#but the original post and it’s initial reblog were both so good!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

one-flower-one-sword · 1 year ago

Text

alright, I'm going to start a new post because I'd really like to continue this discussion but my post about the contrasts between Jun Wu and Hua Cheng that started it all has been getting too long to keep adding to it. me and @illuminatedferret were discussing whether or not Jun Wu knows Hua Cheng and Wuming are the same person. I'm also going to tag @csilla-nocturine because you had also commented with similar points but I forgot to tag you yesterday, I'm sorry T_T. this was my response to both of your very interesting points on my last reblog on the original post, which I've copied over to this post:

First of, I think Hua Cheng being right there ready to voice his own feelings on the matter wouldn’t take away from Jun Wu's satisfaction in reminding Xie Lian of what he almost did while at his lowest - and what happened to Wuming as a consequence of that. In fact, Hua Cheng revealing then and there that he is Wuming might have played right into that - regardless of Hua Cheng stating that it's an honor for him to die for Xie Lian and that he never blamed him and so on - Xie Lian would still feel like he's caused his beloved's second death. like you said though, interpreting that scene precisely is difficult!

the second thing is that if Jun Wu has no idea who Hua Cheng is and thinks he and Xie Lian have basically just met, it doesn't really make sense to me that he'd immediately and repeatedly try to separate them, the specific ways he goes about doing that, and that he'd call Hua Cheng "a very faithful believer" of Xie Lian's, as he'd have no evidence that Hua Cheng sees Xie Lian as his god and worships him as he knows Wuming did:

"Do you know who that ghost was?" White No-Face asked.

"A... A soul of someone who died on the battlefield?" Xie Lian tried.

"Yes," White-No Face replied. "But he was also your very last believer in this world. And now, he's no more. [...] Oh yes, that's right. This wasn't the first time you've met him," White No-Face continued. [...] "That ghost had been following you for a while. At first, I thought he was simply deeply resentful, so I caught and interrogated him; his answers were quite interesting. The Zhongyuan Festival. A night of lanterns. A wandering ghost fire. Do you remember? [...] In life, he was a soldier under your command," White No-Face lazily hinted. "In death, his soul followed you, turned into a wrath ghost because you were pierced by a hundred swords. And now, his soul has been obliterated because you unleashed the plague of Human Face Disease."

Xie Lian seemed to vaguely recall something, but he hadn't even seen his believer's face, he didn't even know his name - what could he recall?

TGCF Volume 6, page 339

then @illuminatedferret your response to this was:

Those are some good points! I could definitely attribute the kinda weird feeling of the dialogue to Jun Wu being increasingly unbalanced and desperate, rather than him not knowing about Wuming. The 'faithful believer' bit, I just figured he saw Hua Cheng as a threat to his plans for Xie Lian. You're right that his immediate actions to separate them make more sense if he already knows their history together. But, by this point(the initial dialogue from Book 5, I mean), he has explicitly seen the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods, so no matter what he definitely knows Hua Cheng is a believer of Xie Lian.

First of, I want to thank you both for being so interested in my original post and taking the time to write down and share your arguments! like I said in my initial response, I can see both your lines of reasoning as well :) for me though, there's too many scenes throughout the whole novel that either hint at Jun Wu knowing or that don't make sense to me if he doesn't. Like the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods... isn't that actually more evidence that he knows Hua Cheng is Wuming? Because from the above quote I included, Jun Wu knows exactly where Wuming had met Xie Lian before, which are also things Hua Cheng depicted in the murals in the cave. Now, the murals were covered by butterfly silk, but iirc it's not clear if they always were or if Hua Cheng just ordered the silk to cover them once Xie Lian, Mu Qing, and Feng Xin started to investigate the cave. in any case, they tear it down. plus, in addition to the murals, the statues depict Xie Lian in situations that would also match what Jun Wu "interrogated" out of Wuming. Even if we assume (which personally I don't) that Jun Wu didn't know before this point, I can't imagine him seeing all of that and not realizing that Hua Cheng is Wuming, not with everything he already knew about the latter.

also... the irony of Jun Wu knowing all this but not Xie Lian. and not just that, from the fact that Xie Lian wasn't aware of any of this until he lands in the caves, Jun Wu also knows that Hua Cheng has not told Xie Lian any of this, even with how much time they've been spending together, because Hua Cheng either doesn't want or doesn't dare to tell him - the latter being correct, as we know:

"San Lang, what kind of person is your special someone? Why haven't you won them over yet?"

[...] "It's alright if gege finds it funny," Hua Cheng replied. "But, truth is, I'm afraid. [...] That person saw me at my worst." (Vol 4, page 181).

also, from certain murals and/or statues that are implied or outright stated to depict things of a more sexual nature, he would know that Hua Cheng not only worships but desires Xie Lian - information he then tries to use to, again, drive a wedge between them and provoke Hua Cheng into hurting Xie Lian, like when he disguises himself as Mu Qing and Feng Xin:

"Hua Cheng! What do you think you're doing to his Highness?! You're disgusting! [...] Keep your filthy hands off him. Does the ugly toad want a taste of swan meat?" Mu Qing sneered. "Never mind dreaming of it for eight hundred years - you can hope for a thousand more, but don't even think of touching a single one of His Highness's fingers!"

Xie Lian's heart dropped. But while the comments annoyed him, he could sense that something was amiss.

What was wrong with those two? [...] It seemed that they were purposefully trying to provoke Hua Cheng. But there was no reason for that; they knew they couldn't beat him, so what did they want? Moreover, their tone subtly pointed the spear in Xie Lian's direction. It was like they wanted to stir up confusion - as though they wanted Hua Cheng to do something to Xie Lian in a fit of anger.

TGCF Volume 6, page 72

Hua Cheng has been dreaming about being with Xie Lian for eight hundred years - so this barb feels way too pointed and knowledgeable for Jun Wu to just randomly be accusing him of this, especially with this exact number.

This has gotten quite long again, so I'm gonna cut myself off here (I could talk about this topic for hours as you can surely tell by now, I think it's super fascinating). feel free to reply to this post/reblog with a response, but I also completely get if you're not as into this discussion and want to be done with it by now, no hard feelings! also, if we have to agree to disagree after all, that's also fine, and I'll thank you both again for your interest :)

okay one last thing I swear - since this was all spawned by comparing and contrasting Jun Wu and Hua Cheng, I also just realized how poetic it is that to Jun Wu, Mount Tonglu is where he releases all his hate, whereas Hua Cheng literally carved out a place there where he pours out all his love. damn do I love this novel

#tgcf #tgcf meta #jun wu #hua cheng #hualian

71 notes · View notes

blankd · 2 months ago

Text

(I was going to attach this text to a reblog but I lost the original post, I'm appending more text to make it stand on it's own since it's a topic worth discussing IMO)

The Problem with Taash, an opinion from a ~*Mixed Race Queer Person and a Writer*~

spoilers for Veilguard and Taash's quest- while I haven't seen the ending of the game yet these are egregious writing issues that a 3rd act revelation isn't going to fix

Taash is technically not a "bad character" in a vacuum, they are bad because they are in a Dragon Age game with preexisting lore and this game has writing that is inconsistent with the tone and setting of the previous entries.

Their language is as anachronistic as the rest of Veilguard's main cast dialogue, with disbelief finally shattering at the idea that this Dark Medieval Fantasy suddenly manifests a damn about the gender binary, much less echo the same contemporary terms of 2024 Americans. If they took the time to come up with their own term (or god forbid, something UNIQUE to the setting), I PERSONALLY wouldn't quibble about it. The use of nonbinary is just a symptom of a bigger problem, bad/weak writing, and it is the most emblematic of the lack of care or priority in keeping DA's tone consistent.

Some may argue that using "modern terms" is good, but like anything that isn't a capsule of a specific time period, this kind of writing will age POORLY at best.

More subjectively, but still related to the bad writing problem: I initially didn't mind Taash being blunt and immature, but when no other companion pushed back on them (and Rook is mostly an enabler), it rapidly wore out its welcome. As the focus shifted (with the grace of an anvil) that their plot would be about Gender, I felt the interesting avenues for the character perish in real time. I KNEW more unique in-game hooks were being sacrificed to focus on this, and later scenes would show I wasn't wrong. I PERSONALLY would have preferred if Taash was NB out the gate so that their personal quest could be about literally anything more unique to Dragon Age.

The real crime is that the game literally sits you down to have a 101 chat, despite it being an M-rated game, it's insulting to everyone involved. That this is an inexorable part of Taash is not a "win" unless your litmus for quality is built entirely on reactionary "owns". If you are part of this group, I ask you to consider how practical it is to punish an audience for the words of people who are NOT in that audience. The people who were already reacting with disgust about the option to be NB in the character creator are NOT going to make it to Taash's personal quest.

Some may argue it's "good" it's mandatory, but to that I beg the question of what is LOST by having Taash being NB right out the gate. I know what the game would gain- it would have to actually put something else into Taash's character and maybe we'd be spared the hamfisted sensitivity conversation about pronouns. Like for fuck's sake the end of the world is happening, but sure let's pause the Dark Fantasy Apocalypse to attend an HR meeting in a pirate queen's office- yeah that's the MOST interesting thing that could happen there.

But really this all acts as setup for how despite taking great pains to make sure the player understands that Taash is NB (and that's heckin' valid), they then "have to decide" which SINGULAR culture they will embrace/identify with.

I genuinely don't know why this beat is here at all, but it's baffling to bludgeon that gender is not limited to a binary while presenting CULTURE as mutually exclusive. That ROOK has any input at all is just as staggering display of either a disrespect for the fiction or the player, or both. If you're going to have a sacrificial Very Special Episode character, you can't have it end as having shifted the same 'problem' over to a different topic.

