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toreii · 2 months ago

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Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Review

Let me just preface this post by saying I’m still on the fence about sharing my thoughts. Like many, I am highly disappointed with the direction this DLC went. I would have never imagined this was in store for me last year during the summer when I first watched the Lin Kuei trailer. Khaos Reigns provoked two days of awful headaches followed by days of disillusion. Yes, NRS played me for a fool (thank god I did not purchase this). I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and it came to bite me in the ass. If I had a physical copy of the game, I’d chuck it in the trash. I’m finding it difficult to proceed forward which is hard because I like to see things through even if it sucks. All I can do is protect my vision of Bi-Han and staying true to the old lore as I try and move on.

That being said, to address my take on this expansion:

To begin, the elephant in the freaking room--Sektor and Cyrax.

I am a Lin Kuei fan overall. Not a big fan of him in general, but there has been appreciation for him and Cyrax throughout the years. When I learned that both were going to be genderbent, I had a little bit of misgivings suddenly changing things drastically. But, again, I gave NRS the benefit of the doubt. Since this is a new era, I was on board with it until the rumors started circulating about both being love interests for the brothers. I was like "That makes no sense whatsoever." To me, the Lin Kuei has always been like a brotherhood. In no given time, has there ever been any indication of personal relationships outside of camaraderie. For example, Cyrax and Smoke being vehemently upset over Bi-Han's death in MK9, and not just Kuai Liang.

The argument can be constantly made that this is a new timeline, and it's Liu Kang's creation over and over. But, when you have that man (Dominic) constantly saying the timelines are canon, but not really. But, still are. It's incredibly hard to take anything seriously right now especially with the constant flip flopping that man does for the sake of the current script. Which is another point, but back to the bastardization of our two Lin Kuei girls.

I wanted to believe in a strong, female Sektor, who has her own ideals which we can all clearly see. Like her past iterations, she lives, breathes, and bleeds Lin Kuei. I wanted to see a Sektor who slowly, but surely descended into her own madness of corruption as she pursued her goals for the Cyber Initiative. Sektor has always been known for his technological genius, and she would be no different. To see her potential constantly get staunched for her adulation and obsession for Bi-Han was hard to witness. I can understand that this may be a flaw for her, but it is a very shitty flaw. Because this one trait absolutely negates everything she stands for. I can see that both she and Bi-Han use each other to a certain extent where it seems fit. I know her horrible romance is the center of focus right now, but if you listen to her intros with Bi-Han, it seems to be all business between them. There is barely any indication that their relationship goes beyond the realm of the clan and into a personal tryst. Sektor calls it love, but it's not quite there. I mean, there's love for the grandmaster, but the love that seems to be implied between the two is not quite there. At least, in my view.

I don't know about Sektor yet, but I already deduced that Bi-Han isn't someone who's desperate to correct anyone on the spot. He doesn't have to. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, so of course he runs with whatever people say about him. He's unbothered by anyone's opinions of him. When Kuai Liang told Cyrax the truth about Bi-Han letting their father die, Bi-Han could have stepped in at any given moment and contradicted Kuai Liang. Instead, he chose to own every word Kuai said. I've had this feeling since the end of the base campaign that Kuai Liang simply took pieces of what Bi-Han said, and spun them to fit his own narrative. (Killing your father and letting him die because of an accident are two completely different things.)

Anyways, going back to Sektor, that scene where Bi-Han's mind was being restored seems to be the only shoehorned indication that there is more to them than meets the eye. But, again, it was badly placed, badly presented as well. First of all, Sektor really should not have been there in that room at all. From a storytelling perspective, I'm supposed to believe that both Sektor and Bi-Han have this obsessive romance and codependency between each other in a few seconds of frames, than the brotherhood between Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and Tomas??? And this was my worst fear for Bi-Han too. I did not want him to be "saved" by romance. I wanted his salvation to come from within himself as he reflected on his poor decisions and the tragedy of his downfall which sadly we were robbed and negated from. If the scene only involved Liu Kang, Bi-Han, and Kuai Liang, it would have been more poignant. There has always been that story between the two brothers. I understand, this is not the same Kuai of two timelines ago. But, why is MK: Onslaught's ScorpKuai a lot more wholesome than our MK1 iteration??? He was absolutely horrified meeting MK11 Noob. He couldn't understand why Bi-Han became Noob (and how). But, Kuai's first instinct in the DLC is to be absolutely pissed and disgusted? "Your new attire suits you. It is as black as your heart." Darling, no. I would have been more pleased seeing Kuai approach the table and have this conflicting expression. The hatred can still be there, but the concern and sorrow for whom was once family to him, and his eldest brother needed to be portrayed. I mean, we sort of got it with the whole coffin scene at the end. But, in that scene, in that moment, that more than Bi-Han reaching for Sektor and touching foreheads with her is a lot more powerful in terms of storytelling. I don't know why NRS is so against these two hashing it out and resolving their issues.

Now to Cyrax...oh my god...

According to Kuai Liang in the main story, Cyrax and Sektor were supposed to be absolutely loyal to Bi-Han and would abet his corruption than follow him. We obviously see that in Sektor, but what the hell happened to Cyrax? It leads me to believe that Dominic and others suddenly decided to change the script. Mind you, I firmly believe that they did so. Sektor and Cyrax being women in this game must've been a decision that came after everything was said and done for the base campaign. I'm a bit skeptical on Bi-Han suddenly turning on Cyrax because I do recall some time ago listening to some leaked audio in which Bi-Han says "Kuai Liang was supposed to give Cyrax back." It made me think "Oh shit. Does Cyrax get held hostage or something?" Like, what the hell happened? And, I'm realizing, are we missing dialogue now? There is so much that does not make sense!!! Why would they turn on her all of a sudden?!

She's supposed to be close to Bi-Han just as much as Sektor. And suddenly, Cyrax is presented as a free thinking individual who abides by her own ideals and tradition. The moment that is threatened, she feels like she can no longer follow Bi-Han and his ambitions. To make it worse, she feels so much remorse with Kuai Liang that she's ready to give up her life in penance to make up for it. It just makes no sense. And to make it worse, she spends the rest of the DLC following Kuai Liang like a little puppy ready to serve her new grandmaster. Why was she even presented as a strong individual when all she wants is Kuai Liang's adoration as well? Not to mention, it was a really gross line to include in the intros where Noob threatens to spill her relationship with Kuai Liang to Harumi. We're seriously cheapening these two women to typical high school romance tropes? Like others have expressed, this is fanfiction levels of madness.

Kuai Liang is all levels of messed up too. I am so sick and tired of him prancing around like he does no wrong, and everyone believes every word he says. Suddenly, he's the self appointed grand hero of the story when you have Liu Kang's champions sitting around and twiddling their thumbs? Why not place faith in them and send them with Kuai to resolve the current threat. I understand Kuai's Shirai Ryu is now the new protectors, but you also have these other people and beings who are preparing themselves as well for these upcoming threats. I hate that they just suddenly bled into the background, and disappeared completely. Somebody needs to not only knock Bi-Han but Kuai Liang as well a few pegs down. He too is not without his own flaws and they need to be addressed. And Liu Kang's line "Trust your wife. Avail yourself of her wisdom." The same thing with Sektor and Bi-Han. Here too. This fucking trope cannot be it. Love cannot only be the thing that saves the day. His anger, his vengeance, is no where near the levels of Hanzo. Hanzo legit had a reason to be like that. Kuai is literally throwing a bitch fit at Bi-Han, and pointing fingers anywhere but himself. Seriously, his anger and disgust against Cyrax was so unwarranted. And every time she was flustered and tried to explain, he barely gave her time to say a word. Always cutting her off, and rejecting her apologies until the end because it is implied Harumi stepped in. And he seems to just completely simmer down a bit in the presence of Noob. Where was the you who tried to take him on earlier in Chaosrealm? Suddenly, you don't feel like butting heads with your brother? Kuai Liang is such a hypocrite, and I'm tired of seeing it.

Liu Kang was also another that just got dragged through the mud. A lot of his words and actions did not make sense. He's content with disposing of Titan Shang Sung and Titan Quan Chi, but he won't let Bi-Han finish off Titan Havik because he isn't sure how he's tied to his timeline, and doesn't want to kill innocent lives? What about the timelines tied to the other two? Liu Kang had no problem ending those. Why is Titan Havik's timeline any different? Bi-Han is right. Why does that timeline matter when the most important one is theirs, Liu Kang's timeline? He tells Raiden and Kung Lao to do their best and pray they make it out alive, when Liu Kang could have better prepared them. Gets his ass handed to him, can't even go save Geras himself. Sends Kuai, Cyrax, and Sektor to Chaosrealm in blindly. And, snaps at Bi-Han for the most part towards the end instead of having a meaningful talk with him. Not just simply telling him "This is what you are meant to do. Defend Earthrealm." Well, geez, why not elaborate on that, Liu Kang? Can't you give Bi-Han a few minutes of your time to air out grievances and come to a consensus?

And what the hell happened to Titan Havik? Is he dead? Does he still live? Trapped in the void? The Kamidogu were briefly mentioned, and then dropped. They were hyped to be of importance in this DLC. I'm certain they'll make their return eventually if NRS continues the story involving Onaga when the time comes. But, Havik had plans for them as well. And we only see him fusing with the Kamidogu. That final fight with him felt pretty lackluster. Just a regular match like any other.

We are definitely missing script, and scenes. We were supposed to have gotten a whole lot more. Ed Boon said this was their project for the next few years. I suppose they felt compelled not just to omit certain things, but cut out others for future DLCs. This was setup to be more than what we got. The bar absolutely fell short of what the end product was. To charge full price is absolutely heinous. I'm sorry, but I do not have $50 on hand for each DLC that they plan to release. They charged full price for the main game, and now they plan to do so for every little story line that comes after? I can't in good conscious support this kind of marketing. I'm devastated with the story. Like, I could work and make sense and justify every decision made with the main story to a degree. I can't do the same with Khaos Reigns.

I know I was making gifs of Bi-Han last week, but after KR...my heart right now really isn't in MK1. Every time I come across posts and remotely start thinking about it, I get headaches. They are not as bad as they initially were, but this is how horribly this DLC affects me. It keeps giving me headaches. I know I probably regurgitated the same sentiments and ideas as many others have already. But, a friend told me it would be cathartic to do this. So, instead of my journal, I am here expunging these thoughts and emotions. I don't know what my future with the brand will entail, but godspeed NRS. I wish you well on your future endeavors, and that's really saying a lot on my end. I can't even hope anymore. They massacred my heart and left me to die just like papa Lin Kuei (I wish we had a name for him).

#mortal kombat 1 #mk1 #mortal kombat khaos reigns #mk1 khaos reigns #mk1 review #bi han #sub zero #kuai liang #scorpion #cyrax #sektor #liu kang

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delurkr · 7 months ago

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The Canadian Clarke AU - The Draft Lottery and the Move to Canada

This post concerns events that took place in 1970, 1971, and early 1972. Skip the first heading if you don't want an explanation of the relevant real-world info:

Background:

The Vietnam War had technically been going on for most of Dennis's life and it escalated in the 1960s, as did many Americans' resistance to the draft. From 1969 through 1972 the U.S. was drafting young men into the military through a lottery system. The function of the lottery was to assign a random number, ranging from 1 to 365 (or 366), to every day of the year, namely to every possible birthday. Each year, the numbers were drawn in an event publicized through every media outlet. The assigned numbers determined the order of who would be drafted in the following year: the first number called was 1, and the numbers increased until the cutoff the next year (December 31 unless otherwise extended), and then the next lottery would be drawn if needed.

