#i'd just ramble about it but its. trolls

[astro-nautics]

me when i want to post fic but that requires me to actually write it

[void-hoodie]

OKAY! bear with me on this ramble

Also idk if anyone done it before BUT this is my observation

SO after reading this fic for at least ten times I've come to a realization about trolls' hair and i'm surprised it's not used often!!

so we all know all troll species have hair and they all use it for different purposes if not for the same thing. and theres not one troll type that doesn't possess hair EVEN the techno trolls.

it's literally a vital part of them, specifically for pop trolls!. they use it to carry their eggs and their young. it can change color, shap, length. they can stretch it, climb, grap and literally EVERYTHING.

their hair its particularly their other limp! and i haven't watch the shows fully but in the few episodes i watched they treat their injured hair like a broken arm or leg and even feel pain from it!

which got me thinking whats cutting hair is like to a troll? and when i read that fic that i linked i came to a conclusion/headcanon that cutting a troll's is similar to declawing a cat!

because if they can feel immense pain from similar to a broken body part then cutting it is the same as declawing just without the surgical process which would leave a troll in an unimaginable pain and to spice things up it could also bleed .

and the most affected by this this would be pop trolls because the environment they live in requires for their hair for survival, camouflage and swinging from tree to tree! it's also their most strongest part if not more stronger than their own body.

so cutting it specifically when they're already using it, is a death sentence itself because when they lose it what else could they do? i know they don't use it as much in trolls 3 than they did in the first movie but my point is they can run but without hair how do they escape? how can they reach places so high without it?

I mean this is stright up best angst fanfic material! I'd love to see more people use this idea!

so yeah my whole point of this is cutting trolls hair=decalwing a cat just more twisted and horribly bad because they do literally everything of their day to day stuff with it!

and a little angst thing of Branch having his hair cut unprompted idk 😶

[kanzakurawrites]

Hi I really like your descendants fic and your posts, so I have a question. If descendants was a pg16 show that actually did it's worldbuilding what elements would you ADD, which elements would you remove and what would you expand on?

Oooh, this is an interesting question. I'm sorry it took so long to get this answered! (and apologizing in advance for any rambling that takes place)

First things first, I'd want the show to switch between the Isle and Auradon. I am PERFECTLY fine with the main cast staying the main characters from the first three films. So it would be eye-opening, and good for the characters, for the show to have switched between the Auradonians, the Core Four, and the Sea Three.

I'd also want at LEAST the entire first episode, preferably first two or three, to have the Core Four on the Isle. Working with THEIR gang. So we can see what it is like for them to live on the Isle, what its like for them to be around their parents, and how they interact with others, before going straight to Auradon.

Now, Isle-related things.

I definitely know I'd want to add more elements of abuse on the Isle. It's implied in the movies, but they also seem to backtrack at times. (Dizzy's "wicked step-grandmother" comment, and then suddenly portraying Lady Tremaine as caring - the Vk's running to the Isle to see their parents.) It would need to be shown that the Isle is a HORRIBLE place. Physical, emotional.... and other forms of abuse. These things HAPPEN, and they are going to happen on the Isle.

As much as I hate to say it, there is definitely teen pregnancy on the Isle. There's also a lot of death for ALL ages.

Remember Mal's comment about gang activity? Let's see it. Show us the gangs, the fights, the rules, the alliances. Show us the politics on the Isle, and how these are CHILDREN fighting for their lives. Which also means injuries and scars.

There are all sorts of HORRIBLE crimes that people get sent to jail for (I really don't want to type the words since it makes me sick to my stomach), and those people are ON. THE. ISLE. It's not just the villains from the fairy tales on the Isle, its all the criminals as well. There's a lot of reasons the VK's have gangs, and keeping each other safe is one of them.

With that said, not all the VK's are going to be good either. Some of them will end up bad in the end. Just like there are going to be bad people in Auradon.

And then with the barrier, are seasons a thing on the Isle or does the dome mean that the temperature stays relatively the same? Are the summers scorching and winters freezing and dirty, given the pollution over the Isle? Things can't even grow!

How DID the Isle get approved? Was it better in the beginning? Did they just not think that villains could have children? These are questions that need to be answered, because even without purposefully trying to make it dark, the things we know about the Isle are sickening to think about. Nothing can grow, food is always rotten, everything is crumbling, and there is horrible pollution.

What is illness like on the Isle? It can't be good, it would run rampant. I want to see how it's dealt with.

And finally, how does the Isle affect the magical people there? Witches could probably be okay being cut off from magic, but fairies? They are inherently magical. Magic is apart of them. Same goes with Ursula, Morgana, Hades (though he's probably not affected at all). Trolls, dwarves (there have to be some), goblins, pixies, etc. Any on the isle, and their children, how are they affected here? Does Uma feel a loss in her chest when she's near the sea? Does Mal mourn her horns and wings? (and will she ever get any?) Is it painful? Do they get sick when they're in Auradon and finally around all this magic? Because you can't just... get rid of magic. It's going to be there.

Auradon Things:

I would really want to expand on how Auradon came to be. Along with the, likely, war that happened when rounding up the villains cause there's no way that was peaceful.

Politics. I want the politics. How do all these kingdoms work? What political parties are there? How are views on the Isle handled?

Arranged-Marriages are a thing. Not everyone does it, but I feel like we can all agree that some people (*cough*Leah*cough*) believe that they are superior to "Falling in love." I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Audrey and Ben had an arranged marriage.

Abuse. It's not just a thing on the Isle, but it's in Auradon as well, just in a different way. While there's a lot more physical abuse on the Isle, there's verbal and emotional in Auradon. Leah and, though I hate saying it, Beast are perfect examples. Leah constantly puts Audrey down, she makes her feel inferior. Beast made his sixteen year old High King... I'm sure I could find more examples for him but I think that's a pretty big thing right there.

Another thing to expand on is the equality issue in Auradon. The "sidekicks" got the short end of the deal, even though Ben tried to make it better, as the dwarves and animals weren't being PAID. They just worked all the time for the Royals. Magical people have seemed to be pushed aside, like Beast wants them all gone. Jane couldn't even train her with her magic! And she's Fairy Godmother's daughter! The three good fairies and other fairies from Aurora's kingdom are actively having to not use magic. How do Kingdom's like Corona (Ruby has the 70ft hair, so some semblance of magic had to be passed down. Magic is also canonical in Tangled the Series, along with things like DRAGONS), Arendalle, Agrabah, etc. function?

How do things with the gods play out? What is there contract with Auradon, cause I am NOT convinced that they would just let these mortals walk all over them forever. It's one of my biggest issues with Hades on the Isle as well, and why I think there has to be some bigger reason he's on the Isle. (Whether its them waiting for Beast's term to be over, or perhaps something the Fates said)

I'd want to add in how religions play out in Auradon, because all these stories come from different places. There are characters who are canonically religious in their films, good and bad. It's not something you can just erase.

How did Auradon as a whole react when the VK's came over? Were there protests? Was Ben under a lot of heat, or was Beast for letting Ben do this? How were the VK's treated at first? Not everyone was going to be welcoming. Who stood beside Ben, who was neutral, and who went against him?

Then with relationships. Honestly, I really like Mal and Ben, but I'd want to see them develop a relationship. Maybe mention their dreams and hint to the true loves, have them work through the love spell issue, show them dealing with cultural differences. Give them a realistic relationship with more depth.

With Evie, show the expectations her mother would have put on her. Did she have flings? Was she pushed to try to be with any "higher up" Isle male?

Harry and Uma... yeah their together. With the rating up, there is no reason to pretend they aren't or only give small hints. We get to have this relationship and yeah, you know, they are just Harry and Uma.

And when the VKs do come to Auradon, who are their foster parents? Because they have to have someone, right? How is that handled? How are they taken care of?

