#i'm. a little sorry zenith. just a little though

[tiredassmage]

Yeah, but at least he was hot????? I’m sorry, Zenith, but also I... will absolutely do it again. >.>

#i know i know this isn't news i've played agent too much and i played consular before i even looked at agent but akfdnalsdfnldsaf #i'm. a little sorry zenith. just a little though #tyr's my baby boy though kalfdsnlsf wheeze #god. would satia add tyr to her pokeman collection i wonder. #context: satia collects men and padawans like pokeman tbh #her collection is already maltaf tharan tai cordan and zenith like #if she can flex she WILL #anyway. just. sipping loudly to myself again #ch: tyr #ch: satia #anyway satia's taste in men is either (a) slightly troubled and/or (b) someone she can easily fluster slightly by flirting #tyr IS part of category a but he's incredibly good under pressure so like. he might be safe from going in her pokedex #she likes her men a little bit stupid and tyr's usually competent cool collected which sure he's also incredibly capable of being #a stubborn insolent jackass to sith #ANYWAY WILDLY OFF TOPIC #long story short this was funny and now i'm trying to figure out if satia would crack him like an EGG i guess #i'm leaning towards no. like yea tyr would be hard to get but. that's not her game #anyway send me help

[artekai]

AHHH THANK YOU FOR YOUR TAGS ABT THE DOODLE I MADE!!!! I use they or he interchangeably but u can do w/e u want lol.

OF COURSE, THANK YOU AGAIN, IT MADE ME SUPER HAPPY TO SEE!!!! :D You deserve the appreciation! ^^ You definitely opened my eyes to all the possibilities, hehe. I think he/they Beta is a very based take :D

#ask tag #forgetmenautical #i was feeling he/it but i was also getting HUGE he/they vibes so i'm glad i'm not the only one who sees the nonbinary transmasc swag hehe ^ #in any case #i think it would be v interesting to explore beta's gender journey bc i don't think they have really experienced the social aspect of gende #having been born in the odyssey and raised with very little social interaction #and growing up believing his life purpose was only to restore gaia #i think it would've been very easy for him to see himself as a tool and see no point in exploring his identity beyond being a lis clone #so even though he does know about gender he has never really had to think about his own #and it's only after the whole zenith drama is done and after beta starts adapting to life on earth that gender comes into the equation #and they become Keenly Aware of how people perceive them not just as aloy's sister but... as a sister in the first place #and i would love to see beta working through their trauma and STILL feeling a different kind of disconnect from aloy and lis #something that they can't put their finger on. #and them having to deal with the initial panic and the crisis as they're still comparing themselves to aloy and lis and the self doubt #and the eventual relief that comes with finding answers and finally feeling comfortable with his own identity. you know? #aloy calling beta sister for the first time is OUT aloy calling beta brother for the first time is IN. #oh man. someone should get in on this and write this fic. <- remembers i literally write fic #ANYWAYS sorry for writing a whole essay in the tags lol but you gave me the beta brainrot so :) #yeah. he's just sitting there. w the baggy clothes and the shrimp pose and trauma and their admiration for varl. ASKING to be projected on #beta my beloved :')

[calypso707]

hey i adore your writing!

i was wondering how astarion would take care of his s/o who suffers from migraines and severe photosensitivity. my friends always call me a vampire because of it so i thought it’d be a funny dynamic 😆

this one is actually funny because i suffer from migraines as well, so here we are! I don't know if I'm proud of what I've written, but it was fun to do! enjoy! ❤

OS - Astarion x gn drow reader : Simple things.

Living on the surface had proved more complicated than the Underdark. Being born, growing up and spending a significant part of your life in the darkness had certainly had its advantages, but now that you were living on the surface, you realised just how different things were. Whether it was people's lifestyles or all those bright colours. So yes, there were bright colours in the Underdark, but they were often signs of danger, such as explosive mushrooms or plants releasing deadly spores.

You may have been used to the dark and could see in the night better than your companions, but constant exposure to the sun had its drawbacks. So, sure, it was nice to feel the light warming your skin, you could now appreciate things like the colour of the sky, listen to birdsong or even hear the sound of the wind, but your eyes still couldn't handle so much brightness. And on top of that, you had a tadpole in your skull that was not only making its own little nest but was also giving you migraines on a regular basis.

But you still tried to stay positive, because thanks to all the adventures you'd been through, however farfetched, you'd met your current companions, who had turned out to be loyal allies and faithful friends.

And above all, you had met Astarion.

A magnificient two-century-old vampire.

It was almost poetic, two beings of darkness who found themselves having to survive under the sun. So what was it between you two? It was a tricky question, but you cared about him as much as he cared about you, and knowing that was more than enough. Though, Astarion was handling the conditions and opportunities this adventure offered him better than you were. He had always loved sunbathing as soon as the first lights appeared. You enjoyed them too, but in small doses.

While you were enjoying a moment's respite from this chaotic and probably deadly mission, you had given yourselves a break and were strolling through the alleys of Baldur's Gate. Astarion was describing the things his former master, Cazador Szarr, had made him do, a certain bitterness in his voice. You tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but the sun was at its zenith, there were no clouds in the sky to dim its brightness and you felt as if your eyes were burning and your skull was splitting in two.

"Are you even listening when I am talking to you?", grumbled Astarion.

"Sorry… Can we take a short break?" you asked, using your hand to shade your eyes as you looked at him.

"My dear, are you sure that you are not a vampire?" said Astarion with a smirk.

"Hilarious" you sighed.

You took a few steps into the shadow under a stall on the main street leading to the Wyrm's Rock fortress. Astarion was looking at you with a slightly concerned expression; he seemed to be thinking.

"Hm.. I think I have an idea. Stay put." It was almost an order.

Before you could reply, he was heading off into "Carm's Garm" shop. You wondered what had gone through his mind. You decided to wait for him and you leaned against the stone wall behind you, watching the passers-by go about their business, carefree. You listened the trout seller shouting about how fresh his fish were and the wholesaler who was delighted with his harvest.

Long minutes passed, during which you examined everyone who passed in the street. You didn't hear Astarion come back, and you were startled when he cleared his throat once he was beside you. You looked at him and noticed that he was holding several hats under his arms. You tried to hide your smile but it was complicated.

