#ALSO the chronological events don't really match up at all

[colinhugh3s]

sorry that last part was SO obviously a dream sequence! the only thing that would've made it more obvious if someone played a dreamy harp sound when they cut back to ted.

[cyren-myadd]

What do you think Jake and Spider's relationship will be like in A3?

This is such a simple question but I am about to go full tinfoil hat mode with the answer so strap in and get ready for the ride y'all. I put a summary at the very end if you don't feel like reading the whole thing.

okay okay okay so do you guys remember all those news articles that came out before Avatar 2 that described Spider as "Jake and Neytiri's adopted human son" ? And then Avatar 2 actually came out and it clearly wasn't true? I mean, Jake leaves Spider for dead with the RDA and Neytiri threatens to kill him, they're the furthest thing from adoptive parents!

After I saw the movie, I kept wondering how in the world the articles got it so wrong. So at some point I was rereading them and I discovered something...

All of the articles that describe Spider as the Sully's adopted son go back to one source: a quote from Jon Landau. Landau was the producer of the Avatar movies who recently passed away sadly. (May he rest in peace). As the producer, he was regarded as a trustworthy source to give information on Avatar 2. Here's an excerpt from one of the articles:

“Jake took him in but Neytiri always saw him as one of the people who destroyed her home and killed her father,” producer Jon Landau tells Empire of Spider, in The Batman issue. “So you have all these dynamics playing out.”

The late Jon Landau himself said, "Jake took him in." But despite what he said, we can clearly see in Avatar 2 that Spider is not "taken in" by Jake, since Jake had no qualms about leaving Spider behind with the RDA when every time the other children were in danger, he stopped at nothing to rescue them.

So my question is, why would Landau say Jake took Spider in when Jake clearly did not? It wouldn't make any sense for him to lie about this, and it's unlikely that he got such an important detail wrong since he worked so closely with James Cameron on producing the movie. Why did he say that?

No one really knows for sure, but here's what I think:

Landau was inadvertently spoiling Avatar 3 for us.

Avatar 2 and 3 were shot at the same time. When movies are being made, they don't shoot the scenes in chronological order, so one day they might do a scene from the middle of A2, and then one from the end of A3, and then one from the beginning of A2, and so on and so forth. This means that the actual timeline that everything happens in is completely jumbled up, and it's up to the editing team to reorder everything into a coherent plotline later.

I believe the reason Landau's statement doesn't match up with what actually happened in Avatar 2 is because he was mistakenly referring to what will happen in Avatar 3. With how complicated it is to film two movies at once, it's possible Landau got the timeline mixed up. So when he was interviewed and asked about Spider's relation to Jake and Neytiri, he said the first thing he remembered- it was just from the wrong movie.

So to finally answer your question about Jake and Spider's relationship in A3: Jake is going to take Spider in. I don't know if it will be a formal adoption like Kiri or more of a foster child situation, but either way, Jake will be responsible for Spider's wellbeing and care for him (and presumably not leave him for dead if the RDA catches him again 😭).

At the end of the Avatar 2, Jake embraced Spider and said "a son for a son" through narration, which I believe is the moment Jake decided to take in Spider and we will see how Jake moves forward as Spider's new guardian in Avatar 3.

There is also a scene in the leaked script that describes Neytiri hugging Jake and their children after a traumatic event, and though it's hard to read, it looks like it says that Spider was left out of the hug until Jake pulls him into it. There is also another leaked script scene where it appears that Neytiri suggests killing Spider and Jake is horrified. Another thing to note is that both of these scenes take place after Jake knows Quaritch is alive, so presumably Jake knows Spider saved Quaritch and is still treating him well despite it. I expect there will be some hurt and anger over it, but considering that Jake did much much worse to his loved ones in Avatar 1, it makes sense that he would eventually forgive Spider.

The leaked script scenes both sound like they go along with the idea that Jake has "taken in" Spider, and they also line up with the other half of Landau's quote, where he says Neytiri still sees Spider as one of the enemy and this creates interesting dynamics. Even though Jake has decided to take Spider in, it looks like Neytiri isn't on the same page, since she excluded him from the hug and suggested killing him. We all know how much Jake and Neytiri love each other, so it must be very difficult for Jake to take in Spider while knowing that Neytiri still sees him as a "demon." Jake is probably going to struggle a lot with balancing being a good husband to Neytiri and being a good guardian to Spider.

And Spider will also probably struggle with this new relationship to Jake too. Jack Champion, Spider's actor, answered some questions about his character in an interview:

Q: In the end, Jake truly embraced Spider as a son. He even said, “A son for a son.” Is that everything Spider has ever wanted?

A: A hundred percent. But I will say that at that moment, he doesn’t feel like he got everything he wanted. Because now, his kinda-sorta dad, Quaritch, also accepts him. So does he really want the Sully family, or does he want his actual father? So there’s some cool inner turmoil that I don’t even know the answer to yet, and it’s up for debate.

According to Jack Champion, Spider one hundred percent always wanted to be embraced by the Sully family, but after forming a relationship with Quaritch, a part of him also wants to be with his father and he struggles with inner turmoil over it. Since Spider was an orphan for 16 years, it's understandable that he won't adjust into the family just like that.

So to summarize: based on the evidence, Jake is going to take Spider in, probably less like an adopted father and more like a guardian/ward situation. Even though they both want this, it's going to be difficult and create a lot of conflict. Jake will be torn between his care for Spider and his love for Neytiri, who still sees Spider as a demon, and Spider is torn between wanting to be part of the Sully family and wanting to have a relationship with his father, Quaritch, in spite of the evil he's caused.

[batsplat]

hi batsplat this is marquezian.. as our resident casey scholar i was wondering if you have casey race recs !!

boy do I ever have recs! here's a (hopefully) fairly comprehensive list, drawing from more or less all the stages of his grand prix career and featuring races notable for a bunch of different reasons

casey is quite defensive of the 'boring' racing of the alien era (in particular the 2010-12 years)... but it is a shame his time in motogp overlapped so heavily with the 800cc era, which did lead to some tough watches for fans of 'overtakes' and 'close racing' and 'unpredictability'. so a lot of these race picks aren't necessarily reflective of how casey racked up the majority of his wins, plus presumably don't always match up with what his own picks would be. but well, whatever! I threw in a few of the ones I know casey likes

warning: the race descriptions generally spoil the results of the races. since this list is pretty long, I've put an asterisk next to the races I'd particularly recommend, and double asterisk next to my personal faves

my tldr spoiler-free top five faves list is catalunya 2007, donington park 2007, laguna seca 2008, sachsenring 2010, and laguna seca 2011. my five next-off most notable/fun races are assen 2004, turkey 2006, qatar 2007, phillip island 2009 and silverstone 2011

and here's the actual list, in chronological order:

sachsenring 2003: first podium in grand prix racing! big disclaimer: the recordings of the 2003 125cc races you can find on the videopass are poor quality and don't feature any commentary, so not the easiest to watch. this race is also not great to follow on the colour front: the three main protagonists are *squints at notes* casey (yellow bike, number 27), perugini (mostly black and white but with a few greenish highlights, 7) and de angelis (mostly green, 15). but well it's a really tight fight that goes until the last corner, good fun... casey's talked about how nervous the track made him so he wasn't racing his opponents hard enough at the end. which is kinda sweet and revealing

brazil 2003: another tight battle, this time with jorge (green/red, 48) and de angelis, another time he doesn't QUITE make it. jorge's first ever victory! y'know the one where he overtakes everyone on the outside and starts the whole x-fuera thing

valencia 2003: first win! 125cc/moto3 racing being reliably good fun is a time-honoured tradition and it can even make that middling karting track exciting to watch. it's a good fight - quite helpfully, casey's nicely visible yellow bike contrasts well with the blue bike (hector barbera, number 80) and the red bike (sic, 58) (at some point steve jenker, 17, shows up on a black and white bike). that being said... the bloody video on the motogp website cuts off around two and a half laps to the end, which is a shame because those laps were (apparently) filled with drama. very close finish, not helped by the spark plug of casey's bike breaking RIGHT before the end, which is a very casey thing to happen to him. he thought he was screwed but ended up being saved by barbera running wide trying to overtake him in the last corner. here's a cute lil feature with casey discussing the race that you can probably just watch instead of the race. also ofc him saying how good it felt to beat the spanish at their home circuit (clip here), king of spite

^look at him in evil gross luminous yellow

**assen 2004: I'll admit, this race is one of my faves in large part because of the terrorism jorge does on casey on the last lap, which casey was NOT happy about. (in a funny coincidence, the same event features jorge's future teammate doing some last lap terrorism on gibernau that gibernau is also decidedly not thrilled about.) featured in the autobiography - he really wasn't a fan of jorge at the time - and when he's being sulky in the interview they have in the post-race broadcast. but another great fight and, with my apologies to casey, the last lap is fantastic. excitingly includes commentary!!

jerez 2006: casey's first motogp race! you don't reallyyyy see enough of him on the broadcast for it to be completely worth it, but it's still a proper good ride. he starts in fifteenth, makes a great start and then gets a lil lucky at the first corner when toni elias attempts to murder barrels into valentino and opens up a gap for casey. gets all the way up to fourth and finishes sixth!! also ofc a starring performance by dani at the front of the race

qatar 2006: second race of the season. after the first race, casey had been ill with a bad fever, plus there'd been a fuck up with the flights that meant he only got to the lusail circuit ten minutes before the first session. he topped the first practise session and qualified on pole, even though he was still recovering from illness and was massively sleep-deprived. his first battle with valentino, eventually drops a few places but still <3 also features some fun vale/nicky hayden battles

