#is this something the game designers were actually thinking of when designing the mural?
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Thinking about that mural from DE
You know which one
TRUE LOVE IS POSSIBLE ONLY IN THE NEXT WORLD, FOR THE NEW PEOPLE. IT IS TOO LATE FOR US. WREAK HAVOC ON THE MIDDLE CLASS
The next world mural. In the game, you encounter this piece very early on if you interact with everything available, you probably see this mural before you've ever even heard of Dora or before you've started to get really serious about your commie tendencies, if that's how you choose to play. And the reaction is like, "wow, this is kinda profound actually". Or maybe it's like, "oh lol, this game really is commie af isn't it" (even though later on it turns out that the game is much more critical of communism than you'd think at first). And the story in the ledger provides some insight into Harry and Jean and how they work together too, so it feels like it makes sense, it fits in very well at that moment in the game and that's it.
But looking back at this mural after you've played through the entire game, knowing what you know of Harry's relationship with Dora...
It's Harry's own fucking love story in a way, isn't it?
Him and Dora came from very different backgrounds. He's genuinely poor, grew up checking the trash cans on the streets for tare and edible food, spent his teenage years running around with a bunch of kids who all OD'd or got themselves killed one way or another over the years. He had dreams of getting an education, getting a chance to use his creativity and curiosity and learn about all that that is worth exploring in this world (which is everything), but those dreams are long dead. She's solidly middle class, with access to all the education and art and music he's always dreamt of, with her family to always fall back on. She's everything Harry's ever dreamt of growing up. She might as well be living in another world.
They fall in love with each other and she moves to Jamrock to live with him. Jamrock, the biggest fucking ghetto in Revachol, full of tweakers and gangsters and just thousands upon thousands of poor people permanently down on their luck trying to get by, with no proper aid or government and a police station so understaffed and underfunded they never even stood a chance. And they can barely make ends meet even living in Jamrock, moving from shithole to shithole, never knowing when they'll have their electricity cut, when something will happen that gets them thrown out, desperately scrambling for a new place to stay. And Dora could never do that, not really - she never actually lived in Jamrock, she always had the possibility of leaving, of going to work across the river and visiting her parents whenever she felt like it or just escaping, packing her shit and getting on the tram and never going back. And as long as she knew she wasn't really, truly stuck in this miserable shithole forever, she wasn't ever really living in Jamrock. And it could never be enough for her.
And she wanted more - for herself, for Harry, for their family, who even knows. Maybe she saw Harry struggling trying and failing to make a difference as a gym teacher and thought he could do more good with the RCM. Maybe she was getting desperate, living in this fucking shithole, and thought they needed more money. Maybe it was something completely else - but what is certain is that Harry ended up joining the RCM, and the 41st, and everyone there is on speed, everyone is miserable and desperate and always running behind playing catch up with the case load, with the crimes, with the drug addicts and rapists and murderers, and Harry, who's always been like this close to a genuine mental breakdown, just fucking falls apart. He needs to help people, needs to make a difference, and working at the 41st, with the budget and case load and staffing situation and the pure fucking misery in the area. He goes out and meets a miserable person after a miserable person and he can't do anything else than be nice, make their day a little bit more manageable, do his best- but he knows that no matter what he does, his best won't be enough. He won't be able to make a dent in the pure fucking misery that is Jamrock. But he needs to, so he drinks, he smokes, he does drugs, he loses any semblance of control he ever had over the voices in his head, the dude telling him to hit shit and the dude telling him to forget everything and just get fucked up and Revachol herself screaming at him about her imminent death. And in the end Dora can't stand it anymore and she leaves (and, honestly, good for her. I'm happy for her. But this is about Harry, and Harry isn't, he isn't able to be happy for her at this point in time).
And like. I personally doubt that she'd have left just because of the money if everything else was good. I honestly even doubt that the money was that big of an issue for her to start with, it was all the other issues first and then the fact that they couldn't even rent a fucking VHS and play it at times became just one more thing on top of this already massive pile of shit that broke the proverbial camel's back. But in Harry's mind, he was never rich enough for her. She was always the middle class girl who settled for the poor fuck, and he was never gonna be good enough for her because he was just a broke dude from Jamrock. She was perfect and so so beautiful and at one point her love was the only thing keeping him going, and then she left because he couldn't even
And from what we can see in the game she was the only person he's ever really, truly loved.
But in his mind, they could never be together again. They could try as they might, but it was never gonna work out, because she was a rich girl and he was just a poor miserable fuck. He grew up looking for change on the streets, she took piano lessons in a fancy part of town. The difference was just too large to ever truly be bridged.
So for post-breakup Harry, prior to Martinaise and even during the events in Martinaise, true love was never actually possible. It is possible only for the new people, in the next world. It was too late for him - he had his chance, and it was an impossible thing, it could never have worked out and now he's wasted it. Because of the inherent differences between different social classes. It is too late for him. So yeah, fuck it, wreak havoc on the fucking middle class. Fuck those rich bastards who took Dora from him, and fuck Dora too.
On another note, this was also one of the most recent cases him and Jean worked on prior to Martinaise. I don't remember the date exactly, but it was in his last ledger, it must have been pretty recent. Do you think he saw the mural and thought about it the same way I did? Maybe this was the one that truly pushed him over the edge? The impossible love. It truly was too late for him. The only way to fix it is a new fucking start. And how do you get that?
After life - death. After death - life again.
#disco elysium#harry du bois#harrier du bois#dora ingerlund#DE#herr's personal tag#next world mural#when first playing the game I didn't even really stop to think about the middle class line#the love part of the mural honestly felt very powerful to me#and I opened the compartment and read the letter right afterwards#so i had a lot to think about in addition to just this#anyway#this is more of a “what if” rant than any actual metaanalysis#our story about Dora is extremely influenced by Harry's point of view#but at the same time#every design decision in this game is deliberate#or most of them anyway#is this something the game designers were actually thinking of when designing the mural?#was that an intentional decision on their side?#or is it just me reading too much into random shit while missing important details elsewhere again?#who knows#midnight rant
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it's a wonderful life
day two of junkissed's svt season's greetings event
member — angel!jeonghan x reader
genre — fluff, strangers to lovers
word count — 2.2k
synopsis — how were you to know that a holiday trip to the toy store would lead you not only to a sexy doctor who’s good with kids, but also a real-life angel?
warnings — spoiler alert jeonghan is the sexy doctor, mention of alcohol (wine) at the end and reader is implied to be a lil tipsy, one (1) kiss
notes — lowercase intended. this is the result of me watching too much "the good doctor" recently gsdkhf. when i first wrote this i wasn't very happy with it but after reading it back i really like it hehe :) hope you enjoy!
one reblog = one heavenly toy store
a bell rings cheerily above your head as you walk into the store.
on the outside, it looks like any other toy store, but the second you open the door you know there’s something special about this place. stepping inside is like stepping into a whole new world. the walls are decorated in colorful murals, shelves, and artwork from kids.
“can i help you find something?” a voice asks.
you turn to see a man wearing an apron, holding a stack of board games under one arm.
“i’m jeonghan,” he smiles. “i own the store.”
you don’t know why, but for some reason you feel the need to introduce yourself. you’ve only just met this man, but you have a sense that he’s… important.
“nice to meet you,” he says, shaking your hand.
you look around. you’ve come in before your shift, so it’s still early; not many people around. “if you own the store… then, who’s angel?” you ask.
“hm? oh!” he laughs. “no, it’s not ‘angel’ like somebody’s name. it’s angel, like, actual angels.”
suddenly the crayon halos on the drawings by the register make a lot more sense. “that’s cute,” you smile. “must bring in a lot of people during christmastime, right?”
“it’s a magical time of year,” he agrees with a wink, “you never know what might happen. so what are you here for? what kind of magic can i get you?”
you pause. “well, i need to get something nice for the little girl i babysit. she’s, um… she’s just gotten out of the hospital,” you say, trying to find the right words to describe the situation. “she’s been through a lot this year.”
your friend’s daughter was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer a year ago, and after months of chemo and many surgeries, she’s finally cancer-free, just in time for the holidays. so of course, this christmas will be extra special, and you can’t disappoint her.
jeonghan nods, lost in thought. “you know, i think she would love this,” he says suddenly, turning down an aisle and waving for you to follow him. “it’s a new item, we haven’t put them out on display yet, but it’d be great for her!”
the way he talks as if he knows the little girl throws you off a little, but you brush it off as him just being passionate about his job.
he pulls out a kit from a large box, clearly waiting to be loaded onto the shelves. it’s a doll set themed like a doctor, complete with little bandages and a stethoscope and everything you could want if you were a child obsessed with
“it’d be perfect for her,” he beams, handing it to you. how he knows it’s perfect, you have no clue, but it does seem like just the thing for her.
“i’ll take it,” you smile, following him to the register.
the next day you’re picking up your morning latte from the coffee shop on your way to work when you spot a familiar head of blond hair waiting at a table near the entrance.
“hey! jeonghan, right?” you ask, and he lifts his head from his book.
his face brightens, and he greets you by your name. “hi, yeah! good morning!”
you motion to the empty seat across from him at the table. “are you waiting for someone?”
“not anymore,” he says, flashing a smile. he slides a colorful bookmark in between the pages of his book, and you notice the scribbled design, clearly made by a child. he sweeps his arm out, motioning for you to sit. “are you rushing off anywhere?”
you pull out the chair and set your bag by your feet. “kind of, but i can spare a few minutes,” you giggle.
you notice his outfit, much more professional than the last time you saw him at the store. “how about you? going somewhere fancy this morning?” you ask with a laugh. “a date, perhaps?”
he laughs. “no, no dates. just work.”
you frown in confusion. “do you– always wear a suit to sell toys? i mean, you look great, but i’m sure the kids don’t care what you wear–”
he laughs at your misunderstanding. “ah, not that work,” he says. “the shop is more of a… side project,” he explains with a chuckle. “the rest of the time i’m a pediatric oncologist. children’s cancer doctor.”
“oh, wow!” your eyes widen. there were a lot of assumptions you’d made about jeonghan in the short time you’d known him, but being a doctor was definitely not one of them. “that’s… wow, that’s impressive. and you run the toy store, too?”
he nods. “the toys in the gift shop at the hospital weren’t very… good for kids,” he says. “so i guess you could say it’s more like a charity thing. every month, i bring a bunch of toys from the store for some of the patients.”
you remember the conversation from yesterday about the gift for your friend’s daughter. you’d called them to make sure it was something she’d enjoy, and it turns out jeonghan couldn’t have been more correct: they said her current dream was to become a doctor, all she’d been doing the last week was scheduling check-ups for stuffed animals and giving flu shots to the family dog.
now, with this new information about the mysterious yet friendly man from the toy store, you can’t help but wonder if he knows your little girl, or maybe even treated her. you make a mental note to ask your friend for the name of their doctor when you see them next, to confirm a suspicion.
“sounds like you’re a busy guy,” you say with a smile.
he shrugs, stirring his latte with a wooden stirrer. “can be tiring sometimes, but it’s good work. i love it, and i love the kids.”
“so you’re a doctor, and you run a charity, and you like kids? what can’t you do?” you grin, taking a sip of your drink.
he laughs, holding up his paper cup. “make coffee.”
“i’m just surprised i haven’t seen you around more often,” you say. “it’s a fairly small town, yet it seems like all of a sudden i’m seeing you everywhere.”
the conversation fizzles out then, and you sit there, taking small sips of your drinks and pretending not to stare at him. he’s got this glow around him, like you can’t take your eyes off him.
you stand and start to turn to walk away, but an instinct makes you stop. like you’re being pulled back to him, like there’s still something you need to say.
you clear your throat. “i, um, i usually get coffee in the mornings before work here. maybe i’ll see you around?”
he looks up, meeting your eyes. “i’m sure i’ll see you again, very soon,” he says with a smile. “but just in case i don’t, here’s my card.”
he hands you a business card, and it seems to shimmer in the light. yoon jeonghan, head angel, it says on one side, with a list of numbers on the back.
he blushes and looks back down at his book, pretending to study the title. “call me if you ever need something. or, uh, just if you want to.”
you grin, shifting your bag higher onto your shoulder and slipping the card into your back pocket. “i’ll do that,” you say with a smile.
the third time you run into jeonghan is in a place you’d least expect an angel to be: the highway.
it’s been a week from hell (metaphorically) at work, and this morning you’d not only forgotten your phone at home, but then your car’s battery died on the way home from your closing shift. you’d just barely been able to make it to the side of the road before it died, forcing you to either wait in your car in the cold, or walk the half mile to the nearest exit to call a tow. you’d opted for the latter.
a shiny white car pulls up next to you, the driver’s side window rolling down to reveal a familiar face. “need some help?”
you look up in shock. “jeonghan? what are you doing here?”
“sweetheart, i should be asking you the same thing,” he laughs. “why are you walking along the highway at eleven o’clock at night?”
“car battery died,” you explain with a sigh.
“i figured,” he says, raising his eyebrows. “now, are you going to let me give you a ride, or not?”
you don’t have to be told twice. your fingers are beginning to freeze, and you would literally rather be anywhere right now than standing on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.
the heater inside the car is wonderful, and you breathe a sigh of relief, pushing your hands against the vent to feel the warmth.
finally starting to warm up, you glance over at jeonghan, clearly on his way home from work, too. his white dress shirt is pushed up around his elbows, and the first three buttons are hanging undone, revealing pretty pale skin underneath. you have to drag your eyes away from him before you get caught staring at things you shouldn’t.
“doctor work or toy store work today?” you ask for the sake of conversation, even though you already know the answer.
“doctor work,” he confirms with a nod of his head.
“how was it? if-if i’m not prying.”
he pauses. “the usual, i suppose,” he sighs. “good news, bad news, hard decisions.”
he clears his throat. “so where am i dropping you off? house, apartment, boyfriend’s apartment?” he asks hesitantly. “or girlfriend? somebody?”
“just apartment,” you answer with a grin, telling him what you hope he wanted to hear with that question. “it’s just me.”
he looks over at you, his whole face lighting up. the moment is really nice, until you realize, his face is actually lighting up.
“jeonghan! your, um… why is your head glowing?”
his eyes flick back to the road for a second. “no– no reason,” he says, his cheeks turning pink under the light.
you stare at him, dumbfounded.
he sighs. “you don’t believe me.”
you watch his hands, holding tightly to the wheel.
