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markantonys · 6 months ago

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i'll be interested to see if this holds true for WOT s3 since the s1 finale had so many extenuating circumstances and can't really be included in the comparison, but based off of the s2 finale, i believe that season finales tend to bear the brunt of "It's Different From The Books!" ire because they are the culmination of all the smaller changes made throughout the season.

this turned into a bigger analysis post than i expected lmao par for the course with my blog! read on for exploration of how the 2x08 conclusion of each season-long arc is the the most emotionally satisfying conclusion and/or the most thematically appropriate conclusion possible based on the show's particular version of the story, plus a bonus tangent on the nature of adaptation.

for a finale episode, the writers' prime concern 100% has to be "wrapping up all the season's arcs in a way that feels satisfying with everything that's happened in the first 7 episodes, using the book version of the finale event as the framework" rather than "recreating the book version of the finale event exactly as it is with all the same scenes and themes". the nature of storytelling inherently means that every single person who tells the same story will focus on different themes (just think of how many versions of the hades & persephone story there are), and a good adaptation knows that being internally consistent with its own Emphasized Themes is more important than copying-and-pasting scenes from the source material without making any changes to account for the specific way this adaptation is telling the story.

(but a lot of people can't even get past this first point because they don't understand that this is how adaptations - how storytelling in general - work. like, person B literally cannot tell the exact same story that person A told without putting their own spin on it. it's not possible! unless they're simply reading out the exact words that person A wrote, which can't be done when putting 14 massive books into maximum 64 hours of tv. so many readers like to meet this point with "but why does the books' version of the story need to be changed at all?" which is just a non-starter because a) medium differences require a ton of changes, and b) even if no changes were *required*, they would happen anyway because that is human nature when it comes to storytelling. when it comes to story-listening too! ask a hundred different book fans what WOT is about and you'll get a hundred different answers. rafe & co can't possibly make an adaptation that captures every single reader's idea of What WOT Is About, and nobody in the world could ever re-tell the story of WOT in the exact same way that RJ told it, not even the most die-hard book fan; all rafe & co can do is focus on making sure the show honors the core of the books' story while also telling a good story in its own right, independent of the source material.)

i was a classics major, okay? it gets to me! anyway, corralling myself back on topic.

for 2x08, it's very telling just how far Minority Reader Opinion deviates from the general audience opinion. general audiences fucking LOVED this episode (it's the highest-rated on imdb out of the entire show, currently at a 9.0; most episodes are in the 7-8 range), but a bunch of readers call it disappointing and one of the worst episodes of the show. if it was actually a poor quality episode of television, the general audience ratings would reflect that too (as they do for 1x08, currently at a 6.4 (i personally think 1x08 gets way more hate than is deserved and i thoroughly enjoy that episode, but i accept that's just me)), but they don't.

so what does that mean? to me, it means that 2x08 is objectively a very good episode of television which general audiences found satisfying, but which some readers disliked because it prioritized the emotional & thematic needs of its own version of the story over the exact nature of the falme events in the source material. which is exactly what a good adaptation should do! if you forget the books and just look at the show (which the vast majority of viewers are doing), then every resolution that happens in 2x08 is the most satisfying resolution possible and/or the only resolution that was thematically permitted for that particular season storyline.

egwene: her season arc was about learning to stand on her own two feet and not cling onto her mentor figures or compare herself unfavorably to others. thus, her freeing herself from the a'dam is the most satisfying possible conclusion to her season arc. nynaeve and elayne freeing her in the books is nice, but in the show version, thematically, it would've undercut egwene's Overcoming Impostor Syndrome arc to go "yeah actually it's true that she's not good enough on her own and when it comes down to it she does always need nynaeve to help her out". that version worked in TGH where she didn't have an Overcming Impostor Syndrome arc, but it wouldn't have worked in the show where she did. (but, yes, egwene learning in 2x08 that she doesn't have to rely on others is a double-edged sword, which nicely sets up her later-series struggles with trying to shoulder too much herself and not letting even her friends or partner help her.)

rand: his season arc was about learning to lean on others and not isolate himself or try to protect his friends by withholding his burdens from them. thus, him failing to defeat ishamael until all his friends come to lend aid in various ways is the most satisfying possible conclusion to his season arc. rand defeating ishy singlehandedly in the books is nice, but in the show version, thematically, it would've undercut his Learning That Strength Is In Numbers arc to go "yeah actually it's true that rand is capable of winning his biggest battles all by himself and thus it's no problem for him to push his friends away". given the themes that s2 emphasized for rand, the only appropriate finale outcomes were either success with his friends' help or total failure on his own, and they chose the former. (that being said, rand pushing his friends away is a continuous issue for him throughout the series, so i doubt he's perfectly learned his lesson after 2x08; we shall see!)

interesting to note that rand and egwene have inverse arcs in a way (foils!) and that some elements of their book falme climaxes were swapped, and that the way the show has done it subverts the expected gender roles. typically, men are expected to be Lone Wolves and women to be Team Players, and the WOT books absolutely play into these stereotypes throughout the series (sometimes intentionally as social commentary, sometimes unconsciously as an accepted truth of the world), but 2x08 and s2 more broadly did the opposite with our yin-and-yang co-protagonists. it's egwene who has the arc about learning to be a Lone Wolf and rand who has the arc about learning to be a Team Player. and imo these subconscious gender role expectations are a part of why some readers (esp reddit) got SO heated about "how come egwene can succeed by herself but rand can't", because it feels Wrong to them and Not How Things Are Supposed To Work (they've never questioned why rand can succeed by himself but egwene needs her friends' help in TGH, or all the other times in the books when men succeed by themselves and women succeed by relying on each other). but it's a totally apples-to-oranges comparison because egwene and rand had totally different season arcs and focal themes (but many paralleling & foiling moments within that), and so they each get a conclusion tailor-made to their individual stories.

mat: his season arc was about realizing he's a good, worthy person, finding the inner strength to overcome his worst impulses and temptations, and coming through for his friends after leaving them at the waygate. thus, him getting his Big Damn Hero moment with the horn of valere, getting validation that he is literally a hero, and overall spending the episode doing all he can to support his friends is the most satisfying possible conclusion to his season arc. (but stabbing his bff just as he was flying on a confidence high and trying to save the day was a downer note to end on, so we've complicated his relationship with heroism and set up some more internal issues for him to wrestle with next season.)

perrin: his season arc was about learning to acknowledge his inner wolf but also coming to regard it with fear and to believe that wolf & human sides can't coexist and he must Choose One (.......suddenly being struck by the bisexuality metaphor of it all. nice!) thus, him giving into violence to murder a human to avenge a wolf is.....well, it's pretty upsetting for him and serves to reinforce his growing belief that his two sides can't coexist, but thematically, it's fascinating and sets him up for some really great internal (and external) conflicts in s3. he's just gotten what he thinks is pretty strong evidence to corroborate ishy's claim that embracing his wolf side means embracing the shadow, so he's set up for a season 3 of deep-diving into his relationship with violence and his inner wolf. it's also a neat parallel with 1x08: there perrin's avoidance of violence allowed fain to escape, whereas here his embracing of violence has traumatized him (again), so our poor guy is really feeling conflicted in the pacificism-or-violence question because both sides seem wrong to him right now. huh, i guess perrin's full-series arc is about finding a middle ground rather than one extreme (pacifism/tuatha'an/human) or the other (violence/aiel/wolf). i feel like i've just had an epiphany lmao this is why i love the show! it tells the same story as the books, but tells it in a different way that makes me think about it differently and gain new insights!

nynaeve: her season arc was about learning that she, on her own, as she is today, is not enough to protect her loved ones. this is a tough pill for both her and the audience to swallow! but it's needed for her character, and we see it in the books too. nynaeve has an incredible amount of power, but she's terrified of having that much power and wants to pretend it doesn't exist. she's resistant to change, she's used to being in charge, and she's very "my way or the highway". these are all things she needs to grow out of (or moderate, at least) in order to be able to step up and do her part for tarmon gai'don. she has to learn how to embrace her power instead of being afraid of it or being too stubborn to let other people guide her and teach her, so s2 shows her what happens if she doesn't, first hypothetically in the accepted test (everyone she loves dies because she's blocked and refused channeling training) and then for real in falme (she couldn't help elayne fully or rand at all because of her block). so her 2x08 conclusion being Total Failure is not emotionally satisfying, no, but it's thematically exactly what she needed and will goad her into facing her block head-on next season. thematically, like rand, nynaeve only had 2 options for falme: break her block and succeed, or retain her block and fail, and it was too soon for the former (we gotta let her cook a while longer, plus the story will become too easy if nynaeve, or rand, reaches supernova capability too soon), so it had to be the latter. if the show had gone with a third option of her succeeding without breaking her block, then that would've taught her and the audience that it's fine to leave the block in place and she doesn't need to challenge herself to grow as a person, because when it TRULY matters she can always get around the block.

other characters get appropriate resolutions too! moiraine and lan get to work together to succeed after being at odds and failing on their own all season (rand foils!). elayne gets validation that she is an essential and trusted part of the friend group after feeling like somewhat of an outsider earlier in the season. ishamael getting vanquished and lanfear betraying him only to be betrayed by him in turn is exactly where their mutual mistrust was leading them (and it shows us why it's so important that Team Light be able to work as a team rather than as self-interested individual operators; the contrast between ishy & lanfear looking at the seals together while plotting to betray each other vs. rand standing on the tower with all his friends behind him makes me cry your honor. imagine hating that ishy's defeat was a team effort, could not be me!)

(it's also worth noting that the characters who had the least individual success/victory in 2x08 (nynaeve, rand, perrin) are the ones who will have the biggest individual storylines in s3 (tanchico & moggy, waste arc, two rivers arc), whereas the characters who had the most individual success/victory (egwene, mat, moiraine, lan) are the ones who will be taking a bit more of a backseat (of course they all have their own stuff to do, but none of them is *the* lead character of their TSR/s3 traveling group). this is intentional!)

so there you have it. 2x08 is adored by the general audience, and it's because of this: it gives us some damn satisfying conclusions to all the season arcs (and some exciting and visually stunning battle sequences to boot), and all the viewers who AREN'T beleaguered by "But The Books!", which is most of them, recognize that for the good storytelling it is. i for one will always care far more about the show telling a good story within itself than the show being identical to the books, and rafe & co will too, as they should.

the only downside to the episode is that, yes, it is quite cramped for time because there are a lot of arcs to wrap up. this should be less of an issue in future seasons when the season finale isn't "every single major storyline converges in the same place at once". for example, judging by the "goldeneyes" episode title it seems s3 might split it up so that perrin's conclusion in the two rivers is in 3x07 while other conclusions in other locations are in 3x08, giving each more breathing room. whereas 2x08 had no choice but to stuff everything in that episode into that specific episode because it's not like perrin could just do his falme stuff an episode early and take a nap while everyone else was doing THEIR falme stuff in the next episode, nor could the full falme sequence have been split into 2 episodes since that would have disrupted the flow of the story. the only solution would be for 2x08 to be extra long, which is nice to imagine, but we all know that streaming shows almost never deviate from their set episode lengths and so there isn't much point sighing about "this episode should have been 90 minutes long!" because that just is not on the table, never has been, and never will be. the first step to being able to jive with an adaptation is making peace with the limits of its particular medium!

plus, the only things i might deem "missing" from 2x08 are non-essential (ingtar darkfriend reveal - that is NOT important fight me, it's only important in the books as our first example of a morally-gray shadow-aligned person but the show has already been doing that in spades) or will likely be included in 3x01 (the gang spending some time together to breathe and process and catch up). at the end of the day, the show is always going to need to be paced very very tightly with not as much breathing room as those of us accustomed to entire books dedicated to reacting to the previous book might expect. and 2x08 did manage to pack in a LOT of character work amidst all the action and did a good mix of resolving s2 arcs while leaving some unresolved to carry into s3 and introducing some new arcs/issues/conflicts, all within 70 minutes, which i find pretty impressive. in conclusion, 2x08 my fucking beloved <3

#saw some people discussing 2x08 in light of the wheel takes episode about it #i've never listened to that podcast because my brain doesn't function with podcasts #but seeing it mentioned got me thinking about 2x08 and how much i love it!#book fandom's hatred of that episode is my villain origin story it is genuinely SUCH a banger on so many fronts #character work themes stunts action adrenaline acting sets costumes music cinematography EVERYTHING is at the top of its game #i'm glad that general audiences give it the love it deserves #general audiences are way better judges of the objective quality of the show than readers are #wot #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #just for some vague mentions of future storylines & character arcs

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fictionalthrill · 4 months ago

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Forced Hand: Chapter 1 - Inescapable Past

A/N: Greetings! Here is the first chapter of my Gwayne Hightower series. Sorry for making it such a late post! Thanks to whomever takes the time to read my writing. As I mentioned yesterday on this post, this series will not be fully canon nor will it accurately follow details from the show/book. I will follow certain details but given the nature of the story, I will take many liberties. Also, I will do my best create a HoTD environment through descriptions and dialogue, but I don't expect that to be accurate either...

