#part two of trailer breakdown

[echoesofwisdomcountup]

89 Days Until Tears of the Kingdom Release. The Trailer Breakdown is here. Sorry Tumblr killed the image quality. This is Part Two, Part One is HERE.

Same Warning Applies: This will be obscenely long. I have spent hours of my life on this and I even went around Hyrule in BOTW to double check things. I have also watched only one reaction/analysis video (Limcube) whose ideas I reference a few times but the rest is all me. Now, I know many of the oddities and differences could easily be explained by saying we time travel into the past but I’m going to approach this for the most part as if we are not time traveling because it's more fun this way. Also, the colors refer to the corresponding arrows/circles on the image above it.

General thoughts: Another picture of a cube man because you can bet your life savings that I’m gonna try and run up this thing's arm. I wanna climb on top of it and recreate some anime scenes. Can’t wait to scuttle up its arms like a particularly annoying mouse and stand on its shoulders going hehe can’t hit me now can you? Can y’all tell I’m hyped for this fucking game. Also, watching Link backflip frame by frame was super cool. Pink: What kind of rusty ass sword are you using Link? Unless it's just crudely made.

General thoughts: So I’ve seen people argue for Demise and others argue for Twilight Princess Ganondorf. Admittedly, that big hole in his chest reminds me of the way TP Link stabs Ganon in the chest at the end of the game. However, I’m of the opinion that this is probably Ganondorf but one that is far closer to being Demise. Ordering his servants to wipe everyone out is big Demise vibes.

General thoughts: The cracked Hyrule crest right in front of the malice consumed castle is kinda a dick move Nintendo. Great shot but a dick move. Hyrule is suffering.

General thoughts: Someone should edit this part with Ganondorf screaming. He’s doing a screech pose or maybe an evil laughter pose. Or maybe an ow my back pose. Whatever, everything is crumbling.

General thoughts: Jumpscare. Seriously, this part was still super creepy even going frame by frame. The eyes look the same as those Calamity eyes which you shot with arrows in BOTW. Maybe Ganondorf’s body is being possessed.

General thoughts: Wow we sure are high up. It’s like looking out an airplane window. Words: Zelda says “But Link, I’m not sure you’ll be able to stop him.”  This line really makes me think that we will be dealing with a Ganondorf that’s closer to Demise’s power level. I’m hoping for a tough and epic final fight then. Nintendo, you are basically promising us a harder game so I hope you deliver.

General thoughts: We are over death mountain and man what a view Blue: That cube is freaking taunting me. It’s in so many frames. I wonder if we can climb the outside of it. Red: This really long multi piece vertical island thing is even weirder than the cube. It’s the weirdest island by far in my opinion. Just had a thought about ragdoll physics and hitting every piece on the way down, ouch. Green: Neat that you can see the tower shine from way up here.

General thoughts: And the epic music hits here as Link free falls. The islands in the back sure have some interesting shapes (I literally cannot stop mentioning the islands. I really wanna explore.) Green: Taking the chance to mention these glowing green cylinders. I know we’ve seen them already but what the hell are they for? Also why are the bottom four empty and shorter than the top ones? Are we gonna have to collect eight things or are the top four like charges of power that replenish over time after we use them?  Pink: I can’t thank Nintendo enough for the cool hood with gold buttons. Stylish.

General thoughts: Closer look at Link makes me realize that this new outfit is very much a combination of the Champion’s Tunic and the Hylian Tunic. It looks really good.

Red: These threads? ropes? descending from islands. What the heck are they? Are they purely visual or can we climb them or do they serve some other purpose? Maybe they are tying the island to the ground so it doesn’t float away. In that case, can you imagine an island where if the wind blows the ground moves? I mean the Twilight Princess area in the sky had gusts of wind that tried to push you off so maybe Nintendo will re-use that.

Pink: I saw this area and got so excited on call with a friend, lol. I was like I KNOW THIS PLACE as if TOTK isn’t reusing parts of the BOTW map. Yeah, it’s the area near the road to Hateno but on the opposite side of the river, Cliffs of Quince.

Note: I climbed around the Pillars of Levia and Dueling Peaks to compare the area from far away. Then I walked around the Cliffs of Quince (and accidentally triggered a talus fight) and nearby just to do more comparisons.  Pink: Hateno Tower should be here but it is, like the others, missing. Green: The new tower thing is not in the same place which means we shouldn’t expect them to be one to one. Blue: This is probably a malice pool but it looks like it’s sinking into the ground. Limcube mentioned that it might be a hole in the ground which you would use to travel to an underground section which is an interesting idea. Would that mean you could enter Death Mountain and go to the center? Anyway, this is, as far as I can tell, on top of Meda Mountain. Yellow: You can just barely make out Dueling Peaks stable. Nice to see the stable system still up and running… probably Red: To me it looks as if the broken guardians in Hateno field are gone. Maybe Zelda and Link had them cleared away in the aftermath of BOTW which would be understandable considering he died there and it’s a potentially dangerous area for wandering travelers. Another option is that Ganon resurrected them to be fully functioning guardian stalkers or brand new guardian enemies but that’s a worse case scenario.

General thoughts: The symbols. Who put them there and what are they for? Every time I see them I’m seized with a burning desire to know. I’m suspecting Zonai involvement. At the very least, they do make for a pretty sight. Blue: Towers but they aren’t glowing. Does that mean these are already activated towers? Green: New enemy camp sitting in water. Looks like they stacked three skulls on top of each other which props to the monsters for that feat. Red: The cube continues to haunt me.

Blue: First thing I noticed was the glowing hand. Link’s new hand seems to only glow when he’s using his new powers. So is this new tracker arrow part of the new powers? I’m struggling to see how it fits together exactly. Do you need to use the new arrow type plus the hand’s power in conjunction? Can you use the hand’s power on other types of arrows? Red: Looks like a cave entrance. I mean it’s practically confirmed at this point that we get to explore both the skies and beneath the ground. Sadly, I think this might rule out exploring underwater but I can still hope. Yellow: Odd rocks again I think. They really seem to be scattered across most of Hyrule.

Note: I found this place in BOTW. Apple trees and all. It’s slightly North of Irch Plain on the map. I fought a Silver Lynel so it wouldn’t bother me while I was comparing. Red: It’s my old friend the cube. Green: The enemy camp is not there in BOTW.

Blue: FUUUUUCK YEAAAAH SHIELD SKATEBOARDING. This is beyond cool and amazing and I can’t wait to travel the rails like this. I wonder if it's going to be like the mine cart game in Skyward Sword and whether or not you’ll need to worry about balance. Pink: Also I’m pretty sure this is Death Mountain but with less death?? I mean the lava seems to be gone which I guess makes sense with the malice but it's still an odd sight.  Green: Different odd rock from the past ones. I wonder what this is for and if we can blow it up or break it open. Red: Why’s the man standing there like that? Idk it looks a little funny since I’m so used to bokoblins and lizalfos standing on the lookout platforms, not moblins.

Green: I’m pretty sure these are the pieces of that hovercraft we see later in the trailer. We are probably going to have to build that thing by collecting all the pieces. I wonder if we have to give them to someone to build it for us or will it just automatically assemble once we have all the parts.  Pink: Kinda rude that they put a box there. Let Link skateboard down the rails in peace.

Red: Storm tornado. This and the cube haunt me in this trailer way too much. It’s like Vah Medoh in the sky just begging you to check it out. Yellow: The red and blue directional arrows are very interesting and tell me that we can move this mechanism horizontally and vertically. It also looks like motion controls which ugh the motion control puzzles in BOTW were not my favorite. Another interesting thing is that we are using Link’s new arm instead of a Sheikha terminal and that this big green ring kinda reminds me of one of those terminals. The comparison makes sense since Link is moving the structure behind it by manipulating the currently glowing green ring.

General thoughts: Again we are so clearly underground. There’s even stalactites. Green: I’d bet ten bucks there is a Korok hiding under that rock. Red: What are these glowing spots? Pink: This is one hell of a luminous ore deposit. I wonder how much that spot is worth in rupees.

General thoughts: Now this weapon is truly insane. I will be acquiring one as soon as possible because it’s like an ancient Zonai missile launcher. There is also no way that the durability system is taken away because I know that Nintendo will not let us have this forever. There has to be some sorta drawback. Either it needs fuel or it takes a long time to recharge or something. Green: Note that Link’s hand is not glowing so he isn’t using the arm’s power for this weapon. Pink: It looks like a freaking black hole. I will feel so badass with this weapon.

Note: I went into BOTW and launched myself from high places/jumped from different heights just so I could hit the attack button while holding a Royal Claymore and compare the flip and slam down that Link does with this weapon. I broke that Claymore but it was for science. As far as I can tell it's the same animation as what's in the trailer. General thoughts: Since this is the second weapon we’ve seen with some kind of homing aspect (this thing aimed right for the talus’s weak spot) I wonder how that works. Is it related to the lock on function? I mean I know from messing around with instant flurry rushes that you can essentially set a target in BOTW so maybe it has something to do with that.

First thoughts: HYLIA!!?? Either her or some other deity because this shot just makes me think of divinity. Second thoughts: It could be Zelda but is it BOTW Zelda or some past Princess (I’ll explain in a bit.) Obviously, the clothes seem Zonai in nature so maybe it’s someone important in the Zonai tribe. 

General thoughts: Hmm, hand holding could mean many things. This could be similar to the Skyward Sword moment when SS Zelda and Link reunite or this could be Hylia lending her power to BOTW Link via the arm. Of course, this could be a memory that Link inherited from a past hero and this is that hero and his Zelda grasping hands and promising to work together to face Ganondorf.

General thoughts: Link looking at his hand while he makes a fist really makes me think he could be emerging from a memory. So that’s why I think the previous shot might be from whoever used to own the hand. Black: Looks like a little gear but with a glowing green button. I like this little detail. Blue: Idk why but this island reminds me of Cara Cara Bazaar. It’s got a funky shape. I love it.

General thoughts: Link’s arm is glowing with what looks like the spirit flames that are around the Champions in BOTW. Makes sense since the arm probably used to belong to someone long dead given that it was stuck holding Ganondorf down under the castle.

General thoughts: First the obvious, the car wheel. I mean it’s already neat that Link can seemingly levitate Zonai tech with his arm but then we are gonna get to use these pieces to build vehicles which is even more exciting. I’m pretty sure this is replacing Magnesis though. We can lift and manipulate Zonai tech instead of metal. Pink: Brand new looking chest. It looks a lot like the other Zonai tech. Blue: There’s usually a Korok here but not this time. Red: This is one of those weird rocks but it’s in a mud pit. They really are everywhere. Green: Again malice pools (same ones as in a previous plateau shot). I wonder just how many places are gonna have malice lying around.

General thoughts: Tractor car. This thing looks so goofy but also fun at the same time. It’s pretty obviously Zonai tech. Can’t wait to play Deja Vu and drift in Hyrule Field. Pink: This looks like the power source. I wonder if we’ll have to feed it items to fuel up like with the Sheikah motorcycle. Blue: Why is there a giant hole in this mountain structure? I tried to find anything that looked like this in BOTW but came up short.  Red: Them rocks again. Can’t wait to find out why they exist though.  Black: Another tower spotted but it isn’t glowing. I’m still of the opinion that they only glow with those spotlights before you unlock them.