"Let's see…" He put the pile of accessories at his feet and picked up a first hat and placed it on your head. It was a sort of pointy wizard's hat with hideous embroidery that went all the way around, and before you could even give your opinion, Astarion took it off, shaking his head and frowning. "Awful"

He then picked up a sort of adjustable steel helmet, and didn't even take the time to let you try it on before he tossed it aside, doing the same with a brightly coloured top hat. Finally, he took a simple brown hat with silver wings embroidered on the stiff leather and placed it on your head as gently as possible. The brim of the hat was wide enough to keep your face in the shade.

He stood back and examined you for a few seconds, his index finger resting on his chin: "Hm.. I think this one will do, darling. Of course, I still am the fashion icon of our group, but I can assure you you are not far from it now."

You readjusted your hat slightly and took a long look at him, biting your lower lip to hold back your smile. You were pleasantly surprised by his gesture and his words made you chuckle. Astarion moved closer to you and put his hands on your shoulders, pressing them lightly as you put yours against his chest.

"I am impressed, so you are able to do sweet things." you said.

"Sweet? What an idea" He grinned before tilting his head to the side, a thin smile on his lips. "It just should not be so unbearable to enjoy the simple things of life."

And he was right.

═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═

thanks for reading this OS, i hope you liked it!

don't hesitate to read my other writings on Astarion! ❤

Astarion x gn druid tav : On your skin.

Astarion x gn tav : No place for love.

Astarion x gn tav : A thousand thanks.

Fiction - Astation x fem!tav bard : Fruit of The Poisonned Tree

#romance #astarion #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #astarion vampire #baldur's gate iii #astarion x gn reader #bg3 astarion #astarion bg3 #astarion my beloved #astarion ancunin #astarion x gn!tav

[yuesya]

Hey! Sorry for clogging up your inbox all the time. I just have zenith brain rot and unfortunately it’s terminal.

I was recently reading what you wrote about a kimetsu no yaiba au. The Hashira would probably be veeery distrustful of any reports claiming some girl nearly killed an upper moon without even a nichirin sword. They’d probably be pretty happy about it after the rumours got confirmed tho.

In that vein, I can already imagine Shiki being a little too okay with Nezuko’s existence as a demon. Tanjiro would go on his usual spiel “She’s a good demon she helps us kill other demons etc.” And Shiki would just go: “does she require sustenance?” With the heavy implication that she’s be totally ok going grave robbing to give Nezuko food like a stray cat.

In regard to Zenith, do you have a definitive idea how you want Shiki’s uniform to look like? Students get to customise theirs a little. I’m imagining something closer to Nobara’s uniform than Maki’s. I can’t quite imagine Shiki wearing a mini skirt, especially for fighting.

Demon Slayer AU! Shiki would be a nightmare to fight for any demon haha, so I think that would be fun to write about. She'd probably give the demon slayers headaches, too, because cursed energy is completely different from the 'breath styles' that they use.

More headaches: The demon slayers see humans as humans and demons as demons. Shiki equates demons to 'out-of-control curse users' in her mind. In her eyes, demons are human, not demon, so that would also be fun to poke at. :D

We will get to Shiki's uniform later! Right now I think I'm still leaning towards something like a kimono, since Shiki likes her kimonos. Maybe there will be some experimenting going on, though, I haven't made up my mind yet.

#QA #zenith of stars au #demon slayer au #zenith of stars

[mydetheturk]

Drabble challenge:

Take the long way round.

have a cute!!!! (this may or may not eventually make it to ao3; i haven't written OP in a couple years, i'm rusty lol) back on my "marco and crocodile dated when they were teenage pirates" nonsense 💜

~~

“Hey, take a left here,” Marco said.

Crocodile frowned but turned anyway. “The ships are the other direction?” he pointed out.

“You wanna go back already?” Marco rolled his eyes and shifted one hand into flame, holding it up in the dark alley. “This is just… us taking the long way round.” He smiled as he said that, though, crooked and mischievous.

“Yeah well, you don’t live with my captain.” Crocodile tucked in close, taking Marco’s other hand in his.

“That’s true!”

The two teenagers wandered through the port town, swinging through back alleyways whenever they realized they were getting just a bit too close to the port itself. It wasn’t like this was a dangerous town – it was well within Whitebeard’s territory and Captain Portgas was allowed to pass through whenever, provided she didn’t cause too many problems.

Marco led Crocodile around, pointing out his favorite parts of the town, ending up at a little diner off the port that had a few outside tables, lit by a series of torches. They could see their respective ships from there, the Hibiscus and the Moby Dick, so it was close enough without being too close.

The moons were nearing their zeniths when older members of both crews spotted them.

“Crocodile! There you are; Captain’s been looking for you,” Master Shakky said. “We’re setting off on the morning tides.” Crocodile’s shoulders dropped.

“That early?” Crocodile grumbled.

“Oh good, Marco’s with him. Marco! You know how late it’s getting, right?”

Marco groaned. “Hi Oden.”

Kozuki Oden grinned and ruffled Marco’s hair, much to his annoyance.

Crocodile got to his feet.

“Sorry about cutting your date short, Croco,” Master Shakky said. She patted his shoulder. “I’ll see if we can pass through longer than a day or two next time.”

“It’s alright, Master Shakky,” he said. “See you later?”

Marco shot to his feet and almost tripped over them in his haste. “Sooner than later,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to Crocodile’s cheek.

Crocodile flushed while Master Shakky and Kozuki Oden laughed.

“C’mon, Oden, I’m sure Pops is going through it if he sent you to find me,” Marco said. The two Whitebeard pirates disappeared in the direction of the Moby Dick.

Still chuckling, Shakky patted Crocodile’s shoulder again. “Puppy love. You can call him once we’ve set sail and we’re out in steady waters again, Croco. Be glad I’m the one that got you; Rouge was going to send Omri and he was going to kidnap you.”

Crocodile groaned again and nearly dropped into a pile of sand at the thought.

#ask game #myde writes #one piece #sir crocodile #marco the phoenix #shakky #kozuki oden #shakuyaku #crocodile was on rouge's ship au #i don't remember the tag and i'll fix it later <3

[im-not-corrupted]

For the Soft Prompt: hope platonic pairings are ok because 7 for our favorite sisters Aloy and Beta sounds very fluffy

Platonic pairings are more than okay!!! Especially when the platonic pairing is the Sobeck sisters, who I love dearly. I'm not sure if this counts as soft, but hey, I did my best. Hope you enjoy!

Find the soft fic prompt meme here!

--------

7. late nights

"Bee," Aloy said, her voice cutting through the quiet like a blade, and Beta jumped, shutting down the holoshow she had open on her Focus.

She hadn't heard Aloy coming, though she supposed that wasn't much of a surprise. Her sister knew how to keep herself quiet, undetected, after all, though she still should've heard the sliding of her bedroom door.

