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graffitibible · 3 years ago

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zero my beloved, i would LOVE director’s commentary on a work of your chosing

juno my beloved thank you for indulging me

i'm going to choose a very early passage from the first chapter of starry-eyed, just cause there was a lot there that i had to rework before i was happy with it and there are some things that i think i made TOO subtle lol

CUT BECAUSE IT GOT LONG. i'm rambling about doublestar (oc) and her relationship to a very young jet star, since she essentially raised him in my canon!

You don't get to know your mother but you do get to know Doublestar, and she says that she knew your mother enough to know it was her job to take care of you. The ochre trunk of her arm rattles with the circles of beads, wood-carved things that she kisses, sometimes, or whispers things to, too quiet for you to hear.

The day you ask her what they're for is the day that she takes your hand in hers and slowly slides one of her strands of beads over her thick wrist and her knuckles that have become so worn that the calluses have become scar tissue, and onto yours.

It's too big. It hangs from the skinny stem of your arm. Up close, you can see the little figures carved into them - letters made up of squares and lines that you know because Doublestar knows. Black cat, says one, and thirteen says another.

"They're my bad luck beads," says Doublestar. Her smile is strained, but you can feel her eyes on you as you roll the worn, carved beads between your fingertips, carefully inspecting each one. The words have a slight lisp from the dulled-down nubs of her teeth, which she once told you were the result of the pills and chemicals from the City and how they caused her to grind them into grit. "You keep all the bad luck on your wrist, it'll never find you. You always know exactly where it is."

She looks out into the horizon, at the spiky silhouettes of cacti against the fiery pink cast of the setting sun. The pollution-rich atmosphere always ignites the clouds like the ends of flare guns, brilliant and poison-bright.

"People used to say they came from the Witch."

You know the Witch. She's told you about Her, though you've never seen Her for yourself. She's a specter of death, and Doublestar and her crew belong to the mechanical sprawl of Destroya. You're satellite chasers, watching the shooting stars from the dark velvet of the night sky and tracking them until they hit the sand, lighting up the horizon with a blitz of white-hot incandescence. It's a hard job to get there before the exterminators do, but the parts and scrap that used to belong to the service droids built into the pieces can fetch a high price on the right market. That, and it keeps BLi from tracking anyone down using the signals that shoot out into the desert sky.

Doublestar always makes you leave something of your findings to Destroya - buried under the sand, and marked with its name so that the pieces can find their way back. It's a cruel and low sort of person, she says, that doesn't thank their patron for its sacrifice. The Witch guides the dead, but Destroya is a deity for the living.

So she doesn't talk about the Witch very often.

She taps the ridges of the beads hanging loose around your wrist.

"Those ones were your mom's."

She talks about your mother even less.

You look up at her with a new tightness in your lungs that you can't identify.

Doublestar's smile becomes a right-angled thing, a more familiar beast, as she stands and puts a hand to your head as she leaves. The contact is a five-point star of warmth, and it's too brief before it's gone.

It's the only time she ever implies the extent to which she knew your mother.

when i was building jet's backstory i knew several things going in: that he'd have multiple crews that he'd lost was one of the most important things, since jet's wardrobe is very heavy on the death imagery and so i felt it would be truest to the character to ensure he had a close relationship with death. the rest kind of fell into accordance as it came along and i decided to more or less flesh out all the side characters by reverse engineering them from some aspect of jet star that needed to be brought into prominence.

doublestar's character was essential for laying the groundwork in regards to how jet got to be the way he was. she was genuinely well-intentioned and did her best with him and the others in the crew, but she really wasn't cut out to be the parental figure she kinda should've been. i've talked a bit about this before with regards to what she was meant to represent - she was instrumental in developing jet's relationship with his own assertiveness and lack thereof. she meant the best, but it was her way of praising certain things like jet's keen eye or his steady hands that led him to heavily associate his own value to a crew with what he could physically do to support them, and consequently heavily devalue himself, or at least prioritize himself much lower than others.

i was a little worried people might assume doublestar was secretly jet's mother or something, which is not what i meant to imply. her backstory never gets disclosed but the main thing i wanted to come through here was that she really really hated the analog wars, which is why she was so determined to stay out of them and to keep her crew out of them. combine that with a level of professed closeness to jet's unnamed mother, and the takeaway that i wanted people to walk away with was that jet's mother fought in the analog wars and died, and doublestar had to pick up the pieces left behind. she suggests to jet that she was very close with his mother but doesn't say how or why. then you take her name into account - a "double star" can be another name for a binary star, which in many cases consists of a pair of stars that essentially orbit each other.

i didn't mean for the name to be a deliberate thing that synced up with jet star's own eventual name, but once i landed on it, it was too perfect to pass up. i think doublestar's original name was something like "superflare" or something, definitely astronomy-based (because everyone in jet's first crew had that theme going on, which is why he chose the suffix of "star" for himself later) but the word was too unwieldy (it's important to me that killjoy names sound good to say aloud first and foremost, since they're seldom written down and mostly shouted or spoken on airwaves, and "doublestar" just has way more of a compact punch).

so doublestar indicates that she knew jet's mom well enough to have a set of her bad luck beads and to have agreed to look after her kid, hates the analog wars, and titled herself after a star system that exists solely as a pair, and i'd hoped that this would be enough to imply what i meant for it to imply - the implication being, of course, that she was in love with jet star's mother. i'm not sure how many people caught that though.

doublestar is not an innately nurturing character, but she has her reasons for doing the things she does. she would not have taken care of this kid if there wasn't a good reason for it, and that reason is that she felt she owed it to someone she loved and then lost. she's not biologically related to jet in any way and it's never really addressed if her love for his mother was requited or not, but ultimately that doesn't matter. she loved this person enough to decide that she would raise this kid as best as she could and ensure he would not die the same way his mother did. which kind of makes his eventual fate that much more fucked up.

#ask #ceinflower #the number of things i choose to leave unsaid is truly my worst personality trait

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gocrazygostupidtheories · 4 years ago

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I tried.

For the past couple of days, I've been freaking out over this image found by @night-rise7474

And trying to figure what sort of thing I could tie it to.

And, I think I have found it.

When I saw it, I thought of the goddess Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night, who was so powerful and beautiful even Zeus was scared of her, the guy who banged practically everything he saw despite also fearing the rage of his wife. It could also be Hecate with the whole statue thing going on, and in some older myths, Hecate was Nyx's daugter, so if could be either.

I also began trying to find things linking to Luz's name (Luz being light, and Noceda apparently being 'field of nut trees.') The most powerful source of light is the Sun, but stars could also count with the reoccurring star motif, so that could lead me somewhere.

Then, I remembered that it is set on the remains of a giant titan thing, and that Greek mythology sure loved titans. Demons are an integral part in The Owl House, Hecate did rule over the Underworld. Though it may not be a perfect fit, we can get somewhere.

So, I wanted to find someone relating to light/stars/the Sun, Nyx/Hecate, Greek mythology and possibly titans and the Underworld.

And I found multiple options.

First was Hemera, the personification and primordial goddess of the day. She was one of the daughters of Nyx and Erebus, a primordial god and personification of darkness. She had a brother called Aether, the personification of the upper sky and the pure air Gods breathe on Olympus.

It was said that Nyx and Hemera greet eachother as they past a threshold of bronze, and while one goes through, the other goes out, creating the day and night sky.

The door Luz goes through to go to the Boiling Isles is coloured with browns, bronzes and yellows that emits a yellow glow once opened/summoned. The door is obviously Eda's with the themes and colours, but it sounds similar to this threshold with the golden glow being a sunrise or a sunset. Because I'm assuming Luz is Hemera and how she's going into the Underworld, it's a sunset and the shadow is Nyx.

As far as we know, there are only two dimension: ours and the realm the Boiling Isles is. Ours has only humans and live animals, while the Boiling Isles has witches, demons and other mythical creatures usually associated with the dead and the Underworld (also keep in mind of how witches evolved from humans, like how ghosts can.)

The Underworld is invisible to humans (note how there needs to be a physical portal for a modern human to get there,) the six main rivers: the Styx (hatred), the Acheron (pain), the Lethe (forgetfulness), the Phelgethon (fire that leads to Tartarus), the Cocytus (wailing), and the Oceanus (encircles the world and separates the east end of the Underworld from the human one.) And how it is an Isle surrounded by murky waters.

The first thing Luz notes about the place is about how weird it is that it even impresses her. Also, this was the original idea for The Owl House:

And where do dead souls go to when they die in Greek mythology? The Underworld. It may be possible that the other Luz may be in the other world, or is the affect of the Boiling Isles taking a toll on her. Afterall, witches came from humans and didn't have to use physical means to do magic. Who knows what affect could happen to a human using and learning magic this quickly and at such a young age (with alot of power by the moon ritual, but that could also just be Willow.)

Second was Melinoë, a cyhthonic nymph or goddess as bringer of nightmares and madness. Her mother was Persephone who had sex with Zeus disguised as Plouton next to the river Cocytus. However, some context may be needed for Zeus.

In the hymn, this knowledge came from the Orphic that had the belief that Zeus and Hades were the same person (Hades in Greek mythology is described as the Zeus of the Underworld,) and two facets of the same god and divine power. Persephone was already upset at her state of being tied to the Underworld and not being able to see her mother, but her loss of virginity and the pregnancy only made it worse for her, made her child inherit her madness and union.

She gave birth next to the Cocytus (there were only four rivers in the Orphic,) She is described with the traits of a typical moon goddess: with bright, long hair and overall very wise and beautiful. She is one of the only Greek goddesses described as being "clad in saffron," the other being Hecate in the Orphic, who is pretty relevant if we're running with my other theory. If we look at Luz, she had short dark hair (that, to note, used to be long,) with a half purple top and blue-ish or purple-ish leggings, who isn't the brightest person ever. The designs are the complete opposite. In an 1887 translation by Thomas Taylor suggests her being a half black and white being from Zeus/Leuke and Pluto, adding onto the duality between our Luz and "creepy Luz."

When they say "clad in saffron," most would turn to the colour, which is a light gold. However, saffron could also be the flower, which is actually purple in colour.

Her name can be linked to the ancient Greek word "mēlinos" which means, "having the colour of quince", from melon which means "tree fruit." The colour of a quince's fruit (a yellowish green,) symbolises illness or death. Again, her last name Noceda that links to nut trees links to a quince: a fruit tree. It's also grown for it's pink and white flowers. The seeds of the fruit contain nitriles, which can turn into hydrogen cyanide (a toxic gas,) that can kill the person if eaten in a large quantity, which is an opposite of a nut which is a safe, edible, dry seed. I may be digging to deep with this one, but I thought it may be cool.

She terrifies humans by turning into night terrors that can drive them insane. She appears on a bronze tablet used for a private ritual known as magic, specifically divination (bronze was known to drive evil spirits away and protect the people performing it.) It's triangular with a hole in the middle, similar to the planchette used for the Ouija board. In mythology, triplicity and the number three is very important. Melinoë, Phoebe and Dione take up one corner of the triangle, with the word Amibousa written underneath eachothers' feet, referring to the different phases of the moon.

Last is the Phosphorus, or the morning star. In Greek mythology, it is Venus in its morning appearance. The name hasn't got a specifc meaning, but common interpretations says it means "dawn-bringer" that could link it to Hecate (closely linked to torches,) or it could be linked to Lucifer. His parents can vary from Astraeus and Eos, Cephalus and Eos, or Atlas. While some sources suggests that Hesperus (the evening star, Venus in its evening apperance,) and Phosphorus are identical but different beings, other myths say they were the same person.

This, of course, could mean that the shadow Luz is a foil of Luz's personality, or a certain type of magic or affect on her by performing so much magic. It could be a prophecy, or it could be a sort of alter ego.

By know, I think you've noticed a pattern with these options and the moon and stars. The symbol for the Blight family is a star, moon rituals are performed when the moon is full, Luz finds her second spell with the stars, the interesting scene on the roof of the Owl House living room is on the ceiling that also involves stars, and this Luz has the pattern of the night sky on her. This is my main belief as to why the main secrets are linked to Nyx and moon/star themed gods and goddesses, mainly the inhabitants of the Underworld. Since Luz means light, and is from the opposite realm, I associated her with either the sun or stars. My point is is that either she has a storm coming or is the storm.

#the owl house #toh #the owl house theory #luz noceda #toh luz

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zenosanalytic · 4 years ago

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Harrow the Ninth: Wordplay and Implication

So I started reading Harrow the Ninth last night(haven’t gotten far; I’m only on page 47), but some interesting stuff cropped up I wanted to yack about. Explaining it requires some Serious Spoilers tho, so don’t read past this point if you haven’t reader further than me and are also avoiding ...spoilers... X|

Ok so: Harrow is obvsl going through some Things. To begin with she seems to be having some manner of psychological break exacerbated by(possible caused by) the Lyctor transformation? A huge part of it is obvsl grief over Gideon -she seems to be avoiding any memory or thought of her and this mental block seems to be impacting her ability to access Gideon’s soul and thus her full Lyctor capabilities- but she’s also overwhelmed by her new senses and her inability to feel physical pain, and a bit unstuck in time? Some of that just might be her grief-driven illness, but so far there’s been some jumping around in the timeline/her memories so it’s possible this is also a side-effect of the Lyctor transformation and existing on both sides of life and death.

Anyway, there’s some nifty wordplay associated with all of this :>

the first one is in an edited memory, and it’s right at the start of it, in the chapter-title for said memory: “Parodos”.

Now most obvsl, that looks&sounds allot like “parody” and, while they aren’t directly related, the connection btwn the two is STILL intriguing: “parody” comes from para(side/beside/parallel) and oide(song), in the sense of a comical/mocking “parallel” to another song; parodos literally means entrance, though specifically it’s the name of a SIDE-entrance in greek theater-design which gave actors access to the stage, or the chorus access to the orchestra, BUT ALSO it was the name of the song(oide) the chorus sung upon first entering the play, coming after the prologue. The connection to an actual side-entrance makes me suspect the “par-” phoneme is from “para”, but I can’t find a constituent breakdown of “parodos” so it’ll have to remain a suspicion :T

Regardless: it is, in the manner of a proper parodos(even IF Harrow, here, is her own Chorus; this is a 3rd person perspective section), seeming to introduce us to the central conflict of the tale; Harrow is censoring Gideon from her mind, altering her perceptions and capacities in response to her grief, struggling with feelings that she is LOSING her mind(associated with, possibly embodied by, her “hallucinations” of The Body[1]), and clinging to this expression of control as a life-raft among all this trauma. At one point The Body even appears in this memory just to tell her it didn’t happen like this which “gave Harrow a curious strength”.

IntriguinglyER(and this is more of a stretch and idk if Muir really intended this implication) parodos is often popularly confused with/assumed to be related to “parados” which is a fortification embankment built to protect the rear of a military position(it’s basically the backside equivalent of parapet. Parapet=forward, parados=behind). What makes this intriguinger to me(aside from the fun of a FALSE pun for a FALSE memory :p), is that the false memory is part of Harrow’s mental DEFENSES, and in it she asks Ortus Nigenad to PROTECT her by keeping the secret that she is “insane” because, since opening the Locked Tomb and seeing the girl trapped there, she’s been experiencing full-spectrum sensory hallucinations of said girl(ie: seeing her, speaking with her, feeling The Body[the girl] touch her, the whole hog, etc etc). I feel like this is MOSTLY symbolic though, and the REAL secret she’s asking him to protect her from is Gideon’s death(and her “consumption” there of; since becoming a Lyctor The Body has had Gideon’s amber-colored eyes). Of course there’s another aspect to this and one of two OTHER potential secrets; Gideon’s body wasn’t recovered from Canaan House, Harrow does not seem to be in “possession” of her soul(though she does have SOME aspects of Lyctor abilities, so perhaps it’s partial or a connection?); so

it’s possible the SECRET Harrow is actl using Ortus to protect is that Gideon isn’t dead, that they healed her after defeating Cytherea and somehow undid the Lyctor process. OR

They’re keeping Gideon’s existence a secret for some reason

Now I think these are a bit out there theorywise because, while I’m not far into the book, I’m fairly certain that it’s only Harrow who is thinking Nigenad was her cavalier at this point. I mean: the Emperor would have spoken to Ianthe, and there’s no reason why she’d keep Gideon’s existence secret(also everytime the Emperor says Ortus Nigenad it’s attached to a description of his mouth moving oddly, so I’m fairly certain he’s actl saying Gideon Nav and her brain’s editing it to Ortus Nigenad to spare her facing Gideon’s death). Also and SUPER tellingly there’s this passage:

The Resurrecting King took on the expression of a man working out a very difficult and emotionally taxing anagram. He said, “Ortus,” again, but the bile was sputtering up into your throat...”

Now that just seems like an INVITATION to see what Ortus Nigenad can be an anagram of, doesn’t it? And, INCREDIBLY OBVIOUSLY it’s a partial anagram:

Ortus Nigenad

Gideon

Of Gideon’s name. Partial, because it doesn’t include “Nav”, and also there are these left-over letters

rtusna

Hmmm... What can THAT be an anagram of?

rtusna

Saturn

Well flog me with a spoon! I have NO IDEA what this, GIDEON SATURN, could POSSIBLY mean in the context of this convo or of the larger story(also: maybe this anagrams to other words? I honestly didn’t try too hard after this very obvs one. AtRSun??? Taurns?? OF COURSE Harrow would play Horde if she played WoW, but I’d imagine she’d’ve been a Forsaken Warlock, or Orc one at the very least :p), but that we have a character’s name being called an anagram by the narration and then that character’s name turns out to BE AN ANAGRAM of the first book’s, now(mysteriously[2]?) absent, protagonist plus the planet Saturn[3], seems an awful coincidence. Of course that doesn’t mean it ISN’T a Coincidence, nor that it means anything in relation to the story even if it IS intentional; it could be meant to throw off theorycrafters, or just as something Muir thought would be fun to do(making Gideon Nav, “the greatest cav the Ninth ever produced”, a near-anagram with Ortus Nigenad, one of it’s worst). Of course, it could also be a hint to Gideon’s origins, or where she/her body is now. For what it’s worth, I seem to recall the big contenders for her origins were Third through Fifth House, and those seem to be the most likely to be the Gas Giants&GG Moons(Third’s the wealth-house, and there’s probably more concentrated resources in Jupiter and Saturn than on any other planet in the solar system. And, for whateverMORE it’s worth, Saturn WAS the Roman god of wealth&the harvest. If Mars’s ...Martial[X| X|]... associations are a firm enough basis for its guess in the order, then why not Planet Fucking Saturn? Of course the trident theme suggests Neptune, but why in the cosmos would THAT be the third colonized planet in the system? Makes no damn sense |:T |:T).