I don't hold ill will to anyone who likes Taash as a character, but as a writer, queer rep is WELL beyond a character looking at the camera and saying they're Nonbinary. "But people will argue against it, they HAD to!" That is a bullshit excuse, GOOD writing doesn't cater to bad faith losers. The painter does not paint for the arsonist.

Misc Points I disagreed with more directly but had no real segue points (and some futureproofing against people who might use these to disregard what I've said): "Taash is only getting crit b/c they're BIPOC coded and queer [therefore this crit is founded in racism]" -Neve and Davrin ARE BIPOC, so unless they are bundled with the "unfair crit", this is not a substantiated assumption. As a tangent, if we're going to dig this deep whatever happened to the outrage at "making 'nonhuman species' NB". Diversity WIN the most inhuman party member is NB! (I personally don't have any strong feelings about that point, but I'm familiar with this being a common complaint from those who seek NB rep.)

"Taash gets crit but these NPCs don't [that's suspicious]" the NPCs don't have cutscenes dedicated to them coming out. The NPCs keep the game moving, but Taash's ~journey~ requires the player be invested and give input which creates the strange dissonance that Taash is trading out their mother's approval for Rook's (which is weird since NEVE is the one that introduces Taash to ~queer identities~ but is relatively ABSENT for the rest of it). Party members ought to have a sliver more autonomy- they can hook up without Rook, yet they can't be true to themselves unless Rook is there, what are the writers implying or achieving with this? The writers also tip their hand about what they want, defeating the point of having options at all in any of these scenes. The removal of player agency is not going to endear ANYONE to this character!

"Taash is also autistic [and is being unfairly criticized]" Taash can still be unpleasant and the lack of pushback from others is what makes it irritating since it comes across as the writers holding back for the sake of optics rather than committing to writing sensible to the fiction.

#dragon age veilguard #writing criticism #blankd's blabbies

7 notes · View notes

finisnihil · 1 year ago

Text

Hey babes since Boothill got his splash art and we’re talking about cowboys and such please keep in mind that while there is interest in cowboy culture within the American South it is not the origin of it. Cowboys and rodeo culture mostly developed in the American West in states like Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, etc.

Both regions are big on farming and mostly rural BUT the difference is that the South is bigger in crops and the growing aspect while ranching is bigger in the West. The South has more fertile soil and whatnot as well as geography like swamps and mountain. Not a lot of good space for a ranch. The West on the other hand has plains with less compatible conditions for crop based farming so ranching works better there. Cowboys are ultimately a Western thing. It’s why they mostly show up in the genre of “Wild West”, because they’re from the WEST.

Do not be fooled by cowboys being depicted with southern accents. Sure a lot of people who migrated West came from the South and it moved with them that way but also there’s just in general a stigma around the South that stems from the idea that if you live somewhere rural, work in agriculture, or are even poor it means you’re associated with the South as those are things those who aren’t from the South like to think. I’m Southern, I know a bunch of Southern people who have to repress their accents in professional settings to be taken seriously or are ostracized in places like their work due to being seen as “just some dumb, rural hillbilly”. It stems from things like classicism.

A majority of cowboys were also not white. A lot of them were black, Latino, Indigenous, etc. A good amount where also queer.

My whole family is Southern and I’m also Southern but I also grew up in the West for a good chunk of my childhood. Cowboy history is very cool and interesting and just because cowboy boots and cowboy hats are popular in the South doesn’t mean they hail from there!

Anyways have a lovely day, mwah!

Major Edit: Hey guys I goofed and I got some stuff wrong! Sorry about that! Please go and read the reblog by @t4tstarrailing as well as their other posts talking about the topic. My blog is a place to learn and grow and nobody is exempt from mistake and since I’m obviously not as knowledgeable about this area of history as I initially believed use this initial post as a reference of misconceptions and then refer to the reblog where I’m corrected. Thanks for the learning opportunity, I’m happy to learn more about cowboy culture and I’m glad you caught this post early so more misinformation on the matter wasn’t spread too much

#Sorry about that #Ignore me listen to people who actually know what they’re talking about

18 notes · View notes

elderwisp · 7 days ago

Note

For “Character Ask”: 4, 6, 10! 👁️👄👁️✨

HAII :D thank you! i forgor i reblogged this ask so it twas a nice surprise :3 i'll generalize for whole main cast of Tessellate for this set! <3

4. And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

The biggest thing I struggled with and it spiderwebs into other little things is working with a large cast. Especially working on all characters as one individual, you can run into characters bleeding into each other. I’ve come to learn that there isn’t truly an original experience but it’s the way we respond to it that creates these different versions. I like to think a lot about prisms in the sun and how when you look into one, you see different colors but it’s all coming from the same shard. So if a character is in a similar scenario, I think a lot about how they would react. Another thing is pacing of everyone’s stories. I didn’t want to just throw each character into the story because it becomes incredibly overwhelming, so I decided to establish the initial four (Atlas, Frances, Kai and Dan), slide in the love interest (Taryn and Icarus), before slowly integrating the rest of the cast. By doing that though, I was able to have people connect with the initial four and now that their arcs are rolling on by, it feels like there’s a foundation to the characters. And the same thing of introducing Gum, Gabriel, Ares and Theo is happening right now since after the prologue wraps up, they can really take the center stage!

6. What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

OOO okay! So I truly believe fashion is a way we communicate nonverbally to one another. You can say a lot about a person in the way that they dress! These characters have been around since like 2018ish and the initial concept was to follow a certain aesthetic but I found it to never be consistent simply because there wasn’t much depth to anyone. However, as they grew, I was able to define their styles much more. Theo, for example, is a huge fan of thrifting and individualistic pieces so when they’re seen in their outfits, there’s a variety of patterns and shapes! Meanwhile Atlas’s piercings and tattoos are therapeutic for him. There are tattoo pieces that are meaningful to him as well as some that are so… Cursed but him. Dan on the other hand has a very laid back approach to life so I wanted that to be reflected in her clothing. But yeah! I could totally go down a rabbit hole of everyone’s fashion and aesthetics :D

10. What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

For character arcs, I usually will start focusing on the character and you’ll see their faces more often. For example, Kai’s arc began right after the house party and was completed during his kiss with Alex. I believe his scenes were like every 2-3 posts! As of current, the arcs in progress are Taryn and Atlas, which will both be completed after the prologue. However, I would group Frances in there but it isn’t like a complete character arc, more like fleshing out a character so we can see them at every angle. Their time in De Sol Valley is what I’d consider to be their main character arc omgg I’m rambling ehehe. Some characters do have tragedies that occur throughout but I wouldn’t say this would be a tragic story. There’s a wip of an ending of Tessellate in mind and it is a happy one! The next story, however, will have a tragic ending buuuut it’s also a project I’ve slowly started hyper-fixating on so I think it’ll be a good one

Thank you for the ask btw! <333

#asks #tessellate: extras

10 notes · View notes

nekoannie-chan · 2 years ago

Text

Secrets Chapter 18: STRIKE

Pairing: Steve Rogers X OFC, Brock Rumlow X OFC.

Word count: 1227 words.

Summary: Sometimes keeping secrets can be dangerous or a heavy burden, which is what Kathleen has been doing for years. She will also be in charge of guiding Steve Rogers into this century; meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be looking for a way to kick-start the Avengers Initiative by integrating her as one of the superheroes, but that won't be the only danger they face.

Warnings: Fight, training.

A/N: After long time working on this longfic, I finally post it. If you wanna be added to the taglist, let me know.

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish: Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter.

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

Secrets masterlist.

Previous chapter.

Next chapter.

Kathleen and Steve went out to the gym where Rumlow and Rollins were training, when Jack noticed her presence, he immediately told Rumlow, and the latter went and hugged her.

“Ughh Brock let go of me, you're all sweaty," Kathleen scolded.

“On missions, you can't get fussy, Anzai," Jack interjected causing her to roll her eyes.

“Kathy, what are you doing here, if you never come to the gym," said Brock as he let her go when he noticed that she tried to push him with her hands, at that moment he noticed Steve's presence. What is he doing here? “he asked in a whisper to her while he looked at the super soldier in annoyance.

“It was just what I was going to tell you, I need you to assemble your team to introduce them, the Director has said that they will have missions together... where Captain Rogers is going to lead some... .” she stopped when she saw Brock's annoyed face” if you don't believe me come back to ask and you better get along because I don't think you want Fury to put you behind a desk “she commented as if it was the most obvious thing.

“I'll assemble the team, in ten we'll all be here," he mumbled and went out to call the rest of the team together with Jack.

“I think he got upset, he was always in charge," he said to Steve.

During the presentation the team seemed upset, maybe they didn't show it openly, but the thoughts Kathleen heard showed their displeasure. After the team left, only Brock, Jack, Kath and Steve remained in the gym.

“I need to know the new member's skills, Kitty, what do you think we do a demonstration? “Rumlow suggested.

“I pass, you can fight directly against the Captain because we both know that I am not very strong and that you will let me win, besides I don't think that Captain Rogers will mind showing you his skills," said Kath, in fact, she didn't like to train with Brock because he never fought seriously with her, when he asked her the reason he told her that it was because he didn't want to hurt her.

“She is right," Rollins commented and she saw him surprised, she had never agreed with him before.

“I've already seen him in battle, he's good, besides I use my powers more than a melee," said Kath, while the other two got into the ring.

The first one to attack was Rumlow, he threw a punch, but the other one dodged it, so he proceeded to hit him with his knee in the side, every thing Steve did only made Brock angrier.

