#game idea what assumptions can you make about me based off these favourites

[sammygender]

just know that if there was any justice in the world. metamorphosis (4x04) would be here. it didnt quite 100% make the cut but im sick over it. its on equal level to most of these but one had to go. swan song should be here also. But Whatever.

other people pls do this its so fun and tell me your reasoning in the tags/comments <333

[todayimgonnaplay]

Today I'm gonna play Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Recently finished FF13-2 which had some nice improvements, but I think I'm in the minority for not liking the sequel hook tragedy ending it has. I don't mind sad endings, as FF has had more than one, but I had mixed feelings about the payoff for going through two entire games. I've sort of come to terms with it as I'm starting to see this trilogy has a pattern of fate going on. And now I'm onto the finale.

Immediately into the game I'm thrust into something I felt like I should've known but didn't even see at all. I'm not sure how effective that kind of storytelling is, but fortunately Lightning and Hope explain events of this game's premise quite extensively. I do like the option of being able to proceed through dialogue during cutscenes as I tend to read quick. I'm also seeing a revamp to Lightning's characterization that reminds me quite a bit of FF 7 Rebirth with Cloud, both characters having a sense of humour and exchanging banter despite being very stoic. It's a surprising but welcome change.

Another unexpected thing I encountered was its battle system. Revamped and unlike the previous two games, or even the series itself, I can see why people are divisive over it. I immediately wanted to hate it and just quit the game, but one of the reasons I started this blog is to give systems I don't like another chance and really get a feel for them. My assumption for this is that this was Square's first real decision to move onto the action genre and away from turn-based combat. I do appreciate their constant experimentation for the genre though. In terms of combat, the idea of eliminating numerous menus for navigation that (J)RPGs are known for, with quick inputs to do what you want to do. And to still keep that turn-based aspect, the ATB gauge still remains a thing for this title so that you can't spam your attacks or go full action mode. It gives you some time to think, but it's still not enough. I noticed throughout this trilogy that I often don't feel like I can rest and actually think how to fight off my enemies effectively. One method I can think of is to give enemies ATB gauges too and display them. It retains that turn-based aspect but also gives you time to heal and strategize. It's good that Libra and signs of weakness by building the Stagger is shown as a sign of what's working and what isn't, but having a pulse motion feels quite hard to decipher with all the action happening as well as the health info hovering above the enemies. FF 13's stagger bar has shown the best way to display this type of info. It was large and clear, and it was still effective in FF13-2 if it was thought that it was intrusively large. One thing to note is that this title has removed the Paradigm shift system, and now uses Schemata, which is like playing dress up on crack. I consider this to be my favourite part of the game, simply because I think dress up and customizing abilities and equipment is fun and freeing. You're not limited to specific pieces and you can mix and match, but I haven't mastered this system enough to see if that's effective or not.

I'm not a fan of the limited items you can carry. I've been in a few situations where I needed potions but ran out, or because I've been used to being able to consume as many as I want in the first two games, I forget to stock and therefore cannot take any. It doesn't help that there's a penalty for escaping from battle which is taking away EP which is used for other useful features, but fortunately I'm playing on easy mode, as the lack of penalties are closer to what the previous two games were like.

In terms of the overworld, I have seen a larger improvement in traversing around areas. The platforming is decent in most areas, and I like that I can finally jump off places to get off faster, which I couldn't do in FF 13-2. Areas are more populated, making it more lifelike and immersive. My biggest gripe is about the game's main feature (and, which is a time limit that's connected to the game's lore about the world ending in 13 days. You are able to traverse around until 6 AM in-game time, until you're automatically transported back to a hub. The only usable reason the hub exists is to confirm completion of an area and move to the next (and also giving some kind of life force to a tree for lore reasons), otherwise moving back automatically has not served its purpose for me, other than interrupt me. It also feels a bit tense to constantly have a clock ticking down, and I'm not really a fan of timit limit games at all, in fact I tend to avoid them. But again, I decided to give it another chance. Turns out it's good at helping me keep more focused to my tasks and making more careful decisions rather than me being reckless. There's also a way to slow down time by using Chronostasis, which replenishes by defeating enemies. You can technically spam that and play all you want.

Music this time is a surprising negative for me, the new tracks haven't impressed me so far, and I hear reuses of the previous titles, which has saved me from thinking more negatively about this, even though the same team has composed for this title too.

Character designs are quite interesting this time around when it comes to Lightning due to the dress up feature. I do like Snow's new look compared to 13-2 and it fits the current personality given to him. But like FF13-2, the rest of the old cast are not given new makeovers which is a huge letdown.

I'm still not sure if I'll continue playing this to the end, but I'll try to power through as much as I can.

Terms used exclusively in the game:

ATB (Active Time Battle) - A consumable gauge with divisions that allow you to do actions in battle

Stagger - A gauge that fills up based on effectiveness which allows you to deal more damage

Libra - A feature that checks enemy weaknesses

Paradigm Shift - A system in FF 13 and 13-2 that used roles with specific abilities

Schemata - A customizable system that allows Lightning to be a unique role based on equipment and abilities

EP (Energy Points) - A limited rechargable currency spent on special features, or items

Chronostasis - An ability that allows you to briefly stop time

[arr-jim-lad]

What do you think Kakyoin's fashion choices look like aside from his uniform? I mean since uniform is a kind of standardized clothes, it doesn't give too much info about that, except for color and silhouette. I think you are the best person to go to with such question!

This is an interesting but somewhat tricky question that I’ll try to reply to the best of my abilities because that is what Kakyoin deserves

The reason the question can be a bit tricky to answer is because the fashion choices in Jojo can sometimes be very unpredictable when compared to the character’s personality, such as Fugo for example. If you were asked what kind of clothes an incredibly intelligent guy with anger issues would wear, ‘swiss cheese and a thong’ probably wouldn’t be the first thing to come to your mind lmao

However luckily, Part 3 still had a fairly down to earth look compared to later parts, with none of the characters in the main team really wearing absurdly strange clothes. Based on that, I think Kakyoin’s casual outfits would likely fall into the realm of very normal-looking, much like Joseph’s.

I drew a few outfits for him, the colours of which are based on his anime palette, treating it as his ‘canon’ one.

Okay, to start this off, I drew Kakyoin in his uniform + unbuttoned uniform

Since he sticks so strictly to his uniform, I think it’s pretty much undeniable that he wears a dress shirt underneath, but I decided to make it a bit more interesting by adding a cherry picture on his pocket, calling back to his younger self in the anime flashback.

I also want to point out his purple belt, which is based on his SAS figure. Medicos got Araki’s input on all their figure colours, and the anime-coloured Kakyoin figure has a purple belt, meaning that we can make an assumption that anime Kakyoin does as well. I took this into account with my outfit designs.

Okay so, Kakyoin wears his uniform completely buttoned up, all the way up to the neck, and he makes it abundantly clear that he feels comfortable like this. That makes me assume he’d prefer form-fitting and modest clothes, nothing showy. I also took into account that he wore a scarf in his first appearance.

These are some of my ideas for what a part 3 Kakyoin could’ve worn casually. I know it doesn’t look very “JoJo” but again.. Part 3 really didn’t when you compare it to later parts, and I mostly looked to Joseph for inspiration.

I brought back the scarf for one of these, and I decided to use his preference for simple jewellery to add a necklace that matches his earrings.

I went for purple in the middle outfit so that it wouldn’t be all green, and with the third one, I decided to give him some sorta jacket to match his original silhouette better.

Basically, I really don’t think Kakyoin’s casual fashion choices would be very interesting in Part 3. He’d probably stick to simple and modest, matching his uniform look in spirit.

I wasn’t pleased with just this though. If I’m designing JoJo fashion then I want to design JOJO fashion, not... that. So I decided to have a go at what Kakyoin might’ve worn in Part 4, which had distinctly more style than Part 3.

I was mostly looking to Jotaro to help me with ideas here, since he very nicely shows how his Part 3 design grew into the Part 4 one.

One thing that’s important to note is that his silhouette practically stayed the same. He doesn’t wear a gakuran anymore, but he still wears a coat, and a very similar hat. I took that into account when designing a Part 4 look for Kakyoin, meaning that he also needed to wear a coat to help him keep his Part 3 silhouette.

One big difference I noticed in Jotaro’s design, as well as many Part 4 designs compared to Part 3, was that a lot of the characters wear very cozy, baggy pants. I didn’t go quite as far with Kakyoin because I don’t think it would suit him, but I did make his pants wider in the first two examples.

Part 4 was also big on pins, so I added a gem-shaped pin on his lapel, and a cherry one on the third outfit. If Araki designed a Part 4 Kakyoin look he’d probably give him something less predictable (think of Jotaro’s hearts and dolphins), but well, we sadly can’t make many assumptions about Part 4 Kakyoin’s interests, and I designed these in a rush so I didn’t really put as much thought into symbolism.

I kept the cozy turtleneck from the first design of his casual Part 3 look, because I think it really suits him, with his original uniform going up to his neck and all. He has a sweater vest on the first outfit, and I once again brought back the scarf on the second one.

After I did the first design, I realized that he’d likely wear his coats closed, seeing as, again, he felt comfortable in a completely buttoned-up uniform. Jotaro kept his open jacket, so it makes sense for Kakyoin to keep his closed.

I was gonna stop here, but then I took a look at Jotaro’s Part 4 outfits again and I realized I completely missed one huge element; the colour.

Jotaro went from black to white, making a massive shift in his palette.

Every time I see anyone design Part 4+ looks for Kakyoin, they always default to green, but looking at other reoccurring characters in the story, that doesn’t feel authentic to JoJo design. Basically: I don’t think Kakyoin would wear green if he appeared in the Part 4 anime.

Well, the opposite of green is red, but Kakyoin already has red hair, and too much red is... honestly probably something Araki could do and pull it off well, but I kept thinking about that singe drop of barely notable purple on Kakyoin’s SAS figure, so I decided to just go full purple, and I made this palette shift;

I think these colours would fit pretty nicely into the Part 4 cast. I kept plenty of green in the design due to green emeralds being Kind Of A Thing with Kakyoin, but I tried to push it in the background of purple, his new main colour.

Personally, the green variety third outfit is my favourite, but I think I’m clinging to my biases of Kakyoin = green. I could probably adjust the purple third outfit’s palette to make it just as nice, but again, I kinda rushed these so I didn’t really bring my A-game into the designs.

I’ve been planning to design Kakyoin’s Part 4 & 6 looks eventually, so I’ll probably be using these concepts as groundwork for when I finally do that!

That’s pretty much all I have to say on this topic for now, I hope I gave a satisfactory answer to your question, and thank you for asking it!! <:

[lulzyrobot]

Pokemon Dynamorph AU Masterpost

Based on THIS POST 

The short of this AU is that the climax of the Eternatus fight had an even more profound effect on the Galar region and its people. The excess energy made people fuse with their pokemon! Oh boy! So below the cut I’m going to outline all the ideas behind this AU thanks to everyone’s asks showing an increasing curiosity about all this! I’m used to writing original content, nothing based on an existing property so bare with me…

Events Leading Up to The Dynamorph Event

So for this AU, the events of the game leading up to the Eternatus conflict are the SAME except for some details. 

Gloria/Victor and Hop never encounter Zacian or Zamazenta. The Rusty Sword and Shield were lost to time.

When Leon goes to confront Eternatus, he is joined by everyone up on the roof. The Gloria/ Victor, Hop, Bede, Marnie, the Gym Leaders (minus Opal because she’s back in Ballonlea enjoying retirement.) 

This confrontation happens AFTER Gloria/ Victor beats Leon, for simplicity’s sake.

So when everyone confronts Eternatus, thanks to Rose’s eager impatience to do good for the Galar region, they are unable to stop it properly since Zacian and Zamazenta are nowhere to be found. Instead, the combined efforts of everyone force Eternatus to flee.

But not without releasing an overwhelming blast of Dynamax energy.

The blast rippled throughout a portion of Galar, and had a chain reaction with power spots and the dens of the Wild Area. When the dust settled, the pokemon everyone had out that they were using in the big fight were...gone. Not in their pokeball, just..gone. Naturally, people assume the worst but they have a lingering feeling that the Pokemon are still...here somehow. But they don’t know why. So when everyone’s calmed down, and clean up begins, they all go their separate ways.

About a day passes, and then it starts to happen. From the time of the blast and when the changes start to happen externally, everyone experiences some oddities superficially (better hearing, acute sensitivity to stuff etc.)

 Leon was in his newly acquired office and the just obtained Battle Tower. He had the blind closed, sat in the darkened room thinking over everything that happened, and his loss of the Champion title. When the changes started happening, he nearly burned the office, leaving claw marks in his desk, the floor, and the walls. The noise attracted someone from the Battle Tower staff and he yelled at them in panic to call Sonia. His own phone started ringing. It was Hop.

Gloria/ Victor (I separate them cuz it's more of a ‘who you imagine in this role.’ Can only have one Champion) were being briefed on Champion duties and what that entails. It’s a boring meeting, but they excuse themself to go to the bathroom. In reality they duck away outside to just get a breather. They suddenly feel a sharp pain and start to change, probably biting into their arm to muffle any scream to prevent causing a scene.

