#is an interesting change still kind of sad about it really. was refreshing having a show where a main character cop had a solid marriage

[dahllaz]

I am still on my SVU bullshit and started watching the early seasons again. Watching Monogamy now and I did not remember the subplot of Elliot's home troubles at all.

And Liv just chewed him out a bit for not talking to Kathy, after he told her that he can't go home and share these things, these horrors, with his wife.

But the thing is. He used to. In season 1? He did share, he did talk about the cases with Kathy.

So it's kind of fascinating to think about what changed.

[Well. Our universe it seems pretty obvious the answer was show runner change between s1 and s2.]

In universe...an easy explanation is EO was the driver but...I honestly don't see any real romantic undertones between them yet. Might be my AO shipper heart but really don't see different undertones to their relationship until after Alex is gone.

Before that they just read as Family to me, not wrestling with any desires for more/for the possibility of more.

So it leaves me wondering what happened. Was it the Morris Commission and Elliot almost losing his job? Did he tell Kathy and she was horrified to learn he fantasized about killing these perps and he responded by never sharing anything again?

Did he share something and Kathy ended up with nightmares? Did he share and one of the kids overheard?

What. Happened.

[unhelpfulfemme]

Another thing I liked is how Laurent's trauma is handled, because usually when a character has a Secretly Traumatic Backstory there's some kind of annoyingly maudlin scene about it. Either they get into some kind of big conflict with the love interest and are forced to explain themselves so they don't get judged or dumped, or the love interest intrudes on a vulnerable moment and sees them being abused or somehow handling the consequences of that abuse, or they are explained the circumstances by a benevolent third party, and this changes their view of the abused character because now they're god's poorest meow meow and I just fucking hate it every time.

Like, this is why I stopped reading this type of story: because the amount of crowding and backing into a corner and privacy violation that happens to abused characters in order to coax them into opening up about it and reassure them that they're okay is so annoying. I feel like I've been psychologyposting on main too much lately, so I might explain later why I feel this way or I might not but in any case I hate it.

I love that this book is the literal opposite of that, that Damen not only doesn't crowd Laurent and insist that he open up, but that Damen ensuring space and privacy and time to calm down for Laurent when he's overwhelmed is repeatedly portrayed as an act of friendship and caring and love (that Laurent later reciprocates, because they both lose their heads when something pushes their buttons and understand this about each other).

I also love how Damen doesn't fall in love with Laurent because Laurent is sad and fucked up, or because he's so brave to have put up with the abuse, or because Damen too is sad like Laurent (I'm physically restraining myself from going off on a rant about how shared trauma is hardly ever a good foundation for a relationship): no, he falls in love with Laurent because he's whip-smart, and a good leader, and funny, and tender once he opens up, and a lateral thinker, and a man of integrity who keeps his promises and pays back his debts (and because he's pretty and blonde and good at sporty shit that Damen likes). Some of these things may have been shaped by the awful shit that happened to Laurent, as they were also probably shaped by his station or his education or his body type or any other circumstance of his life, but it's refreshing to have a character who went through awful shit but who also has other things going on for him that make him loveable instead of being completely defined by his trauma. And even when Damen finds out, the way he thinks about Laurent literally doesn't change at all - the things he likes about Laurent are still seen in the same light as always, Laurent's personality as a whole is still the same, even his attitude towards what Laurent did to him when they first met doesn't change much (as we see in the short story epilogue). And even this last bit is really cool because Laurent is never stripped of his agency or made out into some sort of helpless victim currently, both of which would probably mortify him with how much he's trying to establish that he's not at any opportunity.

And I also like how it's not necessary for Laurent to tell Damen about it in order for them to be close, nor does Damen push him into it. And everyone else seems to agree that it's Laurent's story to tell when and how he wants it told, except for the villain of the piece, who reveals it in the most awful way possible. This is particularly important because Damen spends three books grabbing everyone in Laurent's life by the shoulders and shaking them and going, "Why do you care about this guy??? Have you noticed that he's kind of an ashole?? Why are you loyal to him?? Why???" and no one ever says anything, because they're protective of Laurent and don't want to take away his agency or privacy because it's his fucking story to tell. Even after Damen finds out, we don't see him mention it and he probably lets Laurent open up or not on his own terms, as he does with everything else that doesn't directly concern him. Even though we've seen through Laurent's dialogue time and time again that he's probably conceptualizing it in some fucked up ways in his own head and needs yet to realize that he's not some kind of twisted pervert for what happened to him, crowding him about it before he's ready won't accomplish much.

And the story itself backs all this by never being maudlin about it even though it's obvious what happened pretty early on (I figured it out really early, I remember suspecting it almost immediately and being dead sure of it by the Ancel scene in the garden); it kind of elipses around it, gives hints and parallels to other characters in similar circumstances, has Laurent say incoherent shit that makes sense in context, has other characters hint at it, but with Laurent being one of the central characters it's cool that the story gives him that respect and doesn't wallow in the tragedy of it all.

[arcnlumi]

The Double’s Producer’s After Show Post

The Double’s divisive producer posted a really nice long post today about The Double today so I translated it so I can share with you.

The show just ended, and I didn't have time to watch it, or perhaps it’s because I was afraid the comments [on the episode] would cause sadness, so I deliberately avoided it. This song is over, and I have reconciled with myself. There have been countless times when I have questioned whether I am suitable for this industry, whether I have talent, and even looked down on the refreshing drama I made myself. I wanted to switch to making some films that are recognized by people for its highbrows value. Even if the platform wants me to write a refreshing drama, I insist on adding all kinds of "extra" to it, which made the shows incongruous, and I wastes many years doing that. I didn’t make anything in 2022, and I spent time thinking about a few questions.

What is the point of dramas? What is considered peak drama? What is not mainstream? Who set this awful rule?

Why do I film things? For the praise of others, or for my own expression?

Is my heart still in the right place after getting to where I am today?

And the answer is my future path - drama should touch people's hearts, should be popular with the audience, should make everyone laugh and relieve stress after being busy and stressed. It should be a safe haven, a shelter, and a healing and immersive experience.

What I need to do should be what interests me, what I excel at, and stay in the territory I command with ease. My heart remains the same, to spread Chinese culture outside, to give intangible cultural heritage a chance to be reborn, and to let the world immerse in Chinese fairy tales. Yes, you read it right, Chinese fairy tales.

Here I want to apologize to myself. I should have respected my heart and keep walking my way, instead of seeking fame and reputation to gain recognition from a certain circle. In fact, I should have let go a long time ago on whether I can rise from the mud, and instead do what I enjoy, as long as my work can resonate with some people, it’s good enough. How can you expect everyone to understand you in this life? The reason why drama is moving is because you are watching it from a God's perspective. If you ask me if Xue Fangfei's story is possible? I would say I think it is possible. Because the only constant in life is change.

This drama does not aim to be famous for generations, nor does it look to gain the unexpected praises it got. It just wants to comfort you and me in adversity, so that we can find temporary relieve and have some courage to move forward.

That's enough.

[cartoonrival]

👀Kirishima popular with men and not boruto uglified unhappy married with a woman? Fuck everything else i won(ill take this crumb i was so scared 💀)and my girlss momo, mina, jiro, tsuyu and specially ochaco my fav <3 love seeing them doing ok this is my win, bkdks can have whatever they want idgaf if the girls, some others charas. and my token gay kr (beloved)implied are ok. The rest is to much to unpack i pretend i do not see it atleast it could have been worse, what did you think rival?

honestly i’m really happy with it! i’m really happy that you can tell horikoshi was losing interest in including the obligatory romance and he actually followed through with having uraraka and deku both move on from it, but at the same time in the penultimate chapter they still hugged without it reading as confirmation that they’re in love or whatever. made me happy!! even ships that seemed plausible and like hori was leaning towards them (kamijirou for example, which i actually think is rly cute) weren’t explicitly “confirmed” and i think that’s really refreshing. for such a quintessential shounen manga to move away from the obligatory romance is really dope to me as someone who loves shounen but hates obligatory romance, lol.

especially having just watched naruto, where kishimoto clearly thinks that a person cannot be considered “fulfilled and successful” if they’re not married, despite that not being relevant to the plot up to that point at all, it makes me happy to see hori not falling in the same pitfall. id say the bar is on the floor but it happens literally so often that it’s a genre staple so i think it actually is deserving of a little credit that he moved away from it so completely.

kirishima is gay ☝️ this i know. everyone has known this forever. he’s always been coded gay. it’s one of those situations where whether hori meant it or not (i lowkey find it hard to believe he didn’t recognize what he was doing) it is true, and a hero popular with men is the nail in the proverbial rainbow coffin. i was also glad that he got an aside becuz he’s been sort of left behind by the focus of the story for quite a while it seemed like hori had forgotten that he was such a key player for a while in the middle, so even though i’m still sad his relationship with bakugou was all but forgotten he did still get a nod at the end that most other characters didn’t get.

