#a wild meta post appears!

[thequeensjester]

S2 • EP7 ➤ Film Blocking & Power Struggle in the Tent Scene

The tent scene was all about power struggle. I don't consider it a negotiation because both Elrond and Adar were never going to back down from their stances.

The power struggle is driven by the film blocking—the placement of both the camera and actors to capture movement in relation to other actors, the set, props, etc. Similar to the Eregion forge scene with the Elves by Wayne Yip, Charlotte Brandstrom starts the scene still and once the actors start moving, the emotions escalate.

This opening shot of the scene immediately shows us the power dynamic. Elrond and Vorohil, nearly off-frame, are positioned closest to the camera but their backs are to us and out of focus.

The is lens focused on the mid- and background, where Adar is staring down Elrond, Galadriel held captive and orcs surrounding them. Adar holds authority. With this composition, it also looks like he's staring down at the audience.

Adar is flanked by Glug, who is fully visible, and his sword. His seat is also fashioned as a throne. The camera is also on a slight low angle so that we're looking up at him, emphasizing his power.

I thought Sam's performance was rather theatrical in this scene. He asks to see Nenya in an aloof manner when there's a siege happening. Given how the dialogue later plays out, I think Adar was toying with Elrond here. He sees Elrond as a non-threat due to his youthfulness, which he takes for inexperience.

Elrond's reverse shot is a similar medium close-up shot but the camera is pointing straight-on. He looks smaller in his shot compared to Adar's solo.

Vorohil is even more off-screen while the orcs are fully visible in the background, highlighted by light columns. Elrond is essentially alone but he's holding his ground. I also think he is twinning Adar with his arm, on the chair rest, as a confidence tactic.

However, I don't think it's random that the hair and make-up team styled Elrond to look as youthful as possible here.

I also want to point out that both Adar and Elrond's shots are using Rembrandt lighting—see the triangle of light under their eyes in shaded side of their faces. It shows the tense psychological game.

Once Adar threatens to have Galadriel's tongue cut out, he rattles Elrond (and Vorohil). It's first major movement of the scene. Elrond's tone changes from calm to pointed while Adar remains calm.

When Elrond is unmoved by Adar's offer, Adar gets up and walks towards him. The blocking for this walking sequence is still powerful on Adar's end. I chose this specific shot because we see the overwhelming breadth of Adar's strength, which includes Morgoth's Crown in the chest back there.

Elrond is smaller and out-of-focus. He's in just as much danger as Galadriel because Adar could have easily offed all three elves at that moment and moved on. Gil-galad did not have an army larger enough to repel Adar.

This is Elrond's reaction to Adar walking towards him. Here, he looks slouched and almost child-like, compared to how confident he looked in his earlier solo shot.

When Adar warns Elrond how the orcs would destroy them, he's blocked in between the two orcs in the background but he's also short-sided—a character positioned close to one side of the frame.

Adar believes in the might of his army but the short-siding hints something wrong with his approach.

Elrond picks up on this and gets up from his seat. He finally takes up more of the frame when he tries to take power from Adar by trying to turn the orcs on him.

The blocking of Adar's reverse shot literally features an orc caught in the middle. Again the Rembrandt lighting in these close-ups are working overtime in their power struggle.

The orcs are unsettled and audibly react to this. Even Galadriel notices this (I will talk about this separately.) Not bad for an elf that is more suited to hold a scroll instead.

This moment is doing a lot in-story and for the audience. Elrond and Adar walk around one another for us. The actors were blocked this way so that we can clearly see Elrond take the brooch off but it's done subtly to create the deception against Adar, who wouldn't have seen this gesture.

Charlotte could have used a close-up, which she often does, to make it more overt but I'm glad she chose not to.

By shooting this way, we also see Elrond and Adar standing on a more even plane but Elrond slightly more dominant in the frame because of his deception.

Elrond has a grim expression because he knows he has to leave Galadriel behind and face the reality of battle. Yet, this is the strongest that he's blocked in the entire scene. He takes up the most space in both frames, making Adar look small. Getting the pin to Galadriel as a chance to escape is a significant victory here.

Elrond is serious here about fighting but I think he's also putting on an act to get to Galadriel. He has to carry that energy from before to convince Adar of his threat but also ask to say goodbye.

Given how Adar flirted flaunted his knowledge of the elves and his dismissiveness of Elrond, I think Elrond deliberately tapped into all of this because he knew he could trick Adar into agreeing.

He even pulled these child-like trembling, trying-to-be-brave eyes when Adar squared him up. It worked. After all, he's had experience with playful trickery on Durin in s1.

We get this shot, which features the light columns, pointing at Galadriel and Elrond for what's to come next but Adar is also in the middle. Their storylines are interconnected even when they are physically separated in the siege.

This wide shot of the Kiss™ reveals the sleight of hand but again, it shows how vulnerable the elves were in this scene. They are surrounded by armed orcs and Morgoth's Crown so the distraction kiss is staged to be Elrond's best option.

When Elrond leaves, we get a wide shot. Now we can see both Adar's sword and the crate, which I think is a reinforcing decision for ep8.

This is the final shot of the entire tent scene. The scene ends with Vorohil walking pass Adar, who looks over but mostly stands still, and the orcs in the background sneer at the elf.

Brandstrom chose a center frame on Adar, instead of a close-up. It puts the focus on him and it should be balanced, powerful shot but the orcs in the background throws off the symmetry.

With the scene ending on Adar looking off-side, I think he was affected by Elrond's willingness to "sacrifice" Galadriel, who is one of their most eminent elves. He may have wondered if he underestimated Elrond after all. Adar looks less confident than before.

The scene starts with Adar staring down Elrond and telling him he's not fit for battle but in the end, Elrond briefly wins the power struggle.

— credit: cap-that.com

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE GENIUS OF THE INTRODUCTION! 

So I don’t think I’ve talked about this yet, and shame on me for not doing it in depth if I have. 

The pure beauty of the story telling when it come to character introduction in this show. 

As has been said many times by the writers/directors/Oscar: They originally planned to start with Marc but then realized that the story needed to be about Steven introducing Marc to us. Introducing this world to us. 

And this is a classic approach to storytelling. You typically have someone that doesn’t know anything so that the audience can learn about the world with them on this adventure/journey. 

So why start with Steven? 

Let’s go back to the comics! 

In the comics, we start with Marc. We get Marc’s story. We see Marc’s life, his regrets and mistakes. We see him die and come back and act drastically to change. 

But when we leave all of that behind, our first look at the new established life in New York is with Steven and then immediately into Jake. We don’t officially come back to Marc for some time. But that’s done at a very fast pace and you get to know Steven and Jake’s life very quickly in an introductory blurb before you even see it.

Not exactly something that can be done in a show. So we have to pick someone that the audience can follow. Someone that the audience can fall in love with and trust.

That certainly isn't Marc Spector. (It's interesting that they chose Steven over Jake, considering the personality from the comics... But that's a meta for a different day, as I have a lot to say on that).

So in the show, we first meet Steven. 

(Look at this bundle of perfection) 

We follow Steven and we get to know Steven. We love Steven. We would follow Steven anywhere and do anything for him. 

Then we see something/someone throwing a wrench into Steven’s life and causing him problems and stress and ruining everything for Steven. 

And we get our first look at Marc through Steven’s eyes. 

In fact! We don’t even see Marc at first. We just see the result of Marc. The displaced jaw and people shooting at him. The bloody bodies, the car chase, the gun, the violence, the stress. We see the ruined love life, the lonely life, and the dead fish. 

So we know that whatever this thing is that is causing him problems is dangerous and not to be trusted. We feel Steven’s stress and expect the worst. 

Even when we first hear Marc, it’s a stressed out voice demanding that he stop. We just get to see a ghost of a man. Something dark lurking in the shadows and acting menacing. This is Steven’s view of what’s going on and this is Marc’s view of what he is to Steven at this point. 

(SIDE BONUS META: The first time we hear Marc actually talk to Steven is directly after the phone call with Layla. Marc has been ghosting her and ignoring her and playing dead with her for a while now and suddenly Steven talks to her and in that one brief confusing phone call for Steven and Layla, Marc is triggered out and everything he has been setting up for both of them in what, he views, to be a perfect life without him is going down the grain. He’s stressed, he’s watching everything spiral down the same way he has been spiraling down for months now… In that one moment, of course he lets his frustration out and he yells at Steven to stop. He just wants Steven to cooperate and go back to how things used to be so that Steven can live the normal life and Marc can sit back and watch and pretend that things are okay.) 

NOW we as the audience get our FIRST good look at Marc before Steven does. 

What do we have here? Marc lingering behind Steven. Marc watching Steven run into danger and looking anxious, worried, and like he wants to do anything to take it all back and protect this man. Marc even looks back to check Steven’s 6. Menacing and in the shadows? Or a man that is about to risk everything just to protect Steven? 

Years… YEARS of work put into making sure Steven doesn’t know about him and is happy and safe and secure… And he knows that he has to risk it all. Perhaps at this moment he is contemplating if he should. If Steven will get out of it on his own or if he really needs to find a way to step in and force Steven to black out. But Steven is scared and on to him. He knows he has to talk to Steven. Something he probably hasn’t done since they were just children. 

(BONUS META: If you zoom in real good, that second reflection? The expression is just a little different than the first. The mouth is pulled just a wee bit tighter. Jake easter egg? Probably not, since the show was so careful about only hinting at a ghost of Jake… But I choose to think that we see Jake there behind Marc, much like Marc is behind Steven, looking back to watch their 6 and making sure they are safe.) 

So in classic Marc fashion, he appears as a disaster and Steven sees a disaster. 

Okay. That was a bad day. Marc was stressed and they were in danger. The absolute carnage that happened (Marc you really lost your cool there, buddy. You could have easily finished that jackal off and moved on. You were just angry and you lost your temper. That bathroom did not have to be so trashed.) was not Marc’s best work. 

So let’s meet Marc again from Steven’s eyes now that he isn’t scared and about to die. 

Yeah. Steven does not have a very good view of this man. Funnily enough, he’s seeing him in black and white, which is how he’s being presented to him at this point. He sees a violent man that is stealing his life and ruining it. All he can see is the black and white. He knows nothing else about this man. 

And Marc looks right back from the black and white of himself. A man that wishes he wasn’t there. A man that only knows pain and violence. It’s almost like he’s giving up here. He’s saying “Well, I told you to stop looking and now here we are. Look all you want. You see me. Bet you wish you didn’t. If you keep going, this is what you get.” 

And our previous Steven? He keeps looking. So we get a calmer less dumpster fire Marc. 

No. I take it back. More of a dumpster fire somehow. He’s tired. He’s stressed out beyond reason. He’s watching everything fall apart and he has no control over any of it for the first time in his life. The one thing he thought he could control is now on fire. 

And Steven sees a disheveled (handsome) man that sits alone in his storage room with his illegal things and weapons. Not a good picture. Not to mention the whole Khonshu troll bit that comes along with Marc. 

