#don't hate me ahshshsh

[lulu-the-bugaboo]

I haven't reached the chapters with the Roger Pirates' backstory + Buggy talking about his relationship with Shanks yet, but I've gotten little spoilers here and there and I have some thoughts. This could be very obvious but I just connected the two dots lol.

It seems to be implied that Roger favored Shanks at least slightly more than Buggy and it didn't go unnoticed by him. Like, the fact that Shanks was the one holding the hat already says a lot. It seems like Roger had a lot of expectations for Shanks and his future. And this is also why Buggy was so disappointed in Shanks even temporarily abandoning his main ambitions and why he chose to not continue piracy alongside him. Anyway, that's not the main thing that I want to talk about.

There is this panel of someone asking Roger who he thinks is going to find the one piece to which he answers something like: my son, of course! And the other person mentions that he has no son.

I personally took this at face value and thought this was referring to Ace, and Roger's plan to have a son before dying who would follow his legacy and find his treasure and would also be someone who would be carrying the will of D. But maybe the whole thing with Rouge was a coincidence that happened after Roger disbanded his crew and left. Roger seemed to have loved babies, so maybe he just fell in love with Rouge and chose to have a child with for the sake of his own happiness before he died.

And here is something I noticed and it could be nothing or even a translation thing. But the few times that Roger mentions Ace he never refers to him as his son, but his child. He even chose two names and didn't seem to be favoring one outcome.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, what if this was never referring to Ace and was always about Shanks. Roger basically raised him and Buggy as his sons since they were babies...

If Buggy ends up being the first one who reaches the one piece, this will also end up being ironic.

Am I reaching or was I an idiot for thinking the other way around before asdfghj

[fitzrove]

Shamelessly stolen from seeing it on someone else's blog... Create a fanfic tropes tier list

Here's mine:

Some thoughts under the cut xD

All of these come with the caveat that it has to be well-written, basically. The older I get the less patience I have for stuff that's low-effort or just not to my taste hshhd. However, I see the tiers as something where I can pretty easily be convinced to read fic with tier S tropes, whereas getting me to enjoy a tier D fic would be difficult... Anyway, comments on individual tropes:

pwp - The best kind is where it's unapologetic kinky sex but a somewhat plausible scenario that's deeply in-character (or at least tries to be) >:))

a/b/o - This is a very very mixed bag for me... Contrary to what many people say, I don't actually enjoy plotty longfics (or the idea of reading longfics) talking about the societal aspects/worldbuilding implications of it. Also, the more focus there is on um... animal traits.... the less into it I am HFDHFHHJ. BUT I've sometimes liked the work of mandarin language todolf oneshot fanfic writers on ao3... I have no idea what the fuck is going on half of the time because google translate is imperfect, but those sure are some Fics with Stuff Happening in them xDD my favourite ones are rudolf x stephanie ones though because they're pretty much the only rudolf x stephanie femdom fics out there.........

soulmate au - I know this is super controversial for how it portrays relationships, but I actually find it okay :D When I read them I always interpret it as taking place in a much more deterministic world than our own... and I actually think that pure angst fics about the premise are rather interesting too. But I do think it has to be done quite well to work!

Royalty au - I'm such a whore about historical research so this has the potential to really irritate me xDD And for my current main fandom activities it's redundant... But idk, it's fine I think.

Fluff - This is one I've changed my mind on quite a bit over the years, namely in terms of actually kind of disliking pure fluff nowadays. I really prefer hurt/comfort and other fics where there are some stakes at play, or fics where the "fluff" is actually straight up emotional abuse HSDHDSHDHFSH (it's ok you can say todolf<33). It's just a lot more exciting to have setup + payoff vs pure fluff. I don't really experience the urge to read fluff fic as a response to the original media being emotionally charged/sad, I want fix-it fics to start from the standpoint of that negative emotion and have ups and downs before getting to the happy ending!

