#001. nina ( interactions )

[manybcdthings]

masa

felix ranstrom and nina ranstrom @secrettyrant

His disdain for social gatherings was already well known. Even more so when they were under the pretense of business. Because nothing said hard work like a $700 per person meal. Felix viewed it all for what it truly was, a pretentious display of wealth and egos. Tedious stories, forced laughter that if you listened to closely, carried a hint of a melody. Give us your money. It seemed worse to him that everybody knew what it was, yet nobody dared break the play. The only time he enjoyed a social gathering tinged with the promise of wooing a client was when the oil tycoons had sons and daughters with the same tastes he had. And regardless of what anybody thought about it, nobody could deny the correlation between Felix's massive coke binges with a few heiresses and accounts then earned.

All that being said, Felix was late. In fact, all that being said was precisely why he was late. Strolling into the restaurant to the clink of glasses and chatter with the slowest pace he could muster. He was practically dragging his feet towards the table, slipping into the seat beside Nina. A quick sniff indicated where his time had been spent and he shot her a quick smile before giving an apologetic nod to the potential clients. And then, of course, a wry grin to Oskar as the conversation continued. "Who are these people?" Felix muttered to his sister, keeping a level smile on his face as he eyed around the table. "If you say Israeli's, we're going to have a problem." he added without looking to her, catching a story about a yacht scattering around the guests. "Wonderful. Well, at least I haven't missed anything important." he grinned to himself, tucking himself more comfortably under the table, his foot may or may not have collided against Oskar's with a slight kick. "How annoyed is he? Let's take a bet. If his eyebrow does the thing when he looks over, I could possibly be fired." Felix uttered in full amusement, not glancing to Nina as he spoke and instead watching their dear brother as Oskar entertained for his life. "It's kind of like watching a dog walk on it's hind legs, hm?"

[st4rburster]

" you're an idiot, you know ? obviously i like you ! i’ve been trying to tell you for ages now ! ” / @mndstom

[manybcdthings]

"Well, I form my opinions on facts, Nina. Like a smart person does." Felix gave his sister a shit-eating grin but he didn't expect her to engage in any of the small talk. Instead, he took great delight in the annoyed expression over her features when she glared at him. Of course, it was met with the same grin that hadn't budged. Felix let out a little scoff to her mocking, instantly shaking his head. "We all know that's a lie because mother never held me. That's why I became a mess of yearning and desperation." he quipped in a dry tone, fighting back a laugh.

Felix was deeply amused when Nina tsk'd despite it being him that made the error, grinning again at the lack of information he purposely didn't divulge. Part of him was convinced the less people discussing the situation the better. The other part simply wanted to annoy his sister. Grabbing his drink from the table, Felix took a sip just as Nina delivered her opinion about Chloe. The intense description caused his laugh to catch in his throat, a sudden abrupt noise with a cough. "Holy fuck, that's brutal." Felix wiped his mouth, laughing again. "She wasn't that bad." but he also didn't disagree, the self pitying aura of Chloe Belcourt was rather off putting. "But I was being serious, not asking you to insult her."

"Interesting is an opinion." Nina quips, her tone level as she fixes her attention to her book. But, she should know better that Felix never leaves anything alone. His questions and statements leave him at a rapid speed, leaving Nina no choice but to abandon the pages of her book again to stare at her brother. She blinks, leaving a long pause of silence between the end of his words and the start of her own. "There is one topic of discussion that is universally agreed upon to be interesting, Felix. And that's how big of a baby you were. And how mother dearest quite obviously bounced you on her knee when there were low ceilings."

Her only interest comes when she's almost enlightened about the altercation by the pool between Chloe and Ines. But, almost is the operative word. Nina's grin slinks away into a frown when Felix explains next to nothing. She gives a tsk when he mistakes Switzerland for Sweden, perpetuating the cycle and the likelihood of her doing the same thing. "For Christ sake, I don't know why I even bothered asking you." she mutters in annoyance, turning back to her book but glancing over the top to Chloe at the question. "She reminded me of the last puppy picked from a litter, left to wonder why since she wasn't the runt and saddened that the brother and sister with the weird legs and tail were more appealing than she ever was."

[aemiron-main]

That Lab Extra That Looks Like Patty

So, at the end of TFS, when Henry’s an orderly in the lab, there’s this lab extra in the background that looks quite a lot like an older Patty IMO (keeping in mind that this end scene is in 1979, so TFS Henry would be 34 here/Patty would be roughly the same age, so there’s quite a jump in age from teenage Patty, hence why she doesnt look EXACTLY the same/is a different actress):

She’s even got the same lipstick colour (and Patty’s lipstick was something that Henry specifically drew attention to in TFS), and she also has the same hair colour and hair texture as Patty:

Her hair style also has the same side part that we saw Patty with in TFS, like especially the way that Patty’s hair is styled during the Dark of the Moon play (even though her hair parts on a different side compared to this lab extra, the styles are still very similar, and hell, 001’s hair part swaps sides during NINA, so hair parting on a diff side isnt a big issue re: whether or not this is patty):

And this extra is also the person that’s standing the closest to Henry and El and there’s just something about the way that she stares at Henry:

She’s also, interestingly enough, the extra that interacts with Henry the most during that scene- she takes the blanket off of his lap so that he can stand up, she moves the chair out of the way afterwards, etc etc, they draw more attention to her than they do to the other extras:

Anyway! Patty, is that you???

[henrysglock]

If I'm Henry, and You're Henry, then Where's Brenner?

I feel insane just writing this post, but the math maths a little too well for me to not say anything...so here we are.

Em, bless his soul, has been up TFS's ass about the "Brenner is Henry" and "Henry knows he's in a play" stuff.

My deal is: I wonder if it's not necessarily that Henry is Dr. Brenner/they're physically the same person, but more along the lines of "Henry is playing Brenner". I'm staring at:

"Every One is just waiting...waiting for it all to be over. All while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day."

