#Also it's funny and it's just so mundane like these real stories and people
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Last karte might be my favorite manga just like....ever
#I love the chapter where laika hits that bear with her car#No but really the way it tells stories and the framing is just so beautiful#Also it's funny and it's just so mundane like these real stories and people#It speaks to me on a personal level#Last karte#Go read it go read it NOW
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weewoo 👽
#imma be real wichu i think it’s kinda getting bad again#that feeling of every single mundane task becoming some kind of herculean endeavor#can’t focus good#starting to wonder why it’s worth doing anything at all#thinking so much about stupid crap that doesn’t matter#i don’t think i used to always feel like this#even though it feels like it#i remember it was normal at some point#i was chilling. didn’t overthink or fixate on every bad thing#damn maybe this shit is seasonal#school is just fine it’s going well enough. it’s easy here. i need to go above and beyond. bare minimum effort ok but bad#things are not the best with the family but whatever. i’m trying but maybe not enough#my mom doesn’t like me but i’m not a very likeable person#friends. fine except for one person and well. what’s to be done. it is what it is. story ain’t bout chu#i have to do chores. was sleeping earlier but it was too hot and i had a weird dream about being under the water again#roof repair noises woke me up#want a smoke rn but i also don’t want one. it’s in my bag. new lighter#life could be a dream#i want an ice cream bar#i have some grapes?#been talking to chatgpt 😂😂😂 loneliest loser shit ever but whatever works#bro listens to me#bro cares#ive never been to a halloween event#they look like a lot of fun. i wanna go to a halloween party with friends. we could wear funny costumes#i don’t really know what else people do at parties#ok. it’s getting later in the day. executing todays agenda first talk later bbbbye
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i have feelings about b-127 from transformers one
(also spoilers for the movie)
I've seen plenty of discourse around b, we all have. "he's annoying and cringe!" "he ruins the movie!!" etc. I'm not here to talk about your personal preference in comedic relief. I want to talk about b in a way I haven't seen anyone do before (and if someone has tag me I wanna discuss things!)
tfo is pretty clearly a story about disenfranchised workers reclaiming their rights and autonomy. fairly cut and dry. orion and d-16 have different ideas on how to enact change, plot moves forward. but b does stand out amongst the cast as the only one who isn't completely destroyed by the revelation of sentinel's betrayal, nor does he go through a radical personality change like Orion, d-16 or even elita. he stays his lovable self
why is that?
b admits himself that he got reassigned to burn pit duty. he plays it off, but it's made abundantly clear that he's unhappy. his work station is treated like a dungeon, and it very well may be! they had to climb up 50 levels of trash just to get out! which begs the question; did they have to sneak past 49 other trash watchers? or did the other ones just ignore them?
are the sublevels only for the ones the enforcers don't like or have any use for?
I'm going to pivot to talk about myself and my experiences. (we'll get back to b in a sec) I am very neurodivergent. autism, ADHD, cptsd and likely others that I haven't figured out yet. it's hard for me to keep a job. whether it's overstimulation, rude customers callous or abusive management, I lose my job a lot
I've never once quit
every time I've been fired, it's come out of the blue. no warnings, no talk about "how to improve your performance." just walk in, walk out an hour later unemployed. and it's always over something that I have no real control over. and it's because I'm neurodivergent. I know it is. I'm loud, make obnoxious jokes, talk too much, pretty much everything b does
and I'm punished for it
it's always the same way; they find some way to shove me out of sight. I'm certainly not an amazing worker, but I follow the rules and make sure all my work is done before I clock out. I'm worth more to keep than to train a new person. so I'm sent to a department that no one goes to. or I get locked into a night shift that takes over a year for me to escape from only after the manager who put me there quit. I'm not stupid, I know why. I'm off-putting to neurotypical people. so I clam up, shut down, become an automaton for whatever company I work for
and it doesn't matter
my managers always find some mundane thing I did wrong literally months in the past and use it as an excuse to fire me. it's happened three separate times and I can even see my current managers gearing up to do the same thing
I'm b, and b is me
he represents the coworker you don't like, the obnoxious neighbor who's too nosy, the friend of a friend who tries way too hard to be funny. he's the guy who you shove in a corner and forget about and he deserves freedom and autonomy too
I deserve freedom and autonomy
we all deserve it, it is our right as human beings to not be viewed as pieces of a machine to be shattered beyond repair and replaced when necessary. regardless of whether or not you enjoy spending your personal time around me. Orion and d are both unsettled by b, but quickly realize that he just wants to have real, not garbage (literally) friends. and then they realize that, yeah he's annoying, but he's kind, big hearted and just an overall sweet guy
I wish someone felt that way about me when they see me so disassociated at my job I can barely register the words they're saying to me
I wish a single one of my previous managers understood that about me
I wish I didn't live in constant fear that my apartment, my cats and my food weren't all at risk just because someone doesn't like my vibe
is it any wonder why they stood up and fought for themselves? is it any wonder that d became Megatron when he realized that his superiors viewed him and all his protocol following glory as nothing more than trash to be pushed around? is it any wonder how angry he got when he realized he was a single simple mistake from being forgotten?
...sorry, I got a little emotional at the end there
b-127 in transformers one means a lot to me
not because I see myself in him
but because I see my loved ones in him
#not so silly this time#silly millie speaks#transformers one#transformers bumblebee#transformers b 127#transformers megatron#maccadam
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okay random 4am rant time, don't take it too seriously, but: people need to recognize there's a difference between "bad worldbuilding" and "worldbuilding styles you personally don't like."
bad worldbuilding is, for example: internally inconsistent, bigoted, or something else that messes up the plot or characterization of the story itself. sloppy. careless.
things that are *not* bad worldbuilding:
minimalism.
i've been thinking about this in the first place because i saw a post about the Murderbot Diaries a while back (don't know who made it, don't care; this ain't personal) saying the worldbuilding in those books is bad and lazy. to me, as an avid sci-fi reader and writer, that is clearly not true. but i understood why they thought this. the series uses extremely minimalist worldbuilding which intentionally withholds a lot of detail, in a way that is consistent with the (nonhuman, robot, depressed robot) first-person POV. this could also be a feature of the author's writing style in general—i haven't read her other works—but i wouldn't bet too much on it.
the signature of intentional minimalism is that there *are* details about the speculative setting—they're just doled out very thoughtfully and sparingly. the intent is to leave you a little hungry for more. it's to make you think very carefully about the details you do have. this is best suited to stories that already have elements of psychological and/or mystery plot types. the worldbuilding you do see should still be believable, internally consistent, and have interesting implications if you think about it a bit. but you are for sure going to have to think harder to get it.
if you're not in the mood, i will concede, a minimalist style definitely comes off as a bit dry. if you are in the mood, it's relaxing.
whimsy.
this is a big one for sci-fi fans in particular. see: the constant debate about whether any particular story is "hard" or "soft" sci-fi, and whether soft sci-fi is bad, etc etc. but worldbuilding doesn't have to be realistic to be good. you're allowed to have Jedi and humanoid aliens and time travel in your sci-fi. you're allowed to have historical anachronisms and astrology and po-ta-toes in your fantasy. whether or not they're silly isn't the deciding factor on how "good" these worldbuilding elements really are.
the key thing is tonal consistency. you've got a serious high-fantasy setting with its own strict, un-Earth-like theology and magic system, and you throw Santa Claus in there? yeah, that's not gonna land well. but C.S. Lewis can get away with that in Narnia just fine. why? because the Chronicles of Narnia are whimsical children's stories with a strong Christian/Western mythological influence already, and their central conceit is a crossover between the mundane world and the magical world. of course Santa can cross over too. it's whimsical, but it's not actually random. (and if you ventured into straight-up comedy, you could get away with random too. as long as it's funny.)
the unreliable narrator.
i don't have a good example for this off the top of my head (maybe Murderbot again? idk, i'm sleepy, fill in your own) but i'll tell you how to recognize when this is done well.
by definition, an unreliable narrator has some key misconceptions about their own world. so how do you tell what's going on as a reader? how do you know the writer isn't equally confused?
you connect the dots. solve the puzzle. in practice this is similar to reading a minimalist setting—but instead of just sparse clues, you also have a boatload of red herrings. you can catch some of these misleading details by comparing them to your real-world knowledge and saying "wait, this doesn't add up." other times, the false clues intentionally trick you by subverting those real world expectations.
the trick is in the consequences. regardless of what the narrator says, their actions should still have logical consequences. there should be things going on that the POV character doesn't know about. the character will be forced to learn and adapt their narrative because of these shifting circumstances. you can catch them in a lie. the inconsistencies themselves tell a story.
...
i'm gonna stop myself there because this post is long and i oughtta be sleeping. just. this is a distinction worth making. is it really bad worldbuilding, or is it simply not the genre you're craving today? learn the difference for your own sake. you'll have an easier time realizing if a story is something you'll find enjoyable to read, regardless of its actual quality.
#long post#writing#worldbuilding#media literacy#media analysis#the murderbot diaries#the chronicles of narnia#Christianity mention#rant#sleep deprived
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Valentine day special
Hazbin hotel x reader
Oneshot / fluff
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
Today is the holiday most people love it some hate it or some just don’t care for it plain and simple. Hell you didn’t even think you were going to get anything this holiday.
