#thinking of different myths/backstories is really fun

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

Thoughts on Bonney and her situation? I feel so bad for her… :[

oda has always been really good at introducing information about characters through their backstories that recontextualizes a lot of their behavior in hindsight, and i think bonney is maybe one of the most skillfully done examples of this in the whole comic.

i started suspecting some time before reaching her backstory that she might be younger than she generally appears, because it struck me as consistently odd how everyone on egghead seemed to mention knowing her as a child and how fast she’d grown up, but having that information confirmed in her flashback completely changes her as a character in a way i find really compelling and fun.

like, throughout egghead i have been mentally comparing bonney a lot to law. from the start she’s playing a similar role as he does in the dressrosa saga, as the arc’s supernova ally-of-circumstance, and the similarities between them only grow deeper as we learn more about her history and motivations. bonney is really similar to law in a lot of ways; she aligns herself with the strawhats while on a revenge quest for the death of her adoptive father, who sacrificed himself in order to cure her of her childhood terminal illness.

the main difference, of course, is that bonney is twelve.

she’s twelve! and she was ten before the timeskip. which means she’s about as old in the present of the story (10-12) as law was in his flashback (10-13), or as ace and sabo were in the post-marineford flashback (10); that’s the age and maturity level she’s at. she’s twelve years old and she misses her dad. her tragedy is fresh and recent and she hasn’t quite grown around it yet, and she still has her whole future ahead of her.

i really liked the reveal that her devil fruit basically relies on her being a kid with a big imagination full of infinite possibilities. it’s very thematically resonant with her role as the emotional and narrative core of the arc set on egghead, the island of the future. any future she envisions for herself she can make real!

related to this, she also relates to religion and myth like a child does, where it all may as well be real because anything still could be. when kuma tells her about nika, she envisions someone who’s really somewhere out there in the world who she could find. the sun’s in the sky- maybe they’ll find him up on the sky islands?

and the thing is that she’s right!

bonney is a kid and the futures she dreams become real, because her ability to imagine the impossible hasn’t yet been beaten into submission by the horrible weight of reality. saturn tries to break her spirit and depower her before he kills her by crushing her ability to picture any future for herself, and it almost works.

and then there’s nika, and everything becomes possible again.

[precambrian-sea-pancake]

Gonna infodump about my D&D character

(Sadly forced to keep things confidential because my party members follow me on tumblr…you know who you are 👁️👁️)

I’ve only had Gawain for a short time but OH MY GOODNESS I FUCKING ADORE THIS SILLY GUY!!

Also kinda shocked that the moodboard I made for him got that many notes. That’s a first…

Also please enjoy the drawing @hootbon made for me. I will never shut up about their art.

So…for what CAN post publicly…

Gawain is your token Lawful Good Paladin TM. Bonus points for being a protector aasimar I guess. (Though I might multiclass into a bard depending on how things go. It would fit him well. They’re my favorite spell caster.)

His personality is gonna be SO fun to play. Before I explain that, I should mention that he’s actually the youngest of the group at 24. The second youngest is the Kobold (Maran) who’s 37. So he’s a lot more naive and still understanding himself and the world around him. People often dismiss him due to that unfortunately. But, you know, imagine a dumb collage age boy and you get somewhat of an idea.

He’s a very sweet and compassionate guy, extremely extroverted and fun loving…maybe a bit flirty at times. Definitely cracks witty comments and one liners in battles ranging from something clever to “suck my dick” or something dumb like that. That doesn’t mean he can’t be serious, he absolutely knows when he should. Ironically he’s the most “normal” of the group, often being the straight man. Overall heart of gold and just wants to help people.

He has a bit of a rebellious and impulsiveness to him. As clever as he is, he’s mostly driven by his emotions. It’s always a “do what feels right in the moment” rather than logic. In general he’s just very emotional and struggles with hyper empathy. This also causes him to question a lot of the authority around him.

I’d also say he has that Disney Princess syndrome. Gawain is convinced that he has some grand destiny and is meant for more. He’s always wanted to explore and learn more about the world, meet new people and cultures, live a life of glory and adventure. Maybe he’s in over his head or maybe he’s not…we’ll see.

However, another big reason for doing all this is that he wants to understand who he is…more accurately WHAT he is. He was born to humans, raised by humans, and grew up in a mostly all human kingdom. So he grew up thinking he was one despite some strong differences between him and the others. Aasimar are VERY rare, and more like myths to most people, and others don’t even know they exist. So people either assumed he was blessed or cursed, some treated him like the messiah, and others thought he was a freak and dangerous. So yeah, he never felt like he belonged and wants to learn about himself.

Somewhere in his life he ended up becoming a squire and completed his training just before the start of the campaign…

And that’s all the backstory information I can post because my friends will see this.

I guess I can do a bit of trivia:

It’s still D&D lore, but the world itself is homebrew. Humans are actually not the majority race, far from it. Most humans live in a large archipelago with various human nations. I remember the DM said the estimated population of humans was 20,000 to 30,000. The two mainland continents are one dominated by dwarves and the other by elves, along with other races being far more common on the mainland. Not really about my character but I LOVE that detail. It’s somewhat relevant I guess since I said Gawain grew up in a human society.

The god he venerates most is Ilmatar.

His eyes reflect his emotions and power. When using any of his abilities or when under intense emotions (both positive and negative), his eyes will turn a solid gold color.

Prior to his training, he was a courier. His parents ran his town’s postal service and that’s one of the things that got him into the idea of adventuring.

He’s more of a cat person than a dog person. He likes both, but I feel like he’d go for the cat.

The first weapon he ever used was a bow rather than a sword. The specific sword he uses is an arming sword.

He is a wonderful singer, his voice is almost ethereal in when he sings (little aasimar headcanon of mine).

His favorite study is anthropology, but also really likes history and geography. He’s always collecting little souvenirs and trinkets from everywhere he visits.

He keeps a diary and loves to write stories and sketch things. A lot of story inspiration comes from his dreams, which are often very vivid…and he remembers them super well.

Neither of his parents have blonde hair, nor is it a recessive trait they had. It’s actually part of his aasimar traits.

He talks in his sleep because I think it’s funny.

If this wasn’t a medieval fantasy world, he’d definitely use Gen Z slang. Maybe even tell someone “L + Ratio” or “Skill issue” after besting them in battle. In that same hypothetical reality, his favorite band would be Starset and The Score.

He takes good care of his appearance and health, so he does enjoy certain beauty products. A spa day is his ideal day off.

He hates salmon. He thinks it tastes bad and prefers catfish. I don’t know why I even thought of that fact but it’s there.

