#ugh the epilogue puzzles me so much

[phantomtwitch]

🕯

And this one is for this ask game here if anyone's curious.

(Also, again, sorry it took so long! Fully intended to answer these and thought it would be easy while super sick, but, ugh, it did not quite work out that way).

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

I actually kind of love it? Like generally I'd put myself at a solid 8 or so.

I think part of what helps me is that for my editing process, I usually do whatever I can to let my writing sit for at least a month or so after writing it. It lets me come at it relatively fresh, and then I can more easily see what works and what doesn't. The best moments are finding myself getting caught up in the story I've written, and if that doesn't happen at all while I'm editing my own work, then I know something about it isn't working overall and I usually spend some time trying to troubleshoot what, exactly, isn't hitting right.

But I also really, really enjoy puzzling over trying to fix the pieces that don't work and having the chance to mull over my word choices and sentence structure and overall pacing.

There's definitely a point where I get tired of editing and just want to be done, though the hardest part for me is probably just making the commitment to just move forward and finally stop editing it. It's taken me a long, long time as a write to accept that nothing I ever write will be perfect and that that's actually okay.

(Now I just need to be brave enough to let someone beta read for me. My biggest fic, Echoes, was literally made better by a one-off comment/question that someone made towards the end of the fic that made me rewrite a key part of the epilogue, so I for sure know there's a lot of value in it. And that's not the only time that's happened, either. But I get pretty sensitive when it comes to critiques, so . . . that part is a work in progress for me).

[thunderon]

https://goths-eat-electricity.tumblr.com/post/644468623985016832/a-harrow-the-ninth-epilogue-theory

This thing for the ask I just sent

original ask here

for ease of anyone wanting to view the post attached im linking it here. so op thinks the epilogue is narrated by someone in gideon’s body, different soul.

now i made a post back in january about the epilogue here talking about how i thought it was gideon narrating, but in a body other than her own. now i kinda didn’t explain a lot and ive done some revisions and rethought some stuff since then so *claps hands* new meta time

so i actually agree that it’s very likely gideons body is being actively inhabited by someone other than gideon. i don’t think that’s necessarily who is narrating the epilogue. i mean, it very well could be! and it very well could not. here's how i ~personally~ am interpreting the epilogue. it's very likely i will be wrong but i'll walk you through my thought process.

now the epilogue is intentionally vague and leaves a lot unexplained, so we really have quite a few blanks to fill in.

first, here’s an important question: why does camilla not know the identity of the narrator?

when the narrator asks “have you figured out who i am yet” and camilla answers “not yet” we must assume one of two things:

the narrator doesn’t know who they are either

or

the narrator does know who they are and is keeping it a secret from camilla

based on nothing but gut instinct, i am going with 1.

now why would camilla not know who the narrator is? there is always the possibility the narrator is just someone camilla has never met, but where's the fun in speculating on that? here's my theory:

i think that the narrator could be gideon-in-harrow's-body. in the end of htn, we see gideon-in-harrow's-body being rescued by at least two people, one probably being The Body (side note: i have a drafted post about that) and that leaves us with a big question mark. why is TB there? who is she working for? who is she talking to? what happens afterwards? since these are loose ends, theoretically gideon-in-harrow’s body could end up with camilla. theoretically. it might be a long shot but who knows with these books.

but anywho, so if we assume gideon-in-harrow’s-body (GIHB) is taken in by BoE and camilla, here’s my next point. for background, here is my chart i used to keep track of eye color changes. based on the information we have, harrowhark’s body with gideon’s eyes can indicate one of three things circumstances:

perfect lyctorhood was achieved (as seen with john and alecto)

harrow’s plan failed and she inadvertently absorbs gideon’s soul (we know harrow planned for this because she had a letter for herself in the circumstance that her eye color changes from black)

harrow’s plan worked and gideon’s soul came back in harrow’s body

now we know that in this case the latter is true, but how would camilla know? the last time cam saw harrow, she had black eyes. if you see harrowhark's body with yellow eyes, by sight, how would you know if harrow's plan succeeded or failed? you wouldn't! camilla could be looking at this yellow-eyed harrow and be unsure of who is piloting. now giving both bones and a rapier to harrow’s body makes sense! because she could be trying to distinguish if it's harrow-as-a-full-lyctor or GIHB by determining a pull toward necromancy or swordsmanship.

and based on how apeshit the lyctors make alecto sound it just doesn’t feel like the narrator is feral enough to be her imho but that could just be my personal interpretation. to me the narration just matches so closely with the narration in gtn as i pointed out in my post. but gosh i want it to be gideon so bad okay even if it's not her body. which i don't think it is. gideon’s body possesses a resistance to death, but not necessarily a healing factor. as i pointed out in my post back in january, the narrator in the epilogue DID NOT burn their tongue, while in gtn gideon displayed similar behavior with hot food consumption and DID burn her tongue. i think this could be an important point. GIHB would be able to be resistant to the burns, gideon's body alone would not.

UNLESS a side effect of perfect lyctorhood would allow gideon’s body to achieve the same abilities?

because what if perfect lyctorhood was kinda achieved? i don’t think it’s a coincidence that the name of the book is Harrow THE NINTH. the ninth. why did muir give harrow the title of a CAVALIER? and when harrow dies, she’s speared through the back with a rapier: exactly how naberius tern died, and similar to gideon's death via spike. coincidence? poetic parallel? does this MEAN something? idk lol. but that ending few lines of htn when gideon describes her and harrow blurring together certainly carries very interesting implications if we choose to interpret it that way. and like pyrrha has g1deon’s eye color in g1deon’s body, what if gideon has harrow’s eye color in harrow’s body now? so it’s still the original black? there’s so many what-ifs that i need to narrow down it’s insane. im due for a reread soon so ill be keeping this in mind.

to conclude: i just have a lot of imaginary dots im connecting. but fingers crossed for a gideon return.

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

“Do you happen to know of a 6-letter word for something that provides comfort or consolation?”

Combeferre doesn’t look up from the newspaper, but Éponine takes his meaning. “Be ready to leave before lock-up.”

Warnings: reference to a pre-fic mugging (no details), attempted armed robbery, casual alcohol consumption

A holiday Epiferre café AU for @badass-sunshine for the Les Mis holiday exchange. :D Finally completed!

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE ー Carla Ecstasy [07]

[Prologue] [01] [02] [03] [04] [05] [06] [07] [08] [09] [10] [Epilogue]

ー The scene starts in the entrance hall

Yui: ( ...We ended up dancing for quite some time...But it was so fun much. )

( I can’t put it into words, but I feel fulfilled... )

Carla: ーー Oi.

Yui: Yes...?

Carla: There is something I would like to ask of you.

Yui: Eh? Of me? What could that be? 

( I never expected to hear those words from him...What on earth...? )

Carla: This is something you need to do after my passing. 

Yui: ...

Carla: ーー I want you to go to Shin. 

Yui: ...!? 

Carla: Under normal circumstances, I would have given you this order, however...

I no longer have the strength left to do that. 

Of course, I can only assume that you will return to those Vampires instead...

Yui: ( He’s telling me that he wants me to go to Shin so the two of us can continue the Founders’ bloodline together, right...? )

( But, I...Besides, I don’t want to think...about Carla-san dying. )

Carla: ...I shall return to my room now.

ー Carla leaves

Yui: Carla-san...

( What should I do? ...I... )

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Carla’s room

Carla: ...Ugh...Fuck...

( Is my disease acting up? ...My chest is burning...No, this is different...How ridiculous. How could I let feelings get in my way? )

( I have only ever had one goal in life. The flourishing of us Founders and nothing else...Yet. )

( When I think about that woman going to either Shin or one of those Vampires after my own passing, I... )

*SMACK*

Carla: Damnit...

( What are these feelings...? ...Such as not wanting to give her up...? )

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: ( I’ve thought things over in the meantime and I just...can’t bear thinking about that right now... )

( While I would love to fulfill his request, still... )

( But more importantly...I can’t believe those were the words of someone whose life is in danger... )

( I guess I just don’t understand...? But at times like these... )

( I wish he would just live the time he has left doing what he truly wants... )

ーー Carla-san, I’ve come to wipe you down. (1)

Carla: ...

Yui: How do you feel? 

Carla: Not good.

Yui: ...

Carla: Why have you gone quiet?

Yui: That’s easy for you to ask...

Carla: ...Answer me. 

Yui: ...!?

*Rustle* 

Yui: W-What has gotten into you all of a sudden? 

( He seems really irritated for some reason...Did I upset him in any way? ...No, I haven’t done anything... )

Carla: If you have something on your mind...Just spit it out! You did this earlier as well...

If you think you can get away by simply keeping quiet, you are gravely mistaken!

Yui: ...I’m confused, because I don’t know what it is you truly want deep down...

Carla: My wishes always have the same aim in mind. 

The revival and flourishing of us Founders...That is all. 

Yui: I did think that too, but...

( Still... )

Selection

→ Are you sure? 

Yui: Are you sure?

Carla: Do you doubt me? A King does not lie!

Yui: ( I guess he’s being stubborn... )

But, Iーー

→ You’re lying, aren’t you?  (♡)

Yui: You’re lying, aren’t you?

Carla: You must have a death wish. Show me your neckーー

*Cling*

Yui: I-I’m so sorry!! But, I...

Yui: I just think that you’re allowed to be more selfish for once...

Carla: What do you mean? 

Yui: In other words, I believe that what you actually want is something completely different...

( No, that’s not it. I’m well aware. This is what I want, isn’t it...? )

Carla: ...

Yui: I’m sorry...For spouting nonsene. But, Iーー

Carla: ...Uu, guh...

ー He collapses

*Thud*

Yui: ...! Carla-san!

Carla: Honestly...Why do you keep on...saying all these things which leave me completely puzzled? 

Yui: I-I’m sorry...

Carla: Do not apologize.

Yui: Eh...?

Carla: ...The issue might actually be me...

Yui: Carla-san...?

Carla: ...

Yui: ...Please lie down for now. Can you drink some water?

Carla: I don’t need any...

*Rustle rustle*

Yui: ...

( What now? What should I say? Am I not only making him suffer even more when he’s already having a hard time? )

( That’s the feeling I get... )

Carla: When I think about it, I don’t think I have ever been able to understand someone other than myself. 

Yui: ...Carla-san...

Carla: Whether it was my Father, my Mother, or even Shinーー

They were all a mystery to me. 

Yui: ( Carla-san... )

Monologue

Carla-san’s dying wish (最期の願い). 

That would be for me to go to Shin-kun after his passing,

to succeed the Founders’ bloodline. 

I do want to fulfill his wish. 

However, I’m just not entirely sure,

if that is what he truly wants.

Is it because I’m human? Or because he is a King? 

I don’t know why exactly. 

But I strongly believe that he is allowed to be more selfish (我が儘),

and state his true desires.  

He told me that he cannot understand this. 

I wonder if I am causing him more suffering? 

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) This might seem kind of odd at first, but wiping down the sweat of an ill person’s body is a very common practice in Japan. (Or maybe it’s just weird to me because I’ve never really had that done to me when I was sick? At least not the whole body, only the forehead. xD)

[vivithefolle]

Can I join your anti-Hermione club? Is there an application form? (In all seriousness, I'm so glad there's someone on Tumblr who is anti-Hermione for good reasons. It drives me absolutely insane how much the fandom worships her. I respect her intelligence, but there are so many absurdly unethical things she does. The hexing of Marietta Edgecombe - I researched it, it's both against contract law and would almost certainly be considered assault - was crazy, and even crazier was that it's excused.)