Rumlow made a key to the super soldier who escaped by punching him in the stomach, they continued fighting until Steve kicked him out of the ring, and Brock fell on top of Kathleen, everything was so fast that he didn't even give time to react to her when he realized she was already on the floor with his friend on top when Steve saw what he had caused he immediately went to see if she was okay.

“Kath, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, are you okay? “ he asked.

“Yes, but Brock, get off, you're too heavy," she replied as she tried to get him off of her.

Rollins helped the Commander up when an overly tall man entered the gym, Kathleen immediately got up to greet him, Steve remembered seeing him but wasn't sure where.

“ Who is he? “asked the Captain.

“Kitty's dad," answered Rumlow reluctantly, wiping the blood from his lip to go greet his mentor, he had hit his face on the floor when he was thrown.

“ Are you going to go say hello to your father-in-law? After you were all over his daughter and it was probably your only chance," Rollins sneered and Brock gave him an obscene wave.

“ What day do you have off? “the agent whispered to his daughter.

“The weekend, but if no one must know that then Thursday afternoon, I can get away from Brock's training, I don't think he'll mind, why? “ questioned she.

“Hank asked me for help, he needs to know things about someone and with your powers, he will be able to, so I'll see you on Thursday," she told him, he turned to see that three people were approaching, internally he was glad to be able to communicate with his daughter in another language, this way he was sure that they would not understand the plans or discover anything.

“Steve, this is my dad, agent Nozomu Suzuki, daddy, well I think you already know Capsicle, I mean Steve... Ahh, whatever.

The agent stretched his hand to greet the Captain, the latter had already remembered where he had seen him, in her pictures, but in person, the agent looked very imposing and unfriendly.

“Sir," Brock and Jack greeted in unison.

“Rumlow, Rollins," the agent replied. Rumlow, are you training the agent? “he raised an eyebrow.

“No, sir, Captain Rogers has joined the team and we were doing a test," replied the Commander.

“I'll see you later," Nozomu nodded and then left the gym.

Steve and Kathleen were watching a movie, Rogers had a lot of questions, but didn't dare say them.

“ What's the matter? The noise of your mind doesn't let me concentrate on the movie “commented she.

“I have some doubts," he answered nervously, she turned to see him, and he took out the file, "Why is your father's last name different from yours? “she asked.

“Ah... that, what happened was that when my mom was pregnant they had an attack, my parents fought, they separated for a few months, in this country my mom registered me with her last name after I was born they returned and well, it was very complicated to change the last name," explained Kath, although of course, she was only telling him the official version, Steve saw her surprised, the Council had put the doubt in his mind when they questioned him.

“ Why does Fury want him to live alone? “That doubt had been gnawing at him since he had heard that he would have his own apartment.

“That was always his plan until I made him see that first, you would have to adapt, it's one more benefit we have working there, but don't worry you can come whenever you want," she assured him with a smile and he nodded, "By the way, I almost forgot, your girlfriend Beth sent you a thank you message," he was going to take advantage of it to get even.

“I don't have a girlfriend, I don't know what you're talking about," he said innocently, she showed him the video where the waitress thanked Captain America for saving her during the attack in New York.

Steve was perplexed without knowing what to say and began to try to justify what was happening, he never believed that the waitress had misunderstood any of the occasions he had gone to that cafeteria.

Although Kath hadn't said anything about the feelings she once had for Brock either, she looked up when she felt she was being watched and saw that it was Nico, Kath gave her a look that meant she wouldn't dare say anything.

Ꭲꭺꮐꮮꮖꮪꭲ:

@saiyanprincessswanie @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad

@navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @mylifeispainandiloveit @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @jtargaryen18 @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit

#Secrets #Steve Rogers x OFC #steve rogers x oc #brock rumlow x ofc #brock rumlow x oc

23 notes · View notes

floralkittygambler · 2 years ago

Text

Coming and Going - Some More Vivzie Shit

Before you start, this is an extremely LONG read covering this account, my views of Viv, my content and my relationships within this Godforsaken fandom. This is my most up to date thoughts in 2023 on everything. This is something I feel necessary for me to do.

Contents (in no particular order):

Current Situation

Relationships in the fandom

Why I started this Blog

Thoughts on Viv/co and how they've changed since m previous posts

the fans

future thoughts and moving on

accountability

If any of this interests you, read ahead. Titles will be provided for easier following.

Why I started this blog

Originally this was a blog like any other; art, reblogs n shit. As I grew more into a Viv fan, I started posting fanart and follow blogs on her work. The more I learned the more I hated, and thus I began to become a critic. I was pissed off at viv wasting her potential, and eventually I became just as toxic and shitty as both her hardcore haters and majority of her fans. Some takes were good, some bad, either way I got too involved, too absorbed and let it consume me. Stupidly getting into conflicts, stuff like that. And I became a hardcore hater. I vocalised it. My initial aims long lost. Then I disappeared.

Vivzie, co, all that

I went from adoration to disgust of this lot. Now though, whilst I deeply dislike Viv and her crew, deeply dislike majority of the fans, I just feel... Gross. Hollow. Exhausted. I have a lot to say on Viv and my previous takes but truthfully I am too lazy and too tired and ultimately have better shit to do than go through every little thing right *now*. But I do want to at least cover a few here to do some justice, I guess.

So to skim through a few. Lets go.

Viv tracing. Honestly, tracing is a useful skill but it's bad when you trace another's work, don't credit and claim it as your own. This includes modified tracing (starting with a trace then stylising over it to make it more your style). Having nazi, nonce, etc characters I think people take extreme. These sorts make excellent "love to hate them" villains. Owning such characters isn't a crime. It's how theyre portrayed and the purpose. The nuance - something to constantly keep in mind. Her romanticism sausage party art is yikes. With her age, maturity, humour, I believe she saw this as some kind of fucked up humour, having enough awareness to understand the taboo to hide this stuff yet I do feel this was a stupid kid doing stupid edgy shit. Does that make it right? No. But I definitely dont think Viv is some nonce or nazi supporter. Later finding out how this profile was discovered makes me equally question morality on all sides. Vivs beastiality nonce artwork with the snake tub, Ive seen private dms to solidify that viv admitted to both owning this piece and that it was supposed to be a joke. Once again, I genuinely dont think shes a nonce BUT she needs to realise that if that character was below 18, she has drawn child prawn (censorship whooo) as well as distributed it via sharing online. That's still something really serious and gross. I get her humour is immature and dark, but theres lines you dont cross. And I dont find that art funny in any ways, it genuinely looks like a perverts wank bank rather than funny. Idk if the lad was one of them shapeshifting animals either but being in a human form in this instance does make the portrayal a beastiality one, due to human presenting. That's not cool. As much as I loathe those who would abuse kids or animals, I dont think this is Viv necessarily. Though I believe in this sense, Viv needs to understand and work with her cats more. She's done a lot of wrong shit but false accusations derail from solid proven issues that need addressing. At the least, Im glad the animal pervs and nonce stuff is gone. Heartbreaking that shit is so often heard of. This is the sort of thing Id laugh at as a kid but now Im grown and look after little ones, it fills me with nothing but sickening horror. Whilst vile vile vile, I havent seen anything concrete to prove or imply Viv supporting/participating in such depravity. And I fucking pray it stays that way.

You have apologised in the past. But the way you did so, the way you spoke about it afterwards and the way you are now proves it was insincere. Something to shut 'haters' up.

Viv, with all your shit, neurodiversity and late maturity, you're still yet to change for the better. The people you hang with are some of the most vile, toxic, narcissistic and shitty people. Yes men. You hire fans who'll do anything to please you, which can open the path to abuse (note: CAN, not a definitive, though in this case...). You equally are still a shitty person still. You're coming apart at the seams. Critique and hate aren't the same, and unfortunately you'll need adaptability and tough skin in this world as people can be very cruel. You lie. You twist like a constrictor. Charm the more susceptible. A very well known kissarse of yours on twitter who was quite the bully was followed by yourself, liked tweets then hired. They arent the only one either. Whilst you cannot be responsible for every single fans every single action, their are responsibilities you hold. Dont like tweets that encourage hate, dont reward negative behaviours, check your own public actions and how they may influence (act like a prick and those who admire you will mimic). Behind the scenes, treat people right. Dont play favourites. Always have integrity. Learn to incorporate critiques as well as filter out legitimate hate. I know it's not easy, but it's necessary to survive.

Viv, I can wholeheartedly empathise with receiving harsh hate early on in life and online. I know how that can taint and stunt the mind. But the thing is, you have to eventually break from that. BE responsible. Grow. Ive been toxic before. That's partially why I fixate on some of this. Equally Im angry. You ARE a VERY talented artist with potential. A shitty writer, do work on that (as well as diverse stories to tell - gain those experiences or listen to those who've been there - esp as you're doing this as a living) but when you're passionate about a piece, you're talented. And when you're not, you do what we all do and dole shite out (btw people thought I was bullying Viv when I said her P5 Alastor piece was bad in comparison to her other works. The proportions were awful, you could tell she just wanted it out the way. A startling lack of soul.) From what I've seen, you crave approval and admiration to compensate from the past cruelty. I can empathise. But that shit isnt healthy. And you block yourself from growth. You cultivate a tainted crop. You poison yourself. You sacrifice integrity and the gruelling work of improvement for the instant gratification of worship from fans by bending to their desires and your own at the cost of quality. What couldve been groundbreaking storytelling and visuals is nothing more than a glorified low-level fanfic. Wasted potential. Something I cant stand. I have been harsh as that same method helped me. In doing so, I disregarded your own humanity. I wish I conducted myself better and though I never encouraged abuse, I'm sorry that my words may have contributed to this shit cycle.

