#the worst part is that i cant really project this onto any of my characters bc none of them would realy be experiencing this :(

[turtblurts-pkmnirl-hub]

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh tomorrow………….. bee eff ay portfolio review……………………….

[whilomm]

the scene with shuro telling laios fhat shit hurt me in particular because i went through a really fucking shitty friend break up that long story short lead to one of the worst suicidal periods of my life and throughout the entire thing one tiny fucking phrase they said was running through my head for years just "i should have broke it off when i realized we had nothing in common" and i got so fucking stuck on and obsessed with that one tiny fucking thing they said. every single time i tried to meet new people it was on mymind and i was wondering "am i missing signals? am i annoying them? do they want me to leave but theyre too polite to say anything?" so i pretty much just fucking abandoned every single attempt and ghosted people because i was so scared of getting attached again and fucking up again. i honestly dont even have any irl friends now outside of a couple of work aquaintances and maybe i still wouldnt maybe my personality is just that shit but that thing made me terrified to even try. so i dont fucking know wby im giving shuro so much leeway maybe im just trying to understand people better maybe im trying not to demonize my ex friend because i spent so fucking long going back and forth between hating them and hating myself and thinking its their fault and thinking its my fault maybe im just trying to understand what its like to be on the otherside of an annoying autistic bitch who cant read signals. is that healthy because im trying to understand other viewpoints? is it unhealthy because after like 6 fucking years theyre still in the back of my mind making me paranoid that everyone hates me? is it unhealthy because im once agin just projecting everything onto fictional characters instead of actually dealing with shit in the real world and trying to figure out whats wrong with me? i dont fucking know!!! but its probably not healthy for me to just demonize this fictional dude and project all of my negative feelings on him and swing back into "ITS ALL THEIR FAULT I DID NOTHING WRONG" so fuck i guess ill just avoid that part of it.

[macbethz]

1, 10, and 15 for the choose violence ask game :)

THIS IS A LONG ONE SORRY. I guess I had violence in my heart.

1. The character everyone gets wrong

Ok im aware this is like the most predictable answer for me but its true. CLARA!!! People don't get her at all and it absolutely infuriates me, because she's pretty much the only companion in nuwho who is hated to this extent (ie, people saying mean shit about her on my posts ABOUT HER) Oh does she annoy you by having the exact same traits as the doctor? Do you not like her egotistical and controlling behavior? I wonder why. Perhaps there is a point there.

Sidenote - it annoys me when people will call her a mary sue and simultaneously get mad at her being an asshole and yk, having character flaws, as if those terms aren't mutually exclusive & her hyper-competence that gets read as "mary sue" isn't an intentional choice by the narrative and a result of her being DEEPLY unwell in other aspects of her life.

I feel like a lot of people judge her based on the second half of s7 which, to be fair, is awful and I don't think they knew what they were doing with her yet. But in the context of her whole run she is genuinely one of the most evocative characters to come out of doctor who for me, especially in the way she serves as a kind of commentary and subversion of companions as a whole. I genuinely could talk about clara forever but yeah I do feel like a lot of the hate comes from the fact that people Don't Get Her.

And then among fans who do there's always a risk that they see her as this blank slate twee girl to self-project onto which again, to be fair, is how she was written in season 7. But so many things from supposed fans of her as well that I'll read and be like she would not fucking say that. she does not have the emotional awareness to say that. and/or she is not like a uwu quirky shy girl she would fucking speak her mind about that. She is deranged and I love her. I have to shut up abt clara or this will be the whole post.

10. Worst part of fanon

I honestly cant get TOO annoyed with doctor who fanon because i am a comics fan AND a danny phantom fan and its surprisingly common practice for people in both those fandoms to be a "fan" of something they have not consumed the media for in any form, resulting in this horrible mess of fanon with no connection to what makes the original compelling. + doctor who is such a mess of canon anyway basically everything has been canon at some point even if its shit.

But I think in the end the worst part of DW fanon is, like all fanon, the flattening of really compelling characters to fit trope archetypes. I see this especially with tenrose, where they're just turned into this kind of generic ship that you can plug n play into any situation with little connection to the interesting ways they actually behave in canon.

As a kind of interesting reversal, though, fanon will often expand out dw's most generic characters (ie most chibnal companions. sorry), but only for the purposes of shipping and not in ways I myself find particularly interesting. Like imo Yaz is probably the least developed chibnal companion but pretty much the only one I see expanded on in this way because of the shipping potential.

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

im probably gonna get slaughtered for this but i think maybe weve had enough crowley in doctor who outfits or 10 meeting crowley fanart. maybe im bitter because i dont really care about the GO show and I feel like it fills up the dw tag to the brim these days

[maschotch]

I think it's so weird that the way they talk about Hotch doesn't line up with his actions,,, like they're scared of disappointing him even though he almost never gets mad at them? Derek saying "on a normal scale you messed up at a 6 but on a hotch scale you fucked up big time" or calling him a drill Sargent? That one episode where Reid is casually like "so what's up with hotch?" When he was just being "-_-" as always lmdjds or Elle saying he never smiles... I know they mischaracterize him a lot but it's so weird to me how the team is weirdly nervous about messing up in his presence or how he's constantly described as this strict, hard-ass no-nonsense boss when he just isn't like that. We see constantly how gentle he can be when someone messes up (even when the team blows up and yells at him- Derek, Garcia, Reid and Rossi) he's just usually so understanding that it doesn't make sense that the writers make the team talk about him like that. They way they talk just doesn't do their individual relationships with him justice lol

ok not to be a freak or anything but this is one of my favorite parts of his character aksjhdlajgds but this is one of those things that’s so hard for me to express because there’s so many layers to it? there’s the team viewing hotch as more than just a boss, but as this important figure that they desperately want to please. but the team sometimes forgets that their fear of failing him comes from their own insecurities and pins him as the reason they’re so terrified to disappoint him instead of acknowledging their self doubt. (then there’s the specific reasons each team member needs that validation, which could be an entire essay for each of them so i cant even get into it rn) 

but the reason i love this situation so much is because it feeds directly into hotch’s distorted image of himself. he’s so willing to believe that he’s all these bad things that they say because this aggression and volatility is what he worries resides within him all along. it hurts him and he knows it hurts him, but i think he also kind of intentionally encourages it? he’s naturally withdrawn and quick to subdue his emotions, making him this sort of blank slate for them to project onto. his passive personality can be misinterpreted as cold and unfeeling, harsh and uncaring, and it’s almost as though it’s the impression he wants to give? because anything that refutes that—any kind act or gentle word—must be a fluke, or results from his attempts to hide the bad person he thinks he really is. so every criticism they have, every “worst quality” they identify is proof that he’s not good enough

it’s such an interesting dynamic that aligns perfectly in a way that allows the team to function exceptionally while also making hotch as miserable as possible <3

[flamedoesart]

Woooooo ok going back to my old ways for this one

have you noticed an issue with consent in tommy centric sbi storys? cuz like i feel like a lot of the time shit just fucking happens to him

like in a lot of sbi storys(not just dark sbi ones) i feel like tommy gets little to no agency. like for instance if tommy runs away they drag him back kicking and screaming(no exaggeration). and the next day hes like “lol guys im so sorry i was so rude and i love you so much”. i think it has a lot to do with mental health issues as well. because often in these storys they treat him like he js so mentally ill and sad and suicidal and shit that he cant make decisions for himself.

i guess it also ties into him being ooc a lot in these fics too. like especially in fics where he is a hybrid. like they make it so hes just so soft and uwu baby and he cant make any desisions for himself because he needs his family to do it for him and he never swears or is angry at them💞💞💞💞❣️❣️💕💕💗💗💓💓💖💖 because also they often use the hybrod thing so that when he expresses any anger or discomfort/displeasure with what is happening the just scratch behind his ear so his brain stops working and then its a-okay.

this stuff especially bothers me because i am a trans person who came out when they where 10 so when child characters dont get agency it really grind my gears, as literally no one would say.

and listen i know all of it is just an excuse to have some fluffy sbi moments, and an opportunity for the writer to get the comforts they cant in real life by 3 famous “hot” men . but i dont think that makes it ok.

1. the way they do it infantilizes neuro-divergent

This one is pretty easy to explain, when you say your character with abandonment issues, ptsd, anxiety, adhd and whatever orher shit you give them is soooo cute and helpless and needs other people to make good decisions for him weather he likes it or not🥺🥺🥺 its bad. its bas because it reinforces the idea that all mentally ill people are children or child like.

2. its lazy

listen bbg i get that you wanna feel loved but you could put in even a 🤏 that would be great. it is easy to just not gove your characters agency so you can get to the part you have been replaying in your head over and over a little faster, but its unsatisfying. if you just do a little bit of work, like maybe instead of wilbur telling tommy he cant leave, maybe wilbur says he doesnt want him to leave, so tommy doesnt leave. this shows that wilbur is viewing tommy as a full human person, it shows that tommy loves wilbur, but it also shows that tommy isnt healed enough to admit that.

boom baby i came up with that in like 5 seconds

god im sorry if this is just word vomit i just feel strongly about this fan-fiction trend

tldr: please for the love of god just give tommyinnit a little agency

Sorry I haven’t answered this yet, I did see it in my inbox but then forgot about it. 😭

But honestly yeah I agree with this, although for c!Tommy this is nothing new, literally every character on the dsmp has been mischaracterized and boiled down to one character trait in fanfiction. Morally complex characters like c!Wilbur, c!Sam and c!Quackity being the worst offenders.

But since this is about SBI we will stick to that.

The thing is that a lot of authors do project themselves onto their fave and since in this case it’s c!Tommy, there’s gonna be a lot of woobifying involved. I agree that removing any agency c!Tommy has is not a good way to write him, however I’m a little more sympathetic to him being woobified in fanfics only because in canon he doesn’t get that many moments to be properly loved and taken care of.

Not saying it’s really a great idea, but I understand why.

I personally get annoyed too when authors remove c!Tommys scathing tongue in fanfics. Bc hey guess what, he can be fucking mean and rude at times too. He calls people a bitch and other words but the key aspect of c!Tommy is that his way of showing love is, a lot of the time, proven through actions.

In SBI fics where he is made way more childish than he honestly needs to be (like come on guys, the cc is 18, you can make him a little childish but don’t overdo it for the sake of fluff) it kinda takes away the realism and like you said, his agency. c!Tommy doesn’t just take things lying down, he is rough edges and biting words, that’s who he is.

I think fic authors can do better than just making him a babied version of himself because not only is it kinda :/ to make him constantly dependent upon other people but it’s also just ooc.

I don’t really have much more to say on the matter though, I’ve seen so much ooc writing come out of this fandom alone that it’s impressive (in a /neg way)

[hello-yue-here]

Yuetara, zukka, and maiko

yuetara

ship

1) its not one of my main ships. i dont rlly read fanfic for them but if i see a cute fanart of them ill enjoy it and i think i first started shipping it because of good fanarts for them.

2) i like yuetara because of how similar they are. theyre both women from the water tribe. they both understand the misogyny that they have faced. and they both said f sexism im gonna be a strong woman. i also love the tui and la parallel. moon spirit and ocean spirit parallel COME ON. YUE IS THE MOON. KATARA IS THE MOST POWERFUL WATERBENDER. THEY ARE THE OCEAN AND THE MOON. the push and pull they could give eachother. that dynamic ftw.

3) i guess if i didnt like something about this ship would be the fact that if i read a fic or see a fanart w yuetara then than means in that particular au i wont get any yuekka and yuekka is probably my second favorite ship. but then again if i get yuetara than i could get a plethora of other sokka ships to go with it so my sadness disappears in like two seconds. gosh shipping is hard sometimes until you remember ‘hey i have like fifty different universes in my head. all ur ships can coexist in ur brain olivia’ other than that i really see no downsides to this ship. maybe i wish it had more content. maybe if it had more content id ship it a lot more but its not one of the more popular ships so the content is kinda few n far between on my feed.

zukka:

SHIPPP

1) my boys. my babies. my loves. i watched this show for the first time when it came out on netflix and when it ended i really didnt ship anything other than kataang. i came onto tumblr to find fun atla content and one of the very first things i saw under the atla tag was zukka content. i was like oh? whats this? zukka? interesting... i was intrigued so i found a list of fic recs and i fell in love with the ship. the rest is history. its probably my number one ship because it was my very first ship here and im nostalgic

2) oh boy there is so much i like about this ship. i relate to a shit ton of characters in atla. but sokka and zuko may be the ones i relate to most. i relate to sokka because i tend to feel second best a lot to my friends. i try to stay positive but things rarely go the way i plan or hope for them too and while im happy for my friends and their achievements i oftentimes find myself thinking why cant that be me? and i see this a lot in sokka especially in sokkas master. i dont feel special a lot and idk seeing sokka feel the same way and then realizing he is special kinda helped me realize that im special too. on the flipside i relate to zuko because i have wild anger issues and difficulty dealing w my emotions a lot as well. i get broody and short tempered and insecure very often and i tend to push people away and i refuse to ask for help (the amount of teachers and adults and therapists who have told me its okay to ask for help ur not any weaker because of it is astounding. do i listen to them? .....im working on it.) and i saw a shit ton of this in zuko. book one and two zuko rarely asks for help as seen in the blue spirit and zuko alone and he pushes away uncle so many times and even when the gaang iffers to help him in i think its the chase he tells them to leave. when he finally has his redemption and joins the gaang and lets them kinda become a better person i was so happy. i want that for myself yk. seeing him finally win the agni kai and overcome his family that always told him he was nothing was such a win. my sister and i get along but when we were children we were very much like zuko and azula. it was extremely competitive all the time and there was so much toxicity and sibling drama to a concerning extent. we get along great now which im very happy about but yeah their sibling relationship hit a lil too on the nose for me. seeing as i relate to these character so much and want them ti be happy i want to live vicariously through them so seeing them together is amazing for me to project into them. i love projecting onto fictional characters and with them i can project onto BOTH so its a winwin. plus so many zukka fics are so well written and heartwarming and heartbreaking and emotional and fluffy anf UGH the talent here us astounding.