*turkey 2006: the third race of the season (look he front-loaded his good races that year) and my girl's first premier class podium!! but... bit of a heartbreaker as he did come VERY very very close to winning. also he said apparently he was pleased with his podium but when he got to parc fermé his team was acting disappointed he didn't win :( still a fantastic race, the highlight of casey's troubled rookie campaign. (casey was fast from the get-go in the premier class, but was dealing with major tyre issues that the team around him didn't do a good job at helping him with. by the end of the season, he ended up acquiring a somewhat unfair reputation for being a crasher, with the lovely nickname 'rolling stoner'. still, for young talent it's generally the peaks that matter most and you could really see his ability shine through here)

*qatar 2007: obviously of Great Narrative Significance, casey's first race with ducati and when he announced his arrival at the top of the sport by getting his first premier class win. good solid fun casey/vale fight, though it does feature the classic 'ducati blasts past everyone down that very long lusail straight' syndrome. people were kinda mean about that - which in turn made casey very irritable, arguing that if your bike is a nightmare to ride everywhere else then it's an accomplishment to be close enough to blast past down the straight. unfortunately I do agree a lil bit with the naysayers in terms of the actual racing, but still a pretty good fight

^the last year it was a day race

**catalunya 2007: probably my personal favourite? (of the ones casey won, anyway.) just something about a great battle at that track - obviously valentino had about a million, but this was really the only race-long one that he lost. important in the context of the 2007 title campaign - even though it was only a ten-point swing - because it showed casey wasn't just about horsepower dominance. fantastic riding from both of them

**donington park 2007: my fave of his wet weather performances because he actually has to work his way through the field. he started fifth but was outside of the top ten early on after an uncharacteristically poor start. fun race with plenty of good shake-ups of the order

(he sealed the title in motegi and won his home race for the first time that year, but since he finished sixth in the former and won the latter by a few lightyears, they don't make the cut)

*qatar 2008: more fun than qatar 2007!! imo!! obviously it's also jorge's first race and he's on pole and dani's a bit injured and those two have their whole thing™️ going on... and vale has just switched tyre suppliers and is trying to prove he's not washed and casey is starting his title defence... so a big significant race for all four of them, and unlike many races in that era has a fair few twists and turns and almost all of them actually get to fight each other a bit. okay eventually it settles down and gets dull but until then it's fun (and there's also some very late excitement involving dovi/vale)

**laguna seca 2008: I feel a wee bit bad for including this one and casey would throw something at me, but well it obviously belongs on here. ignoring casey's complaints for a minute about vale's aggression, it really is a fantastic battle - and vale only goes as far as he does because casey's so good! (also unsure whether casey would appreciate this line of reasoning.) probably the one everyone's most likely to have already watched, and for good reason since it slaps. sorry casey

estoril 2009: only for sentimental reasons, after the first few laps it gets boring fast. still, it's casey's first race back after the mystery illness-induced break, he immediately has a cute lil battle with vale (which he wins, slay) and... okay then it's basically a procession but it's also nice and sweet when it's over and he's on the podium and he's shown everyone he's still got it. maybe skip like. 20 laps

**phillip island 2009: casey's first win in only his second race back!!! warning that it's a little light on actual overtaking but it's still tense and close most of the way through and casey's so great to watch on this circuit. (he's literally too good at it for most of his races there to be all that interesting, this is probably the best one.) plus it's another one included partly for sentimental reasons. here's my pitch:

sepang 2009: so he's been slandered for months, he's been written off, ducati have been fucking him over, he comes back and immediately gets a podium finish and wins the next race... what does he do after that? win again obviously! another neat little wet performance (partly helped by vale having a bit of a shocker off the line lmao, though he seals the title that day with a p3 finish)

valencia 2009: if you want to see the pole sitter crash on the warm up lap and dani almost miss the start in confusion

**sachsenring 2010: vale's first race back after the broken leg. usually that's the time when everyone would pretend to be nice to each other... but all three of vale, jorge and casey had gone to efforts during vale's absence to make things worse <3 anyway cracking race including a good fun spite-fuelled battle between casey and vale for the last podium spot, one of their better scraps with a dramatic ending - after which both of them are charmingly bitchy about each other to the media (see below). shame it was basically their last notable battle in the dry (I didn't include either jerez 2011 or le mans 2012 on this list because I wouldn't really recommend them as good casey races, but they do more or less conclude casey and vale's on-track story. and the latter is also the last podium they share, plus it's the race right after casey announced his retirement. fave presser moment)

^😭😭😭😭😭 you guys are AWFUL oh my god. people always talk about laguna 2008 but the vibes got way more rancid post-2009 when their actual on-track rivalry was basically over

motegi 2010: this one's kinda marginal on whether it qualifies for this list. casey was really proud of this win and felt his 2010 wins were particularly impressive given how much he had to override a bike that was objectively shit by this point.... BUT in practise once he shakes off dovi, it's quite a dominant win and the real fun is watching valentino experiment with whether he can make jorge lorenzo the first person ever to die of rage alone while riding a motorcycle

*silverstone 2011: one of the truly great wet weather performances. this is a personal taste thing - I don't mind dominance as much in the wet because it's just cool sometimes seeing somebody drop a masterclass on the field in those conditions. but obviously not necessarily the most exciting victory fight once he hits the front after like. a lap. still, good battles going on behind him

^a fan of british tracks, not a fan of the british

*sachsenring 2011: great three-way battle with jorge and dani, with the lead exchanged several times - also plenty of other good battles down the order. not one casey emerges victorious from, but definitely one of the best races that season

**laguna seca 2011: okay look corkscrew this corkscrew that but there's an argument to be made that casey makes a pass in this that's better than anything marc and vale can DREAM of. well no I won't go that far - but it's still an incredible overtake, insane thing to do at a blind corner, and casey just looks fantastic riding on that circuit. in his autobiography he says something along the lines of 'oh it looked scary on tv but I knew I'd make it'. which. okay casey!! not gonna say more than that, one of those where you'll know it when you see it. one of the best races of his career and also a key race in that year's title fight

phillip island 2011: marginal inclusion, but it's sweet he sealed the title on his 26th birthday by winning his home race (even though he mainly sealed it there because jorge lost half a finger and couldn't start the race). conditions got treacherous when the rain showed up but well casey stayed on the bike, just about

*jerez 2012: casey's first and last win at jerez! this is the one that casey called his greatest career win at the time and... sure, fair enough, especially given he had a weirdly bad record at the track. he didn't enjoy the experience much because of his arm pump issues, which makes the performance all the more impressive. fun first few laps in particular, after that it's maybe a bit more tension than actual action. still a proper good race

estoril 2012: another win he's very proud of... another one that's maybe even more skewed towards tension than actual action, but still an unmistakably impressive performance given jorge's strong record there and casey's physical issues. that and jerez completed his set as they'd been the races he hadn't won yet, which made him feel more certain of his choice to retire

phillip island 2012: listen it's his last win and it sealed the title (for jorge), so was at least somewhat exciting. but also according to his autobiography, casey deliberately rode slower for a bit before expanding the gap again just to keep his focus up, which I think gives you a sense of how easy he found winning there

^his penultimate race and sixth consecutive victory at phillip island. he also finished on the podium in his last ever race at valencia

[7ban-sama]

Man 2023 was such a crazy year for AmaTsuka... I'm going to make a vague attempt at tabbing through Cataclysmic events in chronological order

February really kicked off the beginning of the year. First ominously seeing this header Tsukasa and feeling like, no... no... What's this? [brain shriveling up] call girl... phone sex... [REACQUIRES LIQUID] wait, Eros and Anteros?? [camera lens focusing] heart... necklace?

Matching? heart? necklace? hearts weighed on a scale? [crying]

[the event itself starts happening] [we see Amane's design in full and have to process he's some sort of corseted whore] Excuse me-!! Excuse me, sensei-!!!!! What does it mean! Help me!!

We get further information about how these demon brothers are extracting love from people and turning it into jewelry. (Ominously we receive no explanation on what their particular pieces of heart jewelry mean... LIKELY different in nature from the other hearts around them, but in what way? Not like we'll ever find out I guess.)

Like some sick doujin set-up, they're doing a competition where the loser must do what the other says at the end of this.

Deplorable... Reprehensible images. The vibes of this game they are playing with one another... The voting feels rigged anyways, because Amane's more capable of presenting himself appealingly, working everyone over.

This sucks I don't want to see what happens next I want to go home. [it persists.] I'm watching Nene-chan be TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, WHY IS THAT HAPPENING. [it persists] fgwait why is Tsukasa eating chocolates where did he get those. [it persists] FEEEEEEED ? CHOCOLATE? OMINOUS ALLUDING TO WHAT WILL HAPPEN LATER? WHY!!!! but why am I in some sort of doujin. It's happening that way and I can't stop it...

As always, the twins get along better than you could ever predict. "For now" feed him chocolates. Ok

⬆ while trying to learn to cope from this, we are randomly blasted with this ⬇

End of February, this is revealed to us to be the inner sleeve of V19... DEVASTATION REIGNS, THIS IS THE SCARIEST IMAGE EVER... A Hanako with severe cock presence. Tsukasa's fair maiden quality ever emphasized by being surrounded by luxurious sakura petals, a special variety even... Fancy and cultivated. Tsukasa-chan...

