#THIS IS SUCH A HUGE PART OF HIS NARRATION HOW DID YOU MISS IT

[literallyjusttoa]

Every time I see people make Lester Papadopoulos edits with real people and it’s like, your classic e-boy twink, I lose a year of my life.

[k8lynjoy]

I'm so tired of people telling those of us who are upset about the LA atla remake that we are "being too dramatic" or are just "finding things to be upset about". We are allowed to be upset that something that we love so dearly has been butchered, AGAIN. If you liked it, then that's your personal opinion, but don't sit here and tell those of us who didn't that we're the problem.

I personally think the CGI, costumes, and sets all look terrible. None of it is immersive. Sure, it LOOKS like atla, but it doesn't FEEL like atla. The heart of the og is gone, and people are allowed to be upset about this. They've altered characters to the point that they aren't the character anymore (looking at you Aang and Katara), which is a huge upset for me personally because Katara is one of my favorite characters ever. So watching her be turned into someone meek and docile is more than a slap to the face. Not to mention them removing her as the narrator as if Bryke themselves didn't state that Katara is the person the story is being told through. And before you start telling me that Aang is the same. No, he isn't. Major parts of his development through season 1 (him coming to terms with the fact that he's the avatar and embracing that role, and him also accepting the fact that he RAN AWAY and how he is never going to do that again, which is also pivotal to his character later on) are completely removed. And don't even get me started on what they did to Kataang. Regardless of whether you ship them or not, those 2 are deeply connected to one another from the start, and their relationship is a big part of the show, so to see that butchered is heartbreaking for me.

This isn't just about them "making some changes" or it not being a 1:1 adaptation. I'm fine with adaptations that aren't 1:1. What I'm upset about is that the changes they are making are VITAL changes to characters and dynamics between characters. They're rushing through the plot and condensing the story (and I will scream if I hear one more person say that it's because they couldn't fit it all in with their runtime. The runtime is an HOUR LONGER than the og, so yes, they did have the time). The changes they are making make it evident that they do not understand the og show, and if you don't feel like that, fine, once again, that's YOUR opinion, just as this is MY opinion. So stop telling us we have no right to be upset and that we just want to hate everything. That's not true. What is true is that we are expressing valid complaints about another bad adaptation of something dear to us.

Edit: If you also come at people who are upset bc they were expecting a faithful adaptation and didn't get it bc "its not supposed to be the cartoon," you're missing the whole point. An adaptation is ADAPTING SOMETHING from one medium to the other, not rewriting it. "Yall expected it to be just like the cartoon." No, I expected a FAITHFUL ADAPTATION and was met with poorly written fanfiction.

[damianbugs]

What you mean by" willis todds love for jason is the reason bruce failed him" ?

Sorry ive seen your post and I agree with everything but this just kinda suprise me, not hating, just curiuos

HELLO! so this is a take that is based on pre-new 52 todds, before they were simplified to the one dimensional (and classist) personalities they're known for now. neither of them were shown to be abusive or willfully negligent, but rather found themselves in bad situations out of their control and died, leaving jason to fend for himself.

in the most simplest way what i mean is willis todds self sacrificing actions of turning to crime in order to provide for jason and catherine is the key defining part of jasons life and why he views bruce's love for him as 'not enough'.

(of course, the actual proof of this is like. one single panel and its not even said by jason. however i think it is something that can be found in jasons character through other, less obvious situations.)

in jasons initial (public) return to gotham and that long and convoluted plan to mess around with batman psychology to get the two of them and the joker in the same place, it all seems like a well planned out revenge story until the final conversation:

Batman: Under the Red Hood

it always stood out to me, not just because of how absolutely heart wrenching the entire moment is (definitely read utrh if you haven't, at least once), but because it really gives you an insight into what love and loving someone means to jason.

to him it's an all encompassing responsibility. this idea that love is something that you need to be able to prove by the quantitive value of what you'll sacrifice for it. in this case, jason is saying i love you" in the way he truly believes gets across how much he means it; i would kill the person who hurt you.

whenever i read this part of utrh, another situation immediately pops into my mind. and that's when jason found out two-face had killed willis todd.

Batman #411

upon finding out two-face had killed willis, jason goes on a brief grief filled rampage, swearing he'll kill him for what he did. it's important to note that up until now, jason had assumed willis was still in prison, only to find out he was actually murdered.

again, it's this idea that love is the extremes you'll go to for family. jason was well aware of willis' less than legal means to make money, and even bruce makes a mention of it in.

Batman: A death in the family

i imagine, like a lot of what fuels jason to fight crime now, guilt is a major deciding factor in a lot of his choices. it's this guilt that he feels upon hearing about willis' death that makes him take it out on two-face. it's even guilt that plays a huge factor even in new 52 stories (such as Cheer).

so when he returns to gotham, or even before that, just hearing about what bruce had done following his death (locking the joker up instead of killing him, taking in tim as his robin) were, to him, clear evidence that he did not love jason in any way that mattered. that bruce did not love jason as much as jason loved him.

because loving him means giving up your morals. loving him means sacrificing your health and your time and your safety.

but bruce didn't do any of that in a way jason could see.

i imagine to someone like jason, who lost every parental figure in some capacity, whether it be to illness or crime or something else entirely, the evident disregard for him was as painful as any rejection could have been.

a lot of how jason feels and acts can be seen in much more interesting ways if we all look at him for he is; an unreliable narrator. he is missing huge chunks of story, especially when it comes to bruce, and has no choice but to act irrationally on the little truth he does know.

of course we the readers, and some other characters, know just how hard jasons death was for bruce. how destructively he mourned for his son.

but again, the surface level proof of it is not enough for jason, who's entire life has been love through sacrifice. but now, it's a sacrifice bruce can not ever give him.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

[haydenn]

I don’t know if I totally buy any of the current theories out there, but there is so much fuckery happening in the last sequence with the Metatron. And the thing I keep coming back to is that there is something fucking huge that we as the viewers are missing.

Firstly, when the Metatron suggests that he and Aziraphale need to have “a bit of a chinwag” Aziraphale implies that they’ve already had this conversation. The line is “I don’t believe there’s anything left to be said. I’ve made my position quite clear.”

The only time we’ve seen these two characters speak to each other on screen is at the end of season one. And that conversation is definitely not what Aziraphale is referring to. Further more, Aziraphale’s eyes shift in Crowley’s direction multiple times while he says that line. Az and the Metatron had a conversation that we did not see and that conversation either featured Crowley in some significant way or Aziraphale has intentionally not mentioned it to Crowley. Possibly both.

Secondly, there’s the coffee. Which I won’t go in to too much. It’s been analyzed to death at this point, but it’s fucky nonetheless.

Thirdly, the way the Metatron looks at Crowley as he’s leaving the shop is nothing short of chilling. The ominous music is an obvious clue that something is up, but the expression on the Metatron’s face is so full of loathing. It’s not an “ew, demon, gross” expression that the other angels give him. It’s pure, vindictive hatred and it feels so personal.

Fourthly, there is no part of the Metatron and Aziraphales conversation that we see on screen that Aziraphale isn’t narrating back to Crowley. We as the viewers have no idea what they really talked about. We just have to take Aziraphale’s word for it. The only part we see is the Metatron telling Az to “go and tell your friend the good news” and there is so much fuckery in this scene too!

The Metatron initially says “You don’t have to answer immediately. Take all the time you need.” And then when Aziraphale says “I don’t know what to say,” the Metatron takes that for an agreement and tells Az to “go and tell your friend the good news.” But Az never says yes. We never see him actually agree to go back to Heaven. We only get that in following scene when Az is relating what was said to Crowley.

Fifthly, for all the “good news” that Az has to tell Crowley, when he crosses the street back to the bookshop, he doesn’t look excited. He looks nervous and kind of scared. We don’t see him start to look even remotely excited until right before he starts talking. Aziraphale constantly has his emotions written all over his face. It’s a very intentional acting choice from Michael Sheen. Which leads me to believe that if Aziraphale was meant to be genuinely excited in this scene, it would have be all over his face from the moment we saw him outside with the Metatron. But it’s not. He schools his features into excitement right before he starts talking to Crowley.

This, for me, makes all of the flustered excitement with which he tells Crowley about the Metatron’s offer feel really disingenuous. It feels forced and slightly out of character because we fucking saw Aziraphale be not at all excited before he walked into the bookshop.

And finally, when the Metatron comes into the bookshop after Crowley leaves he asks “how did he take it?” And that is such a weird thing to say if he sent Az in there to tell Crowley “good news.” That’s not something that needs to be asked about good news. Good news is almost universally well received. You only really need to ask how news was taken if the news in question was bad.

