#that i just assume that's the main focal point
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waynedunlaptheorgandonor · 10 months ago
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i'm just sayin', if towl can be six hours of love and sexy times with mild plot sprinkled in and be a successful show, there's no reason tboc can't do the same ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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maniwannadiezz · 28 days ago
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Thank you. You make me feel sane for hating on vivs art😭 (she did influence my art in middle school, but now I see all the issues with it)
no problem! I think her art had a lot of bad influence on newer artists simply because at first glance it’s appealing and people like you (and me) thought why can’t we just copy it and go from there? Welllll problem is that just copying an artist will lead to you consuming and producing the mistakes they make or not fully grasp why they exaggerated something the way they did. Unfortunately those anime hating art teachers held some truth in their words, just copying right off of another artist without fully understanding the rules of art will lead to getting stuck.
I’ve gotten “stuck” before, my art deformed contorted to the style and gave me a mess where the heads were too big and the proportions too wonky when I could have spent my time understanding anatomy and proper colouring techniques. Of course there’s nothing wrong with just wanting pretty looking art and nothing more but if you want to expand and not hit a ceiling it’s better to learn the rules before you break them. You’ll probably learn things you never knew you never knew! Find things about your style you never dreamed you could have drawn before and expand into your OWN person and your OWN artist, instead of being the vivziepop drawalike.
DECONSTRUCTING VIVZIEPOP ARTISTIC ISSUES WE MAY HAVE CONSUMED AS CHILDREN (if her art has improved I haven’t seen but I will give her the benefit of the doubt! So let’s just isolate this to the past for US ex hazbin artists to understand where our problems truly began)
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Anatomy: Vivziepop has a habit of not properly following even the anatomy of her own drawings let alone anatomy rules at all. I had to bend and meld what I thought a limb may look like from its transition from in front to behind a limb (like the legs) since the lines didn’t properly match up. Arms change size, legs have no knees, one thigh thicker than the other and hands that have fingers which melt into the palms.
you could say it’s stylistic, but considering she’s ONLY ever drawing stylistically whether she liked to or not this bad anatomy has become a crutch and down fall. If she wished to draw more realistically I will assume she can’t or can’t anymore…
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Here’s a draw over. You can keep the stylistic effects while keeping your anatomy at least somewhat readable, especially the hands 💀
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Shading: shading plays a huge role in not only give us context to the image like where the light source is coming from but also the shapes of the body. the body is comprised of different shapes (cylinders for arms and legs, circles and ovals for head, different planes for the face) with shading like vivziepop’s we don’t know where the light is coming from but also the shading blends into the drawing as visual noise, or worse makes things look flat and lifeless. Her legs especially are shaded as if they are two pieces of paper sticking out from under her dress.
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Colours: we all know her main appeal in art is her colours, but designing your piece by just how pretty you can make all the colours also is ignoring fundamentals in what makes your art from good to BEST. With too much of one shade your whole piece blends together in the eyes of the viewer. With not enough contrast in the right areas you will have a focal point that bounces around (like us her chest the focal point? It’s the darkest spot on the piece! Or is it all those eyes that clutter up the whole drawing with the random stripes in the back…. Ouch! I can’t tell what’s what!)
conclusion: I leave you and others with this quest, you wanna get better at art? Take a moment to critique even your own favourite artists. You can have inspiration of course but question their decisions before blindly hoping on the hype train. Or you could be consuming their own mistakes and end up STUCK, like I was, like many have become.
Give critiquing these pieces a try, deconstruct them, trace them (don’t post) see where the lines match up- do the limbs look as if they existed behind the limb or do they go to a void and come up the other side a completely different size? You tell me…
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butterflydm · 1 month ago
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new s3 timeline thoughts
I never would have thought of starting our mains in Tar Valon in order to untangle the potential time-crunch for this season! If it does turn out to be the case (and it sounds like it is a distinct possibility: see @markantonys's post here: a few more tidbits), what a brilliant way to solve the Wondergirls continental yo-yo problem!
Because that's a huge part of why I doubted that we would see the Wondergirls in the White Tower this season, because I couldn't see how we would find the time for it. But if everyone goes back to Tar Valon via the Ways (to warn the Amyrlin about Liandrin being a Darkfriend), then we've re-centered everyone and they can go back out into their own plotlines more sensibly distributed. If the "two episodes in the wetlands before Rand goes to the Waste" is the same two episodes as "the Wondergirls go to the White Tower", then the time-crunch problem is solved.
Okay, the thoughts below contain spoilers for the new trailer, the reports of the new clips, and any other random spoilers like interview spoilers that might be floating around. Some of my speculation definitely overlaps with @markantonys
In the con-exclusive scenes that were aired, one of them was about Liandrin being publicly revealed as a Darkfriend and her escape from the White Tower. Briefly, this scene then cuts to Moiraine and Rand in the streets of a city. If this is the shot of Moiraine in the rain from the trailer, then they're in Tar Valon. This is supported by the interview at the recent con saying that our kiddos start out the season together.
So, I won't worry about the reasoning behind them all going back to Tar Valon right now, and I'll just do some thoughts based on the 'what if'.
It means they're likely saving the bulk of Rand learning politics until after he's already gone through everything with Rhuidean and the Waste (aka until s4 which, if it follows the pattern of s2 & s3, would have two focal episodes for our mains, and it would be Mat and Elayne's turn to have one each, which could really work for their respective arcs) and (since Moiraine is still wearing the clothes from the end of s2), they are going to be rushing away from Falme as quickly as they rushed there, and we are probably going to first see them in Tar Valon (or potentially in the Ways, but that can probably just be assumed, since Loial is with them).
Moiraine is leaning back into the plan that she wants to believe she can still make happen, the one that she made with Siuan back in the day -- where she finds and trains the Dragon while Siuan gets the White Tower ready to work with him (as opposed to imprisoning him). Now that Moiraine knows that Liandrin is a Darkfriend, she can take that information to Siuan (along with the info about the Seanchan) and prove to Siuan that she did not lose her way, that their original plan can still work. They damaged each other's trust in s2 but now she wants to rebuild it.
So, episode one is the reunion in Tar Valon, and the reveal of Liandrin as Black Ajah. Maybe this is also where Egwene and Elayne get rushed through their Accepted Tests by Siuan. Moiraine and Siuan get their romantic reunion. We might get our bubbles of evil here -- Rand destroying the mirror selves is I think what's in trailer when he has that burst of power. Maybe Lanfear making her offer to Rand to find him a teacher comes in here?
Episode two is where I think the rest of our Andorans will come in -- a cold open in Andor, introducing us to the royal family & to Elaida, and Galad and Gawyn coming to train as Warders in the White Tower aka to be Morgase's eyes to make sure her daughter doesn't disappear again (which she will). And Elaida becomes our Red Sister in the White Tower as Liandrin has left.
It seems likely that this will be our trigger point for our team to split up -- Perrin hears the rumors about the Two Rivers, and Nynaeve, Elayne, & Egwene guess that Liandrin is heading to Tanchico, while Rand decides that he needs to go to the Aiel Waste. Why doesn't Mat go with Rand? This is where I wonder if we get our doorway, and the questions, but he gets pointed towards Tanchico instead of the Waste, maybe? TSR is such a strong book for the Mat-Rand relationship, so I really hope we get some of that in the season.
Now, it may be that we have two episodes with the gang together before separation... or we might get three. In the books, Rand does pretty much get tossed into Rhuidean the second he arrives, and we know that Rhuidean is happening in episode four. So maybe they get three episodes together before the split.
Episode three may be when we get Egwene (originally planning to go with Nynaeve and Elayne to chase Liandrin) and Mat (originally planning to go to the Waste with Rand; or to the Two Rivers with Perrin) swapping paths. Mat gets information that points him towards Tanchico (this is based on earlier spoilers that place him there with Nynaeve, Elayne, Min and Thom), while Egwene meets Amys in TAR and decides she needs to go with Rand to the Waste.
At some point during these three episodes, I do suspect that Rand and Egwene will sort out the status of their relationship officially, and I do think we'll get some hints of potential feelings between Rand and Elayne.
Other book-based events we might get in this block of episodes:
Egwene and Elayne trying to 'teach' Rand channeling and failing, thus continuing to remind us all that Rand needs a proper teacher of some kind.
We're definitely getting Rand's bubble of evil. We might get Perrin's, since he picked up an axe last season to kill Daddy Bornhald. And we might get Mat's, giving us a chance to see Mat out and about in Tar Valon (having a streak of good luck?).
Since Galad and Gawyn are both (likely) going to be in the White Tower, this is our only chance to get Mat facing off against them, two on one.
Egwene meeting the brothers and feelings of some kind sparking.
We could get Elaida's prophecy about Rand, and the two of them meeting.
We know we're getting Lan & Nynaeve scenes, because Daniel has already talked them up a lot, saying that they need to catch up and go past where the characters were at during this time of the books (which would be Tear-era).
If we get any kind of indicator of blossoming feelings between Rand and Elayne, maybe we'll get the feathers scene (I would love that so much. I am so fond of the feathers scene and how Elayne keeps the feathers as something precious because Rand wanted to make them into flowers).
I do hope that some of the stuff from the Waste for Mat & Rand can somehow be transposed to these three episodes, since spoilers indicate that Mat will go to Tanchico instead of the Waste.
Episode four is Rhuidean -- Rand sees the past, while Moiraine sees the future. In the side plots, Perrin arrives in the Two Rivers, while Elayne, Nynaeve & Mat arrive in Tanchico (we might even skip them entirely and pick up with those two groups in ep5). A lot of what we saw in the trailer is probably coming from this episode. Rafe mentioned that Rand, Moiraine, and Egwene would all be in their own separate world for a whole episode, so I'll speculate that the episode c plot is Egwene doing Dreamwalker training while Rand and Moiraine are in Rhuidean.
Episodes five & six will probably give us more about the Two Rivers and Tanchico. We might get the coup in here, though that might be saved for the end of the season.
Book events we're possibly going to see:
We'll meet Lord Luc. We may see Brigitte and Uno in TAR as well.
Aviendha being assigned as the person to teach Rand the ways of the Aiel, and him accidentally flirting with her via regard gifts.
Either Egeanin, or Tuon taking on Egeanin's role in the storyline (which would be a good reason for Mat to go to Tanchico instead of the Waste!).
Episode seven is going to be the Battle of the Two Rivers, and probably Perrin's focus episode. If Rand and Moiraine's story climaxes happen in ep8, then we might get the Tanchico storyline climaxing here with Nynaeve's confrontation with Moghedien.
Episode eight is probably going to be Al Cair Dal, and the splitting of the Aiel into the faction following Rand, and the faction following Couladin, but I do think likely the second climax of the episode and the climax of the season as a whole will be Moiraine and Lanfear's confrontation over Rand's future, stealing that bit of TFoH for this season but saving the rest for when Mat comes back into Rand's story in s4. Basically both Moiraine and Lanfear being taken out of the picture so that Rand is going to have to travel the paths between light and shadow without either of them trying to influence him. Our end of season teaser might be the reveal that Asmodean placed the dragons on Couladin's arms.
(yes, this is me letting go of my 'reunion at the end of s3 hopes' lol. at least for now)
This leaves chasing down Couladin for the start of season 4, which would be an appropriate place to bring Mat back into Rand's story to kill Couladin and form the Band of the Red Hand. This is also when Elayne and Thom can come back into Rand's life to help teach him wetlander politics (with Moiraine gone). Given the pattern of the focus episodes, Mat and Elayne seem likely to get theirs in s4, because they're the only members of the core six not to get them yet.
