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#if anyone’s wondering the context of the meme look up ‘i did it i saved the town’
sstarpopp · 4 days
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solacefruit · 2 years
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First fanfiction lines tag game.
Borrowing this meme from the wonderful @catalists ! 
Rules: List the first lines of the last ten (10) stories you published.  Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. Then tag some friends.
From most recent:
bend the definition of faith (..., unfinished)
You must know there was once nothing here. 
Brambleclaw+Squirrelflight short series (6.9k, unfinished)
“Are you comfortable?” asked Brambleclaw for the third time since he had entered the nursery.
if lies were cats (5.1k, Blackfoot, Leopardstar)
Blackfoot prowled under the weak moonlight to nearly the river’s end, a furthest edge of Riverclan territory, and he walked alone.
make a mighty sound (63.2k, Talltail/Jake)
Tallpaw was sitting still, observing butterflies.
one of a kind, no category (6.7k, meta-narrative)
Kitewhisker padded down into the cold stone hollow alone.
but I couldn’t care for the history (3k, Brambleclaw/Squirrelflight)
Brambleclaw was sharpening his claws on a maple at the roadside when Squirrelflight appeared.
the light that shines on you (4.6k, Crookedstar & Silverpaw)
Crookedstar finished grooming himself as he sat outside the leader’s den and watched as cats began to make preparations for no-moon night.
turn to dust all that I adore (11.1k, Mudclaw & Tallstar)
The dawn patrol will need organising soon, thought Mudclaw as he looked out over the moor.
how to feel different, how to feel new (2.8k, Yellowfang & Cinderpaw)
Yellowfang noticed Cinderpaw at once when she returned from her afternoon of foraging for borage among the still-unfamiliar trees of Thunderclan’s forest.
just when that day is coming, who can say? (10.6k, Brokenstar & Yellowfang)
Brokentail lay waiting under a large blackthorn bush, tail tip twitching in the awkward, jerky way it did.
Observations: 
I’m really not precious with opening lines for fanfiction and I feel like the most important goal for a first line is to clearly set the perspective of the story--i.e., who is the protagonist and where are they in the world, physically? Once that’s done, I feel like from there you can launch pretty much immediately into the good stuff and it saves a lot of time to speed-run the set up like that. 
I also feel it gives a bit more of a hook? Especially when you drop in a hint of something else happening--e.g., Blackfoot in Riverclan alone is strange, and therefore intriguing; Brokentail isn’t just sitting, he’s waiting--and so the question is, for what?; Yellowfang noticing Cinderpaw implies there is something important to notice; Crookedstar’s story takes place on no-moon night, which is unfamiliar and therefore piques curiosity; etc. etc. 
After seeing that, you’re inclined to read at least the next sentence to see if that gives context, and then the next, and by then you’re (hopefully) invested and interested enough to read through all the way to see where it all goes. I really believe in curiosity as a valuable tool for writers to engage readers and try to make the most of it in my own work. 
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tedturneriscrazy · 3 years
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🎶Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Hooty's Door🎵
I wonder if anything will happen in this episode.🙂
(I say as if I didn't watch the episode twice before going to bed and writing this post)
I don't think I'll ever not be amused by the way Hooty just...does things with his face
Seems like he found a thesaurus at some point
Okay so it's canonically spelled "Hootsifer," good to know
Also, this is really all we get of Lilith, huh?
His little hoot/coo at Lilith's letter❤❤❤
To borrow a meme format: If I had a nickel for every time Alex Hirsch was involved in a show where one of the characters was experiencing pubescent voice cracks, I'd have two nickels, which isn't very much but it's weird that it happened twice
Eda's face🤣
As much as this bit is played for laughs, Eda's clearly still shaken by what happened last episode
Jeez, Luz, priorities /j
Pictured: Hooty
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The way King talks about being pelleted implies this is something Hooty does on the regular
Hooty's plan to help King is literally a Buzzfeed quiz? Okay then
Betcha never expected lore from Hooty, eh?
"DO NOT INTERRUPT"
Officially a "type of worm"
The dance being a grievous insult wasn't exactly from nowhere, but still funny nonetheless
WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING COCCOON
Tiny Nose playing Switch definitely seems to be drawing from Dana's real life experiences
Wait, Hooty and Tiny Nose are friends?
Well shit, turns out she could use magic this whole time. Guess her going Super Saiyan wasn't just the power glyph.
I am extremely skeptical of your medical credentials, TN
I have so many questions about the methodology they used for the blood test(s)
I think Hooty may have misinterpreted what King was looking for
I'm still amazed at how King has had, and continues to have, moments in the show with some of the greatest emotional weight
Ooh, sound powers!
"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CRUMBLE!!!"
It just occurred to me that that segment consisted mostly of Alex Hirsch talking to himself
Hello not-at-all obvious setup
Today I learned that Hooty is the baker of the house. Maybe he'd critique Amity's fairy pie.
Aaaaand there's the sleep inducing
Oh shit
In hindsight the Owl Beast being part of a dream sequence is rather obvious
Wow, Eda, tell us how you really feel about the Owl Beast
Oh we're just gonna ride aboard the Trauma Express today, huh?
Oh, I guess Lilith did make an appearance, after all
Damn, Gwen, not even looking
Oh shit dad issues
Sandy Cohen?! (To anyone who gets that reference, hi. How are your 30s treating you?)
Well, I know who Peter Gallagher voices now, anyway
Oh dear...
(Also, bright flashing lights triggering the curse? There's an epilepsy allegory in here somwhere)
Blood and eye injury? Gotta stretch that Y7 rating
Now we have some context for that look on Eda's face when Lilith mentioned their dad: good old fashioned guilt!
I desparately want to make a "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" joke, but I'm better than that
New memory! Raine!
Oh no...
I get the feeling I'll hate this part, too
They were exes!😢 Guess the fandom called that one
The reasoning for them being exes is understandable, all too real, and goddamn heartbreaking
That said, the fact they never stopped loving each other🥺😢😭
I do hope we can see Raine again under less...traumatic circumstances. Maybe that wedding that was mentioned?
Oh shit, are we getting into the Owl Beast's memories?!?! What a tweest!
Bet nobody expected Cloaked Moonface to show up in the frickin Hooty episode
(Also, holy shit I briefly forgot this was the Hooty episode)
Who is this mysterious cloaked figure? And why are they so tall and long?
So the curse was a sealed beast this whole time. Damn.
And it was just picked up as beach junk to sell as a trinket. So much for it being connected to Belos. (Not that people will stop trying to do so)
Who had "experiencing sympathy for the Owl Beast" on their Bingo cards for this episode? Yeah, me neither.
And here we have the necessary Eda coming to terms with her curse segment. More accurately, Eda and the curse coming to terms with each other.
Goddamnit why does it have to be cute
"It's like sandpaper" IT'S LIKE A CAT I FUCKING CAN'T
Insert Steamed Hams reference here to kill the mood
New transformation!
Oh no she's hot!
No, Hooty, you made it surprisingly much, much better!
She might have a problem pushing people away and holding onto guilt, but Eda always knows that she looks damn good
Oh right, Luz having girl problems. Fuck, so much is happening in this episode!
"Cotton-candy-haired Goddess" LUZ! 🤣
Attuned to other people's emotions = being a fucking creeper
Oh Luz, what happened to you back home?
Also, 99.999% certain Amity would love your cheesiness
That's...rather morbid, Hooty
So much lore development, including the fact the Owl House has a basement
Classic inanimate object silhouette fakeout gag. Subversion in 3...2...1...
There it is!
I can't imagine being pelleted is a fun experience.
Honestly I have so many questions about how Hooty got Amity there in the first place, but I'm not so sure I actually want to know the answers to any of them...
Cue much panicking
Wow, I'm really getting some Into the Bunker flashbacks
Oh this is gonna be amazing isn't it
I commend Luz for not actually dropping dead of embarrassment
Seriously, how can Hooty set all this up so fast yet not hold a pen?!?!?!
Poor Luz, she thinks this is destroying her chances
Meanwhile Amity is just "Oh, Titan, is this actually happening?!"
The way she's fixing her hair!❤
Goddamnit Luz let this play out, she's so clearly into this!
"Again?!" Okay who do I have to kill?
Luz is luzing it
Nooooooo....
JUST TALK FOR FUCK'S SAKE (aka how like 95% of issues in literally any plot could be solved)
Noooo Amity's so heartbroken right now💔
This isn't what either of them wanted!
To be fair, Hooty, Luz had a part in this too. Not that she can be blamed entirely. Poor thing clearly had some awful experiences back home...
Now Hooty is McFucking losing it
Why did I think he was gonna say "Looks like I'm gonna have to JUMP!" I think I've watched too much Homestar Runner (jk there's no such thing)
Those pulsating organs are still gross
Eda swooping in to save her son (No, really, he actually is now)
I'll say things get weird when Hooty gets upset!
Yes, King! Save them with your voice powers!
Damn that is some romantic lighting, and Luz is enjoying the eye candy (cotton candy, if you will)
Luz's reaction to Harpy!Eda is the family-friendly summation of how the fandom has reacted.
Hooty really just tearing up the landscape in remorse
Mother-daughter moment about love life!
I appreciate not just Eda's encouragement but her actually asking Luz what she wanted
God, Eda is best mom
Also, OH FUCK IS THIS HAPPENING?!
OH SHIT
THESE ADORABLY AWKWARD NERDS❤💜💙
"I'm not as cool as you think" could be interpreted as self-deprecating, but here it seems...oddly reassuring?
The way Luz eloquently says how she wants Amity in her future...beautiful❤
Luz making some good faces
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
YOU CUTE DORKS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH
THERE IT IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
LOOK HOW HAPPY SHE IS
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WE WERE LOSING OUR SHIT OVER A PECK ON THE CHEEK THREE WEEKS AGO AND NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE HOLY FUCK
Awkwardness is still there, but that's to be expected
BET Y'ALL DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TRAILER SHOT TO BE IN THE HOOTY EPISODE HUH
THE WAY LUZ RUBS AMITY'S HAND😭😭😭😭😭
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(And yeah, it's gonna still be scary, but only because it promises to be so wonderful)
Let's give it up for Hootsifer, goddamn!
Let'a also appreciate just how fucking funny it is that Lumity becomes official in the Hooty episode
Fus ro WEH!
Hooty actually saying "Luz's new GF" out loud...
In just about any other show the love interests getting together would be a climax/culmination of the entire plot. Here? It's actually used to advance the plot, and that is brilliant!
Dana Terrace and the crew really just knocking it out of the park again and again, huh
"They're adorable, and deserve all the happiness!" Well said, Hootsifer. Well said.
Probably for the best they had Hooty promise that. As much as what happened/progressed, there was a lot of property damage.
OH SHIT ONCE AGAIN
King's dad/relative! And he's voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson!
GODDAMNIT HOOTY
Wow. Just...wow. This episode.
King has voice powers! Harpy!Eda! Lumity are girlfriends for real!!!!
How do you pack so much into a single episode?! And so expertly?!
I had my suspicions before, but this confirms it: The Owl House is the greatest show of all time.
And we have two episodes left until the hiatus! And 11 episodes in the season after that! What are we in for?!?!?!
I, for one, can't wait to find out!
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Alright alright alright
You’ve all been asking for it, so here it is! 
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This will be (edit: HELLA) long and obviously spoiler-y, so everything is under a cut. 
Are you ready?
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Before we get to it, I want to mention that for the sake of keeping things organized, I will NOT be talking about my AU (@ask-whitepearl-and-steven​) in this post. I want to just analyze the show as a viewer and a fan first. I’ll make a seperate post for AU-thoughts a bit later.
Without further ado:
EP 1: LITTLE HOMESCHOOL
This is a great way to open up the episode and show the changes through the lens of someone who has been a bit out of it for a while (we are all Cherry Quartz, fresh from the hiatus, aren’t we?) but I’m sorry, this post still takes the cake:
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Okay, okay, back to the program.
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“That used to be a loaded question...“
Right off the bat, Steven is SO much more confident about saying that he’s... HIMSELF! What a good feeling. I’m very proud of our boy. 
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I love the name “Gemglyph” for the gem language! I’ll need to know who wrote these, though. And who the heck drew the diamonds? Hopefully it was BP. 
And I’m not the first one to point this out, but MORE ANIME REFERENCES!
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Which can be seen as either a reference to the Chill Low-Fi Hiphop Beats to Study To OR Whisper of the Heart. 
And absolutely no one cares but something that caught my eye is the fact that they have an EARTH FLAG at Little Homeschool! How cool is that!
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Earth 4ever!!! 
Off-note - I love how INVESTED they are in this conversation Pearl is having with Holo-Pearl.
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Peak entertainment. 
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I love Professor Amethyst and I love the random human who snuck in to apparently take lessons on Not Giving A Single Shit About Anything, Ever. 
And here we FINALLY are in the FUTURE
Where we FINALLY get Jasper as a functioning character
And 
She’s
SO DRAMATIC, I LOVE HER.
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This is literally SO funny like she... she was just... laying on top of her house... under a blanket..... FOr WHAT? To stand up dramatically and throw it off when Steven inevitably paid a visit? 
Is that just what she dOES? 
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“It’s FINE I don’t need any HELP, I’m FUNCTIONING, I’m just having a SELF CARE DAY OK”
Also I’m sorry but
Jasper: “It took forever to yank those puny green earthlings out of the ground.”
Steven: “You mean grass...?“
THIS. RIGHT HERE. is peak Jasper. 
It’s also curious how INVESTED Steven is in this:
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“I’m TRYING to give you [a purpose]!“
Why are you... trying to do that, though? Isn’t the whole idea for gems to surpass their ‘purpose’ and just kinda... do whatever? Isn’t Jasper just kinda... doing whatever? 
I mean, sure, it’s not useful to anyone, but she seems relatively happy. Aside from. You know. The whole laying on rocks under blankets until she’s disturbed thing and-- okay, you’re right, maybe an intervention would be healthy. 
I’m not gonna talk at length about the rest of the episode - although I think it’s really good, I don’t know what I can say about it that hasn’t already been said. Jasper is definitely poking Steven’s buttons and rephrasing a LOT of what WHITE has said to Pink: “You surround yourself with inferior gems because it makes you feel better.”
And Steven REACTS to this. The taunt WORKS.
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And yes, he gains some extra powers for it, but something tells me this AIN’T the only thing he will get. It feels like a two-edged sword. Like it’ll be his own downfall somehow....... maybe at the end of the series. 
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Ashes to ashes.... hole to hole.
And oh wow I thought they were gonna bond but LMAO
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“Consider your fight back there your first and ONLY lesson.“
Basically:
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I love you Jasper.
EP 2: GUIDANCE
I LOVE YOU AMETHYST.
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sHE’S doing SO much and she’s SO good at it!! Look at her!! Organizing stuff!!!! 
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RUBIES IN SUNGLASSES. IN SQUARE SUNGLASSES. 
I need 20. 
And I also need 20 of Larimar because holy shit that’s hilarious. 
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Larimar: “I want to hear the human screams forever.”
Steven: “Okay that’s kinda troubling.”
I love the reference to Monsters Inc here and I love the callback at the end of the episode when Larimar switches to Human Laughter to get her fill of that particular erm... need. 
And honestly the ensuing chaos is equally predictable and entertaining. 
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I’m SO glad to know that Rubies are just... Like That and that actually Navy is not a deviation from the norm but rather a different flavor of the chaotic energy all Rubies naturally seem to possess. 
Amethyst is also super relatable:
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“Ah yes, the fool comes crawling back. Come to beg for forgiveness, have you?”
In fact, the episode’s WHOLe HUMOUR is just very much My Brand
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“Sometimes you save all the people but the rollercoaster still crashes into the ocean...... and that’s okay.”
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Including the Running Gag that is Onion. Who... does not appear to have aged. At all. And that’s okay.
EP 3: ROSE BUDS
Okay where do I even begin with this one. Um.
I have to openly admit that I spent the majority of this episode wheezing with laughter. Let’s start with the Zoomans:
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Who are CLEARLY STILL SUPER SALTY AT GREG ABOUT REJECTING THEM??? Which is hilarious. 
And also this paradise is fascinating in and of itself. 
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But the next scene is basically where I started losing my shit.
Okay, okay, alright so. Uh. I have... a few questions.
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Like Why. WHY. Does she look. SO MUCH like Rose? 
Clearly Rose Quartz differ in coloring and etc. But She literally looks. Like THE Rose. VERY explicitly. 
So here’s several options here:
1) Pink made Rose Quartz way before any of the Rebellion happened and Pearl just basically pigeonholed her into THIS specific Rose Quartz appearance because she (???) had a crush? Or somehow saw this specific Rose, thought ‘hot, i can make my sympathetic Diamond wear this exact costume and that would be EXCELLENT fanservice for ME’
2) Pink didn’t have any Rose Quartz until the Rebellion, and thereafter quickly decided ‘I need these gems as an alibi, so we’re just gonna make them” and she and Pearl basically inclubated Rose Quartz like a pokemon trainer hatching for a Shiny until they got one that looked Exactly Like That. 
3) There was no Thinking involved because this is Pink we’re talking about, and it was all just a huge coincidence for the sake of this Very Hilariously Uncomfortable Episode. 
While we ruminate on that, let’s look at some Relatable Reactions.
And here we have the holy trinity of “I have just seen the clone of my deceased parent/parental figure/lover.”
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Featuring: Bonus ‘I’m Almost Over It’ Pearl
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Also, I need y’all to make this into a meme:
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For example:
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Anyway, alright, alright. 
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That relatable feel when your (hot) dead lesbian lover’s clone asks you if you’re okay after another one of the (less hot?) clones offers you a whole ass stick of butter to eat. 
And then you and your friends all hide in the bathroom to talk about your feelings:
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Okay, the rest of the episode gives me FEELINGS and I love how hard Steven is trying, so I’ll just close it off with:
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I LOVE THEM. Unironically, they are EVERYTHING I had hoped Rose Quartz would be. They’re SO MUCH like Rose herself - did she model her personality after them? Or are they just like her because she WAS like that, and they’re made from her essence? WHO KNOWS?! They’re adorable!
And the conflict between them and Steven is honestly so gooD! I don’t know if it’s completely relatable but I’m glad they ended up talking it out.
I wonder if we’ll ever see Her again... you know who I’m talkin’ about. 
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Her....
I’m madly in love with Rose, ok, I don’t need a callout post. Just leave me be.
EP 4:  VOLLEYBALL
Alright, alright, alright.
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OKAy,.... It’s fine. It’s FINE. I’m fINE. 
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Confirmed: 8000 years. That’s. UH. A LOT? That puts our timelines quite a ways back. We kind of estimated as much, but still, it’s so jarring to think about. And PP is VERY casual about it. 
She’s also VERY casual about the injury.
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“This is all Pink Diamond!”
It doesn’t seem like it bothers her to talk about it at all. She’s not even trying to keep it a secret. So I’m almost wondering - was there a connection to her being taken by White and the injury at all or not? 
She came to Steven to get healed - she clearly wants it gone. At the time she was injured, did Pink not even attempt to heal the injury? 
