#fwiw i think it looks okay

[takohebi]

study date

[moeblob]

son boy raccoon trash can man suffering in a dnd au as a cleric bc his warlock will not stop committing murders and he has to keep coming up with reasons murder is valid to convince the gm its fine and under control

[edge-oftheworld]

something that irks me that I’ve noticed is how because ashton (and to a lesser extent calum) present more masculine/tend to be more protective towards other band members etc there seems to be a stark difference in how the fandom perceives their need to be handled gently and shown it’s safe to feel things. and ik it’s probably a subconscious thing but think about it for a second please. and maybe we decide to make a more conscious decision to show our more masc presenting people we know it’s okay to feel things and be vulnerable yea?

[chronologicalimplosion]

[[Screenshot ID: A twitter thread by sjklapecwriting that says:

The fact that "AI = what makes NPCs in video games do things" and "AI = complex scientific models that have been in use for years" and "AI = non-generative tools that automate tedious processes" and "AI = generative tools" are all called AI feels like deliberate obfuscation.

I want good AI in video games but I also don't want AI in video games at all and I think AI is useful in the sciences but don't trust AI at all to be used in science or medicine or law and AI to colour-correct a video or remove greenscreen is cool but AI generating movies sucks.

We talk about things that threaten art and creativity and steal vast quantities of work from artists and burn the amazon and drain the seas to do it all with the same language as something that can track a part of a video so special effects are easier to make and that sucks.

And this obfuscation feels so deliberate to me, because now people freak out if someone talks about wanting to use "AI that learns from the player" or "an AI solution to help me edit video" or "an AI that can be used to generate theoretical materials to test" and they look silly.

Because now "AI" is so firmly wrapped up with the concept of "generative models" that people are, rightfully, on guard against any mention of AI whatsoever to the point where entirely distinct technologies get uselessly criticized under the same umbrella.

Like imagine if we had no other language but "tank" to describe motor vehicles, so if I said we needed "public transit vehicles" everyone thought I wanted M1A1 Abrams for civilian transit. That's what it's like talking about AI.

End ID]]

[ceilidho]

I’ve only ever interacted with you before by (obsessively) liking your fics so forgive this being so random but I feel like part of the reason people are more okay with artists charging for their work over writers (and I think everyone should get paid for it tbh) is the perceived accessibly of writing skills over drawing skills. Like I don’t think it’s malicious but I feel like a lot of people at least subconsciously look at fanfiction and think “I could do that, I have Microsoft word and can physically type” meanwhile they look at art and think like “I wouldn’t even know where to start to get there” not realizing that it would take probably the same amount of work and time to get as good at writing as Umiko is at drawing (is drawing even the right word lol idk)

Like I think it’s subconscious right now but if a writer did pay wall their fics it would almost immediately become something they would say to the writer like “why would I pay for this when I can do it myself”

Fwiw, from a customer service rep making $16 an hour, if I could give you $900k a year I would, if for no other reason than you’ve given me terrible Soap brain worms (I was so blind, but now I See™️) (also just to be clear I, in no way, think learning to write is just easy, just that easy access to the tools to do it with make it seem like it must be and thus people undervalue it as a skill in pretty much all areas of life but for this purpose, especially in fandom spaces)

no but you're like 100% right. when people ask me for tips and tricks to get better at writing, i try to be super encouraging and tell people like "you can do it too!!!" because i like making people believe in their own abilities, but it is an incredibly hard thing to do. i think i undersell how hard writing is. but you're so right, i think subconsciously most people think it's not as challenging as creating art is. i completely get your point and agree.

[lucky1013]

[EDIT/COMMENT. This is kinda half baked. There’s a lot more to this topic that isn’t addressed here. Also, i didn’t see the material that started the convo so it’s not exactly about that. FWIW.]

PEACE LOVE & FiCTION

Chiming in on the objections to Tombur, teenbur, etc.

Guys. RELAX and quit shaming each other. Be nice.

Teenagers have sex. Teenagers also think about sex. Published YA novels are full of it — sometimes first-time stuff, sometimes taboo age gap stuff, sometimes even incest or really icky stuff (looking at you, VC Andrews).

In fanfiction, first-time fics in particular are super normal and often involve minor characters. Why minors? Simple. (1) Your first time kissing or having sex or whatever is interesting, and your 65th time is boring. (2) Many if not most people have their first sexual experience before age 18.

There is nothing aberrant about writing or enjoying erotica about teenagers. [EDIT: Within reason. I’m really only contemplating stories where characters are doing things that are reasonable for their age, not younger characters or incongruously explicit material. ]

People are somehow cool with rape/incest/etc sex involving adults—gross and totally illegal in real life— but shame people for teen sex fics.

It should also be noted that enjoying or writing erotica involving teen characters is not pedophilia. Pedos are people who prefer pre-pubescent children. Post-pubescent teens have secondary sex characteristics and it isn’t at all deviant to find older teens attractive in certain contexts.

Adults exploiting or having sex with minors is obviously illegal and not okay. Writing sexually explicit scenes about any age characters for minor audiences is not okay.

Fictional erotica and sexual exploitation of minors are entirely different things.

Label your stuff for 18+ audiences and write whatever you want. Post it in places where proper guardrails can be applied to prevent young readers from stumbling upon it. If you find something icky— don’t read it.

(Not totally sure what my position is on fan art involving explicit drawings of teenagers. I find it super gross but not necessarily immoral or illegal, as no kids are harmed. If it’s labeled properly people can avoid it. Opinion on this not fully formed.)

[***These are my opinions- reasonable people can disagree.]

PEACE LOVE & FiCTION, friends.

[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers: 1x06 Swish (Part 4)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

No pity remarks for this one, let's dig into it...

After Dinner

Prudence's singing. I'm crying. It's so hilariously bad. And I appreciate that it's actually bad. I'm tired of people singing in things trying to be 'bad' but they just sound weirdly off but still on pitch or something. No, this is truly awful singing and I love it. Everyone's reaction shots are truly amazing. I love that Colin is like - yup, not sure what I expected but this seems about right.

The cinematography of this shot! This is a masterful little moment, omg. The way Penelope is framed by the silhouettes of Colin and Marina -- and that Colin is leaning into Marina in what feels like an intimate push in. And the sadness on Penelope's face... the way she's ignoring the comedy of Prudence's singing because she's so fixated on Colin and Marina and wrestling with herself on what to do... This is an amazing shot. Visual storytelling at its finest.

