#a neat distinction between them both. thats all.

[starry-bi-sky]

idle clone^2 food for thought (cw gun tw murder) and. thinking about how danny in canon is very protective of his people. and as a collective fanon we like to make him go Batshit when his people are severely injured.

and im just mmmmm,,,,, danny would kill if damian (or anyone in his family) got extremely hurt. but only under very specific circumstances. like they've been backed up into a corner and can't get out and it's either kill or be killed. like his go-to is non-lethal force but then someone takes out his little brother, whose breathing but not getting up and hurt badly, and there's nowhere for them to escape and these guys are gonna do much worse soon.

but there's a gun nearby and within danny's reach, and the guys who have them trapped are gloating and only half-paying attention because what are they going to do now? they have him trapped.

and they hurt his little brother.

and danny doesn't see red. everything just goes into cold, static focus instead. and he puts a bullet through the stomach of the first guy he sees.

And i'm just picturing Danny with this stone cold fury on his face, his hands shaking, as he looks the main guy (who know he's a clone) in the eye and says "your first mistake was thinking i'm batman"

[bunnyloaves]

thinking about the gay cannibalism media and by that i mean ravenous and the terror

like imo thats what sets the terror apart from its gay people cannibalism peers (specifically ravenous 1999) cuz imo although both ravenous and terror use the cannibalism as colonialism themes. ravenous goes about it in the sense that the in-group consumes the out-group like its these white men subsisting on other, exploitable, people whom they can manipulate into being prey/livestock for them. And theres this distinct quality that some people are meant as livestock/food, while others get to become strong and virile like the cannibals tm. but the consumption goes as, the in-group (ur white men) consumes the out-group (ie. everything that gets munched down in the pursuit of manifest destiny, people, land, etc.)

im saying all this, with the idea that ur already on board with the concept that people will want to 'consume' things that make them uncomfortable, that threaten them, and by eating it. they mean to make that uncomfortable thing, tamed and subdued and co-opted into their own familiar mode of existence. and when people 'eat' the othered group, they offset their own 'monstrosity' onto the people they eat. (like when confronted by the fact that they are now savages who eat other people, they will soon project that savagery onto their victims to justify their culling/extermination of it).

and when i say out-group, i guess i mean it in a sense of people in positions of power, of agency, people with enough desire/drive to 'eat' and 'incorporate'. on the other hand when i say out-group, its more of the people who are 'subsisted on', utilized, and used.

ok anyways soo what i find neat about the terror is that the in-group eats their fellow in-group, like this is just one pool, one body of a bunch of white men with the (initial) goal of colonial exploits. like in my perspective they're this little unified, yet isolated body of "in-groups" stuck in this sad little barren place.

like when we're still at the pre-walk-out phase of the show, when rules and conduct were still firmly upheld, out main conflict is that of an in-group british franklin and out-group irish francis not being listened to (some people have have written about this wayy better than i could ever could, but ig there's this sense of not being given ur merit bc of ur own lowly birth but also being utilized as a tool of the society which scorns you yanno, like yeah francis might hate the posturing of being in the service but he's there nonetheless, and he's doing a pretty decent job of furthering its goals, despite him being prejudiced within its system too). same could be said for the class divides between the seamen and officers, with the officers being an in-group with power and the seamen, out-groups. ok point here is that the in-group/out-group divide exists between man to man, and the whole cast is still divided into their little in and out groups and social strata.

but this unravels later on, since just as they shed social mores and codes of conduct, the more that this rigidity is lost. the more these dudes just meld together imo. which imo is what transitions the terror from high adventure to horror, like when the in-groupness and out-groupness depended on ur status within the social hierarchies of white society and things could still (maybe be overcome with enough virtues n stuff)

but as things descend into disorder, and just as these dudes just meld together into one in-group. like in my brain, theres no longer that conflict of class or of being officers or not, everyones in scramble i want to live mode and theres no point in upholding that 'conduct' anymore. like they are similarly lost, desperate, n hungry (and that survival is the one conflict each of them is facing rn, which imo turns them into one 'in-group'). like all of them are similarly desperate to make it n live, even though yes this is the mutiny arc and there are distinctly two groups but imo this is one desperate body of men similarly trying to live (be it going home, surviving, or yeah integrating urself to the bear )

ok finally cannibalism points, its just so interesting to me that the people eating happens within the in-group, like yes they do totally exploit unassuming natives (knowingly and unknowingly) but the metaphor of it is expressed differently. like the conflict of cannibalism is posed between people who are 'like', and the way the show uses cannibalism isn't in the you eat someone you deem is less/and the eating is just another way to show the exploitativeness of it. but in the show, its more of you eat someone part of you.

ig my point is...ravenous is cannibalism media (eating someone u do not care about and ppl u wanna exploit) while the terror is like autocannibalism (they are eating away at themselves, like even though these men are different people, TO ME, thematically, they are one body and one agent of colonization)

like ig thats why in ravenous, the cannibal ppl at least relish in the act, but no one in the terror is happy about the eating

I MEAN THIS CAN BE TL:DR-ED AS: the difference between gastronomic cannibalism and survival cannibalism in tv, and why my gay meat shows utilized "eating" and "incorporation" so very differently from each other and i think thats just neat! :DD

[glassroo]

auburn anon- it was top left but now that i think about it a mix between top left and middle left would be even better… she is just. a maroon-mauve. a plum colored.

ROOMMATE EAT SHIT IM SO CORRECT ALL THE TIME 👏

thanks again for the response and i took your advice and tweaked her hair colour and

omg anon ur a visionary...i love it sm...🥺💝💝

but i did try it with the other eye colours and ima keep it 💯 with you, as much as i ADORE green eyes (green eye simp), the brown hit something for me, NOW HEAR ME OUT....

neat. composed. a solid, 4 distinct colour groups that are visually cohesive and dont overload the senses. our girl, at present, is comprised of plum, yellow, blue and brown (im not counting white). we'll compare that to both outfits for Raz:

for his first palette, he's mostly comprised of brown, green, yellow and red. 4 colours with differing ratios, and while a bit muddy and dark for my tastes, it comes together nicely imo. his second palette is more varied, with various browns, red, yellow, some greens, and blue. however the softness of some of the colours helps them to not oppose each other. i think it also aids to the flow of the eye that he starts with red/brown at the top, and going down becomes yellow, then green, then blue, all softened up with his fawn coat and shoes.

that is to say, while some characters may be deliberately given striking eye colours that are not shared with the rest of their palette, theyre more often than not made to be complementary to the rest of said colours. raz's green eyes work because he often wears browns and reds and greens, and paired with his burgundy hair, they stand out nicely without clashing.

our girl on the other hand, wears mostly blues, which only pairs well with green under very specific circumstances...add to that her varied shades of purple to orange hair, and it just..doesnt match up for me. while the brown doesnt stand out, thats fine with me because it melds together so nicely with the rest of her palette. add to that my (eventual) intention to shade her eyes with some hints of deep red/orange, and i think theyll stand out on their own just fine once im done with them :) on that note, i intend to match her embroidered flowers with this palette, so look forward to that!!

[foryouthegays]

HEY THATS ME!

ok i am Obsessed with your art i just .fuck.ok. i was staring at your redraw of the pin (the robin 'bang' one) for like twenty minutes earlier and the way you handled the different textures and colors of her outfit is?? so gorgeous!!!! theyre so distinct and i can like Feel the difference between like the hat and the shirt its So Fucking Good all your pieces have such Energy to them which yeah obviously is helped by your lineart but your Poses??? the way you color all splotchy but So fuckin deliberate in a way that is so subtle that unless ur really looking for it you cant Feel how blocky it is? ur it’s called - a c t i n g -piece AOUGH me when Textures and subtle shading vs Bold Colors im going to SCREAM im so unhinged abt the color cyan bc of u btw. AND YOUR BLACK AND WHITE/TWO COLOR PIECES???? ur so good a silhouettes and using shadows!!! your 'before there was color' piece, the one line on robins left arm indicating her hair i am SO UNHINGED about that one its so clear and detailed at the same time im going to SCREAM.

aougughghg and thew ay u do Hands and her Eyes .hands first. ive said this a million times but theyre? so clear? i can tell the pose theyre in so quickly which is Fucking Impressive when theres like eight of them per drawing and none of them are super detailed and theyre all stylized (SUPER WELL TOO theyre Pointy and Round and they really have the energy of hands and the Overwhelming nature of robins devil fruit) and her Eyes i said i was unhinged abt cyan bc of u now and YEAH her EYES theyre SO GOOD i love them .real mihawk energy w some of them they draw attention so well while not overpowering the rest of ur Fucking Gorgeous Art .

i Love how limited ur color palettes r it really makes them all feel Connected and i love how u use the neons as both shadow and highlight and outlines all ur stuff is so attention grabbing and pop-y but not Overwhelming in a Bad way but overwhelming in a 'ohhhhh i love her so much' way

sorry im so normal rn i jsut,,,,,love her,, u really showcase her Unhinged Energy ,,also i watch ur mothers day edit every day its latched into my brain and is Not letting go. catch me going into the nico robin tag seeing ur fifth art of the day like SHE DOESNT MISS!!! SHE DOESNT FUCKING MISS!!!!

also u can draw cowboy hats which is really neat and cool gg for that

tldr i want to put ur art in a blender and eat it. inject it into my Veins perhaps

What can I say? i am unwell

fkjSDKLJF thank you!!

[sanstropfremir]

the hotly anticipated kingdom episode 7 review is here!!

this episode was a lot less spectacle-y than the last one (the last episode with stages, i mean), and i think that was a good choice for all the groups on the whole to tone it down on the run up to the finale, because at the rate everyone was headed there would be no room to go any higher. i'm very glad that there was actually a collab stage and not just a song swap, especially because it gives a chance for the boys to work together and make friends when they otherwise arent going to be able to interact much. love love love to see them making friends and having fun doing these stages!

i'm not really sure why mnet didnt put the vocal stage this episode, because what on earth else are they going to put in the next episode with it??? i know it's a content stretch but still, it seems like a weird choice to me. anyways, there’s four stages for me to talk about this time and i'm going to try to not ramble out of control, but we’ll see. i did enjoy watching all of these, but we’ve all got favourites and i'm going to rank by which group i liked better out of the two for each stage, and then i put a few conclusions at the end. strap in folks this is another long one.

rap stages

skz + btob + atz

i was actually really surprised at how much i liked this stage. i would not classify myself as a rap fan and believe it or not i actually do not place a lot of importance on lyrics when enjoying music. although i have very high lyric retention and comprehension, i focus more on the sound than the literal words, so a fair amount of rap is swing-and-a-miss in my personal listening. plus when you add a language barrier on top of that, a lot of the nuance and technical skill of it just flies over my head. so i really dont have much to say about the sonic elements this time around, sorry. also.....i know i joked that nobody from the kingdom staff is reading my reviews.....but is someone from the kingdom staff reading my reviews????? i specifically mentioned that i think skz should do an art themed stage and then we got one????? i know i manifested the punk ateez stage but did i manifest this also??? am i just that powerful???

costume

obviously these are pretty basic rap/hiphop stage looks, but the white was a really good choice for visibility’s sake, and also thematically: it reflects the colours in the lighting really well.

i am DYING to know who the designer of minhyuks jacket is. if somebody knows please tell me i love it so much. it looks like some of the recent belted jackets that dior was putting out, but the drawing on the front armscythe piece reminds me of the superm/kim junggi collab for tiger inside. say whatever you want about superm, but you cannot deny that that is not some of the coolest merch on the kpop scene.

loved the traditional korean elements that came through in addition to the western references: the screens, hongjoong’s fan, minhyuk’s big fuckoff brush, the masks, and the sleeves on the dancers at minhyuk’s bit. those are a costume feature from a style of korean traditional masked dance called bongsan talchum. the masks themselves are versions of hahoetal masks, which are used in a very specific archetypal ritual dance in andong. i think these are imae masks, who is the servant/fool archetype that mocks the nobleman and the scholar. i suspect that was a deliberate choice, but i can only speculate.

another point about the masks which is not relevant but maybe a fun fact for people who don’t know. i actually thought at first that they were western theatre half masks, which are a very old style of mask that, like with hahoetal masks, represent a number of archetypes/stock characters. maskwork is a very common training practice in theatre schools, because it teaches body language and control, because half your face is covered and you cannot speak in your own voice (sometimes you cannot speak at all, this is one of the rules of full mask). the tradition of usings masks to portray emotion goes all the way back to the ancient greek chorus, but more commonly people in the west sometimes know it from the italian commedia dell’arte, of which you will have definitely seen some of the character archetypes before. i just find it neat that the same types of art pop up in different places seemingly independently of each other. humans are cool.

set

not much to say here, it's pretty bare with just some propwork. thought the screen use was fun and they used it smartly in a couple of transitions. 

thought changbin’s bit of ‘interrupting’ the artists was cute and fun. there’s obviously a picasso reference there, and the four technicolour paintings are a reference to andy warhol’s pop art silkscreen portraits, most famously of marilyn monroe, but he also did many other celebrities in the 70s and 80s.

lighting

i LOVED this lighting. super bright and fun, lots of use of colour, obviously. the projections were there to enhance the visuals and weren’t distracting in any way. i thought the transition to black and white/ink with minhyuk was smart and had good contrast, it gave a strong rhythm to build back up to for the climax.

sound

bang chan’s ‘spelling colour with a u’ bit had me SCREAMING with laughter. we spell colour with a u normally bang chan, the americans are the ones that are wrong. 