The last thing(two things?) that I wanted to bring up, though it’s not really related to any of the above, is Alecto, the name for the next book. Presumably, this is The Body/The Girl. Alecto means “Implacable/Unceasing Anger”, and it is the name of one of the Erinyes; the Furies; the goddesses and purveyors of Vengeance. The Furies, according to Hesiod, were born from the blood of Ouranos spilled when Kronos castrated him. Interestingly, the way Necromancy works in this universe(as explained in these early pages) is that the Cohort “breaches” a planet, after which point its “thalergy”(life energy; presumably metabolism-produced energy since necros aren’t snacking on ambient heat&light) begins converting to “thanergy”(death energy, tho it’d be more precise to call it the energy generated by the detachment of a soul from a body), which Necros can use to do Necromancy. The microbiology within a planet’s soil can similarly be drained, as can the animals and plants, and the process of “breaching” allows Necros to draw on the thalery/thanergy of all of these. So Necromancy is a metaphor for environmental/planetary destruction&exploitation. Kronos is a harvest-god(his name is obscure, but probably means something like “the cutter” or “the striker”); Ouranos is the sky(probably a raingod with a name related, hilariously, to the verb for “to piss” :p :p), but at the same time still a planetary deity. Coincidentally, the primary antagonists so far in the book are “Resurrection Beasts” which seem to have been created by The Emperor Necrotising the Nine planets of Dominicus, and who have been pursuing him and his Lyctors to destroy them for this/for becoming Lyctors(Lyctordom is legit called “the indelible sin” by the Emperor himself) ever since. Sounds allot like the Furies, doesn’t it?

In this context, the Kronos Ouranos myth can be read as a story of planetary exploitation/injury(caution: I am NOT saying that’s the intended meaning of the myth originally, just that it is a possible application of it as a lens of analysis[it being referenced by the series through Alecto] to this story), and THAT suggests that Alecto, the Fury, may have been associated with this initial Necrotization(The Resurrection/Nine Resurrections, which SEEMS given what little I’ve read so far to be what they call the initial Necrotization of the Nine planets of the Sol System? Though maybe they were already Necrotized&all used up, and the Emperor revitalized them somehow?? I’m not sure yet), may be something instanced to stop it, or may be a “Resurrection Beast” herself; perhaps the initial form they took before 10k years of thwarted rage pushed them to become more monstrous. Alternately, I wonder if Alecto might be a manifestation or servant of Death? There’s a repeated focus on the Emperor having “defeated” Death, and The Body in the Locked Tomb is repeatedly referred to as a foe he defeated once but could not defeat again, so there are good reasons to disregard all the mythological trappings and focus on the clearer, less metatextual possibility.

Of course: it’s probably none of this and I’m just spinning Fantasy wholecloth from between my entirely metaphorical ears :p :p :p

[1]The Body is The Girl in the Locked Tomb which Harrow fell in love with. I’ll get to why this is relevant very soon after this footnote

[2]I mean we watched her force Harrow into Lyctorship by killing herself, so I’m still more convinced this is all trauma response. Her corpse IS MISSING, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t super-dead. Though: Camilla and Palamedes DID have a contingency, and Gideon DID wink at Harrow post-Lyctoring, and it was ambiguous if this was her impaled body or her spirit/hallucination doing the winking, so I can see ppl running with this theorywise...

[3]which is one of the Houses, obvsl(or at least it’s moons), though I’m only really confident on Sixth House(Mercury), Ninth House(Pluto), and 2nd House(Mars) at the moment. Seventh House is PROBABLY Venus, giving all its connections to poison, wasting disease, and Aphrodite(Cytherea is another name of the goddess), but that’s all just thematic suggestion. Oh also, I figured I should throw this in here given the large digression on Kronos and Uoranos, Kronos is Saturn’s Greek equivalent(or at least, the Romans considered him so).

#Tamsyn Muir #Harrow the Ninth #Harrow the Ninth Spoilers #TLT Theories #The Locked Tomb Series #HtN Analysis #Greek Myth #analytic posts #zA's Wildeyed Guessings

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twdmusicboxmystery · 4 years ago

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Symbolism in TWB 1x01: Brave + AK Mentions Beth

Okay, I said I’d talk about symbols I saw in The World Beyond premiere. I won’t go into too much detail about these symbols or what they may mean. It’s really too early in the story to decide how they will affect the characters or the arcs. I just want to point out that they’re there and then I’ll share something I just saw yesterday that is proof that they correlate symbolism between the different TWD series.

Here’s what I saw in TWB. I’ll link theories I’ve done on each of these beside them:

The biggest thing that jumped out at me from the get-go is them saying that the girls’ father is helping the helicopter people (CRM) do research for a cure. That’s really huge, guys. It means that if we’re right that Grady was a part of them (and we totally are), the Cure Theory just became a reality. (Cure Theory)

Lots of mentions of the Omaha colony. Remember in S2, right around Beth’s suicide arc, there was an episode called Nebraska. Nebraska references have been around for a long time.

School buses were very prevalent. (X)

Felix’s friend was named Huck. Huckleberry Finn reference. (X, X)

Hope flips off Elizabeth the first time she sees her.

Hope also visits a graveyard with white flowers.

Silas is an interesting character. No idea where they’re taking him yet, but at one point he was wearing headphones (music) and holding yellow flowers (think Alone).

They’re receiving forbidden messages from their father via fax machine (Communication theory).

They call the security guards (i.e. Felix) pigs.

Hope brewed a bunch of illegal alcohol. It doesn’t say it was moonshine, but still.

Julia Ormond’s character is named Elizabeth. I know Beth’s name isn’t short for Elizabeth, but I still feel like this woman will be a massive anti-parallel to Beth. (And a parallel to Dawn.)

When the sisters were kids and “the sky fell,” they were dealing with a plane crash. We’ve seen a theme for that in FTWD, and many of us believe planes are synonymous with helicopters symbolically. Just think machines that fly. (They also have symbolic correlations to birds.) (X, X)

I definitely saw potential parallels between Iris and Hope as sisters to Maggie and Beth. Their mom died back near the beginning and they were raised by their dad. They’re very close. And there’s a whole backstory about how that night, they got separated and Iris feels like she let her sister down. How her sister had to face things along and Iris wishes she would have been there to help her. Possibly a parallel to Maggie leaving Beth behind. ��

There’s the blue spray paint that a Nonny sent in about a while ago. In the show, they’re “tagging” walkers with the paint in order to study their migration patterns. Being a geek, I actually think that’s really interesting. But the blue is symbolically important. In terms of TWD, there are all blue coolers we’ve seen, and plenty of other blue symbols @frangipanilove affectionately calls “blues clues.” In terms of FTWD, Alicia was painting trees the exact same shade of blue last season, and she painted phoenixes on them as well. 👀 (Blues Clues Theory Here)

I also saw parallels between Felix and Daryl. Huck was talking about someone named William and, at first, I mistakenly thought William was his brother. That’s what made me think of Daryl. They talked about William in much the same way Beth and Daryl talked about Merle. Asking if he “missed” him and such. We also learn that Felix had terrible parents that dealt him a bad hand, though we don’t know what that bad hand was, yet. Sounds like Daryl to me. As I said, I was mistaken. William is actually Felix’s boyfriend, not his brother. But the parallels remain.

There was an “are you serious” line between the girls. Not sure what to make of that, yet. It may apply to them, demonstrating their father returning to them, or them leaving to find him but returning at a later date. Or it could be a Beth thing. Time will tell.

There was also a few instances of the “just gone” theme.

This next thing is something of a tease, but in the show, the girls are headed to New York because Elizabeth told them their father is there. No idea if they should be trusting that intel, but they are and that’s where they’re headed.

So, the interesting thing about this is that @frangipanilove has a theory about New York. I’m not going to hash it all out here because she’ll probably post it at some point. I’ll just give you one hint: New York is often referred to as The Big Apple.

But the funny thing is that she told me about this theory about a week before TWB aired, saying that New York might be important for Beth. So I sort of gasped when they mentioned New York in the show. It’s something we’re going to be keeping a close eye on.

Okay, so as you can see, we’re definitely seeing TD symbolism in this show, which might suggest Beth returning through it. Let me address that for a moment.

As disappointed as I was that she didn’t show up in 10x16, the way they’ve set up the story here makes perfect sense for how Beth might return in this spin off. I’m not saying she will for sure. I’m just saying it’s a strong possibility, and I will continue watching the series for more clues.

These kids are heading to New York where members of the helicopter group and various scientists are working on a cure. That just screams Beth to me. And then there’s all the Beth promotion and social media hints we’ve been getting lately. If they were about TWB, rather than 10x16, the timing still makes sense.

My fellow theorists and I also talked during the long hiatus about how weird it is that they never aired TWB. I’m still not sold on them not being able to air 10x16 on time. But even if there’s something behind the scenes that I don’t understand, TWB was 100% done by the time CoVid hit. It would have been a good way to tide fans over until we could get more regular TWD episodes. But they wanted to wait.

We’re still not sure exactly why, but our theory was that they wanted to wait until 10x16 aired before showing TWB, because they would connect in some way. Given that Beth didn’t show up in 10x16, we don’t know what that connection will be, but it may still be the case.

Okay, finally, a member of my facebook group @rabia, sent me an article that’s, well, kinda super-cool. In it, an interviewer asks Angela Kang if Maggie’s earrings in the episode are keys and if they might tie to the key communities in FTWD.

If you study AK’s response, the answer is pretty much no. She kind of babbles and stumbles through the answer, saying she doesn’t know what earrings Maggie is wearing and she’ll have to look into it.

Now, we always laugh when they say things like this. Angela knows EXACTLY what earrings Maggie is wearing and what they mean, as evidenced by the fact that she says she doesn’t and then goes onto explain what they mean. Lol. Yeah, she totally doesn’t know. 🙄

Now, we don’t know what the earrings actually are. We’ve tried to zoom in and the shot just gets blurry. But we’ve theorized crosses, birds, or possible boat anchors.

But then look at AK’s further response. She says what Maggie is wearing are bits and pieces of lost family members. People have already noticed her wearing Glenn’s wedding ring, but AK specifically mentions Beth. That’s kind of huge. Because whatever the earrings are, AK just confirmed them as a Beth symbol.

What I actually wanted to show you in relation to TWB symbolism is that last line. She says that “in this case” they weren’t trying to tie the earrings to another one of the series. Which means that there ARE cases where they do exactly that.

And I just wanted to show you all this so you understand why we also look for symbolism in TWB and FTWD. Even though there are different writers and showrunners, they all operate under Gimple as the “chief content officer,” and thus the symbolism runs through every show in the franchise.

I’m working on a mega theory that probably won’t be done for a few weeks, but when it is, it will show more effectively that the same story and templates are being used across every show. So stay tuned for that.

That’s it for today. Thoughts?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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jjungkooksthighs · 4 years ago

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BTS BE ALBUM REVIEW

So, I have seen reviews on albums done before and I wanted to get my thoughts out somewhere. This little thing came into being because of that!

First off, I would definitely recommend BE for those who are struggling. It is a good source of comfort, for sure, if you are going through a rough time and I can understand how others would love this album as I have already seen. I think the boys put in work for this one and it definitely shows! I’m especially proud of Kook for his directing skills in the MV. It was very well done and I am so glad he seemed to have had a good time doing that as he stated in the Global Press Conference yesterday!

BE is a very interesting album in terms of the styles of the songs with three of the eight being retro-themed (Dynamite, Telepathy and Dis-ease) with the other three being slower and more melancholy (Life Goes On, Blue and Grey and Fly To My Room). Personally, I liked 7 better than this one, but that is just my opinion! I have seen lots of other people on Tumblr commenting their favorite songs off BE amongst other loving praises that I’ve come across and I think that is wonderful.

For me, though, I will say that Life Goes On definitely caught me off guard as I wasn’t expecting that style of song at all. Despite that, the fact that my bias directed this MV was something very unique that I really enjoyed seeing. If words would embody this song, I would choose succor’s solace as the epitome of this track. It is relief rolled into audio and it is such a gift to have a song like this in the hard times that we have been attacked with. It is soft yet firm in its tone and both balance each other very well to coalesce into a very comforting song.

This is certainly a song that you’d listen to on the way home from work after a long day or while you’re in the midst of studying, doing schoolwork or even at home working on assignments or tasks for your job. It is also something you’d listen to when you feel like the problems and struggles you face are just too much and need to be reminded that, per the song’s title, life continues on and that we must push forward to enjoy the little things and the big. I liked this track the most, I think. I myself am facing some things in my life right now and the core message of this song resonated deeply with me. To that end, this track is every bit the comfort song they intended it to be and this song, along with Spring Day, sit at the same table for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Fly To My Room’s mellow beat is something that I think would be a great listen at night after the trials and woes of the day and it was interesting to see sope/vmin in the same track and how those two subunits meshed together to create something entirely new and unseen before.

Blue and Grey... this one sounded familiar to me and it took me all but two seconds to realize where I had heard it before. This is the same song that Taehyung teased in Bon Voyage when he was sitting in the canoe out on the lake. The song sounded so very different in this rendition and I was very surprised to see this song in the album when I had originally thought it would be in Tae’s mixtape!

This is definitely a song you listen to in the rain and when the sun has been masked by the clouds in the sky. It is also a song you’d listen to once the sun has set and you walk outside just to have some fresh air and reminisce either about the past or to think on the stresses of your present. I think this track has the power to ease both and that is a powerful thing, indeed.

Telepathy I really liked! I think the upbeat form of this one definitely was a nice break from the slow beat of the first three songs on the album and, because this one is BTS’s love letter to ARMY, I think that is a very special thing that we as their fans should cherish in their thought towards us during the times that have befallen us and taken from us (and them) their ability to see us beyond a screen. I think the flow of the song is perfect and the flux of the voices of the members works very well for the positive energy they are trying to instill in it. From beginning of this song, when I heard it, I knew I was going to like it. It had a starry, celestial vibe to it and for some reason, when I hear it, I think of shooting stars that fly through the night sky.

True to that image, this is a song you’d listen to when you’re with friends to recall the bonds you make with those closest to you (and those farthest from you) no matter where in the world they are. This is a song you’d also listen to to PARTY PARTY, YEAH! (I’m sorry, but ever since I heard that from Kook, it has been living in my mind rent free) In any case, this is a nice song to uplift you and would also be good to put on after a bad day so that you can look back on all the good things life despite the bad. That message is a very strong one, indeed, so that definitely makes this song a favorited one for me.

As an English major at my university, the title of Dis-ease was interesting as someone that often studies semantics and semiotics in language and literature. It was intriguing to see that they chose to deconstruct the word of disease and split it into its alternative form to convey an entirely new meaning from what one might assume the word means at first glance. While they could have chosen to name the song DISEASE, which is a word associated with sickness, illness or an ailing, afflicted health condition that most link with weakness and feebleness, BTS decided to utilize a play on words and use an older version of the word that now has two different meanings linked with it, I found it fascinating that they named the song what they did, for dis-ease was often used in the past to denote a lack of ease or absence of relief in an individual.

It was only later that the word was changed once individuals started tagging health related conditions with actual infections or maladies when viruses and mental illnesses began to gain a name for themselves in the colonizing world. Ironically enough, the word dis-ease is now used by medical practitioners in healing environments for individuals that are on the road to eudemonia or betterment of themselves and the word is purposefully used to endow awareness of compromised health on a singular cause or root.

I don’t think I need to explain why that is significant in the scheme of the situation that our world has come to, but I shall say it anyway: this is meaningful in that BTS decides to fight back and combat the negativity that would threaten to swallow them (and those who listen and internalize the lyrics of the song for themselves and thusly feel the message they are trying to give to us) to instead grapple and wrestle with it by loudly bringing attention to it rather than allowing it to silently consume and germinate within them. This, for me, was very empowering to hear and is one of the many reasons why I appreciate this song in particular amongst the lyrics that target and attack the “diseases” that would try to take from us our wellbeing. The track is a battle cry to keep fighting and that, in it of itself, is a very powerful thing that strikes very deep within me. The bridge at the end with Kook and Jimin, by the way… literal EARGASM, MA’AM. Anyway, this is a song that you’d listen to in the morning to get yourself hype for the day. It is something you’d put on in the desire to boost your spirits if they are low and honestly could be listened to in any situation.

Lastly, we have Stay. This subunit of NamKookJin was certainly a pleasant surprise to me! Kook’s involvement in writing this track doesn’t go unnoticed in the emotion that is present in his voice (amongst Joon and Jin, of course), but there’s also something about this song that goes straight for the heartstrings in the pledge of continued loyalty that is subliminal in its subtlety. I adored this song and this track’s EDM style was a wonderful finale of the album in its summation that there are low points in life (as the first few tracks suggest) and that there are high points and life. I think that through this song, the three boys who sang in it were wonderful in their energy that was so vibrant.

It was wonderful to hear the three of them meld together in a unit that also was unlike what we have heard before. I know the song must have meant a lot to the three of them because Joon is Kook’s role model as he has stated many times and to sing with one’s idol would certainly be a powerful thing, indeed. The fact that Jin was in it too much have had so much meaning for Kook since Jin is like a brother to him and took care of him (and honestly, he still does, let’s be real) when he was younger.

The song’s lyrics themselves reach out to the ARMY that Jungkook said the song was meant for in his, Joon’s and Jin’s efforts to remind us that, as their fans, they hope that we will always remain with them and that they know the times are going to change for the better. I enjoyed this song very much and it would definitely be a song you’d listen to be reminded of the love that BTS has for you and that despite everything, you will always have a place with them even if you feel lost in the world around you. I think a situation you’d put this on would be when you are need just that extra bit of confidence to get you through an anxiety inducing time whether it be a test for school or even a meeting for work.

