#BEHOLD A VERY VERY VERY RAMBLING LINE OF THOUGHT

[bluebeads-art]

2024 November 21st

INTO THE LAKE WITH YOU, MUD CHILD

My part of a retroactive art trade with @anxiousapplepie ! "Retroactive" because I was already drawing this before we agreed to make it part of a trade, heheh. December 2nd edit: BEHOLD!... THEIR HALF OF THE TRADE... Eleven whole pages of trade!! Go read it go read it go read it

I read this post about their Role!Swap AU, and, like, multiverse shenanigans? Check. Characters goofing off and having fun? Check. Several opportunities for slapstick humor? Check. Conclusion: I really wanted to draw it. Physical comedy is my specialty. :p

This thing is kinda all over the place composition wise (looking at you, relative sizes of speech bubbles) because there is Too Much going on in these panels and I Did Not plan ahead of time, lmao. This was supposed to be doodlier than it ended up being, so as a growing pain it's a funny jumble of consistency. One of these days I'll be able to doodle without getting carried away. 😂

More rambling and close-ups under the cut

This interaction in particular is what nudged me over the edge to draw this whole thing. I don't know what Fighter Mirabelle's malfunction is when it comes to the Siffrins, but it lets me make Sif the butt of a joke again, so yeehaw! His hat being catapulted out of frame made me laugh when I was thinking of what to do with the composition-complicating hat in question.

Also my personal take is Siffrin is 100% having the time of their life here. Making new(?) friends? Being involved in a fun group activity? Well worth inhaling some puddle water and having to go jump in The Lake to wash the mud off later.

Bonnie being so furious they changed art styles wasn't in my original plan, but I'm so glad I thought of it on a whim because it made me laugh Every Time I looked at their face. 😂

Time taken on this whole thing was 42 hours and 50 minutes. AND. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS BAD. IF YOU KNOW I'M TRYING TO SPEED UP MY ART PROCESS. But this project gets a special pass. This was the farthest out of my art comfort zone I've been in a while! 13 (mostly) full-body characters at various complicated angles, 2 backgrounds, learning to use CSP's perspective rulers, effects I'm not used to like water splashes, etc etc. I made progress on speeding up sketching & line art as well! Some of the lines you see are just extremely cleaned up sketch. I was able to let myself fudge things more too. For example, Mira's dress is a very "dude just trust me" simplification because I don't know how the clothes folds would work at that angle. ^^;;

So while there's still a handful of things I'm not happy with, it's worth it for the learning experience and perfectionism-busting progress! Also for the sake of drawing silliness, of course.

Oh, lastly; the KO sprite is the one from in-game, so it was made by insertdisc5 and not me.

[atopvisenyashill]

WHERE HAVE ALL THE STARK WIVES GONE AND WHERE ARE ALL THE COZ'S

aka i made the stark family tree from torrhen, the king who knelt all the way to the starklings & filled in some gaps too just for funsies. behold my magnum opus because i am a visual learner. some notes on the tree:

at the start of the tree, you’ll notice some lines are purple. those are not technically canon relations - we know those people existed but we aren’t told how they’re related or who their wives were. similar to my dornish timeline, i filled in a few gaps here based on the information we have to go off, some leaps in logic when it comes to the politics of the time, and some math.

similarly, you’ll notice some names in {brackets}. those are characters that we know exist but we don’t know their name (ie, we know alaric had two sons, we don’t know their names). i picked their names from other stark names.

the kids aren’t always in age order. i couldn’t get the graphic to line up in places bc of the cousin marriages and still keep everyone in age order, so i just gave up aksjd.

all the ones with the book sigil were Lords of Winterfell. all the ones with the show sigil were just born into the stark house.

alright now we got some explaining & rambling below the cut

george give the wives names. george at least give them a house. george pls you don't have to give her a personality just give her a freaking name george.

anyways!!! first things first, let's go into the names and houses i invented for everyone, starting from Torrhen's wife on the left and moving to the right:

Lady Manderly, the last Queen in the North - i think given the Manderlys are the #2 house, it was thematically fitting that the last Queen in the North was a Manderly! I also think it would make sense, given how common Iron Islander raiding was in this time, that Torrhen would want to strengthen his alliance with the house that owns his fleet. We also know the North’s fleet was pretty damn impressive at this time - Aegon uses them to fight several times after Visenya destroys the Vale’s fleet during the conquest.

Lady Dustin, wife to Brandon the Boisterous - Torrhen’s sons hate the Iron Throne and they’re all really pissed at the Stark Maiden-Ronnel Arryn marriage, so I figured Torrhen’s sons would want very fierce, very Northern wives (no offense to the Manderlys). Given Barrowton is one of the only true cities in the North, I thought marrying a family familiar with travelers, maybe a richer house even, might be seen as a benefit to staying strong against the Iron Throne.

Lady Flint, wife to Brandon the Boastful - Similar to Lady Dustin, I thought a strong Northern match would be what the sons of Torrhen would continue to go for. The Flints of Widow's Watch are considered the most powerful of the Flint houses so I thought that made a good match.

Lady Norrey, wife to Edwyn Stark - this one was fun & required some math and analysis. Basically, we know none of Alaric’s sons are married when Alysanne comes to visit, and Alaric is succeeded by his grandson, because both of his sons die before him. It means his grandson could be at the oldest 14 when he inherits. We also have Gyldayn say that some “Stark brothers” looked into seeing if Alysanne giving the New Goft was legal. I thought if Alaric & his sons were so annoyed by this, wouldn’t it make sense to marry into a house near the New Gift, who perhaps will be impacted by the decision and have the knowledge of the area and its history? Since the Norreys are right on the border, I thought that would be a good fit. I also thought it would be a good fit because Cregan married Arra Norrey just a bit later - and one pattern I noticed is that when a family marries into the Stark line once, they tend to remarry each other within a few generations again. They do this with the Blackwoods, the Lockes, AND the Royces - it’s likely the mothers & grandmothers influencing the matches, and I thought it was a fun pattern to repeat.

Lady Reed, wife to Artos Stark - So one thing we know is that Lynara Stark, Cregan's third wife, is not descended from the uncle who attempted to usurp Cregan but from a younger son of Brandon the Boisterous. I also noticed Lynara's son, Brandon, has an affair with a Fenn. The Fenns are sworn to House Reed, so I thought it made sense that this branch of the Starks has perhaps lived in the Neck, and brought a small household with her that included a Fenn or two that her son later has an affair with.

Lady Glover, wife to Ellard Stark - this is another “marry & remarry” match up but there I chose the Glovers also because I noticed the Starks tend to marry into the same few houses over and over again. These are likely their richest vassals and closest allies, so I thought again it would make sense that Ellard would pick a woman from a wealthy or important background as the succession crisis under Jaehaerys starts to kick off (in preparation for a fight, even if it's just a war of words). Since you have Gilliane Glover just a bit down, and I thought that would match up nicely with the "marry and remarry" trend as well.

NOW SOME ANALYSIS

Obviously there's been a lot said about the Sansa-Jonnel and Serena-Edric marriages that I don't really need to repeat at length but - I think the choice to have a Sansa and a Jonnel One-Eye marry is kind of sus, I think the "One-Eye" thing is sus, I think the niece-uncle connection here is kind of sus, and I think the fact that their mother was a Manderly is also sus.

There's also the fact that Serena has several sons and we have no idea what happened to them. That one stands out to me because of the Cregan-Lynara match; as stated above, Lynara is not, as some people assume, the daughter or granddaughter of Arnolf, the uncle that attempted to overthrow Cregan. Her Stark name comes all the way from a younger brother of Brandon the Boisterous. That's quite a few generations back that a Stark line has survived to remarry into the main line and we don't even know if she was an only child or had brothers and sisters. So Brandon's brothers' weren't just mysteriously offed/died out, but just two generations after Lynara, all of Serena's descendants just mysteriously die off? Nah, there's a story here that's hiding. The obvious suspect here is The She-Wolves of Winterfell story with Dunk & Egg. COMMA BUT. It's crazy that there are no Stark cousins in the modern day, no cadet House the way we have the Arryns of Gulltown, the Green Apple Fossoways, the Lannisters of Lannisport, etc., and also equally weird that Lynara's Stark line isn't a named cadet branch.

But let's get into the cadet/cousin branches in the modern day as well - one thing I noticed about the lack of Stark cousins in recent history (ie first and second cousins rather than like, seventh and eighth) is that a lot of them are female line cousins. Catelyn and Robb point this out in the book when Catelyn brings up the Vale Starks in the Templetons, the Royces, and the Waynwoods. I think the fact that Sansa is in direct contact with a host of those same families will come into play; perhaps when she unmasks herself as Sansa, someone will comment on her resemblance to Jocelyn, or maybe that familial connection will prompt a bit more loyalty out of one of Jocelyn's descendants if she has to make a mad dash out of the Vale.

