#{ I’m mobile with being out and about }

[apostaterevolutionary]

I am so sorry, apparently it’s 2024 and I’m arguing about dragon age again lmao. How did I get here! Why is this happening!! Time is a flat circle!!!

Anyway. People can feel how they want about the past games not mattering in this game. If you’re cool with it, I’m happy for you. But there’s one particular argument in defence of this choice that is really, really bothering me and I have to rant

The thing I keep seeing is “well all this other stuff has nothing to do with the main plot or Rook, so it should be cut” and that’s. Not a good way to tell stories in my opinion. Because here’s the thing: it’s not about the Big Overall Plot. It’s about the characters that live in this world, big and small

I’m going to use the example of Varric and Hawke cause I think it’s the easiest to explain quickly. Varric is a storyteller. That’s the defining trait of his character. He tells stories, and sometimes they’re true and sometimes they’re not and sometimes it’s something in between. In DA2 he tells you about his brother. In inquisition, he talks about hawke and there’s banter about several of the companions. Most of these are just little one liners that don’t “serve the overall plot” but they serve Varric’s character

And that matters

So if we take this character known for telling stories about people that have been in his life, well, he largely can’t do that now. How can he talk about Hawke, someone who can be a very close friend of his, without even their gender being a choice you can select? Or whether Varric should be saying ‘is’ or ‘was’ about them? How can he talk about the companions in DA2 or inquisition when a lot of them don’t have to be recruited or can die? Will he limit himself to only characters that are guaranteed to be a part of it and alive? Or is it that he and Rook will have such a shallow relationship that Varric, of all characters, never talks about his life and past exploits?

Or has Varric as a character changed so much that he doesn’t even want to tell stories anymore? That Hawke living or dying means nothing to him? That the friendships he built with people in 2 games mean nothing to him? That he’s become literally unrecognizable?

This is where the problem is. Sure, Rook maybe doesn’t care about these people they’ve never met. But do they care about Varric? What about if a companion mentions an old friend of theirs, talks about an experience they had that made them who they are - is that only okay if that experience isn’t from a previous game? Or are all the characters so flat that we never learn anything about their connections to others outside of Rook? Is this story SO focused on this player character and this plot that NOTHING else matters, even within the world, and there’s no depth to be found in any of the characters that feature in it?

Writing characters so that they only ever talk about things that “directly serve the plot” is how you get flat, unremarkable, boring, forgettable characters. And that’s not something I would have accused bioware of doing even if some instalments are stronger in this area than others. But it sounds like that’s what they’re doing here, at least with the past characters. Cause sure, maybe Morrigan is so closed off she’ll never mention her son and partner. That’s believable, even if iffy given that they’ve said she’s going to be more involved than we think. But Varric? VARRIC??? Never mentioning ANY of the people he used to spend time with and care about except Solas and maybe some of the inquisition characters that can’t die or not be recruited but also carefully skirting around what happened to them in the game? That’s literally not the same character

And I would expand this to like. A letter mentioning this or a codex mentioning that, or ambient dialogue about so and so - that makes the world feel deep and those random, unimportant NPCs feel richer by connecting them to the larger world. It’s not about “serving the plot”, it’s about making your world and characters deep enough that they feel real, lived in, and like something we can actually care about

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

I just want to remind everyone that Wallace is canonically the worse one to sleep in the same bed with.

Scott can be a bad roommate in every other aspect but GUYS Wallace is the one that canonically snores and kicks in his sleep.

Scott sleeps like a princess with his back against the sheet lying perfectly straight (and also taking all the covers) and Wallace sleeps semi-on-his-side and apparently just fucking punting Scott in the leg every so often (not to mention he talked in his sleep too) and I don’t know why this is important to me but it is.

Because when people draw them cuddling in their sleep it’s always Wallace being normal and Scott turning and snoring and shit but you’re missing out on sleepy-cuddly Wallace turning and snoring on Scott. Let that cringe-fail 25 year old be annoying. Istg.

I’m talking to the Mobillace people too btw. Not that I’ve seen anyone draw them cuddling in bed (which is a CRIME btw. Draw that. For me.) but like imagine how funny it would be: Mobile stays the night for the first time and the hot-weirdo is a bed-menace, snoring and kicking and tossing and turning and suction cupping for warmth and Mobile is like “I want him to be my boyfriend” THATS FUNNY! LIKE-

[starbuck]

me: hey, so i feel like you maybe disregarded my saying that caretaking on top of work and school and pre-planned travel is a lot for me right now and i’m not comfortable with all of that pressure being on me alone when i wanna make sure you guys have everything you need when i’m not around…

my family: of COURSE we heard you, that’s why we started doing a bunch of things by ourselves at great cost to our physical well-being instead of asking you for help!!!!!!

me:

[brooklynisher]

Flat colors down!

Now it's just line cleanup, hands, and shading.

[national-hockey-gay]

ok so in the show i’m crewing right now with the theater i work for, one of our out-of-company actors that was hired is an ambulatory wheelchair user and she’s incredible and the theater and management have made it this whole production to try an accommodate her needs through the process. Which is wonderful!