Steven is not seeing Marc in good light. And the Audience feels for Steven even more. Who is this man that’s ruining this sweet cinnamon roll’s life? 

So let’s give the audience another perspective. 

Would you look at that! An upside down shot to show us that we we are seeing is going to be flipped upside down soon. 

(I would do anything for her.) 

And what cleaver writers... We see Layla instantly from Steven’s point of view. This lonely love starved man meets HER and the audience has no choice but to fall head over heels for her. 

But now we are looking at Steven from Layla’s point of view. 

But she isn’t seeing Steven. She’s seeing Marc being ‘Not Marc’. 

We see her return to the flat and she examines Steven’s life. Before we saw everything from Steven’s point of view, but now we get to see her explore it and not just gloss over things but pick them up and examine them. Question them. Question his life. 

And while she’s looking for Marc in Steven, we see Steven looking at Marc watching Layla. 

She watches the fish, alone and unaware. Marc watches her, alone and mesmerized by her, desperate to see her, wanting everything in the world to be with her but too afraid to get closer. He’s in the tank for a reason here. This isn’t Steven’s fish. This is Marc’s fish. This is the replacement fish. And now, Steven is aware of what’s going on outside of his tank and Marc is the one that’s trapped. 

And as the audience, we find a flicker of sympathy for this intruder. This man that watches her with the look of longing etched across his face. 

But it’s quickly dashed as Marc tries to get rid of her and Steven finds out about the divorce papers. Marc’s a disgrace to try to toss aside someone as lovely as Layla. Steven has no sympathy for him. 

From here we see the rift between them. We see them argue. We see Steven lash out at the images of Marc with insults. He judges Marc and Marc does nothing to try to dissuade him. Marc thinks he deserves it. He just wants to finish the mission. 

But then something changes for just a moment as Steven enters into Marc’s world. 

Sure, there’s the scene with the suit. The scene with the bus where he compliments Steven and acts like the impressed older brother and reasons with Steven to get control. 

What changed? I’ve talked in depth about it before… But here it is again: 

Harrow started talking about killing children and then asked to speak to Marc. And Steven expects Marc to demand the body again. He expects Marc to fight him for it and to be loud and complaintive like he was with Layla or like he was in the car. Clearly he can tell Marc is there and he even sees Marc watching them and Marc is talking to him too. 

Yet the second child murder comes up and Harrow starts going after Marc, Steven watches Marc step back. Maybe he can sense there’s something there. Maybe he can sense that Marc needs him. 

Because suddenly Steven goes on the attack. The tables flip and Steven shows his true strength. He starts to reason and show that he is always thinking things through and always picking up the little things. 

In this one motion of protecting Marc, we see Marc calm down a little. This lets Marc take a minute to let Steven have his time. 

And when Steven gives Marc back control, we take another look at Marc from Layla’s eyes. 

She just watched who she thought was her husband having a break down and then become a different Moon Knight, solidifying that this was NOT her husband, but something ‘different’. 

But suddenly Marc is there before her and she can’t pretend that maybe she really did have the wrong guy. That maybe he’s a doppelganger and Marc is out there somewhere else. Because Marc is right there before her and he’s speechless.

Yeah, that’s the look that lets him know that he fucked up. 

But here we are again, not looking at Marc. We see the man in the suit with powers and control and strength. 

And then he fails his mission. Not only is everything he’s been working on his whole life breaking down, but now the people he cares about are in danger and the whole reason he ran off was to keep this from happening. 

And Steven comes back and the audience gets a full view of not just how Steven sees Marc, but how Marc sees Marc. 

And from here, we get the hand off. The audience is now taking Steven’s perceptions of Marc and stepping over to Marc’s views of himself.

In fact, in the next episode we see the struggle between Marc and Steven, but this time we only see Marc’s side of it. Before we saw Steven and blacked out with him. Now we see Marc and we black out with him. We know Marc is trying to get things done. We see him trying to do things right and Steven is the one getting in the way. 

We see a glimpse of Marc being vulnerable when he goes before the Ennad. We see that he’s a man barely in control of anything in his life. We find him broken and abused. He’s just an open wound but you don’t have the full picture. You wonder what it is about this man that tells us to trust him? 

We see him fail over and over again in everything he’s been doing since we first met him! 

If this was all we had, we would only see the picture of a frustrated, angry, and disaster of a man. 

So what keeps us from finding Marc as despicable as he sees himself? 

She’s looking at him there with new eyes. She doesn’t know what’s going on with him, but now she knows that he’s hiding things and after all his running, she’s finally cornered him and she isn’t about to give up on him. 

Her persistence gives us the need to know who he is. Why does she love him so much after everything he did? She only knows part of this world and we are still going on this journey of discovery with her now. 

And through her, we start to see Marc’s pain. 

And honestly, it’s this scene right here that is the biggest turning point in how we see Marc. 

She loves him and he loves her. You can see how much he loves her. With every fiber of his being he’s radiating such deep pain and longing as he still pushes her away and closes himself off. 

And she doesn’t push back. She’s in pain too. She wants to help him and love him. Perhaps in their relationship they had struggled with this before. Him coming back from a mission with Khonshu and being in pain and pushing her away when she tries to help. She’s fallen into a pattern of letting him pull away because she knows that if she pushes too hard, he shuts down so completely. 

And we go into the next scene with her letting him hold her at a distance. She’s angry at him and confused and hurt. 

We see him walling himself off and she can’t reach him. 

And then Steven starts to fight back again. He wants to help. He wants to prevent the violence he knows Marc can do. He wants to go home. We start to see Steven sticking up for himself, REALLY pushing back, and asserting himself. 

And this next scene is still my most favorite scene there is. The first time she really sees Steven and since we, the audience, are now following Layla, this is our first time seeing Steven from her point of view. And… I would argue that this is the first time that we really see him. 

(I could fall in love with both of them over and over again with this scene)

And now we are seeing Steven new all over again. We see him standing up to take on the mission instead of trying to just run back home. We see him talking to Layla and showing off his knowledge and skills. We see her falling for him and he struggles to understand what she sees in Marc, but he’s happy to be with her. 

We trade off a bit when Marc and Steven continue to argue over the body. Their views of one another start to suffer again. Steven has found his strength and now he’s pushing Marc around a bit. He’s tired of being kept in the dark and pushed away. 

We even get to witness Layla’s strength and that she can kick ass on her own. 

And in that one scene with her and Harrow, we watch her perception of Marc shift and we follow her with new eyes. We see his guilt and regret but we see him not fight back. He is willing to throw it all away and admit to everything that she thinks of him if it means that he finally gets to keep her safe by pushing her away. 

Welcome to the Duat! Or, as I like to think of it: The place where Marc’s walls are ripped away and we get to see unfiltered and pure Marc Spector. (I’ve talked about this before too). 

And our perception as the audience is now playing tug of war. We follow Steven and we follow Marc on his desperate attempts to make Steven stop. He doesn’t want Steven to see him and he tries to prevent Steven, and us, from knowing him. 

The more we follow Marc, the more we see his absolute terror in letting himself be known. 

And at last… At long last…. Steven sees Marc for who he is for the first time. 

Now, we are the audience, can see Marc. We know him. We’ve seen the real him and we know his story. 

And it’s Marc’s turn to let us see Steven. 

Steven the protector. Steven the capable. Steven the mighty. 

And because we now know them, we can see Layla’s love. 

And through them, we see her in her pain and strength. 

Her determination to carry on and finish the mission for them and get a little revenge too. Because as angry and hurt by Marc as she was, she still loves him so deeply. 

We’ve just watched a whole episode of Marc being hated and loathed and denied love and of Steven being lonely and without love, and now we open on Layla showing that love was always there waiting for them.

Hey look! A call back! 

Only this time, she’s right-side up! 

And he isn’t curled up in a little ball! 

And this time, he runs to her, instead of standing at a distance. 

The look on his face. Pure relief. Pure love. 

The absolute desperation on her face. He’s there and the last argument they ever had isn’t the last word. 

And in this moment, we are seeing them all from the same viewpoint. We see Layla the hero, Steven the hero, and Marc the hero. All three of them with their own strengths and their own love. They know the pain of the other and they can see more than what was presented to them and us at the start. 

Oh… And a little bonus. 

The first time Layla saw Jake:

We’ll just keep that one in mind for…you know… season 2…someday… someday… 

So after all that? After all that, the audience is taken back to the start to look at them all over again. To meet them. To hold these characters in their hands so gently. 

They wake up together, confirming that they aren’t alone. We see two people here working together now. (though they are very sleepy). 

But They are still trapped. Two fish now, keeping one another company, but still stuck in the little tank. 

At least they aren’t lonely anymore. And at least now they have love. 

But maybe… Maybe the ending scene wasn’t for them. They are happy in their little tank. They aren’t the man that is lonely in a world without love. 

What about the one that’s stuck outside of the tank? What about the one that is still very much alone….?

And now the audience gets the first time we see Jake: 

We see him so small, framed in a little rectangular mirror watching and waiting. 

We don’t yet know his story. What we do know? 

His name is Jake Lockley and no one hurts his system. 

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC x DP fanfic Idea: Gotham Gossip

Meta-human rights are a touchy topic in Gotham. While the city is known for Batman's view on them, it's also known for Bruce Wayne's viewpoint.

The Dark Knight did not welcome Metas, while the Light Knight worked tirelessly to employ charities and programs to support Metas. Both men- if Batman was a man- influenced Gotham so intensely that their viewpoints became the face of the public.

Even people outside of Gothman learned what "Are you a Dark pawn or a Light pawn?" meant when it was spoken about during national debates.

Really, it was no surprise that Batman and Wayne got caught up in a rather explosive public argument over the subject. Or rather, Wayne yelled at Batman during a hostage situation when his party boat got taken by a group of masked men.

Thankfully, Batman was able to save everyone on board, and although he didn't stick around to argue with Wayne, it was noted that Batman seemed intrigued by a few of Wayne's passionate rants. A few reporters were excited to point out there may be a chance of growth within the vigilante, but it was overshadowed by gossip rags that used this incident to make up a wild rumor of Wayne being a bitter ex with Batman.

This rumor runs for months, with various people posting online proof of a relationship. It sparks debate and anger, with other people responding by fact-checking and countering the "proof." Eventually, the argument moves away from Meta-human rights and falls into celebrity gossip, which has Wayne steaming.

People ignore his passionate activism to better the lives of Metas, only watching his speeches, marches, protests, and donations to various charities to gain new proof of his nonexistent romance that may or may have been in his early twenties when he mysteriously vanished to see the world.

That's when the video comes out.

A young teenager wrote a song parody of what was happening. A soft acoustic guitar accompanied his short words, accusing the masses of caring more about a wealthy man's pants being on or not than the lives of his people.

This young teenager is Danny Fenton, a known meta from a small town in Illinois. This quickly turned into people attacking the boy, who released another song using the hateful comments as new lyrics.

Wayne reposts one of his sons, claiming it a masterpiece, which is when one fan notices the similarities between the two. She makes a post talking about how Wayne and Fenton could be father and son as a joke, expecting people to take it seriously.

