#If the idea doesn't sound good; I thought about using it for an own/original story maybe; which of course means the main character would be

[bowlerhatwearer]

Oh please, Medile with RCS all you want. I just want to see your story :)

Greetings Anon ^^

Thank you for your approval and blessing, this means so much to me :-.)

Well, from what I have thought/imagined it that, Samantha would, one day just, wake up in a back/blind alley with a headache and confused in how she got there and were she is.

Soon Sam would realize that things have turned very...strange, everything looks different from the last time she remembers how they were, a lot has changed, so much looks different then from how she thoughts things were.

Of course, the rabbit would, after returning to the Roadkillerz headquarters, realize that the freedom fighter organization she knew, no longer exists, and that they now call themselves the "Roadcurators" or "RCS" for short.

After a quick argument she gets thrown out for being "out of date" and a "living fossil" as she gets called by the leadership of the Roadcurators.

I do like to think that it is then, that maybe Samantha would meet another protagonist and one of her first allies, a "One Star Roadcurator" who is stuck in an office job, blamed for problems that are not their fault...and not being taken seriously, they are also a person who has heard a lot about the "old Roadkillerz" and so would recognize Samantha.

Dissatisfied and, to be honest also horrified into what the Roadkillerz have turned, no longer being the organization she was part of Samantha vows to found her own organization, that is closer to what the "RCS" once was, and not what they are now.

Over the time, more and more people would join Samantha's organization, slowly bringing things into order again, and really supporting and helping people, unlike the RCS who only cares about their image and the deception of helping people.

Of course, the RCS, seeing in the new organization a rival..and a danger to exposing who they really are, would try to stop them.

I like to think that while there a references to the past (for example Samantha getting reminded of Cupid by the RCS recruit who helps her) the cast, minus Samantha would be mostly their own/new characters, however, I can imagine that a few of them are decadents of characters from the past. And of course, a few characters would still exist...in one way or another.

Now, there is of course the question now, why Samantha can't remember how they got there, and for that there is an explanation, which could be potential spoilers

(Spoilers)

Some unspecific time after the events/end of Roadkillerz, Samantha died, having been able to lift the curse from herself, Samantha started to age normally and passed away peacefully at some time, being reunited with her friend and family. The reason how the curse got lifted requires a bit of explanation if that is alright with you :-.) :

I did think about the concept, that, the whole plot/story that is about Samantha returning the effigy to the location were she stole it, involves a scene/point/plot device, were, a lot of immortal/invincible characters, give up their immortality willingly, to help/aid the god/entity who cursed Samantha in the first place, because said entity was in danger, and so by giving up their curses/magic/technology etc. that kept them alive, they gave the deity a boost of power that helps them.

After the danger in the plot/story is dealt with (a group of mercenaries who got ordered to get rid of everyone so that the place could be salvaged and looted, and the ground be used for private investors to built some building there), a few of the once immortal characters would start to, peacefully pass away (Constance for example), whole others, like Samantha, got their curses lifted and are now mortal again and so start to age normally.

Back to the explanation about why Samantha can't remember how they got back there.

In the afterlife, and seeing earth, Samantha, witnessed herself how the Roadkillerz was changing, and while for some time she thinks this is no longer her responsibility, it leaves her restless seeing the Roadkillerz just...turn into this shadow of itself.

So she wonders what she could do, which isn't much.

As a ghost, on Earth, the chances are rather slim, that someone would notice her, and haunting someones dreams also...didn't seem to be like as if it would be a fruitful idea.

Reincarnation on the other hand, would mean Samantha would loose her memories, and could end up anywhere on the world.

For a while it appeared hopeless and as if Samantha would have to just, sit there and do nothing, having to witness how the Roadcurators turn more and more into what the Roadkillerz were not.

Until she suddenly gets an idea...even if it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

Which involves her, approaching the same deity/entity, that had cursed her...and requests to get cursed again by her own wish.

The god is taken aback and surprised, that Samantha would request such a thing, and after her explanations, would honor her request.

However, they do warn Samantha, that, while they could re-curse her, and bring her in such way back to the world of the living, it would be very likely, that she won't remember the reason, why she is back on the land of the living again (as in, that she got re-cursed), perhaps also forgetting that she was ever death, and the god would ask her again if she is ready , despite those risks.

Despite of that, Samantha is ready, bidding her friends and family farewell before returning to the land of the living, waking up exactly were she would at the start/beginning of the story.

Eventually, Samantha would regain that part of her memory she had lost, and remember why she got here.

I like to think she would decide, to stay for a little while longer in those new times, before, at one point again, she would become mortal again, which this time she can do, because this time she was voluntarily cursed / got cursed for good reasons and not as punishment.

Yours sincerely

Bowler

[alatismeni-theitsa]

In "KAOS" nothing is anything, and everything is wrong

Two disclaimers: I am no stranger to modern art, and I have no issue with queerness in shows, or in my own mythology (I'm Greek). I am also aware that KAOS is a comedy. It's in the gutter of British comedy, but still part of the genre. At least I laughed every time they said "Oh God!". I don't believe this is the same person who wrote the great and amusing "End of the F**king World"! The premise of "The gods in our modern world" appeals to me a lot, so that wasn't my problem either. My general issue with KAOS is its horrible delivery, bad writing, and piss-poor Greek representation.

This is gonna be long and full of stupid gifs, so sit comfortably, grab a coffee or some popcorn and... pame!

The "ILoveGreekMythology" Kid

Art without context is just a pretty thing to look at. Most of the time, this context can be found within the art piece itself, as the artist has taken care to weave it in. KAOS refuses to connect itself to any context besides the names and a few vague powers. It aims to exist outside of those "boring old stories of the Greek myth" and be entirely "fresh and modern". Something impossible when the entire show and the meanings are based on ancient recorded material. In other words, KAOS is so meta that it ends up being nothing. KAOS cannot stand on its own because you need more than the viewers being familiar with the Greek myth basics to pull such a show off.

KAOS tells us "See? I know all the names of the gods, and what they did, and I know all the locations, so I am qualified to tackle this". More or less like any Western kid who takes all their knowledge from PJO and Marvel and proceeds to unironically hate ancient deities and make a girlboss out of Medusa.

Here's a Greek word for you guys, ημιμάθεια, meaning "half-knowledge". Α Greek saying very well declares "Half-knowledge is worse than no knowledge". The confidence of thinking you know enough often leads you to grave mistakes whereas the humility of not knowing prevents you from touching shit that you shouldn't. When you have no idea what the original myth is trying to say and spit on its meaning, knowing a few names and locations is just smoke and mirrors. I don't believe the audience fell for that.

And don't get me started on the "subversions". A good subversion is intriguing and thought-provoking. In KAOS, every twist was hollow - Greek myth related or otherwise.

"What if Euridice doesn't love Orpheus?" I don't know, babe. What if??? What was the point of that? What did you show us? That women's stories are dominated by men and men don't listen to women, perhaps? And you chose to twist... the love story of Orpheus and Euridice to show this?? One of the best and most tragic love stories Greek mythology has to offer?? You just mocked the myth, you didn't make anything profound out of it.

The Greek Stuff (Nothing salvageable)

I was surprised to see they had a Consulting Producer (Georgia Christou) and an Assistant Script Editor (Isabella Yianni) who happen to be Greek. And I stress that because those people probably weren't hired or utilized for being Greek. We are not sure they were involved in cultural decisions because we have no evidence and because shows with no Greek elements can have more Greeks than that on their staff.

Okay, perhaps they took 5 seconds to ask Isabella about a greeting - which they proceeded to say in a wrong intonation 🙄🤌It's where Poseidon says "ya sás" in the Fates, by the way. How he said it sounds more like "for you (pl.)" than "health to you (pl.)".

Surprise! The only Greek actor present (Peter Polycarpou) has less than 5 minutes of screen time and plays the caricature of an immigrant with a thick (and inaccurate Greek) accent. He has a canteen, selling falafel which is not Greek, and Dionysus buys from him an unidentified tortilla wrap (which... is also not Greek, if you haven't caught up).

For the show they brought in actors of Maori, Nigerian and Sierra Leonean, Pakistani, Black American, Latvian-Jewish, Iranian, Egyptian, Indo-Fijian and Malay descent and you tell me it was impossible for them to seek and find an English-speaking, skilled actor of Greek descent in a show regarding Greek heritage. Sometimes I wonder, do y'all hate us so much?

