#their might be more of these coming as I work through TGS this time

[homestuckreplay]

Pesterlog Timestamps

I’ve wondered before about pesterlogs not having timestamps the way real instant messages generally do. Some pesterlogs begin with a timestamp - ‘-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 16:13 --’ (p.26) – but that doesn’t show the time between messages. It might be harder to read and would probably make the screen more cluttered, which is my guess as to why they’re not there, and for the most part it’s extraneous information.

But there’s one pesterlog that I think would really benefit from timestamps for each message, and it’s the late night unanswered messages Dave leaves for Jade on page 829. This page is such a great insight into Dave’s head, and there’s this clear ebb and flow to his thoughts that feels like bursts of frantic typing interspersed with pauses to wait or do other things. We know the messages start at 05:14 Dave’s time (CDT), so here’s what it might look like with timestamps.

05:14 TG: hey

A classic greeting; testing the waters and giving nothing away.

05:17 TG: oh 05:17 TG: youre asleep again arent you 05:17 TG: or do you even know if you are 05:17 TG: i still dont know how that works 05:17 TG: its like nothing means anything 05:17 TG: its so cool getting hella chumped by your coquettish damn riddles all the time 05:18 TG: i dont know why i believe anything you say im like the grand marshal of gross chumpage 05:18 TG: waving around my faggoty chumpductor baton 05:18 TG: assitant director of chumpography 05:18 TG: celebrated author ernest chumpingway 05:18 TG: wait weak 05:19 TG: chumpelstiltskin 05:19 TG: uh 05:20 TG: chumpeldipshit 05:20 TG: yeah

Dave’s first ‘hey’ must come from seeing Jade online, and these kids are very responsive to each other, so it probably only takes a few minutes of no reply before Dave realizes that Jade has fallen asleep while logged in. Instead of a quick ‘talk to you tomorrow’, he quickly descends into rambling about how ‘nothing means anything’ due to Jade’s ‘coquettish damn riddles’. Dave’s emotions don’t show on his face but they do show in his hands (p.464) and it’s not surprising that he lets some things slip in the middle of the night, maybe even hinting at some feelings for Jade.

In Dave’s earlier/later conversation with Jade (p.382) he’s a little thrown off by her powers, but overall staying calm. Here, late at night and without someone to bounce off of, he’s getting frustrated and talking himself into a corner, workshopping his own jokes, maybe coming up with a word he’ll reuse in a comic someday. These messages are very stream of consciousness, and only pause when the chump puns stop flowing through his fingers and need due consideration.

05:22 TG: youre asleep y/n? 05:23 TG: a/s/l? 05:23 TG: s = species 05:23 TG: baboon? 05:23 TG: kangaroo rat? 05:23 TG: if kangaroo rat yiff twice plz

By this point in the story we know about Jade’s interest in furries, and that Dave is (ironically?) supportive of this. I’m sure this is an excellent source of humor for Dave and something he jokes about all the time. I could read lots into the ‘s’ being species here, where it’s typically sex (biological sex, used synonymously with gender) only the traditional ‘s’ isn’t something that’s relevant to Dave. I know that he does not intend that meaning and is just making a furry joke. Maybe these are jokes Jade gets annoyed at, and Dave is poking at this in case she’s ignoring his messages and this gets her to respond.

05:27 TG: ok well youre not saying anything so i guess whether youre nonawake or unasleep or whatever youre just not around and im wasting good material 05:27 TG: even worse im wasting a killer fursona here 05:27 TG: like 05:28 TG: i dont know like a wide open v shaped leotard and a fuck ton of body paint 05:28 TG: some like sinewy back arching cirque du soleil looking motherfucker 05:28 TG: always low to the ground gettin a good prowl on 05:28 TG: like i dropped my keys in the dark 05:28 TG: nimblest son of a bitch who had the gumption to glue a nasty pair of latex cat lips to his face 05:28 TG: for a reason that wasnt a joke

Dave goes into his second set of rambling messages, forgetting that he’s annoyed at Jade as he enters full fursona creation mode. He’s ‘wasting a killer fursona’ but he literally can’t stop himself from doing it – he either doesn’t think of saving his ideas until Jade’s around, or he wants to give her something silly to wake up to. The ‘i dont know like’ gives the sense that Dave started typing not knowing how the sentence would end, and also downplays his ideas before he even gets to them. But as he keeps typing he forgets to be so self conscious for a few messages. He has an artistic vision and a great vocabulary and is using all these evocative words – ‘sinewy’, ‘arching’, ‘prowl’, ‘nimblest’ and ‘gumption’ paint a picture of this proud and athletic creature. One that doesn’t resemble a kangaroo rat at all, which is even better. Dave’s imagination is all over the place.

05:32 TG: jade hey 05:32 TG: where are you 05:32 TG: seriously im sitting here tonight with a fucking bag of kibble jacked open on my lap and primed for goddamn bear 05:32 TG: and youre gone

After running out of steam on his fursona, Dave might try turning his attention elsewhere for a few minutes, and then remember that he’s tired, lonely, and didn’t get any validation on his recent jokes. These are the most heartfelt and open his messages get. I don’t think Pesterchum has a ‘delete’ option, otherwise Jade wouldn’t have seen these ones. Dave’s still got furries on the brain here as he goes straight for an animal metaphor, and once again he’s thinking of himself like the victim of Jade’s attacks, and the bear attack is a lot more visceral than just getting chumped by her riddles. There’s a desperation behind Dave trying to restart the conversation with another ‘hey’ followed by a ‘where are you’ that he knows by now won’t be answered. It’s so lonely, but it doesn’t feel selfish; the ‘bag of kibble’ metaphor reads like Dave knows Jade would enjoy this conversation and he wants her to share in this with him.

05:34 TG: btw my name is Akwete Purrmusk 05:34 TG: hardest buttock in the jungle 05:34 TG: tempered steel

Dave has a disease called ‘commitment to the bit’ and it’s terminal. He also needs to make a quick recovery from those actual feelings he expressed above. By this point in the conversation I have a visual in my mind – it’s a big black cloud in Dave’s mind of all the problems he wants to avoidthinking about, and two shining bats at either side marked ‘talk to Jade?’ and ‘kangaroo rat fursona’ and his thoughts are rapidly ping-ponging back and forth between those to avoid all the bad in the middle. So with Jade not responding to his pleas, of course he returns to his two standards of imagination and wordplay, adding to the slightly cursed but incredibly well drawn mental image of Akwete.

05:38 TG: hey yeah just wanted to give you this remix i finished 05:38 TG: here turntechGodhead [TG] sent gardenGnostic [GG] file "explore remix.mp3" at 05:38

It is at this point in the conversation that we learn Dave had a reason for messaging Jade. He probably wanted to drop this into conversation casually like it was no big deal, and might have distracted himself into forgetting about it until now. It’s also possible he wasn’t intending to send it, but was embarrassed by all his ramblings above, so came up with a quick excuse. ‘Explore’ was originally written by Jade (in-universe) and we learn on the next page that it’s not the first time these two have collaborated. Dave is outwardly confident in his musical abilities (p.339) and has the ready-made excuse of irony that makes it easier for him to share his art, protecting him from negative responses. Jade is also reluctant to criticize others, so all those factors combined means Dave is probably comfortable with sending Jade his remix.

05:41 TG: so yeah 05:42 TG: you dont have to respond to any of that btw 05:42 TG: ill probably forget half the shit i said anyway 05:42 TG: talk to you tomorrow

Maybe Dave’s finally heading to bed, or maybe he doesn’t like to leave things hanging (p.445), but he rounds out the conversation and officially signs off. By both taking the pressure off Jade to respond, and claiming that he’ll forget what he said, Dave denies any importance to his own thoughts. Maybe he hopes Jade will scroll to the bottom and see these messages first, and ignore everything from above. He definitely feels ashamed of some or all of what he’s said – whether it’s the general practice of sending a large volume of messages to someone who’s offline, the hints towards his own loneliness, the possibility that his new fursona could be serious and unironic, the remix as the whole basis for conversation, or all of the above. Dave has a tendency for speaking without thinking and then regretting what he’s said, struggling to meet the high standards of self control that his bro has set for him, and since he can’t go back and fix his slips, this is his only way of correcting them.

Dave’s hope to talk to Jade tomorrow wins out over his embarrassment, and softens the couple of messages before it – Dave is dismissing his own thoughts, not the overall idea of talking to Jade. He’s not the type to send a ‘<3’, but it feels implied.

[markantonys]

the good thing about the slog is that because such little of true import happens over such a long chunk of the series, the show is quite well-positioned to be able to tell the whole story cohesively in any number of seasons after 4. only 4 seasons would be tricky, but 5 or 6 would be just as doable as 7 or 8. (disclaimer that there has not been any news or speculation about potentially getting less than 8 seasons so don't panic haha it's just a topic i was randomly thinking about today! that being said, i do think 8 seasons is pretty ambitious in today's television landscape, especially if it continues to take 2 years to make each season, so while we're all hoping for the full 8, it's worth imagining how they could do it in fewer.)

i expect s4 to roughly coincide with the end of LOC, so, dumai's wells for rand and being raised amyrlin for egwene. perrin, mat, nynaeve, and elayne have more wiggle room in what they might be getting up to during s4 (it seems possible the ebou dar trip might be absorbed into tanchico in s3, and perrin may have to get an invented plotline or have a later plotline brought forward for s4 since he has so little in TFOH-LOC), so i won't guess at the endpoint for them beyond that it will likely leave them ready to kick into a fresh new storyline for s5. and nynaeve frankly doesn't have a book storyline after ebou dar (she's just supporting rand's & lan's storylines), so i'll ignore her in this post and just focus on the other 5 mains. fingers crossed the show will come up with more for nynaeve to do during this part of the story, but that's a separate topic.

after LOC, as far as i can recall, each of them only has 1-2 main things they strictly Must do before the last battle (obviously i've left out a bunch of stuff, but i'm thinking of just the absolute bare minimum essentials here):

rand: cleanse saidin (only requires 1 episode); reach his lowest point, then pull himself back up again, all the while simultaneously working to get as many nations under his banner as possible

egwene: unite the tower as uncontested amyrlin

perrin: finish wolf training; fold the whitecloaks into his army

mat: rescue moiraine (only requires 1 episode); get himself in charge of the seanchan forces

elayne: become uncontested queen of andor

so if s4 ends where i speculate, they'd all be perfectly positioned to spend 4-6 episodes of s5 doing these things, then the last battle for the remaining 2-4 episodes, and boom, we've fit all the most crucial things into only 5 seasons.

i know the instinct is to gasp and insist that they all have so much else to do, but.........do they really? everybody agrees that egwene & elayne & perrin only have 1 plotline during books 7-11 which is dragged out for more books than is needed to tell it, so mat and rand are really the sticking points. but if you think about it, mat spends this time repeatedly starting one plotline but then getting yanked out of it partway through to start a new one, so he doesn't actually accomplish that much story-wise. rand, meanwhile, is on a bunch of little 1-book quests (taking illian, seanchan campaign, hunting traitor asha'man, trying to meet with DOTNM) that could be cut for time or merged into his Darth Rand emotional arc from TGS. honestly, he's so emotionally stagnant for most of books 7-11 (he's either not present, dicking around doing nothing, or repeating emotional beats he already did in TSR-LOC) that i don't think going from dumai's wells straight to Darth Rand would be a bad idea at all, if the show had to; in fact, dumai's wells is kind of a perfect launchpoint for that arc, emotions-wise, and plot-wise, if they wanted to replace some of the arad doman events with some slog events, but just put the Darth Rand emotional spin on those slog events, they could easily do so (for example, him being reckless/arrogant with callandor against the seanchan and getting his own people killed could sub in for natrin's barrow in showing how ruthlessly Ends Justify Means he's becoming).

but anyway, these are imo the absolute most crucial pre-TLB plot points of the second half of the series (at least for these main characters, i'm not taking ALL characters into account in this post) and they could be fit into only 5 seasons without much trouble. now if you've got 6, 7, or 8 seasons, that gives extra room to expand these plot points and also add in some additional, not-strictly-required-but-nice-to-have plot points like more Little Rand Quests, elayne taking the throne of cairhien, egwene & gawyn hunting assassins in the tower, and the faile kidnapping plotline. (while making this post i actually had a wild thought of the faile kidnapping being perrin's s4 plotline followed by wolves & whitecloak stuff in s5 then into TLB, or alternately the whitecloaks being part of the kidnapping plotline as perrin's unlikely allies rather than the seanchan; could be a great structure for a 5-6 season scenario, but for 7-8 it would cause perrin to run out of content too quickly haha)

[skylermadness]

Snack Shenanigans [B Side] (Gunzo Tamamura TF/TG/MC)

(Original Date of Upload: October 27, 2023)

Original Description:

I wrote an alt for a story for once! I've actually tried handling story alts before but they never really went well because I lost all motivation to complete the second iteration, so I just uploaded the first one and called it a day. Really proud of myself for finishing an alt though! Especially since I think I might like this one a bit more than the original! But they both are good stories either way. Also yes there's a little bit of copying and pasting in terms of descriptions and stuff, but I think despite that this story being a whole 1k words longer than the other must testify to something that should make the few moments of copying and pasting a non-issue.

