#because they kind of overlap and tell parts of the same story?

[autistictaylorhebert]

incomplete (?) unordered list of posts about how members of Breakthrough are foils for Amy and how it never really goes anywhere:

About Ashley Stillons and how she relates to Amy Dallon

Rain being similar to Victoria and Amy

Members of Breakthrough echo Amy’s story

The therapy group represent aspects of Amy Dallon

Other members of the therapy group

Related commentary on an excerpt of ward

[beaulesbian]

I've been thinking about the Whiskey Peak Luffy vs Zoro fight and how nothing is truly finished or contained within just one arc in One Piece - where the themes and character development always overlap and span over many later arcs as well.

It's an interesting scene, and I feel it's almost impossible to dissect that fight just within that arc alone - like it wasn't meant to be taken seriously by itself at that time, but later with more context of what's to come after that.

A short version: It's a great set up of how the trust between Luffy and Zoro would develop after this fight.

Specifically, how it gets to this in Skypiea:

And a longer version under the read more:

To start at the beginning again - Luffy knew about Zoro's reputation by the time he reached Shells Town and heard about him as Demon Pirate Hunter of the East Blue, and decided to see if he's a good guy to have on his crew.

Once Luffy freed Zoro and they took down Morgan together, they could see how the other was similary strong, as well as they were able to fight in sync and well together, but maybe they still didn't understand how much they could depend on each other.

With Luffy, anyone who offers him food becomes something like his hero. If they offer him hospitality, he would protect them with his life.

With Zoro, he's always looking out for the danger, used to travel alone (or with just Johnny and Yosaku), he does what's needed, and usually without telling the others.

And this is, I think, that crucial moment when they realize this about each other -

Luffy wakes up and sees the people who helped him lying on the ground, and telling him that Zoro was the one who did that. Luffy goes berserk without needing to hear why, because there shouldn't be a reason why. Whatever Zoro tells him must be a lie, right? He must have gone mad.

Maybe if Zoro didn't fight back, Luffy would see something was wrong, but Zoro isn't one to back down from a fight, especially when being falsely accused, and if he saw that Luffy was fighting him for real, he in turn would give him the same courtesy. They're both very stubborn in the same way.

The misunderstanding trope can be a bit annoying, but I think it's all just to see them actually fight together on equal footing. It was one of the first examples of what they can do together.

After this fight, where they defeat the two Baroque Works agents together, and after everything is explained, Luffy understands, in his own way.

When rereading this part of "I thought you got mad (...)", I had a feeling that Luffy might have even think Zoro could become a danger to others and was ready to just.. contain him. He heard about him as a demon pirate hunter - of course, those where a lot of talking from the Marine's side of the story perpetuating the myth of him, Zoro never called himself that and Luffy knows it, but part of me thinks maybe Luffy wouldn't care about that - he just wanted Zoro on his crew no matter what, and would deal with the consequences after that. Like in Whiskey Peak.

But what's even more interesting is, since this fight, they began to understand how they work separately.

I kind of like that they don't come back or talk more about this fight, because once it's done, they're past that. But both take it as a learning experience, Luffy still has a long journey to go as a captain, and I feel with knowing what Zoro does without saying, Luffy began finding the footing as captain with putting this specific trust in Zoro - learning he can fully depend on him to protect their crew when something would be amiss, when some danger would be nearby.

And that despite the sudden fight, the bad communication and the immediate resolve, Zoro sees another most important part of Luffy's character - how far he would go to help someone who offered him food or helped Luffy and his crew. And this knowledge has helped Zoro many times since this arc, in situation where the rest of the crew might not understand Luffy's thinking, Zoro's usually the first one who does understand.

On Jaya, that trust takes the main role when Luffy orders Zoro not to fight Bellamy's crew:

Later on Skypiea Luffy says it out loud how much he trusts Zoro to protect the rest of the crew:

It goes on each arc more and more, subtle but with that trust between them deepening.

With Zoro letting Luffy know being their captain is hard but he cannot falter,

in Post Enies Lobby it's Zoro telling him what rules need to be followed, otherwise the crew would fall apart,

It feels since that Whiskey Peak fight, Zoro really took it onto himself to protect the crew without having to say so, and Luffy understood that's what he does. It's Zoro's instinct to do that - Skypiea protecting Robin and Chopper, Thriller Bark - protecting Brook, saving Sanji and of course Luffy from Kuma. On Punk Hazard, while Luffy is against Ceasar, Zoro fights Monet so Nami and Robin could get away. On Dressrosa his final fight against Pica is to protect Usopp and Kinemon.

I also like this bit on Zou, where Zoro doesn't enjoy the Minks' attention on him, and Luffy reprimands him that it's rude to talk back to someone who's hosting a feast for them. Again, kind of a callback to Whiskey Peak, ch. 807

And then there's whole Wano, with Zoro protecting Tama, Otoko and Yasuie, Hiyori, and it gets very personal when they're hurt.

During Onigashima Raid he keeps reminding Luffy that he would go with him up to the rooftop to fight Kaido, because this time the enemies are too dangerous and he needs to protect Luffy as well. And they both protect each other there:

Conclusion: I love the Whiskey Peak fight now, because it brings up many small details that are so important over the span of many arcs later, slowly showing just how different these two are built and how much trust they learnt to put in the other.

bonus:

On their way to Enies Lobby on the train, this scene looks very similar to their Whiskey Peak fight, except this time they're intentionally using their strengths together against the Aqua Laguna.

Whiskey peak, ch. 112

Water Seven, ch. 367

[undead-moth]

I gotta say I forgot until rewatching The Bear recently how much I hate Claire. I don't mean as a character. I understand why her character was introduced and the purpose it served and she's an integral part of the overarching story being told -

But as a person, if she were a real person, I hate her so much.

She bumped into a childhood friend she hadn't spoken to in years, right? From what I can tell, she and Carmy were never close friends. They went to the same school. Their social circles were in close proximity, maybe even overlapped to a degree - but the two of them, specifically, were not close friends. Not even close enough to be friends.

And she bumps into him after years without speaking to him, and basically asks for Carmy's number. Carmy's in a social situation where it would be somewhat rude, and very awkward, to deny her, and Claire is aware that's the case, and purposefully exploits it.

Then later, she finds out he gave her a fake number. She's an intelligent person. She knows it wasn't by mistake. And what does she do? She goes to fucking Fak and gets his real number, which she knows Carmy doesn't want her to have, and then calls Carmy and asks him why he gave her a fake number as if that isn't? Self-explanatory? Why do people usually give fake numbers, Claire?

And once again, she's putting him in this position where it would be very rude, and very awkward, to say, "I didn't give you my real number because I didn't want you to have my real number." She's already aware that he wasn't able to bring himself to do the rude and awkward thing the first time - she knows he won't be able to this time either. And then she has the audacity to tell him not to "make it weird," and ask him if he's actually okay with her having his number, when she knows he wouldn't feel comfortable telling her the truth!

What is wrong with her? If she were a male character we would all rightfully hate her. We would all readily recognize that this behavior is inappropriate, stalker-like behavior. And what's most infuriating about it is most women have been in this situation before, where a guy has asked them for their number and they didn't feel safe or comfortable outright saying, "No." Most women have given fake numbers, especially young, conventionally attractive women like Claire. You can't tell me that Claire has never given a fake number before.