Then with the abuse they went through, show us the hints. Flinching when there are yells, or when someone goes to touch them. Maybe blank looks, disassociation, just not knowing how to handle relationships! Friendship or with adults! How they see themselves. That stuff does a number on you, even after years. And I understand why Disney didn't go deeply into this, but it also shouldn't just be brushed away. Acknowledging it could have helped just explain some of the VK's actions. (Such as Mal in the third movie, wanting to please the ultimately parental figures around her.)

I really don't think there's much about Descendants that I'd remove, I'd just want to expand on the world and make it... darker, I guess. More realistic vs. sunshine and roses.

(Also. Adding seasons. Seasons EXIST Disney.)

[year2000electronics]

God sorry for the oncoming ramble but just thinking about Superna-troll Floyd has made me crazy. I love Changelings, you have no idea, mostly because of my irish grandmother. But like anyway, Floyd's story is so TRAGIC in so many senses. Like first of all, Changeling's typically replace children taken by fae, so the original couple already lost their real kid to the fae, and then they even lost the Changeling replacement to Brozone's parents, so they're just left with no one at all. At least if they had been able to keep Floyd, there would have at least been a CHANCE that they could have been a happy family, even if raising Floyd would have been difficult (I'm a big believer in the power of a loving family overcoming a changeling's flaws, because lets be honest, that's where the whole concept of changelings probably originates in--families looking for an excuse for their children acting out when it really probably stems from mistreatment and/or a lack of patience from the parents). But like it's also sometimes believed that changelings are placed in a family so they can have a better life than they would have otherwise, so the idea that Floyd was placed with one troll family that might have actually given him at least a decent life, but then he was stolen and ultimately abandoned and left in the worst possible scenario he could have ended up in just because of Brozone's parent's selfishness and greed??? Geeeeez. Poor guy :( I'd love to see someone, maybe Branch, confront him about his mischievous/problematic behavior only to have Floyd absolutely snap at a certain point because literally nothing he has ever done or will ever do will ever be good enough for someone to actually love him, will it? So why should he even try? Okay, I'm done, sorry.

YEAH ITS CRAZY especially because all the brothers struggle with that identity of like. their parents going “okay this one will be the Perfect Child”. floyd’s is also something he struggles with because like. his parents literally STOLE A BABY just trying to get a Normal Kid. and yeah he feels like they were assholes and he wonders who he might’ve been given to but also it tears him in two that his parents were desperate enough to steal a whole ass baby but somehow he still wasn’t good enough for them. they gave up on him the quickest out of the 4 too so it really hit him hard

[voparwave69]

me when i headcanon stuff. do you think gamzee would listen to tyler the creator's older works? in my mind i think he'd like bastard and goblin [you should listen to them too they're really good [tho they are pretty damn dark ngl that's why people classify it as horrorcore [tho tyler himself said it isn't horrorcore]]]

but yeah i think he'd like the song 'she' from goblin. or fish that ones good too

I'm actually not a big listener to Tyler the Creator (i love all kinds of rap but am partial to various types of 80s-90s rap because no matter the genre I am skewed towards retro shit) so I went and listened to his whole Goblin album (I'd heard it in passing many times but hadn't paid close attention) and read up on his history before I tried to formulate a head canon on this. I know this is really long and rambling but it's all related to what you asked. I'm putting this under a cut to not clog up dashboard

I 1000% believe Gamzee in either state would love horror rap, I think high Gamzee would prefer horror rap with mainly occult themes, though I don't think he'd be squeamish about the ones that are more mainly violently themed because he's not even genuinely internalizing the lyrics anyways unless they really, really stick out to him in some kind of way, he'd just be vibing to the beat, because I imagine he'd love music with a good, strong beat (as well as weird sound effects because that's really amusing when you're high) and a good flow because that shit impresses and hypes him up.

I don't think lyrics would just be LOST on him when he's high, but he usually wouldn't be capable of truly paying attention to them in that state.

He might can rap and come up with his own lyrics still, but listening to lyrics AND sound in a song probably wouldn't be something he'd be great at. He would though notice if there was a good flow and would try to rap along (and probably alternate between being good at it and fucking terrible) while STILL mostly not paying close attention to whats actually being said.

He'd fucking love it if you joined in with him and he'd definitely be encouraging you the whole way through and acting like you just dropped some fire shit even if you fucking suck (and hes not just being nice, he genuinely thinks you're dropping bars because he's that spaced out and on cloud nine).

Sober Gamzee I think actually would be able to pay much closer attention to lyrics and would prefer horror rap that was both violently AND heavily occult themed. However, I think he's still primarily there for the music and the flow.

His style is still not extremely high energy but its not as loose and carefree as when he's high. His flow is a bit more defined and has somewhat of an aggression to it rather than just being loose and chill. However, Gamzee still isn't technically sober since he's still drinking faygo all the time and that has an effect like alcohol on trolls, he's just not cross faded anymore lol, so he can still be a little sloppy here and there.

In either state, I also think he loves lyrics that are really sexual as well lol.

Even if he's sober it doesn't mean he really wants to be and he always likes lyrics about getting really really high. Especially when he IS high.

He's kind of a selective listener while high and if he hears about sex or drugs he's really gonna hone in on that line.

As far as Tyler the Creators older music goes, I honestly think Gamzee while high could vibe along to literally anything that he's listening to a friend with and he's gonna find SOMETHING he likes about it, not because hes trying to, but just because he's genuinely vibing along with most everything and everyone.

I think Tyler the Creators more abstract style would be something a bit lost on him but he'd just be absent mindedly rapping along while kind of loosely focused being like "hell yeah brother thats the fucking shit" if a line about sex came up, missing the context of literally everything else.

While sober, I think he would enjoy it more, but again his abstract style may not be his thing, I don't think Gamzee is a particularly artistic type, but he's largely a "rap is rap" type through and through and I think he's always going to try to rap along to whatever he hears. However, I do think he's also far more picky in this state as well and will straight up tell you to turn your music off if he doesn't like it.

I think Tyler the Creator doesn't relate to the horror rap genre because while his lyrics can be dark his style is a bit different. I cant fully articulate what I mean by that, but I get why he doesn't click with that label. For one thing a lot of his fans are definitely not the usual horror rap kind of listeners.

Also it's funny you bring him up because this is a reference to a movie called Trolls lmao

[pandor-pandorkful]

It's time for another ADHD-fueled ramble! This one is about Homestuck, kind of. Saw a post about someone never reading it in spite of being a tumblr oldie, and that lead to some introspective reminiscing. Maybe it's interesting, maybe it isn't.

I reckon a lot of folks who read Homestuck were kind of peer-pressured into it. I was no exception, though the pressure applied was relatively passive. And if my memory serves me, I started reading Homestuck on MS Paint Adventures before I was a regular tumblr user... sometime in 2011, I think? The year I took off between grad school year 1 and 2, or maybe just slightly before that...

Anyways, around that time I noticed most of my Silent Hill fan art buddies on deviantArt suddenly switched to drawing trolls pretty much non-stop out of the blue.

I felt confused, and kinda left out. I was already feeling like being so overwhelmingly distracted by grad school had permanently damaged my connection to those friends...

So in kind of a last ditch effort to not lose yet another friend group, I dove headfirst into the webcomic, hoping to understand why the steady stream of old man yaoi had been replaced by weird preteen aliens.

If you've read the majority of Homestuck, you know what an effort that was. Its first few chapters are incredibly long and slow paced. By the time I even caught up to the trolls actually being visually introduced, I think my SH-turned-HS friends had moved on to something else entirely. :B

(Later I'd learn that the majority of HS fans during the height of it's popularity were, uh, kinda "fake fans". In that they skipped directly to the troll chapters. :B)

Granted, I had taken the longest possible road to catch up with MS Paint Adventures. When it comes to comics, any comic, I am a completionist. Maybe it's the anxiety from feeling like I'm always missing out on CONTEXT due to ADHD... My brain is broken and I must read everything in chronological release order, so that nothing is missed. (This is a big reason I never got into superhero comics.)