Also, I will now present my blog as an 18+ space given the route I plan to take with my writing. I don't plan to write anything explicitly salacious, but certain topics and themes will come up and I just want to be cautious.

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Description: Lady Y/N Blackstone is informed by her father that he intends to arrange a marriage for her... again. Meanwhile, Gwayne gets a visit from his father. WARNINGS FOR THE CHAPTER: Nothing that requires warning. Pairing: Female Reader (Lady Y/N Blackstone) x Gwayne Hightower

There were many ways in which Y/N’s day could have started. However, as she tried to indulge her morning meal, the way her day already unfolded was certainly not what she had expected.

“I’m sorry, father, but I must refuse to this,” she said.

“Refuse? Darling, you cannot simply refuse, this is not how things work,” he said.

“I believe I should be allowed to refuse yet another forced marriage attempt. I do not need to be married off, I can survive on my own. I say you do not concern yourself with me and rather focus on Lorenah’s future.”

“Y/N, you are my daughter, as is Lorenah, both your futures are of my concern.”

“But to go through this again? I do not wish to endure all I did the first time. I would rather Lorenah’s prospects are secured, properly, so she does not suffer the same fate as me. The rest does not matter.”

“But it does. Who shall provide for you and look after you once I am gone?” her father said, but then found himself in a cough fit. Y/N went to stand to help but he waved his hand. “I am alright.”

“I do not need to be looked after, father. Besides, I am far from the preferred marriage age, and my prospects have long been tarnished. You know who made sure of that.”

“You are not far from the marriage age. It might not be the ideal but—”

“What has brought this on again, anyways? It was aunt Sesa, was it not?”

“Your aunt—”

“I knew it,” she cut him off and stood up. “Any time that woman visits she takes it upon herself to intervene in our lives and you let her!”

“Y/N.”

“No. She intervened when you try to marry me off and we all know how that went. Then she rushed you into finding Aianna a match, and now she’s back looking to start things up again.”

“Y/N, how can your future be ensured if I am no longer walking the earth?”

She came closer to him and took his hand in hers. “Father, I understand you care and in caring you worry for me, but I will be fine. Besides, I’ve already spoken to Aianna, and her and Lord Corbus are more than happy to take me in, if needs be.”

He removed his hand from hers. “You’ve discussed this with your sister?”

“You didn’t really believe I hoped to give marriage another try did you?”

He stared at her. “That was not for you to discuss.”

“No? Father, it is my life, and the last time it was in someone else’s hand, I was—”

Just then, Sesa appeared in the room. “Good morrow, Lord Blackstone. Ah, Y/N!”

“Aunt Sesa,” Y/N grumbled as she walked away from her father.

“Sesa, morning,” Lord Blackstone greeted.

Sesa approached the table and took a seat.

“I am going to see how preparations are going for Lorenah’s arrival,” Y/N said.

“Oh, Y/N, has your father told you the news?”

“That—”

“I was actually discussing it with her now.”

“Oh, there’s no need for discussion this is great news!” “I beg to differ,” Y/N said.

“Y/N, it is unbecoming of a lady of your age and stature to be unwed.”

“What is unbecoming is to be engaged one day only to find out the next it is no longer so.”

“Y/N,” her father tried to reign her in.

“Well, yes, that is unbecoming and unfortunate. But it does not define the rest of your life. Being a spinster, however, that can stain a family name.”

She walked towards the doors and turned to stare at her aunt Sesa. “My status has not affected this family in any way. Aianna was able to marry well and Lorenah has garnered the favor of many suitors already, all awaiting the day father accepts an offer for her hand.”

“Y/N,” Lord Blackstone tried again.

“This is you having nothing to do but to meddle in our lives, yet again.”

“Y/N!”

Her eyes landed on her father.

“It’s alright, Lord Blackstone,” Sesa said. “I am not meddling. Like my own two daughters, you and your sisters were born to fulfill your duties. You are to marry and provide your Lord husbands with heirs to further extend the livelihood of this house. I am only trying to aid your father so that you may pursue that.”

“Aunt Sesa, might I remind you, that I was not the one to choose this path for myself. And this time, I refuse to be humiliated again by others making decisions for me. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Y/N,” her father called after her as she left the room. Sesa waved him off.

“It is alright, Lord Blackstone. Let her decompress; give her time.”

“I am afraid she has grown too stubborn as well hot-headed.”

“All a result of being unwed. Which is why it is so important you find her a husband before it becomes permanent.”

“I do not know about that, Sesa. It was not until I mentioned a husband that she lashed out in that way. The gods know what fire burns inside her since her misfortune… it’s taken her time to make peace with it all and here I am looking to drag her down the aisle again.”

�� “My Lord, it is a woman’s duty to wed. While the circumstances were unforeseen and out of your control, it does not mean she must be condemned to the life of a spinster. If a lord will have her as a wife, you must not pass on the opportunity. Have you sent word?”

“Not as of yet. I have only just considered this and, so far, she is unaccepting of the idea.”

“She will accept it in time. As fathers and mothers, we know what is best for our children.”

“May the gods will it so. I will make it known tomorrow.”

After Blackstone finally made his plans for his daughter known, several days passed and it was enough time for word to spread. The eligibility of the daughter of one of the most prominent houses in the Veil was news that would gradually reach others. However, given said daughter was once engaged, word spread like wildfire.

Y/N did her best to keep her mind off it, resorting to avoiding the subject and everyone in her path. That was until her sister’s arrival.

Y/N stood on the steps of the Blackstone castle watching as Lorenah exited one of the family carriages and made her towards the entrance. A smile broke on Y/N’s face as Lorenah approached her and wrapped her arms around her middle.

“Oh, how I missed you!” Y/N said.

“I missed you too, sister!” Lorenah replied.

As Y/N let go, she grabbed Lorenah’s hands, and her eyes scanned her fully. “Is that a new dress?”

“Do you like it? Aianna had it made for me.”

“It is beautiful, but not as beautiful as you are.” Y/N came at her sister’s side and draped an arm over her shoulders as she guided her in. “Come, I want you to tell me everything. From the beginning of your journey to the very end. You must be hungry.”

Just as they had made it inside, their father appeared to greet Lorenah. “My sweet little, Lorenah!” He extended his arms for her, and she left Y/N’s side to hug him.

“Father!”

Lord Blackstone chuckled as he took a step back to get a better look at his youngest daughter. “You appear taller. Or am I just getting smaller?”

“It is only because you have not seen me in some time, father.”

“Maybe so.”

Suddenly, Sesa came into the room, her arms extended, but not as an opening for a hug. “My dear, Lorenah, you have returned!”

Lorenah, stood before Sesa and curtsied. “Aunt Sesa.”

“It is good to see you again, my niece.”

“I am glad to have returned, Aunt Sesa.”

“Right, let us eat!” Lord Blackstone said. “The cook has prepared your favorite. Go on, it should be served soon.”

“Thank you, father.” As Lorenah proceeded to the room, Sesa not far behind her, Y/N stood in place, contemplating whether dinner would be worth sitting through.

“Will you be joining us, Y/N?” Lord Blackstone asked. “I am sure Lorenah would be happy if you joined us.”

“I suppose so.” Y/N was about to strut past her father when he held her hand in his.

“Dearest, please do not continue to be angry with me. I am only trying to do what is best for you.”

“If that were really the case you would not choose for me to endure this again.”

“Who will look after you when I am gone? Who will provide for you if I do not find you a husband to do so?”

“Father, Aianna and I discussed this. They are willing to take me in.”

A fit of coughs broke out of him before he continued. “I do not appreciate you discussing something like this with your sister. It is not up to you to make these decisions.”

“Father, listen to yourself. You are ill. You need me here. Lorenah, needs me here.”

He placed a hand on her cheek. “My daughter, you are unlike no other. You have always strived to put yourself last. But this is not something you can be left behind on. Please, let us get past this.”

“Clearly, I have no choice in the matter,” she said before she walked away from her father.

As the Lord of Oldtown, Ser Gwayne Hightower did not take interest in news or happenings of the Realm unless it concerned his House or the interests of the crown. If he did not hear of it from his close advisors, he would learn of it from his father, the Hand of the King. Which is why he assumed there was something of critical importance when he was informed his father arrived.

One of his advisors left his side as he walked over to Ser Otto. “Lord Hand, I was not aware you would be coming to Oldtown.”

“It was not planned. We must talk,” Otto said.

“Let us go inside then.”

Gwayne led his father towards his study. As they stepped inside, one of the servants appeared at the door. “Shall I bring forth refreshments, my lords?”

“No, leave us.” Otto answered. The servant bowed his head and left the two men in the study.

“Is this a matter of the crown?” Gwayne asked.

“No, not directly.”

“Not directly?”

“I received word that Lord Blackstone is once again offering the hand of one of his daughters.”

Gwayne’s eyes snapped up to his father. Now, the courting of a lord’s daughter wasn’t something that garnered his attention. But in this instance, he couldn’t help himself.

“And this concerns us how?”

“It is Lady Y/N.”

It was as Gwayne feared. Still, he kept his composure before his father, as to not reveal his disappointment. “I do not understand, father. You came all the way from King’s Landing to tell me this?”

Otto approached his son. “Not just to tell you, but to urge you to request her hand.”

“Request her hand?”

“Gwayne, this is a union that could be most beneficial to our family. Lady Y/N is the eldest of Blackstone’s daughter, one of the richest and most influential families of the Riverlands.”

“All of this I know. In fact, I can recall vying for her hand once and winning it. This was then accompanied by your disapproval which led me to call off the engagement.”

“Gwayne you were far too young and naïve for marriage, at the time. Your duty was to Oldtown.”

“Yes, and it continues to be so. How is this now a priority? How is this now what you want?”

Otto took a deep breath. “Blackstone is ill. When he first learned of his illness, he made it known to some of his closest advisors, that whomever his eldest should marry, would inherit Blackstone castle, along with whatever land and fortune is left to his name. Of course, he’d leave for his other daughters and whatever descendants they produced.”

“So, that’s the interest? The inheritance?” Gwayne stared at Otto.

“Gwayne, do you understand the influence of the Blackstones in the Riverlands? Do you know what a marriage between our houses could bring?”

“Why now, father? Why not let me go through with it when we were already betrothed?”

“As I already said, Oldtown was the priority. Besides, Blackstone did not decide his intentions with his inheritance until after he learned he was ill.”

“Did he tell you all this?”

“No. But I have a direct source who confirmed it all.”

Gwayne sighed. “Even if I wanted to, Lord Blackstone made it clear he wanted no business with me after what I did.”

“Leave Blackstone, to me. Focus on Lady Y/N and winning her favor.”

“This attempt will surely be fruitless.”

Otto placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Trust me, we will get this union.”

“Even if Blackstone gave us his approval, what of Lady Y/N? She surely still hates me. She will never go for the marriage.”

“Then you charm her, pursue her. Show her you want this marriage.”

“I respect your optimism, father. But for once, I do not see how we will be successful in this endeavor.”

“Make sure to win her favor. The rest will come about.”

Gwayne nodded. “Fine.”

“We leave in the evening.”

“The evening?”

“The sooner we meet with Blackstone, the better our advantage.”

“Did he not just announce this?”

“Sufficient time has passed for word to go around. Coincidently, the Prince of Dorne is traveling through land to his home. But it is well known he is in search of a wife. If he has heard about this, there is a high chance he will pay Blackstone a visit.”

Gwayne cleared his throat. “Would leaving at dawn not be better?”

“If we are to prevent the Prince of Dorne from persuading Blackstone, we would leave now. But being as I rushed here, I shall have a meal, and we will gather our things to leave this evening.”

“As you wish,” Gwayne nodded.

Chapter 2 - Looking Ahead

#gwayne hightower #gwayne hightower x reader #gwayne hightower imagine #house hightower #house of the dragon imagine #house of the dragon #reader insert #reader insert x gwayne hightower #reader insert imagine #fan fiction #fanfic #fanfics

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frodo-with-glasses · 3 months ago

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Where have you been?