   One of the more prominent constants when it came to Madison's daily trips to her college campus were her visits to the cafeteria's drink vending machines after lunch. And more often than not she'd buy the exact same thing from the machine's array of beverages. For the most part she tended to orient herself more towards the carbonated side of things when it came to drinks. Well that and the moment she learned about fruit punch-flavored soda all other flavors were thrown out the window in preference for that one. So with all things considered her trips to the vending machine were short, simplistic, and unchanging.

   That was until today anyway. The one time Madison forgot to order from the machine prior to lunch she ends up having to experience the disappointment of realizing that what you want is no longer in stock. Not the worst experience of course, but definitely a bit of a let down. Despite all of that however, a part of her still insisted on ordering something from the vending machine. But between the rather disinteresting menagerie of soda flavors and the rather bland selection of Gatorade flavors it was evident that this might not occur. At least until her eyes landed on a small selection of beverages in the furthest corner of the machine.

   The selection in question was a set of four drinks all under the same labeling: Yoyogi Protein. Evidently a quartet of protein drinks that all came in fruity flavors. Passionfruit, coconut, chokecherry, and pineapple. A rather interesting selection of drinks, but she's never really been all that into protein drinks. Then again it did come in passionfruit which was another fruit flavor she was particularly fond of. And considering she still has the taste for something fruity…

   Shrugging, she made up her mind and set up her order with the vending machine. A satisfying thunk could be heard as the bottle was pushed forward off the conveyor and into the machine’s pick-up box. She then retrieved her drink from the pick-up box before making her way out of the cafeteria. 

   As Madison continued her trek down the hallway she internally makes plans to find a nice seat on one of the hallway benches and kill this last half-hour before her next class. She would've preferred to head up to the campus' library to try and get some work done prior to that but considering the place's strict anti-consumable rules that was out of the question for the time being. Then again she didn't really mind sitting in the hallway for a bit. It just meant she could cycle through the social media sites she uses in silence (save for the people who use the elevator next to where she usually sits). 

   A few more steps and a turn would lead her to her favorite bench to sit on. Placing her backpack beside her she took a seat and leaned onto the wall before unscrewing the bottle. However before she fully removed it she brought the beverage up to eye level with her to inspect it. The liquid within it looked to be particularly thick as it sloshed around in its plastic confines. It did have a pleasant deep purple coloration to it though. She wasn't really sure what she was expecting from it though. She ended her inspection there and unscrewed the cap fully before promptly bringing the bottle to her mouth and starting her consumption of the protein drink.

   …yup, the fluid definitely feels very thick in the mouth. Seemed to taste rather tart and floral as well. Definitely like how she was used to passionfruit tasting. Still not her most favorite type of drink though, but she didn't particularly dislike it. It could always work as a good back-up if she ever were to forget to order her soda again.

   With those thoughts in her mind Madison continued drinking, the woman blissfully unaware of the changes starting to form on her body as she did. It was rather isolated at first. The fingers on both hands slowly got thicker, ends and nails getting more blunt with each passing second. This evidently continued as her fingers continued to grow in thickness with a similar shift in size quickly jumping to the hands themselves. A firm meatiness steadily accumulating within each hand; larger, bulkier, seemingly more powerful in appearance. At some point they just looked blocky in appearance, almost seemingly more masculine.

   A low heat started to arise as the changes steadily moved upwards, going beyond her wrists and beneath the sleeves of her sweater. Her musculature was getting heavily affected by this, strength building up in both limbs as the thickness continued to increase in prominence. The slender appearance her arms usually possessed we getting replaced easily, muscle mass constantly being accrued and granting them a look and size that just emanated strength and power. It wasn't long until the sleeves of her sweater began filling out, the outlines of her muscles etching into the fabric.

   This wasn't the only change in her physicality however. Despite the warmth that had budded within her, Madison was also experiencing slight chills in the region that was being changed. They were only minor temperature shifts at first but with each one she experienced a sliver of her skin darkened, hardened into scar tissue. One scar on the back of her left hand, one on the back of her right, another set on her forearms, one long one on her left elbow. It was just scars of varying sizes just constantly forming on the already changed portions of her arm, and this would only continue as the shifts in her body progressed. Although for now it would all be hidden beneath the sleeves of her sweater.

   Despite the small chills, her muscles and arms continued to remain warm. Every so often she'd get a feeling of a freezing slash across one of her biceps or shoulders, but it would instantly be displaced by the heat of her muscles growing. Especially since by this point some of the more major muscle groups had gotten their almost instant workout with her biceps and triceps bulking up in unity. The broadness of Madison's shoulders increased drastically as the deltoid muscles developed and rounded out even more. By this point the almost fragile seaming of her sweater began to break, tears splitting open around her much thicker upper arms and revealing the  newly rigid and strength-filled muscles of her limbs.

   The sudden sounds of tearing finally alerted her to the changes. Madison stopped drinking the protein drink (which at this point still was around 65% full) and looked over to inspect the sound's source. Her eyes widened. "Wh-huh…? What happened to my arm?? Why is it so… muscular…?"

   Her gaze trailed downwards, the woman inspecting one arm up until she laid eyes on her hands and finally took note of the scars as well. "Scars too?? How long have they been like that!? W-wait-"

   Her gaze then drifted over to the protein drink bottle in her hand. No, there's no way something like that could have magically given her this kind of muscle mass, right? Right??

   All of this made a part of her want to panic, and yet something else about this still intrigued her. She placed the bottle of the suspicious beverage beside her, then outstretched her hand. Staring at the way the muscles were outlined in the fabric of her sweater, straining against the sleeve of it. Out of curiosity she gave her arm a good flex and watched as some more tears formed in the sleeve. It was a little uncanny, yet the raw strength that coursed through her felt oddly appealing!

   Madison's train of thought then broke as she felt another bout of cold enter her body, the woman momentarily shivering at the sudden temperature shift. "Urgh- can't tell if that's the temperature or-" she coughed at the sudden feeling of her voice crack in her through, "-or my bodily changes…"

   Leaning forward a bit, Madison could feel the transformation to move beyond her shoulders. Her chest just beginning to heat up, core almost burning as she felt the changes rush to her torso.

   The overall width of Madison's frame was probably the next thing to start changing, her form broadening out and shifting to dispel her usually skinny figure more. This type of change got more prominent as her chest became the next part of her body to get altered. A feeling of a cold squeeze entered her chest, breasts feeling like they were getting flattened by this strange pressure. The fatty tissue within them was steadily melting away causing her chest to flatten more and more by the second. As it did so the muscles beneath them began to grow, swelling out rapidly to the point it would almost appear that her breasts hardened into thick slabs of pectorals. These newly developed muscles would quickly grow a little bit more, but not large enough that they were the size of someone more oriented towards constant workouts. If anything they looked more like those of a strong athlete granting her some great upper body strength. This then came with another cold slash on the upper corner of her right pectoral which granted her a small X-shaped scar.

   She then felt a sudden cold-feeling punch into her gut followed by an intense cramping in her abdominal region. "A-argh! That… that-" she grunted as she felt her throat crack again, voice seeming to deepen for a moment. "What the heck was in that protein drink, man…"

   Madison tried to disregard the sound of her voice… or the fact that her thought pattern translated that comment less as 'that drink is the catalyst of my transformation' and more 'did that drink shoot straight through my body?' That very thought seemed to cause a light haze to enter her mind with thoughts steadily becoming a little bit harder. Curiosity faded to confusion as she started to wonder just what these changes were entailing now. And in truth she was starting to feel like she was forgetting a few things…

   Nonetheless she didn't enjoy the feeling of her gut churning around, nor did she like the increasingly heightened prospect of someone walking by and seeing her. With those worries in mind she stood up, used an arm to support her cramping abdomen, and started to make her way to the bathroom nearby. 

   With major changes ensuing in her abdomen it wasn't too long until it too underwent noticeable physical changes. As it churned the skin began to bubble almost as abdominal muscles steadily rose from her skin. They slotted out almost sequentially with row after row extending out until she had been granted a six-pack set of abs. However much like her pectorals, her abdominal muscles were not bodybuilder peak in size and appeared much more modest and oriented towards athletics. Alongside this it would seem a little bit of fat accumulated around the region as well to slightly fill out the area, just barely giving some smoothness to her abdomen. There was also some burning to her sides as her oblique muscles developed a little more, the intense heat being subsided by more scar-forming cold slashes. By the time her abdomen was finished changing she reached the bathroom that was luckily unoccupied. Rushing in there she locked the door before heading to the mirror. It would seem she didn't notice that she had subconsciously rushed into the men's room though…

   Staring at herself in the mirror she came to the slow realization of just how large she had become. Evidently she had gotten quite wider and she was definitely a bit taller. Both of these facts were why her sweater felt so ill-fitting horizontal and why the hem of it was rising up her belly. And there still seemed to be a prominent feel of decompression in the woman's spine as that seemed to still be growing a bit. 

   But all of her analysation of herself was broken in an instant as she felt something freezing pierce through the haze of her brain and straight into it. She stepped back with a grunt, holding her head in her massive hands while squeezing her eyes shut. Thankfully though the surge of pain subsided almost as quickly as it arrived, but it resulted in something weirder than the transformation itself.

   Her right eye's iris had been shocked into a bright crimson, and through that eye she could see what looked to be a quartet of weird see-through ghost-like figures clinging onto her back. They had a strange shape to them, looking to be almost spherical in shape with their body predominately being composed of a single large eye, all while their limbs had been wrapped around her arms and torso for who knows how long.

   A single term ran through her head once she saw them: Legion. And something about hearing that term echo through her fogged up mind had prevented her from panicking. She knew these creatures. They were… some of familiar, maybe? She wasn't quite sure. She just knew they weren't a harm to her…

   "Eheh, you guys look pretty cute!" she said with a smile. The compliment seemed to elicit a positive reaction from a few of the Legion, their eyelids closing in such a way that they looked happy. In a way it made her happy too, so much so that she decided not to dwell on the fact her voice had changed even more. Getting deeper with a tone that carried a level of youthful awkwardness to it.

   Curious again Madison decided to look down to better see where Legion had wrapped itself around her, and she found two of the four had begun spiraling their arms around her legs. As they did so the transformation continued to progress to the lower half of her body. This section of changes mirrored that of her arms, muscle mass easily packing into both sections of her legs with a quick pacing. Thighs grew thicker with bulkier hamstrings and quadriceps, and she could feel a surge of heat flare up in her calves as they bloated up with muscle mass as well. Her height continued to increase as well, Madison wincing a bit as she heard her knees pop and decompress a bit before increasing in size and strength.

   Madison also got to see the source of the occasional freeze slashes she was experiencing, that being from when some of Legion traced their fingers over her skin. The scars were still not extremely visible to her, but her legs were evidently less scarred as the rest of her body seemed to be with only a few of them scattered around the crus of her legs and her calves. However all of this combined contributed to her jeans feeling severely more constricted, a few tears forming in the sides as a result.

   What followed were the changes in her feet. While very few scars were traced into the bridge of her feet the overall size of them steadily increased in all directions. They got wider, pushing up against the sides of her shoes easily. And they got longer, heels digging into the back of her footwear while her toes pressed up against the front. The overall thickness of her feet became rather impressive as well, toes having become chunkier while the foot itself was dense and blocky looking like her hands. It wouldn't take very long for them to grow to a fitting proportion for her new body, their appearance having quickly altered to fit the more masculine look that Madison now was possessing. It resulted in her shoes having immense trouble containing her larger feet with a couple rips already forming across the sides and even the front splitting open and some toes poking out.

