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iprefertheterminsane · 3 months

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Take me Home (Where I Belong)

I'm almost finished with my domestic perryshmirtz 5+1, which I'm gonna upload to ao3 soon so here's a tease in the form of the first chapter!

Rating: G

Relationship: Perry the Platypus/Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Tags: Human Perry the Platypus, pre-slash, domesticity, Perry's moved in before they even stopped calling themselves enemies, it's normal to want to kiss the homies sometimes, right?, long suffering Charlene, Perry's got 4 kids actually and that fourth one is Vanessa, haha Perry the Platypus you are dating my father.

Even after having his plans foiled for the day, Heinz doesn’t let him drive home.

“Look at yourself, Perry the Platypus, you’re barely standing on your own two feet.” The scientist points out. He’s right, of course, not that Perry will let him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. It seems to mean less than little; Heinz had already buckled him back into the passenger seat of his truck with the tenacity of a father, and Perry is just barely conscious enough to comply- a bit dumbly, but the taller man does not seem to mind-without much of a fuss. He’s still talking, naturally. Perry has gotten so used to the chatter the droning had begun to take on an ambient sort of feeling, like brown noise. “-practically an accident waiting to happen. Honestly, you’d think Francis would want to try keeping his best agent alive-that agency is gonna do you in better than I would, one day.”

Perry considers giving up a token protest-he had gotten here with the hoverjet on auto-pilot; the routes between the lair and Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. has long been keyed in as his defaults-but decides otherwise. He really was quite exhausted, surely it would be no bother to let Heinz drive him back to Evil Inc. where he’s parked. Why waste fuel when a cheaper of transport was on offer? The Major has particularly been going on and on lately about turning the office more green and saving energy, no doubt one of their latest efforts to cut costs-so he was doing the agency a favor, really. He trusted that Heinz was a reliable enough driver when they’re neither forced to undergo the serial killing obstacle course that was the Drusselsteinian Driving Test Route.

He would sleep in just until Heinz gets them back home. Decision made, he lets himself rest his eyes.

00..00

“Up, up, up, Perry the Platypus you don’t really expect me to carry you up the stairs do you-,”

“-Ok, here we go, sit here-no, no, don’t lay down just yet you need to take your shoes off Perry the Heathenpuss-,”

“-I am not letting you sleep in the corset of a waistcoat Perry the Platypus, wow is this Kevlar? No wonder you can stand my Titanium punches-Ok uppies, I should probably help you take this tie off too, huh? They could strangle you in your sleep, y’know, nuff said, if nuff was-y’know, me-it’s so weird to see you so biddable, Perry the Platypus-,”

“-ok, last thing Perry the Platypus, yes I promise, just need to help you get under the covers, alright? Now, isn’t that better? Aw, look at how cute you look, Perry the Platypus, like a little angel-,”

“Good night, Perry the Platypus.”

00..00

Perry snorts awake in the penthouse guest room with the covers pulled up to his chin, blinking against the light of the setting sun from behind the half-shaded curtains facing east of Danville.

He isn’t sure what’s woken him, but finds himself unable to go back to sleep. This was probably a good thing-he’s never stayed behind in Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. for so long without making his excuses before, and the clock shows that he’s nearly late for dinner back at the Flynn-Fletcher’s household. He’ll have no trouble flying home now, he feels perfectly well-rested.

Rising to his feet, he finds himself underdressed. His hat rests on the right-hand nightstand, right next to his sleeping head, and the rest of his clothes-vest, tie and shoes-draped carefully over the chair that looks like it’s been dragged over from the kitchen, positioned right next to the room’s entryway, deliberately left ajar. He shoves the hat back over his head and toes his shoes back on, but blinks deliberately at the rest of his attire. They are, of course, crucial parts of his armour, but what was to fear for stepping out without them? Heinz’s scheme was thwarted for the day, and lest the man was suddenly overcome with another plan while Perry was out, which he sincerely doubts, Heinz would not have reason to attack him out of the blue, and certainly not out of armour. He was obsessed with playing fair, and acting by the book. As far as they are both concerned, they were now both off the clock.

Perry decides to take the clothes and fold them over his arm, but he steps out without putting them on- the vest tends to cinch, which he tolerates, but not without reason-and goes to search for his host to make his goodbyes.

It’s easy enough to find him; Heinz is in the kitchen, naturally, making dinner for himself, with Norm at the dining table carefully slicing vegetables and making prep; something doughy, it seems. Perry wonders if it’s pie-Heinz makes wonderful doonkleberry pie. He rests his hips against the doorjamb, and chatters his teeth to make his presence known, a noise Heinz is well familiar with. It cuts off the man’s mindless chatter, and he beams. Perry can’t help his own answering smile.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus!” He crows. “Just in time for dinner! I don’t suppose you mind setting the table, just need to give me another couple of minutes-,” he cuts himself off as he sees Perry shaking his head, and Perry signs, regretfully, that he has to make himself scarce.

“YOU AREN’T STAYING FOR DINNER?” Norm asks, as despairingly as his cheerful-sounding robotic voice could make it sound. His mouth is down turned.

“Yes, it’s already so late, Perry the Platypus, surely your report could wait a couple of more hours.” Heinz adds, cajoling. “I worry you know, a man has to eat homemade meals every couple of days, else you tend to get sick to the stomach. I don’t know if you cook. I’ve made lemon pie for dessert.” Heinz sing-songs enticingly at the end, and Perry has to admit it’s persuasive. The man really does have a knack for baking.

But he’s already missed out on family dinner yesterday, due to making up for Agent G’s maternity leave, and the Flynn-Fletchers would worry if he missed out on another. He knows for a fact Linda’s made her award-winning meatloaf tonight, and hedgehog cake for supper. He’d hate on missing out on the treat for the world.

He’s halfway through realizing he’s said it out loud, ‘I have homemade meals at home,’ before he freezes, taking in Norm’s and Heinz’s curious blinks, and his hands pause abruptly, letting the sentence trail off awkwardly. He could see from the look on Heinz’s face that he was curious, mouth opening as if to pose a question, but seems to ultimately decide against it. They’ve both scrambled enough of the expected norms of their Villain-to-Spy nemesis-ship today, and crossing the line to figuring out Perry’s home life seems a midge too far, even for them.

Heinz hums, and changes the subject. “Are you really driving home fully dressed like that?”

Perry looks down at himself. ‘What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?’

“Nothing, which is my point. You could just leave them here, you know, they’re all dirty, Norm can run them through with the rest of the day’s laundry, and you can pick them up tomorrow. It’s weird to see you all dressed down, you know, but not bad weird, a good weird, makes me feel like a good host. That’s how you know you’re an adult sometimes, ugh, just listen to me talk about good hosting etiquette, Vanessa never has to worry about that sort of thing you know, even though she should. I hope Charlene’s teaching her.”

Perry’s wandered over to the coffee machine at this point, using context clues to figure out how it works and avoiding the large red button in a transparent case on the right-hand side of it’s case. He taps it, and churrs again.

“Oh, coffee! That’s a good idea, Perry the Platypus, some strong caffeine to help drive you through that traffic, I bought this travel mug for you!” Heinz hands him a short and stout chrome and teal travel mug with a silicone top and an anti-slip base. “I saw that color while scrolling through Etsy while I was looking at bento-boxes for this scheme I’m cooking up next week-oop, forget I said that Perry the Platypus, no spoilers! It reminded me of you! But the travel mugs aren’t related, it was just in the same shop, I love travel mugs, especially these newer novelty ones, you know there were never any novelty items back in Drusselstein, on account of the state largely frowning on any sort of color or patterns-,”

Perry churrs again, twisting the top of his cup back on and pointing out the door. Heinz visibly deflates.

“Oh, right, yes, leaving, of course, Perry the Platypus, let me just let this simmer and walk you to the door-and leave the clothes with Norm, Perry the Platypus, I’ve told you, you can come to fetch them tomorrow.”

Heinz helps hold the mug for him while he gets himself settled back in the hoverjet, and the clock on his dash informs him he should reach the house just in time to reach the Flynn Fletchers begin dinner if he rushed. Heinz leans forward to hand him the travel mug, leaving them close, just close enough that Perry feels the ridiculous urge to-maybe-leave a soft kiss on the other man’s cheek, the way Lawrence does when Linda was about to leave the house for the errand of the day.