Homestuck was only the current series on MSPA, there were several other completed or abandoned series as well. So I started at what seemed like the very beginning, with Jailbreak. By the time I was done with Problem Sleuth I was very hooked on the throwback to text-based adventure games meets forum shenanigans baked into a comic formula.

Homestuck itself was delightful, from an adventure game mechanics perspective. It had all the frustrating backtracking and plodding story of a classic hardcore adventure, as well as the wild traditional-format-breaking jankiness of the experimental web comics imagined in Scott McCloud's "troubled middle child*," Reinventing Comics. (*as he described the book to me when I asked him to sign my copy lol)

No wonder so many readers skipped straight to the troll chapters! You really had to have a very specific string of incredibly niche, nerdy interests in order to appreciate the slow-burn of the chapters leading up to the trolls... and apparently that's exactly what I had.

Like, to the point that it took me a long ass time to warm up to the trolls at all. Maybe it was because I was an older reader than the typical HS fan and had actually experienced more eras of the internet, but the trolls were just as annoying as the real life types of internet trolls they were based on.

I don't think I started to actually like any of them until the second set of trolls were introduced. The generational conflicts between old-internet and then-current types of trolling was fascinating and honestly hilarious.

By the time I was finally caught up, the comic was close to it's first ending. (And in my opinion, only ending. As I didn't bother checking in with Hussie's later attempts to rekindle the series.)

Having read through everything on MSPA that came before Homestuck, as well as stumbling into Andrew Hussie's even older comics, blog posts and Picard/Riker ST:TNG fan edits on youtube, I had built up maybe an unrealistic hope for the future of MSPA: I was excited for the next comic project to come once Homestuck was finished.

What a big assumption! I don't think anyone would have an easy time just moving on to "the next project" after making something that had garnered as big of a reaction as Homestuck did. So watching Hussie spiral into milking HS for all he could really shouldn't have surprised me.

In an ideal world, artists, writers, creators in general would be able to just move on from project to project. Creation to creation to creation. But we're not machines, and none of us exist in a vacuum. We need to survive somehow, and our feelings of importance and self worth can get so dangerously tangled up with the reaction others have to our work.

Some may find success and never work again. Some may find success and seek to recapture that high for the rest of their life. Some will never find success and give up creating altogether. Who am I to judge or hope for anything from any creator? I'm barely holding on by the whites of my knuckles and the skin of my teeth myself.

But part of me still grieves for the "Next MS Paint Adventures Project" I made up in my head. Something that scratched the itch for interactive comics in new and exciting ways. With brand new characters, settings and bizarre lingo to get used to. There would be references to prior projects, just as HS was peppered with references to Problem Sleuth and the other MSPAs, but on the whole it would be a self-contained work, as it's predecessors were. Another volume for the abstract digital bookshelf.

MS Paint Adventures is dead, the site is just Homestuck now. Flash, the format that made up the very backbone of the comic, is dead and banished. I haven't chatted with most of my old dA buddies in over a decade. We all move on, or don't, in one way or another.

[artharakka]

Hello

I habe just recently come across your page. My condolences for Minni.

But Holy Shit, your art style is so cool. Your whole page is freaking fantastic beautiful. Sorry for just putting random words together. I love the artstyle so much. To be honest i am flabbergasted. I hope one day I can draw in a similar artstyle too, but i don’t think anything can come near to the talent you have.

Like fr i saw your drawings and was shocked. May i ask are some of your paintings inspired by mythology? Because they remind me of trolls and a book i had when i was a child from Jan Lööf, it was about trolls.

Sending lots if luvs and hugs from little nowhere in europe. 💕💕💕💕💕💕

Hi 🧡 Last night I dreamed of Minni, she was sleeping at my feet and she was warm and her side moved with her breathing, but I knew she wasn't really there and it didn't feel wrong, so in time, I think it will be alright 🧡

And thank you! I hope you don't mind me answering this publicly as this became a longer rambling about creating and inspirations! Rest under the cut:

Often I think I'm still kind of searching for an art style that feels most comfortable to me, but thank you for liking where I'm now 💕 But don't put yourself down! It has taken me a lot of trials and errors to be where I am. And I could've saved a lot of time if I had committed myself to learning the fundamentals first, taken more art classes, etc, but hey, sometimes art isn't about perfercting a style but finding something you are so passionate about you cannot stop creating and you end up learning in the process (for me it is stories, I find it very hard to sit down and do a "random" art piece with no background story for the characters in it). And creativity comes in many forms! With a quick glance, writing comes more naturally to you than to me (even though I would like to do that more).

Your ask made me think what exactly has inspired my art. I haven't illustrated mythological scenes or people (only that I can think of kind of referencing myths is the "Mirror" swordtember drawing I titled as "Perseus' End" on my Inprnt), but I'd say mythology definitely is there in sources of inspiration. Not some one and only, but multiple mythologies I think (mostly European, as sources to those are more accessible to me because, well, eurocentrism and language barriers, but also geographical closeness). Mediterranean mythologies, first as a kid through (Hellenistic) Greek, now more nuanced (lately obsessed with Minoan art and clothing, many thanks to Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! podcast). Playing (= @artist-rat playing for me because I was scared) Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice mabe me dig more deeply into Celtic and Norse mythologies. I'm also inspired by Finnish mythology (and I started to write more in depth about it's nuances, but it got long so it probably needs its own post at some point)

In short, much of it's lost or unclear whether it was appropriated from Karelians (or Sámi) people. But after the sources of mythological events and characters are uclear, what is left that inspires me is this kind of animistic belief system and reverence of nature. That if you sing a spell to the trees or rocks, you can shape what is around you. That a everyone has their own soul bird that brings your soul to you when you are born and carries away when you die. And while I also enjoy high fantasy and epics, what also inspires me is finding beauty in ordinary, in everything. Especially in nature. While I get and appreciate the beauty of mountains and sea and steep cliffs, I try and can find beauty near me. Ordinary pines, birds that I see while I walk to supermarket, lake's small waves against small stones. And I also find beauty and inspiration how in many small things near you, one can find marks of something more. Dinosaurs never disappeared nor did their reign ever end: birds are still here and much more numerous than humans. The small exposed piece of rock is part of Earth's foundation, it's grooves and scrapes were left by tonnes ice that passed it ten thousand years ago. The esker made of gravel and sand is not as high as a mountain, but it is still the highest in the entire world and for thousands of years people before you have climbed on top of it and seen the lakes and forests around it.

Mythologies and cultures also inspire me in a way that I love to invent them. Mostly by looking at what has already been. Imagine what all ways people have had or could have to promise to live together, to enter to adulthood. And I don't think of myself as particularly morbid person, but when I have a new story or ttrpg world, I love to think how do people there bury their loved ones. Where do they think they go and what do they need for that journey? Can they ever come back?

I was also about to list some artists that inspire me, but this is already so long that I think that will also be its own post. But I have a side blog @harakkae and there tags "art" and "inspiration" where I have collected some art and artists that inspire me!

