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anistarrose · 4 days

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I was going to make a post saying "Lucretia told everyone the truth there were seven Grand Relics instead of covering her ass and saying there were six because she's a storyteller, and six sounds objectively less cool than seven," but then I thought about it and actually, if you look at the timeline, I think this was probably a very pragmatic or at least tactically safe decision on her part?

When Lucretia founds the Bureau, Junior hasn't been born yet. Lucretia obviously doesn't even know Junior will be born someday. So once she inoculates Bureau members with Fisher — a necessity to staffing the Bureau in the first place — Lucretia can't keep any more secrets from them, with only one Voidfish at her disposal. And crucially, while Lucretia is the Bureau's primary source of info on the "Red Robes," basically all her recruits lived through the Relic Wars.

Upon inoculation, they'll all presumably remember at least some details about the Grand Relics. Obviously no one but Lucretia would know anywhere near everything about each Relic and their properties, not least of all because of a high eyewitness fatality rate, but part of the reason the wars were so deadly was because word of the Relics spread. Everyone in the world knew a few things about them.

So, if Lucretia were to tell her recruits: "oh, don't worry, there's only six terrible artifacts we need to destroy, tee hee!" then it's very possible that assorted Bureau members — especially Seekers, for whom looking into the Relics is literally their job — could start comparing memories amongst themselves, and put together that there was a seventh, leaving Lucretia with no option but to admit that she lied. If I recall correctly, the podcast never explicitly indicates what/how much damage the Bulwark Staff did to the world — but I find it hard to believe that it didn't do anything an inoculated person could later find record of or remember. (There's an admittedly good fanfic premise, though, in Lucretia leaving her Relic in someone's care to make it stationary, like how Magnus gave the Chalice to Jack, or how Barry is theorized to have given the Bell to the Wonderland twins.)

I digress, but the point is, Lucretia may have necessitated a lot of little lies for her future self by admitting there were seven Relics, but trying to winnow it down to six could've easily bit her in the ass, and she was definitely smart enough to realize that. She acted accordingly at the time.

And by the time Junior comes around, then of course she could theoretically use them to erase the Bulwark Staff from her employees' minds — but by then, she's been hiding the Staff under everyone's noses for about a year, and no one has gotten suspicious. So if it's working, why change it? She's no doubt also smart enough to reserve Junior's power for emergencies only — even if people forget information, they can still retain the feeling they're forgetting something. With people planetside, that's one thing — but with her employees on the moon, from whom she needs unshakeable trust?Probably not worth it.

Overall, a it's deceptively rational decision on Lucretia's part, honestly. And also, seven Grand Relics still sounds way more badass than just six.

#taz #taz balance #taz balance spoilers #lucretia taz #taz meta #lucretia 🤝 barry: characters who *do* make a lot of questionable and overly dramatic decisions #but some of the ones the fandom focuses on for seeming silly on the surface are actually very logical once you think about it #so make fun of them for their *actual* ridiculous decisions! there are no shortage of options! /lighthearted

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agentrouka-blog · 11 months

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How does the fact that Jonsa is widely considered a crackship and vehemently disliked by the majority of fandom (including fellow Sansa fans) affect Jonsa shippers? It’s a genuine question. Because I think Jonsas make a few points but when fandom is so overwhelmingly united either in favor of or against something, I do believe there’s reason for that

I wasn't around back when the Huge Backlash against jonsa shippers became a thing, so I can't speak authentically about the experience.

It's mostly the abject absurdity of how vehemently dismissive and insulting "enemies" of the theory of jonsa (not merely the ship) treated jonsas, though, that I see remembered and reflected in this corner of the fandom.

Simple disagreement isn't the issue. The abject hate is. Though the refusal to even consider a number of the theories on their actual merit within the fandom is pretty ridiculous. The hints jonsas consider credible follow the same pattern of foreshadowing as, say, RLJ, but somehow very few people doubt that theory. Or get rape threats over it. So the effect is mostly that there's less interactions with hostile factions of the fandom?

Which is sad for them because jonsas have a lot to offer.

In spite of how united the fandom is in dismissing Jonsa theories, they were mostly proven right by the show. Villain Dany? Sansa as an important character in a final leadership position? Girl in Grey? Sansa being instrumental in regaining Winterfell? Sansa and Jon forming a close bond? Sansa reconciling with Arya and forming a strong team? Northern independence?

It's disingenuious to claim Jonsas have no business making predictions because they must be wrong, because they are supposedly incapable of correctly interpreting the hints in the text or in the show. They were not. They were usually right. That's what convinced me of the theory. The evidence.

They weren't even wrong about Jonsa being an option in the show, considering the numerous intentional visual parallels created between Jon and Sansa and canon romantic couples (as opposed to the parallels created between Dany and canon villains), and the weird chemistry between "brother and sister" noted by a number of reviewers. The show ended up going in a different direction in a very erratically constructed final season that most would agree didn't bear the hallmarks of consistent storytelling. So the one thing jonsas got wrong was jonsa itself. In the show, anyway. ("Show, derogatory.")

Still a good average, no?

So maybe the idea that the fandom being united against the theory of jonsa does have a reason. Maybe it's that they hate that it contradicts many other theories that have been popular for a very long time. And that have been proven wrong.

I have nothing against people who don't ship jonsa. I have nothing against people who have given the theory thought but have plausible reasons to disregard it. I have nothing against people who don't care about it at all. But I do absolutely laugh at people who call it a crackship and then support theories with far far far less collective evidence behind it.

#jonsa #jonsa fandom

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iwonderwh0 · 2 months

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I wanna expand on Emma's character. She likes attention, she likes filming herself. There are piano in their room, so it's practically inevitable that she learns to play it. Who is her teacher? It's possible that it is human as, you know, music, maybe her rich parents think that it's best to learn it from humans. At least, we never heard that household models could teach playing instruments. Or actually, she probably learns using built-in program in the piano itself. Like, we saw this holographic screen when Markus was playing, it must include some learning modes.

She has favourite bands. She probably has some kind of spiritual beliefs, probably not like any specific religion but a mix of some new-age ones, at least their home looks like they are like this, like, if I remember it correctly there are Buddha statues so that's one thing. I think Emma, at least, believes in a few things, like karma and manifestations.

Her wrists are full of those handmade bracelets. Did she make them with someone? Alone? Are those friendship bracelets and there are some friends of her that have them too? She must've made at least one of those with Daniel, and it would be such a nice detail for him to wear one in-game. Missed opportunity. Maybe he took it off?

Daniel was activated for four years (huh, I thought longer, but it's still years though), so his character must've been quite developed for a while even prior to deviancy. Or, actually, maybe he deviated a lot earlier than the day we see him in the game. It is entirely possible that there was another event that made him freak out of his line, perhaps after fucking up and accidentally endangering Emma (they kept it a secret. I headcanon that Emma loves secrets. It makes her feel special), but he just stayed and continued his life with Phillips as if nothing happened without change because he liked it and felt responsible about it. I mean, it's not like he had somewhere to go — he doesn't know about Jericho as was confirmed in the evidence room. But ever since that day of his potential deviation he started to accumulate suspicions and paranoia that tipped over when he found out about AP700.

You know, it's kinda ironic that kids with household androids raise them as much if not more than household androids raise them. For kids those androids are part of their life, for androids it's their whole world (I mean, outside of some additional errands and other family members interactions that I don't think are composing even half of the time androids spend with kids they're looking after). Emma was 5-6 years old when Daniel was first introduced into her life. She must've already had friends and all kind of interests by that time, so Daniel didn't raise her from infancy.

You know, it's possible even that those kinds of androids get jealous of kid's other friends and family members. Daniel definitely feels like a jealous type, I doubt August 15 was his first time feeling resentment. The fact that he became Emma's first choice in four years must've been a really deliberate effort on his part, which, I mean, he spends the most time with her so he had this advantage.

Daniel belongs to the Phillips family but at the same time Daniel developed such a possessive attitude towards Emma as if she was his property. He integrated himself into her life as a "need, not want" and he will take her with him on his death row. He wants to believe that Emma needs him, but the truth is he needs Emma much more than she ever could. And it drives him mad.

Hear me out

What if

What if he was so jealous of Emma's other friends and so paranoid about her distancing herself from him that he cultivated circumstances where Emma preferred him over anyone else. A victory. And he put so much effort competing with other people for her attention that possibly of Emma replacing him with another android never crossed his mind. Until it hit him like an anvil. All of his work was for nothing. All this time he thought of himself as her friend. A person. Competing with other people. Turned out he wasn't even within the same category. He had always been only a toy.

