#even though it will almost def never be plot relevant

[cewyll]

hii! i found your blog by accident and i'm mesmerized. i used to play rp on twitter and i really wanted to start doing the same here but idk where to start. could you please give me some tips?

oh hey, thank you so much for reaching out! :D i'll admit i'm not as active on this blog as on others, but it makes me happy to have reached you nonetheless. <3

i'd be delighted to give you some tips to start out! it's definitely a process that feels a bit alien at first, but over time you get a feel for it. :>

i am soooo sorry in advance, this is going to be super long — you picked a wordy bitch to ask 😂 but i'll try to format this in a way that's easier to read!

take your time to go through stuff & no need to read or absorb it all right away. feel free to keep this post bookmarked to look back on whenever you need it as well.

💖 welcome to raine's stupidly-long guide to starting tumblr rp! 💖 qualification: i've had this blog for 11 years. fml disclaimer: still all just from my perspective, i'm just one gal with opinions hehe

start out by making a new blog for your character. (i wouldn't recommend starting out with a sideblog personally, since you can't send asks from them). choose a url that feels relevant. i'm always a fan of the ol "smush two words together that sound nice" technique — ie, my other blogs are huntershowl and icarusplunged — which never seems to fully go out of style. really you can do whatever feels right to you :)

the most important part of setting up an rp blog is creating a rules page and, if you're writing an OC, an about page. the rules set up your boundaries, your wants and don't wants, anything you want someone to know before they follow you. the about page should give new partners everything they need to know about your character — personality, appearance, setting/lore, any backstory you want to display publicly.

feel free to look around at different rpers' rules pages and use them as inspiration! as long as nothing is copypasted and everything is your own original content, which brings me to etiquette.

etiquette!

'tis largely an Unspoken Thing in the rpc (rp community), and breaching it can def make people feel uncomfortable (even though that's something that Should be in rules pages, most of us forget haha). here are the things i can think of off the top of my head:

the way to reach out to new people is simply to follow them. that's all you gotta do! if they don't follow back, don't push, just unfollow them after a few weeks and move on. it's almost never personal!

in that vein, if someone's blog is private/selective/mutuals-only, wait to interact until they follow back.

once they do, it's up to you how you want to move forward — usually i'll wait until they post some sort of interaction call for you to like. a starter call, a plotting call, orrrr if they reblog an ask meme (which is like a list of sentence prompts! you can choose one from the list and send it as an ask, which they can use as an rp starter.) you can also just IM them though :)

don't reblog non-rp content (ask memes, quotes/imagery, etc) directly from another rp blog, it clogs up their notifications! just reblog from the original post instead.

don't interact with other people's threads (liking or reblogging, but feel free to read them and talk about them ooc!), and only respond to a starter if it's labeled as open — otherwise it was probably written for another rper specifically.

try not to prod people too hard if they haven't responded in a while. some folks are okay with being reminded about a forgotten thread a few weeks after replies stall out.

always tag nsft (not safe for tumblr, the other acronym gets flagged/hidden) and very upsetting content — gore, SA or abuse mentions, etc. i've seen some people starting to use "dead dove do not eat" as a catch-all for super dark content, but honestly that phrase gives me the heebiest of jeebies so i prefer to go with individual tags

general platformless rp etiquette rules apply: don't steal other people's content, don't assume or control the other character's actions/thoughts/etc.

be kind to each other, most of all. communicate when you have a problem with someone, rather than making a vague/callout post about them. that being said, i'm a proponent of the block button — blocking people is okay! it's not a big deal. this is a hobby space and no one is entitled to you. advocate for yourself!!

okay that was a long section, whew! lil break. take a sip of water. have a snack mayhaps.

now: RP STRUCTURE (the fun part)

we don't really do "script" style rp on tumblr — it'll usually, if not always, be in prose/paragraph form. formatting is a fun touch, but not necessary. as you can see, i'm using small text here with some little chunks of text in bold/italic or regular size text to add some visual interest. again, not necessary! experiment, figure out what you like!

lots of people will use icons of different sizes — 100x100 is the most common, but they really do vary. i would suggest going smaller rather than bigger (like don't use full post-width gifs or icons, try to keep them under half the size of the post? that's the most common vibe at least.)

icons can be used to "illustrate" your character's expression among a bunch of text, if you want Visual Spice. but they are soooo not necessary! totally up to you.

here are some examples of my icon styling!

there are lots of rp resources out here for cool coloring psd's and graphic templates for ya blog. create something fun and pretty that you like! <3

to reply to a thread, reblog it and add your post.

important: i highly recommend downloading and installing XKIT in your browser. it's an extension that lets you trim posts to the last two reblogs (common around here), customize your blog experience, and just makes it a lot easier to exist on tumblr haha.

ummmm i think that's it actually! you're finally free of my rambling. i really hope this helped!! please let me know if you have any questions, and gimme a follow when you start up a blog — i'd be happy to help you out however i can.

[sacrilegiious]

hi, my loves ! 4am but we're finally here, intro almost posted. i'm daisy ( she/her ) and this is my bby dawn. i've been playing her for a while now and i'm so excited to get to it again and see how she will interact with all of your lovely muses. dawn is my headstrong, always down to fight, antisocial girl - genuinely an all round asshole but with her heart in the right place i think ? i guess that judgment is yours to make. def looking forward to plotting w all of u okay byyyee ! &lt;;33

꒰⠀⠀⠀⠀shin ryujin.   twenty-one.   cis woman.   she/her.⠀⠀⠀⠀꒱        hold your f*** horses !   ’dawn'  soojin jeong   has just been spotted walking into revolution headquarters. they are best known for being the   drummer   in   rad   and have been signed with the label for   six months.   they share a lot of interesting things about life in the music industry on their social media, so make sure you don’t forget to follow them at   @fuckoffjake.  fans know them for being   ruthless   but i swear they’ve got a   protective   side as well. maybe that explains why they’re always associated with   sleepless nights spent under neon lights, fingers impatiently drumming on a desk, dark eyes that refuse to look away first.   stan twitter even voted them most likely to   overthrow the government.   we’ll see how they live up to that reputation.

basics.

name:  soojin “dawn” jeong.

nicknames:  u can try i guess.

gender:  cis woman

pronouns:  she/her.

age:  21.

date of birth:  march 23rd 2001.

astrological sign: aries

place of birth: seoul, sk

nationality: korean-american

ethnicity: korean

occupation:  drummer at rad / architecture student.

sexual & romantic orientation:  bisexual, biromatic.

longest relationship: like a month probs.

appearance.

height:  1.64m / 5′4″  (as i’m being told)

weight:  50kg / 110lbs.

hair colour:  naturally black (does like dying it though).

hair style:  rn short-ish, almost reaching her shoulders.

eye colour: brown.

clothing style:  tomboy meets goth witch. almost exclusively black.

tattoos:  has several. a little D and a moon on her left hand, a rythmic score on her right ribs, a little black cat on her hip.

piercings:  ear lobes & left ear helix.

defining features:  whisker dimples, mole under left eyebrow.

character.

positive traits:  ambitious, charismatic, intelligent, self-reliant, daring, witty.

negative traits:  controlling, haughty, choleric, abrasive, impatient, judgy.

likes:  rock music, cats, the city at dawn, cool architecture, hot chocolate, asmr.

dislikes:  people (especially cis men), planes, haunted houses, brussels sprouts.

skills & languages.

notable skills: drumming, drawing, good memory, pen / drum stick spinning.

secret talents: lock picking, horseback riding.

languages spoken: Korean, English, Japanese & a bit of French.

biography.

tw: v minor mention of violence

born as jeong soojin in seoul, her life has always been predetermined by her last name, her family. she was the first child of her rather prominent parents, alongside her twin brother and both of them grew up surrounded by wealth, learning a second language by the age they were four and a third one from age nine. generally, their parents tried their best to give them everything you were supposed to give a child in order for it to develop promisingly. if raising a child were similar to a math equation that is. the only thing that they were missing, that no money or good intentions could afford them, was privacy. being one of the children of the ceo of a successful real estate company and a prominent politician meant they were always somewhat in the eye of the public. not enough to constantly be of relevance to the media but enough for any missteps to find an audience. 

making mistakes was never an option. failure not in her vocabulary as she grew up and became the over-achiever her parents had always hoped for. she was on top of her class ever since starting school and later on became not only student body president in her high school but also picked up all the right hobbies. playing the violin, horseback riding, fencing - excelling in apparently everything she touched. all the success came with a price though, the rigorous self-discipline, the complete disregard of her actual nature. inside all she felt was emptiness and that emptiness was only replaced by burning, raging anger. when she was thirteen, her blood absolutely boiling with unbridled rage, she became violent towards a classmate of hers. an incident that didn’t cause a big scandal solely because once she got home, bloody fists and all, her parents immediately paid off both the parents of said classmate as well as the members of the press who had heard of the story. everything was kept under tight wraps but it was clear there was an issue, a problem, with the golden child. therefore, she was brought to therapy, diagnosed with anger management issues and recommended to pick up a hobby that might help her with her situation. among the provided examples was drumming, something soojin would have never been allowed previously but that soon became her favorite thing to do. 

in the end, graduating with stellar results was no issue, if one thing came relatively easy to her it was academic success. still, however, she felt empty inside. felt caged in this life she had never picked yet never really tried to fight either. that was until now, when she could finally convince her parents to let her study abroad. embellishing her arguments with how impressive it would look on her CV and how it would help both her cultural and language education, she was allowed to leave the country and therefore also her parents’ and the press’ watchful eyes. she started her bachelors in architecture at ucla, actually quite passionate about the subject but she also didn’t lose sight of another thing she felt passionate about: drumming. ever since she got to the us, she changed her name to dawn, affording herself further anonymity and has finally become her own person. style, chaotic flatshare, political views and all. together with, what would soon become her two closest friends, she created the band r.a.d. about three years ago.

for a long time they were a small underground group, playing feminist punk rock was after all not truly what would catapult you into a life of stardom, or at least that is what they thought. however, after over two years of playing a lot of dingey bars, one of their songs gained some notoriety on tik tok, becoming what you might call a feminine rage hymn. with that hit song under their belt, they were approached by several record labels. dawn never felt inclined to sign, for her life was easier this way. nobody to tell them what direction to take with their music, absolute freedom. she would simply bankroll them herself. but when revolution records approached them and considering her existence of living in between the two worlds might come with an expiry date, rad agreed to sign. it gave them a sense of financial security, while also preserving their artistic freedom. for revolution, they moved across the country where now dawn is finishing up her bachelors degree mostly online.  

headcanons.

character wise she quite controlling and reckless, which can be difficult for social interactions, especially since she is absolutely unwilling to compromise in her ideals or to admit defeat. has absolutely no issue with telling people just how wrong she thinks they are. on the other hand, she has quite the dry sense of humor, can be incredibly charming if she wishes so.

is having the time of her life ever since she joined rad, she is now dressing completely different than she used to at home.  she has also started expressing her own thoughts and opinions a lot... most would say too much.

very much a destroy the patriarchy, anti-capitalistic, eat the rich, acab kind of babe.

AH YES R.A.D. dawn is the youngest member of the band and their drummer. just like at uni, she’s known exclusively as dawn in this context bc she’s still kinda trying to avoid people back at home finding out eek (hello ms hannah montana lol) - esp since r.a.d.’s specialty is angry feminist punk rock.

studies architecture and actually rlly loves it? like she will def geek out about architecture if you give her the chance.

dawn of justice was funnily enough the name of her first horse back home, so do with that info as you will.

she has the kind of personality that makes her a natural leader even though? she is an introvert? so yeah, she does prefer her solitude most of the time but don’t expect her to keep her mouth shut in social situations.

she sleeps very very little, which only adds to her high-strung personality. most of those sleepless nights are either spent performing with the band or studying.

when speaking she does have a slight korean accent.

wanted connections (wip).

i do have this sort of fun ideak that idek what to call but basically your muse and dawn got into a loud argument outside the building and somebody took pictures or videos and posted them to twitter saying they were having a lover spat. actually, they probably don’t get along great and have been trying to vehemently deny it on their social media, both losing some not so nice words about the other but it was simply interpreted by the netizens as them lovingly teasing each other soo.... that’s where we’re at basically. 

enemies / antagonists   — basically, dawn does tend to be a rude lil dickish so she’d def have quite some people who dislike her. for example that could be somebody she made fun off bc she didn’t like their music (probably called it something like mushy fluff or whatever skdfjsdf).

former hook up   —   this was definitely just casual, especially on her part. clean, no strings attached fun. well, unless maybe it wasn’t for your muse ?!  that could be a fun option as well. open for all genders.

the rare friends   —   this is the exclusive group of people she likes to be friends with asdfahd. it just be like that but ya def hmu and give my antisocial gal some friendss. maybe somebody who she actually connected with through music, or perhaps architecture.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

LMAOO Karasu really is THAT man can’t have him in the plot or he’ll solve everyone’s problems just like that (and I’ll get sidetracked by him over Otoya LMFAO)

I lowk love that duality of how he’s so rough and almost edgy but he’s literally looking out for people (and doing their laundry LMAOO) That moment between him and Nagi after the Ubers Manshine match >>>> Barou pushing and trying to reawaken Nagi in his own way I love it (bring back BarouNagi rivalry!!)

Energy matcher Isagi so real LMAO i definitely think he doesn’t get categorized as red flag as often as others since he has some pretty clear moments of him being a lot more chill LOL the mischaracterization in the fandom runs rampant though HAHA

OOO sad to say I have not watched aot yet but I love some good world building…also wait expanding on part of the world not developed much in the series >>>>>> that sounds so interesting kinda almost like filling the holes in some lore!! I LOVR selfish y/n omg (very excited to continue following along with hollyhock too!!)

LMAOOOO time for a good reread sesh o7

And FR like what happened to just chilling and letting people exist as they please? It’s like people forget they don’t live in an echo chamber

I’ll never get over epinagi Karasu like oh em gee maybe it’s also because it’s monthly so there’s more time to put in the quality (opposed to some of the funny looking tiny panels of him LMAO)

One can only hope but I do agree…maybe someday in another filler ep where we have tabieitaken together we’ll see a spread….manifesting….