Your staff and many of your fans have... Concerning attributes, such as the fetishing of toxic relationships, blurred boundaries, disregard of boundaries, etc. The stark numbers of such unpleasant people flocking you is extremely worrying.

I do deeply dislike you. I do feel you have ultimately caused your own shit - been there - but I do pity you as well. I wish you'd go the effort to be you. To be less try hard. To allow growth and change, diversity, stop petting hatred. Get a better crowd, esp one willing to actually help you to be better by pointing shit out. To stop mass abusing others. I do dislike you greatly. I wish you would do better but all you've been doing is doubling down on shit. I feel Icarus needs to fly closer to the Sun for change to happen. It feels like the only way you may actually ground yourself and smell the roses. I just wish folk could be better as a whole. Sick of shit like this. Whilst no one is perfect, there's still standards to uphold. Growth to be had. Breach stereotypes and fetishes that dehumanise, work on yourself and your relationships with others. Careful on your humour and learn how to execute humour properly. Glad you're not doing beastiality art though. You cant please everyone and shouldnt have to in order to be admired and popular. Just be better. Also hating kids isnt a personality. I get not everyone cares about them but dont take shit too far. They can be gross and annoying but in the end they're just... Children. Theyre learning and growing. You can only hope they bloom into decent people. Admittedly a kid tripping is pretty funny but there's a limit. If you want to portray a creep, don't do anything that endorses their behaviours. Theyre vile, remember. No kid deserves that. Work on financing too. Medicating via shopping is a dangerous road. Dont bend to social pressures (such as getting wasted because friends do if you dont want to). Vet your staff. Better ethics.

Fandom

And the fans are just... A minority are lovely. I had a HuskerDust fan be respectful of our differences and hope the best for them. But the majority I've encountered or witnessed have been off their fucking heads. Often encouraged by Viv or staff. The staff and fans are now claiming that critics are homophobic racists falsely (which implies certain races, sexualities, identities, etc are absolved of criticism - which is both favouritism and it's own form of bigotry. Hell, it's spitting on the real victims of such crimes over mediocre cartoons and digital lunacy). These same people then insult people for... being cis and straight. Firstly, that's also bigotry and a dick move on identity and invalidation, it's also false in some cases (proving folks just spew shit), it demands special treatment for identities when we're all equal and deserve to be treated with equity, it's also just... Weak. Bigots can fuck off BUT many critiques have been about inconsistency in plots, writing and design issues, etc. Nothing pertaining identity.

Fans have been hypocritical like their idol. We're all hypocritical to an extent. But the madness... Ok, Blitzo uses retard (note: neurodivergant and have right to say that word, even then it also means delay "fire retardant" as well as where I live it's not nearly as bad as another term used yet is still fine in the US.) I think this isn't an issue as it can show things or speech patterns of the character. Then fans have falsely accused critics of ableism who either havent used the word, quoting this or even have right to say it yet coddle this fictional character. This was referenced in a recent episode with Blitzo about to call another character (rumours are this nurse is autistic but I do NOT have full confirmation. Pinch of salt!) retard before retracting it as it being unacceptable to say. Blitzo really wouldnt give a shit. Likewise I feel this is one of those permanant grey areas in fiction; is it? Isnt it? in terms of using terms. Of Mice and Men used slurs against black folk, that was to reflect that time and the character's mentalities. Not an author's mirror. Likewise, it wasn't used as humour either. Coming from ONE ND, I couldn't care. I feel this is hyperfocused on over more glaring issues, as well as a benefit of the doubt (being character mindset and possibly not author projection). Feel free to have your own opinions, and I only speak for myself there. I can empathise with those who may feel more sensitive to the word (which is why Im more careful in it's use) but as someone who is also technically affected, I just... Personally dont feel too bothered. Likewise, I'm learning to hold more human compassion and flexibility to error and human flaws rather than perfect standards (again, this wont justify or absolve. And more serious things like an assault doesnt apply. It's daft this needs clarifying, it should be the bare minimal). Not everyone will agree on everything, but there's just some lines that should be a standard. I think the staff and fans overall conduct themselves immaturely, cruelly, and cause harm.

I regret in engaging in some arguments. Not worth it. I think I shouldve been more compassionate to difference yet equally not been so volatile with harassment. HunterGirl's HD discord hate on me is... Something I shouldn't have fed. Hate me, that's fine. But the fact someone so close to Viv allowed the harassment is disappointing and shitty. Bitch behind the scenes but dont go out at people. Likewise behind the scenes talk, dont threaten folk either *Viv* (at one of your ex-staff). Call someone the biggest wanker you know but there are limits you dont cross. As with Viv and co, I once hoped for improvement but I just lack faith in that now and I'd just rather stay away from it all. Too much toxicity I've allowed myself to bathe in and hatred and venom only burns. Only burns more of the same product. It's not worth it. Don't even have the skills or assets to do any good from this either. If I can't help, itd be best to support those who can help whilst staying away from the vitriol. Stick to the facts and my own integrity. It's tiring to be involved in all... this. Again, I can only speak on myself hence why I'm only saying me shit. Any vents can be done to friends but otherwise none of this has resulted in any good. And I contributed to cruelty as well. It aint right.

Friendships

Bit more personal and past. Ive made many nice friends. Friends Im still friends with now, and I thank them. With certain issues arising, theyve been the anchors to ground and account me. Real friends. Friends that deserve to be shown more how appreciated they really are. Thank you. They have guided me into better awareness and accountability. We have our own little group now for art, gaming and hopefully any other group activities. Friend stuff. We'll rant, we'll vent, but we're actually doing friend shit now. Ive hyperfixated enough on negatives. Dragged others into an abyss with me. Its not fair for them.

There is a friend here, I think they dont see my stuff anymore idk. I was warned about them. Through all Ive seen and my experiences, I wish you to get help. Get off tumblr. Get off twitter. Both can be extremely toxic as well as cultivate toxicity. Be accountable. Get help. And focus on you. I still worry for you, though I am disgusted on some of your actions. Treat the living with respect. Learn that people will try to bait you. Let go of paranoia (not easy), confront your past and grow. And please... Dont lie. Dont lie about events that occur as you're creating your own misery. Learn to step back and not be so forceful and preachy. Been there, it's not a good place. Experience a diverse crowd on a human level. And please spend some time away from the internet. People really can be pricks sometimes. Even ourselves. You're also pretty hair trigger and tempered. A bit like me sometimes LOL. Learn to balance that. Trust me.

To mates on here who Ive only spoken to here, if you'd still like to be mates, I can link you our group if you're up for group art and gaming or activities, or to another social media account to chat.

To unanswered asks, I'll try but not promise to address them. Those which ended up deleted, I can only remember the one question sorry. And the answer is Sitri. Sitri would be a good HB replacement for Stolas, he's quite the love/lust expert and a focus on men. Fun chap! I had more for this answer but again, cant be arsed with this shit anymore. Sorry.

I joined a spindle critique group. What I learned is the union from bitterness isnt solid grounds for friendship. I wont go into details as it's a private and resolved matter. I shared the full log to current friends to have a neutral and raw take. These are friends I can trust will yank my chain if Im in the wrong. And they did. They spoke of the wrongs on both sides. These are folks who are guiding me to better. Folks I have trusted with the full log, full transparency. I appreciate you both and take your words into stride daily. To old friends, I would rather friends make their own choices. I never hated you, but was hurt on this other side of you. Likewise Im sorry to make you feel that way. Im sorry to have trauma dumped (recently discovered this term, and using it to manage myself better.) There was only one individual that I was given uneasy vibes on and made that clear from the start. I tried with them. For awhile, I even started to see them as a genuine friend. In the end, we were too clashing. We didn't mesh well. My initial feeling on the situation ultimately felt true. But when I open up about home issues and emotions, I dont want them weaponised. Especially as Ive been doing some irl work to find many holes in my perspective as well as others hard work in being involved with me. Things are different now. Never felt it needed in convo, I was too fixed on my own hurt. Home was self preservation at those times. I regret opening up over some personal issues. None of this absolves me of poorly handling situations and anger issues. Near the end, I felt more wary to be more open on certain things. But I shouldve been a better friend. I never liked how catty things got. Trolled. We all just became knobs in one way or another.

My ask to remove my triggers was me hoping to do good for you. Remove a trigger that would inevitably end up being a large part of the group sooner or later, maybe this summer. Especially as I 'lacked empathy'. I thought I was doing good. I never lied about it, and feel bitter that was twisted. If I explained something, I was wrong. Kept it brief, I was bitchy. I was willing to endure a trigger if it made things easier in the group, and the situation was more than a stupid ship. Ive had triggers Ive adapted to handle better now. And public, you are not entitled to my medical history however we're in an age where youre both valid and entitled to privacy yet must breach privacy to have a voice. I have an ED. A certain word wasn't even allowed in my presence without panic and flashbacks. I was a little girl then. And I managed to slowly ease the trigger word via gradual exposure - a replacement word, spelling the word, and eventually hearing the word. It - and what it has done to me - will always scar me. But I learned to handle it better in my own time. I dont need lecturing on how triggers work. Especially when each case is unique, each 'cure' is personalised. If you want to believe Im full of shit then... Do that. Im sorry for being a shitty friend at times and Im working on that, but outside opinions (note: these are done in private spaces so all parties are anon) have noted flaw on your end too. We all fucked up. The two things below the belt were the trigger claims (hence my example of my own experiences with another trigger) and my private issues shared in confidant are the two things I remain disgusted by. That doesnt justify my frustrations, dumping or behaviour. And my example is not a pity ploy either. We're separate now, and it's best that way.

Overall, being here, in this community and fandom, has done nothing but shit. Fuelled the worst in me and others (from what ive seen in public fandom spaces). I may do art and other creative endevours on spindle, but otherwise good riddance. Even if the purge is painful.

