#// That's why I'm adding a different verse for it later so that there's two versions

[saiibeo]

// I forgot that due to writing their Obey Me verse with my best friend Bee, Corvus canonically doesn't get along with Lucifer at first the same way other MCs usually do. They're literally apart of the Lucifer Hate Club. They make it their sole purpose during their time there the first time around to be an absolute nuisance, but post Belphegor content(saying that to avoid spoilers for people just in case) they actually start being a lot nicer and more respectful towards him.

tldr: Corvus acts like a terrible younger sibling to Lucifer as if that poor bastard doesn't have enough of those.

[mysteryanimator]

SENSES - Animatic breakdown :D

Breaking down my panels because I am silly and I know some people wanted me to break down my thoughts for this. THOUGH, I still leave a lot up for interpretation!

You can watch it here :D

(Also I ended up adding subtitles to this, so you can see what panels get timed to each lyric)

(I won't go through every single panel since 30 image limit BUT please know that 99.9% of the panels have been beamed with a lot of symbolism. I'm very passionate about this subject, esp with drama scenes LOL)

Also here proving to myself I don't use ten billion close up shots HAHAHAH, ty for three days ago me for thumbnailing everything

SECTION 1- MIZRAK'S POV

yes, the first verse and first chorus is from Mizrak's perspective/second verse is from Olrox's perspective.

OK, not only is the establishing shot, but it kinda establishes the major symbolism stuff I play into- hands and windows! Connection and dividers! Please keep in mind eyes are the window to the soul :D

It very much informs the entire animatic LOL.

From here on out (till a certain point :3) the window acts as a divider. This shot will be important for later btw :))) Also I have a feeling Olrox would say something like "Destiny always seemed make believe."

Fun fact, I ended up dropping a wip section 01 to a few people and they were all eviscerated by the part of Mizrak reaching for Olrox. This acted like a screen test for me and later informed me to focus on Mizrak's hand for a few more shots.

WHICH, BY WAY THE CHORUS BREAKUP SECTION FROM MIZRAK'S POV:

I won't delve too much into here, BUT mentally i decided that when interpreting the chorus, it was as if they were speaking to each other. It also happens again for the bridge part :DDD

SECTION 2- OLROX'S POV

What was important to me was getting Olrox's POV on Mizrak, since in Nocturne we explored Mizrak getting insight into Olrox's past I went "omg, let's do the reverse!" and get Olrox to gather insight on Mizrak's past.

I've perceived Mizrak to be a lot more snappier with his co-workers and friends (take for insistence him yelling at the other monks, and being a lot more direct without fanfare with Richter and Maria in the first ep)

PARALLELS !!! Which, the abbey is intentionally overlayed over Olrox, hahaha Mizrak needs to choose between duty and desire :))))) Also this is the sole reason why the placements are skewed heavily to one side, so they can literal mirrored version of each other and be put side by side.

I actually debated myself a lot for this part, because the plan was going to go in a very different direction, however I thought having them not facing the camera, much like how they both can't seem to face themselves (or each other directly for this matter). Which I noticed was a huge thing with the character acting between those two characters.

ANOTHER CALL BACK LOL. Also I personally interpret Mizrak saying "we make our own destiny".

Mizrak reaching out !!! Also, while there is no window, the wood panels are there to substitute for the division theme. Olrox is standing on that divide and Mizrak has to decide if he wants to "break" through that divider.

SECTION 3 - omg they do it

OK, the scenes where they do the deed!!! By this point I feel like you guys are already getting very used to all the call-back scenes, so instead of doing a mirrored version of the first chorus scene, I decided to make all of the lyrics a contradiction to what was happening on screen. This helps for the hard cut to their argument hit sooo much harder (well i would hope sooooo LOL)

also if this shot feels familar, It's from an animation wip I'm working on that's been shelved for now because of uni HAHAH

A fight? No no, you're getting them fuc-

HAND, this will be the only time they will touch hands. The only time they connect. Also I like the contradiction with the "leave me alone with all of my questions", while they literally hold hands as they do it LOL.

SECTION 4- The argument

OK SO, me explaining these frame isn't super important, its more so a fun fact BUT going back to them using parts of the song as their "dialogue", I thought it would be fun to have them jab at each other. SO when Olrox is paired with:

"Know you fell for the person that tried to be someone they're not." Olrox is taking a jab at Mizrak for not being himself.

"You long for a feeling you'll never get back and I'm scared that you'll finally give up." Mizrak is taking a jab at Olrox for being a 'coward'.

HA, so remember eyes are window to the soul? Well so I decided that for this argument section, I wanted to give off that the argument here was literally going to dig DEEP, so I just ended up reusing the exact same lighting/posing for them. Which is the reason why they're both dead center (and it helps make this section slightly disorientating).

Which by the way, I noticed in Nocturne, these characters don't face each other directly when being vulnerable- they're always like behind or off to their side. The only times where they've been face to face properly are these:

"You're an animal whose soul died centuries ago." "Oh, has the world abandoned you Mizrak?"

They're jabbing into each other's inner psyche, so I wanted to do that here :D

Yes, that is right. Briefly you see Olrox's lover and Olrox's amercia fit. I thought it would be SO angsty for the earring piece to come from Olrox's previous lover. Also the past versions only start appearing during the "but the one you'll never love." :))))))

Btw I'm not 100% solid on Olrox's prev lover design, but I'd love to develop him more someday (if he doesn't get further developed season 2)

SECTION 5- Aftermath

From here on out, I make the references so much more obvious! For Olrox waking up I ended up going backward of the introduction! Which as a final note, the abbey and Olrox are on opposite sides of the divide :)))

Also, around this time I had realised "oh I have 30 seconds left and I want this done now or else it'll fester and rot in my brain, making me unable to do anything else until I finish it." So instead of completely making new assets from scratch, a much more straightforward parallel was in order (and it makes it super angsty too, which double points)

The ending I wanted to leave very open ended! However, I will make it known that he crosses over that divider when he balls his hands into fists, unlike how he was unable to when I first showed this exact shot.

Also these are the three shots I reference back to for this final scene. Mizrak ends up crossing over that divide, much like he did when the animatic started. WHICH AGAIN, you are super free to infer and make up your own thoughts as to why these scenes were crucial for referencing.

By the way, every time we have seen Mizrak from the chest down, it starts from the back, then the side, and now the front :))))

As a side note, every time I cut off a character's head (specifically eyes too) in a shot, it is very purposeful to force the audience to infer what these characters are feeling and base it off their body language alone. It is also in a way, an attempt to conceal as much as I can about what the character is feeling, playing into the theme that eyes are the window to the soul, and we, as the audience, are not allowed into their private thoughts.

anddd done :D hope y'all enjoy this info-dumping soup. I'd love to try my hand at some action boards and see how my analytical brain puts drama beats there, since at this point applying emotional connections to compositions and camera angles is second nature. So that for action hrmmmmmm we'll see AFTER UNI THO (ANNETTE IT'S YOUR TURN)

I have one assignment left for this semester, wish my uni wouldn't adamantly put down 2d focused students (or wish they'd even teach us, though honestly teaching myself is very fun and rewarding) BUT I digress!

