#what if that character wasn't dead! Wouldn't that be fun haha

[tenfoldtranslation]

Shojo manga authors will write the most gut-wrenching chapter and then at the end go Teehee, April Fools!

[selvepnea]

Been playing Vampyr lately (not a recommendation)

[cosmicpoutine]

leaving a lil rant here :]

I love Tim and his ships sm. Me personally, I only really ship TimKon. Those two are perfect for eachother and have so much clear queer coding that it’s crazy, and they have dialogue that’s just. gay shaped.

I also get TimBart, I don’t ship it romantically but I get why people do!! Tim and Bart are close as well, and the balance they get between ‘depressed tired wet cat’ and ‘living breathing embodiment of adhd’ is great.

I also get TimBartKon, they’re a trio. They are always a trio, so many people like to bring up how TimKon has so much coding and one of the big examples they use is when Tim tried to clone Kon. You know who else he tried to clone? Bart.

The only Tim ship I don’t get is TimBern, or any ship involving those two. When Bernard first appears, he’s Tim’s bully. He actively makes fun of tim and puts him down and then that character is forgotten about until Tim comes out as bi, then they just rework his character and go “haha guys this is his boyfriend not bully ygs are crazy” and just forget about all the bad stuff Bernard did? Reworking a character is great and all but, it just feels a bit weird and out of place for me. There’s always going to be that certain toxicity for TimBern, at least for me.

homie... bully??? im flabbergasted- im speechless- im jason todd (dead)

okay, im gonna start off by saying you have all the right to not ship them, and im not here to defend timbern as a ship. im here to defend BERNARD DOWD.

first thing bernard does is give tim advice about teachers, and he clearly says they're gonna be good friends.

if bernard was a bully, tim wouldn't hang around him so much. besides, i hate it when people place tim as a helpless little boy who would get bullied. he has put himself in situations where he looks weak on purpose to keep his identity safe, but he's not a victim at all. tim is a social butterfly because he's really good at masking and reading people.

not to mention, both bernard and darla push tim a lot because they're trying to get him to open up and be closer to them, but he keeps pushing them away. tim is a professional liar.

and when tim has to quit robin and start hanging out with normal people, he invites bernard over.

and bernard is acting relatively normal, and he wants to play video games and talk about how hot tim's stepmom is.

bernard is a normal teenager who has no idea one of his friends is the hero he's so obsessed with. he even shows concern for robin dying and makes up an entire conspiracy theory about batman havin a robin orphanage. you can tell he's afraid of robin being gone for real because at this point they haven't seen robin in months bc tim retired.

i dont know what about all of these interactions gave you the vibe that he's a bully because all i see is a normal teenager teasing his friends and being jealous tim gets more bitches.

im not saying that bernard was never mean or weird around tim, but he definitely wasn't actively bullying tim.

bernard is obnoxious and cocky, yes. but thats just because they wrote him as a real person. he's the school's chameleon, maybe even a little bit of a loser, too. he knows everyone but keeps a safe distance so that he doesn't get pushed into a box. im not sure if, at this point, he was already in a cult or being indoctrinated, but when we see his parents and the dowd home in tim drake: robin that just doesn't look right.

also homie talk about "forgetting all the bad things bernard did" (which in my opinion is none but okay lets follow that logic) everyone forget about all the bad things batman did to tim, he was not a kind and loving mentor, he was cruel to both tim and steph. we forget that batman was kind of an asshole to damien in the beginning. all those things are forgotten for the sake of the batfam.

in conclusion: we're just so used to the idea that superheroes can only ever form strong friendship bonds by having near death experiences together that we forget that the secret identifies exist and that the people who know them by their legal name also means a lot to them. after all, these people are the reason why they're heroes.

[muffin-snakes-art]

Hi. So I’m not a Layton guy and all THAT familiar with the lore, but a close friend of mine is, and as far as I understand Layton has a dead girlfriend? Can I please know who Magolor’s dead girlfriend equivalent in this AU is? I’m legitimately so curious. /pos

I have been thinking A LOT about which Kirby character would fit Claire's (dead gf) role. In the end I chose Taranza bc I feel he and Claire are the most similar in character. They're both really good at what they do (Claire: brilliant scientist - Taranza: immaculate mage), quick thinkers, humble, and have a lot of love to give.

I'll explain more under the cut (along with images of Claire and younger Layton for design ref), but Taranza could've also fit in as a couple other characters bc I made Sectonia as Descole. In this essay I will-

In Kirby there's an interesting connection between Magolor and Taranza. Primarily based on that one Magolor portrait in that haunted house in Triple Deluxe (like ok huh????) and also that one Star Allies Wave 3 illustration.

With that portrait existing, to me it implies that Magolor has met Taranza and Sectonia before the events of the game somehow. This theory is further backed up with the Old Friend mask in Merry Magoland. Magolor would HAVE to have known what Joronia looked like before her transformation, and that means he would also have met Taranza too at that time. I could be completely wrong about this HAHA but those are my thoughts on that.

When Wave 3 was announced, I didn't think much on the connection of the 3 characters other than they were from the first three core games of modern Kirby. But then they posted this art piece.

It's so cute how Magolor and Taranza combined their magic to create a shield for Kirby!! Both of their respective magic circle designs are melded together perfectly. Did they practice together on their own to perform this or was that a lucky in-the-moment occurrence? Either way, they must know and understand each other's magic abilities to a decent extent. Like how both Claire and Layton understands each other's careers and goals. Layton is a professor in archeology. Claire is a scientist researching time travel and other stuffs. Those fields go hand in hand, and the two do what they can to support and improve each other's passions.

Now onto the other characters that Taranza would've fit as and reasons why I ended up putting him as Claire.

So I put Sectonia as Descole. Descole has an extremely loyal partner/butler/henchman named Raymond. Yea Taranza would easily fit as him, but a few things made me decide not to. Descole may appear cold and not show it, but even in his madness he cares for Raymond. He does order Raymond around, but he still gives Raymond freewill to do as he pleases. Sectonia is very controlling over Taranza. If Raymond were to make mistakes, I don't see Descole punishing him for them. Sectonia would. She blasted Taranza away for mistaking Dedede as the hero of the lower world. Maybe when she was Joronia she wouldn't and wasn't as controlling but....I feel we don't have the full story on their relationship. I also focused more on Sectonia's overall in-game personality. I absolutely love seeing the two spiders enjoying each other's company and having fun, but in-game we never really got what Joronia really thought of Taranza. As Sectonia, she saw him as a disposable servant. You can say her personality was corrupted by the mirror, but I personally believe the mirror actually amplified her negative feelings and views. Negative emotions are brought up a lot in Kirby lore. I personally find that more interesting than just the mirror possessing her or something. I may be very wrong on that, but those are what I thought about.

Last reason, which is uhm, Raymond saves Descole from death FGDHSJ I don't think I need to elaborate on that. It would be so neat and ironic to have Taranza as Raymond, but I also wanna keep things in line as possible with Kirby lore canon.

Yet, who could be Raymond then? Idk fgdsj that's why I struggled so much. If Claire wasn't an option, Taranza would've been Raymond.

Now the one other character Taranza could've fit as is Descole's late wife. His wife was never mentioned by name, to my memory, and didn't have a huge role in the games. There's not enough information on who she was. I wanted to give Taranza a fitting role in personality and importance.

So in the end after all that thinking, Claire it is! I also don't know who else in the Kirby cast would fit her better and be Professor Magolor's late partner. One may think Susie would fit Claire more, but I've already decided she will be Emmy. Emmy's and Susie's personalities are very similar to me. And Emmy's lore? Fits quite well with Susie's. I'll draw that at some point.

So uh yea. Thanks for reading all that if you did! Hope you enjoyed the insanity

[xshybutdeadlyx]

Questions for the demiromantic and demisexuals out there

Ok, so I've recently found this term thanks to an aroace character from a show I watched. I knew of the sexuality but I didn't really know the specifics because I always thought I was bi but now looking into it I didn't know how aroace was like a literal umbrella and there was so much more to it then meets the eye. Which I'm 30 I feel like I should know more than what I do. But with doing research into it trying to understand it better, I learned about all the terms, and I learned about demiromantic and demisexual and it really resonated with me. But I wanted to ask for advice, I guess? Like I like romance I love reading it seeing art and what have you but when it comes to romance for myself I'm not a big fan? And maybe it's because I literally have to unlearn so much romance equals a, b, and c when that's not really true. I literally been in only one relationship in my life and it consisted of hand holding small kisses (no tongue, honestly I have an ick with spit and the only reason I "wanted" to do deeper kisses with the boyfriend I had at the time was because I felt like it was a requirement) but I honestly didn't feel attraction towards him until after getting to know him and being friends with him for months well into almost a year. And he's the only one I ever felt that way for I hardly ever had crushes or when I did I almost kinda forced myself into having them if that makes sense? It was "natural," and every kid was supposed to have crushes. Nothing ever came from the "crushes" though.