3) what do i not like about the ship? again the list is long. oops. mainly the toxic shippers. there are so many toxic zukka stans that sometimes make it hard for me to enjoy this ship but hey! thats what the block button is for:) i despise how often people infantilize zuko and completely ruin his character for the sake of making him a soft weak lil boy who needs protecting. thats just not zuko for me. and ive seen many many accounts even state that this kind of portrayal of zuko is rooted in racist stereotypes about asian men (now i am white so i personally have never experiences racism but i feel the need to bring that up because it is wrong and attention needs to be brought to it because a lot of poc fans have criticised this) and the same for sokka. some ppl rlly skew his character and make him a big strong brute and hypermasculine and once again poc fans have said that this take is rooted in racist stereotypes. again! these are just my opinions! this is my favorite ship! but i think its important to acknowledge some of the bad parts of our ships as well and be critical where criticism is needed :))

maiko

ship

1) I LOVE MAIKO. “i dont hate you” “i dont hate you too” BRUH. my little heart just burst into flames. im sorry guys but maiko is so cute. they hate everything except eachother. BRUH that is one of the cutest tropes. i shipped them the moment i saw them together onscreen and i was so happy when zukos face lit up in the finale when mai came back.

2) “i hate everything but i have a soft spot for you” TAKE MY MONEY I AM A SUCKER FOR THIS. they are so cute together. like zuko is rarely happy in a majority of atla but mai makes him happy and i- 🥺🥺 HE DESERVES IT. and mai is always so supportive of him. when hes stressing out about the war meeting she tries her best to comfort him. and zuko cares about her too. he may not be the best at showing it but oh my god hes TRYING HIS BEST. i think its a very accurate portrayal of teenage relationships because they arent perfect and they do fight but like,, every teenage relationship does that. and even after everything and how he left her in the fire nation she still had his back at boiling rock. she still risked her life against azula to save his butt.

3) the thing i hate about maiko isnt even about maiko. its about antis who think mai is toxic and that zuko deserves better. that has got to be the worst take ive ever heard. they had a fight in ember island. that is NORMAL. they are teenagers. they are not perfect. but underneath all the rough edges and things they need to work out they still care about eachother so freaking much. i genuinelt believe that neither of them would do anything to intentionally hurt the other and i think thats what matters the most. if anything mai is the best girlfriend in the entire world because zuko fucked up like,, quite a few times. he got rlly jealous and dumped her thru a letter and ppl always say that mai was toxic for being mad at him for those two things. umm she had every right to be mad at him for both of those. and while zuko is allowed to feel his emotions and be angry sometimes as well sometimes he needs to think things thru and realize that hey maybe some if this jealousy is unfounded. BUT EVEN THEN. HE RESPECTED HER FEELINGS AND DIDNT TOUCH HER WHEN SHE SAID DONT TOUCH ME. HE RESPECTED HER. so i hate toxic maiko takes because they are literally so wrong in my opinion.

again all of these are just my opinions!! feel free to agree or disagree but please be respectful!! i will respect whatever u think as well because this is all just for fun :)

[charged-wanderlust]

Lovestruck asks! 🎂If you could design you own MCs personality, what would they be like? 🍑If you could design you own LIs personality, what would they be like? and 🎸What’s you favourite trope for a romance? :D

🎂If you could design you own MCs personality, what would they be like?

GLAD YOU ASKED! im not sure if everyone who follows me is already aware, but i'm currently working on a project called No Honour Among Thieves, @nohonourvn here on tumblr and on twitter. part of my wanting to even create such a game as NHAT was the fact that i struggled so hard to see myself in most vn mcs - ones that were visibly pictured could never do it, since im genderfluid and poc with alt fashion, so asking for an mc that looked like me was a reach so far i had to stretch first, and ones that didn't show an mc visually would usually be extremely plain - since if they dont show the mc they usually do it so everyone can project onto the mc, and they try to give them no personality either for the same reason.

personally, though, i find a personality-less mc extremely boring and would rather an mc i cant project onto visually than one with the personality of a wet sock. so, with my mc for NHAT, i decided to leave them faceless so people can design them any way they want, but im working on giving them a pretty distinct personality so they fit into the world i've created better.

nhat mc, or as i like to call them, The Villain, is confident, witty, takes no shit from no one unless they have something to gain from it, a bit materialistic, a bit of a glory whore, definitely a bit of an overthinker/overanalyser, kind of a flirt sometimes, competitive, perceptive, just a liiiittle bit of a tsundere, and very, very good at acting. (i mean, they're a professional con artist, they kind of have to be.)

the good thing about the villain is that because the entire plotline is based around a con, keeping secrets, n having your own agenda, even if you can't really relate to the mc much, you can always write it off as it being part of the act, the persona the mc wears for the job and for self preservation. obviously that only goes so far, but i think it gives a bit more freedom to players on what they want their villain to be like in actuality.

🍑If you could design you own LIs personality, what would they be like?

i already have B) i basically took all my favourite things about all my favourite LI's and split them into two characters: Xanthe Wilde and Mercury Jackson. Navin and Siren, the two major side characters who may or may not become love interests depending on the success of the eventual kickstarter relaunch, came later - long after i'd developed xancury and basically came into fruition while i started writing. they were originally just random names picked (navin was from a random name generator and siren was the first name that came to my head at the time) to be the contractor/xanthe's bitter ex, and the informant. hell, originally there wasn't even an informant at first, siren was just a name navin drops so the mc can recognise him as a power player, but i went back to it to flesh her out later. navin's character just kind of created itself when i started writing the prologue.

xanthe was the first one i created - when i went "what do i want my visual novel to be about?" the first thing i came up with was "i want to do a twist on seducing the hot mafia boss." the first twist was making them nonbinary, that was a must for me, then i decided to make them the type of flirty, shameless and highkey kinda evil character i enjoy knocking down a peg. naturally, i had to layer him with enough trust issues to fill an ocean, for the sake of the ✨slow burn✨ that i love so much, and make him slutty enough so it can feel like a whirlwind at the same time. they're so fun.

mercury came up when i was trying to figure out what this mafia boss story was going to be like. ive always been a slut for enemies to lovers, and figured that even if xanthe and the villain were TECHNICALLY enemies, bc the villain has to act like they like xanthe for most of the story, it wouldnt come with the same tension as straight-up hating each other. hence, the idea of a ferocious bodyguard came in - along with all the other traits i like in LI's that i didn't put into xanthe, like being brash, aggressive, blunt and rowdy. just a tad bit apeshit.

i could describe them more, or you can read about them on the kickstarter page or even just play the demo yourself.

🎸What’s you favourite trope for a romance?

*violently bangs pots and pans together* ENEMIES TO LOVERS!!! maybe its the sexual tension. maybe its knowing that someones seen you at your utter worst and still decides to love you anyway is both romantic and something i desperately crave bc of the trauma and deeply ridden insecurity. maybe its maybelline. but god theres so many flavours of enemies/rivals to lovers and theyre all my favourite.

[irkenheretic]

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

ok so im actually going to give a few answers because i have 3 characters i reallysuper dont like

so lets go:

my most disliked character from a purely canon stance is.... sizz-lorr. i feel like this is a pretty safe choice for Least Liked. like man he was an asshole to zim et cetera, sure zim escaped but idk i just dont like him at All. hes the kind of character i love to hate yaknow, frycook is one of my favorite episodes and i live to just yell at the tv whenever hes on 

but ngl the whole “sizz-lorr did nothing wrong” side of the fandom rubs me the wrong way. like you look me in the eyes and tell me that authoritarian-ass irken empire would be just.... fine with sizz-lorr enacting vigilante justice like that wrt finding zim and borderline torturing him? “its just like any retail job” man i remember when my mcdonalds manager made me climb into the ronald mcdonald costume that was filled with grease. standard part of the job!

(and yea they might be fine w the vigilante justice thing bc zim but i feel like theyd still give sizz-lorr SOME sort of punishment because that sort of thing is... generally frowned upon)

so yeah that side of the fandom really pisses me off bc theyre the type that tends to force their headcanons onto others and be The Correct Ones. like let people do whatever goddamn. im not reading ur dissertation on why sizz-lorr is a good guy..... im happy for you. or sorry that happened.

anyway im putting the other 2 under the cut bc then i can nuke the post if controversy happens

other most disliked: ZIB. in the comics he’s.... okay. he’s a cool villain! i liked the reveal! BUT THE FANDOM....... guys, y’know he was planning to commit multidimensional genocide, right? he’s not an uwu softboi? right? you know this right??? i REALLY like him as the worst traits of zim and dib combined and showing that dib can (literally and figuratively) BECOME zim in the worst possible timeline and im sure a sort of rehabilitation of him could be treated well but idk nobody rly does much w him other than making him a slightly more prickly dib to project on

i feel like its part of the fact that a lot of the fandom is newer fans from florpus where dib is more the good guy and WAY more mellowed out, so they tend to project on him, so when a Meaner Dib shows up they can project on him too while kinda sanding off the edges to make sure theyre not being TOO problematic 

(this phenomenon is why theres not much serious tallest stuff i dont think. many tallest fans r antis so they gotta be Nice N Pure so they cant actually do any deep dives bc theyre assholes and Bad Space Dictators so no nuance here! only funny jokes)

anyway my number one disliked character.... that i cant even watch the episode she appears in...

is TAK.

i just.... i just find her so overrated!! i thought id like her better nowadays since i disliked her AND gaz when i was younger but.... i dont??? I REALLY DONT GUYS..... I DONT GET IT!! (fwiw i fucking love gaz now)

her WHOLE schtick is just, Zim, But Better. it gets old REALLY quickly and i always thought her disguise kinda sucked? like, think about it. sure zim’s disguise looks shitty but its at least TANGIBLE. you can just... UR HAND IS GONNA GO THRU A HOLO THINGY!!! WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE HAS TO GO ANYWHERE AT NIGHT? OR IN THE DARK??? WONT IT GLOW?? SINCE ITS A HOLOGRAM???? every time i see her im like MA’AM WHAT IF DIB TOUCHES YOUR HAIR?? HIS HAND IS GONNA GO RIGHT THROUGH!!

also if she was such a brilliant invader she shoulda figured out how to get out of a room.... bet zim wouldve figured it out. sure he wouldve figured it out by blowing the whole building to smithereens but hey.... he figured it out!

and idk i just find her SO OVERRATED by the fandom like shes EEVERYWHERE and it just makes me hate her even more like idk i just donnnnnnnt get it shes NOT THAT COOL she just brooded for 20 years or however long it was until she could get to zim and kick his ass and take his already fake mission?? if she didnt have that hypno thingy she wouldve been toast.

[brokemylegflippingthefirewall]

*This is absolutely a fic promotion, but plz hear me out on the discourse part too

So, self inserts and original characters, the worst fanfic catgeory (fanfiction.net literally says that in one of its fic groupings, and I'm pretty sure the number of views on any fanfic website says the same).

TLDR- Yes, I agree that this stereotype carries truth, but I do think SIs and OCs have more potential to be explored, and the stigma surrounding these labels is blocking that. And oh god I just want to know so badly if this is the deal with the work I'm currently writing or if I genuinely just can't write well.

The longer version- (this was written quite late into the night/ I'm in Singapore/, and might not be so well organized, I apologize for that.)

To what extent is this stigma "justified"? I mostly use AO3 for reading fics, and when I see the OC/SI tag, the thing is....I came to look for fics about canon characters and might not have the wish to invest my time in taking in a new character. I understand that most people who read fanfiction would feel the same. This, I think, is more or less justified. If you came to look for a certain canon character/relationship, and you don't want to get invested in any OCs, then of course the OC/SI tag isn't for you.

But... I think that's about it. Bcs here's the thing,

1. Using the OC/SI format does NOT automatically make the fic worse in quality. Hell, I'm not even sure if the statistical "fact" that these tags generate the worst fics is true. Judging from what I've read in the tma fandom and my other past fandoms, the stuff with OC/SI isn't inherently worse or better than the rest of the fics. There are ones that are pretty normal in writing quality, and the ones where the prose is rly good, others where plot design stands out etc. Of course, there is a lot of wish fulfillment and the like, but... there's also a lot of that in fics that write about canon characters.

