#like in theory i could start with one or two but like. id rather get more at one time yknow

[nattikay]

Shoutout to my mom who let me dump a bunch of spoilers on her so I could cry about Neteyam. Finally had the chance to get all that sobbing that dehydration robbed me of yesterday out of my system, and I’m feeling a little better now. I mean, the situation still makes me sad, but I don’t think I’ll continue to have my eyes suddenly start leaking every other hour like they did for most of today. :’)

so uuuhhh now that I’ve more or less gotten over that hurdle, I can finally sit down and make a post about all the other stuff from the movie! So here’s a list of some of the other thoughts and observations I had, not exactly comprehensive cuz this is all coming after 24 hours of grieving so I may not remember every single little thought I had, but here we go anyways (also tagging @tenebrius-excellium cuz you said you wanted to hear my thoughts):

-I just want to watch the first five or so minutes on loop for a while (although maybe without the cuts to Neytiri singing the songcord because 🥲, good golly the moment I saw that shot I, already being familiar with the lore behind songcords, was like oh NOOOOO), just the scenes of those ~14 peaceful years where the kids are growing up and the RDA is gone and everyone is happy together and it’s all just so sweet, this is the content I want, I want more of it, please pretty please, I know it’ll be a while before all the gif-makers are able to get a hold of those scenes but man as soon as they do goodness gracious I’m just gonna stare at it all for hours 😭

-While I was already assuming that the Metkayina didn’t actually know English and that we the audience were only hearing English for convenience, I was expecting that issue not to be directly addressed. So I was pleasantly surprised when it was subtly addressed with Jake’s voiceover about now being familiar enough with the Na’vi language to understand it as easily English as the audio of the kids bickering swapped from Na’vi to English. Theory confirmed!

-Speaking of the Na’vi language, I did feel very excited because I was able to understand some of the unsubtitled lines, which was a goal! so yay!! I mean, I didn’t understand every Na’vi line spoken (some of the longer ones I’ll definitely have to listen to more than once to piece together), but to even understand any of it at all, especially the ones without subtitles, felt very awesome!! dopamine rush babey!!!

-And on that note, the fact that Quaritch of all characters was making an effort to learn the language really surprised me! He struck me as the type of character to not give two craps about that sort of thing but hey. I definitely got a kick of out of Spider absolutely roasting him for his lack of skills hrh (note, I very most certainly do not condone actually mocking new learners making mistakes, obviously, but seeing as this is Quaritch we’re talking about...^^”) Spider’s line here was also a place I even managed to catch a subtitle discrepancy -- iirc, the subtitles read “You sound like a three-year-old!” but the actual line was nga plltxe na ‘eveng ahì’i! you speak like a small child! Which, I mean, y’know, same gist, but it was cool to be able to understand the actual words!! I also greatly enjoyed Spider trying to teach Quaritch the distinction between na and nga, just because man that’s one of those things every learner has been through, idk it was delightful to watch it go down between canon characters hrh

-Speaking of Quaritch and Spider....wow, I was surprised just how early they dropped the “Quartich’s son” bomb. That had been a pretty popular and plausible theory for a while, but I was expecting it to either be left up to interpretation or used as a bombshell later in the film. But nope, from the get-go it’s pretty heavily implied that not only is Quaritch Spider’s biological father, but that they’re both aware of this. So. Yeah, that was certainly a surprise.

-Kiri “I would rather drink acid than have Norm be my biological father” good gracious girl! like I mean yes the idea that Norm and Grace were secretly hookin’ up is obviously preposterous, but what did Norm ever do to you to deserve that reaction ^^; haha

-I mentioned in my High Ground post the three primary theories on Kiri’s origins. Having now seen the movie, I now think the mystical-Eywa-conception theory is by far the most likely. However, canonically it still remains a mystery/up to interpretation. Perhaps we’ll get more answers in movie 3...

-Y’know what, vulgarity is not typically my type of humor, but Lo’ak flippin’ Quaritch the double bird when asked to let him see his fingers did get a chuckle out of me hrh

-hey um yo the Metkayina kids were absolute JERKS, what the heck?? like good golly heckin’ rude. Except for Tsireya she’s chill I like her :)

-Personally I don’t think the story of this movie is a total rehash of the first one overall, but I can very mostly definitely see how people would consider it so. There were several lines in two scenes in particular, the one where the Sullies arrive at the Metkayina clan and the one with the tulkun hunters, that were just soooooo similar to lines from the first movie, not quite verbatim but certainly awkwardly close. I can absolutely see this becoming a common complaint from internet critics.

-Tuk pretty much solely exists to make the audience go d’awwwww!!, and y’know what, that’s ok because boy did she succeed :’)

-unfortunately, Quaritch’s ikran has by far the coolest design of all the ikrans, like bruh that color palette is heckin’ dope. what a shame ur now stuck with this jerk lol. Though I did snicker at Quaritch feeling the need to bond with the ikran “the hard way” solely because he couldn’t stand to be outdone by Jake lol

-I liked Lo’ak and Payakan’s friendship, it was very sweet. Also very interesting design-wise that a tulkun’s queue is in his mouth, and that the mouth has more of those bioluminescent patterns on the inside.

-The fact that the tulkun hunters are 100% aware that the species they’re hunting is fully sapient feels very ick to me. Sir that’s...that’s murder. Good gracious. and um “tulkun brain juice stops human aging” wh...what?? can uh...can we get some more explanation on that??? like is that gonna be somehow relevant to later movies or is it just some arbitrary thing to make the brain juice valuable, valuable enough to attempt to justify murder idk but uh....yyyyyyeah 😬

-minor thing, but I was surprised that the swimming baby from the trailer was, in fact, not Ronal’s. In fact, we never actually meet Ronal’s baby, which, again, surprised me. Why make her pregnant if we don’t get to see the baby, it feels kinda random ^^; to link her to her spirit tulkun who just had a calf I guess?? idk. once again, maybe it’ll become more relevant in movie 3.

-until proven otherwise, I am heretofore declaring that final “a son for a son” line to be Spider’s official adoption into the Sully family 😭😭😭

anyways, I guess that’ll do for now. I’m sure there was other stuff but I’ve been sitting here typing for over an hour already. Perhaps later I’ll come back with more comments, idk. I’ll be seeing the movie again next week with the rest of my family, so maybe I’ll notice different things/remember stuff that got swallowed up in the feels. Will I cry more than I did on my first viewing because I’m gonna try not to go in dehydrated again, or less because by then I’ll have had a week to process and accept everything? I have literally no idea. Guess we’ll have to just wait and see...

#awow spoilers #avatar #avatar 2 #avatar the way of water

[boxx-sama]

The Usage of a Rotary Telephone in Ai Nan Desu Yo

This was just something I happened to notice when rewatching the MV!

As pictured here, we can see Mahiru using a rotary telephone to communicate with her boyfriend. It may not be of much significance to some, but there is/could be a deeper meaning to this specific phone being used, rather than a modern one!

This specific one happens to be a vintage telephone. The development of rotary telephones dates back to the late 19th century, which is all the way back in the 1800s!

The concept of a rotary dial for selecting numbers on a telephone was first proposed by inventors and engineers in the 1870s. Almon Strowger, an undertaker from Kansas City, is often credited with inventing the first practical rotary dial telephone system in the late 19th century. His system aimed to eliminate the need for human operators to manually connect calls.

As amazing as the invention itself is, however, it did have flaws, especially considering the time period this was invented in! There wasn't modern technology, so using this phone had some issues.

Error-Prone: Rotary dialing was EXTREMELY susceptible to dialing errors! Users could miscount the number of digits, skip a digit accidentally, or make other mistakes while dialing.

Mechanical Complexity: Rotary phones were mechanical devices with many moving parts, which made them more prone to wear and tear. This complexity also meant that maintenance and repairs could be more challenging compared to modern electronic phones.

Lack of Advanced Features: Rotary telephones were designed primarily for basic voice communication! They lacked many of the advanced features that modern phones offer, such as caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, and speed dial.

Considering some of these, it is rather odd, isn't it? Mahiru is clearly pictured to be taking inspiration from modern blogs and such for her perfect journey of love.

So how is this particularly standout in any way?

Well, it's simple! Rotary telephones had many communication issues. They were difficult to handle, very slow, and had to be used in specific ways. (Dialing certain numbers, etc.)

I think that the usage of a rotary telephone in such a modern world that Ai Nan Desu Yo portrays might just be Mahiru's lack of communication with her boyfriend when it came to more serious matters!

This also may be a stretch on my part, but even the lyrics at this part of the MV kind of add to my small theory here.

Ring ring, I’m calling you in the middle of the night Forcing you to wake up, and I say “Good Morning!” But I fall asleep before you, I really feel bad you know? We can both feel lonely sometimes, but wonder if you’ll get angry soon I’m going to start relying on you if you’re kind to me, so please forgive me, thanks!

It just feels like there's some sort of communication issue here, if that makes sense. Mahiru is being a biiiiit over-reliant and wishing for forgiveness from her boyfriend due to her clear needs, and it's unsure whether they were actually met or not. Daisuki kind of paints a clearer picture on this with the whole cake feeding metaphor, but that may be a theory for another time.

It can also be noted that Mahiru is not happy at all when she uses the telephone, implying that she is also stressed, despite sharing the feeling of love with her boyfriend.

But, to her, it wasn't a big issue at all! Because in the end, all of this is love in of itself. And even if their communication is flimsy, surely love will power through.

Again, using the lyrics to support this:

If you don’t hug me, even our hearts will start drifting apart

This is a claim of responsibility from the two of us with matching love

We fought sometimes, I was happy to get hurt Let’s have matching pain, this sickness is pretty bad?

Mahiru seems to idealize love and the idea of being together to an unhealthy point, believing that if she can experience all of love's ups and downs and remain with her S/O, then everything is all okay in the end! That being said, I do NOT see her as completely naive, and she definitely had some awareness in the situation.

I guess that's all for my little theory! Let me know what you guys thought of it.

#box talks #milgram #mahiru shiina #ai nan desu yo #milgram project #milgram theory #i love scanning the smallest details in my favorite characters' mvs #may have to find something for backdraft too because #mahiru and fuuta my beloveds

[aspoonofsugar]

Life, Death And Rust

The Parfait Predicament is that the Parfait is the least important thing that happens this episode :P

Here are some thoughts on what we got this week.

THE CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH

When we break or wear out or simply finish what we were made to do we are called back (...) I know, I know. Wehre you come from, things die, but we are not like you at all. We ascend. Herb will have his purpose again.

The CC's speech and Ever After's creatures not dying, but "ascending" ties into 2 themes dear to RWBY and Ruby:

Grief

Creation and Destruction

Both ideas come together in The Cycle of Life and Death, which is illustrated (or at least hinted at) in the character of the mysterious Blacksmith:

The Blacksmith's role seems to be collecting lost weapons and to use their metal to forge something new. When it comes to this, she is similar to Jinxy:

Jinxy takes things that are lost, changes their shapes and gives people the chance to get them back, if they are willing to pay the price. It is possible that what is left unsold is then given to the Blacksmith, who gives new life to it.

Two details have interested me of the Blacksmith's introduction:

She is made of gold and her workplace is all gold

She is forging a butterfly

Both are important symbols in the series.

Gold is the perfect metal and the objective of alchemy. The characters are going through the scale of metals and getting more and more refined, so that they can become gold. Pyrrha is gold to begin with and is the first one to become a true Huntress and to end her arc. Penny dies surrounded by a golden cloud because she goes from copper (her metal) to gold and reaches perfection. (This also ties with Pinocchio's fairy tale btw). In short, gold is important and the Blacksmith being covered in it frames her as an alchemist. Someone who starts reactions and transforms things.

Butterflies are symbols of transformation, of death and rebirth. So, it is important the Blacksmith is forging this specific animal. It may hint to how she is some kind of God in the Ever After. Or at least, that her role is God-Like. People who lose themselves in the Ever After come to her in the form of weapons and metals. She reworks them and gives them new life. The Butterfly might even be a reference to Herb, who "ascended" and is now being "fixed up".

So, what does all of it has to do with Ruby?

RUBY RIDING HOOD

(I have yet to write a full analysis of Ruby's allusion, I only have snippets of it for now. However, the imagery this episode was rather strong)

Ruby's meeting with the Blacksmith develops 2 ideas already present in the previous episode:

Her Journey Through Grief

Her Loss of Identity

So far, each episode has explored a specific stage of grief. Let's review:

Episode 1 > Denial

Episode 2 > Bargaining

Episode 3 > Anger

Episode 4 > Depression

Last week I identified episode 4 as Acceptance, but now I think it was depression (both Ruby and Herb are depressed). What is true is that it ends with the concept of Acceptance, which is fully developed this episode. The CC's speech and the appearance of the Blacksmith hint to this idea. Ruby, however, is still far away from fully reaching this stage.