Still, her heart raced in her chest when she spun around to find Aloy stood in the doorway of her bedroom, blinking at her blearily. Her hair was a mess, out of its usual braids and twists to resemble something more like a birds nest now, wild and untameable. The sight made her laugh slightly, and her sister's eyes narrowed further.

"Uh--hi," Beta greeted, somewhat sheepishly.

"What are you doing awake?" Aloy asked after a moment. A furrow appeared between her brows as she stared at Beta, and it looked so remarkably like concern that Beta had to look away for a moment. She still wasn't used to it--to being treated with kindness. To being treated like she was a person, and not a tool.

It was getting easier now, though. With Aloy, and everybody at the Base.

She took a moment to check the time, her Focus telling her it was 2:34AM. 2:34. She grimaced a little, glancing back at her sister. The time passed her by completely, slipping between her fingers like sand. It was easy, in a place of metal walls and artificial light, to lose track of it.

"Oh, sorry," she said quietly. "Did I--did I wake you?"

Really, the chances of that were slim. Aloy's door was always closed, and Beta was fairly sure she was being quiet.

There was still a pang of guilt in her stomach at the idea, though. Aloy had returned to the Base only a day earlier, exhausted and sporting fresh injuries that made Beta panic initially. She didn't want to be the reason Aloy didn't get the rest she so clearly needed.

"No." Aloy shook her head, walking further into the Control Centre they'd turned into more of a common room. She came to sit down beside Beta, who shifted to make room for her. "Just--couldn't sleep."

She understood that. After everything that happened with the Zeniths, after Aloy's fight with Tilda and the discovery of Nemesis...Beta still struggled to sleep, even now. Her mind was too full of thoughts, traces of panic lingering in her blood.

It didn't seem right, that those fears may weigh down on Aloy too. She was Aloy, after all. Always so on top of everything. Fearless. Beta's anxieties didn't fit her, didn't quite make sense.

She looked closer at her sister. At the weariness in her shoulders, the exhaustion in her face and the circles below her eyes.

Maybe she was wrong. Aloy was just as human as the rest of them, after all.

At the very least, she could help with that. She hesitated a moment before pulling up the show she was watching before Aloy interrupted. Second Time Around, naturally. Though she'd seen this a hundred times before, enough to memorise most of the lines, it was familiar enough to be of comfort.

"Do you...want to watch this with me?" she asked quietly. At Aloy's surprised glance, she gave a little half-shrug, anxiety suddenly curling in her stomach. "You don't have to! Obviously. Just...sometimes helps me to, to take my mind off things? It's fun. Maybe you'll be able to sleep afterwards."

Beta thought it'd be nice, too, to have Aloy watch it with her. They rarely ever spent time with one another, these days, with Aloy delving into various ruins on Sylens's direction, or rallying the tribes for the next fight.

She didn't mind. They were all doing their part. It would just be...be nice, to spend more time together.

Except Aloy hadn't seemed interested, the last time Beta mentioned it. And maybe she was foolish for bringing it up now. She looked away from her sister, grimacing slightly. "Of course, it's probably stupid. You'll want some time to yourself, after--"

After the Horus fight. After leaving Seyka in the Burning Shores. After running around the world trying to save everything.

Aloy placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, a soft and welcoming smile on her face. "Bee," she said, and Beta fell silent. "I'd love to. Is this...Second Time Around? You mentioned it once."

Surprised, Beta stared at her wide-eyed. "You remember that?"

"Yeah. And I'd like to see it with you."

Warmth bloomed in her chest, and Beta beamed at her.

In the next moment, she moved herself closer to Aloy. They were pressed against each other now, her sister so much warmer than her, and Beta brought up the show again, sharing it to Aloy's Focus. "Great!" she announced. "You'll love it."

Aloy smiled back. "I'm sure I will."

#horizon games #horizon fanfic #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #aloy horizon #beta horizon #my fic #I am very sleep deprived so i apologise if this isn't very good quality!! #i also haven't written anything for these two in a good long while #i may put this on ao3 at some point. if i can be bothered #soft fic prompt meme

[stellerssong]

user stellerssong you disabled the comments on your aloy/beta fic so i couldn't come comment for the third time.... i just wanted to let you know i played burning shores and got dismayed by the glaring lack of beta screentime.... so i went to get my fix from fics and—user stellerssong... no one writes beta like you.... you get her.... "painfully shy and haughty as a king all at once," my god, your brain.... (i am ill)

!!!!!!!!!!!!! hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm so sorry for locking comments on you, but i'm SO touched the spirit moved you so much that you came to find me here instead! and i just. god.

look okay here's the thing about Beta. the THING about Beta is, that, even though she's spent her entire life being fucking negged into the ground, she's also spent her entire life being told that she is the heir (the inferior, borderline-unworthy heir, but the heir nonetheless) to THEE Sobeck legacy, the legacy that de-extincted humankind and (from the Zenith perspective) will save humanity's best and brightest to boot, AND the closest thing she has to peers are the Zeniths themselves, a bunch of rich chodes utterly convinced of their own importance, AND she grew up on an interstellar luxury cruise ship and now she lives in an underground bunker which may or may not have running water. so, like, mixed messaging, right? and while we do like to lean into the whump-hurt/comfort of the abused genius child backstory, the thing is she also does have a certain stubbornly self-important streak that both helps her maintain a sense of autonomy in the face of the aforementioned lifelong emotional abuse and makes her kinda difficult to be around!

(Aloy has this streak too, which is why even though she grew up in a wet cardboard box all alone she still had the guts to make her hail-mary run at the Proving. maintaining a sense of personhood in the face of unimaginable neglect and rejection! but also, as not the person playing the game or writing the fic, wtf who is this little feral ginger and why is she gnawing on my shinbones i am literally just standing here)

anyways. i do feel kind of bad that i've sort of fallen out of the fandom, knowing that the baeloy contingent is such a lovely group of people, so for your trouble, a snippet of Your Girl:

It’s not that Beta’s afraid to leave the server room. Of course she’s not. The entire planet she’s on is in danger of being razed down to the bedrock, there are immortals with highly advanced technology out to find her and imprison her for the rest of her natural life, and if you left the base and walked approximately twenty feet you’d be promptly attacked by bloodthirsty killer robots. There’s sort of a lot going on at the moment. So it would be stupid to be afraid of something as trivial as, say, “going upstairs, where all the other people in the base are, in order to get some water before bed.” Yes, that would be very, very stupid. It’s a good thing she’s not afraid, and she can go upstairs whenever she wants, and that it’s normal to get a drink of water just because you feel like it. It is further a good thing, she adds to herself as she creeps up the stairs and peers around the corner to make sure the coast is clear, that this society doesn’t appear to have any idea what “affirmations” are. The central common room is empty at this hour, which is how Beta likes it. No loud music emanating from Erend’s Focus (Beta isn’t even sure how he gets those little speakers to output that loudly—Aloy must’ve helped him mod them), no Zo asking her intrusive questions like how are you feeling or is there anything you need or have you eaten today, no Alva Looking at her in that way she has where the capital letter is very evident. Beta dares a few steps out of the stairwell, careful to keep the wall at her back. She wouldn’t’ve minded seeing Varl, but she also won’t die if she doesn’t see him, and besides, he’s got better things to do than wait around to say hi to her. The one point of concern: there’s no sign of Aloy’s friend lurking around, she of the blood-red lipstick and upsettingly defined abs. GAIA’s still working on getting full access to the base, so they hadn’t been able to offer her a room of her own, but she’d taken that in stride and made up a makeshift bed on one of the benches in the common room. Her pack is there in the corner, her blanket balled up on one end of the bench—but no Talanah. Yes, troubling. Beta sidles along the wall, eyes catching on every little flicker of motion from the LED displays, darting towards every sound of the base settling in the cold alpine night. Talanah’s been staying at the base to rest and resupply on her way back east, which is fine, it’s not as if Beta has any say in other people’s comings and goings. Beta just—doesn’t love being around her, that’s all. Something about her sets Beta’s teeth on edge. Her cat’s smile, maybe, or that purr in her voice, or the way she runs around the wilderness in a cropped top for no earthly reason. Something like that. Well, she’s not likely to jump out at Beta from around a corner, shrieking and waving her arms. This isn’t a horror holo, or one of those vids that had been so popular in the early 2000s, the ones where the hosts would play increasingly elaborate pranks on unsuspecting marks before revealing their deceptions to the blare of obnoxious theme music and pre-recorded laughter. Talanah’s probably just spending time with one of the others, waiting for Aloy to get back from whatever errand is keeping her out and about so late. She’s probably completely forgotten that Beta even exists. And Beta is thirsty, dammit. Quite annoyed with herself all of a sudden, Beta curses under her breath and crosses the empty room in a few long strides, making for the bathroom.

#chatter #asks #f: hzd #can you believe i have not yet played burning shores. sorry but we of the swan stellerssong household are not yet on the ps5 #considering an upgrade since the graphics demands of Awake Alan 2 are kind of making partner S's gaming desktop smell like molten plastic #however FURIOUS TO KNOW BETA IS NOT A MAJOR FEATURE. WHADDA HELL. #like i kind of expected it but. man. come on. let ashly burch COOK

[diviner-alva]

12/30 - The way they care for each other

Okay boys this is one of my favorites. I think the video with the title speaks for itself BUT I WILL TALK ABOUT A FEW THINGS ANYWAY (proceeds to talk about all the things).

I know the first thing is... Tekotteh who only looks like a big man if he make others look small. I just thought it was nice of Kotallo to defend her honor in front of him even though she doesn't need it, she also doesn't seem so bothered of him doing so. Next we have my favorite moment, after Tekotteh calls him a cripple she immediately goes for the cannon like that was the last straw for her, omg why are they already so protective what instinct is this? Her urgency is what confirms at least to me that she also kinda blew that wall up for him. Also her calling Tekotteh a jerk only happens after you talk with Kotallo at the base about his past, I made a few test runs and all of them have confirmed this so far.

Other similar moment to this is if you choose to kill Regalla, she will glance Kotallo's way AND NOT ONLY THAT BUT HER SAYING "After all that you've done" GODDAMNIT MY BRAIN TRANSLATES THAT TO "After all that you've done to him" because I am crazed for them don't listen to me. Plus we have her running immediately towards Kotallo at the Kulrut even though he wasn't Regalla's target and everyone was screaming at Aloy "get to the chief!" when she was on the way to the throne room.

Next we have them at the Zenith Lab, I think him assuming she's worrying (and she is) and saying "I'll be fine" is the most adorable thing ever, plus how her voice sounds like when she is looking for the parts for his arm (I'll tell ya folks I barely hear her sound like that, the only other time was at the start of the game when she was looking for a GAIA backup, tho that one sounded more desperate for obvious reasons). BUT THEN HER "Something wrong?" IS SO SOFT I JUST GOT 7 CAVITIES FROM ALL THE FLUFF JESUS CHRIST (also wtf he sounded exactly the same as he always sounds and yet she was able to tell he was a little off, like mam you paying a lot of attention to this man to notice something so subtle).

Then I just think it's also cute the first thing she asks him after he returns to the grove is how he's feeling after being back to the tribe, this probably to know if he's uncomfortable? If he's having any problems because she knows what it feels like.

NOW ON KOTALLO'S END, those greetings man... he knows she's capable and yet he asks how she's doing if she's fine to be careful to be safe LIKE, BRO. And then the longing after GEMINI and What was lost he starts with the "I was wondering when you'd return" "Finally you've returned", do I can hardly blame him, I imagine how dreadful he might have felt after the long ours after GEMINI.

And finally, we have a few moments that Aloy shows she doesn't want to lose him, the one about "if I live it will be in victory" is before GEMINI, she doesn't sound afraid but I wanted to include this anyway. Later we have her voice literally cracking with even the thought of losing Kotallo, her voice is twice as high and with much more emotion compared to how she speaks the other names. We then have her body language again at the thought of losing him and Alva, she shakes her head viciously while staring at the floor, but then her voice is soft and I might be just crazy but she sound afraid of the thought.

NOW ACTUALLY FINALLY BCS I'M AN IDIOT AND PUT THE TRIMMED VIDEOS IN THE WRONG PLACE. But I just think they care for each other a lot and hers "I'm glad all this brought us together" she shifts on her feet and looks down before staring him in the eye, was she building her resolve to say that or am I just on crack?

Anyway those are the chapter for today boys, sorry if it's late. And omg that was a long one.

---

<- Previous post "11/30 - The way she always has time for him"

-> Next up "13/30 - The way he wants her by his side"

#kotaloy #aloy x kotallo #kotaloy compilation #aloy #kotallo #hfw #hfw spoilers #horizon forbidden west #horizon forbidden west spoilers

[badlydrawnnsodu]

despaired, deadly, and on air!

what is badlydrawnnsodu?

badlydrawnnsodu,,, is just badly drawn new seasons of despair universe stuff! the art gallery thread in our server has had doodles of the stuff posted, and. we joked a little about having this blog, but thanks to impulse, i have successfully just- done this LMAO [-zenith]

what exactly is the new seasons of despair universe?

