#i don't know what it is about this particular line

[impactrueno]

some stuff about lydia's jacket in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. hope you guys are ready for another thinkpiece no one asked for:

right so. colleen atwood decided to give lydia (and rory) these garments that seemed so unfinished it was distracting me. but i know there's a reason for every costume choice, so i watched this super short rundown she gave about a few of the outfits in one of the promotional videos for the movie, but i was disappointed that she didn't say anything about this one. i knew i had to draw it at some point so i really needed to know what it's supposed to be. a friend who went to the Afterlife Experience prop exhibition even took photos of the damn thing up close at my request, just so i could take a closer look and see if i could figure it out. but nothing. i didn't know how to draw it and it was driving me insane. i felt stupid. like what am i missing here

months later here i am, browsing pinterest for my beetlejuice inspo boards and i randomly find it and others like it:

and this is how i learned that these were created by british designer elena dawson. the way this article described this style made everything make sense:

Her Victorian frocks with unfinished seams and hanging fabric strips speak of ghostly things, simultaneously ephemeral and imprinted with history, the stuff of Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, a witchy presence in the world that no longer cares for fairy tales.

more:

Maybe it is this ghostly presence that informs Dawson’s work, which reflects her fascination with death. “The relation between clothing, ritual, and death is of great interest to me,” says she. “In some respects, through clothing I am also working through my relationship to death.”

and the way she described it herself:

“When you work on alterations you are really tearing the guts out of the garment, performing a sort of autopsy—you really get to see a garment at its most vulnerable point. Observing this state of semi deconstruction in the making of a garment or shoe is what I like to retain in my finished work.“

oh my god.

the clothes are lydia. they are purposefully incomplete.

lydia's whole deal in the movie was that she was messed up from of all the shit she's been through to the point where she's no longer herself. the events in her life have been slowly picking the threads of what kept her together, what makes her her. delia has this great line that basically sums up lydia's pathos in the movie: "you need to take back your life from those hanger-onners, from this thing," meaning rory and beetlejuice. "where's the obnoxious little goth girl who tormented me all those years ago? it's time to find her."

i'd wager they made rory wear the same style of deconstructed jacket for the funeral specifically because he was trying to come off like this was a tragedy to him just as much, that he's "vulnerable" like the deetz women right now. you know, his whole modus operandi and all (unnecessarily large handkerchief included.) interestingly enough, lydia does NOT wear the loose thread jacket that would match rory's coat here. her own outfit is still by the same designer though, so it's like...they match, but also don't. they're in a relationship, but don't fit together.

according to interviews, using elena dawson designs was winona ryder and justin theroux's idea that they brought up to colleen atwood, and can i just say that i love how much input they had on their characters? justin in particular had SO much fun playing rory, his interviews are great. he owned the role. he knows a lot about fashion, so he was the first one to suggest this look and vibe for him.

as for winona, she wore dawson herself multiple times during the promotional tour for the movie. like, this is just her actual wardrobe. you can tell she had fun trying to emulate lydia's bangs and ponytail with these fits too.

i don't know much about fashion, honestly. but i love character design and telling a story through a character's clothes. so obviously i'm nerding out about this hardcore. perhaps i should learn more about fashion so i can do cool stuff like this too.

[lightseoul]

a/n. i really don't know where i'm going with this, y'all. but getting to role-play as a therapist and explore bakugou's psyche has been lots of fun, so bear with me. please let me know what you think and/or would want to see! maybe that'll give me an idea lol. (1.1k)

navigation. part 1, part 2, (you are here)

“n-no.”

at that, the woman’s eyebrows shoot up, disappearing underneath her fringe. “no?”

“you heard me,” bakugou spits instinctively, immediately regretting how hostile that sounded not even a second later. “i mean, no, i didn’t.”

his therapist, apparently unfazed by his show of aggression—she must’ve gotten used to it by now, although he still feels bad when he gets testy—only jots something down in her clipboard before looking back up at him, an inexplicable expression etched across her features.

“do you have any ideas, then, why, for the first time in seemingly forever, you’re fixating on a particular social encounter?”

bakugou barely manages to bite back a scowl.

he hates it—this part. the part where his psychologist obviously has theories as to why he’s acting a certain way or how he’s actually feeling but chooses to ask him instead, in an attempt to draw it out of him.

as if talking about difficult shit in the first place isn’t already painful enough.

and isn’t that what he’s paying her to do? give him answers? why’d he have to be the one to wrack his brain for uncomfortable answers to uncomfortable questions?

“do you?” he then challenges, emboldened by that train of thought just now.

“yes,” she responds truthfully and without missing a beat it somewhat surprises him. “but as i’ve explained to you before, i think it’ll be helpful for you if we try a more active approach on your end so that any insights gleaned from our discussions become more personalized and stick with you longer.”

well, then. fuck.

the lady’s got a point.

“so,” she continues when he doesn’t reply, annoyingly aware her little spiel got to him, “any ideas? working hypotheses?”

“uh,” he starts begrudgingly, eyes roving over the bookshelves lining the room’s walls as he struggles to come up with another angle. then it dawns on him, and he looks directly at the woman. “i didn’t expect to see someone in here, and when i did, it caught me off guard.”

“that may be because most of our clients opt for virtual consultations rather than face-to-face ones.”

“yeah,” he piles on quickly, admittedly thankful for the validation, and for the fact. the absolute last thing he needs is to bump into some extras before and after therapy. “that must be why.”

“but how does that explain your, and i quote, ‘dumb as shit reaction’?”

bakugou instantly feels himself flame. he clears his throat, “i told you, didn’t i? it caught me off guard. how the fuck did you expect me to react?”

that must’ve been a reasonable point, thank the fuck, because the woman pauses in thought before nodding slowly. “i suppose you’re right.”

he narrowly bites back an of course, i am.

but then she’s spouting off again.

“although it’s interesting to me how your immediate reaction was to say hi, when that’s not really…how should i say, your style, based on our prior sessions and your personality test results.”

a pause.

bakugou scrambles for a bulletproof rebuttal. he comes up short.

the lady cocks her head to the side, curious. “how often would you say you mull over social blunders?”

never, he thinks to himself. because they never happen.

“i figured as much,” comes her unexpected reply, and only then does it dawn on him that he said the last bit out loud.

“can we talk about something else?” he finds himself suddenly asking, totally over this entire conversation. he can worry about being a loser and pathetically begging for an out some other time. right now, he just needs a break.

“actually, you’re in luck,” she checks her smartwatch, “the session’s just about to end.”

at that, his shoulders almost instantly sag in relief, which makes the woman laugh. he shoots her a half-hearted glare.

they spend the next few minutes summarizing what has been discussed, as well as the arrangements for the following weeks, with bakugou eventually throwing his bag over his shoulders and bidding her a mumbled goodbye. he tosses her a nod over his shoulder as he crosses the threshold of her office, mind already drifting to what he’s going to cook himself for dinner.

and that, for a typical session, he’s walking out relatively unscathed.

but then he does the stupid thing of looking up from where he was studying his trainers when a door creaks open, and he freezes.

because standing a few feet away from him, right beside the entrance to the restroom, is you, equally frozen.

he doesn’t know how much time passes with him just staring at you like a motherfucking idiot, and you, strangely enough, peering at him back, but it’s you who eventually takes a hammer to the silence.

“h-hi,” you offer, voice soft and quiet, just like how he vaguely remembers it from two weeks ago.

“hey,” comes his gruff reply, which would’ve been immediately followed by a wince at how rough his tone was just now had he not stopped himself in the nick of time.

at least he didn’t stutter.

“…b-bakugou, right?” you ask after a moment of neither of you saying anything, confirming his earlier suspicions.

“right.”

you nod, a polite yet somehow stilted smile on your face, and suddenly he’s mentally slapping himself. since when was he fucking bound to one-word sentences?

he decides then and there that this shit won’t do.

in an attempt to convince himself that no, this is just a weird outlier of an encounter for him, and that no, he’s not a fucking idiot like dunce face, and that yes, he is and is being perfectly fucking normal, he resolves to ask you for your name.

and he was just about to do that—he swears he was—when someone from the other side of the door calls out a name, and you whip to face their direction, breaking eye contact.

“yes, doc!” you holler back, and he watches you as you hesitate in place for a second, before turning to face him with an awkward smile.

“nice meeting you, bakugou-san.”

and then you’re off and shutting the door behind you.

he stands there for what feels like a few minutes, just blinking at the door in front of him, what must be your name echoing—again and again—up to the far recesses of his mind.

then: fuck.

he may or may not have just lied to his therapist.