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katyspersonal · 6 months ago
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I had a fun dream regarding the Elden Ring DLC!!! In fact, it was a DLC for the DLC. Apparently it was my brain's spin on "how it could have gone differently", centered around at least 3 different endings (?) that I got to try! It was hard to say whether I was playing or actually being the main character and experiencing all this (best type of videogame-based dreams!)
The focal point was Divine Gate being destroyed and Miquella being spat back out, in his accursed child body again and the "plot" started when we returned some things/feelings to him to make him active. The amount of dialogue he'd provide depended on the amount of Crosses we visited, and before returning them he was completely limp. In either case he was labeled on the map as 'Heartbroken Miquella' or something. There was one 'default', ending that needed passivity sort of. There were plenty of quests and things to do still that were required for the plot, but provided you didn't do anything "special" it ended up in Miquella basically building a Noah Arc very quickly. Yes, because some unknown force triggered the great flooding that was coming. It would basically destroy the world Greater Will and Fingers created so far, and yet let it be made anew. The good side of it was, that since Death is connected with water in Elden Ring world (souls of those that didn't die properly assume Jellyfish form, Godwyn became a sea creature, Tibia Mariners) a LOT of people were coming back with the water but in pure form. Children of the Stars without their rotten flesh and all. This ending felt bittersweet though; having done so much to 'uproot' the fundamentally wrong things Two Fingers melded into this world, he still could not find the courage to let his friends die yet there was no time to separate their bodies from flesh like Ranni and victims of Astrologers' experiments... Effectively, preserving """filth""" into new world and saving what he could save.
The second ending somehow stopped the flood by effect, granting it protection of his gentle pale yellow light (not to be confused with the oppressive gold of the Erdtree!). Protection from any Outer God and from corruption and rotting from within. That however would result in people like Malenia, Godwyn (Prince of Death), Romina etc getting sealed into yellow crystals for the 'next 1000 years' so they could not corrupt the world but alas they could not be healed still. This ending was centered on Miquella comprehending that no, Radahn wasn't "corrupted by sinful world" into becoming a warmonger compared to younger self but war WAS his nature. And for many people, alas their nature was 'necessary evil' without which the world would be a hollow place. So he accepted he could not "save" some people because that'd not be them anymore. However, he could still let the world rest in Heaven by putting it in preservation for a long time. Not cleaning, just preserving from evil, external or internal. And how this secret ending was achieved? ......by marrying Miquella, which included a large variety of activities in order to distract Leda, avoid Leda, lead him away before Leda appears, sending more friends to talk to Leda, having Dane and Leda shipped (lol okay??) etc hfhygxjjh Because if you messed up this part, she'd not let you close enough to Miquella and you'd be set back to flood ending XD
Third ending had to do with the darkness!! It was a secret one, where you would seek rifts Messmer left along the way where he used Base Serpent powers too much. The rifts were patched out by the earth itself, but you had to reopen them like wounds. Reverse Crosses collecting! Because.. if they all were opened, you could access the Lightless Abyss that Base Serpent came from and force it into the world! It would extinguish any and all light of this world leaving only blue star-affiliated one. A bit like Ranni's ending but EVIL!! Creatures of golden light would get striped from it though (Queelign copes and seethes lol). It ensured a lot of horrors being unleashed though and consuming every "weak" person. Tarnished, Albinaurics and other lightness were remotely safe, but those born of gold and under Ring and relying on it were FUCKED. Especially Marika's family. They'd remain defenseless and be the first to get swallowed, so from now on they'd need protection. And whereas blue stars remained the age would be darkness swallowing all of them until only one remained. I as a "player" knew it'd explode to bring the light again.. but other characters didn't.
.....yet when I wanted to try this unleashed Abyss ending, Miquella himself stopped me by stabbing me with Bewitching Branch (not swinging it, specifically stabbing) and I woke up from very intense feeling of love and yearning for him lol fgfggh The last thing I remember how scared he was that he barely stopped... all that. But I just suddenly found him the most appealing person in the world, as if I never loved anyone else. I can't even describe how it felt. It was like.. every cell of my body suffering and only his touch could cure this torment. I had to lay down about 20 minutes to finally calm down gjfggd I am actually embarrassed by it, especially since intrusive thoughts followed, but also I guess it wasn't my fault? Very weird type of alarm clock though 💔
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breadbduck · 4 months ago
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Star Theory: Elden Ring outer gods and the 'nature of the universe'
(I'm feeling particularly neurotic so you're suffering with me)
SO, in case you aren't aware, which is entirely possible i barely knew of it before, but stars have life cycles! Which is weird, right? And the fact that it's never brought up in Elden Ring despite the fact there's this sense that Markia and everyone is supposed to be old as hell? And there's an entire academy dedicated to learning of the stars?
Well, dear reader, do I have the explanation for you! This will be long winded, so bear with me! And if there's someone who's already done this, you should probably listen to them instead!
first and foremost, stars are made up of conflicting forces, gravity pushing in, heat pushing out. But, to keep things more poetic, and in line with the whole fantasy aspect of elden ring, let's call it the Devouring aspect and the Creation aspect. Gravity creates pressure, trying to devour itself, but creates it's own feed to feast upon. Easy to follow?
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As such, everything exists in perpetuity, creating itself and living in cycles? Or more importantly, every action has its equal opposite reaction. Life begets death, so on so forth. So everything lives in duality, having one part of itself necessary to oppose to creat more of it.
now, that's just how a star works, but there's more than one type of star, and thus life cycles.
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this is a more rudimentary visual, but it gets the point across, alright?
Quick to start, let's cover backstory (or at least what I assume the backstory is) of the One Great, Greater Will, and what not for a quick understanding. But keep the visual in mind!
First, we can safely (?) assume that the One Great from Hyetta's dialog is likely in reference to the big bang in some capacity, so that's the beginning of the universe covered. One Greats dead, created everything, blah blah blah.
Next! As said in something about the glinstone sorcerer Azur(?) he witnessed the Greater Will's death, where it likely then became a Black Hole (the mass death of stars around it?) [Comet Azur and the Primeval Current is likely in reference to the nature of the expanding universe, akin to how water spreads out from a droplet of water, just on a mass scale i guess, given it almosg looks like rushing water to me]
Wverything after that and during when the Greater Will was up and running? no idea, not really important for my argument anyways.
So where does that leave Metyr and Elden Beast? Well, Metyr has the Neutron star attack, and given that she's the prodigal daughter of a dead god, it seems like she witnessed at least some of the death maybe? Or is at least aware of the 'end' of gods in something capacity, maybe. Elden Beast however seem more like stabilized core of a star given its veins of gold, and given that the Greater Will was a God of Order, it makes sense that at least one of them seems somewhat stable. (Sorry Metyr)
On to the outer gods and the necessity of duality!
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As you can see, there are multiple forms of stars! Red and Yellow as main focal, with maybe othefs?
So! Let's start with the obvious,
The Blood Star- red? Check. Small or large? Eh. Formless Mother? What?
As I said about duality, and stars, one begets the other. The Devouring agent and the Creation agent.
Specifically, let's take a quick detour through religious inspiration. And I'm gonna make this quick.
*There is this belief that a whole being is made up two people, one masculine one feminine. Greeks had it in the creation mythos of man, and there's probably a Buddah or two that have the same shtick, unfortunately I'm not overly familiar with that game, but you get my point.
And in some eastern beliefs, i believe Taoism, there is a dichotomy between the masculine and feminine. One physical and other spiritual, repectively*
Point is, if stars can represent outer gods, and a whole being is made up of two. Than it's likey that Devouring agent and Creation agent have their respective gods conjoined into one star but still separate identities! (So Marika and Radagon?)
-The easiest outer gods to apply this logic to are the ones I mentioned up top, The Blood Star and Formless Mother. Both deal in blood, one masculine and demanding sacrifice of blood in the physical, with the whole history of blind prisoners. while the Formless Mother 'asks' for blood with 'promises' of something in return, a bargain like upping Mohgs wings to a latger size, and has a more creation aspect given the Mother moniker. As well as 'gifting' her blood to people, such as Mohg, and a piece of her flesh in the DLC blood fiends cult cave place that they apparently ate. Perharps, some kind of desire to be devoured in the sense of missing a whole part of the self where life is born from death? Through the pressure of the star then creating heat?
-Next would be: The Rot! I think that with the whole Lake of Rot being a more red-red color, it was defeated by the blind swordsman(? right?) when it was in its masculine phase, and then switched over into the more feminine side, trying to spread it's influence through any means necessary as a dying star! Thus taking on a more pinker color through Romina's bud, being 'born anew' by it in some capacity and also seemingly taking nest in feminine figures, Romina and Melania! (Also through Milicent being 'born' of Melania through odd means?)
-The Twin Birds would likely be a blue star in some capacity, likely quite large given that they represent death and all that. However, that's as far as I can get really. And death has its whole thing going on with Godwyn as well and I just don't wanna touch it.
-The Fell God and The God Devoring Serphant (Not the Abyssal Serphant) are kind of intertwined due to proximity, and the giants forge having serphants on it. As well as Rykard and Eiglay being in a volcano, as opposed to the giants forge being on a mountain top surrounded by snow. Life, Death. Fire, Ice. Duality, ya know?
-The Abyssal Serphant likely exists in duality to the One Great rather than something more simple, which is why it snake imagery slips into everything despite everything being born of the One Great. Abyssal Serphant devours, the One Great, creates. Not specifically a star, but it's good to get it out of the way now real quick. But will show up later! And it's similar to Dark Souls!
-The Frenzied Flame, the big doozey. You know how I said everything exists in duality? Well, what better way for duality to exist then for duality to be dual in itself? If you want 2, you can't just have the single number, you need two! So why not 2 and 3? Confused yet? Duality needs duality to be duality. As such, Order is Chaos. That easy.
-The Greater Will and The Frenzied Flame, are two sides of the same coin. Creating order, the other wanting to burn it all down. A microcosm of the One Great and The Abyssal Serphant pretty much. The first wanting to continually exist in perpetuity creating, the other a harbinger of the end itself. Heat death of the universe pretty much, i guess.
-The moons?
I don't wanna talk about the moons. In our guiding stars very own lordly words, Count Ymir, they are simply the closest celestial bodies. (I'm lying)
Okay so what's up with tem? Are they gods? No? Then what are they? If they are gods, then why isn't there a god of the Lands Between? It's a terrestrial body isn't it? If the moon is like greek myth, the titan Selene, where is Gaia?
Well, that's where Marika (and Radagon) come in. So, as we learned in the DLC, a god requires a lord, and when we finish the main game, unless we choose Ranni's ending, we become Marika's consort. So, perhaps it's something similar to such? The necessity of duality?
-My leading theory, with everything else already explained, is that maybe the Greater Will was an outer god, killed Placidsaxes god? In some way? And then needed some kind of 'vessel' to keep the lands intact and in order. Thus, Marika. The chosen Empyrian. (The Gloam Eyed Queen is likely another Abyssal Serphant coming up through the cracks of creation, in opposition to the One Great/Greater Will 'lineage'? It's another microcosm)
-But then Radagon? How? well, if a god requires two forces acting against each other, makes sense that he's the masculine force to Marikas feminine and spiritual, whole shaman thing, side. Thus creating a whole god, but yet only one i regarded as a god, with Radagon yet to become her; in that famous line Melina tells us.
