#yes!!! we love overarching themes actually meaning something!!!!!!

[sea-buns]

hey to a gorgug liker what do you think about his nightmare section from sophomore year? cause I feel like the horror there is less “ah my grandparents were racist” and more “fuck am I being a stereotype? are the people who hate me right about me?” cause wrt to his having to modulate between barbarian and artificer in fhjy it’s like. idk

oh boy do I have thoughts

Tbh, I had zero recollection of the racism stuff until reading this. It was just SO MINOR. His trial in the forest felt really lackluster to me. I feel like everyone else's really dug into an issue at the core of their character and his felt more like "everyone is getting a trial, what do we do for gorgug?" And idk if that was just a bad delivery/call on Brennan's part or if it could have been helped by Zac engaging more in it but it just. Didn't feel like anything. It was a lot more about the dice than the horror of the claustrophobia and the bugs and you've never fit in anywhere you live to make yourself smaller wherever you go you're just the loser who hits hard. Like yeah I guess there was an overarching theme of Gorgug gaining confidence in himself but it was done very poorly imo.

And I think his trial in the forest was wrong for putting such an emphasis on his intelligence. I think that would have been much better suited in fy, back when he was still being heavily bullied, but beyond that it felt like a quick and easy thing for them to grab. Yes, he had insecurities about his intelligence with all the complications with Zelda. But, to me, the focus of fhsy was his HEART. It put a spotlight on how his social circle has grown, and his bully is his friend now, and he's not alone anymore. His interactions with Ayda, the friendship book, trying to help Fabian, I believe in you spring break, it's Gorgug keep going. I made a post earlier in the season (including a great addition by another user) that I think articulates that emphasis on his emotional intelligence very well.

Fhjy HOWEVER. I think it's doing everything that sy failed at. It's giving him space to have an inner conflict. It's addressing lots of little issues and conflicts he's had over the campaign and combining them into one coherent piece. Like, guy was in a relationship pretty much all of fy, and then dealt with the fallout in sy, but I don't think we've EVER seen as much quality relationship development with Gorgug as we have in jy. He and Fig spent an entire summer together trapped in a tour bus and no season has indicated that bond and friendship more than this one. He and Riz have found something to bond over, meanwhile in previous seasons there was pretty much zero one-on-one personal interaction between them. Fabian expressed sadness over Gorgug leaving the Owlbears, because it was the only thing they had that was just for them to hang out and be friends.

Just with that, we're already doing leagues more with Gorgug's character than we ever have. And I haven't even STARTED on his barbificier journey, oh dear god lmao.

Gonna preface this bit with a post I made before the season even started. It was about Zac's steady improvement in his performances with every PC, and how I was predicting that it was gonna culminate into a Gorgug that does him the justice he deserves. It was initially supposed to be a criticism, but I got a little lost in the sauce of loving my boy lol. Still very relevant to the topic of this ask!

God, where do I START?? Addressing his relationship with rage? I'll be honest, I didn't think that would ever be used as a character arc. And I'm not even sure why I've felt that way. I just didn't think... I didn't think about how he might've had a dislike for his own rage. Like, the WAY he rages isn't bad by any means, but I don't think it ever crossed my mind how actually harmful his lessons to sing to combat rage were. No, I did not like the way Porter went about teaching him (a bit too unsupportive of his capabilities and reminiscent of shitty teachers for my liking). But his point about EMBRACING anger; that rage is not bad and does not— should not— need to be stifled. THAAAAT. That opened up such an interesting dialogue for Gorgug.

I do appreciate the beginnings of Gorgug's interest in artificing in fhsy. I think the crumbs of it back then did a great job of leading into his larger commitment to multiclassing. And I think what he's been doing with it this season is exactly what was lacking in his section of the nightmare forest. His trial was a puzzle, based entirely on die rolls, where his solution after failing even when he's assisted by the enemy is to essentially give up. I understand that facing their fears was the whole point of the trials, but his section came off as incredibly anticlimactic and unfulfilling. Just the fact that it was a trial based on stat numbers more than the development of the character itself.

Where junior year succeeds in actually showcasing his intelligence and the evolution of the worth he holds in himself is with the hands-on approach it takes. Yes, the academic rolls are still dice and stats, but there's a physical manifestation that wasn't there before. Gorgug is smart when it comes to getting his hands dirty. It is in the practical applications of his skills that his brand of intelligence shines the most.

And while, once again, I did not LIKE Porter's heavy resistance to multiclassing....I have to admit that I don't think Gorgug would have had such a boost in confidence without that struggle. Even if my boy had trouble expressing it to Porter verbally, HE STOOD UP FOR HIMSELF. Instead of simply rolling over and agreeing that he wasn't built for a technical class and it was stupid to try– he was DEFIANT.

The kid who said "I'm a dumbass. Eat me you stupid bug." took on FOUR CLASSES. Three school years worth of artificer simultaneously. AND stayed with the Owlbears. AND went along on party missions to help Kristen's candidacy. AND was always on deck to help the party with the overarching plotline.

AND HE ACED IT!!! THE FIRST BARBIFICER THAT THE AGUEFORT ADVENTURING ACADEMY HAS EVER SEEN!!!!! He is paving the way for every unprecedented multiclass that follows.

Just in comparison to who he was in the previous season, the amount of drive and self-worth he's gained is astounding. In my eyes, it's done more than enough to makeup for the way his development fell flat in sophomore year.

i hope this fulfilled the ask in the way you were hoping! i told you i'd get carried away lmao. writing a bunch about any of zac's characters is always such a joy. gorgug had always been my favorite of the bad kids but i always found myself wishing he went deeper, y'know? and now it's real. my precious anxious boy has been handled so well. and watching zac's growth as a performer has been such a blast.

thanks for the ask! :D

[desos-records]

alright let’s talk about Lockwood & Co vs Adults

(mostly about the show, I started the books before the show came out and I’m not done, be nice)

Lockwood tries so very hard to act older than he is and he essentially Had To after losing his family. We aren’t told the specifics, but he doesn’t seem to have any adults in his life. Or many people in it period. George has only known him for a year, Flo used to live with him but hasn’t for at least a year if not more, and Kipps is. well. Kipps.

But other than that he seems to have been alone: he’s the one who takes care of the business and the finances, finding new clients and recruiting new agents (he has a mortgage and insurance and he can’t even drive yet). It fits with the overarching theme of the older generation not just failing the newer one, but exploiting it too. Lockwood was abandoned by the generation that was supposed to take care of him (on purpose or not)--just like all the kids of his generation, George and Lucy included.

It’s a little simpler when it comes to George and Lucy. They both left their families by choice; they chose to be the mature ones, to do what they had to so they could feel safe and at home. George left parents who loved him, but didn’t understand him. Lucy left a physically abusive mother who exploited her for money. They’re both mature in very concrete, measurable ways that are natural extensions of their characters. George cleans and cooks and handles research. Lucy is emotionally mature, holding both boys (and people in general) accountable for their actions and making her able to pick out incredible nuances in emotion (of both the living and the dead).

But Lockwood’s maturity feels a little more like play-acting than the others. Partly, I think, because he didn’t get a choice. He’s been functionally an independent adult for god knows how long. He dresses in suits and is entirely too formal (in the books it takes forever for him to stop calling Lucy ‘Miss Carlyle’). But you can tell that it is definitely an act. His tie and trousers are too short, his coat is too big, and, god bless him, he wears the most beat up pair of sneakers I’ve ever seen.

His interactions with actual adults become a flashpoint. It’s most obvious in his interactions with adult men (partly just because most of the adults in the show are men), who he is trying so hard to look and act like. But in every case, they call him out on it and he’s reminded how young he is and almost always in a way that hurts.

The most obvious are Fairfax, Winkman, and what’s-his-face with the gold sword and guyliner, who are trying to kill him. In all cases, Lockwood can’t physically overpower them (Fairfax and Guyliner have guns, Winkman has an electric chair) and his words don’t mean anything to them. And Guyliner is even more dangerous because he knows his parents, knows something about the story behind Lockwood’s armor.

But what’s more interesting are the adults who aren’t trying to kill him.

