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rolanpilled · 5 months

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Why I Fell In Love With Rolan, A Character Analysis

I will be going through Rolan's lines, along with the devnotes, to try and explain my interpretation of his character.

This is coming from having spent 30+ hours combing through his dialogues, reading all of his books, listening to every voice line for context, and replaying every scene of his that's currently accessible.

TW: Mentions of abuse, family death, implied suicide

Very long post under cut. Get the Arabellan Dry out!

A few notes before getting into this:

In the game files, Rolan is referred to as "Prodigy", while Cal and Lia are referred to as "ProdigyBrother" and "ProdigySister".

Rolan is a character whose outer words and inner thoughts often do not align - for most of the game, he refuses to show vulnerability in front of Tav, reserving his softness for his siblings. This can be interpreted in a number of ways, ranging from a self-confidence issue to an avoidant attachment style. Though people are free to have their own interpretations, I will mainly be focusing on my own readings of his personality.

I am not a psychologist or a licensed health professional, but I have personal experiences with the mental health disorders I will reference in this post, and I have done a lot of research on the topics involved.

Part 1 - Elturel, and Rolan's past

"Rolan. Just... Rolan."

There isn't much you can tell about Rolan's life except that he's from Elturel and that Cal and Lia are his siblings - after all, he doesn't give you much info in the first place. He doesn't know you, he doesn't trust you. Why would he?

The information you get about his family and his life before BG3 come from minor dialogues, and using Speak With Dead on his corpse. The picture they paint isn't a happy one.

[Player: What's your name?]

[Rolan: Rolan. Just... Rolan.]

[Player: Do you have any family?]

[Rolan: No... family... no one.]

[Player: No family? What about Lia and Cal?]

[Rolan: They are... brother and sister. Cal says... I am family, but...]

Rolan doesn't have a family name. We don't know if Lia and Cal do, but it can be assumed they don't, else he might have taken theirs. The first thing that sticks out to me in this dialogue is that he doesn't consider himself to have a family, even though Cal and Lia say he's part of theirs.

The question is, what could have caused this? If his blood family was simply dead, wouldn't he refer to them as "dead" or "gone"? Instead he says he has "no one" and "no family", perhaps implying that his parents just... abandoned him. Either way, it gives the impression that he has issues with being abandoned, and may project a sense of toughness and arrogance to make up for his insecurity.

And there IS insecurity here - he outright says that Cal and Lia tell him that he's no different from family to them, but deep down, he doesn't seem to be able to accept it. That he can only reveal this information to you after death, having been so guarded in life, is heartbreaking.

As for his life in Elturel, not much is said, but a lot can be inferred from his attitude.

[Cal: Elturel was the last time the three of us talked like this. Let's hope it lasts until Baldur's Gate.]

After leaving Elturel, it appears Rolan, Cal, and Lia didn't have much time to talk. This is from the party scene - a scene where they're drinking, laughing, and joking amongst each other. Clearly the journey hasn't been the easiest for all of them, though one thing we can take from this dialogue is that they've had this friendly, sibling-like relationship for a long time.

From what we know of Elturel and the Descent, things were NOT pretty down in Avernus. Many people died, and after the city was returned to the surface, tieflings were driven out of the city, as we all know. Something important to think about is how exactly this might have gone for the three siblings: how exactly they ended up in the Grove, travelling with the refugees. The context seems to imply that the siblings were travelling on their own, not necessarily considered a part of the group, but this is debatable and not entirely clear.

So what brought them to Baldur's Gate? What finally drove them out of the city? Did they leave before things got worse, or were they driven from their homes with stones and violence? It could really be anything, but the one thing that's clear is that their primary reason for heading to Baldur's Gate is for Rolan to start his apprenticeship with Lorroakan.

We know that Rolan wrote Lorroakan a letter: multiple letters, actually. We're not sure if he wrote to other wizards, but from his dialogue, you can tell that Lorroakan's been someone he's respected for a long time, both for his magical skills and his political beliefs. Though he's never met Lorroakan, you can find a copy of Lorroakan's biography on his desk at Sorcerous Sundries - there's an admiration established early on, and the player is led to believe that Lorroakan is a powerful wizard (though if you bring Gale with you, he comments on Lorroakan's shady reputation, hinting at something darker beneath the surface).

What could have driven Rolan to write so far away, seeking apprenticeship? Was it out of a sense of desperation, wanting to leave the city but needing a way to take care of his siblings? Was it curiosity? A sense that Lorroakan might be his last chance to make something of himself after being denied what he felt like was his rightful destiny? As a tiefling, he must have faced some discrimination for his heritage - I can speak to my own experience here, growing up as a person of color in a majority-white community was genuinely traumatizing to myself and my non-white friends. Not only do we receive open bullying and ostracization for our appearance, there's something even more insidious that often happens to minority populations - neglect. A general disinterest in our accomplishments, a lack of encouragement and attention towards kids that don't fit the norm. If this was something Rolan had to experience, it's no wonder he felt angry and eager to prove himself. He's been neglected his all his life, and he finally has a chance to show everyone who doubted him that he really does have the potential to be a great wizard.

Rolan himself appears to be in his mid- to late- twenties, bringing up the question of what he's been doing his entire life if not magic. It's mentioned that he was able to conjure a flaming cat from when Cal was as young as 8, so depending on the age difference between the siblings, Rolan might have known magic from a very early age. So why, then, is he a mere wizard apprentice at the start of the game? He's surely had a lot of time to learn himself.

[Lia: Try not to get too close, Cal.]

[Rolan: Yes. Remember what happened last time?]

[Cal: I was eight and you magicked up a kitten. How was I supposed to know it was made of fire?]

What could have happened along the way? He might have just not found the time or the opportunity to be able to study, especially as a tiefling without a family or the money to pay for an education. In my interpretation, Rolan carries a lot of unvoiced shame for not having been able to "fulfill his destiny" until now. He projects an outward mask of confidence and arrogance to hide his vulnerability, his insecurities - that his family isn't really his family, and that he isn't really destined for greatness. His natural reaction to vulnerability is anger and denial, which we'll explore more in the later sections.

(It is mentioned in the devnotes, though, that Rolan "has truly worked his ass off to get here". Prodigy is not an ironic title - he's likely had to self-study to the point where Lorroakan felt that he had potential. He has a right to be confident, but it doesn't negate any potential feelings of unworthiness.)

Additional info - Rolan, Cal, and Lia, on top of having known each other since Cal was 8, also share a mother figure, who is deceased. There is no mention of a father. It could be that this was Lia and Cal's actual mother, who took Rolan in, or a number of other possibilities - it could be that ROLAN'S mother took the three in, or that she just happened to be an unrelated woman who adopted three orphans.

[Cal: We should have a little party when we reach the city, like we did for mum.]

[Rolan: That 'little party' lasted from sundown to sunrise. Lia would like that.]

This dialogue can only be accessed if Lia dies but Cal and Rolan live.

So we've set up a few key details about Rolan's personality: his arrogance may harbor hints of insecurity or desperation, he has issues with feeling abandoned or neglected, and he's potentially been denied his chance to learn magic in the past. We will explore these in detail in the next few sections, along with another troubling tendency of his - perfectionism, and the self-blame that comes with it.

Part 2 - The Grove

"I'll not gamble our lives, our futures, for people who are as good as dead."

If you recall his dialogue in the grove, Rolan seems to distance himself from the other refugees, focusing only on the safety of his siblings. Let's unpack this in his own words -

[Rolan: This isn't Elturel and I'm not responsible for every damn tiefling in the world!]

[Rolan: I made no such oath, and I will not be held responsible for these people.]

This is in contrast to Lia, who believes that they should help what she considered to be their 'kin'. Remember that Rolan often refers to the refugees in a detached way, refusing to associate himself with them.

At a first glance, it might seem like Rolan is fixated on his apprenticeship - he wants to get to Baldur's Gate straight away, so he can begin studying under Lorroakan. Lia accuses him of the same, causing Rolan to react with anger.

But if you think about what Rolan's underlying motivations might be, you might have realized something that Cal and Lia most likely recognized too - he's worried for his siblings' safety.

The grove is an open, unprotected area, and they're being menaced by druids on one side, goblins on the other. There's only a few fighters, Rolan, Cal and Lia among them, and none of them are strong enough to take on either group. Even if Rolan feels a sort of kinship with the other tieflings - which I'll expand on in a second - he prioritizes the lives of his siblings over them, and doesn't want them to sacrifice themselves for people he doesn't even know.

Now, the other theory - what if Rolan doesn't identify with the other tieflings, because he's been cast out by them before?

I'm going to inject my personal experience as an immigrant here. Life as an immigrant can be profoundly isolating, especially if you have few relatives in the area. Rolan may have been so attached to Cal and Lia because they took him in when his own people rejected him - for some reason, even other tieflings could have seen him as an "outsider", and refused to help him when his parents abandoned him or died. If you tie in the theory that he was a tiefling born to human parents (which would be taboo), it could have been that they rejected him for not "being tiefling enough". I'm aware that in-universe there's no one unified "culture" of tieflings, but even in groups without a unified culture, there are still small pockets of people with certain internal customs. It could be that Rolan failed to fit in due to his heritage, that he was rejected for his personality, or some other reason, but my interpretation for his refusal to help fellow tieflings is that he never quite felt the same kinship for them that Cal and Lia did. It could also be that he holds resentment towards them for abandoning him - abandonment seems to be a central theme in Rolan's story, and likely contributes to his feelings of inferiority and unworthiness.

(He does seem to know Infernal, though I don't know whether that's a cultural thing or an innate trait to tieflings.)

If the fight is held at the grove, Rolan, Cal, and Lia stand near the back of the cave to protect the children. They can be found arguing with each other on potential battle positions. Afterwards, if the tieflings and all three of the siblings survive, they can be found by the entrance of the cave, where Rolan again behaves arrogantly towards you and claims he could have handled the goblins on his own.

All of this is quite standard for his character and projects the image of an arrogant, selfish person who only seeks to protect himself and the people that matter to him, which is likely what he wants. It also lends some credibility to the interpretation where he was rejected by other refugees - if he felt neutral towards other tieflings, it might have made more sense if he was less derisive towards them. Instead, he consistently detaches himself from his people, drawing clear lines between them, with a hint of bitterness that seems to have a painful origin.

The rest of Act 1 is Rolan acting like his standard self - bratty, arrogant, and dismissive of others. That is how most of us met him, though he won't stay that way for long.

Part 3 - Moonrise

"But what good am I if I can't do this... this one thing?"

(Author's note: "This one thing" is travelling alone through a cursed, necrotic land, breaking into a prison staffed with dozens of trained guards, and personally facing an immortal chosen of the literal god of death. Rolan is a Level 4 wizard.)

As you already know, at the start of Act 2 Rolan is drinking himself to death alone. His brother and sister have been dragged away screaming by the cultists, and he's overwhelmed at the thought of never seeing them again. Naturally, he's quite angry with you, but if you read his lines closely, you can see that you're not the only person he's angry at.

[Rolan: Gods damn it all. I can do nothing right - not a damn thing!] [Devnote: Furious - mainly with himself]

[Player: You're supposed to be at Last Light.]

[Rolan: I'm supposed to be saving Cal and Lia!] [Devnote: Frantic, worried for his siblings]

[Rolan: Instead, I found myself cornered by shadow-fiends and in need of rescue. From you, of all bloody people.] [Devnote: Pissed off and taking it out on the player]

[Player: You were trying to help your family - you're too hard on yourself.]

[Rolan: Or not hard enough.]

[Rolan: I've failed Cal and Lia, again. Be on your way - I'll return to Last Light... I know when I'm outmatched.]