The Metatron’s tone and mannerisms are also really different here then they were in the scenes before. Before he was giving off kindly, if a little creepy, grandfather vibes. Once he comes back into the bookshop he seems to have dropped that act. He’s not surprised that Crowley said no. He’s not at all bothered by or has any compassion for Aziraphale’s obvious distress. And his tone much more brusque and businesslike. Almost like he’s saying “Got that messy business with the demon sorted, have we? Jolly good. Let’s get on.” It’s a very notable shift from how we’ve seen him behave up to this point and it feels a hell of a lot more like how we’ve seen the Metatron be in Heaven with Gabriel’s trial or when he spoke to Az in season 1.

As I said before, I don’t know if I’m 100% on board with any of the theories I’ve seen. But everything about this sequence is weird and contradictory. There’s something so damn fucky about it and all of the context clues point to there being some vitality important piece that we are missing. The whole sequence is just screaming “There’s something very very wrong here. Do not believe your eyes and ears. All is not as it seems.” And I am going to be losing my damn mind over it until season 3 comes out.

Why has Neil done this to us?

[colonelpancakes]

Watching The Dragon Prince Season Six Part Seven: The Red Wedding. The title of this episode makes me so nervous nothing bad better happen to Amaya and Janai at their wedding.

Okay, first of all, that is NOT Rayla narrating I don’t know what the subtitles are on about, I’m 99.9% sure that’s Ezran.

Skjfklsa I love Rayla, she has absolutely no intentions of getting up, she is way too comfy.

Aww Sneezles.

Also “There’ll be more kisses later” I love how the second they officially get together, Callum and Rayla resume their status as world’s sappiest, most clingy couple.

UHHH. Wait a second. Is Kosmo just. not telling them about the Pearl before they leave?

...That seems like a really bad idea. They’re going to find out eventually and it's a huge potential risk to, you know, have Aaravos’s magic prison in the castle basement and not know it?? Kosmo, telling Callum before the star-truth ritual was a bad idea but you gotta tell him EVENTUALLY. KOSMO!!

I love themmmm 🥹.

Also, yeah, Kosmo just did not tell them. Um. That may become a bit of a problem later.

Hello bitch. Nice to see you again.

Do some of them not know the plan? They seem very surprised to see Sol Regem. Did no one tell them??

Wait, shit, who the fuck is Pharos? I do not remember, I really should have rewatched season five before starting season six. Oh well, hopefully I’ll figure it out...?

Karim, man, that seems like the type of thing you should NOT be staring directly into. That cannot be good for your eyes.

Oh Dang. That was way more powerful than I thought it was going to be

ON HER WEDDING DAY???? YOU HAVE TO DO THIS ON YOUR SISTER’S WEDDING DAY? You cant have a single modicum of politeness and at the bare minimum choose a day that your sister’s NOT getting married on? KARIM.

I also love the continuity of Corvus playing the cello from Breathtaking

Aanya!! I’ve missed her!!

God, I wanna try Sunfire wedding cake too. I want to know what fire tastes like. Also, I think Aanya’s voice has gotten deeper since her last appearance and I really love it. It’s just really melodic and nice to listen too.

Amaya!!! Janai!! They look so good!!

Sjalskfjl I love them.

“Two very special people helped us bridge our differences and understand one another before we learned to do it on our own.” I love them giving Gren and Kazi parts in the wedding so much and how they’re doing both a traditional human wedding ceremony and a traditional Sunfire wedding ceremony.

Also, I know Kazi was confirmed to be nonbinary by the creators but I think this is the first time their pronouns are actually used in the show! Yay!

BAIT! NOOOOO! The wedding food!! I really hope that didn’t include the Sunfire wedding cake

“So, how are affairs in Katolis?” “Oh. Affairs are well, fair.”

This is the royalty equivalent of when someone asks you how it’s going and your life is on fire but you can’t say that so you just reply with “it’s going.” This is an SOS call, someone get Ezran a hug and like. Some cold apple juice. And maybe a therapist. Definitely a therapist.

Aww, Aanya and Ezran’s friendship is so precious. I’m glad that they each have someone who understands what it’s like being a child ruler. They’re so cute.

I love seeing the Sunfire wedding custom and I love Kazi so much.

Zym stomping his little feet so that he can clap!!!

Aww Grennnn. He’s so sweet I love him.

COME ON! Really Karim?? In the middle of their WEDDING?? Let my girls have a nice wedding ceremony! Let them get married and not have to worry about the safety of their nation! Please!

Poor Janai and Amaya but especially poor Janai. Imagine finally deciding to get married after putting off scheduling your wedding because Something is always happening in your kingdom, only to have your fuckass brother decide to take a sixth of your army and invade your fucking kingdom ON YOUR WEDDING DAY right as you’re about to start the vows. I deeply admire the composure of these women, I would have lit something on fire by now.

Karim, shut the fuck up. You are one of the least righteous people out there. You have done nothing but be wrong for this entire arc.

Okay, so I guess that guy is Pharos. I remember absolutely nothing about him I forgot he was a recurring character until right now skjfalskj

OH WAIT, FUCK, What happened there???? I cannot remember for the life of me who this guy is gosh dangit. Curse my stupid gosh dang memory

(It should be noted that, although I haven’t mentioned it thus far, I am watching this season with my family. My brother says that he thinks maybe the guy got bitten by the dark-magic zombies at the great bookery in season five? That sounds like it could be right so I’m gonna go with that for now. I’ll check when I’m done with the episode.)

Ough… My heart. I love the character growth Amaya has gone through so much.

Okay, go, but maybe take Aanya and Zym with you. Just for safety. Also, nooo, this means Ezran doesn’t get to see his aunt get married. Give my boy a break! Please, just let him have a good time where nothing goes horribly wrong 😭

Oh, Corvus and Aanya works too! I love Ezran so much. He’s hopeful and kindhearted but he’s not naive. He goes to negotiate with Karim using words rather than violence, but he takes Corvus and Aanya for backup in case things escalate.

Continued in reblogs!

[munson-blurbs]

@corrodedcoffinfest Day 29: Behind the Music

Word Count: 625/Rating: T/Pairing: None/CW: frustration, rockstars/Tags: Eddie Munson, Gareth, Grant, Jeff, Hellfire Club, DnD

Divider credit to @silkholland

“This is bullshit!” Grant crumpled up a sheet of paper and tossed it towards the trash bin, missing by a mile. “I give up.”

Eddie tried mustering up something motivational, but he felt the same way Grant did. The only words in his notebook were fuck you, written fifty times over. 

“How are we supposed to write a song for the label when they don’t know what they want?” Gareth complained from his seat on the couch. He lowered his voice to a mocking tone. “Nothing romantic, but nothing about break-ups. Make it angry but not enraged. Sing about real issues, but don’t make it political.”

Jeff snapped his notebook shut and dropped it on the carpet. “If they don’t like our stuff, they should just write it themselves.”

“They offered,” Eddie muttered, a reminder and a warning. That ‘offer’ was more akin to a threat: the execs knew that Corroded Coffin writing their own songs was a huge part of their brand. If someone were to write for them…

“Well, I’m not writing another song just for them to turn it down,” Gareth quipped. 

Grant peered over at Eddie’s paper and grimaced. “Looks like our fearless leader isn’t having much luck, either.” He chuckled, scratching at his five o’clock shadow. “I can’t believe this is from the same brain that used to bust out insane campaigns in, like, a day.”

The other two band members laughed along with him, but the comment made Eddie pause. Without another word, he bolted to the filing cabinet and rifled through the contents until he found what he’d been searching for. 

“Gentleman…I think I found our solution.”

Jeff squinted at the marbled cover. The words “PROPERTY OF EDDIE. YOU READ, YOU DIE!!!!” were written in red, bold letters, tucked between doodles of a twelve-sided die and Satan himself. 

“Is that…?”

“Sure is.” Eddie flipped through the pages. He hadn’t played DnD in years, not since the band really took off. It was hard to keep a game going on the road. Still, he kept his old campaign notebooks securely stored in his penthouse apartment, like they were precious artifacts. 

In a way, Eddie supposed, they were. 

“The label doesn’t just want a song—they want a story.” He kept the book open to one of his best campaigns yet. “What if we use some of these as inspiration?”

“You think the label cares about druids and bards and demogorgons?” Jeff asked incredulously. 