-But then Ranni? And Miquella? Well, Miquella got his consort, and divested himself of his femininity; when it likely made him a true god in the first place or at least the empyrian in the lead to godship, but we kill him so who knows.
And Ranni is backed by the moon. And I don't wanna talk about the stupid moons and her four arms. She divested herself of her flesh anyways, so who knows!
-The shadow bound beasts aren't even really fleshed out, Miquella doesn't seem to have one, so I'm not sure where they stand in all this. Maybe they really are just failsafes and Miquella didn't need one because he wasn't going in a drastic direction according to the Greater Will (technically Metyr but whatevs)
yeah and I think that's it. thanks for reading!
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bonzos-number-1-fan · 9 months ago
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TMAGP 12 Thoughts: Nostalgia Bait
I have no real preamble on this one. I think it was a fun, straight forward, episode without too too much to really sink out not-soft teeth into here. Also please laugh at that subtitle, I'm very proud of it.
Spoilers for episode 12 below the cut.
A lot of office stuff here it feels like. Not a huge amount to really say on it as like with the rest of this episode it's more building on stuff we've already seen than it is adding new things to the show. Which is obviously not a bad thing but it's fairly straightforward. Celia and Sam are going on a date, which is cute, and Alice is very obviously jealous, which is also cute.
"You wouldn't be tempted?" "No" [bzzt]. Uh huh.
So first things first for the incident, this episode took places on 09/03/2024. 09/03/2024 is the date the incident in episode 10, Saturday Night, was filed. So everything that went down here was the same night that Gwen gave Bonzo the instructions and presumably he just killed whoever had their name in their. We don't really know who that was as of yet. Of the known characters I said it'd likely be Klaus but this was someone new. They're only identified as "Baz" in the episode, assuming the first victim was the main target, and we don't know any Bazs, Basils, or Barrys AFAIK. But if that's someone Gwen would know I think that only leaves two or three people it could be. I think most people will think Baz is a Bouchard or some other family member. I think it's possible that it's either someone on the corporate ladder that Lena eliminates as a show of "this is what it takes to move up in this company". There has been a lot of focus on Gwen's naivety in that area after all. The last main option I see is that it could just be someone fairly "random". Not someone Gwen is necessarily connected to but just some form of threat. Gwen "knows" them more in a general sense of "you know what I'm sending him to do, eliminate a threat". Hard to say just from the incident alone. The lunchbox and theme tune are "real" too, which is fun.
Outside of that not a load to say but it was a fun episode and it's nice to see Bonzo doing Bonzo things. It's really interesting that he appears to have either two "forms" or that he's got some sort of mental manipulation abilities. When Gwen saw Bonzo, despite being aware of him from TV, she reacted with abject horror. The party guests didn't. So either Bonzo didn't look like his current self or he's able to manipulate people's perception of him. Both would account for the reactions he got. Just a guy in a Bonzo suit. Not a sweaty meaty monster.
After that we just see Gwen horrified by the case. Which is an understandable reaction but I don't think its an elucidating one. I wouldn't say how she reacts shows anything beyond terrifying realisation about what the OIAR is. Her brief conversation with Alice also leans in that direction. So if it's a family member it doesn't look like one who's loss is felt as an immediate gut punch.
The only other comment I have on this is how refreshingly different Bonzo is being treated as a primary monster in this show. Unlike in TMA which did a lot of slow build up, small appearances, and things like that we've gotten two episodes very close together where he shows up and is a large focal point of the episode.
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Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet
DPHW Theory: 4728 all seems pretty reasonably for what we saw. Death and Helplessness were not major thematic factors but Pain and Weird very much were.
CAT# Theory: 1.
R# Theory: B is totally in line with my ideas on this.
Header talk: Mascot (Kids) -/- Frenzy is what I have been waiting for. Sweet repetition. Sweet, sweet repetition. Episode 10, Saturday Night, was CAT1RB2275 - Mascot (Kids) -/- Murder. An identical Section (Subsection) with a different Crosslink.
This largely confirms that Crosslinks impact DPHW gradings. It doesn't say much about how these things are calculated but I'd wager it's something like Section (Subsection) gets a rating that is then modified by a Crosslink. Rather than all those combinations being in the book. It's not exactly useful information but does give more clarity on the role of the Crosslinks. With both cases having the same CAT#R# it's impossible to say at the moment whether that can be changed by the Crosslink.
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ovenproofowl · 2 years ago
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a lot of people have said it, but I’m throwing in my two cents just to get it off my chest.
Picard season 3 was . Bad . For a LOT of reasons . It felt like - as many before me have expressed - a self-insert fanfic with the dullest self-insert in history.
Jack Crusher wasn’t much of a character but he could have had some promise if they hadn’t spent an aggravating amount of time having him decree how different he always felt, you guys. Did you get that part? He’d always felt different. That sort of dialogue might have flown if we were dealing with Picard’s adolescent son, but instead we’re dealing with a 24 year old played by a 35 year old who looks every bit his age. (It was a hard 24 years, we must assume.)
The reason that Jack Crusher didn’t work for me personally, though, wasn’t because of how cliché his character was. I would have let that pass much easier if it wasn’t for the big ol’ elephant in the room. And that is simply that :
JACK CRUSHER WAS NEVER NECESSARY
Jack may have served a purpose to the storyline that was presented if only because he was the sole reason there was a Big Bad to be defeated in the first place. Everyone wanted to kidnap him, he brought the old gang back together just to protect him and then later save him from said Big Bad which was also actually .. him. Everything Was About Jack. But I’m not talking about the main plot. I Really Don’t Want to Talk About the Main Plot. Ever. What I want to talk about is what Jack represented that made him so unnecessary:
He was intended to represent Jean-Luc Picard’s only reason to start living.
Personally, that really, really offended me. Picard didn’t need to have a biological kid to have a purpose. In fact, it’s been established time and time again that he wasn’t ever really dad material. More of a... weirdly intense uncle. For a while, he wasn’t a fan of kids at all. Eventually, though, Picard is seen to warm to the idea of letting children within his general vicinity. This starts in TNG and continues on in season 1 of Picard. The Only Categorically Good Season of this whole. show.
In season 1, we see flashbacks of Jean-Luc’s relationship with a young Elnor, how he would read him stories and have sword fights with him. He was an absent father to an adopted child he hadn’t even realised he’d adopted and yet Elnor still fought for his hopeless cause. In much the same way, Picard meets Dahj and then later, Soji. He feels a kinship with these androids because of their connection to Data. He wants to protect Soji becase he couldn’t protect Dahj and Soji even canonically questions whether she should allow Picard to act as her father figure before she begins to remember where she came from. Both of these dynamics were infinitely more interesting and a lot deeper rooted. Soji and Elnor were both young twenty-somethings without parental guidance but found that guidance through Picard. Soji had her connection to Jurati, too, and Elnor had his with Seven and Raffi and that’s what made the whole group so intriguing to follow. They all had interesting connections to each other that had so many avenues to explore.
Unfortunately, the show decided to more or less write Soji and Elnor out of the story come season 2. Elnor was killed off for the majority of the season and only brought back by Q intervention in the last episode. Soji wasn’t even a part of the story at all. And do you know what’s sad about that? What’s really sad? Season 2 was trying to sell us the exact same message as season 3. That Picard needed a reason to live. But, like, not that reason. Not the reasons he’d already been given in the form of his found family with his Romulan and android adopted children, or even the rest of the La Sirena crew. No no no, we can’t have that, better get rid of them. This time, Laris is the focal point. Picard had been avoiding a romantic relationship with her because of a never before mentioned dark history surrounding his mother’s suicide. Because, sure, at this point, why not? While we’re at it, let’s also kill off Rios in the most slap-in-the-face out of character way possible and fling Jurati at the Borg for good measure just so she won’t be around for season 3. Her character development into the Borg Queen was pretty intriguing, but we’ll totally ignore that they even exist post her departure, just for funsies. Oh, and Soji and Elnor? Best not mention them at all come that third and final season. Otherwise, people might get the crazy notion that Picard already had a reason not to hunker down and die at the vinyard at the tender age of 104.
Season 3 picks up where season 2 leaves off in that Picard is now in that aforementioned romantic relationship with Laris. Except, no he isn’t because he immediately gets an emergency call from his ex and literally never sees or talks to Laris ever again. There wasn’t even a throw-away line or implied reference to her, but by now I’m sure you know the reason for that.
That’s right, folks. Because if we were allowed to remember Laris and what she meant to Picard, then we might just remember that other thing. Say it with me now!!
JACK CRUSHER WAS NEVER NECESSARY!!
In summary, there were so many brilliant options to give Picard for signficant found family dynamics, but the show just wasn’t interested in any of them. Season 3 wanted a Picard who had given it all up, who was ready to die because he’d never had a family to pass on his legacy. They wanted him at his lowest so that we’d all rejoice to see him return to the TNG crew. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a massive TNG fan and I could rave about the fan service and nostalgia porn for hours on end. If season 3 had stood alone as a singular unconnected event, it might even have been passable as a warm hug from old and beloved characters with some fun new spins to their stories along the way, juust so long as you didn’t squint too hard at the actual attempt at plot writing going on in the background.
But the fact of the matter is, Picard season 3 came far too late into the game. Season 1 held the building blocks to something new and interesting. By the end of season 2, it was becoming clear we were never going to see those blocks stand. By season 3, those blocks were just scattered headstones in a graveyard.
They teased us with the potential new show of Captain Seven and her Number One Raffi Musiker and that might have just been okay. . .
. . .If the La Sirena Crew had been allowed to be a part of that future.
In closing: Picard season 3? Too little, too late, mate. 👎🏻
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meimi-haneoka · 1 year ago
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Clear Card Trivia 2 ~ Alice in Clockland and its meaning in Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card
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"But in the end...what the heck was that 'Clockland' ?"
Raise your hand if you have thought so at least once! If you did, then welcome to one of the posts of my Clear Card trivia series, an unexpected one I have to say, because I had scheduled to write other posts before tackling this one, but today I suddenly realized, thanks to a conversation in a community, that probably this aspect of the series takes precedence over other things.
I've seen countless of people confused over this matter ever since the play started in the plot, and everybody knows that usually when things get unexpectedly complex, they are quick to be labeled as "useless" and "nonsense".
No, Alice in Clockland isn't just a flex on CLAMP's outstanding drawing skills, it isn't useless, it is very much connected to the plot and DOES have a meaning.
Now that the main story is over, I would like to tackle this issue. I don't presume to have the Big Truth in my pocket, especially cause Ohkawa-sensei was quite eloquent in her recent public speeches: a motto she's going by is "If you think so, then it's surely true....for you", but I feel like the way I understood and reconnected the whole play and the consequent events inside Momo's book do work out pretty well, so I'll just do what I usually do: I'll write my own interpretation out here, hoping that people reading it will find it useful, will find the right angle to look at all this part of the story, and have some of their frustrations with this arc sedated. And maybe share it around to help other people too.
I just want to get my voice out there so that no one can say "no one understood it".
Of course the text below is full of spoilers if you haven't read the chapters from 64-ish / volume 13, also I will talk assuming you know what is Kaito's plan and what feelings moved him to think such plan.