[sardonic-the-writer]

rant about Gabriel to me I need to understand him

im going to format this like you've never seen the show, just in case you haven't, so if you have just bare with me

gabriel is a bit of an enigma. for the first two and a half episodes he shows up in, he's not even known as gabriel. he's on screen as 'the trickster' and is masquerading as one. (tricksters in spn canon are powerful demigod creatures of myth that can alter reality how they want, normally using their powers to play deadly pranks on malicious humans in ironic ways. i.e mauling someone who tests products on animals via a sewer alligator)

the reason he's doing this as a self proclaimed "witness protection" method is because he's in hiding, pretending to be a trickster to hide from his family; which is heaven since he's the archangel gabriel. surprise surprise. this is revealed in the episode 'changing channels', (season four) which is i believe the best ranked episode on the entire show by the audience and one of my favorites. 'mystery spot' (season three) is another one he stars in (as rhe trickster, not gabriel. we still dont know that), and i think it's the second highest ranked. and 'tall tales' (season two) is the first one he shows up in which is also very highly ranked.

gabriel has a habit of faking his death a lot to escape responsibility, which he does in the episode 'hammer of the gods' (season five [?] i think) after being "stabbed" by lucifer so he doesn't have to really stick around and watch his family (lucifer and michael) fight. but we don't know that it was a fake out for nearly eight seasons. (there is an instance where he shows up again in season nine but that was a fake out and not the real him). in 'hammer of the gods' we also find out that gabriel really had gone all in with his so called witness protection while pretending to be a trickster; so much so that most of the mythological world/pretty much anyone but cas sam and dean knows him as the actual god of tricksters, loki, and not by his true name. later on when he comes back in season thirteen we find out that's because the real loki offered to share the same face with gabriel back when he first came to earth wayyyyyyy long ago to help him out. and when we meet loki later when gabriels trying to kill him for selling him off to one of the princes of hell asmodeus (i'll get into that) it's basically just the actor richard speight jr playing two roles at once. if that makes any sense. one of my favorite episodes, although i think that's just because i hadn't really seen gabriel in months and was over excited. i'll have to see if the hype holds up on my rewatch

but okay, for some backstory on the whole being sold thing, after gabriel faked his death in 'hammer of the gods', he ran off to some island to get in contact with loki and his kids (think fenrir. spn uses real mythological names and bloodlines as side plots sometimes) to go dark again. loki pretends to entertain the idea and let's gabriel play poker with hookers for a few days (gabe has also stared in a porno before and enjoys eating candy even though angels never get hungry. he's fun that way) before betraying him and basically selling him off as a slave to a prince of hell, who locks him away for hundered (thousands maybe?) of years, constantly draining his archangel grace just enough to not leave gabe powerless, but also enough to torture him horribly. it's awful, and all explained in the episode 'unfinished buisness' (season thirteen) which is all about him enacting revenge on loki and the tricksters kids. but the takeaway is that the first time we see gabe after season five, he's a completely different person. almost like a scared animal. if the animal has had its mouth sewn shut by a demon, that is.

anyways, sam and dean and cas help revert him back to his usual self, and he runs away from his problems for a few episodes, before finally confronting them and dying for real this time at the hands of an alertnate world version of his brother michael a few episodes later. the later seasons writing was so fucked up in my opinion, and the way gabriel died was done so wrong, but i think that's because im biased. frowns

my explination of him does no justice. he's a smug, silly, tricky, multi layered, funny son of a bitch that has fuck ass smile where his eyes crinkled at the corner and i. oughhh. i love him. urgh. yeah

[kerubimcrepin]

What do we know about Joris le Sans-Pouvoir (Joris the Powerless)?

Aka, addressing the "cancelled Nintendo DS game"-shaped elephant in the room.

While this blog has gone deep into the show and character dissections, I think it would be remiss to proceed without addressing the elephant in the room — the game, the myth, the legend, the 2007-2009ish cancelled game Joris le Sans-Pouvoir.

There isn't a lot that is known about it, and all the data in this post comes from two developers.

The only videos of it we have available are uhhh......,

...Please say "Thanks Ronik!" for this video in particular.

I spent hours trying to convert these two SWF animation video files, — which demonstrate how the game was supposed to look, — to something actually viewable. There were many issues, with at least seven different programs.

I suffered for crepinjurgenology studies, but I did it.

Instead of recounting the story in my own words and omitting anything on accident, I will simply present to you, what the portfolios of two different developers say (these two pages are the source of all the images, gifs, and gameplay):

Joris Le sans-Pouvoir is the main character from a feature film Ankama due in 2013. It’s a new character IP situated in the DOFUS universe. I had the chance to work on a platform game prototype that was all about delving into of the character’s backstory. We wrote a lot of background and had a lot of fun designing and developping a cute and quirky platformer with a hint of metroidvania elements and a dash of Grow gameplay elements in-between levels. It also was a great opportunity to work with Jono Takeshi-san of Radiata Stories fame who worked with me on the art direction. (SOURCE)

Joris was the first Nintendo DS project developed at Ankama (in partnership with Magic Pockets). I began working on the project as narrative game designer, then took on the role of Lead Designer and Project Manager. Game design on this project involved boss fight, level design, minigame design, UI… I also designed an original collecting system where collectible items were used in a minigame inspired by the “Grow” series. The developpement has been put on hold to match the release of the animated movie with the same character (scheduled in 2013). (SOURCE)

Neither the movie nor the game, survived their development, due to circumstances. (shorthand for: I have no idea what happened, man. Maybe one day I'll write a post about the history of the movie, and truly open that can of worms, but god, not right now. I don't want to spend more time on this.)

Eventually, The Wakfu film turned into three OVAs instead, and the Dofus film changed its plot a bunch of times, and became Livre 1 : Julith.

...For some reason, in some version of it, Joris had a tail. Yeah, I don't know what that's about either. Cool clothes, though!

We don't know anything about its plot, and unlike cancelled projects Dofus Donjons and Welsh et Shedar (which was cancelled for years, until its recent resurrection), the lore of this game carries no relevancy in modern canon.

The name, Joris the Powerless, as well as the log-centric gameplay, both seem to reference the early concept that Joris had log-based powers, — and that without his "magic wand," he couldn't do much.

(Joris and his weird fucking "magic wand" were, in turn, borne out of the idea of a warrior who had a woman's voice. Which makes me chuckle.)

(The following quotes are machine-translated and may contain errors)

(SOURCE)

This is, by the way, the reason why I personally headcanon Joris to be really bad at huppermagic. So bad that he dropped out of the Huppermage Academy, and almost never uses magic in combat. It's a homage to his original idea.

(Yes, there is an actual reason why I headcanon Joris to be godawful at magic, besides just projecting my neurodivergencies onto him.)

I suppose that, even at this time, Joris was meant to be a store owner:

The gameplay loop involves going from boutique, to missions, and so on, while those two pieces of concept art involve the said boutique section, and show a female character saying «Pas mal, boss !».

In my opinion, it might be this character. Proto-Simone, perhaps?

Since the store seems to be the centerpiece, and the Grow-style minigames involved collectibles, I would assume that the plot involved Joris going around and finding artifacts for the store. That would also explain the concept art gifs of him adventuring.

(Though, the adventuring would probably just be the inciting incident/a vehicle for plot development. Nintendo DS games loved using the jobs characters did for that purpose.)

This is the extent of what I can surmise about the plot.

The developer portfolios also included these example documents, but the image quality is too bad for me to make sense of or upscale. I am including them here solely for some French people who are very good at reading blurry text. (If you learn anything, let me know, okay?)