#dbh #dbh emma #dbh daniel #dbh headcanons #detroit become human

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lexsang · 9 months

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Could you recommend sources about sanguinarian vampirism? I tried to look for it but most recommend books seem to be published by sketchy/charlatan authors and it makes doubtful if they are genuine or not (besides some of them have very prejudiced views towards sang).

Videos, podcasts, articles, sites or books are all welcome recommendations and I would be very grateful if you had them.

Thank you very much!

(Sorry for how long it took for me to get back to you, the past few weeks have been hectic to say the least, but I've been thinkin about this ask since you sent it) My main issue with the vast majority of content on sanguinarian vampirism out there is that it is made by people who are just interested in vampires, and have no actual experience living through the things we live through. They often times come off as halloween-spooky, and inauthentic, with an emphasis on shock factor for an audience that doesn't understand that we really do actually exist.

Books are definitely not the place to look from my experience if you're interested in learning about sanguinarian vampirism. They are one of the best places if you're wanting to learn about psychic vampirism or vampiric witchcraft, but they're not for the blood drinkers.

Videos can be good learning material, but I haven't seen any on sanguinarianism that aren't just people talking about their experiences in the community, and it can get fairly full of unnecessary drama and zero useful info quick. I used to watch videos from the creator below, though I personally didn't get much out of them, but that may not be the case for you. Most of the videos are on psychic vampirism, but there are a few on sanguinarianism if I'm remembering correctly.

With Podcasts, I'm sure there are a number of one offs on paranormal podcasts if you look hard enough, but the time is most likely not worth it. The link below is one of the best I have seen, a series of great interviews with real vampires (I was lucky enough to be one of them, though that's not why I suggest this series), and the second is a youtube channel called Coffin Lounge (I would link, but youtube is being weird), which could be good, but I don't now yet. I have only listened to a little bit of the first episode, and it is more goth community centered than vamp, but there may be good stuff since since each episode is with a new guest.

Sites are the best bet so far, with forums being one of the best places to look imo.

Sanguinarius.org and their connected forum, VCMB.org were where I first realized I wasn't alone, and wasn't crazy. The biggest benefit of forums like this one, is that you are, without a doubt, listening to real people's experience, and seeing real vamps figure it out for themselves. There is so much information in the VCMB, even though it isn't very active anymore, the experiences are still there.

theredcellar.com has also been a personal favourite for ages. It is full of plenty of articles that focus on the medsang perspective, and it is home to some really down to earth vamps who are all wonderful. They also have a forum, as well as a discord that is linked on their site.

The absolute best teachers, however, are just regular old vampires. You will learn more in a few hours than you could hope to learn in months from articles and the sporadic info online by sending someone a message and asking if they have the capacity to answer your questions. Whether you are an awakening vamp looking for advice, or just interested in the real, visceral experience that vampires live through, most are kind and willing to share. Everyone's experience is different, and speaking to multiple people will help you realize just how colourful and varied the world of vampirism is.

And if you are a vampire, I know that this is cliché, but experience is a great teacher. So much of vampirism, from what I've seen and experienced myself, is about trying to run away from the vampiric experience, and be as human as possible. It has stopped being about that for me. Manage your health of course, and don't go without feeding for too long if you can help it. Take the substitutes you need to take to control the beast when you need to take them, but feeling those cravings instead of fleeing from them is a great way to become more familiar with vampirism. No one will be able to tell you more about your vampirism than yourself. Learn to meditate in those moments of hunger. You are a vampire, it's ok to allow yourself to be just that from time to time.

I hope this was helpful! Please feel free to ask if you have any more questions, I'm more than happy to help if you feel that I can :)

#sanguinarian #real vampire #vampyre

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toomanywatchers · 21 days

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alright! knew soemone took out the corkboard for this one. I totally agree though with all the stuff about the rebranding. I would suggest they are trying to rebrand themselves and make themselves better because on WW+ they do talk about how watcher wasn't exactly how they thought it would be and the pandemic really was rough for their company. And I would agree with the streamings service bc it is literally called www.watchertv.com but it is true that they are a suggested smaller company and have a relatively smaller audiance then their buzzfeed days. One thing on their part I wish they would have done differently when watcher first started was promoting watcher more on buzzfeed. They did a few times and at the very end but no one reads the discription and or the last little bits of the crdits. if they did promote it more, then maybe more of the audiance from unsolved would have come over to their company and have given them a bigger start. but with that comes its own problems of not having enough content or better content yada yada yada. One thing I did think of when I say the announcement was maybe it was a slouth of new shows were already ready to watch like a series. I quickly shot that down. Bc when would they have time to shoot 2-3+ shows? Between editing and keeping their current shows alive I doubt they had time (this is all speculation I have no fucking clue). Anyway I do think it might be stuff like maybe a new show announcements like maybe one with Sara and Joyce. As well as the somewhat annocued one with Steven and his crew. aybe a new tour and merch? Merch store has been pretty dry (minus the new patches) and we haven't had a tour since november which isn't long but idk what they do in HQ. Truly excited tho. I have my alarms set and everything. Anyway lol that's for reading my ramble too. Your theories were great, didn't mean to kind of debunk them though.

I believe you and I are on same the page and here are some of my responses to this.

With the whole BuzzFeed promoting: I don't think they had much of a say on what and how much they could promote Watcher over on BuzzFeed. If I remember correctly, BuzzFeed is very stingy on their employees/shows promoting other outside sources that could be seen as competition. Henceforth many BuzzFeed employees on contract could not appear in other YouTubers videos do to conflict of interest. In the end, it was really generous for the amount of promoting allowed of Shane and Ryan to put into the last seasons of BuzzFeed Unsolved.

The possibility of new shows: Yes, filming a lot of shows to add in this new slate would seem like a lot, but not in possible. It would seem more likely than touring as touring takes the boys away from the office and takes up a considerable amount of time and obstacles for filming schedules. Also I said how there are new names showing up in the credits of new editors and production crew, meaning they are hiring on new folks. Bigger team, more flexibility to work on new projects. Also if these new shows are less of Shane and Ryan, and more of other individuals like Steven and friends of the company it would actually mean a more balance flow of shooting. Letting Shane and Ryan have a break from constantly filming and to work on other projects within their own lives or through the company. Actually, Ronnie who was an intern for Watcher back in 2021 or 2022 I believe posted this on their instagram story:

They actually left the company sometime in 2022 possibly after the internship was up. Then when to work for GMM though that internship has come to close. Basically what I am saying is they are continue to grow their employment and with more people on the team means more flexibly in expansion of shows.

Merch???: I feel like merch could be a possible in this announcement if it's a relaunch of sorts. Especially if it's like a rebrand, selling merch to fit the new rebrand? Perfect idea to generate some revenue as for long time fans it would be a refreshing site to their merch line... and who doesn't love fresh new merch?

Don't worry guy I am also so excited! I noticed I actually don't work on Friday so I can be fully present for the announcement day! Imma be on the internet as a menace all day watch me.

#watcher #watcher entertainment #ryan bergara #shane madej #steven lim #wtf is going on at watcher hq?!#inbox thingys #my april 19th theory

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larathia · 1 year

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BSD Analysis: Ch. 107

(now that I've gotten the screaming out of my system.)

Okay! Lot to unpack here. Let's see what I can make of this chapter besides "oh man, next month really better pay off everything being shown here".

Beginning with Atsushi's indecision. The translations seem to have differing opinions on exactly how to take his state of mind here, but 'confused and in doubt' is a safe bet. I actually don't think we need to read too much into this. He's been given a weighty piece of knowledge (the goal of the Decay of the Angel), and he's being called on to make a decision. One which will likely have Consequences he can't predict or control. Atsushi's grown a lot over the arcs, but nearly anyone would be at least a little shaken by having to make such a decision. So it's no wonder that Atsushi's wrangling Doubts.

Akutagawa is missing his coat. The coat is the item of clothing given to him by the member of the Port Mafia that inducted him - Dazai. That he isn't wearing it suggests he's abandoned any affiliation with the mafia (or been ordered to abandon it). Alternatively, it may be a statement of rejection of Dazai, and Dazai's hold over him. (I do note that Chuuya-vamp kept HIS article of clothing, but then he kind of needs it to control his power, so I'm not sure how much to read into that.) I will, however, say that it's an interesting parallelism in the text that Atsushi is lamenting his "inner Dazai" isn't telling him what to do, at the same time we see Akutagawa lacking the symbol of his own allegiance to Dazai - the longcoat.

Cut to Sigma, who's thinking his way through everything he's just experienced. I actually don't think Sigma is off the mark in his conclusions, by the way. I think he read things correctly, even to the point of accepting that the whole thing IS a manipulation. But that's not the most interesting bit just now - that note is.