REALLY LOVE THAT MIRIO IS THE NEW NUMBER ONE AND NOT BAKUGOU. because mirio is literally more talented than him.

pissed about deku getting that tech that lets him be a hero again. i think honestly with the theme of not all people are created equal but we must love and support each other and find our niches nonetheless, it kind of loses its punch of deku to just. have a quirk still essentially. i thought him losing it was dope, and for him to remain the greatest hero of all time but have to pass on the torch because his time in the spotlight was over, whether it was luck or hard work he couldn’t stay a hero forever. because when it comes down to it he was born quirkless, and actually that’s okay, because he still has knowledge and talent and love to offer the world and he still has friends who love him. but whatever. tch

even though they didn’t go through with it, i really loved that all might was the one to suggest eliminating the popularity aspect of the hero chart completely. i think it really demonstrated how much HE has also grown over the course of the series, what he has learned and how his values have changed. i honestly think that would’ve been a better conclusion than whatever mixed bag thing hawks was setting up but it’s whatever. i think more structural changes are necessary and there should’ve been more explicit exploration into what those would look like imo, rather than just “people are nicer now cuz deku inspired them to be nice”. it’s not that it’s BAD because ultimately the structural issues of bnha’s world stemmed from social attitudes, and if those attitudes changed then that’s the first step to uplifting people born with scary or unusual quirks or born as heteromorphs, but at the same time it doesn’t give you the feeling that this peace is going to last.

LOVED DEKU’S FINAL CONVERSATION WITH SPINNER. I LOVE SPINNER AND I LOVE HIS WHOLEHEARTED LOVE AND DEDICATION TO SHIGARAKI AND I LOVED THE FOCUS HE GOT AT THE STORY’S TAIL END AND SEEING HIS REACTIONS TO HOW SHIKAGRAKI WAS CHANGING UNDER ALL FOR ONES INFLUENCE

anyways not perfect by any means, but i’m happy with it ^_^ horikoshi bit off a lot and i think i’m okay with how he decided to tie it off. i think platonic bakudeku is fun and interesting but i think it was better when it was bakugou crying suddenly cuz he thought he’d never be able to compete with deku again since he lost his quirk. if deku gets his quirk back it’s like okay. whatever. would’ve liked to see him continue to respect deku when he was quirkless again. but it’s fine. i still maintain that ppl who think they’re romantically involved don’t get it at all

[brb-on-a-quest]

hi

if u were in an alternate universe, where u are dream self, what would u be?

if u were in another alternate universe, where u are ur worst self, how would u react?

if u were in another au, where, ur counterpart simply doesn't exist but all the people u know do, how do u think u would fit there?

if u were, again, in another au, where ur counterpart exists and the people u know don't, what would u do? come back or stay there?

if u were, again, in another au, where ur and ur loved ones' counterparts exist, but they don't know each other, would you change it?

hello!

I would, as always, not know what the heck I am doing but doing the best I can anyway XD (Ideally I'd have like cool magical powers or fighting abilities or maybe even knowledge of how to play an instrument, but uhhh I Don't Hope for Much).

Oh, hot villain arc birb would be very interesting to meet. Probably would feel a lot of emotions, mostly guilt and regret and sadness and not being able to somehow fix my au self. I do think it'd be really funny if I started tripping my evil villain AU self up because, like, she's me so we have the same thinking patterns and I could just easily like go back and help as best as I can? idk. Maybe too idealistic... but also you give me plot ideas. hmmm saving that for later

This would also be really funny because I'd have all the information to ingratiate myself into the friend group but they'd know nothing about me and I could like speedrun friendship exp so fast. I'd be like "well, here's your favorite brand of chocolate that is basically the only one you can eat" and they'd be like *gasp* "however did you know" and i'd laugh manically and be like "a little birb told me *giggles manically*"....they'd probably think I was stalking them. if it were people that I currently don't get along with....well then that just got 1000 times more awkward but interesting to see where the "refresh" on that relationship goes.

This is kind feels like what going to college feels like, ngl. I mean I still had access to family and like a couple people back home, but overall, this is just what it feels like going back to school for a couple months. Or when I move between states which I have a lot of experience with. So the answer to this would be: which au did I come from, and is this one a better environment for me. Could I reach back and pull out the people I cared about into this au with me or am I the only one who has multiversal travel? As much as I would hate for the old me to randomly disappear for the people I care about, if the other environment is healthier for me and my personal growth... I'm not scared of it yk?

well, I'd try. Or maybe I'd just make friends with my loved counterparts and my counterpart (so we don't have hot villain arc birb again).

[needlefail]

TBH the rebelling Shadowclan apprentices thing could have actually been so better utilized if the writers just… actually decided what they even wanted them to be angry about

Idk I feel like every time it was brought up in the books the reason would always change or be so weak I cant help but roll my eyes at their complaining which?? I dont think the authors intented?? at least for characters like needletail????

Cause as much as I love her, I refuse to acknowledge her bonus chapter with the owl because it was such a weak and almost laughable excuse for why she did everything she did, there were so many better and much more interesting plots they could have used that would have actually given Needle some cool depth but no urm “everyone thought i died and now im sad when 99% of other victims in my situation do die” (I reread the scene for the sake of this post despite that tho)

The whole owl thing was meh but something more important to me was the last sentence in which we see Needlepaw start getting bitter about the way Clan cats often treat outsiders

Now I really do think this could have been something really interesting to continue throughout the arc especially with the Shadowclan apprentices

The code is so flawed and it would have been so incredibly refreshing to see cats actually speak out against it ESPECIALLY when it came to how Clan cats often view and treat outsiders. All of avos had very prominent characters that were outsiders to the clans (Violet and Twig, Tree, The Kin, Skyclan technically for a time)

And Needletail is a cat who could speak for all kinds of cats, she’s a clan cat however she admits to cozing up to Twolegs, she is casual and friendly with kittypets (SOMETHING THAT OUR PROTAGONIST ALDERPAW WAS HORRIFIED AT MIND YOU) and she was also pretty friendly with Tree too. She’s seen firsthand how Clan cats are no different than other cats, yet they still believe they are above others because their code, which is super icky and flawed in some apsects

This could have been such a cool reason for her to begin rebelling and perhaps a better excuse for why she joined Darktail’s Kin

IDK IDK I JUST THINK AVOS COULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTING IF IT WENT INTO HOW THE CLANS SHOULD STOP ACTING SO HIGH AND MIGHTY BECAUSE THEY HAVE A flawed CODE AND THAT YOUR ORIGIN SHOULD NOT EFFECT HOW YOU ARE TREATED IN THEIR SOCIETY Rouges/loners are not immediately bad because they follow no code even if some cats are still bad (ex Tree/Violetkit and Twigkit and Darktail) and just because you do have a code doesn’t mean you still cant be a bad person to (ex Junpierclaw) And it would have been a good set up for the further changes done to the code in TBC

I want Clans to accept loners and rouges in more, I want them to be friendly to kittypets despite their lifestyle (firestar was literally a kittypet but whatever thunderclan its only been a year since he died yeah lets just go back to xenophobia or whatever!!) I WANT THINGS LIKE DAYLIGHT WARRIORS BACK

The rebellion from the apprentices and SkyClan’s unfamiliar customs/roots (as in most cats are all from or were rouges/kittypets etc) would have been such a good eyeopener to how the Clans should view others with more respect whether they are from a Clan or not IDK

[adobe-outdesign]

What do you think of cubone?

You really can't go wrong with Cubone. A little dinosaur-ish creature wearing a skull makes for an interesting visual and unique theme as-is, but the heartbreaking backstory is what really helps people remember this line, what with the whole "it constantly mourns its dead mother and wears her skull" thing it has going on.

Arguably this backstory doesn't make much sense when applied to the species as a whole, especially when you can obviously breed them without the mother dying, but the powerful imagery associated with this 'mon can't be beat. I think just fleshing out the lore behind it would help it a lot; maybe skulls are passed down through generations when one dies, thus explaining where the Cubones that have mothers get their helmets from.