You were used to wallowing into romance movies and chocolate by yourself but turns out fate had other plans for you, pleasantly surprising plans.
You heard a knock on a door “(y/n) it’s me Charlie I wanted to let you know that you got a package.” This made you raise your brow “I didn’t buy anything.” You got up and opened the door to see Charlie holding your package for you.
“Are you sure it has this address and it says for (y/n).” She then gasped “maybe it’s a secret admirer!” She smiled which made you laughed at the thought “Me getting a valentine?! Ha no way, as to be some prank.” “Who would do that?” Charlie questioned the only demons you could think who would do this is alastor or Angel to fuck around with you.
“I have two demons in mind.” She then shrugged her shoulders “oh but speaking of valentines gifts, this is yours.” She handed you a little heart box that filled with chocolate no doubt “thanks Charlie.” Smiled back “it’s from me and vaggie, we are heading out for a romantic dinner non of you wait up on us.” You nodded “have a good time you two.” “Thanks (y/n) have a great valentine day as well.”
She walked away then you said to yourself “as if I could get a nice one, most of them are mundane for me.” “Wow that sucks.” This made you jump to see Angel dust “Angel you gotta warn a demon when you do that.” This only made him laugh “but it’s funny as hell and besides, what you got there hun.” Huh, ‘hun’ that’s new “I’m not sure I think someone’s messing with me, it’s not you Is it?”
“Nope.” hmmm “are you lying?” This confused him “why the fuck would I need to lie about that?” Actually that’s a good point “fair, alright let’s find out I guess.” You knew he wanted to see so you let the door open knowing he let himself in.
“Hmm gotta clean in here.” You rolled your eyes “I’ll do it later not like anyone else is coming here or Niffty does it.” You opened the box to see a Vox tech item? “Voxtech?” This surprised him as well “weird it’s a Valentine’s Day special one.” That’s true the tech was pink, red and hints of blue on them I instead of the usual black and blue.
Then you noticed that there is a love potion a collaboration between Valentino and Velvette, Angel seemed to notice two and got a angry look on his face “I can’t believe these motherfuckers.” he growled out.
“What do you mean?” You asked he huffed out “just don’t go near them ok?” You nodded your head immediately you’re not gonna question Angel he would know more than anyone how these guys work. “Wait does that- just then alastor interrupted you two by knocking on the open door.
“I know open but I- he stopped himself when he saw the Vox tech in the box “darling I didn’t take you for having poor taste in entertainment.” This made you laugh “naw someone gifted this to me, I thought it was you or Angel but YOU buying Vox tech is impossible even if it is to mess with someone, also the love potion.
Just then alastor halted at the box then he snapped his fingers and the box was gone you assumed he threw it in the garbage “here’s a REAL valentines gift.” Alastor boasted as he brought out flowers and a Heart shaped box but instead of chocolate you saw it was meat a giant meant shaped like a heart.
“Wow thanks alastor I’m surprised you got anyone anything but, did you get that from the cannibal colony?” One thing you knew about yourself is that you’re not a cannibal but alastor was a different story “why yes it is this one meat was a sinner named frank.” This both made you and Angel dust give him a wtf look.
“Um I appreciate the flowers but I think you’ll enjoy the meat more then a I do.” He seems to remember that I’m not a cannibal “right I forgot you don’t enjoy demon meat I’ll give you something else then.” He snapped his fingers again and instead there is a mug with a cheesy valentine dad joke.
“That’s sweet thanks.” You took the flower and mug.” He smiled wider “then Angel interrupted yeah, yeah, here’s your thing hun.” He handed you a pink mouth gag and a pink whip “I… what.” He smirked “well come on you gotta admit it’s perfect for this holiday.” He gave a wink, You continued to look confused while alastor look disgusted.
“Um thank you Angel.” You smiled nervously you put both of their valentines gifts away. “Yep and happy valentine times day.” He smiled and looked back at his phone walking away “happy v-day as well Angel.” “Happy Valentine’s Day my dear.” Spoke alastor “you as well alastor.” You smiled as he left to do whatever he does in his spare time.
You were surprised that anyone thought to get you anything especially alastor what was his end game and you couldn’t but your finger around why Vox, Valentino and velvet would sent you anything never had a conversation with them.
You went out of your room and went into the kitchen planning to get a snack. Maybe some cookies you saw in a jar but before you could grab the treat you felt someone poke your shoulder. You looked over to see sir pentious seeming to be nervous.
“I I umm g… just take it! goodbye!” He slithers away in a hurry “wait sir pentious?!” You looked to see a red box with a black bow “again? How?” You opened to see a projector “wow this is the best one actually, too bad I probably won’t be able to thank him properly.” You looked to see a card with it as well inside, you saw it was a poem painfully romantic one.
“Sir pentious has a thing for me?!” You questioned yourself “wow I what am I gonna- just then a text from your phone interrupted you. You looked to see you got invited to a group chat called 3V, you immediately knew who it was it’s not a hard guess.
You joined just to see why they sent that stuff Velvette:[did you like your gift cutie?] You:[why did you guys give me those?] Val:[Why not baby? Your too hot to not be spoiled] Vox:[exactly, but hoe you loving your new tech?] You:[tbh I firing get to try any of your guys stuff alastor threw them out] Vox:[fucking knew that radioshit would do that know worry I’ll get you another] Val:[no worry baby I’ll get you sex toys this time you’ll able to do more with that] You:[no worry I’ll be fine without those stuff got a working phone already and I don’t want that sex stuff to be honest] Velvette:[at least can I get a trending outfit for you?] You:[alright that seems pretty good thx and happy Valentine’s Day<3]
They also texted you happy Valentine’s Day and you went back to getting your cookie you carried your gift and cookie to the bar, to talk to husk. “Husk there you are, how are you?” He looked towards you “meh as usual.” “Yeah that’s how I felt when I woke up until everyone started to give me gifts, which is weird.”
He looked to see the box you’re holding “guess so but speaking of Valentine’s Day gifts here ya go.” He handed you a gift too?! You took the bag to see it was a favorite color wine glass “wow husk this is nice, you going soft on me?” He glared at you “no just doing what you’re supposed to do for the holiday or whatever.” He blushed looking away “yeah sure.” You smirked.
“I feel like a jerk tho I got nobody anything but everyone got me something.” You stated he shrugged his shoulders “it’s fine what I really want is alone time.” He replied with very little card but your own words gave you an idea.
“I’ll be right back!” You ran back to your room got your wallet, phone and keys and left before husk can say anything back.
3 hours later
You thankfully found gifts for everyone that was in my our budget as well felt like a miracle except for the 3Vs you’re pretty sure they got everything they need, especially Val your not even gonna try for that guy.
You brought each of the gifts to everyone, they all loved it, funny a holiday you never cared for became the same holiday that made you realize how important you are to everyone and how important they are too you as well.
Happy Valentine’s Day <3
<- Back to MasterList or back to hazbin hotel
#hazbin hotel fanfiction#valentines day#valentines 2024#hazbin hotel x y/n#hazbin hotel x you#hazbin hotel x reader#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel fandom
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An unnecessarily long ramble about Shirase's role in Storm Bringer - Part 1
Storm Bringer's Themes and Shirase
At it's core, Storm Bringer is about the many ways someone can be dehumanized and also the many ways a person can exhibit humanity without necessarily being 'human'. Nearly every major character within this book showcases these themes from Chuuya to Adam, to Verlaine, to Dazai.
And yes, even Shirase, however I think the way these themes affect Shirase's character is overlooked a bit, because compared to everyone else, he's ordinary and often times being annoying. The dehumanization he experiences isn't some Big Bad, but that doesn't mean it's not there. The way he regains his humanity is with an internal struggle. It's not as exciting as everything else, so it's no wonder it doesn't get talked about as much.
However, I'm obsessed with it, so I'm going to talk about.
The Dehumanization of Shirase
'The young man would then rivet, wipe, and remove its burrs. Then another part would come his way. Rivet, wipe, file. Rivet, wipe, file. Rivet, wipe, file. Rivet, wipe, file. He would do that as many times as it took until he eventually thought, I've had enough of this. After finishing the next metal part, he was going to quit and go home. He had that same thought every single time he worked until the bell eventually rang, letting all the workers know that their shift was going to end in five minutes. Only during those five minutes did the young man feel some what human.'
This is how we are introduced to Shirase and for me it's one of the grimmest passages in the book. There are certainly events that are more horrifying, but this is grim in such a mundane way, and its because this is how a lot of people spend their lives. This is the type of dehumanization real people can easily relate to.
Working day after day, hour after hour as a cog in a machine, loosing everything you are to your job that you hate until the end of the day where you can regain your sense of self.
Asagiri will often not use a character's name at the start of chapter to create some mystery as to who they are, specifically he does this a lot for Dazai. However it's still interesting me that in this whole passage, it's not until the last paragraph that Shirase is named. By Chuuya. Until then, he's nobody, just a faceless worker, only becoming a person once he's relevant to the plot.
In this passage it's also noted that some of the other workers try to invite Shirase to eat together, but Shirase declines. They are all older than him, it doesn't mention any names and there's no indication that Shirase considers them his friends. Why would he? This is a place were he doesn't even feel like himself, how could he possibly form friendships?