The reason the note is interesting is it made me remember this prison wasn't built just for Dazai and Fyodor to play mental chess in. There's other prisoners in here. Lots of them, rumor suggests. I am going to put forth my own crack theory here. My theory is that note has nothing to do with Gogol's game. My theory is that it came from another prisoner. Because lemme tell you I really, really want to see Leo Tolstoy turn up in this bitch and War And Peace mister Crime and Punishment. Please let me see that. I want to see that soooo much.

Atsushi and Akutagawa...but Aku's fighting is all wrong. Kinda like he WANTS to be beaten, no? What did he say? The tiger's claws can rip through the very fabric of Ability. Wonder how they'd fare against vampirism...

And on that note, Dazai! Who has survived! I doubt anyone is really surprised, although I'm sure more than a few of us had the "wait, HOW" reaction. It seems it's not been without cost; broken feet, broken legs. Probably, given the coughing, some damage to his ribs, too. And yet. He's got a little smile, and his eyes are drawn much lighter than usual. He's not unhappy with his current situation, even if there's a lot of pain in it. (Which. I mean. There has to be.) He crawled to the view of that camera. He asks for Fyodor to help him die, and Fyodor sends Chuuya to kill him.

Okay. I have to say at this juncture that I 100 percent believe Dazai is tricking Fyodor here. Playing on his own stereotype, in fact. Yeah, he hates pain, and yeah, he wants to die. And he knows Fyodor knows that - and, moreover, that Fyodor has to kill him to win the game Gogol's set up. So he is, basically, using Fyodor's own tactic in conjunction with his own methodology here. He's set up a situation that Fyodor really can't refuse to engage in, though 'refusing to engage' would be the smarter option and just as effective.

Why? I can see two good reasons right off the bat.

The first is that if he gets close to Chuuya, or Chuuya touches him in any way, there's a chance that Dazai's power will snap Chuuya out of the vampiric state. It's not a guarantee, but it's possible.

The second's the real one though - by doing this, Dazai has made sure Chuuya is not by Fyodor. Meaning Sigma doesn't have to defend himself against vamp!Chuuya to get to Fyodor (which is good, because I don't think Sigma would've survived that).

And now we've got Fyodor's little speech about "of course Dazai manipulated you". Which, lbh, Dazai totally did. But the thing that Fyodor misses here is that Dazai's manipulations aren't about forcing people to do what they don't want to do. They're about pushing people into doing things they secretly totally want to do but hold themselves back from. Sigma wants to matter. He wants to have friends. He wants to be useful. Dazai never lied to Sigma, and treated him as an equal, an ally, and basically showed Sigma that that's what Sigma wants. Not to be a flunky or lackey but a partner in a worthy cause. Sigma's choice here is his own, as is his courage. Fyodor can't believe in that, because his manipulations prey on human weaknesses; fear and greed.

We're led to believe that next month we might, might, MAYBE, find out what Fyodor's ability is. (I dunno. I kinda think he'll lie, what do you think?) Who the hell knows, y'know?

#bsd analysis #bungou stray dogs

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she-who-the-river-could-not-hold · 6 months

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20 questions For Fic Writers

tagged by @queen-of-the-wallflowers15 – thank you so much darling!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 76 on my main account, 3 on my secondary

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 889,141

3. What fandoms do you write for? The 100, Stranger Things, and Six of Crows are my main three. On my semi-secret 🌶️ AO3 account, I did one Until Dawn AU and I could see that account exploring a few more fandoms. As for my main, I'm not sure if it'll change up any time soon!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to! I've recently fallen a bit behind, but I'd love to wrap them up before the end of the year. It's rare enough (at least for me) to get any comments so I do try to make sure I follow up even it's just a quick thanks!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? For one of @troped-fanfic-challenge 's old Chopped Challenges, there was an angst round and I absolutely wrote the most angsty thing I've ever written.

"and the road gets tough" [Harper x Monty] | wc: 4.5k | rated: M | tags: roadtrip au, season 4!Harper, warnings for implied character death

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? A lot of my old Stranger Things fics are pretty fluffy, but I'd say that my Bellarke/Gilmore Girls AU is definitely a pretty specific happy ending. Especially in terms of how happy I am I guess with capturing the feel I wanted for it!

"dance away your fear of love" [Bellarke] | rated: T | wc: 6.1k | tags: Gilmore Girls AU, exes to friends to lovers, pining, co-parenting

8. Do you get hate on fics? I never really have, I feel thankful! I get the occasional odd comment but nothing has ever come across as actual "hate" in my opinion.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do! Sort of. I'm a bit of a fade to black writer on my main account. I'm someone that's very comfortable with sex being in stories, whether simply for pleasure or for plot/character devices, but I actually rarely write it myself. It doesn't always feel authentic for my own stories or necessarily for it to be explicit. Except of course for the fore-mentioned 🌶️ account, that naturally is extremely explicit lol. And for that smut, it's more the themes that I try to push than the actual smut itself.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? If I'm remembering correctly, in middle school I tried writing a Harry Potter x Young Dracula AU. But I'm not very interested in crossovers in general!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge! Hopefully not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I haven't, or at least no one has ever reached out if they have. It's such a cool concept though! Fanfic is such a cool community overall!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? So approximately 15+ years ago, an old friend and I co-wrote a "book" together (it was absolutely just OC-based fanfic for Peter and the Starcatchers and definitely not actually as original as we thought). And I'd get feedback from my friends for our old OC-insert Harry Potter stories, but I did write those on my own. But all of that was in middle school so it's been a long time!

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? I'm pretty equally feral for Bellarke (The 100) and Scully/Mulder (The X-Files), even though I don't write anything for the latter!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Let's pretend in good faith I'll finish all of the ones I've started. Though this might be awarded to my Bellarke, dark magic fantasy AU one. I have a lot of cool ideas for it but I have a hunch it'll be one that's always out of reach of being completed. Also seemingly no one checked it out compared to my usual fics so I don't think anyone is curious, which shouldn't ever really be a deciding factor but never helps!

16. What are your writing strengths? I'd definitely say world building! I'm a designer/artist/occasional photographer outside of ~fandom~ so I'm actually much more of a visual person than I am anything else. And writing gives me a chance to create the visions I have in my head! World building and atmosphere is my favorite part and I like to think it's my biggest strength! Also I like to make things feel canon, which I think I'm pretty good at.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I routinely say dialogue, though I think scalable levels of plot that feel both interesting but still fun. I'm much better at themes and main concepts than I am at smaller plot points to get there.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Probably a great idea! I've just never really had a need to, but I think if it fits then it's a fun detail to add. I'd just try to really make sure I did it correctly (or as close as possible).

19. First fandom you wrote for? I'm about 98% sure it was Harry Potter. Peter Pan holds a potential close second option.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? This is a tricky one, probably comes down to two for different reasons. One because it was incredibly self-indulgent and an AU of one of my favorite movies. The other because it was my longest fic and I actually think I maintained the quality the whole way through, while also finishing it at a normal pace!

Tagging: @kinetic-elaboration, @carrieeve, @thelittlefanpire, @lucascsinclairs, and uhhh anyone else who wants to do this and tag me!

#get to know me #kathryn writes

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buffyspeak · 2 months

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From Katniss' POV, we know that every district has specialization about their main product or industry, such as District 3 (technology), D4 (fishing), D12 (coal) etc.

What kind of economic system do you think Panem have?

If we can draw parallel with real world right now, which country is the most similar with Panem?

What's your opinion about this situation on Panem and its system?