˖⁺‧₊ as always, reblogs, replies, and tags are appreciated <3 feel free to drop an ask, too—i'd love to chat with you. have a nice day!

tagging. @bunnysaursushii @yawnzzzzzzzz @cholios @kashee-h @iluv-ace @lotuslovers @elarakive @sugurusmoon @napbatata @k0z3me @h0ngh0ngh0ng @honeyoru @yoongiwithglasses @hellokitty-doll @lilsebnem @tetsuukuroo @crangrapel0ver @syrhra @qyuin | @kalulakunundrum @cheezemanz @gold24fish @lunaryasha

[takamimami]

Hiii! i loved your last work with benn so much, could you please do shanks x f reader headcanons? tyyy

Hi lovely! Thank you for this request!! I was so nervous to post the Benn request since I hadn't written for him before, but the reaction was so positive around it, so tysm :3

Ironically after you sent this I got two more Shanks requests, so be ready for more Shanks content coming soon!!!

As for these headcanons, I kind of just let my fingers take over and go wherever they wanted to go - and this is what I ended up with. It's a lil short, but I hope you enjoy the read - and thank you again for submitting an ask :3

Shanks x F!Reader HCs THOTS UNDER THE CUT - MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DNI 🔞 CW: NSFW, no outright smut but v suggestive + Shanks has a filthy mouth, Shanks is a Shameless Flirt™, two stubborn idiots falling in love, don't tell kidd but he got me feeling some type of way --- word count; ~800

I imagine Shanks to be a one of those goofy guys who can snap his fingers and turn into one of the smoothest talkers on the planet. 

HUUUUUGE flirt, I think that is universally agreed upon, but I think 80% of the time he isn’t even trying to be flirty. Yeah... one of THOSE guys. 

Shanks has a competitive streak when it comes to the ladies, and that’s actually how he ended up chasing after you. Despite your massive crush on the pirate captain, you didn’t fawn over him and throw yourself at him like the other women – which he took as a challenge.  

Little did he know, he resorted to doing exactly that to win you over. Taking every opportunity, he could to make you laugh or blush (gods, the sight of you blushing really gets him going), growing more and more clingy the longer you fended off his affections. 

Finally hits his breaking point after a night of drinking with the boys, saunters up to your room blazing drunk after declaring he was going to give you the best lay of your life to make you fall in love with him. You answer his knock on the door and he drunkenly stumbles into your room and collapses on your bed, mumbling his professions of love for you as he slowly fell unconscious from the effects of the alcohol (he then wakes up confused the next morning why you both still have clothes on, and you have to break it to him that he fell asleep within minutes of coming into your room). 

From that moment on you two grow even closer, which results on both of you tiptoeing around a very fine line for some time, with both of you being too stubborn to be the first one to cross that line. 

Shanks, ever the competitive man, makes a bet with Benn and Yasopp that he’ll get you to cave first – and decides the best way to do so is to rile you up the easiest way he knows how. Besides, he loves how sassy you get when he makes you jealous.  

One night you are sitting at the bar while out with your crew, watching Shanks be his typical flirtatious self. 

One particular woman is trying VERY hard for his attention, and it rubs you the wrong way so you decide to interject yourself in their conversation. 

Shanks notices you getting jealous, so he pushes your buttons a bit more and keeps flirting with the waitress, which eventually causes you to head back to the ship early. 

Shanks didn’t realize just how upset you were until you left, so he comes to check on you when he gets back to the ship.  

You are still very much mad at him, even though you have no claim to him or his affections, and you start to feel embarrassed while yelling at him. 

“I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about your captain,” he teases you, his smirk making you both angry and even more embarrassed.  

You feel your cheeks flush and watch Shanks’ face turn devious (seeing you all worked up is practically his kryptonite). 

You cross your arms and offer him a glare, telling him it’s because he’s blind and that he only thinks with his dick. 

Shanks drops his chin and closes the gap between you two, pressing you up against the wall as he dips his lips down so they graze your ear as he speaks. 

“If I only thought with my dick, I would have had you bent over the command table the first day you joined the crew, pretty girl.” 

“If I only thought with my dick, I’d have you chained to my bed so no one else could ever get their fucking hands on you again.” 

“If I only thought with my dick, I’d ditch this dream of becoming King of the Pirates and spend every waking moment pumping you full of my seed, pretty girl.” 

Your body shivers despite the sweat building on both your bodies, and when Shanks finally pulls back enough to look at your face again, he thinks he might just come in his pants from how flustered you look. 

“Now, are you done being mad at me so I can get on my knees and apologize?” 

Words are not the only thing this man’s mouth is good at, to say the least. 

Spends the rest of the night apologizing to you, even long after you’ve forgiven him.  

After that night, he tones it back on the flirting – though he still gets a little out of control when he drinks a little too much. 

Always knows when to knock it off, however, and never comes close to crossing the line of being unfaithful to you. 

Should I do a part 2? 🤭 ✨come say hai :3✨

[tinum]

Can I request a fix where reader had heart surgery and they are kinda loopy after the anesthesia and just flirt with harumasa??? Ok it's not realistic to meet someone directly after surgery but I think it would be cute XD

Heartbeat - Harumasa x Reader

Warnings: Little bit of angst, probably incorrect portrayal of heart surgery, errors WordCount: 966 Notes: I felt like readers personality was closer to his in this fic but its okay because he was just worried!

When Harumasa first heard about your surgery from Soukaku, he could barely contain his anxiety. Thoughts of all the complications swirled in his brain, prompting him to reach for his phone with a shaky hand. He immediately texted Yanagi that he would not be going in to work for the day. She understood your situation, and though she wanted to respect your wishes, she knew Harumasa wouldn't back down. Not when it came to you.

Harumasa was no stranger to hospital visits; in fact, he was quite friendly with the staff. He knew the ins and outs, the sterile coldness, the checking in, the waiting. He sat for what seemed like hours, his leg bouncing in place and a deep pit in his stomach. Whenever a door opened, he would snap out of his trance, hoping it would be your doctor.

When the time to visit came, he was leading the doctor. The halls were practically mapped in his mind. A few turns down hallways and up an elevator would lead you to the recovery ward.

This ward in particular always left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. The walls seemed to be painted with such a vibrant hope: to heal and never return. His eyes had grown used to the colors; they'd grown dull and hope seemed like a foolish notion. Could it really be classified as recovery if coming back was the only outcome?

"We already administered them pain medication so they should be resting. Try not to do anything that'll increase their heart rate," the doctor advised. He nodded, not fully listening. It's not that he didn't care about protocol; no, he quite understood the importance of it. He just couldn't bear another moment wondering if you were okay. "They're strong. A full recovery is likely."

It was as if the doctor could sense his worry. Maybe he noticed his shaky palm reaching for the doorknob, or he was just doing his job. Either way, he had to see you.

Upon stepping into the room, a wave of frigid air struck his cheeks. It was dimly lit, the only light coming from the lines on a nearby monitor. You were lying on your side, slowly twisting upon hearing someone enter the room.

"Haru?" Your voice was hoarse.

He cringed at the weakness coming from you. In a way, it was painful to see you like this: frail and sick. "Hey, how you feeling?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.

"Like I just had surgery." He smiled at that, he supposed it was a good enough sign. You weren't the type to hide your struggle behind a cheesy joke like he did. He admired that about you.

A few moments pass before he speaks again. "I didn't know."

"I thought I hid it well enough. You weren't supposed to find out." You look up at him; his brows are furrowed and his eyes hold some sort of pain behind them. Maybe it was just the meds, but he seems more beautiful than ever.

"Soukaku told me," he lets out a sigh, "you can tell me anything, you know that, right?" Pulling a chair from the wall, he sets it next to your bed.

"I know. I just didn't want to worry you." Why at this moment did you decide to be selfless? Though he couldn't fault you. It was as if you had taken a page from his own book.

"I'd be worried either way," he murmured, letting his gaze fall under the weight of something tender. "I care about you."

"I don't get it, why are you so worried? It's just surgery." You laugh, a smile rising to your lips. It was rare that Harumasa was this soft. Usually, his tenderness would be waved off by an onslaught of jokes.

"I already said I care about you. You're practically family." His eyes analyze your face. He couldn't quite tell if you were being serious or just fishing for more heartfelt words.

You place a palm to your heart in mock hurt. "Ouch, Harumasa! Did you just family-zone me? That hurt more than the surgery!"

"Oh, c'mon. You know what I mean." His hand wraps around yours, nuzzling it into his cheek. He is warm, or the room is getting hotter. "I care about you. More than just a friend."

Harumasa doesn't miss the way your cheeks flare up or the sudden beeps from the monitor. He retracted his hand in a swift motion and stood up, his expression showing worry. "Are you all right?"

"What's wrong, Harumasa?" you smirk, wiggling your eyebrows at him. "Did you do something bad?"

Running a hand through his hair, he stares at the monitor. Your heartbeats slowed down and no doctors seemed to be rushing in. He was sure he was going to faint, the thought of possibly hurting you fresh in his mind.

