#and another section for the main show era

[tomyo]

I just realized it's been nearly a month and I haven't reported back to the western Soul Eater community the live experience of the Soul Eater Exhibit so here's what I got for you!

First of all, these are taking place at Animate stores and if somehow you think you can make travel plans within the next month or two, there is a third showing in Kyoto happening in January. When entering you are given a random shikishi board and if you paid extra you also get a sweatband (but I did not). I went with a friend who happened to live nearby who helped a lot with getting tickets but they were at the door available as well.

The entrance was a small area that featured the main promotional image and the Excalibur floral display replicating the one in the manga.

Beyond the entrance there was no video allowed and at certain points no photos allowed. Mostly at the end where there were a bunch of Shikishi boards with signatures from staff and voice actors.

What I didn't realize from pictures is that the manga pages shared are the original pages showing all the techniques and mistakes on page. I wish I could share them all but Tumblr is not the place for that. The one I did want to share is a page where presumably Ohkubo and an assistant played tiktaktoe and made and aiaikasa for Renton and Eureka from Eureka7 which was also being released in Shonen GanGan at the same time.

Not all pages of the series were shared and it was more favored to the first half of the series with different section to highlignt characters and story beats. The first main area was after the first curtain (photo above) had Maka's scythe and a copy of each volume hung up on a side wall. You then go through a set of curtains with souls on it into a large space that had the main pairs and additional charactera from the volume art blown up with the corresponding introduction chapters. This is the space with the replica of Shinigami-sama's room. This led into a hall featuring Crona and had a decal of Crona and Maka's shadows holding hands on the ground. Then there was the Excalibur Wall. My memory after that is a little fuzzy because I was distracted/self conscious(Was very amused by another pair as the clear fan explained the series to her friend); if I remember right there was a second hall showing the brew arc then Black Star's final Mifune fight and then a corner space representing the Arcane fight with a blown up decal of Maka in her black blood dress. The space didn't feel like people should walk in it, there was a thin foam on the floor and words from the panel dangling down so you couldn't really see much of the art. Early spartoi passes by really fast in favor of a wider hall with the killing of Medusa; pages on the right with corresponding blown up art on the left. At the end was a giant wall featuring the moon. Then it the pages of the final fight and the display ends with curtains showing Maka and Soul diving into Asura's black blood to find Crona.

The major bit at the end is there is a fully voice acted section of the final chapters of Soul Eater with the manga pages manipulated to it. The motion graphics weren't crazy amazing, about what you'd expect out of a storybook style pv. You were not allowed to take photos or video of this section. So a whole voice recording of what the finale of the manga could sound like could become lost media unless it's released somehow. There's a small final room showing the pages of the final chapters art. A large acrylic display of the meisters in their final character evolution that's backlit. A final space shows off the colored art, the originals if the were done traditionally. There's a small selection of new art, really long piece. Ones that has the og cast and the not girls which probably was during the not era but I don't remember ever seeing it. And then a spread of Spartoi plus Not. Liz and Tsugumi have the best fits in it but I feel a lot of people will like Crona's shirt best. Ohkubo signed a print with a sketch of Maka at the end alongside the two pieces that he love drew on the opening days. In the same space is where the signature shikishi boards were. I was extremely sad that I couldn't take a pic because one had some sort of Maka that was gorgeous but we speculated that it was to avoid signature fraud.

After that you took the stairs down to an extremely tight store. I realized too late that there were no photo signs however it feels like I'm missing some pictures I had taken from my gallery.

This is where I'm gonna be hella real, I do not fucks with Ohkubo's Soul Eater art in recent years. I saw a guy on Tiktok standing by it was his Twitter sketch style but that doesn't work for me with official products. From the perfect edition cover art, to the exhibition special art, to the two??? new pieces for the encore art book; it all feels extremely sloppy in terms of linework, posing, and proportions. If someone were to tell me it's a result of burnout, I would respect that easily but none the less I did not buy anything with the exhibit art on it (sans the pamphlet) more grab the art book. The art book is probably not worth it either unless you weren't able to grab the previous ones. I probably will eventually get it when the English one comes out next year and I probably would've saved money if I bought it while I was there but the weight wasn't worth it and I had in fact spent ¥42,000.

For all the things I did buy, I do regret not picking up some items; an art board from the other artbooks, the sticker set A, the mini towel, and one additional set of the cookies and coffee but as seen above I grabbed a lot and felt pretty aware I had a full basket compared to everyone else. You could also only make one purchase per a ticket and sadly only one commemorative bag per a purchase (I still ended up with two due to my friend). The final thing that you may want to know is the quality of said good; the plushies are worth it simply for existing but could've been higher quality, the ¥7000 (roughly $50) hoodie I bought was extremely thin and has shed so much from the inside that I have yet to wash it in fear it would disintegrate (I'm being slightly dramatic but I truly fear what will happen when I do), and while I did not buy them I did see the in person versions of the made to order items; the skate deck was a proper translation but didn't look particularly nice considering the simplicity of the design and the Soul Jacket was worse than cosplay quality made out of a really thin poly that didn't hold it's shape. ¥18700 yen is about $120 USD right now which is already way too much for the quality but keep in mind the buying power is equivalent to roughly $190. If you want Soul's OG jacket then I would best recommend customizing a real varsity jacket, followed by finding a used one of the original great eastern release, followed by what ever streetwear brand version of your choosing because while they might have inaccuracies, they will at least have ribbed trimming. I know I'm ragging on this pretty hard but I want to emphasize that it is an item you are not missing out on in case you feel the need to proxy order one. The most worthwhile items will be the plushies and food goods, and from there O would call the general Osaka added goods nice. Initially I was not impressed with the acrylic blocks but in person they had nice dimension. Any printed good outside of that is your own discretion albeit I don't think they're particularly going to be high value items in the future.

The final final part is I found out the day before there was a wrapped train for the show. Honestly a higher honor than I expected for the series. However the night before was spent at an Onsen a good distance away and the day of was a downpour so I sadly did not witness it as it would of likely been an effort to find.

I think that's all I can give towards the experience in writing but I will include particular sights in subsequent reblogs.

[sweet-potato-42]

I hope book of bill has some stuff about what bill thought of fiddleford

firstly becuase i bet that bill HATED the guy. Like he was constantly in the way of bill from distracting ford and realising the issues with the portal and trying to stop it to designing the shackatron and inventing the memory gun which eventually killed bill

second because I want more info about the guy in his youth that doesnt come from stanfords perspecive. Almost all that we know about that time is from ToTS and journal 3. The memories from SotBE are short and often contradicted by journal 3.

I feel like stanford probably had some biased view of fiddleford especially when writing in his fancy research journal considering he didnt even address him by name.

[dotthings]

Some spn Cas history (because yay facts!! Facts are fun!!)

Misha was a guest star in S4. Castiel was originally planned to be a 3 episode and done character, but Misha was so electrifying as Cas, had great chemistry with Jensen, and Cas turned out to be such a compelling character, the show kept him around.

Misha was promoted to regular in S5 and continued in S6.

He was dropped from the show for S7 because Gamble and Singer decided to write out Cas. The network did a lot of fans a solid for once, called up the EP's, and went "hahahaha you aren't really planning to get rid of that fan favorite pretty angel are you???? hahaha ok no really bring him back" and literally refused to let spn get rid of him.

