#I'm using the family name - given name order when talking about in-universe things rather than talking about characters.

[serpentface]

Part of a painting depicting the historical Odonii priestess Odebinae Hibrides inciting aging men into battle during the siege of Odkoto (the city Godsmouth).

---

The most famous account of this siege is the poem "One Hundred Nights Of Dogs", which was an accumulation and rewriting of the (predominantly oral) accounts of the survivors into the format of epic poetry, first put into writing over three decades after the fact. The exact events it depicts are tenuously accurate at best, but it captures the emotional dimensions of the siege and has profoundly shaped cultural memories in the many years since.

This particular episode of the poem takes place towards the end of the siege, when Finn forces breached the outer of two city walls and began a partial sacking. The survivors in the inner walls at this point were almost all starving, and in varying stages of despair after months of hardship and acute trauma. Most of the city's youths would have been engaged at this time, and the poem describes Odebinae approaching a pack of older men at the edge of noncombatant age and inciting them to the front lines.

This is depicted as such:

She threw her glittering, blood-hungry spear to the ground. With one hand, she scratched deep wounds into her breast, and with the other hand, she pounded hard at her bared chest, and with a terrible voice, she roared, “Look upon me now, you cowards, look upon me and be ashamed. You have given up, this much is clear. You hide here and wail for your misery like little girls. You sit and weep, waiting for your rape while your mother-land is defiled around you. You await your deaths on your backs, already wailing! Already mourning! Your character is that of the dogs that skulk among you, eating the corpses of your brothers and your sons and skittering back into shadow when chased, whimpering for their troubles. You are little better, you cravens, you dog-faced men. Enough of this! Look at me now! I am your mothers, your wives, your sisters, your daughters, and look how I bleed while you hide behind your walls!”

Her behavior will have obvious and profound significance for the poem's listeners. The act of a woman exposing breasts and beating at the chest is a specific form of supplication, a performance that is read as exposing weakness in a deeply earnest and persuasive capacity. This is unique as a gesture of supplication, it both places the performer beneath the observer while retaining some control of the dynamic; it is confrontational (unlike a bow or other related gestures) and intends to compel them into action. Breasts themselves are politicized body parts in this culture, having very strong associations with motherly nurturing and/or feminine vulnerability. This targeted form of exposure may at least subconsciously remind the man of his mother, or a wife or daughters who are meant to be under his protection. This is further emphasized with the act of wounding herself and making this association verbally explicit- she positions herself as the impending desecrated body of the women in their lives, a catastrophe they are spinelessly accepting rather than taking up the defense and at least dying honorably in the process.

Whether the historical Odebinae Hibrides actually Did This or Said Any Of That is anyone's guess. There's a fair chance Something along these lines happened, as this form of motivational breast exposure is common practice for Odonii on battlefields, though the story itself is obviously dramatized and HEAVILY moralized.

At least in the confines of the poem, this high-caliber shaming proved to be rousing, and dozens of former noncombatants joined into the defense along with Odebinae. They were blessed by the priestess and described as having been invigorated with a God-given strength, their bodies feeling decades younger as they entered the fray. Odebinae is cited as having put on a full battlefield performance, exposing herself to danger to pace the ramparts while shrieking war cries and biting her spear, acting as a spiritual protector for her men and casting the evil eye on her foes below (this is probably one of the most realistic aspects of this poem, some other accounts say she killed dozens of men and might have turned into an actual lion at some point). She was eventually cut down by arrows, and it's said that when her body fell from the wall, twenty men climbed down after to protect her from desecration.

The siege (both historically and in the poem) ended shortly after, with the Finns being repelled by the arrival of warriors from Ephennos and Wardin (who proceeded to Effectively capture the city themselves without additional bloodshed, as a matter of a negotiated 'alliance' that was functionally more of a land-grab. But that's neither here nor there). Odebinae was declared a saint in the aftermath, along with ten other priestesses and two warriors who died notably heroic deaths.

---

Notes on the drawing:

-Aside from the expense of blue pigments, the use of all-white garb here rather than the standard Odonii blue is an acknowledgment of her sainthood and a suggestion of divinity, and the color is reminiscent of the garb worn by the Odomache in public appearances.

-When the shedding of blood is significant in Wardi art, it will be shown with great clarity and excess, often appearing to gush from even minor wounds. This is visual shorthand for the significance of blood as living spirit and an indicator for what is specifically being accomplished in the act. A depiction of the minimal bloodletting performed in everyday prayer may show the blood arcing directly into flame, the wounds of a sacrificed animal may spray onto earth or crops or into the sky. Here it sprays both towards the spear and the city's earth at her feet.

-The short hair on the men in this image communicates them being in states of grief (both figuratively and probably literally), as it's customary to cut the hair at the topknot (or halfway through the braids for women) to initiate the mourning period. Other depictions of short haired adult men are typically non-Wardi and/or foreigners with these customs (which will usually be made obvious by other elements of ethnic coding) or sex workers (also contextually obvious in most cases).

-Wardi art doesn't consistently depict signs of advanced age with great specificity, though colored images will usually at least show graying hair. The complete youthfulness of the men (probably around the age 55-60) here illustrates the story's claim that they experienced a sense of divinely imbued vigor, making it external for visual symbolic clarity.

-The man in front is performing a spiritually deferential gesture (the squat isn't part of it, that's just a common resting posture), and his positioning doubles as a suggestion that he is about to take up the spear. The hand contact between the men in back (perhaps unintentionally humorously) suggests that they were in the midst of heated conversation before being interrupted by a priestess aggressively bleeding at them.

[thirdtidemouse]

pretend i havent been inactive for 100 years. i've been watching renegade nell and its giving me a new sketchbook au idea/accompanying doodles. essentially: fae highwaywoman johanna is on the run, kaisa is Out To Get Her with dark magic

you have to cut me some slack with how silly i sound. its the hyperfixation. im ill

i'm casting these freaks like actors. Johanna is Nell:

it is 1705, and barkeep Johanna has found herself a highwaywoman on the run for a murder she didn't do, accompanied by her daughters and aided by a little spirit named Alfur. she has found fae-like abilities, and despite her good intentions, she is now feared across half the country as an invincible murderess.

Kaisa is Sofia:

hunting her down is Kaisa, a lady whose family owns Johanna's pub, whose father Johanna is falsely accused of killing, and who is obsessed with catching her. she uses dark magic to fuck with Johanna's life remotely, summoning things to attack her etc - she may be untouchable when it comes to human enemies, but not magic. Kaisa herself is lonely, surprisingly empathetic, and is desperate to prove her worth and have control over her life.

other character notes:

give Johanna a gun

she is a painter and illustrator still. she is struggling to find time for her hobbies

she would rather not be robbing people but has no problem if she needs to. the rich ones have more money than they know what to do with anyway, and if she has to take a horse from some poor guy, she leaves him with stolen valuables in exchange. she's a little robinhood about it.

i think it would be so fun to keep the mythical creatures around. watch out for Devilwoman Johanna who is strong enough to kill a troll!! (she would never)

yes Lauren (belonging to @blaithnne) is included. Nell is accompanied by her two little sisters, brave & helpful older sister Roxy, and funny & inquisitive little sister George. Lauren & Hilda take their place, and maybe Frida and David tag along hehe.

Lauren & Hilda keep getting taken hostage in attempts to get Jo to turn herself in, but they always get out of it. until they do, Hilda probably talks their ears off about dragons and Lauren makes terrifying threats.

no one else REALLY specifically fits character slots like Amadin, Thomas, and Charles (there aren't a lot of men in hilda lol) so i'm going to wing it and the other characters can fill their roles when needed maybe

Thomas is Sofia's brother who killed both their father and Nell's father, and is generally reckless, careless, and easily badly influenced. i'm actually thinking of putting 18yo Dylan (oc of mine who is Kaisa's younger sister) in his place. she is a lot sweeter in regular hilda universe but i think the plot & i could fuck with her character enough that she gains these insecure, irresponsibly cruel tendencies. sorry Dylan

both Johanna and Kaisa were witnesses when her father died. Kaisa knows she's innocent, but goes along with the accusation to save Dylan from being arrested and keep the family (and their place in society) from falling apart. I'm thinking of making Dylan a boy in this, to keep the dynamic of the land going to him when papa dies > he would be a terrible landlord > Kaisa gets to take the reigns and keep everything in working order because she actually cares and enjoys having things to watch over and work on

in general Kaisa is very lonely, has to work twice as hard for the power and respect men are given automatically, and yearns for the kind of freedom and support that Johanna has despite being an outlaw from a poor family.

i think David and Frida could fill Amadin's role as friends they pick up along the way. David's loyalty and voice of reason, and Frida's fierce protectiveness and determination to prove herself both remind me of his character.

i'm inclined to draw a blank for Poynton, the main villain, a Jacobite amongst the royal guard, the siblings' traitorous mentor in black magic, and the indirect reason their dad died in the first place. Tildy is Kaisa's mentor, but not an evil one. the closest Hilda has to real villains is Erik, and the head witches maybe, but none of them really hit the nail on the head for this guy. an au oc may be in order!!!

the Bellkeeper can be Charles maybe lol. he is an established highwayman leading a double life as both a wanted criminal and a aristocrat. he is suave, a little campy, and a firm believer that with confidence, you can sweet-talk anyone into believing you are anyone. he annoys Johanna into letting him tag along and help with disguises and plans just because he finds it fun.

Lady Eularia Moggerhanger runs the newspapers, and i'm splitting that between two characters for a couple reasons. Erik is the owner of the presses (not putting him in the royal guard because it wouldn't make sense for him to be a Jacobite rebel) who generally enjoys fearmongering and controlling the public.

Victoria is the head editor with a taste for dramatics but seeks the truth above all else, and happens to be the Bellkeeper's 'friend in high places' who begrudgingly bails him out of trouble.

Gerda replaces Polly, a good-hearted writer and believer of justice who falls head over heels for Jo when she gets highway-robbed by her and mistakes her for a man. is later appointed assistant editor of the newspaper.

this happens i guess

this isn't meant to stick to the plot of renegade nell, there's a lot going on and it would be easier (and more interesting) to figure out an original plot with this different cast of characters. i just thought it would be fun to put sketchbook into an 18th century highwayman period fantasy drama with dark magic and pixies. and enemies to lovers. okay thanks

i might add onto this at some point if anyone has any questions or additions LET ME KNOW!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU

[rokkr-witness]

Primordial Thurs: Ymir and Surtr

So this project started because quarantine has been keeping my kindred apart, so we’ve been doing zoom meetings to discuss some interesting themes in Norse Mythology. I haven’t cited all the references used for these but I hope I got enough of them. This particular work is going to talk about several important concepts, them being Chaos, creation and Destruction and how those concepts are represented by the Primordial Thurs Ymir and Surtr. I will say I’m not a scholar, and a good portion of this is UPG, take it or leave it.

Ymir

Ymir is the first of the giants in Norse mythology, he dates back to the primal times before Odin, Thor or any other God existed. He is created when the fires of muspelheim meet the ice and rime of niflheim in the ginnungagap, the void. He’s representative of the first shared Ancestor, but also the first “consciousness” to come out of Chaos. When referring to consciousness we do not mean sentience here. Thematically, Ymir is the personification of the chaos before creation, which is also depicted as the impersonal void of Ginnungagap. Both Ymir and Ginnungagap are ways of talking about limitless potential that isn’t actualized, that hasn’t yet become the particular things that we find in the world around us. His name means Screamer so connect that to birth, not just the birth of the womb but also the birth of the universe (the Big Bang).

According to Snorri Sturlson Ymir was suckled by the cow Audhumla for his nourishment, but whether this is a Christian literary device or not has been debated. It may be that Audhumla, who also licked Buri out of the ice, was introduced as a way to present a dichotomy in the myths, that being Buri, Ancestor of Odin as Good and lawful, and Ymir, primordial chaos as inherently Bad and therefore deserving of destruction. But we’ll get to that.

When he slept, several other giants were conceived asexually in Ymir’s hermaphroditic body, and spontaneously sprang from his legs and the sweat from his armpits. A man and a woman grew under his arms and a six headed son under his foot. Þrúðgelmir is the name of one son, who’s son Bergelmir is the only one to survive the ocean of Ymir’s blood after his slaying. This is accounted in the book Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda.

There is some suggestion that Buri might have been one of the beings created from Ymir’s body, and by extension so Bor and Bestla, the parents of Odin. I actually prefer this interpretation, because it removes the dichotomy of jotun = bad because they are inherently evil and the descendents of Buri, imposed(cultivated) order, are inherently good. With all beings originating from Ymir you have one source for creation and one "race" for lack of a better term, and it changes the designation of Aesir, Jotunar and vanir to a more tribal understanding, that being the family or group we choose to belong to.

Anyway, Ymir’s son Þrúðgelmir appears in the poem Vafþrúðnismál from the Poetic Edda. When Odin (speaking under the assumed name Gagnrad) asks who was the eldest of the Æsir or of the giants in bygone days, Vafþrúðnir answers:

"Uncountable winters before the earth was made,

then Bergelmir was born,

Thrudgelmir was his father,

and Aurgelmir his grandfather."

—Vafþrúðnismá

Odin, Vili and Ve, The divine brothers then slew Ymir and fashioned the realm of midgard from his corpse. His flesh made the earth, his bones the mountains, his blood the oceans and his brains the clouds. It is also during this creation that the Gods establish Utangard and Innangard by giving the giants the shoreline and using Ymir's eyelashes to build a wall between the rest of the Cosmos and Midgard- the realm of future humans. Through this the tribe of the Aesir, imposes the order necessary for life(as we understand it) to thrive and begins the push and pull between that order and the primordial chaos of the Giants. A push and Pull that ultimately culminates in Ragnarok.

