#still have a bunch of audios and characters to go through

[rayno-minior]

super incredible lore accurate Neo mood board

[dani-ya-dig]

I just watched a really shitty movie so I’m gonna rant about how The Balance did this better when it was made by one dude voicing most of the characters.

So The Balance is a great series with where it’s at so far, but what I mainly am focusing on (as far as this little rant goes) is how Erik introduced Elliott.

Erik did a good job with introducing and endearing Elliott to the audience before the all of the events that take place in The Balance really occurred.

Which I understand seems like such a “yeah, fucking duh that’s what you should do” thing. But I watch a lot of horror movies, and obviously a lot of these horror movies have horrible things happening to the characters in these movies. But somehow these movies, some of which are made with huge teams by large production companies, fail to do this seemingly very obvious thing even half as well as A FUCKING BOYFRIEND ASMR CHANNEL.

Starting off point, Sunshine and Elliott were already best friends even before Elliott’s first audio and that was a good choice. The dynamic between them is already there, and that kind of gives off an immediate sense of familiarity with the character. Putting the listener in the position of someone close to the character already endears him because, yeah that’s our bestie!!!

And then along with this in his first two audios you learn enough about him to make him a lovable character. Just small things like him being afraid of open water, his love for the stars especially ones that people can’t see that well, having used looking at the stars as an escape from his life as a kid, him actively helping Sunshine with their nightmares when they met even if they never became friends, how despite him loving his powers he prefers to live in reality over dreams because reality is complex, and flawed, and unpredictable, and real.

My point being, that is not a lot of time between Elliott’s first introduction, and when him and Sunshine get thrown into all the cult shit. Yet still even with that little time I’ve learned enough about Elliott and who he is that the stakes feel serious when he gets put in a horrible situation, and I can actively route for him to get out of said situation.

And yes, Erik does have more time to do that given that it’s a series rather than a movie… but ONE DUDE WITH A MICROPHONE DID WHAT SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WRITE MOVIES PROFESSIONALLY SUCK BALLS AT!!

(Feeling very “TONY STARK WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE!! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!!”)

Like yes, I can watch a character going through a horrible situation and feel base empathy for them of “oh that would really suck to go through”. But if I know nothing about that character, or you don’t give me any information about this character to form an opinion off of, it’s never going to go beyond that base level empathy. I’m not going to be actively and hopefully routing for your character to get out of the situation, I’m just gonna be passively watching as things happen to them.

tl;dr

Watching horror movies sucks sometimes because ya gotta go through a bunch of bad ones to get to a good one, and redacted audio good.

Also 10 dani points to whoever can guess what movie inspired this rant

[asexualbookbird]

Whoo boy. Lots of things going on here, many of them Not Good, so I threw myself into video games and reading. Played a whole bunch of Project Sekai, so much Project Sekai I have to now force myself to take a break from Project Sekai because my hands hurt so much. I was absolutely SPOILED by my friends on my birthday. I look at my little Miku figure everyday and it brings me SO much joy!! Got an embroidery machine and I already have a couple jobs lined up so hopefully I can make a little bit of Fun Money. At the very least I'm hoping to make enough to upgrade the program so I can make my own freehand designs! I read SIX (6) books this month and I annotated in the margins for the first time! It was fun, but I think it was only fun because I was leaving notes for a friend. I don't think it's something I would enjoy on my own so I won't be making a habit of it. Still! Fun and new and exciting!

Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Okay Initially I rated this four stars, but sitting on it for a month I ADORED this. It left so many good feelings. Fun and silly and gross, I want more like this.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - A reread! Still love it! I'd forgotten so much it was nice to revisit and about halfway through I remembered the ending which was fun. Opted for the audio this time which was absolutely delightfully done.

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch ⭐⭐⭐ - Not my favorite, but still fun. I find it a Choice that the use of outdated slurs was a hint at a plot point. Peter made a promise to a child, so there's no way that will come back to bite him!

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai ⭐⭐- I listened to the audiobook and I think that didn't help my enjoyment of this. I switched to a hard copy in the last 20% and found my opinions of the two main characters switching. I didn't like Nehal's narrator, so I didn't like Nehal. But reading it myself she was more tolerable. Aside from Giorgina having an abortion, this could have easily been a young adult novel, and even then it wouldn't necessarily have been out of place. The writing didn't feel like an adult novel, which I hate saying but I know of no other way to voice my feelings on this.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- PERFECT. WONDERFUL. LOVED EVERY BIT! I know I just complained about a book reading like YA, but listen. Elatsoe was SO good. The love Elatsoe has for her family and her family for her is so refreshing. She's ace. Her loved ones love her. She loves them. And she's ace. It's not about Being Ace, but still! There she is! The audio was so easy and pleasant to listen to. I want my own copy because I KNOW I want to read this again. Absolutely delightful.

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch ⭐⭐⭐- didn't enjoy it as much as the first, but enjoyed it more than the second. Typing the title out made a lightbulb go off and I Got It. The buried alive chapter had me squirming. Abigail returned. There are an awful lot of guns in this series for being set in London and here they still had to poke fun at the American being trigger happy (she was). I'm a little burnt out on this series for now, but I'll return to it in the future.

June is bringing a birthday tea party for my mom, finishing a knit hat for my mom, making a homebound sketchbook for my friend, and whatever books I feel in the mood for. I'd say throw suggestions at me, but the instant someone says YOU MUST READ THIS my brain goes hm. No uwu. I think I want to make Monthly Reading Goals photos again, that was fun! Only book set in stone this month is The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi which I've already started and am enjoying a lot so far. Good omens and good vibes for June, I am speaking that into existence.

[nattikay]

Shoutout to my mom who let me dump a bunch of spoilers on her so I could cry about Neteyam. Finally had the chance to get all that sobbing that dehydration robbed me of yesterday out of my system, and I’m feeling a little better now. I mean, the situation still makes me sad, but I don’t think I’ll continue to have my eyes suddenly start leaking every other hour like they did for most of today. :’)

so uuuhhh now that I’ve more or less gotten over that hurdle, I can finally sit down and make a post about all the other stuff from the movie! So here’s a list of some of the other thoughts and observations I had, not exactly comprehensive cuz this is all coming after 24 hours of grieving so I may not remember every single little thought I had, but here we go anyways (also tagging @tenebrius-excellium cuz you said you wanted to hear my thoughts):

-I just want to watch the first five or so minutes on loop for a while (although maybe without the cuts to Neytiri singing the songcord because 🥲, good golly the moment I saw that shot I, already being familiar with the lore behind songcords, was like oh NOOOOO), just the scenes of those ~14 peaceful years where the kids are growing up and the RDA is gone and everyone is happy together and it’s all just so sweet, this is the content I want, I want more of it, please pretty please, I know it’ll be a while before all the gif-makers are able to get a hold of those scenes but man as soon as they do goodness gracious I’m just gonna stare at it all for hours 😭

-While I was already assuming that the Metkayina didn’t actually know English and that we the audience were only hearing English for convenience, I was expecting that issue not to be directly addressed. So I was pleasantly surprised when it was subtly addressed with Jake’s voiceover about now being familiar enough with the Na’vi language to understand it as easily English as the audio of the kids bickering swapped from Na’vi to English. Theory confirmed!

-Speaking of the Na’vi language, I did feel very excited because I was able to understand some of the unsubtitled lines, which was a goal! so yay!! I mean, I didn’t understand every Na’vi line spoken (some of the longer ones I’ll definitely have to listen to more than once to piece together), but to even understand any of it at all, especially the ones without subtitles, felt very awesome!! dopamine rush babey!!!

-And on that note, the fact that Quaritch of all characters was making an effort to learn the language really surprised me! He struck me as the type of character to not give two craps about that sort of thing but hey. I definitely got a kick of out of Spider absolutely roasting him for his lack of skills hrh (note, I very most certainly do not condone actually mocking new learners making mistakes, obviously, but seeing as this is Quaritch we’re talking about...^^”) Spider’s line here was also a place I even managed to catch a subtitle discrepancy -- iirc, the subtitles read “You sound like a three-year-old!” but the actual line was nga plltxe na ‘eveng ahì’i! you speak like a small child! Which, I mean, y’know, same gist, but it was cool to be able to understand the actual words!! I also greatly enjoyed Spider trying to teach Quaritch the distinction between na and nga, just because man that’s one of those things every learner has been through, idk it was delightful to watch it go down between canon characters hrh

-Speaking of Quaritch and Spider....wow, I was surprised just how early they dropped the “Quartich’s son” bomb. That had been a pretty popular and plausible theory for a while, but I was expecting it to either be left up to interpretation or used as a bombshell later in the film. But nope, from the get-go it’s pretty heavily implied that not only is Quaritch Spider’s biological father, but that they’re both aware of this. So. Yeah, that was certainly a surprise.

-Kiri “I would rather drink acid than have Norm be my biological father” good gracious girl! like I mean yes the idea that Norm and Grace were secretly hookin’ up is obviously preposterous, but what did Norm ever do to you to deserve that reaction ^^; haha

-I mentioned in my High Ground post the three primary theories on Kiri’s origins. Having now seen the movie, I now think the mystical-Eywa-conception theory is by far the most likely. However, canonically it still remains a mystery/up to interpretation. Perhaps we’ll get more answers in movie 3...

-Y’know what, vulgarity is not typically my type of humor, but Lo’ak flippin’ Quaritch the double bird when asked to let him see his fingers did get a chuckle out of me hrh

-hey um yo the Metkayina kids were absolute JERKS, what the heck?? like good golly heckin’ rude. Except for Tsireya she’s chill I like her :)

-Personally I don’t think the story of this movie is a total rehash of the first one overall, but I can very mostly definitely see how people would consider it so. There were several lines in two scenes in particular, the one where the Sullies arrive at the Metkayina clan and the one with the tulkun hunters, that were just soooooo similar to lines from the first movie, not quite verbatim but certainly awkwardly close. I can absolutely see this becoming a common complaint from internet critics.