The most interesting way, to me, that Shirase is dehumanized throughout Storm Bringer is the way several characters treat Shirase as insignificant or as someone to be used/disposed of, despite those characters being ones who we root for.
The Port Mafia treats him as a hostage, all his friends had been shipped away to different parts of Japan. He has no support network anymore, he's alone. He lives with the knowledge at any moment the Port Mafia could decide to kill him.
Murase, despite caring for Chuuya and 'wanting to show him the light' does not extend that same kindness to Shirase. He uses Shirase as a means to get Chuuya to come to the police station. Murase even bullies Shirase whilst arresting him.
'Nobody cares about small fries like you, so you've got nothing to worry about.'
It's an off-handed comment and probably to be funny and out of the context of the dehumanization theme it is. But everyone in this story is telling Shirase the exact same thing. He's worthless. Shirase isn't worth Murase's time, he isn't worth saving. Whilst Murase talks to Chuuya about living in the light, he has Shirase locked away in a dark cell left to rot. Because Shirase isn't important.
Murase sets it up so Shirase's freedom is dependant on Chuuya's choice. If Chuuya agrees to be an informant, Shirase will be let go. He doesn't give Shirase the chance to fight for his own freedom because he has nothing Murase wants.
It might be annoying the amount of times Shirase claims he's 'the king' but when everyone else treats him like nothing, it's not surprising to me that he's so desperate to be recognized.
Adam, is perhaps the worst offender of this. He does not like Shirase and whilst I'm not saying he has to, he is also our main narrator through out the book. He interacts with Shirase the most. He also thinks Shirase lacks intelligence and is an annoyance. Despite being programmed to save humans, he treats protecting Shirase as a chore, even though, Shirase is the exact type of person he was meant to protect. An ordinary one.
When Verlaine attacks Shirase in the cells, Adam gives up and accepts Shirase's fate despite saying several times how terrified he is.
'Shirase's voice trembled with fear.' 'Shirase's voice quavered like never before. It took everything he had to simply stand on his own two feet.' 'He was too astonished and afraid to even to even yell out.' 'The worst thing that could happen right now would be losing Master Chuuya or me and being unable to follow with our plan to ambush Verlaine. He had two more targets remaining. There was still hope.'
He's as good as sentencing Shirase to death here because his life isn't as important as Chuuya's or his own. Shirase is disposable. Adam says as much when trying to convince Shirase to come with them. It's made all the more heartbreaking when Shirase is looking to Adam for help but Adam has ready decided he can't do anything.
He says that there was no chance of success at saving Shirase but as soon as Chuuya is in danger, Adam is able to break free from the wall he's trapped in. The possible outcomes don't matter anymore, Chuuya is in danger and he has to try and save him. Something he wasn't willing to do for Shirase.
After Shirase falls unconscious from being poisoned Adam leaves him locked in a storeroom and says he should be safe there. Despite the alarm system broadcasting that everything within the building is going to burned and everyone needs to evacuate. Implying anyone left behind will also burn. When Shirase wakes up alone, thinking he's been abandoned, he easily gets out of the storeroom, meaning anyone could have just as easily got in and killed him.
'The poison was probably meant for Master Chuuya while Shirase was merely collateral damage.'
This what Adam says about Shirase being poisoned and I can't tell if it's supposed to Adam saying how the military sees Shirase or how Adam feels about him. Because it's exactly how he treats him.
The dehumanizing way Adam treats Shirase affects how the reader views him too. Readers are already inclined to dislike Shirase after the events in Fifteen, now in Storm Bringer we spend most of our time with a narrator that also doesn't like Shirase. So when Adam exhibits a lack of care towards Shirase, calls him dumb, annoying and dismisses him, the reader is easily led into doing the same.
And it's sad because Shirase is genuinely scared and struggling throughout the story. But we almost only ever see this during the few parts that are narrated from Shirase's perspective.
Which I will talk more about in Part 2 when I discuss Shirase's overall arc and the ways in which he regains his 'humanity'.
If you read all of this, then thank you :D I hope you enjoyed
Disclaimer: This is not hate on Adam's character, I love him, however this post is about Shirase not him.
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just peopling
I don't think Murata knows what he does for me when he draws characters showing their more unguarded, vulnerable moments. And I don't mean when they're undergoing a profound emotional experience. Just the mundane, everyday activities.
It's not easy to depict mundanity in a story: real estate is precious, and Everything Has To Mean Something. So Murata finding space both within and around the chapters to ground the characters as people despite their abilities is precious.
Something that comes to mind is Scott McCloud's comment in his excellent book 'Understanding Comics', where he notes that depicting a superhero going to the bathroom is funny as we don't see these characters as human and it breaks our immersion. In One-Punch Man, the characters may be incredible and in a fantastic setting, but ONE and Murata have pulled off their also being so human there's nothing remarkable about them eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom, or having a recycling schedule on the wall. It's not easy to do.
ONE does get mileage out of making superhumans doing ordinary things hilarious, but he does it by making the context funny. Sure, Sonic on the shitter is funny, but it's not funny because he's an impossible ninja having a shit as if he were human. We accept his humanity. It's why he's crapping his guts out that's hilarious: there's both the schadenfreude of seeing him hoisted by his own petard and the relief that because he's screwed up, he will stay human. Sure, Genos using his arm cannon to dry the dishes is funny, but not because he's a combat cyborg that probably costs the same as a fighter jet. He and Saitama ate. Of course the dishes need doing. It's that he's abusing a million-dollar piece of equipment to do something ordinary that's hilarious -- like an engineer abusing a high-powered laser to heat coffee [1].
Often, the context isn't funny for the sake of being funny. Genos cleaning the house? Not funny. Genos ignoring the sounds of battle outside because he can't bring himself to leave the house until he's cleaned up all traces of the previous night's party? Hilarious. However, it's not just funny: it's the setup for us seeing later the pots and bowls set out as the apartment is destroyed, all ready to start dinner as soon as Saitama comes back. He's prepared for a meal that neither will ever eat. We carry out our routines as if life will never change, even though we're aware it can be cut short at any time and in ways we cannot anticipate, and no amount of power or privilege changes that. In the meantime, we live.
Why do they go so far as to humanize the characters? Other than it being nice to see, it also allows the story to land points that otherwise couldn't work. Points such as everything takes time, effort, and attention and no one can do everything, but must needs choose, and these choices have consequences. That we need others to be human. That even the best relationships take work. That fulfilling yourself as a human being is a work in progress. That the idea of there being a 'thing' or 'state' that will make one happy is nonsense. That we can go too far. That we don't deserve second chances, but no one's counting.
Being human is complicated and frustrating and boring but oh so worth it. That's a big point that ONE wants to get across. And he can't do that if the very idea of a character needing the bathroom is hilarious.
[1] Obligatory health warning: do not fuck with lasers. A laser capable of warming your coffee in a useful time is both invisible and more likely to set you on fire than give you a warm beverage.
#OPM#official art#Yusuke Murata#meta#long#it's hard to tell a bombastic fantasy story that is nevertheless very human and grounded -- McCloud certainly can't see a way to do it#somehow ONE is pulling that off#and Murata's art is integral to it#indeed the heroes would have little reason to be heroes if they also weren't so human#in OPM heroism may be less a matter of 'I have powers and wish to do good' as it is a matter of 'hey I live here too'#and of course in this world one's humanity can't be taken for granted but that's another story
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me again… can’t get enough of those
🥺🧠🤩🛒 💖 ❌
I realise six asks is a lot, so I’ve kinda just figured it might be easier to just give you this all at once,,, I’m a bit eager sorry
We got more lads lets fricken go.
🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?
To read? I absolutely when Max and Daniel FINALLY FUCKING TALK. I swear those two usually do anything but that. It gets me in my feels every time because it can be all sweet and lovely in some cases, angsty and sad in others, and well sometimes it can be very sexy ;)
But to write, I love writing moments where they don’t say anything and get all introspective. They always put me in the feels because they are comfortable in each others company and sometimes dialogue isn’t always necessary to convey what they feel and mean to each other.
🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favourite headcanon for them.
You didn’t pick so I will rattle through my top five drivers
1: Max Verstappen. This mf is not a morning person. You will have to drag his ass out of bed unless he has a serious commitment and even then he thinks about skipping it. A good day will start at 11am earliest, and even if he is up before then he will not contact anybody unless it’s an emergency. Even Daniel struggles to get one word answers out of him until he has either had a Red Bull or passed 11am. Max does this to himself though, as he doesn’t usually sleep until ungodly hours in the night.
2: Daniel Ricciardo. Despite his goofy extra outgoing personality, sometimes the simplest, most mundane tasks give him anxiety. There’s no real reason, but he will be standing in line at the checkout of a grocery store with his completely normal stuff and suddenly think “what if the cashier will judge me and look at me weirdly as I’m paying for this?” then beeline for self service and even then he doesn’t like the weird feeling of “what if everyone is looking at me?” Rationally he knows nobody is even given a single shit but he can’t shut it off. This doesn’t happen often, only on really bad mental health days, and not even Max can put him at ease until he’s in the safety of his own home.