Surtr

And that brings us to Surtr. If Ymir can be considered your primordial Rime, or Frost Thurs, then Surtr is your primordial Fire Thurs. Likewise if Ymir represents the chaos of creation, Surtr represents the Chaos of destruction and the completion of the natural life cycle. Because he is associated with the south (Muspelheim), Surtr is then associated with the idea of fire, which is common in Icelandic Norse mythology. It can be argued that the figure of Surtr was, at the very least, a local figure given over to Iceland’s relatively tumultuous volcanic geography that was incorporated in part into the larger Nordic cycle by Icelandic-born writers, but this theory has never been proven.

His Consort is Sinmora. Less is known of this figure than Surtr himself, save she possesses/is the guardian of the legendary weapon Lævateinn*. Some theories suggest Sinmora as the Same entity as Hela, but personally I find they hold very little water.

Surtr is demonized as a malevolent antagonist to the gods, positioning himself against the world as a whole. And, I want to dispense with the idea, immediately, that Surtr is inherently demonic or otherwise evil. I cannot emphasize this enough.

“If we associate Surtr with the Icelandic writers, an etin with an affinity towards fire and the volcanic landscape of their homeland, then it is easy to see how they could put a greater derogatory emphasis on the being. After all, fire is well attested to being both a savior and a potential threat to civilization, ” Marc, Axe and Plough

It is my understanding that Surtr is in Muspelheim before the worlds are created. Which makes him the perhaps oldest entity in the Northern Pantheon. (excluding some ideas that the Void itself is an entity) Surtr is the lord of Múspellsheimr and the leader of that realm. We do not know when he became the lord of Múspellsheimr, so it is fair to assume that he has always been. That Surtr has always been. This is supported by Muspell, the primordial world of fire, as the primary impetus for the creation of the universe. The interactions between Muspell and Niflheim, within the great void of Ginnungagap was what birthed the universe (Faulkes 1995: 10).

This Idea is one we see regularly, paths of Destruction as paths to rebirth, creation. It is possible that Surtr is a regular arbiter for that rebirth, and has been through the founding and destruction of several universes. What can be gathered from this is something we see regularly in Northern Traditions, the understanding that though things die, life continues, renews and grows.

Natural science does a good way of illustrating Surtr’s importance in this example.

Take Andisols for instance. These are soils that form on volcanic ash and contain volcanic glass and compounds of elements such as Fe, Al and Si. (Ions of those elements, which are released by leaching and weathering of volcanic rock, can form complexes with organic matter; in addition to an andisol’s ability to retain water, this can make for very fertile growing conditions, after it has had the chance to weather, break down and release it´s nutrients. Eruption(destruction), break down, and then growth.

Now let's stop right there for a second. There is very little information on Surtr however there are some conclusions that can be drawn with some mental gymnastics about his role at ragnarok. His role at Ragnarok is to do battle with Freyr, be victorious and cover all the realms with Fire. After Balder will return from Hel and a new cycle of life will begin.

If you look at Ymir as the beginning and Surtr as the end, and both of them in a system of chaotic creation and destruction, then Freyr, the vanic god of fertility and agriculture( one of the ways in which humans mastered the natural world), is the obvious Foe. Freyr represents creation in the system created by Odin Vili and Ve after Ymir’s slaying. To return to the primordial creation you have to remove it, you have to remove everything. And Surtr is the obvious answer to that, an ever present being that sees the same cycle completed over and over. I’d even argue that Balders return to the world of the living is christianized to reflect Christ and maybe a better ending to ragnarok is simply to return to the natural state of the cosmos, Muspelheim in the south, Niflheim in the north and the Void between them.

Conclusion

So i Started this with very little information and so have had to draw a lot of my own conclusions. Some heathens who have also written on this subject, like raven kaldera and his associates, i think over humanize Surtr and by extension Ymir in ways to make the entities more approachable. but i see that for myself as sort of counterproductive. Others like Ljossal Lodursson idk, i just don’t find that his conclusions hold up to my interpretations, that is I don’t support Audumla as an essential part of the cosmos, but that’s my UPG and so i think it’s important to remind everyone that your UPG is yours and you’ll draw your own conclusions through journey work and research. My dissatisfaction with others who follow the path of the jotnar is not a reflection of the validity or quality of their works.

How you choose to incorporate any deity is really up to you.

For myself, I like Ymir for organic inspiration, but I also just sort of feel close to him as I'm a human living on earth, obsessed with the way the universe is held together. If you accept the big bang theory as the scientific beginning of the universe there is a place you can drop ymir in there. Ymir, Screamer, Bang...you get it. I have found if you stare too long at Ymir you sorta fall in and getting out again is rather difficult. I began to feel very unconnected to other parts of my faith, including Loki the longer i stayed trying to connect to Ymir.

Surtr is sorta similar for me. When you want to start over with a clean slate he'd be the one to help you, or rather his is the power you would seek since I'm not certain I could see something omnipresent and everlasting, that is the personification of ultimate entropy as being able to offer conscious help.

I don’t think of them as meeting people or interacting with persons. Try seeing them as simply being, events or states. Powers, elements, eldritch entities beyond sentient consciousness. Like some kind of Norse Jellyfish or giant space Apatosaurus. They just are, they have functions and they are or have fulfilled them.

***

*Lævateinn

Lævateinn is etymologically considered to be a kenning for a sword (Old Norse "damage twig"[1]

Henry Adams Bellows translation:

41. Svipdag spake:

"Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,

For now the truth would I know:

What weapon can send Vithofnir to seek

The house of Hel below?"

42. Fjolsvith spake:

"Lævatein is there, that Lopt with runes

Once made by the doors of death;

In Lægjarn's chest by Sinmora lies it,

And nine locks fasten it firm."[3]

Bellows comments that Lægjarn means "Lover of Ill" and, like the name Lopt, refers to Loki

There is some suggestion that the weapon may be the misteltoe used to kill Baldur but this theory has never been proven.

More Reading

Arith Hargar- he has an excellent video on Ymir

http://www.northernpaganism.org/

a site with lots of information on various Jotnar as well as digital shrines

Raven Kaldera's Jotunbok

https://axeandplough.com/

Marc has several articles of interest- including one of the few written about Surtr

Ljossal Lodursson has written several texts on Thursatru that offer unique perspectives

[bigskydreaming]

Lemme get the timeline right, so Dick was about 15-16 when first Teen Titans happened, then he came back to Batgirl's debut, some time later he left for college & that was the issue where Bruce is kinda teary, looking at Dick's prizes, Dick teases him a lil? Or was that golden age? Then he's recruited by Raven, NTT happens, but the firing... I'm confusing these parts. He got fired after getting shot by Joker? He was Robin then so before Jason, but was he with NTT or in Gotham?

LOL don’t worry about being confused, because it very much IS confusing thanks to so many continuities and retcons.

Personally, I tend to go with pre-New 52 timeline and then just later stories like that timeline never ended and just kept going with New 52 and Rebirth stories....with any discrepancies being like....’flashback stories’ retroactively inserted at the appropriate point in the characters’ histories. That’s just my approach though, doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.

But pre-New 52, the ages up until Dick is around 16 or 17 are pretty flexible.....you can kinda pick and choose when you view the first Teen Titans having formed because there aren’t any hard age milestones to use as a marker. So regardless of what you go with, up until Dick was about sixteen, maybe seventeen, he lived full time in Gotham with Bruce, was Robin, and ‘moonlighted’ with the Teen Titans, who in their early years were kinda more an excuse to hang out with their superhero friends rather than like....a specifically focused team.

THEN is when it gets confusing, because enter the Age of Retcons:

ORIGINALLY, pre-Crisis of Infinite Earths, aka Retcon-Palooza, Dick went on to become Nightwing while he was still on good terms with Bruce. Bruce took Jason in and adopted him, but there was zero conflict with Dick over this....in fact, at this point in the comics, Jason was ALSO an orphaned circus acrobat whose family had been friends with Dick’s family, and DICK was the one who helped him after his parents were murdered, and took him to Bruce, which led to Bruce adopting him. 

(Fun fact, and part of why I side-eye people who dismiss retcons as ‘not counting’......Jason’s extremely iconic and well-known history as a street kid who Bruce found stealing his tires......only spanned about TWELVE ISSUES. Before his death, he literally only existed with that origin for about a year’s worth of comics....as opposed to pre-Crisis, when he existed for SEVERAL years worth of comics as the plucky acrobat who adored Dick and was always doing his homework and saying “Robin gives me magic” and stuff. Fandom lives mashing these two versions of Jason together, which is fine, but they have zero problem plying his twelve issues of having grown up as a street kid for angst, while being dismissive of other characters’ retcons, and that’s right up there when talking about Things That Make Me Go HMMMM).

Anyway, so originally, pre-Crisis, Dick moved on to become Nightwing when HE was good and ready, of his own volition, because he felt he was entering a new stage of his life and wanted to reflect that. And then HE gave Robin to Jason HIMSELF, like, literally bequeathed it to him, brother to brother, with Jason being appropriately grateful to HIM for that rather than crediting Bruce with it, who had absolutely nothing to do with it other than looking on fondly and proceeding from there with Jason as his partner. Dick then transitioned to living and working with the New Teen Titans full time in New York. 

He also briefly went to college at this time, but dropped out after just one semester or one year or so......which other people often skew to make it sound like he’s lazy or spoiled or just wanted to live off Bruce’s money all of which makes me gnash my teeth, lol.....nah, he already had the equivalent of several college degrees just from growing up being trained by Bruce. Dick dropped out for one reason only: nothing he wanted to do with his life benefited from a college diploma specifically, and none of the jobs he went on to work later required one. He’s a kid who comes from a family who never went to college either because they didn’t NEED to in order to do what they loved....and Dick was no different. People love to cite that Dick was already fairly old when his parents died and that’s why ‘he didn’t need Bruce to be his parent as much specifically’ or whatthefuckever....but then they turn right around and act like he should live his life more according to the expectations and standards of Bruce as opposed to.....in keeping with his first family and their priorities and whatnot. BUT I DIGRESS.

But anyway, at this point, he mostly lived in New York and came back to Gotham every now and then to visit or to help with cases. Babs had at this point been Batgirl for some time, before he became Nightwing, but again, the timelines are messy, so the only real marker that’s important IMO is that her history with Bruce and Dick as Batgirl predates Jason joining the family, AND post-Crisis, when Jason had his street kid origin.....I think she interacted with that version of Jason maybe once?

My point there is there’s a lot of piling on the angst and pointing back to Dick as the ultimate culprit, with people making a big deal about how Barbara and others were constantly comparing Jason to Dick and resenting him for not being Dick and this made Jason’s childhood even with Bruce especially difficult....but again, nah. The vast majority of the time Babs/Batgirl co-existed with Jason/Robin, it was pre-Crisis Jason, which meant that he was on great terms with Bruce AND Dick and Dick was on great terms with Bruce, all of which means....NOBODY WAS RESENTING ANYBODY OR COMPARING ANYONE TO ANYONE ELSE, THEY ALL COEXISTED JUST FINE.

NOW.

ENTER THE RETCONS.

This is where it gets messier and more complicated, because JUST LIKE the comics retconned Jason’s origin to make him a street kid - and which NOBODY has trouble acknowledging or balancing......the comics ALSO retconned Dick’s departure from Gotham. Now it was because there was a story in which Dick was shot by the Joker, Bruce freaked out about his safety, and decided the best way to express this was by firing Dick as Robin and alienating him. Dick lingered for a few weeks, its said, in the hopes that Bruce would change his mind, but when Bruce didn’t, Dick finally packed his bags and left to go live with the Titans full time, where he became Nightwing. Its further said that this was the last contact they had for about a YEAR AND A HALF.....with Dick being the one to make the first move to resume contact.....when he found out from the papers both that Bruce had taken in a new kid (Jason) and adopted him already, AND made him Robin.

(A name which no matter WHAT origin you go for in terms of what it means to Dick, is regardless HIS CREATION, the mantle HE made for HIMSELF, and was never Bruce’s to give away, whether or not you go with the take that it was Dick’s mother’s nickname for him, or it being a reference to Robin Hood, Dick’s favorite childhood hero).

Anyway, Dick confronted Bruce about this, and Bruce basically just....acknowledged this without actually ever putting the words “I’m sorry” or “I messed up” in there, and that was Dick’s one and only ON THE PAGE interaction with Jason post-street kid origin before A Death In The Family....which occurred like two story arcs later. 

(However, something I like to point out is the issue where Dick and Jason meet after both their respective retcons, was a FLASHBACK issue. It literally starts the issue off with the caption “One year ago”.....meaning that even though Jason died only two story arcs later and we never saw Dick and he interact on the page again, that issue was deliberately scripted in such a way as to allow for a good couple years to pass IN UNIVERSE....which, IMO, is where Dick and Jason’s sibling bond and dynamic had more than enough time to form. Just because Dick was on bad terms with Bruce doesn’t mean he ever took this out on Jason, and we know from later stories that they at least interacted a few times we never saw, like when the two of them went skiing together - so while people act like they barely knew each other because Dick was never around, IMO there’s literally no reason to assume that Dick wasn’t just as good about reaching out to Jason and forming a sibling bond with him after that first initial meeting, as he later was with Tim and Cass and Damian. In fact, given how familiar Dick and Jason seem to be with each other after his return to Gotham years later, IMO the thing that ACTUALLY strains credulity is the idea that before Jason died, he and Dick only interacted a bare handful of times. Nah. That doesn’t track.)

