Sure it’s sink or swim, but some people have rocks tied to their ankles while others have little arm floaties and a tiny amount of people are on a fucking yacht.
i feel like epic mickey 2s thinner route could have been impactful in the way the thinner route of the first game was, but in a different coat of paint.. so to speak. Like idk epic mickey 1 offered you the choice to either atone for everything you did by fixing things and being nice to people, or Disregard your responsibility to grow as a person and lay waste to the Wasteland and prove everyone right about you, and its a very personal aspect of the game that really makes you feel like shit for choosing to be selfish and destructive. it’s satisfying in its own way, i think.
meanwhile epic mickey 2 doesnt really have any of that, choosing to do bad things just locks you out of getting rewards for the sake of progressing through areas faster, it feels less intertwined into the story and more just like a small Gameplay mechanic. theres no real long term effects of being a shitty person, save for the final cutscene, really, and i just feel like. It could have been more narratively relevant
like. idk. epic mickey 2 follows a mostly good paint route from the first game, and subsequently, oswald trusts mickey and cares about mickey, and mickey is generally regarded as a good person. the thinner route of the second game could have explored mickey messing around with oswalds trust (since oswalds willingness to trust ppl IS a major theme of this game) and destroying things and hurting people because he knows oswald is too attached to him to put his foot down. it could have been much more personal than it was i think
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As I said in the tags of the original, the iceberg I made was a meme consisting of both real theories and satire/parodies/fandom memes. If anyone is interested, I can work on an unironic version that only has real theories.
Buckle in because this post is LONG and heavily saturated with lore and information.
Actual theories
Parallel universe 1960s where the world wars didn’t happen. There’s an unused file in Curious Village that shows the year as 1960 and the time machine from UF is set to 1973, ten years into the future. The series canonically takes place in an undefined time period (hence the technological inaccuracies and fantasy elements), but it’s based off the 60s. There’s more evidence but we don’t have time to go over every little thing. I linked my “no wars” theory below but TL;DR the outdated airplanes and underdeveloped medicine in the Layton series imply that the world wars may never have happened. https://cayenne-twilight.tumblr.com/post/632205992162099200/outofcontextdiscord-timegearremix-zonosils-war
The real meaning behind the statue in Future London. In UF, the purpose of the statue is to spark Layton and Luke’s conversation about their friendship. Luke is stressing out about moving overseas and sees himself and the professor in the story behind the statue, but in the bigger picture, Clive must have been the one to commission it. Some theorize that the little boy is Clive and the man is either his father or the professor. One idea I’ve seen is that Clive wishes he could be Luke for real, while another is that he wishes he died ten years ago, and another is that he’s literally terminally ill explaining why he doesn’t care about consequence. Personally, I think “the boy succumbed to his illness” refers to his mental illness seeing as he wanted the professor to save him from his madness as he saved him all those years ago.
True location of Monte D’Or. there are no deserts on the British isles to my knowledge, so it makes the most sense for Monte D’Or to be in Southwest USA where English is the default language, they have a desert, and there exists a city famous for flashy hotels, casinos, and entertainment. What makes it odd is that nobody ever mentions overseas travel, and all the major characters are from England.
Loosha’s origins are not explicitly explained if I remember correctly, but the implication was that her prehistoric (supposedly) species was sealed away along with the garden, allowing them to survive all the way to the time of LS until Loosha was the only one left. The garden provided a good habitat and protection from predators, and it’s logical that they’d slowly die out anyways, but there’s no explanation of any specific factors that led to Loosha being the last.
Beasley is not a bee I wrotea post about this one as well, but TL;DR Beasly lacks several defining bee traits whilst having several human ones. He is not human, yet, by definition, not a bee. It’s possible that he is the result of Dimitri’s testing, but whatever his untold story is, he remains an enigma of nature. https://cayenne-twilight.tumblr.com/post/632381715250282496/theory-beasly-isnt-a-bee
Subject 2’s identity is currently unknown. There is a subject one (parrot) and subject 3 (rabbit) so there has to be a second. For a long time, people suspected Beasly to be him seeing as he’s a bit of an amalgamation and definitely not a regular bee (see above). After the release of LMJ, though, people began to suspect Sherl, the intelligent hound who could speak to certain people but not others. That being said, it’s possible for one to be subject 4. Sherl’s memory of a bright flash matches up with subject 3’s memory of being electrocuted. They never explain why the animals were being experimented on, but it was probably Dimitri making sure the conditions of his machine were safe for humans before reliving the incident from ten years ago.