   Madison smiled, although laughing nervously at hearing her shoes burst. "Y-you dudes seem to be doing great! Something about this just feels so good…"

   She shivered a bit as she felt one of the Legions place a hand in front of her neck and begin rubbing it. Her voice had already mostly changed but at this point it seemed to be forcing the changes to finish and settle. Just lowering it more to be just like that of an awkward young adult male.

   "A-ah! You're really doing a lot of work on me, bros! I think you just have the head!" he then turned his head and flexed an arm again, casually inspecting his body for a few seconds. "Might as well start considering myself a guy as well with what you dudes did to me!"

      The very thought of that was appealing to him. A more correct assumption especially based on the way his body looked. So much more masculine and athletic. It felt like she had the body of one of those jocks she'd see walk around campus! 

   While her thoughts trailed one of the four Legions had given him a thumbs up before placing its hands onto the sides of her head. It then began squeezing her head, her skull structure and face just becoming practically malleable under the palms of the ghost-like entity. Skull being stretched out wider, his jawline broadening and chiseling out into a more angular and almost square shape. In general it would seem the very structure of his skull was being widened and lengthened into a more square-like appearance. 

   Madison watched in the mirror as the Legion continued its work, this time shifting his facial structure even more. Pulling and broadening his nose, its bridge of it was evidently wider while the structure of it was reshaped away from a short one and into one a bit larger. His eyes were made a little larger and rounder, and as it trailed its fingers across his eyebrows he could see the hairs of them get thicker (especially towards the ends). He also felt it tug on his ears to make them a bit larger and rounder in shape alongside sticking out more. Furthermore, it brushed a finger across his chin and sides of his head to cause light amounts of hair to grow out from his skin and form slight stubble. Lastly came a slash on his left cheek to form yet another scar.

   All while one Legion did work on his face, another one was concurrently doing work on his hair. Slowly rubbing its hands up and down his scalp and causing his hair to shorten with its touch, and it only continued to do so as his face was being morphed. Slowly it went up from being shoulder length to trailing up the nape of his neck to being of equal length with his chin, and it still got shorter as time continued. All the while the waviness of it was straightened, and the dark blonde coloration was deepened to an almost reddish-brown. Alongside this the Legion also gave Madison some thicker sideburns. By the time his hair was what could only be defined as 6/8 of an inch the Legion deemed that length acceptable and ran its hand through his hair to style it. It resulted in his hair being given a slightly messy and short spiky style. The spikes were typically raised upwards and forwards, and in the end the appearance just looked somewhat disheveled and disorganized. By the end it was styled in a way that he just couldn't resist running a hand through to just feel what his hair.

   "This is so cool, dude…" he said, watching the spikes of his hair poke in between his fingers. Everything about this body felt so new, but at the same time the cloud in his mind was making it seem so familiar as well. The more he stared into the mirror and the more he looked at his own face the more it seemed like this wasn't something he had just been transformed into.

   "W-woah, what are you dudes doing to me…?" he asked, taking a step back and placing a single hand on the side of his head. So many blanks were being drawn in quick succession. He was someone else just a few minutes ago, right? Then why can't he seem to remember that. The last thing he can recall was just drinking some new protein drink from that vending machine. Then why was he in the bathroom? Wasn't something… happening to his body? "Nnngh, hard to think…"

   He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt some of Legion begin to massage his temples. Right, Legion, always there when he needed it… just should contrate… or perhaps he should just forget it all and go back to what he was doing. This was all just so confusing, dude…

   As the man was placed in a state of mental discombobulation, the two Legion not tending to his migraine started to futz around with his clothing and alter it. Wrapping arms around his sweater and palming it up and down, restitching the tears and loosening it up to fit more snug around his form. They pulled the sleeves up his arm until they were slightly above his bicep, the action just shortening them completely instead of rolling them upwards. The constant pawing of Legion caused the soft material of the sweater to harden, shifting into some kind of durable nylon. The change in material also forced a change in color, bright red overtaking the sweater with ease as white stripes ran vertically from his sleeves to his neck: a bold horizontal one across his chest with a second smaller one a bit beneath it, and another two vertical ones down the side. The neck even deepened a little, a small placket forming with associated buttons and eyelets. The neckline itself lengthened up into a short collar that propped itself upwards around his own neck. Lastly, a Legion traced a small symbol on the uniform's right side to create what seemed to be a symbol composed of three arrows all pointing in different directions.

   Seemingly continuing the changes of his attire to something more sport-oriented, the ghostly entities enlarging his legwear a little bit while shortening the legs of his pants until they reached halfway down his thighs. The material remained a hard denim, but their touch also shifted its color from deep blue to bright white. His socks soon followed when it came to size changes and shifts as Legion pulled them both up until they mostly encapsulated his lower legs. His footwear was the next part to get changed, becoming larger while the material hardened again as the white shifted to a deep blue. The soles of his shoes brightened to yellow as rounded nubs poked out from them. Straps became string as more additional designs were added to the footwear to make them appear more visually intriguing. If anything they appeared to be rugby cleats now. 

   The final additions to his attire came with the addition of something that ran beneath his uniform and shorts. The Legion materializing black leather beneath them and over his body, the strange new piece of clothing continuing to stretch over his form for a few seconds. The neck of it was just barely visible, and sleeves lengthened until they were nestled around his biceps, and the portion of it around his legs were barely visible. In the end it would seem to be a compression shirt and shorts combo that had been manifested, which ended the granting of sports gear to the newly transformed human.

   As Legion continued to rub the man's head, their actions were steadily draining away his concerns. The ghosts (well, demons more accurately) removing his thoughts of a former identity, a former life, anything that could be traced back to those things. Nothing for this man to worry about, his only concern being those that his current life would give him. But there was nothing to worry about at all… That's what they were telling him after all, and after one last bit of inner turmoil he believed it.

   The headache subsided and Gunzo blinked his eyes, the left one now the same red as the right. "U-urgh, that was… weird. Don't think I've ever gotten a headache like that before…"

   He felt one of Legion's ghostly hands rub his back in reassurance, the rugby player smiling in response. "Thanks, dudes! Glad you guys got my back!"

   A separate Legion gave him a thumbs up. Nodding in acknowledgement of it, Gunzo remains focused on the spectral entity as he makes his way to the entrance and opened it. Unfortunately his lack of focus on what's in front of him causes him to collide with someone as he leaves.

   "Oof- a-ah, sorry!" Gunzo apologized, a little panicked at the sudden collision between him and this other guy.

   The other guy just stepped back a bit, also noticeably startled. "No, it's alright! Was a little worried someone else was going to be occupying this for a while…"

   "Ahh, sorry if the wait was a bit… can't even remember why I was in there…"

   The other guy tilted his head. "Riiiight…"

   The two then part. Gunzo makes his way down the hall as the guy he bumped into walks into the bathroom. Unaware to both of them, this interaction had given the second party a weird feeling of bloating being caused by his stomach seeming to get fatter. His shirt also was getting a few splotches of blue as well… but that was a problem for him to deal with.

   On the other hand, Gunzo made his way down the hall before his peripherals caught the sight of something on a nearby bench. Turning his head out of curiosity he found a protein drink bottle beside a backpack. For some reason his brain registered both as his own.

   "Oh, can't believe I almost forgot these!" He walked over to the bench and hauled up the backpack to his back before picking up the bottle. He eyed the bottle in suspicion however, but that only lasted a few seconds before he shrugged it off. "Should be enough to hold me over during practice," he commented before going about his day…

[collinrobinsonsglasses]

anon since this is my first time doing this but i’m fucking devastated after the news. i have a weirdly specific scenario in mind with izzy x gn reader where reader panics/overloads sometimes if the crew get too loud tg or unexpected canon fire etc but is usually able to hide it from the crew. maybe they’ve been stressed or on edge lately and they kinda shutdown infront of the crew. and izzy comes over annoyed at first but when he sees reader not responding he takes charge and emotional hurt/comfort essentially. idk if this is too formulaic so take creative liberty!

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

Masterlist

I loved this suggestion, and I hope it was what you're looking for. This is a shorter one. Lots of fluff and Izzy comfort.

Silence is Golden

This week on The Revenge felt like the longest and most exhausting since you first set sail with Stede Bonnet. The crew battled through multiple storms, tirelessly navigating the turbulent seas, constantly soaked to the bone. You had always been more sensitive than your crewmates. The sound of cannon fire made you want to seek refuge below deck, the sensation of your soaked clothes clinging to your skin felt unbearable, and it was impossible to ever get a moment alone on such a small ship. While you imagined that everyone experienced these feelings to some extent, for you, it often felt overwhelming. You had never shared this with anyone, striving to fit in and appear as a capable pirate. However, after this demanding week, everything began to weigh heavily on you. 

For that reason, relief washed over you when Captain Bonnet proposed that everyone take a vacation, emphasizing the importance of leisure. You yearned for some solitude, a chance to gaze at the waves and unwind for the first time in a week. Your hopes were swiftly dashed when Frenchie and Wee John enthusiastically began playing with the explosives. Realizing it was their vacation too, you silently moved further down the beach, not wanting to complain and spoil their fun. The explosions reverberated, rattling your head, and your body urged you to flee from the deafening sound. However, you found yourself sitting on a rock further down the beach, attempting to coax yourself into calming down. Perched on the rock, your right leg shook, fingers gently tracing the contours of a shell you discovered on the beach, all the while yearning for the explosions to cease. 

To add to everything, Buttons joined you on your rock, enthusiastically listing off every sea animal imaginable. At this point, you experienced a mental shutdown, unable to escape the sensory overload – it felt as if your brain had flicked a switch off. The following hours slipped away rapidly, leaving you in a dazed state that was far from relaxing. As everyone returned to the ship, preparing to set sail once more, exhaustion weighed heavily on you. Descending to sit on the stairs, you rested your head on your knees, not having the energy to help your crewmates on deck. 

Realization hit you suddenly, as Izzy’s raised voice echoed in front of you, though the words remained indecipherable. Lifting your gaze towards him, you observed the frustration etched across his face before his words finally sharpened into focus. 

“You’ve had an entire fucking day to do nothing,” Izzy sneered. “Get your ass to work. You’re acting like the rest of these lazy twats today.” 

You fixed your gaze on Izzy as he addressed you, your heart quickening its pace. Bowing your head back onto your knees, you attempted to curl into a tighter ball, wishing in that moment to vanish. Izzy’s words resonated, and you couldn’t help but acknowledge the truth in them. The realization of your own laziness brought a pang of guilt washing over you. The entire day spent doing nothing hadn’t brought you peace, but instead left you feeling worse than before. In the past weeks, you had grown closer to Izzy, sensing he tolerated you more than others. Now, you feared this display might change the dynamic between you. 

You felt the tender warmth of his hand as it gently scratched your head, his fingers moving through your hair in a soothing and affectionate manner. Then your arm was gently grasped, coaxing you to rise from your seated position. Placing both hands on the back of your shoulders, he guided you below deck and eventually to his cabin. Izzy’s unexpectedly gentle demeanor toward you caught you off guard; it wasn’t what you had expected. 

“Sit there,” he instructed, gesturing to the small bed in the corner of his room. “I’ll be back once we’re sailing away from this stupid fucking island.” 

The door closed, leaving you in solitude amid the quiet of Izzy’s cabin, comfortably seated on his bed. As you breathed in, the hush within Izzy’s quarters contrasted with the bustling activity above deck. Reclining on Izzy’s bed, you focused on your breath, and after a few minutes, a sense of relief gradually washed over you. It seemed like you hadn’t been alone for weeks, and you savorted the silence within the cabin. After a while, Izzy returned, his presence prompting you to sit back up on the edge of his bed as he stood before you. Contrary to Izzy’s typical expression of anger, you noticed concern on his face instead. 

“What’s wrong?” Izzy inquired softly, kneeling down to meet your gaze. 

“Just overwhelmed,” you whispered back, avoiding eye contact and feeling a twinge of embarrassment admitting this to one of the most renowned pirates in history. “Haven’t had decent sleep all week and the explosions were too loud. I sort of shut down. It’s stupid.” 

Izzy joined you on his bed, and for a moment, he seemed to contemplate. Then, you felt his arm wrap around your shoulder. “It’s not stupid. Everyone needs peace and quiet sometimes. Especially being around these fucking idiots all of the time.” 

“Pirates shouldn’t panic at the sound of cannon fire, Iz,” you replied, not convinced by his words. 

“Pirates shouldn’t be afraid of spiders, yet Blackbeard is terrified of them. Anyone questioning your status as a pirate can fuck off. You’re one of the hardest working people on this crew,” Izzy retorted, his tone resolute. “That's why I like you.” 

