#like if it doesn't evoke something then it doesn't need posted ! at least not in the bat tag
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I'm not sure if I'm onto something here but this page/explanation plus everything that follows has always been suspicious to me
First and foremost: blood poisoning isn't most peaceful way to die, far from that. If poison is so lethal Dazai and Fyodor are supposed to die in 30 mins symptoms would have started showing right away - and yet throught whole Meursalut escape arc we see none. Not a single 'I'm feeling weak'. It's stated that Fyodor spent 5 mins just waiting for Chuuya to arrive so I'm really doubtful whole sequence of him and Chuuya nearly drowning, then killing time halting ability user, trying to drown Sigma and Dazai, Fyodor's and Sigma's confrontation and Fyodor's escape could have happened under 25 mins. Of course, it could be that whatever Nikolai gave them takes more than half an hour to kill a human but that still doesn't explain 1) why no symptoms 2) why neither Dazai nor Fyodor seem to be in the hurry to leave
Therefore my assumption is that whatever Nikolai gave them wasn't lethal in the first place.
But why lie then? Why organize the whole game to begin with?
Well, it's certainly challenging to determine motives of character as unpredictable as Nikolai. His absurdist life philosophy of seeking freedom by trying to escape himself and what makes him human certainly doesn't help the case. One of guesses can be pure entertainment, just for sake of it. For an entertainer it fits the bill. But I think there's more to it.
Except he doesn't really. By now we know whatever Fyodor's ability is that it isn't combat one - if Nikolai wanted to kill him he wouldn't necessarily need to know what it is. Not to mention Sigma can extract info from corpses, meaning they can kill Fyodor and then find out about his ability. While I'm certain Nikolai doesn't really want Fyodor dead, I can't claim with absolutely certain at that point in manga he's aware of that himself (of course he is after Fyodor 'dies' later on).
Much rather than that I think Nikolai is trying to kill what Fyodor evoke in him - feeling of being understood and wanting to understand other in return. That'll explain the game, trying to break Fyodor out of the prison without being too straightforward about it because he himself cannot decide what he really wants and stick by one decision, putting trust on test, wanting to know about Fyodor's ability and generally about Fyodor and so on.
While it's definitely arguable if Dazai would receive an antidote if he just killed Fyodor without actually escaping, it's also worth noting he was leisure with time (aka had time of his life soft bulling Sigma). Of course, chapter where Dazai talks with Nikolai post all the mess is yet to come out so it's impossible to tell in advance, but I have a hunch Dazai knew right from the start there's no danger of blood poisoning. Or at very least took gamble on that. Nikolai said something among "my apologies I have to poison you too but he (fyodor) wouldn't take the syringe otherwise" so it's clear right off the bat Dazai doesn't really hold his interest in that whole game. He's there for Fyodor and brought Sigma with him to extract information out of him.
As for Fyodor, did he knew blood poisoning wasn't a thing? Before chapter 111 I would have said yes given he too didn't seem to he in the hurry to escape, had no symptoms and didn't take the antidote right off the bat when Nikolai gave it to him. But then we have this:
Does Fyodor mean poison or game itself? My guess is poison because if latter that'd imply Fyodor expected Nikolai to help him break out of Mesaurlet which would imply broken trust. And we all know Fyodor and placing trust in others is like oil and water
To me Nikolai looks straightout dejected here. He's a performer that revels in these types of high stakes game, he should be grinning like a madman - but he's not. So in my opinion he was searching something from Fyodor here that he didn't quite get. It could be just in this scene/exchange or in whole game. But if my hunch that Nikolai was trying to get Fyodor out of Meursalut just needed Fyodor to place iota trust in him is correct, then Fyodor stamping over that hope and failing to see Nikolai's intention wasn't to kill him despite his theatrical proclaims it is would be reason for dejection. Whatever bids for connection he was looking in Fyodor likely won't be returned because of Fyodor's mistrust in people and abiding by cold rationale rather than intuition/emotions.
Therefore my conclusion is that whole Gogol game was a test:
- for Fyodor to put trust in others when he has no rational basis to (his major character flaw) - and that's precisely why he lost in the end. I could go miles here how Dazai put trust in Chuuya (and even Sigma) and how those bonds are very reason he managed to win but that's for some other time gives there's a lot to be talked about soukoku, I'd like to focus on doa trio here.
- for Sigma to realize the difference between being used and being of use, aka realize difference between transaction and a bond. I'd say he did well by placing trust in Dazai but it's yet to be seen if his decision to take Fyodor's hand was the 'right' one. His character arc ain't over, it heavily depends on what info he extracted from Fyodor so it's too early to tell how it'll go. Also this depends on Dazai's actions anime hasn't shown, like will he stick to his promise to save Sigma or not. Given promise he made to Oda 4 years before, I think it's definitely in character for Dazai to come back for him, fetch comatose Sigma and bring him to Yokohama.
- for Nikolai himself to realize what he wants to do with feeling of emotional/intellectual connection he deemed as 'imprisoning'. He's at conundrum himself what he wants to do with Fyodor: help him or kill him - accept the instinct or fight against it for no other reason than to oppose very self - lose sight of himself in the end just like Fyodor said. If we go by anime ending (I doubt manga one will be much diffrent), he came to realization how Fyodor changed his life and how he actually never wanted him dead but it was too late by then. Now haunted by realization only one who ever understood him and only person he ever felt connected to is dead, Nikolai will come to realize true hell of being imprisoned by own mind without means of escaping.
All three of them had some sort of downfall induced by their 'cardinal sins'; their own 'decays' as downfalls source from inner character flaws, so to speak.
#my ramblings#bsd analysis#bsd#bsd sigma#fyodor dostoevsky#nikolai gogol#dazai osamu#and i guess this is sort of#fyolai#bungou stray dogs
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Bestiaryposting: Holghras Results
Now for what everyone -- or at least a certain percentage -- has been waiting for: the results for the Holghras! Anyone who found that sentence confusing can catch up by checking this page: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting .
This time around, they should all fit into one post, as the response was a little smaller. I see how it is: everyone wants to draw Spooky Corpse-Eater With Magic, but nobody wants to draw Horny Bird With Problems.
I kid, of course. The Wutugald had some pretty clear visual elements that people could hook onto, but the Holghras entry is mostly about its behavior and doesn't give much information on what it looks like beyond "it's a bird". So it's pretty clear why people might have a harder time drawing artistic inspiration from that one. (And I really and truly appreciate those of you who took a crack at it anyway.) The level of physical description is going to vary a lot entry to entry, I'm afraid -- to some extent I think it's about whether it's an animal the reader is expected to be familiar with, but there are definitely a few detailed visual descriptions of animals most medieval Europeans would have seen because the author wants to do some symbolism. So it's a toss-up. Anyway, here's the link to the description people are working from:
And the results, again roughly in order of appearance. If yours isn't here, let me know -- I saw one post that said something about Tumblr eating their original attempt, presumably out of Bird Homophobia. I'm happy to reblog any that I missed due to Tumblr's functionality.
@bruncikara (link to post here) gives us our first interpretation. I really enjoy the medieval bestiary style, including the use of the Generic Medieval Plant that always reminds me of mutant asparagus. I think the border is designed to evoke the thorns in which the Holghras nests, which I also appreciate. The bird's pose, flat on its back with its neck curved up, is great, and it's shown performing its signature Hide With Dirt move. I think at least some of the inspiration comes from quails here, judging by the head... feather... thing... [Wikipedia break] ... okay, apparently it's just called a "plume", which I should have guessed. This is the first example of the common (and correct!) assumption that the Holghras is a member of the order Galliformes.
@jamiethekeener (link to post here) gives us this one, also posing with its signature dirt clods. I'm reminded of a cardinal, personally. The artist provides a brief comment on their design, noting that they are not a bird expert. I think this is a pretty cute juvenile bird, and the way it holds the dirt comes off as kind of playful.
@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has produced another very naturalistic drawing, which (in my non-expert opinion) manages to look very much like a real bird without specifically looking like any bird in particular. They apparently do know birds, because they specifically name-drop Galliformes in their description of their design decisions. I like the decision to also include one of the bird's Signature Behaviors, i.e., the mother carrying her chicks.
@pomrania (link to post here) has given their Holghras a selection of striking features, which they explain in their post. There's a lot in that post, actually, and I really enjoyed reading the whole journey of this particular drawing. You should go read it too -- the post linked above also provides a draft version, a link to a series of progress sketches, and a link to an explanation of their design choices that includes rumination on how to make a bird look "slutty". Go check it out, we'll be here when you get back.
@sweetlyfez (link to post here) describes her design choices briefly, indicating that her goal was to pick Bird Attributes that could look unsettling in combination and suggest that the bird depicted has a "terrible sex life". Mission accomplished, I think -- that bird does not look trustworthy. Also now we know that thing on its head is just called a plume, so good for us. I really like the effect the -- watercolor? I think? I don't know art -- provides, and that seagull-esque spot on its beak really is a great touch.
@rautavaara (link to post here) has done another beautifully stylized drawing with a very pleasant color scheme. They provide a brief explanation of their design decisions in the linked post. I'm particularly struck by the fact that this version of the Holghras apparently carries its young in the same way that the folkloric version of the stork carries babies: in some kind of cloth wrapping held in the beak. I also like that the chick's feet are sticking out.
@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) apparently had some trouble posting this, but I'm glad they got it through, because it's delightful. I like the little bird on the right with its feet sticking straight up, and the other one under its mother's wing/arm. When I first saw this, I was briefly puzzled why the drawing contrasted male and female birds, because they looked quite similar -- then I noticed the tailfeathers -- then I looked more closely at the male's tailfeathers and cracked up a little bit. The linked post provides a brief explanation of the design decisions, including why the wings look so much like arms. It also has a couple tags that I find funny.