Then, if you're ready, let's proceed to see in details what this is all about, starting from the play.
The Alice In Clockland Play
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Let's start from the fact that the play is based on Alice Through The Looking Glass, and that is because….well, Alice in Wonderland is Ohkawa's most beloved book, so she really feels connected to it (and as you might know, this isn't CLAMP's first title inspired in Alice in Wonderland). It's just a preference, but for example many other books are referenced in this arc (as you might know from my other post in the Clear Card Trivia series) particularly "Momo" by Michael Ende (yeah, Akiho chose Momo's name from that book!).
The play (first called "The Two Alice" and then at last minute "Alice in Clockland") is undoubtedly the focal point of the second half of Clear Card. It's during the play that Kaito starts the final stage of his plan (and succeeds). But not only that, the plot of the play itself offers a good foreshadowing to what's going to happen to a certain someone later on. CLAMP used the "parallels" structure a lot in this arc, because it enhances the feeling of interconnection between the characters. "I understand what you're going through because the same happened to me". Sakura is an extremely empathetic character so that fits her and her world perfectly.
So the plot of the play Naoko wrote is quite simple: there are these two twin sisters who get separated by supernatural reasons and one of them ends up lost in another world, becoming Queen of it and forgetting completely about her family of origin. In the play they're both called Alice because of the imagery that twins are initially one same being that gets divided in two… Even the family of origin forgets about the lost daughter, but somehow their feelings for her never get erased, and they keep a chair (which stays empty) at their table. It's like they're feeling that someone is missing and are waiting for her to return, even if they don't really know it. One day, a magical black cat gets to meet the Alice who stayed in her world and ends up guiding her to a magical land: his goal is to lead her to meet her lost sister and reunite them. After wandering for a while. Alice finds her sister/Queen of that land, and touching her hands she suddenly remembers who she is, and what she herself came here for, which is to bring her back home. The two go back home together and we reach the happy ending of the play (which we could only see in the rewritten world, but surely followed the scenario Naoko had written). The most important message of the play is that even if we forget about someone, feelings cannot be erased and those will lead us back to the person we forgot and to remember about them. (Does this ring a bell..?)
The Actual Clockland
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It might be useful to remind you that we're currently dealing with two major magical tools shaped like books, at this point of the story: one is the Book of Time Momo is guarding (to which Akiho gave the title "Alice in Clockland" and which will inspire the title of the play), a magical book capable of recording someone's life and, activating the so-called "Forbidden Magic", rewrite it completely. Another one is the magical artifact, shaped like a book, that was engraved into Akiho's body by her Clan and the Association of Magicians, where any magical book that Akiho reads gets "written down" , to store its magical power for use and consumption of those criminals. There's just one "tiny" problem: the more magic gets written on it, the more the book consumes and suffocates Akiho's soul, till the point of no return where the soul will get destroyed. The Clan and Association prefer this outcome as it would be easier for them to manipulate Akiho as an artifact, devoid of any conscience.
In the middle of the school play, Kaito brings Sakura and Akiho to Clockland, which is a "dimension" existing inside Momo's book, to prepare them for the rewriting of the world that he's going to perform afterwards. This world is built using Sakura, Akiho and Kaito's memories (you can see many elements that appeared in past chapters and that come from their memories, like the botanical garden where they had a double date, or the rose garden where Kaito met Akiho the first time). Another thing to be noted is that Hitsuzen (the force of inevitability that rules CLAMP's manga) facilitated Kaito enormously, so much that many things went exactly as he wished and how it was convenient for him (which isn't a good thing, since this led to a big big mess). So following the school play's roles, here Akiho is the Queen of this land, she's the most important character and it makes sense seeing who Kaito is doing all of this for. Sakura keeps being Alice, just like in the play.
In Clockland, Kaito removes Sakura and Akiho's memories and stores them in the botanical garden. He needs to do that for two reasons:
‐ just like the play, he hopes that Sakura and Akiho will follow along their roles and recognize eachother as sisters ‐ as such, this Clockland works as some kind of "primer" for their brain; ‐ he needs to change and rewrite those memories to make them become sisters later on, so he needs to have them collected in one place.
It is to be noted that Syaoran here is an intruder, Kaito didn't initially account for him to join in, and wanted to take on the role of the cat himself. In the play the cat is the one who leads one of the Alices to find the other one and make them recognize eachother as sisters, so this is the one thing Kaito wants to do and the role he wants to take on for himself. While it's true he takes Syaoran's appearance during the first part, his only goal the whole time was to take on the role of the Cat of the play. If the role had gone to, say, Yamazaki, he would've taken his appearance instead. This is clarified by Momo's "I wish I could've seen you interpret a funny character" line, instead of the cold and serious behavior of the Cat. And his reply, "I would've worked hard, as far as I could" is further confirmation that he would've played any type of personality as long as it was the Cat. This doesn't even affect Sakura, because while being under the effect of his spell, she doesn't recognize Syaoran in him (as she should, since it's not really him). So fundamentally it is to be excluded any intention to "manipulate her" or ease her in with Syaoran's appearance (as I had erroneusly written in a previous version of this post). Realizing the real Syaoran got in, and not wanting to be hindered in his plan, Kaito uses the Mirror Sakura Card as a red herring for the boy. Syaoran, in that regard, even as an intruder ends up achieving a result very in line with his "Cat role", which is to make someone remember (Sakura remembers her identity when he shouts her name). The Clear Cards are inside Clockland because Kaito soon will need to use them to power the forbidden spell. As we know from later events, not all of them are there, and some follow his orders (like Shade), some don't (like all the Cards with appearances of Sakura's loved ones, which are trying to give her hints along the way to wake her subconscious up ‐ this is exactly their role and it worked well because Sakura starts to free herself from the spell Kaito casted to keep her subconscious dormant and to keep her in her "in role", symbolized in the manga by a change of fonts used in the dialogues, a thing that those who have read it in English couldn't recognize because they didn't respect that aspect in the translation).
Another thing that Kaito hopes for, while the two girls interact in this "fairytale" (it is very much considered a fairytale by Kaito, since he calls all of them "characters"), is that Sakura will end up creating the Card he needs to operate the exchange of artifacts between him and Akiho (exchanging his pocket watch for the artifact book inside of her). As we said above, Hitsuzen shamelessly favors him and Sakura does end up creating Exchange at the last minute. Once that is done, Kaito doesn't need to keep them in this Clockland anymore, and by the contract they have, Momo starts to activate the forbidden spell on his request, rewriting everyone's memories to satisfy Kaito's wish to turn Akiho into Sakura's sister after he removed the artifact from her with Exchange.
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Now, we know what happened after Kaito activated the forbidden spell. Everyone's memories were rewritten following his wish, and he was turned into a dragon and imprisoned by effect of the Seal of D., which was imposed on him by the Association like some sort of "trap", should he ever mess with Akiho's artifact.
But it's here that the play from above comes back in from the "backdoor", to bring the unexpected parallel: Kaito ends up being the character who's lost in another world and whose existence is totally forgotten by a loved one.
But that loved one got a "memento" of him (the pocket watch, which parallels the role of the chair in the play) and that object causes Akiho to feel strange, to feel like she has to fix it, she's extremely attracted to this pocket watch even if she doesn't know why. In the end, just like in the play, Akiho and Kaito reunite and despite not remembering anything about him, and not even having his true appearance in front of her (cause she meets him as a dragon first), Akiho knows perfectly well that that is the person she loves the most, because her feelings weren't erased (just like in the play).
Sakura's role in the finale ends up being similar to the one of the black cat, making everyone remember who they really are and their connections.
So this is roughly the "significance" of both the play and Clockland in this story. It is to be noted that what happens in Clockland is extremely abstract and full of riddles because Alice in Wonderland + Through The Looking Glass are exactly like that. Have you tried to read the originals by Lewis Carrol? It's quite difficult to follow along and nothing seems to make sense….when actually, with a different reading key, it does. I've had to pause my reading of Through The Looking Glass (that I had started in hope to understand the Clear Card story better) multiple times because it's quite difficult for me to stay focused and understand what's going on. I guess Ohkawa‐sensei wanted to go all out on the references to this story, and give the same narrative vibe. The references of course don't stop at the narrative structure, you can read the others in my post about the literary references that I had linked at the beginning of this post, in the section about Alice in Wonderland.
Kaito's True Feelings
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Another thing to be noted about Clockland is that since it's playing a lot with the subconscious of the characters, Kaito's true feelings end up appearing here and there. The Queen's Castle, the most important place, is built on crystals, a reference to his true name (something that Sakura points out immediately and Kaito doesn't reply to, while showing a pensive face). Their memories together are protected and stored inside the botanical garden, once again made of crystals. Sakura hits the bull's eye particularly when she says that the rose garden (where Kaito met Akiho for the first time) feels extremely important to someone (that someone is Kaito, of course), and Kaito (disguised as Syaoran) looks away and urges her to move forward. The "someone" could be interpreted as Akiho too, of course, but the Cat/Kaito's reaction and the fact that the Cards told Sakura that this place is strictly interconnected with someone's "wish", makes me lean more toward Kaito. The garden pavillion appearing with the Repair card is another important place because it's where Lilie told him "you'll find something/someone you'll like, one day". It's quite telling that Sakura, despite not even remembering who she is, is guided by her infinite empathy and recognizes immediately those parts of this land that reveal Kaito's true heart and the core of this whole matter, through the continuous questions she keeps posing to everyone, in a desperate attempt to make sense of what's happening and subconsciously fight the spell that's keeping her in her "role" (she'll do that with Akiho too, later).
It's interesting to note also just how much Hitsuzen played on Kaito's side, guiding Tomoyo's instinct to re-do the outfits for the two Alices and ending up giving to Akiho a serious, dark outfit with a black veil. I remember how me and some friends commented that more than a queen, she looked like a mourning bride. Considering what happened afterwards, the imagery CLAMP chose was pretty spot on. Not only that, but the black veil also served as a metaphor for Kaito keeping Akiho's subconscious dormant, making her act like the role of the play required her to. Needless to say, Akiho was able to slip away from the grasp of that spell basically on her own, without even needing magic, only relying on her strong feelings for Kaito (she didn't even remember her name, but lifting the veil up - a very powerful imagery - she remembered that she had someone she loved, and also Sakura's name. This gets once again conveyed in the Japanese version by the change of fonts in the script). The rose headpiece is also another quite interesting part of the outfit, as Sakura asks to the Cat/Kaito why the roses in the garden are all white, despite being this the Red Queen's land... For sure, that place was referencing the real rose garden where Kaito and Akiho met the first time, where the roses were all white, but that also means that the only Red Rose in that land is....Akiho. I also remind you that the rose headpiece was featured in the color page of chapter 69, with Kaito cradling it in his arms with a sweet smile, as if he were holding something very precious....we could read the color illustration as "that's the only thing he got left of Akiho".
This is the reason why Momo, in a moment where the Alices are on their own, tells Kaito that no matter how much he tries to hide himself behind the Syaoran disguise, his true nature shows up anyway. The whole place is full of elements making reference to very important things in his heart, and his true wish. That is only normal because the whole place is made up of their memories. This is also why Momo says that Kaito gave "all of himself" for the activation of the spell.