Lady Violet died from the plague from DB. There’s no evidence for this or anything, it’s just an idea. People say she died from the flu but I don’t remember them saying that in the game, at least the US version. Extending off my “no war” theory: it’s theorized that the Spanish Flu was spread by the travlelling soldiers, so if that’s true, it’s possible for the epidemic to have been averted for some decades. Maybe the Spanish Flu reached England later than in real life. The hole in this is that DB’s plague must’ve been close in time to 1918 while Violet’s death was much later, so it would’ve had to stick around.
Bill Hawks is working with Targent and Arthur Cantabella. There was a force in the shadows buying the time machine technology from Bill. Someone with a ton of money who helped him cover up a freak accident and get away with it completely, a feat that involved shady means like violence by hired thugs. Some theorize that it was Targent, seeking power over time in exchange for a little mafia magic. The Labarynthia project was sponsored by the UK government, so as the PM, Bill must’ve known about it. He probably supported dubiously ethical, high stakes (witch pun) psychological experiments like Cantabella’s and helped him stay in the shadows.
All the NPCs in St. Mystere and Folsense are dead. I make fun of this type of theory later, but they’re admittedly captivating. I’m pretty sure the canon in CV is that the villagers are Bruno and Augustus’s OCs that they made robots of and built a town around, but it’s more interesting to think that the village was there before, and the townspeople died of a plague and were replaced like Lady Violet. In Folsense, there really was a plague and they never explain the NPCs there. They’re either real people who appear way younger than they are due to hallucinations (even the ones who already look old ?), or they don’t exist at all, which is pretty spooky. This part of the story is a gaping plot hole. In a similar vein to CV, the edgy yet plausible theory is that they used to live in Folsense but died of the plague and now live on as hallucinations.
Hershel seeing everything as a puzzle is a coping mechanism for all his trauma. This was a joke but I thought about it for more than five seconds and it makes way too much sense.
Plot holes and unexplained questions that we like to overthink because it’s fun
The downfall of the Azran was vaguely explained in canon by people being so greedy that it lead to the civilization collapsing. It’s not a stretch to imagine that happening, but it would’ve been more interesting with a little more detail.
Layton and Luke are programmed to routinely forget how to walk. I didn’t know whether to list this in the joke section or not, but it’s odd that the characters actively participate in the walking tutorial (as opposed to showing a little memo to the player) as if they didn’t know how to before, especially when they go through this several times a year.
The truth behind Pavel. He’s simply a joke character who teleports, is a polyglot (sort of, at least he wants us to think he is) and is mega confused all the time. He’s a fun character to make crack theories about because of his cryptic nature that even he doesn’t seem to understand.
Miracle Mask deleted scenes. The first trailer for MM featured animations that were not in the final game. One was the Randall falling scene, except in a slightly different style than the one we know. Others were completely foreign, like Layton and Luke pacing across a theatre stage as if Layton’s about to expose someone with a dramatic point. Cut content and “could’ve beens” are always curious to think about.
Evan Barde: secret mastermind. Arianna and Tony’s dad is a mysterious character who died under mysterious circumstances. I think the canon is that his death was a genuine accident, but concept art of him making a creepy evil face suggests that maybe he originally had a larger role in the first drafts of LS than the finished game.
The secret to how Paul and Des pull off their disguises is unclear and will remain unclear. There is no plausible explanation for their shape shifting. Unless Paul is just a little dude wearing a human suit like that one Wizard of Oz species and Des is the best quick-changer ever and hides his naturally feminine legs under his cloak.
Alfendi’s mom. When LBMR came out people scrambled to piece together who Hershel had a kid with, but there’s no way alfendi is his biological son. This happened with Kat as well and her biological parents turned out to be brand new characters, so I’m sure Al will get an adoption backstory if his arc continues, be his parents old major characters or nameless, faceless NPCs.