Backstory aside, the design also looks solid; the skull has a good sense of shape and depth to it (also love the cracks, even if it's a bit weird that they're always in the same place), and a nice, neutral body to compliment it. I wouldn't have minded a bit of a darker brown for contrast, like the above art sports, but otherwise I have no real complaints.

Marowak has some really interesting lore behind it: basically, Cubone's grief makes it stronger, and when it comes to terms with its loss, it evolves:

It kind of adds a nice moral about accepting grief into an otherwise sad story, even if you still have to try not to question the "dead mom" thing too much.

Visually, it does the logical thing and fuses the skull with the head completely. I do kind of question it changing shape, given that it's supposed to be the skull Cubone wears, but it at least looks nice and streamlined.

I guess my one problem with Marowak is that it maybe looks a bit too similar to Cubone? They're not the same, obviously, but it feels like the concept could've been pushed more at this stage. Make it ground/ghost, make the underbelly look like rib markings, add a skeletal tail tip, that kind of thing. Really advance the skeleton motif it has going on.

Another option would've been for Cubone to not carry the bone club until it becomes Marowak, which would've done the same "advancement" idea with drastically changing anything. It's not bad as is or anything; just could've been pushed a bit more.

Thankfully, Alolan Marowak is one of those designs that comes in and does everything the original design doesn't.

First, the dark body and skull markings look great; they compliment the skull well and add some much-needed contrast. Meanwhile, the fire adds some nice pops of color. And not only does this Marowak add fire to the bone it carries, but it also has some great vertebrae markings on its back, going back what I was saying about Marowak pushing its visuals a bit more.

Combine all that with fire/ghost typing and a fire dancing theme going on with the bone, appropriate for the Hawaiian-based region it's from, and you have a pretty perfect regional that's honestly far better than the original in my opinion.

My sole nitpick with it is that for some reason the body way skinnier than on original Marowak, giving it a weird top-heavy appearance for no real reason. Also, while I'm not opposed to cutting pointless regional pre-evos, it does feel weird that regular Cubone drops ground in favor of fire and ghost typing out of nowhere, but that's beside the point.

So overall, Cubone is a adorably pitiful Pokemon with a great theme and solid design. Marowak is fine, but doesn't push its design as much as it could; Alolan Marowak makes up for that with a refreshing take that really breathes some new life into the design. Overall, a very solid line.

Also, final side note: the Gen 1 betas reveal that the theorized connection between Cubone and Kangaskhan was indeed real via a third evolutionary sprite, though exactly what the intention was lore-wise here is left ambiguous. It might have been interesting, but at the same time, I feel like it might've distracted from Cubone's own themes a bit by tossing a baby in there. Too hard to say without knowing the context.

[matenrou-fan]

I'm so sad to see the lack of writings about Jyushi here! I love him sm...

Can I request jyushi in a relationship with someone that's a famous V-kei singer??

Jyushi with famous V-kei singer s/o

if I'm not mistaken it's literally the second request about Jyushi..! So yeah, I think I do really have just a few works with him..

GNreader, just wholesome stuff;;

-Ah.. finally, the same lonely, wandering soul, wrapped in darkness of night..! Jyushi's soulmate!

-No but really, he's so excited to meet another V-kei fan! Especially when he gets to know you're also a singer.. And a famous one?! Jyushi will try to use all his charm to show in all his glory in front of you now.

-"That's it.. The darkness itself condescends to give me such a present, a fatal meeting with another stranger of the dark world.." - he nods, turning on his 'prince of night' mode, talking with you in a pompous tone with a glamorous smirk on his face. - "S/o.. I do hope you wouldn't mind taking my arm and plunge once more into the abyss of the gloomy underworld with me, as my loyal assistance?"

-Despite he will only talk in his exaggerated tone first few meet with you, it's clearly visible how much he nervous actually. Yes, he's also really popular yet he still didn't get this stardom and didn't turn into a selfish diva. So he is so so so shy around you, actually, behind this mask.

-But eventually Jyushi will reveal his other, sincere side of himself. Probably when he gets too overwhelmed because you drop a new song or something.

-"Ahh, s/o..! This song you release.. I like it very much! I cried two times while listen to it!!" - he whines, clinging to you and hugging you tightly, you can see new tears forming in the corners of his eyes. - "It's like your words hitting my soul!!"

-This sensitive boy just has something like a hyperfixation on his hobbies and talking with someone with the same interests is so exciting and refreshing for him!

-Oh, and if you compliment him back, telling that you also enjoy his last album, that's it.. Jushi melting in the spot, sobbing in your arms, praising you for being so kind hearted to him.

-Visit your performances at least five times, absolutely mesmerizing with your stunning figure on a stage. Everytime he came home, covered in goosebumps and just cried from joy and the overwhelming feeling of your coolness, sending you a bunch of messages about how gorgeous you are.

-Of course he would like to share some vocal tips or make some little dates in cafes where you try to come up with new ideas for your songs. And if you and your team would be generous enough to make a feat with his band, he'd be more than happy..!

-Well, but actually I feel like he would prefer to write a song just for you two, a passionate duet about some dark love that rejoices in the night or something.

-"S/o.. My royalty of shadows.. This burning feeling keeps aching in my chest, an appeal passes out from my soul to unite with you.." - his bright blue eyes are piercing at you with some kind of allure, but when you look up at him confused, his whole confidence fades away. - "Uwaa..! Please, s/o, let's sing a duet together!!"

-It's actually amusing how quickly he changes in his cry baby mode with you around. Jushi is still kinda shy to be like that but you're always supporting him and now it's something on instinct's level, he immediately relaxes at the sight of your face.

-It's not like he doesn't appreciate the help of Hitoya or Kuko, just when it's you, it resonates in his heart more deeply. Maybe because you, as a fellow V-key singer, understand him more or maybe because he's madly in love with you and has no idea how to cope with that, take anything you say to heart.

-But despite his weakness, Jyushi is a vigorous guy when it's about your relationship. He will not be afraid to tell his fans about you or write songs about his deep love. After all, you're making him the happiest person alive, and he doesn't want to hide his bright star.

-"S/o.. Despite the fact that I always call you my royalty of shadows.. Y-you know, you're more like an angel.." - he mumbled, leaning needy to you, clinging to your chest like a small kitten. - "An angel who falls from Heaven in my arms but still saves this pureness and kindness in this gold heart.. Please, stay with me forever, my fallen, beautiful angel.."

[jean-dieu]

2, 9, and 20 for your wotr asks!

Thank you for your questions!! Going to answer for Raphaël, Lazare and Ziel. WARNING big spoilers ahead.

How do they feel about Areelu Vorlesh?

Raphaël : Hate, anger and wrath for like 99% of the game, then there's that 1% of understanding and compassion that comes in and messes with him badly. The fact that a tragedy so human it's almost ironic is the root of it all really helps to make him see Areelu as nothing more than a desperate mother ready to burn the world to repair an injustice. He doesn't see Areelu like the legendary mad half-demon scientist everyone sees her like, but like a woman, a mother, that made all the wrong choices, and persisted in her grief-driven madness.

Lazare : Lazare struggled to understand Areelu's plan during the whole crusade. When he learns the truth, he can't help but feel intrigued, almost wanting to ask her questions. But in general, he just feels... Really sad about her. For her. While he's still resentful for all she did, he can't help but wants to help her finally grief and... Just let it go. Trying to comfort her in his own weird ways, hoping she'll see things clearly again.

Ziel : Ziel's run is still in progress but here are my current thoughts about it! (Ziel is normally from Absalom, but for WoTR I changed it to Kenabres as it's really interesting for him) Knowing he's just the result of Areelu's experiment really breaks his heart in some weird, peculiar way. Ziel has always struggled to relate to his family, his parents, feeling he had been a disappointment since his birth and just a creature too weird for his parents to love. Which is true for his mother (she more or less abandons him when he's around 12), but not for his father, it's just that they are both atrocious at communicating and thinks they hate each other when it's the contrary. Learning that he's, in a way, Areelu's son is hard on him, because there's not just that. I'm still writing/trying to settle things about him, but basically he's the results of some weird-ass experiment on the influence of demonic blood on mortal, something that happened before he was even born, but yeah. It's a lot for someone who's kind of desperate to get close to his dad. Parts of him can't help but feel like his mother's rejection is legitimate as he's barely her son anyway. He also terrified of his father learning the truth, fearing the man will also abandon him knowing the truth. So yeah. He's resentful of Areelu in a very personal way.