Barnes picks apart the arguments Lockwood throws up in defense of himself and his agency, not with posturing, but with genuine (although rather harsh) concerns for their safety. For Lockwood, Barnes is a Captain Hook figure, but Barnes acts more like a disgruntled school principal than anything else. He’s working to protect a whole city full of kids that are, by necessity, thrown into harm’s way. And you can see it when Lockwood says that Barnes doesn’t like them much and it throws him off-guard.

The DEPRAC agent at the auction tells them to leave not just because he thinks they can’t handle it, but because they shouldn’t have to

Jesus, you’re children

Yes, he’s aggressive and antagonistic about it, which only makes Lockwood bristle more. Lockwood steps towards him trying to act with authority, even threatening, but all the agent does to break his armor is grab him hard by the shoulder and push him back. But despite that, he is trying to protect them. And he dies to protect them. It is the only instance of someone truly seeing them for what they are: kids. Not agents or weapons or meal tickets.

But it’s jarring. Lockwood can’t process any of that and that’s not his fault. In the world we’ve seen so far, Barnes and the DEPRAC agent are an anomaly. Most other adults don’t care whether they live or die (so long as they’re useful). Lockwood has every reason to believe that every adult is an obstacle at best and a threat at worst.

And it’s painful. All of it. And a little too close to home, this story of children only valued when they’re useful.

[saintarmand]

Hi! Do you think that s2 big reveal will be that Armand manipulated Louis memory? What do you think the "disastrous consequences in Dubai" mean? Louis attempting suicide as many books fans expect?

no. i think the "big reveal" will be that armand didn't have to. louis knows armand did the thing and stayed with him anyway like he did in the books. they very well may lead the audience to believe armand is doing that to louis, when it was actually daniel who got his memories wiped (and daniel may have agreed to it.) and i think any inconsistencies about the events of s1 that may or may not be revealed will be because of louis repressing memories the old fashioned way. at most armand helped a little. and i'm not saying that only because of the racist and abuse apologist implications or just cause i'm an armand stannie or whatever, although that's all also true. i'm saying that because i think the story is better for it.

to me, armand having significant overarching influence, especially though literal magic, on the story we've been told (specifically LOUIS's story told BY louis), undermines the theme of "memory is a monster." they told us the fallibility of memory in this story is the real life kind; how memory naturally changes every time we remember events in our lives, how our present self affects how we look at the past, etc. this is a fantasy story, yes, but it's very much grounded in reality. the racism isn't "fantasy racism", for example. having the twist be that a crucial element of the story that we were told was real was actually magic would lame and disappointing as hell. i think daniel having his memories wiped magically will be a parallel to louis. but the thing about parallels is that they're not meant to be literal or complete, and they emphasize differences as much as similarities, in order to reinforce the ideas and themes of the story, not replace them. so i think that while louis and daniel's memory issues can look similar on the surface, they have different causes and the show will make it clear which is which.

hell, they've even shown us magical manipulation vs regular manupulation before. we saw lestat entrance several humans including louis himself ("his gaze tied a string around my lungs and i found myself immobilized") but it was done in a way that made it obvious when it was happening, so general audiences weren't speculating lestat was using vampire magic to make louis fall in love with him or agree to be turned or whatever. he was shown to have powers he could have used at key points but didn't, more often using very basic human manipulation tactics, which were actually even more effective. even the idea of lestat causing paul's death was brought up only to be discarded. i think they'll pretty much do the same thing with armand, only teasing us a bit more with it. and sure, some people will still speculate, but i think this is what the intention of the writers is, and hopefully they do it well.

i assume the "disastrous consequences in dubai" is an interview quote and i've heard something like that but since i don't have the full context in front of me it's hard to say much about it. if you could tell me the whole quote and who said it and where and in what context i could probably talk about it in more detail lol. link me if you'd like?

what i will say right now is that i think there's gonna be a lot of arguments and accusations and revelations in dubai, i think louis will go through a hell of an emotional rollercoaster, i think daniel will find out about the eternal sunshine of the devil's minion as i like to call it, will ask to be turned again or at least realize he still wants it, i think louis and armand will break up, and i think there will be a book released by the end.

the louis suicide attempt theory i believe is based on merrick, which i still haven't read (i need to get my shit together and read it before may 12th lol) so it's difficult for me to say much about it? i know he attempts suicide at the end and that him talking to claudia's ghost who's fucking furious with him is a thing that happens. something like that anyway, i've read some quotes from it. i highly doubt louis has been talking to her literal ghost at this point in the show, he's just doing that metaphorically. i would love to see it in the future though.

honestly to me just the fact that armand said out loud that he thinks the interview is basically louis's suicide note indicates that's probably not actually what's going on. that's usually how it works in stories lol. when the character tells you what they think is gonna happen it never happens like that. (on the whole "other vampires will paint the walls with his blood" thing, i think the human world will assume the book is made up bullshit or daniel is senile or crazy, and because of that most vampires won't care that much. would be pretty dumb to kill him since it would only draw more attention to him and the book. i do like the idea of lestat, inspired by louis, going on to more or less successfully prove the existence of vampires, causing a big ruckus, and the whole "great conversion" thing that was mentioned, being a part of the show version of the queen of the damned somehow.)

louis attempting suicide could still happen i guess but i just don't think it's that interesting or particularly good writing in the context of the story being told in seasons 1 & 2. not only because it's kinda predictable and basic and boring to me but like. if he tries kill himself and fails, that's basically him being forced to live. to me, louis choosing to live on in this continuous state of mourning is much more compelling and devastating even, than him having no choice in it. it's like with him staying with armand, isn't it waaaayyy more fucked up and sad if he's doing that of his own volition as opposed to being kept there against his will? that's a story about who louis is, the choices he makes, not about how he's a victim. of course he still is an abuse victim etc, and that's certainly not his fault, but him blaming himself and seeing himself as just as bad as lestat or armand because he "let" it all happen is, to me, a core part of his character. in the book he monologues about his passivity being his biggest fault; in the show he insists "i'm not a victim" even as he's telling us a story about being abused. abuse culture & catholic guilt baby!

also. the thematic note the book ends on is, to me anyway, about the human spirit clinging to life even in devastating circumstances. armand tells louis how so many vampires resort to suicide, but louis doesn't (in book one.) he keeps going, haunted by his past, dead inside and out yet still alive, unable to let go. and he spends the whole book telling daniel the boy reporter how awful immortality is and yet daniel still wants it, thinking it will be different this time. choosing the horrors life throws us, even the cursed half life or unlife of a vampire, over the horror of the unknown that is permanent death. etc etc etc. i love this part of the book too much to want to let it go!

hell, armand only tries to kill himself after finding out what hell is "really like" in memnoch the devil, and while i don't know cause i haven't read merrick yet, i bet that influenced louis too. death isn't as terrifying when you know what to expect.

and i'm also just not a fan of the idea that actually most of the other books' events have also already happened. because then that influences the characters who are telling us the story, in ways that we won't find out until seasons later. like if louis tries to kill himself at the end of season 2 and then in like season 7 or some shit we find out actually it wasn't because of what happened in s1-2 it was actually because right before the interview he was talking to claudia's ghost who said horrible things to him and also because he found out hell is real but it's actually a bit more like purgatory where if you prove yourself you get to go to heaven eventually and also because— like you can see how that would be bad storytelling right? lmao. not that revealing new information about characters or events later is always bad, it can be very interesting and beneficial even, but not if it undermines or completely changes the whole story before that point. not shading AR's retcon habit here at all not at all of course not i would never do that

anyway i think i've rambled enough. thank you for asking!