With all of this in mind, my favorite songs are as follows: Dis-ease, Telepathy, Stay and Life Goes On. It is hard to pick a favorite among those four, but those were my most liked tracks for sure!

Overall, I think the album definitely is one meant to soothe the soul and the boys have succeeded in that without fail. It is clear that the boys worked hard on this and their efforts were not vain! This is an album that I think we all needed to close out a tough year and it took me some to get all my thoughts together, but now that I have listened to the whole album once again, I’m liking it more with each time I hear it. It is always amazing to me how BTS continues to do what no one else does: letting their genuine feelings shine through their music that inspires light in so many. I am proud of each and every one of them and they deserve some hard earned rest after their efforts!

#be review #the album was good #boys worked hard #sorry if this is long lmao #jungkook #bts

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wits-writing · 4 years ago

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Ultraman Z Ep. 8: “The Mystic Power” (TV Review)

(Original Air Date: August 7, 2020, Director: Koichi Sakamoto, Writer: Sotaro Hayashi)

Kaburagi’s experiments to create Monster Medals continues in this week’s Ultraman Z as he gathers the material to push past the limits of the Z-Risers fusion to create the devastating Five King. Meanwhile, his plans to gather those materials lead to one of the weakest story threads in the show so far.

[Full Review Under the Cut]

Celebro, the alien possessing Kaburagi, has been gradually getting more focus over the last few episodes. The momentum around his role in the story this time comes from Juggler following up on his investigation into his operation after finding Kaburagi’s nametag after their encounter last episode. Juggler being the first character we’ve seen call Celebro by his name suggests that he’s connected to why Juggler’s on this Earth to begin with. We also get more of how Celebro’s been operating to obtain the materials he needs for his experiments to create Monster Medals. We see he’s contracted two shapeshifting Alien Pitt sisters to obtain rare specimens for him this episode. Brainwashing them to gather more sample when he needs more. That he refers to the use of these materials as “an experiment” shows a detachment from the damage he’s causing. What matters is seeing how he can use the power of the tech behind the Z Riser and the medals to his own use. Juggler’s investigation confirms a bit of this when he finds a notebook Celebro’s been keeping on Kaburagi’s desk, containing the details of Ultra Medal creation written in an alien language.

Last time I discussed the use of sunset as a lighting choice during the Ultraman fight. The fights in this episode go forward into battles set at night (or just darken the sky when Tri-King appears early on.) While the magic hour lighting of last time provided darker shadows cast across the Ultras, the fight set against the night sky emphasize contrast. All three of Ultraman Z’s forms have their bright colors pop against the dark navy of the sky during the fight against Tri/Five-King. This is itself in contrast with the first fight in the episode, when Sevenger and Windom are fighting Tri-King. The cloud coverage Tri-King brings creates a muted palette emphasizing the dire situation of the two robots being overwhelmed by the fusion monster.

The time between these two fights gets split between Juggler’s previously mentioned investigation into Celebro and the part of this episode that I’m the most mixed on, Yoko and Yuka’s subplot. I spent a decent part of my discussion of the previous episode on how I felt the two characters weren’t given much to do with prominent guest characters showing up. The way this episode uses the time they’re given makes me feel like I jinxed something by bringing it up, since they spend a portion of this episode captured by the Alien Pitt sisters. The sequence of events that get them caught is a series of misunderstanding caused by Yuka finding Haruki’s lost Z-Riser in the aftermath of the first Tri-King. One of the sisters sees this and takes them both under the assumption one of them must be Zett’s human form. Her decision to take them both coming down to her impatience to figure out which one it might be is a genuinely funny touch.

While Yoko and Yuka getting stuck with the role of capture victims is eyeroll inducing, there are a few things I enjoyed about their roles this episode. The opening sparring match at STORAGE headquarters between Yoko and Haruki makes a fun low stakes character moment between them while emphasizing Yoko’s fighting skills. Rima Matsuda as Yoko is especially impressive in this scene and the later fights since it’s clear she’s doing quite a few of these gymnastic moves on her own. The scene also works as a reminder of how much she outmatches both Haruki and Yuka in fighting skills. A trait used to humorous effect when Yuka pouts about being challenged by Yoko during the training exercise when they both know she’ll lose. Yuka’s fun as usual whenever she gets to express her passion for all things alien or monster related. That’s best displayed when Yoko and Yuka get broken free by Haruki and get to fight their captors. Yoko takes part in a more direct fight with one of the sisters. Meanwhile, the other spends most of that time running from Yuka as she asks to study her up close. These aspects don’t balance out what doesn’t work in their story, but they’re still nice to see. Though one thing I hope doesn’t get forgotten about in this subplot in the two of them seeing the Pitt sisters delivering more alien samples to the possessed Kaburagi. Since they barely remark upon “this guy is wearing the uniform of the guys that clean up after our monster fights” in this episode.

The main attraction for this episode is the debut of the latest of Ultraman Z’s fusion forms, Gamma Future. When the fight against Five-King takes a turn for the worse, Juggler decides to finally give the Ultra Medals he’s had since the end of episode one to Haruki and Zett (him being their source remains unknown.) This form is primarily based on the first three Ultras from the Heisei era of the franchise, Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia. Zett’s description of the three ties into the “mystical” theme of Gamma Future as a form. While the other two sets have been described by the rookie Ultra as “masters” and “brothers”, he only describes these three as being from other dimensions and that he’s only heard of them from Zero. It gives the sense that the three are mythic even among other Ultras.

Gamma Future’s look is set apart from Alpha Edge and Beta Smash primarily by its golden breastplate, a design choice taken directly from Tiga. There’s also a sense of grace and precision to how Zett moves in this form, emphasizing how it’s less physical than the other two. The attacks of this form are shown in three forms; energy tendrils, the summoning of the three Heisei Ultras to blast Five-King, and finally shrinking down so Zett can go inside Five King and blast him to pieces from within. It’s easily the most unique of the form debuts so far if nothing else.

“The Mystic Powers” leaves me with the most mixed feelings of any Ultraman Z episode so far thanks to how it misuses Yoko and Yuka. Though the advancement of the Celebro plot, presentation of the monster fights, and debut of Gamma Future are still enough to keep it from being even close to a bad episode. It’s still a well-constructed show and I hope it doesn’t repeat these mistakes to often in the future.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

#Ultraman Z #Ultraman #Wit's Writing #TV Review #tokusatsu #Haruki Natsukawa #Koichi Sakamoto #Sotaro Hayashi #toku #Tsuburaya Productions #tsupro

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juniperjoy101 · 5 years ago

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The Starstruck Lounge – (Sans x Reader)

Outertale AU

Trans MtF Reader

Word Count: 2.2k+ words

Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive themes

The following's a fluffy, standalone one-shot, but it does relate to my fanfic 'Save Point', found on Quotev, Wattpad, and Ao3!

Note: '(N/N)' means '(your) new name'.

You tug at the sleeves of your dress, nervous to show yourself at the lounge. Today, finally, you would be referred to as 'Lady (N/N), the singer-astronaut'. While you had sung plenty of times with the obstacle of zero gravity and a space helmet, it was the first time you would be ever referred to as '(N/N)' or 'lady'.

A knock sounds on the door, though you open it only halfway, still uneasy at the thought of people seeing the new you -- the you you. In front of you stands an admirer a few years younger than you, no more than a college freshman from what you assume based on his appearance and fidgety nature. He gapes at your presence, toying around with the peony, carnation, and garden phlox bouquet in his hands.

"H- Hey there, miss," he greets, handing you the flowers. "These are for you." He rests a hand behind his neck, looking down at his shoes. "I've, um. . . I've always had a crush on you -- ever since the first day I saw you up on stage. I know you're dating someone else, b- but can I, um, well-"

You smile, putting an end to his rambling by raising a hand and warning him in advance over what you were about to do. Leaning in, you press a kiss against his cheek, giggling when his face turns a faint red.

"Th- Thanks, miss. You, um. . . You look very cute! Good luck with today's show!"

He sprints off, leaving you alone with a bouquet and a smile. As soon as you feel someone stand behind you though, you use the bouquet as a weapon, shoving it in the person's face.

"Stars -- Don't sneak up on me like that!" Your breaths are scarce, a hand placing itself over your chest as you try to recover from the scare. "I told you I'm not good with surprises, Sans!"

"You're way too easy to startle," he counters, chuckling. "Didn't even get to spook ya before you attacked me."

His comment makes you look around to see a few flowers scattered about. He helps you pick them up and place them back where they belong, taking a few with him and asking you to turn around. Still wary over the earlier scare, you scrutinize him before giving your back to him, tensing when you feel his hands on your hair. His fingers tangle on your locks, painted dark blue and purple for the occasion. You wait, searching for a mirror when he voices an 'all done'.

As soon as you catch the image of your hair, you hold back a smile, shock replacing that urge instead. Not only did the white, silver, and golden colours contrast with your outfit's theme, but it made your attire represent what it was supposed to be more: the first starry night you ever shared with the monster standing behind you. On your first date with him, the sky -- though always dark and starstruck -- had been an explosion of colours, the benefit of being obliged to wait until late -- when shops closed, streets emptied, and artificial lights turned off -- to leave Faust with a caretaker and head out.

The ankle-length dress swooshes when you give it a twirl, smile growing when you see the flowers stay in place.

"Thank you!" you exclaim, excitement barely contained. You tackle Sans into a hug, making him fall. Your dress tangles with his body, yet you pay no mind to it as you hold him tight, not wanting to cry for the fear of making your eyes swell and your makeup smudge. "It looks so, so great! I'm in love with you!"

"Weren't you already?" he asks, laughing.

You kiss his teeth, grabbing his cheekbones with your hands and repeating the earlier action multiple times, letting go when you lose your breath. "I. . . I love you that many times more!"

"Nine times?"

"You counted?"

Sans grins and sits up, placing you on his lap and holding you still by circling his arms tight around your waist. He brings you close, enough for your chest to press against his. "Might've lost count halfway, though. Got distracted."

You stifle a laugh and lean in even closer, repeating that action one more time. "Just to make sure," you add, pulling away. "Ten times."

Your cheeks grow warm at the sight of him placing a hand over your chest, calling out for your soul. Next, your ears burn, a light feeling taking over when he beckons for it. "And I. . ." You close your eyes when you see him nudge himself closer, approaching your soul. "Love ya this much, (N/N)." Sans presses his teeth against its surface, remaining there for some time. "How many seconds was that?"

You hesitate, hazy from the sensation of him that close to your soul. "Um. . . Thirty?"

"'Bout halfway there."

Opening your eyes, you can feel a tear escape your eye. You hug him tighter, hiccuping when you hear him mutter 'it's sixty' under his breath.

You hold back the instinct to swat his hand away when you feel it slip under your dress's top piece, reaching for your brassiere. "Wearin' it for today's show?"

"Yeah. . ." you reply, keeping him in the hug. "I know nobody's gonna see it or anything, but. . . It makes me feel more me."

You can feel him nod, how little he moves making you stay on the floor there with him, neither of you bothering to stand up. "I'll be there a lil' late, but I should be on-time for your show. If ya feel nervous, just gimme a call and I'll help ya, alright?"

"Thanks," you reply, nodding back and pulling away, wanting to face him again. "This almost feels like a dream."

"Does it?" he asks, facing you. "What'd make it feel like a dream, then?"

"That's a hard question." You smile, heat returning to your cheeks when you finally grow conscious of your position. While your dress was long enough to cover up your fall, you were a mess of limbs: his arms hooked with yours, torso against torso, and knees brushing with your thighs, his shorter height making you tower over him almost completely. "I, well. . . I guess if we could stay like this for years to come? Faust loves having you around, and I. . . I do, too. You're my family, friend, husband, and so much more."

You burst into a fit of giggles when you see him blush, near reddish pink contrasting with the yellowish white of his bones.

★ ★ ★

You can't do it.

People are waiting, yet you can't bring yourself to step out.

The dress feels bunched up, the accessories look too tacky, and your hair extensions feel faker than plastic flowers. The only thing that feels remotely right is what Sans had done for you with some flowers the fan from before had given you. It doesn't feel right to call anyone for help, against bothering any of them when the tailor had worked hard for your dress, a friend had gifted you those accessories, and another had done your extensions.

You don't feel like disappointing the audience, so you instead begin taking off the dress, deciding it was best to continue being the 'original' you for the moment being. With a defeated sigh, you reach out for the back of your dress and begin unzipping it, door to your changing room opening when the dress is already down your waist.

Instinctively, you grab the first thing closest to you and launch it at the intruder, freezing when you hear a familiar voice laugh under his breath.

"Twice in one day, huh? That's a new record, pal."

Sans stands by the door, humour exchanging for intrigue when he sees you half-dressed. You cover the brassiere away from his sight, embarrassment crossing you.

"Sorry," he speaks up, chuckling. "Didn't know you were still changin'. Lemme help you with that zipper, though."

Against bringing up the fact you were doubtful, you nod and turn your back on him, slipping the dress over your torso and waiting for him to zip it in place. You wait, tensing when he comments on your upper underwear.

"That's a cute bra, by the way. Somethin' tells me it ain't from a regular store -- judgin' by how lacy it looks."

The embarrassment you had fought off returns, the surprise you had planned out for your night together spoiled by a moment of indecisiveness. "It was. . . meant for after the show tonight. You weren't supposed to see it yet."

Sans brings his arms around your waist, pulling you against him. "Don't mind teasers, though. Ya lookin' prettier than the stars, half-dressed or not." He kisses the lower back of your neck, provoking a shudder all across your body. "And this might be a hunch, but. . . Were ya gettin' undressed? Figured you might've 'cuz ya have your shoes and hair all done already."

You stay silent, holding his hands and keeping him in the embrace, not daring to look at him in the eye. ". . .Yeah. I kept looking at myself in the mirror, and I just kept picking out every little thing I didn't like."

"Call me next time, (N/N)," he states, hold on you growing stronger. "I mean it. We might both be a lil' busier now that we're gonna adopt another kid, but we'll make it work. I can always find time for stuff like this."

"Th- That's another thing, Sans!" you exclaim, breaking out of his hold. "Who knows if they'll even accept now? They were already against it when we were both male -- What will the adoption center even think when I tell them I'm actually a woman? They'll reject us in a heartbeat."

"We'll have our own kid, then. You remember what the book said 'bout soul reproduction, don't ya? We can try it."

"Wh-" You cut off your own words, feeling your ears and face burn over the proposition. "How can you say that so easily? It. . . It would've taken me years to say that to you!"

"You know I like sayin' it like it is," he remarks, grinning. "Maybe in the past my soul was too weak for that, but now it should be possible."

"Do you really mean it?"

"'Course I do, pal."

You take in some air, chest trembling as you hold back your feelings. A smile blooms on your face, and it only grows when you see the earnest look in his irises, white glow bright and certain. "Thank you," you murmur, reaching for his hands again and keeping them both in one. "Do you really feel ready for this, though? I mean, Faust's accepted you as a father long before we got married, but. . ."

"Worried I won't be ready for the responsibility?"

"N- No! I already know how responsible you are. It's just. . . I don't want to be selfish. 'Cuz I feel like I've already been that enough with my transitioning."

"Are we really gonna have this conversation again? Selfish would've implied you not being honest with me 'fore we got married, but you were. You were honest and brave, two things I love about ya -- be it (N/N) or not."

"Dammit," you mutter, suppressing a laugh as you stare up at the ceiling again. "You're gonna make me cry again."

★ ★ ★

The show ends with a high note -- in both singing and feedback from the audience. Persistent vocal practice sessions had improved your ability to shift between low and high tunes, the latter you wanted more now that you were more comfortable with the new you. Claps continue to resound as you begin floating down to firm grounds, wobbling a little when your heels bump with the rocky surface of the Moon. Flowers, stars, and stardust are thrown at your feet, a few letters and folded papers being thrown in the mix. An assistant aids you by handing you a basket you use to pick up the items, taking them with you back to the inside of the lounge.

You take off your helmet as soon as you enter, a few fans greeting you along the way. Some throw additional compliments into the basket, while others hand them to you personally. Well wishes spread across the hall as you make it to the bar, where Grillby and Sans wait, both staring at the sky until they notice your presence.

Carefully, you grab the skeleton by the shoulders, hugging him the same way he had done with you, only with him seated on the bar stool. He relaxes under your hold, the tension he looked to carry from a distance leveling down. "Ready for tonight?"

"The show, or the other thing?" he asks, low enough for only you to hear.

"Don't," you warn, laughing. "Else it won't happen. You know what I'm talking about."

He gives in with a grin, closing off the space remaining between you. "Guess I am. Dunno if people'll like it, though. You were way too awesome back there -- Can't compete with that."

"You silly." You let your extensions fall over his face as you place your chin over his head, holding him tighter. "Yours is a different act. You'll stand out in your own way, no matter what -- And don't go saying it'll be in a bad way!"

He laughs, honest. "Damn," he mutters, grabbing a lock and tickling your nose with it. "Ya know me too well, (N/N)."

"We're married," you state, giggling. "It's my job to."

#sans x reader #outertale sans x reader #trans reader #trans mtf reader #outertale #undertale #reader insert #lgbt

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gnomegirlgabby-blog · 5 years ago

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DND Gnome History

So as the theme of the night is DND Gnomes might as well talk about their history in DND! Thank you Wiki for this!

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters.[1] Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are more tolerant of other races and of magic, and are skilled with illusions.[1] Gnomes are small humanoids, standing 3–3.5 feet (91–107 cm) tall.