Eddie shook his head. “No, but they do care about betrayal. Namely, trusting someone to do your dirty work and they back out at the last minute.”

“Kas the Bloody-Handed,” Jeff said, his voice soft as his face broke into a smile of understanding. 

Gareth nearly leapt out of his seat. “What if we write it so, like, people start off sympathetic, but when we get to the end, it’s revealed that the narrator has been the villain the whole time?”

“That’s why they call you Gareth the Great!” Eddie clapped a hand on his friend’s back.

“It probably wouldn’t hurt to get back into DnD,” Grant mused. “Just for, y’know, inspiration purposes.”

Eddie laughed. “Inspiration purposes, huh?” He tapped the eraser end of his pencil on the notebook. 

“C’mon, Eddie!” Gareth urged. “We can break out our old Hellfire shirts.”

“What say you, Eddie the Banished?” Jeff asked. “Care to reprise your role as Dungeon Master.”

Rockstars playing a nerdy fantasy game? Eddie supposed it wasn’t the biggest contradiction he’d ever heard, but it was certainly up there. He took a look at his bandmates, their eyes pleading. 

“I say…” Eddie started, a mischievous grin twitching at his lips. “I say you Level One Dwarfs better get ready for the most sadistic campaign of your lives.”

--

[thehopelessromanticclub]

A DATE IN THE ER?

Pairing : Jeon Jungkook x reader

Genre : fluff, established relationship, domestic au

Word count : 1.3k

Summary : You have a date at the roller skating park with him teaching you how to skate. But what wasn’t the part of the plan was, you ending up in the ER

Author’s note : I actually got the inspiration to write this from a prompt from @love-me-a-good-prompt. Pls do check out their account. They have grt writing prompts.

Y/N’s POV

”Do you wanna go roller skate?” As badly as I wanted to say YES, I couldn’t. Why? Because I don’t know how to roller skate. As simple as that. I always wanted to learn how to roller skate. But I never really had the chance to actually go and learn. Or maybe I did. Except for the part where I spent the entire lesson just sitting in the corner because I was afraid of falling. I know, I know life is all about falling and getting up. But A PAIN IN THE BUTT!!! that too for a week!? Nah!!! Not a huge fan. It was like that one Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer that no one ever wanted to avail.

But guess what did I say….

“Yeah, sure. Why not?” Well, what else do you expect me to do when he’s asking me with those lethal puppy eyes. They have the power to melt the coldest heart, let alone me.

so here I was, on my way to skating rink with a human-in-a-bunny-form boyfriend beside me hopping on his two hind legs unable to contain his excitement, narrating all those scenarios where, if I happened to fall, he’ll come to my rescue, and how we can stare at each other and fall in love all over again. As romantic as that sounds, I couldn’t beat the fear in my heart of falling and embarrassing myself in front of him. Author’s POV “Jungkook-ah, do we really have to do this?” You begged tugging on his oversized denim jacket. “Is something wrong?” He diverted all his attention towards you.

“I think I’m having a heart attack!” You stated clutching the right side of your chest adamant on gaining his sympathy and getting out of this place.

“As far as I remember my anatomy class, heart is towards the left side of the chest, and yes, we are doing roller skating.” He said placing your hand on the left side of your chest earning a glare from you. He is one stubborn boss baby. Once he has his mind set to something, he’s gonna do it no matter what.

“Come, let me help you with your laces. I don’t want you falling. I mean I don’t mind you falling for me tho.” He winks at you with a flirty smile lingering on his lips earning an eye roll from you. This boy, he never missed the opportunity to flirt with you. You almost believed that he has dual personality. At times he is all shy and red, and sometimes he is so cocky that he makes you a blushing mess. But that’s why you fell for him in the first place.

He was a mess. A chaotic mess. A happy mess. An emotional mess. A beautiful mess. That’s one thing you knew for sure.

“Come let’s go to the skating rink while there’s still less people.” He guides you to the skating rink hand in hand. Another thing you loved about him. He always made sure you were cared for and loved for. His hand never left yours. They always somehow made their way towards each other. Gravitating towards each other. Happily and married.

Time skip

“Y/N, can you stop sticking your butt out?”

“Fine, I’m trying okay?

It’s not like I was born a pro at it.”

“I know, but you look like a new born who’s learning how to walk.” He giggled trying his best to hold his laughter as he has been doing for the past 20 mins. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Okay, now let’s try roller skating without holding hands.” He stated, having enough confidence in your skills.

“No no no, don’t let go of my hands kookie.”

“I won’t. Ever. But trust me in this, okay?” He uttered giving your hands a squeeze before letting them go.

“Slow and steady. Each stride at a time. Okay?” He instructed watching each and every one of your step closely.

“I think I’ve got it…” you say, a victory smile making its way onto your face. Proud of what you’ve accomplished. Not a huge feat of course, but for you it was. You almost gave up on the whole idea of learning roller skating. Little did you know, all you had to do was ask your boyfriend out on a roller skating date!

“See, that’s my girl.”

your confidence grew in each stride you took, until it turned into overconfidence and next thing you know is reaching your hand out to grab Jungkook’s but they never met. Like that one forbidden love story, where the couple are destined to be together but their fates had a different say.

The last thing you remember is hitting your head on the railing and a worried Jungkook asking you to wake up.

You wanted to wake up, but your eyelids seemed to have a mind of their own. They felt so heavy. You wanted to sleep so bad. Just 1 min of sleep. Time skip

you struggle to open your eyes, due to the harsh lighting’s hitting on your face. And the throbbing sensation on your forehead wasn’t helping at all. And the smell of disinfectants tingling your sensory receptors was the cherry on top.

As soon as you open your eyes, you see white ceilings, white lights…everything’s white and a face. Jungkook’s face.

“Am I in heaven? Even the angels look like Jungkook.” Confusion was all around your face

“Hey Y/N!!! Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do you recognise me?” He bombards you with questions one after another.

“Jungkook? Am I in a hospital?”

“Yes, baby. Omg I was so worried.” He says slumping down on a chair, tears rolling out of his eyes one after another.

“Hey Kookie, it’s fine. Look at me, I’m totally fine, well of course except the bump on my forehead.”

“No you’re not. I’m such a terrible boyfriend. You told me not to take you to the rink in the first place and I still did. If only had I listened to you, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“No, come here.” You give him a hug.

“Look, I know at first I was hesitant to go there, guess what thanks to you I finally learned at least how to stride in wheels right? Something that I never could’ve achieved my whole life on my own. But thanks to my boyfriend, I did it. Even if I had the chance to start over this day all over again, I would still go down the same path. That’s for sure.”

“Really?” He finally looks up, his face all flushed due to sobbing.

“And not everyone gets to spend a date in the ER you know. That’s definitely something worth telling our children.” He blushes at the mention of your future together.

“Do you have any idea how worried i was when you hit your head. What if you forgot about me like they show in movies. Just the thought itself is terrifying.”

“Dumbo, it wasn’t that big of a fall. And even if by the slightest chance, I end up forgetting you, I’m sure I’ll fall in love with you again. For every lifetime.”

“Is this the part where we kiss?”

“I guess, it is.”

Just as you were about to lean in and kiss, you were interrupted by a resident on your case.

“Ms. Y/N, we are getting your discharge papers ready. I’ll prescribe you some pain meds and as for the bump on your forehead from the trauma, it will resolve on its own.”

“Thank you doc.” You both say to the resident.

“And yeah, one more thing, I would be really obliged if you love birds, could respect us singles here.” With that he left, leaving you and Jungkook foolishly laughing at how the entire date turned out.

[lamarkeu]

Episode Summary: Myungho is left home alone with his kids for the first time since their youngest was born allowing his wife to go on a much needed break.

Genre: Fluff (and minor angst)

Masterlist for SVTTROS Series

a/n: Mentions of divorce and child custody (TW)

Italics: Narrators Boo Seungkwan (BS) and Lee Minhyuk (LM)

Bold: Staff

Regular: What family member says / what camera films during the show

Listen To: Wonder by Standing Egg

BS: The Return of Superman, Episode 3 “I Think I Love You ” Part 2.

LM: This condo is absolutely breathtaking. The simple black and whites give off the vibe of modern minimalist layout. Once we pull back the floor to ceiling curtains the high ceilings warm up the space by revealing various artwork once hidden in shadow.

The living room is impeccably clean, for a second your daughter, Luna, is shown laying on her stomach adjacent to her younger brother Minho. The two take turns patting away at the foot of a massive teddy bear they received from their uncle Seungkwan.

BM: Ahh! I know who this is.