Now, like I said, I'm well into my 30s, and the relationship I just mentioned was the only relationship romantic wise I've ever had. I have had strong feelings for two of the friends I have but one friend is straight as they come and the other is married lol the one that is married though we have a strong bond that I wouldn't trade anything for. She tickles my hand, and she lets me cuddle her all the time, and we just spend nights just playing games together, just like when we were in high school. I love her so damn much, and I'll cherish what we have even when we are both dead and gone. She is my forever person.

Sorry, I went into a mini rant about my platonic love, but she's the best, and when I start talking about her, I have to gush lol, but anyways back to my sexuality crisis

So anyways, when there is even a chance of someone having an interest in me, I honestly kind of freak out. Or like if someone tries to set me up with someone, red neon flashing warning signs pop up for me. I don't know that person, and honestly, I get put off by big romantic gestures. Like, I appreciate it, but I don't think it's necessary? Can we just go get McDonald's, sit in the parking lot, and just shoot the shit? Play some games? We can watch movies or shows too.

I've also been on the dating websites and such as well, and I'm just always immediately put off. "Hello beautiful," ugh. "Insert pickup line here." please God why. "Unsolicited romantic or sexual advances right after a day of talking." Haha, no. There was literally one guy I thought was cool and we kinda flirted but it was really just talking everyday about the games we were playing I feel like if given time a connection could of been built but he ended up finding someone else immediately. Which honestly was fine I was kinda bummed but like if he wanted romance immediately, I wasn't gonna be giving that to him. I wanted to still be friends, but apparently, we had "too much history," so he ended up blocking me. lol oh well.

I've also literally only have had two "crushes" in like in a 5 year time span (only because this is what I can remember lol) one of em was so goofy and seemed so fun but then it seems like they turned out to be very self absorbed instantly done the other had baby mama drama wasn't into that. Honestly, those things seem to be things that could be worked through? Maybe? But once I just see something off-putting, it's all I see, which seems more like a personal thing because of past traumas.

As of now I'm honestly content with no romantic relationship but I feel like I do want one but I don't want one with just anyone and it just doesn't seem like many people out there are willing to wait or willing to be friends first and want to hop into relationships immediately when I very much don't. It takes me a while to be comfortable with people, and I want to get to know them as a person.

For a long time I felt like I just wasn't doing things right or that I had to actually change something that I was doing. I thought I was wrong or that I should just force myself into the uncomfortable situation of being someone's girlfriend immediately but then if it turns out I just don't have those romantic feelings then there the whole process of hurting them which is just anxiety inducting.

Also, with all that I'm saying, it does go into the demisexual portion, too. I've still never been with someone sexually because even in the one relationship I have had, I haven't met someone I've trusted to give myself to. The thought of one night stands or anything of the like just makes me wanna crawl into myself. I don't mind anything sexual but I want to be with someone sexually that I trust and care about with my whole being, not some dude Craig or some chick Wendy from Tinder. I'm content with that, but a lot of the times, I'm almost made to feel bad because I haven't done anything sexual. But boy, can I read all the smut on Ao3. Like it all in theory, but dunno about in practice lol I just don't have much of a drive in general, but I don't know if that's just because I've never been with anyone before? I keep getting told, "As soon as you're with someone, your sex drive changes," and like, does that shit really happen? Lol

All in all, I really feel connected to the terms demiromantic and demisexual. Even when I just said I'm bi, it just never felt right, but for once, I feel like I finally found something that I felt connected to and finally found me. But I guess I also wanna feel like I'm right in assuming so? I dunno I feel like it'd be disrespectful in using a label that isn't really you? Which doesn't sound right because everyone has the right to find themselves, and sometimes people go through a list until they finally find themselves, which is what's happening to me right now. But my feelings also just get jumbled up and I have a hard time distinguishing what's been conditioned in me, like how you date, you get into a relationship, ya do couple things, then you get married ect. When all I wanna do is get to know you, really know you, then actually date but even then I feel like a lot of my stuff is more on the platonic end? Like, I like cuddling and kissing, and I do like romance but on a more tame level? I kick my feet when reading "he bought her all these extravagant gifts then he swept her off her feet and dipped her into a kiss" so cute but like if I was actually in that situation like bro put me down for real and I'm so awkward when given gifts lol

I dunno I'd just would really like to discuss this with others who have found themselves because I don't really have anyone else to talk to about this. I've talked to my friends and they of course support me and love me but I feel like they don't really get it? And my family just chalks it up to " Ya just don't have a lot of experience it'll all change when ya get out there and mingle with people"

Thanks in advance for reading all this if ya made it this far I know it's a lot of word vomit as I like to call it but I don't have very organized thoughts and I just kinda write what I'm thinking in the moment lol

[villainessprefect]

Hi! Could you do a Idia X female or gender neutral reader where they like to show off Idia a lot to the point where he gets embarrassed but is actually happy to have a girlfriend/partner who talks great about him? I enjoy your fanfics and I wish you luck in getting inspired to write more!

hello hello!! I hope I got this prompt down?? Initially thought it would be funny to show him off and you just hear him keysmash through his tablet but changed it to this route haha. again, thank you for reading and hope you enjoy this one as well!!

~

title: warm admiration

summary: You just wanted to try and ride a Blastcyle, yet here you are praising your boyfriend.

ship: Idia x gn!reader

word count: 1,473

Read on AO3

"Are you sure you wana ride that thing? Wouldn't you prefer to test it out virtually first?" Idia asks, his gaze lingering on you as you sit on the Blastcycle he made...for fun.

He didn't see the point in riding these things. Sure, tinkering with them and making them from scratch was thrilling, but taking a ride on it? Yeah, no. It has to be just as bad, if not worse, than flying. Okay, maybe he can see the appeal just a bit. Anime characters look so cool when they drift dramatically onto the scene just in time or when the main character went on a drive with the sun setting in the background.

It's so cringey that he imagines himself doing that for you. Ugh. At this rate, he's going to end up like a real normie. Gross.

"That's different," you argue. You let your fingers glide across the machine while balancing on it. "I can't feel the wind in my hair or the motor- it does use one, right?"

"If you want a simulation of the real thing, I can make it in a snap." He grins, full of pride. And you believe him. "Yeah, I guess in your case. Magic is supposed to power it, but you can be basic and go without it." A pause as he pulls his hands together. "I-If you need me to power it with my magic I can."

"Really?!" Your eyes widen and you smile. "Than-"

"Prefect!"

Idia jumps as he hears another voice, one that isn't Ortho or Grim's. He's quick to hide behind you to avoid any sort of interaction. So much for having some alone time out in the fields. Normal people wouldn't be out here while the sun is setting. While Idia would have preferred coming out in the dead of night, even he knows the roaring sound of this machine could wake the heaviest of sleepers.

"Hey, Deuce!" You wave to your friend as he approaches.

The first year comes to a halt in front of you. If it weren't for Idia's flickering flames, he may not have noticed him.

"Oh, uh, hello, Idia! Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"I wish you hadn't..." You hear him mumble. You reach out behind and put a soothing hand on his shoulder, rubbing him gently.

He's grateful for the comfort and glad that one of your more...calmer friends approached. Well, somewhat calm. As long as he didn't activate his delinquent mode then Deuce wasn't too bad on his own. As long as that other extrovert isn't tagging along with him, he may just survive this encounter.

"What brings you out here? I thought you had to study per Riddle's rules?"

"I do..." He sighs. "But I started to get a headache and decided to take a walk. Clear my head a bit, ya know? But hey, I didn't know you had a Blastcycle." Deuce eyes the machine more than he does you. A part of him feels like he has to apologize for giving it more attention than his friend, but could you blame him?

"Is it a new model?" His eyes are filled with childlike wonder and awe. You can tell that he just wants to reach out and touch it, grasp the handles and take it for a spin. It's taking all his might to simply keep his hands at bay instead of touching this priceless piece of machinery.

"No? Kind of? It's homemade." You point to Idia, who flinches as the conversation switches to him. "He made it."

"Idia made this?!" Deuce gasps. "Ignihyde is known for its technical powers, huh? It looks even better than the latest model..."

"Right?!" You chirp, leaning forward and nearly sliding off the vehicle. As you steady yourself, you continue, "I don't know too much about Blastcycles, but I saw Idia put the whole thing together on his own! Not even Ortho helped him out. It's like he knew the machine like the back of his hand! He even said he added some new thrusters! This thing even has some magic energy saver, which is cool to! You know, I bet if Idia made me one that I could use I'd beat all the magic riders." You say with a bright and confident grin. "You included, Deuce."