Bede headed back to Ballonlea, distraught that Hatterine was nowhere to be found. He wanted to distract himself by continuing his gym leader training, but Opal sat him down for some tea to talk about grief and loss. She’s way older and definitely has experience in that field. What she doesn’t have experience in, is what to do when your protege starts growing traits of a pokemon…

Hop, after that whole ordeal, missing Dubwool, and having lost the gym challenge just had so many feelings to vent out, he wanted to just scream. So he heads deep into the Slumbering Weald to just scream out his frustrations. When he sits down after tiring himself out, his changes start happening. In pain, scared, and alone, he calls Leon.

Marnie went back to Spikemuth with Piers. Team Yell welcomed them with open arms and gave them the idea to have a tribute concert for the pokemon they believe they lost. Marnie declined, electing to stay at home and be alone for a while. She didn’t want to be around people right now. Then her changes started happening, and she uncontrollably let out a burst of electricity, causing an outage in Spikemuth. 

Piers, meanwhile, was setting up for an impromptu concert. He dealt with his feelings by doing literally anything to distract him from them so yelling into a microphone for a couple hours seemed like a good idea. Just as he was about to test the mic, a huge power surge came from his place and shut down all of Spikemuth’s power. Concerned for his sister he runs off stage, taking alleys as a shortcut. In his adrenaline he doesn’t even realize his changes started until he tripped over his own new claws and writhes just outside their place.

Raihan, being in Hammerlocke, wastes no time in helping with the clean up. While at the highest point in the city, he and his gym trainers were hard at work. Until Raihan collapsed, trying to hold himself up with his broom. His trainers looked on in concern and horror as he began changing, even starting up a sandstorm in the process. As a result, one trainer almost gets pushed off the roof but, bearing through the pain, Raihan leaps in and grabs them in time.

Gordie and Melony head back to Circhester. On the way, they had talked a lot about their issues and gripes that had torn a rift in their family, in earnest. The assumed loss of their pokemon worked as good common ground to remind them about the importance of family. They were both at Melony’s home when it happened. The heat and cold put a completely new kind of barrier between the two.

Bea wanted to get her mind off everything that happened by training in the outskirts of Stow-on-Side. She pushed herself too far, and her pokemon urged her to stop. But she fought them off. At first with difficulty, but then as her changes happened, more easily. Her pokemon backed off and started looking for help.

Alister, figuring that his Gengar maybe wandered off on its own again, headed to the graveyard during the night. One of Gengar’s favourite spots. For a moment, Alister thought he heard Gengar’s chuckle and it’s cry but turned to see nothing. Something compelled him to look down at himself and he could see himself becoming translucent and a suspicious shade of purple. He had always had an affinity with ghosts but becoming one was something else entirely. Ensue panic attack.

Kabu returned home to quietly meditate and think rationally about everything that happened. In a trance-like state, he could feel Centiskorch right there next to him. He felt at peace. The smell of burning snapped him out of it, however when he realized he, as well as a good part of the room, was on fire. He quickly escaped, realizing the fire didn’t hurt him. 

Nessa just wanted to be alone, so back at Hulberry, she walked along the docks, shrouded in early morning fog. Her changes started happening, but she really only felt itchy as the scales came in. Upon checking her phone, did she herself in the screen’s reflection and freak out.

Life moves on and Milo had a farm to tend to. His family urged him to take a break but he smiled back at them and assured them he was okay. He wasn’t. While working was when his changes happened. His whole family rushed to his aid. And again, through a smile, he insisted he was okay.

Oleana was working feverishly on getting money together for lawyers and bail money to get Rose out of his self-imposed jail sentence. She knew all he wanted was good for the region, but he was just too blind to see the potential damage he was causing. She wanted him to have a second chance. But her changes slowed her down. 

Rose, in a cell, reflected on his actions. How rash he was that he didn’t see the big picture. He should’ve listened. When his changes happened in his cell, he was horrified. Not at what happened to him, but what was no doubt, happening to the others. And probably more. What had he done? He needed to fix his mistake. 

The ones present at the event were not the only ones to change, however. This was happening all over the region, closer to power spots (which includes the towns, but the morphs aren’t all as drastic) and the wild area (trainers fused with wild pokemon and went hostile. This is covered in depth in another section). After one of the quickest trials, Rose had offered to the court that instead of a full prison sentence, he spent his entire resources and wealth into funding on solving this new, now coined ‘Dynamorph Crisis.’ They agreed and the Macro Cosmos got to work.

How the Dynamorph Actually Works

Bare with me because this is where I kind of bend canon and make assumptions about things for the sake of explaining how this AU even works. So. Eternatus caused all this by basically converting things into energy. On humans, it would just tear them apart. On pokemon it would just turn them into dynamax energy temporarily. The normal situation is that dynamaxing makes the pokemon grow and change form, yeah? Well for this AU, the pokemon, seeing that their trainers are potentially going to die, decide to fuse with them to ‘fill in the gaps.’ Saving them. At first, it appears like they were able to change into the parts missing, but after a while, the pokemon traits start showing, which is my excuse for why the actual changes were delayed. 

The severity of the dynamorph is dependent on proximity to the blast/ powerspot. And just personal preference if you wanted to make your own trainersona dynamorphed (which I totally encourage! It’s fun and I like seeing what you all come up with!!). 

Dynamorphed trainers gain the physical traits, special abilities, movesets and odd quirks that come with the pokemon they are dynamorphed with. (Bonding with Morpeko makes you hungry, bonding with a Xatu lets you see the future, etc) Though, since the humanity is still there, they are able to curb some of the more aggressive quirks with diligence.

If the pokemon bonded is not fully evolved, applying the correct evolutionary method will evolve and change the outward appearance of the dynamorphed trainer. Normal level up are accomplished by fighting, not by age. 

Since being part pokemon, the trainer is a lot more resilient and could, if they REALLY wanted to, fight other morphed trainers. Trainers feel the type weakness and resistances. They would faint just like a pokemon fight. Potions and pokemon centres would help them recover. Though death is still something that can happen. 

Trainers fused with food-like pokemon are not edible please don't eat them, there's a place where the food stops and the flesh starts and we don’t need to find out where that is ok??

Normal pokemon that are caught and trained will REFUSE to attack a dynamorphed trainer unless absolutely provoked. So you can’t really have a pokemon battle where a dynamoprhed trainer is beating up a pokemon or vice versa. That’s messed up.

Dynamorphed trainers cannot be caught in any kind of pokeballs. That’s also messed up.

They cannot breed to make a weird hybrid plz stop asking.

Dynamorphed Trainers can NOT be Dynamaxed. Too much energy, man.

Trainers CAN bond with more than one pokemon, but that's where complications start to occur. The more pokemon bonded to the trainer, the harder it is form them to hold on to their humanity. 

1 Pokemon = Okay

2 Pokemon = A struggle to keep humanity, but it’s possible.

3+ Pokemon = This is not a person. It is a hostile beast.

There are no legendary pokemon/ ultra beasts dynamorphed. They’re all in other regions and wouldn’t be in the Galar region when it happened so there just wouldn’t be. But if ya’ll make one with one anyway, I won’t stop you but the legendary pokemon may be too strong for a trainer to handle.

If the pokemon’s nature is different than the trainer’s than it might affect their personality. The extent of this is varied.

**No two dynamorphs look the same! If you have two trainers bonded with like...a Pikachu for example. One might get yellow fur, ears, and a tail while the other only gets a tail and the cheeks. Go nuts.

If the pokemon dynamorphed with the trainer is the opposite gender, the result is whatever you want. 

Speaking of complications, that brings us to the next part…

The Wild Area Trainers

During this whole event, I previously mentioned that the Wild Area was significantly affected. Those unfortunate enough to be out camping during the blast had the chance of 1 of 3 things happening:

They dynamorphed with one of their pokemon. 

They dynamorphed with with more than one of their pokemon

They dynamorphed with one or more wild pokemon Examples found HERE.

In the case of being bonded to a wild pokemon, this takes a heavy toll on the trainer’s mind as its constantly fighting with a wild pokemon. This causes them to lose their minds and become hostile, just like a wild pokemon. Unfortunately a large number of “Wild Trainers” roam the Wild Area. Their previously caught pokemon usually try to flee or stick around to protect their trainer out of sheer devotion. As mentioned before, they cannot be caught with a pokeball. But the region is working on a program to deal with this. …

How the Galar Region is dealing with the Dynamorph Crisis

Professors Sonia and Magnolia are appointed the top researchers, being granted the resources of the Macro Cosmos thanks to Oleana and Rose, wanting to atone for his mistakes. However the government, doubting Rose’s competence, sends out their own officials to oversee and make decisions. (I have no idea how the government of this region works. Is there a parliament? Is the gym league the authority? I’ll say for this AU there is actually a system of government…). 

They have labs and rehabilitation centres set up to be able to study and help help dynamorphed trainers cope and eventually go back home. They are not kept there against their will. Most, anyway. The main cast were quarantined in a lab/ facility for the early stages of the crisis so they could learn/ test their capabilities in a safe environment. Shenanigans ensue. Because of this, the crisis put a hold on the gym challenge league entirely. 

At first, the authorities wanted to keep this under wraps in case their morphs were an isolated incident but quickly realized that was going to be impossible. Travel to and from the Galar region became incredibly restricted. Dynamorphed trainers are not allowed to leave the region, for everyone’s safety (don’t want to risk an outburst that could harm anyone :c ), but unchanged people were free to travel once they were confirmed as ‘human’ by a mandatory test. 

The Wild Area became a huge problem, what with Wild Trainers running about. Defenses were set up just in case to prevent Wild Trainers from wandering into populated areas and causing havoc, though a few occurrences still happen, what with flying pokemon and all. Eventually, a special force was assembled that consisted of consenting dynamorphed trainers that were tasked with going into the Wild Area and subduing and retrieving Wild Trainers to bring them to a more secured location to help study them and to try and find a cure. And to confirm to families the fate of their missing family member(s). The attempt is to be as humane as possible. 

The special force (Do I really wanna call it Dynaforce? I feel like I’m abusing the prefix if I do), consists of all the current gym leaders, Piers, Leon, Victor/ Gloria and a bunch of other trainers who signed up who are 18+. (you don't want to send kids out doing this kind of dangerous work, I know pokemon is all about children taming powerful animals but you gotta draw the line in the sand somewhere. Gym leaders are exempt because they why not. They insisted and already proved their strength to the region. It’s an AU based off a fuckin game/ anime.) This force has two jobs:

Go into the Wild Area to subdue Wild Trainers and bring them home

Protect the towns in case any wild trainers get in. 

So what happened to Eternatus if it just escaped? Theories indicate it might be living in a massive den in the heart of the Wild Area, waiting to strike again. There are a lot more Wild Trainers near this area, so excursions here are difficult.

Is a cure eventually found? Honestly this is just an AU so that's up to you. My personal answer is no. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. //Bear Grylls voice

So….this is a lot. This is just some silly AU that inspired me to expand on it for fun since you guys showed a lot of interest! I’ll edit this as I get more asks about things I may have missed, but I will be going in and deleting a lot of previous asks so I can clean up my blog a bit. I had WANTED to keep a lot of this ‘secret’ cuz I wanted to draw stuff for it. I STILL WILL DRAW for it, but realistically I don’t have the time or energy ahah. Especially for an AU of a published franchise aha. 

If you want to make a dynamorph trainersona, totally go for it! Just tag me when its done! I love seeing what people do!

[obeymematches]

Hello, thanks for your hard work! I’m the same anon (match up) ^^ Here’s some information about my personality / likes : I’m cheerful, energetic, optimistic and easy going. Can be a bit clumsy or forgetful (especially when I’m focusing on something).I try to be as gentle and as open minded and understanding as possible. I’m also an emotional person (I rely on my feelings and I trust my gut) and I’m sensitive to those around me. I care a lot about their well-being and happiness [Part 1/resent]

sometimes push myself too far which isn’t good). I can be also impulsive at times (I like to “treat myself” too much, but I’m trying to be more responsible with my impulse buying tendencies) I’m hardworking and ambitious, and I’m a bit obsessed with the concept of accomplishments and overload myself and feel stressed and anxious, when that happens I need to vent out or nag to someone close to me and I feel better quickly when [Part 2/resent] I feel that the person heard me and understood what I’m going through. When I’m comfortable with someone and I can be myself, I can be funny (I like making lame puns too ). I don’t like being with passive aggressive or sarcastic people. I don’t like making guesses and assumptions about people’s actions. I dislike rude people and people who are mean, or violent. [part 3/resent]  I'd like to be around someone who is kind and supportive, around who I can be myself, and be completely honest about my thoughts or feelings without being mocked and also give me the confidence to overcome my indecisiveness. I’m also very patient, thoughtful, supportive and I’m willing to give the other person my unconditional love and support. Hobbies : sewing, drawing, cycling. I love learning languages. I’m good at cooking too, I love going on long car rides with friends. [part4 resent]

hi dear anon!! merry christmas!! ❤️🎁

hmmm okay so what narrows down the circle is that you don’t like sarcastic, passive aggressive, mean and violent people. That leaves us Beelzebub, Mammon, Asmo and Diavolo. (originally i also had Simeon on my mind but he can and will be passive aggressive so eh) actually nvm mammon because you’d probs have to make assumptions as he is a major tsundere. 

I think I figured it out!

It was a really hard decision between Beel and Diavolo but overall Diavolo is a better choice! (i feel like being around him could give you a better confidence boost than Beel could. also because being with Beel means interacting with Belphie often and the latter has everything that you said you dislike so that wouldn’t always be smooth even if Belphie can act well.)