2. I can't really say whether a wish fulfillment "I just want to write cool scenes/fluff" fic is better or worse than a more serious fic that explores some characterization or plot point. I think stories (all stories, books, fanfic, myths, everything) exist to entertain us and make us feel things. I am not sure if writing a feel good story is any less meaningful than writing a story that brings people "deeper" thoughts and makes them feel good in some other way. And this isn't even the issue at hand, because fundamentally, writing an OC/SI or not doesn't determine what the content is about. I agree that a larger proportion of OC/SI fics tend to be more on the lighthearted side, but... so is most of the content consumed in the other tags. Readers don't seem to have a problem with feel good stories/fix it fics etc when there is no OC or SI, so I don't see why that type of fic paired with an OC/SI should be considered any less "meaningful".

3. Guys/gals, what is an OC/SI?

Yes, it is very personal, and it is very wish fulfillment, but... isn't that like a common literature thing...like in general? Look at the works that "real writers" publish, from contemporary to the classics, which writer doesn't write about themselves? Like, just off the top of my head, Les Miserables, Marius? Um, Dante's Inferno? (and that guy did not self insert into some random thing he straightup went for the Christian Canon😂 used his real name too, so Jonny I guess if you feel awkward about your MCs name you can think of Dante//Jk). But seriously, self insert and wish fulfillment is a big part of literature itself, and while there are things to be said about these tropes, if people don't have that much of a problem with them in other literature, I don't see why fanfic OC/SIs shouldn't be treated the same.

4. in relation to the last point. More specifically...

I do think that a lot of fanfiction which write about the original characters are also OC/SIs to different extents. I've read fics that depict pairings where the author and readers project heavily onto one (or more) of the characters. I've read stuff where the author uses a minor character to explore the established world building/character dynamics and it's clear that it's an SI but with the appearance of being a canon character (and yes it gets tons more views than one that's written as SI). How do I know this? Because I am one of those readers who project onto those characters, and I know why I read those fics, I know why I like them. It's because I can self insert, and feel like I am part of the story, part of the world. Isn't that something most people want to do? I mean, Universal Studios? Specific franchise themed museums? COSPLAY??? Of course that's not all there is to engaging with a story, but what's the shame in wanting to be a part of an already established world building, or want to love a wonderfully designed character? (slight tangent, but if u feel like it's bcs ur not as interesting/cool as the story's world or other characters appear to be then I can tell you with certainty that's not true. You are very interesting and cool and absolutely deserve to be part of a fantasy world.) Isn't that a big part of why "real literature" is written and read as well? So... what's the problem with being like, okay, I'm just gonna insert myself into the world now, through this original character? Of course, I'm not asking for people who prefer to write strictly in canon characters to change that. What I mean to say is, writing it in the form of an OC/SI, doesn't make it a lot different from other fics, or hell, from classic literature even.

I think a potential problem might be the feeling that you are taking too much creative liberty with something that is established canon, by having your own character directly interact with it. But, um, can't the same thing be said if you take a canon character, and then proceed to project heavily onto them? Like, a big part of why I don't feel comfortable writing just canon characters is that I know I'm clearly projecting and it feels awkward to rewrite an already established character to explore my own thoughts/desires. I would rather just straightup design a new character. (this is all just personal feelings, I haven't thought enough about this to make any kind of argument here. And of course, the main reason is I can't trust myself to write canon characters that don't ooc in some way so having one as my protag might kill me with my own awkwardness. )

5. the potential.

Now this is looking far ahead because I'm not sure how much our current system for distribution of knowledge & copyright can allow it. But damn. The OC/SI thing has a lot of potential. There is one thing that makes it different from writing in canon characters, and that is the way it opens up a clear space for you to add your own experience into the story. When exploring your own world view through the lense of an already established world, or vice versa, so much can be revealed about both, perhaps even bringing to light aspects of the narrative the author hadn't previously seen. We all know this feeling, it's when we ramble on about one of our stories or worlds to a friend, and they point something out, and we're like ooooh that makes a lot of sense but I hadn't thought about it before. Yea, like those moments. Stories are generally made more interesting by their interaction with many different perspectives/experiences. With OC/SI it straightup allows you to be like, okay, I'm going to engage my own experience with this fictional world/character now. I mean, isnt that also a large part of how fanfics work in general? Readers/writers bouncing symbols and experiences off each other in the form of stories? Reading about the various interpretations of canon stuff? Whats the problem with tagging it as it is? I'm just thinking about the fics that could have been written as OC/SI and explored the story in some fascinating way which weren't written at all or were discontinued bcs the number of views discouraged those authors. (I feel that with my current work as well, though I have already written half of it and the remaining half is too juicy to give up so I'll probably be completing it)

6. conclusion, sorta

I guess what I want for OC/SO fics is just the same treatment as everything else. Saw it in the tags you were searching for? Look at the teaser. Do you find it interesting? No, then very well. Yes, then click in and take a look. Do you like the writing style? Are you getting into the narrative?... etc. You know, like, same standards you would have for any other kind of fic. Not feeling like you want to read about a new character? Cool, no problem at all, click away. But I do not think that the current difference in number of views is just based on whether readers are interested in reading about a new character or not. In fact, that's what I want it to be. Show me that "true" difference, the one without the stigma behind it, because, as the same goes for every kind of stigmatized community, you're not receiving the proportionate amount of positive feedback, but what's worse is you can't even trust the criticism you receive. If no one engages, or someone gives a negative feedback, how am I supposed to know if it's because my writing is bad? or my teaser wasn't interesting? or my character was badly written/designed? Or if it was to a certain extent, bcs of the stigma? I do want criticism, of course I do, it's the first step to every improvement, and I would love it if I could get feedback that I can trust. (and this brings us to the truely "oppressed" community of the fanfic world, the people who write very good but cant write interesting teasers//jk)

7. the entirely skippable straw man rant part, also the expression of my love for The Magnus Archives.

some straw man: if you like writing your own characters so much, why not just write your own story entirely? and publish it?

You think I'm not annoyed about that? Here's the thing, I LIKE THIS WORLD I READ FROM THIS BOOK/SOME OTHER FORM OF MEDIA OR WHATEVER, I like it, it's brilliant, I want to write for it, about it, be in it, think about it, read about it, engage in whatever way I can. I CAN'T just "go write my own." And who do you think is more annoyed about not being able to publish the stuff? (According to you) I have written something that is potentially publishable (thank you btw I know you don't exist and is a strawman I invented just now but I've gotta get my compliments where I can//Jk), and I can't publish it in any potentially big way (and rightfully not) because I have no copyright over the characters. I worked hard to design my character, to make the plot meaningful, and to study the original canon plot and characters so that it would all fit together (I mean, partially bcs I can't force myself to sit down and write sth that is any less complex), and I can't actually publish it where more people will read it. And of course, on top of that, even less people will feel like reading once that "original character" tag is up. Does it look like I would be here if I could "just write my own"?

(slight tangent but come on what even is "your own"? how many classic European lit books were just fanfics of each other which were all just fanfics of the Bible or Greek mythology or sth? Stories and symbols have no boundaries it's the economic system that drew those.)

Damn this got way longer than I thought and it's morning now😂 guess I ran out of space to actually promote my fic, might have to do that in a seperate post then. But to anyone who actually read up to here, I'm so sorry for wasting your time no but srsly thanks for reading all of these jumbled thoughts, and good luck with whatever you are working on at the moment, I know you're probably working on something if you're reading through these tags. And of course good luck to the tma folk we're gonna face the end together🙏. good night (I should rly go to sleep now😂)

[rvb-is-gay]

ok so now that the final episode of rvb0 is out for everyone, lets get into some discussion about it! please note that post isnt a topic of debate but rather just my personal thoughts about everything, so dont go arguing in the replies

(fair warning ahead of time for any fans, this is mostly criticism and negative feelings about it, so keep scrolling if you dont wanna read it)

When RVB0 was first announced, I remember everyone was first upset that the Reds and Blues weren't in it, including me. But now that I've watched the whole thing, I can say with confidence that my only issue with RVB0 isn't the lack of the Reds and Blues, but rather everything. the dialogue, some of the animation, the characters, the delivery, the pacing, the ridiculous amount of clichés, etc. I don't dislike RVB0 just because there's no Reds and Blues. I dislike it because I just found the entirety of it bad.

When I first started watching it, I went in with an open mind that maybe this season could actually be really good. I’d also be lying if I said that there wasn't a single scene that I liked. There were actually a few, but they still didn't make up for just the overall badness of the season. But please note that I don't blame the voice actors for any of this or even just Torrian Crawford for the season coming out a giant mess. Many people worked for this season and always had the opportunity to improve or change things but didn't. But anyways, let’s get into some of the criticisms I have for this season.

1. Smaller and more opinion oriented criticisms

This isn’t really criticism or anything important, but rather just a few things I found a bit weird to me personally.

First, the term “ragtag team of misfits” was used to describe Shatter Squad (and was even actually said out loud by One in the last episode, which sounded just so cliché and dumb in my opinion). I don't think this describes them at all?? Everyone has, at the very least, decent relationships with each other (save for One and East who were competitive with each other (which I also fucking hate in RVB that all the girl characters are always competitive with each other)), but that still doesn't really fit the term ragtag) and they all fight very well. I think ragtag fits the Reds and Blues more than it does Shatter Squad; they're bad at fighting, they argue and fight all the time, they're idiots, and that's why we love them. If they had just stuck with “a team of misfits”, that would've made more sense, but again, this is more of a personal opinion than genuine criticism.

Second, I don’t really like the aesthetics this season had. Everything felt a bit too neon and bright and then some stuff just felt like it came straight out of World of Warcraft or something. It didn’t really feel like RVB.

Third, my feelings about Carolina constantly calling Wash David can be summed up by what Michael said in the first episode of Halo 4 LASO: “Now we’re just gonna throw his name around all willy nilly. It used to be a secret.” When someone is called by their real name in RVB or just any story in general where everyone goes by code names, it’s usually a big deal and indicates something serious. Carolina wore out Wash’s name the first time she said it and it just got more and more irritating from then on out and lost its value.

Fourth, who was the blue and purple soldier in the first teaser we got? Was that One? Did they decide to change her armour colour? I don’t know, I just randomly remembered that and thought it was weird but I guess it must’ve just been a colour change.

Now, onto the more serious criticism.

2. Animation and dialogue

The second thing I wanna talk about is the animation. Don't get me wrong, the fighting animation is probably the best compared to everything else and it was pretty good to watch, but the talking and idle animations and gestures were..... kinda yikes. I know that it could be chalked up to “well we’re not used to seeing animated gestures since all of RVB usually has everyone just holding their gun and using the regular Halo models” but there were still some pretty bad parts.

Take the scene from Encounter at 3:26 as an example (I uploaded the scene to YT to put here, but obviously it was blocked for copyright):

This scene is probably one of the worst when it comes to not only the animations, but the dialogue, pacing, and delivery. When I first saw this, I honestly laughed. Here's a list of my problems with this scene and what made it so laughable:

The overexaggerated hand gestures. I get that because everyone's in armour and a helmet, it can be hard to show expression, but this feels like a bit much. Especially when One says “what? You’re pulling us off the mission? You cant do that!” I think that one scene in season 15 when Grif stays behind on Iris while everyone leaves and it slowly zooms in on Simmons’ visor somehow does a lot better at expressing feelings than this.

East immediately making the connection between Axel and Zero feels weird. I don't know if its just me who feels this way, but I think it should've been a little bit longer before she immediately is just like “you know Zero don't you”

Axel saying “I... I do... I did”  also sounds weird and like he was trying a bit too hard to sound dramatic. I don't really know how to describe it its just such a weird delivery of the line.

The way they all immediately start yelling at each other.

One saying “Axe, I trusted you” right after saying “tell us the truth”. Girl, you gave him no opportunity to explain and just immediately jumped to not trusting him anymore. Speaking of which, I don't think this was ever really mentioned again and had no meaning or importance to it.

The echoing of “I trusted you” also feels cliché to me, but this is more of a minor thing.

I think this one comment on one of the episodes on the RT site that says the dialogue “seemed acted rather than natural. It didn't really sound like how people normally talk, more how actors talk in plays” is how I feel about all of the dialogue in RVB0.

3. The villains

Zero and Diesel both felt like they didn't really have any motivation at all for being villains. Phase is probably the best when it comes to this. She was essentially abused by her father as a child and forced to undergo being experimented on. This is an actual good and understandable motivation.

Diesel we know basically nothing about, and then on the other hand, all Zero wants is power. But for what? Why? I can understand that power is a pretty common thing for people to want, but it still kind of felt like there wasn't really anything there.

Some previous good villains in RVB include:

Temple: Temple witnessed his best friend be brutally murdered right in front of him by 2 soldiers who didn't give a shit and just left him to die, especially right after he told him he was having a baby. Of course it’s understandable that he has a hatred of Freelancers after this. Any normal person would.

Felix: Felix was probably the best villain of all of RVB, to be honest (right beside the Director). He was just somehow so likeable and had so much personality, despite being an asshole. His ultimate motivation was money and being rich, which is another thing I can understand; the more money you have, the more you can essentially do whatever you want and live in luxury. I mean, even so many people in real life do horrible things just for money. I don't even have to give examples for this. Felix in general is also just a psychopath.