General thoughts: Not gonna lie I never expected them to give us an air balloon. It makes sense though with the varied island heights and distances. Stamina and the paraglider can only do so much and I don’t think we will have bombs for wind bombs anymore. Blue: This green stuff that’s holding the balloon together is the same stuff that appears to be holding the car together. Maybe it’s Zonai glue or something. Red: So above this is what I’ve decided to call Jenga Tower island. This bit right here is probably connected to the rest of Jenga Tower island. It makes me think of a minigame where you have to fall down the middle perfectly to land at the bottom or the bottom piece has an air current that lets you travel upwards through the middle of Jenga Tower island.

General thoughts: There is a lot happening in this shot. First and most obvious, the glowing green hovercraft. If I didn’t think Nintendo would give us an air balloon I definitely did not expect a hovercraft. I can already tell this is gonna be my favorite vehicle even if it ends up motion controlled. Blue: The Zonai green glue is here too. Kinda reminds me of silly putty for some reason. Orange: These long rope things again. I really can’t think of a purpose for these at the moment besides what I mentioned earlier. Maybe they are just for aesthetics but that would be sorta boring. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could fireman slide down these? Pink: Goddess statue? Temple? It seems important for some reason. Red: The cube may be hiding but I see the darn thing.  Black: First the cube and now an orb. I can’t recall seeing this anywhere else in the trailer which really makes me curious about what it is. It’s pretty big.

General thoughts: A beautiful view of the many sky islands. I cannot stress how much seeing all the floating islands visually reminds me that we are getting a new game. Yeah its the same engine as BOTW but the possible changes and alterations are tantalizing. Blue: More malice pools. Although, I do have to say they look quite different from the ones in BOTW. I think these might be more energized. I wonder if they will eat at your hearts far faster than the malice we are used to.  Red: I wonder if this large cube structure is made up of the same material as the weird rocks lying around everywhere.

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[cherllyio]

Macaque will be trapped in The Underworld - A season 5 theory

Now, why would this make sense? Because it would fit perfectly with his characther devolpemt so far.

So, lets look at the evidence for that.

Macaque has through these 4 seasons gone from someone who does everything for his own sake, because of his own personal trauma, to someone who is starting to develop direct friendships with our main cast. (which this person talks more about in depth)

Therefore, it would make sense, if we start going into the most mysterious part of this monkey’s past: His time in the Underworld.

This would make sense for two reasons:

We could get answers on how he ended up in The Underworld in the first place (aka Shadowpeach lore)

We could get answers on WHY all our mystic monkeys are getting accused of breaking the sky, but we would also get some more answers about this guy, The Traitor.

The Shadowpeach part makes sense, therefore I want to go into more details with the whole “Macaque meeting The Traitor” - part of this theory, because they are actual scenes that indicates this in the trailer.

As this person mentioned in a breakdown of the trailer, it looks a lot like here that Macaque is getting sucked into Li Jing's Pagoda (because of that flashing light that looks awfully similar),

and after I made a timeline of the trailer, I realized that Macaque doesn’t really show up in the following scenes after he supposetly gets trapped in the Pagoda.

So, from a story perspective, it looks like Macaque stayed behind to fight off Li Jing, while the others got away in the car, while he himself got captured. This would then lead to Macaque again getting trapped in The Underworld, so they could keep an eye (pun intended) on him.

This would then result in Macaque getting (PTSD) flashbacks to his time in The Underworld, where there is a pretty realistic chance, in that time, he MET the Traitor.

Think about it. The Traitors whole goal is “chaos”, and our mystic monkeys are nothing but CHAOS. (talked more about this here)

There is also the fact that a theory (you can find it here) going around that The Traitor was the one who released Azure Lion from his prison, but erased his memory so he didn’t remember how he even got out:

(Season 4, ep 10)

Wukong: Wait, how are you here?

Azure: What, what kind of question is that?! You know exactly how-

Wukong: No, here and now. I put you in The Underworld myself. How did you get out? How did you get the scroll? I know for sure you didn’t steal it, you couldn’t have.

Azure Lion: I- I don’t know… I was…

Wukong: Azure! Who gave you that scroll? Because whoever it was, they must have known this would happen. WANTED this to happen, and they used you to do it.

Azure: I just wanted to make the world a better place.

There is then a good chance that he did something similar to Macaques memory, where one of thoughs memories could be his final fight with Wukong.

The Traitor could have made it so that Macaque remembers it as Wukong DIRECTLY killing him, but as David Breen mentioned, that’s just how Macaque views it.

Therefore, that’s what is going to be Macaque next character development in this season:

What happened in the past? More specifically what ACTUALLY between him and Wukong. Because we, the fandom, don’t know, but maybe MACAQUE doesn’t even know himself.

We can also, with this new information, figure out another important of his next arc: The theme of understanding.

We also know that a lot of the reasons for Wukong and Macaques fallout, is because they MISUNDERSTOOD a lot what the other actually intended.

We also know that Macaque is starting to realize that too, in the way he reacted when he saw his and Wukongs fight again: He realized HE MISUNDERSTOOD what Wukong had meant.

The seeds have been planted everyone, and we are know going to see what they are turning into. And that is a story of Understanding, growth, and friendship (or whatever the hell their realtionship is at this point).

[hellfirenacht]

Wing Man Part 7

Fic Summary: Steve 'the Hair' Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you'll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie.

(1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)

Chapter Summary: Dustin spills the beans, and Wayne gives some advice.

5k words

Chapter Summary: Dustin spills the beans, and Wayne gives some advice.

A/N: Happy New Year! I ran out of steam there for a while but I am bursting with new inspiration and have a billion ideas for new and old fics! Thank you for your patience and support 💜

The next night after dropping you off at home, there was a storm the likes of which Hawkins had never seen. Lightning lit up the sky through the night like a shitty rave, knocking out the power for Forest Hills Trailer Park for the better part of two days. It wasn’t until Saturday, when Eddie attempted to check in on Ronnie again, that he realized that their worn out phone had been completely fried. Shit.

Getting a new one was easier said than done, Eddie and Wayne had to pinch pennies this week after his uncle had been out of work a few days because of a cold, and having to replace a good chunk of groceries that had gone bad sitting in the dead fridge.

Sure, Bev had been nice enough to give Eddie a few extra shifts at the Hideout to help cover but that was a paycheck that wasn’t going to be in for another week. There was always his dealings, but he’d been keeping his head down after nearly having his stash blown by an over enthusiastic K-9 unit that, thankfully, was more interested in the jerky that Eddie had in his jacket.

For a week, he’d been without a phone now. Normally it wasn’t a huge loss, not many people actually bothered trying to call him anyway, and Wayne didn’t really socialize much working the night shift. But he missed Ronnie, and he really was stressing each day that went by that he didn’t call you. Eddie knew that whatever this was, he was probably already blowing it.

Tuesday rolled around again, and he hoped that you’d show back up to the Hideout. Jeff had even agreed to give most of the band a ride if Eddie agreed to haul their equipment and do all of the breakdown in case you needed another ride home. No such luck though, unbeknownst to him Keith had come down with the same cold that his Uncle Wayne had the week before, meaning you had to work a double.

It was now Friday, over a week since you’d written your name in the most stubborn permanent marker he’d ever come across. Your name still stained his skin in a faint and ugly shade of pea green. Eddie could now say your number by memory, despite never having punched in the digits once. If anyone at school had noticed that Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson had a girl's name on his arm, they didn’t say anything.

“Whose number is that?” Mike asked in the middle of a time out while Zach and Gareth were pouring over the rule book over the legality of a move that Eddie was sure was bullshit. So much for that.

Eddie’s head snapped over to the freshman while those in Corroded Coffin snickered and suddenly lost interest in the rules for the moment. With the candles and stage lights on, it was always warm in the Hellfire room, and Eddie had stripped his jacket giving his arms a chance to breathe while he guided the party on their next adventure.

It had also meant that the faded remains of your number was still visible, which he hadn’t thought much of until Mike had pointed it out.

“Yeah, Eddie, whose number is it?” Jeff snickered, which earned a hard look from Eddie that under any other circumstances would have shut Jeff up but in this case only made him laugh harder.

For a moment he debated internally about putting his jacket on, and telling them all to shove it. It was tempting, very tempting, but Eddie wasn’t a teen anymore. Hell, he had a good two to three years on most of the members in this club. Why should he be embarrassed because a cute girl had some sort of interest in him?

Because you’re blowing it by not being able to call her. He told himself.

Eddie then told the table about how you’d given him your number right before he dropped you off. How you’d been a perfect gentleman and hadn’t taken advantage of him or made any untowards moves to him. (Even if he had thought you almost did, but he kept that part to himself).

To his surprise, the ribbing was kept to a minimal. Without Eddie fighting against it, the group became less interested. Eddie’s love life was only of interest when it meant that the sheep could finally have some fun with the shepard.

That was going to be the end of it. Jeff had conceded that the rule they were looking up had been an old house rule from his middle school group that he had never questioned as not actually being accurate, and they were ready to move on. Eddie opened his mouth to guide the party to the next encounter-

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in her.” Dustin suddenly said. Eddie had thought that the shrimp had been suspiciously quiet for the past few minutes.

“If that was him not interested then I’m quitting Hellfire to be a cheerleader.” laughed Gareth.

“No one wants to see you in a miniskirt, man.” said Mike.

“They have guy cheerleaders!” protested Gareth. “I’d wear the pants.”

“That’d be a first.” ribbed Zack.

“Don’t you have to be crazy strong to be a cheerleader? Gareth, your strength stat sucks.”

“I haul my own drumset every week!”

“Can we get back to the game?”

“Eddie,” Dustin spoke up again. His brows were furrowed and he was messing with his pencil, the same way he did when someone in the party was about to do something that didn’t make any sense. “You did say you weren’t interested.”

So much for Eddie’s love life being of no interest, he now had a herd of sheep looking at him expectantly, no longer talking about Gareth possibly changing after school activities. He should ignore it, get everyone back on track, and lead them back into the Forbidden Caves where he was not tempted to throw a mimic in for messing with the flow of the game.

He should... but Dustin’s comment bugged him for some reason.

“I never said that.” Eddie said, looking at the kid.

“What? Yeah you did!” Dustin looked as shocked as Eddie felt. When had he ever said he wasn’t interested in you?

“Oh yeah, when?” Eddie crossed his arms and leaned back in his throne, his eyes narrowing.

“At the arcade!” Dustin sounded frustrated. “You told me that you didn’t want me introducing you to anyone when we were doing Hellfire related shit, and that you weren’t interested anyway.”

The warmth from the candles and stage lights were nothing compared to the heat of everyone’s eyes on him. What the fuck was Henderson even talking about?

Oh. Oh what the fuck?!

“Excuse me?” Eddie said slowly as that thirty second conversation started to play in his mind.

“Yeah, I remember that.” Mike added, in an attempt to back up his friend. “We just assumed she wasn’t your type.”

Eddie hadn’t been looking to be anyone’s boyfriend. He was never looking to be dating anyone, the few times he’d found himself in the good graces of a girl who’d shown interest in him it had always blown up in his face.

That had never stopped him from trying though.