Do they have hobbies beside the crusade? Any passions or skills they have?

Raphaël : wdym crusading isn't a hobby Raphaël has unfortunately not that much time for hobbies. He's the kind of man to even work during his free time because he really can't put his mind at peace. However, he loves dancing. That's something he started kind of naturally among other Sarenites, and of course, dancing with his scimitars is a must. He's very talented (I don't care about his 5/7 charisma, he HAS to be talented with his insane dexterity) and is always glad to dance for any important event, whether they're religious or not. While dancing while dual wielding is his thing, he's still good at more "common" type of dancing. Post crusade, he'll even teach Sosiel happily (and Sosiel will teach him painting but that won't lead to any improvement oops).

Oh, and he will never say no to a walk in nature. That's peaceful and refreshing, and despite the appearance, he'd be very glad to have his little walks with a friend by his side.

Lazare : Answered there for the little blueberry!

Ziel : Ziel is ALSO a bard (and a thief, and some kind of self-taught wizard), so of course music is important to him. His style is however SO different from Lazare's cheerful and heartfelt folk songs as he's writing songs that are way more personal, often very grim, dark and tragic, but not without a touch of sarcasm and dark humour. Singing and playing the lute are two of his passion, but it's really in lyrics writing that he shines and feels right at home. He's also into poetry as well, having his own diary filled with poems no one ever read (yet).

Having been part of thief gangs since his teenage years, Ziel also loves playing all type of games, but it's of course funnier if he cheats. In one of his gang, cheating was so prevalent they played together knowing everyone will cheat and the game was more trying to caught the others red handed while avoiding suspicion.

Which event of the crusade traumatized them?

Raphaël : Probably the most prepared of all my KCs for the whole crusade, Raphaël KNEW what was to be expected. He was hard to traumatized in a way. He had been an active Inquisitors for close to a decade a that point, and while it's nowhere near Hulrun and some, it's still a good amount of time to know what demons are capable of.

Murders, rituals, tortures, while it's always excruciatingly awful to witness them... He knew it was bound to happen at some point. The Fleshmarket had to be one the most disgusting things he ever witnesses... But still. It wasn't surprising in a way. He was mentally prepared for that kind of things.

Not exactly traumatized but something that really did anger him was the whole Latverk quest. Pretending to save his fellow aasimars while doing such horrendous things behind his mask of virtue and selflessness really did provoke Raphaël into levels of Anger rarely seen even for him.

However, Raphaël was in fact more traumatized by 1. the crusade as a whole 2. the whole cosmic and divine aspect of it.

As much as he's prepared to face things individually, he faces them so much on a daily basis that settling back to a "normal" life post crusade is impossible for him. Almost if the absence of abyssal horrors is not normal.

Something he however never expected was having to deal with divinities, entities and powers well beyond his comprehension. Despite being very faithful, he's a very down-to-earth man, and while he was prepared to serve the crusade as your regular inquisitor (tm), he wasn't expecting at all... Well, the rest. His link with Areelu, getting to meet Iomedae (now he's just a bit disappointed it wasn't Sarenrae), to slay demon lords, to get to understand the WorldWound that much. It's still A LOT on his mind, and he'd... Rather not think too much about it for his own sanity.

Lazare : Lazare kind of enrolled in the crusade while being not that much prepared. Despite his naivety, he knew he was in to see some fucked up shit, but the more it goes, the more he struggles. The whole attack on Kenabres? Yeah. Terrifying, horrible, but it's a war. Alright. Lost Chapel? The torture made him throw up quite a few time, literally. The Abyss? Yeah... No. Here he kind of breaks down. Having to navigate the whole plane with so much weight on his shoulders and so much uncertainty was too much for him. He broke down in the nexus crying, unable to calm down, just repeating that he can't do it, and that it's just too much. That he's just himself, and that won't be enough.

Ziel : Unless it's very personnal issues, Ziel is actually quite resilient. Being pragmatic, pessimistic and kind of self centered when it comes to survival actually saved his sanity as a whole. For the moment, he's doing alright in act 2. Yeah, things are dirty, but so far it's nothing too surprising.

I'm sure he's traumatized by having become the Commander though like what the actuak fuck. That's like naming Woljif Knight-Commander lol can you imagine (@dujour13 ily).

However, as a tiefling that is considerably more off-putting than your average one, actually going in the Abyss will be traumatizing for him. It can't be any other way. Like a lot of his kin, he was curious yes without any answer about his origins. Both of his parents were Abadar faithful, with his father even being a cleric for quite a long time before being cast aside for alleged corruption. They really weren't the type of couple to be "at risk" for a tiefling birth, and Ziel's just... too much to just be some residual effect from the WorldWound. In The Abyss he'll come to learn who and what he really is, and that will break him down for a moment.

[faithfromanewperspective]

james/judith herondale, neurodivergence and the sticky lens of gender

Girl in a dress with black curling hair in a low ponytail. Resigned, brave, so used to the shadow world and the uncertainty and horror it brings on a regular basis, that it's just a part of everyday life. She's the James we know, yes, but the vibe seems a little different. As if the world were viewed through a different colour lens, or you woke up suddenly in a different dimension where things are similar enough to be familiar, but just feel off. Unmistakable, yet. She's a bit more blunt, and her independence hits a little different. Especially when she seems so fragile, her story narrated through a sheen of sadness. She's cold, and her hands always are, golden eyes not a symbol of warmth--maybe she reminds us a little of the midnight heir. Or nbs. But, as the reader, you want nothing more than to hug her, until whatever's got her so wound up disintegrates, and you're left with a character that's so interesting you can see why they had to be characterised twice.

Recently, I have gotten into the amazing @thevagabondexpress's genderbent tlh series (seriously, check them out, they are in some ways better than the originals and I do not say that lightly). Anyway, like any good protest song/punk album should, they got me thinking. A lot. About something I thought was mostly a social construct and relatively inconsequential until it changed the whole plot more and more as the series went on--and gave me a new way of viewing some of the characters I thought I might share.

First, we visit James (the one character I'll fight anyone for interpretations of), reconstructed as Judith Herondale.

I never thought this recharacterisation would get me so emotional! I guess it hit me how much I'm used to really well characterised male characters in tsc--and female not so much. But, as it turns out, it doesn't have to be this way. And my mind is blown. Because it's been a long time, so long I can't remember, probably back to my tween years and jacqueline wilson novels, since I've seen a female character that just stands out beyond the pages and shows me things about myself that I hadn't seen before in bold, enthralling colour. She's James, but she's not. (this is long long, you've been warned!)

The first thing I noticed was that Judith's independence and stubborn need to solve any problem or mystery that arises is a bit more noticeable--in contrast to what's expected of a woman of the era. She reminds me a little of Clary actually. But I think what stands out is that, unlike a lot of our female protagonists, she doesn't have a male character showing her the ropes or taking the lead in all the adventures she leads her friends on. And, somehow, still, it seems unusual and unsafe for a girl to be going on her own to do what she does. When she wanders around London after the breakup with Grace. It seems a little more unhinged, desperate, and a little more noticeable. And there are more occasions similar to this, I don't want to spoil it for the reader (the plot deviates from canon quite a lot especially as the series progresses). But my point is, it leaves you as the reader worried. A lot of things about Judith do, actually.

Second, James is said to be the leader of his friend group; Judith definitely is. She takes care of her little brother and his friends. She's most at home with the rest of the Revolutionary... something (aka the Merry Thieves in canon) and I love love love seeing the friendship the four of them have (or at least Judith has with the other three). Gender doesn't change that, and it's really refreshing to see those kind of intense, no-pretense, light-in-the-darkness kinds of friendships among women. Makes me miss my primary school friend group, but also, for the first time, shows me something of what we could still be, represented in our own gender. Yes, this friend group have their own problems, and they suffer as they would when Judith slowly unravels (more on that later). But for now, overall, I love how she takes care of the others, especially Christa (in comparison to canon, because James and Christopher was a friendship I didn't see explored or resolved the way it deserved, and James does sometimes treat him in a bit of a derogatory way). Still, just as James does encourage and support his friends to thrive as they are and access the things that bring them joy, Judith also does something similar in the way she leads them on adventures. I don't know if a style of leadership that isn't too bossy and more collaborative is harder to recognise as leadership at all when a man does it than a woman? Or maybe our canon James doesn't actually live up to his 'leader' role on page as much as Judith does. I'm not sure. Please comment!