- to put it simply, it's a fanganronpa universe made by zenith. the characters drawn here are the participants, backups, and/or hosts in each and [almost] every one! does this count as cast art? probably. are we gonna make people pay for it? ... mayb- [/JJJJ] - nsodu is separated into seasons, and within these seasons are episodes. what do the episodes contain? the killing games, of course. we're still on the first season, but we're going strong with twenty-one (21) games! from zero to the twentieth. - we run a roleplay server for the series, from the 15th episode down to the 20th. applications for it are closed, but spectators are absolutely welcome to watch the show when it happens! maybe you'll have a chance when we open up submissions again... and now, time to introduce our blog hosts!

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✦ ：❝ 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐘.. 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐘! ❞

✧ — you're a lebanon! kobeni's a lebanon! hello, world! i'm lumasahina, alternatively known as mod luma - at least, in this blog. i'm a momfucker first, cosmos member second, and artist third. he/she/they. my gender? uh. let me look at this script..

..this just says "unspecified". what the hell does that mean?

✦ — lebanon! lemonade! hand grenade! as implied in the previous bullet point (is that what you call it?), i like to draw! i like to draw.. a myriad of things. like, ah.. gay people. dead gay people. specifically from the hit series "new seasons of despair". but of course, to recognize that the dead gay people are being drawn by yours truly, you'll have to know who's art style belongs to who. so, i've provided a useful info sheet featuring the man himself - stanley parason, ultimate [REDACTED], from nsod: s1:e15!

[DISCLAIMER: even though stanley happens to be gay, he is, in fact, not dead. yet.]

the art style used for stanley is something you'll see on the regular. the cooler stanley's art style, on the other hand, is reserved for the semi-shitposty, overdramatic pieces. you'll see what i mean in a bit. :)

✧ — lego! citizen! ..my relation with.. zenith? who's zenith? i don't know them.

what do you mean i run this blog with them? you must be hearing things. this is my blog. this is luma's blog. not.. zenitsu's, whatever their name was. and this is my only blog, too! badlydrawnnsodu is all i have! are you trying to take that away from me?! absolutely preposterous. i can't believe you're doing this! after everything i've been through-

✦ ：❝ 𝐀𝐍𝐃... 𝐂𝐔𝐓! ❞

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☐ ; 𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃! except. for. JOHN. I HOPE THAT FUCKASS DIES.

❒ ; [𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤. 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. /srs, and i never will.]

anyway, hey, my name is zenith. mod zenith, if you will, for this blog. i use they/it/xe pronouns, and i'm the one that'll probably answer most asks about the series or even the characters. dadfucker first, cosmos memeber second, and general artist third. can't promise any like, consistency on my part, i guess? but i hope that you enjoy what we bring you as much as we like making them.

❒ ; 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎? 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎, 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎? 𝐔𝐇, i wanted to record a message for you...

i'm the sole creator of nsod. i mean- it started with me and the help of someone else. [hi, if you come across this blog. i'm sorry.] it all started three years ago, and we're going strong with a better plot than before. it was supposed to be a spin-off of the original dangan series... but i scrapped that. now there's lore with guns and ships ships, a world that isn't real, mothers that are agents- god damn! look at me now.

now- this bit may be like. a little too soon, but i just wanna put it out there. uh, i just hope that this is taken right. and that it's taken into consideration 'nd stuff.

my personal request to you, however, dear viewer... please do not bastardize the characters. please do not sexualize them, please do not ship yourselves with them. please don't get parasocial with them. please do not threat them extremely. i'm okay with stuff like "can we hold hands,,," or "what if we sat on froggy chairs together", that stuff's funny and it's nice. but anything related to what was mentioned, don't. do any of that, please. thank you.

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✦ ：𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄(𝐒)!

the origin point ; house of carrds ; #luma commits several war crimes

❒ ; 𝐃𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐀𝐀…

down abysmal ; all in on me ; #zenith goes ballistic

#badlydrawnnsod #zenith goes ballistic #luma commits several war crimes #fanganronpa #new seasons of despair universe #nsodu

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 1: Birth of Starfire

Narrated by Hephaes.

Narrator: That was a world born out of the elven civilization.

Narrator: The southern end of the continent had a mild and humid climate thanks to the sea breeze from the east.

Narrator: The vast forest was like a barrier walling off a habitable paradise in this barren world.

Narrator: A little spark leaped out of the lava, and as if hearing a call, passed through the dense forest and hillside, and jumped to the peak.

Narrator: There it was! At the center of the forest, the giant tree had its arms open to welcome a new life into this world.

Narrator: That was the Tree of Life, the mother of all things. It was where all life started and ended.

Narrator: At first, it was a budding flame that looked like a beam of morning sunlight.

Narrator: And then, nurtured by the radiance around it, it grew and grew until it became a blazing fire reminiscent of the sun at its zenith.

Narrator: The fire morphed into the figure of an elf. It slowly spread its wings and landed on the soft grass, cloaked in radiance.

Elves: Welcome, young Fire Elf Hephaes.

Narrator: The elves born before me gathered under the Tree of Life and took turns to bless me. Every one of them looked unique and beautiful.

Narrator: Just then, I noticed a tall figure standing by the waterfall with its back to us. It was wearing a dark blue robe.

Narrator: Its long soft hair, wet by the splashed water, fell to its ankles and clung to the hem of its robe.

Hephaes: Who's that one over there?

Narrator: The elves stopped smiling and exchanged glances with each other.

Tree Elf: It's Arionus, a Water Elf, who came riding the waves.

Hephaes: Why's Arionus standing so far away? Can I go say hello?

Narrator: The Tree Elf frowned, and then nodded.

Hephaes: Hello, Arionus. Nice to meet you. I am Hephaes, a Fire Elf!

Narrator: Arionus turned around. A trace of surprise flashed across Arionus' eyes.

Narrator: Those eyes were as deep as the sea. Socketed in a white face, they looked like stars bathed in moonlight, silently fixed on me with a sense of alienation.

Hephaes: D-Did I scare you with my flame? Sorry, I'm still learning to control it.

Narrator: I was a little embarrassed. The newborn flame was excited about this new world and wanted to hug everything that interested it.

Arionus: No.