-Tuk pretty much solely exists to make the audience go d’awwwww!!, and y’know what, that’s ok because boy did she succeed :’)

-unfortunately, Quaritch’s ikran has by far the coolest design of all the ikrans, like bruh that color palette is heckin’ dope. what a shame ur now stuck with this jerk lol. Though I did snicker at Quaritch feeling the need to bond with the ikran “the hard way” solely because he couldn’t stand to be outdone by Jake lol

-I liked Lo’ak and Payakan’s friendship, it was very sweet. Also very interesting design-wise that a tulkun’s queue is in his mouth, and that the mouth has more of those bioluminescent patterns on the inside.

-The fact that the tulkun hunters are 100% aware that the species they’re hunting is fully sapient feels very ick to me. Sir that’s...that’s murder. Good gracious. and um “tulkun brain juice stops human aging” wh...what?? can uh...can we get some more explanation on that??? like is that gonna be somehow relevant to later movies or is it just some arbitrary thing to make the brain juice valuable, valuable enough to attempt to justify murder idk but uh....yyyyyyeah 😬

-minor thing, but I was surprised that the swimming baby from the trailer was, in fact, not Ronal’s. In fact, we never actually meet Ronal’s baby, which, again, surprised me. Why make her pregnant if we don’t get to see the baby, it feels kinda random ^^; to link her to her spirit tulkun who just had a calf I guess?? idk. once again, maybe it’ll become more relevant in movie 3.

-until proven otherwise, I am heretofore declaring that final “a son for a son” line to be Spider’s official adoption into the Sully family 😭😭😭

anyways, I guess that’ll do for now. I’m sure there was other stuff but I’ve been sitting here typing for over an hour already. Perhaps later I’ll come back with more comments, idk. I’ll be seeing the movie again next week with the rest of my family, so maybe I’ll notice different things/remember stuff that got swallowed up in the feels. Will I cry more than I did on my first viewing because I’m gonna try not to go in dehydrated again, or less because by then I’ll have had a week to process and accept everything? I have literally no idea. Guess we’ll have to just wait and see...

[maraschinomerry]

You Are My Sunshine

Pairings: George Karim x gn!reader

Summary: sunshine x grumpy, based off this tiktok audio (the sunshine character needs comfort and surprises everyone when they go to the grump, who is equally surprised when they find themself hugging back)

Content: not-quite-enemies to friends, heavily implied previous non-con from another character and a non-graphic second attempt, emotional hurt/comfort

A/N: cheesiest title ever but the second I heard that tiktok audio I knew I wanted to write this for George, it reminded me so much of the way he seemed with Lucy until they bonded over pizza (but maybe a little played up to fully fit the grump persona)

Word count: 3.3k

Taglist: @neewtmas @marinalor (taglist is open if anyone wants to be added!)

George knew you were going to be infuriating from the moment you set foot on the doorstep of 35 Portland Row.

He opened the door after the shrill bell echoed down the hall, to be met by your beaming face. Had he not been taken aback by how cute you were, he'd have closed it straight away.

"Hello!" you greeted him cheerily. "I'm here about the job - I'm (name), what's your name?"

Good grief, you were lively. One of the only perks of agent work was that everyone else was as sharp-tongued and hardened as he was, yet here you were with all the enthusiasm and energy of a puppy in a park. Still, no point being rude until you'd proven how unprepared you were. Then he could be smug about it too. "George."

"Nice to meet you, George. May I come in?" You'd noted his surliness, but it didn't phase you. Having tried everywhere else, you really needed this interview to go well. Normally by now you'd be thoroughly fed up with the rejection, it was bad enough the first time but the fourth was just upsetting, but you forced yourself to remain positive for a good first impression.

George led you silently into a cosy living room, where a boy and girl were chatting away in hushed voices on one of the sofas.

"Another candidate," George muttered as he sank into an armchair and buried his head in a comic. The other boy rose from the sofa and offered his hand. You shook it gratefully. "Anthony Lockwood," he introduced himself before gesturing to the girl, who waved briefly. "Lucy Carlyle, and I hope George had the good sense to give you his name."

You nodded and introduced yourself in return. They seemed an odd bunch - younger than you'd expected, with no sign of adult supervision, and simultaneously welcoming and closed off. Especially George, who hadn't so much as looked at you since you'd entered the room.

"I'm afraid I don't have any references to show, I had to leave my previous agency rather quickly after an incident, but I have a CV and my grade certificates to look over if you'd like," you explained, holding out a plain white folder to Lockwood. He rifled through it, noting aloud that you'd just finished at Rotwell, and you could have sworn George rolled his eyes over the top of his comic.

Lockwood laid the folder on the table. "Interesting stuff, but if you don't mind I'd like to give you a couple of tests." Hold on. The advert didn't say anything about that. Lucy must have sensed your alarm and been through something similar, as she offered you a reassuring smile. You wondered how long she'd been with the agency, how recently she'd done these 'tests'.

The tests came in the form of objects, covered by tea towels and unveiled one by one with dramatic flair. You were particularly intrigued by a jar of swampy green liquid containing a skull. Excitement crept into your voice when you realised it was a ghost jar, something you'd longed to see for years with no success, but it abruptly jolted to shock when the skull developed an almost-face and shot you a chilling grin. You struggled to regain your composure. George had lowered his comic now, watching you disdainfully, so you relaxed out of spite and resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow in challenge. No, it wasn't necessary, you were in a good mood and being polite. You needed the job.

The rest of the tests were a breeze. The taller boy, Lockwood, certainly seemed pleased with your results. As he opened his mouth to congratulate you, however, George finally spoke.

"Lockwood. A word."

The rest of you looked at him, and he glowered back. Lucy stood, smiling at you again. "Why don't I take you through to the kitchen, (name), since George appears to have neglected to offer you any tea." You followed her out of the room, the atmosphere behind you souring by the second.

As soon as you were out of earshot, George rounded on his friend. "You're not seriously thinking of hiring them." It was a statement, not a question.

"Why not? They did well, don't you think?"

"Sure, but try and tell me you're not going to get sick to death of them spewing sunshine everywhere they go within the first two weeks." Lockwood chuckled, mentally filing 'spewing sunshine' away with 'braying gallery for bellends' on the list of his favourite George-isms. George misinterpreted the laughter as denial, and threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine, go ahead, but I'm calling it now. Two. Weeks."

—

You settled into Lockwood & Co. remarkably quickly, flying through the first two weeks. Lucy had bonded with you immediately, your cheerful demeanour bringing back her softer side, and even Lockwood found himself warming to you. The only person who steadfastly kept you at arms length was George. He was civil enough, having gradually come to terms with the fact that you were probably there to stay, but he never initiated conversations and ended the ones you started as soon as possible. Even in group moments round the dining table, he seemed immune where your presence began to make the others more animated. He had your back on cases as much as the other two, you couldn't deny that, but you were still wary around him. As the weeks went on and he was forced to acknowledge you more, he took to calling you 'sunshine' - never in a fun, playful way though, always "hold on, sunshine" when he was shooting down your optimism or "come on, sunshine" when you were forced to pair up and he automatically took the lead. If it had been anyone else calling you that it would have been sweet, but from him it left a bitter taste in your mouth.

—

"I think George hates me," you announced.

It was well over a month, nearly two in fact, into your employment, and you were sprawled on Lucy's floor as she lay above you on the bed painting her nails. She leaned over at your words, hair falling all around and casting a web of shadows across her face.

"What makes you say that?" she frowned.

"Oh, come off it, Luce, it's obvious. He still treats me like an interloper, barely registers my existence and when he does he never treats me like a real person, just calls me 'sunshine' like it's some horrible thing. If anything it's him that's the problem for being such a…" you trailed off as you struggled to think of the right analogy. "A storm cloud!"

Lucy giggled. "It's the hair, isn't it?" You laughed too, picturing his black curls as a dark cloud ready to burst.

The bedframe creaked as Lucy got up, moving to join you on the floor. Her nails, half finished, had been abandoned. "He doesn't hate you though, he's just not a people person at the best of times and I think he's got so used to being on the same page as me and Lockwood that not being able to figure you out has blown his little puzzle-loving mind. Not that that's any excuse."

You nodded. It made sense, but still didn't make you feel any better.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" she asked. You appreciated the offer, but it was better if you did it yourself. More mature, for one, and a chance to prove you weren't as one-dimensional as he must think.

—

As you expected, you found George in the library. He was curled up in his favourite armchair, one book open in his lap and another on the table beside him alongside a mug of tea. The gentle glow of the lamplight washed him in golden hues, emphasising his curls and the smattering of freckles across his cheeks. He glanced up behind his glasses at the creak of the door to see you lingering on the threshold, shifting uncomfortably. Although you were fully dressed, your anxious demeanour and lack of pretense made you seem more exposed than he'd seen you before.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not exactly like I can stop you."

"Well no, but I still wanted to be decent and ask. I'm not a dick."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

You sighed. You couldn't resist having a jab at him, fed up with the way he'd been treating you, but getting him on the offensive wasn't particularly conducive to making him like you.

"It means you've been resentful or outright horrible to me since the second you set eyes on me and I don't understand what I could possibly have done to make you hate me so much."

George frowned, putting the book down and giving you his full attention for perhaps the first time ever. "I don't hate you." Lucy had said as much too, but that didn't mean you believed him. "And it's not anything you've done. I just…" His fingers played absent-mindedly with a small tear in the fabric of the armchair as he tried to find the words. You waited patiently. "I don't get how you can be in a job like this and still be so naive."

Something in you twitched, and you felt your blood start to boil. "I am not naive."

"Oh really?" His voice grew sharper. "So it's not naive to live a life in which any one of us could die or get permanently ghost-locked any given night, and still act like everything's rosy and we'll be saved through the power of friendship and happy thoughts? How can you think like that?"