“Thanks, Izzy,” you replied quietly, a smile gracing your lips. You had always enjoyed Izzy’s company and sensed he had a stronger connection with you than with the others, so hearing him express that he liked you was nice. It didn’t appear to be an easy thing for him to admit. You reached down toward his hand, squeezing it for a moment. “I’m feeling better than before. Your room feels very safe.” 

“You’re always welcome in here,” Izzy said, a hint of bashfulness in his tone. “If you're feeling overwhelmed or need a break, just tell me, and I’ll fuck off.”

“No, I don’t mind if you stay,” you whispered, a warm feeling spreading in your chest. “You feel very safe too.” Letting your head rest on Izzy’s shoulder, you noticed a smile stretching across his face from the corner of your eye. Both of you sat there for a while, absorbing the silence, enjoying each other’s close company.

[borzoilover69]

Is there anywhere i can read :oot?

I loove ur drjk art btw

Thankyou for the compliment! If youre looking for HS2:OOT time shenanigans. Please read tipsygnostalgys l'appel du vide if you want an idea of the sort of tone the story will take because there is genuinely such funny dialogue, i am completely enamoured by it.

Speaking of HS2:OOT.. have some karkats from hs2:oot.. and tootally dont open the read more option.

Ok so you opened this so you're interested. We have an outline, plot points and event layouts as well as general dialogue bits and pieces, and ive been working on coming up with panels and set layout, if you've been following me for long enough you've seen me run through the mill of character design and panel tests. We are running into roadblocks however.

Right now we just have two people on the team, me and my cowriter tipsygnostalgy. TG writes, I draw and occasionally drabble. We are also both college students so barely any time to write or draw.

Tbh ive considered the idea of assembling a writing team of some sort BUT IDK HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD B INTERESTED.. also i wouldnt be able to compensate them financially.

Genuinely daunted by the idea of making a continuation of hs2 when hs2 has stirred up so much of a shitstorm as is. I think theres a very big fear of "oh gosh what if i portray the character wrong" Maybe i will try doing writer applications, who knows? I dont know how many people would be interested in working on such a passion project. Maybe you will have to let me know. :o) If enough people show interest i might do that.

[deathofnessus]

Reposting my tg channel posts here so i dont lose them, a lot of words so its under cut:

1. All characters i have for the space setting so far and short descriptions of each(similar to the ones in my pinned, but a bit more detailed for my followers there ^_^):

-Rodion Melnikov, he/him

Definition of a burn out kid except hes like 40 now. A very ambitious academically man in the past, he grew more secluded with each year, as he began to worry that its too late for him to succeed now (although his definition of success is very twisted). Joins the expedition in hopes to finally find some new amazing discovery and get the recognition he believes he deserves. Dated David Ross for 5+ years when they were in their late 20s-early 30s, met through the academic field. An only child btw

-David Ross, he/him

David is an engineer, working in the field of rocket science. He is very passionate about his craft but overall a very laid back person, not prone to conflict. Knows everything about the Nessus, treats it like his child of sorts 😭 Kind of became the captain due to all of this knowledge. And people trust him a lot. Dated Rodion Melnikov in the past.

-Carwyn Morgan, she/her (he/him for most 💔)

The oldest member of the crew. Joined the expedition out of deep academic intrest, although was unsure about it at first. Technically has a role of an assistant to Mariana Renea. Passionate about her work, which is one of tthe biggest reason her and rodya got along so well. Had a long wild life before this expedition. Also shes an egg ... girl your gender.!!!!...

-Mariana Renea, she/her

Technically the captain, more so the leader of the expedition, the one that got everyone together. Shes been best friends with Morgan for years, their families were close for years. Shes obviously a very responsible person, also extremely passionate about her work. Has done a lot of things for her field of science (dont know which one yet. Sorry), shes well known and respected. This expedition is another big step in her career. Also had a family.

2. Answering moots questions, both rus and eng:

more thoughts on the expedition itself 🔽

3. Big answer to a big set of questions about the free timeon the ship, the character dynamics and fun facts about morgan:

I was gonna answer this with doodles but im impatient so i might come back to that later... First of all thanks for such detailed message i rlly appreciate it! I think the dynamics in the crew are definitely a little tense, especially bcuz of rodya and davey, but they usually try to stay chill. I dont think they would have big arguments or anything, at least not before the accident™ They definitely have a lot of respect for one another, but i think at least for rodya especially theres a bit of academic rivalry in this all, although the rest i think are kind of the opposite in thay way, feeling more unitied due to their goals and passions and stuff. So yeah rodya is definitely the one most likely to get "infatuated with the unknown", but i do think Morgan is similar in that way, maybe not as intense though. Mariana would be cautious but definitely intrested and i think Davey is the least likely, he'd definitely say nope and go the other way.

As for passing the free time on the ship, thats definitely something they do yeah! I never thought about it that much, and now thats definitely something id like to draw once i have the time so thanks for the suggegstion :D i think theyd have some pretentious ass board games along with some silly ones, but considering how long theyre on this ship i think at some point they'd get bored of all of them, which would lead to them hanging out all together less fkr sure. Maybe someone would suggest their own made up games and i think that person would be the fifth character™ that i dont have any story for, but their general function in the story in my mind rn is the younger guy that breaks the tension between all of these old serious people >< So work is important, yes, and they do spend a lot of time on it, but i think theyre all smart enough to understand that rest and hanging out together is important. Except maybe rodya. I think theyd have to drag him to these games by force most of the time. And every time they definitely regret it bcuz he always wins, which pisses everyone off. And he probably havent played any of these games before, hes just naturally good at them. I do think mariana at some point learned his stragidies and was able to sometimes win over him lol. Morgan and Davey love to team up together to try to beat "the try-hards". AS FOR MORGAN PRE EXPEDITION!! I thought a lot during the summer about how i imagine her when she was younger participating a lot in her local queer spaces(which is how she meets mariana), helping organise events and stuff, which is especially funny bcuz i imagine a lot of people clocked her as transfem but she just didn't have a clue 😭😭 she thought she was just a quirky gay man her entire life... I also imagine she tried many hobbies in her life, especially the ones that require handy work like drawing, pottery, knitting ect ect, i think she ended up enjoying these the most. I think shes the type of gal that loves the cycle actually now that i think of it. I dont think she's super sporty or anything but cycling sounds like something she'd enjoy. Anyways, thank you also for the recs!!! I've been planning to watching scavenger's reign for sooooo looong but never got to it, despite watching the first ep and really enjoying it. This is a sign to finally do it.... Never heard of harold halibut though, ill make sure to check it out, thank you!! Sending lots of love to you anon you're very sweet

[marauders-fanfilm]

Hi Everyone,

   I want to sincerely apologize for both the long delay between updates and the necessity for one at this point in general. When we set out to make this project, none of us ever anticipated we might still be working on it eight years later. And while a lot has happened in that time, I promise you, no one wants it to be completed and released more than we do.    2022 has been a difficult year for the project on a number of fronts, but we’re still standing. This year has seen an essentially unprecedented demand for the VFX industry, while they continue to fight for the sort of protections and working standards that the rest of the film industry and most industries in general have. Last year’s near IATSE strike was a wake up call for many of us that the film industry can very easily become incredibly dangerous and destructive to the lives of the people who work in it, and we’ve all tried to do our best to ensure we and the rest of our crew members take the time they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones. This, while absolutely critical and my top priority for the team I am responsible for, has meant that there have been some delays with our progress due to artists needing to take time to focus on themselves and their families, or simply because they’ve needed to prioritize their non-volunteer work, and haven’t been able to juggle both.

   As I’m sure just about all of you know, over the past few years, the original author of the franchise has dedicated her time and legacy to an anti-transgender campaign. I’ve talked about it previously, but it’s been an incredibly difficult situation for all of us. While our film doesn’t benefit her in any way, it’s complicated to dedicate months or years of work to a project that is still playing in her sandbox. For some of our artists, it simply wasn’t something they could come to terms with, and they had to step away from the project for their own well being, which all of us on the TGS Production Team absolutely understand and sympathize with. I’ve struggled with it a lot personally, I know most of us have. Speaking purely for myself, while I think the franchise and world will always be tainted by its author’s bigotry now, I love this film, I am incredibly proud of all of the hard work our cast and crew have poured into it, and I made a commitment to see it through. I intend to do so. But I will never harbor any resentment towards any member of our team who doesn’t feel the same way, and wish them nothing but the best of luck on their future endeavors.

   There’s not much we can do from our small platform to challenge her, unfortunately. Our film is long-since written and shot, and a time capsule of where we all were as fans and aspiring creators when that happened. What we can do is support our trans team members and supporters, and reject bigotry like Rowling’s. We will be adding a note on the situation and our rejection of her and her prejudice at the opening of the film, and I have elected to strike her card from the animated credits sequence. She created the world and most of these characters, I can’t change that. She’ll be credited for her part of course, as it would be wrong not to, but we don’t need to plaster her name across the screen either.

All that said, where is the project at?    The first two acts are just about picture-locked with finished VFX, barring a handful of shots that are currently in the works. Among the work done on this section:

An incredibly intricate steadicam shot of the Marauders fleeing Filch’s office after releasing a series of fireworks and dung bombs, as seen in our very first piece of concept art. This effect required the work of four separate artists to rotoscope the actors, 3D model and track the set and camera movement, and the actual effect work of the smoke and fireworks. Talented artist Porter Justus is hard at work on the scene between work on his Masters from SCAD and preparing for the birth of his second child. Congrats again, Porter!

Top to bottom creations of numerous Daily Prophet page graphics and layouts for a montage sequence by talented Malaysian 2D artist Kunal Chopra.

A Virtual CG version of the Marauder’s Map for various shots by American artist Alyssa Nicholas, for tight insert shots where tracking a physical prop became too difficult.

Artist Jorge Gúzman, who was only able to join us briefly before having to leave to focus on paid projects came on and helped with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots.

Artist Chris Shivers has been working on a spell effect for a series of shots of Lily Evans between his other paid work.

UK artist Nathan Collins has been hard at work on several potions class scenes, including the infamous Amortentia potion!

Nic Bahn, a German artist known as WizardingsFX online, has been hard at work helping us upgrade the opening scene of the film.

Talented Spanish artist Pablo Nadal, who goes by Pancatum in online fandom circles, has been busy for much of this year, but when he’s had time to join us, he’s worked on a great sequence between Regulus & Marlene.

And lastly, our VFX Supervisor, Martin Bayang, who between his demanding hours at his Los Angeles VFX day job and helping me manage our team, has still managed to carve out time to work on a number of shots from our Valentine’s Day sequence!

The Third Act is where most of the work is still being done, including a large fight sequence and where most of our focus is.

When VFX Artist Emma Matzke has time between professional VFX work and parental responsibilities, she is currently hard at work on Snape’s big final scene, which is looking absolutely amazing!

Our dynamic duo from Spain, Guillermo Valadez and Iván Rubio, both full-time professional VFX artists, are bouncing between a couple of segments, including that large fight scene, and another key moment of the finale I can’t talk about without spoiling the ending!

There is still work to be done on both Sound and Color, but the brunt of the workload has been on the VFX front.

There is still a decent bit left of both final action beats, along with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots, and one complicated VFX shot for the final sequence of the film that has proved more challenging than anticipated. But we’re hard at work trying to progress through them as quickly as possible.

  Our composer J. Paul Bourque has had a very busy year with his professional composing work in New York, but we’ve slowly been chipping away at the last of the score for the film. We are currently undergoing some revisions to the final sequence, after which Paul and Writer/Creative Producer Ben Wessels will be going back through all the tracks for final adjustments and filling in some final instrumentation, along with the recording of one track I won’t go into detail about that is being recorded live. We’re all really excited about and proud of how the score is sounding, and can’t wait to share it with all of you.   Lastly, while I had hoped to save this announcement until the trailer reveal, I am incredibly excited to announce that over the last couple years we have been working alongside the magically talented Tom Ya, also known as The_H_Project, a french architect who used his lockdown time over the pandemic to create an insanely detailed digital replica of Hogwarts Castle! All of the establishing shots in the film have been replaced with custom shots Tom crafted for the project, and I cannot overstate how much it adds to the final product. Tom is now working, again as he’s able to between his busy day job and time with his new bride (Congratulations again, my friend), on integrating elements of his model into some other shots and sequences, and the results so far have been truly fantastic.

