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theofficersacademy · 3 months ago

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　　　　　Happyland: Week One

The arrows on the ground lead you to a small clearing at the edge of the jungle, the canopy dense enough to wrap the space in cool shadow. Immediately, you notice the small platform made of driftwood at the other end, and behind it, an unremarkable thatch hut. Not knowing what to expect, you look around at your allies as you all drag your luggage into the shade and wait with bated breath for something to happen.

All of a sudden, the clearing fills with the hiss of palm fronds rustling in the wind, and a voice from someone, somewhere, calls: "Annnd here's your host: Emcee!"

Out onto the stage hops a one-legged statue dressed in a suit, arms waving at you all. You think it might be smiling, but you can't really tell.

"Thank you, thank you! Welcome to Happyland!" They say when the palms quiet. "The place where you can win your way to happiness! You may have noticed that you've each been given a strip of cloth in one of four colors."

Weaving through the audience is a white-haired girl handing out bandanas in alternating green, red, yellow, and blue.

"These are your teams! Your goal will be to work together with your teams in any way you can to score Happiness Points! The happiest team will be named the winner at the end! And we'll have a very special prize for you, presented by the beloved Ringmaster!"

The palm fronds hiss in the breeze again, and the statue swings their empty eyes across the crowd. "Of course, my lovely assistants have made sure that you'll have plenty of happy games to play, but entertaining the viewers might help you out, too! Now then, let's see what's in store for you this week:"

　　North Island: Stone Cog

Past the central island to the north is an island covered in dense, wild jungle, as if it's been left to grow on its own for centuries. As you cross the rickety bridge that spans the strait, you catch the distant sounds of strange screeches and unusual birdsong.

"This is the North Island!" says Emcee, stopping you at the foot of some ancient, moss-covered steps ascending into the hills. "At the center of this place is a very old, very mys~ter~ious~ temple said to be full of wonderful treasures."

If you crane your neck, you can see a glimpse of the temple's stone crown peeking out above the trees.

"How do you get to the treasure, you ask? Excellent question! I'm sure you've guessed that you can't simply stroll inside. There are vengeful spirits and vicious beasts guarding the treasure, so you'll have to be sly to get around them. And what's more! Ancient ruins full of enigmatic puzzles will block your way, so you'll have to work together with a teammate to solve them. Just remember: don't get caught!"

What to expect:

Suitable for those who favor feats of stealth and dexterity.

This game will be entirely in the Discord server and will operate in the chatplay format with added rolling mechanics.

This game will be a relay, with only two players per team playing at one time.

Players will report to the North Island location at the start of the week and will be restricted to interactions within North Island.

　　　　　　　　　　　East Island: Naughty or Nice

"Welcome to the East Island! It's suuuper cute, right? ♡" The white-haired maiden guides you through a surreal but beautiful landscape full of lush flora and greenery immaculately designed. You spot a false moon hanging up in the air spilling forth a waterfall, a castle far off, houses shaped like shoes… But the area that Diana takes you to is a picturesque and spacious greenhouse filled to the brim with magical plants you could only imagine— flowers of eternal frost, plants that spew forth little pyrotechnics, etcetera.

(Unless, of course, you've been whisked away by the Morfisians before, in which case you might not be that surprised by the assortment on display here.)

"We'll have a tea party here! You'll be tested to see if you as a group have a good judge of character. Things might get pretty scary if you choose wrong, heehee! ♡" Melodic laughter erupts gently. "And after that… well, let's say it'll be a test of endurance~!"

What to expect:

Suitable for those who favor feats of athleticism and perception.

This game will be entirely in the Discord server and will operate in the chatplay format with added rolling mechanics.

This game will be separated into three segments, each with their own deadline.

Players will report to the East Island location at the start of the week and will be restricted to interactions within East Island.

　　South Island: Creature Campaign

"Um, behold!" The crest beast-like creature flares its wings grandly at the vast terrain behind it. All that greets the eye at the moment is sprawl of rolling grassland in front of you, crested in hills and dotted in meadow flora. But far, far off in the distance, you think you can glimpse the outline of mountains towering against the clouds. (Do these islands even stretch that far?)

"The... The South Island is home to the Creature Campaign! Scattered through the many... um, many..."

Faltering, the crest beast flaps its wings in a fluster. Then seems to right itself. "—terrains! Many terrains, yes, of this place, you'll find all kinds of beasts you've never seen before. Big. Small. Magical. Um. Mysterious. Your aim is to tame the finest selection you can, finer than anyone else."

"If you're a— if you're a creature whisperer, then brave the creature campaign!"

What to expect:

Suitable for those who favor feats of insight and authority.

This game will be guided in the Discord server, but all writing will take place through dash threads.

Players will report to the South Island location at the start of the week and will be restricted to interactions within South Island.

　　　　　　　　　　　West Island: The Gauntlet

"Ta-dah…"

It's with little fanfare that the boy stands before you, arms spread in a wide, muted flourish - his attempt at making something of the vastness behind him. Desert-like, the island extends a surprising ways. Cacti stand unusually tall. A tumbleweed rolls past. A single building sits a ways in - a tavern, some might say, though the sign clearly indicates a saloon.

Beyond that, it doesn't look like there's much, though the horizon sometimes flickers 'neath the sun, leading one to wonder if there is perhaps more to the place than meets the eye.

"It's kind of plain... Sorry… But, ah, welcome to the West Island!"

For now, you've been set up on the coast, where a not-so-elaborate obstacle course has been organized.

"This challenge should appeal to the more straightforward of you… The Gauntlet will test your courage, stamina, and coordination. If you're confident in how well you navigate through physical hurdles in your way… then you can probably make it through without wiping out. Probably. Maybe. Hehe."

What to expect:

Suitable for those who favor feats of athleticism and dexterity.

This game will be guided in the Discord server, but all writing will take place through dash threads.

Players will report to the West Island location at the start of the week and will be restricted to interactions within West Island.

How to Play:

Week 1 begins on Monday, August 5 at noon EST and ends on Friday, August 9, at midnight EST.

This week, the cap for participants is 12 muses per game.

If your muse opts to spend their week playing a game, they may not also participate in the objectives.

If your muse opts to play a game, they are locked to their game's location until the week ends. They may not interact with muses on other game islands or the Central Island.

Rules for each game will be explained in the respective channels at the start. Elimination rules and quantity may differ between games.

The main IC game events for the duration of the week will count for one thread mastery upon meeting the usual requirements.

"W-W-W-Wait!" A flurry of feathers flies back into view. "I almost... forgot..." There's something still unsettling about seeing a bizarre crest beast talk, much less act like this. It's doubtful that sweat can form on the mask-like growth of its face, but you get the impression of it anyway.

It seems to be looking for something, muttering to itself. "Oh no, he'll be so mad at me if I lost it... where is the— there!" It yanks out a piece of paper in one fleshy talon.

"D-Don't forget! The viewers are always watching! And they too must be pleased! ... Um..." It leans in closer to the paper as if squinting. "D... Doing so can boost your team's chances of success with one-of-a-kind bonuses. If you're someone who thinks they can make an impression to an audience, then step right up! Remember, the viewers are looking for four things from you: your, um, eye for sensation, plot, intrigue, and... and... strategy."

The paper is stowed away, and the beast gives an emphatic flap of its scaly wings.

"The viewers are kind when they're satisfied. If the games aren't your strong suit, then maybe... that can be your goal this week instead. Sometimes, playing it safer like this isn't so bad, right? Um... should I be saying that publicly?"

Viewer Rating Objectives, Week 1:

This week, the audience wants to see...

A dramatic confession! 　　score required: 7 　　success: bonus to one chosen teammate's score for week 2

Someone provoked into starting a fight! 　　score required: 8 　　success: one chosen teammate gets first choice on signups for week 2

A complete transformation with a makeover! 　　score required: 8 　　success: charm and stealth bonus to one chosen teammate for week 2

A profound heart-to-heart asking for advice! 　　score required: 12 　　success: protect two chosen teammates from elimination in week 2

A heartfelt bromance (or bramance) for the ages! 　　score required: 14 　　success: athleticism bonus to whole team for week 2

A heartpounding escape from the jaws of death! 　　score required: 10 　　success: mystery ticket

The unlikely hero swooping in to save the day! 　　score required: 12 　　success: nullify two chosen teammates' banes for week 2

The tragic tension of unrequited love! 　　score required: 10 　　success: deduct from another chosen team's score for week 1

A bold stunt pulled off to impress a crush! 　　score required: 10 　　success: mystery ticket

Someone duped into eating something truly revolting! 　　score required: 12 　　success: nullify two chosen contestants' boons for week 2

How to Play:

Week 1 begins on Monday, August 5 at noon EST and ends on Friday, August 9, at midnight EST.

If your muse opts to spend their week completing an objective, they may not also participate in the games.

If your muse opts to complete an objective, they are locked to the Central Island for the week. They may not interact with muses on other islands.

If selected, you will be privately DM'd your objective at the start of the week. Do not share your objective with anyone OOC in order to prevent metagaming.

Objectives will be capped at 2 takers each.

Your muse is free to decide how they would like to complete their objective. They may choose to reveal their objective IC to others, or pursue it organically.