staging

i don’t really have a whole lot to say here, it was pretty straightforward and fun. like i’ve said in previous reviews, i wish they were more conscious of the steadicam direction and would stop showing extended bits of the production crew. at least everyone was wearing full blacks this time.

fun use of the upward angle combined with the groundwork/leg choreo during hongjoong’s verse, that was a highlight for me.

sf9 + tbz + ikon

nothing against this stage, the other one just hit harder for me. bobby is the best rapper on the show and he really carried this stage with his charisma. he’s a fun performer to watch and he knows how to command a space. i'm sure there’s technical notes that people have about the raps themselves, but i'm here looking at visuals as a priority, which i'm sure you’ve all grasped at this point.

costume

these were clearly extensions of these idol’s personal styles, with is a perfectly fine choice, especially for a rap stage where the emphasis is more on authorship. LOVED bobby’s 11yro girl at recess look.

amusing that both rap stages involved paint in some way? loved the backup dancers shooting supersoakers filled with paint at them, but i wish i knew the reason for it? i'm glad i saw this stage first because i would have been underwhelmed by the paint throwing if i had seen this after rainbow bonanza.

set

almost no set at all here, just a few props. i'm not judging as harshly on lack of set this round because these stages are meant to be more about skill than anything else. 

lighting

i loved the projections, i thought they were unobtrusive and i admit, i LOVE outer space themed anything.

i liked that they did more concert lighting and had no projections in the first half to put more focus on the performers, it really highlighted the fact that this stage was about them, and not about anything extraneous.

sound

it was indeed a song.

staging

i do wish there had been a bit more control of the space, because it did look very empty at some parts and they could have staved that off by keeping tighter camera shots. this stage is so fucking big, holy shit.

they really brought their onstage chemistry and they looked like they were having a blast, which FINALLY!! 

i actually really liked hwiyoung’s opening, i think there was a lot of potential there for some sharp contrast work that i wish had been played through a little more, especially with the cool white light overtop the black costumes. it actually reminded me a bit of the intro in the music video from a rapper i do actually listen to, bewhy’s gottasadae.

glad to see some more use of camera effects with the black and white, but why did they do it over the paint throwing? it just made the trajectory of the paint invisible because there was no colour contrast.

performance stages

sf9 + tbz + ikon

ok obviously im gonna have a lot more to say about the performance stages, nobody is surprised there. this one was the better constructed of the two and my personal pick for better stage, but i actually liked watching the both of them equally.

costume

king shit, literally. we love contemporary hanbok in this house. there was good colour and style distinction between the three of them without clashing. 

costume change was fun and neatly blocked, it's pretty common to see backup dancers and chorus hiding quickchanges but i liked how this was a more unusual formation.

taeyang rocking the organza skirt and the big purple eyeshadow, thank you for keeping it cunty as always.

i really liked juyeon’s underlayer look. finally we get a good tbz costume look thats thematically relevant!

set

like all the stages this round, pretty minimal. the setting was almost entirely established through the costumes and the projections, which is some really good designwork. it's pretty much just the litters (the lifted chairs they entered on), and some smaller props. they managed to not make the stage feel empty because there was a lot of projection visuals to compensate, which is difficult to do without being overbearing, but i think they mostly pulled it off.

i originally thought it was gonna be weird to try and mesh the traditional korean architectural aesthetic with the weird mnet deco, but i ended up not noticing it as much as i thought i would.

lighting

like i just said, projections very well done and do a fantastic job of conveying setting without being overly distracting. like with the atz/skz/btob rap stage there’s a really broad range of colour use here that they offset by brightening and properly fill lighting the faces so you can actually see what’s happening.

the use of the strobing lasers and more concert style lighting fit really well with the change in the music from traditional instrument sounds to electronica and the more hiphop/isolated movements.

sound

i liked it well enough! i think it had a good arc that we can see echoed through the rest of the piece, like previously stated in the lighting and movement style. 

staging

like i mentioned with the quickchange, there was some really interesting formations using the backup dancers here, especially as a lead toward/away from the camera

having the three of them enter on litters; again, literal king shit, love to see it.

this has a pretty clear narrative that doesnt really need an external explanation, which is good. i have to assume that the burning of the paper with 妃 (concubine) is intended to be a gesture of ‘burning’ the love out of their hearts, but that was the only thing i'm still confused on. this may very well turn out to be a reference to a specific story that i just have no idea what it is, but we’ll see once the subs are out!

i loved juyeons solo bit with the alcohol drinking and the table flip, that was the choreographic highlight for me. i just really wish he would use the other muscles in his face more often. we know youre pretty, you dont have to blue steel your way through all your performances!! take a page out of donghyuk’s book and make some ugly faces, it's good for you!!

i though taeyang’s swordwork was fine, but since i do actually have a decade of sword training i'm very judgemental. it's not bad, he obviously has practiced with the weapon and he knows how to control it, but he doesn’t have the same understanding as someone who has trained with a sword as a weapon and not just as a prop. if we hadn’t seen another stage with swordwork in it i probably wouldn’t have brought this up (that's a lie, i still would have brought it up, i have a third dan), but you can really see the difference between how minhyuk moves with his sword and how taeyang moves. a lot of this has to do with the proper weighting of the blade, which i mention briefly in my second episode review in btob’s section (and also this ask here, where i talk about properly weighted weapons in relation to the gun choreo in sf9’s and ateez’s previous stages); minhyuk is likely using a ‘real’ sword (it’s blunted but still made using proper methods and materials), and taeyang is using a cheaper-made replica (unless you’re doing full contact striking a LOT there’s no way a properly made blade breaks like that. also you would never tape it together hello??? respect the blade). if you know what you’re looking for, you can tell from the movements themselves when someone has training. minhyuk did a load of real training for a film where he was a swordsman, and you can tell; the sword is an extension of his arm, all the movements lead with the tip of the blade first, because that’s your first, your fastest, and your most dangerous point. you do 90% of your cutting with the first eight inches of blade, but it takes a lot of specific training to get your hands and arms to a place where that kind of movement is possible. taeyang’s movements are driven from his hands, which is unsurprising, because that’s where he’s used to his extensions stopping. the tip follows rather than leads. wow this got insanely sidetracked i hope you liked this crash course on swordwork.

this is pretty much what i expected to see from this unit. these three groups all have standout soloists, so i wasn’t surprised to see these three boys as the picks. juyeon and taeyang especially, theyre both from groups that are more likely to do experimental stages and choreography that highlights them as soloists and skilled dancers.

skz + btob + atz

this was a letdown from ateez’s last two stages, because they knocked those out of the park, but it's only fair that they have a bit of a fall. that being said, i did really enjoy watching this for its sheer ridiculousness; i’m forgiving the wolf concept this time because well, it’s wolf. you can't cover wolf and not do a wolf concept, that’s against the law. also, like i’ve said before, i'm all for dark concepts IF you give them thematic weight. is it on the nose? yes. is it thematically relevant? also yes. is it dumb? also also yes, but that’s never stopped a single kpop group in the history of ever.

costume

friendship restored with ateez stylists, rivalry started with skz stylists. the fur shoulder fluffs??? stupid and i love them. perfect in every way. however i keep seeing the same fucking costumes on the skz boys and i will come directly for the stylists at jype if they dont get their shit together. be! more! creative!!!

i really really wish they had gone more 2013 kpop with it, we need more of that ugly ridiculous styling. peniel was actually pretty close, with the overly long tunic and those yellow lenses. very vixx on and on (yes i know they were vampires from outer space, let me live)

i actually thought the wolf gloves were fun? the small bits of uv paint actually worked instead of looking out of place, and i'm glad they put them on wooyoung because the uglier an outfit, the better he pulls it off. 

set

same dice, just the long table and the camo net at the beginning, which i thought was unnecessary. the table was useful for levels though, so happy to see they utilized that.

lighting

there is so much happening all the time. lots of lasers. it's definitely aiming for camp territory, and i dont actually hate it as much as i did on my first watch. it actually wasn’t as dark as i thought either, because its mostly lit with blue and amber. but it doesn’t really have that great of an arc and its not really that good on the whole.

the projections are a bit much for me, but that’s only when i'm actually looking at them. true to form, i didn’t even notice the excess of red slashes until like my fourth rewatch because i was too busy watching the performers.

sound

rookie exo my beloved. the original wolf goes so hard for absolutely no reason, so i’m not knocking this stage for being ridiculous. in fact it should have been more ridiculous. i think they did a fine job updating the song for a.....less 2013 sound. 

i like that they didn’t bother to live sing the stage even though they recorded vocals for it, it gave them all a chance to actually focus on just the dance.

that being said, i am kind of missing all the adlibs from the original. but even though there’s some strong vocalists in this unit, they aren’t made of the same stuff as baekhyun, luhan, chen, AND d.o.

i literally just realized that peniel had already debuted when this song came out AND is technically exo’s senior because btob debuted like two weeks before exo officially did.....oh no

staging

choreographically this feels a lot more like the skz stages that we’ve seen rather than the ateez ones, so i'm curious as to who the choreographer was. 

the tricking was definitely more ridiculous in this one, but i can't really say any of it was there for no reason because it all had elements of fighting in it. the scale of the tricks was quite large though and not very well blended with the rest of the choreo, which ending up making them look awkward. i thought it was a nice detail that they shone a green toplight on the dancers that made up the cliff wooyoung climbed up so that it looked like there was grass on it. cute.

the blocking is lacking a lot of fluidity, and i think that’s partially the scale of the tricking and also the editing, because this editing is TERRIBLE. there’s so much cutting, why is there so much cutting!! haven’t we already learned that longtakes are the best for this???

there’s a lot of stuff here that had good potential but could have been pushed a little farther. i feel like i say this for every mediocre stage, but what can i say, i'm good at constructive criticism. 

they should have given more showcase to the tree and the scratching arms; it's the most iconic move!! i also wish they had kept some kind of iteration of the different unit ‘leaping’ in over the exiting one, i always thought that part of the original choreo was really fun and did a lot for establishing them as wolves. 

i LOVED peniel entering with all those backup dancers in chains, thats some fucking iconic shit. very ‘im the alpha wolf,’ which is valid because he’s like at LEAST five years older than everyone else on the stage. i wish that instead of being the backup dancers it was the actual members, because THAT would have been an image. theyre all wearing harnesses and collars anyways, just clip em in! he’d be like one of those dogwalkers!

me last week: specifically talking about how krump is an uncommon style in kpop and it's very hard to get right kingdom, throwing the manifesting dodgeball at me for the third time: here would you like a KRUMP SOLO?

if you didnt believe me before that krump is hard to get right, i sure hope you do now. peniel did fine, but you can see how easily you can veer off into looking ridiculous.

some conclusions

i mentioned this really briefly in an ask i got earlier today, but i do think it's important to establish that the two performance units are doing two different types of performances. i can understand why people are underwhelmed by the atz/skz/btob stage and wanted it to be less of a traditional kpop dance stage and more like the experimental stages we’ve been seeing for the last few weeks. and i agree! i think they could have done more with it. but i also think that this kind of stage was a good choice for this particular subunit. unlike with the sf9/tbz/ikon unit, there are not really any standout technical soloists in ateez or skz. ateez has, in my opinion, the highest ratio of dancers with actual stage presence of any of the 4th gen groups ive seen. they’re at a solid 75% for any given performance, and occasionally they can bump that higher depending on the stage. that high of a stat is rare. it's extremely rare for a group to have all its members have good stage presence (i can think of like, maybe two or three?), and to get over 50% is pretty damn impressive. but ateez’s strength isn’t in how good they individually are as dancers, but it's in how well they work together. there’s a reason why they put FIVE of them in the performance unit. one of the first things i said about ateez to hanya is ‘i love wooyoung but he doesn’t stand out when he's not centre.’ which is for good reason!! he’s not supposed to! they all willingly give up centre and take it back when they need to, because they have that charisma. there’s a very cohesive push and pull to watching ateez that speaks to their strengths as performers. dancing in a group where you are all meant to be equal is a very different skill than just being a talented soloist. you have to understand what to prioritize in a different way. taemin dances differently with shinee that he does in his solo career, especially since they’ve been back. he understands when to step back; more often than not i find key to be the standout dancer in shinee choreo.

this is a very long winded way of saying that wolf was a good choice for them even though the stage didn’t turn out as well as it could have. also the fact that they made a cohesive performance at all, with a week of rehearsal and while working with essentially strangers is a feat and speaks to all of their skill at their job. performing in a group is a huge part of kpop, and they did call this the performance stage, and not the dance stage.

i'm not entirely sure on what the breakdown is on why each of the subunits were formed. i know the team sizes are extremely uneven, with sf9/tbz/ikon clocking in at 26 people and atz/skz/btob clocking in at 17 (i'm not counting changsub because he's not there and probably has a scheduling conflict), which is like, a whole extra group of difference. but atz/skz/btob utilizing their whole groups for each of the units (5/3/1 for performance, 1/3/1 for rap, and 1/1/1 for vocal, for 7/7/3 total), verses sf9/tbz/ikon only bringing out six people for these two stages and then six for the vocal stage is......weird? that's over half of their group number that’s not performing. i do think the groups brought out their standout performers and made smart choices with the stages but the balance still strikes me as odd. i do wish tbz had actually done some group choreo because they are very strong group performers and it would have been fun to watch.

ateez really played the long game here, good job boys. teaming up with the group who gets the highest fan votes AND the group with the strongest technical skills? i see you.

i think this is probably too wild of an assumption and is only based on circumstantial evidence but.....i think hongjoong might actually have a lot more creative sway than i previously thought. all the stages he’s been a part of have been very well designed, and i know he provided suggestions for the two ateez stages prior to this... i’m probably thinking too much. 

ok you know what i know there were some other points in my brain somewhere but this is already 4000 words so i’m going to stop. if i remember anything else its probably gonna end up in the answer to some of the asks i’m inevitably going to get because i think my opinions on these ones are a little bit more controversial, whoops!

not entirely sure if ill do an extensive review for next week’s stage, because i'm not really a ballad fan and i dont really do vocal reviews, but i could do a quick one. i guess it also depends on what else they put in the episode. we’ll see!!