Just like James, Judith seems more neurodivergent during alt-COI and after, during the enchantment and after it's off and she's making sense of what's happened to her--but then going back to alt-COG, you can kinda fill in the gaps. She's definitely (probably) autistic and reminds me of someone. Some kind of stereotypical female protagonist who solves things and is stubborn--Anne of Green Gables? Nancy Drew? Scout Finch? Seriously, guys, let me know who it might be. I don't have the best memory for books (and shows) I consumed 10-20 years ago. Unless it's Clary again. I can't remember. But, back to James, I think seeing Judith has reminded me of how he reminds me much more of a more common female protagonist who you're kinda viewing the story through their eyes and they don't have a larger-than-life personality like many of our Herondale or otherwise men do. (I find it kind of refreshing, and hey, he is Tessa's son, and not everyone can be Matthew Fairchild.) But somehow, Judith manages to be both. A bigger personality, in some ways? Or is it just James as a girl is more jarring and more memorable? Or is she slightly different? Or is it just that she's culturally more allowed to feel her feelings? (More on this later). Anyway, her personality stands out, but also not. She's kind of a shadow, quiet, going through the world not really as the centre of people's attention, not really wanting to be, liking to be on equal footing with her friends. Slow to open up, ready to escape a bit with a book or something at most times (or literally turn into shadow), most at home with a small circle of similar friends. Uncomfortable with being taken care of--whether out of preference or just not thinking of anyone ever taking care of her, we're not sure. Probably seems lost in her head quite often though she's present with those closest to her or who she's focused on to solve something. Especially when she's not under an enchantment. Feels, processes things quietly, uncomfortable with crowds but not standing up for what's right or true in front of them. On guard with a world who so often say hurtful things, but accepts and has processed things the way they are, and yet, does always seem to be weighed down by something (we discussed PDD/dysthymia, and as Thomas says, 'James's eyes were always haunted'). Shadowed. She's a lot like James, like she should be. So why does her personality seem to stand out more? Is it just because when a boy has ideas and likes to feel things alone rather than talk about it immediately, it's normal, but when a girl does she's awkward and headstrong? Or is there more to it?

I had a bit of a theory based on something I noticed about James that was taken away to--increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the plotline. So that miscommunication doesn't do more damage than actual demons. And that is this weird insecurity James has about worrying his parents. It's like he senses that they long for him to be happy and have friends and everything. You know Will and Tessa. It makes perfect sense. And James being James, he feels I think both a little suffocated by this and pressure to make them happy in return (good old slight accidental neurodivergent enmeshment, not that I think they're actually enmeshed per se, just all very sensitive to each other's emotions and slightly misapplying principles of kindness and well-wishing with blurry boundaries. or maybe that's the definition of enmeshment). Anyway, he does this as subconsciously as any form of neurodivergent masking for those of us who are also high-masking and intuitively highly attuned to others' energies: he puts on a facade, the way he communicates, to try and tell them what they want to hear. Be what they want him to be (and actually beats himself up a fair bit when he isn't, especially when he was younger). It develops into lying being his go-to response when he doesn't feel safe enough or the right kind of focused attention that adults around him can afford, to tell the truth. He's such a well-intentioned and relatable liar. Something about how the nervous system works and a lesson on how honesty is a two-way street made much more feasible by communicated safety, acceptance and lack of reactivity. I could go on. Cordelia is kind of the same, James finds it relatable, and it almost destroys their marriage about a thousand times in its first month. I can relate. Many of you can too. Take it as a lesson. Practice cultivating both honesty and the environment it thrives in. And if you want to see what happens when it's actually used, take a look at this AU.

Judith is more direct, and this, I think, comes out in both her narration and the actual plot. Because James' 'I'm-actually-okay' masking comes out even in the way he thinks/communicates. He goes through life, feeling and experiencing everything in the moment as it is, but it's as if he accepts it so as not to dwell on it and worry something. He seems like he's taking skills from therapy and taking them a little too far. Or is I-must-not-worry-or-burden-you just the only language he knows? Probably both. Judith, on the other hand, yes she feels so much she dissociates herself all the way into shadow and teleporting MUCH farther than just Chiswick at least once, but her habitual go-to isn't straight up lying, or concealing anything, really (it could have saved her getting arrested like Cordelia did for James if she was a bit more like him, or maybe not, but it is how it is). And as a result, everything is closer to the surface and you can't help but want to give her a hug. There it is. I think I mostly answered my own question. And it's great, too, to have female characters you can just feel so easily as a reader. Who don't seem to be masking in the way they communicate (narrate). Refreshing. We need more examples of this.

And that, also, I think is why as a reader it can be harder to see just how much James is going through during TLH. Combined with the fact Cordelia does view him through kind of rose-coloured glasses (which, honestly, is more what James needs in comparison to either sympathy which he hates or the bigoted disgust at his heritage that definitely has impacted his self-esteem). Whereas, I think with Judith it's a lot easier. And it's physically painful when we see her slowly losing it, or her guilt later, once she can feel things again. And yet, she's also very practical even then, able to pour herself into the task at hand. As stubborn and resilient as she is fragile. As resourceful as she is disabled, both happy to rely on others in respectful community and able to rescue herself and others as well. She bends the simple categories we put characters in based on their personalities, seeming to be multiple contradictory things. Which is both what a realistic person does, and is just like James. No one only needs rescuing, and no one is only a rescuer. Certainly not when we try to put gendered stereotypes on those things. Judith would hate being helpless, if you thought that was what a woman was supposed to be. And James would hate that too, but he would also lose the humanity, sensitivity and relatableness we love so much if he were only a hero. And Cordelia would lose her admirer. No one wants that.

I really liked Claude and Judith's relationship dynamic: it was realistic and still an abstraction of canon, even if Judith, if she has loved Claude romantically for years like James has Cordelia, she doesn't realise it yet (even once the spell is gone). They respect each other and mostly stand up for themselves too. I wish we could get more of Judith trying to figure out what she felt (just to see how it compares to canon). But maybe romance is romanticised as much as gender is normalised in the colours we're told to view the world through, and this is both more realistic and actually healthy--as healthy as you can get given the circumstances.

Overall, there's one big change (more honesty), a small one (lack of romanticising romance and unchanging childhood love) and I think the rest is pretty consistent between James and Judith, but the way I at least perceived it, are coloured by the view we have of gender (and the Big Change does exacerbate some of this, and also some of it does unfortunately have to do with physical safety less than purely constructed social norms). Of many of the things that are common and were abstracted, I could say are hard to capture and translate into a different context but still do equally.

Judith got me thinking a lot, because James is a character I relate to a lot both with how I mask my neurodivergence and personality, and what's actually underneath, and seeing a 'female version' I guess (who is also more unmasked) made me double take a fair bit and think--am I actually like that, when I'm not pretending to be what they want to see of me? And maybe, just maybe, that's actually a pretty cool thing to be.

*they/them referring to the quadrilogy, not its author (who did such a great job and got me thinking so much through the stories). This character will always remind me to eat some iron when I feel the depression setting in. Just to cover all bases. Stay tuned for more of said thinking about the other characters!

[italeean]

A goodbye without tears

You can find the plot here

A/N: Hi!! I'm still alive... after more than a month of inactivity... 😓 Sorry for not posting my content for a while, after I was done with my entry test and tasted a bit of freedom, I realized how burnt-out I truly was. I took a break from literally everything and hung out with my friends and family since I spent the whole summer studying for a thing or another 😅 Anyway, back to the important stuff, this fic was a request... that I took way too long to write... again... (PLEASE FORGIVE MEEE) but I found it really interesting and I related a lot to the scenario, which is why it came out a bit more personal than I wanted. But at the same time I liked it the way it was so I decided to post it like this. Spero vi piaccia 💚🤍❤️ (I hope you enjoy it) Suggestions and support are always appreciated ^_^

DISCLAIMER: This is a tickle fic, if it's not to your taste I don't suggest you read it

"That's it for today, guys" Ukai's loud voice echoed throughout the gym "Make sure to stretch properly, clean up, and then go home and get some rest!" He said before leaving, knowing he had to prepare some meat buns. Everything went as usual, but a little detail made that day different. It was the third-years' last training.