Overall, my verdict is that this game's cancellation was both a blessing (Joris without Kerubim and Atcham is like tea without water and a cup. How am I meant to drink leaves? Are you stupid? Why are you giving me leaves with nothing?) and a curse (THEY CANCELLED A GAME ABOUT MY BLUE-COLORED YOINKY SPLOINKY (who has a THIN, GRABBABLE WAIST)????? FUCK!)

Hope this was a fun read!

[joshisodd]

I may not look it but i used to watch ft!!

I've been rewatching some of the episodes and im still wishy washy on whether or not I want to redesign all the characters but here's some recent and old character sketches!! I've been playing around with their designs but trying not to deviate too far so that the characters still look like who they're supposed to be

Idk if anyone would wanna see me redesign/rework every character but I'd post em if there were people who wanted to see that.

Here's the rundown for those who are interested:

My basic ideas for fairy tail are to make every character a fantasy trope/creature/class/myth. Some of the characters will change into a different thing over time as they gain experience. I feel like fairy tail has a lot of potential to write a more modern fairy tale type story because of the whole wizards and magic thing. With dragons and princesses n everything. This is obviously present in the story, but i really want to reinforce that idea. there are some characters who I think really fit this, like Erza (obvi main knight of the story but also has the title of titania queen of the fairies) and natsu (obviously dragon as an mc, sort of a role reversal of the evil dragon. and maybe a fun demonic plot twist haha). But with other characters i may need to make more changes. Lucy is a loose version of the princess (with a fun runaway backstory), but I want her to evolve into a priestess. Grey kinda has nothing going on for him imo, the ice wizard thing keeps throwing me off every time i try to project something onto him. I think i'll go with a hunter -> demon slayer thing. He just happens to use ice magic. i don't wanna go with regular wizard because thats a bit boring lmao. It would also make the elemental thing between natsu and grey funnier bcuz he's a spooky demon and that guys a hunter so you guys REALLY shouldnt get along. They do anyway because the power of friendship lol Anyways that's the basic plan? even if i dont post it on tumblr just know its cooking in the back of my head. thx for reading all this haha

[ljjsims]

Greek Goddess Legacy Challenge: Generation #5 Persephone: Complete

You may bow now: The Queen of the Underworld has arrived! Please welcome Persephone to the stage!

When you were younger, your mother used to call you little Kore (maiden). a name as forgettable as your mother seems to think you are. You love her, really you do, but you wish she wouldn't be so strict. You need to be inside the house before dark. Hell, you can't even leave your mothers property, because she is so scared you'll meet bad people… How are you supposed to know what you can bring the world if you can never try to become someone? You want to make a difference! So when you meet a young man standing at your mother's fence, you take your chance and tell him to take you home. Finally free from your mother's clutches you can finally discover the world and yourself.

Little bit explanation with the sheets: - First sheet is for describing your current generation, with the challenges you need to do each life-stage. Also, because I love the myths, a bit of mythological background. May it inspire you :) - Second sheet is the preparation sheet for this generation, with important characters for your story. It is technically optional, but I love seeing sims with a backstory in my world, so I would highly recommend it. - Third sheet is for your gens children. They all have their own little challenges if your interested in those. I try to make all of them a bit different from each other, so it doesn’t get boring. Your heir is also on this sheet, but I’ve put their challenges on their own sheets. Stay tuned for those ;) - Fourth sheet is completely optional. If you want sims with names from the myths and love making sims to see them in your world, this is for you! All with a little mythological background ofc, you know me.

Next Generation is Hecate! Previous Generation was Demeter First Generation is Gaia

The Greek Goddesses Challenge by LJJ-Sims is a challenge based on the ancient mythical creatures and stories from Greece. I fell in love with Greek mythology in high school and have not let that love go since. In this challenge you will follow 10 deities in their journey through life. Every goddess has a different take on and goal in life. Special about this challenge?  All your kids have little challenges of their own, not only your heir. These challenges are optional, so if you feel like these are too much or just too restricting for you: by all means let them go. I also have sheets for characters that you can make before you start each generation. This gives your challenge a lot more personality and makes it frankly easier and more fun!

A little disclaimer: because I made these gods and goddesses into a legacy challenge, the relationships in the myths don’t exactly match the relationship in this challenge. There is a lot of keep it in the family in mythology, to put it lightly. And apart from the fact that you can’t do that in the Sims, I don’t really like that part. So I didn’t include it, thus the inconsistency. An example: Ares is now Hera’s stepfather instead of her son, which she conceived with her brother  and husband Zeus. This inconsistency can also be found in the stories. It’s just based on and not copied exactly, as Sims live lives that are a lot shorter than those of immortal gods. And it takes a way from the creativity if we just copy the myths. Even if we wanted to do that, it’s quite hard, as every myths has its fair share of variations and some are just completely different stories.

I use the MCCC-mod to alter the length of life states. You can find the days-years ratio here: the boring stuff.

[ringsandwings]

A completely unnecessary analysis of the flowers surrounding Bag End: sunflowers, snapdragons, and asters.

I got this idea after reading a ton of adorable Sam and Frodo fanfic involving the language of flowers and getting a little obsessed with floriculture. I went on a hunt to find any flowers that were actually mentioned in the books and found this very small passage in chapter 1 of Fotr, describing the flowers surrounding the outside walls and windows of Bilbo and Frodo’s home. so I took the different meanings and symbolisms of the three flowers mentioned, and found fun ways to relate them to either the story or the characters. Please enjoy this unhinged interpretation that absolutely nobody asked for!!

Starting off with the sunflower! These mean, undying loyalty and adoration. This symbolism originates from the Greek myth of the nymph Clytie, and her unrequited love for the sun god Apollo. When she realized her feelings would never be reciprocated she spent several days not eating or drinking, following the path of Apollo’s sun chariot across the sky, until she eventually turned herself into a sunflower, perpetually facing the direction of the sun and waiting patiently for Apollo to return to her. Alternatively sunflowers can also mean everlasting, specifically everlasting friendship, and obviously joy and happiness. Their symbolism at Bag End is particularly precious with the theory that Sam planted these flowers. I love the idea of him using these to declare his undying devotion to Frodo even if Frodo doesn’t notice it! It’s giving you want me and you just don’t know it yet. But if that’s not your cup of tea, then these could also symbolize devotion to the Baggins’s, Sam’s lasting friendship for both Bilbo and Frodo, or just good vibes. 💖

Next are snapdragons, which I think have the coolest symbolism! They can mean two things, either grace or deception, but the exact meanings are very specific. Snaps can thrive under really harsh conditions, they can grow in cramped rocky areas and survive in subfreezing temperatures, so they specifically symbolize grace under pressure or in difficult situations. And while they do mean deception in the language of flowers, they’re mostly used as an apology flower for deceptive behavior, or used as protections against it. During the medieval period which is roughly the timeline Lotr was set in, these flowers were seen as guardians against evil forces and were typically planted by gates and around wealthy residences like Bag End. I freaking love the idea of these flowers being symbolic of the bravery and perseverance of the Baggins’s, but it might be more likely that either Bilbo or one of the Gamgees knew about their protective qualities and either the gardeners planted them out of reverence, or Bilbo sweetly chose these for Frodo’s protection.