Now, as we've discussed, "Henry" breaks the 4th wall and interacts with TFS as though he's realized he's in a play. However, as Em pointed out in the other post I linked above, "Brenner" has an...interesting line that could be read two ways:

One way implies he's addressing "Henry"/pulling "Henry's" attention back to him, and the other implies that only he, Henry-Brenner, is the only 001 who could possibly understand the Shadow. There's also a good number of "Who is Henry Creel?" word-drops, cluing that Henry and "Brenner" might be linked via identity.

And so of course that brought to mind some of the dialogue repetitions I've noticed between Brenner and Henry in filmed canon (I'm just showing my faves because of the image limit):

1. Something more challenging:

2. The "Well, well. Look—" dialogue frame

Now, what's particularly interesting about the second set, in my opinion, is the hairstyles.

Here we are before we go through the mirror to see baby El:

Business as usual.

Then we push through the mirror, but only one parting-side swaps:

Henry's hair, here, swaps to part very unnaturally to the same side as Brenner's...which has me looking at how unnatural the hair on TFS "Brenner" is:

Not to mention the fact that Patrick looks so much like Jamie:

Now, you're probably going "but James, all of this implies, at most, that TFS 'Brenner' and on-film Henry could be the same person".

And you'd be right! That is what this sounds like...So far.

Here's the kicker: a) TFS exists in a physically impossible timeline based on the papers alone:

b) "Brenner" doesn't age, although decades have supposedly passed:

(Maybe because decades haven't passed. It's only been a few minutes. I wonder if, had we'd seen NINA for tapes spanning years rather than days, certain ages would have been weirdly frozen. Many thoughts.)

c) Lack of aging aside, "Brenner" shows up in an orderly outfit with no tie, something we never see in filmed canon:

Ever.

(TFS "Brenner" is also missing Brenner's iconic sideburns...sideburns Henry very much doesn't have...a weird choice from the hair dept.)

d) All the direct NINA paralleling (just my favorite because of the image limit):

And so, with that in mind, I take us right back to Rome (all paths lead here): Sentient Henry.

This ^ isn't the only time someone in NINA has been "too sentient", either. Brenner does it here, when he speaks directly to teen El, with a side of foreshadowing for the 4.07 massacre:

And I know we've speculated that it could be Brenner himself who's weirdly sentient here, and that's still absolutely possible!

But with a Henry who's sentient in NINA (The "El knows it's a simulation "simulation" that's actually showing signs of being some form of time-travel/rewriting history), a Brenner who's sentient in NINA, and now a Henry-Brenner in the "everyone knows they're in a play" play that has weird time-travel/rewriting history lines:

I have to ask (in relation to Brenner himself being sentient in NINA):

Maybe there are only two sentient characters in NINA: The subject, and...someone else, some One who occasionally bounces between roles (like a swing actor):

So..."Henry", and some One who knows the goddamn lines...

That is to say, what we see TFS Brenner doing was likely done by on-film Brenner at some point, but it may not be Brenner who's portraying it in TFS. Thus "who is Henry" might not be saying that Henry = Brenner on a physical level in reality, but more that he may be portraying the dramatized version of Brenner via a NINA-type simulation. This might explain why TFS "Brenner" is so different from on-film Brenner (see: the constant thread of hollering, behavior we never see from on-film Brenner, even at his angriest): Henry's not a good actor in TFS. Brenner might seem like a weird parody of himself because Henry's a shit actor and can't pull off the role...Just like we see here, with the weird, shitty knockoff One:

Now, none of this is me claiming the events of TFS didn't happen in some capacity, just that they may not have happened the way TFS presents them/TFS is a performance, much like NINA is.

and I mean, on top of it all...

[marikn]

Let’s talk about Byler, shall we?

More specifically, I want to talk about my predictions for s5 based on various tidbits I’ve heard about the duffers and their inspiration, and trends in past media.

This is going to be pretty long but just stick with me, I promise it gets good.

(EDIT) This theory is not a happy one and has been upsetting people.

I talk exclusively about my doubts here. If anyone would like to see it, I can make another post about my byler hopes :)

Anyway can someone tell me how to insert a cut

1. Destiel syndrome

Byler reminds me an awful lot of destiel. I never finished watching supernatural, but I definitely heard about what they did in the finale, and I think it’s likely that byler would end up in a similar situation.

I fear making them obviously canon would result in a lot of controversy. I think it’s much more likely that we’d get a scene similar to destiel’s confession, where the “I love you” can be interpreted a couple different ways. 

Since Mike and Will often speak in a sort of code, I’m willing to bet Will’s confession will be encoded, and therefore entirely implicit (this ensures that the general audience can interpret it as Will talking about platonic or familial love instead), and Mike will be left stunned/speechless/unable to respond in some way before Will leaves, most likely to go straight to his death (like Castiel).

2. I don’t think we are going to get a byler kiss

As much as I would love to see it, I genuinely don’t think it will happen. There are a couple reasons as to why I think this, mainly having to do with the “bury your gays” trope.

I think Stranger Things has too wide of an audience for a kiss to happen, and I think the duffers know this. Typically, explicit romantic interactions in same-sex couples are avoided (unless the intended audience is the lgbtq community) because straight people don’t want to see that. No matter how beautifully a love story might be written, there are people who will claim they forced it for representation, people who will say it ruined the show, and people who will outright cover their eyes in disgust (I’m not exaggerating— I live with people who do this). It’s too much of a risk, especially with how popular the show has gotten.

All in all, there are too many “normal” people who watch st, and an on-screen queer kiss between two main characters would prompt too much backlash.

3. Star Wars parallels

The duffers have said they’ll be drawing inspiration for season 5 from Return of the Jedi. As it is, we can already see some parallels between the Star Wars characters and the stranger things characters (max in a coma/han in carbonite, el lifting nina/Luke lifting the ship). Assuming that Henry/Vecna/001 is meant to be Palpatine, I see two logical options for Darth Vader’s parallel. 

