#it's unironically so interesting??? And kind of cool???

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@allvalley100

Prompt: Ritual

Pairing: YasMoon

***

“You sure?”

Moon places an amethyst on Yasmine’s submerged stomach, other hand swiping lavender oil across her girlfriend’s cheeks. “You’ll feel better about yourself. More in control of your life.”

Yasmine blushes. Of course Moon pinpoints her most deep-seated issues with zero hesitation.

But if purple rocks, lilac candles, and lotus-and-violet-petal baths might fix them, so be it.

“So it really works.”

Moon laughs.

“Done this ritual a hundred times. Always clears my solar plexus.”

Moon peels off her tanktop, sliding in beside her. Their legs tangle together—thick vines to grow the flowers around them.

“Okay. You’re the expert.”

***

@karatecaulfield crystal time!!! This is what they do on dates <3

[velvet-games]

he’s so normal :)

I actually drew this before a lot of the recent stuff I've been posting; it was just me trying to figure out a good redesign for vox. I might make a proper redesign explanation later, but here are some quick notes while I'm still playing with it:

vox trapzod and alastor trongle :)

^^ ok but unironically this was kind of a hard decision since I have mixed feelings about vox's body type

stuff I was considering:

1) vox is alastor's foil and has a similar body type to alastor at least in part because you're supposed to be comparing them (It's actually so cool cause I was watching TB Skyen's reaction to ep 2 and he immediately predicted that they would have beef lol)

2) tumblr sexyman bod <3

3) I LOVE @/bestosunglass' way of drawing him, and it made me realize that I kind of love the idea of vox being a little bigger than alastor? it's very big himbo puppy + lithe cat energy

4) not sure what my headcanons about vox's body are in terms of biological vs tech yet, but I think I want to lean toward tech (which is customizable)

I love the angst concept of vox having the freedom to change his body with relative ease, which makes him feel like he has to constantly update and update and update and update and update and it's never good enough because he could always change something and he'll never quite be good enough--

basically being a victim to his own progress-oriented mindset

and also treating himself like a product; if it's not working, if it's not the best, newest model, then it's broken and useless and disposable

tbh alastor's ability to find beauty and art in the old (not necessarily based on function, but on character and care) would be good for him

ooc or not, as someone with dysmorphia issues myself, I really want an "I like your body because it's yours" moment from alastor

I think all of that + toxic masculinity would probably mean vox would make himself comically buff (at least at first) lol

5) but I like drawing him kinda scrawny ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's just weird because I kind of want to audience to pick up on the fact that he's not actually hypermasc but vox would totally (mostly successfully) broadcast that to the characters in the show

6) I think a trapezoid is a good shape for him! it contrasts well with alastor being a kind of sly and striking triangle shape. trapezoids are more interesting and dynamic than rectangles, but are still more stiff and business-like than triangles (p sure I am completely misunderstanding shape theory here but it makes sense to me lmao)

vox is such a mess of vibes? like he's a cult leader he's a televangelist he's a hypnotist he's a business shark he's a tech CEO he's a newscaster he's a TV he's a computer he's a literal shark he's a mastermind he's a pathetic fanboy

still not sure which of those is the most important/what should be obvious in his design

obsessed with the concept of TV knobs as buttons but it's kind of old fashioned

I headcanon him as having been a nerdy kid that got kicked in the shins for being obsessed with TV/tech lol

also hc him as being vaguely and very obliviously transfemme; the buffness can also be overcompensating for a lack of masculinity both physically and mentally

[nekropsii]

What a about Caliborn makes him so cool in your opinion?

Go keep track of his progression as an artist alongside his development as a character and think about how these are intrinsically linked. Ponder the fact that he is both at his most obnoxious and at his most amateur when trying to ignore his unique style explicitly brought on by his canonical learning disability and mimic others rather than truly be himself. Consider how his explorations of art are genuinely cool, not a bad thing, and how we get some really neat multimedia stuff out of it.

Caliborn may be a shitty little teenage wretch but the way he is portrayed as an artist and as a disabled person is both really good and very real. It comes from a place of love. His learning disability is handled with a degree of gentle care that you would not really expect from Hussie. The place Caliborn's art style ends up in is so fucking sick and I actually unironically love it. The technique he uses is really interesting. It's intentionally reminiscent of an Etch-a-Sketch, and I'm a little obsessed with it.

This is so fucking good. I mean this seriously. He's right - that is some Pure Art Skill.

I just love the way art is employed as a necessary component of his character arc. It's so neat. You don't see visual cues that intricate too often. Usually it's just in character design, but watching his entire art style and even his medium of choice change several times over is fascinating. You can really tell Hussie had a lot of fun with him. He's also just really, really fucking funny. Just about every sentence that comes out of his mouth is Grade A Absolute Fucking Gold, and I'm honestly obsessed with his dynamic with Dirk. This may get me thrown to the wolves, but I personally think Dirk and Caliborn have way more chemistry than Dirk and Jake. Maybe that's because we actually see Dirk and Caliborn interact on screen... Lmao.