“what’s going on? are you, like, a demon, or something?”
“ouch,” he cringes, glancing over at you. “no, i’m an angel, actually. the halo goes off sometimes when i’m… happy.”
you sit in silence, mouth hanging open as he continues to drive. “well, at least it makes sense now.”
he raises an eyebrow, but his gaze doesn’t move from the road. “so you do believe me.”
“do you wanna stay for dinner?” you ask suddenly. there’s so much you’re dying to know, dying to ask him, dying to figure out what the hell is happening.
the car is dead silent for a few seconds, and you’re starting to think you’ve imagined this whole thing and you’re actually still back in your freezing car, dying of hypothermia. until jeonghan finally speaks, and you know you’re in for an interesting night.
“you like takeout?”
a pepperoni pizza, one bottle of wine, and many, many questions later, you’re laying on your couch, trying to process everything that just happened.
an actual, real-life angel is sitting on the floor of your living room, and not only is he a doctor, and he’s great with kids, but he’s also unfairly hot. and maybe it’s the wine talking and you’re more than a little tipsy, but all of a sudden you really, really want to kiss him.
“jeonghan?” you sit up, reaching out for his hand. “are you allowed to kiss me?” you whisper.
he looks up at you, his eyes searching yours. “if you want me to,” he whispers back.
“you won’t get in trouble with the angel people? or, like, god?”
he chuckles and stands up, moving closer to you. “i might. but it’d be worth it, for you.”
and then his hand is on the back of your neck, pulling you gently towards him, and suddenly you’re kissing him. his lips taste like clouds (what the hell do clouds even taste like?) and his touch is softer than anything you’ve ever felt, the tips of his fingers gently grasping onto your jaw and he leans into you.
you pull away after a while and sigh, the fog in your head beginning to clear.
he’s sitting next to you, watching you in what you can only describe as anxiousness.
“why me?” you ask quietly. “i know you did it on purpose, meeting me all those times. but why?”
he laughs softly and reaches out to touch your cheek, thumb tracing your cheekbone. “i don’t know why. but i’m drawn to you.” he tilts his head to look at you. “i think… i really like you.”
he pauses, bringing your hand up to his mouth and pressing a kiss to your fingers. “i’ll take you on a real date, yeah?” he says. “somewhere nice.”
“it’s a miracle,” you nod, giggling. “i found an angel.”
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#svthub#seventeenweeklyarticle#🌃 : june.writes#❄ june's winter wonderland! ❄#jeonghan fluff#svt fluff#seventeen fluff#jeonghan imagines#jeonghan scenarios#jeonghan x reader#svt scenarios#svt imagines#seventeen imagines#seventeen fic#svt x reader#svt x you#svt x y/n#jeonghan x you#jeonghan x y/n#m: jeonghan#g: seventeen#c: fluff
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dunno if you've already answered this but they're about to graduate, so what are the ros plans and dreams? do they all want to go to college? if so, which ones are they aiming for? what subjects? or jump straight into a job? travel around a bit? i'm just curious about these characters, i love them lol
i love questions that make me think ! this one's a bit long, and I gave you a lil bonus at the end, but thank you for your interest in my babies <3 I twirl them around in my head like a microwave !
Dylan──artist! artist! artist!! mainly sculpture work but also trad painting and murals!
Dyl has quite a hard time in school to begin with so the thought of going on to do more school literally seems like torture to them. They already have a small commission based business with their art (mainly portraits but they've had some murals and two sculptures!) so all they'd really need would be a boost in outreach. Dylan might be persuaded to take community college classes for specific types of art if only for the experience and the qualifications but scholarly college/university? nuh uh no way!
Shay──head empty, no thoughts??? he's struggling to see sense in American colleges or universities... Not that English ones were any better... He keeps pushing the thought of it off but he knows in his heart that it won't be for him... but what else is there?
What is he... good at? He's good at maths, he guesses... Video games??... Making his friends laugh, helping strangers smile... Quite honestly I can see Shay stumbling is way into YouTube or TikTok stardom just by being himself! He's naturally charming (in a heartwarming way not a flirty way) and very entertaining. Lmao if C ropes him in to their gap year travel plans he'd be down for it─he doesn't really have a yearning for travel but spending time with his friends on what is essentially an extended vacation (which turns into a learning and helping experience he really enjoys) he's so down for it! Our boy's just a bit lost and clueless right now </3
Kinsley──her mother demands university classes in law... but her mama would've told her to follow her heart, right?
Kinsley has... Expectations... placed upon her. For her to go to university and double major in law and business so she has a choice in which avenue of the family she wants to continue with... And she might take on the business classes but not for law or accounting... She remembers when she was younger, when her mama was still alive (when her mother still cared) and they attended a fashion show─a runway─and she was... mesmerised. Kinsley doesn't know if she wants to design clothes or rooms or what but she does know that following her mother's path is slowly killing her... she just doesn't know if she had the strength to disobey.
J──if J could never work a day in their life they'd be just fine! Certainly not in law or politics, just to spite their mother they'd be a stripper!! (In reality J is very good with engineering and would do well with cars and motorbikes! The dream of all dreams is to actually design one under their name!)
J is very good at school, they simultaneously put the work in and are also an information sponge that doesn't need to work that hard at all... That doesn't mean they want to be in school more than they legally have to be! They're stuck in a limbo situation currently, between wanting to spite their mother (who wants them to clean their act up and follow her into politics) and setting a good example for their sister, Arabella, and not completely wasting away their education... They're not going anywhere until Bells is safe for their father's eye (and wrath) and no longer under their mother's thumb but they wouldn't mind travelling (especially going back to Italy to visit family!) J might go to university for a more in depth education in motor engineering─which is what they're both good at and really into, but most of all it's something that would just kill their mother's plans and spirits so... that might be the plan after all!
Theo──something to do with music... or! Yes, the environment! Theo knows that while their parents have cast dark shadows, they would support Theo with anything they want to do─so much that they feel like they could do it all!
The thing is, most of Theo's long term dreams all need some sort of further education and they can't do them all at the same time (that and they're still kind of scared of failure and their dyslexia only adds to their anxiety) but! becoming a Horticulturist or a Conservation Scientist or a Tree Surgeon may just be worth it! And hey, if C can convince them and MC into going on a gap year to travel the world then Theo gets to help the environment and participate in different music scenes!! (A plan seems to be formulating in their brain)
bonus!
C wants to take a gap year to travel (they will rope Theo, MC and Shay into it!) and when they come back they want to use their journalistic skills for good use and either become a travel writer or something like it but local!
MC has the option of taking over the family business but their family supports them in anything they want to do!
V has the wits to become a very good bio─physicist, it's only a matter of what they're willing to do to get there that's the problem!
#piece of the pie if#all ros#dylan quinn#shay walker#kinsley grace-cameron#j montgomery#theo wesley#c west#v williamson
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I love totk, love it with all my heart. But even I feel a bit disappointed with a lot of the aspects.
The one that gets me the most is just, the Zonai in general?
When I think back to botw, I remember all the wild and exciting theories and thoughts about what the Zonai could be.
I remember theories that they were some iteration of the Kokiri because the spiral symbols were similar, and a lot of the structures were in forests. I remember everyone being so sure that they were a warlike race because the Barbarian Set were found exclusively in the Lomei Labyrinths. Everyone was wondering what the owls, boars and dragons meant to them.
Then we actually get to see the Zonai, the big mystery of botw and there's just.
Nothing.
All we learn is: there’s 2 of them, they had advanced tech, and they had magical macguffins.
It feels so hollow knowing there was so much potential for another race to be introduced to the Zelda universe and we essentially get Sheikah 2.0 with some Mesoamerican vibes.
We don't even learn anything about them as a race, like where the rest of them went or how they were accepted so easily as rulers or why they're called "Secret Stones" when it seems like everyone knows what they are.
The only real upside to this total lack of info is that it lets people with actual creativity create headcanons and fits without having to worry about being canon compliant.
Just rings hollow.
Yeah, I absolutely feel that. I think the Zelda theorists, and I both include myself and say this with all the love in the world, tend to overhype the specificity of things that tend to remain vague in Zelda (and sometimes that vagueness is great, because it's exactly what fuels us next!), but.... I have to agree that Zonais really didn't deliver on that aspect for me either.
To be frank, I was never super into Zonai lore (because I was never super into BotW lore, but it's really on me and not at all a criticism or anything, the community and I missed each other on the hyperfocus moment), but I got super interested to see the Mesoamerican vibes going on in this game to the point where, when Nintendo dropped the Gameplay trailer and I got... honestly pretty underwhelmed (like design wise that sounded great and fun but it kind of cemented the sort of playground direction they were going with, and it got me pretty worried about other aspects, namely the story :) ), I decided to spoil myself with the leaked artbook just to give me... something to latch onto I guess? Because I really wanted to get excited! And the Mesoamerican vibes did the trick: I got super curious about what that could mean, what the Zonais would bring to the table culture-wise, what sort of cool legends involving them would be investigated, etc... Also it just wasn't a kind of setting that Zelda ever really explored (and still has not, in my humble opinion), so it kind of quieted down my worries of having a game that looked so similar to BotW in terms of artistic direction, to the point where I became afraid it wouldn't have anything different to say (which... ended up kind of being my final opinion, unfortunately).
I think the Zonais both lost a lot of their mystery while not really clarifying anything? I kind of would have loved them to remain otherwordly figures, almost? Or maybe to just have hints of a culture that would be very different to Hyrule's, instead of basically the same thing but with robots and things fly around also --I would have loved deeper implementation of Mesoamerican mythos or cultural elements, instead of it remaining.... kind of a costume, honestly? Like, what even is zonai culture, beyond the automation (which was already kind of the Sheikah's thing anyway?) Where do the stones come from? Where are the other zonais? I'm not asking for direct answers, but just enough vagueness, murals, legends, ancient spirits to set the theorists' brain on fire. The Depths would have been amazing to hint at more (and doubly so for the Sky Islands), but right now, in spite of having spoken to two different live (kind of) Zonais, I still have zero idea what their deal is. They could have been hylians and nothing would have really changed.
So, yeah! Agreed! And sorry for the late ask aaa
#asks#tloz#totk#totk critical#totk spoilers#zonai#thanks for the ask!!#the last part being why I really do not buy the whole “mesoamerican coded” reading of totk#because??#like if I dress up as a native american for a party it doesn't make me native coded it just makes me rude#I would love for them to actually be mesoamerican coded (in a good rich interesting way)#and invoke the complexity of their power structure their religious practices their economical exchanges... make chocolate super valuable!!#or for ganondorf to be this invading force mirroring the spanish invasion#(given the gerudos in oot loosely referenced the invasion of spain that could be interesting too)#like then sure!!#but here it's just...ganondorf is the underdog power-wise!! so the comparaison doesn't go anywhere!!#plus he was the one living in Hyrule first! the game establishes this!! nobody asked the game to do this but it does anyway!!#anyways!!! sorry!!!#got a little offtrack here oopsi oopsi#totk storytelling confusing
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The Missing
Having read the latest Dragon Age comic there's really not much i have to say about it. We follow Varric and Harding on their mission to find Solas, and get to see them meet some characters from previous comics like the Crows Viago and Teia, and some Tevinter Nights characters as well. The premise is simple: there's an artifact somewhere and everyone's trying to get it -Solas, the Venatori-, and our party is trying to find Solas so there they go. We get to see a little bit of Tevinter, and a little bit of the Arlathan Forest which only made me wonder how certain things could be made in the next game (distorsions in the very fabric of space-time are always interesting to me, there's a lot that could be made with that setting, gameplay wise).
As i think i've mentioned before, these side media are often made in preparation for the next installment in the series, the Dragon Age comics have rarely been lore-heavy for newcomers and hints for veterans are few and cute but not exactly groundbreaking (they better leave that for the actual game!)
Only one frame caught my attention:
In this scene out party has arrived at the temple lost in the Arlathan Forest where they expected to find the coveted artifact and Solas himself. Alas, both are gone already, but we as the readers are treated to these murals, one familiar and one not.
I'm not saying Solas was the only elf capable of making such murals but he's been practically designated as the artist behind nearly every elvhen mural seen so far, and that wolf one is no exception.
Is the location in the comic the same as in the trailer? We can't tell for now.
But it's the other part of the mural that i have to focus on. I had seen it before -spoilers can be unavoidable sometimes - and it bothers me considerably that it wasn't until i saw it on my own copy that i realized something.
People almost immediately interpreted the figures to be Ghilan'nain and Andruil, particularly because the one standing has a headpiece that very much resembles one of the upside-down figures in the trailer's mural
This, coupled with some previous concept art led people to believe the figure should be Ghilan'nain..
...or is she?
You see, the recent Dragon Age vinyl came with gorgeous cover variants, depicting the city of Arlathan before and after Solas' action, and the latter shows what seem to be the faces of most of the other Evanuris
Their headpieces are the same as shown in another part of the trailer
The moment this one came out everyone tried to guess what design corresponded to which Evanuris. I tried it too but didn't take notes so excuse me i'm not trying again now,maybe later
When i looked at that panel in the comic, it hit me. The sitting figure, with the half-moon headpiece, the same as in one of the gods on the trailer mural, the same as the grotesque sea monster...might not be Ghilan'nain. Despite all possible readings covered so far, it may actually be..Andruil.
"Whaaaaaat??" you may say, but hear me out. Check the body language in that mural. It's loving, tender, one is lying on the other's lap, they look like lovers. As Andruil and Ghilan'nain are presumed to have been. With Andruil being the senior one, i think it makes more sense for her to be the one sitting, looking down at the other resting on her lap. If the headpieces the Evanuris wore were in any way related to their name or atributes, that alone changes how this scene can be understood. The resting figure's headpiece looks like two horns; which Evanuris was related to anything with horns...antlers...halla? Ghilan'nain Mother of Halla. She was so proud of the halla, the creation that granted her godhood, the one that still roams the land, why wouldn't she reference her finest work with her crown?
Whereas the other figure, seemingly more imposing, stronger perhaps, has a headpiece that closely resembles..a halfmoon, people thought. But let me offer an alternative: a bow. Andruil, goddess of the hunt. "Sister of the Moon, Mother of Hares, Lady of the Hunt". Her preferred weapon? Bow and arrow.