They considered Greeks only to give us a simple (and wrong) greeting and a stereotype. Crumbs, we are supposed to be happy with. By the way, there are over 70.000 Greek immigrants just in the UK, usually in the urban centers, many of them students or fairly young employees in the corporate workforce. Not the largest minority but not hard to spot either.

Another plague of Anglophone shows: Almost everyone's Greek name is shortened. Yes, we know their full names but we are told that we will use the short ones. Greeks and their "long and difficult" names am I right fellas? Because saying "Ariadne" apparently requires 5 years of Greek language training, and no English word ever has more than two syllables.

Coincidentally, short names are cool in Anglophone imaginary universes and the "long" names are not. it's so strange Anglophones never make universes where it's cool for Greek names to be spoken in full hmmm... They don't even want to practice saying a whole Greek name for just 2 minutes in preparation for a show full of Greek names. And don't give me that "Greek is hard" shit when we only talk about a few syllables. If Greek kids can learn English since first grade and people here can sing English songs and spell English names, you have no excuse.

They also said the name "Fotis" means light, which is close enough but... ugh.. It's like saying Sebastian means "respect". I am not sure if they asked anyone or what their research was here. If I had the writers in front of me, I'd be like:

(This character from an all-time favorite Greek show is called Fotis)

They also made the flag of "Krete" an alteration of the Greek flag and the local Cretan flag. Which is the stupidest move, because they had to remove the religious symbol of the cross to make the flag fit the universe. These are flags created based on 1) Christianity 2) the Greek Revolution of 1821.

National Greek flag to the left, local Cretan flag to the right:

Flag of the KAOS' "Krete":

The only time they seriously took into account anything Greek, was the time when they decided to remove the religious symbol of our ethnoreligion AND (from what I could observe) keep the nine stripes?? The nine stripes of our national flag represent the syllables in "Freedom or Death". The colors are from the white foustanela of the mainland attire and the dark blue vraka of the island attire, the clothing of the Revolution fighters. (That's more of a meta explanation but the characteristics of the flag were decided during and nearly after the Revolution.)

I think I don't have to explain it more but it's not a homage to put the nine stripes in an ancient era where they have no meaning, and to replace a cross??? Let's... not replace religious symbols on national flags, okay? Thank you.

Another cultural element they changed was making everyone have a dedicated coin to pay Charon. Orpheus has Euridice's coin, "her coin", and he's meant to put it on her before she got buried. In Greek culture, any coin would do. Sorry that our culture restricts your script, dear writers. I guess you had to bend this too, in order to create a cohesive plot with a semblance of a twist.

Finally, the many "Kerberus" dogs were cute and I can understand the creative decision behind that. However, in a show full of inaccuracies, this made me roll my eyes a little. I think the showrunners know that Kerveros is not a breed of dog, and there can only be one of him because he doesn't have any other "Kerveros" to breed with. On the other hand, as demonstrated from art/writing on the internet, quite a lot of Westerners are not exactly aware of how our monsters work, so forgive my uncertainty 😅

Nothing is Anything

Every element KAOS played with ended up meaningless. In the words of a Lifo article:

“Zeus is a paranoid authoritarian dictator in mid-life crisis who fears losing his power and murders his aides to vent. Hera is a promiscuous goddess who repeatedly betrays Zeus and has mutilated mute priestesses for protection. Dionysos is a spoiled and immature zoomer who, apart from pranks, indulges in orgies with all genders. Poseidon a sadistic god of the sea, who tortures the crew on his ship for fun. Prometheus is gay and killed his lover so he could overthrow Zeus. Orpheus is a famous pop singer and Eurydice does not love him. Theseus is black and gay. The Erinyes are tough-as-nails mechs that look like they stepped out of ‘Sons of Anarchy’. The Fates resemble a three-member jury in a talent show. The Trojans are a terrorist group that acts against the gods. Crete is more reminiscent of California than the Mediterranean.”

The "River Styx" is a sea, the "River Lethe" is a lake, the gods are nothing more than spoiled humans, the Moirai are drag queens, the Cave is a club where you have to take a quiz to enter the underworld, and generally everything is modern, flat, mundane and anticlimactic. The producers aimed to achieve a work so meta that a "river" is now a concept, a metaphor, whatever you have in your heart. And those who want to see a river when we speak of a river are probably uncultured swines and don't understand postmodernism. Never mind that rivers are rivers in Greek mythology for a reason. That's not culturally interesting enough to explore compared to the new, cool approach of not assigning meaning to anything. That totally shows love for the original rich and meaningful material...

And the reason behind all this subversion? Probably the shock factor. They brought the characters to a point where they said "We have to save the world from Zeus" - Zeus! The father of gods, heroes and humans! - just because they could. It gives off a certain type of smugness that I personally don't like. I mean, I would like the smugness and cheekiness of KAOS if it wasn't a vapid and practically meaningless show. As nothing symbolizes anything anymore, we are just led from hollow plot point to hollow plot point.

If you cut it out of any cultural influence and see it as a story then it's... okay, I guess. But when you consider that it's meant to derive from certain material and it fails spectacularly, it's not a good story. It forgets its bases and doesn't play with the ancient elements at all. Disney's Hercules did it better, FFS!

Bad Writing (pt.1)

KAOS is not without recognizable themes but their demonstration is so juvenile and heavy-handed that it fails to influence a viewer of average intelligence. For instance, "Riddy" says to her religious mother "You dedicated your whole life to Hera, what about me?" Okay, KAOS, we get it. At the same time, this theme nulls itself because it turns out that Ridy's mother was right to do what she did, as she had a greater goal in mind. (And this, kiddos, is called Bad Writing, because your themes and scenes contradict each other)

The biggest theme I spotted was a criticism of religion and religious people who say "Do as I say, not as I do" and create exceptions for themselves. Only, it's not a criticism of anything real, in this case. It's a fact that some people in the clergy tend to preach peace and love and then they do harm, but we don't know, for example, that The Goddess of Marriage is a cheater and yet she pressures everyone into strict marriages. By focusing their wrath on divine beings who are not known for their hypocrisy, the creators missed the mark.

I can give KAOS props for how it handled Trojans to reflect real issues regarding how immigrants and war refugees are mistreated and blamed. I'd argue it was the only (nearly) well-done theme in the whole show because it had the least on-the-nose delivery and some genuine/serious scenes. But that's it.

More Bad Writing!

Jeff Goldblum's Zeus is shit. He'd crap his pants in an argument with a stern Greek dad/uncle his age. Is this character supposed to be intimidating? (Laughs in Mediterranean) That's not to say that Goldblum is not a good actor, but this role wasn't for him. The same can be said for the other actors, too. They are competent but they only give off the air of "The Greek gods if they lived in London, from the minds of people who think beards and body hair are an affliction". In addition to being misplaced, the actors cannot show their talent when following a script that resembles a children's book.

Why does THE GOD Dionysus have the maturity of a 15-year-old? I repeat, The God Dionysus. He's a freaking deity, and a very old one at that. He is not a teenager neither in appearance nor in experience. In our culture, he is mystical, mighty, wise. Why did they downgrade him so? Just for the plot? This is not Dionysus just because you named him so.

The dialogue rarely takes itself seriously to the point it has you wondering at times "Do people talk and behave like that?". In a comedy where everything is meant to be already extreme and parodied. Even in comedies, something must occasionally be serious so there is a healthy fluctuation in tone and the funny moments can hit you. In KAOS very few scenes treated their impactful dialogue as it should be treated.

The queerness and diversity (good elements, in general) were worse off for being in KAOS. Like, I want these elements to be there. I'm just sad about the whole situation. It's not enough that the show is shit, now you also give an additional reason for conservatives to shit on diverse and queer characters because they are part of a stupid narrative.

I'm the type of person who doesn't mind the queerness of Astyanax and Theseus being lovers in the context of this specific show but they're still the oddest pairing to me because they're from the most irrelevant myths and eras. Also, Astyanax in my mind is a baby who died tragically, for little reason if we are honest, so to bring him back and make him a love interest is... ekh.

In addition, isn't Astyanax supposed to be crippled after a fall from the city walls when he was a baby? Sorry to change subjects but the show is so convoluted and with so many issues that it's extremely difficult to stay on track with what's wrong.

To the person who thought this show was a good idea:

Whatever. Bye. I'm fucking done.