"Because I have to!" The words exploded out of you, startling yourself almost as much as they did George, whose eyes widened as his mouth closed. You tried desperately to claw the words, the feelings, back in, but it was too late. Resigned, you sank into the other armchair, George's eyes on you the whole time.

"I've always been quite cheerful," you began, voice barely above a whisper like the outburst had drained all your energy. "When I was going through my training at Rotwell, it was my optimism that kept the rest of the team sane, because we all knew that if even I gave up then there was no hope for any of us. But my team leader, Miles, he thought I was naive too. Innocent. He… he took advantage." Your breath hitched, and you fought the urge to cry. Across from you, George unknowingly shifted forward in his chair, closing the gap between you a little. "After a while I could barely be in the same building as him without being afraid of what he was going to try. So I left. That's how I ended up here."

"I still don't understand, though," George said quietly. "How do you go through that and come out more upbeat than ever?"

You gave him a wobbly smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. "Because if I don't, that means he wins. And I refuse to let him take that away from me."

George was silent, but he nodded a little in understanding. Naivety he couldn't abide, doing it to be annoying was, well, annoying, but spiteful positivity he couldn't help but respect. Plus, it occurred to him that this was possibly the first time you'd opened up to anyone about your experience, to him of all people despite how he'd treated you. He watched you intently, grappling with the fact that you had suddenly become a much more complex person than he'd first believed.

You squirmed under George's intense gaze. It felt good to get that awful memory off your chest, but weird that of the whole agency it had been him you'd told first. He was utterly unreadable in that moment, face unexpectedly soft and yet with a hardness behind his eyes that you couldn't be sure wasn't still directed at you. You cleared your throat nervously, wiping a stray tear away with the side of your hand.

"Anyway, um, I should probably get to bed. Prepare for the case tomorrow. Good night, George." You got up hastily, moving to the door.

"Good night, sunshine." You froze. There was no malice in the word at all this time. When you turned in shock, you saw he had picked up his book again. It almost covered the lower half of his face, but just over the top of it you could see the corners of his lips turned up in a smile as he watched you leave.

—

The case was going well, you thought. It was an incredibly old house, all wood panelling and decorative columns, huge oil paintings and plush velvet upholstery. Lockwood and Lucy had ventured up the grand spiral staircase, leaving you alone downstairs with George, and after last night you felt a little more confident being around him, though he was still difficult to read at times.

"How about I head through to the kitchen and you handle the lounge?" he suggested. That was new; normally it would be an instruction with no room for input. You nodded, taking the door on your left.

The room was large but stuffy, a thick layer of dust coating what would once have been an opulent social area. Faded leaf print paper covered the top half of the walls, separated from the ornate oak panels below by a picture rail. At the far end of the room, the empty fireplace was surrounded by marble and a metal grate. The navy blue sofas were almost grey now, having not been covered to defend against the cruel onslaught of time, and likewise for the long oval coffee table in the centre. You scanned the room with your torch, looking for anything that could be a source. A rustle came from the hallway behind you; you were surprised George had finished so quickly.

"Fancy seeing you here, sweetheart."

The deep voice behind you sent a shiver down your spine. You turned on legs of jelly, one hand drifting to your rapier as you willed your expression to remain as neutral as possible.

"Miles. What are you doing here?"

The older boy stepped into the room with a lecherous grin. He looked exactly as he did two months ago. Just seeing him made your stomach turn. "My team is on a case up the road, and when I heard your little agency," he said the words with a sneer, "was in town, I felt it would be rude not to pay you a visit. You left me without saying goodbye, after all."

Everything you'd been through with him flashed across your mind, and you struggled to keep your voice from shaking. You glanced at where he blocked the doorway, your only exit. "You didn't deserve a goodbye," you said as confidently as you could.

"Oh come on now, baby, after everything I did for you?" He was moving closer, and you found yourself gripping your rapier tighter as you stumbled away.

"Don't come any closer, Miles, or I swear-"

He laughed, a wicked sound that rattled from his chest. He didn't stop moving. "Or what?" You felt the backs of your knees collide with the table, the impact buckling them and tipping you backwards until your shoulder blades collided painfully with the wood and a cloud of dust billowed around you. Still Miles advanced, pinning you down with a hand across your throat. You scrabbled feebly at his sides. He pressed down harder, spots dancing across your eyes as you gasped for air that wouldn't come. His other hand snaked down your body, unaffected by the way you clawed at it. "Look at you, silly little thing. You couldn't do anything then, what's going to stop me now?"

"I am," came a familiar voice from the doorway.

The hand left your throat and breath rushed back into your lungs. You sat up, coughing. As the room swam back into focus, you were met by George, backing Miles into the wall with his rapier brandished and a dark look on his face.

Despite being at the end of a very sharp blade, Miles still managed to look smug. "You their new boyfriend? Good luck with that."

"No," George almost snarled. "I'm their friend, which is far more than you can say. You're nothing more than a trespasser."

By this point Lockwood and Lucy had heard the kerfuffle and made their way downstairs, having located the source in record time; as soon as they saw George with his rapier drawn, they burst into the room with their own in hand. Wordlessly, Lucy positioned herself a little further back, her body between you and Miles, while Lockwood went shoulder to shoulder with George. A flash of recognition crossed his face (he did know the higher-ups from most agencies in the area, after all) and his jaw set.

"You need to leave," he stated dryly. "This isn't your case, and you aren't welcome here." While George was more than competent with a rapier, Lockwood's reputation preceded him, and his added confidence and unwavering blade made Miles gulp. He moved cautiously to the door, George on his heels to make sure he left. The older boy shot you one final glance, a vicious wink, before he disappeared. You collapsed against the table with relief.

Immediately, Lucy and Lockwood sheathed their rapiers. "Are you okay?" they asked in near unison. You weren't sure you could give an honest answer: blood was thundering in your ears, your lungs were still frantically trying to replace the air that had been pushed out, your knees and shoulders hurt and your neck was definitely going to bruise. Your vision began to blur with tears, but through them you registered the vibrant orange of George's outfit as he returned. The dam of emotions broke. You surged forward. Lucy opened her arms for a hug. Lockwood held out a hand for you to settle into his shoulder. George dropped his arms to his side in statuesque shock as you barrelled into him.

The others snapped their attention to George, and he blinked back in surprise. He glanced down to where your hair merged into his shirt, face buried in his chest as sobs wracked your body, arms wrapped around his waist under his open plaid shirt. He threw Lucy a panicked look - she was your best friend, shouldn't you have gone to her for comfort? Lucy simply nodded pointedly to you. Slowly, slowly, George brought his arms up and placed them delicately around your injured shoulders. The second you felt the contact, you melted further into him and he tightened the embrace. Lockwood and Lucy continued to stare, dumbfounded, and George felt something blossom in his chest. He was secretly honoured that you'd gone to him - maybe it was just because you'd told him exactly what had happened between you and Miles, but he hadn't expected that to be enough to change your frustration overnight. Whatever the reason, it had certainly changed how he felt about you. In that moment, as he brought a hand up to stroke your hair, he knew that he'd do anything it took to protect you, to prove to you that he was glad to have you on the team, to work to be worthy of being the person you trusted with all your emotions and secrets the way you had with this. And he was never, ever, going to let anyone make you feel the way Miles had, vulnerable and afraid, or the way he had, like you had to justify the way you chose to be brave and be yourself. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head as he reached around his back to tangle his fingers in yours.

"Come on sunshine, let's get you home."

He didn't let you go the entire way back to Portland Row.

[suffertime]

oh shit forgot i had this thing, anyway

if you guys remember a little while back i did some advertising of a horror rpg podcast that im a part of called Camp Moonmirror!

WELL DO I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU

Do you like shirts of rare internet podcasts you (probably) know nothing about? Do you like posters of characters from said podcast that is (maybe) a mystery to you? Do you like stickers that are really cool regardless of your knowledge of the source material?

@studiooutthere presents: MERCH!

Backing our kickstarter would mean so much to us, and it would help keep the podcast going! All products are hand made by us so we can assure quality and precision. Even if you can’t support us monetarily, check out our show on YouTube & Spotify, or even spreading the word to your friends who may enjoy our stuff means the world to us!

We are a studio of five queer internet kids who have a dream and a passion for our creation, and this is only one small step in our journey to bringing beautiful & meaningful stories to life, and we’d love to have you along the way!

Here are some of our links!

(We’re still catching up to current episodes on YouTube, but we have a bunch of bonus content there for you to enjoy!)

(We started season 2 in October of last year, so there’s plenty of episodes to catch up on over on Spotify! Our next episode releases on April 1st!)

https://x.com/studiooutthere?s=21&t=KlT4nGWiQek2RDNMxOQ69w

(We are most active over on Twitter, but we also do have a Bluesky account @ studiooutthere.bsky.social if Twitter isn’t your thing)

Thank you so much!

[being-of-rain]

73 Yards is an episode of Doctor Who. Kinda.

They just put a little horror movie in the middle of the season! And I enjoyed it! I think a big reason I'm really enjoying this season is that it's taking some big swings, trying some unique stuff. Of course I wish we had 13 episodes, but I'd rather 8 episodes that get experimental with it than a hundred by-the-numbers stories (Sorry Nick Briggs). (Sorry for the drive-by at Nick Briggs, it's just hard to resist sometimes).

This episode certainly took advantage of the supernatural available to it, as I hoped this season would. And by playing into the rules of horror (and Doctor Who is allowed to be any genre it wants,) it left a lot up to interpretation, which was very interesting and had my girlfriend and I discussing it for a while after it ended. I thought it was drawing some connection between ancient curses and right-wing politics, which is fair. And watching Ruby weaponise her ancient Welsh curse to make the prime minister resign was very funny and satisfying. I think I saw people somewhere talk about how a common thread through a lot of the situations and horrors was isolation and ostracism, which is a thread I want to pull on next time I watch it. Which might not be soon, because (as I might expect from RTD,) this was a bit bleak for me to be a common rewatch. But I love seeing people's various theories on the episode, keep 'em coming.