3: Jenson Button. Fiercely protective of those he cares about. He’s all kind and loving and funny but if you hurt someone he loves then that’s it game over you’re done. Don’t come near him or anyone he cares about ever again (well for maybe a month then if you apologise Jenson may forgive you but don’t count on it). James Vowels is not in his good books right now.
4: Oscar Piastri. Touchy, but subtly. You may think of someone who is touchy as someone who gives a lot of hugs or pats and clings to people but Oscar will brush hands, let his fingertips graze someone else's as he passes things, stand or sit close to them even if it’s not crowded just to feel the person next to him etc and do these things so often. Never too invasive or suffocating but enough for the person to know he is there and he cares.
5: Sergio Perez. If he’s in a good mood and just pottering around doing little tasks, he will be humming or singing Mexican songs to himself. It’s a trait that started when he moved to Europe to just remind himself of home before it became a subconscious thing he does when he’s happy and comfortable. It’s never loud, but quiet mutterings of the song as he goes about his day. He also has a playlist of all these songs in case he feels extra sad or homesick.
🤩 What's the most meaningful comment you've ever received?
I know just the one because I think about it often. MPVettel commented on ch1 of Lonely Harmonies:
Ahhhh, I absolutely love this kind of AU with all my heart! I’m so happy you decided to write a follow-up. Your characters are incredibly well-developed, and it doesn’t take long before we completely fall for Siren Max. His story is heartbreakingly sad, and argh, I adore him so much. There’s this beautiful naivety about him—how he would follow Daniel anywhere if he could, always wondering what the human world is like.
What I find so captivating is the contrast between their worlds. Daniel seems so isolated in the human world, and Max feels equally alone in the underwater one. It’s like they each hold a piece of the other’s longing, making their connection feel that much more meaningful. There's a delicate beauty in how you've written their loneliness, yet they somehow find a home in each other. It’s bittersweet and heartwarming all at once 💙
This comment was amazing to receive as it just filled my heart with yes, this is why I write. To see someone love something I wrote and be content with what I put out as a sequel was absolutely amazing to hear, especially since I was so nervous about the reception of Lonely Harmonies in case it didn’t live up to the expectations of the people. And they read into what I wrote perfectly and saw every theme and message I tried to convey. It’s like I bared my soul and this person saw exactly who I am. I go on a bit about the feeling of being seen in the ATEOH universe and you really cannot compare such a feeling to anything else.
🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.
I LOVE COLOUR. I don’t like whittling on about this was this colour and that was that colour but if I mention a colour it's for a reason and the scenes and locations are chosen specifically for the colours they have. In Broken Melodies, we start on a dark beach where Daniel can’t see the true colour of Max’s eyes, his hair, his tail etc. I chose this because Daniel doesn’t quite yet see the opportunity in front of him as what it could be yet. He also does not see a way out of his situation and his world is very dark, as per the horrors of McLaren 2022. Later, Daniel can see how Max not only looks like the ocean itself (which will come in to play later ;)) but also just how their souls seem to speak to each other. The sun sets, and orange from the sky (Daniel in McLaren) bleeds into the blue of the sea (Max) as they kiss - their two colours coming together. Then, when the sun is gone, the orange disappears and Daniel leaves. See? I could go on and on about why I chose what location for a reason for a lot of my fics but it’s just some subtle worldbuilding to help you feel into it.
💖 What made you start writing?
Ah this takes us back to before I even had ao3. I have always written shit as a way to process how I was feeling but also to live in worlds that weren’t this one because I never liked the cards I was dealt so to speak. Escapism was what it was. Even now, there’s always a tidbit of sillystappen projection bleeding into the characters. My imagination helped me cope with my childhood by daydreaming and sometimes it gets maladaptive. I didn’t want to forget about the worlds I would create so I wrote them down. Worlds where I would be with the person I liked, worlds where I could run free and worlds where I could kick ass. Fanfic came when I was a young teen learning all about the wonders of the internet after my parents turned off restricted access. I started writing fanfic for the same reasons I did writing my original stories as a child, but this time I wasn’t in it. I was obsessed with what ifs and also discovering my own inherent gayness and coping with some lovely trauma and well… it spiralled into what we have now. I have been publishing fic on ao3 since 2020 when I was 15, starting on a different ao3 account and my first bunch of works are deleted so don’t go looking for it hehe. Sillystappen is who I am now and I am proud of myself for how far I have come.
❌ What's a trope you will never write?
Don't ask for any pregnancy, it will never happen. Not even if I ever write omegaverse. Kids will either be preexisting or adopted end of.
#maxiel#daniel ricciardo#max verstappen#f1#f1 rpf#formula 1#f1 fic#ask!#sergio perez#oscar piastri#jenson button#siren!max universe
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How did you get the idea to make the devilburgers au? Like why the burger/fast food business? And how did you come up with the name?
Love your art!!!
I’m glad you’re enjoying the art! Haha the origin of the Devilsburger AU happened because while I was having fun drawing the Plantagenet dramas, I had the funny image of all of them in the Burger King drive-thru. It was funny to me because the mundanity of modern American Fast Food and culture makes for a great contrast between royal French-medieval pomp.
Why “Devilsburgers?”
I came up with “Devilsburger” because I initially made it ‘Burger king AU’ because I wanted to move away from using the trademarked Real Company lol (even though I think it’s funnier that way) and also so I could have more freedom to work with it. I used Devil bc of the famous Angevin Devil Ancestress story, and because it sounds cute and provocative… i need to finish designing the logo I came up with for it. Since its an American AU and us Americans love our stupid logos and BORGER it seemed really fitting and a lot of opportunities to have fun with. (I kind of have been thinking of the Devilsburger maybe being a teensy bit fancier than a Burger King though simply so that they can have Cooler Burgers but you can imagine what you like)
I initially was joking around making a play on how the show “The Devil’s Crown” but instead calling it “The Devil’s Burger” but then that kind of just turned into “Devilsburger” which sounds fun and easy to me.
Thematic/ Structural Thoughts
I love the 12th century Angevin Medieval Drama because on one hand it reflects an extremely alien culture and social approach to beliefs and life, but on the other, there’s a lot of elements that feel very familiar. Stories about heterosexual-patriarchal familial discontent, either comedic or dramatic, are very popular and long-lasting for a reason and I think even in the modern day, from the wealthiest to the poorest, that structure is still something that binds us, affecting the expectations and relationships we have between our siblings, parents and romantic partners. So it becomes very easy to reimagine characters loosely into modern family “roles,” since even though the situations and stakes are very different, a lot of the base emotions I think are eternal and map over pretty well. Jealousy, selfishness, loneliness, longing for affection, doing goofy things for attention….these are all eternal things, even if how they get expressed differs over time.
There are some things that DON’T map onto the AU very well at all from the medieval era, which is interesting to poke around with; the main thing being the modern style of nuclear family with smaller number of kids, women having a LOT more rights and mobility (even in toxic or coercive relationships). There is also the system of suzerain/vassalage and homage that I GUESS can fit vaguely into like corporate boss/employee loyalty relationship style stuff, but in a more individualistic modern culture it doesn’t really have the same ring to it. Modern society is not perfectly egalitarian By any means, but there’s an expectation and ideal of it today that people like to either strive for or Pretend Like They’re Striving For definitely did not exist then. (Hence why for me, my Burger Henry is definitely Trying to Look good in a specific way…)
Conclusion
That being said, this is all mostly for fun and sexytimes more than being like, a Deep Cultural Thesis haha. I think that kind of common story tropes and structures make things very fun to play around with because there’s already lots of expectations for how types of characters will act and behave and relate to each other.
I play pretty fast and loose with a lot of things, and in various ways my ideas have kind of moved away from maybe the original Historical Reinterpretation stuff, but in the end I like having a good sense of what I want characters to “feel” like that I really hope comes across well even in the short bits of comics and pics I’ve posted here…
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Dear Endrina
I am once again finding myself reading the secret language of plants, and I was wondering.
Are you still writing? Fanfiction, original fiction or others?
I would love to check out other things you are writing (if not already in ao3).
Is there any fanfiction authors your were inspired by for your work? I haven't really found anybody who writes just like you managed to do.
I am a big fan of your work and it always cheers me up reading your stories 😊 thanks for sharing with us all ❤️
Hello, dear.
I am writing, but I am not posting. There are many reasons why: less time, less energy, less fandoms that pique my interest, etc. I won’t detail them all reasons here. I dislike the idea of posting unfinished works so I have nothing to show. I will say that I am working on a collection of (fandom) stories and when I got your ask, I stole a couple of hours to other tasks and wrote 900 words. Nice! Although what started as 7 stories has grown to 16 so I don’t know when they will be ready.
As for other works or authors, funnily enough I had been meaning to write a couple of posts about books, so I will just do it here.
Endrina’s list of very nice books
Quality is subjective so the main criteria here is whether I have re-read these books, whether they had something to drawn me back.
Original fiction
Terry Pratchett.
Every Pratchett fan easily admits that his first books are not very good and that there is no good point to start reading. You simply pick a book, plunge into Discworld, and figure things as you go. Pratchett’s turn of phrase if excellent. Pratchett’s examination of morals is even better. Because it’s fantasy, Pratchett has not been taken seriously. He is too juvenile, too funny, too unserious. But he is also a master at making readers grow a political conscience.