LM: Really? I haven’t been able to guess because I’ve been so busy admiring the artwork, it looks like Superman is either an art collector or a painter.

The camera captures how the kitchen perfectly overlooks the living room. Such a small detail can make a world of difference when you’re taking care of children. Zooming in closer towards the opened kitchen the audience sees a pair of hands chopping away on the counter top not going past the wrist level.

“What gift should we give Jeongwoo?” a voice asked before transferring the chopped carrots and onions into a bowl.

“Traditionally speaking clothes and Money should be fine. We’re not part of the intermediate family so we can avoid things like gold.” A second lower voice could be heard off screen, the camera capturing him boiling a pot of water.

“Sounds perfect,”she agrees before placing her used knife and cutting board into the sink as she adds, “I’ll stop by the bank on the way home.” She places her apron on a hook inside their pantry door. Dusting off herself from the ingredients she prepared for her husband to cook while she’s gone. “Are you sure you’ll be okay with them?”

“I promise, now go enjoy spending time with your friends. It’s about time you get a break.” A smile of adoration appears on his face before he leans down to give him a kiss just as the cameras pull up to show their face.

BS: Welcome Seventeen’s kind lead dancer and renowned painter Xu Minghao and renowned makeup artist Y/L/N Y/N. Hyung and Noona I missed seeing you!

LM: Myungho! What a sweet husband.

“Hyungsik might stop by, he said Luna left her project that’s due tomorrow at his house.” Y/N continued as she puts on her shoes in the foyer.

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on the door camera.”

“See you later babies, I love you.” She calls to her kids with warmth in her voice after kissing her husband on the cheek.

Luna is heard yelling from the living room, “Bye mom, I’ll take care of bàba and didi while you’re gone.”

“That’s my girl. I’m so lucky to have you as my daughter.”

“Hello I’m Seo Myungho better known as Xu Minghao. I am one of Seventeen’s artists. I’m also more proudly known as Luna and Mingyue father.”

“Hi. I’m Y/L/N-Park Luna. I’m five years old. I have a baby brother name Ming Yue. I want to become a artist like my bàba.

“My name is Y/N Y/L/N, I’m a professional make up artist by trade and a passionate skincare business owner. Im also the mother of these beautiful babies. Thank you for inviting our family onto this show I’m a huge fan so this is a dream come true.”

How did you meet?

“I was doing some solo promotions while our Korean members were in the military. Originally I had a makeup artist through PLEDIS but she was about to go on maternity leave. I asked around my friends if they knew anyone that would be willing to take a temporary position. Dokyeom’s wife got in contact with me and relayed how great Y/N was.”

“I worked with Dokyeom doing stage makeup for musical theater since he played King Arthur. I got a message from Lee Y/N asking about Myungho and I immediately said yes. We’ve met before in passing and with other people so I took it as an opportunity for a better introduction.”

“She did quite the job helping with my appearance but also helped calm my nerves when I performed on different stages. Without that introduction I don’t think we would’ve found love the way we did.”

When did you realize you wanted to introduce Myungho to Luna?

“It was pretty early on. I was very upfront about having recently gone through a divorce. Being the amazing man he is, Myungho knew Luna was first priority and wasn’t scared of that.”

“If it were up to me I would’ve met her as soon as we started going out together but, I knew how delicate their situation was, especially because they were figuring out the custody arrangements.”

“Ultimately they did meet in person after 2 years. He was amazing at soothing my concerns and ultimately made me realize that he was in this relationship for the long haul.”

“We officially dated after that, got married and had Mingyue this year.”

What has co-parenting been like for you?

“It’s the best thing I could’ve asked for. I’ve always loved the idea of having a kid and Luna really made me enjoy that even more. I love seeing her grow and figure out who she is. At the end of the day on paper she may not be my biological daughter but in my eyes she will always be my little girl. I have Hyungsik Hyung and Y/N to thank for that.”

“Hyungsik and I much to people’s disbelief ended things on good terms. Now that we’re both remarried I hope that people show us respect for our blended family. I can’t speak for him but I know he’s really thankful for Myungho being another amazing father figure in Luna’s life. I’m so thankful that even when disagreements occur that they look past that because of their love for Luna.”

Do you have any messages for our viewers?

“I know netizens have had their misconceptions of who I am and the relationships I’ve had. I don’t blame them I hope through this show however, they’re able to rewrite their perceptions of myself and my family.”

“Y/N is an amazing mother and partner. To see how the media has manipulated this to benefit their own interests has been something we’ve been trying to fight against. I’m so grateful for the support given to us from my members, carats, Y/N’s fans, and our families for being so supportive during this time. Without you guys I don’t think we would’ve had the courage to share our love story to the public. My goal for our time on this show is to heal from the damages inflicted onto us in the past and expose our viewers to our family dynamic. Ultimately if we help even a single person to become open to blended families like ours I can proudly say that we’ve done our job.”

[descendant-of-truth]

It's very possible that we won't get a Big-focused world in Prime since he hasn't really been framed as a "main" character in the same way the others have, but at the same time, I feel like that almost makes the potential for a world about him all the more interesting.

Big is definitely part of Sonic's friend group, but he's not part of "the team," so to speak. He's off fishing while everyone else fights Eggman, and there's no expectation for him to join, either. It's kinda sweet, but in a narrative sense, this puts him in the background.

But he's also the first character we see outside of Sonic, the first that he finds in New Yoke, the first that he thinks to mention when going over his friends... so I do think he's meant to have some kind of importance to the story overall.

What's worth noting about all of these instances, though, is that Sonic always mentions Big in conjunction with Froggy, like they're inseparable in his mind. Which is cute! But it's also representative of how Big is viewed by fans, no? We all remember him for his various quests to find Froggy.

And we all tend to think of him as the Cameo Guy, too; he's just Always There, totally at peace regardless of the situation, off to the sidelines more often than not, but we love him for it.

But why do viewers' perceptions of him matter? Well, keep in mind, this Sonic tends to view his life like a TV show already. He opens the show with chipper narration about his status quo, and he describes his friends to each other like he's reciting character descriptions, almost:

And the show has an established pattern of keeping us in Sonic's perspective to the point of leaving out crucial details if it's something he forgot or didn't pay attention to the first time, like Shadow's entire presence in the first episode.

So, if we find Big to be lovable but ultimately not very important in the grand scheme of things, chances are that could be a hint to how Sonic views him, as well. As a "background character" in his friend group, one that'll be there no matter what but isn't strongly impacted by whatever he and the team are getting up to.

Which is why I really want there to be a world or at least an episode dedicated to Sonic's dynamic with Big, because I think forcing him to confront the perception he has of him would be really interesting. Especially since this is the first version of them to be particularly close friends with each other - they always gave off "positive acquaintance" vibes in canon.

Like, if they want to do a "Sonic takes his friends for granted" plot, it'd be a huge missed opportunity to not talk about the one friend he seems to take for granted the most.

The "whole band," huh, Sonic? You sure you aren't forgetting someone there?

Yeah he's encountered that world's version of Big before, but he sure doesn't know where he went and doesn't seem too concerned with finding him. not what I'd call "together"

That said I did find this split second frame of Sonic looking sad after Big ran off and thought it deserved to be shared

I may be encouraging his perceptions to be challenged but never let it be said that Sonic doesn't care about his friends, Big included

[rutadales]

Do you not think cDream is the villain? Sorry this is not at all meant to be agressive or anything, I just have trouble understanding that interpretation. I’m genuinely interested in what you think bc I’m not as well versed in lore as many dsmp fans but from what I’ve seen, cDream is a pretty unequivocally bad person. I think few of the characters aren’t to be fair, but though cDream is more complex than the common interpretations, he doesnt necessarily seem to be morally better? Again, don’t mean to sound rude or anything!! Just kinda trying to understand :)

So this question kinda expands into several branching off points for me, but I'll try to keep it simple and break it down into sections as best I can. this is going to get long

So do I think c!Dream is a villain? Depends on what definition you're using first of all but also in what context, in which storyline, and from whose perspective you're consuming the story from. A strength of SMPs as storytelling devices is that the concrete plot and hard facts of the story are often pretty fluid; what happened when, who was there, who saw what, and who is a villain or a hero is all dependent on which stream you chose to tune into at the time. But as much as this is a strength, it's also a detriment. Entire character beats and motivations can be missed or obfuscated by simply not tuning into a creators stream. A big example of this is how many people missed the Staged Finale reveal, anyone who didn't watch Punz stream will still be operating under the belief that everything Dream did in the disc finale was his true nature, and not an act. Completely changes how to interpret those characters and the entire finale as a scene.