Narrator: Arionus' calm response made me stop my frantic attempt to hide the flame.

Arionus: Careful. Don't mix fire with water.

Narrator: Arionus' voice was as indifferent as the expression, but I didn't take that as a cold warning. On the contrary, it put me at ease.

Hephaes: Great. I thought you didn't want to talk to me.

Narrator: Other elves called out behind me.

Tree Elf: Hephaes, we brought you here to visit the Source Spring. Even though you failed the trial, you must not forget your duty.

Hephaes: Source Spring?

Rock Elf: At the roots of the Tree of Life flows the Source Spring that gives rise to all beings. The Seeds of the Nine Elves and the source of elven power are also kept there.

Narrator: I took a few steps back and saw that Arionus was still standing there.

Wind Elf: The Water Elf was not birthed by the Tree of Life. Outsiders are a risk to the Tree of Life and hence are not allowed in the Source Spring.

Hephaes: Outsiders? Risk?

Narrator: Baffled by that blunt statement, I looked to Arionus, asking for explanation.

Narrator: Arionus had no intention of explaining but just calmly met my inquisitive gaze.

Arionus: Go.

Narrator: The intertwined roots slowly spread out. I followed the other elves into the light.

Narrator: And before the gate closed, I turned and took one last look at Arionus, who was standing alone by the waterfall.

Narrator: An unexpected scene unfolded before my eyes.

Narrator: Arionus raised Their fingertips, and a rising jet of water drew the shape of a flame in the air, glowing golden in the sun as if it was really burning.

Narrator: Arionus opened Their palms, and that flaming jet of water burst like fireworks, sending glittering droplets flying in all directions.

Narrator: I knew that was a small welcoming ritual.

Hephaes: Thank you, Arionus.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

#hephaes #shining nikki #ur designer #chapter 1 #transcript #tides and flames #fire #birth of starfire #elf #god #beginning #birth #tree of life

[foreversnightmare]

🐐 Well, well, well, look who it is, back from the dead. The boy summoner really should've expected this, or at least anticipated it, considering the circumstances of both Askr and the monastery. That doesn't make seeing the Dökkálfr queen here any less of a surprise, though whether it's a good one or a bad one remains to be seen.

'Freyja,' he writes, 'what brings you here? Last I heard, we'd defeated you and ended the everlasting nightmare, so what gives? Álfheimr and Zenith not interesting enough for you anymore?'

Okay, he's being a little rude, and Dad would totally scold him for it if he were here. (You can't just do that though, trick a guy who chooses not to speak into speaking. So maybe Rose is still a little sour over that whole bait-and-switch.) Also now that he's thinking about it, maybe she's from a different time?

Rose winces, then amends, 'Sorry, I'm not exactly over our conflict, it seems. Uh... anyway, welcome to Garreg Mach?'

That was a terrible welcome, Dad is absolutely gonna lecture him on his hospitality when he gets back home.

STILL ACCEPTING

Unbelievable

No, this has to be an incredibly sick joke!

Just at the sight of Rose, It was enough to peeve Freyja off enough, if it weren't for the laws of this land she'd crush them here and now-! But how unsightly would that be? To commit a crime not even a day after arriving at this place.

" Do you think I want to see or speak to the likes of you?! " She snarled, clearly still feeling VERY negative about the entire incident. "You're lucky I'm not the same person I once was, I'm deciding to let you walk away in one piece." The death of her brother... and one of the said murderers is standing right in front of her

"Whatever." Freyja brushes the welcome off, clearly not interested in continuing with this conversation any longer.

#IC | So unpleasant... #ASK MEME | dream never-ending #SUPPORT | kiran #( sorry kiran ) #( maybe she ll warm up eventually )

[freakattack]

Now that i have played every warioware game with multiplayer on it its time for me to do what i do best: Make a list

MEGA PARTY GAMES: The zenith of the wario multiplayer experience. So much to see so much to do. You can play as the characters and you can use them to be a shit head to people. Its very energetic, fun, silly, you can do a little dance if you really want to. It's the same micorgames as the ones in the first game which some poeple dont like but IDC because i have played the game and i love it and everyone else i have played this game with has never played the first one so it doesnt even matter. Im sure this was a bigger issue in 2004 but it's not 2004 so we're good.

GAY MAN WARIO: THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LAUNCH TITLE FOR THE WII U. i never will stop saying this it would have changed history. This multiplayer experience was actuaklly a little disappointing cause hteres only 4 game modes (as opposed to mega party games' 8) but hte ones that are there are super fun, I STILL havent played survival yet but sketch (pictionary) and fruit (proto-amongus) are extremely fun and havent yet gotten old even for people who dont have wario diseases in their brains. I wish i could have been around for miiverse sketch. C'est la vie

GET IT TOGETHER: This was actually the first wario ware game i ever played. Isnt that fucked up? Ignoring the fact that orbulon is a little eraser nubbin, the multiplayer is pretty good. i enjoy the fact that you can play with a second player in the story mode and there are a whole bunch of multiplayer-only modes to choose from. Unfortunately most of these are limited to 2 players which makes it hard when you have a group but the 4 player ones that are there are pretty fun too. I liek that you can beat people up in this one.

SMOOTH MOVES: I like smooth moves but the multiplayer here is laughable sorry. it's on the whole ass Wii but the only modes it has are just different flavors of passing around a single wii remote and taking turns playing microgames, which you could just do with the single player levels anyways. the visuals with the miis are funny though. I also havent played this with people in a hot minute (because the multiplayer is so lacking) but hte one where at the end youre like, tied up hanging from a tree over a crocodile pit and you take turns cutting ropes until someone falls and dies? That ones my favorite i think.

MEGA MICROGAMES: This is barely multiplayer but i'm including it anwyays because it's so funny. Have you ever wanted to share half a gameboy with someone? Have i got the game for you. I will give it credit though it was probably a fun time killer for long car rides or playdates in the pre-iphone era. God we should go back to that. No more internet no more iphone we are going to play the jimmy t roomba game

[artekai]

tag game (Horizon)

Thanks @nerd-artist for tagging me!! I am flattered :3

1. ride or die ship (your otp): GAIA/Lis ❤️ I felt so validated when Sylens said the "two moms" thing, you have no idea.

2. most annoying ship: I plead the fifth

3. second favourite ship: Erevad! I never considered them until I read a really good fic about them and I was sold lol.