Rolan is someone who feels deeply responsible for the safety of his siblings (this lends credence to the idea that he's the eldest of the three). He may argue and bicker with them, but he could never abandon then, nor could he forgive himself if something were to happen to them. He is clearly carrying an unbearable amount of grief and guilt for allowing his siblings to be captured, but he's so emotionally repressed that he chooses to bury his sorrow under a mound of anger. Being drunk doesn't help - it's mentioned by one of the kids, Ide, that he's been through three bottles of wine by the time the player reaches the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

That much is obvious just from reading his lines, but his angry reaction to the player is, as the devnotes say, a way of taking out his pain and frustration on other people. He might feel guilty about it later, but in the moment, it's the only way he knows how to cope with them. This isn't his only instance of externalizing his self-hatred.

If Cal dies and Lia lives, the player has the option to break up an argument between Lia and Rolan. If they fail to neutralize the situation, Rolan will tell Lia (or Cal, depending on who lives) to get out of his sight permanently.

[Rolan: You deserve nothing. You two are cowardly parasites, and I am disgusted it took me this long to see. Get out of my sight.] [Devnote: Furious in his grief, lashing out, being as hurtful as he can to his surviving sibling]

[Lia: Fuck you, Rolan!]

[Lia: Insufferable, arrogant little prick. Argh.]

[Lia: Everything is about him, everything is about his pain. Godsdamnit, Rolan!]

It says a lot to me that if one of his siblings dies, that he has to be convinced out of lashing out at his surviving one. He seems to be like a person who deals with strong emotions by lashing out, likely as a defense mechanism to make himself appear stronger than he feels. This is a common technique used by people with self-esteem issues - to avoid drawing attention to their own vulnerability, they lash out and externalize their feelings with anger to bury the grief. Lia says as much in this ending - to Rolan, everything is about his pain, and he's managing it in the only way he knows how. He knows he's hurting his siblings, he knows it's wrong, but he engages in it anyway, a common trait of people who dislike themselves. If Rolan didn't have his apprenticeship, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the death of his siblings might have caused him to spiral and give up on life altogether.

Interestingly enough, in the end where both Rolan and one of his siblings die, it's implied that the remaining sibling commits suicide. You can read more about it here - it gives some insight into Rolan's motivations, and serves to emphasize exactly how much this apprenticeship means to him. Rolan lives for two things, though it really just is one thing - his siblings, and his apprenticeship, which means more to him because it represents a hopeful future for his siblings. Every clue in the game points to his siblings being everything to him.

But let's move away from this bad ending for one second, and back to where we are. Rolan's been drinking himself silly, yelling at children, and eventually storms out into the SCL by himself. Being an apprentice wizard, few expect him to survive on his own, and true to form, he has to be rescued by the player again.

Though I think this line is currently bugged and unavailable, he actually has lines reacting to the shadows.

[Rolan: My magic is not to be trifled with - leave or die!] [Devnote: Exhausted and scared, but trying not to sound it]

Rolan, emotionally repressed fool he is, is once again attempting to appear big in order to protect himself from what he fears. Whether it's the shadows, or the loss of his siblings, he reacts to stressful situations with a brave front, attempting to push people away so they won't see him at his worst state.

This is one of the common symptoms of an avoidant attachment disorder - an attachment style that causes people to push others away if they get too close, avoiding emotional closeness and being uncomfortable expressing vulnerability to others. I interpret Rolan as having this kind of attachment style, which is often formed from neglect or abuse as a child, resulting in a self-sufficient but emotionally cold person. It can lead to the breakdowns of close relationships, as evidenced by Rolan pushing away his surviving sibling (potentially in order to save himself the grief of having to go through their death again). People with this disorder often cut off people before they can be cut off, in order to save themselves the pain of being abandoned again.

Some recognize the negative impact of their behaviors more than most, and though Rolan never comments on it, it can be inferred that he feels some measure of guilt for the way he behaves. If convinced to lay off of his surviving sibling, he immediately apologizes, recognizing his mistake.

[Cal: Do you wish it was me who died? Instead of Lia?]

[Rolan: Gods no, that's not what I meant. Never, Cal. Never!] [Devnote: Realizes what he's just said. Backtracking, apologizing, sincere]

[Rolan: Shit. I'm sorry.] [Devnote: Disgusted with himself and what he's just said. Looking away, sincere apology]

[Cal: Me too.]

We can see here that Rolan IS capable of self-reflection and guilt - it just takes more than a nudge to get it out of him. He says as much if you manage to rescue both siblings, thanking you and apologizing for his behavior - not an empty apology, or made out of necessity, but a genuine, heartfelt admission of guilt and gratitude. This kind of mature response from him says a lot about his character, and hints at a capacity for further growth in Act 3.

As Cal says, Rolan can be stubborn, but he's never malicious. I see this as an indicator of the immense guilt he holds inside him - though he externalizes his rage towards anyone and everyone, deep down, the person he blames the most is himself.

Which leads me directly into a talk about perfectionism, one of Rolan's defining character traits.

Rolan, at his core, is a perfectionist. The feelings of failure for not being able to save his siblings, the arrogance that belies a certain type of self-hatred, and a willingness to attack others in order to deflect from his own vulnerability - all of these traits tie heavily into perfectionism, which Rolan consistently displays traits of. At the start of the game, he spends every line with the player bragging about how he and Lorroakan are going to become household names, how they will boast of this meeting to others. To an extent, I'm sure he believes it. He's just been invited to what he considers to be a prestigious apprenticeship, despite everyone having considered him a failure. Naturally, he's excited despite the trauma of Elturel and Avernus, and wants to get to Lorroakan immediately in order to fulfill his destiny (he refers to it as his destiny several times throughout the game).

This makes what happens next all the more tragic.

Part 4 - Baldur's Gate, Lorroakan, and ending the Cycle of Abuse

Picture this - you've been rejected, abandoned, considered a lost cause for most of your life, accepted only by the siblings you just barely avoided losing forever. But the journey was worth it. You're finally here, in the city you've dreamed of, studying under who in your opinion is one of the most powerful and respected wizards in the world.

Then you get there, and you don't learn a thing. Your teacher asks you nonsensical questions and beats you as a punishment when you're wrong. It's unsurprising that when the player enters Sorcerous Sundries, that Rolan seems a bit more dejected than usual.

Much has been said about the depiction of abuse in media, but as a survivor of domestic violence, I found Rolan's reaction and justification of his abuse very accurate for someone suffering from DV. True to his personality, the very first thing he does is deny that anything's wrong, continuing his trend of burying his emotions in the hope that they'll go away.

[Player: I know the marks of subjugation. Your face - what happened?]

[Rolan: Nothing for you to worry about.] [Devnote: Master Lorroakan hurt him, but he doesn't want to say]

[Narrator: *His voice catches. Something's wrong here.*]

Survivors of DV often feel great shame towards their abuse, often blaming themselves and refusing to speak about it out of fear of appearing vulnerable. True to that, Rolan doesn't say anything about what Lorroakan's doing it, resorting to another common tactic for abuse survivors - implying what's happening without directly stating that the abuse is occurring. This is often out of fear, especially if the victim is still close to the abuser - in this case, Rolan not wanting to jeopardize his apprenticeship, or possibly be abused further for disclosing it to someone else.

[Rolan: Be very sure before you make to visit Lorroakan. He's got a beastly temper.] [Devnote: Sounds a bit disappointed in the player]

[Rolan: Master Lorroakan is... a difficult man.] [Devnote: Gently touches bruised face, distant]

Abuse survivors often hold a great deal of guilt for 'allowing' themselves to be abused, more so if the abuser considers them weak or easy to manipulate. There's often a stigma - "why didn't you just leave? You knew it was bad, yet you stayed, so there must be some blame on your part." This is not an uncommon belief amongst survivors, and through his journal entries, it can be inferred that Rolan holds a similar belief. Rolan's journal, and his VA's fantastic reading of it, can be found here. Rolan is clearly aware that what's being done to him is wrong, but he persists - in my opinion, partially because he believes it's worth the benefits involved, and partially because he feels a responsibility towards his siblings to succeed after 'failing' them so tragically before. Again, perfectionism, guilt, internalized self-hatred: easy traits for a horrible man like Lorroakan to take advantage of.

There are a few possible endings for Rolan here, the first being if you side against the Nightsong with Lorroakan.

The thing about abuse, as Larian so excellently portrays it, is that it is often perpetuated in cycles. A person who's been hurt is more likely to hurt others, whether as a response to their pain, or in an attempt to spread their misery in order to feel less alone. Though not all survivors become perpetrators themselves, many perpetrators are survivors themselves. Rolan is no different - if Nightsong is captured, and Lorroakan is killed in the fight, he will immediately attempt to cage the Nightsong himself and harness her immortality. This could easily be seen as an attempt to get strong enough that no one can ever hurt or take advantage of him again.

When the player next long rests, Rolan will be found dead, having been killed by Aylin - perhaps a mercy, to avoid him from becoming just the same as Lorroakan.

But the player who cares for Rolan wouldn't let this happen to him, right?

Rolan's attitude towards the player gradually changes over time, but nothing shows his growth more than his good ending, where you save Cal and Lia and side with the Nightsong. When you bring Nightsong to the tower, Rolan will be shocked, in disbelief that the Nightsong was a person all along. He turns against Lorroakan on the spot despite the other man's threats to ruin his life (a common tactic employed by abusers to control their victims).

[Lorroakan: Boy! At the ready. Once I've taken control of the aasimar, she must go directly into the caging runes.]

[Rolan: No, Master Lorroakan. I would have never assisted you if I knew you planned such horrors.]

[Rolan: You lied to get the Nightsong here. Made us all believe she was nothing but a relic. I have seen what true leadership can accomplish - but never under your tutelage.]

[Lorroakan: Watch your tongue, you child! I could make it so that no wizard in the realm will touch you.]

[Rolan: If they're all like you, I think that sounds like an excellent bargain.]

It takes an immense amount of courage to stand up to one's abuser, so to see Rolan so bravely stand against the man who hurt him was a positive surprise to me. It also shows just how much the player has changed Rolan for the better - your leadership and selflessness has inspired him, given him the bravery to stand against his abuser. It's a powerful scene, and I admit that watching it brought a tear to my eye, brief as it was. Few people get the chance to take revenge on their abusers, so it was cathartic to see Rolan thunderwaving him onto the balcony before letting Aylin snap his spine.

After the fight, Rolan thanks the player, finally feeling safe enough after his abuser's death to reveal what happened to him. Though it's implied that he feels some shame for being victimized, much of it is likely from the shock of the sudden event, and by the next day he's regained much of his enthusiasm - he still has the ego, but with less arrogance and more acceptance of the player's presence. Rolan's growth, from hating and mistrusting the player to eventually trusting them enough to show his true, kind self to them, is what really made me fall in love with him and his character arc.

Ultimately, Rolan's story isn't just about learning to lay down your pride and accept help from others - it's about abandoning perfectionism and elitism, accepting your own faults, and choosing to grow as a person. For Rolan, the player begins as an annoying, meddlesome force, someone who "moralizes" to him about saving others when he wants no part in doing what's considered "right". By the end of the game, he realizes just how lucky he is to have you in his life - without the player's influence, he could have easily gone down the worst path, the path of narcissism, ego, and disregard for others. But because of a string of coincidences, he was saved from that fate, and was allowed to grow and accept that there's enough room in his heart for more than just the few people that care about him. He learns to lay down the perfectionism, accept that making mistakes is a part of change, and feel his feelings for what they are - whether they're gratitude, fear, or even sadness.