Thank you 😊

@curiousnonny

hi there!! i saw this a while back and forgot to answer until now, so i appreciate your patience because this is definitely a real interesting subject. i'm probably not the best person to ask, tbh, as i'm not well-researched in my understanding of modern economics and find it all a little fake and strange (as in, money only has value insofar as we assign, value to it), but regardless here are my thoughts!

i don't have any specific quotes to pull, but i'm confident i remember references made to coins and possibly bills as well, so panem clearly has some form of finacial currency comparable to what we have now. it seems unlikely it's the same kind, as i actually believe that these are the kinds of things that would've retained their names if passed down so many generations later, but who knows?

it also seems, however, that the majority of district 12, at least, which is the district we are most familiar with, does not have reliable access to such currency. it's possible that the merchants do - though i find it unlikely they have it in abundance, as we see the baker regularly accepts hunting spoils as currency. the only people who probably regularly pay them in currency are peacekeepers - but in general, it seems that district 12's economy functions primarily - and could not function without - an illegal and somewhat rudimentary bartering system. we learn of a whole illegal black market center known as The Hob very early on. this actually seems to be where MOST of the day-to-day trading activities go on. it's notable because - unless i'm not remembering correctly? - even some of the merchants are known to frequent it, with katniss noting they always waited until the baker's wife left before engaging him in a trade. i could be wrong - it's possible she meant at the bakery. regardless, it's worthwhile to note that while the merchants are obviously materially better-off than those from the seam, they still live in the poorest district and it doesn't seem like even they could function without partaking in some of the bartering system that defines the district. (understanding the culture here is also signifcant in terms of understanding katniss' relationship to being indebted to others.

interesting, too, is the value we learn specific items may hold. for instance: at the start of thg, gale trades the baker a squirrel for a loaf of bread. this is implied (or maybe outright stated? i don't have my copy handy) to be a very good trade, and it's also said that the baker was likely feeling generous that day. a squirrel may be a more life-sustaining product in that it provides more protein in a meal, but A) it is an illicit product, since hunting is illegal, and therefore there is less room on gale's part for negotiation and B) fine bakery like what the mellarks make is a luxury item, with a lot of demand for it but few outside of the peacekeepers who can actually afford it. mr. mellark seems like someone who probably tries to trade fairly, but there is more value assigned to his bread than there is to gale's squirrel.

i'm also very fascinated by both katniss and peeta's changing relationship with currency at the beginning of catching fire, as we learn that, as victors, they earn (what i believe is) a monthly capitol-sponsored income that is substantial enough that they will never need to work again and are not expected to finish school. i have no doubt that this is the first time in katniss' life she has had any signifcant contact with this kind of currency, and i believe it is more unfamiliar to peeta, too, than one might expect. this puts both of them in a new kind of class inside there district (one that only haymitch had entered before them), alienating them from their loved ones in some very interesting ways. what i'm particularly interested in is understanding that this newfound wealth is framed by the capitol as a reward but is fundamentally just another means of control. while the insidiousness of this is not delved into as clearly as other aspects of the capitol's control over the victors, i think one could make a strong parallel between this and more real-world exampels of financial abuse. (i also think this is why i find it a bit harsh when people get down on gale for not accepting when katniss offers him some of her newfound wealth as a victor. i won't act like pride has nothing to do with it - though even that i can understand - but one of gale's strengths is that he really does understand the tactics the capitol uses for manipulation and control. he can't always regulate his feelings about them, but i think he implicitly understands in this situation that accepting this offer would just be one more way he was putting his life in the hands of the capitol. it's also worth noting that his and katniss relationship has always been one based in transaction. they came to care about each other in real and profound ways, but it's hard to shake that original dynamic of "i give you this, you give me that, i teach you this, you teach me that, i protect you, you protect me." only now, in this scenario, gale has nothing comparable in value to exchange for what katniss is offering him. and while katniss doesn't care about that, he obviously does. and i can understand that.)

we obviously know a lot less about every other district, and i'm not well-versed enough in economics that i feel confident in extrapolating beyond some very basic assumptions. (mainly that i assume outside the capitol, there is some sort of underground/black market trade system in most districts, likely based on their specialized industry. for example, i imagine resale of scraps of technology has a significant market in district 3. i imagine currency as we think of it is still less common than in the capitol in most districts, though i think it's likely more common in say, district 2 in exchange for the weaponry industry than it is in somewhere like district 7.)

we know a little bit more about the capitol than we do most other districts, though ofc, district 12 remains the one we know most about, as the story is told through katniss' eyes. but interestingly, even in the capitol - where most citizens are perceived as very well-off by katniss - it only seems that only those who are either in government or heavily involved in the games (which, in a way, do seem to function like a department of governement) are the ultra-wealthy. many of the citizens of the capitol certainly have this appearance - and can engage in luxuries that those in district 12 couldn't dream of - but we find it out in mockingjay that many of them are in debt, implying that there is some sort of credit system, and that those who cannot pay off their debts might eventually be forced into becoming peackeepers. in tbosas, we also learn that the war took a financial toll on some families and lifted up others, with sejanus' family rising in both wealth and social status and coriolanus' family losing his wealth and having to keep up a facade of maintaining his class and social status. while snow's family was obviously significantly impaired, i doubt he was an outlier in being financially affected by the war, and since the events of the original trilogy are really only a few generations later, it's likely that the family's acutely affected directly proceeding the war are those most susceptible to debt years later.

i don't think we can assign a single economic system to panem because the two places we have the clearest pictures of have such opposing systems, but it's clear it's complex around the board.

as for what country panem is supposed to represent - i mean, i'm obviously coming at this with narrow, western, us-based goggles, and would love to hear other perspectives! but yeah, my answer is... it's complicated? geographically, most of panem is canonically what used to be more north america. but socially, america - and the us in particular - is closer to the capitol than any of the districts. notably, though, i think most of us are far closer to the capitol citizens (who perform wealth and have access to many luxuries but are also exceedingly susceptible to debt) than the wealthy of the capitol, but all the same, i do think the story asks us citizens in particular to take a look at our lives and fill our blind spots. one could argue that it's only the government and ultra wealthy in our country who are meant to represent the capitol and that there are impoverished areas in the us that are just as comparable to the districts as other countries - which i think is fair! the point, in general, is that the book asks us to do that self-reflection, not that it gives us the answers.

#the hunger games #thg #thg meta #my meta #tbosas #anonymous #asks #curiousnonny #long post //

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youatemylollipop · 1 year

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Reaction of Otae, Tsukki and Abuto with a partner that took the initiative and kissed them first? Scenario or headcanons, as you prefer. Thanks!

A/N: I’m sad bc I couldn’t find any pictures of a flustered Abuto.😔 Oh, and btw, I kinda made the theme “first kiss”, since it was the first thing that came to mind.

Ft: Abuto, Shimura Tae & Tsukuyo (Gintama).

Part Two: Kamui & Okita Sougo ➵ Gintama

Abuto

➸ Abuto is a very laid-back individual. The guy’s gotta have nerves made of steel in order to deal with his bloodthirsty commander on a daily basis. So it’s pretty hard to take this man by surprise.

➸ He is—if I remember correctly—somewhere in his early thirties. This means that he must’ve had his fair share of relationships. Because let’s be realistic, Abuto does in fact hold a certain charm to him that has most people drooling over him. Not only is he attractive, but also very chill and a good conversationalist as well.

➸ But here’s the deal. His s/o is not just any other person. In fact, they’re the person who had somehow managed to catch the yato’s attention and made him actually want to enter a serious relationship with them.

➸ After all, as a member of the Harusame pirates, there is no wonder that the man preferred to keep everything casual before they had entered his life. In fact, there’s a high probability that his s/o was a member of the Harusame pirates themselves.

➸ If not, then Abuto would make sure to visit them whenever he could. But I doubt that a relationship like that would’ve lasted too long.

➸ It’s just that Abuto has this sense of responsibility and can’t just leave Kamui without any supervision. Even tough his presence might not provide any major changes, it still has a certain impact on the young commander.

➸ I’m blabbering, aren’t I? Let’s get back to the kiss.

➸ I believe that Abuto and his s/o had only entered the first stage of their relationship at this point. Since Abuto has never had any experience when it comes to romantic relationships, aside from casual affairs with random people.

➸ So the amanto probably figured that the best course of action would be to take things at a rather slow pace. And this applies especially if his s/o had never been in a relationship before either.

➸ This man is very respectful when it comes to his s/o’s boundaries and will make sure that they’re comfortable 24/7. But I guess that the downside of this is that he had not even once attempted to make a move on his s/o yet.

➸ Well… At least, that was what his lack of action had been indicating so far. And that is why his s/o had decided to take matters into their own hands.

It had gone a few months since you and Abuto had officially started dating and due to the affiliation with the Harusame, you had not exactly much spare time to go on a proper date. Especially with how adventure seeking his superior could be at times—which was practically always. So it was particularly hard to find an empty schedule for the older yato.

You were glad, though, since today it was finally going to happen. Perhaps you were being a bit mean and it wasn’t very nice to be happy about the vermillion haired amanto’s sickness. The younger had apparently eaten some bad food at one of the planets that their ship had been visiting. Some type of food that his yato body could not handle, so it seemed. But had it not been for this incident, you doubt Abuto would ever get to spend another day like this with you.

You were currently at a festival that was, much to your luck, held on that exact day. Abuto wasn’t really a “festival-goer”, but if it meant that he could spend time with you without any nuisances tagging along, he was more than happy to do so.

You were currently eating some cotton candy, as it was the easiest thing to stuff yourself with after trying out many kinds of foods. While Abuto was busy looking around the various types of stands, your own gaze was fixated on his face, and suddenly the only thing you could think of was how much sweeter his lips had to be than the treat you were munching on a few minutes prior.