Of course this is really stimulating when thinking about canon, this is our biggest look into the atmosphere of the deepest sanctum of Hanako's boundary. Perhaps Tsukasa was here suspended, sleeping beauty style... [horny]

Early March, getting this shikishi. It's more of a personal journey here, but getting an AU where the twins are simply... normal boys, alive, together, visibly, is a lot. Bandage boy Amane even...? Aesthetically, that one-?? Uough... Such a radiant Nene-chan here too... Thank you sensei. I'm grateful this time, not mad at you.

Advertising for V19, naturally we get to see scenes within it. I appreciate getting to see scenes again in color, at different angles etc. This image amuses me, it's like there are pheromones in the air. hot haze of red and purple... paralytic agents. Amane is dissociating and half-hard, as we like him to be.

Extra shikishi because of a G-Fantasy anniversary!

Of all AUs to return, never would've guessed this particular one would, from a set of icons/headers from 2022... That idol Tsukasa was already intriguing, but it's cool to see him in full. There's, a mysterious quality to his outfit, seeing it all, it's almost like the 'hakama' part is connected to his top, so. Are you just in a dress, Tsukasa..? I can't help but think you are...

This Amane meanwhile makes me laugh, WOOO he's here to stan, adorning purple in honor of Tsukasa's color. Tsukasa here has the big mic, he's our main singer. It's like a world where the twins figured out a hobby to pursue together, they can be obsessed with each other in this way, and blow off steam dancing whoreishly. Well congrats. Also I loev you yashiro. you look like. a cake topper. come to our dressing room after the show ok.

it's whimsical for asecond. but then sensei is out for blood. because

this happens. like dropping a big anvil on hundreds of mice. (the innocent fujoshi.)

this image convinces me sensei is evil and wants to hurt the girlies reading this manga. they're not holding back. i saw a deluge of tweets saying things like, Why does this look like a BL / the main characters? these are the main characters? / I can't read the chapter, the illustration won't let me / Why is it AmaTsuka

Everyone felt like they had a group hallucination. Why is it AmaTsuka... (It's always been AmaTsuka) (but still) Why is it this degree of it. Don't understand the deflowering vibes from this. Princess and knight. the torn butterfly wings and the flowers. the like evocative feminine orchids and the obscene wet feeling fruits. Tsukasa's sleeves being flower petals as well, he is the delicate feminine flower here. Hands pulling you close. "Searching for a reason to stand by your side." Why did you say that? Why did you do that? I feel like crying as I type this.

This is basically the most devastating event for the entire year and it happened so early, we spend the rest of the year still looking back and feeling faint. It's hard to be this valid, you all really cannot fathom, what it really means to be 'canon'... It's a pain I carry. Searching for a reasonnnnnnnnnn.....

Late March / beginning of April, and we are about to embark on our 6-month kitty cat crucible. AmaTsuka is going to become a genuine INTERSPECIES narrative, something I would've guessed blasphemous actually. But I suppose not... in this world, Tsukasa can be a child laborer/animal handler at a circus, and Amane can be his precious black kitten. With a little bell.

Amane runs off with Tsukasa, saving his life... They escape together, and are together still, 50 years later. How romantic. We're at the start, and it's already painful and glorious. Senseiiii!!

You know who is holding that cat tail. We have fun here, we take turns being the kitty. Tsukasa has a matching collar now, after all. :3

INTERLUDE for the April update, where we get Ch 101. ALIVE BOYS. CLOCK BOYS!! FIRST YEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS. OMEN!!!!!!

Serenading, beautiful Tsukasa... singing Over the Rainbow... This loving glance.

It's amazing to get a glimpse into their past, before the rope-burn and injury times. The prelude... Set in such a grim space as this area accessing the clock's inner workings. Captivatingly isolated, enclosed, kinda scary and dank... And we're brushing up against Amane's problem, how he won't say what he wants, won't make a decision. You need to make a decision, Amane...

Back. To the ryokan. Something something, there's a difficult to convey joke in Tsukasa's space, referencing sabi-neko (tortie cats (female cats?)) and also making a pun on 'service'. I get it I get it, Tsukasa is Amane's slave, you don't have to keep telling me...

Everyone gets along surprisingly well.

(This was an amazing year for TsuNene too, of course....)

I say all that but we do get revealed, during this cafe event, that. I guess Hanako is predatory and out here definitely seeming like he wants the guests to eat food to make them tastier and then get eaten. And Nene is also has insatiable lust to consume a human, which is like, upsetting, when you consider Tsukasa is a secret harbored human here. I guess Hanako has no issues with conspiring with his hot co-workers about how delectable humans are, while his 'twin brother' (not really?) (fetish RP?) is locked up in the closet or something. And I guess he does that all day and humps Tsukasa later like mmm my precious little dartyy secret boy.

Bonus thing, there was this insidious meta happening as I watched fujoshi repeatedly visiting the cafes and trying to eat as much scattered sushi and Tsukasa's Milk as possible. while the narrative is about entrapping people and fattening them up for slaughter. IG it felt kind of ghoulish that they couldn't resist the bait of the location and presentation of the meals.

August. Who are they lol? Some more fetish outfits... Amane and his collars, and Tsukasa looking like some little hentai mask girlie. The vibe is like, Amane is a cool super villain, and Tsukasa is there to go kyaaaa ❤

There's some stupid mokke promotional image that informs us these boys have ? horsie tails? so they are like, unicorns? We're having fun with animalish boys lately, I suppose... Thank you sensei (???) I can think about these unicorn boys and a fair maiden now.

Later in August, V20's inner sleeve images. Simply satisfying to see, thank you... back against back...

AND DELIGHTFULLY we get Amane-kun and Tsukasa-kun sillytimes too. AMANE BEING JEALOUS!! SHITTY!!! If you spend too much time working on a school festival, your older brother is going to feel abandoned and lonelyyy...

Starting September a little diabolically. Kitty in lap... This serene expression on Tsukasa... The fujoshi were troubled once more, that it could Be Like This.

Petting you, scritching your chin, going to pick the cattail fluffs out of your fur... Intimate moments like these must happen all the time. Sighhh...

Advertising V20 later in September. These images are so-- the genders. Amane looks like he is going to beat Tsukasa with that wrench. Scary guy. Tsukasa, a natural vixen, as usual. The framing of him before the big clock... Artful.

Bonus lil sad guy in late September... A look into the Amane that misses Tsukasa when he went missing. XU !!! I like to think he was truly helpless without Tsukasa there, pining for him.

Fsr between everything, TsuNene is getting buck wild and ramping up, until you get Tsukasa kissing Nene... She gets smallified in the manga and I'm suddenly like wtf canon moments of oniiloli for TsunNene. And Monster Nursery comes back so it really hammers in. IT'S JUST A VERY INTERESTING YEAR PSYCHOLOGICALLY. And VERY fun if you're me, shipping all 3 of them. Woooooo (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Anyways November has our last couple major beats...

Tsukasa asserting that Amane won't come if he called, never has, alludes to so much. Why were you calling? For what, how long, what convinced you Amane would never? The idea of a Tsukasa that would plead to be saved or helped in any manner is dizzying. Beyond that — does Tsukasa not believe he has implicit value, not something Amane covets...?

(Meanwhile, I have to love that he confides this to Nene, and encourages her to get them out of this situation. Tsukasa had to make his way out of his own entrapment[?] in the past, and he believes Nene can too. They're similar, aren't they? Hehe.)

The pacing of the fall, Tsukasa catching Nene, then the ambiguous line, as if he mouthed Amane's name to himself...

And he shows up, like your hero, I guess.

'何？' ⬅ ??? ??? ?? Atrocious. Could that truly be your response? With that expression? Moody, hands in pockets, acting cool... You do all that and then you throw Tsukasa's handcuffed arms over your neck. Saving your two captive princesses... It's absurd out here. The fujoshi are dying for a reason.... You get sick of inhaling the toxic fumes of twincest miasma.

I suppose to make me less angry at them, AidaIro present a final birthday offering.

Naughtyyy shrimpt stealing boy... I can't believe it. Amane! You would steal the shrimps your mom is slaving away at, and hand them to your brother. He's going for more! Tsukasa is innocent and he of course must appreciatively eat your pilfered shrimp... But goodness.

Iet's simple, it's cute, it's a lovely illustration with lovely colors, it depicts another moment from canon we haven't seen (right before photos?) Silly and cute and says a lot about their relationship still! I feel like Tsukasa is often passive like a sweet kitten while Amane is a naughty boy. Wah!

A truly devastating glorious year, I feel so valid, I feel like I'm stuck on my throne, which is also a torture device, I'm strapped to it, there's a horrendous machine stuffing grapes in my mouth, I'm being laughed at, I'm crying. That's what it is like to ship AmaTsuka right now I suppose. HanaNeneTsuka thrums in the background all the while, ominous and foreboding. We get closer and closer to the end goal of all 3....

I'm looking forward to 2024. よろしくお願いします.

[bijouxcarys]

𝐌𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

**SPOILERS AHEAD, don't be that dick that complains about spoilers when there's a clear warning, and it's been 2 whole days since the event**

All these opinions are my own, and some may not be popular, and most will be controversial in essence. Probably. Maybe I'm just not used to people agreeing with me?

I was so excited for this PLE, and the fact that it was held in Scotland. I'm not Scottish, but I do live in Northern England, which is the closest I've ever been to a WWE PLE.