But on the part of the the theater it comes of as so disingenuous to me (especially with the way they’ve been publicizing it on social media), knowing that i spent last semester crying after every rehearsal due to the way my disability was treated and i was considering quitting theater altogether. and even going into this production the way i’ve been treated has been subpar. and it makes me so angry but i can’t talk to anyone i know about it because i dont want them to think im bashing the actor when im really just pissed at theater management.

[iguessitsjustme]

Alright friends, I have seen many wonderful posts about Tinn’s mom, but I can’t sleep so I’m writing one of my own. I have many thoughts and feelings about her because I ADORE her.

There are so many things to talk about regarding her relationship with Tinn and her journey on how to accept and best support him BUT I’m not gonna talk about that. I’m barely going to mention Tinn. I need to talk about this because I haven’t seen it mentioned yet: she is damn good at her job. I love that we had a misdirect at the beginning of the show from Gun’s perspective that she would be an antagonist that’s out to get the music club. Then we shifted to Tinn’s POV and we got to see that she isn’t out to get anyone. She’s a high school principal just trying to make sure her school keeps on running. We don’t know the exact details of what scuffle the music club got into the previous year. But as the principal, it makes sense that she is making tough choices. Clubs that cause problems that result in damages that need to be paid during a time where she has to tighten the budget? It makes sense that she would consider disbanding the music club. Tinn and Gun’s worldview is smaller because they are students at the high school. They can’t see the whole picture that Tinn’s mother sees and has to see in order to keep the school running. Does she make things more difficult for the music club? Absolutely she does, but not because she wants to. It’s literally her job. She needs to make sure the rest of the school can still function.

She also never stops the music club from trying. In fact, I’d say she encourages it, even though they might not realize it. She signs off on letting them compete but only once they’ve improved their grades. It feels unfair and impossible to the band but it is completely reasonable. “Keep up your schoolwork and your academics and you’ll be allowed to participate in this extracurricular activity with the school’s blessing.” That was a rule at my high school. It isn’t her job to just give students what they want willy nilly. It’s her job to make sure the students are set up for success in the future. Once their grades improve, she signs off on it. She might be skeptical and it might not be her thing, but never once does she stop a student from exploring their own interests.

Then we get to the homophobic teacher. She listens to his story while he demands punishment. She asks Tinn if what he said is correct. And she’s asking him because he’s involved, because he’s her son, but also because he’s the school president. Tinn has proven he is responsible and she takes that into consideration. She looks at the situation as a whole. She wants to make sure she hears both sides of the story. So many principals of people in authority will take the teacher’s side and not once ask for the student’s side of the story. But she is fair and she sees her students as people who deserve to be heard. And that entire scene I wasn’t worried about Kajorn’s punishment because I knew she would be fair because she is good at her job. Kajorn needed to be disciplined for using violence, but not for standing up to the homophobic teacher. And she punished accordingly. Then she moved on to tell the teacher what she would do regarding his role in the situation. She was being pressured by the other teacher’s regarding Tinn’s sexuality but she remained professional the entire time and did her job to support her students. And at the prom, standing right next to two of the homophobic teachers, who I’m sure texted her, she loudly told the students to cheer for Tinn and Gun.

She is doing everything in her power to make that school a safe place for students even if that means she has to face backlash. She does that because it’s her job. It’s not her job to judge students. It’s not her job to make life more difficult for students. It is her job to make sure each and every student in that school has the best chance for success when they eventually leave.

[mistforms]

Hecate telling Claymore ‘ “Alabaster must find another answer— some new arrangement that will bring peace to my children.” ’ was maybe her lowkey wanting him to realize that the path he had picked before was wrong (perhaps she realized it for herself as well), and that he shouldn’t follow the same way under Gaea. She doesn’t want her children to have a bad reputation amongst the gods and others (plus she doesn’t want more of her children to die) ‘ “There must be another way. The gods have never trusted my offspring, but this Gaean rebellion will only bring more bloodshed.” ’

I feel it was her doing that motherly thing coming from the heart of “I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I’m going to”. Where it feels like a choice but not. Though she never did nor will say this to Alabaster since now she has that medium of Claymore to do it. Hecate doesn’t want to pick sides and/or maybe more “favorite” child (we all know it’s probably Alabaster anyway), and she doesn’t have to show that since she can nudge this in Claymore’s ear.

Also, she knows how headstrong her son is. She needed to make Claymore a mistform because not only does Alabaster miss his own father, but a child needs a good father figure in his life to help keep them structured.

[antxnous]

ok I’m complaining abt some heavy shit in the tags cw and tw ahead and stuff but I am actually abt to crash out in class rn

[deathsmallcaps]

Maybe it’s just because there’s only so many ways to draw a type of thing, but I have seven thoughts about Elemental (2023) after watching it again lol.

1. It showcases a lovely balanced relationship between artists. Ember, of course, has an eye and hand for glass making, and Wade sees the potential and ability she has; how her light shines through to the world and him, figuratively and literally. Meanwhile, Wade’s way with words is more subtle, but really reaches in deep and converts visual art into emotion; it takes a good writer and speaker to convey feeling into accessible ideas. And Ember recognizes his talent, and lets it touch her.