Packing up enough courage, you quickly tapped him on the shoulder. The male cast you a curious look as you motioned for him to come a bit closer. You purposely made it look as if you wanted to tell him something, before quickly wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing a sweet and delicate kiss against his slightly chapped lips. All the male could do was blink at your actions in surprise, which earned him a pout from your side.

“You were supposed to get flustered!” Abuto smirked at your obvious frustration as you crossed your arms exasperatedly, while facing the other side. Perhaps he wouldn’t say it aloud, but he found your dramatism rather amusing, not to mention charming.

Ignoring your childish tantrum, he simply leaned in and left a quick peck on your puffed out cheek. He then took a hold of your hand and began dragging you through the festival, not paying any mind to your endless whining.

Shimura Tae

➸ What’s there to say about Shimura Tae? I guess that the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Otae is that she’s the embodiment of a humanized volcano. Or is it a human-volcano? What matters is that her reactions can differ greatly, however, still keep one big common denominator: Explosiveness.

➸ I swear! This woman is literally the definition of a human-sized detonator! It doesn’t matter if someone decides to say something insulting or flattering, she’ll still react equally violent. It’s kinda scary, if I were to be honest.

➸ Shimura Tae is a sweetheart, two-faced, but still very likable. I don’t think that her s/o has managed to go through a day without wanting to kiss her.

➸ She’s just so easily flustered, which kinda makes up for her sometimes “gorilla-like” demeanor. Though, I think that we all “Otae-lovers” would agree that this particular characteristic only adds to the charm.

➸ Despite having so many occasions where her s/o could imagine themselves actually doing it, they never do. Well… That’s until Kondō and Kyūbei come into the picture.

➸ When having so many rivals, it kinda forces her s/o to take action. Even if both parties haven’t exactly been able to surpass her s/o, while trying to court her. If one could even call that courting.

➸ Despite wanting to shove it in their faces that her s/o is the only person Otae will ever pick, they still only decided to act on their feelings once the two of them were somewhere alone.

➸ Privacy is something important for her and her s/o did obviously not want to make her feel uncomfortable. Otae is still a very sensitive soul, after all. Yet, the action in it self had come much more spontaneously than her s/o had earlier planned for it to be.

You were currently sitting on the floor, waiting for your friend to return from wherever she currently was. As weird as it might have sounded, the second you entered their family dojo, the woman had only told you to “sit down and wait” while she prepared some surprise for you. Even though you’ve already been sitting here for a while, you still had no idea of what kind of surprise she could have possibly been making at this point.

‘Are surprises even supposed to take this much time to prepare?’

Soon enough, the young woman entered with a tray in her hands. And as the sight greeted your own field of vision, you visibly paled. However, the changes in your face were not drastic enough for the female to realize the reason.

“[Name]-chan, would you like to try out my new dish? I’ve been trying to learn a new receipt these past two weeks.” How could you possibly say no to that pretty smile? The answer was simple: You couldn’t. And the second a barely audible “yes” escaped your lips, you realized you were a goner. Because so far, there had existed no creature in this universe that was miraculously able to survive as much as a taste from her homemade food.

The young woman was watching you eagerly as you took the spoon and guided it slowly towards your lips. However, before you would need to put it in your mouth, an idea popped into your mind.

“Tae-chan, wouldn’t you like to try it out as well?” You had never called her that before, and judging by how red-faced she had become, you figured your plan was a success. However, what you did not take into account was the fact that she would look utterly adorable like this. You had simply forgotten about how weak you were for her flustered expressions.

“T-Tae-chan?” She barely managed to squeak out as your lips were already on her own. Yet, instead of pushing away as you had expected her to do, she remained completely unmoving. Like a statue. Not wanting to make her even more uncomfortable, you decided to withdraw yourself from her. A pregnant pause soon followed as you waited for her to say something.

“C-Could you kiss me again?”

Tsukuyo

➸ This woman is the definition of tsun-tsun when it comes to romance, I swear to god! When I first saw her in “Yoshiwara in Flames” arc, I believed there was no way a badass like her could be so cute! But, guess I was proven wrong…

➸ Something tells me that the first kiss had happened way before the two of them started dating. Another thing that I’m certain about is that in this case, her s/o most definitely was the one who took the initiative—unless she got sh*t-faced, that is. However—even if that was the case—I doubt she’d remember anything, so I guess it’d be her s/o’s call either way.

➸ The both of them were most likely having an argument about something. During this so-called “argument”, instead of focusing on the problem at hand, her s/o starts thinking about how pretty she looks when she’s angry.

➸ Obviously, they started spacing out and she called them out for it, which then proceeded with a half an hour long scolding session. And Tsukuyo is too busy, walking around with hysterical steps to notice whatever it is that her s/o might be doing at the moment.

➸ Her s/o is too immersed to actually pay attention whatever it is that she’s talking about. They had, in fact, stopped listening after the first five minutes. Tsukuyo, on the other hand, is mentally too far away to take notice of this fact.

➸ As the kiss finally happens, I get the feeling that her s/o will not even be aware of what it is that they’re doing. So in this case, it wasn’t even intentionally—just like in Tsukuyo’s case when she had hypothetically kissed them, while being intoxicated.

➸ The difference is, however, that the both of them are now aware of what’s actually happening this time. Well, at least when they begin to pull away, that is.

You in all honesty, don’t even remember what that argument had been about. Yet here you are, listening for the past thirty minutes about god knows what. You’re not even paying any attention to her words! And for someone whose main goal is to talk some sense into you, she sure does not put any effort into making you listen.

The longer you watched her, the more you began to realize how pretty she actually was. However, the amusing part was perhaps the fact that she had still not noticed the dazed expression that you were currently having. A part of you wondered just how pissed off she had to be to become this blinded by her rage.

Obviously, this wasn’t the best way to deal with the situation that you had suddenly found yourself in. But the longer you sat there, the more curious you grew. You simply couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like if you had ever managed to sh*t, the “Courtezan of Death”, up by an unexpected kiss.

So that’s what you did. Kissing her right in the middle of her speech. Her lips were surprisingly soft, but the thing that surprised you the most was the fact that she was actually kissing you back.

“What the h*ll do you think you're doing?”

“Me? I just wanted to know if I could make that mouth of yours do something more productive for a change.” If looks could kill, you’re pretty d*mn sure that you’d be six feet under by now. But did you regret doing it? No, you did not.

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dyketubbo · 2 years

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i had a post typed up about it but apparently it just did not save to drafts buttt. in terms of a reboot i cant really be. too harsh about the idea itself though thats definitely because well. techno died. its hard for people to work on a collaborative story when a member dies, especially one so important to many characters stories.

i completely understand wanting a reboot out of grief, even though i dont really think itll be the most beneficial (after all, itd.. wipe the fact that techno was involved at all from the server. we will always remember, certainly, but.. its hard to deny how impactful techno was to the story, and to simply move on isnt going to be the right answer for many)

however i think the idea of rebooting the idea because the ccs decided they stopped liking the fandom is, just a touch, ridiculous. especially because recently, with things like dteam releasing shroud that calls back to how much sapnap and george fucking with michael fucked up the story for quite a few characters (if they didnt attack him, the kidnapping plot would be.. a LOT more direct and wayyyy less messy and would help with the communication issues that arised), its.. notable that its the ccs fault in quite a few cases?

the ccs often get so focused on fucking with lore frogs, baiting fans, making fans of other ccs angry or distressed because they personally dont give a shit about what their friends made and worked on, that they forget that. this Encourages the fandom to be worse. it encourages people to be cynical, to never believe that the dsmp will get out of drought, to constantly hold ccs to the belief that "soon" means nothing. and notably.. theres been many ccs who talked about dropping things because of a lack of interest

and huh.. i wonder whose job it is to encourage their fellow writers and be aware of the story theyre taking part in, and to show compassion and respect to each others ideas. i wonder if having active engagement and having enough respect to know when its just griefing and when its actively stepping out of line to mess with people could help with ccs like eryn and ranboo and whoever else act on the ideas that their fans are often extremely excited about

i think one of the big problems is that these ccs are forgetting that theyre supposed to collaborate, that yes, even for an improv based story, you have to schedule correctly and not step on each others toes. i sincerely, truly, doubt that it is the fandoms fault that there have been so many times where ccs said "i wanted to do this but i was never able to get a hold of the people i needed to do it with/there was no interest". that is on the ccs to actually give a shit about this story, all of it, not just what theyre working on.