And lastly Asters! These were my personal favorite to research and play around with because they mean so many different things and literally have the perfect backstory. Asters got their name from the Greek word Astrea, which was also the name of the Greek goddess of innocence and justice who created them in myth. The most popular version of this myth is that Astrea was so distraught over the lack of stars in the sky, when her tears fell to earth they created the star shaped aster flowers. Shortly afterwards, she herself fled into the sky and became the constellation of Virgo. Virgo is, of course, Bilbo and Frodo’s star signs, and the Astor is an official September flower. These flowers symbolize faith and valor, but in the language of flowers they symbolize innocent love and undying affection. I am choosing to believe these were planted by Sam on purpose, purely because of their meaning, but there’s one more piece of backstory that literally connects these flowers straight back to him. Asters were also an emblem of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, and her planet is the ruling planet of taurus, which just so happens to be Sam’s star sign! *loses shit*

This was a little longer than I thought it would be, but I hope someone finds this as adorable as I did :-) PS, I don’t actually think Tolkien meant anything buy these super random flowers and same goes for the character of Sam, this was one sentence in the beginning of the book that I took way too far lol! It’s not true and I know I’m reaching, but just let me be delulu 😘😘

[punklorde-hunter]

So 2.1, just like the previous patch SO much happened, and To no one's surprise, It blew everything we saw in 2.0 out of the water! And since i did something similar during 2.1, I'd thought it make sense to do the same for the next part. So without further ado!

Spoilers under the Cut!!!!

Of course the start of 2.1's story has to end right where we left off, in the room where we found Robin's dead body O_O. But i like the direction they go, where after we split off form Aventurine and meet with the Express, we get to see multiple POV's, kinda like how they did with Dan Heng on the Luofu but more complex. And man did it work wonders!

While I know there were people meming and a bit disappointed Duke Inferno never got to appear in game, I did like that Acheron at least remembers his last stand. Man stood by his principles and went out fighting (even if he' prob won't be playable)

I also like how they handled Acheron & Welt together. Like I said before never got to play Honkai Impact 3rd, but I did get to read a lot of the supplementary material like Second Impact, so it was nice to see that side of Welt from there. And that's while Acheron isn't his Mei it's nice they shared a kinship

What a fun Greek Myth ref to match the HI3 Ref

I got nothing to add to this the sand pit was hilarious as hell! The NPC walking into walls and clipping into floors made me lose it. The devs had way too much fun in that area lmao.

Siobhan give em one more chance 🥺

the straight Up Pikachu ref sdjaldsadkklds

The little detail of Aventurine's & Dr. Ratio's shoes was pretty cute, the lil' spades on Aventurine's sole and Ratio's sandals, it's nice!

Nice Unlimited Blade Works ref there Star Rail

This next parts more on the serious side, so I'll give a little heads up that rest of the post is prob about to touch on really dark topics like Enslavement, genocide, su1c1de, and not so nice things like that so be warned.

So,

Aventurine / Kakavasha's backstory....

there's so much I could say but they really did a excellent job fleshing out his character. From how he was "lucky" from birth but everyone he ever loved wasn't so lucky, how his reckless gambling with his life was there even as a kid, him feeling he's never been truly free only going from one master to another, mans got trauma and it's no wonder he thinks everything comes at a cost.

I haven't seen a lot of post about the part where Kakasvasha says his last goodbyes to his sister, right before the Narration explains that the small rebellion ended in the Avgin clan's extinction (it's vague if the Katacins survived, but considering how the story paints them, not many people are gonna miss them). over 6,000 deaths and over ,000 casualties, all on a planet that was barely survivable. And while his sister sends him off after one final prayer to Gaithra Triclops, it left him alone with no one, and we know how he ended up afterwards.

Not to mention the fact even when Aventurine killed his old master by STRANGLING HIM WITH CHAINS, he would've been arrested by the IPC had Jade not taken an interest in his bet. Man has been through it. No wonder he recklessly bets his life in gambles, it was either that or he dies.

Speaking of reckless gambling, the entire sequence after Sunday does his Harmony suggestion we get that oh so nice interactions with the young Aventurine and his shadow the true self other Aventurine that rags on him the rest of the way. The shadow Aventurine lays it in him that underneath that bravado is a man whose so scared to lose more and yet doesn't care if his own life gets taken in the process since all he has is that. Not even with all the money in the universe. Dr Ratio's "betrayal" was supposedly an act, but he still thinks on some level the doctor hates him and it was real, he has no one to confined in or anything.

But with the younger self it's different. The way his young self still has light in his eyes, how in the hallucination he's at the theme park with his family, who are dead. First he denies that there are any Avgins since they were all dead right? But then he shows a kinder side he would never show to anyone, much less himself. And it accumulates in the scene where he decides to live on a bit longer and says a final prayer to his past, to Kakavasha. I was choking up all through that final part.

I know the patch mostly focused on Aventurine, but even what we learned of Acheron is also sad. She's not really a Galaxy Ranger, because her status as an Emanator of Nihillty, a "Self-Annihilator," is tragic enough, means she'll forget precious memories, senses, untill there's nothing. So it's sticks out to me that Acheron is the one to give Aventurine the nudge to live on, she she also has lost so much but chooses to walk on in life. Plus Dr. Ratio's note to Aventurine was very Ratio, no-nonsense but also wants him to live on despite their differences. The Aventio fans are eating it up but it's still a nice gesture from Ratio.

Speaking of Sunday, I said I wanted him to get his revenge as a treat but I wasn't counting on him almost killing Aventurine with whatever Harmony power he put on him. Sure the man lost his sister to an unknown murderer, and the light cone memory of them of a simpler time is sad. There's still a few unanswered question about him and Robin's relationship, like if Robin's fondest memories of are the pretend concert between her and Sunday, why is ti as adults she only just got back to Penacony, and why the Harmony isn't in sync anymore that caused her voice to lose it's tune. Also Sundays controlling attitude and his raven bird watching in every scene he's in makes me think the once closed siblings may not be as close anymore

Also with the reveal of what "Gallagher's" role in the story is, the drink he made for my Trailblazer fits a bit TOO well. I don't completely believe he's working alone, but his association with the Something Unto Death meme has me excited for his role next patch. Let my chill bartender man be a bit shady as a treat. Truly the "most normal human in the game of werewolf" (Thanks Shaoji)

Also to no one's surprise, Sam & Firefly are one in the same. While I am interested on how the last Stellaron Hunter is gonna be like and what their deal is, it's a shame most people like em were spoiled by the twist since it makes Firefly and Sam SO much more interesting.

But overall 2.1 has been AMAZING in terms of characterization and with 2.2 being set to be the "climax" of Penacony's Story I can't wait to see what they do with the plot threads they have been cooking up.

[wingless-cupid]

I am asking about your listeners, do you have any random or fun facts about them? Or anything you'd like to share in general? I love hearing about other people's characters

most of my listeners are based on different myths. Angel is based on Hermes, Darlin is based on the story of Chang'e when she drank the potion in a self sacrifice way, Sunshine is based on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, you get it.