When the week ends, if your muse has successfully completed their objective, submit the link to the corresponding interaction to the masterlist.

To reach the score needed for the bonus, your muse will be evaluated on a scale out of 5 by the viewer base on the following criteria: 　　1.　sensation: the drama, comedy, or shock value employed in their objective's completion 　　2.　plot: the quality of the larger narrative they've built around their objective's completion 　　3.　intrigue: the quality of individual or interpersonal development over the course of the objective's completion 　　4.　strategy: the cleverness of their approach, as well as how it tied into teamwide or individual success Pass or fail will be determined based on the cumulative total of their scores in these areas. Your muse may plan their approach accordingly.

Mystery ticket rewards will be randomized from a selection ranging from nothing to very big prizes.

Muses pursuing objectives will not be susceptible to elimination.

If you have read all instructions, your muse may make their week 1 selection here.

Signups will close on Sunday, August 4th, at noon EST.

#toa announcements #toahappyland2024

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nebulousmedic · 4 months ago

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About ur angst post, me and my partner used to roleplay tf2 all the time in longform, it was angst central i miss doing that, angst is so so nice

Ahh same. I used to roleplay, granted it was mostly fluff and sex but when there was angst it was real good. I don't ever come up with angst because I'm bad at it, especially of the psychological kind, traumas and whatnot, it's kinda embarrassing lol. I'm not good at writing characters and really getting into their heads which is why I refuse to do anything suuuper serious for my TF2 art

Nowadays I don't really roleplay... Sorta? I do little pseudo RP when talking to a friend about our OCS but that's it really

#ask #answered #anonymous #mun talks #dont mind me

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eboykisser · 1 year ago

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fun fact btw bc im a marie kondo defender first and a human only if or when it sparks joy to be one !!!!! this thing described as how marie kondo presents Things as having, in an anthromorphic manner, served you, as though they had intent to do well? And the reason why other western/psychiatric-psychological/aspiritual/clinical types of advicegivers do Not typically share in this framing or even actively pathologize the experience of it as a medical abnormality or marginalia-like deviation from scientifically coldly rationalistified explanations according to a verrrrry narrow understanding of reality & nearly infinitely variable experience diversities therein ???

that is because marie kondo is Japanese and feng shui is a thing she seems to often promote as some underlying practices. furthermore, feng shui as an 'eastern' philosophical-sociospiritual belief system (asian, specifically, central largely to japan as far as i currently understand, but shared and varied upon widely in many other such cultures and belief systems) and it is also associated with practical practices that are rooted in Animism!!!!;

now animism is basically like. ok so. like, forgive me; if i as a non-asian-westerner introduced to east asian philosophy via mostly self-directed-study rather than cultural community immersion may unintentionally oversimplify the meaningfulness of depth of the teaching. i hope to be not only fully respectful but also fully accurate! but yeah that being said here's my good faith current understanding as someone who is a believer in buddhist religious philosophies! so animism. the belief and teaching that all items in the known universe have a form of inherent sentience-like Awareness of Being The Things They Are, in a way that makes it Legitimately Accurate to anthropomorphize them as though they could have feelings or intentions as persons or humans tend to do, and sometimes even goes so far as to say that this intrinsic experience of self-awareness is a numinous or divine status granted to these beings as spirits.

marie kondo's philosophy is actually known & canonically explained to be rooted in Japanese tradition, & she has rituals in her methodology which she personally has attributed to her own early experiences of being a shrine maiden, actually, during which time she was first immersed in the practice of thinking of kami (a divinity-like spirit) as present in all things, including objects.

for an easy visual metaphoric representation of what this belief system in practice could look like within intra-cultural settings, media like Avatar the Last Airbender + its sequel, and Mushishi are beautiful depictions of a world wherein nonhuman beings are portrayed to have significant spiritual-personhood-capacities! i highly rec mushishi as a very relaxing watch regardless, but its also relevant to mention here because the narrative centers around a protagonist whose role in society is to mediate towards peaceful coexistence between restless animated spirits when they come into conflict with humans in the overlaps of their environments and territories! so you really get a good idea of how the belief in shinto-influenced animism is embedded in the cultural imagination & ultimately cultural reality of real life impact in non-spiritual, non-metaphorical, purely practical ways that have little to no dependency on strictly artistic or otherwise metaphorical/spiritual portrayals or uses!

anyway basically, marie kondo anthropomorphizing Things to encourage the audience to consider more deeply their relation to any item, and whether or not it can be let go gracefully with no negative disrespect in removing it for your best good and comfort??? is very epic of her and one of the very many reasons to love her teachings and techniques!!!! not only is it suuuper autism friendly, which is awesome enough, its also a very deeply personal and special little-known cultural philosophy that she's sharing with ppl in order to be beneficial without getting preachy or dogmatic! genuinely very cool

and YET ppl had her all kinds of fucked up for YEARS after the show version of the book came out??? so in light of the horrors, a great way to counter their often OPENLY RACIST hating on her as an asian woman trying really earnestly to make sure people know how to make themselves feel Comfortable in their Own Spaces; marie kondo stans can and Should uplift discussions of the intrinsic cultural influences centering her own perspective on own personal experiences & reasonings that she's tried to share with those of us who may be unfamiliar with such perspectives, which she does Kindly in ways that are easily Legible for the Good of a Variety of ppl with even more varied issues this can Help with !!!

tldr: marie kondo is so nice but ppl are haters and for WHAT!¡!!!!!‽ stop asian hate fr. like just. stop

anyway. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

stan marie kondo!!!!(⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

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castysandthedeep · 2 years ago

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hey!! it’s animals anon here, and this isn’t so much a request as it is a question (which is why i’m putting it here rather than in a comment), but i was wondering if you had any plans to/would ever consider writing a tntduo scene from quackity’s pov?? wedding pyre ch 1 does explore it a bit, and does so fantastically, but things only really start getting intense in ch 2 and 3, which are then from other povs (and don’t get me wrong, i absolutely ADORE those chapters, but yeah).

i love your writing so much (as i’ve said numerous times before lmao), and i love the way you write q—there’s a lot of variation there, and every single one of them is wonderful—and the depth you give him, apparent even from other people’s perspectives. and while it’s always FANTASTIC to see him from wilbur’s pov, and i will always be keen to read more of that, i think it would be suuuper interesting to see wilbur from his pov.

again, i don’t really mean this as a request (through reading over it, it certainly is phrased like one. whoops.), more of a “is this be something we might see in the future??” which of course, it’s perfectly fine if the answer is no!! i just got curious, and thus wanted to ask LMAO. i hope you have a fantastic day, and thank you so much for doing what you do!! you’re really out here single-handedly feeding the Horde.

yes, i actually am working on a quackity pov fic soon! i have a behemoth of a wip that i've been calling "the hatefucking fic" in messages with my editor, since it doesn't have a real title yet. (the central theme keeps fucking changing. there are like four central themes at this point)

i'm sure you can extrapolate the premise from that title, but this was originally my attempt to do the rivalry aspect of tntduo some justice. i have a tendency to make these guys way softer than is probably realistic, just because i like it that way, but i wanted to try to do the opposite. i set it from quackity's pov for another change of pace, and as i built a larger story around it, i ended up painting a very unflattering portrayal of this poor bastard.

basically, it's probably not what you're expecting at all. but it does exist, and it's on its way! (i'd estimate end of january/beginning of february, optimistically assuming all goes well and i don't hit a wall in the last bits of drafting.) i'm not ruling out the possibility that another quackity pov fic might happen in the future, either. hope this is a satisfactory answer!

#castys asks #oh and this is also the same fic i mentioned in the comments of ten nights #it has a lot going on

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autisticshadowthehedgehog · 2 years ago

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Sonic Character Cultural Coding

Despite the fact that a good chunk of Sonic characters are anthropomorphized animals, a large amount of them have been given explicit or implicit coding that aligns with cultures that we see on Earth! I’ve found it hard to find a detailed list of it all online, so... I made one!

Disclaimers:

I am going to say: some of these may seem pretty obvious, but at the same time I’ve seen people miss them, so I’ll be including both the “obvious” and “obscure” coding.

If I accidentally said anything offensive, please let me know so I can correct it!

We are going to start with Sonic himself, and then do the rest in alphabetical order! Let’s go!

Sonic the Hedgehog (+bio fam) – Egyptian

We’re gonna start with Sonic the Hedgehog himself– who is very much coded as Black, specifically of Egyptian descent.

In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog 1x50, “Robotnik’s Pyramid Scheme,” Robotnik goes back in time to try and prevent Sonic from ever existing by keeping his ancestors from meeting. Sonic goes back in time to stop him and we meet Masonic and Penelope who are Sonic’s great-great+ grandparents and live in ancient Egypt. Masonic is specifically designed to look almost exactly like Sonic.

Later in the episode they end up inside a pyramid and meet yet another ancestor of theirs, who is an enchanted mummy hedgehog. He gives Sonic a chaos emerald to kick Robotnik’s ass. He also looks exactly like Sonic.

And SPEAKING OF enchanted mummy hedgehogs! In the Sonic Underground episode 1x22, “Mummy Dearest,” Sonic is AGAIN explicitly given ancient egyptian ancestry, when he and his siblings find a book talking about their family history. They use the book to find directions to a magic scroll which is protected by one of their ancestors, Aman-Rapi, who is again very clearly from Ancient Egypt and looks like Sonic.