Colin is telling Marina he'll be right back, but I want to know where he's going. They're in the Featherington Home, not the Bridgerton place. Does he need to use a chamber pot? Do the next two scene really happen while he needs to pee?? He clearly needs to just get out of the room for the next scene to happen and I don't think anyone ever really notices until you're doing analysis like this, because then it's like, huh, wait... why?

Doesn't really matter... We're focused on Pen and she's watching and she is nervous. She's visibly gearing herself up, making the decision on whether or not she's going to approach him and she sees her moment and takes it.

[Seriously, where was he going? He was about to head up the stairs. Also, can we discuss Portia's obsession with yellow? The Featherington's house is all yellows. Btw, in the book she likes yellow because it's a 'happy' color.]

Pen heads out after Colin, and asks if he's got a moment. His first reaction is completely -- yes, of course, (I don't need to pee that bad, I just wanted to get out of that room and away from your sister's singing, lol). No, but seriously, he calls her Pen again, and has such a note of concern in his voice. And I can't reiterate this enough -- for the time period, for the society that they're in, the ease in which this conversation starts is kind of remarkable. There are no formalities here. Just an established relationship and familiarity.

Everything about that dinner had been formal and by the book. Everyone was playing a part, downplaying their own thoughts and feelings because they are in an era where there are proper ways of doing things. But these two don't play by any of those rules. They don't need to - because the bond has been there since childhood.

Anyway... can I take a second and say how much I love how this shot is set up? I love the candles lit in the room that's between them. It almost feels like a romantic moment.

Penelope states she has a delicate matter she doesn't really want to bring up, but feels like she must.

Colin can very much sense the seriousness in Pen, and tries to ease the situation with a bit of (self-deprecating, fwiw) humor. It's no doubt that there probably have been little jokes like this before -- where Pen (and probably Eloise) have teased him about such a thing like food on his face. But he knows that's not what this really is -- he's trying to ease the situation, and make her feel okay for telling him, whatever it is. I don't think he has a clue as to what it is and it's genuinely confusing, but it's Pen, and she's clearly upset about something.

Penelope is very nervous about this confrontation. Her voice is a little shaky and she rushes through an explanation about how she hasn't had a chance to talk to him since the engagement was announced. And for a moment -- you may think Pen might spill the beans on the pregnancy. But she doesn't. She doesn't land that blow, because that'll be the most devastating thing she can do, so she's trying another approach. Something that might be a tad more palatable to swallow (and be less scandal than a pregnancy and entrapment).

Penelope tells him that Marina is in love with someone else. And at first there's a look of utter shock on his face - as his eyes flicker to the drawing room, where Marina is. Penelope continues her explanation, stating that she knows because she's seen the letters between them, and spills all the info on George Crane. And she's still so nervous as she says all of this -- talking fast, rambling a bit, she just needs to get it out. She's also apologetic, because she doesn't want him to be hurt by this info.

And while, yes, she's doing this out of her own feelings for him, she does truly care about him and his well being. She doesn't want to see him unhappy -- which will be what ultimately happens if he does marry Marina.

And here's the thing THE THING about this moment. He's so gone in his own delusions and fantasies her words aren't really landing BUT the first thing he does is sense how frantic she's being and makes it a point to calm her down. Before he talks about how he's feeling -- he makes it about her. He gives her an easy smile, TAKES HER HAND and tells her how good she is to him.

I can't get over that -- he's recognizing (even if in his mind it's friendship) that she has his best interest at heart. And appreciates that she's had the courage to tell him all of that. He doesn't outright dismiss her warning and ignore how she feels about it -- he recognizes it and makes her more comfortable, even if what she just told him could be life altering.

And, again, I have to state they went for the wide shot here, even though we don't see them holding hands, you can tell that he reaches for hand (which, again, big deal for this time period). But also we have that beautiful framing with the lights in between them. It's subtly a romantic(-esque) moment between the two of them.

And... then we get into Colin being so caught up with his own fantasy land that her words just don't matter. At first he claims it's trivial -- he's flirted countless times with other girls, and it's never been serious. There's no reason Marina couldn't have flirted with other guys. To Colin, flirting is just that -- flirting, and should never be taken that seriously.

But Pen doubles down (look, I love Colin to pieces, but she is by far the smarter one out of the two of them) and says that they're in LOVE. It's not a harmless flirtation. It's also not in the past. What she's trying to say -- but won't do it outright because she wants him to come to this conclusion on his own -- is that Marina doesn't love him.

And I mean, there's the crux of it, too. She knows what it's like to be deeply in love with Colin. She's standing right there and expressing it by trying to protect him. Marina isn't doing that at all. But for so many reasons she just can't be straight with her words. She's being as cautious as she can be, trying to help him without giving up the whole big plan or her own feelings.

And then Colin doubles down, because he really doesn't want to be wrong about this. He reiterates that Marina has agreed to marry him, not some other guy. That means something to him in a way that it might not for other people. He stated with Anthony, earlier, something that is true in his heart -- you marry for love. So in his love addled brain, the only reason Marina agreed to his proposal is because she loves him back. He almost can't comprehend anything else.

He also tells Penelope to not worry about it, he's sure of himself and of Marina. Which really is his downfall. It's not a lack of trust with Penelope at all -- he does trust that she has his best interests at heart with the information. But he is too trusting of Marina. He's now ignored his brother, his mother, and his good friend's advice, because he can't be wrong about this.

It's at this point that Marina shows up, and 'catches' Pen and Colin. They both kind of break apart -- because if anyone else caught them, it'd be almost scandalous. (Should we start taking shots for how many times they're alone together without a chaperone?) But it's Marina because she saw Colin leave, and then saw Penelope leave, and Marina is smart. She's very smart. And she's purposely interrupting because she knows Penelope is upset with her about the situation, and while Penelope claimed earlier that she wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, the two of them have been out in the hallway a long time, and she isn't going to let anyone stand in her way of what she's trying to accomplish...

Colin, of course, brings it back to wit and charm, claiming the party is now better without Prudence's terrible singing (which now can be heard again, as a bit of levity in this heavier moment). Marina says that Portia is asking for Penelope. Is she? Possibly. But idk, she may have wondered out loud where did Penelope go, but I don't think Portia gives all that much thought to Penelope and her sneaking out of social situations.

