamori. I know it’s most likely because he doesn’t need to, but I like to think it’s indicative of his modus operandi to dominate (kinda like the Seireitei). In my very delusional opinion, I see Hinamori as thesis and Aizen as antithesis. In this essay I will - 🧍‍♀️💥🚗

[qqueenofhades]

hiii ❣ it's a bit random but do you have any advice for a beginner writer?

i want to write web series and while i'm going to write for my pleasure, i still would love my work to be good enough to have readers.

but while i read stuff and write fics, i don't think it's enough to help me write an original several episode work. + i want to write in english but i'm not a native english speaker.

do you have a textbook or any resource in mind that you'd reccomend to a beginner writer?

Unfortunately, I don't have one single one-size-fits-all resource or silver-bullet magical writing improvement tool that I can recommend, as everyone learns/practices in different ways and some people swear by things that don't work for other people. I can't speak to the value of Grammarly or any other online tool that promises to make you a better writer, as they can often be used to feed your work into AI, make bizarre and/or flatly incorrect suggestions, or otherwise be confusing and unhelpful for a newbie writer, especially someone whose first language isn't English. If you work better within an interactive framework or just want to see if it does seem useful, then by all means do check it out, but don't feel like you HAVE to use it (or anything else) if it doesn't offer much to your process.

As ever, and unhelpfully, my advice for becoming a better writer is to write a lot and read a lot, in all kinds of genres. There's really no get-good-at-writing-quick hack to suddenly get you where you want to be overnight, but you CAN get there by dint of steady and sustained progress. You say that you already read things and write fics -- which is great! You clearly already have some practice with the overall concept, and you are not starting from total scratch. While a lot of writers have a goal of something they really want to do (i.e. in your case, write a web series) and feel like the first one they write has to be The Real and Good One that they only launch into after appropriate years of practice, that's not the case. You can start writing the series now, if you want to. You'll have to also share it with people who you trust to give you helpful and honest feedback (the mortifying ordeal of being known, etc) while also respecting the skill level that you're currently at and not tearing it down for being up to professional standards or something else that doesn't accurately reflect where you are and what you need feedback on. But yes, you will have to write steadily, share your writing with others, and challenge yourself to read and write in different kinds of texts -- i.e. not just fic or amateur fan content, but literature, nonfiction, genre fiction, academia, special interest subjects, and so forth. Writing by professionally published authors is not necessarily always better, but it does give you a sense as to what is deemed marketable, what the general skill level and standard is, and what you might like to emulate or try to do with your own projects.

Also, as a side note, I think that plenty of amateur or fan-written content on the internet is not necessarily outstandingly good, technically speaking. This doesn't mean it's bad -- plenty of people read and enjoy it anyway, and aren't coming in expecting it to be an award-winning piece of fine literature. Standards for what is good, enjoyable, or well-written vary dramatically by genre, medium, what your audience is expecting and/or paying for, and so forth. Some people also have high and/or picky standards for what they will read or what they find enjoyable to read, while others will just go along with the story and don't care as much about the format or technical prowess or so forth. So it is very much a subjective measurement, and if you get to a place where you enjoy reading your own stuff and find it engaging -- regardless of what arbitrary skill level you feel yourself to be on -- chances are that other people will too.

[subzeroparade]

In which decade bloodborne set approximately? I know what this is fantasy and sir miyazaki likes to combine things from different periods but which will most likely be exact decade or multiple decades? I am starting a new hobby, creating historical garments. Today me and my friend were chatting, and i showed her edwardian combinations underwear. You can google it, such i piece of art. My friend also said how Maria would look beautiful in it. But i thought what it is too late for our lady huntress's life to wear it. So what your thoughts on period game set in?

That sounds delightful! Enjoy :)

I don’t think it’s meant to be any specific period with any exactitude. I wouldn’t look at it as a painting, anyway, where one could identify the lace and tell you what portion of the middle class wore this lace during what decade of Victoria’s reign. I think everything is very generally Victorian-adjacent, and not worth niggling over this hat is technically Georgian or this coat is technically Edwardian. The tricorne hat was supposedly falling out of favour by the Napoleonic wars, and yet it’s THE headpiece par excellence; while the Doll’s bonnet puts her a little further in the early/mid 19th. The Cainhurst silhouette is at once strikingly and bizarrely 18th century French, and also not at all. We also know BB borrows A TON from Christophe Gans’ hilarious cringefest Le pacte des loups which is much more overtly pre-(French)-Revolution in aesthetic/costumes. 

So to me, there’s no hard and fast rule based on the overarching aesthetic, except maybe “Victorian-adjacent fantasy”. It feel as if the narrative team threw everything in there from Matthew Gregory Lewis’ The Monk (1796) to Stoker’s Dracula (1899) - this goes without even mentioning Lovecraft - and already we are far beyond the length of Victoria’s reign. The same goes for the architecture - while generally Neo-gothic/gothic revival, there is a ton of other European influence as well.

I made a post about this concerning Game of Thrones a little while back, which is to say some of the more brilliant art directors/costume designers will know exactly what they are sourcing overall and then allow themselves a creative freedom above that historically recognisable framework, so the visuals seem at once glaringly familiar yet not constrained to accuracy.

Tldr; you can dress ‘em up however you like. 

in conclusion watch Le pacte des loups because even if it's a joke the costumes are great and Vincent Cassel is absolutely hammy in it. •‿•

[gracehosborn]

I would love to hear why you didn't necessarily like My Dear Hamilton!

Hi! Thank you for the ask! So so sorry it took me forever to answer this!

A disclaimer before I explain things: this isn’t an attack on the authors, I wish them the best, but rather this is just me discussing their novel as a piece of literature. It has also been awhile since I read this novel, so my memory may be fuzzy. I also have no ill-will against anyone who enjoys this novel—if it makes you happy, I am glad—these are just my personal opinions as a result of my experience reading the novel.

TL;DR is that I believe the authors poorly handled Eliza’s POV, Hamilton’s characterization, and the overall narrative per the story they set out to tell. A longer explanation of these issues is under the cut.

As I am a writer and aspiring author myself, I will be looking at this from that perspective.