   I want to apologize again to our incredibly patient friends, families, and fans that the project has taken so much longer than any of us have anticipated. We all want to see the project finished and released, and we are working as hard and as quickly as we can to make that happen. But I also just want to take a moment to say how proud I am of our team and everything they’ve accomplished, both on the film and in their personal, professional, and creative lives since the project began. We all really appreciate your years of patience, and we will continue to pour our hearts into this project, and try to get this film finally completed and out to you soon. Happy New Years, everyone. Aaron

[ballet-symphonie]

Vaganova Ballet Academy Asks

So there is official information of Koshkareva signing a solo contract with Bolshoi and Nikolay Tsiskaridze's close friend (devilonpointshoes on Telegram) and ballet enthusiasts on ballet forums stating that Koshkareva, Valiullina, and Kuprina going to Bolshoi. How do you feel about all the star students going to Bolshoi instead of Mariinsky like many expected? It isn't unexpected that Valiullina is going to Bolshoi given that she suits that company but with Koshkareva and Kuprina being Mariinsky's trainees for a year, and their dance style suiting Mariinsky more, I really do not understand why they chose Bolshoi (perhaps they were given soloist role straight away)? Anyways I'm also confused if Koshkareva is going to Bolshoi like Kuprina, why is her name not taken down from the trainee name list on the Mariinsky website... Honestly idk how to feel about this and ngl Im pretty disappointed that Koshkareva and Kuprina are not going to Mariinsky :(

The Bolshoi is the fast track. These girls have been promoted as stars and BT has likely made them big promises to keep treating them that way. With how the Bolshoi gives out roles at the speed of light to young prominent grads, plus the benefits that generally come with dancing in Moscow (read: money), the offers are likely very tempting. The corps life is tough, no one wants to do it if they don't have to lmao.

I thought with this reinvented MT and more publicized MT trainee situation that MT management would have managed to keep at least one of Koshkareva and Kuprina but I guess not. I am actually more surprised Valiullina is tagging along as I thought her body type might hold her back. While I agree with many that her dancing fits the broad movement and expressive style of the Bolshoi, that’s unfortunately not exactly what goes on stage all the time nowadays at BT, maybe its about 50/50 now depending which principals are cast.

Hi Ale! Any news on Daria Kulikova? How is she doing at the Academy? I think the 2023 class is a powerful one, and my opinion isn't based on who is better. But there's something about Kulikova??? I don't know... but I like her dancing and I'm rooting for her, there's just something special, artistic I see in her.

The 2023 class has just been everywhere and she hasn’t been one of the most hyped ones for obvious reasons. I don’t think I’ve seen where she’s going but I also haven’t been crawling through the TG channels looking for information about her you know? 

With the ‘big 3’ of this class heading to BT, there’s likely some MT spots available, which is theoretically what she would want after changing schools so late in the games.  

Do you think there will ever be a Kovaleva graduate to top Vishneva off? I honestly don't and it's not because there weren't other talented girls to graduate, but it's just that none of the ones who came after, could even compare to Vishneva, let alone surpass her. Koshkareva for example, is really talented, but it's already being called the 'next Vishneva', so... I will say though, after Vishneva, only Smirnova and Khoreva came a little close and probably Koshkareva will too.

I don’t think she will ever top Vishneva, she’s a once in a 100 years type of a dancer. I also don’t know how much longer she will continue to work. Her talent as a pedagogue is immense, she’s proven that she can train exceptional dancers with different body types, backgrounds and ambitions. Her training and her graduates, quite literally is defining the past, present and future of Russian ballet.  

how do the “classes” at vaganova work?? like if it’s class of kovaleva, does that mean that she’s taught them all 8 years at vaganova orrr 

No, if a ballerina is listed as ‘class of Kovaleva’ that means that she taught their graduate year. Generally, the teachers will change every 1-3 years as some teachers are especially skilled at working with different age groups. 

[okimargarvez]

16x10- detailed analysis (2)

Read the first part here.

Scene 5-

Luke runs again to the screen (and Penelope). I can swear that he was all time near, stuck on worry-mode.

Luke asks her What was that?

She replies What a hero. I think Dave figured out how to mess with Voit's system.

He asks Were you recording it? and she You bet I was. He says Let's patch in Tara and Emily and she nods. They said they would have trough this together and they are. They are just a perfect musical chord.

-

Scene 6-

They are talking with Tara. This is the farthest place Luke can stay to keep his eye on her.

It doesn't last long.

Okay, I... Here's the thing. I have done background searches on Elias Voit and Lee Duval all over the Pacific Northwest, and I've come up with a huge amount of zilch.

Luke suggests, with usual kind way Have you... Have you tried any surviving relatives on his mother or his father's side? And she doesn't snark. I'll give that a shot.

-

Scene 7

They catch Elias/Voit/Lee/Sicarius. The bad guy. But he doesn't want to say where is Rossi. Here we are. The same two couples. And also the positions... on a side, JJ and Will, on the other, Luke and Penelope.

Luke asks her What about his burner phone?

And she is not happy about herself. I-I ran that burner's O.S. through decryption software. It detected my intrusion and... Can you see the surprise/shock on Luke face? He always thinks at her as the best. But no disappointment, not a single sign of that.

It took everything I had to keep that encrypted data from not self-deleting. It... It's gonna take me weeks to retrieve it.

Then JJ has the idea to ask Sydney to talk with her husband. And it works! They save Dave.

-

Scene 8-

Back at the BAU. But what happened just a moment ago? Penelope closed TG file. And then she is here, in the place where she has to. In the right moment. But, considering that we have again the same four people, plus Rossi, I can bet that at least Luke goes with her to the hospital, maybe waiting outside (his room or in the parking). Anyway, Kubrick always wins. On the left, JJ and Will, on the right, Penelope and Luke. In the centre, the survived. And here, they act for real like a couple. Wait just a second.

Luke puts his arm on her shoulder. Nothing really weird, here. But.

THIS. THIS. Penelope arm is also around his waist and they seem more couple than married JJ/Will.ù

They both looking for each other eyes and smiling during all the "happy come back" moment. She even more than him!

-

Scene 9-

Where are we? Penelope apartment. We can guess is after Bailey funeral. Then we have little scenes: Luke and Penelope; JJ and Will, Tara, Emily and Rossi. Let's focus on the first.

Too domestic thing. Nothing to add. No, I lied. It's just... he so.. at ease, in this place. And here, now, she seems comfortable, with him, in this moment.

He checks on her, as he always did. How you doing?

But, big difference! This time she doesn't say a white lie (I'm fine - 12x17) or is almost annoyed (G...good - 12x17), nor she avoids his effort (14x3 - no one has time for my sensitivities), and not also tries to escape and gives up with no signs of relief (15x4 - russian stalker) or changes the subject (16x1 - how long has Dave been like this?). No, she just replies with honestly, with a soft voice. And a sad smile.

Mm. I'm... mad, and I'm sad and I...

Oh. I fell into patterns that I promised myself I wouldn't fall back into, but I did.

The face of someone that finally got back the woman he has fallen in love with.

I guess, if people didn't, we might all be out of a job, right? He tries a joke and... wow! She likes it.

Yeah. Tell me this is not the same way he looks at her. I dare you.

But I... I did catch myself, and I did course-correct. ( Sighs ) What's that thing... Can we talk about her soft voice? It's like this is the real first time she is just... her, Penelope, with Luke. I mean, I know they talked about hard themes even before and it wasn't just snarking or joking (she too knew when she said it during their date). But it was like... little frames, while now she is on focus. Totally.

Oh. What's that thing that Emily Dickinson says?

"The heart wants what it wants,

or else it doesn't care."

A lot of thing to say.

First. THE FUCKING WAY HE LOOKS AT HER.

Second. She mentions Emily Dickinson and he immediately catches the exactly quote. I call it... connection. Deep connection.

Third. Do you realize that this was also the official closing quote? Because I just did it.

You know Emily Dickinson? The way she is looking at him here... just kills me. Really. I remember the first time I saw this moment I thought she changed her way to look and also consider him. This is a deep look. Intense. Her doesn't sound like a question. But more like... a statement. And a praise.

And Luke stammers, because maybe... maybe he feels that something is really changed, between them. For the better. I know that quote.

Penelope hits his glass with hers, like in a sort of cheer. Smiling at him. Luke just keeps smiling like an idiot, proud to be.

So, it was a coincidence that last frame we saw from their date was them cheering and the last in this season is exaclty they doing the same, but with a totally different mood? I can say that the kiss would have been the icing on the cake, but... she just closed her... whatever it was, with Tyler, so it's right that they wait. Not too much, though, because I can't wait so long😂

Right now I just want to smile (like Luke) and screaming with happiness. I want to live the moment. Knowing that tomorrow I'll have to find a way to seem less... crazy, at work, because my coworkers can't really understand.

Thank you for reading!

Analysis of garvez scenes

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World: Chapter 1: An Empty Road

Welcome back to my reread! As will always be the case but isn't usual yet because we're just getting started, this post has spoilers for everything ever and should not be looked at if you don't want to see those. In fact, just telling you that spoils this very post, so it's already too late!

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

A comfy paragraph that feels like home. Someone could literally plagiarize this and I wouldn't care because it's such a good way to start! More book series should try and have very consistent beginnings, it really adds a lot.

Oh, and I should probably mention chapter headers. This guy has the "Wheel and Snake" motif, which is a generic Plot kind of deal.

Note that I am skipping over a second prologue that was added to these books when they were (for some reason) trying to make a YA version of the series that cut each book in half. That prologue, "Ravens", is one I've never read (or maybe I have but only once) and features Egwene al'Vere a few years before the series begins. Maybe I'll circle around to it someday, but I'm very big on only accepting works as they initially were (barring fixing typos or outright plot holes) and not with a whole bunch of doodads attached.

...the wind blew east, out across the Sand Hills, once the shore of a great ocean, before the Breaking of the World...

Interestingly, the most likely body of water for this to be is actually the Mediterranean, not any of the oceans proper.

Gusts plastered Rand al’Thor’s cloak to his back, whipped the earth-colored wool around his legs, then streamed it out behind him.

Rand has a lot of associations with wind (Loial even notes it in-universe) and also the land, so it's appropriate that we get both here with the wind blowing through the earth-colored wool. Note as well that while the earth is protecting him (though not especially well), the wind has been turned by the Shadow into something hostile.

He felt a little foolish about wanting to reassure himself that Tam was still there, but it was that kind of day.

Considering his later thoughts about wolves and bears, it doesn't even seem that foolish. Take it from someone who just a few weeks ago was dealing with being separated from family on a Canadian highway that definitely had bears.

Without thinking he touched the nock of the arrow; it was ready to draw to his cheek in one smooth movement, the way Tam had taught him.

Tam's influence on Rand looms large over the series, which does set up the reversal in TGS and the breakdown it causes quite well.

Wolves raided the sheep pens and chewed their way into barns to get the cattle and horses. Bears had been after the sheep, too, where a bear had not been seen in years.

It's rather interesting to imagine what might have happened to Perrin if Moiraine hadn't taken him away. The wolves would likely worm their way into his head by about the time he met Elyas in canon anyway, only he'd be in such a different context it's not hard to imagine him going really off the rails. Someone who actually finishes what they started should write a fic!

With his thick chest and broad face, he was a pillar of reality in that morning, like a stone in the middle of a drifting dream.

And Tam's being a metaphorical pillar of reality is of course set up for the fact that by the end of the series Rand himself will be a literal one. It's really impressive how clearly Jordan saw the ending of the series; the Slog in my opinion is likely a product of his uncertainty in how to get there.

[Rand's mother] had been an outlander, and Rand remembered little of her aside from a smiling face, though he did put flowers on her grave every year, at Bel Tine, in the spring, and at Sunday, in the summer.

It's terrible being a mom for a protagonist, even an adoptive mother. Death is the best you can hope for.

But Tam had given his word about the brandy and cider, even if he had waited to make delivery until the day before Festival. Keeping his word was important to Tam.

"Belief and order give strength." If Tam had accompanied Rand on this journey, the whole thing would have been over in five days tops.

As Rand watched his side of the road, the feeling grew in him that he was being watched. For a while he tried to shrug it off. Nothing moved or made a sound among the trees, except the wind. But the feeling not only persisted, it grew stronger. The hairs on his arms stirred; his skin prickled as if it itched on the inside.