There was for sure a listlessness factor in S7 once Cas was removed. J2 were the anchors in the early seasons. In later seasons, J2M really became the show's center supports, more than just J2. (No, this is not arguable. This is reflected in canon story, and Cas's growth as a character and plot role and emotional role and in promotion for many years. No, I don't care who is offended that I said it. It's not a point of argument).

Jeremy Carver took over as showrunner in S8 and brought Misha in for an 8 episode arc, so Misha was a guest star in S8. Carver wanted to rebuild the character and in S9 Misha was promoted back up to series regular, and he stayed at that status the rest of the series.

Originally, Misha's regular status was denoted by having him third in opening credits after Jared and Jensen, before the "guest starring" section. Eventually Misha was given an "and" credit.

The "and" credit is a contract status thing. It's for series regulars of particular note, usually for a particularly noteworthy performance. Tony Head was "and" status on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When he stepped back to recurring, Alyson Hannigan became the "and" status.

Some have tried to paint Misha's "and" designator as a sign of his lesser importance, but it's the opposite. It's a promotion and a sign of respect.

A further note, zero fans have attempted to supplant Jared and Jensen as the "top leads" of the show, but it's abundantly fair to label Misha a 3rd lead, given the proportion of Cas's plot and emotion impact on story and Misha's longevity and status. It's semantics, really. If someone gets offended if you say he's a 3rd lead, they're aren't worth your time. Eh, okay, "main character" isn't wrong either, but I'm suspicious of people who break out in hives over calling him "3rd lead"--but main character is a descriptor for Cas's role. SPN at times had 3-4 series regulars, with J2 as the only two constants the entire run of the show, which is why we say J2 are the 2 top leads. But Cas and Misha's importance are also facts.

Misha was "guest star" in S4, 7, and 8. Eventually he got "special guest star" credit during his guest starring era on spn, another indicator of an actor/performance/character of note, but not a series regular. He was a series regular for S5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. (No this is not arguable. These are production facts. Some people still, after all this time, try to erase his regular/main character status on spn, and they aren't working in facts).

[roseredsnow]

Getting another aroace rep out there while first post is doing well.

Did you guys know we're getting a canonically aroace character in live action Star Wars THIS SUMMER

Vernestra Rwoh from the High Republic era was confirmed to be being played by Rebecca Henderson in the new show Acolyte coming out this year.

Vernestra was confirmed aroace by her main writer Justina Ireland (writer of Dread Nation, a great read!) And the word aromantic was used in her section of the High Republic characters encyclopedia.

The High Republic in general is full of queer, women and non white characters, the authors are so nice and so is the fandom.

I was at Celebration when Vernestra was announced to be in live action and I cried so much I can't wait for more people to know her.

A little background info, Vernestra is the current known youngest Jedi to be knighted, she was 15!

Her former master Stellan Gios is one of the marshals of Starlight Beacon and for a little bonus rep is implied to be in love with two of his best friends (the authors do drop hints to this, it's not just fans).

Her next appearance is in Defy the Storm by Justina Ireland and Tessa Graton coming out next month, I can't wait to see what happens.

[obsidianmichi]

The crazy part about Star Trek Online is that it's stuffed full of cameos and missions that repeatedly star characters from the main cast of every major Star Trek show except, I think, Enterprise, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks.

Like you can go on a fully voiced adventure with Michael Burnham and Seven of Nine in her Fenris Rangers era to decide whether the Excalbians will embrace good or evil and fight Seven's evil simulation created body double.

Worf, voiced by Michael Dorn, Worf is in the major Iconian missions and a central figure for Klingon players as they shoot up the ranks.

Martok, voiced by John Garman Hertzler Jr. (rescue him from the Tzenkethi and go on so many missions together as random space adventures, and he's just like he is in DS9.)

Almost the entire cast of Deep Space Nine, including René Auberjonois's final voicework as Odo before his passing, the same for Aron Eisberg as Nog, Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys, and there's an entire episode where you play as Quark and his Ferengi friends stealing from Iconians. Even Salome Jens pops up as the Female Changeling to play a villain in the Gamma Quandrant arcs. Plus, Chase Masterson got in ahead of them all to chew through the scenery as Leeta's Mirror counterpart, Admiral Leeta!

Levar Burton as Geordi LaForge!

Janeway and Mirror Janeway voiced by Kate Mulgrew. (Mirror Janeway is a Borg Queen!)

Denise Crosby as my Romulan main's new adopted mother, Empress Sela and her mother, Natasha Yar. There's also Tuvok (my love!), Tom Paris, Harry Kim, Seven of Nine, Jason Isaacs voicing Prime Gabriel Lorca (!!) in the Discovery missions, Tilly and my much beloathed nemesis Mirror Tilly, Stamets, and Michael Burnham. Most recently we've gotten Mirror Wesley Crusher and Mirror Doctor Crusher during Picard's third season, and Ezri Dax in the latest episodes.

There's also Leonard Nemoy, who voiced the major exploration sections and Fed character level ups in the initial game but that's been in at launch.

It's honestly impressive. Every time I turn around it feels like another Star Trek alum is lending their voice to the game. Star Trek Online is somehow the most blessed and the most cursed tie-in game in existence. The dream and the hellscape for Star Trek fans.

Also, the space combat is genuinely really fun.

[karaspal]

Hello! I saw that you're a Supergirl fan and I'm trying to read some of her books. Is Supergirl 2016 a good representation of the character?

not really, no. at least not the initial one. it gets good once marc andreyko starts writing it. then bad again once he is off the book.

the rebirth series took a lot of inspiration from cbs supergirl and imo the show got a lot better once it moved to cw. kara in the first 20 issues of the rebirth series is portrayed as less confident and more timid, and that's not really how she is. the comics also took a lot of its elements from the show, even if it didn't make sense to do that. i love and adore the supergirl show and kara in it, yet i hate the rebirth run, so even if you are a fan of cw!kara, i wouldn't recommend the run.

but fear not, i'll give you some recs. here is a full reading order if you want to read everything she's been in. if not, here is a smaller reading guide:

supergirl (2011) is a great start. it has some meh stuff, like kara's costume, which was not great, but you get used to it. i'd recommend the run as a whole (minus the boring crossovers), but if you don't want to read it all, the first arc with the world killers (#1 - 7), red daughter of krypton (#28 - 33, but mind you, it crosses over with "red lanterns". reading order for the full story you can find in the link i gave above. just scroll a bit, it's under the 52 section) and crucible (#36 - 40) were the best arcs.

after that, i'd recommend jumping right to marc andreyko's run - supergirl (2016): #21 - 33. before that, you do need to read man of steel (2018) for context.

next comes supergirl: woman of tomorrow. it's the best supergirl story you can find and one of the best superhero stories in general.

despite how little pkj got to write kara during his time on action comics, i'd still recommend checking it out because he understands her character very well - action comics annual 2021 (a possible future for kara and the house of el); action comics (2016): #1044 - 1049 (back up stories); action comics (2016): #1051 - 1060 + annual 2023. mind you, she has a supporting role in this story, not a main one.

after that, she had a one-shot team-up with the martian manhunter action comics: doomsday special (2023) which was good.

she is currently a main character in the house of brainiac story and i like the way she is written there.

if you're willing to read comics from the previous era, the run sterling gates and jamal igle did is considered a classic. it's supergirl (2005): #34 - 59. it does, however, cross over a lot with the new krypton arc that was happening at the time. full reading order you can find in the reading guide i linked.

and if you're willing to go pre-crisis, she had two solo runs. one was in 1974 - supergirl (1974), and the other - 1982 - supergirl (1982). she also had stories in various dc comics. an era i absolutely love is when she was an actress in new york - the superman family (1974): 208 - 222.

and comics you should stay away from, in my opinion - supergirl: being super and last year's supergirl special #1. both are written by mariko tamaki and i just don't vibe with her kara. another one is kara's first appearances post-crsis. anything kara written by joe kelly and jeph loeb is a big no-no.

anyways, sorry for the long answer lol. happy reading.