“Are- wait. Back up.” Eddie stood up and made his way over to the opposite end of the table where the freshmen were suddenly looking very nervous. He grabbed them by the shoulders, as he’d done so many times in the past and hauled them up while the rest of the table watched on in amusement. Normally, Eddie would never pause the game but, fuck it. This kid had something to do with you, and he was going to figure out what.

“Jesus, Eddie-” Mike said, wincing at the grip. “I don’t have anything to do with this, it was all Dustin and Steve!”

This was getting more and more confusing by the moment. Eddie shoved the two boys to face them, leaning over them. Even with Mike’s growth spurt over the past few months, somehow Eddie still seemed to tower over them.

“Steve?” Eddie’s voice was slow, trying to understand why that name was even being spoken in the private sanctuary away from jocks.

“Yes, Steve! They’re like, best friends or something! Ask Dustin!” Mike said, throwing his friend under the bus.

“What’s the big deal?!” Dustin asked, looking between Mike and Eddie with a look of bewilderment.

“Henderson, you have thirty seconds to explain what the actual Hell is going on before your character becomes Quasit food.” Eddie said, releasing his grip on both of the freshmen.

“Okay, okay!” Dustin held his hand up in surrender, looking nervous as everyone watched the scene unfold. “So, you know how her and Steve work together? Well, they had a deal going on where they’d help get each other dates.”

Eddie’s head tilted down slightly, but his eyes stayed firmly focused on Dustin. This was making less and less sense by the minute. Steve needed help getting dates? King Steve of Hawkins High who had the pick of any girl in school before he graduated? That Steve Harrington couldn’t get a date and so had recruited you into helping him?

And you, you with the everything about you couldn’t get a date either? Hadn’t you mentioned something about that before, at the Hideout?

“I help him and he uh... he helps me get out of the house.”

You’d said that, and he hadn’t thought much of it until now. All this time, Eddie had thought the arcade incident had been Dustin trying to have his two older male friends meet and be friends, but it had been you that he was supposed to meet?

“So you’re telling me that you, Dustin Henderson and Steve Harrington were trying to set me up on a date?” Eddie looked over at the rest of the table that looked just as bewildered as he did. This was a prank, right? He’d been tossed into some sort of alternate dimension where a freshman and a jock had any sort of interest in his love life, in any part of his life. He’d sooner believe that he’d run a drug deal with Chrissy Cunningham than this.

“Well, technically we were trying to set her up on a date and you seemed like a good fit?” Dustin’s answer came out as more of a question, leaving Eddie’s mind reeling. Behind him, he could hear the growing snickers of the party.

Eddie was ready for this to start making sense any time now.

“So she was helping Steve get dates and he wanted to set her up with me?” Nope, even after thinking it a half dozen times it still wasn’t clicking.

“That part was my idea actually!” Dustin said, showing off a smile filled with metal. “She’s pretty weird and Steve said she was picky-”

“Can’t be that picky if she was interested in Eddie.” muttered Gareth, earning another round of laughter at the table.

Eddie didn’t even have it in him to shoot another look at the table as he continued to try and piece together what was going on.

You and Steve had a deal to try and get each other dates. You were picky and so Dustin suggested Eddie. Steve then brought you to the arcade to force a meeting and-

“Wait, did she know that she was supposed to meet me?” Eddie asked suddenly.

“Oh yeah, she knew the whole time in the arcade.” Dustin nodded, hoping that Eddie wasn’t about to blow a fuse over this. “Well, she figured it out at least. See she was just supposed to be tagging along with Steve to find guys to flirt with but then uh... she realized she was supposed to meet you.”

“And she didn’t know who I was?” Eddie clarified, thinking back to the way you’d tried to talk to him about Hellfire, Chris Morrison, anything to try and start a conversation. How the hell was it that he could remember every time you two met so clearly, but you didn’t know who he actually was?

Because it wasn’t about you, Eddie. He had to remind himself.

Dustin shrugged. “I guess not? She’s never mentioned you before that night.”

Guess not everyone paid attention to the Freak. He hated that it bugged him that you didn’t remember him but could he blame you? He probably wouldn’t remember him either, just a Munson fuck up who everyone was waiting to end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

Eddie pushed Dustin back down into his seat, done interrogating the poor freshman. Everyone watched as he made his way back to his side of the table, behind the DM screen. He had a lot to think about, but he wasn’t about to start processing that in front of the rest of Hellfire.

“You all wander deeper into the cave, the only light coming from the torch carried by-”

“I have dark vision!”

Broke and bored, Eddie haunted the trailer for the rest of the weekend. He did have practice with Corroded Coffin for a generous two hours on Saturday, and then a long shift that night at the Hideout where one old drunk had slipped him a $10 tip for making sure he always had a cold beer in hand. But those few hours were just a minor reprieve from the information that Dustin had given him the previous day.

When he wasn’t distracted by work or practice he was practicing guitar, working on lyrics, prepping for the next Hellfire session.

He tried to think about you, but ended up feeling confused. When he was trying to think about anything else, all he could see was the way you had flirted with him at the Hideout.

Despite popular opinion, Eddie wasn’t stupid when it came to girls. He could tell when a girl was interested in him, and you had made it clear that you had at least some interest in him. You had told him point blank that you were not with Harrington, and had no interest as well. He’d seen the way you looked at him while watching them play, that excitement in your eyes. Your head had bobbed to the rhythm of their songs watching them with as much enthusiasm as if you’d been a fan for years.

Paige had watched with similar eyes, right? She’d seen something in them that no one else had before-

No. Not them. Not Corroded Coffin. Just Eddie.

It felt pathetic that he kept comparing you to Paige. He didn’t want to, he really didn’t want to. It wasn’t like he was still hung up on Paige, not really. She’d just been a turning point in who he was as a person. She’d been the first (and last) girl to really look at him as a person. If his dating prospects had been small before, they had completely dried up over the past two years.

Date the freak? Yeah, right. There had been the odd girl who’d hit on him as if daring themselves to get with him but he was done with that. A few mediocre dates that he’d agreed to out of boredom or loneliness had only added to the idea in Hawkins High that he was undesirable. Adding to that, the older he got, the younger his underclassmen became and the idea of dating someone younger was... well he didn’t need to add ‘creep’ to the long list of rumors about him. It didn’t matter to him most of the time, instead focusing on his friends, his band, his club, his business, himself. God knows he’d never be able to hold down a relationship unless he got his shit together and earned everyone’s trust again.

“Graduate and get laid, Munson.” Ronnie’s voice echoed in the back of his mind and he groaned as his face warmed. It was the middle of the week, just over two weeks since the night at the Hideout. Eddie was laying on the old couch face down, his homework on the counter half finished and the blue glow of the tv doing little to distract him.

The sound of the door opening didn’t even phase him enough to look up, even as Wayne grunted out a hello before setting something down on the counter next to his forgotten schoolbooks.

“Did you eat?” Wayne asked, which earned a shrug from Eddie. How could he think about eating when he was stuck thinking about everything else?

“Are you gonna tell me why you’ve been moping around for the past few weeks?” Wayne tried again in an attempt to be a good guardian. When that didn’t work either he sighed and said “Might as well step outside with me and have a smoke.”

It was better than doing whatever the hell else Eddie was doing now, and so he rolled off the couch less than gracefully and followed his uncle out onto the porch to sit on the outdoor couch. Wayne offered him the smoke and for a moment it was peaceful. Wayne wasn’t one to push Eddie to talk about anything, but he did have a way to make him think even if it did piss him off occasionally.

Eddie took a long drag of the cigarette and released it slowly as he stared up at the sky. It was a dark night, a million tiny dots illuminating the trailer park, even if the moon wasn’t out. He scanned the stars, looking for the three that he knew were Orion’s belt. That’s about where his astrology knowledge began and ended, but it was something to look for at least.

“I think a girl likes me.” He finally said as he spotted what he assumed was the constellation he was looking for.

“Yeah?” Wayne asked, his own eyes gazing upwards as well, giving Eddie the space to talk more.

“Yeah.”

It was silent again for a few minutes as they smoked, the only other sound for a while was that of Wayne cracking open a beer. That’s what Eddie appreciated about Wayne, he didn’t need to fill the silence like his dad did, and Eddie didn’t need to either. He could just... exist.

“I don’t know what to do about it.” Eddie finally said a while later. “She only has an interest because her and some jock are trying to get each other dates.”

“Is that right?” Coming from anyone else that question would have been dismissive, a filler phrase to show that they were paying minimal attention. Eddie knew better though, which caused a knot of frustration in his gut.

“I guess.” he shrugged.

“How many dates has she gone on?” Wayne passed the beer to Eddie, who took a grateful sip.

“Don’t know. It didn’t sound like she’d been on many. Henderson said she’s picky.”

“But she likes you.”

“Yeah.”

Another long stretch of silence as Eddie stewed over the question. He hated how Wayne could break down his problems into simple questions.

“Don’t see why you’re moping around if she likes you.” Wayne glanced over at Eddie. “Are you sweet on her?”

Eddie snorted at the term, taking another drag from the cigarette and flicking the ashes off the porch. “She’s cute.” he said, thinking about how you’d looked the last few times he’d seen you. He might have been distracted that first night at the arcade, but not so distracted that he didn’t notice that at least. “Smart too. She got the guys to listen to her last time we hung out.”

Wayne raised an eyebrow. “She got Gareth to pay attention? That’s a damn miracle.”

“They liked her too.”

“More than the California girl?”

The question caught Eddie off guard and he looked up at Wayne who was still looking off in the distance. Eddie had never explained exactly to Wayne what had happened that first senior year, most of the details going to what happened with Al when Officer Morris was shot. They never talked about how Eddie was so damn close to packing everything up and running away to California.

Thinking about everything that happened that year still stung. Eddie had tried hard not to think about what could have been if CJ and Toby had just shown up one or two days later. Would Eddie have made it to the audition? Would they have really liked him? Maybe in another life he’d be signed and he’d be working on an album or on tour and him and Paige...

It didn’t matter, that ship had long since sailed. Eddie was no rock hero, and never would be. He tried to tell himself it was better this way, if anything it meant that his relationship with Al was over and done with which was a hollow victory if he was being honest.

“Definitely more than her.” Eddie finally agreed. You weren’t asking him to ditch the band and run away with you, so that had to give you some points for them, and for him. Dustin vouched for you, and even Mike, but he wasn’t sure how much that counted for yet. After all Dustin still seemed to worship Steve, and you were friends with Steve-

But did that actually matter? If you and Steve were close enough friends to help each other like this, and Steve was willing to vouch for Eddie, despite never having any real conversation just because Dustin said something-

“She gonna ask you to run away?” Wayne was now looking at Eddie again.

Sometimes he wondered if his uncle could secretly read minds.

“Doubt it.” Eddie said, “She works at the video store. I don’t know much about her, honestly.”

“So ask her on a date.”

“What?”

“She likes you, you want to get to know her. Ask her on a date. It’s not that complicated, Eddie.” Wayne dropped the cigarette on the porch and crushed it under his boot. “You always did think too much, always sucked up in your own world. You’ll be happier in the long run if you open up a bit.”

Easier said than done for a 20 year old still in high school that the whole town considered a satanic cult leader. Then again, when was the last time he’d really opened up to anyone other than Ronnie or Wayne? Right, his dad in the weeks before the heist.