Necessary Topic: I don't know why people hate him so much. Like, I understand hating his misogyny and fatphobia, sure, but those are deliberate character points and not just Hussie-isms. I see people act like Caliborn is indicative of Hussie, as if Homestuck-era Hussie wasn't, like, famously really fucking good at writing female characters and absolutely not a misogynist. Caliborn's a parody of Homestuck Anti-Fans - which is a term we really ought to bring back, god, anti-fans are absolutely still a thing and good lord they're everywhere - who really were just shitty little bigoted haters. Calliope, the opposite side of his coin, was representative of, essentially, "the best kind of Homestuck fan" - an ultimately sweet young teen girl who willingly dedicates almost all of her time to this piece of fiction she loves so, so much, who draws a lot of fan art for the joy of it all, has OCs that don't fit any of the design conventions in Homestuck whom she pairs with the characters in it for innocent fun. Someone who has a lot of theories and analyses, writes a lot of fanfic, and is genuinely just having a lot of fun. Everyone loves Calliope. Even the characters in Homestuck love Calliope. They just think she's the cutest, sweetest little thing they ever did see. Caliborn was the worst kind. He sucks on purpose. No one likes him. He is a total nuisance to characters he is by all means trying to impress. I love them both.

It's also just funny that he's a canonical Intersex Transmasc who is probably Gay and this has, like, no relevance to anything about him, really. So no one really talks about it. Gender Hilarious, Gender Nefarious.

[altocat]

I love how fanon has their own special spin on the crisis core trio

Angeal: Sensible, overly-serious, kind of that dad-friend who is perpetually exhausted. The straight man in a sea of chaotic morons. Dedicated and hardworking, totally ready to lecture you for doing something stupid. An overall cool guy who sells himself short but really is the glue holding everything together, even if he gets no credit for it.

Sephiroth: Looks terrifying. Probably IS terrifying. Is actually kind of a soft marshmallow with mommy issues. Oozes trauma at every angle. Can kill you a thousand times over but he's also the group baby so oh well. Melts when given a hug. Outwardly cold and aloof but he would unironically die for you and folds like crumpled wet paper when he's left alone. Also he's a cat.

Genesis: Resident Little Shit™. Theater kid. Edgelord. Loudmouthed hothead who can't stop blowing things up. No one invited him. He came from the dumpster outside of an abandoned Waffle House. Arguably the most interesting person here but his attitude gets in the way of people figuring that out. Also kind of a secret soft baby but shhhh that's a secret. Easy to hate. Easier to love if you actually take time to get to know him.

[txttletale]

Your discussions on AI art have been really interesting and changed my mind on it quite a bit, so thank you for that! I don’t think I’m interested in using it, but I feel much less threatened by it in the same way. That being said, I was wondering, how you felt about AI generated creative writing: not, like AI writing in the context of garbage listicles or academic essays, but like, people who generate short stories and then submit them to contests. Do you think it’s the same sort of situation as AI art? Do you think there’s a difference in ChatGPT vs mid journey? Legitimate curiosity here! I don’t quite have an opinion on this in the same way, and I’ve seen v little from folks about creative writing in particular vs generated academic essays/articles

i think that ai generated writing is also indisputably writing but it is mostly really really fucking awful writing for the same reason that most ai art is not good art -- that the large training sets and low 'temperature' of commercially available/mass market models mean that anything produced will be the most generic version of itself. i also think that narrative writing is very very poorly suited to LLM generation because it generally requires very basic internal logic which LLMs are famously bad at (i imagine you'd have similar problems trying to create something visual like a comic that requires consistent character or location design rather than the singular images that AI art is mostly used for). i think it's going to be a very long time before we see anything good long-form from an LLM, especially because it's just not a priority for the people making them.

ultimately though i think you could absolutely do some really cool stuff with AI generated text if you had a tighter training set and let it get a bit wild with it. i've really enjoyed a lot of AI writing for being funny, especially when it was being done with tools like botnik that involve more human curation but still have the ability to completely blindside you with choices -- i unironically think the botnik collegehumour sketch is funnier than anything human-written on the channel. & i think that means it could reliably be used, with similar levels of curation, to make some stuff that feels alien, or unsettling, or etheral, or horrifying, because those are somewhat adjacent to the surreal humour i think it excels at. i could absolutely see it being used in workflows -- one of my friends told me recently, essentially, "if i'm stuck with writer's block, i ask chatgpt what should happen next, it gives me a horrible idea, and i immediately think 'that's shit, and i can do much better' and start writing again" -- which is both very funny but i think presents a great use case as a 'rubber duck'.

but yea i think that if there's anything good to be found in AI-written fiction or poetry it's not going to come from chatGPT specifically, it's going to come from some locally hosted GPT model trained on a curated set of influences -- and will have to either be kind of incoherent or heavily curated into coherence.

that said the submission of AI-written stories to short story mags & such fucking blows -- not because it's "not writing" but because it's just bad writing that's very very easy to produce (as in, 'just tell chatGPT 'write a short story'-easy) -- which ofc isn't bad in and of itself but means that the already existing phenomenon of people cynically submitting awful garbage to literary mags that doesn't even meet the submission guidelines has been magnified immensely and editors are finding it hard to keep up. i think part of believing that generative writing and art are legitimate mediums is also believing they are and should be treated as though they are separate mediums -- i don't think that there's no skill in these disciplines (like, if someone managed to make writing with chatGPT that wasnt unreadably bad, i would be very fucking impressed!) but they're deeply different skills to the traditional artforms and so imo should be in general judged, presented, published etc. separately.