As for Ruby... I hate to say it, but I don't think this episode really endeared her to me more than any other. She's still a great performance by Millie Gibson (the youngest-looking 40 year old on the planet, bless this show,) and she's still a very capable protagonist. But personally, I'm just not getting anything more interesting than that from her. I'm glad the show so far hasn't been putting a crazy amount of stress on the fact she's adopted, but it hasn't given her any issues to replace that. I've seen people read some interesting stuff into her after this episode, but I didn't get any of it from the episode itself. I didn't even really know what she was thinking while she was growing old alone; you can assume 'sad,' but the episode didn't pause to give me anything more than assumptions. I should move on instead of saying this every episode, but I was hoping this ep would change my mind. Maybe she's one of the rare companions I just won't really click with. Or maybe, like Ryan, she'll become my favourite just before she leaves. Then again, aren't we getting a second companion next season? I'd love a new dynamic.

What else? Kate! She was a pleasant surprise, being as helpful as ever (sorry Kate) and making this her 10th episode! Which feels weird to say about a character who's had like 48 episodes of her own spin-off audio show. Oh but you know what else is weird to say? Kate's line "I think this timeline might be suspended along your event." What are you talking about Kate?? How would you even know that?! I assume the line's there to future-proof the episode against later Dr Who plots interfering with this one, but since when does Dr Who care about that. The line feels so out-of-place and meta (as well as kind of spoiling the ending by immediately making me think 'oh so this whole timeline is going to get undone then,') that I think they shouldn't have bothered.

Anything else to say? It felt a little weird that the episode takes a stand against the stereotype of rural Welsh people being isolated and insular by having a bunch of rural Welsh people be cruel to a nice person just because she's an outsider. Oh and they acknowledged Susan Twist's appearance in each episode then, I'm curious what that will turn into.

Speaking of season mysteries, I keep seeing the fan-theory 'they're in a TV show' turn up everywhere online. Which is a cool idea that Dr Who could pull off, but I've yet to see a single piece of convincing evidence for it. Keep coming up with bizarre and unsupported theories Who fans, don't ever change.

Oh and here's a really niche and petty complaint! I wish the show would stop using the phrase 'perception filter'. I think when it was first used, in series 3 I think, it was about something relatively specific, technology that Time Lords use to make something not draw attention (unless attention is drawn to it). But since then the phrase has been rolled out for shape-changing, invisibility, natural abilities as well as technology by any species under the suns, it can affect your memories, and hey now magic Welsh curses use it too. Personally, I think it's lost all meaning and feels a lot more like cheap and lazy writing than worldbuilding.

Okay! Those thoughts turned into me saying I loved the episode then listed a bunch of very petty complaints. But I did love it! More magic please. Maybe slightly happier one.

I'm not sure there's anything in the second half of this season I'm really hyped for, but after enjoying the first half a lot, I'm curious what'll turn up!

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE CHARACTER SONG Vol.2 GRATEFUL★DEAD ★MARCH by Sakamaki Kanato Mini Drama “The Serenade Danced with Jealousy”

Original title: 嫉妬で奏でるセレナーデ

Source: Diabolik Lovers CHARACTER SONG Vol. 2 Mini Drama

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Kaji Yuki

Translator’s note: Honestly I have an insane amount of respect for all of the Kanato stans out there because it couldn’t be me, lol. Huge props to all of you for keeping up with this purple gremlin and his jealous antics. Honestly, you could be breathing air and this boy would be pissed because HOW DARE YOU PRIORITIZE OXYGEN OVER HIM. >(((( Rejet was smart to hire Kaji Yuki as his VA though because that man is talented as hell and the only redeeming factor to this character imo. 

“...There you are.”

*Rustle*

Kanato approaches you.

“I gave you some alone time since you told me there was some important business you had to take care of, so I got curious as to what you could be up to, only to find you lost in thought in your own room?”

*Rustle*

“Hm? You hid something behind your back just now, didn’t you? ...Show me. ...You know what will happen if you say no, don’t you?”

*Rustle*

“This is...an organ? I’ve never seen it before. Hmー”

He paces around you.

“You got your hands on it without my knowing...and tried to hide it from me on top of me?”

*Thud* 

“Did you truly believe you could get away with that?”

You apologize.

“Teddy...Did you hear her just now? This girl seems to believe that all she needs to do is apologize and she’ll be forgiven. She must be letting the fact that her blood is somewhat special get to her head. That’s only logical explanation. ...Ah! I just had a great idea. Give me that, please.”

*Rustle*

“Come on, hurry!”

 He rips it from your hands.

*Rustle*

“...Heehー Now that I take a better look at it, I have to say that this organ is a work of true art.  It’s made from glass. However...It’s an eyesore. I cannot believe you would prioritize this thing over me.”

*Rustle rustle*

*SHATTER*

“Fufu...Fufufu...Well, would you look at that! That’s one less annoyance in this world to worry about! I bet you must be happy as well?”

He halts right in front of you.

“My mood has somewhat improved as a result after all. ...Now don’t ever make me go through extra trouble because of your unnecessary behavior. That being said...Ahー Poor little organ...It met such a cruel fate because it ended up in your hands. It’s all your fault, because you turned a blind eye to me. Fufufu...Anyway, this is the end.”

He walks to the door.

“Let us go to my room. I do not want to stay here another second.”

*Rustle*

“Hey...Why won’t you move?”

He walks back up to you. 

“Are you that sad about what happened to that organ?”

You explain.

“Eh? It was supposed to be a gift for me...? ...Please safe me the horrible excuses. You cannot fool me with those lies. It doesn’t make sense to give gifts on a random day, does it?”

You try to defend your case.

“You are insistent...that you’re stating the truth? Then why don’t you tell me why you wanted to gift it to me?”

You explain.

“It played a beautiful melody so you wanted me to hear it too? That hardly counts as a reasoning. Besides, did you truly believe that i would be happy with such a gift?”

He picks up one of the glass shards. 

*Cling*

“This stupid thing...”

*Shatter*

“It breaks so easily, just like this. ...It’s nothing but a bunch of trash. ーー I don’t want it! How come you just don’t get that!? Stop doing things I never asked you to!! ...Haah, haah...Hah...I thought I had made myself very clear at this point, but it seems like you still fail to realize. In which case, I shall teach you one more time. ーー The only thing someone like you can do for me...”

Kanato bites you.

*Sluuurp*

“Nn...is to donate your blood like this...Mmh...”

*Sluuurp*

“Nn...”

*Sluuurp*

“Hah...Trying to do anything beyond that point is nothing but presumptuous...Hahn...”

*Sluuurp*

“Mmh...Nn...”

*Sluuurp*

“Nn...Nnh...Exactly...All you need to do is be at my mercy like this, forever...I won’t let you show interest in anything or anyone else...Having you be meek and obedient to me makes me much happier than any gift ever could...Do you understand?”

*Rustle*

“If you do not want to upset me any further...Then please forget about that silly little organ already. All I want is for you to only ever have eyes for me, pay mind to my words, and offer your blood to my fangs...As every cell of your body craves for me and only me.”

*Sluuurp*

“Mmh...Nn...”

*Sluuurp*

*Gulp*

“...Hah.”

*Rustle*

“...Hm? Why would you flinch all of a sudden? ...Ahー I injured my hand? I suppose it happened when I picked up one of the glass shards earlier. However, I won’t die from bleeding a little.”

You frown.

“Hm...Are you worried about me, perhaps? ...Fufu. Right. This is all your fault, so you do something about it. ...At this point, you should have plenty of experience dealing with blood, don’t you? ...Come on.”

*Rustle rustle*

“...Fufu...Fufufu...That only tickles. Come on, part your lips wider and lap up the blood...Fufufu...Fufufu...Ahaha...Ah-aah~ You still don’t know what to do, do you? ...You really are a silly girl, aren’t you? In that case, I suppose I’ll have no other choice but to take tonight to teach you more thoroughly. ...Right, Teddy? Fufu...”

*Rustle*

“Are you listening? You should do it like this...”

Kanato shows you.

“Mm...”

*Sluuurp*

“Hahn...”

*Sluuurp*

*Gulp*

“Mmh...Nn...”

*Rustle rustle*

“...Hah. ...Once again...If you ever wish for something or someone other than me...Nnh...I will never forgive you...Mmh...Never...Understood? Fufu...Fufufu...Ahahaha! ...Nnh...”

*Sluuurp*

*Gulp*

“Ah...”

*Sluuurp*

ーー THE END ーー

[flashbic]

So, as someone who does not have any French or Canadian heritage, what exactly is Cartouche? I haven't heard of it before, but it seems like there's a show and books and stuff, is it fairly popular among french-speaking communities? You've made me curious lol

Ngl i went "nyehehehehehe" out loud when i found out i was being given an excuse to ramble about the thing :D

The short answer is it's a french cartoon from the early 2000s! One season-long, with 26 episodes! And yeah in 2010 they eventually made little books that are based on some eps, and they are very cute! They all have unique artwork because instead of using screenshots from the show they hired an artist to illustrate everything.

Most of the show is sort-of lost media, by which i mean that there are only 5 episodes still available in the original french audio… BUT an arabic dub exists, so I've been going through that with a translation app for funsies in my free time! So to answer your question, no, it's not a well-known show, but to me it's a nostalgic one asfdkg

More rambling about the thing under the cut!

What it's about:

Think Robin Hood in the early 1700s, but in Paris! Specifically, it takes place 2-3 years after Louis XIV's death : the future king is a tiny 7yo kid, and since he can't reign yet, the old king's nephew, Philippe II d'Orléans, is regent. In real life, the regency lasted 8 years, and Philippe d'Orléans is generally now considered by historians to have been An Okay Guy Who Did His Best, but every show needs a villain, so here he's the Prince John to Cartouche's Robin Hood! So the bulk of the show is Cartouche and his lil group of buddies helping out poor people and fighting for justice.

