#i think i have a fear of posting about important events or accomplishments

[touchlikethesun]

okay i called some ppl over the weekend and we were talking about my graduation (which is nearly twelve months after i actually got my degree but w/e) and they asked what i was going to post on insta. and i think i laughed out loud bc there is no way i'm commemorating that online on a public platform where people that know me irl might actually see it

[yuurei20]

Sorry if this was asked/addressed before, but do you consider the Twisted Wonderland Novels to be canon compliant, canon divergent, or maybe a little bit of both? Thank you so much!

Hello hello! ^^ Thank you for this question!

The Twst novels are fascinating, and seem to be accomplishing a multitude of things at once: we get insight into things that are barely hinted at in the game, like the scorn Riddle suffers post-overblot, the respect he holds for Leona and how he wants to learn from Malleus.

・Riddle and the consequences of overblot ・Riddle's confession ・Riddle on Malleus

We also get complete changes to things established in the game, such as the retconning of our introductions to Leona, Vil and Azul. ・Meeting Leona ・Meeting Pomefiore (pt1)) ・Meeting Azul (pt1)

And, most interesting of all, we get a lot more detail into things that also might be happening in the game, but we were just not told about it due to the limitations of the visual novel medium:

・Yuuya's First Class The prefect is not exactly welcomed by the students of NRC, with no one but Ace and Deuce willing to acknowledge them. ・Yuuya Fails After being supported by Ace, the prefect fails to support him in return ・The Classroom Tensions between Savanaclaw and Diasomnia students ・Riddle and Unique Magics Information on how unique magics manifest. ・The Overblot Battle Ruggie and Jack work together to defeat Leona ・Post-Overblot Leona (the flashback monologue) Leona's fear of giving up. ・Trusting Riddle Ace and Deuce's relationship to Riddle.

Due to how some things are being completely changed I think it is safer to consider the novels as a different canon unto themselves, but they are also a great frame of reference to apply to the game!

→ What language is being spoken in Twst? It is never specified in the game, but we know the language at novel-NRC is not Japanese!

→ What is the roommate situation at NRC? While we have a few hints in the game, the novel has explicitly explained the rooming situations!

→ How many students are there at NRC? Again we have a few hints here and there in the game, but the novel has given us a solid number :>

While things like the above three points might not apply to the game at all they are a useful reference for fanfic purposes, for example, until such a time that they are confirmed or denied by game canon.

And there might be times when the novels are even making corrections to in-game oversights 👀

In Book 1, for example, Ace is unable to repeat Chenya's full name after hearing it for the first time.

The problem: Ace is well known for being talented at mimicry, imitating tongue-click sounds he learns from Rook on his first try in order to communicate with hedgehogs.

The solution: Both the novel and the manga corrected this scene by having Deuce, not Ace, be the one who struggles to repeat Chenya's name.

Did they realize at some point that Ace not being able to mimic Chenya goes against an important character point, which they then corrected in the other two mediums? 👀

As the novels are coming out after the game, this could mean that there is a possibility that they are actually more accurate to the characters in some ways, as the creators have had a chance to review previously established points and make adjustments accordingly ^^

(The author for the novels, Hioki Jun, is both one of the original writers of the game's events and vignettes along with Yana, and a member of Yana's personal studio, D-6th!)

While maybe not canon to each other, both the novels and the game are most enjoyable, and I highly recommend them both!

English-language translation of the first novel coming out this August! 🥳

[themanifestingbrat]

Your circumstances don't matter

I don’t give a fuck what your past was, or what your present looks like now, or what you “hope” your future will be. You can have exactly what you want every single time!

“I want this person but they don’t know I exist…”

“I want a new car but I don’t have enough money…”

“I want to experience this but…”

“I want this, BUT…”

“Bb-bb-BUT!…”

We all at some point talked like this not realizing we are limiting ourselves.

If you are focused on your current circumstances, there will always be a “but.” (And I don’t ever wanna hear anybody say “BUT” after this post like fuck you mean?)

The good news is your current circumstances won’t ever matter because every single possibility exists in the eternal NOW, and everything is ALWAYS changing and anything can happen at any time. This is why you don’t have to worry about creating a new circumstance for you to get something you want, you simply align yourself with a reality that has what you want.

Because there are infinite realities, there are going to be outcomes we prefer, and the ones we don’t prefer.

Now, you may ask…

“How come I experience unwanted outcomes? How do we align to the preferred outcomes?”

First, if you’re anxiously worrying or fearing a certain outcome, you’re putting more energy into it. You might even expect it to happen, thinking about what you would do when the worst happens. Basically, you’re sooo focused on what could go wrong, you end up manifesting what you didn’t want. Then, have the audacity to say, “SEE, I knew things would go wrong!” Well no shit, bitch.

“The great secret is a controlled imagination and a well-sustained attention, firmly and repeatedly focused on the object to be accomplished.” - Neville Goddard

This is why I’m always saying where your focus goes, energy flows. When you focus on your desired outcome, that is the outcome you will receive.

That’s it. This shit ain’t rocket science.

Doubts may arise, a scary situation might pop into your head, the 3D might show the exact opposite of what you want, so what?!

Are you telling me you’re gonna let a silly little thought determine what’s going to happen? You’re going to give up because something didn’t go your way? Ok girl, stay lame.

Let that shit pass and counter it with a thought or vision that you want.

When you continue to do this, it’ll carve a pathway to our desired outcome, people start moving, events start happening, things will begin to shift behind the scenes to get you to your end goal. It’s also important to trust the process even if you see no visible movement, and just remain calm in the feeling you already have what you want.

STOP preparing for the worst,

STOP dwelling in what you don’t want,

STOP giving up after every inconvenience.

Things will always work out for you, why?! BECAUSE YOU SAID SO AND PERSISTED IN IT!

[heyclickadee]

I have another one of those long “Tech’s alive and here’s why,” posts sitting in my drafts. I haven’t posted one in months, so I figured I may as well write out one of the takes I didn’t get to back last spring, but I haven’t had a chance to site down and write it all out in the last few days, or I haven’t wanted to during the couple of times I have been able to sit down. It’s a little silly, I’m sure someone’s already covered it, I mostly write stuff like it for fun at this point, and I’ll probably post it in a few days.

But here’s the thing. Yes, I like going through and finding text-based evidence or interpretations that point to Tech surviving the fall or even faking his death on purpose. It’s fun. But, at the end of the day, the two simple, straightforward reasons I think Tech survived are because: one, the show—basically everyone involved in making it—is playing with ambiguity at all; and two, because Tech living seems like a reasonable conclusion given what we know about him, the show, and star wars in general. Between those two things, it will not click in my head as a character death.

Tech might be important to me on a personal level, but I know he’s not the lead character or the most important character in the context of the actual show. Hunter and Omega are the main leads. The Bad Batch is their story first. Taking Tech out of the picture for a bit, as much is it wrecked me, accomplishes a lot of things at once and pushes those stories forward; Hunter needed that shoe to drop and to have all his worst fears realized, Omega needed that shoe to drop in a different sense, and the series of events that unfold as the direct result of Tech sacrificing himself leads to both of them losing almost everything within a couple of hours. Things couldn’t keep going as they had without becoming stagnant, and they needed to hit those low points.

That said, I think leaving Tech out of the picture permanently would do a huge disservice to Hunter’ and Omega’s stories, too. To the bad batchers’ stories in general. The show is so heavily focused on that little family that starting the show with the family fractured, broken, and missing members and then feeding them through the grinder only to leave the family fractured, broken, and missing members permanently without ever once giving them a chance to be whole would be weird.

Tragedy is fine. Sad stories are fine. I like tragedy—I find tragedy in fiction genuinely helpful, to be honest. On that level, I wouldn’t mind if it turns out The Bad Batch has a tragic ending where they can never really fix things between all of them because not everyone is there, even if it would gut me. It’s just—I don’t think it makes sense, and I don’t think that’s the direction they’re going.

[singto-prachaya]

First of all I used google trans for this article!

Apo from DICE, an LGBTQ+ idol who once had to act macho in order to survive in the industry until the day when it is accepted that Being yourself is the most okay thing.

From representing myself as 'I', I changed to representing myself as 'I' happily. And from having to try to act 'manly' because I was afraid that people wouldn't accept me. Changed into a person who is no longer afraid to 'come out' as a girl, freely chooses to be himself and comes out directly as being LGBTQ+ with many fans in his life who love him for being who he is without reservations…this is The beautiful journey and growth to become Apo-Vachirakorn Raksasuwan, idol of the boy group DICE , who revealed that he is the only LGBTQ+ person from the SONRAY MUSIC label that is hot right now.