In this pic, they can be seen posing in front of a wall containing heiroglyphs, with a mummy behind them, Amon-Rapi is literally dressed as a pharaoh wearing a variation on a Khepresh, his name is obviously a play on Amun-Ra… yeah, they’re Egyptian. So, in two different adaptations Sonic has been given explicit African ancestry.

@ifirestone also pointed out to me that Sonic Adventure 2 has a lot of hedgehogs all over the pyramid locations, and @nonbinarycharmybee pointed out that his shoes are based off of Michael Jackson’s shoes in the music video for “Bad;” Jackson is a very celebrated African-American musician. And @killer-squirtle pointed out that his design is most likely based on an African Pygmy Hedgehog, which live in “west, central and east Africa.”

Then in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), there’s a scene where Sonic messes with his quillstyle and is seen experimenting with different styles. Before he settles on the mohawk (very much resembling his AoSTH-SatAM style), he tries out what looks like a Flat Top haircut and Natural Afro; in the latter, he specifically strikes a pose very reminiscent of the 60s Disco Era, which was suuuper associated with African-Americans.

Finally (so far), Sonic’s first english voice actor was Jaleel White for the first three television shows, who is Black; he set the standard for english!Sonic’s voice and what he should sound like. Sonic’s newest VA for Sonic Prime, Devon Mack, is also Black!

Edit 07/15/2022: @birdsareblooming noticed that in Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic is reading the Arabian Nights in Arabic, which is the official language of Egypt as well as several other African and Southwest Asian countries!

As we’ve established Sonic is Egyptian, I think we can also safely assume that his bio fam is as well– Sonia and Manic were in that Underground episode after all, and as Underground doesn’t seem to give them a father I think we can safely assume that the royal lineage is through Aleena. Metal Sonic is a robot but as he’s supposed to be near identical to Sonic, I think we can put Metal under the same coding (no pun intended).

Antoine Depardieu/D’Coolette the Coyote – French

Antoine is very very obviously coded as French, first in the SatAM television show he debuted in and then in the Archie comics. His original surname, Depardieu, is a French surname– I don’t believe D’Coolette is a real surname but it is supposed to sound French with the “d’[x]” structure.

Antoine speaks in an exaggerated French accent, which is spelled phonetically in the comics so that it can still come across. He often (at least in SatAM– I’m not as knowledgeable on Archie canon) needs help understanding English words and asks for translations or butchers pronunciation. He also uses the French phrases “qui” and “sacre bleu.” Unfortunately, in SatAM he also falls into the French Coward Stereotype, which seems to have begun in the 40s and shot into prominence in the United States in the early 2000s.

Babylon Rogues (Jet/Wave/Storm) – Iraqi

The Babylon Rogues are ABSOLUTELY Iraqi. How do we know this? They are literally called the Babylon Rogues.

In case u didn't know, Babylon was an ancient empire that was p powerful in the BC years. Its capitol town– named, you know, Babylon– was an independent city-state and for a while the largest city in the world. They also had one of the seven wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon The city of Babylon, whose remains are now a world heritage site, is now what is currently Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq.

The Babylon Rogues are clearly named after the Babylonian empire. Their home base is also literally named the Babylon Garden, a reference to the Hanging Gardens. I’m not super knowledgeable on architecture, but the design of the Garden seems to be similar to the Umayyad or Abbasid architectural movements of Iraq.

This all very much codes the Rogues as being descendants of the Babylonian empire, ie: Iraqi.

Bark the Polar Bear – Russian

This is gonna be one of the shorter ones, but a 1996 interview with Hiroshi Kataoka, head of SEGA AM2, says that Bark is “a Polar Bear who lives in Russia.”

I don’t believe Bark is given any specific Russian coding following that, but it should be noted that that was the original intention.

Blaze the Cat – Southern Asian

Blaze’s concept designs can be pretty South Asian-coded first off; in the middle bottom row in the pic above, you can see her wearing Shalwar, (maybe shalwar kameez? it's hard to tell what kinda top she has) which is a popular Southern and Central Asian fashion.

Her final design includes a straight-up bindi– listed as such on the Sonic wiki. Bindi are a mark on the forehead worn by women in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and occasionally Islam (notably in Pakistan during Eid). While obviously anyone of any race can be of any religion, as the bindi originated in Southern Asia, it’s highly associated with that area and is worn by, well, a crapton of people in South and Southeast Asia, for both cultural and religious reasons.

Also, her kingdom: we don’t see it much in the games (in Rush Adventure, they’re mostly traveling through outlying islands and ruins), but we do see it in the IDW comics.

It seems very inspired by Mughal architecture, an Indo-Islamic style developed from Indian, Islamic, Iranian and Central Asian traditions.

In the mobile game Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, Blaze is given a costume for Lunar New Year, as is Silver (see Elise’s section for more Silver info). Lunar New Year is associated mainly with China, but is celebrated in several other Asian countries, including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

We also got THIS tweet from the official Sonic account in November 2020, showing her having tea in her palace. @penosh-wom pointed out to me that the patterns in the room are “VERY reminiscent of India,” and that the scenery outside looks very much like the Asian coast.

The caption is in Japanese, but translating it to English shows that the descriptive is literally “Indian summer with calm waves.” An Indian summer is a term for unusually long hot weather in autumn, but like. Come on.

With that, I would say Blaze is most likely Indian, though the coding is a little vague. She is at the very least Asian, likely South or Southeast.

Bunnie Rabbot – Southern American

Bunnie seems to be coded as coming from the Southern United States (or at least the Mobius equivalent); she has a Southern US accent, for instance, and similar to Antoine in written media it is spelled phonetically so that it continues to come across; using “ah” instead of “I,” often cutting off the “g” in words ending in “-ing,” etc. Many of her sayings– such as “oh my stars”– are distinctly Southern US as well. This was all established in her SatAM appearances and continued into the Archie comics.

Should be noted that also, very unfortunately, one early Archie comic had her say several things to reference support for the Confederacy as a way of tying into her Southern heritage. Thankfully, as far as I’m aware this has only appeared in this issue and has never occurred again.

Princess Elise (+Soleanna, possibly Silver) – Italian

Soleanna as a country is incredibly inspired by the city of Venice, Italy, to the point where Silver’s original name was Venice. The city is known for being built on 118 small islands connected by canals and bridges, with it often being called the “floating city.”

The amount of canals and bridges in Soleanna is definitely an intentional reference, as well as the very Venetian Architecture of the buildings.

Now, Silver– While it’s unclear if Silver is from his timeline’s Soleanna, he does have a bit of Italian coding as well!

Firstly, his original design was literally named Venice. (design in the pic, bottom left.) And there’s one other little detail– in Sonic and the Black Knight, when you play as Silver (Sir Galahad), his sword looks a LOT like a Cinquedea– an Italian dagger.

Silver being Italian is a bit less certain than the rest of Soleanna, though– the original name and dagger are the only implications and he hasn’t had much since. In Sonic Forces: Speed Battle he is given a Lunar New Year outfit, which could imply he is of Asian descent (see: Blaze); of course he could be mixed, or simply celebrating with Blaze (who also had a Lunar New Year outfit release at the same time). So while Silver isn’t certain, I will say the inclusion of the Cinquedea interested me enough to note him here.

Espio the Chameleon – Japanese

Espio is definitely coded as Japanese throughout his appearances. Firstly, and most obviously, his special interest in being a Ninja; ninjas were mercenaries or covert agents in feudal Japan, incredibly skilled in martial arts and ninjutsu, and they were often used as spies or bodyguards. Japanese legend would also often associate the ninja with invisibility, a major part of Espio’s powerset. Espio’s favor for the shuriken stars as a weapon also tie into this, as well as the fact that in the Japanese script he uses the old-fashioned formal pronouns “ware” and “onushi.”

That’s not all, though, of course: Espio has been stated in the Sonic City character profiles to be “a lover of traditional ways,” specifically referencing his ability to play the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument. He is seen playing this instrument in the Chaotix’s Sonic Heroes Team Blast.

@nonbinarycharmybee also pointed out that in THIS official artwork from Sonic Channel in 2021, Espio is seen writing with an ink brush used in Japanese calligraphy.

Gold the Tenrec – Indian

Gold is specifically stated by creator Evan Stanley to be from “whatever the Sonic World equivalent” of India is. This is shown in her design as well: her outfit consists of a brown sari, which is a very popular and traditional style in India, as well as nearby Southern Asian countries.

Knuckles the Echidna (+Clan) – Jamaican + Mesoamerican

Oooh Knuckles is interesting, strap in everyone!

According to Sonic Advance 2: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Knuckles was originally intended to speak with a Jamaican accent. As well as this, the green/yellow/red color scheme of his shoes was intended to reference the Rastafari flag, Rastafarianism being a religion developed in Jamaica. This heritage can also be seen reflected in his dreadlocks– his quill-style is referred to as such in many canon places. In real life, dreadlocks are a Black hairstyle; the 2011 official census of Jamaica listed 92.1% of the population as Black, and dreadlocks are often associated with the Rastafari movement, as Rastas regard them as a symbol of strength and it emerged as a traditional religious style in the 1940s.