On the run-up to CATC, these were my predictions:

Cody Rhodes d. AJ Styles Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill d. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn and Shayna Baszler & Zoe Stark Sami Zayn d. Chad Gable Bayley d. Piper Niven Drew McIntyre d. Damien Priest

We'll go chronologically...

Cody Rhodes vs AJ Styles - "I Quit" Match

I'm a realist when it comes to things like this, so I knew that AJ wasn't going to win the championship. However, that doesn't deter from the fact that I wanted him to win so badly.

If you follow me or know me, you'll know my stance on Cody Rhodes... I hate him. I used to really like him, but as soon as he won the 2024 Royal Rumble, he became really tedious to me. Sure, he's a good athlete. But you have to be to make it in WWE. I truly don't understand the hype he got in Scotland, or the hype he gets in general. His "reign" is embarrassing, and so weak coming off the back of Roman Reigns' title run. I don't like the way he holds the belt, I don't like how arrogant he is. And I especially don't like the saviour complex and the "good guy" image he tries so hard to protect and project, when he was quite happy to see his fanbase verbally brutalise another (that's not even mentioning the race-themed insults...)

Anyway, the press event on the Friday solidified how annoying he is to me. The crowd surf? So unneccessary. It was like you could sense the raging hard-on he was getting from the fan's reactions to him being in their presence. There's a way to appreciate support without being a dick.

I enjoyed seeing AJ beat the crap out of Cody, despite the fact I knew that he wasn't going to win. And I actually agree with the fact he didn't win; as much as I love AJ, that title needs to be taken from Cody by someone who's a lot bigger than him. After all, the reason why Cody's win over Roman at WMXL worked was because of the long-form storytelling and the feud that slowly built between them. That, and it was time for Roman to move on to bigger and better things than Cody bloody Rhodes. Believe that.

Also yes I fucking screamed when Solo made his appearence, and then the boys, I'm--

Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoe Stark vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn - Triple Threat Tag Team Match

I have a fair amount of followers/people I'm following who love Jade and Bianca. I understand it. And I 1000% agree with anyone who says Bianca is a phenomenal athlete and has brought a lot for the WWE. I can see Jade's potential, though I'm not entirely sure she's ready to handle anything more than a Tag Team Championship just yet.

I know a lot of people disagree with the outcome of this match, and I can't say that I fully understand why it panned out the way it did. I can only guess that it was the necessity to have at least one Scottish opponent win during a PLE in Scotland.

Bianca and Jade not winning this match is a positive for them, in my opinion. It gives Jade a chance to perhaps develop her presence as a solo performer and athlete, now that Bianca has helped with her exposure to the masses. I'm interested in where they plan to take the two of them as characters and how they evolve in the future... potential enemies? Can't say for certain just yet, but their reaction to the loss was significant and will mean more than we realise as of right now.

That being said, I have the utmost respect for Alba for getting through this, considering what she's had to deal with recently. Losing your mum in such a tragic way is devestating, and I commend her for her strength and ability.

I like Alba and Isla a lot, and I'm hoping that we see more of them in the future now that they have the championship. They deserve a bit of a push.

However, I have to say that I really wanted Shayna and Zoe to win this one. They're a badass tag team, and the crowd's chant of "Shayna scares me" had me rollinggggg!

Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable

I don't have that much to say about this match. If they chose to take the title from Sami, it would just be weird. To me, anyways.

What I do find wholesome about this whole story is Otis and Maxine. How they're under the manipulative guise of a heel, and Sami sees right through it. Sami harbours no ill feelings towards Chad's subjects, and shows compassion to Otis in particular. Otis' development and personal growth is showing, and I'm so excited for what they're going to do with him in the future.

In regards to the match itself, I don't think anyone can say it was a bad match, or a boring one for that matter. People often forget just how incredible of a wrestler and athlete Sami Zayn is, and mostly remember him as the "Ucey" guy. And whilst I love comedic Sami, I adore the version of Sami we have currently. The hard-hitter, the no-bullshit fiery warrior. Gah!

All in all, in terms of the actual wrestling, this was my favourite match of the night. It was the most entertaining and most satisfying as a viewer.

Bayley vs. Piper Niven

Oh Piper...

I love both of these women to pieces, and it must have been so cool for Bayley to go out there on her birthday and have people acknowledge that.

I always enjoy Piper and Bayley when they're in the ring, together and separately. I still maintain that Bayley and Iyo's match at WMXL was the best of the whole weekend. Bayley's transformation over the last 5 years has been nothing short of entertaining and I love seeing her flourish with the championship.

Piper Niven has one of the strongest willpowers I've ever seen, and it shows in the way she conducts herself in the ring. I would have liked to see either of these win the match, however, I wouldn't have necessarily agreed if Piper did win.

Personally, I think Bayley needs to keep the title a little longer before it's taken from her, and Piper needs to be put in big matches like these for a little longer until she takes a title like that. Like I said with Cody vs. Roman, it's about the build up that makes a win credible, or satisfying.

Chelsea is growing on me, too. She's incredibly funny and talented, and I wish they pushed her a bit more. She's got a huge personality and has the potential to be a lot bigger of a star.

Drew McIntyre vs. Damien Priest

Where's the *sigh* button?

I recently started reading Drew's autobiography so watching Drew have such incredible moments over the weekend only 30 minutes from his hometown hit me a little harder than it should have. And yes, I did tear up at the simple prospect of Drew winning.... Imagine if he did?

Drew is up there in my top 5 favourite wrestlers of all time, and Damien is in The Judgement Day, which is my second favourite faction (after The Bloodline ofc), so deciding who I wanted to win was a very difficult decision. I was positive that they were going to give Drew this win, purely with it being in Scotland, and that the build up has been weighty enough for it to pay off in a win. But the fact that Hunter has chosen to take the other path... makes me nervous for what he does have up his sleeve for Drew.

I was disappointed that CM Punk decided to pop in and fuck everything up (again), but after a while I started to think about it a bit more... It wouldn't have actually made sense for Drew to win this match. And I'll tell you why.

Unless I'm mistaken, the Heavyweight Champion will go on to face Gunther at Summerslam, right? Why would Drew be needing to face Gunther? Surely the only person that it would make sense for Drew to be fighting right now is Punk! Damien has found himself in a situation where he's not involved in the feud between Drew and Punk; he isn't involved in any of that. So Damien vs. Gunther makes more sense, and it allows that space for a Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk match at Summerslam, or any other PLE.

Not only that, but Damien needs to keep a championship, otherwise Mami has a completely broken faction to return to. Between Finn and Damien's tension, and Dom's predicaments with Liv, a titleless faction is not something they need at the moment.

So, yes, I'm sad for Drew that he didn't get to have his moment in his home country, but it absolutely makes more sense for Damien to win and for the tension between Punk and Drew to intensify... Once again... long-form storytelling always pays off in the end. I'm confident Drew will get a title in the future, and keep it. He really deserves that. And I can only hope that Hunter sees that.

Hunter may not always make the best decisions, or what may seem like it at the time, but he's been in the game (hehe) long enough... I have faith in him that he knows what he's doing and he's got some good stuff lined up for us.

[9w1ft]

I haven't seen anyone say this and I don't know if I am the first to say this, but I feel like the great war is actually about the heartbreaks and difficulties Tay and KK had to go through within the 4 years presidential term of Trump, and its written in chronological order. Also the most important part of this song is Kaylor survived the great war, they are still together after these 4 years.

First of all, the length of the great war aka ww1 is 4 years, which matched with the length of time when Trump is the president. And also it would not be the first time Tay wrote about 2016 election. In Call it what you want, we got All the jokers dressin' up as kings, which could been seen as a dig towards Trump. InMiss Americana and Heartbreak Prince, we got Running through rose thorns, I saw the scoreboard And ran for my life / My team is losing, battered and bruising I see the high fives between the bad guys. Scoreboard could been seen as the result of election, and bad guys definitely including Trump.

Then there are some lyrics matched perfectly with some events in those 4 years.

My knuckles were bruised like violets

Sucker punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked

here is Taylor cursing as Trump won the election

Spineless in my tomb of silence

Tore your banners down, took the battle underground

but she couldn't speak up about politics back then, which according to Miss Americana this totally made her sad. And she had to took the relationship with KK underground(love black out theory), because KK is linked with the Kushner which is linked with Trump. If their relationship got found out by general public, there would be some huge impact on the Kushner and the American politics.

All that bloodshed, crimson clover

Uh-huh, sweet dream was over

the 2014-2016 very high profile and sweet kaylor bff era was over, they had to go through the war

You drew up some good faith treaties

I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone

KK made a deal with joshua and had a lavender marriage, while Tay could only use Joe as a beard & disguise and suffered from the pain of watching the one you love married to another person (cue cruel summer)

And maybe it's the past that's talkin'

Screamin' from the crypt

Tellin' me to punish you for things you never did

So I justified it

this is so similar to the situation described in afterglow that they could be talking about the same thing:

i put you in jail for something you didn't do

and I know you have a very interesting theory that afterglow could be about Tay apologize to Karlie for her reaction to the suprise october wedding stunt in new york, which just fit in the timeline here perfectly.