[louisupdates]

Show Review: Louis Tomlinson draws thousands to sold out Faith in the Future Tour stop

Olivia Khiel | July 5, 2023

Louis Tomlinson is leveling up and he’s starting with a new album and a tour that sold out a stop at Arizona Financial Theatre on Monday. The singer was joined by a killer backing band, along with openers Andrew Cushin and The Snuts for a high-energy evening of rock ‘n’ roll.

Fresh from their Las Vegas nightclub extravaganza, The Snuts shuffled onstage in the throes of vehicular issues that nearly derailed their Arizona appearance and perhaps a touch of a hangover. Regardless, the Scottish quartet gave the crowd a rollicking set that included “The Rodeo” and “Somebody Loves You”. They weren’t onstage long but they certainly made an impression on the excitable audience.

When Louis Tomlinson released Faith in the Future in late 2022, it marked a stronger era for the former One Directioner. That strength lent itself to larger scale stage production, a heavy rocking live band and an uncontainable love from millions of fans. The Arizona section of the fanbase showed up and showed out on Monday with their handmade signs and ear splitting screams every time Tomlinson so much as smiled. And really who could blame them when his grin lit up the entire theatre?

He admitted to feeling under the weather but still gave stellar performances of “Kill My Mind”, “Face the Music” (a favorite of ours from the new album) and the uplifting “We Made It”. Not one to forget his roots, Tomlinson also threw in covers of One Direction’s “Night Changes” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”, putting his own spin on the massive hits.

Tomlinson’s voice was a standout in One Direction and getting to hear him sing solo puts that uniqueness front and center. He also tells his story in raw and honest lyrics, never forgetting where he came from and where he knows he belongs.

The unreleased fan favorite “Copy of a Copy of a Copy” had another spotlight moment on this tour, along with a cover of Arctic Monkeys’ “505” done to perfection. At this point, Tomlinson’s weariness was starting to show but the fans carried him as he pushed through to end the main set with “Out of My System”.

Flashing lights and loud guitars brought Tomlinson back to the stage for an encore and he jumped down to the barricade to be in the arms of his adoring fans. Those arms and hands got aggressive, however, and he returned to his microphone rumpled and with holes torn in yet another stage outfit- prompting Tomlinson’s biggest smile of the night. He has a clear love of performing and described being in front of thousands of people who have lifted him up from the One Direction days to now as healing and exhilarating.

That adoration and joy was mirrored for the entire show and Tomlinson exited the stage to thunderous applause and the knowledge that we’d all be back next time.

Check out all the photos!

Story and photos by Olivia Khiel

Photos: part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

[crownsandbishops]

Crowns and Bishops Behind the Scenes (part 1)

In today's extra long post, for the anniversary of Crowns and Bishops I will be giving you guys a peak behind the process of creating a comic for the Blog, in this case, Vine's Lore post! The Final one of the main set! For extra long asks like this I always start out by typing up a script, laying out exactly what I might want to say in response to the question at hand! Here's the full typed script for Vine's lore post [it ended up SUPER long, I think because I've had the most time to think about Vine's character and what I wanted for him haha!]

From there I start on the first panel, and as anyone who has seen my wips or just knows how I drew things, every Jir character starts their life as a circle!

I reuse some assets mostly for backgrounds to make the process go easier, such as these pillars and skulls in Narinder's realm!

Because mspaint doesnt have layers, different coloured outlines are used to create what is essentially different layers so that adjustment to one section doesn't affect another!

I kept this one mostly the same but adjusted the legs because it wasn't looking quite right!

for details like the shawl stripes I overlap the lines like this and then paste over it with the red being transparent, so only the details on the red remain!

When I'm happy with the main image I then add the text from the script!

It usually takes 4-5 iterations before I'm happy with placement, clarity and spacing! I also often have to account for the colours i use to make them the most readable against the background of each panel!

I look up reference images for this, like the standard way that a cloak like this one would be held together!

And since the Lands of the Old Faith is a closed-off continent in the preindustrial era any background will be confined to one of the five Bishop's lands! For this one I've chosen a forest like the one in this trailer for the game, but with an adjusted colour pallet!

I decided for the next panel, since Vine's mother's characterization was kind of a messed up allusion to the virgin Mary, that I should reference a biblical painting related to it and found this one

Though the cosmology and relations are different, the Seller was the obvious stand in for the Angel Gabriel in the picture!

Some panels start with the background, others with the character depending on what makes the most sense! Here I have a bit of both worked on but I'm focusing on drawing Vine!

For the ritual sacrifice Vine and his mother created a fake traitor's razor as the ceremonial dagger, and a clasp reminiscent of Gaap's, Narinder's most favoured vessel up to this point, as well as utilizing ceremonial paint and other decorations and representations related to Narinder!

When drawing imprisoned Narinder the hardest part tends to be fitting the veil properly above his opened third eye!

For the next panel, I show the intersection between the three vessels, as though Vine would've been born while Nelly was Narinder's vessel, Acedia does come before him in the order, so I had to square away how that would work!

When I initially decided on the order for Narinder's vessels I hadn't decided on the broad strokes of who they were and how they would've been chosen, so Acedia being before Vine but only for a single year between Nelly and Vine ends up quite silly!

If there's no real room like here, I'll sometimes extend the canvas to add black bars to add the text in.

I asked my chat for a follower form and was suggested Wolf, so the follower Vine is charming here was made a wolf!

I use this wall asset for the cult grounds in the background!

And I have various colour references for other things like Camellias and the outfits for non-cult affiliated denizens of the Lands!

( apparently, I can only have so many pictures so >:3 Part 2 awaits!)

[divorcedfiddleford]

Random but - if you were given an opportunity to rewrite Ford's character and his arc in the show (and later J3), how would it be like?

canon gay and trans

so the thing is that i think most of how ford himself is written is really really good! i just think that the writers (particularly alex) have a bias against him, and so a lot of the narrative ends up feeling like he's either being punished or being forced to atone for his past. so i'm gonna ramble and daydream for a bit but i want to be clear i actually really like how he's written in general (yes, even in the book that i have so much beef with!!)

there's very few moments of catharsis for him, and those that he gets are either short (reunion with fiddleford) or undermined by the writers' bias (the ending of journal 3 where he burns all his bill stuff but has to keep reminding us that he was stupid for trusting bill in the first place). so i think a lot of the problems i have would be resolved with tonal shifts and a few cuts, like that fucking scene in the stanchurian candidate with the mind control tie. the implication of reaganite ford is bad enough but then to have a guy who has very specific trauma relating to being mind controlled/not being in control of his own body just hand that over is really fucking stupid. then again i think that whole episode is stupid so i'd end up rewriting all of it lmao

i've said before but if i really had my way i'd cut roadside attraction entirely and replace it with another ford episode. i loved how goofy and fun dd&md was and i think if more of that lighthearted side of him was shown it would endear him to the audience more. a long time ago i had an idea for an episode where they go back to the bunker and ford basically does puppy talk to the shapeshifter who is actively trying to kill them. i never followed this idea through to its conclusion but i think it still sounds entertaining, plus it would also give more time for him to reunite with fiddleford so it wouldn't have to be squeezed in the finale.