And this is the same with Lyarra; she had a sister, Branda, who married a Rogers, which is a very minor Stormlands house. That stuck out in my head because I think this all really sets up the North to be ruled by Sansa; there are no male cousins or even female line male cousins (shout out Targaryen cousin Robert Baratheon) to step in and say "Well wouldn't you prefer a man as the Stark in Winterfell?" It's just Bran, Rickon, and Jon Snow that could possibly threaten her rule. It seems like she's very set up to echo her predecessor here but instead of Jonnel marrying her to steal her claim, Jon is likely to back up her claim, same as Bran.

And since I'm talking about namesakes here, let's dig into Arya Flint. There's two big associations here for Arya - Brave Danny Flint and the Wandering Wolf, Rodrik Stark. I think it's interesting that he served with the Second Sons, given that Arya is a Second Daughter, rather than the Stormbreakers, which was started by Oscar Tully. The moniker itself, Wandering Wolf, also makes me a bit excited for Arya's future; I've said before but I want Arya to do everything she wants to do and being so closely associated with a "Wandering Wolf" makes me think she will. The Danny Flint connection is also interesting here - there's the fact that Jon Snow, the sibling she's closest to, joins the Night's Watch (and even makes reference to Danny Flint), the fact that Danny dressed as a man and fought with a sword. Similar to the "Wandering" epithet potentially spelling out a happy ending for Arya, I am hopeful she'll have a happier ending than Danny Flint. But I do wonder if perhaps Arya will have some involvement with the Night's Watch, however it exists in the endgame.

Lastly - I'm so curious about Harrold Rogers. Did he help facilitate the friendship between Ned and Robert? Are the Rogers' still kicking around looking Starkish as hell? George where are all the cousins!!

[saphira-artandoc]

Behold… a project that began back in October 5th 2022…

C3 Swap AU

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I am nothing if not predictable

What is the swap AU?

The swap AU was created due to my love of that genre (If you followed me in my Persona phase, you know what I mean)

It was a way for me to practice my craft as time goes on and to this day, I’m still learning. It’s also an excuse for me to draw pretty outfits

It was also inspired by Eren Angiolini’s CR swapped classes (mainly VM and MN back then) before their own rendition of Bell’s Hells, done in 2023

The difference between my version and Eren’s is that instead of swapping DnD classes (Fighter -> Paladin) , we changed their subclasses (Fighter : Battle master -> Fighter : Eldritch knight). Some of these were taken from completely made up thanks to a homebrew list of subclasses

The entire creation of this AU is a group effort from various members of the Dorym Nation discord server. We did not plan for it to work as well as it did as episode rolled by. We did it mostly on vibes and somehow made everyone’s backstory sadder (oops)

Why making this post now?

With campaign 3 coming close to an end, I felt like it was finally time for me to face my fears and show the people what 2 years of creation do to someone, without any remorse for showing enjoyment in a piece of media.

I also struggle with showcasing my work in the last couple of years to a wider audience, especially with the rise in A/I art and N/F/T that just destroyed me mentally. This is why you don’t see much art posting from me

Also every time I thought I had a breather with art, shit just kept happening in the canon game and it really just spiralled to what we have today… Mind you this was created around episode e20 so we didn’t know everything about the characters back then… We were so close but had to change some stuff and add something else… I love the creative process <3

What did you mean by “you made everyone’s backstory sadder?”

When you go into a project made on vibes, you kiiiiind of mix-match a couple of ideas together. With the Swap AU, not only did we swap their subclasses, but we also swapped elements of their backstories with another member of their group. You will see it with everyone’s post.

Wait so you’re not sharing the art yet? Why not?

My goal with this post is to give you guys a small introduction to the AU. I know this will be at the very least 10 post in total minus this one since I’m hoping to give each Hellions their very own Tumblr posts

I am also a perfectionist and I want to give the best quality possible when posting the artworks. I am in the making of creating front facing reference sheets of each member of BH with max 6 different clothes ( EXU or start of the campaign, ball, outfit 2, current one, and for those with specific body transformations get that illustrated also)

There is already existing art of the AU that was created by @czpeterp that you can see here! (Their art is amazing, go check them out!!)

I have Fearne and Chetney’s that are complete, and Imogen is the next one in line. Expect for a post about them coming really soon (hopefully tomorrow)

That’s all for now! Sorry for all the rambling lmao, I do hope I piqued your curiosity and I’ll see you (hopefully) tomorrow morning for our first Swapped character: Fearne Calloway!

[badwolf-gallagher88]

Day 23 - Genre Swap

Haladriel Regency AU

At the entrance to the ballroom, the Master of Ceremonies announced the latest arrivals. The ire of boredom was in his voice, but nonetheless all heads turned at the words he spoke.

“The Lady Galadriel, the Lord Elrond.” There was a slight pause as they entered. 

“The High King Gil-galad.”

If heads had not been turned towards the entranceway before, they were now. Collectively, the ladies of the ball dipped their curtsies, while the gentlemen made a leg, bowing in reverence to their king. 

The High King’s raiment was of the finest quality, and caught the appreciative gaze of both the men and women at Lord Celebrimbor’s ball alike. His waistcoat was made out with gold filigree embroidery, his cravat tied with a perfect waterfall knot. About his neck hung a quizzing glass, and his hair was left unpowered, dark and straight.

Lord Elrond was outfitted nearly as well as the king, if his style was a little more rakish. His waistcoat was eggshell blue, his hair curling neatly about his face. 

It was Lady Galadriel; however, who drew the gaze most assuredly of Lord Halbrand. Her empire-line dress was a perfect white, and about the bodice embroidered with flowers. The muslim was of silver sprig, tied at the waist with a cerulean blue ribbon. She wore white feathers in her fair hair, fixed with silver pins. Her beauty was angelic, ethereal even. He could not look away.

For a moment, she paused in her conversation with Lord Elrond, and caught his gaze. A small smile graced her lips, before she was borne away on her relations’ arm to the awaiting crowd. The High King too dispersed among his awaiting followers, and Halbrand felt himself vanish into the ballroom’s depths once again.

“You should ask her, you know.”

He turned, not expecting to be spoken to. His host, Lord Celebrimbor, stood beside him, smirking slightly. 

“My Lord… I - “

“Spare the pleasantries, Halbrand. Just because you’ve newly come into your fortune does not change the fact we were sitting in the same club a half hour before this farce. Why I must always host these balls, I do not know. Apparently the High King particularly favours the galleries. Three times I have caught his browsing my paintings - I believe he wants to buy the Lawrence portrait, and doesn’t care to ask. Forgive me, I am rambling.”

Halbrand shook his head, informing his host the idle chatter was not unwelcome. He would have to explore the house’s galleries himself. If they were anywhere near as impressive as the collection of jewellery Lord Celebrimbor owned, including the vast number of rings that graced his fingers, then the artwork would be something to behold. 

“As I was saying - you should ask her. The Lady Galadriel is not so unkind as not to dance with a gentleman who might ask it of her. She is very generous, you know.”

He pleaded his inadequacies once more, doubtful of the truth in his friend’s words.

“Very well Halbrand. Her ladyship approaches us; however, so do not waver if you can find the words.”

Celebrimbor was right. Gradually, Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel had made their way around the room, and now approached the two of them. 

Elrond spoke first, applauding Celebrimbor on the suitability of the ball. The host returned his thanks, and the two gentlemen began to speak of horseflesh.

“So, my lord - Are you not going to ask what our host demands of you?”

Startled, he turned to Lady Galadriel, only now realising they had been left alone in conversation. She laughed momentarily at his stunned expression, then schooled her features, fearful of offence. 

“Why, ’tis only seven words, Lord Halbrand. Though I confess, you have hardly muttered more than three consecutively all evening.” She arched an eyebrow, desperate for a response. He remained mute, thoughtful. Curious. He had not even been aware her ladyship was listening to his and Lord Celebrimbor’s conversation.

“Sir, it is not right to make a lady of the High King’s retinue beg. Is that what you wish of me?”

He could no longer keep his expression neutral. The shock finally registered, and he did not quite know why he had flushed so suddenly with embarrassment. Elrond remained in conversation with Celebrimbor, but the host glanced meaningfully at Halbrand, motioning for him to stop his hesitations. His flush grew darker, as he realised his friend had probably heard the conversation.