[aahsokaatano]

King I would love that essay about Changing Channels

Fjdjshjdhdjd thanks for reading my tags Jesse you're the real VIP here.

Okay SO "Changing Channels" is the 8th episode of the 5th season of Supernatural. I give this information bc it's important in looking at the context of the episode - now I've complained a LOT about how SPN is terrible at giving us canonical timeframes within the episodes (y'all i was SHOCKED to discover the first season is supposed to cover a little over a year's worth of time, I thought it was like... 4 or 5 months) so I can't say for sure how long before and after the other episodes happen in-universe around "Changing Channels" BUT

The episode before is "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" where Dean and Bobby bet years of their lives in a game of poker with a witch. The episode after is "The Real Ghostbusters" where Sam and Dean end up at a fan convention for the in-universe Supernatural novels.

Why am I pointing this out? Because it's important, please, no audience participation, this is like a Brian David Gilbert panel.

[under a cut bc this got...... STUPID long. Who knew I still had this many opinions about SPN in 2020?]

Okay first of all I wanna talk about the cinnamon topography of this episode - I love the way the first 5 seasons are shot because you really feel the americana gothic horror aesthetic they were going for (I have a whole ‘nother rant about the first 5 seasons vs the last 10 but thats for another time). Everything is a little washed out and grey-toned, the camera angles generally serve to make Sam and Dean appear even taller than they actually are (larger than life - again, another post for another time), and there’s honestly a LOT of shots from the ‘monster’s’ perspective, which is really neat! I’ve said it before (on another blog - YES i have a dedicated spn rant blog, don’t @ me hdjfhfjfh) but the episode that really got me hooked on spn back in the day was the second one, about the w*ndigo. Yes, it’s a racist, culturally appropriating shitstorm, but the way its SHOT is fantastic. I’m honestly not a horror fan, but that episode could have easily relied on jumpscares and they DIDN’T and it was scary as all fucking hell and just - fuck okay getting off topic. 

In “Changing Channels” we get that distinctive grey-washed tone in the beginning and the very end of the episode, but the middle? When they’re in TV Land? Everything is bright. Almost comically so, I mean - okay look at these two shots of Sam (apologies about the crappy phone pics, netflix won't let me screenshot)

This one is from the start of the episode, in the "real" police station

And this is from a little later in the "TV" hospital

Ignoring that my phone is washing him out a lot in both pics, you can still see the warmer tones in the hospital shot as compared to the cold greyness in the police station one

Okay, now look at this picture

Dean inside the Impala, and those warm tones are back. Why? Because even though Sam and Dean believe that they’re back in the “real” world, they aren’t - so instead of the grey-washed shots that we’re used to, its the bright and warm shots that we see in “TV Land”! So the viewers pick up, even if its just subconsciously, that the boys aren’t out of the woods yet - everything is still too bright to be the in-universe reality we’ve come to expect from SPN by season 5

Which is also why i love this shift so much

These shots are literally SECONDS apart. The first is in "TV Land" and the second is in the "real" world. I have some red strip lights behind my bed, which are reflecting off my laptop screen - notice how much brighter they seem in the second picture? That’s because literally all of the warm colors have been drained out of the shot. As soon as Gabriel snaps them all back into “reality,” things get so much colder.

Okay, so the second thing I want to talk about is some of the very pointed dialogue choices within the “shows” the Winchesters take part in. Not between Sam and Dan and Gabriel, but from the, for lack of a better term, NPCs within the shows.

In the hospital, Dr. Piccolo tells Sam that he is “the finest cerebrovascular neurosurgeon I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your table; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.” Standard cheesy soap opera dialogue - but lemme just swap some words here and - 

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your hunt; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.”

Or even - 

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So Jessica and Mary died above you; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault [but Azazel’s]. Sometimes people just die.”

Keeping in mind that the NPCs are basically Gabriel’s mouthpieces, its easy to see why so many people ship Sabriel. I’d actually love to see a fic that explores them talking about this moment in particular later on and the kind of gentle forgiveness that Gabriel can give Sam... getting off topic again.

In an abrupt about-face, the herpes commercial (much meme’d within the fandom) is straight up Gabriel shaming Sam. Because if you replace “genital herpes” with “demon blood” it’s.... dark. And very intentional.

So that’s what I did! (I combined all spoken lines to make the message easier to read, rather than splitting them up across 3 speakers as in the episode)

“I’ve drank demon blood. I tried to be responsible... did I try. But now, after being forcibly detoxed, I fight my addiction every day to reduce the chances of passing back into that toxic mindset. Ask your loved ones about a demon blood intervention today. [...] I am doing all I can to slightly lessen the chance of drinking demon blood again. And that’s a good thing.”

Like... the subtext throughout this episode sure is. Something.

Okay this is getting ridiculously long so I wanna wrap up by talking about The Best Scene In The Whole Goddamn Show

I’m talking, of course, about Gabriel’s Confession

“Max,” you might be saying, “there are so many better scenes out there, even within the first five seasons!” and to that i say, again, no audience participation, please. Also, you’re WRONG and here’s why!

Gabriel’s confession hits every goddamn emotional chord that the fandom begged for on this show - fear, rage, grief, pain, guilt, and even, yes, absolution. 

Okay, here’s the scene again for those of you who don’t think about it at least once a week like me

Now this video is missing some of the conversation, but most of it is there, enough for you to see what I’m talking about. Gabriel up to this point has been, essentially, a nameless antagonist - this is the third episode he appeared in, and before this, we didn’t even know he was going by Loki. He was just referred to as ‘The Trickster’. But here, not only do we get a name (a real name at that), but we also get a glimpse of his backstory and a hell of a lot of character development in less than 5 minutes. I mean, Sam didn’t get this much character development throughout the entirety of season 1! There’s a good reason Gabriel has been a fan-favorite for a very long time, and I think a big part of it is this particular scene.

Because here, we get to see Gabriel being vulnerable. And we even see Dean show a little vulnerability, as he can empathize being the third party to explosive arguments between the two people who mean everything to him.

I mean... okay, it will never see the light of day, but I wrote a little bit of a Reverse ‘Verse fic (because I’m a sucker for Reverse ‘Verse) and this was the scene I started with. Not s1e1, not even the resurrection in s4e1, but this scene. Because this scene, more than any other, is critical to the way not only Gabriel’s (first) arc plays out, but also to how Sam and Dean conduct themselves for the rest of the season (and maybe a bit beyond, it’s been a hot minute since I watched s6 and later). Dean is angry but determined, he has a point to make, he is going to save Sammy and if he can’t do that, then he’s going to damn well die trying. But Sam... it’s after this episode that we start really seeing how bone-achingly tired Sam is. It’s after this conversation - where one of the other archangels, one of the few beings who can truly understand how powerful Michael and Lucifer are - says that there’s no other way around this that Sam seems to start inching towards giving in. Saying yes.

Sure, in the actual episode, he seems outraged by the idea, practically scoffs at it - “you want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?” - but it’s after this where Sam really seems run down.

I mean, look at the episodes before and after (HAH you thought I forgot about that first point I made at the very beginning of this post! I did, briefly, but I’ve circled back to it, thanks for being understanding). In “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester,” Sam behaves much as he did since the start of s4, which is to say, ‘annoying little know-it-all brother tossed into the middle of the apocalypse and just trying his best’ and it works well for the mad scramble for any scrap of information that’s happening in s4/early s5.

But in “The Real Ghostbusters” it’s different. This is another funny meta episode - except, while Sam and Dean are technically aware of the joke, they aren’t as amused by it as the audience is. And it’s not because of the ghosts. It’s because they’re just... done. Especially Sam. Dean has that nice little moment with the cosplayers at the end of the episode, but Sam... threatens to shoot Chuck. Sam ‘goes darkside’ more often than pretty much any other character in the show, but that moment is different. It’s a flat promise, not a threat. He’s not being an asshole, like he is after losing his soul. He’s just... done. And it’s obvious to see.

Gabriel’s confession is the turning point for Sam in s5, and it informs a lot of his behavior through the rest of s5, and possibly beyond! Like I said, I haven’t watched past s5 in a very long time, so I don’t feel confident enough to analyze that specific sort of character line, but I feel confident in saying that hearing one of the most powerful beings in the universe basically say “it doesn’t matter what you do - your destiny is unavoidable” and then he’s proven right (Sam says yes to Lucifer, and Dean eventually does say yes to Michael down the line!)... like, that’s really gotta fuck up your world view that was built on free will and throwing off the shackles of fate. Sam managed to avoid his ‘destiny’ in s2... but then it turns out that that wasn’t ever his destiny. Lucifer was his destiny.

Talk about an obscured view of the inner self.

[yuissamidare]

@codes i think i may have put this on my artblog but... Here

i guess ill start w ichi bc i always forget about him somehow like i always come up short when im making lists and im like 'oh wait shit yeah that guy’ bc im stupid n i only think of fishing trio + choro. I’m an Idiot. idk i never thought too hard on ichi bc i so rarely think about him but he looks so high its really funny i said this on main but he looks like my friend when he decided to try a weed gummy bear then started babbling about hentai then watched to watch porn with me but got mad all the intro scenes are a billion years long and started ranting about the industry but now that i think about it he looks like someone who used to send me weird shit when he was high like bad pick up lines about body parts i wish i didnt have

and thats so funny that its Ichimatsu who looks like that but also proof that hes high. but anyway!! hes really cute and im mad hes boutta ruin my reputation for my complete and utter lack of care and interest in him no matter what im mad. my friend gwyn said 'Sp lubing us up for the fuckening that is the reason why Ichi is sad in present day’ im really curious at the change like if hes trying a fake it till you make it type thing bc really emotionally exhausted or if hes just genuinely having a good time or hes puttin on a front since like. nails who stand get hammered down right??? just gotta do your best n Never Relax n i can relate to all that. but uhhh old hcs i guess

in kun ichi was the most serious! really smart but just as bad w school as the rest of them apparently but!! yeah so id think that!! ichis that guy who participates in class discussion constantly and is always willing to debate the readings, but turns in sloppy papers with typos and no a coherency or stucture or anything. he’s A+ in participation but has an average of 60% on most of the written assignments with points knocked bc of lateness then more bc its A Mess. you could ask about the prompts for one of his papers, he could babble about his position on it complete with paragraphs and footnotes but like the day before its due hes playing rpgs and watching horror movies.

his classmates think hes so smart n so intimidating. the family knows hes a hot mess. the teachers tell him he has a lot of potential but they don’t think hes applying himself. all are right. also he doesnt cheat or let people cheat off of him since hes always been about rules and boundaries and Rightness n he n jyushi were the only ones who Minded Themselves in kun

uhh jyushi!! let me talk about schoolwork again bc yeah i love jyushi so so so so much and thinking of him in a school environment is so weird i thought about it a lot n i thought about it him in kun n san and Woah!! i really really love delinquent jyushi, bc when i saw that i was like 'huh! that fits actually!!’ i love that like him and choro flip flopped completely from what i thought. his school must be so cold theyre too cheap to afford heating in the winter and in summer the acs Blast. he was so Shy and quiet and he cried and he liked to sing so i always thought that when he participated in chorus festivals hes always like right in front!! he hums a lot in class and also moves around alot bc he actually like school and people like primary trio are the types that make friends often. i wasnt supposed to talk about this yet whoops.

unlike ichi who relatively neat despite everything but has shit notes, jyushis notes are amazing and understandable and utterly illegible.

theyre covered in doodles, arrows and lines leading every which way, different colors but not like color coded n theyre not in order by date, but he opens to a random page every time yet somehow always seems to know where to find each lesson. he writes footnotes and caveats and corrections and criticisms of the teachers and random thoughts and just smears ink everywhere. sometimes his notes are on a completely different subject. the notebook itself is a horrifying mess, the front and back covers both covered in drawings and designs and falling apart, random papers shoved between the pages, coming apart at the seams, covered in stains of unknown origin. assignments are full of emoticons and informal language, and they always manage to make his teachers feel like hes smarter than they are (most likely). he does his projects the minute theyre assigned, and is finished a minute later so can talk to his friends. he loved school.

sophie told me once about how she thought was Like That was bc one of his main concerns is that he thought he had nothing that made him Jyushi n in kun she said he might have been the one who was the most concerned about having a distinctive personality and i talked about how that sorta carried over san and how he always blended in bc of how gentle and soft and push-overy he was. he was actually the and most gullible and weakest in kun so i was like :0 when i saw that and intentionally did stuff like only carry 14 yen in his pockets to be quirky but it always sorta fell flat and he was still invisible so i was like hmmmmm. and i can see how he couldve toughened up and thinking of this now!! i love that. oh im so happy. this is so much better than i ever couldve imagined ever.