speaking of the finale... my personal fantasy is that i'd love to have a scene stuck in there where stan apologizes to ford. it REALLY stood out to me that despite all their fighting, ford still at least says the words "i'm sorry" to stan. stan never apologizes for anything he did to ford - neither for breaking his project, nor for banishing him to the hell dimension for 30 years. i get that they were mistakes, but you still have to apologize for mistakes (and if i allow myself to get very self-indulgent for a second, i've often thought the whole story would be a lot more resonant if stan broke ford's machine on purpose). i had a whole section in here where i talked about what a scene like this would look like but it was so long... if people want to hear more about it i'll say more but it's the kind of thing that warrants its own post.

anyway. moving on from the show itself. so possibly my hottest take is that i think journal 3 should not have been published KJSHDFLGKHSDFGUIWEHRGJSDF. basically i think instead of trying to write the actual journal 3 they should have picked a handful of stories from his research era that they wanted to tell and made a graphic novel about that. i got WAAAAAAAYYYY off topic and wrote PARAGRAPHS about this but it's not related to the question you asked so i'll just summarize by saying i think it would play more to their strengths as writers, leave more to the imagination, and they could leave out all those fucking retcons that i hate

as it is, though, again, i think that ford is written pretty well in the journal. there are a few off-handed comments and lines that give me "he would not fucking say that" vibes but overall it very realistically portrays what it's like for someone to be manipulated, isolated, drawn away from his loved ones, etc. it's a very poignant story which resonated with a lot of people, myself included. again my main problem is that it's undercut with the writers being like "BROOOOO HE'S JUST LIKE ICARUS!! FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN!!!!!!!!" as though it's all his fault, and that it ends on a very moralizing "i learned my lesson" note. so really the biggest characterization problems i have with journal 3 have to do with fiddleford, but that's a whole other can of worms

anyway i hope this was... interesting? informative?? i hope i answered your question to your satisfaction. have a nice day :)

[thebeesareback]

The big Robert Baratheon thoughts

There are several characters within the ASOIAF universe who could comfortably be the protagonist of their own book/series, and GRRM has spoken about how, when writing a character, he tries to see all the major events through their eyes and how it would have affected their lives. Dany and Oberyn are good examples of this, and a shorter book/series could comfortably have either one of them as the main character. If a fic writer is looking for any inspiration, I think a lot could be drawn from Dany in Vaes Toloro.

Another of them is a character who almost seems like a false protagonist in GOT: King Robert Baratheon. The people who don't know him think he's amazing, the people who do know him despise him. He has a fleshed-out backstory, character and the power to influence the plot in many different ways. Yet he's killed off quickly, and I think the fan community often overlooks him as a simple drunken idiot. So I'd like to dig a little deeper.

Robert's life can easily be sectioned into three parts: pre-rebellion era, the rebellion era and the post-rebellion era. Most of what we see comes from Ned Stark, and later we have flashbacks from Cersei which show a much darker and thoroughly rotten man.

To start: Robert is the first born son of House Baratheon, a clan with significant power and influence. He's exactly the kind of young man the Westerosi patriarchal "might makes right" system rewards -- the sort of son Randyl Tarly would love to have. He's an excellent fighter, charming, good looking ("muscled like a maiden's fantasy", oh Ned). There's also a kindness there. When he's fostered at the Eeire he sends for a gift of oranges for Jon Arryn, and although the fruit goes bad, he's not upset and instead plays with the other teenagers. It's silly and funny and the most childish we ever see him.

He isn't always lovely, of course. In Stannis' memory, Robert is unpleasant. He mocks Stannis' falcon and, therefore, Stannis himself. However, Stannis is a miserable shit, and this comment comes after they've spent years disliking each other, so there's obvious bias. Robert seemed to be happy to be away from his family, and so some alienation from his brothers does make sense. Robert and Stannis go through the ordeal of watching their parents die, and it's understandable that this would cause issues in their relationship. Perhaps that's why they pushed each other away. Having a walking, whining reminder of that trauma can't have been pleasant, and the desire to pretend that everything is ok and ignore problems gets more persistent as the years go on.

The third thing we hear about from Robert's pre-rebellion era is his relationship with Mya Stone. I'm not totally clear on the timeline, so I don't know if it's 1. parents' death > 2. Mya's birth > 3. the rebellion or if 1 and 2 are the other way around. Either way, Robert seems to adore his daughter. Ned thinks about how frequently they visited her, and how much Robert enjoyed spending time with her. In a kinder story, Robert would have always been close to Mya. Then the rebellion starts.

There are, of course, lots of things which lead to the rebellion. I don't think Tywin was going to put up with the Mad King for much longer, and Rhaegar felt the same way. Then you have the coalition between the Starks, Baratheons, Tullys and Arryns, and at some point Varys and "Young Griff" would have popped up. For Robert, though, things were straightforward: he wanted Lyanna, and Rhaegar took her away. He remarks to Ned that "Seven Kingdoms couldn't fill the whole she left". It's clear that he didn't actually know Lyanna that well, and it could easily be argued that the reason he worshipped her memory was a mix of affection for Ned and a desire to return to a time where he wasn't traumatised.

Obviously, war is traumatic. That's kind of the point of the series. Everyone who fought in Robert's Rebellion is changed in some way and the scars, literal and metaphorical, run deep. Stannis broods over his "rewards". Ned misses his sister, brother and father. Catelyn is aware of the loss of her betrothed, and Lady Dustin crystalises her rage. Jamie is ostracised and bitter. Jon Connington promises more violence. The list goes on. The things Robert sees during the campaign clearly change him, and this brings us back to Mya.

One of the key themes of the series, most prominently in the first book, is the idea that the innocent should not be sacrificed. That's why Ned works so hard to protect Jon and why he resigns his handship when Robert wants to kill Dany. Something happened to Robert during the rebellion, where his hatred of the Targaryens solidifies so much that it becomes the only thing he really wants. Other things, like his love of his daughter or the belief that children should be protected, all go and he's left with Tywin Lannister and the corpses of Rhaenys and Aegon.

Robert doesn't have to make peace with the Lannisters. In fact, lots of people (the Starks, the Dornish and the people of King's Landing) would be much happier if he didn't. Tywin ordered a horrific thing, and Robert rewarded him. For me, this is where Robert becomes the man we meet in Game of Thrones. He's so broken inside that he does nothing, and tries to pretend that he's still the person he was as a teenager.

After the rebellion, Robert goes on to have plenty more children. If he loved Mya and wanted to see her all the time, after the rebellion he forgets her. And she's the lucky one! Robert must know that Cersei has his twins drowned, he ignores Barra and Gendry, and he only acknowledges Edric Storm because he has to. Then there are the kids who are legally "his", even if biologically they're not. I don't think we ever see him interact with Tommen or Myrecella, and his relationship with Joffrey isn't good. Sure, Joffrey is a little shit, but you could argue that it's partially because of Robert's treatment. Stannis thinks, at one point, that Robert might have killed Joffrey because he hit him so hard.

