#it mostly came from the narration!! and i wanted to be like!!! ok!!!! we get it!!!!

[scienceismygirlfriend]

Reading asks:

2. Flops! Or 9. Compels me tho

2. flops! i consider this one a flop because i really wanted to like it BUT. i did not enjoy Things In Jars. it had a great premise, and i love a ghost sidekick as much as the next guy, but it just did not come together for me. and the most frustrating this is that the things i didn't enjoy about it don't seem to be the things that bothered anyone else who didn't like the book so i didn't even get the cathartic release of reading the two star reviews of the book!!

9. compels me tho: this is maybe a goofy answer but i read the first dinotopia children's novel (Windchaser) while on a road trip and it's pretty simple and predictable but DINOSAURS THOUGH. i don't know why i never read this as a child (i devoured A Land Apart from Time) but i know i would have been soooo annoying about it if i had. it's cute!

[sneakydraws]

Ok so! As per the wishes of @chernychnyi and others and also myself, here's a little analysis/rant about the boreo front bottoms lyricstuck thing I did. Because of tumblrs 30 image limit I had to fuse some of the frames and also couldn't fit in the unused frames I really wanted to mention - so those will get plonked down in a separate post I think. Ok let's roll

To begin with, the pov - I didn't exactly plan ahead on this regard, I kind of just listened to the song and experienced visions of tgf scenes to go along with the lyrics, but once I picked this project back up after half a year of letting it sit in my procreate files I definitely saw a sort of narrative form around it. Most of what I had was very much from Boris's pov and about Theo. The tone was sort of protective, sort of desperate, sort of penitent, sort of possessive? I'll elaborate on it later but I basically ended up exploring a lot of the ambiguous or unhealthy elements of the boreo dynamic, and realising that when I was maybe 70% done made me lean more purposefully into that angle in the remaining frames. So for example in this frame, even though they're both indisputably wiry and broke down, I choose to make this about Theo because Boris is the worldly, knowledgeable survivor to Theo's harrowed newcomer. There's a fragility to Theo that's less visible, and maybe less present, in Boris.

Like in this line, which has a great air of warning or instruction to it, like the singer is trying to brace their friend for what's to come. I actually struggled hardcore with this frame! Because I knew I wanted this image of Theo reaching toward the surface of the pool, but it arguably made more sense in the "jaws theme song on repeat" lyric (since it's Boris pulling Theo down)... I ended up sticking it here because I wasn't sure what else to replace it with but I think it's kind of a happy mistake because it right off the start showcases the dichotomy in Boris and Theo's relationship and its more toxic aspects - Boris pulling Theo down visually in one frame, but promising to help him swim in the lyrics in the next.

I don't think it came through so well but I wanted the previous panel to have a bright sun streaming light through Theo's fingers, and the blazing desert sun in this frame to echo that - the sun as the element of danger, Boris's opposite. The positioning of light as danger and shade as safety is a trope I sometimes drift towards in queer narratives and it definitely goes back to that heartbeat short film I didn't even like that much...

Maybe my all time favourite scene to depict with teenage boreo - Boris dragging a dead drunk Theo off the street... I love it because it's so rarely we see Boris be the responsible one, the one doing what's Supposed to be done

I really wish I'd had the time and the motivation to spruce this up really well because in some points I envisioned really clearly the kind of transition I'd want to have... I would have loved for the camera to swoosh down and do a little overshoot into this frame, so some of the dynamic of the punch is carried into the visuals. Oh well! Apparently this line (like the song itself) is actually about heroine usage, but here it's Larry and Theo - I feel like a snakebite is an apt metaphor for this punch, with its sheer unexpectedness

The nightmare comfort is a must have of course... I was kind of afraid I was repeating myself with how often I use this kind of scene with this exact framing ahahaha

Massively difficult shot to pull off because I wanted the distortion to be prominent and for Boris and Theo to be really small in the frame but for it to still be mostly readable!! Anyway this is their weird drunken hookups, which I think fit this line not because secret teenage hookups are inherently evil or anything but like. I do think the way they're never ever addressed and the shame associated with them in Theo's narration give them a definite air of unhealthiness. A red flag... A warning sign, if you will

I actually think at one point the drunken teenage sex went here, with the undertone being that Boris realises there's something wrong about it but doesn't stop anyway? But that's kind of muddled, and the much more obvious choice is the theft of the painting. And the "amount to take/reasons to take more" plays well with Boris's habit of stealing random shit from Theo already before moving on to the big fish

The reunion! I play Boris as catching on well to the inauthenticity and comphetness (as well as comp-normie-ness) of Theo's little life - and reminiscing, I suppose, on how unsurprising it is that he'd end up pulled in this direction, trying to run away from the trauma and shame of his real self. There's also a little guilt here on Boris's part, a little bit of a feeling of culpability - carried over from the theft of the painting and the never-addressed sex, and echoed in a second in the guilt or regret of letting Theo leave like he did, betrayed and deceived.

This line maybe doesn't ring one hundred percent true because neither of Theo's Vegas guardians really gave enough of a shit about him to "pray he would change", but they do judge and shame him occasionally for his weakness, his trauma and so on, so I think it works. And (although I had to push this line onto Boris's frame simply to have an excuse to show his face) they "close their eyes" to Theo's real self and the sheer horror of his experiences... Hm

Of course Theo cuts his own hair and sends himself away before anyone else can but you know. Too perfect of a fit

Definitely my favourite and cleverest moment - theo "stops by Boris's house", i.e.by their common home, the night he escapes... Boris begs him to stay (another day so he can get the painting)... And the omitting of "I love you but" from Theo's written dialogue, with the massive conspicuous gap in the word bubble, was something I thought of early on. The unsaid "I love you"? Too fucking good not to exploit. And NGL it feels good to be like ooohoho I'm not just matching visuals to existing lyrics, I'm manipulating them to fit my own narrative and engaging in a dialogue with the lyrics or whatever... Hehe

This is the scene where Boris announces he'll run away and Theo immediately says he'll come with. But the important thing to note is that I found out about different shoelacing techniques and made Boris ladder lace his jungle boots

This and the previous lyric, although the visuals show two different scenes, both relate to Theo's apprehension about how following Boris around will surely lead to no good, especially without a plan. Boris through the lyrics is saying don't worry about it, we'll figure something out!

Umm so I drew this with lighting speed as I was editing the whole thing lollll I totally forgot about the instrumental parts and just how LONG they were... I needed something to fill up the space ahahaha. But it's vaguely supposed to hark back to the scene after Mr pavlikovsky beats up Boris, what with the bottle of vodka and the bloody nose and the unconcerned laughter

The pool frolic! Very appropriate. We've got the obligatory moon cameo, and I made sure the pool and the sky were the same stark shade of black so it feels like boris and Theo are hanging between two equally real worlds, plunging into the starry night...

I just remembered that Boris's bracelets pop in and out of existence a lot ahahaha oops! But this is of course essentially the same scene as the "it's gonna look like mud" lyric, only more literal this time. Admittedly this lyric is moreso from Theo's pov, which is a bit out of place here although I do play around with the pov a little later

One of the first frames I'd envisioned I think! I mean come on. And a great example of how the singer really emphasises certain words, so I punch them up a bit by capitalising them

This was actually a struggle because Boris is such an action oriented character - the stupid shit he says doesn't actually have that many consequences! But eventually I thought it would be fitting to show one of the scenes where a semi malicious joke or a mostly innocuous remark activates Theo's internalised homophobia - i ended up going with his comment about Hobies letter.

More timeskip normieness! The spark and look of Theo's I consider artificial, like the flash of the cameras poised to capture the kiss between the engaged couple's, and the look hidden behind the anime shine of Theo's glasses... I could have spent more time showing that but I'll be honest this was one of the last lines I had to illustrate and I was getting impatient. The "I will not be brave" was a tricky one - I kind of wanted it to relate to Boris's selfishness maybe, in taking Theo away from his fiancée? Like, he will not do the noble thing by stepping away and instead Will try to drag Theo back into his life... Though that itself is motivated by a sort of penitent guilt

Again, Boris trying to find a space for Theo in his life - maybe Theo can work for him! Or with him! Anything, god, just forgive me!

I'm a little annoyed because I remember having a good idea for these lines and then I forgot it!! But with this I ended up gesturing vaguely to some reasons why Boris acts like he does - taking control of the life seemingly subject to his dad's whims and work travel, rebelling by imitating his father's worst habits - something something the paradoxical repulsion towards his father and need to imitate or one-up or outdo him...

For a while these lines were both on Boris's back as he stands in front of Hobie's shop. Then I ended up splitting them in two, but they're the same theme - Boris taking responsibility for his actions and trying to atone for his betrayal of Theo. First by tracking the painting down and coming, drenched, to inform Theo of his progress (that scene is one of my favourites between theo and Boris actually) and then by desperately running after the boy when it seems he might carry it off and destroy it forever (another favourite because it showcases Boris's desperation to earn back Theo's trust).

Also, didn't fit it here but the second instrumental section has Theo's face on it - to make a set with the earlier Boris drawing, and they're opposites because Boris's eyes aren't visible while Theo's are the only part of his face visible, and Theo's worried frown suggests that he sees through Boris's jolliness somewhat, and also! It signals a switch to Theo's pov for the final few lines!