@karthara (link to post here) provides this excellent image as well as a brief explanation of their design choices. I love the over-the-top tailfeathers on the extremely-sexy purple male Holghrases, and the babies dangling from under the female's wing, and the fact that the clod of dirt being held up by the juvenile is at least as big as the bird holding it. Also, those ridiculous tailfeathers are apparently inspired by the Onagadori rooster, which means we're back with the Galliformes.
@embervoices (link to post here) did this adorable drawing of the juvenile Holghras. I particularly like that she's taken a different route than having it just hold up the dirt: this one apparently has a little hidey-hole like a trapdoor spider. This is just very cute all around, I like it.
@cheapsweets (link to post here) provides this excellent and action-packed depiction, along with a wonderfully detailed explanation of their design decisions. (I love reading those.) From their post, it's clear that they also know more about birds than I do, and also name-check the Galliformes as the most likely category. Apparently the bird-people of Tumblr have this critter's number. Also, that is a masterful depiction of a bird running off with an egg, I have to say.
@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has done another medieval-styled rendition, which I really enjoy. This is also, I believe, the first appearance of a human in any of these drawings. (Well. Live human, at least.) I enjoy the depiction of the female bird doing her fake limp to lead the human away from her nest while the males engage in their weird drama up in the right. They provide an explanation of their design choices and inspiration in the linked post.
@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) has given us a drawing that showcases several of the odd behaviors described in the entry. The linked post also provides a description of their design process and an explanation of their decisions. I think this is another very cute picture of a bird holding up dirt, and I enjoy the one at the top shouting "HOLGHRAS!" The egg-stealer over in the bottom right is very good also.
@moustawott (link to post here) has drawn this very vulture-like Holghras in what I have to say is a very well-done bushy area. I had to look twice to realize the background was actually cleverly-arranged splashes and blobs of color that strongly suggest that we're in a bush. Very good art, love the style, and that fuzzy baby Holghras is cute as hell. The linked post provides an explanation of the design decisions.
@strixcattus (link to post here) gives us this rendition of the Holghras, which they describe as being inspired by a prairie chicken and a potoo. Prairie chickens are, of course... Galliformes. Another tally mark in that column. I'm particularly delighted by the giant mouth on the chick in the bottom right. As they did last time, the artist has provided a detailed modern-naturalist interpretation of the animal, which is of course in the linked post. I recommend checking that out; maybe it's just because I'm the kind of huge nerd that I am, but I think these are great.
@treesurface (link to post here) gives us a Holghras that they describe as a cross between a bird of prey and a bird of paradise, which I think is a pretty good idea that fits both the aggressive behavior and the mating behavior described in the entry. I enjoy the fact that multiple artists have decided this bird Likes Big Tailfeathers (and it does lie, but about different things).
@ashfly (link to post here) gives us this picture of a juvenile Holghras holding up its clump of dirt. They also indicate that they have an idea of what it is, which I really hope they'll share now that it's posted and the bird's out of the bag, because I was 100% certain nobody would guess this one. The fuzzy bird is cute, of course, and the rainbow legs are really striking. (Pride legs, perhaps?) I also like that it's clearly looking over at the "camera" to see if we're buying it.
And finally, the official medieval depiction:
... hm. Yeah, some absolute bastard apparently cut out a bunch of the miniatures in this manuscript at one point. Luckily, we have the Ashmole Bestiary over at the Bodleian Library, which is extremely similar, so we can get an idea of the image that was here:
And also, this entry in the Aberdeen Bestiary comes with two images. Here's the other one:
I'm going to assume the choice of coloration was up to the individual artist and the missing Aberdeen illustration was also brown, because the Ashmole version of the egg-stealer also has the more colorful pattern:
Anyway, in case you haven't recognized it from these helpful and very accurate images, this is the partridge. Now you know what's going on in those pear trees.
I don't actually have anything else to add about that. I was frankly a little surprised there was even an entry for "partridge".
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I have a question and lmk if its out of line or if you dont wanna answer it thats fine, but basically im a professional artist in the field of fine arts, and as such i have over time learned what makes art "good". I can like or not like it, but usually, im at least able to come up with a defendable opinion on why it is contextually bad art or good art, or rather, whether or not a given artist is 'good' at what they do. With poetry tho, while i (like everyone i think) journal recreationally, i really have trouble identifying whether either my own poems or other peoples are good. Like. This came to mind esp after your rupi kaur post, bc ur right, i dont like her, but i cannot for the life of me articulatw WHY i think its bad. Anyway tldr i guess how can you tell? What are some markers of good vs bad poetry ? (Especially technically speaking) i think these 2 things are similar bc with art too a lot of ppl will be like "ohhh its all relative" but like there are actual markers ofskill and well executed intent, and for fine arts i tend to know them (stuff like influence/filiation, taking into acct the viewers experience, intentionality of creative choices.....) but with poetry as a field i just like. Dont have that technical knowledge to talk about my feelings about a poem like i do with art ans i was wondering if u could help
This is a very complicated debate that has been ongoing since the birth of art and literature. I think it can be difficult for some people to allow that a piece of art (in this case, this includes poetry) can be technically well-crafted while not effecting them emotionally, and that a piece of art can effect them emotionally while being not technically well-crafted. A words app poem that you see which is filled with typos and accidental grammatical errors but which touches on a topic deeply important to you can make you cry while still needing work in its technical aspects, and that doesn't make it either good or bad as an objective work of art. Likewise, there are plenty of poems I've read which were deftly crafted by talented poets but were ultimately forgettable to me because they did not strike an emotional chord. Their lack of emotional resonance also does not make them good or bad. I think that because art has such a capacity for emotional resonance, it's easy to accept that as the most important criteria for what makes art "good," but I personally don't think that's fair. But to me, good poetry is honest--not autobiographical, but written with intent, some understanding of wordcraft as a medium, and meant to evoke a genuine understanding within the reader. Rupi Kaur is sort of a punching bag at this point, often from people who don't actually write poetry which I'll admit I find frustrating, because most criticism of her works is shallow and dependent on the idea that a poem must make you feel something to be good. That isn't a good basis for art criticism, because what makes you feel something is never guaranteed to make anyone else feel. But to me, what makes Kaur's poetry "bad" (not my preferred term, I'd describe it more as shallow or juvenile) is the lack of honesty. Her work is purposefully scrubbed of any distinction so it can be as widely applicable as possible, and in doing so, her poems become no more genuine or meaningful than the mass-printed fortunes in fortune cookies. And, worst of all, there is no technicality behind her wordcraft to make up for the lack of thematic complexity. Both style and substance are rendered as plain and inoffensive as possible. When an artist creates something, they are putting something of themselves into their work, so the art becomes a contract between the artist and audience. The artist is trusting the audience to genuinely engage with their work, and the audience is trusting that the artist has shared something genuine. Good or bad comes later; that it is something the artist created themselves with intent is the first step. But when art is made only with mass consumption in mind, it becomes stripped down to only the bare ingredients of art; it is art on paper, by definition, but it is not art by intent. It's a tree with no limbs, no leaves, no creatures making a home in it. It's not much better than a telephone pole.
When I judge a poem as good or bad, I look first for complexity, either in narrative or structure. This doesn't mean a poem must be a long-winded sonnet to be good; some of my favorite poems are haikus, and in fact haiku is my favorite poetic form. This is because often I find haikus carry multiple meanings, the poet packing in as much story as they can in such small luggage. Most of all, I just wish would-be critics would use their words; "Rupi Kaur's poetry is bad because it's boring" is not good criticism. Your definition of boring is not someone else's. "Rupi Kaur's poetry is rendered shallow and meaningless by the attention-consumption economy it was bred in and has no intelligent wordplay or articulation to constitute a poem that is at least engaging for the mind to read" is a bit more comprehensive.
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May I ask for some headcanons for Cater, Jade and Idia with an s/o that gets easily flustered please?
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲'𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭
| Notes: Hi, anon!
Aaa this was so cute and wholesome to make! And it’s Idia’s first ask too, I hope I did him justice… or at least, got him relatively right. I love that introverted otaku boy <3 Jade seems kinda mean bc if he’s not slowly driving someone insane just for kicks and fun, then what’s the point? lol Also I used some of the phrases that got associated with Cater, both in jp/en server. And I’m really sorry for the last one
Thanks for the request <3 |
Cater Diamond, Jade Leech, Idia Shroud x g!n reader who gets easily flustered / headcanons / extreme fluff / established relationship / use of “you” pronouns
Cherry's Harvesting event 🍒 Masterlist
So, I Blushed
They say a flushed face evokes innocence and genuineness, someone honest with their emotions. And is aesthetically lovely. It's the only way Cater can sum up about how much he likes to make you flustered or say anything that could bring out that cute shade of pink to your face;
Not that Cater is flirting with you all the time — well, not all the time. Anything he says is pretty casual and simple, but it makes your heart beat fast for no reason. What really gets you, however, are the compliments he gives;
Any little thing you do, Cater appears behind you to say how much “it's so cute”, “amazing, gorgeous, fantastic”, “wow, you are the best” and laugh at your static, embarrassed expression. It's even harder when you two are around others because you try to hide your face behind Cater’s arm and try to hit him with your free hand for being so cheesy and causing all this mess;
Worse than that is only when he takes some hidden photos of you and only then you realize it. You complain about not being photogenic enough but Cater firmly disagrees. You are such a cutie sweetie pie that deserves to be eternalized!;
But he doesn’t post any of these photos without your permission. Perhaps one day you will look at one particular photo and want to even personally show it to your friends but, in general, Cater keeps all these memories in a special folder in his gallery app. Just for him and you to see, which makes it all the more special;
It is necessary to admit that Cater controls himself to the maximum so as not to squeeze your cheeks when you make a flustered face, your cheeks red as it can be. You keep looking cute like that and his heart will go crazy — you heard this phrase from him more than once;
But Cater knows what it's like to have his face squeezed incessantly just for the sake of being cute — a trauma acquired from his older sisters — and for your sake and his own, he won't do anything of the sort. He doesn't want to seem annoying or bothersome about it so you don't get annoyed with him. Not that this would even happen but to be safe, you prefer not to say anything;
Hugs are Cater’s most powerful weapons to disarm you in any situation. Sometimes you are very anxious or worried about something, situations that seem like they are going to drive you insane. And all you need most at the moment is a motivational gesture from Cay-kun~ to assure you that everything will be fine!;
Not that you survive long after that. In fact, the effectiveness of his hugs is that for a moment, worries are thrown out the window because you register that Cater has his arms around you and it's so comfortable to be around him... and embarrassing. In the words of Trey, “Cater finished breaking you”;
Ideally? You two are a little too different from each other, especially when it comes to how to deal with things. But Cater has his flustered moments, you just need to figure out what really messes with him to balance things out. But aesthetically? You’re perfect and wonderful for him. Like and subscribed!;
One thing that catches Cater by surprise are the times where you mustered up all your courage to say a very sentimental and cheesy thing with a serious and determined face. Cater’s heart snaps, his cheeks turn red and he looks away, smiling weakly, the silence between you keeping the situation peaceful. Especially since you’re dying in your corner yourself.
