#i'd be sorry but

[melchinafan]

Hey wait, I should repost (and elaborate on) my observations and headcanons that I was posting on twitter while the Redfall account was posting promo videos leading up to launch. Leaving out the now-obvious theorizing and cult symbol recognition, it's mostly...no, uh, it's all just Devinder stuff, whoops. (His primary outfit still baffles me in some ways. Also, adding a few things I've noticed in-game so far.)

First, observations:

he's got sharply-square-toed calf-boots (in all his outfits, but especially the default) and I am thoroughly jealous perfect blend of practical with formal vibes, amazing shape without giving up the traction of a good rubber boot sole I NEED THEM

he has three stickers on the back of his phone (in the announcement trailer): one like his UK Cryptid Association patch, one that's a cartoony caped vampire with sunglasses, trying to hide from some bright flashes that says "NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY," and a round one with a simple eye that says "TRUTH SEEKER" along the top (and has a sentence around the bottom, but it's too small and blurry for me to make out, to my eternal lamentations)

his buttons are on the "wrong" side of his shirt when his collar is open (but with the attention to detail otherwise present from the devs, and the fact that they're like that in-game AND the announcement trailer, perhaps it was deliberate and they're magnetic buttons?)

he doesn't appear to be using belt loops in his hero trailer (though he definitely does in the Casual Hunter outfit, so they just probably weren't on that fancy model)

his standard belt is nylon with a quick-release buckle, which is also the buckle style on his backpacks (including the leather one)

his Dapper outfit has a nerdy leather shoulder harness with two pouches, one for his cell phone on his left side, and a paper journal with pen on the right (which would be hidden if he wore a jacket, but per the description of the outfit, "no jacket required")

while there are buckles on the front of said harness, there's also lobster-claw clasps on the back as an alternate release mechanism and very subtle pun

his primary outfit's gloves have a small gold fleur-de-lis printed on the end of the velcro strap, whereas his dapper outfit has driver's gloves with a snap strap

he has orange gloves(?) in his primary outfit, under his leather gloves, which are at least long enough to go well under his sleeves so no skin peeks out (what is this? why does he seem to have layered gloves? are they neat-colored compression gloves? or does he have ballroom-length gloves that match his silk scarf "a gift from [his] parents" awwww, so he can just doff the jacket and leather gloves at any time for a quick dapper look? presumably not, since he removes them for his casual outfit, but I just ??? truly baffling)

attended New College in Oxford doing the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) course (which is apparently a 3-year thing), plus spending "the better part of a decade" cryptid-hunting...if we assume he started hunting after finishing his schooling, and that range being around 7-10 years, he's probably...somewhere between 28-31, maybe? could be younger if there's overlap between them, could be older if he didn't immediately dive directly into each thing

calls his viewers "Dev-iners" how cute is that I love it

seems to be titling his adventures in Redfall as "Delving Into Darkness"

clearly a Doctor Who fan (quotes include "allons-y!" after falling, and "don't blink" when he uses his Blacklight—and his first dapper suit being blue-and-brown could also be a subtle reference along with the fact that he has both a wristwatch and a pocketwatch as a potential "time lord" reference, unless that chain attaches to some other nerdy trinket)

he has written and recorded notes as the descriptions of two legendary weapons (that I've seen), as follows:

Clacker (electric pistol, blue and yellow funky little thing):

Hey Remi! I don't know where you found this thing, looks like it was assembled by an Elwetritsch after a 3 day bender. One of those cultists with more thumbs than sense, no doubt. But I pulled it apart and fixed up a few contacts so the chance of fatally shocking yourself is minimized (note my word choice). Now it's like a little cousin to my Javelin. You know, it's kind of cute now that I'm looking at it. -- D

Snipe Hunter (stake launcher, an unpainted version of what he had in the announcement trailer, with sharpie-scribbled notes in several places on it):

Crousley Tapes (Private) Cortana Suggested Title: "It's a cloudy day and I'm thinking of my mum" [VOICE REC BEGINS] "Note to self, something to file away for later. Whenever it turns foggy like this, like sodden grey cotton, I think of mum. When I was a kid she said that I had a big imagination. Unlike a lot of people, she meant it as a compliment. I saw things, things other people simply missed. But she told me to always trust myself. Sounds easy, but every day since then I've tried to live up to that." [VOICE REC ENDS]

Which leads to: headcanons!

he's the oldest in the group (because Jacob's timeline is fuzzier to me, and Jacob asking "your parents okay with these little field trips of yours?" in Dev's hero trailer is SO much funnier to me if Dev's the oldest)

has chronic pain in (at least) his hands (possibly from piano plus frequent fiddly tinkering, or just General Fuckery that happens for some folks regardless of age—and I assume it's mild to moderate/otherwise fluctuates, since he's clearly not slowing down with tinkering, and is capable of at least short tunes on piano)

specific reasoning/potential evidence for the above includes but is not necessarily limited to: possible compression gloves, quick-release buckles, maybe magnetic buttons, plus the clasps on the back of his nerdy dapper harness (they may be how he does easier release when he struggles with the buckles? assuming his other joints aren't borked, because they're behind him? I'm less clear on if they're actually practical though)

neurodivergent as all get-out (is this even a headcanon, it feels like it's been self-evident from the second he showed up, though the specifics are up to interpretation)

trans/nonbinary because why not, I'm already out here projecting, and he layers enough for the vibe, also "TRANSlocator" puns

bi? ace? monsterfucker? etc.? I don't know, I need to see if anything specific comes up in dialogue at all but he is just so very queer as is the whole cast it's great

he clearly used some research he did into the psychic Nests(/the dream-like Trance) to create his (literally-)dreamy Quantum Kerfuffle decoy (the final Translocator skill), because holy SHIT does that thing draw in every vampire within what I swear is the same radius a Nest covers, it's the most beautiful hazard on the entire island

[astrid-beck]

This is my unethical polycule. The nonmonogamy is consensual and negotiated we're just evil in other ways.

