#even if the scene WAS happening more slowly in real time also. people very commonly have freeze responses in life-threatening or traumatic

[zukosdualdao]

i know people are (generally) joking when they say it but i do kind of hate the whole “katara could have just moved out of the way when azula shot lightning at her in the final agni kai” argument because it, whether intentionally or not, dismisses the emotional weight of the scene?

like, in case people have forgotten: lightning is fast. the scene dwindles into slow motion for dramatic effect, but that doesn’t mean that’s how it’s actually happening. the emphasis is on zuko realizing what azula is doing JUST in the nick of time (something all characters struggle to do, but he, in particular, has struggled not to fall for azula’s past manipulations) and moving more quickly than lightning to take the hit instead of katara. the emphasis is on the fact that despite zuko, in the past, struggling to figure out what was right or wrong, here he didn’t hesitate for one second. there was no chance of that lightning ever reaching katara as soon as zuko understood what was happening and that matters!!

(i also hate it because in the slightly less-jokey crowd, it seems like a tacit implication that katara and/or zuko is stupid for not realizing she could just move out of the way when that’s not the point!)

[mybg3notebook]

Gale: Hypothesis and Analogies – Part 1

Here, I compile several hypotheses that are pretty common to find around, expressing my opinion on them and showing what EA has given us so far to justify them or not. 

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in June 2021.

Disclaimer about interpretations of Real Life concepts: I’m not a fan of bringing real life issues into plain analogies/allegories in a game which intention in doing so was not made explicit, but the fandom seems to like this aspect and therefore I would like to share those opinions here as well since some seems reasonable despite not being of my taste. This topic may be sensitive for some people. Be aware of it.

Hypothesis: Gale was groomed

Concept

Grooming is building a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child or young person (and sometimes their family as well) to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. Grooming allows offenders to slowly overcome natural boundaries long before sexual abuse occurs. On the surface, grooming a child can look like a close relationship between the offending adult, the targeted child and (potentially) the child’s caregivers. The grooming process is often misleading because the offender may be well-known or highly regarded in the community. As a result, it’s easy to trust them. Although grooming is more common among children, it may happen with adults too, especially in work environments.

Stages: First, perpetrators may target and exploit a child’s perceived vulnerabilities: emotional neediness, isolation, neglect, a chaotic home life, or lack of parental oversight, etc. They work to gain the trust of parents/caregivers to lower suspicion.

Once the perpetrator begins to fill the child's needs, they may assume a more important role in the child's life. Perpetrators utilize tactics such as gift giving, flattery, gifting money, and meeting other basic needs. Tactics may also include increased attention and affection towards the targeted child. The perpetrator uses isolation tactics to reinforce their relationship with the child by creating situations in which they are alone together or by cultivating a sense that they love and understand the child in a way that others, even their parents, cannot. 

Once emotional dependence and trust have been built, the perpetrator progressively sexualizes the relationship. When sexual abuse is occurring, perpetrators commonly use emotional manipulation; they make the child believe they are the only person who can meet their emotional and material needs. The child may feel that the loss of the relationship, or the consequences of exposing it, will be more damaging and humiliating than continuing the unhealthy relationship. 

Behavioural consequence

The consequences on victims of grooming tend to be very different depending on the victim's age, personality, and psychology, but some broad leftover traits or behaviours can be summarised as:

They are too eager to please and have a great avoidance of angering others.

Big desire for privacy: they know others will not understand what they lived.

The victim becomes withdrawn, or they may seem troubled by something but unwilling to talk about it. Alternatively, their emotions might become more volatile.

They tend to be unaware of the abuse for a long while even after the relationship ended. 

If they are aware, they tend to display shame and embarrassment for what happened.

They can suffer abandonment issues depending on the way this relationship ended. 

They tend to develop difficulties to maintain relationships.

This situation tends to be particularly invisible or dismissed for men and boys due to social norms about masculinity.

Inside the context of BG3

First, it's important to estimate Gale's age. More or less the fandom agrees he is currently (1492DR) in his early 30s. Mystra returned in 1479DR (read the post about "Mystra and her Chosen ones" for details), so Mystra may have lured Gale into serving her as Chosen when he was around 17 years old (this depends on every player’s perception of Gale’s age)

This gives us a good estimation of the context: When Mystra returned thanks to Elminster—who gave her most of his Silver Fire—she immediately started to strengthen her network of Chosen ones and to work on repairing the Weave to its original state. Due to this unique context, Gale may have been observed by Mystra as a precious asset: a very young wizard who could not only control the Weave but compose it: a great skill to repair a still weak Weave. Furthermore, in the novel Dead Masks (1491DR), it is stated that the best way to cast a spell with a weakened Weave is to "twist" it instead of using it for tapping into the Raw Magic. In this book it is not clear if this is a skill that only Chosen ones have, but it has a strong similarity with Gale's skills.

Although we don't know much about Gale's childhood, if he was neglected or not as a child to be more easily lured by the Goddess, we can agree that it's most likely that Mystra has been watching him as a potential candidate since a child. Gale explicitly says: "I’ve been in touch with the Weave for as long as I can remember". And as far as Forgotten Realms lore goes, Weave and Mystra are the same. We also know that this is a common behaviour of Mystra who has been watching precocious, skilful wizards before choosing them for her goals: for example, Midnight. 

When Gale reached an age that could be considered a "(very) young man", she seduced him, using his passion and love for Magic to lure him. She offered him a deep connection with her and with the Weave: with Magic itself. After seeing Gale's passion for magic, it is understandable that he—as a teenager or a young man—must have been dazzled by her and her proposal. We know that, in the novel Elminster: a mage in the making, she offered to Elminster exactly what he wanted the most: power to make his revenge possible . By the end of the encounter, Elminster became “charmed” by her despite hating her throughout all his life, turning into her devotee. This situation can be interpreted as another example of how Mystra works: she seems to lure her potential Chosen with the promise of giving them what they are most passionate about.

Once Mystra slept with her Chosen, and imbued her divine essence on them, she left them to their own devices, making them wait for her commands. In Elminster’s and Sammaster ‘s case, both were put under tests, being forced—by their own drive to please the Goddess—to develop more magic and personal skills to serve her. In the process, both developed an obsession for her. Elminster's seems to be less self-destructive than Sammaster's, but the latter could be understandable since he always suffered from madness. My point is, the pattern continues with Gale: driven by this obsession of wanting Mystra close, to please her, Gale tried to control an ancient magic, and failed, being abandoned by Mystra due to this mistake.

Gale, according to this interpretation as a victim of grooming, is still stuck in the process: he wants to please Mystra, wants to right his wrongs, even though in some scenes he seems to have been over her, in others he still seems to be very attached to her (it's hard to know which is the most accurate since it's EA and Gale was rushed), he keeps all this trouble in private because he knows nobody will understand.

Unlike an adult who realised he was victim of grooming, Gale seems to be still not over that relationship, showing many of the behavioural consequences: 

Gale is a person who is always eager to please and avoid confrontations. If there is no choice he will use violent means, but he will always push for diplomatic approaches [1,2]. This trait seems to favour this interpretation.

He has a strong sense of privacy to the point that he is considered "shady". A lot of that desire for privacy may come from the fact that he knows no one will understand the unique relationship he had with a bigger entity. This can be seen by choosing the meanest options during the Weave and the Loss. Despite his many troubles, he remains secretive, acknowledging that "some things can't be spoken". 

He is completely unaware of having been a victim of such power imbalance. He doesn't see abuse in it, and he is not performative about this fact, since he is very private on the topic until very late in game.

Nobody can deny his abandonment issues (which are even explicitly pointed out in the dev's notes) [20]

We can infer, by all the information given, that Mystra has been his first (and presumably only) relationship so far, giving a possible hint that he may have decided not to enter another relationship again or may have felt apprehensive about it (even though I personally think this impediment is mainly caused by the “orb”).

I don't completely subscribe to this interpretation because I don’t think Mystra’s main goal has been sexual abuse, but the creation of servants and devotees that allow her to expand her power. To do so, she uses sex as part of the “ritual” that transforms certain mortals into Chosen Ones. The way in which this is indirectly explained in the novels makes me remember the concept of Zeus and his abuse of mortals: he spreads part of his divinity in the form of demi-god offspring. In Mystra’s case, she seems to leave part of her divinity in the Chosen one that slept with her: the “seed” of semi-divinity. 

However, it’s not clear if sleeping with her Chosen ones is a procedure she always does. Her daughters may have inherited her divinity when she conceived them while possessing a mortal body, but other female Chosen Ones seemed to be out of this process. Ed Greedwood also has a constant discourse in his novels where he explains that magic is “better” understood or much easily wielded by females because “they are connected to their emotions” and another stereotype of this kind. What seems to be clear is that Forgotten Realm lore hides as much as possible its queerness, and when it comes to Mystra, this habit of sleeping with her Chosen seems to apply (or at least make it more explicit) only to male mortals. So in short, her main goal was to catch another useful mortal to her group of Chosen Ones, and to do so, she lured Gale with all what she could offer. I also believe gods are gods, and they are immensely overpowered and entitled to do whatever they want in this fantasy world. They don't follow mortal rules, so they may have little scruples to do anything they see necessary to achieve their own goals, no matter if the consequences of their actions affect children, teenagers, or adults. 

Mystra in particular has been a very neutral goddess (due to her many rebirths), not particularly cruel as an evil deity could be, but not completely selfless either: she has conceived her daughters using a mortal vessel who previously gave her consent but without knowing the consequences of giving birth each year for a decade while containing a goddess inside. Mystra also profited off of Sammaster's madness (some Harpers who wrote Sammaster’s reports suspect she could have been able to cure him): she may have actively decided not to in order to let his genius madness increase her realm of power/magic. Therefore, Mystra may have had little scruples to use a very young Gale enamoured with magic to turn him into another Chosen whose skills could fix the Weave given the context that it had been severely weakened after the Spellplague. So the grooming is not completely misplaced in my opinion.

Gale's Chosen selection process is not different to what we can read in the book of the Cult of the Dragon, where Sammaster became obsessed with Mystra after sleeping with her and developed metamagic as a consequence to impress her. Or in the novel Elminster, the making of a mage, where Elmister originally despised Mystra and every magic user. However, after being in her presence, he fell for her charm, and never could get over his "love" for her, suffering a lot of painful circumstances to just be a "good devotee" and serve her.

Mystra is written in most novels as the living allegory of the beautiful "mean" woman who will always ask for more from her poor captivated men, but she will never be completely satisfied, no matter how much they sacrifice. She acknowledges the effort, but she is always asking for more. Only with Elminster she actively tried to save him from the Hells, showing, for a change, that her Chosen can be a bit more than mere pawns in the big game of divine power. However, it's important to highlight that the last rebirth of Mystra has changed her: in the novel Dead Masks some of the Seven Sisters explicitly say that Mystra has turned paranoid, asking each of her Chosen to do missions that the others cannot know. She has become more secretive and cryptic than ever. 

Mystra's actions seem to have worse connotation if we think that she can have visions of the future, as she had when she decided that Sammaster had to be her Chosen: she had foresaw the death of another Chosen and she wanted him to fill that vacuum before the event happened. So she may have foreseen Gale’s actions in his naive way to impress her. Maybe she wanted him to do it, so she could have a new piece of magic in her realm. But this is mere speculation, we will need the full release of the game to have the answer.

As I explained, despite not being a fan of it, the interpretation of grooming is not a bad one. It fits mostly if it's applied to a teenage boy, and probably it would have been taken a bit more seriously and less prone to jokes inside the fandom if Gale were a female character and Mystra a male God. 

Hypothesis: Gale has abandonment Issues

Concept

Abandonment issues arise when an individual has a strong fear of losing loved ones. A fear of abandonment is a form of anxiety. It often begins in childhood when a child experiences a traumatic loss. Children who go through this experience may then begin to fear losing other important people in their lives. Some individuals continue to fear abandonment as they grow older. Although it is less common, abandonment issues can also sometimes begin in adulthood. 

The loss often stems from a trauma, such as a death or divorce. Emotional abandonment, where a parent or caregiver is physically present but emotionally absent, may also give rise to abandonment issues later in life. It is not clear what makes one person develop this fear, since not all humans who have experienced similar losses do it. Trauma — potentially from abuse or poverty — may play a role, as may the level of emotional support that a person receives following a loss. These issues can have a significant effect on a person’s life and relationships because they fear that the other person will leave them at any moment. 

Behavioural signs/consequences

Being overly eager to please ( a “people pleaser”) 

Pushing others away to avoid rejection

Jealousy of the partner or the others when in a relationship.

Trouble trusting their partner's intentions.

Feeling insecure about their relationships.

Codependency

Need for continuous reassurance that others love them and will stay with them

Persisting in unhealthy relationships

Inability to maintain relationships: or moving quickly from one relationship to another or sabotaging them

Inside the context of BG3

I'm not going to explain this in great detail since it's spread in most of the posts I’ve done about Gale's analysis. What it's clear is that Gale has a constant fear for abandonment once he starts caring for Tav as a friend or/and lover, and this fear makes him prone to do things of poor taste. This fear seems to make him look for acceptance that only through a night of intimacy can give him. This information is apparently in the book he read, making us guess that his experience with relationships is rather poor if nonexistent. Dev's notes also reinforce the idea that Gale fears abandonment:

Gale: It is my truth, finally revealed. It is this folly that led Mystra to abandon me completely. I can only hope you won’t abandon me as well. After all we’ve been through. After the night we spent together. Surely we can brave even this side by side Dev's note: Solemn. Full of yearning, his news will not lead to him being abandoned by the player. 

Gale: Loyalty is such a… such a very rare commodity. Dev's note: The reference to loyalty foreshadows Mystra leaving him. 

So far in EA, we can see that Gale checks some behavioural consequences of this fear: he is always eager to please, approaching Tav with courtesy and jovial manners, only displaying his most acidic side to a Tav whose actions are evil. In that case, Gale cares little if Tav leaves him. With the Loss scene we can see that it is hard for him to give his trust to others, pushing them away because they would not understand the grave mistake he made. His trust demands constant progression from the Stew scene, to the Weave, to the Loss scene. If he is romanced, he asks several times if Tav is thinking of the Weave moment. When Tav asks him this question, Gale will deflect, always asking back to have Tav’s answer first before giving his: it could be interpreted as Gale looking for constant reassurance in the blooming relationship. 

However, in my opinion, the best situation that shows his abandonment issues is during our meeting with Gandrel. Gale disapproves of handing over Astarion, by telling Tav about an anecdote of a dog turning old and mean: how his friend got rid of the animal just because it was an inconvenience. This is very curious since Gale's mistrust for Astarion is not a secret: he stated many times that Astarion is a danger to the group, and his wickedness causes him to strongly dislike him. The reason for this is quite obvious if we see both lists of approvals: mostly what one approves the other disapproves. Despite all this, Gale strongly judges Tav for handing Astarion over, and his disapproval for doing it shows that Gale is not lying on the matter: the meta-knowledge is trustworthy information. 