The non-verbal things you can actually read in Penelope... it's a masterclass, really. She knows what Marina is doing. She doesn't want to leave the two of them alone together. But she can't deny a request from her mother. And, oh, does she stare Marina down in this moment. She failed in her attempt to get through to Colin, and she's running out of options...

Penelope and Colin share a final look, and she's unsure about leaving, but Colin kind of nods reassurance to her, it'll be fine. He's completely misunderstanding her, but, well, he kind of does want to be alone with Marina, so she shuffles off, frustrated.

Marina, meanwhile, has her own agenda.

As I'll probably end up saying a thousand times, Colin is a pretty empathetic soul, who really wants to help people. He thinks his worth is brought about by how much service he can provide for others. But where he trips up is that he isn't always understanding of authenticity. Because Marina is completely playing to understanding this during this scene.

Colin notes her unhappiness, and the first thing he does is apologize -- for his family not being 100% supportive of her or of them.

And here's my thing about Marina. I think here are some grains of truth buried in some of this. I do think it does hurt her that her family doesn't want her, and that the Featheringtons have been a general pain in the ass, and she seems to have lost her one ally (Penelope) during all of this. But she lays it on thick, because she knows it'll lock Colin in even more. She knows he needs to save her, and what she does need is saving. So, she's going to play it up the best she can.

The big kicker is when she says that she doesn't feel like she's accepted by his family. Because that's going to kickstart something in his brain. Now they're Romeo and Juliet. Now they're stilted lovers that are pushing against the world to make their love survive. Now it's just them in a world that doesn't want them to be.

And this TOTALLY plays on Colin's sense of romanticism. He's ready to be the romantic hero and say fuck the rest of them, you and I are family, you and I can be on our own, and start our own family, and we don't need anyone or anything else in the world.

And this is where Marina goes from half truths to deceiving him. She does say that all she wants is to be married to him, that isn't a lie, not really. But it's to save herself from her situation. Not at all out of love. She's glad that Colin is a kind soul, it'll make the marriage easier, but she has no real feelings for him. And she's manipulating his to get what she wants.

She then goes into complete lies -- claiming that she wants to be married this minute so that they could be alone and hold each other in their arms. Again, she's being calculated to play up his emotions, and that deep seeded romanticism. But it's all so that she can hurry the marriage along, and so that she can get to seducing him. Because that's an added element here. She has to get him into bed rather quickly, and if he won't until marriage, well then, they better get on that, too.

Oh man, is she playing him...

Because what does he do next? Well, what did Romeo and Juliet do? They eloped... So he and Marina could elope and they could be together away from the world and its rules and expectations and families and friends who have their doubts... He suggests running off to Scotland where (I guess?) it's possible to get married without having to do all the things necessary back in Mayfair.

I kind of wonder if she knew about the Scotland option? I wonder if it was an idea she had with George? Whether she knew or not, she was pushing him to get to this point -- to where elopement seems like not only the best but the only option they have.

And he's so excited to have thought of it. And ideas start rushing to him, and he starts spitting out how they could runaway and even though they'll get push back upon return, it'll be fine. They'll be married. What is better than that?

(Btw, I kind of love that you can see his entire thought process on his face, how he's trying to rationalize, for just a moment, as he thinks of what Anthony's reaction could be, and then his fantasies just take over again as he comes to the conclusion that any actions ending with a marriage to Marina would be the best actions.)

I really love the staging of this next beat. The more excited he gets, the closer he pulls in towards her, as if he's coming closer and closer to realizing what (he thinks) he wants. But Marina is kind of processing, and when she isn't visibly as caught up in this whirlwind as he is, he pulls away. Immediately. And apologizes. There is that kernel of doubt that is in the back of his mind -- the one that Anthony, Violet, and Penelope have put there.

Marina sense this immediately, though, and quickly pulls him back into the haze. She was just momentarily caught off guard (that this plan is working so well). She says it's exactly what she wants -- and again, she's not lying. but she's not being truthful about her own feelings, either.

And then Marina gives her biggest lie. She says she loves the idea. But then she also straight up says 'I love you'. Which is the epitome of what he wants to hear. And his mind is made up. Done. He'll put his affairs in order in the next day, and they'll be off.

Close the book on that one, it's over...

The hug at the end is interesting. We don't need to see what Colin is thinking/feeling we really know. But Marina's reaction is not one of love or ecstasy. It's one of relief.

Everything is coming together, just how she wants it, even at the expense of Colin and his feelings. The thing I find the most interesting is that Marina is a very calculated person. Everything she does in this scene is very carefully done so she can get Colin to the place she wants. But there's one variable she can't control and won't ever see coming... Lady Whistledown.

But more on that in the next one ;)

[bitchyblkqueer]

As someone who follows Jeremy Adams' press, it's clear that he was bothered and upset by the number of people saying Hal was being a creepy weirdo to Carol in the first few issues of GL 2023. even the older white male fans were like, "this is uncomfortable".

it's one of Many Many things that's made me doubt the competency of DC editorial (understatement of the century i know). Someone should have clocked this in the scripting phase. and I'm disappointed with the overall storyline in the comic. it looks like they're leaving behind the "Hal adjusting to life on earth" idea AND the psychology of Hal creating kilowog with his ring. DC has also famously fired more than half of their editors in the last 5-6 years.

but back to Adams - it must be difficult for him to receive that feedback, especially since he's said he behaved similarly with women he's dated. no one likes being misunderstood, and they definitely don't want to hear that they've acted like a creepy weirdo.

which explains the OOC Barry dialogue in GL 2023 #4. it's a sorry sight.

as readers, we're supposed to think, "If Barry Allen is saying it, of course it's okay!!"

fwiw i am all for a "you're single until you're married" mentality, but Barry definitely would not be lmao. and i cant even get into how gross this is towards Carol. what about what she wants?? barry is a lot of things, but he's consistently not misogynistic.

sidenote - you are not writing hal & barry well if they're not coming off as more than a little in love with each other. hal needs to randomly say the most romantic thing you've ever read or else it's not a successful team-up. and adams co-wrote that lego flash movie where barry keeps a photo of him and hal on his nightstand. so now we all know to thank the other guy i guess

i would have been all for adams bringing back a more silver age hal, which i thought was the intention. but leave the sexism where it's at. bring back more silly scifi plots or hal getting knocked out or ITTY!

and if for some reason you intended for hal to act like a misogynist, it could have been interesting to watch him deal with the changing social customs since he's been off-world for so many years. but i doubt anyone working on the comic would be able to give that storyline the depth it deserves. anyway

[elumish]

You know, a while ago, I saw a post that was something along the lines of "On Tumblr, you could write a post saying 'I like pancakes' and people would reply with 'So you hate waffles???' like nah man that's a whole new sentence!".