"Is that a challenge?" He says, getting excited by the prospect of a friendly fight.

"Hmph. They'd definitely beat you," Idia mumbles, not expecting Deuce to hear him. He retreats into his hoodie when their eyes meet and turn so his back faces him.

"Whatever Idia makes, I know it will be better than anything else." This time your voice loses that bit of fight, going softer. "He's just cool, ya know? Smart and pretty. I'd trust in whatever he makes me."

A part of Deuce melts at how sweet you can be towards your boyfriend. Of course, he still thinks he could win in a match against you, but he also knows that he shouldn't doubt his senior's skills. Even if said senior is hiding in his hoodie and trying to hide that fleeting pink hair of his within it.

"Do ya think I could test it out sometime?" Deuce asks to take his attention off Idia.

Now, you turn to look at him. You're not too surprised to find him hiding from the conversation, though you had expected him to throw in an answer.

"I'll ask him later." You say to your friend. "I can get him to say yes, don't worry," you add with a grin.

Deuce's eyes light up once more. He then clears his throat and stands tall to act as if he was never offered a golden opportunity.

"Thanks, Prefect!" Now he's excited. Then it dawns on him that he's out here for a reason. And now he's probably third-wheeling a date. Should he apologize now or just go? He isn't quite sure, but he decides on the latter. "And, uh, thanks for talking. I'm going to head back to my dorm now," a sigh. "Or it'll be off with my head..."

As you wave to your friend, you pray that he'll survive his study session. It's not his strongest point, but you do want him to do his best. Once left alone, you turn your attention back to Idia. While he may not have been active in the conversation, you always checked up on him after a hard encounter.

"You okay?" You ask as you slide off the Blastcycle and stand beside him. He seems okay compared to earlier as he's not too hunched over, but he still grips his hoodie and keeps it pulled down. And that's worrying.

Until you see his pink flames. A tendril of once-blue hair seeps from his hoodie. He couldn't conceal all of his lengthy hair no matter how hard he tried.

"Wh-Why do you talk like that...?" He asks, lifting his head so your eyes can meet. You find that his cheeks are colored the same as his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"So...lovey-dovey. It's cheesier than those Markhall movies."

"Do you not want me to do that?" You frown.

You adored talking about Idia, especially with Ortho. The younger Shroud was happy to have someone who could appreciate his amazing older brother. But sometimes, you slipped. Like today with Deuce. At least your friend didn't seem to mind the way you spoke about him, although to be fair others would be. You're just thankful it was Deuce who dropped by and not Ace. You didn't want to hear him fake gag over your love.

"I could dial it down a bit if you want."

"N-No! I just..." He releases his hold on his hoodie, fumbling with his hands as he tries to figure out what to say. "No one really hypes me up aside from Ortho...A-And hearing it come from you is like a dream...! They're like super special voice lines I should have recorded..." He's desperately trying to hide that toothy smile of his. You know he dislikes it, meanwhile, you found it charming.

"It's all true, you know," you nudge him with your shoulder. "You're the coolest person I've met. The best one too. Should I list all your wonderful attributes?"

"D-Do you seriously want me to KO here and now?!"

Another laugh escapes you. "I'd rather you stay conscious. So, I'll keep it for another time." You lean towards him to give him a quick peck on the cheek. If you couldn't kill him with your kindness, you would with your love.

Idia burns even more with that display of affection. At least no one, aka Deuce, is around to see it. He loves what you do to him, but at the same time, he feels as if his heart can't keep up.

[fungifanart]

Disillusionment

Characters: Male reader, Yuu!reader, Leona, Malleus

Word count: 804

Cw: Angst, falling out of love

Notes: Had a concept for "what if MC wasn't in on Malleus's plan for the Spectral Soiree event" stuck in my head so I thought I'd write something short for it

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

---------------------------------------------------------

A prank.

This was all just a prank.

He put you through all that stress for a funny haha joke.

You feel countless emotions swirling around in your head as you look at the man in front of you who's smiling as if he doesn't have a care in the world.

But you care. You care so fucking much it hurts.

It hurts that he thought this was okay, that YOU were okay.

Well, you aren't. Not even close. But you would never say that, of course! Wouldn't want to RUIN the light atmosphere!

And so, rather than stewing in your emotions while pretending to have fun with everyone, you elect to quietly slip out of the main hall and stew in your emotions alone.

You lean out over a balcony at the end of the hallway just outside the main hall and let loose a guttural yell that echoes across the land below.

You stay in that position for Seven-knows-how-long as you try to sort through your thoughts, so oblivious to the world around you that you don't notice the sound of footsteps approaching you from behind.

"Never thought I'd see the day that Ramshackle's resident partygoer would leave one just to hang out alone." Leona says from behind you, releasing you from your daze so you can look at him.

"Y-yeah? Well, you guys may be able to shrug off what happened and party it up, but I just...can't." You say before turning around to lean against the balcony again.

Leona walks over and leans on the spot next to you, "So you're just gonna sit here and pout the whole time?"

Little does he know that he struck a nerve.

"Leona Kingscholar, don't you DARE act like I'm being overdramatic." You say in warning with all of your fury bubbling just below the surface.

You can see him beginning to tense up upon realizing that you're serious.

"Look, I never said that." He begins, "I just--" You cut him off before he can continue.

"Just what? Forgot that I woke up in the Spectral Realm ALONE? Forgot that I legitimately thought I was DEAD until I met up with you guys?? Forgot that I was genuinely afraid for the lives of you, Grim and everyone else???" You question harshly.

"That's not what I--" Leona tries to argue, but your tirade cannot be stopped now that he's started it.

"Then what is it?! Why are you taking HIS side when A) You don't even like him and B) He doesn't even seem apologetic?! It baffles me that Malleus is in there right now, carrying on like he DIDN’T specifically have his ghost friends kidnap me and most of the student body in our sleep, which is a severe breach of trust and privacy, and I'm just supposed to be cool with it because 'It was just a prank, bro'?!" You yell as tears begin to roll down your cheeks due to the intense anger and betrayal you feel towards Malleus.

Leona watches in stunned silence as your anger and betrayal give way to intense sadness and you pathetically try to wipe away the tears, but to no avail.

"I-I thought we were friends, b-but friends don't k-kidnap each other!" You say between sniffles and hiccups as Leona does the unexpected and inches closer while wrapping his arm around your shoulder in silent comfort.

You place your trembling hand on his as you take deep breaths to stabilize your breathing, "I guess my 'Lostie' just isn't the person I thought he was..." You say as you feel your heart break in two.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Malleus had noticed the Prefect’s absence shortly after he took a break from organ-playing to ask his guests if they were enjoying themselves, but ultimately paid it no mind at first, simply chalking it up to him needing to use the bathroom.

However, he begins to worry as time passes and the Prefect is still nowhere to be found, which prompts him to quickly excuse himself to go look for him.

Luckily, his search ends as soon as he leaves the main hall as he sees both him and Kingscholar at the end of the hallway.

As he approaches with a fond smile at seeing the Prefect, he notices that Kingscholar has his arm around his shoulder, which causes Malleus to raise an eyebrow and his smile to fall. However, just as he's about to speak up, the lion beastman turns his head around, making direct eye contact with him and, rather than having the usual malice or pettiness in his eyes, all he sees is disappointment.

In the next moment, he's alarmed to hear the Prefect sniffling like he'd been crying and then saying, "I guess my 'Lostie' just isn't the person I thought he was..."

What...is this...?

[greenlantern94to04]

Those Weird Hal Jordan Comics Between "Reign of the Supermen" and "Emerald Twilight"

I've always been fascinated by that brief, strange period in Green Lantern and Justice League comics between Coast City's destruction and Hal Jordan's heel turn, also known as "The Sling Era" (known by me, I just came up with it). The way Hal was handling the death of his 7 million bestest friends varied wildly from issue to issue, almost as if the writers were trying to tell us that he was already having a psychotic breakdown.

Of course, we all know that Hal only behaved that way because DC had no clue what they were gonna do with the character until they went and did it, but it's still kinda fun to look back at that period and search for hints that couldn't possibly be there. So let's do that:

Justice League International #56-57 (October 1993)

These issues came out on the same month as Green Lantern #46 (the Hal vs. Mongul issue) and clearly take place before Coast City went boom, since Hal isn't wearing the sling on his arm yet. I'm including them here anyway because of this telling exchange between Hal and Power Girl, who'd recently found out she was pregnant. For context, Hal and PG had gotten pretty close while they were both in the JLI... but not as close as Hal would have liked:

Maybe it wasn't Coast City's destruction what drove Hal mad -- it was the thought of Aquaman getting into his "girlfriend's" pants before him. (It turned out PG had been magically impregnated by Atlantean wizards, so at least Hal was in the right ballpark.)