Still, she is slowly getting closer to fully facing her ghosts, even if it is difficult to say if this is a good or bad thing right now:

The Blacksmith's weapons give Ruby 3 different mirror images:

Penny

Alyx

Summer

Why is that so? @lintuwaterfall shared a theory where they could represent Id, Ego and Superego (these are their words):

Penny - Id - Desire - She has deep feelings about her friend

Alyx - Ego - Reality - Doing what one can to survive in the world

Summer - Super-Ego - The ideal set out by a Parent

I quite like this idea and whatever the case, it is clear Penny, Alyx and Summer represent 3 parts of Ruby. In particular, they could once again allude to past, present and future (just like Neo's allusion while Ruby is falling may):

Penny is a lot like Ruby's past idealistic self. They became friends precisely because they were so similar. This is also why when Penny came back it is as if Ruby could find her childhood and innocent self once again.

Alyx went through a journey very similar to Ruby to the point they are often paralleled and juxtaposed. Alyx is described as a girl running from herself and she probably lost herself eventually.

Summer is set up to be Ruby's future. She is who Ruby has always wanted to be. An ideal she has been chasing after. She is the self Ruby has always wanted to become. Until recently, at least.

In short, the Blacksmith's scene is just Ruby going through the exact same pattern she did last episode with Herb. There she meets her past self, who asks her who she wants to become and suggests she may meet the same fate as Summer. Here, those unsolved and repressed feelings manifest themselves in a more subtle ways through the weapons.

This may also be why Ruby goes from Penny's beautiful sword:

To Alyx's humble and small knife:

From an ideal:

Ruby: Not just a powerful warrior, the most powerful to ever lived. She was touched by magic, and she gave her life for thousands. She took a message of hope to the stars, and she saw the world through better eyes. Take us to the royal birthday, and allow us to present this most precious gift.

To reality, which is much less beautiful and impressive:

The Blacksmith: What are you? Are you lost?

Ruby starts as beautiful as Penny's sword, a precious gem (rubies and jades), but has right now turned into a smaller knife. The question is... who will she become? Which weapon will she choose to wield?

Blacksmith: If you change your mind, you may choose anyone of these you like.

As for now, she seems to be willing to let go of her past self to a degree that is almost dangerous and destructive:

Ruby: Here, I'll give you this! It carries a mother's promise!

A moment after seeing a glimpse of Summer in herself, she immediately bargains away a reminder of her. Just like she gives up Penny's sword after getting it in order to meet the Red Prince. Ruby has just gone through the stages of grief when it comes to Penny. However, Penny's death has now forced her to go even deeper and to face Summer's. She is probably going through the stages once again, so that she can deal with Summer. Only then she will be able to accept both her friend (her inner child) and her mother (her future ideal self)'s deaths. And change.

RUSTED JAUNE

It is too soon to say for sure, but so far Jaune seems a foil to Ruby when it comes to dealing with grief and identity.

It is implied Ruby wishes to forget:

Ruby: When Herbs come back... will he remember anything?

And she is willing to let go of herself completely. To self-destroy:

Young Ruby: You can do whatever you want! Be whoever you want! You don't even have to be Ruby Rose.

The first glimpse we get of Jaune instead suggests he wants to remember:

He calls his new friend Juniper

He chooses to live in an acre called "garden" and full of flowers (Nora) and leaves (Pyrrha)

The leaves have a rainbow pattern, which calls back to both his teamd and name

His house is a giant lotus (Ren)

He wears a red bow to remember Pyrrha:

He seems to have been in the Ever After for years, but he has apparently failed to change. He is still wearing his old armor or at least a similar one and his weapon is still broken:

In short, if Ruby's reaction to grief is to refuse it, to forget it and to self-destroy, Jaune's reaction seems to be not to let go when he should. Both characters clearly have to change and evolve, but Ruby only sees the relief of self-destruction, while Jaune only sees the importance of moving forward. Interesting considering they reacted in opposite ways when it comes to Pyrrha and Beacon. In general, the 2 of them seem to also have exchanged places since the beginning of the series. There Ruby was an already experienced Huntress in theory and very effective in combat. Jaune was instead unsure of his role and was often the load. In this week's episode instead we see how Ruby seems helpless when it comes to fighting, while Jaune rushes to the battlefield and basically takes Ruby's role as the 4th of her team. (This is a superficial note btw... I think the point is simply Ruby doesn't know where to fit right now, which reflects on her fighting style and willingness to fight - see the chess fight).

Basically, Ruby and Jaune explore 2 opposite and extreme reactions to grief. It is probable them both will be forced to revisit them. Ruby might have to accept her own pain, while Jaune might be asked to let go of an already consumed persona.

Obviously, Jaune's appearance might be misleading and he might have already been remade into something new. In this case, his own attachment to the past and knight persona might be an illusion to hide how broken his own identity is (the shattered sword).

Whatever the case, it is probable Jaune will be forced to change and to be remade into his true self. So, that he can finally evolve.

JAUNE AND NEO - RUSTED KNIGHT VS JABBERWALKER

We have reached the midway of the season. So, all the main characters and ingredients for the story have gathered. This means that both Jaune in the form of the Rusted Knight and Neo in the form of her illusory Jabberwalker have joined the fray and interacted with RWBY.

This gives us space for a meta commentary (this partly repeats last week's post):

Ruby is the protagonist - she even more so than the others has 2 animals guides there to help her out. Still, she is thinking of refusing her role and wants to lose herself and to be remade.

Neo is the antagonist - she multiplies the Jabber Walker aka the only antagonistic forse in the Ever After > the only thing able to kill. Symbolically, she is spreading her grief in a world which knows no death. However, she might seem to want more than just a role and is using her semblance to add new characters and potentially change the story (only 1 Jabberwalker was supposed to exist).

Jaune is the side character- he has completely fused with the story to the point the protagonists know his character even before they meet him. It is as if Jaune is running from his role of main character in RWBY to be content with an easier role in another story.

At the same time:

Ruby processes grief through wishing to destroy herself (she internilizes)

Neo processes grief through wishing to destroy others and the world (she externalizes)

Jaune processes grief through refusing destruction altogether, so he doesn't let go of his mementos and protects others even in this strange world.

We'll see where we go from there. That said, it is interesting the Rusted Knight is introduced fighting the Jabberwalker because these 2 characters are juxtaposed in the opening:

And there is clearly something going on with the Jabberwalker... are they a person trapped in the Ever After? What is their deal?

The wonderful Chatterbox's song seems to suggest there might be a problem with communication:

I don't think the Jabberwalker is evil. Rather I think they have a problem, but since they are scary, dangerous and impossible to understand people have made them be the villain. Which leads us to the final thematic highlight of this week.

CREATION AND DESTRUCTION

Weiss: It's impossible. Things have to die someday, right? CC: Goodness no! Although, I suppose there is a creature...No, no. That's not the sort of thing you talk about while in polite company.

The CC may insist there is no death in the Ever After, but there actually is in the form of the Jabberwalker. Whatever form this death takes is left to be seen. (When is it that stories die? I would say when they are forgotten or their meaning is lost... so maybe the jabberwalker not being able to articulate things might be the reason behind it?). What is sure is that the Jabberwalker is a creature of Destruction, while the Ever After is the world of Creation. And yet, Destruction and Creation can't be divided:

Weiss: I am so tired of leaving places in ashes.

So, very poignantly the Ever After is compared to Atlas. Both are Kingdoms of Creation where the inhabitants live happily and think they are untouchable. And yet, Destruction arrives and changes things.

I don't think this is the only similarity between Atlas and the Ever After, though. First of all, the 2 places appear as incredibly rich and wonderful, but both ignore their shadows:

Atlas ignores Mantle and the Ever After ignores whatever place the Jabberwalker comes from. Not only that, but both places are in the end run through control and manipulation and roles.

Each character has a role and is dismissed the moment they are not able to fulfill it anymore? Doesn't it remind you of something? Like a very utilitarian and strict military state?

Maybe this is why the CC's power seems at the same time extremely kind and extremely dangerous. Atlas explores trust, but shows how it can degenerate in control. The Ever After might introduce the theme of empathy and how it can be used for manipulation:

CC: I gave him something new to do for the moment...

MISCELLANIA- A CAT AND A MOUSE

Blacksmith: Are you her guide, little one?

Little being recognized by the Blacksmith as Ruby's guide makes me wonder... is it possible Alyx too had a guide? And if yes, could that guy have been the CC? Did they fail their role as guide and this is why they are so interested in RWBY and Ruby especially? To the point they are ready to challenge the Red Prince, to have Herb ascend, to sacrifice a Poor Bird and to risk their own life, just to protect Ruby?

It seems a little bit too much investment for character introduced as minding their own business and acting on a whim.

If so, then this take on Alice In Wonderland is a retelling where Alice fails to get home and The Cat wants to make sure the story doesn't repeat itself? And yet, the CC is not Ruby's guide. Little is. Interesting the juxtaposition between a naive little mouse (heart) and an experienced tricky cat (mind).

Finally, this week's song rocked! I am enjoying the new songs, I must say! Also, this volume's soundtrack so far seems to be about Ever After Characters. Both the Red Prince and the Jabberwalker have now their own song. Interested to see if this continues or if our titular RWBY characters will get new songs as well.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 9 #ruby rose #jaune arc #neopolitan #rusted knight #jabberwalker #blacksmith #rwby meta #my meta

[hsr-texts]

find your cinderella

꒰‧₊˚✩彡‧꒱ ┊ ━━━━ chapter two

꒰⸝⸝₊ʚ♡ɞ ┊ streamer!reader x mystery hsr character ꒱

꒰⸝⸝₊ʚ♡ɞ ┊ otome event ꒱

꒰ ☰ WORD COUNT ┊1.5k ꒱

꒰ ☰ DESCRIPTION ┊ ━━ When you do an unboxing livestream for your subsribers, you find an invite to an exclusive event called the "Find Your Cinderella" masquerade gala where you are guaranteed to find your supposed true love, as a rather enthusiastic manager told you. ꒱

꒰ ☰ NOTES ┊hooray it's finally here! and also we get some cameos hehe ꒱

previously ┊masterlist

After seeing the results of the poll, you decided to set up your stream and waiting for the stream to fill up with people.

You grinned at the camera and greeted them, “Hey guys! Due to popular demand, I’m gonna be playing Freya’s Gate 5 for this stream.”

Before turning to play the game already, you noticed some text pop up in the corner of your screen.

“User130 donated 100 credits and left a note: Congrats on getting invited to the FYC Gala! I hope you have a fun time :)”

A grin pulled at your lips. “Thank you so much for the support, User130! And I hope you’re having a great day!”

This specific account has been a long supporter of your career as a streamer. They’ve been regularly sending donations biweekly. Even though they weren’t big amounts, you appreciated how long they’ve supported you even when you were just starting out.

“Alright, let’s get to playing! I’m planning to finish the main storyline here, maybe play some multiplayer with a few friends, and grind some exp to make sure I don’t like, get my ass beaten by the final boss,” you narrated what you were planning for that session, “I should probably level up some equipment too so battles won’t be as hard.”

You continued playing, going through the plot and reacting to it with your viewers. A few laughs here, a comment there, then the occasional “pause the game and then discuss your theory with your viewers” moment.

Taking up streaming was a good idea now that you thought of it. Playing games alone just didn’t feel as fun without someone to enjoy it with you.

Oh.

Another player was requesting to play with you.

You checked the ID.

“GGSWolf”

Your eyes lit up, recognising one of your friends. You clicked “Accept” immediately.

Her avatar popped up next to yours after a moment of loading. Yeah, your lag hasn’t been too good lately but hopefully once you finished setting up your new PC, it’ll be running as smoothly as a hot knife sliding down soft butter.

“Hey,” GGSWolf spoke into voicechat when she entered your world. Although you weren’t entirely sure who she was, you could tell she sounded quite young. Was she a highschooler, maybe?

“Hey, Wolfie!” You greeted, grinning.

“You need carrying? I saw you’re almost about to fight the boss.” Her voice seemed quite nonchalant, like this was about as easy as breathing for her. Sometimes you were envious of her skill when it came to games.

“Yeah! I just need to farm some mats to ascend my Grande so that I can cheese the final boss with the Airstrike Technique.”