Heinz doesn’t seem to notice, mumbling about setting the mug just right into the cupholder behind the handlebar, because it was hot, Perry the Platypus, we wouldn’t want a repeat of the driving test incident, do we? When Perry switches the jet on, Heinz waves. Perry, inexplicably, tips his hat back in return.

It isn’t until he’s 15 minutes away from the house that he realizes he really had left his vest and tie behind at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. He hopes Heinz doesn’t plan to do anything inadvisable with them.

For some reason, Perry doesn’t believe that he will.

#perryshmirtz #human perry #fic tease #perry the platypus #heinz doofenshmirtz #phineas and ferb #domesticity #5+1 type fic

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hollowflight-propaganda · 11 days

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Rambles about Echo's TJ route are below the cut because I'm very normal about it (spoilers for the whole thing + brief mentions of things in other routes)

There's a part of me that hates how open ended everything is, and another part that loves it. Cause like, who or what planted the scavenger hunt in the first place? What was the mirror demon that spurred Chase on? How the HELL is Carl doing after being falsely accused of messing with TJ, breaking his leg, AND hearing that one of his closest friends killed another one of his closest friends? And in supposed "self defense" too. In Flynn's route Carl very adamantly believed that Flynn would never hurt TJ, is that true here? Does he have suspicions about what Chase really did?

How about TJ? Does he just go back to college and whenever someone asks, "Hey, how'd your break go?" does he just have to look them dead in the eyes and act like he didn't witness a murder less than a week ago? A murder that on top of everything, was a near exact replication of his worst childhood trauma? Does he ever succeed in burying and repressing it down again? I feel like he never even fully repressed Sydney's death in the first place because in two of the other routes he's able to recall the truth as well, so with it so fresh in his mind and ANOTHER murder on top of it I feel he's never going to be able to completely "forget" like last time.

Does Chase ever come to his senses, or does he also try to repress his guilt as much as he can? He had shame when killing Flynn, he didn't even want to do it but felt he had to. Does it catch up to him? Is he able to live with himself, or does he forever think that Flynn was actually going to kill TJ? Does anyone ever even try to talk to Chase again after everything? Would Leo try to reach out at all, would Jenna? Do they each blame themselves? Jenna for leaving early, and Leo for not trying harder to get Chase to talk to him a few hours before it happened? I can't imagine Carl would ever want to willingly talk to Chase after that. Does Chase still talk to TJ like nothing ever happened? Does TJ try to keep it up too or does he ever try to break contact with him? Does TJ feel like he owes Chase for "saving him again?"

Does TJ himself really think that Flynn was going to hurt him? Or is that just what he tells himself to justify Chase's actions, to try to make any sense of it?

How does Julian hear the news that after he called Chase, he went on to kill someone because TJ was in danger? Does he blame himself for the death of someone he doesn't even know? Does he even believe that it was self defense in the first place after seeing first hand how weirdly protective Chase is of TJ? Does Julian ever succeed with getting in contact with TJ because he needs to make sure that one of his closest friends is okay, but would TJ even want to talk to him? TJ's only goal right now is to wipe what happened out of his mind, so his friend trying to make sure he's okay afterwards is only going to make him think about it more. So does he try to avoid anybody and everybody from Echo? What about Jenna? Would she ever be able to talk to him about what happened? Does she ever run into Chase, or does she seek him out at Pueblo? What would THAT look like??

Anyway yeah, I'm sooooooooo normal about this route :)

#if anybody ever writes a post tj route fic exploring ANY of these ideas I need someone to come and tell me pretty please #echo vn #echo visual novel #echo project #tj hess #chase hunter #jenna begay #carl hendricks #I only talked about leo for two sentences and flynn's... y'know. do I tag them?#eh it's fine #julian echo #phoenix prattles

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1mnobodywhoareyou · 14 days

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'dragging them out to every restaurant or store to get free drinks or birthday benefits' for Flynn and Willie pls 🙏

- Parker

😁 complete with a set of neos as previously discussed 😊 Thank you! Hope you like it! @lou-writes-things

Willie’s nearly bouncing in its seat waiting for Flynn in their sole shared class this semester. Flynn finally, FINALLY makes it through the classroom door and Willie jumps out of its seat to greet aer with a tight hug.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!” Willie cheers.

Flynn pats Willie’s shoulder with a light chuckle, “Okay, okay, thank you! Put me down.”

Willie complies and they walk back to their usual seats together. Willie drops into its chair with a dramatic groan, “It’s been terrible being awake so many hours without being able to wish you a happy birthday in person.”

“You’ve texted me almost every hour,” Flynn replies with another laugh, taking aer own seat. “Since midnight, I might add.”

“Okay, yes. But,” Willie says, digging through its bag. “It’s not every day your best friend turns twenty-one!” Willie presents Flynn with a flat envelope.

Ae accepts it with furrowed brows. “What’s this?”

“Your birthday present!” Willie beams at aer.

Flynn opens the envelope and slides out a sheet of folded paper. On it is a list of different businesses in town, ranging from restaurants and bars to mom and pop shops. The wrinkle in Flynn’s brow deepens. “I don’t get it.”

“This,” Willie says as it takes the paper from aer, “is our plans for the rest of the day.”

Flynn gestures for Willie to continue.

“I figured out everywhere that does birthday freebies and plotted out a route based on when places close and open.”

“You did what? How long did that take?”

Willie shrugs, “Not too long. I just did bits at a time over the last few months. It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?!” Flynn widens aer eyes at Willie in disbelief but is silenced by their professor starting class. “This is not nothing,” Flynn whispers, flipping aer notebook open.

Willie grins at aer, knocking its foot against Flynn’s under the table. Flynn returns the smile and foot knock and they both do their best to focus on their lecture for the rest of class.

They quickly pack up as soon as class is over with Flynn laughing as Willie fumbles with its things in excitement. “My birthday is not that big a deal.”

“Shut up, yes it is.”

Flynn rolls aer eyes but doesn’t argue.

“Okay, let’s go!” Willie exclaims once it’d successfully packed everything up.

“Right now?!”

“Yeah, we have a tight schedule. Gotta get started.”

Flynn raises an unimpressed eyebrow, “Dressed like that?”

Willie looks down at its outfit and holds its hands out in question. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

Flynn doesn’t bother answering, ae simply spins on aer heel and walks out of the classroom with Willie trailing close behind.

Willie follows Flynn to the apartment they share where Flynn picks out a new outfit ae deems appropriate for celebrating aer 21st birthday.

“Better?” Willie asks, modeling the new clothes with a spin for Flynn.

Flynn nods approvingly, “Much. Now we can go. After a quick stop by my room.”

Willie narrows its eyes, “How quick.”

“Quicker if we get moving, let’s go!”

After another outfit change and a few selfies for good measure, Flynn and Willie get started on the birthday tour.

They encounter very few issues, enjoying free shots, drinks, appies and random gifts as they move through Willie’s list. Willie had preplanned which stops would require them to actually spend money to get the freebies. There were only a few stops that were unexpectedly outside of Willie’s budget and they had just moved on, quickly making up lost time from the wardrobe changes.

“It’s too bad the whole crew couldn’t be here until the weekend,” Flynn says from behind the display ae’s sifting through. Flynn and Willie opted to go to a speciality arts school instead of joining the others at their college. They’re not necessarily far, but it’s still far enough that making the trip during the week is a lot to ask. Even for a milestone birthday. But they make it work.

“Yeah,” Willie agrees, handing over something that had caught its eye that Willie was confident Flynn would like. “But they’ll be here this weekend and we can ring in your new year for real.”

“I guess I can settle for your company until then,” Flynn teases.

“You’re lucky to have me.”

“I am,” Flynn agrees with a smile, putting everything they’d been browsing through back. “Where to next?”

Willie takes Flynn through the rest of the stops, ending at the club that they’d been frequenting for the last few years. The staff knows them well and are excited to offer Flynn aer upgraded admission bracelet.

Flynn accepts it by dramatically holding aer wrist out and bowing deeply once properly adorned. Aer brow furrows in confusion when one of the staff guides them away from the dancefloor. Ae looks back at Willie who just shrugs.

“What…” Flynn cuts aerself off when ae sees where they’re headed. Squashed into one of the booths hiding in a quieter part of the club are all of their friends.

“SURPRISE!!!” they yell with their best attempt at jazz hands while also trying to pile out of the booth.

“Guys!” Flynn cries, hand pressed to aer chest.

Everyone surrounds Flynn and Willie, wrapping them up in a tight group hug. “Happy birthday, Flynnie!” they chorus.