Granny Riddleton and Stachenscarfen are omnipotent deities. Idk which section this fits best under, but these two characters have some serious power. At first introduction, they’re implied to be robots, but they appear everywhere in later games. They follow the Professor wherever he goes and assist him on his adventures, GR collecting puzzles and housing them by some odd magic, and Stachen teaches you how to walk. They both introduce and supervise the gameplay. By extension, I guess this idea could apply to Albus as well in the prequels. GR and Stachen even had the power to appear in LMJ, something no major character could do. I consider them akin to the velvet room attendants from the Persona games.
Clive’s kill count is a vague subject in the game for the sake of keeping it PG. I don’t know if anyone’s ever mathematically estimated the damage he caused, and I sure don’t want to try, but the game appears to push the idea that he didn’t kill anyone at all, saying they stopped him in the nick of time and things like that, even though we watch him raze the city. If they ever want to bring him back post-time skip, I can see them twisting it so that the mobile fortress cutscene wasn’t a linear sequence of events, but instead a compilation of scenes over the course of hours so that London neighborhoods around him could be evacuated and have it make sense. Knowing Level-5, it’s more likely that they wouldn’t think this deep and do something more lazy, though.
Memes and references
Post-time skip Flora is real references the famous L is real theory from Super Mario 64. Like Luigi in SM64, Flora was also a highly anticipated character who didn’t appear in a new game, in this case LMJ or LMDA. In the end, Luigi did become real in the DS port so hopefully Flora is real will be realized as well.
Hershel can’t read is a veteran fandom meme referring to how in the first few games, especially Curious Village, Layton asks Luke to read every document out loud for him. Perhaps this was an exercise to improve Luke’s reading skills and independent thinking, or perhaps he was just too lazy or preoccupied to do it himself, but this grew into the joke that our genius Professor was actually illiterate this whole time.
Layton’s smash invitation is hidden in PLvsAA. It’s no secret that the fandom would kill a man to get the Professor into the smash brothers franchise. In PLvsAA one of the puzzle artworks features a goat eating a familiar white envelope with a red stamp, sparking the joke that either Layton or Wright got the invitation their respective fans desired, but it got lost along the way.
The science board is the mysteriously vague organization Don Paolo got kicked out of for the crime of being evil. It’s the epitome of liberal arts majors and art school graduates trying to bs their way around not knowing any science and failing miserably. “He was very good at all the sciences, but then the CEO of science told him to stop because he was using the power of science for evil science”. They do this again when “Dr. Stahngun” describes his time machine what with the soolha coils and whatnot.
Hoogland is death cult initiation is a parody of “Mario 64 is Freemason initiation” which is ridiculous, just like the creepy human sacrifice subplot of AL.
You can see the reflection of someone watching you in Aurora’s eye references the famous, creepy Talking Angela theory. In retrospect it would’ve been funnier if I said Angela instead of Aurora.
Every copy of Professor Layton is personalized references the famous “every copy of Super Mario 64 is personalized”
Clive’s fat ass in HD is a meme that originated from the announcement of UFHD, saying that half of the excited fans wanted to cry again while the other half were simply attracted to Clive. If we want to enter real bottom-section-of-the-iceberg-chart territory then let’s say Clive’s character has some sort of psychological siren properties that draw people to him like a magnet and/or Harry Styles.
Things I pulled out of my ass for shits and giggles
Infinite hint coin hack: I’m sure a tech savvy cheater could hack the game for infinite hint coins, but there’s no easy or interesting way. I don’t know why someone would do that though, considering a lot of the hints suck and there are puzzle guides on the internet.
Cringy, unused Randall villain monologue. This joke is derived from the actual scrapped MM content as well as deleted content being a popular element of iceberg charts, but it’s sadly not real. Would’ve been hilarious, though.
Last Specter Puzzle 031: Light Height tracks and records children’s intelligence level. It doesn’t, but it’s always fun to make fun of arguably THE most ridiculously difficult puzzle in the franchise. (Seriously, do they expect 7+ year olds to know trigonometry???)
Hershel struggles with tea addiction. Hershel from the games drinks tea in moderation, but the manga begs to differ. He has a tea set in the Laytonmobile, and an attempt at teatime while driving causes him to crash.