This 19-year-old idol is one of 789TRAINEE in the list looking for Thai boy group artists like 789 SURVIVAL, who is one of the most outstanding in his ability to sing, dance perfectly, and has a lot of charm that comes from his own personality. Apo doesn't have to force himself to act manly, speak manly, or put on manly makeup on the show. And even though the show has ended, Apo, who debuted as a member of the band DICE, dresses as elegantly as he wishes. Both cute looks and sassy looks, or great makeup, including slits for the eyes, full lips, creating sweet dolly eyes, etc., without a sexual framework covering his identity. Most importantly, they still talk with band members, staff, label owners like Yong Songyot, or even talk naturally with fans. and be extremely yourself That makes fans love Apo and fall in love with his cuteness, realness, and sincerity.

But until Apo confidently embraced his identity as a person in the entertainment industry, He faced various fears. There are quite a few as well. Apo told the program ROLLING OF THE DICE that tells the history of all the members before they came together to form the band DICE, that his dream began to happen around middle school. And he began to think about how he could choose to follow his dreams. So what exactly does he want to 'be'?

“I am a person who likes to sing, dance, like acting, and like anything related to the entertainment industry. But I just didn't know what I really wanted to be.” So Apo tried to be a bandleader at age 14, danced for school events at age 17, and then started studying acting. Learned to sing, learn to dance and decided to audition for various agencies. Until going to cast in movies and series as well And then there's the clip where Apo does some chopping dancing. Or dance cutely Some post on social media He caught the eye of the SONRAY MUSIC team, so they invited Apo to audition. Apo admitted that he thought a lot about his own identity.

”Obstacles in the stage that will reach my dreams are self acceptance that what I am is special There were many moments when I wasn't sure. Can what I am really be accepted by others? Will other people like me like this? I feel that my family is a safe zone that makes me dare to express myself. If you don't have a family I don't know that today I will have the courage to express myself. And can I do what I love like this?” Which if anyone is an Apo fan You must have seen the cuteness of Apo's father. who often tweets messages playing with Apo in Family plays a very important role. That will make a child dare to be himself.

“My brothers contacted me because my clip caught their eye. I was happy to catch his eye, but at that time I too…was when I kept following my dreams until I felt like it couldn't possibly be accomplished. So I went back to focusing on my studies. But I chose to do it. Because I thought it was my last chance. If you don't do it now I don't know when I'll be able to do it again.”

"The day of the audition I remember singing in a female key but singing in a low voice. I don't know why. I only danced to male songs.” The song Apo chose to dance to was a song by EXO because Apo wasn't sure how much the label would accept him. Least girlish It may have been the solution that Apo chose at that time, but in the end, he chose to be himself anyway.

“Well, he can already tell. But we chose songs that were masculine. But add the line of dancing to me. It will look more feminine, better than showing women's songs. Bang! Maybe he was shocked? Oh my gosh, what was that? Until I brought out a song that really represented me to dance to, he played the song LE SSERAFIM. I remember that day. It's just Sakura."

And then the song FEARLESS from LE SSERAFIM became a song that Apo danced to himself. no pressure And that's how Apo finally passed the audition.

“At that time, I didn't dare to express myself 100% because, first, I didn't know how much I would be accepted here. I've been taught that I'm like this. It will make me unable to sell. No one likes this. He's like, "Hi, I'm Apo. What's going on?" He called and said I can do it. So I asked: Do I have to keep the man? What do you want me to be like? He said to me, that they chose me Because I'm like this. I don't want you to be someone else. I want you to be yourself.”

Apo thought that the camp welcomed him warmly. And it's a camp where he doesn't have to hide who he is. That's what a normal teenager does. That no matter who you are, you want to be in a safe space like this. This is considered to be more accepting of LGBTQ+ people in the T-Pop industry in this era. And it shows the importance of 'opportunity' that adults in the industry should open their minds and allow all children to fully express their abilities and individuality. without gender as an obstacle Because we may see talented Thai people release their products and help drive the country to be better in each industry that they are involved in thoroughly. Because of Thai children If you're so talented, you'll die!

Source: mirrorthailand

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Fabiola Cineas at Vox:

It took less than a day for the world to start rallying for George Floyd in late May 2020. The events that led to Floyd’s murder unfolded over hours, but a viral 10-minute video recording of the deadly encounter with Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was enough to send floods of people nationwide into the streets for months.  In the weeks after Floyd’s killing, the number of Americans who said they believe racial discrimination is a big problem and that they support the Black Lives Matter movement spiked. As books about racial injustice flew off of bookstore shelves, corporate leaders, politicians, and celebrities pledged to fight racism. The events of 2020 disturbed America’s collective conscience, and the movement for justice captivated millions. Until it didn’t.  

In retrospect, there were signs of brewing right-wing resistance all along. While many peacefully protested, others called for their defeat. Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton demanded that the US military be brought in to fight “insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters, and looters.” As police officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds across the country, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to “dominate the streets” and defend “life and property,” sending thousands of troops and federal law enforcement officers to control protesters in Washington, DC; Portland, Oregon; and other cities.  Some Americans who wanted to stamp out the unrest took it upon themselves to practice vigilantism. One of them, Kyle Rittenhouse, fatally shot two unarmed men and wounded another when he brought an AR-15-style rifle to protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Rittenhouse was later acquitted of all homicide charges.)

Though the mass mobilization of 2020 brought hope, it’s clear today that it also marked a turning point for backlash as the mirage of progress morphed into seemingly impenetrable resistance. Historically, backlash has embodied a white rejection of racial progress. Over the past few years, the GOP has built on that precedent and expanded its reach.  The right watched progressives rally for change and immediately fought back with the “Big Lie” of a stolen election. In many of the states that Biden flipped in 2020, Republicans rushed to ban ballot drop boxes, absentee ballots, and mobile voting units, the methods that allowed more people to vote. Since then, we’ve seen the passage of dozens of regressive laws, including anti-protest laws, anti-LGBTQ laws, and anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion laws. In state after state, these bans were coupled with incursions against reproductive rights, as some conservatives announced plans to take over every American institution from the courts to the schools to root out liberalism and progress.

[...] “There’s a backlash impulse in American politics,” Glickman said. “I think 2020 is important because it gets at another part of backlash, which is the fear that social movements for equality and justice might set off a stronger counter-reaction.” The protests of 2020 did. And though race is still at the core of the post-George Floyd backlash, many Republicans have gone to new lengths to conceal this element.  "One of the things that the civil rights movement accomplished was to make being overtly racist untenable,” said Anderson. “Today they say, ‘I can do racist stuff, but don't call me racist.’” For Anderson, backlash is about instituting state-level policies that undermine African Americans’ advancement toward their citizenship rights.

By early 2021, alongside the effort to “stop the steal,” legislation that would limit or block voting access, give police protection, and control the teaching of concepts such as racial injustice began spreading across Republican-controlled state legislatures — all in the name of protecting America.  “They cover [voter suppression] with the fig leaf of election integrity, with the fig leaf of trying to protect democracy, and with the fig leaf of stopping massive rampant voter fraud,” Anderson said. And, she said, laws banning the teaching of history get covered “with the fig leaf of stopping indoctrination.” That coordinated legislation was a direct response to potential racial gains for Black Americans and other marginalized groups. “After the death of George Floyd in 2020, it seemed like all of our institutions suddenly shifted overnight,” conservative activist Christopher Rufo said in a 2022 interview. Rufo’s answer was to release a series of reports about diversity training programs in the federal government and critical race theory, which, he argued, “set off a massive response, or really, revolt amongst parents nationwide.” 

[...]

The new era of backlash is grievance-driven 

That racial resentment has since taken on a particularly acrid temperament since Floyd's death. At the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump, facing a litany of criminal and civil charges, stood on stage and told the audience, “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”  Trump’s words summarized the political discourse that has spread since the killing of George Floyd and highlighted the absence of a formal Republican policy agenda. “[What he said was] not policy,” said historian John Huntington, author of the book Far Right Vanguard: The Radical Roots of Modern Conservatism. “It was just vengeance for some sort of perceived wrongs.” He added, “policy has taken a backseat to cultural grievances.” 