Flynn fights back the tears threatening to make themselves known. “I can’t believe you managed to do this. And not tell me! All of you suck at secrets.”

“We can learn new things for you.” Willie says with a wink.

“Absolutely unbelievable. All of you,” Flynn says as ae draws everyone back in for another hug. “Thank you! I love all y’all weirdos.”

“We love you too, Flynn. Now, c’mon! One last freebie,” Willie grins as it shoves Flynn into the booth, crawling in after aer and letting everyone else pile in behind them.

#thank you!#answered ask #prompt fill #nobodys fics #jatp #julie and the phantoms #fanfic #flynn taylor #willie nolastname

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stevethehairington · 2 years

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had a THOUGHT:

what about a steddie tangled au, except instead of going the expected route of steve as royalty with the magic hair and eddie as the dashing thief, it would be EDDIE as RAPUNZEL, stolen from his home for his long, powerful hair and hidden away in captivity, a literal outcast from society, and STEVE as FLYNN, the daring adventurer with swoon worthy charm who runs with the wrong crowd until he finds someone worth growing for, someone worth becoming better for.

like just think about it, even rapunzel and flynn's first meeting so perfectly echoes eddie and steve's, like rapunzel pulling that frying pan on flynn vs eddie shoving steve into the wall with a broken bottle to his neck!

and the snuggly duckling scene, just imagine eddie jumping up on that stage and getting the whole crowd on their feet and singing within minutes while steve tries so hard to hold onto his too cool for school persona, but cracks so so quickly because how could he not when eddie looks so in his element.

and oh my god just imagine, steve braiding eddie's hair and sticking flowers all through it 🥺 and the boat scene, with all the beautiful lanterns and eddie watching them with such a look of awe and wonder on his face that steve isn't even paying attention to the lanterns anymore because eddie is right there and he is so much more beautiful. 🥺

(and also ft. robin as maximus and dustin as pascal lmao)

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #robin buckley #dustin henderson #tangled #mack writes

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decafdoodlez · 2 months

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Pinned Post: Welcome and Intro ✨🤍🫶

UPDATED: 04/30/24

Hi there! Thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog!

Please be aware that this is an 18+ ADULTS ONLY blog. There are mature and graphic/sensitive themes throughout my posts and likes.

I implore those who do not want to see 18+ content with themes that are not completely "pure" to just move on and block me. I will not fight with you.

If you're just a bigot and/or a minor, I don't want you anywhere near me. I don't know how I can make this any more clear.

Blog Links (blog specific tags):

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Decaf answers

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Quick Artist FAQ:

Who are you?

I’m Allie! Or Decafdoodles/Decafdoodlez :)

What do you do?

I’m an illustrator and graphic designer, both professionally and as a hobby. I also do like to write on occasion. ❤️‍🩹

What fandoms are you in?

Currently: BTD/TPOF (mostly Ren/Fox content)

On occasion: MHA (mostly Dabi content), OC Content

What do you draw?

Fanart

OC x Canon content

SFW & NSFW content

Do you offer commissions?

Not at this time, sorry! My freelance work takes a bit of my time right now, but I’ll update when I’m available for commissions though!

Do you take ask box requests?

I might! Only if I have time. :)

Got any other design or art related questions? Shoot me an ask box question!

OC FAQ:

Who are your current OCs?

Marina Kaninsen (25F/165 cm) - TPoF (OCxCanon ship: RenRina)

Rory Shay Flynn (28M/176 cm) - Personal OC for unamed VN project

Frederika Kumamoto (21-23F/157 cm) - BTD/YKMET (OCxCanon Ship: Main - StradeRika, Secondary - RenRika)

Kohaku Hajime (20-22F/170 cm) - MHA (OCxCanon ship: Main - DabiHaku, Secondary - MirkoHaku)

Are your OCs self inserts?

No! There may be some aspects of myself written into my OCs, such as Haku being timid, or Marina being results-driven, or Rika being emotionally guarded, but that can be said about mostly anybody who has ever made an OC, haha. My OCs are not vectors of me as a person, they don’t look like me, they don’t dress like me, and they are their own characters driven by different aspirations and goals. I have no issues with self-inserts though! If you go the self-insert route for your OC, that is totally valid! <3

Can I draw your OCs?

Of course! Please tag me if you do! :) <3

Can I draw your OC interacting with my OC?

Absolutely! =^~^= <3

Can I ship/pair your OC with my OC?

Absolutely, that is so fun! You can pair my OCs with anyone of any gender identity as long as they are of age (18+). All of my OCs are either unlabeled, or pansexual.

Can I ship/pair your OC with a canon character and my OC?

Yes! The more the merrier! For example, if you’d like to ship my TPoF OC Marina with the canon character Fox and your own OC, or my MHA OC Haku with the canon character Dabi and your own OC, that is A-OK!

If you have any OC related questions, please feel free to reach out to me through my ask box! :)

Thank you for reading through my pinned post! I love you, tyty! ╰(*´︶`*)╯❤️‍🩹

#pinned intro #faq #decaf txt

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zonedelicious · 1 year

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EchoVN analysis thingy

This will be a quick analysis of the furry visual novel Echo which will obviously contain spoilers. This is my own personal interpretation of the narrative and shouldn't be taken as factual. I must also state that I am not sexually interested in any of the characters, so this will be an asexual reading of sorts.

Echo to me is a story about mental illness and how it affects people. All 6 of the main characters are suffering mentally and that has affected their relationships with each other. Of course there is the paranormal entities that exist within the town of Echo. Our characters are one small part of a greater messed up world.

When seeing how people talk about the characters it is very similar how people discuss mental illness in real life. That is villainising it. With no offense to anyone in particular, there is often a hatred towards these characters that feels personal and that hatred comes from ableism. Thinking that none of these characters deserve happiness, that they're inherently bad, or that they're psychotic, it's all ableist reaction. And maybe that's intentional. Because Echo is a game that makes you feel uncomfortable. And maybe it's trying to make you question your own biases.

If there's one character that could potentially represent this best it is Sydney. The kid that drowned. Who's often portrayed as a cruel and even demonic kid. Some say he's even the one behind all the demonic entities. You could say he's a bad person. Right? But that would be wrong. Because Sydney being a bad person is a lie. A lie Chase made up.

Chase is an unreliable narrator who throughout the game is often seen lying and intentionally twisting the truth. It is his coping mechanism. He intentionally exaggerated Syd's bad moments and lies about Syd's death, to cope with the fact that he was the one who killed him. Chase as well as TJ had buried their memories of the event due to how traumatic it was for them and avoid thinking a out Syndey at all. In Flynn's route we even see Syd as a very friendly kid. It was only after his father's death that he grew distant from the others, because they judged him. Sydney was not a monster. He was simply another kid. Anyone could have taken his place. Just like Chase, the player frames Sydney as a bad person. You would expect him to be bad. Especially when being aware of common horror tropes of a vengeful ghost. But of course that never happens. Sydney probably has even forgiven Chase from what Micha says in Jenna's route. So what's the message then, that Chase is the bad guy? Well you would think that of course, but that's also false.

Chase is a mentally unwell person. He has been possessed for so long that he doesn't even know who he is. He lies and manipulates people because he is emotionally detached from everything. Does that makes him evil? No. He's simply a person. He does shit things. He has mental issues he can't control. This of course is shown by him literally being possessed by multiple ghosts, that also represent real world mental health issues. In TJ's route he is basically no longer in control of his own body according to Sam. He is a puppet. And that doesn't excuse his actions entirely. But it needs to be understood that he and everyone else in the game are suffering from serious mental health issues, and in the real world that means they are unstable and not fully in control of their own actions. So while yes technically a demon possessed Chase killed Sydney and Flynn. It was also a metaphor for how mental illness can cause you to do things you do not want to do.

Carl could get a job and go to college and be the best student and get all the girls and be happy. But that's not what's it like when your anxiety is so bad you start having panic attacks constantly.

TJ could just man up and be a badass. But how can you expect a 19 year old to change like that when they've been emotionally stunted due to trauma.

Trauma, depression, anxiety etc. It is all fucking painful, it fucks you up, and you can't function because of it. I relate with all these characters because I felt it too. I lost a friend and I've quit college and I had anger issues and people treated me like I was crazy. Probably shouldn't be personal on a furry post but I need to emphasize that this shit is really fucking hard to deal with.