For someone who struggles with avoidant attachment disorder, seeing Rolan's character change throughout the game greatly inspired me to change the way I was approaching my own relationships with people. Avoidant attachment disorder is not talked about very often, both in the medical field and in everyday life, and people suffering from it are often misunderstood or considered to be 'lost causes' - to see Rolan so capable of change inspired me to change myself, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

When he takes over Ramazith's Tower, Rolan decides to distribute Lorroakan's knowledge to the world, and tells you about his plans to open a library. This is the most obvious sign that he's changed - the player's willingness to help him despite getting little or nothing in exchange has inspired him, and he becomes a kinder, more open person. He learns to trust again, to love again. It's unclear what happens afterwards, as he's not present in the epilogue, but the heartwarming conclusion to his arc can be seen in the issue of the Baldur's Mouth Gazette after Lorroakan's death -

Despite everything, Rolan makes it to the end, having vanquished the trials in front of him with the help of the player. He gets his tower, his knowledge, and shares it with the realms, finally able to realize that he's worthy and deserving of a happy life.

Thank you to Larian for bringing Rolan's story to life, to Mr. Taylor for his excellent portrayal of this character, and to all the Rolan fans for showing him so much love every single day.

I have met so many amazing and talented friends from the community around this character, and I'll forever be grateful for everyone who showed him the love I feel towards him.

I can be found on twitter at @gimblebock.

#rolan #rolan bg3 #bg3 rolan #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 #rolan cal lia #lorroakan #bg3 lore #long post

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sugar-grigri · 8 months

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Miri does the chair as much as Denji

The chapter confirms the suffering of the hybrids who turn out to be the "weapons" (thank you Fujimoto for confirming at least one of my theories).

But let's go into a bit more detail in this chapter, which only talks about alienation and never about freedom.

What better title than 'A Chair's Feelings', which is a perfect antithesis.

I have the feeling that something specific has happened, let me explain.

Firstly, Fumiko Mifune plays her role as Denji's guard perfectly. She's not protecting him as a person but as the property of the public hunters.

How does she do this? Firstly because she sticks to Denji, but more importantly she seriously disrupts the discussion between Denji and Sugo.

Every time Miri puts an advantage on the table, she questions it. A high position in the church? Chainsaw Man deserves to be guru.

Steak every day? We're getting tired of it, other dishes would be preferable.

The public hunters represent the opressor who uses Denji as a tool. In other words, the entity that Miri is trying to remove Denji from.

But what's particularly interesting is that Miri doesn't demonstrate free will and spits out someone else's arguments.

What's even more fascinating is that Miri thinks he's going to convince Denji with his own arguments, which turns out to be in vain.

Miri seems like someone who operates on principle and has taken on board concepts such as dignity and freedom, which he now intends to protect. Denji doesn't think like that; he needs concrete arguments to engage him.

For example, Miri presents Denji as his liberator. This has no effect on him, as he was unaware of it because it was Pochita who was fighting. Once again, we're projecting onto the figure of Chainsaw Man the image we'd like him to represent here: the first weapon to free himself from the oppressor that was Makima.

But Miri is far from imagining that not only was Denji not conscious, but that he consciously 'saved' Makima by allowing her to become a new version of herself who would be cherished and loved. Because Makima was never the oppressor, she was merely the object of the Japanese government, which surely also used a few weapons.

That's why I think Miri's way of presenting himself is a step backwards. I don't know if it's intentional, but the way his name appears in the dialogue bubbles and the suspension points…… The syntax is important. Miri knows that his name is just a number given to him by his former oppressor.

In fact, that's why he calls Fumiko "sushi-woman" or refers to the students as rubbish; he doesn't think of them as they never thought of him.

Sugo has no intention of forming a relationship with the humans, whom he seems to reject, which clearly shows that weapons are used by humans, not demons.

But Denji grimaces when he sees that he is so easily popular and integrated, and that he would prefer to be rejected.

Miri rejects humans, wanting only to make friends with weapons, while Denji continues to define himself only by humans. One holds a grudge and wants revenge, while the other still prefers integration. Which already demonstrates a fundamental difference.

Swordman's arguments move from the abstract to the concrete. He starts by talking about abstract concepts such as gratitude (Denji saved him), freedom and having a community, and then starts to integrate the concrete.

He already includes food by using the precise line that Denji had used, namely steaks.

Miri isn't interested in the debate about food, deploring Denji's interest in it, and reiterates in a cruder and more brutal form what he was saying before, "being used by bastards", instead of talking about instrumentalisation and freedom. And again, he has to push Denji to confirm this.

It's obvious that Miri, who presents himself as the messenger of the church, either sent by someone or is carrying out someone's order, is contradicting himself and is not yet free. As Fumiko points out.

When Miri confronts Denji, who is still in the chair position, Denji has a more interesting response than it seems: being a chair suits him because he can feel buttocks against his back.

Being a chair means contact, and physical contact with girls. Even if it's a rather perverse line (and far from the most poetic), it shows that Denji is once again interested in being a chair if it allows him to make contact with his own kind. That he has no abstract concept built in like self-esteem or claiming his dignity.

Even becoming a friend is too abstract for Denji, who doesn't react. He will only react when new physical contact is mentioned, reacting unusually comically.

Miri mentions this last argument as a last resort, leaving as if he was already sure it would be pointless. It's as if someone had told him to mention low, childish things like steak and sex because they were the only things that would convince Denji.

There's a clear dichotomy in Miri's speech between the arguments that convinced him (surely used by the church to hire him) and the other kinds of arguments that would convince Denji, whispered to him by someone in the church who knows Denji.

Who knows Denji? No hybrids, they don't have any memories, so surely not Reze.

I like to imagine that it's Kishibe, since the steak and sex with several girls are explicit things that Denji mentioned in front of him when he proclaimed his dream.

He was also the only one to observe the fight between Pochita and Makima. So he's the only one who can tell us about the hybrids' past. If we support his link with the hybrids through Quanxi...

It all ties together!

If we go back to the title... A Chair Feelings. It takes on a whole new meaning.

Note the use of the indefinite article "a" and not "the" when only Denji is doing the chair? Wouldn't a chair be a broader metaphor and category? The chair would be the form of alienation accepted by the weapons. Still not freedom.

In short, Fujimoto questions one thing: is the man who claims to be free so far removed from the man who makes the chair ?

#csm 139 #csm spoilers #chainsaw man #csm part 2 #csm #denji #miri sugo #swordman #kishibe #makima #my thoughts

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tiredofthehumanlife · 1 month

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Evangeline

Barbie dolls: dean Winchester x fem!you

Summary : basically the Lisa plot but like not though you hid your baby from Dean for years before being like “hey check out this kid we made”

Warnings: pregnancy, birth described by a person who has only watched like three birth videos, talks of religion? This is supernatural the last like eight seasons are about god come on guys, I named the kid sorry, not the kids name is sorry like you get it, it’s fem reader I’m sorry, um so much dialogue oh my god these bitches don’t shut up, happish ending but majority pained Dean, I think that’s it

Request: no. Also my inbox is open guys

You hunted with the Winchester boys for years. You loved them both very much and trusted them with your life. You knew if anything ever happened they’d be there, and vice versa. Throughout the years, your feelings for Dean blossomed into something more than friendship. Maybe it was his incessant flirting, which you returned. Maybe it was his car. Maybe it was just him. Anyway you were certain Dean didn’t like you in the same way. He was just a flirtatious person. You were 100% positive on this conclusion until you both went on a hunt alone. Which wasn’t new, but what was new was the tension. Dean got himself into trouble as usual and you saved him as usual. Only this time he seemed to be reminded how short life truly was. So he told you how all these years he was yearning for you. You were shocked. Dean was worried he had just ruined everything. You told him you felt the exact same way. So of course you both spent the entire night wrapped up in each other. You were mindful of each other’s new wounds. It was a beautiful night. Though you slightly regretted it weeks later.

You found out you were pregnant. You knew Dean wasn’t prepared. You weren’t sure if he ever would be. Dean drank, he spent most of his time working on his car, he barely knew your favorite color, he was quite immature, and he killed monsters for a living. Which you did too but that’s not the point. So you decided not to tell him. In fact the only person you told was Bobby. When you told him he called you idgit and asked if either of ever heard of a condom. To which you replied something along the lines of we didn’t plan it out. Which caused Bobby to tell you the next time he saw Dean he was knocking him out. He asked you what you thought about doing. You explained to him your plan.

You’d go into hiding for about a year, have the baby alone.Then you’d come out of hiding, find a job, a simple home. Raise your child alone. By the time for kindergarten every hunter would’ve forgotten about you. The boys would probably come across an old photo and think I wonder whatever happened to them and move onto the next photo. You’d become an empty guest room in the bunker, an odd mug in the cabinet, a forgotten note in the margin of a book on their shelves, and the hazy memory of a hookup in Dean’s head. Simple as that.

Bobby truly thought you were smarter than that.

“What happens when Dean comes around asking me where you went?”

“Tell I quit hunting, the jobs got in my head. No baby, nothing to do with Dean. Just got tired.”

Bobby decided while he hated the idea of you raising your child alone he knew you were capable. He didn’t like thinking of you in hiding from his boys but if it’s what you wanted who was he to argue with you. So he helped hide you. When Dean came around asking what happened to you he hadn’t heard from you in a while. Were you on a hunt? Bobby told him exactly what you told him to. Job got too much, you quit. You’re off in some quaint town in some perfect little apartment with nothing to your name but a box of cereal and an unfinished crochet project. Dean was obviously upset that you hadn’t told him you planned on quitting, but he understood entirely. So he left you be and assumed you’d call him eventually and tell him all the beautiful things you’d been up to.

All the while, you were wrapped up in some off the grid cottage with Donna Hanscum squeezing your hand, telling you how amazing you were doing over your screams. Jody Mills between your legs, which at first you quite embarrassed about but when your contractions became closer you no longer cared, ready to catch your baby. Through the screams and the tears, and god how much you wished Donna would hit your head with a candlestick to knock you out, your daughter was born. You thought of Eve. Ridiculous, but you spent so much time with the boys hunting down demons and angels it was hard not to think of religious figures. You thought of how scared she must of been. All alone. She would’ve given birth on the forest floor, having no idea what was going on. If she would make it. She had no other woman to support her and tell her, “believe me darling, been there done that. Everyone poops a little its perfectly natural.” No one to tell her anything she was just screaming alone. You stared at the ceiling and while you felt like a vampire ripping all your skin off would hurt less you cried for her. You cried for your pain as well because fucks sake. You felt Donna wipe a wet cloth over your sweaty forehead. You felt Jody gently rub your thigh, grounding you. You looked to Donna’s face and smiled. Eve was alone, but you weren’t. You were so incredibly glad Bobby was a hard headed bitch because your whole “I’ll give birth alone” plan would’ve been hell. Donna nodded at you and asked you to push again. You squeezed her hand harder and pushed. You squeezed your eyes shut and threw your head back screaming at the ceiling as you were sure Eve did to the stars.

You heard Jody and Donna both say hello in that usual baby talk voice that seems to just kick in naturally. You opened your eyes and saw her. She was screaming her head off, like mother like daughter. She was covered in blood just as Jody. Jody held her up from between your legs. Your legs made a frame for this filthy, disgusting, gorgeous image. Her misshapen head supported by Jody’s hand. God she was beautiful. You smiled brighter than you were sure you ever had. Jody gently placed your newborn on your stomach as she worked on the umbilical cord and placenta. You couldn’t care less what Jodie was doing, you were holding your baby. You held her to your chest after Jody trimmed the cord and wiped her down. She was still crying, which you understood. She was just evicted and now she’s being held by some sweaty mystery woman, you’d cry too. Something hit you while you were cradling a whole new human to your chest. You had no idea what you were doing.