Another very interesting part is when Sakura, before meeting the Cat/Kaito, meets her friends Rika, Chiharu, Yamazaki and Naoko in the shape of the corresponding Cards (Appear, Synchronize and True & False). The Cards tell her that what appears in this world depends on what Sakura wishes, but her reply is "This is the Red Queen's land. Shouldn't she be the one to decide what appears here in this world?" which works wonderfully on a metaphorical level to point at how Akiho should be the one deciding what happens from now on, since this place is hers and was built for her alone. Seeing how mad Akiho got at Kaito afterwards for deciding her happiness on her behalf, yes, Sakura's question was pretty legit.
In Clockland we have also lots of meaningful interactions between Sakura and Akiho and words said in conversation that will become absolutely essential to help Sakura reaching the truth in the rewritten world (especially the whole discussion about "memories" and "records"), since they stayed in her heart even with the activation of the forbidden spell.
And I believe this is everything regarding these two parts of the Clear Card plot, a way for CLAMP to undoubtedly experiment with a different kind of storytelling, and to ask their readers to dedicate a little bit more of attention to the story, trying to get out of the logical approach to things, and thinking on a more abstract and metaphorical level.
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justanotherpersonsuniverse · 4 months ago
Note
Part One
Hey Cap!!
I hope your doing well <3
Sorry this took so long! Due to how long PN is there’s a chance I won’t go as in depth with each chapter as usual, there is, however, every chance I’ll ignore that and go crazy. We shall see what happens! (spoiler, i ignored it0
Chapters covered: Origins (1), and Origins (2)
Questions are numbered and in bold. 
Onto the insanity! 
[— — —]
It’s always very nostalgic to go back to the start :3 
You’ve obviously improved leaps and bounds in writing so it is in a noticeably different style at the start but it’s still fantastic. 
The first line just highlights that this won’t be the usual story falling into tropes and using cliches as a crutch for everything. I think it’s fantastic. I’m not sure whether it was intentional, but the fact that it focuses on the mundane and says “But this wasn’t the story she’d chosen to be in. This was simply one she was a part of.” is just- perfect. 
For Juleka and the story you tell as a whole. Like, yes, the superhero and magical aspect is essential for the framework of the story, but unlike usual it is not glorified or the most important thing to Juleka. 
Idk man I just love it :)) Especially because Juleka already sidelines herself in her own story. I love the way that she isn’t aware that she is the main character in like her own life? She idolises ladybug and believes she blends into the background and just- she doesn’t believe she is a focal point for anyone. Until she gets to be Panthera of course. 
Don’t worry, I’ll go into her relationship with her own identity, i just think I should move onto actually commenting on the current story rather than rambling on :3
I do like how Luka and Anarka are mentioned immediately, it excellently shows how she lives and who’s important to her in a natural way. 
I think the only other long haul fic I’ve read (not written by you, Cap) which focussed on Juleka was Powers of Invisibility by yestomiraculous, and as much as I adore it even that sometimes felt like it was more a vehicle to talk about other characters? 
Question 1: I’ve kinda just assumed you’ve read Powers of Invisibility, but I’m curious if you actually have? The way you write Juleka is very fun, but I’m curious if you have any fics you’ve pulled inspiration from for that too )
Whether it was a symptom of Juleka at heart being someone who observes rather than interjects or because that was the intention I don’t know. What I’m getting at is that I think you balance Juleka’s character really bloody well in this. Yes, she constantly feels invisible and is critical of herself and is observant, but she also has her own stuff going on? 
Whenever it does feel like Juleka is just floating, observing other people feels very intentional, like in princess prom when she just watches Adam dance with Rose. Sorry I will go on a lot of tangents in this i have so many thoughts on Panthera, ranging from the intricacies to the plot at large. 
Oh I love that we see Marinette and Fu nearly getting run over from Juleka’s perspective, the way that her guilt about freezing up and not helping pushes her later? Amazing. Plus, how much her internal monologue over analyses things and assumes the worst is so much fun. 
AAAA YOU BASTARD. Sorry, what I meant to say was; Of course you managed to have Juleka put Marinette on a pedestal in the first chapter. “Juleka could only see Marinette as incredible brave, a hero.” toxic yuri ladynoire is one of my favourite things about this fic, but I never realised you’d established it right at the start!! 
Of course she immediately turned to criticising herself Juleka girly please. There is this thing called the bystander effect I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it-
The way that she has unrealistic expectations of perfection for herself while simultaneously believing she is not worthy of so much… we love a contradictory character. 
Fits for a cat tbh, they’re contrarian. Everyone (minus Adama (and Roger) think Juleka is like so nice and lovely and yet-
I need to stop going on a rant or i’ll never finish this. 
Help not the way Juleka was all doom and gloom but as soon as she spoke to Rose she was like “oh hey maybe today won’t suck” 
Love the little POV change to briefly show why Adrien doesn’t choose to help Fu, I’ve always liked that. Even though it’s simple it’s better than leaving us to wonder what changed. 
Adore that the main thing she mentions about Adrien is a) he’s shorter than expected, and b) she admires him because she also wants to be a model. 
Not the way you contrasted Adrien and Juleka here, Adrien quickly forgot about Fu being collapsed on the pavement but Juleka is being consumed by it. 
Tidbit of Chloe being a better person in this story, I do like that Juleka acknowledges what she’s seeing (Chloe being nervously protective of Adrien) and then dismisses it to fit the narrative of what she knows.
Here he is! Stoneheart! I do like how Juleka obviously does think it’s a little bit cool but is also in a right panic about everyone being safe. 
Question 2: Does Luka go to school? Like. i don’t think he does in the show it’s a bit unclear, it doesn’t matter anyway. I'm curious about what his deal is in Panthera.
Yippee!! Juleka saves Fu!! And will becoming irrevocably traumatised due to this!!
Question 3: If this isn’t too spoilery, what is Fu’s method for choosing miraculous holders? Is it literally just playing the good samaritan story from the bible or is there more behind the scenes for who he targets? (and why is it always a teenager??) 
I can’t tell if Fu actually didn’t notice Juleka not helping before or if he just says that to make her feel better. However, Juleka apologising to a stranger because she feels it’s morally wrong not to even though she struggled to speak to a long time classmate? Love it. 
I LOVE ANARKA MY SILLY. I READ OUT HER LINES ALOUD YIPPEE
Question 4: Do you remember why you chose to give Anarka a scottish accent? If so, what where your reasons and was it this was from the start?
First; cute that Juleka and Rose texted to check on each other (and that she’s Rose <3 in her contacts), second; Rose you neek why are you stuttering over text. I can’t remember if we ever get shown what Rose has Juleka as in her contacts but i’m sure it’s something sickeningly sweet. 
Juleka would chicken out about sending a heart. Tbh i find that so funny cause I do the same thing about crushes but to my friends I send <3 and call them silly names all the time it’s prolly more noticeable not to lmao
Plagg!! Stinky cheese cat!! He’s such a good character in this fr, he’s a good balance of a menace while also acting as a wonderful friend, confidant, and guiding figure for Juleka
Plagg is so overwhelming for realsies, you can’t just drop that you had blackbeard as a pirate. He’s such an interesting person in history but now all I can imagine is a pirate hat with cat ears while his suit makes it look like his beards on fire. Kinda want to see that design now… that’d go hard. 
Tbh if i was told by some alien looking cat that i was about to be a superhero i’d freak out too, there are so many unknown variables fr
THIS IS SO MUCH PRESSURE TO PUT ON A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. WHY AREN’T ADULTS DOING THIS. 
Juleka and her saviours complex are great and all but the poor thing doesn’t need all that. 
The fact that she continues just to everyone and her brother but not because she wants this… i do love that that’s a consistent thing for her characterisation you usually see the hero character wanting to do it for them instead of solely focussing on the safety of others? Idk i’m explaining this badly but I like her motivations fr
I’ll forever be mad about the unbalanced abilities in miraculous, i’m so glad you gave the black cat another ability to at least match the amount given to the ladybug but it’s just such a frustrating part of the show. 
WHOOO FIRST APPEARANCE OF PANTHERA
The masking and inferiority complex towards herself go crazy fr. Ah, ye old Panthera design I thank it for its service of inspiring this whole fic but I will always love your new designs for any and all miraculous heroes Cap they go so hard. 
No way she calls Ladybug familiar- 
Question 5: How does the glamour situation work over in PN? Like, we see Juleka break through it to figure out Marinette, but we are also currently watching her fight with it about knowing who Rena Rouge is. If it’s not in spoiler territory I’d love to know some of the inner workings :3 
Love how self conscious Marinette is at first and how Juleka is the one directing the conversation (and the way she is freaking out about doing it she’s so real). The dichotomy of how they both see each other as the collected trustworthy superhero while never mentioning it goes crazy. 
I believe you write from Marinette’s POv a couple times but i’m not sure, the fact that she sees Panthera as the put together one goes crazy 
The way that Juleka calls Ladybug partner throughout the story… it’s perfect i love it. And that Marinette calls her kitty, oh oh!! New question. 
Question 6: Ladynoire obviously does not happen in this, but both in universe it has been hinted at (the date and Marinette saying “we just speedran dating” that line lives in my head rent free) and in asks you’ve said the story could have gone that way. What I’m getting at is; did Marinette ever have a crush on Panthera (knowingly or not) and would you be willing to briefly get into that here? 
I will always go crazy over Juleka being the bouncy enthusiastic one when transformed, you’ve said it was originally a joke and then you realised how sad it could get and I’m SO glad you went the sad route. Lighthearted ladynoire vibes in the season one rewrite will always be so cute to read back though
The way Juleka keeps freaking out internally over athletic feats is so good, i love this aspect we get in writing which you can’t really get in tv shows without a super imposed internal monologue which feels unnatural most of the time.
RAAA THE WAY YOU EMPHASISE THAT BOTH SUPERHEROS ARE ESSENTIAL IN THE FIRST FIGHT IS SO GOOD
Juleka freaking out about hissing and being smarmy and all that is so much fun to read. 
Juleka saying “We’re fucked” after seeing the scuba suit is iconic. She has literally zero faith at the start-
No!!! I get so sad when Juleka spirals while Ladybug is getting questioned by Alya about everything. So glad you made her also ask Juleka questions fr.
YOO?? I was going to bring up how she hadn’t referred to herself as Panthera once during this but she did at the end there after she had been validated by an outside source (alya being curious). Obviously she refers to Panthera as a separate entity even in her head later on, which makes me crazy but we’ll get there when we get there but I’ll totally pay attention to whether she’s calling herself Juleka or Panthera and in what situation she’s doing that in. 
It’s a small detail but i’ve found those fun to play around with in writing. 
HEY HANG ON HEYHEYEHYE
NO YOU DIDN’T OMG
Ok so i never registered that you wrote “This wasn’t just superheroes and villains. This was more, she could feel it. She could only ask. What’s going on…” and like?? This is such a huge thing Juleka focusses on in this? 
Like how she takes their work seriously in a different way to Marinette because she sees it as a genuine threat both during the akuma and out of it because of how emotions are targeted and how she resorts to simple violence whereas Marinette will use a complex plan. This is like tangentially related to how Marinette has her black and white thinking vibes (superheros and villains) while Juleka just sees people, people in different situations and how that changes her perception of their actions and-
Sorry i’m not sure if all this makes sense i just kinda went crazy. 
[— — —]
Second chapter!!