Folsense is a metaphor for Alzheimer’s. This is inspired by those edgy kids’ show theories where everyone’s in hell or something, but nobody has ever said this.
London Life is reality and the plot of the games is all in Luke’s head. That’s one way to fill every plot hole. How funny would it be if Luke made up crazy characters and stories based off his fellow townspeople Sharkboy and Lavagirl style. “This dude who lives in a castle and asks people to give him all their money for nothing in return is a vampire from 50 years ago involved in a tragic love story”.
Secret ending encoded into Tago’s Head Gymnastics. It’d be crazy if there was, and Dimitri would hound Tago for the secret to time travel. If you didn’t know, the Layton games started as an adaption of Akira Tago’s puzzle series, except they decided to add a story to make it more interesting and marketable.
Daily puzzles datamine your DS. I’m bad with technology but is it even possible to datamine a DS??? Idk, but I think my DS lite from 2008 is safe.
dude fuck tsr,, i just went on to download one hair and immediately got blasted with a ridiculously loud ad that made me jump so bad i needed to go and fucking lie down. fUCK that site.
It’s a bittersweet concept, seeing characters in fiction tackle the symptoms of mental illness/neurodiversities with such tact, when we don’t often witness this in reality.
I’ll read a story with a well-rounded character, who is written with an accurate portrayal of Autism, by an Autistic author. And it’s kind of… heartwarming? To see the others in said story react with understanding, to things such as sensory overload, or meltdowns, or to finally see someone be so encouraged to speak on a special interest. All the while, they never infantilize this individual, nor do they mock him. They don’t make him out to be weak, unintelligent, or less than. He has many other aspects to his personality. He is smart, witty, caring, and independent.⁽¹⁾
Because he is a person. He is an adult. He just so happens to have Autism and ADHD.
I’m in the same boat, and despite those moments being fiction, reading them makes me feel justified in existing as me.
Maybe it’s some deep-rooted, internalised ableism I still have towards myself. But whenever I experience those negative symptoms, all I receive from my family is ridicule and taunts. I don’t feel like a valid person struggling with my own conditions. I feel like I need to get over myself. (/nav)
It makes me wonder, how many others are in the same boat?
We shouldn’t guilt people over things they can’t change. It will only make things worse. Besides, it’s not that hard to be supportive. Or, at the very least, not to be a dick.
-
(⁽¹⁾Note:You don’t have to be “independent” to be a rational person, or an adult, or anything. I was only describing this character. There is nothing wrong with needing help, or having a disability that does not allow you to care for yourself.)
(I don’t know why my posts have been on the more serious side lately, I swear I’ll get back to additional fun things soon, but there’s something ✨sappy✨ I wanted to note.)
Love is a finicky thing. It takes a lot of guts to put your heart out there, and to bear the ups and downs of a relationship.
It’s a strange thing, when you truly feel so deeply for somebody, to realise that you’d risk that kind of loss for them.
They make you happy, smiling until your cheeks are sore. They make your chest all warm, sweet actions leaving butterflies in your stomach. They light up your day, just the fact that they’re around. And god, that could all be taken away. You’re all too aware that, because you let yourself care so much, it would hurt like hell to lose. It’s terrifying.
But everything is good right now. Genuinely, it is! That isn’t some excuse. You think you’ve learned love again. And that? Oh, that’s fucking glorious.
It’s still scary, of course, to go all in when you know how much you have to lose. But all those moments… they just go to show that sometimes, it’s worth a shot.
so the last few days have been something >.< do ya’ll ever feel so fed up with friendships?? starting to feel like my colours y/n, smh.
I had three guys try to gaslight me because they’re in a bitch boy club where the three of them will treat everyone like shit and protect each other with their lives. mind you, I was best friends with 1/3. and now he’s the biggest dick and I am very t i r e d.
but someone be proud of me, I cussed off 2/3 of them yesterday when they tried to gaslight me :’)
no but is it really that hard to make a character dislike romance. like is it that hard to make a character who does not date. is it that fucking hard to make an aro character !?!?!!