I had a lot of fun doing this! Ty for reading this far LOLOLOL

[sobeksewerrat]

(Warning: barely coherent religious rambling ahead)

so. I'm not sure how accurate this but I found a translation of some bible verse while I was trying to research some Cain and Abel lore to exploit in my hazbin fanfics and to see how much it differs from the Islamic version and well. It got out of hand.(added a cut because thsi post got wayyyy too long)

Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” But the Lord said to him, “Not so ; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

(I think this is from Genesis or something?? Idk how the Bible works. Also I lost the website where I got the translation from <\3 if its inaccurate in any way tell me also there was some other stuff but they're irrelevant to this.)

This is??? So different from the Islamic version?? Like damn man.

Cain's utter apathy when asked about Abel is so different from Qabil (Islamic cain) when he murdered Habil (Islamic abel).

And the implication that he just...lead Abel away and killed him without Abel knowing about his intentions is also very different from the Islamic version like how do people think Islam and Christianity are the same.

Like. Here are some verses that I've been using as reference for my AUs from the Qur'an (I can't find the old translation I used. And I would also like to clarify that the translation I'm gonna use is a bit weird at times like all other translations and that's generally because English is so different from Arabic and bunch of Arabic words simply do not exist in english).

(Translation from here , words in brackets aren't in the verse but taken for the sake of translation )

Relate to them in truth [O Prophet] the story of Adam’s two sons—how each offered a sacrifice: one’s offering was accepted while the other’s was not, so he threatened [his brother], “I will kill you!” His brother replied, “Allah only accepts [the offering] of the sincerely devout. If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you, because I fear Allah—the Lord of all worlds. I want to let you bear your sin against me along with your other sins, then you will be one of those destined to the Fire. And that is the reward of the wrongdoers.” Still, the other convinced himself to kill his own brother, so he killed him—becoming a loser. Then Allah sent a crow digging [a grave] in the ground [for a dead crow], in order to show him how to bury the corpse of his brother. He cried, “Alas! Have I [even] failed to be like this crow and bury the corpse of my brother?” So he became regretful.

And that's it. That's basically the first and last mention of them. I'd like to clarify some points though, being that I'm both a practising Muslim (despite my...*gestures vaguely at my blog* everything) and a native Arabic speaker (who perhaps isn't the greatest at formal/qur'anic Arabic but still okay)

Yes. Their names were never once mentioned in the Qur'an. Not sure where the names Qabil and Habil came from but my guess is that they were taken from the Tanakh or Torah or from a hadith like Hawa'a (islamic Eve, Adam was the only one whose name was outrightly mentioned). I still need to do more research about that part but I'll be using these names since they are widely accepted and to avoid confusion with their Christian counterparts. Same applied to God and Allah (I'll try to keep the part about them brief, however).

I have not memorised nor learned anything about Surat Al Ma'ida yet (I'm still at Surat Muhammad/Al Qital LMFAO I am very far behind) so there *might* be some context I'm missing somewhere else but this is all I could find. Also, Islam is less concerned with its stories than Christianity, they're important but not as detailed or vital. Just to be completely transparent.

[If you raise your hand to kill me] the exact word (بسطت) doesn't really mean "raise" it's more "spread" or "extend" but I guess it gets the point across. Again. I'm just doing this for the sake of transparency.

[the Lord of all worlds] thats...that's not what (ع��لمين) means as far as I'm aware but I'm not sure I can translate it either

[the Fire] The word used (النار) does technically mean the fire, but it's just an alternate name for Jahannam/Hell.

[wrongdoers] is too weak of a word of (الظالمين). Again, no direct English equivalent I'm aware of but the closest I can describe it as is someone who commits injustice against others and has no mercy but like. Very strongly horrible (it's a strong adjective that can't be used lightly okay? That's the point)

[Still, the other convinced himself to kill his own brother,] the...the actual meaning is a bit more complicated. It has to do with the Islamic idea of both people's inner self and Jinn compelling them to sin (to some degree, its complicated? the whole point is that we're responsible for our own sins not the shayateen or Iblis or our forefathers or whatever) so the proper/more accurate phrasing would be "his self [and conscience] permitted him his brother's murder and so he murdered him,"

also [loser] is, again, the closest English word but very very weak, especially in this context. I am not sure I can find a better equivalent though. And properly it should be "and he became one of the losers" since the meaning conveys that he joined the group of sinners who'll be punished in the afterlife.

["Alas! Have I [even] failed to be like this crow and bury the corpse of my brother?”] Okay this is...probably the worst translation here. (ياويلتي) doesn't mean "alas"...not at all. Its not even close. It, again, has no English equivalent but it's a cry when a person is in distress basically saying that they're in a horrible situation or they've failed horrendously. Still not a good descriptor but oh welp. And ( أعجزت) doesn't mean failed. Not fully. It kinda means that you're stuck at a standstill and are powerless to do anything, Qabil is basically saying that the crow humbled him by being more knowledgeable and capable than him (from my understanding). And he doesn't say corpse. This time i legit cannot find any close meaning to the word he uses other than the one from the old translation I used- "disgrace".

[So he became regretful.] *sigh* "and he became of the regretful" plural. The regretful are a group. Same meaning as "the losers" but specifically sinners who regret their decision.

So yeah I think I've cleared most of it up to the best of my ability. Now, my interpretation of the verses and the obvious differences (I won't be using any tafsir. Just my understanding. I trust scholars about as much as I trust flat earthers with information on most things, especially scholars on a random website and not a somewhat trusted source like Al Azhar (which I also have problems with(more specifically the transphobia and intersexism(and the homophobia))).

(And I don't think that will affect anything from the religious standpoint because in the end the moral is the same: murder is a sin. Obviously.)

Now, first off, Habil was very aware of Qabil's intentions, and Qabil didn't hide them from him- unlike the biblical version from what I understand.

That's...honestly fascinating to me. I feel, from my pov, Cain was very much intending to kill. This was intentional and plotted murder- he led Abel into the fields then just killed him.

Qabil didn't seem to have been plotting it beforehand. It's somewhat unclear how much time had passed, but to me it reads like it happened immediately after his offering was rejected.

It genuinely seems like an impulsive decision born from rage, rather than conscious, calculated one (this is supported by his blatant regret later).

And Habil was unnaturally calm. Of course, I can't discern tone from a religious text, but it does seem that way. It's a bit weird, honestly, he essentially tells Qabil point blank and clearly "I'm not going to fight back if you try to kill me. In the end, you'll be the one who'll suffer for this,"

Which is...I have complicated feelings about that honestly. Habil seemed confident that he'll be avenged in the afterlife (which. Of course he was he very much knew Allah existed). He doesn't dissuade Qabil at all, he just lays out the consequences that will befall him and lets him have the choice.

It's fascinating?? At first I interpreted this as him trying to do this for Qabil's sake because ehe cared about him, but now I'm not sure what he was going for. And the part about Qabil's other sins raises more questions. What else had he done?