Dungeons & Dragons

The gnome first appeared in the original 1974 edition of Dungeons & Dragons,[2] and in its second supplement, Blackmoor (1975).[3]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition

The gnome appeared as a player character race in the original Player's Handbook (1978).[4][5] The gnome also appeared in the original Monster Manual (1977).[6] A new gnomish subrace, the deep gnome (svirfneblin), was presented as a character race in the original Unearthed Arcana (1985).[7] Another gnome subrace, the tinker gnome (minoi), focused on building mechanical devices, was presented in Dragonlance Adventures. The humorous Solo Quest adventure Gnomes-100, Dragons-0 featured these gnomes in their resistance against the dragon army of Takhisis.[8]

Gnomes were originally introduced to Dungeons & Dragons as a new alternative to dwarves, elves, and halflings.[9][10] They were developed from mythology from a number of different sources, originally being a bearded, short race similar to halflings and dwarves. The gnome's niche in play was made magical, to separate it from the more warrior-like dwarf and the more rogue-like halfling.[11]

Dungeons & Dragons (Basic/BECMI)

The gnome appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set as a "monster". The gnome appeared as a player character class in Top Ballista (1989).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition

The gnome appeared as a character race in the second edition Player's Handbook (1989).[12] The gnome also appeared in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989).[13] Four gnomish races – forest, rock, tinker, and deep (svirfneblin) – were detailed as player character races in The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings (1993).[14]

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition

The gnome appeared as a character race in the third edition Player's Handbook (2000),[15] and in the 3.5 revised Player's Handbook.[16] Gnomes were detailed for the Forgotten Realms setting in Races of Faerûn (2003).[17] Gnomes were one of the races detailed in Races of Stone (2004).

Throughout D&D history, up to and including the third edition Player's Handbook, spellcaster gnomes were either illusionists or had illusionist as their favored class.[18][19] However, in Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5, gnomes' favored class has been changed to bard, as the favored class of "illusionist" was a subset of the wizard class. The wizard favored class was also already used by elves. In D&D v.3.5, gnomes are inventors and alchemists who love pranks and excel at engineering. The tinker gnomes of Dragonlance are mechanically skilled, though their devices are quite prone to backfiring. It has been suggested that gnomes be given the Eberron class artificer as a favored class, due to their technical aptitude.

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition

Gnomes appeared in 4th edition as a player character race in Player's Handbook 2 (2009).[20] The gnome appeared in the Monster Manual (2008).

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition

The gnome was included as a player race in the 5th edition Player's Handbook (2014).[21] Two subraces were introduced with it: the forest gnome and the rock gnome. The Player's Handbook connects the rock gnomes to the tinker gnomes of the Dragonlance setting.

The deep gnome (svirfneblin) is also referenced in the Player's Handbook, and is fully detailed in the 5th edition Monster Manual (2014).[21][22] The Elemental Evil Player's Companion (2015) presents the deep gnome as a player race.[23]

Subraces

Gnomes in Dungeons & Dragons have been further divided into various subraces:

Rock gnomes are the standard gnome subrace of Third Edition. They live in burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills.

Tinker gnomes are the common gnomes of the Dragonlance campaign setting. In that fictional universe, they dwell in the Mount Nevermind in the world of Krynn.

Svirfneblin, or deep gnomes, dwell in cities deep underground. They are more dangerous than the common rock gnome.

Forest gnomes are smaller than rock gnomes. They are a shy, secretive folk, living deep in wooded areas.[24] Friends to animals, forest gnomes have a racial ability that allows them to speak with small animals.

River Gnomes are graceful and quick. They live in homes dug into the side of riverbanks and speak with river dwelling animals in place of burrowing mammals. They are non-magical but gain +1 to initiative and are proficient swimmers.

Arcane Gnomes are city dwellers. They generally keep to a small community within a larger city. Arcane gnomes are focused on the pursuit of knowledge making their populace, in large part, over-eager inventors or wizards.[25]

Chaos gnomes are the most flamboyant gnomes. Brightly colored and rare, they are strongly inclined towards chaos, as their name suggests.[26]

Whisper gnomes lack the jovial outlook of other gnome races. Sly and suspicious, they are creatures of stealth.[26]

Ice gnomes dwell in the region of Frostfell in the Eberron campaign setting

Fire gnomes live on Bytopia, on the Outer Planes, where they help Flandal Steelskin, the Gnomish god of metal and crafting, in his work.

Sky gnomes appear in the Creature Crucible Top Ballista PC2 published in 1989. They are cunning engineers living in the flying city Serraine above the World of Mystara.

In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, gnomes are also known as the "Forgotten Folk".

Society

Gnome society had changed greatly over the different editions of Dungeons & Dragons. In the first edition, they were portrayed as intensely curious and intellectual, keeping in theme with their spell-casting niche, with an interest in gemstones.[18] They typically lived in hills, and acted as intermediaries between dwarves, elves, and halflings.

In the second edition, gnomes received further background. According to The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings,[27] gnomes have an intricate society based on their love of all kinds of arts, pranks, and their long lives. Their society is based on art; all gnomes must take up some form of art whether music, painting, cooking, building, or any other form that is considered creative by the time they come of age.

Gnomes are naturally friendly, highly social and fun loving people. They are respected by Elves for their communion with nature and knowledge of arcane magic, admired by Halflings for their humor, and sought out by Dwarves for their gemcutting skills.

Religion

Garl Glittergold was created by James M. Ward and first appeared in the "Nonhuman Deities" chapter of the original Deities and Demigods (1980) as the god of gnomes.[28]Roger E. Moore detailed several additional gnomish gods in his article "The Gods of the Gnomes" in Dragon #61 (May 1982), including: Baervan Wildwanderer, god of adventure and thieves; Urdlen ("The Crawler Below"), god of evil; Segojan Earthcaller, god of earth and nature; and Flandal Steelskin, god of metalworking;[29] these four newer gods also appeared in the original Unearthed Arcana (1985).[30]

All five of these deities were detailed for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition in the book Monster Mythology (1992) by Carl Sargent, including details about their priesthoods; this book also introduced additional gods including: Baravar Cloakshadow, god of illusions, protection, and deception; Gaerdal Ironhand, god of protection, vigilance, and combat; and Nebelun (The Meddler), god of inventions and good luck.[31] All of these gods also received a very detailed description for their roles in the Forgotten Realms in Demihuman Deities (1998).[32]

Further reading

Tresca, Michael J. (November 2010). The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games. McFarland. pp. 34–36, 140–141. ISBN 978-0786458950.

Bowman, Sarah Lynne (May 2010). The Functions of Role-Playing Games. McFarland. pp. 151, 165–166. ISBN 978-0786447107.

So I hope you enjoyed the in depth DND knowledge about gnomes! Link to the gnome article below!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnome_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)

#gnomes #gnomegirlgabby #gardengnomes #gnomelove #DNDGnomes #WikiGnomes #GnomeArticle #GnomeHistory

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character-scrolls · 5 years ago

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Miscellaneous Headcanons: Jinx - TSM (Soften Edition)

Enjoy some cute headcanons of some of my Jinx beans <3

Social Media:

What kind of Youtube channel would they run? - No doubt about it, Jinx would have a book review channel and it would be as cute as heck.

- An incredibly fluffy and sweet vibe, she'd have a large bookcase in her background with cute fairy lights draped over it, maybe some miniture cactus plants sat on some of the shelves.

- Probably uses some soft music box as the background music or something that relates to the book she's reviewing that week.

- Jinx would mostly be a solo reviewer but she might occasionally bring on someone for a collab

- She has gotten some god awful book suggestions, some she does reviews and some she'll outright refuse to do

- Her channel would probably be something like Bookworm or The BookWorm

- One of her videos showcases a mini tour of all the books she's gotten over the years, she's slowly running out of floor space.

What kinda blog would they run? - PASTEL.COLOURS.FOR.DAAAAYS.

- Jinx's blog is dedicated to all things literature from fiction to non-fiction

- She could talk for hours and hours about her favourite authors and the books she's read that week

- Jinx takes photos of her reading space which is normally a comfy chair with a little side table with her current book and a cup of fancy tea steaming next to it and her reading glasses resting on top of her book.

- Though in reality it probably ends up with her sitting up in bed until god knows what time whilst spouting the false promise of 'yes this is the last chapter I'm going to read I swear' wheather that's a book or a really good fanfiction on her ipad that's upto you.

- Jinx's posting shedule would be at least twice a week, depending

- Would for sure have a side blog for fanfiction

Dressing Up:

What would they be for Halloween? - Jinx would be a cute little ghostie for Halloween

- She's not one for being scary so cute is the next best thing

- Jinx would do her best to hand make the costume, it wouldn't be the neatest but hey ghost aren't meant to be

- The costume consists of a white robe with oversized sleeves covering her hands with a lacy hood over the top and short chains would be attached around her ankles

Who would they cosplay as?

- Jinx would for sure cosplay someone like Yuna from Final Fantasy X or Howl from Howls Moving Castle

- She would try and get a high quality costume, trying to get the most accurate looking one

Food:

What type of biscuit would they be? - A gooey chocolate chip cookie, because she's a soft that is all

What type of tea would they be? -A cinnamon blend tea

What type of alcohol would they be? - A sweet red wine

Games:

What kind of Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck do you they have? - For sure, a spellcaster deck probably based around the Silent Magician

- Not just for the obvious reason...also by how it's played

- Not seeing her with any other type

What kind of Pokemon Team do they have? - Possibly Fairy? I'm not entirely sure because they're a number of pokemon I see her having in her team, I have considered like psychic for another option?

What Animal Crossing animal would they be?

- Maybe a sheep? a cute little purple sheep

- Has the cutest cottage aesthetic going on

- Will gift you many, many, many books

Aesthetic: leather bound books, ink stained parchment, burning candle light, dark blues, pastel pinks and purples, empty potion vials, soft touches, sweet smelling purfumes, crytals, the glittering particles of magic, grubby bandages

Extra headcanon:

- The fiction she read throughout her years helped her discover her bisexuality, she had read so many books with different heros and their romantic endevours that it had a profound a effect on her. At first she didn't understand why she liked boys but also girls??? fiction helped her to finally understand that it was perfectly normal to feel like this.

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Ruben - Jinx: TSM

Social Media:

What kind of Youtube channel would they run? - This boy. THIS BOY. His channel would be a disaster , but a wonderful one..he's trying

- Ruben would do a lot of dumb but harmless challenges, but it would radiate pure chaotic energy

- He's a gremlin with too much time on their hands lets be real here

- Ruben would do a lot of collabs, which are even more diasterous than his solo videos depending which poor soul he asked

- he edits like it's going out of fashion, jumpcuts galore and dumbass sounds effects for days.

- He has a sizable following

- He would for sure drag his boyfriend in for a video...for a price

What kinda blog would they run? - Like this Youtube channel, it's chaotic but is slightly more structured

- Being a avid comic reader, his blog is centred around comic books

- Will have full-on arguements with other people about which character is strongest/best/weakest etc

- "Now you listen here you litle shit, YOU DON'T-"

- His blog is fairly simple in terms of colour scheme, possibly using themes available to him

- Has an inconsistant posting shedule

Dressing Up:

What would they be for Halloween? - Probably a skeleton, surprisingly good at face painting

- He'd use face/body paint for his neck area and hands

- Contacts maybe?

Who would they cosplay as?

- Would for sure cosplay as Beast Boy from Teen Titans, feel like that would be the type of character he'd go for

- Maybe with full-on body paint too?

Food:

What type of biscuit would they be? - Ruben would be like one of those giant biscuits with the chunks of m&ms baked into it

What type of tea would they be? - Iced lemon tea

What type of alcohol would they be? - Apple Cider

Games:

What kind of Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck do you they have? -Elemental Hero deck maybe?

- His love of super heros would play a part in why he chose it

What kind of Pokemon Team do they have? - Possibly flying?

- Has for sure named one of his pokemon Jeremy

What Animal Crossing animal would they be?

-Possibly a squrriel

-Has a mis-matched house because who hell is interior decorating

Aesthetic: Fireworks lighting up the nights sky, scrapped knees, wide grins,bare feet,messy hair constantly running fingers through it,dark greens, off white,loud laughter, dumb jokes.

Extra headcanon:

- Ruben is known for being the town menace, however, when he was younger especially, the elder folk would leave out baked goodies for him to pick up during his escapes. Sometimes they'd even let him hide out near their house if it was safe enough to do so. Now that he's older, they don't let him get away so much anymore but will occasionally leave out a place of treats.

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Lamina - Jinx: TSM

Social Media:

What kind of Youtube channel would they run? - Lamina's channel would be dedicated to fitness and her vast collection of swords

- She'll do exercise challenges and inbetween she'd show off her latest custom order swords

- Lamina has an intense energy on screen but will give legitmate advice on health and exercise

- She'll only really soften up if she talks about her girlfriend or her swords, getting equally giddy over both

- Her shedule is regular and she has quite a big following

- Swords will always be present in her backgrounds

What kinda blog would they run? - Her blog would focus on her swords and she'd go into detail about their history and origin

- She takes beautiful pictures of them from every angle imaginable

- Lighting is everything, it's gotta hit the blade juuust right

- She poses them with occassionally, doesn't admit it but she enjoys it

- Her colour scheme would be muted and her theme would be minimal

- Lamina tends to post whenever she has a new sword delievered

Dressing Up:

What would they be for Halloween? - Lamina is not usually one to get dressed up, would probably take some persausion

- She'd want it to be low effect, nothing too complicated

- If she had to pick, possibly an apocolyptic survior, no it's not an excuse to show off her cool swords shUT Up

Who would they cosplay as?

- Possibly Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail

-Because did I mention swords? because she likes s

-Not sure which armor she'd go for

-Possibly would commission someone to make it

Food:

What type of biscuit would they be? - A simple shortbread biscuit

What type of tea would they be? - Green macha tea

What type of alcohol would they be? - Straight whisky

Games:

What kind of Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck do you they have? - Warrior deck or Amazoness deck?

What kind of Pokemon Team do they have? - Fighting type, feel like it fits her

What Animal Crossing animal would they be?

- Wolf possibly? or a bear

- Home filled with work-out equipment

- Grumpy personality?

Aesthetic: Early mornings, sore knuckles, stern looks, hidden softness, sword clashes, the smell of burning, loyal bonds, dark purples and blues,brusied skin and busted lips, quiet nights beneath the stars.

Extra headcanon:

- (tiny spoilers??) After Solus left most of her men dead, Lamina felt geniuely hurt. Her loyalty and trust in Solus was strong. She wouldn't admit but she did shed a few tears when she was alone before completely shutting herself off from her remaining men. They weren't like him, in fact, they were among the ones who mocked her and they only trusted her out of fear. She felt she'd lost her only real connection. Thankfully, she was able to open up again and she couldn't be happier. -------------------------------------------

Katia-Jinx:TSM

Social Media:

What kind of Youtube channel would they run? - Katia would have a fashion channel, she'd showcase the unsual dresses she'd buy and possibly make

- There's always a WIP of a dress on a manniquien in the background of her videos

- She'll sometimes do time lapses of dress

- Katia will occasionally post tutorials on the dresses she makes and leaves materials and such in the description

- She'd talk about the best materials to use to sew with

- Her sewing machine is covered in cute stickers and has become staple in her background

- She keeps a list of themes to explore in a notebook

- Her following is large but not overwhelming

What kinda blog would they run? - A fashion blog

- She'd post lookbooks each with a different theme

- Her colour scheme would be soft galaxy, maybe blue and purple

- Katia loves to talk about the history of fashion and tries to re-create the clothing from different points in history

- Her blog is clean and orginaised to a T. Everything is put into categories

- Katia posts weekly and does at least one lookbook per week

Dressing Up:

What would they be for Halloween? - Katia would be a wailing victorian bride

- With her skills in dress making her costume would be sublime

- She'd go ham on her costume, adding every single detail she can think of to make it look better

- Kinda erie how accurate it would be

Who would they cosplay as? - BOTW!Zelda or Twlight Princess!Zelda

- Again, costume making is her jam! the entire thing would be made from scratch minus a few things like the wig

- She loves the outfits Zelda wears in the games and would study the hell out of them to get the design right

Food:

What type of biscuit would they be? - Simple lemon biscuit

What type of tea would they be? - Earl Grey

What type of alcohol would they be? - Vodka

Games:

What kind of Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck do you they have? - Harpy Lady deck

- She just thinks they're neat

- And she enjoys the play style

What kind of Pokemon Team do they have? - Ghost type

What Animal Crossing animal would they be? - Rabbit

- Her house would be cosy and hidden away within the trees

- Shy personality type

Aesthetic: Silver necklaces, heavy veils, masquerade masks, silk dresses, corset ties, anxious thoughts, strained smiles, secret encounters, fights for freedom, golds, silver, sparkling jewels, touch starved.

Extra headcanon:

- Katia was not always an anxious mess, that only occurred later in life due to the pressure her parents placed on her. As a child, she was playful and witty, she was rebellous and would always find ways to esape her escorting guards. These days the only way she can 'escape' are when she's in her own quaters.

#soft headcanons #headcanon #ocs #fantasy #mage #dark elf #drow

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miserylovescompanyfanfic · 5 years ago

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MLC Ch: 3

The Cream of Friendship

Cream usually took it upon herself to drive Emilia and her to work in the evenings, but the first job that Emilia had wasn’t Cream’s. No, Emilia had gotten the job at the cute cafe a couple blocks from her current apartment when she first moved to town and lived on campus with Cream; while Cream found a job at another venue that paid a little better but had late nights, and had convinced Emilia to join her.

This little slice of calm before the storm always prepared Emilia for the nights to come, especially since the later afternoons were easy and closing was a cinch. Emilia worked herself up to be the closing manager while Wave, the morning manager, had been a part of the company for many years and hadn’t advanced any farther than that.

She was only slightly bitter, though Emilia had tried being nice to her every chance they got. Don’t get her wrong, Wave the purple swallow wasn’t mean, she was just… intimidating. She was a tall woman with ice blue eyes that was striking against her dark purple feathers. Though, what seemed to be the most intimidating for Emilia was the flame tattoos that traveled up her arms and disappeared into the sleeves of her shirt.

She rubbed her own arms gently every time she saw the tattoos. They were really cool, don’t get her wrong, but apparently Wave got them while she was in prison for moving some drugs during the Egg Wars , which is what the last long term conflict with Eggman had been dubbed for history. Wave served a couple years before the war ended, but Emilia didn’t want to disclose that she had been a part of the group who had founded the Babylon Rogues operation and arrested them.

Granted, she was a part of the Freedom fighter then, a lot smaller, with brighter pink fur, and quills that stuck up in all directions-- but, it would be awkward, ya know?

Anyways, they didn’t get along super well, and Wave was a decent person trying to find a new way in life and was fortunate enough to get the job she has. Point is: she’s intimidating and Emilia still doesn’t know how to talk to her, even after nearly 3 ½ years at the job.