Your cheerful, energetic, optimistic and easy-going nature pretty much matches his - as you can relate to the other i’m pretty sure you’d have a friendship going on quickly! which can be the solid base of a romantic relationship so you got that going for you

oh he would find you getting clumsy / forgetful when you focus on something the most adorable thing a human could ever do and like. probably laugh at it sometimes but in an adoring way and mostly to himself so you probably wouldn’t even notice, you know. like this just makes you who you are and it’s the cutest thing!!

Okay so the fact that you are gentle and open-minded is something anyone in their right mind would appreciate as those are quality traits. You’d probably need to be open-minded to date him as he is a prince and a demon at that. In addition he is not your regular scary-demon-king but he is a pacifist at heart and the kindest and most genuine soul in the game as of now. 

Now in addition to all this he also of has his insecure tendencies and when he is going though it he will need the emotional support that he doesn’t get at all before he meets you. (I mean.. i cannot see him do that with Barbatos, we know nothing about his family besides his father being emotionally distant, so that leaves us Lucifer but i don’t think they’d be emo with the other more than once a century)  

Okay so Dia appreciates hard-work and ambitions in a person as we can clearly tell if we look at his best men / friend(s) / ppl he surrounds himself with. I think once he finds love in you he would be very considerate about your well-being and he wouldn’t ever let you have enough on your plate to be over-worked. Or more like being with him would inherit you the skill of “being care-free” and “taking it easy”! that doesn’t mean you’d neglect your responsibilities obviously but it’s important that you never stress about work!! leave that to him!! 

hmm okay so being impulvsive probably isn’t going to be his favourite thing about you but i’m sure he would help you out in case you needed help in overcoming those tendencies! he doesn’t see it as a red flag or as a turn-off though so no worries theres not going to be a conflict about this

since you listen to him and he can rely on you emotionally so much i’m sure he will do his best to be the best listener he could ever be! as i elaborated on this issue before - he is probably not going to be great at it the first time because of lack of experience but trust me he is a quick learner and once he realizes how good this is for the two of you he is going to be a changed man! as i said he is going to fall for you very quick and hard after one of you becomes emotionally open/vulnerable to the other

As I said being funny makes you relatable and it build a better foundation to the relationship. it’s nice that he is not just a lover but also a best friend to you! 

the fact that both of you can be yourselves around the other is something worth considering. i mean he is so lonely :( he also has to put on a facade most of the time :( but he is the kindest person ever :( pls :( 

 some of your hobbies are adventurous while some are chill which means you’d probably be up to any date ideas he might come up with! i mean he wants to try so many things with you, go on every date possible, so it’s nice that you are flexible regarding what you enjoy doing! he is going to indulge in your hobbies as best as he can but his schedule is limited 

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

All the little reasons (so far) why The 1 is my tied favourite off of Folklore

Continuation of 'classic Taylor’ patterns:

The 1 helps to carry on the tradition Taylor has put into her albums since RED where the beginning of the stories actually starts with song three. The first two songs are instead used to heavily allude to the story and themes about to be told but aren’t directly part of them and especially not the beginning of them. 

In RED, we get State of Grace which alludes to the intense love and positive side of “red” emotions with hints of ignoring red flags whereas Red shows the painful and negative “red” emotions and alludes to the themes of heartbreak. 

In 1989 we get Welcome To New York, alluding to trying to get past someone and new beginnings before transitioning into Blank Space indicating that the opinions of others, particularly surrounding her dating, is something that was going to cause issues.

In Reputation we got ...Ready For It, where the verses again show a somewhat satirical take of how people see the both of them in a dark, “edgy” beat that is often used for “angry” tracks mixed with a “softer” tune more used for happier music for the chorus where she talks about being alone with him and doing what she actually wants to. Then we get End Game which serves as a contrast and connecting piece to the “angry/unhealthy” and “happy/healthy” sides of the album. We get the big declaration of love and showy attitude with hints of insecurity because that’s ultimately what Taylor saw as love in the past which contrasts with the quieter moments of love in the later half of the album such as squeezing hands in a cab or building metaphorical fires in locked up houses to keep each other warm.

In Lover we get I Forgot That You Existed to indicate the theme of figuring out who and what’s truly important in life before moving onto Cruel Summer which not only shows the theme of holding onto each other when things are rough, but the importance of communication in a relationship.

And what about Folklore? The 1 and Cardigan brings us into the fantasy world of Folklore by first asking “What If?” and reminding us that life is full of choices and those choices matter in the grand scheme of things. While the rest of the album tells seemingly unquestionable stories relying on how the characters actually felt, The 1 and Cardigan both rely on nostalgia before reminding us right at the end of each song that that wasn’t how the story went and that certain choices were the reason for that... Which leads me to my next point:

One thing being different would not have made everything different today:

As I previously mentioned, one of the major themes of Folklore is that choices matter. Another interlocking theme is that things just don’t happen out of the blue. The choices we make add up and can cause a perfect storm. 

Looking at this through the lens of the love triangle, in order for James to be in the position he’s in in “Betty”, it wasn’t enough that August happened to be there. The guy Betty was dancing with had to ask her to dance, James had to feel insecure about it AND be immature enough to sulk and leave rather than telling Betty how he felt, August had to show up when she did, James had to make the continuous choice to spend the Summer with August, Inez had to tell Betty what happened and finally Betty had to be offended enough to break up with James. The situation the three of them found themselves in could have been prevented at several different points, making it impossible to say if one thing had been different, it all would have been. 

Despite the lyric, The 1 also shows that one thing being different wasn’t likely to have the desired effect of the pair ending up together through several lyrics throughout the song.

In my defence I have none for never leaving well enough alone - This gives the implication that the narrator was prone to starting arguments over topics that didn’t need to be fought over.

If you wanted me you really should have shown it - The narrator shows that the other person didn’t make it seem like a serious long term relationship was an option. Though this could have been a miscommunication, it also implied to me that the other person wasn’t ready to settle down and acted as such meaning that a long term relationship probably wasn’t on the cards.

Rose flowing with your chosen family.... In my defence I have none - So I’m going to go into this a bit later because it relates to a couple of the reasons I love this song, but in short, the narrator impliedly did not make an effort with aspects of the other person’s life, in this case loved ones, that meant a lot to them nor did the narrator have those aspects for themselves.

But it would have been fun if you would have been the one - Connecting this reason with the theme of nostalgia, I find the word ‘fun’ an interesting choice from a songwriter who tends to use intense words like ‘magical’, ‘fearless’, ‘permanent’, ‘wild’ and even ‘really something’ to describe the loves of her life. In comparison, ‘fun’ feels very casual. While not a choice of the relationship, the use of the word along with lack of hard moments shown in the song does imply to me that the narrator has based this ‘what if’ on pure nostalgia and makes me assume that there several reasons things turned out like they did.

Its links with other songs on the album:

Anyone who knows me knows that my favourite aspect of an album is feeling like I got something out of listening to those songs in that order together that I couldn’t have gotten from listening to the songs alone. Often this comes from contrasts in songs like how I mentioned End Game’s production and lyrics contrast the back end of Reputation, relatability like how 22 is in between All Too Well and I Almost Do because that time with her friends is merely distracting her from her pain or hearing how the same things can be seen differently like how WANEGBT, Stayx3 and The Last Time come one after another to show the relationship was on and off, why she stayed in said relationship and those same traits that kept her staying were now why she was at the end of her rope with said relationship. Really in general RED as an album is a brilliant example because while a lot of people don’t get it, the whiplash of positive and negative songs really does represent what it’s like to be in that kind of toxic relationship.

But I’m not here to talk about RED or Reputation, I’m here to to talk about Folklore. While many people would probably say that the love triangle songs are the best representation of what I’m talking about, I honestly think The 1 and Peace are the two songs that most benefit from the context of the other songs in the album. Specifically, The 1 benefits in the following ways in my honest opinion:

The 1 serves as the other side of the same coin to Invisible String. The 1 discusses a relationship where circumstances didn’t line up to make it work whereas Invisible String describes a relationship where the stars aligned and it all did work out. Further, The 1 asks the question ‘what if things were different and this one relationship worked out?’ and Invisible String answers with ‘well thank goodness it didn’t’.

You know the greatest films of all time were never made versus I think I’ve seen this film before: the automatic assumption and link that the love in Exile was not either of their greatest loves.

If you never bleed you’re never going to grow links so well with But now I’m bleeding and Peter losing Wendy from Cardigan.

Though it’s not connected with other Folklore lyrics, the little links of things like never leaving well enough alone being in The 1 and past songs (in this case ME!) and the Sad Beautiful Tragic vibe that the second prechorus of The 1 gives always brings a smile to my face.

And finally, my favourite parallel of this whole album:

In my defence I have [no chosen family] and its link with Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother from Peace. To me, this parallel brings together everything I have said so far. It brings the album together and once again reinforces that a theme in Folklore is how choices dictate our lives. The fact that somewhere along the lines the narrator realised that there didn’t have to be a ‘his loved ones’ and ‘her loved ones’ and made the effort and choice to incorporate themselves into their partner’s life and found that to be an important part of why they are working out in a way they didn’t with their past partners lives rent free in my mind, heart and soul everyday, not going to lie. Like I don’t know how to explain it, but that link alone just added so much to both of those songs for me personally.

Other little things:

This song is beyond relatable. Like I could not tell you one person who doesn’t have that one past thing or relationship, romantic or otherwise, they wish could have been different and fantasise/romanticise what that would have looked like.

The 1 and August are the two funnest songs to sing to from Folklore and even though both are relatively sad lyrically, always give me a good boost of serotonin when I sing them.

Relating to the two points above, singing “In my defence I have none” loudly when you don’t have family and feel like none of your wishes like me ever came true feels like free therapy lmao.

While I know Taylor didn’t write The 1 from a fully autobiographical point of view, the idea of her seeing one of her multimillionaire exes at the bus stop makes me laugh every time.

It’s a grower. While it was always in my top six, as I mentioned in the title, it’s in a three way tie with August and Exile as my favourite song from Folklore right now.

All in all I just really love this song and all the tiny little details that make it amazing and honestly think it’s a very underrated song in Taylor’s discography.

[yikesorps]

💘 + collin & lyla

send me 💘 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

where they first met and how

They met while he and Avery were still in the dating phase. While they weren’t the best of friends, they kept in touch. I’ve always assumed that their career paths are what brought them together. I also think that the fact that he kind of always. had a crush on her ‘cause, well, we know how he is. 

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved?

I think that it started even while he was still with Avery, but Lyla was never really aware of it. But as for when they really started to talk, it didn’t take that long for the two to soften up at the idea of each other. After all, he wasn’t used to someone being nice to him and she was under the impression that he was just cute and sweet. How’s that working out for you, LYLA? 

who fell for who first ( if applicable? )

They fell at the same pace but I think Collin was the one that felt the need to really profess his love first. He was in such a hurry to prove that he was over his ex and so he sort of rushed the two of them into a relationship. It’s so weird because their idea of flirting is so widely different. 

where their first date was and what it was like?

Their first date was surprisingly very cute. They went to a record store and they each picked an album for one another based entirely on the look of the cover. Then they laid on her flower and he asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend. As horrible as a human as he is, that moment really sealed the deal for me when it comes to these two. I am absolutely weak for them. 

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

Collin asked Lyla out first. He did it, as I said, while they were laying on the floor and at their most pure. My favorite part is that it was right after he swore up and down that he was not interested in getting a girlfriend.

who proposes first

I don’t think that they’re going to get married. Collin never wanted to get married the first time, and especially now that he’s been so damaged over his first marriage I don’t think that either of them would ever propose. I think that’s a conversation that they’re going to need to have, and I don’t think that she’s going to like it.

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

Their relationship was never a secret, not even for a second. He made it very clear to everyone as quickly as he could. Well, he made it clear to Avery. Ahaha. 

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

Again, there won’t be a proposal. He is emotionally stunted. Lyla, I am so sorry.

if they adopt any pets together

Collin is notorious for not liking pets, and so I don’t see either of them getting one together. One day he’ll accept her cat, but that’s about as far as these two are going to get. 

who’s more dominant?

It is, and I say this with total sincerity, so obvious that the answer to this is Collin that I snorted as I typed this. Lyla does not have a dominant bone in her body. 

where their first kiss was and what it was like?

Their sweet first kiss happened on their first date. It was very sweet, and I would go as far as to call it one of the most wholesome things I’ve ever written. He started off very sweet with her because deep down he knows just how important Lyla is for him to keep around because she is so incredibly good for him.

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? )

I can see Lyla getting them matching things, and he would go along with it just because he wants to make her happy. In particular, I think she’d get them mugs. Can you imagine the look on Avery’s face if she knew that they matched? I can’t.

how into pda they are?

They don’t go out too often but PDA isn’t really their style. I think that because their ideas of what is acceptable as far as PDA goes are so separate that it doesn’t work in their favor because he is far more touchy-feely than she is, meanwhile Lyla just wants to hold hands.

who holds the umbrella when it rains

Collin holds the umbrella for her because this is another instance of the height difference making it a necessity. 