Resisting his desire to flee, Halbrand summoned the courage that lay beneath his crumbling facade.

“My lady, may I have this dance?”

She nodded, and he led her into the centre of the ballroom.

As the music struck up a waltz, he did not care to check she was allowed to participate in the scandalous new dance. He had seen her waltz many a time at Almack’s, and doubted she would particularly favour the enquiry. Instead, he attempted to make something of the conversation his participation had been so lacking in a moment before.

“That was not particularly decorous of you, my lady. Threatening to beg. What if Lord Elrond had heard?”

She reached up to clasp his hand, following the steps of the dance as they circled around each other and the other couples. For a moment Galadriel was silent, considering his words. Finally, she replied.

“He would not have heard. He only pays attention when I pay attention to him. And, I may have suggested Celebrimbor distract him.”

Had he not have been entwined so closely with her ladyship, Halbrand may have shaken his head, shrugged and walked away. That was why she knew what they had been discussing - she had asked their host to persuade him. Likely she had also asked Celembrimbor to distract Elrond. 

Manipulative girl.

A scowl came to rest upon his features, and he spent the rest of the dance in silence. 

“You seem displeased, my lord,” she eventually asked him, seeking to interpret his silence.

He nodded negligibly, glad the dance was drawing to its close. He could feel the delicate shape of her hands despite the layers of their gloves. Her breath fell quickly upon his neck, and every so often the feathers in her hair brushed his cheek. As the waltz’s final chords sounded, and he pulled her towards him once more, she spoke again.

“I quite fancy seeing Lord Celebrimbor’s galleries. I believe the paintings are best seen in candlelight - nearest midnight, when one can lose all sense of time and other people, and simply revel in the artwork. Of course, one never likes to go alone, but -“

She curtsied, mirroring his bow.

He led her so far as the edge of the ballroom, then Lady Galadriel disappeared into the midst of some elegantly dressed ladies. 

He was left watching the feathers in her hair, and knowing he was about to act quite foolishly.

[polarisdelphi]

Continuing my Arthurian concepts, Lancelot of the Lake (I wanted it to be Lancelot du Lac, but alas, it looked really bad on his sheet, with the fancy font and all). As I did with Arthur, we have Lancelot and his sword - again, I just have a thing for designing fancy swords :')

His whole concept is blue, because you know... Of the Lake. Child of Avalon. It had to be blue hahaha every detail on his sword/armour is to look like plants, fountains and water.

I also wanted his sword to have that ~clashing~ of fluid like fountain shapes and rectangular, harsh line shapes because even if he is water, he is also constant in his loyalty, beliefs and is someone you can rely on.

(oh I told you guys I have some hot takes regarding Lancelot, Guinevere and all that... 'TIS LOTTIE TIME NOW)

Also did the whole ~testing Photoshop layers thing~ again and, lo and behold, we have some vitral looking version of Lancelot. It can also be him during one of the rituals in Avalon, who knows ;)

More ramblings on my version of Lancelot, what I thought during his design, who he is to me as a character and why he has that insufferable smug smile, under the cut below hahahaha

(fangirling? yes, fangirling over arthurian legend, yee been warned)

First things first: YES, Ioan Gruffud.

I fell in love with Lancelot because of him in the 2005 King Arthur movie and that is FOREVER the vision I have of Lancelot, this man has SINGLE-HANDEDLY made me believe he is a loyal friend and a little shit at the same time and there is NO room for another Lancelot in my mind.

I fucking love him so much

The 2005 movie is one of my favourite versions (I was 13 when I first watched it, he was my teenage crush, I'll love it to death) - but it does leave a lot of the characters out to create a whole other story on its own. I love it, but there's so much more on Arthurian Legend we can work on!

My Lancelot, then: yes, prince of Benoic. Taken by Avalon, raised by the Lady of the Lake, ruthless in combat. Best Knight of the Round Table, could even be better than Arthur (some say), and fiercely loyal to his companions and commander.

One hell of a womanizer, though. This man can't see a good looking woman - or even man, for that matter - without starting to flirt and say some things that would make even the gods flush. Everyone laughs while Galahad wants to die every single time Lancelot's flirty mode is ON.

Pretty useful when they have more stealthy missions that require lying, deception and cheating - be it men or women, Lancelot's charm will NEVER fail.

(other more "brutish" Knights, so to speak, say it's his Avalon ✨ pixie charm ✨ - and really, the man doesn't disagree)

Even if he is very loyal to his friends, brothers in arms, and his beloved Arthur, he can't be like that in romances, though. Lancelot's love is a quick flame that burns down an entire forest in the blink of an eye and it's put out quickly with a heavy rain the day after, while Arthur's love is a lingering fire on a winter night, keeping his lovers warm and away from harm as long as it has wood or coal to burn.

That's why I chose to give Lancelot a more reliable look with all the rectangular shapes, constant stripes and more of a "bulky" look compared to Arthur (Arthur has more of a slim-strong constitution). But he also has some sharp points, because of how dangerous he is, and the ever flowing shapes of the water of Avalon - like his very flowy dark blue cape.

He's always covered in blood too. He is the best Knight, he has no problems when it comes to killing, and he doesn't have Arthur's moral compass. If he has to be ruthless, he will be.

(told ya this man lives rent free in my head)

And that's very important to his character, in my opinion. Lancelot is a pagan, he doesn't mind bloodshed, and he certainly has no issues with giving in to lust and earthly pleasures. There is no Heaven to judge him, and no Hell to burn him. He is fatally human. Not trying to be better and to go on a moral high horse when his hands are covered in blood and his only talent is death - just surviving his times as he can.

HENCE - and brace yourselves for hot take time! - why he loves Guinevere, but he's in NO WAY a better man than Arthur. He would stop his flirting and womanizing shenanigans for her, but WHY would she give up someone so absurdly upstanding and unreal like Arthur for him? And he doesn't want her to. She deserves better than him. He loves being around her, his heart aches, but how many hearts hasn't he broken? It's kind of a poetic justice sort of thing in his view.

And he wouldn't sleep with her, not when she loves Arthur and Arthur loves her so fucking much. He might be a little shit, yes, sassy, bitter, hedonistic and even annoying at times - but he is loyal. He doesn't love easy, and when he does, he loves hard. And he loves Arthur too much to do the one thing that would destroy the man he would give his life for.

He's a bastard, but he does have standards. A bastard with feelings :)

Jokes aside, this is, again, MY take on Lancelot. MY Lancelot, is all fun and games, will argue religion with every single catholic/christian he meets on his way, will get covered in blood during battle, will kill with no remorse, will drink with no remorse, will indulge in sex and break hearts with no remorse.

But he will give his life for his friends - he will sacrifice everything for those he loves, and his loyalty can never be bought - for in the end of the day, if he's lying on the grass choking in his own blood, he knows those are the ones who would come to his aid. He knows Arthur would rather die for him than watch him die - even if Lancelot thinks this would be the utmost stupid-est and unfairest thing to ever do.

The world deserves and needs an Arthur in it - not a Lancelot.

In my Arthurian Legend, this is his character, this is who he is. A lot more darkness and existential dread, pleasures and adrenaline rushes in battle to cover up how flawed he thinks he is - even if bards sing of his heroic feats, his reputation is that of a hero and women everywhere swoon upon hearing his name, painting him as a knight in shining armour.

He's not - he's a womanizer in a blood stained armour, pledging his killing skills to someone who has a better, idealistic view of the world and higher moral standards than him.

If you read all of this, thank you for coming to my TED Talk, and do know I suffered immensily not making him a dual-wielding killing powerhouse.

[bismuthbookshelf]

A Marine Biology Review Of The Original Little Mermaid (part 1?)

I would love to give this a proper explanation or some decent-sounding context, but really all I can say is: I had an idea!

Okay, well, a bit of context I can provide is that I have a playlist of narrations that I listen to whenever I'm struggling to sleep (they work with 98% effectiveness!), and one of the narrations on that playlist is of the original Little Mermaid story (link to the youtube video/audio of the narration HERE if you're interested). So I've heard the story a fair few times now, and I'm an Ocean Nerd, so I thought it would be fun to have a look at the descriptions of ocean/marine stuff in it and talk about what's accurate and what's not. And, well, I recently graduated university with a bachelor of science, with a marine biology major, so that gives me some validity, right? :P

Note that my intention is not to tear the story to shreds and call it terrible - I just like to analyse and ramble and try to educate when I can. Anyway, I'm just gonna keep going until I decide this post is long enough, and then we'll see if I make a part 2. But without further ado, let's go!