Why does Robert detach? Well, there's the trauma, the general depression, the loneliness, the disconnect between *conceiving* children and *the actual children*. I think, as well, there's the knowledge that, by allowing Tywin to get away with the murder of the Targaryen children, he's set a precedent whereby the same thing could easily happen to his own kids. If someone needed to get rid of Robert -- and there are people who would like him gone -- they would come after Joffrey, Tommen and Myrecella, and perhaps his bastards, too. He can't protect them, and it shames his chivalric ideals, so he disconnects, doesn't care, and drinks excessively. It might be a way of dealing with guilt, or a way he protects himself from losing anyone else. Ultimately, Joffrey, Tommen and Myrecella are doomed; Edric only escaped sacrifice because of Pylos and Davos, and might well get mixed up in a Varys/"Young Griff" scheme; all of the bastards in King's Landing are killed; and if Gendry survives, it's because of plot armour. Nobody cares about Mya, really.

There's plenty to say about the Robert/Cersei match. Firstly, I'd like to mention how much I enjoy the show-only scene where the two discuss their marriage. It's heartbreaking, well written and beautifully acted, and gives some depth which makes the experience richer.

None of the Lannisters like Robert, with the exception of Tyrion. Tyrion likes Robert because Cersei doesn't, but their creepy and destructive bond is a whole other issue. Ned thinks that Robert was a man with "big appetites", and a clear desire to be loved. It probably means he wasn't ever going to be a good husband, which Lyanna points out (in a line which I cannot imagine a 14-year old ever saying, but I digress). Robert loved the thrill of the chase and the first few weeks of a relationship, but wasn't willing to really emotionally attach to anyone. Perhaps it's because, like with his children, he had to keep people away in case he lost them, like Lyanna.

Cersei is her own woman and, to be honest, not a very good wife. Robert thinks he would have been happy with Lyanna, Cersei thinks she would have been happy with Rhaegar: both are wrong. She starts her wedding day by having sex with her brother; she regularly cuckolds her husband, and then she finishes off by murdering her husband. You could argue that her behaviour is driven by Robert's physical and sexual abuse, and his emotional distance and obvious disdain. I don't think that's incorrect, per se, I just think there's a nasty mix with the two of them. They're bad alone and worse together. They're a toxic, unhappy, traumatised mix, and a solid argument for Westerosi divorce.

Finally, there's Robert's alcoholism and his love of food. There are a number of reasons for this -- the genre's enthusiasm for descriptions of feasts; parallels with Henry VIII of England; possibly GRRM simply likes adding his favourite meals, similar to how he created House Estermont so there could be turtles, because he had pet turtles. Obesity is the sort of thing that's pretty common in middle age men who used to be very physically active, because they had to eat lots to make up their calorie deficit, and when the exercise stopped, the food continued. As for alcohol, it gives Robert an opportunity to forget his (admittedly plentiful) responsibilities and woes, makes him feel like a hero, and gives him an excuse for his abuse of Cersei. He rapes her, and when she brings it up, he says "it was not me, but the wine", then REACHES FOR A BEER. I'm certainly not qualified to talk about addiction and trauma, so if anyone has thoughts on this, please add a comment.

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the eponymous character snatches the crown at his wife's goading, and then finds that things disintegrate around him. There's a scene in the play where two servants talk about what's going on in Scotland, and one says that two horses fought, and one ate the other. When a monarch is usurped, in literature, nature goes against itself. In real life, revolutions are messy and complicated and difficult. Robert Baratheon fought a rebellion to get his fiance back, whilst others used him and worked alongside him for their own reasons. He was left holding a rotten crown. Abused and abuser, surrounded by toxicity and exuding his own hatred, one could easily create a novel about his disillusionment.

[zahri-melitor]

Hmmm still contemplating the Timpoll:

Chuck Dixon gets a bad rap for the Republicanism, the aging of his writing and the fact a lot of people simply won’t sit down and read all of it, but he established a LOT of baseline Tim and some aspects of his character I love (Tim the Team-Up Robin is due to Dixon)

Peter David writes good kid!Tim with his friends, but I think the magic there is the ensemble more than his writing of Tim himself.

Jon Lewis just doesn’t really get what a Tim story should be sorry. He is however interested in Tim as a civilian in a way no other writer quite is.

Bill Willingham has two main modes: my conservative values are showing; and heartbreaking character work. I think seeing Tim struggle with the concept of who he was outside of Robin, the school shooting issue, and everything with Dana and Cass after War Games is extremely well done. Pity about the other sections of his run.

Geoff Johns is who you go to for the Tim/Kon and Tim & Kon content. It’s a pity he likes drama a BIT too much.

Adam Beechen’s character work between Tim and Dick and Tim and Bruce was delicate, loving and very needed. He gave us the suicide issue, which compared to Dixon era PSAs? No contest. He wrote Father’s Day. If he hadn’t been assigned Cass’s evil arc I think he’d be a lot more respected and he’s one of the few writers on this list that I’d have loved to see what he did with a longer run.

Sean McKeever I don’t have an opinion on as I haven’t read his Teen Titans run yet.

Chris Yost was my vote but what I actually wish we had from Yost was a more characteristic Tim run to compare, because what we got was a fabulous mini but no information on how he’d exploit that reset. Yost understands how to reference other runs and write interconnectedly and understood which fault lines to push to break Tim open. I’d have loved to see what he did with Tim under normal conditions.

Fabian Nicieza got done dirty by Flashpoint. I said it. Nicieza is the best BatFAM writer from 2007-2011 and I swear he consistently gets overlooked by both being surrounded by Grant Morrison bullshit that he had to reference and work around, and by his Tim plotline getting done over by Flashpoint. If pre-boot had had another year I think we would have had Tim stable and through his growing up arc and Nicieza would be feted for being the architect of Adult Tim more than Yost.

On the “yeah where is Alan Grant” - let us never overlook that Grant wrote “To the Father I Never Knew”. Even if Grant had never written a single other word of Tim, he’d be up there in the pantheon SIMPLY for that masterpiece, which developed the dynamic all subsequent work on Tim and Jack’s relationship references.

[kenora-pizza]

My Thoughts on "Emily in the middle"

Based off a conversation I had w/@mean-scarlet-deceiver in the comment section of this post of theirs, because Tumblr comments have a word limit that I wasn't aware of, and I'm in the mood to speak my mind on this.

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Alright. So. Emily in the middle. The last appearance of Donald and Douglas in the TV show, and imo, a pretty crappy one too. The Caledonian twins, (Donald in particular) are my favourite TTTE characters for multiple reasons, and there are many things in this episode which irritated or straight up pissed me off. And I've been holding these feelings in for months.

Now, to be fair, I did like some things about this episode. The visuals are gorgeous, and I love how they brought back the twins' season 20 theme from 'Love me tender.' They also carried over this thing introduced (and heavily featured) in 'Love me tender' where Donald acts like he knows better than Douglas, much to the latter's frustration. I REALLY wish they could elaborate further on this in another episode. Like maybe this behavior has been a constant but only now is it getting worse. Maybe this behaviour is related to the fact that Donald had to smuggle Douglas into Sodor, and started thinking of himself as the one who had to take charge and keep them both safe. Maybe it's from some sorta paranoia Donald developed regarding their status on Sodor, and for some time after the events of "Deputation," he still felt the need to protect and ensure that Douglas would remain on Sodor. (I don't know, I just came up with this). And the episode concept itself can be considered humorous, but imo, it would have been better with Bill, Ben and maybe Boco, Mavis or Edward.