To be clear, if you were a young man in the correct age bracket targeted by a given year's lottery, the random number assigned to your birthday told you how likely you were to be drafted the next year. The draft calls started with 1 and worked their way up throughout the year. The first Vietnam-era lottery, held in 1969, called men during 1970, and at the end of 1970 the highest number called turned out to be 195. That number sort of set the standard for individuals concerned about being drafted in future lotteries, although the numbers in following years never reached that high again.

So that was me trying to explain the relevant parts as clearly as I could, but here is the U.S. government webpage on the topic, with charts of the numbers assigned to every birthday in each year's lottery: Vietnam Lotteries | Selective Service System : Selective Service System (sss.gov)

The effect on Dennis:

Dennis was born on April 29, 1951. The draft lottery held on July 1, 1970, targeted men born in 1951. The number randomly assigned to his birthday was 111 out of 365. In 1971, number 111 was drafted, the highest number called being 125.

My best guess is that Dennis would have received a notice of induction into the military towards the end of 1971. Obviously there's no reason to assume he is a military member in canon, but at the same time there's no other canon-supported reason to believe that he would have grounds to be excused from the draft in real life, so that's why this AU exists.

Story:

In 1970, the Clarkes of course know that there is a chance that 19-year-old Dennis could be drafted next year. On the first day of July, the family watches and listens to the lottery broadcast as the numbers are called. Dennis is assigned number 111. It is not high enough to keep them from worrying. It's only halfway through 1970, and the previous lottery is still underway; no one yet knows how high "high enough" is, but the numbers climb as the year goes on, and when the previous lottery expires after reaching 195, they can reasonably fear that Dennis's number will be snatched up before the end of the year 1971.

Cue the Clarkes spending a year and a half in anxiety that Dennis will be forced into the military at age 20. He will perhaps be sent to the war in Vietnam and potentially never make it back home, like thousands of soldiers already - perhaps even a few they used to know. They stew over it, but for the sake of Megan in particular they rarely speak of it out in the open. The issue is merely added to the pile of mounting pressure created from the failing factory and, once October comes, Megan's increasingly disturbed behavior and whatever else.

(Note that these details are still open to adjustment, I'm always learning new info.) Early in 1971, Dennis has a pre-induction physical examination, which basically works as a head start to establish that he's eligible to be drafted when/if his number comes up. Bad news for him: he passes, and the military officially classifies him as 1-A, fit for military service if he gets called.

Then there's a point soon after when Anne puts together a letter to the draft board inquiring about the possibility of him getting conscientious objector status, but James makes sure it is never sent. It's not a completely unreasonable fear that the letter would only bring attention to Dennis and potentially get him a draft order sooner or even prevent him from getting completely overlooked if there was any tiny chance of that happening.

In November, Dennis receives an order of induction in the mail. He is given a certain date on which he is required to report and be sworn into the military and then be shipped off to basic training immediately, a date that's probably only a month or less away. It seems Dennis doesn't have a choice, except - there is always a choice, if the nation's many thousands of war resistors, including the ones fleeing to countries out of reach of the U.S. government, have proven anything.

James knows what he wants. It's no secret that he has always hated this war and its politics; he has two young sons, his sons, and they aren't going off to die in Nixon's war on his watch (no he doesn't care that President Nixon didn't start the conflict). In line with his usual m.o. of outwardly ignoring problems and hoping they go away, James insists that they ignore the draft notice, end of story. Maybe the draft board won't follow up on it. If they do, well, he'll take care of it then.

For Anne, it's more complicated. If your country calls, it's a duty to answer, and on a practical level Dennis does not have any other legal options. Of course she doesn't want to see him in a war, and if they had acted earlier he might have had a chance to join the reserves or something, but it's too late for that now, so why prolong the inevitable? The best thing now is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best like everyone did in the wars of her generation and every generation before.

Dennis himself is mostly unsure about what he should do; all over the country there's all sorts of clashing opinions to reckon with and the war is still very confusing, even though lately he couldn't help but tune in to more of the discussions, knowing that it was likely only a matter of time before it all affected him. But one sure thing is that the negative publicity and extensive media coverage of this war leaves no room for heroic fantasies, and it would be nice to not end up numbered in one of the daily casualty reports on the nightly news. So if dad says he doesn't have to go, then... he doesn't want to go. And then, too soon for any of them, the date passes when he was supposed to report, and he didn't go.

So on January 16, 1972, the family is in limbo. They don't know what's going to happen next, and they can't really ask around to find out. Dennis is breaking the law, and if the wrong person finds out he's knowingly ignoring an induction order, they might inform the authorities and who knows what would happen then. The one thing they all know is that Dennis's days with the family are numbered - realistically, it's only a matter of time before the draft board doubles down on the matter. The only options the Clarkes see are for Dennis to join the military, or pack his bags and sneak out of the country.

At the start of February, they are driven to action. It's a Wednesday when Dennis gets a second notice from the draft board with a new induction date; it serves as another chance in case he missed the first order, but it's also a warning if he's been intentionally defying it.

So the Clarkes don't push their luck any further. Dennis has already made his decision to leave the country if it came to that. There's a quick few days of hurried packing and realizing they are thoroughly under-researched and unprepared for what his move to Canada may entail, but that Sunday Dennis's luggage and most of the Clarkes are piled into the family station wagon on the multi-hour trip to Montreal, Quebec. (Only Tanya opted out of the trip, and Dennis will spend the next few years being bitter about that.)

The tension in that car gets stronger and stronger as they approach the border. They've heard tell of so many other draft dodgers escaping to Canada, but were those Americans privy to some insight the Clarkes don't have? They don't know if they will be refused entry if they pick the wrong point of crossing, and they can't even be sure there isn't a chance that Dennis could be arrested on the spot if they give the wrong answers to the wrong questions.

But the crossing is unexpectedly smooth after all. They're visitors, they tell the border official, and they make a quick and quiet entry into Canada.

There isn't much for the Clarkes to do when they reach Montreal. It's a big city, and somewhere there's folks who help people like Dennis, but James and Anne hardly know more than Dennis himself does. "Find the Americans" is the best advice they can give. They have to leave in a few hours; tomorrow is a workday. They find a cheap room for Dennis to stay in and give him some cash, and they promise to help him with the immigration process when the time comes. They can mail him whatever papers he needs. They can mail him any of his possessions if he left something important back home. They can mail letters, and he can write back.

"Call us in the morning," they tell him, and several hours later the Clarkes are down one member on the return trip to Little Hope, while Dennis is left by himself in a hotel room in Montreal with some very dim-looking prospects and no idea what to do next.

Aaaand that's the start of the AU. Congratulate yourself if you read this far, and here's the timeline for good measure 🙂

#too many words lol but there is way more that has to be explained #i'll cover his first few years in canada in other posts eventually #canadian clarke au #little hope au #dennis clarke #the clarke family #the dark pictures anthology #little hope

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humanbug · 2 years ago

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Someone else?

Tommy and Joel discover another immune person.

part 2 part 3

a/n: this is my first fanfic and it is purely for fun! i had the idea for an immune!reader and wanted to try writing it myself! :p its very slowburn! this all takes place is jackson. it is happening after the first game and i am imagining the beginning of the second game where everything is peaceful and everyone is happy and joel lives a long happy life

warnings(?): jackson era ellie, this is not canon, spoilers for the game&show(?)

The perimeter patrol spotted the patrol rangers riding back, they shout for the guards to open the gate as they see the urgency they’re riding toward them with. This patrol was Tommy and Joel and it was supposed to just be a routine patrol to the ski lodge. They had made it time and time again without a hitch. This time though, this time Tommy rides back with a bundle of sheets clutched in between his arms. The both of them shouting for Maria and for a medic with a panic that Jackson hasn’t heard in a long time. Joel’s chest constricts with anxiety as his mind is like an avalanche of ‘what next’ questions.

Ellie, Jesse, and Dina had been at the Tipsy Bison as their day was beginning to wind down. They had been shouting a game of scrabble that was on the verge of becoming violent.

“Ixnay is a word. You just don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jesse insists.

Ellie bites back her grin as Dina turns a concerning shade of red.

“No! No. It’s not! It’s not a word. Ellie?” Shouts Dina.

Ellie flips through the dictionary as quickly as possible, trying to avoid Dina’s wrath. Landing on the I’s she drags her fingers down the page, sucking in a sharp breath.

“Dina…I have bad news. It is a-” Ellie is abruptly cut off by shouts, quickly becoming anxious as she hears people shouting Joel. Abandoning the game the three of them rush out of the bar to see Tommy passing Joel something. No, not something, someone. What the hell is going on?

Jesse jogs off noticing Tommy’s struggle to corral both horses. Ellie and Dina running over to Joel and the bundle in his arms.

Everyone is watching in curiosity as Joel is visibly shaken, he’s nervous? There is murmuring moving through Jackson like an ice-cold wave. Maria is quick to nip this curiosity in the bud.

“Alright! Alright, everybody! That’s enough!” Her voice echoes through the snowy town square.

“A young girl was found in the ski lodge. That’s all, okay? She is getting checked by the medic now but I want this crowd dispersed right now.” Her word is final as people begin to separate.

Inside Joel is passing the bundle in his arms to the medic and whispering something in her ear, eyes shifting around in unease. Ellie and Dina are standing by the door not wanting to crowd the already stressed medic. The bundle of blankets is placed in a wheelchair and taken past the swinging doors before Ellie can get a glimpse of their face. The only visible trait is long, matted, brown hair.

Joel finally turns his attention to Ellie and Dina with a breath. Joel clears his throat to avoid his voice cracking out of fear.

“Dina…can we have a minute?” Joel questions.

“Yeah, yeah of course. I’ll go help Jesse. Ellie, just find me when you can.” Dina responds in an even tone, always being understanding.

Waiting for her to leave the building, Joel nods at Ellie to follow him. They both find a seat in the hallway of the small medic building.

“What the hell happened out there?” Ellie asks.

“She- That girl in there-” Joel stutters at a loss for words.

Ellie thinks incredulously. Joel stutterers. Whatever he is about to tell her is important. Important enough for him to trip over his words like he’s drunk. However she stays silent, patient. He seems shaken and the last thing she wants to do is make that worse.

“That girl is- Okay, listen. Me and Tommy got to the ski lodge and noticed the door was open. Now you’ve done that patrol before and know that the rule is always to close those doors. We go inside and see a mess of a person in the corner, unconscious. I quickly went to check on her and- and the first thing I see is- " He falters.

“The first thing I see is, she’s been bitten. I- there was no denying the giant bite on her leg. Tommy sees it too and his first instinct is to shoot but I- I stopped him because the bite was…Ellie the bite was old.” He says with a breath.

Ellie is at a total loss for words. Her mind refused to believe what it had just heard.

She scoffs, “No. There’s no way. You- It has to be from something else. An animal? Or- Or- Something else?!”

“Ellie. She was bitten. There’s not a doubt in my mind that she was bitten by infected. We think she passed out from blood loss but kiddo she…she was bitten. The bite was not old enough to have healed but old enough that she should have turned by now.” Joel tries his best to convince her.

“Stop! Stop. I don’t believe this. This has to be some mistake.” Ellie stands to leave, beginning to feel angry. Anger at what exactly? She’s not sure but she can begin to feel that anger turn lethal.