LMAO ego the lesser evil Shidous hot pink highlights truly are something…

-Karasu anon

BOTH SO TRUE like karasu analyzes people for fun he’s clocking otoya IMMEDIATELY LMAOAO and omg i was working on hollyhock a bit earlier and karasu finally showed up and i started tweaking because i need him…it’s so hard writing for his bff when he’s right there 😭 the only consolation is that he and y/n’s relationship in hollyhock is at least super relevant to the story though it’s not romantic. he’s based on hideyoshi to the extent that y/n is based on nobunaga (so not a TON but def to a certain extent) and like. ugh i can’t spoil so i’ll just leave it at they are soooo important (to me and to the plot in general).

I AGREE he seems so intimidating but he’s really kinda soft on the inside 🙂‍↕️ he and nagi have such sibling energy HAHAHA like barou is the older brother nagi never knew he needed and i love that for them

i do feel like isagi tends to be considered more of a green flag for the most part!! but yeah mischaracterization and popular fandoms go hand in hand nowadays 😓 not claiming to be the supreme authority on characterization or anything but idk 😫 it is what it is ig!!

that’s my fav way to write canon fics!! i like filling in holes in stories even if they’re not necessarily PLOT holes — just things mentioned in passing that i can expand on in my own way. i’ve done it a few times w aot and also w jjk!! i think it’s why coming up w a bllk longfic idea took me a while…the scope of the “world” is relatively limited so it’s hard to expand on it in a natural way. plus i only write female main characters and ah. well. canon bllk is not exactly an inviting atmosphere for women as we know 😫

yeahhh there’s def a lot of factors i think that have led to the shift in the way fandoms have operated but honestly i’ve decided to just mind my own business and live/let live. my post abt nagireo somehow ended up in the nagireo tag though??? idk someone commented saying they found it on there i PANICKED 😭 they were rlly nice abt it though just letting me know in case people got pressed HAHAHA i went back and tagged it as anti nagireo just in case 😰 don’t need the opps coming after me 💔 i actually think it’s one of if not the ONLY post in the anti nagireo tag that’s actually somewhat critical of them so i do fear that it’s truly a bit of a unique take LMAOAO we are in it together though ✊🏻

i’m hoping and praying they get one in epinagi!! like another top six spread but less focused on rin and shidou…obv it would have nagi in it but atp that may be our best option 🙏🏻 and the epinagi art style is so good it honestly might be a win

shidou is such a silly character to me HAHA he’s so easy to make fun of and so crazily violent and weird but also lowkey chill?? i have no clue what to make of him 😫 but yeah the hot pink hair is truly smth…honestly good for him though like #selfexpression

[aelianaluan]

AEYA’S BOOK REVIEW #1

LIP READING by Harry Lee Kraus

Genre: Medical Fiction, Romance, Christian Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡

This book was very, very, VERY close to being the first book in my did-not-finish-probably-never-will list. Just one more button and I would’ve dropped this. The only saving grace is that I don’t want to leave a book unfinished, and even though I’m afraid of anything blood-related, I still love science!

OKAYYYY so, there are 4 reasons why I almost dropped this book. The main reason was that the Male Lead was confused about his feelings for the 2 bachelorettes and I really didn’t like it because he was kinda giving false hope to the 2 women. It gave me the BIG ICK.

The second reason is about the “kidnapping” scene, when 2 legally aged men trapped or baited 2 minor girls :3. It didn’t really sit well with me especially when one of the girls met one of the boys again and HE TOLD HER TO MEET HIM AFTER 5 YEARS???!!! def deserves a bombastic, criminal offensive side eye

The third reason is the conflict that was presented in the first chapter of the story, in my opinion, was not really resolved properly *sigh* and author presented the resolution of that conflict in JUST ONE PARAGRAPH. For me, that conflict was impactful and is very relevant to the story as it serves the catalyst for the development of the MC and the plot itself but then it was very disappointing that it wasn’t really given an importance :(( tbh the first 2 chapters was the reason that got me hooked so I was really disappointed :(( still a solid story tho!!! :>

I CAN GIVE A PASS for the last reason but it also gave me the Ick. I totally understand why the MC was soooo conscious about her appearance specifically her lips, but I feel like sometimes it was kinda too much but not to the point that she’s a narcissist. There are scenarios where it was unnecessary for her to be conscious of her appearance or that the author shouldn’t have kept on mentioning it because, imo, the author already established the reason why she was self-conscious and I think it was enough :) and for me, the MC is perfect the way she is ♥♥♥ but at the same time, I would like to thank the Mr. Harry Kraus for always mentioning the brands and shades of lipstick the Female MC is using hehe it also helped with the immersion ♥♥♥

Isn’t is surprising that I gave this book 3 hearts?! Even though it got me on my nerves, the book is still pretty solid. This is the first medical fiction book I’ve read and I’m glad it was written by a real medical doctor. No offense to those authors who write medical fiction without any medical background (I know for sure that authors research stuff for the stories they are writing) it’s just that a real medical doctor can write medical fiction better ‘cause they have an on-hand experience with anything medical, y’know what I mean? hehe. THE SAVING GRACE of the book is the main plot or the main topic of the story *SPOILERS* Artificial Blood. The 2 main characters were trying to create artificial blood to lessen or PREVENT the spread of HIV thru blood transfusion. I can feel the motivation, frustration, and the passion of the main character to finish their research so that they can release the artificial blood to the market. The author did very well on showing that guilt is a powerful motivator and in the story, can possibly lead to sacrificing oneself. This is a Christian Fiction but in my opinion, this story also relates with other religion as it shows how one person struggles with their own faith.

Even if I almost dropped this book, I’m still gonna recommend this book. The story and the plot is still pretty solid to me (that’s why I gave it 3 hearts). There are lots of realization in the story that will also make you think about your life choices. You can see the thought process of the characters in this book and it helped me understand why that character made that decision. Sometimes, it might be too detailed but it kinda helps you to relate and to know more about the character and because of this, it helped me to keep reading this book ♥

If you want to grab a copy of this book, here’s the amazon link: https://amzn.to/3nLzwam

[petriichvrs]

14 & 7

YOUR FAVORITE RP FRIENDSHIP  :  at this exact minute ? i can’t legally say. i have a new dynamic coming up that has been taking up sooooo many of my waking hours this weekend BUT since i can’t go there, i’m gonna go to the ones that don’t even really count through their own faults :( i have NEVER had my feelings so personally hurt by a dynamic as i have thanks to grace moody & hande abaci. their friendship ( and lack thereof in adult life ) is so painful to me on like ... a very real level, which can sometimes make for tough reading and writing, but also makes them one of the most fun dynamics i’ve got on nox ! i always need to stress how much lex makes every connection i have with her & how much of my enjoyment comes just from talking to her & building with her - she’s never given me a single bad thought or suggestion and sometimes she will throw a song out into the world that is so sad ( or a tik tok that is SO funny ) that i think about nothing but that for the next few days. she is so talented and i love her so much <3 but also i just think that of two ocs ( or ... almost ocs, in the case of hande, at this stage ) they have such a layered and meaningful dynamic for the rp they’re in and i have not ONCE gotten tired of unpacking them. 

YOUR FAVORITE OC WHO ISN’T YOURS ( OR ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES )  :  i’m trying to really cast a wide net with these answers and it’s never gonna show more than in this moment. when i was like ... 13 or 14 and just starting out rping, i joined this buffy the vampire slayer forum rp where everyone was in their thirties or older and i realise how sketch this sounds but the large majority of them were so kind to me and really helped me find my writing voice when they did not have to have that amount of patience with me ! there were a bunch of people there i lost contact with eventually but the one coming to mind first is this guy who played a character named michael, who was ... a werewolf but not a werewolf ? like a weretiger or something. i definitely think looking back his fc was tom hardy even though at the time i didn’t know who that was. he was this gruff guy who if i remember right worked for the initiative ( which is a buffy special operatives thing ) back in the day but was now just trying to live a lonely, quiet life after idk, his whole family got murdered or something. when i joined he’d already started a v tentative relationship with this other werewolf so i was not a part of like ... the start of that arc, per se, but over a few months of writing together that member decided michael was going to take in my lil werewolf runaway and become a father figure to her. i got to write that whole thing in threads over that first year, and then as time went on she got brought into the pack and got to have her own plot relevant storyline, too. i got kind of. adopted along with her into that existing friend group and i had so much fun in it but i mostly remember how kind that member was and how good to my character michael was. he was a good and very overprotective adoptive dad ! def my earliest experience of that specific trope and def why i still have such a soft spot for werewolves and werewolf tales to this day ! 

𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴  »  currently accepting  !

[planet4546b]

can't remember if i asked this before but (whenever u have time) i would love to hear about the world beyond present-day continental u.s. in s/n ?? idk if you've thought much about that tho lmao (also gotta be honest that screenshot u posted once of one of ur discord notes that's like "the astronaut's mission control moved so they couldn't communicate w them anymore and they died in orbit". extremely fucked up i am in love with the concept) <3

omg yeah of course!!!! to be TOTALLY honest i havent actually done a lot of thinking about it outside of the most vague ideas and its something i would want to do a LOT more research to be able to talk about confidently, but also would be so much fun to develop one day tbh!!! what i can say are some general rules of the worldbuilding that would affect what the rest of the world at this time looks like:

the nature of the resonance is that it's an apocalypse that is neither hugely destructive of infrastructure or particularly deadly. the reason that in the continental us most large cities are nearly completely uninhabitable is because of how the spire placement sort of worked out, which is different in the rest of the world - so there are probably at least some places where cities and infrastructure are still mostly standing, and are still inhabited!! (i actually really like the idea of just an absolutely MASSIVE city out there somewhere - the original city was preserved, and then everyone in the surrounding area just started going there because it was safest so now it's just a single city the size of like conneticut)

complete and utter randomness is the name of the game, down to a geographical level (ie. the ocean in the middle of the us lol), so pretty much anything goes. lakes, rivers, mountains, even things like climate and weather are likely to be COMPLETELY unexpected and fairly fluid until a spire is established. once a spire is established, it'll stabilize one way or another, but there are new mountain ranges in places made of strange stones, places once divided by rivers that are now next to each other, whole forests full of prehistoric plants, new cities that are originally from other worlds, etc. borders in many places (but likely not universally) become pretty meaningless, and thats only IF you're in a place that attempts to/is stable enough to try to define itself as a country at all

spires are found around the world, and the sort of worldbuilding rule for their placement is that spires are often found at 'liminal' spaces or spaces specifically associated with travel (in the continental us, it's SPECIFICALLY airports). spires are, for whatever reason, responsive to a sort of collective understanding of what places could be definied as liminal for different communities, so this rule changes around the world but there will always be at least SOME spires. how people use the spires changes too - again, i would want to put a lot more thought into exactly how spires are used worldwide, but it's fairly universal that people figure out how spires can make things more stable and can use that in SOME way, but it's not always 'put a radio observer at the top of one and see what happens' (this is the reason that the spire network that sam is a part of isn't particularly connected to other people on other spires around the world, because they're just used in different ways). maybe people build cities straight into the stone of the spire, maybe they have digital equipment recording from the top that people log, maybe they have a sort of reverse thing where people on the ground stand close enough to the spire and observe it, maybe they anchor it in place physically to their community with something meaningful - the rules of this world and how spires work are loose enough that all of these things and more would work in some way!!!

travel without the protection of a spire is INCREDIBLY dangerous. the rules of spire placement above mean that the only place on the planet that truly will have NO spires present is the open ocean (the morganic is a pretty big exception because it's a sea that wasn't always there, and travel across it is still INCREDIBLY difficult), so there is next to no travel/communication between places divided by more than like, 100-200 miles of water. along with changing geographical features, it's spire placement that will determine what other travel is possible, and where and what communities are able to be in contact. this isn't a hard and fast rule!!! technology to negate the dangers of traveling outside of a spire's range exists, so if you're in a place that has developed this technology, travel looks entirely different, in an entirely different set of ways (is it a series of radio beacons and checkpoints across an expanse that still has to be walked across? is it a train that by moving along a single path every day stabilizes the world around it? is it ships that move in fleets around a central ship that somehow protects them? is it people moving in large enough groups that the sheer number of them begins to act like a mobile spire, a huge fleet of observers that can therefore stabalize the world? careful journey planning? extensive mapmaking? lots and lots of options!) BUT the range of spires still shapes the HISTORY of places and their interactions in a huge way

technology is difficult to use both becuase of collapsing infrastructure and because technology very often just sort of acts unpredictably (it's better within the range of a spire, but still not completely reliable). for this reason, access to and development of technology is HUGELY variable, and the sort of radio age that the continental us is in is by no means a universal thing (this is why somewhere out there there's a space program even though the cities we know are just getting electric light). it's also pretty dependent on access to knowledge, how knowledge is preserved, and if those places are accessible (are libraries/colleges/reserach hubs/etc in safe areas? is it important enough to a society to try to reach them anyways?). and also it can and should get WEIRD. cities powered by impossible perpetual motion machines and probability engines and communication through other universes and wifi through light etc. the world no longer works by our rules, so the technology doesnt either!!

while a large amount of societal/governmental collapse happens after the resonance, cultural collapse ABSOLUTELY does not, and cultural traditions familiar to our wold persist alongside new ones. as an example, in the areas of the continental us that ive developed, there are a handful of new religions, but existing religions are ALSO still around, and you'll find churches, mosques, and synagogues in pretty much every major city - this theory and concept carries over pretty much everywhere!!

as an overall, final rule places in this world very very often look unrecognizable at a surface level - new technologies, new cities, new mountains, new structures of society and types of government, new names for things, new environments, new animals and plants, new fashion and architecture and art - but are rooted in the familiar, and should still, in some way, feel familiar, homey, and recognizably human in one way or another to the viewer. this has been my overall goal in the worldbuilding ive done for the cities i have made, and is the single most important guiding factor for worldbuilding in general!!!!

which is an incredibly, incredibly long answer for me to essentially say 'i dont know' but still. what i love most about worldbuilding is just going absolutely ham within a loose set of rules so if i end up developing places outside the continent s/n is on it would get SO weird and SO fun!!! thanks for the question as always love you <33

[cheshiresartblog]

Demon/Angel Thing

Alright. Due to popular demand I’ll start with this one.  Also, straight up, I literally do refer to it as “the demon/angel thing” cause I don’t come up with titles until the end.  Also I started this entire thing when I was 14 years old. I’m 24. So this is my longest running world I guess. I have a lot of worlds I’ve made over the years. I will admit my dirty little secret here, but what jump started this for me was watching Black Butler for the first time as a kid. Got me interested in the whole demons and angels thing. That’s where the similarities end, though. 