Hahaha, no application form needed, just a lot of bitterness and a touch of rage.

Something that really annoys me is how people are trying to tell me I'm doing Hermione-bashing when I give her the what-for. Or try to say "but she was a teenager :(". Really, freaking really? So when Hermione scars people on the face she's being a teenager but when Ron is pissy for a night in fourth year he's a total asshole? No, nope, not gonna let that lie.

My issue is that Ron's mistakes are teenager-sized; making an ass of yourself during a soirée, dating someone you're not really interested in because you're flattered by the attention, getting mad at your friend over silly stuff, saying stupid things without thinking... teenage mistakes. Those are teenage mistakes. (Something could be said of his leaving on the Horcrux Hunt but. Bitches. Voldemort himself (a part of him at least) was there singling him out for torture. Not to mention the heavy blood loss, the fact that his family's in danger, etcetera... But of course nobody is willing to accept those circumstances, nooo, it's only Ron who's the sole responsible for leaving absolutely, right, "Hermione is a teenager :(" and "Harry has PTSD :(((" but Ron isn't allowed to have problems of course. Fucking hypocrites.)

Meanwhile Hermione wakes up everyday and chooses violence and not for good reasons. I mean when your first reflex to distract someone is to set them on fire surely that indicates some issues? (Later on she forgets that she can use magic to light a fire... against a plant. I mean. How. How do you come to the conclusion that you should light a person on fire to "distract" them but cannot apply that reasoning to a goddamn killer plant.) The thing is people just... because we're constantly told that Hermione is intelligent/has good grades/works hard, people are quick to assume that she's obviously the most mature one in the room. But being a hard worker isn't necessarily a "proof" of maturity. It's just that people's expectations are that "a studious kid" is a mature kid, but really what they mean by "mature" is "doesn't annoy me to hell and back by playing noisily".

There’s this huge manipulation that plays on people’s expectations: being coded as “the studious girl” people are told through stereotypes that Hermione is smart, mature and logical… and the text is quick to try to reinforce the idea by having her spout definitions (=”smart”, for a degree of it; it’s mostly good memory), scold others for being rowdy (=mature, except that she’s not above it all either and a big part of maturity also involves REALIZING YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES which, Hermione’s don’t, so oops) and have her solve some puzzles or explain things (=logical… but sometimes her reasoning is based on emotion and she just tries to find evidence to justify why she thinks it’s right, rather than go from one thing to another).

When people try to brush off the fucked-up things Hermione did with "well she was a teenager" or "it was the war effort"... no. Fuck no. She didn't have to wipe her parents' minds and memories, there was the Order, the Dursleys were treated better than Hermione's parents for God's sake. But the only thing that matters about Hermione's parents is that they can be conveniently sacrificed to let us know how brave their daughter is right, it's not like she's in anything called the House of the Brave or something, it's not like she's constantly being thrown in mortal danger and is scared but keeps pushing forward, no we absolutely HAD to have a plot point that involves Hermione destroying two people's identities so we know how brave she is (how was any of it brave? Bravery is risking yourself, not the life of two innocents who barely know what's going on and are in no position to fight back).

And with the Romione fandom trying to push back to "nooo but she was a teenager m'kay she had her reasons for everything"... You want to get back to the Dark Ages where Hermione can do anything to Ron and it's his fault for not being perfect enough for her? Because that's how you go back to the Dark Ages.

In concept I love Romione. In the books I love it till about Book 3 (and even then that's pushing it because Hermione's utter disregard for Ron's pet sits very unwell with me, BUT okay fine she's still a child, it's her first pet, she has no idea how to own a pet and she's not used to being mindful of others' feelings. Then she gets validated by the plot because Scabbers was Pettigrew and somehow that means Hermione wasn't horribly callous to Ron's feelings or anything... meanwhile had it been Ron buying Crookshanks and Scabbers being Hermione's pet everyone would have been like "but who cares that Ron was right in the end, do you see how horribly he hurt poor Hermione's feelings!!!"...

It's just. No more excuses. Hermione is fucked-up. As a person, not just because of the war. She had a vicious, vindictive streak that only got enabled through the books because she never was called out on it. And I mean, I'm all for standing up for yourself, or for slapping Draco Malfoy's bitchy ass ferret face. But fuck. When you're doing the magic equivalent of an acid attack on someone's face, when you're physically abusing someone you're supposed to love AND THREATEN TO DO IT AGAIN AS IF IT WAS SOMETHING CUTE OR QUIRKY, when you're brainwashing your own parents into compliance because you can't be bothered to lie to them or make the Order get them... You know how many fics I've seen that take the "I did actually Confund my examiner" exchange from the Epilogue and run away with it to make it so Ron gets in a horrible car accident or invent entire collapses of the Statute of Secrecy as a result of an investigation connected to this "ha ha look it's funny Ron cheated on his exam" moment? Why don't I ever see a fic talking about how Hermione erasing her parents from existence leads to the destruction of Wizarding society through the legal bullshit that follows? Because Hermione dear, did you think to alter "Wendell" and "Monica"'s birth certificates? Their marriage contract? Their VISAs? Their bank accounts? Otherwise you've just turned your parents into homeless vagrants hopelessly lost in Australia who can't ever find a home anywhere because they simply don't exist in the eyes of any government. But hey nobody ever thinks of that because it's so much easier to nitpick everything Ron does. The only thing folks notice about Hermione nowaday is Emma Watson's boobies.

... I'm sorry, I just... Ugh. People.

[everysongineverykey]

I'M DONE. HERE. TAKE THESE CHAPTER 2 THOUGHTS AND RUN, BABY.

so i'll try to go in order here. uhhhh... there's a LOT i have to say. first: toriel giggling sprite my beloved

on that note, ALL THE NEW SUSIE SPRITES MY BELOVEDS

NOELLE YOU'RE SO GAY. I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY JUST BECAUSE I TOLD HER TO IN CHAPTER ONE BUT SHE GAVE SUSIE THE LUNCHBOX FULL OF CHALK!! I LOVE ITTTT

ralsei's, uh... kinda sus. the whole "recruiting" thing REALLY sketches me out. and he looks kinda... smug, all the time, like he knows what's going on.

LANCER JOINED! ROUXLS JOINED EVEN THOUGH NO ONE WANTED THAT! STARWALKER JOINED, TO EVERYONE'S JOY!

LIBRARY PORTALLLL

so before i entered the city there was that pre-city area? that looked very much like the city? except it had different music? and i thought they'd cut welcome to the city and i was SEVERELY disappointed. but then they didn't! just something i wanted to mention

NOELLE!!

throughout this game i went from despising berdly to feeling bad for him to not really liking him again, but not hating him as much as before. he'd better stay the fuck away from susie though

the queen is the best villain. she's the kind you love to hate! she's literally so funny AND her boss battle is actually tough (rip to the king but he just. wasn't a formidable enemy at all lol)

THE GANG CHARLIE BROWN DANCING TO WIN A FIGHT! SUSIE GAINING THE POWER TO ACT THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF WILL! SUSIE FORCING RALSEI TO LEARN TO ACT EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T WANT TO! THAT ENTIRE BATTLE WAS AMAZING! THE "BATTLE WON" END DANCING SEQUENCE! GOING INSANE GOING INSANE

the puzzles in this chapter were genuinely really impressive! i especially loved the word search puzzles and the ice-ee undertale word search reference💙

that being said. the mouse puzzles were SO fucking infuriating. i caused poor noelle a LOT of grief with those and i feel bad.

SPEAKING OF NOELLE!! the scene where she and kris are walking through the puzzle, the one that spells "december", and she's talking about when they were kids, how she loved sneaking out? beautiful. the cinnamon tography <3 also i guessed dess's full name was december a while ago and while i guess it was obvious, it's nice to have that confirmed!

also, i love that susie and ralsei are real friends in this chapter! he taught her a healing spell!!

ugh. fucking berdly. so smug and pretentious. i love queen's desire to be as far away from him as possible though

i also like his backstory. it gives his behavior, even if it's still annoying, at least some context. i get the feeling of feeling like if you're not smart, people will forget about you, and that's scary.

ALSO ALSO. GAMER BERDLY. LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT IS PERFECT. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GAMER!" "i only play mobile games, berdly." "NOOOOOO!" like i ADORE that

anyways. time for me to talk about the only thing that matters in this world: suselle. i mean, did the gays win in this chapter or DID THE GAYS WIN IN THIS CHAPTER?? THEY RODE A HEART-COVERED FERRIS WHEEL AND HAD A HEARTFELT, TENSION-FILLED CONVERSATION!

"did you ever wonder why the real susie never picked on you? well, maybe it's because... when you were both new to class, you lent her one of your pencils, like... maybe a dumb one with candy canes on it or something, and... even though it didn't actually taste like candy, she... remembered your smile." okay god thanks toby it's not like i needed my heart or anything

SERIOUSLY. TOBY "i'm gonna give the gays everything they want" FOX IS BACK WITH ANOTHER BANGER LADS

QUEEN'S BOSS BATTLE! ACTUALLY TOUGH, UNLIKE KING'S! AND GIGA QUEEN! I'M GOING INSANE THAT WAS SO SICK AND SO HARD

the way my heart BROKE when lancer turned to stone good god thank GOD our boy's okay

AND ROUXLS KAARD IN HIS PIRATE DUCK!! WITH HIS LITTLE HAT! DEMANDING THE QUEEN MAKE HIM BUTLER SUPREMETH! I LOVE HIM MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF

also!! kris and ralsei's little moment on the swan boat💙 i wasn't a kralsei shipper before but uh... that may be starting to change

it's hard because ralsei's still suspicious but at the same time i love him and want him to be happy. i don't know how to feel

also, if darkners outside of their dark worlds turn to stone after a while, why didn't ralsei? that's, uhhh... VERY sus. very weird. mr fox i need ANSWERS

WE FINALLY HAVE A WAY TO SAVE AFTER WE'VE FINISHED MOST OF THE EPILOGUE LADS. REJOICE!!

seriously the thing that peeved me about ch1 was that the last save point was on the battle stage and if i wanted to play the epilogue again, i had to. do that entire battle all over. BUT NOW THAT'S BEEN FIXED!!

UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE MET UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE MET THIS IS NOT A DRILL UNDYNE GAVE HER A BOX OF CANDIES EVERYBODY SHUT UP THEY'RE IN LOVE ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD

ALSO! NEAR THE BEGINNING! I FORGOT TO MENTION THE LITTLE WHITE DOG DOING DONUTS IN A TOY RACE CAR AND BACKING UP TRAFFIC! THANK YOU LITTLE WHITE DOG!

on that note: "looks like a car. this one has a man in it. he waves at you happily." AND THEN THE MAN'S GONE??? HEY TOBY???

ALSO. THE SEGMENT WHERE THE ANNOYING DOG HELPS US FIND THE KEY THROUGH THE POWER OF WANTON DESTRUCTION. THE BEST PLOT DEVICE!

TORIEL TEACHING SUSIE TO MAKE PIE STOP ITTTTT

and yes yes i KNOW kris slashed toriel's tires. that was extremely troubling. but THEY MADE PIE TOGETHER!!

"leave the chalk alone, kris" TORIEL!!

sans and toriel making egg puns and asgore running in and going "don't forget me, your eggs-husband!" is the FUNNIEST sitcom moment type thing ever. GOD.

on the other hand sans let me meet your brother god dammit i'll kill you

METTATONNNNNNN

RUDY... "who got you these flowers?" "is it weird for a married man to get flowers?" "so your wife did?" "oh, no! kris's dad did!" "...not even gonna try to understand this..." TOBY STOP ITTTT YOU'RE GIVING THE ASGORUDY SHIPPERS FALSE HOPE. YOU KNOW YOU'RE JUST GONNA KILL RUDY. YOU'RE JUST RUBBING SALT IN THE WOUND!