Before she can get to the swinging doors the medic walks out looking dazed. She has blood on her gloved hands and silently beacons Ellie and Joel into the room. The three of them walk into the room all shaking to some degree.

The medic whispers, “She has to be immune. The bite is at least forty-eight hours old. If I had to guess, she was overwhelmed by a hoard, was bitten, and through the adrenaline didn’t notice until she collapsed in the ski lodge.”

“Let me see it.” Ellie insists.

The medic nods, gently pushing the blanket over her left leg. The medic had not dressed the wound yet, assuming people would want to see it. For god sake she ogled at it the entire time she was alone with the girl.

“She’s incredibly malnourished so she might not look it right now but I am assuming she’s about nineteen.” The medic mumbles out, needing to fill the tense silence.

Ellie stares at it. Hand lifting to touch it but the medic clearing her throat had her retracting her hand in an instant. Her teeth grind and her eyes water. She is in utter disbelief.

Joel steps forward glancing at the bite, at Ellie, and back at the bite. “Son of a bitch it’s real.” He mumbles. He nods at the medic to wrap the wound and she does so promptly. Seemingly still in shock and what she’s wrapping.

The medic clears her throat and wrings out her hands, “I have no clue when she’ll wake up but she’s stable so I am gonna wait ‘till she is awake. You can both head home and I’ll have someone get you when she’s up.”

“No. I’m staying.” Ellie quips, shaking her head.

“Kiddo, you should get some rest-” Joel begins.

“NO. I’m not going anywhere until she wakes up. You both go. I’ll let you know when she’s up.” Ellie says, glancing at the medic.

Finding little room for argument. Joel and the medic nod their heads. The medic leaves quickly, needing to cry. Joel gives Ellie one more guilty glance and leaves.

Ellie falls into the chair in the corner of the room, head in hands. Taking a much needed deep breath, she sits up cracking her neck and rests her head on the wall behind her. Trying to keep awake she bounces her leg.

Ellie is awakened by a gasp followed by violent coughing. She sits up to see the girl sitting up in the bed, hands gripping the blanket, as she looks wild-eyed around the room. Ellie holds her breath as the two of them make eye contact.

still a WIP! :)

#ˏˋ°•*⁀➷humanbug fics #the last of us #the last of us ellie #the last of us joel #alternate universe #fanfic #ellie x reader #tlou ellie #tlou fanfiction #ellie imagine #ellie williams #joel miller

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egtotaldramatakes · 2 months ago

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wait wait wait let me cook

what if Blaineley is Geoff's mom?!???!!

i know it isn't canon, but it's just been a massive headcanon ive had ever since i saw one td post on tiktok, and now it's evolved into an au

this sounds like insanic manity and in all honesty it is, but just listen!!!!

Blaineley got pregnant when she was 18, and being 18, she never got to live the 'party girl' 'college life'

but she still loves Geoff with her whole heart, and that's how it went for 6 years, Blaineley would cook him macaroni and cheese whenever he felt sad, make him laugh with jokes like 'if someone can fart and burp at the same time, then they don't have a soul'

Unntill!! Geoff turned 6, Blaineley got a new job as a TV show host (or just, whatever tv show job there is), and while she still loved Geoff, the fame changed her— because she finally got to live the 'party girl' era of her life that she didn't experience due to Geoff

And then, their relationship changed for the worse, bla bla bla, Blaineley becomes the Blaineley everyone loves to hate and Geoff becomes the Geoff everyone hates to love

Geoff grows to resent the mom who used to make macaroni for him on his sad days :(

TDI happens, yada yada, but then!! TDA happens, Geoff sees TDA as a chance to prove (to himself?? to his mom??? I don't know) that fame wont change him the same way it changed his mom

Because that isn't his mom, his mom was the one who loved him, Blaineley was a demon from the deepest depths of hell that even satan didn't want

He hates Blaineley, he loves his mom

But then, all he learned from TDA, is that he's nothing more than his mother's son

And thenn, TDWT happens!!

Which is where most of the au is based off of, and what fueled this belief more and more. Mostly because I found it funny that Geoff knew all this stuff about Blaineley

There's probably a lot more things i wanted to say, but this is all i could do for the time being

Yeah, that's it

I cooked right guys

Why is the fire alarm on

#I fear you may have cooked too hard #the way u wrote this im in shambles/pos #total drama #tdi #egtotaldramatakes #td #geoff total drama #total drama blaineley

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sam-loves-seb · 1 year ago

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gallavich questions

thanks for the tag (and the questions) @callivich !!

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once? intro to quantum dating by @spoonfulstar, i think i've read it 3 or 4 times now, it's one of my all time favorites

What’s a gifset you always have to reblog? anytime i see a gifset from that one s5 deleted scene, yeah that one, i have to reblog

What’s a headcanon you can’t stop thinking about? i have a very specific headcanon for a tattoo ian gets post-canon for mickey, and i hesitate to even explain it now bc i think one day i do wanna write a fic about him getting it, but whatever--my headcanon is that he gets an M tattooed on his left ring finger and it's a subtle yet sweet nod to his husband. (i could talk about this for 9 hours but i will limit myself and stop here)

What’s a fanart you love looking at? i've spent an obscene amount of time staring at this fanart by @doodlevich it just checks all my boxes (domestic, husbands, fluff, etc.) and it's so well done, i'm obsessed with this pieces

What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration? listen, i have this idea for a rock band au that lives rent fucking free in my head, and if i can find the time and the inspiration to actually turn these vibes and unorganized plot points into actual words and a coherent story in the new year, then maybe it'll see the light of day in 2024 but no promises. for now, i leave you with this: four milkovich siblings are in a rock band that is rising to success with the launch of their second studio album and subsequent tour, and ian gallagher is lead singer mandy's (fake) boyfriend--at least in the eyes of the public--and he spends some time that summer touring with the band and hooking up with their lead guitarist in secret until the band's manager/father catches wind of what's going on behind closed doors

What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else? i've always been a post-canon enthusiast for almost all of my ships, but i think before gallavich i always envisioned them with a very cookie cutter standard american dream family with the house and the careers and the 2.5 kids, which usually fits a lot of my ships, but with gallavich i... don't have that same vision ?? i think they're actually my first ship that i hc more often than not without kids in their post canon life, which is a new vibe for me entirely but i kinda love reading/writing it. idk if that answers the question you asked, but it definitely answered a question

What’s an underrated trope or concept you’d like to see more of? honestly i want more s9/10 prison era gallavich fics (and/or fanart). i think it's a gold mine era with so much untapped potential, and there are very few fics/series/whatever that really get deep with it and get to the good stuff of these two boys who haven't spent any significant time together in years but still love each other like they did way back when

What’s your favourite season? And has this changed after multiple rewatches of the show? it flip-flops for me between s4 and s5, like right now i think it's s5 but idk if i could actually pick one or the other as my absolute favorite

What’s a plot hole you wish had been answered or resolved? i would give my left arm to know how the fuck (and why the fuck) mickey started rolling with his dad again in post-prison s10 era, like in 10x08 he's going to terry for advice on how to protect ian, just for terry to try to kill him again 3 episodes later ??? make it make sense john wells i'm under your bed

What scene or moment do you feel isn’t discussed enough? personally i think the promise ring scene in 10x09 is criminally underrated and not talked about nearly enough, like you don't understand how happy that scene made me (stay with me here) seeing mickey stand up and fight for the future he really wants with ian and not settling for anything less

What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship? can i do song lyrics? i'm gonna do song lyrics--i've always thought the song godlight by noah kahan was very gallavich, especially the chorus, and especially during s4/5/6 era and it may or may not be a piece of inspiration for my big bang canon divergent fic

What do you think is next for Ian and Mickey post-finale? i think they take a while to really settle into their new place and and make it their own, and it's a bit of an adjustment (for both of them) to fit in with this new crowd and this new environment, but they're learning how to grow and evolve together and at the end of the day that's all that really matters to the both of them

tagging: literally anyone who wants to play bc my brain is tired and i am too tired to try and remember everyone i probably should tag

#gallavich meta #gallavich questions

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danpuff-ao3 · 2 years ago

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@broomsticks, leftsideisdown, Jackie, whatever you know this fabulous human as, we can all agree on "wow what a rockstar." In fact, I got so caught up in compiling some excellent fic of hers, that I nearly forgot "but wait! There's more!"

Listen, her pinned post on Tumblr alone is incredible. Look at that organization! So easy to find anything you could want to peruse on a given day! Then...the meta?? The STATS? Okay the stats meta blows my mind because I'm nerdy enough to like stat talk but allergic enough to math to have 0 comprehension of numbers. Which boils down to "please don't make me touch a number, but I'd sure love to watch you play with them!" Like...what a nerd! I say, with the utmost respect and admiration. I'm geeking out over her geeking out, I swear. But ALSO...recs!!!!! All of that on top of being a prolific and varied creator, which is rad as hell! Her brain? I love it.

But also...what a sweet and supportive human! Also, did I mention cool? Very cool. I always love seeing what new thing she's chatting about, creating, or reblogging. One of my favorite people to follow, I swear!

So now...let's get into the goods!

Fics

the dark side of the moon

Luna/Bellatrix. Rated: T. Words: 200. Implied past Pandora/Bellatrix. Implied/referenced character death. HP Shipuary 2023. Kinkuary 2023. Femslash Fuckery 2023.

Luna grew up knowing two Bellas.

flowers kiss and miss

Lily/Narcissa. Rated: T. Words: 1,400. 14 drabbles. Non-linear narrative. Fluff. Romance. Angst. Secret relationship. Implied character death. Implied necromancy. Ambiguous/open ending.

She thinks mermaids are red-haired. She thinks they sing. She thinks they’re beautiful.

For Everything a Season

Dolores/Marge. Rated: G. Words: 300. Crack treated seriously. Romance. Christmas.

There were many, many reasons why they would not work.

She bred bulldogs, for Merlin’s sake. She broke at least one teacup a week, she snored like a herd of stampeding hippogriffs, and she never cleaned her hair out from the shower drain.

Oh, and she was a Muggle.

Hers

Cho/Fleur. Rated: T. Words: 700. POV First Person.

At the Yule Ball, a test of loyalty.

Sealed with a kiss

Bellatrix/Pandora. Rated: T. Words: 200. Secret admirer. Getting together. Hogwarts era.

Pandora's secret admirer is not one to be messed with.

Whatever You Want

Hermione/Minerva. Rated: M. Words: 200. Student/teacher. Dom/sub.

Hermione just wishes to please!

which one of us will survive the other

Lily/Petunia. Implied Petunia/Vernon. Implied Lily/James. Rated: M. Words: 1,292. Sibling incest. Dub-con. Infidelity. Canon character death. Halloween '81.

Petunia’s wanted magic her whole life. Then again, she’s always wanted what she couldn’t have. What she shouldn’t want.

One night, all her dreams come true.

Meta (Stats)

What was the HP fandom on AO3 writing in 2022?

more miscellaneous stats for HP fics updated in 2022

wolfstar fandom survey results (part 3 includes astrology, so how could I not include it??)

hp character overrepresentation in fanon vs canon: more random-ass stats!!

atyd fic popularity stats

Recs

femslash fic recs: ginny + infidelity

HP fic rec list: underrated gems of 2022

a wormtail week works rec list

strange little girls: a rarepair (mostly femslash) HP fic rec list

also Mutuals March???? Incredible!!!!

for an explanation about Mutuals March, or to figure out why i wrote you a thing, please check out this post.