Overnight, the internet finds out that Fenton was, in fact, adopted into his current family after being surrendered at a fire station anonymously. More and more people started to notice the similar features between the rich man and the small-town singer until a video of Fenton using his powers was leaked.

Fenton's power is invisibility. This resembles another well-known Gotham dweller who can appear and disappear through the city's shadows. It's not long before Fenton is being called the love child of Batman and Wayne.

It leads to so much media attention and harassment aimed towards Fenton that Wayne steps in. He offers to take a paternity test to finally put the rumors to rest and let the young boy vanish from the limelight (should he stop writing songs).

The only problem?

The test is positive. Wayne is Fenton's biological son. The whole nation loses their minds when it's leaked by a very regrettable intern at the clinic where the test was done. (To be fair, the intern's email was hacked, so when she scanned the papers for herself, they were able to steal them)

Worse, Joker thinks it would be hilarious to kidnap Wayne's newly discovered son and, on live TV, give him another paternity test against Batman. The clown is laughing hysterically while his men prepare the results, only to become more gleeful when it's a match again.

Fenton is the son of both the Dark Knight and the Light Knight. It matters little that Batman's DNA is slightly messed up, as various people already suspected him of not being human.

This just proves Fenton is not a meta-human but rather half-human and whatever the hell Batman is. Joker is having a ball reading out the results, proclaiming he would help Fenton meet his biological grandparents with his one guarantee.

His words are cut off when Fetnon- unknown to the viewing public- escapes his bonds and swings an axe from the emergency fire station inside the aged wearhouse at Joker's neck. The clown collapses to the ground dead, the boy bathed in his blood, and the half-finished joke is cut off by the sound of choking blood etching across every screen in Gotham.

The remaining goons and Fenton stare at each other in stun silence while one is brave enough to rasp. "But Batman doesn't kill."

"Do I look like my absent father to you? Besides, Joker venom is a war crime. I'm within my rights, and if I'm not, I would have killed him again anyway."

Fenton quickly outshines his fathers in the public's eye because no matter where one stood on the Meta Rights, everyone stood on the "Kill the Joker" debate.

[redflagshipwriter]

Ghost Driver 3: Timterlude

masterpost

“Inspector.” Batman arrived at the police building bare minutes after the selfie of their current biggest suspect had blown up on twooter. Robin balanced on the edge of the rooftop, fingers gripping stone. Woo, safe. He mentally cheered. A quick glance around showed only one other person, and it wasn’t the white-haired meta they were looking for.

“No need, Batman,” Inspector Gordon said. He looked like he had a lot on his mind, Tim thought. Gordon started walking for the stairs. “There’s no trouble here. Joker is accounted for, the ghost kid left.” 

“Ghost?” Robin perked his head to the side. “Twooter guy is a ghost?” 

“The Joker was broken out of Arkham by the same suspect who sent that twoot.” Batman was a dog with a bone about it. “Robin. Can we track him down by that Twooter account?” 

“I can try,” Robin said, dubious. “You want me off patrol for that?” 

He didn’t really see the point. What were they looking for, a message draft where the guy listed his name and address? 

Batman grunted. 

That meant yes. Tim held in a sigh. That was him, off patrol again. Banished back to the cave about an hour after finally getting to go out because the Red Butthead was down for the count.

‘Worst after school job ever.’

“Right,” Gordon said vaguely. He pulled the door open. “Go home.” 

The door swung shut, muffling the sound of Batman’s answering grunt.

Robin followed his minder back to the Batmobile. He waited while Batman manhandled his bike out of the trunk and got it out. “See you at the cave,” he said, wishing Batman would say something nice like, ‘sure thing, Robin, I value your contributions.’

Pfft. As if. Tim sulked on his drive back to the cave, alone with the rushing wind and his thoughts. Batman was regressing lately. He was moody and insular again. It was outrageous. After all the work Tim had done to rehabilitate Batman, he was growling at people in public again! 

He needed a muzzle for that guy. It wouldn’t solve anything, but it would be massively embarrassing and-

“No, it might solve some of the Catwoman related inefficiencies. That bad kissing habit.” Tim kicked out the stand and left his bike in the entrance where Batman always told him not to leave it. He pulled off his gloves on his way to the big, battiest of all the bat computers, and slouched in Bruce’s chair. “Blegh.” Tim turned it on and navigated to twooter. He looked through “ThePhantomHunk”‘s account with a wrinkled nose. There wasn’t much there, but what there was… was honestly kind of embarrassing. There were four basically identical selfies and hundreds of low quality replies arguing with people about anything from whether or not Batman liked him to how good the latest video game installment in some ancient series was.

“Why’s he have all these followers?” Tim muttered. “He doesn’t post anything.” Phantom wasn’t a big celebrity by any means, but he had a few hundred followers that seemed like real people. He noted a really pretty Ivy League university cheerleader, a weatherman from someplace called Amity, and… a mayor???

Tim squinted. Why was Phantom being followed by the official Amity Park Mayoral twooter account? He opened it to double check that it wasn’t some unfunny impersonation. It appeared to be legitimate.

“New contender for origin,” Tim muttered, taking a note. He scanned bios for more references to Amity Park and started finding them. Wild. 

He closed that down and shot off a message to Oracle, telling her what he was up to. She sent back “HA”. 

“Very helpful,’” Tim muttered. He scowled all his way over to the bat beverages fridge and extracted a sports drink. 

That was when a brand new alarm went off. Tim startled so badly he nearly fell over. Then he rushed to disarm it before the ten second interval where the alert would be redirected to Batman’s comms. Once muted, he scrambled to see what it was. 

“That’s… depressing.” Tim bit his lower lip. It was a new alarm on the cemetery where Jason was interred. There was nothing visible on screen, but Batman’s equipment didn’t really give false alarms.

Was that why… had Bruce put that new security system up because someone had threatened his kid’s body? No wonder Bruce was out of sorts. Tim felt a little sick. He felt angry. The chair scraped across the floor when he got up. “I’ll handle it.” Tim muttered to himself as he pulled his gloves back on, checked his mask, and jogged to his ride. “Real quick.” 

This drive felt like nothing. The engine roaring underneath him revved him up into a righteous fury. If someone was messing around with Jason’s resting place, they were going to taste the soles of Robin’s boot.

The cemetery gate was still shut. Locked. Tim opened it and went in. Maybe no one was here. 

He stopped in his tracks. 

Or maybe there was a car parked somewhere impossible. How had anyone driven a car between the rows? Tim drove up in his motorcycle and came to a stop by the driver’s side door.

The driver looked up. White hair, tan skin, green eyes. He went still when he saw Robin and his face screwed up in confusion. He visibly said “huh!” out loud, and then shrugged. He waved through the window.

Tim raised his hand to wave back before he thought about what he was doing. He pulled the hand back down and scowled. “What are you-“

“So you’re like, haunting Jason?” the guy bulldozed over what he’d said. He kicked open his door and grinned. “So glad to see you! I know where one of his safe houses is, but he’s not there, and I can’t detect my way into a cereal box if I’m honest. Why’s he got a grave? I wasn’t sure this was the right guy but it’s clearly the right guy. Maybe my ghostdar is bad.” 

“….safe house?” Tim ignored most of the rambling and pointed at the grave. That’s where Jason was. It was grim, but that was where Jason was. And haunting? He wasn’t haunting Jason. He’d maybe sort of stalked him recreationally a little bit, but he’d gotten away with that. 

‘He said he was a ghost. What does he think is going on here?’

“Not here, I don’t think he spends time here.” Phantom’s eyebrows furrowed. “Gotta say I’m kinda surprised to discover he died. He’s so full of life, you know?” He shrugged.

Tim stared blankly. Jason was a tiny skeleton in a casket. 

“Anyway!” Phantom clapped his hands. “Don’t suppose you know where else he might be? The police guy said Batman kicked his butt, so he’s probably recovering somewhere. Where would he go for that?” 

A whole bunch of puzzle pieces slotted neatly into place with quiet clicks. Batman was out of sorts about the Red Hood and acting oddly in regards to Jason’s grave. He was as moody as he’d been after Jason died. 

And then, of course, what Phantom had said could hardly be categorized as subtle. 

‘Holy moly,’ Tim thought, ‘Jason faked his death and he is mad at Batman. Either that or he’s a ghost? I didn’t know he could do that. Could I do that? I need to see where this is going. And this guy is creepy… Is Jason safe? I need to make sure that he’s safe before I tell Batman anything.’

“Take me to the safe house that you know,” he said. “I can figure it out from there.” 

He was officially going undercover.

The guy held up the keys to his clunker and jingled them. “Hop in, creepy Robin.” 

“Creepy?” Tim asked, offended. He got in anyway. What was creepy about him? Tim didn’t have cat pupils, unlike some other people.

‘He assumed I was haunting that grave. Does he think I’m a ghost? Does he know a Robin died?’

“No offense.” Phantom carelessly started the car and lifted it directly upwards. Tim grabbed the door handle. “Wheee.” 

Phantom drove like a maniac. Phantom belonged in prison. Tim held on for dear life and tried not to throw up. Why was the car even on? The wheels weren’t touching the ground. Phantom was clearly propelling it. Did he not realize he was doing that?

‘Maybe he likes the sound of the engine?’ Tim theorized. ‘Or maybe it’s just habit and he hasn’t thought it through. How long has he been dead, to still be doing that little mundane thing?’

The safe house where Jason had been staying was… well, it definitely looked like a safe house. The only pay dirt was a phone that had been abandoned on the kitchen counter. Tim snatched it up and immediately started running a geotag script. 

“Yeah, he left that this afternoon,” Phantom said. He sat cross cross in the air and watched Tim curiously. “This is a weird tactic. Don’t you just know where he goes?” 

“I haven’t stalked him for years,” Tim said, and then wished he hadn’t. 

Phantom laughed. “Okay, damn.” He fidgeted. He was watching Tim too intensely. “Don’t wanna be rude, but you’ve got like, no ecto, dude.” He cocked his head to the side like that was a question. 

Tim didn’t know what ecto was. “Is that what you think?” He said, in his smuggest, most insufferable Robin tone.

Phantom rolled his eyes. His mouth twisted downwards. 

Shit. He might not have answered that well enough. Tim pretended to be absorbed in his task even though the tool he was using was running independently. 

His heart thudded in his chest as the program ran. He licked his lips. Was this going to turn to a fight? Tension started to rise. Was it really? Was it just in his head?

Beep.

“I have some possibilities for safehouses.” Tim held up the phone. “Here, on James Ave, I bet that’s where he went after his confrontation with Batman.”

There was a long pause. Phantom’s eyes glinted in an animalian, predatorial glint. It sent a shudder through Tim. He felt like he was in danger-

“Neat!” Phantom chirped. The spell was broken. “Let’s go.”

He couldn’t help but feel that he had dodged a bullet. Tim kept a hand near his toolbelt as he followed Phantom back to the car. 