I do enjoy how Juleka almost told Ladybug to use the cure but social anxiety-d her way out of it. Hammering home her regret by giving Luka a hidden sprained leg is devious. I like him in this btw he’s just a silly guy who is essential to Juleka’s mental health and has his own stuff going on :3
Plagg not getting much Camembert in this is so tragic for him, the fact that he accepts string cheese from Juleka anyway just proves he’s a softie fr
I do love how we just get told in show that the Couffaines live on a boat and that Anarka acts like a pirate and we just. Get no further explanation. I like to think it’s something about dodging taxes
Plagg encouraging Juleka to be a model just so she can fund his fondness for Camembert- 
For some reason it’s that which made me think about how insane it would be for Juleka to balance a job on top of all this. Plus I feel like she’d totally end up with a Model Juleka mask too furthering her identity crisis stuff
I like how you had someone mention a family member being hospitalised by Stoneheart, sometimes it feels like the impact of being the first Akuma (and the only one which wasn’t cured) isn’t given enough attention. 
The fact that Ivan went to school the day after is insane fr but it needs to happen for the plot. 
People gotta be proper scared of him cause as far as they’re aware he is the villain.
Hey I’ve just realised that Juleka starts her whole “understanding the motivation for an Akuma can be the key to helping the person” thing right here when she goes up to talk to Ivan, that’s awesome I never made that connection before
Alya explaining that she just couldn’t think of a blog name including both of the heroes is a good detail, I know it was just a symptom of Ladybug being the protagonist in MLB but it was still a bit weird it was just called the ladyblog
I like that Chloe has a reason why she’s being a bitch; Stoneheart broke Roger’s arm so she’s getting back at him for that. Well, it doesn’t excuse how she approached it but a reason is better than an unprompted attack
Annnnd Panthera’s back woop!!
Hmm, you wrote “Juleka’s ears perked up as she heard Chloe’s shrill voice scream.” and it got me wondering;
Question 7: Do the miraculous give other abilities other than elevated strength, endurance, reflexes, and magical stuff? Like can Juleka hear stuff better when transformed? Or another example would be having better night vision? If so would these side effects continue into her untransformed self? As I know you’ve said her ‘claws’ and ‘slitted eyes’ and all that described when not transformed is actually just her being an unreliable narrator but side effects are always cool :3
Tbh the fact that an Akuma just multiplies when it’s not purified is insane like why the fuck does it do that? This isn’t an actual question, but it’s so crazy to me that if they missed literally any other Akuma they could’ve had like three million Dark Cupid’s running amuck.
Roger sucks man, why did he want to shoot at the Akuma holding a civilian??
Juleka not even registering how right after she’d ‘realised’ that she wasn’t cut out for hero work she reassured Ladybug for feeling the exact same way is so her. Like girl why are you allowed to have self doubt but no one else is??
Panthera’s speech about how they can do it… amazing moment. I’m sure Marinette was so very straight and normal about it whenever she thinks back to it. 
Ladybug this is a terrible plan. Her plans are always crazy. The fact that they work is even more crazy. I can’t wait to see whatever you replace Reflecta Two with and see Julekas lucky charm leading to incredible violence or a therapy session (there’s no in between) while Marinette just gapes in the background. 
“Another dream would be modeling.. But she could never do that.. If heroism was her path, she wouldn’t regret it.” JULEKA YOU ARE FALLING OFF THE EIFFEL TOWER GET IT TOGETHER 
And. hm. I don’t think Juleka ever regrets heroism but she definitely doesn’t like it much. The whole people being in danger and constantly having to fight and put herself in danger bit I mean, not the saving people bit.
Also i think this is a badass scene even though Juleka is ruminating as she falls from a great height lmao, the imagery of her diving after the Akuma and everything is so wonderful :3
Real of Ivan to question why they know his name. Marinette sucks at pretending she doesn’t know people fr
“I should keep the hair off my face.. Maybe I’ll be less recognizable.” Girl you're not Clark Kent the only reason no one knows is because of the glamour fr. but also. She kinda would be unrecognisable wouldn’t she.
Hang on. 
Question 8: So, before Juleka finds out Ladybug’s identity, it is hinted at that she will through multiple instances of her being “familiar” or knowing something she shouldn’t. Has Rose ever felt the same way about Panthera? As in; “She feels familiar, like I know her…” or is this spoilers? You know I’ll always be rabid for hints at a reveal between them, or anyone outside of Luka and Anarka finding out.
RAHHH JUST AS I SAY THAT JULEKA ASKS IF SHE SHOULD TELL ROSE AT SOME POINT I FORGOR THIS HAPPENED
YGBF4HNIRJECUDWOMSQIK
Sorry
Oh you’ll tell her when you defeat him will you?? Cap I won’t survive. I’ll simply be deceased. I must see the aftermath of the reveal. So much happened between Rose and Panthera and it reveals a whole side of Juleka she kept secret and-
There is simply too much opportunity to make it upsetting for you to pass up. Not that I think Rose would, idk, cast Juleka aside for her dishonesty or something equally dramatic, but the feelings!! They’ll be so big and she’ll have so many questions!!
Juleka is literally so loyal girl what “I trust ladybug” YOU JUST MET HER!! I love it but also girl! Trust yourself some more! Actually if she did at this point it’d feel out of character (i think her beef with master fu is one of the only examples her trusting her gut) 
Fr i can’t wait for Panthera to not defer to Ladybug or disagree in season 4 i’m actually going to go insane when that happens. In my live reaction to that chapter i’ll literally decompose or something.
I LOVE THE IMAGERY AT THE END. BTW. PUSHING HER HAIR BACK OVER HER EYES BECAUSE THAT’S NOT WHO SHE IS. IT MAKES ME CRAZY. 
[— — —]
P.S. I’ve been smiling the whole time reading this, just thinking about reading more and getting to my favourite moment’s is making me all giddy, thank you for sharing your stories Cap they’re fantastic and you’re incredible for writing them :3
P.P.S. For some reason this one is about 1.5 times the length of the last one?? idk why, new enemy; consistency.
YAHHH IM SO EXCITED TO GET YOUR REVIEWS OKAY QUESTION TIME
Question 1: Yes I have! There's scenes in Panthera that are like directly inspired by the fic, esp in chapter 1, but I've since edited these scenes to make them less like the scenes from Powers of Invisibility. Its such a good fic, and really got me into Juleka, and I re-read it often to kinda get into her vibe of as a person.
THE TOXIC LADYNOIRE YURI WASNT INTENTIONAL FROM THE START BUT MAN WAS IT ALWAYS DOOMED TO HAPPEN <3 its almost meta
Im glad you enjoyed Adrien! I always wanna make sure he's not forgotten. I want him to still be the guy who could've been Chat Noir yknow!
Question 2: When writing this my idea was that Luka was homeschooled because they couldn't afford sending them both to school, and he rather had Juleka go to school than him. But in one of the episodes it was implied he Did go to school just a different one. So, Im not sure anymore tbh
Question 3: He's running by good samaritan laws and also magical vibes. Sometimes souls are just a bit more attuned to magic. Also he chooses young people because while adults who pick up miraculouses will have an easier time from the start, children can adapt and grow even more powerful over the course of many years. This is morally pretty bad, but he was also chosen as a child so the trauma clouds his views a bit.
Question 4: Her english va speaks with a weird fucked up mix of a scottish and pirate accent in the show and I think theres a scottish flag on the Liberty!
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Found it!
Juleka's decision to be a hero being stemmed entirely on the safety of her loved ones was always a key part of her I always found intentional. Despite her lack of self preservation in the thick of things, I imagine she just tries to avoid things from the start? This scene was edited a while back from Luka actually being seen injured by Juleka on tv to something more believable- which is the current version you most likely read.
Question 5: The Ladybug and Cat miraculous are always drawn to each other. I imagine throughout history, they were always forced to be enemies of some kind or as separate as possible due to how powerful this draw was. Juleka's also already very attached to Marinette, so it was a funky mix that kinda pushed that recognition. So while Juleka is close to Alya (somewhat) that's not enough to carry her past through that thick layer of glamour. (Doesn't help that Alya's got the illusion miraculous too!)
Also; I like to imagine that if Luka can magically hear what people's hearts sound like, Juleka has that but for her eyes. It's a, Hear no Evil, See no Evil thing- that I may explore later. Look man, Anarka's ancestors were probably on some shot.
Question 6: It's hard to put it but, it's less of a crush and more... these two are genuinely in love and I'm genuinely writing it that way. They just don't recognize it and it's muddled with a lot of other feelings so it's just never on their mind until it is and it gets very chaotic. Marinette has considered a crush on Panthera but she waves it off as crazy every time I think.
IM SO GLAD YOU READ INTO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JULEKA AND MARINETTE. It's so fun.
-
Chapter two! Absolutely its about dodging taxes. Fun fact; I've found that camembert is actually not that expensive. But I imagine the kind Plagg likes is.
Question 7: They do! Alya's glamour is stronger than average and she and Juleka have better night vision, a sense of hearing, and smell. Of course there's unreliable narrator stuff, but I do imagine Juleka's nails are much stronger now.
ALSO RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT?? ITS INSANE THAT THAT CAN JUST OCCUR. THE AKUMA MULTIPLICATION THING. THEY NEVER MENTION IT AGAIN ITS DRIVING ME FUCKING CRAZY.
Also for sure Juleka hates heroism. It's her new curse. But she's got a duty to fulfill with it. She treats it like an unpaid 9-5
Question 8: Absolutely has Rose felt those feelings! It probably fueled her crush on Panthera a lot! But the glamour worked just too perfectly on her, poor thing. Power of love ain't enough.
Im glad you enjoyed re-reading Panthera! It's the hardest thing to do for me lol but the idea that the start can still bring joy to people makes me really happy. Cheers!
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fullscoreshenanigans · 11 months ago
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unpopular opinion that each arc should have changed POV based on who it was centered around (aka escape arc was ray, goldy pond was emma, imperial was norman etc.) cuz it would have balanced out all of their development more than just focusing on emma
ty for carrying this fandom on ur back :D
If we're narrowing it down to a single person carrying the fandom, it's definitely @1000sunnygo for not only compiling the most comprehensive masterlist of materials for the English-speaking fandom, but also translating countless fanworks purely out of love for the series. The thought is very sweet, though! 💖💝
I don't entirely disagree with what I think is the underlying sentiment behind this ask of wanting more insight into the characters because switching the main POV for different arcs of a story can shake things up and be engaging, but assuming we're working under the same chapter/time constraints, I'm not sure what new development could be gained and balanced by this with how much POV swapping we already do between chapters and within single chapters? Other than potentially more insight into the specifics of Norman's time at Lambda and post-Lambda escape, including the Ayshe-Norman conflict branch that Shirai consciously cut to streamline the story.
Would swapping POVs mean we're firmly locked out of any other character's internal monologues? Or would we see monologues like Emma's feelings toward Isabella, Emma saying she wants to be like Norman and Ray, Norman saying he wants to be more like Emma, Norman's incensed vow that he won't lose to Isabella, and Emma's reflection on how Norman's apparent death hurt her retooled later on in their respective POV sections?
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(Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 31)
Granted, the anime cut all of those too, but that's one of the main criticisms I've seen lobbied against it, even with how it reflects some of the essence of them in other ways. Still, I feel like the escape arc is balanced near perfectly in the amount of focus each member of the trio is given and at what point insight into each of their psyches is explored. That balance is what I would have liked to see replicated in subsequent arcs, specifically during the imperial capital battle arc.