[oh-katsuki]

why do you like satosugu so much? (i struggle with tone so in case it's not clear i'm asking out of curiosity)

i am SO glad you asked >:)))

if im being honest, I like them because they're well written and their motivation / story is well integrated into the plot of the series. i like the emphasis the series gives on their emotional connection (platonic or romantic). even the source material doesn't shy away from expressing just how connected satoru and suguru were to each other. i appreciate that sort of intentional representation of love (again, platonic or romantic), as well as it's integration into the actual story and overarching themes of the series.

i also happen to adore tragic lovers and tragic love. i think that the idea that the people we meet in our youth and during our crucial stages of growth change us is a beautiful one and i love that they had that effect on each other. i love the understanding (and lack thereof) that they have for each other, as well as the fact that their changing morals never ACTUALLY changed how they felt about each other (ie; suguru saying he never held hate for those at jujutsu high and satoru still calling suguru his "one and only" even after killing him). like yes, they fundamentally disagreed on how the world should look, but it's also evident that that never changed how they felt about each other. the love was still there. it always had been and it always would be.

i like their conflicting senses of identity and how they are connected to each other. bc i think whatever their connection was went beyond platonic or romantic love and into something completely their own. they're written in a way that makes the love they have for each other unignorable. the story itself says "this is about love. they love and they love and they love." and it doesn't shy away from that in the slightest when it comes to satosugu. to ignore the feelings between them (i am stressing that i once again mean platonic or romantic, whichever you prefer), is to ignore a crucial part of the story.

i think that's why i like them aside from liking their individual characters and the dynamic they share. i like that their feelings and their relationship is integral to the story and not just an additional fun fact. they had an EXTENSIVE effect on who the other grew to be, not just because of their conflicting morals, but in spite of them. i really appreciate that.

i guess a good way to describe it would be that i view their relationship and connection to each other as two red strings that have tangled together and branched out into the lives of the people around them. idk if that makes sense, but it's what i see. i like the cause and effect they have!!

[head-empty-just-sigma]

hhhhhhmhmmhmmnnnnmmh Buddy Daddies is making me Think Thoughts and Feel Feelings

but i’m not gonna be doing any analyzing of the show or plot itself since 1. i know absolutely nothing about Japanese family/culture/norms/society in general and there’s plenty of amazing posts that talk about that already and 2. the show doesn’t really keep things hidden like a series like bsd does, so there’s not much to theorize about. so i’m not going to go searching for things that don’t exist in the story

however, what i am going to do is over analyze and look for things that probably don’t exist in the songs in the OP and the ED of the anime. yep. my brainrot is that bad

listen episode 7 did something to me okay

i think both songs symbolize Rei and Kazuki in their own ways, especially the OP since i think it encompasses both of them from the first to second verse of the song. the ED is where it really gets interesting, since for now it only really symbolizes one of them

🔺spoiler warning for episodes 1, 3, 6 and 7 and also basically the entire premise of both Kazuki and Rei's characters lol🔻

also long post warning. like, really really long post. i pulled out all the stops in my analyzing for this thing

The opening - SHOCK! by Ayase

fun fact Ayase is the vocaloid producer for the duo YOASOBI

So for this song I’m taking both the translated lyrics provided by Crunchyroll subtitles and the translation on the Miraikyun website I found while digging for reliable translation sources (I found… almost none for this song tbh). But I’ll include screenshots from the OP mostly for the first verse of the song that’s actually used for the opening of the anime.

So at first this song came off as lighthearted to me because the music itself is pretty upbeat and pop-ish, and while yes it is both of those things, the lyrics definitely tell another story of their own. The overarching theme is essentially the contemplation of what love is and what it means, and how the person singing isn’t able to understand love when they see it. They also don’t know what’s going on in another person’s head (who is potentially experiencing said love that the singer doesn’t understand). Immediately this makes me think of Rei’s character, in a couple of ways.

In his character PV it explicitly says that he’s someone who “doesn’t know love”, specifically using the character 愛 (ai) which is used for a more general type of love (could be family or other long-term relationships) and doesn’t necessarily have romantic connotations. This is a perfect example of how Rei, as a person, doesn’t understand the concept of “love” in general. It’s foreign to him, and it’s pretty obvious after episode 3 that he wasn’t raised as a normal child by his parents, he was raised to be a hitman by his father who wanted Rei to only refer to him as his “boss”. I don’t think I need to explain how much that would mess up someone’s perception of love in any sense of the word, and the anime actually does it for us by showing Rei as unfit for taking on a proper parental role in the makeshift family in the first few episodes. Hell, even in the beginning of episode 7 he seemed more like another kid in the house instead of Miri’s caretaker. He’s not used to being responsible for another human being, and it shows, but it’s because he genuinely has no idea about any of it since he doesn’t have any parental figure to base his standard of being a ‘parent’ off of. Kazuki is arguably the same in that regard, but he’s much more mature as a parent compared to Rei because he knows what it’s like to not have any parents or caretakers at all, and he wants to make sure Miri has good parental figures in her life so she doesn’t go through the same thing.

The lyrics in the first half of the song and the lyrics in the chorus can absolutely be used to symbolize Rei’s character here.

Rei does want to be a part of the family here, we solidified that in ep3 when he declared that he was Miri’s Papa. That was a key piece of character development for him, since before this we don’t see them interacting during the episodes as much as Kazuki and Miri do. So the lyrics about ‘wanting love’ is symbolic of him admitting to wanting to be a part of the family. The part about the city being ‘madly in love and excited’ is just how he sees things, since he was taught to never smile or really express any emotions for that matter, so everyone else is automatically more expressive than him. He stays home a lot to play video games nonstop and chain smokes through all-nighters when Kazuki isn’t there, and he also tries to go home before ultimately being dragged outside by Kazuki. The next few lines could symbolize how Miri entering his life turned everything he was used to upside down, and his perception of life is slowly being torn down by Miri as he learns what it means to love and be loved in a parental way. The chorus just further drives in the fact that he truly has no idea what ���love’ is, literally saying ‘How the heck should I know?’, but also that he doesn’t entirely understand Kazuki and why he’s so adamant on being a good parent. The ‘I don’t know what’s going on in your head’ line is perfectly fitting for ep6 when Rei was questioning a lot of the things coming out of Kazuki’s mouth (same. ‘our genes’ bro what). He’s also dragged through shenanigans time and time again by Kazuki and despite his complaining, he goes along with it anyway. The line about being unfairly friendly could be towards Miri or Kazuki, since sunshine Miri accepted Rei as he is and she loves her Papa no matter how emotionally dead he is, but also because Kazuki is probably the only real friend Rei has (which is something I’m sure will be explored in a future episode. Hopefully). The last one is directed at Miri, since Miri is also able to drag Rei into playing with her and doing other things despite his reluctance (just look at ep3). However, he still very much acts like an irresponsible child and more like Miri's sibling that Kazuki also has to take care of, so he has a long way to go before he's any sort of model parent…

Kazuki on the other hand is 100% symbolized in the second verse of the song.

I will die on this hill because there’s literally no counter argument after ep7, where we are explicitly shown that Kazuki is clinging on to his past to his own detriment. He’s scared of changing because he’s scared of forgetting Yuzuko if he’s fulfilled by something else (his family). He also calls himself pathetic in ep7, connecting the line about laughing ‘at my pitiful self’. This part of the song truly captures how Kazuki feels on the inside for the first 6 episode and the majority of ep7. The chorus could be a bit different in regards to 'it's not fair that you're so friendly', since that could be directed at Karin because she wants Kazuki to be able to move on and be happy with what he has since she believes that that's what Yuzuko would've wanted.

The ending lyrics symbolize that changing and looking towards the unpredictable future is okay, but oh my god did the ending hit like a freight train after episode 7. Just. Just holy emotional damage. Oh. My god.

The ending - My Plan by DURDN

I was able to find a translation that was basically the same as the Crunchyroll one on Genius Lyrics to reference the second verse yipee but I also included screenshots from the ED itself of course

I cannot get over how impactful this song became as the ED, especially at the end of episode 7. It’s basically an entire episode dedicated to Kazuki’s backstory, which we were shown glimpses of back in ep1 for crying out loud. And oh my lord it did not disappoint, that’s for sure. Emotional damage for everyone. So much character development in one single episode. I just--it's just great. That's all I can say.

I love this image and it lives in my head rent free. Sleeping Rei is always 10/10

The song has a theme of accepting the future and that things are going to change, but that it’s okay because there will always be something consistent there, like a home to come back to every day. It also has a lot of references to love, like the 'I softly whisper a lullaby' and 'let's try to share our love together', which is symbolic of Kazuki as a father. It doesn't really have any romantic connotations at all, it's just wholesomeness. Plus 'I chased after you as you ran barefoot' is reminiscent of the few seconds in the OP where we actually see Kazuki running past other people going the opposite direction, and then following behind Miri with Rei at his side.