“Good idea.”

The two of you entered the dungeon that had the best drop rate for the harp fragments that you needed. It started out great but…

“STILL NO DROPS?!” You exclaimed in frustration, looking at the loot you got for finishing the dungeon quest.

You could hear a soft pop from Wolfie’s mic. Seemed like she was chewing on bubblegum this whole time. “Wow, did all your luck run out after you got that invitation to the Gala?” She commented.

Groaning, you rested your head on your desk. “Maybe…”

“Yeah, my coworkers got invited too. One of them didn’t want to go but our boss said it was mandatory so he ended up accepting the invite too.”

You raised your head, confused. “Wait I thought you were a highschooler.”

“I’m older than that, dummy.”

You checked the chat and saw that they were just laughing at your sudden terrible luck.

“Hey you guys are such MEANIES!” You gasped in mock hurt. But then you turned back to your game, “So do you think I’ll be meeting your coworkers there?”

She hummed. “Well, the first one’s got a pretty distinct personality but the dude is about as social as a rock. You might come across him once or twice. The other one is more chill but she’s got a bit of a sadistic streak.”

“Ohh I see.” Considering the rules of the masquerade, you couldn’t actually find the identities of the other participants. You supposed that the event organiser wanted the event to stay true to the theme of Cinderella.

"Well, since clearly your luck is terrible right now, I can trade you some harp fragments,” Wolfie said. “I need some sword fragments. Prefarming for the new paladin.”

“Oh my god, you’re a lifesaver, Wolfie!” You exclaimed joyously, immediately right-clicking on her avatar and pressing the trade button on the dropdown menu.

She accepted the request and the two of you traded your materials.

Since you still needed more harp fragments, the two of you ended up grinding the dungeon for a couple more runs until you could ascend your Grande.

Bright colors flashed repeatedly on a screen, spelling out the word “JACKPOT”

The casino was lively as ever. The food was delicious, the fine decor provided a luxurious ambiance, and most importantly, adrenaline and pleasure rushed through the air as people lost themselves to the depravity of gambling.

The person grinned, looking at the screen. “Hehe, my luck is wonderful as usual. Praise Aha that I have such luck.”

A woman dressed in office clothing approached her with a device. “Sugo, we received a new report from the folks in the lab.”

They turned to her. “Oh?”

“It’s about the anomaly.”

“Ah, yes, yes, why don’t we discuss this somewhere private?” They collected their earnings from the slot machine and placed all of it in their pocket. One would wonder how they managed to fit such a huge pile into a tiny pocket but perhaps that was just one of the many mysteries of the entity.

The event organiser led her to a private lounge reserved for VIPs. They sat down at opposite sides of each other.

“So what exactly did you want to say?” Sugo asked, taking their mask off. Their eyes flashed with intrigue.

The woman nodded. “Yes, we run a few simulations between the anomaly and other participants one by one. Out of all of them, we found what could be their best match.”

Sugo grinned, quite pleased with this news. “Oh, how wonderful. I can’t wait to see if they’ll naturally gravitate to their best match or end up getting the wrong person, hehe.” They hummed. “But unfortunately we’ll have to cut this scene short.”

“Huh…?” The woman was confused.

“They’re watching us after all. I can’t give out spoilers so soon!”

After that was all done, Wolfie excused herself and left, saying she had to play another game due to maintenance being over. Apparently there was a new update and she really wanted the new banner character.

You decided to end the stream there, telling your viewers you’ll just beat the final boss on the next stream since farming materials for Grande took so long with your terrible luck. A pity.

After turning your setup off, you suddenly realised you forgot to do your groceries for the week. “Aw crap,” you spoke to yourself, going to check your pantry for what you needed.

You typed down your grocery list real quick and dressed up in casual clothes, taking your wallet and placing it in your pocket.

The afternoon sun shone down on you as you walked towards the grocery store. It was quite a stroke of luck that it wasn’t too far from your home. Going to buy stuff you needed didn’t take too long; Though, thinking about it now, perhaps the convenience of having a store so close by meant that you wouldn’t have to think about buy groceries much and that’s why you often forgot to do them.

Ah, well, it wasn’t too big of a deal.

You walked into the store, feeling the air-conditioned air hit your face. How pleasant.

Taking a cart, you made your way to the aisles where you could get the stuff you needed. However, on the way there, you spotted a familiar person.

They turned around and immediately noticed you, eyes lighting up. “Hey, funny running into you here, huh?” Your friend commented, chuckling. “You’ve been pretty busy with your streams, haven’t you? How’ve you been?”

You smiled in return. “I’m doing great! I actually got an invite to this super cool event called the Find Your Cinderella Gala,” you told them.

“Oh right! I actually saw the news on Trotter. Turns out there’s a whole bunch of celebs joining the event. You’re super lucky!” They responded. “I hope you have fun. Make sure to send me some updates and gossip after, yeah?”

“Heh, sure,” you chuckled.

Your friend nodded, satisfied with your answer. “Though, speaking of celebs, I recently got these tickets to a concert. You wanna go with? A bunch of friends are really excited since they like this band a lot.”

You considered it for a moment. It’s been a while since you were able to go to a concert. Maybe it’ll be good for you since you’ve sorta been cooped up in your house, making content for your fans.

#honkai star rail #hsr #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #jing yuan x reader #dan heng x reader #welt x reader #luocha x reader #gepard x reader #sampo x reader #blade x reader

[echosoftheflower]

My unedited thoughts while reading the new chapter of IBVS, sorry if it's illegible.

SPOILERS FOR S2 CHAPTER 11

Has he just been summoning these things with out a book? Is he going off memory? It's would be so funny if this moron was a witchcraft prodigy

Who just randomly talks about this in school?

I feel bad for Isaac being worried about Drew telling his secrets but he's honestly being kinda unreasonable with this ignoring Drew.

Bro are they the only two at the table 💀 just move to the opposite side of another outcast table why take up the whole thing.

CHRIS FUVKING WOULD WITH HIS FOLLOWER MENTALITY

But Chris really isn't new? He came there in the fall. Does this school not have freshmen? (Recurring question)

I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING! WHY IS THE ART ROOM STILL SCREWED 

It's nice to know Isaac was in a club but I do wish he talked with the other art students. Also, there are other art students!

Poor Isaac with his trauma from Chris ditching him.

God damn it Chris! Ok I need to talk about this.

Very quick summary of an analysis I'm planning on making of this man but he has like, chronic follower mentality. He will just listen to anyone who seems to have power. He joined Ed when asked because he's the king, he drifted towards Nevin because of his confidence, and now he's with Felix who has something to offer him. This stems as far back as Dylan's group, who were the trouble makers, and Freddie who was the popular kid. The only person who he was ever friends with who doesn't fall into one of these categories is Isaac, and we all see how he treats him. 

He didn't think twice? Aren't you friends with him?! Didn't you trust him at the start?! HES LITERAL DONE NOTHING TO YOU EVER?! YOUR LIKE THE ONLY ONE HES NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH!

didn't Isaac also tell him Felix almost killed him and the school almost sent him to the hospital after the fear demon fight? Is this Chris, once again ignoring everything Isaac says? This is like the "id rather skip class than believe the king would beat you up" all over again.

Man I can't believe Felix can remember all those food namesvand things.

The demon book is written by the Wolfe family? Volume 1?

Why does Barry just keep randomly appearing like this? And in full camo? Him and Ed really are similar. For whatever reason I get a bad feeling about him.

How does Drew keep turning into everyone's therapist, as much as I like Autumn and Issac I wish we could see them interact with Drew and actually look like they enjoy their time together.

Barry you are so strange

YEAS MY GENETIC THEORY

ROSE RIPPLE THEORY

It kinda bothers me he only ends up with Ed after he has no one else. But isward crumbs all the same

Aw he's so bored

Again?! These woods have seen things.

Aw he actually wants to hang out with him

"Learn to ask" Ok Edward "drags you into a closet" Quinton 

YES bringing up the two power thing! 

He's other power is definitely part of Sigma

Isaac backstory! Kinda sounds horrific.

YES EVEN THE ADRENALINE PART

it's the tree! :D

And that log would be Chris!

He shut down his huntch 😭

Still Purple huh? Gotta mean something.

FINALLY! CHARACTERS ACTUALLY GETTING ALONG!

he smiles so much in this scene :D

MONIKA AGAIN??

#ibvs #isaac beamer versus the supernatural #IM SO HAPPY MY THEORIES ARE BEING ACKNOWLEDGED :D #also im definitely posting that chris thing soon #love him as a character but i would hate him as a person #echos screaming into the void

[dieselpvnk]

Why don’t you like your least favorite campaign in rw?

Spearmaster is just. I dont like it so bad. Most of this is btw not objective critisism but just stuff I personally don't like for reasons varying from pretty valid to plain stupid.

there' just way too many moments that I find frustrating and not fun. Sure, you could say skill issue and that I should just get better at the game, but

I did this with chaos + enemy randomizer, I make myself suffer in this game for fun and Spearmaster just hits different. (also yes I'm just taking a chance to bring up this screenshot again because I kinda slayed)

random, but this is the only time I get to mention I was so excited at the start of the campaign, just to get upset upon realizing cool new starting region is just Outskirts, the first few rooms made me hope for a mix of Shaded, Drianage and Superstructure kinda region. I guess seeing what's behind the Surv/Monk starting pipe is cool, but I hoped for something different. Also sad you can't go back there.

The mechanic is nice ig, I like killing things, holding two spears is cool ig, but tbh, a pebbles and a spear is even more effective in most situations. The way Spearmaster gets food is pretty cool and very unique, but I do miss munching on corpses. Not having a stomach slot isn't a big deal, until you remember Spearmaster has a bunch of unique lore pearls bc nobody else has access to pre-collapse Moon. Imo it's much much worse than the story pearl.

Speaking of, the story pearl. It's whatever, don't care, prior to Spearmaster I played Hunter bringing both the pearl and the neuron to Moon and it was much more difficult, as Spearmaster I just used a passage. What IS a problem tho, is having to go between iterators back and forth. I wanted to know what Pebbles was talking about, so I went to Moon first, then I had to go to Pebbles to get top surgery, then I had to go back to Moon again to give her the pearl, and then I had to go to Sky Islands, which is also going past Pebbles through the Precipice.

The spawns are brutal, which is not an issue itself, I liked Artificer's camapaign a lot. The issue id that it feels "bullshit" brutal instesd of "challenging" brutal.

The regions are also not something I enjoy. Past Garbage Wastes? Better as Artificer with brief acid immunity and awesome mobility [and high threat level to compensate]. The only really good part is build-a-ladder room. Waterfront facility? It's whatever, and again better as Artificer because I can make shortcuts myself, as a little treat. any wall is scaleable and gap is crossable [unverified information], the Precipice is bad. Tight jumps, no shelters, missing a jump.is very punishing and a lot of threats on top of that. Yes I know you can bring a grappleworm, but I hate them so I'm not doing that. Moon's Underhang? Struts, I believe. Also very fucking bad, just. she has an awful infestation she should get it checked out. The only and only thing that made me get get that awya from me mod and remove spiders. Also it's hard to navigate and it doesn't have enough shelters to compensate. Moon's superstructure? I don't like superstructure regions because zero-g is the worst mechanic every concieved for rain world. also getting food from neurons is annoying. I know I don't have to I can just go through Superstructure in one cycle. but I still hate it.

The lore? Don't give a shit honestly, I was kinda hyped for the broadcasts but then I just didn't care, I was just hoping I can skip them faster. I don't care about iterator drama stfu!!!! Like it's cool and all. in theory. but in reality I really just ended up not caring at all. Call me a fake fan but I wish they just weren't in there or there was a lot less.