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

They definitely frequent the record store that they went to together, as well as small coffee shops, plant shopping. Their dates revolve around things that Lyla likes, for sure. Deep down Collin is such a softie for her, and he constantly does want to make her happy. I think that guilt is also a big factor in it.

who’s more protective

Collin is definitely more protective over Lyla, but once again, I think that guilt plays a heavy hand in that. He knows what he is capable of, and he hates the idea of sharing her. But I think that Lyla is more protective of his feelings because she knows just how sensitive he is, deep down. 

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

It took quite a while before they had sex because that isn’t necessarily Lyla’s style. However, they shared a bed early on. They had their fair share of cuddling sessions and just trying to be close to each other whenever they could.

if they argue about anything

They argue pretty frequently but in such a lowkey fashion. I’ve noticed that they have pretty different outlooks on a lot of things. They argue mostly about the things Collin does, much like the other people in his life.

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

Neither of them and that isn’t from lack of trying on Collin’s end. I get the vibe that Lyla isn’t as into being marked up as Collin would like. But he definitely tries to get creative with where he leaves marks on her anyway. She just isn’t into his weird shit.

who steals whose clothes and how often

Lyla steals his shirts on occasion but I think it widely depends on the last time his laundry was done. Spoiler alert: she usually knows when that is because she helps him with it.

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

They’re either spooning or Lyla is laying directly on him. There aren’t too many inbetweens but they’re usually just cuddling no matter how it happens. That’s one of the things that they do happen to agree on.

what their favourite nonsexual activity ?

Listening to records together, talking, watching movies, cooking ( or rather Lyla cooking ) the issue with their nonsexual activities is that Collin always tries to make them so.

how long they stay mad at each other

It doesn’t usually last long because Collin truly doesn’t like to see her upset. We must protect Lyla at all costs, and therefore whenever he says something idiotic he tries to turn it around quickly. 

what their usual coffee / tea orders are

We already know Collin likes his gross Dunkin’ shit. I see Lyla as a mostly tea person, but when she does get coffee I am working under the assumption that she likes it a little on the sweeter side. 

if they ever have any children together

It’s hard to say just because he already is a father but it isn’t something that I would rule out for them. I think the possibility is there, especially considering that one of the only things that Collin is good at is being a dad.

if they have any special pet names for each other

How come none of our ships have cute pet names? I would love an answer to that. They are all so basic in this category. 

if they ever split up and / or get back together?

I have a feeling that they’re going to split up very soon. However, they. will get back together because of the reasons we’ve already discussed. He does love his ex, but he also does love Lyla. It’ll take a lot of work though.

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

They have wildly different decorating styles so their shared space would have such an odd array of decor. Lyla would not let him make it messy, however, so it would be clean but she would get all of the credit for it.

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

They’ll be spending it apart just because he’s going to be with Willow. After all, Avery made it very clear that she is not allowed to tag along.

what their names are in each other’s phones

Collin is very basic, and it would just be Lyla’s name without any flare to it. I can see Lyla being a lot cuter about it and having it be ‘Col’ with some cutesy emojis. 

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

They don’t have any set in stone traditions but that isn’t to say that they aren’t creatures of habit. I’m sure that once they get past their issues, or rather his issues, they will manage to form some traditions of their own though. 

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first?

Lyla for both. Collin’s sleeping habits are absolute garbage. Whether it’s because he’s gaming, staying up all night drinking, or even just out with his ex-wife. Regardless, he isn’t ever an early riser unless he’s on tour.

who’s the big spoon / little spoon?

Collin is the frequent big spoon but sometimes they switch it up. However, he likes to feel protective over Lyla. 

who hogs the bathroom?

Neither of them. Lyla may take a little longer, but I don’t see her being too high maintenance. Honestly? Collin probably takes longer than she doe. Hot fucking take.

who kills the spiders / takes them outside?

Lyla is another example of someone who I do not think would be keen on killing spiders. I think she makes Collin take them outside.

[eldritchsurveys]

811.

US & THEM. | monica@pentagrams

oo1. what type of body do you find to be the most attractive on your prefered sex? >> ---

oo2. do you have synesthesia? what kind? what’s it like? >> Nah. I’ve always thought synaesthesia just kind of makes sense, though. Like, if you told me you experienced numbers as colours, I’d be like “well, yeah, that sounds about right”. Cross-sense experience just... makes sense.

oo3. do you call yourself a feminist? if no, why not? >> I don’t call myself a feminist because I’m not interested in the label. I don’t care about signalling a certain kind of morality to anyone. --I’m not at all saying that’s what other people are doing when they call themselves feminists or whatever, I’m saying this is what it would feel like to me if I were to do it, personally.

oo4. for the most part, we’ve all been bullied. but have you ever done the bullying? who did you bully, and what about? why did you do it? >> That’s an interesting assumption to make. But anyway, no, I’ve never been a bully.

oo5. when’s the last time you went shopping for clothing? what did you get? >> I don’t remember the last time I went shopping for anything other than groceries, to be honest. The few clothes I’ve purchased recently were purchased online.

oo6. when you hear of a tragedy going on (be it in your area or not), do you feel a lot of compassion or are you jaded about all tragedies that happen unless it affects you personally somehow? >> “Jaded” isn’t really the word I would use; that implies that I developed some kind of desensitisation, which in turn implies I was once sensitive to it in the first place. I just innately don’t have any emotional response to the majority of things that happen in the world, unless they affect me personally somehow. I don’t understand why that’s so off-putting to other people, as if I said I’d gleefully dance on their grave if they died or something. Maybe it’s a CEN or cPTSD thing. Maybe it’s a neurodivergence thing. I don’t fucking know, but that’s the way it is, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise just to make other people comfortable.

oo7. do you find the thought of aliens comforting, disturbing, or something else entirely? >> I find the thought intriguing, and that’s about it.

oo8. what is something (movie, band, trend, etc) that everyone hates that you love? do you openly admit to liking it or do you just keep it to yourself? >> When I was a teenager, my favourite band was Creed, and let me tell you how awful that was for me. It’s almost like I was asking to get teased. That aside, there will always be things I enjoy that are unpopular to enjoy, and that’s fine. I’m still going to like it.

oo9. who’s your least favorite character in your favorite tv show? why? >> I don’t usually have least-favourite characters.

o1o. would you ever be comfortable being in a polyamorous relationship, personally? why or why not? >> I am only comfortable in non-monogamous relationships. Because they only make sense, for me -- I’m aromantic and asexual, so there’s a lot of stuff I don’t bring to relationships, and I don’t see why my partner shouldn’t be able to seek that stuff elsewhere, without having to feel bad about it. That doesn’t somehow negate the bond we have, which is unique in its own right (if it wasn’t, then there’d be no reason for us to be together in the first place...). Likewise, I wouldn’t want my own relationship options restricted either -- it’s just less likely to happen on my end, for obvious reasons. Also, I experience compersion -- I feel good when I see my partner having good relational experiences with other people, as opposed to feeling jealous or neglected (unless, of course, I am being neglected, which would definitely be a glaring red flag).

o11. when you were a kid, did you read v.c. andrews books? do you still read them? which was/is your favorite? if you have never read them, what did you like to read as a child? >> I didn’t read them as a kid. I finally read Flowers in the Attic like a year ago, actually. It was pretty interesting, and maybe I’ll check out some others later on. I’m always interested in stories about unhealthy familial relationship dynamics like that, probably because it’s a cathartic way for me to process my own experiential bullshit.

o12. what is a common misconception people have about you? >> I’m not sure.

o13. would you list some unpopular opinions you hold? >> I feel like every time I take a survey I end up giving some kind of unpopular viewpoint as an answer somewhere. Like in the polyamory question, or when I say that maybe people should be less insulting to other people, especially when they know nothing about them except that they did something you wouldn’t do.

o14. do you think that assisted suicide should be legal or illegal? why? >> I am in favour of it. I just am. I don’t have any concrete fact-based reasons to have this opinion, it’s just something I knee-jerk approve of based upon how I feel about death and dignity and personal agency.

o15. what was the cause of the charity (or anything of the sort) you last donated to? >> Technically, I donated to the ACLU when I bought that huge games bundle from off Itch.io for 6 bucks.

o16. when it comes to technology, what matters more to you: aesthetic or efficiency? >> Efficiency is prioritised, but if two machines are equally efficient and one’s ugly to me, I’m definitely not buying that one.

o17. where do you lie on the spectrum of theistic probability? it is a scale that goes from 1 to 7. 1 means you ‘know’ there is a god, 7 means you ‘know’ there isn’t. if you don’t mind talking about it, would you explain your beliefs? >> I don’t think it would be fair to my complex views and feelings to rate myself on a spectrum. I think I encompass a large portion of the spectrum, actually. I’m open to the realm of possibilities, and I have a lot of feelings about, like, the Platonic concepts of Ideas and the Nous and Daimones and shit like that, and also how religiosity affects humanity, and... man, I’m just really into that shit, okay, I don’t know what else to say. So I might not be directly religious, but religiosity definitely permeates my life.

o18. how much do material items mean to you? >> The material items I own are significant to me, because they’re mine and they enrich my life in some sense -- either by keeping me clothed and comfortable or by enabling me to connect to the internet or by just looking nice on my wall. I prefer not to take it any farther than that -- ultimately, stuff is still just stuff. But I’m not going to pretend that I don’t attribute any value at all to what I own.

o19. how do you keep your cool when you get angry? >> I just prefer to avoid getting angry. I’m not confident that I can manage myself well at that level of emotionality.

o2o. do you swear? why or why not? if you do, what do you think of people who don’t? if you don’t, what do you think of people who do? >> Yeah. Because it’s a part of language and I find it useful. I don’t care what other people do -- not swearing is a personal choice and I respect it, and if someone prefers that I don’t swear around them (or their kids or whatever), then I’ll oblige. Otherwise, whatever.

[nothingphobia]

— — SHIPPING INFO

Answer the following for your muse so people know how shipping works on your blog.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER?: Honestly coming into Infinite I didn’t have a ship for him so I guess I really don’t have an OTP for him? But I literally love all the ships.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?: Honestly just about anything. Fluff, angst, toxic, suggestive. Don’t know how comfortable I am with the idea of doing real descriptive NSFW with Infinite yet but if such a point is gotten to I am willing to discuss it with my partners.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?: My Infinite is always at a baseline age of his 20s, and depending on verse can be anywhere from around 22 to 28. Given this, I won’t ship with any muses below the age of 20 with Infinite. Infinite is AN ADULT and will not be shipped with teens or younger.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?: I ship based on chemistry. If I see chemistry, then it’s more then likely I’m up to a ship! 

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NS/FW?: I’d say sensual stuff is fair game but getting straight into the act is real NSFW

WHO ARE OTHER THE CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?: Infinite is pansexual, open to just about any ship. I have a handful of ships that I’ve gotten Infinite into, and as long as it follows the rules above if there is any chemistry then that list is always up to improve. There aren’t really any NOTPs I have as long as it obeys my standards (age being big thing)

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?: Yes and no. I do like to have people come up to me to say they want to ship, because I’m never sure if its a one sided feeling i’m getting? Sometimes I feel we are both on the same page of shipping, but I don’t want to make assumptions so I tend to be real feather foot. If you do see a ship potential, I do love to be told!

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?: I love shipping! It really allows development of character and so many fun interactions, so I’m always down for ship stuff.

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?: Kinda? I can get really into one ship when they happen but also I go with the flow too.

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?: yep !! I love having multiple ships

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?: I don’t really think I have one?

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?: Write with me, talk to me, let our characters interact! Infinite is NOT the easiest creature to ship with, but as long as you are into a bit of an unusual ship dynamic, i’m here for it too!

Tagged by:  Stole it right off the dash Tagging: Anyone who wants to!

[arionwind]

that hatemail made me sad so im gonna give you something to infodump about, which edition of dnd do you like the best? right now i basically only play 3.5 because i heard iffy things about 4 and 5 is so new that its a lot harder to find pdfs for the low low price of piracy compared to 3.5 but if 5th edition has any genuinely good mechanics overhauls comparatively i might consider giving it a try?

I was expecting the hate mail, I am fine. Sorry for upsetting you though! And to other followers who may be upset, the “hate mail” tag catches all the anon hate I publish for my own amusement.

As for the question … That’s a tough one. That also got more bloated than I expected again, so under the cut.

I think 3.5 is a mechanical mess with an accumulation over years of bad and worse ideas and Pathfinder 1e refined the base classes and mechanical assumptions in ways that make the whole thing much more playable. But at the same time, because they could only use OGL content, some of my favourite options had to be omitted. It’s petty, but the lack of the Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil, Geometer, Spellfire Adept, and all the hybrid PrCs make it a bit harder for me to have the same kind of fun I did with 3.5.

Even then though, for all I miss those nostalgia options, Pathfinder gives enough options to base classes and enough benefits for taking them all the way to 20 that PrCs are basically unnecessary unless they enable a hyperspecific concept that is worth losing baseline utility for. And while there’s likewise some feat chains from 3.5 that I enjoyed a lot (like tactical feats specifically I miss a lot) there’s enough flexibility in PF1e to satisfy me and a much healthier suite of support materials for running it than 3/3.5 ever had outside of the now-defunct RPGA. In an ideal world I’d rebalance and port over some of my favourite options from 3.5 and just play PF1e for all my D&D needs. I’ve even got half-fleshed out conversions for some of the PrCs and feat chains I love dearly that in all liklihood I’ll never get to use (who is ever going to want to run me through a FR game that allows either Spellfire or the more broken Shadow Magic/Ruathar tricks? No one sane, that’s who.)

