#i had forgotten some details and now that i rewatched i feel like i have a better idea of who naga is than before

[t-u-i-t-c]

balance & naga // episode 31

[scoobydoodean]

Damn I fell for my own faulty memory! It’s been a while since I’ve watched the last few episodes of Season 14, so I based my statements on my memory of the episodes and also what I’ve been seeing discussed in various posts recently. Specifically, the point about how all three of them had been worried about Jack. But I’d forgotten that Dean had actually suggested benching Jack! That he had been proactive enough as he believed was necessary based on the information he had at the time. Along with some other details, to be honest (this reminds me of that poll literally on things often forgotten by fans about Jack in the Box and Moriah). So thank you for the thoughtful response and detailed timeline! I kind of think your response has made me even more settled in my hot take, that is, that Cas’s actions, or lack thereof, were ultimately pretty… catalytic, in this sequence of events, including for Mary’s death and the divorce arc. Again, thank you for the response! It’s made me want to rewatch those episodes for a close watch now haha!

I didn’t remember that Sam was just being fucking insane in 14.18 and basically said “Well Jack was hellspawn and we should have known from birth he was evil you even said that Dean which makes all of this your fault actually” but yeah he really did that like goddamn Sam 🤣

Yeah catalytic is a great word here. I don’t think it’s fair to blame Cas for Mary’s death but I DO think Dean has reasons to be angry at Cas! And those reasons intersect with Mary’s death! And sometimes when we’re grieving and angry about X (especially when X has been festering and growing over an entire decade) sometimes we also want to blame for Y because we’re so damn mad. And Dean is also ABSOLUTELY blaming himself and projecting that on Cas. But Cas DID choose to hide things from the group that Dean and nobody else did specifically so he could try to take care of it all alone first and Dean having feelings about that as part of a decade long pattern is perfectly valid! The (for lack of a better word) illegitimate anger about Y seems to completely obscure the legitimate anger about X for a lot of people! And people over emphasize the snake instead of understanding what the snake represents about Cas and Jack and Cas’s way of interacting with the group. What’s happening was built into something so much bigger than the simplistic boring irrational anger Berens wants to boil it down to in the end. It’s an ill-fitting conclusion to their conflicts just like the finale is an ill-fitting conclusion to their lives.

[justghostly-things]

Why Mike Wheeler should get Vecna'd

I might need to rant about Mike Wheeler (to like the surprise of no one.) because if it's gonna be anyone its gotta be him, right? I don't think he is gonna die, or it's gonna be the exact same as it was for Max. (Simply because we have seen it before.) but I don't think it would be beneficial to Vecna any of the other characters.

and assuming that the Duffer brothers aren't just bad writers we know Mike has been acting weird for two whole seasons now. (I personally think it was worse in season 3 but it was still strange in season 4.) The show established him a certain way in season 1 then nailed it into the coffin that this is who he is in season 2 but then season 3 rolls around and he is just... Different. (An ass) Of course, we have our theories and analysis (thank you, to anyone who have compiled all the hints into one place what would we do without you 😭This or This or This)

but still.

Since we are talking about Stranger Things S4 and S5 there are a lot of uncomfortable topics that are going to be mentioned, I do not go into details. I barely mention it. I do not describe anything, but I do talk about the themes. Please stay safe while reading

We should look at this in three ways.

What it brings to the story

What advantage would it give Vecna (aka why would he want to Vecna them)

And how does it help the character

Let's talk about Max first. Because we can work out the logic with her and then try and translate it to other characters.

I think its import for this section to know that what Max has delt with is a very scary real thing. Many children have a very similar life as Max, and all I am going to do is talk about them from within the show. I will say is you are not a bad person because you wish death on someone who is hurting you. But from here on I am talking about Max from both her Pov and Vecna's. None of these things are my thought or feeling on the greater topic of abuse and dysfunctional families.

From a story perspective why was Max the one who got Vecna'd and not like, Dustin or Lucas? If you answered because she watched Billy die. Yes. Anyone who understands a progression of a story can figure out why it makes sense for Max to be Vecna'd. We create this guy who shows you your trauma reflected back at you and then kills you as seen in both Fred (Nancy's friend) and Chrissy.

Which of the main cast of characters just went through a trauma event just the season before? Max.

I think if this is all you take from season 4 you have fundamentally forgotten one important thing about Max getting Vecna'd. It isn't just about the trauma of her watching her brother die. No, Vecna specifically targets the fact that Max deep-down wished-for Billy to die, she used to fantasize about it. It isn't just survival guilt. And we are shown this visually through Fred who also has survival guilt. Their trauma is different because Max's guilt isn't just about surviving. That is why it had to be Max. Because all of the characters could feel some sort of Survival guilt. They have watched so many people die and get hurt. it reveals two things. One is how Max truly feels about Billy's death, and two it tells us more about what Vacna is actually doing in the vision. Because he isn't just trying to torture a traumatized Max to the point that she willing to just give up. it is showing Max some "ugly truth" about her to herself. Because that is what Vecna is. Or thinks he is. He sees the world as horrible and should be corrected and the only way to do that is by "starting over". This is him showing max what is "wrong" with her and killing her (so he can start her over/create a new her)

I feel like I need to rewatch season 3 again because I can't remember exactly but I think Max most likely played a big part in season 3 where she kept meddling with Possessed Billy. (Mike did too but we will get to that(this thing is gonna be long btw)) She showed that she is willing and able to mess up Vecna's plans.

(It is kinda a debated if it was just the Mind Flayer or if it was Vecna himself that possessed Billy (and Will in season 2) but for the purpose of this we will say that he at least knows the role that Max (and Mike) played in the mall fight.)

All of this to say from Vecna's Perspective, he sees a group of kids who keep getting in the way, And they are all close to El? And one of these kids has extreme guilt about Billy? Yeah of course he targets her. It is so useful. It'll get to El and the rest of the party. Making them weaker and affect them emotionally so they are more likely to react irrationally. It's so perfect for him. Literally Max says so in the show.

and Max, (I can tell some people aren't gonna be happy with me for this so just know I love max so much please, but) she up until season 4 was a bit of a weird character. She is a confusing character. Especially in season 2, she has a lot of character inconsistencies. This video explains all of what I am talking about in this section this really well. but she isn't really a main character until season 4. She plays more of a supporting role. Especially in season 3 where she is helping El find part of independence. And yes, we know Max has a hard home life and how Billy is an ass to her. We know this but we don't really understand it until season 4. She just feels like an inconsistent character up until this point. (you know who else is an inconsistent character-) Her getting Vecna'd shows us a direct shot into her head and we can start to piece together the truth of her character. We really get to understand why she is inconsistent. And how it isn't a flaw of the writing, it's Max being 13 and dealing with a terrible home life.

the best part about it is that there are clues all over that are screaming at us and I can tell you right now that there were probably so many children who saw themself in Max. And people who were screaming about how this is why! It's because of her home life! while the rest of us were just calling it inconsistent writing. And yes, I am gonna bring it up because this is exactly what we see with Mike Wheelers character. Because the truth is that we haven't seen the whole story, we have barely seen anything of Mike for the last two seasons. (mentally i know he is on screen I mean mentally) we just have a theory on what is going on in his head. and I think it would be a waste not to use Vecna to do the same thing they did for Max for Mike and this is ignoring all of the parallels the two characters have. this is just from a story point of view and omg can you tell how passionate I am about this??

Now do i think it is impossible for any of the other character to get Vecna'd? No? it would probably be more similar to how Nancy got Vecna'd. Mostly because if my other theory is correct (is this shameless self-promotion?) I don't think there is time for like all the character to get Vecna'd.

But yeah, lets talk about a few of the character and why I do or don't think they could get Vecna'd. I will try to make this quick.

Steve: Steve is very interesting and I kind of wanna make like a character analysis about him at some point (probably after I rewatch the show) but I think it could go either way. Steves whole arc for the whole show is to show us how someone can change. Steve started as an ass and has slowly been evolving to become a better person. And I think there is a place for Vecna to come into that but idk if he needs it. I think Steve's can jump over the last hoop by himself (unlike some people who haven't even started jumping... (Mike)) Overall I don't think it will tell us anything we don't already know about Steve, but I can see Vecna wanting to incapacity Steve because of his physical strength. Dustin: Again, I am not sure what more Dustin getting Vecna'd will tell us about Dustin. If anyone has any thoughts, please don't be scared to let me know. I can see Vecna also wanting to take out Dustin because of his smarts. So strategically I can see this being something Vecna would want to "Take out" (but i am not sure how strategic Vecna is? I certainly don't think it would be the main reason that he targets someone.) Lucas: Idk, I think it would be great to have Lucus be more import to the plot but if he is gonna get Vecna'd it's gonna be about Max and him "teaming" up with the Basketball? guys. (I say hesitantly because I don't remember what sport it was...) Which we don't need to be told he feels bad about because he told us. So, idk. I guess we can talk about Will as well: but it's really all the same thing, I don't know what new information we can learn if we see him getting Vecna'd. Sure, its angsty and that might be reason enough for some people, but I know if I was writing Season 5, I wouldn't even consider it. We know almost everything that is plaguing Will. We see almost everything first hand. And sure, we knew about Billy for Max but like I said it was more than just "she watched Billy die" and sure maybe there is something I just don't see or don't know. I just don't see reason for this poor boy to go through more. The other thing is I don't see why Vecna would want to not just kill but make Will suffer. Make him have a pain full death? If Vecna wanted Will dead, Will would be dead. its plain and simple. the amount of times Vecna had Will in his grasps? I don't believe it was just luck. I would actually love to see if there aren't times where Will could be in danger, or it would make more sense for the danger to target will but for some reason it didn't, and he came out unscathed? (if I notice anything in my rewatch I will add it here) but yeah. also, there is all the parallels between Will and Vecna, so I think Vecna sees himself in will, maybe like how he saw himself in El and maybe will try and recite him. Idk but it seems (to me at least) that Vecna has more planed than, make him suffer and then die, in store for will. This is a really good analysis and this I agreed with on why Will was probably not gonna get Vecna'd. But it is a really good (and funny) video so go check it out if you haven't.

all of this is making me want to do an analysis on Vecna/henry. I don't think he is a partially new kind of villain, but I think it would be fun to try and dive into his head.