It would be a lie if Jade said he isn’t amused by your flustered expressions. Not sometimes but always. Call him sadistic and mean all you want, it just makes that velvet giggle of his sound louder. Jade easily figured out that you don't need much to color your cute cheeks with a bright rose red and that's just with one look from him;
Maybe it's a cruel pleasure — well, when it comes to Jade, it definitely is — but it’s also something really hard to explain anyway. There is something inherently fun about teasing the emotions of someone like you. There is no point in complaining too much about it;
When you two start dating, you end up following Jade in most of the things he does. You make terrariums together, he takes you to the mountains and teaches you about what he learned, and sometimes you work together in the Mostro Lounge’s kitchen. Jade’s day is only perfect when you look away for a second, your entire face on fire;
The question is: do you get flustered f with everything or does Jade do everything to embarrass you? A little difficult to answer. You might wonder about this because Jade started setting up joint terrariums and joking that the fungi making a family in there could be the two of you one day — take it as you please;
Or on visits to the mountains, Jade gets close enough to you to show you more clearly the mushrooms he is studying, almost hearing your heart pounding in your chest. His sly ways are so revolting. You threaten to hit him sometimes but your weak and nervous little knuckles in his chest only entertains him more;
The worst is perhaps while you help him prepare dishes at Mostro Lounge and he covers you with compliments even when you do something small and simple. The students look at you enviously because Jade almost never compliments anyone and all this attention makes your stomach flutter;
“Oh, I don't do this just because, you know,” Jade swears. But you know that relying on his particular humor would be unwise. You ask him to be at least a little considerate of your nerves and he jokes about trying to bargain this exchange. If you beg him with a cute face, he could think of your case...;
Part of Jade’s practice in knowing what might embarrass someone comes from observing the way Azul’s family dealt with him — and that he had absorbed in the few times he managed to visit the Ashengrotto’s. You can imagine how using this informations must affect Azul when Jade needs him to do something;
You, Azul and Riddle are constant victims of Jade’s measured words. Trey ends up hearing one thing or another very occasionally. The three boys were sad to realize that it wasn't because Jade was dating you that they would stop being teased when there was an opportunity. As Jade has explained before, it's a really fun thing to do;
Not that you don't try to say something for a change. You try, but you fail almost every time. Jade is an emotionally strong merman. Mere flirting, pick-up lines or a few stories from the past — that you bribed Floyd to tell you — do not shake or embarrass him. But once you got a win;
On an exploration through the mountains, you found some mushrooms and you locked your gaze on one in particular. It was of a different species and had a cut at the top cap that, because it was folded, looked like a lock of side hair. “Look, Jade, it looks like you,” you joked and promised to guard and take care of it in your terrarium. It was the first time you saw Jade’s cheeks turn pink.
There's a lot about your relationship that doesn't make sense to people. But perhaps your shyness is one of the clearest points in common. It’s also the cutest and funniest thing — at least, according to Ortho's kind heart. At least, you've found someone who understands you better than anyone else at this point;
Idia never thought that one day he would meet someone as shy as him. Well, you felt too pressured by people and he felt overwhelmed — and tired — of them. All Idia ever cried out for was a space alone where he could be at peace, without noisy and annoying extroverts;
In this, you appeared as this surprise SSR card that he wasn't expecting to get. Do you have any idea how impressive it is for Idia? Although he would never have the courage to say something so nice like that. Simple compliments or positive grumbles already made you burn brighter than the Sun and he didn’t understand how this was possible;
Was it for him, Idia Shroud, to feel like the main lead guy of a shoujo? One of those that has a pink background with crystalline bubbles appears behind him with red roses blooming around? That all people want to have merch? The most beloved character in the anime? That's only because your face turned pink when you waved at each other in the hallway;
All these emotions are too much for both of you. You like to stop and watch Idia play games from time to time, but when he looks at you suddenly, you look away quickly to try to hide your flustered face. Idia tries to disguise and pretend he didn't notice anything, but the pink flames in his hair give him away;
Things are a little easier when you communicate by messages — or apparently it is so. Although the answers sometimes take a little while, a cute message from Idia makes your heart warm and you move too much in bed, trying to contain this emotion. “Idia is so amazing, how can he not notice?!”, is what you think;
On the other side of the screen, Idia can feel his own face red as fire. He could fry an egg on his own head. He takes time to type things carefully and ensure a balance between being himself and not being his “so pathetic and weird” self. But when you respond enthusiastically or say something nice, he loses control. He can only make strange noises and wonder who blessed you with such a pro-gamer ability to be so cute?;
Exchanging gifts is a very risky and difficult situation. You both get bogged down in words, stumble over sentences and stutter enough to make an alphabet soup. You are like a couple from an old romance anime, where the animation team spent different shades of red only on your faces;
Even if it's hard to put into words, you like to show Idia that you support him and believe in him. For a solid moment, you’re energetic and motivating. Then you realize the scared way he's staring at you and you turn into an embarrassed mess, not knowing what else to say. Then it's Idia's turn to try to cheer you up and tell you that you’re too good for him. The cycle repeats;
There is something strangely endearing about the smiles Idia gives without realizing it. You don't get tired of noticing and thinking about it. He does this when he likes something or keeps trying to call Lucius and Grim when no one is looking. His giggles are the most precious thing in the world. Idia wouldn't know what to say if you revealed how much you gush about him to yourself, delighted with everything he does;
It was a special day, you had gathered to play video games together in Idia's room. Everything was going well until your elbows touched, then you looked at each other and were embarrassed at the same time. Somehow, Idia managed to pass the level. “Congrats,” you celebrated, hugging his arm. “I-Idia?” Congratulations to you... you broke the poor shy thing.
#twisted wonderland#cater diamond#cater diamond x reader#jade leech#jade leech x reader#idia shroud#idia shroud x reader#twst x reader#twst imagines#twst scenarios#twst headcanons#cherry's writing#cherry's harvesting
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id love to draw more byler kisses but i and a couple other artists i’ve spoken to (i mean it was a couple months ago now ah) got kinda nervous to draw that back when some part of the fandom were ‘cancelling’ people over the smallest stuff or making up assumptions off of ~vibes~ that aren’t even true. it made it discouraging for smaller artists bc of course we want to explore the romance but sometimes more than a little peck on the lips is needed, or feels more right. like as an artist you want to evoke emotion, and you can’t do that holding back just bc some people can’t handle some characters growing up? most of us just want to draw the deeper level of love we’ll be getting in s5 anyway. i know it shouldn’t matter/we can post what we want etc but especially on twitter people were soo extreme about anything other than basic content. idk if I’m explaining right, but are romantic kisses (not crazy passionate lol) something the fandom wants to see, not just cute little ones? maybe it’s better now idk, this post made me happy to see tbh 😅
Oh I definitely want to see the romantic kisses, the real big kiss and even it being passionate (not in a crazy way) because that's how you get the intensity of the relationships in romance for me personally at least
and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love them just holding hands too or doing cute relationships stuff but kisses are part of the majority of relationships, that is an experience most people and couples have in life, obviously not all and I'm NOT saying that who doesn't do it doesn't love equally, but it's just a different expression that should be represented too along with all the others!
but I get it, you should do what you want obviously and if you don't want to deal with that part of the fandom it's totally valid!!! I'm sorry you had to experience that in the fandom :(
I think people must stop to associate simple kissing with sex, like, NO ONE is asking for more explicit art of byler because they are too young for that to be okay obviously, and no one wants to see that!!!! but a kiss is just a kiss
and I personally want to say that people CANCELLING people because they draw a couple in a ship only kissing are completely out of reality, a kiss is there to express affection and love not always to get to more intimate parts of the relationship
Teenagers kiss in movies constantly, it's an expression of love, and it doesn't have to be leading to sex EVER, unless they want it to in their private moment that we are definitely not interested in seeing!!!
if you seriously think that kissing someone can only lead you to sleep with them you have a distorted view of affection, maybe because someone made you think it should but it absolutely does not have to lead to more intimate things!!! ( Never do anything that you don't feel comfortable doing, if you're ok with kissing it means that you're ok with kissing, anything MORE than that should be discussed between the people involved. )
How are artists supposed to give us cute content and cute art about the ship if you start cancelling everybody even when they did nothing wrong...?
and also how are we supposed to take "cancelling" seriously anyway, if the situation is really this? shouldn't that be reserved for when people do something that's really harmful to others??? implying that who wants to see a kiss between two people in love in a story is a pedo is insane and completely out of reality... they are 15 not 10, it's perfectly normal and healthy for them to be kissing?????
and it's also stupid because the whole world is watching it happen constantly on TV, movies, books... and why is this a problem only for byler???? only the mlm couple has to be under scrutiny for this? interesting, I wonder why!