“I don’t know what to do.” You sobbed. Donna nodded and leaned down to you, pressing a kiss to your sweaty forehead. You felt her tears dip down onto your hairline. Donna gently pushed your hair away from your face. She pulled back. Even though you couldn’t see her through your tears, you knew she was smiling at you.

“You don’t need to.” Donna whispered to you, wiping the tears off your face.

You stopped following your original plan after that. You did what you felt was right. For you and your daughter, Evangeline. You stayed with Jody and Donna. You kept in contact with Bobby, telling him all the milestones, events, and birthday parties. Bobby always showed up at them too, some obscure gift tucked under his arm wrapped in pretty wrapping paper. On her third birthday Bobby brought her a two headed stuffed bear, she still slept with it clutched to her chest every night. Jody and Donna helped you with every step of the way. Bobby helped keep things under wraps when Dean and Sam popped in asking where you are now, or if another hunter came around asking if you were dead.

Of course with the years of silence between you two, Dean starting asking more questions. “Do they hate me? Was it something I did? Was it because I told them I loved them? Are they okay? Are they alone? They aren’t in any trouble? What aren’t you telling us?” Bobby did his best to answer them without revealing anything he knew you wouldn’t want him to. However Dean was persistent and Bobby was a tired old man who could only take so much of Dean’s questions. So just to get Dean off his back Bobby gave him your phone number. You got a new phone when you went into hiding, leaving all of Deans messages and calls unanswered. So Dean thought about it for a while, would you really want to hear from him? It’s been six almost seven years, the last time he saw you he told you he loved you and a handful of weeks later him and Sam get home from a trip with your room cleared out. A sticky note taped to your door. I quit hunting, I’m exhausted. Don’t look for me. Love you both. It never sat right with him you didn’t seem like the type to just pack all your things and ditch them leaving nothin behind but three sentences. Though Dean used to think that of his father so what exactly did he know. What could it hurt?

You gingerly closed the door behind you, Evangeline snoring away. You quietly snuck away freezing when the stairs creaked. The house was still, so you continued on. You reached the kitchen and made yourself a snack. Your phone rang on the table. You quickly picked it up, moving out the door onto the back porch.

“Hello?” You wished you had taken a moment to look at the caller Id but the panic of waking up Evangeline outweighed knowing which one of the three people you knew were calling you.

“Hey baby, miss me?” You froze at the sound of his voice. It was terrifying, what if he knows about Evangeline? But god, it’s Dean. It’s hard to stay upset or worried around him.

“And here I thought your car was named Baby, not me.” You sat on the cushioned swing. You smiled as you heard him chuckle.

“Oh don’t be like that. Anyway you quit huh? What’s got you so tied up you can’t even call poor old me?” You glanced at the swing set and blowup pool in the backyard. Evangeline’s toys scattered across the yard. You clicked your tongue. Yes you were so tied up you couldn’t call him. You shrugged. You remembered he couldn’t see you.

“Oh you know, basic civilian life. It’s real lovely. I have a pool now, and a garden.” You looked to the tomato plants you and Evangeline planted, you thought they were flower seeds and when they didn’t produce pretty petals she sobbed for five minutes straight. Once Evangeline stopped crying she said she would like to be alone and stormed to her room. A week later you were both planting actual flower seeds. Dean gasped.

“Wow a garden huh? Do you think we could meet up, catch up? I’m sure a lot has happened in the past, what’s it six years?” He knew the exact number of days you’d been gone. It wasn’t really a question. You coughed.

“Uh well you know I don’t know, you’re probably not even near my state right now anyways. But maybe sometime.” You heard Dean sigh.

“Come on, baby. Don’t even tell me your county just what state?” You rolled your eyes at his nickname. You hummed.

“Minnesota.” You heard Dean groan.

“We’re only like 11 hours away, that’s a cake walk.”

“Maybe let me think about it for a little bit.” Dean hummed in agreement. You let out a small sigh, happy he’d give you enough time to decide whether you should throw a wrench in everything.

“You’re not out there alone are you?” Dean sounded worried though you know he’d never admit it. Dean probably missed you, too. He wouldn’t admit that either. Maybe it’d been years but you could tell it was same old Dean. His voice was deeper but he still talked the same.

“No, Dean. I’m not alone. I actually have roommates.” Dean made cooed. You heard Sam yell his name in the background.

“Yeah me too. They nice? Not beating up my baby are they?” You chuckled at him.

“No, they’re lovely. Sam’s good?” You heard a car approaching your house. You glanced up, moving back into the house to peer out the window. Dean hummed.

“Oh yeah he’s great, he like goes on morning runs and stuff. It’s disgusting.” You laughed.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” You both fell into a small silence. You didn’t feel uncomfortable, it was Dean. You felt happy. You squished your lips in disappointment when the car sped past your driveway.

“I miss you.” He added. You paused. You pulled the phone away from your ear to look at the number. He wasn’t saved but you still had to check you weren’t hallucinating. You hummed.

“I missed you too.” Dean sighed happily. It felt good to hear you say it. He still had so many questions. Dean wanted to sit down with you ask you everything he ever wondered all these years.

“Why’d you leave like that? I was so worried about you. I had to find out from a sticky note and Bobby. You couldn’t call me and tell me you were okay? You didn’t even seem like you were tired of the job when we’re working. It was out of the blue, all I wanted was you to call tell me you were still in one piece.” Dean’s voice cracked. You heard him inhale deeply, composing himself.

“I know it was sudden, but I just- I had to get out of there. Things happened and suddenly all I could think about was my future. I didn’t want to spend my whole life chasing after monsters, I’m not some children’s book character. I should’ve told you, I should’ve called but all I wanted was to get out and i felt like if I didn’t just cut contact with everyone and leave immediately I’d get sucked back in. I treated you poorly, I apologize but you have to understand i needed to get out or I didn’t think I’d live much longer.” You threw yourself into the armchair near the window. You felt like you might need to sit down for this conversation.

“I get that but god I would’ve killed for you to just tell me you were safe.” You nodded at his uneven voice.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered. You heard him sigh on the other end.

“I’m sorry. For just the life it sucks. I’m glad you got out.”

Another silence settled over you as you watched the trees in your front yard sway. You saw Donna’s car pull into your driveway. Right on time, Evangeline’s footsteps sounded above your head. Dean seemed to have already matured so much and you barely had an hour long conversation.

“We should meet, catch up.” Dean barely had enough time to agree before you hung up on him. Clearly you still needed to practice your goodbyes. You called for Evangeline, telling her Aunty Donna was back.

Soon enough you were sat in a diner. A kids menu placed next to you on the table. You waited patiently, watching Evangeline pick a song on the jukebox. You heard the familiar sound of Dean’s car pulling into the parking lot. You watched as he stepped out with a bouquet of your favorite flowers. He stepped into the diner, the bell ringing above his head. Dean smiled brightly when he saw you, moving towards you with a fast pace. He paused when he heard AC/DC come on over the speakers, Dean all together froze when the child next to the jukebox ran over to your table. When Dean finally reached your table he was silent. Evangeline had crawled into your lap, dancing to the song she picked out. She snuggled further into you when she saw Dean. You smiled at him and greeted Dean. You introduced to him to Evangeline explaining he was your friend. Dean slid into the seat across from you. Evangeline busied herself with the crayons and maze on the back of her menu. After he gave you the flowers, which you thanked him for, Dean looked at Evangeline.

“What’s- uh what’s her name?” Dean whispered. You grinned.

“Evangeline” you paused a moment watching him look to your daughter pushing her hair out of her face.

“Winchester.” You finished. His eye shot to you. Dean pointed at himself in question. You nodded.

“She’s mine?” You nodded again. Dean stared at her. Before he was looking at her because she was yours. Now he was looking at her because she was his too. You both watched as she scribbled over the maze, ultimately giving up. Evangeline looked up at you and flipped her menu over. As you both decided what she wanted. When the waitress came around you ordered for the three of you, hoping Dean’s love for bacon hadn’t changed. As you and Evangeline started a game of tic-tac-toe Dean seemed to come to his senses.

“You left because you knew about her. That’s where you went, to raise your baby.” Dean asked though it was more of an observation. You nodded, stealing one of Evangeline’s Cheerios. She pouted at you and “won” your tic-tac-toe game.

“Our baby, technically. But yes. I found out I was pregnant and I ran. I went into hiding with Jody and Donna I gave birth. And now here we are.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dean whispered. He looked up from the table with soft puppy eyes.

“You weren’t ready, I barely was. But I wanted this baby so I made the best decision I could come up with.” He nodded.

“I wish I could tell you you were wrong. I don’t think you were. I was a dick. I’m ready now though. I promise, I wanna be there for her, for you. I have a stable home, I drink less, I’m less of a douchebag. I can do this.” You nodded. You were proud of him. You already knew he’d grown. Old Dean would’ve showed up with a condom not a bouquet.

“I know. Let’s start small Dean. Breakfast first then we’ll start with life changes.” You thanked the waitress as she placed your orders in front of you each. Evangeline smiled brightly at the plate of bacon in front of her. Dean watched her as she squealed. He smiled brightly as she thanked the waitress before digging in. Evangeline really was his daughter.

#dean #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #supernatural #spn fanfic #spn x reader

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vintagemulti · 1 year

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a psa for those writing for johnny “soap” mctavish

as much as a love the works you’re all writing, a lot of people really don’t know how to write a scottish character (and that’s ok !!!! we get like no rep so) so as a scottish writer, i figured i should help you guys out a little bit.

dialogue

johnny has a VERYYY strong accent as i’m sure anyone can work out

however this doesn’t mean he’s suddenly speaking a different language

yes, a lot of slang is used and for a basic definition of scottish slang and how they should be used; use this ! if you have no idea of slang i’d recommend reading through every word

although we like to use slang, i can promise you that if we’re with someone that wouldn’t understand a word of it / someone who’s first language isn’t english, we wouldn’t speak fully scot (for example if johnny was speaking to alejandro or rudy)

there’s absolutely nothing to suggest he can speak gaelic. yeah i know this is an obvious one but i have seen a few people slip gaelic into his dialogue and that’s super duper inaccurate

barely anyone in scotland speaks gaelic (unless you’re up very high north or maybe in the isles). it’s actually almost an extinct language because the english pretty much wiped it out when we got colonised.

something i love to see is when he mumbles little scottish things under his breath. accurate af.

we say shite more than shit. and never ever will a scottish person say ass. it’s arse all the way.

we don’t call people (especially if you’re sleeping with someone !!!!) lass. or lassie. we call kids that.

pet names are normally along the lines of love, hen (my personal fave), sweetheart, little lady, bonnie (sometimes)

also, shagging is sex. shag, shagged, shagger. yeah.

mum not mom. maw, more commonly.

all that being said he does use a loottttt of slang so honestly go ham i love seeing scots language get used because it’s not been used in fanfic like ever before

culture

seen a few people write soap going mad for st andrews day

yeah no we don’t to that lol i barely every remember that it’s actually st andrews day

also, we aren’t all completely versed on celtic mythology. i could barely tell you the first thing about it.

in scotland we’re all kind of touchy, like we’ll greet people with a hug and stand weirdly close to each other so if that’s something you’re writing about it’s important to note that our personal space is really small

not sure where people get this idea from but scotland isn’t all sheep and highlands and fairies and like little huts

yes we have that but we’re a really modern nation and wayyy to many people have a weird perception of scotland

my man is literally from like glasgow (his accent sounds glasgow but don’t quote me on that) he’s not a farmer or anything

we swear. a lot.