One: Eddie.   This ties into the kas!eddie theory a bit, but Vader’s origin began with Anakin’s defeat. Obi-wan battled Anakin and left him for dead on a remote planet, and he would have died if not for Palpatine and the suit he’d made for him. Palpatine remade Anakin entirely and gave him an all new identity— which could be a possibility between 001 and Eddie, now that we know the numbers have the ability to revive (el reviving max’s body in the finale). 

Two: Will.    This is the more likely option. In Star Wars, Palpatine poisoned Anakin’s mind by using his own fear against him (Anakin was seeing visions of his wife Padme dying, and was desperately searching for a way to save her). Palpatine took Anakin’s weakness and applied the necessary manipulation to mold him into a tool.

Much like Anakin’s “death” at the hands of Obi-wan, we can assume that Will Byers “died” in 1983 when he disappeared. When he came back, his mind was compromised, which allowed the mindflayer to take control of him. Much like Anakin, Will would (in theory) be willing to do whatever it takes to keep his loved ones safe, which will lead to his downfall (villain arc not included).

If they were to parallel Will and Vader like this, they would turn Will onto the path of the tragic hero archetype. At the end of Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader turns on Palpatine in order to save Luke, sacrificing his own life in the process. Remember when I said Will would confess to Mike right before walking into his doom?

4. Every ending has a beginning

Will Byers is going to die.

This show started with Will, and it will end with Will. Most likely, he will sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends and family. Once he does, I can see us getting a shot of Mike holding his body (probably similar to Richie and Eddie from IT) and only then will we get a glimpse of how Mike really feels about Will.

Will’s sacrifice will either destroy Vecna, or give El the upper hand so that she can kill him herself (this is, after all, her unfinished business). However it plays out, I have low expectations of Will actually making it through. The duffers seems to have been foreshadowing this, too.

Will has never had a happy childhood. Even before the Upside Down, he had Lonnie and the bullies weighing him down. He’s been doomed since the start; all throughout the show, he can’t seem to catch a break. He alone is linked to the upside down— to Vecna. We even see the two of them heavily paralleled through Vecna’s backstory (being “sensitive” children, not getting along with other kids, drawing the mindflayer). He’s been put through so much, time and time again, and it all reads very similarly to Harry Potter’s “pig for slaughter” storyline. 

Like Harry with Voldemort, Will was marked and linked to Vencna when he was taken into the upside down. From then on, he’s been able to feel Vecna’s presence in his mind and in Hawkins whenever he’s active, the same way Harry can feel Voldemort’s presence through his scar. They have a permanent connection, whether they like it or not, and the only way to break it is for one of them to die. Obviously, since this is the final season, they will find a way to defeat Vecna. I will not be surprised, however, if that way requires Will to die somehow. 

Only this time, there won’t be a way for him to come back.

(insert genius and well-crafted conclusion here) Basically: it’s not looking good for byler. 

[manybcdthings]

"Right. It definitely sounded like one." Felix remarked dryly, a small huff punctuating his words as his sister backtracked. He didn't even read Oskar's statement as an attempt to placate the quick rise in tension and waved a dismissive hand at his brother. "Okay, well, no offense, but I won't blame her if she doesn't exactly want to be used as a magical pawn. So, I'll let you know." Felix bit back quickly, feeling the familiar sensation of needing to remove himself mentally from his surroundings. It was something that only occurred frequently with his brother and sister, as if his soul was tired of the constant defense needed for whatever quips might fly through the air.

The resolve and plan for the trip, however, worked to quell Felix's curiosity about the notebook and Nina's dark humor managed to pull a weak chuckle from him. His hand lifted in a sheepish mirror of hers. "I think the same thing. And I also think Agneta and Olaf are part of a whole abyssal conspiracy, probably did the Beekman." he claimed grandly without a single ounce of shame, even if he could easily read Oskar's disapproval. There was no warm farewell as Nina made her leave, Felix drawing in a deep breath as if anticipating the sense of relief that would sweep through his apartment once his brother and sister left him alone. His gaze flicked between her and Oskar as the strange compliment was repeated, making Felix's nose scrunch slightly as if in disgust. "Okay. That's...wonderful." he commented simply, feeling as if Oskar had a gun to his head to agree. He half expected his brother to seize the opportunity to leave next, but something much worse followed.

As Oskar tried to strike up a warmer conversation, Felix couldn't control the scoff that left him. It was a deeply bitter but amused sound as he packed up the other box. "Ah, yeah. So fond of her that you tried to belittle her work and our relationship." his words were a sharp mutter and Felix wasn't looking to Oskar as he moved around him to stack the boxes away again. "You can go, Oskar. I don't want this conversation and you don't either." Felix stopped himself from further comment, knowing that anything heartfelt would simply be a stiff and tense atmosphere that lingered. Possibly for days. "Yes." he reply was simple about the notebook, but his expression lacked any enthusiasm. "Maybe you're not sure what a werewolf attack consists of, but it's all teeth and claws. My memory of magic is still intact. I'm fully capable to figure this out alone. So if you're messing up your precious work schedule because you think I'll struggle, you can...just not?"

@dxrkenedheights

Nina doesn’t gain any satisfaction from the quip she directs to Felix at Isabella's expense, but she does manage a slight grin and rolls her eyes heavily. "Oh, please. I never said it was a bad thing." she backtracks, throwing up a weak hand in apology. "And there’s no way either of you will survive a trip together without someone there with a brain. I was actually complimenting her." It isn’t a lie. People like Isabella Belcourt are necessary, Nina thinks, to balance out the world that might otherwise be ravaged by people like herself. She glances between her brothers, noting how Oskar dances on the edge of intrigue about the notebook despite his usual aloof facade. That brings a more genuine grin to her lips, and Nina nods as if the situation has resolved itself.

"Great. Well, that’s settled." she says, clapping her hands together and taking one last look at the boxes they stand among. "You both talk to the ladies who hold your leashes and get back to me. Then I'll sort out some dates." a shiver of excitement crawls up her spine, making Nina shrug her shoulders in a contented wriggle. "I think we should place bets. Just some harmless fun. I say abyssal magic, and she killed her children with it. Greta survived." Nina speculates, slowly raising her hand and looking at her brothers. "Possibly accidental, possibly not." she adds, her tone contradicting the sinister topic.