The Director: The whole reason the Director did what he did was because he lost the person he loved most in the world: his wife. He was willing to do literally anything to bring her back, leading to all of his actions in the Project Freelancer saga. You can find many examples of movie/TV/book/etc characters/villains seeking vengeance as a result of loss of a loved one and grief. Despite being a horrible person, the Director actually managed to be a villain you could even sympathize with, making him even better.

Sharkface: Although a bit of a more minor villain, similar to Temple, Sharkface is a villain because he wants revenge on the people that killed his team, the people he considered to be the only family he’s ever had.

4. Tucker & the swords

The fourth thing I wanna talk about is the whole thing with Tucker and the swords. I always found it kinda weird how both Tuckers sword and now Locus’ sword in the chorus trilogy were the same, but then in RVB0, Zero’s sword looks and acts completely different, but that might just be a little nitpick of mine.

As for Tucker, it was so good to see him. Although I don’t know if it was just me, but he seemed a little OOC. What I didn't like about seeing Tucker again was that he did literally nothing the entire episode. He was useless. He said “I can fight” at one point but then all he does during the battle is get held at knife point, run away, and then get stabbed and have his sword taken. Tucker isn't an amazing fighter, but he’s definitely a lot more capable than just this. We’ve seen him in action many times and I just feel like he could've done a bit more. It almost feels like he was purposefully nerfed and tossed aside just to advance the plot.

Another thing that I and probably a lot of people are upset about is the fact that Tucker might not even own his sword anymore?? When East stabbed him, he apparently died and the sword was rebound to Phase, but it wasn't very clear that this was the case. Although the beginning of the next episode starts with hospital beeps and a flatline, I don't think it was still really clear enough that Tucker actually died long enough for Phase to reclaim the sword because I saw a handful of people confused in the comments and, like me, even thought it was just bad writing at first and that the writers completely forgot about the rules of the sword established over several prior seasons.

When in the hospital, Wash tells Tucker that he almost died. Although I actually liked this scene because it was nice to see wash and tucker bantering again, I think it could've been made better and made the plot clearer if instead of saying he almost died, Wash said something along the lines of “Tucker, you died. Your heart stopped, but they were able to bring you back thanks to their advanced medical tech” and then in response Tucker freaks out because that means his sword will now work for Phase and now they know how urgent the situation is.

I really really hate that Phase just has Tucker’s sword now and nothing is even said about it. If Tucker was to give his sword away to someone, I think many people would prefer that it was at least someone close to him, like Junior for example, but instead it goes to a random girl he hardly knows.

5. Pacing

The fifth thing I wanna talk about is the pacing. This season was definitely a lot shorter than normal and I think that’s one of the things that really prevented it from being good. The entire story just feels rushed and while I understand that it can be really difficult to build a good story and characters in such a short time, I think there’s still ways you can do it without it feeling like there’s so much missing. I think the long intros and outros are also responsible for less time and maybe they should’ve considered cutting them to give more actual episode time. Here’s a few things that were poorly done as a result of bad pacing:

The final battle against Zero: The whole battle just somehow felt like a typical video game boss battle that ends super quickly to me. Shatter Squad didn’t even defeat Zero, he just up and got disintegrated or whatever from Black Lotus.

Shatter Squad giving up on their mission: After receiving the silly deep voice filtered message from Zero, everyone on Shatter Squad just immediately gives up on finding him.

One’s speech: One’s speech wasn’t awful or anything and I didn’t really have any problems with the speech itself, but rather just how quickly the team went from “we can’t do it.. it’s over..” to “you’re right! I’m in! Let’s go get them!” Compare this to Doc and Sarge’s speech to the Reds and Blues after Church and Carolina leave in season 10 episode 20. It just felt a lot more genuine (this is probably because the Reds and Blues had a lot more time to be developed, though) and was only given after some time passed rather than 2 seconds later. The scene and context also transitioned well into it and at first, nobody was on board with what Doc was saying, which is more realistic in my opinion. People’s minds won’t just instantly change, they’re still gonna think about it and maybe have a few doubts at first.

Phase and West: During their fight, West talked a lot about how he regrets giving Phase away to Starlight, that he won’t hurt her, and is even willing to die for her. Their scene together ends with Phase punching him in the head and then leaving to join the others and nothing else about them is mentioned. We don’t know if Phase forgave him or not, we don’t know how West feels, etc.

Tucker’s sword: Phase still has Tucker’s sword and like the scenario with West, nothing about it is mentioned. We don’t know what she’s going to do with it, if she’s going to keep it, if Tucker’s gonna do anything about it, etc.

6. Clichés

Clichés aren’t inherently bad and can be really impactful and good if done right. But when it comes to RVB0, it’s jampacked with clichés that aren’t good. Here are a few examples:

Everyone gives up until a speech is given: All of the points for this are the same as above, but I wanted to include this scene as a cliché as well.

Every female character is competitive with each other: RVB falls into this a lot, like I mentioned earlier. It happens again with East and One, although luckily they seem to resolve it, but not until literally the end of the season.

West’s fit about East: All of the lines and delivery in this scene were just atrocious and cheesy. I think West’s dialogue just could’ve been a bit more original, but instead we’re given this boring predictable “I won’t lay a hand on her. I promised her. I promised her mother. I promised she’d be safe” spiel that has no emotion to it in his voice.

The whole “I got this, you go ahead” thing: This isn’t like a super cliché thing, but I found it pretty interesting how it happens twice in the same episode.

I think this is pretty much all I can think of at the moment. If I think of anything else, I’ll add onto this. Overall, I think RVB0 would’ve done a lot better as just an RVB spinoff so that it could have more episodes and seasons dedicated to developing characters and a good plot. I’m really disappointed with this season and I hope whatever comes next is better than what RVB0 was. I hope the team that worked on it can learn a few things that come from the good and valid constructive criticism given to them. And if I had to pick, I think I’d say Raymond was my favourite out of all the new characters. He just felt the most relatable and realistic to me.

[nobody-knose--archive]

ahhh, hawaii part ii. with this i’ll be finished with the tally hall album pseudo-liveblogs, and will have to move on to just live performance liveblogs & the solo albums. enjoy

-this is one of those albums where i listen to the individual songs all the time, am afraid to listen to the whole thing too often for fear of growing a dislike of it, and therefore always forget how the hole thing sounds. so this’ll be a good liveblog

-with minimal pauses, as shown by last night, a ~30 minute video can be done in an hour. this is a whole album that’s over 40 minutes long and i have way more thoughts on it so it’ll probably take all day, considering i’m going to have to take various breaks/trips to other places throughout. ideally i can get this done before 3 but i’ll just have to see

-hot damn is that piano just fantastic. introduction to the snow’s lil beginning bit is lowkey one of the best parts of the album. bora whistles! what’s not to love

-and then in comes red with his modified voice. boy is he strong. there’s some real honest differences between this and dream sweet, even beyond the lyrical changes, i think it’s the volume. or maybe my computer’s volume is just way up there.

-yeah there’s music box here that isn’t in dream sweet, i like that. lowkey? i think red’s the worst singer in tally hall. honestly. not that he’s bad, it might just be some oversaturation on my part, but he’s just not as good as rob andy & zubin. i havent listened to anyone’s solo albums yet, but i dont think that’ll change my opinion in any way considering i think zubin’s the best and he doesnt have one

-damn it’s easy to forget how good the transitions are. and how much of a Bop isle unto thyself is, that bass & the vocals just slap

-i didnt know it was a different female singer in each song that features one just because i neve paid close enough attention to notice. like honestly i can tell the labyrinth & space station level 7 singers are different but i couldnt say anything for sure until i checked the wikia

-oh you go off ross hell yeah those drums are hella good. molto bene

-interpretations of this album to be about like a lover and whatnot are rad and all but i cant be bothered so i just kinda vaguely project the meanings of individual songs onto some characters i like and call that a day

-voice modulators just dont sound the same without andy. that comment has some different weight to it with the eldritch tally hall post i made this morning. i really really like that post if i’m going to be honest, thinking it up was a good way to spend church (i’m autistic i can only pay 50% attention to sermons and whatnot) and i just had a lot of fun writing it all down. eldritch stuff in general is just a lot of fun to do, i wish i could give myself more opportunities to write it.

-god i’d love to know how that wooshy effect was managed, seems rad

-on the subject of song meanings, i have to love how not a single music video for tally or miracle has the slightest bit of cohesive meaning to it in my eyes. body horror? romance? evolution & the inevitability of change? who cares!

-is it the female singer uhhhh madi diaz doing these “wheees” or is it red? my vocal recognition is not incredible i honestly can’t tell. could even be both

-i get the impression red loves sampling but i would enjoy knowing what this ehh old fashioned string? sample thing going on in the background is

-here i am thinking i’m good at the dumb incomprehensible rhetorical questions and here comes red blowing me out of the park with all these. sure bro “why is any and everything alive” what good does it do you to ponder this shit my dude philosophy is not my forte and you cant pretend it’s yours either

-mm what’s that one second of reversed audio something in the background there. could be it’s from me listening to this from comprehension amalgamation because i dont feel like supporting miracle musical at this point or thats’ just. supposed to be there

-if i were to for some reason make an overarching story out of this album or at least more than one song at once something that would make sense conceptually but not at all in practice would be connecting black rainbows & white ball because of the name symmetry. and the bit right at the end of white ball that sounds like black rainbows

-apparently there’s a stella octangula in the moon, but if there is i havent seen it.

-ive basically got confirmation that i’m going to be away from circa 2:15 to 6:45 today which means no full listen-through which means there’ll be a big time jump somewhere in this, not as big as the almost 18 hour one i did for the dinosaurchestra commentary though

-i think the karaoke version or whatever is just drums and chanting misses out on like the whole funky percussion that bora does (let me check- bağlama) & other auxiliary things and the guitar and like some other parts, which is a damn shame because they’re great and are a big part of the song

-i do wonder how many people developed an interest in hawaii from this album. wonder how it affected tourism & the like. this came out in december of 2012 so who knows

-ula ula alani melemele oma omao polu poni, ele ele. hell yeah

-stella octanguli aren’t too hard to draw, just two intersecting triangles, but making a rainbow one in google drawings was a pain and a half mostly because of how much of a perfectionist i am

-these vocal effects kick ass actually. hell yeah

-it’s interesting how abrupt these transitions are here. i can’t remember whether it’s just a hawaii part ii thing (weird, considering how good the th ones are) or if it comes from listening to this through comprehension amalgamation

-anyway miracle musical hella missed out on making this an actual waltz. and i’m not just saying that because it’d make a go to hollywood/white ball mashup that much easier it’s because waltzes in general are hell underrated. i know it’s kinda also a tango sort of deal but please. give me my 3/4 time juice

-anyway! support our boy zubin he’s the best singer in this whole band. the female singer’s also pretty good i wont lie

-there are a lot of hidden vibrato and other vocal effects that i’m only now noticing this is cool

-that’s gotta be bora on the accordion back there how have i never made that conclusion

-anyone know what’s being said in reverse here? i’m sure someone’s reversed it- and i think there’s a whole-ass upload of dream sweet in reverse that wouldve been good for an earlier draft of one of the automated players fics i’m writing, but would also be helpful for parsing this specific line.

-shoutout to enobywei on the white ball upload for their incredibly funny comment of “my favorite part is when he's like ‘you know what i'm saying [inaudible]’ and she's like ‘ha?’”. yes i looked up that video just to make this reference that comment lives in my brain rent free

-i think hearing zubin without the vocal effect would be great. anyway let’s go ross get this going! hell yeah i love you

-the subtle, gradual shift into a more tango and then hawaiian style (like from black rainbows! what did i say) is really well done. the contrast is more obvious coming from the string solo version of this without the Banging drums and the castanets & bass guitar and whatnot

-oh zubin. your singing makes my heart ache! in a good way, it does this all the time nothing to worry about. but by god this is lovely

-the semi-abrupt transition into full on hawaiian mode accompanied by that distorted line from zubes? i dont normally give a lot of praise to the storytelling elements of songs but i’ll be damned if that isnt cool. even if there’s like. no actual story in it

-oh of Course we end with a bass focus this is zubin’s song! i never noticed, i love that

-slammin on that piano. shame there isn’t any andrew in this album, i would say if i didnt know that many of these songs were being done by tally hall in some form or another before they were put into hawaii pt ii. it only came out a year after g&e, and i know there were generally a load of label-based delays on that one but still. so many of these had to have a lot of input from the others, if all the things the boys have to say on their songwriting process is anything to go by.

-and hell, i know i should save this thought for later but the mind electric/labyrinth has such an obvious classical influence (you know the post i dont need to remind you of it) and the former was obviously well done early into tally hall’s career, and we know labyrinth’s influence- or the other way around -is apparent early into inside the mind of simon’s development (all those demos coming in handy) so i’m just certain andrew, the only one with real classical training had some influence on that song. boy was this a long-winded thought

-murders! disconcerting for many reasons, and the funky time signatures are only one of them. 6/4 isn’t terribly avant garde, but the lil bits of 5/4 into 2/4 or whatever the hell that part is, it’s been a lil while since i looked at any sheet music because that’s the only way to understand this song, are really big. plus the weird foley percussion, lack of any big instruments other than piano, and the weird twisting lyrics all play a part. incomprehensible like this run-on sentence of a paragraph

-i remember having such a damn hard time trying to count this one out the first time i heard it. good times!