What Huntington calls out as “endless harangues against very nebulous topics like critical race theory or wokeness or whatever the current catchphrase is right now” are an important marker of this new era. “A key element of the current backlash we’re seeing is a politics of grievance,” he says. “‘I have been wronged somehow by the liberals or whoever, and Trump is going to help me get even with these people that I don’t like.’” Glickman calls this backlash tactic an “inversion” or “elite victimization”: “It’s a reversal that happens in backlash language where privileged white people take the historical position of oppressed people — often African Americans but sometimes other oppressed groups — and they speak from that vantage point.” To be sure, Republicans have passed dozens of laws through state legislatures to do everything from restricting voting to banning trans athletes from participating in sports. But for Huntington, these reactionary laws don’t amount to legitimate policy. “It's very difficult to convince people to build a society rather than trying to tear down something that's already existing,” he said. “Critiquing is easy. Building is hard.” Nationally, Republicans only passed 27 laws despite holding 724 votes in 2023. 

Vox has a great article on the right-wing backlash against the racial reckoning of Summer 2020 has had effects on our politics the last few years, such as waging faux outrage crusades against CRT and DEI.

[valeriefauxnom]

Euden and Power - An Analysis

One thing that was rather interesting to me when I first realized it is Euden's interesting...relationship? with the concept of power. I'm probably yelling to the wind with this but I personally try keep these things in mind when writing him and maybe it might be interesting to someone else. Warning: very long post ahead!

So Euden, from the very start, is not exactly power-hungry. In fact, he's perfectly content staying in the capital, not forming a pact to avoid potentially causing discord in his family if they now view him as a threat. He dearly doesn't want to be a threat. He just wants to be with his family, and serve/protect his country/family in his own way, without needing much power beyond what he has as a prince.

Here's one of the relationship charts they made for advertising at the beginning of the game:

I think it's also notable that he was able to perfectly pull this goal off in the beginning. Leonidas has given up on all siblings of his after Valyx, viewing them weak and unworthy of his attention. Phares thinks him talented, which while Phares never clarifies exactly what aspect he thinks Euden talented in, isn't exactly something like 'views as a threat'. (But I will give credit to Phares, in all of his touted wisdom and insight, still is able to identify his youngest brother as having talent in anything, given some of the others). Chelle certainly seems to love to tease him, and certainly isn't very feeling threatened since she plays him (+everone) like a fiddle. Valyx 'thinks him feeble', obviously not scared, more likely viewing him at best in the 'weak sibling that needs protection from his stronger siblings' category.

Jumping to Emile, who views Euden as lesser in every way, and is growing angrier that Euden is 'taking beyond his station' by being loved in any capacity or trusted with important things. His anger is borne out of strong feelings of Euden's inferiority, because that is how Euden has set himself up in his family and 'confirmed' it to Emile: that the others are better, wiser, stronger, and he's not going to challenge that and risk their ire. So when he does move out of that comfort zone when Aurelius tells him to reclaim the shard and form a pact, everything is shaken up.

Euden's suddenly been thrust into needing to seek power to accomplish what he wants- one dragon, two, - five Greatwyrms, who knows how many other dragons and drakes, then he's setting up his own kingdom. Not for himself, but for others: for his citizens who are suffering under the reborn Empire's rule, and for his Father and later Zethia (since Euden seems to be of the opinion that Morsayati!Aurelius isn't his father's body or soul at all, likely indicating some thought of 'somebody's captured and impersonating Father, I'll need to rescue him'). He wants power now, but not for itself or himself, only for others. It's a means to an end.

We also see this in the lackadaisical way he runs his castle. We all joke about the daily chaos at the Halidom, but it's also a reflection on Euden's stewardship as lord. He really doesn't like being in positions of authority when possible, and so generally chooses to express the least amount of power he can to not be or come across as someone better or more important. He only acts as lord when needed to protect his country, friends, or other important things, largely trusting in his friends to govern and guide themselves without a strict rule.

But anyways. Back to canon. Well, and events. And oh boy, 1st anniversary brought a lot of material for me to talk about here. First, of course, there's Gala Euden, whose entire adventurer story shtick is him struggling with the problems excessive power brings because it causes others to fear him and grow apart from him. That is a very important concept regarding Euden in another way (his hyperfocus on other people instead of himself) but I digress. That's a rant for another day.

In the end, Euden resolves himself to continue to gain power, even in the face of 'eternally crushing loneliness' this power will bring, much the same as Alberius before him. His friends rescue him and try to remind him that they'll be there with him, sure, but his actual resolve on this notion...doesn't actually change much. If it is needed, he'll do it, even if he strongly prefers and needs his friends with him.

Then came Fractured Futures, an event that starts from Chronos preying on the fact that Euden just woke up from yet another nightmare and lamenting his lack of power back then to manipulate him into time traveling for his secret true liege. As such, Euden is largely alone with Chronos for this event, save for Audric. And right as Chronos reveals his true colors and is in the process of killing a Zethia, he curses at himself in a much stronger critique than he'd ever likely throw at anyone else. I quote: "Dammit, you stupid body! Move! MOVE!"

...His powerlessness has struck again, causing a Zethia to die before his eyes. And in his mind, he's no one to blame but himself and his own weakness. And so, he resolves to get stronger. Not because he wants it, or for personal gain and satisfaction, but for others.

He loathes it. Or rather, the need of it for his desires. From it, he's antagonized most his siblings now turning on him as a threat in war or a threat to their own self-perception in Emile's case. But still, he proceeds.

Thus forms the twisted relationship he has with it: he needs it, seeks it out, but dislikes some of what it has brought to him. But he's going to do his best not to let anyone know about these struggles, because Euden is Euden and Euden is hard set on not burdening anyone with his 'weakness'. It's noted several times how he's always trying to do too much on his own, and shown in others, like Gala Sarisse's story where he outright collapses from overwork.

He's trying to do everything on his own power, and will struggle by himself until he burns out and can physically do no more. Things change, though, when Bondforged Euden arrived.

By now, Euden has been forced to accept that he is not Atlas (the mythological one, not the -metheus' brother!) and does, in fact, need his friends. Chapter 23 alone further stresses this when he again tries to take on too much too soon and needs put in place by his siblings. And then the world can 'reward' that acknowledgement in the form of more power.

It's kinda an interesting give and take in the larger narrative. Euden trying to do things on his own are generally discouraged/'punished', and relying on his friends or trusting in them is rewarded. Even the very beginning, he tried to set out alone without Zethia or Notte as not to endanger them, but quickly finds himself in need. Zethia rescues him, he acknowledges that he was a bit overconfident, and then things start going smoother.

All in all, I know this is probably getting way too rambling, but at its core, Dragalia has yet another message aside from family and loving yourself and all the other overarching themes of destiny, etc: "You shouldn't try to do everything yourself. Working together with others makes you more powerful, not weak. Needing others' support isn't weakness."

There's a lot more I could say and add about it, but I think it's one of the cooler subtler threads to Euden that easily can go overlooked in the larger identity crisis and all that. So yeah, I think Euden struggles a lot with the need of power he has/the results thereof, and when he finally accepts that he will never be able to 'hold up the entire world without burdening anyone else', that's when he's strongest.

Hope you enjoyed this sprawling mass of text, and hopefully all the images and stuff are clear!

[dcviated]

BY GOLLY EZELL THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION!!!

This might be a scatterbrained post, I've had a couple shots- but I did more re-reading of his introductory event, Guiding Ahead. The story of a paradoxical child born of two warring races and the Guy who helped to save her from forces that would manipulate and exploit her existence to their own ends.

The actions and growth Ezell goes through really hit a few good notes that I think go a little deeper for his character beyond just 'good boy doing good thing and mediating'. Yes. He handled it. But I like to think about why he handled it. Because everything up to the point of the event of his history should've kept him from doing that.

The conflict stems from what I see are two parts of how he was raised. That is, the upbringing hearing of grandeur and action- tall tales etc from his grandpa- and then the utopic framework of Lateran life for Sankta- protected normalcy. To Ezell, these things were stories. To do grand deeds and have things to talk about. Probably not going to be for him. Ezell thought he wouldn't be a big shot. He wanted a quiet desk job and then he turned out to be, hey, pretty good at this stuff!

So he lands a proper executor position like his parents and grandpa (where those stories came from)(yknow the ones he wouldnt measure up to). It's a field job, so he's out more often. Exposed to more people and more things. There's the sense that he might lament this change, and yet we can only look and see that he's... embracing this role?