KILTS. not skirts, very common to wear in scotland to events like weddings, christenings, anything formal really.

cunt isn’t a horrible word i literally everyone a cunt, sometimes it’s used affectionately

misc.

if you’re gonna write about scottish politics i beg you research it. johnnys probably pro independence and an SNP voter. google it for context

we’re really loud. and we talk really fast. yes, other characters are gonna be confused af

irn bru !!!!!!!!! it’s a scottish drink and ive seen one person mention it and i just about cried i loved it

in scotland you can vote at 16 and join the army at 16 if that’s relevant to you

if you’re going to write about something you don’t know anything about, either do research or ask someone scottish (im more than happy to help!!)

please don’t take these as complaints or anything !! it’s just very very off putting to see people make massive misconceptions and conclusions about scotland! i love that we’re finally getting some hype. anyways ask about anything!! <3

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yuurei20 · 5 months

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(This was originally an ask received through Twitter)

"Back in GloMas (on JP), I think I remember there being a lot of madness surrounding Idia being close to Yuu. I think it’s because he referred to them as ‘Yuu’ rather than ‘Yuu-shi’, but I still don’t quite get it??"

Yes! Honorifics as a whole have already discussed more in-depth here, but Idia does drop his honorific for the prefect once in Glorious Masquerade.

Quick overview for those who may not know: when you don’t use an honorific with someone (-chan / -kun / -sama / etc), this is called yobisute (呼び捨て), written with the kanji for “to call” and “to throw away,” and the word might just not exist in English. It means “to refer to someone without an honorific."

Twst uses honorifics (and yobisute) to track the evolving relationships between the characters.

Deuce, for example, has a line about how he used to yobisute his teachers (i.e. he refused to add “-sensei” to their names) in middle school. To compensate for his past rudeness, Deuce now refers to every single upperclassman by “lastname-senpai.”

There is even a cute scene during New Year’s where Deuce greets Jamil by calling him Viper-senpai, but after Jamil feeds him an egg salad sandwich he changes—just once—to Jamil-senpai.

Epel is another character whose use of honorifics is significant: Epel is under order from Vil to always use honorifics with everyone. During Book 5 we see him using “-kun” with Deuce, up until Deuce refuses to let Epel fight the bullies trying to steal their blastcycle.

Deuce says that he is the one who took Epel out of the school and so he will be taking responsibility for his actions, and we get Epel’s first “Deuce” yobisute.

Cater might be the character who weaponizes honorifics the most.

He seems to be using honorifics as an over-familiarity-buffer-zone, as he is actively trying to avoid becoming too close to those around him (re: “Cay-Cay doesn’t really do long-term friends or found family").

There is one exception to Cater’s rule of honorifics: Trey.

During Book 1 Cater refers to him as “Trey-kun” for the majority of the story, until Riddle’s overblot makes things serious enough for him to drop it and call him “Trey” (even during these scenes, however, he keeps his honorifics for others).

The novel even comments on this directly, saying, "Usually, Cater does not ever yobisute anyone. When he calls to Trey, he always adds ‘kun’ to his name. This is probably one of his skills as a good-natured person. When Cater uses Trey’s name like this, it is only when he is really serious. Only when it is important."

This is all to say that, depending upon the character, yobisute can be a huge deal. It isn’t a black-and-white rule, of course—it varies by each character and their personality.

Kalim, for example, refers to everyone with yobisute, possibly because his status back home meant that he was simply never taught to defer to anyone, and/or because he legitimately considers himself to be close, personal friends with everyone he meets.

Idia is one of those characters like Cater and Deuce for whom yobisute is a big deal. There is exactly one person he refers to without any form of honorific, and that person is Ortho. Much like how he uses his tablet to avoid talking to people face-to-face, he is possibly, intentionally keeping up an over-familiarity-wall like Cater.

The English-language adaptation has translated his honorific of “-shi” as “Mr.,” but it’s actually gender-neutral, which may be why the English-language game’s continuity is so inconsistent, and why the moment of Idia referring to the prefect without an honorific did not make it to EN: while the honorific disappears and reappears in English, he actually uses it to refer to the prefect in Book 6, and it is otherwise in 100% of all of Idia’s dialogue in the original game.

With one exception: Glorious Masquerade.

This is why JP lost its collective mind when it happened (the fan-art is delightful, like this short comic of the characters pointing at Idia and chanting "yobisute"), because it was something Idia had never done before and has never done again, and it was with the prefect!

(This was revealed to be a proof-reading error that was corrected in the 2023 re-release, with "-shi" added to the prefect's name in Idia's dialogue.)

Yobisute is usually very significant in the game, like during Book 6 where Azul, who uses the “-san” honorific with literally everyone except Jade and Floyd, uses yobisute with Riddle when he is in danger, and when Riddle uses it with Leona just before his overblot in Book 2.

Which means it will be interesting to see if Idia is going to continue with this yobisute-ing of the prefect outside of Glorious Masquerade! (which would be great for confirmation that it wasn't just a proof-reading error ww)

#twstask #twisted wonderland #twstlanguage #Idia Shroud

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linisiane · 7 months

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The Self-Aware Player of Harry Du Bois

It's fascinating to me to think about how satire is used as the 'touch grass' or 'be fucking for real' genre. Oftentimes it's making fun of tropes/conventions by humorously contrasting them with reality, which is exactly what Disco Elysium is doing with the RPG!

It goes hand in hand with the idea of RPGs as escapist power fantasy. RPGs are often thought of as the ultimate self-insert fantasy by its detractors or worst players, ahem looking at all those DND horror stories about entitled mangsty murderhobos.

One of the most infamous criticisms of Disco Elysium is its lackluster combat.

ID A screenshot of a random forum discussion post by dungeon master Zed Duke of Banville. It reads: "Disco Elysium has neither combat nor exploration, and therefore is missing two of the three fundamental components (or sets of components) that define the RPG genre." End ID

The game has essentially bordered off your ability to make Harry into a power fantasy murderhobo because you just are physically unable to equip an longsword or cuisse to murder your average citizen on the street of Martinaise.

But even on a less mangsty level, it subverts a lot of the basic expectations of RPGs.

Like the encounter with the racist lorry driver! You never get the ability or quest to change his mind, you only choose how you react to him.

Where other RPGs might let you act as the white savior or the white knight of chivalric romance, no questions asked, you're changing the minds of everybody who's wrong so we can all get along, Disco Elysium really makes you confront your ability to whiteknight, makes you confront if whiteknighting is even helpful, and why you wanted to whiteknight in the first place.

It’s part of the fun/humor experience of Disco Elysium that you at first expect to solve the world’s problems with a couple quests and lines of ‘good’ dialogue and then get socked in the faced with the fact that yeah, you can’t do much, you’re one person, what did you expect, asshole? Cuno doesn't fucking care!

By subverting our RPG expectations, it forces us to become more aware that these expectations even exist and how they fall short of reality. Yet, despite this subversion, the world of Disco Elysium feels so much realer to us.

ID a screenshot of Disco Elysium dialogue YOU - "Don't call it a dump, you've made it nice and cosy here." NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "Yeah." She stares out of the window, not really hearing your words. "Or maybe it's the entire world that's cursed? It's such a precarious place. Nothing ever works out the way you wanted." "That's why people like role-playing games. You can be whoever you want to be. You can try again. Still, there's something inherently violent even about dice rolls." "It's like every time you cast a die, something disappears. Some alternative ending, or an entirely different world...." She picks up a pair of dice from the table and examines them under the light. End ID

Like, Neha is highlighting this little meta element of how you can stack your Harry in any RPG to pursue a certain ending or situation, but the actual outcome is still influenced by a dice roll out of your control.

A lot of the satirical humor in Disco Elysium comes from the absurdity that you can do everything right or everything wrong, and the dice can still fuck it up or save it for you—not just for things like high-fantasy attacks, but mundane things like remembering your name.

The dice are, at their core, about how RPGs aren't just for the control fantasy, of winning high-fantasy battles, but also can represent life as it is, mundane and uncontrollable.

Similarly, Harry is clearly written—complete with all the 'lore' that this would entail—to couch his RPG protagonist nature in the real.

If RPG characters are blank slates? Let's give ours amnesia! Need fast travel?! Kim teases the 41st Precinct for constantly running everywhere by calling it the Jamrock Shuffle. He needs to have deep and intimate conversations with everyone, even when they're strangers? Yeah, that's so weird we gave him the name 'Human Can-Opener,' and everybody remarks on his uncanny manipulation skills.

It's commenting on difference between controlling an RPG avatar and navigating in a human body.

As Kurvits said: “In reality we do not have control, or complete control, of our minds. Just like our body, it is something that we give-not even commands wishes to, and we hope it's gonna do it. We hope it's not gonna break down, we hope it's not gonna rebel against us.”

In one type of RPG fantasy, we don't even question our total control and even assume the joy is from the control.

But in Disco Elysium, we lack control and find joy in it anyway. That is the fun of the game making us, the players, 'self-aware' about its RPG elements, and it especially resonates with anybody not able-bodied, anybody neurodivergent.

#disco elysium #metas #My thoughts #harry du bois #harrier du bois #human can-opener #jamrock shuffle #yeah so im reposting my meta because i worked really hard but i feel like it was too long for anybody to appreciate :')

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mrghostrat · 22 days

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Hello!! I'm not new to writing but I am absolutely new to writing fanfiction and have been extremely nervous to even start doing that, do have any suggestions on where to start so I don't make it accidentally it's own story just using someone else's character names? ( I mean that in a sense of accidentally altering their personalities and other components that would be really important) Because chances are I probably won't notice while doing it and probably think it's fine. I'm really really bad at not noticing mistakes until it's too late to fix them but I have a fic idea that I think would be really cool and I don't know how to go about it without doing it terribly.

Here's a random pic I took this afternoon, I dunno just the way you describe scenes I figured you'd enjoy the atmosphere of it?

1. this picture is stunning, my god, it's giving me chills. so beautiful, thank you for sharing 👁️👁️

2, i think dialogue is probably one of the biggest components of characterisation, so linking back to canon dialogue can be a really helpful and easy way of keeping your characterisation in check. quite literally an exercise in "would he fucking say that?"

you've probably noticed how much i love using canonical lines from the show like this, even though i'm usually taking them out of their original context. as a reader, hearing dialogue in MS/DT's voices can be very grounding, and as a writer, it can keep you in line as you write their conversations.

i also like trying to create a parallel between events and decisions in my fic vs the canon. something tiny: in ATWS chapter 3, crowley orders takeaway and convinces aziraphale to get something too. in my initial plan, he was going to say no and wave crowley away/be a bit holier than thou, but when i made the takeaway food bbq ribs (like the ox rib), i realised it was literally aziracrow 101 for crowley to tempt him successfully into things, especially food. so i made aziraphale say yes, and simply act put out about it.

you'd think these kinds of parallels would be more important on a grander scale, but i like comparing every little decision to the canon, even if it's only for a moment, to think about how they'd act in that situation. it could be an entirely different universe but they can still be the same characters who make the same decisions as an angel and demon would.

3. a lot of people would say that it doesn't matter, that you can write whatever you want even if it's wholly out of character and just has their names attached to it. even though that's not the kind of fan fiction i like to read and write, it's still valid, and the most important thing is that you're having fun and being creative. basically, don't sweat it if it's not perfect.