“I think I fucked this up before I could even start.” Eddie sighed, snuffing out his own half finished cigarette. “She gave me her number and I never called.”

“Could’a grabbed a quarter from the change jar and used a pay phone.”

Eddie pressed his hands against his face and dragged them down slowly. Why did good advice always come too late for him?

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I brought back a new phone for the kitchen today.”

Eddie’s head snapped up so fast he should have snapped something, his eyes widening.

“Don’t get too excited. It’s a new used phone. Guy down the line from me offered it up and it’s better than nothing.”

Eddie didn’t care if it was a rotary phone, he’d take anything at this point if it meant that he could try to call you.

He wanted to call you.

He wanted to call you. Eddie didn’t care if you remembered that first time you met, did it even really matter? You had an interest in him, Eddie Munson, now.

“Thanks, Wayne.” Eddie stood up and hurried inside, seeing the new old phone that was sitting on the counter. It took a few minutes of making sure it wouldn’t fall off the wall before he plugged it in and heard that sweet dial tone sound.

Eddie grabbed his copy of Lord of the Rings from his bedside table and pulled out the paper flower, looking at the number scribbled in his own chicken scratch. He didn’t trust himself to punch in the number without checking, no matter how many times he read the ten digits over the past two weeks.

It rang once.

Twice.

Six times.

No response.

“It’s late, she might be asleep.” Wayne said, grabbing a box of pasta from the cabinet.

It wasn’t that late, not even 8:30 yet. Eddie sighed and hung up the phone, crossing his arms as he thought about his next move. He’d always had tunnel vision when he got an idea into his head, from Corroded Coffin, to his campaigns, to a book that he wanted to read, it was hard to shake the urge when he got one.

Grabbing the keys from the counter he called over to Wayne “I’ll be back later.” which was responded to with a confirmation that he’d save some pasta for Eddie in the fridge.

There weren’t many places he could think of where you could be tonight. You hadn’t shown back up at the Hideout, and the arcade was closed this late on a weeknight. You could be at home, but Eddie didn’t remember where you lived and showing up to your place after two weeks of radio silence would definitely get him in trouble.

So he drove to Family Video.

If you were there he’d do.. something. If you weren’t he’d call you after school tomorrow. Eddie winced internally at the thought. He’d been trudging through school and dragging his feet for the past six years to graduate, and now was the time he felt childish about it. You could legally buy him a beer, and he could illegally sneak you a drink in the Hideout.

At a stoplight he swapped out the Black Sabbath tape for W.A.S.P., remembering that you had mentioned liking them. How did he continue to remember these small details about you?

Because she’s treated you like a human each time you’ve talked. It was startling how something so basic was such a big deal to him.

The lights were still on at Family Video, and the open sign was still lit up. He could see movement inside the store, and he caught sight of someone wearing the signature green vest that the employees wore.

He’d walk in, and if you were there he’d- fuck what the hell was he supposed to do? Eddie stared at the door from inside his van for a few minutes. It was past nine now, and he could have sworn that they should be closed now but that stupid sign was still on. That had to be a good sign right? Eddie wasn’t one to believe in stuff like that but maybe he’d be stupid to ignore a literal neon sign hanging in the door.

Okay, now or never. Eddie had never really been one to hesitate before and he wasn’t about to start now.

He made his way to the entrance and opened the door before he could think about what he was actually wanting to do. Eddie could improvise, it was one of the more useful skills that came from years of running Hellfire.

“Who didn’t lock the door?!” Your voice was a welcome sound, sealing the determination inside of him. No going back now.

“It was Steve’s job to-” your co-worker said. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t place a name to the face.

“Oh, shit. Hi.” Steve was the first to actually notice Eddie as he walked in, looking as if he was expecting literally anyone else.

Turning on the Freak, Eddie smirked at Steve. “Cursing in front of customers, Harrington? Now that’s not very professional of you.”

“Well, we’re closed. You can’t be a customer if you can’t pay.” Steve said, putting his hands on his hips in a way that reminded Eddie of a mother hen. Steve did have a point, and so he decided to cut through any bullshit and looked over at you. You looked like you’d had a long shift, but the way you were looking at him... there was still the same shock that was on Steve’s face, but while his shock was laced with confusion yours was excited. As if you couldn’t believe that The Freak was here and that was a good thing.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Eddie blurted out the request before he could think. He had no idea where you two would go or what you would do but he had to do something.

Your coworker nudged you in the ribs, and your expression changed to a more professional one.

“I- uh. I have to finish closing.” you said, looking at Steve for a split second.

“Steve and I can handle the rest of closing!” Eddie made a mental note to learn this girls name and send her a fucking gift basket one day.

“Guys, I’m literally in charge of you both. I can’t leave before you.” You said, reaching down to grab something from below the counter- your bag. Eddie felt himself growing more excited, his heart pounding as you tossed your work vest and keys over to them. They were basically shoving you out the door to spend time with him.

“We can handle it!” Steve said.

“And I can handle Steve!” Robin added. “We close without you and Keith all the time, remember?”

You stepped out from behind the counter, looking up at him. The color of your eyes under the fluorescent lights reminded him of the stars he had been looking at earlier this evening. Eddie found himself smiling at you as you opened the door for him.

Someone was quick to lock the door and turn the OPEN sign off.

Eddie opens his van door for you, trying his best to make a good impression for whatever was about to happen. You hopped into the passenger seat and he thought that he might enjoy seeing you sitting next to him like this in his van more often.

---

Next Chapter

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[neo-zone]

Sweet Home 3 Official Trailer Personal Breakdown

Some little narration from monster Hyun-su with flashbacks of the last two seasons moment of them. Neat, I like it

Yi-kyung's daughter seems surprised (and kinda scared). Maybe when she realizes who her father is or she's realizing how bad the situation is in the stadium once it's already too late to go back to her peaceful garden? But who knows

Alright, how we go from monster Hyun-su having no sense of privacy at the last episode of season 2 to a scene of him and Eun-yu laying down separately like a divorced couple sleeping on different beds in season 3?

I guess the scene where Hyun-su parted with Eun-yu is after the night attack or well whatever, the main point is it's before the time skip. Also this is most likely the last time we see him with his best hairstyle before he went back to his older one and wearing some fancy clothes because why not. As for Eun-yu and Chan-young, maybe they went back to the stadium? But I don't know

What's this last step of monsterization Eun-hyeok mentioned? I thought it's just stop at the infected regaining full control over themselves after 15 days and got a cool superpower (although most are just variations of fleshy kinda icky stretched limbs, no not you Hyun-su your wing is cool) 🤔 Second power-up stuff, maybe?

So monster Hyun-su attacking Chan-young might have just been a red herring (gladly because whatever the reason they fight it does not make sense for both characters). There's another nasty murderous monster near the hospital at night and Chan-young probably planned a suicide attack with the explosion because duh what else a feeble human like me gonna do against a monster immune to firearms. Monster Hyun-su ofc got his shared abandonment issue with Hyun-su triggered and his immediate response is unconventionally grabbing Chan-young away before he could do something reckless. Hopefully that's what actually happened

On the other hand, THIS (Hyun-su vs Eun-hyeok) is the actual fight (more like little brawl you saw on school tho before Hyun-su uses his wing). Does remind me that the first thing Hyun-su did after waking up in S2E1 is beating up Sang-won (though unsuccessful in the end because he's skewered like a kebab on the vehicle ceiling shortly after). I could see it as both reference and parallel with the scene I just mentioned: Hyun-su saw what he thought is a Green Home survivor he knew who "died" in season 1 and then got into fight with them inside a large vehicle. He probably thought Eun-hyeok went through a similar unfortunate fate like Sang-wook, so he fought him out of anger. Except Eun-hyeok is Eun-hyeok and his corpse is not possessed by someone else with a penchant of pushing Hyun-su's buttons *side eye to Sang-won*. Also he's very much alive and in control of himself. Notice that the outcome is also both of them talking in peace and some bromance bromance vibe

I just noticed that Hyun-su's wing is covered in fire! He's very much ok, so this is an improvement and could be vital in a fight against the monsters

I'm not sure how it really went when the Neohumans going to the stadium? Is it peaceful until the soldiers start attacking? Or is it attacking first before they comply? Or they start attacking after the time skip? Once again, Sergeant Tak, I know you 100% don't trust that motherfucker, so it's not too late to burn Sang-won with your gasoline stock. And make sure not even his ashes remain this time. He's kinda slippery so make sure he does not slip away and find another corpse to possess for the third time

You could see how obvious the "I don't wanna be here" look on the facility girl's face when the Neohumans gang are on the stadium. Poor girl

"Oraenmanieyo" (⁠◔⁠‿⁠◔⁠) ah, Hyun-su finally met with Sang-won again after ages. Can't wait for the unlimited stabbing and flirting 👀 Their long overdue meeting probably happened during the epic showdown at night between Hyun-su & Eun-hyeok (& others if there's any who's willing to die) vs evil Neohumans for the final battle, because it's on night as well and there's fire

Um so what's going on between Yi-kyung and Hyun-su? Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it, just like their fight last season

Please do tell me or correct me in the reply if I still missed something (ofc outside the repated scenes from first teaser or ones I had discussed in the previous breakdown) or wrong at something. Thank you

[atlaculture]

Live-Action Promo Pics: Iroh

Hi everyone, I know I’m pretty late to the party, but I just wanted to give my two cents on the costuming for the second batch of promo pics we got last month. Afterwards, I’m going to be doing a very thorough breakdown of both the fresh and the familiar elements showcased in the new trailer. I’ll also be giving my two cents on the casting for the adult characters, as I feel they’re far along enough into their careers to not care what some random person on Tumblr thinks of them.

Iroh

What I Liked

I know it’s not costume-related, but I have zero issues with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh. It’s picture-perfect casting, as he’s about as close to a real-world Iroh as you can get.

Like with Ozai, the facial hair is spot-on. I mentioned in the previous post that Asian facial hair tends to get bushier once the hair turns white. The makeup artists for this adaption did a good job of capturing this phenomenon.

I like the pattern on Iroh’s vest. It reminds me of the kind of interlocking, geometric designs you see on traditional Japanese fabrics.

The construction of the vest also feels very Japanese-inspired. Although less exaggerated, the pleated shoulders remind me of a kataginu, an over-vest that was traditionally worn by Japanese noblemen and samurai. It’s an appropriate inspiration for the Fire Nation royal with the most decorated military past.

I also appreciate how worn the trim on his robes look. Given that he’s been out at sea alongside his nephew for three years, it makes sense that even his finer clothing would look a little dingy.

What I Didn’t Care For

I wish the shoulders of his vest were a little broader and more dramatic, like the kataginu that inspired them. This is just a personal preference, but I think it would really hammer home Iroh’s past as former crown prince and accomplished general.

The red parts of his robe could be a bit dingier looking.

Overall, I would give Iroh’s live action look 9 teapots out of 10: Almost Perfect.

Surprisingly, I think I prefer this look over his Book 1 armor look. I’m a sucker for a good vest. Hopefully, we’ll see a few more Grade A designs from the Netflix adaption.

[rainylana]

“I’m always going to take care of you.” Alternate Version! part two!