Sorry again for long answer, I swear I cut out a lot of my ramblings! And thank you for loving my art! Hugs and best wishes to you as well and based on the fact that you had a book from Jan Lööf, I think I might be from as or even more nowhere in Europe as you 🧡🐦

[ladygoth]

tbh another thing that bothers me about the whole situation is like some of those people i followed for a while when i first joined the fandom on tumblr and to find out they support and encourage that :(

and like everyone gets mad at you saying kys and focusing on that but not the other actual important shit and main point (for a reason id assume) and like just the defense of you have written dubcon and noncon like, its very diff than literal rape and thats the stuff thats used at the coping skill not actual rape itself. you never said anything is wrong with coping with it using dubcon either like ? idk its just im angry but more-so just sad and disappointed people i admired for their work romanticizing something that ruined my life as well as many others

idk like everyone says you’re stupid but they’re getting mad about one post and i get some people being triggered and having diff opinions about that and jokes etc but missed the complete main point and continue to miss the main points youve made and taking it out of context putting words in your mouth? maybe im rambling and makes no sense i usually just sit back and let shit happen when its online but like i just had to say something. plus them saying youre just a troll and a hater for your responses like, when you keep trying to tell someone something and they are adamant or just cant listen or recognize your points plus keep harassing you you’re just gonna stop trying at a certain point?

and the whole thing about you like not supporting victim’s coping mechanisms confuses the ever living shit out of me because you speaking up about the rape (not noncon/dubcon) fetish which is literally standing up for that and speaking against it? idk. lot i wanna say but wont cus people on here clearly lose their shit but tldr you haven’t done anything wrong, thank you for speaking up and keep trying and for just being a good person and advocator, it means the world and warms my heart to see 🫶

sorry people are so mean and hateful (ironic they say you are yet look all they are doing and saying) and i hope you’re doing okay from it all❤️

mwah <3

yes, me and my friends were laughing at how bad they were missing the point when they were crying in my comments and asks. they can call me stupid all they want, i'd rather be an idiot than be someone who plays into SA culture, and it was intriguing how they said i was writing about dub-con when both characters were both still heavily aware of their surroundings and what they had wanted with each other. and i know that because i was the writer, the way they speak you'd think they were with me in my room when i was writing it, but oh well.

and them doing that either way still is a win for me because that means they agree with what my main perspective was LMAO. they were doing essays with my writings, and i'll give them an U for how bad their assumptions were.

glad to know that i got middle aged broke back women who will barely know what it actually feels and means to be loved and doesnt need to turn to SA culture to feel something panties in a twist. and thank you for this ask, i'm doing well and have been focusing on my future projects! <3

[manonamora-if]

i dont know if u feel up for it to answer but like... how do u handle negative comments and ratings and just people being negative about ur stuff? bc i have someone just being rude in comments or like notes and game folders on itch and its making me want to just delete everything and never show anyone anything anymore. or even have an acocunt on itch either.

Hi Anon,

I'm sorry you've been dealing with this, and that it took me so long to answer. I've been thinking about this for a while honestly. I've been writing a bunch of drafts for this one, because my answer seems to change with the day or my mood. Some of my stuff have had some strange interactions lately that's made me question whether I should stay on itch myself. I mean, I don't think I'll ever leave... there are too many fun jams I want to participate and, you know, to force people to play my weird stuff. But I've been more anxious about new stuff or updates I share recently.

I don't blame you for wanting an out. Some users will poison one's experience of a platform, that even opening the site would give them anxiety. It doesn't take much to have events or projects soured. Often, just a few rude words is enough to make accounts disappear without a word. And many platform don't have good safety nets (blocking, moderation, reports) to temper or avoid these situations. Many will have half-ass solutions that, at the end of the day, still allows interactions from blocked users. It's easy to wonder if all of this is worth it...

Anyway, the very boring and short answer to your question: it depends.

The probably as boring and long one is a bit of a ramble:

It depends on the day, or the mood I have. It's easier to deal with comments when I'm confident and things are going find; but I'd feel more hurt or have a harder time dealing with them when I'm a bit more morose (I think most people feel this way). I'll disregard any (even barely) negative points some days, only to take it into consideration a few days later. <- this especially during jam/comps time, just need time to digest criticism of any kind.

It also depends on the content of the comment, their tone, and intent of the commenter. Not all negative comments are on the same level. I've had negative comments in the past where the commenter was genuine, and really gave my stuff a shot, bringing interesting points or important concerns. And though it hurt a bit, because being told you made a mistake sucks, those helped me grow. But those are the good kinds of comments...

On the other hand, I try to disregard the trolls, and the abusive comments (towards my work or me), the ones where the engagement was clearly not done in good faith... you know, the ones who will literally tell me I've made the world worse by uploading my games on itch. Doesn't mean that it doesn't affect me at all*. Some of them really hurt or made me angry and frustrated, some have lingered for hours or days in my mind, a few made me close to delete stuff as well. Words are not just empty things without meaning... *I've had to block a few people both here and other places recently because of it, they had become so insistent on wanting to engage with me while bashing most of my work, my values or the few aspects of my identity that I've shared online.

It would be easy to say I just don't give them the time of day or any of my energy, or that I pretend they don't exist, because, if I do, then the trolls win. But that would be lying. Obviously.

Screaming to the void/a pillow or ranting to friends have helped get rid of my anger and frustration. I've laughed with others about some comments I got (usually the bad faith ones, some of them are funny in how sad/bad they were). I think what worked best for me was just turn off the computer and go outside for a bit. Or turned off the internet and play silly games on my phone. Or picked up a book. Or watch a movie. Essentially, any activity that would distract me from it and force me to take a break. And when none of this worked, because some trolls are just that insistent, blocking/deleting stuff*. *unfortunately, it's not always possible, see second paragraph again.

It does suck that you're kinda forced to grow a thicker skin to enjoy or even exist in those spaces, and I wish those would be friendlier... but I don't think social platforms/the internet is going in that direction anytime soon.

Maybe not super helpful to your decision, but borogove.io hosts IF games (without ratings or comments, though people can download the files), so does the IFDB through the IFArchive (but there are ratings/reviews there, also can be downloadable). I've seen other peeps host their stuff on neocities (no ratings/comments). None of those platforms are like itch, in the positives or the negative. Or just be old school, and email stuff.

[atlas-affogato]

I would like to know your Enforcers thoughts/hcs. My fave fact of the show is that Ratso is a legit genius - mans got a bachelors in theoretical physics. I feel like the other two were like his cheerleaders in college, and fully supported him when he chose not to persue a doctorate

Eeeeeeeee YES YES YES I LOVE THAT

Oh my god that's so cute, just so supportive <3

I have so many thoughts and headcanons and so many of them are making there way into my fics.

I love Ratso he's so much fun to think about and write, I definitely think he's autistic, just everything about him, things he says and how other characters interact with him I'm like 'wow, you are just. So fucking relatable' the obsession with baseball and turbo troll action figures, he's just such a geek and I love it. I definitely think he's super smart with math and science stuff, like top of his class sort of smart. I headcanon that he went to college for theoretical physics right after high school and got a job working as like security for a bar or club at night and he got recruited for The Dark Hand through that, working at a club The Dark Hand owns. In my long fic I'm working on he dropped out of college to work for The Dark Hand full time so he never finished his degree and still has major regrets about that.

I bet Ratso is wicked smart with math shit, like he'll just rattle off some insane mental math when the situation arises and everyone just stares at him like, how can you possibly know that?? But he does! Check it on a calculator and he's right! He might not be able to tell you what Valmont is thinking but he can tell you how long its going to take to fly from San Francisco to Chicago based off of flight patterns, the weight of the plane and their speed.

I think that Ratso and Finn and Chow all met working at The Dark Hand, that was their one connection and then they became best friends and ride or die. They've got this intense ride or day relationship, like, 'fuck the rest of the world, I'd sacrifice the entire city if it meant keeping you safe' sort of thing going on.

Ratso loves baseball so much, it's been his special interest since he was a kid, he's got memorabilia, he was on the baseball team in high school, he just loves baseball so much. In baseball its good to have a tall person on first base so they can reach up and catch stray high balls and throw it real fast to second base (yes I researched baseball just because Ratso likes it) so I hc that he was the first baseman when he played baseball.