#ask a rat #good omens #writing process

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silvergreenseraphim · 13 days

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The Relationship Between Glenn and Rufus

[Ultimania Screenshot Removed Until Square Enix Lifts Copyright Strikes]

Glenn, a messenger from Wutai, appears often before Rufus. Though their conversations suggest that the two were old acquaintances, the exact nature of their relationship remains a mystery. Here is a summary of their meaningful exchanges and the relationship between them and Wutai as depicted in related works.

In the small box, it has some information on Rufus and Team Glenn’s connections to Wutai.

In "FVII Before Crisis", four years ago, Rufus lent a hand to the Wutai-based Avalanche.

Glenn comes into contact with Sephiroth, who was dispatched to Wutai seven years ago, in the opening of "The First Soldier" arc of "FFVII Ever Crisis".

Matt and Lucia, who were Glenn's colleagues (introduced by Yuffie in CHAPTER 7 as the "three ex-soldiers"), appear as captains in flashback scenes of the original Avalanche soldiers.

A small text wall next to Glenn’s death scene says:

When Rufus heard Glenn's name in Junon, a vision of him shooting a man flashes through his mind.

Text wall beside the “Please contact Captain Matt” dialogue says:

It appears that Matt and Lucia were participating in the operation to attack the Shinra Building.

Examples of Important Conversations Between Glenn and Rufus

[Ultimania Screenshot Removed Until Square Enix Lifts Copyright Strikes]

Rufus: "You're alive?"

Glenn: "Most certainly dead.”

(This was a bit of dialogue in the game that was difficult to translate. If anyone has a correction for it, please let me know. It appears that Glenn says he is “Dead, of course” to Rufus’ statement).

Rufus is surprised at Glenn's survival, and Glenn responds with a laugh. It sounds like a joking response, but based on his later words and actions, it may not be a joke at all.

Rufus: "The Governor will not stand on such a poor set.”

Glenn: "I see! Growing up a young master/rich kid is so bothersome.”

Rufus said these words as if he knew Sufur’s personality well. Glenn calls Sufur a rich kid/brat, but in Junon, he also mocked Rufus, saying, “Fond of (drawing) visions as ever, young master/rich kid).”

(I once again have been trying to receive help on this specific line because the connection here is how Glenn calls both Sufur and Rufus “Botchan,” which is an interesting term for a rich young master or boy. More in this in another post).

Glenn & Sephiroth: "Our 'Promised Land' will be born." Good (for you), you’ve succeeded your father.”

In the commentary scene, Sephiroth's appearance and voice overlap with Glenn, implying that Glenn's actions up to that point were in line with Sephiroth's intentions.”

Glenn: “As good at shooting people in the back as ever.”

A line that suggests that Rufus once shot Glenn in the back. It is also revealed in this scene that the person who had been thought to be Glenn was one of those in the black cloaks.

My translations are rough at the moment because I am hurrying, but I trust that I was able to get the essential parts accurate.

This is not much new information but I would say it confirms some things.

1. Glenn is dead.

2. It was a black cloak in line with Sephiroth’s intentions. Based on the other instances where black cloaks interact with Cloud with Sephiroth’s intentions, it is safe to say that this was also Sephiroth. A part of his will perhaps.

3. There is nothing suggesting that this was Jenova, as some were saying.

4. Sephiroth heavily mocks Rufus at every chance he gets and appears to hate him passionately.

5. Glenn came in contact with Sephiroth 7 years after Sephiroth was dispatched to Wutai. This is the opening of the First Soldier.

6. Rufus and the Before Crisis plot of his involvement with Avalanche has been confirmed.

#now to keep working on an analysis post with the rest of “glenn’s” dialogue #glenn lodbrok #team glenn #rufus shinra #sephiroth #wutai #ffvii rebirth #fvii first soldier #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #the first soldier #fvii rebirth spoilers #rebirth spoilers

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zephyrstargame · 3 months

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well here's something I can do!

this is a little spin on an idea i've been seeing around that i think is wonderful... I personally, am not in the best financial place to be donating, but i can use my platform as a game developer to help out and do something cool at the same time :3

In exchange for donating esims to gaza, I'm gonna populate the world of Zephyr Star with your characters as NPCs! currently: OPEN!!

Here's the deal-- scurry on over to gazaesims.com to figure out how to buy and donate an esim to the people who need em-- any plan works for me, as long as you're gettin something out there!

then slip into my DMs (or anywhere else you can contact me directly) and show me a screenshot of the email, preferably with timestamps for proof that it's from after this post was posted... or really, any proof that you did do the thing-- also show me:

a reference image for what character you want me put in the game

what this character should say as an NPC (just a few lines at most) (optional; if you'd like i can just write some general dialogue instead)

how you would like to be credited in the in-game credits (ie what name i should put)

below the cut are some submission guidelines and extra notes, please also read that if you're interested :>

here are some general submission guidelines:

nothing too lewd, please!

or racist

or otherwise offensive

fandom ocs MIGHT be fine if they're Legally Distinct enough from the source material, but try not to get me sued here

In general, this game's world has No Humans, but that's not a strict requirement-- just a general suggestion

and keep in mind that characters with super intricate details might have to be simplified in order to work as pixel art

otherwise, anything works! furries, robots, sentient objects, your cat, whatever

and here's some notes, so you know what to expect:

i'll take anywhere between a few hours to a few days to finish, depends on how i'm feeling... either way, i'll tag you in a new post when i'm done!

the character will be done in small pixel art, with maybe some additional effects if i feel it works for the design

i will adjust the sprite size depending on the character-- an average sized character is drawn on a 32x32 canvas but if it's like a giant or really tall or something, i'd make it bigger so that the scale is accurate

everyone also gets a zoomed in headshot for the dialogue portrait

no secret bosses, shopkeepers, or other special story purpose for now, sorry! these are just some guys that stand around and say 1 or 2 lines as you go about your adventure

im putting the characters in various places at random, but if you want your guy to be in a certain type of location in-game let me know

this game is STILL in relatively early development-- but i do promise that each and every submission will be in there by the end! it might take yeaaaars for the full game to finally be out, but i'll be posting screenshots as I put em in the game so you know im not slacking around :>

and alongside the screenshot, i'll also post the sprites on their own if you'd like to save them for yourself

legal stuff uhhhhh im not good at legal stuff-- by participating, you are giving me permission to use your submitted character in the final game-- credit will be given in-game where you would expect to see it (the credits) and i will not claim ownership of any of your guys

(cartoon mafia boss voice) if at any point you want your character scrubbed out of the game, or you want anything changed, let me know in my DMs or anywhere else you can contact me and *click* *sinister laugh* we'll make it happen

no money goes to me ever, im not even gonna be the middlesnake between you and the esims-- i just think its less of a hassle to work this way -w-

did i get everything? i think that's everything... if i forgot something important sorry i'm a scatterbrain failgirl who has never done anything like this before im trying my best okay

may the rift be filled with your cool little guys! but more importantly, let's keep gaza connected! free palestine! 🍉

#free palestine #esims for gaza #game development #indiedev

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marchy-emmet · 9 months

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The visual post to send when your friends don't believe Submas are autistic

Verrrrry much for fun, but also for education. Without further do, here's my physical graphic I worked on. :) It's much easier to explain this via funny pictures than it is to write an essay. [Yes, other people have done something similar to this -- but I wanna spice it up a bit!! Point out every single canon sign I can think of, and make a fun little graphic.]

I am also pretty passionate about the topic of autism as a whole-

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO.... LET'S BEGIN.

Adding onto this point, warden Ingo displays a wide lexicon that he hadn't previously shown in BW/BW2. If you take into account that other Hisuians [in the English version of the game] speak in almost the same way, Ingo's masking behavior becomes clearer.

This could be blamed on the abundance of dialogue he has in Legends Arceus compared to BW/BW2. But I could also see this being a masking behavior.

The implication that Ingo needs to be "proud" of his expressive tone says something in itself.

Standing in the middle of the battle may have been how the panel was drawn, but personally, I believe there's some ADHD/autism combination happenings....

NOW, AS FOR EMMET.... HE'S THE ONE THE FANDOM NOTICED MORE.

Aaaahhhh, this one is such a prominent feature that everyone noticed -- Emmet's shameless stim march.

Where is where my blog name comes from~

Don't make the mistake of portraying Emmet as rude "for the sake of it"! The behavior comes off as oblivious and clearly reads as autistic.

It's possible that Ingo does this as well -- but it's more prominent in Emmet!

He repeats this line quite a few times to passengers, as well as, "Follow the rules. Safe driving! Follow the schedule. Everybody smile! Check safety. Everything's ready! Aim for victory! All aboard!" and "I am Emmet" generally. He also may script, "What I do. What I say. Always the same."

Scripting is a vey common autistic behavior that helps us speak to others with less room for error.

AND LASTLY....

Their special interest is pretty obvious.

The two are reputable train conductors as well as the bosses of the battle subway. Ingo in particular uses regular train puns in his speech and is known to infodump about them passionately in Masters. Despite it having a reputation as a "stereotypical" special interest, it's real.

#submas #subway twins #pokemon #subway boss ingo #subway boss emmet #did I miss anything?#I hope I covered it all lol #if not feel free to give your thoughts!#THIS TOOK ME A DAY LOL

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athanasius-symposium-of-writings · 4 months

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The Economic Difference Between The Miner and Mine Owner's Daughter

Chapter Three

Based of this ask (the dialogue from there is used here)

Rated Explicit | Warning: period typical sexism, noncon, non-Consensual somnophilia

Ao3

Taglist: @anastasiablossomlove @tfamidoingwithmylife

Chapter Two | Chapter Four

“Finish her off, Norton.”

When he first saw you, he wished you were dead. Just another rich kid with pockets lined with daddy's money. Your fucking suitor laughing as Norton was getting jumped for his lunch. Sickening, the misery of the poor is entertainment for people like you! Laughing as they fight for table scraps, as the poor are willing to do anything to just have a warm bed to sleep on, speaking on behalf of the poor yet none of them ever struggled!

Every day is a fight. Every night is a fight. The moment he was born, his fate was sealed in the black ink signature of your father's name. Norton had no chance, your father stole that from him!

What? Do you think a few shared meals would make him suddenly think differently of you? Ha, no, he meant what he said back then. If things worked his way, you would be on your knees sucking him off while your father grieved seeing his daughter sell herself for his survival.

The nerve you have to spit out that nonsense about change, hah, politicians say anything for some votes. Everyone knows the corporations won't let them actually change things. Too many hands have been greased to change the status quo.

Nah, the only change he cares about is whether or not he will get out of this debt his father cursed him with by striking it big.

Damn, bastards! Damn all of them to hell and back!

It would be no surprise if they do not find any gold, they use him as a scapegoat. Quick to take the credit, quick to throw to the wolves. Your father will soon be like all the others.

Buried alive. At least in death, everyone is made equal.

Norton’s hands squeezing your throat, a grin on his face seeing you struggle to breathe.

Until your hand touches the scar, soft and gentle, he can see the tears running down the side of your face. Your voice cracks as you beg him to snap out of

“Norton~,” The purr of the voice in his voice feeds into his anger, “She's right there. Just get rid of her!” Yelling at him.

It will be quick, a snap and all of it will be over.

Yet, he finds himself thinking about the bread you made for him. Yes, it was for him as a gift. Warm, moist, and fresh; all for him with a cup of warm tea.

Your father… You are not like him. Like others who laugh and look down at him, you honestly want to help. Stupid girl, truly, big dreams with no idea how reality works or how this world will chew someone and spit them out.

No good person lives long enough to see the change they fought for happen.

He flinches, you cup the side of his face, “Fight it.” Desperately trying to call out to him. “Please, Norton.”

“Come on, Norton.” Exaggerating the word ‘on’, dragging it out as if bored. “You have an arrogant little flower under you.”