-red was smart to bring on so many guest singers, an album isn’t super good with only him, i say having not listened to jhjh. shame ross never sang though he’s like. a decently good singer

-i think bora or someone gave an explanation as to how he got the piano sounding so distorted here, but it’s frankly incomprehensible from what i remember so maybe it’ll just remain a mystery.

-hey that’s a hi-hat in the background. nice. didnt know this song had like, actual percussion. ross getting in his part, good for him

-i heard “all for nothing at all” is a reference to something or other, idk ive been browsing the tally hallmanac recently for no reason. couldve been beatles? i seriously wouldnt know

-well i’ll be damned if that ain’t some frankly silly contrast. murders into the trumpet fanfare of goddam space station level 7, what an album.

-kick it ross, get those drum/cymbol rolls in you underrated little drummer

-shame this is bora’s only vocal debut in this album. and what’s a real shame is that he doesn’t get to harmonize with himself (what’s the point of a vocoder?), which i think is a major staple of the tally hall style, vocal harmonies. it’s what drew all those beatles comparisons i think, and it’s probably what makes the biggest difference between miracle musical and tally hall- the smaller size means no consistent rob & zubin & andy harmonies, just solo vocals or duets.

-anyway what’s with the like, vaguely bossa nova/elevator music feel of this song? beyond the whole trumpet fanfare, the casual drumming & acoustic guitar and that lil frog percussion thing that i think was also in black rainbows. you know the one, roll a stick across it to make rain sounds. that’s probably not what’s actually being used here but there’s also like. timpani. and harp. what the hell is going on in general

-it’d be great if we could get the lyrics straight from the horse’s mouth on what the words were before the japanese translation because nobody on this team is a native japanese speaker

-bora showing off his vocal range at least, with this dumbass french bit. what a legend. timpani again, is that ross doing that? could be anyone honestly doesn’t take the most knowledge of drums to play them simply enough. probably bora

-what kind of 80′s- ass stuff is this? a gradual fade-out instead of an abrupt change into the next song? eh we’ll probably get an abrupt change anyway. oh i knew it the mind electric.

-my next step after transcribing the labyrinth riff used in one of the versions of the final progression (you remember what chord progression i’m talking about. i hope. i sure do and i sure wouldnt mind if you took another look at that post again) is to get the chorus because it’d just be good on organ i think

-hmm i didnt know the whatre they called reamplification effects piece was used in the backwards section! i knew it was used somewhere but it sure isn’t in the forwards part. this is all album version we’re talking about by the way, which means distorted version is backwards and clear version is forwards

-oh i have to leave now. see you in like 5 hours <3

-it was 6 hours <3 i’m back

-i mean this is just the backwards part of the mind electric. not much to say

-it’s kinda interesting how we dont fully know how many lil backwards samples of people speaking there are, or what they’re saying. there’s some compilations on this website, youtube, reddit i think and possibly twitter but that’s in order of most to least confident on my part

-ME is like halfway through the album right? which means next is... labyrinth definitely, then stranded lullabye, and time machine & dream sweet i think. that should be everything, though it’s probably not in that order- but wait, stranded lullabye comes like right before dream sweet, which means it’s l, tm, sl, and dsc. it should be obvious it’s been a while since ive listened to this whole album.

-god it’s been a damn while since ive listened to time machine. everything ive heard at least once through recommendations, ME & labyrinth through my transcription work in particular, and dream sweet for writing reference. but not time machine. i havent been super fond of it and i think i was growing more attached with time but it’s been an honestly good while so i’m curious to see how i feel about it now

-forwards now! hooray. i love these initial synths & vocoding harmonies, i’ll hopefully transcribe them along with the choral part for the organ eventually

-my plan with this organ transcription is to do the wild labyrinth part, chorus part, synthy bits, and other accompaniment parts that aren’t already written down as piano/vocal melodies. it’ll be a project but a fun one i hope

-ive never heard the fum in fee fi fo fum pronounced the way it is here before. it doesnt make much sense to me in all honesty, but i guess going with a latin/romantic pronunciation it’s fine

-god those stringssssss they’re so good. pizzicato bay be oh that’s the good shit, i hope they got some actual string players for that bit

-speaking of actual people, who the hell sings the axon-dendrite chorus? i havent seen credits anywhere and it’s gotta be someone other than red & co

-oh and that’s another part i want to transcribe! i’d take note of all this if it weren’t so easy to remember when going through the song

-i think in the album version vs the single upload version there’s less labyrinth accompaniments in the background, leading this bit to have slightly less of an impact and making the labyrinth parallels less clear.

-no teslacoil, no reamplification effects, and sure al hell no simon synth (that’s the one i’m doing!)

-i never mentioned i have a lil brain amv for this song. unlike most of the others, this one’s specifically for a fanfic that’s lived inside my head for like, most of this year now. ive written a little bit for it but it’s an absolutely massive story that’s mostly just plotted out right now, and rather sparsely at that. i love it dearly though, in some years i could publish a bit or two, i dont feel qualified enough to write it well currently all things considered; it was the first fanfic i ever actually truly wrote in any shape or form.

-yeah that cadence was hella lackluster, the distorted version’s the way to go for that

-i knew it’d be labyrinth next! that was a damn quick transition, wasnt expecting that. ive gone from ME to labyrinth pretty often before but not quite that swiftly

-you can tell it’s in a completely different key here to ME, though if i went through the full effort to transpose many of the chords here i’m sure i could find evidence that they’re the same intervals as those of ME and now i sound like my old labyrinth/ME music theory post again. you guys should rb the version with the added labyrinth dissection, i’m really proud of all that

-i dont have much to say about that beyond that post. i grew a lot more fond of this song over time, even through the analysis in all honesty. knowing about all the classical stylings in this song just make it that much more fun to listen to

-OH the second chorus “see how i circle” in the background the movement of the synth is almost exactly the same to simon-synth from ME! hell yes i recognize that i’m transcribing it! it’s more or less the bass/pedal part which is the most interesting part, it moves around a decent amount but not the big arpeggios and interval movements of the melody/great part

-hell yeah the bass parts are basically identical i hear so many damn similarities. suddenly feeling way more in common with that guy in the simon-synth comment section lamenting what they did to transcribe labyrinth

-another abrupt movement into time machine. i’m beginning to think that’s some sort of theme at this point, like none of the songs transition directly into each other well but many share motifs and lyrical styles, and the whole album’s bookended by these songs that start almost identically, and the final song reuses a whole lot of melodies from the other songs. i mean all of that couldve been achieved with smooth transitions but eh chaos within order or something jazzy like that

-so the difference between this and the demo people seems to prefer is the vocoding from what i can tell. and there’s red vocals in this i think. understandable, but it’s nice to get to hear ross go ham on the drums again after the last 2 songs were somewhat lacking in that regard

-i find this chorus to be really distinctive, the sudden shift into minor and all, and then that eeeoooooouuuuu-ass bridge or whatever. rad & nice

-damn maybe i should apply this song to my lemon demon oc with a time machine. that’d be rad i guess.

-god i do wish i could hear more rob vocals though, he’s an honestly good singer, the vocoder isnt truly necessary, i understand what you guys mean about the superior demo.

-there is some good keyboard work here, i like the sound. way up in the higher octaves. does make me realize how much this album divides between songs with almost exclusively weird acoustic piano & songs with almost exclusively various synths

-now what is that sound effect? i like it. groovy. not the static though i do not remember that. not groovy but still kinda cool. get that machine back in action bro!

-yeah neither rob nor bora needed vocoding for this. shame we didnt get a vocoding-less bora take of space station level 7

-drums are wild though, clapping synths going into overdrive

-this outro i do not remember at all. !damn thats an abrupt jump into stranded lullabye, wasnt expecting that from a gotdam lullaby

-this a real harp? that’d be really cool i have to say. and is that an honest to goodness gong in the background? epic

-i’ll be honest i mostly remember this song for the female vocals. once again “i’d like to know why you are all alone while i’m lost at sea” are the only lyrics i remember. what are those weird swelling sfx though i need to wonder

-these strings are so damn strong. was it people other than the tallies who play them? if so, who? there’s no credits for the strings in mmmm or g&e (not that i remember any in g&e) and i dont know if that’s just standard practice for the business, if the strings were just sampled and then used on a synth, or if these people did their job without credits or what.

-c’est len, c’est len. i never explained that in my other stranded lullabye commentary. it’s meant to be “sail on, sail on” but the way red pronounces it makes it sound like he’s pronouncing these made up french words, because if you pronounce the above like french it sounds the same as “sail on”

-ah, the finale. we get a good long pause, before in comes the wind. i heard he recorded these in like a barn, or under a boat, or in somewhere freezing cold, and i may not remember the details but i can sure as hell believe that if i’m being honest.

-when i first listened to this album i did not at all for the life of me notice the reuse of introduction to the snow for this song. it lasted like that for a good while too, i’d listen to itts on it’s own and think huh, nice, and then i’d listen to dsism and thin huh, nice. it was only after literally listening to them back-to-back that i realized they have the same sound. i more-or-less clearly remember having to put these two songs into a playlist to hear them exactly back to back to confirm it. my audio comprehension skills are clearly unparalleled.

-this is in all honesty the most unique song on the whole album, given that it sounds like a goddam christmas song. granted it only takes some sleigh bells, triangle, and a specific type of piano to get that effect, but it was got nonetheless.

-what it God’s name is that weird groany sound effect there. i will forevermore and evermore wonder what the hell went down to produce that, just for how strange it is.

-i’d also like to know what went down on that piano to make it sound like that because those are not normal piano sounds

-i should take note of all the different reoccurring themes in dream sweet compared to the songs earlier in the album they originate from. i’m sure someone else already has but it’d be fun. one day. not today. not just because it’s getting a bit late i just can’t be bothered

-once again, i had no damn idea this was a different lady from the ones that have been appearing all throughout the album. red shouldve sung on less songs.

-like this is literally the only tally hallish album that doesnt feature ross’s voice in some way shape or form give him at least one song i beg of you

-sudden switch into big hawaii mode. did you know the country had a monarchy for like a good many many years, and it was a really happy and prosperous queenship? twas pretty good before the colonization.

-man this is like, the first and only real good notable bit of vocal harmony from this album i’m taking note of; “join the raucous kingdom come”. that’s a shame! tally hall makes good vocal harmonies theyre so good. now stop using a french accent and start doing better vocal things.

-no, the stuff you do with female guest singers doesn’t count. this part’s nice, but the contrast between the female & male voices means it doesnt sound good in the same way as tally hall. it’s an amazing sound i wont lie, but (i know) it’s not the same

-wonder who snapped their fingers for this. probably bora considering all the other shit he does all the time

-the final minutes of the album. the final minutes of someone’s life, assuming they started this song at the end. those last 2 sentences were going to be basically the entirety of an automated players fic i’m writing but i’ve been steering it in a different direction as of late. outside of that context that refers to how this was uploaded 12/12/12, the day the world was meant to end, humans have 7 minutes of brain power before death yada yada youve read the youtube comments.

-variations on a cloud was in the works hella early in the game, considering it’s completely unexpected appearance in the this. i think i even heard it released before the album as a whole (it’s also a good source of unaltered rob vocals, forgot about that). kinda odd, then, considering how well ive heard it works as a conclusion to the album. the transitions between songs are always abrupt, and the ending of dream sweet is even more so, the way the instrumental ramps up before the end and not even the lyrics resolve. but if you put variations right at the end the synth piano makes a perfect transition into the its real piano. and i just think that’s neat

-and in a similar way, though i wont be listening to variations right now, i will say- just as i was getting to dream sweet, keeping an eye on my dash, cas asked me to list my 9 favorite albums, which i did just now before finishing this. it’s 10:07, but this will probably be uploaded around 8 tomorrow morning (where i live). you guys are all asleep right now, or close enough for me to know i wont gain much from posting this (except for you modernlittlefoot, my longitme australian friend) currently. i mention this in that very post, which you might already know depending on the order i post these in. considering how much longer this one is, this one’s probably the latter one. so while tonight i leave myself cut off from the finale, tomorrow morning, with a not unrelated but still separate post connected more deeply to my past, i will give a resolution. good night

[serraphima]

All the abc OC questions for Erin!

aaaaaaaaaaaaa ty mara, imma put it under a read more so there isnt a huge thing to scroll through

A1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young? shes a pyromancer and a dumbass2. what activities have they participated in? uh they were in robotics club in college3. what abilities do they have that they’ve worked for? (no clue what that means) but she keeps her friend aria alive with the augments she makes4. what things are they bad at? talking to cute girls, being a person5. what is their most impressive talent? she can dislocate her shoulder on command

B1. what is their hair color? red2. what is their eye color? green3. how tall are they? like 5′44. how old are they? 32 i think?5. how much do they weigh? 160

C1. how do they sit in a chair? the wrong way all the time2. in what position do they sleep? curled up in a ball3. what is their ideal comfort day? chilling out with her partners4. what is their major comfort food? why? anything with a strong lemon taste that isnt a lemon5. who is the best at comforting them when down? her partners