Another friend. Im in their group too. One to improve some creative skills. Appreciate being let in there, though I'll probably mainly lurk for tips. Thank you for allowing me to do so. Wording is honestly growing harder for me each day. It's helping me start the path of better expression.

Current and future

I word shit less. Not here, as this is long overdue. But trying to sum up more efficiently. Spending more time irl to improve myself and my life. Welcoming friends who we both can hold each other accountable and support. Focusing more on stuff to improve as well as enjoy. The world is so dismal. So I spend time doing other stuff. Im already mopey enough. Sorting things to refine and focus on enjoyments. Gaining skills to help others. Experienced some personal griefs/losses. And Im learning that people arent entitled to everything. Not quite there yet but Im learning. Im often in deep pain, so cant always do what I want to get done in a day.

Most likely, I will discontinue this. Besides others have been doing a brilliant job. Dont absorb yourself. You can control much of what you get exposed to, so what you can control, make it good! Have integrity, work on yourselves. Try not to be a dickhead but acknowledge where you are a dickhead and work on that. Balance is key to a healthy mind, take the good with the not so good. Take the time to simply sit outside and observe. Appreciate life. Similarities and differences. Nothing is perfect. No one is perfect. But have your standards. Learn. Grow.

Im in a lot of pain and have shit to do. Take care. I feel Viv, co, fans will only learn with drastics, haters need to learn empathy (haters as in stalker level folk), old friends Im sorry to hurt and equally feel hurt by. Best we've gone separate ways and moving on. Current friends I appreciate. That one person, please... PLEASE get help. Youre young, man- This shit is going to poison your very core. Make you into something shitty and cruel. And please treat animals with care. Me, still a twat but trying. Embrace truth, compassion and fairness with a firm angle. Or just avoid nasty shit.

Well, cya. Stay well. We're not going to be here forever.

#hazbin critical #helluva boss critical #criticial #end #moving on

28 notes · View notes

nobodysdaydreams · 2 years ago

Note

The Glenns were probably fine (at least okay) people. They just didn't understand Nicholas and so they treated him like a "normal child" and hoped for the best

(Also I wonder if Curtain ever went looking for them...)

Anon, please know you have my respect, because you are BRAVE for this one. I have posted polls that have been (jokingly) like "pick an mbs character to hit with a golf cart" and I'll get at least 2-3 reblogs of people aggressively demanding the Glenns get flattened. So coming in my ask box with this take was a choice, but I'm very glad you did it because oh boy do I have some thoughts™️. (ESPECIALLY YOUR THING ABOUT CURTAIN LOOKING FOR THEM!)

Forgive me but I'm about to rant like crazy.

I think some just assume the Glenns were abusive parents and that Nicholas suffered a lot as child, and that's a perfectly fine head canon to have if you want it. However, we don't really see direct evidence for that. It is true that Nicholas' parents aren't mentioned again in the show, but if Nicholas is in his 40s/50s and his parents were in their 30s/40s/50s when they adopted him, they would likely be very old or deceased by the time the show takes place, it doesn't necessarily mean Nicholas cut contact with them.

Now, the one thing I do agree with you on is that they are flawed parents. The most obvious flaw we see is them only adopting one twin and never taking Nicholas to even visit his brother. However, there are a few things about the scene of them meeting Nicholas that stand out to me. And honestly? I think we as a fandom need to be giving the orphanage director a lot more attention then the Glenns, because evil or bad-but-well-intention, people barely mention her. And I'd be happy to explain why they should.

In the scene of the Glenns adopting Nicholas, the orphanage director originally leads them to Nathaniel. Obviously the parents are uncomfortable with the way Nathaniel introduces himself and his monologue, but looking back on it, I don't just think it's because they found his monologue cringy and decided right then and there to adopt the other twin. I think the Glenns were uncomfortable because when they heard Nathaniel's name, they realized the orphanage director had accidently led them to the wrong twin and this wasn't the one they were planning to adopt, and they didn't want to seem rude. But then Nathaniel started doing his pitch to them, and asked them to take him and his brother, which likely made them feel really guilty. Why do I think this? Because despite leading them to Nathaniel, the orphanage director immediately goes, "oh he's right over here" and awkwardly saves the parents by leading them over to Nicholas, and the parents introduce themselves by saying "hello. We've heard you like to read." This means that the orphanage director A) can't tell the twins apart, because she knew they wanted Nicholas from the beginning, but initially led them to Nathaniel on accident and B) spoke to the parents about the twins earlier, and told them about Nicholas.

Now the question becomes: why would the orphanage director recommend Nicholas to a set of parents who can only take one child? Was it because they both loved reading and were such a good match that it just made sense, and people back then just didn't understand the importance of keeping siblings together? That's one possibility. It's also perhaps the most plausible. If the Glenns were told that Nathaniel was stifling Nicholas (as evidenced by the orphanage performance), and that it was best for Nicholas to be separated from his brother and have his turn in the spotlight, then who were they to argue with the experts?

There is however a darker possibility. In season 2, Nicholas (under the happiness) and Curtain are reminiscing about the science experiments they used to do and the chaos they would cause (they mention making a volcano that exploded everywhere and made Nicholas and likely countless other children sick for weeks). If they were known for causing disruption, the orphanage director might have been trying to get rid of them by any means necessary as quickly as possible (especially since the older they got, the less likely they were to get adopted). She might have done so by trying to push them individually on families that could only take one, but there's something else she might have done.

It's possible that the Glenns were actually initially open to taking both twins, but the orphanage director discouraged the parents from adopting both boys, because she worried that if they got into mischief together and the parents complained, the orphanage would gain a bad reputation. Since Nicholas was the "easy" twin, and his personality matched with these parents, she told the Glenns that it was better for the twins to be separated, because Nathaniel was controlling and it would be healthier for Nicholas to have his own family. It was what was best for him. And the Glenns might have been skeptical of this, but the orphanage director is the expert. And it's not a total lie, Nathaniel did stifle him. And surely Nicholas would say something if he was unhappy with the situation? And Nathaniel had said that it was okay if they could only take one and that they wanted what was best for each other, so surely this must be fine right?

Look, in the scenario where the orphanage director comes out looking the best, the twins aren't getting adopted because there just aren't a lot of parents looking to adopt sibling groups, and they're getting older and there also aren't a lot of parents that want to adopt teens. So she's trying to get them into homes as best she can and separating them was a last resort, or perhaps she genuinely believed it was better for Nicholas to be on his own where Nathaniel wasn't controlling him all the time. Unfortunately, she's overwhelmed, has more kids than she can handle, and can't tell the twins apart, which is what caused to her to accidently introduce the Glenns to Nathaniel before she realized her mistake. Which isn't great, but more understandable. Worst case scenario? She found the twins a nuisance and wanted them gone by any means necessary and was pushing for them to go to separate homes and using the fact that Nathaniel was stifling Nicholas to support her reasoning, even though Nathaniel was only 12 years old.

But there's one thing both of these possibilities have in common: the Glenns would go into the adoption believing they were doing the right thing. That it was better for Nicholas to be separated from his brother. That they would better parents for Nicholas then Nathaniel, because Nicholas shared their love of reading and they had similar interests. That if Nicholas missed his brother he would have said something (obviously they're his parents, they should have just known, but the "expert" told them otherwise, and they're flawed people). They also figured that if Nathaniel said they wanted what was best for each other and the orphanage director said this was what was best, then there was nothing to discuss. It doesn't excuse what they did. They should have seen their son was upset, and should have done more to investigate the problem. Nicholas shouldn't have had to say anything. But I also don't think they necessarily did it maliciously (but they certainly could have, and if you want to have that head canon, you totally can).

Sorry for the rant. I'm not trying to excuse the Glenn's or the orphanage director (she needs a shorter name)'s actions, but I do respectfully think the "Nicholas' adoptive parents were abusive and terrible and the evidence is right there" takes should also consider the way the orphanage was being run. Overall, it was just an awful situation for both twins. They needed to go to home with parents who would teach them proper boundaries and respect their individuality, while also understanding the importance of them being a family. Nicholas admits that he didn't come back because he needed freedom, but the sad part is he could have had freedom and his brother if the twins had parents who would have stepped in and said "hey Nathaniel, we love you, but don't treat your brother like that." But no one at the orphanage ever did that, and Nicholas had no reason to believe his parents would be more hands on and involved than his teachers in that regard, because he'd never had parents before (and probably assumed parents just acted like teachers who gave you room and board and would just allow Nathaniel to continue to treat him like that, because what else is he supposed to think?). So he always thought he could never have both things. And that makes me sad, but in the best way, so thanks Anon.

FINALLY. Your statement on Curtain looking for them. OH BOY.

I haven't gotten to this part in my fic yet (and I don't know if I ever will) so possible mild spoilers I guess, but here's the thing: I think he did.

Because Nicholas promised to come back. And then days turn to weeks turn to months turn to years and he doesn't. At which point Nathaniel can assume two things. The first is to immediately assume that Nicholas didn't come back from him because he decided he was better off without his brother OR to assume that the people that adopted him are bad or abusive and that Nicholas might have tried to come back for him but failed, and he needs to be rescued.

I think you see where I'm going with this one. Nathaniel waits but Nicholas doesn't come. He thinks this is because his brother is in trouble. He runs away to find him. And eventually he does find Nicholas and discovers him living happily with his new family. Without him.

And the rest of the story writes itself from there. Well, actually it doesn't, and that comes later (why must my fic ideas be so long gosh dang it...) but I hope you like this.

Thank you Anon. Sorry this was so long.