My Dear Hamilton is framed as Elizabeth Hamilton meeting with James Monroe in her old age, and beginning to discuss forgiveness in relation to the Reynolds affair, whereupon the narrative shifts to give us the context of Eliza’s life from her childhood up until this point, then it shifts once more to conclude this moment. This itself is an interesting framework: telling the story through a lens of reflection by the protagonist, however there are pitfalls with this framing that this novel unfortunately falls into. Namely, (and at least in my opinion) there is an excess of telling the reader what is happening, rather than having the reader experience Eliza’s life alongside her. This isn’t to say that we should have to be shown every aspect of the story, but rather there should have been a better blend of these. To add to this, the past tense of this novel led to some very poorly done foreshadowing of events to come, and these moments felt very jarring and at times pulled me out of the story, or took away from the reaction that those later events had intended for me to have as a reader.

I would not have minded this excess if not for a stark fact that I realized while reading: Eliza isn’t the main character of her own story. That would be her husband, Alexander, as the book title itself implies. This arrangement is an interesting device, however it only works well if the protagonist (the person who you are experiencing the story from—in this case being Eliza) is directly beside the MC throughout the main character’s journey. Due to societal rules, Elizabeth did not get to experience what Alexander did right alongside him, therefore leaving the reader to be told again and again what was happening with Alexander (or people and things connected to him that Eliza couldn’t herself experience or talk to) as Eliza reacted—which isn’t super interesting in my opinion. And to this point, Eliza never established a goal for herself throughout the story that did not have some connection back to her husband, creating a narrative that was befallen by lots of repetition and telling versus showing. This in my opinion led to Eliza not feeling like her own character, and rather a vehicle for the audience to read second-hand what was going on in this world. There was nothing particular that stood out to me and made me want to care about Eliza, and I became more interested in what Alexander was doing off-page as the story went on.

A large focus of the book was of course the romance between Elizabeth and Alexander, and this in it of itself was alright, however I feel like the authors relied too much on physical aspects (notably adding a ton of sex scenes), and not giving a proper balance to our characters getting to know one another in conversation.

This was not helped by the fact that strangely, I hardly remeber there being any arguments between Alexander and Eliza. The only two that I remeber taking up a large portion of the story were in the aftermath of Alexander stepping down from the office of Treasury and challenging the entire Republican Party to a duel, and of course the “Reynolds Pamphlet”. When in reality, they very well may have had arguments and disagreements over all sorts of things—as this is only natural, and would have helped to make this romance more believable. For instance, they likely would have argued over the fact that upon the capital city being moved to Philadelphia, they would have to pack up their family of seven (Eliza and Alexander, plus their four biological children and Fraunces Antil, the little girl they took in) and move from New York City—their home of eight years. Furthermore, when we consider this from Eliza’s perspective, her biological family were only a few day’s travel away for that time. Having to move further away from them due to her husband’s work must have been hard on her, and could have certainly led to some anger. However, this is not acknowledged within the novel.

All of this isn’t to say that I think giving focus towards the experiences of women during historical time periods is bad. I actually think this should be done more, as we cannot fully understand a time period without understanding the perspectives and roles of every person involved. This said, the largest pitfall of My Dear Hamilton is that I belive the novel was set too early and therefore did not accomplish the goal the authors had set out. The large majority of the novel takes its time following the love story and marriage of Eliza and Alexander, and only the last hundred pages or so are truly focused on Eliza as the central figure—as these are set after Alexander’s duel with Aaron Burr. Having thought long and hard about this, I feel like there would be three ways to better tell Elizabeth’s story in this format:

Easy (for what is here):

Split this book into three sections. Take the romance (the current main plot as the novel is based around Eliza recalling her life with Alexander) and replace that status with something more internal to Eliza's character. Section one is a few chapters diving into her childhood, section two dealing with her relationship with Alexander, and section three is post duel.

Moderately Difficult:

Take this main plot and replace it with Eliza in her older age hunting down Hamilton's papers for publication. You can save all of these romantic moments in the form of relevant flashbacks. Side plots include: orphanage/other charity work, the actual writing of Hamilton's biography (Eliza struggling to keep lo one on the job, and she and her son John Church Hamilton, according to John’s daughter, had frequent fights due to creative differences).

Difficult:

Rewrite the current book from Alexander's perspective, since much of the novel is focused on him anyway. But really due to the fact that, in terms of character, he's more active whereas Eliza has done little in this regard and the plot is just falling in her lap. No timeline changes needed. You can still have the romance be the main plot, but it's helped by the fact that Alexander actively made later decisions in what he did within the fields of law and politics which would add both more depth and some subplots to the narrative.

The second option would in my opinion be best suited for telling Eliza’s story as relates to her impact on history. For without her efforts, we wouldn’t have such an interest in her husband’s historical impact or person. I would love to see a novel like that idea someday. I feel like it would be a very compelling narrative and with lots of care could provide us with a proper and in-depth look at Elizabeth which she deserves.

This got much longer than I thought it would, but I hope it is at least enjoyable to read. As I said at the tip of this post, you’re welcome of course to like or even love My Dear Hamilton, but these are just my personal thoughts from my own experience of reading the novel.

[cyberbun]

Thoughts on Age of Empires 2?

I think you know them quite well by now! But it has been really interesting to go back and play this again after so many years. In a way, along with Starcraft and Warcraft 2 but I have no real memory of that one it was a foundational game for me to get into RTSs back in the day, and there's something really nostalgic going back to it especially considering how ubiquitous it was back in the day!

It was one of those games that was everywhere, in like, every computer lab and every internet cafe back in my Youth (along with other Third World Net Cafe Classics like Tibia online or Mu and the rest of the rotating cast of kmmos), yet I never got the chance to get too to into it, not having stable computer access for a long time meant I could only play it very few times.

Which makes getting back into it now kind of fascinating! because i never learned how the game is properly played or how the competitive metagame is supposed to work feels like taking a new spin on something familiar in a way I really like - especially because I used to find it really hard to get back into these games due to feeling essentially Not Smart Enough to learn how to play it Correctly... Yet, it's been a lot easier than I thought, once I know what I'm doing, and I really like having a framework of actions to take that I can then deviate from as needed! It gives me a really good foundation to build game knowledge on top of and makes me appreciate the little nuances between factions a lot better.