Hopeful this is my last point where I finally get to talk about my boy Mike wheeler. This is a Mike wheeler safe place. (I say as I am about to make my point on why he should go through pain and torture next season.)

I kind of have talked about some of this but let's dive into more detail (like we did with Max) and talk about my three main points

What it brings to the story

What advantage would it give Vecna (aka why would he want to Vecna them)

And how does it help the character

I feel like the story has been building up to this for a long time actually. Not only with the stalker shots that Mike is shot in but everything we see about his character. From how much we have seen his character change between season 2 and 3, to how little we actually know about Mikes inner workings. Mike is a puzzle right now. He is surrounded by character who are at least decently written and at most complex and compelling. And he is a main character? Like if Mike was a Minor or supporting character (like Erica and arguably robin) it would be weird sure but at least expectable. But Mike was THE main character in the opening season. We learn the most about him. And we see a lot of the story threw his eyes. And what? Were just going to throw all of that away? Like it was nothing?

But! I bring up the point I made about Max again. About what she was like in season two, what our impression of Max as a character and how that changed in season 4. The reason her character acted like that was because of things we didn't have connections for until season 4. All the parts were laid out in front of us they just needed to be connected. Mike getting Vecna'd will literally connect the dots for us. it'll show us an obvious and clear answer for what is wrong with Mike. Because how, honestly, are they going to show us all of these complex things that has been haunting Mike without a Vecna vision? It's the last season. We do not have endless time to unpack everything that is happening inside his head. Especially if the season is going to be as busy as I expect. We have like 20 other character who needs screen time, and we are getting introduced to more characters? And we have to fight the big bad? and there is gonna be a time skip (I swear to whatever higher being there is if they try to pull a "all Mikes' problems got fixed over the time skip" bs I am gonna be on the news for homicide. no-one will ever hear the end of it, omg. i don't even care if Byler becomes cannon, there will be war.) point is this matter is delicate and Mike lips on the matter are sealed so tight. If he hasn't said a word about this in 3 years he isn't gonna talk about it now. He needs a push, and Vecna is going to push him down a flight of stairs.

I do feel like I am repeating myself but it's crazy how similar Mike and Max character are. Almost like they are shining bright neon lights saying like look at this! notice this! and I know I am not the only one to point this out. But like what was stated in this video, Mike is almost the perfect person to Vecna'd , he not only has a connection with both El and Will. He, as Will would put it, is "the heart" of the party. He is connected to all the other character in some way. And if taking Max out would of killed motivation/ made the party unstable imagine what killing Mike would do to them? Which is why I do believe in the Mike was the original four victim theory (I think I saw someone go into more detail, but I can't find it. If I do, I will update with both links)

Also, remember when I mentioned that both Mike and Max have meddled with Vecna's plot in season 3, I just think I should point out how in the gym scene where they trap Billy in the sauna it is Mike taunting Him. And in season 2 he was the one who figured out that Will was possessed. All I can think of for season 1 is that he took El in and formed a kindling with her, which isn't strong evidence but idk maybe Vecna gets jealous easily idk.

And I think to understand this last point I would recommend watching or reading threw the links I linked all the way at the top of this discussion. but I would urge you to watch this at the very least: This video

if you haven't caught on yet, I do believe the Vecna visions are going to reveal to the audience that Mike is gay and has been the whole time. aemiron-main has a very good theory on how I think this is gonna go, because that falls into the same thought bubble as Max's. Where I think the theme isn't just that he is dealing with internalised Homophobia but his guilt surrounding his queerness. which we can easily explore through a vision. and it explains why he has been acting this way, especially in season 3. Like, can you even think about what this poor kid is going though mentally because, your best friend, literally your person got possessed, you watched as they lead to your friends new dad's death? like you can do nothing? and you blame yourself because if you had stop being gay for two seconds just to notice that there is something off about him you could have saved everyone? YEah I would be an asshole as well. Honestly, I think all the clues are there we just Vecna to piece them together.

And even in the very unlikely situation where I and like every other Byler are wrong about Mike being gay. Mike getting Vecna'd can only mean positive things for his character.

I feel like I had another point to make but I genuinely can't remember what it was T_T so, if I remember I will update this. But that is my point. Mike wheeler is gay and will be tormented by demonic infused visions of him being gay in the next season. so, you know. like an average Tuesday for any queer.

[violeteclipseboaty]

So I recently went to go watch KOTPOTA again. I wanted to share my thoughts overall on the film, I couldn't properly do it before because I had forgotten some stuff lol

The pacing: at first watch I though it was kinda weird but watching it again I realized it pretty much went straight to the point, if anything I wanted MORE but you know the movie would've been too long but I wouldn't have minded either way. I mean, I've watched the Avatar and Harry Potter movies, so yeah I could've handled that lol

I really like the environment they set up with the eagle clan; their culture, their tradition with the eggs, and their bond with the eagles. I hope we get to see more details in the next movie.

The cinematography was amazing, they really nailed it. The sceneries were outstanding. A lot of that stuff reminded me back to Rise, back when it was filled with human life, now sadly the structures are abandoned and overtaken by nature but look pretty either way. The action scenes omg were so engaging and just done so well.

Let's talk about the main characters:

Noa: Great character. He's curious, smart, brave, and compassionate. I know a lot of people wanted him to be Caesar's descendant but i didnt really care about that. I'm excited where his next journey will take us if they have the chance to make a sequel (please 🙏) I'm pretty sure at the end of the film, Noa now has a new view of the world he lives in and now questioning his entire existence lol

Raka: loved him!! I really like how he truly understood what Caesar stood for. I did notice some things he believed were wrong lol but he's got the spirit and would lighten up the mood after what happened with Noa's clan. He's got a good heart, he sacrificed himself for Mae despite knowing her for a very short amount of time after all. Also I refuse to believe he's dead so there's that also and I hope he comes back to guide both Mae and Noa onto the path for the coexistence of both apes and humans.

Soona: I really wish we could've gotten more scenes with her, but I really like her. She's brave, sweet, and a ride or die for both Noa and Anaya. I hope we get to see her more in the next film

Anaya: yall already know cause I made a seperate post lol but loved him and I wish we had more scenes with him as well! I felt so bad for him when we see him again with Proximus, he's been through enough!

Proximus: he was a great villian and I did not like him, which is good! Not all villians need a sad backstory, this dude was clearly only hungry for power. He was twisting Caesar's words, enslaving other apes, killing humans, and wanted access to technology capable of bringing destruction and chaos. He's smart and knows how to be resourceful. I find it funny that he was talking smack about humans yet his way of thinking and actions are similar to the bad side of humanity. I only wish we could've gotten more scenes with him; he was underused and I thought he would have a much bigger role based on the trailers, but I enjoyed his presence overall.

Mae: I've already made a seperate post about her character and I still sorta feel the same way about her. Rewatching it again, I got to sympathize more with her situation. She's a survivor who clearly grew up and was taught misinformation about apes, but after meeting Raka and bonding with Noa; i truly believe she'll come around and change her mind. I believe in her, and I hope we get to see her again and get more of her backstory to understand her better.

The movie was great. The plot, visuals, and acting were so well done. I took about 5 years for them to work on this, and it SHOWS. Their dedication shows that when enough time is given; movies that involve CGI can be done properly. I'm sick of projects being crunched and the visuals ending up looking like 💩 because the teams/artists aren't appreciated enough. I definitely recommend watching at least twice, and I pray for a sequel.

[xeno828]

Okay, I'm an idiot!!! (Trollhunters Ending Revelation)

So, someone pointed this out to me recently and I just want to cry!! HERE ME OUT.............the ending to Rise of the Titans is actually better than you think cus there were some details I think were meant to be more obvious than they came across.

FIRST - We're all peeved that going back in time erased everyone's memories and therefore relationships and character development. However, when they go back Tobey is suddenly able to climb the rope in gym class and Claire seems to be paying attention more to Jim than last time. Especially when he is giving his speech at the audition, having a rewatch made me realize as soon as he starts speaking she has a look of recognition, almost like she thinks she's heard this speech somewhere before. Not only that but Barbara and Stickler got along incredibly quickly for 2 people who had only just met. These imply they have some sort of subconscious memory of the last timeline, WHICH considering Nari said time is NOT linear makes sense, cus if it was liner everything would be exactly the same as the first time without these subtle changes. Also, Nari said the ninth configuration is the key, the amulet would only work after they figured this out, if that's the case maybe Nari knew the amulet would to some degree protect them from complete amnesia, they just need to be 'woken up' so to speak. (Also since Merlin and Nari will be alive again they might actually be able to help with this too, especially Nari, she's the demi-god that gave them this advice for goodness sake!!!)

SECOND - The new amulet is 'For the good of all' which does tie directly into going back in time to save EVERYONE.