[geezmarty]

hi falin hiiii (titties out vr on twitter)

[ashes-acedia]

your honor I just wanted to draw him in a silly little outfit

[endusviolence]

Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?

I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?

In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".

Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.

This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.

Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.

The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]

There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.

This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]

As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.

But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?

Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.

[egophiliac]

bring back zooterkins, the best 17th-century swear word

I don't normally do Just Characters Swearing, but. ...this kind of wrote itself and then wouldn't leave my head. it comes from both a piece of character-writing advice that has always stuck with me, and also my conviction that Leona is 1000% funnier as a character if his dialogue has to stay G-rated. let Kalim say fuck, but don't let Leona say bastard.

(I'm sorry)

[tecochet]

mary jane's husband and his boyfriend

[herd-reject-arts]

So I'm leaving work and something darts in front of me, maybe 10ft away, too fast for me to see what it is. Peek around the tree blocking my path and I see this

Just like... a whole ass hawk. Dude's gotta be about 1.5ft tall. Massive fucking bird. And it's just staring me straight in my soul like this, even as I try to move ahead. It didn't budge. And there's only this path back to my car unless I want to walk on a busy highway. So I have the option of Death By Raptor or Death By Truck.

So I walk in the poison ivy filled patch off the sidewalk. Guy still isn't moving. Still staring me directly in the eyes. And I do this thing when animals are behaving strangely where I'll talk to them, so I'm just like, "Hey, man. I don't know you. You don't know me. This feels really threatening. I'm just trying to get to my car, dude. Can I get some space please? You're a big fucking bird. I see those claws. You could kill me right now, but I'd appreciate if you didn't, ok?"

It didn't move until I was about 2ft away. Again: I'm as far from it as I can be without walking into the street. It clearly wasn't going to budge. I walk past, thing flies up (silent, btw. Scary) and lands on a brick wall a little further ahead

Anyway. Weird guy. Nearly shit my pants when I noticed a bird big enough to carry off a fully grown cat was just... there, staring me in the face, unwilling to move away from me, a human, something it should see as a threat. I watched behind me the whole rest of the way to my car, just in case this bird decided to help me shed this mortal coil. 10/10 experience. Super cool guy.

[onesidedradiostatic]

how vox's "offer" for alastor to join his "team" went

[just--a--vessel]

He/him pronoun bracelet broke, call that fragile masculinity

[kathaynesart]

REPLICA PLAYLIST

MUSIC UNDER CUT

I have been receiving requests for any songs that inspired Replica, so here, have my personal playlist. Sorry it’s not Spotify/Soundcloud but they don’t have some of these songs available so uh… guess you’re stuck with YouTube vids. For fun I'll include my personal titles for them (which might give a few hints of what to expect in the future/end).

Replica Main Theme - “Die for You” by Grabbitz Like Father Like Son Like Brother (Omega and Shelldon) - "As Above So Below" by Alistair Lindsay Mikey's Theme / The 1st Vision - "Suzume no Tojimari" by Nanoka Hara Military (Mad) Dogs / Central Park Colony - "Imperium" by Madeon Shanghai - "Icarus" by Madeon Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuki The Day the Sky Bled Red - "7 Seconds Till the End" by Nobuo Uematsu Going Out Like a Boss (Raph and Leo) - "Agape" by Nicholas Britell Remembering the Right Way (Mikey and Leo) - "The Souls of Many" - by Alistair Lindsay Mystic Hands / The 2nd Vision - "Am I Dreaming" by Metro Boomin x A$AP Book 2 Trailer - "Sea Dragon" by Covet 7 Years Later - "Iron" by Woodkid Leo's Theme / Attack on the Labor Camp - "Ego Death" by Polyphia Omega's Theme - "Touch" by Daft Punk Flat Lines (Omega Alone) - "Die Toteninsel Emptiness" by 1000 Eyes Spear - "Monsters" by Tommee Profitt Final Protocol - "The Kraken" by Katie Dey Rise / Epilogue - "Close in the Distance" by Masayoshi Soken & Tom Mills

I will admit, it's a little embarrassing since you can easily see the patterns of what I've been listening to for the past year or two. I swear I listen to more than just videogame OSTs, these songs just jive well with the story and I often find lyrics distracting when brainstorming scenes. Regardless, the music I listen to is such an important part of my creative process and some of these songs really defined the scenes I now have locked in my head. So I figured it was only fair to give them the credit they're due.

I will continue to add to this playlist, and will note in comic updates when one of these songs is applicable!

[bananonbinary]

jfc i just saw a "morally grey girlboss" poll and mabel pines was one of the contenders. she's not morally grey she's not a girlboss she's 12 and never makes a single moral decision that's worse than "you have stuff going on but i'm focused on my own problems" what are you fucking talking about

[somewhereincairparavel]

everyone keeps talking about Jason vs Percy but why isn't ANYONE talking about how powerful they looked when they both used their powers TOGETHER at the same time, side by side, in Mark of Athena? Like Annabeth even got goosebumps watching them cook up such an intense storm from afar. Sparky and Seaweed brain, Power duo smh.

[gingermaple]

"it's showtime!"

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The indescribable tension between an overworked and underpaid smut writer, and his biggest fan hater.

(for @frummpets)

[clouvu]

Cooking up an older Clervie outfit design so I don't have to keep drawing her looking like her child self but Long