I was always fond of the show, but ngl part of the fun in recent months has been reading up on the time period; it's a unique but very short transition era between two very long reigns, and a lot of stuff actually happened during it! The show has a fun amount of references to real people and events here and there. Makes reading all those History books feel like the Pepe Silvia meme, really

Who are these characters:

Our main character is this dude! Cartouche is your brave hero archetype, but also a bit of a smartass with a penchant for shenanigans. And he's named after a real-life criminal! The actual Cartouche was notably Not Nice, but a lot of people at the time did cheer him on because, well, he stole from and attacked rich people. There are actual books and movies about him that did generally keep the bandit-with-a-heart-of-gold legend alive! Cartoon!Cartouche is even designed after one of the movie versions, where he was played by actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. He's got the same outfit and everything, it's cute :D

Real!Cartouche had his own group of allies called the Cartouchiens, and some of the characters from the show are named after them! The main ones are…

Louis du Châtelet, aka le Lorrain, he's a noble who decided to join the good guys! He's a fancy dude, and notably he used to be a massive jerk, but he got better!

Fleur d'Épine and Galichon! Galichon was sentenced to the galleys and escaped! He's the team dad… and is also Fleur d'Épine's actual adoptive dad. Fleur d'Épine is the youngest of the group and has a whole backstory the show takes time to uncover: she was found by Galichon when she was just a baby! She gets a bunch of episodes about her mysterious family situation...

Freluquet, who is, let's be real, the token kid they added for the show. But he's generally a fun little dude, and very importantly he often relays messages from...

Isabelle d'Entraigues, Philippe d'Orléans's niece! She's not named after a real person, but after a character in the Belmondo Cartouche movie. She's a fave, she's got a temper! She's a spy from the good guys.

And then we have our main villains!

Philippe d'Orléans, the Regent. He's cruel and power-hungry and not above trying to get rid of the young king.But of course, he's not going to get his hands dirty. (The real guy is super interesting! I've been reading up on him a lot!) He has two people doing work for him:

Demachault, the police lieutenant, who is named after a real guy and is doing his best but honestly just sucks at this job, poor guy.

Nero Falconi, who is the Regent's right-hand man. He's the competent one here, but unlike our other villains he's not a noble!! His sad backstory ties with le Lorrain's, but instead of acting angsty about it, he's just seething with rage at all times. I Just Think He's Neat <3 He's the one main character who isn't named after a real person or a movie character!

There are other characters, but these are the main ones! It's a cute show! The references and links to real events are fun to spot, the setting is neat :D

Also Falconi's sad backstory lives in my brain rent-free, despite the flashback being only 60 seconds long. I can't justify that one, it's not that deep, it's just been occupying space in my brain for almost 20 years for some reason

[forcebookish]

Rank the ofs characters from favorite to least favorite

Ps love your blog 😊

HMMMMMMMM, i'm going to stick with the main boys and cheum because i either have next to no opinion about the rest of the cast (yo, plug, dan, gap, etc.) or you already know i fucking hate them (atom, boeing); i like april well enough, but she didn't get much screentime - i think more of her than the other supporting/guest roles, but her position as cheum's girlfriend kind of just made her likable and that was it.

all that being said, i think these are going to be obvious, if controversial, but get ready for a lot of words regardless. hopefully no one finds this through the search function 😅

1. top

MY SON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i genuinely love everything about him. i think he was actually the only character who never went out of his way to hurt someone, was only ever mean to or fought with people who started (and deserved) it, and even tried to be friendly with people who treated him like garbage. he was always sweet with mew, only ever yelled to defend himself (and even with mew, just barely raised his voice), and truly was never the asshole the other characters, the fandom, or even top himself made him out to be. even the stuff that was actually true that the fandom hated him for was hot lol can't account for taste *flips hair* and he was so loving!!! i don't know why people didn't get that!!! plus the way he wraps himself around someone when he kisses? 👌👌👌👌 despite his limited screentime (🤬🤬🤬🤬), he still had the best character development and backstory.

2. mew

not a surprise that everyone (except boston lol) loved him. i didn't always like his choices and i think the writers dropped the ball on him hard with some very bizarre character inconsistencies but barring most of episode 10 and 12, he's like top said: cute, sexy, and interesting. like. so sexy. soooooo soos ossoso so sos fuckign sexy oh my god. he wasn't naive or bland, he had so much more going on, and i loved how playful and competitive he was. i don't have a lot to say about mew tbh i just love him haha

3. nick

WHAT A FREAK OH MY GOD. i think he fell victim to more drama contrivances than i would have preferred (the audio being edited, him never confronting sand about stealing it or telling mew who stole it, dan disappearing from his life, his whole storyline completely forgotten). really, the only bad dude of the bunch who i loved because he was so... fascinating. and again, didn't really do anything just to hurt anyone; there was no malice in his actions, he just was... a freak lol but it was weird how much it felt like the drama didn't really care about him?? for example, i HATED his ending. while rejecting boston was the right thing to do, what happened after that!??!???? did he move out?? did he go to america? did he keep working at dan's office??? what happened to him!!???!??? justice for nick!!!!!

4. cheum

i really like how serious she is most of the time but that she also has a goofy side. however, it didn't make any sense that she went from feeling for top and relying on him to going back to calling him an asshole. it would have been way more interesting (and lbr, realistic!!!) if they became friends again. plus her just instantly forgiving atom for lying about boston just because he was a babygay??? come on. other than that, i think she had some pretty consistent characterization and growth: she was probably the only one who really cared about their friendships, and to a fault (wanting to help mew, being frustrated with ray overlooking her, dropping top without trying to understand him, and giving boston a second chance just because she felt guilty and wanted everyone to get along again), which was an interesting trait/direction. plus, her wanting to kiss ray was so real and iconic.

5. boston

yes, he's higher on the list than i ever would have expected. i still hate him: there's the sexual assault and coercion, creepy creeping, talking shit about or screwing over his "friends," only apologizing when it was demanded of him (and even then, half-assed), and only ever caring about himself. but! at least he did it in an interesting and not annoying way. i was never bored or annoyed when he was on screen; as much as i hated him, i did kinda wanna see what he was going to do. it was even almost fun to hate him! i think they could have done more with him (his subplot with atom was pretty pointless - his fucking top should have been enough for him to end up friendless lmao), like his dad's verbal abuse/not being out to him or his parents' divorce, and had been more honest about what everyone actually saw in him. he was an asshole to the point where it was unclear why anyone liked him lol but i do like that he got what he wanted in the end, and in the worst possible of circumstances! i wouldn't say he got his true comeuppance, but it was a cool end to his arc.

6. sand

oooh, sand and ray fought hard for who i hated more lmao but in the end, there were at least a few things i liked about sand: smashing his phone to steal the sex tape (seriousSLY WHA TWAS THAT OMG IT WAS AMAZING fucking lunatic), making plum wine, and his relationship with his mom. then why isn't he higher than boston? while boston has pretty much no positive attributes as a person, the things i hate about sand as a character outweigh those few things i like about him. the way he lets ray walk all over him no matter what, can't forgive top for boeing when boeing was obviously a fucking dickhead, doesn't apologize to top for ruining his life, pretends to give a shit about mew when he just wanted to blow up top's life and get back at ray in the process, and somehow being kinda... boring? the aforementioned stuff i liked was certainly interesting, but most of the time he just kind of... followed along with ray; there wasn't that much more to his arc, it was just a cycle of abuse. plus, the fandom claimed that mew thought he was better than everyone, but sand actually thought he was better than everyone, and never acknowledged that anything he did was bad. everything was justified to him. and he clearly is addicted to alcohol too like why did he just keep drinking with ray when he knew ray was an addict!!! come on, dude!!

7. ray

like boston, why do people like this guy!!???!????? characters and viewers alike! every single thing about him is annoying. in the first episode, i thought he was just quick to anger and therefore actually had the potential for being my favorite character, but he's just a whiny little bitch. the way he talks, the way he treats his friends and especially sand, the way he BARELY EVER apologizes for the worst of what he does (apologizing for not telling mew and cheum about being hospitalized but not about yelling at them and exposing their secrets; apologizing for calling mew dumb but not SCREAMING AT HIM FOR NOT FUCKING HIM????????????!!!!!!!!!!!?!!!!!!???!???????!???) (i think the one time he did was only when he kissed mew and that was just because mew was going to cut him out of his life, i don't believe for a second it was because he actually felt bad about it), how he always brings up his dead mom as if that's an excuse to treat everyone like shit, and the way he gets away with everything. fucking everything. he should have gone to jail! twice! he spends the whole series denying the fact that he has a problem and then goes to, what, a week of rehab and just is perfectly fine? that shit with boeing was so out of line and yet sand was the one who had to apologize for it?? what the fuck??? acted all high and mighty at top despite CHEATING ON MEW?? AND NOT BECAUSE SOME ASSHOLE TRICKED HIM HE REALLY DROVE TWO HOURS TO FUCK SOMEONE ELSE AND THEN FACED NO CONSEQUENCES FOR IT SERIOUSLY FUCK THIS GUY. i really truly cannot think of a single thing i like about him lmao completely insufferable. hated nearly every moment he was on screen. i probably would have liked the series 38402390483024 times more if he weren't in it. AND I HATE THAT I WROTE THE MOST ABOUT HIM OUT OF EVERYONE

moreover:

in general, it's actually kind of a bummer that the writers felt like they needed to include sandray at all. they were the only characters in the main cast who were wholly made up and not based on anyone irl and it made them the weakest links. i'm going to sound like a hypocrite because it pisses me off when people say this about topmew, but i think the series would have been improved without sandray.

that's not me hating on firstkhao!!!! i wish they had shined in their own series, because their talents were wasted in this one and their fanbase overcompensated for it in nasty ways. i have a hard time believing that they would have been so popular if they weren't played by firstkhao.

if the writers had incorporated some elements of ray's character (his crush on mew, bringing up his family life as an excuse for bad behavior, the way that the other characters actually like him for some reason) into boston, it would have made for a better character and the whole series would have come out a lot cleaner. his motives for fucking over top and mew would have been clearer and the tension with nick more complicated - nick could have been the one to expose topboston. the shit with boeing could have still happened, but just with The Bar Singer, and more time could have been spent on it to flesh it out. they didn't need to have the boyfriends, friends with benefits, fuck buddies theme - it would have worked just as well with just boyfriends and friends with benefits. nickboston's relationship went from fuck buddies to friends with benefits in two episodes anyway. and aprilcheum and plugyo could have had more screentime!!!