As for 5th edition’s mechanical overhauls … it’s gonna depend on what you want from your D&D. If you want a tactical battle sim and are happy roleplaying with minimal dice involvement the more social/exploration-y things, I’d honestly say to use 4e. It got a lot of hate for being a wild departure from 3.5, and it was, but I have yet to see another game do the granular tactical battle-mat fighting tabletop thing more than half as well as 4e did it. The balance was immaculate at every level and rewarded picking and sticking to roles and using teamwork in a way no other edition of D&D has before or since, even counting the spin-offs like Pathfinder.

I’m less familiar with 5e and honestly have no interest in spending money on it as long as Wizards is still pretending Mike Mearls didn’t enable some of the worst actors in the industry. But from what I’ve heard and what little I’ve seen it’s closer to 3.5 than 4e was, but with harshly flattened numeric curves. You’re not going to run into that 3.5 issue where if the warrior doesn’t constantly keep her armor and weapon upgraded to the max she is gonna be a chump, because ACs just don’t hit the 40s like they fairly easily can in 3.5. Spellcasting also seems to be rebalanced some, so while there’s still the issue of a control wizard trivializing encounters with the right tricks you’re not going to have a fifth level wizard putting out as much melee damage as the barbarian with a 1st level spell anymore either.

Whether or not this is a good thing is going to depend on your playstyle and preferences. There’s a lot less overwhelming character options and notably fewer trap builds that seem good at first blush but fall apart in actual play (though there are some). But that also means there’s a lot less room for weird combinations that can enable things like a halfling barbarian dual-wielding two swords the size of ranch houses.

Maybe you want that! I know that if I played Garbanzo (the aforementioned halfling from my 3.5 days) at some tables that wanted a more serious game I’d get kicked out. Personally if I want a grittier down-to-earth and low magic game of D&D I am gonna pitch Iron Heroes instead. But admittedly that may overcorrect and be too low magic, in which case 5e is probably a good fit?

I guess what I am trying to get at is that 5e (and 4e) does what it tries to do well. It just doesn’t try to do all the same things 3.5 did, and depending on what you did or didn’t like about 3.5 it might not be the right fit.

[modmamono]

A Dark Arle (and by extension Ecolo) thinkpiece

I love Dark Arle, probably next to Doppelganger Arle my favourite villain in Puyo Puyo. I tend to view her as Puyo Puyo 7′s Final Boss figure like Satan, Doppel, Popoi, and the possessed Klug before them. Despite Ecolo being that.

But I’m biased, the only way I can swallow the Ecolo pill is with the water that represents Arle. Not a fan of the dominant force of Dark Arle on his own. That’s my opinion, I am not here to crack on the guy, don’t worry.

As I’ve said. Dark Arle is one of my favourites. Should she finally make a return in a game... Well, I finally would have a main.

But I like them on concept alone. Because in execution... They’re’s kinda wasted. Ecolo acts all dark and mysterious. And that’s so unlike we know him today. Plus Ringo has no real attachment to Arle for Dark Arle to be really effective.

So will you read my reasoning on why Dark Arle’s even more underwhelming then you may think? Can a rewrite of Puyo Puyo 7 using Puyo Puyo 20th, and Puyo Puyo Quest solve it? Click for more.

Note: I’m calling them Darkle for short  I came up with it myself before I saw someone else use it. Also: Valkyrie Dark Arle = Varkle. I think that one is unique.

Also when I say them/they in reference to Dark Arle I mean Ecolo and Arle together. So you know when I say Her/She in reference to Arle, and Him/He/ to Ecolo. Normally Darkle is a she to me.

Let’s begin!

The Mystery

Let’s start with that Arle being possessed was never a surprise to anyone. What reason would Arle have to turn evil? Having a headache in front of a redhead?

Even if PP7 was your first game and you know what possession is, you know Arle’s possessed.

About the only thing to show it could actually be Arle is that his fondness of Carbuncle seems true. (I’m going off memory here.)

Arle: Emotive. Especially back in the Compile days. Darkle: Not really. Not outside of the Arle’s spell animations, and even then.

Ecolo doesn’t even pretend to be Arle on-screen beyond saying they are Arle. It wouldn’t have hurt to act a little like a person, I’m assuming that’s all Ecolo knew Arle as. It wouldn’t have hurt his plans.

Well. The reason Darkle doesn’t emote is... Because Ecolo didn’t emote... Not physically anyway.

Pretty sure they needed a bad guy for having bad guy’s sake in PP7

This is all assumption of course, but Ecolo is barely a character himself in Puyo Puyo 7 just an obstacle. He wasn’t a fleshed-out character, and since he is in the driver’s seat neither is Darkle. Take a look at Darkle and Ecolo’s wide array of emotions in 7:

(FTW: Ecolo relies on other characters’ animations for his attacks and such while Darkle just does Arle’s. Darkle doesn’t even change shape during transformation. And Ecolo changes into Feli or Klug. Who’re only barely space-related like he is)

Compare to Arle in the very same game:

She has more than one! To be fair, anyone not named Ringo gets the short stick. Let’s show their expressions and poses in the next game, where everyone gets the spotlight and more importantly where they actually had a decent idea what to do with Ecolo (To make it easy for myself I’ll just put their faces on their skin colours, but trust me that Arle has two lively poses to go along with them):

Arle’s lower right one is my favourite in the game.

And look at Ecolo’s face... Gee. This backfired. He only has one extra expression... Take note, fanfic writers.

Actually, this didn’t backfire.

Imagine a world where PP7 went down but no Dark Arle. And then 20th with its more fleshed Ecolo and he became Darkle for kicks? Him having access to Arle’s emotional range. Pretending to be her, causing a ruckus in the town Arle love so much. But giving away it’s him through their expressions because 20th Ecolo wouldn’t be able to hold a poker face in a human body? (Someone, make that Fanfic, please.) I’ll get back to that, though it should be obvious where I’m going with this...

...Meh, I forgot my next point. I’ll get straight to it.

Puyo Puyo Quest and Darkle

I don’t follow PPQ actively, so I could be wrong about things.

I don’t know if Darkle has any story relevance, does Quest even have a story? I just like to see characters in costumes.

They gave Darkle an alternate form: Varkle (That almost sounds like “pig” in my language.) (Also: Dark Arlematsu, but let’s ignore that, not relevant.)

Atop of this blog post, you see the six pictures (sans Dark Arlematsu) so far.

What you see here in order are: *4 Dark Arle *5 Dark Arle *6 Dark Arle *7 Dark Arle *6 Valkyrie Dark Arle *7 Valkyrie Dark Arle

Aside from the Costumes... See the difference?

...

...

Is it because Varkle actually looks like someone foreign with his own personality is in Arle’s body?

That’s what I see. And that’s not all. From what I’ve been told. They actually sound like Ecolo using Arle’s voice. That was not the case in 7.

Ladies and gentlemen!! I present to you: Dark Arle fully realised without drool!! It’s Ecolo’s true face channelled through Arle’s.

It’s a really mischievous one. Big surprise. It actually fits with both, of Ecolo’s personality. And the freakiness of heroic Arle pulling sinister faces like that.

Meanwhile, regular Darkle is left unemotive (outside of *4 but that’s an attack of Arle’s, I think). Why?

Darkle is Arle as possessed by Ecolo as shown in 7. Varkle is possessed by Ecolo as shown in everything post-7. One is a concept. The other is a character.

I don’t see post-PP7 Ecolo to have the patience to have to play the unemotive game that long.

In other words, Darkle is an artefact of the only game they were ever relevant in. And they are hesitant to change it to be more reflective of what Ecolo turned into in 20th. Something they had no trouble with a new iteration of Dark Arle.

Rewriting Ecolo and Darkle with what we got post-PP7

That should be obvious by now. But PP7 is a mess. Not an unfixable one. All I advocated for was to make Darkle more interesting and have a more emotional pull. For Primper should they be more active, and the reader. Perhaps have Dark Arle tag along Ringo’s quest while secretly undoing it behind her back. Pretending to be friendly, earn his fascination on Ringo? Have Amitie or Suketoudara be suspicious.

Should I write Dark Arle again, I am basing it in Valkyrie Dark Arle. That’s for sure.

That ends my think piece.

Thanks for enduring.

I do wanna say that I appreciate PP20th’s writing more.

[hcpefulmarshmallow]

I’ve been thinking about how so much of the way Komaeda presents himself seems so reactionary, in light of what he’s been through, which can make AUs hard because even a small change can make him feel like a different character altogether, thus rendering said AU pointless and stressful for a stickler like myself. You know, a normal Monday. So I decided it’d be fun to go over a few AUs I’m fond of, and just see if I can reconcile this other Komaeda with the canon dumpster fire we all know and adore. This post is mostly for my own reference, and I may add to or alter it in the future, but hey, if any of my mutuals see something you like, feel free to hit me up.

His Parents Live AU

As we’re aware, Nagito’s luck makes it’s mark very early on in his life. First, the death of his dog, and then the deaths of his parents at the hands of a meteor, which also caused the plane they were on to presumably crash and kill everyone else on board, see here, here and here. 

 From that moment, he has pretty much no one to help him learn or grow or understand his emotions, or pretty much anyone who didn’t treat him like a nuisance in general. And to be honest, I’m not entirely sold that his mother and father did the best job with him that they could, but hey. They were his parents. Still, this is the assumption I will be labouring under for the purposes of this post. 

 Their deaths lead Nagito to grow up as someone who is independent, but never really learned how to other people very well. He only takes direction when he feels like it, and he acts as if he’ll never have to answer to anybody, doing always what he thinks is right, and to hell with the rest of it. 

 So what if we put them back in the picture? How does Ko’s present self change?

 I foresee a person who is less inspired by the idea of hope overcoming despair, and more tired of it, or at least tired of his own belief in it. He’s seen this cycle so much by now, but has been shamed for it at every turn. 

 Although he’s much better at getting along with people (albeit slower to try), he still struggles to make friends. Partly because his luck makes him nervous they’ll somehow get hurt, and partly because he just can’t relate to them, nor them to him. Therefore, he has only his parents’ approval to strive for, which he knows he’ll never achieve. Whether they mean to or not, by now, his parents have distanced themselves from the son who has inadvertently attracted to much trouble - and he feels like it’s all his fault.

 He swears he’s okay with this, knowing that keeping his distance will allow them to better live their lives uninhibited by his curse. However, he still wants their attention and love, and in a misguided and contradictory attempt to get it, will engage in more risky behaviour, but then hide that from them so as to not be an even bigger disappointment. Partly, though, this is also an expression of his self-loathing, and firm belief that, though he’d like to be a stepping stone to hope, it’s not something he can aspire to. 

 He comes across as charming and friendly, but won’t make an effort to befriend anyone, actually preferring to keep to himself. During the rare times he does go on one of his Rants(TM), he’s far more vitriolic. He won’t reference his own luck unless he must, and somehow hates himself more than his canon counterpart. He’s quicker to bitterness and secrecy, refusing to tell his parents a thing even after his terminal diagnosis.  He also keeps his sexuality from them for a very long time, for all these same reasons.

 Otherwise, he’s very much the same person. Still adores his talented Ultimates, still quick to love them, to die for them; still desperate to be one of them. 

Various Talent AUs

These are fun because they can change based off the talent. One sweeping alteration across the board, is that he’s more arrogant, and looks down even further on the untalented. That said, he still doesn’t put himself up as high as the others, and that’s because deep-rooted psychological issues transcend ideology, especially in someone as deeply damaged as our boy. Here are some of my favourite examples:

Detective!Komaeda

I’m of two minds about this one. I like the idea that he doesn’t consider himself that great a detective, much like Shuichi. Therefore, he feels undeserving of his title. Or perhaps he can recognise his skill, but views it supplementary to the others: something he must use for their benefit. Rather than catching criminals, he’d rather solve his classmates’ issues behind their backs so they can focus on being the best they can be, without petty distractions in the way. 

 In this timeline, he would take on a calmer, more Sherlock-esque demeanour. Since he’s an Ultimate Detective, he wouldn’t need to try to get peoples’ attention; they would give it to him, trusting his words as true deductions. But this is not a privilidge he abuses, using it only when he has something of value to say, and keeping quiet the rest of the time. He does feel the pressure of that trust though, leading him to isolate himself in direct rebellion with his desire to make friends.

 His ability to believe in others is tested frequently, as he’s often brought in on the more brutal cases as he seems to be able to stomach them so much better (as even Hajime observes in canon how unperturbed he looks towards the beginning of the game). But these cases take a heavy toll on his psyche, especially the ones that hit close to home.

Mystery Novelist!Komaeda

Nagito doesn’t consider his books especially great literature. He started writing as he kept running all his local libraries and bookstores out of new stories, and since he found mysteries comforting, decided to make his own. He never intended to publish, but one of his manuscripts was sent in without his knowledge by one of his favourite librarians, and his stories became overnight sensations. 

 His greatest criticism is that the people in his stories don’t always act like people: but otherwise, he is praised for how deeply he can make readers feel what his characters feel. What his adoring public don’t know, is that he’s based a lot of that off of things he’s seen and experienced, venting his own depression and post-traumatic stress into his work. As a result, he never re-reads his own writing once it’s completed. He is also critically acclaimed for the complexity and intelligence behind the mysteries he creates, fooling even some of the greatest minds who read his work up until the very last page. And even then, they’re left with a sense that the answer could’ve never been anything else.