These anon you've been getting are really proving the point of that post's OP. I'm sorry you have to deal with Tumblr's often rather mediocre reading comprehension.

FWIW I follow you for being one of the people with actually nuanced takes instead of that weird thing most of this site has got going on, where it's either "If you EVER even think of a character who did ANYTHING wrong in any remotely positive light you're irredeemably evil" on one side and "If you ever so much as imply that maybe there's some things people write or put in shows that can cause harm to real people, you're irredeemably evil.". I hope they all grow out of their black and white thinking. Or at least learn to leave you and others alone.

I appreciate it.

I think, if I'm to give a little bit of grace now that my frustration has died down a very small amount, that people have become so conditioned to reading one argument that they assume everything that looks even remotely similar is the same thing.

On my dashboard, most of what I see is people arguing the same exact points as the anons, usually using fiery overgeneralized language to rile people up about the dangers of censorship online. And so if all you see is people getting mad over and over about this point, written in a way that paints everyone who is critical of any content in fiction in the same broad brush, you are going to start to believe that it's all one thing.

And they're not entirely wrong about the dangers of censorship and harassment--there are, obviously, broad efforts across the United States (and I'm sure other places, but the U.S. is what I'm most familiar with) to censor certain types of literature based on conservative fears of their content.

There have also been efforts, generally well-intended, from the left to reduce "problematic" content. While some of these have been great (e.g., sensitivity readers), others have been abused, often by people who lacked the cultural competency to understand what they were reading or who wanted an excuse to harass people. Many of these efforts, especially those that were implemented most ineffectively or most abused, were focused on the criticism and removal of writers or existing content.

I understand the sensitivity, I really do. I also disagree with efforts that have happened across the board to remove wide swaths of content just because they made someone a little uncomfy.

And yes, I do talk about content moderation, because I also recognize the difference between "made someone a little uncomfy" and "we are welcoming to Nazi content" and unfortunately certain places err too much on the latter side rather than the former in the name of universal free speech with no exceptions.

But most of what I talk about is writing, because I'm a writing blog. I do want to change how people approach writing, because I believe fundamentally in our responsibility as human beings to 1) do what we can to avoid harm and 2) do what we can to improve the world around us. And if that means that there's less of certain content, like magic that relies on biological essentialism and love stories involving SS commanders, then I'm okay with that.

[mzannthropy]

So it's still a while till The Count of Monte Cristo limited series will se the light of day, but in the meantime, is there a reason for optimism for a Sam Claflin fan? This Sam Claflin fan, at least.

Regardless of the choices the adaptation will make, one thing sure is that Sam will give a flawless performance as the titular character, and any disguises that this will include. I think abbe Busoni and the English lord should appear at least (the French film had them). It'll be a good microcosm of his range. He has a good arc: from a young naive idealistic sailor to a broken down prisoner at Chateau D'If to a man obsessed with revenge to a man who makes amends and finds peace, it will be a delight!

It's Sam once again playing a character completely different from any other one he has played so far. And you know what, this is the one that I will finally be able to say will be my blorbo. (I rarely use that term, in fact I don't think I used it ever, but it applies now.) I've not really had a chance to have that with Sam. I like so many of his performances, but I've not had a fave character that got as close to my heart as Edmond.

I'm really hoping, after everything that went on around Daisy Jones and the Six, that this limited series based on a book will have a more mature fandom, not so rabidly focused on romance and shipping. *Crossing my fingers so hard they hurt, please please please please please, universe, don't let Edmond x Mercedes shippers take over everything, please please please please please* (FWIW I don't think Edmond x Mercedes shippers are that crazy, but you never know what kind of stupid a new TV show might bring.) If it should happen that Tumblr discovers this show, I'm hoping that they will go for: 1. Maximilian x Valentine, the Romeo & Juliet star-crossed lovers, 2. Eugenie x Louise, the lesbians (I mean, canon HEA lesbians in period drama?) 3. the gay shipping. Albert x Franz, Albert x Edmond or even Franz x Edmond, or Edmond x any of the three antagonists. This is probably the best bet, tbh. While it may get annoying if the tag will get overtaken by shippers, I know I will not be the only one who will be annoyed by that. As long as Sam's performance is not reduced to romance only, it'll be fine. Which brings me to...

Chemistry. Oh dear. Okay, so if that word will get a mention, I hope this will be about Sam having chemistry with any/all of his co-stars, not just Ana Girardot; after all, they don't have that many scenes together. If it's with Jeremy Irons I won't mind. As there is a lot going on in the story, the show will simply not have time to dedicate long scenes to Sam looking at a co-star.

And last but not least, as Sam is the only actor in leading role, everyone else being a supporting character, all the promo and everything that will come with the series will concentrate on him and him only. Nobody, nobody will hog the limelight from him!

Bonus: awards?

[izanori]

9 more testament-related yonkoma coming right up! the previous 8 can be found here

how to read yonkoma + translation notes + etc under the cut ^^

How to Read Yonkoma/4-koma (<- means "4 panels"):

short answer:

long answer: here

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Translation Notes:

lil hanamaru: was titled Hanamaru-kun in the original text. a hanamaru is a flower drawn on japanese kids' schoolwork when they do a good job, like a gold star. since the comic shows the flower very obviously here, i couldnt lie to you all and title it Lil' Gold Star, and i think we have no other flower-related equivalent to this, so ive decided to use this as an opportunity to teach those who dont know this little japanese culture fact. feel free to google what a hanamaru looks like!

among us: this was titled Infiltration in the original text. because im quirky, i changed it to Among Us. when people complain about translators adding in stuff that didnt exist in the original text, this is exactly what theyre talking about. im so sorry. i have to reference amogus every chance i get (fwiw: i can do this because its just comedy. i wouldnt randomly add funny references during more serious scenes)

how about a bout: original title was something like "You're Fighting!?" but uhhhh. okay, i dont even know why i changed the title of this one 😂 i think at the time i couldnt think of a way to translate the title, so i came up with something punny and related to the subject matter. just now as i reread the original text i understood it, but i like my pun better than the original and dont feel like going back and changing it. do you forgive me? 😿

memory over the material: in the very first panel, testament says in the original text something like "you can't erase me physically or any other way." because this is all comedy, i added a reference most tumblr users should get to add to the mood.

i think thats about it! tldr, i think im funny and sacrificed direct translation for comedic effect when i felt like it. common industry practice, really. i wouldnt be so loose when translating if this wasnt all comedy!