When you approached him, you referred to him as ‘Mr. Campbell’ as if you respected him. It felt like a joke, an insult as you could—should—have been like everyone else. Constantly fighting, struggling, hyper-aware, plotting. He glares down at you, grabbing your hand and slamming it hard on the ground while making sure to have a painful grip on your wrist.

The pained sound you make is music to his ears, the wicked grin on his face growing with

The rise and fall of your chest makes him very aware of your breasts covered by the blouse. Whenever he sees you around the worksite, you look… Normal. No showy dress, no lace fan (the one you did have you broke), hell, everyone saw you only wear pants.

But here, right before the end, you are wearing a dress. The sort of dress one wears in the winter, a bright color that greatly contrasts with the current environment.

“Why don't you show this selfish delicate flower how to behave… Hm?” Dragging out the last few syllables as if moaning with excitement.

You have the nerve to smell good too, clean and sweet like a ripe freshly washed fruit.

The fight for air is a struggle he knows you cannot win. Watching your eyes roll back, the small fading gasps for air, and soon your struggling becomes weaker and weaker.

“Nortoooon,” The voice rings in his mind echoing in his own voice, “.... Come on now….” The voice draws him back seeing your life fade by his hand.

Slip you into unconsciousness. Body going slump on the ground, you look peaceful now.

Did he kill you?! Shit, shit, fuck! He shakes you then places his hand over your chest, a sigh of relief as he hears your heartbeat. The twisted thoughts in his mind raced between needing to escape and… And… Your perfume is sweet. Your clothes are so clean. You are like an angel sent from above into this dark hellhole.

The first button is the hardest, his hands are unsteady.

The second button is easier but still hard, the voice tells him to take; after all, your father took everything from him too.

The third button reveals part of your chemise, plain which he supposes he should have expected to not look like one the other miners talk about after a venture into a pleasure den.

The fourth button and the voice is getting angry, yelling at him again to hurry. Norton swears he can feel something moving his arms without him doing anything.

The other buttons are ripped open, his face buried in your neck as he sharply inhales, it is so different from his own skin. Soft, bathed, unmarked.

“Bite. Mark her.”

It speaks and he does it. Each touch of his chapped lips on your flawless skin is marked by his teeth. Some barely barely a mark while others are deep enough to leave dark bruising, those are above your breasts. Your clothes are cumbersome and it is more work to try to remove your clothes in a civilized way rather than ripping them open, but that is what he does.

The personality switch is not instant, it is through the actions he would have never done if not for this damn cave. He was the ripe fruit plucked and feasted upon, his mind slowly corrupted by the abyss he was forced to dig through.

“Fuckin’ hate you wearing these.” The voice is darker, laced with greed and lust, he tears open your bloomers as if it was made of paper. A mess of your clothes half torn and his buckle that decides to be a pain in the ass, not like he can stop himself.

The only moment he stops is when he growls at himself for not knowing what to do, of fucking course he knows the layout of what to do but the fine detail escape him. Worse, the guilt in the back of him is fighting himself right now. Fighting enough that he has to remove a glove, spit on his hand, and jerk himself off.

“Damn you,” Touching your legs, his black dust-covered glove marking your skin, he finds it rather hotter than the bitemarks all over your neck. When he kisses you, oh you taste like something sweet too, he has to stop to cough out his damn lungs. “When I am done with you, you won’t even know how ruined you are going to be.” Exasperated and angry.

When he is hard enough to thrust inside of you, he swears he saw stars. Bliss but you are so tight. Dry too but this is not about you. The scent of blood makes him laugh as you just lost your virginity in a damn coal mine--Blood for blood, justice.

Each thrust is hard because he hates leaving your heat. Your body reacts to him by getting wet, your moans in your current state are low, his pace is awkward and selfish. This whole situation is selfish. Grabbing everything he can touch about you, kissing you when he needs a taste of you. When he feels himself about to cum, he makes sure it is all over the floor with your blood.

The whole activity was tiring.

The voice is in control, pleased but annoyed as he now has to figure out what to do next. Kill you with the others or… He raises an eyebrow at a bright idea.

#reader insert #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #norton campbell x you #norton campbell x reader #norton campbell #idv reader insert #idv prospector #idv x reader #idv norton #idv x you #identity v x you #identity v x reader #identity v #nsft #tw noncon

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mejomonster · 9 months

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Guardian really set my expectations of "censored bl cdramas" and man that was a high bar and probably not fair of me to expect.

Guardian really opens with Zhao Yunlan asking Shen Wei "are you married? You're such a catch. Can I take you out to eat? Here's my number A-Lan call me" which like even on face value id say thats called flirting (unless I guess ur so straight Straight blinders on that 2 men have to physically fuck in front of u to consider something gay)

Then of course there's shen weis pining shit but like, that's not Hammer down obvious to I guess the most oblivious person in denial

But Zhu Hong saying she likes Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan repeatedly refusing her and feeling bad about it, Zhu Hong repeatedly acknowledging he picked SHEN WEI over her (making it fairly clear it was a romantic pick and she Lost it to a guy) and shen Wei, brick that he can be at times, tells her it will only take a few years for the feelings to fade when she'll get over Zhao yunlan. The guy in love with him, instead of her. Yeah shen wei, she's definitely not wishing she could stab you for that insensitive remark. But she's too good of a person to.

Which. I'd say the above two points establish fairly overtly that: Zhao Yunlan is into men, that his colleagues assume he's also into women (if Zhu Hong thinks she has a chance), and that Shen Wei is Zhao Yunlans romantic pick. So Shen Weis sexuality? Well he doesn't dispute being Zhao Yunlans romantic pick, and Lin Jing assumes they're lovers with dialogue (yes he's saying opposite day stuff but his opposite day is just not being a liar and spy). So Shen Weis sexuality includes Zhao Yunlan.

And so like that's just. Fairly overt explicit stuff about their relationship. There's also the "a very oblivious person could argue its only implied" flirting. (And everything going on with Lao Chu and Xiao Guo, the side couple... oh my heart ;-; when they almost froze... the family dinner at Xiao guos... Lao chu admiring how kind Xiao Guo is, scaring him trying to say he's a cannibal and Xiao Guo not running away)

There's the coat sharing macho trying to be the man helping the damsel both of those fuckers do galore, shen wei moving in across the hall (which is either stalker or deeply in love or - as is true, both), shen wei implicitly moving in (this one's vague ill admit to be fair), the fucking "You're good with your hands" line from Zhao yunlan which is absolutely a porn line, every villain in the show viscerally aware Zhao Yunlan is who Shen Wei wants to protect, Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei by calling Zhao Yunlan cute names and asking if his outfit looks nice (and all of That), Zhao yunlans romantic ass hit me through the heart line of "if you're trouble I want a lifetime of you" at the wedding (not ever over it), the fucking lollipop scene in ye old haixing. Just a bunch of flirty type scenes, romantic tropes galore. And that's not even covering the actual genuine subtext of ALL the cases paralleling how shen wei and/or how Zhao yunlan feel implicitly (which are just subtext to be fair... how shen wei thinks he lost kunlun, how Zhao yunlan ISNT him so it hurts he's a stranger or he IS in which case he's a liar and shen weis grieving, the case where a dixingren and human love each other and Zhao yunlan notices he wants to be close to shen wei even though shen weis lying etc).

Like. They felt as canon as Tara X Willow in Buffy. Or at least as much as Xena x Gabrielle, the center relationship of the show where all stories of the episodes are always at least in some way about them.

#guardian #weilan #meta #rant #to be fair: word of honor cdrama did JUST as much as guardian on feeling basically canonically explicitly gay #as long as u can interpret overt flirting with men and them being soulmates as love.#cause yeah there are no kisses. but still like... yeah theyre in love.#and like.. man zhu hongs love triangle plot is Central in making the Guardian romance as overt as it is #obviously irs easy to put in: its a girl love interest for zhao yunlan #but its also a love interest he Rejects for shen wei. so like. cdrama land says he cant say i love you to a man?#but he can say he doesnt love a girl and hes picked the man instead. im just saying it works well to make that overtly clear #dont even get me started on chuguo ;-; i love them so much and acting defijitely helped intensify it

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generic-anime-boy-bracket · 8 months

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Round 3, Group A: Matchup 2

Hiroshi Satou vs Tracey Sketchit

Reasons for being generic + Propaganda below

Hiroshi Satou

Reasons:

His whole thing in the series is being the most average, normal guy ever. His grades, height, weight, and bathroom time are all canonically 100% average.

The whole point of his character is that he is exactly average in everything. Looks, personality, even his friend group is exactly average.

not only does he look like that but the show is a comedy anime that uses a lot of stereotypes and his is "normal guy." he influences some plot events with the power of his average luck

quite literally the most average guy ever. every single thing about him is perfectly average

literally everything about him is average. like literally everything. his grades, his appearance. even the amount of time he uses the bathroom. its his entire character

His whole bit is that he’s Perfectly Average. Down to his weight and height. On his wiki page his only listed ability is “normalcy.” His name is derived from the Japanese equivalent of John Doe. The main character is obsessed with him/has a crush on him because he is so so normal and that’s what Saiki wants most

The main character of this show, who stands out against his will, admires Satou Hiroshi for being perfectly average in every way, and "blandness personified." "He is completely average in everything he does. His grades, height, and weight are exactly average. Down to the millisecond, Hiroshi is timed to have the exact average times for the PE evaluation. He is also noted to go to the bathroom for the average amount of time and use the average amount of toilet paper." Basically, he is written to be the most generic guy possible.

From the wiki: "He is the epitome of an ultimate normal guy... Someone who has boring name, common appearance, average in brains and body and has no single quality to stand out. He blends into the background, so the other characters tend to lose sight of him"

Propaganda:

The main character likes him because of how normal and average he is. Also he is just a nice guy

He is the most average man in existence. He even poops for the exact average amount of time. This is the most generic background character to ever exist.

it’s literally a plot point in the show that he’s completely generic guys. he’s perfect for this

Being normal is literally his bit, c’mon guys

The whole point of his character is how boringly normal he is. The main character is super jealous because he doesn't want to stand out

Tracey Sketchit

Reasons:

He has a very "just some guy" vibe, spending most of his time as a background character quietly observing after his 30ish episodes as a main character. Former head writer Takeshi Shudo himself once said on his blog that he thought Tracey didn't have a strong enough personality. Appearance-wise, Tracey has dark hair and brown eyes and doesn't stand out all that much.

He is literally *just* a guy. The best guy, but just a guy. A little dude, little fella. The guy ever.

Tracey is an incredibly sweet respectful king who got sidelined by the anime. It’s so sad because he loves drawing and research and pokemon, but he barely got any screentime 😔 I think he’s a wholesome fun character and he deserves more love!!

Propaganda:

Despite the fact that large swathes of the fandom either give him flak for being "boring" or completely forget about his existence, to the point that people also meme about his forgotten-ness, he has persisted. He went 17 years without a single line of dialogue due to his expensive seiyuu and then finally got to speak again in the final episode of Ash's story. He has 12 fans but we are dedicated and we are proud and we adore this sweet boy.

Tracey is king. Respects women, stays in his lane, draws pokemon. What’s not to love???

#generic anime boy bracket #saiki k #the disastrous life of saiki k #hiroshi satou #satou hiroshi #tracey sketchit #pokemon #pokemon anime

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sin-djarin · 4 months

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Holsters, lies, and video tape.

Javier Pena & Tim Rockford (plus a special guest.)

Rating: M

Word count: 2.2k

Summary: Things go awry for Javi on New Years Eve. And there are pickles. Because of course.