ANYWAY. That’s how all that played out those two different times, and why there’s so much confusion, BUT I maintain a huge part of that confusion is artificially produced.....by people deliberately trying to mix and match continuities in a way that just flat out doesn’t work. Sooooooo many times over the years, we’ve heard takes on how Dick ‘quit’ being Robin and then Bruce made Jason Robin and Dick resented both of them for this, but uh.....that’s the one version of things that DIDN’T ever happen. There were two distinct ways it played out. In the first, Dick quit voluntarily, and then made Jason Robin himself, and he and Bruce and Jason were all on great terms. In the later version, (the definitive version, because just like Jason’s street kid origin, it was the retcon, yes, but it was also never refuted or contradicted, the way it would have to be to ‘reset’ canon to that earlier sequence of events/state of affairs) - but yeah, in the later version, Dick was fired, Bruce made Jason Robin, and Dick resented BRUCE for this.

But people keep trying to play mix and match so Dick both quit - thus ‘giving up his claim to Robin/theoretically having no basis to object to someone else being Robin’....AND Bruce made Jason Robin - thus getting ‘credit’ in Jason’s eyes for giving him this mantle, responsibility and trust - with Dick then resenting Bruce for giving away the thing he ‘gave up.’

And that’s so disingenuous and obnoxious, when people try and play that game. They don’t want Dick to have ‘the right’ to the same complaints they have about Jason and Tim being ‘replaced’ but they also don’t want him to get credit for giving Robin to Jason because that would imply a strong brotherly bond and connection between them, one in which Dick clearly loves his little brother, and its just....uggggggh. So annoying.

BUT I DIGRESS.

Anyway, that’s the scoop, the buzz, the happening.

[ruensroad]

hhhh i love all your writings, each time you post a prompt, I'm like "wtf I need a follow up in the universe" like the empath!cop!JC, neeeeeeeeed. T-T Also, your xicheng fic with baby JL is one of my fav. (Xicheng ? AND Nephew/Uncle feelings, the best) can you do prompt 46 or 58, please ? or even one prompt that you'd really liked to be requested xD

Ahhh wow thank you so much! I put this in the empath!cop!JC verse for you :D and sprinkled in some adorable nephews!

Prompt is from this list here.

Prompt 46 & 58 | “I can beat you up, you know that right?” & “You’re never this quiet, what’s wrong?” | Xicheng (+ Nie Mingjue)

In many ways, being dead wasn’t all that bad. Besides the rather annoying one-sidedness of it all, Nie Mingjue would admit there were worse things to dying and refusing to cross over. He got to watch over who he wanted, and haunt who he wanted, and had even learned to push things over, which was more fun than it had any right to be.

The bad part wasn’t that he was dead, but that no one else seemed to know it. The media deemed him a missing person, his brother and his friends under the impression he’d just up and left them. And that made him angry, because surely they knew him better than that. Surely they’d see the snake in the grass and know something bad had happened.

It’d been over two years and his body had not been found. The police had stopped looking, his brother had moved on with his life. Huan had finally started writing his music again and Meng Yao had gotten away with murder.

That was the worst part. Not that he’d loved the man, trusted him, been so blind. But that he’d been killed and Meng Yao had slipped through suspicion like oil over water.

The first months, Nie Mingjue had resolutely spent his time going back and forth between Huan and Huaisang, half afraid Meng Yao would try to weedle into their vulnerabilities and plant himself like a weed. But then Huaisang had moved in with a roommate who had a guardian ghost, and a very protective one, and though the dramatic spirit spoke the most archaic Chinese Nie Mingjue had ever heard, they’d managed to find common ground in their want to protect Huaisang.

And with his brother protected best he could be, it gave him leave to watch over Huan and hope for a resolution to his case before Meng Yao used his charms on Huan and their friend ended up with a bullet to the face the way Nie Mingjue had.

But since the reopening of his case by a cold case detective, Huan had gone into a weird mood. One that shifted this way and that and he didn’t seem to understand why. Nie Mingjue knew a crush when he saw one, given how often Huaisang had fallen in and out of love with people, and wished Huan could hear him laugh. Because of course Huan would fall for a bad boy, just as Nie Mingjue told him he would.

He wouldn’t say he was pleased that Huan wanted Detective Jiang. He was a good man, Nie Mingjue could see that readily enough, but he wasn’t exactly pleasant to be around. He was cutting, and fierce, and competent, independent to a fault and rigidly stubborn. Even his ability to see and talk to Nie Mingjue wasn’t quite enough to overcome his unease with it all, but even he’d admit the asshole was growing on him. And he was a friend to Huaisang, which was something Nie Mingjue would always account for. His brother was smarter than he allowed people to know. If this prickly man was a friend, then there was a damn good reason for it, so Nie Mingjue did his best to cooperate with him, even if he was terrible at following orders.

Huan would laugh to see them bicker, but as it was he was sitting at his studio sighing, pencil tapping on his desk, eyes unfocused on the sheet music. He’d been writing a new song after nearly a year of not touching his scores and it was clearly fighting him. Nie Mingjue had never seen him distracted to this extent and it worried him that Meng Yao might be the reason for it. 

“You’re never this quiet,” he murmured, knowing he would not be heard, but unable to help himself. “What’s wrong?”

He’d found, during his afterlife, that answers were easy to find if he tried hard enough. Feeling for things, like studying a map too hard and feeling the eyes start to strain forward. He did that then, focusing on the music sheets, and felt a soft pull to the title written across the top. Wanyin. Night poetry. Artistic and vague, as Huan always was, and he snorted.

“That’s for Detective Jiang, isn’t it?”

Somehow he knew it was true, even if he couldn’t get the answer straight up, and moved over to the door to peek out the window into the hall. It was close to time for the lesson bell and Lan Zhan would be ushering out his brightest pupil, a young boy named Wen Yuan who’d taken up guqin after watching a performance. His adoptive father, one Doctor Wei, happened to be Detective Jiang’s brother and could see Nie Mingjue too. The boy, thankfully, could not, which was a relief. He could not control what form those who could see him would be, after all, and the last thing he wanted was to scare an innocent child to death. Detective Jiang had seen him with a bullet in his face. Doctor Wei had seen the dirty, discarded body.

He himself saw what he wore the night he died. His favorite jacket, his old army boots, comfortable jeans. The softest shirt he owned that he didn’t actually like that much, but Meng Yao had adored it.

In the end, he’d put three holes in that shirt, a hole in his face, and shoved his body into a hole three feet deep and covered in concrete. It was little wonder he still hadn’t been found.

The bell rang overhead, finally snapping Huan out of his daze. He quickly got up and hurried to the door, always eager to watch his brother subtly flirt with Doctor Wei, which Nie Mingjue knew was the highlight of the day, not to mention he got to see all the happy kids always so eager to tell him about their lessons. Nie Mingjue didn’t mind it, liked feeling the atmosphere the children brought to the air, and wasn’t the only ghost floating down the hall in the sea of excitable ducklings.

Like clockwork, Wen Yuan was shown out of Lan Zhan’s classroom, his guqin wrapped and strapped securely on his back. It dwarfed him almost comically, in Nie Mingjue’s opinion. But it was not Doctor Wei waiting there with his too big smiles and too loud laughter. Huan pulled up short and Nie Mingjue peeked around him, amused at the red overtaking his friend’s cheeks.

“That is not how you punch,” the man huffed to the tiny boy in his arms, who was failing miserably at connecting his fist to Detective Jiang’s palm. Little cheeks puffed and the boy quickly stopped trying to smack his hand, managing a solid, if glancing, hit to his chin. The man glared while the boy peeled off into laughter. “I can beat you up, you know that right?” the cop demanded, bouncing the boy, and got louder giggles for his effort.

Wen Yuan went rushing past them before Huan managed to move, and before Nie Mingjue could decide if he wanted to waste energy pushing his friend forward. “Shu-shu! What are you doing here?”

Detective Jiang huffed at him, but allowed Wen Yuan to grab his hand. “Your idiot of a father got stuck at work so I told him I’d come get you. A-Ling also wanted to say hello.”

“A-Ling says hello,” the boy in his arms chirped happily, waving to his cousin. Wen Yuan reached up to grab his hand and tickled him with a grin.

“I can see why he likes you,” Nie Mingjue snorted and decided that, yes, he was going to push his hopeless friend into action. Thankfully, Huan had remembered vocabulary and how to use it and moved forward on his own. Progress.

“Detective.” He was all smiles, oozing confidence, but his face was a flushed mess. By the way Detective Jiang raised an eyebrow at him, the front wasn’t exactly successful.

“Lan Huan,” he got a slight bow and a crooked grimace that was probably supposed to be a smile. Nie Mingjue rolled his eyes so hard he felt them roll all the way back. Good grief. He felt the man’s mind connect to his own and he was mentally flipped off, making him smirk back. At least the man had guts.

“I was wondering… would you perhaps be free this evening?” Huan asked and Nie Mingjue’s own mind flickered as Detective Jiang’s did, his ability feeling out what Huan wanted to truly ask. It was fascinating, feeling the workings of a mind not his own, and blinked when Detective Jiang focused in on a ticket resting in Huan’s back pocket, one Nie Mingjue hadn’t even known was there.

“For the performance?” Detective Jiang asked, calm and at ease even as Huan blinked in surprise. Again, his mind flickered, going through his schedule, to plans for the case, and the want to simply go to bed and sleep. Nie Mingjue narrowed his eyes at the man in challange, daring him to even think of not coming when asked, and that mental fuck off rang through their connection again.

“I - Yes,” Huan licked his lips and pulled out the ticket. “I have more if you’d like to bring your family,” he offered, eager and hopeful.

To the man’s credit, he melted instantly. Nie Mingjue could feel his reservations about any sort of relationship, especially when it was so close to Nie Mingjue’s case, but he was perfectly soft for Huan and that’s what mattered.

When Detective Jiang took the ticket, their fingers brushed, a pointed move, and Huan got a slightly better looking grimace-smile that time. “I’ll be there.” As long as no ghosts interrupt.

That was aimed at Nie Mingjue and he flipped the man off. “I’m not out to destroy Huan’s love life, asshole. Be there or I will make your night a living hell.”

You already do, Detective Jiang pointed out, even as he turned to his nephews, one with huge eyes, the other shyly hiding from Huan. “A-Yuan, do you want to go?”

“Yes, please yes,” Wen Yuan looked up at Huan with his best smile, easing his friend into a far more comforted state.

“And your father will want to go as well,” Huan hummed, thoughtful, but not without a sly look at Lan Zhan, who’s ears turned red. “I’ll get you as many tickets as you need.”

“Jiu-jiu, me too?” the other boy whispered, still casting a shy smile Huan’s way.

“You too, A-Ling, and your ba-ba and ma-ma. Does that sound like fun?”

A happy nod. “Listen to the pretty music.”

That got Huan a pointed look, almost flirty, and maybe Detective Jiang wasn’t as terrible at this as he seemed to be. “Yes, very pretty music.”

“Fuck, I’ll have to keep you alive now, just for that,” Nie Mingjue crossed his arms in exasperation, shaking his head at the blushing delight that overtook Huan’s face. Hopeless. So fucking hopeless.

I’ll keep myself alive. Just protect Lan Huan.

So, he knew then. Nie Mingjue met his eye and nodded once, all soldier, before grinning wide.

It was going to be one hell of a night.

[thesummerstorms]

Hi! Do you have more headcanons, writing snippets, anything about Koa? Do you have any specific hcs about her relationship with Darman? I'm really loving her character! Also, the more I look at your ideas for her, the more I feel like she might get along with Boss pretty well. :D

I’m sorry this took so damn long to answer. Thank you so much for all the Koa love! She’s one of my faves, tbh.

Truthfully, I’ve been in much more of a fantasy/vaguely period setting mood for a while and haven’t been as RepComm invested so I haven’t been writing for it recently. No new Koa snippets other than what was written already on the blog, though I’m always taking specific asks to help me develop the character!

I hadn’t thought much about Koa with Delta, tbh. I’d be interested to hear your take?

I do have a few head canons below the cut though:

One

Dar generally takes to hydroponics in a way that Etain doesn’t, and one of his bonding activities with Koa is taking care of the plants, a parent-child activity for them that Kad sees as a value-neutral chore and that Etain is neither allowed nor interested in involving herself in. 

When she was very little, Dar started talking to her about it mostly in the context of his cooking, teaching her which plants he would use in which dishes, which spices to pluck when she helped him in the kitchen, how to look after a certain vegetable and tell if it would be ready for eating soon. 

Koa has an intensely inquisitive mind though, and as she got older she started to ask a million questions Dar was unprepared for and would conduct her own “experiments”- either with or without Dar’s help, so it behooved him to be prepared.

Koa had a lot of scientific influences- Mereel is her favorite uncle; she’s the child the least afraid of (or annoying to) Uthan- but some part of that first memory of realizing this was a thing she liked is rooted in the memory of her father’s calm voice and patient hands guiding her tiny ones.

Two

Koa’s teenage years were odd and exhausting in that they were her very long chrysalis from child who’s emotive and loving with her family but has to be afraid of the larger galaxy to the kind of woman who becomes an environmental scientist slash leader of a planet and tells her Mandalore to fuck off when her data says they’re wrong. 

She didn’t necessarily rebel in a typical North American “oh my god you don’t understand me!” way. Her family dynamic is massively different, and she grew up in the shadow of an oppressive regime that wanted her specifically dead or tortured on multiple counts- for being a Force-user, for being the child of Rebels, for being a Mando allied with Mandalorian independence rather than the alliance with the Empire. She knew from childhood that she wasn’t safe- so she gets why her parents are protective.