Uhhh, France?

(That’s a Hamilton reference, btw. I have never been to France.)

So! Another Hobbit Day is upon us. On this day last year, I’d promised you all that we would take another trek through LotR, with all new drawings and poems and fanfics. I fully expected to be finished with Book One by now, at least halfway through FotR. What actually happened is that the blog struggled through the first five and a half chapters of the book before suddenly going radio silent.

So what happened?

Well, as you might expect, real life happened. I won't go into the details here—since it has nothing to do with LotR—but I can explain in DMs if anyone is interested.

Basically, a change in my family led to a reexamination of what I thought I knew about my family, which led to a reexamination of what I thought I knew about myself, which kicked off an intense period of self-improvement.

Over the course of this past year, I began to unpack my family's abuse; I learned about boundaries; I started to unlearn my old people-pleasing tendencies; I reconnected relationships that were broken, reevaluated ones that were in the wrong place, and cut off ones that weren't good for me. I discovered there was a little kid in my head who's been waiting years and years for an adult to love her, and to take her needs seriously, and I finally have the chance to be that adult. And I'm happy to say that I've come to a place where I feel safer in my own head than I have ever been.

Probably very little of that is going to show through on this blog. It's all inward stuff; foundational stuff. But one thing that might affect you guys is that I left my (dreadfully overstimulating and stressful) part-time job, and I'm now working full time somewhere else. As much as I love what I do for a living now, working 40 hours a week does mean that I am become Boring Adult who does not have as much time for interneting. With my current schedule, there is no way I'd be able to sustain the intense schedule of "must post one drawing a day" that I had in the early days of this blog; and I don't expect myself to.

But! I would like to—slowly—get this train rolling again.

I find it hilariously apropos that the last piece of art I posted on this blog was of Frodo suddenly disappearing. From Merry's perspective, he completely vanished without explanation or warning. From your perspective, so did I.

But I find myself here again, on another September 22nd, and once again I'm beginning to feel that pull; that pull to read, and draw, and create, and share, and laugh with all of you. Life has calmed down enough for me that I once again have the mental space to think about pursuing my hobbies. There are so many things I want to do—so much to do with the time that is given to me. And I want this blog to be on that list.

My current goal is to post some new book art every other day. If that's too much, I'll adjust it. But if I find my groove and really get into it, who knows? We might return to your regularly scheduled Daily Dose of Frodo-With-Glasses. We shall have to see.

Anyway. If you've read this far, thank you! If you've stuck with this blog since the early days, thank you. And if you are one of that lovely core Fellowship that has had my back and prayed for me all along, I cannot thank you enough.

This past year has been an absolute ride. Not as difficult as a trek to Mordor, maybe, but not easy either. But no matter where I walked, I knew I didn't have to take the journey alone.

Anyway! Enough sappiness. Happy Hobbit Day! I'm excited to see what the next year has in store for us. 💚

#lady glasses speaks #long post #my writing #featuring:#frodo baggins #lord of the rings #lotr #my art #fig tree au

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verstarppen · 4 months ago

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A THANK YOU LETTER

an apology and update! for all you beautiful people - 2 for the price of 1

hello! over the months i've written and deleted this letter because i was too much of a coward to show my face after i left. i contemplated if it would be adequate enough, if it even matters. At the end, i owe this fandom too much, so here it is:

THE APOLOGY

i am truly sorry. there's no better way of putting it.

the more i create the more i realise how this fandom held my hand and i simply wouldn't be the person i am now if this blog never existed. i've always struggled with sharing art and writing online, as i thought it was too lame and took the coward route of keeping it to myself and my closest friends.

ever since this blog, i've found that less of an issue. the more i think about how much i let you and myself down by disappearing the more i feel the shame weigh me down. i never wanted to leave, but life has this funny way of forcing your hand when you least expect it.

without getting too personal, this year hasn't been great for me or anyone close to me - friendships died, family members were hospitalised, university crushed me, expectations from everyone around me made me question if i'm failing in every aspect of my life, i lost passions like art - something i've always thought of as my dream career, and i fear the stress will only grow rather than die down.

in some of those harder moments i would always turn to a distraction, create something for a fandom i enjoy to get my mind off things. to see your comments and your messages always kept me going even when i physically couldn't take the stress of everything around me anymore. being busy made my flame for F1 dwindle, too. it's one of the main reasons i didn't return earlier. I've missed half the races this year, yes that includes both lando and oscar's wins, and although im looking forward to the summer break ending and the racecs coming back, i don't think the enthusiasm will ever return to the way it was when this blog was at its peak.

i feel like a coward for disappearing and it's a big regret of mine this year. i can't promise to write for F1 again, but what i've made will always be archieved here :)

THE UPDATE

not great. i can't even lie i'm not doing too hot right now. i promised i would return to writing when things finally calmed down and yet the more stress there was the more one off projects i made to combat it. throughout the months i've accumulated a lot of side projects for different fandoms like star wars, star trek, dc, merlin and lesser known fandoms such as heavy rain, mortal kombat, the sims (no seriously have you seen the lore) etc. that i have nowhere to post. in april i decided i can't afford (literally) to distract myself with any hobby projects for the sake of my situation and thus... i was an idiot and i deleted my ao3 account. there weren't that many stories on there anyway, but i regret it even if it was the right decision.

i owe @wtfisakilometer2 so much for telling me that the people who love the blog wouldn't mind what fandom it is as long as it's by me, even if i don't fully believe it. it did open my eyes to finally write this, though, so direct all your love to her.

so that leaves me here, sort of homeless on my own blog and with very conflicting feelings about it's direction. i intend to preserve it as an archive of my F1 writing without messing with it, but still let you know about my new ao3 and everything on it so i can keep both our interests in mind.

thank you for reading if you made it this far, i hope you have an awesome day and a lot of cat memes in your pinterest. thank you for all the lovely messages (i read everything) and thank you for everything this fandom has offered me. i will truly never get over you guys.

- star :)

#star apology vid when #thank you if you read this #verstarppen is dead party #verstarppen has spoken #im still down bad for max dw that's something im NEVER getting over i fear

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askquarantinedredheart · 8 days ago

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It's the 1 Year Anniversary of Ask Quarantined Redheart! Thank you all so much for following this silly little blog. As of this post, 195 of you are following Redheart's time in quarantine with tuberculosis. That's honestly a whole lot more followers than I ever expected for this story, especially for something that I've always considered a labor of love.

With working on the blog for a year, a couple of things popped up that I have mused on a little. I wasn't expecting people to latch onto two things that were originally very minor in my plot point document at the current point in the story: Redheart's crush on Dr. Stable and Moony. In my original plot point summary, I actually have Dr. Stable's first appearance right at the end of Volume 1 (no spoilers beyond that...) and Moony was just a nameless schizophrenic stallion. With Redheart and Dr. Stable, I figured that readers would be into it but it's been much more popular than I thought it would be.

And of course, Moony gets a paragraph to himself. In my original script, Moony wasn't a bat pony or even specified as a unicorn, earth pony, or pegasus. Like I said, he was just a nameless homeless schizophrenic. It's fairly recently that I realized that Quarantined Redheart isn't just about Redheart anymore. It's become just as much Moony's story as it is Redheart's. Their stories have become intertwined. There's a part of me that feels his popularity comes in part due to my medical training. I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm a medical student and schizophrenia is one of many medical conditions that we learn about. Even if I don't go into psychiatry, there's a part of me that felt that if I didn't put as much accuracy into portraying schizophrenia as I did with tuberculosis and its treatment, it would've been a reflection on me not just as a storyteller but as a doctor in training. Clearly, it paid off.

With all that said, what's next for Quarantined Redheart until the 2 Year Anniversary? I said a little while ago that I wanted to try to get Volume 1: Isolation finished up around May 2025, probably June 2025. This is also likely a very optimistic timeline due to clinical rotations, the next round of board exams, and needing to think about residency applications at around that same timeframe. But assuming the timeline does work out, Volume 2: The Other Side of the Door would get started about a month or two after Volume 1. And before anyone asks, there is no planned Volume 3 for Quarantined Redheart. It was always planned to be a two volume story. Maybe in the future there'll be some stories with the characters people like. But it wouldn't be specifically Quarantined Redheart and that would be very far in the future.

Anyway, that's enough rambling. Thanks again for sticking around!

#one year anniversary #tumblr milestone #mlp ask blog #quarantined redheart #pony ask blog #mlp fim #mlp g4 #nurse redheart #earth pony #my little pony friendship is magic #shitpost #mod speaks #mod musings

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bladekindeyewear · 5 months ago

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HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2024-08-04

(Previous post - current page 440)

Breaktime's over, it's about time to continue! Expect me to take a handful of days between each posting-day like this just to pace myself, and have time for fun video games and other such. But I've been really enjoying finally reading more HS2 too, especially seeing such hopeful stuff like this last pair of pages really hitting home on the optimism! Let's get back to it.

Meanwhile...

Wait did we SEE her keel back over like this? Alt!Callie in this younger/teenage corpse of Jade Harley's body I mean? When did that happen? *thumbs back through old pages...* Let's see here... my browser still glitches the fuck out seizureways at the few pages that were Blacked Out, so i'll use a backup browser for those... no, further back... oh wow I forgot Aradia got such a cool Calliope-supporting outfit to show off she's on their side, literally zero memory of that and that's some FINE drip...

Oh shit wait, so it happened back over here??? (289/290)

--I figured back then she'd gotten a snap headache because of having to abandon possessing Jade's MAIN body in the struggle Alt!Calliope had with Jade's consciousness culminating around page 168, but these cuts are all so far apart-- and being knocked out of the other Jade's body shouldn't have knocked her out of this CORPSE. So is somethign entirely NEW going on that has to do perhaps with Dirk Strider's plans to maintain control of the narrative when the other kids arrive there?? Hmmm.

Anyway now I know where that bonus panel I'd accidentally glimpsed with "god-tier bodies don't decompose right" that I mentioned last blogging session came from. But why the fuck?

==>

Gosh I've missed seeing panels like this.

Wait, why are we cutting to CANDY JOHN like that's relevant here? Wasn't he in Roxy's secret lab last we saw him? Does THAT have something to do with this?! Oh shit.

(John: Investigate noise.)

Following Roxy's instructions, you proceed in the direction of the noise to go and meet up with your old friends. You approach where you thought you heard them, but to your surprise you hear an unfamiliar voice grumbling something incoherent.

JOHN: uhhh, rose? jade? JOHN: ... kanaya?

Hm? What was going on upstairs again, Karkat met up with the other liberators right? Okay let me not be so lazy and go back and check again...

Excuse me for a second, I'm going backwards to review and post some older HS2 stuff for a bit:

No they left, then John came from his destroyed old house to his and Roxy's NOT-old house, then they transportalized downstairs to the secret lab buried "hella underground" not directly under the house, where Calliope is wearing... suspiciously the EXACT new outfit that Aradia is wearing, and gives her hints that she enjoys all sorts of alternate stories like watching Roxy be in a relationship with John here in Candy instead of with herself in Meat, and added fuel to our obvious theory suspicions that Meat Alive Calliope is the author-narrator shaping the (Candy) timeline with her wall drawings and Muse of Space powers, and that they are... standing in the location in their reality that corresponds to the exact center of the singularity / black hole they're trying to stabilize? I'd forgotten about that... and then Calliope told John that alt!Calliope and Aradia and such had broken out of the black hole's event horizon for their mission, while Calliope explained that (Candy)'s timeline is so WEIRD because they've been disconnected a little TOO much from the canon of reality, like a fanwork that strays a little too far from the source material, so they need to stabilize it somehow AND NEED VRISKA (to either steal some relevance back from Canon or to get swapped there with something else or, something else we might have theorized?) but I had plumb forgotten that they SPECIFICALLY say that for their plans to work they needed John to leave and do something:

ROXY: this is finally where u come in jegbert ROXY: we gots quests for yous CALLIOPE: hee hee, yes. CALLIOPE: or *a* quest, to be specific. JOHN: oh boy!