#Long post #You've been warned #Thank you Anon #Bods Answers #nicholas benedict #the glenns #nathaniel benedict #ld curtain #ledroptha curtain #dr curtain #mr curtain #mr benedict

14 notes · View notes

h0n3yk1tt3n · 1 year ago

Note

What kind of demons do you think they’d be 👀

I answered an ask last year with the squad as imps, succubi, and hellhounds, (that I'll hunt down and reblog after this) but as far as sinners go? It's a lot harder to place. Same goes for like, a full fledged au. Since there are so many dynamics and songs that can work in different combinations.

Stayed Gone gives heavy post-squip-wins timeline vibes wherein Michael comes back long after The Play, which would imply Michael being Alastor and either the squip or Jeremy being Vox (maybe squip as Valentino egging Jeremy on about almost losing 7 years ago?)

Loser, Baby is like, The Boyfs Song (think Two-Player Game but Jer is convinced not to take the squip), but could also be taken as post-squip Jeremy and Rich both bonding over being "on that demon's leash."

In the latter case, Poison could fit very closely with either of them enduring the constant abuse coming from being squipped. I lean more toward a Rich Angel Dust in this case given the overall theme of wearing a mask to hide the pain and to feel like he's in control of anything going on before breaking down at the end because he can't keep up the Masquerade anymore via the line "wish i had something to live for tomorrow." (That episode title really is a lot more fitting than I initially thought hot damn.)

But if we run with the Squip-Alastor thing and not a Squip-Valentino, it would make sense for Rich to be Husk instead. But then who steps up as Angel Dust if Jeremy is Charlie? Chloe? She's much more of a Cherri Bomb or Velvette than anyone else (that wouldn't be Vaggie if Brooke were Charlie instead.) Who's Sir Pentious? You could have any of the girls be Niffty and it would be a different flavor of hilarious. The popular kids being Overlords also plays into the hierarchy, but then who are the hotel residents? How does this change if Christine and Jenna are Charlie and Vaggie respectively?

The short answer is: I have no idea. And even if I weren't to "assign" characters and give the squad totally original sinner designs, I'm not good enough with symbolism to think of how/when each of them would have died and how that would reflect their appearances.

But I think we can all agree that Mr. Heere just IS Lucifer, no ifs ands or buts about it.

#asks #be more chill #hazbin hotel #squip squad #mr heere #squip #mj arts

5 notes · View notes

vicerre · 2 years ago

Text

Good Night

Overview

This blog started as a bit of an experiment.

Initially, I wasn't sure what direction to take it; I wanted to write about and draw subjects that didn't have a place on my primary social media accounts, but I didn't have any particular long-term goals.

For better or worse, I settled on Tumblr as the compromise platform. After researching my options, I found it was the only platform that satisfied these requirements:

has an active, open community

hosts posts with marked-up text (i.e. headers, hyperlinks, italics, lists)

hosts posts with images

offers a method to organize and sort posts

offers the ability to edit and delete posts

With some reservations, I joined the website and began to post.

The more I posted, the more this blog found its footing. It became clear that this blog was most effective as a repository for information about my characters and the story they told. Over two years and 150-some-odd posts, I teased out the world that lived in my mind.

And now, exactly two years after I joined, I find I must leave.

Why

Over these two years, I tolerated many issues with this site.

The first were the platform's inherent issues:

Image quality: An optimal blogging website lets the user share original-size images. Art-sharing platforms for this. In contrast, Tumblr compresses and lowers image quality. While not a deal-breaker for my needs, I could never share images the way I truly wanted.

Site search: The site's search system leaves much to be desired.

As an example, Tumblr site search does not apply Boolean functions to keywords. In other words, searching for keyword-x AND keyword-y should, optimally, produce all posts with both keywords. Tumblr does not offer this feature.

As another example, keywords and tags are not guaranteed to produce all search results. A search function that does not return what is expected is useless for organizing data.

Then, my patience with the platform grew thin. Over the course of 2022, my posts stopped appearing in search thrice:

2022-01-02: [80LEMY-LDD4] - Instance 1

2022-08-01: [P9V302-ZWQLD] - Instance 2

2022-08-16: [PM92Q6-8425V] - Instance 2.1

2022-09-05: [ERMWGX-E22ZD] - Instance 3

When I contacted site staff about the issue, all I received was silence. It took persistent messaging over the course of weeks for site staff for them to notice and respond to my report.

I recognize this blog is personal in nature, so whether or not my posts showed up on other people's feeds is a minor factor. However, the lack of response indicated the platform did an unacceptable job supporting the social component of the site.

Finally, Tumblr recently announced a deal-breaking change.

Over the course of these weeks, Tumblr announced removing support for the legacy Markdown editor. I rely on advanced Markdown syntax to compose my posts in a way unsupported by the default post editor. If I can no longer compose posts for my content, I'm afraid I must leave.

What now?

Over two years, I learned what matters to this blog. Thus, I can recalibrate my criteria for a platform. To wit, I've found I don't care about the community aspect of the site as much as I expected. The odd passing Like or Reblog was lovely, but ultimately, this blog was meant for me.

With that criterion no longer a requirement, I could identify an alternate platform for my content: GitHub.

"The site where you can share and collaborate on code?" you may ask.

Well... yes. Let's look at the updated criteria, shall we? With the "community" requirement nixed, we can see that we can indeed create, edit, organize, and delete posts with markup using the default feature set of the site. By virtue of posts being composed in Markdown, the site is fairly portable compared to blogging services or wikis. Furthermore, if we need richer customization options, we have the freedom to write code to support these features.

So there we have it. In the upcoming days, I will be relocating the posts hosted on this blog. The majority of the posts will be relocated to GitHub. Some will be relocated to my primary social media persona. Some will stay here.

Once my content has been relocated, I will remove the existing content from this blog and share a link to the blog's new location.

Thank you for visiting my page.

...

(Link)

#blog #meta #book ends

2 notes · View notes

etes-secrecy-post · 2 years ago

Text

Hi, before I explain my post, I want to say something important.

• What you see my blog has become a major overhaul. And despite the changes, I decided that my 2nd account will be now my artwork blog with a secret twist.

⚠️NEW RULE! (W/ BIGGER TEXT!)⚠️

⚠️ SO PLEASE DO NOT SHARE MY 2nd ACCOUNT TO EVERYONE! THIS SECRECY BLOG OF MINE IS FOR CLOSES FRIENDS ONLY!⚠️

• AND FOR MY CLOSES FRIENDS, DON’T REBLOG IT. INSTEAD, JUST COPY MY LINK AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TUMBLR POST! JUST BE SURE THE IMAGE WILL BE REMOVED AND THE ONLY LEFT WAS THE TEXT.

⚠️ SHARING LINKS, LIKE POSTS, REBLOG POSTS, STEALING MY SNAPSHOT PHOTOS/RECORDED VIDEOS/ARTWORKS (a.k.a. ART THIEVES) OR PLAGIARIZING FROM UNKNOWN TUMBLR STRANGERS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE BLOCKED, RIGHT AWAY!⚠️

😡 WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EVER LIKED & REBLOG MY SECRET POST! THIS IS FOR MY SECRET FRIENDS ONLY, NOT YOU! 😡

Okay? Capiche? Make sense? Good, now back to the post…↓

#Onthisday: Jun 15th, 2018

Title: Cuteness Member - BV

BV [Bloody Vision] 🐑🎮 and his own custom "Cuteness Mecha Armor" - the armored "Dreissen". A close relative of the original "Dom" / "Rick Dom" and manufactured by Neo Zeon (and also featured in MS Gundam ZZ).😁 With beam tomahawks, twin beam cannons and a special weapon called the "Tri Blades" this armor is a heavy combat, among with other optional weapons it won't be disappoint. 😉

Dreissen BV Came from the real: AMX-009 Dreissen

Armamnent(s):

• 3-barrel Beam Cannon Mounted in each of the Dreissan's arms is a triple-barreled beam cannon, which fire beams rated at 2.8 MW. The covers of the weapon slide up when in use. Initially the weapon is powered by E-Cap, but modification to the power supply system carried out by the Sleeves allows it to be powered directly by the suit's generator. This also has the effect of increasing the power of the beams fired.

• Tri-Blade Each Dreissen carries three tri-blades, throwing weapons that have three high-speed rotating blades each and can move towards their target using the single vernier mounted at the bottom. They are stored on backpack when not in use. Sleeve's Dreissen can carry anywhere from one to three tri-blades, depending on if any of the tri-blades' mounts are replaced by holsters for the giant bazooka and heat saber.

• Beam Tomahawk The beam tomahawk is a beam weapon that emits an axe-shaped blade, which has a power rating of 0.92 MW. The output of the beam axe can be increased when the beam tomahawk is combined with the beam lancer.

• Beam Lancer The beam lancer is a staff weapon that emits a short beam blade with high penetrating power, and can combine with the beam tomahawk into a naginata. The beam blade emitted has a power rating of 1.7 MW.

• Beam Rifle A standard hand carried ranged beam weapon, it is powered by a rechargeable energy cap. Capable of firing concentrated mega particles, attacks from a beam rifle can damage any ordinary armor that has not been specially treated to resist it. The rifle can switch to a rapid-fire mode and is also known as a 'beam assault rifle'.

• Heat Saber The heat saber is not a weapon originally used by the AMX-009 Dreissen. By the year of the Dreissen's introduction, the heat saber was an archaic and out of date weapon when compared to beam sabers that were the standard for mobile suit combat. When not in use, the heat saber can be stored on a special holster (if it is installed) located at Dreissen's back which originally carried a Tri-Blade.