But man, that did not stop her from being sharp or sarcastic. She was always sharp and sarcastic, but as a teenager she started to become self-aware of her own intellect and experiences and somehow she asked more but why questions as a 14 year old than as a small child. Those often developed an edge to them, and it was a means of self-protection as she realized that the system she had always taken for granted as part of the background of her life- the Empire and her parents’ resistance to it- wasn’t actually automatic.

For a little while she’s angry with her parents and older siblings for taking the risks they do (as the baby of the family by a lot- she’s 8 years younger than Kad and 22 younger than Scout- it’s affected her normal perhaps the most spectacularly), but that doesn’t last long. It’s not in her nature.

Then she shifts into wondering why she can’t change more things, if this whole Empire thing is dramatically altering her life anyway. She has ideas and arguments about systems, and she’s always collecting data and floating hypothetical about how things could be if she just applied the right change, the right tweak, if the Mandalorians would just-, if the Rebellion could only-,

A lot of them are pigheaded because she’s just a teenager figuring out her own limitations, but sometimes Dar and Etain have to remind themselves that they were both trained for deeply serious responsibility by Koa’s age and that in some ways this was unavoidable.

Three

One of Dar’s biggest regrets for Koa is that no matter what he swore when he held her as crying, angry newborn he couldn’t entirely stop her from growing up afraid. It still eats at him, even though by inheriting Etain’s Jedi powers she was always going to be more open to the truth than he ever wanted her to be.

He did everything he could. Cuddling with her on long, lazy afternoons, singing to her as he taught her how to cook, tucking her into sleep after spending the evening helping her govern her parliament of stuffed animals or run experiments on the spice garden. 

Cheating to help her win some foolish game she’s playing with her Uncles while his brothers pretend not to notice. 

Ordering her next set of armor six months, a year too early because he doesn’t want her unshielded in the midst of a growth spurt he didn’t see coming. 

The deliberate slice of his knife through the neck of an Imperial agent who never saw him coming, never thought the father, the only one with out Force powers, could be the threat in a family full of Jedi until they made the mistake of threatening Darman’s little girl.

It isn’t always enough, and it’s one of the hardest things Darman ever has to learn to accept that. The galaxy would eat his daughter alive if it could, and eventually he can’t keep that from her. The Force would tell her even if he lied. So would the blasterfire, eventually.

But he gets her holos, smiling and full of singing when she goes off to study music and science at an aruetii university. Sees her name on the Mandalorian holonetwork, recognizing her accomplishments. Goes to visit her home only to have her cook a dish from her childhood, one he tweaked and perfect purely for her enjoyment.

And he thinks of the little curly-haired girl at play, surrounded by soft toys, or puttering in the garden, or being doted on by protective ba’vodu’e. Her gap-toothed smile and her tantrums, because she never had to hide her emotions the way her mother did, much less the way he and his brothers had on Kamino.

He has given her everything he could, and if she couldn’t grow up perfectly unafraid, then she has grown up as safe as he could make her, and loved in a way he never could have dreamed of on Kamino. Never once in her life did she ever have to doubt she was a person.

That’s not nothing, either.

[tagfer]

you should analyze it! i'm curious

urff okay so. I’ll do it. Here’s some overanalysis on how Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon’s story caused almost all of its major characters to become nothing but jokes compared to their original Sun and Moon characterizations.

With full disclaimers, I actually enjoyed playing Ultra Sun. As far as enjoyment goes, it was probably more fun than Sun and Moon. Story? So much worse.

[Massive USUM spoilers! Of all sorts!]

Also a secondary note: I may have missed a thing or two, so if I have incorrect info, please let me know.

Looker & Anabel (and in a way, Nanu) get their postgame removed. Altogether. None of it happens. Looker shows up early to foreshadow Episode RR, but that’s it. Then postgame, there’s a like, ten line cutscene where Anabel introduces herself as a member of interpol and says she’s going to the Battle Tree, and Looker remarks that she’s not that strong. Yeah, let’s put the dude without any pokemon on guard duty for his boss who also used to run a huge battle facility in another universe.

Compare and contrast to SuMo, where the three of them got an entire story. A very horrifying story, but well written, where it’s explained the consequences of falling through a wormhole turns you into a magnet for extraterrestrial beings who will likely kill you, but not out of malice, and that despite her higher rank than Nanu or Looker, that she’s only being used as bait for those creatures. And it explains Looker and Nanu’s past, showing that Looker was a member of interpol years before the quirky guy we meet in Platinum. And that they had a friend/colleague actually die in front of them, and how they both hold immense guilt for that. Oh and that Anabel is likely from a different universe.

But these characters didn’t have destroyed characterization as much as they don’t get any whatsoever because Looker and Anabel get a mass of maybe 20 lines total, only one of which has anything to do with Episode RR.

I included these first because I’ve previously written plenty about Anabel and Looker, and I absolutely loved their plot, so seeing it absolutely absent is the biggest disappointment of USUM for me.

Lillie loses so much that it’s sad. Let’s be honest, Sun and Moon’s plot is really the story of Lillie. How she can grow from a timid girl afraid of the world to realizing that she has her own strength and can determine her own future.

When you first meet her, she’s afraid of birds. By time the climax happens, she’s traveled to another universe to deliver a Why You Suck speech to her abusive mother (and gets one of the best intense musical numbers in the game!). Early in the game, she idolizes your strength, but over the course of it learns she has her own strength and that just because she isn’t the strongest out there doesn’t mean she can’t overcome her own trials and obstacles. She even has some of the best symbolism in the Pokemon games, ever; discarding her old clothes that signify her mother’s control over her and using ones she picked, saying that she’s now going to take control of her life. And she does.

By the end, it’s emotionally impacting when she takes charge to leave Alola on her own journey.

In USUM, the story has shifted. She’s no longer the main character, you are. Which is classic for a Pokemon game, but compared to the games released a year ago it makes everything hollow. It goes from a story where you’re helping your friend who has family issues that spiral deeply out of control to you being the Chosen One who has to defeat Evil Teams and Lillie is just kind of a companion much like previous “friends”.

Her character arc and foreshadowing plays out perfectly in SuMo where as in USUM it falls flat. In Sun and Moon, the entire reason you visit the Ultra Deep Sea is to finish Lillie’s character arc. During their first confrontation, Lillie (symbolically wearing her first outfit) was not strong enough / did not believe in herself enough to confront Lusamine for everything, but she decides that that’s what she needs to do, and that’s what forces her development and drives the plot. In USUM, she never gets to confront her mother at all. And the plot is driven forward partly by Lillie/Gladion’s want to save Lusamine, but mostly because the Ultra Recon Squad needs more help defeating Necrozma.

This makes all her personal growth so much more shallow. Her motivation is to help you instead of you helping her.

Her becoming a Pokemon trainer in Episode RR isn’t foreshadowed at all either (as far as I know) and rather just comes a surprise when you’re forced into a double battle.

Gladion and Type: Null lose a bunch too. In Sun and Moon, he’s a soft kid who tries to hide his gentleness under a facade of badass edgelord. His escape from Aether Paradise, while obviously inspired by his mistreatment, included saving a Type: Null, because he knew it was in pain. He slowly grows and learns the power of friendship. He even names his Type: Full friend.

After the game, he takes over Aether Paradise in order to make sure everything goes right. Which could be seen as unsatisfying but it’s clear he has grown to the point to accept responsibility.

It looks like it was going to be this way in USUM, but it turns out he just gets a Silver complex. He just wants to be the strongest there is. He implies he kidnapped Type: Null not because he wanted to save it, but because he wanted to train it as the Beast Killer it was meant to be, to the point he even points out its concept as a Beast Killer and attempts to follow Lusamine into Ultra Megalopolis.

Even his leaving Alola is just merely a lust for power instead of Lillie’s search for independence. Wicke even comments that Gladion wants to beat trainers like you and Hau. And he does come back for championship title defense matches (a month after you complete the story). That’s it. He didn’t go on a journey, he went on a training mission. His personal growth has really been traded for a Silver complex, of hollow growth but unending lust of power.

Lusamine is a disaster and arguably gets a worse redemption than she did in Sun and Moon despite having a full redemption in USUM.

SuMo Lusamine is by far one of my favorite villains - both in Pokemon and in general. This is cause despite the fact it clearly isn’t, she totally believed what she did was completely justified. She didn’t see herself as a villain at all. And that’s what makes a good villain. She wasn’t just “oh I’m evil, I want to control the world/etc.” Which Pokemon has a lot of.

Her obsession with beauty (and mistreatment of Lillie and Gladion) was the culmination of years of sanity slippage caused by Nihilego and the loss of Mohn. She even more or less forgets the reason she was looking into Nihilego and instead focuses on Nihilego’s beauty. So while it doesn’t justify what she did, we’re at very least given an explanation as to why she is the person she is.

…

In USUM, so much of this changed it’s… unbelievable. Other than the appearance of Nihilego at Aether Paradise, Nihilego plays no role as far as we know. She suffers little sanity slippage other than delusions of grandeur of helping/defeating Necrozma on her own. She also hopes on seeing Mohn.

She’s still obsessed with beauty. She still treats her kids as ornaments. She still uses Guzma. She still experiments on living creatures, freezes living creatures, and creates chimeras. (And Type: Null gets a special note here because her focus was now Necrozma and not Ultra Beasts - but she was still okay with creating a Beast Killer.)

She also gets no real redemption. Despite all that she did, she suffers no consequence. Lillie never gets to really call her out. Nor does Gladion. She seems to repair her relationship with her children near immediately. Nobody comments that she’s got a giant office full of cryogenicly frozen pokemon, and how she openly announces that her goal was to save Alola from Necrozma to keep that collection. She doesn’t get anything. In fact, you, her, Lillie, and Guzma share a laugh at Faba’s expense right in front of one of her pods, with others also plainly visible.

Post Episode RR, talking to her reveals that you made her rethink her views on beauty. Or something. Honestly, it sounds like the kind of lie you’d feed a kid, but it’s more likely bad and forced character development.

In Sun and Moon, she even remarks to Lillie, who had just stood up to her and then saved her despite Lusamine lunging to kill her, “When did you start becoming beautiful?” Which is a perfect line for her character and Lillie, acknowledging Lillie has grown (and completing Lillie’s arc and foreshadowing). Afterwards, Lillie’s speech to you implies she’s got a chance of redemption - while she doesn’t understand what she did wrong, Lillie is attempting to explain to her, and even though you were a constant disruption to her problems she attempted to visit your championship party. With her trip to Bill to hopefully help her problem of (most likely long-term) neurotoxin poisoning and Lillie’s patience, she could eventually come around and realize what she did was wrong and try to make amends for what she’s done.

Instead, in USUM, she seems to be instantly forgiven for everything. Lusamine deserved better than that.

I will always understand why people hate her. I get it. And trust me, I have strong feelings about what she did too. But she’s still my favorite villain and I will be personally suing Game Freak for what they did to her.

Hau gets a BW Cheren complex where one or two lines of dialog from a character make him rethink everything an in the process lose the major part of his personality that made him noteworthy. Cheren lost his goals, and Hau lost his carefreeness. He’s still a sweet kid and everything, and I’m proud that he actually achieved some more goals in USUM than in SuMo, but his (and Hala’s) changes seem so forced, like they were shoehorned in.

At least for Cheren, he got a game two years later showing how he had developed. We’re probably not gonna get that for Hau.

Guzma is one of the only ones that get a bump. But that’s only because his involvement in the story was hardly affected - he was still Lusamine’s faithful servant, even though she had massively changed.

But because change in the story was minimized for him, his inclusion in Episode RR actually helped his character. And afterwards, he says he’s still looking after his crew. So while the growth was minimal, it was there.

Colress is the only other one I can think of who got better, too, but that’s only because he only had like seven lines in Sun and Moon. This time, it’s shown that… well, he hasn’t changed at all, still being but a selfish, hedonistic scientist who will double cross anyone who asks for his help.

And this is more than proven true when he confronts Ghetsis. Although he didn’t try to hide it in B2W2, he full on says he hates Ghetsis. He was only using him for funding and science.

This is not a real shock.

Like I love Colress’ passion but y’know. Everyone who’s asked for his help got it but also got double-crossed. Oh, and now his technology is reaching scary advanced levels.

[MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW.]

-

-

-

-

-

Mohn. If you were hoping for a happy ending for the Aether family, I’m here to tell you you’ll be sorely, viscerally unsatisfied. While in SuMo he got nothing, somehow, they made it worse for USUM.

Because they finally meet him.

And they choose to let him live his life not knowing he has a wife, children, and friends who have all been looking for him for like, a decade.

Despite the plots of both SuMo and USUM being set into action by his disappearance, he gets no resolution. 

He fucking comments on how nice Aether Paradise is! And they decide to not be like “oh hey yeah you kinda were a major part of it.”

[ketso]

Episode 28

I have been booked off work for four months. My doctor says that I have depression and I need to be admitted into a clinic. Please understand that:

• I have a one year old.

• My eldest child has been accepted into medicine school, but did not get a bursary and I cannot afford the fees.

• My third born just started in a model c school because my husband and I start them in high school; they go to township schools for primary school.

• I am already struggling with the fees.

• I have to delay my youngest child with starting crèche because I cannot afford all these fees on my own.

• I have asked my eldest to get a job. Two salaries are better than one. I took my husband for granted and I am struggling on my own.

• My eldest is always angry. She has attitude and I just cannot talk to her anymore.

• My second born tries to mediate, but he can even see that things are bad.

• The third and the baby are just there.