Also episode 7 really brings out the last 5 lines, from 'and it'll shine down on our sadness' to 'when the future is unpredictable'. That scene where Karin told Kazuki that he should move on and be happy with what he has because that's what Yukuzo would've wanted, and then the rain stops so the sun can come out and shines on Kazuki's new outlook on the future and accepting change... It's so fucking beautiful and symbolic. Not to mention it's taking place where he and Yuzuko first met, where she was his proverbial ray of hope when he was wounded in the rain, now the rain stops and Kazuki is able to see hope in his future with his new family. I just cannot express how impressive that is from a storytelling standpoint, and it's all literally just using the changing of the weather.

Also the line of 'maybe one day, you'll surpass me' could be referencing how Kazuki wants Miri to be able to have the things he never did: a family, stability, and that familial love. Kazuki is painfully self-aware that he became a hitman (and a malewife) because he grew up with no parents and had to fend for himself his whole life. He wants to make sure Miri never has to go through any of that, and have more opportunities that he never did when she gets older.

The ending song doesn't really fit Rei as a character, even in the part not used in the ED. The second verse is still very much relating to Kazuki and Miri's interactions day-to-day and him enjoying raising Miri, and knowing he'll be endeared by everything she does no matter how old she gets (like any other parent, I assume. idk I'm a Rei kinnie). But we know that Miri is changing Rei slowly, from ep3 when he begins to see what being a Papa means to ep7 when he learns that sometimes taking care of another human being can make you feel powerless in the face of a 'crisis'. Most other times we only really see him being a real parent to Miri when he's dragged into it by Kazuki, but ep7 showed him going from irresponsible second child of the household to going to Kyu-chan in a panic because Miri is sick and he has no idea what to do as a parent. Hopefully we get to see this built upon further in the coming episodes, even if we don't get to explore his backstory as much as we have Kazuki's this season.

[angelanimedesaray]

📚,🥐, and 🦋for the truth and dare game!

Hellooo! It's good to see you, thank you so much for gracing my inbox 🥰 and for an ask game too, ack, it's been a good week 🥰

Okay! Yes! The questions.

📚 What's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app?

Okay, two things. 1) I am super old school, i like physical books, physical notes, i have three corkboars, index cards on pins with tags handing from them, stacks of partially used notebooks, and sticky notes literally covering the wall and desk and bookshelf within arms reach of the computer. So this is not a notes app entry, cause i dont use it, its the last sticky note i put on the wall. And 2) this is going to be spoilers for one of my series because it was dialogue that occurred to me for near endgame of one of my big stories. But I think the fact that it's massively out of context even for those actively reading the series because it's so far down the road HELPS.

So, having said that, what it was, is:

Erwin, thank you, for allowing me to step into the light and take this journey. Hange, I'm forever grateful for all your help in unfurling my wings. And Levi...everything I have ever been and could be, I give to you. The wind lifting my wings ever higher.

🥐 Name one internet reference that will always make you laugh.

Honestly, any good placed reference will always land right with me. I'm the fool that always quotes road work ahead, I can't help it lol. I'm also a sucker for Sanders Vines. BUT for this I chose a Tumblr post about video games from back in the day that is 100000% my playstyle in dnd and video games hahahaha (which one depends on how badly actual stealth goes haha).

"I love that there are two approaches to stealth games. It's either no bodies for the guards to notice or no guards left to notice the bodies." "No one can call the cops if there's no one to call the cops."

🦋 Share something that has been on your heart and mind lately.

Oof, um...it's hard not to get heavy on this one 😅 I mean, I've been thinking a LOT about the deeper topics of life, ngl, which makes sense with a lot of what's going on in my life right now. My dad's been having a lot of medical issues pop up, mothers day is tomorrow and I've been ruminating on a pretty deep letter to write her to go with some flowers I bought her, my brother LITERALLY just graduated high school and I spent the ceremony comforting my little sister whose distraught and told me she's going to be the only one left, like...oof. lots of thoughts about life right now on the one hand. On the other, funnily enough, just yesterday I was talking to my dad, who watched aot as well, and we were talking about the overarching theme of breaking cycles of hatred and how it unfortunately went over the heads of a LOT of people who end up in a twist of bitter irony further illustrating the point 🤷‍♀️, and that was a pretty deep conversation because of my dad's life experiences and what he teaches for a living now, so yeah. Pfft, just "light" over coke floats and tuxedo Sundays in a hidden corner ma and pop ice cream shop conversation, you know 😅

Coincidentally, this question comes at an interesting weekend cause it's been the weekend for heavy topics in Angel's head so far, and there's still a whole nother day to get through 😅

Thanks for the questions!!! I think this is the most attention an ask game I've posted has gotten and I'm loving it 🥰

Ask Game Here

[scribbling-dragon]

Juno. please do write the essay about howl and majorwood. please

yes. yes! i can do this :D for anyone that doesn't know, i've been using lyrics from "Howl" by Florence + The Machine for several of my mer scott fics, because the song is just so majorwood-coded. to me

so, what i can gather from the song is that it is very much about love, and two people being in love. but it comes across much more as an almost obsession that they have with each other (like not being able to rest until they're with each other etc.) and i feel like that's a lot of the ships that come out of the life series! because the life series itself is a short thing, it doesn't last long, and these relationships explored in fandom are normally very quick for people to get into- so this was the first point i made in my brain. because with the life series, all of the duos/ships/couples- whatever you want to call them, are very intensely reliant on the other most of the time, like, they are in a death game and they have a handful of allies that they are trusting to defend them etc. and allies that they would also defend.

but! that is not the only thing that i associated with it, the biggest association is the use of language that's here: it's all rather violent. the lovers (in the song) are described as hunters. over and over again, a thing that we actually SEE a lot of the time in the life series- every time that the server becomes predominantly red, there is a hunt for the remaining yellows (and we got more than one of these hunts this time!). and it happens pretty much every time! and it's great, i love it, love watching it. because it's like a pack of wolves and they go hunting.

but there is several other instances of violent language being used to describe the love between the two lovers in the song- and this violence lends itself rather well to a feeling of desperation (something that is reflected in the sound of the song itself, actually, which i like). which! that's, again, the whole life series pretty much: desperation! desperation to win, to protect your allies, to not die first- it happens in every single one! it's a common theme, something overarching with the series.

but juno? i hear you ask, how does this relate to majorwood? why choose them and not some other ship? well i am so glad you asked!

scott is fiercely loyal to every single one of his allies- if he chooses you as his closest ally (jimmy in 3l, pearl and cleo in ll, cleo in dl, martyn in this series) he be loyal to you! that's his whole thing (well, not really, but you get what i mean) the guy is loyal! and he's good at that.

and martyn! his whole thing is being selfish, at the end (as we see rather nicely in the finale, but he's also done it in previous series as well. this isn't a new thing for him) but he also cares about his allies. he cares about them a LOT. in all of his series he cares about his allies- that love, that isn't quite loyalty, is the major reason i associate this song with them. because the song is about young love, and i am no way near an expert on love hdsjhdsj (<- aroace) but a lot of the time young love is portrayed as something rather intense and almost obsessive, something that florence leans into with this song 100%

i. am not sure if that makes sense of if it's just the ramblings of a person that has thought about this for far far too long- but yeah! listen to howl :] it's a great song

[highfiveheroes]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii so I absolutely love your fic on ao3 (so excited for part 2) and I wanted to ask what your opinions on the finale were! I personally think that the rat grinders were deeply robbed and that it was honestly such a unkind and mean way to end that season. like was the overarching theme not redemption and that unrestrained violence isn't the answer? anyway ye would love to hear your thoughts on it

(sorry if you've already made posts about it also, feel free to ignore this if so)

ahhh!!! oh man i have SO many thoughts on it, and i’ve kind of tried to keep them to dms and stuff but whoo boy. whoooo boy!!!

this got SO much longer than i expected so sorry in advance

i have sort of hit the point of reflection where i’m just sad about it now. sophomore year was SUCH a lovely piece of art, and the choices and lessons made and gained were something that resonated so deeply. i’ll start by saying that yeah, it’s fairly obvious the second half of the season was rushed through production, and specifically after “baron’s game” (which i expected to love but i can get into on a different post) the tone completely shifted.