Finn and Chow could definitely care less but they are supportive boyfriends so they both let Ratso just infodump and ramble for hours about baseball and anything else, just sat on the couch "uh huh, yeah sure" while Ratso rambles. They go to baseball games and Finn and Chow let Ratso explain all the rules and about each role of each team member and the history of the team and everything and they all have a great time.

Ratso's family stays pretty much the same in like everything I write, he's got his mom who is fucking amazing, I love his mom, super supportive, great mom, and he's got three sisters, two older and one younger. Ratso strikes me as a guy who grew up with sisters and a mother who never allowed any toxic masculinity to fester, so he's super secure in himself and his relationships and he was determined to be a good person and not be an asshole like all the guys his sisters would date and complain about. Ratso's got an absent father because I love angst because it just makes sense in my mind but he's got this really big Italian extended family who he knows well and grew up with and is really close with. His mom definitely taught him how to cook so he's a really good cook, making all these nice Italian American dishes which is good because Finn and Chow live off of take out, and Ratso likes cooking so he'll definitely be in the kitchen every night making something great 🤌

I hc Ratso as gay, I never write him as anything else. I think he probably dated some girls in high school before realizing that that wasn't really his thing and subsequently coming out to his family, who were all really nice and supportive about it which is great considering it was the 80s and when people at school found out he got kicked off the baseball team and lost a lot of friends he had made. But its okay, he keeps it trucking. Ratso's got this upbeat optimistic attitude, and it's not born from ignorance, its born from this attitude of "I'd rather hope for a better life and be let down then to give up on hope all together." He'd rather see the best in people. Which makes working for a crime syndicate...difficult, to say the least.

Finn is not the same. Finn is a cynic. He's happy with his own life, his personal life and his hobbies but he doesn't think people are inherently good or kind. He believes everyone is selfish, and he isn't going to go out of his way to not be selfish because that's just how the world works. People are shitty to each other and there's nothing you can do to stop it so there's not even a point in trying.

Finn strikes me as a man who is deeply insecure about himself, and he masks that by being the complete opposite. He is out going and loud and conceited and has so much confidence in his own skills and ability because if he doesn't put on his mask of over the top-ness then he'll start to sprial about how his life is going nowhere and 'oh god I'm 30 and I haven't done anything with my life'

My headcanons for Finn's background are much more fluid than for Ratso or Chow, and I think its because I like to see what you can do with his character. In some fics he's an only child, sometimes he has six siblings, sometimes he's got twin younger sisters. Sometimes he's close with his parents, sometimes his dad is nice, sometimes he's an asshole. Sometimes he's got this big extended family and sometimes he's functionally an orphan, it just depends on what I'm writing and what I'm trying to say with the story and his personal development.

I find Finn compelling, and I think that's because I view him as a person who, despite all his personal development, is not sorry for the things he's done. He sees working for The Dark Hand as a means to an end, the end being his own wealth and success. Now I don't say that to mean I think he's a greedy, obsessed person like Valmont is, but I think Finn knows as well as anyone that there is truly nothing money won't buy. He wants success, in the back of his mind he still wants his name in lights as some major musical artist, but in reality he wants stability and he wants a steady life. He doesn't want to have to work for the rest of his life at some dead end job just to make ends meet, and if working for a crime syndicate has the possibility of giving him the life he wants, then he's willing to do whatever is asked of him to get that.

Finn has morals, he has lines he won't cross, but if you wanted genuine regret for his actions, apologies for the people he's hurt, then its just never going to happen. He's not sorry.

Finn is, in my mind, a bit prickly, I think is the best word for it. He doesn't open up to people, and he'll make plenty of jokes and jabs, but genuine vulnerability is hard to get to with him, he deflects and deflects and deflects. It takes time for him to trust Chow and Ratso, it takes lots of long talks and the two of them being able to see through his facades and jokes to get to the core of what he's trying to say without saying it for them to get close. The pay off being that once Finn is close with someone he is an open book. He's very affectionate, he's very sweet, it just takes some time to get there. Finn loves at 100% and he doesn't know how to turn that down, so he keeps people at arms length so they don't hurt him.

Finn is very open about his sexuality, he doesn't try and pretend he's not gay, if you don't like the fact that's gay then you can leave, but he doesn't put that part of himself in any sort of box or try to contain who he is. He's proud of his sexuality, he's proud of who he is, and he's not going to apologize for it.

Now Chow. Chow is interesting. (I love him so much its unreal) Chow has a lot of complexities and a lot of complex feelings about things, most of which he doesn't know how to say out loud. I hc that Chow grew up in Chinatown in San Francisco and he has pretty traditional immigrant parents. And while he loves his family, he doesn't have a lot of family. Most of his extended family is back in China, and while he's visited a few times he's not super close with any of his extended family, so its mostly just him and his parents as his older brother. Chow is someone who loves his family and wants so much to be close with his family, but has always felt like an outcast.

While his brother bore the brunt of the responsibility to be the perfect oldest sibling, Chow was still constantly compared to his brother and told he needed to try harder, and while his brother could fill the role of star student their parents forced on them, Chow just couldn't keep up.

He believed himself to be stupid for so many years just because he wasn't a straight A student like his brother, and it kind of did a lot of damage to his self esteem and self image.

Chow also strikes me as someone who knew he was gay from a young age, and someone who was visibly gay all growing up, he just couldn't hide it even when he tried and he was bullied pretty viciously for that all growing up.

Chow loves his family, but he's never believed they would be accepting of his sexuality, and he didn't want to cause a stir, he didn't want to be the person causing waves or breaking their family up so he just...never told them. And he just avoids questions about his love life and if he's ever going to have kids. It weighs pretty heavy on him, this feeling that he's letting his parents down by being gay.

Chow strikes me as someone who tries to act cool and does all this posturing because he was bullied so much for being gay and being a geek. He's got the leather jacket and the cool guy sunglasses and he's trying to act tough, but in reality he's as much of a geek as Ratso is. He loves video games, he was constantly at the arcade as a kid and he's always got the newest gaming systems. Finn's not one for video games but Ratso is so they will often spend hours playing Diddy Kong racing or Doom or Resident Evil or even sitting together on their gameboys playing Pokémon or Wario or Kirby.

Chow is a romantic. He loves all the cheesy stuff, the flowers and the gifts and the Valentines Day dinners. And he gets embarrassed about liking it, but Ratso and Finn are accommodating and they do the stupidly romantic things because they love him (they love it too, but the look on Chow's face is worth it everytime)

Chow I imagine has a hard time talking about his feelings, he has a hard time talking about things that really matter to him, he just didn't grow up in a household that said in words how much they loved eachother, so when he started dating Ratso who did grow up in a house like that and is very openly affectionate it was...a culture shock, to say the least. Chow gets better at talking about his feelings, but they also work around it in a lot of ways. If Chow handing Finn a stack of his favorite magazines is a declaration of love, then that's what it is, it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

Okay, I have even more thoughts but I've been talking for a while now and I am getting so excited thinking about them that my hands are literally shaking right now so I am going to go ahead and post this and take a break but yes! Ask me more things! Any specifics you want! I will tell you about any and all fic ideas I have/am working on, so please just let me know what you want to hear I will talk and talk and talk about these three.

[ask-artsy-oncie]

So… first of all, love your art, it’s beautiful! Second, thoughts on Trolls Band Together?

I apologize if this upsets the swathe of new trolls followers I got recently, but I'm probably not going to watch it, and if I did I probably wouldn't enjoy it.

I know it's not well known Lore (TM) of mine, anymore, but I didn't think I'd like the first Trolls movie (I was dragged to go see it opening weekend) and it very pleasantly surprised me. I got really fixated and invested in it, but pretty much all official media that came out after the movie has mostly just disappointed me. The stuff I ended up liking the most about the first movie kinda fell to the wayside. So I really don't see myself enjoying this one.