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; THE FINAL FINAL

Shen Qingqiu Propaganda:

The entire series is told from his POV and the story seems like a comedy. The side stories from other characters POVs make the story sound like a tragedy. He thought that Luo Binghe hated him and wanted him dead while everyone else knew that Binghe was in love with him.

the whole book he’s using his OWN interpretation of the world to explain literally everything, not knowing that his introduction into the world changed it so fundamentally that his prior knowledge of it is less than useless. he’s like “binghe is being sweet to me because binghe is sweet to people that wronged him before repaying their slight a thousandfold, and he only adds their acceptance of his sweetness to his tally of their sins!! i have to run away forever or he’ll tear my arms and legs off!!!!!!” and binghe in reality is like “wow the love of my life my beloved shizun is scared of me still :( i should act sweet and nonthreatening so he’s not scared of me :(“ and he literally doesn’t have this corrected until the end of the book. but even when that one thing is corrected he still is like “haha okay but these other six things-“ bro……. cucumber bro………….. you homosexualized the world just accept it

He examines the entire reality he's isekai-ed into as if it's still fictional and his inner monologue ignores any "character trait" of the people around him that doesn't fit into his perception of "canon" despite everything he's done to change reality from the canon of the novel he first read. He routinely mislabels his own emotions as well as making heteronormative assumptions about himself and the people around him before he finally realises he's in reciprocated gay love with a man. It's a book that benefits being read twice, so the second time around you can focus on the implications Shen Qingqiu blatantly misses.

Transmigrates into a novel he “hates,” assumes he’s doing a good job pretending to be the character whose body he got stuck in, assumes other characters will stick to their original paths. Lotta assumptions, lots of rationalizing, lots of incredible feats of misunderstanding/misinterpreting things. His internal narration is also hysterical.

Lemony Snicket Propaganda:

(I would like to preface this by saying that Lemony Snicket is the author's pen name, not a real person, and he exists as a character in-universe as well as being the one in-universe who writes the books!) I'd say he's unreliable because he spent time collecting information about the Baudelaire kids and then... wrote books about it. He has no idea what any of their dialogue actually was, what they were thinking, or even the whole plot, he's just doing research into the incidents and then filling in the gaps to make it a story. What ACTUALLY happened to the Baudelaires? Nobody really knows for sure

While the Baudelaire siblings are in potentially life threatening danger, he will randomly start talking about his own life and just leave the siblings hanging. For example, once Count Olaf was threatening to kill Violet, and then Lemony randomly began talking about how he met the love of his life at a costume party. This man CANNOT stay on topic. Usually when a new character is introduced, Lemony tells us right at the start that they’re either going to die or that the Baudelaire siblings will never see them again. Foreshadowing is not subtle in these books. CONSTANTLY emphasizes how miserable he feels while writing these books. At one point he admits that he had to put his pencil down and go cry for a while because of how sad it made him. Once he filled an entire page with nothing but the word “ever” to emphasize how dangerous it is to put forks in electrical outlets. He also repeated a paragraph about deja vu later on in the book to give the reader deja vu.

[ghcstao3]

Soap sings at night when he thinks he's alone.

Ghost hears about a "siren" among recruits then hears Soap singing that same night, entranced by the soft voice he listens to.

He starts searching like mad to find this "siren" as Soap has no clue about it all.

Now, Ghost has always been privy to the rumours and gossip that find their way around base. He’s always had a metaphorical ear to the wall, be it for the sake of his own entertainment or listening for something actually useful to him, so it doesn’t take long for him to find out about a supposed siren of the base.

Initially, like most tales that find their way around the recruits’ circles, Ghost doesn’t bother taking the story seriously. A siren doesn’t sound very realistic, not even for a place where superstition can sometimes make or break a mission. A siren, whether or not recruits mean it in the literal sense, is something easily brushed off by Ghost.

Until he hears the singing himself.

It’s late, the wee hours where only a select few are ever awake, when Ghost finds himself listening to the low crooning that seems to echo through the base with no definite source. He can't pinpoint much about the voice other than deep, masculine tones, though he supposes it doesn't matter much if it sounds so nice anyway.

Ghost lingers a few minutes, listening, before he snaps himself out of the daze he'd found himself in, lulled by this mysterious singing and the bone-deep exhaustion he still insists on fighting. He shakes his head and continues in whatever direction he'd been headed before, and tries to ignore the singing until it eventually fades into silence.

Siren had apparently been an apt term.

By the next time Ghost stumbles upon the entrancing singing again, he's just about forgotten about the so-called siren. Rumours die down and move onto whatever else is new and more exciting, though Ghost doubts this one had ever disappeared completely.

Like the first time, Ghost pauses in his stride to listen. It seems to be the same voice, the same tune—but still, Ghost doesn't have any idea as to where it's coming from.

So he goes looking. Does his best to follow the haunting echo and deduce its origin, because he certainly doesn't believe in the supernatural, and he certainly won't let his intrigue go to waste.

It's a mad chase—all the places Ghost knows to be good hiding spots, all the common areas, everything, and yet he can't seem to locate the source.

And right as he figures to give up this time, as the songs begin to diminish, Ghost hears it louder than ever. He stops, frowning, listening intently as the voice seems to trail just around the corner. Just down the hallway.

Ghost doesn't know what he'd been expecting, as he finally moves to confront this culprit—but it definitely hadn’t been Soap. Sleepily wandering the halls just as Ghost had originally been doing.

Soap must sense Ghost's presence, as the singing is suddenly cut off as the sergeant whirls around, eyes wide like he'd been abruptly woken from a good sleep.

"LT." Soap blinks. He clears his throat. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Ghost narrows his eyes. He marches up to Soap, jabbing his finger at the sergeant's chest once he's within distance. "You," he grunts. "You've been singing."

Slowly, Soap nods. "I have."

Ghost stares. "Why."

Soap shrugs. "Thought I was alone."

"You weren't."

"Aye, I can see that now."

A silence sits between them for what could be only seconds just as well as what could be hours. Soap's gaze is unwavering as he peers back at Ghost, just as it always is. Always has been.

Eventually, Ghost just huffs. Retracts his finger and pivots on his heel, heading back down the hall the way he had come, leaving Soap in stunned silence.

When rumours of a siren come back up again, Ghost will only think smugly that the mystery has been solved. Then he'll pause, reflect, and wonder—since when does Soap sing?

[artificial-radiance]

oh i love the Path Through the Woods au omg!!! can you tell us about the voices? what are they like and how they are foils to the monsters and such

i cant wait to see all of the other monsters :DD

is the a princess version of the narrator too or is the story different?

(note: this ask was received earlier in March, and I have been working on answering it since -- ty for your patience <3)

For that last question, I imagine the Narrator being the same horrible old crow, though my writing style is certainly different from how he's portrayed (I love describing things way too much) so writing him has been a small bit of a struggle - I need to practice portraying him. As of finishing the list below, I've gotten more confident writing him as I've played him for friends. The story is very different, and he has taken matters into his own hands differently - wanting you to walk into your death through believing him.

For your first question, I'll keep that all under a read more! But for a generalized idea, the Voices here are based on the Shifting Mound's descriptions of the Vessels and how they were described as hearts.

Over the course of writing this, there have been a few renames. They'll be noted <3

While not a voice, "you"/the player are called the Runaway. In tandem with the Voice of the Stray, she is the chapter 1 Princess. What she can arm herself with is different per chapter, and there's implications her appearance changes as well.

The Voice of the Stray is your inverse - if you are armed, she is more passive, and if you are unarmed, she is colder. This is in reference to how the Princess in Ch 1 changes personality based on if you enter the basement with the blade or not.

She was previously called the Voice of the Princess, then the Voice of the Captive, and then the Voice of the Runaway before getting to this point.

The Voice of the Accused is based on the Prisoner. She lays out what she thinks directly and pointedly. She doesn't say more than she needs to, prefering to watch and think things through quietly.

The Voice of the Cutthroat is based on the Adversary. She thinks in directly actions and has the will needed to make you do things.

She was originally called the Voice of the Rival. I thought this was too on the nose and looked to change it, taking Cutthroat from the Voice of the Trapper.

The Voice of the Dove is based on the Damsel. She thinks the Warden means the best for them, and is entirely willing to trust him and do what he says. While she won't suggest violence herself, she can deliver with unflinching cheeriness.

The Voice of the Exalted is based on the Tower. She sees herself as powerful and in charge of the situation. She's calculating where Cutthroat is impatient, and belittles those she doesn't like.