I wonder if Habil's little speech only served to anger Qabil further. Like. I imagine his inner monologue going something like:

How dare he? How dare he act superior to me? How dare he act like he's better than me again?

And so his conscience left him and he killed Habil in cold blood.

In the biblical version, God is the one who warns him, if I'm understanding the text correctly. Which is a whole can of worms I will get to later.

Again, Cain's response to murdering his brother vs Qabil's response is fascinating. Qabil is definitely more sympathetic, in my opinion.

Cain lies to God directly, which is- insane?? He doesn't regret what happened to Abel. He says he isn't responsible for him. He doesn't care that he murdered him in cold blood. He doesn't seem in the slightest bit affected by what he'd done.

After which, God punishes him to wander the earth and curses him so that his crops will never yield anything. And Cain says it's more than he can bear, and that some one will kill him eventually. So then God marks him and says that anybody who tries to kill him will- idk suffer seven times more than whatever they wanted to do to Cain?? I don't fully get this part.

Then Cain just fucking leaves and fucks his wife I guess (which...I did not know he had one??). Which is...wow. the difference is insane to me.

Qabil is instantly regretful, how I see it. He doesn't know how to hide his brother's corpse, doesn't know what to do after.

Then a part that utterly fascinates me and deserves its own essay if I'm being honest.

Allah sends him a crow to show him how to hide Habil's body.

Now, of course, they will still punish Qabil in the afterlife but I'm just...fuck I can't formulate my thoughts properly into words. I need to ruminate about this for like an hour to properly get anything coherent written down.

For now, let's go back to Qabil.

Qabil essentially wallows in pity and regret. He is ashamed that a mere crow knew to handle a body while he, a human, could only stare helpless at what became of his brother at his hands.

And it is stated, outright, that he regrets it. He regrets killing Habil, he regrets thinking about it in the first place, he regrets everything. Which, again, adds to my point about Habil's murder being a spur of the moment thing, unlike Abel's.

Now, one could interpret him being regretful because he'll suffer consequences for this, but I personally see it as genuine guilt.

It seems more humanising to me. Qabil, in the end, still cared about his brother. He made an impulsive decision fuelled by his wounded pride, his jealousy and rage, then he paid the consequences by losing a family member he cared about. From a religious standpoint, I feel like that's better when teaching people why Qabil was wrong, why letting fury and envy blind us is wrong. But I digress.

I've already made a post about this, and I still stand by it, we should see religious figures as humans if we ever wish to learn anything from them.

The first murder was committed by a person in a moment of anger, not a calculating, vengeful person. Not that I don't think Cain is interesting, no, I feel like his resentment for Abel and utter apathy towards his death is fascinating as well, but I'm just mote familiar with Qabil and I typically prefer tragic siblings if we ignore the religious parts of this and treat them as stories.

Now the elephant in the room, God talking to Cain directly and making him immortal if I understand correctly??

Uh, okay, so- In Islam, nobody (on Earth, that is) has ever spoken to Allah directly except Prophet Mousa (our equivalent of Moses).

There is a bit of a grey area with Adam and Hawa'a when they were in Al Janna (Eden isn't a thing in Islam btw they just lived in Heaven lol) and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when he met Allah on Al Mi'raaj, but that is an entirely different discussion.

God just talks to Cain like it's nothing? Unless I'm missing some crucial context here. It just boggles my mind- I don't think I can properly explain anything.

Cain's punishment is what puzzles me the most.

Qabil's fate is left unclear, but we can all make an educated guess and say it probably wasn't good. Though one thing is for certain; he's definitely not immortal and certainly dead by now (if you believe he existed like I do).

The thing about Cain's implied immortality that truly tickles my brain is how it so blatantly contradicts a fundamental fact in Islam- one that I guess doesn't exist in Christianity judging by this.

No living organism will ever live forever. Not plants, not animals, not humans- hell, not even the Jinn.

The only exception to this is Iblis/Shaytan (our equivalent of Lucifer- but also not really. It deserves its own essay as well), but even then he'll die before Yawm Al Qiyamah.

There is a bit of discussion to be had regarding the Mala'ika and also whether or not they even count in this but again- that's an entirely different rabbithole.

God making Cain unkillable basically gives me brainworms. I do not understand why they did that. Can any Christian please explain?

The crop part is understandable since he was a farmer (put a pin in that) and clearly he took pride in it considering his reaction to his offering not being accepted, but like-?? I'm genuinely confused I'm not trying to be mean I swear.

...

Okay so I think I lost the plot in the middle and forgot why I was writing this to begin with and started babbling about religion for no reason.This was supposed to be about my hazbin hotel AUs. What the fuck.

Also before anybody says anything: Yes, I am Muslim. Yes, I'm a Hellaverse fan in case my blog theme and icon haven't made that clear. No, I don't like nor support Vivziepop. No, I'm not sure if this blasphemy or not.

Now uh imma be real I don't think any of that fits into his essay at this point and I'm tired so I'll save it for later sorry for subjecting yall to my religious babbling without any proper payoff when it comes to fandom stuff <\3

(tagging @themightymoose @an-theduckin cos yall wanted to see this)

[yuuana]

Music Monday #237: ATEEZ - Everything release: December 2023 genre: Kpop, K-R&B cw: flashing, arson, a relationship dissolving on screen

And now for something completely the same: ATEEZ's final unit MV from WILL, in which everyone cries and things end up on fire. Look, no one ever said K-dramas lacked in, well, drama. ;) The lyrics spoil the story, but if you really don't want any spoilers, watch the video before continuing further.

Obviously a solo song from Jongho was going to be a ballad - in previous years, when the team was less busy, his solo content was a series of covers for kdrama OSTs. He's main vocalist for a reason and don't even get me started on his Mayfly-V stage during Kingdom. Everything is every bit as soulful and heart-wrenching as any ATINY could have expected, a song about loss and regret and knowing you can never make right the things you did wrong, but oh, if you could.... The soft piano opening, the way Jongho pours his whole heart into his voice from the soft opening to the soaring high notes of the climax that then trails off into soft wistfulness once more to the end ... you may need to keep a tissue close for this one.

This music video, unlike previous unit videos, is almost entirely story mode, as Jongho flexes his acting chops once more, now with less baby face. Most of the flashing is at the very start, where the video flashes through snapshots of the scenes we'll see play out a bit more in the video, so the bigger warning is really if watching a relationship fall apart on screen is a bugbear of yours. The lyrics already spoil the narrative, since the song starts out talking about never being able to see the other person again, but the video offers more context to why things ended up that way.