the point i’ve finally come to is that brennan had a LOT of ideas for this season, but ultimately it went the way it did because he wasn’t dming the season for the fans. he was doing it for his friends, and they all had fun, and if the topics had been changed or certain plot points had been altered or different it wouldn’t have seemed so flippant and disappointing when the overarching themes got missed. from a meta standpoint (and also taking into account the interview he did that came out within the past few days discussing the season) it was never supposed to be that serious, so egg on our faces for reading into things that weren’t supposed to be there.

the season specifically suffered because it had so much stuffed into it, in my opinion? plots and threads were dropped early on in favor of following the bits—and for a dnd show run by comedians, i’m sure it was really fun for everyone involved! but i could tell after a certain point that discussions were overloading and way more stuff was getting missed than being followed up on, so i think brennan got caught up in trying to tie the story up neatly for his friends, and i think some of the plot may have changed from what it was first envisioned to be (though that may just be me being waaaaay too hopeful)

it is, however, WHOLLY disappointing to me that the bad kids were so rewarded for being literal bullies all season except to each other. it was in the name of bits, sure, but god, i would have loved for the solution to have been for them to reach out to the rat grinders in that final fight with something—a dispel magic maybe, or a really strong persuasion check, to prove that rage isn’t always the fucking answer, especially when faced with something like this. but that was never how it was going to go and i’m less mad now than just straight up sad about it. the rat grinders were just npcs made to be annoyances and obstacles and threads to follow, and we definitely as a collective tried to have more faith in the story. it’s just…i mean, it’s a dnd game. he’s running it for his friends, he’s lucky to get paid for it, it wasn’t about us reading the whole narrative like a book.

if the whole season had been scripted and unrushed—if it had been an actual series, for example—i think we would have gotten a lovely ending that satisfied almost everyone. but we got the fun ending for the players and at least half the fandom had an amazing time (maybe more—i definitely am at fault for only really following the rat grinder fans, lbr, but i don’t feel like having to curb my feelings about them every time i see a new post about how they deserved it).

i think for me, the ending was kind of rushed and filled with cheap cop outs, but i don’t think it was meant to be any more than that. it was supposed to be fun for the players, and it was, and that’s what they were happy with. i’ve really had to think about it a LOT this week though

(side note: as i’ve been working on part 2 and the prequel for it, i’m having to take the canon as milestones but not necessarily as fact, because there was so much unexplored there that i need to make sense when i’m writing it, but i fully disagree with just completely dismissing the implications. kipperlilly’s whole arc and her choosing this path wasn’t something i predicted, but it doesn’t necessarily go against what i wrote—it’s just that now, with context and reflection, i’m really having to sit down and explore her not as a many faceted character but instead as something that can still appear one dimensional. i’m not going to completely ignore the nuances, but i’m having a difficult time writing it, knowing now where the story is going to end up.)

(and fun fact, if you’ve read this far—it’s going to end up three parts instead of two, so publishing may be pushed off a bit longer than i wanted for the sole fact of wanting to put out parts 2&3 out at the same time. the prequel i’m gonna put on the back burner for a bit though :( so if you think part 2 is going to be good, i can’t wait for the reaction to part 3, if it goes the way i want!!!)

[stagefoureddiediaz]

@fire-fog Thank you for a great couple of questions in your tags on my meta.

I  have indeed been writing costume analysis for a while - I started doing one for each 911 episode in season 5, but I’d written more general and overarching ones before that. I’ve also written for previous fandoms before as well. All the 911 costume metas are linked in my pinned post at the top of my blog. its something I love to do and something I enjoy sharing - I hope others get pleasure from it to and that it maybe helps people derive deeper meaning from the show. The teams working behind the scenes - set, props, wardrobe, hair and make up etc all work incredibly hard - they are the unsung heroes of film and tv and I hope my metas bring a little bit of attention and love to the work they do because so much of it goes unseen and unrecognised!

Its incredibly hard to predict based on some bts pictures or the show stills, however I’ve been correct a few times - the biggest and most obvious one was actually the prediction I made on Bucks outfit from this episode - the green jumper and yellow ochre trousers - when we got the bts videos of Oliver in that costume, I said that it would be for some sort of AU, that it was preppy and teacher like and that it was important for Bucks journey. I’ve been proven correct on all fronts on that one! I also spoke about Eddie wearing black singlets when we got the bts of Eddie in a black singlet for Animal Instincts and how it represented moments when Eddie was vulnerable - again the original post is linked on my pinned one - and I was proven correct when we got to see the scene play out. 

I’m pretty good at spotting themes and patterns that the wardrobe team are using to help tell the bigger story and to connect arcs etc - its something that adds an additional layer to parallels that the show makes use of, or it helps build specific characteristics for a character - Buck wearing a lot of blue this season especially is a part of that, as is the use of military colour ways on Eddie (and Athena), it emphasises traits or meanings and changing the tones or the brightness/darkeness of a colour can indicate things for that character!

As for the blocky use of colour - yes you’re very right about its use in coma land - its very much about the world being a creation of Bucks mind - the details that make the real world so rich aren’t there - unless its important narratively. We saw the same thing with all the physical spaces - they lacked detail - Chimneys apartment being very basic and lacking personality etc is the most obvious example of it, but even Bucks loft had very little by way of art and things beyond things important to the story - things that are hints at the real world, or the basic things of what Buck imagines are the things a teacher would have in their house! Its not necessarily about being childish or child like - but I know why you used that term - it is about simplicity - because his brain has conjured this entire world so the finer details are missing - its an impression rather than a lived in universe.

I hope this answers your questions and feel free to pop into my inbox if you have any others!! 💜💜💜

[horizon-verizon]

Who do you find more interesting as a villain in the greens ? ( Aegon, Alicent, Aemond, Larys?)

Sorry for leaving this question for so long, I had to take a mini break to do this question justice.

Answer to the Actual Question

Probably Larys, just because there is more to be discovered and think about with him and his motivation in joining the greens. We don't know anything about his life at Harrenhal or with his life with Lyonel, Harwin and his sisters or his relationship with his mother before she died. Seeing how he was willing to join the greens, he had to have had something against one of the blacks, Viserys, or all of them, or he favored one/a few of the greens for some idea of them. Or he thought that by banking on them and their greed that he would become a more powerful, fuller version of himself? Maybe he felt that the blacks would offer him nothing, and if so, why?

I feel like under the greens, he would have had a better chance at accumulating power since Harwin, being the oldest and the heir, was in his way and was already Rhaenyra's lover/bio dad of her kids, therefore forever in her favor, even if he lived and she still pursued Daemon. (And yes, I think Larys would have known that they were not Laenor's. One doesn't have to be smart to know that.) It could be as simple as that. Or it could be that PLUS bad blood, a bad perception, etc.

With Alicent, it's easier see what the backbone of her motives is: power and Andal/patriarchal hegemony where she builds her power and sense of validity/superiority from. Because we saw it with Cersei. What makes her different from Cersei is that Alicent is actively attempting to depose a living female royal and many in the fandom believe that she is more licensed to, because Alicent pushes forward the patriarchal/traditionally Catholic values they themselves adhere to, fulfilling their fascist, eugenist, anti-Targ fantasies. Some fans of Cersei are the same, but Cersei had less because she herself engaged in the incest the Targs practiced (sibling) and very much wanted to marry Rhaegar, so she is also an anathema to those same demi-anti-Targ, ableist, Tywin/Stannis-loving, misogynist tradcaths.

Aemond and Aegon the Elder, again, not that complex after putting in some more thought about Alicent's influence on them and the lack of real love and care in their lives, those things being replaced with patriarchal entitlement. All three are interesting in that they all show the overlapping and repetitions of abuse for what they are (even if some fans are damn blind to it).

Which is such a shame that the HotD writers didn't bother with developing a backstory for the Strongs or giving Rhaenyra her Strong ladies in waiting. There is such a lack and negligence of depth in this show that comes from it's showrunners/writer's misunderstanding of the original themes and narrative patterns.