Crossover - hate crossovers where characters from multiple unrelated media interact, do sometimes enjoy crossovers where characters from y are in the universe of x (or experience a phenomenon from x). I mean, I've written a tdv au ahshshsh so I can't complain too much xD

Pregnancy fic, baby fic - no. This is a very hard if not impossible sell for me. I've written a longfic where the main characters have kids during it, but I never focused on the pregnancy and baby parts per se. I just don't like it haha

High school au, fairytale au, college au, coffee shop au, amnesia fic - I do NOT understand the appeal of any of these lmao

Humor, crack fic - Has to be done really well to work and most of the time it just doesn't for me ajdjjsjd. Humor is so personal and individual, and a conscious attempt to be funny as the main point of a fic falls flat so easily...... I like witty writing, but crack fic per se doesn't work for me unless it's crack treaten extremely seriously (implausible tropes and scenarios can be fun!! Buuut I do have pretty high standards for suspension of disbelief hshsdjdj. So it needs a lot of work put into it basically)

[margokesses]

Opinion on people comparing comics to their adaptation? I get it when you're trying to see if it's a good adaptation, but often they talk about the two like they're the same when comics have a different logic and way to approach plot, characters and themes than a movie or a series

Is this a callout post for me? Ahshshshe

But yeah i do think that comics do have different things going on in them compared to the movies. And some people need to realize that some things are not going to happen like the do in the comics. One of my pet peeves is when someone sees a comic panel and is like "ooh i wish this could happen in the mcu!!" when they don't realize that certain events have to happen in order to get that scene in the mcu.

And comparing a film or tv show to the comics is fun because you can point out the similarities and differences but they are 2 separate universes with their own rules yknow? I do hate comic purists who are like "well this isn't comic accurate!" Like yeah its not but like there's no way that certain things can happen bc it is a live action thing its not like the comics where you can just throw in a character or an idea just like that.

Send me comics asks

[normal-thoughts-official]

I missed you too! Don't worry for the time, you must be exhausted going in person 0.o

I agree with your Noah explanation, and I also think they wrote Dan to show (?) that it wasn't that it was just easier to kill a traumatised child, like some sort of foil but only in endings (? Maybe I'm giving pb too much credit)

It feels like a very much "I'm the Main Character and Martyr" when you save Noah, like it does feel Really out of nowhere and just fall flat, and I think most people forget mc is traumatised because they're playing and like yes get lost in the game but also remember Mc actually does have a personality (?

ILW?? DEMO?? WHAT???

You: very thoughtfull analysis of Noah and the fandom

Me: endless summer 💕💕 the book I 💕💕 recommended 💕💕 them is on par with the it lives 💕💕

But also yeah, Noah's fan are mostly "white fav" energy

I also tried my best with Michelle, which in the first chapters was a bit painful because I had to say "omg you are gorgeous, you must be his girlfriend" when she bumped into me and yes Michelle is very gorgeous, but I also felt very cringe, like who would actually ever say something like that, but I also had the need for (fictional) people to like so I picked maaany cringe options in general (please let me know how you do it in your true feelings play through, because I physically can't do it, I see the disappointed pixels and just restart)

Lesbian Michelle is such a nice idea!!! Sean was definitely a comhet moment ahshshs, and it just makes so much sense ?

"Unhinged"? LMAO what is are your it lives names??? Or maybe all your playchoices names

Also yeah, I didn't mean like you need to be poc to be a guerrillero or some stereotype (?) like "all poc are guerrilleros" more like historically most were poc and due to discrimination that was like a important part of who they were so it's weird pb just went white (?) but I could have worded it better in the moment so I'm sorry ahshshshs

Diego is just so good, he's just one of the best friendsest in choices

I think the dialogue changes in different lila's playthroughs ?