Follow up question: If she DID care, why didn’t she try to heal it?
Follow up to the follow up: Was it because she didn’t know she could? Or did she simply not have the time to (White removed her before she could)? 
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When Steven goes pink, she gasps - but makes no further comment. It’s presumably because she’s seen this happen before. She doesn’t try to move away, weirdly enough - she asks him if everything is alright. Perhaps the context is too different for it to be triggering for her. Perhaps there’s more layers to it? HMMM. 
What follows is, perhaps, the SALTIEST we’ve seen Pearl since Greg rolled around.
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“Did you come to compete?”
This is doubly curious to me because Crewniverse has previously explicitly stated that Pearl was NOT in love with Pink Diamond. She was in love with Rose. So if this is true, why would Pearl care about her place as Pink’s Pearl? She is supposed to be past all that, isn’t she? 
And yet as time goes on, the salinity grows exponentially. Alright, you two, I know you’re Pearls but tone it down with the sass. 
(Also, I’m sorry but I will NEVER call her Volleyball. That’s all. Bye.)
Also it’s worth noting that... PP is clearly VERY much in love with Pink.
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This is, perhaps, where the lack of a grudge plays into it. She’s completely enamoured.
Moreover, she’s VERY casual about how she talks here. This isn’t exactly how one talks of their Diamond. This is how people talk about their romantic partners. She calls Pink silly, calls her ‘funny’. That’s not exactly a term of respect - it’s way more intimate than that. 
Also, did anyone else notice how, although CG Pearl’s gem is usually shaded in teal, it’s in Pink in this episode? VEEEERY subtle, Crew.
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Also, we can’t quite see Pink Pearl’s expression fully here because her working eye isn’t visible, which makes it hard to get a read on things like
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“I’m older than you.“ Is she just saying it casually? Or is she fully aware that she’s poking fun at CG Pearl? 
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HI SHELL. ISN’T IT FUNNY HOW YOUR VOICE AND YOUR NAME ARE A SUBTLE NOD TO PORTAL, WHICH IS FORESHADOWING HOW BADLY THIS IS GONNA END. 
Meanwhile, Pearl continues to be in character.
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“No need to be overly... attached.”
And this has nothing to do with anything but
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she cute
Aaaand now it’s creepy again.
The rest of this is super important so let’s get to it:
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“Oh, no. Pink did this.”
“What did you say?”
“It’s a funny story, really. Once, Pink got tired of asking Yellow and Blue for her own colony, so she went straight to White. Of course, White told her she wasn’t fit to run one... and well! That set her off.”
“Set her off? What are you talking about?”
“You remember how she was! With her destructive powers, throwing tantrums left and right! She had a scream that could crack the walls. She didn’t mean to hurt me! (giggle) I just happened to be standing too close to her that time and--”
And then Steven interrupts. 
We get more CG Pearl arguing for how wrong this image of Pink is to her. What CG Pearl knew was a totally different (or, well, same, but VERY changed) Pink. 
But what we have to prove our point is Steven himself. He rolls into the EXACT same state as Pink presumably did - and begins to over-use his powers. 
(This isn’t the first time we have seen him use this attack.)
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The reactions from the Pearls are telling - this is clearly not Pink Pearl’s first rodeo with this type of Mood. 
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And it’s important to note that Steven clearly didn’t direct any attack AT them. He simply yelled - and the whole dang place literally started to crack. There’s weight to the argument that possibly, Pink really DIDN’T mean to hurt her Pearl - that she was just collateral damage. 
Which doesn’t make it any better, obviously. Even if Pink had no direct intention of hurting her Pearl (and there are theories that Pink purposefully hit or threw Pink Pearl or somehow physically acted directly to damage her, which I was skeptical of) the result of it is still the same.
If you raise your voice and yell, even if you’re just yelling because YOU are hurt/have feelings, you might still hurt the people around you. If you throw a tantrum, even if your direct goal was just to let off some steam without aiming to harm anyone, whoever gets in your way is still the victim. 
And this is all very much On Brand for Pink’s timeline as we know it. We already knew this about her - we KNEW she tended to throw tantrums (like in the flashback on Jungle Moon) and that she was childish. The fact that she accidentally hurt her Pearl in the process because she had no self-control at that period in her life comes as no surprise. 
(Although it’s important to mention that perhaps hurting her own Pearl WAS the breaking point during which she finally realized how her emotional outbursts could have negative consequences on those around her.)
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And this is a very beautiful message - even if Pink Pearl still doesn’t want to blame Pink for what was done to her (”But... she didn’t mean to!”) Pearl brings the point of it back around to her (”But you were still hurt!”) The point isn’t the person who did the hurting - the focus is on the victim and how they were affected. 
And the rest, I daresay, is history. 
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I like the fact that they managed to still bring it back around to the main message: 
It isn’t about just “Pink was bad”. It’s about how she did bad things. And there were multiple sides to her - multiple stages. And the Pearls who knew her knew different sides of her - the side that didn’t know how to be a good person, who was selfish and childish and unrestrained... and  the side that was, arguable, too restrained. Who hated her own past, her own character and her own mistakes so much that she would rather bury them and keep secrets from everyone. 
And neither of those things were good, and neither were healthy, but they are a GREAT contrast to a GREAT character arc that is, arguably, still being unearthed. And we have so much more context for it all now. 
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I, for one, can’t wait to see and discover more of Pink through Pink Pearl - no matter how ugly that side of her might be. I think it gives great perspective to her later growth. 
And if you ship the Pearls.. .well, I get why. 
Personally I’m not interested in it that way. Call me unromantic - I don’t think their relationship NEEDS to be shippy in order to be satisfyingly deep. I love the idea of them having a deep bond over this - a shared past, a shared experience, and gaining confidence through one another. 
Cheers and thanks for listening!
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steve0discusses · 3 years
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Yugioh Season Zero: The Yo-yo Crimes of Jounouchi Pt 2
OK, last we left off, we were in a different Youtube video. This one I grabbed off of 2 different videos (you’ll see their watermark in the corner change) and it makes me appreciate the quality that our other episodes have been, honestly. A little bit of compression going on in these, just to give you even more of that nostalgic feel of watching a bootleg anime from the 90′s your brother got from his weird high school friend’s Napster account.
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Because this is done with subtitles on, it takes more caps to cover it. Part of why I rewrite the dialogue in these recaps is to help abridge stuff, and so consider yourself warned...there’s a lot of caps in this one. For most of you, that’s probably not much of a problem. But I’m just letting you know because...I sure wasn’t expecting it to be over 40 caps for half an episode, and I’ll probably just type less to make up for that. (Tumblr keeps Erasing All My Words anyway, so this is for the best, but that’s a tech issue I already went into in another post.)
(read more under the cut)
So, to start off, Yugioh and co. walk up to a bar like a really weird version of a bar joke and are like “do you know where we can find the yo-yo gang?” And, much like a video game npc, the bartender was like “I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about, and I heard every part of their intimate conversation. Let me give you all the details, children.”
Hey, PS, there’s an entire Wikipedia entry about the bar joke. And that is wild. Apparently the first bar joke was from Ancient Sumeria, and Wikipedia was like “Here is the Sumerian joke, but we Do Not Get it. Please don’t try to get it.”
The joke being: "A dog walked into a tavern and said, 'I can't see a thing. I'll open this one'."
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Damn. I can’t believe the Sumerians were onto meme humor before we ever invented memes. They were in the Galaxy brain over there in the land before time, holy crap. Depositing their memes knowing that 7,000 years later mankind would look at the world’s first joke and be like “I don’t get it!” while all the millennials and zoomers with our MB of nonsense memes on our phones are like “No. I get it.” Good on you Sumerians, that is freakin the best joke ever made. 7000 years to get to the punch line of confusing the hell out of all us. Bless.
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They promptly tell Miho that everything was resolved and that she should go to bed and she was like “Cool!” and exited stage left. Bye, I guess. Anzu also went home, but she didn’t have to be tricked into doing it, she just went the hell to bed.
(PS, I just realized that if I want to write less...I should probably not look up Wikipedia articles about the world’s first ever bar joke. But y’all, habits die so freakin hard, and I just feel like it’s very pertinent to this Yugioh recap, although I know it’s really not.)
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Yuugi and Honda decide to visit the warehouse and harass Jounouchi. In the context of the show, they’re going out of their way to pull their best friend out of society’s systemic downward pull of a life of crime and most likely turning into exactly like his Father. But, the way that it’s storyboarded makes it look a lot like these kids just show up out of the corner and this gang was like “Damn it, again? OMG small children, please leave us alone!”
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Honda hands over the symbolism sash, to which Jounouchi symbolically says “Nyeh.”
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And Honda didn’t take it very well.
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After tending to his kidneys for a little while, Honda decided to go back at it again at the Krispy Cream and do some sort of insane parkour over this completely ordinary fence.
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Ah, the very first instance of real duel law where you duel over a relationship. In later seasons duel law is invoked for things like Mai’s marriage and the right to date Tea (and then just kind of forgetting you ever won the right to date Tea twice). But to think the very first time was Honda dueling for the right of Jounouchi to be part of nerd gang because Jounouchi had fallen to the dark side yo-yo gang across the street run by some 40 year old man with blue hair.
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How many times is Honda gonna fight with a broom? Like are they just magnetized to his location? where are they even coming from?
Freakin janitor powers over here, put him in a Final Fantasy style RPG. I want to see what his limit break would be.
Not like it matters, because Hirotani very quickly explains why these yo-yo’s are at all a threat.
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Which honestly shouldn’t be...so lethal? Seems like the weight is all you need, not really the spikes. But it’s at least stronger than Honda’s janitor stuff.
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Unfortunate for Honda that he just destroyed an antique.
So with lightning reflexes, Yuugi does what he does most:
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The death yo-yo ricochets back and does this little itty bitty scrape to this guy’s face and he’s real bothered by it. Although it’s like...well dude, you’re a 50 year old high schooler, I don’t think people will notice the scrape compared to everything else falling apart in your life.
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And so then the Yugioh Season Zero team was like “oh shoot is it time to torture Yuugi???” and they got hella excited.
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Like I thought it was just Yuugi’s class that were a bunch of disturbing criminal disasters, but I guess it’s the whole city. Like...was Yuugi’s class the good school?
I mean, it can’t be, there’s no way...
but like...is there a good school in this universe? How does anyone survive till graduation? If you so much as disgrace a yo-yo, you will get the torture treatment that I sure did expect in Yakuza games, but not so much in Yugioh, tbh.
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Just a reminder: This is the third time we’ve beat up Yuugi this episode. Within the first meeting of Yuugi and Hirotani, he beat the tar out of Yuugi within eye shot of Jounouchi. So like...Jounouchi was reallllllllllllllllly lax on that deal, right? Like...he took his toot sweet time to realize “yeah this just ain’t ever gonna happen.”
And then the yo-yo wars begin.
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Just like Solid Snake crawling through the radiation chamber.
Hirotani throws his Fyper-yoyo, Jounouchi intercepts with his Eireboy, and Hirotani’s completely terrible yo-yo just flies off the string again because Hirotani should have just sticked to using his fists. No wonder they wanted to recruit Jounouchi so badly, their yo-yo game is so off.
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We never get a door to darkness in this episode, dipping our enemies into mind horrors. Instead, we get home-alone style traps. But, this makes sense. Not only do the show makers have to make Yuugi avoid solving problems with magic in front of Jounouchi, they also have to make it Jounouchi’s choice to leave Hirotani behind. If Yuugi did it for him in like...some sort of duel law situation...then that sort of leaves out Jounouchi’s choice in the equation.
Not like this ever really comes up in later seasons, since who even follows through with duel law and marries Mai? But like, it does feel like Season Zero calls out the later Seasons a bit in this regard. Honda got beat up because he tried to win Jounouchi back by force (or game, I guess.) That was just another form of coercion on the heels of Hirotani’s. What Jounouchi actually needed was to make his own decision to leave.
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...most other anime I’d be like “I’m sure that’s just a translation error” but not this one.
So Yuugi runs to the roof where Jounouchi will never see this.
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My audible sigh reading this line about fight club roof.
These stupid gang members went into Yuugi’s native territory, not just a fight club roof, but on a warehouse? They were dead before they arrived.
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This was like maybe 3 frames of animation in just rapid succession, it was pretty silly and good.
Reminder that like 4 minutes ago, Yuugi was about to get like executed on a meat hook.
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Speaking of getting executed on a meathook:
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Hope you like the idea of glass in your eyes, because this anime’s got it.
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They chase Yuugi around, in a sequence that was done mostly to conserve frames, so you rarely saw the ground until this shot:
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Lots of falling down this episode, but unlike Tea, who fell from a warehouse ceiling once and just kind of rubbed her ass after and was like “ah damn it.” these guys won’t come out of it virtually unscathed.
Also, Honda is here now:
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Jumping off of his symbolic sash trapeze, he decides to do in Hirotani for good.
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Hey so like...walk the dog is a fairly gentle walk that a yo-yo does slowly on the ground right?
Just pointing out how sensitive Hirotani’s fingies are.
And he...didn’t appear to be dead, so I don’t have to add to the bodycount...but it’s gonna be a real long road for recovery.
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And now, with the gang back together Jounouchi is back at school knee deep in make up assignments he’ll probably completely ignore since we know that in a years time, these fools are going to be trapped on Pegasus’ island, and at that point school will be just that place you talk about when you try to remember why you’re friends with Bakura.
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---hey aren’t those chairs attached to the desks?
Because...holy crap, Anzu.
Honestly this is what you see before you die, but I guess Jounouchi died off screen after the episode ended, so I don’t have to add him to the deathcount (again). RIP.
Alright! That took like...8 tries to get Tumblr to save this one, but it managed! (well...I guess “managed” isn’t the word you’d use for a typing program that takes 8 tries to save)
Next time, we’ll be back to S5, for an arc I’ve heard is kind of boring. We’ll see. If it truly is, I can condense episodes into fewer posts. Or maybe it’s a secret gem? I guess we shall see.
And if you just got here this is a link to read all the Season Zero recaps from the start:
https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yuugi-muto/chrono
(there’s also a link to read all the Yugioh posts we wrote from the start in chrono order but straight up, this file won’t freakin save, and I just can’t even will myself to look up that link again. It’s on the home page of this blog on the right.)
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felassan · 3 years
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Thoughts on Dark Fortress #2
(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)
So late with this one! some stuff irl was keeping me really busy and hyper-distracting me lately, but it’s finally over now so I’m back on my bioware bullshit. :D
Overall there were a lot of beautiful or awe-inspiring scenes in this issue, and a lot of great, meaningful / poignant character interactions and moments between characters. It’s pretty impressive actually how much was able to be packed in. I posted some of my favorite panels here. also omg! the action sequences! the big reveal! the ending!! woww
cool scene-setting, panned out shot of Neromenian and behind it, the Dark Fortress, to immediately pull you back into the world and ‘where we left off’. the combination of ruined dead trees, red lights, lightning and fire/smoke is very atmospheric and hints at what’s ahead
“From this... city, if we can call it that” is a sick burn and reminds you that the Qunari are technologically more advanced than most of the rest of Thedas, from their cannons to their aqueducts
more individually distinct Qunari soldiers, sth I again appreciate
! last issue there were big ‘You haven’t seen the last of Tractus!’ vibes, naturally, but I didn’t expect him to escape by stabbing and killing the Qunari using a chair-leg..!!
the last panel on the first page of Karasten is really good. the way it’s colored, the way it’s lit, the light and shadow, the fiery backdrop, cinders floating, the details of his expression.. 👌 it also makes me think to the possible future, to DA4 when mainland Thedas may be continuing to face the entirety of the Antaam
in Vaea’s acrobatics scene on the bridge, I know rationally that she’ll be fine but couldn’t help but worry for her. again I like how they don’t shy away from showcasing Vaea’s specific abilities. also the attention to detail - you’d think some rocks are just some rocks, but it highlights the risk she’s undertaking that if she falls it’s into rough seas which could dash her against the jagged rocks :’S. Vaea, gooooo!
Fenris’ “Enterprising girl” line has big “Clever girl” meme energy :D
my heart can’t take Fran and Autumn leaning over the edge after Vaea in worry ;; or Aaron looking back in concern over his shoulder ;; or Fran’s tender reassurance ;; or Autumn’s Worried expression ;; the care and bonds which have grown between this group of characters ;;
notice Aaron starts drinking when Vaea’s away from them and they’re beginning to grow worried about her safety. the poor man’s nerves and stress levels
Fran touching the vegetation while she’s considering if she could use her magic to open the entrance from the outside is a nice touch
did Marius leap in front of Fenris and Fran there when the entrance opened?? damn, he’s quick. and the three of them look all scary and formidable here ready for combat. notice how the curve of the door and the spikes that go into the ground, and the composition of this panel, make it look like they’re standing in front of an opened dragon’s maw? ‘teeth’, a rumbling ‘roar’.. some nice foreshadowing here.
the reunion panels are so cute. Autumn’s lil tum as she jumps and Fran and Fenris’ lil smiles of relief and at Autumn’s reaction to seeing Vaea, then a rare happy beam from Aaron.. feel.. the love ;__;
red lighting in the tunnel sets a dangerous, dramatic build-up mood
👀 more info on Fenris’ past, on the specifics of the process which gave him his markings. in the panel where he says that it took a long time, his shadow on the wall behind him reminds me of the shadow of his past that has dogged him for so long :(
Fenris and Marius height difference
discussion of the process shows the power difference between blue and red lyrium. blue lyrium took a long time, red lyrium is almost instant
Autumn is such an intrepid little explorer and alert scout, tail and ears up, head forward. good girl!