A criticism I've seen toward this portion of the story, and one that I assume is one of the main inspirations for this ask, is how Ray comparatively fades into the background/feels like he's on unequal billing with Emma and Norman despite his prominence in the beginning. The series' Japanese logo even features three parallel lines that represent each member of the trio (minus chapters 30 and 31 when Norman's line was removed to fake out Japanese readers)
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(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 | TPNManga Tweet)
So for a lot of people to see him not be as engaged with his own agenda feels kind of jarring.
I don't mind him aligning with Emma's position at this point despite his personal reservations given the conclusion of the escape arc has his entire worldview being thoroughly reconstructed, but I would have liked more reflection and insight that we see crop up in the bonus pages since we have small moments like Emma taking some time to speculate if a person losing their memories constitutes death in the story proper.
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(Chapter 159 Bonus Scene | Chapter 169 Bonus Scene; I'm very happy both of these scenes are included at all, but they're unfortunately among the casualties of Shirai trimming branches that don't feel as integrated into the narrative in the last few arcs due to the accelerated pacing.)
I also feel the story would lose some cohesion by displacing Emma as the main character given she's the main driving force behind the idealism that permeates the series and thus serves as the strongest unifier to keep that theme front and center. Similarly, I'd hate to lose out on how beautifully foiled she and Isabella are during the escape arc and having such a powerful and heartbreaking mother-daughter dynamic as a focal point of a shounen jump series.
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(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)
That said, this is another topic where I'm at odds with Sugita as I would have very much been up for more time spent developing the secondary cast.
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hybbart · 2 years ago
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hihelo, raau related things
i really like how you draw and write stuff with hybrid stuff in mind, especially avians, and was wondering if you could infodump a bit? stuff like instincts and little things like sounds they make stuff
sorry if this is too vague, i dont really have any specific questions, im just curious about it all :D
oh actually i do have one, where do you usually learn all this stuff from?
Thank you! I'll try to answer a few things
As far as major ones I don't think it's much all that differently than the general fanon you find in fics, the only real difference is that since I'm drawing, I have to figure out what it actually would look like/go with a more visual option. (For example a lot of people make blazeborn, or at least tango, purr, and that's not something you can depict in a silent, still image easily.) The only other difference is that raau is set on a single, modern world and so ones like blazeborn aren't from the nether or void and these species have a linear history that impacts the world's development.
Avians:
Avians make all sorts of birb noises when theyre emotional of course, and they need preening. Maybe pre apocalypse they were picky about what to do with their feathers, but in the apocalypse they could be a potential resource so at least Jimym and Grian save them.
The main difference is I prefer to interpret things like feather-gifts and nests as familial things. A lot of these behaviours are based on bird behaviours but I like to imagine they don't just... act like birds. These are their culture and traditions not JUST instincts.
So, like, it's instinctive and better for their body if they sleep in a nest rather than a bed, but that nest replaces beds and- while their partner usually is the other person sleeping in that bed, it's more of a big like... sleepover space for everyone in their flock, not a romantic thing. It doesn't really say anything about their relationship other than they're comfortable sleeping around them, in their nest which is their safe place. Nests I also designed based on enclosed nests like weavers, or a bird house, or cavity nests like owls. I think it just made it more distinctly a nest rather than a round dipping bed, especially once all the blankets and pillows are placed. So they'll put up veils and curtains and basically make a fort but permanent. It's the focal point of their homes, basically.
The ranchers' has to be comfortable and accessible to Tango as well but I imagine most avian families straight up make a whole room for just the nest and no stairs. I feel like avians are really bad about making accessible architecture. In raau I imagine their world a lot liek ours but I also image it without a housing crisis or lots of generic homes due to the needs of the various species usually meaning a LOT of people build their own homes.
Feather earrings I also imagine as a nuclear family thing between avians only, for the inner flock so to speak. It's sort of like a house flag, 'these are my siblings/parents/children' type thing. If that involves a non avian a non-feather item might be included, like a blazerod or scale. It's mostly a signal to other avians, though (and pretty). Like if Jimmy removed Grian's feather from his earring that would be A Statement. there isn't really any ritual involved with giving them, either, it's just expected. Outer flock aka friends, extended family, and unmarried partners aren't really involved.
Avians also have a migratory instinct in raau. Though they have specific birds they might resemble I think of them as their own whole species 99% of the time (Jimmy's ability to see sounds being the 1% unique due to their bird thing). In the case of the modern avians this usually takes the form of frequent travelling or nomadic lifestyles and taking up temporary/seasonal work.
A lot of cowboys were avians, and probably a lot of those world travel blogs were run by avians. Probably a lot of jobs discriminate against avians assuming they'll want a bunch of vacation time or up and quit like how women with families are treated. Jimmy doesn't travel much as he's more of a ground-bird and the farms he worked on were plenty spacious, but even he gets antsy if he's stuck at the ranch too long and usually is the one to go out scavenging with Grian or visiting the hospital.
And finally obviously their wings are very important to them. It's their everything, even if they're like Jimmy and don't fly too much. It's their main survival strategy so being grounded makes them very anxious and stressed. Even Jimmy who hasn't been able to fly-fly for several years in raau still instinctively tries to launch himself in the air when startled or attacking. Clipping or damaging them is the worst thing imaginable to them so they treat them with the utmost care.
It's how they display being healthy and well-groomed to others, like a nice clean haircut, and they puff up and flatten largely in the same displays and posturing as your average bird as far as communicating emotions goes.
Blazeborn:
I don't have nearly as much for blazeborn since there's only one of them, but I think their instincts are very cat-like as far as behaviour. They are completely in control of their ability to burn or produce fire, like rapidash. They get VERY firey and turn into a fire hedgehog when enraged, but if they know who it is then even then they won't burn someone they don't want to burn. It's more like a threat display, but of course whoever it's directed at will usually be burnt.
They tend to use their tail to communicate, and they use it like cats use purring; when they're comfortable or are trying to comfort themselves they wrap it around things. Otherwise it communicates much the same way as a cat's tail.
In raau their flame colour is an indication of their internal temperature regulation. Blue/white is extra hot and red is cooled down, yellow is in-between, average temp. Since it's also hair it can't be put out, but it does crackle and steam when wet. They do NOT do well in cold weather, obviously, nor weather that heavily fluctuates.
A lot of traditional blazeborn homes are in deserts or underground, and modern blazeborn-friendly homes ALWAYS have the main part of the house as a basement suit type deal with plenty of climate control, where it's much easier to regulate temperatures to warm and dry.
They have an attraction to metals, though tango's a little freak who likes iron more than gold. Them and pig-hybrids are probably the reason for the gold standard. Probably a lot of traditions involve metalworking and the like. It's instinctive to be attracted to metals, but the working of them into things is cultural.
Also in raau specifically blazerods are a whole effort and ordeal to produce. it's basically blazeborn cartilage.
Others:
raau doesn't have magic, so races defined by their magical capabilities are no around, like vex or witches.
Medusas like Cleo basically have multiple brains like an octopus and so require a lot of calories and nutrition. They're also immune to snake venom and can develop immunity to other toxins, thus they're actually very reliable for the development of anti-venoms and vaccines.
Scott's an elf but it doesn't mean much other than he's tall and has slightly pointy ears. They have a lot of cultural stuff, but Scott's not a very traditional guy.
Fauns have a lot of prey-instincts, so they tend to have very strong fight or flight instincts at the smallest thing. They're also a bit odd to most people. They're social but in a shield sort of way rather than a cooperative sort of way, so their moral compass can seem off. If I let myself I would make so much faun lore so I intentionally stopped myself there. The only other thing is their horns/antlers shed annually and so they treat them almost like how others treat family picture books or height charts.
Tiny Tom is both a voidwalker and a cow faun hybrid. As far as voidwalkers go they hate being looked in the eye and are similar to avians with a migratory instinct.
Merfolk like Lizzie need to live in humid climates if they are going to live out of the water, and have very strong schooling instincts. They'll often have very large families and friend groups. Home pools were unsurprisingly something that first appeared in land-living merfolk homes. It's an absolute necessity, as well as a large bathroom or full on bathhouse. (they separate the bathroom and the toilet as separate rooms)
And that's about all the things I've thought about. It seems like a lot when actually typed out and explained, but a lot of it's mostly common fanon maybe adjusted here and there for the setting of raau.
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dlairlonia · 1 year ago
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how do you see your manifestations as of now? A GENERAL, TAROT READING 𓇼 by Lonia 𓇼 10823
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ෆ˚⋆୨୧⋆˚ෆ No license to love, insurance to hold
A GENERAL, PICK-A-CARD (PHOTO) READING ౨ৎ ⋆。˚ As a Tarot reader passing information onto you, I hereby pass on the responsibility to you, the reader, the authority to manage your every wellbeing as a human being after taking in information (Tarot reading) that declares to be for entertainment purposes only. This is a note that I am not responsible for anything except for what I type and upload for the public to see. If you have any concerns with what I have published, please message me privately. - Lonia
˚ ༘✶ ⋆。˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆。˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆。˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆。˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆。˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶
... pile 1 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆。˚
You see your manifestations as truly pleasant, good in investing long term. However, there is this feeling of obsecurity; of uncertainy and/or insecurity. This manifestation, as I see it, is splitting your identity apart and it may help you, however you look at it----although does it really do justice? Think but not lavishly with this. The way you apply the feeling of knowing you have it, which is the main goal, do you do it or do you focus on the feeling of something else? I know you are in the right path, your guides know this, PLEASE kindly redirect yourself to making the visions all about your feelings. To sum it up, most of you are most likely staying in this state of lack.
(I am not confessing to be a states girlie, it is just the focal point of manifestation that FEELING is the secret. Embody that 'I AM'. It is what YOU allow that persists.)
Let us say, or assume that you are manifesting refinement most aspects in your life. Money, love, desired body and face all-in-one; this desire makes you feel good. It makes you feel pleasant. There is moments that is baffling or truly confusing. I feel you are confused. When I try to make up visions of you, pile 1, I feel us both confused. Some of you may not know what you want, this creates a lack of stability and balance, this hurts you deeply. I will not swim in the ocean deeper as I sense it is more of a personal 'life' problem than having the struggle to choose what to manifest in an inclination, just to fancy, or a mere whim.
I, as well, just have to say that this is an incredibly reflective pile that chooses to FEEL. Instead of feeling the worse, why not the one that makes you truly spark? My darlings, take control of your own life and remember to be kind as equally as to have a nerve. Retire what perpetuates harm in you or does not benefit you and never take a single damned cent out of that pension. Be cautious, darlings.
LOVE U. Lonia.
... pile 2 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆。˚
You are doing a magnificent job, darling. However, do you find yourself being too nitpicky with dealing the concept of manifesting? This may be being overly critical with what you want; a focus to being on the road to perfection when visualizing, finding the right words like a pedantic for your affirmations only to leave you not 'feeling it'? 9 is signifcant for some here. (this was incredibly random however I think this is meant for a specific reader). This, in result, somehow distorts the way you see your manifestations. Even in a subtle fashion. This might have hurt the relationship with your vision of the world or yourself.