It turned into something bigger

Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I'd been betrayed

this part is about master heist and the rumor that KK was feeding Scooter with Tay's secrects

Your finger on my hair pin triggers

Soldier down on that icy ground

Tay almost came out in the Lover era and KK was kinda a part of it, also after master heist KK still fought for Tay

Looked up at me with honor and truth

Broken and blue, so I called off the troops

Tay realized that KK never actually betrayed her and was hurt by her accusation, so she stopped asking her friend to like posts about KK's alleged betrayal

That was the night I nearly lost you

I really thought I lost you

Kaylor probablly broke up because of these things, but NEARLY and THOUGHT indicates that they got back together

And we will never go back

To that bloodshed, crimson clover

Uh-huh, the worst was over

I vowed I would always be yours

'Cause we survived the Great War

As Trump ended his presidency term at 2021.1.20, the Kaylor great war officially ended, and they have passed their worst time, they survived.

Also the other filler lyrics just totally matched with the theme, and now I think it is yet another evidence that Kaylor are still together to this day.

two quick sidenotes to clarify my perspective: i don’t think taylor ever really lost karlie (hence the words “nearly” and “thought” i lost you), and about my old afterglow post, i could have worded it better because often people have read it and don’t understand that i firmly believe that taylor and karlie both agreed to the wedding thing and knew about it in advance. i just saw it as a moment where the haze might have been thicker than usual.

okay so with that, i wanted to say that i very much agree with what you are laying out here! this is close to how i see things. i wanted to add links to some stuff i’ve written that i feel is related… here’s a post where i tried to bring together a bunch of similar lyrics that includes the effects of the 2016 election and here is a more lighthearted post i made in regards to me thinking maroon is about election night with a fun little ylm tie in at the end

i also think it’s worth pointing out that evermore (the song) was described by taylor herself as being written around her feelings regarding the election. i know that many see it as being about the failed lover era coming out and i totally get that and that was my first impression as well, but i do think it’s interesting that in the context of kaylor, the election interpretation as backed by taylor makes a ton of sense. also when you think about when evermore was written and released, right as / right around the time that biden won the 2020 election in november, we can see the “feeling so peculiar that this pain wouldn’t be for evermore” as reflective of them worrying that perhaps they might be in for 4 more years of trump, and the relief that came with the election result. **which is so specifically important to their story** and evermore will never not make me cry. i get so emotional 😭

anyway in conclusion, the great war is definitely, for me and for you, covering the trump administration years. i also think it’s worth pointing out what we have seen since. they may have still kept to themselves since biden took office but, might we all agree there has been a form of happiness, when you think about the ways their relationship has grown since? this is how i see things.

[therealbeachfox]

Hi, I have another ask about stuff in TCAK series!

I'm so fascinated by all the bits and pieces that you drop about Con's past and Gotham in general. We of course have all the reddit stories in part one, like all the times people thought Con was dead, but there's a whole bunch of things that are referenced but not fully explained. Off the top of my head: however Con ended up with Caleb (something about ending up trapped in a demon worshippers basement?); posing as a kidnapping victim; a bunch of things listed at the very beginning of TCAK Meets the Second Robin. How do you come up with all of those and how do you keep it all straight? And, selfishly I want to know, are we going to get backstories or will they remain mysteries?

Also this section from TCAK Meets Matches Malone which was so evocative that I am dying to know how you came up with it.

This wasn’t an uncommon experience for Gothamites.             It was rarely openly acknowledged, never actually discussed, but everyone had the experience. The way that the world would seem to unmoor itself and slip an inch or two to the side as you stood there, looking down an alleyway that you knew had never been there before, the shadows in it deeper and darker than they should be. Or listened to the intermingled thrumming warbles of pigeons and calling of crows and hearing the shapes of words behind the noise. Or looking at graffiti and seeing the hints of riddles that hadn’t been asked yet beneath the chaos. Strange shapes that’d lurk on rooftops that weren’t Bats. Voices from sewer grates, faded and green-stained copper plaques on the sides of buildings that’d never been there before and would never be there again. Looking through a gap between buildings and for an instant seeing a skyline you’d never seen before. Gotham was filled with the unexplained. It was built from mysteries.

Thank you!!

Alright, let's take this in sections!

Part I: Untold Stories

I really need to figure out a way to rewrite the opening to TCAK Meets Robin because enough people've been confused that I was obviously unclear.

Basically, everything mentioned (Chained in some demon-worshiper's basement, standing on top of Wayne Tower, getting held at lasergun-point, the ice-covered skyscraper, the reality-rending) are all future events (laid out in more or less chronological order) that will be happening down the line. All points in the future where Conrad's going to be going "How the FUCK did this become my life? ...Oh right, when I found out that Boss was Robin."

When I was half-way through Reddit Posts, I decided that yes, I was absolutely going to try and make a huge thing of this, and sat down to at least try and sketch out a plot-arc to follow. Which is where all the future events came from. And so far, I've managed to stick to it pretty well. The plot-beats have just managed to expand on me despite my best efforts. :)

Plot beat 2: Some-asshole w/ magical artifact attacks Red Hood's shit. Conrad beats down. Matches should be there, why not (Con thinks Matches = Batman?) *good place to have Con "die" onscreen

Basically, anything that shows up as a passing reference or Noodle Incident is something I have a fuller version of in my head, the details just aren't important at the time. A number of things will probably only stay references just because showing them onscreen would really harsh the vibe (the details of Bianca's Joker-Gas bombing and the aftermath, the shelter fire Conrad survived at 17) but I keep them in mind in case there ever does come a good point to include them and to guide how I portray Conrad.

Don't know if how Conrad and Caleb officially met will ever get a place to slide in, but in summery: In the wake of the shelter fire, Conrad was back to living on the streets, not doing the best with his situational awareness, and gets kidnapped by the same assholes who'd grabbed Caleb and buddies from their abandoned building squat. They figured Conrad and Caleb looked enough alike that they could be rented out as "brothers", so they got put together. Once Conrad pulled himself back together (figuring this was just a week or two at most since he'd watched a bunch of his friends burn to death, so he's not at his best), he goes all Conrad at the situation which ends with whatever building they were being kept in aflame, a bunch blood everywhere, a bunch of kids back on the street, and a fully adopted little cousin to take care of.

The "Posing as a kidnap victim" was actually a whole side-digression I'd written out, but it was almost a mini-story of its own only without a point or real resolution, just 'and here's another way my parents fucking sucked but also taught me how to be utterly terrifying', so I wound up cutting it out and just left the side reference and the dream of that persona taking over his life and kicking him out. It might come up again later, or I might sit down with it and work it into an actual Side Story, but not currently.

Part II: Creepy Gotham:

I -love- urban horror/suburban creepy shit. I blame 1990s tabletop RPGs, but I keep the vibes fed with a steady diet of "Creepy /AskReddit Compilations". That specific section you quoted, however? I'll admit, I was pretty much channeling the vibe and writing style of "Unknown Armies", an utterly -fantastic- tabletop RPG that is just one of my favorite things and I find hard to describe without descending into an hour-long ramble.

Basically, a modern world with a secret occult underground of very disturbed people. Everything happens for a reason, but fuck if you're likely to ever know what that reason is. The stuff I wrote back in the day for online forums in the Unknown Armies style merged with the Gotham spooky atmosphere, the occult horror element of DCU that's gotten more prevalent since Constantine and friends became central elements, and particular future plot-points I wanted to seed hints of so you get the urge to throttle me when you re-read that section a year from now.

[peridot-tears]

The case of Jennifer Scott

Something that has haunted me since I finished the Black Flag game and novel all those years ago is: What the fuck happened between Edward meeting Jenny and the events of AC: Forsaken?

Chronologically, AC: Forsaken came first, and then the Black Flag game and novel. We have Haytham's perspective, we are introduced to Jenny as someone who's upset that their father wouldn't train her as an assassin and, ostensibly, Edward and Tessa just want to marry off. Haytham is a bit of an unreliable narrator, because the adults try not to argue in front of him, so we don't know if getting rid of Jenny is what Edward really wanted, but the idea that she doesn't belong in the household is pretty well-established at this point.

Decades down the line, after Reginald Birch kills their father and Haytham saves his sister, Jenny says in her own words that that was the case:

"I hated him. All his talk of freedom—spiritual and intellectual freedom—didn’t extend to me, his own daughter. There was no weapons training for me, remember? No ‘Think differently’ for Jenny. There was just ‘Be a good girl and get married to Reginald Birch."

Then Black Flag the video game releases a year later in October 2013, and Black Flag the novel releases in December 2013 two months later. It's already been well-established that Edward was a flawed father to Jenny.

The Black Flag video game ends with this girl having the guts to travel across the fucking ocean all alone to meet a father she's never met. She's the milestone. She's Edward's commitment to a new life and fostering a child's view of the world.

Let's look at the Black Flag novel. This man addresses his first-person life story (the novel's narrative framing) to Jenny. Like Haytham does with Ratohnhaké:ton, he tells her his background, and is even honest with how was cast out by his own mother when he came back to Wales. Oliver Bowden wrote out Edward's adoration and willingness to stick with his daughter knowing full well of the eventual gap in their relationship.

Meta-wise, we know the writers probably wanted to make Edward as flawed as possible, and also tragedy is like candy to Ube Softee.

In-universe, what the fuck happened between the events of Black Flag and Forsaken to make Edward neglect Jenny?

Maybe while he was trying to rebuild his life, he couldn't spend as much time with her as he wanted. And when Tessa came into the picture, and then Haytham, well. Even if you still love your kids equally, the way you treat them is different. Jenny was probably neglected.

I'm not dissecting this in the context of Edward-drinks-respect-women-juice or whether or not you can call him a feminist, because I think those are really broad terms for someone who's lived in at least three different worlds with different rules all before he's 40. That deserves its own post.