Mini-Rant (not towards anon)

No matter what GRRM says -- or what people think he means -- about not wanting to or intending to not repeat himself in his storylines within the ASoIaF world, the enduring fact is that writers have topics and ideas about those things in mind and create stories out of those specific ideas and conclusions. We can't deny that Cersei and Alicent, and even Rhaenyra or Dany, all have similarities in how they try to gain or maintain power in their patriarchal world, or think about their places in those societies. They go to different results, but the same need to validate themselves and make themselves matter within that context always informs their decisions or are the foundations of how they perceive themselves and the world. Therefore, it behooves the reader to understand how there ARE patterns and that those patterns matter to understand the overarching treatment of love, duty, compassion, and ambition in ASoIaF. It is not "woke" to study the feminist storylines present or acknowledge how classism and religion shapes how Catelyn and Sansa Stark, how Catelyn repeats the Andal misogyny and classist thinking to her daughters (post by ariamariastark1).

Rather it is acknowledging what is already supported in the actual text with how Alicent does with Aegon II and Aemond AND Cersei does it with Joffrey, which is how these boys all get to be so unapologetically entitled and sexually, verbally, and otherwise physically abusive to both relatives and non relatives.l and intimate partners.

Why are the boys different from the girls in how they express misogyny? Because the girls are not given the same privileges the boys are and will never be authorities like those boys, so the boys grow up to be monsters and the girls grow up to support those monsters for selfish ambition or whatever feeling of superiority is left to them, or what they rationalize.

If you cannot see this is what GRRM is doing, you need a lesson in reading comprehension. Several of them in fact.

[demonsfate]

LIKE. i get the whole jin being bullied thing was essential to the plot's overarching theme of "anger management" and how it's best to control your anger or else it'll make a devil of you. but jesus fucking christ, they couldn't do a better job of depicting this rather than have jin be physically + emotionally abused for WEEKS (like he even makes that a POINT, fucking WEEKS) finally fight back, only for jun to tell him how wrong that was. i get it, i get it, jin shouldn't lose himself to Anger or Hate. but i also hate the "if you stoop to your abusers level, then you're just as bad!!!" and it'd be ONE THING if jun had told jin to not lose his temper like this. but then she MAKES him apologize to them later????????? HELLO??????? like lady he's been getting the CRAP beaten out of him for WEEKS, these people have been TERRORIZING him and y....... you're gonna make him apologize for fighting back with the same shit they were dishing?????? AND THEN SHE TELLS HIM HE'S NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO SMILE OR BE HAPPY AFTER SHE TAKES DOWN A BULLY. LIKE GODDAMN. DUDE CAN'T EVEN FEEL HAPPY THAT HIS ABUSER GOT PUT IN HIS PLACE.

if they really wanted to showcase jin losing himself to anger, wouldn't it have been better to have him lose his temper over something more miniscule? OR OR Just have an argument over something trivial and then losing his shit? i mean yea it may feel out of character for jin but also this anime wasn't afraid to write him out of character and more emotional. so why not? like that would've been leagues better and got the message across rather than shaming somebody for being happy about their abusers getting hurt. it comes off as both pretentious, and also feels like it's lecturing the audience at the same time. because WHO wants to watch their protagonist juts get beaten down helplessly, and be shamed once the bullies got theirs? most people WANT to see the bad guys get a taste of their own medicine. like most superheroes (batman, spiderman, daredevil) all have a no kill rule, but we still see them beat the hell out of bad guys and making quips while they're at it. like this is SATISFYING to watch. bad people DESERVE bad things to happen to them. it's just that these bad guys never cross the line of Killing Them.

and yes i had people try to say "oh but it's jun and she saw this happened to kazuya and she doesn't want her son to go down the same path." and like... that would be fine, actually. i wouldn't mind that if this was just a character scolding jin, and not a show. especially if the character was presented as taking it too extreme because she's overprotective and strict. but there are two reasons i don't think this is the case. 1) the entire show is filled with the lecturing of jin "taking things too far". (it only really worked with leroy, it doesn't work with heihachi (another abuser who LITERALLY KILLED JIN either) and has character scolding him that you feel... probably wouldn't care as much as jun. and 2) jun and kazuya's relationship are just as unexplored in this anime as it is in the games. jun doesn't want to talk about kazuya. but we don't really know why. we can assume it's how he died, but we're not with jun enough to understand this. we're not shown jun and kaz through flashbacks of them ever loving each other. IN FACT, kaz is also depicted as cartoonishly evil in this anime, that it DOES make you wonder why jun even loved him in the first place. so if we lack the context of kaz being an okay person then getting worse, then that means jun lacks the motives as to why she's so scared about jin losing himself to rage.

I'M SORRY BUT I CAN'T GET OVER A CHARACTER BEING PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY BEATEN AND WHEN HE FINALLY STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF, HE IS SHAMED AND TOLD TO APOLOGIZE LIKE IT'S JUST WILD.

[sithisreadingcorner]

Hi it's me again :) By the way Happy Birthday of December, I hope it snows for you if you like snow ;) I saw you've incorporated deity/spirit readings, and I'm very interested in that if you don't mind is there a current deity that's beside me or wants to work with me? And when you say Spirit do you mean my Guides? Thank you! Initials Are N.V.W. D.O.B. 6/18/90. BTW Thank you for my Last reading!

Welcome back! Thank you so much, I LOVE snow! ❄️ We have actually seen a few sunny days finally, but it's so cold that everything is frosty all day, and it's a beautiful sight. 💜

The word "spirit" I use VERY generally, and intentionally so, you know all sorts of people come here and I want to be as inclusive of others' beliefs as possible. But yes, that can include your personal guides if you believe in them and trust me with their message.

hand of the hunter. three of swords. the king of flint reversed

Huh. You know, since the deity would have a hard time spelling out their name through tarot, I ask them to reveal themselves by myths and specifically their themes. So the first card is a little bit vague, especially in this context, but it's about the overarching sacredness of interacting with things in the world... How when you push the world, the world pushes you back, and it goes on forever and ever and ever. This could mean almost anything but I think your god did some kind of action that provoked an equal reaction. The three of swords I don't have to introduce. Heartbreak, betrayal and bad times. For sure your god has suffered a lot. And the King of Flint reversed is upholding the rules at all costs even when it is cruel or detrimental. So from that I would think that your god did something that was either good in the bigger scheme of things, or at least not a crime, but they got unfairly and/or cruelly punished for it. It's giving Prometheus vibes, but it's been a long time and my Greek mythology is rusty, and if we are talking Norse mythology I would without hesitation say Fenrir. Maybe look into some myths and see how the stories resonate with your soul. But also, you don't have to contact either of these deities, you can step forward to a deity and join them as much as they sometimes step forward to join you. Don't fall for the artificial glamour of the idea of being "claimed" by a god - there is nothing more glorious than taking your fate in your own hands.

[pick up the poker chip] Y/N?

birthday wishlist 💜

december readings (4 out of 8)

[c-is-for-circinate]

Episode! One! Reaction!

Oh wow I am not used to the 1 AM thing any more, I got so used to actually sleeping, wow.

Okay just rattling some thoughts off, here we go:

I love all four of our new characters so much? Like, so much that I almost regret the returning characters we also have, not because I don't also love them but because what if we had more of this. (But soon they'll all be this together, whatever this turns out to be.)

I am so serious about class as a major theme of this campaign. Like, obviously it's only episode one! who knows! But I'm feeling something-something-solidarity-something out of our new characters, and Bertrand Bell intersects with that in some really interesting ways, and I think I really want it?

Because right, you could tell from episode one of the last campaign that this was an outsider narrative! This overarching, constant theme that we carried through for a hundred and twenty-odd episodes was that this was a motley group of people who don't fit anywhere. The goblin in the mask, the cleric of a forbidden god, the traveling carnival that nobody trusts which can only stay so long and not longer -- it was about social isolation, about being alone, and having the chance to find a handful of other people to be weird outsiders with. (And yes, of course the final big bad at the end of the campaign was assimilation. Of course it was.)

And the thing is: that's not what we have, here.

(oh no, episode one meta got long, Read More after the cut)

Our characters starting out here -- and I'm leaving the EXU trio to the side for a moment, I'll get to them later -- are poor. And they're poor in a different way than newbie adventurers often are. They're not just temporarily strapped for cash until they take the next easy-to-come-by job that will set them up for life. They are poor in lifestyle, in resources, in connections, in socioeconomic power, and in a way that suggests this is and has been and, were it not for today's events, would continue to be a long-term thing.

And also: They are not wealthy, they are not important, they are not respected. But they are also, even outside their own party, not alone.