#mutuals march #broomsticks #leftsideisdown #jackie #fic recs #meta recs #rec recs

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blaaaaask · 10 months ago

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This is madness

Hear me out, this was what my head canon was for new Willy Wonka:

Willy Wonka is played by Ben Affleck

Ever since he inherited the factory from the previous 'Willy Wonka' he has been on a downward spiral of hell. Trying to get a new 'Willy Wonka' to take his place is impossible in this modern era because children suck, and each year he attempts a 'golden ticket' tour to the factory in hopes that one day he can fucking retire by finding the perfect child to con into taking on the business.

Harrison Ford is Charlie's grandpa.

I don't remember Grandpa's name, so we're going with Grandpa Ford.

~Charlie has no other grandparents because they're all divorced or dead.

~Charlie (I don't know child actors so pick whatever you want) sometimes visits Grandpa Ford but not super often which spurs Grandpa Ford to want to plan a fun trip to bond with his grandson.

~Grandpa Ford thinks the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory is super cool and so he keeps buying candy bars until he gets the Golden Ticket.

~Scene where Ford is like 'Charlie, look, we get to go to the Chocolate Factory!' but Charlie is on his iPad screaming about Roblox. By the time Charlie hears him, he's like 'Grandpa, that's so unkewl, why the heck would I want to go to a factory? Can't you just give me money for Robucks?" (Is that what it's called? Lol)

~Charlie is forced to go

~WonkaFleck has everyone sign papers. There is at least 1 parent who is trying to read through it all, but their child is throwing a tantrum so they end up saying 'fuck it' and signing it.

~The whole group of odd people have their mini solo scenes including:

-Kid who is allergic to Blue Dye 4000 and like, totally eats something very artificially blue because their parent is too busy on dating apps to pay attention. This kid doesn't make it far. They balloon up so much kid would need like, 20 epipens or something. WonkaFleck like 'not my problem you signed the papers saying you would be responsible for your own actions here'

~Kid who literally touches everything. EVERYTHING. EVERY. THING. You? Touched. Food? Touched. Machine? Touched. WonkaFleck gets kind of rage-y and tells this kid 'NO. STOP.' But kid's mom is a tiger mom and she jumps in and rips into Wonka about "we do not use the word 'no' in our household" and "how dare he think he can parent her child?" They do not last.

~One kid who stands uncomfortably close to people and stares. STARING. And everytime you try to speak to them they don't talk back, they just stare harder. Unblinking. WonkaFleck does not think he can withstand that level of terror in his life, so when the lights flick off (which is actually quite common in this facility) he boots the child into a candy flattener and we all know where that's going.

~We discover that Grandpa Ford is incredibly useful in the tour because he is one of the few people who can read things in cursive.

~At least 5-10 of the kids go around with phones and ipads taking FaceTimes of all the trade secrets and business practices.

~Wonkafleck trying to stop them by putting a ban on electronics, but they don't listen or they steal back their phones/items and their parents are like 'lol kids will be kids, am I right?'

~Grandpa Ford is at least respectable and had forced Charlie NOT to bring any electronics on the trip. The child cries like, 99/100 times the other kids have their electronics out, though.

~Wonkafleck finally destroys all electronics in one of his many rooms of weird shit.

~Grandpa Ford is incredibly good at storytelling, conversing, and trying to help resolve the problems of the children even though their problems are incredibly petty. Wonkafleck is undeniably sad that Grandpa Ford is pushing 90s or he would have forced him to take over the factory.

~Oompa loompas are actually regular people just wearing bright orange haz vests because gotta practice safety, yo

~But also they realize the factory is like, 4 million degrees in some spots and WonkaFleck is like 'sorry, this is a big place, I can't afford air in here'

~Also one room a chocolate "water tower" breaks because of these bad safety protocols and takes out half the tourist group but WonkaFleck is like 'do I look like I give a damn?'

~Grandpa Ford and Charlie do get into a little trouble by taking some candy, but it's because Grandpa Ford wants to 'take a little piece with him' to remember the trip by. Charlie just like 'uh huh, okay grandpa.' Doesn't question it.

~By the end, everyone be dead but Charlie and Grandpa Ford. But Wonkafleck is like 'you guys stole shit.'

~Charlie, realizing he means the candy, takes it out of his pocket and gives it back to Wonkafleck and is like 'here you go, mister.'

~Wonkafleck, totally moved by the fact that this child did something respectable, decides this is it. This might be the child to take over the helm of the factory. He's like "Charlie, since you were honest I'm going to give you a wonderful deal. Take this factory from me. You can inherit everything."

~Grandpa Ford like "oh wow, factory" totes bamboozled

~Charlie like, "No thanks, mister, I don't want it."

~Wonkafleck, almost loses his shit, barely holding on by a thread, is like "what you mean you don't want this factory???"

~Charlie says "I don't really like candy. I like energy drinks. And Robucks."

~Everyone is like 'flmlenwgngegbagbwgeljage'

~Grandpa Ford says, "Charlie, you can buy those things with the money you make from the factory."

~Charlie gives grandpa a weird look. "Why would I want to work for money when I can just ask for it??"

~Wonkafleck woes his fucking life. He rages a bit, then motherfuckin' skips outta the scene and jumps into a hot air balloon to reach the highest peak of the city so he can scream for all eternity.

~The End

What I actually thought after I saw the real trailer for Willy Wonka:

Wow I am totally off, lol.

#Willy Wonka #Wonka Movie #Willy Wonka 2023 #storytime #Ben Affleck #Harrison Ford #charlie and the chocolate factory #Weird fan story #if I were a filmmaker #But like all the worst plot #Me making bad predictions without seeing anything #children being children #I should get off the internet more #sorry not sorry #so if you've seen the movie did I hit any points HAHA #I'll stop

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morning-softness · 11 months ago

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20 questions for fic writers

Thanks to @crit20lesbian for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

Eighteen

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

166,316 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Magnus Archives

4. What are your top five fics by kudos

Netflix and Chill- (TMA, JonTim, 3k, Precanon) Tim and Jon watch Netflix and chill. They do not have sex.

Love, Or Whatever You Call It - (TMA, JonMartin, 20.5k, No Age of the Beholding AU) After Jonah's ritual fails, severing Jon's connection to the Beholding, Jon and Martin try to put the pieces of their lives back together. Adjusting to normal life again after everything is hard, and exploring their new relationship is even harder, especially as Martin realizes he might be aro-spec.

Archive Shenanigans - (TMA, Gen fic, 1k, Season 1) All the assistants are the hot assistant, or Tim says Hot Martin Rights and Hot Sasha Rights and even Hot Jon Rights.

Are You Calling Me ‘Darling’? - (TMA, JonMartin, 2.5k, No Age of the Beholding AU) Jon likes it when people call Martin his boyfriend. Martin…doesn’t.

Here Might You Bless Me - (TMA, JonMartin, 4k, Safehouse Era fic) Martin’s changed after Jon pulls him out of The Lonely, and he’s sure that Jon won’t want to stick around once he figures that out. After all, it turns out Jon has a lot of love to give, and who would want to waste their love on someone who can’t return it? Jon convinces him he’s not going anywhere.

Note: Most of these fics are in my top 6 for hits as well as kudos, but I was really surprised to see Archive Shenanigans make the list. It was the first TMA fic I published, 1k of pure unpolished fluff and comedy, but for whatever reason it has a much higher kudos to hits ratio compared to my more-read fic.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do my best to respond to them, because I want people to know that I read and treasure all of their comments. Sometimes it takes a while though, because I want to give a thoughtful response.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Can’t Have You, Even As An Enemy. It’s a fic where Jon and Tim share a hotel room on the eve of the Unknowing, and talk about (or mostly talk around) their issues. The angst is that it’s written with the intention of being canon compliant, which means that Tim will still die in the explosion, and the best that can be hoped for is that this conversation will give Jon a bit more closure.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write mainly hurt/comfort, so most of my fic has a happy—or at least hopeful—ending. The happiest might be Can’t We Just Wait Together? (Or Five Times Jon and Tim Didn’t Have a First Date, and One Time They Did), since it’s a 5+1 fic where the final chapter is entirely fluff of Jon and Tim going on a date together.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. I have comment moderation on just in case, though.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No. Not yet, anyway. Funnily enough, my fic with the highest number of kudos is about Jon and Tim not having sex.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No. The closest might be Listen to the Voice that Told Me where I borrowed the obedience curse mechanics from the book Ella Enchanted, but it’s not really a crossover of the world or characters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I do have a few that were podficced, though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I tried, but we only got one chapter in before life got in the way. Maybe someday…

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Jon and Martin, followed by Jon and Tim.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a Melanie-pov AU where she joins the Archives in Season 2 after she realizes something is wrong with Sasha. I wanted to write it as a choose-your-path style story, because I think it’s easy in hindsight to say decisions characters made were wrong, but a lot harder to decide what the right decision would have been, so I wanted to explore a lot of different ways the characters could have messed up with Melanie added to the mix (and maybe a few ways things could have worked out better). I don’t want to say it will never happen, but it’s a big and complicated project so it definitely won’t happen anytime soon.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’ve had several comments from readers attesting that I’m good at conveying emotion—particularly negative emotions—in a way that feels real and relatable. I’ve also been told that I do a good job portraying character dynamics.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

My biggest problem is that since my writing is really emotions-based, once I’ve hit the emotional high points, it’s no longer interesting to me. Which means with longer fic it’s a struggle for me to actually continue through the falling action to the denouement instead of just stopping right after the climax. (I’ve had two getting-together fics now where I initially wanted to end right after the love-confession scene and had to be convinced by my Beta reader that readers would probably want to see at least a scene or two of the characters actually being together now.)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I usually don’t. I definitely think it can add another layer to characterization, so I’d like to where it makes sense for the characters, but I think it needs to be done carefully so that 1. The dialogue sounds natural for native speakers of the language and 2. People who don’t speak the language can grasp the overall meaning of the exchange through context.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Magnus Archives

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Since I’d like to think my writing skill is consistently improving, my favorite fic is always whichever I’ve most recently completed. That said, I have a soft spot for Here Might You Bless Me, which made the Top 5 Kudos list above. It’s a JonMartin safehouse fic I wrote back in December 2020, where Jon reassures Martin that he is loved even if he can’t return the feeling in the same way. (And Jon uses one of my favorite Edna St. Vincent Millay poems to do so, because I wrote this before I got to Episode 165 and found out that Jon apparently disliked poetry in general, and not just Keats.)

Tagging @three-magpies-in-a-trenchcoat, @rookfeatherrambles, @chrisis-averted, @wordsintimeandspace, @suttttton, if you’d like!

#ask game #writing asks #writing ask game

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n7punk · 1 year ago

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"Trade Today For Tomorrow" (LYUTDIDverse) Fic Notes

Trade Today For Tomorrow and it’s follow-up fic, Check My Chest (Am I Still Breathing?) are done! These were doozies that I kind of went a bit manic writing so it’s good to have them out of my brain lol

Trade Today For Tomorrow (Main fic):

⦁ No epilogue section in the fic notes this time since well, I kind of already wrote that, and also there’s so many endless possibilities to cover I couldn’t narrow it down, but there’s some stuff scattered throughout this fic notes too.