This isn’t the only coding Knuckles gets, though; he is known to be descended from the Knuckles Clan, which are heavily inspired by Mesoamerican cultures.

The Sonic Adventure team traveled through Central and South America to get inspiration for Knuckles’s clan’s culture, which can be seen in basically every aspect of the Clan lore. For instance, clothing worn by the echidnas is very similar to the traditional styles of the Aztecs and Mayas. This includes the decorative feathers seen on Pachacamac and the filmverse!Clan, as feathers were popular and prized materials in pre-colonial Mesoamerca.

Their architecture is almost identical to the step-pyramid temples of the Aztecs, Mayas and Toltecs. The same architecture and clothing style can also be seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), with most of the echidna warriors seen with spears, including baby Knuckles. Throwing spears were used extensively in pre-colonial Mesoamerican battles.

There is also a large serpent that lives near the Mystic Ruins of the Clan, likely a reference to the Aztecs’ Quetzalcoatl and the Mayas’ Kukulkan.

Also, most obviously, the names: Pachacamac is named after a Peruvian archeological site, which itself was named after the Ichma creator god Pacha Kamaq. Tikal, meanwhile, was named after the archeological ruins of a Maya city, consisting of multiple pyramids.

As a sidenote, it should be noted that Ken Penders’ echidnas in the Archie Comics were definitely supposed to be English: @thankskenpenders laid it out very well in this post, but they were written to come from “Mobius’s equivalent of England,” named after the earliest name for Great Britain, and he wrote the species to be “seafaring colonizers.” Penders did write this before the release of Sonic Adventure, but obviously after Knuckles’s initial release with Jamaican-coding, so can we call this whitewashing? I don’t know enough to speak on the subject, but with the reset of Archie comics and its later cancellation, and the games’ Knuckles Clan being represented in several other mediums (such as Sonic X, Sonic the Comic, etc.) I think we can safely say that the Mesoamerican coding is a bit more canon.

Lupe the Wolf (+pack) – Indigenous American

Lupe the Wolf first appeared in the second season of Sonic SatAM, and from her first appearance was incredibly indigenous-coded, as was her wolf pack. This coding continued through the Archie comics. This will mostly focus on the SatAM coding, as Archie pulled from that and, once again, I don’t know a ton about Archie!Canon, but SatAM is pretty damn obvious with its coding.

Lupe’s pack is described as being a native tribe to the Great Unknown region, who live in “harmony with nature.” Their land was captured and culture destroyed by the invading Robotnik, with the survivors retreating into their civilization’s ruins. In order to keep themselves safe, they set up inscriptions near their cave threatening to curse anyone who wanted to come in; Lupe later readily admits this to Sonic, Sally and Antoine, the latter of whom was scared shitless by the idea of getting cursed.

So, for starters, Indigenous American culture is, in general, built a lot upon a reverence for nature, believing that humans are not masters of nature but merely a part of it and acting accordingly. The capture of their land is obviously intended to be reminiscent of American colonization by the Europeans, which was devastating to the Native tribes, with entire cultures and languages being wiped out and Indigenous people still facing serious oppression in modern times.

Much like the Knuckles Clan, the Wolf Pack’s ruins are reminiscent of many indigenous archeological sites, such as Mesa Verde, which is also built into a cliffside. The brief glimpse we have of the Wolf Pack’s pre-colonized land also shows them living in huts reminiscent of many indigenous tribes.

The room Lupe gives exposition in also has them all sitting around a smoking fire pit; many indigenous cultures will gather around fires for meetings and discussions.

Lastly, many people (mainly white people) hold the superstition that Indigenous people have the ability to curse them; just think about how much the “this place is haunted because it was built on a Native burial ground” trope is used. The “Magical Native American” trope tends to say that Natives are magical because of their closeness with nature and “lack of civilization.” This very much falls into the Noble Savage trope, making them appear exotic or inhuman to outsiders and trivializes their connection to the natural world.

SatAM does a pretty decent job subverting this trope, with Lupe very clearly stating there is no curse and they use it to make small-minded intruders keep out; this shifts the ridiculousness of the situation onto the non-Native-coded characters.

Sonic: Ant! Forget the curse. There is no stupid curse! Lupe: He's right, Antoine. We use the threat of a curse to keep out intruders. Antoine: No curses? Oh. Phew and phew again. I am so happy to hear that.

- SatAM S2e10, “Cry of the Wolf”

There have been a few other instances of Indigenous-coding with Sonicverse characters, unfortunately not all of them represented as well. The inhabitants of Speedster Island in the Sonic Underground episode “Head Games” are just as indigenous-coded in their appearance, the episode very much falls into the “Native people need the outsiders to come save them” stereotype, as well as the “Native people mistake outsiders for gods” stereotype. The Gogobas in Sonic Boom are also given indigenous-coding with their chief’s headgear, village huts, and jokes made referencing the “cursed burial grounds” trope and them replacing the captured indigenous children in the parody of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The Gogobas are not exactly shown in a positive light, though to be fair, neither is anyone in the show; specifically, the Gogobas’ “tradition” is to guilt trip everyone into doing what they want.

For other indigenous coding in major characters, see Knuckles and Rotor sections.

Marine the Raccoon (+Coconut Crew) – Australian

Marine is very obviously coded as Australian; throughout all of her dialogue, she uses Australian slang, most obviously calling her friends “mate.” She also uses the exclamation “strewth,” which is used often in Australia and Aotearoa. Other slang includes “sheila” (woman), “no drama” (no worries) and “ya mug” (friendly insult, usually for a gullible person). The other koalas on her island, who raised her, also use the same language.

Marine is also given pigtails shaped like boomerangs, a tool heavily associated with Australia, specifically Aboriginal Australian hunting. Koalas are also a species that is native to Australia– I believe only Australia but I can’t be sure.

I don’t know enough about the coding of their architecture/etc to say if they’re coded as generally Australian or Aboriginal specifically, though I will say they definitely seem to be native to islands, which may imply they are of a Polynesian tribe near Australia or Aotearoa, such as Māori or Tahitian people.

Should be noted though that Marine appears to be adopted; she was raised by the Coconut Crew, who are all koalas. She does have some serious tanuki coding that may additionally code her as Japanese; for more, see Tails’s section.

Mina Mongoose – Chinese

As far as I’m aware, Mina’s Chinese-coding isn’t super explicit. However, she is seen wearing a red qipao for formal occasions, designed by Jeff Axer.

The qipao, also known as a cheongsam, is a traditional Chinese dress inspired by the Manchu people (founders of the Qing Dynasty). In modern times, the cheongsam is very popular for festivities such as weddings and holidays (especially Lunar New Year), as well as school and work uniforms.

Mina’s qipao is also specifically given a green dragon design very reminiscent of the Chinese dragon as well as many other Asian dragon species. She also is given ornamental earrings and hair pieces that are very clearly inspired by Chinese fashion.

Nocturnus Clan + Voxai Aliens – Roman/Greek

Honestly, these clans seem to have coding in name only– they both have specific cultures of their own, with the Voxai architecture specifically being based mainly on the rock and plants of their home planet, and the Nocturnus clan being very futuristic. But it is interesting to note!

The Nocturnus clan army ranks are very similar to Imperial Roman ones, with titles such as hastatus and praetorian. Ix being called the “Imperator” is also a Latin word from which the word “Emperor” is derived, and referred to an army commander. Ix’s Gizoid prefects are also named Scylla and Charyb, a reference to Scylla and Charybdis, two sea monsters in Greek mythology which appeared in the Odyssey. The historian character Nestor the Wise is named after King Nestor of Gerenia, also from the Odyssey as well as the Iliad.

The Voxai names are also derived from Greek and Roman mythology: their name likely comes from the Latin noun “vox,” which refers to a voice and would reference the aliens’ telepathic powers. Most of the named Voxai are given Greek names as well: Thebes is an important city in Greek mythology, Croesus was the last king of Lydia, and Riadne, Leucosia and Ligaia are names of mythological Sirens.

Rotor the Walrus – Inuk

Rotor is not given any specific cultural coding in SatAM or Pre-Super Genesis Wave Archie; however, in Post-SGW Archie, he and his family are given Inuit coding.

In the post-SGW comics, Rotor is from Artika, a region covered in snow and ice, and we see that the residents live in igluit, traditional homes for inuit in the Central Arctic Canadian area, and the Qaanaaq in Greenland.

Rotor’s community also has an enemy named Akhlut the Orca– in Inuit mythology, the akh’lut is a wolf-orca creature that is known to be aggressive towards humans.

Surge the Tenrec – Japanese

Surge is a relatively new character to the IDW Comics, so we still have more time to learn about her past/potential culture; for the most part, at this point, her coding comes mainly in her appearance. Surge was designed by Mauro Fonseca and Evan Stanley, with Fonseca listing Japanese delinquents, specifically sukeban, as one of the inspirations for her design.

Sukeban are Japanese delinquent girls, the word usually referring to either an entire gang or the leader herself; they were gangs in the 60s-70s, and now the term tends to refer mainly to fashion inspired by them. Many “common signifiers” of this trend are bright hair and modified school uniforms (cut, decorated, etc).