And then? What does she do? She excuses her own inappropriate behavior by telling him that the only reason she's calling is to ask him to help her move? Are you fucking kidding me? First of all, "Can you help me move?" is the kind of question you generally only ask people who are pretty close to you, because you're aware it's a laborious and unenjoyable thing to do. But on top of that, she's supposedly asking Carmy because she knows that Carmy at one point owned a truck and might still own that truck. The same truck Neil Fak could just as easily drive! Why the fuck are you asking Carmy to help you move in case he still owns that truck, when you could ask Fak, who you are much closer to? Like? You're really going to ask someone you haven't spoken to in years, who you just happened to bump into, and who very obviously intentionally gave you a fake number, to help you move? When you already know he's not comfortable turning you down?! What is wrong with her? How fucking entitled is that?

And one thing that is frustrating is how even though we are meant to root against Carmy and Claire's relationship, and there's purposeful foreshadowing of its end, and even narrative hints that Claire isn't right for Carmy, and that she's an antagonist in this story - I don't think we're supposed to have a problem with her behavior. I don't think any of this was meant to contribute to us not liking her, or not wanting Carmy to be with her. I really think we were supposed to be endeared by all of this and think it's all perfectly normal flirtation, and not manipulative and predatory behavior.

What's more is that the heart of this story isn't about a man opening a restaurant, or a man falling in love - it's about a man learning to recover from trauma. If you found the lowest common denominator of this story and simplified it, that's what this story would be about. A mentally ill man healing.

I just rewatched the freezer scene. It is alarming - but all of it says more about how Carmy perceives himself, than how he sees Claire, or their relationship, or love. All of it is a neon sign advertising Carmy's severe mental state, and it is obvious this man needs help. He needs support. He needs reassurance from loved ones.

I understand why Claire hearing what Carmy said would be hurtful. I understand why she would be upset. I understand why she would be questioning their relationship.

And still, I think, you really just heard Carmy, this man you supposedly love, say all that - and you're just going to leave him like that? You're just going to leave and not reach out again at any point?

And especially with Claire, who is a medical professional working in the fucking emergency room. I would bet on a daily basis she gets people in the emergency room who are in a state of mental distress. Who are thinking about killing themselves, or have attempted to kill themselves. She knows what mental illness looks like, how it manifests, and the way it makes people think!

And she just left! She just left because she took it all personally and made it all about herself and how it affected her!

You can't tell me that woman ever loved Carmy. You can't even tell me that woman ever knew Carmy.

And if this was all it took - one single glimpse into Carmy's trauma - to make her leave, she was never, ever going to be right for Carmy. She was never, ever going to be what Carmy needed. She was never, ever going to be "healthy" for him, or "peace."

Sydney has glimpsed Carmy's trauma on multiple occasions now. She glimpsed it in season 1, when she and Carmy had only begun to have a mutual respect and investment in each other on an acquaintance shared-workspace level - and even though Syd left too, she came back. She came back even when Carmy's symptoms then were being purposefully directed at her and others - whereas Claire was never supposed to hear what Carmy was saying in the freezer. Syd came back even though they weren't committed in the same way, even though she wasn't supposedly in love with him, and even though what she got was worse. And she's been in that same position multiple times since, to different degrees - but nonetheless. She always knows her worth, and what she deserves - but it never means abandoning Carmy completely. It never means making his problems about her.

Fuck Claire so much, honestly. I'm so glad she's gone. This is just another way it is so obvious it was always, always going to be Sydney.

[starrieisdelusional]

merthur reunion in s4 of my fix it au (now not canon, i’ll explain why in the end)

merthur had just completed an epic battle, they're standing in the throne room, just like the end of s3 when arthur banished merlin 3 years ago

merlin: honestly i didn't think i will be standing here again arthur: me too (stepping down from his throne) why did you come back? merlin: (shrugs) i tried running away, but i can't...

'i can't leave you' hangs in the air

arthur: (sharp breath) you never left, even after all this years merlin: no

(silence)

arthur: why? merlin: i swear loyalty to camelot arthur: not that....(shakes his head)

(more silence)

Arthur: tell me emrys, why do you, the most powerful being ever walked on earth, continue to serve me, a lowly king with too many mistakes, too arrogant for his own good, isn't wise enough for his kingdom when i did nothing but to continue to treat you like dirt, banished your kind and family, sentenced you to exile for the last few years? merlin: (sharp breath) i live to serve you arthur: so the prophecy then? merlin: NO! (shocked at his own voice)

(merlin took a shaky breath)

merlin: no, it's not...it's not because of the prophecy...i don't serve you because of some destiny that's just ridiculous

(merlin looks to the ground)

merlin: you know arthur? i never expected to cross path with you when i entered citadel all those years ago….i thought that maybe i can make a change for myself, made new friends, maybe even become the new physician but

(merlin shakes his head)

Merlin: i never knew when i was involved in something greater than i can ever imagine, when i became magic, when i devoted myself to albion's future but…

(merlin looks at arthur)

Merlin: i think it’s you, you’re the one who changes me, and i’m not just talking about some destiny or some prophecy spewed by the great dragon. I…I serve you because you’re you. You’re not anyone else. You meant something to me. You have a kind heart, bigger than anyone else i’ve ever known, you shine like the sun when you’re fighting on the battlefield. I just- i don’t know arthur, i tried leaving, i really tried but i just cant-

Arthur is already hugging him, and merlin lets his tears drop to arthur’s shoulders, hugging him back. Arthur is crying too, nuzzling to the side of his head

Arthur: i missed you- Merlin: i miss you too Arthur: i’m sorry Merlin: it’s not your fault- Arthur: it is my fault Merlin: blame your father Arthur: i shouldn’t listen to him

They both look at each-other, seeing how much they’ve changed for the last few years.

Arthur: thank you for staying by my side merlin. i will try to make you the happiest man alive. Merlin: but i’m already happy when im with you, i’ll burn villages for you, i’ll do anything for-

Arthur kisses him, merlin kisses him back. Deep down inside, arthur realizes, he’s stupidly in love with the man standing in front of him, he doesn’t want to lose him again

Merlin: i love you, i love you, i love you... Arthur: I know...

Episode ends

Note:

This is no longer part of the story because there are changes to the plot!! This is however part of the old masterlist which you can check out here:

The difference between the old one and the new one is that the new one is much more improved and coherent! They overlap with eachother.

main post:

To find my other ramblings about this AU, filter with the hashtag #must we really rely on fate?

[artbyblastweave]

So comic question - my Big 2-reading friend has been raving about the new Ultimates series, and also sworn up and down that it's actually easy to follow and you in no way need to read six different ongoing series in the correct order to understand what's going on or jump in halfway through a totally unrelated one for ten issues to get vital context.

Is he full of shit, or is it actually comprehensible and worth reading if my comics knowledge mostly boils down to pop culture osmosis and reading some posts?