4. favourite platonic relationship: Hmm 🤔 I really enjoy Aloy & Sylens :D I missed him a lot in HFW (given he wasn't in our Focus any longer). mlm-wlw hostility real. Also, Aloy & Gildun and Aloy & Morlund are both very sweet but I suppose they have similar vibes lol.

5. underrated ship: Any of the ones I mentioned lol, I feel like they don't get as much love as others, haha. Which is understandable because it makes sense to gravitate more towards the GAIA gang! But other than that 🤔 I think Aloy/Zo and Aloy/Alva are pretty cute and underrated, even if I don't exactly ship them myself c:

6. overrated ship: I plead the fifth

7. one thing i would change in canon: *side eyes HFW hard*

Just one thing, though? I'd have to concur with most of the people I've seen do this tag game so far and say it's Varl's death. I'm pissed about that.

8. something canon did right: Other people have also mentioned it before me, but I think Horizon's writing excels at the datapoints. Just slowly having to figure out the past, putting the pieces together, getting glimpses of the tragedies (and the little joys) that once happened in those places, filling in the blanks... The environmental storytelling is amazing 👌. The intrigue, the curiosity, the mystery. It really scratches the urge to explore abandoned places and imagine what it was life was like for the people who once lived in them, so close yet so far away. HZD really did it well with the Zero Dawn facilities and I think HFW captured that magic again with Thebes. I crave more of that.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: I'm not sure I can say anything I make is "for the fandom" since I only make OC stuff 😭 Believe me, I want to be more integrated in the fandom, but not as much as I want to focus on the blorbos from my brain 😔

I guess I can mention To Err is Human, my vampire AU fic, since, if all goes according to plan, that should be relatively fairly split between my OCs and canon characters. Sorry that it's taken me so long to update tho :( As for art, please look at my man :) And here he is again with my favorite Aloy I've drawn lol. I also still really like this one! Also this. And this. And this. And

I've realized I could go on all day actually so I'll stop myself now lol.

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Sylens. I love him, crimes and all.

11. the character I relate to the most and why: Beta. Something something about characters who have the same neuroses as you but in their world their neuroses are justified (sigh). And Gildun! His quest in Burning Shores really grabbed me by the throat, oof. In some ways I also relate to Aloy but not as much, I think.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: Well, I could just name the usuals, Ted Faro, the Ceo, Lansra, etc. But they're the characters we're meant to hate, so, ironically, it doesn't feel right to say I hate them, you know? I appreciate a well-crafted villain, and I definitely appreciate their role in the narrative. So, do I really hate them? Yes but actually no.

It's like that one post that goes "I don't care if a villain is redeemable or not but by god please make them interesting." I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit insane about the likes of Faro and the Ceo lol, so I'd say they did their job. I actually enjoy them being in the narrative.

As for the Zeniths... I used to just hate them straight up, not just for what we're meant to hate them, but for what they did to the narrative. I then started my quick descent into madness until I came to love to hate them lol. But I still think they deserve this spot more than anyone else given that they still make me see red half of the time.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: uhhhhh I'm not sure? Interesting to see the differences between the Persona fandom and the Horizon fandom I guess. In a lot of ways they have the same issues all fandoms have but idk, it's different. I'll leave it at that.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I don't really read as much fic as I would like to because of readers' block... But when I do, I feel like I tend to look for Beta-centric stuff. And Nemesis stuff hehe but there's very little of that. I feel like, at least in this fandom, I tend to gravitate more towards genfic instead of ship-heavy stuff. Those aren't three tags but still three things so fair enough.

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: I have a few playlists but I'm not sure any songs in particular jump out to me as much as Sad Machine by Porter Robinson, which has been my quintessential Horizon song from the moment I finished HZD. It still gives me the same chills that going through ELEUTHIA-9 gave me... God, I really wish I could go back to when I was first playing it and experience that feeling again. I might actually cry listening to it now.

Tagging: @banukaihelpme, @cicadaknight, @thatpunnyperson, @snorkeldays and @hartlesshart, but absolutely no pressure to do it! I guess this is more of a [insert your fandom here] thing, so, for any other mutuals who see this, if you wanna do it for your fandom, please tag me as your tagger, I would love to see it 🙏

#tagged for me #ramble #hzd #hfw #long post

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 13 Author's Note

I am so sorry if this update came across as cringey in any way, shape, or form. I was having fun, okay? 😭 That line Tenmei makes on the way to the heist was something I just made up. However, I didn't know what a #0 hex machine screw nut was until this moment lmao. Ahhh, the joy of researching for fics, am I right?

Also, yes. That was a "deez nuts" reference he made... lol.

I'm not too proud with the display of one bit of the lore. The soap opera. Omg... I don't know, I don't watch soaps. Although I do faintly recall that being all there was on TV back when I was in school. I had this dinky-ass Zenith in my old bedroom growing up, and it was an antenna TV. Literally the only channels I had were 3, 12, maybe 9 on a good day, 24, and 32 sometimes. AUX was also one, obviously. Probably my most favorite of all of them if I'm being honest, because I always hooked up the SNES any chance I got.

Yeah. I'm that old. Surprise! 90s kids - if you know, you know.

Anyways, back to the soaps talk. I did NOT enjoy watching that shit. Even if I didn't sit there and consume a lot of it, I recall the fact I just couldn't get into them. So, if the soap opera scene in Chapter 13 is janky and weird, that's partially why lmao. It's because I know next to nothing about them. I didn't like writing that, but I felt like it would be a neat opportunity to expand a bit on the lore a little. In a way it serves as a little joke about the Days of Our Lives never ending.

And then there's the Gendarmes segment. Oh boy. This one is based on a personal memory of mine from when I was around 2 or 3 years old. If you are familiar with the show Cops, then yeah. You get it. My dad used to watch that show ALL the time. My mom would tell me about how every time the theme song came up on the TV, toddler me would run through the house going "bad boys, daddy, bad boys."

Sometimes I like to imagine how that scenario played out. The way my mom talked about it, I wish I could remember something like that. It's a sentimental thing between me and my dad, so it is immortalized now!

Oh right! Another thing I keep forgetting to bring up is the French translations in the fic. No, I don't have anyone as a translator. Let me explain lmao. I research the hell out of translations. Punching things in google translate and going "good enough" isn't the extent of it, either. I dig deep. I need to know it's the right one. I've taken some French courses on Duolingo, but I'm not the best at it retaining what I've learned sadly. (That's with most anything I learn about mind you.)