So to say these characters are irredeemable and inherently bad, it is simply cruel to me. Yes I do think someone like Leo deserves love and care and to be hugged. Not because I want to fuck him. But because I understand that this is a broken man who does not deserve the pain he is going through.

Leo is the reason I started writing this essay. Before I even started playing I saw how Leo is said to be the worst person ever. To the point that liking Leo is seen as "missing the point". Which I find strange because Leo is never portrayed in the game in this way.

"I can fix him" in reference to Leo is a meme for how an absurd of an idea it is, but the game itself says that he should go to therapy, which is the game saying Leo should get fixed in a way. And he does get fixed. In his good ending he refuses to get Chase's number. In Jenna's route he apologizes to Micha and takes responsibility for his past actions. Leo makes changes despite being mind fucked by the mental illness devil. So him being portrayed as evil I think goes against the actual message.

Most of what I said for Leo also applies to Jenna. Though the hate she gets is also heavily tied to the fact she's the only girl in the main group and this is a game aimed at gay males. Any action she takes is the wrong one. Funny as that's exactly how Jenna grew up. She was always screwed over no matter what and had to eventually leave home. And her cold personality is a defense mechanism a lot of women develop to protect themselves from men. Then maybe she was also a way for cis gay men to question their misogyny.

So what's the end message? That you should excuse bad actions? Not necessarily. I think it's important to differentiate when a person chooses to hurt someone and when they don't. With Flynn, his bad actions are often choices. He chooses to be distant and an asshole. Yet at the same time this is how he communicates. I do not think Flynn knows he's hurting Carl when he insults him. Is it wrong to do so? Yes. Does Flynn care about Carl and doesn't want to hurt him? I believe so. Is Leo selfish and obsessive? Yes. Does Leo genuinely care about his friends and wants to protect them? Also yes.

Again this is simply how mental illness is. Anger issues, personality disorders, etc. The way you act does not always reflect your intentions. I'm not an expert here and don't know the right terminology. All I know is that functioning as a normal human being is really fucking hard. It affects your life and your relationships. And most of the time it isn't your fault.

So that's what Echo means to me. It is about people who are suffering. Who make mistakes. Who are assholes. And who are still people despite all that. They aren't evil, or psychos, or monsters. They're just people. And I am happy that the game treats them as such the entire time. People with mental illnesses deserve happiness.

This was my first analysis post. Well it's a rant post really but those are the same things. I hope to make more posts like this in the future as I am bored and jobless and that's what you do on the internet. Thank you for reading everyone.

#Analysis #Zone analysis #echo vn #echo visual novel #furry visual novel #This is very long I am so sorry

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natasha-in-space · 1 year

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Quick which Disney prince/love interest are the characters of MM

That was honestly a ton of fun to write and muse over :D

Yoosung

Prince Eric from 'The Little Mermaid'. I can't really put my finger on why exactly did I choose him of all princes for Yoosung. There's just something about him first being saved by Ariel and then returning the favor down the line. Risking his life to save his loved one is definitely something Yoosung would do without any hesitation. Eric's devotion to Ariel is so reminiscent of the way Yoosung is ready to pretty much sacrifice himself to keep MC safe in his own route. Plus, they're both sweethearts!

Zen

Prince Naveen from 'The Princess and the Frog'. While there are clear differences in attitude between them, I couldn't help but think of Naveen the second I got to Zen. Naveen's charisma, charm and his journey to become a better person, both for his own happiness and for those he holds dear is so similar to Zen's own path in life. And hey, they're both so adorably flirty and giddy with their SO! These two would definitely become great buddies. I can imagine them performing together and absolutely wowing the crowd.

Jumin

Kristoff from 'Frozen'. Another odd couple of mine! Still, I think there's a ton of similarities between these two. Both Jumin and Kristoff are pretty reclusive in their nature, but once you get to know them a little better, you can't help but admire the warm and sincere heart hidden underneath the frost. They both had to close themselves up from the rest of the world in order to keep themselves safe. But, it never made them cruel. And they both have a cherished pet that they consider practically their family! The way Ana helps Kristoff become more open to the world is so incredibly similar to Jumin's route and it makes me very happy :)

Saeyoung

Flynn Ryder from 'Tangled'. Yeah, I think that's an obvious choice right there lol. These two share so many similarities it's borderline uncanny. Just tell me that the description of a lovable cunning thief with a heart of gold does not describe Saeyoung to a t. They both got a great sense of humor and the way we slowly learn of Ryder's true caring nature as the trust between him and Rapunzel grows is so reminiscent of the journey that we go through by Saeyoung's side. I just think they're neat.

Jihyun

The Beast from 'The Beauty and the Beast'. I know that this role is usually reserved for Saeran, but my take on it is more of a metaphorical one. I just really like the idea of Jihyun viewing himself as a beast that can only hurt those he holds dear and mess everything up. The way his burdens lay heavy on his exhausted shoulders... how he refuses to let anyone in, both for their own safety and because he thinks that he doesn't deserve that sort of kindness. While the Beast and Jihyun do not share much in terms of attitude, there's something so incredibly beautiful in the way that they both transform, inside and out, as a symbol of their internal growth. They both made some mistakes in their lifetime, but they learned that they deserve to be loved as they are. And I think that's lovely.

Saeran

I'm going with GE Saeran here, since I just don't know enough prince's to pick one for each version of him lol. For Saeran, I pick Prince Charming from 'Cinderella'! Okay, well, if I'm being more precise here, it's Prince Charming from the 'Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time'. This movie has NO right being this good, and it holds a very special place in my heart. There's no deep reason why I associate Prince Charming with Saeran - they're just painfully similar in the way that they behave, and it makes me squeal from delight and crack up all at the same time. Seriously, check out this movie while imagining Saeran in the place of Prince Charming, and you will never unsee it in the best way possible. I love this dork to the moon and back and imagining him being all goofy makes me happy.

Vanderwood

Aladdin from from 'Aladdin'. Again, I just really enjoy their personalities mixed together. Plus, Aladdin is a notorious criminal, which is definitely up Vanderwood's alley. Moreso, I believe there's something so inherently lovely about Aladdin learning to stop trying to pretend someone he isn't, since that only ruined his close relationships in the long run. It was hard for Aladdin to believe that he's worthy of being loved as he is, and his main lesson was exactly that. Vanderwood definitely struggles with their self-worth, which is why I believe that they'd relate to Aladdin's journey a whole lot. Just don't catch them tearing up while watching the movie because they will deny it to the ends of time itself.

#mystic messenger #mysmes #mysme #mm #mystic messenger headcanons #yoosung kim #zen ryu #jumin han #saeyoung choi #jihyun kim #saeran choi #ge saeran #vanderwood #mm vanderwood

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furinana · 4 months

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Analyzing each SMTIVA Goddess

As I discussed in this previous post, the Goddess shouldn't necessarily meant to be taken as Dagda ressurecting one of Nanashi's partners with their state of mind right before they died and/or under a 'brainwashed' state.

The difference between Dagda reviving Nanashi&Flynn compared to the partners is that the latter is being done from scratch rather than just healing wounds. And if Dagda is making a person from zero, a body alone won't suffice. He needs 'someone' to remember the soul and reshape as how they were. This is particularly useful to consider as reincarnation is a thing in the SMT4 duology, thus a soul could have infinite shapes.

The Goddesses in Massacre are stated in-game to be Nanashi's memories, in other words, 'ideas', 'interpretations', or 'impressions' that Nanashi had of them when alive.

This means that they could come from different periods from when Nanashi knew them. So many possibilities can be made.

Asahi is seen by many as the 'default Goddess' as she not only is the partner with the biggest emotional factor to be chosen by Nanashi, but she's also the one that you never fight against.

Childhood friend, sibling, lover, whatever it be, you knew and cared for each other the longest out of the cast.

If you side with Dagda in your very first run, it's noticeable that she'd be the only partner that won't have the Awakening Skill (which would strongly inhance her healing if she had it). In other words, her Mediarama would be lacking.

Even putting that aside, she still would be frustrating to be around if you're attempting to summon demons exclusive to fusion accidents due to her AI immediately casting Posumudi on your team (having you and your fodder material sick improves the chances for fusion accidents, remember?).

For these reasons mentioned, it can be stated that a Massacre run with Goddess Asahi would be the least helpful or resourceful one. Very characteristic of our little Asahi.

Anyway it doesn't take a genius to interpret this ending specially with the last particular line your partner gives you as something akin to gods giving birth through divine means.

But the real point behind this post is comparing the different flavors of what each union in this route produces.