⦁ I posted the playlist ahead of the rest of the fic, but I didn’t actually assemble it until I was like halfway through the main fic because I was going through a major update to my music library at the time. For the first part of the fic, I instead listened to my (semi-generic) heartbreak playlist, which drivers license ended up being pulled from.

⦁ It’s the Temple of the Stars because they’re star-crossed lovers, you get it? Lol, well, only partially. Stars are kind of a thing in my fics, usually something I have be part of Etheria’s religious beliefs inspired by the loss and reappearance of them in canon, so for this fic that just worked out really well.

⦁ I mention “the old lines” of other reincarnating lives and Catra basically offhand thinking this whole process is a hassle and she could understand not redeclaring, but she quickly figures out that in the modern age, holy fuck you want to redeclare. It’s easy to reach out, easy to travel, and without it you will have a lot of difficult passing stuff on. The process is also a lot easier the second time. They have to establish so much when first building a reincarntor’s profile, but after that it’s just keeping it up to date. The old lines that do still exist have figured out ways and mostly are clinging onto not-so-relevant reasons not to come back often (they also haven’t visited in a while and realized how much easier this is now and how much less it makes you like, a political target now its not the feudal era or whatever) but a lot of them have also died out. It’s like immortals: there’s only so much the soul can take, and eventually it won’t want to come back. There is some speculation that there is a finite number of people who can reincarnate. The much-theorized number is there are only 9 reincarnating souls in existence at any one time, but it’s literally impossible to know since they have never had a summary of all the individuals throughout history with the ability and they have no proof even one of them has stopped reincarnating rather than just choosing to go underground and not declare anymore — not to mention someone from 600 years ago could pop up today claiming to be a totally different person and a brand new reincarnation based solely on their last life that no one knows is tied to their original (yes, this has happened, both undetected and speculated, rightfully and wrongfully) which could fudge the numbers. The 9 number is mostly touted due to its religious significance.

⦁ Adora was basically locked down for the rest of Catra’s mortal lifespan. She wasn’t going to move on until any chance of them meeting again was gone. When she had eternity to waste, that was a surprisingly easy commitment to make.

⦁ Adora started wearing her hair down more a bit after Catra left, trying to make changes and distance herself from their relationship. She always thought about Catra teasing her over her ponytail as she put it up, or about how she would take it down when she wanted her hands in her hair. Now she mostly wears it down or half-up with a low ponytail at the back of her head like that one fanart ND Stevenson did.

⦁ Adora is 100% right that Catra leaving saved their eternity together. She wouldn’t have survived Catra’s depression killing her. If Catra had somehow managed to pull herself out of it, they would have had several rocky years, and then the possibility of happiness for a while, but losing Catra even to a natural death would have been it as well: all Adora wanted was a mortal life with her wife, and that’s what she would have gotten. Not knowing when Catra died is what stopped her from having the chance for that grief to hit, no matter when it happened, because it would have always been wondering and then “she’s probably gone” and then “she’s definitely gone,” but it all would have been a slow build.

⦁ Alright, Catra’s moms names. I pretty much immediately knew I wanted cat-related/pun names because that’s very in line with the rest of the names in this universe. Felina comes from the off-brand doll because I thought that was hilarious. Leona is the name meaning lion (brave lioness) that I knew off the top of my head and I poked around at others but ended up settling on it.

⦁ Catra’s “first” word being ‘go’ was because she loved to give orders as a baby. Which was very precious when it was a shockingly cognizant baby being very clear about her wants and needs and then made a lot more sense in retrospect.

⦁ Catra’s parents never told her about the ‘ora ‘ora (Adora) thing after they realized what it was because they thought it might hurt.

⦁ Catra’s parents also, unbeknownst to Catra, did try to use search engines to find Adora pre-social media and didn’t turn her up. They tried again a few years late, but Adora only had a Facebook then and they didnt find it. After that, they didn’t try again since Catra was a teenager and it was up to her if she wanted to try to find her. If her parents had found Adora, they would have had to debate what to do then. It was kind of “we’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it” thing but it never came to it.

⦁ When it comes to Catra’s mental development and making friends, she was in this weird place where she “was forty” but her brain also hadn’t developed to that point. She had stuff like needing to recalibrate her brain’s reward logic and behavior straddling the line of a mature child and, well, an adult. She knew stuff like calculus but suddenly had a lot of trouble wrapping her brain around it. This meant she only related to “other kids” when she was really young and her past life knowledge hadn’t fully come in. Elementary through high school she just didn’t relate to other kids, preferring adults who knew what she was and tolerated her weird in-between behavior. Not a lot of adults want to treat a kid as an equal, after all, and Catra was very much “eight and forty seven,” not just “forty seven.” When she hit college, she finally hit the point where the people around her were maturing enough for her to relate to them even if she was sixty and done developing at that point. She also reached the point where older adults were more willing to hang out with her and see her as equal. All-in-all, the first twenty years or so are kind of rough, but after that point everything evens out.

⦁ Because of her weird place in life, Catra spent a lot of time at the temple, both because she met her tutors there and because she got emotional/psychological counseling there. A lot of Catra’s early life was part of the temple, which is why she petulantly thought it was all too much. In later lives she leans more towards establishing herself there and doing tutoring wherever she happens to be.

⦁ The “things” Catra learned about herself during puberty ranged. It could be stuff like “oh, that’s a normal biological impulse for us, giving into it when it won’t cause problems is actually important for managing stress levels” to ridiculously basic shit like “getting pets is an important serotonin source and you should be getting a minimum” (like hugs) and the really, really embarrassing (like “you didn’t know you have a heat?”). Originally part of Catra’s tirade was “I’m lucky I’m a lesbian” but I excluded that because I couldn’t find a way to phrase it (and make it fit) that was gender inclusive because the real thing is “I’m lucky I’m a lesbian and have only been with you” since it could have caused problems if she had been with a trans woman.

⦁ The rest of the cutoff line “Is Adora-“ is “Is Adora proposing again?”

⦁ The stained-glass window hanging Adora mentions Catra getting her was a gift back when things were good. It was a tableau of the moons and stars. Later, it just became a reminder of the tie between Adora’s immortality and the moonlight, something Catra couldn’t stand to look at. It went from a touching and beautiful gift to something stuffed in a drawer. After she was gone, it was almost as painful to look at as their wedding ring.

⦁ Religion for the magicats is kind of weird. It’s more of a life philosophy than a strict religion. There have been many books written for it, all evolving over time and taking differing stances on certain parts. They don’t exactly have a bible or canon, just general teachings based on their personal beliefs. Their “religion” includes myths, but more in the sense of folklore than anything else. The temple doesn’t serve god(s), but rather inner fulfillment. Like most Etherians, they believe life came from the stars, and so they celebrate them, but it’s more like cosmic Mothers’ Day than worship. As such, they have their meetings in the evenings as the stars and moons emerge. I called them sundown sermons because Alliteration, but they’re more like lectures on different aspects of life and healthy habits (stuff from “be kind to your neighbors” to “lets talk about the struggles of addiction” to “forming positive thinking habits” and occasionally telling their folklore or history stories). The temple exists to preserve their stories as well as artifacts and history, but during the day it’s mostly a support center. The priestesses counsel people through personal problems, relationships, health struggles, things like addiction, and more. As such, Leona inviting Adora to visit it with them was less like “deal with this weird religion for two hours so we can take pictures” and more like “attend support group where you don’t have to talk for two hours and then meet everyone who helped us raise Catra. And we’ll take pictures.” When she said “I know you aren’t religious” that was partially to assure her it wouldn’t be anything conversion-y and partially because she knew Adora didn’t ascribe to the magicat life philosophy personally (though her personal beliefs do hold a decent amount of overlap).

⦁ The name for the series (“Love You Until The Day I Die (And Then Do It Again)”) is inspired by the song “Until The Day I Die” by Morgan Saint that’s in the fic’s playlist (linked at the end of this post). None of the lyrics fit exactly on their own but it’s heavily based off the chorus.

Check My Chest (Am I Still Breathing?) (Snippets fic):

⦁ I really wanted to include this scene with Adora in the fic but it would only make sense to have immediately after the scenes that take place in her loft after they reunite, and Catra’s next scene messed with that, so in the end wanting to write that was one of the big factors in doing a follow-up. I also wanted to include the ring stuff, but the graduation and Adora starting to wear her ring again felt like the right place to leave off the main fic, so the snippet fic let me do that.

⦁ I considered having there just be a second chapter to the main fic for the snippets, but… I also wasn’t sure I wanted to do this snippets all in one fic, and I wanted to leave room to possibly add more on later (not that I’m planning it at all, I just went weirdly insane on this project, so building in the ability to do that made since) which is why I went with a second fic.

⦁ The scene with Catra in her city planning class is based off of two things: the struggles of older generations of the LGBT community that face erasure, and city planner Robert Moses. The bar that Catra mentions is the same one their photo was taken in back in the main fic.

⦁ When Catra hits her late twenties in their second life, Adora starts getting kind of nervous because like, what if they’re in cycles and her depression comes back? Nothing ends up happening and when Catra hits 31 specifically, past the depression together and past when she left last time, she just wakes up one morning and it’s a ridiculous amount of relief. They have ridiculous morning snuggles that day.

⦁ The whole fic I wrote knowing Catra was a mechanic in her past life, working on becoming a mechanical engineer, and that Adora had gradually transitioned through office work until she was a project manager, but it just never came up aside from mentioning Catra’s mechanic manuals, so I’m glad some of it got into the fic notes. I think Adora gradually climbs her way up in the corporate world until she’s like, just below executive. Having to keep up with trends and the business environment (in addition to just having Catra in her life, who tends to live like a mortal/on a mortal schedule due to the way her life is broken up) helps keep her present in the current time rather than letting the years just kind of flow by. Having a job that pays well also helps with Catra’s life cycles (paying for her early years, sometimes having to move for where she’s reborn, supporting her when she can’t find work due to “looking to young” or when she has to do re-education to keep up with current knowledge/technology that changed while she was young, supporting her health when she’s older, etc) and things like inflation effecting what they have already accrued. Living forever is really expensive.

⦁ No matter how many families Catra has, even if they’re a lesbian couple, everyone who comes after her second life is either “her parents” or “her birth parents” (if she doesn’t get along with them). No one else will ever be “her moms.” That’s just for Leona and Felina. She considers them her “true” family and everybody else a kind of extended family.

⦁ I never included it in the fic (it was going to be in the snippets but… was too sad), but the reason Leona and Felina were in their forties when they had Catra is because they did have a kitten when they were in their late twenties/early thirties, but she was unhealthy and died when she was just a year old. They took a long time to heal from that before trying again (this time swapping, because they were worried about some kind of genetic problem and losing another kid, so Leona was the one who got pregnant for Catra). When they got Catra, they considered her a blessing no mater what, and that’s part of why they became such amazing parents for her weird situation.