The nature of stream based storytelling is audiences are consuming completely different stories, simultaneously, and there's no hard copy of this story. It's not a book you can go pick up at Barnes and Noble or a movie you can stream on Netflix. To get caught up and engage with the fiction you either have to go back and rewatch hundreds of hours of live content (with dead space and parts that have been completely ret-conned), watch recaps edited by third parties who are at liberty to cut out anything they deem irrelevant to the story, or get it exclusively word of mouth by the audience. A character being more loved by the audience now means that character's narration is given higher value in contrast to other characters. Even supposedly non-biased sources, like the fan wiki, meant to lay out bare bone facts of the story are riddled with un-sourced fan interpretations of the media. Look here

Now, reading a characters unreliable narration as reliable isn't a failing as it is more just engaging with the media as intended. The intent of utilizing unreliable narrators is often to "trick" the audience or to showcase how that character sees the world. Its fine and is used is a lot of different mediums, I'm actually a huge fan. Love me some bitches who just lie. The thing is, due to everything I've laid out above, having a character who is unreliable, like c!Tommy often is, in this medium means fans who only consume the content via world of mouth are getting an unreliable narration without the context that its unreliable. This completely changes entire swaths of the fiction and more, to our point, who is the villain.

A really, kind of neat phenomena in the fandom is how fans bought into c!Wilbur's lies about L'manberg the same way the characters he was manipulating did. Fans became part of the narrative in a strange way. Which is actually a perfect example for how other characters shape the narrative around Dream, both within the fiction and within the fans trying to engage with it.

With that in mind, I don't even read the dsmp as a story with "villains" or "heros", its a story with a lot of different perspectives that clash with each other. Those terms don't really lend themselves to the kind of questions I'm asking about the story.

I think the question you're really asking is "Do you think c!Dream is a good person". You bring up being "unequivocally bad" and moral a couple different times, which to me flags as a question about fictional morality. Because the question of who is a villain in the dream smp is completely dependent on who you watch, which streams you've watched, and whosever narration you decided to subscribe to-- and is why I find the label villain in dsmp analysis fairly mute. It's kinda a pointless exercise to try and determine who earns that label and who doesn't. Not the kind of analysis I'm interested in.

But to answer the question I think you imply here, no I don't think c!Dream is a good person. I don't think anyone on the smp is. Maybe Michael? Well he tried to break into a prison for information, so by some moral standards, absolutely not! I'd certainly agree with you that Dream is more complex than common interpretation would lead us to believe, but that complexity does lend itself to morality in some cases.

Is Dream wrong to want to prevent his home from being split up into countries and thus filled with conflict? Is it worse to threaten, torment, and assault someone because you're pathologically obsessed with them or because you have a larger goal in mind and find those actions beneficial to the goal at hand?

To me, that's it's just pointless hole to get sucked into. I am personally uninterested in ideas of a character possessing or gaining moral purity and much more interested in characters learning to move on from the harm they've caused. C!Dream is interesting to me, not because he's a good person, but because hes a complex one. TL;DR: I am uninterested in using villain as a term within the context of dsmp and find the discussions of the moral goodness of characters reductive.

If you have any other questions feel free to shoot me an ask! I actually quite enjoy breaking down how I think about characters and media and am always open to (friendly) discussions on the matter. <3

[bonesandthebees]

Onto Niki, it’s so fucked up that you had Wilbur think it was Tommy. Like it was always going to be Niki, but Wilbur is just so worried about Tommy and wants that worry returned and wants to see him and make sure no one tried to assassinate him again. He’s very much still in that survival and protect each other mindset (call that trauma bonding).

I wonder if he would have said he was up for it if he had come to the (logical) conclusion that it was Niki. He has a headache after all. Because now this entire interaction just hurts, it hurts so much. Like the narration is so sure that it will be Tommy and then Niki walks in and she’s not who he wanted to see and she knows it (she knows him so well after all, or, well, she did).

I wonder if she thought he wanted to see Quackity more. Or did she put together the pieces after he hearing how he now talks about Tomys? And the worst part is that Wilbur wants to see her, and has missed her, he just was not ready, for it to be her! (Now if only Phil had been less vague, they could have avoided this whole situation).

[She rushed to his bedside and practically threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he hugged her tightly.] They both needed that hug so bad. Give them more (they’re not getting more are they?)

Side note: Niki twisting her rings once she realises she’s not who he wanted to see and no longer rushing at him like she wanted to until he shows that he wants her close. What if I scream? It hurts! And then after the hug they keep holding hands and now Wilbur is the one twisting her rings by lack of his own.

[“I would be dead without him, Niki,”] well at least he knows it. And Niki gets a lot of info from the way he says it. But poor girl she had no way to know since Wilbur has yet to call him Tommy. In her mind he still hates the kid as much as she does. And while she can deal with Wilbur and Quackity being friends because, in a very complex way, all of them are friends. Understanding his friendship with Tomys, who could take away the crown from both of them, is a lot harder because no one else can ever fully grasp that trauma.

Though Wilbur does his best to explain it and it looks like he’s not the only one who gained someone’s trust and loyalty. And I feel like this will affect a lot of his future decision making. Odd are high they both feel like they owe each other their lives despite Wilbur still being up a life and the reveal of a huge secret. Though what is a week of keeping him alive compared to two instances of action. Wilbur is safe now and Tomys’ life is still in danger for as long as Schlatt roams free.

[Wilbur debated reaching for her again, but decided against it.] PAIN.

(1/?)

-🌲

I'm so sorry I made wilbur think that niki would be tommy but, uh, yeah. they're trauma bonded now. call that the classic bee bones c!crime experience

even if he had guessed it was niki he probably wouldn't have wanted to talk to her for very long. he really does feel like shit both physically and mentally, and he really needed to sleep more. he's been through a LOT after all.

I'll say that niki isn't sure who wilbur wanted to see, but that she could tell it wasn't her. she definitely had an inkling that it was probably tommy though after hearing how he talked about him. but she didn't have enough information to know for sure either way.

in phil's defense he literally had only just learned that wilbur doesn't hate tommy anymore, he was still assuming that even though they were on good terms now that wilbur would still be excited to see his childhood best friend who has been begging to see him every hour since he got back.

they really needed the hug :( that entire scene was so painful to write niki just wants to hug her best friend while wilbur is realizing wow I feel weird after that horrible weeklong traumatic experience wonder what that's about

niki can certainly come to an understanding about his friendship with tommy, just not in the span of, like, a minute. she needs time to sit and process this and try to understand what wilbur has gone through. of course he's all kinds of fucked up so his negative reaction to her dislike of tommy is understandable, but at the same time she literally has had zero time to process the new information she's getting.

oh yeah, a LOT of wilbur's future decision making is going to be changed from here on out. things have shifted. also, who knows, maybe tommy will have a chance to even out the score with wilbur sooner than you think...

[ladybessyboo]

Brendan Hunt’s Post-Finale Reddit AMA (Part 2)

(If you missed Part 1, check it out here.)

On Sam & Colin.

Feels convenient to put Colin's public coming out at the end of your finale so you don't have to deal with the fallout, and not even follow up on it in the news clippings we see after. (I do get it, but. But.)

On Doctor Sharon.

On the possibility of using Trent narrating his book in the finale.

Some Beard Headcanons/Tidbits.

That last one is probably my favorite of his answers from the whole AMA, honestly.

On a possible Community crossover.

For those not in the know, Brendan Hunt had a cameo in an episode of Community.

On rewrites, fan theories, and fan reactions.

So, 1) dispense with your "Apple corporate meddling!!" theories about why this season was so messy, 2) you... thought the blatant ship-baiting opening in the FINALE was an "affectionate nod"? Dude, that's just... out of touch, honestly. I'm not really surprised that this is how they viewed it, but.

As for that last one... fuckin YIKES, dude, even if this was where 100% of the criticism for the final was coming from—it isn't, as far as I've seen; I've seen HUGELY mixed reactions, both here and on Reddit, much of which is not related to specific unfulfilled expectations, shipping or otherwise—that's still just an absolute ice cold take on criticism. Sorry that people get invested in the media you make???

(Tedbeccas, y'all really did get clowned on over here, I am so sorry.)

Why was the finale posted late?

and finally...

Will there be more???