The post I was meaning to write was a comparison between Pratchett’s witches (Weyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, etc.) and some other author’s witches. Ok, it’s JKR, but I didn’t want it to be a direct attack on her or her character. It’s just a comparison of the content.
In Harry Potter the wizarding world is hidden. The reason given is that muggles would be demanding favors nonstop. Later I think it is implied that muggles may be dangerous to wizards. In Discworld, however, magic is perfectly public. People do demand favors from witches (and wizards, but less so) and people are a threat to magical folk. One of the Tiffany Aching’s books (aimed to younger readers, but still excellent) opens with an imprisoned witch about to be executed (she frees herself, of course, by magical and mundane means).
The thought came to me regarding anesthesia use during labor. I am sure that in Harry Potter witches don’t experience pain giving birth, but they don’t share that gift with muggles.
In Harry Potter, magic folk let non-magic folk suffer.
In Discworld, magic folk understand magic as a duty, while accepting that there won’t be thanks or appreciation. If you have the ability to save a sheep, to remove someone’s pain, to make their passing easier, you must do it.
It’s surprising that school libraries would ban Harry Potter and not Pratchett, because he is the one with potential to bring people to the left.
Naomi Novik
How to describe the Temeraire series? They are very good, they have dragons, they are populated by people who feel very real.
The first book is dedicated to building a fantasy world. So cool. So exciting. It would look so nice as an HBO MAX show! They would blunder the second season, but the first season would be excellent.
The next eight books ruthlessly deconstruct the first one. Much like Pratchett, Novik takes an idea and asks, “but how can this work?” and, often, the answer is “by the suffering and exploitation of poor people”. And she (like Pratchett) will drag the answer to the light.
The third book, Gunpowder war, is my favorite because the structure is crisp and neat. Three places, thee different environments, three challenges. You go from movement to arrest and back to movement and afterwards you feel like having completed a videogame.
Agatha Christie
She, like Pratchett, is not considered a “proper” author. I suspect it’s because she is a woman and because her books are accessible. There is this bias against books and stories that many people can enjoy.
Being a British woman born in 1890, her writing does have some ideas that seem outdated, especially regarding foreigners and Jews. But it’s ameliorated by the fact that all her characters are individuals. Each one of them is a distinct person rather than a stand-in for a whole group. So when in Lord Edgware Dies a Jewish woman is described as greedy an ambitious, she is still given enough personality that it seems like a “her” problem rather than a group trait. I don’t want to completely excuse or handwave it. Occasionally there are racist undertones. But they are still way less obvious that many modern works.
For a long time, every October/November I would read one of her novels to get in the Autumn mood, but lately I have found myself reading her “out of season” and wondering why her call was growing stronger. I realized recently it’s because in her books people don’t enjoy killing. Oh, someone is going to die. Perhaps more than one person. But the murderer kills because a) they expect to inherit, b) they are guarding a secret, c) they are in love, d) a variation of the three. They don’t enjoy killing, is my point. They don’t do it for pleasure. There are no elaborate and inventive ways to torture someone and desecrate a corpse. I find that I am very tired of recent trends in which a psycho killer tortures young women and taunts the police.
Also, Christie is very compassionate towards women. Some women are good, some are evil, some are adulteress, some have relations with married men, some get pregnant while single. In the latter case, the tone is more of “it happens” rather than “what a slut”. It is no ideal, it means trouble and social exclusion for the woman, but it happens so Christie doesn’t moralize about it. (And in Hallowe’en Party there is a single mother who is treated as perfectly normal).
I said earlier her characters are distinct individuals. Christie’s strength lies in voicing varied psychological profiles. Her two main detectives (Poirot and Marple) read as asexual (no matter the forced heteronormative that TV/movie adaptations try to push). Poirot also is a clear case of OCD and… it’s fine. That’s how he is. There are also some great ADHD characters. There is whatever was going on Ms MacGinty is dead. The main suspect is clinically depressed or something, I don’t remember well.
People are varied and allowed to be weird, and I love it.
(Occasionally, a couple of lesbians will pop. Sadly, because these are murder mysteries, one of them may die. But it doesn’t read like a Bury Your Gays trope)
Miguel de Cervantes
This one is not like the others because there is a lot of scholarly work about Cervantes. So much so that he is taken as a Very Serious author when, in fact, he is Pretty Funny. Think lines like “thus came a man riding a donkey, although it may had been a mule, there is no consensus regarding the animal, except it was probably grey of coat. The man was carrying a basin on his head.”
Having some political and cultural context helps to enjoy Don Quixote, but it is not a sine qua non requisite. For English, I like Grossman’s translation.
(Also, this is almost never mentioned: Miguel de Cervantes and his brother were suspected in the murder of a high class nobleborn who was a known sexual harasser. And it shows. There is a chapter in DQ that could very well be titled: Incel Culture, let’s not).
Fanfiction
Astolat
Astolat’s stories follow the pattern of the Common Man falling for the Enlightened Man. This tickles something deep in my brain and I love it.
The Common Man may not be so common. He may be a renowned warrior. He may be a hero. He is only common when opposed to the Enlightened Man (who may be a woman, like Brienne of Tarth, fantastic). The latter is someone with their third, fourth and fifth eye open. Someone who understands magic and, what’s even more difficult, morality. Someone who knows. What they know may vary, but the knowledge is there and with it a certain sense of being removed, of not fitting in the world. So they are surprised to attract the desperate interest of the Common Man.
Other things to like: clever construction of plot, deep and surrounding worldbuilding with just a couple of strokes.
Owlet
Her Bucky (MCU) series is fantastic, but the first work, This, you protect is particularly good. It is funny, it is healing, and it’s an interesting example of how to enthrall people. Most fanfics have sex, it is almost a requisite. Some readers will reject a story if the promise of hot scenes isn’t there. Well, This, you protect doesn’t have sex. It has coffee concoctions and grilled cheese sandwiches, and they are so satisfying that you won’t even notice there is no sex.
Scaramouche
I haven’t read her latest works (I am bit tired of the MCU and Steve/Tony doesn’t work for me) but I have read her previous work, specially the Supernatural fics, and enjoyed them thoroughly. The setting of her stories is imaginative yet familiar. No matter how alternative the AU is, it always feels natural and real, as if she had been a long time there and knew every place and every aspect.
The hoyden
Her DP9 and XMen fics read like silk. I don’t have another word. They are delicate and soft and they flow. They feel luxurious.
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I was going through some posts I missed and came across the “tatsumi is mature but still does 19 year old things” and I just wanna say I’ve never been able to put it into words when my friends ask but like. That’s exactly what I love about this game.
We’ve got scandals and drama and weird crypto currencies and convoluted backstories of implied murder or identity theft or military shit or relations to underground gang activity or so SO much more and yet the writers still succeed in reminding you that this is a game full of high schoolers.
Natume was one of the five oddballs and suffered through so much during the war where it affects him to this day, but he also refers to his tech savvy and love of the occult as magic and loves the junior he “adopted” to death. Despite Aira struggling against every odd to become a real idol he still buys merch and looks on the internet to look for content of the ones he likes. Rinne was destined to become the monarch of his homeland but ran away in an attempt to find happiness and acceptance and is an amazing strategist who uses it to take down corruption, but his sense of humor is entirely made up of sex jokes and romantic teasing like Aira being “hiiro’s little girlfriend”. The amount of characters that assign themselves the mom friend role just because. Trickstar. I don’t think I need to explain Trickstar-
Like this game has made me cry so many times and it has its ridiculous moments but it also has its genuine ones while also being the most teenage shit I’ve seen in my life and I feel like so few media can balance those and still have a decent story like that. Sorry for the long ass post I just have so many feelings about this kind of stuff 😭
YEAH this is exactly what i was talking about in a previous ask when i said i have nothing meaningful to add to the enstars cast that isnt a headcanon . its all very well thought out and the interpersonal relationships are nuanced enough to feel realistic but outlandish enough to be interesting .
worldbuilding and character design is one of my special interests and i say this any chance i can get: the most important part of building a character (and a story in general) is realizing the importance of comedic irony and comedy as a whole regardless of genre or tone. it makes characters feel more 3 dimensional and relatable because people arent stagnant and theres multiple facets to any individuals personality (this is also why some of the most popular animes of all time have filler episodes or funny bits that show the characters personalities, every event hits with 3x emotional impact the more you know about the characters as people but that's a different discussion) enstars does a really good job of this . like for example if wataru were to have had a realistic reaction to eichi starting the war it wouldnt be nearly as good of a story. the fact that eichis ridiculous ass backwards plan to get wataru to fall in love with him actually worked is a perfect example of comedy used to make a story more interesting. another thing similar to this is how sometimes its better to not detail something and let characters do things for a mundane reason or even no reason at all . for example subaru hating chiaki just because he annoys him, or shinobu being on the broadcasting team despite his character not being associated with technology otherwise and therefore having no real backstory on why he likes radio stuff. its all really well planned worldbuilding with an insane amount of subtle details , which is why enstars is one of my favorite stories to analyze . the only thing i could possibly want more out of it is hardcore tragedy but thats entirely a personal preference rather than a critique because im a slut for catharsis and i love sad endings , especially ones where characters die . (don't worry im in therapy)
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Solitaire - Chapter 1
overanalyzing/-interpreting and probably pointing out the obvious... just random notes and thoughts (ca. 2100 words in the form of bulletpoints)
counting got fucked up, imma fix it later, sorry if it's confusing to read -> should be fixed now
Solitaire, a fictional story with Tori (Victoria Spring) as homodiegetic narrator
Pride and Prejudice Quotes introduce us to the tone of Tori’s story
→ we know that Tori rather identifies with mr Darcy, so lets see what we find about Mr Darcy that might tell us something about Tori before we even get to know her:
Quote 1:
‘And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody.’