She was originally named the Voice of the Divine, then Voice of the Mystic. The former was too on the nose for me, and the second a little out of place for her personality.

The Voice of the Faithful is based on the Witch. She isn't trusting of others, having faith in herself rather than others. She isn't shy of suggesting trickery and betrayal if the circumstance could benefit from it.

She was originally named the Voice of the Tested before changing it because it didn't feel or sound right.

The Voice of the Haunted is based on the Spectre. She's relaxed for the most part, and one of the more pleasant voices to be around. She's willing to trust anyone that extends a hand to help.

She was originally named the Voice of the Dreamer, and then the Voice of the Drifter.

The Voice of the Hoax is based on the Razor. She likes to lie and oppose most decisions made, though when she's called out on it she's quick to deny most accusations. She likes to have good fun at the expense of others.

She was originally named the Voice of the Snitch, then the Voice of the Sleeve. Her named was hanged because while "Sleeve" was unique, I didn't fully enjoy it.

The Voice of the Solace is based on the Nightmare. She's playful, but impatient, entirely willing to throw tantrums and be cruel when she doesn't get what she wants. She has a strong will to enforce on the body and the Construct.

She was originally named the Voice of the Gentle before I decided it wasn't fitting for her (though you could argue the Solace isn't either - it's more for irony I suppose).

The Voice of the Splintered is based on the Stranger. She's naive, and her mood is unpredictable. She can be dismissive, vitriolic, or fully passive based on whatever stimuli she's given.

She was originally named the Voice of the Resonant, but I didn't fully vibe with it, hence the late change.

The Voice of the Trapper is based on the Beast. [edit] She is pretty decent planner and can read other creatures like a book. She knows what she's doing so long as it involves the element of surprise.

She was originally named the Voice of the Cutthroat, which was later given to the current Cutthroat. I held off from naming her the Hunter/Huntress since it was too on the nose.

[dongminz]

my reality . . ᝰ.ᐟ (han taesan)

pairing: nonidol!taesan x fem!reader; genre: fluff, highschool au, opposites attract; warnings: cursing ; featuring: mentions of tws dohoon, nwjns hanni, zb1 ricky, riize anton, kissoflife belle, and all bnd members!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 what happens when han taesan, a quiet boy with a cold demeanor, falls for a girl working part-time at his favorite record shop?

𐙚 cart • wc: 1,305 | please ignore grammatical errors!

chapter 2: feelings that are new previous ✦ chapter list ✦ character desc ✦ next

it's been 3 days since taesan had visited the record shop. 3 days. for others that might not seem like a long time, but for taesan? it felt like an eternity had passed. he wanted to see her again, but what if he visited so frequently that she'd get weirded out? what if she'd thought he was some weirdo stalking her? he didn't want that, not at all. i mean, he didn't even know her name for goodness sake.

then, he got a notif.

woonhak + hyungs (new messages) riririwoo: did you guys hear? we're gonna have a collaborative project with the fashion n film dep, sir is gonna talk abt it more next class myungjae: what?? that sounds interesting sungho: I wonder what kind of project it'll be leehan: the bell js rang, ig we'll find out

heading to his next class, taesan had wondered what kind of project it was. like, film, fashion and music?? he barely knew anyone from these departments, he was kinda nervous about the idea that he had to get to know new people for this.

ᯓᡣ𐭩

"hello class, i know some of you have heard that we will be having a collaborative project with the fashion and film department. so I will be announcing the project details. firstly, you will be divided into a group that consists of 6-7 people. next, you might be wondering 'why the fashion and film department?'. well, that is because you will be creating a music video! your team has to create its own original song, spectacular outfits, and an interesting music video that depicts the story behind the song. i will send out an email with more details & a list of your groupmates after class. I hope you're excited for this! now, let's get on with our class."

ᯓᡣ𐭩

woonhak + hyungs (new messages) myungjae: dude this project sounds so cool?? like a music video?? URHUFDHR IM SO EXCITED riririwoo: bro fr like?? i hope I get paired up with good groupmates tho sungho: if I get bad groupmates I'm actually cooked myungjae: LMFAOOO woonhakie: whatsup what r you guys talking abt leehan: our teacher announced that we're gonna have a collaborative prj with the film n fashion dep woonhakie: WHAT?? WHAT KIND OF PROJECT R YOU DOING taesan: we're gonna make a music video woonhakie: WHAT. how come you guys get all the cool projects ughh g10 is SO boring. all they do is give us boring hws 😕 myungjae: imagine being g10 LMAOO could not relate woonhakie: you were literally g10 2 years ago sungho: keyword = 'were' woonhakie: i'm literally gonna leave if you don't stop riririwoo: being in g10 is such a skill issue woonhakie left the gc sungho: DUDE myungjae: LMFAOOO riririwoo: LMAOO leehan: LMFAO taesan: you guys r so cooked ㅋㅋㅋ

"i literally hate you guys" a boy with an annoyed expression says, while the older boys sit beside him. "sorry woonhakie :(( we were just joking" jaehyun replies in hopes of cheering up the younger boy, "we'll treat you to ice cream after school if that makes you feel better" a boy with longer hair adds on. "this is why you guys are the best" woonhak replied as if he didn't just hate them 5 seconds ago.

suddenly, they all get an email.

from: Sir Zico hello students! here's the list for your groupings! 🔗 click attached file

"oh my god. they sent out the groupings, everyone go check it" sungho says in excitement. "why am I so cooked I literally know no one in my group" jaehyun says worriedly, "at least you don't have ___ LIKE HE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING AT ALL" riwoo complains.

while everyone was talking about their groupmates, taesan had suddenly gotten a notif from a gc he wasn't originally in.

mv prj groupmates!! (new messages) yn: hello everybody!! are you excited about this project ^^ are you guys free to meetup tdyy? js so we can get 2 know each other before we officially start working on the prj hehe hanni: omg hi yn !!! yeah i think im free after school 2day :)) yn: hanni hellooo!! yayy!! thankk youuu 💗 anton: hi im also free today dohoon: me 2 yn: yayy!! okii ricky: hi i have a club meeting after school but i'll try to come after yn: ooo alright!! i hope you get to join ^^ taesan: hello im free after school yn: yayayay!! let's meet at the cafe nearby at 5! see you guys there 💗

taesan was planning to visit the record shop today but I guess not. even though he wanted to visit her visit the record shop, he thought that maybe it would be a good idea to at least see how your groupmates are since you will be working with them on this for the next 4 months. he looked up at the clock.

2:57pm

Just one more hour till school ends, wait. school ends at 4, and the meetup is at 5. that means he has 1 hour of free time, it takes 8 minutes to reach the record shop from the school = he can see her again. oh my god. he was so excited. god, if he wasn't in the middle of class he would've died from happiness. even though these feelings that are new for him made him feel nervous and anxious at times, it also made him feel excited every day because the thought of you her just made him such a fool.

it's 4pm and the bell rings, he quickly gets his stuff and heads for the record shop. 'wait' a thought suddenly forms, 'i can't make it look like I rushed on the way there, i have to walk there at a normal speed' taesan tones down his speed a little bit.

ᯓᡣ𐭩

it's 4:10 and there he was, in front of the record shop. he soon enters after fixing up his uniform and hair, 'i hope she's here'.

when he steps inside the shop he can hear what song is playing. '(they long to be) close to you by the carpenters)' the title itself describes exactly what taesan wanted, to be close to you her.

suddenly he sees the familiar girl, he wants to smile so bad but he'd look like a weirdo smiling while looking at you. he soon notices that she's in his school's uniform. wait, what? his school's uniform, you guys go to the same school?? this has to be fate. well, at least thats what taesan thinks. suddenly, the girl turns around finally meeting with his eyes. he reads her nametag, choi yn. what? choi yn, as in his groupmate?? he's going crazy. he has got to be.