On today’s episode of “Is it ADHD or am I just losing my marbles?”:
I have somehowmanaged to lose mass amounts of medication. I know what you’re thinking, “Logan, how can you possibly lose your medication? Where tf did it go?” The answer is, I don’t know!
IknowIhad the medication a few days ago. There was enough boxes stored in my medication box where all of it goes, so it’s in one place! But it’s all gone! I have none! I’m sure there’s some evil medication stealing little mythological fella taking my meds. That’s the only explanation. It’s the onlythingkeepingme from going on a rampage, thinking that I have some sort of evil, medication stealing little goober around my house.
a/n: Fun fact, this is the first thing I ever wrote for BTS. I just never felt like changing it to second person.
I stare out at the chaos of the airport arrivals station. Cars honk, bumper to bumper. People cry, people shout, people smile. Suitcases and duffle bags are tossed and dragged every which way.
But I stand, motionless, looking for an unknown car carrying a stranger to me. I’m somewhere I’ve never been before on a new adventure.
Not that I need this adventure. Not that I had to get away. Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
“Hey!” Someone shouts. “Hey!” the same voice shouts. “Over here!” Along with a few other people, I turn towards the shouting. A man hangs out the side of a car, arm outstretched, smiling so wide his eyes turn into crescents under a pink fringe.
“Ji…min?” I call back hesitantly. He said he had pink hair.
“It is you!” He verifies before swerving the car out of the oncoming traffic and to the curb. He hops out and is by my side in two steps. He still has the same wide smile. “Hey!” He says, again. I try to smile, but the jet lag makes it tough to share his excitement.
series summary ↣ all jimin wanted to do was get his career back. but thanks to his bosses, he’s tasting wedding cakes instead of training for a comeback. but, with you by his side, he might be enjoying it more than he cares to admit.
pairing ↣ lawyer!reader x solo artist!pjm (ft. ot6)
genre ↣ arranged marriage au, fallen idol au｜fluff, angst, smut
chapter warnings ↣nsfw(18+) but also a sickEning amount of fluff, unprotected penetrative sex (contraception is used), not a lot of foreplay but it’s all very soft, hints of dom!jimin but still v soft, a bit of cum play and cum tasting, creampie, some fingering, some mild dirty talk, praise kink, jimin says get consent or perish, it’s all supposed to be just sweet n cute, mild alcohol consumption, language
chapter notes ↣ the chapter title is taken from the lifehouse song! this one is mostly just fluff and smut (finally). i’m sorry it’s so long idk what happened! hope you guys like it anyways! xx
Before moving to Seoul, you had been particular about researching everything about the city, down to every last, seemingly insignificant detail. In anticipation of every situation you could possibly face in the unfamiliar metropolis—you had packed meticulously, making sure to include appropriate clothing, countless Seoul-living reference books, and comfort items you knew you would miss from home.
Upon arriving, you had been completely confident that there was nothing in Seoul that could surprise you. You knew what weather to expect, how to navigate between any two points within the city limits, where to go for the best barbecue.
But the universe was hell-bent on proving you wrong, it seemed.
Because you certainly had not been prepared for the events of the past week. Not the cheeky cuddles on the couch, not the endearing texting throughout the day, and definitely not the shy, lingering kisses before work.
Neither of you dared to ask the question of what it all meant, too insecure in your blossoming feelings to risk destroying everything with the terrifying reality that the two of you were due to get married in less than a month. The circumstances weren’t exactly conducive to a budding relationship, and you both knew this would only serve as complications in the grand scheme of things.
But when it was only the two of you, just stolen glances and lingering touches intimately shared, it was all too easy to pretend that none of those problems were real. Jimin seemed dead-set on proving to you that your leap of faith would be worth it, and you selfishly couldn’t stop yourself from indulging.
Reblog if you hate picrews with no dark skin options (yes even the ones where the shade of white is even a little darker, and yes ashy tones too bc there SUPER annoying, and the ones with no curly or protective hair like braids)
Me @ my Social Security case manager, who hasn’t responded to my attempts to contact her and change my address and get SNAP benefits back for months. I’m alive, by the way, how are y'all doing? I’m sorry for letting this blog stagnate, life’s just been… A Lot.
you guys know that entire album was about being insatiably horny right
First of all, there is a shit ton of themes in the album and this is only one of them, second of all, aces can be horny, third of all, fuckasses exclude not only aces but aros & allosexual aros as well and last but not least: being horny doesn’t equal being asshole!