“I just... worry about you, my girl”  ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚  I’ll be so sad if these are death flags for Aaron and he doesn’t make it out of here. also note Fran in this panel, who recently had to kill her own father and is still dealing with that, watching the strongly paternal moment between Aaron and Vaea :(
love Vaea’s faith in Aaron and her sense of humor. also I don’t know why, maybe it’s because Vaea met Sebastian, but her “Maker, no!”, although in a completely different and light-hearted context, reminds me of Sebastian’s “Maker nooo!” at the end of DA2 hh
the reference again to Hawke, who Fenris saw haunted by what they tried to do - save their mother - and couldn’t :’(. also with the shadow in this panel, here’s another person struggling with the shadow of his past qq. this is later emphasized again in Aaron when he continues to talk about his past and in the panel is a chain and manacle. smart visual metaphors, a must in the comic medium with limited space
mushroom skull 💀🍄
“It isn’t about what I’ve done. It isn’t about my failures. Or my choices. It’s about their impact” - he’s misty-eyed here as he thinks back to Ostagar.. does this line btw seem almost meta to anyone else btw? :D it feels like a meta reference to the experience of DA players and PCs, who are always having to deal with the impacts of their choices
I wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “I’m positive that in panel 2 here, it’s the exact moment when he sees Cailan die” ;;
So Aaron is also a veteran of the Battle of Denerim
reference to the Hero of Ferelden - “Those were someone else’s battles”. I’m being captain obvious here but I can’t help but [heart pitter-patter] at any and all references to the HoF
I like the.. parallel? is that the word? Aaron’s stories were him trying to inspire people to make a change, or him trying to convince himself of that. and now here’s Vaea, inspiring Aaron with her words in these panels. the little guys can make a difference! in the world of Thedas, you don’t need to be a big bombastic hero or a Player Character to have an impact 
lmao Fenris right on cue. the moments of humor/light-heartedness are nice because they break up the tension and are sprinkled throughout without derailing build-up or taking away from dramatic story impact. yknow?
yeah Aaron!! leave it behind. leave it to rot with mr mushroom skull (and hey the mushroom skull was there for a reason). again tho if this is a death flag i 
Fenris straight down to business with the tactics
its cute how close Autumn has been sticking to Fran
Tessa checking in on Fran again, as she did in issue 1
Could Vaea’s “Well, shit” be an homage to Varric? :D they have met
I also wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “My guess is that the thing Tractus shows Marquette and Nenealeus is probably a chained up dragon or similar”
the poor dragon :’( big dragon the Qunari had in Trespasser vibes
the sword has a really cool design, kind of reminds me of something a samurai might be depicted wielding
👀 lore-drop! so ancient elven arcane warriors used lyrium-infused swords. this seems to confirm the sarcophagus is an ancient elven artifact, no? makes sense, wasn’t it said that the sarcophagus’ design was based on the architecture/outfit-design type elements of a specific faction, and that this was done intentionally? it looks kinda ancient elfy in make, right? also about the lyrium-infused swords of the arcane warriors, well well well.. remember that the Evanuris and the ancient elves mined the bodies of Titans for lyrium, for power and to use as a resource. here’s an example of that use
as I read through this portion I became increasingly concerned for my boy Shirallas.. we really are in it now aren’t we 😭
the Qunari are launching STRAIGHT-UP ROCKETS ohhhh
pretty ‘lightshow’ over the wall in the “Let’s hope the fortress is as secure as Danarius boasted” panel hh
protective older brother Fenris, impish younger sister Vaea. love that dynamic, we love to see it. sheepish and exasperated Fenris is so cute
the Bone Pit dragon fight with Hawke and co reference!
I wonder how long the dragon has been captive here, and how Danarius/Tractus was able to capture it
lore-wise what are the implications here? when Fenris’ ritual was being undertaken, the sword and the sarcophagus were bombarded with magic, fire spells. in this one they aim to have the dragon bombard it with fire-breathing. is it just fire that makes it work/powers it, or is there magic in dragonfire, in dragons? it reminds me of “Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?”
purple color for the dragon’s growling sounds/typeset is a great idea
lets.. goooo!!!!
Marquette is such a nerd. later on when he activates the sarcophagus he has mad scientist vibes
the dramatic reunion face-offs begin!! as the prophecy foretold!!!!1
true to form, Marius DOES have nothing to say ahahaha, even at this, his personal climax. maybe Marius dies in the next issue, but Tessa lives and gets to go back to Charter
these Venatori look almost Star Wars
Shirallas my boyy.. nooo... don’t do it 😭
ah ah ah! try casting magic with no ARMS
Francesca a beacon of blue light and goodness
the splash combat page is masterful. everyone playing a part, so much going on, everything happening at once. a thing that sticks out to me about it is Aaron’s outstretched hand and alarm as he watches Fran fall 
Autumn with her lil hackles raised
“The Venatori have returned” dun dun dunn
goodbye Shirallas 😭😭😭
the composition of the second to last page with triangle/diamond-shaped panels and the framing of dragon wings is awesome
the Dread Wolf rises, “the Tevinter Imperium will rise again”.. on-point on-point cohesion
there he is, the red wraith
Super Saiyan Shirallas
what a note to end an issue on
wow wow wow!!
and separate to the above, some speculation based on the cover of Issue 3: the piece of metal looks like a broken collar coming off Shirallas, like the one there was on the cover of Issue 2 coming off the dragon. also he’s all bulky now with draconic talons/claws (reminds me of in-world legends of Reavers who dug too deep of their own power after drinking dragon blood and whose bodies consequently began to manifest subtle reptilian traits actually). I’ll be interested to see what results of this allusion between Shirallas and the dragon!!
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suddenrundown · 3 years
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okay so... i've been away from the internet for like 4 years and i am so confused what happened on nov 5th i cannot figure it out from context clues alone
Oh gee….what didn’t happen November 5th?
(under the cut cuz this got a little long)
Ok let me set the scene from my perspective: it’s the 3rd day of the 2020 US presidential election and the current Chief Embarrassment guy taking up residence in the White House can’t step away from Twitter for 5 minutes and is calling on states to StOp tHe VotE!! You know, as you do when not all the votes haven’t been counted. It’s a stressful time and an all around sucky situation to be in, and for all that I don’t want to be glued to the real time election map, I am anyway, constantly refreshing every 5 minutes, so I take to tumblr instead to take my mind off things. It doesn’t work very well and just when I think there will be no relief…supernatural comes in to save the day.
…do you know anything about supernatural?
Supernatural is…a show. You don’t need to know anything about the show other than this: there is a longtime fan favorite ship between two characters: a flannel wearing man named Dean Winchester and the angel Castiel. Together, they’re ~destiel~. Now, supernatural at this point is in its 15th and final season and heading towards the end, limping towards the finish line held together by nothing but duct tape and the love of dean-coded cas girls (I don’t know what that means either!) who have somehow, someway managed to continue caring about a show that goes out of its way to say how much it hates them in general and their beloved ship. (For real, destiel had been teased in universe for years while most of the creators and actors of the show actively made fun of people who cared about it. It’s a mess). Personally, I hopped off the supernatural train back in season 12 and never climbed aboard the destiel train, so anything that’s happened since season 12 is a mystery to me. In fact, despite not following anyone who posts about the show, I’ve blocked everything related to it just in case something does pop up on my dash so I don’t have to see it.
But then, right in my time of need, one vague post about the show pops through. I don’t remember the exact wording, but something along the lines of “supernatural did the damn thing“. What damn thing did supernatural do? Who knows. Not me, I don’t care. *refreshes the page*
3 minutes later and another vague post, this time actively naming destiel and I’m like ok I don’t care *refreshes page*…
…and my entire dash is filled with blocked supernatural posts.
Now I’m curious, so I click on the posts and oh my god destiel did in fact go canon. “Wonderful,” I think, “good for whoever cares about that.”
But the posts keep coming and they’re all memes of course and they’re funny and I’m like what the hell happened? Well, then the clip of the canonizing of destiel crossed my dash, so I watched it and. Wow, yeah, that sure did go canon.…kinda. They had Castiel confess his love for dean (who just stood there looking at him like ????) and then promptly die. Literally. Castiel the gay angel made a love confession in one breath and then got swallowed up by some dark goo in the next, dying for the millionth and final time in the series. Love wins! In the worst/most homophobic way possible.
But it was hysterical and when I tell you all of tumblr was having a field day, I mean it. This went on for hours, and amidst the turmoil came some different sort of news:
According to the election map, the state of Georgia, whose votes always skew red for Republican, went blue for Democrat.
WAIT! We’re still in this election and Georgia went blue!! Unheard of….THANK YOU DEAD GAY CASTIEL!!
Now there’s memes about destiel and blue georgia and I feel like I’ve hit a new plane of existence when SUDDENLY rumors about Putin stepping down (which turned out to ultimately not be true) reach the tumblr news cycle and now you have reached critical levels of hysteria sitewide. The memes. Oh the memes.
Would the level of insanity have been the same had we not been in month 9 of the pandemic and 3 days into one of the most stressful elections in recent US history? Probably not. But for a few hours, no one was focused on that in the slightest. All because of dead gay Castiel who died and went to superhell. He did that for all of us.
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sorio99 · 3 years
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Deltarune Chapter 2: Live Thoughts
So, since the new chapter of Deltarune came out, I've played it all the way through, so, here are my thoughts as I had them. Basically a live-blog, but, not live anymore, I wrote these in my notes app before.
NOTE: Obviously there are going to be ALL THE SPOILERS for Deltarune Chapter 2 in this, as well as Chapter 1. Reader discretion is advised.
Wow, okay, so I was wrong about it being immediately explained.
Various descriptions have changed, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the change to a new game, or the one to a new chapter.
I feel like Berdly is definitely a m’lady guy.
Okay, so, we’re not skipping class this time.
I really wish we could call Toriel and tell her we’re gonna be late again, but I couldn’t see an option for that. Maybe Kris told her on the ride to school.
Okay, so, Noelle is definitely adorable, and a huge lesbian.
Susie seems lovestruck too, kinda.
SHE HAD CHALK, AND SHE DIDN’T TELL ALPHYS BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT SHE AND SUSIE COULD GO GET IT TOGETHER OH MY GOD
Okay, honestly wasn’t expecting the closet to work again.
Fricking LOVE the new transition.
Okay, so, Ralsei knows about, the real world? How, why, and what?
Oh, that, makes, a little sense? But also, if we hadn’t brought the toys over to the closet then, would they all be, dead?
AND WHAT IS RALSEI IN THIS CONTEXT?!?!
Okay, but I love the new town.
Holy shit, save points have storage, AND a spare list? Hell yeah.
So, we’re all level 2 now. I guess they moved from EXP based (or, execution point based?) to Milestone.
Love the basement for bad guys, with K. Round standing guard.
Bitch said “Child abusers live in Hamster Cage”.
Wait, he uses the hamster wheel?
I don’t know if I believe the king about his “bluff” or not. I think not, but, I don’t know.
I can see the “Susie moves to Ralsei’s castle to escape her abusive home” fic already.
RALSEI GAVE KRIS A TRASHCAN, AND SAID IT WAS FOR THE MANUAL IF HE GIVES US ANOTHER ONE OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY MY SWEET FLUFFY BOY
And of course, the moss call-back.
Oh god, Susie just said “My own room, huh.” and my heart is ready to shatter.
This girl has one actual food item in her fridge, and it’s just salsa
Oh, scratch that, there’s ice, crumbs, and jawbreakers in there too?
Oh, okay, Ralsei did give her actual food.
Entering Lancer’s room gives the cartoon Splat sound effect from Chapter 1, and his bedroom is identical to Chapter 1.
Perfect.
And the sound effect, plays in reverse when leaving? Okay.
So, explore until we’re ready to leave, huh? Seems, suspicious.
Oh my god, I just realized, the LightCandy is literally the chalk Noelle gave Susie. What the fuck.
So, for giving the Top back his cake, we get regenerating SpinCake that heals everyone for 140. Nice.
Battle challenges, huh? This should be interesting.
So, we can get a ClubsSandwich, $100, or…Jigsaw Joe’s entire life savings. Okay.
Aw, Clover has separate heads in their dialogue box!
Just realized this “dojo” also has their bed. Odd.
Alright, let’s take these challenges!
Oh, so if we act with Kris, than spare with Ralsei or Susie…got it!
He has a mercy meter. There’s a mercy meter now. I love this.
Oh, of course his life savings is exactly one dollar.
I can already tell the Graze challenges are gonna be the biggest bitches.
Okay, so, being able to rematch bosses, with different gimmicks and attacks, but based on the same logic? Always amazing.
I love the little cut-ins from the other characters with certain lines, like Susie and Lancer revealing “for a price” means zero dollars.
“Cookie and Wife”?
The Blacksmith runs a bakery where he can fuse items…okay.
Imma get a Silver Card.
What the fuck, Mr. Society?
Okay, so, we’re “leaving” through the way we came in, so “surely” we’re going back “home” to the “real world” and our “family”. Sure.
LANCER was added to your key items.
Oh was he now?
And so was Rouxls, “even though no one wanted that.”
Oh, we, actually went back to the light world. Huh. Actually wasn’t expecting that.
Jack of Spades, and the Rules Card. Makes sense.
Still LV 1 here, thankfully. No murder yet.
Okay, thankfully I can call Toriel now.
…Undyne, what the fuck?
Also? This, car horn music, I guess? Is, um…interesting.
Oh, the, computer lab. Where Toby was in Chapter 1. Okay. Makes sense.
“Guess this means we can’t start our project.” I’d say the biggest obstacle is more that we have no clue what the hell this project is supposed to be.
Hmm, we could use the computer at my house, or we could have a fun Toby Fox adventure…
My house!
I knew Susie wouldn’t allow it, also, you always wanna jump in big pits? That’s, worrying.
Computer lab time!
So, computer themed, maybe?
Rouxls jumped out, apparently. According to Lancer.
Okay, this build up is creepy, where’s the fluffy boy?!
Who is SHE?!
Was
Was that Noelle’s chatter sound?
Asking for help?
OH MY GOD
ITS THE REINDEER LESBIAN
SHES BEEN TAKEN
NOOOO
And, I suppose, this must be, our queen.
Q5U4EX7YY2E9N. Sure. I’ll stick with Queen, yeah.
Oh, she’s a computer! That…that’s probably not, great?
Oh, those plugs are bad, brainwashers. Okay.
Okay, they’re both tired…but Ralsei isn’t here. Fuck.
Aiming at moving targets is hard.
2 Werewires spared, only 4 to go, I guess!
RALSEI IS BACK, YAY!
Fun Gang, back together, working to save Susie’s soon-to-be-girlfriend!
Rhythm game to start a new bumping song. Nice.
Might live blog less from here, since, you know, the game is starting proper.
God, I love Deltarune’s look and sound, it’s so clean? And expressive, and AAAGH, I just love it!
I love angry Ralsei.
First lose control laughing moment: Kris and Susie squishing Ralsei like a toothpaste tube, to play an arcade game.
Did, did I just play Punch-Out inside an Undertale?
Curing computer viruses with Syringes…sure.
Sweet is the rhythm guy! Nice to meet you, Sweet! You and Toby are great at this music thing.
Hey, Susie can act now! Awesome!
Ralsei too, because of bullying! Yay!
Now the whole gang’s dancing!
(This is where I took my first real break, to process stuff and relax, and also to sleep)
In between thought: it’s kinda interesting that, in Chapter 1, Susie basically had to be forced to care about Kris, Ralsei, and Susie, but as soon as Noelle is in the slightest bit of danger, she’s immediately like, “We have to save her or die trying”, huh?
“Reverse diss-tracks, where the vocalist puts themselves down and praises Queen…or noise music.” That’s some, interesting taste in music.
“All our songs are only 4 seconds long!” Damn, so you’re, like, Vine musicians?
So, the Knight is opening alternate fountains, that create dark worlds out of, more mundane places? Interesting…
So, someone new is leading the rebels. This, can’t go well.
Smorgasbord 2.
Oooh, a TP raising Item! Nice!
Oh, the guy who was already working for Queen is a Werewire now. Okay.
66 up arrows. Hmmm, I wonder if I can retry at some point…
Oh boy. Here’s the queens…wait what?
Oh my god.
Go kart time.
Noelle, you traitor! How could you!
Oh, okay. Berdly I believe more.
Also, “beloved”.
I love how Queen apparently didn’t even ask him.
“Light Nerds” Good one, Queen.
That’s one weird Check for Berdly.
Berdly, for God’s sakes, Noelle is a lesbian, you idiot.
You know, given this villain rant, I think I hate Berdly more than I do King. And I’ve dealt with both bullies AND abusive dads.
Oh god, Roller Coaster Tycoon murder (also Berdly is dead)
Garbage! Saved by it again.
Oh, this place looks glitchy.
Also, Susie, you’re not the king of the trash pile. You’re QUEEN of the trash pile.
Oh god, please don’t tell me she’s dying.
Okay, good, she just needed fluffy boy hug.
Fork in the path, advantageous to split up, huh? But there’s three of us, and, two paths probably.
Okay, I can either go with the Fluffy boy who might secretly be evil, or the mean girl who might get lesbian scenes…hmmm…
I’m flipping a coin.
Okay, Ralsei it is!
Oh, Susie is upset at me getting to pick.
Oh, they’re going together.
Oh, this can’t be good.
If I had a nickel for every indie game with a cat themed metropolis on my pc, I’d have two nickels. You can finish the meme.
I swear I just saw Noelle on the right. Something big in the streets, hmmmm…
Okay, definitely saw Noelle that time. Shame the Poppups, popped up.
…I get it, Toby, but I’m still mad.
Blocked 10 ads…okay, I still love this game.
God, I’m already missing my party members.
Okay, so I still have Lancer, but, I’m really hoping Noelle listens to reason, because Lancer is, not.
Oh god no, don’t fight me now Queen. And please don’t join me.
Alright, nobody likes Berdly. Figured.
God they’re so dumb.
“G-got any room for another truce?” Noelle, I would do a No Mercy run for you, of course I’m going to help you.
I can’t believe “No Triple Trucies” is even an option.
Yay! Noelle in party!
“LV1 Snowcaster. Might be able to use some cool moves.” She’s got Heal Prayer, a more powerful (but more expensive) Pacify, and a damaging Ice move for only 16% TP.
I love her.
I don’t know what a sugarplum is myself, actually.
Noelle, you have a one track mind, and I like it.
Lancer, she’s not a cream, and we’re not making her a bad guy.
Oh, and she’s scared of mice, I love it!
Ah, she’s never been in battle before, let’s see how this goes.
See? That wasn’t so bad, Noelle.
Oh, she’s a natural!
“Needles aren’t scary…” Tell that to anyone under 20, Noelle.
Also, “subtle” pro-Vax message?
Oh my god, I just love her animations.
So, the virus and the syringe are fighting…hm…
Okay, so, first, Noelle’s defend animation, also perfect.
Second, so Ambyu-lance’s bullets block and destroy Virovirokun’s…hmm…
Have I mentioned how much I love Noelle? This funky little Christmas Lesbian can do no wrong.
Oh my god, she can’t even confidently say we’re friends, and hearing Kris say it makes her happy, I love her so much.
Okay, so, Queen drinks Battery Acid. Makes sense for a computer.
Kris is so done with this shit, I can tell.
I am both scared of and loving Queen.
Oh Jesus Christ Berdly what the fuck is that.
That is not greatness that is…I don’t know. I’m pretty sure even tumblr isn’t horny for you, Berdly.
Christ, he’s gonna break Queen by being an idiot and then he’ll be the Chapter boss.
Her eyes say lying. Of course.
“I Did Not Know You Had… Nipples” that’s, a good point.
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…Berdly, you disturb me.
Second lost control laughing moment: Noelle’s cardboard robot face, and Queen just saying “Wow Cool Face”
Lancer, what is the “illusory nipple technique”?
Oh, of course the music bots built the statue. Berdly would never do manual labor.
Oh, and, they built the next “big” thing…hmmmm…
Why are we, flavors of tea???
Okay, that should be all the werewires for now.
The, clothing store, sold me, a useless mannequin, for $300. Of course.
I am going to touch the cheese.
Maus!
Cheese maze, purposely ruined to spare more Mices.
Hmm, Berdly talks about Noelle’s crush. $20 says he actually thinks it’s him, or maybe Kris at a stretch.
Noelle is now immune to mice! Yay!
Oh, CD Bagel, Seedy Bagel, just got that.
Okay, sacrifice pacifist run to kill Berdly…I’m tempted.