Sweetheart is based on the Cheshire cat (milo really is a cat person haha) and Freelancer is loosely inspired by monkie kid characters no one talk about it./lh

also Freelancer sings a lot of death metal they love to scream.

none of my listeners (or even my versions of the canon characters) are white. every character I've drawn so far is either a poc or a literal demon

Angel used to do competitive fighting when he was younger and he was really good at it. He doesn't fight anymore, but he can for sure throw someone over his shoulder still.

Sweetheart is a fucking loser. cringefail. sopping wet kitten trying to drink milk core. Hunter from the owl house vibes.

also he gets really competitive with Milo over anything.

things Angel likes: long car rides, trips to different cities, boba, strawberry flavored things, ironing orange fruit patches to David's clothes, k-pop, magical girl/shonen anime, making you reveal all your secrets to them because they play dumb to make you think this squishy little cherub wont make it his goal to know your backstory. he knows everything about you. things you didnt even know about yourself.

things Darlin likes, but secretly: blueberries, sweets, cute fluffy things, going up to people and hugging them from behind without saying anything about it, Angel telling them he was never intimidated by them, Angel painting their nails, holding Milo's hand, cuddling with Asher, watching David cook, Sam petting his hair/taking care of them in general and finally fucking destROYING EVERYONE IN ANY GAME THEYRE PLAYING AND MAKING EVERYONE FEEL BAD ABOUT IT.

thats it.

[laufire]

march reading meme!

BOOKS

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. Letters from Watson sent this from January to March, alongside a couple of other shorts ("The Field Bazaar" and "The Man with the Watches"). An interesting thing about it is that Sherlock was portrayed as somewhat bitter on the issue of credit (he does all the work, subpar investigators take underserved glory), while he's usually, in both ACD's later works and adaptations, portrayed as ~above such feelings. "The Field Bazaar" was interesting in that, in describing why Watson is a good "foil" for Sherlock's smarts in the books, actually illuminates why I think the smart investigator/fumbling idiot dynamic just. Fucking sucks for me lol. I don't get a kick out of it, I much prefer when they pair two investigator of different talents and portray those as both interesting and helpful in their investigations.

Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of the Daily Planet's Ace Reporter by Tim Hanley. Amazing read. It takes you through the history of the character, often looking at it through the lense of real-life issues and movements, getting into the different eras, adaptations, etc. It's giving me a lot to think about, both within the dc fandom and outside it.

Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. This one I also read in substack newsletters, going for about a year, the last one being sent in March. It was a reread, and I maintain it's a book everyone should at least try to read. Inferno is by far my favourite part (the theology lessons in Paradise grate on me, in comparison).

Batman: The Ultimate Evil by Andrew Vachss. This book was written by a crime fiction author and attorney that specialices in representing children and in child abuse cases, who was approached by DC to write a book featuring Batman facing child sex trafficking. In the book, Bruce ends up discovering that his mother, Martha Wayne, was a sociologist who was investigating a child molester ring, and that's what caused their deaths. That's what caught my eye first, because really, how many canons give any weight and importance to Martha? If they opt to make the Wayne murders a conspiracy, it's always about Thomas's actions. I also appreciated that, even though the author clearly had to follow some dc-mandated lines (fictional country, individual villain), he practically hits you with a hammer when it comes to dispel a lot of the myths we have about child molesters and how they operate, specifically to challenge those dc-mandated lines. I wish we'd seen more of the social worker character, but I liked her as it was.

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. I picked this novella exclusively for vibes and not plot, and it's what it gave me. It's also made me think a lot about how men see women, and how through their eyes our selves are twisted. Komako and Yoko are fascinating characters in part for how inescrutable the male lead finds them and how he might be misunderstanding them. There's so, so much hinted under the surface, about their persons and about their relationship.

The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal. Short novelette I picked on a whim. A 60+ yo astronaut is offered a chance to travel to space again, her dream come true. She has to choose between taking it, or staying with her ailing husband, who has little time left. The story apparently later expanded on some novels/prequels, I might pick them up.

COMICS

Secret Origins 80-Page Giant. I picked this one up for Steph's story (I'm going through her comic arcs), but ended up reading all the others. It's cemented my desire to pick up the Young Justice comics. These teens are sooooo chaotic and fun lmao, all of them (back then) with such weird and interesting backstories.

Lois Lane (1986). A two-part issue that shows Lois getting in deep in an investigation about child abductions. It's gets gruesome and heavy at times, but it's a great read, specially for her character. It shows Lois at a moment that the mainline comics seem to have ignored (she missed out on a great professional opportunity due to Superman), and it shows how obsessive she gets and how that is what makes her a great investigator and reporter. I also liked the glimpse at the dynamic between her and her sister Lucy there, how dismissive Lois was of Lucy's stewardess' job, for example.

DC First: Batgirl/Joker. I don't like it as much as the early-Batgirl (2000) run but it's kind of on that vein. Barbara tells Cass about her first encounter with the Joker, and Cass is determined to prove herself against him. I loved the art as well (very different than in the cover).

[oopsitszuli]

80’s music??? DEMON SLAYER HASHIRA??? HEAD-CANONS???

Authors Notes: Ummmmm. Hey y’all!!! Sorry for going awol and not posting in like a year. I got wrapped up with huge loses in my personal life and a lot of stress and mental health issues. I’m so sorry and I’m glad to announce that I am going to try and make a comeback!!! SO- without further ado, In honor of DEMON SLAYER SEASON 3, I’d love to introduce y’all to a fun little headcanon list I made while listening to music. And as always, spoilers for character backstories.

———————————————————————————

The Hashira’s favorite songs from the 1980’s!!!

To start us off strong, the man, the myth, the music kickin Hashira himself;

Tengen Uzui🎵🎶

- Without a doubt, Tengen Uzui is a Mötley Crüe diehard. He SCREAMS the song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls.’ Much to the disapproval of Hina, Maiko, and Suma. But other than being a CrüeHead, I feel like he would also be way into bands like Warrant and Quiet Riot.

Next up is our favorite annoyed lover boy;

Iguro Obanai🐍

- While I thoroughly believe that Obanai would be a music elitist, I could see him getting in his feels to the song ‘Waiting for a girl like you.’ By Foreigner. Additionally, he would for sure relate to the song ‘Faithfully’ by Journey. Forever longing for his lovely Love Hashira and silently confessing his undying loyalty to her when no one else is around.

Moving on from lover boy, why don’t we take a gander at Lover Girl;

Mitsuri Kanroji💖🍡

- Mitsuri is definitely into big 80’s power ballads. I’m talking ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ by Poison big. But I also see her jamming to songs like ‘Edge of a Broken Heart’ by Vixen and ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ by Pat Benatar. She’s got a history with love and heartbreak that would make anyone sympathetic to her and I feel like she would really find solace in songs that told stories of heartbreak.