the solution isnt a reboot, it isnt to veer straight into nothing but casual getting on and doing whatever in an attempt to recreate the good times, its to look at the story in its entirety and figure out how to work together to complete the story in a satisfying way. i completely get that ccs are burnt out on dsmp, that quite a few of them are grieving, that the fandom can be toxic and throw fits to the point of making the ccs unable to discern whether theyre doing Enough. but theyre shooting themselves in both feet by not taking any accountability for the fact that the actual big enemy here is the fact that theyre disorganized and wont engage in each others stories in a respectful way anymore

what worked about season one and two was that the ccs made time for each other and that they engaged in each others stories. the ccs wouldnt Have to separate into little groups and solo lore if they would just.. work together to give a big thing or two to work around while paying attention to each others stories

first there was lmanberg vs the greater smp. then manberg vs pogtopia (and from there branched off the badlands and the stories associated with them). then new lmanburg and exile and the beginnings of the egg arc sprouted up and that gave things to do. then there was the egg as a main plot and las nevadas as another thing to work against and what worked there (to an extent) was that ccs engaged in this. even in s3 you can see how many smaller plots ended up arching into the bigger plots of the egg and las nevadas. but s4 is disconnected, even though they had jailbreak to work off of, and thats the issue with it.

set aside times to work on the story, work on intertwining smaller arcs (such as eryns knighting or aimseys connection with death and ghosts and to an extent the past) into the Big Arc of.. what do they want to do about dream? give a chance for every member to learn about what he did and about the history of the server, and youve got yourself a way to make a cohesive story. add in the fact that the badlands and co still have the egg to finish up and youve successfully got yourself two main plots for people to choose between. no reboot necessary just.. communication. thats all

#mask mews #long post #dsmp #discourse #death ment #hey everyone did you miss my long rambly posts about current events i sure did #tl;dr i get not wanting to work on it if its out of grief #but i dont think that its acceptable to blame the fandom for a lack of communication and respect amongst the writing team #yknow?

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mortallychaotickingdom · 1 year

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I don't want to rage on Clive supporters but my dear precious friend @narumitsu-lawlu wrote this little thingy here and I wanted to share it with you eheh (I only did the illustration at the end and actually we began that drawing with another purpose and we got to finish it right after finding out about Des’ victory but I'll just shhhh). Enjoy this little text! (and go follow her, she’s an amazing writer!)

The masked man sighed when he finally came back at the Bostonius. That little tournament was... endaring if anything, but also pretty tirying. He was eagerly waiting for a tea cup from Raymond after all of this.

When he got two invitations, one for Jean Descole and the other for Desmond Sycamore he wasn't surprised. Few people knew who he was and it was for the best. Though what the invitation was FOR made him do a double take.

Just to be sure he re-read it but it still said the same thing: An invitation to a tournament... but a "sexyman" tournament? When he read that he exploded of laughter. He knew he wasn't bad looking but he wasn't expecting THAT!

Anyway, the curiosity -and amusement too- took the better of him and he went. Notifying the staff that Desmond Sycamore was... well, he had a letter from him saying that he politely refused to participate. Upon hearing that the staff wasn't apparently surprised and said he was directly moved to the next round.

Well that was a first round easily won. he thought.

Noticing Layton too -uh. Didn't they know that his brother wasn't made for such a competition? He's too much of a gentleman for that.- and... oh yikes. Ascot was here too, as well as Henry. Shit.

He made a conscious effort to avoid them, and that inspector from Scotland Yard as well. And was that Luke? In doubts he stayed away from everyone.

Though the engineer couldn't really avoid his brother, -to whom he won against. Well, a victory is a victory; the number of times he swear to won against him, he never specified in what category did he?- nor Emmy (what the hell was she even doing here? And their encounter was more of a physical brawl than a vote from the public) but in the end he got to the finals.

And he was against a certain "Clive"- wait a minute.

Not only did he looked like an older version of his brother's apprentice -so that was who he saw earlier- but he was pretty sure he remembered him being in jail for almost destroying the entierty of London. (What a lack of style. A moving fortress really? Plus, innocents getting into this? Have he ever heard of collateral damages? For fuck's sake deaths aren't helping your cause!)

Needless to say, he also won against him.

Then again, Descole admitted the young man had talent -well as much as there was talent needed for this thing; he still had a hard time getting what the hell he was supposed to do- and potential. He was still young; he had all the time in the world to learn. So after a quick handshake the masked man offered him some advices for next time -if there was one-. The swordsman had more experience, but then again that's a thing Clive -if he remembered correctly- corrected every day. That kid got theatrics already memorized at least; that was a thing less to learn.

Maybe another time he will win who knows.

Anyway after all that was done and dealt with he was finally back. Putting away the cloak, mask and hat he finally allowed himself to relax -and with a glass wine to celebrate to boot. After all, why not? It wasn't like he had a lot to celebrate these days. However...

"Professor? You are back?"

He wasn't alone here; he put his glass on the table and turned around.

"Indeed I am- uh?"

Who he had before him was Aurora, there wasn't any doubts about it. But she was looking... different. She smiled softly.

"Do... you like it? Raymond and I went to the shop when you were gone, and we came back with this. -Really. he turned to Raymond amused before concentrating on the Azran girl again. It looks good on you. -T-Thank you. she offered a sweet smile. I heard there was... something to celebrate...? she asked. -Hm? I suppose there is. I was gone to a... tournament. And I won."

Better not go in the details of what that tournament was. However, the Azran emissary's expression lit up at this.

"Really? Well congratulations for your victory then!"

He smiled softly.

"Thank you Aurora."

#pl #professor layton #professor layton and the true sexyman #azran legacy #azran legacy spoilers #aurora azran #fanfic #fanart #collab #precious baby in a pretty dress #finally an Ipad drawing I don't hate too much #GO FOLLOW MY FRIENDS <3 <3 <3

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soulsxng · 4 months

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What is one ridiculously silly and nonsensical law from each of your kingdoms?

@soraeia

Setia

"Hmm...I can only really think of one that might fit that explanation, off the top of my head. There is a stretch of 3 days at the beginning of each year, in which the Setana observe a period of silence. There was valid reason for it during the time in which that law was passed-- a situation having to do with the abominations that live in the caves, and their levels of aggressiveness during this specific period. They're sensitive to sound as it is, so back when we didn't have very reliable ways to keep them from getting into the cities proper, and an excess of sound during what we call the 'Days of Stagnancy' would result in them invading said cities and causing large amounts of casualties."

"These days, however, Setia is far more advanced in the means of our defense...and thus, it isn't something that those of us who live in a city need to worry about any longer, unless we need to leave, for one reason or another. That makes it a nonsensical law, but I've kept it as a sort of...reminder of struggles now past, so to speak."

Ahnia

"I'm not sure who started the rumor, but a while back...actually, I think I was still only like...12 or 13 when dad had to make this rule, but it's illegal for people to make food offerings to Innaius. Um...specifically..."

"Peanut butter. That was such an unnecessary mess...I have no doubt that someone that knows who Lerato really is started the rumor, thinking it was funny. Do you have any idea how much time and money had to be spent to clean up some of the more elaborate offerings? It's silly now, yes, but thinking about having to deal with that again makes me cringe."

The Aifaen Plains

"Us Aifaen don't really got a lotta rules for our packs...ain't it the Warriors and Bralis' clergy that got all those dumb requirements, and restrictions, and whatnot?"

"The Warriors have some, but overall 's some pretty common sense sortsa thin's. Bralis 's strict 'bout the people that serve 'im though, so the clergy's def'nitely got a lotta rules they've gotta follow. Callin' 'em silly or nonsensical though...kinda feels like askin' for punishment."

"The Vash-Aifaen have quite a few! Like once, my brother made a law that makes it punishable by fine or services to dawdle in common pathways-- roads, and doorways, and that kind of thing. He got tired of always having to slow down, or dodge around people, or whatever else."

Vasyri

"Mm...it's difficult to govern a people that are primarily wanderers. Any rule that we've made is really only valid within the capital, and other settlements within Vasyri's territory tend to have their own laws and such as needed. Because of that, even though things can grow to be rowdy at times, people tend to be more free to defend or condemn the morality of specific situations as they happen."

"Actually, the High Scholasticate, some number of decades ago, actually had to make a sort of...unofficial decree against people sacrificing themselves-- or any part of themselves-- in the study of blood magic, and rituals, and the like. People tend to laugh a bit when they hear that, but it was a rather big problem back then. It was due to some kind of breakthrough Baphomet Dresiae made, if I remember correctly..."