Cream had joked before that maybe Emilia was bisexual because of how nervous and awkward she got around Wave, and to curb more suspicion Emilia agreed that maybe she was. And hell, maybe she was, she hadn’t experimented yet and have you seen girl’s they’re so pretty.

Emilia shook her head, frowning at her strange train of thought and picked up a box of packaged coffee beans ready to be ground. It had been resealed after she finished stocking the shelves in the back along with the rows in the front of the store, still though the box was rather full.

Emilia picked it up with ease, and Sonia the Hedgehog whistled from behind her.

“It still amazes me how you’re so strong.” Sonia mentioned casually, Emilia hid her blush like she usually had to when Sonia was around. Yeah, Sonia the hedgehog-- Sonic’s older sister, and the only one in Empire City (aside from Manic but Emilia never saw him so he doesn’t count) who knew her identity. It was purely happenstance that they worked together, in fact it was Sonia who interviewed Emilia when she first arrived.

Sonia had been more than willing to keep the secret, even helped Emilia get the job.

“Well, ya know.” Emilia shrugged, Sonia knew but the others who worked regularly with Emilia knew of her second job.

“I bet, you’re the backbone of that place, Emi.” Jian, the white tiger said moving past the two pink hedgehogs. Jian was the tallest member of their establishment, but she was rather quiet and mostly lingered some days as she was the store manager.

Jian was very excited when she found out Emilia was a stripper, much to Emilia's own embarrassment.

“Jian, the other dancers are very good, too.” Emilia chastised, stamping down the blush rising in her cheeks.

Jian laughed easily then, taking the box out of Emilia’s hands. “C’mon, Emi, you’re the only one I’ve seen do flips in the air and land like a fairy in those platforms.”

“And stilettos.” She smiled shyly, but seeing the idea behind Jian’s praises.

“Exactly! Emilia, I can’t even begin to describe to you how difficult shit like that is.”

Sonia snickered at Emilia’s shocked face, before the younger pink hedgehog gave an irritated eye to Sonia.

“Oh, right.” Jian’s jade green eyes moved down to Wave, who was in the front wiping down the counter. “Wave, you were supposed to be out of here at 5.”

Wave stalled, giving a slight shrug. “Well, you guys were busy and there was plenty for me to do up here-”

“Get your ass out of here.”

Sonia snickered again and Jian’s eyes moved to hers. Arms still tense from holding the heavy box. “You too, Hedgehog.” Sonia opened her mouth but closed it immediately, smiling at Emilia.

“Good luck tonight, Rose.” she winked. Emilia’s face blushed scarlet at the use of her name, surname and stage name.

Yeah, she wasn’t very creative…

Cream was in front of the cafe at 7:30 sharp, her little red car playing music a little too loud as she sat texting on her phone.

Jian gave Amy a well meaning smile as the two locked up the cafe and parted ways.

“Heads up, Fiona has requested that we have a theme for tonight. Some of the other girls are thinking wild wild west. ” Cream warned Emilia as she slipped into the car, Emilia placed her bag in the back of Cream’s car, having had a chance to stop by her apartment earlier to grab her clothes and drop off homework.

“Gross.” Emilia commented. “Why not outer space?”

“Oooo, that’s good. Dress all sexy with glittery outfits--” Emilia cut Cream off.

“I was thinking more like aliens.” Cream gave the other girl a deadpanned look.

“Of course you were.” Cream pulled out of the parking spot and sped through downtown. “Why not dress like one of the galaxies while you’re at it.”

“You could dress up like the sun.” Emilia commented, Cream scoffed.

“The only light I am is in your life , Rose.”

Emilia’s shoulders tensed at the name. She should’ve came up with a better stage name, honestly.

“I’m thinking of changing my stage name.” Emilia watched the city lights go by as the sky was already dark.

“Whyyyyy would you do that? Rose is so cute!”

Emilia placed her chin in her hand; “yeah, I guess it is.”

---------------------------

“This is not a cohesive theme girls.” Fiona Fox, the wife of the owner and one of the dancers of the club pinched the bridge of her nose as the girls in the changing room had ideas all over the place (thanks to Emilia but that’s not important).

Fiona and Carrotia had committed to the wild wild west ; Carrotia the Rabbit (not related to Cream) was Fiona’s shadow, always following her around, always doing the dirty work or her bidding, basically she was Fiona #2. Fiona wasn’t dancing tonight, but she was dressed like one of the show girls with her corset tightened where it looked painful to breathe, adorned with a little feather in her hair.

Carrotia on the other hand went for the “sexy cowboy” look with assless chaps and a loose fitting cowboy hat.

Blair, a purple cat with a red jewel in the center of her forehead, had an Arabian dancer theme for the evening with a red bra that had gold accents and a similar thong.

Mira, the yellow mongoose that had a red haired wig as a part of her costume, had a similar outfit that Blair had but with blue and silver accents instead of the ruby reds of Blair’s.

Cream went with a red riding hood look; complete with the short dress that wasn’t even considered a dress, and a tear away front of white frills. The red cape was tied daintily around her throat.

Emilia was, as she had suggested before: an alien, though Cream was currently helping put the washable fur dye into her fur as Emilia focused on her makeup. Fiona and Carrotia shot a glare at the pair, seeing as Emilia was usually the one causing mischief among the dancers with Cream to help.

Blair and Mira were usually paired together, which made sense as they were hired at the same time. Emilia and Cream got along with them really well (probably because Cream had great hiding places but that’s besides the point).

“Are you two even done yet?” Carrotia snapped at the two of them. “If you’re not gonna coordinate with us the least you could do is be ready on time.”

Cream looked at the analog clock on the wall above the mirrors and makeup counters. She then gave Carrotia a frown and pointed at the clock.

“We’ve still got 15 minutes chill the heck out.” Cream rolled her eyes and went back to putting the red temporary fur dye in Emilia’s fur. Emilia on the other hand was busy putting silver eye shadow on her eyelids and green lipstick on, when Cream was done with the quills Emilia donned a cute little headband with red antenna on them.

Carrotia, during that time though, was staring at the analog clock. Hard. Trying to read it.

“Fine, fine!” Cream groaned out, throwing down the now empty bottle of dye. Thankfully, Emilia was mostly covered-- Cream didn’t have to worry about certain parts of Emilia. Emilia, instead of being a pink hedgehog, was now a red furred alien hedgehog with a cute silver rip away dress.

Cream shoved her heels on, glittery red things that were 7 inches tall-- taller than Carrotia’s at least, which Cream was more than happy to look down on the other rabbit with most days.

“You curse all the time why do you say ‘heck’ ?” Emilia asked Cream while also putting her own silver boots on, the heel wasn’t as intimidating as Cream's, but they were tall boots that ended above her knee.

Cream smiled at her friend. Giving a small laugh as she said: “Be-because,” she took a breath to steady herself. “Because I don’t fucking like the word Hell. ”

Cream started laughing, and even Mira giggled a bit. Carrotia rolled her eyes, checking her phone for the time as Fiona had gone out to the audience already to introduce the dancers for the evening.

Cream and Emilia stood up nearly at the same time, taking each others hands as Blair and Mira took theirs as well.

“Show time?” Cream asked them.

“Show time!” the purple cat and yellow mongoose cheered.

Emilia nodded, eyes focused on the door way out onto the stage, her heart thrummed like it did every time before she started dancing.

“Show time.”

#misery loves company #misery loves company fanfic #Shadamy #sonic the hedgehog #sonic au #sonic the hedgehog au #Amy Rose #shadow the hedgehog #Cream the Rabbit

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wordswithkittywitch · 5 years ago

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Barbie: A Fairy Secret

Well, it’s finally happening. I’ve lowered my standards enough to start posting my thoughts on Barbie movies. Well, my in-depth analysis so I can give all 37 (I’m counting both Barbie and the Rockers half-hour shorts as one movie. It was a continuing plot.) Barbie movies a rank based on my own arbitrary standards. And because it’s arbitrary, they are being scored out of 110 and I starting more or less randomly with the one I watched earlier this afternoon.

Barbie A Fairy Secret: Overall Score: 54/110 Why is it a score out of 110 instead of 100? Because Barbie gives 110%. Also because there are twelve categories, and only one of them is negative. Why is this score so low? Simply put, I’ve seen all the Barbie films and this isn’t the best one. I still enjoy it, and let’s find out why that is...

High points: 6/10 This is a genuinely funny movie, even if sometimes the jokes are so stupid you’re a little ashamed of laughing at them. Even if you’re watching as an adult, you have to accept this is fundamentally a kids’ movie and it’s going to be silly. Now, of course there are some kids’ movies that don’t have this problem, and some of them are even in the Barbie series. But this is a film where Ken Matrix-dodges a puff of glitter.

The architecture of Gloss Angeles and in particular the palace really steals the show; even if a lot of the floating platforms look like gold chocolate kisses hovering upside down. Beyond the gleaming gold and jewel-bright colours, we see a streaked pastel sky extending forever in all directions. Really. All directions. Raquelle asks how far away the ground is, and is quickly informed there is no ground.

Low points: -4/-10 The animation style wasn’t as polished as some of the later Barbie movies, and usually I can just ignore that, but it also lacked the pastel charm of some of the earlier ones. It was kind of in an awkward middle ground. The faces are a little stiffer than other films, and a lot of the emoting needs to be done with the body language.

And on a far more petty note, I don’t think that the name “Zane” sounds as much like a fairy as “Graciellla”. Or “Graylen”. Or even “Crystal”. “Taylor” is on about the same level of sounding like a fairy as “Zane” though.

WLW appeal: 6/10

I’m not saying that two women admitting that they both wanted to be closer but thought that the other one didn’t like them, hugging and then a rainbow of light transforms into fairies, shattering the cage they were in is necessarily lesbian subtext, but it’s really easy to read it that way. Especially since right after it happens Taylor says love is more powerful than a Passion Fairy’s anger.

However, Barbie and Raquelle’s moment of understanding each other pales in comparison to Taylor and Carrie’s relationship. The two are unquestionably close, never out of the other’s sight. However, the thing that made them read as most romantically involved to me wasn’t anything they did on screen: it was Princess Gracellia’s past history with them. When three people are close friends and two of them become so close they cut the third person out without realising they’ve upset them at all, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re dating, but any time I personally can say that I really lost a friend, it was a variation on that story. I’ve seen it in other people, and much to my disgust almost any time someone brings up that this is a problem, the blame falls on the “third wheel” for not realising that romantic love is obviously more important than any of their previous friendships, and suggesting that if they were emotionally mature they would just go off and fine someone to snog themselves, thus becoming a fully realised romantic being.

Okay, none of the romantic part of the last paragraph was textual, and I am definitely projecting at least a little bit; but this is a recurring theme across media, and it sucks, and I enjoy the fact I can avoid it. Yet another reason I have watched all the Barbie movies.

Ace Appeal: 4/10 I suppose this needs to be said at least once, and since this one is getting posted first, it’s a natural choice to get this disclaimer out of the way. No, I don’t think that anyone in Mattel offices ever stops and says, “Hang on. Does the plot of this children’s movie appeal to the sensibilities of adult asexuals?” However, I’m pretty sure there is some variation on “Not all kids like romance, and most parents want to keep the romance their kids see in media to be on the tame side, so we’ll have to pay attention to how much romance we put in and how it’s handled.” However, as an adult asexual, it is always freaking refreshing to have characters interested in something besides The Sex™, and the best place I have found to seek that is in children’s media.

In a movie aimed at adults, one would usually establish the main romantic couple with kissing, steamy stares, and other things that make your friends not want your partner hang out with the rest of the group. Or, in the case of The Airzone Solution, goosing your partner while she’s having a conversation with someone else, making her voice go up so high I finally recognise Nicola Bryant without her fake American accent. (by the way, if you’re looking for movies with asexual appeal, The Airzone Solution is not one of them.)

This is the face of a man who cannot unwatch The Airzone Solution.

Also, in a movie aimed at adults, no one can end in the same romantic relationship that they started in, which Barbie can avoid because the character of Ken cannot exist in a vacuum: Ken is Barbie’s boyfriend (the Barbie Vlogs/Dreamhouse Adventures timeline notwithstanding; especially given that there really is no question that in that particular timeline “Karbie is endgame” as the kids say.), all personality traits are related to this. If Ken appears in a Barbie movie, we know he already is Barbie’s boyfriend because Barbie is a wish fulfilment fantasy for young girls: As many rewarding careers as they like, a steady relationship with someone who adores them, a large group of friends, pretty much any material goods they can think of at their fingertips, and of course, magical powers. This, quite frankly, is why Barbie works as a woman somewhere in her twenties or thirties and why she doesn’t make as much sense when people try to age her down into a teenager. Seriously. That’s what Skipper is for. How can Barbie have a sixteen-year-old little sister if she herself is sixteen? It doesn’t make sense. But I’m getting off-topic.

This is a kids’ movie, so we establish that Ken and Barbie are dating by having them being adorable duelling with spoons over ice cream sundaes. And that’s why I’ve watched every Barbie movie ever made.

As I mentioned before, the subplot with Gracellia feeling cut out of Taylor and Carrie’s relationship feels very familiar to anyone whose friends distanced themselves for their all-important romance. And while this could happen to anyone, being dropped out of your alloromantic/allosexual friends’ lives when they discover dating is one of the most recognisable and most terrible parts of the asexual/aromantic experience. Does this mean that any of the characters present as asexual or aromantic? As usual, not necessarily. Gracellia clearly isn’t aromantic. But, also as usual, “I’ve been there! It sucks!” is a common step in headcanoning a character as ace. And even if they aren’t, it’s still relatable. We also see a happily married middle-aged couple, Reena and Graylen. Narratively, they exist to show that a marriage between a fairy and a human can work, but I could have seen way more of them being cute. But I like cute old married couples. Which may be weird for someone desperately looking for characters in any form of media who actually like their love interests and stay with them through the entire story instead of breaking up to add more drama. Anyone who has had their friends start dating knows that couples do not need to be breaking up to cause drama.

Graylen’s character design is almost exactly like the advisor in the Fairytopia series. You might not expect “older black fairy with gray muttonchops and friendly advice” to be a stock character in Barbie films, but there he is. Often, Barbie movies do not have a full mouth kiss in them. If there is, that is often because there’s a wedding ceremony. This is an example of the latter. The couple who isn’t married at the end, however, express their love by trying not to be married against their will. Still, no matter how relatable all of this is to an asexual, it does end in a very Midsummer Night’s Dream everyone paired off sort of way.

Entourage: 6/10

Raquelle- Those familiar with Life in the Dreamhouse already know Raquelle as Barbie’s self-proclaimed rival and a twisty bitch who lives for drama, making her one of the most enjoyable characters to watch. She has a different voice actress here, which can throw you a little. Especially if you’re trying to remember which My Little Pony voice actress has replaced her Life in the Dreamhouse voice actress.

Taylor- Ginger shoe fairy with a pink dress and a posh accent. Mostly responsible for the “tell Barbie the truth, go to Gloss Angeles, and rescue Ken” plan.

Carrie- Brunette purse fairy with a purple dress. Probably the slower of the two. That said, even though she supplies much of the comic relief, it doesn’t stem from her being stupid, it stems from her never-emptying purse of visual gags. By the end, Carrie’s jokes have started to grate on Raquelle:

“I think this time I’ve got a home run!”

“Enough! It’s going to be a baseball bat, right?”

Art Style: 5/10 I’ll admit this isn’t my favourite era of Barbie movies as far as animation is concerned. The faces aren’t as emotive as some of the other styles of animation. Raquelle for one makes up for this with full-body sarcasm. The architecture in Gloss Angeles is really the highlight of the film’s visuals: with large amounts of sparkling crystal and gold curlicues putting one in mind of a jewellery box with it’s contents spilling out. Particularly in the fight scene between Ken and Zane, where they recreate the “Duel” bit from that 90s Gladiators show where the contenders sand on an elevated platform and hit each other with what appear to be large fancy cotton buds. The only difference is that the contenders have wings. The architecture is shown off nicely in the “welcome to Gloss Angeles” montage. Unlike films like a Mermaid Tale, they did not feel the need to put dozens of puns in this sequence, they just put wings on everything they could think of—dogs, cats, handbags, coffee cups, shopping bags…

Plot: 7/10 The plot takes place within the “Life in the Dreamhouse” continuity: Barbara Roberts is a highly successful celebrity who lives in Malibu with her three younger sisters, is dating her longtime boyfriend Kenneth Carson, and has a close group of friends, including Rochelle who openly hates all of them (barring Ken) but remains part of the social circle.

A jealous fairy named Crystal feeds Princess Graciella, ruler of the fairies, a love potion which makes he fall in love with Ken. Graciella kidnaps Ken and declares she will marry him that very day. Zane, Graciella’s previous boyfriend and also a fairy, challenges Ken to three successive duels as Ken tries to back out of this. Barbie and Rochelle, rival film stars, come to Ken’s rescue, aided by two fairies who have been living in the human world disguised as humans and working as Barbie’s personal stylists.

The whole thing feels a lot like Barbie does Comedia del Arte, which I love. A love square that is resolved with two couples at the end, a love potion, over the top comedic figures, a lovesick woman declaring she will marry someone she just met, the upper class characters being saved by the complex planning of their clever servants; if you accept personal stylists as the modern equivalent of a tiring maid.

Zane is probably the main reason I keep thinking Comedia del Arte when I’m watching this. And it’s not just that he has the same accent as el Captaino (a stock figure in Comedia del Arte. The foreign captain who is usually a comedic rival for the young lover). In his first scene, he challenges Ken to three successive duels: “So, you think I am not bold enough for two duels? For that, I challenge you to a third duel!” “Why not? I wasn’t doing anything after the second one anyway.”

I can’t help but think about how the plot would have been different if princess Graciella had drunk the love potion three seconds earlier and fallen in love with Rochelle instead of Ken. “I have to save my frienemy who has just graduated from pain in the ass to total bitch.” would have been a very different story to “I need to save my boyfriend.”