Uh, Berdly, Noelle just one shot both your allies. I’m not alone, you are.
Jokes on you, buddy, I’ve been dodging A+ for years!
“(He hit me in the face with a tornado…)” Yes, Noelle, and I have papercuts on my eyelids. He do be an asshole.
Oh good, they both made Battery Acid Pies. Now we’re in a car together. Perfect. This is exactly how I wanted things to go.
Potassium
Who is this trash man?
Spamton, huh. Oh boy.
Oh god, this song has lyrics.
Oh joy, a mini boss on my own. Just what I wanted.
Oh, new game over screen! Nice.
Anyways, I hate this guy.
Okay, just one more deal, I think. I wonder what’s next.
I’m not giving you my credit card info, dude.
Oh damnit, 1% more.
Okay, I’m very scared now.
Oh, I lost $51. That’s, fair.
Okay, back in the car.
Oh my god, Queen loves Noelle too. Perfect.
Lancer took the mixtape! Nice!
Oh, he ate it…nice!
DECEMB…
Oh god she’s a little kid.
December.
I’m so sorry, Noelle. I really hope you’re going to be okay. We’ll figure out what to do.
Queen, why does everything you have explode?
Now the prize is on my head.
Susie and Ralsei! You’re back!
She can slightly heal me now…cool!
And she taught him Sarcasm. I love them all so much.
Uh, Susie! You can have it!
Okay, so, now Susie is both gay for Noelle, and suspicious of her. Amazing.
And Noelle is turned on by the threat of being killed. Have I mentioned I love these dorks?
The gang’s all here!
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Uh, just got past fireworks, and, where’s Noelle?
Oh, okay. She was just watching Fireworks.
Oooo, catching mice minigame!
Oooo, more elaborate but simpler to control mice minigame!
Oooo, bucket hole!
Also, nice gay Noelle moment noted.
Oh no, please don’t take the perfect girl away from us!
Okay, so, I don’t like Berdly, but, Acid river? Bit much…
Oh, okay. He was never in danger. I hate both of you. GIVE US BACK NOELLE
GOD DAMNIT NOT THE CAGE AGAIN.
Oh, great, now we’re captured too. Except possibly Ralsei.
She only plays mobile games. Burn her.
For once Berdly is correct.
Queen, you are dumb.
Is that the super Mario world fade?
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I don’t, next question.
No looking at my Search history!
Oh, hey, we can chat in here.
LANCER TIME!
YES I MISSED YOU YOU DOPE
Lancer, never say Pants hole again, and never say you were inside it either.
Lancer, do you still not know our name?!
So this is how they lampshade the tutorial-Toriel thing, huh?
Oh no, Lancer, please don’t die in here.
Um, are there rooms for all the kids at school?
Asriel…
Puzzle time!
Plot twist: Susie is not Susan.
Berdly is dumb.
Admittedly, I did brute force that second one a bit…
Okay, now Susie has outsmarted both me AND Berdly. This is sad.
Oh god, he’s gonna cry now.
Oh, my god, that’s what December meant. That’s why Berdly cares about Noelle. That’s why…oh god.
Oh wow, Susie’s a gamer. This is incredible Lore.
Oh wow, first Lancer’s face returns, now Berdly is Anime. I love this game.
Oh my god, Ralsei in a tux. I love him.
Alright, so, Lancer needs to go back to Castle Town, and we need to get the heck to Noelle. I hope Berdly’s plan actually works…
Aw, I wanted him to stay tuxedo…
Color Cafe, huh?
Oh god, Rouxls came here. I am terrified.
I love this hype manor song!
Toby Fox, why is there so much 3D Shenanigans in this 2D Top Down RPG???
Note: from here, I end up going to the secret of this chapter. Do not read if you don’t want to be spoiled on that plotline. Skip to where I say Pancake Batter.
Okay, I’m going back, and I’m gonna find this third blue check mark.
Okay, found it, now to get back to the guy…
Yay, fireworks, again!
East treasure’s hallway leading to Basement on 1F…
Oh dear.
So there’s a secret here after all…where is…
Found it!
Okay, how to open this lock, now…hm.
Well, one thing was in the field, so, maybe in the city?
Oh Jesus it’s Spamton.
$28, not a penny more.
KeyGen, huh…
If this is as hard as Jevil, I’m gonna be pissed.
Oh, great, just Kris going in. Again. Fantastic.
Oh what the fuck.
Oh Jesus Christ I hate this build up.
Oh, and I died on the elevator. That’s fun.
Okay, so I hate this elevator. A lot.
Okay! Took like six tries, but I made it past the elevator! Now, let’s see what’s waiting for me…
EmptyDisk…hmmmmmmmm…
Maybe take that back to Scamton or whoever?
…Ralsei, Susie, what are you two doing?
Okay, trash man, you better like this.
Oh Jesus Christ.
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Okay, this is not what I expected to follow Jevil’s lead. But, let’s see what happens when I turn this disk in.
Oh, nothing happened. Sure it did. Just gonna walk away then…
Oh, wouldn’t you know it, something happened!
Okay, so big puppet robot man. This is terrifying.
THANK YOU SUSIE!
Roller coaster boss! Again! Oh good!
YELLOW SOUL!
Can’t write notes, gotta kill.
Spamton, oh my god. And it’s Neo’s outfit. How the fuck did I not realize before?
Im terrified, let’s GOOOOOO!
Holy shit is that the Undertale Game Over message??????
Many tries later
Okay, I think it’s actually Ralsei and Susie talking…
Quitting the game so they can get their healing items out of storage and buy some good ones extra later
Okay, third turn, and I’ve only been hit once! Granted, it did almost 50 damage to Susie, but, still, doing better this time!
Even more death later
Did he just, attack himself?
Is he surrendering?
I…I did it! I did it in one sitting! Minus quitting so I could grab healing items that did more than 40 HP!
Oh, he killed him by freeing him…….okay.
Dealmaker, huh? Let’s see what this bad boy is…
+4 defense, +5 magic (even on Kris?), and $+30%…”and…?”
Okay, Ralsei, you get that, Susie get’s Jevilstail, and I get many questions.
Alright, now back to the actual plot!
Oh…Kris has goosebumps, and Susie’s asking if they’re okay…no. I’m saying no.
I love these two so much. Now let’s save the adorable lesbian.
Pancake Batter. Alright, we’re good.
Sorry, Noelle, got distracted.
Mouse wheel!
Tasque manager helped!
Man, this room is big and empty, with an odd exit door and screens on the north wall. Hmmmm…
Toby!
Thank you annoying dog!
Okay, I still love this music. Just wanted to say that. Anyways, PROGRESS!
We’re tea covered now. Except Susie. She’s tea filled.
Oh god, I don’t trust Berdly with Susie.
God, Knight teased.
Duck ride with Fluffy Boy.
Okay, so, puzzle time, methonk.
High Five!
More duck ride!
Ralsei, do you wanna do the kissy?
Oh boy.
Oh jeez.
Oh damn.
Rouxls.
Ralsei, you read my mind.
Oh Jesus it’s the tank from the first game.
Okay, so, we, take houses? Okay.
I can’t believe some people thought this dork was Gaster.
Wow, I beat him in like 3 and a half turns because I blocked him in.
Another God Dammit because SOMEONE didn’t pay attention to what happened to Lancer.
His head is still blue…
Hey, Camera! Peace signs and hugs!
Mostly hugs.
Yay, more Susie and Noelle time!
Oh my god, my heart is breaking.
Okay, I love these adorable girls.
Oh boy, this is, weird.
“Point and hearts come out” or “Eat moss”. The choice of a generation.
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Fair point, Susie.
She likes scary things, huh.
Kinky
Have I mentioned how much I love these two? Because I do.
Susie and Noelle are best girls ever, no objections.
Oh good, Berdly, don’t ruin this completely, okay?
I fucking knew it.
Noelle, you’re going to kill him, and that’s okay with me.
Susie, stop squishing him like toothpaste!
Oh boy, I get big “final boss” energy right now…
Werewerewire?!
Okay, so I just stole from Noelle’s room.
Okay, boss time.
Shit, I should’ve healed up.
Okay, so, I died, but, I can fix that!
So, this boss is calling back to how the town’s internet has gone out, a fact I didn’t even learn until watching other content last night when I should have been sleeping, because I forgot to talk to Alphys during the brief chance I had.
Also, now both she and Ralsei have made reference to the real world outside…hmmmm…
So I guess the plot is about Google search being evil…yeah that checks out.
Bitch, did you just funny runny way?
Hmm, I’d say 50/50 odds of him being a drama Queen vs. him trying to trick Susie into caring about him.
Yep, he’s trying to score a kiss. Berdly…get a job.
Alright, let’s save Noelle, and possibly the whole town.
The “Roaring” Knight?
Oh god, the determination…who is this Knight, what is going on, and how involved are we?
Wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT
When she described the Knight making more darkness, she said they took their blade, and showed an image of a knife. Was…was this…
HOLY SHIT IS KRIS’S NIGHT SELF THE KNIGHT?!?!
Oh. It was a giant robot. Not a statue.
Susie’s dancing!
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Oh yeah, he can fly.
Resistance! Yay!
Okay, so, we sentai up in this bitch.
I wonder how the hell this story would go if we didn’t go pacifist then? Because in Chapter 1, all that really changed was how the boss was defeated in the cutscene, and like a couple details later. This is, a lot more than that.
Okay, so, three rounds of HP, punch out for her turns, just keep attacking. Got it.
Two rounds down, one to go!
Yes, eat your own Baseball, bitch!
Oh, suicide attack. Well it was just a robot.
Oh. She still has us.
Oh fuck the robot is Noelle’s mom. Fuck.
Okay, so, Queen is dead.
Oh fuck, don’t take over the world with darkness all of you, please.
The Roaring?
Oh fuck, new legend lore.
Titans, Fountains, enveloping the land in devastation. Oh jeez.
Lost eternally in an endless night…that’s not paradise. That’s hell.
QUEEN IS ALIVE?!?! AND DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF THAT?!?!
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Thank you, Susie!
Okay, that’s a good ending for a second chapter, it’s dark fountain time!
Susie, please don’t turn evil.
And, we’re in the computer lab!
Wait, Ms. Boom? Does, does Gerson have a daughter, or wife?
Lost control laughing #3: this
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I love this game so much. Time to explore town again.
Okay, Alphys does crush on Undyne still, at least.
Oops, I just let all the prisoner dogs out.
Awww, Undyne likes Alphys too!
Napstablook, I love you.
Oh shit, Asgore used to be a pig?
Oh god, this Rudy storyline is gonna be depressing all the way through, huh?
Susie, can we steal the tower of the gods?
Hey, we can actually go back to Ralsei’s dark world?!
Okay, this is gonna be interesting.
Oh thank god, we can save in the epilogue now, cool.
Oh cool, King and Queen together.
Oh my god he calls her Queenie Beanie. I love this.
So, a card and a computer fucked to make Lancer, who is a card. Okay.
Okay, so Lancer DOES know Kris’s name! Just not Ralsei’s!
New battle challenges! Yes!
Might save “Ch. 2 All-stars” for another time, though…
Perfection is the mannequin reaction.
Oh my god there’s a dedicated room for listening to music I love this
Alright, time to skedaddle back to the real world.
Okay, so Alvin is Gerson’s son, and he’s depressed. Fun.
Oh, MK and Snowy are by the creepy bunker. That’s…fun.
Okay, so, Susie scared them off after they insulted Kris, because Kris said something about the bunker…hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Hey, Nice Cream Guy is one of the Ice-E’s employees! Nice!
Ah, PizzaPants. Never change.
Oh hey, it’s the little guy, who’s clone is a Gaster follower. And the bird guy’s still in the library, and the donut guy is still in his car…
Hey, Catty and Bratty are becoming friends again! Cool!
Omg, Sans’s store is open. Do I…go in?
Hell yes I do!
Okay, so, Grillby’s music still, but, different interior. Interesting…
Sans, a day and 2 years in this game are not equivalent. It’s a day and 3 years.
The trousle grows further away.
Oh jeez Susie’s been drinking the milk. Oh god.
Cool, Susie’s seeing Onion too!
Oh, never mind.
A song is coming from deep under the water…either Shyren is involved, or this is gonna take a turn.
See you, Su-
Oh! Hey mom! Meet Susie!
Pie for all!
Oh my god, Susie, my heart is breaking.
Okay, so Alphys and Toriel know about the chalk. That, kinda makes Susie thinking she’d get expelled for it, really depressing.
Okay, so, Toriel and Susie are gonna make Pie together, that’s cool. Still, pretty worried about, Kris.
Uh, I just ran the sink, and, uh…
WHAT THE FUCK
OKAY SO MY SOUL IS UNDER THE SINK, KRIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY IS IT BLACK OUT THE WINDOW WHERE ARE YOU GOING
WHAT THE FUCK
…so we get a cute scene with Susie and Toriel, then Susie asks where Kris is and…they do this sometimes?
I’m very concerned.
Okay, Toriel is concerned too, enough to say “hell”. Even Susie is shocked.
Okay, so, they’re coming back, uh, okay, this isn’t good, right?
Stopped the faucet, opened the drawer, and…we’re back?!
Kris what the fuck are you doing
And why couldn’t we find Asgore in the town?
Okay, so, we’re all sleeping in the living room. I, guess tomorrow’s the weekend, probably? I don’t know?
Susie, doesn’t have caring parents, I guess?
Oh god, Susie wants them to come to our world, but, Lancer is a playing card, he can’t…I don’t know. I’ll say it’s “far-fetched”.
There’s a festival, apparently. This seems…suspicious.
I’d take Ralsei, so you could take Noelle.
She’s asleep.
That, might not be good, in this context.
Okay, so, we’re asleep too, I think?
Oh god, Toriel’s tires are slashed, that can not be good, in any way.
Okay, night time, Toriel and Susie are asleep…now what are you doing, Kris?
That, knife…
Okay, so, yep, they’re the Knight, and they just opened Darkness in their living room. This is, not, good. And, the tv’s on, and the door’s unlocked…
What the fuck is happening?
Ending credits song sounds, techno? Is this more of Don’t Forget? Or a remix? I hear the lyrics at least.
“To be continued in Chapter 3” OH IT BETTER BE, TOBY
So, yeah, that's Deltarune Chapter 2. In conclusion: this explains nothing, raises 120% more questions, and overall is still an incredible, wonderful game. I also like how each Chapter so far has been almost as long as a full play through of Undertale, and yet we're still somehow only 2 sevenths of the way through. Oh yeah, did I not mention? After completing it, it brought me to a chapter select with SEVEN DIFFERENT CHAPTERS, only two of which were available. So, you know. THAT'S FUN!
In actual conclusion, please play this game, it's free, it's amazing, and also buy the soundtrack on Bandcamp so Toby can make some kinda living.
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rechoired · 4 years
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A problem with the Tales Of Arcadia community
First and foremost, I’d like to ask anyone taking the time to read this to please read the post all the way through before commenting on the matter. There is a lot of dirty laundry to unpack here, and some points will be building off previous ones.
I’ll get right to the point. Most everybody in the Tales of Arcadia fandom will have heard of the blog imthegingerninja / ginger-le-gay. She is one of the most well-known ToA-centric blogs, after all. (If you’re wanting to avoid her on Twitter as well, her account is Margaret Bell, or @The_Book_Bell.)
This is your PSA, TOA fandom: Ginger is a toxic, manipulative person.
This is not a claim I like to make lightly, but it’s long overdue that this issue is properly brought up within the fandom. 
I’ve seen so many people wonder why the Tales of Arcadia fandom is so small. Well, I and many others very strongly believe that Ginger is one of the main reasons for that, if not the main one. To make matters easier, I’ve tried to break this down into some main points. So let’s take a look at how Ginger falls under this category.
Disclaimer: Please DO NOT look at this post as an excuse to harass Ginger or any other blog mentioned here. This sort of behavior is NOT acceptable. The point of this post is to educate those who may not know the extent of her harrowing behavior, nothing more.
1. Dishonesty and Death Threats
[EDIT: Shortly after this post went up, she started blatantly lying about me to try to cover for herself. You can see those lies being easily disproven here]
Ginger has been kicked from at least three Tales of Arcadia servers, all for similar reasons of violence. While I cannot provide screenshots as I am no longer part of the servers they were in, there are multiple witnesses that can verify the disgusting behavior she engaged in. The one I saw specifically was her saying that certain members of the fandom should be gathered up and hunted for sport, among other gross things. (Elaboration of why can be found in point 3, though it still doesn’t excuse this kind of talk)
Here is some points made by another blog that also sums up similar issues with Ginger, though:
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While there were multiple instances of her inciting violence towards others, this is unfortunately one topic I cannot provide specific screenshots for at this time. But I will add them in as I can find them. That being said, I want to move to the dishonesty, something I do have a screenshot for.
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While you could argue that people sometimes notice the similar things, this is far too close together to be considered an “original find”. The reblog button is there for a reason, but she instead decides to steal the OP’s premise and present it as her own original thought.
There have been a couple other blogs that have confirmed that their theories and analysis posts were often stolen and presented as Ginger’s own as well, to the point where they stopped bothering even making such posts, as the above blog points out. (Out of respect for their privacy, I will not be naming these blogs. Say what you will about that possibly weakening my point, but if she’s willing to so blatantly steal from that person shown above, it shouldn’t surprise you that she’s so willing to do it to others.)
Theory-making and analysis posts aren’t as solidly “original content” as a piece of art or fanfiction, sure, but it’s still common fandom courtesy to give credit where it’s due. Ginger has intentionally avoided extending that courtesy far too many times.
2. Hypocrisy
Most of this is going to be about past Merlin vs. Morgana drama, though there are also words to be said for the incredibly shaky relationships she forms with “friends”.
But first let’s talk about those wizards.
This is a topic I’ve tried to approach with Ginger before, but she borderline refused to acknowledge any of the points I was trying to make, and when she did, I don’t know if I just wasn’t being clear or what, but it honestly looked as though she was purposefully trying to misunderstand what I was saying in her bizarre responses. (To be fair, I was sending messages out of anger because she vagueposted about a blog I admired, calling them a “disgusting creep” because of them simply saying they’d hoped Jim and Merlin would be able to actually bond at some point... Not really a justifiable reaction to such a harmless thought, in my opinion. But my point is, I recognize that the circumstances may have clouded my ability to vocalize my thoughts clearly.)
That aside, we should first acknowledge this post Ginger made to save face after having gotten some backlash about hate-train related things (Side note: I couldn’t find the original post, so this is a screenshot I got from someone else. I did not add the writing. The text underneath it should still be slightly readable, I hope.):
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Taken at face value, this is a very reasonable post. I think everybody would and should be able to agree on it. Hate-meme him for fun, sure, but don’t actually harass or insult others over a fictional character. Simple, right?
Apparently not, because Ginger’s done loads of that to others. Probably why the “LOL” was added in, I bet.