We know Andruil hunted in the Abyss, that it drove her mad, tainted, and apparently Horror of Hormak distracted us all because we thought it had to be Ghilan'nain, with her experiments, her monstrous creations, her underground labs of lyrium-induced genetic disasters. But what if it's not her, but her lover? What if it's Andruil? She "put an armor made of the Void and made weapons of darkness. She brought plague to her lands and howled things meant to be forgotten". She could very well be the giant sea monster in concept art. Monsters so massive don't need weapons, and that one is holding a spear. The devs note mentions "evil gods", and ok sure, Evanuris being evil is kinda debatable but the one we know for sure lost her freaking mind was Andruil.
Besides asking who's who, i think we should also consider why they're depicted like this in a mural, specially if we consider the very likely possibility that Solas made it. We know very little of his relationship with the Evanuris, other than Mythal. He didn't approve of them for sure, but he also still holds a deep love for all his people. We have at least one story that connects him with Andruil and Ghilan'nain, which is a bit odd, to say the least.
That's all i have for now. I think i'll read all the pre-Dreadwolf comics soon and work with that. Thanks for reading :)
#Evanuris#Ghilan'nain#Andruil#Dragon Age#Dragon Age The Missing#not my brightest writing i'm a bit rusty#maybe the two merged and that's why the creature has two sets of arms#everything is possible
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So I don't currently have the mental capacity to properly write anything for that apocalypse idea but I do have more thoughts for it so just. Uh. Here.
They all live inside a walled or fenced in area together collectively - Their homes start out simple and their space starts out small. It's not that they can't get creative with it but that they don't have the resources. With the mobs laying siege to them and half of them being injured, shelter in more important than aesthetic. But, you know, an apocalypse doesn't only last for a few months and eventually with all their new skills and friends they outgrow what are essentially little huts - and they know so much more. They have a library of information and people who were actually architects and engineers and - well- people have built really nice houses WITHOUT fancy architecture degrees for millennia. So they start expanding, pushing out into the forest and clearing they call home, making paddocks for their animals and big warm houses for all the couples that were together before or are together now. And, well, this kind of is their job now so they take their time. Little intricate details that dont provide anything but happiness. Handpainted murals. Designing rooms to justify 'finally making that quilt' or 'well, you know, I've always wanted a really big window for reading...' Little signs of who lives where, design elements that are only there for the happiness of the residents.
And I'm trying to thinking based on like, s9 right, who would do what. Beef would definitely be involved with the animals - he's incredibly good at wrestling the sheep for shearing and the cows don't frighten him and he finds he likes the chickens - Bdubs and Scar take on building design and building and its an interesting learning experience for both of them because Scar goes from cane user to wheelchair user and everything in between but he insists on helping build. Its a little challenge to figure out what he can help with on bads days and also convincing him to take a break because 'well today is a good day and if i don't finish it NOW I might not be able to do it tomorrow' and his friends having to learn the difference between being pushy and babying him versus like, knowing HE'S pushing himself and needs to take a break. Ren resource gathers - he learns to cultivate trees and plant them because, well they can't just infinitely cut down the forest. Cleo and Joe learn to process their animal products and make things with them - wool into felt and thread, leather into bags, rescuing things from what people elft behind and tailoring them.
And like in that time, they discover you actually have a lot of downtime when you don't have capitalism staring down your back. They start making games, building and making things just for the love of it - experimenting with redstone, learning each other's skills, picking up hobbies they wouldn't have tried before.
Also i'm thinking like - Cleo, Doc, Tango - all the monster hybrids. I think Tango maybe isnt a hybrid to start out with but in their downtime, in their learning semi-lost knowledge, they discover how to open portals to the nether and - well, something happens to Tango in the nether. I don't know...how yet and I don't really have the brainpower to think on it, but. He becomes a blaze hybrid. I don't think its like a blaze bites him, I think its more like. Some low lying barely there magic thing. Whereas Cleo - Cleo maybe starts out human but they get bit by a Zombie when they're trying to defend their home because no matter how much Etho plays up how scary they are, they never got good with a weapon and well. And they fall sick, and their skin starts to mottle, but they never...die. They pull through. But something has inherently changed. They lived wrong - and its a heavy moment to realize they lived but they're...different. Rotting. Needs raw meat or else they start feeling sick. And there's never a moment where any of them even consider killing them or putting them out of their 'misery' - it was only ever about 'how do we adapt to this, what can we do to help'. Doc is the only one I truly have no idea on but I do want my creeper hybrid man somehow. Hm.
Anyway - yeah. Just. Learning new skills and utilizing old ones in order to make a safe haven for themselves and others in the middle of an apocalypse. I don't think they all knew each other beforehand but I think they come together as the apocalypse is happening because like the more people in an area, the more mobs - so large cities would clear out but larger groups would honestly be okay but being alone would be worse than being together and just. dlfkshfdg
#Stitch Talks#Stitch's Writing#Hermitcraft#Apocalypse AU#sorry if this is rambling i am very tired but im feeling soft#ive been watching wool and beeswax processing also can you tell
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kurai and fyren are both wonderful designs!!! do they have lore behind them like the other gijinkas? I wasn't sure if they would since you didn't seem interested in sv. either way, I love them!
If I'm being honest, I'm actually very interested in the substance of the games. The story is probably the best they've put out since gen 5 imo (right after we got out of one of the worst with the last gen lol). I love the characters. Having the three stories split up was something I'd never think to do that ended up benefiting the pace of the game really well by not having any one story either derail or stifle you with its delivery. It's just a shame it got rushed out and released in an unacceptable state :(
ALL THAT ASIDE they have some lore yes.
for fyren, he's a singer and performer from the underworld (the same one that exists in my other stories) but there's not a lot of details about his actual life. he has a very extroverted stage persona but is a lot more mellow in their personal life, which is very jarring for people that try to get close to them; once it's revealed they're not nearly as gregarious, a lot of people usually drop out of the running for their friendship--in the very least, this means that his friends are mostly people who actually appreciate who he is.
he has a small romantic history with souta. i'd consider them similarly mysterious and had a mutual shared interest in sort of 'figuring out' the other. souta's genuinely extroverted and fun-loving, so i think fyren was attracted to all those qualities that they merely emulated on stage. it didn't ultimately work out because fyren's one passion is his music and performing, and someone they'd be involved in would have to share that goal and also not mind being second to it. they would also have to deal with dating a famous-ish person. so, yup, didn't work. they're still friends though :)
kurai comparatively probably doesn't have as much interesting lore, but i always imagined him as some disillusioned college graduate. pursuing a field that relies on a lot of networking and connections didn't serve him well, though, because he's horrible at basically all of that and didn't have the determination to push through his feelings.
he has a very difficult time communicating with others normally, but it's even worse when it comes to his work, because he can get defensive over his artistic vision and hates explaining it to others. he can come off as very defensive because of this--definitely regrets opening his mouth 5 minutes later, so in the end he ends up avoiding others or shutting them down before disaster can happen.
i think he does lots of freelance work but, like i said, very difficult to work with. works a ton of odd jobs to compensate, but permanent employment is a bit more dicey because they usually want him to start dressing and acting differently so, yeah, not happening.
the giant paintbrush is used for a lot of abstract murals. also graffiti sometimes but he's had to slow that a little bc ppl were catching on. some of it negative attention but even the people who thought he was cool he wanted to push away :(
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some thoughts about pokemon violet. spoilers ahead!
there are. quite a few graphical glitches and messes whbejrvhr. sometimes trainers and pokemons eyes get stuck closed for a while, camera clips into the floor during battle, a sunflora i was in battle with and therefore Very Close To moved at a lower frame rate like other faraway entities. hough the homeroom scene..... almost everyone in that room looked so janky.
but tbh? i've been having too much fun to care too much about that specifically. the rest of the game is pretty :)
wish i could stop the minimap from spinning. i can lock the map app to north but not the minimap????
THE FOOD ILLUSTRATIONS ARE SO GOOD I WANT TO EAT THE ICECREAM SO BAD
rip pixel pokemon and item icons though </3 i find them more charming. also the icon for persim berries is too red and its bothering me, persim berries are PINK this is BRIGHT SCARLET
idk how pokemon icons on the minimap work either i'll be running all over the place it indicates and not find the pokemon its showing. i want a charcadet :(
i chose sprigatito but was THIS close to choosing fuecoco because of the first cutscenes. quaxly having to tell fuecoco not to eat the burnt orange whjegjevdj
miraidon my beloved asshole lizard who eats all my sandwiches. i gotta rewatch any and all miraidon scenes with koraidon when i'm done with the game, the first cutscene with the houndoom was SO COOL
PEOPLE WERE RIGHT ARVEN IS THE PROFESSOR'S KID
there were a couple nods to older games! a book in the library talks about someone seeing the stow-on-side mural get broken by a copperajah, another book talks about pewter crunchies, and the meditative seat art installation in artazon are items you could buy in oras as decoration for your secret base. i know every game has callbacks to previous ones but the stow-on-side one caught me offguard because thats a spoiler isnt it?? the other one surprised me too but more becaue Why do i remember this one specific base item. i havent touched oras in years
a library book also said Hydreigon and Volcarona got alt forms like donphan did and i need to see them IMMEDIATELY
as far as i've seen in the library, the pokemon that get those forms are donphan, tyranitar, volcarona, hydreigon. and Delibird. which i find hilarious bc its all these threatening scary pokemon and then. DELIBIRD.
WHY DID MY BELOVED LECHONK EVOLVE INTO AN EMO BOY
so far out of the new pokemon. the only design i dont like is spidops. spiops. i forgot how to spell it. where did my cute little yarn ball go :( maybe its just New Pokemon Doesnt Look Like A Pokemon Yet Syndrome but there is just SOMETHING about spiops's design that doesnt sit right with me
miraidon jumping is a little janky sometimes idk??? also i got stuck in a pond once and it could NOT climb out no matter where i tried. i had to fly out
i already like tera raids a lot more :') i HATED how max pokemon could shield and move multiple times and all that. i dont have online so max raids are damn near IMPOSSIBLE for me to do because the ai sucks That bad. i feel like with the time limit thing and infinite revives i could stand a chance doing it solo. this is just me talking about the early 1-2 star raids though idk how it'll go later on
i did get one odd glitch where my first attack didnt appear to deplete the hp bar, but then a few attacks later it looked like it had hp left but it fainted? my damage just. Didnt Show for some reason while still registering as damage
i think they fixed the overlevelling problem bc i was even getting my ass kicked by wild pokemon sometimes HKWBDJBF. i was cruising through fast like i'd gotten used to in xy to swsh, so i was actually underlevelled a lot. mela almost curbstomped me
THE CAR IS A POKEMON THEY WERE RIGHT ITS AN ACTUAL POKEMON
mela walks like manga emmet lmao
clodsire. thats it thats the bullet point <3
in conclusion i am having a BLAST. i absolutely adore this game so far!! i'm honestly able to overlook anything that bothers me just because i enjoy it a Lot. like of Course i still wish the subpar graphics werent subpar but Who Care look at my clodsire his name is Mousse and i love him
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Falling for you ( Falling from Grace ) Jungkook x OC
Summary : Friends with benefits? Or maybe Enemies who just happen to fuck? Areum and Jungkook love driving each other crazy, but also can’t keep their hands off each other.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Author’s Note : This isn’t a chapter update. Just a snippet of how they met ;)
Two Years Ago ~ How they met.
“So, first day at work?” My sister gave me a bright, vibrant grin as she watched me shimmy into my slacks , struggling to yank the skin tight fabric up my legs.
I was half tempted to just choose something a little less form fitting but, Jung Hoseok, my soon to be boss was a hot piece of ass and I wanted to make an impression.
The kind of impression that would end in me , under him , horizontally. And him well, inside me preferably. God , he looked so hot in those fitted suits of his , dark hair falling into his face . That sharp as a blade jawline and that beautiful damn smile. He was so humble and friendly, which meant that he had a gorgeous daddy dick and knew exactly how to use it.
My sister, so attuned to my thinking , read my mind like a book.
“Don’t even think about sleeping with your boss again. That's how you got fired the last time remember?” She said sharply.
I rolled my eyes.
“I quit. Because he lied about being divorced. There’s a difference.”
“Still Hobi is a stickler for rules , don’t do anything stupid.” She warned.
I grinned a bit.
My perfect, holier than thou sister would never understand the thrill of good sex, I thought . And one look at Hoseok told me that he had bomb dick game. And men didn’t really care about rules when they saw my ass in this particular pair of pants. It was a theory tested and proven.
“Its not stupid to want to ride a gorgeous man into the sunset. It’s the only fairytale ending I believe in “ I said loftily.
“Well, I’m only looking out for you , Areum. I am incredibly proud of you for landing this job. Jeon Inc., is one of the biggest conglomerates in our country. You did well.” She looked annoyingly bright and cheerful for someone who had actually got up at the ass crack of dawn to make me breakfast and had then driven half way across Seoul to deliver it at my apartment.
I loved her with my whole entire heart but my sister had a tendency to sometimes treat me like I was still five years old.
Which I loved, most of the time.
But not when I was already running late for the first day of work.
“unnie, i love you but you need to go suck Seokjin’s dick and leave me alone.” I grinned wide at her and she turned an alarming shade of red.
“Areum!!!!!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So, you’ve familiarized yourself with all the Office policies, right?” Hoseok narrowed his eyes at me and I groaned.
“Yes.” i muttered, morose.
“Yes?”
“Yes sir.” I groaned. God, he made me want to kneel down and suck his dick but also made me want to knee him in said dick, at the same damn time.
“Especially the clause on interpersonal relationships in the office and the dress code.”
I gritted my teeth.
Ugh, no amount of daddy dick was worth putting up with being talked to like an errant school girl ,
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now, we have a well stocked wardrobe department in the fifth floor. I would suggest you go change into a more suitable pair of work pants “ He waved his hand, dismissing me and I turned around, trudging back to my desk.
So much for nailing the boss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was a little awed that the company had a bunch of things for the employees . Things I’d never heard of before. There was an actual ‘nap’ room where you could take a twenty five minute nap , once a day. A wardrobe department for when you needed to change your clothes and a whole garden out in the terrace for team meetings that were informal.