He's kind of full of shit but also not. They did one four-issue miniseries called Ultimate Invasion- quite good in it's own right- that lays the groundwork/status quo/Big Ticking Two Year Countdown Clock Until All Hell Breaks Loose for the handful of ongoing series that launched afterwards. The fact that it's been largely easy to follow thus far is largely a function of it's currently limited scope- Only four largely separate ongoings (the two of which I've read are quite legible independent of the other ones) set in different parts of the world with very limited overlap, alongside a couple oneshots released as milestones. You can blow through the entire continuity in an afternoon. The Original Ultimate Marvel was, at it's inception, easy to follow for basically the same reason. This has the potential to metastasize in the same way that that did. They also might successfully tie a bow on it as a completed limited scope project. Time will tell. The other thing is that the Hickman and Camp's metatextual project is to create an imprint where the setting is so aggressively plugged into meta continuity porn bullshit that it would serve as a poison-pill to any attempted MCU adaption effort- In contrast to how the original Ultimate Universe was kind of visibily packaging itself for eventual adaptation to film, they wanted to do a story that can be a comic book and nothing else because of how much it's about comic books. A major theme thus far has been characters coming to terms with the lives they were supposed to lead, for better or for worse, and half of what's clever about this thing is banking on your ability to contextualize where the bit players are in life in this story versus where they wound up in other continuities. I also interpret the entire project as sort of a love letter to the phenomenon of trying to create revised, tightened reboots of long-running continuities that spiral out of control in their own right- the entire joke is that one of the two characters kept around by real-life editorial after the last, kinda-poorly-received attempt at a reboot universe like this is trying to make his own timeline with blackjack and hookers, only for it to spiral out of control in turn. (We Are Never Getting Out Of Here)

All in all, I've mentioned in other posts on this project that I've kind of lost the objectivity necessary to know whether this is at all good, legible or enjoyable if you aren't plugged into the big-two comic-book torment nexus. This shit is my Feldspar and Quartz. If you want to roll the dice, the reading order is Ultimate Invasion, Ultimate Universe, and then as far as I know Ultimate Spider-Man, The Ultimates, Ultimate Black Panther and Ultimate X-Men can be read in any order. The fact that I had to give you a reading order probably on some level answers your original question, though

[manytoonepoet13]