And that's the other thing - as someone who primarily played stuff like starcraft or command and conquer, the idea of a more standardized game where every faction has ~more or less the same roster is very appealing to me, and it really highlights the ways in which they get to be different and unique. It inherently calls attention to the nuances of the game and guides you towards strategizing in specific ways that are very dependent on systems knowledge without actually having to internalize all of that at once - i.e., if you're playing, say, franks, you know your focus will be cavalry, so you'll be building that primarily and then strategizing around that primary focus in order to patch up the rock-paper-scissors weaknesses of your army; which in turn forces you to internalize a lot of unit dynamics very quickly (though, in fairness, i do think the harder counters in aoe3 do a better job of this, but that's a different game altogether).

To put it in simpler terms: I feel like I understand completely why the game has such an enduring presence in RTS spaces and why it has such a vibrant community surrounding it, and I can better appreciate now how well balanced and tweaked the whole thing is, even if this comes in the name of taking... massive liberties with historical accuracy in some places (Incan eagles...), it's a lot like chess, you have to not think about it too much I think, and it makes some of the places where they get to show off their research that much more interesting. Overall, I'm really enjoying it! I refuse to play against another human being, though. I would get crushed.

Also give me back the old main menu!!!

[dazaiapologism]

feel slightly insane for asking this but like you really like bsd right. yeah so i kinda wanna read it cuz like lame suicidal ideation bitches appeal to me LOL. but uh i was wondering like 2 things. so like sorry if these r weird questions but like. so. do youlike know if theres a planned end to the story or if its more of a gonna keep going till people stop reading kinda thing?? ( •3•) also like is it like Weird about the every character is a real author thing?? like on a scale of this is just osamu dazai as an anime boy to entirely his own heavily inspired thing separate from the real man???

okay sorry again if any of this was weird hope ur having a real nice day and keeping as healthy as possible. okay thank you bye

ok first question: i think bsd will end i think there's a specific narrative arc being told about atsushi and when its over the series hopefully will end. i think this is likely.

and second: bsd does not try to claim its characters Literally Are the authors, some are more closely tied to their author and others are more to the character. like fitzgerald has a wife named zelda. john steinbeck literally has grapes of wrath growing out of him. and so on.

the problem with trying to make an anime character based on osamu dazai's work that is separate from the Actual Guy is that actual dazai novels are so fundamentally autobiographical that there's no way to not make the anime character a reflection of the original guy. i would say bsd dazai is closest to yozo oba, who is a named character who appears a couple times in dazai's especially autobiographical novels.

is bungo stray dogs weird about how it leans on real authors? hard to say, without knowing what you think of as weird. I think it commits to depicting the authors through the lens of their work. sometimes this is frustrating in a way thats hard to ignore (tanizaki, mori, hunting dogs). i don't think it's on the same level as hetalia, where it's like actively trying to rehabilitate the images of real historical fascist states. i also don't think it's trying to further japanese nationalism, so much as depict many different perspectives of living in a pretty specific social and political framework without passing judgement on those perspectives. i enjoy watching it overall (mostly just the chuuya bits) but it's not something i actively try to get all my friends and neighbors to watch.

none of this was weird + thanks for giving me an outlet for thinking about this

[violentviolette]

Do you have any recommendations for key topics to research on to better understand human psyche/psychology in general ? Things like "emotional literacy" and "mental frameworking" if that helps narrow down this ask.

oh definitly for reading i think the original dbt manual is a genuinely helpful starting point even if i dont always vibe with the language. trauma recovery stuff i also found very helpful like Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson and The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. neither are perfect and i have my issues with certain bits of each, but i think the insight they give outweighs the criticisms i have I also really enjoyed Against Empathy: A Case For Radical Compassion by Paul Bloom, i havent finished it yet but ive watched his talks and read his interviews and i overall really vibe with the things he has to say. im planning to read his other book Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil soon anything by Jackson Katz is a really good place for men to start to dig into things, his ted talk is also really good and accessable way to get introduced to his stuff

I also really like watching youtube essays and i find that there's some really good discussions being had in that sphere so some of my favorite channels for that would be

Khadija Mbowe

Philosophytube

Innuendo Studios

Tee Nior

Hbomberguy

Kat Blaque

Verilybitchy

Healthcare triage

and after that i honestly recommend just going to jstore or googlescholar and searching through papers. look for studies and get used to reading through them and understanding what they mean and how to tell a good one from a bad one. and then just go wild and read everything u think is interesting ive found so many interesting aspd studies and research papers that dont get much mainline press and so if ur just googling u wont ever really find them but if ur specifically searching in research oriented sites and places that are compiling meta data studies then u can really find some good work. thats another tip, look for meta data studies and studies whose sole point is to compile all the current research and see what the trends in it reveal and what the overarching consensus on things are

[tamelee]

Hello again! I’m so sorry to bother you in any way!

I am really, really wanting to write something based off one of your works, and I was hoping to ask if there were any you prefer over the others. Just in your own opinion; maybe ones you’re more confident of right now. I was wanting to at least try and build off something you yourself might actually enjoy reading about, but if not that won’t dampen my spirits! (No worries! Reading is agony!) I totally understand if reading isn’t your thing. It isn’t mine either, really. Lol. But just in case, I wanted to ask.

If the thought of someone being able to write a story off of your art is more like what you would hope than someone expounding an idea you’ve had on ice for said piece, I completely understand and respect that! (I am an absolute hermit and the internet still scares me, so you are welcome to flee my presence. I do it every Friday.)

You just draw Sasuke and Naruto in the most absolutely most perfect ways my brain likes and I am a little bit feral to write about it, lol. If you happened to glance my deplorable works I have up at the moment, I do have at least a few decently lighthearted ones. I was thinking something soft but complex might go nice with your painting style.