... I replied separately and I think it's super clear how I had to "patch it" lmao but I hope it's still coherent, also I have a confession to make because it felt weird to say it before ? But like I'm also Chilenon so I'm sorry for talking in two different anons ajsjsjsjjd but also my point of my confession was that I'm currently in Argentina trying to pass an exam so I can study here (pilot wasn't for me lmao) and like watching That Fic gave me whiplash

Love you jajjdjdjd

But like I'm also Chilenon

the most ambitious crossover in history wtf. shaken to my core. unparalleled plot twist

really though there's no need to apologize for anything, it's not weird at all, it just happened lmao all is fine, peace and love on planet earth etc

also im sorry to hear piloting didn't work out (sad face), but i hope things work out in argentina! what are you planning on studying there?

and yeah it has been exhausting, at least i got some time to adjust because it's summer break so no kids at school. on the other hand i hate sitting around at work doing nothing, it drives me absolutely mad even when i have something non-work related to do (which i don't that frequently because the school i work at doesn't have a good phone signal, big F). but hey classes are going to be back soon so that's exciting

"I also think they wrote Dan to show (?) that it wasn't that it was just easier to kill a traumatised child, like some sort of foil but only in endings (? Maybe I'm giving pb too much credit)"

lol i have the same train of thought. like on the one hand yeah, dan is the most obviously mentally ill and traumatized in the gang (they all are). on the other, can i give pb that much credit? on the third hand i don't have, they did a pretty good job with representation in ILITW, so maybe. this was another era in choices and everything. i don't really know if this was intended but i think it at the very least shows that noah sacrificing himself wasn't just the "too lazy to deal with trauma" trope

and yeah there is a fanmade third It Lives book in the way (happy face). it's called It Lives Within and has a blog and everything on @\itlivesproject. and they recently released a demo (the first two chapters, i believe) although i'll have to admit i haven't played it yet. i am very behind on everything i am reading in general, i just finished the WTD chapter from two weeks ago, rip

also i feel you with michelle. that felt like such a cringe and obviously fake response but it was worth it to be her friend. but yeah i'll definitely post the results of my "honesty replay" lol. and i also have a pathological need not only for fictional characters to like me but also to win so you know

i don't know if i can remember all my playchoices names but my favorite names so far were:

Dr. Bus Down With Cis (open heart) (having ethan ramsey yell "down with cis!" through the hospital halls alone made the experience of this book worth it). Bus was the first name, Down With Cis the last name

An Asshole (it lives in the woods)

That Bitch (it lives beneath)

I just farted (nightbound) (not actually one of my faves but it's my gfs fave so it goes). last name was Really loud

Gugu dada (the royal romance) (idk it produces really funny results imo). last name is Poop because i ran out of creativity but i always forget her last name is Poop and whenever drake calls her that i have a religious experience

Jensen's Sexy Silence (laws of attraction. because at the time there was some destiel thing going on i forgot which but they kept calling me Mr. Sexy Silence and it was hilarious)

My Tralala (the haunting of braidwood manor. im five years old)

and i gotta give an honorary mention to my wake the dead colony, which i named The Cringe Zone

and there's more but those are the ones coming to mind rn. i have a list of ideas for future MCs so stay tuned i guess

Also yeah, I didn't mean like you need to be poc to be a guerrillero or some stereotype (?) like "all poc are guerrilleros" more like historically most were poc and due to discrimination that was like a important part of who they were so it's weird pb just went white (?) but I could have worded it better in the moment so I'm sorry ahshshshs

it's okay, there's no need to apologize, i was just confused what you meant

yeah diego is possibly one of my fave ever characters. i just relate so much to him and i love his storyline (happy face). i think getting attached to the characters really makes or breaks whether or not i join a piece of media's fandom and my attachment to diego (and really every character in endless summer) was a huge part of me wanting to write for it and stuff, even if it's just crack lol

ah the dialogue might change. i know that estela kills her if you fail in the hard choice but both times i played so far that hasn't happened, so i'm not sure how stuff played out. and in both replays i got along well with lila, so there's that as well. i'll see what happens in my honest playthrough, but i don't dislike lila much, really, so i think it'll be about the same

also no worries, i not only usually reply separately, but also usually write each part of my response with a lot of time in between (yay to me for answering this one in just a few mins/maybe an hour?). so you're fine lol

[fitzrove]

I noticed your tags on the "bad localisation"-post and now I must know the lore... the Finnish translator of Elisabeth didn't speak German???