THIRD - Jim went back in time using the new Akiridion amulet, that means HE STILL HAS IT!!!! The message of the entire movie with Jim is that he now doesn't need the original amulet to be the Trollhunter, he always has been and always will be. Thats why the original amulet chose Toby instead of Jim the second time, it knows Jim doesn't need it anymore and can continue fighting as he is, he will ALWAYS be the Trollhunter with or without it. Jim also knows if he sticks to the original time things will end up the same and his friends that had died will still die, he's urging Toby to be the new Trollhunter to protect him in the coming fights.

There were a couple more points and details but honestly it's 3am and my ADHD brain has forgotten the rest and lost the TikTok I watched 😅

Overall tbh I'm still not happy with the ending, BUT having these pointed out has given me a different less hostile viewpoint on it. I certainly think it's plausible that this was intended but didn't come across very clearly to audiences (myself very much included). Either way, however you wanna interpret it I'm sticking with this as cannon cus if fills me with a lot more hope for the ending than how I originally felt and I don't know about you but I like feeling happy! 🤣

[oneatlatime]

City of Walls and Secrets

I am also once again saving the commentary for a rewatch.

I still think rock trains are neat but their inefficiencies hurt my brain. The friction! They should at least install dynamic braking.

That's big. This show has really confined itself to the hinterlands so far, so this is really novel. I had no clue anything this big existed in the Avatar universe.

Complete nitpick time! Given that earthbending is a thing that exists, why bother making things out of stone with individual tiles like this?

Single most threatening musical sting of the whole show so far goes to an overly smiley tour guide.

Wow! I hate this lady already!

"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls! There are the ones outside, protecting us, and the ones inside, protecting us from smelly poors!"

"In case someone brings home a lady friend!" Do you know your nephew AT ALL?

Both Iroh and Zuko are right. Life does happen everywhere and without your permission. But, the city is also remarkably prison-like.

He got them jobs in an afternoon. AN AFTERNOON. Stop it Iroh, you're making me feel inadequate.

Once a fuckboy, always a fuckboy. This particular leopard can't change his spots, no matter how he tries to dress up his actions in a new law-abiding veneer. I feel sorry for Smellerbee. Her faith in her leader isn't exactly being rewarded.

So... is there a law on the books that makes being a firebender illegal in Ba Sing Se? Because the head-in-the-sand vibe I'm getting from Judy makes me think that the average citizen doesn't even know there's a reason to dislike the Fire Nation. Iroh and Zuko could probably bend as openly as a waterbender or an earthbender could here.

This whole being handled thing must be dredging up some pretty nasty feelings for Toph. This is specifically what she left behind.

Speaking of precisely targeted torture, Judy is engineered to be as irritating to Sokka as possible. Man of action versus Lady of script.

What a productive use of time! What an exemplary case of turning over a new leaf!

Iroh buddy I have news for you regarding the ingredients of tea.

That's like the nicest thing a member of the Fire Nation royal family has said all year.

How to get Iroh's ass in gear: Step 1: Make insulting tea. Step 2: There is no step 2.

I thought that little thingy in the background was one of those electricity things.

The attention to detail in this show is stupid. There's a moving reflection of the carriage in the water as it goes past.

Hi forbidden city!

Ba Sing Se has a morality police?

I've already run out of patience with the city and I'm 7 minutes in. I haven't even made it to a commercial break yet!

Their house is cute but the veranda is so substantial that it's probably really dark inside. Also there's a pumpkin hood ornament on the roof.

I don't think you can stop there for a month. Have you guys forgotten the now-doubled ticking clock? Eclipse and comet?

Oh ok we're doing 1984 now. Damn. This show goes places.

I stand corrected. Everyone knows about the war and would be appropriately non-welcoming to firebending. But not openly. This could be like one of those Bugs Bunny bits where he traps someone in societal rules. If someone told a firebender not to bend, all they would have to do to get the guy off their case would be to ask why they aren't supposed to be firebending. What's the guy going to say, because there's a war on?

Shout out to Pong for doing the Gaang a solid and providing the only useful info since they've arrived.

There is something very Gollum-like about Jet, crouched in laundry on a roof in the dark, talking to his stolen spark rocks.

Sokka. Feet off the artwork.

Time for Toph to weaponise her oppressive upbringing and out-fancy the fancies in the name of ending the war.

Aang can master an element in a couple of months but a qualified expert declared manners to be beyond him.

I just realised that Sokka and Katara don't have a last name.

Sneaking into a Bear's (JUST Bear's) birthday party may be the single least violent infiltration attempt in the show so far.

Smellerbee is very articulate, and it's rare that this show spells out its themes so obviously. No metaphors, just "you're obsessed. It's not healthy." And Jet still doesn't get it. Maybe Smellerbee should have tried metaphors.

Normally glowy green stuff is bad news, but all of Ba Sing Se's green lighting is surprisingly cozy.

Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, Zuko has to put up with a lot of nonsense.

A raise? Did I miss a timeskip?

Busting in to a local business, yelling about the enemy, pulling out a lethal weapon: How to Look Sane, A Guide by Jet.

Customers, amirite?

I guess the Bei Fongs are too minor as nobles?

"You don't know what I had to do to get seats this near the bear!" but I want to.

I know this guy's voice from something.

Momo ghost plan. I want it.

Pretty funny that the busboys plan works better than the fancy ladies plan. Goes to show you should always play to your strengths.

Get de-wheated punk.

I'm not sure I've rooted for Zuko this wholeheartedly since The Storm.

Jet be like.

Judy is not good at her job. Like really not good. Her insistence on getting out of there before they cause a scene caused the scene. Nice going!

The music slowing down when Judy's face falls is really effective.

You ever get the feeling that it should be Aang who ran away to the circus rather than Ty Lee?

Actually a travelling circus would be a great way to be, and remain, an incognito airbender. Aang should have done that rather than frozen himself. Ok I'm not sure how much say he had in that, but you know what I mean.

For the first time in his life, Zuko has people take his side. It's too bad that it's based on a lie, but it must feel nice.

I would have preferred if Zuko had a clean win against Jet - they're both great with swords, but I thought Zuko was better - but an assist from the funky hat police works too.

I'm getting some funky vibes from the funky hat police.

Bye! I won't miss you!

The face on the guy on the left is the funniest part of this episode.

Now these are some funky hats.

I know this scene is supposed to be scary and tense and action-packed, but I can't get over the fact that the king just did a drive by. They carried him in one side and out the other. This concludes the King's presence at his Bear's birthday party. He's a very busy man, you see.

Long Fang's title keeps getting fancier.

Brain washing crops up quite a lot in kids' cartoons. This is not the first time I've seen this plot beat.

Forget the Fire Lord. Forget the Fire Nation. Long Fang just threatened Appa. Long Fang has to die now.

The Judys are replaceable. Given everything else this city seems ok with, they're probably disposable too. Yikes!

Final Thoughts

This episode was probably the most expository I've seen this season. Maybe even the whole show. It was a big infodump with barely any humour. Actually that's wrong; there was humour, but not to my taste.

Jet is infuriating as usual. I think the writers are going for the villainous decay trope, because smooth-talking season one Jet hasn't reappeared once.

I feel really sorry for Smellerbee and the archer guy. I wonder if they even wanted to go to Ba Sing Se in the first place.

Once again, for the third episode in a row, Zuko is one of, if not the, most reasonable character. Season one shouty Zuko is gone. Is this what I think it is? Has Zuko really turned a corner? If so, I'm liking (rather, disliking less) this new Zuko. This is good. I'm also surprised, because in my experience, if you want to domesticate someone, you don't put them in a customer-facing role. That will have the opposite effect and make them turn feral.

Iroh is having too much fun. It's good for him to have something of his own going on. I think he's been in Zuko wrangling mode 24/7 for the last two? three? years, so he definitely deserves to pursue his own interests for a bit. But I can't see Zuko being a tea boy for long before he's back to needing wrangling.

What's the long term plan though? Are Zuko and Iroh going to live the rest of their lives in Ba Sing Se? Are they waiting for something? Are Iroh and Zuko functionally dead, with Lee and Mushi taking their place?

I will give the show credit for finally coming up with and antagonistic force that Aang & company can't just bend or talk into submission. Bureaucratic tomfoolery covering for authoritarian censorship and information suppression and re-education was not something I'd ever have expected in this show, because it's a little too much like the real world, if you know what I mean.

I don't like seeing our heroes unable to triumph, so this episode was kind of uncomfortable to watch. It felt off the whole way through, which I credit to that creepy music box tune that played throughout. The soundtrack of this episode was a cut above what I usually hear in this show. I noticed it more than I usually do, and I mean that in a good way.

As someone who'd be lucky to pass as a busboy, upper class intrigue and social games stuff doesn't do it for me, so this wasn't an episode I was going to enjoy anyway. I preferred the B plot with Zuko and Iroh, for the sheer absurdity of the concept. Imagine you're in 1950s London, having barely survived the Blitz, and you come across Himmler working in a pub. It's so odd that it almost wraps back around to normal again.

I didn't find this episode very enjoyable. I don't like the forced inactivity that's been imposed on the Gaang. The humour was not to my taste. The worldbuilding was substantial, but - probably thanks to Joo Dee, whose name I've definitely been misspelling - it felt inorganic, like a lecture. Which the writers do lampshade by making Joo Dee sound like one of those audio guide things you rent from tourist attractions. But lampshading a fault does not make a fault go away.

Thanks to what happens to Jet, I know that the people of Ba Sing Se don't dare even think about the war, for their own safety. But after spending more than half a season being shown every type of refugee and victim of war in other parts of the Earth Kingdom, I could not bring myself to give a flying fuck over Pong's concern for keeping his house. The city is frustrating, the officials are frustrating, their priorities are beyond frustrating. Zuko was right when he said he didn't want to make a life there, although I did find the lower ring where Zuko and Iroh are to be far more comfortable than the high ring where the gaang is.