ROXY: i mean yeah ur gonna obvs facilitate it in a sense ROXY: but only by going and busting the person who can actually help us outta normal earth jail CALLIOPE: we need yoU to free vriska from the clUtches of oUr misgUided friend jane, and bring her here, to the singUlarity. ROXY: weve been calling it the plot point CALLIOPE: yes, the plot point is a key part of oUr plan. CALLIOPE: as far as we have been able to sUrmise, the only remaining method for escaping oUr grim confinement depends on leveraging the UniqUe properties of this location to create an event of sUch catalcysmic proportions that it simply cannot be contained within the black hole any more. CALLIOPE: something SO dramatic, so hyper-relevant, that it becomes ontologically impossible for anyone to ignore it. CALLIOPE: for that, we need an individUal of sUfficient narrative cloUt, so to speak.

Right, Vriska's constant focus on making herself one of the most relevant characters to Canon and her powerset actually making her perfect TO do that as a Thief of Light (relevance/importance) makes that a good plan. And I fully expected one possibility was that they somehow allow her to break through to the Canon Meat timeline and both (1) influence it some way, and (2) get to a place where she could eventually reunite with Terezi Pyrope finally instead of just having left her a parting message, which may or may not happen if Meat Terezi is going to focus possibly a bit more on her relationship with John(June) once somehow resurrected or such but would definitely be amazing to have them reunited when Terezi spent SO MUCH TIME looking for her that she wasn't even part of the (Candy) timeline of events? Enough re-theorizing let me keep re-reading-- And... oh right,

CALLIOPE: and to liberate her, who better than the embodiment of the aspect of freedom itself?

I'm sure I was happy as hell to see that explicitly spelled out in canon for once instead of implied, because it may have been obvious to those of you who follow theoryblogs but one of the big reasons I'm glad to see these things made more explicit out in HS^2 is so even casual readers can pick up that these aspects always had these additional more important purposes that line up with all the events that happened in the past of the original comic.

But anyway. John's about to go on his bust-Vriska-out-of-prison quest:

And it's not like he has other plans. He may as well do this! It's at least going to get him involved in things again, if nothing else. He turns to go, and then hears a sound. It's the sound of feet and knocking on doors, echoed through stone and digital static.

And then,

JOHN: did you hear that? ROXY: wha ROXY: oh yeah uh ROXY: i may have messaged rose and kan and jade to check on them too ROXY: so its prob onea them showin up ROXY: they don't need to know bout all this tho ROXY: we got time to chat with them b4 u go get vriska JOHN: i'll go stall em. ROXY: thx babe ROXY: oh is it 2 soon for that joke or JOHN: no, weirdly enough, that one's fine. ROXY: oh good ok see u up there soon!

And that's where we left off-- wasn't it their kids' team who got back into their house or something? Eh I'm done looking, now I at least know there was A NOISE that was playing through the monitors from the topside of their house above the teleporter that he's running to intercept.

Okay, past catch-up over. Back to present liveblogging. Looks like this isn't Rose and Kanaya like John expects, from the sound of it-- but the way John's running down a hallway makes it look like this is INSIDE OF THE LAB STILL, so the question is who is down here or CAME down here or...

(==>)

Oh, Sollux is helping Roxy and Calliope out with their project, playing on Roxy's pink retro consoles. That shouldn't actually be too shocking should it.

Wait, how is he playing video games if he's BLIND? Robo-eyes? It's gotta be robo-eyes.

(==>)

Stare

(==>)

Sandwich stare

(==>)

SOLLUX: eating a sandwich.

Brilliant. And yeah he lives here-- but he's actually LOOKING at stuff isn't he, with eyes of some sort? Even though he's still using the 0 quirk? Tell us what's up with that!

(==>)

John stop thinking this is a relationship between Sollux and Roxy, your divorcee/ex. Unless it is, which would be pretty cool honestly.

(==>)

SOLLUX: y0u w0rried im m0ving in 0n y0ur ex? JOHN: ...hmm. SOLLUX: ... JOHN: hm. hmm. hm. JOHN: hm? HMMMM. SOLLUX: what is g0ing 0n here. JOHN: sorry, i had an answer but then i started actually considering it. JOHN: am i jealous? JOHN: hmmm... SOLLUX: if i tell y0u straight up n0 we arent h00king up will y0u st0p? JOHN: ...maybe? SOLLUX: g0ddammit.

I'm really enjoying all this for some reason.

JOHN: are you still hanging out with that creepy alive girl? SOLLUX: SOLLUX: 0n a spiritual level. JOHN: cool! JOHN: is ... she also dating roxy? SOLLUX: what? SOLLUX: idk.

I'm pretty sure I get excited at the idea of literally ANY relationship potentially happening between all these characters I love.

(==>)

Oh no John is offloading his personal problems on him in longform conversation. He doesn't want that! XD

JOHN: and it only changed because i started talking to people again. SOLLUX: (i did this t0 myself why did i ask) JOHN: i guess in gamer terms it's the same as screwing yourself over by not checking every non playable character dialogue box. JOHN: any one of them could have the clues you need.

Feels kind of like we're doing the thing from that Steven Universe: Future episode where Steven is critically upset that important things happened in the lives of his friends offscreen somewhere he wasn't around to be aware of it, when realistically as a person you can't keep up with everything, especially not John who kept to himself in a slump for a decade as he puts it in some of the conversation I'm not fully requoting.

Okay Sollux dunks on John a bit, possibly deservedly... and to some extent, in a misogynist gamer phrasing typical to Sollux, John's lack of agency? Which I think would improve somewhat once the gender issues Roxy alluded to both upstairs and in the lab with him are resolved in part, because he can't be FULLY comfortable swept up in a relationship while he's still considering herself "he"...

SOLLUX: i have n0t been able t0 play this game the wh0le time because s0me0ne was talking 0ver the s0und. JOHN: oh! JOHN: sorry : (

Oh he's been using sound-only and audio assistance to play the game like a speedrunner almost instead of seeing it. That explains that.

(==>)

I don't quite understand the shape of that thing to the right of Sollux's head, like there's some sort of watermark over it WAIT THAT'S A DOOM SYMBOL WATERMARK TAKING UP MOST OF THE FRAME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE

SOLLUX: w0rds d0nt mean much. SOLLUX: 0nly acti0ns.

(This is a perfect sort of thing someone for someone on the Life/Doom spectrum to say, which would be MUCH MUCH HARDER for someone on the Light/Void spectrum to say or especially a Light player. Doom being about the consequences of one's actions in part and all.) Is he about to use some Mage of Doom powers visibly onscreen?

(==>)

Ohhh. So he was making a dramatic Doom Prophecy that will matter to John's choices in the future if he heeds the right lessons, while also hinting toward the nature of Doom itself as I covered. Got it. That's fun! Also it was a pink cat pillow behind his head, that's the thing I was having so much trouble seeing.

(==>)

SOLLUX: WAIT. JOHN: !

He's gonna ask him to pass him a soda from across the room or something.

(==>)

SOLLUX: change my game f0r me.

This is so cute.

(Be Vrissy.)

GODDAMNIT JAILBREAK AGAIN LOL

Vriska the elder has decided to take it upon herself to test if you measure up to the arduous task of being a Vriska. For your first test: find a way to bust out of this dump. What will you do?

Stop judging her on your stupid Vriska standards, Vriska! I hope the way this plays out eventually plays straight into the idea that this very-Vriska-like-but-not-quite-Vriska individual has her own unique strengths. I'm not sure I mentioned it earlier, but when I said that it's possible that Vrissy is a Mind player, I'm actually really excited to see the comic demonstrate that (regardless of whether or not Vrissy is or isn't completely genetically identical to Vriska) because not only would it be a good lesson for the original Vriska that Vrissy has her own value, it's also a great Classpect demonstration of how the difference in their characters and action styles amounts to a different effect on reality in the form of a Hero Title that is different...

...and in fact now that I think about it, even though it may have rubbed me just slightly wrong somewhere inside that Vrissy and Vriska could have different Hero Titles even if they WERE genetically identical, I'm actually gonna turn around and say I've decided I love that, because if Sburb gives the genetically identical Vrissy a different title and she unlocks a different powerset purely because of the unique combination of nature *AND* nurture that resulted in her, that would emphasize much more properly that Sburb isn't FORCING or pigeonholing you into a Hero Title that doesn't suit you, it really is reading into your future and soul to tell you THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY you PERSONALLY would find right to influence reality around you. That makes the lesson of its title assignment and the answer to the Ultimate Riddle that I've long discussed a STRONGER answer, not a weaker one.

And I'm encouraged by the very first thing Vrissy tries being something the original Vriska would NEVER have tried first, which Vriska over here probably is gonna be snide/discouraging about:

(Vrissy: Call for help.)

Have we SEEN their chumhandles before? I feel like we've seen Vrissy's before at least-- "adamantGriftress" is an awesome chumhandle for her, and I know for SURE I've already seen thespiansGlamor as Harry Anderson's. Who the fuck is glutinousGymnast, is that Yiffy's handle, and what does glutinous mean again?!?? (I had to google it just in case, it's New Tavros's handle. Glutinous is "like glue in texture; sticky.", often referring to sticky rice or baking dough. Ew. Stickiness sort of implies the opposite of Breath doesn't it...? And he's a gymnast?)

Now. Who the fuck is "recidivousGainsayer"? Vrissy didn't know Yiffy existed, so she wouldn't have her in her phone already unless they'd been internet friends without knowing each other personally, which would be... kinda sweet really. And Yiffy is certainly rebellious, but she seems more recalcitrant than recidivous, though I can't rule it out, especially since she's basically grown up at a boarding school; a quick google to see if we'd seen the chumhandle before also highlighted someone commenting that "RG" doesn't follow the ACGT DNA pattern, and even if you switch to RNA it just swaps the T with a U. Could be that this is a chumhandle of one of the characters we had been following over in the Bonus Comics or something.

You're pretty sure that would be an automatic fail on Vriska's test. But even if it wasn't, it isn't like you could message anyone; not anyone worth talking to anyway. There's no service in here, the only bars you've got are the ones on the windows.

Yeah, Vrissy at least knows Vriska well enough to know what she'd approve and disapprove of most broadly, unfortunately. I hope she comes to understand how Vriska should really not be her role model.

Oh not this again--

(Vrissy: Get key.)

Vriska drew this shitty key on the floor "juuuuuuuust in case you need a reminder of what you should be working towards ::::)."

Vriska, you asshole!

(Vrissy: Try the door.)

You fruitlessly pull on the bars. Vriska says it looks like it's still locked. Yeah???????? No shit, you tell her. You're just trying to see if you can get a guard's attention. She says ooooooooh that's a good idea.

If you don't keep complimenting her I'm going to be very cross with you, Vriska.

Hm, it'd be really fitting and interesting if Vrissy Mindgames her way out of this one by putting on a façade of distress and convincing the guard to barge in, maybe saying Vriska's escaped or such.

(Vrissy: Get a guard's attention.)

One of those guards Jane intentionally had all dress like Dave to taunt Jane about Dave's death or just make them harder for her and Rose to stomach fighting, right.

Maybe you should use some of your SICKNASTY BRAIN EXPLOITABLES on this jabroni.

How much practice does she have with her psychic powers? All Aranea was able to do with Cerulean psychics on humans was get a vague sense of the emotions of people around her toward her like she always does, and Vriska WAS able to put a human to sleep or wake them in another universe but only when trying so hard that her Light symbol flashed in her eye, emphasizing that a Cerulean troll who WASN'T using the powers of a God-Tier Thief of Light wouldn't necessarily be able to do the same to a human. Stealing wakefulness or stealing through wakefulness, wakefulness being a part of Agency and thus Light, where Void is associated with sleep and dreams, et cetera. (Vriska put people (like Jade D:) to sleep FAR FAR MORE OFTEN than she woke them up, and when she woke John that one time it could have been considered "stealing THROUGH Light" because it deprived him of an opportunity in his dreams to meet his Dad as his dreamself just to give Vriska the selfish opportunity to speak with him at the exact time she'd wanted to speak with him.)

Also, if Vrissy DOES refer to her Cerulean mind powers as "sicknasty BRAIN exploitables" that does put Mind more in mind than usual... and exploitables could just be flavor or it COULD be a reference to EXPLOIT, the theoretical Knight/Page action verb?! --Nah that's probably a stretch.

(Vrissy: Use your Sicknasty Brain Exploitables.)

You apply the focused totality of your psychic power into this douchebag's cranium. Frustratingly, it looks like this guy is resisting your psychic enthrallment so he can get at that donut. Other than occasionally making Tavros dance when he's being boring, you honestly don't do this much.