This can be understood better when Tav defends Astarion against Gandrel: Gale approves twice of defending him. If Astarion is not in the group when meeting the monster hunter, the first approval happens when Tav recognises that Astarion is part of their companions/friends (therefore, Tav is showing care for their group). The second approval happens when Tav reinforces their loyalty to Astarion insisting that they won’t give his location (this is a clear display of loyalty that Gale acknowledges as rare. See the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 2", section: "Proposition to Cheat" for more details). Although Gale will explicitly question this decision, he secretly approved it (the approvals we saw are meta-knowledge: only the player sees them). Considering the undeniable context that Gale deeply dislikes Astarion, we may interpret this as Gale seeing in Tav a loyal person who will not abandon someone they care for, even if that person endangers them. Loyalty is something that resounds deeply in Gale due to his abandonment issues. 

 Another detail on this matter can be seen during the party. If Tav arranges spending the night with a companion and then asks (non-romanced) Gale the same, he will answer:

Gale: You are all too quick to abandon the one you promised yourself to. It’s not a quality I admire.

This line shows that first, Gale is not interested in casual sex; he needs the connection that the Weave provides and Tav’s explicit, previous romantic interest in it. Second, when Gale is romanced but Tav sleeps with someone else, Gale will not interfere in that affair, but he may not like it (due to his, I suppose, jealous comment since he doesn’t display an approval penalty for this). However, he seems to equate loyalty with commitment, understanding that affair as a fling but believing he still holds the romantic interest of Tav, hence his proposition the next day. More details in the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 2", section: "Proposition to Cheat".

---------

Sources for both parts:

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( 5V)

Some concepts were summarised from: https://melcrowecounsellor.com www.d2l.org/child-grooming-signs-behavior-awareness/

This post was written in June 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

[lady-literature]

I rewrite Sky High

okay so, disclaimer: sky high was actually pretty damn good for it’s time and a lot of the plot twists/tropes used in it were still just starting out and not as commonplace as they are today. so 10/10 really good movie.

Also as i was writing this, it turned into half analysis of what’s already in the movie and half things I would change about the movie so,,, yeah. enjoy!

***

So the point about Sky High is that and the way the school and hero society as a whole works, is that you, as the audience, are supposed to look at it and know that it’s a flawed system. We’re supposed to see it as an injustice that kids are sorted into hero or sidekick- Sorry, I mean ‘Hero Support,’ on your first day of school based on something you can’t even control.

(This movie was my hero academia-ing it up before it was cool.)

Anyway, the movie calls a lot of attention to it in the beginning, but then doesn't actually give it the resolution it deserves in the end. Which, not cool guys.

The Hero/Sidekick debacle is, on the whole, a very thinly veiled metaphor for the problems minorities face. Specifically, those of the alphabet mafia, or LGBTQ, as we’re more commonly known.

There are a lot of examples for this so I’ll speed through the big ones real quick:

Will’s nerves regarding not having attraction to girls superpowers?

The way he tries to fake having an attraction to girls superpowers to get approval from his dad?

Being literally outed in front of his whole class (by someone named Boomer no less) and then immediately trying to hide it from his parents as long as possible?

The constant references to being a ‘late bloomer’. Doesn’t it remind you of the common phrases: ‘it’s just a phase’ or ‘don’t worry. You’ll start liking [opposite gender] eventually.’ ?

The scene in the kitchen, right after Will introduces the Sidekick Squad (and yes, that is what I’ll be referring to them as for the rest of this essay tumblr post). Will is so obviously trying to gauge how his dad is going to take his friends being sidekicks and also him being a sidekick. I just, this is so blatantly a coming out scene? How does anybody not see it as that?

(also the dad talking so offhandedly about bigotry and the hatred his own father had for sidekicks??? Who else has been there?)

Will telling his dad that he doesn’t care, that he’s proud of being gay to be a sidekick is just,,, *chef’s kiss*

With all of this backing behind Will and him growing into not being ashamed of his lack of powers, My first change would be that Will does not, in fact receive his father’s super strength. It’s just such a cop out! The movie had all this amazing build up, and this brilliant metaphor it could have used and, instead, they threw it all away.

The sudden acquisition of powers and immediate acceptance by his peers, feels too close to someone being ‘fixed’. That Will wasn’t good enough the way he was and had to be better, had to be his father in order to be good enough.

So, no. Will remains powerless.

Instead of the revelation of ‘he’s strong’, we get to let the Sidekick Squad shine.

Lash and Speed still cause a fight between Warren and Will, but when Will is under the table, the sidekicks actually do something.

Will knocks the table over (not, like, lifting Warren up but something closer to pushing him off. I mean, even I could push upwards from underneath a table fast enough that if someone is standing on it, they’d lose their balance and fall to the ground) and that starts things.

The Sidekick Squad all grab forgotten lunch trays or cartons of milk or something and throw it at Warren. It isn’t long then that the whole scene devolves into a food fight (Zach, at least, does not have good aim and probably hits a bystander accidentally, drawing more people in, until the whole cafeteria is involved.) The fight turns into something more playful, but still with that bit of an undertone of trying to actually hurt each other.

Ethan melts at one point and (accidentally) causes Warren to slip and land on his back, Magenta probably punches someone (not Warren) and Zach is just mouthing off to anybody who gets close enough. Near the end, right before Principal Powers shows up, Layla finally gets the right idea and just fire extinguishes the shit out of Warren.

(Side note here: I am very much also nixing the Layla crushes on Will plotline. I love best friends to lovers just as much as the next person but… no. Let kids see boy/girl friendships! 

Instead, I will be inserting a Layla/Warren love story and you can consider this the first scene on the road for that.)

Anyway, the whole Sidekick Squad plus Warren ends up in the detention room and all of them are covered in food. Right after Principal Powers leaves, the Sidekick Squad is immediately talking excitedly to each other about how cool they just were and what they did. Basically it’s very wholesome and they’re all hyping each other up and then one of them, Layla or Will, excitedly turns to Warren and goes, ‘and that thing you did with the fireballs? God! I don’t think Lash is going to have any eyebrows for a month’ and the tension between them all but drops.

Warren, of course, tries to push them away and not get involved with their ridiculousness, but the Sidekick Squad is stubborn and by the end of detention, everyone but Warren is in agreement that he’s a part of the Squad now. They will not leave him alone. They also start hanging out at the Paper Lantern all the time just to annoy/make fun of him in that loving way friends do.

(I just want Warren to be a part of the Squad guys. Will calls him his best friend at the end but what did the movie actually do to show they were friends? Nothing, that’s what. I want that fixed.)

So the cafeteria fight boosts the whole Squad’s reputation, right? People think those sidekicks are pretty cool, and they get their fifteen minutes of fame. Only… Will gets a little hooked on the feeling of being popular. He doesn’t want to be a capital-h Hero or anything! But, well… he’d be lying if he didn’t like people thinking he was cool.

The others don’t really care all that much about being cool, but Will does. He hates that he does but what is he supposed to do? He can’t change how he feels. So he starts trying to make himself more popular and sometimes tries dragging his friends into stupid schemes.

And then enter stage right, one Gwen Grayson.

I prefer Gwen being Royal Pain’s daughter, actually. A girl who would’ve had no stock in this fight but her mother, who is sickly and weak and survives mostly because her daughter takes care of her, practically brainwashes Gwen to do her bidding.

Gwen is a minion here, and also, perhaps, a victim.

At first, she follows her mom’s orders and charms Will into dating her. She also feeds into his desire to gain popularity but can’t, in this world, break him from his friends. Actually, Will brings Gwen along to the Sidekick Squad hangouts and, slowly, she becomes a part of the group too.

She starts to doubt her mother. Starts to care for Will and the Squad.

She throws the party, and the Squad is all invited (trying to break them up isn’t conducive to the Plan her mother has anyway and wouldn’t work besides) but she lures Will away to make out and… other things, and he brings her to the Sanctum for privacy just like before. She still steals the pacifier (or whatever death ray equivalent you want idk) but she and Will don’t break up at the end of the night.

It’s not actually until two days later, right before the dance is going to start, does Gwen decide she can’t stand back and let this happen anymore. She spills the whole plot and her betrayal to Will when he comes to pick her up for the dance. She’s crying and apologizing and basically expecting to be hated forever by the only people she thinks ever actually liked her.

And, well. Will is furious at her for lying but there’s more important things to deal with at the moment. They’ll talk more about this and he’ll be angry, but that’s all going to be later. Right now they have a school to save so he grabs her hand and starts running to warn the rest of their friends.

Things happen mostly as canon from that point with minor changes.

It’s Warren who pulls Layla into a kiss before they all split off into groups, telling her to kick ass and stay safe before sprinting off after Speed. There have been scenes throughout the movie where the two are very obviously getting closer and are into each other. And then, before the dance, while Gwen and Will we’re technically going as a couple, the whole Squad was going as a group.

When Warren and Layla saw each other all dolled up, it’s very cliché. Warren says she looks nice and Layla visibly gulps at his outfit of a button down and suit pants, sleeves rolled up to his elbows (because homeboy does not wear a full tux you can fight me on this).

And also, Will doesn’t fight Royal Pain by himself. Instead, Gwen is there with him and they don’t fight with super strength. Gwen’s been helping Will build an arsenal of gadgets a la Batman and the two face off against her mom together, Gwen with her powers, and Will acting as half support and half as a watered-down Batman who still needs some more training before he’s totally polished.

The school falls from the sky, but Gwen buys them time by keeping the anti gravs working through sheer force of will, while Will holds off her mom from attacking her while she’s vulnerable and concentrating. Magenta eventually kills the EMP or whatever it was, and the day is saved.

Gwen passes out, cause ~drama~ but she ends up okay so don’t worry. She’s just exhausted. 

The sidekicks get their recognition and then immediately bounce because dances suck and they all agree that they should go to the Paper Lantern instead to celebrate cause they’re tired, alright? Saving the day is hard.

So it’s all of them, a little battered and bruised and exhausted, crowded into this corner booth and laughing and being kids. The camera does it’s fade to comic book page thing, and the narration is something more along the lines of:

“Royal Pain and her cronies got locked away. Gwen and I talked things out, and she’s getting help for all the stuff her mom did to her. We’re taking things slow in the meantime.

The school is undergoing a lot of changes to the curriculum and getting rid of the whole ‘hero/sidekick’ divisions. (Mostly at the urging of my parents… and Layla). Next year is going to look a lot different, I think.

But it’ll be a good different, just like we are. None of us were what we were expected to be, and, I think, we’re going to keep defying expectations. There’s a whole world out there that needs changing.

And I can’t think of a better group of friends to do it with.”

THE END

(just give me found family saves the day by being themselves rather than somebody else, give me them saving the day because they care about each other, give me them fighting for what’s right and fixing things. please i am b e g g i n g.)

***

Additional nitpicks that are small but Very Important to Me

Coach Boomer is still called coach Boomer because there is no way I am missing out on the ‘okay, boomer’ jokes

Layla stays like Layla, but i’d like for the movie to stop trying to make her seem annoying for her beliefs or like she’s wrong to be so vocal about them. Her caring about things that are wrong ends up as the butt of too many jokes and i… do not like that.

Why so many dad/son scenes? Why this janky imbalance parenting dynamic between the Strongholds. Knock that shit off. I want happy functional family thank you very much

Mr Boy and the mad scientist are very obviously in a relationship

Wait, actually: mr boy, mad scientist and Boomer are al in a poly relationship and are ridiculous about it

I’d like to see more of the sidekick classes going over like, ‘the boring’ parts of the job, and teaching the kids how to deal with the aftermath of the heroes heroics, just to hammer in the fact that the system is fucked up and that it’s messed up that the heroes get all the recognition while the sidekicks are left to clean up the mess

Use actual 14 year old actors? These kids look like seniors.

Or, if you want more ‘mature’ characters make it so sky high is like,,, a finishing school or smth. Something kids 16 and over go to.

(What the fuck kind of parent thinks that their freshman child dating a senior is a good idea?? An almost adult coming onto a fourteen year old??? Are you trying to make Will’s parents (particularly the dad) seem like irresponsible assholes??)

Gwen is, at most, a year above Will in this rewrite, kay?

[otterskin]

Pet Peeves in Thor Stuff

Inspired by a few posts doing this, so thought I’d vent and get it out here.

1. MCU Loki’s Name

I don’t care what the fan-run wikis say. All the official MCU material, including the text of the actual movies themselves, call him Loki Odinson or, for a brief period, Loki of Asgard. Loki Laufeyson is the name of a character from Marvel comics, and him having that name makes sense for that character’s backstory, which is very, very different from ‘adopted at birth and a late discovery’ MCU Loki. Incidentally, Norse Mythology Loki is not Loki Laufeyson, he’s Loki Laufeyjarson, which is a matronym because Laufey is his mother in most Norse Myths.

Loki in Thor 1 was Loki Odinson, Avengers was Loki of Asgard, and he certainly seemed fond of Odin again in Ragnarok and officially reclaimed the title Odinson in IW. He’s called Odinson over and over again in official Marvel publications such as the illustrated dictionary. Please stop using the wrong name. It’s weird and wrong to assume his name MUST default to his birth-father’s upon discovery of adoption, no matter what he’d been called his whole life. Especially when I think it’s pretty clear that Loki vehemently rejects any relationship with that namesake. He literally murdered Laufey to prove to Odin he had only one father, I don’t know how he could be more clear about his preferences.

And yes, I do think that this invalidates the fan-wikis as good sources of information. If they can’t get a name right, you probably shouldn’t trust anything in the article below it. Stick with canon publications.

2. The Transformation Spell

And heck, while we’re on this page, yes, the spell keeping Loki Asgardian is Odin’s. I don’t mind fanfic that posits a different origin, because hey, we’re just trying to have fun here, do what you want and I’ve probably read a lot of it already - but this is the canon explanation, please stop messaging me to tell me I’m wrong when I say it’s Odin’s spell doing it. Also, the reason it didn’t break when Odin died is because magic can outlive the caster, as Doctor Strange said. This ain’t the Phantom Menace.

(Incidentally, this dictionary is fun and even has entries for Huginn and Muninn!)

3. Step-brothers and Half-brothers are different things and neither is correct for Thor and Loki’s relationship. Nor is Odin Loki’s step-father.