Also, I will not be going really deep into the plot simply because Spoilers since I def wanna make something out of this. 

Stuff below the cut cause it’s  l o n g 

The World

Basically, there are three interconnected realms; Earth, the Heavens and Hell. Also, the Heavens and Hell are not related to the afterlife. That’s a whole other can of worms here that ya’ll already got a bit of a taste of with my BNHA Reapers Au a while back. But yeah. They’re three interconnected realms. The Heavens was made by the God of Order and Hell the Goddess of Chaos. Earth was made by the missing Goddess of Life. Angels are being of Order and Demons are beings of Chaos and Humans fall in between the two. Also I’ve been at a loss for names for the Deities here but I do have two for sure. The Goddess of Life was named Gaia and the Goddess of Chaos was named Lilith. 

Basically Heaven and Hell had always been at odd with each other and Earth was a common battle ground. The earliest I can go with the timeline that’s relevant would be what I call the Princes Era. 

Prince Era (World Statuses) 

Earth: Humanity is young, they are mostly just coming out of their hunter-gatherer stage of things. The planet is mainly used as a battle ground for the warring Angels and Demons, inspiring myths of old to come. Magic is wild and free in this time on the planet. When Lucifer fell it disrupted the ley lines of the planet resulting in a steady decline of the magical on earth for years to come.

Hell: Hell is in chaos itself. While dealing with the war with the Angels they are dealing with heavy infighting between the demon variations and Lilith being unable to completely control her creations. After much thought Lilith decided to choose seven(eight) demons with blood from the seven ruling families to become the first seven Princes of Hell and unite Hell into one unified force to defend themselves properly from the greater threat that are the Angels. 

The first seven(eight) Princes are the following: 

Baphomet of the Superbia family, the Prince of Pride and the next chosen King of Hell whenever Lilith decides to step down. 

Beelzebub of the Grykësi family, the Prince of Gluttony. 

Leviathan (Identical twins Via and Anthel) of the Invidia family, the twin Princes of Envy who both share the identity of Leviathan in the public.

Asmodeus of the Libidine family, the Prince of Lust.

Mammon of the Avaritia family, the Prince of Greed. 

Sathanas of the Ira family, the Prince of Wrath. 

Belphegor of the Tristitia family, the Prince of Sloth.

Notes 1: Prince is just a title here. Sathanas and Beelzebub are women Notes 2: The Princes were all granted the ability to use Hell Fire by Lilith personally after she assessed deemed them all worthy in one way or another. 

Heavens: A world ruled by the God of Order through the chosen King. At the time it’s extremely militaristic. Working under the King and God of Order are the four Archangels; Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel and Raphael. Though, under the surface there’s a rebellion brewing. (I will be honest, I always focused a bit more on the Hell as a world when thinking about this Era.) 

Notes: What sets the Archangels apart here from regular angels besides rank is that they were blessed with the ability to harness the power of Holy Fire, which is something more explained story wise. Just know it would kill the average angel if they tried to use it.

Modern Era

The Modern Era is marked by the a huge event. The destruction of Hell. In their ever going war, 100 years before present time, an attack by the Angels lead to Hell being rendered unstable, which resulted almost half of the population being killed and the other half escaping to Earth. Some kind of peace treaty was made and it allowed the Demons to stay on Earth but with conditions. Also, with this event the Angels too more charge on Earth than they were before and humanity was now pulled fully into the know about Angels and Demons existing. 

This also established something very important to the story itself. The Zones. Most high population areas were split into Human Zones and Demons Zones, with a few cities gaining a third Zone due to the humans refusing to move and/or being sypathetic to the demons. This is the Neutral Zone. Aka, a home for society’s misfits. The main setting of the story is one of these three zoned cities. Right now it’s called Half-Light City but that name is subject to change most likely lol. 

The Zones 

The Human Zone is fairly well maintained for the most part. It has it’s occasional bad section, but those are closer to the Neutral Zone’s border fence. All and all it is the most upkept part of the city and is home to Humans, Angels and Half-Angels. It is heavily guarded and you need an ID to get in from the Neutral Zone, along with the requirement of being human. Demons and Half Demons are not allowed unless summoned. The Human Zone is protected by the Hunters, a group that is somewhat a cross between the police and the military. This section of the city is run by a chosen Council which answers to the Angelic Council of the Heavens. The occupants seem rather ignorant to the going ons of the other parts of the city and seem to go on with life without a second thought. Most of them at least.

The Demons Zone has a surprisingly decent upkeep, but then again they usually have to do it themselves because the money given to them by the city is not that much. The zone is mostly populated with full Demons, with the occasional Half-Demon or Demon with a Human partner scattered about. The fence between them and the Neutral Zone is actually quite open and in a state of disrepair, though Demon Zone residents and Neutral Zone residents alike guard it, it is usually quite easier to pass between these two Zones than it is for either of them to pass into the Neutral Zone. The Demon Zone was formerly run by a Demon Council made of Noble family survivors or descendants but was recently overthrown by a shady organization that needs a new name so bad. I’m so embarrassed of the old name I will not mention it but I will say I abused Google Translate as a teen so bad.

The Neutral Zone is basically the slums with a few nicer parts of town. It's a dreary and gray place at first glance honestly, but underneath that is a sense of unity between its people. Humans, Demons, Half-Breeds of both sorts and Fallen mix fairly well. The Neutral Zone is home to swindlers, mercenaries and all sorts of illegal activity giving it and it’s residents a negative reputation in the Human Zone. The Zone is co-lead by the two leaders of the two biggest Mercenary groups in the zone; the Triad and the Freelancers.

A more detailed description of the Heavens and Hell 

Heavens 

The Heavens are a set of floating islands that float around each other similar to a solar system might. The middle Island is The Capital City, and the roads are literally paved with gold and as well as some buildings being made of gold as well. It’s where the wealthy and powerful often live and is the center of their government. It is the largest single island whereas each other section of the Heavens is more of a string of islands.

The closer a set of islands are to the Capital the more privileged and wealthy the citizens are, and the higher the rank. There are a total of six rings of islands around the Capital. The outermost two hold the most farmland, forests, orchards, etc. Those two rings are the most populated and are where the lesser angels live.

Most Lesser Angels will never see Earth unless they join the military or join missionary work.

There are two islands floating above the Capital. One is the prison and trial area of soon to be Fallen Angels, and the other larger one is for military training. They never move from their fixed positions above the Capital.

While there are trains and such, most Angels get around via walking or flying, though flying is more common.

Angels higher up either dress like royalty or business men/women. Depends on the family. Lower class Angels dress in things like tunics and kinda, you know, greek-type of shit unless their employer gives them a more modern uniform. 

Angels use portals that appear like a glowing mass of light to get around Earth.   Hell

Hell is a Realm that exists solely in an underground location. It is said that the surface is way too hot to even walk upon, let alone live. There are Seven Circles of Hell and each Circle is responsible for a different area of their government, with Pride being the most powerful of them all.

The First Circle is the closest to the Surface and the most resistant to the heat found there. That would be the Wrath Circle. Physically they are the most capable of the variations of Demons and their Noble Family is the one in charge of the Military.

The Second Circle is Lust. Lust demons are the ones in charge of the Magical Regulations in Hell. That being said, they have the most Mages born to them, and some of the most powerful Magic users. They also are in charge of any and all Seers born in Hell.

The Third Circle is Greed. Greed demons are the ones in charge of the economics of Hell.They honestly have the most boring job, but it brings in the most money. They simply don’t mind because hey, the like to hoard riches anyways. They are said to have the biggest hand in the slave trade in Hell though.

The Fourth Circle is Envy. Envy demons are the ones in charge of the Judicial branch of Hell, handling criminals, legal matters, and prisoners. The latest raining families of Envy Demon Nobles have been well known for being cold and unbiased.

The Fifth Circle is Sloth. Sloth demons are the ones in charge of the Health care in Hell to put it simply. Someone has to be in charge of it. It also helps that Sloth demons have the largest amount of natural Healers born in their variation.

The Sixth Circle is Gluttony. Gluttony demons are surprisingly the second in charge after the Pride demons. The Noble Family of the Gluttony Circle has a deep history with the Pride royal family. Other than being the second in command the Gluttony demons are the ones in charge of Education and History keeping.

The Seventh and most powerful Circle is Pride. The Pride demons are the ones that run things, they are in charge of all the other Noble Families, and contain the Royal Family and the current ruling King or Queen of Hell. They have the final say in everything, but normally let most of the Noble Families run their domain as they see fit to.

Demons have technology based around magic, so magic teleporters, communication orbs, shit like that, is pretty common place.

The Slave trade is common and highly accepted by older demons though the newer generations are beginning to be against it. The slave trade in Hell often consists of captured humans, half demons, Fallen and rarely half angels and extremely rarely angels.

They have a potion that can make a Demon appear like a human for 24 hours meant for spies but a lot of teenagers use it to sneak to earth to party.  

Jewelry is huge in their culture. Like, seriously, so much jewelry.

A lot of Circles are mixed with the type of demons that live there but they usually have a slightly higher population of the type of demon the ring is named after.

I will probably make a separate post going more into detail about the species of angels and demons themselves. Demons, btw, consists of 7 different races of demons separated by sin type. They all have different traits. 

Magic Stuff I guess

Angel Magics (From common to rarest)- Healing, Aura Sight, Defensive and Protective, Weaponry Enchantment, Runic, Elemental, Precognition, Holy Fire (this one is literally the rarest thing for an angel to have).

Demon Magics (From common to rarest)- Illusions, Elemental, Contract Magic, Enchantment, Energy Draining/Aura Draining, Binding Magics, Witchery (Jinxes, charms, etc), Healing Magic, Possession, Shadow Magics, Shapeshifting (Rare for non Gluttony Demons only), Hellfire (Super Rare, actually marks the next Heir of a Ring of Hell to have it.), Precognition.

Human Magics (All human Magics are considered rare)- Witchery (Gained naturally or through demonic contract), Healing, Aura Sight, Runic, Elemental, Precognition.

Everyone can brew things such as potions.

Demons have more magic energy than Humans or Angels tbh and mages are way more common with them, though Healers are more common with Angels, and less common with demons.

Technology is advanced and exists and is built to work alongside magic.

Weaponry such as swords are still used though with Angels and Demons.

--

Alright folks. This is basically a world info dump. I will do a species info dump like I said once I got some decent pictures or I’ll do it in relevant chunks. 

[fcarher]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — with yuna being a fandomless original character; it is rather hard to strictly follow canon; first of all, one has to define what canon means & that would be, in yuna’s case, the story that i have previously written before writing on Tumblr with her as my muse. i do try to stick to it, however, i always leave enough room for her to develop, otherwise, it would be just plain boring, wouldn’t it ? with that said; she already has developed a few characteristics that might be deemed out of character within the canon material

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  she is a character with several layers; meaning, you will always get to know a different side of her, the more you interact. yuna is an outcast, though, you might not notice it at first. she’s really strong & her species is still rather unknown; many abilities might have not been uncovered yet. her mission is to destroy humanity, though, will she do it ? she works as a hitman within a secret organization that is more than meets the eye. she is ACTUALLY not a true descendant of lilith. she is old & has seen & experiences MANY things. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  She is way too stubborn & it takes AGES to form a real relationship with her; so petty & weak-willed when it comes to her own desires; way too set on her own belief; the whole humanity-is-bad stick gets old quick; her being paranoid about every SINGLE thing; her whole concept is less about her own power but more about the control of said power & how she deals with her being pressured into the position she is

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  i love mythology & the lore within Christianity (mainly the characters, stories; def more a fan of the “evil” stuff )  i love horror; i love paranormal stuff & if you combine everything, you have yunaeisha & her sisters. the lore ( which is massive & yuna’s story plays within present-day while most of it plays in the past) is something i hold dear to my heart; i worked on it for many years, since approx. 2014-2015. yuna embodies a lot of the pain of my previous characters; not knowing her place in the universe while KNOWING that you have to function within this society that deems you’re not a part of them, either. she’s honest & a bad bitch with a very soft side; i love her a lot & she’s grown so much. my love for her inspired me & how much more i wanted to flesh her out. 

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  I constantly find new stuff that i could implement within yuna; i dream A LOT about my characters, actually, & i always try to put some material of those dreams into her. i love russia as a land; the language, the clothes, the cities. i love mythology; i love her aesthetic & i always find something that could be of use. simply going outside & watching people interact makes me think instantly; how would yuna react ? how would she talk ? i try to keep her as real possible & thus, i constantly think about her.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  — I am quite the sensitive person when it comes to HARSH criticism; when someone just comes to me to talk about how badly i portray yuna, then i’m gonna be sad about it. however, i do accept people that give me constructive ideas like; maybe it could be better if you did ... instead of .... ? i have NOTHING against it. i never received it, though, so i’m not 100 percent sure about it. though, i’d love to think that i’d be even more motivated to better her. 

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  I rarely get question but i’d love if some more flew in; LET THEM BE IC QUESTIONS EVEN !! i had some muses be invested in yuna, but the more the merrier so OF COURSE !!! 

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  yes, please !! if you think a headcanon might clash with another or you think, it might be really out of character or just generally unfitting for yuna; TELL ME !! i sometimes forget some minor headcanons, though, they can play a MAJOR role sometimes; if you become aware of that, please tell me. also, if you just generally don’t agree with it, PLEASE also tell me; i’m a really open-minded person & i’d love to hear your point of view. 

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  if someone disagrees; alright, then so be it. all people think differently; you can’t please everyone. yuna is my characters, however, her concept, of being half-demon, half-goddess, the child of lilith, has been done before & thus, i know some might not agree how i portray yuna within that concept & that’s okay; though, if you outright HATE on it; why ? if you think you can do it better; make your own lore & character but don’t hate on anyone. with that said, i personally don't have anything gainst people disagreeing; that’s just how life works; we can’t agree on everything. 