Holy shit, if she could make New Tavros DANCE, this actually means that Vrissy has more control over human minds than Vriska ever had?!? That or New Tavros is uniquely impressionable, which is ALSO a possibility; the original comic itself emphasized that the "impressiona8le" were more vulnerable to her abilities... those who had less control or agency over themselves.

Also, Vriska had only just met her first humans when her psychic talents were limited to making them sleep-- Vrissy grew up alongside other humans, and that might just be enough for her to understand their minds enough to do some occasional manipulation.

Your mom is always like, "You Need To Listen To Me Vriska Its Important To Keep These Skills Honed In Case Shit Gets Real", but shit so rarely if ever gets real so mom should get OFF your CASE!!!!!!!! Until now, you guess. Wow do you hate realizing your mom was right about shit. ANYWAYS, LAY OFF THE FUCKING DONUTS AND GET OVER HERE ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!

On the one hand, it's unsurprising that Vrissy didn't keep her talents honed for battle or anything, and wouldn't have invested nearly as much energy into exploiting people with psychic powers as Vriska's twisted childhood forced her to; but on the other hand, like I said, this is STILL a bit more direct influence over humans than Vriska ever had, even if it's not working right now!

(==>)

Hell yeah!!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT SHE ACTUALLY OUTCLASSED ORIGINAL VRISKA IN CONTROLLING A HUMAN MIND.

Is Vriska going to feel jealous?! Holy shit?!?? Or is this old hat for her now and she's gonna say she could do it all along, or a retcon along those lines or-- gosh just PLEASE I WANNA SEE VRISKA JEALOUS AS FUCK OF VRISSY'S PSYCHIC TALENTS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HAVE ORIGINAL VRISKA GO "WHOA HOW DID YOU DO THAT"

(Vriskas: Exit the cell.)

Damn that felt good. After locking up the guard you turn to Vriska and ask her what next. Vriska says that now it's time to fuck some shit up. You like the sound of that. You ask her if there's any specific shit or place she wants to go fuck up. She says you'll just walk around until you land somewhere cool. You both laugh. You ask her what her real plan is. She keeps laughing as she walks away.

That's definitely her real plan. But anyway-- UGH, missed opportunity here. I guess we're just supposed to take it as a given that if original Vriska had had enough time, or grown up more, she could do the same thing to impressionable-enough humans as she did to trolls too, or the like.

(==>)

ALARMS BLARING, GUARDS RUNNING-- yeah they didn't cause this, this is some other assault on the Jail, right?

Okay, that's a lot of goons. You suggest to Vriska that you should go the other direction. Vriska says nah this is definitely where we wanna be. She says between the two of you, you've probably got enough luck to take this whole place off the map if you really wanted. You ask her what the fuck she means by that. She says you know like with your Thief of Light powers. You tell her you don't have anything like that. She says huh, weird!

VRISKA WHY THE FUCK WOULD IT BE WEIRD, VRISSY DIDN'T PLAY THE GAME OR GO GOD-TIER, YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD LUCK-STEALING POWERS UNTIL YOU PLAYED THE GAME!!!

Wait, let's back up a sec.

Vriska is smart enough to know that you CAN tap into your Hero Title powers even if you're not someone who's hit God-Tier. As a gleaner of deep lore about the game, Vriska ALSO would put together that the powers you get in the game are inherent to you even before you PLAY the game if you're skilled enough or high up on your echeladder enough to access them, so even if she never Stole Light directly before she played Sgrub, she technically COULD have. Maybe she figures Vrissy, as a coincidental genetically identical alt-version of her, should have access to the same powers just by virtue of having the same genes and training from her Seer of Light Mom knowing she'd have that potential in her genetically, OR, hear me out--

Vriska has already let us know that she's PLANNING ON STARTING A NEW GAME SESSION which we all figure will include Vrissy and the other kids as the players, and Vriska probably figures those kids will be the players too!

So, and I know this is some 3D-chess assumption-maneuvering here and I might be way off base, just taking so much from this single exchange...

...My guess is that Vriska thinks Vrissy ought to ALREADY HAVE inherent Thief of Light powers deep inside her and untapped, because she thinks Vrissy is going to be a PLAYER and thus ALWAYS WOULD gain her powers! Powers which she, of course, would ASSUME would match hers given their genetic similarity-- she would ASSUME Vrissy would also be a Thief of Light.

Except that none of the way Vrissy has actually behaved has resembled a Thief of Light much at all, and Hero Titles are inherent to your PERSONALITY and its method of action of influencing reality around you... and we already have background hinting that matches MUCH closer to her character and her behavior/actions in dialogue with others that she may be a Mind player.

Vriska didn't scold Vrissy for not having tried hard enough to develop the Thief of Light abilities she ASSUMED were inherent to Vrissy. She instead seems confused that she's never manifested any, and said "huh, weird!". Despite the knots in her psychology, both Vriska's smarts and her hero title are likely hinting to her that there might be some flaw in her assumptions here-- something that's keeping this from being a sarcastic scolding and instead telling her something isn't right about the knowledge she thought she had at hand.

(==>)

Vriska says that's perfectly fine as she always prefers a challenge. Vriska Serket, the daring Thief of Light and her imitation kid Vriska sidekick against countless foes. Marquise Spinneret Mindfang leading her Neophyte Bluehair, it's a tale for th- w8 w8 hold the fuck up. You ask her what the fuck does she mean "imitation.

Of course, just because Vriska isn't going to be an asshole in that PARTICULAR direction was never any assurance that Vriska wasn't going to be an asshole. She still views (Vrissy) as the less important version of the original her, and she's still going to frame everything in that light because of course she would, it's still in her nature and she still hasn't fully learned her lesson yet.

(==>)

I'm at the image limit so I'm gonna hold off on posting Vriska's hilariously condescending greasy expression and Vrissy squinting hilariously absolutely having fucking none of it:

Vriska says to not let it get to you, but she's pretty much figured out that this whoooooooole timeline is phony. You know, inauthentic. Fake. Bogus even. She says it's somehow the off brand equivalent of a universe and she really hopes you kept the receipt. You assure her that both you and this timeline are in fact, real as shit. She doesn't seem convinced. She says it's mostly from the little things she's noticed. You ask like what, she's only been on this planet for like a day and a half. She gestures vaguely and tells you to give her a boost so she can reach that ventilation shaft.

Yeah, the way this version of reality isn't as tethered to Canon means Vriska isn't going to take it seriously-- she shares Dirk's view of the (Candy) timeline in that regard, really. And they BOTH are going to receive their comeuppance and learn their lesson.

Phew-- that image limit was a good sign, I was already hitting the limits of my energy for the day, that was hours of liveblogging and typing. I guess we'll leave off here until another day! As I said at the outset, I'm still going to be pacing myself and only doing liveblogging every few days like I mentioned, but that doesn't mean I'm not VERY MUCH enjoying this and very looking forward to where it's going. If I weren't liveblogging, I'd get there a lot faster, I assure you, but then you wouldn't get to see me go off on random Classpect tangents about stuff you already guessed! :D

See you in a few days!

#Homestuck #hs2 #Homestuck Liveblog #Homestuck^2 #spoiler #spoilers #Vriska #Vrissy #Vrissy Lalonde #Light and Void #Life and Doom #Heart and Mind #Classes and Aspects #John Egbert #Sollux #Calliope #alt!Calliope

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hypequeenves · 9 months ago

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NEW TO THE BLOG? READ ME!

Enchantée, my loves! Welcome to the blog! <3

Just to let you know that this is a story based blog, with an alternative style of story telling. The plot is revealed mostly through the lens of different types of technology. From Sinstagram posts to security camera footage, this Hellaverse AU centres around my OC Vesper:

Vesper is a popular popstar and sinner operating within the Pride Ring. She is soul contracted to Vox, and was designed around the idea of a 'hypeman' for the Vees. Her outfit is loosely based around a cheerleader, and her abilities are based off a Siren.

The story is told through a bunch of different mediums - mostly images, but I do have some audio files on here along with some music! I did not expect to be writing music for this, but here we are! So if you'd like to stick around, I'd scroll right to the bottom of the blog and explore the story! SPOILERS BELOW - If you haven't looked through the posts thus far and don't want to be spoiled, come back after!

THE PLOT THUS FAR:

(I didn't just wanna write the plot point blank, so I wrote it like POV: Your at a movie night and your best friend is telling you the plot to the prequel movie so you have *context*)

We're diving into the wild world of Vanessa LaBlanc, this mega-popstar who goes by the stage name Vesper in the Pride Ring. But here's the kicker: her climb to stardom? It's only been about seven years! Insane, right?

So, her smash hit 'The Devil You Know' rockets to the top of 'Hell's Hottest Hits'. It's like her big breakout moment, and suddenly, everyone's got their eyes on her.

But here's where it gets interesting: turns out, she's been hanging out at the Hazbin Hotel, but not just for kicks. Nope, she's on this super-secret spy mission, keeping tabs on things. And her deal with Vox? Let's just say their whole working relationship is one big question mark.

Then there's this whole issue about her being under some soul contract with Vox, so it's not all rainbows and sunshine. But Charlie, being the sweetheart she is, rallies everyone to support Vesper at this major award ceremony, and guess what? She totally wins and takes home the prize!

But after that, Vesper goes MIA, ghosting everyone's texts and calls. Finally, when she resurfaces, it's because she's been tied up shooting some ad campaign. Turns out, her and Vox had this major fallout over the ad's ethics.

And get this: the product of the ad? Love Potions! Vesper's kinda backed into a corner she doesn't think its right - but Vox makes her do it anyway! You can see the strain it puts on her and Vox's relationship. It's messy, to say the least.

Then there's this whole backstory between Vesper and Angel Dust, like they used to hate each other and Valentino admits to being the reason behind it. But now that she's staying at the Hotel, they seem to have made up! Val's flipping out, convinced Vesper's up to something, but Vox is tells Val to calm down, because 'it's not like before' that she's 'under contract now'.

Things really hit the fan when Vesper and Vox have this big blow up over some news article about her going public with staying at the Hazbin Hotel. But in the middle of all the drama, you can see there's this genuine care between them, buried beneath all the chaos.

And then there's the bombshell about Vesper's new album, 'Absolution', which Vox drops on her out of nowhere. She's not thrilled, especially when she finds out the album cover's shot in Val's flooded studio, and she has a deep-rooted fear of water.

Things get tense between Vesper and Angel, too. He's worried sick about her, but she's not having any of it. And then after the album shoot, her relationship with Vox starts unravelling big time.

And that's pretty much it thus far!

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel oc #hellaverse #oc #hazbin hotel fanart #the vees #vox hazbin hotel #hazbin art #hazbin hotel art #hazbin hotel fandom

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rootsofdread · 2 years ago

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Hiii! Always glad to see new dbd blogs!!

May i request Wraith, Nurse, Joey and Susie with a big tryhard s/o, who's pretty much throwing the game the moment they know it's them? Like they are a pain in the ass for every other killer, but for those they r just going around giving free hits n' hooks, never finishing gens, following the killer around and so on.

Feel free to skip this one if u don't feel comfortable writing it and good luck!! I'll be looking forward for all of your future posts :D

so glad to see you too! i hope i don't disappoint with my posts <33

Philip Ojomo / The Wraith:

Philip is always confused about it, to be honest. He knows you do it because you love him — that, he'd never be confused about. It's the fact that you let him kill you every time…Ultimately, though, he supposes that he prefers that over someone else killing you. He needs to protect you, and if this is the way he has to do it, then he'll accept it.

He does enjoy the help, though, like when you block exits for others when he uncloaks behind all of you. He likes sending you to be with the other survivors for just that reason. And to make sure you don't accidentally blow his cover.

Or he'll use you to draw out the others by either leaving you down or putting you on a hook. He cloaks and stays nearby to wait for your signal. That, and he prefers being close to you to watch out for you.

He will insist on you staying behind him when he's chasing everyone else around, to make sure you don't get in his way. Both so he doesn't hurt you when you don't expect it, and to ensure precision against everyone else.

He's always especially protective of you around other killers. He knows your antics must make you a popular target for the more aggressive of them. He's always looking out for you.

Sally Smithson / The Nurse:

Sally wishes you wouldn't offer yourself up for sacrificing, at least not so easily. She loves you and prefers not to hurt you. But she will, if you want it. She appreciates that you're willing to do anything to help her get ahead.

She will ask that you stay out of the way while she works, she rathers you stay out of danger until it's necessary. She saves you for last.

She does enjoy seeing you take a break from other trials with her, more free to run around and do what you like. She finds it sweet that you trust her so much.