Another line that leapt out at me from the beginning - xandra's ominous yet oddly romantic prediction that Theo will follow Boris wherever, even to a prison cell. This is actually kind of funny because initially I thought a twin sized mattress was a mattress for two - and I connected this to xandra's belief that Boris and Theo will always be a set of two, connected at the hip. It wasn't until I googled the lyrics and read the genius annotations that i realized it was the exact opposite - but luckily for me, the connection still kind of works? Maybe not so well for this panel but for the next two for sure:

Like, my initial thought was that they were both cursed to sleep on a two-person mattress alone, with an empty space next to them - but the literal half-empty double bed can also work as a metaphorical single bed, so... Win? And of course there's complicated messaging going on because, like, their sharing a bed is simultaneously something too adult for their teenaged friendship and something from their childhood to haunt them into adulthood, causing them to never "graduate" into a typical adult relationship no matter how hard Theo tries... And the "somebody's attic or basement" fits in with Theo settling in to weltys bedroom... And of course Boris sleeping in Theo's bed after xabdra takes pity on him, an idea I'd touched on before... Not to mention the "let's go home" "home?" "My place. Whatever" exchange that I loooooooooooveeeeeee

And the final frames! I had to consult @frozenladybug for some storyboarding help because while I knew what theme I wanted I couldn't think of a scene... The idea is that Theo will forever be haunted by his past - hence the nightmares - but that now Boris is there to support him, happy end. Flb came up with the "standing by the window" idea which I love because!!! First of all, dawn is breaking, which signals the end of the troubled night but also brings forth the antagonistic sun - almost as a symbol of the night of Boris and Theo's early relationship, dark and dangerous but full of an odd camaraderie and haunted by the Boriscoded moon, ending. But what comes after that night is a different relationship, with its own challenges but maybe changed for the better... And in this scene Boris comforts Theo by physical contact and a cup of tea (hehe) instead of the desperate clutch of their early years - less intense and physical but maybe healthier and less codependent? I'm kind of freestyling but there's something there. I had thoughts during this project about how Boris calming Theo after his nightmares is almost more parental than romantic and how it allows Theo to cling to boris one-sidedly and how it might change with time... Idk, some personal musings played a part as well and it's definitely a reach but that's what was on my mind. Either way, happy bittersweet boreo ending and lemme go and make that rejected drawings post real quick now

[hello-universe-lovers]

im back lol i enjoyed your answers too much so im here to give you more brainrot

24. (Explore) What’s a moment in the game that disturbed/ freaked you out the most?

25. (Explore) What’s a moment in the game that emotionally destroyed you?

27. (Explore) How did you come across this game?

((Aww thanks for liking my answers. I rarely get asks here so it's a nice welcome. Plz do send me more of this I really love to make my brain think

To the answers (uhh, potential spoilers)

24. Most disturbing/freaked out moment? And 25. Moment that emotional destroyed me?

(Put em together bc these scenes fucked me up as well as made me think)

Uhhh...ok, this one is hard, mainly bc I don't play slay the princess. I got into it via YouTube and Tumblr, so a lot of stuff got spoiled for me before I even watched proper gameplay. There really isn't any personally terrific scene for me. So imma talk about some scenes/routes that make me think too hard.

- The Moment of Clarity, all of it: You have fucked up. Like fr. When you get into the grit of this route out, you get a really fucked up story of how destructive the princess can be. This, to me, is the Princess at her worse. More so than the Razor, to me. And it's all your fault. You saw the red flag with the Nightmare, you didn't take it, and now here you are. Plus the voices in the Long Quiet breaking down and welcome death rather than be scared, and with the option to comfort them, it's...bittersweet.

- "We are a path in the woods": That.was.fucked! I didn't know the Wild existed/what she was before actually watching gameplay and the idea of becoming one on a cellular level, just like what Larry and Shifty used to be? Uhhhh, it tingles my spine in both bad and good ways. But I also LOVE the symbolism of that. How the damage is done, Shifty herself even admits to that, so they inevitably spit, willing or not and it's up to Larry and the Princess to make amends, or end it for good. The wild in general is one of those routes where you would want Larry to be kind...but if he stabs her, it's understandable, rather than being needlessly cruel.

- The Dining Scene from HEA: I don't need to say a lot, as a lot of my points have already been said by others. But that table, it hits a fear of mine, and ironically the Narrator's too, which is a stagnant world where nothing you do matters bc there is no longer value in the time you have on this earth. Sure I see it for what it means in universe, but out of universe, I was left pausing the video i was watching to just...think about it. Think about that fear, the anxiety, the implications of the Voice's power, and the Damsel saying "its finally over..." after being stabbed hit me like a boulder. And really, that's what I like about this game, it makes me THINK.

27. How I got into the game?

Funny enough, I had a StP phase years ago, but I kept it mostly to mutuals and myself bc to me, StP seems like a sophisticated game with a lot to say, and ya gurl who likes the fandom side of things didn't felt like she could add to that conversation. It felt like there were too many things, all good things, to keep track of and what i do would feel like a disservice to the source material. That was until the Pristine cut came out, and suddenly StP was back on my feed. With some probing from friends and some years to personally grow, I am a changed woman now. I felt confident engaging in what you can take from this game with its symbolism and meanings, as well as pushing disembodied voices together like playing house. I love both sides of it and I hope to see more of it. So thanks Tumblr, you got me to warm up to this love story

[personwithatophat]

Living Theory

as much as i want to say this is a crack theory, I do believe it ill take the loss if I'm wrong but the proof is here Generation loss theory I don't think the cast is dead. in fact I don't think there were any deaths in TSE Ep 2 This theory that the cast is still alive has a few roots that range from really easy to stupid complex we can start easy. Easy: The idea that showfall media can revive the dead needs to be questioned more. This run-down, abandoned mall with some camera equipment and brainwashed streamers having the power to raise the dead so easily that they will kill off characters, off-screen, legitimately. just in order to bring them back, doesn't make sense. if we find out that showfall mall is some TADC rebuilt reality, fine. but so long as we're working with real-world logic this is taking a step in a direction that's way too far from the rest of the story. "well hetch talked about reviving the cast, Hetch said it was all real" Hetch is an unreliable narrator. in generation loss, it's a very important (and horribly confusing) constant, that we have no reliable narrators.

Medium: All the deaths in Ep. 2 are comedic and nonsensical. it's in a way that's clearly portrayed to us as fake, and portrayed to the characters as real. while there's definitely some wiggle room for improvised show and trying to decipher what's supposed to be real or what is a prop, this is something that they do multiple times through the show where they aren't trying to convince US what's on screen is real, they just have to convince the CAST its real to get the proper reaction. An example of this could be the wall in Ep 1 that was obviously fake but was treated as realistic until the right piece of dialogue came through before sneeg comments on how obviously fake it is. In Ep 2 nikki dies with a comically long pistol, vinny gets crushed by a loony tunes anvil, ethan goes off screen with a rotating wall, the wall-crushing scene is powered by two rats slightly pushing sneeg and austin against a mostly empty room, and puzzler blows up leaving his shoes and slightly torn up chair wizard of oz style. all these deaths are silly, goofy, comedic not just that but since we know sneeg comes back to be in part of ep 3, it implies that austin and likely all the other equally goofy deaths weren't real either. Hard: ok for this just hear me out. at TFC - 20:40 and TSE 49:18 for Ep 1 ranboo picks up a cinderblock in order to slam it against sneegs cage lock. as ranboo hits it against the lock, it doesn't work, and the block warps in his hand. this is because the block is made out of foam, later on, sneeg actually throws the brick at ranboo during the evil snag fight. both ranboo and sneeg comment on the block being real to them. In TFC this scene of the block warping in ranboos hand is actually changed to have a different, debatably worse camera angle just looking behind ranboo and hiding the obvious prop behavior. if the founder's cut is acknowledged by the founder and this is an imperfection that was corrected, then that in its own way is an acknowledgement in canon that the block is made out of foam. Stick With Me If the block is made of foam and sneeg throws the block at ranboo, causing ranboo to reel back, then that means that showfall can simulate the feeling of pain. at what point other than this, would it be relevant that pain can be realistically but heavily simulated? The Surgery Scene. So let's swap the script. Let's say that during the surgery scene, charlie really was just there with a tub full of goop. in this case, it would be *much easier* and *much more effective* to fake the gore instead of the slime by having a short, few-second-long period that charlie feels like he's being cut open and reacts appropriately then find a way to do it real. and if the surgery is fake and its on screen its hardly a challenge to fake an off screen character death or 4. I wont speak for all the deaths but I have my eye on Ep 2 -Tophat

[boopshoops]

💆 and 🏘 for yuu if thats alright?

OK- so a lot of yall asked for the same emojis SO i'm gonna format Yuu's all in one post then do another for Jocia+Ezra-

UHHH DJJDJD THIS IS MY FIRST TIME ANSWERING QUESTIONS IN CHARACTER so lets say the default text is me/narrator then orange is Yuu

@ceruleancattail @the-trinket-witch @rabioa @scint1llat3

💆how do you relax?

"Well, let's get right into it then, shall we?" Yuu clasped her hands together, a sly smile spreading onto her lips, "Relaxation... well I guess listening to music would be my go to. Genre doesn't matter to me mostly," The woman tapped her chin, lightly humming as she thought, "Though I suppose my definition of 'relaxing' isn't exactly universal... I often enjoy getting up and around and even dancing a bit, maybe having a quick chat as well... it helps me center myself. Too many thoughts in this big brain of mine sometimes!~ A way to focus is most definitely what relaxation is to me. Some people find it chaotic, but I don't care about some people. It's fun to me. Besides, it's not like I never sit down and rest."