But it seems wild to me that Edward -- someone who married a woman who matched his energy and stood up to drunken assholes to help other people; someone who in his own words respected Mary Read more than anything; someone who took counsel from Anne Bonny and trusted her to be his quartermaster -- wouldn't train his ballsy daughter to be an Assassin, and instead groom his son to be one instead. Where did that double-standard come from?

Did he want to protect his child from that world? Maybe he changed his mind by the time Haytham came along, but it was too late for Jenny.

It could go back to how he neglected Caroline too. He left to seek his fortune, out of selfish personal glory but also because she'd given up her inheritance to live a humble life he was ashamed to put her into. And because she eventually left him because all he could do was dream about it. He left his parents -- and in a sense, his wife -- to chase his dreams. Maybe that pattern repeated with his daughter. Once he started building a new life in England, with a new woman, there just wasn't space to consider training her anymore.

I think he decided on a certain life for her -- married, with a good reputation in high society -- and dismissed her when she wanted to become an Assassin, because he'd lived that life and didn't want it for her. Even though...that's incredibly myopic of him. Did he really think that the girl who, as a kid who'd just lost her mother, crossed a pirate-infested ocean to be with him would want to be a housewife? She said herself to Haytham:

"I once told you that our lives were mapped out for us, remember? ...I was born to serve men, and serve men is what I have done."

And did he really, truly just want her out of his life when she got older? Or was forcing marriage on her a way to ensure she lived in comfort, the way he wanted for Caroline?

And here's the part where we could comment on misogyny -- maybe he felt that he had to protect the women in his family, and couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she could decide for herself. Mary Read and Anne Bonny were pirates he met and befriended. Caroline and Jenny are his family, under his charge.

I think it's a combination of selfish and selfless reasons, of course, but I wish I could have seen what happened while Jenny grew up.

[italeean]

Hii! A friendly suggestion that you don't need to write all fics that people requested... and no need to really "chronological order"... you can write whatever you're most comfortable with in whatever sequence... because I realized that you haven't publish a fic for a long time... and I'm worried it's because you loose motivation to write a certain topic... and you're not willing to skip that fic and write for other fic (the fic requested later than the one you're currently dealing)... and ended up the endless queuing makes you loose your motivation to write, because you feel guilty to "skip" a certain request... Because even I'm overwhelmed when opening your coming soon list lol... it's okay to start fresh... just a suggestion tho! From your fan!

Oh ciao! 💚🤍❤️ (Oh hello!)

Thanks for your words... I'll admit that I've let requests pile up, but that's not because I don't feel like writing certain topics... it's more of an organization issue

You know, med school is amazing, but the exam session hit me like a train hehe (but all my exams are going well for now)... and I've also struggled with some family issues

I'm still struggling to find a balance... and I was also convinced that my fics needed to be of a certain length to be appreciated (no one ever told me such a thing, but I was convinced that they needed to be long... don't ask me why)

BUT... I'll try to write what I feel like writing AND I'll finish the match-up event, without caring about the word count... I just need to find a balance between this blog and my life! ^_^

Thanks for your concern, it's truly appreciated 🥹❤️

[stygiusfic]

styg’s story thoughts (I): character reactions

(This post is brought to you by my wonderful friends who asked about my thoughts on plotting!)

We tend to think of plotting as what happens next or what the characters do, ie. action. But stories are a cycle of action-reaction, and we don't always give the reaction part its full weight. Three-act structure has both action and reaction beats, yet the so-called "major" beats that manuals like Save the Cat recommend defining first are all action: Catalyst, Break into 2, Midpoint, All Is Lost, Break into 3... 

Of course all of those have matching reaction beats, so reactions aren't being ignored by the 3-act model; it's just that the established process is to figure out reactions after you've got the action down. Chronologically, that makes sense. But I think that leads us to see reactions as the less important half, when in fact they are what breathes life into any story.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and it's helped me feel a lot more connected to whatever I'm writing, so I want to talk about it here. 

Reactions shape a story to a degree that sets it apart from others with similar chains of events. Because anything could happen to anyone—but people rarely view or feel about everything the same exact way. The same events told from different perspectives can radically change what type of story it becomes!

Imagine this: if you're going somewhere with plenty of time to spare, and you miss the train you were planning to take, well, it's alright, you can wait for the next one, or maybe walk partway. But if you're running late, like I often am, and you miss the train, you're probably going to get really stressed out. And if you were going somewhere important to you, there will be an added layer of urgency and frustration when you miss the train, making that seem even more dire.

What I mean is: no event is intrinsically significant. The characters' reactions make it so.

Any event is important in the eyes of the story and the audience only to the degree that the characters assign importance to it. And this degree of importance also determines who the characters are, which in turn answers the question of what they do next.

Here's a classic example that blew my mind when I heard it phrased in these terms recently: Shakespeare's Othello.

The action that jumpstarts the tragic spiral—Iago planting Othello’s wife’s handkerchief in Cassio’s room—is in itself only significant because of Othello's reaction. If Othello had decided to not freak out and jump to conclusions when he discovered it—if, instead, he'd had a healthy conversation with his wife and cleared up Iago's deception—the story would have been very different! But Othello reacts with jealousy and mistrust of Desdemona (as Iago wanted him to). Those feelings fester, and move him to eventually kill her and, later, himself. That’s why the story becomes a tragedy—because Othello’s reactions leave no room for any other outcome.

And it starts with a stupid handkerchief! But the handkerchief is important to us because it's important to Othello. 

This is why, when trying to come up with "big" moments for an outline, sometimes rather than starting with actions it's easier to think first: what kind of reaction am I looking to provoke at this stage? Am I looking for a turn for the better or a turn for the worse? And then second: what kind of action would trigger that reaction?

The ways in which characters care, or don't—and by extension the ways we as the audience care—make up a big part of the story and can define tone and genre as well.

Another example: imagine a character commits murder. 

Murder is an act that we can all universally agree is big and bad and world-shaking. There are countless stories that center around a murder (or many) and how they shape the lives of the characters who suffered in the wake of that act, creating stories of revenge or disillusionment or justice. 

In those stories, murder is Big. But then on the other end of the spectrum, we have Tarantino movies, where characters will shoot someone and not even look while they do it, and the story moves on unbothered. This lack of reaction is a kind of reaction too. It tells us: this is a story in which murder is small and easy and the deaths of random people are unimportant. We don't linger in the unimportant. Those murders carry no moral weight for the audience; we're likelier to feel amazement at the fake blood fountaining on-screen than mourn the loss of a life. But the story will linger in the deaths of characters who are significant, like Bill in Kill Bill. The time spent in his final monologue and the unpacking of motivations and consequences set him apart from the nameless dead and honor his importance to the story.

I believe this is, in part, what people are trying to communicate when they say "show, don't tell". (Which is flawed advice for prose, especially if taken to the extreme, because it was originally an adage for theater, but anyway.) What it means is, if you want the audience to perceive something as important, show the character reacting to it like it's important. Spend time and words in the moments that affect your characters. If you just "tell" the information and move right along, and we don't see any notable reaction, we can assume it's not important and we don't need to emotionally attach to it. 

This is an oversimplification. Sometimes telling is preferable to showing, because showing takes more words and being straightforward has its own place. (And sometimes telling lets you set things up discreetly on the side so you can expand on them later, so you just make them seem unimportant until they're not. There are a million reasons to tell instead of show.) 

But I really love that deciding how much time and space you spend on reactions shapes the action and pacing and feel of the story. Every genre you can think of that "feels" a particular way when done right feels that way because reactions are consistent with the inner logic of the genre. (Meeting a certain stranger a number of times in different places can be exciting in the set-up of a romance; but if it's a thriller, the character noticing the pattern may well be concerned instead.) 

I've been trying more than ever to look for big reactions, and reverse-engineer the events that would prompt them by getting at the heart of the character, because watching someone care too much is way more engaging than watching them care only a little. 

[cringefail-hermitry]

how do I figure out what the fuck is going on in touhou besides playing the games

Well, first things first, lemme clear up some misconceptions

The games won't really help you too much as well, at least not beyond simply "these are the events that happened". Most of the actual characterization and worldbuilding is included in the printworks, so reading those can help. You can probably find some videos online with explanations, but take them with a grain of salt, they're prone to mild imprecisions, so it's worth it to cross-reference them. As to where exactly to start. There is no good place. Genuinely. There are definitely some bad places to start though. Going in vague chronological order isn't too bad of an option.

Something that can help is just picking a character you fancy and scrounging around the wiki for information. It's more accurate than pretty much anywhere else aside from some slightly rough translations. If you don't particularly care about the canon characterizations, there are always the piles upon piles of fangames too, you could probably gleam some information from them. Having an adequately hyperfixated friend to consult for clarification also doesn't hurt (hi!).

All in all, Touhou has a lot of content, and this leaves it with a lot of possible entry points. So mix and match the ones you think work best!

[pizzapasta23045]

Olay so apparentl the hisden strife event had lore drops? And lettwrs hidden around Mondstatd! And a huge one was super hidden from kaeua???🌵

Ok! Yeah that's a thing! It's kinda sad cause it was, like, the first time they gave us hints about Kaeya's family. Now it's a bit obvious in terms of lore bu there were some interesting things.

(I wasn't there either, I just know about this by researching it.)