She feels a bit bad when she blinks away from you on accident, and always looks back to check on you. She always does her best not to leave you too far behind, she doesn't like making you catch up with her.

It does make her feel quite special knowing you give all the other killers a hard time, and only give wins to her. She's not used to so much devotion from somebody. Loyalty. It means so much to her, honestly.

Joey / The Legion:

Joey loves it, because it gives him so many opportunities to show off, both to you and to other survivors, by getting you in on the trick he wants to pull off. He is delighted having a partner who'll just hand trials to him, it fuels his ego.

He will specifically tell you to give everyone else a hard time, knowing you’re already doing that and would just do it anyway. He just likes to encourage you. Plus, he kind of likes seeing all the other killers’ blood boil over how much of an ass you are. It makes him proud.

He kinda likes having a groupie that follows him around and helps him with kills. It brings him back to his brief days in Ormond before being taken into the fog: where he felt like he was on top of the world for killing someone, taking matters into his own hands.

He’ll use you to screw with the other survivors, try to earn their trust by seeming like he doesn’t have a favorite, downing and hooking you in front of them, only to viciously betray that little bit of trust he’d taken just minutes later.

It does amuse him when you try to be a pain before you realize it’s him in your trial. When you smack into and taunt the mysterious killer, you'll hear him chuckle a bit. He gives you a headstart before running after you, still laughing a little.

Susie Lavoie / The Legion:

Susie honestly finds it adorable that you'll do anything to give her a win but give every other killer such a hard time, it makes her feel special and she loves that. It sends her into a very huggy giggle fit when she sees you being such a pain in the ass for everyone else.

She probably uses it to tease other killers. "Well, if you weren't so mean, maybe you'd catch a break!" — things like that. She knows it's not true, she just hopes it frustrates them even more.

Like Joey, she really enjoys showing off in front of you by mindgaming other survivors, catching them off guard, mori'ing them. Anything she thinks you'll be impressed by during a trial, she'll do it and will always be looking over at you and waving.

She'll often ask you to go scout out where the other survivors are in a trial and sell them out to her, because she knows she can count on you to help her.

She always thanks you for taking hits very sweetly, and will thank you with a kiss when she throws you onto a hook. If there are other survivors alive, she'll hang around for a little while to make sure nobody comes to save you. And to chat.

#inbox #hope u like my interpretations of joey and susie...there's almost nothing canon about them so i'm winging them #but i'm happy w this so i hope legion enjoyers enjoy :-))#philip ojomo #sally smithson #dbd joey #susie lavoie #dbd imagines #dbd x reader #dbd x you #philip ojomo x reader #the wraith x reader #sally smithson x reader #the nurse x reader #dbd joey x reader #susie lavoie x reader #the legion x reader

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foone · 2 years ago

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The fundamental problem with comedy is that the highest form is improv. Not "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" style formalized improv, where you ask the audience for suggestions and build a comedic scene around that, but the basic skill of "something just happened, make a joke about that". This got long, so it'll be after a readmore

It's a life skill, not a type of art you produce. Jokes like this don't make it into movies and shows and blogs, it just happens. You're with a friend or two and something funny happens and you make a joke about it, everyone laughs. It's personal, you tell the best joke because you know your audience, you have shared history.

And you can see how we try to capture this in produced comedy: it's why we have comedy movies and sitcoms, literally "situation comedy". It's not just half an hour of stand-up, telling joke after joke, it's about setup and putting the protagonists into situations, and having it be funny, usually with them making a joke about the situation they're now in.

But there's an artificiality to it: the same people writing the situations are the ones writing the witty jokes. They set up the dominoes and they're the one who knocked them over.

And hell, even stand-up is rarely as simple as just "setup->punchline, rinse lather repeat". There are some comedians who can pull that off, but it seems far more comedians are "observational comedians", meaning they're making jokes about the absurdity of the world and modern life. They'll tell a story, even if it's as simple as "so I went to the post office and it was annoying and people were mean and I made jokes about it!". They're doing storytelling: here's the situation, and here's what I said in response, either in the moment, later during this retelling, or some combination of both. (Ed Byrne has a bit where he says "yes I was very witty that day, almost like I had several weeks to come up with the perfect response!")

And maybe the closest we can get to this "in the wild" (meaning in a produced media form) is MST3K and similar riffing. The people making the jokes didn't make the story, so they have plausible deniability. And even if they've seen the movie several times and written out jokes ahead of time, they can feel like they're reacting in the moment.

But the funniest jokes will never be made this way. No sitcom or comedy film will be the funniest, no stand-up one liner or knock knock joke, not even an improv scene that makes you nearly piss yourself in laugher.

The funniest jokes are when you and an old friend are getting ice cream and the person in front of you asks for vanilla with extra sprinkles then sends it back because there's "too many sprinkles" and you turn to them and say "I thought my ex-wife moved back to Chicago!" and you have to leave the establishment because you're crying with laughter and can't get it under control enough to actually make your order. It's something that'll probably only ever make sense to you and your friends, and in that particular moment. You could sit down and explain the situation and the back story but that would never capture one tenth of the humor, and even if they understood, so much of why it's funny is that it happened in that moment and without the setup.

Because even if you are truthfully recounting what happened to someone else later, and don't need to explain all the back story, you're still implicitly telling a story that sets up a situation. This is now a joke, and you might as well start it with "so an Irishman and a Rabbi walk into a bar..."

You're setting then up for all the expectations of comedy. And that inherently ruins some of the comedy! Because comedy, in a way, is an error message. It's a mis-prediction. It's your huge brain trying to do what it does and predict what will happen and what you'll say next and understand the situation and figure out how it'll go, and realizing it's wrong, and fundamentally wrong. It made assumptions that were reasonable to make, but it had those assumptions proven very wrong.

Like, one way this has been described is the idea that jokes are telling two stories: the one you assume, then at the last moment they pull the rug out from under you and reveal there was a second story, and you have to mentally backtrack and retrace your steps to see how the second story is the correct one.

Like, simple example, and I'm sorry to ruin the joke (as someone said, explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog: no one's that interested, and the frog dies)

Doctor: I'm sorry, we had to remove your colon

Me Why?

See, the humor comes from how the setup primes you to think that "colon" means the body part, but then the punchline reveals it's talking about the punctuation. The way the first line is interpreted is totally changed by the second, and the humor is how your brain handles to "whoops made a big mistake in how I understood/predicted that!"

And that's why it's never going to be the same level of comedy when telling jokes as just improv'ing a joke while out in the world. You tell someone a joke, they know a joke is coming. They have heard jokes before. Their brain is in joke mode. They are trying to imagine how things could be taken different ways, how the joke could work, what the punchline is.

This is why "a comedian's comedian" is a thing. Your Milton Jones style comedy ("My grandfather invented the cold air balloon but it never really took off"), where it's very absurdist and includes a lot of anti-jokes. It's why simple jokes like the above are often called "dad jokes", because they're the kind of jokes you tell kids. Not just because they're not raunchy or anything, but because they're lessons in how jokes work. They're jokes that only work on people who don't yet know how jokes work.

Whereas absurdist comedy and anti-jokes can work amazingly on people who know how jokes work, if you're aiming for that audience. You basically write your jokes so that the audience expects the joke, predicts the punchline, but SURPRISE! the punchline is completely different or not a joke at all. For example:

I'm not like other dads

I’m a 19 yo woman with no kids

The comedy is your brain going into joke-mode and getting ready to figure out all the ways this joke could go and then WHOOPS the joke is that there isn't one and this is a straightforward statement that you got mislead into thinking was going to be a joke.

So, having said all that, hopefully you can understand what I mean. The best jokes are the ones that come out of nowhere because you are 120% not in joke mode. You're out somewhere with a friend trying to do something serious, something happens, then BAM! one of you comes up with something that just perfectly fits the situation and references some shared background/history you have together, and you were not at all expecting it. All your brains predictions were taken up with sensible boring things, and then suddenly BOOM! IN THE COMEDY!

And I think in a way, all produced, scripted (or hell, even unscripted) comedy is about trying to recapture that perfect moment. It's setting up situations for funny punchlines to exist in. It's making the setup so that the punchline works. But it can never fully match that unexpected moment, that perfection, because at its core its always artifical, or at least staged (as there's an expectation for this to be comedy). No one goes to an improv show expecting it to be Macbeth, but a production of The Scottish Play that turned into a comedy could be unexpectedly hilarious, if the audience wasn't expecting it.

But at the same time, even staying in the area of Shakespeare, there's clear differences between, say, Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet. The former sets up a bunch of elements that are clearly going to be used for comedy: identical twins, crossdressing, recursive crossdressing, metacrossdressing, unknowing homosexual relationships, disguises, and mistaken identities... All are clearly set ups for comedy. Even at the time, nearly half a millenia ago, these were old, well known tropes in comedy. Shakespeare sets up all the cans knowing he can knock them over later. These things exist in the story so they can lead to comedy, and they do. Maybe not in the ways the audience expects, but they'll lead to hilarity.

And even if there's not a specific punchline, the two-stories thing can be the joke, even when the audience is on it. Like, in the scenes where Olivia is professing her love for "Cesario" (who is actually not a man, but Viola dressed as one).

The audience knows Viola is a woman (and they presume a straight one), but Olivia doesn't (and she's also presumed to be straight). Even without a punchline about this situation, there's inherent comedy in the two separate understandings of the situation. Olivia thinks she loves this nice young man, and wants to woo him. Viola is stuck trying to politely reject her advances, without revealing her disguise. That's uncomfortable (for her) and amusing (for the audience) enough, but then Shakespeare goes one step further and has Viola asked to woo Oliva for her employer, Duke Orsino. That would really twist the screws and make the situation more awkward as Viola has to attempt to woo the woman who is already in love with her, but under false pretenses... Except Shakespeare goes ONE FURTHER and has Viola fall in love with Duke Orsino herself! While Viola can't herself express this love, because as far as Duke Orsino knows, she's a man named Cesario.

And then Viola's identical twin brother shows up and marries Oliva, who thinks he's Cesario, and IT JUST GETS WACKIER. There's plenty of jokes to be had at this absurd situation (and many of them are made!) , but the "first joke" of the whole situation is the way different characters have completely different understandings of what's going on. Olivia thinks she's just in love with a nice young man, Duke Orsino thinks his page is wooing Olivia for him (and definitely his page isn't in love with him), while Viola is stuck in the middle, having to balance maintaining her disguise with not offending Olivia, not failing her master, and then her own love for the Duke just makes everything more complicated.

It's an old story. Literally and figuratively. You set up a weird situation so that it's inherently somewhat funny, then you can put jokes in the moutha of the characters, and you can make the audience laugh at how you took a bunch of people stuck in this absurd situation and then made it weirder.

Anyway, so the reason I wrote this was because I was leaving my house this morning to go grab a coffee, and I saw a truck for a local construction company, "Tech Line". I immediately shouted "Tech L9ne! Cha!" which would have been the funniest thing in the world except no one else was there to hear it, and explaining it ruins the joke.

So instead I just rambled on about the nature of comedy and the truest form of it for 28 paragraphs. This is called a "Shaggy Dog Story". It's also called "ADHD".

#Comedy #The nature of comedy #my writing

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tangledbea · 6 months ago

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You've been running this blog for eight years, and that's a long time. Long enough for the series to come and go, and have been gone for years. Long enough for me to grow from a tween to a technical adult (who can drink almost anywhere that's not the states. I don't know why I'm so hung up on this fact since I'm not american and don't drink.) Anyways that's a long time. Even though I've been lurking in this fandom and by extension your blog since Dec 2017, I never saw the very beginning of your blog. What was that time like? Did you always intend to answer people's seemingly random questions about Tangled? If not, how did we get to this point?

Hey! If it makes you feel any better, I recognize your URL from my likes! So thanks for talking to me!

The beginning was interesting. I expected this was going to be primarily an archival blog. As in I'd post (or reblog) facts about the (then) upcoming series as they were dropped by entertainment news outlets, and then screencaps, analyses, gifs, fanart, concept art, etc about the show, and people would look things up on my blog using my detailed tagging system. I learned how to make gifs so that I could gif the show. Honestly, for years I'd been following @artoftangled (not to be confused with @theartoftangled though they're doing stellar work), and I saw that they got asks about the movie a lot, and I was hoping this would be that kind of blog, too. That people would come to me for my years of experience and hyperfixation so that I could answer questions for them. I didn't expect it, but I hoped.