🏘️where's your happy place?

"Huh... some of these questions are rather deep, aren't they?" Yuu cleared her throat, doing her best to keep a neutral expression, "Much like a lot of people, my happy place isn't an actual PLACE. It is more like a state. All that being said, I'm... not quite sure. Not to say that I'm not happy, of course! There are hard times and good times, but I suppose I'm still trying my best to find such a 'place' for me in this new world. Let's call this one a work in progress, yes? I'll get there eventually, not to worry. I have my plans, of course~"

✏️What are your hobbies?

"Oh! This is a fun one. I'm a musician. I have been taking band and theater courses my whole life," Yuu lifted her head triumphantly, gladly taking the opportunity to brag, "Singing, acting, playing instruments... I managed to get into a pretty prestigious performing arts school back home, and what more could one ask for than to spend their life doing what they love?" Her peppiness suddenly dropped, resulting in a roll of her eyes, "Not that it's useful now that I'm stuck here though. Damn Crowley."

🥣what's your favorite food?

"Bungeoppang!" The prefect chirped, leaning forward in her (imaginary) seat for this (imaginary) interview, "Or, ah- taiyaki, or bread with a sweet red bean filling. I was trying to learn more about my ancestry, and came across this pastry thanks to my father. Originally I didn't think I was the biggest fan of sweets, but, wow~ Only then, after I fell in love with it, did I learn it wasn't even a traditional dish from my father's home... figures. Nonetheless! You'll have to try some!"

"Ah, Here's a fun fact for you, I learned the language a long time ago along with trying to learn more about my family's history, but no one here seems to recognize it, which... makes sense, I guess. It was a bummer at first, but then I learned I can simply say whatever I want without them understanding me. What a breath of fresh air~"

The woman momentarily giggled, "...배고파요"

🙂where do your morals lie?

"Hmph. What a complete 180 of a question..." Her lips pursed into a pout. She offered up a quick glare, but it didn't last very long at all, "I'm just trying my best to exist and let others exist at the moment!" She beamed with the flip of a switch, her suspiciously innocent smile nearly blinding. She kept this one brief. Barely an answer.

🥰do you think you're attractive?

"Yes," The woman answered... almost too quickly, "I like how I look. I spend a lot of time on myself, so it's only natural to get a bit of an ego boost from that, yes? Confidence is a healthy thing! I spent a lot of time carefully crafting my sense of style, it makes me feel... like me." Yuu momentarily fluttered her lashes, accompanied by laughter through a rhythmic tease, "Come onnnn~ you get it, right? You know I'm just a sweetheart? Completely innocent and well-meaning? Aren't I just like a princess? Of COURSE I'm attractive."

😍are you a romantic?

"....Hm," The woman paused, thinking deeply about the question in a moment of silence, "It depends on what your definition of 'romantic' is in this case, but I'd say I'm rather neutral. It's been awhile since I've been in a relationship myself, so I can't really say for sure..." Yuu tilted her head, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back in her seat. Striking a pose to simply ponder.

"I'm not a hopeless romantic, but I highly value romantic gestures. Does that make sense? I particularly value physical touch along with gift receiving as far as love language goes. At least, that's how it used to be with my ex-girlfriend. I don't think that has changed too much. So, hey! If you're interested, feel free to just hand over your credit card as a gift, I'll get back to you," The woman finished with a joke, attempting to turn the mood away from being sour.

"ALSO HELLO YUU SHI YOU ARE GORGEOUS HELLO LIKE ARE YOU AN ANGLE FROM HEAVEN??? CAUSE YOU'RE A-CUTE"

The prefect blinked, leaving an uncomfortable amount of awkward silence as she read the words on the page of (imaginary) interview questions.

She held back a snort, doing her best to hide a guilty grin along with her horrible sense of humor, "Wh-Who wrote this? Who wrote these questions?" She giggled to herself, setting down the page in finality, "Sevens, that's awful... I love it. I'm well aware, but thank you. I needed the laugh today."

"Will that be all?"

Ask game!

[thatfoxnamedfinley]

Do you bleed? aka The Rage of Dragons thoughts

Tau

my baby angel boi

my sad angry boi (mostly angry)

my dedicated boi

and the friends we made along the way

and the bloodshed

The audiobook narrator is GOATED; he can simultaneously make a character sound coldblooded and make other characters sound so warm it's so GOOD 11/10 recommend

I finished this book in 2.5 days, that's WILD

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT BITCH

Ok so I think when it comes to characters, I connect with characters who have lost parents (not to beat the horse with a stick but I lost my mom to cancer in 2022 so I get REALLY emotional when characters lose their parents because I can summon that grief in a moment and recall that feeling of her being gone)

So when Tau's dad is brutally killed and Tau holds him in his arms and vows revenge on everyone involved I'm like

go off king, i support you 10,000,000,000,000,001%

But him also being claustrophobic? relatable

I also really loved how devoted he was. I'm someone who's all in or not at all and his obsessive devotion to becoming a weapon was so overwhelming and relatable.

DUAL WEILD BITCH shink shink shink shink shink

(Im always dual wielding daggers in video games if I can so when he starts fighting with two blades i SCREAMMMMEDDD)

UDUAK

I loved him. For a character who doesn't talk a whole lot, I really found him to be a moving character. Why? I think I like protector/defender characters. AND the narrator made his voice so sweet and deep and warm. When he said "Well met, Tau Solarin" and it SOUNDED like he was smiling warmly and they embraced?

PFFFFFfff bitch my lower lip trembled

And at the end when Zuri was nuked off the world (jfc I didn't think she was going to die what a TWIST!!!! ESP AFTER SHE JACKED HIM OFF LIKE A DOMINATRIX IN THE TUB AND THEY FUCKED BRO!!!! I thought she would be like, his reason to live and fight when it got bad in later books but nope Mr. Winter said YEEET) Tau was wailing his grief and Uduak was holding him and shushing him and I was like OOF this right here is a great character. I love Uduak. He's my favorite side character along with Themba, a man with situational awareness on 100% and also -100%.

Jiyaad was cool but...*smiles but cries*

Kellen is fine because he doesn't REALLY want to kill and be a dick and I think I see MAYBE what the author is trying to do. Either he and Tau will be a characters that have grudging respect for each other and even eventually protect one another one day or they'll be like best friends.

I also have a weird tingly feeling about Kana, the hedeni warlord's (what was that guy's name...? Achak I think) son. He seemed intrigued by Tau the moment he met him so either that will be a great dynamic or Tau will be miserable more miserable.

It's on fucking sight with Abasi Odili like WTF bro. Peace was actually going to happen but because ThE OdEHi doN'T SuRRenDeR now we're gunna be at a war and our entire people wiped out, ok ok ok cool cool just so I understand properly

ALSOOOOOO the African inspired cultural aspect was so so GOOD. I've rarely seen it in the fantasy genre and it was AMAZING. The characters and the terminology and how they spoke was just

The concept of Isihogo is INSANE. It's like...a spiritual world...? But if you don't pull power from it, even if the demons rip you apart you're fine irl but you may become demon-haunted. Which Tau...kind of is but just like, ignores it despite being terrified. Because my man does not QUIT. He literally is like "I'm gunna go ahead and train in this realm because I need to be better than I am with my swords and time passes slower and it'll help me with feeling pain as I get torn to shreds and with fear as I face immortal demons" and I'm like

Why do I also have a feeling that one huge spiky one is like....a demon king or something...? Tau was like "lol I'm here now so you gunna kill me bro?" after he took in power so Zuri wouldn't be killed and the demon was like !!!!!!! before Tsiora came and expunged him out of the realm. And Spiky!Demon was like SCReeeeeeeeecCH

Ou ou ou ou the twin guardian blades he got at the end PERIODTTTTT Tau is Champion, beetch

I want the Nobles to be so irate about it like "WUT WE CANT LET A LOW COMMON BE A CHAMPION GROSS" and the Tau be like

"Yeah cool no worries whoever has a problem can challenge me in single combat and if i lose (lol) then I'll step down as Champion" and then everyone be like

Such a good book, I really really loved it.

I'm kinda glad (I know how bad this sounds) that Zuri died because she was a good character with a decent arc that went out knowing she was probably going to die and I want Tau to be like, borderline EVIL with his revenge

His character is so interesting because he's so single minded and now that his one beacon of light is gone, he's gunna be INSANNEEEEEEEE

*content sigh*

ok thats all I feel I think

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

ok so, after reading your analyses and claiming you as the shinichiro/takeomi dynamic expert in my mind, I want to share a though that is living rent free in my brain for quite a while.

Shiniricho finally gets a girlfriend and they are super in love with each other, but since his friends haven’t had the opportunity of meeting her yet they tease him and make jokes about her not being real. One day Takeomi is waiting for shin in his bike shop when a beautiful girl shows up, he is smitten the second he sees her and in their brief interaction he is already convinced that she is his dream girl. Until shinichiro shows up and she run right into his arms, leaving takeomi there to process that he just fell for his best friend girlfriend.