Toki's vibe seems more of a possessive Goddess despite both girls meaning the same thing in their dialogue. Fair enough, we're talking about someone that attentively watches Nanashi when he takes a nap.

Fitting to her Cosmic Egg dialogue as she was possessed by Inanna, Toki was the partner that would represent this fertility element in the most explicit way.

As attentive fans might have felt, the Chaos alignment in SMT preach for 'one's return to its roots'. The Ring of Gaea wear ancient Japanese clothes and follows the might of the strong while praying for gods that came prior to the God of Law aka YHVH. Many of the Japanese Gods in the franchise originally belonged to the Chaos alignment for this reason.

It's important to have this in mind to understand the nuance of Toki calling Nanashi "Master". She is basically using an archaic way of a wife referring to her husband, and of course one will immediately put the last piece of the puzzle together: Flynn, the one with Samurai mannerisms, is also conveniently using an archaic way to refer to a Lord since he thinks of himself as Nanashi's subordinate in this ending.

If you pick a male partner for the Goddess role, this extra dialogue plays followed by the partner being particularly surprised by your choice.

Hal is usually not considered in the 'harem' as Asahi and Toki since the girl duo is explicit in several levels above him but... when you think about it, it still makes sense for Hallelujah's character. He blushes multiple times, allows Nanashi to vent alone with him, even goes far as showing annoyance at the prospect of Nanashi showing interest on girls and viceversa.

He is a shy boy whose only reference in his life have been hot-bloodied Ashura-kai he grew up around, so he is just more subtle about it. Don't take a Yakuza affectionately calling you 'bro' as nothing.

I decided to group Asahi, Toki and Hallelujah together because they are the trio with the most, let's say... closeness and emotions-resembling-romance in one-on-one interactions towards Nanashi.

With the most crucial evidence being their final phrase conveying their desire towards the act of childbirth itself for you.

OHHHHHHHHH HOLY MOTHER OF NTR

Regardless of your interpretation concerning how Flynn and Isabeau saw each other, she being Flynn's last living teammate and her devotion towards giving assistance to his savior role grouped with she being neutral at best and being secretly disgusted by Nanashi at worst produces a not very... wholesome picture of this scenario.

If anything, the main reason one would think for why Isabeau continued to place trust on Nanashi's party had more to do with Asahi's presence. Isabeau as a partner is highly valued for her good skills in early game but she interestingly doesn't have close interactions with Nanashi as she has with Asahi.

The messiest element of all is that while Isabeau refuses to let Flynn kill her if Flynn sides with Law or Chaos out of not wanting his hands to get dirty, she will give no dignity to Nanashi and lets the young Hunter do as he pleases with her.

To which one cannot help but think as they watch this ending: Nanashi's memories of Isabeau aren't of warmth or friendship as he'd have for any of his other partners. These memories of Isabeau are based on how he watched Isabeau act towards Flynn.

This Goddess choice was made purely out of spite.

Due to what? Her coldness? Her refusal to think for herself aside mostly working for Flynn's sake?

Or simply to twist her into becoming his own tool instead of Flynn's?

Now start noticing the difference regarding Isabeau and the adults compared to Nanashi's young teen peers.

In the case of the adults, as they were less emotionally involved with Nanashi, they use childbirth more as means towards the end.

While Nozomi's baggage can't be compared to Isabeau's, I think of her as a messy option likewise since siding with Nanashi is going against the alignment she originally stood for, specially considering this memory of Nozomi has Danu inside her (she only got to know Nanashi after becoming the Queen of Fairies after all).

Goddess Nozomi particularly gave me a strong impression due to her being the only partner boasting her final quote with a determined face compared to others looking content or prideful. Then you remember why one of her skills is named the way it is.

Nanashi and Nozomi's relationship could be seen as a mirror to the tense mother-son rivalry between Dagda and Danu (which are essentially the main sides you can choose from) but also, when you think about before they even met each other, both were weak characters needing Flynn's help initially. However, through forming a contract to become an 'extension' of a Celtic deity, they gradually became able to stand on their own.

So Nanashi and Nozomi thematically are foils to each other and would be at odds not even necessarily due to each's own sense of morality but because they literally owe how far they got to the blessings Dagda and Danu gave them, respectively. To this argument, Nanashi definitely would pick her with spite just like with Isabeau.

While moments related to his character growth are mostly directed to characters that aren't Nanashi per se in the main story, I deem Gaston as the 'least detached' from the adult group as his attitude shift to protect Nanashi in his endgame partner lines gives you an impression that he developed a bias for the boy he once deemed filthy nonetheless, alongside his intense heartbroken reaction if Nanashi sides with Dagda in contrast to Nozomi's and Isabeau's cold approaches.

You could theorize that Gaston possibly reached the point of placing his full trust in Nanashi once the fact that the boy was the reincarnation of Akira AKA the very first king of Mikado was out, which means Nanashi indeed felt like the blessed figurehead he was desiring to fight for after distancing himself from Merkabah. The irony in Massacre is that it ended up being that Nanashi did not, in fact, want to follow Akira's steps.

The way I see Goddess Gaston in Massacre, his role strongly matches Flynn's. Both think of themselves as retainers for Nanashi.

Isabeau fought to serve Flynn, Nozomi fought to shield her fairy allies and Gaston fought to eliminate threats against his kingdom.

Nanashi redirected their loyalty towards himself.

I left Navarre for last and separated from the two groups I mentioned since he's, by all purposes, the intended comical exception:

He is the only Goddess where Nanashi still uses his help instead of manipulating the Energy Sword on his own. He is the oldest of the cast and yet he is probably one of the characters with most emotional moments alone with Nanashi (in fact, the very last message in your inbox regardless of your Goddess of choice is always him pleading you to not regret your actions). And most of all, even above Asahi or Toki themselves, he seems the most... in-character of all the Goddesses.

One could argue that perhaps since he never had a body and could potentially shift his attitude according to the circumstances, his ending could even just be interpreted as he being held in custody by Dagda and just being released later.

Navarre only followed Nanashi in the first place because he had nothing or nobody else to turn to. He betrayed his kingdom, became unable to face his family and past teammates, died at the hands of a demon and on top of it all, was unable to go to the other side.

And then he saw Nanashi. A hopeless soul unable to die just like he was. Nanashi and Navarre's bond was entirely out of chance and yet it could be said it was one of the most genuine of them.

Navarre could simply wander off from Nanashi once he noticed something wrong was happening, as he had no social obligations or strong ties. Nanashi could simply use Dagda's power to destroy the Energy Barriers himself, as shown in the other Goddess routes. But they kept being the company of each other in their lonely state of neither-life-or-death.

If Nanashi would choose the first Goddess group out of emotional ties and the second group for their use as tools, Navarre would essentially be Nanashi finding solace with the one he not necessarily cared about or found useful but just was always the most similar to: a detached soul that despite everything, had an annoying stubbornness to refuse death.

Navarre despite everything, was able to meet Nanashi. After all they went through together, he becomes sure he will be able to meet many more like him.

#smtiva #shin megami tensei iv apocalypse #shin megami tensei iv final

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krystalwuzhere · 8 months

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Echo - Flynn Route: Hinata's Thoughts

( So I finally finished Flynn's route last night, but I still need to go through the different choices. That was probably my favorite route yet, just out of the sheer intensity and horror of the whole thing. I feel fuckin HORRIBLE for Sydney though, kid's literally the most tragic character in this whole story. I still want to know MORE about him though!

I like how I called Flynn to be the biggest ho of the cast early on, despite him calling out Carl for sleeping around. Kind of a bitch play to make, but I digress.

I was fascinated by seeing the hysteria from a more official stance, since that's where we've been missing. .. but uh when I saw memes of "the spider room", I thought it was just a joke. NOT THE THING OF MY AND LU'S NIGHTMARES [real]. What the fuck.