I WONDER if maybe people are sexualizing mlm ships more than they should and subconsciously thinking that people want to see them do more even when all they are asking is just a NORMAL healthy thing like a kiss... because of that, because they have that
gay = sexual
in automatic response!!!
THAT is harmful to real queer people around the world.
Examine yourself when you have thoughts like that, because that is rooted in homophobia or lesbiphobia...
also remember that real people often do have sex and teenagers are sexual beings, that doesn't mean that it should be depicted explicitly in the media or that it's any adults business what they do or don't, but it's not ok to want to just hide completely that part of reality and it's also DANGEROUS.
Teenagers MUST get safe and healthy sexual EDUCATION in a safe environment, from doctors and teachers because they will want to do that anyway and it's important to inform them about these things so that they can protect themselves from catching diseases, ending up pregnant when they are too young for it or being forced against their will to do something or not respect someone's consent because no one taught them about respecting it and they learned about sex from the porn industry that is rather violent in almost every video 😕
but going back to this specific situation and byler... this is also weird because IN the show we had Mike and El making out when they were even younger than Mike and Will now! That could have really been avoided but it also doesn't mean that the writers are pedophiles for writing them kissing when they are in a relationship, that's just writing reality, they are in their first relationship and they want to kiss, the Duffers were extremely respectful in their depiction of a part of reality because of their ages obviously... you should go to complain to people that are actually doing weird suff in this industry like the writer of Euphoria for example 😐
being RESPECTFUL is the same thing that artists do here when they handle byler, they stay respectful but still capture a moment of reality... it's just drawing their first kiss that it's a symbol of them confessing their romantic feelings, it is not meant to be anything more than that!!!
#byler#will byers#mike wheeler#ask#stop cancelling people for stupid stuff#take it seriously for when we actually have harmful individuals in the fandoms!
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Queer Itch.io VN List
So IDK when I'll be able to post art again so here's another bit of content. Queer visual novels from itch.io. Not all of these are itch exclusive so you steam only? Feel free to check. Oh these will be 18+. Four things going in; 1.) Not all of these are finished. I'll be breaking it up between finished and unfinished.
2.) A lot of them are furry because the furry VN and queer VN venn diagram is a pair of nested circles.
3.) Spoilers, will be light but they will exists.
4.) Mostly MLM because that's the place I tend to live.
Coming Out On Top: 5/10
Starting with Coming Out on Top because it's the most average of the list and the quinessential baby gay VN. It's cute, fun, funny, sexy and has the depth of a brook at best. Light fun but has a couple of issues one with stereotypes, the other with power dynamics it adamantly doesn't want to think about because sexy.
Nekojishi: 6/10
Nekojishi is a bit more interesting than Coming Out on Top. Has more depth by and large but is also more fun than deep. Cute characters and while I cannot speak to cultural fidelity the husbandos are all in front of an interesting situational backdrop.
Full Service: 5/10
Similar to COoT, hot guys, sexy CGs, fun and silly moments with big personalities for the husbandos. But doesn't really explore the conflict beyond having something to spice up the romance, tempted to dock points for an infuriating mascot character.
Human Cargo: 6/10
Has a bit more going on between the ears than the baseline but the plot is still more a vehicle for the husbandos. Hot CGs, very cute, a good bit of soft moments and the romance feels at least a bit like an earned climax to the relationship.
In Case of Emergency: 8/10
So this is where we've broken the 'plot as car for husbandos' glass cieling. This is one that definitely has something more going on than date hotties. I dock a little bit of points for it being a bit hard to parse towards the end as to how interactions gets a good ending. BUT gets points for it being the start of the relationship. It feels like the MC matters to the route but not like he 'fixes' their problems. They're all on the road to a better place. Be warned a bittersweet game.
Adastra: 9/10
So I did play Echo first which makes me a bit of an oddity apparently. I think that was a part of the reason the emotions of Adastra didn't hit me quite as hard. Like I was expecting the other shoe to drop. Also since I was waiting for that I also spent much of the early game frustrated by 'Marco's' choices. That said Amicus is everything the Echo fandom wishes Leo was.
Arches: 8/10
Arches is going here before Echo for a reason despite being a nominal sequel, but also... I have so many mixed feelings here. It's an objectively good story, it makes me feel things. It's also REALLY depressing and I feel genuinely conflicted about if it's a very good or very bad representation of schizophrenia.
Echo: 10/10
Yeah I know it's the bloody posterchild for the subversive dating sim, it's also why the spoiler tag exists. Because Echo sets up as a dating sim meant to evoke nostalgia and then devolves into a psychological horror on the level of one of the classic Silent Hill games. Also Leo is the Ur-Furry Thirst Trap and the fandom shows just how terrifyingly effective he is at it. Horror and tragedy in equal measure. And at the end so I can start the unfinished list with it's prequel...
UNFINISHED: There are enough here that are so solid despite still being updated that I needed to keep the list separate. They would get points docked for not being one but I didn't want that to reflect on how evocative they are.
The Smoke Room: 10/10
The prequel and chronologically first game in the Echo Trilogy. Set one hundred years before Echo shortly before the 1915 hysteria and following Sam, a sex worker at the local Saloon. It's charming, unnerving, tragic (especially given Echo ESPECIALLY WILLIAM'S route if you know you know.) All the husbandos and side characters are delightful and charming in their own ways.
Errant Kingdom: 6/10
I would award it a higher score but between being bought, unfinished, and having been slow to update I'm worried it's a dying project. I am more sympathetic to the slow updates because every chapter is functionally three chapters as each origin point is a genuinely different story even when they are at a converging point such as the speech, or merchant's party. The art is beautiful and the characters are fun and interesting. I truly hope it's still in development.
Andromeda Six: 7/10
Also in development hell but getting slightly more updates and has a valentines day side story that is complete. Sci-fi story about an amnesiac with a crew of mercs on the wrong side of a successful coup. There's twists and turns some obvious some much less so that make it engaging. Fun romance options for straight mlm and wlw.
Repeat: 9/10
Repeat OOZES charm, it's fun, has a shockingly fun core of mystery hilarious and engaging characters. Fun and sexy CGs. And a lot of heart that makes the tragic lows hit just that much harder.
Santa Lucia: 8/10
Fun with an Echo-esque mystery and horror subplot. Engaging and been following it for a while. That said I do dock a little points for the routes not intersecting with the main plot as well as Echo which inextricably links the two. Still overall a very good time.
Socially Awkward: 9/10
Hilarious and also incredibly charming, bonus points for all the characters being incredibly similar to actual people I know. It makes the whole friend group cast likeable and realistic. Even the trash goblins like John.
Soulcreek: 9/10
Interesting, intense, one of my favorite genres, good art, but has some frustrating moments early game similarly to Adastra. Ultimately not enough to really drag it and the mystery and setting is MORE than enough to keep you clicking.
Dawn Chorus: 10/10
Okay so this one's a bit of a cheat for me. It's only a 10/10 because it's my comfort VN. Dawn Chorus is like a warm bowl of soup or cup of tea on a cold rainy day. It's cute, sweet, and character driven with an undercurrent of tragedy for many of the characters that makes you hope for the best.
Shelter: 10/10
Remember how I said Soulcreek's my facorite genre? Well so is Shelter. Fantasy that's secretly a Post Apocalyptic sci-fi. It's got mystery, uses the Visual Novel format in unique and amazing ways. Also puns, SO FUCKING MANY PUNS. The world building Raus does here drove me to dip my toes into the setting with a fic it was that inspiring.
#itch.io#visual novel#furry#shelter#dawn chorus#echo#the smoke room#socially awkward#in case of emergency#soulcreek#santa lucia#repeat
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Opening Lines
Tagged by @pia-bartolini! thanks babe :)
Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (or however many you have) posted fics and see if there’s a pattern!
erm, one has a prologue so i'm including both because technically, the prologue is first but it feels like its own entity?
OLD AS YOUR OMENS: His throat burned, his shallow breaths causing sharp pains to rack his body as he flinched away from his mother and the poison she poured down his throat. (le prologue).
Regulus was positive he had ceased to exist. (le chapter one)
2. DRUMBEAT OF THE DAMNED: It didn’t happen all at once.
3. ALL THE STOPS: Harry wearily sank onto one of the barstools at the Leaky, joining the stragglers mostly known as the Pathetic Sods Who Have No Where To Go For Christmas.
4.. THE MAGIC OF MACARONS: Draco Malfoy eyed the cookie in front of him with narrowed, skeptical eyes.
5. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: “I’ll need you to repeat that.”
6. WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS: Hermione Granger, in order to avoid Azkaban, stalked her way down the streets of muggle London so she would not murder Rita Skeeter.
7. A DIFFERENT SORT OF DREAD: Minerva McGonagall would never admit to having a favorite student.
8. THE PLAN: Hermione Granger had had enough.
9. THE KNIFE: Merlin, this was awkward.
10. DARLING!: Kingsley Shacklebolt was a friend, Hermione reminded herself. She had to keep repeating this to herself as for some reason, Draco Malfoy was seated in the armchair across from her in the lounge next to the Minister’s office.
So I left a couple things out: drabbles from LDWS, because they feel qualitiatively different as a style, and one of my fave fics of mine, Crime & Punishment, solely because the opening is a recitation of Draco's crimes in transcript form and it's a lot and played with medium. Innocent Monsters was, by that counting, number 11! That's wild, it doesn't feel like I post that much, but it's been 2.5 years since I posted that lil guy.