I don’t see this in the Thor Fandom much, it’s more in articles and reviews I’ve read, but it’s kinda appalling how people don’t know the difference between brothers, step-brothers, half-brothers, and blood-brothers. Not being sure who your second cousin twice removed is I get, but I would hope that these are much more commonly understood. Just to get it off my chest, even though I’m sure no-one reading has ever thought different -

Step-brothers are when two unrelated families are joined by marriage. The children share no biological parents, but their parents are married. Unless Odin married Laufey at some point, he is not Loki’s step-father, and Thor is not Loki’s step-brother. (I mean, Odin’s had a long and probably very interesting and mysterious life, so I suppose it’s POSSIBLE he had a real bender at one point, but even if he had a Vegas wedding to the King of the Frost Giants and then decided to throw away the ring as if nothing had happened, the relationship he has with Loki has always been identified as ‘Father’).

Half-brothers are when children share one biological parent, but not two. So unless that bender with Laufey got REALLY crazy, Loki is not Thor’s half-brother either.

Blood-brothers - So some people will use this phrase to refer to people who are related by blood, but that’s sort of an older phrase. However, for most elementary school kids and in the context of Norse Mythology, it has another meaning - two people, unrelated by birth, who undergo a ceremony that involves blood mixing as an oath of brotherhood. Norse-Myth Loki is usually depicted as blood-brothers with Odin (and, in a few rare stories I read, with Thor, instead, but that’s a long story about how Thor was slowly starting to replace Odin as chief patriarch and therefore subsuming a lot of his traits and relationships). However, in the MCU, neither of these meanings currently applies to Thor and Loki. They are not blood related, and they’ve not undergone any blood oath ceremony either (although you can bet your briskets I’d LOVE to see that and it’s been in my general prediction box/wish-list since 2011. Imagine how happy it’d make us to see Thor and Loki choose to have their relationship, rather than feeling like it was Odin’s decision and they’re just living with it.).

Brothers - if in doubt about any brotherly relationship, just say this and you won’t be wrong. Thor and Loki are brothers, or adopted brothers, full stop. So no more step-half-blood nonsense.

And to be clear, if you’re writing fanfic that re-imagines this relationship, this is in no way directed at you. I’m more venting at the dearth of articles, presumably written by university graduates with an English degree, who can’t seem to keep this straight.

4. Brother is a Proper Noun

While I’m on this brother train, a small grammatical note - ‘Father’, ‘Mother’, and ‘Brother’, if being used in place of a name, are proper nouns, which means they’re capitalized.

Ex. “Stop smearing your booger on my shirt, Brother.”

It’s not capitalized if it’s not being used in place of a name, but is simply referring to the noun.

Ex. 2 “My brother once ate a whole goat without noticing it was still alive.”

Ex. 3 “I never knew we had a sister.”

Sorry, sorry - but I see this mistake a lot while I’m reading and I daresay I make it myself all the time!

5. Frigga isn’t perfect

Real talk, one of my least favourite tropes in fiction is ‘Woman on a Pedestal’. I really feel it denies female characters agency if they’re made out to be perfect lovely angels loved by everyone. I’ve read a ton of great fics that explore the flaws Frigga is suggested to have in the MCU but never got the screen time to deal with, and they are some of my favourites. I’ve also read a ton where she’s endlessly patient, wise, righteous, and oh-so-much-better than that heartless Odin or oaf Thor, if only she’d been in charge the whole time, nothing would have gone wrong! It’s a matter of taste and I’d never tell anyone to not write what makes them happy, but I really do think Frigga’s a better character when you engage with her mistakes and oversights and less-than-noble aspects. Women in the MCU have really gotten a short shaft when it comes to character arcs, flaws, and general humanity. Almost all the mothers are on pedestals in it, and with that comes a lack of introspection. Frigga could be argued to be in that category, but at least there is some material to suggest her imperfections that can be exploited. (Unlike Quill and Stark’s mothers, say.)

I leave it up to everyone to interpret the character for themselves, but for me her weaknesses are that she

tends to deflect blame for her choices onto others, particularly Odin.

sometimes acts to smooth things over without really acknowledging hurt, either caused or experienced.

has a manipulative streak and isn’t afraid to leverage her sons’ affection for her to get them to do what she wants, which is often ‘smoothing things over’.

probably spoiled her kids a bit

has an allergy to giant knives

Personally I like these things about her. They come from her life as a peace-maker, both in her role as a politician and a Queen and in her role in the family. She’s loyal, clever, witty, a confidant, and had the best scene in Endgame by a long mile. Frigga is the mom we’ve seen the most of, and I would love to see more in any form.

AH.... that felt good. I might do another post on my problems with how Thor is sometimes portrayed, but that’s a whole other, very personal, thing. Thanks for reading this dumb thing.

[spellboundmayfield]

For the character ask, Jonathan Byers!

Why I like them Jonathan is very introverted, he’s a wallflower, he actively distances himself from the crowd yet he isn’t out of touch, he’s observant and self aware. He’s a rock for his family, the way he took care of Joyce upon Will’s disappearance even when her sanity was tested and building Castle Byers in the pouring rain the night Lonnie left. He has to be yet I’ve never heard him dwell upon his sacrifices. 

Why I don’t Jonathan doesn’t hesitate to voice his commentary even if it may be an inappropriate time to do so, potentially purposefully, serving himself and his peers a constant reminder that he’s different from everyone else. The photos he took of Nancy were wrong, it raises many questions not regarding what kind of character Jonathan is because it’s established he’s a good kid, I just don’t understand how he could so offhandedly snap the shot. As far as his argument with Nancy, he's right, Nancy is privileged and has tunnel vision but he's also harsh and dismissive of her valid struggles.

Favorite episode (scene if movie) Chapter Four: The Body because on one hand you have Joyce storming out of the morgue convinced that the body she saw wasn't her son's then Jonathan’s left struggling to plan Will’s funeral.

Favorite season Season 1

Favorite line "You're going to be home by eight, listening to The Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something.""That sounds like a nice night," definitely resonates with my own outlook and attitude but on a more serious note “Sometimes, people don't really say what they're really thinking. When you capture the right moment, it says more.”

Favorite outfit

OTP I casually enjoy Jancy, especially throughout s1-s2 watching their familiarity with each other developed and slowly but surely seeing Jonathan come out of is shell. The relationship definitely felt well earned. I don’t believe I’ve expressed much enthusiasm for Jonathan and Nancy’s relationship because I can see them gradually splitting apart. Nancy is tremendously determined and ambitious when it comes to her journalism. She’ll relentlessly go to the greatest lengths for the things she’s passionate about and I can see her fixation on her journalism negatively impacting her relationships, especially long distance ones.

Brotp Will and Jonathan. He’s a caring and supportive older brother and balances his protectiveness of Will while still allowing him space to breathe. 

Head Canon Almost Famous AU but Jonathan is a Rock Photographer hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with an up and coming rock band. The movie has it all from an older sibling exposing their younger sibling to ‘real music’. 

On a more down to earth note, I like the idea of Jonathan creating a mixtape specifically for when he drives Will and El to school in attempt to slyly get them to listen to his music.

Unpopular opinion Jonathan’s loyalty and dedication to Will and strong bond with his family is often directly compared to the caring mothers featured in the show, if any teen is being compared to a parental figure then it better be Jonathan Byers. (I know it’s all just fun and games, I’m not genuinely frustrated)

A wish This is a reasonable request that would open the floor to discussion about Jonathan’s parentification- We know he has plans to attend college at New York University and I can see this becoming a dilemma, stay back to in order to continue to support for his family, Joyce is grieving Hopper and now has an extra child to provide for, Jonathan is in many ways a substitute father figure for Will which could bring up feelings of guilt for ‘abandoning’ him. Jonathan might feel an obligation to defer his plans to attend college in order to be there for his family like he always is. 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen Shoved to the side and ignored. Call it wishful thinking but Jonathan’s due for the spot light and with the introduction of Argyle it seems they have plans for Jonathan’s character.

He carries a lot of guilt, even blaming himself for Will’s disappearance when he was only taking the late shift to earn a little extra cash, he still appears leery of Joyce’s relationship with Bob, there’s a lot to still be addressed here and while it might be painful to watch unfold I really hope it isn’t skimmed over.

5 words to best describe them Attentive, mature, responsible, witty.

My nickname for them I usually refer to characters as the name they’re commonly called in their respective universe though I have seen him be called ‘John’ for short.

[remuswriting]

What I’ve Learned In My Creative Writing Class: Character

Disclaimer: I may sound aggressive and people may think I’m “calling them out” but I’m not.  When looking at things to address, I just scrolled through Tumblr to see what the most requested things were.  Nothing against anyone.

Here is a mixture of things I learned from my professor and have learned over creating characters the last 11 years.  In writing, character is probably the most important thing.  If you write a character that doesn’t keep the reader entertained or become attached to them, then your character isn’t doing their job. It’s similar to if we know someone super boring, typically we try to avoid them (I could just be a bad person though).  In x reader writing, Y/N is a character.  Characters need more than just a name and description but a backstory, personality, insecurities, and identity.

Backstory

I kind of blend backstory and personality in this but I think it flows together??

Y/N needs a backstory just like canon characters do.  They need a family, friend group, interests, childhood memories, and more.  The reader doesn’t have to know all these things but the author does.  How do you know what your character would do if you don’t even know your character? I’ll repeat this; Y/N is a character. We may not know how you picture them physically and can come up with that ourselves, but that’s all we can do. We can’t create a personality for Y/N because that’s your job.  I may get controversial in this.

You’re requested to write flirty reader.  Why is Y/N flirty?  How is Y/N flirty?  Are they trying to gain something from acting like that?  Are they just flirty on accident?  Have they always been flirty?  Did something happen that now they act like that?  You can tell when there is no depth to a character when you don’t have any of these questions answered.  I become more interested when a character mentions that Y/N hasn’t always been flirty like they are now and I’m curious as to why because it could answer one of the questions listed above.  I’m aware that requests like that are meant for quick fluff but I’m never satisfied with fluff.  There’s never enough substance to a character for me to really like it.  Before I point out other commonly seen things that could be enhanced, let me explain what I mean by the things I explain with one of my own pieces.

In Kisses, a Hinata fluff drabble I wrote, I pictured Y/N’s whole day as well as friends, relations to people, his college major, and why he shares government with Tsukishima before I started writing and only wrote 634 words.  I hinted at those things because it was important to in order to get the whole effect of what I’m trying to portray.

Y/N says his day is okay and his government class was boring, even with Tsukishima next to him. He hates his government class, which either means his professor sucks or it’s hot his strong suit academically. In this context, it’s the first one. He and Tsukishima share the same major: Paleontology.  He’s how Y/N and Hinata met each other and is decently close to Y/N.  They’ve matched up schedules because of this.  I didn’t write all of this because I doubt the reader wanted me to go on a tangent about it but I wanted there to be a justified reason of why Y/N mentioned Tsukishima so casually.  It also just adds more to me as a writer when writing because there’s more to work off of.

Y/N is close to Hinata’s teammates, which means they’ve been dating for a while.  He knows how Osamu owns an onigiri store and knows Atsumu well enough that he doesn’t particularly like him because of his personality. He’s nice to him though and tries to make him feel included because Y/N’s friends made him feel like the third wheel when Hinata wasn’t there.  It shows that there’s a kindness to him and makes you wonder if that’s why Hinata fell for him.

I thought of all of this before I started writing.  It adds more personality and depth to the character, even if minimal, if you know their backstory.  You don’t have to have an entire childhood backstory (unless needed) but it helps to know more about your character beyond the fact that they’re flirty.

Focus

Don’t focus a character around one thing.

The flirty character thing is part of a personality and can be woven into different things when done right. A tall reader shouldn’t be just about how scared everyone is of them because their height.  How does Y/N feel about their height?  Are they self-conscious?  Do they even care?  Also, for the love the god, stop requesting seven foot readers.  I have received four of those in the past and it’s unrealistic and annoying. So, Y/N is tall.  What else do they have about them?  Let’s say they are insecure of how tall they are, what do they do to hide that insecurity?  A fun example of what I’m trying to say is in “Roy Spivey” by Miranda July.  In the first three to four paragraphs, she mentions her height and what she does to go against it in a way.

For this reason, I always let men see me asleep early on in a relationship. It makes them realize that even though I am five feet eleven I am fragile and need to be taken care of. A man who can see the weakness of a giant knows that he is a man indeed.

This may not exactly scream “I am insecure of my height” by any means but she is aware of her height. Instead of sleeping, what does your character do to distract from their height if they’re self-conscious over it? Or do they love the fact they’re tall? If so, then what to do they do to show it off?  Being tall is something but how someone reacts to it is another thing.

This applies to more than just tall readers but also readers who blush all the time (Touma Kikuchi from Ao Haru Ride), short readers, etc.  You can use your characters so much better if you know they feel about the things you’re focused on.

Accuracy

If you’ve followed me long enough, then you know I have a thing about accuracy.  I do a lot of research for everything I write, even if I think I am extraordinarily knowledgeable about the subject.  This part is pretty optional depending on who you are as writer.  I like things to feel real and be accurate but there are people who don’t care about that. Neither side is wrong.  I do this a lot because of research I’ve done for novels I’ve written before and it makes me feel content.  For Haikyuu, I just know the timeline near exact to where I don’t have to check to see what month certain things happened in.  This is a me thing because I think it helps.  It may not, writing is all opinion based anyways.

Volleyball player/manager Y/N is a common thing I see and I have written for both of them.  I know literally nothing about volleyball, not counting what is taught in Haikyuu as well as the couple of matches my brother and I watched on YouTube, so I researched things.  Sports are one of those things that it is hard to be 100% accurate unless you know the sport.  I try not to write out game scenes because I don’t know how to explain what each move is but I can do a recap after the match of a character thinking it over. They’re thinking about how maybe the blockers blocked a spike or they fucked up a receive or how angry someone was when something happened.  If you write in third person, this creates a more first person like atmosphere and makes the reader closer to the character.

Accuracy with characters can do a lot to make them well-rounded and realistic.  This can go into other things besides sports like choir, band, cheer, soccer, basketball, etc. (I am actually decent at writing soccer because it’s the best sport ever.)

For me, realism and accuracy makes the story more enjoyable.  In my class, we discussed how flat character who are doing something incorrectly make us put a story down faster than anything else.  You have to see Y/N as a character in order to be able to use them to your full ability.  You can’t do half-assed anything with them because they are essentially more important than a canon character because it’s focused on them.  Basically, put the same effort into everyone you write but the focal character (usually Y/N) should be focused on more and should be the character you know the best.

Surroundings

Everyone is influenced by their surroundings. This typically affects their decisions and view but maybe not their personality.  I’ve discussed this before on Japan and LGBT, but I’ll do it again.