No, the most surprising turn of events for me was when crew members were popping up on Tumblr, posting info and sometimes art, answering the questions they were allowed to answer during pre-production, including the executive producer (who, at the time, we didn't know what he was like). So, on a day when I was actually a little depressed and knew I had literally nothing to lose, I started reaching out to people. I reached out to CS, Stephen Sadoval, and Kay Ritter (now Hayes) at first, and started talking to them here on Tumblr. Much to my surprise, they talked back, started answering my questions, etc in private chats. And the next thing I knew, they knew who I was at the studio. I was genuinely friends with people who worked on the show.

And honestly, I think they found me so trustworthy not just because of my enthusiasm and long-standing presence in the fandom, but because of my age. I'm a grown-ass adult, and was when the movie came out. There are a lot of people who worked on the show who are younger than me, and of course several who are my age or older, so I was the crews' peer. And my excitement for the show was honestly free publicity, and the kind that shows need these days: buzz on social media.

I'd say that with as hard as I worked, I deserved to be paid, but I kind of was. I got a tour of the studio, various crew members gifted me with crew-exclusive gifts (I wish the art book was among them, but alas), I was introduced to Roy Conli, I had crew who were excited to meet me, like I was some kind of celebrity, and had their respect and praise.

I also got thousands of followers who not only ask me for facts about the show like I hoped, but my opinions and interpretations of characters and events. I think the opinions and interpretations was far less expected by me, because that implies a level of popularity that I wasn't anticipating achieving. So, go me, I guess? lol

Anyway, yeah! That's how it all began! I knew I wanted to create a blog for the show, but I held off until we had a title. The day that the name Tangled Before Ever After dropped was the day I snagged this URL.

#Fan Mail #Answered

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askfreesmart · 1 year ago

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--- INTRO POST ---

"Pencil? What are you doing?"

"I'm setting up an ask blog for our fans."

"An ask blog? Why?"

"Because SOMEONE didn't know what a lens cap was, and so all of our previous recordings have no meaning!"

".. Wow that person sounds pretty stupid!"

"She is. Anyways! BFDI fans from far and wide, I present to you: the Freesmart ask blog! Now including all Freesmart members. I know our video diaries weren't really.. Videos.. So! This is to make up for that oversight. Ask away! We're all open."

---

Hello! Welcome to the, previously mentioned, Freesmart ask blog! Everyone's available now! I forgot to edit this yikes.

This is a side blog for fun, if you wanna check out my main blog here!!: @missmiseryguts

Now I have basic rules for the blog:

I love ships! Go ahead and ask about the characters relationship status! However, I will be including my own ships for this blog, so don't slur me if I include a ship you don't like LMAO!

I am a minor, so please do not ask anything inherently sexual or vulgar! If you wanna imply smth honestly go wild 💀 And also please don't insult or get mad at me if I include a headcanon and you don't like it!

This ask blog is open for angsty asks! I have my own lore / plot ideas in mind, so if you want to stir something up, go ahead! Just don't take it too far, please!

Freesmart will be healthy! I loved the idea of them actually being a nice friend group lmao, and I'm going to try keep that! So probably not the most canon thing, (edit; definitely not the most canon thing) I might be a bit rusty with some characters too, but I will try my best to stay in character. Also, playing all of the characters is a new experience for me so it might take me a small while to get used to using them all!

This is sort of an AU, any BFDIA episodes after the 5th aren't canon to my blog, it takes place in IDFb after competition has. Erm. Evaporated I guess.

I'll try answer all asks, but I have school and other responsibilities! So, please be patient!

And finally:

ENJOY THE FREESMART ASK BLOG!!

I haven't used this in forever so don't expect much I'm so sorry it's kinda dead... Asks turned off for now!! And. Probably forever. Oops.

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odayakajanai · 1 year ago

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Vocaloid Songs You Might Have Missed - December 2023

Welcome back to my blog. Just like that, it's the last post for the year... never mind that it's already 2024. But for this longtime fan, 2023 was the best year in ages for Vocaloid music.

Something I mentioned in an earlier entry is that so much Vocaloid music over the past few years has felt like bait for singers to cover. (And to paste their avatars over in the videos... I'm far from the first person to notice this!) I don't mention this entirely to be a hater, but to contrast with the type and quality of release I've seen this year. Many of the 'vtuber bait' songs I poke fun at are truly great and destined to live on forever in Vocaloid history, but I've always felt a difference between songs that use vocal synths in the absence of a human singer and those that lean into the synthetic nature of the voices and the characters that represent them.

Over the past few years, a renewed interest in idiosyncratic voicebanks like Adachi Rei, Utane Uta (entirely synthetic), and the MAIDLOIDs (derived from a h-game moan synthesis engine) has coincided with technological advancement: the entry of SynthV, Neutrino, and CeVIO voicebanks have been fuel for an explosion in new music -- a genuine Vocaloid renaissance.

SynthV Teto has been particularly instrumental in all this since her release in April. In mere months, SV Teto has catapulted at least one producer into online superstardom, and an associated reevaluation of UTAU Teto has seen her behind some of the biggest songs this year. Nostalgia was part of the reason 2023 was the Year of Teto, but the SynthV voicebank, which totally maintained Teto's character while shaking off the computer-y crunchiness, is an achievement well worth the fanfare it received. With December's release of SynthV GUMI, are we in for a similar treat in 2024?

Anyways, last month's post is here, and this month's is under the break.

P.S. Speaking of nostalgia... did you know that Dixie Flatline is back?

Full playlist here, individual tracks below.

心酔 / あすわど feat. 重音テト Standard voca-pop rock, but something about the stuttering drums and a finely tuned Teto is *chef's kiss* more than enough for me.

死んだっぽいぜ / クソ犬 feat. 知声 I'd never heard a Vocaloid producer take on this kind of rock, somewhat reminiscent of pre-Warner Devo and a dead ringer for ZAZEN BOYS at their best. I also never expected to hear a Maki cover of "Lithium," so this producer is my current king of breaking new ground.

アサルト / いおぎりょう feat. 知声 Ryo Iogi's Teto hyperpop from September is one of my favorite tracks of the year, and I've been anxious to hear something new from him. Like the last song on this list, Chis-A's voice lends itself well to a good grungy guitar riff.

かくほ / よかど feat. 足立レイ Like Chis-A, Rei's voice pairs naturally with a certain kind of music... usually the skittery electronic dance-pop kind, so it's refreshing to hear a Coaltar of the Deepers-esque song featuring her.

sh*ellll;gar~ey / あずきねこp feat. カゼヒキβ, 初音ミク Finally, Kazehiki Beta hyperpop!

エビチャーハン! (You’re Telling Me A SHRIMP Fried This Rice?!) / Jamie Paige feat. 初音ミク Jamie Paige is behind just about every English Vocaloid song that I like (sorry Crusher-P, but I'm not an edgy teenager anymore), so I wasn't surprised to love her celebration of the Snow Miku 2024 "Shrimpku" design. And it's always funny to hear Miku say fuck.

ルナシー / 報瀬 feat. 初音ミク, 重音テト There's something so satisfying about hearing a "traditional" vocasynth sing alongside one of the next-gen, realistic-sounding ones. I love getting hit back-to-back with a crunchy melismatic Miku call and Teto soaring smoothly in response, especially paired with an uptempo saxophone riff that makes me want to shout ᴶaᵃaˢₒⁿ ᴰₑʳᵤᵘᵤˡₒᵒₒᵒ.

ドキドキ / tiputica feat. AiSuu I can't find anything about this artist. They have a Twitter account with one post about this song, zero followers or follows, and that's it. If anyone out there has more information on this artist, hit me up.

マジカルメモリー / in the blue shirt feat. 初音ミク in the blue shirt isn't new to Vocaloid, but he's much more known among netlabel followers for his sunny, sample-driven plunderphonic pop. His Miku music follows that feeling.

今日のずんだはみなごろし / ちから feat. ずんだもん,東北ずん子, イタコ, きりたん, 四国めたん, ナクモ I barely know where to start with this one. Like, uh, most people who don't listen to Pentatonix, I'm not particularly fond of a certain brand of a capella music, but when it's done this well, with such a satisfying complexity of harmony and counterpoint, and for Zundamon's birthday of all occasions, how can you not fall in love?

サンタの眠る夜 / ぐーすかぽー feat. 初音ミク The holidays have just wrapped up, and while there's never any shortage of Vocaloid Christmas songs, ones that are actually enjoyable to listen to are few and far between... though I think there's a new market opening for New Years music!

Trajectory / ごーぶす feat. KAITO Hey, it's KAITO's first appearance on here! A chill ballad with a beautiful rnb chord progression.

え？ちょっと待って寒すぎない？ / asanuko feat. 鏡音レン Speaking of rnb, I think I've mentioned on here how much I love Rin for rnb/garage. asanuko's song is funny as hell, and I'm sure I'll be singing it under my breath as the winter chill continues to settle in, but mostly I'm impressed at how good Rin sounds for this kind of music.

夜空の再構成 / ヨハク feat. 初音ミク This style of song/video has been getting popular recently... electric piano, rapid-fire bass, intricate drum programming, synth leads that twist and turn around the melody, and all of the chord/time information you could ever hope for. A little showboating for music nerds, but it's stimulating enough and I do like it.

ボクにあいそうなはこ / MIDy feat. カゼヒキβ Finally, Kazehiki Beta hy-- wait a second.

ずんだ体育大学コール / さたぱんP feat. ずんだもん, 春日部つむぎ, WhiteCUL, 四国めたん, 白上虎太郎, 青山龍星 The Zundamon gods demand a sacrifice of joke songs, so here it is. See if you can count the references in the zunda dances.

＊･ﾟ+｡園にて.ﾟ / ukaihi feat. 初音ミク ukaihi is 3 for 3 on making it onto this list. I'm sure #4 will make it on here, too... if they don't become popular enough for most people to come across their music first!

絵空事未来 / 真島ゆろ feat. 初音ミク Where the ukaihi song seemed to float, this one skips. 真島ゆろ is one of those producers who can change styles from song to song, and this take on a sasakure.uk-gone-lighthearted style is a winner.

ナイトランナー / d0tc0mmie feat. 重音テト Osaka mentioned... d0c0mmie did a great job capturing a feeling with this one. The laid back - but quick - drums bring back memories of running around Namba with friends way too late into the night.

ハイパー. / ikomai feat.Ciちゃんβ My favorite submission from #PVSF2023R -- so obviously the video is great, but the original track from ikomai blew me away. I think my taste in music is easily read from my blog posts, and this kind of song is nothing out of the ordinary for me, but the Jacob Collier style turnaround at 0:58 knocked me out.

エグい速度での俯瞰 / もっちりしたパン feat.可��, ナースロボ＿タイプT Nurse Robo Type T and Kafu doing what they do best -- talking and mirroring a superspeed jazz fusion piano riff.

NSFW Bonus - メスガキヨーデル / enunichime feat. 重音テト First of all, I have never heard a vocasynth yodel before, and I was not expecting it to sounds this good. Second of all, you can't be making songs about this white baby.

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 11 months ago

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Shuichi? I'm glad to see you finally giving Shirogane what she deserves, but I don't think I feel good about it, I don't know why, I'm supposed to be smiling about it, I'm supposed to be excited, to be happy, but I'm not! No matter how hard I try, I can't force myself to be happy about it

*sigh*

Ok...You will sit, and you will LISTEN...!

I get that you guys don't approve of me sparing her life like this. I understand you may think it's stupid, and gives way to much more chaos and death. After all, leaving Tsumugi alive invites only more chaos, right? That's what you think?

But I demand that you all just sit and think about it for a second...What DOES killing Shirogane even achieve in the end?

She'll go. That doesn't mean Zetsubou will! Even if their head is cut off, that's not going to destroy the work they've put in so far. Someone else will rise to the cause and fill the gap that she left, just like Shirogane herself did for Junko Enoshima...!

These Despairs...they're like seagulls who keep coming back for more food after getting a tiny nibble of your sandwich...! And simply killing them isn't going to FIX any of this! The world already got destroyed! Enoshima's death didn't fix that! TWO more Killing Games happened post-Enoshima because of her followers, and FIFTY-FREAKING-THREE happened in ours!

If you think that this is all part of a plan to get Shirogane to give up on her pointless dreams and seek redemption for her crimes...Pah...We all know that's not how she does things. The only reason I spared her is because her empire is falling around her, and now she's stuck being a blank-slate of a person, with no original ideas or schemes left to throw at us, knowing that taking our lives like she swears to, it won't take it all back, like I just said! For her? That's a fate WORSE than death!