Eddie Munson x female reader

summary: part two of my series, will also be the final part in the installation.

warnings: talk of sexual abuse and rape, depression and breakdowns, explicit details of rape and violence, mostly told in eddie’s pov, language. if i missed anything please let me know! i hope you enjoyed the reboot of this series<3 let me know your thoughts on this one, it was tough to write!

“Please, Y/n, you can’t shut me out. You can’t.” Eddie was sat by your hospital bed beside you, hands holding the metal railing that was put up at the sides.

“I told you, Eddie,” Your voice broke, eye swollen, purple and red with a gleam of tears. “I don’t need to talk about it.”

“Don’t need to talk about it?” He repeated shockingly, more so to himself.

You’d woke up an three hours ago, having been out for almost thirteen hours after you’d passed out. You were a completely different person. You’d shut down, cold, unwilling to talk about what happened. You only wanted one thing, and that was to go home. Eddie didn’t know how to handle it. He knew he shouldn’t push you. You obviously needed time, but Eddie wasn’t a patient man, and he needed you to be okay.

“Please,” Your voice broke, looking over to him with a bruised eye, the skin around your nose red and aggravated. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Eddie, but I am fine. Just forget about it and get me out of here.”

The police had been there as soon as you woke up to question you. Did you recognize your attacker? Had you ever seen him before? What was he wearing? How tall? Did he tell you his name? What was his hair color? So many questions and so little answers. You hardly remembered it, yet you couldn’t seem to forget it.

Eddie had sent Wayne and all of his friends home. You weren’t up for visitors. Frankly, you were scaring Eddie. You seemed pissed, angry at the world and broken, not able to be fixed. You had a look in your eye that you’d never had before.

“I’ll go get the doctor.” He said tiredly. He didn’t sleep a wink in that uncomfortable chair.

Eddie left you alone then, leaving the room with a heavy sigh. He found your doctor at the front desk giving check out papers to another patient. “Dr. Grant?” Eddie called, gaining the female doctors attention. “How much longer till Y/n can leave?”

“We want to keep her just a few more hours for observation.” She checked her clipboard. “Just until we get the results of her head ct.”

Eddie nodded, not wanting to tell you the news of having to stay longer. He looked like a shell of a man, broken, eyes red rimmed and lips cracked from chewing on them. “I don’t know what to, doctor.” He looked to the floor. “She won’t talk to me.”

Dr. Grant frowned at Eddie, pulling him to the side so they could sit in the waiting room. She put her clipboard down on her lap. “Mr. Munson it will take some time before y/n will feel comfortable with talking. I can assure you that it’s perfectly normal in rape victims to shut down.”

He visibly cringed at her choice of words. Rape victim. You were a rape victim.

“I’m going to give you some paper work that may help you help her.” She smiled, placing a comforting hand on his knee. “I know it seems impossible, Mr. Munson, but eventually she will be okay again. It’ll just take time.”

Dr. Grant left the pamphlets on his lap as she left for her rounds. He looked down to find brightly colored pieces of paper, the words rape and assault plastered all over them. He got up quickly when his eyes teared up, disappearing into the bathroom and shoving the papers in his pocket.

Take time, it certainly did.

•

You acted as if nothing happened. You went on about your daily chores, cooked meals and cleaned the trailer. You were pretending, acting. Eddie couldn’t pretend nor could he forget. He was trying to be patient, that’s what the pamphlets told him. Be patient and understanding. But Eddie saw right through you. You weren’t that good of an actress.

He could see how broken you were, the look in your eyes was shattered and gone. The aches in your body you pretended weren’t there, how uncomfortable you were sleeping in the same bed with him. He offered to sleep on the couch and you’d nearly bitten his head off, saying you were fine and he was overreacting. All you were was angry when he talked to you. When anyone talked to you.

When it got late, when everything had been done for the day, you’d sit outside on the porch and stare up at the sky, smoking your pack of cigarettes that you’d swiped from Hopper a few weeks prior. You’d stay out there past midnight. Eddie hadn’t even seen you cry. You didn’t cry or get sad, only angry. That’s all you ever were.

You spent a lot of time in the shower, hours at a time during the night when you thought he was asleep. He never was. Neither of you slept peacefully anymore. You were barely eating. You tried, tried to keep up appearances to prove that you were okay, but you were slipping. It was getting harder and harder.

It had only been three days, but Eddie was starting to loose it. He couldn’t handle watching you fade away so quickly.

It was late when he finally had dozed off, but your absence in the bed woke him. His hand reached out to find you, only feeling the blanket and pillow. His eyes squinted in the dark, his heart beginning to race. Where were you?

He found you in the living room, one single lamp on that made your face an orange color, staring off into space with a blanket wrapped around you. Eddie frowned, turning on the kitchen light that made you jump slightly.

He tried to ignore the way you stiffened when he sat down, sitting a few feet away from you. He stared at you the entire time, trying to read your face. You looked broken. Utterly broken and so, so sad.

“Sweetheart,” Eddie began, sighing deeply. “I can’t keep watching you like this. I’m trying to…give you time, but it’s killing me watching you-” He stopped when he felt a lump build in his throat, not wanting to cry in front of you.

“I’m fine.” You dismissed him every time, not wanting to entertain the idea of breaking down in front of him. The mere fact he knew what happened, what everyone knew, made you feel weak and disgusting. Like a huge spotlight was on you. It was the worst feeling you’d ever felt, like you were standing naked on a stage, vulnerable and exposed.

Eddie bit his cheek and looked away. “No, you’re not, Y/n.” He swallowed roughly, looking back to you. “And that’s okay. I know you feel like it’s not, but it is. You don’t have to shut me out. Please, baby, you can’t shut me out.”

You squinted your eyes shut and looked to the wall. “Eddie,” You begged. “I can’t.”

You can’t.

That was the first time you had said that. That you couldn’t talk about it. Your voice had broke, just only a little. It was the first time he’d seen real emotion in three days. He didn’t want to push you, but you had to let it out. There was no way you could keep on living like this. It wasn’t healthy.

Eddie looked toward the window, it was pitch black outside, not even the flood lights were on. They had quit working a few weeks ago and no one had come to fix it yet. He swallowed back anxiety and nausea. “I know you’re scared-”

“No, you don’t.” You snapped, still refusing to look at him. “You don’t know how I feel. Nobody knows how I feel. They’re just trying to be nice.”

“Then tell me, baby.” He begged, placing his hand on your knee.

You shoved it off, storming up and escaping to the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it just as quick. The shower was turned on within seconds, then he heard you crying, trying to muffle it with the sound of your sweater, or maybe it was a towel.

You hated him. You had to. There couldn’t have been no other explanation for your anger and hatred. You blamed him for what happened, for not coming to your rescue sooner, you just wouldn’t admit out loud. He felt like you’d been killed that night, like your very spirit had been snuffed away like a lit match. He missed you. It was his fault. It was because of him. He was the reason your spirit was gone.

He put his head in his hands and cried.

•

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Wayne. She won’t talk to me. She’ll barely even look at me. She won’t let me touch her. She won’t…she won’t tell me what happened. She blames me. I know she does.” Eddie pushed out air between his lips, struggling to breath. He’d showed up to Wayne’s mid panic attack one morning when you refused to get out of bed. The both of you almost broke out in a fight, except you wouldn’t fight. You didn’t have the energy. It had been another three days gone by.

He was sitting on his uncle’s old sofa, going back and forth from putting his head between his knees or fisting his hair with his hands. Wayne was making himself a fresh cup of coffee, watching as his nephew suffer through his anxiety.

“No, buddy, she doesn’t. She’s just hurtin’.” He poured the coffee into his mug.

“Then why won’t she let me in?” He bounced his knee. “Why won’t she let me help her? She blames me.”

“Try to imagine yourself in her shoes, Ed.” Wayne came over, cradling his mug as he pulled out the kitchen chair, sitting himself in front of his nephew.

“I can’t.” Eddie shook his head. “I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s feeling.”

“That’s my point.” His uncle continued, raising his mug. “You don’t have the slightest idea what she’s going through, you’ve got to give her more time. It’s not even been a week yet, buddy. I know you’re anxious to help her. She’s lucky to have you.”

She’s lucky to have you.

He bit his nail nervously, thinking back to leaving you at the trailer, covered in blankets and refusing to get out of bed. He shouldn’t have left you, but he was on the verge of another breakdown and needed his uncle.

“Why is she so angry?” He gulped, his throat dry from his quick breathing. “I’ve never seen her this angry before.”

“Because she doesn’t know how to process what she went through.” Wayne placed his coffee on the table after another sip. “When we’re hurtin’, sometimes it turns to anger. I think you can relate to that, huh?”

He could. With the kind of life he led, his childhood, everything after vecna and the trauma he endured, he knew exactly what his father figure was talking about. When you hurt, when you have nothing else to feel, you get pissed off.

•

When Eddie got back home, he knew you were still in bed. The lights were off, the tv was off. The poor fish you shared hadn’t been fed yet. He quietly walked into your shared bedroom, the sunlight peering through the curtains, illuminating your face. The blankets were tangled around you, your arms hugging the pillow. You stared at the wall into nothingness, s blank look on your face that spoke volumes of emotion. You were heartbroken.

Eddie watched you for awhile, making his way to sit at the foot of the bed. He sat by your feet, putting his hand on your blanket covered ankles, squeezing them reassuringly. “How about something to eat, huh?”

It took you several seconds to respond. “I’m not hungry.”

He would much rather you be angry than like this. A zombie, unwillingly to move or breath, not able to function or communicate with him.

“What about some tea?” He tried, eyes soft and round, his hand softly rubbing circles on your leg.

You cringed under his touch, shaking your head. ��I don’t want tea, Eddie.”

Then, Eddie’s throat filled with a ball of sick, but he quickly forced it back down. You said his name with such malice, such hatred and venom that told him everything he needed to know. You did blame him.

His eyes filled with tears and he stared at the wall. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

He’d said it time and time again, but his words came out in a desperation that he hadn’t yet conveyed to you.

“I don’t blame you for hating me.” He sniffled, his curls shaking with the weight of his shoulders. “I’m to blame and-”

“Eddie, please,” You sobbed, making him practically flinch in surprise. You were crying. “Stop it.”

He let out a whimper, falling to his knees so he could kneel at your head. “Honey,” He cried. “My baby girl, I can’t stand the thought of you hating me. Please, angel, just let me take care of you. Talk to me. Let me in.” He was begging you with a cracked, broken voice that made you sob right along with him.

His hand went to touch your cheek, but you flinched and sat up, bringing the blankets up to your chest. “It’s not you, Eddie!” You blubbered, snot running down your nose. “I don’t hate you! You can’t think that! P-please, don’t think that!”

He crawled up on the bed to sit in front of you, hot tears still rolling down his face. “Then why are you shutting me out? We’re supposed to be a team! We promised each other! You promised me and I promised you! Please, baby, I have to know what happened! It’s killing me!”

“I can’t!” You exclaimed, your tousled up hair falling at the sides. “Oh, God, Eddie, I can’t! I can’t talk about it! I can’t do anything! I just want to lay here and die!” You coiled over and wailed broken-heartedly, a song of cries that boiled out of your throat and paralyzed you. You curled up into a ball and practically screamed into the blankets. Eddie was shaking, bringing up a hand to bit as hard as he could, not knowing if you would allow him to touch you,

He placed one hand on you gently, and when you didn’t pull away, he quickly gathered you in his arms. “I’m here, baby. I’m here. I’m here, sweetheart. Just let it out. Let it out, let it out.”