JLI #57 includes this amusing moment after Metamorpho says the League won't be the same without Elongated Man and his wife Sue:

Haha, yeah, a member of the JLI turning evil... can you imagine?

Green Lantern #47 (November 1993)

This Green Arrow team-up is pretty much a filler issue with a couple of references to Coast City's destruction thrown in. No one seems that distraught about the fact that their city just exploded. For the most part, you wouldn't know this was a post-"Reign of the Supermen" issue if Hal wasn't wearing that sling on his arm.

Hal and Oliver Queen get caught up in a dumb plot involving Hal's ex, Carol Ferris, his pal Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku, and robot doubles of Carol's dead dad created by her mom due to her "nervous problems." The most intriguing part is Ollie telling Hal "I'm seeing something in your eyes that I never saw there before." (Spoilers: it's murder.)

Later, Hal gives a speech about finally moving on from Carol and "letting go of the past" (so, the opposite of what he's about to do). He also implies that he's gonna be pursuing another of his love interests, Olivia Reynolds, who's trying to get financing for a GL toy line.

The issue ends with Olivia noticing that one of her Green Lantern action figures "lost his head." That's probably the only intentional foreshadowing for "Emerald Twilight" in these issues, but it could just as easily be a tease for another dumb plot that never happened because they switched writers after this issue.

Superman #83 (November 1993)

As mentioned when I covered this issue at the Superman '86 to '99 blog, Hal is in a pretty dark mood here. When Lex Luthor Jr. shows up uninvited to the superheroes' "funeral" for Coast City, Hal bluntly says "This is a private affair. Get rid of him." Then, when Lex says they could salvage some alien tech from Engine City, Hal insists that they just "let it die."

Aquaman (there's that jerk again) takes issue with Hal's idea of dumping a city-sized engine into the ocean. Superman tries to calm everyone down, but Hal snaps and says: "I'm tired of talking! (...) My friends are buried under this junk heap and I'm not about to let it stand as their tombstone!" Later, after Engine City has been safely disposed of and Superman has erected the monument to the dead, there's an exchange between Hal and Ollie that's more meaningful than anything in Green Lantern #47:

Okay, "Can't win 'em all!" isn't the most sensitive way to talk about genocide, but you have to admit it's in-character.

Justice League International #59-60 (December 1993-January 1994)

Hal skipped JLI #58, and the next two issues are mostly set in an alternate timeline caused by a time-traveler who undid the origins of several superheroes, including Hal himself. Conveniently, this means that these issues don't have to deal with our Hal's mental state. In the alternate timeline, Guy Gardner is the heroic Green Lantern while Hal is his biggest fan. Once they figure out the truth, Guy decides to use the ring to go back in time and fix the timeline but Hal tries to stop him, because he knows Heroic Guy will turn into Guy Guy in the corrected reality.

Pretty ironic that Hal didn't want to restore the timeline because he was afraid of Guy losing his "sanity," and then he was the one who went insane (while Guy entered what's probably his most heroic period). Good Guy ultimately sacrifices himself for the greater good, making Hal think: "If this does turn me into Green Lantern... I can only pray that I'll have half the courage and nobility of Guy Gardner!"

Once Hal's memory is restored, they ask him if he can use the ring to travel to the 70th century and stop the villain from creating this whole mess in the first place, but he says he'd "need the whole Green Lantern Corps to do that!" So Hal thinks that if he had the power of every GL, he could change the course of history? Interesting.

Justice League America #83 (December 1993)

Hal is wearing the sling in this issue, so it's definitely set after Coast City's destruction, but he's perfectly calm and seems more concerned with regular League business than reshaping the universe. Maybe he's just trying to bury himself in work?

Valor #14 (December 1993)

Another Sling Era issue. Valor asks some Justice Leaguers if by any chance they know any cures to lead poisoning, which he's currently dying of. Hal says "I wish to God I could help... but there are limits to what my power ring can do." But... maybe there shouldn't be?!

Bloodbath #1-2 (December 1993)

A sling-wearing Hal shows up in the two-part finale of the regrettable "Bloodlines" crossover, though the sling is missing in some panels (perhaps he was already getting better). The only noteworthy interactions here are: 1) Deathstroke telling Hal "Remember that I'm one of the good guys today," 2) Hal referring to the Guardians of the Universe as "control freaks," and 3) Hal telling Superman not to beat himself up because he wasn't around to stop the alien invasion of Metropolis (he was dead at the time). This last scene is by far the best part of the issue, because of a typo when Superman is supposed to say "Poor Metropolis":

Geez, what are they feeding those cows down there?

Eclipso #15-16 (January-February 1994)

Sling Hal and other superheroes (plus Lex Jr., for some reason) talk in the United Nations about the menace of Eclipso, who at the time was president of a small country and had access to nuclear weapons. Then Eclipso shows up and beats them all in two panels, literally.

Hal's only role in Eclipso #16 is as an unconscious body on the floor of the UN. I think I'd also go crazy from the humiliation.

Justice League International #61 (February 1994)

And finally, Hal's last appearance as a member of the JLI consisted of him saying he wished he could help, but he has "pressing business as a Green Lantern!" That pressing business turned out to be crying on a crater and then... well, we'll see that soon enough.

I agree with whoever that guy is: Hal's "I'll be in touch soon" DOES sound pretty ominous. Note that this issue takes place directly after the end of JLI #60 (Hal must have put on the sling between panels). This means that the last thing Hal Jordan did before the start of "Emerald Twilight" was traveling to the far future to stop a supervillain from reshaping history. Wonder if that gave him any ideas...

NEXT: "Emerald Twilight"! And the guy this blog is supposed to be about finally shows up!

[tozettastone]

how do you plan out your writing? what's your process? all your fics are all so delicious and have the perfect mix of introspection and plot - i've been binge reading them during my holidays!! XD

Hey anon! You have holidays right now? This feels very northern hemisphere of you. I hope you have a good time on holiday.

I guess for planning purposes, there are three kinds of fics I write:

Intentionally plotted out chaptered fic with a reasonably coherent plot, a known endpoint and character beats (e.g., Dirt & Ashes, Deadbeat)

Self-contained one shot about a central concept (e.g., The Heart Of The Matter, But Not Before They Are Dead)

Vibes Only fic that may include multiple chapters but rarely has any intention of going anywhere plot-wise (e.g., The Natural Habitat of Haruno Sakura, Kabu)

A category 1 fic has to be planned like this:

Come up with a central concept. (e.g., "How can we arrive at Jashinist Sakura?" "What does it take to have an interpersonal relationship with Kakuzu?") -

Make a dot point outline, either on paper or inside my head. It doesn't really matter how granular or general the dot point outline is, I just need to know what the ending is and how I'm going to get there.

Write key scenes and see what happens. See how the characterisation feels. If you don't like it, scrap it.

Connect the scenes by writing the stuff in between. I wish this wasn't how I keep writing these but it is. Often I discover the connecting stuff is not that interesting. Sometimes I take a deep dive into a swamp and think "Oh, there are animals with chakra... it would be fun if there was a carnivorous tree too." It really depends.

A category 2 fic requires only a central concept and some messing around with characters. "Wouldn't it be fun if Kakuzu took Hidan's heart for himself?" is not a concept that requires extensive contemplating to execute, right. Break the bones, get the heart, find out.

A category 3 fic is usually zero work and just meanders somewhere because I feel like writing it and I cannot tell you how, why, or even if there's a plan. TNH ended up "finished" but I reckon when you read it you can tell nobody actually planned it, haha.

[tryingtimi]

Author Questionnaire Tag Game

Thank you for the tag @tc-doherty, this is going to be fun <3 Apologies in advance because I tend to ramble about random stuff besides the answer when I get personal questions, so it might get long.

About Me

When did you start writing?

If we count the bad horror story we created with my cousin then since I was 6 years old, lol. On and off mostly, though I dreamed about being a writer when I was around 8 or 10, so around 2005. After that I kind of strayed to painting and drawing more, but got back to writing at the age of 16. Then a little gap again, and around 19 I took up writing again and never stopped since (just turned 27 this may, so a while now).

Are there genres/themes you enjoy reading different to the ones you write?

Literary fiction for sure. I wasn't the person who started reading very early, though my family is full of bookworms and always thought me weird when I said I don't like reading. Then, I found the perfect book (The Man With The Golden Touch, a hungarian classic we needed to read for school), read it in one sitting almost, and fell in love eventually. My teenage years books were satires and serious family dramas alongside the heaviest stuff that connected to real life and you could find it on the market. I just realised recently (when I finished a litfic book in two days again, after not reading any for years) that litfic is probably my go to, or palette cleanser if you will. But I wouldn't be able to write in it for the life of me. Otherwise I'm an omnivore genre-wise, reading what gives me inspo for current projects plus trying out every genre I haven't read yet.