 It’s this reputation that gets him invited to Hope’s Peak, although since Nagito doesn’t think his books are that great, and because this ‘talent’ comes from a deep pain he feels hopeless to resolve, he thinks of his talent illegitimate. He doesn’t bring it up unless made to, and refuses to be interviewed. 

No Tragedy AU

Ah, the dream. The kids get to go to school, enjoy their school lives, graduate and live happily ever after. What would become of our boy in the big, bad adult world? Actually, this is a favourite of mine, but do permit me a little creative licencing here. For the sake of a better answer than “he ded”, we’re going to assume Nagito either never gets ill, is cured of his illness, or his condition is indefinitely stable. 

 I think that, after graduation from Hope’s Peak, Nagito will never wander far from his beloved school. The position of talent scout will be offered to him due to his innate ability to sense hope and despair and talent, and he will adore his job. He even comes up with innovative ways for the school to improve, citing his own experience as a student, and the mistakes he saw made. 

 If and when he’s ready to settle down with someone and start a family, he will take paternity leave to be with his child, but will always return to the school. After his first/only, however, he does not come back as a scout, but rather, takes a teaching post, allowing him to, instead of just finding future Ultimates, help shape them into the best that they can be. (And also, because the hours are more structured and require less overtime, so he can be with his family more.)

 For Nagito, there is no higher cause a lowly nothing like him can dedicate himself to, than to see that hope is nurtured through the generations. He’s matured a lot by now, but he’s still a pretty...bizarre teacher, to put it nicely, often going off on lesson-long tangents about how “each of your talents is uniquely beautiful, and you should treasure them and use them to bring about hope!” Typical Nagito stuff. But he does truly care about his students, and is fair and treats them well. He works hard to earn each and every one’s respect over the years. Most of his former students will write to him at some point, citing him as one of the reasons they learned to believe in themselves and in their skills. It’s not a job he ever wants to retire from. 

[margarittet]

Misha and Destiel 2018 AD - it’s not for pervs anymore

Let me tell you, when I woke up today and got a message from @tinkdw with the seacon video where Misha was talking about Destiel, I wasn’t sure I woke up properly. This was one of the surreal moments I often get in this fandom, where fiction and fandom and reality interract, and my brain not always can wrap itself around it.

First, here are some posts that sum up most of my feelings on the case.

HERE ( @bluestar86​ )

HERE (from @thedogsled and @magnificent-winged-beast )

HERE ( from @impostoradult )

Now I woke up, and I would also like to rant a bit. This is not against Misha, mind you. NOT AT ALL. It is more against the general condescending way in which people consider fandom, and fandom creations, and how people BTS seem not to understand Destiel in the same way we do.

VIDEO

GIFSET

During the panel, Misha treats Destiel as some kind of a dirty secret, a guilty pleasure that the fandom hides under their beds, something that their parents, partners, spouses don’t know about, and the reason why everyone was banned from discussing it during cons is the same reason why you don’t bring up your kinks during a Sunday dinner at your grandma’s house - it’s just uncomfortable for everyone involved (even though everyone around knows you enjoy a good old bedsharing fanfic now and then, WE JUST DON’T TALK ABOUT IT).

I have two problems with this assumption.

source

1. Fan fiction is not for perverts.

So, I come from a country that has a big problem with erotic writing. My country is a conservative one, and because of this my language only contains words for sexual acts that are either vulgar, medical, or childish. Some more kinky acts only have English names, with Polish endings added, and sex in general is not talked about even among female friends (I assume guys talk about it among themselves, and I sometimes talk about sex with my guy friends, but they are usually much more embarrased than I am, so I don’t know what to tell you).

To me, discovering fan fiction was like finding this special place where I can actually LEARN how one can talk about sex in a not-gross kind of way, and without feeling really, really awkward. It is not pornographic in a way I was used to. I was shocked to discover sex can be straightforward, clear, funny, exciting, and nothing to be ashamed of; that people have SO MANY things that turn them on; that there are so many different sexual orientations (thank you Tumblr); and that there are so many things I didn’t know about a a human body and sexual acts (and I am in no way a prude!). That stories full of sex can be actually interesting and fun to read, that talking about consent, condoms, safe sex, personal preference can be sexy as fuck, that communication during the act also makes a good story, that talking not only to your partner, but also to other people about sexuality and things you are not sure about is only good stuff. That sexual acts in the narrative can be something that turns you on, and not makes you cringe or yawn. That (even kinky) sex can be a normal, healthy part of a romantic narrative. That you are not a weirdo for being turned on (or not being turned on) by something. That as long as you don’t hurt anyone, all is fair game, and that communication is key to a great experience.

Fan fiction is also an amazing way of adding to the narrative, fixing the narrative, showing others what you want to see in the narrative. It’s a way for your favourite characters to fall in love again and again, in different ways, and I adore it so much. Fan fiction also helps me to see what key character traits fandom sees in a character, and which ones I agree and not agree with. It’s an integral part of the fan experience, and I will forever protect its right to be seen as such.

The amazing thing is that a lot of this fan fiction is written by women, and enjoyed by women. You would think that by now somebody would go, and look, and get it into their heads that women actually enjoy reading about sex, and not only about the S&M nonsense like Grey and Grey wannabes (the only type of erotica you can find in my country right now). You know why Grey is so popular? Because women actually want to have erotic stories written for them. It’s not our fault that mainstream media only feed us crappy stuff.

So no Misha, we are not perverts. We are people who have had to endure years of fictional sexual tention CREATED BY YOU, and needed to find a way to vent. As a byproduct, we learned a lot about sexuality, erotica and fiction, so we can only thank you for it.

2. Destiel is not just about porny fanon.

I am really wondering if he was willingly playing dumb here (most probably), or whether for him the story is…well, the story, and Destiel is just sexy porn fantasies based on the story. Maybe we are just having a problem with nomenclature? If so, I can let this one slide. If not, I need to rant about this a bit as well. One way or another, I don’t aim this one at Misha either, he couldn’t say anything substantial anyway (NDAs and stuff), but the whole idea as such.

I remember my own experience of preparing stories to be shown to the public. Some of the plays we did as amateurs had so many romantic pairings that we had problems keeping track.  What made the whole actor experience fun (and I do assume that the whole experience is fun for everyone on set of SPN) was making jokes about our characters and the relationships between them. I would say that MAYBE it is different when you are a pro, but then again we get the broomstick dick fondling stories with concerning regularity, so yeah… I will go out on a limb here, and say that this is not so different from the fun I had backstage with my troupes.

One thing that we couldn’t avoid was to treat our characters how we would treat our favourites from a book or a show - creating headcanons, talking about OTPs, making fun of who slept with whom, how this behavior is ridiculous and how she is stupid to have gone with him there, she should have known he was no good. Yeah, we identified with our characters, but we also thought about them, about their backstories, about their motivations etc. There is no way a group of people who have been creating a tv show for so many years, with an OTP that was so dividing in the fandom that it had to be banned from being mentioned at all, are not aware of the million romantic tropes in the scripts that THEY HAVE TO RECREATE ON SCREEN. They may brush them off, or avoid talking about them after the scenes are shot, but they are aware of them being there. If they tried to ignore them, I guaratee you they all have friends, relatives, or coworkers who give them shit for being romantic AF on screen. Unless of course Jensen and Misha terrorized everyone so much that everyone is scared of mentioning to them…yeah, I doubt it.

But I digress. My point is, Destiel is a gorgeous epic love story, but I have a feeling that even if people mention the romantic part to Jensen and Misha now and then, they may not be aware just HOW GORGEOUS it is. You know, if you stand too close to the painting you only see the little part you are focusing on at the moment, but to really appreciate the beauty of it, you need to step back and look at it as a whole. I am willing to bet my money on the fact that none of the main players have ever done that, and this is partly the reason for a lot of the wank. They may be aware it’s romantic writing, but they don’t see the flow of the Destiel story from its conception till now. They only focus on the episode at hand, and move on. As in “this episode has a romantic moment, and this little arc is romantic”, but they don’t see how it weaves smoothly into a nine year long narrative, and how beautiful it could be if it was made canon. I don’t blame them. It’s not their job - it’s s job for the directors, for the showrunner, for the writers.

It would be nice if we had a reasonably short summary of Destiel that is not porn, codas or AUs, a summary of the actual narrative as shown on screen over the years, so that Misha and whoever else could see what we see. That would be great.

I think they would be really surprised by what they created.

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #23: How Squiggles Thinks Volume 5 will end.

..Or rather how I would like for it to end. With the Volume 5 finale in just 2 days and the excitement for it building by the hour, I wanted to make this brief post sharing my thoughts on not what I’d like to see from the finale but also how I think it should end. I’ll start with the endings first before moving into stuff I’d love to see in last episode.

The way how I see it, RWBY Volume 5 can end either one of two ways for me:

The Happy Go-Lucky, Sunshine and Rainbows Ending

The Battle For Haven is won in favour of the heroes. Triumph is theirs! The villains are all captured (with the exception of perhaps Hazel, Emerald and Mercury who managed to escape) and taken to prison where they’d be held accountable for their crimes, possibly putting an end to Adam and the White Fang for good (or at least put them in the Void of Obscurity until their evilness is needed again in a later season)

The Relic of Knowledge is acquired safely. Our heroes survive and the volume ends with everyone making plans to head towards their next designated kingdom but not before a brief period of celebration first.

I can see the team returning to Vale next, to reclaim Beacon Academy and secure the Relic of Choice. Or if the CRWBY writers’ game plan is to save returning to Beacon as the final battleground when RWBY is nearing its series finale (or at least the end of the ‘Salem Arc’ in case RWBY is planned to go on even after Salem is supposedly defeated), then I guess the next best place to go is probably the Deserts of Vacuo to meet the Headmaster of Shade Academy to secure the Relic of Destruction and meet the next seasonal Maiden: the Summer Maiden (granted that she is in Vacuo).

And I’m excited for the gang to go to Vacuo since it would finally mean some well-deserved development for Sun Wukong since it is his home turf if I recall. It’d be nice to have a season where Sun can take centre stage despite being a supporting character for the past five seasons.

I know most fans are waiting for the team to head to Atlas but...so far the Maidens have been going more or less in order of the seasons. We had Fall first, then Spring. So naturally, shouldn’t Summer come next with Winter following after?

Then again, when I checked the RWBY Wikipedia page, I noticed they have Winter listed before Summer since the Winter Maiden is connected to the Relic of Creation which consecutively comes before the Relic of Destruction which is tied to the Summer Maiden. So...I’m guessing if the story is going in order of the Relics rather than the Maidens themselves, then the next destination for the story to go to would be Atlas and Signal Academy for V6.

It’d be remarkable to see just how everyone makes it into Atlas considering that Ironwood locked it off. Not to mention that returning to Atlas would spark another character arc for Weiss or at least bring some closure to her side of the story moving forward since it would mean reuniting with her strained family again. Maybe this time we can actually meet her mother.

Then there’s also the irony of Weiss escaping Atlas to go to Haven only to go right back to Atlas in the end. But, at least this time it would be of her own will rather than being held hostage by her own father.

As much as I would love for the gang to head to Vacuo (so that best monkey boy Sun can get some development for once), I’ll admit that I’d be excited for them to go to Atlas too.

Focusing a season on Atlas would mean giving us fans more opportunities to explore more of the kingdom and its inner citadels. The thing that disappointed me about the Mistral arc is that we never got to actually walk about the city and see it through the characters’ eyes. The most we got were 2D still images of the kingdom in the first episode and Qrow walking around part of it in Chapter 6 when he was gathering his huntsman team. But beyond that, that was all folks! I hope things are different in Atlas. For me, I imagined Atlas with its technologically advanced culture and rich elites would be like the Capitol from the Hunger Games series. It just gave me that kind of vibe y’know what I mean.  

Even Jacques Schnee can be almost interpreted as a RWBY version of Hunger Games’ President Snow (minus the homicidal tendencies and proficiency to both physically and emotionally torture and scar those he sees as a threat, all with a smile on his face). 

 They’re both moronic tyrants in their respective shows, but I digress. 

Going to Atlas would also mean reuniting with fan favourite characters from Weiss’ arc from Volume 4 like Klein, Whitley (yes, believe it or not, I actually would like to learn more about Whitley and understand why he’s the way he is) and even Henry Marigold. 

That’s right, you heard me correctly. I think Mr. Pretty Boi is gonna make a comeback. It’ll be even funnier if he ends up being the one to assist Weiss and everyone when Ironwood in his paranoia, refuses to permit them into Atlas or something like that. 

You don’t just give a character a full name in RWBY without them making a return to the show unless it’s the special case where said character got unexpectedly killed off of screen. Like poor Fennix Altair. I’m still salty about how he just dies at the start of V5 though the show never actually takes the time to confirm this. Then to make it worse, Weiss straight up forgets about him once she’s taken prisoner by the Branwen Tribe.

Doesn’t even ask if he made it out alive after meeting the bandits and Vernal for the first time. Seriously CRWBY writers! Weiss didn’t just arrive in Mistral on her own so where’s that continuity? I understand that he was more or less an expendable character for Volume 5 but jeez, why even bother to give him a name if he was going to be killed off. Heck they didn’t even confirm his death.