Many fictional Japanese delinquents share design similarities with Surge, such as “excessive piercings and jewellery” and spiked hair.

Tails the Fox – Japanese(?) / Kitsune

I put a question mark here because Tails’s coding isn’t specifically on Japanese culture, but on a very specific aspect of its mythology. Tails is very clearly based upon a Kitsune.

Kitsune are mythological foxes with the ability to shapeshift; they have been portrayed in different myths as tricksters and/or guardians. The kitsune are noted for having multiple tails; they are said grow a tail every hundred years, growing up to nine tails. When they reach a thousand years of age, instead of growing a new tail, they ascend to the heavens. The kitsune are notable for their shapeshifting and ability to create illusions.

Tails’s second tail is clearly a reference to the kitsune legend, but while he relies more on technology than magic, there are some suspicious magical incidents around Tails; in Sonic Battle, his attack consists of summoning a giant hand to hit you with. @birdsareblooming pointed out to me that in Sonic: Lost World, when Tails stops pretending to be roboticized, his eye color literally shifts from gray to blue, possibly as a reference to the shapeshifting.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), the illusion power is referenced with Tails’s “Miles Multiplier,” which he uses to summon holographic copies of himself and others.

If you look on Tails’s desktop, you can also see something entitled “Kitsune” is running– @khamomile-kitty has informed me that it says Arms.Kitsune as a reference to Tyson Hesse’s early parody comic, Hedgehog the Sonic. You can see the file on the bottom left of his screen, though this isn’t a great pic lol.

There’s also the fact he shares many parallels with Infinite, who has the regular kitsune powers of illusion. Jackals are also very close on the family tree to foxes.

Another interesting thing is Marine– her being Blaze’s dimension’s Tails is interesting, as she is likely not a raccoon but a tanuki. She looks much more similar to a real tanuki, and in mythology tanuki and kitsune tend to be enemies with similar powersets. Speaking of Tanuki– Tails is also the first to be suspicious of Dodon Pa, a canon tanuki. He says specifically, “There’s something about this Tanuki I just don’t trust.”

Is he a kitsune in canon or is this just a reference to Japanese mythology? Pre-SGW Archie Comics gives Tails regular fox parents, so his tail seems to be a canon mutation there. However, every other canon has Tails completely oblivious to his past, seeming to not know his parents and likely having been abandoned. In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, for example, he has no memory of his parents and just says he’s “been alone for a long time” and is confused at the fact not everyone has two tails. So honestly, it’s completely unknown whether he’s a canon kitsune or simply coded.

Whisper the Wolf – Japanese

Whisper’s coding is very specific: her mask and her eyes. Whisper’s mask was chosen from a character customization option in Sonic Forces, and was specifically inspired by Japanese Kabuki masks. (Kabuki is a traditional Japanese dance-drama form known for its elaborate costuming, makeup, and masks.)

Whisper’s eyes being almost always closed is partially inspired by traditional depictions of kitsunes with “those iconic squinty-closed eyes.” (See Tails’s section for more kitsune information.) Sega of Japan approved her design as wolves serve the same roles as kitsune in older Japanese folklore.

Vector the Crocodile – Black American

Vector has had quite a bit of black coding over the years, in both positive and negative ways.

Vector is given an appearance shared with/stereotypical of a lot of Black American musicians, particularly in the rapper and hip-hop categories– specifically, his gold chain jewelry, leather clothing, and wireless headphones, esp their positioning in his models. As Vector is a musician, they definitely chose this specific musican-attire for him for a reason. Also, right now, his current English voice actor is Keith Silverstein, a black man.

A lot of Vector’s personality could be read as stereotypical, and at the same time those personality traits could be seen as inverted depending on the source material: he could fall into the “bossy overconfident” stereotype, or that could be seen as subverted due to the fact he is actually competent at his job. He could fall into the “money-hungry” and/or “always poor” trope, or this trait could be seen as relatable due to all of us hating landlords and rent with a passion. He could be “will do anything for money” or he could be presented as someone with strong morals who will always do what is right.

In some media he is seen as hotheaded and aggressive (”Angry Black Man”), while in others he keeps a cool head in times of danger and takes care of his team. You could see him as a “massive flirt” or as just someone who happens to be head-over-heels in love with Vanilla. Hell, his loud music interest could be seen as joking about Black music being “too loud,” or it could be seen as him, you know, just enjoying music!

All this depends on the medium. I don’t feel educated enough on the subject to make a call as to whether he’s a positive or negative stereotype overall, though I think I can say with certainty that Penders’ writing of him in the Archie comics was racist as hell. As @thankskenpenders explained in her article, “Vector was the jive-talking comic relief character. He was obnoxious, he was dim-witted, he was crude, he’d randomly bring up rap music. One time he started singing ‘Dem Bones’ to himself while held captive by the Dark Legion. He was also extremely misogynistic.” Thank God Penders is out...

Master Zik the Zeti – Chinese

Zik’s appearance and characterization are based upon early Chinese poets, who are given a lot of respect in their society, as Zik is given respect among the Zeti.

Zik can definitely fall into the Inscrutable Oriental trope, with his “reserved and stoic” personality. He is also part of the Old Master trope (though he is a villainous rather than heroic character, as is traditional), which tends to intersect with the Magical Asian trope in martial arts stories, most famously in America in The Karate Kid; this inspiration can be seen in most of Zik’s calm dialogue and past as Zavok’s mentor, and the emphasis on his position as a powerful master. His hair is likely a reference to the stereotypical Fu Manchu moustache, and his entrance music is stylized after traditional Chinese music.

Zik also spends his semi-retirement in the garden he tends; this could potentially be a reference to Chinese gardens, which are very important in Chinese literature and philosophy. His game profile also mentions he likes to water his Bonsai tree; while the Bonsai is Japanese, it is derived from traditional Chinese penjing art.

#sonic squad #sonic the hedgehog #sth #sonic meta #meta #mine #cultural coding #coding

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spokelseskladden · 3 years ago

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What is with two written Norwegian languages (if I got this correctly)? I'm so intrigued

Oh yes! Norway does have two quite different written languages! I'm a history/language/literature nerd so I'm gonna try not to go too in detail when answering this, but basically. To understand why Norway have two written languages, I'm going to give you a very brief and simplified look at Norwegian history (that got. quite long. I'm so sorry please bear with me).

Back in the 1300s most of Norway's population was wiped out by the bubonic plague, and this included the wealthy aristocrats and the clergymen. In this case, there are two relevant causes. 1. The middle-Norwegian written(and spoken) language disappeared, because most of the literate people died, and 2. Norway was kiiiinda forced into a union with Denmark due to the majority of the government officials dying. So with Denmark being the central power, most of the new government officials and clergy were Danes, that spoke and wrote in Danish. Due to this, Danish became "the" language. Everyone in power spoke/wrote Danish, and thus the dialects in the central places in Norway were affected by this. (and the written language became Danish, cause what other choice did anyone have?). Now the Danes were in power all the way until the Napoleonic wars, where Denmark-Norway sided with Napoleon. As they were on the losing side, Denmark lost the Norwegian territory to Sweden. In Norway however, Officials were working on a Norwegian Constitution in an attempt at gaining Norwegian independence (they decided to just go into a new, slightly looser union with Sweden after all, but that's not really suuuper relevant. Just a bit relevant. idk.).

Now this happened in 1814, so Norway had been under Danish rule for nearly 500 years. That's quite some time, and it means that Danish influence definitely had set it's roots in Norwegian society. Now however, Norway had gained more political power in this new union with Sweden, and the idea of finding a proper Norwegian identity really grew. It turned into a movement, where artists and writers produced art, poetry, novels, everything and anything to define what it meant to be Norwegian. A lot of the things Norway is known for to this day stems from this movement actually, lol.

But yeah, one of the more important ways to define the Norwegian identity was language. Norway was at the time at the top when it came to literacy in Europe (at least I think so, I could be wrong here), this was a people who read. A lot. But they still read in Danish. So in the 1830s the language debate started, how could we possibly gain our own language? Most people fell in line with the idea of simply "Norwegifying" Danish slowly, easy as that. switch out a few things here and there, but mainly keep the language as it is. The problem with this though, was that Danish as a language mainly fell in line with the way people spoke in the cities, it was the language of the elites. Norway has a vast variety of dialects, and it was even wider back in the 19th century! It varied from city to city, but if you went out to the countryside it could nearly sound like a different language at times. An example of the variety is the many ways Norwegian people say "I":

Jeg, eg, e, æ (that's what I say :D), jeh, jæ, æg, i, jag. (And there are probably more that I didn't think of!)

So yes, there's some variety here. And if the language were to only represent the elite, reading and writing would be less representative of, as well as accessible to those who lived in rural Norway. But how does one solve this? Well, a crazy person might suggest walking all over Norway (on fucking foot), and talk to people, record what they're all saying in different places, and then make multiple diagrams to figure out the general similarities and the common ground in all these different dialects and create a whole. new. language. basically from scrap. But no one was mad enough to do that, right? WRONG! Ivar Aasen, an absolute KING decided that he was going to do this on his own. He quite literally walked all over Norway (except for the far North where I live. Which fair enough I guess, we're used to not being included) and collected words from nearly all corners of the country. It was completely insane, like I'd recommend reading about him if you can, I can't emphasize enough how hard he worked to make a language for the people. He's my hero lol. And so you'd think that was that, cause this was ater all the language closest to the way most people spoke, but it really wasn't that clear cut. It stood between Aasen's Nynorsk (New Norwegian) and Bokmål (book tongue, the Norwegification of Danish). But they never really chose one? Like they decided to just keep both. And both are taught in school today.