They're a bit all over the place, but I think the unifying theme here is I usually am trying to establish character/relatability pretty quickly. Relatability and character aren't precisely separate: Hermione is trying not to commit murder, I mean, who hasn't, right? Hermione's at her wit's end. Dying of awkwardness. It strikes the tone and the character's mood while revealing a bit about them.
But, as you move up the list to my two most recent - these are a bit different. I know, as a writer, that I was trying to evoke something of Peter and his betrayal with, 'it didn't happen all at once.' In that sense, it's on brand. This is the tricky thing about fanfic - if itw as OF and we didnt' know anything, it's just a reaction of 'what didn't?' and maybe 'and why do i care that it didn't?" but in fanfic - WHY did this SOB turn from Marauder to Death Eater? And it's Peter's conversational tone I keep throughout.
OaYO reflects its genre - action! - in the prologue. In the opener of Chapter One - a bit of an insistence that, at least from Reg's POV, he really thought he died. (and he did, not a spoiler, it's on the tin of the fic), but it confirms that Regulus thinks so too. It also, I hope, hints at the confusion/disorientation of his return.
Tagging @orangecoluredsky @acanadianmuggle @thebemoon @alptraumdaydream and anyone else who wants to play and hasn’t, already :)
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Six Sentences Sunday (except is an art process)
Well, hello there, beautiful creatures! :D thank you so much for the wonderful tags!!! they mean a lot for meeee!!
I haven't posted in a bit, doing a master is a bit stressful. But! I'm always lurking around and seeing as much as I can the amazing things you all are creating!!
As you might know, I'm right now doing lots of fan work for my amazing and beautiful friends @confused-bi-queer and @hushed-chorus, which stories are very close to my heart <3
This time, I would like to share my art process. It is a contrast between the traditional art, and the digital one.
Each process is different with each person. When you want to represent something someone else created, it is important to get as many insights and feedback from them, and know the source material.
Previous: The Talk ™
First and foremost, you need to talk with the author. Maybe if you are doing fanart, is not that needed. But when you are doing a collab, it is important to be in the same channel as the author, and have a brainstorming about the ideas, vision or insights they might have. Contrasting ideas, situations, deciding which illustrations are more viable, scheduling the releasing, etc. all those topics are important!
Feel free to suggest creative adjustments, might or might not work for the author, but is worth the shot. A creative idea is never a wasted one ;) once you have decided, then is time for:
1. Sketching
The sketching part is very important! You layout your scene for the first time! start deciding where light and dark will be, the color palette, the feeling you want to evoke, and work with the expressions the characters will have. It doesn't need to be perfect to be a good sketch! It needs to evoke the idea!
This stage is the same in both traditional and digital, at least for me. I always start on paper :) I show my sketches to the author, and we fangirl together ;) then (after maybe some adjustments, maybe a whole new sketch) they approve the idea! Is time for:
2. Lineart
Lineart is different for traditional and digital, but not really.
For traditional, I first decide which kind of medium I will use. This will be crucial for the materials I will procure myself with. This time I went for watercolor with a bit of mixed media, so I needed a paper strong enough for the watercolor to behave. Then, I chose the liners, which are waterproof and light fast. I line with 0.5, 1.0, 4.0 and some edged broader pens meant for calligraphy.
In digital, I work with a Wacom bamboo and Photoshop, and I use some hard brushes with pressure sensitiveness activated. You can customize your brushes, or use packs available on the internet. The wonders of digital are that you can make as many mistakes as you want, and you can always go back. I usually paint my lineart in the darkest shade I will use in the whole illustration, but never black.
When you are happy with your lineart, then is time for:
3. Colours!!
The fun part! The one I enjoy (and suffer) the most!!
Color. I love painting, but both traditional and digital can be as demanding as you wish!
In traditional, you have to be more careful with the mediums. Watercolor is such a wonderful and nightmare way of expression, because you can't really control it. You have to be ok not being in that control, understand how it behaves, and work fast. I always end up adding acrylics for color enhancing, lights, and specific details I want to represent. Let your work rest, I can have a finished piece in two hours, or in three days.
In digital, unhinge. Unhinge my child, have fun! You can correct, filter, move values and start again as much as you want!! There are so many brushes, so many filters, so many textures, the whole color palette light allows! Have fun!
But two important things I always do: make a folder for each character. Don't be me some years ago, when I used to paint everything in a single layer, or not name any of them. Order is important when you want to correct things. Also, I encourage you to limit your color palette, this way the whole illustration makes sense.
I always do something I call 'The ambience layer', where I put a layer over the lineart and everything, and I add lights, shadows, textures, etc. not specific of any object but of the whole scene. And I always add filters and color correction and tweak the values here and there.
Great! Now you have a:
4. Finished piece
You have finally finished! Make sure you sign your pieces, and you give them digital treatment if you are going to publish them on the internet. Always work with RGB values, and export for web :) always send your advances to your authors, and send the finished piece via e-mail, so it doesn't lose quality.
- - - - - -
So yeah, this is basically the whole process :D soon I will share a different process with different versions of the art involved.
Would you like me to create a guide with export values and formats and all that jazz? I hope you enjoy this! :D
Please check the fics these pieces (and many more) were made for:
The Rise and Fall of Us and What Remains After the Storm.
I tag:
@hushed-chorus @confused-bi-queer @kohatenz @artsyunderstudy @moodandmist @mostlymaudlin @palimpsessed @henreyettah @aristocratic-otter @cynopoe @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla @wellbelesbian @skeedelvee @cattocavo @krisrix @johnwgrey @asticou @takitalks @ionlydrinkhotwater @dragoneggos @ic3-que3n @castawaypitch @ileadacharmedlife @stitchyqueer @facewithoutheart @fatalfangirl @thehoneyedhufflepuff @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @bazzybelle @basiltonbutliketheherb @nausikaaa
#art#art process#six sentences sunday#fanart#fic fanart#snowbaz#simon snow#simon snow salisbury#tyrannus basilton grimm pitch#basilton pitch#traditional art#digital illustration#art based on fic#carryon#carry on#carry on rainbow rowell#co/ws/awtwb
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i like stockholm syndrom because of the contrast and conflicting emotions the captive feels. it might not be the most realistic approach, but in fiction, i dont strive for realism. i strive for evoking emotions in myself and the (un)lucky few who read my stuff. i do realize stockholm syndrom might not be actually happening that way.
although i do think it could be a thing, there are so many different people and every one reacts to things differently, think of domestic abuse for example, those women love their "captor" even tho he hurts her. well it s kindof different because she loved him before but i think it does have a paralel.
and lets say in your scenario where davin is the nicer one and renee is the more cruel one (i mean after nervous idk anymore), if i was conrad, i would probably try to get something out of davin since he seems to care. probably would feel more drawn to him and not "love" him, but prefer him, and in weak moments i would probably also feel a sense of connection? its just how i personally imagine it
while i do love me a good internal conflict and fucky relationship dynamics, no writing evokes emotion in me if i can tell the person who wrote it buys into oversimplistic pop psychology. so i guess we differ on that front haha. also chalking the complicated mess of emotions involved in something like domestic abuse up to stockholm syndrome rubs me the wrong way, but its been a long day and its gonna be hard for me to explain that rn
for moneymakers (under a read more if you dont want the dynamic spelled out for you)
there is no trace of stockholm syndrome in moneymakers, and there won't be down the line. there's gonna be some conflicting emotions sure, hopefully an extention of some already fucky dynamics, but yeah if you're waiting for conrad to catch romantic/platonic feelings for davin or renee, you're gonna be waiting a while. im schizoid, i dont even believe in friendship lmfao
the current "connection" between conrad and davin consists entirely of the fact that conrad, although terrified of davin post-nervous, recognizes that he needs davin, both as a source of medical help (stitches/painkillers, etc), and as a barrier that stands between him and the clusterfuck that is renee's general person. for the latter, it's been like that through the whole story. among his two captors, davin has been the one who has stayed somewhat vaguely predictable, which means conrad at least has a chance of learning how to navigate him.
conrad also recognizes that davin is probably using this reliance on help to manipulate him. he doesn't intend to let the tactic work, so he very carefully shuts down any percieved attempt from davin to get under his skin. he won't allow a genuine emotional connection, because he's not stupid, he knows davin would likely use it as leverage. he just wants to not suffer. even if it comes at the cost of emotionally isolating himself
#asks#you can think what you want to think nonny but if youre gonna think it in my direction prepare for me to pick it apart lol
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So I saw a Black Sails gif set, but didn't want to derail that post so here I am making a new post. And just to be clear, I love Black Sails, it's an amazing show (though because of lack of time I haven't finished it yet so no spoilers okay).
Black Sails has terrible costuming, but I gotta say, I didn't remember it was as bad as modern bra being clearly visible under supposedly 18th century gown. The costuming in general has barely anything to do with history (and even when it tries at least, it's mostly way off, like here, the bodice resembles something from latter half of 1800s, when the show is supposed to be set around 1720), but that's not necessarily an issue.
I love the costuming in another excellent (and just as accurately queer (the only historical accuracy a good pirate story really needs)) pirate show, Our Flag Means Death, and it's at least as non-historical as in Black Sails. However, it has cohesive aesthetic, it does something with the costuming and the deviations from history, and it looks good. I can't say anything of the sort with Black Sails. In OFMD the costuming also fits the very outlandish and comedic tone, while Black Sails is grounded in history and reality (while takes a lot of liberties with history) and the aesthetics of the show in general try to evoke gritty realism. In general it feels mostly like the show doesn't even try with the costuming, and leaving the modern bra visible definitely speaks to that.
I don't have a grand point here, I just needed to put this out there because I don't want to suffer alone this egregious costuming choice.
#maybe could do like a full comparison of ofmd and black sails costuming and why i think one fails and one succeeds?#i will see#costuming#historical costuming
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If Wishes Were Apples
(This is a cross-post from my Sephesis Week Fics on Ao3 )
It's a rainy day in early 1994 when Genesis offers something that Sephiroth had never even really considered an option: a vacation.