(Final note, THIS is the translation I'm referencing, as obviously the original original Little Mermaid is in Danish, not English)

Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it.

So you might be aware that "fathom" is both a unit of measurement used for the ocean (about 1.83 metres, or 6 feet), and also a word meaning "understand or comprehend", but actually neither of those definitions are at play here! As the Merriam-Webster page for the word says: "By the 1600s fathom had taken to the seas, with the verb being used to mean "to measure by a sounding line". So basically this sentence is saying that the water is so deep that it cannot be measured! Lacking fathom in more ways than one! ;)

Anyway how deep are we talking? Sunlight can't penetrate any further down than 1000 metres (~3,280 feet) at maximum, but really the ocean often begins to "get dimmer" once you go below 200 metres (~656 feet). However, we must also remember that the concept of depth can be kinda relative/subjective (depth is in the eye of the beholder?), and what is considered deep to a dude in 1837 might not be considered as deep to someone like me now when it comes to talking about the ocean. What we can say is that this depth has to at least be longer than the length of a ship's cable, which itself could apparently range anywhere from 169-220 metres. So let's say that the depth is around 300 metres, (~984 feet) - a good, round number, definitely can't be measured by a single cable, and still close enough to the surface that there would be at least some sunlight penetration getting down there. Moving on!

We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand.

Lovingly, this may in fact be the truest sentence in the whole dang story.

No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there;

And goodbye to the accuracy!

The only type of flowering plant (i.e. in the Angiospermae clade) that lives in seawater is seagrass, but 1, they aren't exactly known for their flowers (they can be quite small and not always very flower-like), and 2, the deepest water that any species can survive in (specifically Halophila decipiens) is 85 metres (279 feet) - a depth most definitely fathomable, and a bit different to the depth estimation I came up with!

the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land.

First of all, I know Hans (yeah I'm just gonna call him Hans; it's quicker and easier) was trying to make an analogy, but when I think of fish moving around at the bottom of the seafloor or like in a reef or something, I'm imagining small fish that dart about, rather than gliding (and for that matter, most birds wouldn't be 'gliding' through a forest either - gliding is for wide open space!)

And second of all, any plants that have thin, delicate stems, are not likely to have "branches" coming off of them, aquatic or not!

(Also I swear I'm not gonna talk about every single sentence but there's just a lot to talk about in this opening paragraph).

In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral...

Dead coral? Actually, there are some species of deep-sea coral that can grow anywhere from 150 feet to 10,000 feet below sea level, but still, you can't expect any coral species to just conveniently grow into the shape of a massive castle, so I guess it'd just be used as a building material?

...and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. 

"Clearest amber" definitely sounds like an oxymoron - 'amber' is also a colour term for a reason! But turns out that the concept of amber in the ocean is not as dumb as I initially thought. Amber, in case you don't know, is fossilized tree resin, and obviously there aren't any actual trees growing in the ocean (more on that later), but there is amber that came from large trees that lived many millions of years ago that got washed away by large rivers and eventually carried to the ocean, and in some parts of the world (most notably in the Baltic Sea Region), amber can (or at least could) sometimes be found washed up on the beach! (But seriously, those windows would be a translucent orange or yellow colour at best).

The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.

I'm not sure whether the shells kind of act as 'hatches' that let water and oxygen move between the inside and outside of the castle (helping equalize pressure?) or whether it's just a bunch of clams/bivalves sitting on top of a roof foundation thing, because of the pearl mention which implies that they have an underside. I kinda like my first idea better, though.

on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail;

I wanna know how exactly Hans was imagining this to work. Like would they all be stuck to the caudal peduncle area (the tail minus the fins)? Would some be on the fins? Oysters secrete a special adhesive substance to help them stick to rocks and stuff, but would that even work on a mermaid tail, and if it did, would it make it harder to swim?

the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea;

Idk about the skin being "delicate", but honestly a mermaid living 300 metres below sea level, where the sunlight would be somewhat reduced compared to further up in the photic zone, honestly probably would have fairly pale skin (a mermaid living in a tropical coral reef, however, might have darker skin, to be better suited to the large amount of sun exposure).

The large amber windows were open, and the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the windows, excepting that the fishes swam up to the princesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be stroked.

The windows have hinges? Do they use the same kind of "hinges" that bivalves use?

What are they feeding the fish?

I would love to pat fish underwater though ngl.

Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers, and blossoms like flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually.

"Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of pure imagination!"

It feels very self-indulgent to me, but honestly I kinda feel like I gotta respect the commitment!

I guess Hans was trying to provide answers/explanations for what exactly the mermaids would eat, but honestly I feel it'd be more likely for them to be largely carnivorous, feeding on stuff like fish, crustaceans, and mussels, with maybe also some inclusions of macroalgae like kelp/seaweed in their diet as well.

The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. 

Hmm no I don't think so. But anyway we're gonna be skipping ahead just a little bit now!

She planted by the statue a rose-colored weeping willow.

I hope I don't have to make it clear to you that trees don't grow underwater, and definitely not weeping willows!

She could see the moon and stars shining faintly;

The moon? Yeah sure benefit of the doubt. But seeing the stars from that far down below? Yeah nope ain't no way

(Also, if the water really is that clear, with such high visibility, then there mustn't be many nutrients in the water, and they likely would in fact be some distance away from any coastline, and be moreso in open ocean).

...to lie in the moonlight, on a sandbank...to listen to the sounds of the music, the noise of carriages, and the voices of human beings, and then to hear the merry bells peal out from the church steeples;

Do mermaids have super-sensitive hearing or something? Ain't no way you could hear all of that from a sandbank! Like if it said that this mermaid sister was on some secluded beach near a town, then maybe, but a "sandbank" is a little area above the water level that's out beyond the shoreline! Maybe not super far out to sea, but to hear carriages, people talking, and music? The only way this would be somewhat plausible in my mind is that it was a seaside town, and the sandbank was relatively close to shore, in which case wouldn't this mermaid be at risk of getting spotted???

she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea.

How wide though??? 'River' can be such a vague term, because it might mean something like a large creek, or it might mean something that's a good couple of miles/kilometres in width, if not bigger than that. But for this instance I imagine it as being more like a large creek, like one that might run through bushland after some periods of heavy rain here in Queensland.

On the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines; palaces and castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest;

Again I wanna know what exactly was going on inside Hans' imagination when he was visualising this. Like why are there vines on hills? How close are they to the river? How big is the forest and how many palaces and castles are clustered together in this area? (Ngl this may just be a case of "who cares about the logistics, it just sounds nice", and as a bit of a hobby writer myself, honestly Mood)

the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face.

Again, there are hills and forests close by to the river, yet apparently there are no shadows being cast over the water at all? (Idk maybe she was just swimming around midday). Also was she doing backstroke or was she just frequently stopping to look around at stuff?

She had seated herself upon one of the largest [icebergs], and let the wind play with her long hair,

Sitting on an iceberg??? Girl how are you not freezing? (Also, like with the first sister, how was she not spotted? Like yes all the ships were trying to steer away from the icebergs, but surely that still involves someone keeping an eye on the water to make sure that the boat is moving away from danger and not towards it? And surely a mermaid would stick out like a sore thumb?)

only that the mermaids have no tears, and therefore they suffer more.

Hans casually drops a line like this and then just moves on like it's no big deal, bruh.

Aquatic mammals such as whales do not in fact have tear glands, but they do still have special eye glands that secrete an oily substance to help clean and lubricate the eyes! (And humans are the only species (as far as I'm aware) that produce tears as an emotional response).

she placed a wreath of white lilies in her hair, and every flower leaf was half a pearl.

"Flower leaf" as in petals, or like the actual leaves? And you mean they were made of pearls, or did they have pearl halves sitting on top of them??

Then the old lady ordered eight great oysters to attach themselves to the tail of the princess to show her high rank.

She ordered the oysters to attach themselves to the princess's tail? I definitely somehow missed or forgot that from all the times I've heard this narrated.

Okay so I guess the mermaids can communicate with oysters and likely other sea life (sure why not), and I guess this low-key implies that the oysters are using their natural method of attachment, i.e. special adhesive substance which is kinda sorta like their own form of concrete.

“But they hurt me so,” said the little mermaid.

So like do they actually make it harder to swim? And how long do they stick on for? Forever? Until you tell them to get off of you? How big/small are these oysters?

Oh, how gladly she would have shaken off all this grandeur, and laid aside the heavy wreath!

I mean I guess the use of pearls in the wreath would make it heavier than a typical flower crown, but surely it still wouldn't feel that heavy underwater? With like water density and stuff?