"So, was that a confession?" You snap him out of his trance with your teasing voice. His eyes snap to yours, giving you an unimpressed look. You were going to give him a heart attack one of these days if you continued like this. The more he thought about it the more he didn't mind, maybe they'd put him in the room next to yours.

"You," He scoffs, flicking his finger against your forehead lightly, "need to get some rest."

"Aw, running already, Asaba?" As much as you tried to stifle it, a yawn slipped it's way out your throat. His gaze softened when he realized he was making the correct choice. You needed rest.

"Nah, just leaving before you make me do something that'll get me into trouble with your doctor." You didn't catch it from your angle, but his cheeks blushed with a quiet warmth of his own.

[genericpuff]

Hi there! 😄 Tysfm for compiling the LO brushes, being able to use them (non-commercially of course lol) makes me so friggin happy. 🙇���♀️ I have a few questions to ask about them though:

Which brush did RS use for laying down color before shading/effects? In the Rekindled tutorial, you use the Lineart Brush for laying down flats, but I'm not sure if what I said in the previous sentence is the same thing as flats (I've been drawing my whole life, but I didn't start taking digital seriously until very recently lol 🤦‍♀️).

When the Splatter Versa brush was used in S1, there are varying oval shapes as well as several other non-ovular shapes that I don't see when I use the brush. Were there other similar brushes used with different shapes? Or am I just doing something wrong with the brush settings? The other shapes look more wilted than the other petal shapes.

Which brush was used for the usual thick, varying lineart? (It's most noticeable with the lines in hair in mid-S1 esp.) This brush isn't really textured, so I'm a bit confused which one in particular it is.

Sorry for being annoying, I'm just not tech-savvy and very intimidated by all the technical aspects of digital drawing lol ("Wtf are 'blending modes'?" /hj). 🙇‍♀️

Hey there, no problem!! I'm glad people are getting use out of them!

Though I'm not entirely sure as it clearly changed often throughout the course of the first season, the Gouache a Go Go brush and Hard Pastel both have those "crunchier" textures that you can see in some panels. There are also watercolor brushes that she used to blend the edges in some bigger panels.

Could you send me an example of a panel? Just so then I can actually see it and mess around with some things and give you a better answer haha That said, if I had to take a guess, either she messed with the brush control / tilt settings in Photoshop, or she may have used the Warp / Liquify tools to warp them intentionally to achieve that "petal" look. But again, send me a pic of the panels in question if you can and I can take a closer look :>

As mentioned previously, an example would help a lot here, but I do know what you're saying that some panels had very thick, varied lineart. Rachel has gone on record on two separate occasions that she used the Gouache Wet Pencil / Wet Round brush from the Kyle Webster Pack. Though the Hard Square Pastel brush can also achieve similar effects. Note that the Wet Round brush is a dual-sizing brush - if you adjust the brush size, you have to also adjust the particle size in tandem, otherwise you'll get a bigger brush size with more scattered/diluted particles. Though this effect IS very helpful for shading!

As mentioned, Rachel has mentioned some of the brushes she's used, and though it's not necessarily relevant to what you're looking for specifically, she's also mentioned these brushes in old FAQ's, specifically the Wet Round brush for lineart.

Here are some examples I whipped up real quick based on some of the panels that specifically depict thick lineart and textured coloring:

Mind you, these are all my best guesses, based on what Rachel has provided and what I've both dug up and been provided by other contributors who have pointed me in the right direction.

Unfortunately, while LO's art style is unique, it also makes it very difficult to reverse-engineer because throughout the comic (esp in S1 when she was still experimenting) while she did clearly have some "favorites" out of the bunch, she also just kind of went off "vibes" a lot of the time, treating every panel as an individual painting. And while that did lend to some of LO's most beautiful panels throughout S1, it also created a lot of whiplash between stylization because after doing one panel with thick lineart and bold texturing, she'd do another with watercolors and softer edges.

That's also not taking into account the software she was using - many of these brushes were designed exclusively with the Photoshop brush engine in mind, not Clip Studio, so they may not work entirely as intended if you use them in Clip Studio or some other non-Photoshop software. We also have to consider other factors like canvas resolution, texture effects added afterwards (such as that canvas overlay), and other adjustable settings within the brushes themselves that Rachel may have tweaked, including the pressure sensitivity, particle size/density, thickness, etc. All of which we can't really truly know, so we can only settle for our closest guess.

This is half the challenge - and fun - of trying to emulate her art style, because even she clearly didn't follow any strict rules 😅 Unfortunately it leaned more towards worse as time went on as it was clear the assistants themselves were given very little guidance or consistency (or at least, didn't have the time to settle on a happy medium) resulting in panels that are even more distinctly out of place as they were being swapped between different artists with different backgrounds and styles.

All that aside, I hope that helps! I do admittedly have to update that brush pack again, I feel like there are a handful of brushes I've found since then that could also be added, but I'd also like to update the included instructions to better reflect what I've learned since then regarding each brush and how they could be used. Ultimately though, they're yours to experiment with! Mess around, adjust the sizes and density and pressure settings, all of these things can contribute to the overall look.

Good luck! <3

[poppitron360]

Big “I’m Back, Bitch” post after my Hiatus.

Hello All!

This is kinda just intended for close moots or anyone who was worried about me or is interested in Poppi’s Personal Life Lore, just to keep you guys up to speed on how I’m doing after some time away and what to expect from me in 2025.

SO MUCH has happened in the two months I was away from Tumblr so for starters, here is a brief list of updates I have about My life/Fandoms/General shenanigans in no particular order

- The Ithaca Saga came out and it was AMAZING. I completely ignored my stockings that Xmas morning and instead just listened to it. By the time Christmas day was over I’d already listened to it about six times.

- Yes I was at the watch party along with 206,000 other people. It was truly historical.

- The Helluva Boss sinsmas special came out and almost made me cry. It’s been a while since I was posting about that show, but dw I still watch it

- I’m now on book 3 of Magnus Chase and YES YOU WERE ALL ABSOLUTELY CORRECT I LOVE ALEX SO MUCHHHHH. Expect some Alex Fierro/Fierrochase/Jack x Riptide content from me soon

- The Star Wars Disney+ shows are better than they’ve been since Mandolorian Season One.

- HAPPY 2025!!! This can’t be a real year. 2017 was still last year. No way we’re halfway through the 20s already.

- I had a BIG LIFE UPDATE that for personal reasons I can’t share online but it was BIG and also GOOD and I’m really proud of it. It was also unexpected and not the reason I took time off for. Idk why I’m including this bc I can’t really say anything about it but I need y’all to know that something good happened. It seems like when I vent about personal stuff here I only talk about the bad but good stuff does happen sometimes too.

- I got a weighted blanket for xmas. It’s so cozy and I love it.

- I have started getting into making OCs. Some for fandoms, some not.

- Penelope is now my favourite character in Epic.

- I’ve been writing this fanfic about the children of Percabeth, Solangelo, and Valgrace going on a TLT-style quest together so stay tuned to either read that or watch me give up on it and then just infodump about the plot I would’ve written if I’d had the energy

- I’m finally caught up on The Amazing Digital Circus

- I’m finally caught up on Agatha All Along (I still have the last episode to watch)- I think Joe Locke is stuck playing Sad Gay Baby-bois for the rest of his carrer now.

- Joel Smallishbeans won Wild Life and Grian is making 7hr Hermitcraft videos now.

- I performed in a play

- I have a 133-day streak on Duolingo!!

- Technically my one year Hyperfixation anniversary of Percy Jackson! I count it as the first Wednesday after Christmas as that’s when I watched the TLT musical for the first time. Because of this, whenever I doodle an SPQR tattoo on my arm when I’m bored, I will now draw two lines under it instead of one.

- Less than one month into 2025 and I can already predict that “The Challenge” is gonna be my top song of the year on Spotify

- Overall, I’ve just been trying my best to relax and take it easy, and I think I succeeded, which is good because that’s what I needed.

Now for the slightly less lighthearted stuff. I need to set a few things straight, for myself more than anything.

Firstly, I want to clarify that mentally I'm fine. I realise my leave was sudden and might’ve worried some people, and I apologise, but I am safe. You don't have to worry about my health or wellbeing.

This too will pass, and you'll get more dedicated, hyperobsessed Poppi back again once this has all blown over. Although, the aforementioned “BIG GOOD LIFE UPDATE” might complicate things.

Holidays are a stressful time for me, as I’m sure they are for you. With that on top of work and life stuff I needed to shed some mental load and unfortunately Tumblr was the first thing to go. And it will be the first thing to go again when something else stressful shows up. Adulting is hard you guys.

I've made it no secret that I've had some stressful stuff going on in my life these past few months. Yes, I am back from hiatus. Yes, I'm taking the time to rest and take care of myself. But I do not have the physical capacity to fully administrate a Tumblr blog on top of everything else right now.

So from now on, things are gonna be a little bit different around here. I won't be making posts every day and I won't be writing large fanfics or working on any complex fanarts.