"hello!! it's you again ^^" you say in excitement, "feel free to look around!". you wanted to know his name as he was wearing the same uniform as you the other day, but unfortunately, you couldn't read his nametag due to your poor eyesight...

the 3 idiots (new messages) yn: OH MY GKRFOFKCFOD belle: GIRL WHAT HAPPENED yn: HDHSEHSS HERREE anton: dawg aint nobody here knows what youre saying yn: RECORD SHOP GUY IS HERE. belle: GIRL WHAT anton: WHAT belle: OMG TALK TO HIM?? FIND OUT HIS NAME ATLEAST yn: HES LIKE LOOKING AROJND RN but dude i swear when i saw him i felt like i was about to faint i mean like??? hello??? HE LOOKS SO GOOD PLEASEE anton: DUDE FIND OUT HIS NAME yn: OKAY I WILL WAIT JUST HOLD ON belle: i wonder who it is like he literally goes to our school anton: what if its someone we know actually yn: oh my god. belle: what happened?? anton: are you okay

you see his nametag, han taesan. oh my god. he's your groupmate for the project. this has got to be a fantasy, there's no way. it has got to be fate.

author’s note: rahhh chap 2 is here guys 👊 what do you think?? i bet you didn't see that coming !! (it was so obvious I fear) LMFAO anywayssss char descriptions r coming soon!! hope you guys enjoyed it!!

taglist: @tkooooop, @blumisiu, @cococunchy, @dimplewonie if you want to be a part of the taglist, feel free to comment or send in an ask !! enjoy 💞

© dongminz 2024 ; all rights reserved

[ninja-muse]

The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan is the most original fantasy novel I've read in a good while. It doesn't follow a familiar plot structure. It's peopled by characters rarely seen but true to life. It tackles its issues, themes, and conundrums without turning them into morals or even necessarily reaching conclusions. The magic has been done before, but also not this way. The world, while familiar in some aspects, also feels fresh and different.

Did I like it? I'm not sure. But I definitely think it's worth picking up.

Because this book is so different, it's hard to encapsulate. The premise of a young woman determined to prove herself and gain the job and status she deserves sounds like it should launch a novel of revenge, of conquest, or of an underdog—but this doesn't. A story about magical dolls designed to fight ravening monsters sounds like it should be about great battles and increasing odds—but this isn't. This also isn't a story about a stranger upending a small town, or mentorship, or political conflicts, or even a mystery. Instead, there are elements of all those things, but this novel is too character-driven to fall neatly into boxes. Shean of Pearl is simply going to do what she thinks best and we're along for the journey.

The complexity of the plot is mirrored in its characters. Shean is capable of kindness and delicacy and righteous anger, but she's also tactless and self-absorbed and unwilling to listen to reason. There are brave characters too afraid to interact with society, kind mentors who fail in their mentorship, sour but welcoming villagers, wandering scholars who hold themselves apart until they don't, rule-abiding citizens who can't value originality, thoughtful people who come to snap judgements, and a host of other people who are flawed and complicated as anyone of us might be in their place. There's nobody I can point to and say, "Here, she relied entirely on a trope."* Buchanan's character work is arguably where this book shines most.

As for the themes and issues, I've grown used to fantasy and science fiction with clear morals, clear good guys, and clear political points. Again, this isn't that sort of book. You have to get well into it before you see what Buchanan's talking about on that level and she's more interested about raising questions and pointing out problems than she is in solving anything. We and her characters are left with things to think about, and with introspection. And no, I won't say more than that. Spoilers!

This isn't to say that this book is without flaw. Mostly, on that front, I found Shean's emotional journey a little sudden and jerky at points, with greater or quicker character growth than her personality led me to expect, and there's one particular moment near the beginning that felt exaggerated for the sake of demonstration rather than being true to character. The rest of my problems, and what's holding me back from saying, "This book was amazing!", I think stem from how different this book is. Is my grumble at that minor character's reaction due to weak writing or because they're so perfectly poised within their world that of course they don't act like a "normal" character? Is this plot line wrapping up too neatly or are we being set up for a sequel? That sort of thing. I should point out this is a debut novel and these are issues I've run into with debut novels before—but at the same time, this is much, much more polished and subtle than a lot of debuts are.

As for the magic and the world, I've run on too long to cover them much, but the doll magic is lovely, the monsters are fascinating, the idea that every nation has its own entirely separate culture and magic is familiar while the details are not, and in general, it's all very strong. Buchanan has a lot to play with and I'd happily read more in this world whether or not there's a direct sequel.

To sum up: this is a very strong, very interesting, very unique debut fantasy. It's a novel to mull over and one I'll be sorting through my feelings for. If you're interested in smaller fantasy stories, fantasies that take their time, or are tired of current fantasy trends and plot types, you should absolutely give this one a look. Buchanan's going to be an author to watch, I think.

* apart from third-tier non-speaking characters, like waiters or shopkeepers

[sm-baby]

Hey sorry if this is weird I've been wanting to give props to your stuff for awhile, your art is cool and the way you can tell stories via it is really cool!! And I haven't had the time to dive into your entire AU but always read tidbits of it when I jump into the tags and see a post or two during that moment, But your idea is really cool and so well thought out to the point I think it could even work as an original concept one day! Been trying to figure out how to say this in way that hopefully doesn't sound rude because obviously you've got a lot of inspiration from ADC but you've developed it so much with the little info we have about the characters, so there's a lot of originality with it too! It's very cool, I wish my vocabulary was bigger so I can use more than "cool," anyways keep being inspired and cool

Paha! Oh how i love long compliment asks, they make my day...

honestly, I do NOT want to make it an original concept! I do want to tie this au down to TADC cuz the show does mean plenty to me! I try very hard to really stick it to the original source cuz i love the story way too much!

I much prefer to be complimented to how well Ive depicted the characters rather than how good it stands on its own X) it took a lot of character study to make the au and I love all the original TADC characters way too much consider them separate.

This is my little gift to the TADC fandom and Id like for yall to keep it. Much love from me 💕

[puzzled-pegasus]

Bloberta and Clay analysis ramblings

(TW: discussion of child abuse, spousal abuse, alcoholism, and SA)

I just rewatched Help and Passing and think it's time that I talked about our favorite dysfunctional husband and wife from Moral Orel.

Both Bloberta and Clay are really bad people in my opinion, and both sympathetic, but Bloberta is undeniably responsible for the fact that they ended up together when they shouldn't have, and Clay is of course mostly responsible for the way he treated Orel. It's important to note that I do NOT think that Bloberta is responsible for Clay's alchoholism, at least not by encouraging him to drink one single time at a party. He's responsible for his own choice to keep drinking so much every day after despite the person he became when he was drunk.

She did, however, essentially squeeze a not-even-proposal out of him after he made it clear that he wasn't into the idea of marriage, and then was disappointed and frustrated when he looked sad at their wedding. It's possible that she may have had somewhat of an "i can fix him" mentality?

Mostly, though, it's shown in the episode Help that all she wants is to be useful and wanted, and to find a man as quickly as she can to get married to so she doesn't feel left out in her circle of women around her age. She was a middle child at home and constantly pushed aside everywhere else as well. So of course, she's going to snatch up the first young man who so much as engages in pleasant conversation with her. Even if that man is someone who very strongly hints at wanting nothing to do with her romantically.

As we learn in previous episodes of the show, Bloberta also seems desperate for male attention because Clay avoids her, but she probably also was back then; Clay just didn't satisfy her want for attention like she thought he would, because he resented her.

Of course, we don't see into Bloberta's childhood at all, not that Clay's childhood flashback didn't make him look like 100 percent worse as a person, and Clay gets more screentime overall. But with what we do have, Clay gets a few more sympathy points from me, especially from what we learn in Help and during his Nature rant.

As the best, and most well-rounded-out story antagonists do, Clay has a really interesting cocktail of trauma that makes him the intimidating abuser that he is. There are so many points during his screentime where you almost just feel bad for him, or concerned. Especially in the Nature rant.

One thing that's so good about that rant is that the whole scene almost perfectly illustrates the feeling of having a parent dump some of their darkest traumas onto you just because you're forced to listen. The concern on Orel's face, the sorrow, the shock, the disturbance of seeing someone---that he trusted and looked up to, and who he thought had everything figured out, like lots of children believe their parents do----just...fall apart in front of him.

Just the same as Orel does in this scene, the viewer might feel very uncomfortable and somewhat angry at Clay for putting all this onto a child who is dependent on him and who he put into a dangerous situation with his drunken self, but there's also an undeniable sense of sympathy for Clay as he rants about how unhappy he is with his life. A large part of the rant is also about his resentment toward women and Bloberta in particular, and the way he describes their relationship...to me, makes it sound like Bloberta has sexually assaulted him, and I'm surprised I haven't see anyone talk about that.

As additional evidence, consider the exchange in The Best Christmas Ever:

"I don't even remember concieving [Shapey]!"