(Though for that matter, how would any sort of crown stay on your head underwater when moving around, unless it was like fixed tight on top or something?)

.

I was originally planning to go a bit further into the story on this post, but I've done a fair bit of rambling already, and I don't want this post becoming too long, so I might go ahead and make a part 2 post (at some point, I can't say when), and depending on how this post goes, I might make a part 3 as well! Who knows!

[phaerlax]

you as the WolfBoyGuy and me as someone who has just recently seen the puppy light, do you have any tips or what you'd consider Required Reading to get a good grip on writing wolf boys? moreso karu than garu just because i personally have a hard time writing dudes with as much bluster and "doesn't tend to default to conventionally agreed on niceties". i have (admittedly mild) torments I'd like to put him through >_>

Anon is asking me about blorbo... I have been training for this for so long... behold now the ramblings of a man possessed by two wolves. I'll talk a bit about how I approach writing Karu and then include some curated recs.

It took me some time to really get going on wolfboy fics; I also found it challenging to handle Karu's characterization. Two big reasons why:

Tsunderes are just difficult to do if you're grounded in realism. It's a very 'anime' archetype and people don't behave quite like that. This makes it harder to naturally reach for reasonable/appropriate responses when putting the character in situations. The big want/think/say/do splits can also complicate straightforward scenarios (e.g. the character wants something and does what he needs to do in order to get it. This path is often closed to the tsundere).

The game gives little insight into Karu's inner world. NU: Carnival is very dialogue-heavy in its narrative. When we do get introspection, it's often Eiden-focused. This means we basically never get to see the thought process that leads Karu to act this way or that, except in the rare instances in which he talks to himself (like in some H scenes when he goes "ugh it feels so good but-").

The style that I ended up developing for my angry wolf boy writings follows these principles:

Keep him silly. This is because I fundamentally see Karu as a comical character. Yeah, his personality can be traced back to traumas and there's a lot of interesting stuff to explore in that regard, but I am not personally interested in that tbh. The reason I love him is the wacky nonsense and ridiculous behavior that we see in the game. It was at first sight for me. I didn't need depth and I still don't XD Any advice and references I provide are skewed by that. I have a preference for almost never taking him seriously.

Mind his 'narrativization' tendencies. Karu is comically very enamored by the idea/narrative that he's a mighty warrior with many great skills who will conquer humanity and who should be respected and served. On some level, he knows this isn't entirely true, so he will sometimes (try to) avoid situations that would bring attention to his shortcomings. But most often he's trying to prove himself and get others to share his narrative. When something or someone reinforces the narrative, he gets proud, pleased or happy-flustered. When something or someone goes against the narrative, he gets annoyed and angry-flustered. He is very good at ignoring reality, however. Even though he'll seemingly take exception to every little slight, he moves on very quickly and pretends nothing happened. And though he's stubborn, he's also willing to surrender, cut his losses and 'try another day' when he's foiled.

Mix his narrativization with the narration a lot. This kind of free indirect discourse is just my style in general, but with Karu I find myself using it more intensely, to such an extent that the narration can get quite dialogue-like in how it expresses his thoughts. When I want to portray a 'tsundere stumble' moment, I sometimes make the narration interrupt itself as Karu consciously aborts a line of thinking that would lead him to unacceptable conclusions.

Let him just be rude for no reason and with little consequence. Karu's default way of addressing and dealing with people (other than Kuya) is rudeness. At best, he attempts some form of condescension in which the reason he's doing something 'nice' is because you're so weak and he's so awesome or whatever. Most characters seem to simply not mind his behavior and, again, it's usually played for laughs anyway.

Bibliography of Karu Studies

Keep in mind that many Karu fics are kuyaru, and Karu in kuyaru is quite different from the core of the character, since he's uniquely eager to please Kuya. Still, even kuyarus can have some nice insight.

who let the dogs out has a lot of juicy Karu inner conflict, and it even explores the ways in which such hangups make him outwardly grumpier. Due to kuyaru, it ultimately leads him to a place of submission, but his initial thoughts are very in-character.

Baser Instincts is a kuyaru in which Kuya gets to see the pups in a new light, because they help him in a difficult situation. It's another great source of inspiration for Karu struggling to express his feelings.

Bow Down! explores how he might react to Eiden letting him top, in a very true-to-character way.

Lonely at the Top is Karu/Dante, which means you get to see Karu at his prickliest and most insufferable, and how that can be managed.

A Matter of Pride is a good example of the 'concessions' dynamic that can be done in Eiden/Karu.

Goshujin-Ai is an older Karu/Yakumo and a good example of Karu feeling comfortable and doing the 'attempts at condescension' thing I mentioned before.

Slave number one, rub my chest again is me speculating on what it might look like for Karu to ask Eiden to do things to him and try to control sex.

Warden slander wolf Commander is probably a good example of the 'fine I give up but I'll get you next time' potential of Karu, as well as the kind of bleed-heavy narration I talked about.

Master, do you have another wolf besides me?! delves into Karu's potential for jealousy as a way of expressing affection. It's pretty canon-compliant because most of it is adapted from NEON Carnival.

There are many other fics in the Karufic Archive, but I think the ones above are among the best for the purposes of thinking about the writing.

Please feel free to talk to me non-anonymously if you ever want to discuss wolf boy content! As you can see I am cursed with thoughts and need places to put them. I'm also always very happy to do anything that I can to shepherd and sponsor GaruKaru content; if you go ahead with your impulse to write about them (please do) and want a beta reader, don't hesitate to ask~

[infinialtairs]

Y'ALL! BEHOLD FINALLY, I CAN INTRODUCE CASPER INTO CAPTAIN LASERHAWK FANDOM!!!

i kinda had him in my mind for long time, refining how he would fit in the universe, i'm still NOT 100% sure how he'll develop or progress as a character (doing fan oc for fandom is very difficult for me :'>)

so just enjoy homeless shady fox man before you there's some quirky lil stuff about him, like the fact he'll be very flirty towards people, acting all charming and cute but not to seek any romantic interest (unless it just...kinda would happen natrually) but more to hide his deep insecurity (living poor, not really great friend when he will joke about your dead pet or family member or something along those lines..)

And about his design, you don't really have to lean towards one or the other fully (like when i'll draw him, i might still keep the yellow sclera like in more "official" art style but still mainly draw him in simplify version), i'm not picky, i just wanted to show how you can draw him basically if that make sense ^^' sorry for too much rambling

(also i made this as a random thought last night, Casper would be 100% a dumbass, going way over his head and wonders why he's always ending up in weirdest places..)

[dumbfinntales]

I recently completed a game that caught me completely by surprise. My Friendly Neighborhood. On the surface you might look at it and go “ugh another yucky mascot horror indie slop?” and trust me, when I initially saw the game I thought the same thing. I’ve fundamentally grown to dislike mascot horror, or kid friendly horror. So few games actually get it right, and most are really dumb. I’m not gonna name any so I don’t upset people, but imagine if you take Bob the builder. Okay, now he’s Frank the breaker and oh he has sharp teeth and red eyes. That’s how these types of games seem like to me.

So I kind of dismissed MFN when I first saw it. But lo and behold, a few days after the games release I saw a tweet on twitter of someone calling it a “survival horror” game and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I looked into it and by god, it really is one, and inspired by classic Resident Evil titles too. A fucking RE clone with muppets? I gave the game a chance and it blew me away. MFN is a genuinely fun and competent survival horror game with great atmosphere, fun combat and intriguing puzzles to solve.

The best part to me is that the game isn’t trying too hard to be scary. Sure it’s called survival “horror”, but it feels kinda light hearted and does parody of popular horror tropes like a bathtub with a body in it that you have to drain for an item. The puppets themselves are really charming and I enjoyed their demented rambles. My favorite line went something like “My friend recently really upset me. So you know what I did? I SHOVED them into the ground and STOMPED their face!” and they say all this in a very muppety voice which is hilarious. The point is that they’re not giving the puppets sharp teeth and demented lines like “I’ll eat your flesh” in order to be “scary”. The devs knew it would be impossible to make the muppets scary, so they leaned more on a parody.

Being inspired by classic RE games the game has a lot of familiar DNA like obscure puzzles, doors that require specific keys, backtracking, inventory management and even limited saves. Although on survival difficulty there was more than plenty of resources and save points so I never felt like I was running out of saves, or ammo or even health. The level design was also great and the world looped on itself in interesting ways and backtracking wasn’t as tedious and there was always some surprises waiting for you.