Let’s say that even though Y/N is the gayest person to ever exist, they aren’t likely to be open about it in Japan.  In my previously mentioned post, I talked about how gay relationships are still seen as taboo (it is decreasing slowly though) and usually fetishized.  Trans individuals are even more likely to not be open about it.  Wandering Son by Takako Shimura is one of my favorite mangas that talks about LGBT things but sadly it does make trans men feel slightly like a joke.  It shows the language and shame forcing trans people to stay in the closet.  From numerous articles I’ve read, the shame is decreasing but that doesn’t mean the struggle isn’t as bad as it has been.  I believe the youngest person to have sterilization surgery (what must be completed to be seen as your gender to the Japanese government) was 20 years old. Also, there are very few places they can go to receive hormone replacement and gender therapy.

I’m focusing on Japan for this because it’s where anime takes place.  I write male reader and I take this into account while writing.  It affects how they interact with others and their thought process.  Are they struggling with their identity?  What is their family like?  Even if their parents are accepting, are going to be open about it?  How far are they willing to go to hide it?

Understanding the surroundings of your character affects who they are and how they respond to things. This also takes part in their internal struggles and maybe what the conflict of the story could be if focused on their identity.

Internal Struggle

Everyone has at least one internal struggle.  Usually people have a lot more but in fiction you try to focus on one because real life doesn’t always transfer over in that regard.  Struggles make your decisions though because you’re trying to deal with it. Characters are meant to feel like real people.  My professor said that the goal is to write your character to where people will talk about them as if they’re a real person.

This can be difficult to do with Y/N but that doesn’t mean you can’t try.  I always try to think of what is a struggle Y/N is going through that is either easily seen or never addressed.  If I went through all of my one-shots, then I can tell you and explain why I did that.  Does having a struggle mean that people see them as real people?  No but at least there’s a chance they could.  I really tried to make Y/N in my ficlet First Words more realistic but I don’t think I did the best job.  It’s okay to not be perfect at it because it’s really hard to nail down original characters but reader characters are even harder.

It doesn’t matter how hard it is to make a character realistic because they do still need a struggle. There is character driven story and plot driven story; people prefer the first.  An example would be Harry Potter or there’s also Forest Gump.  We’re not focused so much on each plot point but what the character is doing during it.  We love the character more than we love the story.

[stemmmm]

An Animation-Term and Keyword List For People Who Haven’t Studied Animation

I’ve decided it’s time to put my BFA in animation to use and share with you all about 40 terms I could get off the top of my head that I’ve seen confusion and misconceptions about.

If you know a term that was missed here, feel free to add a definition or ask for one! 

Animation (in this context) -- The act of taking a series of images and putting them in a sequence next to each other which is then viewed in rapid succession, thus giving the images the illusion of movement.

Anime -- The Japanese word for “animation”. This term is often used to refer to the style of drawing in the west, but it literally ONLY means “animation”. 

Animatic -- Unfinished visuals and audio cut together into a watchable video format. This is NOT another word for short animation. An animatic would use visuals from a storyboard rather than rough or finished animation

Anticipation -- A slower movement made by a character to lead into action. This is used to great effect in comedy animation and in games like Dark Souls. The posing and buildup makes you expect something is going to happen.

Cel -- A tool for animating. Traditionally, this is a sheet of clear plastic that a frame of animation is drawn on and painted color is applied to. These are set on top of background images and photographed so they can be used in the final animation. The term can also be applied to hand-drawn digital animation. Pre-digital nearly everything was animated in this fashion, like Bugs Bunny cartoons or classic Disney movies. Some Japanese animation is still done like this, but the move to digital has only recently begun there.

Claymation -- A branch of stop motion animation, it is when moldable clay is shaped, photographed, and reshaped in a manner that gives it the illusion of movement.

CGI -- Stands for Computer Graphics Imagery. Any image that is generated by a computer. This applies to all digital artwork, even 2D, but is most commonly used to refer to 3D images created by a computer.

2D -- Flat images such as those you would draw on paper. They have height and width but no depth.

3D -- Images with height, width, and depth. Computer generated images and physical sculptures fall under this category. 3D computer animation and stop-motion animation are 3D.

3D Computer Animation / 3D Animation -- Animation done on a computer specifically using 3D software to either give the image more depth or to make it look more lifelike. It is made by creating digital sculptures of characters which a “rig” is attached to which gives the animator the ability to move the sculpture like a puppet. If you say 3D animation, people will know you are referring to computer animation. Most American movies in the past decade are or include 3D animation.

Digital -- Any animation done on a computer. This applies to 3D animation, 2D graphic animation, and hand drawn animation done on a computer. Most animation has moved to digital formats because of computers ability to automatically in-between--thus saving large amounts of work. Computers also eliminate the need to physically store easily lost or damaged piles of paper and film, and they eliminate the need to manually photograph individual animation frames.

Flash -- Refers to the now mostly defunct Adobe Flash program which gave animators the ability to turn 2D drawings into puppets that could be animated. The similar Adobe equivalent is now called animate. It popularized a style of puppeted animation similar to paper cutouts in a digital format, but while it is known for that, it can be used for hand drawn animation as well. This puppet style of animation has improved dramatically since it’s beginning in Flash, and the same (or similar) technique is used by people who animate with programs like Toon Boom. Shows animated in flash include Johnny Test and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Frames -- A single image as part of the whole animation. A picture of a cel on a background would be one frame.

Frame rate/ Frames per second -- How quickly the frames are played back for the viewer. Film standard is 24 FPS, or 24 frames played in rapid succession for the duration of 1 second. Games often play at 30-60 FPS to aid reaction time.

1′s and 2′s -- To animate something on “1′s” means to create 24 distinct frames to play for a full second. 24:24, or, just 1. 2′s--also known as 12FPS--similarly means you do half that amount of work. 24:12. Most things are animated at 12FPS because it is less work and accomplishes approximately the same thing as animating on a full 24 frames. Animations at these rates are still played at 24FPS. Contrary to popular belief, classic Disney movies are mostly animated on 2′s.

3′s and 4′s and so on -- Like 1′s and 2′s, but less. 8 and 6 FPS respectively. These rates are used more commonly in television than movies, but even then rarely. 3′s and 4′s most often exist in conjunction with 1′s and 2′s to both save work and give the animation more expression. These are also always played at 24FPS. Studio Trigger most notably animates like this.

Hand-Drawn -- Animation that is fully drawn by hand and does not involve manipulating a puppet character. Traditional 2D animation is hand drawn, Flash animation isn’t.

Hold -- When a frame or pose lasts longer than normal. A hold can be completely still or have slight movement. They are used to break up action and very often used to create anticipation of an action. 

In-between -- Frames that connect the action happening between keyframes. They change something from a set of poses to actual animation.

Keyframe -- Important frames in the animation, often major poses in an action. These are sometimes taken from storyboards but not always.

Meaningful animation -- Or animation with intent. Parts of an animation that were specifically made to do a certain thing. This comes up in discussions about higher frame rates and whether or not they matter to a work. An action that could be expressed in 8 frames played at 24 FPS does not necessarily need 24 frames, because the additional frames provide too much visual input, could be drawn more poorly, or are a waste of time to do. A computer generated tween is not always meaningful because it was not always intended to exist by the animator. The frames generated when you take an animation at 24FPS and modify it to be 60FPS are not meaningful.

Mocap/ Motion Capture -- When a person wears a silly suit with little balls or other markings on it and acts around a stage, that is for motion capture and animation reference. Motion capture tracks a persons movement and can apply it to a 3D rig, but it is not perfect so animators are still needed to correct the movements and make it work in the final product. This is used in many live action movies that feature CGI and notoriously in The Polar Express.

Mograph/ Motion Graphics -- This is the animation style used in many commercials, how-to explainer videos, and animated company logos. This is the lovechild of graphic design and animation. It is most often 2D, sleek, and heavily design focused as opposed to character focused. Most often made in Adobe After Effects.

Paper cutout -- A form of stop motion animation where pieces of paper are placed on a flat surface and photographed from above. This can be done with light from the front to see the full detail of the paper, or back lighting to give it the effect of shadow-puppetry. The first animated film was done in this style.

Pre-production -- Work that is done before something is animated. Includes character designs, environment designs and layouts, scripting, storyboards, audio recording, and anything else necessary to have done before you begin the arduous process of animation.

Post-production -- Anything that needs to be added after all pre-production and animation is finished. It includes editing everything together, adding effects, and whatever else must be done before you can call something “finished”.

Procedurally Generated Animation -- This is animation made entirely in a computer through use of algorithms. Used more often in games than anything else. Animations are generated in real time to create more variety in the movement. It allows for things that can’t be done with pre-made animations like making characters feet land and/or slip on rocks or track their head and eyes to look at something.

Puppet Rig/ Rig -- A skeleton applied to any type of puppet you want to animate. 3D and puppeted stop motion animations both use this, though in stop motion it is more likely called an armature. 2D animations like Flash animations also use these

Onion Skin -- A 2D animation term. In traditional animation, a person works on paper over a light table which shines light through the paper and lets them see the frames they’re animating between. In digital animation, you press a button and the onion skin will display in either a lighter color or different hue the frames in front of or behind where you’re working to a point you can set and adjust. It’s called onion skin because peeled onions are transparent.

Reference -- Looking at something from life to base your work on. If you are animating a flying bird, you need to know how their wings move, so you need to watch birds or maybe film them and play it back slowly so you can see the small details. Animation since Snow White has used life action reference heavily, many old animated movies were fully acted out and recorded before they were animated. Movies today don’t do that much, but animators will record themselves acting out scenes they’re working on to capture body language and lip sync. Reference is not tracing or rotoscoping, but it can be.

Rotoscope -- Animation drawn directly over life action footage. This is reference to it’s extreme, because the drawings do not take inspiration from the movements so much as they are an exact recreation. It is often easily noticed for the higher framerate it often has and for having movement unnatural to animation. Unless the character is heavily stylized, rotoscoped animation often looks strongly like real people. 2D animation traced over 3D animation is not rotoscope. Motion capture is also not rotoscope. Many classic Fleischer films had rotoscoped sequences and Anastasia is known for it’s heavy use of the technique. 

Rough Animation -- Animation in it’s early stages, it may not be fully in betweened, but even if it is, it isn’t cleaned up or finished. Drawings in the rough stage are often messy and incomplete so it is easier to throw out frames and replace them.

Rough Cut -- The next step from an animatic. A rough cut contains all finished and unfinished work as a preview of what the final product can be. They can have any combination of animatic materials, rough animation, and finished work.

Stop motion -- Animation of physical objects on a set, photographed one frame at a time. Covers everything from claymation, to paper cut outs, to puppets, and more. More prominent in early film as visual effects before that became what it is known as today. The most popular form is puppet animations like those done by Laika studios.

Storyboard -- A sequence of rough drawings paired with script that dictate what will happen in an animation. These are not keyframes for animation, nor should they themselves be animated.

Timeline -- In digital animation, this is the bar that holds the individual frames in sequence so they can be played and viewed as you work. You can also stretch the frame length to last longer or shorter, hence “time”.

Traditional (Cel animation) -- Earliest form of 2D animation, the same as hand drawn animation only it’s done on physical paper. The terms are blurred together however, so when talking about traditional animation you may need to specify whether it’s on paper or digital.

Tweens -- Computer generated in-between frames. Applies to 3D animation, but most often refers to puppet rig 2D animation like flash animations. Often used as a derogatory phrase, as computer generated frames can lack the visual appeal of hand made ones. Tweens move extremely smoothly and evenly from pose to pose, which is the tell of a puppet rigged animation.

VFX -- Stands for visual effects. They are effects applied to a film in post-production that can be CGI or not, but are very often CGI. Includes aspects such as explosions, weather effects, background details, cleanup, etc. 

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Ladyhawke: Genre and Themes

Castles?  Check.

Knights in armor?  Check.

Damsel in distress?  Check.

Magical curse?  Check.

A love fraught with obstacles?  Check.

Must be a fantasy romance, right?

At first glance, it does seem like Ladyhawke would certainly fit the description of being a fantasy romance film.  Navarre’s heroics and deep connection to his beloved Isabeau are aspects that wouldn’t be out of place in a story like Beauty and the Beast or other fairy-tales.  After all, their love is what drives the story, right?  It’s the main focus.  And as for fantasy, well, isn’t it obvious?  Knights on quests and evil curses?  Couldn’t be anything but fantasy.  

As I’ve said before, genre, the categorization of a film, is determined by more than the setting. It’s what goes on within the setting.  The style of story and progression of events have as much to say about the genre as where and when it takes place.  Our mission: take a look at what goes on in the film and deduce what genres it is, and what it is not.  (Mild spoilers below!)

At first, it may seem rather easy to figure out.  There’s curse-breaking and sword fights and castles and shape-changing.  There’s also an underlying theme of the value of true love, and a couple who never gives up on each other.

And yet, if you look this film up, the genre is listed as fantasy/adventure, with no sign of romance.

How can that be, when one of the major elements of the story is romance? It’s not like it’s a minor sub-plot. Navarre and Isabeau’s relationship is hugely important.  It’s the cause of their plight, and their end goal is, of course, to break the curse so they can be together.  So how, then, has the ‘main conflict’ been pushed to the sidelines in favor of the ‘adventure’ portion?

Well, I believe the answer for that is relatively simple.

The genre of the film depends on more than what happens within the film itself.  A film can include funny moments, or scary scenes, without turning them into a comedy or horror movie.  There can be a fight scene without the film becoming an action film, and a quiet moment does not a drama make.  So what makes the difference?

The difference is found in the focus of the story, more specifically, the main character.  And that’s the problem with categorizing Ladyhawke.

In The Wizard of Oz, the main character and the person who drives the plot is the same person: Dorothy Gale. In The Princess Bride, Buttercup and Wesley’s love is what pushes the story forward, and they are our main characters.  In Ladyhawke?

Navarre and Isabeau’s relationship drives the plot all right, but they aren’t the main focus.  Oddly enough, the character with the least involvement in the story is the main focus: Phillipe Gaston.  And that is where we get our classification.  It is his story, even if it might seem like he’s hijacking it from what appears to be the main focus, and in his relationship with the existing elements of the film, we find our genres.

Let’s start with the easy one: Fantasy.

At the beginning of the film, Phillipe’s journey is small-scale. It’s an escape from prison that gets accidently tangled in the journey of another character: Etienne Navarre. While Navarre is clearly a protagonist from a Heroic Fantasy story, he is not the main character in this one, yet it is his adventure that Phillipe ends up stuck in.  Drug from his little tale into a greater, grander one, Phillipe scrambles to keep up alongside a character from sword-and-sorcery tales. So although he doesn’t begin the story involved with fantasy, he ends up there.