It was just left up for assumption and the debate is still out on whether he’s actually dead or stuck in the forests of Mistral somewhere or maybe he was taken in by the Mistral Police who made sure he was hospitalized for his plane crash injuries. That could be it but I guess we’ll never know that for sure, will we?

Not to mention, an Atlas arc would mean meeting Penny’s creator-father. It could even mean Ruby reuniting with Penny or...at least another version of her. What did happen to Penny’s robotic remains after the Fall of Beacon?

Surely they were returned to Penny’s creator-father who should be able to make Penny a new body and revive her personality based on Penny’s memory unit since she was a robot---a human super computer and computers have memory especially backup memory. Penny Pollendina could be brought back for V6!

I can also see Penny’s creator sharing a connection to Dr. Arthur Watts. Like maybe they used to work together in the past. Didn’t Raven say he was originally from Atlas when they met this season so we can all assume that Watts is going to be the primary antagonist from Team WTCH (along with probably Tyrian too) if the gang head to his old home turf.

Not to mention...that being in Atlas...meeting a man who makes robot humanoids could also give our farm child Oscar (who recently got a taste of Ozpin forcibly taking control of him and might not be too happy about that) the crazy idea of...maybe trying to transfer Ozpin’s aura from his body into another artificial one.

After all, I’m sure the machine that Ozpin planned on using to transfer Amber’s soul and Maiden power in Pyrhha’s body must’ve been Atlesian in origin.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here and theorizing too much on this.

So like I said, the good ending is everything is all good for everyone or mostly good.

And before the departure is made for their next adventure, let everyone return back to Menagerie to celebrate their victory over Haven as well as get some well needed downtime.

Because let’s be fair, given all that’s happened between Volumes 3 to 5 and seeing that Menagerie, though mostly Faunus territory is technically a lovely tropical island paradise, don’t you think the gang could use a little vacation before beginning their next big adventure.

Not saying that they should make next season about the whole gang in Menagerie but it would be nice if Volume 5 concludes with a big celebration in Menagerie (with evil looming on the horizon naturally) and then begins Volume 6 with a little beach downtime in Menagerie where everyone catches up. 

We can get some nice one on one character interactions and conversations including a proper Team RWBY reunion, maybe some tension and slight resolution between Blake and Yang granted we don’t get it in the V5 finale which I doubt.

All this before Ozpin-Oscar pulls them in to discuss moving onto the next location towards the next Relic and Maiden.

The Not So Good But Still Such a Nice Twist That It’s Good Kinda Ending

Everything is the same as the good ending. The Battle of Haven is a victory but at a price.

Ruby and Oscar both become prisoners of Salem and though they manage to escape their hijackers’ grasps, that doesn’t change the fact that they’re not quite in Remnant anymore as they find themselves face to face with the Grimm within the walls of a mysterious dark world.

This then sets the stage for our two young simple souls having their own adventure next season as they make the perilous trek across the dark world of Salem’s Domain together; surviving only on their skills and each other with Ozpin as their spirit guide.

The series had hinted more than once between volumes 4 and 5 about BOTH Ruby and Oscar being captured for Salem. In Volume 4, Tyrian was sent to Mistral to kidnap Ruby for Salem and this volume, Lionheart straight up proclaimed abducting Oscar to take to Salem.

Fans are saying either or but I’m mostly gunning that they both get taken prisoner and have to depend mostly on each other to escape and stay alive. 

I don’t just strongly desire this kind of story arc for the obvious amount of RoseGarden bonding moments it will bring but mostly due to my curiosity about learning more about Salem, hers and Ozpin’s relationship and history together as well as the World Salem resides in as I believe it used to be Ozpin’s home too before the Wicked Witch took over with her monstrous Grimm pets. I voiced most of my reasons for wanting a story arc like this in this ♦ musing right here.

I’m still gunning for this kind of arc but even if we don’t get it for Volume 6, I still do hope we get an arc like this eventually, perhaps after a period of Ruby and Oscar becoming better acquainted to each other and having a decent comradry. Because not only will it be great for Ruby and Oscar’s character growth but, I honestly believe an arc like this is coming.

They wouldn’t hint at Ruby and Oscar being taken to Salem if it wasn’t gonna come to fruition at some point in the story. So when it does, I hope that it’s an actual arc that takes place over the span of either a whole season or at least half of it and not be some short subplot in a season that winds up being irrelevant. That’d be lame in my opinion.

Now that I’ve covered how I thing V5 would end, let’s get into the next segment.

Things I Want To See In The Finale:

No Reconciliation for Bumblebee this Season: Let Yang remain uncomfortable to talk to Blake and part of Season 6 is the two working through their tension and issues with each other; among other things like Yang’s true feelings toward Blake. It’d be interesting if Illia is the character to mostly help Yang through this because at some point, she was the same as her (not to mention that, like Sun, Illia is going to be an affirmed member of the hero party, I hope). 

If they make Bumblebee suddenly hug and be all buddy bud at the end of V5, it’d be a total cop out in my opinion. They made such a big deal about Yang’s anger towards Blake this season (which they didn’t have to since Blake’s reasons for running way were justifiable in my opinion). To tell the truth, I never quite understood Yang’s reckoning behind her blatant anger towards Blake.

Even when she said that she’s angry that Blake left because it reminded her of her mother leaving, while I gave it a pass, I still never bought that excuse in the sense that I don’t think that’s the only reason. It can’t be if that’s what you’re trying to sell me. If her leaving was the main issue then why wasn’t Yang pissed at Weiss or Ruby.

Blake wasn’t the only one that left Yang behind when she could’ve used the help getting through her depression over the loss of her arm and her PTSD. While Weiss’ motive for departure was mostly due to her father, Ruby left Yang of her own accord. So how is it that Yang can easily forgive Ruby for leaving but not Blake? And don’t even use the pretext that she’s her beloved little sister.

Ruby left Yang too and so did Weiss (technically). Her entire team left her behind, albeit for different logical reasons, so why is Blake the only one being thrown under the bus.

Personally I’m not that big on the Bumblebee ship. Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s a lovely pairing with lots of potential for canonicity however I’m more of a Black Sun kind of fangirl which falls in the same category. But despite being a Black Sun shipper, even I can notice that there is definitely more to Yang’s anger at Blake and I strongly believe it’s due to her apparent feelings for her; whether she acknowledges it or not. This isn’t about friendship with a friend leaving a friend. This is about love with someone dealing with the sting of watching their love interest leave them behind. I have a better time believing that Yang is mostly upset with Blake’s departure because the girl she was secretly in love with abandoned her just like her mother did over the excuse of ‘Blake is just a friend and she left me’.

All of Yang’s friends left her, not just Blake, and she forgave them easily! That being said, I’m hoping the Bumblebee dispute is savoured to be resolved next season because it deserves its own focus.

Save it for next season where it can be allowed more time to simmer and then be resolved properly at the perfect moment as opposed to during a big battle where emotions are already high. For what it’s worth, I figure that the season 5 finale will leave Yang and Blake’s relationship still on the edge.

While most of Yang’s displeasure probably died down during her talk with Weiss during Chapter 7, I don’t believe it’s enough to just make Yang straight up forget her anger and forgive Blake.

I don’t even want them to hug it out. Is it weird that I want Blake to reach out to Yang as an attempt to make peace but Yang refuses it, not out of the disappointment she felt before but more so of her not entirely being over what Blake did and her not ready to deal with it yet.

So she just ends up walking past Blake, not even bothering to make eye contact with her again, while Ruby and Weiss stay by Blake’s side overlooking the tension between them in worried silence.

So even though the team is reunited, things aren’t the same as before and...probably may never be again; at least till next volume.

Oscar’s semblance: I’ve already talked; practically preached about how much I want the finale to reveal or at least give us a taste of Oscar’s semblance. Still itching for that to happen along with it being a mind-based semblance. I really hope Oscar’s semblance is clairvoyance—the kind that can connect him to someone’s mind so that he can read their thoughts, access their memories as well as project his own thoughts and memories inclusive of the ones belonging to Ozpin onto others if ever necessary.

Could even have an extension where it can allow Oscar to communicate with and even control less intelligent creatures like...animals or even the creatures of Grimm perhaps (like imagine our precious farm boy unexpectedly pulling a S2 Eren Jaeger and controlling the Grimm with his mind). Okay that one’s a crack theory tossed out for funzies but really gunning for Oscar having mind powers.

Oz-cane true form reveal: I’ve preached about this too. If we don’t get a teaser of Oscar’s semblance this season then we gotta get an Oz-cane trick. Seriously, they hinted at this in an earlier chapter of V5 so...it’s gotta be coming for the finale. C’mon Oz-cane secret time scythe/sickle mode!

RoseGarden Trigger for Oscar Defeating Hazel: We know that Ozpin’s control over Oscar’s body is temporary and once it wears off, not only will this leave Oscar probably weak and extremely fatigued but also puts him in the line of fire for Hazel to attack unexpectedly.

If Oscar is down and Hazel attacks then I can see Ruby jumping in at the last minute to take the hit for Oscar. We all saw how ‘aggressive’ Oscar became after finding Ruby unconscious.

Maybe seeing her hurt especially by Hazel trying to protect him is enough to trigger his semblance awakening. I’m still standing by my hunch that Oscar using his semblance for the first time could be what finally puts a stop to Hazel’s rampage. Since Hazel’s semblance makes him immune to physical pain then brute force is not going to be enough to stop him. So, maybe the power of the mind can quell the beast from within. I’m hoping that an Oz-cane trick can lead into this so that we can get both Ozpin unleashing the true power of his weapon finally as well as Oscar revealing his own hidden power. 

It’s the finale so why not go out on a bang and give us both of these things one after the other.

Yang and Raven talking; not fighting, in the Vault of the Spring Maiden: That way we can finally get some answers about Raven with maybe a flashback.

Fallen Maiden Cinder: I already talked about Cinder possibly coming back as some kind of corrupted half Grimm, half Maiden monstrosity possessed completely by her Geist Grimm arm but with her Fall Maiden powers still in her arsenal in ♦ this musing. While I’m not sure how this will fit into the finale episode with all that is going on already.

However we know Cinder is coming back. We know she’s probably going to get the jump on Raven and Yang.

 So maybe she is going to come back as a monster that Yang and Raven will have to fight together (mother-daughter tag team battle anyone?)

Maybe it’ll conclude with Raven using all that she has to restrain Cinder while Yang escapes (possibly with the Relic of Knowledge in hand) as the Maiden Vault crumbles around them.

Even if the Vault falls, I don’t think Raven will die or even trapped inside cause she has her sweet teleportation powers and her connection to Yang to portal her to her at any time.

 They can even tease Raven still being alive by having Yang spot a familiar raven outside as always. We can even get one last mother-daughter conversation before Raven departs and falls into obscurity until her character is needed again for whatever reason (like helping Yang or cause further distrust in Ozpin) for another season.

New Threads for Oscar: If he doesn’t get napped by the V5 finale’s end then give the precious farm boy some new clothes that fit his new huntsman title and role. In the event that the CRWBY decide to save Oscar’s new look til V6 (buying them enough time to pay @xen-vita for her amazing design for him), then at least give him a cool new character theme.

Seriously, if we don’t get a new character theme for Ozpin-Oscar during his showdown with Hazel and the reveal of his Oz-cane trick then at least let the end credit song for Volume 5 be about Oscar; addressing his growth following the events of last volume and highlighting how much further his character development is going to progress; even subtly foreshadowing his inevitable conflict with Ozpin over who’s in control. Can we at least get that please?!  

Would love a duet between Jeff Williams and Vic Mignogna cause as most of us in the anime community know, Vic has a lovely singing voice (see Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, One Piece and D.N.Angel).

I know Vic is Qrow’s VA but...admittedly when I first heard Oscar speak back in Volume 4, I actually thought it was Vic doing a double role and using his ole Edward Elric voice to voice him, not knowing it was actually Aaron (a.k.a Alphonse Elric) (due to the uncanny similarity in their voices at times).

I’m just saying it would be cool for RT to utilize Vic’s amazing singing vocals and have him sing for a character in RWBY even if that character isn’t the one he plays in the show.

Like imagine how awesome it would be for Jeff and Vic to sing a new song together that is supposed to represent Oscar and Ozpin singing to each other about their bond; again foreshadowing many things to come for their side of the story.

Eyy? Hey CRWBY, c’mon! Hire me for my ingenious ideas RoosterTeeth!

Last RoseGarden Moment or Moments out of Volume 5: Something for us shippers to savour til next volume (or at least till RWBY Chibi Volume 3 arrived next weekend because they gotta be getting an Oscar for the third season, right?)

It doesn’t matter if they fight side by side together, protect each other, save each other, hug, kiss each other on the cheek (mostly Ruby to Oscar cause I want her to lay a big one on them flushed, cute, freckly cheeks of his), hold hands or even check up on each other in recovery. I’ll even accept them blushing at each other for whatever reason. Don’t matter. I’ll take it still. I’ll take it ALL!

I want a real nice tender RoseGarden moment or moments (more than one will not be refused) for the V5 finale for me to enjoy, pterodactyl screech over, die of feels over, resurrect myself and come back to hype up, over-analyze and over-emphasize and of course, download and watch multiple times till Volume 6 or again, at least till RWBY Chibi Season 3. They gotta be getting Oscar for S3. His adorable freckly chibi presence needs to be added to the chibi pot too.