D1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name? she cant decorate worth a damn2. how would they decorate their child’s room? she wouldnt have any kids tbh3. how do they decorate their own room? posters everywhere, failed experiments and other stuff strewn about with clothes4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear? she likes tight pants, crop tops, and a denim vest with boots on warm days, on cold days she wears skirts, tights, long sleeve tops and flannel with a denim vest5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends? she likes them in theory, not in practice since shes terrible with doing makeup

E1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality? kinda? like shes outgoing sometimes but shes also likes being alone, it depends on whos shes with2. do they do things that conform to the norm? only norm she conforms with is being gay3. do they follow trends or do their own thing? she does her own thing sometimes, follows trends other times4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads? she tries to keep up but hardly can5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own? she portrays herself as she is (ie a sarcastic bitch with a dry wit)

F1. what do they do for fun? set fire to things2. what is their ideal party? not a party person3. who would they have the most fun with? she loves being with her partners and has the most fun with them4. can they have fun while conforming to rules? she could if she was boring5. do they go out a lot? she doesnt really go out on her own a lot

G1. what is their most attractive external feature? shes happy with how her thighs and ass are so she loves showing them off as much as she can2. what is the most attractive part of their personality? shes extremely caring but doesnt like to show it to everyone3. what benefits come with being their friend? being a human test subject, you get to learn how to do fighting games, and seeing her in default state (which is only a bra and underwear)4. what parts of them do they like and dislike? she likes her thighs and ass, hates having her cock5. what parts of others do they envy? she envies that faith has a vagina and cant wait to get her own

H1. do they rather a hot or cold room? she likes a hot place, she cant function in the cold2. do they prefer summer or winter? she loves summer3. do they like the snow? she likes melting snow with fireballs but besides that she hates snow4. do they have a favorite summer activity? she likes going to concerts in the summer5. do they have a favorite winter activity? stay indoors with her partners and watch scary movies

I1. what is their sexuality? shes homoromantic bisexual2. have they ever questioned their sexuality? oh the entirety of her high school life3. have they ever questioned their gender? kinda, shes trans and had some trouble realizing that but shes happy now4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT? they arent5. how long would/did it take for them to come out? her parents dont know a lot of whats going on with her after her second stay in the psych ward when she came out to them, but her friends knew the second erin knew

J1. what makes them happy? making her partners happy2. who makes them happy? her partners3. are there any songs that bring them joy? anytime her favorite band releases a new song4. are they happy often? somewhat5. what brings them the most joy in the world? being with her partners and helping aria not be close to death

K1. have they ever thought about suicide? yeah2. have they ever thought about homicide? thought about doing it outright? no, but some of the test subjects she finds dont live through everything3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who? her parents4. who would miss them if they died? her partners5. who would be happy they died, anyone? probably her parents

L1. what is their favorite fruit? apple slices2. what is their least favorite fruit? whole apples3. are there any foods they hate? spicy foods4. do they have any food intolerances? she cant handle spicy stuff5. what is their favorite food? chicken picatta

M1. would they want a daughter or a son? probably a daughter2. how many children do they want? ideally none3. would they be a good parent? shes constantly worried shell end up like her parents4. what would they name a son? what would they name a daughter? son would be named azarel, daughter would be named valeria5. would they adopt? probably

N1. what would they never do? hard drugs and be in a gangbang2. what have they never done that they want to do? be in a gangbang3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do? have a good relationship with their parents4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done? thought she was a straight guy5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do? successfully keep someone alive

O1. are they optimistic or pessimistic? she finds both to be annoying and doesnt like answering that question (shes more pessimistic than optimistic)2. are they openly optimistic, throwing it on others? no3. are they good at giving advice? not in the slightest4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them? probably bel5. were they always optimistic? nope

P1. what is their best personality trait? her quick wit2. what is their worst personality trait? her inability to read emotions3. what of their personality do others love? her caring nature4. what of their personality do others envy? her scathing remarks when other people are dumb near her5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities? she hates she cant read emotion that well and hates overly chipper people

Q1. do they ask for help? nope2. do they ask questions in class? and look like a nerd? fuck that3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable? she tries to4. do they ask weird questions? more often than not5. are they curious? yes

R1. do they follow rules? theyre more guidelines and guidelines are more lenient to following than rules are (doesnt really follow the rules)2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent? shed be a bad parent3. have they ever been consequenced for breaking a rule? many times4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking? nope5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous? she find a lot of rules pointless

S1. are they street-smart?  not really2. would they give money to someone on the streets? yes she does that a lot3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets? many times4. has anything happened to them on the streets? she beat up people sexually harassing her5. are they cautious when out? she carries a pistol and a knife everywhere

T1. are they honest? she tries to be2. can they tell if someone is lying? not well3. is it obvious when they’re lying? if you know her yes, if you dont its hard4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about? nope5. have they told truths that have been spread against their will? kinda?

U1. have they been bullied? yes2. have they bullied anyone? also yes3. have they been physically attacked by a bully? no4. have they ever been doubted? not as often as she believes5. have they surprised people with being good at something? people who dont pay attention to her a lot so she constantly surprises them when they start to pay attention to her

V1. do they vomit often? she hasnt puked since she was a baby and shes proud of that2. do they get lots of stomach aches? yes3. are they good at comforting someone ill? no4. what do they like as far as comfort goes? being warm and cozy5. do they burp, cough, or hiccup most when nauseous? when vomiting? she hiccups a lot when shes nauseous

W1. do they drink enough water? she doesnt like water, it feels weird in her mouth2. have they learned to swim? yes3. do they like to swim? a bit4. can they dive? no5. can they swim without holding their nose? yes

X1. what is their favorite genre of music? lot of good bass and drum lines, hard guitar riffs2. do they have a favorite song? anything her favorite band puts out3. do they have a favorite band/artist/singer? yeah but good luck getting her to tell you (babymetal)4. can they sing well? a bit5. can they rap? nope

Y1. how old were you when you created them? i think like 19 or 202. what inspired you to create them? i kinda figured out i was trans and wanted a character like me but that was a girl (so i project onto her a lot)3. were they different when they were first created? she started out as a destiny oc, she was my warlock4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters? i cant say tbh5. what’s your favorite thing about them? shes a lot like me

Z1. what’s their favorite animal? cats2. do they like animals? she likes cats3. cats or dogs? cats4. what’s their dream pet? like a big cat but housecat sized5. do they have any pets at the moment? nope

[sanguinarius-archive]

uh so im about to discuss about salvis aka sal x travis (and no its not going to be me calling it problematic and im not gonna bash you if you like it, im going to be explaining the flaws that come with the ship regarding the canon character dynamic) so click read more if youre up for it!

warning for mentions of abuse, internalized homophobia, uhh i think thats it

alright so a lot of people tend to think that when someone tries to explain the little issues with a ship that its because theyre defending their own ship they like. and... for me? no, thats not the case. yeah i dont ship sal x travis but im not going to say i dont or argue why just because i prefer my own ship over it. thats a bullshit reason and we all know it.

as a victim of abuse and self-insecurity i completely understand what travis has gone/is going through. he cant accept that he likes boys. he’s been raised to think that its sin, that its disgusting and that the one person or being who he ever felt has truly heard his cries, aka god, hates him now. and i understand if you have been through that situation yourself and therefore you project onto him, and youre someone who has a tough time dealing with issues independently. i understand completely. as i said, ive been there before.

but i personally dont think it’d work to ship travis with, not just sal, but anyone in general. he’s a character who still has a lot of development. what he truly needs right now is a friend, and yes, i understand thats what a lot of you are trying to go for, but its hard to not see undertones of them (travis and sal) being shipped in your content. travis has been physically harmful towards sal and has harassed him and his friends. and while that is because he deals with being abused himself, causing him to not really know how to deal with his emotions, he still knows and is aware that what hes doing is wrong. hell, in the note (who im assuming is for sal) he says hes crazy about him. and then he goes to tell him he doesnt actually hate sal. so he knows what hes doing is wrong.

and can he control his anger? probably not. and thats okay, i understand that. but again as someone who has been abused and has taken out my own issues on others in different ways, ive come to learn that its inexcusable. no matter what form of abuse youve been through, no matter what mental illness you deal with, no matter what, you have to learn that taking out your problems on others in any sort of way is damaging and does not help you heal and grow from your issues.

and i think a lot of people tend to subconsciously make sal a big part of travis’ “redemption arc” in fanon content. i do acknowledge the fact that sal has said he forgives travis and is willing to befriend him, and understands that his home life is tough, but he should not be playing such a huge role in travis being redeemed. adding a relationship to travis does not erase his current issues, it only worsens them because now he has a relationship added on top of the abuse he endures from his father and his still-healing internalized homophobia. its just not healthy in that way. i dont see it working.

a lot of people tend to think especially in characters that a redemption arc is easy, that with characters you can just change them completely like the flick of a light-switch. but with how real and raw sally face is, its important we try and take travis being redeemed very slowly and steadily. he has to accept himself, first and foremost, with the occasional help from sal and his friends. he has to learn that he is not a disgusting person for loving who he loves and that with time he will get better, he just has to set initiative to that. then he has to find out how he can tackle the abuse he endures from his dad. worst comes to worst, he doesnt find a very complete way of healing from his abuse and simply runs away or turns his back on his father. and you know what? thats okay, because as long as he can escape it one way or another, and have time to heal afterwards, its okay.

it isnt easy to accept yourself while being abused at the same time. and like i said i think a lot of you tend to subconsciously make sal play a huge role in travis becoming a better person, when really, sal should only be there for small bits of advice or when travis is in desperate need of comfort. travis needs a friend, nothing more, nothing less. he doesnt need a relationship because that only adds to the problems he faces already. travis is a good character and id personally love to see him be redeemed in the last episode (aka the next episode), but i want him to be able to do that on his own.

as i mentioned before i am someone who has had a very hard time coming to terms with who i am in the past, and i have been a victim of abuse. i know how hard it is to heal and to grow, and trust me it takes a very long time. its never easy. and if you are a victim of abuse or you have dealt with/are dealing with internalized homophobia or whatever it may be, and you ship travis with sal or whoever, thats okay. i understand if its a comfort for you and a way for you to project. but you know what? in reality, unfortunately, a relationship like sal x travis, with the past dynamic theyve had, it most likely wouldnt work. it would only cause more trouble and probably for both sides.

im not hating on the ship, i just want to speak out about the flaws it has. im not discouraging anyone from shipping it, im only letting you know that it wouldnt be the Healthiest with how their dynamic is. im not willing to argue on this or start a bunch of discourse. i just thought this would be an interesting topic to make a post about.

if youve made it up to here, thank you for reading, i appreciate it and i hope you took something from it. again im not hating. i kinda think itd be cute too if they didnt have the dynamic they have in canon. but because they do have that kind of dynamic its just not good realistically.

[sulietsexual]

Its been a while since I asked you meta related things so I just had a random idea - top 5 characters which you just dont understand, top 5 ch which are well writen but you cant connect or like, top 5 ch storylines you would like to alter, top 5 traits of your disliked chracters that you like, top 5 traits of your loved characters you dislike, top 5 ways your disliked characters contributed to the main storyline that youre fine with. For males and females separately so theres room for thought :)

Top 5 Characters I Don’t Understand

Male

Wesley Wyndam Pryce - okay, so this is only from mid-Season 3 onward, but I cannot fathom Wesley’s actions in stealing Connor, consulting with Holtz and doubting/not believing in Angel to the point where he didn’t realise that Angel would do everything in his power to protect Connor. Then his self-righteous attitude post-kidnap is appalling, the fact that he acts like the wronged party and refuses to acknowledge his own wrongdoings and never apologises for his actions all drive me crazy. Just can’t.

Luke Danes, I mean, buddy, pull it together. You say you want Lorelai, yet never make a move and then bitch about her boyfriends and act like a jerk. You say you’re “all in” and then you run at the first sign of trouble and make Lorelai feel like she did something wrong. You tell Lorelai you want her to be honest with you and then you hide your daughter from her for two freakin’ months. You say you want to spend your life with her, yet you shut her out of it. Like, wtf??

Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, omg, why is he such an abusive asshole? Why does he treat every woman he’s with like crap? Why does he treat Mellie as if she’s insignificant and stupid? Why does he act entitled to everyone’s time and affections? Why does he continually try to give up the most powerful position in America? Why doesn’t he have any ambition? Why does he resent anyone who does??? I don’t understand.

John Winchester. Dude’s always going on about how he “did the best that he could”. Nope. The best he could would have been to raise his boys in a stable freakin’ environment, not push adult responsibility onto his eldest, not treat his youngest like an outcast/freak for wanting a better life and actually being an adult and being there for his boys. How does he justify the way he treated his sons? Don’t get it.

Finn Collins. Dude, you cheat on your girlfriend, neglect to tell the girl you’re cheating with that you even have a girlfriend, don’t tell your girlfriend you cheated on her and expect both girls to still want you? Plus the whole massacring eighteen unarmed people and then ignoring their bodies as the girl you want walks in horrified and look at her as if she’ll love you for your actions? Yikes.