WOOF! the tenses in this were a mess, sorry. i wanted to include screencaps too, but i didn't want to gather them soz. anyway, this was fun to go through, anon! when i really look at it, the characters who went through the least amount of character development were the ones i hated the most, hmm 🤔 thanks for asking and loving my blog! 🥰

[cringecompanionapologist]

Since I've Got a Transcript to Play With: More Stuff About The Cradle of the Snake

I promise I'll get round to the Kiss of Death and Eldrad Must Die stuff eventually, but being able to screenshot the dialogue of The Cradle of the Snake means I can do a more thorough analysis and I can't resist. I love this story too much.

Off course, this is mostly gonna be a bunch of 5/Turlough stuff, Turlough in General stuff, and so on. I'm also trying to figure out exactly how the Mara is supposed to work, since it's a bit confusing.

Now, since I Don't Know When to Quiet, there are too many screenshots for one post, so I'm going over each part individually. This post is just The Cradle of the Snake Part 1. It'll still be long, so here's a break:

The Cradle of the Snake Part 1, or Turlough Did Nothing Wrong

Everyone's low-key a dick to Turlough in this first part, before it's revealed that the Doctor's been possessed by the Mara. Turlough basically serves as a red herring, based entirely on the fact that nobody trusts him. It's actually pretty obvious that the Mara jumped from Tegan to the Doctor (I like to refer to it as an pSTD a pSychically Transmitted Demon, because I'm weird), but the writing not only has other characters suspect that Turlough has been possessed, but kind of expects the listener to suspect that as well, to some extent.

To be fair, you have to consider the timeline here. Putting all the Fifth Doctor stories, or any Doctor Who stories in chronological order is basically impossible, but Turlough's first adventures on the TARDIS actually have a pretty clear timeline:

We start with the Black Guardian Trilogy, and a couple short stories placed turning this timeframe. Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment. In Terminus, Nyssa leaves. The Companion Chronicle Freakshow takes place immediately after Enlightenment. Cobwebs, where Nyssa is reintroduced is also treated as if it's only a day or two after Enlightenment, so it probably goes immediately after Freakshow. Cobwebs is the start of a trilogy, in which all three stories are back-to-back, with The Cradle of the Snake being the third story of said trilogy.

So, we have Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment, Freakshow, Cobwebs, The Whispering Forest, The Cradle of the Snake. The Black Guardian trilogy was like less than a week ago by this point, so Turlough really hasn't gotten much of a chance to prove himself trustworthy. The continued suspicion, even if irrational, is understandable.

Anyway, Turlough's first scene in the story is basically him being told to fuck off:

Nyssa's focus is completely on Tegan at the moment and she doesn't feel like turning away to recap everything to Turlough.

Eventually, Nyssa has the Doctor and Turlough leave, so Tegan will talk to her. She'll only talk to Nyssa. So the boys get sent to the console room and the Doctor tries to explain the Mara to Turlough, though the explanation still doesn't make a whole of sense.

The Doctor already suspects that Turlough could be easily influenced by the Mara. This is funny, because, by the end of this story, though the whole TARDIS team gets possessed at some point, Turlough spends the least amount of time possessed out of the entire group. Tegan doesn't spend much time possessed in this, but she already had two serials of being the Mara's primary target and has earned a break.

It's kind of assumed that the Mara targets whoever's the most "corruptible" or "least good", but that isn't true. From what we'll see here, the Mara goes for the nearest convenient target and seems to even prefer targeting more "virtuous" people, being really determined to possess Nyssa.

Speaking of Nyssa, she's trying to help Tegan through this Mara crisis and the Mara takes over for a bit. The audio includes a "sting" to signify the Mara's influence popping up, usually when someone shows off the snake mark on their arm, but the first time the sting is used is to mark the shift from Tegan speaking, to the Mara speaking through her.

Tegan sounds normal for the first few lines after the sting, but it builds up. The first real Mara!Tegan line actually sort of fits with some of Tegan's mindset. She doesn't trust Turlough and she sees the three STEM genius aliens she travels with as having a connection with each other that she's not part of. But, Tegan likes Nyssa, so this resentment is normally kept in check. But, the Mara uses it to manifest. Instead of more traditional "sinful" thoughts, the Mara's connection to its hosts is based on mean-spiritedness. We all think mean things about other people, often unfairly. The Mara can take control through those mean thoughts.

So, Mara!Tegan wants to spread its influence and Nyssa is the only other person in the room, making her the nearest convenient target. Speaking through Tegan, it wants her to take the Mark of the Snake.

The Mara is so Obviously Evil that it kind of sucks at corrupting people. Back in Kinda, it messed with Tegan's head to wear her down in her dreams, but Nyssa is fully conscious and aware of what the Mara is. The Mara's attempted persuasion is also pretty vague "join me it'll be fun". It doesn't work on Nyssa because it honestly wouldn't work on most people.

But, there's also the subtext of Nyssa and Tegan being alone in a bedroom, so maybe that's what it's really going for. We'll see that the Mara has a habit of revealing itself to it's victims in these sorts of small, private spaces. By being a mark on someone's arm, under their sleeve, you have a pattern of two people being alone together, with one of them removing or pulling back some of their clothing while talking about the other person enjoying themselves.

So, all this Mara Seduction stuff causes enough of a racket for the Doctor to get involved, Turlough right behind him, though apparently not following close enough, because the Doctor has to ask where he is.

Turlough has to be there to do the Traditional Male Companion Role of being strong, even though that really isn't his thing. Whenever the Doctor needs to lift or move something heavy, he calls Turlough to help him. Nyssa is right there, but he doesn't ask her for help. I don't think this is anything significant, but I find it amusing.

Once again, Turlough was clearly right behind the Doctor when he asked where he was. He wasn't in his direct line of sight, so the Doctor lost track of him, apparently. He was close enough to hear Mara!Tegan when the Doctor came in, so he had to have been right there.

Also, Turlough just asked a simple "yes or no" question and the Doctor decided it would take too long to just say "yes".

So, the Doctor sort of telepathically links with Tegan to face the Mara, who decides that his Complicated Time Lord Brain would be much more fun to play around in.

The Doctor doesn't exactly sacrifice himself, but he believes that his Complicated Time Lord Brain could resist the Mara better than any of his companions could. He will soon be proven very wrong.

Back in the land of the living, the Doctor's obviously in pain and Nyssa wants to wake him up, even though the Doctor said not to. Turlough wants to follow orders.

Naturally, they both get snapped at for waking the Doctor and interrupting the Mara battle. Nyssa said she'd take the blame for it, but Turlough apologizes as well without Nyssa saying it was her idea. Either she decided not to take the blame for it, or Turlough decided to share the blame. The dialogue suggests the latter, since Turlough never says it was Nyssa's idea. This would imply that Turlough not wanting to wake the Doctor wasn't about him not wanting to get in trouble for disobeying him. He just didn't want to disobey the Doctor, out of either loyalty or trust of his judgement. Loyalty and trust aren't really Turlough's thing. This is actually new. This actually will influence some of Turlough's actions throughout this story. He goes out of his way to help the Doctor and protect Nyssa and Tegan at various points throughout the story.

The Doctor decides that they need help with the Mara and sets coordinates for Manussa, but he gets the date wrong. This isn't that unusual, but the Doctor reacts as if one of his companions had to have messed with the controls for this to happen.

In hindsight, this was the Mara's influence on the Doctor. The Mara touched the controls. That would also be the case if the Mara possessed one of the companions, and everyone is quick to assume that it has to be one of them.

It doesn't seem like the Mara is speaking through the Doctor here. He might be holding it back. This might be the Mara speaking through the Doctor trying to cover its tracks and turn the TARDIS team against one another, but later in the story, after it's revealed that the Doctor is possessed, Mara!Doctor is obviously evil. The Mara doesn't hide itself as well as it would have to be doing here, so this probably really is the Doctor with no memory of setting the coordinates.

No one suspects the Doctor of being possessed here. The companions are all wondering which one of them it is. The fact that the Doctor was just in direct contact with the Mara isn't considered. They all assume his Complicated Time Lord Brain would protect him.

Of course, if a companion has been corrupted, Turlough becomes the prime suspect. Aware of this, he's quick to wander off from the rest of the group.

The Doctor, still seeming himself, takes Tegan to a specialist to check for any lingering Mara influence. Turlough is willing to hang out with just Nyssa, since, having not been there for the Black Guardian reveal, she's less aggressive in her suspicions than Tegan is. But, he's still worried.

Nyssa is also suspicious of Turlough though.

Tegan is confirmed to be free of the Mara for the time-being, but the Doctor wants a word alone with the doctor that confirmed this.

The Mara doesn't really try to convince Kerrem here to accept the mark. It just waits for Tegan to leave, shows itself, and Kerrem's possessed now. He's not a main character and we haven't got time to know him, so the story just doesn't want to waste time with him.

And that's the cliffhanger for the end of Part 1. I think the next part will be more interesting than this one. But, there you go.