The whole thing is a mess of consent and lack thereof. Crystal puts a spell on Graciella so she becomes obsessed with Ken, Graciella puts a spell on Ken so that a marriage proposal comes out of his mouth, much to his horror. And, if the whole “Comedia del Arte” thing hadn’t been running through my head the entire time, the fact that it pretty much starts and ends like A Midsummer Night’s Dream would have done it: Someone gives the queen of the fairies a love potion. She falls in love with the worst possible option. Humans get involved. The two romantic couples are sorted back into their ideal combination, the fairies convince the humans it was all really a dream. Even Carrie and Taylor reminding the audience of the secret at the end puts me in mind of Puck’s final speech.

The plot would have gotten a higher score if it hadn’t been for one plothole that seems to grow and shrink the more I examine it: Crystal was in love with Zane, but he was in love with Graciella. So she gets her hands on a love potion and uses it on… not Zane. I guess thought if he wasn’t in a relationship he would pick her on his own. Perhaps she wanted “real love” and was prepared to give her princess a chemically assisted version. We will never know.

Character design: 6/10

It’s not unusual for the cast to be wearing their best costumes in the final act of a Barbie film, but in this case this was achieved by putting most of them in fairly ugly outfits for most of the action.

The costuming was quite up to standards in the last fifteen minutes, but that leaves us with fifty seven minutes of unnecessary peplum to account for.

Raquelle and Barbie appear in formal gowns for the red carpet premiere:

Raquelle wears a one-shoulder purple and blue gown with a lettuce edged wrap skirt with a high-low hem, simple blue teardrop earrings, and some excellent shoes.

As usual, Raquelle is quickly upstaged by Barbie, who wears a ruby pink bodice with a peplum hem over a bright violet mermaid skirt. These are accessorised with rhinestone rose jewellery and silver pumps, although the shoes are only revealed when Raquelle rips the back of her dress up to her thighs.

While these gowns only show up in the first scene, they are easily the best looks they wear in the film, which is understandable as they are the dresses worn by the dolls. The doll look sort of reappears at the start of the final act, where Barbie and Raquelle transform into their winged form from the dolls, which is the tops from their red carpet gowns on cocktail dresses.

Barbie’s rose peplum top melts much more pleasingly into the three flounces of her miniskirt, while Raquelle has a flounced A-line miniskirt with the slightest edge of silver and pink petticoats peeking out the bottom. A silver ruffle accents her neckline and compliments her wide silver belt. The looks are finished in both cases with those curling vine heels that Mattel was putting on all the fairy dolls in the early aughts. This is such a breath of good taste after their “normal” outfits from the main part of the film.

After the premiere, the human characters really get the short end of the stick as far as costumes are concerned, and while I can see how it was important to make the humans visually distinct from the fairies, even when everyone is wearing “clip on” wings.

Raquelle spends most the movie in cobalt blue knee-length trumpet dress and a pink polka dot mini sweatshirt; which frankly should never have happened. The effect is completed with strappy silver heels which barely do not reach the end of leatherette black leggings. Sadly, the effect is “I dressed Barbie first and these are all the doll clothes I have left over”.

Barbie’s main look seems to be doing everything it can to keep a knee-length jean trumpet skirt with pink stitching from ruining the rest of the outfit. This is done with a pink and white striped tee and a half-sleeve black jacket. I don’t want to be too hard on this look, I’ll admit, because I can see my sister wearing something like that, but hopefully a more flattering cut of skirt.

But then again, I’ve always hated trumpet miniskirts; I hated them when they were in style, I hate them now that they aren’t, and I hate the fact I owned two because that’s what was for sale at Walmart in the mid 2000s and I hadn’t taken to making most of my own clothing yet. I called them “crotch ruffle skirts”. I was a bitch in high school.

Miss Roxelle appears very briefly in a tasteful white and gold two piece pencil skirt suit. As a fashion designer and the older fairy who they come to for help, it makes sense that she has a classy, mature vibe.

For the wedding, Ken gets a fashion upgrade from “we put him in a plaid shirt to make him look more heterosexual” (which was kind of ruined by the teal and metallic gold palette) to “one of those really tacky heterosexual wedding toppers” for the wedding scene. The horror of someone tied up and being forced to marry someone they barely know is somewhat diminished by the image of groomsmen elbowing each other and chuckling, “As usual, am I right, men?” That said, matching the pattern on his lapels to the pattern on his wings was a nice touch.

Crystal takes the purple/green slightly alternative route in villain costume design: fingerless gloves, cropped vest, stripy skirt, asymmetrical bob, purple leggings and black ankle boots.

And interestingly, she is the only fairy who presents as a girl who has dragonfly wings. I’m not going to say that this means Crystal is transgender, but I am definitely going to be thinking about that for a while. Part of me thinks, “Sure, why not, that’s probably going to happen in fairy society as much as human”, and part of me thinks, “Usually it’s the heroes or sidekicks in Barbie movies that get queercoded.” So let’s just move past Crystal’s boyish wings.

I spend a lot of time Graciellla is on screen trying to figure out how her hair is accomplished. Like most Barbie characters, it looks physically possible so that it can be recreated on a doll. It looks as if two French braids were started on her head, then the loose hair was tucked under itself, a little bit like a rolled chingon.

It probably is related to the fact her standard outfit is pretty basic: a petal pink strapless cocktail dress with a rose pink sash. It’s accessorised with a mess of pink rhinestone jewellery to set off her tiara.

Zane starts off in a fantasy style purple vest and striped jeans in a desaturated purple palette: The gold trim and collar pushes it towards the high fantasy fairies were meant to be, but it appears that halfway down the design they realised that they wanted it to be reflective of modern fashion and gave him pinstriped jeans. Don’t get me wrong, I love purple pinstriped jeans, I own purple pinstripe jeans, but they don’t go with his top. High fantasy and mid-2000s fashion are hard looks to marry, and I’m objecting to this example. Now, I could have forgiven him for wearing knee-high boots and cuffing his trousers to show them off, if they weren’t striped jeans and black combat boots. He’s half pirate and a half “I just came from a Green Day concert”. And he tries so hard to make it work. Wearing the exact same outfit in white and gold to his wedding was a choice. Once of several stupid choices made by Zane over the course of this movie.

Zane goes full Star Trek Next Gen for his combat jumpsuit: And honestly, I kind of love it. The gold and cobalt blue set each other off beautifully, the wide gold stripes down Zane’s legs, the elegantly tooled golden breastplate, the spirals of gold coming up his boots to the wide gold edging.

We actually see the slits the back of Zane’s jacket when he gets on his knees to propose to Graciella, and all of the feminine fairies (except for Crystal, as mentioned before) are wearing tube tops and off-the shoulder dresses so that they can dress without damaging their wings. But it appears that his wings are emerging from narrow slits in the back of his vest. Which might account for why the masculine fairies have smaller, narrower wings; more like a dragonfly than a butterfly. And it might also account for why Crystal has dragonfly wings and a cropped vest.

Finally, we have Taylor and Carrie, who ride the line between fantasy fashion and human fashion by wearing some fairly simple, “this looks like a doll” dresses. They also look far more like a “set” than any other characters because while their outfits look different, they are comprised out of the same basic elements: A dress with a fitted satin bodice, capped sleeves, and a flounced circle skirt accessorised with a short bead necklace, simple earrings, a headband and a side ponytail. The only real difference between them is their magical focuses:

Carrie, being a purse fairy, has a glittery doctor-style handbag; so called because the frame opens out like an old doctor’s visiting bag, not because like the Tardis it is bigger on the inside. Though both are true. Taylor has magenta glitter peek-toe platforms with knee-high laces with wings on the heel and rosettes on the toe. Raquelle admits, “If I had to trust my life to one pair of shoes, it would be those.” as Taylor chirps: “The more fabulous my shoes, the stronger my magic!” Me too, buddy, me too.

Music: 3/10

There is really only the main theme, Can You Keep a Secret? which plays over the opening and closing credits. It’s peppy, it’s happy, it’s not so stupid you’re grating your teeth, but ultimately it’s pretty forgettable. It serves its purpose and allows the story to move on. It plays again during the “welcome to Gloss Angeles” montage.

Animal companion: 4/10 Halfway through the movie, Pegaponies show up and help the humans with their difficulty in flying with clip-on wings. The pegaponies show up, transport the main characters to the palace, and are never heard from again. They do not talk or exhibit greater than animal intelligence, but however they do greatly advance the Rochelle and Barbie friendship plot by allowing the two of them to discuss how their relationship, and their animosity, formed. All pegaponies are recolours of the same mesh: a stocky, small horse with a striped mane and sparkly lace-like wings. The heroes all ride sidesaddle, partially because they’re all in dresses and partially because they all have wings themselves. While I usually subscribe to the less-is-more approach to pets in Barbie movies, in this case more might have been more.

Antagonists: 7/10 Zane- Since Barbie has Raquelle, it only makes sense that Ken gets someone who declares himself his rival as Ken protests that they aren’t actually pursuing the same goal. And like Raquelle, Zane is over the top and hilarious. He’s probably my favourite part of the movie. Graciellla – Crown Princess of Gloss Angeles, because “queen” sounds evil unless you’ve got a kid. While she isn’t exactly a bad person, she spends most of the film trying to force someone who isn’t in love with her to marry her. Actually, that is in fact pretty bad, but it is slightly mitigated by the fact she’s under a love spell. Remember kids, love spells aren’t consent! She spreads the awful cycle of “fairies don’t need no consent” by magicing a proposal out of Ken’s mouth inbetween his protestations to let him go. So, even though she changes her plan as soon as she’s not under a spell, she still has the whole “I’m an immoral fairy who really doesn’t care how much I mess up human lives” thing going on, which I also enjoy. Kids have to learn to fear the fey sooner or later. Crystal- From her arm-warmers to her stripes, here’s the soft grunge girl here to punish the preps for existing. Well, to punish everyone around her for the sorry state of her love life. Unrequited love stinks. Of course, what makes her a villain instead a tragic hero is that she is perfect content to ruin as many lives as it takes to get what she wants. Again, fairies tend to be amoral. Raquelle- Only an antagonist in that she remains Barbie’s self-proclaimed rival, and pain in the rear, even as she joins her quest to save Ken. To be fair, at no point does Raquelle stop thinking of herself as Ken’s friend. Partnering with a rival to save a mutual friend is probably Raquelle’s most antihero moment across all media she appears in. So while there’s a lot of antagonists, ranging from rivals to villains to “manic force of nature” I would have a difficult time saying, “You know what movie has some great antagonists? A Fairy Secret.” Although it definitely gets points for variety.

Doll Tie-in: 4/10

Comparing the doll commercial to the movie, I get the feeling that the people making the commercial hadn’t been given the plot to the movie before writing the script for the advertisement.

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Personally, as someone who just genuinely likes dolls, I don’t like the moulded on bodices, since they limit the number of dresses you can put over them. I get the idea that the moulded on swimsuits are to give the dolls some vestige of dignity when the girls are leaving them undressed.

As for “transforming dresses”, the Fairy Secret dolls all have variations on the “skirt folds out into wings” gimmick.

This was also the period where the doll designers decided that plastic moulded curlicue laces going all up a doll’s shins said “fairy fashion”, and that, I’ll admit, I like.

At least the faces have better moulds than the characters in the films.

#Kittywitch has watched every Barbie film #Barbie #reviews #meta #Barbie: a Fairy Secret

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bluekayanite · 5 years ago

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(SU:F Theory) Steven’s Struggles - What’s Coming Next??

While things may be pretty dull in SU:F right now, I think that there's something amazing coming on the horizon. =3

...yeah, that's all I got for an intro. XD; More below the line.

EDIT (Jan 2, 2020): Added a few observation that I think are pretty important.

The General Mood

I'll admit to knowing pretty much exactly how Steven feels: watching people drift away and move forward while you seem to be stuck... needing to talk to someone about how you feel, but feeling like your options are bad, or that you need to talk to someone who can keep it a secret, first... Yeah, I relate a lot to these last two eps.

I also seem to relate (though I can't remember why XD; ) to what I call being "stuck in time," or "displaced in time" - when I say these, I mean things like wanting/needing to move on, but not wanting to, or not knowing how. It can also count for things like how Steven is both wanting things to be like they've been for him, and trying to move away from those things.

And I'm going to admit... the abrupt way that a lot of them left kinda doesn't seem to help. =/

As much as I hate long goodbyes at regular gatherings, short goodbyes when you don't know if you'll see each-other seem even worse. ...Not to mention they could’ve tried to keep him in the loop at least a little bit... (If you ask me, I say "Some friends they are... -.-;")

This said, I'm noticing something about the general tone of the show, and a pretty big contrast to the original series: Unlike SU, which started out with more of a feeling of lighthearted adventure and discovery, SU:F has started with more of a feeling of listlessness, melancholy, and ends that don't seem to lead anywhere, and leave Steven (and - by extension, in a possible way - the audience) with a feeling of having nowhere to go. And it's only kind of broken up with things that aren't really that dangerous - and in general, aren't really that exciting. XD; It's kind of interesting to see how things are "grown up," sure, but it's also kind of a drag.

Which... all of that seems pretty strange, if you think about it.

(EDIT) I mean, for one, it’s a pretty big contrast to the bright, happy, optimistic tone of the opening theme.

And for another... I remember a comment that there are still plenty of mysteries left unsolved from the original SU, and I'm more than inclined to agree with that. To name a handful of them...

We know about how strict Gem culture is, but hardly anything about any of their, say, folklore, traditions, mythologies etc. - things like a Cosmic Jubilee have only been mentioned in passing.

We still don't know what was in the chest in Lion's mane (which has been opened).

We still haven't seen that one Diamondy-looking structure that's been hinted at in the colony plans

We don't know about that one book in Rose's treasure trove that appears to be important.

(Ref post)

What was up with the lizards?

We still don't really know much about White's type of Gems - though we can venture a few guesses.

(Not listed: possible vanity, melodramatic-ness among said Gems)

So, even though there's plenty to be explored - more than I think could be covered in a single season, or maybe even two - this fact seems to have been forgotten in-canon... and I would say conveniently so.

EDIT: Side note: It’s pretty frequently said that the kinds of things that bug us the most are the kinds of things that we ourselves need to work on. …Personally, I actually question how true it is, and if it’s more of an assumption Freud made that people run with, not being as much of “THE reality” as people tend to think - if at all. XD;

Regardless, it appears to be an assumption that’s being run with: You remember Steven’s complaint about Amethyst?

Well, personally, I’m sick of Steven acting like he’s so> mature now. Let yourself be yourself, dude! You don’t have to leave your old interests behind!!

...Anyway, similarly, the complaint about Garnet being "high-and-mighty" could easily be applied to Steven - even he's aware of his need to be needed, and the fact that he just suddenly took over Amethyst's mentorship program. And the part about Pearl being likely to blame herself and fall to pieces... well, admittedly, it seems like that one might be stretching a little bit, but I guess you could say that Steven assumes responsibility for other people's issues - even if he technically doesn't "blame" himself. And given his reactions during Little Graduation (as well as his behavior Prickly Pair), then I'd say that he's pretty close to falling to pieces.

(Bonus points for the gardening joke. X3)

At any rate, this only helps to feed the feelings of listlessness and such that have been going on. XD;

This said, one of the things about storytelling (of all forms) is that you can't keep the tone the same for long, or else that tone starts to get old. A feeling of boringness, naturally, is one of the worst tones to keep, and the whole point of what's been going on is that things have been pretty dull. I’m sure Crewniverse knows this: I doubt that they'd push a “boring” feeling for too long...

Especially not without it being a build-up for something BIG. =3

What I think is Coming

So one of the things that has been keeping the monotony from growing too big is the enemies shown in the intro.

So far, we’ve been encountering enemies from this shot every single week - or very-nearly every two eps. We’ve already encountered most of them, and only two are left: a big, spiny, worm-y thing (which looks pretty intimidating =3), and “White” Diamond…

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I think her change of color is probably pretty important. I can only imagine that whatever’s made her not-so-white is going to be covered, and assuming that this isn't self-inflicted somehow (or maybe even if it was), I can only assume it was triggered by something BIG. 83 ...If subtle. XD

Now, obviously, White doesn't seem the kind to do something like this to herself. In the post in the link above, I theorized that it may have been something she picked up from Steven - something that he wouldn't have used consciously. Something that he couldn't have even known about, because I think that even Rose didn't know.

I think it's a virus designed specifically for White - something that Rose wouldn't (couldn't!) have made on purpose. More likely, I think it was from someone who White eventually got, and was stuck in the moon base orb as punishment for her crimes.

I think that this prisoner is someone important who hasn't been given a proper introduction - someone who is going to get her introduction shortly. =3

There's Plenty of Evidence of a Moon Prisoner

The appearance of the moon seems FAR from random to me. I’m not really sure how to explain how, but the timing of it seems... planned, and it feels too much like it's not a coincidence.

One of the things I can say is that it's sometimes there, and sometimes not, and in of itself, it might seem inconsistent. It doesn't fit the “Okay, let's just stick the moon in the sky because it's night” thing that comes with most portrayals of the moon - this is partly because of just how often it shows during the day; something which happens IRL, but which few ever really put a focus on, especially in art.

And they can't be going for lunar accuracy because it’ll do things like staying almost-in-place after sunset, changing position entirely too quickly, and changing phases within the same day. In fact, in Sworn to the Sword, during the Jam Buds song, the moon is full during the day (which is impossible IRL), and then changes to a quarter-moon as soon as the song is over.

So basically, I think that there's a prisoner in the moon base’s observation orb, and she likes to watch what’s going on. When said prisoner is watching, there will be a change in the moon - or even the color of the sky. And judging by this, the prisoner...

Is interested in Steven and the Gems

Is especially interested in Steven and Connie

(Is probably a 'shipper in general)

Is supportive and excitable, though appears to have some issues with anxiety or something

Has pink magic

Is POWERFUL enough to affect the appearance of the moon, sky, and maybe even stars through her emotions

Is also INCREDIBLY interested in entertainment (wrestling, Beach-a-Palooza), the Rose Quartzes, and "Volleyball"

Yeah... I believe that - much like the robonoids in the ep Off-Colors - White Diamond was able to get through Rose's shield, and that a certain big "reveal" is basically a lot of mind-control on her part.

This has been by theory since a week after A Single Pale Rose came out (warning: large post) - or less than a week, technically. (It takes time to write these things. XD; )

Since before even Dewey Wins came out (after the Wanted arc), it has been my theory that Pink has been the prisoner in the orb (warning: old and long), and if the above list doesn't describe Pink - particularly the last few bullets - then I don't know what does. Add in the fact that she probably has empathy magic, and it seems pretty much guaranteed.