Just as a tiny whisper: I often think about your art of Sasuke in that fantasy design; it was genuinely breathtaking, and now I use that as my base framework for how his face semi-realistically could look….. I love his cute little nosey. It lives rent free in my head from sunrise to sunset and it makes each one better. 🥹

I’m so sorry to ask this through—well…—ask. You’re more than welcome to answer publicly! I just like checking if there’s anything the artist would like to see written about their work, and if not then I will just go Limitless(ly Cute) Hog Wild on it.

Hi @leechdoggy 💕!

I am never bothered, dw. Also, I’m listening to “Flying Light” OST while typing this which makes it all the more epic. 

Ah, I think it’s beautiful if a fandom can get inspired from each other right? Fan-art creating more fan-fiction and vice versa.. I’d say go for it! For any which you like. Don’t let my thoughts I had about my art myself while drawing limit you as you interpret it in any way for your words/story. Especially if that is how you feel about it. I’ll accept “soft and complex” gratefully, just your kindness overall, it makes me happy- thankyou 🥰 

I’m also glad to hear about the Sasuke fantasy design art, all the talk about my art style really dampened my spirits lately but you made my sunrise to sunset better.. 

We seem to have a lot in common, I too am a hermit (currently at least) and the internet did show me it can be scary as well, but it is Friday today. I have no intention of fleeing you and I do enjoy reading a lot. I wonder, is your name the same on Ao3? I’ll definitely check it out! Happy writing 🧡

[cptnpike]

noted canon divergences on this blog to snw.

as i've explained, i'm not the biggest fan of how snw writes pike, but i am a huge fan of snw itself. i enjoy the show and have rewatched it more times than i care to admit. to go over each canon divergence would be exhausting, i think overall i'd say, i'm keeping the events of the show, but with a few slight corrections, mostly of behaviour and bearing.

for example, on the comet episode, pike would be incredibly more respectful towards the alien species, and a lot more wary of taking the comet out of the path due to religious observance. he would eventually go with the plan, but only after meditating about the importance of religion on culture and development.

overall, he would be a lot less willing to call uhura nyota on the bridge unless there is something serious going on. contrast that to the scene on discovery when airiam is choking michael, and he calls her burnham a few times until worry overwhelms him and he calls her michael. he is a professional, and unless exceedingly worried, he defaults to rank or last name.

i think the biggest difference of note to the blog is that in my head, it would take months for una's process to begin, and during this time, he'd still be captain, heading missions, doing his job. he is the one to rescue la'an, and asks her to step in as first officer until una comes back.

whether una comes back or not depends. with @owedfavors's una she does not, but with others, i won't force this canon unless the person is curious. in all timelines, chris is the one to rescue la'an and he asks her to step in as first officer. she is promoted to lieutenant commander to take the position.

if una comes back, la'an returns to her position as chief of security, and chris encourages her to go to another ship, as there is little chance for her to grow on enterprise considering him and una are a package deal. if una does not, the temporary chief of security he asked to be assigned (balfour cousland, who is absolutely a canon character on snw, idk what you all are talking about) when la'an becomes first officer, fills in as chief of security in until he retires from starfleet.

la’an stays as his first officer until he is promoted to fleet captain. he never shares the intimacy and trust he shared with una, rarely calls her number one (when it happens, it is an accident, a force of habit and it leaves a dirty taste in his mouth). however, he trusts her implicitly, and is very happy to have her by his side. her council and her strong opinions are always welcome.

everything, of course, is always up for discussion when it comes to specific threads, but generally, this is the framework i have!

[ytpsommelier]

Orrenlane's "The Couch Heard 'Round the Alley"

Requested by: @boarself

You've probably seen a clip of this one if you've been on Tumblr in the past few months, it was making the rounds not too long ago. But I'll spare you the history lesson, and not just because I forgot when that was. Instead, let's cut to the chase immediately: does it live up to the hype, or is it one of those things best enjoyed in small portions?

Of all the YTP I've seen, I have to say, this one has both the highest high points and the lowest lows. There is absolutely no reason for it to be 12 minutes long. There's about 4 minutes of actual jokes, and about 8 of gibberish, loud noises, and word reversal 'jokes' that don't even make sense. Reversing something to say 'sauce' is funny, we all know what sauce is. Reversing something to say 'skelsibonjovlet' is not. (Usually, it depends on the context, but I'm not gonna delve to deep into that here.)

A truly enormous portion of the jokes are just people speaking gibberish. That's fine conceptually, it's a YTP after all, but there's limits to everything, and a solid half the runtime doesn't even KIND OF cohere. In my opinion, YTPs work because they modify the framework of their source material, still telling (kind of) a story but adding jokes and such, going coherent for just a bit to catch you off guard with some kind of absurd sex joke.

This YTP, sadly, has basically no semblance of even a mockery of a plot, so the truly good moments are overshadowed by the two minutes of loud random noises. I would cut it more slack if it were released in the mid 2010s, but this was released last year.

The jokes that are actually coherent are quite good though, and the visual gags are very well done. It's a shame there's not more of them, but it's clear a lot of work was put into the ones that were added. The sentence mixing is very good, but there's not enough of it for it to actually stand out. And hell, changing a sentence to "I cum in the ass" or something like that is a little overdone at this point if I'm to be brutally honest.

There's also one major thing I take issue with in this YTP, which may be just personal preference- the loud noises. There's a saying among some people that "loud = funny", and while loud things CAN be funny, they are not funny because they're loud. They're funny because they're unexpected or funny on their own. Unfortunately, most of the loud noises in this YTP come at the end of long strings of complete gibberish, which is entirely where you'd expect a loud noise. So mostly they're just unpleasant.

All of the individual elements of the YTP are solid, but like a cake made with 50% vanilla extract, even if the ingredients are fine, it's just not that good.

So what do I rate it?

3/10

"The Couch Heard 'Round the Alley" is a very good way to show how YTPs as a medium have evolved over time. In the 2010s, this would have been borderline revolutionary. The editing is very well done, the randomness would suit the online culture of that time better.

But times have changed. YTP's dadaist era has come to a close, and while echoes of it still remain, we've moved past post-structuralism into a sort of post-post-structuralism. Things have to make a bit of sense for it to be funny when they don't.

So, it's not terrible, and I'm not sure I'd call it 'bad' either, but it's definitely not good.