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  i’d be taken aback at first because of course, as the creator of yuna, i love her dearly. though, i could understand why; she does MANY things that are considered problematic & has no remorse, whatsoever; she seems very self-centered & almost toxic to some & i GET that’s not everyone’s cup of tea; however, she’s not ONLY that but it takes times to get through that layer; i understand not everyone likes such muses. it’s okay, i don’t mind it but don’t HATE on her, aggressively ?? telling me how shitty she is or how much she sucks, is not really nice, & i know she often sucks, you don’t have to tell me twice. 

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  — YES PLEASE !! i’m human, english is actually my third-language & i still make a lot of errors; probably did some in this post as well lmao. but seriously, if you see it & you feel like correcting it; PLEASE DO !! or just shoot me a quick message, saying that you have noticed that i OFTEN make a specific error. it helps a lot !! thank you. 

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  no, definitely not! i hyperfixate a lot, meaning that i have this uncontrollable urge to just do one thing; or speak to one person or play a certain game; it messes up my social life a lot because i sometimes go months without talking to my best friends, though, they don’t mind because they’re used to me “ignoring” them. i also dislike convos that lead to nothing, even within real life; i like topic-related conversations & not just the plain “hey” & “how are you”’s. though, let me state one thing; if we have talked before & i was very open with you; I LOVE YOU! i’m not “ignoring” you on purpose or because i stopped liking you or something; it’s just me being dumb. so, if you want to talk, plot, have an idea, want to ship, ANYTHING !! shoot me a message, please, I BEG YOU !!! i hardly reach out first & that makes me seem unapproachable; i’m aware of that & i’m so sorry, i’m working on it! but other than that; i’m a person that you can talk to about everything ! politics; anime; mythology; pop-culture; roleplaying; i love it all !! i may not know the topic at first but i love learning & i’m willing to listen at all times !! also i love listening to people gush about their characters or just plotting stuff; ITS GREAT !! so, this is an invitation for you to come plot with me 8^)

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by:  @skyvar ; i loved the nasty questions ! 8^)  Tagging: @dvojakyvlk, @thevvolf, @childrenxfthemoon, @hensetsu, @talonness, @shikkotsunin​, @aemiliiu​, @nezumi-vc-103221​ & everyone who feels like stealing !!

[robot-unicorn-attack]

alicia’s plotting ideas/notes??

SNOW (MARIVANA)

ideas & stuff!! feel free to message me either here or on urstyle or wherever else u have me, or comment directly on this post, to plot! ill put finalized notes w/ rest of snow’s info once we have it down :)

Sky - so since seraphina’s a newer racer, she and marivana don’t know each other super well? but they’re almost complete opposites, in terms of like racing specialties, and marivana doesn’t feel threatened by seraphina in any way. she probably keeps her distance whenever they aren’t doing things their agency has sent them on? 

It would be kind of fun to say that maybe, as a publicity stunt, twilight’s official statement is that snow has been mentoring sky behind the scenes? 

and they have to pretend that’s true, even though it’s not lol

LOL but it would be funny if one day marivana showed up at the track while seraphina was doing stuff and was just like, “so twilight wants me to teach you something that makes it look like i’ve actually been helping u. u free atm?”

but overall I don’t think marivana has too many strong opinions about seraphina, unless we want to create some kind of drama?

Ice - premade; tbd

Supernova - Marivana is…pretty indifferent? when it comes to Supernova. She knows who she is and what she’s done, of course-who doesn’t?-but if you think that she’d be starstruck and/or falling over herself when Supernova’s around her…well, you’d be wrong. Marivana’s had multiple trusted parties tell her that she’s just as good as Supernova was, at her peak, so she knows that she’s not a threat-for now, at least. Marivana’s a bit wary of the other racer, but also a bit curious to see as to where this comeback will lead.

So, depending on how much of the wedding and divorce was public....Marivana def would remember 1) the wedding, and 2) not giving a shit about it

The 2 of them have raced together, right at the very beginning of Marivana’s career? like 10+ years ago? and if As even remembers all that girly snow princess stuff, she could be like “lmao so twilight really pulled a 180 on her”

AHHHH so I know I never made this explicitly clear because I suck as a human being but - the deal with unicorns is that agencies/manufacturers/etc say that they’re just robots? agencies probably actually believe it, but in terms of the manufacturers they might be vaguely aware of otherwise but also don’t want to jeopardize any profits so they keep that shit on the DL

but obviously for ppl like Mari/As who have been riding for p much their entire life, they can tell when horses are distressed, happy/content, etc?

and robot unicorns are basically horses in terms of how sentient they are? 

so i have no fucking idea when this would happen, but the 2 of them mutually acknowledging that RUR is pretty fucked up for the unicorns?

also like....IT WOULD BE SO CUTE if the two of them sort of rolled their eyes at the same time about some kind of story regarding another rando racer who quit maybe a lil after As did (so the newer racers aren’t familiar with her)? and then they realize that they both rolled their eyes at the same time LOL

honestly just being Tired Grandmas together

anyway. @interluxetumbra LMK what u think!!!

Sunbeam -  tbd

Flower - Marivana knows exactly what 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 is pulling with Flower (her own agency did the same thing to her, after all), and she is not fooled at all. She’s not stupid; in the robot unicorn racing industry, nobody is completely, utterly unknown when they debut unless they had no prior experience with robot horses/unicorns in the past. Marivana knows that Flower probably had to work her butt off to stay with 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸, and she would bet her right hand that the image that Flower puts out to the public is just that - an image.

*chanting* AURIVANA AURIVANA AURIVANA

is the lil club plot we have how they meet/1st time they actually talk 2 ea other????

speaking of which - how do we want to write that? collab in a gdoc???

& then they just keep coincidentally running into ea other randomly????

aura saying something super Flower-esque and marivana just rolling her eyes and being like, “ok great now tell me what you really think about __” ??? lol

aura somehow discovering that marivana is into BOTANY, of all things????

maybe this is when she makes some sort of dry remark about the bio for Flower on the RISE website? “[Flower] grew up in a lush green meadow, hidden away from prying eyes by miles and miles of ice. How Flower managed to get the ice to melt for long enough to plant flowers and trees will always be a mystery.” and marivana’s like “lol magic my ass there’s literally no fucking way”

she explains it with a good amount of scientific jargon thrown in and aura’s just like watttttttttttttt :0000

literally hit me up ANYTIME i already adore them

also - their aesthetics as racers? put together? a+++++++++

OMG THIS IS LIKE WAY IN THE FUTURE BUT LIKE, we should say that their secret relationship somehow ends up going public for the ~drama~??? and instead of being super freaking pissed off, both of their agencies are just like “lmao okay ice queen x fairy princess? best ship” and use it for publicity?????

Flame - Marivana knows about 1) the image that she projects, and 2) that this image is pretty true to who Flame really is, for the most part. Her verdict? Flame could prove to be annoying, if she gets relevant while Marivana is still in the industry as a racer. Marivana doesn’t know what life not racing would be like, but she’s well-aware that she’s the oldest racer out there (well, besides Supernova, who doesn’t count. She’s making a comeback, after all), and that retirement is probably not too far out in her future. So, if Flame is still around within the next 5-10 years, then Marivana might start worrying about her. For now, she’s just the irritating racer with ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ who won’t ever stop causing a scene.

So they haven’t really interacted much yet, do we wanna say? 

they’re wary of each other because both their unicorns specialize in high power/strength so they’re like, more directly in competition?

are they going to engage in the RUA equivalent of a twitter fight??? in a publicity stunt that both of their agencies are putting on?

maybe snow has once insulted kehlani in an interview??? though it was fake/staged/scripted by her agency so she doesn’t actaully feel that way but ya know. doin it for the vine

and kehlani responds in kind, maybe at the behest of lazer, maybe not?. and it just keeps going???

but ya, marivana prob finds her personality kinda annoying so would generally avoid her unless kehlani approached first

Nyx - so like, snow probably thinks sol is way too flashy and all over the place, & does not engage her ever? she knows of the rumors of foul play, ofc, b/c who doesn’t, but she assumes that the rumors are super blown out of proportion (as rumors tend to be)?? and snow knows that if sol ever tries to target her/other ice world racers specifically, twilight will literally strong-arm lazer into dropping her. so she’s not that worried about that stuff????

definitely thinks her razor-sharp precision with U-800 is something to be admired, though, even if it’s not the flashiest skill like dressage or speed

OMG LOL spoiler alert but the 2nd event is a race on lava world, so they’re all on the main LW training/practice facilities in the days leading up to the race???? and we TOTALLY need to have them do that weirdly super aggressive staredown/pre-game smack talk sesh that they do in super extra sports anime LOL

Widowmaker - snow’s heard of her, knows of her, has competed against her, but since they both tend to keep to themselves they haven’t really talked? it could be potentially cool if eleni guessed about/found out about what actually happened with marivana’s 1st unicorn?? OMG DRAMA but what if she actually knew of the armed thief? who was on ice world for whatever reason lmfao we can hand-wave it. bonus points if she’s pissed that 1st unicorn killed the person?????????? lol

and it could be POTENTIALLY FUN to write a scene with them where eleni basically calls her out on the fact that, yeah marivana fucking hates twilight for deactivating the first unicorn so why tf does she still race for them/earn them so much money???

also marivana has literally no retirement plans atm so.....i have NO FREAKING IDEA if this would ever be possible or not, but if she somehow?? gets involved? with the people who wanna fuck up TEF govt for not giving a single shit about black hole ??? ? ??? ?? thru eleni????????//

idk dude feel free to just be like “lmao alicia that would never happen” if it feels too OOC!!! it’s also like 4 am & i’m only half coherent so ;D

but i literally have no idea in what context the calling out would be in!!! maybe if marivana saw some top sekrit info that eleni might have access to and was like “i won’t tell anyone at TWILIGHT if you tell me why you have this”? and eleni is like *eyeroll* “not like u have any reason to like ur agency”

Taglist: @ayzrules @bebemoon @jay-swagsby @filthysoulls @shiftyprincess @kzombi3 @now-on-elissastillstands

[helihi]

Farewell OITNB - The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty

So... Orange is the New Black ended. I binge watched the last season in 2 days, and I’ve got some thoughts. The last season was def better than we had ben getting for the past couple of years.

Beware spoilers ahead:

The Good

This season was definitely better than... IDK everything after season 5? One of the main issues of OITNB had, as the show progressed, was the writers addiction with throwing new characters into the mix, and although that makes sense in context, it’s a bad practice for a show.

I watched Chernobyl after it came out, and one of the characters, Ulana Khomyukl, is not based on a real person, but a group of people that actually existed and helped Valery Alekseyevich Legasov. Though being mentioned by named would have honored the real people, her character worked perfectly for a show. You can’t have a huge cast, not only because you don’t have enough screen time to showcase all of them and present them as 3D characters, but also because it will detract from the show’s substance.

Well, rest assured that the writers of OITNB didn’t make that mistake, they dialed back to the most of the OG cast to properly give them a send off (Taystee, Crazy Eyes, Piper, Alex, Nicky, Red, Lorna, Cindy, Daya, Aleida, Gloria, Flaca, María, Dogget, Caputo, and Figeroa), while also giving the better of the newest addition a coherent plot line ( Artesian McCullough, Tamika Ward, Karla, and Joel Luschek to some extent).

Though I have a section at the end for how I personally feel about each character’s story lines, I have to say Taystee’s, Caputo’s, and Nicky’s storylines are the best of the season. T and Mr. Caputo’s stories are interlinked, specially with Ward’s, but they retained the original message of the show: the penitentiary system is broken, fucked up, and it hurts people (+ it makes corporations money, thanks to season 4 onward).

I AM SO HAPPY THEY GOT RID OF BADDISON SO EARLY, I HATED HER GUTS. Part of the biggest clean up efforts from the writers, was getting rid of people who would interfere with a clean and tight end, which included killing Daddy off (I’m so sorry for her), beating the shit out of the most unanimously hated additions of season 6 and throwing her off, and giving most of Max’s characters a secondary role or a background role (let’s be honest Adeola should running the gang).

Huge thanks to Larry for doing something right in his life: he is correct about Piper, it’s almost as if the writers were aware of how the audience views Piper.

Though some storylines hit you in the gut, they do stay believable. A happy ending for everyone was not only impossible, but incoherent with the type of story they were telling. I do have to say I’m not happy about a couple, but we’ll get to that later. (See The Bad and The Dirty section).

You got 3 main story lines:

Ice: This includes the storylines for most of the Latin American characters (Gloria, Flaca, Maritza, Blanca), Fig, n Nicky. You can find my thoughts in The Dirty Section.

The broken penitentiary system: which includes Caputo, Taystee, Dogget, Suzzane, Piper, Ward, and Lorna. I believe this is the overall main theme of the show and the one which was developed the best and most believable. On one hand you have the people who have their hands tied and still try to do the best: Caputo (who gets some small victories, but loses everything because of #MeToo), Ward (who did her best, but wasn’t enough against the corrupt system and the capitalist philosophy that runs the company), Tayste (who got life even though she’s innocent, and never got justice for her friend, but found a way to move forward), Dogget (who was part of the circle of poverty and abuse, never got rehabilitated [which should be the purpose of prison] and killed herself after being berated again), Suzzane (who got locked in prison, though she didn’t belong there), Piper (through her parole experience), and Lorna (who never got the help she needed.

The Diaz Family: Daya, Aleida, Taystee, and Dogget to some extent.

I am so happy about the Poussey fund, and that it exist in real life. One of the things this show has done is show light on a lot of issues in the penitentiary system to people who really don’t care about it, or are ignorant about it. I hope this show has more impact than the fund. I hope it actually gives purpose to new activists, but that’s just wishful thinking.

This show peaked in season 2, but I feel comfortable, and satisfied with the overall ending of the show. Also, the cast is amazing. I hope they do great things in the future.

The Bad

Hey, u know what could really be fucked up? Yo-yoing with Taystee’s life for an entire season. I hated how the show painfully elongated her decision regarding suicide. It felt like the show was purposefully hoping to tug at your heart, and during her 2nd round of goodbyes I was like ‘either kill her already or let her be’, it really pissed me off. I understand that she was put in a horrible spot, but narratively, it felt like a cheap writing ploy to get you hooked.