Or at least that is what the redhead calls it, trying to make it seem grander than it actually is. In reality Sephiroth knows that this ‘vacation’ is really shore leave for a few days at most and not the week or more the word evokes in his mind. The timing is somewhere in the nebulous future seeing as there is a war going on right now but-
"So Seph," Genesis is smirking at him and wearing what he no doubt thinks is a flawless mask of pure confidence and his special brand of charm as he parades the idea. "What do you think?"
Sephiroth takes a second to process the offer, leaning back against the arm of Angeal’s worn saffron yellow couch. The rain patters against the window that the furniture sits under driving him deeper into his thoughts as he ponders the idea. Amidst the confusion he finds that he doesn't really mind the shortening of his name or the way Genesis's slighter figure is pressed up against his side in a way he'd normally consider far too close for comfort.
How peculiar.
"You want me to come to Banora with you?" Sephiroth tries to force the incredulity he sees in the situation to bleed into his tone. He doesn't feel it quite works. Genesis is as unfazed and undeterred as ever though even in the face of such a... What would the swordmage call it?
Ah-
Even in the face of such a 'non-answer'. One of Genesis’s many delightful phrases that are only made better by how much Professor Hojo would be annoyed by them. One day Sephiroth might actually test his theories and celebrate internally at the faces the deeply regrettable man would make. For now though, he was content simply being out of the labs on his ‘off-days’. Until then, he would continue to build his arsenal.
"Not just me," Genesis snorts as if the idea is ridiculous and absurd and asinine. "Angeal would be coming too!" Sephiroth hums and sees Angeal nod in affirmative from his spot on Genesis's other side where he’s curled up against the other arm of the couch reading a book on horticulture.
Then again, Sephiroth supposed to the two of them the idea of only one going would be somewhat asinine. The thoughts of two strong SOLDIERs away from the field at once that fill his head may not even be occurring to them. For not the first time he found himself wondering what it was like to have a hometown where a mother and father both cared for you. He had asked Genesis once, what it was like, only for those lips he admired to curl in on themselves in a manner devoid of joy as manicured brows furrowed. Sephiroth was concerned that this eventual ‘vacation’ could elicit a similar sorrow but decided against voicing it. Angeal and his mother and father that Sephiroth actually had heard stories of after that interaction would be able to handle it, whatever it was.
The fact that they tend to coexist in each other's space with no need for adjustment only goes to show how close they are. That fact alone was evident in the fact that Genesis hasn't once complained or batted at Angeal even as the other's feet continued to make further incursions into Genesis's territory. He feels a small twinge of envy at the way they understand each other so easily pass through his chest.
"So," Genesis leans in and runs a finger down the edge of Sephiroth's jaw. "What do you think?"
Over Genesis's shoulder and attempted sultry expression Angeal gives him a glance out of the corner of his eye and Sephiroth is reminded of the 'talk' they'd had when they'd all gotten back to Midgar not a day earlier.
"I," Sephiroth looks pointedly into Genesis's vibrant blue mako eyes in a way he hopes is alluring and not off-putting. "Cannot think of better company to see your Banora in." He is relieved when Genesis's eyes light up with a fire that betrays his excitement and pleasure. Good, he was not reaching the point of failure in his 'reciprocating' as Angeal had called it. A welcome relief given that his resources on such interactions had been woefully limited.
The person he would have questioned about matters of the heart was Genesis after all. Any other close comrades he’d had that fit the parameters had… Long since 'left' the company’s service. Besides that Sephiroth was not so desperate he needed to rely on bad data and over-generalized advice from outside sources unaware of the variables at play. One foray had been enough to tell him that they weren't applicable in the slightest. He was more confident in himself than to stoop to such circulations that were not written with their career or sexual orientations in mind.
"Oh really?" Genesis needlessly elongates the last syllable of the phrase and tilts his voice to a higher pitch in a way that's clearly meant to be appealing. Genesis’s hand wanders to trace down the plait he’d done for Sephiroth earlier. He twirls the tail of it around his finger as he further invades Sephiroth space until their noses are almost touching. Sephiroth once again finds he doesn't mind, not with Genesis.
The question is clearly meant to be somewhat rhetorical at least given the smirk that is embellishing Genesis's face. He feels drawn to reply anyway, that was how these interactions went after all wasn't it? You had to parry the words directed at you like blows in a spar to keep the conversation going- dodging could only get you so far and was far less engaging.
"Are you surprised I want to spend time in your 'illustrious company' as you so often call it?" Sephiroth lets his head tilt slightly to the side and feels the plait shifting on his shoulder as he smiles back at Genesis and his vibrant eyes. He cannot help but note to himself that the other's eyes have only gotten more entrapping as the level of mako in his system has been built up.
He seems to be becoming as breathtaking in stillness as he is in battle and it is doing strange things to Sephiroth's chest. Strange, but not wholly unpleasant things.
Genesis seems utterly elated.
"You are being delightfully receptive today dear one," Their faces remain close together and Genesis's eyes brighten even more.
"Angeal and I had a talk," Sephiroth admits. It's the sort of admission that he'd have avoided desperately not even a month earlier out of a deeply ingrained avoidance of admitting his shortcomings. This is not however the science department nor the superiors he is often held to.
He is not going to be reprimanded for falling short of immaculate.
Genesis proves that once again when his annoyance is not directed anywhere at him, nor truly authentic. Rather it's a torrid display of faux-offense as he cranes his neck to look at Angeal.
"'Geal!" Genesis's voice takes on a tone that wouldn't be out of place for narrating those horrid circulations that print pointless speculation about him and a number of other unfortunate individuals. 'Gossip Rags' Angeal had called them. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't meddle..." Genesis leaves a last message unsaid but Sephiroth can connect the dots rather well enough.
He lets the corners of his lips turn further upwards as his two closest people interact.
"Honestly Gen," Angeal responds, not even bothering to look up from his book this time. "You'd get absolutely nowhere without me." Genesis lets out an over dramatic sigh and kicks lightly at one of Angeal's invading feet for the first time since they sat down. The other SOLDIER only kicks lightly back then turns another glossy page in the book.
Angeal seems just as much amused by it as he does. Then again this back and forth between them is usually a sort of game so that made perfect sense.
Genesis kicks at him again and then sticks his tongue out when the brunet looks up. Angeal makes a pointed show of raising his book so he can't see Genesis anymore.
Genesis laughs. Sephiroth thinks it's a lovely sound, so much better then the much more contained and polite laugh he pretends at when they're in public. He feels his chest warm at hearing it. It is a strange but comforting feeling. Happiness and warmth is not what he was created and honed for at all. Perhaps it is both because of and in spite of that Sephiroth finds himself wanting more of this, as if he could collect it in a box to always have it near.
"I do want to understand this," Sephiroth let out. His voice is barely above a whisper but that's enough for SOLDIER hearing thankfully. He feels off balance immediately after he says it but he keeps going- that was the entire point after all in clear communication was it not? "I want to understand you, and us, and this more."
He feels like he's failed because his words always feel so clumsy but Genesis is staring at him as Sephiroth has seen other SOLDIERs stare up at the stars in Wutai in wonder. Sephiroth briefly thinks he could get over his dislike of being truly perceived if it meant those eyes would look at him with such wonder every time. Just a little bit, at least.
Sephiroth finds himself wanting this. It felt so strange to want things, so foreign and forbidden.
"Your desire," Genesis starts to quote looking at him with eyes that glow like stars and an expression Sephiroth could drown in. "Is the bringer of life, the gift of the Goddess" He sounds so much softer than when he normally quotes it, Sephiroth supposes that might be the look in his eyes bleeding into his voice like spilled ink.
"'Loveless', Act Four," Sephiroth replies automatically as his chest warms a bit more. Genesis smiles and it's such a soft expression that feels somewhat out of place when directed towards himself. Sephiroth is a weapon born and bred from a test tube, he knows that. He wants more of those smiles all the same.
"You remembered," Genesis sounds oddly touched compared to the usually coy attitude he takes when they play this game. Sephiroth does not mind, he relishes in the feeling of being responsible for that change in attitude and changes his usual response to hopefully encourage it.
"You have had a steady hand in that," Sephiroth leans forward and closes the distance between them like they are mischievous civilian children about to share a secret."With how much you've beaten it through my head." His lips curl up a bit further and Genesis's eyes are soft and steady. In terms of the metaphors the other is so fond of, he feels he could 'get lost in them'. In the spirit of Genesis’s love of words he feels he could take an astrolabe and chart a course home , this strange and wonderful place he has never been, through them.
"You listen though," Genesis pulls back from him but his hands come up to cradle Sephiroth's jaw delicately like he's something fragile. The other is looking straight at him with those yearning eyes. Yes, that metaphor he'd been so confused by not three months ago is starting to make sense. Sephiroth does not know what Genesis saw looking into his unnerving slitted eyes that he had commented as such but he wants to learn.
"But of course," Sephiroth responds with his own voice back down to practically a whisper. He wants to match that tenderness Genesis is projecting but the best he can do is abject earnestness and hope his point gets across.
Evidently he does as Genesis leans in again and this time their noses bump together. Sephiroth takes a second to enjoy the way Genesis fits against him, how if he leaned in a bit more or sat up a little their foreheads would slot together.
"You charmer." Genesis says after what feels like a blissful eternity. It's rough and soft and Sephiroth feels a peculiar and absolutely intoxicating sense of freedom fill him. Genesis closes his eyes and Sephiroth mirrors him then their lips press together.
It is a simple kiss, chaste with closed lips, but Sephiroth feels weightless and content in its wake. As he opens his eyes and meets Genesis's shining blue ones he sits up a little more and their foreheads slot just as well together as he'd expected.