After all. Cecelia is a very early hiccup encountered, but the pivot to 'playing the hero role' to her happens almost instinctively. Sure, he probably didn't expect helping a lost little girl to find her mom would embroil him in a political and religious scandal that could twist an entire nation into pieces, but at the time none of that mattered.

As the first arc of GA progresses, there's a fear that could've pulled him out of the game, and out of the picture. He's a trainee Executor! In over his head! Cecelia crossing his path is a hiccup in what is otherwise that normal life, but the honor of his word glues him in. There are so many opportunities to stop and bail, surrender the girl to multiple parties. Good, dubious, and bad. Yet, he doesn't. Despite many of these people being capable of fucking his shit up.

Despite his best effort, he does end up being thwarted when the clash of the Astray and the Lateran Church happens on top of them. Cecelia is taken by Andoain, and Ezell is brought back with Fiametta and co with the bigwigs.

Important note here, is that last "......." from him is timed with a change to a sad/concerned facial expression. Like. Okay, I can go back to normal after that interesting little twist....! ....but do I want to?

The next stage story, GA-6, is the critical monologue and payoff for the arc. After running into Andoain once again (guy who is wanted by the whole country out for a stroll nbd) the fugitive tells him that Cecelia will need him soon in order to fulfill her wishes.

And if you ask me?! He got mixed up in the whole deal because he was unsatisfied with his life! And with the utopia of Laterano. Prior to Cecelia he probably felt entirely aimless on where that unrest came from. But each encounter and each event was another chip in the shell that let him see what it was.

Yeah sure, there's part of him that embraced the sloth of the 9-5 desk life, but the play acting at hero touched down somewhere deeper. He wanted to be someone who he could be a little more proud of, and accomplished. Like his family before him? Yes. But more than that he wanted to make a difference in himself.

He says later this whole thing could've been an interlude, a side story in what life he would lead normally. But he can't leave that to be as it is. Just being in the presence of Andoain in this scene has him questioning himself, loyalties, and further isolating himself as a free thinking mind (because lemme tell you, there's a lot of group-think in Laterano thanks to the shared empathy of Sankta). One of Enforcer's base lines echoes this sentiment of division-

The Sankta ability to perceive each other's states of mind is common sense to us, not something that needs real elaboration. But I'm sad to say, at some point, I suddenly realized I lost that reciprocation with my own people. It wasn't any physical disease, I just... began to think.

Enforcer's arc wraps up with him heeding Andoain's words and going to join Cecelia, saving her from corrupted agents of the Lateran church who would use her mixed-race status as a tool against the hierarchy. The most important development from there is, of course, that it gave us one of the hardest CGs ever when he gets saved from the Legatus, Oren, by motherfucking Executor.

Yeah...... :)

Where was I going with this post? I forgot. In the end, there's a lot of self discovery that Ezell went through as a result of this event. The veil was pulled back on a lot of society. And even if he disagreed with some of the principles that Andoain wished to extoll, they do have a silent overlap on the matter that.... not everything is right here. And maybe it'll take listening to more people and more viewpoints to learn what that right is.

He can't go back to how he was before. The head is out of the sand.

I think Enforcer/Ezell is really cool. And I hope we get to see more of his story with Cecelia now that we got the module story saying that he got smuggled into Kazdel by Mudrock. :')

[arrthurpendragon]

With the 2 year anniversary of TCWGANV and the final chapter approaching in less than a month (October 19th) I want to gush about Grim Kennet:

There's so much to say about her, she's definitely my favorite of my OCs and is so important to me. I love her dynamics with the other characters, and it's a big part of her story. I also just often think about how young she is during the events of The Clone Wars. She's only 14 when it starts and is 17 when Order 66 is executed. She's just a child while she's going through all of this, and has the weight of the entire galaxy on her.

And the thing is she doesn't have to face things alone. All throughout her story Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi Council frequently offer to help her, and yet she keeps declining their help while being crushed by this burden.

And then when she is finally getting to the point where she might be ready to actually talk things out with the Council she gets caught by Sidious and it terrifies her so much that she doesn't tell anyone, because she's afraid of what he'll do to her and the rest of the Jedi if she does 😭😭

The parallels between her and Anakin are also something I never intended to happen but work out so beautifully. It shows that she could become just as bad while at the same time Anakin could be just as good. And they're both struggling with their fear, but Grim manages to overcome hers. Only it's too late by the time she does, and Order 66 has finally been executed.

Also I think it's really funny that people often think Grim & Obi-Wan are actually related. It ends up getting to the point that when they go into hiding together it actually becomes their cover story.

Speaking of hiding Grim goes by Rue Kenobi during that time with Rue coming from the fact it means regret and I'm extremely proud of that little meaning.

Also, I've been thinking a lot about her in the Original Trilogy Era especially because I'm finally getting around to working on the Sequel to TCWGANV called As Long As There's Light and I'm so happy that the prologue and first chapter of that fic will also be coming out soon (November 3rd.)

I mean I'm always thinking about Grim, but now I have a lot of accomplishments and things I'm looking forward to coming up and I'm so excited about it. I can't wait to have the entirety of TCWGANV posted and start posting the sequel. TCWGANV has quite literally been the longest I've worked on any project not to mention my longest project and I can't wait to see how As Long As There's Light follows.

First, I'm so happy you've had Grim for this long. Congrats! You should be proud! :) And congrats on the new fic coming out soon! I'm so proud of you for being able to update so consistently and stay on top of things!

All the kudos to you! And good luck going forward! :)

[uncle-fruity]

Also, like... I get that there is a lot of anxiety about being seen as morally good & fighting for everyone at every turn, but! Crucially, the people who try to guilt trip you or judge you off your Tumblr presence don't fucking know you. They don't know what you do off Tumblr. They may not know any other social media that you DO use for your politics and heavy posting. And, tbh, at a certain level of offline activism & direct action, it is actively dangerous for you to be posting about what you do online, so a perceived lack of interest or dedication online does not necessarily translate to the efforts you put in to causes you care about.

Fact of the matter is, YOU are the only one who knows what you get up to. If it's not as much as you think you should be doing, that's for you to assess and change. If you feel like you're doing enough, or if you feel like taking on more responsibility in activism would overwhelm you or burn you out, that's okay! You know your limits better than anyone else. You get to set your priorities. And if you really want to help with social justice causes, you HAVE to take care of yourself. Anger, fear, and guilt are not sustainable motivations to drive a movement. You NEED places to relax and have fun and not think about how bleak things can get. You NEED to have places to retreat, enjoy yourself, and remind yourself that it's all worth fighting for.

I know this, because I'm in my 30s now. When I was in my early 20s, I was friends with a lot of folks who went hard during the Ferguson protests, and while many of them are still active in their activism, almost none of them are operating on the same level as they used to. All of them are burnt out & depressed. I spend a lot of my energy urging them to take care of their most basic needs. We also have a problem with a lot of older activists being too broken & traumatized to continue organizing. And part of the problem is people within the movement encouraging people to push past their limits until they have nothing left to give. Or just having no support systems in place to help people recover while actively judging people who need them & can't continue without them.

And, like, it's hard, because it's easy to start feeling like no one cares about the stuff you care about when you're out there trying to make change -- especially true if all your activism is online posting & raising awareness. It can feel like you're talking to a void or a brick wall. The idea that you are so stressed & strung out & never let yourself take a break from the harsh reality of the world while there are people who have the audacity to make time to enjoy their lives and put their efforts into other activities that aren't directly related to The Cause -- well, that's why a lot of people resort to guilt trips. I know I did, too, when I was younger and freshly angry. And I know that those guilt trips did nothing to convince anyone of anything. In fact, it was the constant guilt trips that made me retreat from those online groups. Where they might have had any and all skills I could offer, they instead made me feel like shit for doing what I could handle at the time. And even though I knew guilt tripping was a major manipulation & abuse tactic, I still resorted to it and, in doing so, I felt wrong. Like I betrayed some of my core values by trying to make people feel so bad that they would suddenly realize that they should be ashamed & join the movement headfirst. It just... doesn't work that way. A guilt trip will turn people off. If you want people to join a movement or be more active in a movement they are already part of, it is so much better to encourage them to come with you to organized events or give them something tangible to do that they can actually accomplish. And if you're just talking about posting online, well... that is not the most important thing to focus on, and is a really bad measure to judge someone's morality.