Female

Lorelai Gilmore, she constantly puts her mother down for her privilege and sense of entitlement, yet displays the exact same behaviour. She rejected Chris, then bitches about how he “wasn’t ready”. She thinks all her behaviour is cute but it’s actually really annoying. And she honestly seems to believe that her parents were the absolute worst parents in the world, when it reality they were really good to her and always try to be a part of her life. Pull it together, woman!

Octavia Blake, why does she blame her brother for everything? Why is her solution always violence? Why does she proudly cannibalize people? Why does she think she knows more about a culture she’s been a part of for two seconds than the people actually raised in said culture? 

Nancy Wheeler. Why does she want Jonathan so badly? Why does she screw over Steve? What makes her neglect her brother and run off with the guy she just banged? Why doesn’t she think through the consequences of her actions? Why did she offer her brother zero comfort when his friend “died”? What made her think it was okay to chase down Jonathan while he was picking out a coffin for his brother’s funeral to talk about Barb? Girl drives me bonkers.

Joey Potter, so many of her actions make no sense. She pines after Dawson for years and then breaks up with him for literally no reason. She blames him for telling her the truth about her father, after repeatedly saying they need to be honest with one another. She can’t decide between two guys for years. She constantly rejects Pacey yet picks him in the end. She believes she’s entitled to be a bitch to people just because she’s had a tough life.

Aria Montgomery, if your creepy-ass relationship really so important to you that you would lie to your friends and family, threaten your parents, risk your partner going to jail, threaten to walk out on your family and basically cease to exist outside of your boyfriend? Yikes.

Going to put the rest under the cut, otherwise we’re going to end up with a post a mile long.

Top 5 Characters Who Are Well-writen But I Can’t Connect To or Like

Male

John Locke, a great-written character who drives me up the wall with his over-zealousness and delusions of grandeur.

Spike, he really does have a great character arc and characterisation but his over-exposure and the fandom’s adulation of him drive me crazy, plus I hate how his narrative overtakes Buffy’s.

Jack Shepherd, such a great arc, such an amazing journey but his douchey behaviour and the way he treats certain characters means I just can’t like him.

Perry Cox, I find him amusing and do occasionally like him but his lack of self-awareness and overall mean attitude and sexism bugs me.

Dean Winchester, so well-written with a great arc but also abusive, violent, self-righteous, sexist and overall annoying as hell.

Female

Regina Mills, her redemption arc is sloppy but her characterisation was always strong and she’s a fantastic villain, which is why I love to hate her.

Robin Scherbatsky, very well-written with a great arc (until the finale) but I just cannot like her, probably due to her arrogance and meanness.

Rachel Green, now, I don’t hate Rachel or anything but she’s one of my least-favourite Friends characters and I’ve never been able to connect with her.

Katniss Everdeen, a great-written character whose personality I find very hard to reconcile and who I just cannot connect with.

Kate Austin, great arc, great characterisation, full of traits I can’t stand and makes choices that make me want to throttle her.

Top 5 Characters Storylines I Would Like To Alter

Male

Neal Cassidy, he was done so dirty by that damn show!

August Booth, another one screwed over by OUAT and there was so much left to explore with his character!

Dean Forrester, I really hate how much Gilmore Girls dumbled down and assassinated his character.

Boyd Langton, Dollhouse’s weird out-of-nowhere reveal that he was the bad guy completely changed his character and he didn’t deserve that.

Jake Ballard, he deserves better than being second-choice for Olivia Pope.

Female

Laurel Lance, who deserved the fucking world and got nothing, I would change so much about her storyline and eventual fate.

Mellie Grant who, like Laurel, deserved so much and got shit.

Emma Swan, who was character assassinated in order to box her into a toxic ship which decimated everything about her.

Juliet Burke, who should have lived and had a happy life and finally made it off that damn Island!

Effy Stonem, who deserved better than to be sandwiched between two guys who treated her like a prize and blamed her for their rivalry, not to mention the shitty “friends” who used her as their scapegoat.

Top 5 Traits Of My Disliked Characters That I Like (I’m not going to pick my absolute most disliked characters for this, but just 5 characters I dislike in general. Also, probably can’t come up with five for each, so I’ll go with as many as I can list).

Male

Going with Wesley again - love his intelligence, his surprising confidence when he allows himself to show it, his thirst for knowledge and his goofiness.

Spike - I like his bravado, his confidence and his loyalty.

Dean Winchester - similarly to Spike, his bravado, his loyalty and his confidence, as well as his humour and love of fun.

Luke Danes - I like that he’s good at the big gestures, I like his snark and his homebody nature.

Jess Mariano - I like intelligence, his snark and the fact that he sorts himself out later on in life.

Female

Anya Jenkins - love her work ethic and the fact that she handles money well and knows how to budget, save and invest.

Betty Cooper - she’s got gumption, I’ll give her that and she is intelligent and hardworking.

Felicity Smoak - like Betty, she’s intelligent and has gumption.

Cassie from the Animorphs series - she’s compassionate and does try to understand people, which I like.She also has a lot of empathy.

Alison DiLaurentis - she is ruthless and strategic and highly intelligent, all of which I admire, even if her actions are truly sociopathic.

Top 5 Traits Of My Loved Characters I Dislike (again, this may not reach five but I’ll do my best)

Male

Angel - his tendency to make decisions for others, his jealousy, the way he can completely cut off those he cares about.

James Ford - the way he lets his self-hatred affect others, his self-centredness, the way he can be deliberately cruel at times.

August Booth - he lies way too much, his self-hatred, his selfishness.

Neal Cassidy ………….. nope, I love Neal too much, can’t think of any traits I dislike.

Charles Gunn - the way he diminishes himself for others.

Female

Prue Halliwell - that damn pride, her self-righteousness, her judgmental streak.

Juliet Burke ……………. nope, as with Neal, love her way too much to dislike anything about her.

Lana Lang - her Mary Sue traits (this lies more on the writing of her character than her), her tendency to project her own feelings onto others.

Lilah Morgan - well, she’s an evil bitch, but you’re supposed to hate her for that, so I more hate her actions than her herself, such as when she gives Cordy the visions which almost kill her or when she sends people to drill into Lorn’s head.

Jo March - her lack of propriety at times, her judgemental streak, her refusal to adhere to convention (at times)

Top 5 Ways My Disliked Characters Contributed To The Main Storyline That I’m Fine With (I am running out of steam and not sure if I can come up with 5 males and 5 females, so gonna combine them for this last one and again might not make it to Top 5)

Alison DiLaurentis - I like her as a villain, her murder kicks off the whole series which worked well, and I liked that she works as a foil for all the girls, in particular Hanna and Mona.

Spike - love him as a villain in Season 2, love that he works as a foil for Angel in AtS Season 5, liked him stirring things up in Lovers Walk in Season 3.

Regina Mills - love her as a villain, love her as the Curse Caster, liked her dynamic with Emma, liked her as a foil for Snow and Emma.

……. I actually might be out, as usually when I hate a character it’s because of the way in which they negatively impact the storyline.

Whew, I’m knackered. Hope you enjoy my answers, even if they’re not 100% what you asked for!

[tayegi]

Chapter 5 of New Rules is amazing! And the hug scene had touched me on an intimate level! This has given me the motivation to start my new series! I might upload a chapter tonight! And I know that this week has been extremely hard on you, so take care and remember, two days from now, it's Christmas! So cheer up! :)

Anonymous said:Damn, the end of new rules chp 5 had me in tears. After all the sadness lately, it really was cathartic to have that connection between the characters. You’re amazing!!!

Anonymous said:I LOVE New Rules; it's so good. I love the more human element added to Jungkook in this last chapter, his shitty playing and allowing OC to just be there for him without any ulterior reason. Looking forward to whenever you post again; have a restful end of your year!

Anonymous said:Wow. I can't help but be left speechless after the latest New Rules chapter. I loved the interaction at the end between the main character the Jungkook; it was so raw and meaningful! I read that passage many times over while bundled up in my warm blankets just letting the emotions roll over me. I have been in a similar position as Jungkook with those feelings of apparent failure, and having someone just being there with you is incredibly comforting. Thank you for the lovely chapter and writing!

dutchinsanity said:New Rules chapter 5!!!!!!!!!!! You're giving me chest palpitations it's too f*cking cute >.

Anonymous said:That hug scene was so heart wrenching. This fic in general seemed quite light hearted while still including real life emotions but that scene made me feel the most things... emotions/pain/longing. Made me really crave an interaction like that. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been spending my time alone for over a week now but wow I really want some nice, intimate human interactions like that especially during the holidays when everyone else seems to be with family and friends.

Anonymous said:You know, I read the new chapter as soon as it came out and I still can't get that hug scene out of my head, it was just SO WELL DONE IM JUST UGH. I can say that I've read all of your fics and that scene is by far my favourite from you,you're just SO GODDAMN TALENTED thank you so much for sharing your work with us, it makes my day everytime you release something new. AND NEW RULES UGH SO GOOD thank you seriously i love you

Anonymous said:Hey Lu. I'm in my free days after a week of night shifts and I just read NR 5 and...woah. I feel healed? Like I'm tired as fuck but that hug between them really got to me and it might be the best soft/intense moment I have ever read. The way you described that scene... I fell in love with a scene. And I'm going to reread that so many times,until it won't affect me anymore. Anw,I missed being on your tl and I missed the story. Thank you for updating it. And I hope that you are ok! ~Raw

Anonymous said:The hug scene felt so warm and comforting in many indescribable ways. Thank you Lu, for writing stories that touch the heart, be it with your humour or emotional side which you don’t have to be sorry for. You’re a beautiful person inside out and I’m grateful for your existence! :’) WE LOVE YOU (sends OC hug to you

Anonymous said:People really underestimate hugs. I felt so much intimacy and understanding from your hug scene, more than any scene of love declarations or physical intimacy. Thank you for putting this wordless conversation so beautifully into words.

Anonymous said:I really wasn’t expecting that. Wow that was such a great chapter. I love Jungkook’s and oc’s bickering and funny relationship but I seriously loved this chapter. It was so platonic and it made me so soft. Haha I’m really looking forward to this new side of their relationship. You did great as always Lu -ani

Anonymous said:That platonic hug at the end was everything that I needed after this week. It felt so warm and real. Thank you, Lu. ❤

Anonymous said:PLATONIC HUGGING YES. I really needed that, lu. Thank you for writing it.

Anonymous said:I know everyone is commenting on this but... Gurl, that damn hug scene... I'm literally speechless. The feelings it game me while reading it were overwhelming but kind of refreshing at the same time. Like, at the end of it I felt at ease, as if something inside of me have been unknotted. I love how at first the oc was all angry and then she realised that JK have been through a really bad day and tried to comfort him, forgetting about the project. And how he held onto her, it melted my heart.

Anonymous said:woops i cried when reading chapter 5 of new rules i felt that hug

Anonymous said:Everyone needs a good long hug. No talking just a hug from a good person.

Anonymous said:And i just want to add that now i want to hug Jungkook so bad and also want him to hug me back and i cant accept anyone's embrace bc it will never feel like what ive read bdiebdkendkdsn thats such a mixed feeling I'll just curl in bed and cry and listen to that goddamn John Legend song that seem to fit the mood :((((( bdjendkekd aaaaaaaaaaa

Anonymous said:I loved the last part of new rules chapter 5, like that hug scene made me feel so emotional! You did such a great job as always 💞💞🌻🌻Anonymous said:earlier today i was thinking about hugs, and how It is my favorite way to show affection and how powerful it is, I find it hard to express myself sometimes , and I realized how sometimes a hug speaks, he really talks to you, you are hugging the person and you are sure that she knows what you're trying to say, even if you didn't found the words, and at the same time you feel her words back and how grateful she is, and you represented that so well i feel hugged, hope you do to

Anonymous said:the jk/oc moment was so sweet omg my heart 💛🧡❤️

praisekinkchenanon said:“How to make everyone soft with platonic hugs” a guide by Lu.

Omg... I am really shocked by how many people can relate and emphasize with something as simple as this hug scene... im really touched... bc in my mind, if you can feel emotionally connected to this hug, which i wrote, then it feels like we’ve shared something, like a hug ourselves

ive been having the worst few weeks w/ the sexual harassment thing and jonghyun’s passing and i wrote this scene as almost a therapeutic way to calm myself down and im so happy that you guys are able to share these feelings with me. I love you all

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

warning, the following has mainly snarky (and possibly furious) opinions on Spirit of Justice. Reader discretion is advised.

Okay folks. this is it. part 1 of the final chapter

here we go.

-

trial day 2?? oh yeah i forgot they split this game up in the worst, uneven way possible 

-

wow that cutscene was

something alright

-

wow datz actually managed to hold onto the snow globe. kudos?

-

what the fuck

i think i heard it wrong but Dhurke’s objection sounds like an old man 

I'm pretty sure i heard it wrong 

missed the bass

-

who was that no– oh Garananana

i guess she's gonna be the final boss instead huh

- 

im so tired i cant even snark properly 

-

“is that kosher?”

i like it

-

oh god

what.... what is she wearing 

i mean

fuckin

TALK about madonna-whore complex. oh yeah, time to turn super evil?? bear your midriff! show off dem tiddies! 

look, SOJ. theres only one bad bitch in ace attorney who can pull off floaty tendril hair, and its NOT ga’ran.

i cant believe i have to look at this train wreck for the rest of the trial

-

“heh heh heh. its all coming back now. the feel of my blood pumping through my veins”

this is perhaps because youre actually moving now, your eminence.