NUBERT! MY MAN!

seeing kris repeatedly they-themmed by multiple characters makes me so happy <3 poor kid... "college summer vacation when" "you opened the door with your eyes closed. you saw nothing" kris....

KRIS...

fucking. BLACK FOG STORM IN THE LIVING ROOM KRIS STOP IT. HOW'RE THEY GONNA REVEAL THIS WAS INNOCENT? THE KNIFE IN CHAPTER ONE WAS EASY BUT HOW WILL THEY EXPLAIN THIS

the staticy tv appearing in the dark and a toothy smile slowly fading into view in the center and lingering there ominously for far too long >>>>>>> every hollywood horror movie ever god. GOD

snowy and monster kid checking out the red door. implying there's something in there. something that kris knows about. knowing we won't get any more deltarune content for 5+ years does NOT fill me with determination

also. gaster's symbolic theme being mus_smile. and the final image in the game being a smile. god. gaster's COMING lads.

onionsan hears a song at night... a familiar song... memory, perhaps? or maybe a certain... four-note arpeggio that's hidden in a sound test room in undertale? who knows? guess we'll just have to wait for chapters 3/4/5.

this concludes my ramblings for now, but don't get it twisted- this is FAR from the last post i'll make about ch2. this whole chapter was absolutely amazing! brilliant! showstopping!! i'm genuinely soooo super impressed and excited for the chapter 3/4/5 bundle!!!

[kageprountranslated]

Memorizing English Vocabulary with MEKAKUSHIDAN (High School Version) short story: Epilogue

Epilogue: In a Certain Summer’s Evening

4, 5, 1, 0, 4, 7, 1.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, TAP! There’s a light sound as I pound those numbers in a mere second and stab the enter key to stop. The annoying box sitting on the desktop that said “Please input the password” disappears.

My fingers moved without me even thinking, as naturally as breathing, because that number was so incredibly familiar to me.

“I won’t say anything anymore…. I have nothing to say, except that it’s hard to imagine there are any demons in this world as terrible as you….”

“What changed with you all of the sudden, Master? This is a good thing, isn’t it? Now you can safely get back to being all romantic with your PC!”

With no shame at all, Ene feigns a face that says “I’m puzzled.” The nerve she has is really…. Ugh, no. This transcends the realm of mere irritation, there’s nothing refreshing in my life anymore.

“So anyways, Master, you’ve done your best until now!”

After taking my PC (and the internet) that are as valuable to me as my life hostage, all of my precious hours had to be used up in exchange for that password. And after memorizing those English words, she only gave me hints using grandiose methods like Caesar ciphers. And after all of that the password that she set was “4510471 (I don’t work*),” which is the password I always use. When most people are bad, I don’t fuss. But she has an unmistakable talent for harassment.

(*4510471 can be pronounced as “shigoto shinai” in Japanese, which means “I don’t work”. Shintaro uses this same password in the Mekakucity Actors route)

“Well Master, so you’re breathless then? I used my brain, which I don’t usually use, at full power, so I had this crazy fever of psycho-developmental growth and…. Ahh! I don’t care if something happens to my precious Master…. But for myself, I’m starting to get a little worried!”

“Hey, hey. Why don’t you wrap your worry up in some tissue paper and stop casually dissing me?”

“It’s ridiculous to think I’m dissing you! Are you just stupid!?”

“It’s worse than just dissing me!”

Argh, oh no…. Talking to her I feel sweat gushing from every pore on my body….!

“Oh, that’s it! You perfectly memorized that much in just a few hours, but I’m a little taken aback. What’s really going on? Are you feeling a little jealous?”

She’s been tormenting me for several days in a row…. No, she just played with me for her own entertainment…. But I see Ene muttering terrible things like, “ahh, finally time to unleash….!” right as the feeling of relief begins to emerge in me meekly. “Ahh, that’s so dangerous…. Next time I think I’ll try something even more outrageous when I play with him….” The thought of this made me raise my head, and a reflex made a shiver go down my spine.

“No way, not that!”

Ene forced out a fake cough as she paused.

“If we don’t hurry up, the fireworks are going to start without us!”

“....Fireworks? Ahh, now that you mention it, I did say that we’d go.”

I feel like I haven’t seen something like fireworks in ages. Last year I earnestly thought, “I finally have friends in real life, let’s watch the explosions!” But as a result of an unexpectedly strong storm, we got news that the large-scale fireworks display had been cancelled. The bitter memory of Momo witnessing my distressed expression arises in me.

“Let’s go join everyone in the Mekakushi Dan quickly! I contacted them all while Master was busy moaning and groaning over English words!”

“Ahh, I get it, I get it. Wait just a little, I’ll get ready to go….”

Well, If I’m forced to admit it, I feel nothing but a strange sense of accomplishment.

There are plenty of excuses I could use like the crowd is too sickening for me to stand again, or that we could go see the fireworks some other day. But I guess it’s somewhat healthier than continuing to endure her usual harassment. With a constructive sense of accomplishment I abandon my duty as a shut-in and head for the fireworks show, as an immorally uplifting feeling wells up inside of me. Ene simply doesn’t notice as my cheeks are unconsciously raising into a smile…. Thinking about it, I put on my usual red jacket.

Prologue | Side Story 1 | Side Story 2 | Side Story 3 | Epilogue

[monday-headache]

Hey Simon! Thank you for the amazing ask <3 Right back at you:

I love that you're writing/arting about characters that have never met in canon (Gaige and Sasha, Fiona and Scarlett). What drew you to writing these characters together? And are there any more that you'd love to explore one day? :D

Hey Sarah, glad it made you smile. I want to have more interaction with the fandom so I’ll try to make this a regular, so please be free to send me questions whenever. I’d love to read your thoughts ;)

And Omg, that’s a fantastic question as well but, be aware, this is gonna be an essay as well.

Mhh where to start, where to start.

So first things first, My headcanon of why I think Gaige and Sasha would be best friends started a pretty long while ago, way before I even got gently pushed towards the Idea of really starting to write about it in the first place. Because you must know, even though Strays is my first longshot, it is also my very first fanfc I’ve ever written in like ever. So no matter how shitty, great or whatever it will turn out to be or how well others will be, Strays has and will always have a special place in my heart. And I’m not gonna rush things either, even when the fandom will die out, my Ideas for it will flow ;)

But yeah how it started. To put it simply Gaige was my first character In Borderlands ever that I played myself. I knew about the Lore of 1 and I’ve played 1 with a friend by the time it came out, but I played 1 myself AFTER I finished 2 So that may be a big reason, why I have such an open spot for Gaige. But also because she is fun, quirky extreme, punky, loves robots and tech... to put it simple a lot of traits I really love about a character. Her backstory with the science fair was so fresh and funny, and it may be one of my favorite spoken dialogue interactions heard over echo cassette’s

Then after Bl2 my love for Borderlands continued, played 1, played TPS and then... There was Tales, and by god do I loved Tales, and I hella still do. You probably know the feeling yourself. And with the love for the game, came a huge love for it’s cast. Like seriously I think besides Tector there isn’t really a character where I was going like, “ugh this one is trash” on the contrary. And besides my obvious love for the main 2 characters, there was a big love for the Deutagonist’s of this masterpiece. Namely Sasha and Loaderbot.

Loaderbot may have officially taken the spot for me as most favorite Robot in video game history ever (and Gortys for the most precious character ever). Like his whole segment of kidnapping them, forcing them to tell the truth, only to show how much he had grieved, how betrayed he felt and that he did all of tha  for his loved ones. Man say what you will about him, but damn he was written perfectly. I was blown away.

Secondly is of course, as you might have guessed it Sasha. I could go lengths for her too, how much I love and admire her character, how real she felt as a sister, a pandoran and last but not least as a human. Sasha felt to me like the most well rounded out character of the 6 (pls don’t hate me for it guys) From the punk rebellious attitude, to learning that she had an anti Hyperion pirate radio, that she used to broadcast bad things that happens in her neighbourhood, to her adapting her morals and learn that even in the most corrupt organisations there are still normal people struggling with their own life, and then progressing from it. And lastly after everything was at loss, the money the plan, she was willing to sacrifice her whole life for a dear friend/s, even on her dying breath putting both Rhys and her Sister at ease and in her last moments. Amazing.

Oooh boy and that was just the prelude to it all XD

After that I noticed a lot of similarities, between characters. Sasha and Loaderbot for instance are both pragmatic, put the lives of their loved ones over their own, love tech, are socially open people while holding back on information and emotion. Not to mention the scenes in 2 and 3 and also 4 and 5 where it is slightly hinted how well Sasha and Loaderbot work together, without sharing much words. So naturally the Idea was born that Sash and LB became quite close.

And the same goes for Sasha and Gaige. I was actually surprised that nobody (not entirely true, I saw one fanart of it) seemed to made that connection before as it was so obvious to me. So basically Sasha is a softer version of Gaige, in many terms. They both have a big heart for tech and especially guns. They both hosted a small radio broadcast that blew up in their region over night. Both are anarchist’s who spread the word for awareness, how fucked up the company war actually is. Both are not really good at their aim. Both call robots as their closes’t friends. Both share a deep hatred for Handsome Jack and his doings. Both fought a giant ass Vault Monster and nearly died in the process of doing so. Both got screwed up big time and now have a huge bounty on their head... So you see the list goes on, and honestly the more I write them, the more similarities I notice, both hc wise and canon wise. So there more I thought about it, and noticed similarites the more I fell in love with the Idea of them becoming close. And from there the Idea was born, that they probably met on a job ( the most likely scenario in the Borderlands universe). It had to be before BL3 of course, and to be after Tales naturally so that only put one timeline in the focus, Commander Lillith.

To be honest, I didn’t expect everything turning out so big. Like seriously I orifinally planed like 8k words or so. Now I’m dangling on the Idea of having 13 chapters and a big ass finally, a neat wrap up of everything and even a possible epilogue XD Yeah, that wasn’t what I expected either but damn do I love doing it.

Like seriously my headcanons only just gotten bigger and bigger. From a whole nebula system in the galaxy, to regions I created in my own mind for it, to even complex backstorys. Like why Sasha wears a headband, why she loves guns so much, what happened to her and Fi’s parents, why she was raised by her aunt, what does Felix have to do with it, Why Gaige has this kicks of both sudden depression and manical behavior. Why she’s so close to her dad, but her mom wasn’t even mentioned once (but teased), why she wanted to become a wedding planer, and why she is so obsessed with robots and margarita mix. I think one day, this thing will turn into a tabletop game or something XD

So estimated 20k words on my answer later and now we are going for my own created ship Scarleona. Don’t worry, as much as I like to gosh about that too, it wont take as long I prommy.

Scarleona was created in a sudden urge while thinking about what happpend to Fiona while Strays happened. And similar to Gaige and Sasha, Scarleona was born from a dynamic. Especially of those from two Ladybosses with Silvertongue and speech 100XD Fiona and Scarlett may have become my favorite Fiona ship (no offense everybody) because of how well they play off each other. Fiona is a con artist, her whole life she was used to swindle, to play it cool and by ear, go with the flow, and expect the unexpected. So here core idea is that she is manupulating people by LYING to them.