I grew up learning Bokmål, and then had some Nynorsk in middle school and High School. And I'm gonna be honest, while I love Nynorsk politically and also as a poetic language (it's way more aesthetic and beautiful than Bokmål) I suck at it. I can read it with no problem (cause they're very similar), but writing it is difficult for me cause the way you conjugate verbs and stuff is different. And it's really sad that it's like this, cause I really would love to learn it properly! Sadly the most common view on it is. Absolute hatred. And it's so sad, and I blame it on the way the Norwegian School system goes about teaching it. There are places in Norway where it's the other way around (Kids who learn Nynorsk from preschool and have a bit of Bokmål in middle/high school) but the most popular opinion is sadly to hate on Nynorsk :( But yeah Hope that answered your question! If you want me to elaborate on anything, please ask me! I absolutely love this topic, and I love talking about it!!!

#asks #nynorsk #bokmål #im such a nerd when it comes to this aaaaaa

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tutumydear · 3 years ago

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There was not enough space to send the entire text in one question. In addition to character design, it is interesting to know - the bridge on which Edel met the bear lady - is it copied from a real prototype? - The secret lodge of scribes - does it also have a real analogue? If you don’t have the time / desire, I’m not offended.

Answer 2/2

My apologies for the delay, I had to do a little research for these ones and consult other PT fans!

Alas, there are no direct mentions of either location in the guidebooks. While Gold Crown/Kinkan Town is officially majorly inspired by Nordlingen, Germany, there are many canon locations that are based off areas around other places in Central and Western Europe.

And so, I began my search.

Disclaimer: I don’t have a lot of background in historical architecture. But knowing that the show is specifically designed to have an atmosphere of a medival town with some gothic elements, seeing a bridge like this is very… unexpected?

It’s not the stone material that throws me off. There’s SO. MUCH. stone in this town. Or even the slight curve (though most of the bridges I found were straight regardless of length).

It’s the roundness of the pillars, how they seem to jut out from underneath, the sharp rising angle of the center, and the decorative scrollwork on the arches. Very fairy tale-like, but I wasn’t able to find anything like it.

The “Why Why Bridge”, or even the long one that leads to the Academy seem more likely to be based off specific places/real architectural designs than this one.

A little more context regarding the bridge’s surroundings and purpose might have helped. I had hoped it was based off a place with a romantic legend or something, but as far as I can tell, this scene is the only time we see it.

As for the secret lodge of the scribes, I assume that you’re referring to this location in Akt 21, where the Bookmen are plotting to cut off Fakir’s hands? Let me know if I’ve misunderstood!

While the guidebooks don’t bring the setting up directly, the second book does include a piece of concept art:

It appears to be a tall, octagonal library.

And I can already tell you, I had no luck finding this place either.

Octagonal rooms aren’t suuuper uncommon in historical buildings, but I found them more likely to be part of religious places, at least, the more notable ones. Additionally, nearly all of the places I found were HUGE and certainly not spaces to hold intimate discussions about cutting off a teenager’s hands.

The only tall, small, octagonal library I found was the Gotische Bibliothek in Potsdam, Germany. However, one look and you can conclude that this probably isn’t the place. (It’s very light and airy inside, big open windows and an outdoor staircase. And a lack of wall shelves. Where do the books go?)

Besides, I’ve always considered this particular room to just be a secret part of the Bookman’s used book store. Maybe underground in the basement, or only reachable by swinging bookcase, Scooby Doo-style.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

I’m sorry I wasn’t able to give you any direct answers, but thank you for the asks! This was fun to look into! The official materials don’t give much insight as to the inspirations behind costumes or sets in the show, but fans have been able to find some of these on their own. If I find any leads regarding the bridge or the room, or more design material for dress or sword, I’ll update here and let you know :>

#princess tutu #princess tutu official #ask and answer #princess tutu guide books #princess tutu screenshots

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delightfullyatomicfest · 3 years ago

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Endlessly fascinated by the dynamic of Paul living at the Ashers:

- The parents were cool with this 21 year old from the biggest band in the country (and then the world) living with them and their 18 year old daughter - his girlfriend - and causing absolute chaos via hoards of girls waiting outside their house / calling them up.*

- I know they were all artsy but they were suuuper posh. As in - her mum’s family was literally aristocracy, they had cut glass accents, lived in a townhouse in central London and the kids went to private school / Peter went to Cambridge. The class difference - and associated London / provincial background difference - between them and Paul was insane and really would have been a big deal. The fact of Paul hanging out with all those posh-types in the 60s (+ Tara, Robert etc) would have still been so unusual at that time, wouldn’t it?

- Paul gave Peter and Gordon World Without Love obviously, which went to no 1 in the UK (Feb 1964) and USA (April 1964) and made their musical careers. The record (their debut) was also produced at EMI. Having looked for 30 seconds flat, I can’t find how that happened, but I wonder if Paul had something to do with it. Looking at the timing, it seems as though this would have all happened within about 6 months of Paul moving in. Possibly part of the reason they were cool with him living there?

[I have no point to any of this, it just seems like such a bonkers situation]

* Wikipedia says ‘In 1964 [Mr] Asher suddenly gave up his hospital post and perhaps all medical activities’, which is... interesting timing (although he obviously had troubles of his own).

#paul #ashers #class #Peter and Gordon

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strangertheory · 3 years ago

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So if Will is not central to the show, you'd be okay with that? If he's as background as he is now, and the Upside Down is all El, and he never has a canon relationship with or canon feelings for Mike . . . you'd still love the show just as much? And you wouldn't feel they led us on to think Will is gay / created the Upside Down / Byler is going to be canon? You would be happy with a Mileven end game? Wow. That's really zen of you. I honestly don't know if I could do the same!

I think that yes, actually, fans do have a right to have certain expectations regarding what the writers do with the plot. Absolutely. They do have a responsibility to tell a good story and not be grossly inconsistent with the established canon so far. But I think certain hyper-specific expectations and ideals in the fanbase do need to be tempered with more openness to alternative yet equally compelling and reasonable narratives using what is established and in a way that still honors what we have been shown so far. I'm not saying that if the writers throw out foreshadowing and effort that they put into creating the story that I'll just accept that as reasonable. Not at all.

But I see fans with suuuuper suuuper specific ride-or-die expectations sometimes and I think they are only setting themselves up for potential disappointments.

I often see fans coming to single-answer conclusions that arguably could have alternative explanations that are still very reasonable within what has been foreshadowed.

We need to allow room for ourselves to be pleasantly surprised, enjoying new understandings of a universe as the story unfolds, and not busy focusing on what we thought was an inevitability. That's sort-of where I was trying to go with that post.

I hope that helps clarify my thoughts behind my earlier post a little more.

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studylustre · 4 years ago

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hey lovely!! im planning a trip to seoul next year + I know that you've been, so i just wanted to ask for your recommendations?? wheres the best place to stay area wise, places to visit, good food restaurants/cafes, how best to get around (im guessing subway)?? 💞

hello! how exciting omg. in terms of area, i don’t have any specific recommendations since i tend to stay in airbnbs when abroad and i’ve been in various different areas while in seoul. i think as long as u can find somewhere that’s ~fairly~ central and at a good price, then you’re golden! tbh it doesn’t really matter too much if you’re a little further out too bc the subway system is a dream and makes travelling around v easy (which answers your final question). you’ll just need a t-money card (which is like an oyster card/metro card for the subway that you load up with money and use to tap in/tap out at stations) and you can travel anywhere with ease!! the only thing to note is that trains stop running at night fairly early - i think it’s around/before midnight, so if you’re planning on staying out late then you’ll need to get a taxi.

here’s a few of my fave restaurants 🍚

카타코토카페 (the cuuutest japanese curry restaurant. it’s run by a couple and they’re lovely and super friendly!!)