Apparently, the entire set up had been designed by the younger Jeon kid, Jeon Jungkook. The whole thing was patented in his name and he was also a super talented digital artist, evident in the bazillion gorgeous murals mounted all over the office, all of them signed with a beautifully scripted “JK”.
I hadn’t met him yet but he was apparently incredibly smart, incredibly handsome and also the biggest man-whore in the entirety of Seoul.
Which fair enough. i didn’t begrudge good men the right to pussy. And if he was getting so much of it, he was probably good at what he did. That was cool.
What wasn’t cool, was him apparently leaving his cum stained fucking pants in the closet in the Women’s section . The same closet i had dug into five minutes ago looking for appropriate clothes , only to have my hands met with a damp, sticky white mess that clung to my fingers like ...well like cum.
“What the fuck....!!!” I screeched in disbelief, stumbling back and landing hard on my ass, shaking my hand in despair like that could get rid of the grossly disgusting mess that now coated my digits.
Completely out of it, I wiped the mess on my blouse of all thing, realizing a split second too late , what a bad idea that was.
“Oh, gross!!” I sobbed out in disbelief .
“You alright, angel?”
The words came from right behind me and i whirled around, surprised.
I got the wind knocked out of me as i stared at the fine , fine specimen standing in front of me. ‘
it was a face that looked like it was straight out of the most luxurious fashion magazines in the world. Beautiful ebony black hair that fell into deep, almond shaped doe eyes. Eyes that fairly glittered with mischief. He had a nice strong nose and a beautifully red pair of lips , quirked up in a wide smile.
“You alright?” His voice was perfect, not too deep but with a masculine cadence to it.
He was completely shirtless, grinning like it was going out of style, as he pulled on pants over his gloriously muscled thighs. I watched him carefully tuck his underwear in, before buttoning the pair of jeans up.
He was tall, just a little shy of six feet and had the body of Adonis, with broad shoulders, beautiful pecs and drool worthy abs that tapered to a ridiculously tiny waist.
I stared down at my hands and his eyes followed mine.
“Oh, my bad. I thought that was the closet for the used clothes.” He grinned unrepentant.
it took me a second to realize that it was his cum.
I was covered in his cum.
“What?!” I hissed in disbelief , staring at him in pure horror.
He held his hands up.
“This is not my fault. The girl told me she’d swallow every drop of it and then choked half way through-”
“Oh my fucking God...” I groaned in disgust.
“Although I’m not complaining now... Wouldn’t have met you if it weren’t for her... What’s your name, pretty?”
I stared at him, slightly slack jawed.
What kind of a man whore-
I froze.
No way. It can’t be.
“Jeon Jung Kook.” I said drily.
His eyes widened.
“Well now you have the advantage ....i don’t know your name.” He pouted.
“You should be in a cage.” I snapped, turning back to grab the nearest skirt. I moved to leave but he stepped in my way, blocking the path with both hands held up.
“What are you doing?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
Jungkook chuckled.
“Come on baby..Don’t be mad.. Its just a little bit of cum. Granted you did not get the pleasure of getting it out of me yourself but that can easily be remedied if you just-”
“You will not have a dick to cum out of , if you don’t move right now.” i warned him.
Jugkook’s eyes widened at that.
“Um... you do realize who I am?” He smirked.
“A man whore with bad taste in hook-ups? A girl who can’t even swallow? Really Jeon, how desperate were you ?” I smiled.
His eyes danced at that.
“ Not as desperate as I am now.... Go out with me.”
I laughed, shaking my head.
“Not happening. Get out of my way.”
Jungkook let out an actual groan at that but he moved aside nonetheless.
“What??..come on, please , angel, just one date.....”
I shook my head.
“ I’ll send you the bill for my dry cleaning Jeon.” I flipped him off before stalking right out of the room.
“Gonna make you fall in love with me, new girl.” He called out from behind me.
I scoffed at that.
Yeah right.
Author’s Note : I had to write their first meeting okay???? I’ll update tomorrow or the day after .
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Well I said I was going to have to figure out how to work out the team shot and trainer card, but it turns out I didn't need to do much, so it all went about as planned.
All of these Fakemon are not made by me, and in this case are made by Watertrainer from DA. I did do another lazy splice and rearrange of my own trainer sprite though. I wanted to sort of give myself a similar vibe to the protagonist design, and I think I'm okay with the design, although I am a bit too lazy to resize my head lol.
Anyway, my team from Solar Light and Lunar Dark.
more under the cut
I actually played a demo a few years back that went about to Rassic City, but got stuck due to a bug that stopped me around gym 4 or 5. The game's creators are (or were at the least) pretty cool, with one even offering to fix my bug for me (and he probably did, I just didn't know how to implement the fix). I said it in my review, but I really like the fakemon concepts and designs, and there was so many that I wish I had room for about 4 more Pokemon. Apparently a lot of the designs were conceptualized pre gen 4, and that's just fantastic.
I've been trying to do some unique things with my regional cards, but SLLD is actually somewhat unique among the fakemon games I've played because it's pretty unique in that its more traditional without a regional gimmick. So, I improvised a bit with sort of a clipped design and some zig zags at the corners. I also made a new background design by making a grid out of a series of circles, so hopefully that looks good too. Plus, I used pentagons instead of my usual stuff to try and account for the bigger sprites, and I had space between them, so I did a little sun and moon mural for the Solar and Lunar title thing
As for how Poke Den got to Rikoto, well, how does he get anywhere other than by accident? I feel like he probably went for a boat ride in Tandor or something, took a nap, and found himself in Poke New Zealand Rikoto. The stakes weren't really as high as other regions, so I imagine he just kinda went "fuck it" and decided to explore and take in the beautiful scenery. And as usual, for some reason he pisses off just the right people and ends up babysitting some kids that keep claiming they're his rivals.
Gonna be real, I liked the fact that I stumbled across the New Zealand map in the game because I wasn't able to tell before, but now its super obvious. Rikoto is a beautiful region and probably my favorite in terms of diversity in the recent fan games I've played, not to mention I would KILL to live in the tropical areas.
this is my team
1. (Mega) Salaslam: Water/Poison: Our starter for the region, and funnily enough, just like my first Pokemon ever, a Typhlosion in Silver, I didn't realize she was a girl until like, 7 gyms in. She's strong boi, and I relied on her a bunch especially in late game after I acquired her mega. I think I like water types in theory the best, so I imagine it was a very obvious pick for me, especially when its baby form is so adorable. Probably went from the rambunctious baby to friendly but dangerous monster as it evolved.
2. Aeroma: Flying/Grass: One of the earliest caught Pokemon on the team, and I almost replaced him, but he's honestly very useful and comes in clutch when I need him to the most. I imagine ours sings a lot since it learned Sing and Grass Whistle at some point in our journey
3. Lunape: Psychic: A traded monke boy that I loved so much as a Moonky. I just loved saying his name. Moonky. It awoke something primal in me. Its funny because I accidentally over trained him at first, so he initially wouldn't listen to me until until like gym 3. I imagine we're good friends now. He's actually pretty good for capturing Pokemon, not so much for battles, but he comes in clutch sometimes. In fact, he pretty much carried my team in the champion battle.
4. Werehide (Shiny): My favorite of the bunch I believe. Apparently there's a bug that makes it easier to find Shinies in this game, which I believe since I found 2 of them, but this one was my first and I decided to keep her. She spent the longest time as her previous form, Beopup, until like level 53 so she could learn Play Rough. I imagine she was my shoulder buddy for the longest time because of that, and despite being theoretically the "weaker" of the team, she kept up just fine as Beopup. After evolving, she became SO much stronger, I actually solo'd the ice gym with her, I think. The only issue is that Werehide's ability is Hustle, which makes her hit like a fuckin truck, but she's about as accurate as a broken clock. I do imagine she's like my dog and is a good doggo that likes pets, but goes feral in a fight.
5. Dinopion: Fighting/Dragon. I almost replaced him too, but there was really no reason. As a Dinomite, he was kinda weak and kept getting KO'd a lot, but once he evolved he started kicking ass and didn't ever stop. His Moxie ability, monstrous attack, and diverse move pool make him such a MONSTER to deal with for my enemies, but he is kinda frail. But if he outspeeds you and knocks out one of your guys, you've basically already lost the battle. My Dinopion was basically able to Solo Rick's Elite 4 team. I gotta imagine he's a rough and rowdy but good dino boy with a hankering for power and glory. I think my guy likes him a lot now because he's a DINOSAUR, and we like dinosaurs in this house.
6. Natoron: Ground. I LOVE DINOSAURS. And this guy is a heckin' dinosaur!!! He had a tough time at the beginning, but once he evolved once, he started kicking ass. There was an awkward time towards the last few gyms where after he evolved again, he started losing a lot more, but he's been very reliable as a wall and tank. By the end, he had both Earthquake, Head Smash, and Stone Edge, so he could dish out a SHIT ton of damage. I gotta imagine he's a bit slower, usually tries to eat grass when he sees it, and he's a gentle giant that my Poke self adores because he's a DINOSAUR
Anyway this was fun to make. I'm gonna be looking for more fakemon games to play through because I just love em, and I love making little trainer cards for my playthroughs.
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theory/thoughts on maligula’s identity based on everything revealed so far (psychonauts 2 spoilers!!)
similarly to my other post, this basically involves an indepth look on things revealed in the peaks we’ve gotten into the game so spoilers especially if you don’t want to know what what may happen in the story beforehand based on close inspection of trailers and other stuff (including like, spotting concept art in the background of a video and such)
so based off of everything revealed about the game so far
lucrecia is almost definitely maligula. the only thing that’s an obstacle is the concept design of current lucrecia as a small old lady, but rn there’s so much indicating lucrecia’s maligula. there’s the imdb voice credit, there’s the fact that it’s the “psychic six” and not the psychic seven -- that lucrecia is the only one from the stumps at camp to be excluded from the stone tablet mural in hq while still having a depiction in the game on a stamp in ford’s mailroom mind level connected with the others which means she’s still relevant -- !!!
basically: she’s excluded, and also relevant in the game, which means there’s a significance to her being excluded.
maligula is also described in the recent Psychonauts 2 Developer Showcase as being one of the first enemies the Psychic Six fought. that certainly fits a former member-turned enemy, along with everything else.
maligula is absolutely related to the galochios, which means lucrecia mux is related to the galachios.
my current tentative theory is that lucrecia/maligula is zalto galachio’s wife who lost herself to grief after her daughter died and. became murderous i guess.
theoretically she could also have been a galachio who married out? but that’s why i said tentative theory.
the recent developer showcase stating that raz’s family history and the founding of the psychonauts being close/connected and the showing of the confrontation scene of maligula, helmut, and who i’ve been tentatively thinking is ford but could be someone else (like potentially lazarus or even some random dude) being shown when tim schafer talks about how ‘the aquatos have been cursed by a mysterious figure to all die in water’ seems to further support this. in fact, it seems to suggest that maligula and not zalto was the one to curse the aquatos -- which honestly kind of reminds me of how they changed the second head of psychonauts from being Herndon to Hollis.
technically there could be another reason for the galachios to hate the aquatos and kill raz’s grandfather other than the death of augustus’ mother since the backstory from the lipo document isn’t technically canon and is liable to changes (like ford’s backstory + involvement with the psychonauts for instance) but i really hope they keep that because i really like the whole twisted aspect of the galachios (whether it be maligula, zalto, both) tormenting the descendents of their daughter out of projected blame and hate when it’s also their family too like. i really dig that so i hope that stays the same.
maligula/lucrecia is also probably the reason helmut’s brain is separated from his body//that his location is ‘at the bottom of a frozen lake’ in grulovia -- where the aquatos were cursed to die in water -- on the letters in the mailroom level.
i’m sure there’s more to it and that im missing stuff but this is my tentative theory for now -- and i’m sure there are more people who had similar thoughts.
there is that concept design of current lucrecia as a small old lady that poses a possible threat -- maybe the lucrecia/maligula connection ends up being a redherring or something idk -- but maybe they ended up changing their minds during development or something. or maybe something else. idk. and that’s why i’m excited for the game haha
before i go i kind of wanna mention that before we really knew much about maligula and that she was a confirmed “mass murderer” i hoped it was gonna be marona/augustus’ mother than zalto would raise from the dead but she’d either turn on him bc he literally killed her and then her husband and did the opposite of caring for her son so why wouldnt she??? or do something akin to Mary Rose by J.M. Barrie where she’s kind of mindless/destructive with only focusing on finding her son who is still a baby to her; also there’d be a level inside zalto’s mind where raz would eventually make him deal with his grief and the guilt he’s been projecting and not dealing with for killing his daughter. i’m kind of sad this isn’t the case --- although i know whatever it’s actually gonna be is gonna ne great !!!! dont get me wrong -- but i still think this was a kind of neat idea so i wanted to write it down somewhere lol. basically i really want the marona’s descendants/galachio family connection existent and explored, which hopefully we’ll get no matter who maligula ends up being.
phew this was much longer than i intended it to be and kind of a mess but i kind of wanted to write my thoughts down before the game came out haha and the recent showcase kind of cemented some of my thoughts which stimulated me to do it
oh before i end i just remembered something i forgot that i thought about. i wonder why lucrecia's excluded from the mural tablet thing in HQ and from the "psychic six" but not from camp via the stumps?? interesting.
#psychonauts 2 spoilers#psychonauts 2#psychonauts spoilers#psychonauts#ab analyzes#pn2 spoilers#ab: personal#;i could also be totally wrong but i like theorizing
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Breathe in the Salt - Chapter 20
AO3
Beta reader as always is @thesnadger!
Simon and Martin have a chat.
Martin accepts some advice.
When Martin passed the front gate the world behind him disappeared, replaced by cold, grey mist and stone.
Staring back the way he came only made it harder to remember what had been before, and his head felt the pressure of distance with no point of reference. Something deep inside him knew the perils of walking anywhere but the path leading him to the Fairchild house; to step anywhere else would see him tumbling out and away from the only landmark he had left.
Waiting for him at the front door was the woman who’d taken the sketchbook from him, this time without the veneer of professional courtesy. The hooded jumper, worn jeans, and disinterested wave announced to the world an interrupted day off. If his damp, miserable self was an affront to her sensibilities, she wasn’t showing it, so the wet jacket stayed on.