“Oh will you, shut up, Hero, I have seen the evidence with my own eyes!”
“Well, you must be awfully blind,Villain!”
“—ORDER—”
“Mom,stop—”
“—am not blind—”
Slam, slam.
“ORDER IN THIS COURTROOM!”
“…Bitch.”
“BITCH?! You’re the one who—”
“I SAID ORDER! Or you’ll be escorted out, one at a time! Hero’s Kid, come show me privately what you have.”
Looking to Villain for reassurance, Hero’s Kid received a nod of encouragement and followed the judge into his chambers.
Two weeks after the courtroom chaos, the judge made a decision. Hero’s Kid was placed into foster care, since no relative wanted to provide respite. She stayed in frequent touch with Villain, who was pardoned—along with Sidekick and the trainees—by The Mayor. Hero, Hero’s Husband and Hero’s Son were imprisoned for their extensive list of crimes.
Hero’s Kid should’ve been overjoyed but instead, she was heartbroken.
She had lost Villain. At least when she was sneaking out, she could actually seehim.
“I guess I just miss you, is all,” she said on one of their nightly phone calls. “What are you doing, anyway? Sounds like a lot of people.”
“I miss you too, kid. Oh, just got out of a meeting is all. Listen, you hang in there, okay? I’m sure we’ll be able to see you soon. Sidekick says hi.”
“Hi, Sidekick. I guess. …Take care.”
Villain exited the foster care training meeting and replied, “Sure will, sweetie. You too!”
Offended he would end the call so soon after she was clearly not okay, Hero’s Kid hung up and didn’t call or respond to future messages, however encouraging, for several weeks.
-I’m sorry I seemed absent. Miss you, kid.
-Hope you’re doing okay. Call me when you can.
-You’re strong, Hero’s Kid. Keep your head up. I’m here when you’re ready.
Hero’s Kid waited in the office for her Social Worker and sighed, reluctant to meet the next prospective foster placement.
The last home hadn’t worked out after she showed a little too much of an interest in weapons.
“Right this way,” the Social Worker’s voice was heard, and Hero’s Kid tensed up, ducking her head.
“Hero’s Kid? This is Villain, he’s considering fostering you,” the Social Worker introduced.
Standing so quickly, her blood pressure dropped, Hero’s Kid knocked over her chair, wholly in shock by the news. “You-wh-you are? What??”
Villain gave a gentle laugh. “Sorry I’ve been so, eh, distant lately. Lots of training to become a foster parent; Sidekick’s been taking respite care classes too. But I’d really like to foster you…if you’re open to it.”
“If I’m open to it?!”
Hero’s Kid pounced into a bear hug. She had only dreamed of something so wonderful.
—
“—but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You can think about it and give us your answe—”
“No. I want to,” interrupted Hero’s Kid, holding Villain’s hand down the boardwalk and sipping her frappuccino. “If they’re really going to sign them, I want to.”
“She said they were, but you know her,” Villain snarked, shoving Hero’s Kid playfully.
“And you know me; I’ll makeher give them up if I have to.”
Hero’s Kid didn’t have to force Hero or her husband to give up parental rights at all. After the trouble she had caused them, disgusting as the simplicity was to the two of them, they were perfectly willing to sign her care over to Villain—permanently. The meeting was filled with uneasy tension, but once the papers were officially signed in the courthouse, Hero’s Kid exhaled all of her fear, turning to give one final look at Hero—the shell of the mother she once remembered herself to be so terrified of.
“You’re not the hero now, you know,” Hero scoffed, adorned only in khaki inmate apparel. “Not just because I’m locked up for now; I’m the hero. You’ll never be a hero.”
A guard began to escort Hero and her husband away but not before Hero’s Kid stepped forward, having decided on her response. “Mom?”
Hero turned, staring down Hero’s Kid with a glare that used to intimidate her.
“I am a hero. …Just not like you.”
Turning, Hero’s Kid joined hands with Villain and left the courtroom, her newly adoptive father beaming down at her with pride.