They bring light into each other’s lives; without each other, they were fine and functioning and almost happy, but when they have the other, that’s just the icing on the cake.

2. The art style looks worse without motion. Both characters are constantly unconsciously moving in every shot; Ember flickers and Wade drips. Plus, the way light works with them and around them doesn’t translate well to a still image (especially with Ember; it’s hard to draw without outline, and I think it helped with visibility and stability on the screen, but in stills it looks awkward.).

A lot of fan art I’m seeing seems to struggle with this outline/still problem, again more with Ember than with Wade, but a lot of artists have added their own spin and style and made it work. I think the problem is directly related to how it’s difficult to capture water, fire and light ‘sources’ like the moon via photo. So if the art style for that particular aspect is turning you off, and you’ve only seen stills, I’d suggest you watch a bit of video or a good gif set (there’s already quite a few) before deciding whether it’s worth watching or not.

3. Speaking of art, this movie really reminded me of Studio Ghibli movies. Maybe there’s only so many ways to draw something, or maybe it’s just the Howl’s Moving Castle (both book and film) and Ponyo fan in me, but Ember for sure took a lot of visual inspiration from Calcifer, it’s the red outline and such, and Wade the waves from Ponyo. It was fun to see! Also tbh I saw some Dr. Seuss CGI movie shapes in their bodies.

4. Ember and Burnie breaking the cycle. When Burnie left Fire Land for Element City, he was following his dreams (and he even started enough of a trend that his whole neighborhood because a new fire town). But his Sad disagreed with him. As a last attempt at connection, Burnie bowed a Bok Sa (sp?), a very deep bow, to his father, to show respect and love. His Dad did not return the gesture, spurning his son and his dreams, and turned away.

When Ember leaves for the glassblowing internship, she performed a Bok Sa for her Dad (and it’s so intimate guys. Like it’s almost embarrassing to look at because it’s raw and passionate and I really admire the creators for Not restraining it). Burnie sees a chance to show his daughter that he loves her, and that he respects her dreams (despite his and Cinder’s sacrifice of emigration from Fire Land, which is a big theme in this movie), and so he holds back the hurt his father laid upon him, so many years ago. He does a Bok S- back. It’s wonderful. I’m not sure he would’ve done that at the beginning of the movie, but his love for his daughter won out in the end.

(I just wish that the mother-daughter relationship received a little more canon consideration as well, but I appreciate the movie for the relations it did focus on.)

5. The city fucks up in a big way, and of course it’s up to the people affected to solve it, at least in the short term. Despite water being a huge hazard and supposedly already gotten rid of in fire town, there’s still a water train that passes regularly and always displaces enough water to kill a fire person. And in terms of the dam, there’s so much bureaucracy that Gale (the city safety officer?) found it easier to (nearly) shut down a business than to get a health hazard (the broken dam) fixed.

And when Ember covers up the hole, she leaves it! Her tempered glass doesn’t get support, and it eventually cracks and floods Fire Town, nearly killing lots of residents and leading to Wade’s evaporation.

6. Feel free to add on but I’m surprised that no globe has really talked about the disability angle yet. I i afraid I don’t have enough experience being physically disabled to talk about it in a nuanced enough way but oh well. It’s there. The way the fire people needed different transportation (also there was a fire person in a wheelchair. How things that are safe for others could kill them (Cinder nearly died while carrying ember because a guy dripped on her, which is a thing that others would find mildly inconvenient). How Wade’s nephew casually mentioned that Ember could die if she stepped off her mobility aid (the floatie) and proceeded to mess with it. And of course the shame, embarrassment and fear of being excluded & discriminated against.

7. More Men Should Cry!!! It literally saved Wade’s life lmao.

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

So. Attack on Titan ended

YES AND I CANT TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE I DID NOT REREAD OR REWATCH OR VIEW THE FINALE AT ALL DURING THE WHOLE MONTH I SAID I WOULD

also this is the best possible way you could have formatted that message

[weezerlvr228]

they look half dead ☹️

[gregmarriage]

claustrophobia combined with agoraphobia, is the stupidest shit in the world. like, oh, you’re going actually insane being stuck in the house all the time, due to your disability? oh, here’s sickening anxiety about leaving the house, like, wow, well done brain 👍🏻

[negapansy]

with all the discussion/discourse going on about ableism at the barricades, i realized i have a genuine question for other disabled people— how can those around you best help in highly physical/straining settings like shows/pits/barricades? like for example i’m diabetic so when we go to shows and i hop in the pit i tell my friends that if i start acting sleepy or disoriented to help me out of the crowd, but i’d like to know how to help look out for other disabled ppl too in those kinds of situations

[livingprophecy]

hello i promise i’m not dead but i understand if you want to unfollow/have already— i do eventually want to come back to this blog but being online feels more like a chore to me rn and i have to break that mentality first. i am officially starting my first job next week though, and moving to a completely new city 13 hours away from home,,, so wish me luck!!! i hope i’m back here soon.

[cicadaknight]

.

[cinewhore]

my roommate being madly homophobic and me being gay hm i wonder how this ends