Here I am, still hoping the most disgusting guards get fucking sent to prison, but of course that never happens. I didn’t like Pornstache little moment at the end, I don’t care if he’s not harassing more women any more, he is just like Barney from HIMYM in a way: hey I have a daughter now! I get it! WOMEN ARE PEOPLE. It just sends a bad message, and it actually doesn’t show them viewing women as people, because they are probably one of those hyper protective fathers who are just a residue of the ‘women are property’ ideology that men have with their daughters. They will assume every man is like they were, and they will hate when some guy ‘takes their princess away from them’. Also, Hellman can fuck off. I hated him.

McCullough and Daya are the top tier worst decision makers. I don’t like where the story took these characters, and I hate the writers trying to justify it. McCullough had the chance to make the right call and she didn’t why? Hey, have a flashback that actually connects with reality but feels like a justification. Daya’s life has always been a fuck up, but boi did they need a villain this season.

Why did they completely dropped Maritza like that? People have been saying it’s because the actress is super busy, but man. Give me 1 epilogue scene. Hell, even that lady that help Blanca in the ICE detention center got one!

Also, I watched some moments of season 1 and 2, and boy was this season not funny at all. RIP to the casting as well, the flashbacks weren’t that impactful when the character is supposed to be younger but it’s played by the same actor. Remember the earlier seasons?

The Dirty

Okay, I’m gonna say, I’m not 100% into the ICE storyline. It’s brutal, it has things directly taken from real life, but it also feels like a writer’s shock value wet dream. Instead of showing the horrible and unsanitary way women, men, and children are kept, apparently PolyCon, or whatever the company’s name is, actually has more ‘humane’ concentration camps. And yeah I’m calling them for what they are.

One one hand, the stories are realistic: Blanca, who gets fucked over, but it’s able to get a happy ending thanks for the help of her old and new friends; Shani, who get’s fucked over and sent back to a place where they will kill her; Karla who gets separated from her children, even though they have nobody in the US; Maritza, who didn’t know she wasn’t a citizen; the lady who got fucking raped entering this country. 

The whole ICE won’t let you get an abortion because they ‘care about life’ it’s like poetry, and real. The abortion debate is one the show kinda low key tackled, but nothing was better than that line.

FUCK ICE AND EVERYTHING IT STANDS FOR. FUCK EVERY EMPLOYEE AND PERSON WHO LETS THAT HAPPEN.

The #MeToo movement. Hey, do you remember when they killed Poussey, and how that was supposed to be a Black Lives Matters reference? But remember how the guard that killed her didn't actually represent any of the people who really present a threat to actual black people in real life? Boi, did they fuck up there.

Here it’s the same, well kind of, this is why this is in The Dirty section and not The Bad section: Caputo learned from it, and realized he did wrong. However, isn’t it kind of ridiculous how we’ve been shown actual monsters: rapists, abusers and people who harass in other staff members, but the one who got hit was the one the audience is more empathic towards? Couldn’t you have picked Hellsman, Pornstache, McCullough, or some of the previous guards?

‘I mean, he fucked up, but he’s not one of the bad ones.’

I know it was one of the final rectifying moments for Caputo, but are all the #MeToo jokes a little daft at times, specially considering what Dogget had to go through.

Character focused thoughts:

Piper - Imma be honest with you. I never liked Piper. However, her storyline for the season is completely in character and relevant. It shows the hardships of life after prison (though we've seen that before), and how fucking selfish and idiotic Piper is. Bless her parole officer, she told her how much of an idiot she is. Forgive me, but I don’t like her ending up with Alex. Zelda was the healthier choice, but it makes sense for Piper to choose Alex. God, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with her ever again.  Though it’s true that her family was all repression and that conditioned her, after 6 seasons, you’d think she’d have learned her lesson how fucking privileged she is, but no. She’s still an idiot, I don’t care if she ‘got better’, she still choose Alex.

Alex - I feel bad for her. She’s got a lot of insecurities, issues, and she never learned how to deal with them. She fucked an officer the first chance she had. Her relationship with Piper will always be toxic, I’m sorry guys, but they are both deeply unstable. I’m happy she didn’t become Hellman’s victim, that was awful. I’m happy she's in Ohio. It’s safer for her that way, and she has friends.

Nicky - My girl, did they do you dirty. Though on one side I’m happy she took the mantle of ‘Mother Hen’, taking Red’s old role and showing how much she developed as a person and a character, I’m so sad that she lost her mother, her best friend, and her new love all in one season. She’s strong, the ending proves that, but I’m so sad she’s alone. I’m so sad that she believe she had done wrong to her family, but I’m happy she took Red’s advice, Lorna was too much. Regarding her plot line with Shani. I’m devastated. It was so cute, so honest, and caring. They deserved to be happy. This storyline shows you (in case you didn't know) how much of a good person Nicky is. I love you girl, I wish you the best.

Red - Another person that got fucked over. I am angry that this ‘dementia’ ending came out of nowhere. Am I dumb? Was it foreshadowed??? One one hand, there’s some people prefer this since it gives Red a peaceful ending. Her anger and bitterness will be gone, and she will have a peaceful death. On the other hand, Red will die not Red. She will disappear, and that’s just fucking dirty. I think this type of illness is tragic, and so painful to the person and to the people that love them. Thanks, I hate it.

Lorna - Is anyone else angry that her racism and her islamophobia gets a hard pass this season for some cheap laughs?  Lorna loses her son, her marriage, and we get a flashback of her disassociating and some of a background story of why she’s so hyper-fixated in marriage and children, but still that doesn’t change how sad it is to see her this far gone. From the moment you see Vinnie, you know that’s not going to end up well, or at least it’s what I thought. Lorna is unstable, and she never got or will get the psychological help she needed. But worse than that, they took everything from her, and left her like a shell of who she was. Her racism doesn’t get a pass though. It’s shameful that a child of immigrants would act that way, specially knowing the shit situation Shani is going through. Though the show tries to pass it off as ‘jealousy’ it was completely dehumanizing, and it never gets addressed. Nicky never stands up for Shani and puts Lorna in her place. Shame on the writers.

Daya - Ok, Daya has been ‘how to fuck up 101′, but originally, her story was sad, and you rooted for her. Her family was fucked up, the cycle of poverty, the toxic environment, her abusive mother and stepfather explained a lot about her. However, Daya’s only good choice in the show was give her baby over to Pornstache’s mom, other than that it has been bad choice after bad choice. If you thought getting addicted to drugs was a bad look for her, becoming a drug lord is worse. I still think Adeola was a better pick for gang leader, but the show runners had to do something for Daya. I thought they were gonna set up a new Carol and Barb relationship with Daya and her mother, but that was not the case (actually, Carol and Barb never get mentioned, which is weird). I really hope Aleida killed her in the end. She spent her whole life complaining about her mother, and she became someone worse than her. Pulling your younger sister into the shithole with you? Low. VERY LOW.

Aleida - We all hated you. In fact, despite some good deeds, you’re still trash. Aleida is an abuser, a cheater, and a liar. She can use the whole ‘providing for the family’ bullshit excuse like Walter White all she likes, but you can’t dismiss her pathological need to do illegal things and get it on with the worse men she could possibly find. Her flashback regarding her mother explains a lot about her childhood, and how an abusive and toxic environment can create more toxic and abusive people, but Aleida didn’t get better, Aleida continued the path she hated. She may have told her other to ‘fuck off’, but she became her. No, she never became the pimp of her children, you got to give her credit for that, but Aleida realized she was a bad mother, and still chose the easy road. I really hope she killed Daya. It’s not going to fix things, but GOD I NEED THAT.

Flaca - I’m happy were she ended. Though her character was always comedy relief, her relationship with Gloria and her time in ICE gave her a purpose. I hope she continues helping those woman, and becomes the new Gloria of her generation. I’m sad she didn’t truly get reunited with her best friend. Show Clitvak hell, girl.

Maritza - I’m so sorry, baby. You deserved better, but your storyline is realistic, and there was no other way it could’ve ended. I wish we could’ve seen an epilogue scene with her. After all, she got sent to Colombia, where she knows no one. All because of a fucking piece of paper and a lying mother. ICE is so fucked up.

Gloria - I’m so happy she got released. Luschek can suck a huge dick, the least she could’ve done for her was let her have her happy ending. I feel a little cheated about her two elder daughters reveal, but I’m happy that after all she went through, she gets to be with her family. Of course Gloria would help the women in the ICE facilities, of course she would risk her freedom and happiness for other mothers. She made naive and bad choices in men, in economic tactics, but in the end, she redeemed herself and became a different person. I will forever be happy about the ending she got.

María - She’s a mixed bag. At first she’s like Daya, her love story with Yadriel made us all cry, and we all felt sad when he took Peppa away. However, turn’s out María is a cheater, Yadriel is high likely not Peppa’s bio dad and she never had the courage to tell him. I didn’t like her ‘bad girl’ phase, but I’m happy in this season she actually get rehabilitated. Caputo’s program made her realize she’s not just a victim, but rather a perpetrator as well. I know she’s not the best person, but she’s making a try. I hope she gets to be with Peppa when she gets out. I’m happy that she let Yadriel be happy, but then again, she was kinda a dick to Gloria until the last minute, sot here’s that bitter realistic flavor in your mouth.

Blanca - Honey, you are the person who deserved a happy ending the most. Though Season 6 fucked you over, you were blessed with Karla and things went your way for once. I can’t believe she got sent to prison for covering up for that fucking old lady. Blanca is a model, she went through hell when in ICE, she almost lost Diablo for good, and was in a very dark place before Maritza showed up. Though Maritza gave her her heart back, she was dumb enough to get a high over the phone number. SIGH. You deserved to be with Diablo, and though we don’t know how he got released, I’m happy she’s happy.

Taystee - I hated the yo-yoing regarding her suicidal thoughts. She wasn't going to get a happy ending. The system is broken and she’s another victim of it, but I’m happy she has an end goal, and she’s doing what she does best: finances, advice, and teaching. She got the best believable ending she could’ve gotten, and I love the fact that she’s there with Suzzane. She’s one of my favorite characters, and I’m happy she didn’t die.

Suzzane - I’m kinda mad they veered into Suzzane’s trial and conviction at the beginning, how they set up this conflict with justice and the system though her eyes, and then dropped it off for some comedic chickens. She doesn’t belong were she is, and her parents should do something about that, but that’s never going to happen. She has matured, and though she’s lost a lot, chicken therapy actually helped her, and she has a very good friend who will stay by her side till the end. I’m happy where she ended, and I hope she is still as bright in the future.

Cindy - Boy, Cindy. I kinda hated you after what you did yo Taystee, and though I have to say, she was put in a tight spot, I’m actually happy for her. From being comedic relief, to finding herself and her religion, to actually owning up to her mistakes. Cindy has grown a lot. I’m happy she will try to make her up to her mom and her daughter, I’m kind of sad she’s homeless. Wouldn’t that break her parole?

Dogget - She deserved better. We can all agree on that. Dogget was abused her whole life, by her mother, by her father, by her peers, by the men she liked. She killed people, became violent, and delved into drugs, but after 6 seasons she had sown so much development. I miss her moments with Boo, though I enjoyed her relationship with Suzzane. Nothing makes me sadder than Crazy Eyes placing and egg on her pillow after she has passed away. Like many inmates, Dogged could’ve been rehabilitated, and the system failed her. She never got her justice, and her rapist is still out there, free. She was made feel like shit by everyone, always, and though having her relapse is cheap, especially after all this time, it’s not unrealistic. That doesn’t change the fact that she deserved better.

Ward - She was too good for this world. From not being emphatic to the inmates to re-establishing her friendship with Taytee, Ward changed a lot. I hope she continues doing good for inmates as an activist. I’m sorry you never had a real chance.

Caputo - And the big bad man, became a ray of hope, a bastion of a redemption arc. He found a calling, love, and now a family. Joe, the ‘nice guy’ who got fucked by life and began to reset it, actually found the light after connecting with the inmates he was supposed to help. Caputo ay be the best written character in the show. I’m not a 100% happy with the #MeToo aspect, but that was the last learning chapter for him. I hope he finds a job, and he’s able to continue growing as a person. He’s going to be a great father.

Figeroa - Who could’ve guessed we’d stan the devil? It’s amazing how all it took was ICE for Figeroa to realize how fucked up the world is. I’m happy she’s deciding to adopt, and though I’m not sure if she’s going to be the best mother, she has grown a lot. I hope she helps people like she helped that woman at ICE. Thank you for not brining another kid to this fucked up world. You’re doing great Natalie.

Shani - She deserved better. Though a FGM storyline for a muslim is kinda stereotypical and awful. I’m glad the show actually tackled it through her relationship with Nicky. I’m so saddened by her ending, but then again, it was obvious from the begging. I’m so fucking angry and sad.

Karla - What was that epilogue for? Do you want me to hate life more? Karla might have the most realistic story out of everyone in ICE. Shit’s so fucked up, that ending scene was not needed. She deserves to reunite with her children, they couldn’t have ask for a better and smarter mother.

Luschek - Fuck him. His last act towards Gloria doesn’t redeem him. He fucked over every inmate who ever trusted him. His selfish, destructive, and toxic. He can rot in hell.

Anyways, I’m too typed out.

I overall give OITNB as a series a 5/10.

You have a very interesting concept with an amazing cast and characters that falls short to cheap writing and some terrible decisions from the producers.

I hope everyone in the cast continues to be amazing, and I hope more stories like this one are actually written.

I hope Netflix cancels 13 reasons why. Goodbye.

[violetbeachpod]

1x02 / incorporeal girlfriend

CHARLOTTE:

Hello Violet Beach! Charlotte Cranor-Liu here to keep informing the general public–or, the not-general not-public–about how terrible everything is!

So! Let’s talk.

I’m Char, I’m sixteen, junior at the Corielli Academy For Creative Youths, and your new best friend. Unless, like, we’ve already met, in which case, you already know what I think of you.