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This post confused me. First of all, exploring dark topics (”angst”, as you put it) has never been a rare occurrence, every fandom has that content, most in heavy abundance. I’ve noticed no staggering difference in volume of this fandom compared to others I’ve been in. People enjoy angst not because they think the character “deserves to be in pain”, they enjoy a fictional blow to their own emotions. There’s lots of different reasons people like angst, but it’s barely ever been out of a genuine hate for whatever character’s the focus, from all the things I’ve seen. Your own friends have indulged in Jim angst and body horror posts before, does that mean you think they’re awful people? I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain something like this.
Also, way to basically admit you think all Merlin stans get off on child torture. So much for “If you like Merlin as a character, you’re valid”, am I right? God, what a mess of a post. (It’s been very recently deleted, which makes me wonder if she got more backlash on it, but just... wow.)
Let’s look at another one.
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Again. Vagueposting about someone specific, I’d wager, since most of the people I’ve seen comment on this topic either think both characters are morally gray, or hate both. 
But of course, when it comes to Morgana, suddenly excusing bad behavior can be justified. Ginger can call someone a disgusting creep because they want a familial bond between Jim and Merlin, that’s just wrong, but pushing the Mom-gana narrative with the genocidal abuser and Toby is completely fine, folks.
(Note: I would like to point out that I really don’t care about what theories and hopes people have for Morgana. You should be allowed to love that character in any way you want, same as I would say for Merlin. My issue with these examples is the completely brazen hypocrisy in which these two characters are treated. You’re obviously allowed to love Morgana without consequence, but the same should be said for any character of the show, and yet it’s not.)
The most obvious instance of this double-standard is well observable here, I believe: 
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... I think this mostly speaks for itself. Sorry, but this is very blatantly trying to excuse Morgana’s actions, here.
Oh hey, remember that post about Ginger saying that liking Merlin must mean you want to see Jim in horrible pain? 
Say anything similar about her with Morgana, and suddenly she takes issue with this line of reasoning! 
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I’m sorry, but if you can’t take this sort of thing, then you shouldn’t be dishing it out. One of your own friends is still getting hate over the simple fact of liking Merlin, and all this mentality is exactly why.
Let’s look at one more.
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Fun fact! Morgana horrifically abused somebody for centuries, tried to kill multiple kids, took horrible advantage of Claire (probably traumatized her), and canonically wanted to genocide humanity, not to mention all the OTHER murders she's committed, both directly and indirectly.
But somehow pointing any of this out “doesn’t count”. This is why the fandom keeps saying more and more things like this: 
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And this:
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I could be going through her constant hating on Merlin and people who like Merlin for days straight, but I hope you all get the idea by now.
Again, I would like to just reiterate: You can like whatever character you want for whatever reason you want. The problem with this case is the hypocrisy and mistreatment of others, not your taste in characters.
Now interestingly enough, she’s lately been singing a different tune about the guy, switching from the “I hate Merlin I hope he dies!!!” mentality to “Oh he should get a redemption arc too :)” sort of thing.
I’m highly convinced that the only reasons for this “change of heart” is because of the constant backlash she was getting for the obnoxious amount of hate posts being thrown around all the time, but also because Aaron Waltke keeps tabs on the fandom more lately, and has spoken himself about Merlin not being a villain.
I could go on about this point forever, but I think I’ll just leave the Merlin topic with this post going through the hypocrisy of the Merlin Hate Train. In fact, here’s two just for fun.
Now onto more real-world focused areas of hypocrisy. One such instance can be found in Ginger’s Janus Disorder server. 
Just take a look at this post.
While the offender in this case isn’t Ginger specifically, it still takes place in her server, and she made no moves to enforce her “No discourse” rule. All over... what? A random kudos on a fanfiction that’s not even about anything controversial since all characters involved are adults? I immensely don’t understand the point of why this ever had to be an issue, or why nobody spoke up about how ridiculous this is.
I’d also like to point out a certain user called firecat17. For some quick context, waaay back in the Kung Fu Panda fandom (around 2018), this user had been harassing people and saying incredibly vile things, a person of which Ginger had a bit of a feud, but firecat’s anon threats had gotten to the point where Ginger ended up having to block their IP. 
Obviously, the user firecat was the one in the wrong, here. (Also, the irony in this comment is through the roof...)
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Interesting point there, Ginger. Sure would be nice if you practiced what you preached.
Why am I bringing this random old drama up, you may ask? Well, it just strikes me as strange that someone who was so vile to Ginger is suddenly on her okay-list again, sending her asks and getting casual responses as if nothing ever happened.
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To be fair, there is the possibility that they worked out their differences in private. But given the severity of the kinds of words being exchanged, I would still find that rather suspicious.
When someone who’s said things so vile can be so easily forgiven, yet something as harmless as leaving a kudos on some random fanfiction is considered grounds for harassment, it’s obvious there’s no stability or room for trust among this group of people. Unsurprising when there’s been several instances of this “friend group” turning on each other.
If you think you’re somehow different, that your “friendship” with Ginger or the others is more valued than that, then I’m sorry to burst your bubble but it’s likely not true. She’d throw you under the bus at the hint of you doing something she deems problematic, as it’s happened to multiple blogs before you.
3. Demonization of and insensitivity towards s*xual abuse victims
(This topic is one that’s hard for me to talk about, being a victim of CSA myself, so I’ve gathered some different sources to do most of the main talking for me. I tried to form more commentary on this myself, but I get too emotionally charged in my responses, and I don’t want that to cloud any reader’s perception of what I’m trying to communicate here, so I’ll try to keep most of my comments brief on this one.)
One thing recently brought to my attention about Ginger and her squad that especially bothers me is their rashness in labeling people p*dophiles and p*do apologists. If these claims were true, then I wouldn’t have a problem with it.
But these people are accusing others of these horrible things and threatening them on the sole basis of fictional content.
Now before you fly off the handle at me, let me be very clear: I absolutely understand that there are gross people out there who use the “It’s all just fiction” argument to hide their actual, pr*datory behaviors. (We’ve all probably seen at least one or two neckbeard memes of that caliber)
But like it or not, exploring traumatic themes through a fictional lens is something that has been studied and proven to be a genuine coping mechanism for some. It’s not something that works for me, but I knew a few people from past therapy groups that it worked surprisingly well for. Bringing a trauma into a controlled environment and processing it through fictional means can and does help some victims deal with what they went through. 
It’s important to understand that not everyone processes their experience in the same neat, little boxes you have laid out as the only “acceptable” ways of coping. Trauma fiction and expressive arts therapy are commonly used by victims, and it does help some people, whether you like it or not.
I’m already dragging this on too much, so here are some sources for better-worded information on the topic (Warning: Most of these deal with highly sensitive themes such as gun violence and s*xual abuse.)
Source 1 - Source 2 - Source 3 - Source 4 - Source 5 (pages 61 onward, specifically) - Source 6 - Source 7 - Source 8 - Source 9 - Source 10 (and believe me, if those all don’t satisfy you, I can easily supply more.)
And this quote from source 9 I think sums it up best:
“Fiction works differently. My imagination gives me a framework to process the grief and terror and the consequences, even when I myself have not found any resolution. It allows me to enter my own traumatic experiences sideways and linger inside them, if I know I can give them to characters who might be lucky enough to find the antidote: love, connection, community, family. In other words, I can enter — and exit — the trauma loop through stories that are not exactly the same as mine.
This goes for the reader also. Recent studies periodically assure us that stories — literary fiction, hardcover books, even the simple act of reading — promote empathy. We rarely have identical experiences, so fiction is how we practice linking our similar or parallel realities so we can feel them. This seems particularly useful in our current society, where we are all so separated, and are working so hard to block the violence that keeps happening to us from our minds.
Fiction connects us, and it can also contribute to our healing. When we see ourselves in worlds we don’t live in, like The Handmaid’s Tale or The Color Purple, sometimes, that very different violence helps us finally process our own. Because as much as our memoirs and testimonies are brave and validating, fiction does not just mirror our truths so they are safe to experience; it also helps us endure the aftermath. Because long after the immediate experience is over, survival struggles onward, in every moment of our daily lives.”
While most professionals have in the past advised that victims keep their trauma-related works more private, to only show it to your trusted friends or family, the fast-growing use of the internet has led more people to sharing it in an online platform, which is not unexpected behavior.
I unfortunately don’t have the screenshot of the original post, but there was a post made some time back literally telling a fandom member to go and hang themselves over this garbage. A survivor of s*xual abuse, no less. And to top that off, one of Ginger’s squad @emmy-puff commented in support of that violent post, as well as blatantly misgendering the target of it. While, again, I was unable to get screenshots, there are multiple witnesses to this instance, one Anonymous even having called them out on it back when it happened. (I suspect that Emmy deleted that answer due to how bad it made them look.) If anybody reading this has screenshots of the initial post or the ask that came of it, please feel free to share.
I don’t care who you are or who you’re talking about, if you use misgendering someone as a way to hurt them, then you are an insult to the trans community. That is an awful thing to do, and you lose so much credibility if that’s the only thing you can fall back on when getting in a fight with someone. While this post isn’t about Emmy specifically, this is exactly the kind of hateful rhetoric that’s being encouraged in the environment Ginger’s made.
Another thing I would like to point out on this matter is an instance that happened in the ToA fandom a couple years back. I, again, don’t have screenshots available (I believe the original post ended up deleted) but the post in question caused enough of a fuss that I’m sure a few people must remember it... 
A while back, there was an artist that posted uncensored, untagged r*pe art of Aaarrrgghh, Gunmar, and Jim in the main Trollhunters tag. As you can imagine, this infuriated many people. Many of which are among the list of those who’ve been labeled “p*do apologists”. Almost the very minute that post showed up in the tag with no trigger warnings of any kind, the fandom immediately got on OP’s tail about it, because they all shared that basic understanding of “This is a traumatizing subject for many people and they should have the ability to avoid it”. If the people you’ve labelled as pr*dator supporters were really as awful as you say they are, they would’ve jumped to that person’s defense, too. But they were completely against OP’s horrible lack of consideration of survivors, right alongside the rest of the fandom.
Am I saying you have to like trauma fiction? Absolutely not. Are there people that make trauma fiction that are actual pr*dators? I’m sure there are. But those people would be that way whether trauma fiction was out there or not. Gross people have existed and will always exist regardless of what media is out there.
I deeply understand the controversy, uncertainty, and stress that surrounds this topic, I promise you, I do. But the fact of the matter is, some people actually do use trauma fiction and expressive arts therapy as a way of coping, as has been observed in people even from ages as young as 5. To say otherwise is blatantly untrue. This isn’t a matter of opinion or morals, this is plain, studied facts that you cannot change about human psychology.
Nobody should ever have to go through something as horrible as s*xual abuse of any kind, and I know how deeply upsetting it can be to see certain images or stories with those themes in play. Those users with a sense of decency and understanding for fellow victims will tag their posts with the appropriate warnings. After that, it’s up to you to filter out what you don’t want to see. You curate your own internet experience, and it’s just plain irrational to try and harass everyone into conforming to your rules. While it’s an 18+ blog’s job to make sure to tag and label their content appropriately, it is your job to block the things you don’t want to see, whether you’re an adult or a minor. It is YOUR job to blacklist content that you know will upset you, because it is always going to exist on the internet, and any internet user needs to know and understand that. Multiple times I’d seen people going off about posts that were already appropriately trigger-tagged. If you don’t have those upsetting tags blacklisted by now, then the fault is mostly on you in that kind of case, not the OP.
Before I end this topic off, just one more example of blatant disrespect towards victims:
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I’m sorry, but the absolute nerve of comparing some random fictional character you’re petty over to an actual pr*dator who’s terribly hurt real children is just awful. Imagine how insulted one of Onion’s victims would be if they saw that. Lord.
Ginger claims to care about victims, but she’s made it abundantly clear that she only cares about those that behave the way she think a victim should.
4. Ableism 
I’m going to just show a couple posts here and let them mostly speak for themselves. 
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Just... my God. You looked at the definition of psychopath and decided that was enough to give you qualification to speak like this about it? Do you realize the extensive work and study of human psychology goes into the diagnosis and understandings of psychopathy? Not to mention, you just admit to thinking people deserve hate because of a mental disorder they legitimately have no control over? I’m sorry, but that is just cruel. Demonization of the mentally ill is not cute or funny. Next.
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While I’m still annoyed with Emmy’s transphobic treatment of another user mentioned earlier, they make a very solid point in this instance. (The first post they referenced has since been deleted, but here’s the second one speaking out against the ableism.) I feel I don’t need to add much to this, as these points have already been argued very well by users better qualified to speak on the subject than I.
5. Manipulation tactics
This part is more observations of two kinds of abuse tactics Ginger appears to demonstrate, using the above as points of reference. 
First, there’s DARVO.
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Then, less formally, there’s this good point about online cult mentality.
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Before you say anything, obviously I don’t think Ginger thinks of herself as some sort of deity. While it could be argued that she considers herself a point of authority within the TOA fandom maybe, I haven’t seen enough of this to say for sure how far that goes. So that point can be ignored, because it mostly doesn’t apply in this case. (The “Dictating parts of your online life” might also not apply, but I can’t say for sure as I haven’t gotten any confirmation of that sort of thing in Ginger’s group.)
But there are grains of truth in the other four points, especially that last one. Plain and simple, she’s made people afraid to speak their minds about even harmless things such as character analysis.
Ginger is someone who can’t seem to comprehend different viewpoints and life experiences. She’s extremely unsympathetic towards people she doesn’t understand, as can be observed in above examples. Assuming malicious intent from everybody you can’t understand is a dangerous and hurtful mindset to have, for both you and those who you unnecessarily scorn.
There are a few outcomes I’ve speculated should she ever come to see this post.
1. She will ignore this post completely, pretending as if it doesn’t exist
2. She will dismiss me as being some sort of horrible person, a p*do apologist or something of the sort (despite being a victim of that myself, clearly she doesn’t care about who’s actually been hurt by real p*dos or not if they don’t conform to her narrow worldview), and claim nothing I’ve said bears any meaning, despite the extensive evidence I’ve provided.
3. She will get people to try and attack me. 
4. She will actually address these points in a tactful, mature, and serious manner instead of her usual act of trying to dismiss everything at the slightest hint of non-conformity. (The least likely outcome, but one can dream.)
I could add to this post all day, but it’s long enough as it is and my focus was on getting the main points out of the way. I understand that I lack some of the receipts necessary to back myself up in a few parts, but I know that many other fans have bared witness to those things, so I know there will be at least some people who’ll know what I speak of is true, and that’s good enough for me.
That being said, if anybody has screenshots of the instances I wasn’t able to provide for, it would be greatly appreciated if you could add them into the conversation.
!!!-If you have screenshots, but are too uncomfortable to get involved in this, then you can private-message them to me and I would be grateful and more than happy to add them in while keeping you completely anonymous.-!!!
(I've removed the section with all the tags, as I recognize it was probably going overboard. My goal was just to spread information, not to try and involve those tagged, but I understand how that may have gotten lost in translation and made people uncomfortable. Also, it apparently was showing up multiple times in people’s notifications when I only tagged people twice, so I’m not sure why that glitch happened, but I apologize for that annoyance as well.)
Now, to end us off, my responses to questions or angry comments I’m probably going to get:
You don’t even have all the evidence! How are we to know you’re not just lying about some of this?
Admittedly, I don’t have as much screenshot proof as I would like, that’s true. But for most of the instances I couldn’t provide for, there were other witnesses to her bad behavior. I don’t really have the need to lie when there’s already a lot of knowledge out there of the bad stuff she has done. Nor do I really have the emotional investment in this fandom anymore to lie for the pointless reason of causing drama.
Why post this on a throwaway account if you think people are on your side?
I just don’t really want my main blog associated with TOA anymore, to be frank.
You tagged a bunch of people, so you must be trying to get them to attack Ginger!
No. I tagged a bunch of people because I think this information should be heard on a wider scale, considering the position Ginger has in the fandom. I don’t want her or anybody else to be attacked, but her negative impact on this fandom deserves to be acknowledged.
Again, I don’t think Ginger or any of the others deserve harassment or cyberbullying or anything of that manner, that’s kind of what this whole post is against. And it just hurts the situation more than it helps it. What bothers me is how she’s never apologized for or even once acknowledged the gross way she’s treated people. While she might be more low-key about it now, she still treats people who don’t deserve it like garbage. There are still several people upset about the damage she’s caused to this fandom, rightfully so. I wouldn’t be so loud about making this post if I didn’t think it was something worth drawing attention to. 
Thank you for reading.
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rpmemesbyarat · 4 years
Conversation
RP Meme from Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Bad Beginning: Part Two"
I'm sorry to say that the alleged entertainment you are watching is extremely unpleasant.
From the beginning of this miserable tale to the last melancholy scene, I cannot think of a single line, a single word, that does not chill me to my deepest bones.
"Why?" you may ask.
Do you know what the question I'm asked the most is?
Will you please leave the premises?
Why do I do it?
Why respond to the siren song that the Spanish call 'El Theater'?"
For fame and fortune?
For the costumes!
Where are the costumes?
Stay in the car.
Well, we've got to reach them. Try Peru.
I'm keeping an eye on things best I can
I present it to you now in the hopes that the police inspectors, concerned citizens and television executives might finally leave me alone.
I have an appointment for a haircut right now.
Well, in that case, we're going to need a map of the city.
You'll never get away with this.
I already did get away with it.
Put some elbow grease into it!
Who knows what would happen to us on the street?
At least here we have a roof over our head.
Can I warm that up for you? And also give you some very bad news?
When I was a little boy, I would have given my eyeteeth to be raised by an actor.
I have terrible friends.
It sounds like Latin.
Now, I'm sorry if I have to usher you out posthaste, but I've got work to do.
I'll have my new secretary give you a ride home as soon as he's finished typing up that report.
Shall I let them off the hook?
I spent all morning making these cupcakes for you.
They're store bought!
Aren't raspberries delicious?
I'm afraid I may have acted a bit standoffish.
I want you to participate in my next play.
It tells the story of a very handsome and good-looking man, played by me.
A pretty girl like you shouldn't be working backstage.
It's a very important role
What did you call me?
I'm not sure I'm talented enough to perform professionally.
I would prefer it if you participate voluntarily
The point is, I can order you to participate, and you must obey.
I can't stand looking at you anymore.
Killing us will do him no good.
I have never been married myself.
Are you here to continue your research?
I have quite the interest in theater, you know.
I would give up every last wig just to wear a costume.
I'm actually considering a career in law. I find those books quite fascinating.
There are countless types of books in this world, which makes good sense because there are countless types of people.
[NAME], what's happened to your face?
No, no, no, it should be delicate! Fetching!
I just think, even in changing context, that marriage is an inherently patriarchal construction
Are you leaving?
Oh, there we go, sweet girl.
Does that mean what I think it means?
It means you're going to be a star.
You have got the star quality necessary for a small walk-on role
Now, you can see it.
It's a very important part, although you won't be listed in the program.
All my life I wanted to be a bride
It's almost too good to be true.
Spend some time with your new father.
Seize the children!
I have three kinds of butter cream icing here for you to sample. One's vanilla, one has a hint of nutmeg and the other's a little lemony.
I told you never to say that word.
We'll order takeout.
Let me eat cake.
You can't just keep us in here.