[five-one-two-station]

Everybody should have their own fun, and this isn't trying to harsh anybody's buzz, but I find the impulse to make your own cutesy/badass Replika oc doing funny or heroic or badass things a little odd. Like, that character you designed as a super badass soldier, or well-armed and armored steely eyed cop type... who would they have been built to fight or police exactly? Remember who all those guns and weapons were intended for use on?

I know we're all sick of discourse over who "gets" the game, and I'm by no means scolding anybody for something that harmless, but what's interesting to me is the sense that designing overtly "cool" Replika personas and OCs, complete with the propaganda poster style imagery, feels a little...

I mean, bluntly, it's like the in-world propaganda worked, unironically, on some level, for many people. Kolibris aren't scary, they're whimsical and fun! Storches aren't notably cruel enforcers and chain gang drivers, they're Protektors! Falke isn't a camp commandant, she's a beautiful angel!

The Replikas aren't cool and heroic figures in the reality of the game. They're the carefully crafted organs of a system of control so dreadful it could do what it did to Elster and Ariane. They're victims to that system themselves too, sure - and humanising them is a nuanced and valuable observation of how totalitarian regimes maintain themselves - but that doesn't negate the fact they're also the ones who operate, enforce and perpetuate it, a big part of what the game knows and communicates about such societies. It's notable that the game makes it clear few, if any, of the Replikas actually buy into the Nation as an ideal at all - they enforce it no less pitilessly anyway, incapable or unsafe to imagine anything else.

Their affectations, pasttimes, trinkets, and even affections for each other, all serve to draw a stark contrast to how callously they regard the gestalts they keep suppressed. Their disposability is something they're conscious and fearful of themselves, but fail to recognise as a commonality with the people they brutalise every day, their business as usual. The only grief, tragedy or suffering they acknowledge is their own - they have no regard for any such things in the humans they have... well, dehumanised.

But S-23 Sierpinski was such a hellhole for most of its denizens under "normal" conditions that the nightmare it becomes is arguably an improvement; if only because there are fewer people left now to suffer it. There's a dark poetry here - because the place's banal cruelty is "off camera" to us, it's very naturally less real to us than the grief of the crying Eule. It's only natural, too, to forget how grim the Replikas' purposes are when you don't have to see anyone endure the brunt of it.

And isn't that the very same effect a state like the Nation is seeking in the first place, by disappearing people away to such dark little corners to have it done? In our world, no less than that one.

That works like a kind of propaganda too, not being able to see it - a propaganda of hidden things, as powerful as any poster. A space that's been intentionally left blank.

Kolibris are literal thought police; they intrude on people's very minds, interrogating them to death as a matter of course, with hardly a care either way. The various Protektor classes are functionally concentration camp guards and slave drivers. Falke and Adler are overseeing what amounts to a gulag, one so unimaginably awful Ariane preferred to spend years of her life alone in space to the prospect of being sent there, and inevitably worked to death, far underground.

I think there's a reason we never see one of those posters for LSTRs in game. How could we be asked to forgive our own if we ever did?

[hey-its-danny]

Your lbmr art is based asf please infodump any and all opinions about it if you'd like

(also are we okay to use some of your lbmr art as face claims cause we're a system w/potty and placid as a subsystem. Ofc no pressure but we thought we'd ask :] )

hey there, absolutely go use my alfendi!! it feels like an honor to know my art was able to accurately depict him for you 🙏🙏 and for thoughts on the game im just gonna write them because my artist hand isnt working today LOL

so the game was great, super cool, in retrospect i think the adage of the layton franchise actually kind of benefited this story in the long term (provided some cool parallels, hooked the player through subversion the entire way through, also i just like any mention of layton what can i say). Lucy is adorable and while a little underbaked her tailspin in case 9 and the latter half of the ending felt really freaking good to play. i’m usually a huge bastard about any storyline set in a foreign country but this game did a good job of staying sensitive enough about its portrayals of foreign characters while still maintaining the raw edges that kind of define this game for me.

alfendi’s ambiguous multiple personality disorder is best understood by reading jekyll and hyde, go do it, im making you. also read house of leaves and the picture of dorian gray NNNNEEEOOOWWWW they’re classics for a reason and parallel kind of cooly with the profs characterization. side note that kind of ties into the unpolished quality of the game, i love how weirdly crass it is. like yeah, blood and whatever, but also so many sexy women??? it feels like this game took the ‘all of these old ladies are flirting with layton’ quality of the og trilogy and turned it up 10 notches (this is a good thing i think). i loved dolly like i’ve said, dolly and lucy definitely talk after her case- i imagine theyre not friends, but they catch up sometimes over coffee or at her concerts ^_^ i imagine any stories lucy would tell get turned into songs later, which makes her kind of weary lol

and roscoe if only because of his similarities to raymond shields, but i’m also a huge sucker for the “pull a person aside and ask if they scored it with the love interest yet” trope such a normal amount…… im so glad they did it twice..!