So, the main part is this:

The objects in the box are all pretty old. One particular sheet of paper stands out. A piece of it has been burned away, and the remaining parts show signs of hacing been rescued from that same flame. Every line on this sheet of paper has a matching one right under it. From the handwriting, it looks liike a child wrote on this first before an adult stepped in, held their hand, and taught them how to do it a second time. The writing are as follows: “Remember always that it was the Alberich Clan, who did not have royal blood, who stepped in as regents when the strength of the one-eyed king Irmin failed” “Though we could not restore Khaenri'ah to life, we of the Alberich Clan should leave lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers.” If you flip the paper over, there are other words there. You reckon these must be annotations of some sort. “I saved this one memento from the fire ‘Father’ made while he wasn’t paying attention. This was in violation of our principles. Our clan’s affairs should never be recorded. For me, this sheet of paper cannot serve as any form of identification, and will not give me pasage anywhere. Now that I look at it, his handwriting was as grieving as a smoking ash pile. There is no way that I can write something like that, living in Mondstadt as I am.” Moving the paper aside, you can see a cloth bag underneath it that conatins an eyepatch of significant age. A sticker is attached to the side, and the text on it reads: “Hah! to think that all that play-acting as a one-eyed pirate would eventually end with one actual wounded eye. I have never blamed Diluc for that. I suppose I must have been asking for it, telling him the truth the day my adoptive father died without expecting conflict to emerge somehow. He seems to believe that I really was blinded, though that’s not the case. Well, I’ve fooled him for a while, haven’t I? Might as well keep going.” Two letters lie beneath the bag, all of which have “D” as their sender. The letters are in great condition, and there is a time written on the back. This is most likely the time these letters were received. You can tell that the words have been written in a strong but elegant hand. A small paper bag lies next to these two letters. It contains nothing but a few seashells. They have lost most of their luster. It is unclear how much time has passed since they were picked up.

It's interesting because it gives us ideas on the Alberich's policies which, hindsight after 3.5, really make sense for the Abyss Order.

“Though we could not restore Khaenri'ah to life, we of the Alberich Clan should leave lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers.” Meaning they do not wallow in the past but burn themselves just for the sake of revenge against the gods!

Also the reason I don't buy Kaeya not knowing about the abyss since... he clearly was not spared the worst details. But that's another story.

Also we learn that they burn any comunication which is... interesting.

I will link all the letters here if anyone's interested. Compiled by the lovely @transxiao on Tumblr. The rest is mostly either Diluc lore or Ragbros and I'd advise you to read this if you have free time on your hands!

[roccinan]

I'm glad to see you answer (and no pressure at all, this particular fic has been so precious to me, I'd already made the playlist asdfjsk) You're too kind omg, I thank you for writing it in the first place, and this is just a token of my appreciation <3

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3VXYoJIvkgV2Fu4CZwrhaB?si=859c50fe23b74936

(just a warning lol idk how my taste in music differs from you, so you might not like it in which case i apologise before hand 😭 I tried to mostly pick songs that fit the feels/plot overall, some songs (nearly half to 2/3rd LOL) is kinda from Sergio POV? I hope it comes across that way atleast, and a few instrumentals that again I *hope* fit the general mood, I tried (key word - try) arranging in order of the events that happen in the fic but you can also listen on shuffle! I also apologise for how long it got, please listen to it only if you have the time/energy lol (it's also got a few nods to hc's from some of your other fics but it is primarily based on the hermanos in rain fic)

PS I understood your struggle to choose a title, I literally titled it "rain" in the beginning XD I ended up going with one of the other options to match the cover pic, hope you don't mind! I love the actual title of the fic too, it just looked too long on spotify 😅

Firstly, sorry for how very looonnngggg it took me to answer! @ everyone, this an amazing hermanos-themed playlist that perfectly captures every beat of I'd rather be dry (but at least I'm alive). Thank you so much for taking the time to make this and for sharing it with me (as you know, I 100% RACED to listen to it as soon as you shared it with me). No really, thank you so much for always being there to support my hermanos fics! I really appreciate it and means a lot to me!

My music taste is also all over the place LMAO and I always have the toughest time thinking of songs that match the "vibe" of whatever it is I'm looking for, so I'm super impressed at how you picked out such a wide-range list that manages to capture every scene and mood I was going for :D The fact that it's chronological too blows my mind! I'll definitely be listening to it a lot while rereading that story ;) And all the instrumentals you picked were so beautiful and exactly what I enjoy listening to too!

Remembrance - This sets the mood so well, not just for a moody intro but also Sergio's mindset in general (+ his life with Andres), like this is something I can hear from show canon!

He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother - Perfect title and perfect lyrics for our brotp, made for the hermanos! Also love how it coincides with Sergio literally having to carry Andres in the next scene lol

Carry You - Same thoughts apply here! Thematically perfect; also something that feels like a track the show would play over a montage

West - Sleeping At Last song!! haha I've used their songs to set the mood so much whenever I'm writing for hermanos or berlermo, and the song you picked here (both instrumental and lyrics) fits the story so well, especially the "we'll be just fine" being repeated

Blue Ridge Mountains - Another beautifully themed brotherly song! Can definitely see this playing through the scene of Sergio trudging through the rain, or of him and Andres "contemplating" in the motel together during the storm

Repeat Until Death - The lyrics :'D really perfectly captures Sergio's feelings about Andres' (impending) death; this one's so sad omg but so fitting

The Emotion - the vibes! I can hear this suiting Sergio's flashback to the day on the beach (and events in Hermanito!) and Andres comforting him in the present

Recuerdos - Another beautiful instrumental that captures the same mood as #7!

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - this one reminds me of Sergio telling Andres his fears out loud in the motel :') also fits his mindset regarding Andres (and their father) in general

Across the Sea - el mitad del oceano reference!? haha either way, another bittersweet instrumental that suits the melancholic mood

Song for a Stormy Night - literally captures that entire picture of Sergio listening to the storm while Andres sleeps XD the lyrics somehow took all of Sergio's words out of his mouth

The Golden Age - I'm also a woodkid fan and I remember hearing this song the first time and going 'hmm hermanos' asdfasdf You came to the same conclusion, love that!

Stay Alive - Another one that really captures the narrative's mood, especially from Sergio's pov!

Brother - this gives me strong "Hermanito" vibes! And to me, this feels like a rare one from Andres' pov

Jacob and the Stone - Another great instrumental that fits the tragisweet mood in the motel!

I Don't Want to Lose You - This playlist digs through Sergio's emotions like an onion, and this one really suits his confession about never wanting to lose his brother :') Even the lyrics perfectly fit the hermanos (like the part of past loves at the piano!). I know the singer wrote this with a couple in mind lol but out of context, this is a song for the #hermanos

Same as above!

Carry You Through - we're 18 songs in and you still manage to find a song with lyrics that matches Sergio's angst so well that I'm just impressed XD "we couldn't be closer but still out of reach" AHHH

In Case You Don't Live Forever - Another PERFECTLY matched hermanos song, especially taking in the events from the "Hermanito" timeline; exactly what was going through Sergio's head towards the end of Rain too

Isaac - And we're getting to the end of the storm ;) OHH another rare one from Andres' pov that perfectly captures how he felt about seeing Sergio panic through Rain. And yes, always insane about Sergio is the Isaac to Andres' Ishmael

You'll Be Alright - a comforting one that feels like it's from Andres when he's comforting Sergio!

Yellow - Ah, coldplay, Alex Pina's favorite band XD not an lcdp playlist without them! This really fits the mood at the end, after the climax, and I like to think of it from Andres' pov as he's reminiscing about little Sergio

Save You - Immediately made think of Sergio's , "This time, I'm protecting you" :') and the overall last scene of the fic; it's what all his fears have been boiling down to, and the lyrics about searching for an answer/trying to understand --> that's so El Profesor!!

We're Gonna Be Okay - perfectly paints the mood of Andres hugging Sergio in the living room, telling him it's going to be okay after that hell of a day they had :'D

Si, Te Quiero Mucho (Hermanito) - LOSING MY MIND THAT THERE IS A REAL SONG NAMED THIS!????? wonder if it's a lcdp reference lol anyway, definitely Andres' final thoughts about Sergio both in the canon timeline and the end of Rain; literally the perfect thing to close out the playlist with and what I can hear playing over the "credits" of Rain. Mood and lyrics match so well (Andres' pretentious ass asdfadsf) and the culmination of what he feels about Sergio + inevitably leaving him behind

Thanks again for sharing this with me! A lot of wonderful new songs here I didn't know about and so many great hermanos-themed tracks too :D This was such a sweet gift and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!

And loved the title you chose too ;) PLEASE, I of all people know the pain of trying to choose a good title!

[funwalker]

spoilers for jjk....

I think the problem I've been having with the current arc of jjk (the manga) is that they're doing it like a reverse heist movie and I think it really works against the story.

All of the characters have been doing all of this preparation off screen and when they use the fruits of all of their planning it just kind of feels like it's been pulled out of thin air as a plot convenience?

The explanations feel like they've had a decent amount of thought put into them but i feel like it really diffuses the tension having them after whatever they're explaining has occurred.

just saying "oh yuji can use reverse cursed techniques now so he can fight tougher enemies without dying," like... that's cool and all but i feel like it would be more satisfying if we were shown that first and then watched things unfold in unexpected ways in the battle. The way it is now is Yuji shows up, we learn he has a new power, they fight for a while. Theeeeen we go back and learn how he got this power, but it's still in the talking heads format where everyone is sitting around explaining their plan as if this is a heist movie... but we're already watching the heist. We're like, 3 hours into the heist. Like, it's not a trump card that really turns the tides (or at least hasn't yet). I feel like if you're trying to reveal "this character has grown while you weren't looking" it's really more effectively used for emphasis rather than exposition?