Interestingly, this video was shot entirely on sound stages - yes, even the snowy night scenes, which was a surprise to me, too. And it's not CGI snow - watching the behind the scenes, I was surprised and impressed at the number of practical effects where others would have gone with computer-generated. Some of the fire at the end is very obviously computer-added, but it's combined with actual on-set controlled fires that the old-school film fan in me quietly appreciates. Plus the snow. So much fake snow, it's a delight ... until Jongho told me how they made the fake snow and now all I see is that. XD

And now ... the lore paragraph! As with Youth, Everything is firmly planted in the A 'verse, with Jongho as a former basketballer living with his girlfriend until they break up because he's been a shit boyfriend. This means we've moved along the timeline a little bit, though that fits with the lyric in Youth talking about being in their twenties - Zero Fever implied Heroteez were still in high school. Of course ATEEZ lore has never been entirely linear and considering ATEEZ were already in their twenties during Fever era, the warehouse scene from the diary could just as easily be happening closer to this than first appearances lead us to believe. So once again we're left with more questions ... and the recent teasers ATEEZ have released have been no help at all - I have no idea where Not Okay is going to fall and ANITEEZ are in Halateez garb, soooo. Who knows. Not me. XD

This is the last WILL unit MV ... so of course yesterday KQ put out a performance version of MATZ which has almost no footage overlap with the original MV. I had initially assumed the difference in shooting days (Everything was one day, the other three shot for two days each) had to do with Jongho being on his own for this project. But now I'm wondering if secret performance versions also contributed, since the other three have dances and Everything doesn't. I suppose we will have to wait and see.

WILL is still available for purchase, ATEEZ just wrapped a two day concert extravaganza (based on what I've seen from it so far) in Seoul to kick of another world tour (additional dates in Japan in February, further tour details to come later), and oh yeah, Coachella in April, so another busy year of travelling the world, kicking butt and taking names.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 13th June

No comments this week. Just... no comments. You'll see why :(

Around the World - Ronnie Hilton (peaked at Number 4)

Well, Ronnie's back. It's been a little while, hasn't it? Luckily, this is a perfectly pleasant outing, if a little slow and sappy.

It's apparently from the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days, the David Niven adaptation of Jules Verne's adventure classic. Though the version from the film was instrumental, with lyrics only added later on. So the lyrics don't reflect anything specific from the film, more a general sense of travel and adventure.

It's all about a special someone that Ronnie's been looking for all around the world, hoping to see them again, but not quite sure if or where he's going to find them. Heck, he seems a little confused even where he saw them the first time, noting that It might have been in County Down, / Or in New York, or gay Paree, / Or even London town. It's... not a particularly exotic list of places, honestly. New York is at least far away from the others, but really, the lyric-writer could have leant into the "around the world" idea more.

Either way, it doesn't matter, because Ronnie is done travelling, anyway: No more will I go all around the world / For I have found my world in you. Which is a cute sentiment, but in a film that's about the joy of travelling, it's a little bit of a letdown. Wouldn't it be even cuter if they travelled the world together? I'm nitpicking, though - it's sweet, I guess, and reasonably clever.

Apart from this, Ronnie's version of the song is slow and syrupy, with a waltz rhythm, an rather French-sounding accordion at one point, some very dramatic backing singers, and some strings so thick you could spread them on toast like jam. The overall effect is a bit much, to put it lightly. Thankfully, it dies back a bit while Ronnie's singing, but even then, it's overpowering when it comes back between verses.

Oh well, there are two other songs this week, maybe one of them will be a little more to my taste...

Around the World - Gracie Fields (8)

Oh. Okay. Another version of the song that I didn't love, this time by an artist even more old-fashioned than Ronnie. Lovely. Just what I wanted.

Gracie Fields, to me, feels like she belongs in a completely different era to rock and roll artists like Elvis and Little Richrad. Born in Lancashire in 1898, she was already a film and stage star in the 1930s, and after a breakdown in 1939, she recovered and went on to be a forces' sweetheart-type singer throughout the 1940s with ENSA (the UK's organisation who organised performances for the troops to keep morale up). She's not as iconic as maybe Vera Lynn, who's pretty much synonymous with World War Two, but she feels like a product of the same era, and definitely not somebody you'd expect to see in the charts in the late-ish 1950s!

I guess a lot of people probably had nostalgic memories of her and liked her stuff enough to buy it - we still have artists of the 1980s and 1990s or 2000s hitting the charts nowadays, so it's not actually that wild to think that some people were still Gracie fans at this point. I'd just never really thought about it. I think it helps that the song's also quite an old-fashioned one, a sort of pre-rock and roll ballad that could have been a hit any time from 1952 onwards, and probably considerably before then. The film it's from is set in 1872, so I can see the virtue of using a song that sounds a bit less modern, a bit more familiar and old-fashioned, and even having a slightly older artist covering it. There's a logic to it, it just surprised me, I guess, when I saw Gracie's name?

All this to avoid saying much about her version of this particular song, because honestly... at the end of the day, it's not that different to Ronnie's. Gracie's performance is a little more mannered, her pronunciation of "Paree" sounds a little more French, the strings are a little smoother and more polished, the backing singers have really ramped things up, plus there's now a prominent chiming sound going on throughout, but there's not much else to say that hasn't already been said, and certainly nothing that's actually interesting.

Oh well, at least we've got a third song. Maybe it'll be a little more... oh, you're kidding! Really?!

Around the World (In Eighty Days) - Bing Crosby (5)

From one slightly old-fashioned artist to another. Bing also feels like an artist who's had his henyday. He's not quite a relic in the way that Gracie feels like a relic, but he's still an artist who I imagine at his best in the 1940s, not the 50s.

That said, I quite like this version. Unlike Ronnie and Gracie, Bing plays it quite cool throughout, with instrumentation that, if not minimal, is at least a lot less intense than either of the other versions'. We start with a piano instroduction that's almost jazzy, and then a little flute line before Bing comes in, and the slightly jazzy vibes only continue throughout. There are strings, still - what's a 1950s film soundtrack without strings? - but they're kept thankfully to a minimum. Plus we briefly get a piano solo in the middle that's accompanied by these rather lovely runs of tumbling strings and clarinets going up and down along with it. It's serene, and again, just the slightest hint of jazz in one key chord. It also breaks the song up nicely, so there's that.

Bing's voice, when it comes in, is soft, and deeper than Ronnie's, and the vibe, with his singing, is pretty mellow. He sounds relaxed, like a man who's finally found the person he's travelled the world looking for should sound. There's something appealingly conversational about the way he sings, much less mannered than either Ronnie or Gracie. Or maybe it's just the American accent smoothing things over, making him sound smoother than he is. Either way, it's an improvement.

I don't know if this is actually a good song in isolation, or if this version just feels like it in contrast to the other ones I've heard. I suspect the latter, honestly. I'm drifting off a bit to it. Time to go listen to other songs, methinks.

Hard to tell if it's Bing's voice, his choice of instruments or just his general American glitz that makes it work, but it's definitely the best version of this song. Not that I dislike any of them too much. They're fine, but Bing's version definitely stands out, just in terms of pure quality and listenability.

Favourite song of the bunch: Around the World (In Eighty Days)

[datingintampafails]

Chapter 32: Timmy*

Timmy* gave off a frat-boy kind of vibe with the pictures in his profile, a trope that has become my type. His profile did seem to be half-heartedly filled out; his hometown was just the abbreviation of the state, his employment simply said "cardiac surgery," and a couple typos.