Overall, I'd say there's a lot of potential here, but you're basically getting the full experience just from the clips you see on Tumblr. The rest of the video is pretty much just filler, a hastily-built staircase to a mountain's peak. But of course, what's the point of a staircase if it collapses under most people's feet before they get to the top?

To use a less absurd metaphor, it's like a poorly-mixed mint-Oreo ice cream. There's some really tasty bits, but in between is a bunch of tasteless junk you have to eat anyways since it's part of the package.

Despite all that I've said, I do think this YTP is worth watching, at least for the good bits if you haven't seen them on Tumblr. Definitely don't use headphones for this one. Don't watch it with other people around, though. There's a surplus of sex jokes so flaccid I didn't even bother mentioning them.

[poxinox]

(NSFW rambling) Is Elidibus a top or bottom?

He doesn’t even know what day of the week it is.

On a serious note, I find it hard to categorize these matters in the framework of top/bottom, much like gender, I don’t quite like operating in such a binary system. You’re free to indulge your headcanons as you like but just understand that it is all quite fluid for me and my OCs.  Sex is not a 1:1 universal experience both in the real world and fiction and I quite like engaging with sex as a tool for character development. I also don’t subscribe to the idea that one’s kinks, preferences etc. in the bedroom are a 1:1 reflection of someone’s behavior/views outside the bedroom either. Its fun to brainstorm how a fictional person may react to certain situations/scenarios but I don’t think there is any consistent rationale to it.

Anyway.

Elidibus is very sensitive to skin-to-skin contact. So much so that a moment with my OC where she was holding and caressing his bare hand had him all hot and bothered. I should add that this action did not give him an immediate hard erection, but it was a bit titillating, it was bringing sensations and emotions he had hardly experienced in many years. Compounded with him never having any real affection afforded to him for who knows how long; intimacy overall is very intense for him. Slow and steady exposure to these things is key. Though that is not to say the desire and cravings do not boil over at times. Elidibus would usually be receiving or being acted upon between moments of trying to reciprocate the gestures but at times he lets that final wall break down. It’s as if he remembers how it all works again. How to feel and be intimate with another person truly instead of going through the motions. Gripping the other’s waist tightly, grinding his body, pumping his hips, and letting out those raw sounds of passion. I can even imagine the faintest drop of saliva falling from his lips to land on the other’s back between haggard breaths and the brunt of his thrusts. It sweaty, heated, and last a while, which is otherwise not the case for him usually. Elidibus at first doesn’t last very long when things get really heated up. Often, it’s always very prolonged foreplay and intimate touches. Kissing all over, receiving a mix of gentle and firm bites from his lover. Maybe escalating to having a finger or two inserted in him to help move the evening along. Of course, inexperience is a big factor at play too. I can very much imagine the questions of concern if he’s doing it ‘right’ or being fretful over if he’s causing pain to the other person. Kissing is awkward, too much tongue? Should he bite on their lips? How long should he hold it? Even guiding him to give oral is a process. Wondering if he should use teeth? Where should his tongue go? Struggling to take it all in only to be reminded he doesn’t have to. Shocked and coughing when the other finishes into his mouth, experiencing that bittersweet taste on his tongue for the first time. The strange consistency and warmth spilling onto his skin. Sometimes intercourse doesn’t even happen. Mutual masturbation, foreplay, oral, massages etc. all culminate and make the experience come together. Taking advantage of the quieter moments to unwind and let go. Other times it’s a heated spur of the moment session. Barely any clothes come off, just him letting the other undress him just enough to have their moment wherever they are. Taking him from behind all the robes and mask. The mask often stays on during these moments too. It takes a bit of coaxing to have him expose much of himself to begin with. Getting him to even shed the robes at all is a marvel and even when down to nothing he’ll sometimes still insist on wearing the mask.

Though while we’re here, we can delve into intimate but less explicit private moments. My OC enjoys trying to get to enjoy the smaller things such as letting her comb his hair, rub his shoulders, massage lotion into his skin and so on. She enjoys helping him with a grooming routine, doing a basic manicure as he stares off into space. Whispers in the ear, caressing his cheek, staying close together while mostly naked. Maybe convincing him to have a bath with her.

I just enjoy how Elidibus would handle intimacy compared to other ascians. It is much more about the slowburn. The repression and exploration rather than two horny people going raw at each other.(Which I enjoy too but I do like variety as well.) I sat on this ship for a long time but I always felt oddly drawn and intrigued by him.

I know there is an inevitable tragedy to the ascians overall. As much as you can understand the pain and logic behind their plans, they still want to obliterate uncountable innocents for a world that can never be whole again. Its that black cloud that looms over my ships for them that I find interesting to work with.

[citrinekay]

Fic writer interview

Thanks for tagging me @l-tyrell !

name/nicknames: Kay

fandoms: Right now, Beyond Evil. I have a tendency to let one thing consume my soul for a year or more at a time and I can't be distracted by anything else lol two shots?: I have written one two-shot, steel trap teeth, which was supposed to be a one-shot. if I happen to write a two-shot it's usually because, like that fic, what I've written gets too long for one chapter most popular multi-chapter fic: the bitter and the sweet. I'm happy with this statistic. it was the first fic I wrote after finishing the show for the first time and was full of emotions about jwds; I think this fic is representative of the impact that experience had on me lol actual worst part of writing?: I'm honestly stumped as to how to answer this without sounding stuck-up. I love writing. The worst part of writing is the time when I am not writing or having writer's block 😅 I joke quite frequently that I wish I could quit my day job and write fanfic for a living lol how you choose your titles: usually I take some line or word from within the story. occasionally I'll use a song title or a quote if I can't come up with something. i prefer for it to be my own words, though do you outline? hahaha nope. all my plans are in my head. I start from chapter one and take it from there. I usually have a tentative framework that includes certain milestones that I know need to happen throughout the fic and a strong concept for the ending but everything else gets decided in the heat of the moment ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?: I have the idea for a fairly elaborate jwds The Villainess AU that is just problematic enough for me to be excited at the thought of writing it but idk if I will ever have the time or energy. real life/work is a bitch tbh callouts @ me: You do not need to be productive 100% of the time. best writing traits: Style-wise, I would say my descriptions. I enjoy trying to paint a picture of the scene for the readers and convey what I'm imagining in my own head to them. Overall, I would say characterization and accessing the emotional aspect of storytelling. I love writing angst and resolution of it. It's cathartic. spicy tangential opinion: I have nothing controversial to say lol I just stay in my little corner and write for myself and my friends and have a fucking ball. fandom is for fun and if stops being fun, then it's time to leave. I'll tag my dearest @bambikieren and @willgrahambf