Warnings: Swearing, Becca bastardizes police interrogations, mention of Tim Rockford's gun holsters, mention of tight jeans and straining buttons.

A/N: Disclaimer: for fic purposes, we're pretending Tim and Javi work together in this universe. Don't ask how I got here, for I do not know.

This fic had to include a pickle/pickles and the following line of dialogue: "You stand there and accuse me, but where were you at the time?"

Enjoy this hasty silliness and forgive typos. Happy 2024! (@pickled-pena)

Detective Rockford stands outside the interview room, a clipboard full of blank notes in one hand and a sealed brown paper evidence bag in the other. This is the last place he wants to be this evening. Realistically, he should have been at home hours ago but duty called.

Rolling his head around on his shoulders, he gathers his resolve and pushes down on the door handle. As the door swings open, he enters the brightly lit interview room. His suspect is already present and waiting. Pulling out a chair, he takes a seat opposite the suspect, noticing that this person doesn’t fit the typical profile of criminals he’s used to encountering. The man is clean cut and put together, if a little frustrated.

Under a furrowed brow, the suspect's eyes dart after his every move. He watches wide eyed as he places the bag on the floor and stares at his thumb pressing down on the record button of the tape recorder. The echo of the click hammering home that he is in fact here and this isn't some sort of dream before the detective begins his customary introductions.

“The time is 19:37, on December 31st. My name is Detective Tim Rockford and I work for the Los Angeles Police Department. I investigate robberies, and theft.” he begins, his voice carrying an air of authority. “I’m going to advise you of your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say can be used as evidence against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney of your choice and to have an attorney present before and during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, you are entitled to have one appointed to you. You may stop answering questions or ask for an attorney at any time during questioning. Do you understand each of these rights as I’ve explained them to you?”

The suspect feigns interest as Detective Rockford effortlessly recites his rights. He stares at the glossy surface of the table that separates them, wracking his brain to figure out what exactly he did to end up here. He’s heard the same sentences hundreds of times to the point it became difficult not to say them along with the detective as he reaches the end of his spiel.

“Yes.”

“And having been made fully aware of these rights, do you voluntarily wish to answer questions?”

“I do.”

“Can you please state your full name for me, Sir?”

The suspect hesitates for a second before answering, “Javier Peña.”

“Okay, Javi-” the detective clears his throat before correcting himself. “Javier. ”So, I’ve had a look at your case. It seems like you’ve fallen on hard times. Is that right?”

“Yes.” Javier admits, his voice filled with resignation.

Detective Rockford's gaze softens, recognizing the difficult circumstances the suspect finds himself in. “Can you tell me a little bit about it?”

Javier closes his eyes as he attempts to get his story straight. Finally his mouth opens, voice cracking as he uses the only weapon he has left - reason. “I um…I just moved back to the States. I thought I’d have a job by now but things haven’t worked out the way I wanted them to.” he admits.

“Right. And what about earlier today? Can you tell me what happened?”

Heaving a deep breath that threatens the buttons of his white shirt, he recounts his movements. “I went to the store to buy groceries. And I paid for my food and left.”

“That was the first store you went into? You didn’t go anywhere else?”

“No. That was the only one.”

“And what happened when you went inside?”

Annoyance starts to seep into his voice as Javier replies, “I just told you.”

“Have you done anything like this before?”

“No.” Javier repeats through gritted teeth.

“And you weren’t scared?”

“I wasn’t scared because I didn’t do anything.” Javier insists.

Detective Rockford leans back into the plastic chair, taking a moment to process the response before shifting the focus of his inquiry.

“Okay. Okay." the detective nods, absorbing his story so far. "Do you remember what you bought?”

“Groceries…um…cheese, meat, bread.”

“Anything else?” the detective probes further.

Javier takes a moment to collect his thoughts, focusing his gaze on the lens of the camera that’s not so discreetly positioned in the corner of the room. He stares at the flashing red recording light, allowing the image of it to burn into his retinas. The pulsing rhythm of it becomes almost hypnotic as he thinks about how absurd this whole affair is before turning back to face the detective who awaits his answer.

“No.”

“Did you speak to anyone?”

“Just the cashier.”

“What did they say? Do you remember what they looked like?”

“I don’t know. ‘Thank you?’ ‘Have a nice day?’ She had nice nails, though. Fuck.” Javier sighs in defeat. “This is crazy. Can I have a cigarette?” he pleads.

The room feels stifling and Javier can feel his blood pressure rise at the detective’s ridiculous enquiries. It’s certainly not the first time he’s been in a room like this but his palms grow clammy behind his back as he muses over the stupidity of the situation he finds himself in in between questions. He shakes his head, wondering how much longer the detective can prolong this and how much longer he can go without a cigarette.

“We can talk about that later. Did she give you a receipt?”

“Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Yeah, probably.” Javier scoffs with his patience continuing to wear thin.

“Do you have it?”

“I don’t know you took all my shit when I got here.”

“Easy,” Detective Rockford soothes, holding up a hand between them. “I’m just trying to help you out here. I need to get a full picture of what happened. You said you don’t have a job, correct?”

“Right. No job.” Javier confirms, rolling his eyes.

Detective Rockford’s questioning continues, delving deeper into Javier’s financial situation and the source of the money he used to pay for the groceries. As the interview progresses, Javier’s irritation continues to rise. He swears the room is getting hotter as every minute passes. The bright lights bouncing off the white brick walls are making his eyes ache. He can feel droplets of sweat roll down his back at the lack of air conditioning and the sharp metal of the cuffs bite deeper into his wrists when he struggles against them.

This is exactly what the detective wants. He’s conducted hundreds of interviews with thousands of perpetrators and he knows Javier is close to boiling point, knows that he would rather be inhaling smoke and lining his lungs with nicotine and he knows that if he keeps straining, he’s definitely going to pop a button on his shirt. Still, he remains calm as he scans Javier’s face for any clues of deception. He’s already picked up on the ticks in his jaw, the twitching of his mustache and the flaring of his nostrils when he lies.

“Listen. I get it. Times are tough for you. If I was in your shoes I’d have probably done the same thing. Everyone needs to eat, right? There’s support out there for families in need of assistance. Maybe you just forgot to pay for some items.” the detective proposes.

“Fuck you. You don’t know shit. Just because I don’t have a job doesn’t mean I can’t pay my way.” Javier exclaims, unable to contain himself any longer.

The tip of his boot hits the flimsy leg of the table, making it rattle violently. It’s this that makes the detective change tact. He bends forward over the table, locking eyes with Javier.

“I know more than you think.” Detective Rockford asserts confidently.

Javier spits back with defiance. “Prove it.”

“I have a witness that described you down to the last detail. Mustache, yellow sunglasses, jeans that are too tight and a little dated - her words, not mine.” he assures Javier who glares at him upon hearing the words. ”She says you walked out of the store with something under your arm.”

“That doesn’t prove anything. Million guys like that out there.” he shrugs off the comment.

Detective Rockford remains poised and pulls out the evidence bag, hoping that whatever is inside will implicate Javier in the crime he’s been accused of committing.

“What exactly are you accusing me of, detective?”

“Theft.” he answers.

“Of the things I told you I paid for?”

“Those. And,” the Detective opens the bag and peeks inside and his eyes widen at the sight of the contents. He exchanges a worried look with his suspect, watching his Adam's apple bob as he swallows hard before stating, “Pickles.”

“Pickles?” Javier asks, now equally confused as the man tasked with questioning him.

“Pickles.” the detective confirms, lifting the large jar out of the evidence bag. “Kosher dill pickles. Look familiar?” he squints, reading the white label.

“I don’t even like pickles. This is fucking insane.”

Detective Rockford maintains his professionalism, presenting the evidence to Javier as best he can. “It is. It really is. Especially considering you don’t like them. None of it makes sense. But maybe you were distracted. Like I said, maybe you forgot to pay for them?”

“How would I forget to pay for something I don’t even like?”

With his curiosity piqued, the detective arches his eyebrow and says coolly, “You tell me. The jar had your fingerprints all over them.”

“Bullshit.” he snaps, narrowing his eyes at the statement.

Javier knows that it is bullshit. He knows it would take longer than the hour he’s been sat there for for a lab report to come back with a full analysis of his fingerprints. There’s not even any residual dust on the glass of the jar from what he can see.

“Mr. Peña, intentions and motive aside, stealing is stealing. You could have avoided all of this by just paying for it..”

Javier finally relents. He can’t take another minute of questioning, can’t take another second of listening to the detective’s fingertips tapping the table.

“It was a mistake. Can we settle this without making it a big deal?”

“Unfortunately, that’s not for me to decide. I have a responsibility to uphold the law. I’ll send in my colleague to come in and speak to you about where to go from here. I’m glad you talked, Javier. Take care of yourself.” he says softly, bidding Javier farewell with genuine concern.

The detective stands from his seat and walks towards the door with his notes still as empty as they were when he walked in.

“Aaaaand cut!” an enthusiastic voice yells from the other side of the room. Both men's shoulders drop, heaving sighs of relief in unison upon hearing the words.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me. Pickles?! Rockford, get me out of these fucking cuffs.”

Tim retrieves the keys from his pocket and quickly releases his colleague from the handcuffs that bound him. The two men turn their attention to the director dressed in a loud orange shirt. Stepping over cables and ducking under lamps, he begins walking towards them across the small room while his camera assistant starts to disassemble the intricate lighting setup.

“You two were amazing! You, with the holsters and everything.” The man beams at Tim, almost awestruck as he gestures at the black leather strapped tight around his shoulders. “And you too of course,” he grins, turning to Javier to sing his praises next. “You looked so pissed off! I really felt it.”

But the compliment is only met with a grimace from Javier.

“What’s your name again?” Tim asks the director.

“I am Javi. Gutierrez.” he nods vehemently.

“Nice meeting you, Javi. But maybe try a different prop next time. A bottle of liquor, some electronics, you know? It might make it a little more believable. Nobody really steals pickles.” Tim advises the man who is responsible for them being at work on New Year’s Eve.

It was probably something agreed to absentmindedly when they were both neck deep in actual investigations, but somehow the two men had forgotten that they had consented to star in a demonstrational video on interrogation techniques.

Both of them studied similar instructional videos on their own rises through the ranks; what to do and what not to do - although much lower budget and lower resolution. Neither of them could have foreseen the Hollywood-esque setup that had been arranged in such a small interview room at lunch time or the exuberance of their European director.

“Rockford, let's get out of here.” Peña sighs, patting Tim on the arm and dismissing his director.

Both men exit the cramped room and start to navigate the maze of corridors to the entrance of the building. Javi places a cigarette between his lips, ready to light as soon as they step outside but even the taste of the filter is just as sweet. The scowl painted across his face at having pulled the short straw as to who got to do the questioning hasn’t quite worn off.

“Beer?” Javi suggests.

“Yeah. You’re buying though. You got us into that mess.”

“You stand there and accuse me, but where were you at the time?” Javi stops walking, placing his hands on his hips as awaits a response to his own accusation. “I wasn’t going through that by myself.”

Choosing to ignore it, Tim turns to him and shifts his focus to the unlit cigarette dangling from Javi’s mouth. “Maybe you should try giving up for the new year. That’s the longest I’ve seen you go without smoking.”

Javi snickers and rolls his eyes, “Yeah, and maybe you should take up acting. I don’t know how you kept it together.”

“Better yet, I say we both start reading our emails properly and avoid this next year. Fucking pickles.” Tim grumbles over the spark of Javi's lighter.

#javier peña #tim rockford #pickledpeña writing challenge #pickled peña writing challenge #pickledpeña

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