From someone who has a history with love, to someone who’s got a history of poisons. For our next candidate we have the woman Kesha wrote ‘Toxic’ about;

Shinobu Kocho🦋🧪

- Shinobu, my dear!! Oh I could see her absolutely kicking it to some Joan Jett. ‘Bad reputation’? Hell yeah! ‘I love Rock n Roll’? Hell yeah she does. But other than Joan Jett, I see one of her FAVORITE songs being ‘Bad Medicine’ by Bon Jovi. She probably listens to it while making her elixirs or discovering new medicine and honestly I love that for her.

Moving on from Shinobu, why don’t we take a look at the Hashira who took the world by their heart in less than an hour;

Kyojuro Rengoku❤️‍🔥

- Listen, Rengoku is a fire boy through and through, so I feel like his number one jam would be ‘Fire Woman’ by The Cult! And he would also absolutely adore the song ‘Heaven’s On Fire.’ by Kiss!!

Fire. Water. Two total opposites, just like their Hashira’s favorite 80’s song;

Giyuu Tomioka🌊

- I’m so sorry but I could not see Giyuu listening to upbeat songs from G’n’R or Mötley. My boy is just not that way. I actually see him listening to slower songs that have a little bit of kick. I also feel like his music is a reflection of how he feels about his relationships. So I believe one of his top songs would be ‘Nobody’s Fool’ by Cinderella. He truly is nobody’s fool and he is a lot more perceptive than people give him credit for!!!

His emotions remained tucked away just like him, but so are another water based Hashira’s emotions. The kiddo that gives us all misty eyes;

Muichiro Tokito☁️

- My boy Tokito has been through trials and tribulations on his road to becoming a Hashira, and after regaining his memories in full, I believe the guilt of loosing his brother would stick in with him. So I believe Tokito’s favorite song would be ‘Running Up That Hill(A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush. He chooses to live for his brother but I feel as though there’s a part of him that wishes his brother was the lucky one. (Also that song could count for so many people. But I really think it hit him differently.)

From Hashira who tuck their emotions away, to Hashira who show their emotions a little too aggressively. Give it up for the man who can and will sweep you away;

Sanemi Shinazugawa🍃🎐

- Oh, Sanemi, my darling. Violent in actions, deeply lonely in mind. I believe our boy Sanemi wouldn’t be one to listen to music for fun, his music Is his way of finding people who relate to him without being outwardly vulnerable. He wants connection, but he chooses to find it trough ballads and songs that remind him of the home he so desperately misses. He finds solace in songs such as ‘Home Sweet Home’ by Mötley Crüe, ‘Coming Home’ by Cinderella, and ‘Something to Believe In’ by Poison. Songs from people who were astronomically different from him, and yet they all sang of Greif or wishing to return to a home that wouldn’t be truly theirs again. And for once, while listening, Sanemi felt seen.

The wind that sweeps you off your feet, that rustles your clothing, the ever moving force around us. So different from our last Hashira, steady as stone and built with a heart of pure gold. Our Stone Hashira;

Gyomei Himejima🪨

- Now I know a lot of people are like, “Gyomei??? Rock n Roll?! HA! Not that one.” But I raise you, Gyome Himejima’s favorite songs; ‘Sister Christian’ by Night Ranger and ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake!!

———————————————————————————

There are my picks for the Hashira’s favorite songs from the era of S,D,&R’N’R!! I know CANONICALLY they would never touch 80’s music but that’s also because demon slayer is based in 1920’s Japan and I’m just having some fun :D

Hope y’all enjoyed, as always these are just my IDEAS and OPINIONS, and if you have any thoughts and suggestions please leave them in the notes!! I love you all and hope you’re doing wonderful!

© 2023 Oopsitszuli. All rights reserved. Do not modify, repost without credit, or claim as yours.

[lollytea]

Not to be unhinged abt your AU but I can see Fates really being a burden on Willow in this story. I recently listened to Hadestown and loved their role in that: "three mean women all dressed the same," they say out loud to Willow (and Hunter!) all the worst stuff they say to themselves, and that it's impossible to try and change things. "Doubt comes in and kills the lights, doubt comes in and chills the air," "what are you gonna do when the chips are down?" etc. They're like the anti-muses!!!

Ooooooh you right!!! I'm not too stringent about accuracy in this AU. Just going with whatever ideas are the most fun. So I'm thinking that the Fates are slightly different creatures than they are in the movie (and myth itself I suppose)

When you mentioned them speaking Willows's insecurities aloud to her, I was initially thinking they'd be Boscha, Skara and Amity? Like Willow's original bullies. However I don't think it's fair to Amity and Skara to confine them to their season 1 selves. Plus Boscha is....she's just some girl. I think it's likelier she'd be the girl who bullies Willow early on before she leaves home to train to be a God. She's such a "backstory" kind of bitch. We are leaving her in the backstory section of Willow's life.

But okay okay okay okay okay what if!!! So fates okay. Three miserable old crones. I'm thinking maybe Odalia, Terra and Hettie. Like they each have their own specific expertise that aids them in their role as fates and they're also capable of combining their power and sharing it among themselves. They're both individuals and a hivemind at the same time. Does that make sense?

So Odalia is an oracle. Self explanatory for her role as a fate. She's the one who knows all the significant dates. She's the one who says it's "it's time" when a human is due to leave this realm.

Terra has a mental link to the land and nature itself. Everything is connected via the roots beneath her feet. She can sense when a flower is withering. She can sense when a human is withering. She sees the world in plant terms. Thinning out the population is no different than trimming a garden. She summons the vines and stems that represent human life.

Hettie understands the complexities of human biology, fatal injuries and pestilence etc etc. She's attuned to every vein, every artery and every heartbeat and she's the only one among the three capable of cutting the lifeline. Terra holds the vine tight and Hettie snips it with one of her medical tools.

I think it'd be neat.

[arcxnumvitae]

Who/What inspired my muses

Part 2 babbyyyy I’m sufferinnggg!

Arata: More elf underground shenanigan tomfoolery. Also tying in some backstories for funsies with Val playing a big role in a pivotal moment. A muse I fully intended to have die! For some reason my friends took issue with that!

Katarina: I saw Kirei ( @thewolfisawake) make a fun looking institution and I wanted to stick my big meaty claws alllllllll in it. I asked her, all shy and shit, if I could make a Bastion muse too and she graciously allowed me to do so. Of course I had to make Katarina a half-elf. 

Emil: I thought it’d be fun to make a muse from Katarina’s human side of the family, the one her mom was estranged from. Kirei had included in her blurbs how some older families of the Bastion were still anti-supernatural creatures so I thought it would be an interesting thing to explore further in a muse, but since Katarina was separated from all of that...

Dawn: I looked at how I’d fridged William’s dead girlfriend in his backstory just for the sake of giving him angst and feelings and I really didn’t like that I’d done that! So I decided to flesh out Dawn as a person. Which led to me going to my friends and saying, “Y’all, this muse is deader than a doornail in his backstory, I can’t bring her back, right?!” And then I brought her back. This was when I started to firmly put my foot in fun Greek myth stuff and let my PJO kid flag fly by straight up incorporating Aphrodite into the mix.

Xiaodan: uh. dragon. dragon searching for Jianhuren. Searching with another dragon.