The guy didn’t attack, for what that was worth. Tim buckled himself in and wished that he was in the backseat. He itched to get out of Phantom’s line of sight. If Jason really was down for the count after a confrontation between Batman and the Joker, Tim couldn’t leave him at the mercy of this guy. Phantom had released the Joker. The only thing in his favor was that Inspector Gordon hadn’t said he was a danger. 

Phantom rocketed off. They passed through downtown Gotham in a queasy rush of color, backlit by the growing daylight. This was way too late for Robin to be out in Gotham. He shouldn’t be here. 

…Batman was going to realize that he wasn’t in the cave. Very soon. Tim angled his body away from Phantom and tried to surreptitiously write a message on his wrist watch. “Done for the night,” Tim lied. 

Boy, he hoped that he didn’t end up in some kind of trouble. Batman was not going to notice him missing for a long time, if he believed that message. 

He crossed his fingers.

[felikatze]

follow up to this post i am wearing holes into the carpet.

this current arc on the TL FASCINATES ME because it just taps so much into what The Process is for Kim Soleum and what he loves about horror. Because yknow in that previous post I talked at length about how he loves to Figure Out And Understand The Monster.

so like. yeah. yeah of course he loves Braun's Late-Night Talk Show.

He gets to choose which guest appears, i.e. he gets to pick his favorite stories. And, as part of the crew, he gets to pick them apart and just hear them talk from a safe distance. Just the goddamn horror monster on a talk show talking about itself to the delight of the audience, and also to the delight of himself. This is The Perfect Fanservice for him.

It's like, yknow, a creator confirming all your theories about their work on a podcast. It's getting a good grade in media analysis.

And i'm also thinking about how he actually befriended Braun by appealing to Braun as a creator.

Because where Kim Soleum loves to read and understand stories, Braun loves to create stories. But Braun was trapped in that cycle of attention. He loved his Quiz Show format, but it was getting stale. The views were dropping, and that was depressing him. So he brings on a big flashy guest he doesn't even really like to keep the audience engaged.

And there's like, meta to that as well. Because the new format was just Horror and Gore up the wazoo, people getting killed left and right. There weren't rules on how to survive, you were just dead from the start. It was cheaper horror.

Cuz the knowledge that everyone dies in the end kneecaps tension just as much as knowing that everyone's gonna survive. Hell, knowing everyone dies has less tension than everyone living, because survival at least means excitement about what they might lose along the way.

So, Braun, as a down in the dumps creator, went with cheap thrills for audience engagement at the cost of his integrity. But Kim Soleum reminded him of why he loves to create shows in the first place. Braun wants thrill and laughter and showmanship. And, Braun wants his shows to be his.

The talk show format is a fascinating evolution of that, because talk shows are also about guests. But unlike the choir before it, a talk show lives and dies by its host. Instead of being superceded by his guest, Braun is collaborating with them.

In that sense, it's incredibly sweet that Braun wants to share this with Kim Soleum. Bringing back my old (2 days old) point about how our dear Roe also likes to write, writing as a form of understanding, as a form of analysis and respect, it's self-evident how Braun might consider him a kindred spirit! Wanting to share the joy of creating something fulfilling, from the heart!

where am I going with this. Right. There's still a lot of absurdity to Braun's existence, of course. What TV channel is this even running on? Who are the higher ups, where are the ratings coming from? But it's abundantly clear that all a lot of the horror monsters are sentient.

They have their own values and their own logic. And this logic is alien to humans, but it can be understood. And Soleum does a great job of that. Like bartering in an otherworldy botique to avoid paying with human lives.

And. paces in a circle. Braun did the inverse? Because, when Braun convinces Kim Soleum to go on the talk show, it is made explicitly clear that it is not coercion, or hypnosis, or brainwashing, or any sort of mental contamination. It's all arguments tailored to Kim Soleum. It's all information Braun only knows from spending so much time with and trying to understand his friend.

(...Jury is still entirely out on how much that Silver Ring is actually good for and there was at least some mind-reading involved. Doesn't change that the argumentation was sound and grounded, though.)

It's pretty wild to me, that this all started with the Smiley Stickers and the Good Friend, but when all that's gone, Braun still adores Soleum. Still calls himself friend.

Like all that just gave him a nudge in trying to Get It. By tagging along all this time, Braun's been getting the front row seat to the intricacies of human office drama, to trouble with roommates, to beefing with your superiors. Mundane drama that is either utterly alien to him or all too relatable.

I love the miscommunication of, Kim Soleum thought that the Good Friend was like, just a sliver of the original. But it was Braun, entirely, choosing to answer that call and stick around. Because he must've also been curious, about that strange human that changed him so.

I just. Love how much this flips the tables. From Kim Soleum as the one trying to understand to the one terrified to be understood so thoroughly, mortified that he's actually shared so much of himself with another person. That someone just fully gets his fears and his desires. And how it's not truly about going home, it's about getting out of here.

This relationship isn't going to end well. But it is deeply compelling.

[curiouspupsicle]

Good Omens Fan Fiction Friday (3/21/25) - Ineffable Reality TV

Could anything be more meta than fan fics putting our favorite ineffable pair from a tv show into actual reality television shows?

The results are often amazing! And these are just a few of my favorites from a very rich category.

Since you're probably expecting all of these to be Human AUs, let's start with one in which Angel Aziraphale and Demon Crowley compete on The Great British Bake Off.

In a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou (T) by chash, Hell wants reality television to remain hellish. Heaven has an interest in it being more heavenly. So they each send a representative to compete in the Great British Bake Off. In this work, Aziraphale and Crowley meet each other for the first time in the competition. A fun little choice is that Crowley writes spy novels in his spare time and the love interest for his main character bears a strong similarity to Aziraphale. Of the many GBBO/Good Omens crossovers, this is among my favorites.

The same writer did another take on the same idea in Our Weekly Bread (G). But this time, Crowley is a teacher whose students submit an application to the show where he ends up competing against the local bookshop owner.

@junkshop-disco picks up the theme of competitors being pressed by outside forces to compete on GBBO in Devilishly Heavenly Bakes (T). Crowley is a rocker trying to stage a comeback after a hit to his reputation. Aziraphale is a priest being pressed to bring a more modern approach to his ministry. So fluffy. So fun.

And if one rockstar vs reverend competing on GBBO is not enough, @aclever-username wrote the charming Matching Stand Mixers (G) that manages to stuff nearly every canon event from the Garden of Eden on Good Omens into the baking show.

But baking shows aren't the only reality tv programs inspiring Good Omens fic writers. Queer Omens (T) by @lurlur is the transcript of an unaired episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. On their way to make over Newt before his wedding to Anathema, they are hit by Crowley driving his Bentley. The demon waylays the team to instead work with his angel friend, Aziraphale.

This is another particular favorite of mine--very creative and terribly funny.

@lurlur makes their second appearance on this list with The Value of Wild Hearts (E) in which Crowley is a fan of a book expert on Antiques Roadshow. He knows he has to bring something really special to attract Aziraphale's eye. There's a lot of fun had between Tracy and Crowley who meet waiting in line for their chance to see an appraiser.

Get ready to laugh when you start reading Naked and Afraid: Jingle Hell (T) by @klikandtuna. Crowley is a survivalist YouTuber from London and Aziraphale is a veterinarian for the Chester Zoo. They get paired together to survive in the wilderness for 30 days completely naked and with only their resilience and skill (for those who aren't familiar, yes, this is a real show). This humorous fic has a particularly sweet ending.

The demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale go on a reality show to find their perfect South Downs cottage in A Narrow Escape to the Country (T) by @shaggydogstail. This outsider POV has a tv producer used to working with difficult people finding the pair particularly unpredictable.

A ton of fics have our ineffable pair end up on dating or marriage reality shows. So many that I'll end this here and perhaps revisit this theme later to recommend them in their own post.

Reblog and follow for weekly recommendations of complete fics and WIPs.

Don't forget to check out previously recommended fics on my pinned post of weekly Good Omens fan fiction recommendations as well as select WIPs.

[luli-lads]

World Underneath — Fractal Library Q&A: Breakdown and Theories

This story raised so many questions for me... I felt the need to do an analysis. So, let's go! (Long post ahead)

Preface

It's important to note that when Infold released this update, it came with a corresponding social media post, of which I will just show the part relating to this story:

As you can see, it's stated that this story is related to Zayne. It's important to keep this in mind as he himself isn't mentioned by name in it.

Although, we still could've known it was about him by a few things, it's good to have certain confirmation.

Also, it's helpful to have read The Foreseer's myth, Master of Fate's myth and Dawnbreaker's anecdote before continuing, because although I will give reminders about key elements, the full picture is lost if you don't know what I'm talking about.

What is the Fractal Library?

It's not actually a library in the strict sense, because it doesn't necessarily have books. Let's explore this.

I think the concept of 'fractal' wasn't explained neatly enough in the story, so let me provide more on that. Taking this definition from google:

A fractal is a shape that when you take the shape apart into pieces, the pieces are the same or similar to the whole.

You know a good example of a fractal? A snowflake. (Yeah... Yeah.) Snowflakes have this shape -> ❄️. And guess what it looks like when you put it under a microscope. You get many tiny ❄️ put together. A meta-shape.

Now, back to the library itself. It's not clear what the things in the library are, because they're almost Schrodinger's books in the sense that sometimes they are books, and sometimes they're not. As the administrator tells a kid,

"A lot of the things here aren't what you'd call books, but let's call them 'books' for the sake of convenience. [...] When you want to read them, they'll take on a form that's easy for you to understand. Books are the ideal medium. But if you prefer cartoons, that works too."

Sorry, admin, but I don't think 'books' is the best term for them. They're more like windows. Windows to a different universe, a parallel universe, that can appear as books.

So, what's fractal about these 'books'? As they explain, every book is an entire universe. Except, all the books are the same universe, with slight changes. If you put every book together, you'd get every single possibility that could occur in the universe; what if you took the train? what if you went by foot? what if you didn't go at all? Each its own universe. Stories growing upon themselves with each little decision, like fractals, stories inside stories.

Do you recall any other books in the game that let you experience a parallel universe in a non-book-restricted way? That's right, the books in the Tower of Thorns. They teleported MC inside them and let her experience the contents for herself.

And this is just the beginning of the connections with The Foreseer.

I can't imagine how big the Library must be, to contain all of that (except I can, and we have pictures).

Read the image's alt text <3

Who is the Library's administrator?

That is, the person telling us all of the information about it in the story. I have a wild theory about this one.

First, we can deduce that this person might be on the older side (older, not meaning 'old') since they've gone through more than 6 jobs "over the years" before settling as the administrator. They also used to travel a lot.

Much like Zayne, they also like sweets. This could be a mere coincidence, but it's strange that they pointed that out. I think it was done as a way to further emphasize their connection to Zayne. However, their personality is much more cheerful and open.

I would have to get feedback from people who can read this in other languages, but there is no mention to their gender.

Right. So, putting all of this together, who do I think it is?