Daichi almost couldn't believe it was really happening. Three years had already passed and he was about to leave his volleyball team. And as chaotic as said team was, he didn't like the idea at all. He just felt like it wasn't the right time.

Sure, Ennoshita was more than ready to become captain, but were Tanaka and Noya ready to become less... hurricane-like? Was Yamaguchi going to find his self-confidence? What about Tsukki? Would he find it in himself to open up to the others? To not talk about Hinata and Kageyama's constant bickering...

There was still so much he could help everyone with, even if he was just supporting them or giving a fatherly advice. But he had to admit to himself that they were going to manage without him, his team was full of capable and motivated guys, they were more than capable of overcoming any kind of hardship. He also had to admit to himself that the one who wasn't ready to that kind of change was him.

"...so I was thinking I could go to university and work somewhere to help my family par fo- hello? Earth to Daichi? Are you even listening?" Suga's scoff brought the (soon-to-be ex) Karasuno captain back to Earth. "Sorry Suga, I spaced out for a second..." He let out an embarrassed chuckle.

The grey-haired guy looked at his teammate with genuine concern in his eyes. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?" He asked worried.

Daichi glanced for a second at the others, who had started cleaning already, and then told his friend about his worries about that being his last training, having to leave the team, missing the team, missing volleyball in general...

"DAICHIIIII!!!" His train of thoughts got abruptly interrupted by Suga's bonk, which was objectively kind of deserved. It was Mr. Refreshing's duty to help anyone who was feeling down, one way or another, and the whole team knew that.

However, there was still a nostalgic glint in the captain's gaze, and that couldn't be allowed. Sad goodbyes were not accepted at Karasuno Volleyball Team. The gray-haired guy looked around himself for a second. Narita and Kinoshita had already left with Ennoshita because they still had some exams to study for. Noya and Tanaka had to study as well... but they insisted on helping with the cleanup before going. Yachi and Kyoko were gone as well; they wanted to spend some time together since they were going to say goodbye, too.

"Ahem! Guys, gather here for a second." The vice-captain said, waiting for everyone to come. "As you know, this is our last day here." His first sentence was enough to make everyone groan and whine, but he was able to hush them all. "BUT! We don't want it to be a sad goodbye, we want to enjoy this journey until the last second... or at least that's what we agreed upon. However someone is feeling sulky right now. Does anyone have a suggestion to fix this little problem?"

Making sure Daichi wouldn't see him, he wiggled his finger to give his own suggestion to the team. Obviously, they all caught on quickly, especially Hinata and Nishinoya, who immediately pounced on the captain.

The dark-haired guy stumbled backwards, trying to keep the two short guys still, but when Suga and Asahi decided to join the fun, he had no choice but topple to the ground while trying to hold back his laughter. "Guys! What a-ahare you doing? This is- ack! This is nohot necessary!"

"On the contrary, captain, this is exactly what you need." The vice-captain smirked teasingly at him and started poking his stomach. Asahi was keeping his arms pinned above his head with one hand and softly fluttered the fingers of the other one all over his neck and ears, changing sides every time he scrunched his shoulder to protect those spots.

Yamaguchi had managed to drag Tsukki into this, claiming that it was a bonding moment and he would've enjoyed it. They were straddling the captain's calves and squeezed the kneecaps and right above them. It made him kick so much that he almost managed to buck the first-years off a couple of times.

Noya was sitting between Daichi's legs and was squeezing his hips and sides quickly and mercilessly, while Tanaka was helping the vice-captain with the stomach. "Guhuys Ihihi sweheahahar..!" The dark-haired guy quickly dissolved into hiccupy giggles and found it impossible to build a complete sentence. "Ah ah ah," Suga teasingly reprimanded him "no swearing at school." He said while dipping his index finger in the wing spiker's belly button and wiggling around, which elicited some snorts that made everyone laugh out loud.

Obviously Hinata had joined the fun as well; he was getting the right side of the ribcage, having fun with counting the bones and sliding his fingers into every groove. "Oi Kageyama, are you coming?" He yelled, only receiving an annoying scoff in response. But he knew better. "Are you afraid I'm better than you at this?"

The setter glared intensely at him and approached the group (with the faintest blush on his face, according to Hinata). He kneeled by the left side of Daichi's ribcage and attacked, going immediately all out, to which the redhead responded with upping his game as well. "Thihihihis ihihis *snort* Thihihis ihis nohohot ahah- ACK! ahaha cohohompehetihihitiohon..!" The third-year scolded them between his laughter.

However, the other teammates seemed to disagree. Seeing the little competition between the freak-duo made them want to join. Daichi arched his back and tried to squirm as much as he could, which wasn't much since he didn't want to take the risk of hurting anyone. "Yohohou're beheheihing meheahahan nohow!" Whoops... wrong thing to say. The teens smirked evilly and started tickling him harder while teasing him as well!

He couldn't figure out who was saying what, he was too lost in his own laughter to listen carefully. He just heard a mix of voices saying "Tickle tickle tickle..." "Aaaww come on, smile captain" "Hahaha did you just snort?" "Hehehe see? This day must be happy for all of us, now smile for us!" "Who's making you laugh more? Me or that boke?"

Okay, maybe he could figure out who asked that last question, but that wasn't the point. He felt his face become red, and he couldn't even hide behind his hands since Asahi was keeping them pinned. But it wasn't so bad after all... until someone, probably Suga, had the idea of going for his thighs. That made him go berserk.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA OHOHOKAHAHAHAY IHIHI GIHIHIVEHE!! IHIHIHIHI GIHIVEHEHEHE PLEHEHEAHASE STAHAHAHAHAHAP!!" He screm at the top of his lungs. His thighs were his absolute worst spot, and he'd been enduring that playful assault for God knows how long; it made him tap out almost immediately.

"Alright, let's let him up." The grey-haired guy told everyone to stop and helped the captain to sit up. He was still giggling and a giddy smile was plastered all over his face. "That... that wahas... absoluhutely ruthless..." he panted "but maybehe I needed that... thahank you guys..." he finished with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Daichi, for being the greatest captain ever and even guiding us all the way to nationals." Suga said with teary eyes. What could he say... even Mr. Refreshing himself wasn't immune to the strange feeling of saying goodbye. He was already feeling nostalgic as well!

"Sugaaa!! We said no tears!" Hinata yelled while tackling him down and going straight for his sides and tummy. "Hihinahataaa! WhaHAHAhat aharehehe yoHOHouhu dohohoIHIhihiHIng?!" The vice-captain broke down into his high-pitched and squeaky laughter. "Hahaha I think I'll join as well... it's true that we said no tears after all." Asahi said approaching to the grey-haired guy, only to lift up Hinata and blow a raspberry on his tummy.

"NAHAHAHA AHAHASAHAHAIHIHI GEHET HIHIHIM NAHAHAT MEHEHEHEHEEE" The tangerine howled, but he was quickly rescued by Noya, who took advantage of Asahi's distraction while he was putting down Hinata to jump on his back and tickle his neck and torso.

Right after he recovered, the redhead pounced on Kageyama, bringing him down. "Bohohokehehe yohou're gohonnahaha gehehet ihihihit!!" He yelled, trying to sound angry and intimidating, before fighting back and darting his hands up into the middle blocker's underarms. "Ihihi'll beheahahat yohohouhu thihis tihihimehehehe Bahahakahageheyahahama!"

In the meanwhile, Suga thought that a certain couple of first-years was missing too much on the fun, so he wrapped an arm around Yamaguchi's shoulders to keep him in place while he scribbled on his tummy with his other hand. "Nononoohohohoho pleheheahaseee" The pinch server's legs gave out and he went to the floor, but he never did anything to actually stop the older guy.

Tanaka decided to help the vice-captain with his mission and went straight after Tsukishima, who desperately tried to not laugh... in vain of course.

Before they knew it, a tickle fight on full scale had blown out in the gym and everyone was laughing their head off.

Daichi glanced at the mess right in front of him before joining. The thought of graduating didn't sound so scary or sad after all, because now he knew he was never truly going to leave his team, or better, his family.

[lizz-revs]

Belle Automata I

This game is an otome game, where you play as a self-aware android to find your purpose and your special someone.