First off, might as well get the obvious out of they way. The twins are HORRIBLY out of character in this episode. From the get-go, they're arguing about anything and everything, to the detriment of them and the engines around them. The TV show, especially in the CGI era, unfortunately started shifting them towards the very overdone trope of "They're twins and they argue a ton," but they went the whole way with it on this episode and it's flipping awful to watch. Especially at the end, when poor Emily got derailed by a snowball (while we're on the subject of that how the flying fuck did that thing get so big so quickly?) and they started blaming each other for the accident instead of helping or apologizing to her. Also doing seriously irresponsible things like stopping a HUGE ASS train on the main line and blocking the Express, and stopping the same train on a steep incline and leaving Emily to hold it while they bickered and chased each other up the hill. I mean honestly, they were acting more like Bill and Ben: Indistinguishable twins who frequently argue with each other over petty bullsh!t. The Caledonian Twins are absolute badasses who get sh!t done and clearly love each other very much. So why ruin them like this, Mattel?!

Second off.....this is something to do with a specific event (Brace yourselves for a long-ass explanation). In "Break Van," one of the notable events is Donald ramming a signal box (I'll explain). It's played off as an accident, but the book HEAVILY implies that this was intentional, with the line "But Donald didn't say what he was sorry for. We know, don't we?" and Douglas saying "Anyone would think, that Donald had his accident on purpose!" That's a huge wink wink from the book to the readers. And when you stop and think about it, Donald's motivation for this becomes clear. Think about everything that has happened to them thus far. Smuggling Douglas onto Sodor gave both of them a lot to lose, Douglas especially. By the time "Break Van" happens, Douglas has screwed up twice. And then the cherry on the top comes in the form of that motherf%^king Spiteful Brake Van making him late. At this point, the twins KNOW that Douglas is in TFC's black books and would be the one sent home after the trials if nothing is done. So to make TFC's decision more difficult, Douglas would either have to do better, or Donald would have to do worse. Donald chooses the latter option and it works, with TFC explicitly confirming this.

Now, In EITM, Douglas has been telling Emily about various incidents involving Donald from past seasons, and eventually start talking about the signal box incident. And given the significance of that event........it felt pretty darn scummy to hear them making light of that. That made me feel uncomfortable. Like... it's less "heehee, Donald is clumsy" and more "Donald purposefully injured himself and destroyed NWR property in an effort to keep his brother safe." I can see why Donald would be especially angry about this. It couldn't have been painless ramming into that signal box or fun getting lectured by Sir Topham Hatt, only for his brother to make light of it by laughing about it behind his back with another engine. And while we're on the topic, considering the bond between these brothers you cannot, in ANY WAY, convince me that Douglas would EVER talk sh!t about his brother behind his back to another engine. EVER.

Last off.....god, I REALLY feel for Emily in this episode. She may not be one of my absolute favourite characters, but she didn't deserve this, at all. I actually do like the idea of Donald, Douglas and Emily being a fun little trio, and I wish that it could have been done here.

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Ok wow, this turned out way longer than I expected for my first written Tumblr post. I hope people actually read this. If you reached the end, thanks for reading.

Also, if you wanna see something funny related to EITM, @jammyjams1910 did a fan dub of some scenes from the episode which had me laughing my ass off.

-Kenora

[roguelov]

AU where Morpheus wasn’t in the fishbowl and was able to experience the punk/rock/early 2000s edgy eras.

Death pulls him out of The Dreaming to experience humanity again since the times are changing and he needs to not be cooped up in his room like a moody teenager. They go to festivals where humans are more comfortable, everyone is dressed similarly and more expressive. Their truer selves in a sense.

Morpheus rolls his eyes at the humongous groups of people, the loud screaming of lyrics, he’s still not fond of interacting with humans and finds this whole trip a waste of time.

Suddenly the show starts and Reader is the opening act on stage playing to their hearts content. They’ve got the whole crowds’ attention in the palm of their hand. The songs’ lyrics are deep, catchy and has everyone else screaming/singing along.

Morpheus can practically feel everyone daydreaming about living better lives, getting that job, speaking up to their parents, etc. and is stunned at how much was brought out from all these humans just from one of Reader’s songs.

They end their song with a bang where confetti bursts from the edges of the stage and the crowd is loving their slow exit off to the side as they wave and blow kisses. Morpheus’ eyes follow them the whole way and the feeling he’s receiving from all the daydreamers slowly dissipates.

The main acts make their way on stage after a few minutes and the rest of the show continues without Reader being seen again. Morpheus being slightly sad he can’t hear another song. The sensation is the same from the other singers but not as strong as earlier with everyone daydreaming when Reader was at center stage.

He and Death stayed for the whole event and she asks what his thoughts are from the experience.

“What of the first singer? They were only onstage once compared to the others.”

“Why don’t we go see them then?” Death smiles knowingly and leads them both to the backstage area.

Reader is in their own section getting cleaned up and making sure they have everything. When they spot Death they run up to her with a big smile and hug her.

“I’m glad you could make it! What did you think?” They ask, still vibrating with adrenaline from the festival.

They converse with Death for a while as Morpheus stands off to the side, silently observing this person who evokes such strong dreams from people with their voice and music. A portion of himself in The Dreaming is doing research about this human who has caught his eye.

Just who are they? What drives them to make songs? What’s their inspiration? Are they single?

“And who’s you’re friend?” He suddenly hears.

Morpheus is pulled back to The Waking and sees Reader is giving him their full attention. He’s tongue-tied. Words of introduction lodged in his throat with no way to escape. The brief look into Reader’s dreams leaving him breathless and hungry to know more.

Death quirks an eyebrow at this sudden silence but hides a smirk and tells Reader a little about her brother. Eventually finding his voice, Morpheus joins the conversation just as Death excuses herself to return to her duty.

Cue friends to lovers with the King of Dreams and Nightmares being the number one fan of Reader. He always watches them when they have a show and is the first to hear a finished song and asked for any critiques. They both are fashion icons, mostly with Reader helping find an outfit for Morpheus.

This idea popped into my head and just kept going anyways I hope you liked it as much as I do 🤗

DUDE I DONT LIKE THE IDEA I FUCKING LOVE IT

Dream adored when you visited.

He especially loved the music which always followed you. It may be a hum on your lips or an actual melody - a half completed song - trailing behind you on the wind.

You were his lovely muse, his songbird.

Currently, you were in the Dreaming. You were in a music room - one Dream specifically created for you - filled with instruments found all over the Waking and the best recording studio ever imaginable.

Sitting on a couch, a laptop rested in your lap with headphones dangling around your neck. You were almost feverishly working on your newest song, one that had been stuck in your head all day. It was going along okay, it could be better. You hit a bump in the process and you wanted a fresh pair of ears.

“Dream? Could you have a listen to this?” You asked, handing over the headphones.

Dream, directly beside you with a book in hand, set the book in his lap and nodded. “I would love to.”

He put on the headphones and you anxiously pressed play. Dream was taken away, taken on a journey with your music and how you weaved your lyrics.

You truly were gifted.

Once it finished, he handed over the headphones. “So?” You nervously asked.

“I loved it.”