It's funny because it's always the trivial knowledge that sticks; seems like it's never the important stuff lmao. Learning languages is pretty hard. I'm okay with Spanish. I took a high school course and learned how to conjugate verbs and the use of pronouns. Fun fact about my school: we USED to have a French class, but that got replaced with the Spanish one for some reason. I don't know why. I'm glad I got to learn Spanish, because I've memorized quite a bit (curse words included). But I really wish we could've kept the French courses. That would have been pretty useful and fun.

I keep swearing I'll go far for writing research, too. Especially for Whiplash. To the point I'm like "I'm going to France to learn to speak the language." But I ALREADY know that if I did that, with the little knowledge I've got, it'll boil down to me saying: "bonjour! comment ça va?" and the other person will utter unfamiliar words in a long sentence or two and, I just stand there frozen. "Huh...?" lmao.

Damn, that would be cool if I could do that, though. Oh, well! lol.

I can't remember if the fic states this or not in the narrative, but Canneberge's name is French for Cranberry. I said to myself: "what if I pulled a Golden Wind and named a character after a fruit, haha". Well, that was part of the naming scheme with them, the other reason they are named that is after the band, The Cranberries. I won't go too in depth with this character's stand or character concept just yet, because the fight between them and Tenmei continues in Chapter 15. So, I'll just save that information for that author's note when the time comes. Recurring characters like Husselhoff and Tiny Dancer are back. Their dynamic's one of my favs. I do worry though that people will read it at some point and say: "Ughhh, this trope is cliche and dumb." I wish my brain would shut up, man...

If you've ever played any of the older Final Fantasy games, you may recall a couple characters named Biggs and Wedge that make cameos throughout the series. Husselhoff and Tiny Dancer are loosely based on that, because that was something I always got a kick out of when I'd play the FF games. 6 and 9 being the two that really stood out. Never played 7, so I can't say for sure if they make an appearance there. 8, I don't remember?? But I think they did? It's been years since I played FF8. Since I played any of them lmao!

I want to say 4 had a Biggs and Wedge as well, but.... ehhhh...?

References

The Chapter title, Keeper of the Seven Keys -- a reference to a song by a power metal band called Helloween.

the soap opera characters, Edith and Marko -- Edith is named for Edit Piaf, a French singer. Marko is named after the bass guitarist of Nightwish, Marko Hietala (omfg I hope I spelled that correctly...) Note: HIS VOCALS ARE KILLER IN THE BEST WAY

(I can't think of any others right now, so that probably sums it up there.)

#author's note #whiplash riot

[yuesya]

You know, I was reading a Naruto fic, and then it struck me... with her thoughtfulness, politeness and eerie silences, and what with her being hailed as the clan prodigy, isn't Shiki just like Itachi?? Which would also make Satoru the lackadaisical parallel to Itachi's cousin Shisui, which somehow also matches?? Both pairs of cousins are revered as generational geniuses ten steps ahead of the rest, both have loving relationships with each other, and both are stuck with power-hungry families that play into their tragedy.

And then I thought some more about each pair of cousins' complicated relationships with their clans. Itachi and Shisui disapprove of their clan's coup and actively try to stop it, but up until the end they still feel some sort of conflicted love towards them. Shiki and Satoru on the other hand, are disgusted with their clan's schemings and couldn't care less about a large percentage of them. And I thought that's such a good reflection of each manga's overarching focus - Naruto is all about loving your fellow man, self-sacrifice, being loyal cogs in the big Konoha wheel, while JJK's themes promote individuality, irreverence towards authority, that look-out-for-yourself mentality. You need to have a balance of both, just like how Satoru, being the strongest, admitted that his strength alone couldn't cure all the rot in JJK society, unless he raised a community of like-minded people who would support him.

I don't know sorry for the long rant, I don't even know if you're a Naruto fan, but this train of thought just grabbed me and would not let go. It's fascinating how different the mangas of today are from the ones of the past. And I'm glad the Satoru in zenith of stars verse has little Shiki to bear the burden with him in the long years before the main cast shows up!

Oh, I've never thought of it like this but... sort of, if you tilt your head at it and squint I guess? Although in this context, position-wise Satoru is more like Itachi what with being clan heir and having a lot of pressures and expectations heaped on his shoulders. Shiki, on the other hand, is a branch family member. Her personality is closer to Itachi's personality than Satoru's is, though.

... Actually, is Shisui from a branch family? I don't remember haha, it's been a long long time since I've looked at anything Naruto.

That's an interesting point about the characters and their relationships with their clans and how it relates to overarching themes! Really interesting analysis going on here. :)

#QA

[foibles-fables]

So like...you kind of asked for this, really (I'll shamelessly blame your content)... I had this little flash of a vision. Considering I have no idea how the game actually ends, I only know of Talanah's quest (and thank the Sun because I would be super mad if I didn't), so I have no idea if it's a viable option at all or I'm just sleep deprived but like... Just, fireclaw with me (ha)... Let's say, you're halfway through the next installment, casually doing quests in an even more forbidden environment and then you get a generic quest with Talanah. AGAIN. Easy, right? But the air would be kinda awkward and thick with unaddressed feelings (and not really that subtle pining). Either because now Aloy yearns for something she can't really define since being raised as an outcast and saving the world doesn't really leave THAt much space for a grasp of constructive romance, she realizes she's lonely despite having her companions and after seeing Varl and Zo learning and sharing things together triggers a kind of bittersweet feeling (longing) and she thinks of the little moments and hunting with Talanah was the closest thing to it (she realy just misses her friend). Or because Talanah would try to act as always, though she can't help the everpresent pang of jealousy for the group exclusion (she'd never admit it though) and so she tells herself as always she's best beying busy elsewhere, hunting down everything Aloy doesn't really have time for and doing lodge duties (it's a good excuse to avoid her crush Thrush), until she just snaps and meets Aloy in the middle of nowhere...but like... Accidentally, they would get stuck in a Zenith base. Which would turn out to be a ship. And they would just be shot into space. That's it. That's the idea. I mean can you imagine the possibilities, the time they would HAVE to spend together until they figure out a way back. Like Aloy teaching and explaining (very personally) things to Talanah a lot considering her lack of tech knowledge and all. There would be really no way out of that one. So at some point they would have to address their...thing. Or just spar endlessly. Or I dunno. You might have some better thoughts. Yeah. So. Phew. This went off the rail a little. Sorry not really. Yeah, have a nice day.

🎵two gaaals chillin in a spaceshiiiip five-feet-apart cuz they're not gay🎵

#but you are also reading my mind with possibilities re: HZ3 quests #more on this later #i have at least a dozen thoughts(tm) #have a wonderful day and i forgive you for the fireclaw pun