• My eldest may not like it, but she has to help me with the third and fourth children. When I wake up and go to work to get us money, she must bath the kids and make sure they've eaten. She must take Simphiwe to school then come back and stay with Khetha because I cannot afford crèche right now and she's not working. She's at home doing nothing the whole day.

• My husband's family wants money from me - money that my husband used to send to them every month. I don't have it. Now they call me names, harass me every chance they get and threaten to take me to court for stealing their child's money. What money? Their child didn't have policies that I'm now enjoying. I can barely keep my children in schools. If I had their child's money, would Unawe not be in university? Would Khetha not be in crèche? They can go to hell.

So you see, I cannot go to a clinic for four months and talk about my feelings. I cannot give Mr Msomi a reason to fire me. I cannot afford to be without a job. I will take the medication that I have been prescribed and try my best to get through each day.

"Portia, did you call the agency that Mr Msomi asked you to call?" Sli asks me.

I nod my head and give her a sticky note with their response to my query.

"Thanks", she takes it and disappears into the meeting she was in. She is the one who takes minutes for Mr Msomi in meetings. Thando manages Mr Msomi's and Mr Ramaru's offices now. She used to be Pearl’s PA. They say that they’ve repurposed her. It looks like an undeserved promotion to me. Her head has grown bigger than ever. She is one of the reasons I believe that if I even take a weekend off, I'll get fired. The only person who puts her in her place is Lydia. We all love Lydia for that.

I have a bad headache, but I need to get through the work that Mr Msomi and Thando have given me. It's a lot of work and it is all due by close of business today. So, this is another day that I will not be having lunch.

Speak of the devil.

"Are you done with the notes I asked you to type?" Thando asks me, storming through the door and to my desk.

"I'm still busy with them." I say.

"I don't understand. I told you they were urgent", she says.

"Mr Msomi had asked me to do a more urgent thing for him. Last I checked, he was my priority, not you", I say.

"You know what I think? I think this job is too big for you. Mr Msomi felt sorry for you and gave you this job because you have stories for days about why you don't deliver. But you are not a fit. You are still bad even at this job and it's been a year since you've been in it. Mr Msomi is just polite. He doesn't want to performance manage you or fire you, so he gives you miscellaneous tasks - small and insignificant enough so you don't mess up. Kodwa we pay you to do actual work. Your role is supposed to mean something here. We don't pay you to be floating around admin that you can barely do." She says.

This really hurts my feelings. I have noticed that Mr Msomi doesn't trust me with big tasks anymore. Even Sli isn't as close to me as she used to be. She behaves more like my boss than she does my colleague. I thought I was imagining things and I thought Mr Msomi was just being nice and empathetic because I have lost my husband and I've been grieving. I've been very open about my struggles at home. I've fainted twice in this very office because I was overwhelmed. I thought Mr Msomi was accommodating me, not making my role insignificant. What am I going to do without my job? I suddenly get emotional.

"As the office manager of Mr Msomi's office, I will not be as nice as he is. If you don't deliver, I will get you out. That's not a joke. So you better pull up your socks, my girl, or shit will hit the fan around here. I'm not Mr Msomi and this is definitely not Jackson's team there at the warehouse. You have one hour. I want that document in my inbox in an hour", she says then walks away.

I wipe my tears and process everything that she has said. What exactly am I doing that is so wrong? I look through Microsoft Teams and find the employee relations manager and call her. Microsoft Teams shows that she is available. I need HR and ER intervention.

"Qaqamba, Hello?" She answers.

"Hi Qaqamba. You are speaking to Portia", I say.

"Hi Portia, how can I help you?" She says. Her voice is very welcoming.

"Can we meet in a boardroom perhaps?" Me.

"Sure. Where do you sit?" She asks me.

"No, it's okay. I'll come to you", I say.

"I have a better one. Let's go get lunch. My treat. Meet me at reception in five minutes." She says.

I agree and we end the call. I know there will be repercussions for me just leaving, but I'll ask her to bail me out of those during lunch.

...

Now that I have told Qaqamba everything: from my time at the warehouse, through Pearl's management, right up to where I am now, she looks at me stunned. She is not shocked because I am sure she deals with this every day, but she is stunned. She has taken notes, cross-questioned me, took more notes and now we sit here with her looking at me stunned and not saying anything else.

We finish up our meals and we drive back to the office in her car. It is a beautiful Mercedes Benz.

She walks with me to my desk where I find Thando, Sli and Mr Msomi gathered. Their faces drop when they see Qaqamba next to me. I stand next to Qaqamba and wait for her to make the first move. Today, she is my shield.

"Mthunzi, may we have a word in your office?" Qaqamba says. She is serious. Her tone isn't what it was when she was talking to me. Thando looks nervous. She probably didn't think I knew people like Qaqamba in this organization.

Mr Msomi leads Qaqamba and I into his office. He closes the door and we sit on his office couches.

"May I offer you ladies something to drink?" Mr Msomi. He is a gentleman yena shame, he is not putting on a pretty face for gas.

"Orange juice for me, please", Qaqamba orders.

"Nothing for me, thanks", I say. I am not familiar with his fridge like that.

Mr Msomi takes out a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of water from his fridge. He gives Qaqamba the juice then he sits down on a couch opposite us then takes a sip of his water.

Qaqamba takes Mr Msomi through what I told her. The way she puts it though, she makes it sound so legal. There are terms that she uses such as "abuse of authority" that I did not mention. Mr Msomi listens to her attentively then looks at me from time to time.

Qaqamba is serious - too serious. I'm even nervous.

"Q, I've accommodated Portia though. I've made things to be as manageable as possible for her so that she can cope with everything that is around her", Mr Msomi.

That is true.

"Portia needs to be in a clinic right now, dealing with her depression. She has been diagnosed, Mthunzi. Why have you not let her go yet or submitted a PHI application for her so the company can give her the support that she needs while she gets better? That Thando girl even threatened to fire her? On what grounds? And if Portia is not performing, why isn't she being performance managed, but rather abused by Thando?" Qaqamba.

"Q, I honestly had no idea that Portia is sick and I had no idea that Thando was treating her that way. I would have never let that happen had I known and I'll speak to Thando". Mr Msomi says. Now I feel bad for not coming to him first.

"That’s not good enough. I want you to discipline Thando", Qaqamba.

"That’s a bit harsh and surely she deserves a right of reply", Mr Msomi says.

"Abuse of authority is a dismissible offense, Mr Msomi. She will be walking away with a final written warning at most. I think we are being very lenient. She will give us her right of reply, with a representative next to her, at her disciplinary discussion. From me, I will be sending you forms to fill in with Portia so we can submit her PHI claim to our insurers then Portia will take leave with immediate effect to go and get admitted into that clinic." Qaqamba says.

The meeting is wrapped up then Mr Msomi asks me to stay behind.

After Qaqamba leaves, it is just him and I.

"I don't like HR, Portia. They just make me nervous. I don't even know what PHI is and Q was just going on and on about shit I never thought I'd have to deal with. I just thought there was trust between us and if you were unsure of things, you would come to me and speak to me." He says.

"I panicked. I'm sorry -

"No, don't do that. I don't want you apologizing. You were right to stand up for yourself and seek help from people who are hired to remedy such situations. I'm just concerned about your interactions with Thando when you return from your leave", he says.

I didn't think about that.

"But anyway, I wish you all the best in your recovery journey and I wanted to guarantee you that your job will be waiting for you when you return", he says.

"Thank you, sir", I say.

“And Portia, while you expect everyone around you to work on their ability to accommodate you, you also need to work on your communication skills. I run my office the way that I do because I don’t want people Q and her team coming in here and instructing me on how to manage my team.” He continues.

“I understand, sir.” I say.

He nods his head then says, “Will you be comfortable doing that PHI stuff with Sli? I’m really busy. I’ll just sign whatever I need to sign after the two of you have populated those forms. Q and her team design forms for a living. I know I could easily spend seven hours just completing forms with that team.”

We both laugh.

“It’s fine, sir. I will ask Sli to help me complete the forms then we will send them to you for your signature when we are done.” I say.

He nods his head.

“All the best with your recovering. Don’t worry about anything as far as work is concerned. And if there is anything more that we can do, please feel free to reach out and let us know.” He says.

I just want to hug him. He is such a nice man.

“Chief”, Mr Ramaru barges into the office without knocking.

We both look at him.

“This looks important”, he says pointing at both Mr Msomi and I, “[b]ut I need you for something urgent.”

“It’s okay, we were done anyway.” I say.

“See you in a few months, Portia.” Mr Msomi says, standing up from the couch.

“In a few months? Going somewhere?” Mr Ramaru asks me.

“Just leave”, I say.

“For a few months? People usually take a few days off.” Mr Ramaru says.

Mr Msomi can see my discomfort, so he intervenes and says, “Chief, what’s the emergency?”

I use this distraction to leave his office.

I get to my desk and I notice that all eyes are on me. No one is saying anything, but everyone is looking at me – judging me. I know people in this office are extremely protective over Mr Msomi because he is such a nice guy. They are giving me this treatment because they think I got their favourite guy into trouble. I reported Thando, not him. But I’m not going to say anything. I’d rather have Thando be surprised by her emails notifying her of her disciplinary discussion for bullying me. But knowing Mr Msomi, he will not discipline Thando. He will fight for her. That’s just who he is. So she is just going to get away with it. I might as well address her myself while I have my immunity from Qaqamba.

“Is there something that you would like to say to me?” I ask Thando, looking her straight in the eye.

“Don’t you get tired?” She says to me.

“Of what?”

“Of being you! You wake up every morning expecting sympathy from everyone and anyone you bump into. You open your mouth and expect to be understood because apparently, no one’s problems are bigger than yours. You take zero responsibility for anything and you play the victim in every situation. And when you are expected to just do what you get paid to do and are held accountable for it, you find your next plan – your next person to feel sorry for you so that you take no responsibility what-so-ever for just being yourself.”

There is silence in the office. I am actually falling apart inside.

“Please don’t faint on us again. We have had it with your theatrics around here.” She says.

“You know, my life is not the bed of roses everyone thinks it is”, I say.

“Trust me, no one was thinking that. You broadcast your life so much, we have a pretty good idea how shitty your life is. But you know what annoys everyone about you – including the people you think understand – is that you don’t leave that shit at home. We all go through things. Our lives are falling apart too. But this is a place of work! When we come here, we come to work. Our conversations are work-related. When we engage, we engage about work.” Thando says. All the other PAs nod their heads in agreement.

“I can’t just switch off from my life just because I am at work.” I say.

“You are not required to switch off. You are required to be professional. That is a minimum requirement for every role that exists in the labour market. If that is something that you struggle with, then clearly, you just don’t belong in the workplace.” Thando says.

“Zinzi, is –

Lydia walks in looking for Zinzi, but stops dead in her tracks when she sees the tension before her. She has her laptop in her hands, so she was clearly coming up here to work. She tries to study the situation then her eyes land on me. She sees the tears streaming down my face and the arrogance pasted on Thando’s face.

“Portia, are you okay?” Lydia asks me.

All the PAs present in this room have now suddenly become nervous, including Thando. I just breakdown and cry. I cannot hold it in. I am just breaking.

Lydia holds my hand and pulls me into Mr Ramaru’s office. It is just the two of us in here. I see Mr Msomi and Mr Ramaru looking at us through Mr Msomi’s glass door. All the offices up here have glass doors – something to do with transparency.

“What do you need?” Lydia says to me after I have cried my heart out in here. Mr Mthunzi and Mr Ramaru are inside of here as well now. I don’t know when they came inside. They are sitting on couches opposite the couch that I am sitting on. Lydia is the only one standing up.

“What do you mean?” I ask her.

“We are friends, right? You and I can be blunt about anything with each other, right?” She says.

I nod my head.

“Good, because I am going to be honest with you now and I will not sugar-coat what I am about to say.” She says.

“Lydia –

“Mthunzi, it has to be done.” Lydia cuts Mr Msomi mid-sentence.

She turns her attention back to me.

“This is your third job within this company, Portia. Third. You keep being thrown lifelines by everyone around here. You get more consideration, more care, more everything. Did you think that would get you likes around here? Did you think that people like Thando would go easy on you? The average person would have long been fired if they were in your shoes. You asked to stay. You begged for chances. Why are you struggling to carry the responsibilities of the things that you have asked for?” Lydia says.

Mr Ramaru and Mr Msomi are extremely uncomfortable.

“Portia, do you understand the position that I had to put my boyfriend in for you? Having his authority and professionalism as a CEO questioned because you asked to move teams. Or you just don’t care?” Lydia says to me.

I look at Mr Ramaru. He is extremely uncomfortable, but happy that this conversation is taking place. Clearly it is long overdue.

“Portia, do you understand the hoops that Mthunzi –

“Please leave my name out of this”, Mr Msomi says.

Lydia looks at him for a split second then looks at me again and continues, “[d]o you understand the hoops that Mthunzi had to jump through to create work for you? To create a position for you? Having to sit in endless HR meetings knowing very well how much he dislikes HR. You just wake up every day, come to work and annoy us with your entitlement – not understanding the background battles being fought for you to walk around here with that arrogance and entitlement.”

I am silent. I don’t know what to say. It is very quiet in here.

Lydia takes a deep breath then sits next to me.

“Take some time off, Portia. While you are away, think about whether or not being in the labour market is something that you want to do. If not, find another passion and start a business. I will personally help you in making sure that your business stands and runs efficiently. You know I’m good at doing that. But if you come back here and make the decision to work, know that your lifeline has expired. One foot out of line – and I am saying this in front of Mthunzi – I will personally fire you. And I am giving myself the authority to do so because I am the same person you annoyed to have you put in this position.”