What do you think will happen to you then?
I'm gonna stay up all night with a book.
The book was not at all interesting. The book was long and difficult.
What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in your room.
I was in my room all night, and I know what you're up to.
Me? I'm just having my morning coffee
If you use fancy-pants words first thing in the morning,
you're going to end up a very lonely man.
I figured out your scheme.
You don't know the difference between figuratively and literally, do you?
I'm leaping in the air because I'm very happy.
I'm so happy I could jump for joy, but I'm saving my energy for other matters.
This play won't be pretend. It'll be real and legally binding.
A man like me can acquire any number of beautiful women
What's in it for me?
Can you name me a language that was spoken by ancient Romans and is still spoken by very irritating people today?
Whatever will we do?
I guess that proves reading really is fundamental.
But I'm not old enough to get married.
It certainly is so strange to find a child missing, and one so small, so helpless.
When did you see her last?
Did you hear that? It came from outside.
Oh, you're not looking in the right place.
Oh, don't look so down.
Let her go. She's done nothing to you.
Please, she's just a baby.
Just don't harm her.
I would never, ever marry you.
Any animal owner will tell you that a stubborn mule will move toward the carrot because it wants the reward of food and away from the stick because it wants to avoid the punishment of rump pain.
Would it be so terrible to be my bride, to live in my house for the rest of your life?
You're a terrible man.
I may be a terrible man, but I have concocted a foolproof way of getting your fortune.
What have you done?
I wish I had an inventor here.
You came.
You sent for me.
Things are disastrous. Everything's gone wrong.
What went wrong?
Why would anyone listen to a consultant?
Are you free Friday night to attend the theater?
But what shall we do until then?
Could you cut these ropes for me?
You should get some sleep.
It's my turn.
I didn't help us.
You just didn't finish the job.
Let me keep my promise.
Having a brilliant idea isn't as easy as turning on a light.
But just as a single bulb can illuminate even the most depressing of rooms, the right idea can shed light on a depressing situation.
It's so wonderful that, in addition to your many talents, you have a marvelous eye for fashion.
Tell me if this is too much.
How pleasant that you could join us.
What are you gonna do with me?
It was a grappling hook.
I understand she's yours.
I'm not his bride.
You know, some people say that the hardest job in the world is raising a child.
I'll touch whatever I want.
What happened? Why are we up here?
It's so high. You must have been terrified.
I'm sorry it didn't work.
The invention worked fine. I just got caught.
You're gonna need to flip it a couple of times, like, okay?
And don't touch the baby!
Do you think you could invent something to help us escape?
I am certain that over the course of your own life, you have noticed that certain rooms reflect the personalities of the occupants.
If we had kerosene, we could make Molotov cocktails with those old wine bottles.
What are Molotov cocktails?
They're small bombs. If we throw them out the window, we could attract attention.
It's time for the big event.
Taking the role of a handsome man is certainly a brave choice.
Is it a stretch for you?
I think live theater is a much more powerful medium
than, say, streaming television.
Evil plot?
The wedding will be around 10 PM, followed by champagne toasts, reception with cake and finger food, then the after-party at the Mexican place.
All my anxieties are put to rest.
Don't distract me with idle chatter.
Get it absolutely right.
Change of plans. Sit here. Don't distract her.
Don't suppose you know how to play poker.
Would you like to deal?
I am very handsome, but I am only one man.
He's so handsome.
If I can't have him, my heart will literally break.
That can't be true!
But that piece of paper's not an official document.
I think you'll see that it is figuratively real.
I'm afraid this marriage is entirely binding.
This is absolutely horrendous. I won't allow it!
I'm afraid there's nothing you can do.
You were easily tricked!
It was child's play, winning this fortune.
You promised to let her go!
You idiot! What are you doing?
So, you escaped, you little dishrag.
Well, that doesn't count.
You're just being a sore loser and trying to ruin my special day.
You should never be afraid to admit that you don't know something.
This is a very complicated case.
It would take a formidable legal scholar to solve it.
It was thoroughly impressive and utterly convincing.
I'm even considering firing your associate
I was kidnapped
I'll get my hands on your fortune if it's the last thing I do.
You have to capture him! You have to go after him!
You let the authorities worry about that.
Sorry, but the children must come with me.
Some things in life are difficult to understand, even after years and years of thinking about them while wandering alone through desolate landscapes, usually during the off-season.
The world is quiet here.
As with so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it isn't so.
Things are worse than we thought.
Then we don't have a moment to lose.
What's a woman like you building in a place like this?
Leave no stone unturned.
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razanartuk · 3 years
Text
about me tag game thing
i was tagged by the wonderful @nothingunrealistic! thank you very much ily <3
under read more bc i was not capable of keeping my answers brief this time around
why did you choose your url?
this...was supposed to be a short explanation but it turned into quite a tale so strap in i guess because we are going on a ride. back in 2017 i was just getting into musical theatre rp and i was still feeling too shy to really talk to anyone ooc so i would just wait for people i wanted to interact with to post starter calls so i could just do things in character with them the easy way. So i did this with my friend cam, who posted a starter for me using a lyric from If I Could Tell Her. she linked the song so i could listen to it, so i did and i went ‘wait a minute, is that Ben Platt from Pitch Perfect?? (and other things too, but i only recognized his voice at the time bc of the acappella girl movies)’ and yes it certainly was.
i had zero idea what the plot of Dear Evan Hansen was about at that point, and for some reason based off Just That One Song and the poster art of who i assumed was Some Guy in a Polo Shirt i started to think it was about some jock guy who broke his arm and had an emo/goth friend who had either died or gone missing under mysterious circumstances. also i intuited that Evan had a crush on his friend’s sister but he couldn’t tell her that directly or his emo friend would kick his ass. so i was like mostly wrong, but a little bit right.
oh and i knew jared and alana were characters from the show bc cam said that they were i think?? but i had no idea what their role was. so after listening to if i could tell her, i listened to good for you and all i really got out of that was that evan the apparently not-jock guy had done...something... that really hurt jared and alana. and at that point i finally decided to go look up a plot synopsis and i found out i was waaay off base. but honestly this is why cast recordings should include scene dialogue in the songs bc otherwise you just get soundtracks like dear evan hansen where the songs have like. zero context. we really just go from waving through a window to for forever to sincerely me without like. any reason as to what is happening huh. It’s honestly not a surprise anymore that all those people on twitter had no idea the plot isn’t about gay teenagers.
anyways. cam was writing jared and she made a post at one point about wishing somebody would write alana and i was like ‘oh i could do that!’ (after i had actually Seen a bootleg and finally knew what the whole story was, of course) so i made a multimuse rp blog featuring alana beck, nabulungi hatimbi, chloe valentine and some other characters, and cam started sharing her headcanons with me that alana is trans, jared and alana were close friends when they were little kids but they sort of drifted apart as they got older and their priorities in life changed, jared was the first person alana came out to when she realized she’s trans, etc.
one night i started talking about wanting to pick a more theatre-relevant url for my blog and trans-[character name] urls were getting pretty popular, and at least 3 of the friends i made through rp had changed theirs to coordinating trans-[character name] and i think it was cam suggested i should make mine be trans-alana so i did. eventually i realized the unhyphenated version was available so i changed it to transalana with no hyphen and i have lived here ever since. sometimes i think about changing it but i feel like transalana has become a part of My Brand and i am not so great with coming up with cool names for things.
any side blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them
in theory, i have sideblogs... i don’t really use them, but of the ones i do have, there is:
emsbookblog - this was supposed to be where i would post excerpts of the book that i’m working on, but i think i did that maybe one time roughly 2 years ago and then promptly forgot about it/got nervous about my writing and was scared to share anything else. the rest of the stuff that is there is assorted writing tips. i don’t really know what to do with it now. i probably should post all my little thoughts about em and anita and caleb there instead of infodumping on my main from time to time, but if i do that then i have to promo a sideblog and direct people over to it which is always annoying to me when i could just do it on this blog which is much easier
dearnovelhansen - this is basically no longer used, but was a sideblog i made specifically to talk/complain about the novel adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen which was about 3 years ago?? maybe? i can’t be trusted to understand the passage of time. but to summarize: i thought it was an honor just to have the story be made more accessible since many of us couldn’t see the stage performance, but i hated a lot of the creative liberties that were taken. my main grumbles are that everyone who isn’t evan or connor is done so dirty in the novel. connor’s still kind of done dirty in the book, but not as much as like. heidi, alana, jared, and zoe are.
horseisle3 - this one was meant to be a place where i could just enthusiastically post screenshots from hi3, but instead it turned into a blog where i occasionally reblog other players’ hi3 content and bitch about how bad the game admins are bc hi3 is the tumblr famous (infamous?) homophobic horse game. the game where it was once okay to call your club store the gulag bc according to their head of hr, ‘it’s just a russian word for prison’ but you can’t say ‘im gay’ without somebody accusing you of corrupting young children who play the game. unfortunately there aren’t very many good interactive horse games out there, so this one is still about as good as it gets. it’s either that or star stable and i don’t care about star stable.
mlaenie - i’ve had this url saved for i don’t even know how long. way way way back in the day when i wanted to escape from the clutches of the onceler fandom i abandoned my first blog where i basically had an alter ego i guess?? and i decided to just be myself on the new blog. i don’t fully remember who came up with it, but one of my sister’s mutuals suggested that if you scrambled the letters in your name you could come up with aesthetic-looking urls. so lauren’s url became lrauen, and to match with her mine became mlaenie, which i abandoned on tumblr after about a year or so? but have continued to use as my main username on twitter, reddit, youtube, xbox, steam, and discord. i barely ever use any of these accounts aside from twitter, steam, and xbox, but yeah. so i’ve decided to try and turn this empty sideblog into a place for video game thoughts maybe. we’ll see how long it lasts this time around.
how long have you been on tumblr?
i made my first tumblr account in december of 2010, but i didn’t understand how to use it at all or how to customize my theme to look cool and unique so i quickly abandoned it. i made a new account in september of 2011 after some kids at school and my sister told me i should and i have been trapped here with varying degrees of activity/inactivity ever since. i have witnessed the rise and fall of the lorax/onceler fandom, hyperfocused on lord of the rings, star wars and back to the future all at the same time, and for the past 4 years i’ve mostly been a musical theatre blog with assorted other fandom stuff mixed in. i feel i have seen everything and nothing, but mostly i’m just tired and bored.
do you have a queue tag?
no bc i don’t use a queue. i’ve tried using it in the past but i irrationally feel pressured to sustain a coherent theme to queued posts and my brain simply does not vibe with that so i just don’t use it at all anymore. Instead i instantly reblog or post several unrelated thoughts in succession and then don’t post again at all for 3 days. the way god intended
why did you start your blog in the first place?
my very first blog was intended to be a place for me to post all of my petz 5 animals’ profile info, but i didn’t have any understanding of how coding worked at all and i don’t think i really wanted to learn, either. so it just sat there, unused. my second attempt at blogging was as a classic rock fandom person, so as you can probably imagine i was pretty pretentious about ‘modern pop’ vs the beatles, the rolling stones, the who, the monkees, and so on. and then i slowly devolved into a lorax fandom blog and everything went to shit so i made a new blog for lord of the rings/the hobbit which later evolved to include star wars and back to the future blogging. and then for the past 4 years i’ve been mainly a musical theatre blog with other random stuff i like thrown haphazardly into the pot. wonderful.
why did you choose your icon/pfp?
because my url is transalana and two of my most prominent lgbt headcanons are that alana beck is trans and a lesbian. i gotta be shouting out @kinqmike though bc she’s the one i adopted the trans alana beck headcanon from in the first place!
why did you choose your header?
in 2017 i was hyperfixating on Dear Evan Hansen (and Be More Chill, but there weren’t many gif-able videos then considering it ran for a month in New Jersey in 2015 and there was only one yet-to-resurface 35 minute bootleg) so i just grabbed a random gif off of google. i really should get to replacing it with a new header of my own though. i just don’t know what i should do for it.
what’s your post with the most notes?
i have lost track of how many notes it has (i think it’s somewhere around 200 now?) but when Will Roland and George Salazar performed Two Player Game on Good Morning America, i posted a screencap of their Jeremy and Michael along with that one quiz answer meme that says stuff like ‘i want to see it grow up healthy’. i didn’t tag it with any ship names or anything because i was anxious about having it show up in the tags, but somebody who reblogged it from me did tag it as boyf riends and i firmly believe it took off because of that. i don’t think i make posts that are relevant enough to amass thousands of notes, even by accident. which is probably a good thing bc if i did i would have to block so many of them.
how many followers do you have?
on this blog? 175 according to the counter. how many of those are still real people and how many are bots and abandoned accounts? i have no idea.
how many people do you follow?
i try to keep it somewhere around 200. i think i’m sitting at 180 right now but i kind of need to go through and clear out the really inactive blogs.
have you made a shitpost?
let’s think about this for a second. i’ve been on tumblr for nearly 10 years. you might even be able to say i’ve made more than one. they’re just not what you would call...popular shitposts.
how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ post?
that stuff makes me so incredibly anxious that i have to fight the urge to want to yeet my laptop or mobile device through the closest window whenever i read it, so i try very hard to avoid any sort of ‘if you don’t reblog this, i’m judging you’ posts. i find them very manipulative and not particularly helpful
do you like tag games?
yeah babey!! i just frequently forget to do them, but please know that if you have ever tagged me in a tag game i felt incredibly touched by the gesture and the @mention even if i completely forgot to do the thing afterward
do you like ask games?
i do! but also rip to literally anyone who has ever sent me an ask meme bc it takes me so long to answer them. i’m still working on a micro fic prompt from a few weeks ago. also, horrified to realized that it has in fact been a few weeks and not 3 days anymore.
which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?
i don’t know that any are tumblr famous as a whole. but probably @neverheardnothing
do you have a crush on a mutual?
in any sort of romantic connotation? no. not that i’m aware of. there are mutuals that i have friend crushes on where i want to be friends with them but i get so anxious when it comes to meeting new people that usually nothing ever comes of it. i’m really not good at small talk or other casual conversation either which, as you may or may not be able to imagine, sucks. i just wanna skip over all of the awkward introductions and ‘hey how are you, how is life, what are you doing with yourself?’ stuff. not because i don’t care about it. i do, but i think most of my friends/the people i want to be my friends are also depressed and anxious so asking these basic questions about life tends to uh. make us all nervous. and i don’t do much with my life so i always have the most boring answers anyways.
i’m not tagging anyone officially bc the @ thing has just completely given up on me at this point, but if you want to do it, go for it. and then say i tagged you so i can read it c:
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iatheia · 4 years
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EDA reviews part 2 - books 10-18
Previous part here
10) Legacy of the Daleks - A very enjoyable read, even though it doesn’t mesh well with Big Finish continuity. I have a few headcanons on how to rectify that, though... The meeting between the Eight and Delgado’s Master left me grinning ear to ear, the way Eight was posturing, wholly aware of the way the Master ticks. I’m not sure I liked Susan quite as much, though - nor was she that fundamental to the story, spending most of the time off screen, but being somewhat unlikeable when she was there. Her final confrontation with the Master was a bit much... Similarly, it was hard to accept Master not recognizing her. That said, the rest of it was a fun romp, and Eight’s thoughts towards the end were particularly poignant, 9/10
11) Dreamstone Moon - Starting right off the bat with an author self insert, and have him being both the source of the conflict and the one to ultimately save the day, kind of - it’s a bold choice.... It’s been said before, but Doctor’s companions really should unionize huh? Eight’s in particular. It really is quite striking that the situation with Sam is pretty much the exact same one as it will be with Charlie - thinking that the Doctor is dead, abandoned, alone, without any network of support. And I’m finally about to have context for that post, so, cheers, I guess. That said, Sam and the Doctor are very much representative of the “quit telling everyone I’m dead - sometimes I can still hear his voice” meme. I’ve lost count how many times Sam decided that the Doctor’s dead within five minutes of seeing him very much alive. (Ok, no, I jest, but it’s a good book, throughly enjoyable from the beginning to end, 10/10)
12) Seeing I - I, uh, really struggle to follow Sam’s logic in the beginning here. I don’t really understand how she ended up in the place she did, after the last novel. Because, she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t abandoned, she was in a company of people, who, uh, cared about her might be putting it a bit too strongly, but who at least could vouch for her. So this disconnect is a bit odd. And, as good as this novel is, as good as the character work in here is, I have a slight disconnect with the rest of it, too. There is too big of a gulf with where the story begun and where it ended - there are too many things going on, too many plots introduced and then unceremoniously dropped. It’s like... Revolution of the Daleks inside of Kerblam, with Nightmare in Silver thrown in with half a dozen other themes from other episodes. When you have the doctor in the machine and the psychologist guy go from primary antagonists to the supporting cast we’re supposed to root for, there is something mildly dissatisfying about it, thematically speaking. Overall, the story in its entirety is less than a sum of its parts. Breaking it into pieces, though, there is a lot of exciting stuff there. 9/10
13) Placebo Effect - Controversial opinion time - I don’t care for Ark in Space. I think it’s a pretty forgettable episode. So any time I encounter any reference to the wirrrn, my reaction is “wait, who?”. And even though I like Leisure Hive well enough, I dare you to find anyone who has been clamoring for the return of Foamasi. This rather made me immediately apprehensive, straight from the preface. In general, there was too much continuity. Stacy & Ssard, really? How deep do you need to be to appreciate their appearance? They are so utterly unnecessary, too, they disappear less than a quarter of the way into the novel, they aren’t even there for set up, they are there for a set up of a set up. If you are actually a person who knew who they were, and wanted to see more of them, I can’t imagine this being all that satisfying. It’s a rather abrupt transition from the previous ark. I dare even say, aggressive, to the degree you have Sam going from “she is afraid to be even in the same room with him, lest she kills him with her soaked through panties” to “she is absolutely delighted when he imparts onto her his grandfatherly wisdom”. Then again, any time either Eight or Sam opened their mouth, I didn’t see Eight or Sam. I saw Four and Sarah Jane. It’s not well written, either. It’s very clunky. The dialogues in particular are obnoxious. Stacy’s and Sam’s conversation, and later on dogmatic discussion between Sam and the priests gave me full on psychic damage. I mostly skimmed beyond that, can’t say there was much to catch the eye. 2/10
14) Vanderdeken's Children - This book is aiming to be a masterpiece, but it’ll just have to settle for being good enough. It does have some interesting twists and turns in here, even though most of them are pretty predictable and expected from the set up. The last couple of chapters, the ending overall, are quite decent (even though all the ebook versions I was able to find cut off the last couple of pages, argh!), but the middle is very middling, with mostly uninspiring secondary characters that are ever so slowly being positioned on the chess board. 7/10
15) The Scarlet Empress - Where to begin... It’s a series of mostly unrelated short stories in a trench coat pretending to be a novel. It’s set up in a middle of a road trip, unrelated not just to each other, but also the measly bit of plot that was given to us? I found it’s quite difficult to engage with the story overall, or follow it, really. It tries to be more character driven than plot driven, which is an admirable aim, and some of the character stuff they have in here is nice, except... Outside of may be bits of chapter 1, I couldn’t really hear Doctor’s voice - any version of him, let alone Eight. Sam fares a bit better, but, at the end of the day... It doesn’t really feel like Doctor Who story. The pacing is completely off, as is the structure, and it was quite nonsensical and whimsical, more akin to Alice in Wonderland than Doctor Who. Not bad in and of itself, just, hard for me to appreciate as a part of this marathon. A note on Iris. I haven’t yet listened to her stand-alone adventures, but I generally enjoy whenever she shows up in Big Finish. Here, though, she was rather lacking Katy Manning’s charm and personality. And, I feel, if you didn’t have any existing fondness for the character before, this novel isn’t going to give you much to care about her. Except, *checks notes*, this was one of her first major outings? Not really a good start. Oh, and prior to this she was in a few short stories, by the same writer. Well, that checks out. 6/10
16) The Janus Conjunction - I really liked this one. Not much to say beyond it, but, very well written, very easy read, practically in a single breath. Excellent characterization for both Doctor and Sam, just a right degree of joyful, determined, adventurous, death defying, mad, delirious, and codependent, almost moreso than any other I’ve read so far. Rather dark, though, I can feel it resonating in the pit of my stomach, and it gets inside your head. 10/10
17) Beltempest - What did the Doctor do to deserve this character assassination??? It’s not without redeeming bits (looks like “I’m not a man” quote comes from here, big yay), but, in large part, is barely a pale shadow of a character I like. Especially in the beginning - he think that Sam might have died and he is ok with this??? After the Dreamstone Moon??? And he is incredibly obnoxious? And Sam was barely herself, even before being... uh, possessed? for plot related reasons. I can’t describe how much disconnect I have with the protagonists here, or with any characters in the rest of the book, for that matter, and how much the dialogue made me roll my eyes. And, ah, the technobabble. I generally try not to overthink the physics of most things in fiction, because, as a certified space scientist, otherwise I’d be here all day, but there comes a point where it crosses the line. After everything else, to read the words “newly born main sequence star” with my own two eyes is just too much. I’m a good person, I do not deserve this nonsense... The first half of the book left me rather put off. The second part left me feeling absolutely flat. No emotions, either positive or negative. And, uh, there was a post going around on tumblr along the lines of “the worst you can do to the character is having them mention a certain food, because the fandom will turn it into an obsession” - it’s rather the same here with Eight and books & classical music. I am rather starting to loose count of the number of times they are trying to emulate the scene with the ending of the movie, where he is lounging about and reading, or specifically mentioning Pucchini. To be fair, it’s not just this novel, but it definitely starting to take me out of it. 5/10
18) The Face-Eater - I’m generally a bit wary of cold opens in the books, because some tend to ramble a bit, with the characters I don’t already know and love, so it’s often is a chore to muster enthusiasm to care about them. This one, though, despite all that, starts very effectively, in a way that made me immediately sit up straight. Very snappish, in a style of noir novels. Too bad it doesn’t quite sustain that energy throughout it. The plot is... interesting, I guess. Characterization is decent, for the most part - although some moments, especially early on gave me a pause, it more than makes up for it in other places. 7/10
Overall impressions so far: Much better than the first set of 9, which often were too deeply rooted in nostalgia to try to offer anything unique. And, I guess, with more writers having a chance to read each others works, the characterization is a bit more consistent (not for every writer, mind, but, in general). How long does it take for them to write a novel of this length, I wonder? A book a month is a rather grueling pace for the series - how far in advance do they start? How many other books come out during that time? 