This episode makes me want to bite something.

And still no Appa.

[welcometowhore-rrorville]

𝒩𝑜𝓉 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀

Featuring: Brahms Heelshire

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: slightly inaccurate to movie, i did not rewatch it before writing this so details might be off, injuries, blood, wounds, patching wounds with unsanitary and unsterile materials, canon-typical violence, horror and thriller themes, sort of fluffy but also dread inducing, hopeless ending? 

-

You hated the idea of going to visit the manor your friend worked at—ever since you’d moved to town, you’d heard nothing but terrible rumors surrounding the place. Still, it worried you that Malcolm hadn’t called. Despite knowing it was probably just him getting caught up with the new nanny—you couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. He may have been a little love-drunk, but he knew better than to scare you like this.

Especially given the house’s more-than-strange residents, you found yourself with a heavy feeling in your chest. It pulled you forwards, leading to your current situation—taking the closest cab available to drive you up to the secluded abode. 

You clutched your phone with shaky fingers. You’d tried calling, texting, leaving voicemails—he hadn’t gotten back to you. Was this some sort of joke? He played the odd prank every once in a while, but you would kill him if this was his idea of funny. You thought of him as a brother, and if something had happened. . . 

You let out a sigh, looking out at the pouring rain. This was over-dramatic, even for you. He was probably too busy swooning over. . . Greta? Was that her name? And tossed his phone aside somewhere.

You nodded to yourself. You were just being silly—in fact, you should probably just tell the cab driver to take you back home, but by the time you talked yourself out of it, you were already being ushered out of the vehicle. 

The driver tipped his hat, hurriedly clambering back inside before slamming his door and driving off into the night. You huffed. You were going to ask him to wait for you, but looked like you’d have to find some other way home.

Deciding not to worry about it, you turned your focus to the looming black gates in front of you, still partially open and shuddering slightly in the wind and rain. Taking one last look behind you, you stepped in, slipping past and heading towards the looming home in front of you.

You couldn’t make out much detail besides the odd silhouette illuminated by flashing lightning, but the looks of the place were the least of your problems. 

You finally reached the front door, and hesitantly reached out, fingers rapping against wood. Would you even be heard over the storm?

Nobody answered, and you began to shiver, regretting not bringing something heavier than a cardigan and sweatpants. In your defense, you didn’t expect to be visiting the Heelshire tonight, or ever for that matter. 

Without thinking, you tried the door handle, only to find it unlocked. You rose a brow. You would’ve thought a place as fancy as this would lock their doors at night. The dreadful feeling in your chest grew, but you cracked the door open, anyway. It hinged outwards with a squeak, and you quickly slipped inside, shutting it behind you.

The spacious home muffled the rain, and you were left in a dark and quiet manor. You weren’t quite sure what to do. Should you call out for somebody? Should you even be here? No, you answered yourself. 

You took a few unsure steps forwards, eyes squinting in an attempt to see around you. The only glimpses you had were when lightning struck, and so you felt around blindly for a light switch. Did a house this old even have electricity? 

Your hand hit a small lever, and you let out a sigh of relief. You flicked it, eyes adjusting to the now lit entry-way. It was a beautiful place, you had to admit. Everything was aged like fine wine. Ornate wooden railings led upstairs, decorative floor and ceiling crowning etched intricately around the room, paintings of long forgotten places hung in perfect order against the pretty wallpaper. 

If you didn’t know any better, you’d feel comfortable here. But you did, which is why you quickly moved along. You slipped off your wet shoes, socks sliding against the wooden floor as you walked. You weren’t sure where to start your search for Malcolm, and so wandered aimlessly. 

You soon arrived at the entrance to a game room of sorts, though you weren’t even sure if you could call it that. A billiard room was probably the better term, but you weren’t rich enough to dwell on it. 

It was dark inside, but you could see a pool table in the middle of the room. Something inside of you forced you forwards, and you tiptoed into the darkened space. Your fingers again moved to find the lightswitch, and you flicked it on. 

You wished you hadn’t.

Your eyes widened, and you bit back a scream at the sight before you. A man lay dead, sprawled out as blood pooled around his body. You froze, looking at his face. It wasn’t your friend. In fact, you’d never seen the man before.

It didn’t matter.

You rushed over, panic in your voice as you spoke. “Oh, my God,” you whimpered, reaching out to feel for a pulse. Nothing. You figured, but couldn’t help but let out a choked sob. What had happened here?

Your eyes suddenly widened, a realization dawning on you. The body was still warm. Whoever did this was still around.

Panic set in, and you bolted up from the corpse, head spinning. You grabbed a discarded pool stick from the table, clutching it in fear. “Malcolm!” you cried, rushing out of the room. “Where are you! Answer me, please!”

You had no idea where you were running to in this maze of a house. Every hallway led to more doors, more rooms, more spaces with who knows what lurking within. Tears rolled down your burning cheeks. You could only hope your friend didn’t suffer the same fate as the man in the room.

You wound up upstairs, slowing your wobbly running into a cowering walk, pool stick still in hand. You gripped the wooden rod, inching forward down a particularly long hallway.

“Malcolm,” you whimpered, voice barely louder than a whisper. “Please come out. . .”

A faint noise sounded from a nearby room, and you froze in place. Slowly, you turned to your side, staring at the closed door. “Who’s there?” you murmured, unsure if you wanted the occupant on the other side to hear you or not. 

Whoever it was fell silent. You let out a hushed breath. Your hand rested on the door handle, the other hand poised with the pool stick in hand. Counting to three in your head, you finally swung open the door, only to drop your pool stick at the sight that greeted you.

A man was slumped against a dresser, a giant red splotch on his low cut white shirt dripping blood onto his dark pants. His hair was unkempt, curls falling into his face—well, mask you should say. A broken mask adorned his face, revealing a burned and scarred visage. Upon spotting you, he moved to stand, but fell back against the wooden furniture, clutching his wound. 

“Woah, woah, woah,” you chastised, holding both hands out to settle him down. “Don’t move, you’re injured.”

You had no idea what had happened here, but you weren’t about to let another person die tonight. 

You looked around the room for anything to plug a wound before ultimately taking off your sweater, holding it in front of you. You stepped slowly towards the stranger. “Let me help,” you said gently, noting the fear in his eyes. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

It’s not like he had a choice—he was too weak to move, but you wanted to get his permission, anyway.

“Please,” you urged. “You’re bleeding bad.”

He pulled his hand away from his wound, staring at the blood coating his fingers. He stared at you from behind his mask, studying you. Finally, he nodded weakly.

You wasted no time in clearing the distance and dropping to your knees in front of him, carefully lifting his shirt. 

You winced at the sight—a gaping hole oozed blood steadily from his abdomen, curls of hair on his chest soaked in the red substance. “What happened to you?” you whispered, pressing your balled up sweater against the injury.

You felt his body tense underneath you, his hands wrapping around your wrists tightly.

“I know it hurts—I’m sorry,” you explained, trying to shake his hands off of you. “If I don’t stop this bleeding. . .”

Your sentence gave him pause, and he released your wrists, allowing you to continue putting pressure onto it. You knew pressure alone wouldn’t stop this wound from bleeding, though. “Do you have a sewing kit somewhere?” you asked through grit teeth, your hands becoming sticky with gore.

His eyes widened, looking apprehensive. His hands rested close to his chest as he stared at you like a small child stirred from a nightmare. You brought one hand from tending his wound to rest against his clasped hands. “You’re scared. Me too. But I’m not gonna leave you to die.”

Something about your words stirred a fire underneath him, and with newfound strength he moved his sprawled out legs, arms swinging to either side of him as he forced himself to stand. 

You recoiled backwards, arm immediately grabbing his own and placing it around your shoulders. You still pressed your sweater against his wound, making sure to keep it tight enough to stop the blood. 

He was tall and well-built, and you strained against his weight as he leaned against you. Still, you managed, following his every step as he led you out of the room and towards a particularly large painting. Reaching out a hand, he pushed it aside, revealing a small entryway carved from the wall.

You didn’t stop to question it. Those could come later. You simply helped him inside, coughing at the dust floating in the space between the walls. 

Down a cramped corridor the two of you went, suffocating walls pushing the two of you against each other. Finally, the space opened up, and you were met with a small living space—it was unfinished, dusty, and a little unkempt, but as long as it had something to sew his wound shut, it didn’t matter.

You spotted a bed and helped him take a seat. “Keep holding my sweater—where’s the needle and thread?” you said, leaving his side to examine the area.

You saw him look to a desk tucked in the corner and raced over, seeing craft supplies scattered messily over the surface. Finding what you were looking for, you snatched a particularly sharp needle and some fine black thread. You returned to his side, scooting a wooden stool over to sit as you placed the supplies on the bed.

Ideally, you would somehow clean the needle and thread beforehand, but ideally you’d also not be in this situation in the first place. You simply got to work, threading the needle. 

You looked into his eyes, asking for permission.

“Do it,” he rasped, voice deep and barely audible. It was the first time you’d heard him speak. He set your bloodied sweater aside, pulling up his shirt once again.

“There’s too much blood,” you muttered. “I can’t see where the wound stops and skin starts.”