I will need to take more hiatuses as things pile up.

I don’t know when exactly, but consider it a fact (unless I say otherwise) that this will happen again.

I know a lot of you will be understanding but I want to set these rules for myself so I don't feel any pressure from my brain to provide for you all. As I'm sure most of you will relate, I have a kinda all-or-nothing attitude to my interests, and as of this point in my life I can't afford to give my all to my blog. So expect a lot less from me these next few months.

Also, still nothing on the Autism Assessment Application stuff, in case anyone was wondering about that. This is the reality of living under the NHS. But by talking to people I’ve still been able to get the help and support that I need regardless of a diagnosis. And I also have a bunch of fidget toys now!!

Anyhoo, sorry for the ramble. I neither assume nor expect everyone will bother reading this so thank you for taking the time if you did. I wanted to put all of this in one post so I don’t need to keep talking about this and boring y’all with personal details in case you’re not interested. On with the fun fandom fiascos!!

I thank you all for your patience and being so kind and considerate while I needed some rest. I could not hope for a more awesome corner of the internet to exist on. Love you all. Stay safe. I’ll see you soon!

— Poppi <3

@lavenderfairiez @ginnyluna @groverapologist @echo-stimmingrose @demigod-shenanigans @keefessketchbook @sleepyycapybara @123letsgobestie @fairytalesociology @four-leafed-queer-gal @child-of-helios @puzzled-pegasus @ollieisanerd @twomanyfandomshelp @lokiwiiiiiii @yoshuko-ew @frayna-of-the-hollow @via-rant @hadeslegacyhephgirl @pjowasmy1stfandom @thetourturedwritersclub @m-for-now @inky-void @deciduowl

[skyfallscotland]

Things I loved about Onyx Storm, in no particular order 🖤⚡️

This is an addendum to my overall review post—there’s also one about the things that I didn’t like here.

I do love ride or die riorgail, even if their characters didn't feel quite right to me (dare I say fanon-esque?). In any case, threatening people for the one they love? 10/10, would eat it up every time.

The dragons being every rider's first love? It won't be a surprise to you if you've read BRV but I adore this take so much.

She was the first to choose me, to elevate me above all others, the first to see every ugly side of me and accept it all, and every single person in this fucking canyon will die before they remove a single one of her scales.

Ok then!

And Violet?

“You see, that’s my little one.”

I'm crying!!

Tairn and Andarna? Like that's her father!!!

“Do not go any deeper than your claws!” Tairn lectures, his tail nearly taking out a tree when he pivots to watch her go. “I swear, if you get in over your head, I’ll let you drown.”

Their every interaction made me:

Except for this one, which had me tearing up!

Tairn cranes his neck forward and growls. “You will not raise your voice to her.” Andarna turns her head and narrows her eyes at Tairn. “Do not ruin this for me.” Hurt stabs through the bond and Tairn recoils, his head drawing back to cover Ridoc and me.

Then there's Sgaeyl—mother!!!

“You are an inconvenience for which there is no adequate measurement.”

She wasn't talking to Xaden all book (v upsetti spaghetti) but she still would defend him with her life because she's mum!!

“Tell her the truth. He loathes her,” Tairn suggests. “As does Sgaeyl. The life-giver is lucky she wasn’t scorched this morning, though I do believe Sgaeyl is still contemplating her options.”

Speaking of mothers, I both hated and loved the Hedotis chapters. I really enjoyed them, I thought they were fun, Violet channeled the twin she doesn't know she has (lol iykyk) which was in my opinion out of character for her (threatening someone's kids???) but despite the lack of character growth to get there, I still really enjoyed this sequence for all its emotional aspects.

“How does she”—he points to the door—“ deserve my ten minutes when she fed me chocolate cake on my tenth birthday and vanished later that night? I am the fulfillment of a contract for her. Nothing more. I don’t give a shit how she looks at me, or whatever bullshit she undoubtedly spewed at you. The only reason we’re in her house is because she’s married to one of the triumvirate, and I have no problem using that to get what we need.”

I don't know how chocolate cake is still his favourite food because that would ruin me. (It just did).

Violet's protectiveness in this sequence was everything though! 😭 Fuck you, Talia!

“What I need is for Xaden to be all right. If that means setting this house on fire and leaving without accomplishing anything else on this isle, then I’ll hand him a torch.”

Onto other characters, Ridoc is still hilarious and honestly his humour and one-liners saved my reading experience from being downright terrible, same with Cam—sorry CamLAEN! (lol)

Once again, I really thought she might kill Ridoc for a second there (this is very much a flipped Iron Flame re-write in some aspects lmao) but thankfully for everyone involved, she didn't.

"Violet was out of control. She kicked a queen’s ass and poisoned Xaden’s mom and all three Hedotic heads of state, but secured us an army.”

“Oh, and just so we’re clear, that strike up there wasn’t”—he gestures between us—“ you know. Us.” He flinches. “I mean, it was us because I pissed her off, but it wasn’t us… us, if you know what I’m saying.”

Confirmation everyone knows about the lightning storms.

The representation—as someone living through Australian summer, I really appreciated that POTS was represented more thoroughly in the hot climate of the Isles, though it was still never actually touched on (I think there could have been a line in there explaining why it was relevant/what was happening in her body and that she wasn't just tired) but still, happy to see it there and (don't take this the wrong way but) maybe to see Violet struggle more, just a little.

Then there's Dain.

Dain! My boy, my baby. He was 110% done with everyone and I'm so here for it. He was going through it!

“Was that a compliment? What the fuck is going on?” Dain asks, his gaze flying to mine. “Did you give him something?”

Dain puts both hands up, palms outward at his chest. “How in all that’s holy am I to blame for this?”

“Love wasting my time,” Dain mutters, then shoves the small booklet I recognize as the language compendium for Unnbriel into the chest pocket of his flight jacket.

Aaric sighs from beside Xaden, then proceeds to speak like he was freaking born here. Dain looks ready to murder him.

I also got my wish for him and Sloane, which was unexpected but appreciated! (I created tags for not one but TWO of the ships in this book and I am so stoked about it!). It also makes Rebecca's TS song choice of The Prophecy for him make a lot more sense.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Xaden calls up at Dain as he dismounts, but my focus firmly locks over Brennan’s shoulder. “Following her ass,” Dain replies.

“I don’t coddle first-years anymore, so train. Your. Signet.” “Asshole,” she whispers, and the flush in her cheeks deepens.

I love them, your honour. I would read whole books about them.

Speaking of—

“What the fuck are we going to do with that thing for the rest of the trip?” “Her name is Broccoli, not that,” he mutters.

These two (three?) are iconic and I want more of them. I want Mira recovering from her injuries and Drake coming to check on her and dumping a kitten on her chest, and Mira pretending she doesn't like Broccoli but secretly finding her comforting and letting her stay (and him, too, because it's love).

Professor Riorson. God this was ridiculous and I hated it, but it made me laugh.

The normally sweet drink tastes bitter in my throat.

Absolutely fan service but I'm positive it made us all groan aloud at the same time, which was amusing.

“Agreed,” Ridoc says. “And it’s always the same fight.” He lifts his hand to his chest. “I’ll trust you if you stop keeping secrets!” He drops the hand and scowls. “It’s my secretive nature that attracted you, and why can’t you just stay out of harm’s way for five fucking minutes?”

“You could hyphenate,” Garrick suggests. “Or combine? Riorgail? Sorrenson?”

Also, fan service, which, did I like it? No, but I laughed at (because otherwise I'd cry so).

And then there were lines like this, that made me absolutely tear up and hit me in the feels:

But something is broken between here”—he taps the side of his head—“ and here”—he repeats the motion above his heart. “And I can’t control it.

He cups the back of my neck and pulls me within inches of his face—close enough to kiss. “I could reach the rank of Maven, lead armies of dark wielders against everyone we care for, and watch every vein in my body turn red as I channel all the power in the Continent, and I would still love you. What I did doesn’t change that. I’m not sure anything can.”

So yeah, even if my overall experience was messy and chaotic, and perhaps not the best it could be, I did still love parts of it and find some of it enjoyable. I'm trying to change my mindset for a re-read, but I think it's best if I have some space before I try again.

In the meantime, what was your favourite thing? 🖤

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Hii, I asked you a question about spiritual qi being transferred. Thanks for replying!

Also I'm a bit shocked. Mo Xuanyu and Jin Guangyao did not develop a golden core yet? I didn't know oh my goodness! I might have missed this in the novel. Do you know where it says so? I need to bookmark this. Or is it only explicitly said so in the interview with mxtx?

Man this makes me view Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng in a way different light. If I remember correctly, Wei Wuxian punched a few meters into the ground while in Mo Xuanyu's body. So the fact that he did it without a core and with a weakened body like Mo Xuanyu's... he's an absolute monster XD. What can't this man do?