Sam in particular incrementally found her footing (though, there is a bit of a lag from novel to novel). Instead of imagining literally any other companion, there were certain novels that really helped me to grasp her character. Though, hmm... being Doctor’s companion is not a safe job by any stretch of imagination, but this girl has really been through a wringer. I’m rather struggling to think of any other companion that has been put through so much (non-lethal) battering. There comes a point when one just wants to just to let her have some good time. And, uh, there was a horrible thought that occurred to me, and went to look up how she will depart the TARDIS in the end, and... well, I have a feeling that sometime afterwards I will not like what will happen.
Also, there is this trend of separating her and the Doctor, for a prolonged period of time, them having no idea where to find each other, without any contact, just, stumbling onto one another eventually. It’s a way for writers to have them cover more narrative ground, and you certainly don’t want them attached by the hip, but when they spend less than 20 pages a book in each other’s company, that’s, uh... not a trend I particularly care for.
Well, onto the next batch where we meet Fitz, and say good bye to Sam.
Next part here
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elementalsight · 4 years
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For the writing meme: 18 and 20?
18: Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them. Ohhhhhh so for Complicated Creation, one of my initial ideas was that after the Spirit Realm, Aizawa would give Izuku his contact number, and Izuku’d have a moment of “My phone doesn’t actually make calls, but I use wifi for email” (cue FEELINGS there) and Izuku taking off but promising to show up when they need him. And then the LoV setting off a bomb, essentially, with anti-quirk bullets inside that hit multiple people and Izuku has to come in and save the day. Thankfully the Dadzawa vibes were too strong, and I absolutely prefer this version. The MUCH BIGGER VERSION CHANGE is that originally? Ryujin is resurrected in chapter 13 straight up. Like, Izuku falls into the ocean, very nearly drowns, and Ryujin is the one to rescue him. There was a point where Izuku demanded to be let go so he could go home and Ryujin, being Not Very Good At This, just drops him for Mizuchi to catch on his back, but Izuku 100% thinks he is gonna DIE as he falls. I do love that scene and their exchange, and of course this means Aizawa is scolding Ryujin directly for the storms, but something felt off about it. I finally tossed it to @redrobin-detective for feedback and they were kind enough to sit as we worked back and forth about if Ryujin’s comeback was too fast after his death. So we came to the idea of Ryujin being essentially tied to where he belongs/was born and needs to stay there. For a year? A century? Who knows. He’ll be able to speak to and guide Izuku, but he won’t be physically there. Which changes some of how I expect the sequel to go, but I 100% think the story is stronger for it - and it entirely came from me reading comments and everyone telling me HOW MUCH THEY WERE EFFECTED by Ryujin’s death, which surprised me. Since I knew it was coming, it didn’t punch me in the same way I think it did for other readers. 20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?) Oh man CC is SO full of symbolism and repeated motifs and hidden notes. Some of my favourites: 1) Izuku starts and ends (more or less) at the Takua river. He starts there treating his wounds, wondering if he should fall in and let himself drift away before Tamamo-no-Mae drags him back. He ends there on the bank, expecting Mizuchi to arrive to kill him. He’s passive, feeling empty and used up and like an awful human being. And in the first round, he is offered help (from TnM) and rejects it and runs and goes to ground to hide. And the second time, after shenanigans Ryujin offers him help and Izuku more-or-less accepts it (he asks for time to think because he’s overwhelmed, but he does accept) and more importantly, he doesn’t run away: he asks to go back to Aizawa, to the one person who has helped him feel safe. I really wanted to examine how far Izuku’s come, but also reflect on how far he still has to go! Poor kid needs more than three weeks of Aizawa and good meals before he’s stable, but it’s a good start! 2) Tamamo-no-Mae. Things like “Do not fall in, I cannot swim” and later on her talking about how she met Mizuchi was by falling into his domain (one of his rivers) and she still can’t swim, I dunno why but I love that? Also she has at least one line, possibly more, that hint at more secrets folks don’t yet know about her that I am excited about. She is one of those spirits who becomes DEEPLY connected to her humans, and so she connects to Izuku easily and for Izuku, he really is attaching onto her a bit like a mother. 3) ALL THE FORESHADOWING ABOUT AfO I spent SO MUCH TIME trying to CARRREEEFULLY craft the hints: I didn’t want to make it too obvious, but at the same time it seemed so obvious to me - even the adults in-verse are like ‘this kid could be connected to AfO because of quirk manipulation’ and still it surprised so many people but importantly no one thought it was a complete heel-turn ass-pull. The minute you go back and reread (I have had multiple people comment as such) it’s obvious.  [[You are not what you are made to be. You are not what you are made out to be. Both things are untrue. You have surprised me,]] she says, like she’s making all the sense in the world. [[ I look forward to seeing what you become.]]  Also when Izuku meets OfA, he tries to protest ‘hey, I am not what everyone says I am, sure I’m apparently the bridge, but I just want to help people’ and OfA’s response is [[ That remains to be seen. You are young: age makes monsters out of men. ]] They know the context that Izuku doesn’t, that they somewhat think Izuku does know, and so they’re not trying to be cryptic. OfA is really just being passive aggressive, and TnM is trying to be reassuring! They just... don’t realize Izuku’s working with less information. I could probably go on, but I’ll wait and see if anyone else asks for the same # XD
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blaster-aichi · 4 years
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Cardfight!! Vanguard Extra Story IF 17—19 things
feat some overdue screaming
IF 17
said overdue screaming
Without the context of epi 19, Kourin’s reference to original memories stands out as incredibly peculiar. Miwa’s response, while fitting for anyone else, could have an entirely new meaning after the revelation at 19′s conclusion, we’ll get there in theoryland.
Never knew needed Kai-kun working part-time jobs but it has become a huge need, thanks writers.
That’s gay. But it does suggest that the possible ruptures in IF’s reality aren’t isolated to Shin and Kamui in the previous episode. It would be nice to see any other instances from the possible ripple effect.
pre-19: “oh this face is a mood”. post-19: “different character but hmmmmm”
With all the Legion Mate comparisons floating around from the get-go, Naoki’s method in tackling his regret is an intriguing choice against his past efforts. In Link Joker, Legion Mate and the second half of the manga/Reboot, Naoki’s objective was to make for his inaction going forward and earn Aichi’s forgiveness. If given the opportunity to go back and redo things, he may have taken it, though having heard from Aichi personally that he’s thankful for everything and everyone that he’s connected with as a result of how events played out, Naoki may not have had the heart to do so. Without that talk, it’s natural that, instead of looking ahead and atoning, Naoki’s turning backwards, it’s a neat contrast.
The series has always built up the relationship between Aichi and Blaster Blade but the relationship between Kai-kun and Dragonic Overlord is so precious, it’s a shame that it wasn’t delved into prior to the past couple of years. The notion of evolving circling the both of them is incredibly fitting, with the history they’ve had in both continuities and the duality of their approaches. (It might have been occupying thoughts a lot since, the scene was so poignant).
Between his soldiers attacking during their first (onscreen) attempt to reach the root of the problem and Emi’s subsequent admission, props to Aichi for isolating it and cutting it off to anyone that tries to interfere, hoping it’s a part of any explanation to his reality warping (assuming it was him, until today, it seemed the only viable reason).
The comparison between Naoki and Kai-kun had me believe the former might join up with the main party as a nod to being there by the latter from beginning to end of Legion Mate, being both characters harbouring regrets (if Kai-kun were to regret that his IF life takes away from the happiness of the Outside World characters).
I just really, really, really love this scene. That is all.
Bless for highlighting the irony in the KaiAi units being adversaries.
Did I mention this is joint-favourite IF epi with epi 7? It’s not, it is and here’s one of many reasons why.
Reason #57 why: the battle choreography.
“Aichi Sendou isn’t the one you want to save”. Makes you wonder who was out to save the object of their regret and who was out to save themselves.
For a moment, had believed Naoki was not-dying (Retiring?) and being returned to the Outside World, somewhat surprised it hasn’t been utilized more beyond the Ultra Rare teams diving into the Akashic Book from.
Very Soft Cardfight. That is all.
Somewhere, original continity Naoki is screaming.
Tell this to your Link Joker self, please.
IF 18
On the one hand, Kai-kun walking around in Miyaji (with or without the context of IF), on the other hand, Bushi Eats.
Probably due to cracks coming from him getting a glimpse of the original reality, but Shingo cares an enormous amount for someone who, just a couple of episodes ago, said all the products in Card Capital were going to make him lose his mind.
“Awful big brother”. Laughs with shovel. (Comparatively, he’s brother of the year.)
PEDAL FASTER.
Love how Masaki and Shinji are named to overlap with their brothers’.
He’s going to fucking murder you.
[Kourin voice] Aichi is tired. [Me voice] As am I of your bullshit.
Wingal took so much time to train that it was only on his third appearance that he didn’t attack anyone. Also soft? So very soft.
NO THAT’S SO CUTE DAMN IT.
I have so much to say about Aichi missing Emi but also she’s barged in twice and you blasted out our of the castle on both occasions. Bullshit.
Do not pull the Legion Mate with me, boy.
Is he super dissociated because how do you even in the face of this?
It’s not just that he shouted her name, but the tone of his voice shouting at her. Thinking about just how extreme it is in comparison to the Aichi she knows and has kept company is pretty chilling.
Just how aggressive Aichi has become within the IF World is alarming; on only two occasions has he let anger get the better of him and one of those two wasn’t so bad. If this is to play on how warped he was going into the fight with Ibuki, good play on the writers’ part.
Semi-related to the above; with exception of three characters (Emi, Rati and Voidkuto), Aichi’s always used honorifics, and attached one to Kourin’s name, so to hear him address her without one is jarring, for lack of a better word.
THE BIG RED FLAG: Aichi’s expression in seeing Kourin having acted of her own accord (and potentially disobey him) smacks of two things:    — his perceived crumbling control over the Sanctuary Knights, coupled with Naoki and Shingo’s desertion (his lack of reaction to the latter is bizarre, as it lends itself to and could bolster his hatred of Vanguard)    — insinuates he never had control, but was allowed to think that he did. There’ll be a section beneath 19, which itself does a lot to fuel the flames of this suspicion, that will consolidate thoughts and the theory that’s been brewing since this episode last week.
On the subject of 19, Miwa being so nonchalant and passive about everything makes a lot more sense.
Let the girls fight physically more.
UBW Archer Class Meme-y Dialogue tingles.
Naoki and Shingo holding down the fort is very sweet, particularly when Shingo was alone in that task last time.
IF 19
Alarm bells rings first thing in the morning.
The irony in past Ibuki preventing Kai-kun going to Aichi after the past dozen episodes, there are no words.
Odd that the caveat of meeting yourself from another point in time presents itself when it didn’t occur in the first two episodes, unless, at least in this case, it applies only to past events.
There’s trying not to yell FGO at things and then there’s brain yelling “Lostbelt!” at Ibuki.
Rekka and Ren’s appearances gives me hope they’ll resurface; the main characters and audience know where their target is, so would like to think word will somehow get to them. (Speaking of. Nome? Where the fuck are you during all this?)
Episode loves playing with unsettling sights, very fitting for messing Ibuki’s head around, but simultaneously, making it apparent just how much of a threat Kourin specifically is.   — On a related note: Kourin beats out Ren, Leon, Sera, Voidkuto and IF Aichi to have the most nightmarish face and I Am Afraid. Give Aichi a face like that al you’ll irreparably wound my psyche.
Intense Vibrating. They’re setting up Ibuki’s Deleting Aichi is relevant, it was the only one Kourin didn’t touch on in the episode and I am burning.
How dare you montage their time together with that music and then cut to this!
Did everyone else forget Jammers were a thing or was it just me being dumb?
Everyday I relate to Kai Toshiki.
Just going to appreciate Kai-kun gushing over giant robots in the middle of battle.
Kai-kun!Blaster Blade vs Greion giving me intense flashbacks to Aichi watching Kai-kun’s image in Blaster Blade sacrificing himself to try and fend off Greion just before he got Deleted and SCREAMS.  — Once that fight is brought up directly, if you listen, you’ll hear Rena screaming in the distance.
If there’s anyone who has no room to talk it’s Miss This Thirsty For Aichi. Also when did you two switch places of tease and teased?
“Oh shit, he’s going to Delete Kai-kun”. “Oh okay, false alarm, thank G—” “OH NO SHIT HE’S ACTUALLY GOING TO DO IT!”  — On an actual note, seeing the three regrets prominent in this season all take separate routes is interesting; Shuka working to correct her wrongs in the present and moving ahead, Naoki trying to travel back and alter things from the point of origin and Ibuki being twisted to no longer feel regret, seek repentence and rather to repeat his actions.  — Ibuki vs Aichi flashbacks intensify.  — Also, mid-fall dab.
Double Agent Miwa is a blessing, who knew his acting skills were so good? Although the begs the question (if he was flat-out planted as a mole) how he earned Kourin and/or Aichi’s trust to become a Sanctuary Knight in the first place
IF 20 preview: HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!
Theoryland (Screaming):
Miwa being Takuto or Nome’s Outside World partner:
In both Rekka and Suiko’s cases, there was a companion venturing in alongside them, both of whom are friends of Kai-kun and the same age. Perhaps, Miwa may have been in league with one of the Tatsunagi brothers (having determined Aichi’s motivation and Kai-kun’s position in all this, calling on his closest friend to match the girls’ partners) through whom he gained insight into the situation and moved in order to protect Kai-kun; working from the inside to weasel information out of the others, understand how they operate, monitor their activities to keep Kai-kun out of their sights, (find Takuto, if with Nome) and maybe (find a means to or actively make an effort himself to) drag Aichi out of his current state. It may be that, instead of Sanctuary, his abduction of Kai-kun had the destination of a rendezvous with Nome until the girls’ interference and the entire incident went off the rails.
Aichi as a puppet king and Kourin the true human antagonist:
Since his expression in seeing Kourin on the offensive without his say-so, it’s been on my mind that Aichi hasn’t actually been in a position of power whatsoever throughout IF, but he’s been led to believe he is, and the act might be withering. As "original" memories factor into it and Ultra Rare’s were lost at the end of the main Reboot continuity plot, it’s possible they may be on the line as they were in Link Joker/Legion Mate.  — As she’s aware there are such memories, it’s possible that they were triggered into resurfacing when Takuto appeared within IF World and encountered her and Aichi, leading to his capture and confinement, so as not to cause any further damage to the world fabricated.  — Alternatively, she might be acting in order to keep the force (a Brandt remnant remains my personal suspicion) that has Aichi in his current state at bay. Her unease in seeing him hanging above the scene outside Sanctuary as she attacked the others might suggest that she was worried it could break loose, as she’s never been one to be rattled. This is why “human” was specified above, because whatever the case, any corruption in Aichi is evidently the overarching antagonist force.
Additionally, throughout the season, Kourin has been fiercely territorial around Aichi, speaking and acting on his behalf, while keeping the other Sanctuary Knights at an arm’s distance. She alone enters his private quarters, sees him in pain, and (no, haven’t given up entirely on the right eye thing, there have been other people around when he’s outside his Alfred form and it was visible) privy to any secret circulating him (as well as IF’s true nature), while keeping the others in teh dark. Her reasoning may be wanting to keep him under he thumb or prevent whatever’s inside/in control of him from running rampant.
And in regards to Ibuki, Aichi made the declaration about casting him elsewhere, but Kourin was the one who enacted it, and the sole player in manipulating him to switch sides. There’s no certainty that Aichi is even aware, much like he might not be conscious of Naoki’s betrayal.  — Her being responsible for recruiting might also explain why Misaki was never a Sanctuary Knight: Kourin desired she have an ordinary, happy life, not unlike Aichi’s wish for Kai-kun.