Scarlett on the other hand is similar while also the complete opposite to it. She is backstabby, plays with her charm and most importantly she is dead honest while tricking people. In fact even so honest that people don’t even realised that they got tricked even though she told it several times before. And this dynamic is so fascinating to me. You see, Fiona has almost an answer an action for everything prepared, but the idea that her winning honesty, is mind puzzling to Fiona is so perfect. @michellespenscratchz wrote me a drabble several months ago and I think that line describes it just perfect

“So, let me see if I got this straight,” Fiona tilted her head inquisitively at Captain Scarlett. “You needed these Vault Hunters’ help to find this treasure for you. So you…just asked them?”

“That’s right.” Scarlett nodded, inspecting her hook nonchalantly.

“Even though they knew you wanted it for yourself?” Fiona asked.

“Indeed,” Scarlett replied.

“And they…” Fiona blinked, “…knew you planned on fighting them for it once they had it.”

“Of course they did,” Scarlett shrugged. “I told them as much.”

“You told them?”

“Yes.”

“And they helped you anyway?”

“Precisely.” Scarlett turned her hat against the blistering wind. “I fear I don’t quite grasp what about this is so difficult to grasp, Fiona dear.”

“Huh.” Fiona cast her gaze out across the expanse of Pandoran horizon. “I guess I just gotta–I dunno–rethink my whole life right now.”

So yeah, that was basically it. I kinda diagressed and didn’t want to hurt your eyes more looking at the long ass text, but please if you have some more questions to it, pls hit me. I love to gosh about it <3

And thank you so much <3 This was hella fun

[plasticnightmaredoll]

The time has come for a ridiculous Self-Ship Scenarios Set featuring three (3) of my fictional hoes: Telltale Riddler, Batman: The Animated Series Riddler, and Arkhamverse Riddler. I already foreshadowed this off-the-rails post, but you have no idea how fucking stupid these scenarios are 😂

Basically, it’s like this: Each scenario -- one per Riddler Diddler Boy -- features me annoying the absolute fuck out of the Riddle Man of choice by being my weird, childish but curious self and attempting to convince him to make the Cursed Demon Soap Hand from 5 Minute Crafts. Jenna Marbles created this cursed thing on her channel, and I watched the video and immediately thought, “This looks like a stupid as fuck experiment my dumbass self would pester my Riddler boys with, and while there is love present between us, like always, they are so fucking done with my shit and are just like  😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐”

And yes, in reality, I would totally do this to my puzzle-loving boys 🤣

Also, I selected pics featuring my three (3) Riddler boo-thangs looking annoyed/frustrated because that’s how they would feel about my stupid sense of humor and childish antics sometimes 🤣🤣🤣🤣

For part one (1), we will focus on Arkham Knight Riddler! I will make separate posts for Telltale Riddler and BTAS Riddler in the near future.

Arkhamverse Riddler -- We’re going to focus on Arkham Knight Riddler because Riddlerbots

Me: “Eddie, Baby, Darling, Sugar, Pumpkin Pie, you’re a man who loves to experiment in the name of science, a man who isn’t afraid to go above and beyond to solve life’s mysteries.” AK!Eddie: *already exasperated* “What sort of illogical piece of Internet fodder have you discovered this time?” Me: “Let me show you a video first--so you can fully understand the intricacies of this experiment.” AK!Eddie: *waits for me go to YouTube on my laptop, then to my “Dumbass Shit” list* Me: “I am going to warn you: This video is probably cursed. Watching it may cause you to become possessed by a demon, but don’t worry. I’ll save you.” AK!Eddie: “Demons aren’t real, so demonic possession is impossible.” Me: *turns my laptop so Eddie can watch the video* “Have fun! It’s the very first segment in the video...” AK!Eddie: *watches the video with the Cursed Demon Soap Hand * AK!Eddie: *turns to me and gives me the most disapproving and annoyed experession of all time* AK!Eddie: “We’re not making this preposterous ‘creation.’ It won’t take five minutes, it serves no purpose in that shape, and you can buy soap for cheap at any store. The experiment is pointless.” Me: “But don’t you, like, wonder how it might turn out if we tried to make it?” AK!Eddie: “No.” Me: “I saw someone on YouTube create this thing, and while it was an exhausting journey, the results were worth it. Mostly.” AK!Eddie: “Then you have a demonstration of how this soap monstrosity would actually be created, and what it would truly look like.” Me: “But I want to see for myself how it is. I need to experience the Cursed Demon Soap Hand myself, first hand!” *laughs* “My mind cannot rest until I have created this work of obscure art.” AK!Eddie: “Your mind is a very bizarre and troubling place.” Me: “Oh, come on! We can make it green!” AK!Eddie: “No.” Me: “You could, like, high five it if you come up with some ingenious idea and no one is nearby to immediately celebrate with you!” AK!Eddie: “No.” Me: “It would be a fun activity for us to do with the kids!” AK!Eddie: “We don’t have ki-- Wait.” Me: *motions to some Riddlerbots* Me: *points to them* “Our kids.” AK!Eddie: *rubs a hand over his face and sighs loudly* “I told you before that they’re not...” *sighs again, shaking his head* “They’re not children, they’re...” *another sigh* “They’re not even alive...” *groans* “I am their god, not their...” Me & the small group of Riddlerbots: *staring expectantly at Eddie* Me: “I think they’d love to do it. Wouldn’t you guys like to do something fun with Mom and Dad?” Riddlerbots: *all nod enthusiastically* Me: “Look at them. How could you say no to those sweet faces?” AK!Eddie: *staring at me in intense disapproval* Me: “How could you say no to my sweet face?” *gives the cutest smile* AK!Eddie: *staring at me in even more intense disapproval* Me: “Don’t you love me?” *pouts* AK!Eddie: “Of course I do but I don’t see how this...” Me: *pouts heavily* Riddlerbots: *staring at Eddie* Me: *pouts so damn much it almost hurts* Riddlerbots: *continuing to stare intensely at Eddie* AK!Eddie: “Ugh, ok, ok, fine! We’ll make this absurd thing! We’re destroying it immediately after, though.” Me: “Maybe should exorcise it first then burn it because it’s going to be cursed.” *giggling* AK!Eddie: “It’s not cursed but I am!” Me: “Cursed with....love?” *smiles sweetly* AK!Eddie: “Cursed with love for the most adorable, beautiful, gentle-natured but childish distraction of all time.” Me: *gives Eddie a hug and a kiss on the cheek* Me: “My lovely Riddle Man...indulging me without fail.” *giggles* AK!Eddie: “We’re making this soap hand monstrosity green, by the way. If I must partake in such inanities, then it needs to be green.” Me: “Of course!” *kisses Eddie again before turning to the Riddlerbots* Me: “Ok, Kids, let’s make a Cursed Demon Soap Hand! For science!” AK!Eddie: *rolls his eyes* AK!Eddie: *is going to do this out of love* AK!Eddie: *still doesn’t think the Riddlerbots are children* AK!Eddie: *is actually going to make the most impractical practical object he’s ever seen because he just can’t say no to my sweet face :3*

Epilogue:

Me: *watching glue gun hacks video* Me: *with a devious smirk* “Eeeeddddiiieeee, would you come here, please?” AK!Eddie: *comes over* AK!Eddie: *watches video over my shoulder* AK!Eddie: *immense disapproval* Me: “So, do you wanna...?” AK!Eddie: “No. No, no, no.” Me: “But the kids, Eddie.” Riddlerbots gather around and stare at Eddie. AK!Eddie: “No! No way! Stop looking at me like that, all of you! We’re not doing another ridiculous ‘experiment!’ My genius cannot handle such pointless activities!“ Me: “You’re just worried because it’s a cursed video with cursed objects...” AK!Eddie: “CURSES AREN’T REAL!” Me: “Oh, but you are cursed...” *Gets up and hugs a very grumpy Eddie* “Cursed with loving meeeee.” AK!Eddie: “I wouldn’t call it cursed....just...driven absolutely insane by your antics sometimes.” *hugs me back* Riddlerbots stare at Eddie expectantly.  AK!Eddie: *to the Riddlerbots* “No, you’re not getting hugs!”

[dazais-guardian-angel]

I finished Curious Village again the other day, so here are some random thoughts. This is my first time replaying the main series since my... mid-to-late teen years? (though I guess it was later than I thought, if AL didn’t come out till 2014... I’m 25 now) so my memory of the fine details of them is a little hazy.

Flora really is wasted in the next two games, isn’t she... She’s introduced as part of the crew by the end of the game, especially with the additional epilogue cutscene in the hd version, but she literally gets the Kairi treatment, being left behind or used as a damsel for no discernable reason, when she could easily be just as capable as Luke... I mean she’s older than him, there’s no reason she couldn’t handle herself on their adventures if he can. -___- And like Kairi, I want to be more invested in her, but she barely has any focus and development, and it’s just ugh. I kind of like that it makes sense why Hershel would be so distant with her/not know how to parent properly, but I wish that was actually explored, and it’s not, so everyone ignoring her is just annoying and unnecessary-feeling instead. Tbh I’d rather her have just stayed behind altogether in the next two games instead of showing up just to be kidnapped or impersonated, if she wasn’t going to be made a main party member permanently.

People have said this before, but the main trilogy is honestly made so much better with knowledge of the prequels, in both emotional and absolutely buckwild ways, and it’s the funniest with CV - going from Azran Legacy straight into the mundane Curious Village is absolutely fucking HILARIOUS, as completely unintentional as it was by Level-5 lmaoooo

Hershel, after the shitshow that was Azran Legacy: “oh thank god, just an inheritance dispute.” Luke, who is easily impressed and apparently gets selective amnesia after every game: “THIS IS THE BIGGEST MYSTERY WE’LL EVER SOLVE-” Hershel, this close to murdering Luke a second time:

Can we make some connection between Bruno’s robot-making abilities and the Azran technology. And does the whole robot thing seriously trigger the boys as soon as it’s revealed because DEAR GOD NO NOT THIS AGAIN-

And related to that, I’m sure that was why Hershel could easily guess the robot thing early on; like seriously, nothing should faze this man anymore after what he’s been through (and yet, hilariously, the most ridiculous has yet to come, depending on how you look at it)

But he doesn’t have the faintest idea why Don Paolo would want revenge on him, which, like, even if he can’t think of anything specific... my dude, your family history is fucked up a;lsdlf;fd, there’s PLENTY OF OPTIONS (even if the actual reason is much less severe lol)

I’m sure we also all headcanon Descole to be slinking around in the background of the three main games somehow just because it’s more fun that way, so now that he’s no longer the rival, he’s the rival-turned-secret helper who makes sure everything goes right for Hershel (but he doesn’t do everything obviously cause he knows he can handle things himself), and probably bitchfights with Don Paolo some because that mental image is hilarious to me lmao

Post-UF scenario where Desmond helps Bruno with the robots with his technical prowess

and while we’re on that idea, Uncle Randall nerds out over everything robot in St. Mystere because let’s be real he would (Azran 2.0: Electric Boogaloo, But Without The Danger Or Trauma)

That scene when the tower is collapsing and Flora almost falls and Hershel catches her. Level-5 how could you completely accidentally and unintentionally create something so utterly painful out of such a small moment; I lie awake at night thinking about this!! :)))

Also Hershel yelling to Luke in that scene “I HAVE AN IDEYAHHH!” with his accent going off the rails on “idea” is an underrated iconic moment

Am I the only one who got the quiz question about Chelmey’s favorite food wrong because the answer was cakes something, and whatever the newspaper said it was was definitely not what I’d consider a cake

I love the implication that Pavel(?) is the only person in St Mystere besides Hershel, Luke, Don Paolo, Flora and Bruno who’s not a robot, and he just somehow ended up there by unknown means while trying to get to America??? and then somehow ends up on a high floor of the LOCKED tower, and still has no idea where tf he is. what a madlad

I never liked Luke’s squeaky UK voice, but I’m realizing his US one isn’t much better... and Flora’s voice in the new epilogue cutscene with the same voice actress years later is oof. why do the PL games just. reuse the same vas constantly for different characters. It’s obviously a thing in anime and games, but it’s especially noticeable in this series imo

fuck those puzzles with troll-y answers. also fuck that one with the chocolate bar and the coded letters with the bite marks

Matthew is probably one of my favorite npcs now; he’s just adorable <333 his little arms waggin’

Gordon needs to get a life

Pauly why are you the way that you are

“I’m not a detective”, Hershel continually says, as he unveils ridiculous plots that no one could have thought up in their wildest dreams, while gathering everyone together and pointing out the culprits dramatically, Agatha Christie style

I was tapping around for the exact pixel on painting Flora’s neck because it was ridiculously precise on the mobile version, and I never knew that if you tap her chest area, Hershel scolds Luke for not being a gentleman I-

Luke’s chubby head in the anime cutscenes sure is something... so glad it didn’t last. along with the front-facing Hershel sprite.