• Giant Bazooka The Dreissen can also utilize a Giant Bazooka for improved ranged combat capabilities. It is used for both anti-MS and anti-ship combat. It is magazine-fed and capable of carrying 5 rounds per magazine. When not in use, the Giant Bazooka is mounted on a special holster (if it is installed) located at Dreissen's back which originally carried a Tri-Blade.

2 notes · View notes

edettethegreat · 3 years ago

Text

probably the only post I’ll ever make about that one anime called Bungo Stray Dogs

Originally this post was supposed to be a reply via reblog to this post, but it got a bit too sidetracked and I felt bad for hijacking OP’s post like this.

Initially I was just going to say this through the comment section of the original post, but then I realized that I have way too many thoughts to fit into the small word limit of a tumblr comment.

Anyway, that’s why I’m posting a screenshot of the original post rather than just reblogging it. I don’t want to derail OP’s original points or hijack the post and go off topic.

@chaosgranted you’re right and you should say it. I’m just gonna elaborate on this topic a bit. Gonna scream into the Tumblr void with hopes that the void won’t scream back.

I know I already commented on OP’s post a hundred times, but this got me thinking about the subject and now I can’t stop. So lemme burden you all with my never ending stream of thoughts on this matter.

Before I get into this rant, I wanna clarify something. I do, in fact, like Dazai as a character. I think he’s very interesting. I enjoy when he shows up on screen. This isn’t something I’d say for most other characters, who I’m more neutral about.

That being said. Pretty much everything about how the fandom portrays him and views him annoys me so, so much.

As OP states here, what he does (leaves Chuuya unconscious and vulnerable in the field after promising to bring him back) isn’t just harmful or mean, it’s borderline cruel. And if it was done by any character who the audience wasn’t obsessed with, that character would be burned at the stake.

Think about Shirase (who I love, but that’s its own thing). Some people like him, a bunch of people hate him, a bunch of people have no opinion on him because he’s not a major character in the anime. Regardless of his Light Novel counterpart, Anime Shirase is justified enough in his own right. Let’s be real, the Sheep (including Shirase) were acting in self defense when they betrayed and stabbed Chuuya. They genuinely believed that he was an immediate threat to their safety. They genuinely believed that if they didn’t kill him, he’d kill them, or sell their information to the mafia, who’d shortly thereafter kill them.

Unlike Dazai leaving Chuuya behind when he was at his most vulnerable state, the Sheep stabbing and betraying Chuuya is not only justifiable, but understandable— and can anyone truly say that they’d do any different if they were in their shoes? I know I can only speak for myself, but if I truly and genuinely believed that someone was about to kill me or kill my closest friends, I would do what it takes to protect both my friends and myself.

The Sheep are somewhat vilified by the fandom (in the rare moments when the fandom remembers they exist). If Dazai had done the same— if Dazai had tried to kill an innocent person because he truly and genuinely believed that that person was about to kill the ADA, not only would he be forgiven instantly (which he should be, as I previously mentioned that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do), but there wouldn’t be even an ounce of discourse over whether or not he’s justified.

Now, I understand the concept of liking “problematic” characters. (Tbh no character is “problematic”, whether or not the character is a good person is irrelevant, if the character does “problematic” things then that’s literally just how they were written and also intentional and also says something about them as a character. It should be called “good writing”, not “a problematic character”.) I understand the concept of liking the antagonist, heck my whole blog used to be me justifying Edmund from King Lear. Of course I never said he was a good person (because OH MAN HE WASN’T), but I found him very intriguing and so I would rationalize his actions and try to see things from his POV.

The difference between liking or justifying an antagonist and what the bsd fandom does with Dazai is that Dazai isn’t an antagonist.

The closest Dazai comes to filling an antagonistic role is in flashback arcs, which is the only time when his actions aren’t chalked up to “haha Bandage man is doing his thing again!”. When Dazai manipulates the Sheep into betraying and stabbing Chuuya, it acknowledges that Dazai is filling a bit of an antagonistic role there. That scene isn’t played off a a joke— there’s no comedic undertone in how it’s portrayed. As opposed to when he leaves Chuuya in the field and it goes “haha look at Bandage man always being so silly and goofy!”

The same goes for Dazai’s treatment of Akutagawa in The Dark Era arc. When he shoots at him, attempting to kill him with no knowledge that his ability can theoretically stop the bullets, it’s not played off as a joke. However, in the dungeon scene, Dazai says that his new subordinate is “far superior” to him, and the show plays it off as “haha Bandage man made Emo kid angry!”, even though what Dazai meant by “far superior” is that Atsushi got lucky enough to be taught by Present Day Dazai, and so he’s more mentally stable and more sure of himself than Akutagawa, who’s still very clearly getting over the trauma of being literally brainwashed mentored by Mafia Dazai. Ability wise, Atsushi and Akutagawa seem to have equally strong abilities. The only thing that Atsushi has that Akutagawa doesn’t is a semi-healthy mindset. And you know who’s responsible for both of their mindsets….? This statement ( “..far superior..”) is the equivalent of punching someone in the face and then calling them ugly for having a black eye.

But the show keeps playing off Dazai’s outright cruelty to the people around him as a literal joke. And “he’s on the good side now!!”, so, to quote a song we all wish we could forget, How bad can he possibly be?

I think the first real sign of Dazai’s, for lack of better terms, tendencies..,, is in the second episode. That was the point where I was like “Oh. So he’s an asshole.” In that episode, Atsushi states that although he’s grateful for Dazai’s help, he’s not interested in joining the ADA. Dazai tries to pressure him into joining but he politely refuses. Dazai then makes it seem like he’s about to get him an interview for a different job, when suddenly he drags him into a supposed bombing and seemingly forces him to put his life on the line for an organization that he wants nothing to do with.

Atsushi is a kid who can hardly stand up for himself. I’m surprised he even turned Dazai down in the first place, but that just goes to show how badly he wanted nothing to do with the Agency. After discovering that it was all a test set up from the start— a test which he passed, now making him qualified to join the ADA— he still remains unwilling to join. Now what does Dazai, our resident master manipulator, do? He makes sure to give Atsushi a friendly reminder that sure, he doesn’t have to join, but if he doesn’t he’ll surely either die of starvation on the streets or be captured by the cops for his horrible tiger crimes against humanity. At that point of the episode I was like “ah. A manipulative asshole. Lovely. I’d like to see him get punched in the face.” (And thanks to Kunikida he does get punched. Not often enough for my tastes, but whatever.)

If you’ve never watched BSD and are only learning about it from this post, you’re probably thinking “but Edette, this guy is clearly a horrible person. And I understand that people simp for him, but just how delusional do people have to be to pretend none of this ever happened?”

Well there’s a very simple answer to that, my friend.

The whole show plays off his.. ah, let’s call them “silly little shenanigans”.. as just that. Silly. Little. Shenanigans. It shows him being manipulative and using every innocent person he comes alone to advance his own goals in one way or another. But that’s all perfectly fine! Because the show says it’s actually really funny, so it must be, right?

As OP says. Chuuya trusted him. Chuuya listened to him when he told him to activate his ability which nearly kills him. Chuuya was willing to throw his life away, endure pain beyond anything anyone could imagine, all on the hope and trust that this person he shares so much history with will be there for him and protect him when he’s left in his most vulnerable state.

But Dazai uses corruption as a tool. He uses Chuuya as a pawn to win the battle. And if you want to argue that Chuuya’s not a pawn but a knight or queen or some other chess piece then fine. Nice chess analogy. You do realize that’s irrelevant, right? Either way, as he says himself in 15, he’s not a king. He’s not the piece that will be protected at all costs. And no matter what piece he is, he’s just a game piece, just like everyone else Dazai comes across, and Dazai is the player.

And after the battle is over? Well, his pawn is of no use to him anymore. So good job Chuuya, you did it, you won. Soukoku won. But only one half of Soukoku gets to enjoy the victory.

For the record, I do believe that Dazai cares about Chuuya beyond simply being intrigued by him. I do believe that he wouldn’t have folded his coat and left it where he could find it if the person he was fighting alongside was just anyone. But that’s not even close to the bare minimum of what Dazai should have done. This is just a testimony to what sort of person Dazai is. Even with someone who he arguably cares about, he still treats him this horribly.

And

It’s

Played

Off

Joke.

#i wasn’t planning on posting anything bsd related ever #I watched the anime nearly a year ago #checked out the fandom #and was like #“My opinions will get me cancelled a hundred times so I’ll shut up and stick to Shakespeare”#but I just #really #can’t #stand #how Dazai is Like That #and gets away with it #because EVERYTHING #is played off as A Joke #come back next week when I’ll talk about Laurent from Great Pretender #anyway time for the searchable tags to be tagged #bsd #Bungo stray dogs #(this is literally so embarrassing that I’m actually interacting with this fandom)#(Dw I don’t hate all of you— the art accounts are nice)#(most of you are nice tbh but you’ve got to admit. There’s a LARGE portion of the fandom that makes me want to avoid the fandom as whole)#(and also makes me lose my faith in humanity)#dazai #atsushi #chuuya #akutagawa

150 notes · View notes

carewyncromwell · 2 years ago

Photo

“Good day, everyone. It seems that we, once again, are on the cusp of that most wondrous time of year -- the Feast of Christmas.

“I am called Bartholomew -- or more commonly just ‘Bat’ -- Varney...and this time of year is by far my favorite of the lot. To mark this occasion, my ‘mundane’ has once again given me access to her ‘Askbox,’ so that I may discuss aspects of this wonderful holiday with you, her followers, whether through historical lectures, editorials, or even lively debates. She encourages you to consult the ‘Bat Comments on Christmas!’ tag to see my previous entries to this series, to like and reblog these posts if you find them engaging and interesting, and to send in other holiday-related Asks to me, if you wish to see more. I was born in the mid-18th century and currently occupy what my mundane calls the ‘HPHL’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts’ timelines, but I have also been given access to the Fourth Wall, so that I can discuss aspects of Christmas Yet to Come as well.”