What is a rose truly for?

~~~🌹🥀~~~

This music video has left me quite... confused? Perhaps a bit frustrated? Because I can tell there is something in this mv, in this song, but I can't put my finger on it on what it is exactly. Particularly, I am torn over the symbolisms, why these specific visuals were used, why these specific transitions, and so on, how they would fit in with the general timeline and the overall story, it's confusing, at least, as of now where there's a lack of English translation. I'm certain everything will fall into place, but until then, I want to discuss my theories.

1.) "I'm Stitch Dot." I first approached the title quite literally, stitch as in stitches and it may relate to the tapestry and quilts Roma's kingdom is known for. Then I looked at the possible meanings it could have in literature, to which I have discovered that "stitch" may refer to a sudden pain, which is understandable since you get hurt when you get stitches, or, you get hurt which is why you need to get stitches but you end up hurting yourself more because of those stitches.

That last thought was close, it made me relate it to roses, and my thought looked a little bit like this: "A rose, it's beautiful, but it has thorns. Find yourself pricking yourself, you get hurt. And it's somewhat similar to a dot. But sometimes, that aside, sometimes when you get hurt, the pain is not similar to a mere dot. Sometimes, the pain is too much that you need to get stitches to fix yourself and keep yourself together." That thought is VERY close to what the title wanted to convey because, vague it may be, I tried to actually say the title out loud "I'm Stitch Dot" and, perhaps it's just me, but it sounded something similar to "I'm stitched up."

That thought made me compare it to the visuals, where different fabrics were stitched up to form one quilt, one tapestry. Those different fabrics were supposed to symbolize the different parts of Romarriche...

2.) Fabrics.

The fabric here is most likely representing the "old french" or "old american" aesthetic they wanted him to convey through his clothing, and perhaps a part of his personality. This is Roma on surface level.

There's a lot going on here, but let me break it down for you.

a.) The white fabric with pink flowers: Most probably relating to an "innocent" kind of love, one that symbolizes his kind heart, his caring and generous nature.

b.) The purple (or magenta?) fabric with pink flowers: Most probably relating to a slightly more intense love than the other fabric, probably representing his want and determination to protect others, which may relate to this line from his wiki used to describe him: "Determination Hidden Deep Within a Tolerant Nature."

c.) The blackened red fabric that looks like it has roses but also has this white thingy that looks like it was scribbled down randomly: An extension of the previous fabric, but here, it got intense to the point of disarray and this is where the SEEDS take place. Roma dislikes it when his friends are hurt, while this may not be an insecurity, it is a dislike, therefore a negative emotion, therefore the SEEDS would provoke him so they could feed on those negative emotions. The rose pattern is him, the white scribbles is him being plagued by paranoia of not being able to protect his friends or anyone if the situation calls it. This leads him spiralling down and overthinking and over-worrying which will lead the SEEDS right to where they are and the cycle will continue on until the unfortunate happens.

d.) The black fabric: Him getting corrupted. Easy as that.

This struggle to remain calm but at the same time to be on guard to protect whoever dear to him will be the main thing that will lead the SEEDS right to him if he doesn't balance it out.

The same thing applied here, only half of the screen is mixed with the red textile overlapping the black fabric. Most probably, if meant in a good way (to which I hope it is), means that he managed to balance it out. The fabric we talked about became more vibrant, and perhaps a bit more orderly now. While the fabric that consumes the second part of the screen, the black fabric with red textiles, most probably means how even with these negative emotions, he managed to find that point where he managed to find good in it, he managed to find the power he has, how instead of paranoia, he sees determination, and covered it with the intense emotions that he has now embraced.

And Merold? Why does he have the purple fabric? Well, his intense emotions has been "tamed" in a way during Your Melody and had now learned his lesson.

3.) Frames.

Most probably, the frames being used in this mv is to show how Roma used to confine himself, or his emotions rather to keep them from being too intense or scare people off, kind of like Merold in that broken mirror. But throughout, he has learn to open up, and be free.

Which is why he went from this:

To this:

But unfortunately, I don't think I could end this happily. Perhaps bittersweet.

4.) The distance between the lords and knights.

This is something very interesting I found in the comments section. (Thank you and credit to these people, by the way.)

They highlighted how even though the knights and their lords are close, there is still a distinct line, this distance that none of them dare to cross. And this speaks a lot considering Roma's relationship with his lord is probably the closest out of all the knights. Marroncream was the one who taught him how to make sweets and sewing, this solidified their bond and brought them closer together. They cherish each other, care for each other, yes, but still, there is this distance between them that never seems to close. Perhaps it is their titles? Their duties? The sense of professionalism? This is most probably why gray roses was shown - they symbolize formality and sophistication. Or perhaps he just struggles to convey it properly. The knights do have this "sickness" where they don't know how to express their feelings properly and do things they think is for the best for the people they love without thinking clearly (sometimes).

But what I really like about the second comment is this line "Although you don't your love isn't very beautiful, do you also think it's as important as the needlework of your beloved master?"

This love grew because of his bond with Marroncream, primarily because of them bonding over needlework. If ever he considers his love as something that is not very beautiful, the same love that grew from needleworking with his beloved master, and the love that came from seeing the finished art his master has made, would he consider the needlework of his master not very beautiful like his love? Would it be as important as his "not very beautiful" love? He would most probably answer no, but what he is implying is leading to the answer yes. Why?

Like I said, this love grew from needleworking with his master and the awe and admiration from seeing the finish product of his master's finished needlework. If he were to consider his love "not very beautiful" he would deem his master's needlework "not very beautiful" as well.

That would most probably leave him silent. Contemplating. Wondering about his answer. This is a common problem with the knights, one that I would relate to my earlier statement about the red fabric (c). Him feeling so much yet all of this thoughts are practically scribbles that he can't think clearly and wouldn't know how to express it properly... That is something he would have to learn. That is something he has learn thought the mv.

5.) Eyes Closed.

Perfect! I was wondering about this, and it's quite fitting as well. I've said this in passing before where eyes have been quite the prominent symbol in Fragaria. First shown in Ever Red, then Your Melody, so on so forth. But the most recent one is Bouquet of Wishes, and now, this.

And it's quite interesting to know this point because the story this comment has mentioned (Thank you and credits to this person), fits the overall world of Fragaria in a way that I've never thought about before. Cover your right eye, then you won't see your past — how the first timeline of the Fragaria world has fallen. Cover your left eyes, and you won't see your future — the uncertainty, the potential of having history repeat itself when they least expect it because they lost their memories. Right, applies to Roma, left, applies to both Merold and Puruth, But what does it mean to have both eyes closed then? I haven't read the story myself, but, if I were to connect this with the mv and the overall world of Fragaria, it could be described as momentary peace.

You close your eyes, free yourself from looking at the horrible things that has occured for too long, and let yourself relax... breathe... think... reflect... You close your eyes and see black. The void of color, or lack thereof, you usually associate with the SEEDS, but in this moment where it is just you, you would be able to breathe and free yourself of paranoia and anxiety, and reflect... You close your eyes and see your friends, your beloved master, your people, you see how they have supported you all throughout, you see how far you have come despite the consequences. You close your eyes and see everything. Everything you have done. Everything you haven't done. Everything that needs to be done.

You close your eyes, and suddenly, everything is falling into place... The only thing you need to do now is open them, but keep that sight in your heart, stitch it into your very being, your very should... And take it from there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The knights ask nothing in return for their love.”

[comedicjustice]

It’s Kinger’s Fault.

…

Twenty five. Twenty five percent of all marriages end in a divorce due to domestic abuse.

Thirty four of people in domestic abuse relationships end up dying because of it.

Now, don’t take this as me saying Kinger is physically abusive. All of the episodes thus far show that he isn’t a very physical person. Besides that one part when he had a gun- but that’s unimportant right now. Kinger never laid a hand on Queenie unless it was to embrace her in her final moments. He was a good man… but I have reason to believe he was a horrible husband.

‼️SPOILERS FOR TADC EPISODE THREE‼️

‼️YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED‼️

Episode three gave us a lot in terms of character growth for both Zooble and Kinger. While I love a good B plot that’s bound to play in edits with Will Wood songs, I want to focus on the star of this episode.. Kinger.