Is there an author you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

Usually I would get compared to an author who's work I'm currently reading, because I'm too naturally absorbing style when I'm invested. Not always, but frequently enough. Once a friend said my writing is a bit Brandon Sanderson-like and that made me happy because he's one of my favourite authors and writing icons. (another gigantic praise would be telling me it reminds them of Fonda Lee’s writing hehe)

Can you tell me a little about your writing space?

It's literally anywhere, lol. I live in a very small space (two half rooms), so I have a small desk and an armchair (yes, not an office chair or anything, no it's not comfortable even though you'd think so) where I sometimes write. If I can steal my partner's gaming chair, I use that space, but most times I write on the bed, lying on my stomach and putting something under my chin to keep my head higher lmfao. Also going to cafés if I really can't focus at home or using our foldable bed when it's in sofa shape. Our space is always insanely dusty because of it’s size, so that annoys the hell out of me and makes me incapable of focusing on writing so I can't start working on anything at the desk before I cleaned it thoroughly.

What's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Going through my pinterest boards. I have separate boards for could-be characters, weapons, items, places etc. But it's really rare that I need to find a muse or inspiration. If I can't write it's mostly because of burn out or irl stuff that take up my emotional and creative energy, not the lack of ideas, haha. That, I have way too many.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Yes, definitely. Even when I thought they didn't, I needed to realise they do, very much so. Since then, I try to do it consiously enough. I love realising stuff about real life people or our dynamics and whatnot throughout my writing. Plus learning about places, workings of our world help me build up mine coherently. And I’m a sucker for family dynamics so I put a lot of “Easter eggs” in it that was inspired by my family/ childhood.

Are there any recurring themes of your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Giving dead parents to the protagonists count as a theme? Because that is what I noticed once, and suprised me for sure. Since then, they get parents but then the whole story is more like a family drama than anything else. Plus emotionally distant/unavailable parents (especially mothers), finding your place in the world and found family are definitely topics that will appear in all my stories.

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favourite character?

Given that I'm neck deep in Project Sasin, my east asian-inspired urban fantasy mafia story, I could go with all of the main family members. They're all favourites, but if I really need to choose one, then it would be always Grey Fang, who is the head warrior woman of the clan, and the clan leader's right hand. She's a gigantic woman, a true amazon, bestest fighter of the clan, and great at managing the lower ranked warriors. She's blunt, confident, charistmatic and always have a harsh but helpful advice for the main kids. Most of the clan look up at her (not only because she's 190 cm), admire her skill and recite her achivements, and even the enemy clans whisper her name a bit warily. For the main kids though, she's also a fun aunt. As much as she is serious, and can be outright dangerous, she is easy to deal with if you're not acting too shy around her (she believes being shy is always either poor parenting, or a straight up act to gain something, therefore not honest and trustworthy), or breaking any tradition openly. As the clan, she is very fond of traditions and the way of life their ansestors have lived for hundreds of years, but she can be convinced that development is necessary, if someone is determined enough or a master at persuasion. Her first and foremost goal in life is to preserve the clan's good reputation, and prevent corruption or downfall – at all costs. Therefore she would break traditions, or go behind anyone's back if that would achieve it.

Which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

Not many lol. Most characters I write are fun to work with and explore but mostly because I wouldn't even go near them irl. I think I would be on friends term with Kil, the main borther who wants to be like Fang, and maybe Yune who's a fairly anxious and talented healer with little confidence yet. Plus, Fang herself, obviously. But both Kil and Fang are extroverted like hell so they would adopt my introverted ass, which I don't kow if counts. I have other works where are some characters I could be truly friends with (Avelyn from Metalsea for example but she's a similar category like Yune). I could probabyl go to those lengths only with my fellow introverted characters whom are the MC's usually, but not the majority of the characters lol.

Which of your characters would you dislike most if you met them?

Every living mother, uh. It sounds horrible, but it's true. All the mothers who were likeable or fair at being mothers are dead in my stories. Plus most of the men too, maybe. I have a sci-fi story where the MC (Dane) is a scientist with a very ambitious but definitely arrogant and sharp tongue, whom I would probably hate if I met him. (Though it takes a lot for me to truly dislike or hate someone.)

Tell me more about the process of coming up with your characters.

I usually come up with one key visual trait for them lol. I kind of go backwards, because I first figure out how they look, and vaguely know why they look like that, then create their personality, their story, the world. My mind craves visualisation, therefore I revolve my characters' personalites around visible marks of their experiences.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

What would be a recurring theme is that they’re emotionally closed up most of the time. There’s also hidden but constant anger inside them. Not many likes to talk about themselves and if something is too personal they just shut down and either go away, or stay silent until the conversation strays to somewhere else. There are also the very open, very easy but dangerous and madly loyal person too who is there for these previously mentioned ones. I also tend to give a dynamic to love intrests that is the "silent understanding" type. They just know each other enough, I guess.

How do you picture your characters?

Fairly clearly. I need visuals to keep working on my stories, so that's why I have so many stuff on my pinterest. Also sometimes I try to draw them, paint them, but I don't have the skill YET to completely bring them to life. But I will one day.

My Writing

What's your reason for writing?

I just love it. I can't picture myself not writing, and I also recently realised that how all my mental health and overall life improved since I accepted that this is what I need to and will always do.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Look, I'm already owing you my life if you've read anything I've written. I'm very grateful and happy from that simple thing. Though, keysmashes and caps shouts are one of the bests, and if someone throws a little analysis or theory of why the character does, says what they did my way, then I'll propose them on the spot. That's a rare one, but a treasure for me for sure.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work?

I don't want to, lol. Please don't keep me on the same page as my work, because as much as my heart is in it, it's still my work, my baby, but not my life or personality. It has it's own value without me, and it should be.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Creating atmosphere and showing emotions. Since my ideas are very vague and mostly feelings during my process, I think these also intangible concepts I can thrive in. I can't tell you a city's political standing but I can tell you how it smells, tastes, sounds, how your dreams will change if you move there, how people swear and look at you, and how it feels to have a bad and a good day there.

What have you been frequently told by others is your greatest strength as a writer?

I got more than a few times now that I write fight scenes well, haha. They said it's exciting and well paced. I'm glad because I love them (big martial arts enthusiast here), but also friends said that I can create atmosphere well too. What stayed with me was when they said that they felt like they were at that place I wrote about.

How do you feel about your own writing?

Depending on the day. I'm my bigget critique too, as I imagine all of us, so when my mood is a bit low, I feel that it's gods awful. Sometimes it is, and that's okay. But most of the time (especially recently) I really like the results. I write what I want to read, after all.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Without question. As I mentioned before, it's just something I'm not able to abandon. Probably because I'm bad at articulating my feelings and thoughts so writing is just essential for me to communicate, even if only with myself. Personally, though, without anyone reading it, it would be so much easier to be honest, lol.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

Tricky question for a recovering-people-pleaser. Recovering because I grew a lot the last two years thanks to some bad but valuable experiences, so I was way worse earlier in my life. I got back to writing by writing fanfiction for a friend because she ran out of the stuff she liked, so I offered to create stories tailored especially for her taste. And as more people started reading my stories (because of course I shared them after a while), I tried to appease for the most enthusiastic readers to show my immense gratitude. External validation is a dangerous thing for me, so yes, if someone seems to enjoy my work very much, I will unintentionally go directions that they seem to enjoy. However, readers are readers, they are not entitled to finish a story or like it, so they disappear at some point (which is fine), so when there was no one left reading my stuff, I learnt to continue for myself instead. That's why I'm less and less online, or sharing specifics about my writing, because I want to write purely what I enjoy. Be a tiny bit more private with it. So now, I'd say I do that, but external validation is a bitch that will hold on to you with tooth and nail, so I will probably still go directions people enjoy if I get any input. But I'll manage it better, because now I can catch myself before I form a fully different story just for others.

Tagging @bloodlessheirbyjacques, @the-void-writes, @aninkwellofnectar, @dyrewrites, @aalinaaaaaa, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @bebewrites, @barbex, @circa-specturgia, @odysseywritings, @italiangothicwriteblr,

No pressure, though I love these questionnaires so would love to see anyone's and everyone's.