And it makes Jiang Cheng a loser even more. He lost to a physical fight with Jin Guangyao XD. Jiang Cheng literally wasted Wei Wuxian's golden core at this point.

(I really really hate you tumblr erasing my posts I work on mid sentence 💜) sighhhhh round two of this:

Hi again anon!

Chapter 1 and 2 of the web serialization and chapter 1 of the published version:

Hanzi:

然而,尚未等到莫玄羽修仙有成、继承他父亲 的家业,他就被赶了回来。

而且是被极其难看地赶了回来。因为莫玄羽是 个断袖,还胆大包天地骚扰纠缠同门,这丑事被当 众捅破,再加上天资平平,修为无所建树,也就没 有让他继续留在家族中的理由了。

My translation:

However, before Mo Xuanyu could even succeed in cultivating like an immortal to inherit his father's position, he was driven back.

In an extremely brutal way at that. Mo Xuanyu was a cut sleeve, he had been so bold as to harrass his fellow disciples and the scandal became public knowledge. Additionally, he was of mediocre talent with no achievements in cultivation, so there was no reason for the clan to keep him.

Sevenseas:

ExR:

(Remember that immortal part in particular because his mother had bragged specifically about Mo Xuanyu achieving immortality as a cultivator and expecting him to be the fastest at it just before this passage when Jin Guangshan summoned Mo Xuanyu to Lanling Jin)

Secondly:

Hanzi:

他索性先打坐一阵,适应新舍。这一坐就是一 整天。睁眼时,有阳光从门缝窗隙漏入屋中。虽然 能起身行走,却仍头昏眼花,不见好转。魏无羡心 中奇怪:“这莫玄羽修为低得那点灵力可以忽略不 计,没道理我驾驭不了这具肉身,怎么这般不好 使?”

直到腹中传来异响,他才明白根本不关修为灵 力的事,只不过是这具不辟谷的身体饿了而已。他 再不去觅食,说不定就要成为有史以来头一位刚被 人请上身就立刻活活饿死的厉鬼邪神。

My Translation:

He decided he would simply meditate a bit to adapt to his new accommodations*. He sat there almost the entire day. When he opened his eyes, sunlight seeped through the cracks of the door and the windows. Although he could stand up and walk, he felt dizzy without it seeming to ease. Wei Wuxian was puzzled, "This Mo Xuanyu's cultivation is so nonexistent any spiritual power might as well be ignored. It doesn't make sense why I can't control this body. Why is it so difficult?"

Until he heard a strange sound from his stomach, he realized that it had nothing to do with cultivation and spiritual power. It was just that this body hadn't practiced inedia, and was hungry. If he didn't seek out food, he might just become the first evil ghost in history to starve to death as soon as he was summoned to possess someone.

(*That first line is pretty funny because Wei Wuxian literally does refer to the body as a new residence/dwelling)

Sevenseas:

ExR:

Now in terms of this, I guess you could say it requires to know some general cultivation conventions (personally why I don't suggest MDZS as a first time cultivation read as well as it being a deconstruction of the tropes). If Mo Xuanyu had achieved forming a golden core, even a low level one, he would be able to practice inedia as that is one of the first things learned by cultivators once a foundation level is achieved. Mo Dao Zu Shi also just... mashes the first three stages of cultivation ( qi formation, foundation level and golden core) into one base at immediate golden core at young age.

We also get told Mo Xuanyu is summoned at the age of fourteen, but did not stay long enough to learn the cultivation to form that essential core (in this jianghu it is pertinent to form these cores early otherwise it is next to impossible unless you are EXCEPTIONALLY talented). If Mo Xuanyu had formed a core his spiritual power should at least be somewhat of note and it is not. No one with a golden core or uses spiritual energy often should be lacking in spiritual prowess as he is. MXTX's interview just reiterates this all.

As for the Jiang Cheng matter... well... Wen Ning was right to say he was lacking despite being given a prodigious core...

[kiefbowl]

X axis and Y axis are clearly labeled, second chart does that okay I guess. Each part of the uterine wall and lining different colors with a key to the side clearly labeling the parts, including the folds which should not be the same color as the general background (think the difference between white and an off white). If the purpose is to demonstrate the changes day by day, then each day labeled with thin lines that make the difference between the days readable day by day. If the purpose is to be a general change as the month goes, then each phase labeled below the x axis, but there has to be some designation as to why the look of the folds are changing as the cycle moves forward. An actual name to the chart that explains what the person is looking at. i.e. "Changes in the Uterine Lining through the Menstrual Cycle" instead of "Menstrual Cycle."

I am very very curious what the first chart of this kind looked like, who's credited with it, and where it was published, but I'm having trouble finding any information about that because...I don't know what these charts are supposed to be called besides "Uterine Lining Chart" because they're not ever named anything in particular. I hope someone can school me and does know, but I have a feeling my problem in the charts lies in the fact that that information is disregarded, and most people reproduce these for profit with very little interest in how "good" they are.

can I admit something gyns?

[dollsahoy]

In the early 2000s, there was somebody whose user name I can't remember (seems like it had to do with flying pigs?) who sold custom dolls on eBay

The dolls were all fashion dolls, and the seller's Big Thing was creating sort of Fantasy Fairy costumes entirely from beads. The beading seemed detailed and competent, but I couldn't really judge because neither I nor any of my online doll friends did beading like that

What my online friends and I did do was paint dolls, and we could not contain our snark over the fact that this person was very obviously repainting these dolls with paint markers--early 2000s paint markers, so they would have been enamel and not very fine point

Well, actually, we did contain our snark to within our chats, but apparently some people had reached out to the seller and--hopefully gently--suggested that acrylic would be a better paint to use (again, this was the early 2000s, so the kind of 'layers of pastels and sealant' faceups didn't really exist yet)

And we knew this because the seller thanked them for the suggestion, because the seller had found that switching to acrylic paint was indeed better! ...as the dolls continued to be painted with the exact same thick-line look that the paint markers had created

I never knew if the seller was being passive aggressive--in fact, my (and my doll group's) snark was so high that I don't think it occurred to any of us that it could possibly have been done as an act of snark itself, instead of "completely obliviously," which just led to more snark

And of course we couldn't accept that people were happy to buy these dolls, no, we had to mock the idea of them, too, for buying those dolls whose paint we didn't like. I can't remember if we considered that people might have changed the dolls' heads (the clothes were probably not removable), or if we just assumed that the people buying them were oblivious to the crudeness that we saw in the repaints

And we weren't mocking that seller's work out of jealousy or envy--just about every person in that doll group was regularly selling dolls we'd repainted, too. If anything, that made us feel like were were more qualified to be experts in judging this other person's work, and other people's tastes

We were all horribly misguided, of course

I did not learn anything from that particular experience, and it would be years before I started to comprehend that "cruelty" and "humor" are not the same, and the idea of "not for me, move on" is the best way to approach things like that, especially when it's an individual artist. (incorporated entities who are making things they want as many people as possible to buy...might not get as much grace)

Anyway. I did eventually start trying to be kind, and have found that it did indeed become easier to be kind without so much effort

The snark does remain, just not so...rampant... And I know there are people out there whose image of me (positive or negative) is perpetually fixed in that cruel snark era. I can't do any more about that than I can do about when people have tastes different from mine. It's fine.

[hockeyspiral23]

... in rereading bits of FW while editing ttios, the amount of unhinged theories I am now coming up with are RIDICULOUS.

(Onyx Storm spoilers - a virtual fucking novel - below the cut)(has been edited since first posted)

In no particular order ...

Barlowe knowing accurate things about the feathertails at Threshing - like that the breed abhors violence and won't fight - and going to kill it. Now, given that we know that Panchek was working on the inside, do we believe that he is where Jack got his info? That, given the apparent super sneaky venin living in the walls (... money is still good on daddy Aetos there too), they knew to try and kill the feathertail once it was known to exist because of the wards somehow? Venin long game of taking down Basgiath's wards so they can't restore them since no seventh breed?

Xaden always telling Violet she'll be the death of him. Well, she has been ... the death of his soul, at least. Also given all the god talk, there's completely going to be some literal bargain with Malek to save him (if he gets saved). I'm guessing that Malek might be the other god to which she could dedicate herself. Though, with Xaden saying "it's always you" to Violet since she's in the middle of shit all the time, that could be an unfortunate side effect of her partial dedication to Dunne.

Which, leading up to that last little point, with that ending, how the fuck is the next book going to be a romantasy with the main couple separated? Unless we're really going to get an Imrrick story (if, of course, Garrick isn't the new brother).