In his nerves he hadn’t really registered her appearance during their first meeting, too focused on getting rid of the evidence of his crime. She was older, maybe in her 60s, with long grey hair tied back into a low ponytail. He hadn’t seen her about town before, had he?
They walked inside without any chitchat, so Martin glanced about in silence. The interior felt right if his memory served, the same skinny halls and windows stretching from floor to ceiling. The most striking aspect still was the mural at the top of the central staircase. The rest of the house was dwarfed by it, as if the grand building was no greater than his hometown’s silhouette tucked into the corner of the canvas.
Approaching it, the colors were more. More intense, more bold, all the brightness stolen from the world outside siphoned into an impossible sky. Maybe anything would look that much more when contrasted with where he’d been. He was at the top of the stairs standing at its center wondering if there was any distance that could give him a proper view of the whole.
From behind him the woman cleared her throat, though she didn’t seem irritated. He pulled himself away from the spot where he’d stopped to stare, leaving slippery footprints in his wake.
Glancing up at the mural, she only said, “Some things demand attention.”
She led him to the same room from his first visit with its outward wall of glass. Across the room sat Simon, his back facing those large, unbelievably clear windows that now overlooked the fog-covered landscape. Martin heard the woman’s retreating footsteps and the click of the door.
Martin breathed out, keeping a few feet between himself and the old man. He waved stiffly at the windows. “It’s a bit late. I was expecting this to happen last week.”
With that pleasant smile unmoving, Simon motioned for Martin to sit in the chair across from him. “Don’t be ridiculous. That event will be much more exciting. I wanted to put this meeting together, and needed a good mix of quick and fun.”
“Starting to question my understanding of ‘fun’,” Martin mumbled. He took the seat offered to him and crossed his arms over his chest, the rainwater he carried in seeping into the plush fabric. “It seems like I’m always on the losing side of someone else’s.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Simon hummed, leaning back comfortably in his chair. “So you’d prefer something more exciting in your invitations, so you’re not left out? Did my little errand turn you into a thrill-seeker already?”
“No.” A shiver ran through him, not of fear but of an awful, biting cold. The wet of his hair sapped the heat right out of him and pulled his ponytail down heavy onto his neck. “What do you want?”
“Oh, a bit moody today, aren’t we?” The smile was still sitting idly on Simon’s face. “Peter’s been around more often, I can tell. He does that to people, sucks all patience and goodwill out until they’re… well.” He flicked his eyes over Martin with something like pity.
Martin pressed his arms tighter into himself. “So what, you push people into the sky, and he does that?”
Simon laughed without a hint of shame. “Goodness, no. Peter is just like that, no strangeness needed. I’ve often left his company feeling completely drained and irritable, though I’ve found ways to ensure the feeling is mutual.”
“Good friends, then.”
“As much as he can have them.” Simon leaned forward, no hint of bitterness in his voice or expression. “A very close-to-the-chest type, I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
With a sharp exhale, Martin said, “Look, if you’re going to ask me for a favor I’m not-”
“Now, now, I’m not one to drag on a favor forever, and you’ve paid in full. Besides, Peter is much too jumpy right now for anything to be done.” Simon turned his gaze toward the window. “I’m afraid all any of us can do now is wait.”
A jolt of disappointment shocked Martin to silence. All of this dramatic nonsense just to be told to wait and see? He hadn’t had any specific expectations, but deep down he’d believed Simon to be plotting something soon. That even if it was a horrible outcome Martin wouldn’t be left in suspense from every angle of his life.
Whatever shoe was meant to drop, it hadn’t, and it wouldn’t for some unspecified amount of time.
Simon regained his easy tone and continued, “And I greatly dislike this weather, all of these things clouding my view. Soon I’ll be going weeks without a clear day, and it can feel so… so claustrophobic. So little to work with on a day like this.”
He wasn’t the one who needed to walk in it. “You’re not going to explain anything, are you?”
“No, I’m not. You know how these things are. Business.” Reaching into his pocket, Simon pulled out a small envelope. “Speaking of, like a pouting child Peter has been avoiding me, and as far as I can tell you’re the only person who actually sees him.”
With a deep sigh Martin leaned forward, elbows resting on knees. Not only was he getting nothing out of Simon, but- “This is all so I can be a messenger boy?”
“Just the one time, if Peter can be reasonable.”
“I don’t- Wait. Why not trap him like you did me? Just force him to your door.”
With a sudden laugh that made Martin jump, Simon replied, “Not everyone is as easy to find as you. And anyway, it’s not wise to do that to friends, is it?”
It wasn’t a way to keep friends, no, and he took the message from Simon without further comment. On the other side of the room, the door opened to reveal that woman. Not needing prompting he stood, looking back one more time at the other man.
Simon remained seated and swung one more friendly smile in Martin’s direction. “You’ll be seen out, then. I must thank you for your previous help, Martin. The personal significance alone can’t be overstated. It’s not my only sketchbook, of course, but several of my best works had their beginnings in it.” Was that glint in his eye one of creative pride, or was there some joke Martin was missing?
The tiniest desire to stay and hear more itched at the back of his mind, but the dismissal was clear and he let the woman lead him back through the house. Once outside he saw the weather had taken a turn for the worse into a complete downpour. The high wind would certainly blow his hood down, making for a wretched walk ahead of him.
“Ah.” He’d been taken to the Fairchild house on an impossible route, but the way home was entirely real. “I have a long way to walk.”
“Inconveniences all around,” the woman said, shutting the door behind him.
Once he was alone he ripped the phone from his pocket and and bent over it to delete his dramatic messages before they could be seen, replacing it with:
Martin: talked with simon (didnt really have a choice), dont think anything will happen with him for a while
Martin: said all we can do is wait? really cryptic
Then he pocketed it once more and walked out the front gate into the reinstated town.
The greatest relief was finding other unlucky pedestrians doing their best to stay dry along with him. Even without the ability to stop and talk he felt the silent commiseration. It wasn’t joy in the suffering of others but rather the knowledge that other people were there at all to share in the cruddy weather. He could see where a person ahead of him was avoiding puddles, and found residual warmth in the lights of nearby shop fronts. It was the kind of melancholy atmosphere that could make rain a little more bearable.
The walk down the cliff however was designed to kill him, the slope slick with mud and abandoned by an early setting sun. No waterproof phone, glasses blurred and splattered with droplets, Martin made his slow way home in the cold, in the dark. More than once he stopped to make sure he hadn’t gotten turned around by forces supernatural or otherwise, but then the ground flattened and he could finally hear the sea over the rain beating against the ground.
He was late of course, but besides some comments about tracking water into the house and forgetting his umbrella his mother had left him well alone, and even took his word when he described the weather as unsuitable for her health. He was grateful. After the last few days anything worse might’ve sent them into a screaming match to surpass any bouts they’d had in years. Maybe the day had taken as much out of her as it had from him.
Instead, after a necessary change of clothes on his part, they ate dinner and watched television, her in her chair and him on the couch. It was some old game show he vaguely remembered, not something that aired in his childhood but that he’d experienced first as reruns, the saturated colors and fuzzy image granting it a multilayered nostalgia. Someone on the screen had just answered a question and was hoping their spouse would come up with the same response.
In his pyjama pants and old t-shirt he felt little, his feet tucked under him because he hadn’t wanted to waste another pair of socks. It was as if he’d just come out of the bath with his wet hair and drooping eyes and was waiting to be told he was up too late. As if he wasn’t responsible for watching the clock himself.
His phone vibrated in the middle of the program, but if his mother noticed she chose to ignore it. Tapping the phone awake, Martin saw a notification from the group message.
Tim: ok check-in time what the hell
Tim: just saw this
So they hadn’t seen his initial messages. He breathed out in relief and typed out a reply.
Martin: some weird stuff, but everythings fine. simon made it so i had to go talk to him
Martin: whatever simon mentioned before its not coming yet. seems like he isnt in control of when whatever it is happens? also peter is avoiding him so i need to give him this letter
Tim: weird but
Tim: good? more time for us
Sasha: one less thing to worry about. glad it went okay.
Tim: ^^
He’d successfully avoided any panic or weirdness that his original messages most definitely would’ve caused and patted himself on the back for a job well done. No one needed that as a distraction.
Martin: oh right weird topic change but jon mentioned it, do you really all use a cot at work
Tim: oh yeah lol love that thing
Tim: jon is on it right now actually will pass on simon info when hes awake
Martin: youre all still there??
Tim: oh martin dont you know weve Never Left
Tim: we should get going soon tho now that you mention, will drag jon out of the archives while passing on simon info
Martin: good idea
Tim: and keep those eyes down!
Martin bit his cheek and looked past his phone at the television screen. No doubt it was karma for his rash behavior at the lighthouse, having “just wait!” shouted at him from all corners. The universe was making itself very clear. Simon could’ve just been telling him to let something terrible happen, but even if that was true Martin wasn’t in a place to stop anything.
But it was a great quality of Tim’s, rounding them all up and trying to save them from regrettable decisions. The least Martin could do was make that job easier and stay out of trouble. It was also the most he could do, as much as it irked him.
Martin: dont need to tell me twice!
And with that Martin pocketed his phone, accepting his fate of inaction.
When he finally put his mother to bed the goodnight between them was not warm, but it was closer to normal. If he’d been told that one of the most pleasant parts of his day would’ve been watching the telly after dinner with his mum, he would’ve… well, it wasn’t that strange. Really it emphasized how bad the rest of his day had been.
Meanwhile the most pleasant event felt fake, even when he checked his call logs to confirm it. What a strange start to a day, he thought as he laid in bed. At least it made up for Jon not being around that evening, that and knowing Jon was getting some sleep. The man clearly needed some prompting during an intense work period to take care of himself, and Martin silently thanked Tim for doing something about it when he couldn’t bring himself to initiate a phone conversation. He knew it was ridiculous for him to be so nervous about the idea, but…
But.
Hopefully Jon didn’t think he was rude. It was one thing to chat in person, but calling without a specific topic to discuss while the others were hard at work? Because he was bored? Best to let Jon reach out when he felt it necessary, even if it meant being woken up at odd hours on a work day and otherwise sitting on his hands. Eventually this would all be behind them and he could stop being racked with guilt over the thought of making a social call.
Martin’s stomach twisted. Yes, things would be dealt with, and he would move on from this strange period in his life.
He moved to place the phone down for the night when it buzzed in his hand, with a message in another, private chat.
Sasha: we should talk more later about what simon told you specifically. if something big is coming having someone on the inside of things might not be the worst. not saying you should seek him out, he seems perfectly of capable of contacting you, but if it happens again it could be an opportunity
Martin: you think he could be on our side?
Sasha: i think letting people say their piece can lead to understanding, even if the other person is the worst. something is going on between him and peter lukas and the more we know the better
Martin: right…
Sasha: again not saying to run into anything. wait for us etc etc but trust your gut
Martin: so your opinion on staying put?
Sasha: sometimes you cant, thats all im saying
Martin: okay, i think i get it
Sasha: good. now get some sleep, weird things tend to drain you
Martin: goodnight
Sasha: night
Well, she wasn’t wrong. He didn’t believe that Simon was a good person, not with how he’d treated Martin thus far, but that didn’t make him evil, either. And his advice was the same as what everyone else had already been saying: stay out of trouble as best he could and wait for the right moment. Even Sasha still conceded to it being the best option for the present. If Peter told him to wait as well, then Martin would be truly lost on what to do, but until then he would follow the advice of all the people who knew more than he did.
And if Simon called him to his home again, he would try to be less… difficult. And he would buy a better jacket, just in case.
--
The next morning, he listened to a voice message left shortly after he’d fallen into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
Jon’s groggy voice drifted from the mobile. “Hi, sorry I missed things. Wasn’t expecting Fairchild to be so forward, and my sleep schedule has never been- anyway, Tim convinced me to go back to my flat, but since I slept at the institute earlier I’m currently following a few threads to see if they lead anywhere helpful. I think I’ve reached something, but time will tell.”
He continued after a brief pause. “Seems you’re already asleep, as you should be, so I’ll let you go. Let me know if you have any questions about our other… shared interest. Good night. I hope things stay quiet.”
#tma#the magnus archives#breathe in the salt#martin blackwood#jonathan sims#sasha james#timothy stoker#peter lukas#simon fairchild#fanfic#au fanfic#selkie au#i swear to god theres selkie content its just very slowburn selkie content#jonmartin
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Treasure Hunting
Context: I agreed to write a few "explores" for an art game I play on DeviantArt, Fields of Valhalla. Doe is an intrepid treasure-hunting deer who has recently figured out how to break into dragons' homes and rob them blind go looking for treasure in dragons' lairs. There wound up being several thousand words of this, and three separate stories. As well as an art piece!
Listed here are three stories in one series.
Doe delicately stepped into the cave and ducked her head to avoid banging it on the ceiling. This close she could already tell that there was a dragon in here. Or, something, at the very least- but she figured it was most likely a dragon. She’d never seen a troll leave deep scratches in the wall and carve a fireplace out in the same space, at the very least, and trolls usually at least bothered with doors. And didn’t live in caves. No, this was definitely a dragon lair.
She’d come to see if she could steal away with an egg. It’d make for a spectacular prize, for sure; and to be honest she mostly just wanted to see if she could find one. What bragging rights that would make for; how fitting it would be. After all, if anyone were to return triumphant with a dragon egg from a trip, it should be her.
She made her quiet way into the darkness of the recessed cave and marveled at how neatly laid out it was. She hadn’t been in terribly many dragon caves before, but enough to know that most of their hidey-holes were kind of a… mess, really. Muddy or dirty, full of dust, for sure. Treasures scattered about on the ground, ripe for the taking, as though they were just haphazardly dropped trash and not spectacular jewels or pieces of gold. They were kind of sloppy. Doe always thought that it seemed kind of like a shame, that they kept their lairs in such disrepair, but it really wasn’t her problem at the end of the day. And the mess made it easier to slip a handful of precious treasures into her sack and be on her way, even if she found a dud hole and there weren’t any eggs in it.
She tiptoed deeper, the cave getting darker and darker as she went. There were little side passages clotted with stalactites, wet and dripping, but it looked like the main body of the cave had been cleared away. The floor was smooth and easy to walk on, and the ceiling was free of any dripping spikes though she could see that water was still running down the sides in little rivulets in places. It must have been an awfully uncomfortable, damp place to live. She still saw no treasures, but far off in the distance, dancing upon the walls, she could see firelight.