The ferris wheel attack is so great, I never really appreciated it before. The music, and the rain at the end with the rainbow 👌

We needed more of Hershel constructing things from random objects he finds lying around; iirc the only other time he does it is in Eternal Diva, though I guess the slot machine gun in UF counts too

I solved every slider puzzle in this game without a walkthrough, even the bonus ones. I do not expect this to last in the next games.

Overall I like Curious Village, though it remains one of my least favorites; there’s nothing wrong with it, and it was the very first so I’m not surprised it’s not very complex, with the mechanics and style still not fleshed out yet, but it doesn’t really hit me with The Feels™ as the best ones do, so it’s just okay. it started this wild ride of complete emotional devastation off, so I can appreciate it for that at least.

[dsoe-masteroftheheavenlyyard]

Chapter 1–Epilogue; Scene 2

master of the heavenly yard pages 7-12

Allen Avadonia was still walking along the ground world that had become a barren field.

Like the others, he was also a soul that had lost his body.

It might be a bit strange to describe a being without a body as “walking”, but in actuality Allen had no choice but to do so. The gravity emitted by the merged ground world and Hellish Yard didn’t allow him to fly into the air.

The woman walking a little ways behind him started talking.

“Hey…Can we rest a minute?”

“Are you getting tired, Nemesis Your Excellency?”

In contrast to Allen’s unruffled look, Nemesis was out of breath, sweat dripping from her brow.

“Of course I am. Unlike you I’m still alive. I can get tired and I can get hungry.”

“That’s right. Unfortunately it looks like we’ll have a hard time finding anything to eat in this wasteland. You’ll have to deal with it.”

“Sigh…This keeps up, I’m liable to starve to death.”

“You know that’s impossible, don’t you?”

Nemesis was the sole living person left in this world now, and she was also immortal.

The reason for that was complicated, but to put it in brief, it was because she was a “deadly sin contractor”—someone who had contracted with a demon. The only one who could kill someone who had contracted with a “Demon of Deadly Sin” was someone who had similarly made a contract, and they couldn’t commit suicide.

Thanks to that she had managed to survive the destruction of “Punishment”.

Ignoring Allen as he continued to press on, Nemesis sat down on the spot. Allen reluctantly came to a halt.

“If it’s gonna be like this, I would have preferred to die. I’d just end up being a soul like you. …You know, I’ve just had a thought.”

“What is it?”

“I’m able to live like this because I contracted with the “Demon of Wrath”…Seth, right? So then what if I were to have him void my contract—”

“If he had any intention of doing so, he would have done it a long time ago. That he’s maintained the contract still…Knowing him, he probably has some agenda behind it.”

“No—maybe he’s just doing it to harass me. That psychopathic bastard just likes to see me suffer.”

Seth had been with them a little while ago, but he, Gumillia, and Michaela hadn’t gone with Allen and Nemesis. It seemed they each had their own tasks to carry out.

“Come on, let’s get going,” Allen pressed Nemesis, but she made no move to stand.

“I’ve hardly gotten any rest in.”

“We don’t have time for you to loaf around. The immediate danger might have passed but we still have no way of knowing what’s going to happen to this world now.”

“It’s hard to imagine it could get any worse.”

“If that’s the case then so be it. But I can’t be satisfied with the world staying in this state.”

Upon seeing the unshakable resolve in Allen’s eyes, Nemesis heaved a deep sigh.

“…Allen. You said that your goal was to ‘save the world’, right?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s not what I want. You haven’t forgotten who destroyed the world, have you?”

The perpetrator who fired the destruction weapon “Punishment” at the world—

That was none other than Nemesis, standing before Allen.

“It’s true that I’d been deranged back then. …But in hindsight, destroying the world was something that I’d wanted from the very beginning. I’m not happy with this outcome. But to be frank, I don’t regret what I did at all.”

“…Is that your thinking as ‘Nemesis’? Or—”

“…”

She had borne several names outside of “Nemesis Sudou”. Allen had been puzzled at first over which name to call her, but ultimately he had decided on “Nemesis”, the name she had gone by in the end.

“—Well, whatever. All the same, I think you’re misunderstanding something, Nemesis.”

“…?”

“My goal isn’t really to revive the world back to what it was before.”

“Huh?”

Nemesis clearly hadn’t expected that.

“What I want, and what you want—I don’t think there’s really that much difference between them.”

“…Ugh.”

“Huh?”

“You remind me a little of Behemo.”

“If that’s the case then that means all the more that you and I are of a similar mind,” Allen spoke out calmly.

Nemesis made an even more displeased face, watching him.

She stood, wiping mud off her skirt, and said, “Fine, let’s get going.”      

“Alright.”

“First we’ll head to that place in the Millennium Tree Forest…’Evils Theater’, and then—”

“I was planning to go to the site of Lucifenia.”

“To have a moving reunion with your precious sister, huh?”

“…Yes.”

“Well, I don’t mind that. I’ve got some things I want to talk about with her too. After all…”Nemesis” owes her her life, doesn’t she?”

“So you’ve figured it out.”

“Just a guess. Stemming from you having come into my mental world wearing that outfit. But it seems I was correct after all.”

“Yeah. Postman…Her real name was Lilith Baldured, and she was beyond a doubt a reincarnation of my older twin sister, Riliane."

Upon hearing that Nemesis put a hand on her cheek as though thinking something over.

“…I see. So we’re not going to meet Riliane simply out of a personal wish to see her.”

“It’s a little tricky to explain on that front. I still have some unanswered questions myself. At any rate—let’s hurry over there.”

Allen once more began walking.

Nemesis followed a little ways behind him.

As they walked, she unintentionally put a hand on the holster at her hip. Nestled inside—was the revolver that she had always favored using. Strangely enough, the things that Nemesis had been wearing were restored to as they had been before when her body was revived from the blast.

Her body too was significantly younger than before her resurrection. The youthful glow of her skin was as it had been in her teens.

It’s very fortunate…Though I can’t imagine Seth did that out of the goodness of his heart.

.

This long story of a thousand years.

In its history—in this journey, has humanity left something behind?

Neither Allen, nor Nemesis, nor the many souls wandering the ground world, could produce an answer to that.

Even so—

No, rather, because of that.

Allen whispered softly in his heart:

.

I will go to see you.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, MORE BLOOD Vol. 5: Mukami Yuma [Track 1]

Original title: 贈り物

Source: Diabolik Lovers More, More Blood Vol. 5 Mukami Yuma [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Translator’s note: Oh how the tables have turnedーー Since most of the CDs have the guy be in charge of rewinding time, it was nice to see Yuma give it to the MC in this one, only to have it come back to bite him in the ass a few minutes later. I love how she actually did not hesitate to use it at all, even though he warned her not to. We stan a sly, cunning MC in this household, haha.

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5 + Epilogue

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Track 1: A Gift

Yuma enters the room.

“...Oh! Sow!”

You turn your head.

“Ya were in my room? Perfect timin’ I got this nifty lil’ thing, so I wanted to show ya!”

You ask him what he received.

“This was delivered from Karlheinz.”

*Cling*

You tilt your head to the side.

“Ah. It’s an hourglass. Never received somethin’ like this before.”

*Flip*

“Accordin’ to the card that came with it, it’s addressed to both of us... But why did he give us this? I don’t really get it, but he might be givin’ us his blessings!”

You smile, noting he seems happy.

“Haha. Well, yeah. It’s a gift from the man I look up to, ‘course I’m happy. It’s actually been on my mind this whole time. Our relationship ruined the future that man wished for, right? No matter what anyone may say, no way in hell I’m givin’ ya up still. But...Somewhere deep inside my heart, I felt as if I disappointed him. That I failed to live up to his expectations, ya could say.”

You comfort Yuma.

“However, when I consider he’s still congratulatin’ us now like this, I feel very grateful.”

You nod. 

“Well, that’s all just part of my own imagination tho. I honestly don’t know what truly goes on in that man’s mind just from readin’ this card.”

You point out there’s something on the back of the card as well. 

“Oh! The back? ...Hm?”

*Flip*

“Oh...You’re right, there’s an additional note. Uhm...Let’s see...Ah!? Is this for real!?”

You ask Yuma what is written on there.

“Seems like this isn’t just a regular hourglass. It’s a model from the Demon World which can rewind time if ya flip it over. It runs on magic so there’s only a set amount of times ya can use it but...He gave us quite the dangerous toy, huh?”

You sigh.

“Good point. All of his gifts are always a lil’ over-the-top. Just look at the elaborate decoration on this thing. Ya can just tell it’s no ordinary hourglass. This kinda fancy stuff doesn’t fit me.”

You note it’s pretty.

“What? You like it?”

You nod.

“I’ll give it to ya then. Here ya go.”

*Cling*

You seem hesitant, asking once more if he is sure.

“Yeah. I’d be a waste of a treasure on me, so it’d probably be best if ya hold onto it instead. Ya know...Pretty things like that.”

*Cling*

“Yeah! Don’t ya dare lose it! Ah! Also, be careful not to flip it over, ‘kay? Apparently time will rewind after all.”

You promise to be careful.

“Haah...Will ya actually be cautious? You’re still as much of a klutz and airhead per usual so I’m worried.”

You protest, puffing out your cheeks.

“Nah, ya definitely are. That part of ya hasn’t changed one bit since we met. For example, ya thoughtlessly ate my precious Sugar-chan back when ya had only just arrived at this manor, right? Do ya remember?”

You tell him you could never forgot.

“Heh. At first ya were shittin’ yer pants ‘round us, but afterwards you’d just casually eat our food. Not sure if you’re an airhead, or just shameless.”

You reminisce about memories.

“Hoh! Now that ya mention it, that happened as well! That was when I sucked too much of yer blood and ya collapsed, right?”

You nod.

“Ya were makin’ a long face over at the infirmary, so I had no other choice but to put Sugar-chan between my teeth like this...”

Yuma bites down on a sugar cube before leaning in and kissing you.

“Mmh...Nn...”

*Smooch*

“...Hm~ And fed it to ya mouth-to-mouth, right? I remember, don’t worry.”

You get flustered, making a fuss.

“Hehe...Right, right! Ya made the exact same baffled expression, I had no idea if it actually felt good or not! ...Oh! I remember feedin’ ya tomatoes as well! I just forced those inside yer mouth tho.”

You scold him for doing that. 