In the very first class of Dragonkind, Kaori says you'd be ash if you ever tried to get close to the Vale and Violet mentions some girl with a rebellion relic pulling down her sleeve. Interesting tidbit, but we ignore it, right? But then, in Onyx Storm, Brennan LITERALLY MENTIONS taking Xaden to sit by dragon eggs in what is presumably Aretia's response to the Vale. So what, do dragons let relic riders near them? Does Brennan get the same courtesy afforded to him due to the rune on his hand? (which, don't get me started on that mystery we still need a fucking answer for ...)

Another reason why I think Xaden saved Sgaeyl? Because if Sgaeyl dies, so does Tairn and then so does Violet. In IF, Tairn says that Sgaeyl would be emotionally inconvenienced if the shadow wielder died, but doesn’t directly answer Violet when she asks him if she’s just an emotional inconvenience to him. So killing Xaden? Might not kill Violet, but the other way around was pretty drummed into us, as was the interdependence of mated dragons’ lives.

Xaden's "there's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you" line is COMPLETELY going to come into play now with the Onyx Storm ending. Mostly because, given the GMA interview RY did today, she said she fought with her editors to get the ending she wanted which to me, means ending on Violet's POV as opposed to Xaden's POV like the previous two books. What do we get in Violet's POV? A note from the man saying don't look for him. We also learn from RY at the release party she attended that that specific line is still her favorite (either line completely or just of Xaden's) from the series. Violet may not look for him, but you don't think that Xaden's going to still be able to find her?

She'll probably still be able to contact him though, and probably through her dreams (that dream-walking signet is a foresighted signet for her not because she needed to know what her NON-DREAMING DRAGON WAS DREAMING ABOUT JEEBUS, but because she'll need to contact Xaden still and dreams are going to be the way she does it. If, of course, venin sleep. Which ... do they?

Or due to the compass. We might be getting a PotC thing there with that ... which ... I don't know how I feel about that.

Harkening back two points ... if he's ever on a battlefield, I believe that he still won't harm Violet solely because of the ch.48 epigraph about an entire village being decimated by venin except for one house because the venin doing the decimating was the dude's wife. (which, speaking of Xaden's love declaration in this book, he's totally gonna become a Maven or something, isn't he?)

While I'm here ... I think Bodhi might be the new brother. Mostly because I think he turned to work on the venin from the inside, to use his signet-countering signet on the venin themselves. Also because in the Imogen chapter, she also watches blue fire from a wyvern "roll down Cuir's neck, extinguishing to smoke before they reach him." She makes it sound due to the angle, but what if it's because Bodhi was able to counter the fire at that point? Also, Cuir is pretty badly injured at this point, so it's plausible. And even though Bodhi might have the good reasoning for turning, it could also make sense why he's puking after, upset at his decision. And Garrick might just be missing since he had to walk during that missing 12 hours and didn't have the energy to walk back yet.

Liam's ice wielding ... like the fuck? Does this mean that Sloane is going to develop a second signet too? Or that she won't because there was only one other dragon rider descendant in her family and that dragon is dead because they bonded Liam, and she only said the stuff in IF because Thoirt was explaining secret shit to her?

The dragons are going to end up being a big bad somehow. You don't have the line from the Fables about demonizing dragons and then learning that they draw from the source themselves - plus all the talk from the venin and the Isles and even the damn Irids as well as tidbits in quite a few of the epigraphs - without realizing some shit is going to down with them. (Also, need I also continually say that this series is the Empyrean series - so many of our questions are going to be solved due to the fucking dragons).

But also, do the gryphons then also draw the same way the dragons do? But the magic balance is better there because they also die with their bonded flier?

There's a theory on the RQ Discord server that gemstones are going to come into play and I agree with that, if only also because of the seemingly random throwaway line about Poromish gemstones during the Parapet info dump. Plus during the triumvirate dinner, one of them brought a piece of jade - a gemstone - onto the table when it looked like negotiations were going well and put it back into her lap when things went to shit again. Not to mention the citrine necklace, the ruby one Cat was given on Zehyllna, the onyx and amethyst and other mentions of random gems throughout the series ...

I'm also going to guess particularly with emeralds, since the venin want a specific thing as well - ch.50 dream - "You will bring what I want ... or she dies. I'm through waiting, and I will not allow her to win such a prize." If you harken back to ch.6, Xaden extracts a promise from Violet - "Swear you'll sound the alarm if I go too far, that you'll keep it safe, even if it's from me." I don't believe it's Tyrrendor, since Tyrrendor is always referred to as a she. Her ring has an emerald that she thinks is from the Blade of Aretia and the emerald-hilted Sword of Tyrrendor keeps appearing in Xaden's dreams. Are the weapons a matched set? Plus the sword almost comes into play in negotiations with the Deverelli. There's SOMETHING with those two weapons somehow. Plus Xaden's keeping the Blade of Aretia in his gift from Zihnal ...

Speaking of RY and things she's said recently ... someone we love will die in book four. This ... is obvious. Given the Rhiannon and Imogen chapters - and the fact (I think) that she'd like to write their stories eventually - I think those two are safe. We've had Ridoc scares the last two books - the arrows in IF and the kitchen jump-scare in OS - so I hope it's not him, but RY also really adores Ridoc so ... she might. BUT ALSO, it could mean metaphorical death given the whole new mystery venin brother of Xaden's (less likely, but hey).

Going back to things from FW/IF that I'm surprised haven't come more into light ... General Daramor and the original army from the Barrens. I'm a little surprised Violet hasn't tried looking for non-censored texts about that from Tecarus's library.

Speaking of Tecarus ... do we think he's secretly working with the venin as well? Mighty suspicious that the most indefensible palace known to man and its city are like the one non-drained area in like the entirety of fucking Poromiel ...

Some of the things that seemed random are coming to light and I don't know if it's that she's retconning as some have pointed out or if her plotting of the whole series truly is *that* detailed and her editors have just done her no favors when it's come to pacing and worldbuilding. Or she's done herself no favors with it given when she wants the info dumps for all of us.

Not theory related, but worth commenting on since I'm here ranting ... the ship names? I jokingly poked fun at that in viayn so to see it in actual text? I just don't know. Also, I know everyone's getting Drake/Mira out of this, but there's also potential Mira/Syrena too since Mira white-knuckles her pack when Aetos informs Cat she's closer in line to the throne and they're all wondering if it's Syrena who's dead.

Regardless of it all ... the one thing I think we can ALL agree on is book four? Better have some Broccoli. And I'm convinced Ridoc also helped Drake come up with that name.

[autistichalsin]

I am not sure if you have made a post in depth about it or not, but knowing that there are many different types of autism/autistic traits, is there any specific trait(s) that you attribute to Halsin? I am just curious because of your URL and would love to know more about your headcanon!

Yeah, I have made posts about it! I don't have links at the moment but some of my favorites are:

Being unnerved by the phrase "I'm all ears"

Taking "you can say that again" literally

Being confused if rejected and thinking you asking about his lovers was flirting

In the platonic path dialogue, the way he just declares you friends

In the same scene, him not realizing the player snarking about him inviting himself along was telling him to get lost, and instead sheepishly apologizing for it

His special interest is nature and animals

He has lines about finding the noise of the city overwhelming

He has a history with Thaniel, a fey boy

He has a rapport with children and animals in particular, which many autistic people do

He gets VERY awkward when he's asked about himself, not knowing what to say and self-deprecatingly says his love of nature and animals is probably well-trodden territory already

I could go on for hours tbh lol

[autumnwhistles]

Lyric Breakdown in my Last Life (mainly Martyn-centric) song, "Corners of the World"

'Abridged' version here, and longer analysis (ft. a lot of Martyn character analysis... and also the full lyrics I'm actually talking about) under the cut.

"I'll lie, double cross to best them all" is yet again a reference to a line from Martyn's Last Life teaser poem ("Surpass them all/Take friends for foes"), which was from the perspective of the Watchers (and was previously referenced by them in the first song, Middle of Nowhere). Martyn using this phrasing hints that the Watchers already hold some influence over him, hence the outline of the lyrics flashing purple in the video!

"Walls, corners, edges" is taken from Martyn's speech after Ren's beheading (as is the title of this song, for the same reason):

"You took me in when I was a lowly traveler, going across the land, searching the four corners of this world. I learned there was nothing in this world for me – nothing but walls, corners, edges. And you know what, you showed me life. As much as I’ve taken it from you, you gave it back to me in buckets’ fulls."

The point here is that, after the events of 3rd Life, Martyn's reverted back to that previous worldview. That life he was shown clearly meant something to him, but ultimately, its price was far too high. So now, he's deliberately separating himself from a mindset that would allow him to care too much about others and feel that same pain: the world is walls and edges; the people in it are figures to use for his own benefit, not to care about; the world does not hold those buckets' fulls of life. As we see with his reactions to the Southlands' fall, he doesn't really end up being successful in this (and it's a major topic of exploration throughout the musical) – but it doesn't mean he doesn't want or try to be.