[villains4hire]

Stella's Minions Info. (This isn't their bios)

I'm aware that some of these concepts are cheesy or cartoonishly evil? But I'm honestly just going in line with the show kinda, but with my stuff at this point, as I'm going to do it my way. And so I might be a little ham-fisted with it as eh, I just want something to bridge to Stella with at this point or develop something. As this is to give a framework as well, I am fine with even existing characters getting involved with her, such as Overlords, other Goetia, Sins, or even such as with one of my best friends who also has a Stella that is her sister and her Octavia being her niece.

For strong characters such as Overlords and Higher: if you want specific dynamics with these characters, or to overall even antagonize Stella? You need to talk with me first, as I will probably say no to anyone that outranks Stella to cease or stop her operations. As I understand, some characters conflict in ideals or how they want the Goetia to act or function, but I will not comply. I will hear someone out such as a Lucifer, Lilith and so on etc, but I reserve the right to tell you no. As I will say I don't agree with everyone in the fandom or even Vizi how some things are done, but I see the merit, passion and other things behind it, so I'm more than willing to talk or work something out potentially.

Minion Info:

Each Minion of Stella's that's a static force is: Buck Barley, Ziggy Sleeze, Sal, and Grawl Shank'Shaw. These beings are to serve as a bridge to Stella to build favor with from afar for characters that cannot easily reach her in terms of status- even such as an Imp Demon being the hardest for her to interact with/gain favor with. Granted, I won't ship her with one due to the scandalous nature in the eyes of the Goetia, a best friend, however, is more than fine such as I imagine she's on semi-friendly terms with Striker for example.

For the sake of ease, her minions have this power-scaling as a reference: Buck Barley: Overlord or Higher but below Goetia and Sins. Ziggy Sleeze: Has the utility of an Overlord or Higher but lacks the raw power of an Overlord or otherwise. In a direct fight she'd be more around that of an Elite Demon if she had to fight.

Grawl Shank'shaw: Is that of an Elite Demon if he had to fight. Underneath an Overlord for scaling. Sal: Is that of an Elite Demon that leads a hit squad when he's needed, but otherwise is simply a guard dog for Stella's Mansion and does constant patrolling. Underneath an Overlord for scaling.

-

Minion Purpose: This is a ROUGH summary of the many things we could do with these characters, Stella, or otherwise.

Buck Barley: Chief Foreman to Stella's Canneries that turns excess sinners into Insta-Sin or SPIM at a cheap, affordable, and extremely good-tasting food for Hellborn. It notably doesn't taste that good to sinner demons, but a stronger one like Alastor they would enjoy it, as the more demonic you are? The better it is, so it's rather popular as a Hellborn quick food or to use in recipes as a cheap way to make most dishes taste good. As it's a soul-infused meat processed through corrupted, angelic blades to help consolidate power among Hellborn and Sinner Demons. The motto being said at the end to any ADs done by Stella, 'Reject Redemption, embrace tradition. I'm Stella Goetia and I approve this message.' Which is in line of dealing with the excess sinner problem, as there is a CONSTANT flow of them and realistically if we're to look at how many people have died and are dying? It is pretty realistic as a concept that there'd be multiple, unethical ways to deal with it, while also rallying people behind a cause and in line with the ways of Hell, especially traditional Hell being more torture based for Sinners back in the day, probably.

Buck Barley ensures operations run smoothly, trains new workers to his specific cannery if your character, for plot reasons, gets placed there. And also to train other Hellborn and Sinners who can be trusted to gather Sinner Demons. How to identify a greenhorn or weaker sinner demon. Buck Barley isn't his original name, but one he took when the industrial revolution began and began engineering new operations for Stella that recently came into production for modern times. It isn't unheard of using Imps or other Hellborn that are in debt to Mammon or other Greed Demon CEOs for example using Stella's canneries as a means to sell the debt they can't collect on or will ever be paid back.

Buck Barley is bounded by Stella but cannot reincarnate if killed by angelic weaponry.

-

Ziggy Sleeze: One of the many Land Lords of Hell, but a prominent one for Stella that ensures Sinner Demons and even Hellborn are managed, placed and accommodated for and is constantly overworked, slightly stressed, and a touch paranoid and a bit jittery and energetic. As they've evicted many people who can't pay or rats them out to loan sharks that bring them to Stella's canneries to dispose of them. Then runs orphanages to which the kids whether Sinner Demon, Hellborn or otherwise are raised until they're released, such as Loona being adopted by Blitzo for example. Her secondary function is to serve as a spymaster with her many rat swarms she collects info on for the greed demons, the cannery or otherwise to people that have been deemed a threat.

Ziggy would most likely have you work for her in helping deal with the problems of housing Sinner Demons, creatures that naturally occur in Hell, or just the weird, odd stuff that happens sometimes or unexplainable circumstances, or even be the one to get work permits to work in other rings if a Sinner Demon though under watch and binded by her. Or possibly to even guard, evict or otherwise.

Ziggy Sleeze is bounded by Stella but cannot reincarnate if killed by angelic weaponry.

-

Grawl Shank'shaw: A prominent Enforcer when carrying out a writ of debt, but a Lawyer first. He leads a group of Loan Sharks for his CEO's company to whom both answer to Stella out of the many other CEOs that work for the Goetia in Hell. But also can serve as legal counsel, how to proceed, or even payment plans for debt or how to pay in other ways such as working for him, one of the other minions, or even another rper with both parties consenting for example. He can also serve as a Lawyer in a Courtroom Rp for an Ace Attorney kind of jokey rp, to which I have zero idea how that works other than from a video game, so we're just gonna roll with that and have fun with it.