The game also seems plenty replayable and you can unlock different cheats by finding collectibles around the world. It isn’t overly long, which to me is a plus especially in a game that’s meant to be replayable, so I’ll definitely play through the game again on harder difficulties and maybe chase after some achievements.

But do I have anything negative to say? Well mainly nitpicks. The game could have benefited from more basic enemy types than just the puppets that chase after you and the small hand puppets. There’s also level specific “hazard” puppets, if you can call them that, but I dunno. It would have felt a little more interesting with some variation in what enemies you normally encounter. There’s also only two proper bosses in the game and the first one is way too easy as it goes down with just two grenades. I genuinely thought it had a second phase or I’d encounter it again, but nope. The last boss was alright, although really easy to avoid. At least it took a fight.

So yeah. How’s that for an indie surprise? There’s a lesson to be learned, never judge a book by its cover. But can you blame me for doubting? There’s way too many kiddie horror games trying to have deep lore and be all spooky and failing horribly. But MFN is a genuine gem, if you enjoy classic survival horror games do give it a try!

[silent-browser]

I wish to ramble, so here I am rambling.

I have been impatiently waiting for the next chapter of a manga called I'm being raised by villains and it is so so good. And with potential for every ML involved to be a yandere.

I will be talking about plot so spoilers are inevitable. You have been warned.

Okie dokie with that out of the way.

As far as the most recent chapter for me (ch.23) there are 2 love interests (1 who is definitely Yan) and 1 in-the-process-of-breaking platonic yan dad.

I will ramble my thoughts on each of them in the order they appear in the manga.

The dad.

Man's really pulled a "At first I was like, haha my child, as a joke. But bro, I don't think it's a joke anymore". Dude went "BEHOLD! A CHILD!" to "BEHOLD! MY CHILD!" Fucking love this trope.

He realized that he loved this kid and then she was humiliated, hurt and vanished and it is heavily implied that he's not doing so well up in the brain space because his beloved daughter is missing and I can't wait for him to break.

It likely won't happen but I really want to see him go on some grief fueled rampage, looking desperately for his daughter.

This possibility has inspired a different yandere werewolf fic that is still in the works (oop. More spoilers I guess 👀)

The Magician

This one already broke :)

Sweet little baby mc is off on her own and trying to find this boys parents and he's furious because she's missing technically and he might be feeling abandoned by, not only his birth family but also his new found family that he has with her. She is his mental stability your honor.

The new guy

He's literally been here for like 2 chapters and he's already calling this tiny 5 year old his master and barking for her. Bro, she gave you bread, chill.

I can see is future yandere the being a manipulative one. Maybe to her (pwease let me stay 🥺), definitely to the people around or in her way(you are clearly of no more use to her so why don't you go to that cliff over there and jump ☺️).

He's going to be either her most loyal servant and right hand man or her most prominent annoyance.

I have left out much as it does not contribute to the discussion on yanderes. Also I wanna try a secret second thing out. So go read or re-read this manga right now damn it! I am very much enjoying it.

Aww can't have an infinite list of "read more" lines. Damn. Oh well

The massive thing I left out!

1. It's Isekai. I like Isekai, sue me.

2. SHES A MOTHER FUKN DRAGON BITCH!!! AND HER LITTLE WINGS ARE BEGINNING TO GROW IN! They are currently only just little nublets but I can't wait until she reveals herself in all her majestic dragon-y glory!

That is all. Have a very nice "time_frame".

[jadebread64]

time for me to post my bullshit ramblings on the new doctor who episode in no particular order like a maniac lol

(SPOILERS AHOY, DONT CLICK ON THE READMORE IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE EPISODE)

obviously seeing tennant and tate back in their roles is so cool, they feel exactly as they should, it doesnt even feel like 15 years have passed when you watch them its great

DONNA CANONICALLY HAS A NONBINARY DAUGHTER AND IM SO FUCKING HAPPY ABOUT THAT

NOT ONLY THAT BUT HER ALSO BEING PART OF THE METACRISIS TIME LORD SHIT IS SUPER COOL

lmao im not even joking when i first saw the meep™ i literally thought "aww it's so cute i hope it doesnt end up being evil" and LO AND BEHOLD

OH MY GOD DAVID TENNANT JUST SUDDENLY PUTTING ON A FUCKING JUDGE WIG AND DOING A COURTROOM SCENE WITH THE MEEP AND THE WRARTH WHILE DONNA AND HER CONCERNED FAMILY JUST OBSERVE

also i think the wrarth voices are so funny cause in the trailers they're like *auurhghghg scary monster sounds!!1!* but in the episode they just sound british like every doctor who space alien should

i think the new TARDIS looks really cartoony and i think it's kinda fun, idk if ncuti is gonna end up with this TARDIS set (i'd imagine the bbc doesnt have the budget to make a whole TARDIS set for 4 episodes then just make a new one lol) but i think it looks kinda plain at the moment? idk if they added some chairs and bookshelves n shit like the capaldi one and make it look more lived in overtime it might be one of my favourites just for the whole classic who vibe it has. either way it's perfect for david he gets to run around like a little kid in there and thats all that matters lol

also tennants new suit looks so fucking good and honestly wish he just had that in series 2-4 instead of the brown suit

i think it's so funny how literally not even 5 minutes after entering the TARDIS donna just fucking spills her coffee on the console and the whole thing just explodes and goes to shit immediately lmao

ALSO WE'RE GETTING A FULL ON TENNANT/TATE ADVENTURE NEXT WEEK???? AM I IN 2008 OR 2023 I CANNOT TELL ANYMORE TIME HAS NO MEANING

im really hoping we get to see whoever the fuck neil patrick harris' character is in the next episode, im 99% sure it's gonna be the celestial toymaker but only because the doctor who youtube account kept posting celestial toymaker clips and i think they're being cheeky bastards lol (/positive)

(/sarcasm) i cant wait to see all the queerphobic assholes shitting on this episode for having the few pronouns/binary lines in it and going "dOcTor wHo iS wOkE nOw yUcK" even though doctor who has been progressive since literally 1963 with the daleks (which got a fancy new colourization that i need to check out still but thats a whole OTHER THING LOL)

oh yeah and david's acting is really fucking good in this, like when he thinks wilf has died and he just sorrowfully says "i loved that man." like MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS

plus when he thinks he has to sacrifice donna to save everybody, holy shit his perfomance is incredible

this is just a me thing but seeing a doctor who episode live as its broadcasting is so cool, i've been watching this show for like 8 years (i think??) and i usually just ended up finding it on dailymotion or some shit like a day or two after the episode aired so i'd always be late for it lol (btw for the people coming after me i dont pay for disney+ at all lol) so watching it the at the same time as everyone else was very cool especially since i nearly slept in through it lmao

anyways i think thats all if i remember any more things i'll add em in lol

plus some bonus ramblings before the episode aired

[maineshewrote]

I-just-started-s4e4-thoughts:

I can see how Oliver's least offensive robe has had its effect on Mabel's nightclothes style.

I just love the character/relationship development we get to witness, going from Oliver wondering if they have reached a point in their friendship when they can turn up at each others' place in nightclothes to the trio casually starting every other day by recapping their case while still in their nightclothes.

And just as we are told, literally, by the victim that she was not the intended victim (see: Tap in), the investigation is sent in a whole new direction, and lo and behold—we have use for a second murder board. I'm not complaining, let's not minimize Sazz's part in this case.

A moment of appreciation for the score that is always evolving and utterly beautiful and still very much tied to the original tunes of the show.

I feel like the rare blood type is going to be significant at some point. This is the second time I've taken notice of that, and they don't usually do that unless it's important. Sort of feels as wooden as that lighthouse, if you get my drift. If this is about Sazz refusing (or being unable, more likely) to be a blood donor and someone getting revenge on her for someone else dying because of that, it's either going to be heart-breaking or lame or I'm just rambling.

Oh! But how did they find out they had the same blood type? How about a nice traumatic bonding moment flashback when one of them had to save the other by being a blood donor? Now I'm really getting carried away. The fanfiction opportunities are piling.

Ugh, Oliver's obsession with stalking Loretta was bound to happen but it's so bad, please stop. They're obviously head over heels in love, this is just gonna make them unnecessarily fall out. About that menacing arm, I would love it if it turned out to be Dickie, but the man's chin didn't really look like him in the Instagram picture.

It's interesting that the picture they used for Loretta's Instagram is not a picture of her but of Meryl. That is, Meryl's there with her own hair, not her Loretta wig. (Evidence: much shorter hair, no bangs) Did you know Loretta's is the same wig she wore in A Series of Unfortunate Events (where I thought the hair was awesome)?