Jas. Or, at least, the version of Jas in the current timeline.

If you remember, in the Foreseer's myth there's a sentient ice cluster named Jas, who mainly stays in the library to help her and Zayne reach the higher rows of books by lifting them in ice platforms.

When MC asks about its origin, Zayne confirms that he didn't create it. Jas simply exists.

So Jas is its own entity that simply looks after the library inside the Tower of Thorns (among other things). And the administrator is their own person that simply looks after the Fractal Library.

This one is more speculation than anything, but it would be nice to see Jas again, wouldn't it?

Who is the person on the other side of the telephone?

Some of you are going to get stupidly giddy about my theory here.

We have to note a few things:

— They have impeccable timing, calling every day at 10 AM, and as described by the admin,

"No one manages time as precisely as that caller."

— They're not the owner of the place, but they gave the administrator their position and they seem to look after it.

— They write books. Let's assume the ones in the library.

— They're the one who gave the administrator the order to wait for a specific man to walk in, who would be the owner.

— They have strange powers(?) (I don't know what else to call them), because first of all, how did they know to ring the Library at the right time when the administrator walked in if it was abandoned? And the admin said,

"I approached the counter and answered the phone as if beckoned by an unseen force."

Not only that, but the fact that they can write these 'books' at all??

— They're trying to create a specific 'book'. At the end of the story we hear the admin say into the phone,

"...By the way, how did that new book of yours turn out? When can I read it? Oh... It failed again?"

What does 'it failed' mean? Can't you just write whatever you want if it's your 'book'? Admin also stated earlier,

"If these stories are someone's reality, if their worlds truly exist or once did... Could they have been just experimental playgrounds for some god's whim? Bits and pieces thrown together without a second thought, proportions guided by mood, one failure after another."

We can also guess with this that the admin doesn't know the true nature of the person on the other side of the phone, even if they know they write books.

— They're impatient for the owner to arrive, we can tell by the constant checking in on the matter despite the fact that it will apparently happen on a specific date.

So, putting all these pieces together.

A creator of worlds. A god. Not an all-powerful god, since their worlds keep failing. They're waiting for the owner of the Library, that is, the owner of these books. The owner of these universes. The protagonist in these universes. Zayne (why it's him, further down).

Oh golly gee, what kind of god could have an interest in Zayne, we all put our hands to our heads in unison as realization dawns, that's right baby, Astra.

Listen, take this with a BIG grain of salt, okay? Plus, in this story, if that were Astra, he seems... Nice? It could be a different god altogether! Maybe Astra's opposite, even.

I'll leave this idea here, and we can move on to the next question.

Who's the true owner of the library?

As I said before, it's clearly Zayne, but I'll explain why.

Before anything, let me say that I don't think Zayne knows he is the owner. It's a Matrix situation, Neo isn't the chosen one until Trinity falls in love with him, Zayne isn't the owner of the Library until he steps through its doors. He isn't aware of its existence BUT he might know the admin because they said:

"When the moment arrives, I'm sure he'll come looking for me. [...] And if he doesn't show up, well, we know exactly where to find him, right?"

It's unclear.

Also that last line might be a reference to the fact that they're acutely aware that the stories are about him, so they know where the most probable place to find him is, based on all the existing universes.

So, onto why it's him.

The admin says,

I know an atheist will step through these doors one day. That person is the library's true owner.

God is a reoccurring theme in Zayne's lore. Starting with The Foreseer, who is directly affected by Astra (we could also mention Dawnbreaker here, since he's connected directly by the jasmine flower), Master of Fate, who is a God himself though doesn't really act like one, and finally main!timeline Zayne, where the theming is a bit more subtle.

— The Foreseer: He's not an atheist because he doesn't have a choice (💀) however, let me go a little deeper into his relationship with Astra. He's very vague about his feelings towards the God, but every word is measured as to not offend Him. Although, it also seems like, since he already has the God's favor, he doesn't need to praise him or regard him in a positive light necessarily. A kind of learned helplessness. There is one instance of explicit emotion towards Him...

"Astra's will has presented itself, and the Foreseer's indifferent facade reveals a hint of indignation as he too is imprisoned by the prophecy."

— Master of Fate: As a God himself, he also doesn't have much of a choice in his beliefs XD. However, he doesn't really care about his godhood (in the sense that, he just acts like a normal person and treats humans as equals).

— Dawnbreaker: I couldn't find any mentions of any god in his anecdote. (If I missed any, feel free to correct me). Still, since he's one of the characters in the stories mentioned by the admin, we can count him out.

— Dr. Zayne: If my memory doesn't fail me, quite a few people around Zayne have brought up the existence of a God. Yet he himself hasn't really shown an opinion. Carter asks him directly if he believes in God, and he ignores the question and instead calls Carter crazy.

Now, with Zayne's logical and methodical approach to anything, I don't think he even questions the existence of a god altogether because for him, it's always just been people. People helping and people harming. Things around him, tangible things. He might let himself play around with concepts like fate just because he's in love with MC, but at the end of the day, he's a man who blames things on people (positively and negatively speaking). And that stems from the fact that he carries every mistake he's ever made with him, as things that are his fault. No one else's. So from his point of view, it must be true for everyone else as well. No higher power. People die, people live, that's on him, that's his job.

Dr. Zayne is the only one who they could be referring to as 'an atheist'. But not only that! Since I already established the connection between the Library and The Foreseer's library, I believe there's a narrative order: Zayne enters the library and is designated its owner -> The person behind the phone makes themselves known -> ??? -> Zayne gains Astra's favor and becomes his emissary (gaining immortality) -> Time passes, Earth becomes Philos, the Library turns into the Tower of Thorns -> The Foreseer's myth.

Thus Dr. Zayne ends up as The Foreseer, memories of his past long forgotten by centuries of ice, loneliness, torture, and Astra's meddling.

It would also explain why Astra can't be a character in one of the 'books', and is interfering directly with Zayne in The Foreseer's myth — He got tired of trying to write a successful universe and instead attempted to force a narrative himself, punishing Zayne if he walked out of the path He wanted. Fate.

What are the books about?

Like I said earlier, they're universes. But let's look into them.

The administrator says one thing about them: They're all science fiction. So, the events in them aren't what's happening in the current world. But we know it's the present time since the admin says they're in Linkon City.

The admin also recounts a story they read in those books. It's strange, because they seem like two separate stories, but they say it's only one. I don't know how to interpret this incongruence entirely. A summary:

A world where they look into your genetics at birth and determine your whole life based on them, on what's most efficient. But a man bioengineered a baby with 'perfect' genes, who did whatever he wanted because he could, even if it was wrong. This caused an imbalance in society and a rebellion against the system, the rebels on the losing side. The story ends there, weirdly abruptly?

A dying world. It's better if I paraphrase the beginning:

Everyone but "him" had fallen victim to a virus that stripped away the human form and humanity. It turned people into an energy that would perish along with the planet.

"He" spent his life killing these infected individuals, until there were none left. He was the only living person remaining. Only when the world died, so did he.

I wonder why the admin put these two stories together as one. Obviously the second one is reminiscent of Dawnbreaker's anecdote. Perhaps his end. But the first one...? I hesitate to say it could be one of Zayne's future myths, but is it that far-fetched? After all, these stories seem to be all about Zayne (the "owner"), so why not? It's a failed attempt, there's no real reason why Zayne couldn't have ended up being the bad guy of the story.

Then again... What would be the successful attempt? Maybe it's not even a 'happy ending'. We don't know what the 'writer' is trying to achieve.

I'm gonna be honest here, I was really surprised when the admin let a child come in to read them, considering they're all 'failed attempts', I can't imagine a happy kids book in there 😭

Don't get me wrong, there's the possibility that not all the books are about Zayne. I'm only saying that since Infold made it clear that this World Underneath chapter was about him, and since he's the owner of these worlds, it would make sense if all the stories had to do with him. It seems like we'll get more lore about this place in the future, seeing as the last part is titled 'To Be Continued' so we'll have to wait and see.

Remaining questions...

This weird line:

"I'm in Linkon City now, so I have to stick to the schedule here."

Made me think,

— Is the admin normally somewhere else?

— Is the Library... a moving thing? A travelling library, going from place to place?

— Is the admin used to a different passage of time?

If Astra isn't the 'writer' of those books, and is, in fact, a character in them, who is the writer? A higher level god? They wrote Zayne as a God in Master of Fate, which means they have the power to create gods.

And why the fixation on Zayne? Can Zayne do something for this writer that they can't do themselves? Because, as we've stated, they aren't all-powerful.

It also raises the question, why are they so certain that there's a 'successful version'? How do they know the others are 'failed'? Simply because they're unhappy endings? Maybe I'm thinking too much about this. But if they know they can 'write' a successful world, are they simply a Laplace's Demon entertaining themselves?

There's also the fact that it was highlighted that they're very timely. In the admin's words,

"No one manages time as precisely as that caller."

Could it be a time god instead of a fate god? Just, who are they?

Another thing that's nagging me is that every chapter except the last is supposed to be a Q&A in the Library's guestbook. So, as a text that's supposed to be read by anyone, it would be normal for the admin to lie or hide some things. We can only truly judge their character in the last part. There's a part that further reinforces my belief of unreliable narrating:

P.S. Dear readers, I hope you'll spare some time in this ever-changing world to read, explore times and places beyond your experience, and discover all that lies hidden within the pages.

It might be a reach on my part, but it almost seems like a nudge? A wink?

The whole conversation at the start of the final chapter was odd.

"We'll know the truth soon enough." -> About what? About whether Zayne will arrive on that specific date?

[Talking about books.] "The one I'm working on now is long, so there's still hope." -> Is the admin a writer as well? Or do they simply review the writer's work in search of that 'successful attempt'?

At the end of the story, the admin talks to us directly. This specific line stood out to me:

"I might not meet all your expectations, [...]"

Does that mean we should have expectations? Should we know something about the admin already? If they're not Jas, are they not a new character?

To conclude

They didn't say this in the guestbook Q&A. This was a direct fourth wall break. Why say this to us?

Edit: Added some theories about the kid that walks into the library here.

Okay. Whew. I think that's all I wanted to say.

Excuse my ramblings, I've read this story a lot of times for this analysis and I keep coming up with borderline nonsensical theories. Feel absolutely free to ignore these or make your own.

I've probably read TOO much into it. I just got excited!!! I'm not sure what exactly about this story pulled me so strongly, but damn, I can't wait to know more!

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think, if you want! <3

But that's just a theory, a hampter theory ;)

[mtkay13]

Lord Zhou and the Ghost Valley Master Cross-posting because i'm just that wild, hah! /jk More about the art below! --and a little talk about WenZhou and their relationship to power (+ some meta).

So hum, it is no secret that I enjoy a bit of "spice" in WenZhou's dynamic and at times am very prolific on my nsfw twitter account.