So. Where to start? Cuz I got stories. Uh. At fight call today, I hit Andrew Meyer for real, which was pretty satisfying. Cuz he’s the worst? AJ high-fived me afterward, and actually told me where he worked? Which was super satisfying, cuz I got kicked out of the Starbucks for fighting in the alley by it? In fairness, the guy stole tips, it was–it was morally an obligation. But the assistant manager was like, “oh, but now he’ll sue us, and why did you claim to be an employee,” which, like, has she never heard of getting into character to add more feeling to a situation? He would be more likely to give it back if he thought he was stealing my money? Just—whatever. I needed a new coffee-source and now I have one.

But, anyway, AJ took me to the Bean Zone today, which, cool, I didn’t know they were even open. Neither did anyone else, though, I don’t think because it was empty. Which might also be because their coffee is kind of the worst? Still.

I kept AJ busy, though. He used his employee discount, so, I only paid, like, ten bucks total for my thirteen drinks. So. After I was properly caffeinated and his two-hour shift ended, which, I didn’t even know they did those, we started biking to his place, and he–he fell. And I got nervous, and I grabbed his arm to help him up once I was sure he was okay, and when I made contact, the–

Well, Teresa talked about this last time, but the sky went that gross purple color. And I assumed tehat–I assumed that the glow was because of us touching, so I let go, and then–I couldn’t.

And then the breeze that’s always there happened again. And we were back on the road, on our bikes, and we were pedalling. Like nothing happened.

And he said, like, uh, “Nice grip,” or something, and I nodded, because my grip’s pretty nice, and we were just, in, like, a really weirdass situation, so.

Anywho. So we went back to my place and my sister was all like, oh, wow, who’s this, your–censored rude term that disrespects AJ, who is, like, maybe my only friend–and so I yelled at her?

I mean. He’s not my only friend. I–he is.

Why can’t I say that I have other friends? Like–I’m trying to lie, right now.

Um. Okay. Cool. So.

We’ll get to that later.

But, anyway, I did scream at her, yes. Cuz she was an ass. As per ush.

So. Anyway. AJ and I went up to my room and started watching a bootleg of—y’know? If this, like, truth serum thing going on’s a thing, I’m not gonna try to name the show. Cuz it’s embarrassing. I wanted to—no. Okay.

Can’t lie! That’s—

Ugh! That’s so stupid!

Um. What else? I think I saw a ghost during photography today, but that’s just how the woods are sometimes. AJ and I broke into some asshole’s beach house back there for this week’s project, because last year the guy who owns it was a creep to me. But I think that maybe his house is haunted? Cuz there was this, like, weird mist in the living room right by the TV.

But again, that’s just how the woods are. I think. That’s not really my zone. But, of all places in this town to already be haunted? That’s, like, top thirteen spots, natch.

Also: Gregory And Janet Wilson Who Live In The Beach House Development In The Woods From May To September Every Year But Who Live In Virginia Otherwise left three spare keys under the lion statuette in their uglyass overgrown garden. So, there. Make of that what you will.

But. It’s a supernatural occurrence, or whatever you wanna call it, so I should put it on here. The ghost sighting. Not his key location. That’s–that’s just a thing that I know. Obvi.

The mist was, like–it was kind of all-consuming? Like, in that way that people are always all-consumed by beauty, but not really, because I was also having heart palpitations. Or something. Not really sure what heart palpitations are, but, uh. I was overwhelmed by the beauty but also? Very, very afraid of it. I felt like I was frozen in place, like I was being swallowed by it–

And then AJ said, “Are you okay?” and I snapped out of it. I asked him if he saw it, and he nodded, was like, “uh yeah, but, like, we could agree before entering that the woods are super haunted,” and I agreed, but, like, he didn’t seem to get the vibes that I did. Swear to god, I heard horror movie music behind me.

Uh. The Corielli board is meeting tonight, and I’m supposed to talk about the theater program, just–I don’t like talking in front of the PTA, because I don’t know any of their kids, like, logically, I should know their kids. There are maybe 200 people in the high school, and I know most of them. I know all of their faces.

But the Corielli board’s faces don’t look like anybody. Like, literally. I’ve talked at Corielli board meetings, like, seven times, and I cannot tell you what a single parent looks like.

Which might be supernatural happenings also? Nice.

[faux-excited]

Mystery! Intrigue! Cool!

[a pause, a sigh]

At least this truth-curse-or-whatever-the-hell-it-is has room for jokes. That’s, like, legitimately cool.

Um. So, I have to talk to the board tonight, and I think that’ll be—that—shit. Shit, it’s in ten minutes.

I’ll record more later.

[static, and a click. CHARLOTTE is out of breath.]

Okay, I’m back. I’m—holy shit.

So, I think the truth curse is off, but—like, obvi, I’m not gonna—I can promise that I’m not exaggerating.

So, the board. The board.

So, I think I said that they might be paranormal activity? They super are. I’m usually late, when I go to meetings? But I was on-time, and, uh, I was supposed to stay in the auditorium, but I went backstage to check on the set, but. Whatever. I was backstage. And so were they.

The board, I mean.

And they were—they were silent, in a circle, staring at each other. All of them. No one said anything, for a minute—like, I started timing a few seconds in, and it was at least seventy-seven seconds.

And one of them looked up, and just—feedback and sirens came pouring out of his mouth, like during an emergency when you’re watching TV or—

And he looked at me, blinked, and said, “Miss Cranor-Liu, you made it!” and he pushed through the circle, and nobody moved, just—and he grabbed my shoulders, and I wanted to—I wanted to hit him, to—

He just said, “The meeting’s cancelled, dear, didn’t you hear?”

I tried to take in his face, just cuz, and—nothing stood out to me.

And I tried to pull away, to hit him, to—to, like, kick him in his balls, or whatever, and my body just—it froze. And then there was that stupid purple again, and—

And I was outside. And I checked my email, and I didn’t get a cancellation notice, so—uh.

Something’s happening at Corielli. And, uh, I think—four or five of us went to Corielli, like, Teresa and Elaine def didn’t, and Benji, like—I’ve seen him on campus before, like, when I was in middle school, but also, I’m pretty sure he’s omnipresent, so. Who knows, with him. But the majority of us involved went to Corielli, so—like. That’s relevant, I think? Put it on your conspiracy board, next to the seven photos of Avril Lavigne and her dopplegangers. Use green yarn, for, like—for my sake. S’a good color for conspiracy theory boards that you never see anywhere.

I watch a lot of conspiracy theory videos, just to—to laugh at that. Also, they’re so consistent to me? So they’re very relaxing. Good to fall asleep to. Like, some folks need white noise or ASMR or whatever, but a good ol’ Andy Kaufman death hoax ten hour loop, y’know? Or, like, a Sondheim is multiple people one. It exists. You have to look hard for it, but, like, it almost convinced me that there are eighteen of him, so it’s worth it. I watched a seven-part documentary on the moon-landing thing when I was a kid, and that thing just, like—it got me so interested. I’m not crazy or anything. But this is ringing major documentary alarm bells. Maybe I can hit up some clickbait site and they can send folks over here to wrap a nice bow on this whole weird situation.

[beat]

Nobody’s gonna listen to this, like—and AJ’s the only person who’ll care, so, like, might as well talk on here.

Mae Babson the new transfer student is hot as hell. Like—I try not to have crushes, because they’re dumb, and they keep my eyes off the prize, which is to say, y’know. College. My art.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that feelings are pointless and that we’d be way better off without them, y’know? Especially when those feelings are for really dreamy girls who manage to look, like, at least 70 percent like she’s into girls, even though this is Corielli, so, like, she could be the straightest girl on earth, and also she’s weirdly nice, like—nicer than most people. And it’s kind of annoying how nice she is, like, she—she’s nice to everybody. Even to people who don’t deserve it.

But. Anyways. She’s super hot and I’m kinda sorta in love with her. Whatever. Rant over. I’ll edit that out.

So. Ghosts and mystery and intrigue. Woo.

Y’know, maybe Mae’s caught up in this mystery, actually, cuz—well, she only showed up after all that happened. Maybe she’s, like—maybe she’s a ghost. That’s the nightmare, honestly, being in love with a ghost. Like, second only to her being straight? Worst case scenario.

I could write a solid one act about being in love with a ghost and, like, protag comes to accept that she’s dead and is willing to make this work, but ghost girl’s like, “Oh, too bad, don’t like girls. Sorry, honey!” And that’s the plot twist. Sad ending. A tragicomedy for everyone.

But. Incorporeal Girlfriend and playwriting dreams aside, it is weird that she showed up, cuz—we never get new juniors, especially not midyear? So. It’s not entirely out there that she’s involved. Put her pic up next to the X-Files poster, connect ‘em with red yarn. For love symbolism.

Also, she’s like, otherworldly-ly attractive, so. That contributes to Benji’s alien theory. Also, Benji? I don’t care about your alien theory. Or that you wrote your thesis on aliens. Or that you—

Ugh. Just. The email thread is very long and you aren’t Agent David Duchovny On The X-Files I Don’t Know The Character Name But Oh Boy Do I Know Who David Duchovny Is. Also, use the goddamn group chat? Some of us don’t ever check our emails. And I know you’re gonna call me blasphemous or something for not knowing the X-Files guy’s name, which, yeah, I did that on purpose.

So, um, I was helping out the lighting designer—Ollie, the other day, because if the show looks like shit it’s my fault somehow, and they kept asking me about purple lights. I forgot about this, like—

Wait.

God, I can’t stop thinking about the board, actually. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything. I’m—I’m pretty self-aware, I would have said something. I’m me, for God’s sake, I would’ve said something half-charming and half-assholey, and then I would’ve been kicked out, and I would’ve, uh, maybe tried to pick a physical fight, and then—yeah. You know the deal. I told the Starbucks story earlier. I think—I think they somehow stopped me from saying anything, like—just like that force wouldn’t let me lie or let go of AJ’s hand or fight back—there’s always an inability to do something.

I swear, if this interferes with the show, I’ll fight God. Or whatever force is out there, like—I will press legal charges against fate or destiny or the passage of time or aliens or whatever the fuck. And also punch it.

The lighting designer stuff—that’s just me being paranoid, but the—the board, that’s real, and I’m scared as hell. I’m gonna—I’m gonna maybe do some recon, re: that, get those costume slash makeup design elective credits I’ve been trying for. I haven’t taken the class, because it’s seniors only and also because Ms. Dunkers hates me because her nephew accused me of selling him fake Rent tickets, which, I didn’t know they were fake, so, he can’t blame me, so she won’t let me in her classes anymore. She has explicitly told admin that “Miss Cranor-Liu is not to enroll in any of my electives no matter how much she complains to you.” So I asked admin, like, can I just do a bunch of independent studies, and I think they’re afraid of me? So they said yes.

Anyway.

I’m gonna sneak in on next week’s board meeting as an interested potential transfer student. Need an alias, and you know that it will be Faith Deathstrike. Which is an unfortunate last name, but a badass codename.

So. Uh. I’m signing off. Come to the show, week of February twentieth at the Corelli auditorium, and watch me get possessed by an actual ghost during my solo, or whatever. And if I get ritually sacrificed at the board meeting, now you know what led up to my disappearance! This is basically Serial, now, but in real time, right?

Anyway. Cool. Thanks. Bye.

[assholemurphy]

oh yeah i definitely agree with that! the shit they all went through is awful, and after lexa died it definitely went downhill even more. though her coming back at the end was amazing!! and yea, o/ntari was a character i really hated lol. | agreed!! i really hope jaha dies soon, or at least isnt a huge part of season 5 | yess!! roan was such a good character, and him and bell wouldve been good ngl. | again i agree a lot haha. b/echo isnt a ship i like at all, and i really dont like (1/?) -🌸

echo, but she's a really good villain imo. | aahhh!! im so excited to watch s5! i actually just finished s4 lol (god that was intense). mt weather wasnt my favourite but it definitely had its moments, towards the end especially. but i really dislike maya and how jasper acted with and after her. | fav s3 moment has to be the clexa scenes. all of them. i love lexa so much tbh. and character i miss the most is definitely lexa!! hbu? | whats been your favourite plot line? (2/2) -🌸

The end scene with Lexa was almost too much for me. It was nice seeing Clexa back together, but it hurt to know it was rly over. I mean, the only thing I had against Lexa was the bindi (and how a lot of fans reacted to it being called out for what it was) but otherwise, I loved the character and for her to be rly gone, it hurt.

O/ntari can eat a dick, I s2g. Rape is never a plot device, not even for a villain, and the fact that (aside from one scene) it’s never even talked abt or acknowledged for what it was. I’ll never forgive Jroth for that or for never talking abt O’s abuse of Bell. But I’m hoping s5 will fix the latter.

Bruh, strap in. I’m not gonna spoil anything abt Jaha, but like, yeah, s5 is great.

Idek if they have a ship name, but I’m so on board with that ship. Like, I don’t think it’s v popular (m/m ships generally aren’t in this fandom :/) but I’d love some fics for it, even if I have to write them myself.

It’s not a good ship. She betrayed him so many times. I’m glad he’s happy, he deserves to be, but I just can’t get behind it. I’ll tolerate it bc it makes Bell smile (and he doesn’t do that often enough) but it just bugs me. I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it, ya know? But Echo as a villain was the best. I like her in s5 well enough, but like, considering how it’s being done, I just can’t get on board with her character. Ppl ship her with Raven and I’m just like why??? Emori is right there. 

It’s great. s5 is amazing. The writing is better than any other season imo and the villain is just absolutely amazing. Plus, the other ‘villain’ is just straight up badass. I’m living for this season, tbh. S4 was def intense. There was so much suspense, esp in the last few eps. Jroth has rly stepped up his game. 

I just like it bc we got to see the other delinquents (not just Bell and Clarke) kick ass. Like, Miller was great and Monty was amazing. I kinda liked Maya bc I love the whole ‘what my people are doing is bad, we have to stop them, bc if they’re killing others so that we can live, maybe we don’t deserve to live’ thing she had going on. Also Monty’s “Die.” quote is my everything. But I def didn’t like Jasper (I did at the beginning, but then I met a girl who explained to me a lot abt the whole thing and how it wasn’t good and just generally helped me see past the ‘I like him bc he’s dorky’ thing I had going on. Fast forward 4 years, I’m head over heels for her and we’re kinda talking marriage one day, so it’s great. But that’s not relevant to this ask, lol.) and how he acted towards Monty and Bellamy. Like, that wasn’t okay at all. Esp bc he knew the girl for what? A few weeks? And he was willing to sacrifice his friends for her? Wtf, Romeo, grow tf up and chill for like two seconds. His friends were literally being tortured and he was acting like a lovesick puppy. (Also, the whole ‘savior’ arc should have been Miller’s from the get go, it made more sense. I’m totes not bitter or anything.)