You needed something to clean the area at least temporarily, but your sweater was already ruined. You looked down at your t-shirt. Setting the needle on your lap, you grabbed the hem of your top, pulling it up and over your head quickly before getting to work wiping the area. It would only provide a temporary visual, and so you maintained your focus, unbothered at your now shirtless state. You still wore a bra, but under any other circumstance you’d feel more than embarrassed. But this was an emergency, and a little nudity wouldn’t kill you, but not getting this injury patched up would kill him.

You swapped your shirt for the needle, holding your breath as you brought it to his skin.

“Here we go,” you warned. “You might wanna bite down on something.”

He made no move to take off his mask, or even look away from you. He sat, weak, bloodied, and transfixed. Nobody had ever treated him like this before. You were strangers—you’d snuck into his house in the middle of the night after Greta and Malcolm had left him for dead, working non-stop to save him after finding him bleeding out in his room. 

Now you sat in front of him, half-naked and a worried look in your eyes as you loomed over his injury. He already felt numb from the blood loss, and so barely even flinched when the needle pricked his skin, pulling it up to meet the other side of the gaping wound. 

You looked more hurt than he was, an expression of anguish on your face.

“I’m so sorry,” you repeated over and over, whispering it as you sewed him together.

He brought a weak hand up, gently resting it against your cheek. You looked up from your task, tears in your eyes. He wiped them away with a bloodied finger. You sniffled before getting back to work, knowing he was having a hell of a worse time than you were.

Still, his hand never left your cheek, rubbing soft circles against your flushed skin with his thumb. 

You looped the last stitch, pulling it taut as the wound cinched shut. Quickly, you tied it off, using your teeth to bite the thread until it snapped. You set the needle and thread on the bed, grabbing your shirt once again to clean up the blood that had returned. The stitch up wasn’t pretty, but it seemed to be holding. Only tiny droplets seeped out from between the stitches, black thread laced through his pale skin.

You let out a sigh. “Looks like that stopped the bleeding,” you said, hands stopping, your shirt still pressed against his abdomen. You stared, horrified at what you’d done to him. You just sewed a man like he was a pair of ripped jeans. What was wrong with you?

His hand which rested against your cheek moved to grip underneath your chin, tilting your head up. You met his gaze. There was no malice. No fear. No pain. Only a look of. . . what was it? Gratitude? Sympathy? Love?

You didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. You were sure he wasn’t upset at your patchwork, you knew that much. 

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” you asked, tilting your head. He finally removed his hand from your face, instead skimming over your stitches.

“Hey, careful!” you chastised, hand gripping his own to prevent him from touching it further. “That’s just sewing thread. Any movement could tear your wound wide open.”

His head fell, looking like a child scolded.

“Sorry,” you added, releasing his hand to rest your arms in your lap. “I didn’t mean to yell, I just—I don’t want you hurt. Are you okay otherwise?”

He brought a hand to his face, feeling where his mask had broken. He felt the tough flesh of his scars, burn marks seared into him from the fire long ago. 

“Did you burn yourself?” you asked. 

He shook his head. It must’ve been old, then, you assumed. Was the mask what he was worried about? The porcelain was cracked and worn. It must’ve been important to him.

“It broke,” you said, frowning. “Did that happen tonight, when you got hurt?”

He nodded. “When she left me,” he mumbled, voice audibly higher than the last time you heard it. It sounded like a little boy. You didn’t think much of it, instead more focused on what he said.

“Who left you?”

“Greta. She was supposed to stay,” he said quietly before his hands balled into fists. “She was supposed to stay!”

This time, his deep and raspy voice returned, causing you to flinch backwards. 

“Hey,” you whispered calmly, hands moving to rest on his knees. “You’re okay. It’s okay. Just let yourself heal. We can figure out the rest later.”

“We. . . ?” the soft and delicate voice was back.

“I can’t leave you here like this,” you replied. “And if you don’t mind if I stay a little longer. . .”

You were taken aback when he suddenly wrapped his arms around your neck, pulling you forwards until you stumbled off of your stool and into him. The two of you fell backwards onto the bed, leaving you to try and find a grip on something without disturbing his fresh wound. You eventually settled with your hands on his upper chest.

Your head was pressed in the crook of his neck and shoulder, your legs to his side.

“Stay,” he whispered, petting your hair.

You weren’t usually the hugging type, especially given your still topless state, but you supposed you’d let this slide, being he was severely wounded and almost half of his blood was stained into your clothes. 

“I’ll stay as long as I can,” you replied, each word sending your breath against his neck. He fought back a shiver. “But you need to quit with the sudden movements. I just told you those stitches could burst open with a light breeze.”

“Whatever you want,” he muttered. “Just don’t leave me.”

You let out a breath. This surely wasn’t how you pictured your night going. Still, it was kind of nice to be wrapped in someone’s arms, even if it was a stranger. You pressed against his chest just enough to lift yourself up. You looked down into his eyes. “I never got your name,” you said before introducing yourself.

“Brahms,” he replied. “Brahms Heelshire.”

Your hair stood on end.

Memories of rumors came flooding back to you. The fire. The missing little girl. The strange little boy. He was always clinging to her. He never wanted her to leave. He was obsessed. Unhinged. The little girl never stood a chance. No. It wasn’t possible. That boy died in a fire.

Your eyes gazed over his scarred face. You swallowed harshly. No. No he didn’t. He was alive. And you’d just saved his life. And now you were in his grasp, laying in his arms, in the depths of a house swallowed by haunted memories. You were never getting out of here. 

[morathicain]

Did I rewatch some Kiseki while crafting school supplies today? Yes. Did their first night make me want to write? Also yes. Did I continue my wip? No. But I wrote this and while I don't know if I'll write more to it, I had this need to get into Chen Yi's head for the scene and well, I am half asleep and have no idea if it's worth anything but it's out there, so please enjoy ;)

Ai Di.

Chen Yi blinked slowly, his gaze unfocused but that was Ai Di in front of him. Distant but close and a little hazy, blonde hair falling into his face.

Chen Yi’s throat felt a little dry as he wanted to reach out and touch him, make sure it was Ai Di and not a dream.

He wanted to call him, wanted to ask what was wrong, wanted to … wait, what?

The face in front of him came into focus and Chen Yi frowned as he stared and recognised the tears in Ai Di’s eyes, the look of sorrow and pain.

A surge of care shook Chen Yi, made him realise more details about himself, about them.

Ai Di was naked and he was so, too, his skin hot and his heartbeat racing.

It felt new but it felt right and distant words came back into his mind like a long forgotten memory.

“The only one who will ever see you, is me.”

A shudder went through him and his breath came to a halt.

“You told me you would keep watching me”, he said, his mouth forming words on its own as he could only feel and react and reach, following this strange but secure urge in his veins, the pull towards Ai Di.

Chen Yi had no time to think, all he could do was act on his impulses, on what he wanted and needed right now. His heart had been slain open until it bled and his hopes had been destroyed until there was nothing left aside from shards and ashes.

“He will never notice you.”

The words came back and the reality of them would have been crushing, had been crushing, if there wasn’t Ai Di’s hazy face in front of him, a tear rolling down his cheek and dropping down onto Chen Yi’s own right now.

Something was wrong and Chen Yi needed to make it right.

Drawing a heavy breath, Chen Yi reached up to cup Ai Di’s face, to pull him down against his lips, welcoming him with an urgent kiss, a comforting kiss. Because it was the only way to tell Ai Di right now: All will be well.

And it felt real, so real and right, to have Ai Di’s weight on top of him. To feel his fingers against his skin, to be a victim to his crushing hug, the tiny waist between his hands.

“I’m here”, he promised with another kiss, fingers trailing alongside the choker.

“It’s okay”, he reassured with tender touches, as if Ai Di could vanish into the hazy fog any second again.

“No need to cry”, he wished as he let Ai Di take the lead and gave him all he had to give with a burning heart and a body aflame.

[rigelmejo]

Comprehensible Input Listening Experiment: Update 42 Hours

2/13/2025: There is no major change between now and my last update at 37 hours, this is more of a log of where I am right now the first month I'm doing this, so in 100 hours I can look back and see what's changed.

hsklevel.com estimates my known words to be 11250 words: HSK 2.0: HSK 5 HSK 3.0: HSK 6 TOCFL: TOCFL Band B.2

HSK level 5/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨⬛

New HSK level 6/9

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨⬛⬛⬛

That dip toward the end of the graph is when I took this vocabulary estimate test at the beginning of February, and it estimated I knew around ~8000 words then. Since listening for 42 hours, I think a lot of words I 'knew before' but had forgotten after such a long break from studying Chinese, I can recognize again. I think that's why the words known estimate is now up to 11,250 despite it only being 2 weeks (42 hours).

I think the estimate I am around HSK5 (in passive understanding) feels realistic to me. I am going to find some audiobooks that are around HSK5 difficulty and use them when I'm done with MoDu (SaYe is the top of the list for HSK5 level material I'm considering).

How it feels to listen to various things right now:

Dubbed cdramas (Young Blood): surprised I understand as much as I do, I understand chunks of phrases and words when listening, I find my eyes automatically going to the chinese subtitles though. I remember a few years ago trying to watch Ancient Detective and relying on the chinese subs to figure out the main idea (with the reading skills I had of maybe knowing 2000 words), and trying to understand JUST from listening now kind of feels similar. It feels like the main idea can be figured out from words I hear and visuals, but it's frustrating how many details I do not understand (and so my eyes go to the chinese subtitles to figure out the details).