[yuikomorii]

Saw a post about inconsistencies in Diabolik Lovers and I have prolly the biggest ones:

In Shu’s HDB ending Shu calls Yui an Asian woman and Yui also refers to herself as an“ average Japanese high school student” but later on in Laito’s and Reiji’s routes it is mentioned how she’s actually a foreigner and her step father only left his old country because he didn’t want Yui to be caught by the vampires there and settled in Japan for a peaceful life.She even only called herself “ an average high school girl” without using “Japanese”as in Shu’s route.Now all games follows the lore presented in Laito’s and Reiji’s routes, so what was written in Shu’s one was a mistake because it doesn’t really make sense anymore.I don’t really mind it because let’s be fr, she’s the definition of white girl but I feel like the writers should pay more attention to those details. |:

There was this test battle CD drama where Yui got the highest scores out of the Sakamaki’s but in the routes she’s a pretty bad student as far as I have seen.There’s no day she doesn’t ask anyone for help when doing her homework although it’s based on what was taught in class and heck she was even on the verge of failing her math class in HDB if Reiji didn’t study all day with her.I even remember that one time when even she got wrong even the first answer, and there are several times she doesn’t pay attention during class because she doodles or thinks about different stuff.Beside that, she has the cultural knowledge of a toddler wym she couldn’t even name one fricking painter like what the f?

// Referring to the first one:

Perhaps Shu's route was the first to be written, because Cordelia, who is a major character in the HDB plot, edit: only appears in the after story for a short time, and the writer most likely went with the flow and didn't add too much lore because it had nothing to do with Cordelia. After his route, they probably wanted to give Yui a proper backstory and added: dead orphan child with an implanted demon heart given to a vampire hunter who fled to Japan not to be caught, in order to fit the whole plot. It's also possible that the writer didn't read the other routes before. I mean, I can't blame them entirely, given that those details were largely irrelevant in Shu’s route and weren't presented as lore as they were in Laito's and Reiji's routes. However, yes, it was a mistake. Shu's HDB route had a slew of errors in general, such as in Ecstasy 3, where Yui mentions Shu's heartbeat, despite the fact that vampires don't have one, haha.

Referring to the second one:

It's fine to like the silly Tokutens, but you shouldn't take them too seriously. They present funny and plot-twisty scenarios to generate laughter, such as when both Kou and Subaru entered an ikemen contest, but Shu won despite the fact that he wasn't even registered. xD They can be very OOC, as I doubt Subaru would ever participate in such a superficial activity, but as I said, they're just for fun. In terms of Yui being a bad student, I wouldn't necessarily label her as such. Sure, she gets some low scores, and I also recall the scenes you mentioned, as well as one in which it is revealed that her physics exam was a disaster, and another one where Ruki threw shade at her for getting a bad grade on the foreign language exam. Nonetheless, I believe she is simply not good at that kind of subjects, maybe she’s good at something else. I guess it’s already obvious that Yui catches things pretty slowly, since her learning ability isn't exactly the best, so it's no surprise that she asks for help and has to study harder and longer in order to show good results. I still consider her a good student though; I don't mind that her grades aren't good all the time; she still tries to study and to complete her assignments even if they're wrong, doesn't like skipping, and takes her school duties seriously; she's exactly what I'd call a conscientious student, to be honest. I can't defend her on the painter thingy though, that was the bare minimum, but again, Yui doesn't have much knowledge in general other than what’s common so… it can’t be helped. :P

[zannolin]

loving the stranger things posting as someone going through a sudden random stranger things phase lol. i have a question: what makes byler an interesting dynamic for you? i'm not a big shipper person personally but i like to hear people's thoughts!

it's so funny i got here because i was suffering from cares too much disease about the karate kid and i needed something to distract me and then um. it did more than distract.

sidenote: coming back to say this got??? so long. so i'm sorry lol. i'm a chronic rambler.

i'll be honest i never actually shipped byler seriously until literally 2 months ago today. i sort of went "haha what if...?" back in 2022 mostly because my friend was into it and i really love mike as a character. oh mike wheeler the character that you are...i've loved him since 2016 lol and i loved him and will as a dynamic since i saw s2. i was so sold on their friendship, and then s3 and s4 were brutal for me to watch as someone who has grown apart from a lot of friends because of similar circumstances (moving, mostly, but also some relationships, and the inherent tragedy of growing up, and the fact that having a shitty family and being 15 can do a lot of damage to your relationships if you're not careful, etc) so like basically i then got More into them because i am obsessed with friendship estrangement plots. and i like both their characters. ("like" is such an understatement even in 2022 i was unhinged about michael wheeler)

frankly they're interesting to me as a ship for all the same reasons as they're interesting to me as a friendship: devotion, knowing someone better than you know yourself, the fear of loss, the fear of change, how easy vs how hard it is to grow up with someone, estrangement, feeling like you're a bad person and self-sabotaging, etc. the funny thing is i didn't even think will was gay or that there WAS (one-sided, anyway) byler until the literal van scene in s4 because i have that little faith in netflix lol, not to mention i used to be a mileven shipper. and then s3 happened which killed my interest in that and then s4 beat the dead horse from here to california. i realized for one thing mike being queer is really interesting to me and opens a lot of room for fun angles on his canonical character with comphet and internalized homophobia, etc, and it works very well with established canon. to me.

i'm honestlyyyy kind of surprised i got into it at all because besides the fact that i'm not a big shipper anymore, i'm RARELY a childhood friends to lovers fan because 1) it's often boring to me, i'm like but why do we need something Other than friendship?? (aro alert) and 2) i personally do not enjoy romance where it's like. you end up with the person you dated in high school? like it's jsut a me thing but i go aaaaaa when it's idk 12 year olds being like "i'm in love" no you're not you're twelve. i literally have DMs of me to my sister watching s4 where i was like michael why are you saying you loved eleven the day you met her, you were twelve and spent the entire season fucking obsessed with finding your best friend and kept dropping her the second she wasn't useful for that, like i love you but you were— what. (regardless of whether or not that bullshit turns out to be, you know, Actually canonically bullshit. that was my reaction lol). um i'm rambling sorry. anyway. they just happened to hit really good beats for me where it could go either way for me (platonic or romantic) and i wouldn't mind and i'm happy with both. but apparently my brain is like What If Romance when it comes to fic for them and i'm being a bit self-indulgent. i want will byers to have nice things and i want mike to not be stuck in the world's worst written relationship ever (to me).

actually the tl;dr is basically everything i like about mike as a character has to do with his plots concerning will, and everything i don't like about what they've been doing with him lately has to do with his relationship with el, so via potentially unintentional gay symbolism, the power of friendship estrangement plots + my love of friendship breakup/makeup scenarios, and my fascination with writing queer loneliness and mutual pining, AND that "good luck, babe" edit, i ended up here.

also finn wolfhard keeps making the most ridiculously intensely tender expressions during byler scenes and i'm a simple creature i see a man with big wet brown eyes and i go oh well mayyybe....

[whenthechickencry]

Last Note of the Golden Witch Part 2

Piece gives away more of her heart, she starts talking about how of course she didn't know who Ange is, how she had so many lovely conversations with Sayo and Battler. Battler starts crying and bawling from not having it figured it out earlier, I was going to give him shit if he didn't realize it after all her hints, I am not going to lie, so I am glad he did... it seems Asumu was at the end of her patience as well as that monologue seems to be flipping between Asumu and Battler (I assume since Battler wouldn't say do you not know who I am, so I assume statement 3 and 5 are made by Asumu)

Ange wants to be able to understand everyone in the Ushiromiya family as part of her role as the witch of the future, haha...

I figured Ange was brought here in order to be mean to her, I mean, she's a complete stranger to Asumu otherwise... It's interesting how we are both seeing the good and the bad simultaneously, from a character we were usually only allowed to see the perspective of people who think she's all good or all bad.

The act this arc allowed Ange to understand and love someone who wasn't a part of her life at all, and if she was she probably would have hated her, anyways, is really cute.

I have noted the translation seemed kind of... not great at times but this line made 100% it was a cleaned-up machine translation, so I looked up who was the translator and, lmfao?

Of course, Kinzo wouldn't approve of cheating, he is an upstanding man of good values.

Of course, this is a bit of a self-important fantasy, reality wouldn't have been that simple even if she had stayed alive. But she wanted to write a tale where her being part of the family left to a far better future than when Kyrie did, affirming that she was a better person than the person who (she blamed) for making her life shitty (it was actually Rudolf really, but).

The fact Ange was brought in the first place in order to hurt her and then she's frantically trying to make it NOT hurt her is very interesting. Makes me kind of imagine Asumu as someone who heavily tries to suppress her bad sides, which would line up with Battler and Rudolf thinking she's an innocent, naive, innocent flower.

Battler doesn't want to accept that her mother wanted to hurt Ange but also like, Battler how happy do you think Asumu would be about being replaced in her family by someone who literally had plans to murder her? Of course, Ange doesn't have anything to do with it, but Asumu knows that too! She hates herself for feeling like that, too! Even though it's perfectly understandable.

"Spit on and forget about me"... I don't know Piece, I think Ange can acknowledge your existence and your pain while not having to do that.