First of all, thanks for the ask! You gave me such a huge compliment 🙈 Second, I was never asked something of this kind before, so I hope what I wrote will please you and I apologize if I did it wrong since it's my first time doing that (also hence why I took some time to answer)

Takeomi falling for Shinichiro's Girlfriend

That sure is a way to torture the both of them lol But that's something I love doing so that's okay

Takeomi is a very envious man. He desires lots of things. He wants and he takes even when the things he wants are someone else's. Most than often what he wants are what others’ have anyway, ‘the grass is greener on the other side of the fence’.

Takeomi's enviousness is at its peak when he's near Shinichiro; Takeomi admires Shinichiro more than anyone else: Takeomi loves Shinichiro too much to steal anything he holds dear. He's envious of Shinichiro but there's no resentment towards Shinichiro directly. Shinichiro gave him Black Dragon which gave him the God of War – and that’s everything precious Takeomi deems to have. He yearns for more but he won’t let go of BD or his persona for anything in the world. Shinichiro is his golden goose, can't risk nor afford to lose him.

Still, he envies him. Takeomi has followed Shinichiro all his life, ran after him but he never succeeds to attain him. Shinichiro is too surreal, everyone loves him and Takeomi wants that. He was never seen him as something more than "ordinary" as a child and The God of War was a poor try to get that attention from others and this confirmation he was different, better.

Takeomi yearns for what Shinichiro has (charisma & charm mostly) so much him falling for Shinichiro's girlfriend will no help one bit

Takeomi never attempts to steal what is Shinichiro's, he asks instead. He knows Shinichiro, they're childhood friends. Shinichiro is kind and giving and accept to share. But that's not a thing here, that's a human being they both have feelings for.

Falling for Shinichiro's significant other will tear him apart, honestly. Not that he'll admit it to anyone, himself included. He'll end up bottling it up until it explodes like always

He won't stop himself from interacting with her though. Denial or self-destructive behavior, you decide. It's probably both anyway

Shinichiro is very excited that they got to meet

Because! Shinichiro's girl finally met one of his best friends! His childhood friend! He wants them to get along so he'll make them get to know each other

If we take Takeomi's chapter as referent, Shinichiro can be rather blind to his distress (e.g Black Dragon's disbandment announcement). But we have to take into account that Takeomi is neither the definition nor a synonym of 'reliable narrator' and that there's the possibility the first generation of Black Dragon came to an end because Mama Sano died earlier this same year and so Shinichiro wasn't in the best place – that aside, there's also how he clumsy reacted to Sanzu's scars and how relaxed he was while telling Sanzu everything about the Original Timeline but he gets the excuse of.. having lived the Original Timeline. The last clue of Shinichiro's obliviousness is then how he dealt with Izana learning he wasn't blood-related to any of the Sano. (Shinichiro is kind and caring but he's not the best noticing and handling his loved-ones' feelings)

Then, because Takeomi is an unreliable narrator, we can argue Shinichiro let Takeomi know about BD disbandment before disbanding it so that Takeomi could adjust to their new reality that was about to take place – back to civilian lifestyle

Figuring out which one is blind to his friend’s intentions/feelings is then.. something that remains blurry because the PoVs in Tokyo Revengers are really subjective (and since it’s a work of fiction, that’s a compliment! Good stuff) but, taking into account their seemingly lack of interaction when Takeomi is in debt in canon I’d continue with the idea that while Shinichiro can figure out something’s off with his loved-ones, he actually doesn’t know how to make it better and may not completely be right in his deductions (+his seemingly lack of interactions with Izana after he learnt about their family situation. Granted in both cases, Takeomi and Izana made it so Shinichiro wouldn’t be able to find them) | If you want a post listing Shinichiro's questionable decisions around children, @chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter wrote this

So… Shinichiro may feel like there's something wrong with Takeomi from the moment his best friend met his girlfriend but he won't be able to pinpoint what.

And if Shinichiro has suspicions he brushes them aside because he trusts Takeomi

Even though it's Shinichiro we're talking about, Takeomi would still get an ego boost to counter how shitty he feels (both before and after Shinichiro learns about his feelings) and would try things to get Shinichiro's girl. Good luck dealing with the mess

If he ends up learning about Takeomi's feelings for his girlfriend, by whatever means, he'd be sympathetic. That won't go well with Takeomi feeling ashamed tho lol Takeomi hates feeling like that, he'd probably go and hide away for some times

The situation would feel incredibly awkward for the both of them

If Takeomi tries to do something that is too much: he'd try and continue to prove himself that that's what he wants and that he can do it and no consequences will befall on him

He's pushy but not a harasser, abuser or rapist, so he'd stop if Shinichiro's girlfriend makes it known. He'd feel even worse though because of course Shinichiro got a girl as faithful and lovestruck as him, as perfect as him, and Takeomi is nothing like that

(He had hoped a bit by convincing himself that since Shinichiro's lovelife is disastrous she was most definitively like the other girls – not actually loving Shinichiro)

he’d try to get himself some girls for the night to distract himself but he won’t be able to

So, unfortunately since canon gave us a rather oblivious Shinichiro and a Takeomi who depreciates himself every five seconds before having an ego boost until it crashes again (rinse, repeat) - the only one who can fix the situation (or at least get it moving by stopping its status quo) is the girlfriend. (unless you decide to wait for Takeomi’s inevitable *big boom*)

[tsukidrama]

hi!

i came across your blog the other day and i wanted to tell you that you have a really incredible writing gift. your cottagecore has me hooked and i can't wait to find out what comes next.

would you be ok sharing any ideas you might have?

- 🪻

oh? interest in TRNT and a new anon? yes please! 🥺 i would be happy to share some ideas

y'know, i actually have almost the entire fic planned out. i haven't intentionally abandoned the story... about once or twice a month the document gets opened and i'll write a few paragraphs, though i know that's not much. i feel like i've been going through something weird for the past year or so. i don't really know how to explain it properly. i haven't written a damn thing in so long.

between low engagement, me being sick all the time, and life being stressful (mostly this), this fic just hasn't come together the way i hoped it would. The Road Not Taken is still massively important to me and somewhat of a personal magnum opus so, i'll finish it... but i do not know when.

ideas below. i wrote more than i thought, and it's gotten me really excited about the fic again! please let me know if there's anything specific you'd like me to go into detail about

alright firstly:

the next big thing is what i've been calling the intervention arc. obviously we have to address some of the heavier emotional issues that both Annie and the reader have. nothing can move forward until our main characters are communicating again! both with each other and with their support system.

vacation arc! i want to write more about what's left of the world post-Rumbling on a global scale. i also need a reason to get them away from the cottage for a decent chunk of time so i thought i'd have them explore a bit.

there will be a subplot about the cats who live around the cottage, just for funsies. i have a chapter title planned for it and everything lmao

there will be a pretty major division amongst the eldians later on about some of them wanting to go back and live on Paradis. to be completely honest, i haven't decided how i want that to resolve and who, if anyone, is going to leave. but we have definitely not heard the last about Paradis. some assorted thoughts elaborating on that, and how the ending could potentially play out either way:

i don't know i should give EVERYONE a happy ending or not. my initial plan was to write what i think the characters would actually do in this post-Rumbling scenario i've imagined (let's call this Ending 1), but over time i've started to change my mind and be like: i'm not the mangaka and that ain't my job, so i should write my story the way i want. aka FUCK isayama, everybody gets a steven universe-esque happy ending (we'll call this one Ending 2) even though it might not be totally consistent with the way characters are written in aot.

i'd love to hear people's opinions about either ending btw

the largest difference that giving everyone a happy ending would have, is whether or not i decide to include Historia. i really adore her and in theory i want to give her a better ending considering how tragic she is, but where she's left in the end of the manga puts her in direct opposition with the narrative and the "not my monkeys, not my circus" attitude that the narrator feels so strongly about 😖 it would make me too sad to include Hisu at all if she's on the wrong side of things.

I want everyone to move away from all the politicking. they really don't have any business doing all o' that in my opinion... they're all early 20s AND child soldiers so like. please rest guys, you can be done with the whole saving the world thing...

after all, the idea of stepping away from the alliance and NOT continuing to involve themselves in global affairs IS the metaphorical road not taken

i do know how i want the fic to end in terms of Annie and reader, and it will be good. i don't wanna oversell it or hype it too much and then have it be underwhelming... but i'm hoping that their love story plays out in a way that people will call beautiful.

if i decide to go with Ending 1 then it will very much be a bittersweet narrative about how people naturally grow apart over time but everywhere you look there will be new sources of happiness and fulfillment etc.

Ending 2 would be much more idealistic. probably a bit unrealistic but it will give the characters ending that would make them happy and make us happy. true fix it fic style.

i think either would be cathartic for me to write in different ways so i really don't know where i want this to go yet. probably gonna wing it and see what feels right chapter by chapter.