It's nice that there's been a resurgence in the fandom and people are FINALLY discovering that the first movie really wasn't that bad. Sorry I'm not really participating it and my day in the sun has long since passed. I'm still pretty attached to the characters of the original film (and how they were characterized in the original film - and basically popular fanon headcanons that were born from the original film - as opposed to subsequent media) and have original comic ideas with those archetypes in mind (I wasn't kidding when I said I was planning a fleshed-out comic based on my werewolf Branch AU, but that's on the back-burner for now) but you're really not going to see me start attaching myself to all these new characters that were largely just shoehorned in. I'm sorry if they mean a lot to you but they don't really mean anything to me.

I am pretty sad that it sometimes feels like I got in - and burnt out - way too quickly given the resurgence. There are a lot of artists that I admire and respect that are just getting into the fandom and I would have loved to gush about trolls with them back in 2016-2019, in ways I'm not willing to, now. I also lament how much my skills as an artist have changed and how pretty much all of my fanwork for this very colorful franchise never really reached the coloring game I'm capable of, now (I'd definitely be willing to take trolls commissions, of course, because at this point I am pretty curious about what I could pull off, but I don't really have much drive to try, unprompted, at the moment). I dunno there's just something about it that really fills me with sadness. Like I got a LOT of attention in the trolls fandom back in the day, but it still feels like I've somehow missed my chance and that my timing was off because I can't get myself to like its sequel movies. I wish I could enjoy them, I'm sorry I don't.

That was super rambly and probably not what you wanted to hear, but I guess that's just how my thoughts spilled forth. I'm very glad to hear that you like my art. I want to keep drawing and improving and creating. If you'll stick around for that alone, that's more than I could ask for.

[pothosrays]

what are all the birds names and personality im planning on writing a short drabble of them,(not all of them but yknow so i can look back on) just because,as a treat <:oD (of course-if im allowed to of course/gen)

omfg you are ABSOLUTELY allowed to do this !! and this goes for anyone else too. fyi everyone is allowed to mess w/ my birbs :)

ok ik you said not all of them HOWEVER. heres (most) of them. i think.

idk how to exactly like pinpoint their personalities, it always been just vibes. its often flexible. I try to be loose with the personalities depicted within the art because I'd like everyone to think about the characters in their own way. They were meant to be more symbolic of different feelings/relationships/experiences in a way.

.

.

_: dark brown/reddish crow w/ orange eyes, he/they/it.

personality: often anxious/nervous, overthinks a lot. Worries about friends. Often very tired, enjoys quality time with others and is kinda touch starved. Indulges in strange occult, paranormal, and multiverse knowledge very often. Knows Things. Could be considered delusional at times. Doesn't know how to fly and Does Not Enjoy Trying To. Loyal w/ the friend group, not comfortable around others or with being alone. Best friends with greg.

greg: light brown/grayish crow w/ blue eyes, he/they.

personality: caring and friendly, likes to give advice and is very supportive. A good listener, very affectionate. Enjoys goofing off or playing jokes. does a little trolling (impulsive). Talks a lot, will ramble. Dislikes taking things too seriously. Enjoyer of FOOD. Can be more philosophical and insightful, thinking of things in deeper contexts when needed. Gives others a sense of clarity and more level-headed judgement with their feelings. Best friends with _

Cap: scruffy greenish crow w/ green eyes, he/it/cap.

personality: I imagine he has a very raspy Australian accent tbh. Clumsy, often getting into accidents. A bit of an instigator and reckless, likes to take on challenges much bigger than he is. Doesn't take very good care of himself, appearing disheveled, but enjoys taking care of others and will often be very selfless. Will fight if someone cared about is put in danger/threatened. Will do whats best for the group. Collects random objects (mostly metal caps) Fiercely loyal to friends. Has a softer side that doesn't come out much. "Best friends" with Plastic.

Oak: Barn owl w/ _'s feather color for eyes, he/she/they.

personality: Nurturing and very affectionate. Calm, collected, a bit clueless/spacey, might come off as silly. Creative. Sleepy in nature but not actually. More of a loner, doesn't like to be around active areas, louder areas, or lots of commotion. Prefers to stick around fewer friends or one person. Sensitive to stronger emotions, dislikes heavy topics but will be the first one to try to offer comfort. speaks quietly, prefers to communicate through gestures and body language. Close with _, often visits them alone.

Plastic: Light gray street pigeon w/ minty green eyes, he/it.

personality: reserved, not a talker. Input is often very limited. Monotonous and stoic in a lot of ways, but generally laid-back and understanding. Enjoys everyone's company, sticks around often just to Be there, its enough. Simply wants companionship and safety, can be very loving if desired. Admires friends constantly, though quietly. Watches things from the side, might be considered too nosy or prying, hard to talk to. Often suspicious of others, but mostly inquisitive. "best friends" with Cap

[iameuba]

Regarding Project 25913: First of all, I have had the same thought before so I'm greatly enjoying the fact that someone else has also thought about it. Second: it's probably possible- idk if 25913 individuals would/could contribute, but some of the second chances can be very short, some were shown in the show and therefore easier to write, & some have probably already been written (check Desperada AO3 tag- I've seen some fantastic ones!) It's just a matter of collecting them & writing the rest!

ahh im glad i'm not the only one, i was worried it was a stupid idea- and yeah honestly!! each situation could be just one sentence,, they don't have to be an entire one shot you know? However i think the problem comes with...thinking of 25k DIFFERENT scenarios. like yes they're short but its still SO MANY different things to think about. But then again, hundreds of them could be similar but tweaked in tiny ways that make them different, such as: aspik trips and falls into sewer water, ladybug trips and falls into sewer water, or aspik trips and pulls ladybug into sewer water with him (stupid examples but u get what i mean), they're literally the same but Bam thats 3 slightly changed scenarios. Idk i'm just rambling now DSJKSDFFSD

and yes!! thats true- i was thinking about compiling all of the replies/reblogs to that post into one document or maybe even setting it as a public document that anyone can access and just add one shots to, they could be anonymous or leave their name too. I guess then i'd have to moderate it to make sure nobody trolls in it which is why im hesitant because i don't really have the spare time for that T_T , it would be so cool to see how many one shots we could collect though...and as for the ao3 ones I wouldn't want to add anyones writing to the doc mentioned above without their permission but i'd totally be down for adding them with permission (or perhaps,, LINKING them in the doc but not actually writing them out like the rest), the more the merrier for sure.

IM STILL RAMBLING IM SO SORRY sdfkljdfjkljsdfksfdlsfdlsf, i feel like theres only like 10 people who are actually into this but it would be SO COOL to have almost 26k desperada scenarios, if anyone is actually interested in the doc i mentioned above and would be willing to help me out with it feel free to msg me !!!!!!!!!! it would be so so cool (in my opinion anyway)

[alottamoney]

Love your page! You seem to be the most honest, down to earth, and logical person I've stumbled across in this fandom. I really love your world view and attitude towards these guys and shipping in general. I wanted to start with this since the rest will be a bit long winded and rambling.

Okay, here goes. I'm fairly new to BTS but not new to life, shipping, and crazy fandoms. But seriously, I'm concerned I've joined a cult and might get crucified for not believing these guys are perfect 👀. I actually really like them because they aren't perfect.

But to my main point...reality TV and BTS. (Do most fans really not know that ITS, Run BTS, and behind the scenes stuff is structured and edited? Or do they just not want to know?) Anyway...ITS season 2.