Grawl is probably the 'nicest and most polite' of the four, funnily enough, though he'd still break your knee-caps if you couldn't pay the first time and refuse to work, he'd just apologize afterward awkwardly, then read you your rights. Then probably how it will end if you don't pay, or find a solution to pay or agree to one then wish you well despite doing that. On that note, characters can also take loans out from Grawl, get IDs done, legal verification, etc. Pretty much whatever you could think of.

Grawl Shank'shaw is not bound to Stella, but he has too much at stake in his company for his CEO and ambition for her to worry about him ever defying her. He will not reincarnate if killed by angelic weaponry.

-

Sal: A quiet manservant and guard hound, he and his brethren are an elite breed of Ice Hellhounds. Sal has served Stella far longer than most lower caste Hellborn or Sinner Demons could ever imagine being alive. Anyone as part of Stella's personal forces or enlisted, usually get trained directly by him. He's rather hands-on, strict, brutal but caring, as he does what he does to ensure you survive Stella's standards. Sal is rather quiet, but friendly off-duty, he doesn't say much, though it's clear there's a resignation to his own fate even if he's arguably treated well.

More often than not? If someone that's below the caste of the Goetia and has a dead to rights on them? Armed with automatic firearms that are corrupted angelic weaponry? Sal and his squads will usually serve as a hit-squad if pissing off Stella enough or interfering with her designs, such as Grawl needing backup serving a writ, Ziggy needs someone evicted that's proving too much of a problem for her own personal forces or Buck needs some extra muscle. Then providing her higher servants or Concubines with personal protection, aid, and counsel along with Stella otherwise, to whom he rarely leaves her side and quietly always observing in the background, usually armed.

Sal very much is to give a character who's an rper to help manage Stella's empire with her, if say replacing Stolas as one of her Concubines until assigned another Prince.

He is bound to Stella in the highest regards, he can reincarnate from Stella even if killed by angelic weaponry.

-

Minerva: a sadistic, fun sorcerer who'd probably fuck around with you if she liked you in terms of using her curses and magic on people for your and her own entertainment. Then probably tell you jokes, pal around and all around is an entertainer with her magic. But on the other end of things? Works rather well as a companion, buffer and utility magic user while dishing out heavy harm in the backlines or acting as a symbiote and so on. Definitely would follow the orders of Stella's family, lovers and close friends if given direction by Stella to include them in terms of orders as a hybrid.

I'm up to this character serving other beings as well or her powers being used in other ways, plots because she's kind of flexible that way. She's also a character to demonstrate how rich people are pretty hypocritical, such as Stella and the Goetia probably finding Stolas's relationship with an Imp distasteful but are fine with a bastard hybrid of demons that are okay 'to exist'. She's an entertainer, court sorcerer, a royal whore, and overall a bane to anyone's existence she sets her sights on.

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Replacing Minions and creating your own dynamics in Stella's operations:

These minions are all replaceable and going to be characterized heavily, and I will try to give them the attention they all deserve. That being said? I do this because I want attachment to them, but also I am more than willing to kill any of them, even if they're one of my favorites? Permanently for that verse with your character if replacing them other than Sal for reasons below.

Your character would need to suit the job, however, so if they can't? That character from thereon would answer to yours, and they'd be demoted. Sal meanwhile will happily step-down if you prove yourself worthy and answer directly to your character and Stella, then resign himself as just her bodyguard from thereon and to aid you when you need it. He can die, yes, but Stella would simply reincarnate him and you'd take his place in his job.

If replacing minions that interact with other rpers? You need my EXPLICIT consent along with the rpers in question to use that verse with them, as it's fine when interacting with me? But another rper I'm not going to leave them to another's whims without asking, as I don't want to step on any toes or put someone into a position they don't want to be in.

If your character is one Stella's higher servants or Concubines? By all means, you're free to bully, beat or even abuse her minions within reason. Do not kill them, however or interfere with their job unless given permission by Stella otherwise you'll attract her ire or do if you want Stella to punish your character.

Anyone replacing a minion will get their ACTUAL TAG I have for them but with the letter of character's first and last name in question placed at the end with a number so I can keep track of the variant tag. You basically BECOME that big bad minion as a state of progression, and I'm down with your character even more prominent, stronger, or even heavily more entwined to Stella if wanted.

Then for other jobs and creating dynamics such as say running a Theater or a High Class Restaurant or whatever your character does? You will get your own special tag, I will use with them, and place them on her relation's page which will be a google document I will consistently update as things progress. Such as her Concubine Wives or Husbands that take Stolas's place will get their own unique dynamics, though expect certain things to be similar to one another.

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Powerscaling from Stella:

Depending on the main sin of the character in question? Stella will absorb their soul and essence into herself so she can further extend, then demonically mutate her minion or concubine that has earned an extremely rare privilege from a Goetia Queen. She cannot do this to other Goetia, Sins or beings such as Charlie, Lilith or Lucifer even if she wanted to.

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Basically:

It's your character extended power-wise in terms of utility rather than raw numbers, say such as a Dia I roleplay with having her full sin potential unlocked being Stella's earned Concubine. Then the rper in question can discuss with me how this proceeds such as a Hellhound becoming bigger, or more specialized, stronger or a Succubus gaining the ability to kill people that isn't Stella through sex (consenting, as it's basically 'giving up your life and soul'). Granted, a Sin and above have the right and ability to see a bonded Succubus etc.

This also dictates how a Sin progresses, such as a Greed demon taking money through missions, debt collecting and giving it to Stella. Then a Lust Demon through, well, sex, then having sex with Stella from the amount of people they've killed and soul-sucked through sex. Then a Rage Demon would be simple murder/eating corpses and then being beaten and tortured by Stella. All of this and more depending on the main sin of the character in question. The first time for any demon or sinner demon is probably always the 'worst' unless something like Greed or Lust for obvious reasons, as that doesn't involve pain.

I will say that the power-scaling can go past Overlord to Goetia Level for her Concubines, but not quite at the level of Stolas or Stella, etc. But she can and WILL bind consenting, keyword being consenting demons that are considered 'Higher-Ranking' or just have the sheer utility I'd imagine a Sin to have compared to Stella, who's basically just a juggernaut of a demon bird dragon for how I have her.