Of course, the wordplay this verse ("You'll be cornered in the corners, and on edge in many more/And walls you'll build and walls you'll raise(/raze), and walls will fall in war") is to establish Martyn's strengths in that area. Getting the voice right is an important part of musical characterisation too!

"Keep it a void you're fighting for" is either dramatic irony or foreshadowing depending on how much you know of his lore. Martyn's only referring to not fighting for anyone else's sake here, but between the seasons the players do spend their time falling through the void (while unconscious) – regardless of whether they win or lose. By fighting to win, you are just fighting for that same void... which of course, Martyn doesn't know (because surely winning means something). If he knew nothing changes after you win, the incentive to win would be much weaker, and I'd argue we do see that in c!Martyn post-Limited Life. But despite his cynicism and distrust, he's still naïve to this particular cruelty of the world... :) i mean lore-wise if you win a fragment of your soul does get protected but 1) no bearing on last life and so on this musical whatsoever, and 2) how is c!martyn supposed to know that even after his win

"Careful with the name you pick/Don't want it to get flamed" is (as the editing hopefully makes clear) a pun – 'you don't want your name to be made fun of', and 'your tree fort is flammable'. This is again meant to establish Martyn's quick wit as well as progressing the song/storyline, and as well as showing us him messing with people, which he very much likes to do! (I am also aware Cleo was the one who informed Lizzie, but I had to streamline various things for the sake of the medium – this is both a Martyn character establishment song and an intro to the world and various figures in it, so it's easier if Martyn is the one who introduces that to those figures (and for us to get more information about Martyn based on how he interacts with them). And Lizzie's reaction to that information was something I wanted to keep in)

Of course Skizz and Etho were in the Red Army too, Martyn's just being cheeky/faking indignation here (if there'd been space, I'd have given Skizz a line of protest, but from a musical standpoint I preferred the instant transition into Scar's section). But guys.... BEST/Dogwarts parallels... guys.....

"(...)I'll lead, not play a pawn"/"(...)little pawn" (sung simultaneously, the first by Martyn and the second by the Watchers) is a callback to the first song, Middle of Nowhere, in which there's a section of randomised lives being given out. The first line there is "Four for the traitor, four for the pawn", and this confirms/establishes 'the pawn' as referring to Martyn (referencing what he's treated as by the Watchers). Note that here Martyn's desire 'to lead' refers to being in control of his actions and not deferring to anyone, not specifically to leading an alliance. Of course, Martyn's part is full of dramatic irony on his behalf :)

Those are the 'flashier' lines and word choices I especially wanted to highlight. Now, for the version with way more character analysis!

As mentioned, Corners of the World is Martyn's – our main character's – introductory song. Regardless of whether it counts as an 'I Want' song or not (it's a bit nebulous, because yes, he does express things he wants – to win, to be in contol of his own actions and not at others' whims. But for me, the more important part of the song is what he doesn't want to do, what things he's distancing himself from that he's presumably done before, and the questions and implications that arise from that. And the core of that is explored slightly later on), it's going to be our first impression of him as a character. The traits and worldview established here will be viewed as important, and will form the basis of his arc throughout the musical.

Because of that, the two verses focus on establishing that inital worldview (as well as establishing what he's aiming for):

MARTYN (Verse 1) Right, here I go again — new world, another start. New chance to see who’ll reach the end, and who will fall apart Well, won’t be me – this time I’ll be the very last to fall No care for cost, I’ll lie, double cross to best them all

So we know he wants to survive and win the game (especially after not doing so last time), we know he's willing to play dirty to achieve that and definitely should not be trusted. We know he's under no impression that this is anything other than a death game (or death match, to quote his Limited Life self) – he doesn't hide from the knowledge that people will fall apart, that only one person will be left standing. Importantly, this means he's playing the game exactly as intended, with no intentions of defying it or even deviating slightly* from what the first song has expressed to be the goal (to 'best'/'surpass' everyone else). Even as he expresses the wish to play for himself, he's already committed himself to following others' unseen rules.

Walls, corners, edges, I’ve been this way before. You’ll be cornered in the corners, and on edge in many more; And walls you’ll build and walls you’ll raise(/raze) and walls will fall in war, Kinship destroyed, so keep it a void you’re fighting for.

And here we get an exploration of Martyn's mindset in more detail. I've touched on this already, but a major point of exploration throughout the musical is Martyn's relashionship to emotional attachment – he's coming right off the bat of Ren's death in 3rd Life, which "broke" him and made him play more selfishly since (both statements taken from the LimLife lore stream), and he is someone who tends keep his distance and who'll prioritise himself over allies whenever things get dicey. But the "life" that closeness gave him back in 3rd Life was still clearly important to that version of him, and he does inadvertently (and unwillingly) start chasing that again this season – ending up growing close to the Southlanders (bar Grian) despite his efforts, enough to hallucinate them and be manipulated by the Voice's(/Watchers') false promise to bring them back to life if he follows its commads (in a moment where he expresses resistance to following its commands, and where the Voice is clearly distressing him). LL Episode 8 intro my beloved...

Still, that's to come. At the start of Last Life, he's firmly in a reactionary mindset to the events of 3rd Life, separating himself from that life and that version of him. 3rd Life was a failure on his part (in addition to the emotional damage, but he's trying to separate himself from that side of things and to focus purely on the win), and he's absolutely not wasting this new chance at victory.

So corner to corner, I’ll keep wandering on, Border to border, through woods, through caves, through spawn, Sure, laugh with some, don’t keep it glum, so long as lines are drawn Forego the rest, and don’t invest, just keep on wandering- WATCHERS Wandering, wandering MARTYN -on.

It's Watcher manipulation time, encouraging unhealthy mindsets that help them further their own aims! The more untied he is, the easier he'll be for them to play (less loyalties to others –> the more likely he is to rely on the Voice, and the less resistance there is to doing certain things that might involve those connections). Yes, emotional connections would mean more emotional pain (and so more negative emotions for them to feed on) in the future, but Martyn's very resistant to that idea right now, so it wouldn't do much to push it. They do encourage emotional connections later, though (heavily pushing him towards Ren for example, and note that that's only once it would mean Martyn betraying his own alliance (which would mean more emotional pain for someone, regardless of its impacts on Martyn himself. Or it would've been if that was revealed)).

There's another important part here, though. After all the 'allies won't help you' etc in the first two verses, I wanted to make clear that Martyn's not against being around people, far from it – he's almost constantly around people, just not generally around the same ones for an extended period of time – it's just the emotional investment he's trying to avoid. He is a very social player, he does enjoy joking and/or messing around with others and does it constantly, that's also an important aspect to him (he's a very "you talk a lot but never say anything" type of person**). So "sure, laugh with some, don't keep it glum" is a very important line!

LIZZIE Welcome, oh welcome to my tree fort, yet unnamed. MARTYN Be careful with that name you pick — don’t want it to get… flamed. LIZZIE …Ah. They won’t demean A fellow green? …Your lives? MARTYN That’s mine to know Is that a tower over there? See you, I’ve got to go!

And immediately, here's an example of Martyn actually messing with someone (as a new player, Lizzie is fun to tease)! His "don't want it to get flamed" triples as that, as a wordplay demonstration, and as another recognition that they are living in a world where people will inevitably turn on each other. If something's flammable, it will be burned.

Lizzie's characterisation here is meant to show her as someone who wants to do her best and is establishing herself, but is unsure/nervous about how the game will unfold due to having had no past experience (, the '...your lives?' comment is prompted by the momentary urge to want to know how close Martyn is to turning Red and potentially burning down her tree fort) There is the element of naïvité coming from not having lived through a previous series, too – not thinking about how badly having a flammable base may end, 'they won't demean a fellow green' again here, etc.

Because this verse is a dialogue, I focused a lot more on trying to keep the character's voices true to themselves as well. With Lizzie, the "Welcome, oh [welcome]" is moreso there to suit the 'fairy queen' persona she was going for, but the "tree fort... yet unnamed" would be something she'd say for humour's sake, in her particular style which I cannot for the life of me describe; her 'ah' would be quite deadpan in that way too (again, not sure which words to use to describe it). With Martyn we have the aforementioned wordplay, but also his method of slipping out of situations that go in directions he wants to avoid... which is to pretend to get distracted by something else, promptly change the subject to that thing, and run off (a clear example of this is in Wild Life when Scott is questioning him about his powers, and he conveniently gets 'distracted' by a zombified Skizz dying in the distance instead (~17:30 in his vid). Maybe not the smoothest of getaways... but a habit nonetheless).