"I simply speak the truth." Sephiroth whispers, his hands coming up to tangle in Genesis's auburn hair as he does. Genesis's hands remain on his jaw, light and gentle, and looks at him like he is something worth marveling at.
"You two are sickening." Angeal's voice brings Sephiroth back to reality. Genesis smirks at him before pulling away to look at Angeal again and clicking his tongue in response. His hands stay in place though, Sephiroth finds he likes that.
"You say that," Genesis scoffs in a playful manner. "As if you make even the smallest attempt to avoid us." The mage's thumbs press lightly into Sephiroth's mandible to punctuate the statement, although he doubts that Genesis is aware.
"Just take the compliment Gen." Angeal sighs as if he is suffering in their presence. Another crisp glossy page turns.
Genesis only hums for a second then kicks him again.
Angeal laughs and Genesis is smiling and Sephiroth can feel his heart metaphorically swell.
Genesis leans back in with his star glowing eyes and presses their lips together once more. Sephiroth holds him tight and relishes in him before he must let him come up for air. Sephiroth leans back against the arm of the couch as Genesis pulls back fully and breaks their embrace.
The redhead smiles at him one last time and then rapidly turns to pounce on Angeal. The brunet lets out an undignified sound that Sephiroth can only describe as a squawk. The book he had been so focused on goes flying. Sephiroth snatches it out of the air and holds it to his chest as the other two SOLDIERs fall to heap on the floor swatting at each other in a most uncoordinated manner.
Yes, Sephiroth thinks as he watches them and unthinkingly clutches the book on horticulture a bit tighter. Yes, he would be very happy with many more days of this camaraderie.
This is a cross-post from my Sephesis Week Fics on Ao3 <https://archiveofourown.org/works/52794301>
I'm not tagging or @'ing the event because it is... Well past that period. If you read this I hope you enjoyed!
#sephgen#Sephiroth#genesis rhapsodos#ff7 crisis core#ff7#ffvii#Crisis Core#Rivkae Writes#Angeal is also there but I'm not going to character tag him because he is tertiary#I'd feel I was clogging the tag tbh
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hello! i'm a big fan of your fics, and was wondering if you had any particular inspirations for you dexter/harrison fics, specifically 'carnivore incarnate'. it's so fascinating! also, forever hoping you'll write more for this fandom ❣
anon, this is incredibly flattering, and I really hope you're still around to read this response. I'm sorry it took me a while. I wanted to really be...comprehensive in my thoughts and this ended up pretty rambly. In some ways, this is an excuse for me to write about my process for my very rare pair, which is self-indulgent, but I hope it'll be of interest to some people at least.
Stoker and Raw are, in general, two inspirations for me that I keep in mind while writing Dexter/Harrison fic. Stoker, because the way I write Harrison, it's always a coming of age story vis-a-vis serial killing. For carnivore incarnate, I specifically drew on Raw for some of the visuals and violence. Both of those films are coming of age stories with incestous vibes and murder, and that's the vibe I want for my fic.
As far as carnivore incarnate goes, well, there's the quote the title is from, which is the Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, a short story collection; the quote is specifically from The Company of Wolves in it; but I wasn't really drawing on the short story in particular, I just like the quote a lot and I kept hearing it in my head while writing it.
In terms of the vampire mythology, I made it up xD There's absolutely shades of Being Human UK (blood drinking as addiction, daywalking vampires) and The Lost Boys (half-vampirism) and even a bit of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (not-fully transitioned vampires drinking vampire blood), but I constructed the mythology based on what I needed to make the story work. I needed Dexter to walk in daylight, or else he doesn't work as a Miami blood-spatter analysis, so I decided daylight doesn't have an effect, or it has minimal effect. I needed Dexter to age, so he looks Dad-aged to Harrison, not like Season 1 era Dexter, so I decided blood keeps him young and if he doesn't drink, he'll age at a normal rate. I needed Harrison to be in some half-vampire state where he knows he is not Normal but plausibly think his issues are all psychological, and not that he's a vampire, so I decided he doesn't get his fangs until he makes a kill.
I am writing more for this fandom! The problem is, all my ideas are huge, so it takes forever for me to finish something, and I also get distracted by other projects, because I get easily frustrated if I spend too long on one thing. I sort of can't talk about what I'm currently writing, because it's for an exchange (hopefully) and I need to stay anonymous until I post it, but it should hopefully be done...in a month? I think it needs a month's more of work. I have multiple Dexter/Harrison ideas that I've already started, and I'm writing one Harrison/Brian idea that's about...30k at the moment, but again, slowest writer alive.
I am also really deeply inspired by music; I can write without it, but it always helps. If i'm a low mood, music can help pick me up and put me in a better mood for writing. Certain songs evoke the right feelings or emotions for a scene, or a character, or a specific event, and help me with the imagery or mood. This is the most self-indulgent thing but I make a playlist for most things I write. I don't have a specific carnivore incarnate playlist, but I do have a Dexter/Harrison playlist I made for you gave me my very first gun that I've just been adding to it as I write and turned into a catch-all Dexter/Harrison mix:
you gave me my very first gun
I also have these two other writing mixes that I use for writing Dexter/Harrison, or other Dexter-related or Dexter adjacent content:
monsters are always hungry
no blood for you will ever be enough
I've been listening to that third one a lot while writing. There's a lot of overlap between mixes, and I guess if I had to pick 5 songs that inspire my Dexter/Harrison feelings for writing, I'd go with
patron saint hunter - timber timbre
evil - interpol
alligator blood - nicole dollanganger
glycerine - bush
you want it darker - leonard cohen (thank you, bones and all, for bringing this to my attention)
Thank you for asking! I'm glad you're enjoying the fics. There's such a small audience for this, so I really treasure any level of engagement I get <3
#anonymous#asks#dexter#dexter x harrison#harrison morgan#dexter morgan#born in blood; just like you#my writing#about me#and my writing process i guess
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I haven't made a stupid bigbrain weeb post about Bleach in a while. I know I've mentioned Kaien what has probably been more times than was really needed to get across all the information on a character who really doesn't appear much... but I've missed a few things, namely his zanpakutou, which I had initially skipped because
i wasn't doing sword names at the time,
it didn't really seem like it contributed to the themes or continuity of what I was exploring with him and
I had sort of assumed his sword's name was straight forward enough that there wasn't anything to say about it.
But I'd forgotten about his release call. So big shout out to @troius for bringing to my attention that Viz had a slightly wonky translation.
But before we keep going, a quick recap on other Kaien factoids:
Shiba[志波]:"Will/Aspiration/Ambition"+"Wave/Ripple"
Kaien[海燕]:"Petrel" but lit."Sea"+"Swallow(the bird)" following the naming pattern present in his siblings'.
The Shiba family crest is a spiral pattern called tsuiten-no-kuzure-uzushio[墜天の崩れ渦潮]: “Crashing/Falling Heaven’s Downfall/Ruination Whirlpool" and it ties into other details of a seemingly implied but dropped plot point in which the Shiba clan had been involved in some kind of effort to overturn the rule of the King of Soul Society.
This same spiral pattern may have been pulled from non-Japanese Buddhist art, and could be read as indicative of a legacy predating Soul Society's Japanese Buddhist influenced setting.
This spiral pattern influences a lot of circular and spiraling motifs in art surrounding the Shiba, like their unique kidou and of course...
Kaien's shikai, Nejibana[捩花]: "Chinese spiranthis/Ladys tresses" written literally as "screw/twisted/distorted"+"flower." They are of course referring to a flower with a screw-like shape
And its release call is suiten sakamake[水天逆巻け] which Viz translated as "Rage Through the Seas and Heavens" and has otherwise been translated into English as "Surge, Water and Heaven." But the component words here are Suiten[水天] which is of course literally "Water"+"Heaven" but is both the name of the Shinto god of water, as well as the Japanese name for the Hindu God Varuna[वरुण], a god of the sea and sky. (it is also a title sometimes attributed to the deity otherwise known as Fuudo myouou[不動明王] adapted from the Indian deity Acala[अचल])
While it's not as overt as other shikai and bankai that take their names directly from mythological figures, I don't put it past Kubo to have intended the association to include at least one of the above mentioned deities, although it's a little hard to tell which...
The verb here however is sakamake[逆巻け]: "Surge" and in the specific construction [逆巻く怒濤]: "an angry sea/raging billows." But broken down, the literal kanji mean [逆]:"reverse/inverse/wicked" and [巻]: "turn/roll/wind" and other similar motions like "turning in reverse" or "winding back." (both of which, at least to me, bring to mind operating an analog clock)
So in the most literal sense we get something like
"Water(&)Heaven Surge, Twisted Flower!"
But with some small liberties it could also read more akin to,
"Varuna, Turn Wicked(ly), Twisted Flower!"
And it also could evoke imagery of the Horizon, where water meets Heavens, and by "reverse rolling" those essentially refer to switching Sky with Water, turning the world upside down. It evokes a scene not unlike Ichigo's inner world --something that has also been kind of obtusely referenced with the idea of "reverse turning" with Shinji's added zanpakutou forms outside of strict canon. Or even the uncommon but very real cloud formation, asperitas, which makes the sky look like a roiling ocean.
and what I think I draw more emphasis from is that a screw-shaped flower has little relationship to themes of water and heaven. But to "twist" is synonymous with "distort" and "distort" ties into the "wicked" reading of "inverse" as in to be of inverted or opposite morals or quality in the abstract sense, rather than the more literal reversal of a simple physical motion. So, the imagery it leaves is of a twisted flower which distorts, wickedly, water and heaven, implicitly by physically turning/reversing them.