Well that was bad news.
Doe crept closer to the chamber that the firelight was coming from and then nearly flattened herself into the wall, getting dust and cave water all smudged into the pretty white fur along the ridge of her back and her sides. It was a massive central area. Smelled like someone was cooking something, spicy, almost like human foods. Maybe she was in the wrong place after all. And above the crackling of whatever massive cooking fire had been in there someone was humming.
Carefully, very nervously, Doe stuck her head around the corner to look into the chamber.
Hunched over what looked like a pot of stew, back to her, was a massive dragon. Its lizardlike body was perched upon a long stool, and it was standing up on its back legs, stirring a pot nearly twice Doe’s size and sprinkling leaves into it from what looked like the largest salt shaker Doe had ever seen in her life. The dragon itself was dark blue, with lighter blue feet; but where the firelight touched it it shone a brilliant red, almost brighter than the fire itself.
Tucked away into the corner, behind it, sitting in their own cheerily burning fire, was a large clutch of what looked to be nearly fifteen eggs. Each one was leathery, almost soft-looking, with a strange moving shape visibly shining through from the fire underneath. As she watched, one of them twitched and shook as the—what must have been the baby dragon inside rolled around in the egg, stretching out softly like a sleeping creature.
Doe took a step forward, to get a better look— and there. At this angle she could see the treasure hoard of the dragon as well, a neatly organized shelf filled with trinkets and pieces of gold and jewels taking up nearly a third of the room. Doe had never seen a neatly organized dragons’ hoard before, but it was neat. Still, with the dragon awake and active, she didn’t think it would be wise to sneak in there and try to grab anything—
Sitting on the shelf was what looked like nearly twenty Odin’s Eye tokens. With that many— she could have riches she never dreamed of. Gifts and items she could never have even heard of. That would be a prize worth having, for absolute sure.
She took another step into the room, as quietly as she could, and attempted to tiptoe her way across to the shelf; but she stepped on a discarded bone halfway over to the shelf and the dragon abruptly stopped humming to turn around. Up close, its face was scaly and reptilian, and its luminous eyes struck terror into her heart as they fixed directly onto her. The dragon roared, and Doe panicked.
She grabbed whatever was in reach and hightailed it the hell out of the cave, sprinting as fast as she could as the dragon came hot on her heels, scurrying across the ceiling and bellowing in fury the entire time. She got the fur on her back singed when it spat fire and fury at her, but her luck was great, and she made it out without dying. Once outside, she hid in a copse of trees, struggling not to shake, and the dragon looked around for her fruitlessly, squinting its big eyes against the burning sun, before eventually giving up and shaking its head and walking back into its lair.
That was terrifying.
Doe glanced into her heavy bag, laden with treasures. Well. She was probably never coming back here again, but the trip hadn’t been a total bust. Not by a long shot.
-
Story 2: Close Encounters of the Reptilian Kind
Doe tightened up her sack and headed out to the newest dragons’ den she’d scouted out. She was still on the hunt for an egg, of course; but this one was settled on the shores of one of the deepest, fastest rivers, and it was rumored that gold could be found there like common stones. Doe hoped this meant she could find jewelry, or pieces of precious metals, in the dragons’ lair. They were known for keeping large, messy hoards of gold and treasures, after all; and what greater treasure could there be than delicate pieces of jewelry? And what would suit her better, of course, than elegantly crafted, sparkling jewelry?
As such, Doe packed a nice, big, sturdy bag, something she could take heavy items without much difficulty in. She was hoping to walk out with it laden so full she could hardly even walk. That would be only fair, after all the work she’d put in to get the location of the lair.
The dragon that lived in this lair was a water creature, long and lanky. In the hopes of avoiding the same situation she’d run into last time, she’d sat herself outside and waited for the long black dragon to carefully emerge from its lair, straighten up, and then take a breath and dive into the river for a good swim. It should be out all day; or at least she would hope it would be. The creature was ugly and sharp-scaled, narrow in the face and the body, serpentine aside from the wickedly curved long legs that ended in talons almost like that of a hawk. It was a thoroughly alarming monster. She’d rarely seen a dragon that looked nearly as… predatory, as designed to hurt and cause harm. But it looked like an eel that had been turned into a dragon; and Doe was not a fan of eels either. So perhaps she was just biased. Maybe it just looked like a perfectly normal sea creature with jagged, jutting teeth and massive jaws and tiny, beady eyes that never blinked.
No, Doe had not wanted to find herself stuck in the half-collapsed structure with that thing inside it. She waited for it to leave. And once it had left, she slipped inside.
This lair was some half-sunken ruin, the remnant of some building that the ancient humans who had lived in this area had once made. It was, in its prime at least, a castle, white stone reaching up into the sky. Now the spiralling towers had collapsed, and weather had worn the once-bright stones, nearly the same color and sheen as Doe’s fur, down to a dull gray-green and brown. There was water all coating the uneven stone brick floor, and her hooves splashed and echoed loudly down the hall. Plants were growing through the broken windows, and vines hung lowly from the damaged ceiling. In places, Doe could still see faded paintings on the walls; but in others the paint had flaked off, or been peeled off. Here there was a mural of a knight, sitting astride a massive rukaan; the knight was battling with a massive creature. It was too faded and damaged for Doe to really make out the details, but the face of the knight had clearly been intentionally scratched off and defaced.
Doe figured that if she were a horrible gross monster, and she were living alongside a painting of some human killing a horrible gross monster like her, she might try and deface that painting, too. That was kind of sad, actually. She took an experimental swing at the painting with one hoof, and a big sheet of the paint fractured and fell to the ground, splashing into the muddy water.
Oh, okay. That was going to be noticed. Uh, hm. That wasn’t smart.
Doe decided to hurry up and go get her treasure instead of standing around looking at the scenery, after that. Everywhere there was the clear, crystal evidence of this being a dragon’s lair, of course. There were scratches on anything tall enough and sturdy enough to serve as a scratching post, and discarded scales sat in the shallow water. Finally she made it into what must’ve been the primary cavern of the dragon’s lair, a once-resplendent banquet hall that had clearly fallen into disrepair. Rotting wooden tables were stacked along one wall, and looked to have been made into a sort of rough bed, fur pelts and straw and fallen leaves stacked atop the cracked top of the highest one. Piled in one corner was a massive, shimmering hoard of old coins and precious stones, and perched on the very top of the pile was a spectacular set of golden armor, and a crown fit for a king. The armor was a bit big for her, but clearly made for a rukaan; the crown was far too small and probably meant for a human. Doe shoved it into her bag regardless, struggling to pull the armor onto her back; it was fortunately tied together in a bundle but unfortunately rotten and nearly falling apart at the seams regardless of the fact that the metal wasn’t even tarnished. It might have been ceremonial. Gold didn’t make great armor, did it? But she would look good in it, and everyone else would be jealous. And that was good enough for her, really.
Doe filled her bag with riches and went looking around for a nest or clutch of eggs, just in case, but she found none; and then she made her way out. While she was walking back through the watery halls she heard a loud, echoing splash, and then what sounded like massive footsteps; and in a panic Doe flattened herself into an alcove. There was no place to go, after all, and her hoofsteps were loud and obviously wrong. She found herself frozen, rooted to the spot, after realizing that. Oh, no, oh, no, she was doomed.
She realized abruptly she was right across from the mural she’d kicked, too. Even better. Oh no. It was going to know she was in there.
Before long the lanky creature pulled itself into the room, half swimming, half crawling on its belly. It didn’t see her, or at least it didn’t seem to; it came to pull itself up to its full height, looking at the mural quizzically. Doe held her breath in true, real panic. She could feel her body starting to shake. It was so close, and so big, its talons hooked and nearly as long as her head, and its teeth were even more jagged and dangerous up close, and it clearly could snap her up in one bite—
The dragon turned around to fix Doe with a clear, surprisingly intelligent look. She made terrified eye contact with it.
It nodded once, and went on its way.
Minutes after it left Doe finally relaxed enough to let out the breath she’d been holding and stumbled her way back out to freedom. She— she’d clearly taken some of its treasure. Did it just not care? Did it not notice? It definitely saw her. What did any of this mean?
Doe decided to leave that part out when she told this story. Because really. What on earth.
-
Story 3: Cooperation
This latest lair was an abandoned building again, once the cavernous hall of a giant and now the half-collapsed hidey-hole of a small dragon. Doe wasn’t sure if it was just young or if it was only about the size of a large ruk, but either way was cool by her. Maybe its hoard would be small, but she was confident that it had giants’ treasures in that building of its.
Besides, she’d seen it a few times, and it was a pretty thing, bright blue spangled with gold and silver like the sky. It reminded her of a kingfisher, really, the few times she’d seen it, skittish and delicate with broad wings and a narrow, delicate body. It was currently sitting perched atop the intact part of the roof, staring off into the sky as though it could see something more interesting than she could, something more than just the full moon and the stars sparkling brightly. Its eyes were fixed straight up. It had been doing this for nearly three hours. Doe had expected it to take off, but it hadn’t.
She waited a few more long moments, and then abruptly out of nowhere the sparkling creature sat bolt upright, glancing around nervously. It let out a loud caw, almost like that of a crow, and then a high pitched roar that sounded like it were mimicking the calls of larger dragons. Then it spread its wings, shuffled about a bit, and took off into the air. It made a loop in the sky, around the moon; and then it was gone, blending into the night sky as though its shimmering scales were made for this. It probably was, Doe realized after a second, watching what she thought were its wings flap into the distance. It sure looked like just a cluster of shooting stars.
Nonetheless, with the beautiful creature gone, she was free and clear to go break into its home and steal from it. Er. Explore. Explore its home. And steal from it.
Doe stood up, shaking herself, and went to walk through the long stretch of dark, craggy forest to make it to the dragon’s lair. She kept an eye turned to the skies to make sure it wasn’t coming back, and fortunately it didn’t, and she made her way up to the half-collapsed building with little issue. Up close it stank of mildew and rust, strong and disgusting, and it was cold and icy atop the peaks like it was. The wind blew so much more strongly it was unreasonable. Doe ducked inside the uncovered doorway and into the building, and then quickly realized she’d made a mistake as she looked at the blocked path in front of her. There was a little hollow arch, something she could maybe get through, but it was nearly flat to the ground. Evidently the dragon used that on the regular, but Doe’s legs weren’t designed to bend that way, and she didn’t see a way through. She stuck her head through it, struggling to push herself through, but eventually had to admit defeat after nearly getting herself stuck and hearing the whole of the partially-collapsed roof, leaning on the ground and above her, creak and groan as she struggled to free herself. If that came down, she would be dead, her spine broken. It wasn’t worth it.
She went back outside and let herself in from one of the broken windows instead, neatly making it in without having to worry about the broken segment. It wasn’t great, and she scraped herself up on the sides on the broken glass- evidently there was a reason that the dragon didn’t use that method of entry- but they weren’t serious wounds, and she would be just fine. Finally she made it to the central hall, freezing and shaking from cold, dripping little droplets of blood onto the stained and half-frozen floor. Not so triumphant. But surely the treasures would warm her heart, even if they wouldn’t warm her poor frozen ears or her poor freezing hooves.
But when she made it to the central room, fire cheerily burning in the cracked hearth, there was no treasure. The room was almost totally bare. There was clearly a little nest in the corner, built up with sticks and twigs and what looked like scraps of fur it had collected from somewhere, and there was a dead wolf lying in front of the fire. There was maybe twelve kroner lying in the center of the room on the floor. Probably the beginnings of this dragon’s hoard. It really must have been very young after all.
Doe sighed, and went to dig around in the halls. Maybe she could find some treasures the dragon had failed to turn up.
It turned out she was right. After nearly hours of searching, occasionally returning to the center room to warm herself up a bit more, she finally stumbled across what must have been a weapons cache that hadn’t been cleared underneath a rotten section of collapsed ceiling. She could see the glimmering red-gold and steel, still bright after all the exposure to the weather; but the debris was heavy and hard for her to get a grip on. She couldn’t free it, and she was starting to get seriously concerned about really hurting herself if she tried. Every time she shoved a piece of the rotting wood or collapsed brick over, the entire structure groaned and twisted, and the more she moved, the more unstable it seemed.
Then, horrifyingly, while she was tugging at a board with her teeth, she heard flapping overhead; and looked up at the gaps in the ceiling to see the eyes of the sparkling sky-dragon looking down at her curiously.
“Oh no,” Doe mumbled.
The dragon glanced at her, and then looked at the room she was digging at, and then fluttered down to the ground alongside her and struggled to grab the other end of the board Doe was pulling at. Doe registered that after a second and renewed her efforts.
Between the two of them, they were able to much more easily clear the path, though there was a scary moment when half the bricks behind them came down. Fortunately, they didn’t block the hall; but Doe jumped and pranced nervously, and the dragon took off and fluttered back to the ground after a couple seconds. It made a quiet coo at Doe after it landed, and she ducked her head and snorted reassuringly. On that note they went back to work, by mutual agreement.
The giant weapons, once they were cleared out, were far too big for Doe to even try to carry them out. There were flails and axes, heavy swords and massive knives, and even the smallest of them was too big to fit into Doe’s pack. The dragon watched in mild consternation while she struggled to take them, before eventually lifting one of the massive heavy tools and dragging it back to the central room without much of a care. Doe went to help with that, because even if she wasn’t walking out with the treasure the dragon sure seemed to want her help with getting it; and there, lo and behold, on the ground below the sword she’d picked up, was one small heap of gold coins sitting in the rotted remains of what had probably been a massive money-pouch. Doe scooped it into her bag, hoping the dragon wouldn’t notice, and then went back to dragging the weapons in to sit near the hearth.
When they had all been dragged in, the dragon chirped happily, sounding for all the world like a bird. Then it ducked its head to its chest, and carefully plucked one of the golden shimmering scales from its breast with both hands. It held it out to Doe shakily in what was clearly a demonstration of thanks.
Doe took it carefully and set it in its pouch, and she could’ve sworn the dragon smiled at her before curling up atop its new pile of weapons.