[cloudedhues]

ok! anon requested my thoughts for episode seven. i just finished (before the event rewards timed out) so all of this is still marinating in my head. excuse the mess

overall i found it thought-provoking which isn’t a good or bad thing; just that it made me think a lot afterwards. full disclosure that i am heavily biased and i have a lot of feelings and opinions regarding domestic abuse esp sexual abuse (which was ambiguously implied in this ep). i am very much that kind of person who doesn’t think that the law necessarily correlates with morality though i simultaneously appreciate the effort and the intent of what the law can do and does represent. but in the same vein i think the law has as much power to exacerbate suffering as it does to heal when it elides more ambiguous cases, which results in people falling through the cracks or being penalized in a way that does more harm than good

this is my long winded way of saying that if i was in this story i would’ve been the one helping irene burke flee to another country (lmao can you tell i do not do well with authority?) i think she’s justified in her murder of her abuser and i don’t think it makes her as bad as him. however her murder of her adoptive mother deserves to be treated in a restorative justice light than damning criminalization but that is not a resolution this kind of game is equipped to handle. i thought it was more a case of tragedy than something i can grant clear judgment on. im not in the business of comparing victims even as i sympathize with both jade’s situation and irene’s feelings. at the end of the day, as a child, irene was not responsible for her father’s abuse against her mother and her mother’s subsequent inability to save her. certainly my ideal ending involves jade and irene in a safe place where they can both heal in their own volition (and far away from edwin who’s facing the full consequences of his abuse)

but should the narrative have followed this? not necessarily. if they wrote anything else but rosa and the nxx following the law to the letter i’d have thought it wildly out of character and would have required more character work than what is usually given

but here is my deep deep take w this game in a wider scope outside of this ep. tot deals a lot with cases involving social issues/ills like mental illness and predatory corporations. which is all well and good but tot also operates under this ideology that violence and evil can only manifest in individuals and the culpability of the system is often elided in this conversation (eg “the very concept of major corporations isn’t inherently corrupt and exploitative! it’s these specific individual antagonists heading it that are!”) and ive suspended enough of my own rational brain about this so i can enjoy a conglomerate ceo love interest in a game marketed as a wish fulfillment romance simulator. but regardless, this informs the narrative with a binaristic foundation that people who are on the “right” side of the system are right by default (ie our protagonists) or should be treated w more grace and humanity than those who aren’t

do i expect tot to interrogate that kind of heavy gray? or that the writers even should? of course not. we’re here to make out w hot guys ultimately. i recognize the writers come from all walks of life and have cultural expectations/beliefs that may not necessarily adhere w my largely western-informed foundation (though that’s its own can of worms) but my take is that if the game is gearing to handle heavy topics such as mental illness or abuse and the resolution that comes out of it ends up being simplistic or naive, it can do real disservice to the real life people who may find their own situations reflected in this piece of fiction

what the writers should have done given their framework and without fully upending the game’s philosophy (and what i think was a huge missed writing opportunity) is not changing irene’s fate (as much as i dislike defeatist narratives that surround a lot of abuse survivor stories) but have rosa and marius relate with irene on a personal level and even see themselves in her. what would’ve made this more nuanced and humanizing was if rosa and marius’s conception of their morality and their roles as legal and societal authorities were shaken by a gray matter of someone who is not a “perfect victim”. they did a similar execution akin to this in artem’s personal story but the moral stakes of that one was very cut and dry and this one should have taken rosa and marius a step farther. it should have impacted them internally as it did irene externally. and it would’ve served as solid development for their own relationship (rather than that odd little section where rosa comforts marius after jun calls him out? which seems just so divorced from the theme of the episode and feels like a contrived bonding moment.) but while rosa understood the grays involved she never seemed conflicted; her stance is generally unchanged and unshaken throughout the whole episode as she resolves to convict

the point here isn’t to have rosa arrive to some definite conclusion on whether irene deserves her sentencing but the fact that she would have had to struggle in the first place w her principles and her personal relation to a woman who is both victim and murderer in her journey to do so. the point here is interrogating what you have to risk and lose in the pursuit of the justice you believe in (rosa as legal justice and irene as vigilante justice! ugh could have been so good)

while metatextually the game is sympathetic to irene’s situation the fact that the abuse victims are mentioned once offhandedly, persecuted, or murdered in the end doesn’t paint a great picture for survivors as a whole. which is why i found this ending so fraught. because i understand how the writers arrived here and the context and the factors that led up to it but i also found it impossible for me to suspend my personal principles and immerse in the fiction

anyway i think i need to ruminate on this further. so i’ll stop here and end this off lightly w things about the ep that i did like/appreciate:

marius’s business/negotiation acumen. i really like it when otome show rather than tell how and why an li is skilled and talented. one of my favorite things about marius is this conflict of how actually cunning he is vs how people are naturally inclined to view him (ie a buffoon, gullible) and how he exploits that reputation to his own advantage (although idk how long he’ll be able to keep that up considering that business and upper class society are so insular. then again business and upper class society are full of actual buffoons so)

always fascinated by how the writers construct the mystery of the cases. this genre’s not my strongest as both writer and reader so it’s always fun seeing how it’s constructed and how the complex web is detangled in the end until it all (kind of) makes sense. i will say though that tot relies a lot on coincidence and contrived evidence to make the solution of the mystery work (which is unavoidable in the genre) but it does happen too many times that i have to remind myself to suspend disbelief when artem comes across someone who just happens to have bloodworth’s murder recorded. which is a shame bc mysteries are the most satisfying when it’s solved purely by the skill and observations of the detective rather than luck

but i liked how in the lack of conclusive evidence marius is the one who tells rosa to resort to psychological pressure/manipulation which imo is a very in-character marius thing to do and very much up in his wheelhouse of skills. and it’s also a nice reflection of his relationship w vyn bc acrimonious as they are they have a lot in common

new member of the nxx? yes im shrieking. for me it’s a toss up between vincent and darius but i know that in my hearts of hearts i already know who i want lmao but i think it’d be equally delightful if a dark horse like celestine was the one who came first in the running