All that to say, a guilt trip is usually a manifestation of the desperation folks are feeling. It's not right to guilt trip folks, and if you're at that point that you feel like that's the only thing that will get people to change and care, then I'm sorry to say you are probably on the verge of your own burnout and you need to take a break. Please don't let people make you feel bad for not being angry or on your activism shit 24/7. And don't judge yourself harshly when you need to have boundaries online. The best tactic will always be community building and working with people & their various skills on their level. Compassion and encouragement go so much farther than guilt.

No matter what a post on tumblr tries to tell you, your moral and ethical stances will never be determined by what you reblog and what you scroll past. Don’t let manipulation tactics force you into doing anything you don’t want to do.

[ofrionstage]

2024 Yearly Recap!

So today is the last day of 2024.

I don't really have much to say about that. It's been a bit of a stressful year, it had its highs, it had its lows. I thought about trying to summerize the year in a sentence, but it's going to be really difficult. A year is a long time! In a year, a person will be happy, sad, stressed, relieved, and so much else, it's impossible to summerize so much into so little.

So I wrote more than a sentence!

This, like a lot of stuff here, is my first time doing something like this, so I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I decided to write this in the style of a spotify wrapped but for my life, if that makes sense? Accomplishments, numbers and stuff. Anyways, here it is:

WRITING(I write scripts):

This year has been the best year ever for my writing. In 2024, I...

Officially started my biggest project ever, which I am so passionate about.

Wrote 16,542 words in the first draft of said project.

(that's 35.5 scenes!)

Finally got over my fear of social media and started to post my progress here(really proud of myself for that), online confidence skyrocketed.

↑ Posted 17 parts of 'Irregularly Documenting My Creative Journey' over the span of 33 days, planning to post a lot more

Managed to finish a script for an unrelated side project with my friends in ONE WEEKEND, which ended up being 1.5K WORDS.

Used a definitely normal amount of sticky notes. Yes, my copy of the book I'm adapting is 100% fine why do you ask-

The book in question, suffocating from sticky notes: (blurred for spoilers I guess)

WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO BRING YOU AN IMPORTANT WRITING ANNOUNCEMENT.

I wasn't able to finish the first draft by 2025(which is 100% fine, we all mess up a goal or two, life can be annoying). Luckily, I have a backup goal. You see, my birthday is January 16th. What I'm going to do is work to give myself the awesome gift of having a first draft ready by then. I'll be honest, if life will go easy on me, I should probably finish the first draft before that, which will be even better. We all miss goals and every now and then. It's okay! We're writers, not machines.

(Well, I hope we're not machines.)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, POST WILL RESUME SHORTLY.

MUSICAL THEATER:

This year has been an amazing year for musical theater, with Wicked's popularity literally everywhere. I love musicals. In 2024 I...

Saw a lot of musicals(I couldn't track the number)! The majority of them being proshots or slime tutorials, yes, but I found out about so many new fictional worlds and fandoms. It's amazing.

Saw a few musicals live on a big trip to london! Musical theater stars are so nice in person(I was, of course, very embarrassed to ask them to sign my programme). Fandoms can be so sweet and loving when they want to be. Let's all try to be more accepting and kind in 2025.

I saw the Wicked movie on its opening night! It was my first time ever seeing a movie on opening night, I was really excited. My friends and I decided to all come only wearing green and pink, which was my first time wearing something special and nerdy to an event. I loved the movie, too! No wonder it's the best-selling movie musical ever. Everyone in the fandom probably feels like the luckiest people on the planet, as they should!

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Like I said, a bit more than a month ago I finally got over my fear of posting and started posting updates on my creative journey, together with stuff about musicals I like. I didn't do much on social media this year because I just started a month ago, but in 2024 I...

Posted 33 posts.

Reached 5 followers(hi guys!)

My most popular post being this, a Les Mis fun fact post with 387 notes as of writing this. Les Mis fandom, you guys are very cool, but what are you??

Hoped on multiple occasions that people don't think I'm a middle aged woman just because I like analog emojis

Hoped on multiple occasions people are fine with my subpar english(it's my second language) and my obsesion with parentheses

Tried my best to spread positivity with my posts! :D

Huh. Now that I'm reading everything I wrote, it seems like my year did have a theme.

The Theme for My 2024 Was: A Lot of First Times!

I had a great year. I love doing and trying new things. I love the other people here who are so kind, I love you, who are reading this post right now!

Have a wonderful 2025, everyone!

I will see you next year. <3

-ofrionstage

[firefromthegodspro]

Final Game Jam Dev Log: It seems we have reached... an end

Greetings, greetings, fair Tumblr. Tis I, local crackpot wizard Fire. It's currently 2:30 in the morning, and as I type this part of the post, Messier Mystes' prototype is uploading to Itch.io for submission into the Jam!

It's admittedly not... great, I did run out of time to get it to a point I wanted. But it is at the very least functional. Lacking cutscenes, balance, and quality. But functional.

Safe to say, this is the farthest I've gotten on a creative project not meant for a class, so I'm both relieved I managed to finish something (I am literally that one Jimmy Neutron villain IRL), and disappointed I couldn't even polish the vertical slice I made.

So before we talk about the bad, let's talk about the good!

I've literally never made a game before, so just the fact I did this is an accomplishment to me. Like genuinely. I was given RPG Maker MV in high school as a gift, and I've never been able to sit down and release something playable, so this was insanely satisfying! Even if I don't win anything or I get bad reviews, I'm just happy to be here.

Additionally, as scuffed as my Timetable system is, the fact I managed to make a semi-functional one abusing If/Else statements, Common Events, and Variables makes me proud. I problem solved, and while it is basic I think it's somewhat creative for my first foray into the engine.

Now onto the "what I'm disappointed about" section.

I am extremely disappointed that I didn't budget my time well at all. I really should've either chosen a smaller scope, or focused hard on a vertical slice, but I didn't manage to. It led to me cutting a lot of corners in the final hour, and I'm unhappy with it. It kinda sucks to me I didn't manage to even implement music or cutscenes properly, but its whatever.

Enjoy this Rouxls Kaard gif as a line break.

SO! What are my plans for the future?

Well, near future, I'm taking a couple days and binging both FGO and Tsukihime. I managed to NP2 Arc on the Anniversary banner, so I feel obligated to consume her route in the VN as quickly as possible. I haven't exactly been only game devving, but I do wanna take a couple days and let my creative juices refill.

I'm bone dry, man!

Secondly, in the slightly less-near future, I need to focus on my novel. I've let Quest for the Sacred Sword fall by the wayside, and I wanna get more progress put into that before I hop back onto Messier.

But never fear! My middling Dev Blogs and game development talents will return.

In terms of what's in store for the future, obviously things like adding cutscenes... adding the Social Link-type mechanic, and all of that is on the docket. But I also need to redesign my dungeons to meet my initial vision for them. Additionally, while I might stick with the ad hoc bootleg Timekeeping system, I definitely want to refine it a bit more if I don't outright replace it.

I also need to seriously overhaul my spell list. I have a perfectly fine basic outline, but as I implemented it I realized I forgot to focus on where the spells would fall in the level tree...

Yeah, again, I've never really done this before.

So revamping that is a must.

I also need to improve my map designs. I have some pretty basic ones, but improvements can always be made, and I want to make them.

That all being said, I'll still be posting here, just not Game Dev stuff. Probably more random thoughts, novel updates, or random garbage essays I come up with about my hyper fixations. The Wordpress (with a total of 1 post) is going to go silent for now, and will return when important updates exist. I'm still going to be working on Messier slowly in the background, but I won't really talk about it until I have something significant to show off.

Whelp, as of this line its just shy of 2:50 and I have to be up at 8 for work. The game's uploaded and submitted by now, so I'm going to go crash.

Walking the path of heaven to rule over everything.

-Fire

[ectonurites]

Wait, I'm confused, what's happening with Barbra? Like I know she had a chip installed in her spine that allows her to walk and I know it was brought up in the books a while ago that the chip may not last much longer but how is Nightwing book being albeist towards her?

So to begin with, the whole thing with the chip was ableism in general, it was altering a very visual disability into something more subtle and palatable for an able-bodied audience so she could be Batgirl again and it could only get brought up when it was convenient. Now that itself isn’t on Taylor or the current Nightwing run, this choice was made in 2011 and imo DiDio is at core the person to blame for that since the New 52 & erasing Steph & Cass’ importance as Batgirls was his whole thing.