Spearmaster is a lot more enjoyable if you disregard the camapign and do whatever. But at that point I'd rather play slugcats I enjoy more anyway. No dual-wield and no unlimited spears isn't a deal breaker

#rain world #just rambling

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Round 6

[image ID: the first image is a gif of Gary, a man outlined in simple, animated red lines against a black background. the only other color is the white of his eyes. he has a short beard and he's wearing a hooded robe. the second image is of Granger, a girl with green eyes and short, wavy or curly black hair. in her hair is a red hat or ribbon. she's wearing a black turtleneck sweater, blue overalls, and a green coat. end ID]

Gary

I've seen John in ONE poll but I haven't seen Gary at all. Gary is the main antagonist in the games and is a normal human being just like you and me. Actually he's a demon, and trying to summon the antichrist. He can also summon spiders! Over and over again. And remember, Gary loves you! [additional propaganda 1] [additional propaganda 2]

Granger

so granger is the main character of the indie game "NeverHome" Chapter one, which is only $1 on Steam, is called NeverHome: Hall of Apathy. if ur a fan of young protags being put in RPG maker horror games, then this is the game for you!! so granger is just that… she wakes up to find herself in a strange, hostile world. she, along with the friends she makes, must solve the various puzzles before them while creatures are out to kill them… and along the way they can uncover the secrets of these never ending halls… her dynamics with the cast is also super fun… each character gets their moment or moments with granger. and what's so cute is that there's unique art for each pair that highlights the fact you cant get through these halls alone!! she also has her own theme song!! here!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_vwtmIj5cw it's called cyclical tragedy AND HERE IS AN ANALYSIS OF THE THEME!! MUSIC THEORY!!! written by my good friend @HIEMIOLA "cyclical tragedy" embodies the protagonist, granger, through the music theory behind the track and ties itself back into the main track as well. to begin with an overview of the track, the key is D minor and hte time signature is 3/4. the piece begins with a broken minor third starting from the tonic. that is, it begins on the main note and moves along the main chord, D to F. the next set of notes are C to E, which is shifted down a step. the phrase repeats again, this time D to F, then G to E, which is an inverse movement from the original sequence. even in this first part, we could tell that the protagonist begins from square 1 with a simple pattern, then tries it again when it works. however, the inverse breaks that expectation of repetition, thus showing the diverse variations of solutions she comes up with using just the tools she has (the two notes moving in thirds). just like the game, she is given a handful of objects as well as a knife to defend herself and solve the mysteries of the world she exists in. with her creative uses of the items given to her, she continues on her way through the plot. we will keep moving. the melody begins. true to the title of the track, the melody cycles around the same beginning note, D, that she always returns to at her square 1. this is a nod to the save states she is allowed to keep to make sure that we the players don't lose the game, but it also references the health bar that appears as a circle around her avatar. the melody, mapped out, is also moving in an up-down wave movement across the sheet music. granger is creative with the knife she has and the quest items she obtains throughout the story, but she is not entirely reckless. rather, she knows when it is time to return to the safe rooms to rest. to time her returns requires skill because she must run to cover without being caught by varying her path so the enemies don't corner her as she tries to return to the room. most of the time, she is successful, shown through the consistent return to the beginning note. let's keep going. i would like to turn your attention to the main theme briefly. in the bass notes, you can hear arpeggios and outlined chords. this makes up the bulk of the accompaniment in the main game theme. [mod note: the rest of the essay, and some more propaganda, is continued under a cut because tumblr will not process more text than this in an indent. sorry to split it up, please continue below for the rest of the essay and additional propaganda!]

the third variation of granger's theme also has arpeggiated chords in the accompaniment while the melody features broken chords. at this stage, the pattern switches to eigth notes instead of the quarter notes at first. with greater movement and heightened senses, she runs throughout world and befriends other people, thus interacting further with the environment. while she isn't exactly someone we would call open, she is respectful to the people she first meets and has no problems with asking them for help when she needs it. because of her openness to working together, she speeds up her progress by asking for aid at obstacles that would be too difficult for her to overcome on her own, such as asking a teammate to break things, move things, or reach into smaller holes. fusing the main theme elements with her own theme marks this step as the inciting incident that sets her on the path to escape from this world. we'll continue.

continuing the same part, we hear some secondary fifths. i'm not entirely sure if this is what you call it, but it is a nod to the parallel key, D major. depending on what theory class you take, this could also be considered the other half of the key. i dont know how else to describe it, but i digress. these are glimpses to different dialogue options she could take, glimpses to a different key or a different ending. because this game only has one chapter ending so far, we are unsure of what other paths granger will end up in; we only know that there are certainly other endings she will experience, only to begin the cycle again when the save state is loaded for players to reach another ending. both A major and G major are chords that signify different choices that may lead her elsewhere only for her to return back to the tonic or main note, D. despite this, she keeps going, as will we.

at the midpoint of the track, we see a quick shift in patterns. instead of upward leaps in the notes, the melody falls in stepwise motion. true to the plot, this is another turning point of the game when she is forced to make a choice: continue or stop. after facing the spoiler event, her once determined personality is challenged as she struggles to keep herself and her team together. despite being the headstrong protagonist who spearheaded solutions, even now she finds herself doubting and taking smaller steps, smaller risks.

even after all of this, she rises to the challenge as the melody returns to its beginning sequence. true to a protagonist she gets up again despite the events that transpired and keeps her team moving in their lowest points. the thirds return as she finds more objects to solve more puzzles to open more rooms to save more friends. this repeating part of the track only solidifies her resolve as the piece ends with a broken chord in the main key, her key, of D minor. despite everything that transpired, she stayed true to herself."

the game is also so, so charming with the art, music, and story made by the same person… its so clearly loved and full of passion!! i love listening to the game's ost on occassion!! since it's all on youtube!

ok one last thing thing!! on may 8th, the game hit 100 downloads (on both steam and itch.io). you can see the creator of the game celebrate that with this lovely drawing of granger: https://twitter.com/NeverHome_Game/status/1655761270694633472

so at most, only a bit over 100 people have played the game… id like to say that makes it obscure!!

anyways granger and neverhome!! we love to see our protagonists put in horrific situations and isn't she super cute with a lil bow on her head? she is my daughter…

[additional propaganda 1]

[additional propaganda 2]

[additional propaganda 3]

[additional propaganda 4]

[additional propaganda 5]

[additional propaganda 6]

#obscurecharactershowdown #obscure poll #round 6 #gary ftuht #faith the unholy trinity #granger neverhome #neverhome

[wawawawawawawawawawawawawa]

out of interest, how do you think izaya developed aspd and npd? i know that pds typically develop as a result of trauma so i suppose his parents always being absent would be a factor but id also like to hear your thoughts on it. love the aspd izaya headcanon btw

first off, thank u!

and secondly, his parents being absent would definetley be a factor. i read somewhere that its actually children whove been neglected that are more likely to develop aspd rather than children who are abused, because the complete LACK of stimului contributes to aspd more than bad stimuli does. take this with a grain of salt though because my source is "i saw it somewhere" and im 90% sure that place was NOT a study so it might be wrong

but either way, both pds are known to be caused by trauma and both have a genetic component to them. the genetic component isnt SUPER well known, but it IS known that there's a hereditery component here

so honestly? i think izaya was born with antisocial tendencies. NOT aspd, i must stress- at a very young age, if he was given adequate support and treatment, they could've stayed tendeicies and he wouldn't have developed fullblown aspd. he couldve turned out like one of those guys with a bit of a skewed morality system but is otherwise mentally healthy enough to participate in society without wanting to kill himself or others. quirks over disorder

but from pretty much every account i can think of, izaya was ALWAYS an odd child, to the point where it was his father that instilled a love of humanity into him

When he was younger, I saw he was distant from others, and that made me worried. And so I wanted him to come to like humans and become a man who could strongly love people twice as others would. (source)

of course this isnt exactly very detailed wrt izayas behavior, but if its enough that his absent father noticed, it mustve been pretty serious

so wrt his aspd, i think he was born with those kinds of tendencies, which were then exasperated by the neglect and ergo got worse and worse over the years, culminating in high school with his friendship with shinra, blackmailimg of nakura, and his beginning to poke his nose in the underground

his npd is a bit trickier

so, the way i personally developed npd is that my mom would seem to have two perceptions of me in her head, depending on wether or not i was following the Good Perception or not. the first me, the good one, was intelligent, kind, and filled with potential. the other one was a stupid lazy monster. i was the good one, up until i did anything she didnt like, then i was the bad one. these two ideas getting fed into me led to me clinging onto the Good Perception as how i really was, and if something even for a second made me slip, i'd crash down from total egoism to total repulsion. And It Sucked!

(disclaimer: do not armchair diagnose my mother. i have my theories but they will stay private and i absolutely do not want a STRANGER butting into this, especially when they could know less abt mental illness than me and thus spread misinformation)

now, i dont think izaya's parents were like my mom- but there was still a dichotomy at play here. he would go to school, where he would be a smart student and praised by his teachers, even if he kept to himself. then, he'd go home, and be alone. as he got older, it only got worse- humans are social creatures, and we don't take well to being lonely. the mind starts to cope with it however it can.

as izaya started to venture deeper into the underground, he couldve started to develop a superiority complex about it. see, look- he's smarter than everyone. better than everyone. that's why he's alone, its because he's too good to be around them. not because he's worse. he's better.

because, especially once he gets to high school age... izaya is smart. izaya is perceptive. izaya would be able to tell that there's something different about him, and that's why people avoid him and he avoids them. there's something wrong with him in a way that's repulsive and unpalatable to most. that'd wreck a kid's self-image, especially a neglected kid's, since he'd already have low self-image from, yk, the neglect

and the dichitomy of the low and high self-image makes him develop npd- the ego masks the low self esteem, but both are equally felt and true, its not like his egoism and god complex are fake- it's all very real, he feels it all and believes it genuinely, and he clings onto it because if he slips, he KNOWS where he's gonna plummet

anyway thats just my take on it!! "it was his childhood" is prolly a boring answer but honestly a lot of mental illness has that answer at the root of it. art imitates life and all

#wasks #izaya orihara #orihara izaya #durarara #once again. do not armchair diagnose my mother. do not armchair diagnose ME. #and for the love of god be normal

[cherry-dr0p]

Can they meet other characters? Like ocs??

OCS YOU SAY??? >:3

Little do you know, I've created a whole AU(?) in my head where the crew accidentally ends up in my OC's universe, and this just gives me an excuse to share it

I've heard like,, 2 people wanted me to draw my OCs meeting the Shinsei-Maru crew (excuse me if I got that name wrong) but buckle in! Because I have a hell of a bunch of things to say

So, the AU starts off with a boat trip gone wrong. How about the crew accidentally end up in a whirlpool of some description? I unno something along those lines. They believe they're gone for good until after their demise, where they wake up in a strange world that isnt their own.

Andrew Blyth + Kenji Noda

The first two that meet are the two smartasses, Kenji and Andrew (Also his children - Amarisa and Dion). Kenji wakes up in a bed that isn't his own. He is confused until he sees two children staring at him - ones he doesn't know. Before he gets a chance to speak, the children beckon over presumably their father - a blonde angel. He doesn't look as if hes from this time frame, with a rather old timey-esque outfit. The first thing Kenji notices is that he's surrounded by a bunch of angels, which would understandably startle him. However, as they eventually calm the panicked human down, they begin to talk. To keep it short, they realise a couple of things.

1. Kenji and Andrew seem to have quite a few things in common

2. Kenji ended up in a strange world, and expresses concern about his friends. Seeing as Andrew's occupation consists of studying alternate universes, he reassures Kenji that it's likely they ended up elsewhere.

From then, Kenji is determined to find his friends.

Markus/Mazzul + Koichi Shikishima [+ Akiko]

I haven't exactly decided how Akiko ends up there, but I would like I think Shikishima, Akiko, Markus(the angel) and Mazzul(the goat demon) should all meet. Of course, Like Kenji, upon first waking up in a strange place and seeing supernatural beings like these two, with Akiko in hand, he freaks out. Unlike Kenji who is just heavily concerned, Shikishima is terrified (which notably makes Akiko terrified too, seeing her father fearing for his life). Both Markus and Mazzul reassures Koichi that they aren't going to harm him, despite it being Mazzul's job (Mazzul isn't that interested in collecting human souls since they're more fragile in my universe). As so, they begin to speak with the angel and demon asking about Akiko, where they are and where Koichi came from etc. It's also revealed that Mazzul and Markus were once both in the war as American Soldiers, which concerns Koichi but hey, the war is over. Koichi begins to lightly mention the same thing about him ending up somewhere and his friends being elsewhere. Despite Mazzul's hesitation, Markus suggests they should go look for them. Koichi is eager and despite Mazzul's reluctance due to how dangerous it might be, with Mazzul having a theory of where he could be, he agrees to follow along. But only to stick by Markus and make sure he doesn't get harmed.

Sam Blyth + Shirō Mizushima

Next up, Shiro and Sam. Now, when Shiro first meets Sam, it's Sam who is rather scared. Sam hates meeting new people as the idea terrifies them, but Shiro's goal is to reassure Sam that he isn't a threat, in which he manages. Sam begin to quietly question Shiro on how a random human ended up in their house, and he, of course, explains. Afterwards, Sam suggests that his friends might be around and-- you get the idea. However, Id say throughout their journey, they become best friends :3 I mean,, they are both quite a bit younger than their peers and is seemed weak, but is quickly thought to be underestimated. They bond quite a bit, and seem to get along together really well.