[pikmininaplane]

Hello dear mutual LB lanuel Bals third of its name, i do not know a SINGLE thing abt d20 i only rbed because a mutual drew that and i thus extend the official invite to feel free to info dump to me abt it (PLEASE !!! only if u want ofc peeposhy) and also where should i start if i were to try to get into it (asking for me)

thank u and have a great ballsy day <33 uwu

Oh em gee it’s Moo Peng my beloved tumblr dot com mutual haiii ^w^ And thank you SO much for giving me an opportunity to talk about this >:D This might get long tho

D20, aka Dimension 20, is a RPG (mostly D&D) show that you can watch on Dropout (smaller American streaming service, but it has really good content <3), though some seasons are on Youtube!

There are 21 seasons in total so far, but each one is its own campaign (well, except for the 3-4 sequel seasons), which means you can absolutely jump right into a later season and still get what’s going on :] Also the seasons range from 20 episodes to 4, so you don’t always need to find the emotional resolve to sit through 20 2-hours long episodes lol

The fanart you reblogged is of Ayda, a character from Fantasy High, which is basically the poster child of D20 – it was the first season, and it later got two sequel seasons, Sophomore Year (which is the exact one Ayda is from) and Junior Year, the most recent season, as well as two spin-off seasons with locations/characters from its world (Pirates of Leviathan and The Seven (it’s kinda funny actually because I know you’re a PJO fan and, well, I often see posts about it in that season’s tag because of the name X))) Mostly it’s about a bunch of teenagers in a fantasy 80s-esque high school trying to solve mysteries and going on adventures!

Fantasy High is not my personal favorite, however – the medal of honor goes to A Court of Fey and Flowers and Mentopolis, respectively the "fey regency/romance" season and the "Inside Out but as a film noir" season <3 But there’s plenty I love!! There’s a space opera season, a "Game of Thrones but with food" season, a heist season, a furry murder mystery season, a fairytale horror season… the list goes on! It even featured a bunch of drag queens on a season :D

There’s only four seasons available on Youtube, unfortunately, but they’re all really good so here they are:

Fantasy High

I’ve mentioned it before, so I won’t elaborate, but I’ll add that it’s 17 episodes long!

Fantasy High: Sophomore Year

Also mentioned before, but I’ll add that this season was recorded live on Twitch so while it’s a lot of people’s favorite, it has occasional problems (especially audio-wise). 20 episodes long

Escape from the Bloodkeep

Lord of the Rings parody – the villain lords find themselves scrambling when not-Sauron suddenly dies and they’re forced to work together to bring him back :3c 6 episodes long, features Matt Mercer of Critical Role fame

The Unsleeping City

Urban fantasy, turns out there’s a whole magical side of New York that regular people can’t see, and a group of unlikely heroes band together to face the bad parts of that magical side >:3c 17 episodes long, there’s also a second season of it but it isn’t out on Youtube unfortunately :(

The next season, Never Stop Blowing Up, is coming out in like a week and a half, based on the trailer, it’s going to be a Jumanji-like 80s action movies parody and I am!! Very excited!! :D

[the-ventriloquizt]

Hello I saw Black Mask discussion and I just had to chime in! I need to read more comics on him defiantly to have a full opinion but I think something interesting is how he could parallel Batman (I know like, every villain does, but still lol). Both of them having dealt with trauma and forming these new, dark identities to deal with it, heavily focusing on a mask they wear, seeing they’re civilian identity as the fake persona.

I will also say 2 things I love and found very interesting were Roman’s backstory in this one comic (forgive me I’ve forgotten the name) where he took inspiration from Bruce Wayne’s parents death and decided to kill his own, tying their fates together forever. I think there’s something very messed up about that, the way he co-opted Bruce’s trauma and how like many other iconic villain hero pairs he’s forced them to have this shared connection, even if that wasn’t his intention in the comic. I think he could make a great main nemesis for Batman.

As well Mr. Rouges on YouTube has a great series called the Patient Files, HIGHLY reccomend! Great characterization of him and his bond to Batman. Anyway sorry if I rambled here too much, I just liked that there was good Black Mask discussion going on.

Thank you! I haven't read through all of his comics either, I've just read most of his earliest ones and his more recent ones. I've still gotta go through a bunch more, which I'm not exactly looking forward to… Though the comic you brought up is making me wanna get back to it. I think that sounds really interesting, I wish there was an easier way to find specific comics because I'd love to read that.

I think it's a really interesting connection between the two there, especially since it's something Roman chose on purpose. I've been listening to the Batman Audio Adventures podcast recently, and the mythologizing of the Wayne family's tragedy coming through as repetitive, ghoulish 'true crime' programs really got to me. Roman, with his weird attachment to symbology and how it makes identity, co-opting that kind of tragedy would be a cool twist on it.

I think it's kinda weird how little his criminal pursuits relate to Bruce Wayne for a lot of his appearances, given that his origin story is so tied to him. It's like he completely forgot that Bruce Wayne embarrassed him and that he'd wanted him dead.

I think that his Patient File there is really neat! I think I'll watch a few more, I love how I looked it up and it immediately showed me that there's a Ventriloquist video. Gotta say, it seems really bad when a lot of the people in the comments are like 'wow thank goodness he's not just a torture guy'. My favorite parts are him talking about Gotham being a bad city, and that Batman is misguided in trying to make it good, and then the fun nudge at Jeremiah about his 'mask' looking a lot like Roman's. Wait, and the thing about Harvey being the most honest of them all, given he's got two equally true visible faces. I think that's really interesting and it makes me wish they'd interact (though maybe they did I'm not sure...) Thank you so much for sharing this stuff with me, I really like talking about characters with everyone!

[goldentigerfestival]

I am still working on getting through my JP Vesperia thoughts and stuff, but I'm either going through the whole game and writing my stuff out first or at least going as far as the maximum image count for a post before posting anything about it.

Mainly posting this stuff because I wanna talk about it but also so people can at least see the changes and appreciate some of the original context. I figure having the subtitled version from YT will be helpful for others to see as well.

This isn't to say I hate all dubs or all Tales dubs btw - Legendia is a very good example of a dub I love (thank you Shiloh Strong for the sheer PERSONALITY he put into Moses bless his heart and soul). There are others ofc, but this post isn't me discussing beloved dubs or other Tales games lol.

That said though, as a more in depth example, while I am in preference to Graces' JP audio, the localization was not jarring (as far as I remember at least. I only went through Graces' dub once so I could totally be wrong, but just from memory, I don't recall it being that far off from the original context). I was not a fan of the voice acting overall and did have a bias preference from the get go with the JP VAs (nor did I like the skit audio sounding compressed as hell in the dub, dunno why that happened), but the overall translation from my memory was not a bunch of changes that changed entire meanings or tones of a scene. My reasons for liking Graces in JP more is not the same as why I prefer Vesperia in JP.

Vesperia's dub just seems very allergic to men being emotionally expressive human beings, and given that Yuri took the brunt of it when he's one of my most beloved characters in Tales, that shit just stings, man. The localization also for some reason had a LOT of weird fuck ups and sometimes felt like they didn't even understand their own job (changing a literal sentence to "haha" to me sounds more like "I don't understand the context of what he's saying so we're going to just throw something in there to fill the space". Even if that's not happened, that's what it comes off like).

Sometimes I just walk into Vesperia's dub and am like what the fuck even happened here.

[hcaivoices]

please read before sending in a request Link to my YouTube channel

Rules For Requests:

I will not accept any request for the following: *Songs that are overly sexual * Songs that have a lot of swearing (by excessive swearing I mean a bunch of racial slurs, and fuck every other word. I can bleep some racial slurs but I’m not looking to sit there and re edit an entire track just to make it work. One or two is okay though that’s easy enough to take out. ___________________________________________________ * Please limit characters on the track to 3 for my own sanity. It is possible for more but too much work. *If your song is a duet please include two characters or I will have to pick a second one for you. Unless you actually want only one character to sing both parts and if that’s so include that as a foot note. *Because of the influx of requests meme songs are very low on my priority list so just keep that in mind with requests. *I have the right to refuse any request for any reason. As I’m doing this for fun the reason very well just might be “I didn’t want to”. And if that’s the case don’t take it personally. *don’t send requests for characters I don’t have . So please check my ever growing character list.

* I don’t fill requests in the order they come in. I jump around and do the ones that I want to do. I can’t stress enough that this is a hobby. So of course I’ll have more interest in doing songs I like/know. *Please keep requests 1 per post, you of course may send as may as you like but one song per ask is what I allowed. That way I can post it with your song. (it does not always let me post in audio format and sometimes I have to do it as a video and I can only do one video per post. So if both songs have to be video format I will have to screen shot the post and do it twice anyway.)

* please do not spam your request or keep messaging me to ask about it. especially off of anon as I have no way to actually reply without having a public conversation. If you’re curious about your request dm me in here or discord. * A common misconception is that a song has to sound like the character, this is not true. A character can sing any song of any gender, they will make it their own, so long as I can get a clean separation of audio the song does not matter. I can pitch it lower for them if it sounds strange in a high voice and vice versa.

I will delete requests if:

*it didn’t work for whatever reason. *it’s a repeat. So join the discord to search or check my character tags to sort through on tumblr. You can also just dm me and ask me directly and I can tell you. *they broke any of the rules above

* if you send a character that I don’t have listed *Incomplete information *if you send in a song for more than 3 characters

* if you request 2 songs in the same ask. Yes this includes you wanting 2 different characters to sing the same song separately and not as a duet. It still doesn’t always let me post. It’s a technical thing I wish tumblrs audio system wasn’t so garbage but it is and that’s what we have to work with.

* I had zero interest in doing the song for whatever reason. It could be maybe I didn’t like it, it’s too difficult. It’s a joke song (I got too many serious requests to mess with these right now). This IS a hobby after all if the cover does not sound fun I won’t do it. Don’t take it personally though you can always send in a new request.

* I’m not going to do an entire album for someone so if you keep requesting songs from like the same movie or album I’ll just stop doing them. I have too many other requests to mess with all that. So please be considerate of other people and don’t keep requesting songs from the same movie or album over and over again. Or at least space it out a couple months.

*I also have little interest in redoing the same song over and over with different characters or the same song just in a different language with a different character. But again don’t take this personally it just becomes tedious and boring redoing the same song over and over and over again.