-

can we just dispense with the trial and have a good old fashioned anime fight? cmon apollo, spike up that hair and grab your BFS. 

-

“meep”

WHATS WITH THE MEEPING

BONNY DID THAT TOO

SOJ ITS 2016 ...ACTUALLY ITS 2028 YOU HOLES

-

everyone in the court: :O what??? whats wrong with rayfa??? why is she sad???

oh i dunno maybe because her fucking Father just got brutally murdered?? maybe??

what the fuck is up with SOJ characters being dumb as a bag of bricks when it comes to other peoples’ feelings regarding death of loved ones???

-

phoenix: shits fucked, thats why?? apollo: OHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-

“seems like she's worse off today than she was yesterday”

hey game you'd better not be implying any shit 

-

“discipline”

soj

-

alright, back after another longass break. i can do this.

( That’s oddly compassionate of him, all things considered )

I was about to defend Nahyuta because what kind of person wouldn’t try to spare a child from witnessing that kind of trauma... but then again, this is the Sadmad who purposefully tried to trigger someone into losing a trial so

(shrug emoji)

-

grana’s gone into full HORHORHOR BITCH MODE 

partially I'm totally numb because i dont have any stakes in her newfound ebilness, and partially I'm tired of this weird new trend of child abuse in the new games 

- 

“Barbed head.”

oh my god 

the first person she goes to after realizing that her caretaker is gone is fucking Phoenix 

im gonna cry 

“ive been reduced to “royal robe remover”” NO NICK YOU’VE BEEN UPGRADED TO DAD BY SOMEONE WHO’S NOT YOU

( ‘It’s like she’s grooming Mr. Wright to be Nayna’s replacement’) 

I know this game is all about confusing bullshit for heartwarming moments and vice versa but guys 

good lord

my heart

i really needed that 

-

(sigh) they really couldn’t get someone who sounded like a fucking 14 year old to do her voice?? really???

-

rayfa: (looks like she's going to die and collapses)

apollo: this is not good...

gee apollo you really think so? 

-

wait a fuking second 

we went through the whole dance cutscene and we’re not even going to see the pool??? does that mean the priestess has to be conscious and present for the images to be visible? ...and how does that work, anyway? 

i just realized, a medium could use a pool to see the dead, but how the hell could they project it for others to see?? does she literally open a portal to hell???

(sigh) i just regret sitting through that cutscene again

-

“cabal of traitorous lawyers”

i love that

-

(Seriously Dhurke? This is no laughing matter.)

this basically sums up Dhurke’s entire personality 

...yknow, i know what they were trying to do with his character– i really do. i know he’s supposed to come off as a dashing, cavalier rebel who laughs in the face of danger. 

but they overshot endearingly irreverent and ploughed straight into fuckwaddome. if you want a character to be charming, they need softer moments too. Dhurke isn’t a bad person, but he’s kind of an asshole when you get right down to it, and nothing so far is proving otherwise. 

-

ok ive heard Dhurke’s Objection again and it doesn't sound like an old man– it just sounds about as overblown and ridiculous as Manfred von Karma’s (not to mention about as deep)

-

LET DHURKE SAY BITCH

... i guess

-

another perfect example of Dhurke being kind of a fuckwad: he keeps needling the queen and baiting her in ways that could get himself killed, which would be all fine and dandy if he were the brave resistance leader being tortured for information in the bowels of a dungeon.

...but here’s the thing.

IF YOU DIE, DHURKE, APOLLO AND PHOENIX DIE TOO. DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE GODDAMN DC ACT? ITS NOT JUST YOUR DEAD ASS ON THE LINE HERE SO SHUT YOUR SASSY TRAP AND THINK ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN YOUR *AMAZING WIT* FOR ONCE.

you’ve got 2 extra lives on the line here.

...3 if my suspicions are correct.

-

stop calling him son please you abandoned him in an orphanage and didnt contact him for 14 years.

...and if he can’t call you ‘dad’ you have no right to call him ‘son’

-

coming back to this after ghost trick has convinced me that one of ga’ran’s lackeys miiiiiight be related to Cabanela, baby

-

“Wright... I can see we are kindred spirits, you and I! Hah-ha ha ha ha ha!!”

NO

NO 

NO

NO

FUCK YOU DHURKE 

-

“It’s pretty easy to spot the difference between a soulless man and the soulless shell of a man”

ok that did get a laugh out of me, good job dhurke.

-

apollo: pls dont get us killed dhurke: mmmm ok ill try but I'm not promising anything lol

://///

-

“But remember, son, if you truly believe in me, you should be able to prove my innocence.”

do i even have to list how many reasons thats wrong and a shitty thing to say

-

“Such Insolence”

You’ve been beat out, Not So Fast

-

Ga’ran used Gust!

Apollo flinched and couldn’t move!

-

“I could behead you at any time”

she's got a point; she’s a fucking despot, there’s no reason to actually hold a trial. i mean i guess she wants to shut up the rebels but just killing them would be a lot easier and its not like she has any qualms about murder

-

“Aw shoot, ya got me.”

again, not an appropriate reaction for whats going on buddy

-

lol get fucked kjudge

-

DGFUFUS OH COOL

WE GOT GUILTY (excited cheers from the audience)

the applause and the shots of everyone with :O faces is making me feel like i just won a gameshow 

wheres my cheesy jingle 

-

also i love how Dhurke’s like “oh shit!! my assholishness has directly resulted in my son’s death!!! did NOT see that coming!!!!!!!!!”

-

again the sound mixing is drowning out the background music (sigh)

-

“your benevolence? I’d be happy to lend an ear if you’d like to talk!”

>this is it, this is why he leaves the series guys. Apollo is too good for these sinful games.

-

DAMNIT DHURKE, YOUR SHIT MOUTH IS RUBBING OFF ON YOUR SON

-

hmm

we’ve got an april may here

-

“Rayfa, I shall buy you a new servant”

so Kooraheen practices slavery..? I mean, she.... she said ‘buy’, not hire.

-

“she would have left shoeprints”

do

do you know what evaporation is your malevolence 

-

wait wait wait

that doesn't make any sense 

the only prints leading out are from Inga, but the prints inside the building are from Nayna? how did she avoid leaving prints leading inside, then?? did she just long-jump over the dirt path???

-

the guards are not fanboying, apollo, they’re toadying. there’s a difference.

-

apollo: maybe the place he was stabbed and the place he died were different 

(the game only continues after you carefully explain what dying of blood loss is three years later)

-

to be completely fair, there are actually stories of people who were unaware of being stabbed 

furthermore, when you get stabbed, you’re not going to be the most rational human being on earth. 

phoenix, don’t give sadmad that point, especially when he’s currently assaulting your protege 

now, as i was saying, Apollo’s suggestion that Inga was stabbed in the back and then ran into the temple is perfectly plausible; running to shelter from an attacker is probably the first thing you’d want to do when injured, and the tomb was a pretty safe place, i’d wager. 

tbh i really don’t know why they’re arguing about him feeling the pain as that wouldn’t really impair his movement considering he was stabbed in a place that wouldn’t affect his ability to walk???

but yeah apparently he was doped up to shit so 

-

...i highly doubt back pain medication is strong enough to negate a stab wound. on the other hand, if it is and your back pain is THAT intense, Inga, you need to see a fucking doctor pronto.

...yeah shots straight into the spine is one step away from surgery; not to be an asshole but I'm not sure Inga was doing so well anyway before he went 

-

huh. are they really gonna give us an actual choosable choice to abandon Dhurke and save our own skin? Cause that would be interesting; a lot like the old games where you could “”choose”” to defend a client or not.

to be clear here, though, i wouldn't choose “no” even as much as i dislike dhurke. we know (sigh) that he’s innocent, and even if i dont like him it’s our duty to defend his shitty ass

OH HOLY FUCK

THERES THE CHOICE

wow. y’know SOJ, i dont much like you, but you fuckin Did That. well done.

also thank you for the Justice pun it is much appreciated.

-

“And while I can’t say I’m used to it, this isn’t exactly my first rodeo”

FWHAT

>game flashes back to the Ahlbi case

DSKJFLS THIS IS LITERALLY THE “at second rodeo: this isn't my first rodeo” POST

-

YES OK WE’VE SEEN THIS CUTSCENE TWICE NOW ALREADY

WE GET IT, RAYFAS GOT COLD FEET ABOUT BEING QUEEN

MAYAS IN THE GAME 

OK

-

phoenix: allow me to mansplain how rayfa is feeling despite how fucking obvious it is. after all, we know our players have the mental and emotional capacity of goldfish!

oh hey mansplain is a legit word in the dictionary 

cool!

-

why are they building this up?? just fucking tell Rayfa to do her stupid dance again and get on with it; we already did this at the beginning of the trial 

-

“Hmm... Indeed. It would be problematic.”

ohohoooohohohhhihgjhgo

-

oh her nails are actually tiny pen 

thats neat 

thank goodness Kooraheeneese is an up-and-down written language– otherwise they’d have to make a whole new animation for the english game teehee

-

“....................But... Horn Head needs my help”

oh my heart

-

dan she just straight up begone’d her 

-

see the one thing that falls flat here is that, during a regular trial, the prosecution saying “oh, ok, have it your way; you can try to prove your theory” holds up a little more since they... you know. don’t have absolute power.

where as, with Garananana, its more like she's just a huge posturing pushover. especially since every other minute she's saying “ok, I'm gonna kill you for REAL now.”

-

rayfa: b but if i fail you'll be killed!!! i dont get it...

apollo: i literally just finished explaining that I'm 100% ready to die for my shitty job that was like 5 minutes ago

it is sweet to see that he’s cheering her on though. good big bro 

-

I'm finding small solace in this beautiful moment of “your foreign dad and bro are here for you babe reach for the stars”

Athena’s probably flashing a double thumbs up from the gallery too

-

“But... I finally know now. I know in what I can trust”

Bobby, from the afterlife: YOU’RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE 

-

Garan: What??? my tiny 14 year old daughter is going to do a thing i don’t want her to??? fuck there’s no way i can shut her up. not even with all of my large adult man guards who could easily just escort her out of the courtroom without any resistance because they’re my fucking royal guards and I'm the Queen

-

oh shit she took off her own cape

im so glad i muted the game so her awful voice actress couldn’t ruin this cool moment

-

and now as this long ass cutscene plays out again, i simply cannot help but wonder about the poor choir and how long they’ve been on standby 

where do they keep the choir during trials 

whats it like singing the dance of devotion song every trial 

-

oh finally here we go. alright, lets see what the magic party pool has in store for us this time 

...o ...ok then

-

OH! OH SHIT 

Inga’s face blind?!

Y’know I did have a few thoughts about that when we discovered his notebook but I didn’t think they’d actually go that route... though, thinking about it now, it is pretty convenient.

...ok everyone’s freaking out. maybe they’ve never heard of face-blindness? ...or maybe its not face blindness after all

im pretty sure it is though

-

i dont know why but everyone being like FUCK ITS GOD and phoenix being like “whoops shits trippy now” made me laugh pretty hard

-

ok i gotta say I'm actually a little invested now, even if its just because i think face-blindness is an interesting thing to incorporate into a murder case. again, a convenient thing, but an interesting thing all the same.

-

ahh fuck i keep forgetting how the stupid seance works 

welp, there goes one of my souls... (sigh)

-

..apollo you dont need to show her the picture of her dead father to say “he had a cell phone”.

-

the voice was coming from INSIDE THE PHONE 

-

RAYFA HAS A PET FROG????

WHAT

SHOW US THE FROG SOJ

SHOW US THE FROG! SHOW US THE FROG! SHOW US THE FROG! 

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...why would Rayfa interpret the sound of the warbaa’d (something she’s familiar with) with a lion’s roar (something she’s unfamiliar with) ??

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oh i see thats why Vore Machine is an idiot 

for plot convenience 

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Datz Are’bal, a man who throws fire crackers at children.

...sounds like an are’bal guy.

bahdum-tshh

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“The joker who got a kick out of startling Ahlbi with his Dragon Snot Snaps”

...something tells me that if Datz found out about Youtube, he’d be one of those “””prank””” channels.

also WHY ARE THEY CALLED SNOT SNAPS

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

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“happy-go-lucky”

i think you mean vaguely sociopathic

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(sigh) ive finally been worn down to the point where i need a walkthrough. ive... been beaten...

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boy ahlbi’s just a font of knowledge isn't he 

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DID SHE JUST BREAK HER NAILS OFF

PLEASE SAY THOSE WERE STICK ONS

HOL SHIT

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MMMM LAY IT ON ME NICK

face blindness 

... i mean theyre not calling it that but thats what it is 

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yeah yeah channeling blah blah come on! youre in the LAND of channeling !

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shduhjahdjk

I'm picturing Inga running into his own dead body and flipping his shit 

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oh man. thats the end of Trail 2 part 1.

guess i’ll see you guys on the other side... heheh.