You groaned, “But you always say that. What does it need? Something feels missing. The chorus is catching yet it seems to … I don’t know, basic? It feels like I need better wording.”

Dream smiled softly. “I’m sure everyone will love it.” I know I do, he thought.

“But -“

“How about you take a break?” He suggested. “You had been at it all night since you first came. Relax and I’m sure time away will provide new perspective.”

You grumbled, glancing back at your screen. “How about just one more hour? I’m right there, I know it. Maybe it’s the second verse, to be honest I wasn’t completely sold on it. Or maybe it’s the melody altogether -“

He closed your laptop.

You gasped, and playfully glared at him. “Dream -“

“Time away is what is best, songbird.” He stood up, extending his hand towards you. “You will figure it out, I know you will. But, you must give yourself a break.”

You sighed. You placed the laptop and headphones down. Your hand slid into his. He easily helped you up. “Okay, okay, Sandman, I’ll relax.”

He smiled softly. “That’s all I ask.”

[danthediamondminecart]

Hello!

Another batch of questions freshly baked from the oven!

1. Will you make an RBB fanfic about the hosts past?

2. Can you tell me about some RBB fanfics during 2021-2022? I joined around 2023 and started writing RBB fanfics at 2023 so I never get to discover what RBB fanfics exsist back then

3. Has any of the battlers/contestants tried using the host's swords before?

4. How big is RBB headquarters?

5. What happens to all the battlers after every season of RBB?

6. What's your opinion on Corl and will he be appearing on any RBB fanfic you make soon?

7. What was the most stupidest/ hilarious things that both hosts and RBB contestants did?

8. Do all the RBB Battlers have messed up sleep schedules?

9. Who is most likely to cook/bake for every battler?

10. In your RBB Superheroes AU, is there a way a Superhero to lose their powers temporarily or permanently?

That's all, I hope I added the right amount of ingredients!

I’m running on a painkiller a migraine and general tiredness, let’s see if I can answer these questions coherently!

Q1) Perhaps! I have some cool ideas for how it would play out, and it’s definitely something I’d like to dabble into - I’d just have to smoothen up the timeline first. And *maybe* get further with BLSMP too.

Q2) I will not, for one main reasons. Firstly, much of the 2021-2022 fandom is lost media - it was either in messages, DMs, and many infamous stories of the era have been deleted or discontinued. This is because their authors got deleted, banned, left/run out of the fandom, or all three if they were bold enough! You ever heard of the Dessert AU? Do you remember Rivals to Lovers? They’re all gone now! I can’t in good faith recommend any of the still existing ones because most of them will never update again. There are still some of us who are still here, but you’ll likely consider us part of the ‘2023 fandom’, so yeah. (Also, I say infamous for a reason)

Q3) There exists ‘decoy’ swords that have lesser versions of the powers the hosts have, which anyone can use. See: the swords we, the Battler, have access to. But the host’s actual swords simply won’t work (power wise, they’re still…swords) for anyone else.

Q4) Same size as the lobby, because…it is the lobby. I would like to think they have an ‘underground’ section we can’t see, though.

Q5) They go back home and do whatever they’re used to. A lot of them still meet up in the RBB studio and hang out there regularly, because it’s a nice way to see their friends without getting swarmed and it’s generally a nice place. So they have things like a cafeteria, a training grounds, etc.

Q6) Couldn’t care less about him, and a resounding no. I was not a Pals fan, I have never *been* a Pals fan, I have no attachment to or dislike of CorlHorl whatsoever. Honestly, aside from Denis and Sketch, I have no idea who was even *in* the Pals. So, yeah, absolutely not, as I have no interest in writing him.

Q7) Not all the contestants, and none of the Hosts show up, but go read The Roomba Incident and get back to me.

Q8) Nope. Some of them, like Tanqr and Hyper, actually care about their beauty sleep, and others, like Think, just have a regular sleep schedule. Really, a majority of them have a normal sleep schedule, unless A) their species demands they don’t (eg Peetah) or B) their personality means that they tend to avoid sleep and other ‘unnecessary activities’ for the sake of their work (eg Kreek)

Q9) Think and BigB, and I don’t need to explain this one. I’d like to think that the cafeteria in the RBB Studio is staffed by a mix of human chefs and robot chefs though. Please imagine the slot bots giving you ur food

Q10) Nope. Their powers can be nullified if someone has that ability - the only person to do so, however, is NightFoxx.

I hope these answers made sense, and sorry if they’re not as detailed as usual, as I said, I’m running on a painkiller and prayers right now, lol

[yourassimcomingforit]

Woah guys what’s this *cough cough* @deadly-kalopsia *cough cough*

The End of an Era

“Connection Terminated.” (Steele). That quote starts one of the most iconic speeches and endings in the Five Nights at Freddy´s (FNAF) franchise. It takes place during the 6th installment, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (FFPS). FFPS is a game created by Scott Cawthon, published in December 2017, and has 3 main parts to the gameplay. The first part is where you run a pizzeria, another part has you “salvage”, aka keep or throw away the animatronics that are found near your pizzeria, and the final part is a classic FNAF game where the animatronics, possessed by spirits of dead children and one William Afton, are trying to kill you as you try to survive, the only difference being that it ends once you complete a set of tasks rather than it ending at 6 am. Depending on how you play the game you can get a different ending. During one of those possible endings, commonly referred to as the Completionist Ending, you get to hear a speech from one of the characters, Henry (voiced by Dave Steele), where he says goodbye to all the animatronics and this era of FNAF in general. The goal of that particular ending, which is presented via Henry's speech, is to end the stories of and say goodbye to the animatronics, to Michael Afton, to William Afton, to Henry's daughter Charlie Emily, and to wrap up this arc in the franchise allowing it to move on.

The Completionist Ending starts with Henry saying goodbye to the animatronics. That goodbye, however, is broken up into 2 different areas that work together to explain and give context about what is happening and properly end their story. The first spot is at the very beginning of his speech,

You don't even realize that you are trapped

Your lust for blood has driven you in endless circles

Chasing the cries of children in some unseen chamber

Always seeming so near, yet somehow out of reach

But, you will never find them, none of you will

This is where your story ends. (Steele)

Henry introduces his plan to free the animatronics and even gives some reasoning for it, which is that they have become mindless creatures who only want to kill so he is going to end their story and free them. This section is overall just a brief introduction to Henry's plan during this ending. However, it´s not until the second time he addresses them that he properly says goodbye and talks further about his plan and what he hopes will happen because of it.

And to you monsters trapped in the corridors

Be still, and give up your spirits

They don't belong to you

For most of you, I believe there is peace and perhaps, more

Waiting for you after the smoke clears (Steele)

When Henry says goodbye to the animatronics in this section of his speech he is setting them free and ending their story via fire. However, he is also giving the souls trapped in them their happy ending or as it’s referred to in the games their “Happiest Day”, which serves to better wrap up their arc and involvement in the story. The animatronics have been set free and can finally have peace. That is their ending.