신선설농탕 in myeongdong - i am v biased as a oxtail soup supremacist but this is honestly one of my fave places ever and i make it a tradition to come here every time i’m in seoul lmao IT’S JUST SO TASTY. tip: they’re always suuuper busy at breakfast and lunchtime so try to come before/after. also, there’s a rice porridge restaurant above this place on the 3rd floor (i think?) that is DELICIOUSSSS

광장시장 - the beeeest traditional food market. there are so many quality food stalls here and u can get a really, really top tier meal for super reasonable prices. note: they don’t accept card, so make sure u have cash on u before u go

maple tree house in itaewon - on the pricey side but god damn is their kbbq worth it (yes. the answer is yes)

명동교자 - also another fave that i visit whenever i go!! their knife cut noodles are,,,,, incredible,,, and their dumplings are just so mind blowingly good just go and allow me to live vicariously through you please

나물먹는곰 - super cute restaurant that’s hidden away in hongdae. they have great traditional food

and some of my fave cafes ☕️

c.through cafe - check out their instagram for all you need to know about this place lmao

sulbing - this is a bingsu chain that you can find in multiple places!! their bingsu is so so good. i recommend the 인절미 bingsu and also there’s this one honeydew melon one they have with ice cream inside and it’s!! just!! amazing!! idk what it’s called but it’s super tasty YOU NEED TO TRY IT

cafe onion - the prettiest cafe!! they have two branches and both are lovely

not in seoul but honourable mention because it’s my fave cafe ever: waveon cafe in busan is,,,, life changing

as for places to visit, that rly depends on ur interests! i recommend visiting the palaces for sure and also the hanok village (but do be wary it’s a residential area so they understandably don’t like tourists lingering on their doorsteps for photos. there’s also quite a few cool tea houses in the area, i recommend you to check them out!!) n.seoul tower is also a must see - try going in the evening around sunset bc by the time you get up to the tower, it’ll be dark and that’s when the view is most impressive. the hike up there is also pretty nice if you’re prepared (i was NOT when i went and i nearly died lmfao but i digress). other places of interest:

한남동 has a lot of cool cafes!! it’s like a new, trendy up and coming area with a lot of nice eateries

홍대 is a lot of fun, especially in the evening bc lots of buskers perform there!! also there’s lots of boutiques with cute clothes!! it’s my fave area to explore because it’s just so lively

if skincare is your thing, you’ll like 명동. there’s also a lot of street food in the area in the evening

not area specific, but you need to try out coin karaoke at least once before you leave. it’s so so fun

동대문역사문화공원 is suuuper cool. there’s lots of really great artist stores inside the plaza

other general suggestions/advice

if you’re looking for good places to eat at and you’re in a jam, use mangoplate. it’s a super useful app for finding 맛집

kakaomaps may work better than google maps in seoul

please be careful of using public toilets bc there’s a huge problem in korea re: tiny cameras filming unsuspecting women. i don’t want to scare you, but i just want to give you a heads up as something to be wary of so you can protect yourself!!

you may want to get a sim card at the airport so you can use data. there’s wifi everywhere so you don’t have to get one, but i got one for my 2 week trip and it came in super handy countless times

things you should try before you leave: goobne chicken (get the red pepper one. i kid you not it changed my life), picnic by han river (you can order food to be delivered to you there!!), the convenience store kimbap (it’s SO good wtf), 떡볶이 (there’s a really good restaurant for it in hongdae that i can’t remember the name of but it’s really close to the gs25 store near one of the subway exits)/street food in general

not sure if you’re aware already, but you don’t need to tip in korea! also, you pay by the door before you leave so no need to wait at the table

i think that’s everything i can think of from the top of my head!! hopefully that helps. ik it’s a while off still but i hope you have the best time on your trip 🌷✨

EDIT: I AM A CLOWN i forgot to mention 교보문구??!??!? it’s a massive bookstore that has allllll the books you could ever want, including visual novels!! they also have stationery and cds and things, 10/10 recommend

#answered #recs #anon

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jbbuckybarnes · 4 years ago

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Berlin City Girl [b.b.]

Pairing: Bucky x Reader Description: You decide to move to a completely new city that you’ve never been to before and ask your neighbor for some eggs. Prompt: Seeing a new city for the first time. For: @softbiker‘s challenge. Sorry, it’s suuuper late. Warnings: awkwarness, the title of this one shot should have a warning for German people my age lol, not proofread.

M A S T E R L I S T

This was a big thing to cross off your bucket list. Moving to a city you haven‘t been to before. Berlin, Germany. You had done a lot of research on the are you would be moving in. It was fairly central and you knew most people understood English there. It wasn‘t super cheap to live there, but definitely more affordable than living in New York City or Los Angeles. „Hallo.“ „Hello, I need to get to Friedrichshain.“ You showed the driver the address on the phone. Seeing the skyline was breathtaking, not New York breathtaking, but Berlin was still an amazing sight to see. It was afternoon by now and the warm light of the sun was letting the city shine in all its colors. That was your new home. The drive through the city was eye-opening. Driving through different parts of the city was like driving through different countries. Sometimes the houses looked super modern, sometimes super old. You knew you had a lot to explore here.

You‘ve never been so glad to move into an already furnished apartment. The two suitcases alone were already hard enough to get up the stairs. After taking a breather, sitting on top of your suitcases you finally gained back control over your lungs and got out your keys. Shk. Click. The door opened a bit automatically from the draft in the house. You fully opened it and walked into a living room filled with evening sunlight. After heaving in your suitcases you went on a little tour of your new home. You‘d only seen it through the screen until now. Big living room, average-sized bedroom with a full-sized bed and a fairly small bathroom, but there were always sacrifices to make. In this case it was a bathtub. Laying on your new couch you contemplated to go grocery shopping or not. You were already completely ruined from the long flight and would rather ask a neighbor for some eggs or something like that. But you had also learned that Germany mostly are grumpy when it comes to the topic of neighbors. You figured it‘s because all of them had that distanced approach and nobody actually tried to go towards each other. With a shrug you corrected your hair in the mirror next to the door and grabbed your keys. Three knocks. Shuffling behind the door. A door being slightly opened with a safety lock still visible. An incredibly blue eye looked at you and you offered a smile, „Hey, I‘m Y/N. I just moved in across and wanted to ask if you had maybe some eggs you could borrow me. I‘m totally obliterated by the 12-hour flight I just had.“ The pin of the safety lock was taken out and the door fully opened. Now you saw both ocean blue eyes and the size of the man living across from you. „Oh, yeah, sure. Gimme a second.“ He mumbled almost shy before vanishing from the door to shuffle through his kitchen. You took a tiny peek inside and saw a rather grey-ish interior. There was some red and mint here and there, but mostly the apartment was decorated very monotone. He came out of his kitchen door with a box of six eggs, „These should be fine.“ „Thank you so much. When I go grocery shopping tomorrow I‘ll bring you some again.“ You smiled at him gratefully. „You don‘t have to...Y/N was the name, right?“ You nodded, „My name‘s Bucky.“ „Nice to meet you, Bucky. You‘re also American?“ You asked. „Yes, from Brooklyn.“ He smiled politely. „Always wanted to visit New York City.“ You gave a little dreamy expression. „It‘s a nice place.“ He shrugged with a big grin on his face. „Well, uh, I‘m gonna make myself dinner. See you around, Bucky.“ You took a step back with the eggs in your hand. „See you around, Y/N.“ With that smile the door closed. You felt like you knew his face from somewhere, but you couldn‘t quite put your finger on it. The only category you could put him in was, „Something before the blip.“ You had been one of the 50% that was gone for 5 years. Thankfully that also meant your savings account had continued for the 5 years you were gone. With a bowl of scrambled eggs you sat down in front of your laptop and watched some Youtube videos for basic German. „Hello, Hallo. How are you, wie geht es dir? Left, links. Right, rechts. Forward, geradeaus. Can I have ___, Kann ich ___ haben? Why, warum? Where, wo? What, was? Who, wer? How, wie? She, sie. He, er. They, es.“ You watched these a few times a week to at least understand the basics. You didn‘t know how big the grin was on the other side of that living room wall. Your pronunciation was cute, but you didn‘t know that. The next morning was spent with getting breakfast and some other things in the Späti down the street and then unpacking your suitcases. „I should bake. This place still smells so stale.“ You mumbled when you looked into the fridge for the third time that hour. So you started making cookies from scratch, spending the better part of your morning in your kitchen and browsing decor while waiting for the cookies to bake. Right after you put the cookies onto the counter to cool down there were two knocks on your door. You peaked through a slightly opened door to see Bucky standing there. In full light your neighbor looked even better. In his hands was a vase full of flowers. „Oh, hey, Bucky.“ You smiled and opened the door fully. „Um, hey. Just thought a welcome gift would be appropriate.“ He smiled and held out the white vase filled with tulips. „Oh god, thank you. You didn‘t have to! I know Germans usually don‘t do this, so I didn‘t really expect anything.“ You looked back up to the giant man looking past you, his nose moving. „I just made cookies to get the dusty smell out of the apartment. If you wanna come in we can wait together till they are cooled down.“ You smiled up and he looked at you with a first reluctant but then eager nod. „Ignore the dust on the furniture. My morning consisted of anything but cleaning.“ You chuckled. „Oh, I don‘t mind if there are cookies.“ He chuckled. He looked so scarily big, but you could already see the softie behind those muscles. „Patience. I just got them out.“ You raised a brow and he innocently stood there and looked up while you put the vase in the center of the kitchen isle, desperately trying to find two other decor pieces to make it look better. Before you could even react his left hand had reached for one, „Hey! They are still hot, don‘t burn yourse-“ You looked at his left hand, just now noticing the different colored fingers and it clicked. „Oh, that‘s why I know your face.“ You facepalmed yourself and got a chuckle back. Great, your neighbor wasn‘t just nice, but also a supersoldier with an assassin past. Better not fuck it up with him. „I bet that‘s one of the best things to use that arm for.“ You pointed out and caught him off-guard. „You know, getting food out of the oven without mittens. Stealing burning hot food. That kinda stuff.“ You shrugged and got a laugh back. „Sure, it has its benefits in the kitchen.“ He smiled at you brightly. You had already made a friend in Berlin and you hadn‘t even left the house to meet anyone. „I can show you around a bit if you want, by the way.“ He suggested while stealing another cookie. „I‘d love that.“ You shook your head as he innocently ate the cookie. „Manchild.“

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synesindri · 4 years ago

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some musings on shipping culture

just to get this out of the way: this post is prompted by things i have seen people say and reblog recently about a variety of ships and fandoms, some of which i have been in, some of which i have not. it is not directed at any individual in particular.

i am also not upset. how other people like to enjoy fandom is interesting to me but ultimately it’s totally irrelevant to how i like to enjoy fandom. in fact, my apathy about other people’s favorite ships is a major reason i am curious about how some people respond to each other/canon/whatever.

the main question is: why do people care what other people ship and why they ship it?

here’s what i got. this list is not ordered by importance.