A large portion of the movie shows Phillipe slowly becoming aware of the existence of magic, (rare as it is in this world) and figuring out what to do once he does find out.  In this, Ladyhawke is a bit of a departure from traditional fantasy films, as it is rather grounded in the real world.  The fighting is rough and tumble, the characters react and behave in realistic ways, and the use of magic is treated as something very rare, something that the Bishop has dredged up from a world beyond ours. Despite this different take on both the protagonist and the medieval, magical worlds commonly seen in films at the time, I believe Ladyhawke is exactly what is says it is: a fantasy.

See, the more involved Phillipe becomes in the story, the more the story itself becomes a Medieval European Fantasy.  As he is hauled along on Navarre’s quest, he’s exposed to the more ‘fantastical’ elements, such as the curse, and all of a sudden, Phillipe becomes involved of his own accord.  The film makes its full switch to Heroic Fantasy the moment the monk Imperius explains the curse to Phillipe, because Phillipe becomes officially involved with the fantastic situation.

At the same time, the further the story goes, the closer Phillipe becomes to a traditional fantasy protagonist.  While he begins the movie a self-concerned thief, he ends it…..well, still a thief, but a more selfless one.  More Robin Hood, less Marion Krane.  He doesn’t exactly follow the Hero’s Journey, but he does learn and grow closer to having similar ideals to more traditional characters of the style of story.

As for the other genres?

What I said before, about this film not being considered a ‘romance’? There’s a very simple explanation for that.  Phillipe isn’t part of the romance.

At the point in which Phillipe joins the actual action of the adventure, Navarre and Isabeau have been in love for years.  They don’t really need any help from him on that front. His job is to help them break the curse so that they can continue the romance. Since he’s not involved with that storyline, and since he is our main character, the romance isn’t the main focus of the story.  The adventure is.

The adventure aspect goes hand-in-hand with the fantasy, and takes center stage more than the love story does.  There are a handful of action-oriented scenes, but the main reason for its categorization here is the main thrust of the story: the Quest.

A large number of fantasy stories do, in fact, have a Quest, whether it’s saving a princess, reclaiming the throne, offing whichever Big Bad is oppressing the people, but in Ladyhawke, again, a familiar element is used in a slightly unusual way.  The Quest to kill the Bishop isn’t to free a people or right an injustice, it’s a tale of revenge, cold, calculating revenge. Navarre wants the Bishop to get what’s coming to him as payback for the curse.  Once again, in the same vein as the fantasy story, Phillipe is pulled in, and ends up contributing as much to coming to the end of the adventure as he does trying to deal with the curse.

So, how do we categorize Ladyhawke?

Magical Elements + Quest = Fantasy/Adventure.

Phillipe Gaston is a thief pulled into a fantasy adventure, along for the ride as he helps Navarre and Isabeau on their quest, and in so doing, is the main focus.  As a result, Ladyhawke reflects that, being a down-to-earth, semi-realistic take on a fantastical genre, combining the elements of adventure and magic together perfectly to create a surprising and refreshing twist on a story easily turned clichéd.  With that in mind, it’s kind of easy to see why this movie has endeared itself to such devoted fans after its less-than-stellar release.

What was different and a little tame in an era of big and loud sword-and-sorcery movies has become a fan-favorite exactly for those reasons.  Ladyhawke took a chance with its own spin on fantasy stories and genres, telling a grounded fairy-tale from a different perspective, creating a memorable movie experience that has garnered more appreciation in the years since its release, and will likely continue to gain praise as time goes on.

Join us in the next article, where we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the characters of Ladyhawke! If you enjoyed this, or have something you’d like to say, the ask box is always open.  Thanks so much for reading, and I hope to see you all in the next article!

[gayleisabao]

Nanay Lilia: The Star That Remains In The Dark

Admit it or not, with the world we revolve around in today, being remembered is one of the things that we give importance to as humans before we face the end, the afterlife, or death. We do our best to leave a mark on this world no matter how big or small it is, as long as at least one person still thinks of us while we’re inside the casket or crossing the path to where our spirit is destined to be. Yes, we may not all be focusing on the idea of making our names be remembered as centuries and generations pass by, but the thought of being known for what you were or what you did here on earth for the entirety of your life, comes with a grudge that most of us blindly take care of.

This is something that I see as a concept that is widely common for people who are part of the creative industry, especially for the branch of film. There’s this sense of making a legacy out of your career and from the many stories that have been revived by the talents of writers and directors, to the characters and figures portrayed by the actors, everyone has a role in treasuring what once was and is to be. In fact, the process of it can be reflected in how we look up at the horizon each night.

We often have those moments where we gaze through our windows and look for the sight of the moon, surrounded by the ocean of stars that bring light to the beauty of the night sky. For me, this is how I look at films, or at least perceive how each one is made and brought to life through the eyes and the minds of producers and directors. With how big the industry has become so far, so much talent and creativity revolves around it that recognition is something that is commonly looked out for by the people who are behind each piece. Recognition that serves as validity that a talent or creator has made it in the industry, especially with film. 

In the topic of recognition, I would like to talk about a film that we have watched for our film class this past week which is Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay, which is directed by none other than Antoinette Jadaone. It is a mockumentary revolving the everyday life of the very iconic Lilia Cuntapay, which some or most may not know her by name, but can definitely recognize her just by seeing her unique appearance. She is commonly known for her roles in Filipino horror movies wherein she portrays characters like a witch, an aswang, or other paranormal beings written and told by filmmakers and writers alike. And personally, when I first learned about her, I also didn’t know her by name, I only grew up watching her on horror films that my family used to watch and remembered how terrified I was of old ladies with long hair because of her. She was what I envisioned a witch would look like in real life, the perfect imagery of a person that holds so many grim and mysteries. And for Peque Gallaga, a well-known film director who was asked about Lilia Cantupay in an interview, this is also what he thought of as he first saw and met Cantupay during the set of his film Shake, Rattle, and Roll II back in the 90’s. 

With that in mind, now getting a chance to watch a film about Lilia Cuntapay again, at first I had my expectations that it could be a horror film or maybe a look as to how actresses like her work in the film industry especially with specifications and characteristics that her roles are limited to. But as the film opens up to people getting questioned if they are familiar with Lilia Cuntapay, including clips of people from the industry getting interviewed about the actress, I immediately assumed that it was a documentary film given that I watched it without knowing anything about the film's background. The setup and the way the story was being portrayed in the first few minutes of the film is similar as to how we usually get to see documentaries, it consists of multiple parts where we get to know more about the subject in a collection of different views of people involved with the main character. That’s why as the scene of Lilia rolled in, where she is in the middle of a pulpit in a mock award show surrounded by valuables that were curated from her past films, I readily got curious as to how the film was going to progress. 

The way the film was captured by director Antoinette Jadaone really shows the rawness of how Lilia’s life was behind scenes. It’s not what most people would normally imagine the life of someone who is very iconic in the industry would be, because we see that despite her landing big time jobs in the past and how she is a veteran in her genre, the longevity of her fame doesn’t guarantee the convenience of her everyday life. As it continues to progress, we slowly see that even though she has been included in a lot of big time selling horror films, she doesn’t get recognized as much as she is supposed to. Here the film slowly hints that it is a mockumentary that depicts the inner struggle that actors and actresses face in their field caused by “typecasting”. Wherein despite how good you are in your craft, if you’re associated or tagged to specific types of roles, there is still a high chance that producers and directors can decline you. They can still have the ability to change the way they treat you as a human being from your fame, unlike the treatment that most normally get when they’re seen by their fans or supporters.

Going back to the way as to how I see the film industry and while progressing through the story of Lilia’s character, I realized that we were made to believe that this is what her life actually is, and somehow that idea contributes largely to how we feel as we watch the film.There are scenes where we laugh out of the comedic elements that give light to her positivity despite her struggles and sacrifices for her passion, and then later on we feel pity for her because we see that in her old age and the treatment given to her, it's not fair. A roller coaster of emotions that slowly streams us to the flow of the film's message and prepares us for the mind-boggling ending. That’s something that I truly admired the film for, its consistent patterns of making its audiences feel the same way Lilia feels in the film. That feeling of somehow we could all relate to her as she works her best but ends up not being credited for the contribution she brings just because she’s not as known as the others in the industry.

To be honest, each scene for me was well thought out, given that the progression of the film leads up to an ending that still reaches the goal that was set in the beginning of the film, but it's modified into something that turns out to be more valuable than what we were made to believe was the most of what is offered in the plot of the story. It truly gave light to the potential of actors and also directors out there that are being overshadowed by those that are more popularized. It’s the genuinity of the film that really gets me giddy about it, it's not sugar coated like other works wherein there are unrealistic elements that mislead us to thinking that it's possibly impossible to happen to ordinary people like us. It’s relatable in a sense where we actually get morals and motivation out of it, that’s why I see the storytelling of it to be a perfect example of what I imagine the film industry to be as I have mentioned earlier. It’s the night sky where there’s a moon that is in the middle of an ocean of stars that are sometimes covered by clouds causing their light to not be seen, but despite this and without them, the universe would be in complete darkness without these stars. That’s why whether they are seen or not, recognized or ignored, their value to the industry remains the same and that’s what keeps them going to shine their light.

Overall, I would definitely say that Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay is definitely a must watch. It gives light to Lilia Cuntapay as an actress, she gives light despite the void that she is in when is not recognized for her contribution, and despite her being stuck in that darkness, she still shines through. The way she guides you to the storytelling of the film will lead you to interact and solve the questions that puzzle you in the beginning, very effective storytelling and gives us a clearer view of how the film industry and the entertainment industry as a whole is in reality that will build your appreciation and respect for filmmakers and actors out there.

[lemoncakepanda]

Top 50 NaLu Anime Moments {Pt 2}.

Read pt 1 here.

Without any further delay, let’s get back to my top 50 anime nalu moments, and today we cover moments 40 up till 31! This part of the list is probably the most fluffy one, as it’s about to get kinda angsty from the next part on, but hey, let us enjoy our small moment of happiness.

40. Lucy's naked bell roll with Natsu. (Ep 194).

And we starting off kinda kinky, but hey, it’s a form of love, lol. Anyways, I truly love this moment because it was one of the first where you could start seeing that Natsu was actually attracted to Lucy. The anime didn’t include it (idk why) but in the manga he gets all blushy after having his face and hands rubbed in every single inch of naked Lucy, and I loved seeing how he reacted to it. And the first official boob grope (!!!) that results in Natsu getting slapped, which he deserved, lol. While not the only one, this is probably the most fanservice NaLu moment you’re gonna get on this list, so don’t worry, I didn’t include all the boob/@ss gropping scenes, I just really love this one especially.

39. “If any of you bastards hurt Lucy, I will turn all of you to dust.” (Ep 83).

Okay, but listen! As... as an honorary Natsu fan, I love when he gets all serious and goes all out on his enemies, and this scene, esp for someone who was slowly losing hope on this ship, really fired me up! It’s moments like this one where you can see how Natsu really cares for Lucy, at the point of injuring himself in the process. And the line, I love that line so much! I often use it in gifsets I make because I adore how protective he is of Lucy, even now that she’s able to fully defend herself, he still... wow. At last, I like this scene because it showcases how close they are and how much Lucy means to Natsu; ofc he’d be upset if any of his other friends got hurt, but y’all know he’s especially protective of Lucy and has been for a while, even back when the ship was only platonic, and there is a reason for it.

38. “Someone give us hope.” (Ep 119).

As I’ve commented on this moment before, I don’t have anything much different to add this time, only that it gets to my heart how much trust these two have in each other, and how much they inspire each other. I chose this moment because it’s one of the most obvious to how Natsu and Lucy’s relationship works: they give each other strength. When one is feeling down or hopeless, the other will step up and stand by their side. It’s a beautiful cycle between them. Zeref commented once that Lucy was a cheerful person, who had a huge impact on Natsu’s growth, and he ain’t wrong about that. This moment is proof of it.

37. “Let’s reform our team.” (Ep 109).

Or in Kain’s words, Natsu and Lucy getting all “flirty and hot”. God, I love Tenrou Island arc. Not only it’s what turned me into a hardcore nalu shipper, but it’s also great storytelling, and very compelling fights. The choice to combine Natsu and Happy with Lucy vs Kain and Ultear was a great one, considering they’d been kinda distant from each other since Edolas and had not really interacted much, and even during arcs like Oracion Seis and Edolas, which had been successors of the Fantasia and Tower of Heaven arcs, which barely had any Nalu in it, it felt like a breath of fresh air to see them together again and staying together, like the team they’d been since the beginning. It also showed how in sync they are with each other and how well they work together. Truly one of the things that made Tenrou Island such a great arc.

36. “Lucy, come home already.” (OVA 4).

Words cannot describe how much I cherish this omake, or in this case, the ova, where Lucy follows Natsu to find out where he and Happy live. For those of you who have not watched it, it’s set in a flashback where Lucy tells the girls about the day she followed her two lousy friends to get revenge on them for always breaking in her house; she successfully finds their house, and there she finds out Natsu keeps memories of all the jobs he’d gone to, two of which include the first job he and Lucy ever went in together and her old maid outfit, which brings a sweet smile to her face. Despite finding their house, Lucy’s plan to surprise them fails because they never show up, so she goes back to her apartment. And, surprise surprise, that’s where Natsu and Happy had been all this time. And we’re left with the heartwarming conclusion that, although they annoy the fck outta her, eat all her food, mess up her stuff, and hog her bed all to themselves, Lucy loves having them around. They turn her house into a home, they give her someone to come home to, they give her all the company she never had when she was a child. ‘Twas a very nice conclusion to the story, and served as a nice confirmation to something we’d always suspected.

35. Watch Out for the Guy You Like! (Ep 50).

This, in my opinion, is one of the most hilarious FT episodes; even though it results with Lucy finding out all her delusions of Natsu were, well, just delusions, and Natsu just wanted her help to dig a hole, I have so much fun watching those delusions, watching Lucy stop for a moment to actually consider being with Natsu; I think it’s what opened the door to her crush, even if she completely closed her eyes and tried to ignore it. Also, shoujo-like Natsu was a blessing given to us by Mashima which I’m forever grateful for, lmao. But really, I think this omake/episode is actually very important to Natsu and Lucy’s relationship; it showed that all her delusions depicted Lucy’s idea of how a romance should be, and then (spoiler) in the end, she kind of gets that romance, but not in the way she imagined, and it turned out to be exactly the way it needed to be. So, for that, I really like this and find it essential to the ship.

34. Their reunion. (Ep 276).

This moment, originally, was not part of my top 25 Nalu manga moments, and that’s because, while I do love it in the manga, I love it so much more in the anime. It felt more dramatic, with the camera shifting from Natsu and Lucy finally locking eyes after one year apart, and they’re both so goddamn shook! I like that they added this detail in the anime, because you could really feel like it was two people who used to always be together, and then spent 365 days without seeing each other, being only there ever in thought. I also like how they’re both blushing, that little showcase of how happy they are to see the other again, and the small tingle of bittersweetness because we know it’s not 100% okay between them. You know drama’s gonna follow because actions have consequences. But for that one moment, you’re just as happy as Natsu and Lucy to see them reunited once more, the way it’s supposed to be.