Nina doubts there is anything else of interest in the boxes, but she takes another look at the notebook as thoughts churn briefly. "Greta might reach out after your visit and tell our dear mother about this, so we should think ahead." she says and although communication between mother and daughter has been limited for years, Nina doesn't take any chances. "Or, try to be coy about how you mention it, if either of you can manage that." her gaze flits between the brothers again, wondering if this trip might help them better understand one another. But Nina doesn’t particularly want to be there for the brotherly bonding itself, predicting it will be nauseating and something that could have been resolved years ago. "Despite how fun this was, I need to go." she declares, heading straight for her purse and coat to conclude the afternoon on her own terms. She pauses at the door, turning slightly to give one last nod. "I mean it, though. You do look well, Felix. Less gaunt. But maybe next time you'll offer us a coffee." @dxrkenedheights

[the-lazy-cat-bakes-souffles]

I honestly don’t think Nancy is going to get out of Vecna’s trance through music like Max. The Hawkins gang might try to free her that way, but it won’t work for whatever reason. Instead, I have another theory altogether as to how Nancy manages to escape Vecna: I think El is going to be the one who saves her.

When Nancy was caught in Vecna’s grasp, she fell through a black void just as El did when going into Billy’s memories in Season 3. And we know that El also enters that void when suspended in a sensory deprivation tank like Nina.

This leads me to believe that Vecna’s Mindscape and El’s mental void are in fact the same plane of existence (complete with the red lightning and smoke we saw in the Season 3 flashbacks).

At the end of The Massacre of Hawkins Lab, Nancy is travelling through Henry Creel’s memories, with the latest scene she witnesses being his abduction to Hawkins lab as a younger Brenner tattoos his wrist with his new identity: 001. Meanwhile El is still immersed in her past, having just re-enacted her battle with Henry/Peter/001.

It stands to reason then that in the following episode, Nancy’s journey through Henry’s memories will eventually catch up to the massacre, and she will see a young Eleven.

What if Nancy tries to communicate with her, warn her, and because present day El is conscious within her memories they are able to interact? What if Nancy tells El about 001 being back and Max being in danger? And when Vecna shows up to kill Nancy, El is able to use her powers to hold him off and send Nancy back to reality?

What if this is how the two disparate plots collide, acting as a catalyst that drives El to get back to Hawkins as soon as possible, and Nancy to formulate a plan with the rest of her group to stall Vecna until El is able to defeat him once and for all?

Perhaps this is what ‘The Piggyback’, the finale’s title, refers to? The phenomenon of sharing someone else’s memories?

This is all just speculation on my part, but I think it would make much more sense than attempting to repeat the iconic Running Up That Hill sequence, in addition to converging the narrative threads in a creative and unexpected way.

[teddy-boar]

My personal ranking of the storylines of season 4 vol. 1:

Hawkins gang. Best group of characters, with the best chemistry as all of them play off each other so well. Their Nancy (Wheeler) Drew-esque mystery solving is so fun to watch. A great mix of comedy, suspense, horror, mystery, drama and emotions with banger soundtrack that is stuck in everyone's head these days. The whole sequence of the older crew in the Upside Down communicating with the kids via lights? *chefs kiss* Beautiful, brilliant, so fucking cool. The whole climbing onto a rope to fall down into Eddie's trailer? Bro, give me more of that trippy, awesome interdimensional fun. (A lil nitpick though: earlier, a bunch of government people came to the trailer to tell Eddie's uncle to pack his shit and go. Looked like they were gonna quarantine that rift to contain it or study it or whatever. But the kids just waltzed right in there like it was abandoned. What's up with that?)

Russia crew. Joyce and Murray are a duo I didn't think would work, but they're so fun. Hopper and Enzo are pretty intriguing, though I wish their story involves more about what the Russians are doing with the Demogorgons and the Upside Down, rather than just Soviet Prison Break. i thought they were gonna expanding upon that this season since at the end of ss3, that storyline feels rather inconclusive, right? But apparently not?

Nina project. It's intriguing to find out how 001 came to be but I feel like it's too drawn out. This whole arc of El trying to reach back to that memory could really be solved in like 2 episodes, instead it feels like 5. Those flashes of the other kids in blood must have been replayed like 10 times, by the 5th time, I'm already like, "Okay, this is too on the nose for it to be El who killed them. So who is it?" Making the twist kinda lackluster for me personally.

Cali crew. What the fuck are you boys even doing? Great comedy though. But seriously. What the fuck are you doing? Feels like the writers didn't know what to do with these characters since the mystery is being solved all the way back in Hawkins so they just send them on some sidequests to give them screentime. Because hinestly, if you cut their whole storyline, nothing really changes. When they all converge in vol. 2, the Cali crew doesn't really have any info to add.

Overall, I love the longer runtime cuz it means more content, which means we get to spend more time with our beloved characters after not seeing them for so long. And Imma be controversial in saying this, the plot ain't that interesting 😬, and the storytelling is not that grea. There's a lot of expositions and things that don't make sense. And I honestly am not that invested in the stor. The reason I'm in love with this show is these characters and their interaction with each other. That's what Stranger Things means to me. So despite the fact that every other storylines beside the Hawkins one feel very dragged out and overly long, like it's a draft that needs to be cut, I still love them all because I get to see these characters just... doing shit on screen. That's so fun.

[tortademaracuya]

psst jotaro para el 003 y fullmetal para el 001

Jotaro:

How I feel about this character: i dont love him but i dont dislike him either. if i think about him as a dumbass trying to be seen as a cool, edgy and mysterious on purpose it's more funny. also just sucks at social interactions and just does whatever he thinks will benefit others without talking to them about it which i, understand lol.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: im not really that into any jotaro ships but ig kakyoin? i like them as jouta and jolyne's parents. also rohan a little even though it started ironically and i blame you for that!!! how dare you make me feel emotions for rohan

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: i think he would love foo fighters so much, he adopted them the second he met them, jolyne why arent u dating this plankton. the foo does no wrongs in his eyes. also he n the morioh gang but it's that pic of the woman with like 2 kids on leashes (oku dying on the floor, josuke running off) and one (koichi) on her back.