TLDR; great game, not even trying to be layton but succeeding at being ghost trick lite. pacing is a little bogged down by the excess cases near the middle of the story, but the characters and mysteries are cool enough that i forgive it. everybody needs to play cases 6-9 now they are unironically peak. also cant believe i got harry dubois’d by the layton protagonist (im not clarifying what that means)

oh one more note, since im not expecting a sequel to explain it my opinion is that alfendi was either adopted as a teen or is layton’s actual biological son

[the-s1lly-corner]

Anon who asked about the mpost/the one who had sent the tadc x wolf reader request here... Here's my new and improved version of the request!! And not on anon so I get the notification for it being completed :3

Okay so, tadc characters of your choosing (if you need specific characters then Jax, Ragatha, Caine, and Gangle) x a wolf!reader who is really shy, tends to be self deprecating, is a people pleaser, and underestimates their skills. Preferably platonic but romantic is fine!!

Caine, Ragatha, Jax and Gangle x wolf!reader who is shy w/ low confidence !

writing this then imma go work on my silly art eheheheheh unironically listening to hit my spot by ur pretty (do NOT listen to it without headphones if youre not alone it is literally gay sex song) on loop it has no reason to be so catchy gawd DAMN admins yapping aside i hope you enjoy this !! written more leaning towards platonic !!

CAINE:

i think he would try to hype you up and make you more confident in yourself! i think he would be a little confused on why you arent too.. self assured, i mean he thinks youre cool and talented and skilled and-

he could go on for hours.. i think sometimes you might cave into him and what he wants due to you being a people pleaser and it might take caine a while to catch on to that and try to pay attention to those smaller things, especially if theres something making you uncomfortable... the good thing about being a wolf is that you have ears and a tail, which do a lot in conveying how youre feeling in the moment! usually he pays attention to those things if youre the type to not like.. vocalizing your discomfort. hypes you up to everyone who will listen, stops just short of picking you up and showing you off to everyone/hj

RAGATHA:

similar to caine she uses your ears and tail as a means to gauge your internal feelings about things. ragatha is a lot more low energy and calmer compared to some of the other characters on this list... has the least issues of reading you. pulls you away if youre getting uncomfortable in any situation, and oftentimes stands up for you if someone is trying to push you something you dont actually want to do... a lot of the times those people tend to be jax.. but we'll talk about that in his part. I like to think she would try to give you little pep talks when she notices you're a little down.. makes frequent compliments to you and the things you do (skills, hobbies, ect). her room is always open to you whenever you need an escape!

JAX:

really a lot of his "coercing" is just him teasing you and, in a somewhat mean way, trying to subtly push you to get a backbone and find your limit. he wont say it or really express it, but you guys are friends and he does want to see you be able to speak for yourself... its just how he goes about it can be a little... erlrkgkh.... you know? since HES the one trying to test your boundaries and get you to snap at him. i dont think he would go as far as make fun of your hobbies and interests to make you stand up for yourself.. thats just. a smidge to mean, since youre his friend. definitely calls you wolf/dog-based nicknames, most of them dont fall into the "im trying to make you stand up for yourself" thing and more so "haha i think its funny and genuinely lighthearted"

its a little odd but there are good intentions in there

GANGLE:

she gets it, she really does... you two probably talk to one another about your problems to one another... you both find comfort in it and in a way it makes you both feel better. seeing you uncomfortable or anxious kind of empowers gangle to come and help you out, regardless of which mask shes wearing. i like to think it would to the same for you if the roles were reversed... its kind of like how you stop being anxious momentarily when you see your friend struggling and being anxious themselves and you back them up or speak for them, you know? or maybe thats just a me thing... shrugs. probably gives you bows and ribbons to put on your tail to accessorize it

[everything-is-as-it-was]

if dan and phil were teenagers now how’d u think their interests would change 🤓

phil (as he is now) would absolutely be trapped in the brainrot cave. pog would be part of his everyday vocabulary and although he initially uses it because he thinks its silly the brainrot vocabulary would worm its way into his system until he's saying 'rizz' unironically. he rewatches heartstopper every two months. his favorite movie is Bottoms (it's camp). he's very good at Celeste.

dan on the other hand would be toeing the line between tech bro and an actually sane person. he secretly thinks what elon is doing in space is kind of cool but would never voice it because mr musk is an absolute dirtbag. since he is (presumably) not dealing with terrible bullying in this day and age he has joined a band in which he plays the keyboard and sings backup (he wanted to be the lead singer but unfortunately he thinks the lead singer is very hot and so let him have that role)

[katasstrophy]