33. Lucy makes her choice. (Ep 49).

While I feel that this one goes without saying, the reason I chose it can be explained in two sentences: 1) Lucy has met a guy who’s like the male version of her, is kind, a gentleman, and has a nice vibe with her, but she puts all of that potential aside for the one thing she is sure of, and that’s her partnership with Natsu. 2) Have you seen Natsu’s face when she shows up in that train, ready to leave with them? He’s so shook, he blinks like three times, as if trying to make sure she is really there, that she’s real. And then he just opens the biggest smile, because she chose to be there with them; it’s the first time they’re not dragging her to a job, she simply chose to come along, and you can almost hear the sound of Natsu’s heart going all fluttery when he realizes she cast her ‘date’ aside to go with them. Another moment that, I feel, helped deepen and shape the relationship these two have today.

32. “Make me purr!” Drunk Lucy round 2. (OVA 9).

Again, nothing really different to add on this moment, only that I like how the ova extended and showed Lucy jumping on Natsu in the most s&xual way ever, and how Natsu has all the strength in the world to remove her from him, but “supposedly” is unable to do that when she’s all over him touching him in a very intimate way. Aham. I see right through you, dragon boy. Also, isn’t it interesting that Drunk!Lucy directs all her attention to Natsu if he’s around? Nvm that there’s other guys around, all she cares about is him. I love that. It says a lot about Lucy’s hidden feelings.

31. Reaching out for each other before being separated. (Ep 247).

Tartaros is my favorite FT arc, despite not having that much Nalu in it, it’s probably the arc with most emotional weight, because of everything the characters went through and makes you really feel for them. And although I love the ships, I love the story 1st and Tartaros was indeed amazing story-telling. With that said, I also enjoyed very much the little/subtle/few Nalu moments the arc provided, and one of them is the scene where Natsu and Lucy are being pulled in by the Alegria, and they reach for each other. It’s commonly said that when things get tough, you focus on what’s important to you, and it was very sweet/heartbreaking to watch Lucy and Natsu struggling to get to each other, as they were both unaware of what was going to happen, they were just trying to stay together. You can easily say it’s only because they were alone together, but hello, Mashima did not need to make it like this. It was his choice to make Natsu and Lucy reach out for each other in a way that’s mostly seen between couples, esp in shõnen, and the anime made it even more beautiful.

Part 3 will come up tomorrow!

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 11 – Awakened

‘How can this be? How can I fall asleep? I can swear I took the tonic in the right dosage!’

As his medical expertise kicked in, Frankenstein speculated about the chance that the components of the tonic were below acceptable range of quantity, since he had used a new species of wolfsbane. He ruled out the option soon enough, however.

‘Not likely. I took extreme caution with the quantity of components, since I was working with a new sample. Besides, it worked fine for the past few days.’

Standing in the reenactment of his most feared phenomenon, Frankenstein endeavored to comprehend the situation. Yet he was interrupted by dark purple wave that spurted out in a circle around him, his face stiffened upon the soul-shredding shrieks.

At last... We’ve found you.

At last.

Until when did you think you could hide from us?

Billions of souls from the Dark Spear began jabbing words at him, their tone so very ominous and vicious, so very obvious that they had been waiting for this moment.

When it comes to a cold tug-of-war, first comment is the key. Knowing that, Frankenstein flexed his centuries-old poise.

“God, this is unbelievable. I know how much you folks love me, but nobody would welcome too much love.”

As always, his trick was super-effective.

Shut up! Shut UP!

You dare to stay arrogant, you thick-skinned fiend!

We shall see how long you can keep that sickening smile of yours!

One day we will bring judgment upon you!

And when we do, it’d be no use begging on your knees for our mercy!

‘Beg for mercy? Me?’

Though he was literally trapped in his nightmare, Frankenstein released an amused smile. For centuries has he nurtured his immunity against Dark Spear’s threat. He would rather give up on his name than beg for the weapon’s mercy.

“Too bad, but not happening. There’s no way I’ll be begging for your mercy, not even if you fillet my entire body or wrench my head off my shoulders.”

Frankenstein pictured the Dark Spear getting blinded by its fury, which would render its control weak and allow him to regain his body.

Kekekeke... There you go again, Frankenstein.

You want to upset us. Again.

But you’ve forgotten that we were originally humans. We still have the ability to educate ourselves.

You’d got to do better with your tongue if you want to keep those taunts of yours functional.

And it looks like you thought we’ll get you by directly laying our hands on you.

But now we know how to bring you down once and for all.

How to make the best revenge out of you.

How to make you devastated like never before.

The Dark Spear spoke something Frankenstein has never heard from it before, successfully wiping his face clean of a smile.

Just then the surface of nothingness began to brew in red. Before he could even bat an eye from what he was seeing, from a corner not very far from him sanguine fluid exploded and gurgled in a huge ball.

The crimson projection, seemingly molded with blood and guts of a living creature, was carved into a humanoid shape. Upon the spot where facial profiles would have been if it were a real human, fine structures began to stand out more and more distinctly.

To Frankenstein’s shock, they were sculpted into exact features that Raizel possessed.

Frankenstein......

To Frankenstein’s horror, the bloody Raizel emitted a sound very much alike to the actual noble’s voice, causing Frankenstein’s brows to skyrocket towards his forehead.

“Mas...”

STAB!!!

Before Frankenstein could utter a gut reaction with a term now made instinct for his lips, dark purple spikes wrecked through bloody Raizel’s body from behind, because of which bloody Raizel spouted blood from its mouth and collapsed.

Bahaha! Just look at his face!

I told you this would do the trick!

Just you wait, Frankenstein! This is only the beginning!

We’ll soon bring the same punishment upon all you hold dear!

We’ll make sure your reality is much more vivid and horrible than your nightmare!

Frankenstein’s dismay, so striking he felt as if all the cells in his brain were minced, was followed by his wrath. The Dark Spear dared to shove an effigy of his master in his face to dismantle it, thereby ridiculing its model, and announced they will do the exact same thing to the latter. It has basically reached the end of the line that Frankenstein could bear. The man was about to reveal all of his teeth as he growled in anger, just before the Dark Spear continued the show.

Master Rai...?

Boss...?

Frankenstein...?

He was thwarted by a series of voices also awfully familiar to him, and he turned around to find bloody M-21, Tao, and Takio, upon which he was made immobile.

“N-no...!”

He knew they were not real. Yet he could not help vocally responding to them, which was in vain.

STAB!

STAB!!!

SLASH!!!

Three more figures were added to the bloodshot floor, which were promptly joined by new bloody bodies.

Aargh!!!

Aaah!!!

Regis and Seira.

Kgh...! Oof...

Aaargh!!!!

Kgh... Aaaah!!

Gechutel, Karious, and Rael.

Sir... Ugh!!!!

Why...? Why did you leave my son to die, Frankenstein...? Just why...? Argh!!

Master... I don’t wanna die! Please! Please don’t leave me!! Pleaaase!!!! Aaaack!!!

Even Razark, Rayga, and Tesamu were summoned, only to be diced by Dark Spear’s aura. That was more than enough to crush Frankenstein’s composure, but Dark Spear did not stop, being as inconsiderate as it could.

Frankenstein.......

The name that bore through his ears dozens of times fossilized his entire body.

‘No way......’

He knew there is no use wishing he were mistaken, but Frankenstein was shivering as he slowly turned his face. His fear was made true upon seeing bloody Lunark crawling towards him, with multiple dark purple stakes spearing its limbs and body.

Frankenstein... Help me... Please save me...

‘No. This is impossible. What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.’

Words he could not dare speak choked him. At that moment, bloody Lunark’s body started to melt down in a mucous chunk, and bloody Lunark stretched out one of its arms in desperation and terror.

Please save me, Frankenstein! Don’t leave me to die! I thought you love me! I know you love me! Please save me...!!!!

The upper body of bloody Lunark was halfway gone, and Frankenstein’s body leapt on its own. Alas, the paradoxical rule of a dreamworld that physical laws never work properly in a dream decided to step on his lab coat. Frankenstein was certain he pressed on his legs as hard as he could, but his body was not even 5 centimeters away from where he was. Floating awkwardly in the air, Frankenstein could not bring down his arm struck out towards bloody Lunark.

‘No...’

Unfortunately for him, bloody Lunark’s face was deteriorating, and from its jawless face echoed her voice.

Please!!!!!!!

“NOOOO!!!!”

*****

Frankenstein’s eyes shot open and greedily took in light, like a drowning person devouring air right before hitting the road to the other world. He lifted his body as if he were in seizure and madly rotated his head to inspect his surroundings. His vision, made binary due to his unfocused eyes, was merged into one, and he could make out his lab visibly streaked with Dark Spear’s aura, in clear need for repair.

After diagnosing what happened, he covered a side of his face as if trying to rip out his eye.

“Goddamn it...!”

He had been feeding on the tonic more often than regular meal to somehow stay awake, but he had come to this.

He was concerned about how to deal with the situation before the 3rd Elder was back, but he soon learned that there was no need to worry about quick administration of the scene.

“What the... What on earth happened...?”

The 3rd Elder walked past the entrance towards him. The man was donning casual hoodie and cotton pants, with a plastic bag of groceries in his hand.

“I can see these marks are from your power. What kind of problem would make your lab like... Like this?”

The 3rd Elder looked genuinely flustered, based on which Frankenstein surmised at least he woke up before he arrived. With the assurance, his instinct for survival was sparked to life, maneuvering his tongue in a speed of light.

“The file I was trying to decipher happened to be unusually complicated. So I lost it, since I’m not making any progress when there is so much to read and handle.”

“...I’m grateful I was outside in the meantime.”

“Sorry about the mess. I’ll fix up this place, so you don’t need to mind it.”

“I can help you with...”

“Thanks, but no thanks. There’s something I gotta double-check as well.”

“...Very well. Call me whenever you need me.”

With the 3rd Elder gone to the kitchen, Frankenstein began to collect what he could at the moment and work his head.

The damage was not so severe, which meant that he probably did not waste much time in slumber. Which meant the wolfsbane tonic was not entirely ineffective.

‘Perhaps my body has grown resistant to the tonic. So I’d require greater dosage.’

Frankenstein swiftly reached a conclusion; after all, he had predicted such case could take place. He noted to himself that he should recalculate the formula for the tonic to increase the contents.

Meanwhile, he was being tortured by an unpleasant feeling.

No, unpleasant was an understatement.

‘How very bold of you, Dark Spear.’

Bold was also an understatement. He so very wished he could pull out the Dark Spear and punch it so hard it would blast off past the Arctic towards the Andromeda Galaxy.

‘It just had to choose only those I care about...’

As he recalled the bloody figures one by one, he got stuck on the last scene, which was evidently directed by Dark Spear with extra care.

‘Why...? Why her...?’

He tried so hard to force amnesia upon himself. But as it is commonly said, people are bound to think about elephants when they are told not to.

Please save me, Frankenstein! Don’t leave me to die! I thought you love me! I know you love me! Please save me...!!!!

For some strange reason, that line was branded especially strongly in his memories. As a chain reaction, he reminisced how his heart exhibited irregular pulse when her head touched his chest the same day, which altogether led him to a theory.

‘Do I love her...? No, that’s not possible!’

He violently shook his head and deliberately sped up his hands and feet to restore his lab. He was vehemently struggling to play blind to his feelings already awakened.

*****

Meantime, Seoul in the afternoon

Thin lines weaved in the form of a chessboard were swirling within vicinity.

No, not within vicinity – in a distance.

As she squinted her eyes and compelled her vision to be more productive, she could better make out the lines, which turned out to be the edges of tiles on the ceiling.

‘Where am I...?’

Whether it is heaven or hell, she never heard that there is a tiled ceiling in the afterlife. To add to it, the last thing she remembered was Yuri ramming in all sorts of stuff by Crombell’s order, until he froze her in the end.

Crombell. Experiment. Yuri.

She was reminded of the pains and mortifications she went through before being frozen.

You look alarmed. But I suggest you give up. Right now your body will never obey you. What do you make of this, Dr. Crombell?

Excellent. I’ve earned something much more useful than I’d expected. She’d make a fine primary sample for this experiment. So Yuri, I believe you know what to do.

Back then Crombell’s face, smiling inside the monitor, made her stomach heave.

“Crombell... I’ll get you for this, you...!”

“Finally. You’re awake.”

She flinched as if she were electrocuted and turned her head, wincing and moaning as the back muscles so far relieved of their duties pulled with a burning ache. The speaker’s voice drew near along with taps of shoes.

“Please don’t move. Your body is still stiff.”

She aimed her semi-muddy light green eyes to the man who was covering her shoulders with the blanket that slid to the floor.

“Who... What are you?”

“...So you don’t remember me. Which I figured.”

With mysterious looks Takio responded to Yuigi, awakened at last.

(next chapter)

The title of this chapter refers to both Frankenstein and Yuigi. When I give a title, I try to settle on something that can encompass everything that happens in the chapter.

And yes - next chapter will be about Yuigi and Takio. But since almost nothing is really known about Yuigi, what you will find in next chapter is solely based on my imaginations. LoL. Hope you’d stay tuned for next week!

[imgoingtocrash]

1-20 lololol

thank u for your pity savannah joke’s on all of my followers I am absolutely going to answer them all because I’m bored

1. who is the hardest character for you to write?

At the moment it’s MJ--but I’m slowly overcoming that writing block and getting to know her better as I write her. Otherwise...I don’t know, I rarely write for characters if I don’t feel I have a decent angle on them.

2. who is the easiest character for you to write?

Deadpan Snarkers, lol. Tony, Kanan, sometimes Jyn...though I used to like writing for Felicity a lot too because she’s very cute-funny instead of snarky-funny and it was interesting to play with.

3. How do you know if your writing is “in character”?

This is tough, because I think a lot of the fun of fanfic is that we play with what “in character” means, but in my writing, I imagine it all very cinematically--could I imagine the character being played that way by their actor, could I make this scene happen in some alternate universe tv show and feel like it meshes with the real thing (or what I would prefer the canon character was like, in some cases)?

4. Where do your story ideas come from?

It depends. Sometimes it’s seeing something that already exists and taking inspiration (EX: an AU, a trope, an episode of TV, a movie) and other times it’s a very specific scene in my head. (EX: Tony finding Peter in the cabin in your energy has not died. I had to iron out the details of the story as a whole, but I saw Peter’s cabin and Tony’s approach very clearly.)