TEAM BEST BEST will be the best, and we’ll show em what we got With our matching shields, and our towering snow fort MARTYN Hold on a sec, where’s your respect? BDUBS Respect? MARTYN Yeah, that’s my bit! Same shields? Snow? A world ago? With Ren and- fine, have it

Again, this verse is largely leaning into character voices and interactions. BEST do initally set out to be the heroes of the server (eg by recovering the enchanting table and returning it to the server), and do have some very loud/enthiusiastic figures within their ranks (Bdubs and Skizz), so the tone of their lyrics is meant to reflect this (though the instrumentation, which we'll talk about in a different post, does a lot of this work as well). Of course you also have Etho who's the complete opposite of course (and Tango somewhere in the middle), but it's the louder voices that are going to be heard in the interactions so it's their side of things I'm portraying. And, as mentioned before, we also have Martyn completely going into mock-offense mode.

SCAR/BEST/LIZZIE/MARTYN No matter if you're in your sixes or twos/Let's find some ore to- I'll sell you an offer you/-mine cannot refuse/It'll be the fairy fort! Crystals for fleeing,/I'm fine just to chat Crystals for flame,/Not falling for that! Survival's the ALL Name of the game!

Pretty self-explanatory here, with Martyn not buying into Scar's deals and other alliances going about their lives. BEST heading down to mine is set-up for the next song (aptly named "Down In The Mines"), in which Bdubs reveals he was cursed with the Boogeyman curse while down there, narrating his experiences in the form of a ghost story.

SCAR/BEST/LIZZIE/MARTYN Corner to corner, I'll just keep on wandering, wandering on/Yes, join the fairy fort, I'd love to have you here!/BEST will be the best, with our diamonds and our gold We can build a secret passageway so we'll always be near!/Put us to the test, and you'll see that we won't fold/A crystal or spell, oh, Joel, you'd help me sell?/Through woods, through caves- -But still for my sake I probably should find a team: it would do me some-/We'll aid each other when we need, together we will succeed, oh-/Put us to the test and you'll see that we'll do-/Goody! Magical Mountain we'll be! ALL (including Cleo, BigB and Joel, who are now onstage with their respective alliances) Good – It's this I've understood!*

Here we see the different players' attitudes to playing the game, and what they've "understood" about how to play it, as well as more alliances forming. Nothing much to say about Scar and Martyn here (aside from Martyn expressing the fact that he does want to be part of an alliance for numbers' sake, which we'll build more on in Song 4 (A(ha)lliances) when the Southlands are formed; and also continuing the thread that he sees others as figures he can use to benefit himself. Maybe there were things to say about Martyn here!), but a lot of Team BEST's part is foreshadowing ("put us to the text and you'll see that we won't fold"... they will fold. They will) in addition to contuining the 'server heroes' thread from earlier. Meanwhile, Lizzie's part continues to show her as a player who hasn't experienced the way the server devolves into bloodshed, still having a pretty idealistic view about the co-operation between herself, BigB and Cleo without thinking about the ways they'll inevitably have to turn on each other if they get later in the game.

The part about the tunnel connecting the Fairy Fort to Cleo and BigB's base is taken directly from the first session (originally proposed as an escape tunnel, in the same conversation that Cleo pointed out that the fort was flammable).

UPPER WATCHERS/LOWER WATCHERS Oh, wander, wander on/Wonder, wonder On/When they'll all start to turn tails Wonder, wonder/Wander, wander When trust will yield to betrayals/On

I've mentioned it before, but the Watchers feed on negative emotions, which is why they run the Life series. This is one of the few times we see emotions from them, as they're very excited to see what chaos and carnage this new game they've formed will bring (which I took care to portray in my voice)!

WATCHERS/MARTYN Till the rest are gone.../Right, here I go again – I'll fight with my axe drawn* Oh, wander, little pawn/But, unlike then... I'll lead, not play a pawn.

I've talked about this in the 'abridged' version, so I won't repeat that. The other thing here is the axe being an obligatory Dogwarts reference (or, more accurately, an obligatory rhyme (with 'pawn') which gave way to a Dogwarts reference I took).

[End]

(You can hear the instrumental continue for a while – ideally, Martyn would talk for a bit with Scott, Pearl and Jimmy, but though I can act through singing I can't act through speech and I'm not subjecting viewers to that xD)

If you've read this, thank you so much! You can definitely chart me going more and more unhinged as this progressed...

--

*eg by also wanting to find friendships, to be helpful while you can, etc, in addition to winning. There's no secondary aim there, aside from protecting himself from emotional harm.

**(to quote Martha from Doctor Who)

[darklinaforever]

Like @skywalkr-nberrie said it very well :

Themes, metaphors, symbolism, etc. it’s part of art and literature. And gothic horror always speaks in the tongue of metaphors. Orlok saying “he cannot love” is just a metaphor for his demonic nature but his follow statement is the very contradiction in his words when he tells Ellen “… yet, I cannot be sated without you.”

So saying that Orlok can't love Ellen because of that line in particular is very stupid since since it is immediately contradicted.

And don't tell me that it doesn't necessarily have to be a romance, damn the film in its relationship between Ellen & Orlok is full of reminders of Wuthering Heights and Beauty and the Beast in terms of inspiration, and it's not for nothing.

In short, saying that this sentence about not being able to love is the ultimate proof that cannot be contradicted (while there is a contradiction of this statement in the rest of the dialogue anyway... people are stupid) on the fact that Orlok does not love is once again ridiculous.

Just like saying that Orlok saying that he is just an appetite and nothing more is the other proof that he couldn't love. Because :

This sentence probably refers to Ellen herself.

Yes, Orlok is a vampire whose thirst can only be quenched by Ellen, and he is a being originally made to consume life according to Von Franz's description (but that doesn't prevent the romantic ambiguity from being present as the film itself show it, and its team and its creator explain it very well) but beyond this very obvious aspect of the sentence naturally attached to Orlok (since he is the one who says this sentence while speaking of himself), well I think that it mainly refers to Ellen herself on a symbolic level.

Ellen and Orlok are constantly mirroring each other in the film, sometimes down to the nearest shot, as if they were one and the same being.

I would dare say, the same monster.

(Knowing also that Orlok would not exist either as vampire without Ellen who is the one who woke him up)

The film goes even further with the fact that we know that Orlok sometimes took possession of Ellen's body (since he expresses himself through her in front of Von Franz) and that yet he will explain to her (when she tells him / reproaches him for being the one who crawled into her body like a snake) well no, it was not him, but her nature that she denied.

It is very telling because we understand in fact that Orlok is Ellen, or at least an intrinsic part of herself but that she rejects.

Then when we delve into the more in-depth analysis, we understand that what Orlok represents in Ellen are precisely the parts of her repressed by society ; her ardor, her passion / her sexual desire, etc.

Her appetite therefore.

Orlok is only an appetite, in the sense that he represents the appetites (various desires) of Ellen of which she has always been cruelly deprived because judged unacceptable by society.

And I find it ironic that people use the fact that Orlok says he is an appetite and nothing more to justify the interpretation that he could never love Ellen, much less romantically ; Knowing, precisely as we have already established, that he in fact embodies Ellen and her desires, and therefore in reality her appetite, and that wanting to be loved is in fact part of Ellen's desires.

But she wants to love in a way that society does not deem acceptable. With too much passion.

She has an appetite for that too.

So in fact, this sentence proves rather the opposite of what the antis would wish ironically.

[pendragora]

"Her love is yours...

But only if you give your heart to her."

This particular part of the verse is hitting different every single time

[americankimchi]

god i wish they hadn't retconned maul's death. i get wanting to explore more of his character because he was, objectively, one of the coolest star wars characters to ever hit the big screen and didn't get much screentime prior to his death, but also his role was fulfilled perfectly within those constraints so i wasn't too upset by it.

but by retconning it and making it so he never died it's like. okay. what now? the whole point (well, to me, ymmv of course) of the theed generator fight was that it was the first ever fight between the jedi and the sith in thousands of years, and that in the end even though the jedi (obi-wan) won the fight, a jedi (qui-gon) and a sith (maul) still died. a master and an apprentice dying together to herald the start of a new age/the return of the sith. perfectly paralleling the way in rotj a master (palps) and an apprentice (anakin/vader) died together to herald the return of the jedi. in both instances, a father figure (qui-gon/vader) dies in the arms of their son (obi-wan/luke) as a sith (palps/maul) is cast down into the abyss to their deaths. (palps being alive in the ST and retconning his death in rotj is also annoying for this reason)

i mean i like maul. don't get me wrong. he's an incredibly compelling character and i enjoy seeing more of him... but there's always the thought hovering in my mind like "he should be dead though. he should 100% be dead. this wouldn't be happening if he was dead, but i honestly would rather it not if it meant that maul was dead."

like the tpm fight just doesn't hit the same knowing that canonically he's just. going to become a robot octopus at some point. (shoutout to palps becoming sith glados in the ST) it cheapens the moment for me. it was supposed to be a moment of triumph marred by the deep and soul-crushing loss of a loved one and it's just... not, anymore. or at least not to the same extent. AUGH i'm just. frustrated. wish star wars as a whole wasn't constantly reframing/retconning what's been established. just puts a bad taste in my mouth.