So to finish...

I think that’s it for what I want mostly from the finale. I’ve made my list, checked it thrice and now all that’s left is to jubilantly look forward to possibly checking off all; if not most of the stuff on this list.

What about you fellow RWBY fans? What are you looking forward to seeing in the finale on Saturday?

On that final note, I’ll see ya’ll for the epic RWBY Volume 5: Chapter 14!

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

[heathertalks]

Audience Analysis Blog #5: Uses and Gratifications

As audience members, we watch anything that interests us whether it is films, concerts, sporting events or videos on social media. When we view content, we play the role as an audience but what if you could do more? What if you could interact with the creators of that particular content. In the uses and gratifications approach, we figure out the way people utilize media as opposed to acting as an outside force. The theory enables the audience to figure out the media exposure that they want to engage in. In the late 20th century, the uses and gratifications approach opened the door of new ways in seeing consumers of media more than the outside influence of being an object.

I would like to start off this blog with an example of this. Twitch TV is a video streaming site that enables users to record themselves playing video games. During streams, people can interact with one another or with the streamers via chat. Even as an avid gamer, I do not really go into Twitch that often, mainly because there are other things I watch. One channel that I would watch if I would be on would be StephenGeorg as he is one of my favourite YouTubers. He would do playthroughs of video games from an assortment of consoles, sometimes with his wife. https://www.twitch.tv/stephengeorg is the link.

To understand the early examples of uses and gratification, you would have to go to the late 1950s. Communication scholar Bernard Berelson provided a hypothesis that communication research was dying and that “the great ideas that gave the field of communication research so much vitality ten and twenty years ago have to a substantial extent worn out,” (Sullivan, pp 138) Elihu Katz, a prominent communications scholar, supported the claim that studying media influences towards audiences have ran its course. Katz suggested that issues in the influence of media should be reframed to show the conditions that people determine in selecting what media and content they want to view. Katz said that communication scholars should look into the uses that people have with the media. This would result in a functional audience inquiry as the reasons for people selecting what media messages for consumption. His argument implies that audiences have their own opinions in which some are created within their social        environment in terms of media exposure.

When it comes to looking into the difference between the users and gratifications approach from other inquiries, one of the first things is how it rearranges the common notion of the connection between the media and the audience. This causes the hypothesis that the audience is affected by media, with users and gratifications, this idea is the opposite as members of the audience would select what media channels to consume to satisfy their tastes. This would be considered a functional perspective on audience activity. The purpose of functional theory examines people’s reasoning behind their actions. People are made to be “rational, decision-making creatures whose actions can be understood within particular social contexts.” (Sullivan, pp 143) Criteria concerning the approach is based on five assumptions: 1) An active audience were the media usage is aimed at the individual’s goals 2) A member of the audience connects need gratification with their media choices as he or she fulfills a specific need in selecting which media to consume 3) There is a competition within mass media sources for an individual’s attention 4) Audience members understand their needs in finding which media to consume and can identify needs to researchers of the media when asked and 5) Scholars do not judge others based on their media selections. They figure out the motivation behind the individuals; selection of media on their own. The audiences are depicted as thoughtful in their utilization of the media and can explain researchers why they selected their media for consumption.

Examples of this from personal experiences that I have is I use a variety of different media that reflects my interests. I am an avid sports fan so naturally I would watch sports on TV, but I also stream highlights of different games through websites of leagues, such as the NHL and NFL. I enjoy gaming as I would play on my Playstation as well as watch play throughs of games through YouTube and on occasion, Twitch. I stream movies and television shows using my laptop. I consider myself to be old-fashioned because I prefer to watch things using either my television or laptop. The screens are a bit bigger than those on a mobile phone and they are simple to work with.

In the 1940s, female radio listeners were a subject for a project by Columbia University’s Office of Radio. This project concerning radio audiences was conducted in 1937 for the purpose of studying “what radio means in the lives of listeners.” (Sullivan, pp 140) The research focused on analyzing the radio audience size and creating something that looks into their reactions towards a specific program. One of the project’s directors, Herta Herzog, combined data about female radio listeners from several large studies that focus on radio audiences. Herzog’s targeted data was the reactions of female listeners of daytime radio serials. She wanted to know what satisfaction that the audience gets and the judgements of psychologists. Furthermore, she wanted to look into the audience structure and what gratifications occurred. Three unique gratifications to listening to the radio serials was: 1) A kind of ‘emotional release’ 2) Fantasizing about being in that particular world for fulfillment 3) Searching for advice with focus on social etiquette

The reasons behind radio listeners being engaged in their serials reminds me of reasons for others watching television. When I am watching television, I usually would watch as a means of escapism, like the fantasy of being in a different world. In addition, I would watch my favourite shows as a means of unwinding after a long day. Every once in a while, I would look at the comments section of fan pages of the TV shows and some of them would praise the show while others would be “well, this show is terrible now because of this.” I would tell jokes about the show to give myself my own take.

The uses & gratifications approach has been improved in recent years thanks to new technologies as they contributed to new opportunities in gratification. The Internet has been provided with social gratification as there is already an established process and content gratification. (Pantic, pp 152) One such example is social media sites like Facebook, Instagram as a means of connecting with others.

With new media, uses and gratifications can consist of distinguished medium-specific and broad elements in terms of content. One example of a medium-specific element is using Facebook to share photos or ‘like’ content. On the broad elements side, interactivity would be considered an example. The use of the Internet as a medium is demonstrated as a two-way communication between users and the medium. When I am on Facebook, I would often share medium-specific content, such as photos, videos and links. In other words, I am using both medium-specific and broad categories when I am on social media.

As audience members, we consume content to satisfy our tastes in entertainment such as watching videos of our favourite artists or clips of our favourite TV shows. What we do not realize is that we have more power than we realize in controlling what media that we consume. With the Internet, we can easily interact with others and our favourite content creators in making suggestions. The biggest impact of uses & gratifications is the use of social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram because we can voice our opinions, share content about any artist on our pages, ‘like’ certain people or causes, etc.

Sources

1) Sullivan, J.L. (2020). Media Audiences: Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power. 2nd Ed. 107-131.

2) Pantic, M. (2020). Gratifications of digital media: What Motivates Users to Consume Live Blogs. Media Practice and Education. 21(2). 148-163.

[alexswift13]

Some days, things just click. You're on your 'game'. There's a flow. Almost magical. That's what happened on Feb 9th 2014, the day Taylor and I met. Just a few days before, I was in Iceland taking promo shots for my latest album Sparks with Jeremy Cowart. Here's a video Jeremy put together of our shoot. Michael (my fella, love of my life) and I also took the opportunity to have a mini break in this magical country, where not only did we catch the northern lights but we also surprise bagged a baby! Eight and a half months on, Taylor's new album is out and any day now, so is gonna be whoever's in my tummy...wait... was that a contraction?? Anyway... I digress... so I got a phone call saying Taylor Swift was in London, she'd love to work with me and the only day she could do (between 4 sold out 02 arenas!) was the day after we got back, Sunday. It was both unexpected and not at the same time as I'd heard Taylor was a fan a while back via this Time magazine piece but somehow didn't think it would actually happen. I love co-writing and producing for other artists and I was really itching to get back into the studio for something completely different after the marathon that was Sparks too....plus, you don't really say no to Taylor Swift do you?? So, Michael and I landed, he went off to shoot a film that week and i dusted off my studio in preparation for my day with Taylor. now... I was a bit tired after travelling and it was all rather surreal, so maybe I dreamed some of this but this is how I remember it. Taylor was dropped off at around midday and we greeted each other with what seemed appropriate, a big hug. I was half expecting such a massive star to have a huge entourage but very pleased to discover it would be just Taylor and I. Guitar in hand, this tall, immaculate, relaxed and friendly young woman (with from memory some big assed heels on) walks in and we go into the kitchen for the obligatory English welcome cup of tea. We get chatting away. It's cold in February here in this old house, so 'd lit the fire in the dining room and we continued in there. Taylor pulled out her guitar, saying she had a song idea that if I liked it, maybe we could work on that one. Great! I thought... a beginning. Because without a beginning, you have to conjure up one out of thin air and we had so little time. Taylor strummed and sang a first verse and a chorus. It sounded really good to me already, so I suggested we just go straight down into the studio and I'd start throwing some sounds at it. Maybe we could demo it up for a later time to finish? I made a session in Pro-Tools, we set the tempo we felt sounded good against her singing it in the room and I started to record noises. I really felt a driving simple bass line just following the chords would be good. Warm, bendy and a bit buzzy. That and a simple snippy beat created the backbone for me to build on with some instruments in my 'toy room'. For some reason I gravitated first to my set of BoomWhackers (a set of tubes you hit on the floor or against each other and they make a nice percussive sound). Taylor liked these and so in they went. Then, some of my trusy mbira. Such a lush sounding instrument and with very little can really bring some twinkle to a song without it becoming cheesy. Every sound that ended up on the song was preceded by sounds of delight from Taylor. That was my queue she was happy and for me to move onto the next sound or part. I've worked in the past with a few heavy handed producers (when I was around 17-20) which I really hated. With those experiences, It's very important to me that they are with every decision. We're in this together. That seems obvious perhaps but there are many artists who just get trampled on by various producers and perhaps that's ok with them but I can't stand it and I don't want to do that with anyone else. Anyway.. something tells me, Taylor wouldn't let that happen in a million years. I was editing and mixing the bits in, meantime Taylor had written the 2nd verse! Good going gals! Teamwork! It was time for a late lunch. I have to be honest here and say I had ever so slightly not done my homework on Taylor Swift but had done what I HATE others do of me, which is to pre-judge a person based on assumptions. I had assumed Taylor didn't write too much of her own music (as is the case with many young, extremely successful artists these days who sell shed loads of records) and was likely puppeteered by an ageing gang of music executives, working to formulas and spread sheets. How wrong was I? Totally clued up from a very young age (I had no idea what a publishing label even was at the age of 14 never mind moving my family to nashville so I could pursue a song-writing career!), hyper driven, hard working, really talented and a genuine lovely soul, with a few more boy troubles than she most but you can't get it all right all the time! So... lunch was fun and now back to the studio. We still needed a middle section. I fancied really stripping it down, quite moody. So we tried a few things out. One of which had me going over to the keyboard to suggest a slightly 'odd' chord progression as I do like a bit of that on my own records. I played it to Taylor and she quite clearly said "I think we're going to lose them at this point" and I said... 'wow... that I why you sell millions of records and I don't!' She is Taylor Swift and she knows best, so we stuck to the chords, I created a bit of tension in the music instead and then we could woosh into the final chorus from there. I learned that lesson again, keep it simple. I just never seem to remember it! Taylor, again knowing what she wants, fancied some Heap backing vocals, so first I had her sing in her now finished lyric and melody (of which she wrote pretty much all of by herself)... which she did in a couple of takes (and what you hear on the album) and I sang a load of Heap style harmonies, textures, rhythmic chants and things, which she loved. We then had a quick dinner, came back down to the studio and I 'bounced down' what we had recorded that day to a stereo file for her to take away with her. Taylor left about 8pm and we'd managed to demo up an entire song from scratch, whilst still managing lunch, dinner and chat! Quite amazing. Some times it just flows like a dream! Which is what it all felt like after she'd got in the car to go back to London. Here's what she wrote in an email to me that night. I'm sure she won't mind me sharing it. "Imogen, I've listened to Clean over and over and I can't thank you enough for today. It was one of the musical highlights of my life watching you work. This will be such a special song on my album and I'm so happy this all came together. Hope to see you at a show and if not, I'll come visit next time I'm over here! Taylor" I was so excited by the whole thing, I worked until 4am, singing in more vocal backups (my favourite being the last chorus 'and then the... ' line up high), tweaking sounds here and there and then sent it over to Taylor (hoping I hadn't gone toooo far) to which she replied.... "THIS VERSION IS AMAZING! I'm in love with all the vocal parts you added. Can't stop listening on repeat!! This song is unreal. Well done!" So there we go! High on life for a long while after but had to keep it quiet was torturous but the surprise was Taylor's to share for sure. I so enjoyed the whole experience and it gave me a new kinda energy having worked with this mega woman, force of nature. I can't thank her enough for taking a chance on me (I'm not exactly Max Martin you know!) and am so happy the song made it on the record (and feel lucky it's the closing track, coz that's a special spot) as I love it and would have been sad to see it 'sit on the shelf' (as some co-writes I've done in the past have!). I went to see her play live at the 02 the night after with a few friends. She was completely brilliant and we all adored her. Here's a photo we had taken after the show. Felt I wanted to share the experience, as it was a special one. I've also been reading the odd report or tweet here and there that the reason these lyrics to 'Clean' are so good is because I wrote the song with her but FOR SURE they are all hers she deserves all the credit! So congrats to you Taylor (if you're reading this) on the release of 1989. I hope it's a huge success (it's looking that way already) and brings you much happiness. I look forward to news of a man who's swept you off your feet and to introducing you to our baby girl/boy next time you're in town and fancy a cuppa in the english countryside! We will find out any day now! Thank you for everything. Soon to be, mama Heap. xxx

Imogen Heap’s day with Taylor.  a lot of people have collaborated with @taylorswift but none of them have explained the writing/collaborating process in details like Imogen did. 

A photo at Red Tour backstage!

and polaroid while making Clean!