Some notable questions he skipped/did not answer:

as in that last question, he pointedly didn't answer multiple highly-upvoted questions about the choice to have so many big S3 moments happen off-screen

it only had like 25 upvotes but someone did ask in a reply about his thoughts on Ted/Trent which was left unreplied

there was a thoughtful question about callbacks & references with almost 400 upvotes that seemed pretty innocuous but he never answered

someone asked what he would write Ted & Beard's future story as after Ted's return to Kansas and he just said "I’m not falling for this!"

someone wrote a whole thing about an Autistic Beard headcanon that had no replies but over 100 upvotes which he didn't touch

there was also a question with a moderate amount of upvotes about Trent's daughter with zero replies

[analtyranny]

let’s play gore screaming show (part 1)

so i’ve been curious about this game since...before i was old enough to play it, probably. i listened to the OP pretty frequently and would try looking up info on the story now and again. problem is, it came out 16 years ago with no sign of an english release. i’d also heard rumors that black cyc games are programmed weird and impossible to insert text into, or something? so basically i gave up on it and moved on to greener more euphoric pastures

UNTIL NOW

it FINALLY got an english release in november 2022, and i found this out...on the last day of a JAST sale. so i figured, fuck it, no time like the present

which brings us here today. is this game good? no clue! is it gory? most likely! but nothing can faze me after euphoria, right? ......r-right?

WARNING: THIS GAME IS XTREMELY SCRAY. VIOWER EXCRETION IS ADVISD

due to tumblr’s bullshit TOS im gonna be heavily censoring scenes. you’ll have to play it yourself to get those. but also it should be fine if i post just certain key phrases from them. it wouldn’t be an eroge playthrough without “The meatus...!” after all

this OP kicks ass, highly recommended. 18+ warning though for some of the included CGs. ...not sure how it survived on youtube for 14 years

okay before i start im just gonna talk about what i know about the story, i.e. what little information i’ve gleaned from my “research”

so the plot is this dude moves back to the town he grew up in and lives with his hot older cousin. he will probably fuck her. sorry. don’t kill the messenger. he reunites with his childhood friends who are all girls with color-coded names. he will probably fuck them. for some reason there's an ossan with a gun. he will probably fuck him?

so whoever you try to date, you get harassed by this purple-haired little girl and her creepy murder clown buddy and you have to stop them from killing your three weed-smoking girlfriends

also that caution tape says "delicious"

this boob lady’s in the OP too but idk who she is

then there’s a scene of a little girl going home. it goes back and forth between this and boob lady telling the story

oh, there's the clown guy

hey it’s the groupchat

so boob lady’s going "ohh everyone's looking at me im getting fucked by eyeballs" while the little girl talks to clown guy. who then eats her. cronch

hey look, it's our protagonist...'s POV!

...or not? looks like the actual narration is in 3rd person instead of 1st, like most VNs ive played. huh.

also, only three years? i got the impression it was longer than that

this road sure looks familiar. any little girl bones around here? conspicuous bloodstains?

h-haha, you sure it's supposed to be red-brown?

i missed capping it but he crashes into purple girl on his bike and she says "welcome home :)" but when he tries to apologize she's not there

and suddenly he's in a different place... and then he gets a flat tire

AND he's late for high sch--COLLEGE

on his first day, too

his teacher's like "how tf did you get lost when you used to live here?" it's those damn warp panels, man

all my teachers just talked to me like i was braindead and/or a toddler

he will probably fuck him

short king

red one sighted!!!

here's the blue one but kyoji doesn't remember her name

and finally, the yellow one. apparently she has huge boobs. i guess she's not a childhood friend but used to live where he went before, and conveniently also transferred here

it's normal for legal adults to live alone

school sux, come get some yoofies

we've got our...awkwardly shoehorned first choice! from top to bottom, it's: 

red

blue (first playthrough) 

yellow

[sophieswundergarten]

@nobody33333333, I am now officially caught up on S.O.S.!!! It's such a good story, guys, please go read it if you still haven't seen me sing its praises by now.

Chapter 12

Oh yeah! This chapter starts off with an Isaac cameo!! I love him so much, something that I’m entirely blaming you for, Bods.

“well, yesterday was Tuesday, so—” One of the best lines to come out of the show. It actually sounds like a Book SQ line, now that I think about it…

Aw, poor buddy. But Garrison is so kind to him! She’s struggling a lot, but she makes an effort. You write all of the characters with such an excellent element of sympathy and humanness, and I am hugely impressed by it.

Oooh, the SQ narration is getting more and more rebellious. (Is this where we will finally see the punk rock version?)

More on Curtain’s campaign to aggressively adopt/employ all of the children before his brother!!

He’s already totally convinced he’s going to be able to take in Kate, and he’s pushing Sticky so hard already! It’s obvious that he’s being super manipulative and tricky, but you can still feel how easy it would be to get sucked into it with where the kids are.

Sticky!! Oh boy, you can feel the tension as he’s trying to figure out what to do in this instance, he’s feeling pulled in both directions at once. 

WHY DOES HE THINK NO ONE LIKES HIM??? HE FEELS LIKE NO ONE WANTS HIM THAT’S SUCH A WELL-WRITTEN PART BUT ALSO IT SHREDDED MY HEART

Oh, and now we get to see Miss Perumal begin to put it all together! You do such a great job of writing her as proactive, but not impulsive or hasty.

You phrased the messages as so neutral and passive, but it’s still uncanny. It makes it feel like it very well could just be someone’s stream of consciousness.

And Miss Perumal is of course a responsible daughter. Although I’m sad that she feels guilty!! Everyone in this show/book/universe has issues with either taking too much responsibility on themselves, or not enough.

Ah. No. It’s the very sad bit.

Reynie’s trying so hard not to be suspicious. Poor child :( 

“SQ’s historical lack of friends wasn’t something Reynie knew about, but he did sense the disappointment in SQ’s voice when he said he wasn’t allowed to bring a friend. Maybe he could use that to convince SQ that it was okay to bend the rules sometimes”

THERE IT IS. THE SAD PART. Because, I don’t think you know this, (I say, to the author of the fic as I climb on top of the podium) but those two lines are insane. They don’t know, neither character knows, what the other one has been through and why they are acting this way and what their intentions are. They’re both just two lost children who have never had real friends before, and are looking for someone to love them. But we know. We know that Reynie is trying his best, but ultimately he’s going to betray SQ’s trust, because, while there are certainly other ways he could have done it, he’s a child. He doesn’t know how to do this, he doesn’t even know how to make friends normally, and he shouldn’t be in this situation but he is. And SQ is just waiting for the other shoe to drop, and yet he still finds himself devastated by it. No matter how Curtain loves him, he’s not a stable father, and he taught SQ that it’s only a matter of time before everyone uses him, before he is betrayed and left behind and ignored. And the way that you captured all of that, all of how the characters are feeling and their history and intents and how the audience is going to feel, and how they know what’s going to come of this, in two sentences, is insane! It’s bizarre. It’s wildly talented and fantastic and I want to give you the biggest hug but also how dare you sum up a whole, deeply complex and emotionally painful tragedy in less than fifty words what on earth

AND REYNIE FEELS SO AWFUL. IT IS HURTING MY HEART.

The payoff for your point with colleges!! Oh, you’re so genius. I’m infuriated but know that I love you.

The unreliable narration is wild, because he’s not actually that confrontational a person. He’s got opinions and independent thoughts, and he can definitely disagree with people, but he’s over here thinking he’s getting to be all disagreeable and unlikable and prickly when it’s just the way Curtain’s raised him into being an accidental boundary-less chronic people pleaser.

WHY IS YOUR OFFICE YOUR ‘PERSONAL SPACE’ IF YOU CONSISTENTLY LEAVE HIM IN THERE. MAKE UP YOUR MIND

And Curtain’s unreliable too!! He’s trying to help SQ, but he also is a terribly messed up person and immediately jumps to his weird conspiracy theories.

~~He doesn’t ever say he won’t do it, just that he’s not supposed to~~

HE ACTUALLY REFERENCED THE S.O.S. OH GOODNESS HE HASN’T DONE THAT FOR LIKE THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS. IT’S PROBABLY NOT THAT IMPORTANT I’M JUST LOSING MY MIND ABOUT IT.

Oh. He wants him to be friends with Kate. I hadn’t considered that, but it makes sense. It’s been really neat to see how he’s started thinking about her more and more and how he’ll fit her into his plans since meeting her.

WHY IS HE SO MISGUIDED. HE WANTS TO PROTECT SQ WHICH IS GOOD BUT HE’S ALSO SUPER WRONG.

At least you made it better than the show, in giving Curtain a reason instead of just sounding like he’s being horrid and manipulative.