Those Clexa things gave me life. Like, Clarke being bi was everything I could ask for, bc she was the first bi character I’d ever seen on tv. And the relationship was so cute and sweet and they rly could have been great if the ship had survived for longer. Like, I’m forever bitter abt Jroth killing one of his only queer characters for shock value in such a stupid way.

Lexa was so good as a character. I miss her. If Jroth had ditched the damn bindi things would have been fine. I loved her so much. I just kinda hated the ship wars and the thinly veiled racism from both sides so I kinda stopped reblogging it, but it seems to have died down now.

My fav s3 moment was the meeting between Murphy and Bellamy in the tunnels (or whatever they were) plus the shoulder grab in the elevator. And Murphy performing open heart surgery (kind of, lol). It was great.

The character I miss most is probably Wells. He was great and his death didn’t have to happen. I miss him so much. He had so much potential. (And I’m a Wellamy and Wellphy shipper for life, honestly.)

My fav plotline was the whole thing with Pike. Bell and Monty following him. Miller being against him. The whole dictator thing mixed with the ‘us vs them’ mentality was so great to watch. I just wish we’d gotten to see how Monty dealt with the weight of helping kill the grounder army. (Monty’s pain/guilt is generally ignored for most of the show and it’s frustrating.)

Yours? And fav grounder character (other than Lexa)? What none shippy moment hurt the most?

[somuchkdrama]

Hwayugi 17-18 (II)

@dramajib I don't see how they're going to wrap all this up without it feeling anticlimactic honestly. Like the last we hear is that Oh Gong, by defeating the Geumganggo on his own, has created an opportunity to change fate. Which fits in with the Son Oh Gong of legends who is constantly defying the gods and the restrictions they try to impose on him

dramajib: But given how Sam Jang's duty/task has been this huge overarching driving force, I just don't see how they'll build it up enough in two episodes and knock it down without it just being another "haha jk easy fix" thing

dramajib: Another thing I wanna talk about is Ma Wang and also Bu Ja so holla when you guys are up

@rocknghorss​:  About Ma Wang... I’m feeling sympathetic toward him again

@triangularlily: Can I just say I wasn't paying too much attention to the episode and I was about ready to quit when I thought they had actually killed the secretary dog whose name I'm forgetting

triangularlily I was like THIS IS THE LAST STRAW

rocknghorss Lolol

A Potentially Boring Ending? 

rocknghorss: I was worried but then I realized that this show has never killed or seriously injured any of the main characters

rocknghorss: Kinda like what Ekta was saying earlier, the ending is probably going to be wildly boring unless they don’t let Oh Gong circumvent fate after all and Sam Jang kills him

rocknghorss I think her name is Secretary Ma btw

triangularlily: Ok I thought that's what it was too

triangularlily: Maybe there will be some kind of twist like I haven't found the show really that predictable maybe because it's so wacky

rocknghorss: Wacky is a good word for it

triangularlily: Also I know I kept harping on about wanting the guegensjskaong bracelet thing off but like it's too late at this point I think their romance won't ever do it for me

triangularlily: Like I am glad his feelings are real but it's just too late at this point

rocknghorss: His feelings are real but what are they based on is my issue!?  Because the version 1.0 model forced obedience upon whoever wore it

triangularlily: Yeah that is a good point

triangularlily: Actually a really interesting idea that probably won't be explored in the show

triangularlily: Like for me they must never developed the romance/their feelings  like they put the bracelet on and tada! he loves her! Like how am I supposed to be invested or believe in that

triangularlily: In the beginning of the show I thought maybe they would take the bracelet off and then they would kind of start over in their relationship and fall in love for real like sometimes what kdramas do with amnesia plots but like that's not what happened

rocknghorss: Their romance I think is really tough to believe cause of what you said earlier and also because they don’t really know each other.  Who is Jin Seon Mi really?  All I know about her is that she really likes the fact that there’s finally someone who likes her despite (or because of?) her magical powers.  And that’s a sad basis for a relationship.

dramajib: I think that’s a good point - I don’t have trouble believing their feelings for each other, but I just don’t care.  And that’s mostly because Seon Mi as a character hasn’t been fleshed out.  This sudden “I’m going to empty my heart of love and save the world” thing just makes no sense to me, it just seems like a way to keep the story moving

triangularlily: I think they def are just trying to keep the story moving.  I was glad tho that she seems to be the only one who cares about Bu Ja rather than PK rn

triangularlily: Also I rather wish she had powers since the beginning I kind of like that addition to her character even if it’s just more of a plot device

dramajib: Back to Ma Wang for a quick sec - I wondered if him being so gullible and easy to trick had anything to do with him being the (a?) devil.  Combined with how he’s so softhearted just seems like an interesting personality choice for this character.  Like we do see him being cold and harsh, but it never last very long and he’s obviously the biggest softy and everyone knows it.

rocknghorss: Ma Wang, kinda like Oh Gong, is ultimately harmless.  They’ve even dialed back Ah Sa Nyeo’s diabolical plans and made her seem almost sympathetic.  i really hope that whatever plan Oh Gong has up his sleeve also is meant to save BuJa too— it’s irritating that it’s only been PK and Octopus(?) that have seemed to care for the last ~8 episodes.

rocknghorss: Oh yeah, and Seon Mi too, when the writers let her care about something other than Oh Gong

triangularlily: I’m just really worried they’re gonna give the shaman some kind of redemption arc and she like agrees to be burned or something and BuJa just is like gone

rocknghorss: Let’s hope not!!!

rocknghorss: Also, going back to what you said last week Kristin… this show has so many side plots!  It’s pretty amazing that they’re all fairly (?) relevant to the overall plot.  Even Jason (that was his name right?) had a part to play in showing that Seon Mi could have a fairly normal human life if she found the right person.

triangularlily: Yeah, I think maybe that’s why it’s not living up to my expectations of a Hong sister’s drama.  I think it’s too complicated and maybe because it’s an adaption of something.  Maybe they’re just a lot better at writing their own stories.

rocknghorss: that’s an interesting idea.  I never thought of it like that.  They also did an adaptation of Chunhyang back in the day right?

triangularlily: Oh idk. I haven’t seen it!

rocknghorss: Well all I really recall about it is that it was boring lol.  

triangularlily: Well maybe I’m right then lol

rocknghorss: Ekta will you tell me what you meant earlier about Ma Wang being a/the devil and being gullible?  

dramajib: I just noticed that of all the characters, he seems to be the one who gets painted as this dumb foolish guy a lot, someone you can easily put one over

dramajib: Like even with PK, it’s only the BuJa angle that allows him to be manipulated.  But with Ma Wang it’s love, and then pride, and envy and family, and whole gamut of things that let people lead him on and allow him to be very susceptible to suggestion

dramajib: I mean, yes, he does eventually catch on and shake it off and get back to bad business, but mostly there’s this quality of gullibility attached to him that we don’t really see in the other characters as much - and it made me think about how in all the folk stories we always hear about the devil being tricked or outsmarted so that good triumphs over evil in the end.

dramajib: I know the other characters do get tricked and manipulated too, the main premise of the show is supposed to be about Seon Mi and Oh Gong’s feelings being manipulated, but it doesn’t have that same quality of “look how stupid this creature is lol” to it as it does with Ma Wang… Or maybe that’s just be being partial to Cha Seung Won again

rocknghorss: No lol.  I don’t think it’s the CSW bias.  I guess my only point of contention (if it can even be called that) is that as the devil, Ma Wang may be doing such a poor job at tempting people and is so easily tricked himself is because he’s a devil who was trying to become a deity.  

dramajib: Re BuJa (because I was asleep when you guys discussed it, because time zones ugh): I wonder if her mom actually died, or was just transferred somewhere else.  The translations for that bit seemed a bit off.

dramajib: If they are giving Ah Sa Nyeo a redemption arc, maybe she’ll sacrifice her soul to make BuJa human again or something like that.  it still seems a bit unsatisfactory though. I will be sad to not get BuJa back, but can’t think of a way for them to do it that wouldn’t frustrate me.  Unless she comes back, stays a zombie, but becomes a pop star and the energy she gets from her concerts keep her going?

dramajib: I want her to do it on her own, you know?  Not just because someone helped her.  As sweet as PK is with her.  But he mentioned something about hoping Ah Sa Nyeo becomes good so he can make her his little sister too, so who knows how things are going to go.

rocknghorss: Bu Ja did want to become a popstar didn’t she? I’d forgotten about that.  But in terms of Ah Sa Nyeo and redemption, my prediction is that she’ll get one and it’ll paint her in a super sympathetic light and Prof. Kang will go down (but not die!) and somehow BuJa will be reincarnated.

triangularlily: I just want BuJa back somehow and not forgotten

[comicteaparty]

October 7th-October 13th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from October 7th, 2019 to October 13th, 2019.  The chat focused on Liars Go To Paradise? by AvianSkies.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Liars Go To Paradise? by AvianSkies~! (http://puddlecomics.com/comic/book1-lgtp/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until October 13th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What significance do you believe the title has to the overall story, whether in terms of plot or meaning? How do you think it ties into Key specifically as a character and how his future actions might proceed?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. How do you think Chas, who originally pushed Key into the puddle, ties into the rest of the story? How did he know Key was the chosen savior, and do you think he might show up in Paradise?

snuffysam

Favorite scene has gotta be the fight between Crenen and Kirid. At this point I really shouldn't be rooting for Crenen to win anything. He's clearly a horrible person, so I have no reason to want him to survive this fight and rule over even more people. And yet... that fakeout with Kirid's hand seemingly going through Crenen's chest had me at the edge of my seat.

snuffysam

I'm curious how question 2's subject matter ends up playing out. Looking at the synopsis... Jason “Key” Sterling is a liar, and he knows that liars don’t go to Paradise. So when he’s pushed into a puddle and wakes up in a fantastical world called just that, he knows there’s a catch. There's potentially thematic relevance in that Key thinks he isn't deserving of being the subject of this prophecy, because he believes he's a bad person at heart? Alternatively... do we see anyone besides Key lie in this world? Maybe this truly is Paradise, but it just ain't all it's cracked up to be.

snuffysam

(i suppose i could just read the original book to find out but that would be cheating :p)

For favorite character... I have a hard time deciding between Crenen and Veija. Veija is such a fun take on the "seer" trope with how ditzy and unfocused she is on everything. But Crenen... he's so entertaining. Like I was clicking from page to page just to see what horrible and/or crazy thing Crenen would do next.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Why do you think Key chose to go to Paradise despite the experiences he had there? Overall, what do you think this choice says about destiny and free will thematically? Additionally, do you believe what Key is experiencing is truly real?

RebelVampire

1) I think my favorite scene in the comic is the one where Key talks with Veija in the dreamish world. Veija is all around a super entertaining character and it was hilarious every moment she was in the scene. But I also liked that we got some heavy exposition for Key as well cause it added some weight to the story. It was a good best of both worlds scenario that really got me more invested in the story as a whole. 2) I want to get super metaphorical and say that Key seems the most dishonest with himself. Like he really holds himself back, possibly as a defense mechanism, so if Key is lying to anybody, it's him about what he wants, what he thinks he's capable of, and so forth. However, the strongest people tend to be the ones who overcome that sort of adversity, which might make Key be the, well, umm, key to overcoming the general complacency brought on by despair. At the very least you could argue hope can sometimes be a lie, but sometimes that lie is what pulls you through.

3) My favorite character is probably Veija. Veija is like this beautiful existence of contradictions, and I think Veija legit gets the best facial expressions in the comic. She was the one I was most excited to appear again in the comic a second time, so gotta go with her. 4) I feel like Chas definitely has to be from paradise. Like maybe he's a secret agent sent there to find Key. I def hope we see him again, cause I feel like he knows things even other characters like Crenen don't know that could be vital. As for how he knew to choose Key though, I assume he just had some prophecy to go off of. Although I personally find it more entertaining to think that Chas just pushes people into puddles and hopes eventually one of them with go through.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Do you believe that Key can actually help everyone as was foretold? If so, how do you think Key will manage to do it? Additionally, what do you think is the root cause of everyone becoming sick?

RebelVampire

5) I definitely have to go with the large panel on this page here for fave illustration http://puddlecomics.com/comic/loss-12/ I'm really in love with the contrasting colors cause you got this magic stuff juxtaposed against a beautiful night sky. It gives it this beautiful, mystic quality that I'm an absolute sucker for. 6) I think there's kind of two parts to Key's decision. The first part is the fear of what if. Cause at this point, if he doesnt try to help, hes going to live with the eternal regret and thought that maybe he really couldve helped - and that he essentially sentenced a bunch of people to die because he was too afraid. The other part of Key's decision I think is just him wanting to find purpose. In regards to choice and the themes and stuff, I think this choice kind of says what is usually the case for destiny. You always have a choice on whether to follow it or not. But sometimes destiny knows what it's talking about. And in other cases, destiny is somewhat similar to duty. Also, last part, yes, I think Key is experiencing something very real. But I'd also argue dreams are real experiences even if that aren't experiences that happen in the real world.

7) I enjoy seeing Key and Crenen interact the most. Crenen is by and large a very entertaining character. From manner of speech to how he conducts himself. Yet it's pretty clear he cares about things in his own way, including Key a little bit. Whereas Key seems to have this strange almost stockholm-y syndrome thing with Crenen going on where he hates him and doesn't want him to die. So overall their relationship gives me many conflicting feels and I like that, cause relationships don't always have to be clean and straightforward. THey can be a mess of questions. 8) I think Key can actually help. At the very least he's more hopeful than everyone else it seems, and as I said earlier, bringing hope can mean a lot. As for actual concrete results, maybe they'll use Key to make a magic vaccine. Or maybe Key will kill the source somehow. Which I do kind of feel like the sickness isn't just a normal sickness. So not just some rando disease that sprouted up. Like maybe Paradise as a world is decaying and that's affecting the people, or something.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Why do you think Jenen refuses to take over the Yenen clan, and why did that involve him seemingly leave the clan? Do you think Jenen will have a change of heart? Regardless, how will his original choice be challenged?