Discord Holloway + Yōji Akitsu

Imagine waking up in a random castle locked up by a demon, just to find that when he's not working, he is very immature and talks a lot compared to when he's working where he's actually terrifying? Thats where Akitsu has ended up at least. Unlike the others, he doesn't have the sort of luck they did. Discord immediately sees him as an intruder and locks him up (It's also extra fun when he's a human, as theyre less likely to successfully fight back. Discord's opinion, not mine :<). He thinks he's going to be in danger but instead, the demon just talk a LOT. Which is arguably worse than death in Akitsu's eyes.

Anyways yada yada they all meet up, heartfelt moment, they find out Akitsu's with Discord, they save the day and get them out safely and Andrew takes them back home, yknow, the cliche stuff. I dont have much to say about this part.

However, it's definitely an experience they'd remember.

Anyways, that's that! Thank you so much for the ask :3 Ive spent 3 days on this and had lots of fun making it :O

It was an awesome way to introduce my OCs to my Tumblr acc too.

[emmedoesntdomath]

Okay

1) I’d love to hear more about the Brooklyn finch theory

2) Id also love to hear what you think about the “Finch stole the slingshot from Oscar and now parades around with it so Delancey knows he can and will kick his butt at any given time”

yessssss

ok, ok. formally introducing: emme’s headcanon of finch being from brooklyn (also known as her most delusional hc to date, but that’s fine). there are actually a number of things that could make this possible. starting from the beginning, we have:

-the newsie info card

now, these we obviously view as canon, because they were made and distributed by disney while newsies was on broadway. finch’s card doesn’t say much, but it DOES say that he ran away from home at an early age. it doesn’t say where home was, which is interesting, but it’s safe to assume that it’s somewhere in nyc. the distance from brooklyn to manhattan is walked every day by race; it wouldn’t have been that hard for finch to cross.

-jacobi scene

when they’re assigning different areas to cover, finch isn’t immediately given a territory. but when jack’s looking for someone to get brooklyn, he picks on finch, and asks him if he’s scared of the turf. finch says no, he’s not (and he says this pretty convincingly), which makes sense if he grew up there. why would he be scared of his hometown, y’know? this affect is immediately ruined, though, when he admits that he’s scared of spot (fair).

-aversion to violence

finch is pretty damn rational, and when the newsies are first talking about striking, he’s the one who points out what happened to the trolley workers. plus, this is the guy who we all assume to be dating ALBERT, and bro is not exactly the paragon of peace. someone has to be more likely to use his brain rather than his fists, right? if he’s the one to be thinking about danger, then can’t we assume he would avoid it? and, like I said earlier, most of us agree that spot had to fight his way to the top (and let’s be real, spot didn’t exactly usher in a reign of peace either). little finch had already run once; what was another time if it was for his safety?

-slingshot

I already explained this one, and I’ll admit that it’s probably the biggest stretch, as it’s connecting two different versions of newsies. the oscar theory isn’t an unrealistic one. also, it’s funny.

-what if he pulled a race?

we’ve all basically decided that while, yes, racetrack higgins is jack’s second, and therefore one of the most powerful rank-wise among the manhattan newsies, he also happens to be just as good as brooklyn’s, because he’s a simp for spot conlon he likes betting at sheepshead. what if finch just saw a certain redhead one day and went yes, okay, he’s mine now? it would hardly be the first time this happened (lookin’ at you, higgins). this isn’t really as much of a reason as a possibility, but I think that’s just as important.

there’s my little rant! now, obviously, this is all speculation and just a personal headcanon, but also (maybe?) gives us more of a backstory for finch.

#newsies #uksies #west endsies #west end newsies #92sies #finch newsies #redfinch #spot conlon #albert dasilva #albert newsies #brooklyn newsies #racetrack higgins #sprace #ralbert #finch x albert #emme’s bad ideas

[rileys-battlecats]

This is an incredibly long ask I’m so sorry

If the [unspecified disaster] was made up of smaller disasters, then MicaClan would probably take huge precautions to not let that happen again. (Unless it was a natural disaster in which case there’s not much they can do.) So I’m guessing the disaster had something to do with outsiders. I may just be reading too much into this, but MicaClan’s distrust for rouges is a huge part of their culture. They keep things between themselves, and if you leave the Clan, you can never come back. That kind of xenophobia seems almost… paranoid. It feels like MicaClan’s distrust for rouges comes from something personal, rather than them just hating outsiders.

So, I wonder, was there a time before the [unspecified disaster] where MicaClan was more open to rouges? We don’t know where their old territory was, but what if it wasn’t on a mountain? What if, in the past, MicaClan often let outsiders pass through their territory. Giving helpful directions for loners and lost kittypets to follow. Making sure they steer clear of any Foxes or Badgers who had recently made their home on MicaClan’s land. I’m sure some clan cats wouldn’t be so happy about this. Maybe one or both of Wren and Robin’s parents were part of that group.

But cats passing through the territory bring things with them, and one of those things is sickness. Perhaps an outbreak of an unknown disease spread throughout MicaClan, killing some but weakening all. Maybe that’s where it all started to fall apart, so perhaps others couldn’t pass through anymore without good reason. But they couldn’t turn down a cat in need of help, and two very sick cats had stumbled onto their territory. With wild eyes and a mouth covered in foam, they were unlike anything MicaClan had ever seen. But soon others started to get symptoms. Maybe the medicine cat caught it, or the leader. A queen caught it and became a danger to her kits, or an elder caught it and had no strength left to fight it. And the other animals of the territory caught it too, including the Foxes and Badgers.

The disease I’m referring to is rabies, which can be incredibly terrifying. With so many cats changing and others dropping dead, and with the threats to the territory becoming far more dangerous, I imagine they were forced to flee.

Current MicaClan (as far as we know) has no disaster protocol. There’s no floodwatch, no tornado warning, and they live on a mountain so they can’t be scared of rockslides(or maybe they can?). But MicaClan actively defends against outsiders so, maybe that’s what the danger was? There’s also Birchspeckle with her watchmen post, so perhaps if a sick cat stumbled up the mountain she could treat them while quarantining? And a mountain is a remote place, not to many cats would be up there, leaving them alone.

I’m now imagining Sweetpea, giving into her curiosity and climbing the mountains to meet the clan cats, busting out her vaccination records while the clan looks in awe.

This is an AWESOME theory!! and honestly way cooler than what I actually have planned—rabies being an incurable disease would also up the ante, since once someone got it, they would know there was no fixing it. Honestly if you wanted to do a zombie-esque story for warriors, rabies would be the thing to use!!

also sweetpea flashing her rabies tag to the clan like an ID at a bar is HILARIOUS I love it

#ask #mudlore theory #now that everyone's putting out their ideas I'm realizing the real disaster(s) will feel so underwhelming lmao #this is such a cool idea though!! #micaclan

[codes]

hello matthew!! :D this ask isnt related to the little game u made unfortunately but id like to ask for some advice from someone who probably has to read a lot for school!!

i finished reading a classic of literature recently, jane austens persuasion. having repeated myself many times today, it was a very good thought provoking book. except that i didnt really realise that until i read the introduction of the book where they discuss her techniques and how she handles the themes!! argh.. in fact while i was readin the whole thing i didnt even really know what to feel! i knew about the instances of titular persuasion but i wasnt even really sure what they were saying with nuance...

since im so troubled by my lack of sensitivity and find no help elsewhere on the interwebs, as someone who i find can parse the complex muddled text of enstars with clarity, what should i do to become a more sensitive reader! or rather how do u read matthew?

hi lab! im a lil honored that u hold me in such high regard bc honestly, i dont always feel that my literary analysis skills are up to par! though i think thats an opinion shared by many but i often end up in the same position as you and even my professors say the same thing where they have to reread books before they start to really delve into analysis. its p normal, honestly. a lot of themes in literature are largely opinionated so some people pick up patterns faster than others and sometimes two readings can conflict with one another. it happens! one reading may be more clearly supported by evidence within the text but analyzing literature usually takes a lot of practice more than anything, but sometimes going back to the basics rlly helps and focusing on which critical theory may be applicable. could you maybe analyze the text through a character? perhaps the psychoanalytic theory may help! are gender roles present within the text? maybe looking at it through a feminist critical lens may give you a good ledge to start off. theres also formalism, post-colonialist, Marxist theory, eco-criticism, etc... the world is your oyster and having trouble with analyzing a text is normal! we're not all-knowing and sometimes it helps to look at what other people have to say will help you most of all.

also i asked my friend @cupidneos who is insanely smart for her advice since i bet that she would have something to say (also shes also a jane austen fan) and this is what she said:

i do wanna say that you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself since Persuasion is easily one of her hardest texts to really extend and make sense of so it’s no fault of your own … literature that uses free indirect discourse to hint towards our knowledge of character tends to be harder to understand bc of how limited that info can be! that being said, not being able to place our finger on something until it’s highlighted is completely okay! that’s what the introduction is there for; to help you out. there’s no set list of criteria to being a “more sensitive reader” since the phenomenon of reading itself is so mercurial. with practice i’m so certain that u will get a better sense of where to look for those literary themes. and don’t sell urself short in doing so either! if u find a passage important, pursue it!!! doesn’t matter what everyone else says abt it hehe

#ask #lab #i hope that helps lab!!!

[the-skzverse-isa-myth]

Clones vs Alternates

If you start to do a little digging into the skzverse you’ll come across alot of different theories, but there are a few elements that alot of STAYs seem to hold as true. or you at least see them brought up alot. i say these things are “Fanon”, since Canon would mean the creators behind the skzverse would confirm something, meanwhile these are things that many Fans believe to be true.

And the “thing” I have seen considered to be fanon, is the skzverse containing parallel universe and/or clones. and i have some opinions on which it is.

*id like to first mention i talk more about how clones and alternates/parallel universes are used differently in media. I tried to look a little more into the science side of clones but im more interested in the moral dilemmas the two bring up.

 i doubt both parallel universes and clones exist in the skzverse simultaneously. Parallel universes are canon in the skzverse, while “clones” are mainly fanon. In Chans room #57, Chan talks a little about what he calls the “skzworld” (seems like he doesn’t use the term “skzverse”). at one point he states that Levanter and TOP are parallel universes of each other. While this does confirm a parallel universe situation between the two MVs, i don’t know if its correct to say that parallel universes existed before these two mvs. one could say that in Side Effects the universe split into two and Levanter and TOP are the two possible endings to the split universe. But then how do we explain Hellevator? It’s pretty much fanon that there are two different versions of skz and at the end the Han’s of each group get swapped. And it ends with us seeing Han-in-the-Dark-Clothing running with Skz-in-the-Light-Clothing through the purple plain.

kinda crappy pic I know, but you can clearly see the different outfits in the mv. This implies to alot STAYs and myself included that the parallel universes existed in Hellevator, but it is not canon. 

sorry this has mostly been a side tangent, I won’t get into my personal thoughts on this whole shebang, but rather i just wanted to point out that the parallel universe idea is canon at least between Levanter and TOP. BUT the clone theory is only fanon and honestly most STAYs are using the term “clone” for alternate skz’s from a parallel universe. which i think is incorrect.

TBH i am using the more literal definition of a clone, meaning i understand a clone as being a genetic copy of some other being and that it was produced asexually* with the purpose of replacing their original**. STAYs may be using the word clone more loosely which is describing something as a clone of another thing because of how similar they are.

*for animals at least, what they do is obtain a whole cell or nucleus from the donor and fuse it to an egg cell and then place this egg cell (now embryo) into a surrogate to grow.

** the “purpose of replacing the original” is more of something ive witnessed in media story telling when human clones are produced.

I choose to use the more literal version since that is the definition i most closely associate clone with. but illl explain why else i dont like the term clone.