"Oh please, when do you ever remember?" Now, in a normal argument, this would just be a jab at how Clay is constantly drunk, but this is a conversation about the origins of a child, thus, having sexual intercourse; implying that Clay often doesn't remember when he and Bloberta do it.

"All I do is try to forget." This one really confirms it for me. If Bloberta doing sexual things to Clay is so awful for him that he's constantly self medicating to forget about it---of course, that among other things---then I would classify that as SA.

And then there's the line, "I can't believe I gave you the privilege of satisfying me every night," which may or may not be evidence. He may have phrased it that way to convince himself that he had control over the situations where Bloberta coerced him, or it may be regret of the (very) few times he cooperated willingly. Possibly both.

Who knows. Maybe Clay didn't mind it for a little while after they were married, and didn't see the need anymore after they already had a child because he wasn't sexually attracted to Bloberta in the first place. Maybe he was attracted to her for a short while and he lost the feeling when she was pregnant. Either way, his distress during the Nature rant made it undeniably clear to me that at least a portion of his sexual encounters with Bloberta were instances of marital SA with Blobs as the perpetrator.

I'd like to say again that this observation about Clay does not in anyway attempt to redeem him as a character or say he was "good all along," I just think it's annoying that the rape of Nurse Bendy and Miss Sculptham were such impactful scenes in the fandom and yet I've never seen anyone bring up the possibility that it could have been happening to Clay.

Moving on from that, though, there's another thing I've noticed about the relationship with Clay and Bloberta----the absence of domestic abuse, as least that we have seen. Not that I'm complaining that no one is beating their spouse in this show, but looking at all the other dark topics in Moral Orel, it's just a little interesting that they didn't cover the topic of spousal abuse, even as a joke. Which is to say, it's interesting that despite how much Clay and Bloberta hate each other, they never get into physical fights or push each other around using violence. Well, except for that one time in Help where Blobs punches Clay in the face. But who's to say whether she did that while married.

They also don't get into very many heated fights, to such an extent that Orel still thinks they're somewhat happy at the end of the show. In general, it seems like they're mostly just trying to stay out of each other's way. Maybe they do have some sort of small shred of human respect or base level love for each other. Maybe they don't see the point of being violent toward each other, or maybe they just don't want anyone to see bruises on the other to arouse suspicion that they're not actually perfect and happy and loving. There are ways to cover bruises, though, so I think there's gotta be some other reason. Maybe they're just worried about it being a sin to lay hands on a spouse? Maybe Clay took to heart the fact that his own father never, ever laid hands on his wife, Clay's mother? Maybe it was enough for Clay to take his frustrations out on Orel instead, since he misbehaved so often?

Anyway, this is a long post. These characters are just so interesting and the story is so thought provoking. Send me asks if you want. Or don't. I just like talking about these loser ass puppet people.

[that-one-kiddo-in-the-back]

Star Wars needs more silliness... because the jokes are good enough.

Once again, if you don't know, I'm what Lily would refer to as a Star Wars weeb. I live breath and shit Star Wars. You got it good. Let's dig in.

Not even a minute in before Lily starts complaining about how Star Wars is diving deeper into the lore of how the galaxy works. Even though she says she likes Star Wars, I never understood people who say they like something but don't want to know more about said thing.

She brings up that all the characters in the new Star Wars are basically the same character from older movies, which is kinda true, but that's also taking away the characters' motivation and story line she's uses Rey as an example saying "what if Anakin was a girl and a big dork." Which is kinda cute but completely ignores the fact that Rey and Anakin are nothing alike.

Now, I do agree with how Rey is a pretty refreshing character (and her video was made before TROS), but she's not as refreshing as she thinks Rey is. She even hit us with the "she's not like other girls," saying, "There is no mystery behind her origins. She wasn't linked to any characters of the past movie/books. She's just a force sensitive person who happened to get caught up in the war by circumstances." But then goes onto saying that no one liked that and that everyone wanted another, Luke. I am your father (which she called stupid)

She goes on a tangent about her complaints about TROS, which is valid. The last Star Wars movie was a big disappointment to anyone who liked the sequel. (I didn't like the sequels because I thought Finn would have made a better main character and the idea of a fascist soldier who was born into the army, learning that he was on the wrong side and worked to make up for his sins more interesting, also for what they did to Luke, Leia, Han, and everyone else from the original.)

After that, she brings up that everyone called Rey a Mary Sue, which is also dumb. She brings up the fact that Rey's force sensitive and uses Luke, Anakin, and Revan as examples of being overpowered, saying Luke had perfect had and Anakin had the reflexes of a god (idk much about Revahn so I'm skipping him) then mocks the people who cried over Rey not having any lightsaber training. But Luke and Anakin already had training in their own way. In the novelization of a new hope and even in the movie, it's stated that Luke would use wamp rats for target practice. Anakin was a slave who was bullied and probably beaten a lot, so he had to train himself to react faster. Anyone who's even been in a situation where you can't fight back will know that dodging and getting fast reflexes will help make sure you don't get hurt. Now, she uses her examples to explain that Rey would be able to beat Kylo in a fight because he's just a wimp. The nephew of Luke, who has been trained in the ways of the force since he was a child, is labeled as wimp. Technically speaking by Lily’s own logic, Kylo would have killed Rey in their first fight.

Okay, for those of you who care, I kinda write the blog post while watching the video, so I'm not even halfway done with this bullshit and I've already written 5 paragraphs of her video and she has yet to bring up why star wars needs more silliness... on to 6.

She then states that despite all her complaints about the movies (because she doesn't want to sound like a naiz), she really loves Rey and how... (this pissed me the fuck off) it brought life into Luke, Han, and Leia saying they were dull as crap. BITCH! I fucking love the original gang (they were my bi awakening) and when I heard they were bringing back the characters for the sequels I was very hesitant and I was right to be. The sequels did the gang so dirty, making Luke (the one who wanted to save his father, the man that chopped off his hand and killed millions of people and Jedi because he still had faith that his father was in there.) A mad man who tried to kill nephew because he had a scary dream of going to the dark side. They made Han (a badass who is a loving father and husband) a fucking deadbeat who lives in his van with his best friend. And they didn’t do shit for Leia she's not her sassy self or anything. She's just there for fan service.

She gets to her main problem with Star Wars saying, "They just rehash the same plot but with different seasoning. They all follow the exact same story: plucky underdog, every man rebels fighting against the evil empire." But the thing is that while sure Star Wars is just the same story over and over, it's the characters that I think is what makes it feel like it's something new. Seeing how different characters react to certain things. Luke wanted to be more than a farmer with fate, helping him become one of the strongest Jedi. Ezra only focused on keeping himself alive and not caring about anyone else to then becoming a strong leader with willing to risk his life for others. You aren't watching the same story with the copy and paste characters. You are seeing characters in the same situation dealing with it differently.

At the end of the video, she talks about her shity Star Wars fanfic and how that's how she would have written the sequels, which now that I realize what she had in mind with writing it explains why it's so fucking boring. why in the only 3 chapters I had read, nothing had happened. Thank god no one with a brain would ever leave her in charge of anything.

And of course, she can't make a video without insulting people for having a different definition of fun than her. Lily, for most people in the Star Wars exploring the lore and wondering how the rebels got the death star plans is fun for them, and most of us want to branch out from the force users to see how people in the galaxy deal with the empire. You know world building something Lily isn't good at.

Okay, this video really hurt to watch, and I completely hated it, and she didn't even explain why Star Wars needs more silliness she's just complaining about Star Wars even though she claims to love it.

[avaisnerdytoo]

One head-canon I've always had about Spider-Verse (ATSV)

Intro:

It comes from my only "dislike" - cause it's not a big deal - about the movie. Which is the weird idea that every Spider-Person is on board with the plan to let canon events take place.

Granted, the assurance that the Universe is dying because of it is quite the deterrent, however many agree it is the only thing that feels "off" for the characters.

I'm absolutely on board with the idea that Miles can remind everyone what's up, and I'd love that for him, but that still doesn't answer how everyone got there.

-

I wouldn't be surprised if someone already said this, but I didn't look, soooooo it is technically an original thought of mine... That I've had since the movie came out but never shared, so better late than never I guess.

- Actual Theory:

I think that the Spider Society recruits are all fresh after a big canon event - or maybe most are - probably not on purpose, but it has indirectly helped the cause and reduced resistance after the exposition dump about their multiverse.

-

Gwen was recruited after one, and although it wasn't through a malicious way, it technically did happen to line up.