When she got home and could see it in better light, the dragon’s scale wasn’t gold at all. It glimmered, iridescent, in the light, and sparkled as though it held the entirety of the night sky in it. It looked gold on first impression, or maybe silver, but if she looked closer, she could see spots of pure black shining through, and bright gold and white and blue, and if she looked any closer than that she started getting dizzy, as though she were going to fall into it. Truly, she’d never seen anything like it.
And this is a model of the dragon's scale, made in Blender!
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With no time to waste, we have a tremendous news update on Dragon Age 4’s current iteration known as “Morrison”, as many development secrets were revealed in BioWare’s brand-new hardcover book of “Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development.”
A lot of the questions that we’ve all been asking over the past few years, finally have an answer, all thanks to this book. I will be delving into all of the Dragon Age 4-related content in this book; however, I wholeheartedly advise you pick up the book for yourself because it is filled to the brim with insights, information and behind-the-scenes reveals on every BioWare game to this date.
It’s full of so many captivating, inspiring and amazing stories that showcase BioWare’s incredible journey over the past 25 years.
In any regard, we’ve got a lot to get into, so leaving no stone unturned, we’ve got some updates regarding Dragon Age: Morrison, the current-rebooted project code name of the next Dragon Age game.
Morrison:
Along with this amazing retro-styled font of Morrison’s code name - that I’m totally going to use in future videos and thumbnails - we actually have a small plot synopsis on this working title.
It reads as followed: “Tevinter Bound – a sneak peek at the follow-up to Inquisition.”
“As BioWare entered its twenty-fifth year, the Dragon Age team was hard at work on Morrison, the code name of the long-awaited follow-up to Dragon Age: Inquisition. The game, helmed by executive producer Mark Darrah, will take players to Tevinter as events of Inquisition and Trespasser threaten to forever change Thedas.”
We’re going to Tevinter! Of course, we already knew that based on Trespasser’s ending, Tevinter Nights, and the developers already hinting that, but it is still very nice to see hear that in a plot outline.
In addition, the most interesting factor about this synopsis, is that for the first time BioWare have confirmed that “Morrison” is indeed the code name for the current Dragon Age project, which outrightly confirms that Jason Scheirer’s Kotaku article on “The Past & Present of Dragon Age 4” carries merit and truth to it, meaning that we can indeed trust the entire contents of Jason’s article.
Regardless, sticking with the 80’s retro theme, BioWare staff have themed shirts for the project, and they look absolutely amazing. Please, BioWare Gear Store release these one day, if at all possible, these designs are so good!
The book then goes on to show very familiar concept art that was showcased within the Gamescom behind-the-scenes trailer, however, this time, we have actual descriptions on each of the art pieces, and what they’re portraying. So, we don’t need to spend another 40 minutes speculating about what the pieces could show.
The underwater shot which we assumed to be Isabela accompanied by what looks like Dorian with a sword, an undead and a female dwarf, appears to showcase the Lords of Fortune, a newly-introduced faction within Tevinter Nights.
The synopsis says:
“Where there’s treasure, there’s adventurers braving death to get it. The Lords of Fortune are always on the hunt for treasure-wherever it may be.”
The next shot, which I speculated it as Tevinter’s capital city Minrathous, has a synopsis that says:
“The glittering hubs of Thedas are beacons of civilization and bulwarks against the night.”
Following that, we have the mysterious Antivan Crow lady concept art with the synopsis:
“The Antivan Crows have perfected theatrical assassinations. The Antivan Crows are celebrated for their mastery of stylish slaying.”
And then we have a most recognisable mural, one that many of us have spent way too long staring at, tinfoiling over its endless possibilities. The synopsis of The Dread Wolf Rises concept piece says:
“One of Nick Thornborrow’s beautiful paintings showing an old friend with a shadowy threat!”
Following that, we have Nevarra’s undead operating on a dragon, with the synopsis saying:
“From their Necropolis, the Mourn Watch guard Thedas from occult threats”
And then we have – hold on, what’s this, a new piece of concept art? Roll on the tinfoil, I’ll read the synopsis first and then we can go from there, as it states:
“The Deep Roads teem with evils both new and old, known and unknowable.”
I won’t spend ages delving into a single piece of concept art, but we can see the Deep Roads with plenty of light coming from the surface. It’s a beautiful shot, that I’m sure is building a mood for potential locations in the next game.
The final concept art piece shown is one from the trailer, however, it’s not cut-off anymore. When it once looked like an evil Cetus, it now reveals something even more wicked than a sea dragon... A figure with multiple arms, red eyes, a curved headpiece, holding a spear. Is this an ancient God? Could it be Ghilan’nain? A Lovecraftian sea-hybrid-monster? Or is it just a crazy idea thrown together by a concept artist, because why not?
The synopsis is the most intriguing and provides a further context for the next Dragon Age game:
“The Evil Gods have Thedas in their sights and only heroes can stop them. The shadows of the past stir, and new heroes must rise to fight them.”
There are many “gods” in Dragon Age, the Old Gods, the Elven Gods, the Maker, the Titans, etc. You could certainly consider each of them to be evil too, but on a whim, with the whole “shadows of the past stir.” I’m sure this synopsis is referring to the Elven Gods, given Solas’s scheme that will return the Evanuris to Thedas once more.
Taking my tinfoil hat off for a moment, this book expertly describes concept art stages relating to BioWare, and I need to touch on what exactly these pieces could mean going forward, because they most certainly could just be conceptual drawings without much context for the next game.
The book quotes Dragon Age 2’s development regarding concept art, saying:
“In the early stages of any project, before the concept artists are aware of any writing, they like to just draw what they think cool story moments could be. It’s not unusual for the team to then be inspired by those drawings and fold them into the game as the project progresses.”
And, even further than that, Matt Rhodes, who is the Art Director of the next Dragon Age spoke a few words regarding Dragon Age: Inquisition’s conceptual art stages:
“As multiple teams worked on their corners of Inquisition, lead concept artist Matt Rhodes spent weeks creating images to help solidify and drive a vision of what the game could be.”
“It was partly to encourage and remind myself of what the potential of this project could be,” Matt says. “We all imagine the finished game. I wanted to get that on paper, to remind everyone we are making something that could be pretty cool.”
So, while we’re all so excited to see these amazing concept designs and imagery, and we love to correlate it all to the next game, remember that these designs are very early work building a vision for the next game, they’re just being used to represent what idealistically the developers would like the game to end up like, or what insane ideas the concept artists have for the game.
Many of these ideas won’t turn out in the final product, but it’s still so nice to see this work already.
Wolf Rook Book:
Moving on, we can put an end to a five-year mystery, we finally have answers on that enigmatic red “Wolf-Rook" book that Mark Darrah has teased for half a decade.
One of my first ever videos on this channel was delving into the early pages of this book, back then I had a hunch that this book was the next Dragon Age game’s early concepts and designs, like a shiny development doc for the team.
And I was on the right tracks, as followed:
“The book was an internal guide for developer and publisher eyes only that summarized the vision for Dragon Age: Inquisition’s follow-up, a project code-named Joplin. The Joplin project has since been revised to such an extent that its code name changed to Morrison, but the red book still contains plenty of ideas likely to appear in the next Dragon Age. While most pages remain highly classified, here are a few Mark said we can publish.”
There’s a small description of The Qunari with some other concept shots, the paragraph reads as followed:
“The Qunari are followers of a religious text of principles known as the Qun. Though Qunari may be of any race, most are part of a race of large humanoids with horns.”
“For ages the Qunari have proven a formidable opponent to the rest of Thedas, almost conquering the continent until a united force of every Chantry nation pushed them back into a tense stalemate. Recent events have reignited the Qunari offensive, however, and their forces are in open conflict with the Tevinter Imperium, while their spies and agents are active in every nation.”
And at the bottom we have a Creatures double-spread page with different concepts very similar to those seen in Inquisition, the paragraph reads as followed:
“Animals, monsters and misplaced magical experiments: creatures stir apart from the conflicts and machinations flowing across the continent. Creatures range from the lowly nug up to the ultimate apex predator, the dragon. The next Dragon Age will feature our widest and most varied set of creatures to date. While often quite simple in implementation, creatures provide variety through differentiated animation and appearance.”
So, “Wolf-Rook” is still relevant, somewhat confirming that the work that went into Joplin, may cross over into Morrison, which is very exciting because Joplin’s vision for a Dragon Age title sounded amazing, so to hear aspects of that work pouring into this new project is absolutely fabulous. I had a hunch that the red book was still valuable to the current project, because we’ve seen a lot of “Wolf-Rook” teased this year, Mark Darrah has not stopped showing off his stash of red books. So, I’m very glad it’s here to stay for the current iteration.
Dragon Age Week:
Next up, we have an update to a story I talked about in March of this year, Mark Darrah teased a picture of his laptop with the BioWare Slack server shown at the bottom of his screen.
One of the channel-titles within the server was one by the name of “DA Week”, and thanks to this book, we know what “Dragon Age Week” actually is:
“Dragon Age Week is a five-day period during which members of the Dragon Age team can pursue creative projects that in some way benefit Dragon Age. The work done during DA Week, and its erstwhile cousin DA Fridays, sometimes found its way into releases.”
“The giants in Inquisition came out of a Dragon Age Week,” executive producer Mark Darrah says. “We also had a board game made that we were going to put into Inquisition, but we just didn’t have time to. It’s referenced. It’s a dwarven chess.”
So, I do wonder what kind of ideas have come out of Dragon Age Week recently that has then ended up in the next Dragon Age. Hopefully, one day we’ll have a new book that tells us Dragon Age 4’s secrets and we can visit this topic.
New BioWare Vision:
Moving on to the final major update, thanks to this book, we have a greater understanding about the vision BioWare have going forward. According to General Manager, Casey Hudson and Dragon Age, Narrative Director, John Epler.
Casey Hudson spoke on the “old” BioWare and how their changing paths to a “newer” BioWare:
“We can’t go back to where we’ve been,” Casey Hudson says, now the studio’s general manager. “The way that we worked, all of those stories and the crunch and eating pizza for six weeks straight and all that kind of stuff, as fun and memorable as it was at the time, those things won’t work for where we’re going.”
As BioWare grows, Casey says it must learn better ways to work while still embodying the values laid out by Drs. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.
“It starts with the ones that were there at the very beginning with Greg and Ray of humility and integrity,” he says, “Those are super important.”
Other pillars include a passion for excellence and courageous creativity.
“We used to exemplify this not because we were courageous, but because we didn’t know better. We would try things and fail and try something else until we got it right, and it was very experimental. But what can happen is, once you do know the consequences of failure, you can very easily start retreating. And at that point, it actually does take courage to put yourself out there and try something new.”
Casey says. “We’re not super young and inexperienced anymore. We do know better, but we still have to try and do some crazy stuff anyway.”
John Epler shared on the change going on within BioWare:
“I am excited for what the future holds. I think BioWare is changing. I think we’re at a crossroads where we can either accept that and move into the new BioWare, or we can try to cling to the past. We have to be respectful of our origins without being constrained by them. It’s an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to what the next five years brings.”
“’I’m one of those people who is probably going to be here until they have to literally wheel my desiccated corpse out of the building, because I love working here and I love the people I work with and I love getting to come into work every day to have long, detailed conversations about how eluvians work.”
All in all, I’m incredibly excited and optimistic for BioWare’s future, they’re aware of their flaws, while knowing what makes them great. They seek to humble themselves, while changing direction, they want to avoid crunch while being experimental. I think we’re going to see the company bloom when they inevitably release the next Dragon Age, and I am totally here for that.
Dragon Age Day
Before I leave you, Dragon Age Day is quickly approaching, and it seems BioWare have plans this year. EA Community Manager, Jay Ingram tweeted about fans asking questions for the Dragon Age team, in prep for plans on Dragon Age Day. I’ll link the tweet down below, so you can ask as many questions as you’d like! It seems that BioWare may stream on Dragon Age Day, so do watch out for that, and give them a follow on their Twitch, also linked down below:
https://twitter.com/JayKingIngram/status/1325197450907275264
https://www.twitch.tv/bioware
Regardless, this is where we part ways. There was so much that this book uncovered, I highly recommended picking It up for yourself, it’s truly worth it to any BioWare fan. There was also some future Mass Effect stuff, but I’m saving that for a future video that I’ll do at the start of the new year. And I most likely will do future videos on other topics revealed in this book.
#dragon age 4 news#dragon age news#biowar#bioware 25 years#dragon age update#morrison#joplin#wolf rook book#mark darrah red book#mark darrah slack server#dragon age week#next dragon age#concept art#dragon age concept art#dragon age 4#dragon age 4 concept art#the dread wolf rises#da#da news#tevinter bound#imperium#tevinter#thedas
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TWEWY 05
And we’re back! Here’s an overhead view of Shibuya for us.
As usual, the episode is rushed so some of my expectations got dashed again haha. I had to stop myself from taking lots of Joshua screenshots though. He’s my fave character so it was difficult but I can’t really use all of them here cause photo limit and everything.
Spoilers for the game ahead cause that’s how I roll. I’m calling Mr. Hanekoma “Mr. H” cause I’m used to that due to playing the DS game.
Smug scheming Joshua... still cute lol.
They get a mission to go to CAT street. We all know the twist to this. This image of Joshua says it clear as day.
They’re at WildKat!! Yeah, fake mission, Joshua did it, Neku is in a desperate position cause he wanted to save Shiki so he couldn’t tell it was fake... like the game but they got here fast cause they cut off their journey towards CAT street.
I’m happy Mr. H gets his moments here! He’s an important character and someone Neku trusted and looked up to in the game after all.
While here they talk about Joshua and why he’s in the UG. Joshua mentions being able to see everything in the UG (the entire game with the noise and everything) and thought it as better so he came here meaning he uh, “commit not alive” but like in the game that’s all they mentioned of that and they never expanded on it (with Joshua even saying “That’s all” after Mr. Hanekoma added that Joshua visits his cafe to talk about the game).
I really was hoping for a bit more backstory. A little flashback even if it’s just a still image of little Joshua. His backstory is interesting but I guess Joshua will remain a mystery unless they give us extra material (or that prequel a lot of players have been wishing for).
Mr. H didn’t get to mention to Neku that Joshua had no friends and was alone when he was alive because of his ability to see the UG. It sucks that it was left out cause the anime is already shortening the time the watchers get to see the characters and they take away some more stuff that could tell us more about them. Joshua is an enigma and had the least amount of info given in the game so even small stuff like this is important (to me. Others may not feel the same way but I’m a Josh fan haha).