5. Do you tell the people in your life that you write fics?

I used to, but now I’m more careful about it. My parents have always supported it, but they didn’t really get it. Friends I’ve had since high school are either fandom friends who read it or friends who I showed my writing to at the time. My roommate in college wrote some, so we’d talk about it sometimes. I don’t talk about it at work because it doesn’t really come up, but I don’t think my boss or anyone would think it’s too weird bc we’re all creatives.

6. What has been the hardest fic for you to write?

Invulnerable is off and on hard, just because it’s a very “I HAVE AN IDEA...aaaand now I have to make it into a whole Thing” process that I have with it. this was is the story of our lives was pretty tough just because it’s futurefic, and I was determined to get my ages and dates and things right, and with Star Wars that can be a whooooole monster.

7. What fic of yours makes you the most emotional?

Chapters 5 and 6 of Invulnerable made my eyes water for sure. I haven’t been through anything like it, but the emotional, physical places that I put Tony and Peter in for those chapters were really raw. A Foreign Feeling is pretty high up there now, because it took MONTHS of work with Savannah, and it was fun and emotional and we both had writers block at times but WE DID THE DAMN THING and it feels really good and weird to have it done. Also, you got me hoping for a miracle, because it’s THE HUG WE DESERVED!!!

8. What is a scene you wrote that you are most proud of?

The Vanity Fair article in i fell for mantle photographs is a point of pride for me. I don’t know why, I just always wanted to do something like it, and it feels sleek and modern and super in-universe.

9. Is there one character that you refuse to write? why?

I don’t have any hard and fast rules or anything, but it’s unlikely I’ll ever write for villains. I know some people get a kick of exploring their POVs, but I rarely do.

10. When you write fics, how much of canon are you willing to ignore/skip over?

It seems like a cop-out to say it depends, but it does. In general I’m pretty flexible (most commonly, in who lives and dies), but there’s a point where it essentially becomes original fiction with character names slapped on it, you know? I like to be able to recognize the characters I’m reading about, even if it’s in an AU.

11. Do you prefer to be cold or hot when you write?

Cold. I like to bundle up and sit in my little writing blanket cocoon.

12. What is your ideal writing area?

I do just about everything on my laptop, in my bed. It’s made for staying comfy while writing for hours.

13. How do you come up with your titles?

I’m a fan of using details and quotes from the stories themselves. I also like using songs/quotes as a title that have relation/meaning to the story. I just want things to connect and have meaning.

14. How do you come up with chapter titles?

Honestly, I usually don’t use chapter titles much. When I do, it’s pretty basic.

15. At what point in writing a fic, do you decide to quit?

Well, passion is a big part of it. If I don’t want to write the fic anymore...I won’t. There are also some points where I just...know it’s not going anywhere. If I can’t come up with the next section, if I’ve been stuck on one place for months and purposefully am writing everything else BUT that fic...it’s time to let it go. If an impulse idea makes me want to pick it back up, it’s always there, but I have a lot of WIPs and I try to prioritize and keep it fun by doing whatever I feel like doing.

16. How much of your personal life do you put into fics?

Too much? Not enough?? Tbh I’m inspired by events/people from my life more than I directly reference specific things. Like, 287 Miles, i like (the idea of) you, and the Twenty-Something series weren’t my college experience, but there were a lot of things inspired by campus life, stressors I experienced, or ways I wish my college life had been.

17. What is the most supportive comment you have gotten?

Most recently, the user Laronia on AO3 literally commented on EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY MARVEL FICS. ALL OF THEM. AND THEN LEFT A GIANT, AMAZING COMMENT ON A Foreign Feeling. I am so incredibly touched about it. No one has ever done that before. I felt like a fucking superstar all day.

18. What is the most negative comment you have gotten?

Someone left comments on a couple of my Star Wars Rebels fics that were literally just. Fact correcting me. The most UM, ACTUALLY, bullshit. ON CANON DIVERGENT FICS. Like, no other commentary about the fic. They took the effort to sign in and comment as a guest--not a member, a guest with a username--just to “correct me”. Why. Anyway, in retaliation, I then took the effort to put those comments in the I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS DUDE meme from It’s Always Sunny and sent it to a friend to make myself feel better.

19. How do you handle negative comments?

I really don’t get many, which has been a relief. I think a lot of us do extra research on things like canon timelines, medical jargon, etc. because we’ve experienced gatekeepers like the above commenter and it sucks. We’re terrified that with every fic we have to prove ourselves as “real fans” “worthy” of writing fic. I still do it, even though a part of me wants to be the kind of person that doesn’t spend an hour researching smoke inhalation treatments, what ages everyone was before the Blip, or what year x Star Wars battle happened. I just...try to be kind to my fellow writers and hope that karma comes back to me.

20. What story that you have written makes you the happiest to re-read?

The Cloak Verse is so soft, as a series. Everything in it is fluffy and whumpy and there just because I wanted it to exist. Also, everything I did for Pepperony Week 2019! I worked really hard on all of them, and every one came out really well imo. Again--they’re fics I wanted to read for them, so I made them. OH, and Honorary Stark. It’s EXCELLENT 5 Times fic in general, and I love when I get to do The OTP + The Parent&Child Relationship. (Plus, 3rd Person Perspective on The OTP!)

[fireeaglespirit]

@beyond-far-horizons

I do. I’ve always shied away from the LOTR/Sil community on tumblr or anywhere cos I want to keep my attachment to them all to myself given how formative they were for me and still are. Never the less I do like this interpretation of Melkor’s actions over Tolkien’s “he is Satan and darn right bad!” cos I have always been a fangirl of Melkor esp because most of the Valar are such stuck up good too shoes (apart from Ulmo - love you Ulmo!) Basically I adore Melkor (even though I don’t justify what he did) and Ulmo, like Nienna, Aule, Yavanna and Varda but Manwe….Manwe…just too good…and ‘the Windlord’ just isn’t a good title in some senses of the word hehe. It’s just the selfish way they acted towards the elves and especially humanity - no special treatment for them, no guidance (apart from Ulmo - what a dude) and then they wake up and get dragged into the war between Melkor and the elves - even though they didn’t start it and will not get reborn if killed. Okay okay Melkor was terrible and did terrible things but I’ve never liked that dualistic way of thinking as much as i admire the Professor. 

I’m replying here as to avoid any problems with the og of the post or whatever, but yeah... this is as far as I go concerning fandom right now but it was very worthy reading the book, I did enjoy it when I got a hold on how to read it properly. 

I must be honest and say, some parts were a chore to get through but others were so delightful it paid off in the end, much like other books I’ve enjoyed including ASOIAF which had painfully lackluster parts, I do dig for the gems and its always worthy.

I did write a huge post concerning the first parts of it and my thoughts, but I don’t know if I’ll post it as its a bit too harsh (extremely delicate subject for some, I know but for me nothing is sacred on this regard) on some elements which after some research made more sense to me. Also, taking in consideration the time period it was written and some info about the author made it much better for me to get into it, etc... I’m also highly tolerant of different world views (for real) so even thought I don’t agree with some of his concepts and I oppose some of them, I can sort of ‘ignore them’ in order to enjoy my cherry picked favorite aspects of the creation and even taking them into consideration is interesting for the ‘different point of view’ I mentioned.

As you wisely notice I don’t have much love for the whole bible-like aspects which by any means pertain just to the structure of the early parts of the book, but to the ongoing theme of the battle of good x evil, including most of the morale of the book itself which feels very ‘christian’ and monotheistic despite the presence of the Valar as god-like figures, which superficially might look polytheistic, Eru’s influence is undeniable even when he’s not actively present in the narrative: All good stems from Eru, or being close to him and following his way and almost every bad thing that happens is due to the meddling of a single guy whose own very existence was allowed by Eru and who opposes him... In the end, all evil comes from not following god’s will or not believing him. Don’t need to say I’m not a huge fan of the concept *coughs*

Anyway, I also recently read through the parts concerning Numenor and it made me angry also, especially concerning the way humans were left with no guidance at all, it no wonder they feel prey to manipulation, they were starved for something they could never achieved and they could never be enlightened on the reason for that. 

I don’t know and never understood why ‘faith’ or believing without at sort of clue or proof is held in such a high stem by most people, so its hard for me to swallow the way the humans were just told to never fucking go to west and to not desire immortality which was just natural for elves and spirits and they were not given a proper explanation or reason why... they just had to believe it. I know the Valar aren't omniscient too so they don’t know Eru’s reason either, but they could've been more helpful concerning the subject of the undying lands, I know at some point they are more open about it but perhaps it was way too late. LOL. What would it cost for a higher being to just go there and tell them the story and  functioning of the world, etc... I don’t know if this sounds stupid or even makes sense but I felt sorry for the guys in Numenor who died in the collective murder by Eru (this stank of bible but wasn't nearly as bad since well just a little part of the world was swallowed up :l and god basically killed everyone save a guy and his little family so props to Eru). I feel weird.

The problem to me is not the monotheistic setting itself, but the fact its endorsed and not ever criticized, etc.. I could enjoy any book with any world view as long as it challenges itself and Tolkien just goes straight away and never look back in this. I guess I just have a more ‘cynical’ or ‘doubtful’ point of view regarding deities in general, esp. monotheistic ones so I’d rather have some more shades of gray concerning those who oppose the all powerful god, just like you did regarding the demons on the DMC fic verse where you can see there are multiple forces at play and its not so simple, but I digress its just the way things are and that’s what the book is and its a relatively old book with different mindset and cultural references than we commonly have today.

To me, taking it away and just overlooking certain implications I can sort of get behind it, lol.

I’m also not a huge fan of the Valar, personally, they look cool as heck but most of them are indifferent AF and don’t act much. Worse than that, they don’t seem to hold much concern towards humanity... During the war of the wrath I just kept thinking “why haven’t you done this before??” and lol

I guess its a bit like my own Polaris whom after meddling with humanity for long just took a back seat, sort of understandable when things went awry before and you just don’t know if your meddling is causing good or bad anymore so you just let it be for a while, and for those beings a ‘while’ might mean centuries easy. The Valar, just like my dragons hold a lot of power, compared to ‘gods’ but neither hold omniscience so its understandable that they make mistakes, I just don’t necessarily agree with the position of utter indifference they took after some events... I mean to work with this theme concerning my dragons and how they deal with this so it was interesting nonetheless seeing the story evolve and what it leads to.

Anyway, the Silm. has a very interesting arc concerning its mythology since the higher power consecutively ‘take a back seat’ in order to let the world develop on its own, first of all is Eru himself and them slowly the ranks of spirits whom where once the focus of attention leave the picture one after the other until the story is taken over mostly by elves and afterwards even the elves leave the scene for humans to take over. This is very interesting and works to explain why the ‘powers that be’ are not as vivid as they were, etc... I really enjoyed reading the over arching theme and how it played out, it will definitely help me on my writing endeavors.

I totally agree on Ulmo like FFS he was the only guys still around when shit went down and he was always there trying to help the ‘good guys’, also Aule has some interesting facets early on and well... the Valar look incredible, especially Varda & birdy (fart) lord Manwe, but they don’t hold much more to me than cool looks, which is sad as they had potential. Also, I live for goth queen Nienna but she does nothing through the story...

Well, once more we’re left in the world of ‘what could've been’. I’m quite used to it and not complaining, just stating in my personal opinion the text could be easily turned into something much more interesting to me with minor tweaks. 

[lifeonthethinblueline-blog]

Nightmare, X, and the Torture House

In the summer of 2015, I was a rookie cop.  I'd been on the force for about a year, working in the worst part of my city.  There were shootings and stabbings almost nightly, and murders regularly.  Most of it was gang related incidences, people in the game killing people in the game. After a while, I learned all the basic stuff a beat cop is supposed to know.  I began to  feel more comfortable going on violent, in-progress calls.  A shooting here, a murder there, it all became routine.  Make sure the scene is safe, treat victims and have them transported to a hospital if necessary, arrest  the suspect  if probable cause exists or air their description on the radio, and interview witnesses.  If the suspect isn't arrested or detained immediately, put out a warrant if there is probable cause to do so.  I began to lose some of the empathy I had when I was brand new.  You can't dine on grief every night and not become hardened towards it.

Before each shift begins, all of the Officers on a shift have a meeting called "Line-up."  It was in line-up that I first heard about a group calling themselves, "The Lord's Chosen."  I remember my shift Sergeant leaning back in his chair talking about how two identified males, one using the moniker "Nightmare" the other "X," were the leaders in the gang.  They were believed to be abducting people around town, mostly homeless people and tweekers, and torturing them in a basement.  The Sergeant said the people coming forward with the information were very hesitant to speak about The Lord's Chosen, out of fear of being abducted.  The Sergeant informed us we didn't have enough for a search warrant, and definitely not enough to arrest either male.  All we had were suspicions, which are basically worthless.

Even after dealing with murders and the like, I was instantly very interested in the torture allegations.  Torture, to me, seems far FAR more personal and violent than just shooting and killing someone.  Torture, in the way that they appeared to be using it, was a means to dominate a group of people.  To make them act as you want them to act, and to fear acting in any other way.  Torture, in the basement of a suburban home, in America, seemed so grotesque and out of place it didn't seem real.  

A good cop takes his suspicions and tries to firm something up.  In this case, that means looking for the two males and trying to find them engaged in a criminal act.  From that, A good Officer can try to dig into their suspicions about the torture.  

The males were believed to be spending time at the pool of a nearby apartment complex, “Stanford Pines.”  The Pines, as it was commonly known, was one of the most shady places in the city.  Many murders had happened there over the years, and Officers never went to any call there alone.  As of the time of this writing, I have personally been involved in four murder investigations at The Pines.  They would typically change the name of the complex and paint it a different color after every murder.  The place was so run down the owner was forced to sell it after he had too many code violations and it was on the verge of being condemned.  All of the windows to the doors leading to the interior stairways were shattered and heroin needles littered the parking lot.  

I started going to the complex regularly with an Officer I often partnered with.  In a way, he was my mentor.  He had been a cop for nearly twenty years in a large urban city in Texas.  He then went to work at a government contractor in Afghanistan for five years.  When I say government contractor, I'm not talking about Kellogg, Brown, and Root or some construction company, I'm talking about one of the groups that made problems go away.  He was as stone cold as anyone I've ever met, but he also had no ego, and was one of the most knowledgeable Officers I have ever met.  He took me under his wing when we went to the Police Academy together.  We bonded, I think, because I had served six years in the Army Infantry, one of those years in combat, before becoming a cop, and he had served in a combat speciality before becoming a cop.  He taught me right from wrong, and he taught me how to be proactive and catch bad guys in the act instead of just responding to calls.