Why are Howard's sweaters getting progressively worse? I didn't think it could get much worse from the absolutely faceless yellow thing we saw last episode, but this duck is unfurling.

And where's Jonathan? Howard's saying he hates being alone, so what's his boyfriend doing? Is he perhaps going to work like normal working adults, unlike Howard?

Mabel being the guys' keeper in public, while the guys are utterly oblivious to making themselves appear as ridiculous as possible, love it.

BEN! The way I screamed. That is bloody lovely! Of course it's a double but this is so sweet, it's like meeting an old friend again, even though through most of season 3 I didn't even like Ben. (And I mean most of the times I watched that season. I think I only really liked him the last couple of times around.)

The amount of times the trio has had to witness Ben rise from the dead is staggering. Let's make it a running theme, every season a brief Ben come-back. Can I hear a wahoo?

Peak comedy in Oliver's momentary expression of consideration when Glen said that you can't come back from the dead, knowing full well that's just what Ben did.

The irony. Ben being given rat poison and his double seeing rats.

I LOVE that Howard is auditioning with the lines from Oliver's stage dream sequence. Canonically makes no sense (although Oliver could've used the lines in the podcast) but such a pleasure to watch.

New era for the penthouse spotted. Still unsure which decor I liked best, but it's not this one.

Melon is giving people-pleasing Hollywood Cinda Canning. She should meet the real deal.

This unfulfilling relationship that Sazz was trying to get out of better be with Jan. My boy Charles has had to deal with way too much undeserved guilt this season.

The escalation of the horror-movie-like Paradise dream to the absolutely soul-crushing tragic drama of Charles's heavy conscience was both genius and gut-wrenching. There was so much emotional nuance in that little scene, especially in Sazz's light manner of reply, in the meaningful way she portrayed not only Sazz's stubbornly positive attitude towards life but also the heartbreaking tendency in many good people to bottle up their vulnerability behind a positive mask, even and especially when people who love them unintentionally hurt them. I was deeply touched by this scene. All the while my heart is constantly aching for Charles who really doesn't deserve all this guilt. Yes, we have been led to believe he was pretty egoistic and distant in his glory days, but we have to remember that these negative qualities that we've been told about have been exaggerated due to Charles's own insecurity about himself.

No comment on the Oh Hells, nicely wrapped up for now.

It's actually so sweet of Charles to do the funeral, but there was always a chance it was going to be some big unusual stunt.

Well, look how the turntables. Paul Rudd knocking Charles out this time around.

Incredible how Irish Ben Glenroy in a bar fight could move me to tears.

Save me, heart-warming flashback scene.

I said save me, not break my heart all over again!

Sazz saying, "Let's keep this under our hat," because they basically share the same Brazzos hat. But why do these two Brazzoses' police badges have different numbers?

This show just keeps on giving. Aphrodite is back!

Okay, bit dramatic for someone named after a fruit. Not to pour cold water over this entirely unconvincing threat, but Melon's probably just going to laugh this off and have a silly explanation for being there. No clue here, people, let's move on.

But did you notice the music? Seriously more exciting than Melon pointing a gun was the theme playing during her threat, which was the same one that played when the trio found Ben falling in through the elevator ceiling (You Gotta Be F'n Kidding Me). What a lovely last nod to Ben's memory!

Sweet move on the production's part for only mentioning special guest star Paul Rudd at the end of the episode, otherwise the surprise would have been ruined.

[bumblepuppy]

Behold, my sleep deprived ramble on why I didn't like blade runner 2049 (as posted to a discord server last night)!

The OG Blade Runner is not a particularly easy film. It is a kind of pretentious and atmospheric sci-fi neo noir about a shitty cop who kills escaped slaves. Even if he's played by a handsome and charming 80s Harrison Ford, he is a stinky awful man. When I first saw the trailer for 2049, I thought 'wow this looks like trash compared to the 80s movie', but every other BR fan I knew got upset and said they thought it looked cool. Harrison Ford being in it also made me apprehensive, since the end of the director's cut hints at him being a replicant with implanted memories, which while I -didn't- really like that plot point (since 'replicants are more emotionally human than the human characters' is a theme in the movie and all), I thought it was weird for them to just forgo that and cast old man Ford who is definitely not an unaging robot.

The film is already on thin ice with the 'this replicant died during childbirth' line and then fell right through and immediately got hypothermia with 'the mother was a replicant named Rachel'. Not only is the shitty 'turns out they lied and Rachel isn't affected by the four year life span replicants have :)' theatrical cut ending now canon, trying to rehabilitate Deckard and Rachel's relationship into being romantic is. Um. Not good!!! Pretty much any modern feminist reading of Blade Runner is going to mention that Deckard can legally kill Rachel on account of her being a replicant, and the scene where she walks into his apartment and he says things like 'you want me to kiss you' reads more as coercive than romantic. But no, their love is so pure they made a baby :) the fuckin messiah apparently :)

OKAY. That sucks but maybe it at least has better characters. I don't like Rachel or Deckard much anyway, but the replicants in OG Blade Runner are wonderful, especially Roy and Pris. No such characters here! The evil replicant who hates our protagonist is essentially a yandere who hunts him down and is obedient to her master, which is. yikes. And then there's the AI hologram that's Ryan Gosling's housewife. I can kind of dig the idea of her, but her whole character revolves entirely around Gosling and god it's just. So annoying. Also she's just so "Maybe you're not a replicant :) Maybe you're actually born from a womb and special :)" which thankfully isn't the case but ugh it's just kinda gross and gender essentiallist to me. Incidentally, why is 2049 so cishet. Why is is so white!!!!

anyway the movie farts around for two hours about who the special robot jesus baby could be. Is it Ryan Gosling? Thankfully not, but the replicant makers are after him and his AI girlfriend for knowing too much about the TRUTH and hunt him down while he's hunting down Harrison Ford, because we need more movies about Harrison Ford having strained relationships with his children. The only good thing about the movie shows up here and it's his dog, but also I hate how he doesn't know if it's real or not but WHATEVER this movie doesn't care about the OG blade runner lore ANYWAY

it's a very unispired performance from Mr. Ford because he likes Blade Runner about as much as he likes Star Wars and isn't getting paid disney money to be here. he tries to convince us that his love for Rachel was like a brick, it will never shatter and will always be thick. evil Jared Leto (yeah he's here btw) makes a hologram Rachel because, well, we're not going to pay Sean Young to be in this movie, but it makes him emotional anyway

It's hard to talk about why the female characters in 2049 suck so much compared to the ones in the OG because the OG only has three and Pris is the only one I genuinely love, but the women in 2049 are only defined by their relationship to Ryan Gosling. His boss is a tough lady cop who wants to keep him safe even though the other cops are robot racist. His wAIfu is dedicated to him because that's her programing. Evil replicant lady is obsessed with him because ???. Rachel is dead but she is a mother a life giver the most important thing for a woman to BE that makes her more human than human, right? she even died a noble death of childbirth so we don't have to deal with any of her thoughts and feelings about somehow having a working womb! And then there's the random sex worker woman, where my problem isn't her being a sex worker (again I continue to stan Pris, the simple pleasure bot) BUT that her one conversation with a named female character is about letting the wAIfu use her body so Ryan Gosling can have sex with them. It's just. Not good!!! I get that it's a dystopia sci-fi but it just feels like dudes writing women badly

anyway, to conclude this madness fueled rant, AI: Artificial Intelligence did the whole 'artificial beings made by the artificial beings' thing way better and also did robot sex workers better. That is a sci-fi movie opinion that I would be shot for but fuck it!!!!

[asonofsoddensoil]

So uh if anyone in the brave little toaster fandom finds this, hello, hope you enjoy my ramblings. The themes of these two works are just so fascinating and parallel in ways I find very interesting. This movie was my first fond memento mori in fiction and gave me a safe place to explore existential and societal fears early on in life. It gave me a more conscious appreciation for the horror genre with how gently yet seriously it nudged me towards facing my fears.

🍞 All those nightmares robbed Toaster of restful sleep for years. Toaster tried desperately to protect everyone and keep them all together, so afraid of being the spark that ignites their doom that she kept her distance from them. But watching the gears of the crushing machine turn, its image inverted against her reflective chrome, she felt for a moment that she fully knew this was what fate had in mind for her all this time.

🥀 Blanky was swept up into the trees, shroud in a darkness so deep that a strike of blindingly bright lightning barely even glowed there. It was horribly homesick and wished for someone to hold it tight, feeling as helpless as the child it once warded from monsters under the bed and in the closet. The wind threatened to blow it away at every moment, but it held on tight all through the night, clinging to the branches that tore and dirtied its fabric.