Cdramas with more natural speech (Go Ahead): I have to look at the chinese subtitles, I cannot just listen, and for that reason I don't think these kinds of shows would be good practice for listening unless I can find versions without subtitles entirely (perhaps Close Your Eyes Before It's Dark and Detention on Netflix - since I can turn off chinese subs, or Qi Hun Hikaru No Go since it's on youtube with the option to turn off captions). I don't think I could understand as much without chinese subtitles if I were watching a brand new show where I did not know the plot. If I look at the chinese subtitles I can understand all of the main plot, and many of the details (I only missed a few major details - when Xiao Jian Jian said she got her period I was confused about what exactly she 'got' until the next scene makes it clearer, I was confused about if Ling Xiao's mom asked her mom to drop the younger sister at him or was scolding her mom for doing it - until I replayed the scene and paused to read the chinese subs, and exactly what the dads said when they were fighting I had to rewatch - I understood they were fighting about Ling Xiao's mom making him sad but not exactly the words they were saying).

HP1 audiobook: I know the plot already, and I can listen to it without paying full attention and follow the main idea. Specifically: I can guess what scene I'm listening to in terms of the setting location, characters involved, time of day, emotions of the characters, and any main actions/items in the scene. I grasp some of the details: a smile, someone getting a cake piece, a picture of X, description of a character thinking about X topic. But then other details escape me, like the appearance of some setting locations, like parts about the classes all just blurred together as just 'kids in class' until I heard a specific chunk of dialogue where people were discussing something. I think if I was paying full attention then maybe I'd grasp more details, but I'm listening at work and while browsing my phone and looking at stuff in english.

MoDu: I know the plot already, and if I listen without paying full attention I can follow SOME of the main idea. Specifically on my 1st listen: (while not paying full attention) I can follow 1/2-3/4 of the dialogue specifics, most character names, most character expressions usually, most time words, some move-body action words, and sometimes I grasp the location description enough to know where they are. It takes me 2-3 listens to identify exactly what location they're at in all scenes, as that requires me to understand enough of the descriptive details to nail down if they're at a crime scene, what kind of setting the crime scene is at, an office, which person's office, a store and which store, a house and who's house, and in a story like MoDu that switches between one set of characters in one place and another in a different place - it takes multiple listens for me to figure out for sure X was in Y location, and not Z location with the other group. After around 3 listens: I understand enough of the main idea to know which scenes from the book I'm listening to, for all or nearly all scenes. This is usually when I start to understand the last 1/4 of the dialogue, am able to notice it's not description and is actually people talking, and when in the description portions some phrases will jump out at me as 'details' I understand. I suspect if I was paying full attention, I might not take as many re-listens to pick up some details.

SaYe: It feels easier to listen to now than it did in December, in that I can pay less attention yet understand phrases that jump out to me, but I feel like I still understand the same amount. In December I could roughly follow the characters in the scene (mostly), sometimes what location they were in, and usually the actions they took, and 1/2-3/4 of the dialogue. I feel like I can still understand the same amount, I just don't need to focus as intensely to do it. I know that I can read SaYe extensively, with no word lookups, so I feel like I should work to understand more when listening only. I feel like these should be words I can recognize when listening if I just practice more.

MoDu Audio Drama: much easier than the audiobook in one way, harder in another. It is harder to identify where the fuck anyone is, because there is no explanation descriptions saying X went to Y place and Y place looks like this blah blah - there is only sound effects and music to guess where they are. It is easier, in that I can understand nearly all the dialogue if I re-listen a few times. The first time I listen I can understand 3/4 or more of the dialogue. I think if you are a fan of the novel, and have read it before recently (in any language), then listening to the audio drama to hear the characters say their dialogue from the book is going to be easier than the audiobook, since there's no additional non-dialogue audio to distract you/confuse you. And it's very rewarding. For example - the scene where Luo Wenzhou asks Tao Ran if he hypothetically would pick Fei Du or Luo Wenzhou to date, if he had to. In the audiobook I had to listen 2 times to recognize I was hearing the full scene and where it started/ended, and 3 times to follow the majority of the dialogue they say. In the audio drama, only paying partial attention, I noticed quickly the scene it was and caught most of the words they said the first time I listened.

I am curious how other people feel about the following topic:

Do you think it's easier to listen to 'difficult' more unique word material, or easier to listen to 'learner made' unique word count material? Specifically if you are already reading webnovels and watching cdramas.

For me, I struggle somewhat to understand those graded reader audiobooks made for learners (like Journey to the West Graded Reader audio here). Yes, I understand many of the individual words, but when I hear an unknown word I feel like I have no idea what to guess it means sometimes. And the individual words I recognize, but I don't hear a lot of 'set phrases' I'm used to recognizing from cdramas I've seen and webnovels I've read. I hear some really common ones, but a lot of things are simplified so much it's not recognizable to me quickly enough to grasp what word they're saying. And they talk so slow, I'm not used to hearing chinese spoken so slow as I haven't been listening to learner materials for 4 years. I tried to listen to Da Lin He Xiao Lin audiobook yesterday, since it's one of the first chinese stories I read (and I highly recommend if you know 1000 words or are HSK4), and I immediately heard some words I couldn't figure out... even though I can read all the words in that story. I will say - I am listening to the audio graded reader Journey to the West I linked above, and I am grasping more words than when I listened in December... so listening for 42 hours sure helped. I am not hearing very many unknown words anymore (This result implies if nothing else, listening to 'difficult' stuff will make the less-unique-word stuff easier to understand later. I'm just wondering if improvement is quicker if you mostly listen to 'easier' stuff, because with reading to a degree it does work that way - struggle for a month with 1 hard novel intensively where you look up tons of words to improve your vocabulary, or you can read 4 easier novels extensively and improve your vocabulary and see similar progress in reading ability). However, it just still feels 'harder' in some ways than regular audiobooks.

With more 'difficult' listening material yes I hear a lot of words I don't know, but I also hear more phrases/chunks of words I've read before, and that helps me build up context in my head. Context like 'ah I heard said/asked and sadly/happily and got in car' so maybe this scene is 2 people in a car talking, feeling X, going somewhere. It gives me a lot more to rely on to guess the unknown words I hear, whereas with some simpler listening material... if there's no description around the unknown words I have no idea what the word I didn't understand means, and no way to guess. SaYe and HP1 don't give me these issues, despite being easier than MoDu, because both have enough descriptive sentences I can rely on those additional 'bits' I understand to guess unknown words. But with material made for learners? I try to listen to some, some 'easy' listening practice, then hear a word like shushi with no context around it and my brain blanks on what the fuck that word could mean. Shushi is a word I know from reading, and if I heard other words related to it that I've read in sentences using shushi (like in MoDu), then I'd have more surrounding context to guess what shushi is quickly.

Lazy Chinese youtube channel gives me the same issues if I try to listen, without looking at the video. If I look at the video, I totally understand what she's saying. If I try to just listen, so I'm not reading the chinese subtitles on the bottom (aka ignoring listening practice to read what's already easy to read), I suddenly don't understand a lot more words she is saying. I find Peppa Pig slightly easier to 'just listen' to, because all the talking the family does together repeats words and rephrases the topic with a couple of new words I can use as additional context (if I recognize some related words when listening to the additional context, it makes the unknown word easier to guess).

[myothertardisisonthemun]

I just watched the first Doctor Who 60th special. Here are my immediate, unprocessed thoughts:

I am still a little sceptical, but it is starting to feel like a return to form, one can definitely feel the RTD touches coming back. It's a little older, and of this age, but there's a familiarity there.

Anyway spoilers, here are some detailed thoughts:

Things I really liked:

- The opening landing of the Tardis, an alleyway somwhere in London, the spaceship crash very much 2005 era vibes.

-Donna missing all that. Of course she does.

- New tardis interior, it's nice, it's the very cutting edge minimalist feel to it, which is a different flavour from what we've had for a long time, (usually not what I like, but its) refreshing, yet it still very much echoes the past, and the first Davies era - I am reminded of the bit where he or the designer of the 2005 tardis said it was imagined as the top half of a sphere, here it's basically a full sphere.

And they just had to flex how much of it was a real large set, and its pyrotechnic capabilities. Also, it's got RBG.

- I thought the pacing was good. Was a little worried they would dwell on the regeneration mystery a bit at the start but instead they moved straight on, and the doctor started doing stuff

- they did the 13th's era "the aliens you think are the baddies aren't" but they did it well, rather than just ok.

- It was brave of them to include a transgender character - I am not from the UK, but from what I hear, there's controversy and fuss going on over there.

The was a bit near the end was a little clumsy (see next section), but this reminds me of RTD era one's deliberate casual inclusion of gay and bi characters during the 00s, which was a different era. This feels like that.

Many of this feels like RTD finding either unfinished business, or new bits to add to old themes, and it was nice to see. But now, on to the

Did not likes

- I didn't like that they fake outed on Donna's death. Remeber that era of the show where they were afraid to end things? The solution of the metachrisis being having a daughter and splitting is ok. I could sorta see where they were going, and why they did it...

But then, personally, I didn't like that sort of stuff that much in RTD, like the "doctor who space Jesus moment", or Donna magically gaining all that timelord knowledge from seemingly nowhere in the first place.

-the "male presenting timelord wouldn't think of this" bit seemed like a sexist jibe, come on, that's not really that feminist or progressive. Tbh, the whole bit where gender somehow mattered in an unclear way felt kinda clumsy to me. Maybe if it had been better set up earlier, without ruining the casualness if earlier character scences... idk.

-the sonic makes force fields now. They made it clear that it's not that instant or convenient, but will this get overused? Forgotten in future when it could be useful? Ruin future plots? Idk, it's always a risk adding a new power to the sonic.

Undecided:

The only thing I am uncertain about is we never saw Wilfred Mott again, bit he's apparently alive somewhere? The actor died, apparently they chose to make it that the character did not, but we still don't get to see him?