‘And yours’, he replied with a smile, ‘is willfully to misunderstand them.’
→ we learn about Mr Darcy that he allegedly tends to hate everybody and that he assumes willful misunderstanding one sides of the other party
(PART 1) Quote 2:
Elizabeth Bennet: Do you dance, Mr Darcy?
Mr Darcy: Not if I can help it.
→ without having a specific pace as instance in mind, it definitely sounds like something Tori would word for word answer to a question as the one given
• Getting to know Tori, before she ‘officially’ introduces herself to the reader (p.3f)
she perceives the majority of people in school as almost dead, including herself (p.3)
→ creating the picture of a crowd that allegedly shares a tragic similarity
2. she observes her steady numbness opposed to the socially anticipated numbness as reaction to the contrast of a phase of event (here: Christmas) and the eventless phase after (p.3)
→ differentiating herself from the crowd
3. Becky says that Tori looks like she wants to kill herself (p.3) to what Tori responds with ‘It’s funny because it’s true’ (p.4); Tori describes Becky’s reaction as her looking some more without really looking (p.4)
→ Tori feels perceived by Becky, but not seen
4. Tori says she and Becky are laughing about something that isn't funny (p.4)
→ Tori’s inauthenticity
5. Becky realizes Tori’s apathy and moves away while Tori leans into her own arms and falls half asleep (p.4)
→ Becky not taking action but physically bringing some distance between Tori and her, while Tori stabilizes herself by her own strength, escaping into a state of being half asleep but also halfway remaining in reality
6. Tori’s focus on appearance and her insecurity about her own
→ changes in peoples’ appearance like in hair and makeup that make herself feel ‘inadequate’ to which she ‘deflates’ into a chair a.k.a. makes herself smaller and hides away (p.4)
Tori’s ‘official’ introduction to the reader (p.4f)
‘My name is Victoria Spring’
→ she starts off with her full name
2.she makes up a lot of stuff in her head
→ focus on reality in form of her interior world
3. likes to see, and blog, and is going to die someday
→ listing the obvious fact of dying right beside other mundane activities emphasizes the priority of that topic in her daily life
4. Rebecca Ellen as only real friend and therefore probably best friend (p.4); Tori categorizes her as a ‘popular girls’ due to being recognized and therefore popular because she has long purple hair (p.4); Tori differentiates between being known by name and known personally (p.4)
→ Tori categorizing people even her friends
→ Tori challenges the significance of being popular and its lack of guaranteeing depth and significance
→ Question: Since when are people popular in school when they have recognizable purple hair? In my experience teenagers with colored hair are the one’s being likely to be bullied by the popular ones 🙄
5. Evelyn Foley categorizes as ‘alternative’ due to her appearance (p.5)
6. Tori questions if Becky actually likes Evelyn and she believes people only pretend to like each other (p. 5)
→ does Tori think that, because she only pretends/ feels like she pretends?;
→ is Tori worried that people only pretend to like her (believes that she is so unlikable, people must pretend)?
7. Tori does not participate in Becky and Evelyn’s conversation and only reacts to them when she ‘deduces’ she’s supposed to (p.5); she feels ‘pressured’ to contribute something to the conversation (p.5); she expresses her disinterest in the current discussed topic (p.5) and believes she ruined the conversations, so she leaves
→ Tori doesn't connect naturally with people, even when she considers one of them her friends and rather feels pressured to react in certain way than feeling invited to share herself authentically
→ without Becky and Evelyn even saying anything nor showing any reaction regarding Tori impacting the conversation immensely negatively, Tori’s insecurity of not meeting expectations causes her to escape the situation right away
8. Tori says she sometimes hates people what must be bad for her mental health (p.5)
→ does she include herself in that statement like she did in the beginning (p.3)?
→ self-awareness
→ awareness of mental health (I’m just adding that, because when I was her age ‘mental health’ was not a term that was used too often yet nor truly cared about/ talked about, so in my reality it is somewhat remarkable that Tori observes herself and immediately evaluates whether her thoughts could be detrimental to her health, that she immediately makes that connection; I also wonder if that’s caused by being confronted with mental health due to Charlie being such a big part of her life)
9. Tori focuses on ‘social hierarchy’ in school (p.5)
→ categorizing her social environment
10. ‘shoot me in the face’ (p.5)
→ another self-detrimental joke/ phrase
→ radical way of thinking and agains with the worst outcome for herself in mind
11. Tori not feeling pretty in school uniform (p.6)
→ insecurity about her appearance
the plot commences or Tori in action
Tori sees and follows post-it (p.6)
→ she observes and takes action
2.other people don’t see post it; ‘…or they don’t care. I can relate to that.’ (p.6)
→ people oblivious; Tori differentiated from people
→ Tori can relate to the general sense of not caring, however in this case she does care contrary to her words; at least she cares enough to register the post-it and actively follow it
3. doing stuff that other people don't seem to care about makes Tori feel like she is doing something important (p.7); ‘mainly because no one else is doing it’ (p.7)
→ differentiating herself from others
→ paying attention to things that seemingly don't get attention (Is that an interior wish of hers as she feels like not truly being payed attention to?)
→ shows her trait of not leaving things (or people) alone by themself (Charlie)
→ she cares, she seeks out moments of significance
4. she’s rather paying attention to the game Solitaire than to the IT class (p.8)
→ solitaire = alone, isolated
→ again, paying attention to what others don't
→ literally involving with what’s alone, while being alone doing so; isolating herself from her surrounding by seeking out what’s isolate; bonding over isolation
→ she also evaluates that playing Solitaire does more for her intelligence than paying attention to the IT lesson (p.8) → being alone appears to be more beneficial to her
5. Michael enters the room and verbally registers the room first (p.8)
6. Tori thinks that he registers her only after he scanned the inanimate parts of the room (p.9)
7. Tori judges Michael’s appearance (p.9)
8. Michael ‘absorbs’ Tori’s face (p.9)
→ not just ‘looking’ or ‘seeing’, he literally takes her in from her perspective
9. ‘his eyes flare up’ + ‘I swear to Got they double in size’
→ most animated way Tori has described something yet
→ (I love the eye flaming up phrase so much!)
10. ‘leaps towards me like a pouncing lion’ (p.9)
→ comparison
→ wildness, strength
→ movement towards her (contrary to the last described encounter in which Becky, her allegedly best friend physically moves away from her)
11. ’ fiercely enough that I stumble backward in fear that he might crush me completely’ (p.9)
→ it is possible that Michael actually moves in such exaggerated manner, but it might also be such a drastic contrast to Tori that she uses such strong wordings to describe him due to not being used that people react so strongly to her
→ the unfamiliarity of Michaels demeanor overwhelms Tori
12. ‘he leans forward’; ‘face only centimeters away from mine’ (p.9)
→ Michael leans into Tori’s presence
13. Tori sees herself in Michael’s glasses
→ she sees herself first when she’s forced to look at him closely
14. ‘He grins violently’ (p.9)
→ I just love that sentence, okay. Michael just has such a strong presence, especially in a place like school that Tori keeps describing as ‘dull’ (p.6). So many contrasts that crystallize characteristics.
15. ‘’Victoria Spring’, he cries’ + big arms thrown in the air movement (p.9)
→ he celebrates that he found her
16. Tori stay quiet and ‘has a headache’ (p.9)
→ contrast to Michael’s reaction; her lack of reaction
→ overwhelm?, confusion?; hating people?