Spectacular Spider-Man, who for many is a perfect Spidey, also shares the Society's goals, which as seen in lots of fan art, sits oddly with people. What if he also just went through a Canon Event?

Peter B. Parker being an older more experienced Spidey could simply agree out of weariness, but I don't disregard the possibility of something happening to him either.

When Miles insists that Spider-Man always does both and Peter replies with "not always", I could see it also come from a recent scar, even if the scene is clearly referring to his monumental existing experiences.

"If it wasn't for Uncle Ben most of us wouldn't be here".

Maybe so, but that just sounds like an excuse at that point. One than in most Spider media would be pointed out, even if the statement is correct and valid.

- Counter Argument:

I don't think having this confirmed is necessary for the story, especially given that on its own, it's already a good exploration of grief and pain persisting even after the immediate shock has passed. As well as a lovely challenge to the Spider-Mythos.

They deal with monumental amounts of trauma, it's okay if they feel comfort in understanding a shared pain and even in the idea that by - in this case - inaction, the sacrifice of one cop, one father figure, one uncle, one aunt, one friend, one lover... Is vital to the safety of a whole Universe.

Now that makes their deaths feel like they weren't for nothing huh?

-

Anyway just wanted to get that off my chest... Months and months later after the movie came out 🤣

[ketrin1607]

I apologize in advance for the abundance of text😅

I like the way the author of the Mojito Ennead draws. But her character Seth, as he was presented at the beginning of season 1, before, ahem, adult scenes with Gore, I liked more than the effeminate appearance and behavior of a non-man after (and it's not just about violence). At first, he was shown to us more as a classic badass badass) This is a cliche, but even it can be interesting to present if the plot is good and the character is charismatic.

Of course, everyone has their own taste, but for me this character remained a Seth only until those scenes. There can be no question about season 2 at all, even considering what he went through, I don't recognize in this character the one who was at the beginning, Mojito broke him for the sake of the genre.

I'm not a fan of such genres, but the theme of her comic was related to the Egyptian myth I needed, so I also got acquainted with it. I thought, what if we take exactly such a character as a basis and put him at the head of another plot?

I came up with the idea to try to combine the conflict of the unconscious Id and the Superego from Freud's concept and present it in the wrapper of the Egyptian mythology about the creation of the world. Ra may be the Superego who created order and peace, and the Egyptian god of chaos, Apop-the shadow of Ra, is Id. He was created from nothing, just like Ra, and cannot exist without him, just like Ra himself, who draws strength from the Duat - the unconscious.

In general, in my long drawer, the topic with the unconscious has accumulated for a separate story, not related to any myth, but as an original story, but it is very difficult to come up with and draw what the world inside the personality of his psyche will look like (not as childish as in the puzzle), and how such ephemeral ones will interact there characters like Id, Superego, Ego and its mental mechanisms. So, maybe I'll transfer this idea to a myth? Everything is much simpler here.

However, for the conflict in the plot and the appearance of the story, a shift from their stable existence is needed. This shift will be Seth, the god of war. I sketched out his concept. He corresponds to the original myth - a youthful, self-confident, cocky god who thinks a lot about himself. But as soon as he angers the god Ra, he has to lower his tone. I hope he doesn't copy Seth from the Ennead too much?) Because it's useless to hide, I was inspired by him.

I liked the idea of Mojito hiding the faces of the gods with a mask (it's just strange that only a part of the characters in them and the plot does not explain why not everyone wears them then). I will make this rule absolute and try to cover all the Egyptian gods with masks) And of course the skin - no Asians or whites - Egypt is always the sun, sooner or later the skin will become either tanned or red in such characters)

If leave his conflict with Osiris and the rest of the myth before the start of Seth's competition with Horus, then can somehow force Seth to get into the Duat before Osiris. In the Duat, he will make a deal with Apop to get out of the Duat and find his killer. In exchange, Seth must help Apophis infiltrate the world of Ra and seize power in Egypt. However, Apop will not tell Seth about all the nuances of this deal and will hide some of them in his own interests.

In a sense, this idea is an explanation of how Set, in Egyptian myths, the god of war and defender of Ra, became the god of chaos and evil, who was compared to Apophis) (in Reality life, believers simply split into pieces, rooting separately for Set and separately for Horus. The "sect" of Horus won, so the loser was demonized. Something like that in short)

It sounds good for the plot. Share, what do you think about such a concept for the beginning and development of the story?

[angelofthepage]

Memory Joey - What is your source?

Hi I did not get my full eight hours of sleep, and I am chomping at the bit with a new thought, so prepare for a slightly unhinged Kat theory about Joey.

Last night I was chatting with my partner in crime Beth about a number of Bendy things, but one of my many takeaways from that conversation was a new angle of looking at Memory Joey. So, recently I shared that I was frustrated with the narrative shift of Henry and Allison being ink copies, because it feels like it cheapens the original BATIM and doesn't do anything to serve the Joey Drew Redemption Arc (tm) narrative. We as the player know the man has a body count. Even if you take these two characters out of the mix, he's still responsible for the deaths of multiple other characters, mostly in the books, but like, come on, the whole "I own thousands of them" comment about souls in BATIM? The coffins with secret names on them? Joey you ain't slick. We spent too long establishing that Joey used his employees for their souls across MULTIPLE MEDIUMS to suddenly throw all of that out the window, and I don't entirely buy the idea that these two aren't the real deal. Granted, it still leaves us with questions about how the ink demon works given, there was also time dedicated to establishing that he was imperfect because he's soulless, but that's for another day.

But then, last night we talked about how none of these characters know Audrey is the daughter of Drew. And if they did know that, would their reactions be different? Would they still try to help her? I'm not sure. But it got me thinking about how there's a lot of things we the player know/believe that the characters don't. And that's when it hit me.

Memory Joey's story wasn't for us. It was for Audrey.

Now, that sounds obvious, like no duh, he's talking to Audrey for the whole scene, of course it's for her. Memory Joey doesn't know we as the players exist, he's got nothing to prove to us. But hear me out: that sequence wasn't meant to give us as players new information or prove he's a changed man, we weren't the ones who were supposed to believe in it. Audrey was. He has EVERYTHING to prove to Audrey. That's the daughter of the man he came from, his precious little girl, the first time he made something with the ink machine out of love, and she doesn't even remember that he's her father. Joey Drew, throughout his lifetime, cared a lot about how people saw him. Having shoes and a suit that didn't make him look poor, appearing financially stable to investors, the nasty things he had to say when he thought he wasn't being recorded, acting like he had control when everything he knew was falling apart, Joey was always trying to keep up appearances. And while I'll believe that he can mostly let go of that with time and growth, I don't think he could deal with Audrey, his daughter, seeing him as the bad guy. Especially when she doesn't remember Joey? Trying to make a good impression, sharing that yes, he did bad things, but he wasn't all bad? That he changed? That's covering Joey's ass something fierce.

Audrey isn't aware of Joey's body count. She doesn't know what happened to his employees. How Sammy became a cultist, how Susie was mistreated and manipulated to be desperate to be Alice. The entire story of Buddy Lewek and Norman Polk. She knows NONE of it! She doesn't know what he did. She doesn't know there were so many teenagers, just a little younger than her, that DIED because of his machine. And until you get the note about the kids that came before her, she has no idea she's not the first.

I often give Memory Joey a pass, he doesn't strike me as someone who would want to lie, especially to Audrey since he clearly cares about her. He delivers his slideshow presentation so earnestly, it feels like he truly believes this is what's true. But then I'm left questioning, what is his source? Why does he believe that they're clones? But maybe...maybe he is lying on purpose. I think it could be an equal opportunity for both. Joey was a liar in life, he lied about so many things (which is frustrating when he's the one giving us most of the information we look to to figure out how the heck ink works, Gent can you please give us some notes to cross reference?). Why wouldn't he lie to appear better to his own daughter? Memory Joey making that distinction for himself, that he himself cares for how Audrey sees him and Joey, would be a really valuable detail for his character, but him not knowing and believing all the information that someone like Joey left behind for him (since I'm assuming that's where his understanding of the cycle comes from) would also be interesting for his characterization.