I feel like I've seen every Bluelock boy paired with a very cute, very bubbly, and chill gf/reader before, but I haven't seen any of them paired with a cool and competent or even bossier type. Are there any guys you think of liking that type??? Or maybe just deserve that type to be kept in line lmao 🤣

nonnie!! 😳 NONNIE UR BRAIN I’M GIVING IT A THOUSAND KISSES UR SOOO RIGHT FOR THIS!!! i guess it doesn’t really show with the fics i’ve uploaded so far – which is a damn shame, i should fix that – but i am absolutely all for readers who are just… out there, ya know? they’re prickly, or easy to anger, or sardonic as all hell, or way too clever for their own good or yes yes, bossy<3 i eat that shit UP like it’s my last meal. this is not to say i don’t enjoy sweet, bubbly readers (bc i do!) but the type you describe just… scratches a certain itch iykwim 👁️👁️

i think one of my first posts ever about blue lock on this blog (cw. mid writing LMAO) was exactly about this. obviously most of the blue lock guys are only extreme egoists when they’re playing soccer, but i do think that aspect of their lives will ultimately start to bleed into their personality as they grow up/go pro. so having someone who’s just like “yeah that’s great and all but if you won’t make it to date night i’ll leave your sorry ass” is just. so sexy to them like?? they haven’t gotten their ego knocked down a peg in a while so i think they’d be drawn to a partner like that askdhxnbz idk if i’m explaining this very well but as far as i’m concerned all blue lock boys deserve an unhinged reader lol 😤

THAT BEING SAID!!! >:))) i have a top three list of blue lock men who i, personally, would love to put in their place and encourage anyone out there to do so as well LOL

1. MICHAEL KAISER — this cocky motherfucker ugh need i say more 🙄 the urge to censor his name was real strong but i persevered still cannot believe i’m (sadly) attracted to this horrible, horrible man. he’s sooo insufferable and just so obsessed with himself like he unironically refers to himself as the emperor when i tell you there’s nothing i want more than to make this man beg on his knees i mean it – what a pretty sight that would be hm? <3 all his past lovers probably treated him like he was god’s greatest gift to women (HE IS NOT) – and by now he’s not only used to it but comes to expect it – so when he meets you and you’re like “mm you’re kind of a prick leave me alone thenk yew✨✨” he’s just. so scandalized LMFAO suddenly he’s the one chasing after you and vying for a shred of your attention oooohh yes that’s exactly what he deserves how it should be

2. ITOSHI SAE — listen he might be my precious babygirl now but i used to hate this mans guts like no other and that little resentment still lives on in my heart in the form of wanting this man’s downfall to be a woman like don’t tell me that’s not the hottest thing you’ve ever heard. he’s just so single-mindedly focused on soccer – japan’s treasure and what not – and thinks he can get away with being an asshole because of it but you place down your foot and tell him to cut the bullshit or you’ll find someone who treats you better (AMEN SISTER) and suddenly he’s grappling with the reality that shit he might just fall apart without you yes girl make him suffer

3. OLIVER AIKU — i couldn’t not include the resident fuckboy here mmmm the possibilities for him are endless and each one more delicious than the last. he might not be as insufferable as the others but he still thinks extremely highly of himself, especially when it comes to his way with the ladies. typical “oh no i don’t do relationships” kinda guy who can show you a good time for a night before dipping in the morning – and you just don’t want that. so you reject his advances, say you’re not interested and move on, but for some reason, oliver can’t. literally physically wounds his pride when he crawls back for a second chance but you don’t budge, still wary of him due to his past behavior unless he can show you otherwise. and the way he scrambles to prove himself as trustworthy to you? god tier groveling from a man YUMM

[aihoshiino]

I had an idea for a time loop Oshi no Ko fic.

Start with the breakup conversation between Ai and Kamiki. Ai can tell that Kamiki's taking it badly, but what's done is done. For time loop reasons, Kamiki immediately tells a jealous stalker about Ai's pregnancy and home address, and she gets murdered within the week.

Ai gets booted back to some time before the breakup. Once she figures out what's going on, she has two goals: Take advantage of the time loop to find a better way to break up with Kamiki, and don't get murdered. (Obviously, she does not realize that there is a connection between these goals.)

As one of Tumblr's premier Ai Hoshino fans, do you think this idea sounds interesting or—? Well, if you don't, I doubt you'd actually post this ask.

genuinely unironically and with ten thousand percent sincerity i fucking love that the legacy of my online presence is '#1 hoshino ai wife guy'. this is what i was put on this earth to do.

Joking aside tho… Godddddd I've always loved the idea of an OnK timeloop fic!!!! I actually think the story lends itself really well to that kind of premise - the story revolves around this central tragedy as its axis and has just enough soft magic supernatural elements that you can so easily bullshit up a natural feeling reason for this to be happening. I also think this idea works surprisingly well in a thematic sense, too? OnK is about cycles, at least in the sense of generational echoes, but it's also about narratives, those created by and about us, and about moving on from past trauma to reclaim your right to the future. Timeloop stories are really natural and well suited vehicles for those sorts of themes.