Mostly my reason for wanting to message him, in particular, was that one of his prompts about a travel story was very obviously cut off and he ran out of characters. I messaged him saying the cliffhanger was dramatic and wanted to hear the whole story. It was a very long story, involving being in Ireland and a random person coming into his and his family member’s room. I mentioned I didn’t have anything quite that interesting regarding my travels before. We chatted more and although I wouldn’t say we had a lot of similar hobbies and interests, the conversation did flow well. He was definitely more active than I, going to the gym often and eating pretty healthy and en mass. Very much a gym bro type. I also had assumed he was a surgeon, given his position being cardiac surgery, but then learned later he was more involved in some sort of programming instead for cardiac devices, so not really cardiac surgery per se.

When we moved away from Hinge and onto text messaging, we were both mutually behaving as if we had known each other a while, and better than we did. At one point, he had asked, “are you a guy version of me?” To which, I was very aware of how little we knew about each other, which led me to respond that it was too soon to tell.

I did however confirm my place as forever the more aggressive one; I text him one day "Timmy*, when they fuck are we going out?" Not that it had been too much of a long time talking, but just that he had not yet made a move, and that we were obviously getting along and it would make sense for us to take that next step. We plan for a few days from then, a Tuesday, after work, and that it would have to be more or less played by ear because of our jobs' schedules being semi-unpredictable. My easy place, Armature Works, was chosen as where we would meet up.

Our date got pushed back slightly, as I got off on time, but he was going to be held up at work later than expected. He did however give me ample heads up, so I just relaxed at home a little longer than I would have otherwise, and perfected my outfit and minimal make-up. The day of the date, and leading up to it, I made jokes about being a catfish and that I was actually a middle-aged, fat, Russian man. I continued this while I waited for him when I was describing what outfit I was wearing so he could recognize me better with my mask on, then later added that I was still a middle-aged Russian man, but that I was still wearing a skirt and crop top. I waited for him on a bench for almost 30 minutes. I arrived on time to when he had delayed the date, but still too early apparently. Luckily, I had brought my headphones, so I just listened to some music to pass the time by.

Finally, I received a text message saying that he had parked and then that he could see me. Nothing is more uncomfortable than being seen and not seeing who is looking at you. I looked around and didn't see anyone that looked like him, so I went back to staring at my phone. Eventually, a man looking more like him appeared trotting down the small set of stairs next to me. Although he definitely wasn't short, he seemed shorter than what I was expecting, and his hairline seemed to be just starting to recede.

He was not familiar with the location as much as I am, so I took it upon myself to give him a tour of the location. Despite being indoors, and still pretty amidst a pandemic in late February, Timmy* kept taking his mask off. As a healthcare worker, I was confused and appalled; he should know better. I yelled at him every time to put it back on. Once he said, "you're one of those huh?" I almost rolled my eyes back into my head. Then he also asked me, "well when can I take it off?" to which I responded, "when we are outside and/or we sit down to eat/drink." He got a beer at one of the bars, and it was a beer that had some marijuana in it, which was an interesting choice. After having toured the whole place, it was time to split off to order our respective meals. I got my food, and a drink, and wandered over to the area I had last seen him, as he had said he was going to get a pizza. He was nowhere to be found, so I text him asking where he was. He indicated that he was over by where he had gotten his beer.

I found him and then he told me that he had ordered food from two different restaurants because he couldn't decide and also eats so much due to his athleticism. We found a spot to sit nearby outside, and it is a lovely night, we were comfortable in the fresh air. We both finally did take off our masks and started to eat.

I half-heartedly apologized for being so hard on him regarding the mask-wearing, but emphasized that I am passionate about proper mask-wearing because of my experience with having the virus and wanting to make sure to reduce the spread. He then said, "Oh you had COVID! I'm in a way glad to hear it." He then pauses before saying, "I have COVID too. My doctor said I'm asymptomatic? So I'm totally good." My eyes must have gotten the size of saucers; I leaned away from him and was looking around seeing if anyone had heard him. "Wait what?" Is all I could say. "Uh, no. Please tell me you're joking?" Timmy* stares at me confused, "I'm asymptomatic! So that means like I don't have it."

I am prepared to leave immediately. "So you had a positive test? What? Why are you here right now?" I say. Finally, he drops the rouse and admits he was kidding, but that he got me. "That was not funny. I was legitimately terrified!" So far, this date is bizarre. He mentions that because I joked around so much that I would appreciate it. I did not.

We eat our food and chat. Unfortunately, he also is a person who seems to eat with their mouth open. Another strike. Timmy* has become very comfortable around me, as he also decides to tell me another long story about the time he was "sexually assaulted by a doctor." Which was that he went to a doctor for a physical and that she had grabbed his testicles and had him cough, though the way he told it was extremely drawn out and had many mini-stories leading up to the point that was supposed to be the assault. I then told him, "I'm sorry to say that your doctor was not trying to hit on you on anything, that is a normal thing that happens with mens' checkups." This was news to him. It was obvious that he is not a well-versed healthcare worker.

Once we finished our food, I suggested we walk along the river. First, though, I wanted to drop off my leftovers in my car. We walk to it and I make him guess what kind of car I drive. He is impressed by my car and we don't linger long before I say we should leave the parking lot. He tells me that he has a muscle car, which is so random and I would never put him in a car like that. Whereas a sixteen-year-old girl might be googoo-gaga over this, as a full-grown adult, it isn't quite as alluring to have a car like that.

While on the riverwalk, I become irritated at the fact that he walks very slow. Slower than I am able to walk. It makes no sense as I am significantly shorter than he is, so my strides shouldn't be longer than his. I mention to him that he walks slow and I ask that he walk a little faster. He picked up the pace, but then slowly reverted to his tortoise-like speed over time. I tire of our uneven velocities and we take a seat on some rock benches. We chat about brief things and I suggest we walk back. Again, I battle with the paces, mention it a couple more times that I am unable to walk as slow as he walks.

We get back to the main area of Armature and take a seat in some oversized chairs. He tells me about his family and some stories about his relationships in middle school and high school, which are also drawn out and bizarre. It nears 10pm, and we are told by staff that they close at 10. A couple minutes til, I remind him we need to leave and I ask where he parked. He parked in a different lot, I offered to walk him to his car. He offers to drive me to my car. We do so and his muscle car is indeed very overly-masculine. He goes on to go through a bunch of random songs on Spotify, only playing each song for less than 30 seconds, very ADHD-like. He drives me to my car, but wants to keep me there, again showing me more songs. I'm politely just listening as he flexes on all the types of music he listens to. He tries to show off that he knows "alternative music," my preferred genre, but I point out that a lot of the songs he's playing are more "pop-punk" or just old alternative jams.

He compliments my music taste and mentions that he has noticed I am adept at knowing song names, musicians, movies, and so forth. I begin to joke that likely I am a little autistic, adding "I'm working on my eye contact," as I make direct eye contact with him. What he says next, is something that I was not prepared for, and something that still baffles me, and possibly always will. "Yeah, you do look a little retarded." Immediately, I burst out into laughter; not because I think what he said was funny, but because I am so bewildered and shocked by what was just said. Eventually, through the laughter tears I am able to get out, "Dude you shouldn't say that to a woman." He insists it was a joke and makes excuses, but I keep laughing, with my hand on the door handle just waiting for a good moment to step out. I repeat that what he said isn't cool, and eventually stop laughing long enough to say, "alright, on that note, I think I should head out." Being friendly, I still ask that he tell me when he gets home since I know he has a longer commute home than I do. I wave goodbye through our car windows.