And yeah, the segments of Steven's dome suggest that he is part Diamond, but one of my theories suggests that Rose may have been made that way, anyway - that Pink made Rose to be part Diamond, and thus an abomination from the start (by Gem standards). Or at least that Pink put enough of herself into Rose that Rose's powers (and thus Steven's) could sort of emulate this.

But yeah, the behavior of the moon is... not very logical, as far as moons go. XD It makes a lot more sense if you interpret it as a sign that somebody is watching - especially if you take things like the size, frequency, and brightness of the moon into account. (The color of the sky also works - sometimes it has pink in it, especially around sunrise/set.)

This includes one of the two latest eps: The moon was generally there (and full! =D) throughout the graduation.

(Side note: It's neat seeing the Off-Colors eating. ^_^)

It blends in with the lighting, so it's hard to say whether a certain circle is the moon around the stage performance...

But it's definitely around the stage when the dome is created and the lighting is lost.

Once the dome is up, it's actually more visible through the dome, and it nearly-always shows in shots that include Steven.

(It also actually disappears from behind Lars' head after Steven points at him. XD)

(...granted, that one detail might be an error. But I believe it also might not be. ;3)

It disappears entirely right before the dome starts shrinking, and doesn't reappear for the rest of the party.

This is actually consistent behavior; I noticed the same thing in Cry for Help and Sadie's Song. It seems like when it looks like things could go reallybad (socially, at least), it's too difficult for her to watch. This is what I meant by "issues with anxiety or something." (The consistency seems like another good clue on it being intentional.)

However, the moon does show up again after things have calmed down again: it's full and BRIGHT as Steven drives and ponders things. This could be meant as wanting to give support, and feeling more than a little sorry - possibly including being sorry for looking away before.

But yes, in general, the behavior of the moon in this ep fits with my general assessment on the moon's appearances, as well as what I understand/believe of Pink's personality. And it looks to me like she already both would like to give help, and would probably need some, especially after release. ;3

(And seriously, why show the moon through the wall of the dome if it wasn't important? Especially if it was going to get covered and such, anyhow? The pattern of the dome already makes the background pretty busy and complicated - artistically speaking, I'm pretty sure it would've been better to leave the moon out.

And even more... why make it dis appear for only part of the story? It seems like they were committed to showing it, otherwise, so it seems like there'd have to be an important reason for that one, too. ;3)

I'll note that I didn't find any signs of the moon in the ep Prickly Pair, and that the sunset is clearly orange.

(Seriously, that's a huge contrast to the sunrise from Bluebird.)

But yeah, to me, it seems like pretty much everything points a new, major plot change coming very soon, and the moon - and its prisoner - are a really big part of that. =3

Possible Role(s) for Pink

(All my posts lead to Pink. SUE ME.)

Okay, so obviously if Pink were revealed not to be the same as Rose Quartz, then it would be a pretty big shake-up - there would probably be at least a few eps about the main characters trying to get used to the idea (especially Pearl HO BOY). This could definitely give Steven some stuff to do, though I think odds are good that Pink herself would do a lot of it. (And should, I believe - they'd partly be her problems, after all!)

...Though granted, I think there's a pretty good chance that pretty much every Gem on Earth - as well as in general - would need some time to get adjusted. XD; Speaking of which, I've already mentioned that en encounter with Jasper seems likely, as well as a possible-reveal with Smokey Quartz. (Aaaand of course, there’d have to be stuff about the Rose Quartzes and "Volleyball" HO BOY =D; )

I'll also note that I noticed that the moon was around during the "fight" at the end of Sunstone's video, so she would've seen both Sunstone and Rainbow.

(I've found out that XFinity wasn't showing the wrong vids after all. XD; Should've checked more intently sooner how embarrassing...)

But yeah. So far, Smokey's the only one of the three main Gem-Steven Fusions that hasn't been shown with a moon around, so that makes it seem even more likely to me that Smokey is gonna be important to her. =3

In general, I think that Pink being around could help tie up a lot of loose ends, and explain a lot of odd details - partly because a shake-up could lead to the Gems doing more thing, partly because of whatever Pink's actual involvement was during the war, and partly because I would be far from surprised if there were things that only Diamonds were allowed to know. XD

As I've already mentioned, it seems like Pink would want to help with things, as well as needing help, herself. It seems like she could be just the person Steven needs to help with his problems - possibly including the problem of how to solve his own problems, without always needing outside help. XD; She could be connected-yet-detached enough from everything that's been going on that it'd make her a pretty good candidate for somebody to listen to him, and there is some pretty good evidence that she was good at keeping secrets - even before the whole Earth fiasco happened.

The watching-from-the-moon thing could both complicate and simplify matters, depending on the situation. XD; (Not that I could really blame her.) ...Personally, I'm hoping for at least one joke about Pink having seen something awkward and embarrassing. X3

Anyway, I've mentioned that the moon wasn't there for Prickly Pair - well, it wasn't there for Guidance either, when the subject of Steven not knowing what to do first came up. ...Come to think, I guess you could also count it not being there when brought up in Little Graduation. At any rate, it seems that the topic of Steven feeling aimless is one that she probably doesn't know about, and would have to be brought up after her release. XD

I was theorizing before that maybe she wasn't sure about what was going on with Steven's new powers, but I think it's safe to say that those powers have been seen now. XD; At any rate, I think there's a good chance that Pink'd be able to give him some help regarding said newer powers.

And on Steven's side, she could give him someone to help, for awhile. =3 I mean, I've already mentioned that she seems to have fear issues - I'd bet she has a whole slew of baggage after whatever she did in the war, as well as being trapped on the moon. XD;

And for something that might be bigger... I think the Diamonds - as well as the Gem worlds in general - really need Pink. She just has so many traits that could balance the Diamonds out, if they really gave her the chance. I mean, forget the "problematic" Gems - I would think that Gems as a whole would probably be lost without helpful direction. After a long existence where everything was directed, it sounds like they don't really know what to do on their own... and instead of trying to help them through it, Blue, Yellow, and White just sort of... left them to their own devices.

And maybe it's just me, but I don't think that Steven would cut it - aside from not knowing the ins-and-outs of Gem culture and how it could affect things, I think that they'd need someone who could be there constantly. Not only would needing to sleep 1/3 of the time really cut into that, but biological needs in general would need to be accounted for, and neither returning to Earth nor trying to to equip the planets for his needs seems like a feasible route. XD;

(Also, one of my theories is that Pink grew immune to White's control due to growing more powerful, as indicated by their mural-halos...

((Image source))

...and I think that White needs a person that she can't control. XD; Seriously, she needs to have someone who can force her - teach her - to have an honest relationship, and I don't think that's gonna happen so long as White has the option to go an easier route.)

So yeah. I think that, before too long, the real Pink will return to her throne... and probably even get a series of her own. 83 Of course, she'd still visit, and deal with things on Earth now-and-then, but I think it'd be so awesome to have a series IMMERSED in the Gem side of things. 8333333

...And, of course, on Pink's side of things. ='3

Call it a weird hill to stand-and-die on, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't any motivated reasoning, but I've always been a big fan of Pink, since I started gleaming what little I could from what little clues I found. I saw a quirky, loving little Diamond who planned to save the Earth from the very beginning - even if she couldn't bring herself to openly stand up to the other Diamonds - and who planned from the very beginning to help to make Gems free. And if this Pink is really who she is, then I would love to see her get a show of her own. *^_^*

...So yeah. "Team" Pink-was-never-Rose forever. =3

#su:f #steven universe: future #su:f moon #su:f little graduation #su:f theories #theories #rose quartz wasn't pink diamond #image heavy

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juliapetertodd · 5 years ago

Text

Universe Jumping: Gotham - OCs Fanfiction

It was a quite night in Gotham… Well, as quiet as Gotham can be, anyway.

There was the usual hustle and bustle of cars honking, people partying the night away and the occasional gunshots, as familiar in that city as the stone gargoyles that adorned the buildings. But the Joker wasn’t spreading canisters of Laughing Gas throughout the city; Two-Face wasn’t off on some duality themed robbing spree and Poison Ivy didn’t have an army of love struck folks running around and destroying every can of bug spray in the area.

One of the particularly quiet places was Robinson Street, a short little street made entirely of cheap, rundown apartment buildings. The cement pavement was cracked and dirty, some of the walls were covered with graffiti and streetlights were specked evenly along both sides of it. All in all, it was an entirely unremarkable and typical Gotham Street. It just so happened that that night was a remarkably atypical night.

The signs that something was off in Robinson Street were hardly noticeable if you weren’t paying attention. The streetlights flickered with increasing speed and intensity; if you happened to touch some of the metal trashcans outside, you might get shocked; and the animals were restless, sensing the coming changes.

Really, the first noticeable warning came just before it started. At two in the morning, with no living soul around, a single, short and quick spark of red lightning came out of nowhere between two lampposts on the left side of the street, hitting one of them and blowing its bulb, sparks shooting out everywhere. About two minutes later, the same thing happened again. Then again, one minute later. Then 30 seconds later. Eventually, multiple red sparks were buzzing around the street, always shooting from between the same two lampposts. The sparks buzzed and buzzed until the air from which they shot out seemed to shift and changed, almost as if it was trying to open itself up. It stretched and crinkled, more and more, until a sound no one could ever quite describe was heard and a perfectly round circle of light appeared, in between the two lampposts.

It hung in the air for a few minutes, held by nothing, and perfectly out of place in the dark corners of Gotham, until something emerged from it. A single left foot, dressed in a black sock and a black left running shoe (for, after all, the right didn’t fit it) took a tentative and careful step out, moving slowly forward and showing that it was not alone but, in fact, came attached to a leg, dressed in black suit pants. The foot kept pushing forward until it finally touched the ground, tapping lightly to make sure it couldn’t lose its footing. It retreated carefully, but quickly (along with the leg, which went first) and was quickly replaced by a face, which also moved rather cautiously. First came the nose, then the glasses, than the rest of the thing. It looked around carefully, making sure there were no threats, and, sufficiently satisfied, left the portal with confidence, dragging the rest of the body it was attached to forward.

This particular body belonged to a man named Tony, who was tall, a little chubby, bearded and with some noticeable hair loss. He was wearing black rimmed glasses, a t-shirt with some sort of obscure reference, a long, black overcoat, the aforementioned pants and shoes, and, most strangely of all, a multi colored, 4 meter long scarf.

Tony took a few steps away from the portal and looked around, with the sort of face that expressed abundant cleverness and confidence, even if he didn’t exactly have either of those things at that particular moment. After giving a quick visual inspection at the buildings and lampposts around him, he pulled out a curious looking device similar to one of those credit card things you find at stores from his pocket. He pushed a few buttons on it and after hearing a satisfying little “ding”, turned toward the portal.

“You can come out!” he screamed “It’s safe!”

“Are you sure?” a female voice on the other side said. It sounded a little garbled, like it was being spoken through a walk talkie “It might be a trap. You might have landed in trap world.”

“You do know what trap means, right?”

“Something meant to trick and kill us?”

“No, it’s what we call guys who look like girls. They’re traps, y’see. I’ll send you some pictures later. Anyway, since there are no impossibly pretty girls with miniskirts running around, I suggest you get in here.”

Tony looked at the portal for a few minutes when, at last, a female figure emerged. Júlia was her name and she was wearing some fashionable sneakers, blue denim jeans, a Miraculous Ladybug t-shirt, a comfortable looking teddy coat and had a backpack strapped on her shoulders. She was short-ish, also wore glasses and had her striking light brown hair tied up in a ponytail.

“Very sporty” commented Tony “Almost draws the attention away from your caterpillar-like eyebrows.”

Júlia gave him an annoyed gazed in response. “Well, at least my clothes fit me properly. This world better have a lot of danger, cause you certainly need the exercise.” She tapped Tony on his belly.

“Pfff. I look great.” He self-consciously closed his jacket, while keeping his proud look “Anyway, the Dimensional Transporter will take a few days to recharge, so let’s try and figure out where we are. Care to take a guess?”

“Hmm…” She held her chin with her right hand and stepped to the middle of the road, looking around. “Well… It’s a city. A big one, by the looks of it. Very New York-ish. Meaning we could be anywhere from Friends to Escape from New York.”

“Let’s hope it’s neither.” Tony said as his fingers tapped the little device and stepped next to her “Unless I get to threeway Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox.”

“Did you start this whole thing, just so you could fuck characters?”

Tony stopped tapping and arched his eyebrows ponderously “Not just because of that”

Júlia sighed, while Tony tapped a bit more and looked intently at the screen “Well, according to the Atmospheric Analyzer, there are no deadly toxins in the air, the water is clean and, by all accounts, this is just like any other city back on our world.” He put the Analyzer back in his pocket and pattered around a bit “I’ve been meaning to find out whether this thing takes us to every fictional world or if it’s just the ones we’re particularly interested in. For all we know, we might be in some cheap romantic comedy.”

He twirled around, amazed at how cool his overcoat looked in the breeze and how fun it was to see his giant scarf, flip flopping around “We might just see a third grade actress walk across that street and bump into some third grade actor, their eyes meeting and the spark of predictably insipid romance is set.”

“Has anyone ever told you, you have a particular knack for taking the fun out of everything?” said Júlia, her eyes rolling so hard, they might’ve actually made a sound.

“Not today, but it’s still early.” Casually, Tony glanced at the sky, and his eyebrows once again shot up “Ah. I think I know where we are now.”

“Where?” But instead of an answer, Tony merely pointed a finger at the sky, and as Júlia looked she instantly realized where they had landed.

That night was cloudy, and on the grey clouds above their heads was projected the shining image of a giant bat.

“Well… The DC Universe… Or perhaps just Gotham. It’s hard to guess at this point, but what say you we take a look-” However, Tony realized he was talking to himself, as Júlia had made a straight run towards the nearest alley she could find on Robinson Street “HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!”

Júlia looked back and breathlessly answered “To… an… alley…way.”

Tony went after her, catching up when she stopped, far into the alley, to catch her breath. “Why… did…” he said, realizing now that maybe the gym does have its uses “…you… come… here?”

“Because… Because that’s where crime happens in Gotham.”

“Wha… What?”

“Yeah! Don’t you know? Innocent people walking down an alley in Gotham City, a mugger pulls up, and what happens?”

“They get robbed and killed?”

“No, dummy. Batman saves them! Or some Bat related character.”

“So, you want to get robbed, in the hopes of meeting Batman? What if you get killed for real?”

“Pff” Júlia waved him away “When has that ever happened in Gotham?”

“Like all the time! That’s literally the reason Batman exists!” Tony answered, gesticulating wildly

“Ah, we’ll be fine. Come on, let’s keep going, see if anyone’s lurking around.” she answered, as she casually strolled deeper into the dark, empty and quiet backstreet that led off the alley. Tony sighed but dutifully went after her.

“This just seems like a really bad idea, Júlia. I’m just saying.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the boss of me.”

“I made most of the machine that allowed you to get here.”

“But I helped you build it. So, I own like 40% of ownership.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“Oh, whatever. You just wanna boss me around, cause you wanna act like The Doctor.”

“I… What are you talking about?” said Tony, plunging his hands deeper into his pockets and turning his face away from Júlia.

“Come off it. Magical machine that takes people places? Invites one special girl? Makes a lot of jokes? You’re even dressed like him! I mean-”

But Júlia couldn’t finish what she meant, because from one of the many shadows that consumed the alley came a man holding a revolver. He looked disheveled and dirty, a tattered and filthy shirt hanging loosely in his body, a green coat that seemed to be made out of the skin of an old couch, fingerless brown gloves and a patchwork ascot. In his hand, he held a black six shooter revolver, a relic that seemingly jumped from its original time straight to modern day.

“Gimme all your money” mumbled the dirty thief, waving his revolver in Tony’s and Júlia’s direction.

Júlia shifted a little, retreating behind Tony with the intent of using him as meat shield, while Tony slowly put his hands up as the thief moved closer.

“Now, now… We don’t need any of that…” assured Tony, as he stared at the gun with widened eyes “Say… That seems like a very anachronistic gun, for the time we come from… Can you tell us what year it is?”

The thief’s face contorted into an expression of confused anger, and he waved the gun more fiercely “Now, listen here! Don’t try to… to… patronize me! I’m holding the gun! And I say that you should give me your money! NOW!”

“I… uh… don’t have any money” muttered Tony, fearful and a little embarrassed. After all, it’s probably bad manners to get robbed and not have any money to give.

Confusion had left the thief’s face by this point, but the anger had stayed firmly in place. He held the gun with a tight grip and pointed it straight at Tony’s face. Tony did his best to keep Júlia behind him, and closed his eyes, as he heard the squeeze on the gun’s trigger, expecting that all familiar sound.

KAPOW

“Kapow?” he thought, opening his eyes.

From the pointy ears, to the cape, to the outside underpants, everything about him screamed “I’M BATMAN”. He had come from above, all “I am the night”, and kicked the robber in the face, knocking him against the brick wall. The robber’s head hit the wall, knocking him out.

Batman looked at Tony and Júlia, efficiently checking to see if they had any bruises or needed any medical help. After realizing they were ok, he shot out his Bat Grappler, intent on continuing the night’s patrol and, had these been the regular type of people he usually deals with, that’s what would’ve happened. Except…

“WAIT BRUCE STOP!” yelled Tony suddenly.

Batman almost slipped from his Bat Grapple in shock. He quickly composed himself and, rather swiftly, pushed Tony against a wall, as Júlia watched in shock.

“WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?” yelled Batman, his forearm pressing hard on Tony’s throat.

“I…” Tony tried to gasp his explanations through a squeezed throat “We… Different… Universe… Júlia…”

“Don’t look at me, man! Who told you it was a good idea to antagonize Batman?”

“I want answers.” Batman was getting annoyed at his lack of progress “NOW!”

“We’re from a different universe where you’re a comic book character, Bruce!” answered Júlia, pulling some courage from place she didn’t quite know she had “We found a way to travel here and… uh… we… uh… want to visit the place. And meet some heroes.”

Júlia pointed at Batman awkwardly, as if trying to remind him that he’s a superhero “Like you. Or Jason” Batman scowl deepened and Júlia’s voice fell a couple of notches “Or you. Y’know. Whoever.”