I also think it would be super fun to play with in like, a metanarrative sense as well? Idr if this particular thought ever made its way onto tumblr, but I love rolling the idea in my brain of Ai being 'narratively cursed' in a sense. Because Ai as a character in a story is kind of defined by her fate - her role in OnK and any of its derivatives is defined by the question of whether or not she lives and even in stories where she survives, it still echoes. The idea of making that something the characters in the story have to tangibly grapple with me is super compelling to me. Like, maybe it's a KagePro sort of thing where, even if her death at Ryosuke's hands is prevented, her death on that day is 'fated'.

I think this could be a really cool reflection of something in the original text the story doesn't really get as much time to go into, that Ai's tragedy is simultaneously preventable and avoidable & inevitable and unstoppable, purely because of the way the deck was stacked against her. Even if there was no Ryosuke, there would have been a hundred other men with knives in their hands. Her "fate" is inevitable because it's the end result of a whole Rude Goldberg machine of systematic and individual choices made to exploit her for her whole life. Ai can't ever escape the narrative because she has no control over it. Her one act of rebellion against it - her decision to become Aqua and Ruby's mother - is the thing that cements her doom.

Because of this, I don't think I would actually want Ai herself to be the center of a loop story focused on saving her? Like, her being the POV character would be interesting but I think another character would need to be the main looper. This is because, for me… I actually don't think Ai can ever 'save' herself.

Not in the sense that she is incapable of doing so, but because saving herself would destroy any chance of her salvation in the first place. Her entire life, she has been failed by every single person who had the responsibility to love and protect her and she is forced to uplift herself as a result. Ai saving herself is the final proof to her that nobody was ever going to help her, that she cannot be authentically loved or accepted as she is. Kindness was always conditional. Her love was never reciprocated.

This is why she has to be saved by someone else - because her salvation is someone seeing both Hoshino Ai and Ai of B-Komachi and choosing Hoshino Ai. That's why her fate is inevitable. Because everyone else will always choose "Ai of B-Komachi". She can only be saved by a person who sees all of her and decides to unconditionally love and accept Hoshino Ai with the full understanding of everything that she is.

Because of that… I think Kamiki would be the ideal looper in a scenario like this. Not only does it provide salvation for Ai, but I also think it creates a really interesting route to salvation/redemption for Kamiki; presenting him with not just the opportunity but the necessity to undo his mistakes and repair the damage he caused and. in the process, come to finally, truly understand Ai as a person, not as his savior. And in doing so, Kamiki saves himself, too.

That's just how I'd do it, anyway…! I don't know that I'd ever have the energy or drive to write this sort of thing myself, but people are free to mine this for ideas for their own fics/AUs/etc.

[beetlethebug]

so we know that like, Kristen's whole deal is religion and such, right? I'm just kinda thinking about the other Bad Kids and the Gods. Maybe it's my own multi-deity pagan ass just wanting to consider what it would look like. (I'm using primarily Forgotten Realms Gods and my absolutely vague knowledge of them).

This got long so read under the cut ;u;

Gorgug is absolutely Garl Glittergold's favorite child. He loves the shenanigans. Do you think he starts connecting with Gruumsh when he starts connecting with his birth parents? Baby Gorgug leaving bits of metal and toys he accidentally broke on the altar the Thistlesprings' have in their workshop. Gorgug pre-artificer offering up the songs he makes as a tricky sort of "metal" working. Feeling a connection to Gruumsh in the heats of his rage, the nudge of a hand during his frenzy guiding him to the right target. Keeping bits of scrap from their enemies to melt down into his next artificing project. He also probably talks to Helm, sometimes, asking for guidance on how to best protect his friends. Gorgug has big protector energy.

Adaine who is, in a way, a deity in her own right, depending how revered the Oracle is. I don't know if Adaine would connect with Elvish gods, but she and Oghma vibe. I think that after the Bad Kids all talk and bond, Kristen makes a joke about her being a Gruumsh follower with her furious fist and so Adaine jokingly buys a pin to wear in offering. Jawbone also had a talk with her about sometimes it can help to talk to someone about your anxiety--whether that be a counselor or even the Gods, sometimes. Just Adaine praying to Gruumsh to have the strength to punch her anxiety in the face is very beautiful to me. Azuth is the god of wizards, so he and Adaine might vibe. Adaine feels like the type to vibe with the Gods mostly in jest; she talks to them sometimes, but they're silly little guys to her. Because of Tracker and Jawbone's lycanthropy, I think she either has a small shrine to Galicaea or has the biggest beef with her imaginable. Maybe a little bit of both.

Riz. God. I think once Riz meets his Father, he definitely like, sets up a little shrine to him. Ancestor work feels really important to Riz. He dedicates a lot of self-care things to his dad, I think. Mainly sleeping and drinking water. Does he do them? No. But it's the thought that counts. Riz is definitely the like, mundane acts of worship. Incorporating it into miniscule parts of his day that would go undetected unless you knew him and where to look. He also probably has some devotional jewelry to Yondalla; I think that Penny probably had a habit of repeating prayers while touching the beads of her bracelet (kind of like a Rosary) and that rubbed off on him, especially when she was babysitting him. The whole family also probably have at least some sort of worship to Tyr due to their connection to justice and law enforcement. I think Sklonda is more connected with some of the deities associated with Goblins, specifically Gruumsh (can you tell I love him?) and Maglubiyet. He prays to war gods to get through the absolute shitshow of Adventuring school. He and Adaine probably dedicate their research to Oghma.