 Lets say you have two parallel universes with a huskie living in both. These two huskies are the same dog, they just live in parallel universes to each other. Both huskies came from the same biological parents. they are genetically identical. they also do not rely on the others existence to exist themselves. So for instance, in one universe huskie 1 dies during birth, that doesnt mean huskie 2 in a parallel universe will also die due to huskie 1 dying. Rather huskie 1′s death and huskie 2′s not - dying just show the different possible outcomes of parallel universes. in one universe huskie 1 dies in birth while in another huskie 2 manages to survive. Also while this is confusing given i coined them huskies 1 and 2, these two dogs are THE SAME DOG. 

this leads me into the moral dilemmas parallel universes bring about. if you have other “Yous” in parallel universes, you are all technically the same person. just the same person in different universes with different circumstances. the different environments and choices your other “yous” make affects them and makes them into a unique person but they are all still “you”. you came from the same biological parents. because of this parallel universes lead us to question the what ifs of life, free choice, the butterfly effect, and how much this impacts our identity. Lets say in one universe you decide to pursue medicine, but you end up not getting into med school and you feel like a failure for years. but then in another universe you pursue zookeeping and you excel in it and you have incredible confidence due to it. these “yous” are the same person but because of the different choices they made and the different circumstances that arose they became vastly different people. it leaves you with an overwhelming feeling of importance when it comes to our decisions and how they shape our identity (as well as the impact of environment and how that affects what choices we make.)

Clones are different though, according to how i define it. A clone IS reliant upon the existence of its original.*  (if the original never existed than how you could you make a clone of something that never existed?) A clone is an asexually reproduced being that is genetically identical to its original. The original is birthed by their parent while the clone isnt always birthed by the same parents. Rather the embryo most likely will be planted into a surrogate. they’re also usually created or manufactured for the continuation of the original’s purpose. Clones are made usually purposefully to fulfill some role their original held but no longer can. They’re a “perfect replacement”. Therefore a clone and its original are not the same person in the same way two alternates from two different universes are. Also i believe that a clone and its original must exist in the same universe initially (since the clone on needs its predecessor to exist in order for itself to exist), thus making it harder to understand the theory of clones and parallel universes existing simultaneously. also then its incorrect to call an “other you” from a parallel universe a clone of yourself from your own universe.

*you could say a clone is “existent dependent” on its original while an alternate is “existent independent” of its other alternates in other universes.

This bleeds into the dilemma where alot of the times clones don’t know they are clones. Then once upon finding out, there is a massive identity crisis. when they find out they are a replica, a clone will struggle to understand their identity since they were never really intended to have or make one. They were just made to continue their original’s work or purpose. the clone upon finding out seeks to define their identity outside of their original, which contradicts the purpose of their creation since they were not made to form an identity separate from their original.

To sum up, alternates deal with the effects and consequences of our freedom to make choices that create and change our identity while clones deal with whether it’s possible for a clone to create an identity separate from their original that is their own.

Based upon what i’ve seen in the skzverse when it comes to these “copies” of skz and given what Chan said in Chans room 57 confirming a parallel universe, i believe the creators behind the skzverse intended only to portray parallel universes and alternates. . Levanter and TOP are two possible endings to a story, and we see how skz’s choices affect them. The same can be said about Hellevator. Therefore i think the skzverse has parallel universes and we would call these “other skz” alternates or parallel counterparts, not clones since the definition doesnt really make sense.

As i continue to explain my interpretations of the skzverse, i’ll expand on some of the nuances of skz’s alternates as well.

*i’d like to mention that my ideas of moral dilemmas caused by human alternates/parallel universes or human clones is shaped by representations I have seen in media. Therefore i recognize it may not be scientifically accurate as to how cloning or parallel universes actually are/work. i tried to understand the correct scientific use of clone, but i don’t know the science behind parallel universes. i instead looked at the issues parallel universes or clones bring up in media storytelling and wrote about that here. its therefore an opinion and one im more than willing to hear advice and criticism from. i dont claim to be an expert on the actual science side of clones or the possibilities of parallel universes.

#stray kids #stray kids universe #skzverse #skz theories #skz #skz clones #parallel universe #skz alternates

[brighteyesredfire]

🌟 AI: NIRVANA INITIATIVE | FUCK MY LIFE 4/10

beloved sequel to aitsf it sure kicked me in the balls

I just remembered a google doc i compiled of my post game flurry of thoughts after playing this one and decided perhaps they deserved a little cleaning up and placing here. So Here they are.

TL:DR i liked parts of this game but some really big glaring aspects kind of spat on them and destroyed any persistent good will i still had for it in me...especially reflecting back on it months later.

/ spoilers from here /

To start this is largely a visnov so i wont be saying much about the gameplay, the qte's are what they are i have no strong preference for them either way. I'll mostly be commenting on the narrative here.

God Uchikoshi you really grind my balls sometimes.

To start off, the main twist. We all know it, the beautiful stupid DNA timeline twist that warps at the end and gives everyone a headache when they go oh god wtf is the continuity doing here actually.

After all has been said and done i don't know what the purpose of hiding the fact the story was split the way it was... WAS in the first place. It didn't really resonate emotionally with anything, it was mostly just a confusing 20 minutes of me staring at the screen once it happened. It basically lives in service of being a fun twist... but for what!?! the entire story forces itself to bend around this twist so the player doesn't see it coming (to its own detriment) and it doesn't even do anything with it. It's just there to Be A Twist.

You could rewrite this entire game with Ryuki doing all the past segments and Mizuki all the present somehow, and then just shuffle it if you wanted the presentation to be confusing to the audience lmao. But Bibi secretly being past Mizuki, i really don't know what we get from it in the audience other than LMAO didn't see that one coming!

The most this game gets from splitting the story like this ill grant it is that it does help make the audience almost feel Ryuki's dissociation more because some shit just doesn't make any fucking sense between scenes. The off kilter way characters will just say or mention something that completely confuses you as a player is fun but i don't know if its worth all the bullshit required to trick the audience 😭

The swapping also helps hint at timeline nonsense for SIMULATION THEORY stuff but you could also have just done that without the two Mizuki trick, hell just have mizuki and ryuki be literally communicating between the past and the future instead (zero escape fan jumping out sorry).

Ryuki can shoot someone else to save tama in the past to make the plot go, it doesn't need to be Bibi! Offscreen Abis psyncer #4 get over here like, lmao Bibi's existence just continues to horribly grate for me.

Speaking of, my next gripe, Bibi and Mizuki! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Starting off on a positive note, I liked the interactions her and Mizuki had actually, that is to say i liked them so i didnt really realise why i was so bored recalling them at first.

But it is simply because i don't really care…. about the designer baby twist or secret sister twist like did we need to shove another secret backstory onto mizuki for some reason? it felt. EXCESSIVE. to the point of it being nothing (getting apollo justice ptsd rn dude).

Mizuki could still have been experimented on as a baby unknowingly somehow (renju and shoko wake up) and i don't mind them wanting to explain her hulk strength but like i didn't need the secret clone twin and i was raised at an orphanage stuff.

Also Bibi being so similar to Mizuki personality wise, that they're nigh indistinguishable while playing is just kind of boring. I dont want mizuki 2… id rather a different new character…!?! It also just steals screen time away from... MIZUKI!? WHO'S KIND OF MEANT TO BE THE TITULAR CHARACTER OF THIS SEQUEL. AND ALSO IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE WHY THEY WOULD ACT EXACTLY THE SAME (EXPLODES).

Everyone and their mother has also complained that it just shoots her arc in the first game in the head, i dont need to repeat myself but oh my god bro. I guess it makes Shoko's abuse and Renju's distance almost paradoxically worse if she was adopted too because they would have adopted her into. A FAILING MARRIAGE, its almost cartoonishly bad now.

In retrospect i realise i liked Bibi and Mizuki's conversations just because it felt like caring dialogue between Mizuki and another character, and her getting a chance to be wistful or vulnerable for a few scenes in this game (that she gets alarmingly few of). The thing is, i would vastly have preferred she got these scenes with any other existing characters in the cast… that she actually has a developed relationship with, so it's like a sea of wasted potential. I don't care about Bibi!? Frankly i don't know why Mizuki kind of does!? She doesn't really know her either!? AHHH!!!!

Her one scene where she actually reunites with Date in this game is comically short and undercut bc the plot is fucking zooming by and cant take the time to actually do anything too emotional with it. BUT BIBI AND MIZUKI GET ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO CHAT ON A PARK BENCH. im so angry sorry. Bibi is just so pointless and i hate her twist i hate her purpose in the story, nothing would be lost if she was written out out of this thing to give mizuki a better spotlight.

Regarding Mizuki's writing in general in this game, it is kind of terrible. She can barely do anything with the time she has and she also... barely develops or changes throughout this game despite the list of shitzillion alarming things that supposedly occur to her during its timeline!? (because no one can change bc of the goddamn dna twist).

I wish she was slightly less chipper most of the time considering her 6 years suddenly being abandoned again, suddenly parent-less again without Date and somehow coping. Ryuki becomes a depressed alchoholic in that same time near her, WHYS HE HOGGING ALL THE DATE ANGST….? ITS ALMOST FUNNY.

I almost wanted her to be more similar to how she is as a kid, a bit guarded and combative (acting out or being hardheaded), especially to Boss. It would have been an interesting dynamic seeing as she's her new guardian (and literal work boss). It would make the moments she is happy or upbeat again stand out more. So many of these relationships between games just feel underutilized.

You could make her get along better with Pewter over Boss, bonding via shared trauma or talking about Aiba. Those early few moments they wrote in Ryuki's somnium with her hyping him up and thinking hes cool because of the tech hes made were so good lmfao, but there's barely anything else like them.

I think her hanging out at ABIS more than home after Date dissapears even if its awkward (ryuki, boss, pewter all in the same place) because it's preferable to being alone is so interesting as a thought… but none of this or how it effects her is barely touched on. IT SUCKS!

Let's move onto Ryuki, shall we...

Going into this game no one thinks they're going to like Ryuki over Mizuki, no ones thinking hell yes this new random twink is going to outsell Mizuki in her segments and writing, im going to be madly attached to him over any other reoccurring character in this game. Well Guess What HE DID IN FACT DO THAT. Thats how bad they handle the existing cast in this thing. Uchikoshi we have to stop letting you write sequels.

Ryuki's great, his brain is broken, his got an evil video game virus, hes bisexual, hes fail, he's gods special-est little psyncer, i could go on. The fact this is his introductory game means he actually gets to have a semblance of an arc, which compared to every other character in the game is a big win honestly.

On that note however, there are still downsides. His background is brought up then not incorporated at all which was funny, and i dont have a real problem with it. Though if they never called the masked woman, a woman, i would have instantly thought it was actually his brother, because as a stupid anime twist it'd make more sense than MIZUKI having one. and would have been. like. more interesting lmao.

Im resorting to writing au fanfic now in this review don't hold it against me but that is how much i dislike the bibi twist. You don't need to make his secret dead brother an ABIS agent either to take her role, he can just be fucking, vigilante man. Invent a good reason he didn't say anything to Ryuki here, its not that hard, maybe after his accident Chikara grabbed him and did x amount of horrible things to him and only after he died did he find freedom. Then over the next 6 years remember who he is, YOU DID IT TO DATE LIKE. LOL CMON.

His brother resents a choice he made blindly pursuing justice and it ruined his life. Just like a certain Mr Ryuki does in this game? Who is trying to cope with forgiving himself, now reflected back? Hmmmmmmmmm ? Cmon. Cmon. im giving this away for free.

I used to have an idea brewing in my head too over marco somehow being based on his brother, or having part of his brother in him but that would require some heavy rewrites like just make shit up territory now roflmao but ..! Yknow ! My point is we could have given any of this more relevance and it would have been probably better off.

Speaking of TheBestCharacterInThisGameRyuki, hes offscreen for some significant endgame time to the point that he felt almost like an afterthought, which was also amusing. Also, and perhaps this is due to the nature of the timeline lying to you, it just seems like at the end of the game hes just like dont worry. I got better 👍 and we then just moved on from his problems lol.

One of what'd be his most pivotal scenes is offscreen? We get the peptalk from Date after but its still kind of ridiculous. We don't get to see the depressed bisexual man see the guy he loves on screen again for the first time after thinking he killed him for six years!? Mizuki's Date reunion gets shafted, why is Date even in this damn game.

And, I mean Ryuki is probably still mentally ill and coping better after date has re-alived but as for how the timeline was resolved its just a little flippant regarding his emotional arc, it kind of peeters out... the fucking secret routes almost more of an ending to his character development lmao. Yet, the meta stuff is also underbaked, i wish it had more relevance in this actual plotline.

Moving onto the rest of the cast...!

CAN YOU FIX DATES FUCKING FACE UCHIKOSHI.

Regarding the others - Lien and Kizuna dragged Mizuki segments down considerably on account of they suck; they were both snore and nothing characters. Remove or redo them completely or even just tie their character development to OTHER CHARACTERS and not each others godawful ROMANCE.