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i wanted to add that if you want to follow me to see when i next share a translation, you should follow @cicistash instead of this blog. ill put all translations there... and art in the future, but ill tag the art so you can filter it out.

thank you so much for reading my translations! im sorry for the long wait between the first one and this! i hope the next one comes much faster. and sorry if it looks ugly, of course, im new to editing scans and such

[kaija-rayne-author]

Ugh I can’t not theorize. I’ve been at it non stop. Once a story catches my interest my brain just going into hyper speed trying to figure out how the writers (if they do a good job) will bring all of their themes, hints, etc to fruition. All I’m missing is a cork board, pins, and miles of red string.

What’s super exciting this time is I’m actually dealing with a property where the writers are….good? I’m so used to being disappointed when fan theories (often my own) turn out to be much better than the canon, but I don’t see that happening here. Weekes is clearly a masterful writer and knows how to build up to a satisfying twist.

Because you just know another twist is coming. Solas, despite everything, is just too soft hearted to make a convincing final boss. It couldn’t be more obvious that being The Dreadwolf and putting aside his own conscience takes every ounce of energy he has. Eventually he’ll have his breaking point and that’s when we’ll find out who our true villain is.

It’s Mythal. I’ll eat my damn hat if it isn’t. She’s either not the person Solas remembers, or maybe she never was. In either case, there’s been plenty of clues both in DAI and in subsequent materials (specifically Tevinter Knights) to imply that there’s something else going on here.

We keep seeing imagery of the Dreadwolf as a mutant abomination that is part wolf and part dragon. It’s easy to point to the end credit scene of DAI and say “well yeah he fused with Mythal who is a dragon” and sure it looked that way…but is that actually what happened?

We saw Flemeth part with some form of magical energy before Solas arrived. We also know that she’d taken the soul of Uthemiel from Kieran. Uthemiel happens to be a dragon, or was until he was tainted and became an Archdemon.

Archdemons can control Darkspawn. And taking a Darkspawn army past the Veil to enact vengeance upon the Evanuris sees like something Flemeth would do. But that doesn’t seem like something Solas would want. His agenda has always been to fix his past mistakes and tear down the Veil for the greater good. He doesn’t seem that fond of Darkspawn, in fact he was pretty pissed at the Wardens for screwing around with them.

Where I’m going with this, is I think it’s entirely possible Solas is being used. He may have unwittingly fused himself with an Archdemon, assuming it was the essence of Mythal. The real plan, now that plan A failed, might be turning him into an Archdemon so Flemeth/Mythal can use him to start another blight and wield the darkspawn. Corypheus managed to mind control an Archdemon, so clearly it can be done.

And if that’s the case, then ooooooh boy.

Poor Solas.

OMG. I missed this one and I'm so glad I finally found it!

What a fascinating idea. Holy shitballs.

Okay, so I just restarted DAO, I'll be on the lookout through these playthroughs (I'm doing DA2 next, then probably DAI again, because I'm an utter sucker for lore) for hints about all that!

I thought the whole point of the dark ritual w/Morrigan was to purify Urthemiel's 'soul' through being born as an innocent child. But what if that didn't work?

But then, wouldn't Kieran have shown signs of taint? Hmmm. Maybe not, given it's just the soul?

I'm still not convinced that Flemythal parted with any kind of energy in that scene. BUT if she did... well, she's pulled the whole 'soul piece recovery schtick' before. So if it was energy or a soul, it could've been hers. Leaving just Urthemiel. Which would very possibly warp Solas into a dragon/wolf thing. And Mythal is very used to Solas going along with what she wants. So it feels like something she wouldn't think twice about. She uses Morrigan too, and Kieran, so it’s definitely something she's used to doing.

I have a strong feeling Solas is indeed being used. And has been since he was 'born' from the fade. There's a lot of hints to his resignation, nay, even belief that it's right that Mythal used him. (This is... common, in abuse survivors, FWIW.)

But I believe it's canon that his forehead scar came from when he burnt off Mythal's Vallaslin? I have to see if I can find that again. I can't remember where I read it.

I think Mythal will be rather unpleasantly surprised in the spine Solas has developed since her 'murder'. He doesn't seem at all likely to me to be all 'hey! My enslaver is back! Let me just get my slave brands again'. Now, if he were still truly alone, he might just cave into it because man, does Solas have some pretty massive Mythal issues. Not sure if he regards her as his mom or something else or a mix of things, urk.

BUT he's not actually truly alone anymore is he? No matter how hard he tries to be. A Romanced Lavellan can tell him "Var lath vir suledin" which translates sorta, into "Our - love - way/path - endure/strength to withstand loss."

So he knows he's not alone. That inky will absolutely go to the mat for him. He has actual friends, too. He said Bull has him, if you don't betray Bull w/the Chargers. Solas doesn't strike me as someone to say that lightly.

So, he also knows he has friends, too.

I think, if Mythal actually is the big bad (kinda hoping for this tbh) she's gonna have a rather rude awakening when it comes to Solas. Who, from all I can tell, has always willingly served her whims. Because she was 'the best of them' doesn't mean she was actually good.

I talked about how he's heavily neurodivergent coded before, and we're generally loyal to a fault, which Solas very much shows.

But we do also often, eventually, reach a 'no more' point. After which, we'll absolutely close all those doors we'd previously left open.

If Solas acts the way I suspect he might, he'd then use everything he knows about Mythal and the Evanuris to help the game protag (I still wish I could just carry my inky over) defeat the buggers.

But what would it take for him to finally reach that point with Mythal? Mommy issues are soooo hard to deal with in therapy because it's so damned easy to backslide.