“...Aah? Ya still gonna complain ‘bout that now? I fed ya my tomatoes, so don’t be whinin’ ‘bout any discomfort. Actually, weren’t ya to blame back then ‘cause ya upset me by givin’ me the silent treatment? It was basically yer punishment.”

You frown.

“For some reason...Lookin’ back on all those memories, I really fed ya the whole time, huh?”

You giggle, nothing how he likes to take care of others.

“Haah? I’m a carin’ guy (1)?”

You remind him of that one time he nursed you back to health.

“Aah...Yeah, that happened too. Guess I can’t prove ya wrong then. Ya mean that one time ya broke a fever, right? Ya were stumblin’ ‘round the hallway with yer face bright red. It’d be bad if ya had died on us back then, so I had no other choice but to cook up some stew. I actually made it ‘cause I was cravin’ some as well tho. It wasn’t for ya. Didn’t I tell ya back then as well? Yet ya kept on complainin’ ‘bout the size of the ingredients with that cocky attitude of yers.”

You try and explain yourself.

“Ya might have not said it with that many words but I could tell by the look on yer face! ...You’ve been kinda fragile ever since we met, huh? Oh! You’ve always been weak to my fangs as well.”

You protest. 

“No? Don’t ya remember? You’d make that ecstatic expression from the second I latched onto ya. And in the end, you’d come beggin’ for my fangs yerself.”

You deny it.

“Nah, I’m not wrong. Just admit it. Ya are weak to my fangs. Ever since we met and ‘course, to this day.”

You pout.

“Take for example that one time I sucked ya by the window? Ya were makin’ a shameless expression even tho someone could have easily spotted us.”

You flush bright red. 

“Heh! How’s that? Can’t deny it, can ya? You’re weak to my fangs!”

You shake your head. 

“You’re damn persistent, just admit it already...”

You refuse.

“Che...I’ve given ya this much proof and ya still won’t acknowledge it? Ya can be surprisingly stubborn at times, huh?”

Yuma walks over to take a seat on the bed.

*Thud*

“...’Kay, as you wish. Let’s fight it out then.”

You tilt your head to the side, clearly confused.

“Yeah. ...Well, take a seat over here for starters. I’ll explain it to ya.”

You take a seat next to Yuma.

“Listen up. I said ‘a fight’, but we won’t be throwin’ fists. I’ll continue suckin yer blood like usual. However, if ya end up beggin’ for them yerself at any given point, ya have to admit that you’re weak to my fangs.”

Your eyes widen in shock.

“...Don’t seem so surprised. If ya really aren’t weak to them like ya claim to be, ya can easily endure as much, no?”

You ask him how long you have to endure it. 

“The time limit? ...Geez, ya sure are cocky. Let’s see...How does one week sound to ya? If ya beg to have yer blood sucked within the time frame, it’s yer loss. If ya endure it, ya win.”

You agree with the rules.

“Heh. Ya think ya can manage for that long? In that case, let’s get this challenge started right away.”

*Rustle rustle*

“Pretty sure just bein’ honest and acknowledgin’ it would be the easy way out tho. You’ll only end up sufferin’ more if ya drag it out.”

*Rustle*

“After all...I’ll make sure to torment ya plenty, you’ll be cravin’ me so badly, it’ll make ya go crazy. ...I’ll start by plungin’ my fangs in this nape of yers and suckin’ yer blood.”

Yuma bites you.

*Sluuuuurp*

“Haahn...”

*Sluuuuurp*

“Haah...Heh. You’re already cryin’ out sweetly.”

*Rustle*

“I’m holdin’ back a lil’ more than usual, but seems like you’re already feelin’ good? However, this is child’s play to ya, isn’t it? Then get yerself together. ...Heh. This is only the very beginnin’. I told ya, didn’t I? That I’d toy with ya to my heart’s content. ...That bein’ said, bite marks really look great on ya.”

He runs his fingertips across.

“Hm? Does it hurt when I touch them? But bein’ stimulated that way makes ya ache as well, doesn’t it?”

You shake your head.

“Don’t think ya can deny it. Even if ya do, yer body tells me you’re enjoyin’ it. Mmh...”

*Smooch*

You flinch.

“...See? You’re enjoyin’ this after all, aren’t ya? ...Ah, speakin’ of which...Ya liked this too, didn’t ya?”

*Smooch*

“Hehehe...You’re givin’ me some pretty interestin’ reactions. I’ve turned you into quite the slut if ya get excited just from havin’ yer ear kissed.”

*Rustle*

“In the end...Yer body is no match for the pleasure. Say...Ya want more, don’t ya? Then just say so. ...It’s easy, isn’t it?”

You refuse.

“You’re a stubborn one, huh? Then...How ‘bout this?”

*Smooch*

“...Heh. How’s that? Yer whole body should be tinglin’ all over just from a few bites here and there.”

¨Rustle rustle*

“Hehe. Judgin’ by the look on yer face, you’re really feelin’ it. Seems like ya can’t give a proper reply either. If I were to suck ya one more time, you’ll...”

*Cling*

“...Haah!? The fuck...? Whatcha gonna do with the hourglass?”

You tilt the hourglass to the side.

“...Ah! You! Don’t tell me...!”

*Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock*

“...Uwaah!?”

ーーー

“...Ah!? ...What happened just now...!?”

Yuma looks around.

“Wha...!? Ya used the hourglass just now, didn’t ya!? So...Time has rewinded!?”

You blink in confusion.

“Why does the person who used it look so damn puzzled!? This feeling...We’ve definitely gone back in time! ...Ugh. Yer clothes don’t look disheveled anymore, nor do ya have any bite marks. Which means...We’ve really rewinded to before I sucked yer blood...”

You grin.

“Fuck...Ya brought us back right as things were gettin’ good too! Ughー! I was literally one hair away from pushin’ ya over the edge! ...Hm? Actually...Was that yer goal? Did ya use the hourglass ‘cause ya knew ya were ‘bout to lose our bet?”

You admit it. 

“Tsk. Look at ya bein’ all sly. I didn’t expect ya to pull that sorta trick. I shouldn’t have thoughtlessly handed it to ya. Well, whatever. Let’s start over from zero. I’ll suck ya relentlessly this time, so ya won’t even have the time to think ‘bout usin’ that lil’ hourglass of yers...”

*Rustle*

“Now I won’t stop even if ya beg me to.”

You quickly make a run for it.

“...Ah!? Oi...! Where are ya goin’...!? Don’t ya dare think ya can get away! Hold it...!!”

Yuma chases after you.

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) 世話好き or ‘sewa-zuki’ is used to refer to someone who finds enjoyment in helping others out, or looking after them. 

[bladekindeyewear]

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2020-09-15

This caught me laaaate at night gosh I’m tired but I’m gonna get it outta the way so it won’t stick in my craw!  Already saw the first page, so it’s time for:

> CHAPTER 13. The Funeral

Church with chess symbols at the peaks and a Prospit/Derse or Hope/Rage split color theme on the stained glass windows.

JANE: Dearly beloved...

> (==>)

Trolls, humans, and papparazzi.  Oh, hm, this church is RATHER carapacian isn’t it?  Between the chess and the continuing Prospit-Derse themes, like how this corresponds to how they align in the incipisphere top-left to bottom-right if I recall:

(Minus the outlying orbs to the left and right for symmetry.)

That twisted pattern is interesting, and not quite a spirograph.  Is that gonna be important later?  If we’re going to get some sort of class chart later in the comic, it’d be easy for them to hint at the chart’s graphical structure subtly by dropping it places like here.

JANE: Ladies... JANE: Gentlemen... JANE: News outlets... JANE: And other valued members of the Human Nation State.

Technically true, but still odd to hear--  ...oh right, I forgot this was asshole dictator-wannabe Jane, too.

I read an interesting twitter thread recently about the intense psychological distinction between wanting to BE the best, and wanting to be TREATED like you’re the best.  Epilogues/HS^2 Jane is kind of written as a case study on the pitfalls of leaning on the latter instead of the former.

> (==>)

They brought Yiffy WITH them-!?  --Oh right.  The hostage exchange was supposed to happen here wasn’t it.

Yiffy definitely looks like a Harley-Lalonde daughter in this shot.

JANE: Gamzee Makara, High Court Jester, exalted saint of the purple veil, has left us to traverse that grand, gay carnival in the sky, where, I am told by various members of the clownly cloth, he will spend the rest of history, honking in grand tribute to the Mirthful Messiah.

SINGULAR???

Weird.  Is it because Alt!Callie “won” here?

Or is Jane just forgetting because she’s culturally used to monotheism (ironically) and is insensitive.

JANE: And my first memory of our Purple Prince, was his robust codpiece--

Wow.

> (==>)

JANE: --As he offered me his friendly support, along with the sacred blood of his brethren, the holy sacrament--

He STILL killed trolls??! (EDIT: No, a friend points out that she's talking about when she met him first in Act 6 and he tried selling bottles of troll blood to her. EDIT2: -which may be another inconsistency, since Vriska supposedly overwrote that post-retcon.)

> (==>)

It takes Jake a few seconds of puzzled eye contact before he catches exactly what it is Yiffany is tossing down. In his defense, he is distracted by his wife’s speech, which is doing the emotional equivalent of wringing him out like a wet towel, before using that towel to slap the sweaty buttocks of a large, odorous man. Even if he knows everything she’s saying is a load of horsefeathers, it does nothing for his composure to hear her heap praise on that smelly, homewrecking clown.

Bad things about Gamzee deserve to be said here, yes.

Jake wonders what she’ll say about him, at his own funeral.

Now those are some uncomfortable thoughts.

He narrows his eyes in Yiffany’s direction. She’s a lovely girl, really. He wishes he could have gotten to know her under better circumstances. He’d known she existed, of course--Jane had complained about her often enough--but they’d never had much chance to get acquainted. He rather believes her and Tavvy would have been fast friends.

Then again, perhaps it’s better that she never had much of a chance to get to know his family.

He lets go of the leash.

Yep, there’s a plan to set in motion that he’s probably already discussed with her privately.  Gotta unite this four-kid team after all.

> (==>)

Wait, are you ATTACKING?!?  --Of course you’re attacking.  You would even if the plan was something different, wouldn’t you.

JANE: And I know that at times like these it is easy to want to give in. JANE: To throw in the towel, and turn our faces away from the light of democracy and moral fortitude that we, the citizens of the human kingdom, are blessed with from birth. JANE: God knows I’ve had my own faith tested in the last few weeks.

Jesus Christ, what has she turned the place into, a fucking theocracy?

She sounds like the leader of some screwed-up, fundamentalist country!  Like the United States!

*rimshot*

JANE: As many of you know, I did not grow up with the same privileges that all of you enjoy.

Jesus.

JANE: I was born on proto-Earth, that half-finished dystopia mangled by the ravages of foolish leadership and endless war.

Jesus, she really IS a self-evident takedown of hypocritical entitled political figures.  With the bonuses having Jasprose explicitly ADDRESS said entitlement to make things even clearer cut.

JANE: And as for Gamzee, well, his upbringing was even worse. JANE: He was born to a violent and uncaring home, a lonely child with few natural gifts.

...Some natural gifts and status.

> (==>)

She’s just, shaking with fury here isn’t she?  And about to perform an impressive corpse-lob.

JANE: It would be simple to let this disgusting, vile, SHAMEFUL act of spiteful revenge turn us away from the blinding light of the sword of justice that hangs over us all--

This sentence seems suspicious so I’m quoting it to refer to later if I need to, but is probably just platitudes.

> (==>)

JANE: Poised

> (==>)

JANE: Trembling

Okay maybe the sword’s a dick, but what exactly is Yiffany doing??  I’m finding it difficult as usual to tell between some of these image transitions.