We began asking people in the complex if they had heard of either male, and could get nowhere.  We looked for cars associated with them and came up dry.  Eventually we got some information that X was known to carry an AK-47 with him everywhere he went, and he had been involved in a string of personal robberies, that is to say he robbed people, not businesses or banks.  Other sources provided us with information on the location of Nightmare's house and the motorcycle he frequently rode.  Try as we might, no one on the department could find a good location for X.  He seemed to move around a lot and never sleep in the same place more than a couple nights in a row.

Then it happened, the first crack in the case. A call came in stating neighbors could hear someone screaming from Nightmare's house.  This fit the profile that someone could be being tortured.  That house was well known to everyone on the shift at that point, and a large number of Officers responded to the scene.  I set up on the back side of the house with another Officer.  We waited there and watched the back door to make sure no one ran out while other Officers made contact at the front door. As we waited, it was aired over the radio Officers were having difficulty getting anyone to the door.  Nightmare had rigged a contraption on the front door where, instead of a typical doorbell, there was a string that could be pulled that would ring a bell in the basement.  After some time, Officers contacted the residents and began to get people out of the house.  

Over the radio, Officers informed us there were five people in the house, one of them a possible cartel member.  The possible cartel member had tattoos all over his person, to include his face, and he did not have any hard identification on his person.  Also inside the house was a female, two other males, and Nightmare. Due to the allegations of screaming coming from the home, a search was conducted to ensure no one inside the home was dying or severely injured.  Once the quick walk through was completed, Officers stated they found no injured persons inside the home.  We had to walk away from it.

I was sorely disappointed.  We all felt strongly that something bad was happening inside the basement of the home, but we didn't have enough to do anything about it.  Officers even had the chance to walk through based on the reported screaming, and still came up empty.  We were back to square one, and no one was happy about it.  

Calls continued to come in from concerned neighbors, and information continued to slowly leak in from people busted for drug possession about the abductions and the torture house.  Information began to suggest Nightmare had a hefty supply of meth coming in, and he used it to control others.  He was come out with lists of people he wanted abducted and brought to him.  Once he had them, he would question them in "the chair."  It was said he would lock them into the chair in some way, then torture them, sometimes for days on end.  Again it was said that anyone that went through that was too scared to talk to the police out of fear it would happen again.

About a week later, the Sergeant leading line-up informed us a warrant had been issued for X. It was just a misdemeanor warrant for Domestic Violence, but it was jailable and would give us access to some information if we were able to get him into custody.  As no one knew where he stayed, the search for X went on for weeks.  We were informed all specialized units dealing with street crimes were searching for him, and all of patrol in my division was certainly looking for him, but we came up empty again and again.  We checked acquaintances, old girlfriends, family members homes and came up dry.  It was beginning to seem like X was a ghost.  

One day I was lucky enough to be put into a two man car with my mentor.  It was a bright day, early in our shift around 4pm when we were sent to a call where a child was running amok and the family thought maybe the police could come and be the parent for a while.  We handled the call, like we always do.  Everyone was calmed down and happy when we left.  We were on a small residential side street near Nightmare's house, pulling away.  I began to type notes into my computer so the next Officer dispatched to that address would know what happened on our call.  I was focused on the computer when my partner said, "We've got to put a stop on that car." 

He began to make a three point turn on the side street.  I saw the vehicle.  It was a small 90s Honda.  As he turned the car my partner said, "He definitely did the felony nod as he passed us.  Something's going on with him."  I saw the Honda begin to speed up and it quickly took a corner.  We began to try to catch up to it. 

When we rounded the corner it was obvious the vehicle was now actively fleeing from us.  He took another turn at a high rate of speed trying to lose us.  I called out on the radio, informing dispatch and all other Officers in our division of the traffic stop.  As we came around that corner I could see the driver was driving recklessly, travelling around 60 mph on a residential street that children frequently play on.  He then rounded another corner, travelling faster than the little Honda could handle, and slammed into the back of a parked truck.  

We pulled up behind the Honda and quickly got out.  In many instances like this one, the person that brings their weapon to bear fastest is the one that lives.  The driver's door of the Honda popped open.  We already had our service pistol's out, pointed at the suspect.  He showed us his hands and got out.  Immediately, I knew the driver of the Honda was X from all the pictures I had seen of him.  He had been known to carry guns in the past, so I held him at gunpoint while my partner put him in handcuffs.  

I also noted a male was in the passenger's seat pretending to be unconscious.  I called for an ambulance and we put X in our police cruiser.  I held the male at gunpoint and gave him commands to exit the vehicle.  He dropped the unconscious act and began to comply.  He was detained in handcuffs.  At that time, many other Officers arrived on scene and the male that had been unconscious earlier, who I will identify here only as Jerry, was placed in a police cruiser.  During a search of Jerry and X, both parties had user amounts of meth in their pockets.  They also both had outstanding warrants.

I began to work the scene with my partner.  As it turned out, the Honda was stolen.  There were items from eight separate burglaries in the backseat of the vehicle, and a stolen gun was recovered under the driver's seat where X had been sitting.  While we were working the scene, Nightmare roared by on his motorcycle.  It was clear he wanted us to know he was there, watching us.   We notified our Gang Unit, and they came out to talk to X.  My partner and I took Jerry back to the substation and interviewed him.  As it turned out, Jerry was on his way to the Chair when when X crashed into the parked truck.  We had just saved him from possibly days of torture.  He was rattled and cried during our interview with him.  He knew a lot, and what he told us broke the case wide open.....

to be continued.

[tsvitok]

Forming a sentence.

This is a sentence.

We form most of how we communicate through sentences, they’re pretty important honestly. And you know, most of us know how to make a sentence, it’s how we communicate after all.

The basic construction of a sentence is that there is a subject and an object. A sentence is about something (subject) and the subject is doing something to something else (object).

A subject is always required, because a sentence has to be about something.

An object doesn’t always have to be present, but it usually does for it to make sense.

Objects are very simply put, the thing that the subject is acting upon.

So in the very first sentence of this post; “This is a sentence.”

The subject is “this” because it is what the sentence is about. The object is “sentence” because “this” is acting on “sentence” by providing context so you can understand. If you took “sentence” on its own, it wouldn’t provide the same understanding as this full sentence.

That’s all pretty simple, dry and frankly fairly boring. Let’s talk about the important stuff.

Sentences have a rhythm to them, much like music. When you read you don’t do it silently, even in your head your mind is saying the words. Usually this is called “pace”, so this isn’t a revolutionary idea, but rhythm more accurately captures how it works.

The rhythm is more important than any other part of a sentence to establishing feeling. It is the background music in a film, the brush strokes of a painting. If you have a weak or slow rhythm to an action scene then you sow a discord in the mind and you lose impact.

However, if you have a slow, creeping rhythm to a horror scene you create suspense.

So what creates rhythm? How you structure your sentences.

If, for instance, I wanted to create a mood, where by you, regularly stop, and think. I would use commas, periods and ellipses (...). These are all tools we understand as both ways to join together parts of a sentence or end a sentence, but they are also ways we signal “stops” or more academically pause. It is why a period is also commonly called a “full-stop”.

A comma indicates a half-stop, a brief pause. A period indicates a full-stop, a pause. An ellipses indicates an elongated stop, a long pause.

This comes from how we read things out loud, they give moments to pause for breath. That’s why really long sentences (called run-on sentences) that seem to never stop and never contain any commas or periods or anything to indicate a pause where you can catch your breath are considered poor grammar and feel exhausting to read.

Conversely, too many commas is usually also considered bad. This comes from the formal rules of English as a language. It is basically a way to explain to children to be concise, but it sticks with adults because we’re taught to read and write in a concise manner. That’s good for academia, but when you’re doing things for enjoyment you can throw out a lot of rules.

One important thing to keep in mind however is that people will be dragged out of a story if you abuse certain rules. They do exist for reasons, what you should aim for is clearness. If for instance you forget an object in a sentence, you will jar people from the story. It’s hard to do though, so don’t worry. Usually a quick read through will be enough to notice them.

The next important thing to keep in mind is that while rhythm is controlled through pauses, it is actually constructed through three other things; motion, timing and focus.

In common terms we call these voice, tense and perspective.

Voice represents the motion of the sentence, the way the rhythm moves to the beat to set up. It comes in two forms; active and passive. Both set up the relationship between the subject and the object.

In active voice the subject is acting upon the object, while in passive voice the object is being acted upon by the subject. Yes, those are two different things.

Here are some examples.

The woman opens the front door.

The front door is opened by the woman.

In both, the woman is the subject and the front door is the subject. The difference is who has the power in the subject-object relationship. Who is more important. You can almost always tell by what comes first, and given how hard it is to write effective passive voice you will generally only see active voice. In fact a lot of writers are told not to use it.

You should though, you should use it where it will create a good rhythm - but avoid it otherwise as it is often harder to read. What is a good rhythm for passive voice? Well when you need the motion to flow slowly and carefully, usually.

Tense represents the timing of the sentence, both literal and figurative, as we will discuss. There are three forms of tense; past, present and future.

Past tense conveys that the sentence has already happened, and delivers a definitive tone to the sentence. You read a sentence written in past tense like a history book - it has already happened and doesn’t require resolution, so you take your time. Your expectations are set at it having happened, so no point expecting otherwise.

An example of a past tense sentence, “There was no happiness to be found.”

Present tense conveys that the sentence is currently happening, and delivers a more uncertain tone. You read a sentence written in present tense like you watch a movie - it is happening and it requires resolution, so better find out what happens. Your expectations are set at it currently happening, so until the sentence ends you can expect a change.

An example of a present tense sentence, “There is no happiness to be found.”

Here you see that because it is currently happening, your expectations may be the same, but you take it more as a guideline as though someone is telling you, but because it is currently happening they must know something. It isn’t resolved until the sentence ends.

Future tense conveys that the sentence is yet to happen, it establishes a speculative tone and sets your expectations at zero as anything can happen. You read a sentence written in future tense like a horoscope - there is a high probability it may not happen, but imagine if it did. Your expectations are set at the fact it will maybe happen, so anything could change.

An example of a future tense sentence, “There will be no happiness to be found.”

There is no real urgency in past or future tenses, while present tense offers that feeling of urgency. While past tense offers a very definite feeling and future tense offers a very speculative one. Keep that in mind when choosing a tense for your sentence.

Perspective represents the focus of the sentence, whether it is focused through you, onto you or onto someone else. The relationship between the perspective and the reader is one of the most important parts of engaging with a story, some people have an intense dislike of certain perspectives, and it is important to realise why. Part of the reason people read, game, watch films, and so on, is to put themselves into a different place. It is escapism, and some people have a harder time losing themselves reading certain perspectives, playing certain games, focusing on certain types of characters.

The key is to not expect everyone to love your work, people will dislike you simply because you don’t suit them. It’s cool though, other people will love your stuff.

There are three forms of perspective; first person, second person and third person.

First person perspective sets the reader as the focus, it makes it personal. It is like the bass of a song turned up to ten so you feel it in your chest. This personal connection sets the person reading as the subject of the sentence - the one that is acting upon the object, as though you are telling yourself the story.

An example of a first person perspective sentence; “I woke up in a woman’s bed.”

Second person perspective sets the reader as the focus, but through the lens of a conversation. The reader is not doing the actions but they are being told they are doing the actions, and it adds a sense of intimate distance - like a friend retelling a story about you to another friend.

An example of a second person perspective sentence, “You woke up in a woman’s bed.”

Third person perspective sets a character distinct from the reader as the focus. It removes the intimacy and instead provides a sense that the reader is being told the story. This allows a more fantastic feeling, without limiting the reader to themselves, when they put themselves into another character’s position they can do anything.

An example of a third person perspective sentence, “She woke up in a woman’s bed.”

As you can see, third person is much more exact, leaving less to the interpretation of the reader. You cannot assume things about the reader in the same way you can a third person character. In music the bass line is the current flowing under the main sound, it is the part of music that has the most physiological impact - high enough it will actually be felt in your body. The relationship of the reader to the sentence has that impact of forming a similar feeling - and just like how some people despise EDM or Dubstep, some people despise first person, or second person, or third person.

So a quick recap.

Sentences are formed of subjects and objects - the subject acts on the object.

Sentences have a rhythm, which can be controlled by use of commas, periods and ellipses (pauses), and are built up out of voice, tense and perspective.

The key to a good sentence is understanding how the rhythm is built and learning how to control it.

Hopefully this helped a few of you. Got any questions, need clarification, leave a comment.

[vernal-witch]

Link!! Good adventure kid for the character asks

FUCK YEA MY SONHow I feel about this character:I Love Him So Much, he’s such a good sweet boy in every iteration of the character, expressive Link like in WW and BOTW is especially really good. He cares abt his friends sm and is so brave against huge evils despite his always humble beginnings. Each Link is unique, even if some are left up to the players more than others, but they’re all adorable and admirable.All the people I ship romantically with this characterOoT: Malon! They’re really sweet together theyre that couple who’s always teasing eachother. They logically set up TP Link being born a farmer, too.SS: Zelda, do I even need to explain why? The game sets it up as Het Content sure, but like neither of them is cis or het and theyre so fucking cute.TP: Midna! God I Love Midlink, their relationship developing over the course of the game was so precious. (but also Midna and Zelda have history, she’s dating her too too and Link supports her.)BOTW: See it’s tough to pick between Zelda, Mipha, and Sidon here, bc all three are really sweet and adorable and I love all the possibilities bc the character dynamics in BOTW are amazing.My non-romantic OTP for this characterBOTW Link and the other champions, I feel like off screen before the Calamity he got really close with all of them, even Revali who slowly goes from genuine jealousy to affectionate friendship bullying.MM Link with Skull Kid, I feel like he stayed friends with him after the two of them returned to Hyrule, and got really close since they both had to live through Majora’s chaos.Minish Cap Link and Zelda are fucking precious as childhood best friends and I ADORE THEM.My unpopular opinion about this characterPeople who insist that Link is a M A N and S T R A I G H T because that’s how what the limited amount of canon content is meaning to say, bc he uses he pronouns and dates women in some lives? Fucking cowards. Fucking fools, all of them. I say DEATH OF THE AUTHOR! Link’s identity varies from life to life, but this boy has NEVER been cishet in any. He’s most commonly nonbinary and bisexual. Also side headcanon, he’s mute and speaks Hylian sign language!One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.I wish Nintendo would have Link reincarnate as another race than Hylian for once, specifically a Gerudo to both make the character more canonically diverse than a blonde haired blue eyed white cishet man (as far as Nintendo keeps insisting), and to develop their culture and views on gender better than the company has in canon, bc those have always been handled very shittily, leaving Link to get portrayed as such too at times, such as the all around awful scene with Villia in BOTW (having a trans woman’s name be close to Villain while making her a joke, nice nintendo, real nice)