totty…. i do not think he was very popular or good at school. i think he’s very decent at schoolwork but he never put much effort into it. just copies whats on the board but if the class runs out of allotted lesson time n he couldnt finish his work he just didnt do it like cram schools a pain in the ass. if he put effort hed be a star student but he just craps out whatever since hes was the laziest!! oh but something i noticed was that him and jyushi would play together often since sometime he felt overwhelmed by karamatsu a lot. also hes the money thief and scammer its great kun todo is so good. he gets shy and flustered easy too!!

but uhh yeah!! depending on the day im always like 'zaimoku love each other so much they are best friends and the perfect other halves!!’ then im like 'these mofos hate each other what the fuck is this trainwreck’ did you see their shitty small talk in the horse episode. what was that. like they are genuinely trying to communicate and are pretty easy with each other but they have nothing to say. its like when youre having a boring day at school and theres nothing to talk about with an acquaintance so you just look at the walls and go 'have you ever noticed how stupid these posters are’ then you both start reading posters aloud but you both know its not that funny and youre just doing it to waste time but you still enjoy their company you just dont want silence. thats their relationship. and i think they are just very similar in very different ways and like. the key things that make them both similar and different and the same fuck them up (like suiriku!! theyre both really similar even if it doesn’t seem like it at first which is why their compatibility in the relationship chart was so low in s1, but i saw a lot of improvement in both of their behaviours and their communication and honestly. s2 was worth it for that sophie was so happy to see her faves get along) like sometimes when you look in the mirror all the things you see are the things you dont like about yourself instead of what makes you wonderful and unique. also i didnt mean to talk about this but i guess i am.

but yeah. totty is bitter n resentful at kara during hs n karas more confused and upset at tottys behaviour in their twenties n thats bc like i said. theyre dumb. karamatsu!! i think was actually pretty popular in highschool n had a good amount of friends - i genuinely think theatre kids are well liked bc i literally know everyone in my department and im friends w a good amount of people and im not even That extroverted. my actual extrovert friends know everyone in the school by name and everyone in my department is so nice even though theres a lot of bitchiness and drama its not as bad as w other humanities studies (jesus christ humanity students outside of theatre are a hot mess.)

uh yeah n that ultimately makes totty feel a bit… betrayed? karamatsu is his partner! theyre supposed to be there for eachother! kara’s the first one to branch out, get friends etc etc and todomatsus left behind bc hes always the one playimg follow the leader and he breaks out of that once they graduate - he grows up resenting karamatsu slightly though he still cares. but this time Hes the one cancelling plans to hang out with friends instead. my friend katie put it best when, in response to me telling them this, they sent me:

'kara: totty you have so many friends now. We barely see you anymore.

totty, applying chapstick: well, I learned it from the best.’

when i told them about it. but at the time gwyn and i were babbling about possibilities and different storylines and how theres a possiblity the movie might break down into three manageable plotlines n she gave zaimoku 'popularity’ and this was me throwing out ideas but honestly. Good. (aha, the end of this scenario ended up with todo throwing hands and shoulder checking someone outside a window and then getting removed from the premise n hanging with atsushi all night after) why am i on this. shit what happened here.

uhh but yeah totty is Def someone with learned behaviours rather than being a natural extrovert honestly just look at him hes an introverted mess masquerading as a decent human being and i know full well how people like that are bc some of them have been my best friends for years n seein the new hs promos solidifies that fact bc look at him. Crybaby. He is Miniscule. A Child.

then its 'delinquent who looks like an honour student’ choro. i never studied him until sophie started liking choro n since i love sophie i wanted to take an interest in him too. n i started to think very hard about him! then gwyn planted this in me n its taken root and im just never not gonna think its great. yall see his shitty gokudo impression what a bossy lil shit. he pulled a whip on kara once and it was mad funny but also Gwyns Big Evidence for him just being the absolute worst not like a casually skips class type but a Choro was a legit a bully and really mean n sabatoged other classmates to make him look like he was 100% That Bitch. maybe not him being Mean and cruel but just an asshole who bums around, is something i really like that one a lot its been one of my faves since gwyn n i started talking about it but i just!! have a ton of other things too!!

hes a lot like karamatsu in that theyre both stupid and weird and embarrassing and they put on airs but they also!! dont try!! they talk so big and such high goals n expectations and they dont do shit bc they have so much hubris but i always talk about them bc suiriku is sophies Beloved so ill like. Not. but he acts like he’s better than all of them n forces the role of the straight man on himself because he wants to be seen as the responible, level headed one even if hes just. So Much.

i think the movies calling back to how touchy feely and clingy he was in kun and adding on to how jyushis a delinquent and kara… Is Like That he’ll be around them the most bc jyushi might either be really protective or push him away and then they do something to mend their relationship later on or hell cling to kara and they just. grow apart. sticking to my hc until the end bitches. oh.

for choro… personally!! i thought hed be a slacker instead of a delinquent but not in the way totty slacked - totty was lazy n knew the work but didnt want to put in effort but choro just. Doesnt. choro has so much energy all the time and choro Can Not deal with school situations. bc like… you always hear people say that studying is meant to be done at the desk, silently, no distractions what so ever!! focus on notes and nothing else!! ise a highlighter but dont use it too much!! make your notes legible but you only have five minutes before the board gets erased!! review!!! look at your notes or youll die! take breaks bit dont take too long and honestly. listen. kun choro wouldnt be able to stand that shit and id think hed just think he was doing it The Wrong Way n he just wasnt meant to do it.

he doesnt like quiet classrooms!! he cant study like that and hell get distracted. he cant sit still n thats why totoko broke up w him in the beer ad and why hes just Everywhere in kun!! hes understimulated and its just Ugh! you know??? he’ll fidget w his pens until he breaks them or hum or tap his foot and annoy everyone or leave for the bathroom at least three times a class just to get up and move.

eventually he just. gives up even though hes super smart he like, stops caring bc if you dont care to understand material then you wont have to read and read and reread and rereread something to get it! classes just make everything uncomphrehensible and makes any idea he may have sublimate into nothing. but he can work on the trains and the buses! he needs something kenetic to get him moving and trains n shit always have enough going on to work with, just like with home!! chorochoro motherfuckers. he works much better moving forward, ironic as that is. he feels sorta set apart from every thing like hes behind some big plane of glass doing everything wrong and being all set apart from everything. eventually he takes to acting like a real fussy mom to avoid his own problems and help everyone else out even though hes annoying and even when he graduates but it gets Worse bc then figures out how much!!! he fucked up!! then he kicks himself into high gear n still cant do shit. ahh.

its illegal for me to talk about choukei bc i talk about them so much and im always being annoying n typing stupid essays about them bc theyre… my faves.. But this is so long…

it actually makes me super happy that he kara acne he still can be really fighty and he cries and he still does stupid impulsive shit for others and even though hes really sweet and caring is still an utter monster and fucking mess of a person. love him. i always like to think his shittymatsu nickname came from iyami n it just morphed from there bc in 66 you can hear iyami calling him specifically garbage. ive always been glad they kept his sewing hobby too. ahh, actually from what i see hes pretty similarities to kun so i wonder when he decided to air out that teremity. idk what to say about him that i havent in tottys section. he just Feels like someone who had a good support group and nice friends bc of how hes able to move in the world. kara feels like some whos doing their growing up in their twenties bc highschool came easy to them and now theyre just really struggling with the real world. like i shouldve expected softboy hs kara and i appreciate him very much!! i talk about choukei a lot bc they were the first characters that spoke so i immediately attached myself to them n i talk about karamatsu Specifically but im not sure i ever mentioned how much i appreciated how smart and cautious hes proved himself to be time and time again, like how hes the only one to point out totokos fish shtick aint doing her favours or how he was the first one to notice osos irritation n how you can pick out his voice warning jyushi to calm down in the bg of 24 or how in the comedian episode he was ready to take Notes from iyami and a lot of other small things!!

i would think hes actually a bit more serious n calm in hs and san is him amping up traits that drew people to him in hs and it backfiring on kara spectacularly - kara is always gauging people and their reactions and acting in a way he believes will get something positive, but at the same time is utterly oblivious when it comes to actually Getting them n i talked about the girls on the bridge but this is also prevalent with ichi who kara just. Doesnt Get and can not figure out how to maneuver their relationship. like oso, kara is and elder brother!! and elder brothers have an image theyre supposed to uphold, but while kara acts the part he doesnt do the shit a big brother does and shrugs that responsibility off on oso until oso fucks up until s2, where they share the role more evenly and his relationship with ichi improves but this is another essay entirely. what im trying to get with that is that hyperfocus on what other people think of him, but his complete disregard when it comes to their actual reaction and instead what he wants their reactions to be would also greatly impact him transtioning from a teen to an adult im sorry im getting sloppy now

osomatsu… i really adore him too much and i understand how totty felt in their episode bc i also lent my phone to a friend who needed to desperately jack it before meeting new people n i talk about him a whole lot too. hes mean and an asshole and garbage n i know a lot of people find him plain n boring but idk. i dont think thats the case hes a really complexed n nuanced character n hes literally has always been way back from kun n thats expected from a main character but… hes always been mean n dumb n sly and he can get so pathetically vunerable and thats literally!! him. hes a normal dude nothing wrong with that n it can be real refreshing. n i suppose im so fond of fishing trio+choro bc they remind me of my friends. but yeah even if hes 'plain’ i dont see why thats a bad thing. n this they always have the most interesting body language like despite kara being So Much his body language was always closed off n singled him out as everything But exuberant and bright, and osos quirks like how he stands on his toes a lot had always been so cute… its relaxed and open n screams Talk To Me!!!!

ahh but i always end up thinking oso was. oso??? theres not much to say that i havent before but i do think that he was a lot more like he was in episode 2 when ranting to chibita about having shitty brothers and then actively Chose to be a good brother even if he wasnt a good person and be a stable rock and be someone they could all come back to at the end of the day. and hes good at math im never letting this die.

[ts-akhmim]

Episode 2 | “GET ME OUT OF HERE ” - Devon

okay so i filmed a video confessional earlier which is uploading where i basically talked about dealing with being a winner/the tomb and having an idol/potentially wanting to go to tribal pre-swap/deliberately choosing the puzzle/how much i love jake so that'll come at some point after this but just KNOW that came first. anyway just wanted to talk MORE because i have more thoughts. last round i was really conscious of needing to micro-manage my threat level and i think im putting in work to do that? im very concious that i cant play the same game as montenegro because im coming into it from a very different perspective/position. However, one thing I can do this season is transfer my prejury game, because i think it still works. What I need to do is to some extent take a backseat, where I'm not actively messaging people first, and keeping game talk kinda limited (but acknowledging it when people talk to me). Like I have the safety cushion of my idol, and my connection to jake/jordan, and to some extent dan and lovelis? like im not gonna be a target (touch wood) and hopefully if i am my men tm going to keep an eye out for me.... hopefully? it also means im not gonna be pushy about votes im gonna hear names and run with it (as long as its not jake/jordan, or lovelis tbh i get real good vibes from him). but yeah id really love the beauty tribe to go to tribal this round ive literally never spoken to a single one of them so i'd love one of that tribe that is a complete unknown quantity to go home DJDKLFSF. but yis so im feeling good taking a backseat but im gonna ejector seat myself forwards at some point, just got to figure out when to push the button

Okay so Bodhi left last night and that was really sad. We had nice conversations but i told him that if the rest of the tribe wanted him out i wasn't going to campaign for him. He ended up making his rounds but at the end of the day, no one felt strongly about keeping him. He speaks so well that it took me a night's rest to get my head straight. Also Trace got an alliance together of himself, myself, Scott and Isaac. Bitch i was SHOOK! I am so glad to be likable enough to be brought into someone else's core. So this kind of perfectly positioned myself and Scott between 2 alliances. I believe we're both more loyal to the one we formed before we found out we were going to tribal, but who knows. I did tell Autumn of the news because i figure if we were to lose again. Whichever of Isaac of Trace remains is going to feel on bottom and blow up that Scott and I were two-timing the DADS. Btw that is the dumbest alliance name I have ever been a part of but whatever. The rat pack has also formed and now him and I are in a good spot. I will say that i am nervous that MISS ALYSSA spoke the comparison into existence, but i really hope we don't continue to flop like Luzon did on Cagayan. But hey! If Denise can go to every tribal council in one season and win, maybe i can too. (PS i pissed myself with my score in winterbells but also F*CK WINTERBELLS, thats all, ty) 

Honestly I’m really regretting not participating in this challenge because I feel like our scores are.......not great. I feel like I could have turned out the puzzle and even winterbells. The flag Lovelis made is super cute and i think will fair well bc it’s very clean and neat. It’s not super creative, but it’s definitely well made. I think even if we went to tribal I would be okay though. Liam seems like an easy enough boot for us. No one seems that dazzled by his contributions to the tribe. 

i literally am the biggest clown who ever clowned for continuing to overdo it in challenges, if i'm allowed to make it to merge at this point it will literally be a miracle.