Collars and leash stuff have been on and off, and I was recently enabled for more of that by friends going wild about ZZS on a leash, etc, etc. LBR: I don't think you need any reason to go feral about that kind of stuff--but seeing how I myself seemed to regress to the state of a wild horny beast while making this painting, I felt like I may need to adress it a little. Here are some of my thoughts about WenZhou & power:

WKX and ZZS are both men who are/were in a position of extreme power. Both rose to that position of extreme power, but from very different starting points and motivations.

ZZS was, from what we know from how he describes himself in TYK and from how he behaves in QY, a very smart, cocky, ambitious kid, who probably deliberately sold his services to HLY to keep rising. There were probably ideals mixed in that, but point is, ZZS desired that power, that influence, and was encouraged to reach it. Becoming a sect leader so young was probably a shock, but nothing indicates that this position wasn't wanted. ZZS also mentioned not having a physique as advantageous as ZCL's when he was a child; so he probably had to work hard to reach his goals. Point is: the power was desired and strived for.

WKX has, without a doubt, needed the power, without ever really showing any pleasure nor satisfaction in having it. Surviving in the GV =/= reaching the top; if anything, becoming the GVM put the largest target on his head--but it is likely that reaching the position of GVM was necessary for him to execute his plan (find the key, pull the right strings, obtain his revenge). WKX was a little genius who didn't want to study, and probably wasn't dreaming/aiming for power. Conclusion: the power was a necessity and a tool. Many various characterisation points/analysis/dynamics can be pulled from this, and it is quite interesting to explore how, later, their relationship to power can evolve, both re:the rest of the world and each other. For the following personal analysis, I also worked with the following points from the book:

ZZS admires WKX's strength and power

WKX seems to have multiple fantasies of control and domination

ZZS seems receptive to many of them (including the biting, the somno stuff, and the cnc suggestions)

WKX admires/envies/resents ZZS' freedom

ZZS has fun becoming a subversion of his past self (swearing, being gross, being ridiculous, being openly cocky)

WKX is a control-freak and is very patient

ZZS is a bit conservative

WKX quite the opposite

Now how does that bring me to ZZS on a leash for the GVM?

(note that this is my current conclusion, not the conclusion)

I like to think that on the one hand, ZZS is that man who sees himself as a man and enjoys a lot of things about masculinity. The power that he likes for himself, he also enjoys seeing it in someone else's hands--he likes fighting for it, but (and this is a very personal interpretation) I like to believe he gets the most thrills from being overpowered; because it shows how strong the other is, bc it subverts whom he is himself. The power he's fought to get, has had all his life, but ended up leaving him alone at the top, feels good when taken from him--or when there's someone strong enough that he isn't alone up there anymore. On the other hand, I feel like although WKX would benefit from relinquishing some control and power, he does enjoy using it in a personal, pleasurable way, rather than by necessity. While he probably likes toying with presentations, with appearances, and doesn't mind being perceived as the wife, as the more submissive one in their fake-traditional relationship play of husband and wife, having the power, holding the leash---simply out of pleasure and mutual satisfaction is, I think very cathartic and arousing for him.

But then, why precanon? For the aesthetic bc I'm a simp for TC!era ZZS. And because showing him so strong, so powerful, yet leashed, is kind of a reminder that... It's not about real power. It's not about who, between them, is the strongest, the most powerful, the winner or whatever. It adds that thrill, the aknowledgement that this is out of freewill and choice and pleasure, I guess.

On top of that, man, I'm sorry, but peak TC!ZZS right post-QY canon after he's become the most powerful man in the country but is completely jaded by what happened in the end? On a leash? For a man he respects?? ugh

Anyway TLDR; I think it's hot and all of that gibberish barely has anything to do with my actual motivations to draw this.

[boinin]

Blue Lock Chapter 263

What a wild (and wordy) chapter. I have a few rambly thoughts on it.

Firstly, on translations - as someone who posts meta and likes sticking to canon in my fic writing, the official translation is the one I tend to share panels or quotes from. While I'll hold it's a better source for nuance, the consequence is some truly clunky dialogue choices. Karasu's trashtalking to Isagi suffered this week - the PO2 version on the right flows far better:

Getting called a "non-dunce shooter" isn't going to have Isagi rocking in the corner anytime soon, even if it better reflects the original Japanese.

On the flip side, the official translators went harder on the Kaisagi shipbaiting this week. While you could argue Isagi's only talking about the match, his line of thought is more distinctly about Kaiser in the official release...

The last example, I'm split on - the official translation made me laugh, but Kaiser squeezing an unnecessary f-bomb into his dialogue detracts from the sense of wonder at his transformation. Tracks with his habit of saying ex-fucking-cuse me though.

Either way: what a gorgeous panel.

The other things I liked? Rin continues to talk in childish terms about football. He'd mentioned before how he views other players as toys; this week, he's cranky that he hasn't had the ball in a while. Boo hoo!

Not to depress anyone, but who else bets Sae was really good at sharing the ball with Rin when they were kids? 🥲

The last panel sets up Kiyora to do something audacious next chapter, which I'm super hyped for. He's a loose canon with seemingly no loyalties, besides a grudge against Isagi, so I have no idea what to expect!

I enjoyed how they framed his appearance in the last panel. Beforehand, they show Isagi and Kaiser (loosely) co-operating, but we get a glance at some of the others too.

It lays out the dependencies really nicely:

Noa, the BM coach, monitoring his team evolving at a rate of knots...

Karasu, PXG's strategist, who earlier commented on how much of a beast BM has become and whose value as a MF is suffering because...

Shidou, despite already scoring, has been rendered completely ineffective by...

Kunigami, assigned to mark Shidou and performing more effectively than he did vs Ubers while in a defensive position. He links back to Noa as his so-called "vessel", but he's not embodying Noa's ego all that much right now. Another source of chaos and anticipation...

It's just really well-done visual storytelling, so I wanted to point it out.

Now we've got another week or so to ponder what Kiyora might bring to the storm 🔥

[k-s-morgan]

Hi Katrin,

How are you feeling? I miss your posts every day!

I have a purely theoretical question about ATLWETD. I just can't help imagining stuff - the crazy relationship dynamic between Tom and Harry in your fic just makes my imagination run wild.

In the latest chapters we can see Tom actively probing Harry's boundaries encroaching on his personal space, eating his food, touching his stuff, touching HARRY. It appears Tom is acting possessive on one side, while on the other side he's trying to learn new ways to manipulate Harry, to entice new reactions and to deepen their bond (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Do you think it's possible for Harry to try doing the same ar this stage? Like, he already (unknowingly) had done this, by hugging Tom to distract him - and it actually worked. Harry already knows Tom is a sucker for attention and control. Can Harry hug Tom again to derail him before the later starts feeling murderous towards, let's say, Alphard, after Harry got hurt during the duel because of him? I imagine Harry hugging Tom and quietly (wild dying from embarrassment on the inside) thanking Tom for helping him there - would that actually work??

Asking purely out of interest - it's not like I want Harry to start hugging Tom or reciprocating Tom's games at emotional manipulation, right? RIGHT!?

I know I would learn the answer in the following chapters, but I'm so impatient lately haha I'm simply dying. But, of course, you don't have to answer my question if it contains spoilers or you simply don't feel like responding.

Sending you lots of love and support, I'm looking forward to the new posts just about anything - your metas, thoughts, snippets, life updates. Your fans are always here, waiting for you! 🙏🏽

Hello! Thank you so much for your lovely words, you made me so happy <3 And thanks for such a great question!

You are absolutely right about Tom's motivation. On the one hand, his possessiveness is growing daily: he considers Harry his, and he's determined to integrate himself into every little part of him. On the other hand, this is a whole new tool of manipulation, so Tom is eager to try it out and see where it can lead him.

Tom being murderous toward Alphard will be such a big thing :D Just in general, not just related to that duel. Oh, I really can't wait to get to it. Some of the tags actually apply to this part of the plot.

Now, as for Harry - yes, I think it would be very possible for him to engage in the same emotional manipulation. He usually never knows how he's going to respond to Tom until he's doing it, following raw intuition more than logic, so he could just step closer and touch his hand, or hug him, or smile and say something atypically sweet.

The way it would affect Tom… I think he would be taken aback for sure. At first, he'd be wary, confused, and a little uncomfortable because like you said, he thrives on control. Initiating something is fine with him, but getting Harry to be all physically affectionate back? That would push him out of the familiar zone right away.

Soon enough, I think his confusion would turn into acceptance and then a desire to be the recipient of Harry's tactility. Particularly as Harry wouldn't be doing it constantly - it would happen on occasion only, and Tom would come to anticipate and crave it. His physical attraction to Harry would also likely grow by a lot at this point, so they'd both find themselves entering a new kind of relationship they aren't fully ready for.

How it will actually go in the story - you know, I have no idea! Maybe Harry will be doing this emotional-physical manipulation trick, maybe not - I'll have to see what he says later on :D

[thequeensjester]

S1 • EP8 ➤ In the Forge: Lighting and Film Blocking

I think this shot is one of the story-defining shots of s1. It's often and rightfully praised because of the shadow of a chain leading to Celebrimbor. I think the entire scene is worth revisiting. It's one of Wayne Che Yip's strongest directed scenes.

This scene begins with a close-up on the mithril ore because its use is the source of conflict. I think it's a great choice to have Gil-galad hold the ore because it looks rather ordinary compared to his accessories and clothing jewels. Yet, the ore will change the course of their world.

Yip follows up the shot with this a low angle middle shot. This particular angle helps the tiny ore stand out. The lighting only falls on Gil-galad's body and hands. Yip also uses the set's arches to further frame his hands.

Yip has done this before in a Numenor scene between Pharazon and Kemen.

Now we get to film blocking. Blocking is how and where both the actors and cameras are positioned and moves, in relation to other actors, sets or props. This helps guide the audience's attention to important moments. Blocking helps create those beautiful cinematic shots. It is key to visual storytelling.

Generally, I think blocking in ROP is inconsistent, which is unfortunately more common in media now and not exclusive to the show. However, when it's done well in ROP, it is noticeable.

In this scene, the actors are positioned two on each side with the second actor standing slightly behind. So instead of cutting to a close-up, Yip changed lens focus depending on who is talking. To me, this is neater. This is also setting up Galadriel's revelation later.

The scene progresses to the first of many four-person shots. Elrond, Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor are standing in the shadows. Galadriel is the only one standing closest to the light but only half of her is in the light, which is important when the camera later changes angles. There's also a small light column hovering over Elrond, which will come into play later.

For this particular camera angle, where Gil-galad stands is important—between Elrond, Galadriel and Celebrimbor, who purposes how to use the mithril and that its craft would be placed in Gil-galad's charge. Gil-galad is uneased at the idea of one person wielding that much power. He also believes their time is up.

I also want to point out the costumes. I think the color palette of the costumes mostly match. However, the Lindon gold looks so much stronger in this lighting and it works well with Gil-galad opposing the other three.

We also see the red in Celebrimbor's costume. I believe Celebrimbor wore this costume at the Lindon feast scene with the dwarves but it is striking that this particular costume is worn again after he met with Halbrand. This costume returns in s2 when red is further used as the color of decay and corruption.