At the end of Joker War last year DC made the move to begin transitioning Babs from her role as Batgirl back into acting as Oracle, which at first sounds good… except they’re missing the point of Oracle because that identity is inherently tied to Barbara being a disabled woman. As annoying as having her back in Batgirl has been, at least that’s the identity she created before being shot. But Oracle was created so that she could continue doing hero work as a wheelchair user, and putting her back into that identity without letting her be visibly disabled is, again, missing the entire point. Now, that as a choice falls more on the Batbook editorial team (like if we want to put specific names we could say Abernathy since he’s the lead editor and Tynion as lead writer), since they’ve been making the bigger calls about batbooks.

The current Nightwing run comes into the picture after Joker War, and now Babs is heavily featured, acting as Oracle while… still able-bodied. Again, not inherently Taylor’s choice and I do believe him when he says it’s not something he alone has the power to change, but the way he has been approaching things in regards to the subject has been getting a lot of criticism because it’s been very careless. Books have been regularly hinting her chip is going to fail for well over a year now, and yet in the most recent issue of Nightwing, Babs takes on a new Batgirl costume and decides to go back out in the field because as Oracle she wasn’t able to accomplish what she felt she needed to.

Her going out as Batgirl again was probably not really his call, because this is all part of the bigger Fear State event, BUT the way he has her talk about why is the big problem that is entirely on Taylor because he wrote the words. I made a post about this when the issue first came out, but to reiterate…

Portraying Oracle as limited like this, when in the previous continuity something like this situation would not have even remotely stopped her, is ableist. It’s saying that what she can do while she’s disabled isn’t “enough”

(Nightwing (2016) #84)

Was he probably told by editorial he had to get from point A (Babs acting as Oracle) to point B (Babs going out in a new Batgirl suit)? Sure. But he did NOT need to write her downplaying what Oracle can accomplish to do that.

The way Babs is being written in the Nightwing book in particular (although frankly I DO think we also should be calling attention to it as she shows up in other books, its just that Taylor’s been the most annoying in response to criticism on twitter so the conversations go on longer, and his book features her probably most heavily) is not respectful to Oracle and what Oracle stands for, and that is the problem.

THIS is the Babs as Oracle we want back, not the one in the panel I posted above.

(Birds of Prey Vol. 1 #8)

(Harley Quinn Vol. 1 #11)

Having Babs flip flop between Batgirl and Oracle while walking around is disrespectful to her as a character and is what we are talking about when discussing the Nightwing book being ableist in how it’s handling her.

Not all of the fault for the entire situation is on this single run, it’s a deeper problem that’s been at DC for a decade now, but the Nightwing run is most heavily featuring it so choosing not to financially or otherwise support it (no matter how much they try to lure us in with a cute dog or fingerstripes or a romantic pairing you might like) until it does better is a big way we can show DC that we don’t want to put up with this shit anymore.

[anxresi]

Sadly, no matter how well thought out your parables, metaphors and ‘hidden meanings’ are for what you think is behind the scriptwriting of this show, IMHO you’re onto a hiding to nothing.

I won’t bleat on too much about Chloe’s mistreatment because I’ve done more than enough of that on my own blog and I don’t want to repeat myself (if you REALLY want to know what I think, you have around three years of salt to wade through since the end of S3. Good luck!)

What I will say is there is nowhere near the amount of thought put into the plot you seem to imply. I mean, this is a show that ditches character development at a moment’s notice, retcons entire arcs without blinking, introduces ‘important’ cast members only to barely use them, oh and invents entire flashbacks just to demonize an already castigated character (I am trying not to mention Chloe too much again… but, it’s difficult. Her treatment represents almost everything bad about the show).

So even after the last few moments of Revolution, they’re not just suddenly going to give her back any layers to her character after systemically dismantling and destroying them for the last few years. After all, she hasn’t had any true agency or life goals since Miracle Queen, except for probably a note in the script saying  ‘make sure she acts as much as a sociopathic bitch as possible, so people will loathe her.’ Mission accomplished, I suppose.

There’s not even any thought put behind why she suddenly hates everyone and everything, we’re supposed to take it at face value she’s spontaneously become this unfeeling psychopath. Anyone else remember when she had an actual personality, valued her friendships, family and felt genuine guilt, even at her worst in S1 and 2? Because I do. Dumped like so many other good things about the show, because presumably it would be much more difficult to keep her as any more than a detestable one-dimensional character. Pathetic.

As for everyone else who got ‘redeemed’ like Felix, Sabrina and Nathalie, there was no great planning behind their conversion, the writers decided they would be ‘good’… and that was that. In other words, no big event, no amazing epiphany, the writers just pressed a button… and it happened in seconds. Not very satisfying, from a dramatic or narrative POV.

If that kind of instant simplistic gratification is how Chloe would get a redemption, then to be blunt you can keep it. Let her never return from that trip abroad for all I care, such a potentially complex character is never going to get the treatment she deserves in such a lackadaisical production anyway. Plus, at least we won’t see her tortured any longer by Thomas Astruc and his goon squad of writers. Fanfiction Chloe FTW TBH. Always.

So while your parallels about children and their parents are very interesting, I fear you’re imposing a far more convoluted dogma on this show than ever was the intention. Keep looking at it through a microscope and write whole thesis on different facets of it if you want (I mean, some people think Barney The Dinosaur is high art) but if you want my view, you’re wasting your time searching for diamonds in a dog turd.

A charming note to finish on I’m sure, but like the show, I don’t really plan these things do I? 😉

*Edited to remove all post-Revolution spoilers, as per the OP’s request. Phew!

The Miraculous Child

So, in 'Representation', Felix talks refers to ‘the miraculous boy’ a couple times. He also calls Adrien’s conception ‘a miracle’, meaning Adrien too is ‘miraculous’.

The second I heard this, it hit me that the title of the show has had this extra meaning from day one. If we look right back to the start of the series, it has been a story about children and adults, especially parents, some a little overbearing (like Tom) and some neglectful or downright abusive.

The message I take away is - life, bringing a child into the world, is a miracle. Science tells us how it works, but the fact that it works is almost like magic. Yet, there are people out there who fail to see this and don't value the gift they've been granted.

There will be people reading this and thinking, ‘Yeah? So what about Chloe?’

I hear you.

Audrey is a terrible person, and Andre is no better. When he hauls her off at the end of ‘Revolution’ and says he needs to correct his mistakes, he just sends her away with her mother. He’s washing his hands of ‘a problem’, just like he’s done with everything else, e.g. when he resigned as mayor. He walked away from responsibilities, after creating a mess for the people who voted him into office. Likewise, he walked away from his responsibilities as a father.

Does that excuse Chloe's behaviour towards others, especially Marinette? No. Does it explain it? Yes.

So, let's talk about choice, which has been mentioned several times in the series. Chloe has a choice to become just like one of her parents...or to become something better.

Because, if you think about it, at some point in time, Audrey and Andre and even Gabriel were all children. And children aren't just born nasty. They learn nastiness as they grow up. To become who they are today, they had to have started out in a similar position to Chloe, for example. They represent the potential future for their children.

If we saw them as kids, we'd probably see them being mistreated by the adults in their lives and we'd all sympathise with them and hope for their redemption. But we're seeing them as adults and our instinct is to say oh well, too late, they're just awful people. In fact, they could redeem themselves at any point, as demonstrated by Nathalie's turnaround in Season 5. It's just that, the more awful things you've done, the more you have to atone for. Gabriel would have to do a lot - maybe even have a brain change - to be redeemed. But you see my point.

So, at the end of 'Revolution', we see Chloe at a crossroads. She's on that plane, annihilated by her mother, and hiding by herself in a corner. She browses her contacts and hovers over Sabrina's entry...and her face crumples like her heart is breaking with regrets. Oh, it’s sad.

But she passes over Sabrina and moves onto Marinette. She makes one last attempt to bring her down. It’s an act of desperation – redirecting her own suffering onto another, trying to keep control over things when she’s completely out of control of her own life.

Marinette finally puts her in her place, and we see Chloe fall apart in a real way - for the first time ever. I don't know about you, but I found that very uncomfortable viewing. It was a relief to see Marinette stand up for herself, and it needed to happen...but Chloe's despair was also painful. I think all of those were emotions were intended.

Let’s set Thomas aside here. I don't want to get into debates about what was said on Twitter. He’s not the only writer for the show, anyway. I am just speaking about my personal perception of that scene. Chloe gained heaps of sympathy, after she’d been appalling all season, which was pretty powerful.

The fact is…Chloe needed to be put in her place. But that doesn’t mean she deserved everything she went through. Even so...sometimes these moments are necessary and revelatory. They can be the catalyst for great change.