Let it be known that this was the route that got me to scream multiple times. Fear is something that isn't foreign to me, but like, holy shit the horror ramped up to a 10 in this route! Not just the spiders, but also the literal jumpscares I got of Chase??? Like EXCUSE ME, I'M NOT LEO RIGHT NOW, GO AWAY )

#diary of an archivist catgirl #echo vn #echo project #hinata

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thisfuckingdork · 4 months

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It’s like 1:30am and I’m spiralling so have an obligatory “songs that make me think of Echo characters” post. Enjoy! Flynn Moore - Otter by Don Harvey is such a Chase and Flynn song (specifically TJ’s route. Desperately need an AMV of Chase and Flynn having fun in the lake to this song, interspersed with how TJ’s route actually ended) - Cruising by Don Harvey is a Flynn and Ryan song - (Honestly Flynn just has such strong Don Harvey energy but no one knows this cause Don Harvey has like 16 monthly listeners its insane) Jenna Begay - Blow My Brains Out by Tikkle Me is just so Jenna (especially Jenna and Heather omg) Carl Hendricks - Prologue by Chase Petra - Bugbear by Chloe Moriondo - Sweet Hibiscus Tea by Penelope Scott - (he’s just so sadgirl) Chase Hunter - Labyrinth by Miracle Musical is just so fucking ‘echo protagonist’. Like Chase, Samuel, Mr Font, and Cameron - Stupid Intruder by The Vincent Black Shadow is strong Chase and “””Samuel””” - Umami by Go Child! Leo Alvarez - Two Birds by Regina Spector (I forget who but I saw someone on here say this and they were so right) - Don’t Ever Leave Me by Sharon Prabhakar - (Of fucking course Blurry by Lilybug and Scars by Splingus but I don’t think that a song on the OST nor a fan song count here) TJ Hess - If I Killed Someone for You by Alec Benjamin (I found it on a TJ Chase playlist and they were correct) Sydney Brosnon - Poor Isaac by The Airborne Toxic Event - (wasn’t gonna do Sydney but this song came on while I was making this and holy fguck)

It is now like ten past 2 I need to sleep, thank you for reading my Echo music thoughts I guess.

#I needed to get this out of my system even if it meant exposing my batshit music tastes #Sometimes its the middle of the night and you just gotta listen to your songs and think about your blorbos #and sometimes you need to inflict that on others #Was texting a about friend these and they told me to post it so let’s blame them #If this gets even one person to check out Don Harvey then my work here is worth it #Echo vn #Echo spoilers

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visualnovelzombie · 1 year

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Furry Visual Novel Book Club: Echo Week 2 SPOILER DISCUSSIONS

Hi everyone, here is the SPOILER discussion post for “Echo - Sunday”

Links: Previous - Next - Original - Spoiler Free Version

Feel free to respond in reblogs/replies/or asks :D

We open with our group headed to the nearby town of Payton where they stop at a vista overlooking the town. Chase films some footage for his project while giving a bit of exposition and lore for our setting, the track “Mitt” begins to play; this game's inquisitive song. We learn about a Mass Hysteria that happened in 1877 that led to the boom town’s eventual decline.

Fans and Players of TSR know this event ends up occurring in 1915 instead of the stated year. My best idea about this discrepancy is that this line was definitely written before plans of prequel were even thought about and the year given just missed in the anniversary update. Maybe it’s a meta acknowledgement and anything seen in TSR doesn’t lead to Echo itself??? (Probably not lol)

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Less Concrete Analysis/Personal Head-cannons that Aren’t Important:

Carl plays a the prank on Chase, which is a fun quirk to give the shy ram.

And Chase’s response/wording is very telling...

Carl/Chase shipping aside, this is one of the acts that cements Carl as Chase’s ‘Magician’ Arcana of Archetypes and I really enjoy the funny bro moment and crush Chase has...

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The group arrive at Southwest Adventures, the local amusement park, and plan their day.

Something not brought up again, although it’s definitely very interesting, is Tj’s motor tick. I wonder if it was just forgotten in the absolute fucking chaos of TJ’s route or was meant as a one off character trait.

They decide to ride the park’s largest roller coaster first and end up waiting in a long line. We get some internal exposition from Chase about the otter needing water, and how living in Echo, he’s unable to do that.

Question: What significance can we get from Chase’s statement?

Answer: This world building does two important things. It establishes Chase as an outsider to even his hometown, and how he can’t truly fit in here (which is very easily reflected in the narrative) and the second thing is to serve as a metaphor for queerness. It was something I missed the first time, still under the impression this was a typical gay UwU romance game with maybe some ghosts later on. It doubles with Chase not fitting into the setting and contrasts with Leo and Flynn being relatively fine in the setting despite both being out gay men, as the two are desert species. It’s a VERY interesting form of writing and world building that is unique to furry stories, and Echo is one of the strongest examples I’ve seen utilize this kind of metaphor. You can argue that Jenna being a type of desert fox but hating the town contrasts the initial theory, but it definitely fits into the second, as she (presumably, as we haven’t seen evidence otherwise) is not queer. This also leads into Tj’s general uncomfortable-ness with himself and sexuality in general. The poor guy is a lynx trapped in a dry desert, at least Chase can find solace in a pool (and others he’s willing to express himself to).

Right before boarding the train, Chase gives the extremely nervous Tj a way out of the ride, but the lynx decides to ride despite his trepidation, resulting in Chase being injured from Tj’s claws during the ride.

Spoiler Note: Chase gives Tj an easy way out of something and ends up with slashes along his arms for it… But on top of the dark foreshadowing, Chase constantly babies Tj too. Tj IS his soft little UwU twink, like he is for the audience.

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Less Concrete Analysis/Personal Head-cannons that Aren’t Important:

This is also a crack theory/headcanon and almost certainly not planned from the onset, but I like to think Chase developed a crush on Tj despite the weird ‘Jesus Stuff’ takes from Chase and preferring bigger boys, cause Samuel kept telling him “PLEASE talk to the Christian Cat Boy, I need the comradely”

also...

PEE MENTION COUNTER: 1

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The Track Intimate begins to play as the two finish composing themselves in the restroom, the soft and charming tones of the song are calming and extrude a sense of kinship and serenity. Carl ends up becoming sick from the ride and an early snack, so he, Chase and Tj decide to skip out on rides with the others and the group breaks into two parties.

Spoiler Note: The groundwork for Chase not being in the motel room is now full on text with a pattern for it happening being developed for later…

The three end up discussing their moobs… which results in Carl more or less turning to the camera and explaining to the audience what archetypes the characters fall under in case you didn’t get the memo (albeit for anime-girl nonsense)

QUESTION: Establishing character tropes is a time tested and nearly universal form of information convenience for media. Is there anything that can be gained from such a clear example of expressing those tropes to the audience?

ANSWER: It’s because the tropes are going to be so inverted you’re going to puke your guts out. Howly sets up the beginning as nearly a painfully cliche opening just to turn it on its head so fast it breaks everyone’s neck. Also Cheerleader Chase as the preppy one everyone likes….

We come to our second choice of the game, whose shoulder to sleep on. Did you choose the Soft Twink or Weed Chub?

Carl - Chase snuggles up to the Ram and Carl responds by putting his arm behind Chase, the otter enjoying the act of closeness.

Tj - Chase leans on Tj, commenting on how it’s easy to get the Lynx to help out. Chase falls asleep commenting on the warmth and softness Tj has.

Spoiler Note: The foreshadowing is really laid on thick here…

Chase falls asleep and a dream sequence plays out, while the track “Creep” begins playing, an ominous synthetic piece that evokes tension and unease. Chase dreams of suffocating while some entity with unnatural footsteps follows him. Chase nearly repeats the opening two lines of the novel. The entity rushes Chase after hearing him speak where we get the line, “You’re only moving in circles.” repeated again. The lines and unique font from the opening are repeated verbatim

Not only is this an injection of horror to break up the trope-y romance, but a flag to the connection that Samuel and Chase share.

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Less Concrete Analysis/Personal Head-cannons that Aren’t Important:

Samuel and Chase are deeply and nearly cosmically intertwined with murder cavern section of the mines. This along with events from tomorrow, are the first inclining of being able to witness other and various timelines, and I believe when Chase is having a night terror, there exists the possibility for him to see other timelines/world-lines/events that him, Sydney, Mr. ‘Chip’ Bronson, or Samuel (or even Jack) have witnessed. The cycle of trauma passes along, over and over again, and this is our first wake-up call to it.

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Chase wakes from the nightmare, gasping for air. Carl and Tj’s sprites are both happy, a clear contrast to what the player and Chase just witnessed. Chase checks his phone and texts Leo for the groups to rejoin and grab lunch together. At this time (and any time the phone is available), if you use the mouse to click on the center ‘home button’ through the game’s UIyou can exit the messaging app and access Chase’s homescreen. The only apps clickable are the messaging app that returns the player to the conversation… and a fun easter egg app called “Predater” which features the visage of a certain stinky-yote sheriff… It is definitely a fun and non-spoiler easter egg filled activity to click around the app.