Udagawa and the CAT mural! Very important part of the story and an important place to Neku. Neku talked about how he’s a fan of CAT (I hope someday CAT gives Neku an autograph or something cause you know... hehehe).
The apps. They have it here, too! Still feels weird they’re not flip phones. Joshua isn’t even using them for attacks. I’ll say something more about that below.
The anime telling everyone that these pins are very important. Some passerby even said this was CAT’s design and Neku notices the similarity between the red pin and the Player Pins. Neku and Joshua briefly talk about the composer as well.
I wonder if Neku would be told later about how Hanekoma is CAT. That was important cause it caused Neku some conflicting feelings about who he can trust and it’s a part of the game’s “twist”.
Def March! I can’t type their actual band name cause I don’t have those letters on my keyboard, I’m sorry.
The missing microphone bit is here, too! Although only briefly. Joshua offers to help them find it in exchange for opening a wall. Joshua uses the app that could show the past. I’m glad they were able to show that off. The ordeal is dealt with quickly.
One of the things I like about the anime is that they give a bit of scenes showing the other players. Like I mentioned before, if you played the game you know they’re there. You know there’s a ton of other pairs doing the mission but they’re not really shown unless they’re important in the story so seeing them being shown off like this even a little is a treat. And they’re in the middle of battle, too! They’re using pins while fighting the taboo noise.
They’re finally dealing with the taboo noise but I guess the explanation of them are in the next episode.
Speaking of important players, here’s Sota and Nao again! RIP for the loss of Makoto’s screentime. The ramen shop plot got scrapped completely from the anime.
Uzuki and Kariya dealing with the taboo noise themselves. They mention how noise shouldn’t attack reapers but these ones do. Kariya protects Uzuki and it’s nice to watch (I ship them, okay?).
They finally got introduced to each other! They briefly talk about the game, Neku’s re-entry and what happened to Shiki. Sota and Nao escapes a bit after so there’s no extra talk. I really hope they didn’t cut off the pep talk they had given Neku and Joshua in the game. Will be looking forward to it next episode.
Anyways, Neku and Joshua fight the taboo noise with Neku nearly getting killed by two and Joshua saving him. The two immediately used their combo attack to beat them and Kariya notices and seems to have some suspicions.
The flashback Neku sees in Udagawa. The guns man, they really did this lol. They’re really not allowed to show accurate guns in this series?
And with that, the anime-only watchers are gonna be confused and would hate Joshua. *sigh* oh boy. Then there’s next week’s episode which will also confuse them and... oh man.
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Alright, additional commentary:
-Joshua tells Neku Mr. H helps players in the Reaper’s Game all the time and it’s one of the reasons he decided to hang out in the cafe to watch the game aside from the fact that Mr. H was the only other person he knows that can see the game other than himself. I don’t remember if the bit about Mr. H helping other players is in the game but it’s interesting. Does Mr. H actually do that or is that just a cover? I mean I thought Mr. H was helping out with this one only because of the stakes in this specific Reaper’s Game since he’s not allowed to interfere or anything.
-Speaking of which, Neku tells Mr. H about what happened to Shiki and Mr. H’s reaction made me think “Ah, he’ll write about this in his report after this, I bet.” lol
-Please don’t cut off the talk Neku and Joshua will have with Sota and Nao. I mean, they’re given screentime for a reason, right? Unlike Makoto... and the Tin Pin kids. The most shounen part of this series got cut off sadly. And here I was hoping for an “Another Day” ova someday.
-Joshua’s Jesus Beams next week??? Rhyme pin explanation when?? Beat didn’t even show up today.
-I like the fight scenes in the anime as I mentioned before but them having Neku and Joshua use their most powerful attack meant they’re doing battle scene less which I’m not that happy about. The battles were cool! Give us more Neku using psyches! There are so many psyches in the game...
-I’m scared of the discussions about Joshua after this. Who knows what people will think after the series ends. Would the anime be able to properly convey through this short series the bond between Joshua and Neku and how that affected the ending? Oh god... I’m already seeing some people complain about the NekuJosh ship and I wonder if that would now extend to even just their friendship being put into question at the end.
-I hope I have enough motivation to make a Joshua-centric post later on. I have stuff I wanna say about him. I would need to get Joshua screenshots though...
Well, that’s all there is I guess. Week 2 probably ends next episode. Too fast, dudes! It’s going way too fast. I’m okay mostly cause I played the game and know the stuff omitted. The anime watchers? Who knows what they got from this. All I can say is if they end up hating on Joshua, I’d still be a Joshua fan and there’s nothing anyone can do about it haha.
Next week again, I guess!
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My brothers friend - Hamada Asahi
Pairing: reader x Asahi / reader x Brother!yedam
Warnings: None
Word count: 2.229
Masterlist
okay so im writing this on the 20th of july and 28 minutes ago the debut teaser was officially released so im a mess rn. Im so happy to see them finally debuting. I’ve been following them all since the first ep of ygtb.
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You're Bang Yedam’s older sister, Bang Y/N. You love singing too but art is your passion. Your brother is very supportive of your work. So are you for him. You two are very close in age. You are only 11 months older than him. So sometimes it feels like he’s your twin.
You’ve seen him perform multiple times. You were interviewed for the YGTB finale. You love seeing him perform, because he looks so happy on stage. You also met some of his members. You met Jungkyu and Jeongwoo when they were preparing for their Last Dance stage. But other than that you haven’t actually talked to the other trainees.
But today you are meeting your brother in his dorm. Your mom also gave some presents to give to all the boys. So here you are standing in front of his dorm with a huge bag full of presents. You already texted Yedam you were almost there so when you knocked on the door he immediately opened the door.
“Y/N!!!” He said happily and took you inside. You walked into the living room and a lot of boys sat there watching tv. They all looked at you and then yedam said “Guys this is my sister Y/N.” They all said hi and then you remembered the presents “Okay so mom packed some presents for you so I needed to give these to you.” They all stood up and you gave them their present.
“hey Asahi and Mashiho are still in their room. Someone tell them to come.” Yedam says. Then Jungkyu calls one of them. After a couple of minutes two boys come in. They are kind of shocked to see you. Well one doesn’t really react but stops walking in and the other just looks confused.
You smile at them and hand them their present. “Hi I’m Y/N also known as Yedam’s sister.” They introduce themselves and you think Asahi is kind of cute, but you push it to the back of your mind. Then you all started watching tv and you sat in front of the couch against yedam’s legs.
Then you started getting hungry. You stood up and said “Should we order food because im starving.” They all nodded and you said “I’m paying so choose whatever you like.” All of them were impressed. “what do you do for work Y/N.” Jaehyuk asked you. “I sell art and design stuff for people.” They all wanted to see what you make so you showed them some pictures. Then they decide on what to eat so you order for delivery.
You all started talking after so you could get to know them. You liked all of them but you actually really got stuff in common with Asahi. He likes art too and is more quiet than others but hes actually really nice. You feel a spark in your chest and you keep staring at his face.
The doorbell rings and you and Asahi both stand up. You look at each other and decide both to go to the door. It was actually really handy since there was quite a lot of food for all of you. You walk back into the living room and sat down to eat. You weren’t that hungry but it seemed like the others were. You laughed at them. “Y’all need to see yourself eat, you eat like beasts.”you said and they smiled at you but continued to eat. You laughed again. When its all done you offer to clean and they played a game to decide who needs to help you. Funny enough its Yedam.
When you are cleaning you talk a bit. “I do have to leave in 30 minutes Yedam, I have something I have to do in Seoul but it’s still a secret so I can’t tell you what.” And he looks at you suspiciously but lets it go. “I wish you could’ve stayed longer. We don’t see and talk to each other a lot.” He says “hey I call you all the time, you just don’t pick up the phone.” And you nudge him in his side. “yeah im sorry about that.” You tell him its okay and after you are done you grab your stuff and put on your jacket.
“hey guys it was nice to meet you all and maybe I will see you all soon again.” You say to them. “you're leaving already?” Asahi asks you. “yeah I have some stuff I need to do in the city so I need to be on time.” You answer him and wave them all goodbye. You give yedam a hug and you leave.
The thing you have to do is actually signing up for the scholarship you got. Its an art school and after that you are meeting your 3 new roommates and they are going to tell you when you can move in. This is the secret you have for Yedam because you are gonna live way closer too him, because your dorm is in the same building as his.
Your roommates told you that you could move in next week and so that’s why after the meeting you went straight home and started to pack everything. You had quite a lot of stuff but the room you were moving into was also kind of big.
———
Today was your moving in day. You have talked to your roommates a lot the past week and you 4 went a long really well. They also don’t like kpop so they don’t know your brother which is for the better. You did tell them about your tiny crush on Asahi so they wanted to know who he was. After you are done moving in you decided to go to your brothers dorm. You texted him and he told you he was training but you could go anyways since some of the members were there but he didn’t know who in particular. So you rang their doorbell and Yoshi opened the door.
“hey y/n, how are you? Btw yedam isn’t home.” He says “oh I know but he said I could come over anyways.” “Yeah of course come in. Only Hyunsuk, Asahi, Jeongwoo and me are home, but hyunsuk, Jeongwoo and me are about to leave for food. Wanna come?” He asks you and you think about it but you aren’t really hungry so you decline. “That’s okay, im going to tell Asahi you are here or you could say hi yourself.” He says “i’ll do it myself. Have fun together. See you all later.” They leave together and you knock on Asahi’s door.
“Come in.” You hear him say and you walk in. “hey its me. What are you doing.” You saw him hunched over a drawing. “just drawing something but it’s not good.” He says and you look at him “its okay we all started somewhere, and my drawing are definitely not always great.” He shows you his drawing and he says “i can’t seem to get the proportions right and I don’t know how to change them.” You kneel down besides him and take his pencil in your hand. “is it okay if I make some changes.” You ask him and he nods. “You just need to make the shoulders a little bit smaller and the chest a little longer. Like this.” And you show him. He looks very shocked by what you just did and you laugh at him.
You help him a little with the colouring but after that you just sit down on the chair beside his desk and look at him draw. Hes really handsome and he looks so cute, concentrating on his drawing. You only realize that you are staring when he looks at you. You immediately look down to his drawing and he smiles at you but you didn’t see that.
He gives you a paper and says “you look kind of bored so here, draw something yourself.” You smile at him because you love drawing and you decide to draw him. You sketch really fast and after a 30 minutes it already kind of looks like him. You two are drawing in silence for a long time and after an hour you are done with your drawing. “hey Asahi I drew you, look.” He looks at the drawing and blushes “why did you drew me?” He says and you kind of got embarrassed by his question “i don’t know really, you just looked really peaceful when you were drawing.” “well thanks anyway, it looks very pretty.”
“hey wanna know something cool?” You say and he nods. “I actually moved into an apartment in this building today.” And he looks at you “wait really.” And you nod. “You wanna see it?” You ask him and he says “yeah not like we have anything better to do.” You laugh and grab his hand. And run to your dorm. Its only two floors down so you just run on your socks. You grab your keys and open the door. Your roommates are in the living room and the look at you and Asahi. And then they look at your hands, so then you realize you are still holding his hand. You try to remove your hand but he doesn’t release his hand.
“so y/n is this the boy you’ve been talking about, Asahi right?” He releases your hand and looks at you. But he nods at your friends. You glare at your friend and they laugh at you. You decide to show Asahi around and show him your room. You had a mural behind your bed and a lot of art everywhere. “damn this looks so cool.” He says “thanks I tried really hard on it.” After you show your room you decide to go back to their dorm and when you arrive Yedam is back.
“hey y/n, where were you? Wait you were with Asahi …. Outside …….. on your socks?” You and Asahi both laugh and then you remember he doesn’t know about your new house. “Omg yedam I can finally tell the secret I was talking about. I actually moved into this building.” “wait really omg that’s so cool now we can see each other more often.” He says and he hugs you. Then he looks between you and Asahi and moves his eyebrows. You blush but Asahi motions a silence sign at him.
You spend the evening at the dorm and then decide to go back to your apartment. You were actually put into a groups chat with yedam and all of his members. Which is really funny since they roast each other all the time and send ugly pictures. You decide to put your phone away but then you get a text in the group chat.
Mashiho: come get Asahi he keeps talking y/n about you and its getting annoying
Asahi: Are you this stupid jeez?
Y/n: Wait what…
Mashiho: oh shit I really am stupid huh
Then you receive a face time call from Asahi. “hey y/n I have to say something abut I can’t come to your dorm right now.” “its okay but what do you wanna say.” You kinda have an idea but you also think he just wants to say that he sees you only as a friend. “wait I actually wanted to ask if you wanted to come to the rooftop like right now” “uh yeah sure” you were actually just wearing a shirt and some joggers. You put on some shoes and walk to the rooftop. He was already waiting for you. So you stood beside him.
“hey what did you wanted to say.” You ask him and he looks nervously at you. “So okay I just wanted to say that I like you, like I like like you, as in more than friends. Like a boyfriend and girlfriend way. And I know that we don’t know each other for that long but the moment I met you, you brightened up my world. And I might I have ruined our friend ship with this but I just wanted to say this and we could just stay friends if you want.” You were surprised because he never said so much at one time. He just sighs and then you realize you havent said anything. “wait Asahi I like you too I was just surprised by your sudden confession. I’ve liked you since the first time we talked.”
He looks at you and then he smiles. “Wait for real?” He asks and you nod. “so you wanna be my girlfriend…..?” And you nod again. Then he hugs you. When he lets go of you you shiver. He takes off his hoodie and gives it to you. “Here, you can always think about me when you are wearing it.” He says and you look at him “as if I don’t think about you enough.” And he laughs and hugs you. “now that I don’t have a hoodie on you need to keep me warm with your hugs” He says and you smile. “well I hope I can keep that promise, cutie.” You say and he buries his head in the crook of you neck and the night end with you two watching the stars.
#ygtb#yg treasure box#hamada asahi#asahi imagine#asahi imagines#treasure x reader#asahi x reader#asahi scenario#treasure imagine#treasure scenario#yedam#yoshinori#hunsuk#jungkyu#jihoon#mashiho#jaehyuk#doyoung#haruto#jeongwoo#junghwan#fluff#asahi fluff#treasure fluff#yg fluff#yg imagine
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