RebelVampire

. . . 9) One of the details I really appreciate is the details on the foliage. Foliage is super tedious in any regard. There's a lot you can get away with passing first glance test though. THat being said, when its up close, this comic really goes all out and doesnt skimp on the foliage. For example, this page http://puddlecomics.com/comic/midnight-duel-17/. You can see the little vein stem things in the leaves, and that's just such a beautiful detail that really sells the nature when you stare at the image longer. I love it. <3 10) I think there's two parts to why Jenen won't take over the Yenen clan. The first part is just that being a leader is a burden and actually kind of sucks. XD THe second part, though, I just feel like Jenen is searching for something that being tied down to one place would not serve. Cause he gives me the kind of vibe of someone who doesn't care about the physical world all that much and is more into the abstract. As for why this all caused him to leave, well, would you want Crenen breathing down your neck? XD I don't think Jenen will change his mind about leading, but I do think he'll stick around to help Crenen of his own free will. I do think being around sick people is kind of gonna make him question everything though. Cause like Key, it's not easy to do nothing when you can see a ton of people need help.(edited)

snuffysam

4) For Chas - it is worth noting that we never see his ears. So I could definitely see him being a plant from Paradise. Perhaps an aide of Veija? It's odd that he wouldn't have been mentioned yet, but Veija might have forgotten that she sent him there...

snuffysam

5) I absolutely love the page @RebelVampire mentioned, though I have to give an honorable mention to this page: http://puddlecomics.com/comic/the-seers-test-17/ The way the light beams were drawn just gives the whole page a serene feel.

6) Honestly, I think Key has kind of gotten fond of the people's he's met. Jenen showed kindness to him, and Crenen... also has sometimes, but mostly Key seems to have a bit of Stockholm Syndrome lol. Anyway, that plus knowing that people will die if he doesn't go back helped him come to that decision.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Do you think Crenen will come to believe in Key as a savior as some of the other characters do? What is your takeaway from the sentiment that it’s better to hope than despair, and how might we see this theme throughout the comic?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Overall, how do you think Key’s adventures will change him as a person? What sort of experiences do you think will be the catalyst for those changes? Additionally, do you think Key will want to return home after all is said and done?

RebelVampire

@snuffysam I like the idea of Veija just flat out forgetting she sent Chas. So Chas shows up and Veija is like "hello who are you" XD

11) I think this comic's strengths are the beautiful art. The style is unique, the character designs are interesting, and overall its just a joy to look at just because everything is so cohesively designed. 12) I personally think Crenen will come to believe. Honestly I'd argue he kind of believes already in his own way. Not that he'll put all the eggs in that basket, but I think he'd rather bet on Key as opposed to nothing at all. Which this ties into my takeaway from the sentiment that it's better to hope than despair. You're more likely to make a change when you hope and strive to fulfill that hope. Which I feel is something we'll see Key inspire in a lot of people. And because they'll start hoping again, they'll start making changes for the better.

13) I am looking forward to more Veija being a doof and getting some more concrete info on how Key might help. The former for just the pure entertainment, the latter cause I'm eager to see the large direction the story will take, cause then more theory floodgates can open. 14) I think overall the adventures will instill more self confidence in Key. He strikes me as the type who really doesn't like himself, so I think he'll get some self love in there as well as he learns there are things he can do, even if they don't seem to matter in the short term. As for what will cause them, I think it'll just be the overall where he helps someone -> sees effects. Cause it's easier to believe stuff like that when it's obvious and concrete. I actually don't think Key will want to return home at the end. Maybe to say good-bye, but I could legit see Key just wanting to stay in Paradise with the companions he's made. Granted hopefully his good-bye would be less depressing than the one that just recently happened XD

snuffysam

That is a good question, whether Key will return home or not. He's definitely growing to like the people he's met along the way, but it's not like he hates his family back home. Could be a thing where he lives in one world and pays the other a visit every once in a while? As for what I'm looking forward to the most... I'd say even more interactions between the main cast! Key's spent a bit of time separated from the others recently, so I'm yearning for more of that!

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Liars Go To Paradise? this week! Please also give a special thank you to AvianSkies for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Liars Go To Paradise?, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://puddlecomics.com/comic/book1-lgtp/

AvianSkies’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/puddlecomics

Liars Go To Paradise?’s Novels: https://www.amazon.com/M-Woodscourt/e/B00WERJG02

AvianSkies’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PuddleComics

[comicteaparty]

May 13th-May 19th, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from May 13th, 2020 to May 19th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following  question:

Which comic has your all-time favorite artwork, and why do you like it?

carcarchu

Oh yes i can say this with certainty but the webcomic with my all-time favourite artwork by far is 榴花不及春 https://www.manmanapp.com/comic-1404769.html. it's not just that the art is beautiful but the way the artists create mood and tone is just jaw-dropping. I actually got chills a few times while reading it from the art alone and that's not something that i can recall happening when reading a lot of webcomics, or actually any fiction in general. there's such a elegance to the line weight and movement of the art that brings life to the characters. the artists' use of lighting adds such depth to the scenes, sometimes creating a warm and inviting atmosphere and other times a haunting and foreboding chill. the time i've spent with this comic is not something i'll soon forget(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

This is such a difficult question for me. Gahhh, so many pretty comics out there.... I guess, in regards to artwork alone, my favorite is the 2015 version of Countdown to Countdown by Vel. (https://tapas.io/series/Countdown) Just... such beautiful work. I'm a sucker for detailed painterly styles I will admit, but also the color and lighting is phenomenal. The way Vel sets up the mood with color and movement is amazing. The textures and brush strokes are simply gorgeous! Unfortunately, Vel rebooted the comic to a new style last year, and while it is still really gorgeous, I must admit, I don't like it nearly as much as the original. (What can I say? I have a bias for painterly styles.) Still highly recommend it! (https://tapas.io/series/CTC) I do want to point out some honorable mentions for me: * Ghostblade by WLOP (https://tapas.io/series/GhostBlade) - another painterly comic * The Sixth Dalai Lama by Ze Zhao (https://tapas.io/series/thesixthdalailama) - discontinued as far as I'm aware, but painted traditionally with watercolor! * Wind Rose by Sfera (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/wind-rose/list?title_no=54306) - Painterly again (later on as the artist improved) but also great expressions I will say, I also love deliciously detailed lineart, but I don't see it a lot (especially in webcomics), and I cannot think of one right now :/(edited)

carcarchu

ahh ghost blade is a great choice @Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) and while i agree that countdown to countdown's new art isn't as sumptuous as it used to be for a comic it works better and the simpler art style allows vel to release at a more consistent rate without injuring herself so i really respect the change(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yeah, definitely understand why they changed styles, because oml can a painterly style be taxing

DanitheCarutor

I can't pick just one! But to start off I love the art of Lost Honey (https://www.losthoney.com/), everything about it is so soft, the linework, the colors the character designs, the panelling, it all has such a nice feel to it. The creator's use of color is sooo easy on the eyes, it fits so well with the comic. The linework has such a nice flow and movement, there is never a feeling of stiffness, it almost reminds me of water. Also I'm a complete sucker for traditionally drawn comics. Even though it's discontinued as far as I know, Thicker Than Blood also has really nice aesthetics! (https://tapas.io/series/Thicker-Than-Blood-), it has such a unique style almost like classical art mixed with glass. The designs are detailed yet highly stylized. The quality varied from time to time, given the amount of work that goes into them, but overall I really liked the look of this comic. Carciphona is another one I like aesthetically. (https://tapas.io/series/carciphona) The art of this one has improved immensely since it started, and while I'm not a fan of the look of the earlier pages, I'm loving how their work has evolved. The style is very Japanese inspired, there is a lot going on sometimes, but has its own unique look and is very well crafted. Also I love the action scenes, how they're handled makes the scenes look intense, sometimes grandiose.(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh my god I love carciphona’s art! I always get shilin’s art whenever she sells at Anime North I’ve been meaning to read carciphona for a while so thanks for reminding me!

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Hands down it is Black Out Cityhttp://blackoutcity.ca/lvl10.php Jay does these amazing illustrative panels when they introduce a new chapter and it has me hooked on each update! The way that the title is incorporated within the panel is beautifully done, and their attention to detail and effective use of contrast is breath taking. Definitely a huge inspiration of mine! I also want to shout out to O'Sarilho by @Capitania do Azar . The palettes she uses are unique and dynamic, and the layouts read like the comic is animated (there's even animated parts in it!) the way she draws action and portrays horrific parts is phenomenal!https://sarilho.net/en/

(also i love this prompt but i could def go on forever with it hehe)

Deo101 [Millennium]

I wholeheartedly second O'sarilho ^^ it's a comic I regularly reccomend and I probably won't ever get over how lovely it looks! (I'll have to look for more comics who's art I love later)(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I'll throw in Heart of Gold https://heartofgoldcomic.com/. The ethereal palette, the clean and crisp architecture, the panels that work perfectly with the church imagery, and the energy of the lines and brush strokes. SO GOOD.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I agreEE

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Okay for me it's two webcomics One of them is Tracy JB's Lackadaisy https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/lackadaisy/list?title_no=39790&page=1 https://www.lackadaisycats.com/ Everything she does is wonderful; colour, expression, character, plot.....her art inspired me to embark on expression work. I remember being younger and being so inspired by her webcomic. Hands down can't find a flaw. The other one is Muted by anidoodles https://www.webtoons.com/en/supernatural/muted/list?title_no=1566 I was introduced to her from her Heather animatics on youtube. I love how her inking and cell shading is simple but VERY effective; the use of bold bright colours and watercolours was amazing. My art style is heavily inspired by hers and overall, I love how she captures people's attention with it.(edited)

Miranda

Oh I love Muted!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

looks at your profile pic heheh

Miranda

I mean, I'd have to say I love "Nothing Special" by Katie Cook. Her art style and color scheme is just easy on the eyes and I love her intricate filled backgrounds. https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/nothing-special/list?title_no=1188&page=1 Phantomarine is another favorite. I absolutely love the painted look and it's been inspiring my newer pages. Every page is just a work of art and I love the color choices and just everything about it. http://www.phantomarine.com/

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

PHANTOMARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I’m also going to say Phantomarine

Theres also one I found recently called Bybloemen that has a really cool art style

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

ohhh Bybloemen is gorgeous and is so up your alley Sssfrs!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Its so good

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Woah, it's like woodcuts!! I like it!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Ooh this is a hard choice since I see beautiful webcomic art alot. Recently my favorite art and coloring style I've been inspired by are: - The Glass Scientists https://www.theglassscientists.com/ Some of the pages are well executed, I like the character designs, fantasy with alchemists, werewolves and more. Ghost Teller https://www.webtoons.com/en/horror/ghost-teller/list?title_no=1307 I enjoy QTT use of gradient coloring and spooky atmosphere, it looks like alot of time were used to make each strip. I like how the characters are linked to each story, it's not as spooky as more dramatic. They are all short stories Gourmet Hound: https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/gourmet-hound/list?title_no=1245 When I think of slice of life with a soft pleasant color palette, this story comes in mind. I like to refer to her work as well as other SoL comics for inspiration on coloring.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

@carcarchu ooh I love the different comics you recommend. It's always unique and pretty. I hope there's a tranlation strip for '榴花不及春'(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

GOURMET HOUND

IM SO HAPPY ITS HERE

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Funnily, the webcomic with my all-time favourite art is Order of the Stick. Love how much expression and narrative work this simple style does.

RebelVampire

Definitely Rising Sand https://risingsand.glass/. The art is immensely detailed in ways that are relevant to the world and story, has beautiful color choices, beautiful compositions, amazing light effects, great backgrounds, and so on. And just overall the skill level is so high I'd need another 20 years experience with art to even be able to begin to point out a single flaw.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

^Ooh yes! I don’t know how Rising Sand keeps that quality so high. From their posts, it seems like a bit of a nightmare sometimes But the end product is like its own animated film!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Omg I'm often in awe with those artists making high quality art that looks like it belongs in graphic novels or film. I can imagine those big details will take alot of time to put together. (edited)

I once happen to meet the creators for Rising Sand. Very passionate writer and artist team who have quite some experiences and strong teamwork. (Life goals!)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

so many comics to check out :0

Deo101 [Millennium]

wow rising sand is really gorgeous

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Whoa rising sand is really good

actually reminds me of Tigress Queen by Allidraws https://www.tigressqueen.com/comic/page-0001(edited)

especially the parts where she draws glass and architecture it's very vibrant and full of life

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Gosh I realized I have a trend of loving slice of life stories, so I might end up recommending that genre afew times!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(don't forget webcomic_recs for recommending good comics in general outside of the weekly topic!)

Unfortunately Korean-only at this time, but I am in awe of the art in this comic. It's not very polished, but you can tell the artist really knows what he's doing in terms of anatomy, perspective and composition. https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list.nhn?titleId=701535&weekday=wed

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

oops I remembered that, I'll go repost there instead. Thanks Keii. Wow that comic(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I really want to read more Korean and Chinese webcomics, they have a different vibe and story atmosphere. I enjoy looking into them as inspiration on how to stage my webtoon scenes.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Hmmmm, I wouldn't recommend the one above for how to make vertical scroll comics. That one was originally made for print and then adapted afterward, and it shows.

Still absolutely amazing action art, though!

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) Heart of Gold is SO beautiful! I agree with you 100 procent!

I will add The Ocean Soul. Holey damn this comic is SO gorgeous!!!! https://tapas.io/series/The-Ocean-Soul

Javi

Gonna add this before this prompt changes. I think Oren's Forge has the best artwork I've ever seen done in a webcomic. Every panel has a setting that's so bold and pristine in color, layout, and background that it begs to be animated. Every color used paints a different mood to show character development and the style of the characters is so stylized and interesting to look at. Even the story is interesting enough that it gets you hooked and wondering what will happen next. Also talking animals, what more can I say? :) There's more discussion in FurAffinity than there is on Tapas so I'm putting two links https://m.tapas.io/series/OrensForge https://www.furaffinity.net/full/18260576/