Kinger is a sweet guy. A little confused due to him slowly loosing his memory, but he plays an important role. He’s a good guy and always has the best intentions for others. Often comforting them when they’re feeling down. As seen with Ragatha in episode two! When Kinger had the bucket over his head and was able to revert back to himself, he found the words needed to comfort Ragatha. Then it’s shown he does the same again in episode three, where he holds and reassures Pomni. Opening up his own troubles to her.

What a sweet guy!! Telling her all this things like-

“You’re very strong, Pomni.”

“Things will be okay.”

“The worst thing you can do is make someone feel like they’re not loved or wanted-”

I’m sorry.. WHAT?! That usually isn’t something you say to someone while retelling your own story and comforting the one they’re currently living. Not unless it’s something you have direct experience with. Let’s go over the facts.

As explained by Ragatha in the pilot: “when you reach your breaking point, something really terrible can happen.” That terrible thing being abstraction.

Kinger and Queenie fell in love and married in the circus.

Kinger can’t remember the string of events leading up to Queenie’s abstraction.

Now how do any of these points tie into one another? I am so happy you didn’t ask! Most may be wondering how exactly Kinger and Queenie fell in love and “married” in the circus. Well, we know that those in the circus remember next to nothing about their personal lives including their names (Besides slight references to things outside their world every once in a while for a good laugh). So it’s unlikely that they entered the circus together as a couple, but rather fell in love and used each other as a rock to combat the insanity. Queenie went into the circus remembering her love for bugs like how Gange remembered her love for body pillows. Both Kinger and Ragatha remember their disliking/fear of bugs. Despite this, Queenie was able to help Kinger overcome his distaste.

Plus, it just made sense for them to get together. They were both apart of the same set.

Now as for Kinger not remembering the events that lead to her abstraction? That part is especially important. Now it’s common for those who harm others to claim they don’t remember anything. I don’t think that’s the case with Kinger. I believe it was more of a disassociation, which is also incredibly common in these kinds of situations. People tend to disassociate as a coping mechanism to the own harm they’re causing. Their brain is unable to handle the stress they’re releasing which leads them to completely placing the memory somewhere out of reach. Thus allowing the person to continue living their daily life.

Symptoms of disassociation actually overlap with amnesia. In which case a person is left with gaps in their memory and cannot recall certain events unless coping mechanisms or creative therapies take place. Kind of like how Kinger surrounds himself in darkness. Don’t you think?

Of course, this all only leads up to my biggest fact.. which is what Ragatha said to Pomni: “when you reach your breaking point, something really terrible can happen.”

And what Kinger said to Pomni: “The worst thing you can do is make someone feel like they’re not loved or wanted.”

As I said before, it is highly likely- might even be a fact that Kinger and Queenie fell in love and married in the circus. Used each other as a rock. From how Kinger described Queenie, she was quite the woman to experience love with. Kinger, however, was her everything. (I’m sure she was everything to Kinger as well, but you don’t realize that sort of thing until it’s too late).

When your everything makes you feel so unwanted.. so unloved.. you begin to spiral. Your purpose of making sure they’re safe and happy has ultimately failed and you become nothing. Kinger obviously did or said something that made someone as brilliant as Queenie feel worthless. Something that made her spiral and become abstracted. We will never know what exactly was done because he can’t remember.

We know he’s trying to make up for it though. His current relationship with the other members proves he’s trying to do better and make them feel wanted. Give them the warmth he couldn’t provide to his own wife. But you cannot undo your mistakes like a messed up code- which he has a collage degree in! Kinger is becoming a better person and is slowly on a path of redemption. Improving himself from a version of him we never got to see and very likely never will.

Kinger and Queenie were doomed from the start. They may have been apart of the same set, but being on opposing teams meant that one had to take the other.

And someone lost their queen…

BUT HEY!! This is basically all speculation and technically a theory. Or the ramblings of a crazy person who once got their hand stuck in the door handle of a fridge. You can decide whether to cry or roll your eyes and scroll. Hope you all had fun reading- BYEEEEEEEE!!!

[yesimwriting]

For what i gathered from your style of writing (immaculate btw) i think reader would not responde to nates advances, because contrary to billy, stu and felix he doesnt hide his asshole ways.

So i think the main thrope would be groveling from his part

omg this ask feels like such a cross over!!

you're so right and i love the way you're thinking through this, but let's break down nate's character a little more (and reader's)

one of the major takeaways from that scene where everything that nate looks for in a girl is laid out and the scenes that explain what he liked about maddy is that there's this theme of being drawn to traditional feminity/someone that can play a traditionally feminine role

i think there are a lot of factors that play into him wanting that-- it reflects what he's familiar with, a more feminine partner will push back less/be easier to manipulate (in his head at least), and maybe a smidge of comphet depending on how you read his sexuality

one of his main fantasies is saving maddy from another man and when maddy was trying to win him over, she played into her femininity (and cassie kind of did the same)

and when you think about these reasons and the kind of girl he'd want to go for (and you look at the way he treats maddy when he apologizes and when they first started dating) it's natural for him to have some kinder qualities that come from the instinct to fill that traditionally masculine role in a relationship

so, when considering all of that,, i think nate can be really charming, maybe even a little chivalrous when he's really trying to win someone over

i also think nate's relatively good at reading people, and he can clock that the reader from that last blurb is trying to be a party girl more than actually being one, he knows that reader would never want to be around him if he's openly an asshole, so he manipulates subtly (telling reader to keep their interactions a secret from maddy for her own sake, all while knowing that the sooner he breaks that 'secret keeping' barrier, it'll only get easier to get reader to keep more and more from her friends)

i also see nate as someone who is very capable of being likeable when he wants to be, and reader being kind of sheltered/"innocent" and maddy's friend and being so determined to not like him makes him want to put in the work,,

so he's going to make a point of being soft spoken and nice when he has to see reader, and the harder she tries to dismiss him, the more he's going to commit bc it becomes less about getting maddy's attention and a little more about his ego,, and then finally, about reader

and if we're comparing this reader to final girl!reader or best friend! reader,, (you guys have no way of having known this, i barely referenced it in one sentence) i see this reader as being less looked out for

i picture her mom as one of those moms that wants to be "the cool mom" so bad so that she can pretend her daughter's friends are hers too, and she's so excited that reader is being more social/popular that she's a little lost in it

and i see reader's dad (not me finally giving readers a dad) as being almost the polar opposite, strict and traditional,, so reader still feels the need to hide going out and drinking bc it starts arguments with her parents and that makes her feel guilty

i'd really love to write a fic explaining all of these dynamics and how they overlap with the same style of narration that euphoria episodes that center a specific character's background story are,, i love mimicking niche voices like that it's so fun

anyways this was really long for no reason <3

[glow-wine]

Re: Arondir

2x8 spoilers obviously

The Rings of Power generally suffers from having to balance so many different storylines, which also advance at very different paces and aren't always equally exciting. It's a problem that the Gandalf subplot has not at all overlapped with any of the other storylines FOR TWO SEASONS. These characters do not even know of each other's existence.

In Season 1, the most engaging storyline for me was the Southlands stuff. The stakes were high and felt that way, too, since all the characters were original creations, their fate not predictable, the threat was tangible. As this storyline's protagonist, Arondir was pretty much constantly fighting to survive or to save others, and he often failed simply because the odds were so high. His dynamic with Adar was interesting and felt like it was setting up something. Arondir watched Adar grieve for a dead orc and became the first (and for the duration of Season 1, the only) character to see that emotional side of Adar. They were both doing the seed planting ritual before a battle, a deliberate paralleling of the two characters.

In Season 2, those same key moments were replicated with Galadriel, setting up the same kind of dynamic between Adar and Galadriel. Meanwhile, Arondir is ... handled weirdly. Frankly, Season 2 uses him like a cheat code: Isildur needs saving? Arondir! Galadriel needs help? Arondir! He's the action guy, who does action things. Oh, he also wants revenge against Adar for Bronwyn and everything else, but this part of the storyline isn't even half-assed, it's quarter-assed at best. He just goes up against him and gets stabbed in 2x7. But only mildly stabbed, I suppose, because the injury isn't even brought up in 2x8, he doesn't share any further scenes with Adar, does not even comment on his death. He's given no room for his personal feelings, and his character arc is a mere sketch. He's purely a supporting character as soon as he is surrounded by the "important" canonical Elves. It's not very satisfying, not very good storytelling.