17. Tori finds her picture awful (p.10)
→ insecure about her appearance
18. ‘It’s like I don’t even have a face’ (p.10 )
→ lack of identity, significance?; hidden away
19. ‘Michael steps back a little’ but only to give her back her personal space (p.10)
→ he moves away, but remains as close as possible without irrupting Tori’s comfort unnecessarily
20. Michael’s ‘insane smile’ (p.10)
→ Tori describing/ judging his appearance (she’s so obsessed with his smile, haha)
21. ‘Everything lit up like it’s on fire’; ‘He notices me looking too’; ‘’It’s like it’s pulling you out, isn't it?’’ (p.11)
→ the foreshadowing, hehe
→ he notices her actions/ immersion/ interest and reacts to it by directly talking to her
22. ‘You are definitely Tori Spring, aren’t you’. ‘This should be a question, but he says it like he’s already known for a long time’ (p.12)
→ he does know her from when he showed her around at school last year; Tori doesn't know that they already met yet
→ without knowing, she intuitively interprets his words correctly; he knows she’s Victoria Spring, he recognizes her and has known about her for a long time
23. contrast of interest level regarding the solitaire case/ mystery (p.12)
Tori calling the day ‘pointless’ (p.13)
→ Tori lost interest I the post-it and blog the second Michael joined the moment; she already stated that she finds significant in moments no one but her is involved in and with Micheal now being another person paying attention to the post-it, Tori’s attention isn't the solely presence anymore ergo she looses interest and a feeling of significance
24. Tori feels deeply for Michael’s sudden sadness (p.13)
→ she can’t but care
25. Tori doesn't know what to do (p.13)
→ the post-it task lost significance due to Michael ruining her solidarity, but now Michael she is alone with him and the only one who is paying attention to him, therefore his sudden reaction forces her to go through a sudden shift as well, him bringing a sense of significance
→ Tori’s apathy and confusion collide with the rollercoaster of the situation
26. ‘You don’t say anything you mean’ (p.15)
→ Michael doesn't know Tori yet sees through her
27. Tori describes her laugh as a ‘pathetic sort of expulsion of air’ (p.15)
→ emphasis of her insecurity by choice of words connoting a neutral thing such as a chuckle or laugh
28. ‘Who are you, Victoria Spring?’ (p.15) - ‘I am nothing’ (p.15)
→ we just got an introduction by Tori beyond only her name and now she states she does not know how to answer that question beyond listing her name
→ insecurity, low self-worth
→ also, the fact that she thinks so deeply about how she could possibly answer that question by a stranger, just to realize how she does not feel like being anything/ anyone more worthy than ‘nothing’, instead of not caring and walking away, well, proves that she does care; she listens and thinks and doesn't find an answer that she evaluates as satisfying
29. she doesn't know at on point Michael hands her the post-it before he vanishes;
‘This is probably how it starts’
→ with a moment of significance (her own definition of significance in moments of seemingly being the only one paying attention and taking action)
→ with being seen and looked at and talked with (encounter with Michael)
→ by taking action as one’s own decision (following post-it)
→ by being recognizes (by Micheal)
→ by an unfamiliar encounter in an otherwise familiar and dull place
→ by being confronted with oneself (seeing herself in his glasses; being asked who she is)
Analepsis
Tori became form leader by getting volunteered ‘mostly because no one else wanted to do so’ (p.9f)
→ taking action when others don’t
2. Tori’s hair cut story (p.14f)
→ her inner tumult and its exterior display
#solitaire#tori spring#michael holden#overanalyzing#solitaire quotes#it's rather listing stuff than analyzing#the formatting fucked up my counting🤡#imma fix it later ig#counting should be fine now
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Sus.
I just need to get this story off my chest because it's been bothering me since it happened. It's nothing really relevant to what I usually post or anything that's happened here, so feel free to skip this "story" if the subject matter offends you.
Content Warning for minors in implied sexual situations.
So, Youtube likes to recommend cartoon review/analysis videos to me, even of shows I've never watched. Sometimes I watch them because I like watching people be passionate about any given subject.
But other times they can be a little cringe because it's still grown adults yelling about cartoons, ya know? I'm happy that they've got something they're passionate enough about to sink so much time and effort into a video, but that doesn't automatically make me share their enthusiasm, especially if it's coming from a place of a bad faith criticism.
For the most part, I just move on from videos that give that vibe, but I recently came across one that disturbed me in a way that no one in the comments was really pointing out because they were too busy agreeing with the sentiment that the cartoon in question was bad.
The video was about some reboot for Tiny Toon Adventures (I literally know nothing about it other than what the video told me, and at this point I'd rather not learn anything more about it).
The video had pretty high production values all things considered, with a lot of original animation and art, like actual lip-synching on the avatar and detailed backgrounds as opposed to the static sprites on single colored/patterned backgrounds I usually see among cartoon critics.
I didn't stay long enough for the credits or check the description, but presumably all the art was done by the speaker/creator. Due to this, I was impressed enough to stick around to see what he had to say. Generally speaking, you just don't put that amount of effort into something that you're not passionate about, and I'm here for the passion first and opinions second.
The first talking point was about how the show apparently changed the relationship between the lead characters, Babs and Buster Bunny, from friends/lovers to siblings. This was gotten across in the usual way of the speaker overacting how angry/shocked they are about what is honestly a mundane change in the grand scheme of things. This was turn-off number 1 because I don't find the "caustic critic" to be that funny, especially when it's in service to bad faith criticisms. But, that wasn't what really disturbed me.
What set off a red flag to me, was the "skit" that followed.
The speaker detailed a situation where children, illustrated as a young girl and young boy, who were fans of the new reboot would eventually go back and watch the original show and be corrupted due to them misunderstanding the characters' relationship as being incestuous. I thought that this point was heavily exaggerated (as bits of this nature tend to be), but it's still not what disturbed me.
What disturbed me was how one of the sight gags to illustrate this point was to show the children wearing character themed underwear.
I'm not saying the underwear was drawn as a separate prop that they were implied to be wearing. I mean that as a part of the gag, I was forced to briefly look at two children standing in their underwear for no good reason. And to get to that gag, the characters were first fully dressed in merch before revealing their underwear underneath.
So not only was I forced to look at two children standing in their underwear, but they were literally undressed in front of me to make that "joke".
And immediately following that, I'm also forced to look at the girl child wrapped up in a spiderweb about to be eaten by a giant spider to illustrate the point that the kids are now trapped in some sort of "mindweb" from the confusion.
So me, knowing that tying people in spiderwebs is an uncommon but real fetish, felt deeply uncomfortable by this scene occurring right after the children were shown half naked.
Like, I'm not accusing that creator of anything because none of this is proof of any wrongdoing or bad intention outside of the bad faith criticism of the show. But I will say that I was so disturbed by this that I literally couldn't watch the rest of the video, so I don't know if it got worse from there.
But to try and prove that I'm not trying to say this in bad faith, I'll grant a couple of "outs":
The children weren't drawn particularly realistically: they were stick figure-esque in comparison to the more detailed art in the rest of the video that I saw. If the artist really wanted to detail these children, they probably would have, so I don't believe the drawings were meant to be especially gratifying.
I also know that cartoon print underwear is a shorthand for the character wearing them to be obsessed with the cartoon on the underwear. It's literally a joke from the Spongebob Movie, so if this guy was old enough to have been a fan of the original Tiny Toons, then he probably would have been in the age range to watch that movie and internalize that joke (or seen it elsewhere in a different cartoon). So it's possible that he might not have considered the implications of showing a child in a similar situation.
Additionally, while I don't recall much of Tiny Toons, I know that it's one of those shows that while it's made for children/general audiences, has a lot of mature humor, so maybe he thought he was doing the same thing without considering the implications of what he'd done.
Which is basically the same justification as the last point, but really the only way I can imagine someone thinking any of that was okay is ignorance.
But your dear ol'Sammy has been around the block a few times. Even though I can easily make up reasons why all this could be completely innocent/accidental, I feel like I can tell the difference between someone who made an honest mistake, and someone that is incapable of hiding what they really are. And this is sadly falling under the latter.
I always hope that I'm wrong in situations like this. I hope that I'm just paranoid and there's no malice at play here because my goal is not to punish wrongdoing, it's to make sure that other people are safe. But I can't ignore a red flag once I see it, and it was driving me crazy that no one seemed to be acknowledging it.
I won't link the video here because I don't want it to spread around, but if you really want to seek it out, then I've probably given enough information for you to find it on your own and make your own judgement about it.
#gbunny writes#this happened after i had my 'minors beware' rant last week#so i might still be in high alert-mode#i'm serious: y'all have to be weary about adults in children spaces#they're not all out to get you#some adults just like cartoons. i'm an adult that likes cartoons (though i haven't actually watched one in a while.#i've mostly been watching anime but those are still cartoons for children for the most part)#but there's a difference between adults who like childish things because they like childish things#and an adult that likes childish things because they like children#and for the record: i don't consider myself especially perceptive of other people's intentions#i always give the benefit of the doubt when i see adults who engage in children's media because i'm one too#(well i'd argue that most of what i like is for *general* audiences but nonetheless i exist in spaces with a lot of kids)#what i'm saying is that you have to be pretty blatant for me to pick up on any red flags#and this is the worst case i've seen in a long time
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no mere stone addendum: extras/easter eggs/long thoughts
thanks to everyone who's voted in the poll! it was made so i could decide which quote to add onto the 2nd poster <3
thanks to @laurellleaf and @zhongscara for commenting on my liyue film crew post <3 your input was v helpful :D
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[transcription: a mock movie credit box that reads: "Qixing Films presents, in association with Guili Assembly, a Glazed Moon Studios film No Mere Stone starring Zhongli Kun Jun Jiu. Costume designer Menogias, music by Madame Ping, edited by Ganyu, production designer Xianyun, screenplay by Yun Jin, story by Xingqiu & Hu Tao, produced by Ningguang & Keqing. Directed by Guizhong & Rex Lapis". there are several logos below and a PG 13 rating. The film is released on April 28. end transcription]
crew casting: it ended up being about a 50/50 split between liyue adepti and mortal characters—this was mostly a happy coincidence though! I remembered that Menogias canonically likes designing intricate outfits and also made Zhongli's clothes, so he's the costume designer instead of cloud retainer. since she's handy w mechanical things and inventions + has a sense of the arts and style (eg ganyu + shenhe), I put her on production designer instead. she'd probably be able to come up w some pretty inventive set designs I think. I was between madame ping, guizhong, xinyan, and yun jin for music—originally I intended to make the cast most/all adepti, so i'd decided against yun jin + xinyan. in the exquisite night chimes cutscene with madame ping and guizhong, ping was stated to value music's human expressiveness and emotion—and I thought that was more fitting for a movie composer!