⦁ I was going to include some scenes across Catra’s future reincarnations but honestly? It ended up feeling to sad even though they weren’t sad about it, I just find living forever to be a depressing idea lol. It’s part of why I said I’d never do an AU like this until I had this insane idea. That said, there was some important logistical stuff those scenes were going to cover, so here it is:

⦁ Reincarnation/Redeclaring process: Basically, the first time a reincarnator comes to the temple, the priestesses draw up a whole profile on them. Psychological, biographical, etc. They also set a passphrase with the individual. Now, sometimes the memory of that passphrase is recovered later than other memories, so it isn’t essential, you can just go and say who you are and list off as much of the information you do remember as possible, however it makes the process a hell of a lot easier. The process is partially a religious thing and partially a legal thing, but the religious part of it grants it a lot of exceptions (stuff Catra alludes to when she says legally no one can discriminate on her resume because it has been verified by the temple and that’s religious discrimination). Then there’s a test, which mostly is based on stuff you’ve done/said in the past (like “have you ever lived in Bright Moon,” “when was your first life,” etc with some philosophical questions thrown in). There is no automatic fail or win condition — aside from not resembling the person you’re supposed to be, anyway — you just try to verify as much information as you can. The priestesses also have lots of pictures of Catra throughout her various ages to compare her appearance, as well as her fingerprints. This process used to be a lot more spiritual and religion-based ("here’s ten stones, the real Catra would pick the right one" kind of shit), but over time it has morphed to a mostly practical one. There was a whole drive to reinvent and simplify it when almost no one was coming back to them anymore because old betrayals had driven them away. Said betrayals are things like the temple denying someone their redeclaring not because they actually thought they were an impostor but for political, religious, or even greedy reasons. Also once or twice verifying an impostor. The temple isn’t known for a history of corruption (it’s not the Catholic church, basically), but no institution is entirely unstained of it and over hundreds of years of history, there are bound to be some scandals. At the end of the testing, the priestesses jointly fill out paperwork with the new reincarnation declaring they have vetted and verified who they are, this individual is actually named [x] and [x] years old, they’re entitled to their old possessions and holdings, and they can be legally emancipated. Reincarnations are in this strange legal scenario where they can argue that they should be able to act independently as they are an adult but can also be argued against in the sense that they still need guardianship because their brain is mentally developing no matter the experience in their memories. It’s a strange place to be that there isn’t much legal precedent for in the modern system, but emancipation deals with some potential problems from that. Having immortals who know all her reincarnations also helps Catra out in the sense of there’s someone who would know better than the priestesses, who might not have ever met her old self (they easily could not have been born yet the last time she was there), and her friends will advocate on her behalf if there’s problems and — even when the temple is fully supporting and helpful — help her with stuff as basic as getting there when the temple doesn’t have the resources or authority to do so.

⦁ Okay, so, I thought about it. I had to. Sometimes when Catra gets reborn, her new family isn’t accepting. They don’t believe her because they wanted a young kitten and this would ruin that, or they’re uncomfortable with her being kind of older than them, or they just don't like her rejecting the name (and identity) they gave her, etc. That can be surmounted, though. In order to start the redeclaring process, all Catra needs to do is get in touch with either the temple or Adora. Preferably Adora, because she can and will drive to wherever Catra is to get her and bring her to the temple. Once she redeclares, she can be free of her family completely if necessary. Catra prefers to stay with her families in her younger years (as much as she is loath to admit it, what she needs at that time is parents, not anyone that she wants to be equals with), but sometimes it's just not a healthy option. If it's not healthy, she might stay with family from her last life if they're still around, or one of her other immortal friends, and Adora is a (temporary) fallback even though they agreed in Catra's first second-life that it's not ideal. Adora would rather chop off her own leg than let Catra be left in a bad situation again and Catra isn't about to sit back and let herself be mistreated, so they make it work however they have to. Most of the time, though, it's fine. Catra's parents are usually bewildered-but-trying and good enough. Adora can make things easier by doing stuff like arranging and paying for Catra's tutoring, trips to the temple for her declaring or counseling, etc so Catra's unusual situation is less stressful on them and their relationship can be as healthy as possible. Adora is there as a fallback but mostly steps back unless needed during Catra's younger years, though they still try to establish that first "I'm okay" contact as soon as possible and check in regularly. Catra is really lucky to have immortals in her corner. This would all be way harder if she had to rely on always either having understanding families or being able to reach the temple (another reason the other reincarnating magicats have figured out ways to do things on their own). Adora is kind of her trump card. Adora always tries to keep the same phone number, email, physical address, everything from when Catra dies so she can easily reach her when she’s cognizant enough to. The difficulty of carrying anything through life is also made so much easier when you have a wife who can inherit/manage all your shit for you, not to mention immortal friends who will step up and take care of you when you’re born in a bad situation, as well as provide emotional support.

⦁ On another final note, Catra treats her reincarnations like a continuation of her last life. A lot of the other reincarnators treat it as doing life again. Some of them don’t ever tell anyone it’s their second+ life, they just go through it like normal mortals and then do it again. Maybe if Catra didn’t have immortal friends, she would be more inclined towards that, but she always wants to reestablish herself young and to grow with each life. She generally treats her child/teen years as extended vacation, but she still wants to be recognized for who she is even as she goes through her mental development.

Original Outline:

Okay so my initial plan saw Adora and Catra missing each other entirely for one life, so for like 100 years or something Adora is just living with the “she’s probably dead, now she’s definitely dead” but that was wayyyyy too much in a fic that was already too much. I cried writing the first part and only started recovering once Catra was reborn so I went Nope this is happy now, this is where it all turns around.

Meta:

Playlist

Upcoming:

So I’m not 100% certain, but I’m pretty sure my next fic is gonna be a kind of interesting AU because it’s a style I haven’t done before. It’s called Children of the Crystal and it’s a bunch of one-shots taking place in the same universe over time, but largely unrelated and telling small stories, not one epic. Think in the style of my Outside of the War series. That's the one I've got on the backburner right now but we'll see what happens.

#TTFT #fic notes #ficmeta

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abybweisse · 2 years ago

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1/ I have come up with a strange theory, I hope you'll listen to it, which is that the real mastermind behind the aurora Society is not Ryan Stocker nor the Undertaker, but Viscount Druitt (and other character I think one of them is John brown) , because he is the only person who has great influence among the nobles and seems accustomed to organizing this type of event (such as the human traffic pary that he held in his manor in Jack the Ripper arc )

Is the Viscount of Druitt the mastermind of the Aurora Society?

I highly doubt it. I have to assume the leader used to be Stoker, and perhaps Druitt is a high-ranking member, but he has never struck me as mastermind material. I honestly don't know whether the society is run by real Ciel and Undertaker now or if it's still a separate entity. But Druitt doesn't seem to think too clearly about what he's getting himself into, so I see him as more like a very important chessman for real Ciel.

That said, I do suspect he's got something to do with the advanced technology that's being used for the blood transfusions and what appears to be hemodialysis. He does have a medical license, after all, even though he has no practice. Undertaker might be keeping him alive just to use him for his medical knowledge.

But I wouldn't say he's the only person involved with Sphere Music Hall or the Aurora Society with an interest in Grecian attire. (In fact, the reference Druitt makes is to the infamous Roman emperor, Nero, not a Greek ruler.)

There are two other people to look at here: Blavat Sky and Nina Hopkins.

Nina even praises Blavat for his "innovative and daring" suggestions about clothes...

...and she says how her favorite pieces are the Grecian robes.

Druitt's desire to rule society in some new era is manga canon, as he talks about it while on the Campania.

I will admit that he seems committed to the idea of incorporating the Aurora Society into his vision of rule.

Even the Akuma6 side chapter shows him as someone who will go to great lengths for power. In that scenario he basically wants all the "main character energy". But I still don't think he's ever actually controlled the Aurora Society.

Stoker had higher ideals, but his ambitions made him highly susceptible to the promises he thought Undertaker was making. Similarly, Druitt's cravings for power and a lavish lifestyle make him an easy target for Undertaker.

I don't see the Aurora Society as too much of a direct threat to the queen. More like both the Aurora Society and the queen (and her servants, like John Brown) are serious threats to our earl.

And John Brown is possibly the shadiest of all, mostly because I don't believe he's human. Not a reaper, either. More like an angel or demon. Whatever he is, he appears to have a contract with the queen. I believe the hand puppet of Prince Albert is part of the contract... and that he's ultimately controlling her. Whenever the puppet shows up, her entire mood changes and she becomes more open to John Brown's suggestions... presented to her through the puppet. It's like she really does think her husband has returned to her from the grave every time she sees the puppet. I'm almost surprised our earl hasn't noticed how similar that situation looks to the sort of offer Sebastian made when they were forming their own contract. Our earl saw through the deceitful offer to make him happy in the false belief his brother had returned from the dead. Can you imagine what the series would be like if, whenever our earl needed guidance or comforting, Sebastian whipped out a puppet that looked like a mirror image of his young master?

Anyway, I expect our earl and Sebastian to have a major confrontation with the queen and her servants. And, of course, for our earl and Sebastian to have some final confrontation with Undertaker, real Ciel, and whichever other star lords that can still assist by then. I expect reapers to make appearances at one or both of those fights....

Druitt? He might finally be killed during all this... but perhaps he survives... yet again.

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renrenlady · 2 years ago

Text

Ranking Shaperaverse Songs from Worst to Best Within Their Album

First up:

24- Voodoopunk

Listen. I have listened to every single one of Paul’s albums. I’ve hunted each and every one down and listened to the ones I could get my grubby hands on. I’m very familiar with his work and his musical habits (he has a very particular set of trademarks ie: symbol crash to end a song, repetitive word/lyric use throughout albums to create a through line, etc) but one thing that just does not resonate, does not vibe with me are these very long winded instrumental songs interspersed with singing. I’m a huge lyric person, so I definitely have a bias and it’s not that the music itself is bad, but this song is always gonna be a skip for me. I’m just not gonna sit and listen to pretty much the same thing over and over again, although I would LOVE to see this performed live. I think it would be incredibly fun, but from a listening standpoint, there are much better songs on this album.

23- Edgar Builds a Business

There’s gotta be a worst and best, and unfortunately this lands on the former side of that scale. Despite me absolutely loving Kate coming in with the connective tissue, the central theme of the show (really, all of Paul’s shows if you think about it) “circles never stop themselves” it isn’t enough to get past the extremely repetitiveness of the song. One could make the argument that, because we are heading for a more industrious/business era it’s only natural for the song to be repetitive and maybe even a little boring. One could also argue that because Edgar is such a boring little evil incel bitch, perhaps he’s meant to have such a tedious song. Whatever the case may be, it has a lot of verses, lots of instrumental breaks and it usually also gets a skip, unless I’m listening for lore purposes. I have to admit that the second to last verse where he addresses the issue he has with Silof is my favorite part of the song, it really lets us peak into his head after the break up and is almost the epitome of his evil if not for the last verse/conversation he has with a recently divorced Fay over dinner. (Side note- I absolutely love the headcanon that Silof is Amelia’s father. I don’t know if that’s canon or been made canon, but it’s absolutely delicious and makes DoNA a complete circle with no loose ends.)

22- New Albion 3

The lesser out of the four. While it does tie up some storylines (or ties them up from the perspective of a first time listener) and it does have a humor to it, it’s extremely transitional and it shows. You might be thinking ‘well no shit it’s transitional that’s literally what the song does’ but when I say it shows, I mean that you can just feel Paul really wanted to write this song and be done with it. It falls into the unfortunate section of not being the last one as most of us in the western world are very used to a ‘rule of threes’ way of things. Particularly stories. But I did say it had humor and it ending abruptly with the sentient plant’s story coming to a close is some unexpected humor I enjoyed. (Also is the plant a post human? Did I read that right on the wiki? Is the fucking plant able to control reality? Somebody tell me, please.)