#[royalty verse]#Yeah that Vasyrus and Aifaen don't have too many rules #In Vasyri's case #it's because they only just got an official 'ruler' within the last...idk 3 years or so I'd say? 5 at the absolute most?#and with the Aifaen it's more because they all do what they want #and if two people fight about something they didn't like the other doing that's fine #if something done is particularly heinous #there's a good chance they'll get banished...or outright killed by the pack as a whole tbh #harsh but apparently exceedingly effective

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rust-bearer · 5 months

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OH DAMN, ANOTHER BRAIN MOMENT!! I’ve clogged your inbox enough as it is so from here on out I’m just gonna try to keep it to like… maybe one ask a week LMAO I know your account isn’t exclusively about zombie au stuff. So last one:

I hate to think like this, but… what would happen if one of our precious survivors did end up getting infected? You probably know where I’m going with this, but ohhh shit First Aid’s caretaker instincts and overall fatal drive to support and protect does not benefit him in the long run! At least, not if you go by the black-and-white thinking. I won’t start a whole philosophical debate, so anyway. Let’s say somewhere down the line he gets infected, because…. It’s First Aid, he’d probably try to help someone who they found on the streets who looks “ill” but is actually a zombie in the making and ends up getting bitten, whoops.

There’s definitely a few ways you could go about this. For one, you could be like OH MY GOD IVE BEEN BITTEN *cue zombie transformation*, or you could be like FUCK I’ve been bitten, try to get as far from the house as possible while this awful disease ravages your system within seconds. Or, secret third option, you could do something like the 2017 zombie movie Cargo.

It’s been a while, but if I remember correctly, it was about this dad surviving an apocalypse who had his kid strapped to his back. Like, the kid was 2ish maybe, one of those tiny humans that can fit in the harness you wear over your shoulder and you’re like a human pack mule and your baggage is a child? I dunno what to call them. ANYWAY, if I remember correctly, the zombie transformation process wasn’t immediate. At least, it wasn’t like “five minutes from now I’ll be hungry for flesh.” It might’ve been like an hours thing, maybe more like a days thing?

A chronological process here with that in mind:

1. Say the person he’s trying to heal isn’t infected-infected, like they’re still coherent. If they bite him then, it would obviously infect HIM, too, but I feel like the process would be slower.

2. With that in mind, you just know First Aid realizes exactly how this is gonna go. He’s gonna be zombified sooner or later, there’s no doubt about that. His biggest concern is probably like “how quickly is this gonna happen?” Does he have enough time to get himself and the survivor he’d tried to help away from the farmhouse? Can he inform the Combaticons, maybe the children? Does he have more time than he expects? What’s the process gonna be like? Where does he even start?

3. Thankfully for him (actually not thankfully it’s even more awful this way LMAO), the infection seems a bit more gradual than instant. It’s probably a two, three day process, and throughout the whole thing he just feels so tired, his body feels sore, he feels so hungry, super hungry. At the same time, regular food cooked by Onslaught which is usually the best thing he’s ever tasted is repulsive, nauseating even.

4. Those things aren’t the worst of it, though. First Aid’s BIGGEST problem is the site of the wound itself, which started out as a small bite-shaped puncture wound but has now spread across his ENTIRE arm, causing the skin to go blue and veins to appear and gosh, he couldn’t stop bleeding at first, but now there just isn’t any blood at all, no clotting, nothing. He’s lucky he can still feel that arm, let alone use it, because he can feel his nerves dying out one by one. It doesn’t actually hurt, which is a little surprising. If anything, it just… I don’t know, it’s just like he’s gradually getting less and less aware that he has two arms, not own.

5. Ironically, despite the danger he puts himself and others in, it does take First Aid some time to open up about what happened. Only hours after the incident does the poor survivor fully transform into a flesh-eating, brain-hungry monster, and First Aid doesn’t have the courage to stick around when Brawl heads out back to “take care of the poor guy.” The Combaticon is strangely humane about the entire ordeal, and it makes First Aid feel a little better, but it’s like knowing the day you’re gonna die. There’s nothing you can do, but it’s still haunting.

6. He doesn’t actually end up telling anyone, though… they just sort of find out. First Aid was pretty diligent about keeping the bite wound sanitized and wrapped, despite it doing little to help. He’s more afraid of infecting others via contact with the injury, though, and… well, he still hasn’t gathered the courage needed to open up about what happened. It’s a weird feeling, but one moment First Aid is sitting at the dining room table, staring down at a plate of food he hasn’t touched yet while Vortex and Swindle argue over some unimportant topic, and the next thing he knows, he’s suddenly being pinned to the ground by a very aggressive, very scared Onslaught. It’s hard to tell exactly what had happened at first, but a quick glance at the upturned tables and chairs and Swindle—who’s quite literally quivering in the farthest corner of the room and completely silent for once in his fucking life—tells him exactly what had happened.

7. All of a sudden, everything erupts into poorly controlled chaos. The children who witnessed the incident are crying, First Aid starts crying, Swindle is babbling on about rabies and infections and god knows what, Brawl is struggling to help gather everyone up and out of the room so Onslaught can have some space to work. It takes some time, but he eventually manages to help guide First Aid out of the house and away from the trashed dining room.

8. You could end it all depressingly with First Aid being eliminated but honestly, I hc that they just keep him in the barn or something LMAO. I like the idea that zombies aren’t as aggressive during the day, and if anything, more curious that bloodthirsty. Also, you COULD try to feed him a little something here and there. Maybe not, but like… it’s not out of the question. Vortex takes him on like he’s just another horse living in the stable, and he’s honestly the only one who’s unfazed by First Aid’s tendency to nip at stray fingers. At one point he even suggests pulling First Aid’s teeth to make him less dangerous, but the children lost their minds, so that was quickly turned down. Either way, First Aid is now their little zombie pet, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Sometimes Vortex even takes him out on little walks with a harness and a leash. First Aid doesn’t mind it, for the most part. He even seems to like it, and he especially likes stopping to stand under the shade of trees while Vortex continues training his precious mare.

I’ve always imagined First Aid would be the type of person who would realize he is going to die, and try the very drastic amputation method. Like, if it works, that’s a different topic. But I imagine he would have seen how long it takes to turn, and then gamble on, “if I amputate the area that got bitten, then I can survive” but it would have to be a very very rapid decision.

Ie: realizing he got bitten on the arm, ripping off the clothing there, tying a tourniquet, grabbing whatever sharp object he keeps on him and doing the worlds worst and most horrific amputation. You could make a case that maybe he has medical tools on him that could be used for amputation. But it’s equally likely that he doesn’t. Bonus points if he’s alone, or what if he’s not alone and Vortex has to hold his arm down for him. Ugh. Interesting stuff though!

#first aid #zombie au

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duckapus · 11 months

Text

Magolor heads into his office after a few minutes of talking shop with Bob, “What a nice bunch of folks. Though I swear that Lily girl looked familiar…” he shrugs, “Eh, I’m sure it’ll come to me.”

With that, he starts looking through some paperwork. It’s mainly confirmations on the permits for his carnival (and on the bribe payments for the health inspector, of course), and a few supply delivery orders he needs to finalize, but one item stands out; an envelope with no return address and a picture of a rose with a thorny stem printed on it, no doubt containing a threatening note. He glares at it.

“I swear, those religious types have no patience. It’s nowhere near the deadline Anton gave me last time he showed up!” he sighs roughly and tosses it to the side before massaging his temples, “I have got to get out from under these guys…”

As he wallows in his frustration, he catches a glimpse of something in the far corner of the office, under a box. He floats over and pulls it out, revealing it to be a document of some kind.

“Huh, forgot I had this. Let’s see… ‘Bounty for Liliana Estrella, deliver to Rosen Stinger, mission details’…yada yada…’don’t damage vocal cords’…hm-hmmm…’Reward’-” he whistles, “man that’s a lot of zeroes.”

He’s started pacing without quite realizing it, “So that’s where I remembered her from. Well, if she’s worth that much to them, I’ll be able to clear my debt and make a profit in the meantime!” He starts rummaging through the room, running his hands along the walls, “Okay, where’d I hide that control panel…”

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Oblivious to Magolor’s machinations, the kids are having a blast. Those of them with powers were using them to out-cheat some rigged games, Franky had proven to be king of the claw machine, BJ seems bound and determined to clean out every concession stand in the area, Sage had decided to test out her new more life-like hologram by seeing if she could get as sick as everyone else on the rollercoaster, and Jubjub had somehow managed to break a test-your-strength machine and is now lugging around a wiggler plush toy(thankfully waterproof, Bob had checked) three times his size. Now the group is taking a break for lunch.