And I wonder if the original plans for these characters were anything like this. Supposedly Bronwyn only died because the actress quit, so was Arondir meant to stay with the Southland refugees? Was he meant to go after Adar for some reason other than revenge? I did not think it boded well that Bronwyn wasn't recast; obviously removing this character didn't impact the overall plans all that much, and the writers didn't worry about how her death would affect and change Arondir's story. I mean, he's lost his love interest and his personal antagonist was essentially taken from him and assigned to Galadriel. All Arondir is left with is some badass action scenes and a few nice moments here and there, but it doesn't come together in the end. It just fizzles out. What's his story?

Overall, I don't think The Rings of Power has handled its original characters all that well. Not really a surprise, because the show is telling too many storylines at once, and simply doesn't have enough time to develop original characters as well. But think of the elves who briefly journey with Elrond and Galadriel, how they are non-entities and you do not even learn their names until their "shocking" death scenes. The black guy dies first, too! With that in mind, I guess Arondir is lucky to be alive, even if he's relegated to the status of a supporting character without significant relaionships or goals of his own.

Honestly, I'm not even that suprised or disappointed. I found it hard to get into The Rings of Power Season 2 right after watching Interview with the Vampire, because that show is so much better at writing characters and developing complex relationships. Surely part of the reason is that it's just a much more personal story with a smaller cast. Fallout was another positive example of a TV show handling multiple storylines/main characters more successfully than ROP, again a smaller cast and more focused writing, and a season finale that involves everyone in meaningful ways, which Rings of Power has failed to do twice now.

I'm sorry if this rant was incoherent or if there are typos, I don't feel like rereading and editing it, lol. I could also go on and on and ON! But it's way past noon, I'm still in my pyjamas and starting to feel grimy, so I need a shower.

[fierceawakening]

I feel a bit afraid to even post this, for fear of someone else lashing out at me for questioning received wisdom but I still kind of feel like people are so invested in explaining their point of view (which I’m already saying is valid) that they’re missing part of mine

And that is that for me, part of my trauma is that I was both physically violated AND physically altered. And also I’m afab, and very often girls and women bear the brunt of purity culture in ways men and boys… definitely can but I’m not sure they always do.

And what purity culture says to little girls is that their worth is in their… well purity. Their innocence. That’s what’s beautiful and lovable about them.

So what happened to me… at least as I experienced it, I felt it stole my innocence. Destroyed my purity. I was still a virgin, but I’d kept a tight lid on any interest in anything dark or sinister or anything like that (and it turned out there was a lot to keep a lid on.)

After my trauma I was so angry and disillusioned I couldn’t do that any more. I got angry. I got cynical. I got bitter.

Which is all understandable. But here’s the kicker: I felt bad about it. Like a monster. Damaged and broken.

I kept getting diagnoses of situational depression. I’d get talk therapy until I felt a little better and then it would end and I’d need it again, later, like clockwork. It didn’t dawn on me that this indicated a chronic problem, not clearly enough for me to say “let’s look at diagnoses that include recurrence.”

In grad school, I read the book Trauma and Recovery which is an in depth look at PTSD, mostly as suffered by women who were raped or sexually abused.

In it, the women described my deep feelings of having been defiled so well it was eerie. They talked about feeling like there was dirt or oil or mud or sludge way down in their soul, where they couldn’t remove it.

That it made them fundamentally unclean in ways other people weren’t. Dirtied deep down, in ways that would forever separate them from other people who hadn’t been polluted.

Which is how I felt and still feel when things get bad, and what makes me feel suicidal. I can never be clean again, so I’m fundamentally unworthy, so I need to die and get it over with already.

Trying to frame it as that I’m still clean, or that the dirty one is the perpetrator(s), may work for other people, and I wish them the best. But trying to reframe it that way has never worked for me personally. As I said my body is literally altered surgically. I can’t avoid that something changed.

So what has worked to help me feel less like I don’t deserve to live?

Seeing the new thing that was created as worthwhile rather than poisoned.

Because of that, I get a lot of reassurance out of monster stories, especially ones where the monster isn’t fundamentally evil, just threatened and lashing out, or confused, or a child that doesn’t know its own strength or the like.

Which overlaps A LOT with “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

It’s not quite the same but it’s a cousin concept, a sibling. “You tried to kill me. You really should have finished the job.”

So when I see people say “don’t tell me I’m stronger now, I get to be the judge of that thank you very much,” that version I get.

But when I see “the idea that I’m stronger now is bullshit, all I did was break,” that one twigs me.

Because it pulls me back to the broken doll oozing ichor. Nothing new came out of this. Nothing brave. That’s just a demon trying to justify continuing to exist, when deep down it knows all it is is pollution.

I make these posts not to tell people that they need to see themselves as stronger. I don’t know how they should heal. They know that.

I make them to remind people that there are a lot of different ways to reconstruct a self, and that it’s easy to overstep if you generalize too much.

[akito-shinonome-daily]

PLEEEEEASE PLEASE PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE TWEWY AU.... AKITO LOOKS SO FIRE [ba dum tss] AND I NEED TO KNOW MORE...

➥ OK, doing this in two parts: first part is assuming you know nothing about the world ends with you, second part will go in a reblog and will discuss what i consider au storyline spoilers + actual twewy spoilers. i might pull from the animation a little for imagery and neo for some concepts, but you really only need to have played some form of the original to know what’s going on.

➥ going under the cut in both parts because i am not good at explaining things briefly

what the hell’s a twewy?

twewy takes place in a plane of existence overlapping the world of the living, which is called the underground (UG). you go there after you die and you may enter the Reaper’s Game—a week long contest where you can either win a chance to return to life, or be completely Erased from existence.

each day of the Game you are given a Task you must complete within the allotted time. don’t worry, you won’t forget, it’s magically tattooed on to the palm of your hand as a working timer. and if you fail, you’re Erased. additionally, there is a force called Noise, which are monsters that are trying to kill you. if you die to the Noise (or to a Reaper that’s commanding them) you get Erased. in order to fight back against the Noise, Players of the Game can use Pyschs (basically just a magic attack) from Pins you can find around the UG to fight. for example, Akito is using a fire-based psych in my art from today. and if all this wasn’t challenging enough, you have to pay to get into the Game. the most valuable thing to you will be taken as your Entry Fee. for Neku, the protagonist of the original game, this is his memories.

OK but i’m here for vbs

well, there’s one more rule i didn’t mention: to even use Pyschs and try to fight back, you need a Partner. obviously i went with the Vivids and the Bad Dogs. and not everyone can use every kind of Pin. for this AU i decided to give everybody a general category of Pysches they could use + they can all use telekinesis to varying degrees since that seems to be the most common psych people can use.

character rundowns (i’m just going in in-game order):

Kohane - the thing Kohane valued most was her life, and so her entry fee was her memories. due to her not being part of the vivid street crowd before her death, no one around knows anything about her (she also has her original glasses + long hair appearance in this au). she’s Partners with An, and uses water, light, and healing based Psyches. An takes care of most things early on, but once she gets the hang of the situation, Kohane becomes a force to be reckoned within.

An - what An valued most in her life was her connection to music, and so that was her Entry Fee. she cannot hear, recall, sing, or otherwise make any music while in the UG. she also lost her memory of rad weekend. she’s Partnered with Kohane and uses physical strike, movement, and dark based Psyches. She rushes in to save Kohane from Noise by forming a Pact with her. she and Kohane agree to try singing together if and when they return to life, since they grow so close during their week together.

Akito - just like An, Akito’s entry fee is music. he cannot hear, recall, sing, or make any music and lost his memory of rad weekend. he’s Partners with Toya and primarily use fire and lightning based Pysches, with some physical early on. like in the main story, he is a bit antagonistic towards Kohane and An early on, but they all agree to work together since they have the same goal of getting back to living.

Toya - the Entry Fee i decided on for Toya is a little weird, but ultimately i worked it into the storyline in a way i like. what Toya valued most was the freedom he felt by chasing after his own passions with Akito after breaking away from his father. his Entry Fee therefore was his “freedom.” he lost most of his memories of last year or so of singing with Akito. he still recalls that they were working together, but he doesn’t really have any specifics. additionally it’s very difficult for him to defy someone. like they gave him anxiety about saying no to someone. so like he absolutely can make his own decisions and isn’t forced to do everything anyone else says, but Akito still kinda takes the lead in the beginning like An. Toya primarily uses ice based Pysches, but he also gets really adept at telekinesis and attacks with metal objects than he can throw and manipulate.