Meihui: uh. other dragon. other dragon searching for Jianhuren. drogon. They actually were made earlier, around Qingshan, pushed to being side muses, and then re-added as main muses around this time when Kirei petitioned for it.

Huaxiu: Hey, same mangaka, he looks like Qingshan-- oh baby we can make some lore from this. This is really where Red Eyes as a concept started to get cemented, a smooth, uh, 2-3 years after I first added Jianhuren, ahahaa. It was also shortly after Huaxiu that I created Zhaohui as a side muse so we were really chugging along the dragon train at that time.

Luiz: No clue. Truly, no idea. I think I just wanted to mash a bunch of different mythological creature facets together and see what I got. I know the inspiration for the gorgon blood he was infused with came from Kirei because her muse Crowe has gorgon blood.

Cornelius: What if I made a family member from the Texas side of Dawn’s family that she had never been in contact with? What if he looked like her dad too in a way to make her force her feelings and her grief? Cornelius truly was made actually as basically to circle around Dawn’s ongoing story, haha. 

Raven: ‘I know it doesn’t make sense, but what if Thanatos had a kid.’ How would that type of godly parentage manifest in someone?

Olympia: Hey, let’s do an Artemis god-touched. I only have Dawn and William at the moment after all.

Ava: Sort of a tie in with Arata’s story as she’s the right hand woman of, like, oh geez, the niece and former fling of the guy who owned him and his mom. I also basically just looked at D&D’s scrying spell, pointed, and went “I want that.”

Eira: What if I did a muse from Katarina’s dad’s side of the family? And what if she was utterly adorable.

Aur: Phew, so, actually, I didn’t have any huge plans for Aur when I first made him! He was an amnesiac and I left his backstory open and vague in case I thought of something later that would be cool to do with him! I figured I could get away with it for a minute since it’s not like he himself knew what his backstory was. In truth, I hadn’t even settled on him being a fae for a while either, I also kept that up in the air! If he didn’t end up a fae then he would’ve been a siren actually I think.

Soon-hee: She’s not really online anymore now but my friend Angie had come up with the idea to do a seven deadly sins thing and asked if I wanted to make a muse or two for it too. And I, contractually obligated by my love for F.MA, couldn’t refuse.

Arya: Ditto, seven sins inspo.

Matthias: Also another Angie-inspired, she came up with a pantheon of deities and asked if I wanted to join in. I thought for a good minute on what domain of power I wanted his to be and I settled on storytelling. Him having muses for sisters was inspired by Greek myth...and H.ercules. His current name came from my white boy of the month every month in a book series called S.ix of C.rows as a sort of homage. And his rings, silver eyes, and some personality beats came from the character Po from the G.raceling book series.

I’m panting..........but part 3, we’re on the way....... 

[lokiinmediasideblog]

If i was in the marvel fandom in 2012 i would've been a major loki hater ngl. I started to warm up in the dark world. I know its controversial but i liked him in Ragnarok but then they killed him in infinity war im sfill mad abt

I like Loki a lot, and I liked him least in Avengers (2012). I watched the movies out of order at first (A1> T:TDW> Thor 1). I enjoyed him a lot in the Avengers, I was drawn to him because he's fun, but he also gave me second-hand embarrassment because he was just so arrogant yet got his ass handed to him(And I didn't know the backstory). I didn't think about Loki for a long time, until I watched T:TDW, where I fell head-over-heels for him. Without Loki, that movie would have felt like watching paint dry, so I felt especially grateful to Loki for that. That eventually got me to finally watch Thor 1. LOL. I enjoyed him in Ragnarok a lot, as well, and shipped him with Valkyrie, but I was not in the MCU fandom at the time (I was in another fandom). I am also still mad about Loki being killed off like that in IW!!!! Let's mourn!

Bear in mind I am biased towards antagonists and villains while reading this. This is my history of how I ended up obsessed with Marvel's Loki. And I am not sure if I should tag this post as "anti Thor" because I mention my extreme dislike of Thor from the past (and reasons). But I mention at the very end he grew on me. It's up to you if you keep reading.

The first time I saw Marvel's Loki, it was on a Hulk v. Thor cartoon on Netflix. Loki looks like an evil DILF in there. And Hela is a hot giant goth lady. I remember I googled norse mythology for the first time because up until then, I had thought "Son of the Mask" made up Loki, and I wanted to learn more about Hela (Hel). And I learned about Sleipnir and how hilarious myth!Loki was.

I found cartoon Thor annoying because he felt too perfect, and that's the kind of character that grates my nerves. And he survived thanks to a kiss from Amora, ugh, that's so dumb. I didn't go to watch Thor (2011) for the longest time because Thor just annoyed me because he felt too perfect and Gary Stu-ish in that cartoon.

And the comics I read at the time, specifically for Loki, made me dislike Thor more because they were like "Thor is the FUCKING BEST! AND ALL THESE SCANTILY CLAD WOMEN WANT TO FUCK HIM. BLEH BLEH. "(I was reading some omnibus by Matt Fraction on readcomicsonline). But I was more of a lurker in fandom, with no tumblr account, so I didn't express it.

And it annoyed me that some Marvel re-tellings of the myths (think it was Ages of Thunder) substituted Loki's cleverness (that saved him in the myths) for Thor being merciful or coming to the rescue. And they'd make Loki not only much eviler, but also dumber than in the myths when scheming and wprd-play is supposed to be his thing. Like, let Loki have something! You don't even have to write it because the myth you're adapting is there already! And ugh. Like no offense to anyone, but I don't really feel bad over Loki being so popular because those comics that existed for 5-6 decades annoyed the fuck out of me.

Also, at the time, a bunch of comic book nerds and dudebros would lose their shit over Loki's popularity. And Loki would be the subject of really fucked up homophobic jokes in parodies (*cough* The Key of Awesome).

Thor started growing on me in Ragnarok, IW (coolest Thor), and EG (EG!Thor is my fave because he's just so sad and I love sad men). And he was actually not Gary Stu-ish in Thor 1, I just didn't appreciate it at the time (unlike in other Marvel media). So I definitely like MCU!Thor way more than in many of his comics runs.

I also feel like I have different Thor and Loki preferences than most of the fandom, because I was a lurker and didn't interact with the fandom until 2022 and then making this blog, thanks to the Loki series bringing back my Loki phase.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 11/1/22

watched a good movie made a good soup

listening

Witch for a Night by Sugar Pie DeSanto. i think any song that starts with the lines

I'm gonna be a party-poppin, show-stoppin, wig-floppin witch for a night!

will never disappoint you.

_

reading

The Markup did a huge crunchy report about how they figured out poorer, less white neighborhoods got slower, more expensive internet than their wealthy white neighbors, and a more accessible writeup.

they do absolutely exquisite data visualization.

good data viz really makes a fuckin difference. this is damning!!! look at this shit!!!

and none of the ISPs had anything productive to say about their methodology!!! not literally bulletproof but pretty damn fuckin close, since it's pulling price and address info directly from ISP sites.