I personally loved this season of ITS because it felt way less scripted than the first season. However, it was still scripted (in that they still had scheduled activities with members...but not in how they actually interacted with each other). It was sooooo much less structured than the first season (which they actually said themselves), never seemed like they had a straight up script they were reading from (date night), and it didn't seem forced or to intentionally alienate anyone... cough, cough (Tae). I think this allowed the members to show more of their real personalities and relationships. I keep seeing people talk about it being more boring or not having enough of their ship...yeah thats because it's more real life and less fantasy. That's what makes me like it more.

An example of it being scripted...seems like they set it up so that Tae was going to have to beg for food (they pre-recorded him saying he couldn't cook and would be depending on the others) but I don't think they set up to be JK. It was most likely supposed to be Jin, since Tae asked him first. (And Jin just straight up refused to play along with the script the entire season 😂, so he said no.) They edited so much out of that section and added way too many "brothers" to the captions for having JK do it be the original intent.

(But....IMHO the best part of all of that was when Tae was straight up trolling in the next episode. He was like, oh they want me to beg for food, watch this. I really think if he asked JK to cook for him one more time, he might have gotten murdered 🤣.)

I think they (the group + maybe HYBE/BH??) decided that this season would showcase them all being close friends, no fan service (like really shippy fan service not just people hanging out together 🙄), and allowing them to be "more" themselves. After watching all the episodes, I'd say this was the "theme" of the season.

To me...all of them are friendly, professional, and pretty close knit. I quite sincerely agree with you that Taekook dynamics are just...interesting. It seems like they can't quite figure out how to act "normal" so they come across as a bit weird at times. I also don't know any of them personally, so I'm basing this off of scripted TV shows and edited behind the scenes, chaotic vlives, and videos not from HYBE/BH (still questionable but more realistic sources).

I hope they all really did get some rest and relaxation. (While having cameras on them 24/7)

What are your thoughts on this season of ITS?

Yours truly,

A TK Fan

Oh wow, TK fan anon, that's so nice of you. I'm flattered 😭💜😭💜

I recently re-visited a fandom I used to follow and I think everyone is taking the cue from kpop fandoms and becoming more intense even about fictional characters lol I agree though that this is the only fandom where I feel an actual threat.

Do fans not know that TV shows are structured and edited? I think they are more open to the idea this season because as 🪑 anon pointed out there are some things here that they can't reconcile with their existing beliefs. The amount of bargaining that had to be done to convince people that last season was scripted though, "Some of it is scripted but not all of it" is what most people settled on because no one wanted to make it seem like BTS was lying(?) Which is such a bizarre thought process. They could be lying every time they open their mouths but somehow saying that is blasphemous. Why would rich entertainers lie to us?🥴

That's a good observation about Tae and cooking in ITS. Just to be clear though; did you mean the staff would murder Tae or JK would? lol. I don't know what BH planned and I've realized over time that even not having expectations from them can still leave you disappointed so, I try not to overthink or I overthink later when I have more information lol I just uwu over the Taekook and move on (It was hard to reach this point though).

The thing about BTS variety shows is that they aren't very subtle and if the sound effects aren't enough they hit you over the head with whatever it is that they want you to focus on in the captions. It's very clear that they have planned it all out and it is scripted. That's why despite having so much content I don't think anyone can say anything about them with certainty. I feel someone who has no idea who BTS are or someone has never watched the content will have more accurate takes on them because the "propaganda" is strong here. I don't wonder too much about BTS dynamics as a whole, they clearly have something that works for them but if tomorrow one of them says something I don't expect, I also won't be surprised, if that makes sense.

About this season of ITS, I'm glad that nothing I predicted came true and I did like this season more for obvious reasons and also the Schadenfreude of seeing some people trying to explain all the Taekook interactions but again I don't trust BH so there's that lol

I hope you share more of your Taekook observations 💜

[thewidowsghost]

The Unknown Muggleborn - Chapter 18

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

"Letters from school," Mrs. Grangers says, handing her two daughters identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink.

For a few minutes, there is silence as the two girls read their letters. (Y/n)'s telsl her to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There is also a list of the new books she'd need for the next year.

Second-Year Students will Require:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 By Miranda Goshawk Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart Wandering with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

And there is a note at the end of end of the list, but (Y/n) doesn't notice it, staring at all the books on the list by Gilderoy Lockhart with undisguised disgust.

. . .

"Errol!" says Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally - he's got Hermione and (Y/n)'s answers. I wrote to them saying we were going try and rescue you from the Dursleys," Ron tells Harry.

Ron carries Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tries to stand him on it, but Errol flops straight off again, so Ron lies him on the drawing board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he rips open the letter and reads it out loud:

"Dear Ron, and Harry (If you're there),

I hope everything went alright and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry in trouble, too. Hermione's been worried, and if Harry is alright, please let us know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off.

I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course' - How can (Y/n) be, says Ron in horror. "We're on vacation! - 'and we're going to London next Wedensday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?

Let me know whats' happening as soon as you can.

Love from,

(Y/n)

. . .

"Lousy Muggles," growls Hagrid. "If I'd known -"

"Harry!"

"Harry! Over here!"

Harry looks up and sees Hermione and (Y/n) standing at the top of the white fight of steps to Gringotts. The two girls run down to meet Harry and Hagrid, Hermione's bushy brown hair flying behind her.

"What happened to your glasses?" (Y/n) asks.

"Hello, Hagrid - Oh it's wonderful to see you two again - Are you coming into Gringotts, Harry?" Hermione rambles.

"As soon as I've found the Weasleys," replies Harry.

"Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid says with a grin.

Harry, Hermione, and (Y/n) look around: Sprinting up the crowded streets are Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley pants. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far . . ." He mops his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic - she's coming now -"

"Where did you come out?" Ron asks.

"Knockturn Alley," says Hagrid grimly.

"Excellent!" Fred and George say together.

"We've never been allowed in," says Ron enviously.

"I should ruddy well think not," growls Hagrid.

Mrs. Weasley comes galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other.

"Oh, Harry - oh, my dear - you could have been anywhere -" Mrs. Weasley says. Gasping for breath, she pulls a large clothes brush out of her bag and begins sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away. Mr. Weasley takes Harry's glasses, gives them a tap of his wand, and returns them, good as new.

(Y/n) rolls up the sleeves of the red sweater from Mrs. Weasley last Christmas, she notices eyes on her, and glances over to see Ginny watching her. But when (Y/n) meets the girl's gaze, Ginny looks quickly away.

"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asks Ron, Hermione, and (Y/n) ass they climb the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" says Mr. Weasley sharply from behind them.

"No, he was selling - "

"So he's worried," says Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something . . .

"You be careful, Arthur," says Mrs. Weasley sharply as they are bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew -"

"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" says Mr. Weasley indignantly, (Y/n) choking back a laugh, but he is distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione and (Y/n)'s parents, who are standing nervously at the counter that runs all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione and (Y/n) to introduce them.

(Y/n) runs to one of the counters, making her mind up about something quickly.

"Can I help you?" One of the goblins asks.

"Is there any way you can transfer some money from my vault into someone else's?" (Y/n) asks and the Goblin peers at her.

"Fill out this form," the Goblin says, handing (Y/n) some parchment and a quill. "Just know that this cannot be undone."

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing," (Y/n) replies and the goblin nods.

. . .

The vaults are reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels.

A slight smile creeps onto (Y/n)'s face as she notices that a distinct chunk of the piles of silver, gold, and bronze missing from her vault.

Hermione questions the difference in the amount of money in (Y/n)'s vault, but ignores it for now.

Word Count: 970 words

[oliviareviewsnasu]

Olivia Reads Fate/Stay Night ~Fate~ Route (Blind Readthrough) Part 1: Intro Sequence and Rin!