When we finally get individual close-ups of Celebrimbor and Gil-galad, the dramatic lighting emphasizes the darkness in Celebrimbor's proposal and Gil-galad's unease.

Then Yip follows up with *the* shot but I think the lighting here reveals even more.

With how Galadriel is blocked in this scene, she also casts a shadow onto Celebrimbor—which I think reflects her choice in bringing Sauron to Eregion. Here we clearly see that half of her is covered in shadow.

This is the most light we see on Gil-galad in this scene. He also looks to be standing closer to Galadriel and Celebrimbor, whereas Elrond is tucked away in the shadows, at the edge of light.

I think there's a status element. In ep1, when Elrond hid in the trees to write, a courtier tells him that he's not invited to an upcoming session with the High-King because only Elf Lords were invited.

So even though the elves needed Elrond to get mithril and now they have it, Elrond is still on the outside but not for long.

This shot marks the first major movement of the scene. Emotions escalate quickly when Gil-galad rejects Celebrimbor's proposal.

Gil-galad's movement now reveals a full light column on Elrond. It's literally his time to shine.

Elrond steps forward to convince Gil-galad. The blocking changes the power dynamic of this shot. Celebrimbor is the closest to the camera but is disempowered by Gil-galad's decision. He also looks further from the other three. We don't even see his face.

The lighting and blocking here also breaks up the group into 3 sections. I think it reflects the separate narratives for Elrond & Gil-Galad, Celebrimbor and Galadriel.

Celebrimbor argues his case (left) and finally mentioned the Unseen World, which grabs Galadriel's attention (right). Yip uses camera lens focus transition and then zooms in on Galadriel—highlighting her concerning revelation.

We go back to a four shot. Now, Gil-Galad stands furthest left and Elrond is closer to Galadriel and Celebrimbor—all three aligned to use the ore.

Except, again Yip uses the set arches in this composition. Elrond is separated from Galadriel and Celebrimbor's shared arch, which is foreshadowing Elrond's mistrust of the Elven rings.

Galadriel is the most illuminated character here because of her revelation from Celebrimbor's words.

Gil-galad orders them to shut down the forge and return to Lindon. When he exits the scene, he walks in front of Elrond. I think this the most practical choice for the audience. He is the High-King and visually, his Lindon gold cuts through the union of the other three.

But, we're not done here. The two harsh light columns on Galadriel and Celebrimbor highlights what we're anticipating.

Galadriel carefully asks Celebrimbor about 'power over flesh.' She stands in the light, trying to unveil the truth but he's in the shadows.

At first, they're facing the same direction but when Galadriel presses further, we get this close-up and Celebrimbor's close-up remains like this until he walks away:

This shot is short-sided—a character's face (and eyeline) is close to one side of a frame.

It can be used to show disconnect between characters or unease, shown here. Celebrimbor is flustered and annoyed at Gil-galad's decision that he can't even look at Galadriel.

Our final shot of this scene is a lingering wide-shot of Galadriel. She is alone in her thoughts. I think it's a great way to use space and lighting to show Galadriel's mental and emotional state without using a close-up. She started the season feeling alone, but certain, in her pursuit of Sauron and this moment brings her back to that.

— credit: cap-that.com

[kaedekolya]

alkaid: of sincerity, soulmates, and selfless sacrifice

˗ˏˋ ☆ ˎˊ Happy birthday, Alkaid! \(´▽`)/ ˏˋ ☆ ˎˊ-

In honour of this special day, I’ve prepared a present – a short meta post answering the question posed in the LBC discord server, “What made you fall for Alkaid?”

This screenshot pretty much sums it up (mild Godheim spoilers):

Alkaid loves deeply, and this manifests in his unwavering devotion and earnest sincerity. He is a steadfast protector who loves and feels and hurts with every fibre of his being, yet he conceals this intensity with a genial demeanour.

What are Alkaid’s core motivations and character traits? What lies beneath the facade of this heartrendingly complex character? For all that Alkaid is an enigma, he also inadvertently wears his heart on his sleeve, if you know where to look.

[ SPOILERS: broad references to Alkaid’s stories from Godheim, White Day, and Book of Tales. ]

Upon MC’s first encounter with Alkaid in the modern world, my first impression of him was a decently good one, but not particularly impressive or memorable. He’s the generic nice guy, the affable upperclassman who welcomes you to school and helps you settle in comfortably.

Later, we come to realise that this is exactly what he wants others to think. Alkaid intentionally projects the image of an unassuming gentleman, concealing his true emotions underneath an amiable disposition and a pleasant smile. Wearing this persona as his shield, he strives to be likeable, while also fading into the background, unobtrusive and unremarkable. The less attention drawn to himself, the better; there will be fewer chances to slip up, fewer risks of making a mistake. As long as he keeps up appearances, he can play the role of the perfect prince.

Alkaid does not do this to be deliberately duplicitous; in fact, it is much the contrary. His innate kindness and self-effacing consideration for others spur him to accommodate as much as he can, often to the point of self-sacrifice. He hides his true self, in order to please others. He relinquishes what he has, in order to give others what they want. Alkaid puts himself secondary to what others ask of him, not because he thinks of himself as worthless, but because he believes he is worth less.

In the Book of Tales event, Alkaid’s story draws from Oscar Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose. It is a tale of a nightingale who sacrifices her blood and her life, in order to create a red rose for the human she loves. In the same way, Alkaid readily pierces himself with thorns so that he can give MC the red rose she needs. Despite the excruciating pain, he does not flinch in the slightest, but he immediately reacts in a panic when MC is hurt by the thorny vines. Alkaid cares for others more than he does himself, yet he does not realise that by valuing himself less and taking all the hurt upon himself, he is inadvertently hurting those who care for him.

In Godheim, Alkaid’s love is also shown through selfless sacrifice. He willingly forsakes himself without a second thought, simply because he loves someone that deeply and thinks that little of himself in comparison. He would rather inflict wounds on himself than risk taking advantage of the person he loves, and he always strives to be kind no matter the cruelty dealt to him. His desire stems from love, and his power coalesces from his wish to protect those who matter to him.

In an effort to keep MC safe, Alkaid pushes himself to the brink, exhausting all his magic and life energy to the point that he nearly dies. One particular route branch has him shouldering the blame on MC's behalf, taking her punishment upon himself so that she doesn't have to. At the end of it all, he even writes a biography to honour Clarence's sacrifice, despite everything the Archmage has done to him. Alkaid is so empathetic that he can see past his sister's death and recognise that MC is an unwilling player in this whole situation, that she doesn't deserve anyone's ire.

Alkaid's heart runs so deep and so kind, yet he never recognises his own goodness, instead fearing the potential for evil within him. Throughout his Godheim route, he refrains from ending anyone's life, even that of his enemies, yet he is willing to commit evil with his own hands if it means he can protect his beloved MC. It is this irony, this multifacetedness to Alkaid that makes him such an intriguing character – even as it makes him fear himself for what he is capable of.

In modern-day Alkaid, this contradiction is reflected in his self-perception. Borrowing the metaphor of the Rose Elf and the Gentleman Agent, Alkaid believes he cannot possibly be the former because he is nowhere near as honest or upright. Instead, he identifies with the latter, because he hides so much of himself in the shadows.

What Alkaid fails to realise, however, is that these characters are not one-dimensional tropes, and neither is he. The Gentleman Agent is shrouded in veils and deceit, but he is also a protector. The Rose Elf is fragile and delicate, but he is also so ardent in his love and commitment. Alkaid is all of these things, because they can coexist without being contradictory. I won’t go into detail about Awakening, since it’s still a relatively new release and the story is best experienced for yourself, but his route there also ties in with this theme.

Alkaid’s worst fears stem from the dual nature he perceives in himself, the capacity for evil that he believes lurks dormant in his heart. He views good and evil as a binary, believing that they exist as a dichotomy within him, and this is exemplified by the black and white imagery he's often depicted with. Referring to his negative emotions and thoughts as his “other side,” Alkaid separates his good, ideal self from the side he believes he must suppress. 

Ironically, this demarcation between the parts of him that are acceptable and the parts that are not inevitably exacerbates Alkaid’s fears. The more people like his outward persona, the more he worries that they will scorn his true nature. He believes that other people like him for what he seems to be, but that they will not like him for who he actually is. He is deceitful, dangerous, disappointing, do they not see that? Do they not realise that the true him is not worthy of such praise or adoration?

The answer is no, because Alkaid is far harsher on himself than he deserves. He is human, and he is allowed to be multifaceted, to have different sides to him, to feel emotions that are positive and negative and the full gamut that runs in between. He is not a dichotomous binary, but a complex being that exists beyond good and evil.

This is where MC comes in. She sees Alkaid for who he is – all the sides he does not show others, and all the selves in disparate worlds across space and time. Beyond the idea of soulmates, her connection with him is that of 知己 (zhī jǐ) – to know someone as you know yourself – in how deeply and thoroughly she understands him. She perceives him, down to the depths of his soul, and she says: I love you, still. Not despite his flaws, or regardless of his shortcomings. Rather, it is an acceptance, encompassing every fibre of his being. I love you for everything you are.

There’s a line from Tian Guan Ci Fu (天官赐福; Heaven Official’s Blessings) that resonates with this idea: 对我来说，风光无限的是你，跌落尘埃的也是你。重点是'你'，而不是'怎样'的你。”To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you, and the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is ‘you,’ not the state of you.” Alkaid strives to only show his best sides to others, but MC embraces all his worst sides just as readily. He is terrified that she will leave when she realises he’s not like the person she initially thought she loved, but she stays because she sees all of him and cherishes him through it all. She loves him, because he loves so deeply, and he deserves to be loved in return.

So, happy birthday, Alkaid – you are worthy of the love you receive.

[veinsfullofstars]

✨ May I interest you in some Dedede and Meta Knight as childhood friends? ✨

(ID: Kirby series fanart of King Dedede and Meta Knight reimagined as kids, interacting in various cute and wholesome scenarios such as coloring, cloud-watching, sparring with sticks, overindulging on sweets, protecting each other from bullies, and more. Design-wise, young Dedede is short and chubby with a smaller beak and three feathers sticking up from the top of his head. He wears a pair of red overalls with gold buttons on the straps and a pocket on the front with a white two-finger peace sign. Young Meta Knight is maskless and similar in appearance to Kirby, save for his yellow eyes, dark-blue complexion, and a pair of tiny wings on his back. Additional headcanons and worldbuilding for this AU under the cut. END ID.)

(AU info updated as of 11/02/24.)

Started on 10/09/23, finished on 10/11/23, updated 03/11/24, updated for color correction 11/02/24. NOTE: This was originally posted on my deleted account on 10/11/23. | Childhood Friends AU Masterpost

—

-This AU primarily takes place within the Kirby gameverse (with a few superficial elements borrowed from external media), the timeline starting many, many decades before the events of Kirby's Dream Land, eventually catching up to and following the main games’ canon (with nods to side games and some unique events added here and there for character flavor). I am trying to stay canon-compliant, but I’m also making things up as I go and changing them as needed, so no promises I won’t just go completely off the rails the more I workshop things, haha.