I JUST HAVE TO ACTUALLY FUCKING WRITE IT

anyway like i said above the cut, i wrote a lot more than i thought i would. i got really into it pls send me more asks 🥺 it will light a fire under my ass and i'll finally finish chapter 10

[encountersltd]

WISH GRANTERS, WISH TWISTERS, AND WARIO: a slightly messy but totally plausible theory on some subtle interconnected threads in the super mario bros extended universe

i was talking with a couple discord friends (so that makes this peer reviewed) and just out of the blue came up with a way the stories of wario master of disguise and wario world could be connected, and further connected to paper mario 64 and the mainstream mario canon

before we begin this theory contains massive, Massive, MASSIVE spoilers to the story of Wario: Master of Disguise. while it's not a super popular game by any means i don't want to take away the surprises that shocked 10 year old me watching a walkthrough of the game on youtube for ipad 1 from anyone interested so if you want to go in without having the entire last act spoiled for you, do NOT CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW (it also talks about stuff that's in paper mario and wario world but it's mostly stuff that's already discussed in the opening cutscenes anyway)

LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK BEFORE B-LIST WARIO GAME SPOILERS

ok NOW WE BEGIN THE EXPLANATION

THIS, you might know, is the form the wishstone, supposedly a wish granting artifact that wario collected over the course of master of disguise, takes once it's put together and about to release the evil demon terrormisu

and THIS is the main villain from wario world, the evil jewel, who wario has to stop by traversing the hell realm it made from his house

notice any similarities? purple, blocky rocks with one big eye... 👁️

but they're not just similar looks wise, oh no, we've only just started spinning our yarn

take a look at the opening narration thingy from wario world

ALT TEXT: Long ago, there was an evil black jewel that fed on the wishes of people, turning their desires into power.

This dark jewel gave birth to many evil spirits who then tormented the good creatures of the world.

Then, just when it seemed like the evil spirits would overrun the land, the Spritelings of the Sacred Forest ensnared the black jewel and hid it away deep within their ancient ruins. END ALT TEXT

evidently it says that the evil jewel did its evil deeds by using the wishes and desires of people (as in greed) for power

and if you've seen the cutscene before the last battle in master of disguise, you'd know that that's similar to how terrormisu manipulated the pharaoh (and perhaps even more hapless weirdos 'cause i definitely don't think that would be her first rodeo) by twisting their wishes and deepest desires and greed

EERILY SIMILAR MALEVOLENT MACHINATIONS, don't you think? and it gets thicker

after you defeat terrormisu in master of disguise, and this is the OTHER big reveal in that game, you find out the creator of the wishstone was goodstyle, wario's magic wand throughout the game and also count canolli's ancestor. goodstyle made the wishstone to house terrormisu and keep her from causing any more trouble

now, why does goodstyle's artifact look so similar to wario world's tricky meanie?

here's a bit of speculation to what's going on there. perhaps the evil jewel was another creation of goodstyle's, maybe intended for the same purpose as the wishstone, that being keeping terrormisu in check, but rebelled against him for some reason or another

perhaps they were angry that they would exist solely to fulfil a greater purpose, house an all powerful villain and then be split into pieces, so as a karmic protest against their creator, they escaped and started enacting evil plots similar to terrormisu's to add some delicious irony?

and now it gets even MORE thick, because now you have to consider that these are taking place in the same world the mainline mario games do! well, it's not THAT clear, cause idk if nintendo has commented on it, but i don't really see much proving that wario's solo games can't fit in the same wacky world of the main mariology, plus them being one world is more fun anyways.

now we add paper mario to the mix

so, yes, mario and luigi paper jam does reveal that the events of the six paper mario games take place in a seperate universe, but

a) the star spirits, the wish granters from paper mario 64, do appear with the main universe iteration of the mario characters in mario party 5

and

b) the paperverse can be explained as a parallel reality that has similar events (if not exactly a 1 to 1 facsimile) to the main universe, so it's not like it throws TOO many wrinkles into the facade

and what do the star spirits do

they're benevolent spirits that GRANT PEOPLE'S WISHES! but not evil! no loopholes, no monsters, just "here you go son a new nintendo switch cause you wished so hard"

and when you're a society of spirits that grant wishes for the good of the universe, there being two evil jerks out there using people's wishes for nefarious purposes is probably bad for you

so we know wario master of disguise's true villain terrormisu, before goodstyle gets involved, is twisting the wishes of people, the department of the star sprites, for nefarious purposes

and THAT'S a problem™

so they get this guy goodstyle/cannoli to go to where terrormisu lives on the mushroom world to make sure she doesn't do that anymore, but in the process creates another villain that uses the wishes of people for nefarious purposes

and that's ANOTHER problem™

so then the star sprites need to bring in the spritelings, the helpful little critters in wario world who give you tips and help you take down the jewel in the end

star SPRITES. SPRITElings.

are wario world's spritelings are workers for the star sprites, or at least an affiliated faction? it seems plausible if you look at it like that

anyways, the spritelings go make sure the evil jewel can't use people's wishes for evil anymore either

now comes the part where Wario in his infinite wisdom RELEASES THE BOTH OF THEM ON TWO SEPERATE OCCASIONS

but he more than makes up for it by the time both misadventures are all over

by first, with the spritelings' help, destroying or at least throroughly defeating the black jewel so it wouldn't hurt people anymore

and then second, defeating terrormisu, which makes her think twice about sucking the souls out of everyone in the mushroom world and decide instead to go back to the Underwhere and not mess with earthlings (mushroomlings?) any longer

therefore, wario mostly assuredly made it so that the two wish-twisting villains wouldn't mess with wishes for their evil plots ever again

and if the above math is to believed, he did it with the guidance of the star spirits' associates, goodstyle and the spritelings

thusly making sure that both of them would no longer be a headache for the star spirits

therefore, wario was helping out the star spirits handle their nemeses, and didn't even realize it! seems like his selfish plots always seem to have a way of turning out alright in the end

and, umm, since super mario rpg on the snes is also about wishes, i assume geno and the star road are involved in the story as well but i don't know too much about that game unfortunately so that makes this THE END

[warriorslocke-red]

final story post: part 2 [ACTUAL final]

*knocks on the door softly* hello??? anyone still home??

full disclosure, I really did fully forget this time. But I'd really hate to leave something I actually started unfinished. SO, at risk of forgetting for even longer, here all all of my remaining notes~

Ok so now we get to how the actual….story line?? Was sort of going to go…admittedly saying that I knew how I wanted it to end may have even been a bit of an exaggeration. I had a very loose and blurry shape of how I wanted it to end and explaining it is a bit difficult because mostly I have some disconnected half-formed ideas that I never figured out how to fit together. I’ll just attempt to describe each concept individually

First off, I made some additions to StarClan and The Dark Forest (that frankly I think drift quite a bit away from feeling like “warrior cats” but w/e)

And as preface, ALLL of this was scribbled down a year before the broken code came out, so any overlap with that lore is a funny coincidence.

StarClan and the dark forest have some minor “deities” for lack of a better word. They are spirits that resemble cats just sort of born out of the magic innate to these afterlives (which all originated from the clans faith, because in this world belief/memory can manifest things into existence, like canonically thats how it seems to works). They have little jobs that keep their little afterlife realm running smoothly. Some over see dreams, other over see receiving prophecies, if I knew about the concept of starclan trials I probably would have said thats mostly made up of starclan born spirits as well. They are probably in charge of enforcing rules, and some starclan cats don’t agree with starclans judgement of morality. So keep that in mind.

One of them is a guardian between starclan and the dark forest, that being oakpath. He is apathetic and has grown to dislike starclan. Oakpath guards the barrier between the worlds, and you met him briefly at the start.

I had this idea that, similar to how little spirits have manifested in starclan, the dark forest has also manifested spirits. The clans imagine the dark forest like an entity that has a will to do evil, and so in response those scary stories brought the dark forest itself to life, and it’s further fueled by the hatred and bitterness of former-clan cats banished there. The Dark Forest can manifest as anything, usually a shadowy cat, but also as a bird, as prey that refuses to be caught, and as the trees themselves--and they are growing powerful/intelligent enough to learn how to make their own little dark forest born spirits, similar to the ones that come from starclan. The shadowy cats that attack the group might be old vengeful ghosts, but mostly they are half-formed cat-shaped dark spirits

The Dark Forest is the narrator of this story, he is omniscient and aware of everything all the time in his forest (hence why the story is told in present time 3rd person, and why it has a mocking tone, it's meant to be like he is watching and describing the events as they happen. He is just amusing himself. He plays around with the cats trapped in his woods when he’s bored, and this is one of those instances. He is very enamored with the concept of stories, stories are after all how the clans keep their spirits alive, and the very thing that created/maintains starclan and the dark forest. He’s kind of mocking the main cast with how he talks about them, as if he’s treating their afterlives like a simple story told for the amusement of kits.

This also leads to one of the more important characters--Starsight Starsight was based on my mew in game……..which i guess I should explain. I did have an exception to my nuzlocke rule, this run was initially inspired by me researching all the crazy glitches you can do on the gen 1 games, including this one that lets you get a level 7 mew (normally it is completely unobtainable in this game, it was never meant to be caught by any player! It was just added in for fun at the end…research mews origins for yourself sometime, BOY these old games are so buggy it's unreal). Anyway, I wanted to play through a game with a mew on my team, but gen 1 is sort of boring so I decided to make the rest of it a nuzlocke, the exception being the part of the game where i’d glitch everything to make a mew appear. In the story, I interpreted this as Starsight is a StarClan-born spirit who doesn't like the way things are done in the clan's afterlife. She doesnt like the dark forest at all and doesnt think every cat there deserves to be there forever. She has a small amount of starclan cats who agree with her and she decided she wanted to prove that even cats who had done bad things could become better and prove themselves if given the chance. She is strong enough to maintain her spirit in the dark forest, but it is very dangerous for any starclan spirit as (in this world) the dark forest is one of the only places where they can be permanently destroyed. Mostly it was family and friends of my dark forest cats who decided they wanted to see their lost loved ones again. Starsight had a flashback scene with Foxrunner, who desperately wanted her daughter back (her relationship with Elkfeather was going to be a whole thing. I doubt she’d ever want to be around her mother, but she would be willing to help her find her own place in starclan if, and only if, Elkfeather could safely bring her daughter (plumtooth) back to her.)