Hurting Inky? Doing something that will destroy the fade (like marching a darkspawn army into it)? Making him betray all of his followers who truly believe in him and his goals of freeing enslaved elves?

Solas deeply believes that slavery is wrong. In a way that makes me think he was actually enslaved at one point. Obviously to Mythal.

Oh, fuck me. What an amazing story they could tell about the whole 'but there were good slave owners' bullshit nonsense some people like to spout.

Of course, I still really wish Bioware would tell a story with a disabled protag. Which the end of Inquisition really would set up nicely. But given their shit disability rep, I know not to hold my breath over that.

[scientologisabethmoss]

gonna be real with you here, it is bizarre and disheartening to watch some of you act absolutely gleeful about the potential downfall/cancellation/whatever-you-wanna-call-it of chappell roan. and many of you have previously been extremely vocal supporters of other female pop stars (like britney and taylor) who have also gone through major mental health crises associated with stratospheric fame and public perception? just because i strongly disagree with the "both sides" line of her original political statement (which, fwiw, i thought to be very clunky but decidedly earnest and well-meaning), and i think that she continued to dig herself into a progressively deeper hole with her ill-advised follow-up videos on tiktok, does not mean that i'm smug and seemingly happy about her breakdown right now. if you feel genuine anger that a 26-year-old fledgling pop star, someone who's been FAMOUS famous for all of like 2.6 seconds, kind of botched a political statement right before a watershed presidential election, okay! sure? i can see that! but the smirking "i told you so" energy is really what i can't stand. it isn't a good look on any of you.

[astrorabby]

Echoes of Wisdom within the Zelda timeline

I know many cringe at the idea of the Zelda timeline today and many find it futile to piece it together at all post-breath, but I think I have a pretty convincing theory that those who enjoy theory crafting may like. Just as a disclaimer, I'm not claiming any sort of authority or trying to discredit anyone else's ideas about Echoes's placement, just throwing my own out there. Let us compare and contrast theories instead of fighting, okay? Spoilers for EoW, of course.

First, a small overview of the timeline to remind people of some terms:

This is outdated and doesn't include A Link Between Worlds nor Triforce Heroes, but they're not particularly relevant. Funnily enough though they are placed where we're looking: The downfall timeline.

Long after Triforce Heroes, Echoes occurs. Null is defeated and the Triforce, in this era called the "Prime Energy" is awakened. We don't really see what happens to the Triforce after Null is Nullified; perhaps, maybe, the monarchy used it to bring miracles to the kingdom? ["The Monarchs of Hyrule use the Triforce"]

With the rifts gone, Zelda's older brother returns. Sure no brother is mentioned, but if it's common knowledge that he's missing perhaps there was no need to bring it up. Mind you we hear nothing of what they say during the ending, perhaps they're hopeful that he was simply stolen away and will return soon. And that he did. But he has no intimate knowledge of the Triforce. The king dies and he takes the throne, as he is older. But, of course, he didn't get the full Triforce; Zelda possesses Wisdom, Link Courage, and perhaps the king mostly used Power to perform his miracles.

Thus the Prince only got the Triforce of power, but knows Zelda has some other piece of it. A magician he was working with told him. So he accosted Zelda for the Triforce of Wisdom, but she refused. The magician, enraged at her defiance casted an eternal sleep spell on the Priestess of Wisdom. The Prince tried to stop him, but the succeeded in putting her to sleep even though it killed him in the process.

Where was Link? As he grew old, perhaps he came to fear the Triforce of Courage ending up in the wrong hands, and secluded himself within a Great Palace to guard it until a worthy hero arrives to inherit it. It also extended his life greatly.

Eventually, another hero does make his way through the palace. The now very old Link must test him one final time. Using the power of the Triforce of Courage, and his intimate familiarity with the Still World and Null, summons an Echo of the young hero to duel.

This new hero defeats the echo, reunited the Triforce, and awakens the priestess of wisdom from her ironic fate.

So...in short, the Priestess of Wisdom is the Zelda saved in Zelda II. That's my story, I'm stickin to it. Fwiw, the Ganon echo also resembles Ganon's appearance in the Downfall timeline.

[greenhappyseed]

Very spicy salty and lengthy rant incoming. This is part 1 of 2, focusing on All Might (with Izuku and Katsuki), while part 2 will focus more on Ochako and the 1A reunion. I’m trying to help myself feel better about how deeply I dislike the “Dark Deku” and Star & Stripe arcs because I need to excise the real-life anxiety I’m feeling over this coming up in the anime. IMO, these arcs did not age well at all, and are absolutely no better in light of the ~35 subsequent chapters. It’s just that the subsequent chapters feel more cohesive and well thought-out despite Horikoshi’s physical pain and burnout.

While I’m not emotional over fictional characters, it is true that these arcs have impacted the fandom; namely, many people who were fans of All Might, Aizawa, Midnight, Mic, and the overall UA vibe dropped out. I get that sense from some LOV fans too. Overall, it means far fewer fics and art pieces with my blorbos, and it’s also meant far less interaction with my blog. (I don’t give a damn about “engagement” or followers, but I like talking about my hyperfixation with others who share it!). Obviously the story has to change as the series end draws near, but spending SO much time with Endeavor, Hawks, and Jeanist has worn me out, even if I think Horikoshi is handling Endeavor’s character growth well. (FWIW, I’m utterly disinterested in “Hawks the Optimist” who inexplicably became the expert on how OFA works, and Jeanist is…well…you know…a male model.)

Aside from everyone’s basic rant about how Horikoshi introduced two hot middle-aged women only to more or less fridge them (after killing Midnight!), my real complaint in this post is that the Dark Deku & Star arcs made a complete mess of All Might’s character arc and in-universe relationships. Don’t get me wrong — Chapter 326 with Stain seemed like something Horikoshi had planned since the early days of the manga, and that one hit HARD. But the rest felt like an improvisation. It’s horribly inconsistent on (1) when All Might speaks up and when he can’t bring himself to talk, and (2) how his relationship with 1A is handled compared to Star.