The formalities are complete; he texts me ever so briefly the next day, respectfully I respond, knowing well I never plan on going out with him again. Then it seems we have a mutual ghosting situation, as I don't try to text him, nor he to me. This day I have another date, and after that one, I have no one that I want to communicate with as that is also a dud. All is good until a few days later when I am out with my friends in Ybor, drunk. I get a text from Timmy* saying "yo." I lament and groan and my friends ask about my reaction. I explain the situation and one of my guy friends asks for my phone. I hand it to him as he starts to text him on my behalf.

My phone is with my friend, but with my Apple Watch, I can see the text conversation and when he is responding. I start yelling "oh god please don't bring him here. I don't want to see this guy." Respecting my wishes, my friend decides to still fuck with him, but prevent this poor soul from spending money on an Uber and coming down.

My friends then send a selfie of themselves, with me not in it, saying "she's with me." I yell at them more saying, let this guy be, just ignore him. However, instead, my friend takes it a step further.

I tell my friend that he was too harsh and that I of course would have told him I wasn't interested, but a lot more mature and kindly. When later I check, understandably Timmy* has unmatched me on Hinge*, likely blocked my number. No loss there though.

[sajwho]

Thank you for the Kepler headcanons I'm no longer that invested in wolf BUT I'm still 100% invested in Warren James Kepler blease talk to me about Eric, his husband (also - did Jacobi ever find out about Eric? In your opinion, what would his reaction have been?)

FHGHJJ THANK YOU I desperately needed an exuse to talk about Eric hereOkay, so, this is basically a headcanon/an au (depending on your tastes) that popped into my head bc of a little joke, and that we with @myhsterie and @danielkjacobi developed later

Basically, Kepler was once married to a fella named Eric Euler 

It started as a marriage of convenience but the longer they were together the more actual affection and love was there

And then Goddard offers him a job and Kepler wants it bc he wants to work for progress but he knows it could make his personal life harder to maintain, and Eric is against it and they get into various arguments but Kepler takes the offer anyway

and it does make the relationship harder and he gets some second thoughts… 

And then GF decides to kill Eric.Because, like Kepler said himself, this work requires giving up your life. Kepler was a promising investment, so they ‘helped (:‘ a bit

Goddard kills him in a staged accident/actual torture with Kepler witnessing his death (we came up with different versions, depending on what kind of tragic and traumatic you want it to be). Kepler never finds out that Goddard was responsible.

The assasination took place during a trip Kepler and Eric had together. Their relationship was getting worse bc of Kepler’s work at Goddard and they wanted to save it, which is why they decided to have this vacation

There’s also optional cupler with Cutter kinda seducing emotionally unstable and grieving Kepler bc why not, we love cupler

Kepler still wears his ring, to this day, but on his right hand

(and since this is all my actual hc now (at least the basic idea of it) I’m gonna draw all my Keplers with this ring from now on because no one can stop me)

He also still keeps Eric’s ring.The Survivor Team comes back to Earth and they need to do something with Kepler and Maxwell’s housesso they go through Kepler’s….and find marriage certificate,,,happy photos….Eric’s ring……………..

They did notice Kepler’s ring before but didn’t really question itand after they find all this and the second ring it’s just…..‘Oh’They also find the info about what Cutter did in Kepler’s personnel files after they take over Goddardand there’s a second 'Oh’

There’s an additional part with a clone!Kepler au

Basically, an alien clone! Kepler au where he (and Maxwell, bc I can) come back to Earth, and he also finds out about what Goddard did

 It’s the most sincere shock and rage they’ve ever seen him in

Honestly, I just like imagining him… just getting really messed up emotionally after he finds out. He barely leaves his room for the next three days.Not that he cries himself to sleep, just… he doesn’t want to interact with anyone for a while, or let others see him like this

(I Just Want Kepler To Really Love His Husband OkayEric is Kepler’s one (1) feeling)

Also some more facts about Eric and their marriage:

They got married for health insurance benefits from Kepler’s job (I think we decided that Eric is diabetic?)

Kepler was a lawyer, Eric is either in HR or accounting; he was also in an art school and painting is still still his hobby

Kepler was practicing nude modeling  (don’t. .. ask) so he did a modeling thing for an art school. That’s where they first met rfhvj

There’re at least three (3) paintings of Kepler’s bare back in the world. Eric’s sold them. There’s also at least one in Kepler’s home 

They had a dog, a belgian malinois

Kepler loves hunting  (canon) and once took Eric with him. He turned out to be surprisingly great at it, and also he looks hot in clothes for hunting ggjbjThis was before the Realization and it was one of the moments what pushed Kep a bit closer to falling in love

Another such occasion was when Eric had a really bad day at work and just curled into Kepler’s arms

The moment they realized that it was no longer just a marriage of convenience is when Kepler won a high profile case and ran to Eric first in celebration, and they shared an Emotional Kiss

These two are one of those obnoxiously good-looking couples. Like, the kind you see in ads

As for Jacobi’s reaction...We’ve had a discussion and, well.

There’s an initial general shock of course, because it is surprising. I feel like he'd have a micro existential crisis from looking at a younger and weirdly soft and happy-looking Kepler. Plus, the Kepler he knows doesn’t really seem like a type of guy to get married. But he also understands how different that younger Kepler probably was from the one he knew, so it’s not really unbelievable.

If we’re talking kepcobi being a thing, mutual or not, I’d say that Jacobi is enough of an adult and he knows Kepler is an adult, he’s mature enough to not be jealous or anything of that sort. He might have a bit of a painful thought about the fact that he didn’t get to see such a domestic part of Kepler but oh well.

My main hc is basically just the fact that Kepler once had a husband who tragically died, which is what I actually apply to canon as a regular hc, but I love this whole idea, even if just as a verse or an AU.Tbh all of this is just us loving Kepler and enjoying imagining him having a Happy Domestic Relationship because why notOkay, this came out,,,,,, long, I’m so sorry. I just really like this whole idea. Thank you again for giving me an opportunuty to gush about it! I’d love to discuss it even further, honestly.

[sinkingtime]

I have ideas for the main idea, but first let me join in on your detour. I only really play commander by now, so my decks all have an obvious main character, but still.

The very first one I tried to build was Bant clones. Copy good creatures with blue spells, re-copy the copies with populate effects, value! Commander was to be Roon of the Hidden Realm, mostly for giving me the colours I'd need, but it does synergize with Clone creatures, and in particular Progenitor Mimic.

Also because of this, I became very well versed in the rules intricacies of copy effects.

Anyways, I didn't have the lands to support 3 colour. After running it very ineffectively, I decided to cut the blue and promote Rhys, the Redeemed to the helm. That makes it arguably my oldest or second oldest deck. I still sometimes think of him as "Rhys, heir to Roon".