This is of course Rand's channeler sense for Shadowspawn. Does this mean he's already channeled at some point this winter, or do sparks like him get the various gifts before they start because it's inevitable that they will anyway? I wonder if Nynaeve (and maybe Egwene if sparks do get the spidey sense before channeling) has spent the last few days being itchy as all hell and not having a clue why. It would add another reason to her bad temper over being asked about the weather.

Not more than twenty spans back down the road a cloaked figure on horseback followed them, horse and rider alike black, dull and ungleaming.

"You're in the wrong franchise! Hobbiton's on the other side of the shelf, between Rosewater and Sounis!"

I get that Jordan had to channel a bit of Tolkien because it was the 80s and that's how you got published, but I have to say that sometimes I think he leaned a little too far into it. At least Myrdraal get weirder as we go.

There was only shadow to see in the hood

If Sanderson had been writing the series from the start, he would have rationalized that a Fade being able to step out of any shadow means it could step out of the shadow of its hood and then repeat the process to gain altitude rapidly, allowing the Shadow to orbitally bombard its enemies when the Fades stopped and fell back to Earth.

Abruptly a stone caught his heel and he stumbled, breaking his eyes away from the dark horseman.

Rand was a shy, awkward, inwardly beautiful teenage girl, just like you.

(Seriously folks, plot-convenient clumsiness is not gender specific and we should call it out in our boy protagonists too!)

Tam shook his grizzled head. “If you say so, lad. Come on, then. A horse leaves hoofprints, even on this ground.”

More proof of Tam being a good dad that even though Rand's talking nonsense, he checks it out. Of course, it wouldn't be surprising if Tam had experience with Shadowspawn somehow. Probably not though, since he was mostly involved in Illian and the Aiel War.

The wind that beat at Tam and him had not so much as shifted a fold of that black cloak.

More on the earth/air duality, with air being the masculine half tainted by the Shadow.

once he had even gone to the very foot of the Mountains of Mist, him and his closest friends, Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara.

Two complete nobodies who we'll never hear about again, naturally.

Today, though, the Westwood was not the place he remembered. A man who could disappear so suddenly could reappear just as suddenly, maybe even right beside them.

Maybe even fall on you from orbit!

Though I suppose the earth half of things being unfamiliar now does cut against the symbolism I'm envisioning, but I'll leave resolving that as a Freudian exercise for the reader.

Rand managed a weak smile. Of all things he might want to think about right then, the Mayor’s daughter was far down the list. He did not need any more confusion. For the past year she had been making him increasingly jittery whenever they were together.

18 seems a little late to be hitting puberty, Rand. Seriously, if it weren't for the narration earlier calling him and Tam "two men", I'd assume he was supposed to be 14-16 at this point.

“Remember the flame, lad, and the void.”

This technique actually does kind of work! I've used it a lot during painful dentistry and stuff. Sadly, I'm no good at remembering it when I'm in an emotional state, which is when it would be most useful, but maybe someday I'll learn.

(Probably not.)

Some said the land was too rocky, as if there were not rocks everywhere in the Two Rivers, and others said it was hard-luck land. A few muttered that there was no point getting any closer to the mountains than needs be.

Having recently been exposed to the "The Two Rivers is contaminated with radioactive fallout from the Trolloc Wars" theory, I have to note that this feels a bit like evidence for it even though I don't believe it in general - in particular, the cats having a weird number of toes happens all over the place in real life when they start getting too inbred.

goodwife

This is an interesting word choice! Goodwife (masculine "goodman"; abbr. "goody", from which we get "goody two-shoes") is an archaic form of address that started in the 1300s and died by the 1800s, with the English and Scots using it first and the Puritans later. It referred to women of high social status but non-gentry in Europe and in America we have no clue what exactly the Puritans meant except that it was respectful. Here in EF, the term likely either descends from the days when there were gentry to talk about, or has arisen in the Puritan sense.

Whether or not leaves had appeared on the trees, no woman would let Bel Tine come before her spring cleaning was done.

And here we come to Jordan's worldview again. The Two Rivers folk are meant to be pretty gender egalitarian, but here we see that they have the exact division of labor that the idealized American town does, with women doing interior chores and men doing exterior ones. This is treated as being inevitable, even though of course it doesn't have to be and in most real societies gendered division of labor is only ever a sunny day ideal and abandoned in part or in whole in rougher times like we're supposed to be in now, with spring a month late. Hell, even in a culture with similar gender norms to the west, ("Women care about the house, men do rough work"), you could easily see them ending up dividing things the other way, with women expected to thatch the roofs to maintain their nes- I mean homes and men beating the shit out of carpets because their big manly muscles let them get it done faster. See how easy it is to use sexist logic to justify the exact opposite of what western sexism usually does? (Fun fact: That's because sexist logic is almost completely arbitrary.)

It would be rather nice to see a generic Arcadian farming village that has radically different expectations for men and women while still being superficially similiar to the ideal homestead, really. Jordan missed an opportunity.

Tam spoke of damage from winter storms, each one worse than the one before, and stillborn lambs, of brown fields where crops should be sprouting and pastures greening, of ravens flocking in where songbirds had come in years before.

As a big corvid fan, seeing them always be associated with evil when they're really quite social and intelligent makes me sad.

[Wit] never seemed ready to start over, or to finish what he started the first time. Most of the Coplins and Congars were like that, those who were not worse.

Kind of odd to transition from "Life is hard out here and people who aren't willing to work hard can't cut it" to "Meet the Shithead and Lazyfuck Clans, the inbred hicks." It's realistic to have shittier families in communities, but usually these families in the real world at least have something going for them.

“What are we going to do about Nynaeve, al’Thor?” Congar demanded. “We can’t have a Wisdom like that for Emond’s Field.”

Wait a few days and the problem will take care of itself, Wit. Ten whatever-kind-of-coins-are-legal-tender-here says that he was probably the first to bitch about their village not having a Wisdom the second Nynaeve crested a hill and disappeared from view.

“You try meddling in Women’s Circle business, and see how you like eating your own cooking. Which you won’t do in my kitchen. And washing your own clothes and making your own bed. Which won’t be under my roof.”

Guess Daise married from outside the clan, since she seems like a relatively decent sort. Also note again the 1950s division of labor; plenty of dudes knew how to do "women's work" across history because even if you were lucky enough to always have a mommy-wife (yes that's exactly how icky 1950s-lovers are) on hand and never had to go to war or a logging camp or spend a few years in early adulthood fending for yourself, sometimes Mrs. Mommy would be bedridden from all the exhaustion of being a brood mare with unrealized aspirations and then you'd have to learn how to keep the household going anyway because hiring (or enslaving) a dark-skinned maid to do everything for you wasn't an option.

When they saw Tam, the goodwives of Emond’s Field went on point like hounds spotting a rabbit.

I feel like this is another bit of Jordan's local culture being mistaken for human nature. There's definitely gals who will try to set you up if they know you're single, but there's guys who'll pull the same stunt and neither gender has a 100% attempt rate unless compelled to by their society. Then again, for all of it being presented as the ideal, the Two Rivers community is definitely all about meddling in each other's business and assuming you're too stupid to breathe because you don't have the right kind of genitals, so I suppose it makes sense the women feel like they have to.

Worst of all were those who paused thoughtfully at about that point, then asked with elaborate casualness exactly how old he was now.

Based on later books, Egwene would have been pissed to hear about this. It's probably not canonical in later books though, since the exact details of their relationship change quite a bit in the first three.

Outsiders sometimes found it funny that the road had one name to the north and another to the south, but that was the way it had always been, as far as anyone in Emond’s Field knew, and that was that.

I struggle to think what rock these outsiders must have been living under to find the idea of a road changing names funny. It's the sort of thing that happens when two separate roads are brought together, and I know that the west is slowly decaying, but still.

No one knew when the custom began or why—it was another thing that was the way it had always been—but it was an excuse to sing and dance, and nobody in the Two Rivers needed much excuse for that.

It's a dick joke, ya hicks!

Or possibly a reference to the queen blowing herself up. That seems more dignified.

And to top everything, if the rumors could be believed, a grand display of fireworks was planned for the Green—if the first peddler of the year appeared in time, of course.

Another moment that feels a bit too Tolkien, with the book opening on a celebration graced with fireworks, but hey at least the Illuminators end up having a lot of plot relevance in this story, so it builds well.

At the south end of the inn, away from the stream, stretched the remains of a much larger stone foundation, once part of the inn—or so it was said.

I would guess that the foundation was once the local garrison in Manetheren, or at least a more prominent building for the village mayor. Maybe even a place where Andorians of import might stay, since it would have to be relatively recently ruined to have not been torn apart by the tree roots in the last few hundred years.

“An ill omen,” a scratchy voice announced, “no storks nesting on the rooftops at Bel Tine.” Cenn Buie, as gnarled and dark as an old root, marched up to Tam and Bran and leaned on his walking staff, near as tall as he was and just as gnarled.

Narrative doesn't treat Buie kindly either (and not unfairly), but he's not wrong here. Things are only going to get worse, especially here in the Two Rivers.

Ask the Wisdom when the winter will end, and she walks away. Maybe she doesn’t want to tell us what she hears on the wind. Maybe what she hears is that the winter won’t end. Maybe it’s just going to go on being winter until the Wheel turns and the Age ends. There’s your point.

It's interesting that while Cenn thinks Nynaeve is too young, his fearmongering here is based on the assumption that she is perfectly competent. This double think is quite distressingly common in certain circles.

Rand’s smile broadened; it did not sound as much like fun to him as it would have a year or two back, but Mat never seemed to grow up.

Again, this sequence feels like it works better with Rand and Mat being 14-16, with badger pranks seeming like something more fun at 12-14. I wonder if, a bit like GRRM, Jordan assumed he'd have some time skips in his story that would get Rand into his 20s from a younger age, and then abandoned the concept as the plot continued to demand immediate action.

“Funny how being scared takes you. You think strange things. I actually thought—just for a minute, mind—it might be the Dark One.”

Mat's not too far off!

“The Dark One and all of the Forsaken are bound in Shayol Ghul, beyond the Great Blight, bound by the Creator at the moment of Creation, bound until the end of time. The hand of the Creator shelters the world, and the Light shines on us all.”

Note that it's not quite true: not all of the Forsaken are bound, none of them were bound by the Creator (arguably not even the Dark One), and the Forsaken are all about to break free. Over the past few millennia the Forsaken have really had a glow-up.

“My mother always said the Forsaken would come for me if I didn’t mend my ways. If I ever saw anybody who looked like Ishamael, or Aginor, it was him.”

Considering that Ish is currently serving flaming looks and Aginor is decayed as all hell, this is again not all that wrong.

Now his name came up whenever a washline dropped the laundry in the dirt or a loose saddle girth deposited a farmer in the road. Mat did not even have to be anywhere around. His support might be worse than none.

While I do think Nynaeve and Egwene are too hard on the boy, it's important to remember that this is Mat's reputation at the start of the series: his own best friend doesn't want his public support on a major issue.

Rand stared wonderingly. No one traveled beyond the village by night, not these days, certainly not alone.

Why did Thom come in the dead of night? Taren Ferry should have been a perfectly good place to stop, and with things being like they are you wouldn't think him in much of a hurry to wander among the wolves even though he can take care of himself. Do we get an answer to this?

That alone is worth the expense of bringing him down from Baerlon.

Oh and Thom's been close enough that he'd know all the environmental dangers quite well, so that really just makes me all the more curious.

“You have a head on your shoulders when you choose to use it,” Bran said. “He’ll follow you on the Village Council one day, Tam. Mark my words. He couldn’t do much worse right now than someone I could name.”

We can see here that Rand really is a political thinker, though of course he's going to rise far beyond a simple village council.

“Oh, why not?” Mat said resignedly. “Like your da said, the quicker it’s in the cellar. . . .” Picking up one of the casks of cider in both arms, he hurried toward the inn in a half trot.

And we can see here that Mat really is good to his friends, even if he is a rogue.

And that's pretty much chapter one! Rand and dad walk down a road, Rand sees an incarnation of evil, dad gossips throughout the village, local crotchety old man and scheming youth spread rumors. Like the prologue, this sequence wasn't really particularly adapted by the show. We instead have:

Moiraine giving us a really awkward summary of the plot thanks to executive meddling.