I’ve always wondered if Reynie actually enjoyed art, because there’s no way that, even if he spent all day on it, he could come up with art of the caliber he seems to have on the spot with no prior experience. I like to believe he actually does enjoy art, and that part is genuine. He just has a little hobby, and it’s not something he likes as much as SQ, but he can appreciate it.

OOH. It is getting to be like Curtrain’s relationship with Garrison. Interesting…

Just once, it would have been neat to see Curtain pass out when talking to SQ. Obviously he would never do that in the series as far as we’ve seen, but I think it should happen at some point.

AND HE’S STILL BLAMING NICHOLAS. HE’S USING HIS BROTHER AS AN EXCUSE FOR HURTING BOTH HIS OWN CHILD AND REYNIE. AHHH I JUST WANT TO SMACK HIM SOMETIMES.

AJKSFHJDSGHGKJDJKHDGLHKJGDSKJH

I’M SORRY FOR THE EXCESS OF CAPS LOCK TODAY BUT MY WORD

That perspective switch is gorgeous, I’ve been heavily visualizing everything because that’s my brain but the way that that little detail is exactly like a cinematic shot where it’s focussed on one character and then switches in a smooth singular shot instead of a cut and I just— ajksdghadskjhjadsjhdshjgslgh

More crying time! Yay!

He feels so strongly about Nathaniel, and I know I keep harping on this but you write it so well. Because their perspectives are so intensely reversed; Nicholas is always on the verge of tears from guilt and sorrow, but Nathaniel won’t admit to himself that he’s sad, so it just comes out in anger and seething bitterness that is as equally fragile.

WHY IS HE BUYING A BUNK BED????

Okay, I get it, and it’s very emotional and sad, but also??? It just came out of left field I was not expecting it somehow. Goodness.

Aw, SQ feels so awful. I want to hug him. (And tell him that it’s actually a common trait in gifted children to struggle with making friends your own age!!)

Ahhhhhhh, the confliction!!! I want to give Reynie a hug, too. They both should get hugs. And a blanket and some hot chocolate. Please tell me that SQ’s plot line ends happy instead of him dropping off the face of the earth like what the show writers did :( 

And Reynie’s so aware and compassionate!! He knows what it feels like, and he’s trying to spare SQ, even though it’s causing him more trouble.

Agh, and SQ thinks this is the more innocuous trespass. But he’s got it totally backwards!! Man, your writing is so full of suspense and I know what’s happening!!!!

STOPPIT. STOP DESTROYING STICKY EVEN MORE THAN HE’S ALREADY BEEN HURT.

Oh. Oh! And that’s part of the thing!! The Whisperer just mimics back at people, but in conjunction with Curtain’s thoughts it makes them trust and mimic him!!

And Sticky jumps so quickly on board with Curtain’s information. But it doesn’t feel like he’s being a terrible person, which I think is yet another testament to your skill, as it genuinely just feels heartbreaking that poor Sticky, who, again, is a literal child that Curtain shouldn’t be using to hurt his brother, has been so lonely and wronged by people in his life that he can’t help but start falling for Curtain’s manipulation.

SIDE NOTE: The Whisperer probably also makes the kids associate the feeling of calm security with Curtain!! More manipulation!! Oh, Curtain’s such a terrible person.

“It seemed that Nicholas’ little spy had Curtain’s son and his best messenger fooled” HOW ARE YOU SO CLOSE BUT ALSO SO VERY WRONG ALL OF THE TIME

It’s interesting how we can see Curtain start talking to Kate and Sticky the way he talks to SQ, but those tactics aren’t working on SQ as well anymore, so he’s switching to the way he works around Garrison.

…Why would you give Curtain a “burden of greatness” line right in the middle of this scene that is pulling like a weight on my heartstrings. I nearly choked because I wasn’t expecting to want to laugh at him /j /lh

SQ’s comment about poison ivy reminds me of Milligan warning Mr. Benedict about the stinging nettle! Probably not an important observation in the slightest, but I thought it was neat :) 

THE BIT ABOUT ORPHANAGES PICKING AND MARKETING CHILDREN BASED ON APPEARANCE STILL MAKES ME WANT TO RIP OUT THROATS AND I’VE READ IT SEVERAL TIMES NOW

Oh, Reynie. I mean, I get it, but it’s a bit concerning that your first thought is jumping to “Curtain’s a murderer”

Reynie’s so sweet. He comes to the conclusion that it’s fifty/fifty if Curtain’s a murderer, and his next thought isn’t “Yeah, we should probably leave the island. Like, now, before Kate inevitably gets herself caught”, it’s him being worried about SQ.

Reynie’s over here trying not to sound scandalized and blurt something insensitive out and SQ’s just like “Wow, I really needed to talk about this. This feels a lot better” akjsdghagdjk

Reynie. Oh my word, Bods, you’re going to kill me with this chapter I know you promised Ember that you’d include more Reynie angst, but goodness gracious

These boys are out here in the woods trying to out-compassion each other what even. Someone needs to show them a loving family dynamic

Nooooo. Because Garrison could have been his aunt, she should have been there

My brain hit the “tumors” thing like a split second before my eyes reached the next line, oh, Reynie, you’re making this a lot harder on yourself then you need to.

You know when you’re reading a book with multiple points of view and sometimes it’ll switch in the middle of a chapter and you’re just dying to get that one character over with so they’ll shut up and you can go back to the one you actually care about? That never happens to me when I’m reading your fic. I’m always ready to go and follow you wherever the plot leads, because all of your writing for the characters is superb.

“There were coincidences and then there was… this” Amazing line. Just wonderful.

Yeah, Miss Perumal! She’s ready to row herself to the island and punch Curtain in the face!! (Okay, probably not, but I love how you describe her passion and ferocity!)

Mr. Benedict. You should be smarter than to let yourself be driven to attempt to construct a bunk bed in such an impaired state of mind that you’ll only end up injuring yourself all because it feels like it’ll fix your relationship with your brother :(

I’m so glad he has both Rhonda and Number Two. Because Rhonda will be all sweet and kind and move slowly for the most part, whereas Number Two is the kind of person to look you in the face and be like “Your brain is being stupid. Tell it to shut up, because it’s not being helpful, and it’s only hurting you”

THIS MAN. I still cannot get over the fact that he immediately took the fate of the literal whole world onto himself and thought his family would abandon him for being an emotionally mistreated child. Gah.

GarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstoryGarrisonBackstory

“For a brief moment, Curtain felt like he was looking at the old Garrison, the one who had been his friend, the one who had smiled at him, and shared her ideas with him. / As if they were suddenly no longer contentious coworkers, but two friends, eager and excited to share their knowledge with the world.”

!!!! He just wants someone who understands him. (Because he’s still trying to replace his brother and he can’t let himself heal from all that happened with the S.O.S.)

But why? Why do you want to cause me such pain????? Really, though, your pacing and little emotional callbacks and themes are fantastic. This is highly superior writing.

HE WAS TRYING TO COMPROMISE AND MAKE HER COMFORTABLE. WHY IS THIS MAN ONLY ABLE TO BE CONSIDERATE WHEN IT’S IN TINY DETAILS EASILY OVERSHADOWED BY HIS NEUROTIC CONTROL ISSUES???????

Ajkahsdjhkd She poured it back into the bottle!!! I don’t know if that’s a thing you added (I suspect it is), but I love it!

I am fully invested in Garrison’s emotional backstory with psychics, but it’s also kind of funny that she’s taking this so seriously. Like, “Ah, yes. The crafty psychic and their reinforcements”, when in reality it’s just. A trio of children and one considerably smaller child.

MILLIGAN! Oh boy.

AND THERE IT IS AGAIN. THE OLD NOBODY LAST SCENE SPECIAL, WHERE EVERYTHING YOU WERE EXPECTING IS AGAIN BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER BY WHAT IT REALLY IS.

WHOO. That was a ride!!! I am still so incredibly excited about this fic. It’s gorgeous and fantastic and I hope you aren’t getting tired of my insanity because this is a full emotional investment for me and I will continue sharing my thoughts with reckless abandon for as long as you let me. As always, no pressure at all, but I am looking forward to what you do next, and I wish you good luck!

[astralartefact]

I can hear the echoes of my Voice (of Cards) Divine Yudil Analysis Post

<<Prev: Divine Yurie Voice of Cards: Forsaken Maiden Spoilers!

"[...] if these costumes are actually based on VoC then it should be obvious with the next one. With only the blue and red spirits still missing the usage of those colors should be noticeable, especially since this outfit line hasn’t been particularly colorful yet."