📻 Radio got so used to trouble at the cottage that he readily took on whatever role the situation called for when they left. Leading the charge or signing off for good, he always made sure to put on a good show to keep morale up. But who would put their life on the line to save the one who brought their butcher to them, he wondered...?

💡 Lampy surrendered to the storm in a rare moment of certainty, surviving though he knows now he very much shouldn't have. That night, he would have done anything to pierce the cruel, unyielding darkness, and lightning struck to provide him the way out of it. He learned to trust in himself and others, and from that night on he let compassion be his guiding light.

🧹 Kirby stood at the edge of a cliff, heart heavy with regret for being too weak to hold on tight, for the last things he said to them, for the last thing he said to him. They all fell so . Choking down his fear, he steadies himself and takes a leap of faith.

List of episodes I associate with the main 5 and other important characters directly below the cut. Then there's a buffer space prevent spoiling those who haven't listened to the whole series.

Toaster: 8, 11, 26, 29, 37

Blanket: 9, 12, 15, 22, 32

Radio: 1, 7, 16, 29, 31

Lamp: 4, 12, 17, 23, 38

Vacuum cleaner: 2, 10, 13, 31, 33

Air Conditioner: 8, 13, 19, 26, 35

TV: 3, 5, 24

Rob: 5, 24, 38

Kris: 1, 3, 25

Parts Shop appliances: 14, 18, 30, 34

Junkyard appliances: 5, 15, 30, 32

Tinselina: 21, 24, 28, 34

Ratso: 7, 26, 31, 32, 35

Wittgenstein: 8, 16, 23, 32, 35

Spoilers for episodes 80-200 below this point.

Anyway so now that only the ones knowledgeable of TMA are here, the Dread Powers seem to both kick their asses and love them. Which dread powers I think they'd be aligned with, you likely get a clue based on my descriptions and chosen episodes if you're down here. But I'll make it clear here because the implications are so much to me.

Toaster: Terminus, The Mother of Puppets, The Lightless Flame

Blanky: The Forever Blind, The Crawling Rot, The Future Without Us

Radio: Butchery, Viscera, I Do Not Know You

Lampy: It Is Not What It Is, Beholding, Vertigo

Kirby: Too Close I Cannot Breathe, Everchase, The One Alone

Air Conditioner: The Mother of Puppets, The One Alone, Ceaseless Watcher

TV: I Do Not Know You, The Future Without Us, It Is Not What It Is

The scene where they all sink is like watching the swamp of sadness in The Neverending Story, it's so sad to watch everyone's last instinct be to save their own lives, if it ever comes to their minds. I've thought way too much about this subject in particular because this scene reveals their impulses under crisis very handily. That it's a scene that handles Kirby's greatest vulnerability after we see him overcome his greatest fear is heartbreaking in itself on top of everything it reveals about everyone else. It's his final instinct rather than his first to call for help, and Toaster doesn't even try to save herself when it comes down to the wire before trying to tell someone already sinking deeper to do so.

Radio then saves their lives by not shutting up, as usual, but the helper they receive puts them directly in danger. 😭 He's so slaughter aligned that he maladaptive daydreams about war and always picks fights with everyone even if it's clear he's outmatched or wrong.

If Toaster's chronic nightmare is not End and Desolation coded I really don't know what is. The inevitable loss and mortality vs lost potential burning out, it's kinda crazy to consider the fact that this movie's plot begins and ends with a death. If this movie were a Leitner, it would absolutely be of the End and Desolation. I can even envision a corrupted version where they lose each other one by one and Toaster, the last one remaining, accepts the End that inevitably waited for her. All those precious lives lost in a fruitless act of devotion is so Desolation.

Blanky is indeed childish to me and thinks of themselves as a child, but at some level they have to be peers with the other appliances. I have so many thoughts about the parallels between Blanky and Kirby and how they are foils for one another having always been treated like a child or adult, stuck in those states due to their function in the household. Kirby calling Blanky's crying "disgusting" is honestly so upsetting to watch sometimes because he's so averse to weakness he can't stand to see it in others, but it's also a perfect way to show the difference between them too cause Kirby likes things clean. It's like he sees Blanky's open vulnerability as a contaminant that will infect him, and Blanky really needs the kind of support Toaster provides upon the revelation of what such cold distance will do. They feel powerless in their own ways.

[goldensmilingbird]

felix for ♦ (quirks/hobbies), ▼ (childhood), and/or ൠ (random)?

♦️ (quirks/hobbies): I always thought he would be into history and mythology (and the fact that in canon he named himself Argos made me happy because of that). But also I love that the bible states that "the only hobby he allows himself" is art. It would give him and Bri something to bond over, and it's just nice seeing a character who chooses to go into STEM but is also artistic. I don't want him to be perfect at everything though. Maybe his drawings are anatomically correct, but not very expressive. Maybe he writes mediocre poetry sometimes and doesn't show it to anyone. Stuff like that. I feel like Bri gets not only infatuated with him, but also inspired by him? Like he's kind of a muse for her. There is a line about how she wants to create beautiful things that bring happiness to people. And I want him to get inspired by her too. I think also, as he starts opening up to people more, it would be easy to get him infodumping. He would be that kind of person in the group that knows a lot of random stuff, from historical facts to how to get out blood and coffee out of clothes. He would probably read Wikipedia for fun, tbh

▼ (childhood): Okay, I have, like, a vague backstory for him in my head, but it's not defined yet. The backstory the bible gives him is "hothead/daredevil, kinda spoiled, got into an accident and now wants to regain his old abilities". I kinda want to take some stuff from that and mix with my old interpretation. I had an idea that instead of the accident, it was a genetic chronic illness that made him disabled and also led to his mom dying. And I'm also attached to the headcanon of him being in ballet class with Allegra before all of that went down. So due to his illness, his father insists that he is homeschooled and Allegra is the only kid he is still in contact with. They try different treatments and such, and finally his father decides to move to Paris so he can get better education and treatment there. Him and Allegra get separated and the next time they meet is when he's allowed to go to public school - and lo and behold, there is a familiar face.

ൠ (random) - This is really random, but I like to headcanon him as face blind. He still can't recognise Ladybug because of magic, but he also struggles with recognising people when they just change clothes or hairstyles. And people attribute that to him being rude or not paying attention, meanwhile he is just internally going "am I supposed to know this person??" Needless to say, it doesn't help to make connections with people.

Thank you for your ask! I like rambling about him. If anyone wants to, you can still ask me

[dilatorywriting]

So on the topic of our experiences with twst cards, I thought I'd share some of mine lol.

My luck is pretty unbalanced. I got Malleus and Jamil's Sclading Sands cards on the same pull, which was also my FIRST pull.

But when I was pulling for Malleus' birthday SSR (Which I really really wanted) I was on my 58th pull or so, the most I've actively tried to pull for a specific card and I didn't get him at all.

On the other hand, earlier that month for Lilia's birthday, I randomly decided to do a single pull impulsively and Lo and behold Lilia's SSR birthday card came home on that single pull.

One of my weirdest experiences is one with Tsum Leona recently. I wanted to pull for Leona or Riddle's Tsum, but more of Leona's because I wanted a Leona SSR. I did get both Cater and Floyd's Tsumsitter cards, but still no SSR. so I went on discord, and saw that someone pulled one of Malleus' cards in a ten pull summon and said something along the lines of 'Are you really going to let Malleus appear on your banner?' and the lo and behold the Leona Tsumsitter came home that same pulled.

I tried it and it WORKS. I just thought it was pretty hilarious. Maybe the cards really are sentient after all.

I guess one more flex is that Epel's sledathon card came home on the first ten pull on his banner lol.

Ah! sorry for rambling!

It's always fun to hear the wild and wonderful tales of Gacha Game woes. Like, my luck is also fucking all over the place. I pulled for Cater's Birthday SSR with the free key set, and got it twice in the same set. It was so wild that I was convinced that meant you auto got the birthday cards in the pull no matter what, which obviously is not the case, which my flatmate immediately confirmed for me when hers very much did not do that lol I pulled all the way to 100 for Azul, and still didn't get his dorm SSR. Yet I've gotten Jade and Floyd's at least three times each at this point in completely random pulls. Still don't have Azul's. Sebek's birthday also came home in his one random pull, and somehow I've managed to get every single Cater SSR by accident but have had to go buck wild saving keys and whatever and use all of them whenever there's a specific card I'm aching for (minus the one Vil Dorm SSR incident which was A Wild Anomaly).