((Please keep in mind I am doing this for fun and for free. understand that you may be waiting a few weeks or even months for your request. Thank you for understanding and your patience in advance 😊. Become a discord member to have access to the full library and exclusives. And sub to my YouTube for exclusives from my own collection that won’t be posted onto discord or tumblr. I also take some requests there to.))

See below for characters list. ⬇️⬇️

keep in mind I do not take requests for characters to make, you may ask if I am making them but ultimately I will or I won't the choice is up to me.

List Of Characters I Have:

All characters made by me sing in their English dub voice, they all sing with their accents and most can speak their native language as close to fluently as you can get I feel along with English.

-Made by me- England China Germany Canada Austria Prussia Poland Norway Finland Iceland Denmark North Italy Spain Japan America Romano France NyoAmerica Russia Sweden Lithuania Latvia Grandpa Rome Next Character's I'm working on: Not sure yet maybe Greece

PSA: You may notice that there will be a bunch of covers posted by a certain characters at once. Like maybe one day I will post 4 England covers and no one else, this isn't favoritism. Sometimes it’s just easier to pick a character and bang out a bunch of their requests than sorting though a bunch of different ones. I’ll try not to do this very often though as I do like to keep it mixed and not focus too much on one character as I love all my bots as children I’ve made and like to use them all as often as I can. So you may see me refer to them as my sons a lot. I mean that in the sense that I created them. It’s a joke don’t take it seriously lol. Like I may refer to Denmark as ‘My Danish son’ it’s just a term of endearment for the bot itself. You might wonder “Why does she feel the need to specify this? It’s obviously meant as tongue-in-cheek and she doesn’t actually view the character as their child…” and my answer to that is “Welcome to Tumblr”.

Please don't ask me for links to my characters as they do not exist. All my voices exist within in my personal PC. They are not hosted anywhere. So the answer will always be 'no'.

I do not answer requests in the order they are received. If I’m excited about one I will jump to do it even if it just came in. Please keep in mind this is a hobby, free and I’m doing it on my own time. That being said please don’t spam me to get to your requests. There are days where I either don’t want to or just don’t have time to make any covers at all. I do have a job and a life. And then there are days I might be really in the mood to make covered and edit music and I’ll make 10 in a row. And there will be days where I don't feel like doing any at all. If you really are curious about your cover please dm me or send me and ask OFF of anon that way I can actually reply to you.

Full library is on the Discord where they are also available for download. join there to get covers when they are first dropped and a ton of exclusives + full albums.

Had some people ask that I make a request form so they know exactly what to include. Optional to use not required but this is all the info I would like to have.

Request forum:

Character 1: Character 2: Character 3: If you only want one character leave the others blank Song: Artist:

If it’s in a language other than English language it would be nice if you could tell me which one it is to.

Any other additional info. Something like…I would like Poland to sing the chorus by himself. Just anything to let me know exactly what you have in mind. ———- I will take care of the pitching and accent modifying based on what sounds the best. I try to do every song with accents but some songs they will struggle with it and slur words if that happens I’ll turn it down or off completely to give you the best version possible. (I do not take requests for pitches or accents. I will do whatever sounds best for the character and the song to give the best end result. Just trust the process.)

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hello. I hope your matchups are still open. I have been curious about them for a while. I tried to keep my answers as succinct as possible but I am a very verbose individual, and I do not apologize for it. But do take all the time you need to read it through, I do not mind the wait. - Polaris

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why? "Take Me to Church" by Hozier. I love his music. My favourite lyric is: "No masters or kings when the ritual begins, there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin. In the madness and soil, of that sad earthly scene, only then I am human. Only then I am clean." It's raw, it's dark and vivid, and it has a level of inhumanity in the words I relate to a lot. There is power in the lyrics, and an implication of love that is not romantic, nor familial, nor platonic, but something more queerplatonic. Which I love and relate to very deeply, as someone not inclined towards romance, sexuality, family, etc. It's rare to see, and Hozier is the KING of that kind of lyricism. Also, the accompaniment is just beautiful and Hozier's singing voice is stunning.

What is your Enneagram type? 4w5.

Do you love gargantuan YouTube video essays, and if so, which is your favourite and why? I live for them. My current favourite is Plagiarism and You(Tube) by HBomberguy. I love all his work, as it's so well-researched, witty, and incredibly entertaining. Whether it's about things I know so much about or nothing about, I always love what he does. And that newest video was such a rabbit hole, and very informative.

Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend. I have had many, and to an extent still do. They take the form of characters I like and relate to. I would take a piece of myself that was similar to that character and isolate it, giving me someone who both understood me, and still differed enough to chat with me, debate, give advice, and so forth. I didn't really have imaginary friends until the age of around 11, and they've been a constant ever since, and there are quite a lot of them.

What is your go-to way to fall asleep? With my window open I can hear the sound of rain or snow or rustling wind and watch fog or water drops fly into my room, under a weighted blanket with it bunched up around me like a large hug or spoon. It makes me feel safe.

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?) I have changed my name to Yuri, for a few reasons. One is the connection to my birth country and culture. I may not feel the most connected to it socially but it's still an important part of me. I also quite like the phonetic sound of it. And I may have unintentionally been inspired by several pieces of media I like. This name is common in many cultures, and several of my favourite characters when I was younger shared the name.

What is your favourite of Redacted’s audios, and why? Taking a Chance With a Sadistic Demon. The lore in that video is incredibly satisfying to chew on, Vega's voice is comforting to listen to, his characterization in that video in particular is incredibly dense and nuanced, and so much more. I could talk about Vega all day.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. Guy. Guy is a bit too... much for my taste. Too much chaos, too much energy, too much explicitness which I can only handle in VERY specific cases. He seems like a great guy but I got off on the wrong foot with him from his first video and have had no inclination to listen to his series ever since.

Tell me about that one book/movie/TV show you know all the words to. I don't often find myself memorising large chunks of media but I have many singular quotes from different media. A few from The Song of Achilles, from Critical Role's 'Mighty Nein' campaign, and a LOT of songs from musicals. Some of my current favourites are Epic the Musical, Heathers, and Six. 

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Avior. I love his insights into the world, his curiosity, his carefulness, his care and so forth. I actually liked him more before the romance reveal, though I still find him an amazing character who I would love to befriend. Also, the lore from his series made me love it again.

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? Not really. I can ramble about any of my interests at any level of energy or time of day.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo. Spicy or Salt and Vinegar chips, fruit mentos, and any sour Ice Sparkling Water.

Tell me about your favourite playlist at the moment.  If you mean music, I don't really... do those. But as for Redacted... it's so hard to pick. Sadism's Hold and Invisiboi are both horrifying in the most visceral ways and are always a treat to watch those times that I do. All the lore-heavy ones (Balance, Sovereign State, Project Meridian, Carpe Deus, etc) feed my hunger for lore. Project Meridian was my first series and holds a special place in my heart. Carpe Deus and Kody's playlists are my go-to relaxing playlists because I love their voices, so I listen to them the most often. I cannot give a precise answer.

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why? I do not have any. I do not see any media I like as 'guilty pleasure' media. I like it, and that's that. I am cringe and I am free.

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are!

My favourite colours are brown, black and blue. I'm a digital artist, in University for it, and I do a bit of writing on the side though I have not posted any of it yet. I'm a fan of the night. Of storms. Of clouds blotting out the sun. Of pouring rain and winter's snow, and bike rides down foggy roads. I love learning in general, but especially about art, society and people, and all the subjects related to that. Also, I alluded to it before but I do not feel human. I may be a person, but I am not human, at least socially speaking. I find more connection with the inhuman, like robots, vampires, demons, monsters, or just villains. And I am not unhappy with the separation between myself and the rest of humanity. I have my small set of interests, morals, thoughts and feelings which I may never full be able to articulate or share with others, but I still like to socialize with them regardless. They're lovely, even if confusing and sometimes tiresome.

Interesting. So Type 4w5s are characterized as contemplative, thoughtful, typically introverted people, and it seems like you’d like someone of the same temperament. With that in mind, I think Camelopardalis would be a good match for you.

I’m really intrigued by your feelings of being disconnected to humanity and the fact you don’t seem bothered by that. I like Cam for you because he’d relate to that the most. Like, I can see him feeling your contentment with that fact and vibing with it, shrugging with a little smile and being like “I’m not really human; we can be whatever we are together” you know? Also, when you said you didn’t like Guy’s explicit nature, I was trying to come up with his opposite in that respect, and Cam is who immediately came to mind.

Another reason I think Cam works well for you is that I feel his immortality will lend him a sort of… unrushed, unbothered attitude toward relationships. I can see him not needing to label what y’all have as romantic or platonic and just wanting to spend quality time with you, and it’d be such wonderfully quality time. Cam would be such a supportive partner while you pursue your degree, bringing you water or tea while you work. When you’re not studying, the two of you go on walks at night, Cam pointing out familiar constellations.

Song:

Watch the sunrise along the coast/ As we're both getting old/ I can't describe what I'm feeling/ And all I know is we're going home/ So please don't let me go, oh/ Don't let me go, oh-oh-oh/ And if it's right/ I don't care how long it takes/ As long as I'm with you/ I've got a smile on my face

It took me a bit, but this is almost exactly the kind of vibe that I was thinking about. Like, it’s a little sad, because I think loving d(a)emons can be a little sad, but it’s mostly loving. It’s mostly about appreciating the little moments together and smiling about the time you’ve had versus crying when it’s over.

Runner-ups:

I like Anton as a runner-up because he had that same mild temperament that Cam does; if you had expressed displeasure at feeling separate from human nature, he would have just nudged forward in front of the serenity daemon. Sam is a good runner-up because he’d be a great night walk companion. I also think he’d commiserate, feeling separate from the human he once was, though he’d be leaning more negatively against it.

note: thank you for waiting and sending in a submission 💚

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