The single best aspect of Christmas is the fascinating way it has changed and will continue to change.

[Bat replaces the spent Blood Pop in his mouth with a new one with a grin that shows off his sparkling white fangs.]

“...Our subject today, appropriately enough, actually regards Christmases Yet to Come, as well as those of the Past and Present. Yes, my friends, it is time we discuss my favorite novel of all time, which arguably changed how Christmas is celebrated more than any other piece of text ever written -- Charles Dickens’s immortal classic, A Christmas Carol.

“Now, for those of you who have grown up with Christmas as a holiday, and even for many who haven’t, it would be silly to go into a full summary of the tale. It’s such a popular and well-adapted story, even back in my own era, that even those who haven’t read Dickens’s novel are familiar with it, simply through cultural osmosis...and from what I understand, over time, it’s only become more widespread. But truly, we’re not going to delve too deeply into the story of miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who initially scoffs at the thought of giving back to his fellow men and treating his employees and associates kindly around Christmas, before he’s haunted by three spirits who teach him the true meaning of the season. Instead, I’d like to talk more about the book’s publication, its themes, and ultimately why it both is a perfect time capsule of the up-and-coming Christmas fads of the mid-1800′s and ultimately came to popularize and set in stone customs we still associate with Christmas today.

“Charles Dickens was a celebrity of his day. Originally the man had no concept of what he wanted to do with his life -- he even once considered a life on stage as an actor -- but writing truly ended up being his calling. First finding success as a journalist, Dickens then became famous across Britain when he wrote The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. Even her Majesty the soon-to-be Queen Victoria was purportedly enamored with them. Unfortunately Dickens’s success ended up being a double-edged sword. John Dickens would frequently use his son’s fame as leverage to borrow money, only for Charles to have to frequently come to his rescue when John couldn’t pay the lenders back. And with his family still growing (three going on four, at that time), Dickens had to keep the money rolling in, in order to pay for his family’s lifestyle. They were part of what was called the ‘middling sort,’ or the ‘middle class,’ as I’ve heard it more frequently called, which had only just started to form about a century prior, as education and land ownership became more widespread in Europe and America. Just a century ago, that ‘middle class’ had been the main force behind the American and French Revolutions and the Enlightenment ideals that argued against the superiority of kings and nobles over the common Man -- now most of their members were trying to find comfort and contentment in their new status as the ‘petit bourgeoisie.’ But there was still activism and fresh ideas to be found in their ranks, if one were to look carefully.

“The wide publication of books via printing presses and that subsequent increased access to education and knowledge fueled a new appreciation for history in 19th century Europe. Not too long ago, as I’ve discussed previously, Christmas had been banned in England, only for that idea to blow up spectacularly in the Puritans’ faces. And well, with England having lost their foothold in the American colonies and having spent even more years and money warring with France under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte before finally defeating him soundly at Waterloo, there was a new sense of nostalgia in England for when their country was great and prosperous...namely, the Renaissance, under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. The arts became more reputable and profitable again after the likes of Oliver Cromwell had tried to shut down theaters en masse; investment in new technologies and sciences were promoted, sparking an Industrial Revolution in England; and holidays of the Tudor era were reinvented for a new generation, including -- you guessed it -- Christmas.

“But Christmas, as celebrated in Tudor England, was a very bawdy, raucous, messy affair. A public outdoor festival punctuated by drinking and debauchery didn’t really suit the ‘proper’ attitudes of the Victorian-era middle class. So, just as we always have with Christmas since the beginning, old traditions were attempted, adapted, and -- in some cases -- flat-out made up. One such tradition I’ve discussed previously that was likely completely fabricated around this time is the act of kissing under mistletoe. Other fads that were ultimately discarded was putting fruitcake under your pillow -- replaced with just eating it at holiday gatherings -- and wearing animal-themed costumes -- which I would argue was just shifted over to our celebration of holidays like Halloween. Even the idea of electing a ‘Lord of Misrule’ -- an aspect of the holiday I always enjoyed as a boy, which was also very popular back in the Elizabethan era -- didn’t last, under the Victorians. But still, these new twists on old traditions -- caroling at people’s doorsteps; hosting parties with friends and family; playing parlor games; exchanging presents; decorating the house with mistletoe, holly, and evergreen trees; eating lots of good food -- would become very fashionable among this new middle class and how they celebrated Christmas. And with the arrival of more Romantic ideals in Europe at the turn of the 19th century, the concept of children being evocative of innocence rather than sin became much more mainstream. This then prompted middle-class parents to want to make the old bawdy Feast of Christmas more family-friendly and to use some of their new wealth to give both themselves and their children some joy during the holiday season.

“Dickens, like many members of the Victorian middle class, loved Christmas and the new fashionable ways it was being celebrated. Considering the man also greatly disdained organized religion, as well, it’s not entirely surprising he enjoyed the secular trappings that encouraged joy and extravagance without making it too focused on the church. But Charles Dickens didn’t just think Christmastime should be a time for the middle class to indulge for themselves. The true inspiration behind his novel A Christmas Carol ultimately ended up being Dickens witnessing the horrific conditions child workers suffered through in the new Victorian factories he saw in England, including the Cornish Tin Mines. He became convinced that something had to be done to combat the poverty and injustice he saw in the streets, and he ultimately thought that a story about Christmas might be a more palatable way to deliver that message to the mass public, including other members of the middle class, than a mere article would. And so Dickens partnered the Victorian fad of indulgence with social activism...which, ironically enough, perfectly adapted another tenant of Christmas back in my day, as well as its progenitor celebration of Saturnalia -- the redistribution of wealth. Whether Dickens realized it at the time or not, he had adapted the core of Christmas for a new generation -- this time, not by the poor having to beg or threaten the rich at their doors for their best food and drink, but by the new middle class and the wealthy being compelled by civic duty to give back to the needy willingly.

“A Christmas Carol was an instant success. Thousands of copies were sold all over England from the moment it first hit shelves on December 19th, 1843, with the entire first run being sold out by Christmas Eve of that year and twelve more editions being published by the end of the following year. It is by far Dickens’s most well-known, read, and beloved novel, and it has only become more popular over time. And yet, in his day, Dickens didn’t enjoy the profits he probably should’ve from A Christmas Carol, after all his efforts. Part of this is because of how much money he invested into the publication of his manuscript. Dickens envisioned his book as something that should be bought and given as a Christmas present, and so spared no expense in making each book a work of art. The books were bound in red cloth, printed on gilt-edged pages, with hand-painted illustrations. All of this took a big chunk out of Dickens’s profits. Another problem, however, was that this expensive binding was the only way the book was published, which made it so that many poorer people who wanted to read this new book written by the great Charles Dickens about the virtue of giving to the poor didn’t have the five shillings needed to buy it. And this is why a lesser publisher ultimately plagiarized the novel, condensing it somewhat and printing it much more cheaply without permission, so as to cash in on those who couldn’t afford the full, official manuscript. Dickens later took that publisher to court for copyright infringement and won, but the whole affair still hurt his profit margin.

“Even so, A Christmas Carol’s legacy is undeniable, and many of the Christmas traditions we love most today -- mere passing fads of Dickens’s era -- were popularized because of this very well-received and circulated little book. Christmas cards and gifts. Games and toys. Caroling. Childhood innocence. Christmas trees. Eating turkey, pies, and warm chestnuts for Christmas dinner. Giving to the poor. Even just the concept of the ‘holiday spirit,’ of ‘good will toward men’ -- of hope and charity, in the midst of the cold and hunger of winter. The ritual of taking time off work specifically just to celebrate at home with your loved ones, rather than go to church or go out drinking in the streets. All of this is what Christmas is all about in the minds and hearts of so many...but it wasn’t, until Charles Dickens wrapped all of these ideas up in a neat little package and gave it to the world, in the form of a manuscript he had to finish in less than six weeks and yet clearly put so much heart and soul into.”

[Bat removes the spent pop from his mouth. He reaches into the inside of his waistcoat, taking a sip of blood from his pewter flask. Then, clearing his throat, he puts the flask down and then reaches into the other side of his waistcoat, out of which he fetches out a very small, leather-bound copy of A Christmas Carol -- a present from someone, no doubt.]

“...And so...to close this out...let me quote one of my personal favorite sections of the novel. It’s a part of the story far less quoted than the infamous ending, but it’s a passage I’ve always found so striking, and one I think similarly embodies the beauty of Dickens’s work...”

[Bat opens his tiny copy of the manuscript and reads:]

“‘A small matter,’ said the Ghost, ‘to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.’

“‘Small!’ echoed Scrooge.

“The Spirit signed to him to listen to the two apprentices, who were pouring out their hearts in praise of Fezziwig: and when he had done so, said,

“‘Why! Is it not? He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four perhaps. Is that so much that he deserves this praise?’

“‘It isn’t that,’ said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter, self. ‘It isn’t that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count ‘em up: what then? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.’”

[Bat looks up from his book with another fanged grin as he takes another sip of blood from his flask.]

“...Happy Christmas to you all.”

((OOC: HAPPY BATMAS!! 🎄🥰 Yes, friends, for all this month and next, Bat had free reign over the Askbox to chat Christmas with you all! Please consider sending in Asks, or of course, just liking/reblogging my entries to this series! It’s truly so much fun to work on, and I’m so thrilled to do some more fun installments to it this year!))

#bat comments on christmas!#bartholomew varney #roleplaying #christmas #a christmas carol #hphl #hogwarts legacy #history #harry potter

16 notes · View notes