> (==>)

JANE: Ready to burst forth--

Bad PR to shock-collar a kid mid press junket.  (Very dicks description.)

> (==>)

Click.  (Did they swap the shock function with Jane’s necklace somehow, that’d be fun.)

JANE: I want to give up, at times. I understand your pain.

While shocking a kid?  GREAT PR.

> (==>)

JANE: I sympathize with your pain.

Wow, those horrified audience members.  She REALLY can’t even see herself anymore can she?  Not even hear herself.  And they’re making sure this is pointed out to EVERYONE watching.  They described this as in large part a PR campaign to defeat her, didn’t they?

> (==>)

Great furious businesswoman-villain look, that art.

JANE: But when that pain! Becomes too hard! To endure! JANE: Remember poor, lifeless Gamzee! Who suffered pain far worse than any of us could ever fathom! JANE: THE PAIN OF BETRAYAL!

Click click click.  This is a fun sequence.

> (==>)

DIRK: Dude, didn’t you lower the voltage on that shock collar? DIRK: Little Red isn’t looking so hot. JAKE: Yes of course i did but the damn doohickys got the kick of a donkey! JAKE: I couldnt remove it completely shed know i was the one who did it! DIRK: Well, if that supervillain cuntwaffle doesn’t stop, she’s going to kill her. Not really the best at hostage management, is she.

Decent plan.  (And of course Dirk would pull out the word cunt.)  When’s the cavalry coming?

> (==>)

JANE: But we cannot allow his memory to be in vain! JANE: For Gamzee Makara taught us that even the most loathsome degenerate can take their place in society. JANE: All they need is the right redemption arc - !

Trying to hammer home some of the Epilogue’s trolly-critical themes a little less bleakly, I take it.

I kind of like the violent vibration in ALL of these gifs in a row.  It makes the scene seem small, slow, teeth-clenching but still full of steady action, emphasizing the importance of the relatively small events from panel to panel while giving them the sense with the animation of them being [i]drawn out[/i] and tortuous instead of just “occurring”.  It feels that way to me, anyway.

> (==>)

If he got up alive here, that’d be hilarious.  (Presumably he’s been treated and done-up like a normal funeral body, not “dormant” and undecaying like a dead god-tier.)

> (==>)

CORPSE PUNT w/ CLEATS

> (==>)

That face is just.  I love that face.

> (==>)

SHE MAD

JANE: Young lady, I am just about at the end of my rope with you. JANE: Throw all the dog bowls you want at the walls of my warship. JANE: But don’t you dare act up in front of a JANE: Live JANE: Fucking JANE: Newsfeed! YIFFY: Grrrrrr

What did you expect to happen?  Do you expect to shout her down from this, Jane?

JANE: After everything I’ve done for you--paying for your education, helping your parents cover up your existence from the world! JANE: Just imagine what Rose and Jade would say if they could see you now, even dissidents can have a little decorum! JANE: Get down from there at once! YIFFY: Grrrrrr

But this is GAMZEE.  --I guess it’s seriously disrespectful to his followers, though.  Still.  If you wanted civility from her, a shock collar, leash, and food bowl wasn’t the way to go about it.

JANE: Don’t you threaten me, young lady. Not today! YIFFY: GRRRRRRRRR

What is your PLAN even, Jane?  You’ve completely disregarded her.

JANE: There’s nowhere for you to go. My agents are swarming this church. Be reasonable, Yiffany. JANE: Ugh. JANE: Disgusting name. JANE: But that’s hardly your fault. You were always just a footnote. Your parents’ little prank. JANE: Honestly, that’s why I helped them all those years ago! I do love a good jape. JANE: But let’s be serious. JANE: You don’t matter. If you did, they would have come for you already.

Can all the press hear her being such an asshole?

Okay, stereotypically, their arrival should be the next couple panels:

> (==>)

Jake, do something useful like hoping harder.

> (==>)

And she knocks the remote away.  Excellent.

And she does. Seemingly at the end of her tolerance for insults toward her name, social status, and heritage, Yiffy performs an impressive backflip off the podium and down onto the church floor. One that, if it hadn’t been happening amidst a sea of other newsworthy events, would surely have ended up on someone’s instagram story within thirty seconds. She gives Gamzee’s corpse one last parting kick: a hard, proper kick that proves those cleats aren’t just for fashion. Although they are certainly also for fashion.

Good, good.

He vanishes into the seething crowd, and we are confident that we will never have to deal with this asshole ever again.

God damnit.

> (==>)

Jake watches this from a safe distance, poised on the edge of intervening to pull Yiffy out of there. But in the end he doesn’t have to. Instead he watches in admiration as she tears the place to utter shreds. An echoing sympathy swells inside of him as she rends apart the funeral flowers and punts Gamzee into the shrieking congregation. Here is a girl who felt the cold, indecent hand of fate wrapping around her, and instead of submitting to it and slowly sublimating down into morasse of boiled doormat, she slapped it away from her with a lively oh, no thank you.

All at once, Jake feels immense affection for his granddaughter. He hopes the two of them can make up for lost time.

Lessons belatedly learned, but learned nonetheless.

> (==>)

JANE: Enough of this. JANE: Seize her!

Kind of Red Queen of you.  (Are those stained glass windows in back of the frame about to burst?)

> (==>)

Yep.

The stained glass window shatters inward, obliterated to stardust. The war is knocking.

Even attacking a disgusting faith’s church is pretty bad form, though.

Tired and busy, seeya next upd8.  <3

[the-mercurial-star-o-vesper]

ITS EYE AGAINST I

... And me against You. Hello random people of the internet, and the select RvB audience I’m intending to talk to. Time for millions to ignore my existence, while a select few look at my fancy garbage. Now, with no sense of decorum, or tact... I present to you. That Red vs Blue seasons 15 through 17 are continuity breaking and noncanon. To be honest, I’m not overly fond of the over all plotlines and more than a few handfuls of episodes were just... dull. And that’s saying something for a series I’ve been attached to for the last decade. That isn’t to say there weren’t parts I didn’t like. There were plenty of things that were just fantastic and launched perfectly. But let’s get to the whys and hows. Let’s set out the point system: First point. The Blues and Reds, our blue visor assmonkeys... were unnecessarily stupid. They were a copypasta team, with a poor excuse to be there, that not only doesn’t fit what is already established but breaks continuity by being there. If we were to take the rest of the 15-17 series, it’d be easier to make them into alternative universe counter parts or what-ifs, from different timelines caused by the series later use of Time travel. Rather than this blessed mess. They spit in the face of Agent Florida’s workhistory. And while you can see where the idea came from, the execution and establishment was lacking. The very fact that it includes Doc already tells you that we’re not with Agent Kansas anymore, and that it utterly destroyed Doc’s history prior to coming to Blood Gulch. Second Point. The Time Travel. [frustrated exhausted ugh-ing] The best I can say is that the series analysis of Time Travel was fantastic. It acknowledged that the inclusion of Time Travel is meant to break continuity and reshape it. The difference here, is that it only broke continuity. In fact it shattered it so badly that we’d have to ask the Homestuck Fandom to pick the remaining pieces back up, and classpect it for good measure. The fact that Human History was so severely fusterclucked by our Teams already shows you how much respect Continuity got in these last seasons, as well as how much respect to Canon. And then there were the “Gods”. Just... Introducing someone for the funny designs and the fantastic graphic and digital movements is nice, but it doesn’t do anything. See every pitfall CGI and 3D ran into for the last few decades. See, RvB is meant to run along side Halo without destroying one another in an “Upstoppable Force meets Immovable Object” sort of way. And if nothing else, its already established that RvB also has ties to Marathon too (which, while muddled up, still works). And while plenty of the shenanigans were fantastic (Loved that Cyclops scene), the reason they got there was Weak, and it just utterly detonates itself like Church and his stomach bomb... Surrounded by people you hate, and being hunted down by the world’s worst player at a knock-knock jokes. The Third Point I despise Jax. ... I kid, that isn’t the third point. But I still don’t like the Jax. His growth into a terrible director was funny, but it doesn’t really save him or his purpose in the series. I digress. Its what I dub the “Super Hero Ex Machina”. In a “Super Hero Ex Machina” situation, reality crashes in, breaks both Narrative flow and rules, for drama. And example is with Spiderman and his web shooting. In his narrative, he can save someone easily from falling with his web shot. But if the Drama Machina Maker is introduced, then the reality of the situation crashes down as the force of the fall would completely shatter the victim’s skeleton if Spiderman caught them. As this is not already established as happening before, its only there to cause drama and not meant for any serious development or character arc. Or if a show adheres to keeping the status quo at all costs. Things that would realistically and permanently mess up the status quo are solved in 1 or 2 episodes. But if Reality crashes because Plot said so, it breaks the established rules of the Narrative (and pacing). Especially if said plotpoint could have already been solved in prior episodes easily. And that’s what they pulled on Agent Washington and his throat injury. Washington is an established survivor. He has survived some pretty messed up stuff, both mentally and physically, and he’s come so far as a character. To a point where he’s almost unrecognizable from when he was first established as the “Noir Detective Soldier Mercenary Man who plays by corrupt rules but still shines that hurting heart of gold once in a while”. Some of the stuff he’s had to survive, and potentially had to survive would’ve killed normal people. Even his writers had to take a step back and say, “No he can’t survive getting cut in half by a car”. RvB is good about changing status quo, and keeping to a rule of “actions have consequences” in order to both forward character and story. So it isn’t like they’re above permanently messing someone up (... Church.) But there are Rules on how its Handled. Story will establish and evolve said rules over time, this is true, but its a “more things change, more they stay the same” situation. And Washington’s injury... breaks that. For easy reason; For one thing, we already have a Freelancer with throat injuries, and he got them in a far worse scenario. Agent Maine was bloody machine gunned in the throat, then tossed off a freeway stories up from a ground we never even saw. And all he got was a messed up voice. There isn’t a good reason to give Wash that injury, realistic as it may be, besides playing it for Drama. And while such a circumstance should be given both the realism and seriousness it deserves, this only works if, you know, don’t play it to make a person or people suffer for Drama. Does this forward Character? No. No it doesn’t. The seasons retreat everyone’s character arcs. What little it does show is how far everyone has come... By making them take 20 steps back, and 5 steps forward. An ultimately useless gesture that neither show cases the human condition of “repeat until you finally get the lesson” or “sometimes shit happens”. Does it move the story? Only for drama. Which is a very weak reason. Even worse, as the series has already established that it can think deeply and use drama as a tool and not a plot point. If not for character or story, is it meant to be a metaphor? Metaphor for what. RvB doesn’t do metaphors. If not metaphor, is it supposed to be informative of the condition itself? RvB has bloody PSAs. No. A story is decent enough if it can mix those questions up without one consuming the other. But there wasn’t a point to do it. Just to see Wash or Carolina or the guys to suffer? To show that sometimes people get injuries they don’t bounce back from? Are you Kidding? We just permanently lost Church, and they set out to find the possibility of his existence again! That right there already Tells you that sometimes folks don’t Bounce Back. There was an entire Arc for Caboose, fer the gods’ sake, talking about it. CABOOSE. What the flyin Fu-- Ahem. There was already a ruling about Actions have Consequences. It was apart of the status quo that went as far back as the Blood Gulch Chronicles. Its filed under “The More things change, the more they stay the same”, and even throughout the Reconstruction series, there were plenty of characters pulling permanently changing stunts that affected them through the rest of their lives, or caused their death for it. [deep breath, lets it out] So. Inspite of my many problems with S15-17, there are things I adored about it. - Donut and Caboose’s arcs. Fantastically done. Caboose getting to the understanding he got in S14 about losing friends was heart breaking and beautiful. Donut’s may seem like retread and flanderization, but that is actually easily explained. When you’re under sufficient stress, your coping mechanisms will boost out from 10 to 100, and just because you’re now fully aware of it doesn’t mean you have the power or development yet to stop. It was a fantastic look into his character. - Sister. They made her into more than just a gimick and Grif’s Sister, which was a problem I had with her in Blood Gulch. Good patch up there. - The Background info and the details in Background Info with our main characters. Ye Gods, we got some backstory! The humor works, the seriousness works, its a beautiful set of puzzle pieces that fit snuggly into both canon and continuity. - Chrovos. Inspite of the time travel plot pitfalls, I actually really liked Chrovos. Wish they did more with them (Him? Her? I don’t remember if they established their pronouns). Did not like Jenkins, inspite of him being created out of a cut character. The Gods didn’t work very much either, and would’ve been better suited as characters that weren’t “gods”. It doesn’t help that they just... had inconsistant rules. - The Freelancers. I love the introduction to the Freelancers and all their nice armor designs. Too bad they’re all feckin’ dead. - Temple. I actually really liked Temple and the idea behind him. However, instead of the malakey we got, and the Time Travel Nonsense that could be theorized afterwards. It would’ve worked better if he had been the leader of a Cult of Personality or sorts, purposely and badly mimicking the hype of the RvB teams’ fame and gathering surviving former stim troopers. The terrorist thing could work, and so could the Church plot. Everything else was stupid. Remove the Time Travel, this isn’t Homestuck Hour. Thanks for you for your continued reading. ... oh Right, I forgot. As awesome as it was to see Locus again, the uselessness of Wash’s throat injury and how he was reintroduced makes him more into a Deus ex Machina (and not that Halo 3 Machinima from way back). Its like fitting a circle peg into a square hole... But getting it stuck halfway and ruining the children’s puzzle toy. ADDENDUM (edited) I hate Hate HATED how Vic parodied Church’s epilogue speech, and I just about wish Church would come back just to beat the shiznet out of him for it.