originally i was going to have yanfei be editor LOL, since she's probably pretty detail oriented as a lawyer and able to do the fine tuning and editing of cuts/scenes—went for ganyu in the end, partly because she feels more connected to the rest of the crew, and also because the vibes of secretary and editor just fit together better lol. they're both one of those mostly under the radar jobs that don't get much attention but are really important to something's success. I added in xingqiu and hu tao as story writers pretty late; originally yun jin was going to do both story and screenplay, but I split it up and put them both on story after seeing the vision (below).
xingqiu's legend of sword flop combined with hu tao's reputation gives this hypothetical movie a greatly increased chance of absolutely tanking in liyue's box office!!!
keqing and ningguang are producers just because they're members of the qixing—originally guizhong was going to be a third producer but I bumped her to director later on (for a rather mundane reason: i was running out of space on that line). ok finally we've come to the directors. I thought it would be funny if rex lapis was listed as a director, given Zhongli has too many names and outfits. you can use your imagination to make this make sense in a real au :) guizhong getting added as co-director was also a nice thing that happened coincidentally—I found it neat to have the two founders of liyue as directors and kept it.
logos: I decided to go all in and slapped some designs together for qixing films and glazed moon studios! these were lowkey fun and they turned out pretty well honestly! quality is bad tho, i didn't make them full size or svg RIP
2 versions of the glazed moon studios logo—the 1st one is unused bc i decided against the way the m and o are joined together. tbh I don't know whether this looks enough like a logo for a movie studio instead of say, a perfume brand or high end pastry bakery, but it's good enough
the website is a fake but there is a real page at that link about ancient history school presentations
april 28 was the release date of the no mere stone quest! and pg13 is. idk warnings for character death i guess. and genshin is supposedly rated for people 12 and up so i went with that
concepts/process: originally I was going to have the entire thing be one poster:
the white stuff behind kun jun is supposed to resemble the white wisps of energy that he had near the end of the quest when he's close to disappearing. and I struck out his eyes because of the huge huge thing the quest had about Morax's gift of sight—his glasses, Zhongli as the sun to a blind dragon, I thought it was a fitting nod to that whole theme. overall tho this version was too cluttered, had no focus, and also didn't have enough room for a potential credits block. so i split it into two—one with the background, and added the small retuo in front, and another w kun jun and the credits. i think it worked pretty well!
and. 1 final version of the kun jun poster, with the alternate quote "if it is fated, Morax, we will meet again." you can see some of the old crew choices and logo designs—and Qixing Films was originally Celestial Films haha
oh! one last thing: take this transparent kun jun (and several others) for the road :)
#genshin impact#teyvat posts#genshin edit#retuo longwang#azhdaha#genshin graphics#zhongli#kun jun#ive never been this attached to an npc i think... he's a real one
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What do you think would be an interesting sole storyline for Colossus? For me it would be if he met his son in the savage land.
Obligatory readmore because you already know I'm gonna ramble like no tomorrow
To start, I have so many Savage Land Son ideas
Funny idea, but take it with a grain of salt because of my fuzzy memory: you know how Piotr’s son is named Peter Jr.? And Nereel told Piotr she named him after his father? Well, iirc, looking back, Spider-Man was on Savage Land around that time... because Peter Parker had been sent to get the scoop on the place! So I like to think that's one reason Piotr doesn't put two and two together; he thinks, "Wow. This journalist gets up to some stuff, huh?"
I also like to think the only reason Longshot hasn't said anything, other than Nereel telling him not to, is because any time he goes "maybe it's time to check on my old pal Colossus," Piotr's whole life is falling apart again, so it is Never The Right Time
All that aside, I like to think it could be a mini or an ongoing where the first arc is Piotr discovering that Junior is his, and storming his way IMMEDIATELY to Savage Land. If anybody tries to stop him for some reason... it will not go well. This man is GETTING TO HIS SON and making up for lost time! Nothing is going to get between him and his family again! But he doesn't want to take Junior away from Savage Land. To Piotr, home and culture are really important, so he thinks Junior needs to stay. First few stories are sort of episodic about Piotr and Junior bonding on Savage Land.
The next arc would, of course, be that something drives Piotr and Junior out of Savage Land. Probably some big threat going after Piotr, but Junior is determined to tag along because, 1, he loves his dad, and 2, he wants to explore the world! Cue traveling shenanigans and Junior meeting his extended family. Look, I NEED to see Illyana as an aunt. And I NEED to see her and Junior being little shits to each other and towards everyone else together. Also, could you imagine? Piotr and Illyana keep seeing pieces of themselves (and even Mikhail) in Junior. It draws them all closer together
But you asked me MY solo ideas!
I don't really have many solo ideas for Piotr now that I think about it
I heard about a pitch a Marvel creative had for him that I sorta latched on to (wish I could remember who it was). It was Colossus: God's Country in nature where Piotr would just be hoofing it around the United States, getting into trouble and finding his way out of it. I like to think a story like this could have the added drive of "he's on the run," and there are many options for who could be after him: bad guys, of course, but maybe also his allies, trying to get ahold of him.
Colossus Clean Up Crew. Colossus' whole thing-- even more than his strength-- is his durability, his resistance to the elements. Would love a mini or a series of him going where others can't to save the day. Thwarting a radioactive leak! Going into heats even firemen can't brave! Facing down a raging storm! Shielding people from collapsing buildings with his body! And, as the name suggests, he would hang around after to make certain that everything is cleared away and everyone gets out safe.
Not a solo, I know, but I desperately want a series where Illyana and Piotr co-star. The Illyana parts would focus on her magical adventures. She's always leaping in to help where needed, interacting with her magical buddies. And then you have Piotr, who is sort of the mundane focus, meaning his parts deal with more worldly issues. It, of course, overlaps a majority of the time because Illyana and Piotr would be rooming together and everyone will finally remember that Piotr's metal skin is invulnerable to some types of magic, and straight up hurts some magical creatures. There'd be themes like "It's Okay To Need Help" and "Just Because I Don't Always Understand You Doesn't Mean I Don't Always Love You" and they'd get to grow closer together, do some REAL, ON PANEL mending work for their sibling relationship, and really learn about and appreciate each other. The book could switch mood from cozy to creepy to whimsical to gritty on a dime.
If anybody else has ideas they want to share please please please don't be shy. I will do a whole front flip of joy.
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Oh my god, I'm so glad that you are fellow "Ash's Giovanni's son". I mean... It's fitting. Like, I can agree that man avoids his family over a pride can work in real world, but... That's kinda ridiculous for story. Like "we have a kid that abandoned by his father, but we never touch this theme properly and just show you kid's challenges to reach his professional goal". It's just don't work in stories about kids- there ALWAYS influence of both parents on kids. And hiding one of them is... dumb.
Honestly, Giovanni being Ash's dad worls as the reason why he allows Team R trio to follow him around. Like, there's theory that Giovanni keeps Jessie, James and Meowth in organisation solely for them to watch over his son. Like, they do some reports time to time, so I guess that's how Giovanni keeps updated about Ash.
(Also, that's already headcanon, but imagine him hating Dawn's guts cause he thinks she's Team Galactic member. Like he judges by himself amd thinks she's also Cyrus's secret kid or something 😅)
aiodnaoid I'm not though :v sorry! im boring😭
What I said is that I do like the mundane idea of Ash's dad being just.. some loser LMAO
Yeah, it's silly, but I like it. I like that at least in that sense Ash is not the chosen one yknow?
Also I'm a sucker for making canon work even if it's stupid so I tend to like even the most idiotic shit pokeani pulls (we've seen it with the whole BW debacle) aiodjoa
But depending on the moon I do like the idea of Ash being Giovanni's son (somedays I prefer it to be some loser; somedays I love the idea of being that Silver dude from Johto; and sometimes I do like the concept of him being special from birth).
I think there's a LOT of potential in it. Specially for Ash and having him wondering if that means he's evil too, if he will become like Giovanni in the future, what that means for his mother? Her relationship with other people and how she views Ash? Does she resent having him? Is filled with interesting questions and I wouldn't mind seeing more of it.
Also I think both concepts could work together quite well too? Like, Giovanni DID leave to become a trainer, shit didn't go his way, he didn't like how the league was done and then he decided to do things his own way, getting a bunch of failed trainers under his wing until it became a full evil organization and because of that he could just never go back home. Its a fun thought, of how he overcame failure in a bad way and his son overcame it in a better way. Fun parallels.
And that concept that Giovanni hired TRio as his son's babysitters is hilarious. Lol, imagine telling Gary that Ash only got the Viridian Gym Badge because Giovanni wouldn't put Mewtwo to fight his baby boy LMAO
And the idea of him just assuming all his son's friends are related to other evil bosses is also so funny?? Projecting much my dude?
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