Fig is really interesting because I feel like she is probably in the vein of demon work instead of divinity. Although I think that she unironically thinks Riz's dad is super cool so like, playfully worships him. Fig is the Bad Kid that I feel like collects all the different pieces of her friends and wears them proudly upon herself. She dedicates concerts to Kristen's new deity of the week. She sighs and asks Oghma for help on exams; she includes prayers to Gruumsh in her tracks. I feel like Fig also might have a tendency to like, worship the people in her life. She thinks they're so important and she cares about them so much. So she elevates them to the status of a God in her mind. They are invincible. They are young and powerful and the bonds they share are much, much magical then some God who pretends to be high and mighty. Her body is an altar--she wears jewelry and draws sigils and uses so much color magick. She is, in a way, a walking beacon to the gods, saying, "Look at us! We're just as good as you, and if you doubt it, then we'll kick your ass!"

Fabian Seacaster my beloved. This man follows his Father's footsteps for a long time. He worships Gods of the tempest, of the sea and sailing. Yondalla holds a special place in his heart. Riz nearly has a conniption when Fabian corrects him on a prayer to Yondalla, and the two of them bond about it. But once this man starts dancing, this man worships Corellon Larethian with his whole chest. He does a lot of his worship through dancing. Moving his body, getting in touch with his roots. Because of the fire elemental, he also does some like, elemental magic? But I think a lot of his forms of worship come through bodily experiences. Braving a storm, dancing in front of a crowd, making just the right maneuver to protect his friends in battle. Sometimes he and Fig and Gorgug will sit together and make devotional playlists!

[nerdyfan1]

Ngl I think it’s funny how I like see Sir Pentious way differently. Most ppl just kind of baby him which I find annoying. Meanwhile I think he’s unironically one of the most fascinating characters we’ve had so far and has so much potential to be so interesting. Like he’s the one I’m the most interested in seeing what season 2 will do with.

Vivziepop in an interview made it very clear that we will get more with him. And potential backstory stuff that actually explains why he was in hell to begin with. Which caught my interest. I genuinely so excited for all this. His heaven reveal was actually way more exciting to me than the Lilith one afterwards in the finale. Probably cus I was given time to grow attached to Pentious compared to Lilith who I like know nothing about lol

Idk I kind of feel alone in this most posts I see about Pentious is either based on a theory I really don’t like or ppl just saying he’s all cute. Sure he is but, I think he’s going to end up as way more than that. I hope I’m right and they do something cool with him.

[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: Modern Date Nights

More bullet point headcanons! This time we get some date nights with my Apprentices and their love interests, modern-day style!

Nadia, Portia, and Chimalus: Movie Night

Or, more specifically, nostalgic movie night, as decided by Portia

Neither Nadia nor Chimalus exactly had ordinary childhoods. 

(Both for somewhat different reasons) 

They’re both aware of a lot of the movies that were popular when they grew up, and other “childhood” things, but they didn’t really get a chance to experience them. 

Portia, on the other hand, knows all the “kid’s stuff,” and unironically loves a lot of it. 

So she’s made it her mission to introduce her two loves to everything she can. 

It’s tough with Nadia’s very packed schedule, but Portia is an expert at finding time for important things. 

And as far as she’s concerned, this is of the utmost importance.

So the trio sets aside one weekend every month at lest to snuggle on the couch, make the coziest snack foods, and binge as many "children's movies" as they possibly can. 

Portia not only knows what all the best streaming platforms are, but also knows exactly how to get bargain-bin price DVDs and Blu Rays of the best movies. 

The trio has gone through almost the entire Disney catalog by now. And most of the Pixar movies. 

Portia, of course, has thrown in a few other classics.

Everyone was crying over The Last Unicorn. 

And heaven help them once they discover Bluey. 

Nadia sometimes isn’t the best person to watch movies with. Her analytical mind picks them apart and predicts twists.

But Portia’s seen everything she shows them, so she doesn’t really mind

And she giggles whenever Nadia gets something wrong... with extra giggles when Nadia actually predicts the story correctly. 

Also, Chimalus is able to mellow Nadia out a bit. Chimalus is an artist, so when they’re watching anything animated, they love pointing out all the little details that help make movies something you feel more than think about. 

Every single one of these date nights has ended in all three of them passed out on the couch in a snuggly tangle. 

(Side note: Nadia has an in-home movie theater and you cannot convince me otherwise. Yes, they could absolutely hold Nostalgic Movie Night there. No, they do not. They always opt for Portia’s Super Comfy Couch TM) 

Asra and Meleia: Convention Weekends

Two words: Couple cosplays. 

Asra is an artist. And they are an absolute aficionado of the most obscure games and movies and anime series you have ever heard of. 

Meleia loves sewing, and she’s a giant kid at heart. 

And since they both love collecting cute little trinkets, conventions are their jam. 

The two of them will absolutely spend way too much time planning out The Perfect Outfits. 