My unpopular opinion about this character: he doesnt like koichi more than jolyne, in any case i think he just sort of adopted the morioh gang because he missed her lol also he's just, bad at expressing himself and believes he can solve it all alone. the last time he worked with others almost everyone died, so now he can't bring himself to let others know everything he does, believing working alone must mean this time things will work out just as his battle with Dio did (or in any case he will be the only one affected).

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i wish we could have seen him be a dad to little jolyne :( or showed us how his relationship with Holly is now after all these years, or how he and Suzie Q (who surely spoiled him a lot) interacted, hell or even more time with Josuke idk. Get out of the fucking hotel dude. I wish we had more about his feelings about the Crusaders. Idk just more about him opening up a little

Favorite friendship for this character: Polnareff they r besties u can't change my mind

My crossover ship: none.

Fma now, this is going to be terrible because i remember almost nothing about it:

Favorite character: Alphonse my beloved my fellow infp

Least Favorite character: i was gonna say fuck whatever the Elric dad is called but actually, fuck Nina's father. Rot in hell

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): izumi and her husband the perfect couple <3 ed and winry, riza and roy

Character I find most attractive: Riza, Olivier, Izumi, Lust, ma'ams...

Character I would marry: riza

Character I would be best friends with: if i was friends with Al or Winry i would cry of joy

a random thought: i liked the Tringham brothers :( i got really sad when i learnead they didnt appear in the manga or brotherhood

An unpopular opinion: it has been too long for me to both know what an unpopular opinion would be and to have one lol

My Canon OTP: uhh izumi and her husband and ed and winry

My Non-canon OTP: dont have one, didnt really ship anything much

Most Badass Character: idk izumi?

Most Epic Villain: .

Pairing I am not a fan of: idk

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): cant remember enough :( didnt they mess up Rose in one of the animes?

Favourite Friendship: idk :(

Character I most identify with: i dont really see myself in anyone

Character I wish I could be: i think i wanted to be like Winry or Al when i first saw it

[colourfullsims]

13, 16, and 17 for the storytelling ask game!!

13. from basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?

Ah, that depends on what I'm working on! So after I finish doing gameplay, I've got two word documents and an excel spreadsheet to work with: one word doc with the daily events schedule (couplings, challenges, dates, etc.), one word doc with my notes from the gameplay (results of challenges, relationship value changes, notable interactions), and the spreadsheet organizes all the character info I need to keep up with (traits, attractiveness, first impressions, challenge winners, etc.). I'm basically looking at a whole lot of raw data that I have to plug into the daily schedule and turn into a story. For events that are about repetition - like the coupling ceremony - it's typically a pretty quick process to come up with a script based upon the in-game results, and then head into game and pose everyone quickly and take those shots. What takes more time is when I have to make scenes that deviate from those standard, repetitive events.

So for example: it takes about 24 minutes of real-time to play a in-game day of sims. Since I have to pause sometimes to check what sims are doing and make notes, we can round it up to 30 minutes of gameplay. Then, I pause the game, check everyone's relationship values and take more notes: about 10 minutes. Take those notes and make a general bare bones script of who picked who at the coupling: 5 minutes. Adding ~flavor~ with Nina's introductions, as well as giving each character unique dialogue based upon their personalities: 30 minutes. Then - a deviation - aka Manny and Felicity's fight lol. I have to decide on a lot of little details: are they gonna get physical or just throw words, is anyone else gonna step in to the fight, being careful to move characters around in ways that keep each scene consistent, and in outdoor settings, keeping the lighting consistent (which typically means having to be shoot scenes in order rather than leaving more technical scenes for later). Stuff like this can take longer, especially if I have to use poses, so I'd say the repetitive parts take me about 20 minutes, and then I add an extra 10 minutes on with a detailed scene.

After all the screenshots are taken, I take my time to sort through them and select the shots I'll be using, labeling them based on challenge, day, and shot number (i.e. "LI Day 1 001"). How long it takes me to edit depends upon how many images I'll be editing that day, and how much dialogue has to be added on screen. But a typical post length for me is about 8-10 shots; editing outdoor shots with dialogue would take me about 30-40 minutes for that amount. Now that I have my screenshots ready to go, I take them to Tumblr, put them in a draft, add Nina's narration in the description, tag all the creators, and tag the post: that takes me about 5-10 minutes. And at that point we're ready to post! So in all, getting just one post out can take me about 2 and half hours on average. Of course, that's typically spread across multiple hours so it can take me even longer to do it than that lol

16. what about the process do you enjoy?

My favorite part is always seeing the pictures come to life in photoshop! I love looking at the finished product of everything I worked on

17. what about the process do you hate?

POSING! I love poses but actually going into game and posing has become a nightmare lmaooo. Especially when I have to factor in a big group of sims, cause I have to think about everyone's positions before I start. And with the number of poses I have installed, I'm typically scrolling for a long time just looking for what I want 😅

Thanks for the questions! ❤️

[2ofswords]

001 pathologic

Even if it says “Pathologic” I’ll mostly be talking about Pathologic 2 and specify if it’s not the case. It’s just where most of my experience lies since I’m not done with Pathologic Classic HD yet. ^^

Also I’m putting this one under a cut because… man. That got long! Like way too long, I thought I could do this one very quick and now two hours have passed and I’m still writing it! Dear god, these are a lot of questions!