And it's here I should point out how many different reasons season 1 needed to make changes from the book. There's executive meddling, there's plague, there's the inevitable changes from page to screen, there's stuff that is clearly about appealing to the director, there's stuff that seems to be about keeping Rosamund Pike onboard, there's... a lot. And Rafe gets the blame for all of it which is really unfair because properly speaking we should only blame him for the stuff that's about appealing to himself. Blame Jeff Bezos for this one, folks. Anyway then we get:

Liandrin (who isn't even in this book!) and her posse of Rad Red Bad Bitches hunting down... let's pretend it's Gorin Rogad even though the timeline doesn't line up at all, and also Gorin's imaginary best friend. Moiraine and Lan watch from above and decide to go to Two Rivers.

Lots of people who want to make everything about culture wars complain about Obviously Evil Witch Liandrin being Horribly Misandrist In Ways That Sexism Has Never Been Done Before in this scene and I don't have patience for that kind of nonsense either. The scene's kinda rushed I think, and I am even more flummoxed by there being rumors of anything out of the Two Rivers, let alone four ta'veren, but whatever, plot's happening.

Egwene gets her hair braided for the first time (a practice mentioned in this chapter) and then Nynaeve tries to kill her to prep us for the saidar metaphor.

Frankly this is also rushed - a real problem in this episode because they wanted extra time for the premiere but were told to go feed their mothers to the Myrdraal while Jeff Bezos swam in a bathtub filled with 50 dollar bills - and because of all the cuts this episode had for time it feels a bit weirdly out there, but again we really needed to make surrender as literal and visual for TV watchers as possible so I know what's up.

Our closest scene to the books is Rand and Tam taking the old road to town and Rand freaking out about something that he assumes is wolves.

It's very abrupt and Rand is kinda douchey with his "I used to be a sap" line. It also used to be the first scene in the episode (I remember the outrage when people found out they were skipping the prologue) but the execs clearly forced it to be shuffled around. Probably would have been longer too.

Cut to town. People are setting up for Bel Tine and the air is generally happy instead of nervous like the books. Rand and Tam unload in the tavern and then Rand drinks with his friends, Mat, Perrin, and somebody else! She beats Mat at dice, Mat begs his friends for cash to keep carousing while bitching that Perrin is a good husband and accusing Rand of being a sheepfucker, and Egwene arrives with everyone very happy that she lived after the murder attempt.

Generally I think it's smart to trim down the parts of this chapter after the rider even in an episode that isn't desperately trying to fit into an hour, and introducing Perrin alongside Mat is something that works well for TV because it's easier to have interweaving conversations in real time. It also isn't a bad idea to age the characters up some (Rand and crew have to be about 20 now, per Moiraine's comments while watching Gorin get gentled) and abandon kiddie activities like badger pranks.

That said, the generic wholesomeness of the town is gone and that one lady who has spilled booze all over herself needs to slow down, like geez, you don't even know if Egwene is alive yet so why are you clearly already sauced? Hell, why is Rand carousing if he should be worrying whether or not his girlfriend was dashed against the rocks? Why is the mayor just chatting with Tam like nothing is up? That river initiation ceremony cannot possibly have a 100% survival rate and I suspect very strongly that its initial placement in the script was very different and only patched together like this because they didn't have time because seriously.

Oh and this is as good a place as any to talk about the elephant in the room to clear out the wrong sort of people before they get any ideas: no, the Two Rivers is not the bastion of Racial Purity it is in the books (we'll discuss that more in the reread when it starts coming up beyond a single acknowledgement that Rand doesn't look like most other folk here), and fuck no that is not remotely a problem. Even ignoring the sheer difficulty of getting enough extras of any ethnic group (and guess what people, "white" is too broad a group in this context and does not constitute a distinct "look" like the Two Rivers people have, you'd have to do "Polish" or "Irish" or something and then you're still making casting everything else a pain in the arse), the simple fact of the matter is that Zoë Robins is perfect as Nynaeve, Madeleine Madden is perfect as Egwene, Barney Harris was perfect as Mat, and maybe someday Marcus Rutherford will grow on me as an actor or at least get a subplot that isn't stupid or both! Together they cover a very broad range of human ethnicity and getting rid of any of them (let alone *most* of them) for racial reasons would be pathetic and would hobble the show even more than Amazon and COVID already managed to do. Shame on you for suggesting it and good day - good here being a word meaning "I hope you achieve some semblance of enlightenment about how wrong you are, which would be very good indeed, now begone!".

And on that note, I really want to go and play video games now, so I'm off as well. See you next time with chapter two: Strangers!

[trealamh]

I'm sorry if you've got these question before but I have to ask: what made Alisdair speak to Arthur in Glasgow Scale? Did Arthur and Dai have any other family? What life did Arthur leave behind in Kent, and was Alisdsir's life much changed afterwards?

I love how your short stories pack so much life into them, they can be unfolded ten times over and I still would want to know more

always ask anything you'd like! i love your questions. And aaaa thankyouthanyouthankyou for your kind words <3

hehe I have been wondering whether it would be too indulgent to write TGS from Alasdair's point of view, actually. It would be a longer piece and much more dialogue heavy, covering from the night they met to Arthur moving in.

(Here is where I confess that TGS was going to be a multi-chapter fic/ one of those 15k single-chapter fics until i got worried I would disappoint people by taking too long to update or missing scoteng week entirely orz sorry everyone)

But to answer your questions!

Alasdair, as i mentioned here had just been released from custody and made his way straight to the hospital (no time to rush home and hop in the shower when you're naw even sure your brother is still alive). He is still running high on adrenaline a when he goes to find a seat in the waiting room, having been dismissed by the nurses that won't let him into Sean's room. It may not show much on him, but emotionally he is all over the place; angry, furious, even, and worried. Exhausted and fed up with the proceedings of loss; the bureaucracy of pain. Having someone in hospital is one of the hardest things to go through; a lot of the time it is worse to be the one waiting outside than it is to be the one hooked onto an IV. Alasdair is burning for a smoke and out of filters but the truth is that the reason why he sits next to Arthur is that something in him recognises him as a younger brother-- Dai was older. Call it instinct. I don't believe he would rationalise it and I do think that at some point Arthur would ask him outright "Why did you choose to sit next to me that night? Why me?" Alasdair probably would not have the words o explain it beyond some vague sense that Arthur was the only person in that room that made sense to him in that moment.

Arthur and Dai only had each other, really. Maybe a distant relative here and there but no one close. I won't go into detail to spare anyone who might come across this without a cw but it is partly why Dai is almost meticulous with the instructions he leaves behind; he knows that Arthur won't have any support going forward so as much as he can he tries to make it easy.

(It is patently not. It could never be. Nothing about loss could ever be but losing someone under those circumstances especially is unmanageable.)

When Arthur calls Dai's workplace to try and let them know he is not coming in to work they seem a little baffled and tell him that Dai had put in his two weeks already. It makes Arthur nauseous; it almost brings him to his knees. It makes him realise how long Dai had been planning this for and that as much as the loss of him itself is worse than any nightmare.

Moving onto lighter things, what Arthur leaves behind in Kent is a slightly bemused flatmate and a few odd pieces of furniture. He only moves in with Alasdair after he finishes his degree! Dai and him grew up nestled deep in the Welsh borders (I needed them both to have a piece of their namesake countries with them! so the borders it was) lost their mother in their late teens, shortly after Arthur gets approved for his student loan. Some more deep lore for TGS: that the reason why Dai is studying in Edinburgh are the student fees. He is older than Arthur, as I mentioned, so went off to uni a year before he did with his mother's support. She was already sick when Arthur was finishing up school and gone before he got his A-levels back. That summer, Dai comes down from Scotland to help him back and move into his first-year accommodation in Kent and that is the last time they spend more than a couple of weeks together at a time. Everything they own between them and whatever their mum left is split even; they get a few boxes each and a couple of furnishings, and that's all they really need. Eventually, Arthur might start feeling that loss as well and he might feel nostalgic about his home town, the flat they shared with their mother, and he might return to seek out familiar sights. Dai never grows old enough for her loss to lose its sting. They have different fathers (both still living) but neither keep in touch; their wee family of three (and then two) was plenty enough for them.

(Alasdair, contrastingly, comes from a Big Family. They fold Arthur right in, don't ye worry.)

And last of all, Alasdair's life does change pretty significantly after the events in The Glasgow Scale. He stops smoking, for one, but he also starts drinking less. By the time we meet him in this AU he has already done a lot of the work to get a hold on his temper and it's partly why he is not one of the brawlers in the fight that puts Sean in a coma. But he still has a ways to go and Arthur helps with that, more than he knows. He learns to think about someone else's needs in a deeper way than he ever has before and starts to see his own actions through someone else's eyes. Alasdair post-TGS is guilt-ridden to a fault and being good to Arthur helps him get a grip of himself.

This is a bit of a spoiler but a few months after Dai's death, Arthur gets a call from one of his classmates. Dai left behind a few things (he was an artist, Dai was you see) and he offers to hold onto them until Arthur can travel back up to pick them up. Arthur mentions this to Alasdair, who he's kept in touch with (a little awkwardly at first ksks do not be fooled they are deeply emotionally constipated in this AU despite the way they latch onto each other in the midst of their respective trauma) and Alasdair offers to bring them down for him instead. He kinda just blurts it out actually haha and is afraid that it was too forward of him when Arthur takes too long to answer that aye, that would be good actually, if Alasdair is sure (he cannae afford a ticket up to Scotland is the truth).

This is a whole wee story in its own right but essentially they get to meet each other again, under better circumstances, and that lays a stronger foundation for their eventual relationship. It is also an incredibly awkward visit at first adgfjdhgj which oddly enough helps them get over a lot of personal hang-ups.

One thing about this fic though is that for as much as their lives are changed irrevocably by what they lose and earn that night, they are still very ordinary people hhh and that's what I love about them both.

[quilna]

Ooo very interesting! Amazing response as always, very enjoyable read! I do admit at first I wasn't quite big on the idea of playing around with the 3 minds getting swapped around rather than just the bodies swapping, but I think you're starting to drag me into the concept a little bit hah! I can definitely see why you like it. I think a body-swap au with hyde staying in the body of jekyll as the usual shadow would be quite interesting to play with. A possible twist and to speed up the plot overtime could be that overtime jekyll and hyde start decaying both physically and mentally as they are both half a soul or person from the split, at least from my perspective that is, and having one half be removed fully would probably have pretty bad effects overtime. I know others have their different ways of interpreting the jekyll and hyde potion and its effect on things but thats just my personal view on it and I always enjoy hearing others opinions on the matter!

I wasn't originally going to write a response as per usual with my asks but it seems that i've gotten a bit dragged in and invested in this discussion! All credit due to the great responses from you as always.

I'll be wrapping this up now. As always thank you for your input and your response!

Ah, thank you! Yeah, different people will probably have their different tastes when it comes to the different kinds of body swaps but, the good thing about TGS is there are lot of varieties to choose from! Something for everyone!

Damn, the two of them decaying! That makes a lot of sense and is certainly an angsty idea! Certainly multiple ways to go about that too, whether it's a physical decay or a mental decay - though a physical decay might not be good depending on who is in whose body and exactly which body is decaying. RIP that person, being stuck in Jekyll's body as it rots with them in it because it's physically unstable without its other half.

I wonder in terms of a mental decay what would happen if they decayed all the way? Would the body be empty? Can they swap back if there's no longer anyone to swap with? Would the decay stop if they got back to their regular body and would the damage be reversable?

If both happen at the same time, everyone involved is truly in for a bad time. One person physically struggling while another is mentally struggling and they have to work together to try to fix the situation before it's too late

Many many possibilities, all of them with great angst potential >:)

And it's okay to respond! I've had anons in the past who have done back and forth conversations and discussions through asks before! Can always add anything more that you would like :)

Thank you for the asks! It was certainly an interesting discussion! :D

[juuheizou]

omggg now you sparked my curiosity about juuzou as a parent even when i 200% picture him as not the parenting type, how soft would he be with his baby child? omg and he watching it transit through the baby stages to toddler and the kid's childlike wonder? i'm suuuper curious now I dont think he'd have much patience but just think about juuzou being the safe haven of a little child😭

Not exactly what you're asking, but hopefully either my answer or alternate answer gives you at least some of what you're looking for. It's all implied and referenced in little detail, but there is a mention of harm coming to children.

If he were to be a safe haven for a child, it would probably be while on a case. He would probably need to remind himself it's not forever, since I also don't see him liking to hang out with kids, but he might have a useful, professional kind of affinity for children he has something in common with.

The CCG is a helping profession, which requires being able to at least do your job with just about everyone, even people you wouldn't hang out with off the clock. Lacking that skill is where you run into problems IRL, so imaginably it's important in the TG universe as well. And some cases are bound to come with more of a personal obligation that others.