So, it’s canon StarClan spirits maintain themselves on memory of some kind, otherwise they peacefully start fading (or at least go dormant. I believe this is more of a choice on their part than a forced phenomena). Dark forest cats hardly even have the opportunity to fade naturally. Their fear always shocks them back to consciousness, and difficulty fading is perhaps part of the punishment. It’s all a very cruel existence. I was trying to reason out some logic along the lines of like…so these old spirits were banished from the memory of their clans and former family because of their misdeeds, so they are very weak spirits. If they are remembered at all, it is only as echoes in monstrous scary nursery tales, and that being their only anchor to the living was not something acceptable for StarClan warriors. They would have a hard time surviving the journey between StarClan and the Dark Forest without destroying themselves, and even more difficulty maintaining their spirit in StarClan, if they did not have some kind of new anchor in the living cat's memories--some kind of story of their own that would be worth telling and passing down. Starsight saw an opportunity to bring cats out of the dark forest when one cat, a talented storyteller, slipped into despair and unconsciously put himself into the dark forest because he thought he deserved to be there (or maybe the Dark Forest Spirit took him down there, he was close to dying and maybe comatose or something so…I think the dark forest is also trying to kill him?). Starsight thought he could wake up again and tell the story of every cat he met and journeyed with in the forest, because they still mattered and then they all could become strong enough again to find a place safely in StarClan. If he manages to wake up, of course.

The Dark Forest wanted to send someone to steal his body and then use that agent to spread chaos, to spread stories with their own agenda that will give them a more vivid memory in the clan's collective consciousness and nightmares, and maybe add more cats to the dark forest. Just for fun. His long term goal is another war like the one from OotS to build up, enough fear in the living cats minds to give them the power to manifest in the living world again. So all this between Russet and the mysterious rude blue cat he met at the start is a race to claim Russet’s comatose body (keep in mind this was before the broken code came out…i thought the body snatching was a little too silly but now, with the exception of the dark forest being an entity, most of this, including wandering around as a ghost when you’re in a near-death coma, is perfectly plausible within current wc canon, so, lol)

Starsight has a limited time to help, not just because of the danger to herself but because the rest of StarClan knows of the risks, and they want to just kill Russet's body for the greater good so no one can have it. The StarClan warriors on Starsight's side are stalling them.

Anyway the dark forest is not at all happy about Starsight, because Starsight is cheating and ruining his game. She, as the only character aware of everything, is also the only other character who is as omniscient as the Dark Forest narrator and she can talk back at him. Her introduction was really funny in my head.

[alt text: A soft light breaks through the dark, shining blue eyes peered back at Russet as--wait. Wait a minute. What? Oh no. You have got to be joking. What is this? This isn’t allowed! This is not even remotely allowed! You're ruining everything! Starsight: And yet, here we are! Hello, hello, Russet, right? I’ve been following your scent and I think I can be of help!]

She would probably snark back at the narrator multiple times throughout the story, and everyone would look at her strangely as she was speaking to the empty air. (and. Slight tongue in cheek reference to the fact that her existence on my pokemon team was breaking the nuzlocke rules lmao.) She wouldn’t be able to tell them the truth, she would just guide them away from unnecessary dangers. They have to discover who they are and become better cats on their own, or else the spirits would have no chance of escape. If they knew they could get out, they would just act better for the sake of a reward.

I’ll be honest, Russet’s backstory is one of the big things I couldn’t figure out. I know he was a storyteller. His hidden last name “-song” is a reference to that (I suppose I interpreted -song as a poetic way of referencing legends and story-telling in the clan). Taking away his name was mostly about taking away his confidence in himself, as the weaker his will is, the easier he’d be to body-snatch. The Dark Forest wanted him to forget what he was known for, forget what it was like to feel like a full member of a community, and generally feel like a nobody who could slip away into death easily and unnoticed. I don’t know what exactly happened in his life to make him so depressed and disillusioned with everything he held dear. Whether or not bad cats can be redeemed or deserve to be remembered needed to play a part somehow in his life in order to tie in with the overall theme. I never really worked it all out. But remembering his name would coincide with remembering why he should try to live as well. The stronger his will, the stronger his uncanny scent showing them all the way out--his spirit is trying to guide itself back to his body, hence why only he has a vague sense of what direction to go. But it is not very reliable, the Dark Forest is always getting to him and weakening his hope.

I never ended up finishing the pokemon game this was story based on, I stopped somewhere between badge 7 and 8, so who knows how many would have died. (as it was, only two actually died in my game. Honeyhawk the beedrill, and a pikachu called Sparkleap) All I know is in the end, they would discover the truth and every character would have gone through some big personal trial to face their past mistakes and learn how to be better people. Starsight would slowly help lead them to the edge of the dark forest, which would become more and more clear the more the characters developed and did good deeds or something.

Russetsong would eventually get his memories back, and find his way back to his body with help from Starsight and his new friends, and when he wakes up he carries memories and stories of the cats who strove to become better than they had been. He can pass those stories on and give their spirits something to hold onto--memories living on where they are more than merely forgotten monsters. Starsight would use it all as an argument that dark forest cats CAN change, and they should be let into StarClan.

I am uncertain if every single character would be redeemed. I think at the start I envisioned everyone who's pokemon counterpart survived would be given a redemption arc, where everyone who died would fail the test and turn on the group to join The Dark Forest's side--but i’m too good at nuzlockes and p much no one died sooooo oh well. This sort of thing probably should have been based on a COMPLETED game, because I was coming up with story lines and arcs when I didn’t even know who the final cats would be yet!

Anyway! That’s all I have on this story. Don’t know why it took so long to get this out, but if you actually managed to read all these long word dumps, thank you!! It’s fun to look back on this story. Apparently the first post is like…over 5 years old?? Good lord it doesn’t seem like it was so long ago… But at the same time it feels like I wrote it ages and ages ago. I have long since moved past it, but i'm happy to give some uh...vague conclusion at last. It was fun to work on--the handful of times I managed to do so. Sorry I never managed to turn this into a finished story, hopefully I will have some completed writing/art projects some day in the near-ish future! (Follow me on my current main blog yarrowleef to see if that ever happens~)

if you have any follow up questions, feel free to send them! I may not have detailed answers to everything, but I will attempt to answer!

[marriedtomymarriage]

June 3rd, Tuesday

He Talks, I Listen — And That’s the Pattern

Two friends came over yesterday and spent the night. It was genuinely nice. They came to town to do paperwork so they stayed over. We laughed a lot, mostly stayed in, and just enjoyed each other's company.

Once they left today, I finally had time to call my husband. I had texted him earlier letting him know my friends were here and that we were spending time with my mom while my dad was away. Hours passed. I called again about 30 minutes before they left, just to check in- and to remind him about the Walmart pickup we had planned. He brushed it off with, “Do your thing. We can do it another time.” But I insisted. I paused my day, confirmed the items, made the purchase, got the code, and sent him everything he needed- the usual routine. Even all the way from Brazil!

Later, after they left, walking the dog and showering, I called him back and I grabbed something to eat. He told me about his day, briefly. Then he brought up how our dog had gotten tied around a tree the night before because her leash was too long. It was around 23h- he wokw up to pee and heard her weeping softly and went out (naked, as he made a point to mention) to untangle her. God knows how long she was there. Then he let her back in with the leash still long, so she could sleep on the bed with him.

I asked if the shorten the leash before work. He told me he didn’t- he simply told her not to go near the tree again. Said she “promised” she wouldn’t. I fake laughed along, because it’s easier than fighting. But inside, I was frustrated- again. I’ve told him so many times: if she gets stuck early in the day, she could be out there like that for hours. He leaves at 03h20 and comes back at 19h. He never takes it seriously.

Trying not to kill the mood, because I sensed he was happy, I gently said, “Baby, please shorten the leash.” Just like that. His tone changed immediately. Dismissive. “Okay, okay, okay,” he snapped- like I was nagging. I asked, “Why do you talk to me like that?” He shot back, “Like what? What do you want me to say?”

I told him, “You can speak what you mean but maybe kindly?” And then came the sarcasm: “Okay, my love. I know you’re right. I’ll shorten it once I finish cooking and eating. Is that okay to you, baby?”

I said thank you, and again fake giggled.

He changed the subjective, narrating a bit of what he was doing in the kitchen. Gave a brief recap of his day again. I said, “That’s nice, baby,” and stayed quiet. I was waiting for him to ask me about my day. I had an awesome time after all! But nope. Not even once did he made a question.

So I told him I’d let him cook and do his thing. He said "Sure! Ok baby, I love you very very very much" like nothing ever happened. I said goodnight too, reminded him to hug Ava.

And that was it.

No taking advices when it comes to the dog's safety.

No curiosity. No “how was your day?”

He’s a man who loves to hear his own voice- and seems to hate hearing mine.