Woah, hey, Shuichi...! Y-You ok?

And another thing!? Look at Enoshima! Look at Otonokoji! These Despair types defy death as a concept anyway! Let's say I DO kill Shirogane! How long do you think it'll be before she comes RIGHT THE FUCK BACK AGAIN to make us all EVEN MORE MISERABLE!?

The only thing that gets achieves if I decide to bite the bullet and take Shirogane's life is that...I become a murderer. And what's stopping me from running with that idea and slaughtering every bad guy I come across, even for petty reasons!? From becoming KURIPA!?

I would become the exact person that my real world self desired to become. When he signed up for all of this...this BULLSHIT! A sadistic murderous detective with a plan to kill everybody around him in an ingenious way...!

Shuichi, hold on-!

And you want to know what the most screwed up part of all of this is!? You guys want me to kill Shirogane because that's what YOU want! You want ME! The CHARACTER that you are watching, to enact justice! To side with Hope and destroy Despair! Sounds familiar, right? You know, that very idea that kept Danganronpa going a crapton of years!?

I am NOT going to give ANY fan of Danganronpa the SATISFACTION of watching me become a killer! Not my old self, not Shirogane, and NOT YOU! So hate me all you want for defying the expectations you set for me as a character! I am NOT your ENTERTAINMENT, DAMMIT!

SHUICHI!

...!?

I...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry I...I'm just so...sick...and tired of all of this...I stopped someone from dying...and yet inside, I feel like I murdered countless others...Do you know how hard it is to justify your own actions to a bunch of faceless, merciless members of an ask blog, who WANT your enemies to be slaughtered!?

...

Shuichi...I got a question for ya...Do you consider the real Ryoma Hoshi to be who I am now, or the person I was before all this happened?

...The Ryoma in front of me is the real one, of course.

Well, you should know this Ryoma killed a whole bunch of people out or rage and vengeance. And he lived every day of his life after regretting it, even when he got a second chance to live as a free man.

...You made the right choice. I guarantee you that.

If Shirogane DOES somehow come back to terrorize us again, all she'll be doing is coming back for another beating! Right?

...Yeah...Listen...I love you SO much...Don't EVER think of yourself as anything less than one of the greatest people that exists in this world...You don't deserve to go through this stress...

*Kaede gently presses her forehead against Shuichi's, embracing him warmly as tears stream down both their faces.

I love you too...I love all of you...I don't deserve any of your kindness...

*Everyone except Kokichi and Nico huddle around Shuichi for a hug.

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #shuichi saihara #kaede akamatsu #gonta gokuhara #kaito momota #kokichi ouma #tenko chabashira #ryoma hoshi #ask #the day the world stood still arc

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hersweetrevenge · 10 months ago

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Hi there! <3 I re-watched Halloween Ends yesterday because I was upset and I needed Corey to save me, lmfao, and I wanted to ask you something that I've been wondering about. So, I have no way of getting the novelisation of the movie anytime soon, and you're kinda my only frame of reference for it; so I hope you don't mind me asking you this. When Corey is on his revenge killing spree, he kills those bullies at the mechanic shop. And Ronald is there. And then Ronald comes out to help the kids because of Terry. And only because of that. So, that makes me wonder... Did Corey plan on killing Ronald after he was done with the kids? Is that something that was elaborated on in the novel? Because I keep wondering about that, since Corey pretty much killed everyone that ever wronged him during that night, and Ronald was right there; but Corey didn't kill him (or didn't get the chance to, at least). Terry shot him by accident. But Corey killed his mom, of course. So, it'd make sense if he had at least planned on going after Ronald as well; even though he never actively wronged Corey (only passively, if we look at the way he just sat and watched while Joan abused Corey right in front of him, for example). But more so for completion's sake, y'know? They were on generally good terms, after all. I mean, in your latest post about the novel, you quoted that Ronald is "the loveliest thing" in Corey's life, according to Rohan. So, that makes me wonder all the more. OH, and... I fought with myself to include this point, but anyway- Corey takes the mask off when Ronald comes to help the kids, so that Ronald can see his face and know it's him. And it clearly disarms Ronald immediately and is the reason why Terry accidentally shot him instead of Corey, because he shielded him instinctively. Thus, I keep wondering if Corey meant for that to happen or if he took the mask off in order to assure Ronald that he wasn't actually in danger... It's such a seemingly insignificant thing that I'm thinking about far too much, but it's been bothering me that I don't know, and I was curious if the novel said anything about that at all, or if they just brushed over it there, as well. If they did, I'll just make up my own mind, of course, hdsfdjkfsk Anyway, I'm very sorry for rambling on about this, gosh! I love your blog(s) and everything you have to say about Corey and Rohan, you're awesome!!! Thank you for your detailed posts all the time, they keep me going! Take care! <3

ahhh hi !! thank you so much for sending this ask !! i love talking about this sort of thing more than anything lol and i’m sorry this took a little longer than i expected to reply, i was double checking like every ronald scene in the novel and cross-referencing that with behind-the-scenes details from making of, and re-watching the movie (i didn’t have to do that last one but like you, i needed emotional support from corey too 💗)

WARNING for discussions about (canon-typical) violence, murder, child abuse, abusive households, mentions of suicide and self-harm, and spoilers for the novelisation.

TL;DR – the novelisation does not elaborate on corey's intentions in any huge amount of detail, but it does provide some insight into a few different possibilities for ronald and corey’s relationship and what that would mean for corey's intentions.

general relationship

the novelisation actually gives some really specific details about the cunningham-prevo backstory, but also leaves a lot of aspects vague too.

joan married ronald when corey was 15, and she made it clear to ronald that he would "remain firmly on the sidelines when it came to corey's upbringing" which ronald "gladly" agreed to. so from the very beginning, ronald accepts he isn't going to be an active parent to corey, which maybe means he didn't believe he would do a good job anyway, or maybe he agreed it wasn't his place to parent corey in the same way joan does.

also, corey was already a teenager, he didn't need parenting in the same way a younger child would, which is partly why i think joan waited until corey was older to get remarried, because although being a single parent is difficult, she wouldn't want someone else in the picture as a father-figure for corey.

i don't personally see corey and ronald having a super close relationship, but there are multiple instances that show they are at least comfortable and familiar with each other (in line with what rohan said).

corey had a job before working for ronald, so we know ronald didn't have to give him a job. i hc that corey really wanted to do something stimulating instead of call centre work, and ronald agreed despite joan's grievances over it.

ronald doesn't seem too angry at him for being late, even though it is a regular occurrence (third time in a month).would he be so lenient on anyone who wasn't his stepson?

the gifting of the motorbike is a huge moment of course. that's a big gesture which, in the novelisation, also comes with some stilted bonding when ronald reminiscences that he used to "get laid [...], if you can believe it".

they have their united front moment over dinner when joan is trying to work a reaction out of them and neither gives her what she wants.

a smaller but still significant gesture is that corey uses dumbbells and a pull-up bar in his room to workout, which ronald bought him for christmas. very much feels like an attempt to help corey rebuild his self-confidence.

honestly though, rohan's comment about ronald being the "loveliest" thing in corey's life is probably right, especially as corey's life has been incredibly insular. as the town pariah with an abusive mom, his stepdad being cool about him being late for work is probably one of the best parts of his day.

but then on the other hand, there are moments which do not characterise their relationship very well, including multiple instances of ronald "ignoring" joan's abusive behaviour and not intervening.

to reiterate a previous point: ronald very willingly obliges joan's wishes of not "interfering" with corey's upbringing. her unfounded criticism and distrust of doctors, the school system and anyone other than her taking care of corey should have been a huge red flag (if, of course, any of that behaviour could have been inferred prior to their marriage).

ronald's passivity at being side-lined by his wife, allowing her to continue an unhealthy and unbounded relationship with corey.

when joan is berating corey for "sneaking around" and seeing allyson (the slap/kiss scene), she questions ronald as to whether he knew about the motorcycle, to which ronald stays completely out of it and doesn't answer her, despite her being furious with corey.

however it is a really difficult family dynamic to navigate, with so much nuance. i'm reluctant to say if ronald is a "good" or "bad" stepdad, or whether their father-son relationship is "good" or "bad", simply because their circumstances are so trying and complex. yes, joan has abused corey for a long time, but that abuse also extends to ronald in many ways too, resulting in him allowing (or enabling) joan's abusive behaviour in a flawed attempt to maintain the (toxic) status quo of the household.

did corey intend to kill ronald?

like i mentioned, there isn't any elaboration about corey's intentions in the novel, either through narration or extra dialogue. the scene happens almost exactly as it does in the film, with a few alterations and added background details. it's the surrounding details and plot differences that change my opinion.

i think movie!corey would have killed ronald if he had to. he knew ronald would be at home or at the yard, both of which were places he intended to go (to kill momma and the bullies). i'm not sure he had the same desire to kill ronald as he does the others, especially if he sees ronald in a good light, but to tie up loose ends he might do what is "necessary". i do find it very interesting that he lets ronald see his face though, and i can't decide if that is as a reassurance (he wouldn't kill ronald and ronald should know that) or because it just didn't matter (he's going to kill ronald so even if he sees corey's face, he won't be a liability to worry about).

however, i don't think novel!corey intended to kill ronald. in the novel, despite all of the extensive set-up of joan being abusive and corey's repressed desires to hurt her (and arguably ronald), there's no suggestion that corey planned to go back home as part of his spree and kill joan. if he wasn't going to kill joan after everything she did, i really don't think he'd have plans to kill ronald.

that's not to say there aren't implication in the novel that corey would hurt ronald too. there's a scene after the slap/kiss where corey can hear joan and ronald arguing about him, and once they've gone to bed corey gets a knife and stands outside their room, but ultimately doesn't go in. it isn't specified whether he wants to hurts just joan, or ronald as well.

michael's mask

ahh so when i was re-reading the scrapyard massacre in the novel to try and answer whether corey letting ronald see that it is him was a way of corey saying "you don't have to be scared of me" or even "you should be scared of me", i've come to a different conclusion about the mask.

“Who did this to you?” [Ronald] asked. “Him,” Margo said, pointing across the street. Ronald turned to find Corey twenty feet away on the other side of the fence, pulling Michael’s mask over his head. "Corey?" he muttered in disbelief.

the way the novel reads, i think that when corey puts the mask on in front of ronald, it's the first time he puts the mask on at all. if that is the case, it adds a whole other level to the transition between corey's kills as himself (or as the scarecrow) and his kills "as michael".

earlier, billy's sees "corey's shape wearing his prevo jumpsuit". it's fair enough that billy would assume it's corey without seeing his face, because they know that corey is there, but there's no mention of the mask either.

then, the way it describes ronald seeing corey put on the mask doesn't really indicate that corey was making sure ronald saw it was him. he's already "pulling on the mask" by the time ronald looks over at him; he wasn't waiting for ronald to look he was already doing it.

alternatively, the movie shows corey very deliberately stood there, waiting for ronald to see him and recognise him before he puts the mask on. i'm leaning towards it not being a gesture of reassurance but more of a last show of humanity to someone corey cares about -- "it's me, and i appreciate that you always treated me well, but this is the monster they've made me into".

in both versions, ronald jumps up to stop terry shooting corey. whether he was intending to shield corey or was just getting up to try and talk terry down, i think it says a lot about ronald as a character. he has been very passive this whole time, especially in scenes that take place at home, but in this moment he takes an authorative position to try and diffuse the situation. there's a scared kid with a gun, and his own stepson who he's starting to think might have done something awful, but this doesn't have to continue -- they can talk about it and calm down and whatever it is that has happened can be worked out.

#corey cunningham #halloween ends #ahhh thank you so much for this ask !! 🥰🥰 i've been turning it over and over in my brain for a few weeks now 😈😈#i'll take any excuse to go over the details again and connect established things in new ways #and thank you for including your point about the mask !!#the dilemma about whether he took the mask off and put it back on has not left my brain since i re-read the novel #which is really exciting because i didnt think i'd get anything knew to chew on this late in the game #i also noticed another pattern which didn't fit here but i wanna post about soon #i hope i covered everything you were curious about. my replies get so rambling --#-- i just throw in section headers to make it seem like i know what i'm talking about lolol #(and also thank you so much for being so lovely !! i love talking about corey and as always this is just my interpretation --#-- i'd love to hear your thoughts and honestly community discussion is what fuels so much of my posting because like this is our thing !! )

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