Hehe, I'm glad you asked!!

Mind you, this production happened when I was a small child, so all I have is second-hand knowledge from the internet (and an audio recording). Also, I may have exaggerated for comedic effect in my original tags lol, I don't know if he genuinely didn't speak it. However...

The guy who translated the Finnish Elisabeth was a very famous (prolific, if nothing else) theatre director and musical translator, starting his career in the late 60s already with a wildly popular production of Hair. Elisabeth seems to be among the only German-language shows he ever worked on - most of it was translations from English and French. ngl I also sort of hate his musical translations from English LMAO - because of how prolific he was, they still haunt the Finnish musical scene today... One big one he did is Cabaret back in the 90s, and a theatre that put a big fancy production on in 2020 actually redid all of the songs and only kept his dialogue because the translation was so clunky lmao. But I once went to the library to dig up his original lyrics to the title song and omg they suck, I wrote better ones in two minutes because I needed a Finnish version quickly ahshshsh. So already, it's a bit of a bad sign - this man is not a translator by profession or training, he's a director who started out doing it for practical purposes, and has a pretty broad set of languages he works in.

But then again - maybe it wouldn't have been a problem, especially since he had such extensive experience. In fact, Elisabeth was the last translation he ever did before passing away rather shortly after (of old age), so maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on him... However, the fact remains that the translation, just as lyrics, is pretty terrible and nonsensical sjjsjsjd.

My initial comment was actually largely inspired by this blog post by someone who actually saw the prod live (from onenightintheatre on blogspot), quote:

It sounded like the translator hadn't really understood German, because many lines sounded like someone had taken a dictionary, looked up the most important words of the sentence and then written a whole new sentence(-ish) based on those words. An example that remained etched in my mind: ("Eine Kaiserin muss glänzen"; Finnish, the Finnish translation in English, and the original German text) Countess Esterházy: Suunne aukaiskaa! ("Open your mouth!") (Öffnen Sie den Mund!) Sophie: Keltaiset ei olla saa! ("[Teeth] may not be yellow!") (Die sind zu gelb, das darf nicht sein!) Elisabeth: Tammalla saa! ("Mare's [teeth] may!") (Bin ich ein Pferd?) So... Instead of asking why they're treating her like a horse, Elisabeth thinks she is a horse and can therefore have yellow teeth? Oddly, "Bellaria" was significantly better translated than rest of the musical and actually sounded beautiful and made sense. There were also factual errors, like Rudolf complaining to Elisabeth that he must get married, when at that point of the story he had, in fact, been married for several years. The translator passed away half a year after the derniere, though, so maybe he wasn't at his best anymore when he did the translation.

As for me, I don't know the Finnish translation by heart, but some of my favourite songs (well, mostly Schatten 2) which I do know by heart also had the ball dropped on them... in that song, Rudolf complains that the court is wasting money on parties (woah good job working in the "dancing around the golden calf" metaphor, I'm sure the original author didn't mean it metaphorically to go with the pied piper thing, he meant literal dancing - though I guess this is accidentally accurate to irl rudolf and his ranty pamphlet on the idle nobility xD) and it's just quite clunky and repetitive overall without getting the main point across too well. Which is such a pity! I mean, translations are hard, but Kunze's work has since been translated into Finnish well, with the references and thematic messages intact, it's not impossible. So in a way, I think this one is a case of someone well-established in the industry getting the job because he happened to be there and have an extensive track record, not because he actually had the skills to make the best possible translation...

Ahsdhsfhfs so yeah. There's no proof that he didn't speak German, but it's my personal theory. Also, according to a few sources, Kunze himself hated this translation......