So Bodhi left on a unanimous vote yesterday and I'm glad that it worked out as planned! I definitely felt bad lying to him about it all and stuff, but I think it was the best for the tribe going forward. What does suck however is that we lost AGAIN! And it was actually close this time! I'm actually annoyed that we lost this time because I submitted my challenge at 4PM and the reason why we lost was because the last submission was at 8 :/ like... y'all couldn't get it in any earlier? Plus I'm annoyed because I find myself in the swing position between the DADS and The Rat Pack. Personally I don't trust Trace after finding out he tried to play the Rat Pack off as my idea when it was really his all along. To me, it shows that he'd betray me later on down the line. And the only purpose for "The Rat Pack" is so they feel like they're in the majority. So since we lost, I don't mind voting out Trace. Duncan and I called to confirm that we're on the same page. We also found out that Devon is telling us the same things about loyalty and allegiances and I don't like that. He also told Duncan that he would throw immunities and play idols for him if he needed it, and that Duncan was his number 1 ally. But he said the same exact thing to me. So... that has me a little sketch. But I also think that Autumn/Duncan are a close pair, so I may need to stick close to Devon for the long hall. But if Autumn/Duncan think I'm more with them than Devon, I'll take it. I'm supposed to go on call with the Dads soon. Duncan wants to tell them about the rat alliance so that Isaac doesn't use it as motive to get us out. Which i agree that it'd be a good idea as long as devon/autumn stick with us. Duncan and I both feel like Devon might be thrown off since he always likes to be in control, but not actually being in charge. So we'll need to do damage control when that happens. But for now it seems like Trace is going unless things change. If things go how I would want it to, then Trace leaves tomorrow. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JKqH3EQMlugIe-lwHMYMG2qoVZ7dvIzr/view?usp=sharing

Omg!!!!! Another win that makes me so happy . The tribe is all getting along great and I couldnt all for better ppl. I'm hoping soon to get some kind of solid group together. Kendell adam and amiry are ppl I def wanna work with long term at the time. Just gotta see what happens. 

Not much has been happening lately so I might be able to keep this short and not ramble on and on like i usually do (ill still end up writing a novel probably) yippy yay it's day 5 and everything is still all smiles and giggles over here because we've won yet another immunity!! kinda boring tbh but obviously im happy we won immunity because now that buys me one more day and at the end of it that's all i care about. I kinda did want the brauns to go to tribal however instead of the brains because i just really would like my beauties to get a nice foot hold and a lead in the game, i actually enjoy taking to some of these people, and im trying my best to talk to as many people as i can, which anyone who knows me knows isn't the easiest thing for me, i was reading some of my old confessionals from both my past games and the one thing i consistently got dragged for was not being as present with people, which granted i did improve a lot on last time around for sure, but i still got work to do and im realizing that more each day when i have no urge whatsoever to talk to anyone (don't worry, it's not you, it's (crippling depression) me! I understand socializing is part of the game and i do think my social game is my strongest asset but to me i like to think of my social game as a more distinct kind, im more elusive and i like to be that, if you leave them wanting more dahling they'll keep you around, i dont like to show all my cards, and that's a quality that i reflect in both survivor and life, and it has advantages and disadvantages in both but ANYWHO despite all that dare i say i think im still doing *decent* ? I'm making it a priority to reach out at least once a day to *most people (AJ, Augusto, Amir, Austin) are the ones ive probably had some of the best conversations with where it was the most natural and just flowed you know, and still is on day 5, and with kendall ive had some talks with her i do like her but idk i get this vibe she's kinda holding back when talking to me, and ESPECIALLY same with connor? we only had one private conversation and he gave me about a 3 word response, and if you havent guessed by now i like elaboration or at least a lil bit of personality when you talk, no shade just an observation, so that's a small red flag im very much a person who matches energy, one of my go to's in survivor is being open to the possibility of anything, ill always work with anyone who will work with me, and i think thats how everyone should play so hopefully the people ive been talking a lot to feel similar but i guess we'll have to wait until a vote of some sort to see about all that.. I still havent heard any idol talk or even game talk quite frankly so im guessing people are just still keeping the friendly facade up..... or ...... is it me?? am i the one on the outs looking like boo boo the fool or is that just my paranoia getting to me??? im not gonna send myself into a tizzy about getting voted out when we're not even going to tribal i- lemme calm down. If i had to guess I'd say Kendall, Connor, or Amir have the idol probably but sounds like a mystery for another day because im DONE im clocking out for the night until other people wanna wake up and play the game too oop final note: ok but it would be sick and twisted if it turns out they are all playing the game just without me and im the first boot of the tribe 

Waking up on this glorious Day 5 with a new perspective. I originally applied to be on the brains tribe and was shook when I got brawn because let’s face it, my arms are akin to overcooked spaghetti noodles. BUT my tribe is so much stronger than the brains. I’m hoping for a big name to go to shake things up. AND I’m not really looking to swap onto a tribe with Trace or Autumn due to our past game history. Love them both dearly, but it’s gonna be a no from me. 

okie so! update from me is i think im doing okay. like i think the benefit of no dua lipa cave is you can just build connections with everyone, you aren't voting someone out every round so why not capitalise on that? i'm so afraid of the fact that i'm overdoing it in challenges like i really need to calm. down. but im reassuring myself with the fact that in the first challenge i only was top because i did like... one more thing than others like its not thattt big of a deal? my puzzle time was clownery but hopefully people don't pay attention to it? im getting very anxious about overdoing it in challenges, but my thought process now is like. i need to act like people have an awareness of it, without getting kinda consumed by my anxiety about it? idk im hoping since most of these people don't know me, they wont notice me doing good in the challenge but truly who can be sure also am really just liking my tribe? like jake is ofc a king, i love jordan (who im gonna talk to later, he is the only one i feel like i have to talk to today), i also really like TJ who i was super harsh on at the start for no reason, i get good ally vibes from lovelis, liam m is super sweet even tho he is kinda inactive and dan is so fun (plus he told jake that he speaks to me one of the most so we love that!!). i've been trying to figure out what i even do about a lot of the super old school players that i have no connection/point of reference with? like people like scott, adam, kendall, aj i have truly no basis with? thats whats so scary about a swap, is at this point in the game i know 10/20 people left aka the brawn tribe + duncan/isaac/autumn, and like 10/20 isnt bad... BUT then the other 10 aka the beauty tribe + trace/scott/devon i have literally no connection to which is super scary JAKSDFA. im just real afraid of a swap. just swap me with jordan/jake/autumn/isaac PLEATHE. im just a pile of anxiety this season idk what to do im like frozen because of how scared i am... maybe it'll be all fine

Well, that was a close one. I struggled with that comp all day and I feel like absolute shit that I only got our team that 1 point. To me, it's inexcusable not to have be able to help my tribe as I wanted to contribute and make sure I made my worth known. So now I'm just this paranoid mess that I would have been in trouble had we gone to tribal. It's been hard to talk to some of these people or for most of those who I do talk to, I just don't really know where there head is at. I'm not sure if this is just a really guarded tribe, or if I really should be concerned. So I don't know what to do just yet. And that's not a feeling I like when playing TS.

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty sad that Bodhi left the game like he was so active pre-season so I was expecting him to do his best to go super far and maybe he did? I don’t know, but I did want a chance to actually get to play with him in TS but we keep passing each other by! I hope he is doing good despite how he might feel being the first boot yknow but yeah <3 

The way I absolutely flopped with the idol system stuff is all types of funny and sad at the same time like I REALLY thought I did something only for it to be part of the challenge… That being said, Amir did tell me that he has a theory the idol system might be based on numbers which is interesting! I am super thankful he decided to tell me and we went on this long talk about how we are each other’s #1s which is super cute! I really do trust Amir and I do want to go far with him because he’s awesome but that being said, my #1 is me like I promised myself that I’d be selfish this time around just because being the selfless person I am hasn’t gotten me a win but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We did go over a lot of stuff in terms of tribe dynamics and we both kinda agreed that AJ would be the first boot from the time if we went to tribal, we like our alliance with Kendall/Connor, we both like Adam and we both think Austin is sweet/genuine even if we don’t talk to him tons so yay for that too <3

I am SO trying to sell the fact that me and Kendall are a duo to Kendall which is funny to me idk hjfkds like she did approach me super early on about aligning but I do have the tiniest feeling she did that to mostly everyone but I’m trying to pin us with each other to her so she trusts me more, especially since I do feel as though she is the best connected on the tribe. I even called us Crystal Cox (me bc blazing speed and challenge flop ofc) and Ken(dell) ghfjdksl, I’m doing the most but yeah, I just want Kendall to see me as her #1 in the game on the off chance anything happens yknow?

Austin thinks I’m his #1 which is really sweet? I do like Austin even if it is hard to talk to him sometimes but hey, that happens. He told me that he’s really glad I’m on this tribe (which I have heard from basically everyone especially Adam and Amir which makes me feel cute omg) and that we might need to get a group going soon. I was like…. Tea but I also don’t know how quickly I want to get an alliance including Austin going just because it’s like… do I reveal that Austin and I are close-ish and be seen as a social threat? That just ain’t cute sis! But yeah, Austin told me he also really likes Kendall and Amir and that’s awesome that the two people I feel the closest to are ALSO doing THAT but at the same time, I want to be the one doing THAT the most because I’m greedy (by Ariana Grande) so it’s something to keep in mind! 

The way I absolutely flopped at that puzzle… this is why I’m a Beauty cause a sis ain’t smart to complete a puzzle and I’m not brawn-y enough to do well in a challenge hgjfdk BUT that being said, Hagthor beat the thots and apiss and I couldn’t be any happier! I do wish Brawn lost over Brain but yknow, you can’t have everything go your way (‘: it’s funny how I slayed the last challenge and flopped this one tho like a bitch really lacks consistency huh ghfjndmks

Ugh fineeeee since I've been called out... by myself. I guess I'll do the bare minimum. So we won immunity!!!! Wooo!!!!!! Low-key though through out the entire process of making the flag, I just kept thinking darn I wish we voted out someone last tribal because drawing 7 people is annoying... watch me get voted out next tribal council lol. That would be quality foreshadowing. Today I have two goals. 1. Figure out what the method of entering the tomb. I intend on getting in contact with Augusto or Connor for that one. Augusto because he is low-key my number one. Connor because I feel if anyone can solve it he probably could. 2. Set up group chat with me, Augusto, and Austin. So Austin can feel a false sense of reassurance and Augusto and I have options. Write more later maybe.

Honestly im feeling kind of trepidatious going forward which is a little wierd, i just dont feel like ive gotten my footing yet in this game. I think like, im in a good spot to be fine on this tribe because of my social game and how I contribute in challenges, but I dont know if I feel good about anything longterm just yet. What really is bothering me is the tomb. Its gonna be round 3 tonight and I haven't made any more progress on getting in than I have night one. I feel like I have a lot of pieces to this puzzle but nothing is fitting together and its bothering me. I'm also a little upset that if we lose, I could see Liam being the target and I can't see my self risking my position to save him if he cant save himself. He has my name on his wiki page its an obvious association to me, and while I think hed be loyal to me, I'm just wondering honestly if him as an ally is worth the target it may bring. Im cautiously moving through the beginning of this game with a lot of unnease and hopefully I find some steady ground soon.

I am annoyed that we are yet again at tribal. I played so fucking hard at winter bells but of course someone on another tribe got like 238593277 billion which threw us back into tribal... So annoying truthfully. But it's alright, I should be able to make it out alive. I want Devon to go home. But I also don't want to let my guard down. This vote is important for a few reasons. The first reason is that our tribe is very close, so I am nervous that lines are going to be drawn in the sand. The second is that, after this vote, we will be down to five, making 3 the majority. We have an alliance of 4, and lord knows that when you are down to 5, whoever feels like 3 and 4 of the alliance are most likely going to try and rope in the 5th person to get rid of each other. So my plan is to make Isaac and Scott BOTH feel as though they are my number 1s so that they actually stick to our alliance of 4 thinking that I will be keeping them both if we lose again. This is the only way that i can see it working, but idk. I feel bad if Devon ends up going because he's a nice guy, but we have to make choices about strengthening our team, and then I have to make a choice about strengthening my place in the game. Hopefully this doesn't come to bite me in the ass.

Things have been going pretty well for my tribe! We won the first immunity challenge and that really seemed to boost tribe morale. Granted, these past couple of days I've been quiet since I'm trying to boost grades that are literally 0s into something manageable before I graduate hehe. I've tried to keep up with people through small conversations, which seems to work better for me at the moment until I get myself together. Adam wants to create an alliance with Augusto and Amir, which I'm totally for. I understand, though, that he doesn't wanna do it immediately since there's really no urgency to? We didn't go to tribal, so why did it matter! That excuse aside, I do hope that us holding our breath to say something doesn't bite us in the ass because these are people I want to work with! I wanna get something going with Kendall as well hopefully, since I adore her! Earlier, I stated that Adam and I (Adam, really) found our way into the tomb and both flopped in the questions. Adam took another stab at it and found out we've been bamboozled! Someone beat us to the punch and has whatever contents were inside the tomb. I'm assuming it was an idol, but who knows what else is in there! It kinda made me lose motivation to keep searching inside but when in Rome? I'll probably end up trying again despite knowing the end result just because I wanna prove I can be a smart cookie as well. I also didn't gloss over this but I'll mention it really quickly, but I'm sad Bodhi went! He was one of the few people I was familiar with on the other tribes so it's unfortunate we aren't going to be able to connect with each other this game. A king has fallen. In lighter and more recents events, my tribe crushed the second immunity challenge. Kendall stunned with her artistry and I'm still gushing over how cute everyone's character was. I kinda like decimated Winterbells, but I've always been good at the game, and Amir did really well in the scavenger hunt. Augusto and Austin did really well in the puzzle also, despite their lack of confidence in offering a strong performance. We appear to be THEE tribe to beat honestly and I'm loving that. I love our tribe! I LOVE OUR TRIBE! It really would be a tragedy if we aren't able to keep up this win streak we're manifesting. 

Sorry for not writing this sooner! Been having a bad depressive episode for the last couple days and it makes me unmotivated to write c': I feel like a flop so far in this game, not because I submit shit scores, but because I find it exhausting to connect with some of these people. They're all very nice in their own special ways, but interacting w some is like pulling teeth, and I guarantee they feel the same about me, which I would expect. That being said, I hope we keep winning, cause I don't have the energy to go to tribal right now.