A man who’s trained me to never ask questions, because he doesn’t ask any himself. Because when I do, I’m “interrogating.” But when he talks, I just listen. That’s the deal.

[the-name-was-lost]

Alright sure, I’ll bite. I pick Malinda’s it’s all true

It’s all true is a visual album by singer-songwriter MALINDA (Malinda Kathleen Reese). The album centers on themes of growth and love.

It’s all true

The album’s opening track is an optimistic and joyful piece, discussing the complex and often contradictory facets of life and personhood. The verses follow a simple repeating structure listing contradictory traits without feeling repetitive. The chorus reconciles these ideas.

“Life is golden and it’s broken and it’s fine // it’s all true at the same time”

Brooklyn

“Brooklyn” will make you take off. I seriously recommend running while listening to this song. The song builds harmony out of layers of lyrics, building over and over to to rippling crescendos.

“Stretching my veins into the sky//everyone else can learn to fly//why can’t I?”

I miss her and I blame you

If much trauma why such bop? “I miss her and I blame you” discusses the death of innocence and the loss of self caused by traumatic experiences or relationships. But it’s a fun song, very cathartic.

“I drank the poison hoping it would kill you// now I miss her — I miss her and I blame you”

Every other lovesong

Ok, so this is my least favorite song on the album. It’s a melancholic piece about being overwhelmed by love. I think it drags a bit, but I can still appreciate Malinda’s incredible lyricism.

“As the world came into focus, I just sat there speechless, and later found a tear on my cheek.”

Good intentions

The song is narrated by Worry/Anxiety pointing out all our worst flaws and insecurities, all under the guise of love and care. It wants to protect you. This title is haunting, and gives me goosebumps.

“Take what I’m giving//It many be less than living//but I promise you’ll be safe”

Figured out

“Figured out” assures us that it’s ok to be uncertain of who we are and what we want. It doesn’t mean we aren’t deserving of love and affection. It also engenders empathy for our loved ones, who are also still trying their best to figure it out. However, I think this song also drags quite a bit in places.

“A box of time wrapped in vision//on the table by your bed//Science couldn’t map//the universe inside your head”

Like it’s the end

Hhhnngn— this one is my favorite! It’s carnal; it’s apocalyptic; it’s giving up all pretense; it’s raw; it’s facing our fears of rejection; it’s love in the face of fear; it’s doing it scared; it’s selfish; it’s the end of the world. The instrumentation in the first verse and chorus is only breathing and a drum imitating a heartbeat, and even as the song continues, instrumentation remains mostly percussive.

“Mother Earth’s changing her tone now//she’s never seen love like this//So, Get drunk of the wine in my veins now//lock our lips till they’re raw”

Between us and them

A departure from the various personal and interpersonal themes so far, Malinda guides our eyes to larger scale issues now. “Between us and them” attempts to tackle the specter of war through the eyes of three generations of civilian women, all exposed to war at a young age. The song condemns the military industrial complex and wartime sensationalism. The loss of innocence takes center stage.

“Where the story being written becomes the writing on the wall//power making promises it never meant to keep//With the ocean between us and them//Rocking her to sleep”

Wear me down

This one is sad. It’s not just melancholy, but grief for the whole world; how Weltschmerz grinds away our ability to love and be there for each other. The two main figures in the song fall apart, wearing each other down, as one is worn down by the world.

“Your little act of kindness instead meets my disdain//So I play the fiddle on the roof while you burn//knowing full well we’ll never learn”

Collage

This song wraps up the album, and recalls the opening track, recontextualizing it in the face of everything experienced in between. Picking yourself back up, after everything, deciding you’re worth it.

“I can’t be someone I haven’t met yet//too many things that I just can’t forget yet”

It’s all true (2023) played in various movie theaters across the USA, and was available to watch through Moment by Patreon for a while between 2023 and 2024. Parts of the visual album are available on the MALINDA YouTube channel.

The visual album opens with Brooklyn, It’s all true plays over the credits.

The visual album tells the story of the girl trying to chase her soul, while grappling with terrible anxiety that eventually leads to her pushing away her girlfriend. At the end of the visual album (in collage) she finally reconciles herself with her soul and runs away to Ireland, just as Malinda herself did at the end of 2023 (due to burn out)

The visual album is beautifully crafted and remarkably polished for Malinda’s first long form film production.

Pick 1 album and discuss.

If you don’t recognize any of these, listen to at least 2 first. I will add music 🎶 links in the comments.

#Alsmusiccafe

Episode 187

8 25 23

#Malinda #Rammstein #Assemblage23 #Kansas

[hms-no-fun]

apologies if you’ve written this somewhere before, but in a couple of these #sarahposts you refer to a retcon you made in gf1, what was the change?

oh yeah! i don't think i've really extensively documented this anywhere, so i might as well do so here. let's start with the boring shit and cover the history, then i'll give you the full breakdown of what changed.

so when i wrote gf1, i had no sense that i would ever want to go beyond the realm of this one fic. but i DID have this idea of "the ultimate ultimate self," an entity that contains all selves which is never mentioned in homestuck. funny that THAT’S my first big canon divergence, rooted so deep in the philosophical. obviously the big existential kick of gf1 is this idea that retcon is somehow eroding john's connection to that ultimate ultimate self, or at least to his ultimate self generally. the extent to which this is TRUE remains to be seen, john/june is never an objective arbiter of their own subjective existence, but it is an important idea for the series nevertheless.

the other key ingredient is that for a long time i planned on doing my own audio drama adaptation of godfeels (as i mentioned at the end of this video). obviously i never got around to doing this myself and eventually abdicated responsibility to the far more capable hands of the podfeels team, but i did get as far as adapting godfeels 1 for a podfic (which is what they used for podfeels 1). so i took that opportunity to modify a few things to bring gf1 more in line with how the series’ cosmology had evolved.

RIGHT SO, what are the differences? well, they're almost if not entirely exclusive to the narration. and right from the start, we have a big addition:

[left is my original draft, right is the published version]

when i wrote gf1 i put ZERO thought into how long after homestuck proper it took place. remember that i wrote and released this before the epilogues came out, so it was only later that i adopted the timeline and framework of the epilogues. if anything i wrote gf1 thinking they were closer to *my* age at the time, meaning like 27-28, which might have caused me problems down the line. but this addition is also important because (as i rant about in this recent post) i think it's easier to swallow questionably in-character dialogue when you know that this is six years and change after homestuck. i still don't think the overall timeline gets emphasized enough throughout... honestly ALL of godfeels before chapter 8 lmao. looking back i was shockingly negligent in this respect.

what else?

lol ok sure

this was a pretty substantial addition owing to the fact that back then i really wasn't interested in writing anyone but the betas, and even then i mostly just wanted to write about june and jade. obviously that changed, so i wanted to do a better job of setting up dirk's murky relationship with june. ditto with june and terezi's murky romantic tensions.

this is The Big One. i’m not even sure i could tell you the precise significance of every change here, beyond the obvious one. would you believe that this was before i thought of X as a distinct character? but i still had the sense that the antagonism of the third person narration here was rooted perspectivally, and it’s my opinion that john at the pits of his worst depression is closest to X, the part of himself that judges his every action against the assumed perfection of all his friends. after june comes out and takes charge of her identity and Things Happen, i see X as reflexively turning their judgment outwards (though still with a core of self-resentment), which is how we eventually get the circus egotistica.

big changes here obv

some simplification of text here plus some additions. is the narration here describing jade’s voice breaking through john’s dissociation, or is it something more cosmic? either could be true...

minor alterations here, plus a probably too-cute stinger banging the drum that This Is An Ongoing Series Now Actually

and as far as i can tell, that’s it! very minor changes for the most part, but it’s the little details that get you every time :)

[sithara-studies]

First love???

Almost a month ago

Most of the scenes happen in my school bus (so the seating arrangements' divided half for the boys and girls, you'll know later why I'm saying this) Also the friend mentioned here is @aislingisstudying, I'm just too lazy to tag her everywhere so I'm referring her as friend

me: *looks at a boy and thinks his hair is really cute* *turns towards friend* Don't you think that boy's hair looks really cute?

friend: mhm yeah it is actually cute. Do you want me to go and say it to him?

me: What the fuck no, that's really embarrassing

friend: nahh i'll go and tell

me: bruh stop it would be really embarrassing

friend: fine okay then

10 minutes later

me: you know what, go. Go and compliment him from my side

friend: okay my guts level has gone poof you should have used to the chance before

me: mhm okay whatever

20 minutes later

me: you know what, i'll go and say it to him myself. Anyway I'll leave this school in like 3 or 4 months so i'll just say

friend: fine go ahead

5 minutes later

him: *getting out of this bus*

me: Hey dude!

him: *turns back*

me: your hair looks cute!

him: *traumatized or surprised eyes under the mask and leaves the bus*

all girls around me: *surprised eyes and giggling* you okay? have you gone out of your mind?!

A week ago

so me and my friend was sitting was the end of the girls side and my guy came and sat right behind us. OKAY LIKE RIGHT BEHIND US and the mf bus conductor and tells us to sit in front of the bus. So when we sat and settled down, behind us were our friends in 12th grade-

me: DUDE WE WERE SO CLOSE AND THIS CONDUCTOR CAME AND UGHHHHH

friend: I KNOW RIGHT YOU WERE LIKE THIS CLOSE *pinches fingers*

12th graders: okay what are you guys talking about?