(My Favorite One!... also if this is Brian I would be dead within two hours of opening the app <3)

And the one that works the best as a gag AND story significance/theming...

The group gathers for lunch only for Jenna and Leo to be absent. The two are playing carnival games together and Chase goes to join them. The two are carrying a horde of stuffed animals that Jenna has one. Fun Fact: The stuffed toys are all deliberately mythical creatures, as the ‘people’ of the world are animals. Just a small and very neat bit of world building i wanted to highlight! The two argue about competing in one last game, and Jenna eggs Leo on by involving Chase (as well as the first real confirmation that two share a history)

The track “Carefree” begins to play, an upbeat and cheery song. We get a sprite for the Carny… which is someone’s actual cat that won a contest for the sprite to be added in the anniversary update! Leo calls Chase by an old petname… something Chase isn’t entirely opposed to.

Leo loses a contest of strength to Jenna, where she then reveals to Chase that she had worked at a carnival during a prior summer as well as the game being more precise and technique than only about pure brawn. Jenna kisses Chase on the cheek, causing Leo to fret a bit before storming off. Jenna then asks Chase a VERY important question.

I am going to cover both options for both the following scene, and during the route itself so choose whichever one you’re more comfortable with! I would recommend to choose the one you haven’t already done, only to unlock all music tracks as the ending credits are different depending on the choice ~

I’m Gay - Chase laments about explaining his sexuality to people and chooses to avoid the topic by repeating what Jenna believes.

No I’m Bi - Chase admits he’s bisexual and Jenna is clearly interested in this information…

No matter which decision the player makes, Chase is still Bisexual. Admitting his sexuality opens up a romance option during Jenna’s route.

Question: What does the player’s choice not having an effect on Chase’s sexuality convey? Why is that important, and why is it important that Chase remains bisexual then?

Answer: This is the game hinting that we’re not playing a blank slate, that Chase Hunter IS a character, and not a vessel for the player. Just for Samuel. This informs the player that not every action Chase makes is fully up to them (EXTREMELY important for Flynn and Tj’s route). Chase remaining bisexual is important for the story because it still solidifies him as the same person with the same struggles outside of the player’s willingness to partake in straight romance, as well as setting Echo with a unique identity and representation around Furry Visual Novels, which are predominantly male dominated, MLM spaces. (Which is a fascinating phenomena I would like to see studied to some degree!)

After time passes off camera, where in which the group have fun together, they return to the motel for the evening. Chase ends up outside, filming for his project and is greeted by Jenna and Leo. Leo reminisce about the history the three share and how it started with the three of them becoming friends after Leo moved to Echo from El Salvador with his family.

We’re met with the order the group joined, as well as the mention of a name we haven’t seen until now., ‘Sydney’.

The three banter on top of desert ambience as Leo makes a bit of physical contact with Chase with his tail.

Jenna and Leo contrast their family life and responsibilities, Leo being tied to his and Jenna desperately wanting to escape hers. Jenna then brings Leo and Chase to confront each other about their history together before returning to the motel room.

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Less Concrete Analysis/Personal Head-cannons that Aren’t Important:

HAHA IM NOT CRYING SHIDDING AND THROWING UP YOU ARE

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Leo opens with an apology to Chase as ‘Intimate’ begins to play. The two argue about their anchor bracelets.

Leo explains they’re not above love, but about friends and families,with Chase clarifying they’re about Echo. We’re treated to our second CG

Chase shares his feelings with Leo about their hometown. We learn Chase’s viewpoint on the symbolism that’s etched into the game’s very textbox… as well as Chase’s feelings towards the aforementioned Sydney.

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Less Concrete Analysis/Personal Head-cannons that Aren’t Important:

Spoiler Note: Oh this isn’t even foreshadowing it’s just telling you what’s fucking happening and what’s going to happen. Also I’m a bit incoherent here because these few lines actually make me cry i just found out…

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Leo changes the subject to how Chase left things between them, learning a fact that turns the dynamic built between the two on their head.

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Huh, what an interesting choice of accessory…

🐺 👽 ...

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Personal Viewpoint Question: Does the nature of the breakup between the two change how you view/viewed Chase?

Answer: This is completely personal and less of a discussion, but I certainly remembered being caught completely off guard from the fact Chase did something so out of the ordinary. I was dead set on Leo being the problematic, mostly likely abusive or toxic (as one does in horror settings) boyfriend, but learning that Chase was the one who did the ‘messed up thing’ was certainly a shock to the system

The two embrace each other before being pulled from the moment.

The two return to the hotel room and the day ends as Chase heads out for the night…

which you can read about here /shitpost but also check it out <3

Another dream sequence begins, mentioning the group at the lake playing together.We see events relating to the fateful day everything changed for the group...

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That ends Sunday for our reading! Thank you to everyone who participated! I love feedback and discussion but just people enjoying the journey and reading these as letsplay is fun too ~

Our Reading for next week after voting is...

Best Boi Carl 🐏 🐏 🐏 🐏 🐏

Reading Assignment Particulars:

On Monday the Route Split happens. To pick Carl’s Route, select this option during the Events of Monday

(I would also recommend saving right before this option by using the rewind feature, as this is the route split for all characters!)

This will takes us to Monday, and as Monday and Tuesday are relatively short days, we will also read all of Tuesday for Carl’s Route! Stop at the following screen:

As a note, if a choice appears that I didn’t discuss, feel free to choose either option as it wont affect the outcome of the route. I’ll be sure to discuss both so you can see what the other option(s) look like!

Thank you everyone again, and remember this is SPOILER discussion.

Link to SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION HERE

#zombie book club #furry visual novel book club #echo vn #echovn #echo project #echoproject #echo visual novel #echovisualnovel

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ot-hoe-me · 1 year

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And here are my MCs for @theunseelieif !!

Top Left: Aislinn Halloran who is turned into a vampire, and is on the Kiran/Morgan poly route with Morgan as her ex-lover. After getting over the shock of not being human anymore ((...if she ever was one...)) and going through the five stages of grief, she does get some amusement out of looking like one version of a stereotypical vampire. For example if someone who is not in the know about the supernatural ever jokingly asks her if she’s a vampire she’ll lean into it going like ‘Haha yeah, how did you guess? Gosh I miss garlic bread,’ knowing that people would think that she’s just going along with the bit. ((PLEASE tell me that vampires can still eat food just for pleasure and still enjoy the taste of it; even if it no longer gives any nutrients, or I’ll be so sad for all vamp MCs.)) Yes Aislinn still wears a lot of black because she’s still in mourning for Morgan. She only adds any colour back into her wardrobe anywhere from a year to six months ago by the beginning of the IF.

Top Right: Lucy Hayes who is turned into a werewolf, and is on the Rei/Kendall poly route IF you decide to implement it. If not, then she’s on the Rei and Kendall solo routes with Rei as her ‘canon’ endgame boyfriend. Morgan was also her ex-lover.

Bottom Left: Ciara Flynn who is turned into a vampire, and is on the Ryn/Aub and Josie/Rei poly route IF you decided to implement them both or either. If not, she’s on the Ryn and Josie solo routes. (Talk about totally opposite dynamics lmfao.) I’m not sure what her ‘canon’ route(s) are yet.

Bottom Right: Skylar Ormond who is turned into a werewolf, and is on the Kiran/Aub poly route. She got the scar on her chin from something dumb in her childhood like falling on the edge of a picnic table, or getting whipped in the face with a tree branch. ((Also, potentially, rip her since she might have to get rid of her silver piercings and have to find a different metal to use for all her earrings. Maybe stainless steel to have the same silver colour.))

All of them decide to honour Morgan in different ways, like how some people ‘pray’ to and ask their dead loved ones for peace, guidance or strength. They do similar things and more.

Aislinn has always kept a diary, so ever since Morgan died instead of saying ‘dear diary’ she switched to saying ‘Dear Morgan’ like she was writing him letters telling him about her feelings or things that happened to her. She also has a few of his shirts, a jacket and sweater with his shirts being something that she wears to bed; his sweater to cuddle or sniff that she touches as little as possible so it will still smell like him; and she wears his jacket out and about sometimes.

Lucy now always wears a necklace that Morgan gave her and touches it and thinks of him whenever she misses him; to ground herself when she’s worried or anxious, and as a reminder to take a breath and find calm/screw her courage. She orders what his Starbucks order would be and drinks it once a week even if she hates it. She also made a playlist of his favourite music that she listens to when she misses him most, for when she’s driving or working out, and when she’s getting ready in the morning.