When it comes to All Might’s failure to speak up, it feels like Horikoshi was nerfing All Might and reducing what we know the former No.1 is capable of doing. I mean, in Chapter TWO he stops Izuku from overdoing his training. After Kamino, All Might helps Izuku develop Shoot Style by telling Izuku point blank that he’s trying too hard to imitate his mentor. In the Overhaul/Nighteye arc, All Might refuses to support Izuku’s desire to take on a work study because he thinks it unnecessarily exposes Izuku to villain activity AND Izuku needs to strengthen his Shoot Style first. (The awkwardness with Nighteye is his third reason.) When Izuku persuades him about getting stronger under Nighteye’s guidance, All Might carefully asks himself if Izuku is being impatient just because Izuku is his successor before agreeing to let Mirio do the introduction. When Izuku confronts All Might over Nighteye’s prophecy, All Might makes SURE Izuku is ready to hear an uncomfortable truth and then proceeds to tell him everything. In the next arc, All Might encourages Izuku to use whatever support items he needs, even though All Might always chose to fight with just his body. All Might is protective of Katsuki and Shoto too — when they want to jump out of the taxi and fight the Cider House gang, he tries to get them to slow down and “assess the situation first.” In all these situations, All Might can’t physically stop his students (and is usually on the losing end of the argument, as happens with argumentative teenagers™️), but he uses his voice to speak up and make his opinion known.

At the beginning of Dark Deku, things are looking okay. All Might gives up on the secrecy that defined him early on and tells Hawks and Jeanist everything when he realizes secrets didn’t keep people safe. That’s good, I think, but he didn’t seem to consult Izuku about it. Based on context clues, and how All Might initially wanted Izuku to stay at UA (again, he spoke up!) I think his motivation was to recruit the pro heroes to protect Izuku at the hospital and at UA. It sort of makes sense he would move fast and wouldn’t ask Izuku’s permission to do that…but in front of Inko after Izuku wakes up, All Might DOES ask Izuku’s permission to tell her. A minor inconsistency, but all right. It’s made clear All Might is worried sick about Izuku, warning him not to go overboard (once more speaking up!). Hawks even picks up on All Might’s hesitation, telling him that Izuku has the right strategy and it’s on All Might to keep the kid propped up. All Might does not look pleased about this as he looks up in the sky towards Izuku.

In helping Izuku, All Might fends off assassins and talks about how Izuku’s idolization of him weighs on him. It’s not just that he promised Inko he would live and look out for Izuku; he’s acutely aware his boy is just like him in ways good and bad.

Yet when All Might sees Izuku struggle and he begins to see why Nighteye wanted him to retire, he can’t bring himself to talk to Izuku. Even though he understands Izuku’s feelings, he just can’t say a word. You would think seeing Izuku get shot, or barely escaping AFO’s mansion explosion, would prompt a conversation. But no, he says nothing. (Then again, nobody seems to remember Izuku was shot; no mention in the bath scene either.)

At the same time, we see Nighteye pop up in All Might’s thoughts, but we don’t see All Might struggling with telling Izuku what Nighteye told him (that is, we have no idea if All Might still feels violated in some way by Nighteye’s actions). We also don’t see All Might worrying about Izuku realizing the Symbol of Peace was just a human being. All Might isn’t trying to keep up Izuku’s hope by hiding the real burden of being the symbol (besides, didn’t he pull back that curtain in, oh, CHAPTER ONE???) We aren’t given any solid motivation or thematic through line — he simply procrastinated on what he knew he had to do for an unsatisfying hodgepodge of invasive thoughts. That is inconsistent with the All Might we know.

Before anyone comes at me, All Might not telling Izuku about Nighteye’s prophecy is very different. In that situation, All Might honestly did not think Izuku needed to know because knowing would put MORE pressure on Izuku than necessary. In Dark Deku, it’s the opposite, and All Might knows talking to Izuku could help relieve pressure.

I understand this is supposed to be All Might’s low point to lead into the Stain conversation. All Might is supposed to feel like “doing his best” didn’t prevent society’s downfall and didn’t stop his boy from repeating his mistakes. But…it feels like Horikoshi tied his tongue because that’s what needed to happen for plot reasons, and Horikoshi just wanted it to happen quickly. We still don’t have a good character reason why. Would it have been so unbelievable that Izuku, in his panicked state, brushes off All Might’s advice to rest? Or would that “break” Izuku’s idolization of All Might in a way that Horikoshi is still saving for the finale, where Izuku finally becomes his own hero without imitating All Might at all? I don’t have an answer, but it feels like we still could have had the same basic story beats without the bizarre characterization.

The strangeness of All Might staying quiet also makes Katsuki’s argument to Endeavor in Chapter 319 feel funny to me. Katsuki is spot on that Izuku doesn’t take himself into account and All Might does the same thing. While Katsuki understands far better than Izuku that All Might is human, Katsuki doesn’t consider how protective All Might can be of Izuku. Katsuki doesn’t see (or understand, perhaps?) how All Might doesn’t want anyone else to be a Symbol of Peace the same way he was. Maybe that’s part of Katsuki’s idolization issues? Post-362, with Katsuki seeing All Might’s vestige and showing him the trading card, I think Katsuki never let himself appreciate that he had the former #1 in his corner, or that a person can, in fact, use their willpower to become a symbol that inspires a nation. Not to sound like Prince Harry in “Spare,” but maybe there’s also a tinge of lingering resentment over feeling left behind? There’s just something about Katsuki screaming to Endeavor, of all people, that you can’t leave Izuku and All Might alone together when Endeavor knows Izuku has already ditched All Might AND Endeavor and Hawks have already realized they’re “too slow” compared to Izuku. Of course it’s Hawks — who was saying Izuku made the right choice like Second and, uh, AFO — to announce that Izuku left All Might. There’s also Shoto yelling about how Endeavor “let them operate together,” but it’s not like Endeavor has enough credibility to control either Izuku or All Might.

How does a #2 protect their #1 when they’re too slow? Can you ever “run alongside” someone whose power vastly outpaces yours, or is idolization all you can do? I think these are fascinating thematic questions, and Dark Deku makes a mess of them.

These problems compound in the reunion chapter, 327, which is really cute when it comes to the bath scene and the 1A kids, but is inexplicably confounding when it comes to All Might + the kids. Izuku clearly calls All Might multiple times to reconnect, but the man doesn’t pick up his phone. (I think we’re supposed to assume All Might is talking to Stain when Izuku calls, but…he couldn’t use the Hercules speech-to-text feature to tell the kid he’s driving over?) Then All Might just happens to show up at UA as Izuku talks about him, and gives Izuku a deep bow while saying sorry “for being of so little help.” He says nothing aloud about how he feels towards Izuku, and nothing aloud about being proud of 1A (though he basically thinks that in this chapter and again in 335). When Mina asks for an apology because he just disappeared post-war and left 1A with the Wild Wild Pussycats, he briefly says he’s sorry for any anxiety he caused, but quickly pivots to the need to prepare for “the battle that will decide it all.”