_

watching

Saloum (2021, dir. Herbulot). this is a West African terror film with a good dollop of acid western stylization to create the world's tensest dinner parties as a curse does what curses do. i really really loved this bc if we take a "western" as any movie with a group of mercenaries in an arid colonized land, it is a fun take on what a modern spaghetti western can be with all the visual flair and pathos i love about this subgenre when it's good.

this is the kind of film tarantino loves to rip off. Herbulot cites two video games as direct influence and they are rdr2 and metal gear solid v.

i do want to underscore that the director is very clear about his "terror" categorization:

But the cursed king that they're talking about, it's a real story. It's real mythology. That is from the Saloum. And so this story is real. This myth is real. This curse is real. Now beyond that, what's the curse and how does it work? I don't know yet. I don't want to know (laughs). But that was our starting point. It was essential for me that, if we were going to shoot the Saloum region, we wanted to be as respectful as we could be, especially for [collaborator] Pamela, because that's her birth region.

this is a really fucking tight eighty minutes. apparently this was originally closer to three hours long, with a lot of backstory about the Hyenas (a gang of mercenaries extracting a drug lord and a briefcase full of gold) and Awa (the girl they meet in a tourist camp when their plane comes down in the desert after sabotage).

this is a film, like all my favorite spaghetti westerns, that is very concerned with revenge and what makes a hero. it frames most of this during the world's tensest series of dinner parties at this camp as they try to get fuel and resin to fix their plane. and then, of course, things go sideways.

this is a very beautiful and well-made movie (and not just Good For A Budget Movie, just straight up a good lookin movie) with a lot of care put into framing and setting up shots. the director used to be a comic book artist and used to shoot music videos, so the framing and shot setup is really thoughtful. this movie is simply fun to watch. it is very good at holding and building tension, everything unravels in slow motion until it doesn't and then it's a level of your favorite first-person shooter. it does suffer from the "the monster isn't actually as scary as the anticipation of seeing the monster" but this group of mercs looks so fuckin sick all the time it more than makes up for it imo. yes he is wearing white dishwashing gloves paired with a machete. also versace pants and shoes.

this podcast episode was very helpful bc their guest is from the Gambia and had a ton of important and useful context to give. this is fundamentally a "recap the movie and do some bits about it" podcast so your tolerance may vary.

i would strongly recommend signing up for a free week of Shudder with a burner email and watching this movie legally, bc it will almost certainly never see wide release :(

how'd i find this: like many other things, this is indirectly @morrak 's fault. last year he said "hey have you listened to this podcast episode dunking on the hyperloop" to which i said "no i have not" and then fell into the alice caldwell-kelly podcast cinematic universe. her podcast Kill James Bond is not my favorite, bc it is mostly a podcast recapping spy films and doing bits about them, which i have a limited tolerance for, but it is very good at going WOW THERE'S A LOT OF RAPE IN THIS BOND FILM and reminding me i should not rewatch literally any of the older movies, as much as i love daniel craig's outings.

_

playing

i did nick valentine's final companion quest in fo4 and cried my fucking eyes out, again. why won't they let me romance the robot and why is he trapped in this incredibly mediocre game :(((

_

making

red lentil soup with lemon bc i realized if i buy a bunch of soup-serving-size-i-like plastic off brand tupperware, i can have microwaveable soup lunch for much cheaper than just buying a lot of canned soup. and it does not require any more prep than setting an alarm to take a unit of soup out of the freezer and into the fridge the night before, which is good bc my brain is fuckin fried by 1 PM.

the leek and potato soup i made last month did Not freeze well. it's like edible but the texture is...not ideal. the internet said lentil soups freeze well, and even though this recipe is from the nyt it looked reasonable enough with some modifications.

recipe here. shit i changed:

not quite tripled, bc i wanted to use up an entire bag of lentils at once.

did not add red pepper flakes to the soup itself as it cooked bc i'm bad at estimating how spicy i like things.

added cumin until my heart said to stop, deffo far more than a teaspoon. probably two tablespoons? the fun thing i previously knew about lentils is that they absorb a lot like A Lot of flavor so just like. keep fuckin going with ur lil shakers.

the lemon is really crucial here, it's perfectly fine on its own with just salt/pepper/cumin, but the lemon does a lot of work

added in the entire 6oz can of tomato paste, bc i never remember to use half-cans up and then they mold in the back of my fridge and i get cranky about it. also like. one tablespoon??? really??? get the fuck out of here.

added in many carrots bc i like a stew-like consistency and also had a lot of really sad carrots in my crisper

threw in like five stalks of celery bc i bought a clump or whatever a unit of celery is called for something else and wanted to use it up

most of a bag of small-medium onions and like 4oz of minced garlic bc that was what my heart said on sunday night when i made this

still nursing along some green onions on my countertop, bought nice bread specifically for dinner. i buy the spreadable carton of brie bc i hate peeling cheese and i like brie, and i think brie goes well with this soup.

[canichangemyblogname]

CONGRATS ON ONE YEAR 🥂 ✨ These are all over the place, so please don’t feel obligated to answer all of them.

Is there a specific theme, plot, or concept that keeps swimming in your head, but you have yet to write?

Is there a canon character that you think fandom takes for granted or underestimates? 

And the cliche Star Wars question - what is your lightsaber color?

Thank you SM!!! Love the new pfp, btw.

I will answer all of them because this is fun and I enjoy receiving asks from everyone!

Is there a specific theme, plot, or concept that keeps swimming in your head, but you have yet to write?

There are two.

One is a modern gods/mythology mystery-adventure told from the point of view of a mythological monster, like a gorgon or cyclops or siren or centaur or werewolf. There would be ancient pantheons and modern pantheons, but which is relevant to a society would be entirely dependent on that society's values.

The second is inspired by the concept of liminality. It's a story about a minimum wage worker; a dishwasher for a mom-n-pop restaurant in The American City™️ as well as a caterer for a different company. The majority of their life's story takes place in empty spaces. Empty apartments despite living with 4 roommates because they're all working all the time. Empty laundromats. Empty alleys. Empty parking lots. Empty aisles. Empty bus stops. Empty streets. Places where the earth pops through the cracks; where the weeds have taken over but there is no life. There is no life in the buildings and there is no life in the people, except in the background. In the background there are warm dining rooms and busy kitchens and houses with lights. I felt that a story about physical emptiness would be able to convey loneliness and dilapidation very well.

I also felt it would convey the myth of the "American Dream" really well. The lack of upward mobility is physically represented in what the main character lacks access to- spaces full of life- as well as such things as living in a basement apartments but walk up the stairs into the house of the wealthy people you work for.

I was inspired by the art of John Register, the liminal nature of the start and end of pandemic life, my own background as a minimum wage worker in the service industry living with three roommates to make ends meet, and the beauty in visual storytelling that is Parasite.

Is there a canon character that you think fandom takes for granted or underestimates?

Hmm 🤔.

I'm going to go with Finn. Finn because the character got pushed to the side in the narrative, so fans often push him aside as well. I feel he has a lot of potential as a person and a lot of skills we never had the opportunity to see as well as a backstory that never had the privilege of being told.

And the cliche Star Wars question - what is your lightsaber color?

Either blue or yellow just because I think they're nice colors.