 Favorite character: ... It’s Dankovsky. We all know it. I mean I went into the game being like “I’m pretty sure the tragic asshole character is gonna be my favorite...” Credit where credit is due, I persevered until the day 11 conversation. But we all would have known that Marble Nest would have gotten me anyways so.. Yeah. I especially love his dynamic relationship with Artemy in Patho 2 and he is just a fun and complex character, that I really love to think about and who has made some terrible decisions while still staying sympathetic for me. Also the mix of science and dreams is just something that I find interesting and also can kind of relate too. Love that stuff! 

 Least Favorite character: In Patho 2 it’s Oyun. The way he talks about the Kin makes me really uncomfortable. The animalistic portrayal is for me one of the biggest flaws in the game and he is the worst offender. And yeah since he is one of the Kin, I’m probably not the one who should judge... But I don’t know... from what I’ve heard that seems to be considered a problem by the fanbase in general... Outside of that I also think he’s just structurally very badly included in the game? He appears very late and is hostile in a way that doesn’t really make you engage with him. And I was way to stressed and didn’t get enough opportunities to actually talk with him to really make a connection (though one reason was, that I didn’t give him my house in the first run. Didn’t want to, so I had the pleasure to walk to Shekhen every time to meet him.) Even without the very questionable undertones his constant ranting about strength and leadership didn’t really appeal to me in a game, where leadership just far has only proven to fail everyone in a time of crisis. The way he is revealed as the murderer is kind of weak, since you either figured it out long ago or the game just randomly tells you... He just is very unappealing to me. Vlad the Elder also fucking sucks. But at least he as well as the game are so open about it, that it’s easier to ignore while the game seemed to make me want to like Oyun, while I really couldn’t so this one makes me a little more salty.

 5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): 1. Artemy/Daniil: What a shocker! Narrative foils who have an actual rivals to friends ark in the game and a shitton of sexual tension within it! What’s not to love? 2. Lara/Rubin: I just think they deserve each other. Both of them are very hard working and prone to giving up themselves for the greater good but they are also harsh to others. I think they would apreciate each other but also reign the other person in and care about them. 3. Daniil/Rubin: I just want Rubin to be happy, okay? This one is more a Patho 1 thing, but they really appreciate each others work and I really like how they interact in the Bachelor route. They care about each other and they share a lot of struggles and actually a more similar view on the town and the world than Daniil does with Artemy. Also again we have two very hard working people here, who would have a lot of bonding over weird science projects. (Even if these one are worse at reigning each other in and fights would be pretty horrible to the point of needing a mediator because non of these two are talking to each other and maybe only stoop down to writing very passive aggressive letters...) 4. Notkin/Khan: Also more of a Patho2 thing, since they act way more brutal in P1 and also do not really reconcile. But in P2 they seem to care and immediately bury the hatchet when shit hits the fan. The whole house of the death quests shows them more as bickering friends. And I have a soft spot for bickering friends romances, okay? Also this one is obviously only two teenage boys having a crush, no shitheads allowed here! 5. Yulia/Eva: I cannot really chose between my favorite w/w pairing, there are so many good ones! Right now it’s Yulieva again. They are tragic, they are soft, they are so atmospheric and fun to write! Also I just love Eva and think she should get as many girlfriends as she wants.

 Character I find most attractive: Uhhh... I don’t know I find their models beautiful but there are not a lot of them I find specifically attractive. I guess it’s between Daniil, Artemy, Lara and Yulia for me. Daniil get’s the most ridiculous style points ever but... too old for me specifically. I think Artemy is really attractive but I think his outfit is also really unflattering ... Lara is so much my type and so is Yulia! (Though why didn’t you keep the short hair, queen, it would have made this choice so easy!) I think I’ll have to go with Lara, because I first saw her and just went “I love you” immediately? 

 Character I would marry:  If I assume that the other person would be as happy with our arrangement no matter who I chose: Victor. He is the perfect husband by definition and I want to learn more about time magic. Though this marriage would remain very much platonic and also very much sexless... he is way older than I am and that is disregarding that time is weird for the Kains. Also we have to consider Nina’s continuing existence... okay I don’t mind that one at all.

 Character I would be best friends with:  My first instinct is to say “man all of these people would despise me”, which is such a Pathologic mood. I think I would be best friends with Eva. I think we would get along well and we’d have much to talk about. Also, her house is cool and we could go stargazing!

 A random thought:  I love Dora! She is the worst and most iconic child caretaker of all time and I want to talk about her! The whole baby thing and the way it’s delivered to Artemy is already great but then she just silently takes the baby and gives the reward when you’re there the second time? The time she takes Grace away is genuinely such a good dialogue and a tough decision so that’s great but then, she manages to actually get Grace adopted by a dead person, if Peter is dead! And then she may think it’s Andrey WHO IS DEAD TOO! Seriously, who hired her! I know the entire town is falling apart but man! Dora sure as hell doesn’t help the case. But she tries her best! I think. I hope.

 An unpopular opinion: Oh I have a lot of unpopular opinions, but I think most of them should get their own post, where I can explain in details and a bit more serious what I’m actually talking about. But here’s a small one: Okay ummm… please my fellow burakhovsky shippers, please don’t get mad but… uuuumm…