Heading into a second tribal council, there is becoming less and less room to hide. I am struggling to hold my own against the other tribes when it comes to competitions, but thank goodness it's a numbers game. If everything goes accordingly, I am taking a backseat this vote and allowing a 4-2 vote out when it comes to Trace. I appreciated Duncan coming to me with the alliance chat information with him/Scott/Trace/Isaac, but didn't like how Autumn needed to tell me first. Shows that I really can't trust Scott/Duncan after a swap comes up. In regards to Scott, he outright didn't say anything. I like him and all, but it was a slimy move to say the least. He only said something because he HAD to vote out someone in one of his two alliances. This group will be dumb as hell if they let me swap. I'll flip on them as soon as possible and invite anyone into my alliance. The tribe swap is where I made my 'Slithers' game infamous last time, so I'm hoping for a similar output. Don't forget: I swapped with the minority last time in Guyana (shout out to Jess), so I'm not worried about the numbers and how its split. ALL I NEED IS A SWAP OR TWIST. GET ME OUT OF HERE. 

Thank God we won that based on the tiebreaker, but yikes I didn't think my flag would've tanked so hard. Guess I've gotta get better at perfecting my craft huh, but at least we're safe. I feel nervous on this tribe to be honest, because I think I'm the second to bottom on the totem pole after the other Liam, so it isn't reassuring that if we lose twice I'll either be gone, or I could even be gone at our first tribal if he's got a solid alliance going...the only alliance I have right now is with Jordan and I don't really know where I sit with everyone else, but I'm afraid of overplaying... ugh so annoying! I think I just need to force a couple of game related conversations with people to build up some trust, just hope it wouldn't paint a target on my back for trying I guess...

oh gorl, some of these people on my tribe really think im just the clown of the tribe and cant put two and two together, well guess what, IM NOT. So Amir messages me, which nothing out of the ordinary there, ive been talking to him every day so far for the most part like i said we're a little familiar with each other from our pasts, but i was VERY surprised today at what had happened... what had happened was....he starts talking the smallest bit of game with me, basically he just said, "is it me or is everyone really quiet here?" and so i just agreed with him and i said yeah i dont think people are talking game yet which is a little weird, and then i threw the TINEST tea crumpet out there and i said "yeah ive talked to some people so easily like you, but then there's others who.....i cant say the same for" and i was absolutely hinting at connor/kendall just because i havent had the longest convos with them, which no biggie, but THEN about 20 minutes later i get a message from CONNOR of all people saying "hey adam!" ..... obviously im glad to talk to him and im all for getting to know everyone, but my instincts immediately went off and told me it's a little sus....how not even a few minutes ago i was saying how some people never talk to me and then out of no where the one person i was mainly talking about messages me?? Coincidences don't exist in survivor. Now I really have no choice but to think that amir in someway mentioned to connor that i said theres some people i havent talked to at all and that he probably needed to work on that.. which is true, but cmon. i know the tribe brain cell is missing but at least put a little thought into this and message me later tonight or not right after i say it?? I'm not sure if they have any type of past connection and while I definitely do wanna keep building my relationship with Amir, this will definitely make me question him a little bit at least until i see how some votes fall when we eventually go to tribal. Amir also told me he's had the most convos with Augusto, which is funny because thats exactly how both me and aj feel about augusto, which tells me augusto is really playing the game rn, and while thats someone i want to work with, it's also someone i need to be extremely careful with if we're still playing together down the road. plot twist: connor messaging me has absolutely nothing to do with amir and i just made this whole conspiracy for nothing but idk.... it's a conspiracy IM interested in.

***last add on because i forgot to say how the hell im gonna HANDLE this amir/connor situation... im keeping my eyes on it incase theyre in kahoots and also if they think im that dumb then clearly they havent watched me play before, which is great for me but bad for them, you cant trick a trickster try all you want, There's nothing I love more than being underestimated in survivor because it kinda makes it a little easier to play and gives me more options, so sure ill keep up my fake smiles and act like we're all fine and dandy, ill play dumb and wont even act like im onto them but i absolutely am and ill be ready to make my move the second it seems right 

Ugh I feel so DIRTY. I feel so GROSS. Poor Devon, truly. I spoke with Autumn and told her about Devon, and she was in without a fight and told me that it should be 5-1. And then Devon came to me and was like... we all good for the vote tonight? And I'm like ................yes? Lol. I'm good, you're probably not. ugh, this is the part of this game that I hate. I want to never lose immunity ever again, let someone else break someone else's heart!

Something about Kendall is so chaotic and terrifying and I can’t put a finger on why.her aligning was her talking to me for the first time in a day saying “let’s align” and created an alliance chat without even asking who else should be in it which leads me to believe her Augusto and Connor already have a trio and I was the 4th. Are all these focking people playing me?? Like i still cant tell if this is a real alliance but i want to believe it is and not a bluff to vote me out. But also like why even do that, the only person on this cast that I trust and have played with, bodhi, has just been voted out. I’m a free agent and I can help that alliance make it far in the game, but they also have lots of relationships on other tribes so like I might not even be that valuable to them. I mentioned to Augusto about the numbers on the blog, hoping to create more trust because I really really love him and want to trust him but I’m still just so damn unsure. if we lose this immunity and I get one bad signal from any of those 3, if they slip up even once, I won’t hesitate to align and gather the minority. But if they are playing me properly, then kudos to them! 

I am just happy i have the idol i am going to put it in my ass. 

me when the brains tribe only has 5 members left http://prntscr.com/s8y76g

You know what? https://66.media.tumblr.com/b7b4accba586ad321141b6ba80d69044/tumblr_omule3fwZC1w1swfno1_250.gifv I'm mad but I'm not tight because that same alliance that Duncan and I orchestrated is the same alliance that will get us through. So do I enjoy going to tribal? No. And do I enjoy knowing that Trace created an alliance w/ everyone except me and Devon? No. But the Dads will prevail and I trust Scott and the gang. I mean Ducnan is family so as long as we don't go it's fine. But Devon is my baby so absolutely gotta kill for him. That's what keep em close hahaha But no the Trace vote is a dream come true that I only crossed my mind once and STILL got manifested. Like Duncan suggested it and I said you got it because Trace will be the FIRST to rally all the white boys against me in a swap. Cute or not, Trace will kill me I'm convinced. Like something in my spirit told me not to trust Trace and low and behold: Duncan reveals that alliance to me on Day 3. So confirmed, Trace is leaving so that I don't fall to the bottom of the tribe. But it's all good- Isaac listens to Fleetwood Mac and watches Schitt's Creek so he's a good guy. And Scott is literally a cinammon roll who's too busy to snitch or flip. I don't have time to discuss how much I love Duncan or Devon so we're tabling that. Anyway If y'all need me I'll be doing this 4 part immunity challenge that determines whether I make Final 3 in the other org I'm in so try not to need me lmao

okay so... we aren't going to tribal but its still kinda messy on brawn beach. i kinda have felt this energy for a while, but i don't think jake and jordan have enough trust between the two of them for us to be a continual three person alliance. jake is a very reactive, gut-impulse kind of player which is honestly to his benefit since he is super perceptive. however that also means he is quick to be anxious about stuff in the game, which is the same as me and that is why we click. BUT. he thinks something is up with dan/jordan and honestly i see that and feel it. jordan keeps hinting at dan being the one to loop in and i think that does say something about them having some sort of game dynamic. however, jordan is maybe downplaying that relationship which is scary KLAF tbh i still like jordan and wanna work with him, but i do 100% have to keep tabs on him, his social connections could definitely become a problem if he has other priorities over me! so i think i just have to make sure im a continuing priority for him, so i have to find some sort of information to bring to him (maybe when dan proposes the alliance of me/jordan/jake/dan to me ill run to jordan and be like hey did dan suggest this to you how do you feel) to solidify that sort of trust? idk... i want my j-men to stick together and they ARENT. maybe i need to solidify stuff with TJ specifically more, he gives good ally vibes? but ya... its a mess tm

[isaacathom]

i like the idea of a setting where everyone has magic, but no reason to tap into it. it just. never crosses their mind. dormant within them, formless and malleable, but only if you know what to do. and that in that setting, there are those who do have the tools to shape it, coming from two distinct source, lunar and solar. and that by taking that power into themselves, it colours that neutral formless mass, and gives it shape, and lets you use it so much more naturally, almost effortlessly.

and essentially what it means is that those who use magic are split into two factions that can only grow by concerted effort, because each new member has to be granted power, they cant gain it without the others. when the factions fight, if they become imbalanced, eventually the losers just have to escape, because if they dont, itll be years and years before more people with their power come back, when the method of recovering that power is relearnt. etc.

the main point of the system is that its broadly assumed you can only be attuned to one or the other, but GUESS WHAT, you can do both. it just never happens because the way of granting solar/lunar power to someone is pretty specific and veeeery unlikely to happen by accident, especially when the two groups have a lot of animosity for ~reasons~

this all ties into that weird fighter story thing from yesterday where basically when the solar leader saved J’s life, they did it in such a way that they ended up giving J solar magic. They didn’t know thats what that would do, because their focus in the moment was making sure J didn’t die before her allies showed up (to alleviate the leaders guilt - if J died AFTER her allies arrived, it wasn’t their fault, yknow). this wouldnt even be something J would realise until a little after the incident, where someone asks her to describe what happened and, after failing to describe the thing the enemy did to stop her fucking dying (cause boy thatd be useful to know about) she just. kinda. makes a replica? on her own? and scares the fucking shit out of whoever shes demonstrating it to because ??? why is that light yellow? and not white/blue??? but there’d be a gap because noone actually realises the enemy DID anything until J mentions that she was pretty sure they had stolen her dagger, and was confused about why she still had it? leading people to realise that something must have happened in between j being stabbed and them arriving that they didn’t know about, hence, demonstration.

i think its kinda neat. also kinda tropey, but like, I can do what i want. especially if the functionality of the little sun orbs (to prolong life or smth, fuck dude) is demonstrated early on, as well as the mechanism for how magic is acquired, meaning that making the connection wouldnt be super complex. like youd be able to compare the lil sun orb to the way J gets brought into the fold and go ‘oh that makes sense, those are related phenomena’. that the magic would absorb into the skin rather than sit on top of it like lightning. cause attacks would hit ou physically, they’d summon physical elements while the core magic orb dissipates in the air, like a water balloon, hitting the skin and cracking apart. but you can manipulate it in such a way that it DOESNT break, instead it melts and absorbs into you.

and you can do a lot with that. the basic idea, the one that both sides understand, is that twisting their magic to absorb rather than repel with grant that magic to a neutral party. its mild and just gives a slight tingle, the effect is almost like just putting a drop of food colouring into a glass of water! but what the solar folks figured out was how to use that magic as energy. little orbs of pure magic that they gently let you take, which puts a fire in your belly and keeps you going. its not even really healing magic, its adrenaline, its a stopgap. it didnt really heal any of J’s injuries, there are other things for that, but it stopped J bleeding out on a roof top with noone to know what had happened. which was all it really needed to do! because what the enemy wanted to do was wipe their hands clean of the responsibilty. if J died, it wasnt their fault, not quite. I mean it was obviously their fault, it was their dagger dug hilt deep into her chest, but the actual death wouldnt be theirs, it would be the fault of J’s allies for failing her. and they didn’t. healing magic is out there, but this wasnt healing. the enemy didnt want to save J’s life, they wanted to give someone else the opportunity to do it, to give them that choice.

does that make any fucking sense i took a break half way through to finish my lit book and came back a fucking metaphorical mess

[comicteaparty]

September 28th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on September 28th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Radio Silence by Vanessa Stefaniuk.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Radio Silence by Vanessa Stefaniuk~! (http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

wishjacked

YAYYYY, the Radio Silence chat!! Full disclosure I didn't get the chance to read it this week, so I'm a little rusty on the early chapters, but it's been one of my favorites for a good while and I'm so excited to talk about it!!!

This comic has such a good sense of pacing-- it feels a little weird to say ALL the scenes are my favorite, but honestly the entire comic is fantastic scene after fantastic scene, so it's really hard to choose!!

RebelVampire

im glad you enjoy it. i personally find the pacing harder to get into. not that i think its bad or anything persay, cause its a really well-made comic. i find it really borderlines between being paced as if its a story and paced if its a documentary. so for me its a bit hard at times cause i cant decide what its trying to be. but thats one of the few critical things id have to say about it

MathTans

Hellooooo. Favourite scene is tricky, but I'm going to go with the one where Wren insists she's staying in the same room with the band, rather than going with Liz. Feels like it shows the group dynamic, while also hinting at Wren having some sort of relationship (even abandonment?) issues.

wishjacked

That makes sense!! Especially with the video narration of the prologue, I agree that the narrative framing does feel a liiiiil disjointed at times.

MathTans

One thing I'll say I'm impressed with is how, while some characters do seem to be a bit more central, there's time devoted to all of the band members. That's a balancing act that I don't think I'd be able to pull off.

wishjacked

And hello, MathTans!! That's a good favorite scene, I wouldn't have thought of that

RebelVampire

@math ah yeah that was a nice scene. it kind of resonated with me a bit cause ive been in wren's position of having mostly male friends. and sometimes you just want to hang with the bros and forget about the teensy tiny detail youre female

MathTans

I thought the prologue was clever, but I can see where you're coming from. Like, Shy was having issues dealing with graduating and the band... and then there's a bit of a time skip and they're celebrating the fact that he's finished. Which is fine, guess I just thought more might happen with that. I'm not sure what more, but it felt bigger somehow.