*me and my friend narrates the story and shows the guy*

12th graders: Ohh we know his info, his name's ***** and he's in 12th grade PCMB and like he's an introvert and he watches anime and he's from hyderabad

me: INTROVERT??!!! HYDERABAD(im also from the same place and finding a hyderabadi in my school is like finding a needle in a haystack)???!!!! SCIENCE?????!!!!!!!!!!! *excited faces, hand gestures and noises*

friend: chill okay?

me: okay you have his snap?

12th grader: I have insta but like I'll give his snap too

me: omg thank youu!!!

Today

I actually got his snap 2 days back but I had my hindi exams going on so I sent him request today. So here's the texts-

me: *goes on snap, checks his snap id and takes a screenshot to send to my bsf*

after a few minutes

him: you took ss??...

me: *me realizing that people can see screenshots* Oh im sorry I actually meant to take my friend's but took urs btw hi

him: Oh ok hi

me: Um kinda awkward but do u remember like the compliment tht u got while leaving the bus?

him: yeah I do why?

me: oh well I said that 😅

him: oh thanks ig 😂

me: oh lol okay But lik I still wonder lik y u gave like a traumatised expression that day 😂

him: I was just trying to see who said that lol

me: Oh I thought u got offended or smth 😂

him: Nahh I can't remember who it was tho Like the face I just left cuz my stop was there How did u find my snapchat btw..?

me: Ahh I get it Uhhh that's sources lol i mean friends help to find socials??

him: Oh but I dont follow anyone from our school tho? It's a bit weird so that's why..

me: Oh okay

him: 👌

me: oh btw u up for streaks?

him: oh yeah sure i really need streaks i was about to ask *sends a picture of this fingers*

me: *internally crushing* oh ok

him: What😂? ur just there lol it's kinda creepy TYPE SOMETHING

me: Lolol I'm actually double texting on discord so 💀💀💀

him: oh oh makes sense ☠️

me: yea 💀

Idk what to talk next 😭😭😭 I wanna make convo but like idk what to talk about without being so awkward. Now I know ya'll will say to talk about anime but I dont watch anime too 😭 So give me tips <3 and he's my first crush (boys at my school mostly don't look attractive to me)

[yrigami]

Inner thoughts

Pt.2

Welp... I never thought this day would come. If I’m being honest, I was honored and so humble to have this happen to me. I honestly couldn’t have done this without the help of my dear mother and father.. they’ve helped me come this far in life, without them none of this would’ve been possible. I’d also like to thank my grandmother for helping and blessing my mother and I with these incredible features. Thank you for this moment. Truly <3

ANYWAY.. now that, that's over let’s get to the real reason why I’m making this post.

I've been working in retail for about 3 years now, so I've seen my fair share of people. I have many customers that I enjoy seeing, I love seeing my little baby customers and their parents watching us interact, it's cute and honestly makes my day. I also enjoy seeing the many older customers that compliment me about my hair, makeup, or even my eyebrows. They also make my day as well.

What makes me want to leave my job and quit most days is when I have customers that think that I owe them something. Like this is the first time I've seen you, why do you think I'm obligated to do you're every command? I always think it's funny when they give me the "nice side" of themselves, then when they don't get what they want, they immediately drop whatever act they were doing. Make it make sense. Like why not act like that from the beginning? Do better honestly...

One of my many examples of this type of behavior happened not too long ago. It was a regular day at work, I believe I went in early and left around 6-7 o'clock. After I had my break for lunch everything was going ok, that was till a certain customer came in. she came to my line with a medium-sized order, not too small but not a cart full of groceries. She bought 6-7 bottles of wine that evening. when scanning the wine, I noticed a certain tone in her voice (a not-so-nice one at that). She didn't ask for the bag we have at my store for wine, she basically demanded it. When I told her we were out of the bags and had been for a while, her whole mood changed. I ignored it and kept doing my job, but then... Her order is finally done!!

A FEW MOMENTS LATER... *in SpongeBob narrator voice* I go to hand her the receipt and while she grabs it she begins to say, with a tone to try to be sly (what seems to be under her breath at this point), "I come here for a specific reason, to get service with a smile" and then proceeds to walk out the door with my bagger at the time. After that interaction, I was left thinking to myself "did I really hear that, or am I imaging things?"

Turns out I didn't imagine things after all. A little while later my bagger comes back inside. At the time there was a bagger already at my register, but the previous one said he could take over for her. I thought it was a bit suspicious and it turns out that was correct. He had some words to tell me about the lady he helped outside...

Once he started talking, the things he said made me sort of giggle, mostly because the stuff he said sounded a bit odd and weird especially for a kid to hear from an adult. He told me that she was ranting about putting together stocks and talking about cryptocurrency. LIKE WHAT!? Why would you rant to someone about things that like? The kid is still growing! But that wasn't even the best part of the story. The best part was when he told me of her saying ⚠️ curse word ahead ⚠️

"When you get back in there, tell that b!tch to smile.."

...Words I never thought I'd hear about myself..a "b!tch"? All because of not smiling at a customer? My resting face, which looks upset, is normal. I constantly get asked if I'm okay by my coworkers, just because my face looks upset when I'm fine. It's normal to me now, I'm not going to change my appearance for anyone. Why would I smile at someone whos being rude to me? How do people use those words so easily?

I just can't understand them...

[shinakazami1]

• previous ask anon here! I saw the positive response on my last ask so might as well say some more (imagine getting happy from being praised on your own praise, can't be me/j)

• you may feel like Dear Stanley doesn't get many reads but I assure you, if the fic was a youtube video I would put it on loop (they are so silly and the metaphors and the way he cared so much about those little details?? same fr)

• Tomato getting more content. oh no. my heart. you better prepare to pay for the damages that will be inflicted on my soul.

• I decided to tour your ao3 works and read Bad Luck! …I checked all the tags, no worries. (Love, Falling and All Things did came up first but it's in a series so I put it for later)

• 27k. That one hour of reading was quite something. It's so wrong but it's so good?? keyboard smashes I won't dive into details here, but the words hold so much feelings. They are so,,,a (Fanfic writers my beloved good job you two) Question: how are their lives after that. are they happy like really truly happy. it's an au but i need to know if my blorbos are ok.

• I'm probably going to read the soulmate bodyswap series next, and I'm really excited since 1. omg tooth-rotting fluffy gay men, I need this and 2. planetariums, aquariums and animal facts are my absolute favourites stop hitting my soft spots (once again thank goodness for fanfic writers amen)

• sorry if this is too long and possibly confusing! I'm not the best at writing anything out...maybe retreating to ao3 comment sections now that I know anonymous/no account commenting exists (because of you, I finally found out about it after all these years, thanks). Have a nice 365 days!

Anon please my gosh I just opened tumblr and I saw I had a message and just to hear my reaction for your comment meant a lot means a lot to me ofahioasi we are rn in a very silly loop and just please know I told my close buds about you writing these asks and just it means so much to me, and to see you wrote such a long comment (I checked, wow, 307 words, dude I appreciate you sm if you would ever want to reveal yourself be my guest IOHFSOIFSAO I just, I truly appreciate you)

Now lemme just respond to each point under the cut but PLEASE THIS IS NOT CONFUSING NOR TOO LONG THIS IS JUST SO PRECIOUS

Dude I am so glad you liked the metaphors!! I really wanted to make him project onto different things and just, Narrator feels like a man who would care so much about details that others wouldn't

If I ever get back to writing haha, but the prequel is gonna be a cute slowburn of how they got together (no angst tho haha noooo sir don't look how I mostly write angst hahahaah h a ) ; while sequel is their trip to the mountains which would have similar tone to the original!! But gosh thank you you really make me want to write it hehe

Bad Luck is one of my collabs with a user who left TSP community so now I am left as the only creator listen but they were the ones who came up with the idea for that and Good Luck Charm, which is the fic this one kinda comes from !! We were a bit scared if people would think we agree with Stanley's actions (esp since I was the one who wrote them fihfsoiafsih) but I am glad you like it! And well - we actually discussed it and haha no they are not good they are far from good in that au, what we intended to do was (SPOILER: DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW IF I EVER WRITE IT) that Stanley would confess to Narrator that he drugged him and Narrator would be very mad but since he got bitten and it was found out that he was omega, he would lose his job since the world is omegaphobic and Stanley would only later learn just of how much he fucked up. But since the damage is done and Leo would not want him to have easy way out, they kinda stay together and Stanley develops and anxiety disorder. They kinda make it all work and let themselves explore the feelings but Leo never forgives and good for him, good for that man

Gosh to hear you want to keep on reading my work???? That just means so much to me??? I wrote this one with Surf and the amount of silliness that series has just still makes me giddy with how I pulled some of my fav moments in my TSP fanfics so I hope you will not only have a nice read but if you do write, you will share your opinion if you will want to!!

You reminded me I have to check ao3 iohfashiosafois I haven't really been logging in so I prob been slacking off with responses but please, wherever you choose to write, it will always mean so much to me. You already spending time writing the first thing meant for me a ton, esp since this semester has been hard and I've been in art block overall but please anon, know that your words truly make me feel not only good but just grateful to you. Know that your words mean more than you can imagine and they can affect people in a good way. Thank you <3 Have lovely 365 days! (or 365/2 days, if you are a Kingdom Hearts fan)