But for the first time in a while, this feels like an episode I would actually rewatch. In fact I'm looking forward to when I watch it again with my mum.

I'm actually feeling a little bit excited for doctor who again. I love that. I missed that.

[subaru-meteorlight]

I finished starforce 1-! I played the dx patch, ofc, I hunted the sp bosses but I gave up when deep space asked for a complete standard library like god bless dex filling is not my passion. Maybe one day I’ll come back to it. 25 hours across 6 days… it’s a bit sad actually, if I were a kid this would’ve taken years but now I just blitz through it in less than a week… aw.

But anyway I really loved it… I’ve never played mmsf1 before, only watched a playthrough and anime years ago so while I was aware of some major twists (pat/rey and AM-ian mega) and the boss lineup, I had forgotten a lot of the smaller details so it was still really fun… I really love geo’s character progression, depressed lonely kid who pushes others away but ends up being saved by people who insist on being in his life, insist on dragging him around and including him and consistently reaching out to him… as well as geo ultimately deciding to move on because he meets someone with the same pain as him and wants to reach out and help, so that she doesn’t fall into the same pit that he does, ending with the both of them moving forward and deciding to be strong together… it’s something I relate to/understand heavily so honestly I’m pretty floored that this is in a game for 10 year olds. If I had a nickel for every time a kid’s game smacked me over the head with its writing I’d have 2 nickels etc etc (tho it’s probably the fact that it is a kid’s game in the first place that makes me underestimate it then get surprised when it has good writing).

Geo and Mega’s relationship is so touching to me… I really love the dynamic of “oh dear god I’m stuck with this guy” but in the end it was because of mega first that geo started caring about other things, started trying new things and experiences for mega’s sake… and in return mega does learn more about caring for other people and being kinder too. It’s a minor detail that I haven’t seen anybody point out before but for transer requests in the early game areas (ie echo ridge) mega is often dismissive about other ppl’s problems (his dialogue along the lines of “ah geez let’s get this over with”/“yeah? let them figure out their own problem.”) but later on in the game he seems… disappointed? when megaman decides not to take on a request. It’s a really cute minor detail that I love. Sadly I don’t have any screenshots to prove this but you gotta trust me bro. Or you can look it up, compare say, echo ridge requests vs dream island or time square reqs.

And on mega- it’s actually very funny to me when you compare his sf1 and sf3 concept art, lol. In the art book it says that they redesigned him to have more upright posture and “handsome” appearance it’s killing me 😭 he’s a domesticated cat… geo tamed him….

Anyway! I just started zerker x ninja last night, played a lil bit of it- unlike sf1 I never watched a playthrough, only the anime, but honestly I totally forgor anything that was in it. Apart from there’s 3 main villains? And solo, god I love solo I can’t wait to meet him properly… but that was all from a rewatch of the anime op, so. First impressions of the game is- holy fucking shit mega follows geo around when you put on the visualiser?????? 😭😭😭😭😭oh my GOD. this is EVERYTHING. Tears in my eyes actually ohhh this is probably the best feature of the game. My god. It’s so cute….!!! Mega’s always by your side, geo… he’s like a following pokemon, lol. That’s a good thing. Number 2- oh, you can walk on the ground as megaman now, cool that’s like sf3- WHY DID I GET AN ENCOUNTER ON THE GROUND. When I tell you my jaw dropped…. Lmao it feels like my safe space got robbed from me </3 viruses should NOT be bothering me on the ground.

Frankly my initial opinion on sf2 was soured because of the negativity surrounding it online, which, fair, half an hour in and I can already see the translation errors… and I’m playing the lowered encounter patch so hopefully the rates won’t be too problematic for me… and ngl people saying that the game having a less heavy and serious tone unlike sf1 and sf3 is a bit of a let down, but ahh, I’ll play regardless and see how it goes. I’m excited to meet solo, at least-! Sf2 is entirely new sf content to me, so I’m way excited to experience it for the first time…!! After this I will join everybody else in the drought 💀

[self-loving-vampire]

I can't remember what the very first anime I watched was at all but I do know that during my childhood - before I even started going online to find stuff and relied on whatever was on Salvadoran TV - I saw at least a couple of episodes of the following.

Dragon Ball (original, Z, and GT).

I didn't like DBZ nearly as much as everyone else in Latin America seemed to. A lot of the fights felt not only slow but also kind of mechanically uninteresting.

Cardcaptor Sakura.

I surprise myself by feeling this nostalgic over such a cute and soft show. It's very different from what I normally like. I guess even I have a softer side sometimes (@thirteen-jades this is not an invitation to forcefem me).

Corrector Yui.

I have very few memories of this show. It was about an internet magical girl or something? I want to rewatch it sometime.

Ranma 1/2.

My parents explicitly forbid me from watching this, so of course I did it anyway when they were not around. They really didn't like the idea of a character who could transform like that. I only watched this one pretty early on before scheduling made it difficult to even find so I had only vague memories of it prior to a rewatch I started with my girlfriend.

Pokemon.

I got into Pokemon before anyone at my school knew what that was. I remember that much. I was more of a casual fan (could not play the games for the longest time since my parents thought games Encouraged Vice) and only watched the anime for a while before falling off eventually.

She was great, though:

Sailor Moon.

I have memory gaps about this one as well. Pretty sure I watched less than 10 episodes total, out of order. I think it was on a channel I didn't really know the schedule of, and at the very least I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same one that had most of the other shows on this list.

Digimon (all series up to and including Frontier).

I know they're not really comparable but I think I preferred the designs in Digimon over the ones in Pokemon. Also, I distinctly remember that this scene in particular poked at my ryona and defeat kink before I even knew what sex was:

Monster Rancher.

What the hell even happens in this show? I remember some of the monsters but absolutely nothing about the events of even a single episode. All my memories of it are just gone.

Yu Yu Hakusho.

Felt way more interesting and varied than DBZ to me, and I also found the characters to be more appealing in lots of ways. Still only remember it vaguely, though.

Rurouni Kenshin (oof).

In hindsight the fact that Soujiro was my favorite character makes me eventually becoming a Kohaku kin kind of predictable. Anyway, I think this was one of my favorites and also a good source of fuel for my growing ryona kink. Love shows where attractive men injure each other so viscerally (one of them even gets a chunk of his shoulder bitten off in a major fight).

Unfortunately, the creator completely sucks in such a way that also makes parts of the show feel hollow now.

Mon Colle Knights.

Only vague memories of this one too. It was decently cute, I guess?

Saint Seiya.

The Latin American dub of this is actually so much better than either the English dub or the European Spanish dub it almost feels unfair. Even the opening sounds about as good as the original, and I say this as someone who generally thinks Spanish is an ugly language with bad vibes. No wonder it seems way more popular in Latin America relative to the US.

Cyborg 009.

It was okay, I think? Not really into that older style of cyborg design. I can barely remember much else.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (only the original series at that time).

Like with Pokemon, I was into this before it became big in my area. I haven't forgotten nearly as much about it as I have with many of the other things on this list either. Especially where the first season is concerned I'd say I remember everything reasonably well (obviously not the turn-by-turn details of every duel or anything but yeah).

I notice that with a lot of the shows on here the main draw for me really was just seeing all the cool monsters, but I did come to enjoy the game and just the sincere insanity of the setting too. I also now associate this with master and Past Me.

Duel Masters.

Mimi was kind of cute. I liked her outfit. The show itself was... kind of weird, to be honest. It's one of those shows where the dub was basically a joke (more so in English, though).

Captain Tsubasa.

Those guys can get really intense about football. Can't remember much other than an episode where a guy is trying to overcome a fear of being hit by the ball or something? Pretty sure I only watched this one when I was stuck somewhere where I could not watch or do much else.

Plus some others I am also failing to remember. Genuinely kind of distressing how hazy my memories of these things are.

[trickster-shi]

WIP Updates

Been a while since I did one of these, and I should honestly be trying to sleep so this damn sore throat/respiratory crap goes away, but I just can't breathe when I lay down >_< however, I'm feeling a bit better than a couple days ago so I'll do this update and see if I can concentrate long enough to get some words in on at least one of these projects.

Project Zander:

I finished chapter five last night and sent it off to the beta readers. That one took a while to really come together to my satisfaction, especially the past scene. I had over 10k words on this chapter at one point before figuring out what it needed and cutting it down to 6500.

I am now working on outlining the next five chapters before I dive into chapter six.

Untitled Original Project:

I decided to scavenge some parts from Teenage Vigilante Witch and build an original story out of it. So far I like what I've got, which is about 4k words and needs a lot of outlining. Still keeping the found family aspect, but I'm doing a lot of world building and outlining to ensure it's a very different story from Teenage Viginate Witch. Looking back on it now, there was a lot of stuff I wish I'd explored in that first story, but it was written very fast and thrown up on archive to prove to myself that I could still write. I never intend to go back and edit or rewrite any of it, so I'm going to take the potential it had and put it into another story and take it a couple jogs to the left. Mostly, I'm going to be exploring that guilty/vigilante mindset with a spell amnesia twist that slowly pulls back to reveal a truth better left forgotten with a different take on found family. Still working out a lot of the details but I'm excited for it.

Home Across the Universe #10:

It's a little over 3k at the moment but I have notes and scenes in my email that I need to get and stitch together in the draft, so it's likely closer to 5k. Also, I already have the ending outlined and I'm excited to get to that since it's a cliffhanger I'm gonna get yelled at over. Looking forward to that. I may poke at this one today and see if I can get some more written on it.