The other candidate for my oldest deck is Tatyova, Benthic Druid. I opened her in either prerelease or draft the week after, but probably pre because I distinctly remember opening 3 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind for draft, and it's unlikely I would have taken Tatyova for that.

Anyways, Tatyova I played in brawl until she rotated, then added 40 more cards to make it commander. That's why she messes the timing, whether she or Rhys is first depends on if you count when his deck had a different commander and one more colour.

One of those Adelices inspired me to build Izzet Wizard/spellslingers. Over time I've phased out the Wizard tribal, leaving just the spellslingers, and have had various different commanders for it. Most notable, by length, were her, Jori En, Ruin Diver and Melek, Izzet Paragon. Currently under The Locust God. I'm mostly satisfied with that, but also more often than not don't even cast it.

Remember oathbreaker? Probably not. It was to be a commander-like format, 60 card singleton, one planeswalker as commander plus an instant or sorcery as "signature", re-castable as a commander, but only if you control your planeswalker commander.

I built two. Saheeli, Sublime Artificer+Saheeli's Artistry, and Tamiyo, Collector of Tales+Rite of Replication. Tamiyo was clones, again; she inherited the blue and Simic pieces of the old Roon deck. Saheeli is artificer, naturally. I liked those decks, and those two are my favourite planeswalkers. I also got one of those double deckboxes, where one of them folds with the lid so one opens vertically and the other horizontally, to carry them together.

The format folded, of course. That box currently holds my tokens.

I've already dissasembled Tamiyo. I bought Moritte of the Frost with the intention of building clones, again. But then I got my hands on an Alela, Artful Provocateur, and finally gave up on clones.

Saheeli got upgraded to full commander, except she's not a valid one so I had to get Saheeli, the Gifted. Also Saheeli Rai and Saheeli, Filigree Master. Actually, roll back.

The very first time I played was Kaladesh prerelease. I opened Nissa, Nature's Artisan and her emblem in the same pack, proceeded to build a deck around her and win 3rd or 4th place. Then on one of my prize packs I opened Chandra, Torch of Defiance, plus her emblem; which I traded to the store for one more pack, on which I opened Saheeli Rai.

For that reason I used to think planeswalkers who can make emblems would always come with their emblems. I was pretty dissapointed a couple months later, at Aether Revolt prerelease, when I opened Dovin Baan's emblem but not him.

Anyways, that particular Saheeli Rai I sold at some point, but then I made a point of getting another when I decided to upgrade her deck to commander. I enjoy the fact that it contains all versions of her, though obviously I can't commit to that if we keep getting new ones. It also has that Saheeli's Artistry, which is the fancier foil. So yeah, I'm pretty pro-Saheeli here.

Finally, that deck also has Chandra, Fire Artisan, with a ridiculously convoluted combo that would let her activate her -7 arbitrarily many times in a row. I've never actually pulled that off, but maybe someday.

As for that Tamiyo, she's currently in an Estrid, the Gifted deck. Somebody had apparently dissasembled her and was selling the pieces, so I got a bunch. I also like that character, and it makes me sad that she's basically screwed out of future appearances because of how hard her power is to illustrate and animate.

And yes, for the record, I'm officially cool with 3 colour now. It's been years since I decided I couldn't do it, and I've spent considerably more money in this game since.

Estrid also has Calix, Destiny's Hand, Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter and Narset, Parter of Veils, plus a Spark Double for good measure. I didn't intend to make her Superfriends, but apparently it's inevitable.

I'm also pretty commited to getting an Ichormoon Gauntlet, even though I haven't decided which of them should get it. Both have 5 planeswalkers, Estrid has more proliferate and better defenses, but Saheeli obviously has artifact synergies. I may just try and buy two.

My actual favourite character is Teysa Karlov. I actually decided I would have that commander during spoiler season, and bought the Guild Kit, for the fancy art Teysa, Orzhov Scion, then didn't read the rest of the card list. At prerelease I hunted down someone who opened Teysa Karlov and bought it, not knowing it was also in the Kit, so I just had two of them. So for that season I was playing her both in standard and commander. I think I still have the four extra Cruel Celebrants, 3 or 4 Priest of Forgotten Gods, stuff like that.

I also briefly had an Adriana, Captain of the Guard deck, which I actually only used once. That one time was a 12 or 13 player game, though; in no small part thanks to my insistence that we should give that a try. I didn't win, but I did kill like 6 or 7 players in a single attack.

I wanted a Knight tribal deck, originally built it under Aryel, Knight of Windgrace. It wasn't performing, so I figured I'd pull a reverse Roon and add red, bought a Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale precon. Not sure why, she's Equipment tribal, with a dash of Knight; I never had the intention of giving her the helm. Later I regretted not buying Alela's precon instead, which seemed more fun to use.

Anyways, my Knights commander is Morophon, the Boundless. That one is in chinese, so I end up having to explain the abilities more often than usual. The deck also has both Aryel and Adriana, though not Gwyn, she really was not worth it. It also has Crib Swap, which always requires me to read carefully. It triggers Door of Destinies but not Vanquisher's Banner, stuff like that. And yeah, I had to check right now for which was which.

Lastly, as mentioned, Alela, Artful Provocateur, who I haven't actually built. Officially the reason is that I don't have sleeves. Or more precisely, I want her to get the bluish-green sleeves Saheeli is using, after giving her the solid blue ones the Locust has, after getting solid red for him. But solid red sleeves are surprisingly difficult to find.

I also almost didn't buy her. Mostly I wanted her for the nostalgia of that time I could have bought her precon but didn't. But I also already have both artificer and enchantress, so no. In the end I decided she'd be flying tribal and did get her. Since I have yet to play her, I guess it's still possible I will regret that. Time will tell.

Bonus round! I once built Wolf tribal for my brother, under Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves. He'd never played commander, and ultimately decided not to. That game ended with me saying "ok, who should I kill?" and him saying "me!", so I just said "Aetherflux" and handed him the card to read. Everyone else nodded and the guy keeping life started ticking us both down, so obviously that got his interest, then the actual card surprised him. It was a funny moment.

That ends my commanders. I haven't played standard since Eldraine in paper and Kaldheim in Arena, but still.

I opened two Approach of the Second Sun at prerelease, and instantly decided I would play those in standard. That deck had Baral, Chief of Compliance, who could be considered the "face". It does vaguely colour how I felt about the strategy, or maybe that strategy affects how I feel about his character. He's currently in the 99 of the Locust.

I also opened two Lochmere Serpent at prerelease, and built a deck around it. That one performed terribly. It was a mistake, no other word for it.

I also had something with In Bolas' Clutches, but don't remember exactly what. I only remember because of a particular match, where we both were dropping land and passing, for like 7 turns. But I only had Clutches, the other guy had 4 or 5 cards in hand. Then I realized he had one plains and a lot of forests, meaning he was waiting for more white; I used it to take his only plains, he read it to make sure it can do that, then immediately conceded.

Very Bolas-like, I think. Except maybe for the part where it took me too long to figure it out.