[theorynexus]

62

Yeah... somewhat to be expected.  This is why it would have been best to return with her early. And... yes, Home is a fluid, complicated concept.  That’s why they say it’s where the heart is.  That’s why this must be so difficult for her.

“I,” he says.  Disgusting.    I don’t really have all that much in the way of energy to comment further on this.  I still don’t see how it could have been possible for Dave to fail to stop him, though.   Certainly, it wouldn’t have been without narrative interference. It feels natural for there to be a little bit of a time skip, here, by the way... .  The amount of leverage that fact gives Dirk is making this feel like it’s losing its coherence and mooring in factual plausibility, though.  It’s strange. For some time, the characters have had sputtering fits of being closer to real people than gods who have the minds and hearts of real people.   I drift now into the future of the tale, uncertain how invested I shall be in this dubious canon. (Now I understand the vague wording on the top of wiki pages, which if clicked would presumably lead to the epilogue or post-epilogue version[s] of the characters’ stories.)    However, I will attempt to pursue the reading as logically as possible, and puzzle out what I can that interests me and might interest you. Perhaps this is just a logical result of my crying.  I always seem to have somewhat muted, dour emotion after I am done with it.

Ugh, gah, this truly demands some sort of reversal by means of dramatic irony, some time in the future.

***eyes twitch with frustration***

***facepalms and groans***

Sad, sad, sad.   Dirk treats politics as if it’s just some amusing diversion for him to “win” at, unrelated to and unimportant to his greater goals for the most part. He just wants to dominate everything.  I am actually beginning to pity the fool, and not in the trollish meaning of the word.

I look forward to seeing what those changes are.  Also:  Yeah, it’s sortof natural that Roxy smells a bit like Dave. I will not begin to speculate on that Legacy of Responsibility~ Oh, hey, Dirk recognizes the same thought/defense as I do. What a shock.

***laughs weakly, for I truly do enjoy the mockery of SSJ3 and its monologue on Goku’s part, but am not feeling it fully***     Oh, umm... and good for Roxy, trying to figure things out.

Surprisingly moderate of you. Glad she’s finally got shades~   Have fun on the Archimedes... or the Daedalus... or... let’s see, what was the actual name?  ***remembers that it was plastered on the side of the ship in poor penmanship, along with stupid-looking scribbles on the side***   Theseus. ***flips him the bird***    Screw you and your disinterested, petty garbage, you ignorant, horrible calamity incarnate!

Heh heh... heh.

That’s very nice of them both...~

Eh...?    In dorkiness, or because she’s mean instead of sweet, or...?  ***sighs***

That is creepy but also very sweet. I’ll actually approve of this.   As for that... the question of whether she’ll wake up is definitely an important one.  I sortof imagine that she miiight wake up right after Dirk blasts off, so that he’ll be just beyond Alt!Calliope’s influence, somehow, when that happens~

Sounds like Calliope’s getting visions of Gamzee. Could be wrong. The nudity factor is very intriguing.  This is all very, very intriguing, in general, and I think it’s probably very important for the future. Their drawing paintings on the walls doesn’t seem too terribly bad, though.  They’re a very artistic person, and having some sort of major awakening like that after the revelation of Alt!Calliope’s revival poses a very... curious probably-not-a-problem for their (collective) future(s).

Good to hear that  most of it is nice and cute.  THAT SAID...  Terezi should take this as an opportunity to investigate, and to bring things into proper order.  A criminal investigation is at hand!

Okay, then, you’re the Seer of Mind. I’m sure you’re a better judge of such choices than me.

Ahhhhh!!!~   Please answer the phoooone! >^< Also, that’s a silly thing to think. I’m sure that you’ve talked to more people than that. Like Dave.  Man, her mind is sortof messed up, right now.

(Hehehe~)

Well, I wouldn’t call The Furthest Ring “The Medium,” but okay.  You probably haven’t been thinking about these things for quite some time. That’s alright. Also: Pffft.  (I really do hope that, like Doc Scratch’s inability to see past pockets of void such as those around Equius, this shall in turn cause Dirk a great deal of consternation in the future, when she does something important.)

Mind. Lies. Facade.  She is grieving. There’s no need to fault her, here.

Feels like this is a mock reflection of Hussie and the Homestuck fandom on various different levels.

Dot dot dot.   Seers being able to hear the voice of the narrative like this = quite logical.  It is much more interesting that Terezi is able to sense that Roxy is trying to express masculinity that way, though, when Dirk seems to be struggling with the comprehension and coherent expression of Roxy’s gender.  It’s quite funny to think that Terezi could act as a messenger from Dirk to the characters otherwise involved in the story, like that, though.

***eyes narrow a la the Fry meme, for I am not sure whether this is suddenly sincere (and probably somewhat sexist) or sarcasm on his part, and unreliable narration***      (Probably more likely to be the latter, though~)

***slow blink***     I appreciate that she recognizes this as nonsense. Also that she is speaking for the audience, here.  I also also really quite do appreciate Roxy’s affinity for Silence, every now and again, which is a thing of Void.

Neither of these are very nice thoughts to put into words. Very petty of him.  And he most definitely should not be trying to stop her from finding a way to create a home for herself there, even if she, like John, had/s trouble embracing the place. >:

Yeah, I’m not sure that they’ve ever talked, either, outside of these narrative interactions.  I am at least willing to hear him out, though. I sortof have to be, or otherwise quit.  I don’t feel like abandoning Homestuck right now, sooo...~

Oh, so you want to have her come with you on the Theseus and maybe figure out a way to revive him later, huh?  Well... that could certainly be interesting, though I sortof have doubts that it would work out.  Hmm.  : |

This is why I accused him of orchestrating Egbert’s death. He’s just exploiting it now to his ends like the piece of garbage that he is inevitably suggests by nature that he would. Ugh... .      (Also, interesting that he can choose not to let her hear his narration, or indeed to let her do so.  I assumed in fact that he had been purposefully having her do so from the start, given the fact that he’d shielded her from the noise at every point since she met Egbert [Calliope interlude not included], but still, interesting.)

[canadiankazz]

Thoughts and Feelings on Shattered Faith (Season 3 Epilogue 3)

This is going to be in dot points below a cut. Might include a thought or two about the other two epilogues we have so far too!

First of all, I’ve very happy that Jasper and Eva didn’t break up! I think that they bring out the best in each other. They’re two lost and lonely souls who find solace in the other’s company and affection and if it makes them happy then I am all for it. Any little scrap of happiness characters can find in The World of Darkness is worth it.

Secondly, I love all the LORE we got this episode. More stuff about both of their pasts!

They bring out the best in each other, they really do. She makes him smile in a way no one else does.

REALLY, YOU LIKE PUZZLES JASPER? I COULDN'T TELL! (Sarcasm.) Seriously though. he’s such a Ravenclaw. Two Ravencalws in love. D’awwwww

Jasper’s maybe kind of plan to use the laylines and his architectural knowledge to make Strauss’ shelter fall down is stupid and genius and I love it.

The reason why Eva likes to feed from drugged people. Bless her hippie heart.

We have a little confirmation about what ‘bad things’ Jasper did while he was alive. He basically admitted to killing someone, but we don’t know any further details.

Later, we got Eva’s first name! Evangeline! SO PRETTY!

YEAH, BOY YOU GO GET THOSE KISSES! Seeing Jasper initiate the kisses and touching means the WORLD to me. Physical affection is obviously something he’s slowly getting used to, slowly remembering that it’s a good and nice and wonderful thing to be hugged, to have your hand held, to kiss. He’s been without all that for 5+ years. Go on boy, get some love!

Eva too, is opening up to him more and more. This is very much a mutual thing.

ALSO DON’T MAKE EVA MAD! Oh lordy when she held him still with her powers... I know there’s BDSM fic of these two out there. Girl doesn’t NEED ropes to bind this boy if she don’t wanna use ‘em. And I think he was kind of into it!

Katya, Katya, Katya. Holy crap. Did ANYONE expect going into this epilogue that we’d meet Eva’s Sire?

She really is awful. She’s emotionally manipulative. She’s... ugh.

She needs to go the way of Chaz. I’m sure Jasper would volunteer. Hell, he had to hold himself back from killing her then and there.

But more lore confirmed! Eva was at Woodstock. (Well... duh :P) and Strauss was the one who ‘stole her colour.’ Fandom had kind of guessed that too. It’s SO nice to have little things like that confirmed.

Jasper going into growly guard dog mode. (Mmm yes please!) He’s okay with the insults towards him, even if Eva obviously isn’t. He called Katya out of her bullshit. He’s very good at doing that. I loved his comment about how “based on her (Eva’s) body language, you’re lying.”

Eva and Jasper want to run away together! Oh, my heart! They both know they kind of can’t... they’re needed in L.A. but... the fact that they want to is so lovely.

EVA WANTS TO FLY UP INTO THE STARS AND TAKE JASPER WITH HER BUT HE THINKS HE DOESN’T BELONG BUT EVA THINKS HE HAS A LIGHT AND I CAN’T MY HEART IS TOO BIG AND MY EYES ARE LEAKING!

Also... holy shit Gregory from the epilogue before with the possession thing? A+ acting, my god...

AND THANK GOODNESS IB ISN’T EVIL! The whole time watching it, I was thinking about the Ib rant I posted some weeks (months!) ago. OMG you have NO IDEA (or maybe you do) how GLAD I am Ib is still mostly on Victor’s side and that she did what she could to help the coterie save Jasper. Thank you, thank you, thank you!