I love Imogen and Laudna so fucking much, already. Everything about their vibe speaks to long comfortable companionship, not of the 'we rely on each other for codependent survival' way (which, face it, is as much pre-game Vax and Vex as it is pre-game Nott and Caleb), but in a 'we know and share each other's problems' sort of way, a comfortable sort of way. They're not busy trying to caretake one another or step in front of each other's bullets, they're just on the same page about goals and steps to reach them.

They're not set up in opposition to the world. They're very much part of the world. They buy groceries for their landlady, they do her dishes, she knits them socks! They try so hard to go through official channels for these university resources. And yes, they're different, they're not from around here, they're a little weird, Imogen hears thoughts and Laudna looks like death, but. "We've done well for ourselves here," they say, and they mean it. And what that means to them is, we have a warm and comfortable place to call home, and a person who welcomes us there and doesn't charge more for rent than we can afford. We have enough to live on and we haven't been chased out of town on a rail.

And like, just that, just with that, we're already making class statements. We're already setting up a situation where these two ladies, who don't have money, who don't have influence or relations, who aren't important, can't get access to a resource they need (for whatever reason). (Which--it sure seems like the resource they're looking for is knowledge about their own magical powers, which, y'know, fun magic bonuses aside, sure seem to work a lot like disabilities for them in at least a couple of ways. Socioeconomic gatekeeping access to disability resources? In my fantasy fiction? It's more likely than you think.)

And then we get Ashton and FCG, and the fucking queer punk group house that is inhabited by too many people with not quite enough money to pay the cheap-ass rent that doesn't quite cover repair work for the holes in the walls, not really enough of anything to go around, but also someone found a half-broken robot in a pile of dead bodies and brought it home and now we have one more roommate because sure, why not, right? Ashton's all surface cynicism and sour bite, but they know people. They network! They live gig-economy style, one payday to the next, and they know who to talk to for the possibility of work, dozens of people know Ashton by name and general skill set. Ashton knows them all by name right back. And for all their cynicism and pretense of not caring, they've adopted FCG entirely: here, this is my new robot friend, this is the new guy, this is what they can do, this is what they're looking for. Here, let me show you around town, let me tell you what to expect, you're cool, I like you. (And right, part of this is Taliesin, who is literally incapable of creating a character that doesn't have a place and a community, family or otherwise, broken or otherwise, to belong to. But Percy's family was dead and Caduceus's family was gone, and Molly's circus broke and shattered and left him. Ashton's community is an entire neighborhood, is businesses and individuals and fundamental socioeconomics. He may have to leave it for a while, but it's going to still be there, unless the entire neighborhood burns. In which case we really are looking at total class warfare.)

And ok, let's talk about class warfare for a minute. Let's talk Bertrand Bell.

I am so fucking fascinated by the choice to revive Bertrand Bell, of all characters, for this campaign. And I love the role he's playing here.

Bertrand Bell is a con man. He's a charlatan. He once got dragged through literal Pandemonium and back because he bragged too much and got called out on it. He has always pretended to know more than he really knows, to be able to do more than he really can, getting by on bluff and swagger and a very impressive sword. But now? Well, he's older, now. He's not level 18 any more. He's a level 5 fighter. He's got to work to stay up with the lifestyle to which he's accustomed, let alone grind towards the lifestyle to which he's always aspired to become accustomed.

So he drops names, he makes deals, he tries so damn hard to ingratiate himself to the upper class, the people he wants to be with. And they don't respect him at all, because of course they don't, because they're elderly in secure luxury and he's elderly but still on that hustle, because he doesn't have the resources to put it down. And his solution to his dilemma, very pertinently, is to prey on people with even fewer resources than himself.

I absolutely believe the aspersions cast on 'did Bertrand Bell set up the whole animated-objects debacle to try and lure some promising adventurers'. One hundred percent, I believe it. He jumped on them the instant the fight was over. He was obviously desperate, given his reception at Lord E's manor. It is painfully transparent how much he thinks he needs this, and it doesn't even seem to be a case of blackmail or gambling debts or threats hanging over him or any of that. Lord E would've been happy enough to never see him again. The only bad thing that happens to Bertrand Bell if he doesn't summon up this group of baby adventurers to sacrifice on the altar of upward mobility is that...he doesn't get what he wants. Doesn't get the resources he thinks he needs, the money, the clout, the status, the attention.

And that's an interesting story! That's a really interesting force to be putting up alongside a team of people who, for the most part, largely just seem to be trying to get by. I can't wait to see where they go with it.

I did promise to come back around to our EXU trio, too, so let's get into that. They've got a lot of interesting potential here, maybe especially Dorian, though we'll see how long he's sticking around for. (He's a born-and-raised very rich kid, from this general region of the globe, who left his family for Complicated Reasons and clearly has unresolved feelings about the wealth he came from. Interesting.) Mostly, though, what we see from Fearne and Orym is an outsider perspective on the entire system. Fearne and Orym aren't part of the class structure of this city. They're tourists. Foreigners. Adventurers, and if we've seen anything over on Tal'dorei, it's that "adventurer" is its own socioeconomic class entirely. (The details of which I think are due when it's not two in the morning.)

Adventurers don't worry about the day-to-day basic economics of survival -- there's always another monster to kill if you need cash, or a wealthy patron to spot you an airship or an inn, or a vault to loot, or something. Fearne steals a man's earring for fun and shinies, not money. An adventurer doesn't have to rely on the goodwill of one city's community just to live in, because they can travel anywhere. They bring their own community in the form of their party, and never leave home without it.

Orym and Fearne especially don't come from socioeconomic backgrounds that look anything like this city even before they became adventurers. Druid communes or feywild villages don't have a lot in common with urban class stratification! Which means that they're going to be learning a lot of this stuff for the very first time, seeing some of it reflecting on their fellow party members, and building their relationships with it anew. How do tourists fit in with a local socioeconomic system? Either they fund it from the outside with their presence, or they assimilate.

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Anyway. Maybe I'm wrong! Maybe none of these themes or ideas will ever come back again. But I'm feeling very 2021 right now, with all that entails, and it's making me think that maybe-just-maybe this story's feeling it too. Why not tell a story about eating the rich before the rich can devour the poor? I'd be up for that. I'd be up for watching CR do that.

(Of course, given that it's a quarter after two in the morning and I still care enough to finish this post, I'd be up for watching CR do a lot of things. Still. The point stands.)

[writingwithfolklore]

Motifs and Through Lines

                 Novels are complicated things. You’ve got your A plots and your B plots and some little thing going on with that minor character and that romantic subplot that you swear will pay off in the end—and it can be really easy to get lost in all that. We want our novels to be all wrapped nicely, like the perfect present, rather than held together through scotch tape and hope.

                Theme is the overarching message or meaning of your story that’s directing you to your ending, so a through line is a central, large motif that’s consistent throughout your story—from beginning to end. It might not evolve or get challenged like a theme might. It should be counted upon to hold everything together, so it remains consistent and straight. This is also a great way to connect sequels or a series to make them feel apart of a consistent story!

                Your through line supports your theme, but is not your theme. Theme poses and then answers a central question in your story, it evolves and is challenged and proved. Your through line is more like a central element to your story, things you introduce and will keep introducing. Some examples would be,

                “The feeling of loneliness”

                “The colour red symbolizes power”

                “You can always trust a dog”

                Let’s imagine these three things are all central to your story, pick the largest one (I’ll say the feeling of loneliness) that’s your main through line, then the other two are your minor through lines. Your main through line should be brought up around once per chapter, while minor through lines can come up every few chapters when relevant.

                You likely already have a through line, the point of this exercise is to make it intentional, because we’re smart people who write intentionally. If you’re not sure, you can look in different aspects of your story for hints. Theme, aesthetic (mood/tone), characters, world, symbolism, etc. can all hold central concepts to your story that can act as through lines. Brian can always be counted on to love a good book, the ocean nearby can always be counted on to feel friendly to Sandra, etc. etc.

                Yes? So in a way a through line is like a specific, major motif, which brings us to the topic of motifs!

                Much in the same, motifs are small aspects that are consistent throughout the story. Often a little less specific or central as a through line, but still brought up frequently and remain consistent.

                A motif may be “female friendship” or “blue” or “love”.