Batman looked at Tony for a little while more, before dropping him. As Tony wheezed and Júlia leaned down to see if he was ok, Batman started asking questions.

“What do you want from me?”

“We want to spend time with you.” answered Júlia, as Tony composed himself “and the other superheroes also.”

“Yeah” continued Tony “and you’re actually the perfect person to help us, since you’re so paranoid and shit, which means you know everyone.”

Batman considered this “What reason would I have to help you?”

“We know the secret identities of basically every single superhero on this planet, as well as the place where they live and their supporting cast/ loved ones.” Answered Tony, as he got up

Batman quickly turned around, with a powerful rage on his face “Are you threatening me?”

“No, no! I’m just saying… uh…” Tony really hadn’t thought that threatening Batman was a good idea and he was desperately trying to back out “Look, man, we just want to meet some people and you have more money than God. Can’t we work something out? Can’t you call out the Batmobile, take us to Wayne Manor and we can talk about it?”

Batman looked at them, pondering. They were both scared out of their minds that Batman would just punch them until they got out of his universe but, surprisingly, he got a little bat shaped remote and pressed one of the buttons. The remote made a quiet beep and, soon after, Batman started to walk out of the alley. Not knowing what to do, Tony and Júlia followed, keeping a safe distance from the Dark Knight.

As they reached the place through which they entered the alley, they quickly realized what the remote had called. In front of them, roared the Batmobile, sleek, black and with a big bat face in the front. Batman clicked another button on the remote, and the roof of the car slid back revealing four seats inside. He jumped inside into the driver’s seat, and our duo awkwardly got over the side of the car to get inside, because the Batmobile didn’t actually have doors. Once they were inside, Bruce closed the top and got the car moving at ridiculous speed.

Júlia was internally freaking out about being in the Batmobile (and, weirdly enough, admiring the comfortable leather seats), while Tony pulled out a notebook and pen, and started asking Batman some questions.

“So, the first thing we want to establish is what version of your universe we’re in.”

“Version?”

“In our universe, you’ve been adapted from a full universe of comic books, to movies, to cartoons, to video games, etc. So, we need to figure out where we are.”

“Alright.”

“Cool. So, who is Batgirl right now?”

Batman looked stiff and unresponsive

“We know it’s either Barbara, Cassie or Steph.” said Júlia “So you can just come out and say it.”

Batman stayed quiet for a bit “Stephanie.”

Tony jotted a few things down “That’s… interesting. And weird, since it’s not current.”

“Current?” asked Batman

“I can’t tell you, sorry. Unless… Say, Batman, have you ever heard of something called the Flashpoint?”

“Yes. It was something that happened to the Flash, some time ago.”

Tony raised his eyebrows “He gave you a letter from your alternate reality dad?”

“Yes.”

“What were you wearing?”

Batman didn’t flinch, but his voice and general stiffness betrayed a certain amount of surprise “What?”

“What version of your costume?”

“Tony, where are you going with this?” asked Júlia

“Just trust me on this.” he answered before turning his attention back to Batman “Let me clarify: At that point, did you costume not have the briefs on the outside, and did it have some weird lines running through it?”

Batman remained quiet for a bit, before answering “No.”

Tony looked at his notebook, inquisitively. “This is weird… This is really very, very weird. Can I ask who the Teen Titans are at the current time?”

“Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, Supergirl, Batgirl and Blue Beetle.”

Tony’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ho ho… Well… I’ll say this is… Intriguing”

Júlia nudged Tony “What are you talking about?”

“Well Júlia, if I understand this correctly, and I’m fairly certain I do, I think we’re in a version of the DC Universe where the New 52 never happened.”

“What do you mean never happened? Like… None of it?”

“Well, maybe a few plots here and there… Hey, Batman, did you fight the Court of Owls at any point?”

Batman considered. “Yes. Some time ago.”

“Well, there we are. I’d say that wraps-”

Suddenly, the Batmobile came to a sudden stop, knocking Tony and Júlia forward.

“What-” asked Júlia, but Batman interrupted.

“Gotham’s first national bank is getting robbed right now by the Riddler. You two stay here, I’m going inside.”

He popped open the roof of the car and left, leaving the two travelers sitting there, stunned.

Júlia looked around the car. There were all sorts of buttons and levers on the dashboard, but at her feet was some sort of compartment. She popped it open, and inside found a couple of Batarangs, a grapple gun and a Bat Taser Gun. She looked at Tony, and found him staring at the weapons, wide eyed.

“Should we?” asked Júlia.

Before he could answer, both of them heard the sound of broken glass, as the Riddler left the bank through the back.

“Riddle me this! What’s bad as a bat and covered in bruises?” said Nygma, his Bowler Hat slightly askew on his head “The Batman after my henchmen are done with him!”

As he headed out with his henchman, he found himself stopped by two 20 something young adults, wielding weapons.

“Freeze!” said the man, with one of Batman’s grapple guns.

“Yeah” said the woman, wielding a kind of gun shaped apparatus with electricity at the end. “What he said!”

“Hmmm…” said the Riddler “And who might you two be?”

“We’re-uh…” the man thought for a bit “Friends of Batman?”

“The Bat doesn’t have any friends. And if he did I doubt he’d pick such... Riddle me this, what has funny accent, a gigantic ass and two caterpillars instead of eyebrows?”

Júlia blushed heavily and looked down, embarrassed.

“Riddle me this, what’s balding, masturbates far too frequently and sweats like he’s running a marathon when he’s sitting down?”

Tony also blushed (and started sweating) but he answered back “Wow Nygma, you’re a dick. I have literally zero problems with what we’re about to do. Júlia, hit him.”

Júlia, getting over her embarrassment, pressed the trigger on her gun, and shot Riddler with an electric shock straight to the private parts. He fell, in pain, to his knees. Then Tony shot the grappler gun at him, and watched it tie around him. Soon, Batman came from above, gliding down on his cape.

“Hey, we took care of this Bat Boy.” said Tony “No worries.”

As they walked back to the car, Júlia asked “Hey… Do my eyebrows really look like Caterpillars?”

“If they do, they’re the loveliest caterpillars ever.” answered Tony.

“Thanks.” Said Júlia, slightly happier “By the way, the bald look works well on you.”

Tony smiled at her and sat back on the Batmobile, as they both waited for Batman to finish tying up Riddler.

…

Having finally arrived at Wayne Mansion, Tony and Júlia gawked at all the cool shit in the batcave, before going up into the mansion proper.

“Oh.” Said Alfred, when he first saw them coming up with Bruce Wayne (as he had taken off the costume and switched to civilian clothing). “Well, at least the new Robins aren’t children anymore.”

Bruce gave him a sarcastic smile and told him to make tea for the three of them, before taking the two travelers into his dining room.

After a long and straightforward conversation, it was agreed that Bruce would supply them with funds to travel around the country, meeting whatever superheroes they wanted and then leaving promptly when their travelling device was charged. They would leave the next morning for Metropolis, but not before Bruce did them a little favor…

…

Tony and Júlia waited around on the roof of a random Gotham skyscraper, with Batman standing next to them. Júlia looked particularly fretful.

“It’s going to be fine.” Reassured Tony. “He’ll love you. How couldn’t he?”

She nodded, but was still fretting around with her feet, rolling her heel on the floor and playing with Tony’s scarf. Suddenly, they heard a noise, and someone else was on that roof with them. He had on a black body suit, with a brown jacket over it, some guns and, completing the look, a big red mask that covered his entire face.

“So… What’s this all about?” said the man, Jason Todd.

Júlia squeed when she heard him talk, and immediately hid behind Tony, shoving her face hard into his scarf.

“These people are… travelers from another universe.” Said Batman, looking entirely unamused “The girl apparently wanted to meet you.”

“Are you serious? You call me in just for this?”

“Well, they know our identities and apparently are just passing by. I figured, why not? They know who you are, by the way, you can take off the mask.”

“Tsk.” Said Jason, as he took his Red Hood helmet off, revealing his ruffled black hair and perfect looking face. “You know… I have other things to do, I can’t be dealing with whatever fanboy wants an autograph.”

“Well…” said Tony “It’s not really a fanboy… more of a fangirl.”

Tony flipped around and grabbed Júlia by the shoulders pushing her towards Jason. “Come on girl, knock him dead” he whispered.

Before she could even collect herself, Júlia was staring Jason Todd straight in the face.

“I… uh… I mean… You… I…” she stuttered, blushing so hard you’d think she was drunk.

Jason had softened a bit seeing this, and gave a cocky smile, slicked his hair back and began talking.

“So…” he said, getting a little closer to her “Where you’re from I’m a big deal?”

“You… uh… Yeah, you’re a… character from… from comics…” she said, smiling ridiculously.

“Well… That’s pretty cool to know” Jason his arm around her, causing Júlia to smile even more “And I’m your favorite character?”

She nodded.

“Cool cool. So… now that you got me here…” Jason gave her a peck on the cheek and whispered in her ear “What do you want to do with me?”

At this point, Júlia made another, much more pronounced squee sound and promptly passed out. Tony stared at her unconscious body.

“Well… Shit.”

…

Júlia slowly came back to conscience and felt her whole body shaking and vibrating slightly. She opened her eyes and saw Tony in front of her, fiddling with some apparatus. She also realized the source of the shaking: She was on a train, specifically sitting in a train compartment.

“Ah good” said Tony, smiling “You’re finally up.”

“What… What happened?”

“Well, you met Jason Todd, you squeed and then you passed out.”

Júlia remembered what had happened the night before and felt her face brightening with red.

“Oh don’t worry.” Reassured Tony. “He liked you. At least enough to give you this.”

Tony opened a bag sitting next to him. It contained Red Hood’s helmet, with a signature on top that read “To my biggest fan. Till we meet again. Jason ;)”

Tony threw the helmet at Júlia who caught it and held it with care and affection.

“I get the feeling that’s not the last time we’re gonna be seeing him. He really did like you.”

“Yeah…” Júlia sighed wistfully and smiled “I liked him too…”

“Disgusting” Tony shook his head “Anyway, after you fainted, Jason left once he made sure you were alright and me and Bruce carried you to the train going to…”

“Metropolis?”

“Very good, you are paying attention.”

“And you’re playing Doctor again, I see.”

“Let me have this.”

Júlia looked outside the window at the trees rushing bye and wondered.

“Hey Tony?”

“Yes?”

“Why me?”

“What?”

“Why did you bring me on this little adventure of yours?”

“…Because you’re like the only person who’d appreciate it, I guess. Plus, it’s your birthday. Figured you deserved something pretty good, after the decidedly mixed year you had.”

Júlia nodded in thanks, and stared once more out the window, wondering what new adventures awaited them in Metropolis…

SO THIS WAS NOT WRITTEN BY ME, BUT IT WAS GIVEN TO ME AS MY BIRTHDAY GIFT AND HE ALLOWED ME TO SHARE IT CAUSE I LOVED IT ALOT!!! HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS LIKE IT TOO AND HE MAKES A PART 2!!

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eclisseacontextforfilm · 6 years ago

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you only care about who lose. Typical of intellectuals, selfish but so full of pity! eclisse inspirations, vol. V Michelangelo Antonioni’s Trilogy of incommunicability part. 2 - La notte, 1961 “one question I am often asked is why the women in my films are more lucid than the men. I was raised among women: my mother, my aunt, and lots of cousins. Then I got married, and my wife had five sisters. I have always lived among women; I know them very well... Speaking for myself, I find that the feminine sensibility is a far more precise filter than any other to express what I have to say. In the realm of emotions, man is nearly always unable to feel reality as it exists. Having a tendency to dominate woman, he is tempted to hide some of her aspects from himself and see her as he wants her to be. There is nothing absolute in this area, but it seems to me that is at the heart of it Michelangelo Antonioni In reviewing the critical reception of La notte (1961), it strikes me that many observers seem to almost completely miss the fact that the film is, in part, a feminist critique of capitalist society, which centres around women, consumption, and the failure of our ecosystem, and not just the director’s trademark alienation and ennui.Conventional plot summaries of the film routinely insist that La notte centres around a male author, Giovanni Pontano (Marcello Mastroianni), his uncertain career, and his failing relationship with his wife, Lidia (Jeanne Moreau), as well as his flirtations with beautiful socialite Valentina Gherardini (Monica Vitti) I would argue, rather, that women are both the centre of the film and the mirrors upon which Antonioni reflects his dark perceptions and stark conclusions about the human condition. At a launch party for his latest novel, those who celebrate Giovanni’s newest book spend precious little time actually reading, opting instead to party all night, while simultaneously remaining oblivious to their own mortality. As in most of his films, Antonioni’s wealthy protagonists in La notte live in a hell of their own making. So thoroughly alienated are they from one another (and from the environment) that they experience the rain from the sky (in the pool sequence) as a sublime rapture from above, giggling like schoolchildren, briefly lifted out of their stupor for a moment’s play with the actual elements. The tragedy of Antonioni’s characters is not simply a matter of bored bourgeois ennui; these people are disconnected from the feminine, from the earth, and from life itself. Perhaps no critic got it more wrong than Pauline Kael in her infamous essay The Come-Dressed-As-the-Sick-Soul-of-Europe Parties: La Notte, Last Year at Marienbad, La Dolce Vita, in which Kael attacked the film, demanding less ambiguity: La notte is supposed to be a study in the failure of communication, but what new perceptions of this problem do we get by watching people on the screen who can’t communicate if we are never given any insight into what they could have to say if they could talk to each other? On the contrary, Antonioni gives us nothing but insight into the various relationships, and thus I find her dismissal baffling. More recently, critic Christopher Sharrett takes a far more perceptive feminist eco-critical approach to key Antonioni films such as Il deserto rosso (Red Desert, 1964) and L’eclisse (1961), noting of L’eclisse that “the failure of people to connect is rooted less in vague existential dread than in concrete social realities”. For me, it is those specific social realities that are most vividly explored and exposed in La notte. Antonioni’s key, early films are best understood from the point of view of a feminist director – keeping in mind Antonioni’s own philosophy, as noted above, “the feminine sensibility is a far more precise filter than any other to express what I have to say.” Sharrett’s perceptive comments on Red Desert also apply to La notte. He notes that Red Desert is: “explicit in its insistence that the sensitive individual (who must be, in the director’s view, axiomatically female, with little possibility for the male partaking of authentically human sensibility) cannot enjoy happiness in this end-product of patriarchal capitalist rule. A pervasive theme in Antonioni’s work is the concept ‘Eros is sick,’ meaning that the erotic, the drive for life, is sickened and doomed by the death drive in a society operating under the assumptions of capitalism and repression” Filmed on location in Milan, the opening credits shot is a stunner. The camera glides in a long track down the exterior of a glass-facade building, suggesting a descent into hell. Images of nature are fleeting in La notte – a few scrub trees in a desolate urban environment; the sky violated by amateur rocketry competitions; unfinished buildings everywhere – depicting Milan as an unnatural colonization of the feminine earth. Humans in La Notte shuffle along resembling zombie-like “sleepwalkers.” Specific allusions to sleepwalking abound, the most direct being a reference to Hermann Broch’s classic 1932 novel, which Giovanni picks up at the party with an air of surprise, wondering aloud, “Who is reading The sleepwalkers?” Broch’s own obsession with the death of values and the decay of humanity mirrors La notte’s central preoccupation with mortality as it relates to the value of love and art (as Eros). Mortality is omnipresent in the opening sequence in a hospital room, where Giovanni and Lidia visit their dying friend, an author named Tommaso (Bernhard Wicki). Tommaso wonders aloud if any of his life’s work is of value, and ironically Giovanni himself is battling the same sorts of questions, the central post-war preoccupations of modernism; self-doubt, alienation, and existentialism. Giovanni’s self absorption precludes him from a loving relationship with his wife, Lidia, who patiently waits for him to grow up during the entire length of the film. Antonioni crafts our perspective so that we see Giovanni primarily through Lidia’s point of view. Though he is unfaithful, selfish, and childish, Lidia still loves Giovanni, but she is keenly aware that their marriage is barely alive. Lidia observes Giovanni trying to woo the stunning young Vitti, but instead of protesting, she seems to almost push her husband into Valentina’s arms through her powerful gaze. Though Moreau is said to have disliked the role of Lidia, it is one of her finest performances and most of her power is established through her active gaze. In a strong and memorable sequence, Lidia wanders the streets looking at life going on around her, watching the activities of workmen and women of all types. Lidia seems keenly aware that life is going on around her, but in many ways without her, as she feels the pain of her own mortality and her unraveling marriage. Antonioni clearly empathizes with Lidia strongly. A particularly acute feminist moment comes when Lidia witnesses some young men fighting near a construction site seemingly for no reason at all. The fight summarizes patriarchy in a nutshell; macho, pointless, violent and dangerous. There is a brief moment when we think that perhaps Lidia will be hurt or even raped by the men, but she shoos them away and calls Giovanni to pick her up. The couple wanders through the nearby railway tracks where they first met and fell in love, even as the environment has taken over, and numerous wild plants have sprung up since they last visited, many years ago. Eros is still possible, even between these two. Thanatos has not won yet. La notte makes it clear that women’s artistic talents are wasted in a society that values them only for their beauty. As if to demonstrate this, in one telling sequence, Valentina uses a tape recorder to tell a story to Giovanni. She is a far better storyteller than the author, but after she finishes her narrative, Valentina erases the tape rather than playing it back. We hear a whiny, high-pitched squeak as the recorder rewinds the tape, thus destroying her story – and making us acutely aware of the myriad untold stories of all women. Whether or not Lidia and Giovanni’s marriage is saved at the end of La notte seems insignificant in light of the larger issues raised by the film. Antonioni offers us far bigger issues to contemplate. What have humans made of the earth? How do we love one another? What is the value of women, art and love in a world defined by men of commerce? Can we wake from our sleepwalking? These are but a few of the questions raised by La notte, a masterwork that only gets better with time, provoking a wakeful regenerative response to 21st century consumption, devaluation of Eros, and our reckless destruction of the natural world. [by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, February 2015]

#eclisse #filmmaking #filmproduction #cinema #arthaus #michelangelo antonioni #monica vitti #italy #tumblr #artists on tumblr

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