My mind works different sometimes. ^.^ That's cool, Rebel, seeing it from that perspective.

RebelVampire

yeah i do like how the prologue was. it may give me mixed feelings on how the story is paced and framed, but i thought it was an ingenius way to throw out exposition stuff about the band's history without it seeming weird(edited)

wishjacked

I really really love "how the team met" prologues so honestly whatever the narrative dissonance it might cause it is so worth it to me as a reader. I love all its little backstory hints, and I think it gives a lovely introduction to each of the characters!!

MathTans

Starting with Brent's hair being cut too is kind of clever, when they flash back his hair is longer again so you can tell when that's a thing. ^.^

wishjacked

And YEAH, REBEL, SAME HERE. if all my bros are hanging out I want to be included too!!!!!!!!

RebelVampire

one thing i also like about the prologue is you can get some quick sense of all the characters. for a lot of comics that start with a sizeable cast like that, you either usually gotta take a long time for intros or you get bombarded and have to work at it to keep all the characters straight. but i never really felt overwhelmed in this comic. like the prologue was just long enough for me to get a sense of each character and their role without it feeling it dragged. so when it starts jumping into the rest of the story, i felt like i had a good grasp on at least why each person was there. so even if i didnt remember a name at first, i could be like "oh yeah thats the bassist, and thats the etc."

MathTans

That's true. Seeing them in the order they appeared helped with that also, clever that Shy (the last one) was used as narrator as well. Something else that I found interesting... I don't really have a favourite. Like, with a band there's the tendency to say "that's my favourite member" but for me they all have their points, going both ways.

wishjacked

Yes, I agree!! I think it also really helps that the character designs and artist's style make it easy to visually differentiate between folks

MathTans

I probably relate closest to Shy, but then there's the piercings, and no. I get Wren's tendency to have difficulty letting go of the past, but she's also high energy, which is not me. Matt's cool in standing up for people and looking out for the group dynamic, but he's also doing that in a leadership role, and so forth. It's interesting. No real fave. All just well rounded.

RebelVampire

yeah i do like that, that every person in the comic is visually very distinct. like even all the guys have different hair styles which is a boon to me cause when it comes to male characters i tend to find its easy to make the hairstyles too similar and thus all the guys blend.

MathTans

Matt's beard took a few strips for me to get used to.

RebelVampire

i really like the contrast between shy being, well, shy yet being bold enough to get non standard piercings. like i really like this comic went out of its way to portray an introvert as something other than a dorky, shutin

MathTans

Good point, nice that they're not just trotting out stereotypes.

Wren seems bisexual. That's an interesting angle too.

It was done really clever, kind of in the background of the prologue with her and that female member of the Sirens. Then we have the more "traditional" m-f relationship being teased at, but that history was still there, able to come forwards without being out of left field.(edited)

In my opinion anyway.

RebelVampire

yeah. in the case of wren in particular i like how smartly her past is incorporated with how her character is portrayed. so even though she is who she is, theres small details like the insomnia that you can really tell are caused by stuff that happened in the past and shaped who she is today

QUESTION 2. While a lot of the focus is given to Shy, the other characters aren’t without their mysteries or pasts. Wren has hints of a life filled with abuse, Matt has a mysterious video call with someone, etc. Which character’s past are you most interested in uncovering? Do you think it’ll be uncovered or will it forever be a secret? Do you have theories on their pasts or how they’ll affect the story later on?

MathTans

I think Wren's is going to come out, probably sooner rather than later, what with her visualizing Sirens Girl (I suck at names) and it morphing into someone from her past (which was a neat effect). I'm of two minds about that, I'm interested, but I wonder how much it will change her character dynamic with the others for them to know about it, and I kind of like the dynamic how it is. I think they'll do a good job with it though.

RebelVampire

i do think wren's past is gonna come out to at least shy. idk if i think itll be soon though. i think shell continue to avoid it for a while longer.

MathTans

I think some of the Brent and Willow past stuff has been referenced, but might come more to the forefront later, now that she's around them more. Colbie seems to have family issues, including his mother passing, though I'll admit I'm less interested there - in part because I find myself shaking my head sometimes at his character (dude, pay attention to time, and it's not all about Wren-dating). Matt somehow makes things interesting no matter what he's doing.

Yeah, in particular because Shy's kind of oblivious. "Wren's crying? Oh, here, I just gotta take this call."

So I shake my head at more than Colbie. Like, don't get me wrong, it's great and makes them human, and it's probably good that it gets me invested. I've even shaken my head at Wren (the piercing). Just, oy, priorities Shy.

wishjacked

Ahaha, I was actually going to say I was most interested in Colbie!!

RebelVampire

the only time i felt myself truly shaking my head is when brent pulled the "im disappoint in you" thing with shy. cause i just felt for someone so close to shy, he still doesnt quite get what an introvert means when they talk about a relationship being draining.

MathTans

To each our own. I can see Colbie being set up for later plot, with the money chats too.

wishjacked

I felt like both Brent and Shy were understanding that conversation completely differently.

RebelVampire

yeah i have to say colbie is one of the characters im a bit more intrigued by cause hes the one who has the least past hints. like brent has willow, wren has these abusive things, shy has the sammy stuff. but colbie (and matt too to a degree), have slight hints but then its just left sitting as plot threads to focus on shy and/or wren

wishjacked

Yeah! I just like Colbie to be fair, he's a goof

MathTans

I can see that, Rebel. At the same time, it needs to be someone close to Shy who pushes him. But I wasn't really sure about Brent's shipping. (I'm still not. I think Colbie might have a thing for Wren, and the only reason he's not putting it out there is because of how they're in the band together. Which might be a problem if Wren and Shy do get together.)

Colbie needs to be more self aware, in my opinion. Whereas Shy's the reverse, he doesn't get other people too well.

RebelVampire

yeah the wren/shy shipping thing im not sure where its going. like wren did get sort of jealous about sammy, but why? does she like shy? does she just want shy to only be close to her as a friend cause she needs that? or is this gonna develop into some sort of toxic, co-dependent thing because of wren's past abuse where she clings to shy cause she feels hes safe

so many ways it could go

yeah i agree colbie's character flaw is hes not really that aware.

which i really liked that scene where him and matt were talking about money

and it just didnt click with colbie that ppl would feel indebted to him despite him saying "nah bro its cool"

MathTans

I'm not sure if it was jealousy? Like, Shy showed her a picture and said Sammy was somewhere that Wren knew she wasn't, so was it all, 'Is Shy playing me? Is Sammy playing Shy? Why am I even doing this to myself?' Like, I don't think she's in a good place where relationships are (boundaries need to be clear, though I don't think she's the type) but yeah, could go a few ways.

Truth. Money, much like politics, is the way to start arguments without trying.

RebelVampire

yeah. which in this case its sad cause its not even like colbie wants to be vindictive about it. just wants them to have some cool band stuff.

tbh of all the characters i want to know wtf is going on is matt

cause of that video call

cause he clearly has something secret

and i feel like its one thats gonna tear the band apart

like whoops surprise hes dying or something

MathTans

I thought maybe that was just another call to his relative in the US? Could be I'm misremembering.

RebelVampire

it could be. i was unsure what their relationship was

but either where there are secrets to be had cause she did ask him if hed said anything or something like that

MathTans

Gotcha. Guess I wasn't focussed closely on it. I mean, I have a suspicion that there will be some sort of falling out, after that which might be when Matt brings up some secret - though maybe that will help to pull them together?(edited)

RebelVampire

okay description says she's matt's cousin and apparently its a crossover with another comic of some sort?

http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/comic/104

ah yeah its the page after that

where she asks if matt told them and hes like "you crazy of course i ahvent"

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. The comic puts a lot of emphasis on navigating relationships. Given that the main characters are in a band together, this puts extra pressure on them to have harmonious relationships while practically living on top of each other. Do you think the group will be able to maintain cordial relationships and succeed as a band? Will the band’s success affect their relationships positively or negatively? Are there other ways you think their work as a band will be affected by their relationships or changes in them?

MathTans

Riiiight. Now I follow.

RebelVampire

idk. i mean i could see the secret being nothing too. it was just the one mystery that gave me pause

MathTans

Heh, "harmonious" relationships. I see what you did there.

We all read different things into it, that's what makes it good!

I do feel like something's going to drive a wedge. Whether it's the characters' pasts, Shy-When-Colbie, or something external, I'm not sure, but something, and Matt will have his hands full as Brent is sad about it. But maybe they'll pull together after that?

RebelVampire

right now im considering that maybe ego gets to someone. cause even tho they all seem down to earth to a degree, a lot of bands break up cause someone gets too big of a head once their fame starts taking off.

or something could happen

like say for instance someone is like "we wanna sign matt for a record deal but just matt"

and matt is like no but the others are like no matt you should do it, its a great opportunity

cue all dem tensions

MathTans

Yeah, that's possible, if a bit cliche. Pretty sure Matt wouldn't go for it though.

Unless he's got that terminal disease or something. ^.^

Speaking of the band though - OMG. Actual written music in the comic during concerts? Audio tracks to listen to on the side? Thematic music as well? Daaaamn, that can't be easy. (Can it?) Like, whoa, talk about extra workload.

RebelVampire

nah i was honestly just mentally comparing radio silence to nana which is also about a band and as much as i love nana, it does not portray written music that well. even in the anime they kind of cheat it which is sad.

this comic went all out with the music

http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/cast

i appreciate that the cast page even has little playlists for each character

MathTans

Gotcha. Yeah, I'm not as well read in terms of other things out there. ^.^ But I do have a music minor so I have a sense of things. Also, yeah, noticed that on the cast page. Lots of extra thought there that I wouldn't have even considered. Much kudos.

I wonder if the characters came first, inspiring the writing of music, or if it was the other way around. Or some combination.

RebelVampire

id assume some combination.

hard to say tho

MathTans

Probable.

Like, there was even a guitar riff recording at one point.

RebelVampire

it really depends on how the development for the story played about. but usually its a symbiotic thing. so theyll usually tangle up where say the characters coming first influences the music which influences the characters which influences the music and so on

MathTans

Well, points for authenticity or whatnot.

Also, mouse rollovers. These things take time to think of, I know. ^.^

RebelVampire

yeah. it a really detailed comic. although i think the music aspects i think its good they took the time for that.

since thats pretty integral to the story

that the band part of it feels legit

MathTans

yis. Adds credibility too, towards knowing the genre you're writing in.

I wonder if anyone doing the writing/drawing were in a band, or know someone who is?

RebelVampire

ah according to the about page a family member composes the music for the comic

so they know someone who at least knows about music

MathTans

I think I rememer reading in the below-comic remarks that it was original music. Impressive.

Also, the languages! (I keep tangenting here, but...) I don't know from German or Scottish but it's cool that the characters speak it, and that it's translated in the below-comic remarks.

RebelVampire

yeah i like that they kept the theme of diff languages considering theyre in europe and closer to where ppl speak those languages

i took german in college so shy was kind of nostalgic to a degree when he spoke it

MathTans

More of that authenticity angle.

RebelVampire

i have to say i really liked that touch that the barista or w/e at the counter replied to shy in english instead of german. cause this is actually a discerning cultural phenomenon in germany atm where english is becoming super widely used in business instead of german

MathTans

Really? I didn't know that. I thought maybe the counter person was just used to speaking to tourists or something. Neat.

(I was in Germany years ago for a relative's wedding. I let my wife do all the talking and just smiled hopefully.)

RebelVampire

it might have just been a tourist thing. i cant say for sure the comic knew this culture thing. but even if it was unintentional i thought it was a nice touch. not to say for sure i know how widespread it is either. i just know from taking german that its a concern thats going on.

which to be fair its easy to mix the languages cause german and english both have the same germanic roots

MathTans

That's fair. Also, truth.

Maybe if they get Sammy to say something to show she's not German that'll cause her house of cards to fall.

RebelVampire

QUESTIONS 4. In the most recent events of the comic, Shy is rekindling a relationship with an old friend named Sammy. However, the rest of the band is clearly suspicious of Sammy’s intentions, which the comic shows is a well-founded suspicion. What do you think Sammy’s end game is by getting close to the band? Do you think Shy will eventually see the light? Or, is this going to be an issue that causes a rift in the band for a while?

MathTans

makes marks on his segue sheet

Seems like she wants to get close to Matt, for some reason, since he's the leader. Maybe she hopes to take his money or get free meals? Real tough to say. She doesn't seem the brightest bulb, but she can think on her feet, which makes her dangerous.(edited)

I think Shy will be forced to see the light, meaning confronting the fact that his childhood actually sucked because the one person he thought he could count on was horrible, and he'll withdraw, and that's what will force Wren's childhood issues into the light, and they might either bond over it, or it'll be a huge wrench between them. Possibly Brent gets them to heal each other.

RebelVampire

it could be sammy just thinks matt is hot and wants to date him. is just a matt fangirl in disguise. she definitely isnt the brightest bulb cause i think to anyone with eyes its clear what shes up to by flirting with matt. unless youre shy. then its just a friend being a friend

personally i dont think wren will be able to do much for shy cause i just dont think shes emotionally fit at the moment to handle it. but i dont think shy is gonna be that crushed and if anything, i think the rest of the band will remind him that theyre his friends now

his really cool friends

wishjacked

Ahaha, sorry, had to head out for a bit.