                Motifs are like what people often think are themes. If your theme is one word, like “hope” then you actually have a motif! They express theme, but do not replace it. Motifs don’t need to be brought up every chapter, but in major plot points you should bring up your most central ones. Oh, and you can have as many motifs as you think will be effective—I’d caution, however, too many may confuse readers and will make what’s there feel unimportant.

                All of this contributes to that sturdy “feel” good stories have. Harry Potter has magic, friendship, mystery, and academics—one through line may be “the importance of love” its theme might be “the power of friendship always triumphs evil” (or something around those lines.) (Sorry for bringing up Harry Potter in year 2022, it’s the most universal example I could think of)

                You see the subtle differences? I don’t personally believe you need all three—theme is a must, and if you keep your motif list down a through line might not be necessary. But if you’re finding you have so many motifs that the point of them is getting confused, combine them into a through line to bring up most often.

                Good luck!

[grayintogreen]

Since I hit 200 fics posted to AO3, I thought I'd do the ABC's of fic meme, because I'm only four letters off from having the full set and I'm not entirely sure WHEN I might fill those letters. If I do, I'll just do another one with DIFFERENT FICS.

Fun facts: I have 15 fics that start with "and" and 9 that start with "this."

Given CR is my main fandom and makes up the bulk of my fics, I tried to make them all CR unless I couldn't (note: I could) and stuck to one-shots only (if I could- note: i could). If at all applicable, I chose the ones that I love that don't have as much attention because why not circulate them a bit?

I'm not apologizing for how many are Tombtakers-related. Those are my children and also have the least attention because... I'm fixated on minor characters.

OKAY LET'S DO THIS.

A: all the things we gave up for the things we could gain. (Creecien) I have been told that this fic actively punches you in the face and steals your lunch money.

B: born for the scythe and the thorn. (Jayne Merriweather) Most of my B fics broke the threshold of "a decent amount of attention." This one was written for Critmas last year and I can't even remember if I actually let it hit the main tag. It's just a little Jayne backstory fic.

C: cut my teeth on the bread of pure temptation. (Essek & Lucien) This is one of my only Essek POV fics. Just a random meeting between Essek and the Tombtakers in the style of the Last Temptation of Christ, because I'm a pretentious asshole.

D: don't be chosen- make the choice to choose. (Kingsley & Orly) Another fic I wrote for last year's Critmas. A little conversation between Orly and King.

E: every dream i dream is founded in what came before. (Lucien) I know I link this one a lot and I didn't want to do it again, but it's one of my favorite Lucien character studies.

F: for the laughter in her eyes, i'd be a madman to refuse. (Lucien & Jester) This one actually broke my kudos threshold but shhh. I love it.

G: give me black cat bones as the clock strikes thirteen. (Tombtakers) A Tombtakers caper-fic that I love dearly.

H: he'll never know how much you've done. (Creecien) This one is set in the same timeline as this church takes no conversions but it doesn't require you to have read it. It's just some weird Creecien h/c with the usual Lucien bastard shit.

I: it's all swords and spades so cut me slowly. (Kash & Zahra) a rare CR1 fic from me. I just love writing Kash POV.

J: just tell me i'm allowed to stay right where you are. (Creecien) LOOK THIS WAS THE ONLY J FIC. I'm not picking the Creecien fics on purpose. (mostly)

K: the king lies bleeding. This one is, admittedly, the ninth part of an overarching fic series so it means nothing to most people unless you just wanna read Lucien getting dom-bombed by Cree for being reckless while Caleb is just like "that's hot." It's my only K fic okay.

L: life is not a game that has a clear and present winner. (Beau & Molly) A little Beau and Molly friendship fic with Molly character development.

M: may your princes understand you (may your wolves get out alive). (Jester & Artagan) This one also beat my kudos threshold but it was the lowest of the CR M's. And I still love this fic- the villain of it was the OC that Ira replaced in OUADYA.

N: never trust the tenor of the skies. ANOTHER FIC FROM EARTHQUAKE WEATHER. IT WAS THE ONLY N. Whatever man. The combination redemption arc/corruption arc is great. You just probably don't want to come in on the middle. (also yes I know i got the god wrong from Caleb's backstory, but it's an AU)

O: once you see the midway, you've already lost. (Jester and Artagan) I think we're seeing a theme in what I write. This one is a cute little thing I wrote for Critmas. I love writing Artagan interacting with other fey.

P: prayed at your altar with a pilgrim's devotion. (Creecien) Yeah, look, shut up. This one is just MEAN. And a horror story.

Q: No fic.

R: remember me as something bigger than i was. (Yasha & Kingsley) Another Critmas story. I love writing stories about the Nein accepting Kingsley's decision to treat Molly like a brother and adopting him as THEIR baby brother too.

S: said the fool to his majesty dethroned. (Molly & Lucien) I was trying not to do super recent fics, but most of the S-fics were either multichapters or fics that had plenty of attention and this one was my favorite Mollymauk Week fic.

T: trapped in the walls of my skin. (Lucien) WHO WANTS TO READ A HORROR STORY ABOUT COMING BACK TO YOUR BODY USED AND VIOLATED. SURE YA DO.

U: No fic.

V: a victim that doesn't play fair. (Beau) This one was the only fic that started with v. Warnings for gladiator slavery, etc. It has a happy ending.

W: when the ice melts, will we still be skating circles?: (Creecien) This was my first Creecien fic, guys!! It's just as terrible as you'd expect of these assholes!

X: No fic.

Y: you will be the king no longer when we reach the glade. (Jester and Lucien) Every great Lucien redemption story starts with a panic attack. Also I love the reoccurring lines in this one. And also star Molly.

Z: No fic.

[tom-at-the-farm]

Okay regarding Merlin I know no one was ever expecting nuance from BBC Merlin but how do you like the fact that they wrote themselves into a corner where Morgana would sort of have a point so had to make her unreasonably evil so Merlin could carry on being a cuck, and how much worse does Merlin being a cuck get once Arthur actually has the power but homosexuality I mean magic is still punishable by death

Clara this show made me so insane, you don't even know! The reason I started it in the first place was that I needed some light-hearted fantasy to distract me from the horrors of being alive in the year 2022 or whatever. And I get it, shows can change tonally, I mean one moment in Breaking Bad we're throwing pizzas on roofs, then before you know it it's a full-blown Shakespearean tragedy.

But this wasn't Breaking Bad, and I never thought they would drag out the "Merlin must keep his magic a secret from Arthur" thing past the first season, let alone until the bitter end. It was an incomprehensibly dull narrative choice. Surely you realize that by like season 3 the "will Arthur find out or not" thing is tedious and way past any kind of suspense. Also it prevents their relationship from developing in any meaningful way. Like your source is literally Arthurian legend, it's not like you have a dearth of material to work with, but you chose to focus on Merlin's 5-season character arc as he goes from beta cuck to even worse beta cuck. They could have been magical detectives solving Camelot mysteries together, brawn and brains, I mean anything would have been better

And yes like every time Morgana or some other character shows up to make a really excellent point about how Uther, an oppressive tyrant who literally kills children, deserves to die, Gaius and Merlin would give some speech about how licking boots rules and it was so frustrating. "If we kill him now using Dark Magicks it will harden Arthur's heart" yeah how did THAT strategy work out for you.

And don't get me started on the ending! Did this show think it was GoT or something? Like it's fine if Arthur has to die eventually, but the meaninglessness of it all! Like basically the overarching theme was that you should dedicate your life to slavish obeisance only to tell Arthur on his deathbed "Dad, I'm gay" and for him to be like "Hmm well love is love I guess" and fucking croak and you spend the next eternity wandering the earth, immortal and alone. What was the point of any of it, what did these characters learn, how did they grow. If he didn't rise for Brexit it's safe to say Arthur-Jesus will never rise again, Albion is fucked (as it should be, but still)

PS. I love how Merlin's "I'm an indecisive cuck who doesn't want to make waves" shtick would stop applying every time he killed Morgana (what was it, like three times he did it)? "I Hate Women and I Love the Divine Right of Kings, Alexa Play 'God Save the Queen'", the BBC show. How did the people watching it episodically over a span of years not go completely insane

PPS. They also killed Merlin's boyfriends Lancelot and Gwaine in the stupidest, most unnecessary ways. Why do you hate every single character in the show you created so much. I canNOT