Story

The heroine of this game was sold by her previous owners after her master died (probably because they noticed she has emotions and is self-aware). At the beginning of the game she arrives at the mansion, where the people, who bought her, live. While she is still sad about the loss of her master, she cannot just sit there and grieve because she needs to find a new purpose for her existence and maybe (most likely, if you don’t fail) even love.

The Characters

Heroine (Aureve)

The main character is a self-aware android, a dreamweaver model, whose sole purpose was to weave tapestries for her master. Well, until he died. His family realized she was self-aware and proceeded to sell her off. Now, she was brought to a fancy mansion and for the first time in her life can decide for herself, what she wants to do in the future.

Victor

Victor is the only butler of the mansion she was brought to. He is stoic and can be cold and straightforward at times. He seldomly smiles, talks harshly and is very overprotective towards the Nightmare Prince. However, if the main character chooses him as her love interest, he will show you he can be very emotional, if you have the patience to deal with him despite his behaviour. (Well, not gonna lie my heart skipped a beat at some scenes…)

Nightmare Prince

The Nightmare Prince is the heroine’s saviour and employer. He is a very mysterious person, who alters his voice, when speaking with the heroine, and besides her, only speaks with Victor and his brother Roman. If the heroine is patient and tries to befriend him, eventually, he opens up to her and she get to see, what he looks like and why he is behaving this weirdly.  

My Opinion

I actually enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. It was especially refreshing to see a new kind of main character in these kinds of games. I’m used to the typical damsel in distress, who has zero combat abilities and endangers herself in every way possible to humankind. Not that I don’t enjoy reading those kinds of stories, but having a totally different heroine is a welcome change of pace as well.

The main character does not endanger herself in any way, but instead seeks to understand herself and her emotions better. She starts slowly liking the companion she chose, not aware of her own feelings in the beginning and unsure where everything will lead to. Additionally, she chooses not only whom to pursue, but also what to do with herself. She gains new friendships, new hobbies and new goals.

It is very nice to read this kind of a story in my opinion, although I do feel that it is in some parts way too hopeful (but, hey, it is a fairy tale after all). To be honest I still would have bought this game, if only to play the Nightmare Prince’s route because …. Well, this guy is so adorable and precious. You just feel like you want to hug and protect him and tell him that everything’s going to be alright. Lucky me got this for free though to review as a curator. (And I’m so happy because otherwise I wouldn’t have played it probably because it’s so underrated that it never popped up in my recommendations…) Anyways, even besides the Nightmare Prince, Victor’s route was nice to read as well.

Besides the writing, the game can offer you nice visuals (although the CG look worse than the character designs), really good voice-acting (yes, it is fully voiced PLUS the androids actually sound like androids, which is amazing) and some really good lines that you can quote and seem smart (as I did here).

So, while I would give a 10/10 for the Nightmare Prince, I’d only give an 8.5/10 for Victor. Why the difference in score? Well, like I said I didn’t like the parts, where the game gets too fairy tale-ish and it was especially so in Victor’s route. I also didn’t like how Victor behaved that much. If I was the heroine, I would have quit pursuing him (hell, I even thought the bad ending was the better one). Also, the difficulty to get the perfect ending is high. Already 3 wrong choices gave me the “normal ending” with the Nightmare Prince (and for me the right choices were kind of difficult to guess sometimes) and for Victor I even got the “bad ending” when I didn’t use a guide. And lastly, I did not like that the difference between the endings was so little. If you for example get the perfect ending, the normal and the bad ending will have 90% the same story, so you will be skipping a lot of text.

You might be puzzled, why the Nightmare Prince got such a high score then? Because his story was far more realistic and consistent with my interpretation of the heroine’s personality. His character was also deeper and more “thought-out” in my opinion. The difference in the endings was also very true to his character and in this case, it actually made sense for the story to be 90% the same for all endings. All in all, I just really liked his character and story. I was actually so engrossed that I played his whole route including all endings in one sitting because I just wanted to know, how it ends.

So, yeah, here you have my opinion on this game and I hope you consider at least looking into it because it is far more underrated than it deserves to be.

[drawlfoy]

I can't tell you just how heartbroken Wonders of Ohio left me. I've only ever felt that way with one other fic, and even then WoO topped it. Unlike WoO, the other fic had a very clean cut ending to it (they both died at the end rip) so I wasn't left to my own thoughts about what could've happened after. Which might be why WoO has been absolutely haunting me for the past two days, it hasn't left my mind at all. I think about certain moments, the ending, oh god ESPECIALLY THE ENDING, AT LEAST once an hour. I get that familiar feeling of my throat drying up and my eyes begin to water when I think about it. Another reason being the way you write. I was able to immerse myself into the story and imagine what I was reading in my head, one specific case of this I remember was when Draco made Reader and himself late to school. When he was fidgeting in the passengers seat, his hair unkempt, I could almost see him. I imagined draco with his messy platinum hair, wearing a muggle polo shirt because its just so posh rich kid of him, nervous as he leaned over the middle compartment into the backseat as he performed that glamour spell. I've never been very creative and imaginative but with your writing it was easy for me. It reminded me of how I was able to do the same when reading the Harry Potter books, being able to almost live in that universe in my head was so refreshing. Anyways this is really long, SORRY, but when I saw that you also had a Tumblr (as I originally read your stories on AO3) I just had to look. I scrolled through your page for a while and I gasped when I eventually saw that you posted what you started on writing for a continued ending? (I don't know how to phrase it I'm sorry 😭) I read it and while WoO is still breaking my heart over and over again, I think I'll be able to think about it for longer than 5 minutes at a time without bursting into tears now. So thank you. 🩷

AHHH i’m so upset bc i typed out a whole response and the fucking tumblr app (count ur days staff) deleted it urghhh

anyway some points i’d like to hit (apologies for the length but i just wanted to give this the response it deserved):

1) first of all THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHABKYOU this was genuinely the highlight of my whole year. people like you are the reason i write and i’m being so genuine when i say that this message is like the kind of stuff i dream about getting as a writer. so in conc i’m kissing you on the mouth you didn’t need to but you wrote all of this out and for that i’m forever grateful

2) some thoughts on the ending: first of all IM SORRY lmaoo. i’ll let u in on a little secret: i actually originally planned on a completely different ending where y/n ended up using the box right off the bat and went back to england and spent the last half of the fic learning magic and interacting with the golden trio crew/the malfoys. i told this to a few writer friends and they made me realize that it wouldn’t be as useful in actually answering the silly question that i based the whole fic on (what would draco do if he was plopped in the middle of muggle america?). i decided then that i really was more interested in learning how draco’s character would develop as he came to love someone who was fundamentally differently from him (and didn’t first go through a change that departed from her basic character traits). from then on i realized that a happy ending wouldn’t involve either of them giving up their world at the end of the summer, since they needed to grow up a little bit (and at that point i was old enough to find the idea of giving up your entire life for a relationship at 18 completely terrifying). hence the sad ending…but i think in the long run it means that they end up having a much healthier dynamic later on!

3) if you want to know about what happened after the deleted scene you found: i left the ending so open because i always thought i’d come back to write another series where i explored what happened after, but i don’t think i’ll end up doing that so i’ll tell you what i was planning. i always imagined y/n eventually going to england after graduating and getting established in her career and learning magic (because like literally who wouldn’t if presented with that option). draco is just kind of like a stay at home husband who’s just psyched to be there.

4) thank you so so much for your note about how immersive WoO was!! i’m ngl i’ve always struggled with incorporating imagery into my work. i spent my formative years avoiding anything i considered to be purple prose and that really reflected in my writing. i’m not a super visual person so if i could mention the 3 details i think are important in each scene and could just get on with the meat of the plot, i would, so i’m so thrilled to hear that it was able to give you that experience as a reader despite the fact that i’ve always been worried that i can’t 🥹 thank you again for telling me all of this bc it genuinely warmed my heart i know that this is a little disjointed but oml this like made my day

ill stop talking now because i’m gonna get even more incoherent okok but thank you!!!!! <3

[theyilinglaozus]

Link your top 5 sets and tag 5 others creators to do the same

Thank you to the incredibly lovely @baek1nho for the tag! 💖 It was so fun to see what sets you chose, especially as they’re all so very beautiful!

I’m going to follow your lead and keep this to work made within the last year only; so no sets pre 2022 will be showcased here. Think of this tag game as a chance for to talk a little bit about my favourites as an end of the year round up. I've made more gifsets than I thought throughout the year, but still far less than what I have in past recent years.