Again, it brings to mind the world being turned upside down, the heavens being pulled down and replaced with the sea... which goes all the way back to the Shiba family crest being a whirlpool which can crash the heavens; a symbol seemingly borrowed from Indian buddhism, the same Indian buddhism Varuna would link back to, both predating the Japanese buddhism underpinning the rest of soul society's themes.
...Going back to my headcanony theory that the reason for the Shiba's exile and the unresolved subject of Kaien's notorious railing against the rules of Soul Society, the ones Ichigo's defiance of Rukia's execution stirred memories of in Byakuya and Ukitake... is that they tried to return Soul Society to a state of spiritual balance and egalitarianism that the Japanese samurai themed classist structure had disrupted. i.e. They tried to dethrone the Soul King first, long before Aizen or Yhwach.
#bleach#shiba kaien#shikai#misc rambling#another near casualty of my horrendously disorganized drafts#bleach meta
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content: communication, consent, and trauma
So there's a thing that happens in my play. A lot.
Some people I play with will feel themselves plummet, or feel a suggestion start to click in their brain just right, and they'll immediately, intensely, "oh no." They might pause. They might "red." They might freeze or hide or just need a minute. If I were to ask what they were feeling - if they were to answer - they might say it's discomfort, or fear, or panic.
So we'll do what we should do - the decent thing: we'll step back and check on their well-being. I might ask what's going on. And we might talk about it. Just a little "let's not do that" and on we go with other things.
Or maybe it's a bit less immediately dealt with. Maybe we need to communicate through yes-and-no questions and nodding or shaking rather than words. They might need to be comforted or they might need space, but figuring out which means communicating, so we start there.
And the thing is, after the communicating and the checking in - after establishing a boundary and learning that a boundary will be respected - suddenly everything's comfortable and lovely and fun again. Often, with established partners, we'll even find that that little reassurance that they are heard and are respected is all they needed to feel safe throwing themselves into every kind of dark, depersonalising, kinky depravity.
But it's still a need, and it needs to come before the kink.
For at at least a handful of people I've played with, they feel that rush of tumbling into a headspace or things clicking in their mind and - along with or instead of the joyful rush that's supposed to be for them - they find something they recognise, and it's awful. It's scary. Something bad is happening or about to happen, and it doesn't always matter if they think they're in a safe place and doing safe things they asked to do, it feels like they're about to do something they don't want.
See, I'm not the only kinky hypnotist in the world. I'm not the only partner my partners will have ever had. For some people, those best feelings evoke some of the worst memories. But it isn't stuck that way.
For my partners? We talk about it and we don't make it a shame or a deficit. You aren't bad for not being able to do a thing. We check where we are, what we're doing, and ask what we want to be doing.
And it turns out, often, that that horrible feeling goes away and - armed with agency and security - we're able to dive right into to just about anything. It doesn't matter if it's objectifying, depersonalising, scary, or what have you. It's the play we want, and that's the important thing.
I meant to write this post about how feeling safe and able to let yourself go can be hot as fuck and fun as hell - and it is - but here I've been on about trauma, flashbacks, and all how we do the do in the relationships I've had. There's a whole lot of other stuff there, too, that a person could write about. About the how of doing these things or the emotional mess that is triggering someone else - especially if you don't understand what's going on.
It doesn't have to be triggering and trauma - stopping play and making sure people are OK is something to know how to do and practice in general. It's really fucking important, so please, do it.
But that's all I've got for now. My tummy is demanding supper, and writing this ate a lot of emotional capacity. I hope it's worth reading for some of you lot.
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Otto as the Sense of Touch
(Spoilers for Psychonauts 2. Just in case :) )
Also before I start I'd like to say sorry if this is just... Super obvious. And kind of a pointless post. But I've been thinking about it for days and I needed to talk about it somewhere HAHA.
Alright so as we all know, in Helmut Fullbear's mind, Otto appears as his sense of Touch.
This originally struck me as a really... interesting choice. After all, Otto is constantly shown to be separated or distant from the rest of the Psychic Seven.
He's always on his own. In the wedding under the stage in Helmut's mind, Otto stands on one side, while the others stand to the other side. In bob's mind, he isn't at the wedding at all. Cassie's mind has him as someone who's full of himself. In Compton's mind, he's one of the judges. All of this adds up to suggest that he doesn't have the best relationship with members of the Psychic Seven, at least during the events of Psychonauts 2, and at the very least, we know that his relationship with Bob in particular might not have been the most peaceful.
In addition, he's the only one who's shown to be happy at the Motherlobe's opening ceremony, and is one of two original members to even remain there. And unlike Compton, he's much more present and active. Heck, this is stretching a little, but they're even on opposite sides of the Motherlobe.
All this distance - especially physical distance - as well as this sort of... "otherness", and yet he's the feeling of touch. A sense that most likely evokes images of closeness. It didn't quite add up.
Then I realised that he's most likely touch because of how he interacts with the mind. He builds machines, physically bringing his thoughts and dreams into reality. He keeps a whole stroage of brains - the physical form of the mind. He seems much more interested in the physical side of Psychonaut research, rather than the more abstract side - which is further enforced by the fact we never see that abstract side of him. We don't enter his mind, and instead we only get to see and interact with him in the physical realm, through tangible objects that he made himself.
He's. Literally got a hands-on approach to researching the mind. It even shows through the way he channels his psychic energy - through a pendant, rather than through his head, like all of the other Psychonauts we see.
Out of all of them, Otto is the one that's most in-touch with himself and the present; in-touch with his emotions, seemingly perfectly able and willing to talk about his emotions and express them, as we see with his gadgets and machines. ("I made that one when I was angry, I made this one when I was sad.")
He's more grounded, and though he does bare the scars from the battle with Maligula, he's not caught up in his own mental world with it, at least, from what we see. He has his regrets - he shows remorse for what happened - but he's also managed to keep moving forward, pushing and pressing on rather than dwell too much in his own mind.
While it's easy to get lost in the other senses - like sights and sounds - touch is often seen as something that tethers us to reality. To hold and to feel offers tangible comfort. This, in my opinion, suits Otto as the more tangible member of the Psychic Seven.
Quite ironic, though, that with all that in mind, it seems Otto had lost touch with the other members some time efore they all completely drifted apart.
#otto mentallis#psychic seven#psychonauts 2#long post#been thinking about this for days and I needed to get it somewhere#sorry if this is super obvious and kind of a pointless post but I think it's just really fascinating#bc at first i genuinely was like 'why is he touch?? wouldn't he suit sight seeing as he's more distant?'#and then as I ran through it i realised that hes the most. tangible psychic seven member.#the most in-touch with himself to a degree#anyway yeah uhhh#undying prattle#psychonauts spoilers
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I have once written a post that the Ents speak toki pona, though I cannot find at the moment. Anyway, I return with more thoughts on that topic.
Specifically, I was wondering how toki pona names for cardinal points would work in Middle Earth. Especially, the words for the West and the East, as poka lete and poka seli (I was considering poka suno for the South, but I think that seli works better as an antonym to lete, and also we may need suno later on) work pretty well as respectively the North and the South. The north of Middle Earth is cold, the south is warm, just as in our world, nothing interesting here.
But the East and the West of Middle Earth are connected to the very specific concepts and I would like my names to reflect that. Thus my first and pretty straightforward idea probably wouldn't work.
At first I intended to call the East and West something like "poka pi suno kama" and "poka pi suno muli/lape". Makes sense, right? After all, those are the main characteristics of those points - the side where the sun comes from an the one where it dies/goes to sleep. Unfortunately, even if it does make sense, it doesn't really fit well into Middle Earth mythology.
In Tolkien's works the East is the place where all the evil dwells, and the West is divine. Even if the Elves are not big fans of the Sun, I'm still treating toki pona as the language used by Ents, and it's hard to believe that the tree-people would treat the Sun as something sinister, so the East's name would sound to them like a much cooler place than the West, and it goes against the text (especially the text of the Ent and the Ent-Wife song that uhhhh I may or may not be in the process of translating). Additionaly we have to remmember that the first sunrise ever in Middle Earth was in the West, which addas a whole new layer of confusion. And, on top of that, for purely aesthetical reasons, I don't like the idea of having neat two-word names for the North and South and clumsy four-word ones for the East and West.
I didn't want to use the names along the lines of "poka pona" and "poka ike", even though it's kind of what Tolkien suggests. I don't believe that the parts of the world could be inherenly good or bad (and I don't think that would ba a very Entish point of view). Even if they are consistently associated with certain imagery, I would rather leave that to poets than literally put "good" and "bad" in their names.
Another idea I briefly considered was "poka suno" for the West and "poka mun" for the East the contrast and the darkness-light imagery would stay, but in a more "neutral" form. I'm not very keen on this idea though, because logically it doesn't really make much sense as both the sun and the moon can be seen on both sides of the sky.
The last and at the moment my favourite idea is perhaps the most methaphysical one, but I like it because it works well with the Middle Earth lore and doesn't sound too judgemental. It's "poka selo" for the West and "poka insa" for the East. I think that selo evokes the Valinor that is at the "outer layer" (and after the First Age even beyond) of Arda and the opennes of the sea, while insa makes sense for the part of the world that is, well, inland. Some connections to the opression and keeping under control could also be drawn here, but nothing too direct. The drawback? You have to be familiar with at least some of the Middle Earth lore for it to make sense. But that shouldn't be a problem for the Ents - after all they do live there, right?
I'm not active in any toki pona community and don't know whather there are any "proper names" for the cardinal points (maybe ma would work better than mine poka?) so there is a great chance that I'm just reinventing the wheel here, but it was a fun thought experiment nevertheless. As usual, I would be very happy to hear toki pona tumblr's thoughts on this!
#yes i refuse to learn tolkien's conlangs#yes i have thoughts about adapting different conlangs to middle earth#what about it#tolkien#the lord of the rings#toki pona#language#toki pona as entish#<there will be at least one and probably two more posts on that subject
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