What I mean is – if you're in denial about your position, redirecting your pain onto others, sometimes you need that wakeup call. You need to hit rock bottom in order to start climbing back up into the light. So, when Chloe fell apart, it was painful...but I also saw it as her potential turning point. As long as she maintained her delusions to escape into at school, it was impossible for her to transform - because she refused to see that there was any change needed. But when you have nothing left…that’s when you might begin rebuilding yourself.

Every episode in Season 5 has had multiple meanings. Looking at 'Revolution', when Chloe was akumatised, she trapped her victims in a maze, going round in endless circles (revolutions). Notably a lot of them were adults.

I think if this had happened early on in Season 4, Adrien would have been trapped morosely in that loop with the others. We saw this kind of thing in 'Guiltrip'. So, it spoke volumes about his growth as a character when he was the first one to seek a way out of Chloe's maze. He immediately used his cataclysm and broke a hole, escaping and letting everyone else out. Metaphorically, what he did was break the cycle. If we think about cycles of abuse, this is what the next generation always has the chance to do - to revolt against the past.

it's interesting, then, that when we got to 'Representation', we saw Cat Noir completely lose it with his father. He needed to let it all out...but he was in danger of going too far...and deep down, he knew it. His worst nightmare was of losing all control, to the point of letting his rage destroy everything he loved. Unconsciously, he's well aware that he runs the risk of becoming like his father. However, his complete breakdown, begging his father to take his miraculous to make it all stop, tells us he won't become like his father - because his conscience is too strong. He wants to break that cycle.

Felix has also done some bad things - but he's begun the journey of redeeming himself and changing. He too is trying to break out of that cycle so he doesn't become like his father.

Kagami is embracing her passionate side, rejecting the coldness and isolation her mother has attempted to breed into her, no doubt due to her own upbringing once upon a time.

And I think there’s definite potential for Chloe to do the same. There’s no reason for anyone to remain caught in these patterns. The trick is to recognise the pattern is there in the first place - because you can’t break free of something if you don’t know you’re imprisoned. At the end of Revolution, I think Chloe finally saw her prison, saw that she was already trapped in her own maze, going round in circles. Now it’s up to her to pull an Adrien and cataclysm the bars that hold her in.

Because like Felix said, over and over – each child is miraculous simply for existing. And miracles should be cherished.

PLEASE NO POST-REPRESENTATION SPOILERS IN COMMENTS :)

[aphrodite-would-be-proud]

Oh oh! If you still take requests, could you maybe do something with Reiner first introducing you the The Kiddos? Like, maybe you're still in the early stages of the relationship but both ypu and Reiner know that you're keepers and he wants to introduce you to such important persons in his life 😭

I'd love to do that! My heart melts just imagining Reiner thinking you're the one while looking at you in adoration, and so he decides to introduce you to his cousins whom he'd protect with his life.

Reiner introducing you to his cousins

{ Reiner x reader | tw: none | fluff | modern }

{ "Tea Time" 1905 byMyrtle Jean MacLane 1878-1964 }

It's after Reiner saw how much you've stood beside him and supported him even through his weakest moments when you didn't have to, that he knew you're the one for him.

The one he could see himself with in the future, the one he adores and deeply cares about, the one he wants to protect and cherish.

And love. He wants to love you in every way possible, just like you showed him what being loved feels like.

He knows it will be a slow process to merge your lives together and get used to each other around, so he takes it slow, introducing you to his friends and older cousins.

Zeke and Pieck were the first to meet you. So far they've been nothing but really kind and charming, Pieck making you feel at ease and comfortable around her like you're old friends while Zeke making you laugh and being really respectful of your boundaries.

After that it was Bertlot and Annie, his two closest friends. They were more stiff and less easy to start a conversation with unlike the previous two, but by the end of the day you actually found yourself understanding them better.

It's not that they don't like you, it's just their personality. Annie actually cares and gives you genuine compliments despite coming off as cold in the start, while Bertolt is just not good with meeting people and small conversations which is why he seemed stiff and nervous at first glance.

Reiner tells you that it went really well after they left, he knows them and knows how they act around people they're starting to like.

Lastly you met Porco and Colt, it was a really short meeting because Colt had somewhere to be while Porco just didn't want to be alone with Reiner for long.

You learned about Proco's older brother who's currently working in a different country, Marcel. And about Colt's younger brother Falco.

As an attempt to piss Reiner off, Proco hits on you and tells you to ditch Reiner. When you laugh it off and refuse you notice the smug smile on Reiner's face.

Colt tells you to tell him if you ever need anything, he's usually busy but he knows a lot of people around here and has worked at different jobs to gain a lot of experience, he's also really respectful with you.

After you meet all his friends, he plans on introducing you to his younger cousins. He seems nervous about it

"How bad can it be?" You say, "i can handle kids."

How bad can it really be huh? Well.

Gabi hates you. Straight up she says it to your face. Not dislike, but hate.

Flaco says he's sorry for how she's acting, yet he doesn't really try to stop her.

Udo avoids eye contact with you, he'll literally find the fork in his hand more interesting to look at even when you talk to him

Zofia just stares, coldly, unmoving and uncaring.

Yeah, it's not going well at all.

After some time, it's Falco who starts liking you first. Being your only friend, he attempts to get to know you more and hype you up to the other three.

It's Udo who starts getting curious and starts asking you questions about your life and hobbies, you know how kids basically have no mouth filter and will ask you anything? Yeah that's him.

Actually thanks to that, your answers will get Gabi's attention. If you mention something you're particularly good or talented at, she will want to know more.

Flaco reasons with them that getting to know you will make Reiner happy, and Gabi really cares about Reiner so she tries her hardest.

You're making progress, the three of them are actually talking to you now.

Except...Zofia isn't buying it, while Falco was the easiest to gain his approval, Zofia's the hardest.

It will take a lot of time and effort before she is comfortable around you.

Getting close to Udo is your key to gaining Zofia on your side.

And showing interest in her hobbies and likes. She's really into drama shows, dresses designs and true crime. While simultaneously being kind to Udo, you'll gain her trust slowly.

She observers how you treat her friends and others, how you react when someone makes a mistake and how you talk about people when they're not in the room. Paying close attention to small details and expressions.

Especially Udo, how you treat him and talk about him will be her final judge on you.

When Gabi invites you personally to cheer for her at her school soccer match, you know she started to open up to you. Especially how she spares you a couple glances and a wave while on the field.

For Falco it's when he starts opening up to you about his own needs and worries. He's so used to putting other's needs before him that he rarely talks about his own. Also the way you treat Colt will greatly impact your relationship with Falco.

You know Udo accepted you when he doesn't shy away from direct confrontation with you or gets cuts himself halfway through talking about something in fear he's being annoying. Instead he'll seem more passionate about his interests and more comfortable with physical touch around you.

Would literally spend hours talking about space and turtles to you, the biggest smile on his face and the most energetic and confident you've seen him that even Zofia can't correct him because he knows his stuff and is sure about it.

The way you react whenever he makes a mistake or accidentally does something bad, will greatly impact your relationship with him.

Reiner isn't oblivious to his cousins's feelings, he's actually really in touch with their emotions and can read them easily. He doesn't pressure Gabi at the start to like you nor does he guilt Zofia into giving you a chance after a year of knowing you.

He just reassures them that you're a good and kind person, you're trustworthy and you've showed him care and love. That you're his partner now and a thing that will be constantly permanent in his life.

He also reassures them that it doesn't mean he will leave them or pull away, he won't love them any less actually they'll have double the love since now you're here to offer that too.

And that talk from him is what pushes them over the line, realising they could get double the attention and care, they slowly began competing for your love.

They share their days with you, maybe add you into their memes groupchat where Falco posts his fortnite wins just for Gabi to demand to 1v1 him on Cod. Or how Udo sends pictures of lego sets he finished building, or maybe where Zofia shares the freshest influencer drama directly from twitter, is Kanya really cheating on kim with jeffree star? Who knows.

They try to manipulate you into helping them to break the rules Reiner set for them. Take that coffee away from Falco and get that mature rated horror movie away from Gabi, no udo you can't turn the kitchen into a chemistry lab and Zofia you can't stay up till 3am, i don't care that you're trying to summon a demon, you have school tomorrow.

Reiner told them no for doing something? Okay they'll just ask you instead, what will make you say yes when he said no?

"Because he's not the boss of you" is what Zofia says.