uhhhhh other Players in the game include Mita Kotaro (his Partner is an unnamed rando rip) and Arata Tono and Miyata Souma as Partners (Souma doesn’t have the prior car accident, since they’re all dead now anyways)

the pin passing/sync up/whatever you want to call it mechanics from the gameplay are basically just going to be translated to the characters launching coordinated attacks at the same time like in the animation. no special Pin is required either they just have to be coordinated.

so yeah. each day the Players work together to complete the mission before time runs out or they’re Erased by the Noise/a Reaper. when a Task is completed (by the first person) a special Pin with appear as a prize. on the seventh and final day, the Task is to defeat the Game Master—the Reaper who is in charge of managing the game and its challenges for the week. Win, and you win your life back. Lose, and you face Erasure.

[rikeijo]

Hello! :) Hope I don’t seem like I am trying to cause drama. 😅 I would like to ask how different and / or similar is the YOI fandom in Japan compared to the English fandom? Another thing I’m curious about is how do Japanese BL / GL fans view view Western shows with LGBT+ characters? For example does The Owl House have a lot of GL fans or do they not really care about the show?

Hello! Thank you for the message!

I don't think that it's trying to cause drama... In case of YoI and all the very unusual things that happened with this IP, if we try to understand why it happened, imo, it's impossible to see the whole picture without taking into consideration how Jp anime industry&fandom perceive LGBT+ related stuff.

The main difference is that, in case of anime like YoI, in Jp, majority of people think "fujoshi" when they see it, not "gay representation/ LGBT".

This is a quote from an article I happened to read recently (link) that answers a lot of your questions. A person, who works for a company that specializes in BL marketing, talks about Jp and Asian BLs.

"In Japanese BLs there is a lot of settings and cliches expected to appear in the story. There is so much that I'll only give you an example here, one that is difficult to explain in words - for example, the seme (the man that leads in the romantic relationship) is cool and the most popular person in the class, and on the other hand the uke (the man that is led) is more plain, and a bit of an natural airhead - this pattern is one of the classics. In BL, part of the culture is to enjoy those settings and story templates.

(...)

Of course, in the West, there are also BL stories called M/M, which portray romantic relationships between men and they have a lot of fans in Jp. But according to Tsutsui: "In the West, those stories are created more in the context of LGBT and are of a different kind that Japanese and Asian BLs."

(...)

Also, in BLs there is a lot of taboos, called "jirai, landmines". If you detonate those because you lack understanding [of the BL culture], users will immediately go away.

One example of a landmine is when seme and uke swap places, called "reverse"."

Of course, YoI isn't BL, but fans of YoI ships have exactly the same mindset: one uke, seme(s), enjoying our fantasies, not interested in LGBT. Obviously, it's not 100% of the fandom, but the vast majority is really like that.

VicYuu (Victor seme, Yuuri uke) is the most popular ship (seme the coolest character x uke the main character "I'd like to read shojo manga, but they have women there and I hate those" template is the most popular fujo template for every story - for example, in case of JJK, the most popular ship is... Gojo Satoru x Itadori Yuji (15) with almost 700 millions views in total on pixiv). So, that Yuuri doesn't look uke enough and Victor looks like a "fa*got with fake eyelashes" (that's a quote), when he should be a masculine seme, in a lot of arts is one reason why fujos started to hate members of YoI staff. Just like that person in the article said - for fujos, it's a landmine. I've talked about it a few times before - one of the most hated YoI staff member is Mitsurou, and there is plenty of reasons why she was targeted, but one is that the way she draws Yuuri and Victor is more similar to how "YuuVic" fanarts are drawn (and often you can basically tell the ship by how the person draws the characters)...

I don't know a lot about The Owl House, but of course, it has fans in Jp as well - only, I think that those fans (of Western LGBT shows in general) are more from the progressive side and there is little overlap with classic fujos (so a kind of BL/dojinshi fan). Another example, the Witch from Mercury was also popular with the progressive people of Jp twitter and they were also bashing the IP holders because of the marriage controversy... Of course, more progressive people read BLs, too, but many are against being labelled as "fujoshi"... That's generalization, but fujos are those people who labelled and still call heterosexual love "normal love" - I think that says a lot.

In my observation, YoI's Jp fandom is in majority fujo-fandom (2016 was a few years ago...). In 2023, however, more and more people are more open and know more about LGBT+ stuff, so there is also growing "progressive" population of fans on twitter etc. and those people gravitate towards different shows/have different interpretations compared to classic fujos.

So yeah, generally & simply speaking, in Jp, fujoshi, BL =/= LGBT. And btw, as I was labelled fujo-hater in the past, I don't think it's "bad" that fujos like to feminize their uke so much to self-insert and fantasize about the masculine seme(s) loving them, effectively making the ship into a heterosexual ship, because that's what they prefer (although when a grown-up woman is fantasizing about a tiny teenager having sex with a man twice his age and size, well... I'm not sure it's healthy) but I just don't think that it has much to do with LGBT rights and being allies or anything like that, and that it's something that should be acknowledged, too.

[zeravmeta]

long winded whining underneath

saw that post abt the saberfaces and like while I can understand the point in like, a billion dollar company reusing a design/design element might not appear favorable and it isn't even that wrong to say they are squeezing their cash cow flagship character i fundamentally disagree because thats like the equivalent of complaining about jojo having every protagonist with a name that can be shortened to jojo or final fantasy always having reused monsters like bahamut

and this isnt even a "oh saber is good i swear!" type thing but like. fate's been around for almost two decades now and has had tons of media made with plenty of recurring motifs and thematics that are acknowledged by the writers who are incredibly vocal fans of the series so if you're going into a long established franchise and complaining about long standing injokes and long standing patterns it comes across less as poining out the flaws in a billion dollar company and more like you just dont like that you didnt get it at first? takeuchi samefaceness isnt a problem unique to takeuchi and there are thousands of artists who have the same issue and even then a bunch of the saberfaces werent even drawn by takeuchi at first (nero was wada and jeanne & mordred was konoe) so them playing off the saberface jokes with designs isnt even that agregious because even if they have similar colors you'd have to be reading it in bad faith to say that the fgo artoria and fgo jeannes takeuchi designs are the exact same. an artist can have a style to how they draw their characters and just because there is overlap does not automatically equate that to having lazy designs.

more than anything saberfacing is part of nasuverse iconography, when a character is a saberface it isnt just about selling the design it is in fact an intentional design choice that tells you about the themeing of the character. im not going to say that nasuverse lore is sacred because it definitely isnt and they are in fact just doing what they think is cool but when you have nasu literally adding a chapter for limbo because he thought hasendows design was so beautiful it shouldn't be limited to a single appearance and then had that expanded into one of the more popular story chapters that tells you that these are creators who do pay attention to the designs that go into their characters. the same applies to chica umenos oberon, to wada and redrops designs and so many more, they absolutely care about the art that goes into their series.

I'm not gonna tell you that you must absolutely do your homework to enjoy any piece of fate media we are all free to do literally whatever we want forever and -clenches fist- you can also enjoy it in any type of way even in a surface level way. but when you acknowledge that a series is long standing with deeper themes acknowledged by its long standing playerbase and that the writers have so much passion for their own work (for better or worse, again nasuverse is absolutely not immune to criticism), saying that it comes across as disingenuous to have a recurring character design injoke because its heavily popular now despite not being popular once upon a time in itself comes across as disingenuous. nasuverse stuff being born of niche doujin circles and still being in touch with those roots isnt some kind of disqualification of the existence of saberfaces or the reasons behind them. when we ask you to read fate stay night its literally because we want you to enjoy it More so that you can, in fact, understand why saberface is a thing to begin with. being a popular franchise nowadays doesnt remove any of that charm unless you're specifically ignoring them. we literally have bbs profile in fgo say 'if you want to understand her deal and the deal of other similar characters read fate extra ccc' (bb herself being a sakuraface) so like theyre fully forward about the most accessible entrypoint into the franchise having a ton of history behind it

[accio-victuuri]

it’s time for some yuguyao/the longest promise clowning… i feel like we will get a couple from this timeframe so i wanna be able to archive as much as i can. 🦢

consider this post as part 3. one & two linked.

• something from lrlg ( please come back to us soon ) and thought to be connected to how shiying reminds xz of lan wangji too. yibo was again speaking to someone so it may seem as random convo that time.

you are like a fairy

what do you mean acting in my true colors? ***

neither you nor him ( laughing )

well send it to me