Before we begin with this readthrough I'd like to personally thank anyone and everyone who has come here to listen (or read I suppose) my maddened ramblings. You truly make it worth it. Now on to the readthrough. Intro Sequence By now this intro scene is engrained even into my mind and there’s not really much to say about it. As this is a blind review however here’s a basic summary of the events: Shirou, in a state of desperation, summons perhaps one of the most famous characters in the franchise to fend off an unknown attacker. The King of Knights stands before him and asks the iconic line: “I ask of you, are you my master?”. She then states that their fates (heh) are now entwined before the scene fades to white leading into the Rin prologue. On the more technical end; the music in the Realta Nua version is phenomenal. as is Ayako Kasumi’s performance as Saber even this early on in what would be a long career

What I think the anime (Unlimited Blade Works in particular) doesn’t quite convey is Shirou’s mystique and awe in the face of the King of Knights, nor his poetic heart. He’s clearly much much more intelligent and thoughtful than quite a few people give him credit for.

By all accounts this is true in a both a literal and meta-sense. 17 years later people are still discussing the franchise with nearly the same vigor as larger properties like One Piece or Dragon Ball. As for the literal, well, we all know Shirou’s dark fate. On the topic of darkness, I love how they portray Arturia. Awash in the light of the moon while Shirou is cowering in the dark. The contrast is beautiful and highlights just how important of a role she’d play in the would-be-hero’s future. What I find to be fascinating is how much imagery is loaded into these first few moments. That, coupled with Shirou’s prose, makes for a gorgeous introduction. My only issue with it is the whiplash bait-and-switch from Shirou’s perspective to Rin’s; especially with the knowledge that we’ll need to essentially re-read that part to begin with. It weakens some of the dramatic tension and choreography. Prologue: Day 1 (Part 1) And so the Rin prologue begins, in bed, with traumatic memories and regrets. So an ordinary morning for this reviewer. It’s also the first mention of the Holy Grail War that took place during the events of Fate/Zero. Rin’s final memories of her father do pull at my heart-strings however. Wanting to make someone laugh before you see them off is, in my opinion, a noble pursuit. Given what I know of Tokiomi from the events of Fate/Zero I can also agree that his character was perhaps one of the finer among the mages. At least compared to Kiritsugu “Sign a magical contract, can’t shoot, hire someone else to first for me” Emiya, Kirei “My religious views make my sadism and hedonism weird for me” Kotomine, and Lord El Melloi “Old Money, Old Magecraft” Archibald. Sound wise I’ve been listening to the flashback music for nearly ten minutes as I’ve been writing this up and I’m starting to see stars so we should probably move along- And so the Rin proloAnd so the Rin prologue begins, in bed, with traumatic memories and regrets. So an ordinary morning for this reviewer. It’s also the first mention of the Holy Grail War that took place during the events of Fate/Zero. Rin’s final memories of her father do pull at my heart-strings however. Wanting to make someone laugh before you see them off is, in my opinion, a noble pursuit. Given what I know of Tokiomi from the events of Fate/Zero I can also agree that his character was perhaps one of the finer among the mages. At least compared to Kiritsugu “Sign a magical contract, can’t shoot, hire someone else to first for me” Emiya, Kirei “My religious views make my sadism and hedonism weird for me” Kotomine, and Lord El Melloi “Old Money, Old Magecraft” Archibald. Sound wise I’ve been listening to the flashback music for nearly ten minutes as I’ve been writing this up and I’m starting to see stars so we should probably move along-gue begins, in bed, with traumatic memories and regrets. So an ordinary morning for this reviewer. It’s also the first mention of the Holy Grail War that took place during the events of Fate/Zero. Rin’s final memories of her father do pull at my heart-strings however. Wanting to make someone laugh before you see them off is, in my opinion, a noble pursuit. Given what I know of Tokiomi from the events of Fate/Zero I can also agree that his character was perhaps one of the finer among the mages. At least compared to Kiritsugu “Sign a magical contract, can’t shoot, hire someone else to first for me” Emiya, Kirei “My religious views make my sadism and hedonism weird for me” Kotomine, and Lord El Melloi “Old Money, Old Magecraft” Archibald. Sound wise I’ve been listening to the flashback music for nearly ten minutes as I’ve been writing this up and I’m starting to see stars so we should probably move along-

-Only for the lovely siren song of the world’s most annoying alarm clock to start ringing.

I agree with you there Rin, I feel like I’m being attacked as well. Terrible assault on the ears aside, we learn that Rin has been up late at night studying her Father’s will. A hobby that not even I would recommend. After struggling to get out of bed in time for class (Rin really is my spirit animal), she promptly complains about the coldness of her home. As someone who lives in Boston and has never heard of Central Air, this is painfully relatable. Have you had to sit on a toilet seat with ice in the bowl? I don’t recommend it. After the most uncomfortable scene of someone humble-bragging about their rich (literally in this case) background (likely because she can’t to anyone else), she explains that she is in fact a mage and what that entails. Persecution, isolation, and regular communion with forces beyond what most can comprehend. She also goes on to reference the 5 magics (familiar if you’ve played Melty Blood or read Tsukihime, something I’m sure to cover at some point).

What I find to be interesting here is that she fundamentally separates herself from the rest of humanity, treating herself as an outsider despite living what she’d consider ‘an ordinary life’. She shows longing and desire for the things that everyone else has access to and seems to disdain magic on it’s own. But to paraphrase Rin: “Let’s put off difficult discussions, they can wait till they’re old.” As Rin heads out she grabs a rather suspicious (and important) pendant that she managed to find after decoding Tokiomi’s will. It makes me wonder, did he lock up the Tohsaka family heirlooms in various vaults; hoping that someday his heir or maybe one of hers would be able to open them? Was he trolling his daughter? Or am I reading too much into this? Besides her finding the mystical cure-a-spear-to-the-heart jewel, Rin goes on to explain how Tohsaka family magic works. Essentially by slowly storing magic in jewels to draw upon at a later date. I’m reminded of Stormlight and its use of spheres, but that’s besides the point. There’s also a brief discussion of magic crests and how they’re essentially all the magical experiences of her predecessors engraved into her arm. Fun. Rin then goes on to finally leave her house after nearly thirty minutes of getting ready and shows a remarkable knowledge of German. Something that even I haven’t quite managed to master. There’s some brief world building with this area of Fuyuki being a blend of Eastern and Western architecture (as an architect myself this is fascinating to me) and draws a line of parallel between Rin and Shirou. Rin lives in a fancy Western-style mansion and longs for the future, while Shirou lives in the Eastern-style Emiya Residence and yearns for ideals that don’t quite exist anymore. As Rin hurries off to school, a sense of eeriness and unease washes over us, only for us to learn the most terrible and terrifying fact of all. She got up early and so her early morning panic was wasted. Oh and we also meet Ayako who is as exhaustingly energetic as usual. Somehow Rin’s clocks were all an hour fast. She suspects Tokiomi’s work, but I doubt the Tohsaka family Patriarch was one for pranks. Ayako drags Rin off the almost exorbitantly fancy Archery range and they begin to discuss their mutual search for a partner. Have I said that Rin is my spirit animal? I’m sure I must have by now.

This is the first glimpse we get at Rin’s competitive side. Ayako may have been the one to initiate the relationship, but any strong rivalry requires mutual input from both parties. A solid example of this can be seen in the relationship between Sanji and Zoro in One Piece. If I were less astute, I’d prop Ayako as up a potential antagonist later on during the route. As for the contest itself, it’s petty in the most realistic of ways. Attempting to get a boyfriend or girlfriend just to rub it in the face of your rival? I’ve definitely experienced that in my (admittedly brief) lifetime. Well we’ll have to find out another time as I’ve come to realize just how long this document is getting. Join me next week and we’ll continue along with the Rin prologue and hope we get to her summoning of Archer. This has been a fascinating look at the series I’ve adored for so long, just seeing the characters thoughts on the most simple of matters has been an eye-widening experience. This is Olivia Reviews and I can’t wait to see you next time.