…

I like the first Bachelor conversation in Patho2 better than the one in Patho1. … Okay, look. I love the “left hand right hand” line as much as everyone else. Wouldn’t have missed it and loved it in Pathologic Classic! And I also think it’s a shame that Daniil’s homosexuality got dialed down. Totally agree with that. But! I really love them starting out on the wrong foot. Their whole dynamic of having to establish their relationship makes their journey and the scenes where they actually reconcile again so much more powerful to me and I love how dynamic it is. And having the two of them completely clash underlines for me how much they have to try and develop to be more comfortable and confine in each other. It’s a great starting point! Also the scene is hilarious in it’s own right. The whole buildup to it where Artemy is in such a desperate position to find out his own kind-of-brother wants to murder him… starting this whole thing with “you owe me” and the whole “Vorakh” thing. It’s really great how in retrospect it’s just a really fucking bad start and a trainwreck of the Bachelor trying to sound competent but from Artemy’s perspective it’s just utterly horrible because the whole town wants to kill him, his father is dead and this stranger is talking some bullshit! Yeah, nobody would have any patience and so the situation escalates immediately! It’s great storytelling and absurd and… I really do love this scene and it’s dynamic and I think it's a great first interaction! (Even if it is sad if people think that they now get the Bachelor. Which… dynamic storyarc… complex character. But I think most people will get that eventually, if they just engage with the whole storyline.) It also makes it a bit more genuine when they actually do act friendly, because you can see, how they act, if they’re not trying. In P1 the Bachelor’s dialogue can feel manipulative rather than friendly and while that has it’s own positives, I just prefer the more dynamic approach of their relationship. To be honest, I think both conversations fit in their own games nicely. I just prefer the overall approach to their relationship arc and I also think it’s just less clumsily written and a bit more memorable apart from the very first line. And while I love it in Patho 1 I couldn’t really see it and it’s sudden intensity in the writing-style of the second game, so I also do not really miss it specifically in their interaction. It’s great were it is but it wouldn’t enhance the situation here.

 My canon OTP:  Victor and Nina. This man just loves his powerful evil and passionate wife and I respect that. I think the way they are described and how Victor would fit in makes this combination so interesting to me. He is quiet and capable and you can really imagine the whirlwind Nina still appreciating him and... it’s so cute, okay? They are in love!

 Non-canon OTP:  (Oh my god, there are so many pairings where my brain goes “what do you mean, they aren’t canon???)  I think Lara/Eva is a really cute pairing that sure as hell isn’t alluded to in the Canon at all. Lara deserves Eva’s positivity and her view on the potential of the soul could be really cute. And Eva deserve her practical care and consideration. Also they are both talking about how they do not know what to do with their live and since they both arrive at this rather depressing conclusion very differently, they might be able to help each other!  Also they could play matchmaking with the local doctors together and I find that hilarious.

 Most badass character: Aglaya. There isn’t really a competition. (Okay Clara is also really badass and one has to mention Aspity for just dying when she feels like she should make a point and for being alive whenever she has something really important to say... that’s also pretty badass and she also is in general.) Aglaya is so powerful and intimidating and armed with metaknowledge. She even knows about her plot armor (and how long that will last...) Do not cross this lady, you will definitely regret it! (Okay the true answer is obviously Teensy. But shhhh…)

 Pairing I am not a fan of:  I’m not really a fan of Aglaya/Artemy especially in Patho2. I just cannot get over her immediately opening the gallows and then breaking Grief down. Artemy in Patho2 doesn’t really feel like a person who would appreciate either and he gets like really upset about Grief without it getting really resolved. (And Aglaya is very unapologetic about it, which might be a part of the truth since we don’t know what happened but still doesn’t help the case.) Also they talk very businesslike and like Aglaya is just making plans which Artemy in mind which doesn’t feel like a good baseline even if she appreciates his insight. It’s still only one person making the decision in the end... But I also totally get the appeal and they are both stubborn, have an interesting way of seeing connections and their worldviews are very interesting together especially, if we think about P1, so I also get shipping them! I’m just not the biggest fan myself.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Uhhh... Hm... There is not really a character I find completely broken and I’ve complained about Oyun enough... So I have to go with Aglaya and only for the reason that I find the ending where they leave town pretty forced. (I’m sorry, I don’t hate her! All of the characters are so amazing, she only has some writing choices specifically that I didn’t like! But I still think she’s cool!) I actually kind of like that it exists and I think the way it plays out is very heart-wrenching and honestly amazingly made but the whole way to get to the decision feels a bit awkward to me just because both of their duties get weirdly lampshaded without making the meta entirely obvious. Either just shattering the fourth wall here or making the situation way more desperate for both of them would have done the trick, I guess.  I in general would have loves, if her meta would have been used a bit more explicitly. It felt a bit gimmicky to make her cool at times and while Artemy might not be the route for that... there ideology talk in Patho1 sure as hell managed that. Their dialogue is still good but I had very high hopes while I approached it. I do know that there is more behind the meta and I wish we could have seen a bit more of that then her offhandedly mentioning it. She never really engaged with her struggle and never allowed Artemy to really engage with it, what also made the whole town fleeing scene a bit jarring, especially if you didn’t play the first game. 

Favourite friendship: I mean the whole apple basket gang friendship, obviously! Is there really another friendship that competes in the game? I love their dynamic and I also love how torn apart the friendship is and how they are only beginning to reconcile even at the end of the game. Not all is good yet but they stay hopeful and I think that is a very strong message.

[henrysglock]

How Henry interacted with El in that one scene that you posted makes me think: did he actually meet any other number before her? Or was his interaction with El his "first attempt" to act as an orderly? And why with her specifically?

Because he seems to be like you said very unsure on how to communicate with El (he didn't even introduce himself to her) however in the series 001 presents quite professional. Obv it's unclear how many time passed after their first meeting and the NINA events and Henry probably didn't know how to interact properly because of the potential lack of instructions, but this all seems very weird to me.

I'm really not sure! The fun thing about this scene is that there aren't any other numbers present...at all. It's just El, by herself, with the Magic 8 ball. Like...where are the rest of them? Why does he act so awkward when his in-show counterpart has an air of relative confidence about him? No one knows except the Duffers and Kate.

It's so odd that Brenner says the DOD wanted him to dispose of Henry, but that he managed to convince them not to. What happened that made them want to dispose of him? He also notes, while Henry's bound and gagged, that Henry's "been such a good boy" in the recent past few years...what about the full 15-20 years before that? What happened?

The whole sequence opens up a bunch of questions that none of us have an answer to.

I do have a bit of speculation in a different route, though.

It's so funny to me that the Shadow/the UD has been likened to the KGB over and over, meanwhile Brenner works for the US equivalent: the CIA. Brenner at the end of TFS hasn't aged since 1959, and there are a ton of implications that Brenner somehow is the Shadow. It makes me wonder if that lab scene was even real.

Like...let me put it this way.