In a truly ironic turnabout, it looks to be that Kourin is IF’s Sera.
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adamsvanrhijn · 4 years
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Hello there! I have been happily working through your incredible wtmy,tbws fic like a duck enthusiastically eating a bowl of peas, and was wondering if I may request a director’s commentary on the "never cared to 'til a minute ago. Always been a delicate bloke." conversation OR whatever scene from that fic that you most enjoyed writing? Thank you!
thank you! i am loving that simile very much.................. a duck enthusiastically eating a bowl of peas. amazing.
under cut because the fic itself is Adult Content haha
& also because this is Absurdly long... doing this meme for other people is really hammering in for me how much i rely on single line dialogue & short paragraphs lol. i’d love to work on that, but, womp womp, it hasn’t really been happening.
there is ... a lot going on in this scene lol. i feel very galaxy brain while writing this fic and it’s very pretentious, but i’m just gonna poke at the relevant bits around that quote instead of quoting The Whole Thing. this is from chapter 5 of when to my soul, the body would say ! 
context -- they’ve had morning sex in front of a mirror, then they went for breakfast at the place they’re staying, where richard is using a persona for Safety Reasons, & now they’re just hanging out and richard has been checking thomas out for the last 5-15 minutes without him noticing... until he comments on thomas smoking, and then thomas...
...lets his eyes wander, himself. 
Richard, fully dressed save for his shoes, is turned from the bureau, arm slung over the top of the chair. He did his hair this morning, because Evelyn Price would not have gotten up to anything in the night that could possibly alter the work of a week's worth of Brilliantine, and Thomas sort of hates it.
Not how it looks.
What it means. Or represents, rather. That they've got people other than each other upon whom they need to make good impressions, be they in service or just in the world at large.
right, so, this is like, the Ground Work Thoughts for thomas here as far as this particular interaction is concerned, because this is Very Much about perception / Being Perceived, and before the conversation even happens he’s paying richard a lot of attention, almost to the point of scrutiny. and richard is put together in a way that is very much not for thomas’s sake, it’s for they-left-the-room’s sake, and so he’s noticing that and that’s his frame of mind as they move on.
side note! hair styling oil & pomades really were worn for multiple days in a row. amazing. i could never. there should really be more in this fic about richard’s hair being all floraly <3 <3 <3 but there isn’t. womp womp. that would have been a Factor in this bit huh lol.
"You ever try it?" asks Thomas. Meaning smoking.
"No," he says. He tilts his head thoughtfully. "Never cared to 'til a minute ago. Always been a delicate bloke."
Thomas coughs impolitely.
"I don't see the harm in saying it, Thomas."
The feeling he can't describe leaves him, and a different one forms, in his gut instead of his lungs, an uncomfortable and unwelcome weight. Knotted.
aaaaand boom. thomas Did Not Sign Up For This. 
richard’s being 100% honest, just speaking casually, but thomas’s reaction is enough to get him on the defensive & he’s not an idiot so he knows why, but this is also not something he has lately put a lot of thought into. he’s Accepted It About Himself (we’ll get into this). thomas meanwhile is not ready to approach the subject of Delicacy for anybody he cares about, because to him it’s not a good description, it’s not something he aspires to be or wants to come across as, but he has many times in his life come across as it anyway. he’s Not Like That. 
so the word alone sticks in the wheels of his rolly suitcase emotional baggage, even though it’s richard using it on himself.
"Well, you clearly haven't got a problem with playing at being normal," Thomas says pointedly. Tough not to be pointed when he feels like this, because he's no stranger to it, is he. "If I didn't know better I'd be asking after your wife and baby like the rest of this place."
Lucky those people were leaving after breakfast; Thomas wouldn't be able to take two full days of it.
He hasn't asked about the photographs in the wallet yet, either, and he's not sure if he will.
normal being heterosexual, in this instance, which is contemporary vocabulary.
and richard is very good at playing straight when he’s not fearing for thomas’s life, so. it’s true! it’s a legitimate opinion. but it’s also a pretty significant logical leap that richard is about to pick up on, because that makes him uncomfortable, given thomas is basically saying.... you seem straight, what are you talking about, which isn’t going to make him feel excellent about the sense of identity he’s settled into. 
the rest of this is an Achievement Thomas Is Yet To Unlock so i won’t say much other than that this is not a significant addition to richard as the reader might know him from ywntmha, but, a lot of the big emotional work & development in that fic happens in 1929, with this meeting as the impetus... so it is very significant for thomas, at this point. we’re still in january and they still have a ways to go both in the next 24 hours and in the rest of the year.
Richard raises his eyebrows. "And what's that got to do with it?"
He shrugs.
It should be obvious. It would be obvious, to anyone who bothered to think about it for more than half a second.
that’s not a good faith question; richard’s goading him into actually saying the underlying thought. on one level thomas knows that, which is why he doesn’t say that part out loud and only thinks it.
"It's pretending, is all it is," Richard continues, a little too gentle.
"Don't call yourself what they call you," Thomas returns, a little too sharp.
and since goading doesn’t work, new tactic on richard’s part here, and though thomas can tell it’s intentional it does work on him, so.
writing this was interesting for several reasons but one of the big ones is, and anybody who’s been following me since Before da will probably know this, i like... have very little patience for discussion about personal identity, especially when it comes to reclamation ? i am way more interested both on a personal and academic level (bc i can’t lie about that lmfao, hashtag english major) in community + external ideas imposed on people.  
and this might seem like a very 2010s conversation for them to be having, but... this period of time was really the Dawn of queer/lgbt identity Concepts: words were being coined, communities were coming together in new ways, in continental europe & the us especially there was a lot of rapid development and transition here owing to various roaring 20s factors, and i think richard given his situation would have been exposed to that, for one, but also just, it’s gonna be in both their environments because it was getting to be a thing from the victorian era w/ the medicalisation of homosexuality and things are only expanding. 
"delicate” is a euphemism, not a slur, but it has hella connotations & they are both fully aware of them.
"Rather it be me saying it than them."
Blasé like it doesn't mean a thing at all.
You should know better, he wants to say, you should know better than anyone.
"Don't see how you can feel that way when it's not true to begin with."
thomas’s Only Gay Friend Is My Boyfriend is showing here lol, this is shining light on a gap in what he knows about richard & what he Thinks he knows about richard, so there’s a dissonance. and he sees richard as Masculine on a conscious or subconscious level, and he’s in a These Are Antonyms place re “delicate”. some black & white thinking going on here.
& i feel like the other part is probably fairly explanatory but, richard gets a sense of control and self-assurance by using a word for himself that might not be kind coming out of other people’s mouths and Being Okay With That.
"Thomas…"
They lock eyes.
A tense moment passes.
It is Richard who breaks first. He turns back to the desk with a small sigh.
"This has very little to do with you," he says carefully.
richard, knowing thomas as he does, is able to tell that he’s taking this personally, because he Is, so that’s that there, but again this is something he’s already settled in himself and so there’s also an element of having to justify again this thing he’s already figured out, which he isn’t exactly fond of.
anyway i said i’d get into this -- there’s a lot of interesting like, Societal / Subcultural / Etc politics with regards to being a male servant in this day and age and Gender In General, and valets especially -- throughout the time period leading up to this but ESPECIALLY in the 1920s when there are fewer men in service than there ever have been and more and more kinds of, say, manufacturing jobs as the automobile industry picks up & labour saving devices start having more complicated parts, and probably yknow most of the boys he went to school with are in that or mining or railways, so he’d have thought about it earlier on in his life probably. or Has rather. ftr his brother was in the carriage works i don’t think that ever comes up but there’s a lot there lol. there’s some family stuff in but level in time that we’ll get to........... someday. ANYWAY. 
the point is.
valeting is an effeminate job.
like, point blank. i’m seeing that idea both in sources specifically about servants & just general of-the-era stuff about great houses. when you’re talking about gay men in service a lot of them are valets, and some of that lines up w stereotypes & common lifestyle habits of gay men in general -- looking after hair shoes and clothing, obvs, attention to detail in physical appearance (note that men who Get Valeted also care about details, but they are not the ones who actually have to think and decide about it; whereas their wives are probably giving their ladies’ maids more directions as to hair styles and dresses etc etc because they’re expected to care about that part of the process in a way that men weren’t), exposure to social mores in a variety of different contexts, being well-connected within both the communities that help him get work done: tailoring, hairdressing, shoemakers, drapers, etc and in General, having softer skills like sewing and whatnot. and you’re unmarried and looking after the presentation of another man so there’s some like, desexualisation stuff there.
and thomas and richard would both know this very, very well. they’d have encountered the idea both as men in service and as gay men and especially as gay men in service.  
this richard has been working at buckingham palace for more than twenty years at this point, minus his war backstory which....... is complex and i haven’t gotten into it very much anywhere but he was getting cosy with some higher ups and having To Do about presentation there too and like, was in the service corps which was non-combat supply lines ....... and apprenticing valeting / actually (non-principally) valeting the Literal King Of England for nine.
he has had a LOT of time to get over his shit.
he not only likes his job* but he’s also very good at his job, literal 2nd highest valet position in frankly The World, which is fucking wild, and that combined with his Childhood of like, being second best to his older brother who was like, a perfect human being so far as he could ever tell and that included being very traditionally like, athletic and Leaderly and having-a-sweetheart-in-your-youth-you-then-marry when he was more interested in, you know, story telling and Arts N Crafts (i’m being tongue in cheek) and just generally not ... especially into the Boys Will Be Boys stuff............................
he’s fine with it! he is Fine with being called delicate, it’s helped him get over a lot of his issues just to decide oh, this actually fits my personality and the trajectory my life has followed, so i’m going to just accept that and move on ! etc. 
but thomas is not anywhere near there for himeslf and therefore he isn’t for other people, too, because one of thomas’s Problems is that he hates seeing other people comfortable and happy when he isn’t... and that even applies to richard, because love does not make us perfect. 
*he wants to leave service and he’s tired of the constant scrutiny of working where he does for whom he does, but he does like his actual duties in a lot of ways.
well here’s a novel. i hope this satisfies you!!! <3 <3 <3
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benisasoftboi · 5 years
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Gushing time.
Rune Factory 4 Special arrived a day early, so my entire day has been consumed in nostalgia. The original Rune Factory 4 was the first video game I ever bought on release day - I remember saving up all my money and making my mum drive me to like three different shops trying to find one that had it. I was already a fan of the franchise - before then, Rune Factory 3 had been my favourite video game, across the board. Aside from a playthrough of the first game last year, I haven’t played a Rune Factory game in a long time, certainly not RF4. But just starting up the game and hearing the music again, it was like it was suddenly seven years ago. Running around Selphia and seeing all the characters again - I love JRPGs, have played a lot of them, and I can think of very few that have characters that have stuck with me this long. And the aesthetics - the best thing about the Rune Factory franchise has always been the aesthetics, the music, the scenic and character design, just the general world. It’s a beautifully whimsical balance of urban and fantasy, and it’s the only JRPG world I think I’ve ever come across that I would genuinely want to live in. Rune Factory may no longer be my favourite game franchise - but I don’t think there has ever been another series that has felt so much like home to me.
Here’s a very long selection of personal highlights from the art book (by which I mean photos of the art followed by my rambling opinions):
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Yeah, see, here’s the thing - Rune Factory 1 is not a good game. I could write an entire essay on why it’s bad (I actually started and got pretty damn far before realising no one’s interested in my two thousand word review of a game that came out over a decade ago - the short version is ‘Misty Bloom-fucking-Cave’. Anyone who’s played RF1 knows exactly what I mean). Don’t get me wrong, it has good qualities - excellent boss fights, for one, and also, as with the rest of the franchise, it is aesthetically wonderful. But ultimately, it feels less like playing a video game, and more like playing a proof of concept for a game. Which I guess it kind of was - and I can’t hate it because we wouldn’t have the rest of the series without it.
But it literally ends with a dragon spewing plant breath on a tank to make a turnip grow out of the gun. ‘Profound’, my arse. 
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It’s Raguna! The “master sowrdsman!” (that is not a typo on my part that is a direct quote from the ending of Rune Factory 1 this game’s script had so many issues-). And Mist! My favourite of the ‘canon’ love interests!
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Best girl! When I was a kid, my favourite love interest in RF1 was Rosetta. As an adult, it is Tabatha. I don’t know what it is about her that I find so likeable (she’s as lacking in personality as any other RF1 character), but... idk, I just like her a lot.
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Camus’s big ambition is to leave town like even once. He will never achieve it
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Fun fact about Melody is that she’s extremely depressed, a fact that comes up once in an optional side quest and is never addressed again. It’s incredibly dark for an RF game
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Fun fact about Lukas is that he sucks (he’s one of those ‘obsessed with talking about how hot all the girls are’ characters, an archetype that thankfully doesn’t show up again in these games). But also, interestingly enough, thanks to one of RF1′s many, many script errors, if you marry Rosetta (the girl Lukas is the most obsessed with), he’s supposed to express disappointment that he lost her to Raguna - but instead, he implies that he’s disappointed to have lost Raguna to her. The translators typoed their way into giving him a sexuality change. Which is honestly kind of amazing.
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LOOK AT THIS SLIME THIS IS SUCH A COOL SLIME LITERALLY EVERY OTHER JPRG SLIME GO HOME DRAGON QUEST GET FUCKED (jk I like Dragon Quest a lot and its slimes are cool too). Wish you could see in-game that this is what they’re meant to be like.
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I just generally love the monster designs, they’re really charming
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Rune Factory 2! The RF game with the most weirdly mundane protagonist name (Kyle. In the main four games of this franchise we’ve got Raguna, Micah, Lest, Frey... and Kyle). The two generations thing was actually very cool, but when they say ‘each chapter captures a different lifestyle’, what they really mean is ‘the first half is a weak Harvest Moon I’m sorry, STORY OF SEASONS game, and the second half is a pretty good Rune Factory game’  
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lookit this little fuck
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Yue Yue Yue! I love Yue so much, she’s great. She’s kind of like a much chiller version of Anna from Fire Emblem.
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It’s really cool that we got to see grown up Cecilia (she was in RF1). I have this silly headcanon that if Kyle doesn’t marry Mana, Nicholas (her friend in 1) comes to visit Cecilia one day in the hazy-post game future, and meets Mana, and they get together. While Yue is my favourite, I do genuinely like Mana a lot, and I just want her to find love, I guess.  
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Here’s original Barrett! There’s a reason he was popular enough to make a reappearance (well, aside from the whole grumpy pretty boy thing he’s got going on) - he was a great character in this game. His and Dorothy’s relationship is also definitely the most compelling of the rival romances. Bonus Max, who also has a little shout-out in RF4 (check the diary in what will become Dylas’s bedroom at the start of the game)
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Ray is male, but apparently he was originally going to be a female character, as he has an unused portrait in a wedding dress. My friend and I agree that this makes him a Trans Icon
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Monster designs remain excellent. Especially the goblins
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Skipping over Frontier (and also Oceans later), as I never got to play it growing up due to not having a console, and still haven’t got around to it - might try this summer. Except I do need to point out that these guys should be memes. I don’t know in what way. But they should.  
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Rune Factory 3! My first RF game. The transformation thing was very cool, even if it was basically useless outside the main story. My friend and I spent hours mucking about in the WiFi dungeon. I loved the desert settlement and all of the dungeon designs in general, and man, RF3 is just great. I hope it gets a remake one day.
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Raven Raven Raven! I LOVE Raven (as do most). Her story with Micah is the first time I can remember getting genuinely invested in a video game romance. I’m so glad she cameos in RF4. I love her. She’s wonderful.
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I have an odd fondness for Marian. When I was about twelve, I decided to do a playthrough where I deliberately romanced the least popular bachelorette. After poking around on forums, I determined that character to be Marian, and did a run with her. And... I actually came to really like her. I find her endearing. I get that people find her annoying and don’t like her... unethical medical practices, but doing that run has still made me a pretty protective of her. It’s been a long time since I played RF3, so maybe I’d change my mind if I replayed now, but currently, as far as I’m concerned,  Marian’s a good’un.
I think I also used to low key ship her with Collette lol 
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Pia’s official art has always been super weird to me because it’s so not what her character is like in-game. She’s a ditzy airhead. This makes her look so serious
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RAINBOW! Another character whose art makes them look way more serious than they actually are. Daria is great and would be a meme if this game was more popular. I think she’s also implied to be a relative of Margaret. 
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I’ve always been super confused about what Kuruna’s skirt is meant to be. Is it fur? Is it part of her shirt? Is it even a skirt at all?
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Check it out, it’s the guy everyone would ship Micah with if this game was more popular
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I want Zaid to make a reappearance and interact with Doug. Pretty sure it’s canon that they’re from the same clan? Think it would be very interesting.
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RF3 definitely had the coolest farm. Also, still love the desert settlement.
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This is from Oceans, so I have no context, but it’s just so cool that I had to share
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Rune Factory 4. Culmination of the series is right - when I was playing it for the first time, I remember being blown away by just how much it is a true love letter to the franchise. I have never come across another game series that so consistently grew and improved from entry to entry. RF4 was a perfect ending.
Not that I’m complaining about getting RF5. Quite the opposite.
But if it had been the end (as we all thought it was until about a year ago), well, like I say. Perfect. 
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Well. Aside from soda can nipples. Can’t believe they didn’t fix those. Though in some ways, that would have made me sad too
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Dolce has such a cool design, in both human and monster form. I’ve always kind of crack-shipped her with Margaret, for no real reason at all
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Vishnal! I love Vishnal. Vishnal is pure as heck. Marrying him this time around.
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Doug! My choice from last time around. Another character who looks more serious in his official art than he is in-game (well... most of the time)
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And then there’s Dylas, who looks much happier here than he does most of the time. Kind of looks like he and Doug swapped bodies, actually. There’s a fanfic prompt for you.
Their ship name is Dyldo. I love them
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Leon is nostalgic for me mostly because my friend and I used to get into a lot of arguments about whether or not he’s the hottest character in the game. She maintains that he is, because muscles. I maintain that muscles aren’t actually that attractive. It is a rift that divides us to this day
(He looks oddly... younger in this art though? Weird)
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Sechs Empire is such an unfortunate name. Seriously. How rushed was RF1′s localisation team? All those script errors, and then this (the Sechs were the antagonists in the first game, and were only referenced in passing in the rest until RF4 - so it was a bit of a ‘sins of the father’ situation by then).
Seriously, try saying ‘Sechs Emperor’ out loud and tell me you can take this man seriously 
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I??? Love??? Them???
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I??? LOVE??? THEM???
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Still confused as to why Kiel, Xiao Pai, Arthur and Margaret are on the cover now. Don’t get me wrong, I like them, but... Amber, Dylas, Dolce and Leon made way more sense? Even the Archival Cover makes more sense (Vishnal, Clorica, Forte), as those three are all kind of Lest/Frey’s servants (well, Forte for the whole town, but still). Of those first four, all but Arthur basically lift right out of the game with little-to-no impact on the story
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NO HAT TABATHA NO HAT TABATHA
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I’ve always really loved this Raven picture
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And I am thankful for you <3
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