Rabbit Come Home part 4:

Also a little over 3k written, I'm still outlining the scenes to make sure I include everything I need to so it's a satisfying ending. I'm shooting for this to be the end of the series and there are a lot of threads to tie off.

Into the Black, Episode 3:

Also sitting at 3k, this has a couple of chunk sitting in my email I need to stitch in as well. I haven't worked on it in a couple weeks and need to sit down and outline my scenes to figure out where it needs to go. I have a vague idea but not enough to work on, especially today with my mind being fried from sickness.

Untitled Sequel to the supposed Jurassic World/Teen Wolf Oneshot:

I told myself it was a one shot and I believed it for a while, but a plot bunny bit me after a recent rewatch of Fallen Kingdom and I now have...5,515 words of a sequel. It goes a bit AU from Fallen Kingdom because I had high hopes for the promises that movie set up for Dominion that Dominion just did not deliver for me. I'm still let down about that, apparently. I'm aiming to keep the story small in scale, but it was fun pitting Stiles against dinosaurs the first time and this sequel has him showcasing some more of his smarts while injured and a little delirious from pain meds, so it should be entertaining.

Aaand, that's all I've been working on lately. Hoping to get the next Home Across the Universe oneshot finished and posted first, though I'm not making any promises or predictions on when that will be. Hopefully I can scrape together enough brain cells to work on it today and get it closer to the end scene.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: May 2023

If you notice I haven’t read as much this month, it’s because I got the new Zelda game. But between my vanquishing of evil I still managed to fit in some other media! Here’s how I spent the month of May.

……….FILM……….

BlackBerry (2023) Having grown up in Waterloo Region I didn’t have any interest in seeing a retelling of the story I mostly knew but this was really great! Surprisingly funny and frenetic and a truly unhinged (in the best way) performance from Glenn Howerton. Good stuff.

John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) I naively thought “I wonder how much this’ll touch on the drug stuff?”... turns out it’s all about the drug stuff. Cool that he was talking about it so openly, and made it so funny, but I wonder if there was more material that got cut? He briefly mentions a trip with his son and I would’ve loved to hear more about that. Anyway as a comedy special it’s really great.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) You know I haven’t been interested in the last few Marvel movies but this one felt like it was going to be different..and it was! So many moving parts but I never had trouble keeping track of character motivations or story beats and the whole thing was really beautiful. I mean even the really gross stuff was fun to watch. Keen to go back and watch this as a trilogy down the road.

The Suicide Squad (2021) I was excited to see Guardians of the Galaxy so at the start of the month I rewatched this. Still impressed at how this can be equal parts a gross out dick joke movie and also built on a foundation of community and family. Builds well, nothing feels repetitive, and the finale doesn’t overstay its welcome. Really great stuff.

……….TELEVISION……….

The Bear (Episode 1.01 to 1.03) Never have I felt so stressed watching television. Really captivating episodes and I’m very excited to watch more.

Ted Lasso (Episode 3.08 to 3.10) Maybe it’s the time away from season 1 and 2, or maybe something happened behind the scenes, but season 3 feels different. Some eps really hit, and even some moments within those other episodes, but it all feels rather unfocused. Maybe it’ll stick the landing but my confidence has been shaken.

The Most Hated Man on the Internet (Episode 1.01 to 1.03) Perfectly paced. Just enough detail to get invested but after 3 eps it felt like I experienced the full journey. Really interested to see the public’s perception of revenge porn shift over time and I can only assume this website (and its founder) played a part in that.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Down the Off-Grid Rabbit Hole... by Maggie Mae Fish Love simultaneously learning about a corner of the internet and also how it’s exploiting others. Just wild. VIDEO

Why so many people need glasses now by Vox Turns out kids need to spend more time outside for legit biological reasons? Who knew. VIDEO

How Nintendo Solved Zelda's Open World Problem by Game Maker’s Toolkit Hey maybe you’ve been playing the new Zelda and if you have, you’ll find this interesting. I sure did. VIDEO

……….READING……….

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt (Page 165 of 500) The first time I read this, it really helped me understand the perspective some folks take on divisive topics. There was a sort of comfort to finally seeing what they’re seeing. In rereading this, I find myself getting angered while reading. The book is over 10 years old and while still relevant, it often feels quaint when talking about the widening gap between political parties. Its neutrality feels almost naive to me? Maybe I’ve forgotten a key chapter that helps.

The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (It doesn’t have page numbers...maybe 1/3 of the way through) Murder in old hollywood is just so cool. I’m really digging this so far and the art, characters, and pacing feel thoroughly natural. Every reveal is just so casual cause to these characters, it’s just their lives, and I love that. Big fan so far.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 8 by by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, and more (Complete) I always liked the smaller stories in this volume that focused on Peter’s personal life...like break-ups and dating other superheroes and stuff. But for some reason the Jean DeWolff/Kingpin/Moon Knight stuff always just felt kinda rushed? I dunno maybe I like everything to be a little more fantastical or suuuuuuper mundane. None of this in-between shenanigans. Give me highschool or give me death.

……….GAMING……….

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo) So good. I walked past a house that was redoing their driveway and had a bunch of construction stuff covered in a tarp and I immediately thought “hmm I wonder what I could build” and that...is the sign that I’ve played this game too much. Big fan 10/10 change nothing.

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Mof1 Crew did some downtime planning ahead of a heist/attack combo that worked out pretty well! We played out events in weeks instead of in real time (for both the players and their enemies) and it worked pretty well!

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The group is still navigating a rival adventuring party on the island and seeing what happens now that they’ve let their star-collecting duties slip. Big trouble. You can read about it here.

Anyway that’s it. See you in June!

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

Give me all your thoughts on bly manor I love that show and I'd love to hear what you think!!

Augh, so first of all: I loved it! It made me cry so much, especially during the last episode. It broke my heart into a billion pieces and I loved that it did.

Going into it, all I really knew about it was that there's lesbians. I also did know that it was made by Mike Flanagan, who's stuff so far I've really enjoyed. Hill House also broke my heart so I was expecting more or less the same here.

I loved the spirits and how they were a symbolism for the trauma the characters faced. I especially really liked Dani and the look of her ex's ghost. Honestly everything with Dani was just incredibly done imo.

Also love how the show has such good character moments in between all the scary stuff. It really makes the tragedy so much more tragic. (The only thing I'll say is that I do think there should've been a bit more between Dani and Jamie before they got together. It felt a bit rushed imo, but not by like much, just think another scene or two would've helped).

I love Owen and want nothing bad to ever happen to him ever again.

Hannah being dead was so heartbreaking. She was so sweet and cool, and the episode where we find out she's dead also made me cry 10 billion times. Hannah was probably my favourite character overall in the show.

The kids were really well written and acted imo. Kids in movies can sometimes come across as too annoying, even when it's not intentional, but bly manor never had that problem.

Okay also just having lesbians in horror is something I always appreciate immensely. I feel like I've cried every time there's been good lesbian rep in a horror show or movie and I hope there's more to come in the future (genuinely have cried at this, hill house and fear street).

I watched the show a few months ago now, so I unfortunately can't tell you in like full detail my thoughts. I've forgotten some specific scenes and parts, but overall I loved the show. I'll probably rewatch it at some point in the future. I also definitely need to watch Midnight Mass as well.

[haeroniel-doliet]

Bonus content: heres the super speed summary of how I struggled through the dinluke big bang piece I started over 80 days ago! More thoughts and details on my process below to cut

- Overall wanna post this with all the flaws galore for my future self, not at all because I've just left the record function on, forgot about it and now I have this!

- Good reminder that the worst thing is blank paper and just getting something down okay, rough simple lines convey ideas its all good!

- Drawing on an airplane produces questionable results (the first more refined lines, not NEARLY enough references in use)

- Speaking of, never regretted following a reference over trying to improvise. I feel like it always looks better (that smoke is one good example!)

- Redrawing and redrawing sometimes is so worth it, other times you should just let it be and move on (those first trees before the yellow dotting were kinda okay honestly!)

- Less all sorts of different brushes is better, for consistency :')

- Theres many parts I'd forgotten that in hindsight maybe look better than the end result (like overall composition being bigger and with better feeling of space) but choices were made and I gotta choose to be happy with and proud of the completed piece, afterall its better than all the dusty never finished wips.

- Definitely didn't quite follow the big bang deadlines, I'm sorry :') in general I'd consider that greyscale to be 20% sure (proof of idea and a layout figured out!) But hilariously after what I posted for even 80% I went and redid all that work. (Maybe its not actually totally redoing if you're making the same just improved! All the ground work took its own time and I wasn't starting from scratch at all.)

- At the very end it gets abruptly cut off, despite asking the program to leave on the last frame for a bit... Then I remembered the panic I had just yesterday, because the file for these screenshots took up too much disk space and caused Krita to crash, losing all the progress of like good bit of little adjustments and corrections. I guess I never turned the recording back on, so the very final few hours are missing, but thats okay! This is not professional! (Spot the absolutely tiny differences with the final image posted :p)

-Also realizing after many a rewatch, there's been some glitch with it not recording me recolouring the characters entirely!! How sad, but you can see the difference from when they pop up around the time I'm redoing the trees and at 02.53 and when they return all redone at 03.07

- Theres a lot I don't love, theres a lot that could be better if done differently, but I really have to start being okay with being done rather than perfect!

- Really proud of myself for dedicating to doing a more involved and detailed background/scene than i've ever done before digitally. I've pushed beyond my comfort zone of just characters with a hint of a background, it will get better from here!

- Did I need to post this with all sorts of bits missing? No, definitely not, but hopefully someone will find this interesting, and my future self feels that this was helpful!