Like the Stain conversation, I understand that this is supposed to be All Might stepping up and figuring out his place in the world post-retirement. He’s realized he passed the torch to Izuku and 1A, but that doesn’t mean he’s useless. He wants to join the fight with the kids; to catch up and run alongside them. And to do that, he….ditches them to join Tsukauchi and Endeavor. I do appreciate that All Might is open with Tsukauchi (and Sansa!!!) about his OFA experience. But he basically disappears from UA for two days to deal with Star and TomurAFO before coming back in 335 and then seemingly disappearing again before joining the UA faculty to discuss the Aoyamas. (As pictured above, Ochako and Tenya, then Katsuki, all rightfully call out All Might’s “I am not here” act in 335.) Are you really telling me that the man who cries over Aoyama’s reveal isn’t emotionally attached to the class and wouldn’t, you know, BE HERE for them?

What makes All Might’s absence from 1A even more problematic is that now he’s…Star’s mentor??? See, All Might sends out the call for help from his international super friends and Star comes riding in acting like she’s his successor. Chapter 364 later reinforces this, with Agpar’s monologue about “children observing adults and adults supporting the children as they pass it forward” showing a Prime All Might reach out out his hand to Star. It’s stupid because All Might has a direct successor already, plus two students (Katsuki and Shoto) that are direct heirs to other parts of his legacy, and another group of students that he’s been hands-on teaching for the past year. But Horikoshi decides to ignore all that setup and focus on “All Might + Star” rather than have him spend more time with 1A. Once again, if the point is to introduce thematic questions of inspiration and imitation, and how there’s a difference between someone imitating their idol based on their own interpretation vs actually receiving mentorship from the human behind the idol, it’s utterly lost in the execution. I just can’t bring myself to see Star as anything other than an interloper. I’m glad her pilot bros stayed in Japan to help out, and her sacrifice was heroic I suppose, but it suffered the same flaw as All Might. She tried to take on TomurAFO alone, and the best she could do is slow him down temporarily.

That’s all I can manage for now! In part 2, I’ll take a closer look at Ochako and the chain that leads to Izuku’s retrieval and where we are now.

[memaidraws]

On Repeat Playlist Tag Game

Rules: Shuffle your repeat playlist 10 times and tag 10 people. Tagged by @flymmsy 😘

If you've ever wanted to laugh at my musical tastes, no better opportunity now, folks!

I know a lot of you guys are within the venn diagram of shared/mutual fandoms, so what I'll do for this (to make things interesting) is assign a pairing for each song and a wee rationale as to why ;)

Tagging: @defira85 @atypicalacademic @dirty-bosmer @henbased @braindancer @feykiller @vasiktomis @circlejourney @chickenparm @sweatandwoe (sorry if you've been tagged before!)

SHEPARD / GARRUS (Mass Effect) Okay, Reina's technically not 'Shepard', and this is a big cheat because Jeon Somi is her voice claim haha. Definitely a song she's released out of spite when Garrus all but disappeared to play vigilante on Omega ;)

MARTIN SEPTIM / MARINA CORVUS (TES IV: Oblivion) Listen, listen, this song is so perfectly them it actually kind of hurts a lot. To people that surrounded Martin, Emperor-to-be, Marina was exactly the kind of troublemaker they needed him to stay away from. But to Brother Martin the man made of flesh? She was everything to him uwu

GORTASH / DURGE (Baldur's Gate III) Come on now, the lyrics are PERFECT for a Durge lamenting about the big dumb crush she's got on Enver and oh my god? He likes her back? (She says, kicking her feet in the air, after a bloody massacre, much to Sceleritas Fel's dismay)

MAYOR HANCOCK / LEE (Fallout 4) UGH oh my god so I know Lee Know from Stray Kids is his faceclaim but this song is very much them. Wanting to run away, seeking freedom where they can take it? Not wanting to take shit for all the crap that's been thrown their way? Yeah <3 Maybe for a modern AU <3

GORTASH / DARK URGE (Baldur's Gate III) It's not cheating! If Kill! Kill! Kill! was from Durge's perspective, I can see this being from Gortash's perspective (the fact this is one genuine emo/alt??? perfect for Gorty's aging rockstar look). Like come on, it's in the name, the lyrics, the screamo bridge? Davey Havok knows what's up.

ONMUND / ALREK (TES V: Skyrim) Oh man. Oh man so this particular album from Bastille has been very Onmund/Alrek coded to me (for reasons I won't get into yet ;D) But this is very much like Alrek watching the world quite literally burn and the only thing he can think of is courting the cute mage and throwing all his cares into the wind. After all, when the world's ending, why does any of it matter?

CAPT DELACOURT / MC (Heart of a Sky Pirate) Hey, my otome game officially lives on an app, so this counts ;D But these more upset, shanty-esque songs definitely reminds me of Delacourt and his romance route. Throwing your cares to the wind (literally) and having a grand ol' time no matter where the adventure takes you.

F!SOLE SURVIVOR / CURIE (Fallout 4) Hear me out: I think Parker's (my sole) romance with Curie is almost highschool puppy love. And it doesn't help that they both have some pretty huge baggage that they need to work through-- so having someone to lean on and love in a way that's easy, carefree and happy? Yeah they're gonna hold onto that <3

STELLE / MARCH 7TH (Honkai: Star Rail) Forever crying that my Caelus is getting so many better pulls than my Stelle, but fwiw, I definitely think Stelle and March have a very fun, easy-going relationship. Kinda need to when you're Trailblazing across the galaxy in a giant space train (and angering gods along the way, oops!)

GALE DEKARIOS / TAV (Baldur's Gate III) Hear me out: I think these two would be so into each other in the way that they absolutely would not leave each other alone. You think Astarion/Tav is bad? These two have it worse. To be more precise, my Tav for this romance, Rae, is very much into exploring his romantic curiosities with Gale. No one else makes him feel as safe and wanted uwu