-I'm leaving ages nebulous in this AU (both because the series itself doesn't really give characters canonical ages and to keep the timeline a bit looser narratively), but - for clarity's sake - we'll say Dedede and Meta are both the equivalent of 7-to-11 years old here, though they first met a little earlier...

-Meta Knight is just called Meta for now - he won’t earn his title until after he starts his overstars military training with the Galaxy Soldier Army (GSA) in his late teens.

-That hammer belongs to Dedede’s mama - a former pro-wrestler - and will someday be passed down to him (once he’s strong enough to actually pick it up).

-In this AU, the GSA is an intergalactic military group fighting various malignant forces across the universe, their reputation generally positive thanks to a genuine effort on their part to balance acts of war and defense with acts of philanthropy, relief aid, and compassion, well-known enough to reach even distant Popstar. Most known Star Warriors - Sir Dragato, Kit Cosmos, Yamikage, etc. - are either long since passed on or retired somewhere outside of the story (with a few exceptions we may learn about later...). Though really more for background flavor and worldbuilding, the GSA becomes a crucial element to Meta's storyline later down the line, since - upon learning of them in his youth - he becomes enamored with their deeds and longs to be a knight himself (not yet aware of the hardships involved in becoming one).

-The kids like to spar and roughouse in their free time, but they sometimes get proper training from Dedede’s papa - a retired knight himself with connections to the GSA, who’d settled in Dream Land with his wife just before they had their only son. Meta looks up to him with the same admiration he has for the Star Warriors while Dedede doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with his well-meaning but strict father.

-In his early years, Meta is quite shy around people he doesn’t know well. In overwhelming situations, he tends to either shut down and go non-verbal or quietly slip away to recoup. That said, he is much more expressive around those he trusts, listening eagerly and chatting far more than he would otherwise. He also has a bit of an anger streak hidden just under all that resolve, though it takes a lot of prodding to bring it out...

-As a kid, Dedede is impulsive to a fault and likes to make wild plans that often put him and his buddies in precarious situations (when he actually follows through with them, that is). Meta is often the first to point out the flaws in said plans (if Para Dee doesn’t do it first) but inevitably ends up tagging along anyway, his wariness easily overturned by his curiosity.

-Despite the generally welcoming nature of the village, Meta still faces some measure of bullying due to his strange appearance and timid nature. Usually, he waits it out until either his tormentors get bored or Dedede steps in to defend him, but - as the taunts persist and his temper grows - it's only matter of time before he's the one getting into scraps rather than his bigger buddy...

[santacoppelia]

There is something about Shax! (A loving meta)

I have written it too fast and in Spanish, but I really love what happened with demons and Hell in general this season: while in S1 they were kind of "set dressing" and the only distinctive demons were the higher ups, s2 brought us Shax and Furfur, and gave us more insight into Hell, gave Eric a lot of opportunities to charm us, and we saw a lot of small-scale demons that were all different in their own ways.

From all of these things, most of my notes point to Shax. The character is amazing, partly because Miranda Richardson is a great actress, but also because she has some characteristics that made her pop (I'll use female pronouns because the character is so high femme). I talked about some of them in the meta about angels, but Shax definitely deserves their own post! As I've already covered her particular mix of ingenuity, lets get into their abilities and style!!

When talking about her style I'd divide it into looks and communication. All of her looks are SPECTACULAR. So proper, so high femme, so classy, so glam... She is into projecting a carefully curated image. I respect that in a demon, really. Even when in Hell, her form is only changed by the teeth: lots of them, and quite ferocious. I feel that the mix represents her in full: a prim and proper exterior with a wild interior.

The wild interior can be inferred from her communication style. Shax usually exaggerates Hell menace and power, as we can see with some of her phrases:

"disliked by Heaven, hunted and eliminated by Hell";

"Beelzebub is not happy with you",

"All the forces of Hell will declare war to your friend"

"legions of demons to storm the bookshop, killing everyone",

“we’ll make it in ferocity and dangerosity”,

"we’ll chase you" to Beelzebub…

She has even “formulated a plan”, a very violent, enormous, ridiculous overplayed plan, but she is so excited to see it into fruition. Most of these are empty threats (Beelzebub is never really angry at Crowley, and they downplay the menace of being chased with the fact that they are understaffed...) but it says a lot of things about how Shax sees herself and the role of Hell in all of this.

Shax has an interesting power: she seems to voice the negative talk anyone has to mock them. This was very evident with Maggie:

Don’t embarrass yourself in front of the woman you pathetically love.

You are nothing, you run a shop that nobody visits.

You are nobody.

Unable to pay the rent.

Dull.

Unloved and unlovable.

You’ll live and die a nobody.

Those are scary! I have a little theory about how each character has different powers (it is a longer text and I'm just writing this because I already had it almost done), and this Shax's power is fantastic. Have we noticed what she says to Aziraphale?

You are not Crowley's type (he confidently dismisses this on their first encounter, with just a raised eyebrow)

You are an outlaw, you have no protection

Crowley’s emotional support angel

The softest touch

The one who went native

you need more huge meals?

Should we send up the sous-chef (not sushi)?

There is a really insightful demonic ability at play in there.

I also found really funny how, without Crowley giving her advice about how to appear, she just appears THREE TIMES in front of Aziraphale and still make the “I’m just a stranded motorist hitchhiking”. She hasn’t still get how Earth works, and that makes her fun AND terrifying.

How will all of this play into S3? Especially now that she will probably be a Grand Duke of Hell (or just a Duke). I'm already enjoying it and it hasn't been written yet! *covers her eyes*

[sailormoonrarepairweek]

Welcome to the third annual Sailor Moon Rare Pair Week! The event will take place from March 24th - March 30th, 2024, but I'm announcing the themes early to give everyone plenty of time to create their fanworks.

What counts as a rare pair for this event, you ask? Any pairing that isn't Usagi/Mamoru (or any of their incarnations), pretty much! (Don’t get too hung up on the word “rare”. Just roll with it, okay?) They usually have their own week, so this event is a chance for fans to show their love for pairings other than the Miracle Romance, canon or not. You can even include poly, platonic, and cross-over ships, if you'd like! Almost anything goes, as long as you follow some simple guidelines.

Fanworks should somehow incorporate the one of the day's themes. (You can pick just one; you don't have to use both.) How you choose the interpret the theme is up to you!

A non-UsaMamo pair must be the MAIN focus of the work (although Usagi/Mamoru can appear as a side pairing or as part of a polycule).

All ratings allowed.

No smut involving underage characters, which I'm defining as under 18 years old. Otherwise, as long as the characters are portrayed as adults in the fanwork, go wild! Just please make sure to properly tag.

Pairings of all sexual/romantic orientations welcome.

Fanfics should be a minimum of 500 words. Poetry may be shorter, though. (If you would prefer to write drabbles instead, you can write five separate 100-word drabbles about the day's themes, but a day's entry should still be at least 500 words long. You have over four months until the week begins and plenty of time afterward if you don't finish in time. That's plenty of time to write 500 words. I don't think that's too much to ask.) If you're writing fanfic, I REALLY would prefer you post your fics on AO3 or Fanfiction.net and provide a link to your story, but if you must post on Tumblr itself, please make use of the "Read More" option.

Fanart should be a completed drawing. (Any fanart portraying nudity or anything of an R/NC-17 nature should be cropped if immediately visible on your Tumblr post and/or posted with the appropriate community label. You can post the full image under a "Read More" or provide a link to the image on another site.)

Graphics, image boards, playlists, cosplay photos, crafts, meta/essays, etc. are also welcome!

Comments, kudos, and reblogs are encouraged, but don't be a jerk! If you're not a fan of a pairing, please just ignore and move on.

On Tumblr, if you tag #smrarepairweek2024, I will reblog your post. I'll tag explict art and fics reblogs as #nsfw, so feel free to block that tag if you'd rather not see those posts.

Please do not post your works anywhere until the day dedicated to your chosen theme. An AO3 collection has now been set up for this year's event. (Adding your work to the collection will not be required.) If you'd like to look back at the last event's works, the 2023 collection can be found here.

And here is the 2022 collection.

Themes

Day 1: Magic/Mundane Day 2: Hugs/Kisses Day 3: Fire/Ice Day 4: Music/Silence Day 5: Birth/Death Day 6: Break-Up/Make-Up Day 7: Free

(Event Organizer: @kaleidodreams)

[raayllum]

Hi!

I’ve heard you mention a cannibalism motif in The Dragon Prince a few times on your blog, and I was wondering how it comes into play earlier in the show. For example the scene with Claudia in 1x02 with the peanut butter breath, but also just arc 1 in general.

Thank you in advance if you get to this!

Yes! So the cannibalism motif was something I'd noticed primarily in response to dark magic post-S2 (largely due to Aaravos having a bug in his mouth, dark magic curing famine / using the Magma Titan's heart, Viren drinking the cup, "hungry for both knowledge and power, both things I can provide). After S3 thanks to some of the language used (harvesting Zubeia, consuming Zym, Viren's dark magic spell reversed being "I swallow your heart/mind/power") and imagery (little big pal hiding in Viren like a Trojan Horse, crawling back up the throat, etc) felt very apt.

There were also things in S1 (although admittedly the peanut butter thing didn't ping, great catch by @its-leethee!) like Viren offering Runaan fruit as a bribe, Viren consuming the butterflies to modify his appearance, the slug creature draining another animal for blood, stories of elves drinking blood, etc. It seemed very clear that dark magic as inherently transactional and about consumption (literal or metaphoric) and that dark magic's most extreme but inevitable endgame would be the literal consumption of another elf/human.

I also thought that cannibalism as an understanding of dark magic captured a lot of how dark magic works within TDP's universe that other allegories (hunting, fossil fuels) either underestimate or miss out on, respectively. For example, dark magic can be necessary (people need to eat, literally) yet also horrific (eating other people in times of starvation to keep yourself alive is a terrible ordeal to go through even if it mandates your survival) and traumatic, not only to the victims (if they weren't already dead) but also yourself (playing into how dark magic also harms the user's body/soul/general wellbeing).

Kim'Dael made me think maybe they'd take the concept further, since the Bloodmoon Huntress graphic novel said the quiet "dark magic can be used for eating other people" out loud and S5 was pretty brutal in its depiction of her, but seeing Aaravos outright say "I swallowed her" when I'd speculated about him eating people in the past (post-s2, as noted) was WILD cause I thought it'd stay a motif. One of the first of many times I caught something in TDP and chalked it up to being metaphoric, and then the show made it happen and be more Literal than I thought it'd be

If you're interested in it in full you can check out my tag for it. The best meta for it is probably this one (post-S3 though) since I also read a secondary resource on how cannibalism is used in stories and that fit with how dark magic seemed to slot into the series particularly in terms of aspects of sacrifice, violation, and transformation