Asumu solves this whole thing by literally erasing herself, by erasing memories of her, by eating herself alive in order to ensure the happiness of Battler and Ange, and... I can't help but find this ending extremely tragic. Piece erased herself, thinking she was an evil monster for the thoughts she had, even as she was fighting those thoughts the entire time and before they were even revealed she was trying to make sure they wouldn't hurt Ange...

Battler is grumpy about the fact he didn't get the fun the Higurashi cast had, haha. Unfortunately, I don't think those kinds of tea parties would fit the atmosphere of Umineko, really. I wonder if what Battler is saying is implying that r07 originally planned for something like that.

Erika is fucking DEAD.

I remember Virgilius but they mentioned they are 3 and I don't remember the other 2, actually..

No. 1

Oh that's the original form of the goat servants, haha. Making them headless is kind of interesting...

Bernkastel and Beatrice make fun of Battler for being too horny, but it's kind of funny to imagine making characters just having a fuck golf club-sized crotch, haha.

I can see Natsuhi fitting the image of a mistress, but it's a little hard to think of her as a witch roaming the halls, haha.

Lambda agrees! Haha.

I think you are your own witch with your own magic already, Natsuhi.

That line huh.... I guess it is a line that is extremely significant to Beatrice as a character, so it makes sense to make someone trying to play the role of Beatrice to try it out.

Virgilius is the other one, though Beato mentions she actually hadn't designed anything more than a couple sketches.

Virgilia does the opposite of this, funnily enough... you can tell why R07 rewrote having a character meant to mislead you to be introduced in ep3 when a lot of people gave up on ep2, it's kind of unfortunate, but Virgilia is cool as well.

That's what Erika does in EP5, mostly, but in further episodes her role and character drifted in other directions, I feel.

It's kind of funny because like. I think EP1 is a harder Episode than Ep2 to solve? Eva's involvement is a lot less obvious than Rosa's, and Kanon is more obviously suspicious in ep2 than Shannon's death was in Ep1

Wow, that's rude Lambda, I think Erika's post-5 character is actually more and more interesting every ep.

I am not really sure what exactly they were referring to here, from all the post-Umineko WTC projects, I haven't read any so ...

Anyway, I really liked Last Note. The mystery was a little simple, but I did enjoy having to revisit another character Battler had written off as more simple than they were. The ending felt a little rushed, I would have liked it if the episode had been a little longer. All the characters had really strong moments so I would definitely recommend to read this one! Asumu was an interesting character to explore in more detail, especially since all the information we get from her in the main story are from very biased sources. This also served as a showcase for how Battler, Ange, and Beatrice would act after their EP8 development which is very neat to see. Overall I really enjoyed it. I wish the translation was better, hope to finish learning Japanese at some point to read it like that.

[thrumbolt]

So, in November my girlfriend gifted my all the Dragon Age games because our DnD sessions were cancelled. 'Go date some elves there!' - and so I did. I went in completely blind, knew basically nothing about the series (except that you could date elves). So now, a month after finishing the last one, I feel my thoughts have rested enough to voice an opinion™. I'll drop my personal ratings here and elaborate under the cut.

Dragon Age: Origins 8/10

Dragon Age Awakening 6/10

Dragon Age 2 9/10

Dragon Age: Inquisition 4/10

Dragon Age: Trespasser 7/10

In short, I thought DA:O was pretty dope. Very solid adventure rpg fantasy dating sim. The characters are very fun and mostly lovable and the lore is interesting enough even if the art direction was pretty generic fantasy.

I was really surprised just how much they crammed into this game. The several different origins was a huge surprise and very nice incentive to replay the game, though so far I only played as a melf (mage elf). The storyline was engaging enough for me to follow and it makes you travel to all the different origin places, so everyone gets to connect with something in the main plot - smart!

I have to add however that I played as a male character - as I usually do - and I am very glad I did because despite the promise that men and women are equal (and the dominant religion being female centric) the writers did not really manage to capture that as it seems haha. I would've probably given the game a lower rating if I wouldn't have played as a dude as I'm a sensitive snowflake that way. And not even because of the rape as plot device or the brood mothers, but more the casual 'wow a woman with sword wow' stuff. I'll excuse it as 'it was a different time' kinda, but still would ruin my immersion.

Awakening I mention separately as it's kind of a sequel rather than just a DLC. I liked it. It's a nice extra adventure for your Warden character and the companions are very good (though I could've done without Oghren, sorry Oghren fans). I especially liked the Legion of the dead dwarf, she was adorable - and Anders, of course. You can give him a kitty!

So why am I rating it so low? They changed how shit works, don't tell you about it and it makes you miss half the game lol. Idk, it just pissed me off you had to click on background shit to talk to your companions and I didn't notice it until I was already halfway done. It's such a stupid idea, too. Click on this tree to talk to Nathaniel?? Weird tbh. It's especially bad for me, as I am not playing a lot of games (I am a filthy casual) and am not a completionist - also I already know who Andraste is, so why would I click her statue?

So yeah, that's my personal gripe with Awakening. At least it's short enough to replay, so hopefully I will catch all the stuff next time haha.

Dragon Age 2....ahh, I was very surprised to hear that it was so unpopular, several of my friends said they had not played it at all because they heard it was so bad. And I am very confused, because it is my favorite. I can see how it got flack for being on a smaller scale, the dungeons and areas repeat - but honestly, I didn't care much. I enjoyed the smaller scale and the more personal story greatly. I feel it makes more sense for a 'choice' based game anyway, as it lets you tell more stories without problems. And in this instance, a story about a refugee family and a bigger focus on social justice issues just vibed well with me. I can see how it's not everyone's cake I guess, but it's definitely worth playing! I think it has the best companions in all the games. They're all great fun and the dating options are amazing. I personally prefer when everyone is date-able by either gender - it makes me not having to worry and research ahead of time on what character to make (looking at you inquisition) and I can just headcanon for myself who is queer, straight, whatever. Yes, I might still be upset I wasn't able to date Alistair haha in DA:O.

I loved the 3 act structure and longer time period. I liked how people you meet/help in your side quests write you letters or get updates. I just loved how personal it was.

My only gripes with DA2 is the rushed Act 3 (can't even give everyone another gift ;_; ) and how the ending was handled. Chosing between templars and mages - sure, fun. But when you choose the mages, how come 80% of the people you are fighting are mages? Why is Orsino turning into an abomination and attacking *you*? It makes no sense. Poor Orsino. They did him dirty.

But otherwise I had great fun. Needless to say this game cemented my chantry hate lol. Doesn't help I live in a pretty gay oppressing catholic country now, but it felt fucking personal. I cheered when that fucking building blew up. It was cathartic. So I was hyped for the next game!

Which leads me to Inquisition. By the rating you can already see: I didn't like this game. For many reasons. The church dick riding was definitely one of them. But I mean, if you write it well I probably wouldn't have minded to get a different viewpoint (and there was still plenty of critical content in this game like with the former Inquisitor and all), sadly though, for me it didn't work in so many ways.

First of all I had to restart the game after 30 minutes because my girlfriend told me I can only date the elves if I'm a girl. Gee, good to know, or my tripple elf combo would've been ruined.

And I have to say: I liked how un-segregated the whole gender selection screen was. I got to make a pretty boyish looking twink even by choosing female, up to the point I was forgetting I was playing a girl until someone called me LADY Lavellan and ruined my immersion, so....props to that. I also liked the art design? Like all the little character cards, all the artworks just felt like they finally found their own style, kinda. (This was already started in DA2, which I really liked, I feel this series needs it's own, distinct look in some way, so it was nice to see they were trying to). Anyway, nice looks.

But the gameplay immediately felt weird and sluggish to me. It was way too hard even on the easiest setting. Enemies take FOREVER to die, even a stupid wolf or bear takes a gazillion hits. It wasn't fun. Not for me anyway, just tedious.

And the story....I just didn't feel it. It didn't help that you don't even have a proper origin (for a good while you have amnesia even). It made it difficult to even understand my own motivations imho. Playing it as an elf was definitely a bad choice as well, as this whole plot was clearly written with a human in mind. Pretty wild a DALISH elf is even an option. If they kept you as a prisoner, it would've made sense, maybe? But it just feels off to put this random Dalish immediately on top of your organization and calling them the herald of Andraste even though you keep insisting you don't even believe in that stuff haha. A wild ride indeed. Also I screamed at the whole 'Dalish only have 3 mages per clan and just YEET THE EXTRA CHILDREN INTO THE FOREST TO DIE' retcon. It absolutely makes zero sense with how the Dalish were described up to that point (as people who greatly care for their own and also really want to honor and learn about their roots. They know the elves were all originally magical. Why would they have a fucking mage limit. Why would they yeet a child out to die when they already suffer from diminishing numbers? What the FUCK Inquisition?).