People like Lydia will never understand. Life is not as easy as having two options to pick from when it comes to choosing how you will sustain yourself and look after your family.

“I’ll help you pack up your bags and take whatever you need to your car”, Lydia says standing up and giving Mr Ramaru her laptop, telling him that he and Mr Msomi can go over the spreadsheet she has opened. She explains that it is something she put together and they’ll discuss it further when she gets back.

We pack my bags and a box of things that I’ll take with me. The office is silent. I look at Mr Msomi and Mr Ramaru through the glass door of Mr Ramaru’s office and they are giggling about and drinking whiskey. If only I could be a fly on that wall and hear what is being said and celebrated.

“Ready?” Lydia asks me, holding one of my boxes.

I nod my head. As we make our way out, she pauses at Thando’s desk and says, “[d]o I need to give you a tutorial on where your place is around here?”

Thando stares at her. Honestly, I am shocked and happy that this happening.

“You are not the new Pearl. And I am getting tired of you behaving as if Pearl left you the “bitch” ropes around here. If you are going to continue to behave like this is your grandfather’s farm and all the employees around here are your cows to milk and slaughter for beef, I will be the National Party and take that farm away from you very quickly.”

Yho Lydia!

Thando’s tears are at the door, ready for release.

“I’ll ask again, do you need a tutorial?”

Thando shakes her head.

“I’ll be sure to check in again when Portia returns. Because your lifeline around here depends on it.” Lydia says.

Ja no, she woke up this morning prepared to suspend lifelines on everyone’s job.

I just give Thando one last smile then follow Lydia out of here.

[loonlynxshenanigans]

Alright so! Said I'd get a reference up for these nerds, gonna do that now. A basic reference, at least.

The three above- yes, only three- are, from left to right, Papyrus, Gaster and Sans- in that order for their bipedal forms, as well as their quadruped forms. They, uh... aren't actually capable of being both at the same time, this is just sort of for height reference- though it... isn't the best at that either, since Gaster's quadruped form is supposed to be taller- but hey, you get the gist of their appearance! Probably! Moving on, those wings you see on those quadruped forms are made of magic- specifically, the combined magic of all three of them- and can be summoned and desummoned at will, just like any other attack- though when summoned, it's easier to share magic between them- they can even... sort of use their powers for the other- so Sans can teleport the other two, Papyrus can heal, and... well, Gaster has yet to get a handle on his own speciality of magic, and. Might never, so that remains to be seen. But, as for the different forms thing, all three of them are shapeshifters- a kind of shapeshifter specific to their universe (as far as I know) that, usually, only have two forms; their usual, bipedal form, and a quadruped form; in which they can't naturally speak any normal, spoken language- without use of magic that takes a lot of practice to perfect. Instead they use a 'language' called... well, Shapeshifter- which I usually denotate by using >this sorta thing< rather than quotation marks. It's... basically a slighttly more complex version of animal body language and sounds; heck, actual animal body language is often known as basic Shapeshifter. It's possible to do it without any vocal sounds, but it's s little harder to be specific- and, generally, Shapeshifter can't carry an accent, or any specific way of speaking; it's always just a little bit interprative, though... usually not enough so to cause misinterpretation. Shapeshifter can... also be understood by Pokémon. Because this is a crossover. That's where the 'mystery' comes from.

Moving away from physical, and... most magical aspects- I can talk plenty about magic science later- let's get a bit more into the specifics of these characters. Let's start with Sans.

Mysterytale!Sans is much like the ocean, in that he is. Very salty. Granted, it's not entirely unwarrented; he has a lot to be salty about. Usually, the things he's salty about involve someone he knows getting hurt, something close to him being destroyed, that sort of thing. When he isn't being salty, he's... rather laid back, as most Sanses tend to be. He's somehow... allso manage to keep up to date on the latest memes. The current running theory is blame Alphys, but he hasn't directly told anyone yet; he's also, of course, proficient in puns. He isn't exactly opposed to an adventure, though- exploration, when it isn't obviously dangerous or some place he's seen a thousand times in different universes- it actually is exciting for him, and he tends to perk up quite a bit around Papyrus as well. Sans' quadruped form is, decidedly... pretty cat-like. And, as the behaviour of most quadrupeds are, I mean in an incredibly stereotypical way. He will knock things off shelves, stare at nothing, and if Mysterytale had a Sans fight you could defeat him with a lazer pointer. It's... slightly rediculous, and he's. A bit embarrassed about it. You probably won't catch him in quadruped form, alone, very often. He doesn't really get along with most canines outside of Papyrus, and... as of recently, other cats are. A little frightening. In terms of his relationship to the other two, he is. V e r y close to Papyrus, usually depending on him for moral support and sanity checks- as well as. Actually knowing how social situations work. His relationship with Gaster is... a bit more difficult. Sans cares about him quite a significant amount, but he... has a bit of a hard time thinking of Gaster as a dad. The fact that he's rescuing him every two weeks and has to stick around to make sure he doesn't cause property damage while experimenting does not help in this fact. Still, they can certainly talk science together, and they have 'pun wars' on occasion- which. Is just ghem talking back and forth in almost entirely puns. It's great.

Now, to Papyrus! ...I, uh. Gotta be honest, I'm still getting his personality down, but- he's pretty definitely the moral backbone of the three. He's a grand majority of the reason that the other two aren't a broken mess half the time, likely being the most optimistic out of the three. He truly does believr in everyone's ability to change, and it's not because he doesn't know or understand the things people have done. He often knows a lot more than he seems to- he's actually pretty darn good at reading expressions, and social situations in general, and though he isn't the most scientifically-geared, he is v e r y good at understanding people. Still, he hesitates to use this to his advantage in fear of hurting people, or damaging their trust, so he tends to keep most of this to himself. It definitely does help him take care of the other two, though; knowing what's troubling them, and when they aren't actually 'fine'. Which is... most of the time. Papyrus' quadruped form is decidedly canine- generally pretty vocal and not shy at all about it, happy to chase a stick and very willing to... at least attempt to be a lap dog. Thankfully, he doesn't chase bones, and gets along rather well with cats. As for his relationship to the others? As mentioned, he is the moral backbone of the group. He's comforted Sans more times than he can count, and it's always a little frightening for either of them to go exploring someplace without the other. He's also consoled Gaster quite a few times, but... both Sans and Papyrus know significantly less about him than they know about each other, which, at times, make that difficult. Papyrus has... a bit of an easier time seeing Gaster as a father, but... if he's honest, it's partially for Gaster's benefit.

And finally... Gaster. This nerd- this hecking nerd is the most developed character in this entire AU and I'm prrobably going to send him in alone in a grand majority of roleplays I do here because. I... I actually know how to write for him. But- yeah, first and foremost, he's a nerd. He studied magic for a rediculously long time, being one of the first to do so using a more scientific method- and he still does research on the subject when he has tge chance to. He doesn't even really need to, it's simply fun for him. Exploration is also fun, of course- and, ultimately? ...He wants to go to space. He really, really wants to go to space. He knows quite a lot about space, and space agencies, and all of his notes are littered with theoretical designs of a magic-based engine to be used in- yeah, you guessed it- a space shuttle. Though he... doesn't know nearly as much about constellations. He can certainly name a few good stars on sight, though. Of course, given all this research into magic, and a pretty significant knowledge of physics, the increasingly un-constant rules of physics and magic across the multiverse are endlessly frustrating. Especially universes that fail to recognize simple law of conservation of mass. Still, he's... plenty capable of getting over that simply because exploring the multiverse is now necisarry, even if he isn't really the most fond of it. He... doesn't really have the most self-confidence in anything but his knowledge of magic and physics- and space- and... usually isn't too concerned with getting himself hurt, especially if, in any way, it seems to be helping someone- to a rather dangerous degree. He's aware of the impact this has on the people close to him, though, so he does try at least a little bit not to get himself into too bad of trouble, but he... isn't really the best at it. He's also very... very aware of the relationships between many Sans', Papyrus' and their Gasters in other universe- as far as he's seen, most of them being... poor, to say the least. With that knowledge, he's pretty hesitant to so much as tell people his name, speak in Wingdings, or introduce himself in bipedal form, for fear of bringing up unwanted memories. He... has done many things he regrets rather heavily, and if you get to know him enough, it... shows pretty quickly. He probably needs a hug. Like basically everyone in his universe. Moving on yo his quadruped form, though, it's... losely based off of a dragon...? His universe doesn't have a whole lot of stereotypes for dragons, but he is pretty easily distracted by shiny things and tends to rumble-growl a lot. His relationship with Sans and Papyrus is... well, as previously described, but- he is incredibly protective of the both of them, keeping a lot of his problems to himself and generally not letting strangers know they even exist for fear of tgem being used just to get to him. He's... told people that they've died on multiple occasions, and hurting them in any significant ways is one of the very, very few ways to get him actually, significantly mad at you. The other being another version of him or a flowey, though redemption is certainly possible. He just has yet to see thst more than once or twice. He... most definitely does depend heavily on both of the other two for moral support, though- even if he does still refuse to actually explain what's wrong, just being together... seems to help all three of them. He views them, as well as many other members of his universe as family- even if Sans and Papyrus are... really the only ones he regularly talks to, and... for many reasons, he feels like he owes them- both his universe, and the two specifically. He... he really isn't doing too great, but it's not something he always thinks about, and he has plenty of things he can be happy about- just. Exploring the multiverse can often be a bit... stressful, and he doesn't give himself a whole lot of recovery time...

But! Beyond that, there's a whole heckton of backstory, magic shenanigans and such that- for now- I'll keep secret, just to... hopefully make things interesting. But! Have a few extra tidbits!

All of them are... a little uncomfortable around soup, Sans especially

Flirting is Gaster's greatest weakness. He cannot comprehend it.

The Exploration Team that, for convenience sake, now includes... basically their entire universe is called Team Determination.

They use a hybrid between Pocket dimensions and the Treasure bag to have a basically infinite storage space shared between the entire universe, accessable by inventory.

This inventory contains an entire page of 99 stacks of Gravelrocks.

They sometimes use this inventory space to send written messages to eachother.

They use the badges' rescue system as a form of transportation, though they're still working on getting it to bring people to specific locations rather than some random place in the 'dungeon'

Gaster owns a model of the Columbia space shuttle, as well as a turtleneck he will never wear

Strong violet magic, in Mysterytale, is kind of terrifying

None of the three are likely to relax in a flower garden

Gaster has gone to the void twice, and has 0 LV. He is terrified of gaining more, and will take drastic measures to avoid this.

No one in Mysterytale is capable of swearing.

Gaster has a third form, mimicking a monster from his universe known as a Dracfin- semi-aquatic, furred quadrupeds that shapeshift slightly based off of whether they're submerged in water or not, playing off of the way water bends light. They are carnivores. Have a picture of said form- his appearance on land on the left, and his appearance in water on the right. Ignore the fact that both are pictured underwater, I got a little lazy with the background.

Every monster in Mysterytale has a sort of Multiversal camoflauge- which simply means that when they enter a new universe, if the rules of that universe don't allow for Monsters and their magic to exist- say, in a universe without latent magic- they change into the next closest form that obeys that universe's rules, whatever they may be. So, for the most prominent example, if a monster from Mysterytale entered a pokemon universe, they would almost definitely become a pokémon- one that already exists in that universe. So, in all likelyhood...

Gaster would become a Noivern- to be specific, a noivern with the telepathy ability, and Boomburst, Air Slash, Dragon Pulse and Roost

Papyrus would be a lucario- already mega evolved if allowed, but... otherwise just a normal Lucario with the Inner Focus ability, and Bone Rush, Aura Sphere, Heal Pulse and Copycat as moves

And Sans, finally, would be an Alolan Marowak- Cursed Body as an ability, and Bonemarang, Shadow Bone, Bone Rush and Flamethrower as moves; or... just a normal, non-alolan Marowak, depending on whether or not the universe in question actually. Y'know, has an Alola.

...Have some pictures!

They'll actually register as these Pokemon if scanned with a Pokedex, even when they aren't Pokemon. Again... crossover.

...but, uh. Yeah, anything else you want to know, go ahead and ask. We'll see if I can figure out how asks work. You can probably ask the characrers things, too, and I'll give you an in-character response that might spiral into an entire non-cannon au because that's how those things seem to work for whatever reason.

...also, uh. Let's... let's keep this sfw, mkay? mkay. Like you can swear at them and whatever but. Probably not much beyond flirting, aight?

[mewmewpurin]

1 - 30 of the identity asks because I'm a piece of shit

yeah you are. 

if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?

Read: Shugo Chara simply because it’s a series that I enjoy and can relate to a lot especially when it comes to finding out who you are. Watch: Love Live and focus just on Hanayo. Seriously. That’s me. Listen to: Smile Song

have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?

@blakebellatooshie and I always think alike hahaha

list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with.

RWBY: Ruby / Velvet Love Live: HANAYO Steven Universe: Blue Pearl I have a lot of fandoms, but those are the top three I think.. 

do you like your name?  is there another name you think would fit you better?

My real name is Haley and nope. I felt like it was super common. I’ve always wanted a really unique name. 

do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?

Oh dang uhhh… I guess a human being… I don’t feel like I stand out much no matter what I do.. 

are you religious/spiritual?

Nope, but I don’t think death is the end. No concrete idea on what happens after death (reincarnation, spirits, heaven…) but I do feel like there’s something more. 

do you care about your ethnicity?

No, it’s never been a sense of pride by anyone in my family

what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?