You let him hold you, and in desperation of the moment, you wrapped your arm around his leg to bring the heat of his body flush to yours. You bawled your heart out into him, emptying all your fears and sorrow.

“I- I can’t stop- thinking a-bout him!” You said hysterically, your tears making his jean covered knee damp. “It hurt so-so bad, Eddie!” It sounded like your cries caused you physical pain, your words coming out choppy and broken.

Your bruised ribs ached from your heavy sobs, your hands going to hold your stomach. “God, oh, God, Eddie, I can’t do it! I can’t! I can’t!”

“You don’t have to.” He said firmly, trying to control his own sobs so you could understand him. “You give all that pain to me, okay? You give it all to me. I can handle it. You let me take care of you. I’m always going to take care of you, sweetheart.”

Your bruised nose had started to bleed onto his jeans, going unnoticed from the both of you. You were hyperventilating, shaking and practically convulsing in his arms.

“Come on, baby,” He held you to his chest, your body still curled up against him. “It’s okay, I’m here. Just let it out. Tell me what you need to.”

It hurt. It hurt so bad. He hurt me so bad and I couldn’t stop him. I’m so scared. I’m scared he’s going to find me. I don’t want you to look at me differently. I feel so weak. Please still love me. Please stay with me. Don’t tell anyone I’m afraid.

You cried for so many things, but he listened to every last word you had to offer him. You told him what happened. A man had followed you into the bedroom, forced you down and split your legs apart, punching you in the nose and kneeing you in the ribs, shoving himself inside you like a sword, piercing it’s way into you roughly. You had cried and cried, screamed and begged, till you didn’t, finally going into shock and laying there, taking it.

Eddie had tried his hardest not to breakdown at your confession, but he could only do so much. He held you into the dark of night, promising what he had said. He was always going to take care of you.

[loonymooony]

JWCT PROMO IMAGES BREAKDOWN WHAT WHAT

WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!

also please only take me semi-seriously because I am not mentally ok and will not be until season 2 drops or at least until I can walk again

First order of business, these signs, it’s so random they would just drop random signs on us like like this so here’s my prediction/breakdown:

oke so it looks like these are all on the ship, so everything in the first episode

• Hmm lettuce not for crew use? THE CAMPERS ARE GONNA USE IT BCS THEY ARE THE EMBODIMENT OF “This sign cannot stop be because I can’t read!” • Oh? A live dino? Wrong. That dinosaur is gonna be dead af

• Do not feed the dinosaurs? Oops. Also this insinuates that there are professionals on board BUT I AM WILLING TO BET ALL MY LIFE SAVINGS (1/3 of a penny) THAT THERE ARE NO PROFESSIONALS ON BOARD AND THE WHOLE CREW FREAKS OUT WHEN THE DINOS ESCAPE

• Hmm it seems that this sign reads “Power must remain on at all times” yeah I don’t think that’s happening, idk why just have this gut feeling that some dinos might escape

• I’ve already yapped about this one but in summary: THAT LOOKS LIKE A VERY SUSPICIOUS KENJI, SHOULD WE REPORT IT? (I feel like Dora saying that)

My beloved waifu pookie cutie patootie Brooklynn throwback 🥰🥰 good to see that after everything, it’s still you. Also her hand? arm? is tied to to the control so either someone helped her or is forcing her to work or she can do that herself while Imm over here struggling to put a bracelet on myself 😭😭

GIRL BOSS BROOKLYNN THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT I WANT TO BE LIKE I ASPIRE TO BE LIKE HER GIRLBOSS BADDY QUEEN SLAY GIRL 🥰🥰🥰 (i love her sm guys)

Trying to piece the timeline for this: looks like it’s from after the atrociraptor attack but I could be VERY wrong since there doesn’t look like much doom and gloom happened in what I presume to be Darius’ cabin. Also she has *proper* lock picks in her mouth (look for once she’s well prepared and not using a bobby pin even though bobby pins r great no hate to them) It looks to me as if she’s in his cabin stealing some DPW documents that she either left in his cabin (doubt it) or that Darius already had due to his previous job. It doesn’t really look like a friendly visit or an “I miss you visit” it just seams pretty sketchy (sorry Dinostar nation)

DLN probably stands for “Dinosaur Liberation Now” AND OMG GUYS REMEMBER WHEN RAPTOR MASK WAS LIGHTING A FIRE (basically doing arson) in the trailer? COULD THIS HAVE BEEN IT? who am I kidding it was obviously him during that moment

These two shots have the same lighting and are probably together, HOW TF IS BROOKLYNN SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE THIS, IK DREAMWORKS SAID TWO MAIN CHARACTERS WOULD DIE BY THE ENF OF THE SEASON BUT THEY CANT KILL MY POOKIE OFF TWICE!! right?

All these scenes look like their from the same episode, maybe Brooklynn was trying to do something and got caught or she was being escorted to do something by her pet Red and whoever else is there

ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS POSSIBLE DINOSTAR REJECTION SCENE 💔💔💔 DARIUS LOOKS SO SHOCKED AND SAD I ACTUALLY CANT I FEEL BALD FOR THE GREEN BEAN 😔😔 (im so sorry to the dinostar nation and it’s leader @livsmessydoodles)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ anygays I have reached the image limit so expect part 2 soon!!!

(@lezabeththetheodoraimposter)

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: March 2024 ~ 

🌦️ Happy April!!! 🐝

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Love is Better the Second Time Around - March 5th (Japan) 

🌟 Deep Night - March 7th (Thailand) 

🌟 Your Tie is Crooked - March 11th (Japan/Thailand)

🌟 Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb! - March 13th (Thailand)

🌟 Kiseki Chapter 2 - March 17th (Thailand)

🌟 Two Worlds - March 21st (Thailand) ✅

🌟 High Demand - March 23rd (Thailand) 

🌟 Be Your Star - March 23rd (Thailand)

🌟 Jazz For Two - March 26th (South Korea)

🌟 The Star - March 28th (Thailand) 

🌟 Please Teach Me - March 29th (South Korea)

🌟 Only Boo! - March 31st (Thailand) ✅

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ ø

👎🏻 ø

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Babanbabanban Vampire (manga adaption) - Coming 2025 (Japan)

🎥 My Lovely Enemy - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 My Dear Daddy (starring Fluke Pusit) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Battle of the Writers (starring TutorYim) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Meet You at the Blossom - Date TBA (Taiwan/Thailand)

🎥 Silent House - Date TBA (China)

🎥 This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - Coming July 5th (Thailand)

🎥 What the Nong - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Night Owl - Date TBA (China)

🎥 จาฤกรติชา (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 GG Precinct - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Sangmin & Dinneaw (Thai/Korean collaboration) - Date TBA (Thailand/South Korea)

🎥 Let's Eat Together 2 (sequel movie) - Coming June 2024 (Japan)

🎥 Global Examination - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Yaoi Academy - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actor Jes Jespipat was announced as the replacement for Build Jakapan in the upcoming Be On Cloud BL 4 Minutes. B. previously withdrew from the project after a defamation lawsuit involving him and his ex girlfriend in 2023. The project is now in production and will likely air towards the end of the year.

❗️ Actor Maiake Kandis announced his withdrawal from the upcoming BL Red Peafowl. He was originally cast as one of the leads, being paired with Dollar Patchara. He later came forward saying his statement was fake news and that he is in fact not withdrawing. He also said he does not know if or when the production will start.

❗️ Former GMMTV actor Fluke Pusit (The Shipper, The Warp Effect) was announced as the lead actor in the upcoming BL Your Dear Daddy. He will star alongside Poonpun Jitaboon, an air date is unknown.

❗️ Domundi actors TutorYim (Cutie Pie, Middlemans Love) were announced as the leads in the upcoming BL Battle of the Writers. The show will be produced by Hydroindus Entertainment and is based on the Chinese novel "The Great Battle of Games". The full cast was announced on March 9th; an airdate as well as further information on the show is unknown.

❗️ Lay Talay and Perth Nakhun (My Engineer) reunited for a mini series called Your Tie is Crooked, consisting of 3 episodes à 2 minutes. It was released on the Japanese streaming platform TVer on March 11th.

❗️ The premiere of the upcoming BL Wuju Bakery has been postponed to September. It was originally scheduled to air in March, though due to an increase of the episode length and general production upscaling, the original air date is no longer realizable, according to the production.

❗️ Change 2561 (Pit Babe) announced an upcoming original BL called This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans. Sailub and Pon (AlanJeff in PB) will star as the lead couple, alongside GarfieldBenz and others. A first trailer was released on March 20th.

❗️ Actor Yoon Phusanu revealed that he has left his management under Y Entertainment, following a dispute about his appearance in the 2023 Thai BL For Him. In a press conference he stated that the production cut his part completely and refused to pay him in the process. Main actors Dew N. and Tor A. later disclosed that they also encountered the issue of not receiving payment for their work from the company, along with accusations of se*ual assault from members of the production team. In an official statement Y Entertainment clarified they would transfer the actor's salaries as soon as possible.

❗️ The GMMTV BL Cherry Magic reached more than 1.7 million tweets for the final episode and a total of over 9 Million tweets for all 12 episodes, making it the gmmtv show with the most Twitter interaction in the history of the company.

❗️ The upcoming Korean remake of the Norwegian teen web series SKAM is officially in production. A short teaser was released on March 28th, revealing the title of the project: Fragile. An airdate, as well as a cast and further information is unknown.

Upcoming series & movies for April

👉🏻 Love is Like a Cat - April 1st (South Korea / Thailand)

👉🏻 We Are - April 3rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Memory in the Letter - April 6th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Living With Him - April 11th (Japan)

👉🏻 Gray Shelter - April 11th (South Korea)

👉🏻 At 25:00 in Akasaka - April 18th (Japan)

👉🏻 Boys Be Brave - April 19th (South Korea)

👉🏻 With You I Bloom - April 24th (Japan)

👉🏻 My Stand-In - April 26th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Knock Knock Boys - April TBA (Thailand)

👉🏻 GMMTV2024 Part 2 (lineup event) - April TBA (Thailand)

[sasakisyndrome]

theres something so special about charles and edwins Songᵗᵐ being welcome to the black parade because it just feels so distinctly them. like dead boy detectives and the black parade have similar thesis statements so its not super surprising but man do they go together well.

the song starts with a simple, elegant, and recognisable piano melody all on its own with relatively untouched vocals. that piano stays the prominent focus of the first half of the intros instrumental but is soon joined soon with the more parade-like rythyms, almost militant sounding drums and the piano (likely) mimicking a xylophone.

the use of these much more classical feels like it should juxtapose with the gradually crescendoing drums and the focus shifting from the piano melody being the most prominent to the electric guitar, a much modern instrument then the piano during the reprise of the first stanza of the song into the latter half, but the drums (representing the parade of death) keep the melody grounded together.

and the thing is somehow that combination of the piano into the guitar works it sounds awesome. the transition from gerards relatively gentle singing over the piano into the belting over the much more traditionally “rock emo” sound. the album is a rock opera which in itself should be an oxymoron but somehow WORKS.

and isnt that just such a perfect parallel to the prim and proper shy edwardian boy who died in 1916 (and missed 70 years of earth history) and the boy from the 80s who wears punk patches, and jewelery who is self declared “aces with other people.”

and that just the insturmentals, don’t even get me started on the lyrics like holy guacamole !!!!!!!!! there’s just such an inherint teenage angst to it that you can just get why it’s resonated with so many young people.