Over on Arena, I had yet another instance of Teysa Karlov. Most memorable thing there was when I used Final Payment on my own creature, to get the last two deaths I'd need to drain the opponent. Opponent was blue and countered me. In response, Swift End, then counter, then Mortify. The idea of the opponent desperately trying to save my servant from me is a beautiful illustration of why we call that archetype "aristocrats", no?

I also had a dumb combo with Gaea's Blessing, Desecrated Tomb and Path of Discovery, for arbitrarily many fliers. That one apparently would have gotten decent results, except for that I kept timing out. I still like the idea of it. It's kinda weird I've never had an actual reanimator deck, with how much I like recovering my graveyard.

And finally, I played Bant Superfriends a lot. I suffered the bans of both Teferi, Time Raveler and Oko, Thief of Crowns.

It also had Karn, the Great Creator, and therefore 15 artifacts in the sideboard. Most often I would pull Parhelion II or God-Pharaoh's Statue, though I do remember there was one game where I had to pull all four Sorcerous Spyglass, because the oponent kept drawing scary things.

Also, that one depended heavily on Flux Channeler. Because the lore behind loyalty costs is (was?) that positive costs are things they enjoy doing, to the point that you requesting them makes them want to hang out more, I like to imagine she's popular, or entertaining, something like that. So that was basically her deck, and the others were there for her.

Tell me about your mtg characters!

Let’s reverse the usual, either reblog this post with basic information about your own Magic: the Gathering characters, or send me an ask with it. One at a time, and give me that information even if I already know them, others might not. I’ll ask around questions about them that pop into my head.

[tanista]

...And that's that, save for final editing tweaks here and there.

Over 240,000 words, 36 chapters, 26 months start to finish.

I did it.

Wow.

I'm feeling kinda giddy. Or maybe I just need lunch.

(What follows is essentially the Author's Afterward in the next chapter from the posted story, but the sentiment still applies here.)

To the readers who have made it this far you have my most sincere thanks for indulging me in this OC-inclusive, canon-divergent, three-way crossover AU. This has truly been a labor of love, for the fantastic shows and their inspiring settings and characters that have been a part of my life for so long, as well as the entire sci-fi genre, both literary and on screen. The best thing about the Stargate fandom is the extensive scope of the series, and how it can allow for so many different approaches in an entertaining mashup of ancient mythology and science fiction, served with intelligence, humor, and heart. I hope that I've been able to convey some of that in my own fashion and allowed it to lighten your own lives.

Have you ever had inspiration come to you in a dream? The idea for the whole story's been in my mind as bits and pieces for the past twenty years (!!) and I'm glad I finally had the time, drive and wherewithal to start translating the images in my mind into words. And that I felt free enough to go as big and epic as it played out in my imagination. I'm also glad it's taken me this long to do so, since I'm not sure I would've been able to write the same story without the maturity and added experience that comes from just plain living.

To be honest I never expected my modest AU would turn out to be so big a project. The story's been my lifeline to sanity in these very trying times for our world, as I suspect writing and reading fanfic has been for you, dear readers. Long live fan fiction and all who enjoy it!

This is the end of this story, but not of the AU. There's plenty of room for more adventures, multichapters, one-shots and vignettes alike. And not only by myself.

I'm opening it up to anyone who wishes to play in my sandbox if inspired. Additions, remixes or creations of any kind are welcome, so long as due credit is given. Have fun, give a nod in my direction (or an "Inspired by" link on AO3), and please let me know in the comments there what you've done. Any point in the timeline listed is fair game so feel free to expand upon anything- John and Rodney's relationship in Alpha Base and Atlantis, Sam and Jack's or Mac and Janet's- even future fics are welcome featuring the next generation(s). In fact, any of my original characters listed in Ch. 2 of Timeline and Who's Who in Ad Astra and original concepts in A Linguist's Guide to New Earth can be used, with credit of course. Or add your own, the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned!

If there's interest I'll create a collection on AO3 called Stargate: The New Earth Chronicles and open it to any rating or pairing- or crossover, if you think it can fit. All I ask is to keep it in the same optimistic spirit of soft apocalypse with a glimmer of hope, because now more than ever we need those happy endings.

Okay, time for me to give credit where it's rightfully due.

None of this would've come to pass in the first place if not for a certain actor and the two leading roles he portrayed so brilliantly. So thanks first and foremost to Richard Dean Anderson for introducing me to the original Angus MacGyver and later on Jack (Two L's) O'Neill, sides of the same coin as far as I'm concerned. The inspiration for my OC Rebecca Grahme came out of a desire to give both of them more family, and a concrete reason for doing what they do.

Thanks also to Michael Shanks for his version of Daniel Jackson, the first character on TV I could truly relate to, and proof that even glasses-wearing geeks (like myself) can be heroes. Indeed (to quote Teal'c) my admiration for everyone in both series- cast and crew alike- knows no bounds, for bringing to life a truly epic universe and giving it heart and wit, adventure and excitement. They are the reason why I'm still a fan after all these years.

I carry a warm fondness in my heart for the original MacGyver and the invaluable lessons he taught me about applied nonviolence, seeking creative solutions to problems and the willingness to do the right thing and stand up for others in the face of overwhelming odds. Those are values I still admire and try to emulate even today.

Many thanks goes to Sourlander and her excellent Loyalties series, for letting me incorporate Dr. Alex Lorne and her children Nora, Grace and Caleb into my 'verse. More adventures with Evan and Alex and family are welcome from you anytime.

As stated earlier this epic story is a love letter to the sci-fi genre I've been reading all my life, which taught me to think big when it comes to worldbuilding. Story inspiration comes from far and wide, particularly tales of space colonies both failed and successful, accidental and planned: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover Landfall, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsdawn, Jack L. Chalker's The Birth of Flux & Anchor, and the anthology Star Colonies (Martin H. Greenburg and John Heffers, eds.). Ursula LeGuin's Ekumen in her Hainish Cycle series is the model for the Stargate Commonwealth. Other elements come from the Cyteen trilogy by C.J. Cherryh (council government) and the alternate history anthologies What Might Have Been Vol. I & II, edited by Gregory Benford and Martin H. Greenburg (Ascended Daniel and Oma Desala's discussion).

Inspiration for elements of Atlantis Colony in particular comes from some incredible SGA fanworks on AO3: Speranza's Written by the Victors, LtLJ's Retrograde and Retrograde Extras series, ArwenLune's Rock Happy 'verse and Atlantis Program for Essential Skills Training, Three Fates by auburn and eretria, Wild Card by GillianInOz, Domenika Marzione (domarzione)'s version of Atlantis with its extensive cast of OCs, and The Body Holographic by Leah (Taste_is_Sweet) and springwoof. All are absolutely fabulous and mind-blowing, I cannot recommend them enough.

Once again my profound thanks to you, dear readers, for taking a chance on this modest AU. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I did writing it. Feedback is greatly appreciated, and will always be. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Peace to you all. May we treat each other kindly and with respect, and strive together to create a better future for everyone's sake.

Take care,

Tanista

April 2019-June 2021