1 - Mei Changsu and Mu Nihuang; Nirvana in Fire

One of my goals for the new year was to work on changing up my colouring style and experimenting a bit more, and I had a lot of fun doing that in some Nirvana in Fire sets. This was one of my firsts for the show as well as my favourite; as I really liked how the colours were brightened a little bit more compared to the scene itself. It’s one of my more subtle sets when it comes to colours, but it worked out well, I feel. Plus, I just really adore this pairing and this scene between them in the show.

2. One year with Word of Honor celebration set; Word of Honor

Easily the largest set I worked on this year, but also the one I wanted to make sure to dedicate a good amount of time to given how Word of Honor is joint to be one of my favourite dramas. I wanted to celebrate the incredible characters and the strong theme of family carried between them all. The idea to make the characters that leave us greyscale came later, and I know a lot of the notes on the set have people yelling! But, I felt it was important to note how some of these characters’ stories were severed too soon, and how they still left an impact on the lives of those surviving.

My friends over at the Immortal Wanderers discord were incredibly kind and helpful while I was making this, as they would put up with me sharing little gifs and asking questions on ‘should I include this character for this theme, or no?’, especially given Tumblr’s restrictions.

3. Xie Yun and Wen Kexing parallels; Word of Honor & Legend of Fei

I love parallels across media! Especially when it comes to media created from the mind of the same author!

I had so much fun making this, especially since at the time I was watching Legend of Fei, I’d really grown to love Xie Yun’s character. He was so fun and interesting to watch on screen, and Yibo truly brought him to life. It makes me a little sad that I haven’t made nearly as much content for Legend of Fei than what I should, so maybe that’s something I should fix.

But it was such a fun little thing to see how the two characters carried moments in each respective shows that mirrored the other - not through their actions as such, but just through the words they shared to their significant others. It really highlighted some of the tropes that I see Priest carry in her works, and I wanted to create a set that shared them since I hadn’t actually seen that around at the time. I’ll need to get the Guardian at some point and see if I can ever expand on this trend - maybe that’s a goal for next year?

4. Hei Fengxi and Bai Fengxi; Who Rules the World

This set gave me hell. I was constantly struggling with the question ‘did I really download this episode in 1080p, or was I lied to?’ I had to delete the first attempt and come away from photoshop for a day, but when I returned the next day refreshed and ready to start again, I was very happy with the outcome!

My favourite thing about this set is the golden colours. I struggle so much with finding the right balance with that colour sometimes, so when this worked out as well as it did - I felt really proud? When I look back on it now I still smile at the golds, since I think they came out really well!

5. Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang Kate Bush set; Love Between Fairy and Devil

My most recent set - and probably the only one this year where I played with any kinds of effects for scenes. I really love how this came out, especially how colourful it was. The typography is something I’m really proud of aswell, as sometimes that can be a bit of a struggle to get right.

Tagging;

@minnarr, @gusucloud, @xiaolanhua, @yesdramas and @bimorgana.

Feel free to ignore if you don’t wish to take part / have already done so! And if you’d like to take part but weren’t tagged, feel free to join in with the fun anyway!

[consumeronionbulletin]

Search: WWW (2019)

This show is framed as a big corporate drama, but it's really about the relationships between three amazing women. I liked pretty much all of it. I particularly liked how the history between these women is given more weight than the romances.

My only complaint is that there aren't enough shows like this out there.

The lens the show uses for these characters is very matter-of-fact. If this were a Hollywood production, I'd have expected some kind of girl-boss power fantasy. The show just puts the women in charge, flaws and all, and trusts the writing and acting to carry the audience through. It does all of this remarkably well.

I had trouble with the first episode, as it kind of throws a curveball and puts you into the corporate / political deep end, but once the show gets going in episode two, it doesn't stop.

The Performances

Im Soo-jung as Bae Ta-mi (Tammy). Soo-jung does a great job as (pretty much) the main character and the center of the drama. I didn't always care about the corporate nonsense being thrown around by the script, but I never felt bored watching Bae Ta-mi. You get to see the whole range from charming and feisty, to exhausted, sad, needy/anxious, and even happy. Really fun to watch.

Lee Da-hee as Cha Hyeon (Scarlet). This was one of the standout performances. Cha Hyeon was the most active of the characters and all of the best moments came from watching her interactions with the other characters. Lee Da-hee was having fun with this role, and that showed through the entire performance.

Jeon Hye-jin as Song Ga-kyeong. The most subdued of the three leads. The writers chose to make this character a bit of an enigma. Jeon Hye-jin had a tough job as she had to have good chemistry with the other leads, while having the least amount of good character interaction, and she had to still seem believable. It took almost the entire series for me to really understand the character, but Jeon Hye-jin had enough charisma to keep me interested throughout.

Ye Soo-jung as Jang Hee-eun. The big villain of the series and one of the more interesting performances. Ye Soo-jung did a great job playing a harmless old lady (when it helped her get what she wanted) while switching on a dime to a menacing abusive terror. Her motives were relatively simple, but the character never felt like a cardboard cutout. Really interesting to watch and an amazing change from her role in Do You Like Brahms.

Everyone else! This was a true ensemble show and all of the characters brought something fun to the show, even that annoying two-timing ex (Pyo Joon-soo). Standouts: Kwon Hae-hyo as CEO "Brian", Jang Ki-yong as Park Morgan, Lee Jae-wook as Seol Ji-hwan (especially funny in the fake drama), and Oh Ah-yeon as "Ellie".

TL; DR:

Smartly written with very good performances from the leads. It's refreshing to see a show that has women in charge without pandering or falling into harmful stereotypes. The portrayal of the relationships between these three women blew me away.

[darktentacles0666]

BATDR - reflections

SPOILER ALERT!

Today I managed to complete Bendy and the Dark Revival! Yay!  I would like to share with you my reflections on the game. What I liked and what I didn't like. The difficulty level of the game, is much higher than in Bendy and The Ink Machine. Both the appearance and behavior of the Ink Demon have been completely changed. Now Ink Bendy is no longer a mindless creature wandering around the workshop. He is much more intelligent, aggressive. But the most important change is that now Ink Bendy has a voice and speaks to us, mostly trying to scare us. As for his design, there is a drawing of him in my gallery, where he describes exactly how I feel about his design. I really liked the final battle and the final boss and that it was not the Beast. Quite an interesting concept. But the biggest surprise for me was the fact that in the final stage of the game, after the fight with the boss we could run around and control the Beast. Overall the look of the Beast is wonderful to me, I fell in love, it's my new love in the game and I'm not kidding at all. I'm already choosing names for our ink spawns (okay here I was joking) xD But seriously the refreshed design of the Beast looks great.  Now what I really disliked about this game.

The main thing that annoyed me was Allison. I really like this character, but here she was so annoying that I felt like slamming her.

First: When we first meet her and ask her to take us with her she replies that she can't because she has a wolf that doesn't trust strangers. Was it only to me that it sounded like "I have a dog at home that doesn't like strangers"? And when we finally meet her again, this time in Tom's company, the only interaction we can do with him is .... be careful not to sleep off our chairs from the sensation ..;.  petting him. Like a dog! In BATIM Tom have still some character, but here he has been reduced to the status of a defense dog. I don't like it very much. I know that many people were thrilled with the petting scene, but for me it was embarrassing and demeaning to Tom. I seriously didn't see anything cute about it, I was sad.

Second: the scene in which Allison kills Sammy. What the hell for! Not only, Sammy appears in barely two scenes, when he does practically nothing. In the scene before his death, he only calls for the worship of Bendy. That is, he does what Sammy usually does.

Third: the scene when Allison kills Alice Angel. Once, it is identical to the method she used in BATIM, piercing her with a sword. However, the worst came afterwards, when there was a dialogue between the two. That telling the dying Alice that she was always beautiful would have had more empathy and kindness, if not for the fact that Allison killed her herself. I know that Alice deserved to die, but Allison could have really let go of this talking about a beautiful face.

Another thing I didn't like was the lack of Sammy as a boss. We got some King Amok or Ink Tooth Spider, and Sammy was reduced to a background character. Even the strange phantom that frightened us from time to time had more screen time than poor Sammy.  Instead of that stupid king, who was actually such a simple opponent that he only wasted our time, I would have preferred to see Sammy's own boss role. Let's all hug Sammy together and place a candle on his grave.

Overall I liked the game very much, I recommend it. And as standard, I invite you to my gallery.