21- The Movement 2

So. The thing is I don’t think I like gen 3 all that much. It’s still interesting and Byron and Amelia are fascinating characters- also Jasper gets to really shine in this act! But it definitely has the more instrumental, bring me to church kind of songs. We get an interesting advancement of understanding the character dynamics with Amelia fully admitting to loving Byron who is never gonna love her back, but it just doesn’t make up for the repetitiveness of this song. Much like New Albion 3, I think this entire act suffers from not being the last to go, it feels very transitional despite it being arguably one of the most important acts due to the founding building blocks of Radio Hour being done within it.

20- The Movement 1

Much of the same critique of the one above this, but I will say what gives it more of an edge is the reestablishment of Edgar’s ‘business theme’ where Byron uses it for campaigning. It’s a bit of musicality that I really enjoy from Paul, connecting the characters through motif and parallelism. Byron hates his dad so god damn much, and yet still employs the same tactics he used when he was a young man looking for a purpose. McAllisters don’t fall too far from their tree huh?

19- Annabel Has a Doll

The origin of Kate’s ‘circles never stop themselves’ motif and it’s haunting beautiful when you go back and listen through. It essentially sets up the theme of every album following the first and is, what I think, the central part of what Paul is trying to convey. I could get into the philosophy behind his work for hours, like make a whole video essay on it but for now- this song. It’s on the lower end due to the fact that even though it is a hilariously frantic and manic bop, it can get really grating after the third verse. Like getting hit by a hammer over and over again with the constant and loud and insistent melody. Like I said, there has to be a worse and best, and I just think there are better songs on this album. Oh also- the beginnings of the Elysium theme? Fucking brilliant.

18- We Bid the 1st Generation Adieu

This is a brilliant way to introduce the concept of time jumping and also not getting too attached to the characters we see. It’s exposition without it feeling like exposition and Kate is always a delight to hear. It’s just that it’s a very short, transitional song and it’s. Yeah. That’s kind of it. We bid adieu to this review and move on to the next.

17- Bonfire of the Dolls

This song is a doozy in the best way possible. The climax of gen 3 and it completely delivers after creating such a delicious amount of tension between the living, the dead, and those who stand in between them. It’s the culmination of a society finally ready to snap and it is displayed so beautifully through a kick ass score that evokes such a frightening kind of emotion. A mixture of fear and pain and loss and somehow, love. Byron calling for Jasper in a desperate attempt at saving the one thing he only truly selfishly cared about gives me chills every time I listen to it. What this song suffers from however is the large amount of instrumentation. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds very good and the way Paul creates the ‘screaming doll’ sounds is so incredibly cool. But this would definitely benefit from having a visual element which is a problem I see across pretty much all the albums. Now that I call it a problem, I feel as though it’s a harsh word to use. I think it’s more like the show doesn’t need such long musical breaks if it’s never going to be staged. Still have the breaks, but perhaps shorten them? My mind can only supply so much imagination before I’m just replaying moments over and over again in my head.

16- The Ballad of the Gambler and the Monk

Full disclaimer I think this song is a fucking bop. I think it’s a certified, fun to sing along to jam. I love how this is the interlude of the story, reminding us of how exactly we got to this point of societal collapse by showing us how everyone was doomed from the start essentially. The music too has this old, nostalgic feeling to it which makes you feel like you’re being transported back to somewhere else, away from the chaos and the death and relentless evolution of New Albion. The only issue I have with this number is that for most of it, we already know the story due to it being explained to us. The opening lines of this show are telling us the story of the gambler and the monk. They only go more into detail about what happened at the end of the game, introducing us to the concept of reincarnation with incredible subtlety, but I really wish we had gotten more of a glimpse into just who these two were, and more importantly, who they were to each other. Now that’s a big wish considering it might’ve been difficult to have some establishment for these characters before Paul knew he was going to make Janissury, but some more detail to an already known story would’ve been nice considering a whole song was dedicated to it.

15- Edgar Gets His Heart Broken

Oh Edgar. Edgar you silly stupid bitch. You silly stupid bitch baby boy. Your song is objectively hilarious to listen to and I enjoy hearing your heart get broken every time. Although his incel anger does backfire on…well, New Albion for the rest of its existence, it was pretty funny watching it happen in a musical number. Lime pie//dying inside? Instant classic. Also the origin of the ‘one day you will learn’ theme and it’s honestly one of the best motifs Paul has ever written. It’s a perfect reprisal line and can be interpreted in so many ways, it just open to possibility. I don’t really have any critique for this one, it’s a concise and well paced story that gives us exactly what we need to know about gen 2 and it’s a bop. There are just better songs that come before this.

14- Annabel Raises the Dead

God damn does this song kick. These cats are cookin. When that piano/xylophone/I don’t even know what fuckin instrument barrels in with that tight ass arpeggio. The instrumentation is gorgeous, it’s evocative as all hell with its frantic nature and atmospheric sounds. The sole reason this isn’t further down on the list, is because I have this (most likely) singular issue with the actual notes themselves. Specifically the notes Annabel sings. Now, we’ve heard Laura Osnes sing, and I mean sing but what I can’t figure out is why despite everything being so incredibly frantic and high energy, are the notes she singing fall so…flat? And I don’t mean flat as in pitch I mean flat as in it just doesn’t match the energy. Annabel is a mad isolated scientist, why wouldn’t her melody line be an insane roller coaster? Why does it continue on in this sort of monotone way? It does get better at the end, with the bridge giving us insight into what the actual fuck is going on. But overall it leaves me wanting more in regards to a dynamic musical experience. Annabel’s part in the song holds the whole thing back with its sort of awkward melody where she’s singing these low, honestly uninteresting notes when the music is kicking all kinds of ass. Love this song, but I wish it was different.

13- Fay Considers Edgar's Proposal

Get his ASS Fay, make him eat shit. With his own musical motif of course. This song gives me chills when I listen to it, never a skip. For this entire time Fay has been living outside the main narrative, the sole reason why our easily corrupted protagonist gets…well, corrupted. To many, some may resent Fay in the beginning of gen 2 due to her somewhat vague couple sentences of break up. We have no context for how she feels or what her motivations are besides finding someone in a better financial/status position in life- but then this song comes on. Then we understand Fay really and truly did love Edgar. Filled with school-girlish, young love, Fay was head over heels. She fell in love with a young man who was most likely just as much in love with her. And during this song, Fay no longer sees that young man anymore. She feels betrayed, wondering how exactly she became a piece in Edgar McAllistair’s game of business and commerce. Wondering where the young man went and when he got shot out the back and replaced with the miserly and revenge ridden capitalist sitting before her, having taken everything from her. And then to top it all off with offering her late father? Her explosive ending is a stroke of genius and my only complaint is that this song is too short.

12- New Albion 4

This is the first instance of us hearing a more dieselpunk sound, the roots of Radio Hour beginning to grow into the cobbled ground of New Albion. It is haunting to listen to the second time around and frightening the first. Times are changing and by the sounds of it, for the worst it seems. Kate introduces us to a new kind of city and paints a very geometric and drab image in my mind where a dark cloud looms over a frightened and paranoid people. We are introduced to Soldier 7285 and the origin of one of the slappiest songs Paul has ever written, ‘the day we come’ motif. It is evocative of Javert from Les Mis, a solid and clear cutting tune that constantly comes in like a thick wall, impenetrable. You can basically hear the brainwashing going on and it’s honestly a great example of police/authority indoctrination. The words are empowering 7285, making him feel like he is justice, he is an important extension of the law and the law is just. It is unwavering. It’s an incredible piece of music and it was really difficult to decide to put it at twelve.

11- We Bid You All Adieu

There’s something about this number that breaks my heart in the best way possible. Like the way you felt when the children accidentally left Narnia or seeing Frodo Saul away to the Lands of the Undying. There’s still more story to be had, peoples lives still go on, but we are no longer viewers. The characters will live on as will we and…that’s that. The song is a perfect button finish to the mad and frightening escapades of the McAllistair family, bringing us not a sense of closure but drawing us in even more as to wonder what happens next in and to New Albion. I love the way it makes me feel, the only reason it falls here, just short of the top ten is because at this point we have heard this musical refrain many, many times and while that isn’t necessarily bad, repetition isn’t always the best choice, though perhaps in Paul’s case, the easiest when creating a new show every year.

10- The Suicide

Coming in at number ten we have our girl Amelia signing out! I have very similar thoughts to this as I did with Fay, getting the context of Amelia’s life is extremely heartbreaking. Also the discordant, chaotically violent way Paul displays abuse from a father is unfortunately accurate and phenomenal. Every time I listen I get so incredibly uncomfortable and displaced when that part comes and that to me is what makes this song a success. And then the twistingly sad nature of Elysium getting a reprise through Amelia’s epic goodbye to life just ties the whole thing together so neatly. Amelia is also a huge perpetrator, much like my blorbo Annabel in creating a chain reaction of events that will eventually lead to some crazy ass shit. I admire what this song contains and what it does.

9- New Albion 2

Full disclaimer, I love all of Kate’s parts and solos. I adore this one because of the charm we still have with this narration convention as well as development of the background characters! I want to hear more about the two women, the albatross Simon and the brilliant mouse Sam! It gives the city so much more life whereas the first one is an intro to help us build the world and the others lose a bit of charm after a while. This one I think is the most fun and I really enjoy listening for what are essentially clues/future callbacks for the future albums.

8- Priscilla Contemplates

I had no idea what Miss Priscilla was saying the first time around and if I didn’t take the time and effort to really listen to the words, this song probably would’ve been in the twenties. But after thinking it through and really tasting the words, I think this is one of the best poetically written songs Paul has ever wrote. It’s gorgeous in writing, describing such an odd and strange feeling from a girl who is living such an odd and strange life. And the way it ends with the phone call? Chills. Can you imagine being Jasper in that moment? This is a scene I would kill to see staged because of just how raw it can be. Priscilla is the best of the McAllistairs- as though reincarnation finally got it right this time.

7- The Day They Come

Not a ton to say about this one other than the fact that the rising panic is kick fucking ass to listen to. The way the music portrays Jasper and Priscilla arguing yet still desperately trying to be quiet. The inevitable way Soldier and the others are proudly and dutifully singing their vows. It’s short but it’s a riot, also RIP Byron and his trophy wife I’m pretty sure they die in this one if not died way before.

6- The Old Trunk in the Attic

I don’t know what the wide, general opinion is of this particular song but it, to me, absolutely belongs in the top ten. It’s strength is that it completely stands out from the rest of the discography. When Paul takes that moment to just create music from poetry, evoke feelings from us that we’ve never felt before. The delicate way the melody and instruments are done, the nostalgic yet unfamiliar list of items we all have a collective (but not real) memories of seeing going through our relatives belongings before. It’s what is a great representation of what makes the Shaperaverse so special. Just these moments of singularity, of importance when to the characters it’s just a Tuesday night. There’s so much gravity in this one song, I think we all forget just how much the rest of the discography relies on this specific moment- save of course for Annabel’s breakthrough. It’s beautifully sung by Kate and I put it on loop all the time.