He said, "Son, when you grow up, would you be, the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?"

though the boys never did get to grow up, they spend their time helping other ghosts with unfinished business be able to move on to their afterlives, helping the broken, the beaten, and ocassionally, the damned. that’s a basic breakdown of the show!!!! and the bridge omg…

Do or die, you'll never make me, Because the world will never take my heart Go and try, you'll never break me We want it all, we wanna play this part I won't explain or say I'm sorry I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar And give a cheer for all the broken Listen here, because it's who we are Just a man, I'm not a hero Just a boy who had to sing this song Just a man, I'm not a hero I don’t care

charles and edwin never wanted to be “the dead boy heros” thats a horrible name. they just wanted to be detectives and to solve mysteries that no one else would. and they do it in exchange for top hats, and taffy, and cursed objects from people who needed help.

two boys who were both hatecrimed, whos deaths got covered up, who saw humanity at its absolute lowest, still choose to believe there is good in the world and want to help others. and they’re gonna be themselves while doing it! they’re gonna be bitchy, and loud, and forget things, and act like teenage boys, and if you don’t like that then go find other detectives.

when talking about the song gerard way spoke about how he liked that “a parade could either be for a funeral or for a celebration.” and for the album, and for the show, it’s both. and i’m very glad he and the rest of the band let them use the song in the trailer. because though the boys are dead and gone, but that doesn’t change the fact that they will carry on.

[mariyekos]

New DMC Anime Trailer Breakdown Part 2

Hit the image limit on Part 1 so to a new post we go!

This guy that Dante punches has a bunch of metal on his face, and what might be a prosthetic, might just be a metal glove. What's interesting is this anime has Dante fighting a lot of humanoid characters, which is a little bit of a departure from some of the games, but honestly not that crazy. He does fight people from time to time across various media, and in the DMC1 Novel we even hear about the people who hunt him down. What has me interested here is whether this guy is fully human, or if he's been modified in some way, and if he's been modified, if he'll have any demonic traits or it'll just be the metal. It would be interesting to contrast a human trying to transcend normal human limits through human means (by making themself into a machine) with Arkham, who is a human trying to transcend humanity by using demonic power to achieve godhood.

Skipping a bit so if you want to see the things between the last two images please go to my previous post where I ran out of room. As for the two green/turtle-like demons Dante fights on the rooftop, I've got to say I'm a little disappointed in some of the demon design. I love how creepy/demonic a lot of DMC demons are, and while some of them would probably be hard to animate, I feel like they still could've been more...I don't know. Creepy looking? Compare it to the Hell Gluttony from DMC3, which is a much creepier/more scary DMC cloaked enemy. Not sure if the demon above was meant to call back to these guys, but I think it would've been fun to have some references to DMC enemies even with the generics.

As for the shot above this, seeing this shot all I could think was "infested chopper" and I haven't even played DMC2. I've just seen the memes. '

Zooming in I'm not sure who this guy is supposed to be. (Right image comes from later in the trailer). It can't be Agni because we've already seen him and the blade doesn't match. This demon wields a sword and has something in the middle of his chest though. I have a feeling that's going to be important. (Also complete crackpot theory: this guy's hair is a similar color to the pendant(?) from earlier, but surely this can't be related). He looks mutated, with more spikes emerging from his right arm, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was a human turned demon or something.

Looking at the gatling gun and missile heading toward an armored truck, I wonder if the military is going to get involved in this one. Police officers showed up a few times in the old anime, and the military DID come for the Qliphoth incident in DMC5, so it's possible the military may intervene in this one. That the missile is heading for an armored truck is interesting though. Are there two human factions at war with each other? Will this missile be deflected? Will it be just the military, or will there be groups like the ones we see Dante fighting that may get involved? The giant portal to Hell that opened up in the sky could definitely draw attention.

Then we have red eye/ red sclera Dante while fighting mysterious red guy from above! Interesting. We see that in the DMC3 manga too (assuming his sclera are meant to be red here instead of black). Both he and Vergil do it.

I'll probably also do a write up on overall thoughts, but I'll cut it here so I can link these posts. Edits to come!

[deepdreamnights]

The Age Old Debate: Fire Good, or Fire Bad?

This was originally going to be part of this thread, but the points were distinct enough and my thoughts rambly enough that I split it into two posts.

From the recent PalWorld thread:

We gotta handle that last tag in two parts.

Part 1 "the devs admitted to using AI art to make the pals"

First off, that isn't true near as I can tell. I can't find anything of the PalWorld Devs admitting they used AI for PalWorld designs. Palworld had demo footage with Pals in it 2 years ago on June 6 with their announcement trailer, which means they would have had to have started dev much earlier than that.

This is what AI art from June of 2022 looked like:

On the left, Hieronymus Bosch's Pokemon, on the right, Charmander on Gumby.

I did a much deeper breakdown of the "used AI" accusation here. It does not hold water.

Now, I could change my mind on this point if there were linked evidence to the creators of Palworld saying this. But there isn't.

Because the accusation is repeated in a tag, there's no way to include supporting information, or even to easily directly ask the accuser for it. Many people are going to see it, internalize it, and then repeat it uncritically, and that's how rumors and witchhunts start.

Because I've seen a lot of accusations about PalWorld stealing fakemon, and I'm yet to see a smoking gun. There's barely smoke.

Gonna hit the second point in that tag, but while we're on the theme of spreading misinfo:

Part 2 of the Tag: Using AI to Brainstorm is "Bad"

This is also an assertion that would require support, and I believe it to be wholly incorrect.

Plagiarism happens at publication. Not at inception, not inspiration, not even at the production level. The only measure of whether something is or is not "stolen art" is whether what comes out at the end replicates, with insufficient transformation, an existing, fixed expression. Art theft is about what comes out, not about what goes in.

For more about how this works with AI art, I suggest checking out the Electronic Frontier Foundation's statement on the issue. They're the ones looking out for your online civil rights, and I agree with their position on this.

The argument that AI art is theft because it is trained on public-facing material on the internet just doesn't fly. Those are all fixed published works subject to inspiration, study, and transformative recreation under fair use. The utilization of mechanical apparatus does not change that principle.

And fair use that requires permission isn't fair use. That's a license.

Moreover, altering the process to put infringement at inspiration/input or allowing the copyrighting of styles would be the end of art as we know it.

There's no coincidence that the main legal push against AI art on copyright grounds is backed by Adobe and Disney. Adobe is already using AI art as a pretext to lobby congress to let them copyright styles, and Disney owns enough material on its own to produce a dataset that would let them do all the AI they'd ever need to, entirely with material they "own." And they're DOING THAT.

The genie is out of the bottle, they (Disney, Adobe, Warner Bros, Universal) have it, and it can't be taken away from them. They just don't want anyone else using AI to compete with them.

Palworld didn't use AI to conceive of its critters. If it had, they'd have probably been less derivative.

(three random AI fakemon I prompted up as examples of just that)

Both traditional and AI-assisted art can plagerize or be original, its entirely based upon how the techniques are used.

Moreover, you can infringe entirely accidentally without realizing, but you can also fail at copying enough that it becomes a new protected work.

We're well into moral panic territory with AI in general, and there's more than a touch of it around Palworld, largely because people aren't suspicious enough of information that confirms their worldview.

I used the quoted set of tags as the prompt for the top of the post, all the AI images in this post are unmodified and were not extensively guided, and thus do not meet the minimal expression threshold and should be considered in the public domain.

[witheredoffherwitch]

Speculations and Spoilers: A Breakdown of the Trailer

Overall, here are my initial thoughts on the trailer: it exceeded my expectations. I was prepared for the rumoured "leaked" version but I am pleasantly surprised with what we got instead. The aesthetic of this season has already improved - the colour grading, costumes, and makeup all seem to have upgraded from previous seasons.

Now let's get to the trailer itself. I won't analyze every single scene, but rather focus on a few intriguing ones and share my own theories. Just a heads up, there may be some spoilers mentioned in the following observations. So, proceed with caution!

The first shot of Rhaenyra is absolutely heartbreaking. She appears shattered and defeated, likely searching for her son's body by the Shipbreaker's Bay:

Both shots seem to be part of the same sequence as she is wearing the same outfit.. and the first shot could be the aftermath of her unsuccessful attempt to find her son's remains.

In the next scene, we are presented with two dragons on opposite sides: Syrax and Rhaenyra on one side, and Seasmoke on the other. This will potentially show Addam or Laenor swearing allegiance to Rhaenyra's cause.

The third scene I wanted to highlight is Alicent caught in the midst of a riot. While many assume it will occur during the funeral procession, I believe it takes place much later in the series. One hint is from the leaks revealing Alicent's funeral attire, which looks quite different from what we see here.

The first image is from the leaked footage, while the second one is what we see in the official trailer. It's possible that they may have reshot the scene with different costumes, but it seems unlikely. In the second scene, which I assume will be set much later in the season, it seems likely that they might finally introduce the Shepherd. Personally, I will be thrilled if they bring him into the series earlier on as he becomes one of the most prominent voices against House Targaryen. His early introduction will showcase his growing hatred for their dragons, and his sermons will only become more antagonistic as Rhaenyra's rule progresses. Eventually, it will lead to the infamous storming of the dragon pit where the mob will eventually slaughter all of their remaining dragons.

A brief glimpse at Helaena's scenes with B&C and her attending Jaehaerys' funeral procession:

The second scene captures her gazing upwards, likely indicating one of two possibilities: 1. she is giving the command for Dracarys to Dreamfyre, or 2. she is looking up to see Aegon on Sunfyre, who may perform the final rites himself.

In addition to Rhaenyra's dragon-riding scene, we are shown Baela and Aemond on their dragons. Baela is decked out in armour, possibly indicating her involvement in a war. This supports the popular theory that she will be present at Rook's Rest.

Baela's scene has many fans speculating that it may be when she witnesses the death of Rhaenys.

Moving on to the Aegon scene, I am thoroughly amused by his attitude. I was afraid we would be stuck in another sombre period with Aegon, but thankfully we have moved on and entered his cunty phase.

Lastly, I won't delve deeper into these two scenes since I've already addressed the question here.

However, I have heard the theory about it being a dream sequence, which is something I personally prefer over the idea of it being about Alys.

Now, my final thoughts: Rhaenyra looks more pro-active as most of us had expected earlier. However, I still doubt if they will include her in any of the war sequences. Her role will be much more covert (which the maesters wouldn't have known to record in the history texts.) On the other hand, Alicent appears to have given up this season altogether. A side note: both women look stunningly beautiful in the trailer.

Aemond continues to dominate as the most interesting character, and it seems we can anticipate his reign as Prince Regent this season. Even in his brief appearances, he manages to captivate our attention and leave us wanting more. Aegon will be taking charge and we can expect a major comeback now that he is leading the Green faction.

AND that concludes everything for the time being! I may come back to this post later and make some revisions, but for now, this is all.