All of you are doing great with this manifesting process of yours. Anyway, pile 2, this pile is all about wealth; money, extravaganza, or even business/careers. If any venus or aquarius placements here in particular, greetings darling! Most of you see your manifestations as for 'reaching for the stars', top notch, out of your league---this in return makes you feel insecure. and may it be that some are truly confident and being .that.bitch., however some may feel insecure and avoids feeling 'it'. Thinking about this concern may give headaches and dehydration. Do take care, my dear.
Just so all of you know, you do not have to sacrifice yourself to have it. No matter your gender or sex, stand tall with grace and have a little faith. Not blind faith. Never forget yourself as this is all about you! You only truly have to be. Be it. Pushing yourself too hard has this similar feeling to a knife or a dagger burying deeper in your raw flesh; you lose yourself or what makes you live. Like pile 1, we must remember to redirect. Redirect. Redirect.
I heard "be your own father, stand up and have faith" ???
LOVE U. Lonia.
... pile 3 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆。˚
As much as most of the people in pile 3 share the same mindset or self-concept; or let us say truly worked on their self-concept and it shows, my darlings, we are still uniquely different in what we are facing or who we are today. The DEATH card showed up and this does not mean macabre things to happen, as we know of it some are facing 'opportunities' or events challenges their identity, their 'I AM'. This, in return, warps or changes the way may it be you, how you see your manifestations. Go back to the source in which what allows the change which is you, your I AM. You 'being'.
I sense that this pile must be self-concept focused rather than 'manifesting' a desire they have ifykyk. Calm and a wee bit contented. There is no equivocation. It is an assumption for me that pile 3 may be seeing their manifestations as an 'accesory' per se., like getting a Birkin bag, Dior cosmetics, a boyfriend, a phone or seeing signs. Maybe a travelling (aeroplane) ticket too.
Most of you, I sense that there is not a lack of struggle. However, if you are struggling, know you either have it or you do not. Be confident and feel you have it. Do not focus on admiring that desire, focus on admiring the fact that you HAVE your desire. Feeling is the secret, darling.
Also, my darlings for pile 3, voice out what you fancy to. Even if you do it in a subtle fashion, YOU WILL STILL BE HEARD. Remember that. I assume that most may have fire placements or Leo/Aries and are incredibly on fire during this Leo SZN. Be u and shine bright.
LOVE U. Lonia.
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kiisaes · 2 years ago
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it's kinda funny seeing ppl instinctively react to my omori catholic school au with shock or confusion but i do get anxious that the au itself is being misinterpreted so here's a quick post to clear some stuff up
this is not a pro-catholicism au
this is also not an anti-catholicism au. i don't really dive into the catholicism part of it anyway. it's just an au of the faraway gang going to catholic school
i'm not catholic, ex-catholic, or went to catholic school, but i do have ample youth experience with christianity (the evangelical church to be precise) (i also consulted [ex-]catholic friends about their experiences, as i know catholicism and evangelicalism are different). i based faraway's comfortable but conservative/religious environment off of my own hometown, in which there are catholic schools everywhere. if i ever get anything wrong let me know!!! but again the catholicism part of catholic school isn't actually the focal point
the main reasons why this is a catholic school au in general is bc 1.) i'm pretty sure the one church in faraway is catholic (i could be wrong), so i'm assuming faraway is predominantly of catholic faith, 2.) school uniforms are fun to draw and are way easier than their normal clothes and 3.) catholic school is one of the most well-documented and understood religious education systems in the US
the main theme is identity suppression, a fairly common thing ex-catholics mention going through (as well as ex-religious people going through in general). this is mainly illustrated as internalized queerphobia in this au. i thought that framing internalized queerphobia through an outdated religious lens would make it easier to understand, a clear cause and effect
i went through some wacky and honestly kinda funny religious trauma growing up, so i don't want this au to be overly depressing and heavy. i know religious trauma can be really tough for a lot of people but this au is mostly silly!!! a slice of life log of four catholic school teens dealing with themselves the more they're approached with the concept of not being "pure". i felt like this was a vague presence in the game so i wanted to expand on it more myself. this was also my experience growing up and i'm still going through it now, so i thought making a lighthearted au out of it would help me heal too
i'm making this list more serious than it should be, it's really not that deep and it's mostly an excuse to dump my experiences with faith onto some goofy drawings :>
TL;DR: this is a silly au detailing what it can be like growing up religious/impacted by religion as u're increasingly introduced to ur inherent "sinfulness" and moral impurity aka being queer. grahhhh. that's it
i hope this helped clear some stuff up!!!!!!
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kimbureh · 2 years ago
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TBB's Crosshair & shame, fear, inferiority complex
having finally watched The Bad Batch Season 1 in its entirety, it's fascinating to see Crosshair's character development cuz he is exactly the type of person who would be seduced by fascist propaganda such as the Empire's. And I ache for him so much.
He is vulnerable to the Empire's ideology because out of the five Batchers, Crosshair's actions are the most driven by shame, fear, and a deep inferiority complex.
In retrospect it seems obvious to me that his character arc in TBB was at least roughly mapped out by the time he was first introduced in Clone Wars The Final Season, because none of the other Batchers would make such an easy target for the Empire.
But lets reverse engineer the plot as if you had to pick the one Bad Batcher to be affected by the inhibitor chip for a compelling story. Which Batcher do you pick for maximum impact, and why?
Ironically, the next best option, for me, is Wrecker, and they did a speedrun for this scenario in the series. Wrecker is an interesting case, because he is in many ways the exact opposite to Crosshair.
The three characteristics that make Crosshair especially susceptible for the Empire's propaganda are, as mentioned, his shame, fear, and a deep inferiority complex. Wrecker isn't ruled by these things the way Crosshair is. Yes, he is scared, and quite frequently so. But Wrecker is not ashamed to admit his fear in front of his team mates and trusts they won't look down on him. Wrecker isn't ashamed of his emotions and shortcomings, at least not to the same degree as Crosshair is. I think all Batchers carry a considerable load of shame being treated as and seeing themselves as defective, but Crosshair is affected by this mindset the most.
Which is why Crosshair all but jumps on the idea of serving a purpose under the Empire, especially once his old old purpose under the Republic becomes obsolete. He cannot bear the idea that he might be deemed useless, he cannot endure the uncertainty that comes with finding a purpose on his own. And doesn't the Empire have a neat antidote for that? Crosshair is not stupid, he is aware that the Empire doesn't respect him as a Clone, but this is about survival. Given that I don't have watched Season 2 yet (please no spoilers), I can only assume it was Crosshair's worst nightmare to be ruled by the inhibitor chip and be abandoned the only people in the galaxy he thought he could truly trust. And his trust isn't earned easily.
Wrecker's arc when he was ruled by the inhibitor chip showed how a person can deal with the shame of lashing out and hurting loved ones. His arc is, again, a speedrun of Crosshair's, at least thematically. Crosshair has to become more like Wrecker in order to overcome his inner struggle and complete his arc, which is why I see with delight how the writers have subtly set in place this unique relationship despite Hunter being the main focal point of Crosshair's character development. Things like, Crosshair allowing himself to cry (!) in front of Wrecker at the armory. Crosshair and Wrecker bunking next to each other. Wrecker being the first to admit he misses Crosshair. Wrecker asking Crosshair to come back twice in the season finale. And in Clone Wars, there's the friendly rivalry both seem to thrive in. I just love them, your honor (all of them).
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samobservessonic · 5 months ago
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Stringer and Casanovas are taking the main story today, as after the long S3&K arc (which might just be one of the coolest arcs I’ve ever read), we turn to a oneshot story for a bit of a breather
Robotnik seems to have quickly gotten over his injuries in the last issue and got Grimer to work on yet another badnik to throw at Sonic. Also, I have to admit that I forget Robotnik’s base is in the Special Zone unless they directly mention it. Wonder if they can hear Knuckles and Mighty fighting across the galaxies out the window
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So we get this robot who doesn’t look that much different from the other trooper robots, but can apparently predict Sonic’s every move. And like, not to be a downer, but this was exactly what I was saying I haven’t really been enjoying from StC when it comes to these robots. They tend to not be too exciting when they ignore the game designs and just do a generic robot design. This is a “your mileage may vary” thing, I know, it just doesn’t do anything for me personally
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After a bit more villain talk we switch to the Floating Island, where Sonic is predictably not enjoying the quiet life. I have to admit that I didn’t think the Freedom Fighters would be staying there along with the rest of the people from Emerald Hill. I assume that doesn’t last long and they return to the ground to protect the rest of Mobius, but for now, they’re here
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Oh no Amy, Sonic isn’t jealous of Knuckles. In fact, he’s very impressed by him and it’s important to Sonic that Knuckles is impressed with Sonic in return. Trust me, that’s the vibe he’s been giving off since Knuckles’s introduction
Porker also thinks Knuckles is pretty heroic. Enough so that maybe Porker will consider being his roommate in future
Oh, and the robot is here
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Casanovas was like “It’s really important this one mushroom is the focal point of the entire page”
Also, poor Amy with that 99% certainty she’d protect Sonic :’(
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Knuckles also makes a surprise appearance, but Predicto predicted that as well
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Not that it matters, since it takes Sonic only slightly less time to figure out how to win than he did to figure out that Tonic was Metamorphia a couple of issues ago
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Robot’s gone
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Once again, Sonic leaves Knuckles feeling more than unimpressed with him. You can almost feel his internal panic when Amy points out that Knuckles will never like him
Okay, so I know I wasn’t really enthusiastic about this story, but it was fine! I am the sort of person who likes to have breather stories after a big arc, because I think it’s both good for character development and helps to give the big stories more impact. When you go from crisis to crisis, they lose their punch after a while. So I’m not saying this oneshot needed to be the most amazing thing ever, it’s just that I think there’s probably a reason I’ve not heard of it prior to today
Also, if I’m going to be a nitpicker, I guess this means the force field from the Super Emeralds isn’t so good at keeping badniks out after all?
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albertonykus · 9 months ago
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Despite arguably being the third most important character to the Doraemon franchise, Shizuka doesn't get many focal stories in the source material. Among the notable exceptions is "魔女っ子しずちゃん" ("Shizuka the Magical Girl", translated for the Kindle edition as "Shizuka the Friendly Witch"). It's no accident that when I came up with the "main character Shizuka" AU, I started with a reference to this story. It's also one of the most frequently adapted stories from the Doraemon manga, having been made into four different anime episodes to date.
Although the general plot stays the same in all of them, each adaptation makes its own minor changes and additions to the story. Here I'd like to highlight a few of the fun details from the oldest version (which aired in 1981). Just look at Shizuka's sheepish grin when she's struggling to fly on a broomstick. Not an expression you see on her often!
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As in the manga, Shizuka picks up broomstick-flying pretty quickly, only to find out that riding it for too long makes her legs sore. Unique to this adaptation is that she changes her broom-riding posture after this point so that both of her legs dangle off one side. (This is another detail I stole for my fanart.)
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Something nice about this episode is that it lets Shizuka be a little quirky, playing up her desire to be a "fairy godmother" figure. When she needs to help a younger girl get to a friend's party, she immediately assumes that it's a Cinderella-type situation in which the girl is being forbidden from attending. (It's not.)
She then asks the girl for a pumpkin so she can turn it into a carriage, but there isn't one around. She considers using a sweet potato instead...
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However, the girl doesn't like that idea very much. Only after that does Shizuka bring out the more convenient Anywhere Door.
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