Have Lien be more tied to his Gen, Date bestie trio (even his past with moma!? wow something for him to do in this game) or have Kizuna relying on Iris in her rough time after getting caught up in an explosion instead (and wow here's something for Iris to actually do in this game now too). Just stop gods worst straight pair ever written in these games PLEASE. U CAN KEEP THE DUMB PROPOSAL JOKE SCENE IF U REALLY NEED TO. BUT JUST HAVE LIEN GO FML…okay w/e and move on. stop this.

Mame as a character to focus on was great, Gen can be written less tropey and melodramatic so i dont fucking laugh at all his cutscenes but otherwise, he was fine. Outside him also being in love with Amame (stop doing this). I liked Shoma and Square Dad just fix his head its so hard to take him seriously, in my perfect world Shoma gets an older model and doesn't get hit with super non aging but i can let slow growth go…..for now…..

Tama and Aiba were great, i do think there needs to be some sort of resolution over Date and Mizuki sharing aiba now that hes back…maybe this is where marco can come in and be Mizuki's new permanent in the epilogue scenes lmao, (blue!) though she still switches Aiba in sometimes bc thats her ai mom… :)

At this point im dreaming up things to make myself feel better because i hate thinking about this games execution. All of this crap essentially boils down to, we had to sacrifice a bunch of shit to make our big twist work, and it wasn't even a good twist and i dont know why the fuck we did it.

Good aspects and characters saved it at times, but ultimately, this games feels like a waste and a wash and a sea of lost potential.

#writing #remembered these were sitting in my drafts i may as well make them viewable again rofl

[sophisticatedjunkieslut]

The Beginning Of The End

so I told you about my first time, but like I said that kid wasn't an addict. I think someone gave it to him so he decided to do it that night. now I wanna talk about the place where everything REALLY went down. I really really want to keep this anonymous so im gonna change some names. A lot of this time of my life is a blur. my memory has snapshots and parts of what happened. some of it I may never remember, but that's okay because there was a lot of trauma that came with this. I sat with one of the very few high school/middle school friends that ended up using with me. before I start, I want to say this is not his fault, he's always been a great friend, and when you're on drugs, it feels like your doing someone a huge favor by sharing. well call him S. S liked uppers more, but we always would hangout and usually end up sharing with each other. I was breaking off a tiny piece of my perc while he smoked a rock. this was over a year after the D situation happened and I had slowly begun taking "perc 30s" (oxy 30s) that were actually fentanyl. I don't remember weather or not I knew, I think I did. I had been around a guy that would do 4/5 a day. at first I said no, but it didn't take more than two nights of being there for me to give in to what I already knew would make me feel amazing. but that's a story for a different day. The point is, I already was doing fentanyl and I knew It deep down. S told me he could get me some more if I wanted, of course I wanted. he did the exchange and left me in the car a few times while he ran in and got it for me. he didn't want me to meet the dealer, and I knew why. im not perfect, but for a junkie I look pretty good, im only 22. I didn't take long before the dealer opened his door and waved me to come in. I was so happy, I knew S wasn't but I was gonna get these percs for much cheaper. I knew he made money off me but I don't care because I did the same to him. I sat pretty quiet. I remember S giving me a look when the dealer (J) walked out of the room. he was laughing but slightly annoyed, but like I said we've been close since age 12 so it wasn't a big deal. J walked back in the room , he looked at me and smiled "are you sure you want to get these hun? they're the same thing as the brown I have they're just more expensive, you're doing fentanyl either way". wow... I had never had a dealer help me out like that before. its sad that that's my first thought, which just confirms my theory that normal people don't do heroin, you kinda have to be pretty fucked up to do something that you know could kill you just so you can have an escape for a short time. "0h, yeah Id rather be able to get more, you can just give me whatever you can for 60" did I really just say that?? did I just buy heroin? he weighed it out and handed me a bag full of tons of brown powder. I did a small bump and was immediately in heaven. I know people say once you feel heroin, nothing will every be the same. while I agree, I almost feel bad for the people who haven't experienced it. I know that's weird, and I would never offer or push anyone to do heroin, however it is so amazing. will spend the rest of my life hoping to go out in the hospital with a fentanyl drip. I keep having strange dreams about it, god my body wants to be high so fucking bad. if someone walked up to me with dope in their hand, I would grab it and run away to my closet, lock the door and wait for paradise. I love that song. anyways, im gonna keep writing unless the craving becomes unbareable, as fun as it is to reminisce, I miss it so bad and I don't want to slip. at least my brain doesn't want to. my heart says where's the dope. anyways, J slipped me his phone when S wasn't looking, he had the new contact screen open. I can't go any further right now, ill finish this tomorrow

[oreomonsterhunter]

“I’m not wearing my sexy underwear tonight”

Pairing: Johnny x reader (or OC)

Word Count: 3988

Genre: fluff, not smut but they both really wanna toe the line

Warnings: language, some sexy kisses (cover your eyes kids)

Summary: Johnny takes his best friend on their first date

A/N: this has absolutely morphed into a long term couple, because apparently Princess has taken the reins 😂 if you like this, check out the rest of their story so far on my masterlist!

You were nervous.  Friends with Johnny since diapers, and somehow you were nervous to meet him in five minutes.  You glanced at the time—make that four minutes.

Pacing back and forth in front of the door, you smoothed down your dress again.  All Johnny had told you was to dress up.  He might be a fashion king, but he wasn’t exactly the best at sharing details.  You’d teetered between twenty different outfits before finally settling on a happy medium.  Couldn’t show up to a museum in an evening gown.  Well, you supposed you could, if you even owned one.  So the little black dress at the back of your closet was the final choice.  Safe enough for just about every venue, since Johnny hadn’t told you where your date would be.

You sucked in a breath, fighting against the nerves tight in your stomach.  Your first date, oh my gosh.  How were you supposed to date Johnny?  You’d done practically everything together already, what made this different from going to the movies together last week?  Aside from the obvious—last week, you didn’t know what Johnny’s lips felt like on yours.

Then you groaned at your sudden realization.  Jeez, you couldn’t do anything right in this relationship with Johnny.  You were about to have your first date but you’d already had a hot and heavy makeout session at an unmentionable hour of the morning.  So much for “will I kiss him afterwards?”  Dating for five seconds, and everything was already out of order.  You wanted to scream, but before your thoughts could really start spiraling, you heard a knock at the door.

You were sweating, oh gosh.  Did you need to reapply deodorant?  You froze, staring at nothing.  Until another knock sounded, this time accompanied by Johnny’s familiar voice, “Yo, are you ready to go?”

You sagged in relief.  Nothing else would have snapped you out of the nervous cycle better than Johnny being….well, Johnny.  And when you finally convinced yourself to open the door, the sight of his easy smile was enough for yours to appear, too.

“Well, uh, hi,” he stuttered, making you giggle.

You slipped on your shoes, grabbed a small purse, and locked the door behind you.  Then you linked arms with Johnny, “Alright, where to, mystery man?  You haven’t told me anything.”

“That’s mostly because I didn’t figure anything out until today.”

Biting your lip to hold back a giggle, you tugged him down the hallway.  “No wonder you didn’t share much detail.  I should’ve known.”

Johnny tightened his grip on you when you stepped out of the elevator, leading you to the car.  He didn’t say much, which was a bit out of character.  Frowning up at him, you tried to meet his gaze.  He finally looked down at you when he opened the passenger door for you to get in.  “You, uh, you look really nice tonight.”

A small smile bloomed, “Not looking so bad yourself, hot stuff.”

* * * * *

Apparently Johnny had picked out a restaurant for dinner.  A fancy restaurant.  You read through the list of entrees with a barely-concealed grimace.  “Do you know what any of these words mean?” you asked him.

Johnny beamed at you, “Nope, that’s half the fun.”

A waiter walked by with a tray destined for another table, and you both gaped at the miniscule portion sizes.  “Those look like appetizers,” Johnny said, goggling at the tiny salad. “Maybe I can order several steaks. I’d need about five of them.” He started eyeing the menu again.

“As long as you’re picking up the tab,” you joked.

“Oh, I thought you were,” he said, all wide eyed innocence.  You smacked his arm with your menu, fighting a grin at his usual antics.  The couple at the next table shot you a look, and you hunched back in your seat.

“Don’t worry, I’m paying.  Order whatever you’d like,” Johnny said, still puzzling over the ridiculous dinner options.

You frowned, reaching for your water.  But shoot, it probably cost five bucks for tap, you thought with no small amount of horror.  You set it back down before you drained more of Johnny’s wallet.

After a few more minutes of torturous silence, trying not to fidget too much, you leaned forward.  “Do we even have a waiter?”

Johnny jerked upright, looking over his shoulder at the man in question.  “I don’t know?”

“I’ve been trying to make eye contact with the staff for five minutes and they’re all ignoring me.”

Johnny blinked at you.  “Wait, are you ready to order?”

“No, I wanna ask if they charge for water.”

“No one charges for water,” he chortled.

“I bet it’s five bucks a glass,” you said, crossing your arms.

Now Johnny was really laughing, and half the restaurant was staring at your table.  “Only if it’s imported from the crystal springs of Iceland,” he said, grinning.

“Wait, really?”

“Hell if I know,” Johnny said, making you snort some of your water.  You shrunk down in your chair, hiding your red face while he kept laughing.

“I don’t know this man,” you said to the people at the next table. They stared at you, whispering among themselves.  Pouting, you turned back to Johnny.  “I can’t believe you booked a table here,” you cocked an eyebrow at him.  “I thought we were burger joint people, not escargot snobs.”

“Do you really not wanna eat here?” he asked, propping his elbows on the table.

You opened your mouth to respond, but your waiter finally showed up to take your order.  “Good evening, can I interest you in anything else to drink?”

“Any Icelandic sparkling water?”  Now Johnny was the one snorting inelegantly.

The waiter laughed, despite not knowing the joke.  “Can I interest you in a bottle of red?  You seem like a red wine woman.”

You smiled politely, reaching for the wine list when he offered it to you.  “Sure, I’ll take a look.”

The waiter smirked, eyes landing on you.  “I’ll have to card you, miss.”

Your brows raised, but you complied, digging out your wallet.  Across the table, Johnny cleared his throat, “Do I look like a red wine guy?”  But the waiter barely glanced at him before his eyes were back on you.

“Your photo doesn’t do you justice,” the waiter commented, handing your ID back.

“No one looks good in those pictures,” you chuckled.

“I beg to differ,” he said, then nodded at the wine list.  “What can I get you?”

You glanced over at Johnny, who was fidgeting enough to shake the table.  Curious.  “What do you recommend?” you asked, twirling a strand of hair around one finger.

“You might be interested in one of our finer vintages,” he began, leaning over your shoulder to point out a few wines on the list.  You heard a subtle sound, and out of the corner of your eye, saw Johnny’s fingers rapping the table at a rapidly increasing pace.  You bit your lip, focusing on the wines again, but not before adding a little more fuel to the fire.  Time to test your theory.  You crossed your legs, brushing one foot up Johnny’s calf in the process.  The man jumped as if electrocuted, his knees banging into the underside of the table.

“How about this one?” you asked innocently, looking up at the waiter again.

“A lovely choice, though it is on the higher range, so I’m not sure—”

“We’ll take it,” Johnny announced, plucking the wine list from your fingers and shoving it at the waiter.

You raised an eyebrow, but the waiter simply smiled at you, apparently unbothered by growly Johnny.  “I’ll bring that right out for you,” he said, taking the wine menu and leaving you to suffer over dinner options.

Johnny cleared his throat, leaning towards you again.  “That waiter’s a bit weird, huh?” he asked, watching the man walk away.  “He didn’t even ask what I wanted.”

You donned your best sparkly-eyed expression, “But he’s being so friendly!  He really deserves a nice tip, he had some helpful suggestions.”

Johnny frowned, “He’s obviously flirting with you.”

“No way,” you laughed, waving him off.

Johnny rolled his eyes, “Trust me.  He’s flirting with you more than I am, and I’m the one taking you on a date.”

You leaned forward, resting your elbows on the table.  “Maybe you should start flirting with me some more, then.”

Johnny sent you an indecipherable look.  You wondered if your teasing had worked.  But Johnny seemed to have calmed down some, now that the helpful waiter was out of sight.  

You shrugged, sitting back in your chair.  You changed the subject, giving the man a break.  “Seriously, we don’t need to spend this much on dinner.  I feel bad.”

“I thought you’d like this place,” Johnny said, brows furrowing.

“I will literally go anywhere with you, it doesn’t matter, I just….I dunno, I feel like I don’t fit in here.”  You weren’t quite sure how to express your fear that people would call you a gold-digger or something, only dating Johnny now that he’d achieved success.  Even if the two of you knew better, it still made your stomach twist.  And not in the nice way it did while watching Johnny’s hands playing with his water glass.  Shoot, shoot, shoot, now his fingers were wet from the condensation.  You really didn’t need to know what that looked like.  Had his hands always been that large?  You shifted in your seat.