[quinnfebrey]

WICKED PT. 1 REVIEW

(spoiler free*)

*spoiler free is used generously, there are no major or intentional spoilers but i make no promises for smaller things.

casting:

going into it thought the casting would be the weakest point, but i was pleasantly surprised. that said, i think jon chu’s reasoning for not casting unknowns was total bs and he just wanted a star-studded cast. i also wish they were younger. it was kind of giving movie ben platt terrorizing the teenagers of dear evan hansen. it works for the stage, but my belief was not suspended on the big screen. so while i don’t necessarily agree with how we got here, objectively they were great.

production:

honestly it looked amazing, i wish some parts were graded with a little more contrast, but the colors weren’t muted at all and i thought the cinematography was the perfect level of dramatic and interesting. the highlight was the emerald city. nothing else really stuck out to me in particular but the first 30 seconds or so of one short day looked AMAZING.

the singing:

sounded phenomenal, and this is coming from someone who heard the trailers and panicked. i don’t know what they did in post to make them sound so awful and processed in the trailers, but the movie itself sounded great.

the acting:

i wanted… more. jonathan has such an overly expressive face that worked so well, but cynthia was just the smirk emoji for 2.5 hours and ariana looked like this 🙂 the entire time. they had their moments, of course, but with all the added dialogue (and no song to carry the emotion) i wanted more of a performance.

why the fuck was it 2.5 hours?

i don’t know man. i understood (and enjoyed) some of the additions, but there were an equal number that didn’t add anything, and there were so many scenes where i was like whyyyy is this taking so long. it felt like they were trying to (unsuccessfully) justify the runtime instead of it being a natural result.

2-part split:

this is by far my biggest criticism of the movie. the ending was done BEAUTIFULLY, but the year gap will kill the momentum. i 100% believe that splitting it into two parts will take away from the viewing experience. i actually didn’t have a problem with the splitting when it was first announced, but now that i’ve seen part 1 it feels like a forced cash grab.

rewatchability:

even though i actually really liked it, i don’t think i’d ever electively put it on instead of a stage recording.

SONG BREAKDOWNS:

no one mourns the wicked

a fantastic opening. i went into the movie very skeptical, but it managed to win me over on all accounts. it had the richness and fullness you’d expect + beautiful visuals and ariana proves her doubters (me) wrong immediately.

dear old shiz

the song is nearly identical to the musical, but the changed staging was odd (but also insignificant in a way that made it even more odd).

the wizard and i

i blame the directing for why this song fell flat for me. they toned down the physical animation of elphaba but didn’t add anything else so it was sort of just her walking around and singing at us. also didn’t super love cynthia’s take on it until the last verse, which was phenomenal, probably because the directing didn’t let her do anything with it.

what is this feeling?

SOOOO GOOD!! it sounded amazing, looked amazing, the ensemble was amazing. THIS is what a movie musical is supposed to do: take what was great on stage and expand in a way that is only possible on film. it was fun and inviting and probably one of the strongest numbers in the entire movie.

something bad

i liked what they did with this in terms of the pacing, and i also like that it helped bolster the animal side plot instead of it getting swept into the songs on either side. the singing was unmemorable but the scene was very effective.

dancing through life

i have SUCH mixed feelings on this. i absolutely loved it up until the break when glinda gives elphaba the hat. jonathan sounded amazing, the dancing and cinematography was perfect, but the pacing and flow was totally ruined after what should’ve been a brief interlude for plot. the moment between elphaba and glinda is very strong and still made me cry, but the middle section was just so off-putting.

popular

sooooo good. ariana sounded amazing, and the directing was perfectly energetic. it felt like a music video in the best way. the colors, cinematography, and storytelling was great. they did manage to strip all of the homoeroticism out of it, and ariana’s yuh made a few valiant attempts to escape, but neither detracted from the final product.

i’m not that girl

same issue as wizard and i, i didn’t want just another three minutes of elphaba standing around singing to the camera. the last verse was the best because there was actually something happening visually, which i think also made cynthia sound better. the monologue style number works on stage for a variety of reasons, but felt like a waste of screen time in the movie.

one short day

first 30-60 seconds are AMAZING. took the energy of the stage and shot it to the moon. it actually made me tear up and i have no complaints. the added interlude was a little long, but i’m a sucker for nostalgia bait so i’ll allow it.

a sentimental man

ummm i hated it lol. it felt SO out of place due to some poor (in my opinion) script additions, and the singing wasn’t anything special. the jeff goldblum cameo made them give the wizard way too much emphasis at that point and it completely disrupted the flow of the movie

defying gravity

except for (another) unnecessarily long interlude, this was everything i was waiting for and more. ariana and cynthia sounded amazing together and cynthia sounded PHENOMENAL. ariana delivered the “well, where are your wings?” line perfectly, which is usually for me a weak point with a lot of glindas; and the “i hope you’re happy now that you’re choosing this” verse was perfection both visually and vocally. overall, it did what it was supposed to do: it wrapped up the first act beautifully and showcased cynthia’s voice.

[lu-zijing]

The ULTIMATE Season 5 Lego Monkie Kid Trailer Breakdown/Analysis Part 2 - Collab with @cherllyio

FINALLY MADE IT!

Go check out Part Two of me and Cory’s Breakdown/analysis on YouTube now! 

This time - Going more into details~!

More specifically, we are talking a lot about something called the Four Constellations. If You are interested in more, go check out that video!

Shoutout to @deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven - they had also noticed these Four Constellations! And made some posts about it, go check them out-!

And Shoutout to @tyrasanege for making me and Cory see that the black Tortoise was in the Trailer!  (We hadn’t even noticed it before (￣▽￣)")

Here’s the Link: https://www.tumblr.com/lu-zijing/751030767424077824/heavy-gasp-proceeds-to-make-an-extra-recording?source=share

You are both mentioned in the video! (^▽^)

[acesw]

Chapter 7 | E Lucevan le Stelle Trailer - Breakdown

Welcome to 1914 Vienna, one of the capitals of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In the prime time of arts and culture, Vienna is set to host a well-loved opera among the masses. Meanwhile, more tumultuous conflicts arises as we begin to reach the height of the "Storm." What will we be seeing here in this colourful city?

We're well aware that the trailer absolutely shows us that we will be seeing a new perspective in the current events of the main story. But what are we presented with so far? Lets see here. [Content Warning: Mentions of suicide, depictions of electroshock therapy]

The Title

The title itself is a reference to the song of the same name. E Lucevan le Stelle is a romantic aria that is performed in the third act of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. The three-act opera is a tragic story about love and jealousy, telling the story of an opera singer fighting to save her love from a sadistic police chief.

From this alone, it makes its themes of this chapter very clear. Furthermore, Tosca might be the opera that will be performed in Vienna.

The Art Gallery

"A painting? Based on the mysterious island?... The host is Isolde, the opera singer?" "Oh poor thing; every member of that family met a tragic end. And now, her brother..."

We start this trailer by being informed that Isolde, an opera singer, is hosting an art exhibition in Vienna. The exhibited paintings are of her late brother, who had died prior to this story.

The building signage on the art gallery (literally) translates to: "to time its art, to art its freedom" in German. There is no doubt that the "mysterious island" is referencing to the Island and Apeiron, which has recently been bombed and implied to be exposed to the public in Chapter 5.

These paintings have been burnt, yet parts had been preserved and presented to the public. They have been painted by Theophil Dittersdorf, being the named late brother of Isolde Dittersdorf.

The Salvation

"Behold, my brother's final painting, inspired by the Golden Isle: "The Salvation." "

Once again referencing the Island, Theophil must have known about it for some time. Here, the painting could be about the "Storm" itself.

The News

"The rain, the 'golden isle,' the island in the painting, is that where the Timekeeper is at now?" - Marcus "How did Theophil know about the 'Storm', and the Island?" - Hoffman "He belonged to an organization called 'The Circle.' " - Marcus

We're finally introduced to Greta Hoffman and Marcus, the two investigators who are deployed to Vienna to investigate about the "Storm." Also, the newspaper here confirms that the Island had been exposed. Its ownership causes international conflicts between Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece. This coincides with Theophil's art exhibition and the revealing of the Salvation.

They discover that Theophil knew about the Island because of a group called "The Circle." They're described as a group of artists, but Marcus speculates that they might have a purpose beyond that.

"Are they really just a group of artists?"

Kakania helping Isolde

"What do you see in the mirror?"

Kakania is likely to be a psychiatrist for Isolde, who helps the latter try to cope with the loss of her brother.

"I see... golden circles. Theophil in the fire... He, He burned all his paintings! And then, I heard a shot."

Isolde describes what had happened during Theophil's death. Here, we see a memory of her receiving electroshock therapy as a form of treatment. (which I'll talk about in a different post) Then, we see a vague memory of what happened that night.

Theophil's silhouette seemed to be domineering over Isolde's own as he burned his paintings. The last sentence implies that Theophil did not die in the fire, but rather committed suicide by shooting himself.

The "Storm"

"All these assassinations... All at the same time?"

We see that the "Storm" will be happening around this time by acceleration. It's catalyst has to do with mass assassinations and thus sparking WW1.

Meanwhile, we have a short scene of a fighter plane being taken down, suggesting that we might have a moment to see what happened on the Island.

Kakania and Marcus' meeting

"I can see how you burned with passion. Welcome to 'The Circle,' miss Marcus."

The paths of the past and future will cross once again. Marcus and Kakania will be meeting under certain circumstances. Kakania—despite likely not knowing anything about the "Storm"—will be helping Marcus with her mission.

More of Isolde

"Will our people be able to defend themselves on that island?" - Kakania "To help them, is to help ourselves." - Isolde —— "We share the same dream as you."

We're not sure what this shows here, but considering Isolde's quotes here, she might be a part of something more in this story than we know for now. Who is "we" anyway?

Arcana

"I am intrigued by the name of your little group: 'The Circle.' "

Arcana makes an interesting appearance in this trailer. Perhaps she will be important to a flashback? Or maybe an interaction that happens before she arrives to the Island? Who knows!

The End

"Even if the world ends tomorrow, we still have a show to watch. Please, enjoy."

This is all we see in the trailer. I'm really excited to finally see what happens in Chapter 7, as it'll truly be a long yet grandiose show for everyone. Have fun with theorizing!

[allegedly-human]

you know I'm kind of fascinated by how Game of Thrones just erased itself from pop culture. Like, everybody knows it happened, it was inescapable, but after season 8 and its final...it really died off. And not just in the way show endings kill off the hype usually, it really genuinely fucked up the entire thing.

The fandom is now pretty much kept to its own internet corners, House of the Dragon, while still a successful show for HBO with a strong 9 million viewers for its season one finale, still really pales compared to the average of 25 millions people watching GoT on all platforms by season 6. This doesn't feel like the usual drop in viewership that a spinoff should have, and the viewership dropped when season 2 arrived. The Jon Snow spinoff got cancelled, along with two spinoffs I never heard off until doing some research for this post. Did you know there are two planned animated series about the part of the world we don't know about in GoT? I didn't, no one does. There are four "planned" spinoffs that are still in gestation in 2021. One of them changed medium entirely from live action to animated. One got a trailer recently, "a knight of the seven kingdom" that adapts the stories of Dunk and Egg, and the highest view count I could find was a breakdown that got 1.5 million views that was a year old, while everything else was under 50k. It's impressive honestly