Why does Brenner still look the same way he did when Henry gave into the Shadow that first time...and why does the Shadow in the VR take on the form of Brenner? Is there any possibility that the lab scene in TFS isn't real, it's in Henry's head, and that the unchanging Brenner is actually a manifestation of the Mindflayer?

Henry's kept locked away, sure...but he's not just isolated or bound. He's also gagged. He's not allowed to move or speak or have any influence over his surroundings. Could it be that the end of TFS is what the inside of Henry's mind looks like? Him, bound and gagged, while the Mindflayer (read: not just the Shadow, but the combined Mindflayer), who presents as young Brenner, runs the show? Could it be that the Henry who acts so bizarrely in 4.05 is being controlled or is a NINA-manifestation of Controlled Henry, but the Henry who acts more awkward/personable and speaks in weird, secretive leading questions is the genuine Henry underneath it all? The one who's been "such a good boy" (read: stopped actively fighting back, may still be dropping hints) and is now being allowed to interact/have some control over himself because the Hive Mind (DOD) decided not to dispose of him the way it disposed of Will...because the Mindflayer (CIA) decided he was still useful irt bonding with El, even if genuine Henry isn't completely aware that he's being used?

Idk. It just stinks of unreality/dissociation/watching yourself do things with no control over it, the same way the attic scene does.

[shieru-riji]

01: BB 02: Chesward 03: Real!Ciel

002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you:

When I started shipping them: Public School arc

My thoughts: make it happen its what we deserve

What makes me happy about them: we’ve barely seen them together and we already know they’re perfect for each other. honestly. opposites attract? yeah they do. 

What makes me sad about them: like most of my ships, they arent canon. 

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: when theyre ooc lmao

Things I look for in fanfic: im sold if cheslock is the big spoon HA

My wishlist: more interactions inside Weston, also BANTERING because i want that dee/vincent feel

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: hmm, not really sure. i’d say nina for ed if she were his age but as of now they’re my crack ship soooo

My happily ever after for them: Ed invites Cheslock to dinner with the Midfords. Elizabeth and Alexis are happy for Edward, but Frances never ever lets anyone that gets near her children off the hook easily. She tests Cheslock, even disapproves of his hair, but eventually, she warms up to him and he passes her tests AND EVERYONE LIVES HAPPILY EVER AFTER

001 & 003: http://shieru-riji.tumblr.com/post/172003547377/1-kuro-2-cielizzy-3-real-ciel

[bisexualjeanhavoc]

001 monster if you will

Favourite character:eva…i started stanning her before i even watched it and she did not disappoint Least Favourite character:roberto can fucking perish5 Favourite ships (canon or non-canon):-grimmer/tenma/eva/martin (in that order and that order only) is the god-tier ot4-eva/happiness-lotte/nina-roberto/a fucking bullet-tenma/a well deserved napCharacter I find most attractive:i mean, if you don’t think it’s eva you just have bad taste.Character I would marry:tenma…god eva really was a fool wasn’t she.Character I would be best friends with:lotte!a random thought:karl? a little bitch.An unpopular opinion:i mean i think stanning eva counts as an unpopular opinion (even tho it’s the only valid opinion). also i think johan is kinda ugly.My canon OTP:hmm..well eva/tenma was canon for. a couple episodes..My non-canon OTP:where the hell is the grimmer/tenma content i deserve?Most Badass Character:Nina!!!Most Epic Villian:i mean it’s johan there’s no competition Pairing I am not a fan of:tenma/either of the twins is extremely cursed.Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):i mean this isn’t necessarily a screw up of a character but i would’ve loved to have seen more eva and nina interaction Favourite Friendship:grimmer and tenma..Character I most identify with:hmm..probably ninaCharacter I wish I could be:eva but like. 1986 eva.

[jungjnsoul]

━  ❛  •  MASTERLIST 001:  feminine names.

below the cut, you’ll find 100+ ‘feminine’ names categorized alphabetically. they’ve been gathered from baby name websites and general interactions overtime !  keep in mind that i grew up in a small, southern town-- so some names may seem a little plain. please like or reblog if this list was helpful.

A --

aly / ally / allie.

alyssa.

amanda.

amber.

amelia.

amy.

andrea.

annalise.

arden.

ashayla.

aubrey.

audrey.

autumn.

ava.

avery.

B --

bailee / bailey.

bambi.

bea.

beatriz.

bella.

bellamy.

bentley.

brianna.

brooklyn.

C --

cali / callie.

calista / callista.

caroline.

carson.

cat.

catalina.

cece.

cecilia.

celeste.

charolette.

cindy.

crystal.

D --

dawn.

devyn.

E --

eiza.

elena.

eliza.

elizabeth.

ella.

ellie.

emma.

emerald.

esme.

eva.

eve.

evie.

F --

fae / fay.

fawn.

fiona.

G --

glenda.

gloria.

H --

hailey / haley / hayley.

hanna / hannah.

harper.

I --

isabella.

ivana.

J --

jackie.

jaclyn.

josephine.

K --

kehlani.

kennedy.

kiana.

kim.

kimberly.

L --

leanne / leighanne.

leigh.

lelani.

lena.

lili / lilly.

liliana.

lilo.

liv.

M --

macey / macy.

mackenlyn.

maddie.

madeline.

madison.

mae / may.

marceline.

marcy.

mia.

mikaela / mikaelah.

mini / minnie.

moana.

mona.

N --

nina.

nicole / nichole.

nioka.

O --

olivia.

ophelia.

P --

penelope.

peyton.

poppie / poppy.

Q --

quinn.

R --

raleigh.

rowan.

ryland.

S --

sadie.

sam.

sammy.

samantha.

santana.

sav.

savanna / savannah.

selena.

serenity.

sophia.

sophie.

sydney.

T --

tati.

tatiana.

tiffany.

U --

ursela.

V --

valarie.

valentina.

veronica.

W --

whitney.

winnie.

winter / wynter.

X --

xiomara.

xo.

Y --

yovanna.

Z --

zara.

zoey.