I don’t listen to much music.. I have artists I enjoy, but not because I feel particularly connected to what they’re saying. 

are you an artist?

Yey. 

do you have a creed?

I don’t even know what that is, so… no?

describe your ideal day.

Going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on a nice day with little to no crowds. When I ride the safari all the animals will be out. I’ll eat at Flame Tree BBQ.

dog person or cat person?

Dog person! I’m allergic to cats..

inside or outdoors?

Depends on the season. I love to be outside if it’s warm out. 

are you a musician?

Nope

five most influential books over your lifetime.

A Series of Unfortunate Events, Shugo Chara, Tokyo Mew Mew, Harry Potter, Marked

if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d have turned out the same?

Hmmm… probably. But it’s hard to say how… 

would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”?

Terrible jokes and boobies? Yey. 

what’s your patronus?

According to Pottermore, a black and white cat. But I relate most to the descriptions generally given to those with the White Swan patronus. 

which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle?

Hufflepuff!

would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else?

Hogwarts! 

do you love easily?

I used to. Someone back in High School took that away from me. 

list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.

1. Work (school or actual work), 2. Drawing, 3. Making memes tbh, 4. Making cosplay stuff, 5. Talking on the phone

how often would you want to see your family every year?

If we lived apart? Hmm… depends on the distance… if we’re far…. once or twice a year is fine with me.

have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone?

My big sister, bff, Belladonna-Loving asshole @blakebellatooshie 

could you live as a hermit?

Sometimes I think I could, but realistically .. no. I go out a lot more than I think I do. 

how would you describe your gender/sexuality?

Straight Female. Nothing special ‘bout that. 

do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”?

Yes and No. I dress very conservatively because I’m really shy and don’t want to stand out, but I’d love to be able to dress to show my more bubbly self.. 

on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for someone to get under your skin?

Depends on the topic. Some topics it’s a 1 while others don’t bother me much so 10

three songs that you connect with right now.

How Far I”ll Go, Something Beautiful, Here Comes A Thought

pick one of your favorite quotes.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney

[lyesattou10-blog1]

Blog Assignment #2  Lyes Attou 6129498

          Through​ ​my​ ​first​ ​2​ ​blog​ ​posts,​ ​I​ ​elaborated​ ​on​ ​events​ ​that​ ​I​ ​physically​ ​attended.​ ​Thanks to​ ​the​ ​course​ ​material​ ​that​ ​I​ ​learned​ ​in​ ​class​ ​and​ ​through​ ​the​ ​readings​ ​it​ ​allowed​ ​me​ ​to​ ​become more​ ​interested​ ​in​ ​covering​ ​my​ ​audience​ ​experience​ ​this​ ​time​ ​through​ ​television​ ​more specifically​ ​NFL​ ​games.​ ​As​ ​stated​ ​previously​ ​being​ ​new​ ​to​ ​Canada​ ​has​ ​allowed​ ​me​ ​to​ ​invest​ ​in different​ ​sports​ ​that​ ​were​ ​not​ ​common​ ​in​ ​France​ ​and​ ​Europe​ ​in​ ​general.​ ​The​ ​various​ ​media outlets​ ​and​ ​advertisements​ ​incorporated​ ​in​ ​mass​ ​media​ ​in​ ​European​ ​corporations​ ​differs completely​ ​from​ ​what​ ​is​ ​being​ ​showcased​ ​in​ ​Northern​ ​America.​ ​Also​ ​the​ ​goal​ ​at​ ​aiming​ ​specific target​ ​audiences​ ​is​ ​different​ ​because​ ​of​ ​the​ ​economic​ ​differences​ ​in​ ​France​ ​is​ ​substantially different​ ​to​ ​North​ ​America.​ ​The​ ​ratio​ ​between​ ​rich​ ​and​ ​poor​ ​is​ ​much​ ​more​ ​unbalanced​ ​compared to​ ​North​ ​America​ ​where​ ​middle​ ​class​ ​is​ ​more​ ​of​ ​a​ ​norm.​ ​Furthermore​ ​this​ ​leads​ ​to​ ​a​ ​decreased amount​ ​of​ ​households​ ​that​ ​have​ ​access​ ​to​ ​either​ ​television’s,​ ​radio’s​ ​contrast​ ​to​ ​here​ ​where​ ​most families​ ​have​ ​access​ ​to​ ​those​ ​technological​ ​devices.​ ​This​ ​results​ ​in​ ​major​ ​advertisements​ ​to appeal​ ​to​ ​a​ ​smaller​ ​percentage​ ​of​ ​the​ ​demographic​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​the​ ​majority​ ​of​ ​the​ ​population​ ​due to​ ​its​ ​accessibility.

​            ​Moving​ ​forward​ ​to​ ​the​ ​NFL​ ​the​ ​league​ ​generates​ ​the​ ​highest​ ​revenues​ ​out​ ​of all​ ​sports​ ​associations​ ​around​ ​the​ ​world​ ​including​ ​the​ ​different​ ​soccer​ ​leagues​ ​around​ ​the​ ​world. On​ ​Sunday​ ​evenings​ ​and​ ​Monday​ ​nights​ ​it​ ​also​ ​earn​ ​the​ ​right​ ​to​ ​have​ ​the​ ​highest​ ​viewership rating​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Nielsen​ ​scale​ ​in​ ​the​ ​last​ ​couple​ ​years.​ ​However​ ​these​ ​ratings​ ​took​ ​a​ ​hit​ ​this​ ​season which​ ​will​ ​be​ ​touched​ ​on​ ​later​ ​on​ ​the​ ​blog.​ ​​ ​​ ​Through​ ​the​ ​following​ ​blog​ ​post​ ​I​ ​will​ ​be introducing​ ​what​ ​the​ ​NFL​ ​is​ ​all​ ​about,​ ​how​ ​it​ ​sets​ ​itself​ ​apart​ ​from​ ​other​ ​major​ ​sporting associations,​ ​how​ ​new​ ​forms​ ​of​ ​media​ ​play​ ​a​ ​role​ ​in​ ​enhancing​ ​the​ ​viewership​ ​experience​ ​for​ ​the league​ ​and​ ​also​ ​talking​ ​about​ ​my​ ​uses​ ​and​ ​gratifications​ ​off​ ​watching​ ​football​ ​on​ ​TV.

To​ ​summarize​ ​as​ ​a​ ​whole​ ​what​ ​the​ ​NFL​ ​holds​ ​thirty​ ​two​ ​teams​ ​based​ ​in​ ​America​ ​which is​ ​formatted​ ​as​ ​the​ ​following.​ ​There​ ​are​ ​two​ ​conferences​ ​in​ ​the​ ​league​ ​with​ ​sixteen​ ​teams​ ​in​ ​each conferenced​ ​named​ ​AFC​ ​and​ ​NFC.​ ​​ ​Each​ ​teams​ ​play​ ​sixteen​ ​games​ ​during​ ​the​ ​regular​ ​season followed​ ​by​ ​the​ ​playoffs.​ ​In​ ​order​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​the​ ​playoffs​ ​you​ ​must​ ​finish​ ​in​ ​the​ ​top​ ​six​ ​of your​ ​conference.​ ​From​ ​the​ ​playoffs​ ​two​ ​teams​ ​from​ ​both​ ​conferences​ ​plays​ ​as​ ​we​ ​all​ ​know​ ​as​ ​the “Super​ ​Bowl”.​ ​​ ​However​ ​in​ ​the​ ​past​ ​decade​ ​it​ ​became​ ​more​ ​than​ ​just​ ​a​ ​sports​ ​league​ ​but​ ​it​ ​grew as​ ​a​ ​corporation​ ​as​ ​a​ ​whole.​ ​The​ ​NFL​ ​holds​ ​twenty​ ​six​ ​major​ ��sponsors​ ​in​ ​total(Visa,​ ​Pepsi, Verizon)​ ​just​ ​to​ ​name​ ​a​ ​few.​ ​It​ ​generates​ ​a​ ​total​ ​of​ ​thirteen​ ​billion​ ​dollars​ ​yearly​ ​far​ ​ahead​ ​the MLB​ ​that​ ​generates​ ​nine​ ​billion​ ​dollars​ ​yearly.​ ​ESPN,​ ​Fox,​ ​CBS,​ ​NBC,​ ​and​ ​Direct​ ​TV​ ​reached​ ​a deal​ ​with​ ​the​ ​NFL​ ​to​ ​pay​ ​$6​ ​billion​ ​annually​ ​that​ ​started​ ​in​ ​2014.​ ​This​ ​revenue​ ​was​ ​increased​ ​50 percent​ ​compared​ ​to​ ​the​ ​2012​ ​season.  

Nielsen​ ​Rating

In​ ​the​ ​course​ ​reading​ ​they​ ​defined​ ​rating​ ​as​ ​the​ ​following "a​ ​rating​ ​is​ ​a​ ​ratio​ ​of​ ​how​ ​many households​ ​are​ ​watching​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​program​ ​out​ ​of​ ​all​ ​television​ ​households​ ​in​ ​the​ ​US (Sullivan,​ ​94).​“ ​ ​​ Nielsen​ ​himself​ ​suggested​ ​that​ ​there​ ​were​ ​roughly​ ​112.8​ ​million​ ​television households​ ​in​ ​the​ ​United​ ​states​ ​in​ ​2007.​ ​Throughout​ ​various​ ​surveys​ ​and​ ​measurements​ ​they came​ ​to​ ​the​ ​conclusion​ ​that​ ​Sunday​ ​night​ ​football​ ​and​ ​Monday​ ​night​ ​football​ ​were​ ​the​ ​most viewed​ ​program​ ​on​ ​television​ ​in​ ​the​ ​US.​ ​It​ ​wasn’t​ ​until​ ​2007​ ​that​ ​Nielsen​ ​implemented​ ​college and​ ​university​ ​dormitories​ ​as​ ​a​ ​households.​ ​In​ ​figure​ ​4.2​ ​on​ ​page​ ​89(Sullivan)​ ​they​ ​illustrated​ ​a diagram​ ​that​ ​showcases​ ​the​ ​daily​ ​viewers​ ​between​ ​18-24​ ​then​ ​total​ ​viewers​ ​aged​ ​18-49.​ ​This resulted​ ​in​ ​​NBC​ ​Sunday​ ​night​ ​football​ ​​and​​ ​CBS​ ​NFL​ ​national​ ​​having​ ​the​ ​largest​ ​male​ ​viewers which​ ​totaled​ ​up​ ​too​ ​7,070​ ​in​ ​total​ ​for​ ​CBS​ ​and​ ​6.332​ ​total​ ​viewers​ ​for​ ​NBC.​ ​The​ ​Super​ ​Bowl viewership​ ​has​ ​ranged​ ​from​ ​39.8​ ​million​ ​in​ ​1969​ ​to​ ​106.5​ ​million​ ​in​ ​2010.​ ​​ ​As​ ​of​ ​2013,​ ​three Super​ ​Bowl​ ​games​ ​ranked​ ​as​ ​the​ ​top​ ​three​ ​most​ ​viewed​ ​programs​ ​in​ ​United​ ​States​ ​television history;​ ​the​ ​top​ ​watched​ ​event​ ​was​ ​the​ ​2012​ ​Super​ ​Bowl​ ​XLVI​ ​with​ ​111.3​ ​million,​ ​the​ ​second most​ ​watched​ ​event​ ​was​ ​the​ ​2011​ ​Super​ ​Bowl​ ​XLV​ ​with​ ​111​ ​million,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​2013​ ​Super​ ​Bowl XLVII​ ​was​ ​ranked​ ​in​ ​third​ ​place​ ​with​ ​108.4million​ ​people​ ​(ESPN,​ ​2013).​ ​Since​ ​1972​ ​the​ ​Super Bowl​ ​has​ ​been​ ​viewed​ ​by​ ​over​ ​40​ ​%​ ​of​ ​households​ ​in​ ​America.​ ​The​ ​biggest​ ​revenue​ ​for​ ​the​ ​NFL are​ ​of​ ​course​ ​advertisements.​ ​Just​ ​to​ ​show​ ​you​ ​how​ ​much​ ​they​ ​can​ ​make​ ​in​ ​one​ ​day​ ​during​ ​the Super​ ​Bowl​ ​a​ ​thirty​ ​second​ ​commercial​ ​will​ ​cost​ ​the​ ​company​ ​five​ ​million​ ​dollars​ ​which​ ​is $166,667​ ​per​ ​second. Due​ ​to​ ​the​ ​popularity​ ​of​ ​the​ ​event​ ​Ads​ ​will​ ​tend​ ​to​ ​try​ ​their​ ​best​ ​to influence​ ​the​ ​audience​ ​into​ ​buying​ ​the​ ​product​ ​by​ ​releasing​ ​the​ ​best​ ​commercial​ ​of​ ​the​ ​year​ ​yet which​ ​relates​ ​to​ ​Jhally’s​ ​point​ ​that​ ​“connecting​ ​the​ ​act​ ​of​ ​watching​ ​commercials​ ​to​ ​a​ ​form​ ​of productive​ ​labor​ ​that​ ​generates​ ​economic​ ​value(and​ ​surplus​ ​value)​ ​for​ ​broadcasters,​ ​for​ ​which the​ ​audience​ ​receives​ ​payment​ ​in​ ​the​ ​form​ ​of​ ​the​ ​programming​ ​itself”​(Sullivan,82).  However​ ​this​ ​year​ ​the​ ​ratings​ ​took​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​drop​ ​because​ ​of​ ​what​ ​is​ ​going​ ​around​ ​the league.​ ​Since​ ​the​ ​current​ ​President​ ​of​ ​the​ ​United​ ​States​ ​Donald​ ​trump​ ​publicly​ ​called​ ​out​ ​the hundreds​ ​of​ ​professional​ ​athletes​ ​kneeling​ ​during​ ​the​ ​national​ ​anthem​ ​it​ ​divided​ ​the​ ​NFL​ ​fan base​ ​into​ ​two​ ​sides.​ ​One​ ​side​ ​takes​ ​advantage​ ​of​ ​the​ ​platform​ ​they​ ​are​ ​given​ ​to​ ​create​ ​awareness towards​ ​police​ ​abuse​ ​and​ ​discrimination​ ​towards​ ​minorities​ ​while​ ​the​ ​other​ ​side​ ​views​ ​it​ ​more​ ​in a​ ​patriotic​ ​way.​ ​They​ ​believe​ ​that​ ​kneeling​ ​during​ ​the​ ​national​ ​anthem​ ​is​ ​disrespectful​ ​to​ ​the people​ ​fighting​ ​for​ ​the​ ​country​ ​abroad.​ ​The​ ​two​ ​sides​ ​of​ ​understanding​ ​the​ ​whole​ ​situation​ ​are completely​ ​necessary,​ ​with​ ​each​ ​side​ ​interpreting​ ​the​ ​situation​ ​differently.​ ​One​ ​portion​ ​of​ ​the audience​ ​will​ ​see​ ​themselves​ ​represented​ ​by​ ​the​ ​players​ ​kneeling​ ​while​ ​the​ ​other​ ​side​ ​is​ ​being introduced​ ​to​ ​a​ ​whole​ ​circumstance​ ​that​ ​they’ve​ ​never​ ​had​ ​to​ ​witness​ ​in​ ​the​ ​past.​ ​​ ​This​ ​of​ ​course points​ ​back​ ​to​ ​​Stanley​ ​Fish’s​ ​interpretive​ ​community​ ​theory​.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​Nielsen​ ​report​ ​this​ ​led​ ​to an​ ​increase​ ​of​ ​African​ ​Americans​ ​viewing​ ​the​ ​NFL​ ​while​ ​there​ ​was​ ​a​ ​decrease​ ​in​ ​white viewership. 