Bob’s sitting off to the side, for once content to keep his big mouth shut and just enjoy listening to the kids chatter excitedly with each other. Contrary to what Lily had thought before, he’d actually done the responsible thing and let their parents know what was going on before they came. To his surprise (and theirs, if his people reading skills were still good, which they’d have to be in his business) they’d all been perfectly fine with him looking after the kids. Karen had even said outright and with no hesitation that she trusted him with Cody, which had come as a shock to both parties.

A few years ago, heck, even a few months ago he wouldn’t have been anyone’s choice to look after a kid, probably wouldn’t have even agreed to unless he could profit from it somehow. He’d gone soft, he’d admit. Even go as far as to say he was proud of it. Not that he’d stop scamming people and living a degenerate’s life anytime soon, he was still himself after all, but he’d be perfectly fine keeping his act as clean as it currently was if it meant more moments like this.

Almost as if to spite that thought, Sage suddenly goes rigid and stares in shock into the distance, “Oh dear.”

This puts everyone on alert, and BJ puts his claw on his best friend’s shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

“Something is blocking my connection to the EggNet. And if I am interpreting this correctly, the jamming signal also seems to be outputting a copy of my “all is well” state, so Father will not be alerted of my absence.”

Cody growls nervously, “My phone doesn’t have a signal either.”

Bob’s eyes narrow and he stands up, blades not yet raised but still at the ready, “Alright kids, whatever’s about to happen, we stick together. Cody, Franky, Lily, that goes double for you since you don’t have an easy way to defend yourselves.”

The group all nods, some nervous and some determined, and then the intercom turns on.

“Hey everybody, this is your host Magolor! Due to circumstances well within my control, this carnival is being temporarily repurposed as a musician capturing labyrinth.”

Lily moves behind Lil Coding, “Oh, not again…”

“See, normally I wouldn’t get into the whole bounty hunting business. Bit too messy for my tastes. But, I’ve accumulated a rather sizable debt to some particularly nasty characters. Perhaps some of you have heard of the Rosen Stinger? Now, I was going to use the profits from this carnival to pay it off originally, but they’re…a little testy after the last time I saw them, and I’d rather get this done sooner rather than later. And as if in answer to my prayers, who should fall in my lap but the little songbird their boss has been obsessed with for the past year or so?

“It’s really nothing personal kiddo, but it’s you or me, and frankly I’d rather it not be me. See ya real soon!”

“YOU SON OF A-” Bob snarls and smacks a nearby garbage can so hard it wipes out a pretzel cart, then calms himself down, “Okay, same plan as before, but now staying with the group goes triple for Lily and we’re also gonna run like hell for the nearest exit.”

“Jub jub if no exit?”

“Then we’ll make one.”

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memryse · 1 year

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i loovee love love analyses and essays and CONVERSATIONS about the life series, so coming across your blog has been a twist of the fate strings. then discovering you have a literal analyses tag oml... i actually clutched my chest and leaned back to breathe. i will be doing some heavy reading, hopefully. anyway, this is something i talked about in a convo a couple weeks back ^_^

--v

I also find it funny how ren shot scar... didn't scar shoot ren in third life.. I love the ren vs scar and martyn vs grian thing. like,, the instinct is to go, oh, grian vs ren surely, but no! the dichotomy is so much more interesting the other way!

both ren and scar could be described with passion. they are both very passionate. ren is a bit ostentatious and loves the flaire and the display, but he does care about his people, he did love the people of dogwarts. impulse's betrayal did hurt.

and scar.... well scar is passionate in every other way. he loves the craft and the creative and doesnt fall short in any way there. in a sense, he also enjoys the delivery for its flaire, but it's for gain, its for the con, for the benefit. it benefits him and he will tap into charisma to achieve that. and with relations, well. he did love his people, and his 'people' was grian. people mean everything to him even if he doesn't want to make it seem that way. sure people know that he thrives off of interaction, but he lives off of it, it's not just a part of his game, it's a part of him. he keeps up the facade throughout third life, but we know how terribly isolation impacted him in last life.

so his people in third life was grian, and that was enough until the end. then it got tricky and confusing, and suddenly it seemed he may have gotten too attached, that maybe it was obvious he had gotten attached, and he regretted his next decision --- to betray grian.

and then martyn and grian, of course we have the contrast of knowledge. both of them have something to do with the divine and both were there in evo. watcher vs listener, or whatever they may be. both of them weren't the leaders of their supposed factions (scar was technically the forefront considering grian was there because of the deal, but they were equals in many other ways, unless you want to lean into the discussion that grian was the aggressor..., of sorts, of monopoly mountain, and he just used scar's reputation as a scapegoat. it's certainly a delicious outlook to chew on.)

both grian and martyn could've gone down very different paths if they'd chosen someone else. grian wouldve allied with someone else if not for the prank gone wrong. martyn wasn't decisive on ren till a few episodes in, he was still considering building a separate base on a mountaintop, he was this close to allying with jimmy, but jimmy already had scott. they had those paths in front of them, whereas scar was always going to end up in the desert, and ren was always going to end up in his enchanted fortress atop the hill.

but those stories would've played so different without grian, without martyn. scar mightve stayed alone if no one would've spared him their attention, especially considering he was yellow; ren would've... still established renchanting, of course, but the other contracts he had with etho and impulse and the like were nowhere like the one with martyn. dogwarts was born because of martyn's presence, and there's no doubt about it to me. he wouldn't have become the server's powerhouse, he would've instead ended up like the wet dog (aff) he always ends up as in other series, where he doesn't have martyn at his side. martyn was also indebted to ren, albeit not as strongly as grian to scar, considering he technically used ren's services before they were ready and had to repay him somehow. except he chose to stay. he explicitly told ren why he wanted to stay. grian kept reminding scar he'd leave as soon as he could, he wouldn't stay for him. he even said it the day of the 3-kill trap, if i remember correctly! as though he didn't relish every moment.

both grian and martyn were bound to another by the means of a deal.

and whereas it was a business partnership that became a loyal union for dogwarts, it was a soul pact that became a business alliance for the sandlands, at least that's what they want you to believe.

monopoly mountain and dogwarts were always destined to clash.

it was there from the first death till the very last, from the first episode and the first pact, to the final consequence of these contracts upon their deaths; loyal or betrayed, shoulder to shoudler or fist to fist

YEAHH THIS IS EPIC hope you have fun reading my analysis tag!!! i’m always happy to talk abt any season but usually with my own stuff i’m either talking about general themes in the life series (my fave thing ever ^_^) or last life specifically. 3rd life is my favourite of the three but last life has my brain in a chokehold anyway

and yeah god i absolutely LOVE grian-martyn and scar-ren parallels. grian martyn stuff makes me go crazy insane to the point that ive never wanted one of my posts to get notes more than that 5 second clip because i was being deranged about it at least a year ago and it’s vindicating getting other people to understand it. im putting them in my mouth. honestly though i think both grian and martyn may have ended up alone if not for their respective chance encounters - both of them played the early game very much alone instead of grouping up. grian never expresses that that’s what he wanted to do because he gets waylaid by scar so fast, but you can kinda see it in how he immediately builds a base alone (in a location that is not ideal for more than one person living there) and how he goes for singlehandedly taking resources like the villagers rather than teaming up with anyone. actually what i think would have happened is the blue sword boys would have seen more relevance (by which i mean martyn and bigb would not have allowed grian to forget) i don’t think they would have actually all based together right from the start but i could see them being an alliance. I miss the blue sword boys a normal amount <3

i think another similarity between them is both of them actually intended to leave. martyn wanted to betray ren but ooc the timing didn’t work out, which i choose to interpret as martyn - being as capable and independent as he is - trying to convince himself he should save himself and leave ren, but he just… can’t bring himself to do anything but die for his king, he can’t go through with it. grian obviously voices his intention to leave from the start but it’s the urge to stay that he has to fight and my god does he lose that fight. before he knows it he’s a yellow life asking scar to betray everyone with him because their only true allegiance is to each other.

scar and ren on the other hand are really interesting because yeah as you said, business partnerships and loyalty. that’s really their respective driving forces. scar’s a chaotic player, his friendship can be bought as easily as his betrayal. his loyalty is literally as worthless as a piece of paper. ren on the other hand is straight laced and the very thought of betraying an ally physically pains him, he won’t even steal. they’re polar opposites. i looove seeing them juxtaposed against each other bc they’re the greatest opposites in the whole of the life series i think and that’s what makes it so natural that they were the main conflict of 3L! they’re everything <3 they did in fact kill each other in 3L/LL, and also fun bonus in DL their soulmates both cheated on them with the other’s soulmate and both of them were indirectly killed by grian. ^_^

#ask #mae analyses

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