But here's the kicker: by introducing the idea that Henry and Allison are not truly their human counterparts, if that turns out to be untrue, you've made a grave mistake Memory Joey. Audrey doesn't know any of these people were human before they became ink. I mean maybe she can deduce that other humans are in here given Allison's whole "I remember my first day" speech, but then Memory Joey throwing this at her, Allison is a creation rather than someone who was once alive? Who's to say she'd think twice about it? Wilson treats everyone like they're just ink and not worth caring for after all. But if she finds out about the sacrifices? That many of these ink creatures were once human? Oh Broseph my dude, you are gonna have a lot to answer for, more ways in which her trust in you will be utterly broken. That is a very messy, delicate balance. I kind of want to see that. I want to see him have his world view turned on its head, learning that he was wrong about Henry, and have him genuinely not know that he was fed bad information. Let him process that, let him struggle, and let Audrey grapple with the truth too.

Yeah, I don't necessarily think Henry and Allison are clones. Inhuman, yes, but clones? I think we need more than Memory Joey's word to know that for sure. So I ask again, sir, what is your source?

[raphael-angele]

THIS BITCH...

I have a friend who is currently taking creative writing classes because he wants to start writing stories again.

Little backstory: This friend of mine used to write the greatest books ever. He wrote fanfictions, short stories, and more books that I wver could write in my life. Unfortunately, he doesn't publish online. The closest he ever came to actually publishing a book was when his mom gifted him a printed and binded copy of one of the books he wrote.

But something happened (not gonna specify what) that made him stop writing completely. Not really but not as much as he used to. He would only do skits and scripts for projects and the like. But recently, he got into it again.

Back to present:

So, while I was doing my assignments and work for my classes, this bitch decides to come over and show me something he's been working on. He informed me that it was a Solangelo fanfic. So I take a break from work and decide to read it.

I was reading through it and it was so good. I was glad he started writing again cuz I miss his work. But then the story starts sounding familiar. (In the book, Will is a caretaker and is looking for a job.) I think it's a coincidence until I get to the part where Will meets Nico...who is in a wheelchair.

My friend decided to write a Me Before You AU about Solangelo...

I call him, he answers and I immediately yell at him, asking him why he thought it would be a good idea to make this.

He smiles and says that it was a working progress and doesn't know if he should go through with the original ending or make up his own

He ends the call immediately after that and I just yell at my laptop.

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP Memes from Reddit’s Thread “What is denied by everyone but is actually 100% real?”

“You are not immune to propaganda.” “Everyone is susceptible to bias. We all think it's something that just affects other people.” “Part of having bias always is that your think yours is the thought out reasonable and just one.” “You are much more likely to believe whatever side of a story you hear first.” “They knowingly put out harmful fearmongering misinformation, the issue a retraction several days later that less than 1/10th of the original audience will hear about, and even less will believe.” “The first thing we judge a person on is looks.” “Everyone is stereotyping and judging others constantly, it’s human nature.” “We judge others on their actions and ourselves on our intentions.” “This is going to sound crass and unkind, but sometimes I wish I was less intelligent both intellectually and emotionally so I could just go through life dumb and happy.” “You should not confuse your idea of another person with what they really are. You will never know how it feels to be them. How the world looks from their point of view. You will always only know your side of the story.” “Without the money, I have zero desire to teach kids.” “People often brush off gut feelings as just random, but there’s some real science that suggests intuition can actually lead us to good decisions.” “Everyone judges, it's just a matter of keeping it in your mind or letting it out.” “You are the enemy in someone’s story.” “There will always be someone who doesn't like you, for whatever reason, no matter how good or kind you are.” “You can be the sweetest peach on the tree, but some people just don’t like peaches.” “I have this plush shark and can confirm it brings pure joy.” “Did you know the giant snake plush is a PUPPET?!” “This “you can do anything” rhetoric just messes with a kid’s mind.” “If nobody is perfect, then there is no "The one." You just have to decide if someone's pros outweigh their cons for you personally.” “"Don't judge a book by its cover" that's literally what covers are for, so you can judge the book.” “I saw your text but responded in my mind.” “Beauty is a privilege and a super power.” “Everyone is not, and cannot be beautiful. And that's okay.”“I'm pretty sure that most other animals probably think all Humans are ugly as fuck. Imagine an animal with no hair except for a few patches over the body, walking around on two legs with the other two legs dangling at the side with extra long toes hanging off it. By our own standards of animals we find cute and animals we find ugly I reckon humans are definitely somewhere at the ugly end.”

“The idea that we only use a small percentage of our brain, often cited as 10%, is a myth.”

“Everybody lies.”

“The same people you talk trash with are talking trash about you.”

“Something like 80% of humans have herpes. Cold sores are herpes. If you’ve had a cold sore ever in your life you have herpes.”

“If someone says “I’m not that person anymore”, and their actions seem to confirm it, might be time to let it go.”

“Capitalism only exists to funnel all the wealth we create to a very few elite.”

“Girls fart.”

“People seriously underestimate their ability to do things they consider bad or wrong. No one is above an amoral act.”

“You will be too old to work one day and you will die. You will be very sorry if you don’t start planning these things decades ahead.”

“The world would be better with more cheese on everything.”

“This one I think is sad but humans are tribal animals and we honestly just don't like people we don't see as being in our tribe. This isn't about race or anything I just mean in the most general sense.”

“We all pee in the shower.”

[unlucky-leek]

I'm still really struggling with the whole novel writing thing. I'm gonna ramble a bit so you can ignore this if you want lol

Basically I've realised that I keep settling on an idea, doing a bunch of research / planning, getting super into writing it for a while, and then lose all motivation as soon as I reach some sort of roadblock. For example I'll be like "OK cool, so how do we get from plot point A to plot point B...", but then the more I start trying to come up with solutions, the more I start overthinking everything, and then I end up in this spiral of "that doesn't make sense, the characters wouldn't do that, that's too cliché, that's just a dumb excuse for x, y, and z, no-one would read this or take this seriously, imagine the negative reviews, etc etc", which I *know* is dumb because I've been writing for *years* and ever since I was a literal child I've had people complimenting my story telling and writing style. Even my fanfics have had a lot of nice comments from people. And it gets worse than that - I occasionally find forgotten collections of my own writing from over a decade ago and I'm like "damn, this is actually really good, how did I do that?" And then I get miserable because I feel like younger me was writing much better than current me, and I don't know how to recapture that.

I think a major issue I have is that my characters tend to take on a life of their own, and then it becomes hard for me to make them do things I know they wouldn't do, which makes changing and adapting the story much harder once I've established them. On the flip side, if I don't do that, then I don't feel invested in them and can't be bothered writing their story, which also sucks.

Something that simultaneously keeps impressing me and annoying me is my writing from 2016-2017. As it turns out, I wrote a LOT that year. There's so much, and I love re-reading it because it feels like I'm reading someone else's work (maybe that's a dumb thing to say, idk). But the problem is it's all half finished or random short stories that will never fit in anywhere. It's so mystical and philosophical, full of dark themes, pondering existence, fairy tale like settings... But none of it is finished, and now I feel like I can't do it justice.

There's a story I started back then that I'm desperate to finish but it's so philosophical that I get sad every time I try to work on it, which sounds ridiculous, but it is what it is lol (it's based on the concept of Tulpas if you know what they are).

Then there's the story I've had going on in my head since 2008. I've written a few scenes for it here and there, but the damn thing spans over 3000 in universe years and almost 20 irl years, how the heck are you meant to condense that into a book?? I tried writing a new story set in the same universe, but it just didn't feel right. Ironically they're the characters I feel most comfortable writing about even though I can never publish anything about them (probably).

Then there's one I've been working on recently that was based on an old fanfic story of mine (the original plot, not the characters), but I keep getting paranoid that I can never publish it because the original fanfic from 2011 is still out there. Are original adaptations of fanfics you wrote a thing? Would people sneer at it?

Then I have a random other story I got pretty far with but realised I don't know enough about the themes or the community involved to write it respectfully, so I've temporarily given up on that for now too.

I've kind of ended up in a bit of a slump I guess. In no small part due to the fact that since 2017 I just haven't had as much time to write as I'd like, and if I do I overthink it all and don't actually write anything. Or I'll be spending time doing other things I enjoy and an annoying thought will be going "you could be using this time to write", and then I just feel annoyed at myself.

Maybe I should just start with a short story collection or something... At least I know I'm relatively good at those. Or maybe I'll push through the sadness it causes and just work on the Tulpa one at last.

Not sure why I'm writing this to be honest, I think I just needed to get it all down to clear my mind.

Thanks for reading if you got this far, I hope to have an actual story for you to read one day!

~03/10/2024