Johnny’s mouth twisted in a wry smile, “I don’t know if either of us really fit in with the rich old person vibe, but I heard the food is good.”

I’d rather have a bite of you, you thought to yourself, twisting the napkin in your lap.  You’d never seen him in a suit before.  Or at least, not in person.

Johnny coughed suddenly, staring at you with wide eyes.  “What?”

Oh shit, did you say that out loud?  Your cheeks burned.  “Um, I’d be, uh,” you stuttered, trying to cover your mistake, all confidence extinguished.  “We could get burgers, or something.”

Johnny sat back in his chair, eyes on yours.  He smirked, and you wanted to disappear into a hole in the ground.  Oh no, he definitely heard you.

“As long as I get to keep watching you,” Johnny said, voice low.  “You really are beautiful, not just tonight.  Every night.”

You opened your mouth, not sure what to say, but knowing that you wanted Johnny to keep looking at you like that.  Like you were the main course.  “Johnny, I—”

“Your wine, miss,” the waiter had returned.  You bit back a frown, knowing he was just doing his job.  But he seriously couldn’t have waited another minute?

“Thank you,” you murmured, sampling the first sip before allowing the waiter to pour both glasses.

“Can I interest you in any appetizers?” he asked, pouring Johnny’s wine.

You blinked, having forgotten the menu entirely.  Across the table, Johnny pulled out the menu, but before he could point anything out, the waiter was hovering over your shoulder.  “Might I recommend the cheese board?  It will pair beautifully with this bottle.”

“Might I tell you my order?” Johnny said.  His smile was sharper than before.  You might have teased him some more, but you got a bit distracted by Johnny’s jawline as he turned to speak to the waiter.  Honestly, you were having trouble tearing your eyes away from him all night.  It felt like seeing him for the first time, and in a way, you supposed you were.  You’d always known Johnny was attractive, since the time all boys started to look cute.  You’d just never let yourself think about it too much.  Best friend mental boundaries and all that.

Maybe if Johnny hadn’t said anything on that night, you wouldn’t have ever seen him like this.  You wouldn’t have allowed yourself to admire the column of his neck, or his long fingers as they unbuttoned the top of his shirt.  It would’ve been you and your stupid butterflies trapped in the friend zone forever.

Thoroughly distracted now, you bit your lip as you wondered what Johnny’s neck would look like with some new decorations.

“You realize they sell food here, right?  You don’t have to look at me like I’m an appetizer,” Johnny whispered across the table dramatically.  You startled, looking around, but the waiter had left at some point during your daydream.  Oh gosh, did you drool?  You pressed the back of your hand to your face discreetly, relieved to find nothing of the sort.

Then your brain caught up to Johnny, and you looked up at him with a smirk, “You’re too big to be an appetizer.”

Johnny choked on a laugh, covering his mouth to hide his smile when the other diners looked your way.  When he appeared to have himself under control again, he eyed you from head to toe—or at least what he could see from across the table.  He shot you a grin, “You’ll find out soon enough, won’t you?”

You watched him through your lashes, not quite sure what to make of him anymore.  You’d had your fair share of fun with other guys, but never in a million years had you imagined flirting with Johnny so blatantly.  Let alone in a fancy five star restaurant like this.

A sudden presence at your side startled you, and you jumped a little when the waiter reached over your shoulder to set a dish down.  “Sorry for startling you,” he murmured, moving away slightly, but not before brushing your shoulder in apology.  “Should I leave you with this for now, or are you ready to order?”

Johnny’s eyes flashed, and you bit back a curse at the waiter’s truly stellar ability to interrupt.  “We’re fine, thank you,” you said, unable to stop watching Johnny.  Or his hand, slowly tightening into a fist on top of the table.

“Would you like to hear the specials tonight?”

You donned a polite smile, nodding at the waiter to continue.  While he read down the list of fancy-sounding entrées, you turned your smile on Johnny, who was vibrating in his seat again.  You could’ve sworn your water glasses were shaking, and you held back a giggle.  You uncrossed and recrossed your legs, extra slowly to make sure he got the message when you “accidentally” brushed his knee this time.  The vibrations stopped, and his eyes burned into you.

“Thank you, we’ll keep looking over the menu,” Johnny interrupted the waiter, his voice deeper than before.  Your smile only grew.

Once the waiter was out of earshot, you leaned in.  “Can we leave?  I can’t even kiss you here.”

“Yep, yes, absolutely,” Johnny said, standing up the second the words were out of your mouth.  He nearly upended the table, making you snort.�� “Right now,” he nodded, striding for the exit.

You scrambled out of your chair, rushing after him.  “Johnny,” you hissed, grabbing his sleeve.  “We didn’t pay yet.”

He came to a halt in the hallway, and you nearly ran into his back.  Then Johnny turned around, and you became very aware of the semi-secluded location as he moved closer.  You squeaked out a panicked, “Not here!”  You backed away until he finally reached out, one hand circling your waist to reel you in.

Johnny’s eyes moved over your shoulder, then back to yours.  He smirked, leaning in close enough for you to feel his lips brushing your cheek as he murmured, “Tell the valet to get the car.  I’ll grab the wine.”

You could’ve sworn you felt his hand brush down your back, lower.  Your cheeks burned hotter.  But when you turned, Johnny’s broad shoulders were disappearing around the corner, and the waiter was hurrying in the opposite direction.

* * * * *

You ended up ditching the car and walking around the neighborhood.  You only looked slightly out of place with your high heels and makeup when you ended up at a tteokbokki joint.  You’d played rock paper scissors between that and burgers, and Johnny won, as usual.

After dinner, you were reasonably close to your apartment, so Johnny offered to walk you home. It felt like another one of your late-night adventures, except you were usually in sneakers. When your feet got tired, you stopped in the middle of the block to take off the killer heels, sighing in relief.  You slung the straps over your wrist, prepared to keep trudging along, when Johnny swooped in.  One second, you were on the ground, the next, you were admiring the top view of Johnny’s ass from where you were dangling over his shoulder.

“Johnny, what the fuck,” you asked breathlessly, dying of laughter.  And from his shoulder digging into your diaphragm.

“Are you crazy?  You could cut your feet open,” he scolded you.

“At least there’s a nice view,” you sighed, reaching down to pat his butt.

Johnny put a little bounce in his next step, and you grunted at the impact.  You could practically feel his smug little grin.  “Hands off the merchandise.”

“How is that fair?  You totally copped a feel back at the restaurant.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Bull,” you said.  “You went all ‘alpha male’ with that nice waiter.”

Johnny huffed, “I wasn’t jealous.”

You grinned in victory.  “I never said you were, mister offering-up-information.  Now put me down, you caveman.”

Johnny’s grip on your thighs loosened, and his hands slid up to your waist, holding you tightly as he helped you back down.  You froze for a second when your feet hit the ground, not expecting to be face-to-face with him so suddenly.  “Wait right there,” Johnny said firmly, finally releasing your waist.

You blinked at him in confusion, watching as he slid his suit jacket off.  Your eyes widened when he reached for you, but it was only to wrap the jacket around your waist, tying the sleeves into a knot to hold it in place.

“There,” Johnny said, nodding at his handiwork.  Then he turned, crouching down slightly.  “Alright, princess, hop on.”

You beamed at him, not that he could see it.  It wouldn’t be a walk with Johnny if he didn’t end up carrying you at the end of the night, you chuckled to yourself.  You were fiercely grateful to Johnny for thinking of his jacket—you weren’t quite sure how long your skirt was, now that you were wrapped around him like a koala.

“Thanks, Johnny,” you mumbled, burying your face in his neck.  “You’re the bestest.”  You left a smacking kiss on his cheek, and he laughed, tightening his hold on your legs.

Finally, you arrived at your apartment building.  You slid your heels back on, balancing with one hand on Johnny’s arm.  “I’ll walk you up,” he said once you straightened.

But when you got to your door, you hesitated, unsure what to say.  Was this the part where you kissed him goodnight?  You were torn, so at odds with the way the night resembled your old friend dates, only now things were different.  What were you supposed to do?

“So,” Johnny drawled, leaning against the wall.  “Where’s my tip?”

You stared at him, incredulous.  “Your tip?” you repeated.

“Johnny’s chauffeur service isn’t free,” he said.  “And if I remember correctly, you still owe me for last time.”

You cocked a hip, smirking slightly.  “Any preferred payment methods?”

Johnny blew you an air kiss, and you made a show of catching it.  “I take cash or card,” he informed you.

“What a shame,” you murmured, dropping your purse in front of the door.  “I seem to have lost my wallet.”

He watched you carefully, barely blinking as you approached him, one slow step at a time.  “Apps?”

You stopped mere inches away, “Not a single one.”

He swallowed, and your eyes tracked the movement.  Your daydream from before came back with a vengeance—you bit your lip at the thought of marking him up.  Then you leaned in, resting one hand on his chest.  His heart pounded through the thin dress shirt.

“Will this do?” you asked, lips just barely brushing his.  Nothing else touched, aside from your fingertips on his sternum, but you could’ve sworn you felt him shiver.

Oh so slowly, Johnny reached out, hands ghosting over your hips.  You smiled against him, then melded your lips to his, bypassing whatever hesitations were holding you back.  What was the worst that could happen?

You felt Johnny teasing at the seam of your lips and gratefully opened for him.  He inhaled sharply when you inched forward, your chest brushing his.  You couldn’t hear anything but your heart racing.  And when his fingers dug into your hips, you fell into the kiss.  He pulled you in like a magnet until every part of you aligned with him.  Your limbs felt molten, burning at the contact.

Johnny pulled away, but not for long.  You gasped for air as his lips traced over your jawline, making their way to the delicate skin beneath your ear.  He pressed hot kisses there until your neck arched back obediently.  And when he nipped at your throat, you whimpered.  Thoughtlessly, your hips rocked forward.  Johnny gave voice to a deep groan, so you did it again.

Growling lightly, Johnny curled an arm around your waist to pull you harder against him.  All of the breath left your body at the feel of his growing hardness against your belly.  You fisted your hands in his collar, tugging him away from your neck.  You caught a glimpse of his kiss-swollen lips and blown out pupils, then dove back in for more.

While your mouth danced with his, your hands dragged southward.  Your fingernails caught on a button or two as you traced the muscle beneath.  Now Johnny’s hips were bucking into yours.  You grinned savagely into the kiss.  You’d just reached his belt when Johnny ripped his mouth away from yours.  “Woah, woah,” he gasped.  “Slow down, there.”

You panted for air, “What’s wrong?”

Both of you were breathing hard, and you were having a hard time ignoring the elephant in the room.  Er, hallway.  “You’re not trying to take advantage of me on the first date, are you?” Johnny asked with a breathy chuckle.

You laughed softly, tilting your chin back to get a good look at him.  “Is it really taking advantage if you want it, too?”  You smirked at him, rolling your hips forward to emphasize your point.

He watched you through half-lidded eyes, and you could’ve sworn you felt him throb.  But Johnny, ever the gentleman, smoothed his hand down your back, resting his head back against the wall rather than picking up where you left off.  “Cut me some slack, I’m not wearing my sexy underwear tonight,” he said with a crooked smile.

Oh no, now you had heart eyes for the man.  You pecked his chin to hide your cheesy grin.  “You let me know when you are, hmm?” you hummed, placing another kiss to the base of his throat.

“Princess, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for you.”

You giggled, leaning back in his arms.  “Am I so scary?”

Johnny sobered, meeting your gaze.  “I just don’t want to mess anything up.  Not with you.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” you smiled at him.  “I trust you too much.”

“Oh yeah?  You still haven’t told me what you wished for on your fourteenth birthday,” Johnny taunted.

You tilted your head, thinking back.  “I didn’t tell you because I was hopelessly in love with you at the time,” you confessed.  “Now that’s out in the open, I guess you can know.”

Johnny blinked, taken aback.  “Even then?”

“Johnny, I think I’ve loved you forever,” you said, staring up at him.  “So of course I wished for the same thing every year.”

“What was it?”

Your smile widened, “Well, it already came true.  You said it, too.”

* * * * *

Masterlist

#johnny fluff #johnny imagines #johnny scenarios #johnny fanfic #johnny x reader #johnny suh fluff #johnny suh x reader #johnny suh imagines #johnny suh fanfic #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct fanfic #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 fic