- Past Me in my Divine Yurie Post (I was wrong)

I restructured my board a little bit, mostly to highlight the important parts more. I should point out that "Glowing Weapons = Divine" is obv not a Voice of Cards specific thing, I just left Lanca's weapon there to have some sort of anchor point because it seems that we have two Divine Weapon "Archetypes" so to speak - on one hand pink flower weapons and on the other pure white glow weapons.

Regarding the "It should be obvious with the next one" bit from last time:

It's still not obvious with the next one. All of these costumes could really just be a NieR-ian takes on "Divinity" that kind of accidentally mimic the VoC:FM gods or it could be costumes purposefully referencing them in vague ways (to reiterate why this would be huge if true: It would basically confirm that the spirits from VoC:FM are the Watchers) - but I still think Akeha's was just simply too close to Lac for me to just outright dismiss it.

Also it's just far too much fun to do this so I'm probably not going to stop until somebody makes me.

My findings on Yudil's costume can be found on the board. I kind of assumed Yudil would get a Kraken/Blue Spirit motif just because it would have been easy to handwave away since boats are kind of a character motif for him... but I certainly won't complain about more Ivory Spirit-based costumes. And they would have had to repeat/move on from the spirits eventually anyways since there are only 5 of them (6 if you count the superboss) so this isn't that big of a deal.

Aside from that I don't have particularly much to say though. I mean the costume is veeery pretty. And I just noticed it's kind of shaped like a dragon, it has two wings and a tail made up of scales (you can kind of see it in my screenshot of Yudil's backside to the right of the artwork) Hmm. I wonder if that was intentional.

And while I'm talking about Yudil - did you know that you can canonically interpret* Yudil as a bisexual non-binary person? *when it comes to pronouns somebody is bound to complain about localization meddling so take overly specific wording :PPP bc I can interpret all I want and you can't stop me

His first four hidden stories (as always shoutout to nierrein.guide) tell the story of how Yudil learned to be a thief - he learns it from a kidnapped prince while he helps him return to his homeland - and in hidden story 3 the prince tells Yudil about a story he was read as a child in which basically the exact thing happens to a thief and a princess, except when they arrive at their goal they end up marrying. And when the prince points out these similarities Yudil narrates this:

We certainly qualify as thieves, yes, but he's hardly committed any grave crimes. The similarities were superficial at best. Besides, it's hard to imagine myself playing the part of the beautiful woman. Then again, I do remember him taking my hand and running. "I'm not that pretty," I say. "But you have such a beautiful face," he says with an earnest look. I can't find the will to argue. I simply let sleep take me. In my dream, I become something so shameful that I can never tell another soul about it.

And then, if that wasn't queer enough for you, in the fourth story the only time somebody refers to Yudil with pronouns after that the prince uses they/them pronouns. So take that as you will.

Note: Most of the game uses He/Him pronouns for Yudil btw (which is why I still do so too for the most part, I personally see it as a He/They sort of thing) - but for those really scared I dare to misinterpret the intended reading of the author by saying Yudil is non-binary: It's also fully in line with Yudil's Event Story where he just cross-dresses without any sort of hang-ups about it so if it comes up again then some degree of Non-Binary Yudil is very much intended. And I trust Yuki Wada to know about queer people, he wrote Priyet and L'via Voice of Cards.

Anyways. Now that I made you read all that, here are the stories:

Divine Yudil Character Story

I can't stop. I can't turn back now. For there is only sand that will swallow you whole. ────────────────────────────── If only I could see her again. If only I could see her smile. Trivial, immutable wishes that sink silently to the bottom of the sea.

The Mausoleum Key Weapon Story

I amassed a collection of beautiful treasures from all across the world. He stole all of them away with exquisite skill. And so I bought more treasures. But this time, I spent an equal amount on security measures. And yet, like a breeze or a flickering shadow, he managed to slip through my security and steal the treasures again. I amassed a collection of beautiful treasures from all across the world. And beholding his exquisite skills in thievery made it all worthwhile.

[moonybadger]

Tamora Pierce series thoughts (I listened to the audiobook versions of these, which I’ll also touch on a bit):

Lioness Quartet: A little dated and clunky in places, but it’s fascinating watching TP grapple with genderfluidity even without having the language for it that we do now. Like I know normally people don’t like it when a writer posthumously declares that a character is LGBT somehow, but Alanna being genderfluid is just such an important part of her character even without the modern words. Like way more then Dumbledore having a gay crush on Grindlewald or whatever his name was. The characters are all great in this one, though the plot is a little all over the place and has to make some weird leaps of logic (like wtf was up the Nameless Ones and the Old Ones, that was really weird). Mostly just first time author awkwardness, TP grows out of it pretty fast. The Bazhir tribes are toeing the line a little close to Dances With Wolves stuff, but I think just barely manages to not make it too White Saviorish. I mean it does a bit with Alanna and Jon, but it could have been worse for the time it came out. Also Roger is an incredibly boring antagonist, but TP gets a lot better with those too the more she writes!

The Immortal Quartet: Oof I dunno. This one’s always been more miss then hit with me and I’ve never really been able to articulate why? The progression of Daine’s control over her powers just always felt really slow, like in the third arc of Warriors where the main characters are apprentices for a billion years. For some reason Daine just never clicked with me and the huge age gap between her and Numair never helped. Like this age gap thing shows in almost every TP romance but it was definitely the most pronounced here. Even besides that... I dunno??? I’ve just always bounced off this one, and I don’t like that the audiobook is full cast. I do really love Emperor Mage though, that’s the one exception in this arc. I enjoy Ozorne a lot more as an antagonist over Roger, though he gets a little one note in The Realms of the Gods.

Me @ tamora piece and natsuki takyua: your books mean the entire world to me and basically formed my entire moral backbone but please stop putting giant age gaps in the romances of your characters 

Protector of the Small: You have never done anything wrong in your entire life and I love you. Seriously I have absolutely no problems with this arc, besides the fact that I do think the confrontation with the Nothing Man at the end is kinda boring. And like, I get that it’s supposed to be but I do think there still could have been more to it then “he tries to do one magic trick, fails, then Kel stabs him”. But that’s it, that’s my only problem everything else is wonderful and amazing. 

Trickster Series: I mostly like this one??? I think it’s really cute that the narrator for the audiobook of Alanna’s series also reads this one. I feel a little differently about it depending on what the current state of world events are whenever I reread this one. I did find Aly a little more grating then usual the last time I reread this one, so we’ll see how I feel about it in the future; I think sometimes she tends to tip over into condescending the people of the Copper Iles in the first book when she’s just supposed to be giving rougish quips, though she gets better about it in the second book. I like Nawat in the first book, but I don’t love his pushiness about sex in the second one. I like that he needs to learn to be his own person, but it mostly ends up feeling like an excuse to keep him out of the first half of the story without really paying off later. Kyprioth is really great though, I love how he swings back and forth between a seemingly affable uncle and really revealing how the gods view people more like chess pieces in a board game. I also like how it kinda calls out the Mother Goddess and Mithros even though they’re the main “good” gods in the first series, great way to expand on the established mythology. 

Beka Cooper Trilogy: My main problem with this series is just that I loved Terrier SO MUCH that Bloodhound and Mastiff never managed to live up to just how much I adored it. Bloodhound has a lot of good moments and a pretty good antagonist, but it was hard to get really emotionally invested in the counterfeiting plotline (also I couldn’t stand Dale). Mastiff was better then Bloodhound; I was much more invested in the hunt for the prince and the various characters they meet along the way, though it had some weird dropped threads that REALLY bothered me. I don’t like how most of the cast in Terrier gets sidelined in Bloodhound and Mastiff, and a lot of the setups that I was really interested in in Terrier (Beka and Ersken working really well together as dog partners, Beka’s estrangement from her sibilngs, Goodwin getting basically just a cameo in Mastiff) never really come up again. That places Bloodhound and Mastiff both pretty well behind Terrier, though Mastiff DOES have the ultimate best antagonist in the series. Honestly if there’s any high praise I can give the Provost’s Dog trilogy is that it has AMAZING villains.

Circle of Magic Universe: Only listened to the first book and I hate hate HATED the full cast audio version so much that I’m just going to have sit down and actually read a physically copy of the series in order to get through it. I THINK I actually liked the story itself, but the audiobook version just grated on me so bad that I can’t give an honest answer. Not a mark of quality against the writing, I feel the same way about the Redwall audiobooks after all and those books are one of my favorite series ever.