it possibly points to xz telling wyb that he is acting in his ( wyb ) colors, white as in gusu lan. i’m just so fond of the speculation that zz sees wyb’s color as white. even removing the whole lwj connection — him seeing wyb as the color white, something so clean and innocent just gets me. most of us associate him with green, and rightfully so because that’s what wyb prefers. however it’s so gg to tie wyb with a color that represents purity, and i guess that’s how he sees wyb. a really good boy who’s clean and honest like the color white. 🥹🥹🥹

• another example of them not scheduling things at the same time. I don’t know how long this will hold out but so far they are doing it so well. Yuguyao aired 7.2 and for VIPs, it will end on 7.20. Then on 7.22 there will be a YH concert in Macau and on 7.28 premiere of One & Only. a jampacked July for sure but it’s so good how they don’t overlap!

• i don’t really wanna go into detail anymore about the echoes of CQL that we see in YGY. most likely because this was filmed in Hengdian as well. and Shiying really looks like he will fit right in to Gusu Lan. There are already 2 hot search tags for that comparison/parallel ( 7/3/2023 )

While I can’t fault people for noticing and i agree that it sets the scene for interesting edits in the future, I feel that this kind of topic is prone to being misunderstood and may be used by Antis. These are two different stories. Shiying is not WWX. The way GG acts as Shiying is different from WWX. I would hate for passerby to have the impression that GG can only act a certain way in costume dramas.

but shiying and lwj as friends is my headcanon now. no one can stop me.

• going by the shiying x lwj parallel, here they are in a 2019 interview where wyb says he hopes that ZZ will play a role that is contrasting to WWX. and well it came true, it’s Shiying.

( no but this is so funny, he was once wwx who was silenced. and now he plays a role that can use a silencing spell 😂😂😂 )

• not really a cpn but a fact. i always say this — they have the same values and that’s why they get a long. they also take their careers as actors seriously. they are not idols who decided it’s cool to be an actor and just go along with their traffic. nope. they wanna deliver the best. the parallel between btf and ygy scene wherein the bts scenes emphasized an incident where they both were asking to do one more take. they want to have the perfect shot and it doesn’t matter how tiring it is.

• and my fave, interpreting old candies in a new way. this post from way back of an umbrella have always been linked by the fandom to shiying ☂️

The use of 23 ( Ai Zhan ) the 3 “Go” and emoticons are also 3 ( Zhan Zhan ). The shooting time of YGY started from 20210329 so this day fits the timeline.

What’s more interesting is that the umbrella is in the bucket with water. Is it implying the bathing scene of Shiying? And it happened that WYB allegedly went to visit the set again at that time, because in the fake material room on 6.27, LRLG said very clearly, "Go back to Mr. Wang to pack things" and the conversation between the two also said "I'll be with you when it rains" Have a meal"! And "God also wants to eat" isn't it a clear reference to our great priest shi ying?

sources: one / two / three / four

END.

[prettyboykatsuki]

yes pls more detail if you can

there is functionally no difference between self-insert and x reader imo. the communities overlap so much they're basically a circle. and while it's possible to come across someone who writes self-insert and not x reader or someone who only writes x reader but never self-inserts, its extremely unlikely. they're the same community to me and most other people

like i cant emphasize enough that they're just the same thing. but i figure you're asking something else so i'll explain like this.

if you want to get specific and technical, on the perspective of writing - "self-insert" tends to be when the author of a fic is injecting themselves wholly into the dialogue and story they're writing. this can be appearance specificity or character traits or actions. but it ultimately means that the author is in some form, directly putting themselves in the story. some authors write self-insert in second pov and some in first.

"x reader," tends to lean more towards a non-appearance specific character. reader can be a manifestation of anyone, not necessarily the author and tend to take on their own livelihoods. none of what i've just said is strict or finite, they're just general trends. they're more akin to an OC in terms of story telling and as a sub category of fic are defined by the use of second person pov for the most part.

this difference is ultimately very arbitrary and this distinction is kind of pointless to make which is why i have to emphasize that i use them interchangeably. most people who write x reader will inevitably have pieces of themselves appear in their x reader which is by definition a kind of self-insert.

the reason people tend to shit on "self-insert" is when things go untagged that break the immersion of a fic. it's completely fine if an author wants to write about them, specifically, screwing their blorbo. but as someone reading a fic, specifically if you're going into the x reader tag - you'll want to be able to project some parts of yourself in the story your reading and it can be frustrating to come across that.

that being said, no reader is entitled to that. nothing can be completely catered to everyone and if an author wants to post the most specific fic ever about themselves that's their prerogative. the only thing the author is responsible for is tagging it correctly.

but a lot of people (very entitled people) feel like everything has to be catered to them, and this entitlement appears doubly in the x reader genre because it involves and engages the audience more than other fics do.

so the reason people dislike self insert specifically is because it isn't catered to them. i do think the way things go untagged is a huge issue and i think inclusivity is something worthy of being discussed - but ultimately there is nothing wrong with raw-dog self insert. go and make yourself fuck that guy.

[moonlightflower-queen]

Welcome to the post where i ramble about my fan design of Macaria for Hades game because i like rambling and you clicked on the link so you did this to yourself.

Anyway i did some research first, not very in depth mind you because my brainrot goes deep but not deep enough to look for primary sources. My source is wikipedia. There's a daughter of Heracles who has the same name so i decided to take some stuff from her story and make this Macaria the goddess of blessed death and sacrifice (also so she doesen't overlap with Thanatos too much.)

Then i sketched her traditionally. I'm not good at letting loose when drawing digitally.

I wanted her to look really demure, kinda tired so it makes her look gentler. I imagine she's not very independent yet and is kind of a doormat. I wanted her to have a very different body type than her siblings. She is considerably taller than both of them (still mortal sized but a really tall mortal) and is very thin (kinda like Chronos but nobody will tell her that). I imagine she doesen't like fighting and works in the house of Hades. Does a lot of paperwork too, lol. She grew up in a more peaceful time unlike Mel so she wasn't trained to be a killing machine. She doesen't like to do it anyway unlike Zagreus. She can use her claws to tear people apart, she just rather not.

Then i decided to design her face first.

I played around while keeping her parents appearance in mind. I decided to make her a witch too (I like putting moons on the characters i design and no one can make me stop) and gave her dove imagery for the whole sacrifice thing. I considered giving her Demeter's hair color and experimented with wacky anime genetics too. I first wanted to give her Persephone's face structure similar to her siblings but then decided i really liked design number 3 where she has a cleft chin and bent nose like Hades does.

The lighter hair color Demeter has didn't work for the color scheme i had in mind. It ended up being too light and the light streaks made the upper part of her design too complicated so i decided not to. As someone pointed out, the Olympian gods don't wear pants but Chthonic gods do. It's a design decision that emphasizes the cultural difference between them so i gave her pants. Also my shorthand for shy character in character design is having them show very little skin.

At this point i was hitting my heads on walls since i didn't want her to look too similar to Thanatos. That was why i gave her the sacrifice symbolism in the first place, so i'd have more imagery to work with. I still think they have a lot of similar elements and don't like that but i also spent too much time on a fan character design already and didn't want to spend more. It's okay for them to have design affinity right, they are both gods of death?? (I'm coping can you tell)

I decided her main color would be white and she'd have a lot of accent colors pointing to her family (Red for Zag, orange for Mel, Green for Persephone and the sigil of the dead for Hades), to symbolize she isn't very independent. I decided to give her talons because bird and because i thought blessing someone in death would require her to be much more emotionally involved, so a weapon that required her to get close and touch mortals to claim their souls seemed logical. The lantern is there because light and blessings seemed similar to me. (I almost modeled her lantern in Blender because i'm horrible at drawing objects but stopped myself at the last second.)

I didn't design her as a main character of a Hades game. I imagine she'd be a helper Npc probably. Like she'd give you a ''blessing'' for your next run when you die. If i turned in this design as a main character of a game where the mc needs to run around, use 6 different weapons and dodge many projectiles and attacks the animators would put my head on a pike. There's a reason boss characters in hades wear clothing with not much to animate. (Hecate takes her hat and skirt off when you fight her even) A design like this would be horrible for clarity in a game where your character model is tiny.

I wanted to give her a shawl around her arms for an unique silhouette. but it made her design too busy. So feather cloak it was.

Anyway this much rambling was enough. I really need to draw my webcomic because i want to launch in August and i want more buffer but i don't think that's happening considering the severity of my brainrot. Uuuh thank you for reading!