Falco is in dire need of hugs so offer them as much as you can, if they stay over let him sleep between you and Reiner, he can't do that at home anymore.

Gabi needs attention, so make sure to include her in everything and praise her for any accomplishments. She gets jealous easily so make her know that your love is unconditional and you'll always be proud of her even if she doesn't come first place at an event or challenge.

Zofia needs her space and respect, don't coddle her or belittle her interests. Show genuine attention to what she likes and support her. Also know when she says something she actually means it, so listen carefully.

Udo needs reassurance and safety, he also needs someone to believe in him. Comfort him yes but also have faith in him that he can do things, tell him mistakes and failing is okay but also have hope in his abilities and strength.

[void-galaxy-shenanigans]

Infodump/Long Post: Caffeine, Sugar, Dopamine, & ADHD

Hi. I’m Nico. I don’t usually infodump on here but Aiden did before & fellow neurodivergent people seemed to enjoy seeing nd centered content, & people gave him a lot of attention, so…

Here goes I guess. I hope y’all like it.

It’s gonna be a bit long but I found it fascinating so—

So first important thing is, this is based on research studies I found & theories I know, as well as my own observations, & may not be absolutely perfect because of that. But for the purpose of sharing information I’m going to tell you the theories & findings & build from there. Just bear in mind these aren’t set in stone & knowledge could change in the future - this is based on recent/current findings & understanding.

((& I don't want any arguing about the theories, the existence of ADHD, the addictive nature of caffeine/sugar (that's not the central topic here), or the way I formatted this in replies/reblogs please))

——

So many of you may know that ADHDers are affected differently by caffeine (coffee) than non-ADHDers (& neurotypicals). It’s actually been so consistent that I can tell if someone is ADHD or not based on their reaction to coffee - even before they’re diagnosed. It’s generally accepted that stimulants affect ADHDers differently. Coffee/caffeine usually puts ADHDers to sleep, or makes them drowsy, or makes them very focused, & it’s sometimes baffling as an ADHDer that some people can drink coffee to feel energized & jittery (it feels like a lie sometimes). That’s not to say that people who aren’t put to sleep by caffeine can’t have ADHD, but it’s very common to be put to sleep/calmed down by coffee.

Based on my personal experience with coffee, I’ve had a 20 ounce black coffee put me to sleep for four hours. I also, just yesterday, had a 20oz sugared latte & ended up hyperfocusing on this (topic of infodump), rewriting an intro template we made around a year ago, & writing stories (a special interest of mine) for around 6-8 hours total.

Now I think I might know why.

So I suspected the other day that maybe it had something to do with dopamine, & I did some research on how caffeine affects the brain. But because I also know sugared coffee (e.g. syrup-flavoured lattes, which is what I prefer) seem to have a different affect (especially depending on how much sugar you use), I looked into how sugar affects the brain too.

——

This is gonna use a few technical terms so I’ll explain them first for anyone who doesn’t know—

Adrenaline/Epinephrine: “A hormone your body can release (especially when you’re under stress) that increases blood circulation rate (quickens heart beat, strengthens force of heart’s contractions), breathing speed, & carbohydrate metabolism, & prepares your muscles to be used. It’s part of the human ‘fight or flight’ response to fear, panic, or perceived threat. An adrenaline rush can feel like anxiousness, nervousness, or pure excitement as your body & mind prepare for an event.”

Adrenaline Simplified - It gives you heightened energy, excitement, strength, & alertness, & a lot of it will make you jittery, anxious, or panicky.

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter compound which constricts the blood vessels and acts as a neurotransmitter. It’s responsible for influencing/stabilizing mood, feelings of well-being & happiness, cognition, reward, learning, memory, & numerous physiological processes (nausea & vasoconstriction (narrowing (constriction) of blood vessels by small muscles in their walls to slow blood flow)).

Serotonin Simplified - reduces depression, regulates anxiety, heals wounds, stimulates nausea, maintains bone health, helps with sleeping, eating, & digesting, & regulates happiness, well-being, & mood stability; it’s a soother & a happy chemical. A lot of it will make you extremely energetic & jittery.

Dopamine: “A neurotransmitter compound. When dopamine is released in large amounts, it creates feelings of pleasure (happiness, achievement) & reward, which motivates you to repeat specific behaviours; low levels of dopamine are linked to reduced motivation & decreased enthusiasm for things that would excite most people. It controls mental & emotional responses but also motor (physical) reactions. Known for being the “happy hormone”; responsible for the experience of happiness. The anticipation of most types of rewards typically increases the level of dopamine in the brain (anticipatory pleasure), & then you get a larger dose later when you get the reward.”

Dopamine Simplified - It’s your happiness/pleasure response to achievements, rewards, praise, etc. It functions as both motivation & reward, & when it’s functioning properly it’s what keeps you focused on tasks until they’re done.

Residual Dopamine: Dopamine that’s “floating” around in your brain, ready to be deployed as needed to motivate you & help you get through less fun tasks.

Temporary Dopamine: Dopamine that you get as a reward from things like beating a level in a video game, winning the lottery, etc. (accomplishments); is released after an accomplishment or event is over.

Note that typically, these chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, & adrenaline) are supposed to be balanced, & they’re supposed to be generally not very difficult to get. In mentally ill or some neurodivergent brains, however, these chemicals are imbalanced.

——

Now that the technical stuff is out of the way -

Caffeine lowers your serotonin levels, majorly increases dopamine, & releases adrenaline.

Sugar raises all three - serotonin, dopamine, AND adrenaline.

So sugared coffee will raise serotonin, dopamine, & adrenaline levels.

So how does that make them affect ADHDers differently?

——

This part is based on something called Low Arousal Theory (& no that’s not sexual).

Basically, the theory states that what makes an ADHDer appear inattentive or hyperactive has to do with dopamine in the brain - both how much we have & how easy it is to get it.

ADHDers, according to this theory, have lower residual dopamine. This causes an imbalance between dopamine and other neurotransmitter compounds/hormones.

Because of this, then, ADHDers have to rely on temporary hits of dopamine, both to focus & to boost their mood. There are often less ways we can get enough dopamine, since our brain doesn’t pre-produce enough & we thus need more dopamine total to be able to focus. So we end up hyperfocusing on anything that automatically gives large doses of dopamine - which usually ends up being things like TV shows (binge watching), video games (blackout hyperfocus where you play for hours & lose time), & social media (like, scroll, comment, scroll, lots of feedback/reward).

——

(Note in this case sugared coffee can mean coffee with sugar cubes/physical sugar added, coffee with sugary creamer added, coffee with milk added coffee with sugar syrup added, coffee with flavoured sugar syrup added, & coffee with any combination of those added (because those will all add at least a little sugar); & black coffee means coffee/espresso with not even milk added)

So if black coffee raises your dopamine levels, that means, for non-ADHDers, that it makes them energized, jittery, anxious, motivated and alert. Sugared coffee has a more significant/amplified, but similar, affect & this often shows up as shakiness & inattentiveness.

Non-ADHDers will get an artificial imbalance & a whole lot of dopamine, adrenaline, &/or serotonin. Since they already have enough dopamine naturally, this spike causes hyperactive/inattentiveness.

For ADHDers, however, their dopamine levels are low, so black coffee will cause an artificial imbalance but will leave the ADHDer with enough dopamine (higher levels of dopamine) to be motivated to do tasks & focus, & this usually causes focused drowsiness in small doses. Large doses (usually 20+ ounces of black coffee) will put the ADHD brain to sleep.

Sugared coffee though, for an ADHD brain, will cause an artificial balance with higher levels of dopamine, so this usually creates either blackout hyperfocus (medium dose of sugar + medium (16-20oz) coffee), calm focus (large coffee (20-32oz) + some sugar), or amplified hyperactivity (small coffee (8-16oz) + a lot of sugar or large coffee (20-32oz) + a lot of sugar; jittery, jumpiness, running around).

((Note the oz are an estimate & will vary depending on your personal tolerance for caffeine & sugar))

Essentially, sugared coffee could have a similar affect to prescription meds for ADHDers who don’t trust meds, get bad side effects from meds, or aren’t allowed meds? (I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it or say anyone should ditch their meds to try it, especially since coffee can be addictive, but I found it fascinating either way (since it explained (potentially) why black coffee could put me & other ADHDers to sleep).)

It also means being put to sleep by coffee, or suddenly able to Do The Thing™ because of coffee, is ADHD culture. (/lighthearted)

~Nico