That being said, he does not seem like the type to be deeply bogged down by obligation to a victim, a family, a case. But he might one day encounter a practical obligation. I'm imagining a child victim of some Big Madam-like offense that other investigators, local law enforcement, even other specialist units but not the CCG, can't get through to. Just like I see him as a quickly regretted last resort when it comes to babysitting and more mundane situations involving kids, he would be this trifecta of organizations' last resort. By the time he's a Special Class, enough of these types know him that someone goes “hey, wasn't that one kooky ghoul investigator raised by ghouls?” and he ends up tasked with following the least gory and exciting lead he could be tasked with: some traumatized child.

Like I have mentioned wrt him and children, empathy is an important strength for child-handling that he innately lacks. For this particular child, however, a rescued captive or escaped meal who is too traumatized to help the investigation they didn't ask to be part of, his lack of empathy but knowing what he himself needed and how Shinohara ultimately got him out from under a hospital bed when he was first rescued is still more than the empathy but lack of understanding possessed by the garden variety detectives who have failed. He would be the one who finally makes the smallest, strangest hint of a connection that means this child might eventually be able to talk to him.

It would start with pages right out of Shinohara's book. Hospital food sucks, so he comes in, pretends to try questioning the kid per protocol knowing it won't work, and then leaves something tastier by their bed. He might leave practical things like toiletries, pillows, blankets. Once they start creeping from their hiding place to see what he brought and he can get a good enough look at them to guess their size, he would gift a pair of pyjamas and slippers much like the ones he always wears himself, some warm layers.

But he would also leave toys, coloring books, crafts... kid stuff, but kid stuff with a purpose. Shinohara got through to him by going slow, giving him space, and, from a distance, playing with him. See, the things he picked are nice presents and all, but he picked them out because once he finds which ones his new case-related little friend inspects when their curiosity trumps their hiding from him, which ones get played with when he leaves, they are things he can engage in with them.

Once again, he starts small once he's found his in. Maybe this child likes the playing cards from the hospital gift shop. It starts with building houses or something solitary on faraway ends of their hospital room. We know Suzuya has the sleight of hand to pick pockets, so maybe he knows some magic tricks that pique the child's interest. Soon it becomes teaching them tricks from a distance, then playing games together, then talking while they play. Maybe it's a stuffed animal they gravitate towards, so Suzuya starts bringing one of his own in hope their plushies can be friends, and these imaginary playdates eventually start to unearth some hints for the investigation. Or maybe they are just like Suzuya and it's the arts and crafts that distract them enough that he can get close without them retreating into a corner.

Whatever it is, he visits them often, always bringing his own supplies for their shared activity and a non-hospital snack. Once he can do it without pushing too hard and losing their trust, gently getting to know each other turns to talking about the ghoul who held them. He might even let the child in on his own past if it helps establish trust or seeing him in that light helps them to feel like there is hope for them too.

Eventually they get the answers they need and the case closes. Suzuya would find it in himself to visit the child once the ghoul has been killed or captured, just to let them know Investigator Suzuya and his friends at the CCG won and the ghoul would never come back for them. Suzuya didn't get that much when Big Madam escaped the raid in which he was rescued, and he made it into early adulthood still convinced he needed to be good for her since she was right around every corner, behind every closed door.

He would take the time to hang out and make them feel safe until they are reunited with their family or physically well enough to move to the Academy, because that's his job. But like I said, I don't see him really liking kids, and it is just his job. Not to be cold, but he is relieved and happy to say goodbye to this relationship once the case is closed and the child has someplace to go, more than content to stay “Investigator Suzuya” in the memory, and only the memory, of this kid. Not everyone is a Shinohara. But he is their safe haven, the one adult who really gets them, for as long as he needs to be.

Or, if it's less about the human child-ness of it all and more about seeing Suzuya's soft and nurturing side, the one thing I see genuinely bringing out that side of him, not just a Shinohara-like persona he adapts to hunt a ghoul down, is animals, especially cats, and especially cats he decides are going to be his. If he found a helpless orphaned bottle baby one day? Maximum softness, because you get the TLC he puts into all his furry friends plus even more because really young kittens are needy and require frequent, specialized coddling to like... live.

Plus, you want to talk about watching it grow through different stages? My brain instantly draws a connection to the transformation from a fragile neonate that can't even see or hear to a playful, curious shithead as bad as Suzuya when it comes to getting into everything. Childlike wonder? Anyone who has had to quickly grab and airlift a mischievous kitten out of trouble knows they have childlike wonder on steroids. I do highly recommend Cat Lady!Suzuya to anyone who, like anon and I, might not see him as a parent but needs to think about his soft, sweet side from time to time :)

[nevermindthewanderer]

top five movies?

Thanks for the ask! I got this message right before I fell asleep last night so sorry for just now answering. In working through this list, it became pretty clear what I enjoy most about movies.

Knives Out (2019) Beautiful sets, fun script with biting social commentary, solid twisty mystery, excellent cast that's clearly having an absolute blast, and a great soundtrack? Yeah this is a winner. Really the only thing I would change is Marta's tell. I hated the vomit gag.

Pride and Prejudice (2005) Is the BBC 1995 miniseries more book accurate? Yes. But Joe Wright nails the aesthetic of the era even if he's not quite as "accurate." Gorgeous cinematography, another excellent ensemble cast, a script that distills the story to its best elements, and captivating music? You had me at hello.

The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) I'm counting them as one and I'm referring to the extended editions. The ultimate medieval fantasy genre epic that needs no introduction. The books are great too, but idk for my enjoyment value you can't beat the movies. I really can't think of how to make them better. Yes, there's always additional lore to add and characters that get cut for time and clarity (sorry Tolkien, you know you ramble) but the choices that were made are excellent.

The Princess Bride (1987) I can't tell you how many times I watched this movie growing up because my mom loves it. This film didn't do great in theaters but exploded on VHS. I can practically quote the entire thing. Again, the snarky dialogue is 2/3 the fun. Another great cast. I love turning genre tropes on their head and having fun. More good music and a fun blend of good production choices mixed with intentionally campy elements. The comedy with a heart of gold that sneaks up on you.

Shrek 2 (2004) An oddball choice. Honestly I prefer this one to the original. Great animation for the era (honestly watch it again, it's almost 20 years old and it still looks good. RIP me noticing that it's that old), great original story, the jokes are sharp, the voice acting is fun, and every song is a banger. Seriously, the Holding Out For A Hero cover is unironically fantastic.

You come from my side blog, so you might be surprised by no Top Gun or Top Gun: Maverick. Honestly, TG:M is up there on the list and would make my top 10 because it's a fun watch. OG Top Gun is so very 80s and was my dad's favorite movie in the 90s so I saw it a lot. It gets points for soundtrack, cast, and cinematography but lacked in story and gets a heavy cringe ding imo. Honestly he might have watched Hot Shots just as much so sometimes I forget what was in TG and what was actually HS lol.

[postgamecontent]

Appare! Gateball (TG-16 Mini)

If you're going up against a tough opponent in the console space, one thing you can do is try to make something they don't have. Perhaps that was the thinking behind Hudson and Westone coming together to create Appare! Gateball. The Famicom didn't have any gateball games, as far as I can tell, and the sport was popular enough in Japan that there might have been some demand for a video game version. Well, whatever the case, Appare! Gateball arrived as the fifth sports game for the PC Engine, and the one with the most "casual" appeal yet.

I'm using scare quotes there because while I think a gateball game is going to be more recognizable to non-gaming Japanese family members, for example, this game isn't very casual at all. You have to properly understand the rules of gateball, because this game plays it straight. Each player takes their turn trying to whack their ball through a gate using a mallet, after which you try to knock it through two more gates and finally hit a pin. Hitting that pin removes that ball and player from the game. You get points for each of these actions, and whichever team has the most points when the timer runs out wins. There's a bit more to it than that. I'm simplifying a little here.

The other important part is that you can be a complete jerk. Indeed, that is a big part of the strategy. If you hit your ball into an opposing ball, you get another turn. You can then do something called sparking, where you plant your foot on your ball and whack it, using the transferred momentum to send the opposing ball flying. Because of this, it is often advantageous to hang around the pin and block the other player from hitting it rather than finishing up. Keep knocking them away, then when time is getting short, tap that pin.

Apart from the characters themselves, who are somewhat cartoonishly played-up, this is a rather straightforward gateball game. You have lots of options, but in the end you're still just playing a regular ol' game of gateball. The controls work a little like golf games do, with aiming and a meter you have to stop. But it takes a long time to play even the shortest game, since there are a lot of players taking their shots and you have to watch all of them.

I'm sure many people had fun with this back in the day, especially in the early going when the console didn't have many sports games to choose from. But as someone with no particular love of gateball, I find Appare! Gateball a little dull. I get why it's included in this mini-console, but it's not one I'll spend a lot of time with now that I've written something about it. The best gateball game I've ever played, and also the worst gateball game I've ever played. Gateball.

[monstermaster13]

TFs where it's just one character turning someone into a clone of themselves, looking at you tiger dancer tfs and that one time the dragon villain from Ring Fit Adventure got a lot of TF attention. Look I have no problem with these, but these are just arrogant to me. And this is coming from someone who does Dan Aykroyd character tfs. At least my were-aykroyds aren't obvious nazi wannabes unlike the tiger dancer ones.

'Zoinking'. Oh sure, you act like Zoinking is original but it's just a less horrifying way of saying 'brainwashed', it's just MC only it is the x-rated cut. 'you don't like zonking, get zonked idiot', more like get dum dumed because if those one of those people went up to me and tried to do it i'd turn them into a dum dum were-aykroyd to teach them how a happy transformation can be done without brainwashing.

'Balding'. As a general rule unless you are becoming a character who is naturally bald or a species that does not have any hair/fur in general you shouldn't be doing any balding/hair loss in transformations. I am sorry but if you have a kink for hair-loss you might have some serious problems and deserve to be thrown in an institution. I personally never got hair-loss in animal transformations and the same goes for teeth loss.

Hivemind transformations that don't make sense. For pete's sake, stop trying to enforce negative stereotypes of wolves by making them mindless hive-minded biggots who only exist to assimilate others into being their ilk, it is not cool, and as someone with more than one were-OC I am offended by this negative stereotype.

Jingoism based ones. I am sorry but Americans are typically overweight as they are, they don't need a weight gain fetish stapled into the mix, I am not into half-naked overly hairy nationalist anthro beast-men who think that everything great comes from America. Nationalism of any country is not something to be fetishized. I don't go around shoving Canadian stereotypes into my were-aykroyd stuff do I? Of course I don't.

Clothing TF. Imagine you are me and you are looking at a tf caption or photomanip of let's say Phoebe Cates in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, you immediately think 'awesome, somebody did a TG caption of someone into Phoebe Cates's character from that movie and recreated the iconic scene' only to find it's about someone turning into Phoebe Cates's swimsuit from that movie. 'Aaaaw come on, it's a stupid clothing TF? Why the hell did you just bait me using the image of sexy Phoebe Cates in that scene hoping I would think it's about someone becoming her only to pull this on me?'

British 'chav' type transformations. Yes, because all English/British people swear and smoke and act like soccer hooligans and that totally isn't a stereotype at all. Even if the author is from England themselves they should know better not to portray their own country like that.

Weight gain where it's all 'he got aroused by how fat he was growing', yes author or writer we know you have a fat fetish, stop shoving this crap in my face, I am not turned on by this, yes I liked weight gain in stories, but that was a phase I went through and I only like it if it's willing and happy and they can move and aren't a slob. Heck, my dum dum were-aykroyds are PARODIES of this exact type of weight gain, and they are better written than these because at least they are considered a 'joke' species in the main universe of my character.

Clown tfs where it just a just stereotypical clown. How is it that these unoriginal pieces of crap get a lot of attention and praise while my Spirit Halloween and Joker and Pennywise related works get nothing? Come on, I have almost done all of the Killer Klowns in TF form including Klownzilla and Krusty, I think that should be worth something. If you are just going to go to do a plain old stereotypical clown, screw you. Seriously? That's all it is, just a generic clown design? Booooring. Come back to me once you have done a Joker or Spirit Halloween clown tf.

Fat nerd stereotypes. Oh sure, all anime fans are overweight and are bad at sex, all nerds are bad at sex and have bad hygiene, that is totally not an untrue stereotype at all.