  Uses​ ​and​ ​gratification 

With​ ​the​ ​exposure​ ​of​ ​mass​ ​media,​ ​sports​ ​fans​ ​are​ ​able​ ​to​ ​enjoy​ ​games​ ​in​ ​real​ ​time​ ​in​ ​their homes.​ ​​ ​While​ ​just​ ​watching​ ​sports​ ​broadcasts,​ ​fans​ ​are​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​share​ ​the​ ​game​ ​experience​ ​with family,​ ​friends,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​fans​ ​who​ ​are​ ​following​ ​the​ ​same​ ​team.​ ​​ ​Social​ ​media​ ​is​ ​another​ ​tool while​ ​watching​ ​games​ ​as​ ​various​ ​fans​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​different​ ​social​ ​media​ ​pages​ ​while​ ​the​ ​game is​ ​actually​ ​going​ ​on.​ ​During​ ​Sundays​ ​Football​ ​is​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​trending​ ​topics​ ​on​ ​twitter.​ ​When I​ ​first​ ​arrived​ ​in​ ​Canada​ ​it​ ​was​ ​hard​ ​not​ ​too​ ​watch​ ​football​ ​due​ ​to​ ​it’s​ ​popularity​ ​on​ ​social​ ​media as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​everyday​ ​conversations​ ​with​ ​people.​ ​This​ ​leads​ ​to​ ​my​ ​point​ ​of​ ​Uses​ ​and​ ​Gratification. Theorist​ ​considers​ ​how​ ​and​ ​why​ ​the​ ​people​ ​use​ ​the​ ​media.​ ​​ ​I​ ​personally​ ​use​ ​social​ ​media​ ​during games​ ​to​ ​start​ ​debates​ ​about​ ​certain​ ​topics​ ​around​ ​the​ ​league​ ​also​ ​to​ ​check​ ​on​ ​updates​ ​about specific​ ​teams​ ​and​ ​players.​ ​These​ ​different​ ​media​ ​outlets​ ​allows​ ​me​ ​to​ ​suit​ ​my​ ​own​ ​needs​ ​at​ ​my own​ ​convenient​ ​time.​ ​I​ ​decide​ ​what​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​view​ ​when​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​view​ ​it.​ ​This​ ​strengthening Katz​ ​argument​ ​about​ ​the​ ​five​ ​elements​ ​of​ ​uses​ ​and​ ​gratification(​ ​Sullivan,​ ​113)​ ​:  

1. The​ ​audience​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​active,​ ​and​ ​media​ ​use​ ​is​ ​directed​ ​towards​ ​particular​ ​goals.

 2. The​ ​audience​ ​member​ ​has​ ​the​ ​initiative​ ​in​ ​linking​ ​need​ ​gratification​ ​and​ ​media​ ​choice. They​ ​select​ ​different​ ​types​ ​of​ ​media​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​satisfy​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​need​ ​or​ ​desire

3. The​ ​media​ ​compete​ ​with​ ​other​ ​sources​ ​of​ ​need​ ​satisfaction.  

4. the​ ​audience​ ​has​ ​sufficient​ ​self-awareness​ ​regarding​ ​their​ ​media​ ​interest​ ​and​ ​motivation

5. Scholars​ ​utilizes​ ​the​ ​uses​ ​and​ ​gratifications​ ​approach​ ​do​ ​not​ ​make​ ​value​ ​judgements about​ ​people's​ ​media​ ​choices.​ ​Instead​ ​they​ ​try​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​the​ ​audiences​ ​orientation​ ​to certain​ ​media​ ​on​ ​their​ ​own.

 In​ ​my​ ​case​ ​I​ ​relate​ ​more​ ​to​ ​the​ ​point​ ​number​ ​one​ ​where​ ​fans​ ​are​ ​always​ ​active​ ​to​ ​reach​ ​a certain​ ​goal​ ​using​ ​the​ ​media.​ ​Whenever​ ​I​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​social​ ​media​ ​forums​ ​there’s​ ​always​ ​a​ ​goal to​ ​express​ ​my​ ​opinion​ ​and​ ​also​ ​to​ ​actively​ ​seek​ ​to​ ​get​ ​educated​ ​on​ ​other​ ​audiences​ ​opinions. Alan​ ​M.​ ​Rubin​ ​also​ ​discussed​ ​the​ ​motivations​ ​for​ ​watching​ ​TV​ ​soap​ ​operas.​ ​Despite​ ​the​ ​topic​ ​in question​ ​is​ ​different​ ​it​ ​still​ ​relates​ ​to​ ​my​ ​motives​ ​when​ ​watching​ ​a​ ​football​ ​game.​ ​Starting​ ​with orientation​ ​​I​ ​find​ ​it​ ​astonishing​ ​that​ ​every​ ​audience​ ​follow​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​team​ ​religiously.​ ​I always​ ​seek​ ​to​ ​get​ ​informed​ ​on​ ​different​ ​opinions​ ​as​ ​per​ ​example;​ ​In​ ​my​ ​first​ ​year​ ​of​ ​university​ ​I conducted​ ​a​ ​survey​ ​on​ ​how​ ​football​ ​influences​ ​one’s​ ​lifestyle.​ ​Relating​ ​back​ ​to​ ​my​ ​days​ ​in​ ​France where​ ​I​ ​came​ ​from​ ​a​ ​poor​ ​neighborhood.​ ​Everyone​ ​knew​ ​that​ ​on​ ​the​ ​weekends​ ​we​ ​would​ ​all meet​ ​at​ ​the​ ​café​ ​shop​ ​nearby​ ​to​ ​watch​ ​the​ ​soccer​ ​game​ ​and​ ​also​ ​discuss​ ​the​ ​trending​ ​topics relating​ ​to​ ​the​ ​sport​ ​in​ ​question.​ ​However​ ​sports​ ​weren’t​ ​the​ ​only​ ​thing​ ​we​ ​discussed​ ​because​ ​at times​ ​we​ ​went​ ​into​ ​more​ ​personal​ ​conversations​ ​about​ ​our​ ​respective​ ​problems​ ​and​ ​goals​ ​in​ ​the future.​ ​​ ​This​ ​leads​ ​to​ ​the​ ​second​ ​motive​ ​​Avoidance,​ ​​as​ ​stated​ ​above​ ​coming​ ​from​ ​a​ ​poor neighborhood​ ​sometimes​ ​you​ ​experience​ ​scenes​ ​that​ ​nobody​ ​else​ ​can​ ​understand.​ ​Whenever​ ​a football​ ​or​ ​soccer​ ​game​ ​is​ ​on​ ​TV​ ​it​ ​helps​ ​me​ ​escape​ ​from​ ​reality​ ​and​ ​dive​ ​into​ ​the​ ​television​ ​for 2-3​ ​hours​ ​or​ ​so.​ ​It​ ​helps​ ​me​ ​release​ ​tensions​ ​and​ ​forget​ ​about​ ​what​ ​is​ ​going​ ​on​ ​in​ ​my surroundings.​ ​Thirdly​ ​​Diversion​ ​​is​ ​another​ ​motive​ ​because​ ​watching​ ​a​ ​football​ ​game​ ​is entertaining.​ ​It​ ​helps​ ​me​ ​relax​ ​and​ ​pass​ ​time.​ ​Whenever​ ​I​ ​watch​ ​a​ ​game​ ​it​ ​feels​ ​like​ ​I'm​ ​in​ ​the stadium​ ​with​ ​all​ ​the​ ​fans​ ​chanting​ ​and​ ​cheering​ ​for​ ​the​ ​team.​ ​Finally​ ​the​ ​fourth​ ​motive​ ​that​ ​Rubin discussed​ ​was​ ​​social​ ​utility.​ ​​In​ ​my​ ​opinion​ ​there’s​ ​nothing​ ​more​ ​refreshing​ ​than​ ​sharing​ ​the game​ ​experience​ ​with​ ​others​ ​that​ ​have​ ​the​ ​same​ ​common​ ​interest.​ ​It​ ​helps​ ​me​ ​be​ ​closer​ ​with other​ ​people​ ​while​ ​watching​ ​the​ ​game.​ ​Meeting​ ​people​ ​with​ ​common��� ​hobbies​ ​and​ ​seeking​ ​to start​ ​conversations​ ​are​ ​good​ ​motives​ ​to​ ​watch​ ​a​ ​football​ ​game.  

Conclusion

In​ ​conclusion​ ​with​ ​the​ ​help​ ​of​ ​course​ ​materials​ ​that​ ​I​ ​learned​ ​in​ ​class​ ​and​ ​also​ ​the readings​ ​it​ ​enhanced​ ​my​ ​knowledge​ ​on​ ​audience​ ​behaviors.​ ​The​ ​ratings​ ​of​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​program or​ ​TV​ ​show​ ​influences​ ​heavily​ ​my​ ​experience​ ​as​ ​a​ ​viewer.​ ​If​ ​something​ ​is​ ​trending​ ​on​ ​social media​ ​or​ ​on​ ​TV​ ​I​ ​easily​ ​get​ ​influenced​ ​to​ ​view​ ​the​ ​content. It​ ​is​ ​very​ ​hard​ ​to​ ​ignore​ ​when something​ ​is​ ​trending​ ​because​ ​you’ll​ ​hear​ ​about​ ​it​ ​anyways.​ ​For​ ​me​ ​becoming​ ​a​ ​football​ ​fan​ ​was thanks​ ​to​ ​not​ ​only​ ​my​ ​surroundings​ ​but​ ​also​ ​mass​ ​media​ ​as​ ​a​ ​whole.​ ​Earlier​ ​I​ ​touched​ ​on​ ​how​ ​in France​ ​soccer​ ​is​ ​the​ ​dominant​ ​sport​ ​so​ ​whenever​ ​I'd​ ​look​ ​through​ ​the​ ​news​ ​it​ ​would​ ​be​ ​the​ ​only thing​ ​showcased​ ​to​ ​me.​ ​But​ ​when​ ​I​ ​came​ ​to​ ​North​ ​America​ ​I​ ​was​ ​exposed​ ​to​ ​new​ ​sports.​ ​Several popular​ ​professional​ ​sporting​ ​events​ ​continued​ ​constantly​ ​all​ ​season​ ​long:​ ​professional​ ​baseball (from​ ​spring​ ​to​ ​late​ ​fall),​ ​professional​ ​football​ ​(from​ ​fall​ ​to​ ​winter),​ ​professional​ ​basketball​ ​(from fall​ ​to​ ​early​ ​summer),​ ​and​ ​professional​ ​hockey​ ​(from​ ​fall​ ​to​ ​early​ ​spring).​ ​This​ ​helped​ ​me experience​ ​new​ ​sports​ ​that​ ​I​ ​wasn’t​ ​exposed​ ​to​ ​in​ ​France.​ ​I​ ​experienced​ ​a​ ​Buffalo​ ​Bills​ ​game,​ ​a Toronto​ ​raptors​ ​game​ ​and​ ​finally​ ​the​ ​Toronto​ ​maple​ ​leafs.​ ​All​ ​these​ ​new​ ​experiences​ ​were influenced​ ​by​ ​Mass​ ​media.​ ​Being​ ​here​ ​for​ ​two​ ​years​ ​benefited​ ​me​ ​to​ ​decide​ ​what​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​view whenever​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​view​ ​it.

Reference 

Sullivan, J. (2013). Â Media Audiences: Effects, users, institutions and power.

Buzzard, K. (2015).  The rise of market information regimes and the historical development of audience ratings.  Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television.