Ciara always says ‘good morning’ to him out loud as soon as she wakes up, and ‘good night’ before she goes to sleep every night. She always says ‘Morgan, I’m home’ whenever she steps in the door no matter who is there with her since she can’t text him to let him know that she’s got home safe any more. She always wears the friendship bracelet he made her that they, Kiran and Camila all made for each other in their first year of high school.

Skylar made a bucket list that of all the things Morgan wanted to experience that she will now do with Kiran - food Morgan wanted to try, places he wanted to visit, things he wanted to see, books he wanted to read or movies he wanted to watch, concerts and/or performances he wanted to go to, hobbies he wanted to try. She’s making her way through the list slowly but surely. She’s also contemplating on getting some kind of tattoo in his memory.

#Aislinn Halloran #Lucy Hayes #Ciara Flynn #Skylar Ormond #My OC #My OCs

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vinegar-on-main · 1 month

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fynn thoughts. now.

I ASSUME YOU MEAN FLYNN FROM SMT IV AND HELLO YES HI I am going to be talking major spoilers for SMT IV and by extension Apocalypse during this.

If you have any desire to play or watch me play the game (@beantothemax and by extension @meme-boys-blog you have clearance) I suggest you do not engage.

For the record, i haven't beaten SMT IV Apocalypse yet, so most of my opinions will come from SMT IV and the few glimpses I got of him during gameplay so far.

Favorite thing about them Almost every single NPC in Tokyo talks about how polite he is, almost unbearably so if you refuse healing from Hunters Associations. Every dialogue option is so very polite and formal.

Least favorite thing about them GOOD LORD I wish we got to see more of Past!Flynn in the Neutral route. I mean I got a couple more scraps of info from Apocalypse, but I need to know the kid's relationship with Masakado and/or Skins and Fujiwara.

Favorite line Hes a bit of a silent protagonist, but he does say stuff about Relics that you find around Tokyo. They're so silly. Try guessing which one is which!

"Could it be to protect one from feces?"

"Bizarre-smelling sand."

"Could it be a uniform for some sort of ritual?"

"A very bouncy object."

"Could it be seaweed?"

"....."

"A squishy carpet"

brOTP Mentioned this in the Isabeau writeup, but yeah. Isabeau. They've gone through so much, they're basically besties at this point.

OTP HEY GUYS YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE SO TRAGIC??? I love Flynn/Issachar. I love the inherent tragedy in it. I can see them going off and being Samurai together like they dreamed but alas, the world is not so kind... In fact it is so much Crueler than they think! nOTP Shipping Flynn with Walter or Jonathan. Like sure I can see it, but I think those two are more in love with Chaos or Law respectively. Again, please change my mind! I love hearing different opinions to mine!

Random Headcanon Flynn never really talked to people when he was a kid. Issachar approached him one time at like a town meeting and Issachar made it his mission to be friends with him. Flynn immediately opened up as soon as Issachar brought him out into the woods to hunt for Cool Bugs.

Unpopular opinion If you say any other ending is canon you CLEARLY haven't played neutral. And yeah i mean i get you neutral ending is hard to get and a bit of a slog, but new game plus is RIGHT THERE. And there's a BILLION guides on how to get neutral.

Song I associate with them

Just... Lets just say i drafted out an entire animatic to this song.

Favorite Picture of them

Sleepy... Having dreams about Things Screaming in his face... In all seriousness i think you know what is my fav picture:

Yes, i had to hunt through my files to see my darling boy smile again. He deserves it. Look at him, Hes so happy. About .5 seconds later he is beaten within an inch of his life. :(

#ask game answers #smtiv #Flynn smt #smt #shin megami tensei #megaten #smt iv #asks

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h-worksrambles · 1 year

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I was talking with some folks on Discord about Leo’s route, specifically the relationship between Chase and Kudzu. But during this discussion, someone asked: ‘how different would the story have been if Kudzu had been a love interest for Leo, rather than for Chase?’ And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Now for the record, I really like Chase and Kudzu’s relationship. For one thing, Kudzu is important in terms of contrasting the toxicity of Chase and Leo’s relationship with a more healthy supportive one. Kudzu goes out of his way to make sure Chase is safe, not out of obsession or because he needs Chase to function. But because of genuine compassion and selflessness. And they’re able to mutually support each other in the aftermath of the trauma they’ve undergone. He also serves to enhance Chase’s own character arc of being less passive and more decisive across the route. As Leo descends deeper into paranoia and jealousy as the hysteria takes its toll on his mind, he lashes out against Kudzu and kicks him out of the safety of Leo’s house. Chase making the choice to reject what Leo wants, and go and help Kudzu cements that he is steeping out of that noncommittal enabler role. Actually putting his foot down about what he wants by going to help Kudzu just as the raccoon has done for him. I know some people find their dynamic to be a little too ‘knight in shining armour’ adjacent. But Chase has honestly become more self actualised and so is in a better place to start a relationship on even ground.

But he’s also a foil to Leo in that they’ve both lost someone important to them in the past in a way that still affects their behaviour. Kudzu’s grief for his deceased boyfriend manifests in his aloofness and flashes of anxiety. While Leo is still struggling to get over Chase. But contrasting how Kudzu manages his sense of loss compared to Leo, who gets swallowed up in it causing him to hurt other people, is an interesting parallel. There’s also the fact that Leo stays in Echo as a way to hold onto his nostalgic memories of the past, while Kudzu goes there to get away from his.

Keeping that parallel in mind, let’s talk about Leo and Kudzu. They’ve spent two years as friends and neighbours. They’re both dealing with the fact that they lost their romantic partners. In particular Leo is kind of starved for any solidarity with other queer men, since the only out people he knew growing up were Chase (who has now left town on bad, uncertain terms) and Flynn, who is cagey and distant at the best of times and who Leo himself kind of ignored after he and Chase started dating (keep in mind Carl is still closeted/questioning at this point so he doesn’t really apply to this case). Suddenly here comes this new guy who he gets on well with, is going through similar experiences to himself, and who he can relate to as some of the only queer people in a bigoted, backwater town.

Even their personalities are potentially a good match. Leo is highly affectionate and protective, which could be good to help Kudzu, who’s still closed up emotionally due to his grief, out of his shell. Kudzu meanwhile is selfless, protective in his own right, but he’s also willing to put his foot down and, as Leo’s friend, tell him when he’s crossed the line (he knows about Leo’s enmity with Clint and has repeatedly tried to help Leo stop and see fighting with him isn’t healthy). On paper, they could be a good match.

So what if Leo thought the same thing? What if he had considered a deeper relationship with Kudzu? But he couldn’t bring himself to. Because he’s still holding out hope to rekindle his relationship with Chase. To go back to the good old days of how things used to be. It would make for a character arc very similar to Chase’s own across Leo’s route. Of learning to put down the nostalgia goggles and learn to let go of something unhealthy. And Kudzu would play the same narrative role as a healthy alternative relationship, to this deeply toxic one. But the focus would be on Leo outgrowing his worst tendencies and obsession with the past, with a partner who could not only help him make a fresh clean start, but also challenge his behaviour and inspire him to be better, to be worthy of the love he seeks.

Do I think this would be a better direction for the story? Not necessarily. True, it might make for a slightly more believable pairing since Leo and Kudzu had two years to get to know each other while Chase and Kudzu had a week. After all one of my only complaints with Leo’s route is that I’m not entirely sure why Kudzu likes Chase (sorry, my otter trainwreck. I love you but Kudzu can frankly do better). But I do think it was the right decision to end both Leo and Jenna’s routes with Leo on his own. Leo’s unhealthy idealisation of romantic relationships is one of the things he has to overcome. In his ending, he’s slowly making the first tentative steps to recovery by himself (albeit in an extreme, cold turkey way). And in Jenna’s he’s actively atoning for his mistakes, supporting a friend who he hurt in the past, Micha. Leo probably should end the story by learning to be comfortably single. But I can’t help but think about the idea of him and Kudzu as an interesting ‘what if?’ direction. So if any of you fanfic writers out there see this post, I mean…Free real estate.

#i’m not usually one to ramble what ifs about non canon ships #but i find the dynamic between these two quite interesting #…wait do i actually ship this?#uh oh #leo alverez #kudzu tengwan #canon divergence #speculation #echo vn #echo project #echo spoilers

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