1) purity culture

tbh i am kind of burnt out with thinking about purity culture. probably a lot of reasons are somewhat related to purity culture, but i don’t want to get into whether or not it’s ok for people to ship stuff they wouldn’t condone in reality (although for the record, if you couldn’t tell, my opinion is: ship literally whatever you want). so, moving on.

2) whether or not ships are likely to become canon

a lot of the time, this debate gets avoided either because none of the ships being argued over are likely ever to become canon, or because one of them is almost definitely going to become canon. sometimes it’s an argument about which relationship is more important, whether romantic or not (two examples: 1) most wincest shippers understand that sam and dean were never going to kiss on the mouth on tv, but are very invested in the brothers’ relationship being the central relationship in the show regardless. 2) debates over whether elsa in frozen should have a girlfriend or stay single).

much of the time, people get passionate about ships going canon because of issues of representation. wanting the queer ship; wanting the ship involving at least one character from an underrepresented group; wanting the ship that resonates with some meaningful experience much of the audience can relate to. that’s all cool. i get all of that. i don’t personally have many feelings about ships i like going canon because that’s not really part of the experience for me, but i understand why it’s appealing to others.

i do not, however, understand why some people whose ships might become canon care about telling people whose ships are never going to become canon that their ships are, uh, never going to become canon. like, in my experience, usually people who ship a never-going-to-be-canon ship know that it’s never going to be canon, and while they might be salty about it, they aren’t claiming that their thing is going to be what happens in canon. i get why never-going-to-be-canon shippers might get pissy at might-be-canon shippers because it sucks to “lose,” or because often (not always) might-be-canon ships are very popular comparatively and it can get tiresome to see your fandom dominated by something you don’t like/care about. but why do fans of popular (might-be-)canon ships get pissy about fans of never-gonna-be-canon ships, within fandom spaces?

a lot of this tension might be because of fandom dominance wars, rather than canon dominance wars. the never-gonna-be-canon shippers might feel that the might-be-canon shippers are dominating fandom spaces, but the might-be-canon shippers might feel that the never-gonna-be-canon shippers are dominating canon spaces. often when this happens both ships take up a lot of fandom space regardless of which takes up more, and might in fact be equally popular. so this might be just misperceptions about relative popularity, and feeling like your ship is being attacked/ignored disproportionately in the fandom when in reality it isn’t. i have definitely seen this sort of attitude from warring flagship supporters many a time.

but ok, to come back to why might-be-canon shippers make arguments against never-gonna-be-canon shippers based on likelihood of canonization: why? i don’t get it. i’ve seen this happen even with people who ship fully realized canon relationships arguing against people who ship fully non-canon relationships. why?

my instinct is to think that last one is a sore winner thing. like, you won dude. good for you. take your winnings and let everybody else lick their wounds/carry on with their own preferences in peace. i’m even inclined to think that canon shippers as a rule should ignore most baiting by non-canon shippers because losers should be allowed to be little a bitter, as a treat. but at this point, i realize that i have just made a claim about how people should act in fandom, and who am i to say that? no one. so: never mind. and it might not be a gloating thing anyway.

another piece of evidence i see people bring up in these arguments is about basis in canon, rather than likelihood of canonization. that seems like another major point, so let’s move on to that.

3) basis in canon

whether or not a ship is likely to become canon, there are lots of conversations about which ships make the most sense given evidence from the canon.

i, being a massive slut for characterization, get this sort of. usually even when i enjoy crack ships i want to make them work with textual evidence somehow. i personally just think it’s more satisfying to figure out how two characters might have met and what would have appealed to them about each other to lead them to connect/date/bang/whatever, even if it never happened and never will happen and nobody would even think about the pairing unless either they were trying to be funny or they were really far down a rabbit hole. that’s my own geeky cross to bear.

i don’t get why “basis in canon” makes any ship better than any other ship though. sometimes a ship is within reach of canon characterization/story, and the work to go from non-canon to canon is suuuper minimal. these ships make sense pretty much as they are. that’s cool! such ships are usually popular for a reason: they appeal to a lot of fans of the canon because not a lot has to be done to the source material to make it work. often, the more you have to modify/do interpretation footwork, the more people’s interesting is going to drop off because you’re getting further from the source, and the source is why everyone is here in the first place. (some fandoms are of course exceptions to this.)

but why is closer-to-canon better? sometimes the work to get from canon to a far-from-canon ship is really clever, and does actually make a lot of sense if you follow the reasoning. sometimes far-from-canon ships are satisfying in a way other closer-to-canon ships aren’t (at least to some people). sometimes far-from-canon ships allow for creativity that closer-to-canon ships don’t. sometimes the appeal of far-from-canon ships is none of that, and it’s purely because the ship is sexy, or it’s controversial, or it’s weird, or people have gotten tired of the fandom flagships and they’re looking for something new.

i don’t understand why any of that is worse than the reasons for shipping something with “more basis in canon.”

personally, i get tired of fandom flagships in most of the fandoms i’ve been in very quickly. furthermore, i lose interest in ships almost immediately if/when they become canon. that’s not a value judgment; it’s just a pattern in my own preferences that i’ve observed from 15+ years of fandom involvement. i enjoy having to work in the murky waters farther from canon to justify my weird little ships. i find the moment of canonization exciting and satisfying (and sometimes emotional and vindicating), but i do not enjoy watching people actually being in romantic relationships very much (part of this is probably due to the fact that i personally do not enjoy being in romantic relationships very much). i also just tend to enjoy elements of ships that a lot of people find off-putting, but this is going back to purity culture and, again, i don’t want to get into that. these preferences reliably lead me away from close-to-canon ships and fandom flagships.

(just to be clear: i’m not being attacked. i do not feel attacked. i'm just using myself as a rhetorical example here.)

does this make my taste in ships bad? i don’t know what "bad taste in ships” means, but if you’re going to say that my taste is bad, i’m going to want you to justify it.

does it make my taste in ships stupid? well, sure, i do like stupid shit sometimes. but i also feel that it would be strange, if not flat-out incorrect, to claim that my taste in off-norm ships is not thoughtful. i think about many of my far-from-canon ships a lot — often, i think about them a lot before i start shipping them/see anyone else ship them, and i decide i like the characters together because i’ve come at it from a character analysis perspective. i have liked ships for some extremely nerdy reasons. a lot of people who like far-from-canon ships get there because they like thinking about characterization and plot and symbolism. to be completely honest, i often end up liking rarepairs in part because the people who end up liking rarepairs often have higher overall intellectual skill and desire to think about things extensively on average than fans of fandom flagships do on average. so, is liking far-from-canon ships stupid? that’s subjective. is it unintelligent? probably not.

is enjoyment of these ships dumber when people don’t get there through a lot of analysis, or when they don’t try to justify their enjoyment once they’ve decided they like a ship? i have seen extremely well-written, clever, extensively researched fic about pairings the author had no interest in justifying, and imo that’s just as intellectually motivated as analysis about why the ship makes sense. so, i would say, no.

is it bad to ship stuff and have no intellectual interest in it all? i mean, everyone can have whatever opinion about this, but in my opinion, no. this is fandom. this is for fun-having. i’m a nerd, but not everybody has to be a nerd. sometimes i like to read stuff that is not nerdy, that just shows me something comforting or new or evocative and doesn’t ask me to care about how we’ve gotten there. i might care anyway, but that’s on me, and it doesn’t make my enjoyment better than the enjoyment of someone who doesn’t want to overthink it.

finally, even if a ship having no basis in canon does make it worse somehow, who cares? what is the point of arguing over ship quality, of all things? is it just elitism? is it defensiveness against criticism of fan work being inferior to original work? is it a desire for everything to make sense, paired with a belief that people prefer things that make the most sense? if anybody has read this far and has insight into this, please tell me. i see this so often, and it baffles me every time. i don’t really want to agree, but i want to understand.

so, i don’t quite get this one. i get parts of it, but overall, i don’t get it.

4) i don’t have a number 4. i put a number 4 when i started writing this post but i think i covered what i was going to say here in points 1-3. alternatively i forgot my 4th point in which case RIP.

if you read this far, i apologize for the messy organization. i wrote this primarily to sort out my own thoughts. i’m not sure it helped, but it was something to do for an hour XD

#please don't reblog #(idk why anyone would but)#(i am happy to chat though! i am genuinely interested! my questions are not rhetorical)#further disclaimer: none of this is about my current main fandom which seems blessedly tolerant compared to many fandoms #i say things

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