5- Annabel's Lament

Humanizing our mad scientist with a ‘where did it all go wrong/how did I get here’ song is brilliant. One could argue it’s a verse too long, but to that I say the word ‘opera’ is in ‘pulp opera’ which is how Paul describes his works so. Yeah it sounds like a verse too long cause it’s opera. Anyway Annabel, like the logical thinker she is, lays the map of her life bare as she is finally ready to face the grotesque music she has composed entirely for herself. She’s trying to find the source, the answer as to why, why she cannot seem to escape this deep pit of loneliness she has been stuck in ever since her father set the high expectation of ‘be a success, then you’ll be happy’. And y’know what the crazy part is? I don’t even think she really figures it out in the end! Isn’t that wild? Yes she sets Jasper free because she loves him and on some level realizes his suffering- but the main reason she lets him go is because HE was supposed to be her success and, confoundingly, she still. Isn’t. Happy. Annabel doesn’t understand why this didn’t solve all her problems, why despite having worked for years and years, pushing everyone and every opportunity for social interaction away she still can’t get what she wants and this is the beauty of Paul Shapera’s works, but especially highlighted in his first. Annabel is trapped in a cycle, a circle. And the great tragedy is that she is the first act- there was no way her story was going to end happy. Instead she begins (or if you think about it, just another in a long line) a curse which takes four generations for her lineage to break. But the greatest tragedy of them all is that Annabel didn’t just curse her family tree, but the entirety of New Albion as well. Or perhaps- it was already cursed from its conception? I could keep going about Annabel and her lament, but overall this song feeds the story and lore part of my brain that is never satiated and the music has the intensity that I was looking for in Annabel Raises the Dead. It builds and builds until Annabel is screaming at an inanimate object, tragically missing the point of her own sad story as her ax flies.

4- New Albion 1

Where it all begins. The set dressing done in this song is brilliant in two ways. The first being that as just a listener, it’s like a pop-up book is opening and unfolding in your brain. Like a DM just before the beginning of a long, long campaign setting up the most intricate and alive world you’ve ever had the pleasure of stepping into. This is how musicals should be (something I’ve noticed is that immersion is distinctly lacking in modern day mainstream shows) where they entice you, guide you into a story before plopping you right down into the action. It’s exciting to hear what’s around every corner of this intensely strange city. The second is that when this is staged, despite imagination not being all that necessary, it is as though Kate is conducting the city to come to life herself. Set pieces gliding in from stage right, the one eyed red haired dwarf strolling onto stage tossing a pair of silver dice in the air, the city itself rising as Kate builds upon it. New Albion 1 works because it is not complicated, it tells you things as they are because what they are is already a wonder to imagine or see. And the continuous line of ‘and Annabel McAlistair is raising up the dead’? Brilliant intrigue, instantly letting us in on the score. More stories should try this method, after all why do people like Hamilton or Hadestown or Heathers or Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 so much? Their intros lay it out and we get to sit back and enjoy the spread. Also of course, this is the origin of the New Albion theme, the one all the narrators use. It’s just beautifully simple and strange and it makes me emotional whenever I hear it across the albums. Even when I’m all the way in the future, watching Jane fight for her life and Han Mi struggle with creating her own narrative, I hear that familiar tune and think about where it all began, with a sad lonely blorbo trying to bring back to life her own blorbo.

3- Priscilla and Jasper Play Cards

This song is disgustingly good. It’s a final act showdown, an earned epic moment in the narrative. Finally everything that has happened in this fucked up city is reaching a head in Byron McAlistair’s basement of all places and it is beautiful on delivery. The reprise of so many important motifs, my favorite being Jasper saying ‘be my angel’- the chills I get every time I hear him use that line is outrageous. Now I’m not sure who is right, but my interpretation of Jaspers line in that moment is that he’s asking Soldier to be his ‘angel’ by shooting him and finally, y’know, letting this man fucking die. But then I saw someone else say Jasper is saying this to Priscilla, begging her not to do this for him as he has finally accepted being alive again and doesn’t want her to die due to finally loving a McAlistair. Whatever the interpretation, canonical or not, it is a rip out your heart kind of moment. Sacrifice, duty and love all culminating to finally end the cycle of madness started so long ago in an epic trio of fantastic vocals. And when Priscilla finally can hear the music, the message Kate has been trying to get through, it’s breathtaking. You have to wonder how Kate feels when this happens, when she’s actually listened to. And just when you think it’s over…

2- I Will Bring You Down

…A new hero starts the cycle anew. This song is so fucking dramatic, so very end of an action movie sounding song and yet it works. It works because this is a relatively new character who is now able to think for himself, not just rehash the creed which will haunt this city for generations to come. And his thoughts (the music) sound incredibly unique to everyone else and that is a sign of so much care and attention from Paul. It’s a call to action, a sign of a new age coming whether the city and its people want it or not. It’s the beginning of a new story placed squarely as this shows finale. Finally, when the dust settles it is not a McAlistair who ends the tail in triumph, but a random soldier who kicks of another set of events. Circles really do never stop themselves.

1- Elysian Night

It’s hard for me to express what I feel when I listen to Elysian Night. Usually when I’m talking to people about it I end up struggling and stuttering and start spouting about something ephemeral leaving the person I’m talking to trying to decipher my words. What can one say about Elysian Night that isn’t already felt when you listen? Much like The Old Trunk in the Attic, it stands out amongst the rest of Paul’s works while somehow being the golden center of the sewn together quilt. It’s honest, it’s raw. It’s all the thoughts Jasper has been desperately trying to say after three generations of living. Picking apart other songs on the radio just to craft this one that will hopefully (tragically and inevitably fly over peoples heads) send the message about how he and every other doll in the city has been robbed of something that can barely be described. How do you not love this song? How do you not feel every emotion Jasper has raging on inside the machine that is his body? It’s close to one of the best songs Paul has ever written and I’m grateful to be alive in the time I am to be able to listen.

Thank you so much for reading if you’ve gotten this far! I’ll probably do another one for Radio Hour as it is my favorite of all the albums and we’ll see where this all goes. If you have any questions or would like to share your own opinion about the songs or have a bone to pick with me about the order they fall into, feel free to send me an ask or use the comments on this post. I never really get to talk about the Shaperaverse with people in real life and despite the discord community being amazing a full of incredible people, I find it hard to interact so I lurk most of the time. Thanks again for reading and happy listening!

#the dolls of new albion #Dona #shaperaverse #paul shapera #album review #ranking #song rankings #lady renaissance song rankings

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verytrustworthytrapdoor · 2 years ago

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Wolfstar Mixtape?

In light of recent Harry Potter news I thought I'd add my own bit of goodness in a sea of terrible. To be clear, under no circumstances do I support JKR or Hogwarts Legacy and whatever the hell message these two buffoons are putting out. But lately I've been getting back into my maraduers era fanfic phase. So I just want to thank all the lovely writers and artists for making such wonderful content in what can be an otherwise bleak series. Thank you for helping take back these stories and making it your own. Anyways, heres a couple playlists:

Songs I think Remus Lupin would listen to:

Song I think Sirius Black would listen to:

(The Sirius Black Playlist is only longer because I'm more familiar with what I believe is his style. And it took me until half way through said list to realize, canonically, he would not know a lot of these thanks to Azkaban but I don't care anymore they're too good to leave out and I think he'd love them.)

#harry potter #marauders #playlist #music #80s metal #80s bands #70s band #sirius black #remus lupin #wolfstar #remus x sirius #harry potter fandom #hp fandom #marauders era #sirius orion black #remus john lupin #Spotify

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aplaceofstone · 1 year ago

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AO3: faceofstone

(with treats enabled!)

Dear Yuletide Writer,

All prompts and ideas are just suggestions, if you are the kind of Yuletide writer who likes to follow them. If not, cool, they are certainly not the end-all of what I love about these fandoms and characters.

If you like visual prompts, this entire blog is 20% recipes and 80% aesthetics that mostly fit my requested fandoms…

I like found families, oddball friendships, sympathy toward outcasts, characters who fully embrace being outcasts, melancholy, a sense of place, bittersweet accomplishments, and a stubborn flicker of hope in an overall bleak world. Dreamlike atmospheres that aren’t necessarily scary, some sort of reassurance that can be found in the weird and the profoundly unnatural.

My only ship in these three fandoms is Atrus/Catherine. DNW CW/Farley and Margot/Turner.

Myst: any (Atrus, Catherine, Yeesha, Worldbuilding)

30th anniversary! 🥳🍉 how about "30 years later" as a prompt? Counting from whenever you want. 30 years after Myst 1? After Yeesha left Tomahna? After Atrus (or either other nominated character) first made contact with the people of an Age he wrote? After the ice cream expedition first brought cones to the Cavern? Or "celebration" or anything with a celebratory twist. Atrus and Yeesha reuniting after End of Ages? Catherine having a nice day? Yeesha in Chiso Preniv?

I love the whole cast, so feel free to set the fic in any era of canon, following pretty much anyone along with the worldbuilding or nominated characters. If you want to play with, idk, Ri'neref or the Watcher or Gehn or Esher or Zandi or Nelah or some schmuck on Releeshahn or whatever, go for it! I am not particularly well-versed in pre-Fall D'ni shenanigans - I’d be interested in reading something set anywhere in those millennia, just please write it assuming that your reader may not be already up to speed on what was going on historically at the time.

Obduction: any (Farley, CW, Josef, Worldbuilding)

What’s your favorite spot on Hunrath, dear author? What’s your favorite odd item (is it RIUM+’s Myst book or the Unwritten manual)? Tell me a story about it. Or tell me about how it’s like to live in that new world, humans, villein, arai and so very few mofang, and Farley’s plan was what got them there for better and for worse. Or a night at that cute little pub they added with the patch. Tell me about the differences between Farley’s worldview, since Hunrath is all she knows, and CW who misses his life on Earth so much. What’s Josef’s story in this regard? Or focus on any aspect of Earth culture that got lost on Hunrath, or one that got preserved, or how the 19th century habits of some obductees clash with their neighbors who come from a few centuries later, and how it all eventually becomes Hunrath’s unique culture. Or what are your favorite character’s feelings on the Sorian sky hanging on their head? Is there someone in Hunrath who insists on calling the seeds #spacepinecones, to everyone else's dismay? What's the smallest recorded obduction, a tiny seed that barely got the person from hair to toes, and what's the largest?

I don’t ship any combination of main characters but I am interested in all platonic interactions between the main trio (as well as actually seeing them forced to act like a trio. What would it take?). I am also interested in seeing any of the characters who are only mentioned in the various journals getting fleshed out a little: if your story needs an additional character or two, you could see if anyone there suits your needs! (and if nobody there does, actual OCs are welcome)

Firmament: Margot | The Mentor, Worldbuilding

Journals? Got any journals, dear author? Notes? Codes? Anything to make the Realms feel more lived-in, from the perspective of Margot or any Keeper? Or what do they find after the end, how do they settle?

I'm not necessarily looking for a fix-it for Margot, but if you've thought of something, I'm listening. Or at least, is it possible for the survivors to know what she's done for them, and to understand who she was as a person, what she went through? (which I suppose brings us back to "journals?" ;^; ) In general, has anyone ever tried to hack the memory loss situation through the written word? Were songs composed and shared from Keeper to Keeper until at last they made it back to the ears of their author?

While I didn't request Turner, and I'm not interested in fic about his character pre-amnesia, I'd be good with any worldbuilding idea that features him freshly post-canon coming to terms with being a blank slate with such a weighted past.

If you're into any of the irl Founders, I'd also love a deep dive in-universe on what their angle was in sponsoring the expedition. Like, Marx, I have Some Questions, and I'm sure there's plenty to say about the others as well! What they hoped for, which of their ideals were pivotal to the eventual success of the expedition VS which ones could've been thought through a bit better maybe…

#yuletide letter #yuletide signup Cyan edition for Firmament and Myst's 30th anniversary!

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