MathTans

I suppose that's possible, yes. And yeah, Wren wouldn't really make a good psychologist, I was thinking more in terms of levels. Like, it's bad for Shy, but bad in a different way (or worse?) for her.

Yay for friends. ^.^ wb, wj.

wishjacked

Sammy has been a very strange addition the the story, her intensions are still so... Vague?? Like it seems like she's lying about a lot of things that aren't necessary for any kind of plot... why would it matter that she lives in Germany, for example? Why would she need to specify that false detail? It's just... what? Sammy, whY?????????

MathTans

Because Sammy wants to be someone she's not.

Heh, maybe she's been playing some guitar? And wants to make music with Matt?

RebelVampire

yeah i have to admit if shes just trying to get close to the band, theres no reason to lie about being in germany

LOL omg

this is some elaborate plot so she can give them her demo tape XD

/crack theory

MathTans

Maybe not so crazy. She read up on all the members.

wishjacked

And I feel really bad for when Shy inevitably uncovers the truth about her, but it's a relief to me that the majority of the rest of the team easily sees through her act. I think that'll make it much easier for them to all bounce back-- you can already tell that a lot of the band is already protecting anyone from being more hurt by her than necessary.

I love that crack theory and I accept it

MathTans

Yeah, that's true. Matt definitely stands up for the others, he's good people. Awkward that it's happening the same time as Wren's issues.

RebelVampire

tbh tho i think that trait of matt's will create conflict. if not now, then later. cause while its nice he wants to protect his friends, he may be a bit overly aggressive about it. which for wren is okay, but for someone like shy i think thats gonna come off in a bad way

MathTans

I can see that.

Also, quick aside about Liz? What was the deal with her and that woman with the Sirens?

She may have things going on too.

RebelVampire

oh man, that moment really bugged me. wanted to slap that woman (i think here name was pandora?) so hard. cause the business person in me was like "this is so unprofessional what are you doing @_@"

yeah its pandora

MathTans

Yeah, like wtf. I wasn't sure, was she implying she and Liz were an item? Or was she being flirty just to prove a point somehow.

Like, to get even more under Liz's nerves.

RebelVampire

i got the feeling they were an item but just guessing. they clearly had a past relationship of sorts

wishjacked

I read it as a power play-- Liz seemed disgusted by Pandora, and Pandora seemed to both know and relish the effect she was having on her.

MathTans

Hm. I also wonder a bit about having Wren be bisexual and Liz be either lesbian or bisexual too. Though I suppose there's Willow. Maybe I'm just worried because there's lots of guys in the cast who seem straight.

Could've been a power thing too.

wishjacked

oh, I do know that the author has said Liz is aro/ace.

MathTans

Poor Liz though. Has to deal with all the bookings and venues, and then the interpersonal things on top of that.

RebelVampire

maybe they were business rivals in the past

MathTans

OH! Gotcha. That's interesting then, and different from Wren (I gather). Still wonder about it being the females who go against the norm, but aro is good for representation that you don't see a lot of.

Maybe. There's that past coming up again.

Also, I hate myself for saying "the norm". Like, I'm too into mainstream or something. Blah. Must be tired.

The tourism stuff coming up could be interesting. I won't know if Sammy's lying, I know so little about the area. ^_^

RebelVampire

to be honest i dont know how sammy being a bad tourist guide proves much XD if someone said "hey rebel, show me the landmarks around town" id be like "there are landmarks here?"

MathTans

Maybe she does too good a job, that's how they know. No person who lives here knows about that stuff.

Matt's cunning though, I like that. Also, his fondness for symmetry.

RebelVampire

theyre like "wow its like you read wikipedia"

MathTans

(Shy's asymmetry could bother me too. ^.^ )

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Vanessa Stefaniuk, as well, for volunteering Radio Silence for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Vanessa Stefaniuk’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Galebound by Respheal. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (October 5th) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: http://www.galebound.com/

[isaacathom]

hintero as a 75% chance of having bastards on account of just being, a Fuck, but what impact that would have a different matter. I don’t think any of his bastards are currently on the chart, or at least i hope not because that means he’s been fucking /other peoples wives/ which is definitely one way to punish your wife for infidelity, i guess. fuck other peoples wives instead. boy howdy right. plus some of the kids in the right age bracket end up marrying his legit kids and boooooyyyyyy fucking howdy id pay for that ntot o be what occurs. some are also absolutely 100% not Shonyul bastards - for instance Lord Taren Ishir is 100% Larions’ legitimate son, because Hintero would never go so far as to even consider fucking Larion and she would probably murder him before he could.

the kerinston kids are a different matter in that they COULD probably be shonyuls bastards, but one would Hope they aren’t. Particularly Yumi Kerinston, who married Daleon Emaldo. While that would explain the early death of their son Brimeon Emaldo, its kinda Fucked and im not down for it. Even if Yumi was basically the last like, ~eligible maiden~ for a perpetual bachelor dickhead like Daleon, if they were actually half siblings even Hintero wouldve gone ‘surely theres Someone else’ and Yumi wouldve gone ‘yea I’m sure theres someone else. what about one of my Zubris cousins?’ and we would have avoided it. Even if Yumi isn’t aware of the relationship she wouldve tried to dodge anyway (she DID try to dodge, for what its worth)

Glorion Kerinston is safe re: incest shenanigannery but also What would be the point of that. not to mention I don’t even thing Undara would be particularly interested in fucking Hintero on principle, unless she was deliberately trying to fuck over her own husband. and while thats possible considering she’s an Ilnon supporter instead of an Ishir-Kerinston supporter? I don’t think she would tbh. 

he probably didnt fuck his sister in law. probably.  actually yea no he didnt fuck his sister in law. thank god eh. cucking his cousin is also unlikely even IF Stelia is the right age to potential be one of his bastards. Her being one of his bastards would not really change anything (Stelia and Brandeon still aren’t related) but it WOULD be kinda fucked, so, im gonna say he didnt fuck his cousins wife. He definitely didn’t fuck his actual cousin Riala - Princes Zaloren and Treveon are definitely not his kids. Theres 0 chance Riala would cop to that.

point being its... mostly unlikely he had bastards with anyone on the chart, so noone on the chart is his bastard. god bless. there is arguably room in the Tellis chart (specifically than Hintero fucked Marchioness Hana of Tellis), which would actually make Grelan probably his own son, which is a Fuck of a Way to go about it honestly. that would be funny... like extremely hilarious. because even though Grelan is like, 9 years younger than Muna and is not a succession threat, he would be a Shonyul and boy would that fucking shatter the Shonyuls, right. itd be fucking hilarious. whether that is a realistic series of events is a different matter entirely. its in character for Hintero to do it, and it perhaps adds an interesting twist to the idea of the Shonyuls deliberately betraying Brimeon (ie that it was actually a miscommunication between Hintero and Muna, with Hintero being genuine and Muna being insincere in her support of Grelan). Whether Hana would go for it? eeeeeh? She’s not exactly a character so I don’t really know what the fuck her deal is. Maybe she’s down, maybe she isnt. By the time she would be clowning around with Hintero (like march 392 or so, since Grelan and Brandeon are actually born the same year) she already has one kid, Lady Idena. There’s no issue in the succession way, and even were something to happen to Idena, Hana being the title holder (presumptive, her dad didnt die for 23 years after that) would keep her bastard son in succession so long as she claimed him as legitimate. Issues only arise on Hintero’s side as to whether he claims Grelan as his legitimate son.

plus theres the very nice fact that Grelan wouldn’t look out of place if he was hintero’s bastard. The only reason it was obvious that Brandeon was a bastard was because his presumed father, Brasteon Dovaldun, was from a family with a very distinctive appearance, with their red eyes and hair descending from notable Suungkee ancestors (elves, yall). Hintero and Hana, as probably full humans, have no such strange distinctions and its not as though a hair colour difference would be noteworthy. Both have brown hair, so the worlds your oyster in there. eye colour might be more of a tell, as Hana and her husband Yola have fairly light coloured eyes and Hintero’s are quite dark, but its something that can be hand-waved. if the politics or genetics were ever discussed, they would not have posed an issue. it honestly just boils down to whether Hana was down to clown, and since Im the Bitch in control here, I say why the fuck not. I think its fun. I think it plays more into the Hintero vs Muna dynamic which evolves over the course of 425 and the Second Vosti War. its fucking Great, yall. yeehaw. i just think its Neat. it doesnt even need to become public knowledge - all it needs to do is inform public actions. which it would :)c

he would have other bastards tho. is Yola Tellis another of his bastards, or just Grelan? In the 9 year gap its possible Hana and Hintero sort of fell out and that Yola jr is genuinely Yola sr’s son. since Yola jr isn’t Hintero’s kid at all. His other bastards are spread out elsewhere and are likely less relevant overall due to the smaller status afforded by their parentage (aka as not being imperial or imperial adjacent, unless some of them are Zubris or Birtons, who are just as imperial adjacent as the Tellis family). I don’t have charts for those families tho and i dont Plan to Make any. We’re gonna be chucking the other bastards in some minor families for ease. Too lazy to do it any other way :P

so the tl;dr Hintero definitely has bastards outside of Brandeon Wardis (who isn’t really his bastard, rather his wifes, but counts as his because like, legal shit), notably Brimeon IV’s legal heir, Lord Grelan Tellis. This will impact some of the character motives heading into 425 and the Second Vosti War :3c

[isaacathom]

anyway to build off the at10dant thing. i do still like that (even if by most accounts noone says it at-ten, they just say a-ten). but i think mb something else would work better. easier, certainly. mostly because im not sure exactly how replacing ten with 10 in words makes sense for Lyndel’s character?? like, the fuck does she have to do with 10s, right? plus once being a pain to convert (1s? 1ce? hh). so, i had alternatives for her pre-Apostasy

Follower and Adherent are kinda neat. Follower implies a stronger connection to the Director than i think i like. I don’t think the Apostate really joined the Director because she wanted to, in contrast to the Lawmaker, who basically busted when the Director made offers. oh thats an image. oh i didnt want that. euugh. but yea. so, Adherent seems.... sliiiightly more in line with my interpretation of the Apostate’s loyalties. shes not completely loyal like the Lawmaker, she’s loyal to the point where it doesn’t completely contradict her values. which she DIDNT, until she ordered the deaths of dozens + of burgundies and bronze bloods because of the actions of the singular Fugitive in slaying the Lawmaker. it was a level of retribution that just didn’t click. it didn’t work. she just did paperwork, but this..... its getting out of hand. the almost wholesale deaths of the entirety of the Recreant’s army, despite the Desolate’s explanation that they were contracted and not willing, did not help matters.

also, yeaaaaaa, Lyndel’s ancestor definitely interacted with the Desolate. his plight as one of the few (if not the only) survivor of the Recreant’s illfated power grab absolutely tears at their heart. and then the deaths of all those bronze and burgundies just mmmmm nah thats it. not immediately - there is time. she bides her time. she waits for the best opportunity. she wants to take them both out, if she can. and she does! did she have help? maybe? its unclear. the whole thing is shrouded in mystery. noones even positive it was Her that did it - she was simply branded the villain for the purpose of obtaining justice. Not that this succeeded - she completely dropped off the map. maybe she met up with the recreant and fucked him up too. thats a fun thing to think about. like she comes across the Recreant utterly pitiful out in the wastes and goes ‘this is for starting this bullshit’ and just fucking curbstomps him. she could, too. even though shes a pencil pusher and the Recreant had aspirations of greatness and probably worked out, theyre only two castes apart, and she’s just more powerful. assuming he survived to meet her as the Apostate, he wouldnt stand a fucking chance. absolutely shit canned, lads. completely reamed.

ok. well.... i actually think, in terms of raw sound, Follower sounds better? i think ill actually go with that. it makes a clearer distinction between her two points, as Follower and Apostate.

ok. thats cool. now i actually really wanna fix the Fugitive? that sounds boring as fuck. she needs more oomph. she killed the Lawmaker and shit. she needs oomph. Assassin could work but thats sorta plain. theres also potential to utilise Serren’s quirk - rolling her rs. like Soldierr. Tor- Torrpedo? Torpedo means assassin? huh..... interesting. id probably prefer that if theres a rolled r, its in the middle or front, rather than the end. its an aesthetic thing. The Torrpedo is kinda hilarious, though. Invaderr? hmm. that has a little more truth to it, certainly, since the majority of their legacy is breaking into a law office and killing the Lawmaker. Invasion? yea. their being on the run was a far lesser part of their story, just a footnote in the Champion’s conquest. Also the Champion and the Director also will get names (like dualscar and shit) but thats later. god its complicated because i want it to be clear that she’s not like, a hero. people believe in her, but she’s not the Sufferer or even the Summoner. she’s a killer, just like the high bloods she despised. a hypocrite. oh fuck that might be the ticket hold on

hmm.... ok. Impostor is nice. issue is that her quirk would kick in, wouldnt it? since its generally demonstrated that the names uses the quirks (except for Expatri8 which uses the wrong quirk even though the x is RIGHT THERE Darkleer. E%patri8. though mindfangs still there). maybe i wont do a rolled r quirk. it looks kinda shit and doesnt make sense for me to do (mostly because i CANT roll rs). but ok lets say no double r. Impostor. how does that sound. It sounds about correct, perhaps ties into how to managed to GET to the Lawmaker to kill her in the first place. Like, false pretenses. Something echoing her descendants later Cobalt Masquerade, as it were. But also an Imposter because she wasn’t like, in the right sorta thing. rather than killing the person using to the tool, she killed the tool. yknow? its sorta iffy on that but i think it fits enough? sure. better than Fugitive, i think