In this ending Michael's goal of finding and killing his father, William Afton is finally achieved and in doing so he can finally rest and his story can end. In every FNAF game up to and including FFPS, you play as Micheal Afton during his quest to end his father's reign of terror. That goal is stated in FNAF: Sister location when Michael is monologuing to William, ¨I'm going to come find you...I'm going to come find you.¨ (Heywood). Yet once you get to the games following FFPS like FNAF Security Breach or Help Wanted 1 & 2 you play as different characters like Gregory or Vannesa, showing that Michael's story has truly ended, he is no longer our protagonist or player character, and as Henry says, ¨I have a feeling that's not what you want. I have a feeling that you are right where you want to be.¨ (Steele). Michael has done all he needs to and can finally die with everyone else in the fire, he is where he wants to be. Michael Afton´s story is over and he can rest.

The Completionist Ending finally ends William Aftons, the main villain of the FNAF franchise, never-ending reign of terror. William's refusal to die and to keep being the villain is seen in this quote from him, “I always come back” (Heywood). It takes until FFPS, which as a reminder is the 6th installment in the franchise, for there to be an ending to William's story and according to Henry, ¨The darkest pit of Hell has opened to swallow you whole. So, don't keep the Devil waiting, old friend.¨ (Steele). Henry damns William to suffer in whatever afterlife there is and it works. In FNAF Ultimate Custom Night, where you play as William Afton reliving the same night over and over, while all the animatronics seen in the franchise come after him in the classic FNAF game style. William Afton´s ending is that he will forever be tormented and never allowed to rest.

Henry’s goodbye to his daughter, Charlie Emily, is used to end her story, but it's also a much more personal goodbye and is used to give context to their relationship and what happened to Charlie in her death.

I'm sorry that on that day

The day you were shut out and left to die

No one was there to lift you up into their arms

The way you lifted others into yours

And then, what became of you

I should have known, you wouldn't be content to disappear

Not my daughter. I couldn't save you then, so let me save you now

It's time to rest, for you, and for those you have carried in your arms

When Henry talks to Charlie he confirms things about her death and what happened to her, like the fact that she died alone, which was theorized about in the fandom. These confirmations help to wrap up any loose ends in her story and properly end it. Not only did Henry confirming these things wrap up her story for the fandom, but his final words helped close out Charlie's story for herself, with him finally being there to save her. Charlie can finally rest and find peace with the rest of the animatronics.

The Completionist Ending and Henry´s speech in general strived to wrap up that era of FNAF and specific characters' stories. When Henry spoke he was not only giving one more speech before they all died in the fire, but he also said goodbye to everyone and gave them their ¨Happiest Day¨ so they could all move on to where they belong. The spirits in the animatronics including Charlie have been set free and they can finally have peace, Michael is finally able to rest having completed his goal, and William will forever be tormented in his death as he deserves. Their stories are finished and FNAF can move on to its next arc. “This ends. For all of us. End communication.” (Steele)

Work Cited

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator. Directed by Scott Cawthon, performances by Dave Steele and PJ Heywood, Scottgames, 4 Dec. 2017. Steam.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location. Directed by Scott Cawthon, performances by PJ Heywood, Scottgames, 7 Oct. 2016. Steam.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

can i ask for a quick rundown of your mcd and/or mystreet rewrite? i’m a new follower and a tiny bit lost 😭

Ah, Ofc!! this will be a long post, because you said 'quick' and i just heard 'explain everything'. just because I don't know HOW to summarise everything, so I just explain what I can... which is too much.

each section will have a TL;DR if it's long, though.

So, the only rewrite I’ve actually, like, done so far is Amaranth (https://archiveofourown.org/works/31310384)

It’s an MCD rewrite, the first one I did, and it’s not **technically** related to my overall rewrite universe, though I’m not going to totally discredit it. It’s where I got a lot of my ideas, and it was sort of a first draft for me. It’s very similar to MCD, just with events changed to how I would have written them myself. Major change is that the Zane/aphmau engagement actually goes somewhere. My favourite change was the Pikoro arc tho for some reason bc it was just my first significant deviation from the original plot.

Now… cannibalism and cult stuff, yeah?

(Don’t read past this point if you are uncomfortable with discussions of human-on-human meat/organ consumption)

Lycoris Radiata (https://archiveofourown.org/works/50710504) is the only part of this current era of rewrite!Aphverse that has any content so far.

TL;DR for this section: i mostly just emphasised themes present in canon, there's cannibalism for magical reasons, Shad is more relevant early on, and there's a reason why characters look like that when i draw them, i promise. Also, cult stuff!

LR is an MCD rewrite, which has some lore changes. It begins with Avra (Aphmau) travelling with Visher, Garroth being angsty, and so on. Only the prologue and first chapter are currently posted, and you don't need to read Amaranth to begin it (though it will follow similar storylines later on). Basically, the main premise is that it’s kind of a criticism of imperialism, organised religion, and so on. Those are themes already present in original MCD, and so I… expanded. Blood Magic is the main magic focused on as well. It's the kind that Avra uses, and it's the kind that makes SKs function. Avra has to consume blood and meat (typically organ meat, preferably human) in order to have any amount of magic, and depending on what creature the meat comes from, also grants her some fun little magical extras. She also has a strong association with Judgement(Shad) in my rewrite, and there is a reason I draw them so often together. Most character changes you'll see have some lore-based backing for it. Characters who are made darker-skinned, or have had their haircolour changed, it's typically due to them belonging to a particular ethnic group that i made for Ru'Aun or Tu'La, which does impact their characters in the way that they obviously grew up under certain cultures. Sometimes it'll just be because I think it looks cool, or for visual/thematic parallels with another character. If you're ever curious as to knowing why i have certain characters looking the way I do, then just ask. Oh, also, people aren't just loyal to Avra because she's nice. there's like an actual cult thing that begins happening and to say there's some weird shit with that would be... underselling it.

A Royal Tale, and Mermaid Tales both fall into the timeline between LR and the MyS rewrite. they're quite insignificant series, but i decided to devote myself to being a completionist.

My plans for them aren't really set in stone yet, but I know i want to expand upon them and their lore a lot more, and they will eventually both fall into the, uh, cannibalism and murder theme of the rest of the rewrites. they'll likely be little side projects. I have trauma from ART tho. Show makes me *uncomfy*

Mystreet.... yayyyy...

No official name for the rewrite yet, I'm working on it.

TL;DR: If you let an edgy teenager write MyS but they also watched desperate housewives so they write some sitcom episodes on the side. Also, Avra needs that gross-tasting nailpolish that stops you from chewing on your nails... but like... all over her body.

Basically, MyS except they've always been reincarnations of their MCD (or LR, in this case) selves, with some residual trauma and habits because of that. I'm going to lean more into the darker seasons, even though Ik popular opinion is that the light-hearted ones were the best, and I'll just focus more on lore and stuff. PDH has a 17 year old Avra joining PDH, after being homeschooled for a while due to having some mental health issues. I'm going to go a little more 'general highschool drama' vibes, might have some mystery shit idk. Will be less cringe than canon, because yes, i'm cringe and i'm free, but even i have limits. The more lighthearted seasons might just be amalgamed into one big 'sitcom style' fic, which will be set before S4 and such, but i'll probably make lighthearted chapters between the serious ones. S4, Aphmau's Year, S5, S6 and Her Wish will be my main priority, and will go into the whole murder and cannibalism theme of LR. It'll already have been kind of expanded upon, because MyS!Avra has a bit of a habit of auto-cannibalism (eating the skin around her nails/on her fingers, on the inside of her cheeks and on her lips) which eventually just... goes a little crazy. There is gonna be cult stuff in MyS too, it just might present differently to how it does in LR. Or maybe similarly. Idk, depends on how you view it.