A more satisfying flow to me would be something like:

showing all of the characters preparing for this big battle. there are lots of little moving parts to this plan, hence why I likened it to a heist movie. (this would be all of those little flashbacks peppered throughout the recent chapters, but frontloaded either before they send gojo to fight sukuna or after gojo dies. probably after gojo dies for the most dramatic tension)

they go into battle. everyone is at their marks. it's not enough. (this is essentially what's already happening)

if things don't happen as they should, *then* they can explain the contingencies, but because you already know the basic plan, you can begin to put together how this changes things, or it could set you up to be more surprised by an unexpected turn of events.

I think that's why I had more fun with the comedy "battle" between Takaba and Kenjaku. Like, the realization that he's sort of met his match and is enjoying the fight is unexpected and later it's revealed that they had planned it (which in itself is kind of novel because it's also an unexpected pairing from a reader's standpoint). It's probably my favorite sequence in the recent chapters.

Anyways, I'm just complaining because it feels like this arc has gone on for so long and we keep stopping to explain power levels and healing your brain so you can keep using your domain and blah blah blah we picked these three guys to nullify this one thing that sukuna does and taught yuji rct off screen in a week or however long its been and we've made so many contingency plans PLEASE JUST GET ON WITH IT... Honestly though, I've been so checked out of jjk since the shibuya arc ended. I've mostly been reading it on the side because there's usually a new chapter up when I got to check for the new Chainsaw Man lol...

edit: I wrote all of that mainly to say I really don't get why people are enamored with telling a story out of order. it's cool for a surprise every now and then or if it is thematically relevant, but a lot of times it feels like they're just doing it for the sake of doing it. Or like in this case, it feels like it's supposed to be *another* reveal. What is this, like the 4th or 5th time? It's no longer interesting at this point. (it wasn't even well used to begin with.) There's nothing wrong with things being in chronological order!! En media res is probably the most misused rhetorical device IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!!! STOP IT. STOP. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[adultswim2021]

Squidbillies #49: "Reunited, And It feels No Good" | July 20, 2009 - 12:00AM | S04E09

The Cuylers have a dang old family reunion, and guess what? Extended family actually shows up to it. They are significantly wealthier than the Dougal County Cuylers, what with owning a modern car with DVD players and refrigerated air.

This is the family of Durwood Cuyler, who stands upright like a man, shoving most of his tentacles into a pair of shoes. He’s a yuppy, an outdated term that I don’t feel like updating. He is also a family man; he married a blonde human woman with a Karen hairdo, a recently outdated term that is actually too modern for me to be using about a show from 2009. They also have two kids who never speak because they are glued to their devices. I think we can all agree on one thing: Durwood simply gave up. 

The episode is basically about the two Cuyler clans clashing, slightly. Early hints at the fact that they could use some of Durwood’s money. His wife is steadfast against them even associating with Early’s family altogether. Early reveals his investment plan: a plushie from that Cheyenne Cinnamon “movie” that Burger King is showing, which according to my tepid googling hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m referring to the "Big Uber Network Sampling", an event where, if I recall correctly, a bunch of Adult Swim pilots that were available on a Burger King website. I think the idea was the pilots were pitted against each other in various matches, and the winner got to, as it turns out, continue being a rejected pilot. Cheyenne Cinnamon was one of those pilots. We see a little more footage of that playing in the headrest screens of Durwood’s family Durango. 

Durwood is so horrified by the treatment of Rusty (who has lockjaw from running barefoot through animal feces), that when Rusty shows Durwood his art project (which is just a glitter drawing urging Durwood to help him get the fuck away from Early’s abuse), Durwood decides to take rusty off Early’s hands for “a couple days”. As they speed away, Durwood tells Rusty he’s never going back there again, and that they’re going to set up a cot in the garage. Early is ecstatic to be rid of Rusty, but when he’s reminded that his government checks will stop coming he becomes incensed. TO BE CONTINUED. 

A common response I have to Squidbillies is that I’ll watch it for a few minutes and think “hey, I think I like this show, actually”, but then I'm ready for it to end and it’s not even half over yet. That’s sorta where I was with this one. Lucky for me, it’s technically not over. This is a bonafide two-parter. When it originally aired they played both episodes back-to-back, but as far as I can tell they were always considered two separate episodes. I will be considering them two separate write-ups. Okay!

EPHEMERA CORNER

Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode II DVD (July 21, 2009)

I'm stubbornly sticking to my stated mission of making you aware of every DVD release from Adult Swim in a rough chronological order compared to the Adult Swim television timeline. As such, I wind up spotlighting releases that I have nothing to say about, and no significant feelings felt for. This one has 90 minutes of extra features, which I'm pretty sure is longer than the special itself. I also believe this is the extended cut of the special (or at the very least the DVD includes the extended cut), which I think aired on TV too. I forget. I don't like thinking about this show, or the intellectual property known as Star Wars. Thanks.

MAIL BAG

Kon komes through with a fact I did not allow myself to learn:

The God guy on the Squidbillies episode was voiced by the very guy who played Jesus on the Rising Son, and also starred in many Superdeluxe-brand FARK sketches that you and me really love and both are huge fans of

YES! Thank you Kon. Point of fact- the IMDB page for this episode doesn't credit who played God, but does list Sean Watkins on the cast list. But they linked to the wrong Sean Watkins, which left me scratching my head. I looked like a fool

[divorcingjimmatthews]

OMG. Okay. I think these are great points, and honestly the one thing making me want to try to argue against it is the fact that I really don't want it to be Kristi because I am so not ready to let go of her yet LMAO she's very dear to me so bear with me through my delusions.

First, additional supporting evidence. The person tending to Julie's wounds in the trailer seems to be Marielle (long brown hair with blonde front strands). This is Marielle's only scene in the trailer, and it's blink and you miss it, so it could mean that all of Marielle's other scenes are too spoilery to show.

We also get a glimpse of this picture at the funeral. It's basically microscopic but if we are to assume it's a picture of the deceased, the hair color and length match Kristi's, or at least don't rule her out. Also it would make sense for Marielle to be carrying a picture of her.

The funeral sitting arrangements also make sense with it being Kristi, since that's Kenny and Boyd closest to her, and Ethan is obviously fond of her since she was the one to treat his leg when they first arrived at the town. Marielle's absence can easily be explained by her being too broken to attend.

Now, the points I could make against. First of all, we get this shot of the body where some fabric underneath the brown sack is visible. It looks like yellow knit fabric, pink knit fabric, and some other white fabric. Kristi isn't wearing clothes matching these colors and fabrics, while Sara is. We also see similar fabrics being used as a pillow for Julie in the scene I mentioned earlier with Marielle.

Second, the order of events. We can see Jade and Boyd returning from somewhere, rolling the dead body into town, and Jade is wearing multiple layers of his own clothes in that scene, which is a less than ideal winter outfit. However, the outfit that he's wearing while Kristi is presumably alive (since the red beanie person is in the scene) seems like a more proper winter outfit, which makes me think that chronologically the red beanie person scene happens after the person in the cart has died. But, this is where the bear trap scene can happen (I'm 100% sure the bear trap victim is Kristi after reading your post. Like Jade, Jim, and Kenny, she also seems to have geared up for the trip because she changed her white shoes for brown boots, though. If she dies in this outfit, would they change her shoes back?).

So, taking into account the previous teaser that was released a few months ago, my guess is that the order of events is:

Boyd, Jade and Dead Person go somewhere -> Dead Person is tortured in front of Boyd -> Dead Person dies and is brought back into town -> Funeral for Dead Person -> Jim, Kenny, Jade and Kristi go on a trip somewhere else together, dressed in more winter-y gear

The ambush in town also has to be before the trip if we follow this logic, because Jade is wearing his "normal" clothes there. Also, I'm counting these 4 characters as going on the trip together because the pairings are unlikely on their own (it would make more sense to imagine that Jade and Jim tagged along with Kristi and Kenny, and then the pairings got mixed up) and because Jim and Kenny walk past a skull similar to the one the guy in Jade's vision is drinking from, so it looks like they're all in the same place).

My conclusion: I'm kind of at a loss honestly because some of the "evidence" seems contradictory. I have my own post on why I think the dead body is Sara but if it was Sara then I couldn't explain why Kenny looks so broken or what's happening with the red beanie. If it's Kristi I can't explain the timeline and costume changes or the yellow, white and pink fabrics. Probably worth noting that there were scenes in the S2 trailer that hinted at a plotline that ultimately never happened in S2 so it's not impossible that there's stuff in here that won't actually be in the episodes. Sorry for the long reply, I hope at least some of it is interesting 🙏

Kristi is DEFINITELY the dead body seen in the From season 3 trailer

1. She is seen wearing white legwarmers with jeans, and those same legs are seen getting caught in a bear trap

2. The dead body HAS THE BEAR TRAP WOUND (hard to see in these ss, it goes by fast but clearly lines up)

3. In the promo photos, she’s seen wearing a red beanie, but in the trailer Jade is talking to someone wearing it that isn’t fully pictured, and then later he’s wearing it

4. Kenny is clearly mourning (the flowers on the counter, his outburst at the radio) it would make sense he’s emotional at losing Kristi and isn’t able to show it in a healthy way because of Marielle

I think this makes the most sense plot wise, and would force Marielle to step up and maybe take on Julie as a nurse trainee. I’m DYING to know other people’s thoughts though I couldn’t find anyone else mentioning these points let me know what yall think :3