And yes, if it’s a longer convention, they will have a cosplay for every single day. 

Sometimes multiple per day. 

They're also both very good at taking care of each other.

Whenever Meleia has a more in-depth costume, like something with a ton of layers or a huge full skirt or a very intricate wig, Asra is the best hype person/cosplay care person. 

He’s got the full Mom Bag of anything that Meleia might need at any given moment, be it a little electric fan or a drink with all kinds of electrolytes or a makeup patch job or a wig brush or sewing supplies for an actual patch job. 

And Asra’s an expert at finding a cool and quiet spot to just sit back and recharge. 

The only two things Meleia really needs to be careful of when it comes to watching over Asra is making sure he doesn’t spend the entire shopping budget in one place, and that she doesn’t lose him when he finds a little corner to nap in. 

(Is Asra supposed to be napping in that corner? Up for debate) 

But in the end, the two of them have a wonderful time wandering around in their fun outfits and buying all the things and doing the silly arcade games that can only be found at conventions. 

They will pass out in the hotel afterwards. And Asra will sleep for almost a day straight once they get home. 

But it’s always worth it. 

Julian and Damian: Musical Magic

Julian and Damian have a lot of interests in common, but they truly bonded over their shared love of music. 

And we all know Julian adores drama. 

So a date night between Julian and Damian sometimes boils down to “which Broadway show can we get a ticket for this weekend?” 

The road trip to the theater is part of the date, too. 

These two can and will do an entire two-man production of Hadestown while en route to the theater and you cannot convince me otherwise. 

And when it isn’t Broadway Night, any kind of date is almost guaranteed to have some kind of music. 

A trip to their favorite coffee shop which showcases local bands, karaoke night (either at home or out at a specific spot, each with varying degrees of drinks), or, of course, the classic “going out dancing” 

Honestly, there’s just a lot of dancing involved, even if the two of them didn’t plan it. 

And when in doubt, nothing beats a gentle evening alone, where they make their own music. 

Damian takes out his guitar. Julian takes out his violin. 

And the two of them just let the music speak for them. 

[allwormdiet]

Agitation 3.6

I've known girls in real life who had conversations very close to the one in this chapter. High school was weird.

I like this spiel from Lisa, actually. It explains how she's able to make sense of this world that she's been plunged into, and it does a decent job explaining the status quo of the setting

Ordinarily I'm leery of "a hero is only as good as their villains" but in the context of parahumans it makes a kind of sense. The Protectorate is in good when their heroes are doing important or flashy things, and important stuff isn't happening all the time which means that flashy fills in the gaps.

This is what everyone calls the "unwritten rules," right? Or at least part of it? The phrase hasn't come up in the text yet but that's what I see it as all the time, so I suspect that wording will come up at some point or another. Unless it comes up in a Reddit post in which case fuck me I guess.

It's an interesting concept, but of course it only works as long as everybody plays ball, doesn't it, and there's no guarantee of the good guys or bad guys sticking to it if they think they can get away with it

This actually made me laugh the first time through. Lisa is just like "girl why are we talking about the Endbringers, what is UP"

Also interesting that this chapter is the first time the Endbringers are coming up, and bringing them up at all is... not quite a faux pas, but certainly off-kilter, at least if Tattletale is anything to go off of

I feel bad for Taylor, but it's a little bit her own fault again for the whole "premeditated betrayal" thing

More concerning is the fact that two Undersiders being murderers isn't like. More public knowledge? This feels like another instance of the Protectorate not being as loud about a potential threat as they could be, although maybe it's not too far off from the cops-and-robbers thing like Lisa's speculating and they don't want the team to start escalating in response. I assume we'll find out at some point, but for now another doubt to plague Taylor, not that those seem to stop her

Still funny she refuses to include Rachel as one of her new friends, though

This is really cool of Lisa actually, lifting up someone who is unironically down in the doldrums... and I continue to wonder how much she knows bc if she's giving this pep talk to an aspiring hero who intends to betray her and the rest of her team? Oh my god.

...I swear I'm gonna get to a Lisa POV and immediately keel over from whatever emotional overload it does to me

These kiiiiiiiiiids

This bank robbery is gonna go so smoothly, and absolutely zero repercussions will arise in the wake of this that shape the entire world forever

It's gonna be great

Current Thoughts

Kind of short, or at least it feels short, but I don't know what else could've been added here.

This is the first time we've seen Taylor and Lisa on their own together and it's a fun dynamic, although I imagine it'll be more fun when Taylor feels more comfortable around the friggin psychic next to her

Can't wait to watch these two girls be so normal about each other as the story progresses

Anyway, holy shit, the bank job already. Let's fucking go.

[hentaiari]

I subscribe to the idea of vene being a whore just so we’re clear but. Him unironically being a virgin (the way he apparently is in canon) is also cool and kind of funny. Imagine living that long and still not getting tailpipe or whatever they call it (not that this a bad thing). The idea of him talking big when he’s chatting someone up only to end up being so awkward when he does actually end up convincing someone to sleep with him is an interesting thought,,,,,,,