The maps were too big, the game is sooo bloated and the main plot for the larger part completely disconnected from everything else (and also, pretty short in theory). Because of this, the pacing was kind of off. The war table....the WAR table. I did not like it. So many things that got shoved there should've been quests, while many of the actual quests should've just been deleted. And apparently my whole clan can just die in a small war table side thing and no one will care. lol

I also did not vibe with most of the companions that much. I liked Dorian a lot, but other than that most were just a lot of missed opportunities. Like, they were ok, but not as great as any of the other games.

Though I feel nothing quite shows the pacing issues of this game like Solas' romance haha. I still can't believe he breaks up with you immediately after kissing you and offering to take your vallaslin. It would've made so much more sense if he left during the ending party ceremony. What were they thinking?

Generally my issue was how a lot of characters just talk at you, not so much with you. You ask them questions, but they hardly ever ask you questions back, even though it would've been a great way to learn more about your characters backstory as well. I think Josephine was one of the only characters who ever asks how you're holding up. In the other games, it is way more interactive.

This resulted in me just never really connecting as much in Inquisition. Felt more like hanging with coworkers than friends. It was also weird how everyone acts like you're achieving great things, when really, none of it is something you do. The inquisition itself, the army, it already exists. Solas literally just points at Skyhold (you do not even have to fight anything to get it) and so on.

I hated that you have an animated main plot cut scene where your Dalish elf asks a human who Mythal is. And of course I really disliked how the mage rebellion was handled. Why do I have to choose between templars and mages AGAIN when, in this game at least, being able to recruit both would've kinda made more sense? Unite against a bigger enemy, bla. I wouldn't have super liked it as a resolution for the mage oppression issue, but at least it would've given that conflict SOME form of resolution.

So yeah. Did not enjoy it that much. Was very surprised to learn how many did and that it won game of the year. Maybe it would've been more enjoyable just on its own, without context, but coming in right after DA2 it was quite the clash in my opinion.

There was definitely potential for a good game. It had good elements. I think they fixed a bunch of issues in Trespasser, which I quite enjoyed. But I kind of am not looking AS much forward to the 4th installment. I'll play it for sure, but I feel the writers just want to do something different with this series than what I enjoy about it.

Overall though I still had great fun! I like Dragon Age. Seeing everyone's oc's is so cute and I will definitely keep on enjoying that no matter what.

[aaaaamorphous-entity]

Thank you! For blorbo bingo I will return the same- any Cu of your choice!

I can't help but pick Lancer Cu too, haha. Hope that's alright!

Going over the points left to right, top to bottom

= Pale crush <> (the medium/concept of moirallegiance just jives with me and I'm too gay for women to thirst over him carnally but boy howdy can I do it emotionally)

= 'Most' is too strong of a phrase, but I do think that sometimes people soft-ball Cu. Like you said in yours on him, he's silly, serious, ferocious, clever, and plenty more. But it can feel like people at times cherry pick or ignore certain aspects in favor of others. He can be all of the above - he's a very multi-faceted person, which is a mark of a good character!

= Cu as a character from Fate is one I wouldn't mind hanging out with. From legend I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole (much less be close enough TO touch him with one in the first place). That said I do admire how even in intolerable circumstances, he can grit his teeth and keep going, even if it's putting him in a depression. His loyalty is a double-edged sword as well. It means if you're at the top of his priority list, it's 'til death makes him quit. If someone who has command over him sics him on you...well we saw how that went for Ferdiad. It'll be a closed-casket funeral or cremation if you're a good enough fighter.

= I hinted at this in point two, but Cu has the Standard Messed Up Traits most heroes in old legends had, if you're going by the Tain. Misogyny, non-con, and a temper typical of the half-divine to name a few. Even in the more palatable Fate version, he's still got a lot of blood on his hands

= Exposing myself a bit with the projection haha. But this blends sort of with the free space wherein I definitely see Cu as having ADHD. Sure there's the energetic aspect, but that's the easy pickings. I think there's a good chance he has RSD (though you have to look more at original legend than Fate text for this), that fun flash temper some can have amidst a few other emotional disregulation, etc. And calling back to that 'can keep on trudging with his head down even if he's getting depressed' point, I am fortunate enough to not be in that place presently, but do identify with it.

= Making him worse is easy. You need two cups stress, one cup loss, a dash of antagonism, and-

= Won't go over this one too much. I've listed some of Cu's faults above, but he's pretty and that's a good blinder lol. This is pretty standard for most Fate characters.

= I do think about him pretty regularly haha. Mostly in the context of YariYumi or roleplay or fic.

= Feel like this point is pretty much explained by the points touching on his good and bad qualities above

= Two points up lol

= This is again mostly in YariYumi context, but because Cu and Emiya exemplify one another's life choices and the consequences thereof so well. Cu is a person who gave up a lot for a big dream, and maybe it wasn't worth it in the end. Maybe what he had to live for outweighed the fame he died for, in his mind. Maybe it was what it was and he's at peace with it. But Cu has lost a lot of people in his quest for fame - both by killing them (Ferdiad, Connla), losing them due to politics (Fergus, Lugaid), dragging them along into danger (Laeg, his horse) or by dying (Emer, his little-known daughter Finscoth). He may keep his head up and accept his choices, but that is a lot of loss for one person to bear, and all within a purportedly short lifetime.

= Those points aside....it is an absolute crying SHAME that Fate has not given us a proper Cu Berserker yet, or at least shown us a riastrad. It's a shame they don't explore the losses he's experienced as much. It's a shame that they don't let us see beyond the mask of cheer or ferociousness, because there's a lot to explore.

= All that being said, let this man rest!! Goddamn!! He's been through so much alive and dead and he needs a break! Outside of particular circumstances, I will not be giving him a break

[theteasetwrites]

making the reader vegetarian in a twd fic: I think the exploration of hunting and killing animals for food (and actually having to look at meat up close - like nowadays, people who casually eat chicken nuggets can go without ever seeing an animal slaughtered, so I love writing about what it actually takes to kill and gut an animal for food and how that can mentally strain a person) is so interesting to write about, but it's also so interesting to write about someone being a vegetarian and holding strong on those morals even if it means they have less food options. especially contrasting them with an s/o like Daryl who is a meat eating man, and them bonding and meeting in the middle. I love writing relationships where it's like 'we disagree on this, we have different perspectives, but we won't argue about it constantly and it doesn't tear us apart.'

people who can't respect that type of writing philosophy are just ?? weird

THANK YOU. You are so right and I have said this before too when I was ranting about it last year.

I fully had reasons for making her vegetarian. It wasn't just because I am vegetarian but because it makes a really interesting dynamic between her and Daryl! And I totally agree—people underestimate how hard it would be to suddenly jump into the apocalypse (even for a meat eater) and to be killing and skinning and gutting and chopping up dead animals. It would be super hard. Very few people are like Daryl and can actually go out and hunt, even in the apocalypse. That's why Daryl does what he does. There are a lot of characters who we literally hardly ever see hunting/preparing animals in the show. Besides, my character DOES eat meat when she needs to. No matter how many times I emphasize that, it seems people still don't get it. Sorry she's not exactly like Daryl.

Oh but if reader has her own personality/isn't a badass who kills things then she's "unrealistic." I've read so many fics where the reader is a hunter, a martial artist, speaks ten languages, has a hot athletic body, is better than literally everyone else, etc., but being vegetarian is unrealistic... ok.

It also represents deeper stuff, like how she wants to cling to parts of the old world and who she was before the world ended. I purposefully describe her as being in touch with the world before. Something I try to talk about a lot in that series is how she doesn't want to become a hardened, emotionless person. She wants to still have the morals she had before the world ended, but as the series progresses, she learns how to balance that with the things she HAS to do in this world. She has to kill people, even though she doesn't want to. That is her biggest dilemma—how she has to come to terms with killing people. It haunts her, and yet all we seem able to talk about is how she's a vegetarian lmao.

Her being vegetarian was important for her relationship with Daryl even in the first season. When she thanked him for bringing back those squirrels for everyone at the quarry, he asked her why she was thanking him when she wouldn't even eat it, and she said, in so many words, that it's not about her—that it's about everyone else. I think that was important for the beginning of their relationship because it showed how selfless she is, like Daryl. So even though they differ in these surface-level ways, they are very similar: they both care about their families before they care about themselves.

But yes, you are so right. Sorry, I don't mean to take away from your statement haha. I start going off on tangents but basically I mean to say I totally agree with you. The vegetarian reader thing is really fun to do and it's not just about her being vegetarian for shits and giggles. It's about characterization and making the relationship more layered. Idk why it gets certain people upset. <3