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p-artsypants · 3 years

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List of All My Fics!

Every once in a while, I’ll update this list and share it. It is always available on my blog! (I’m up to 54 fics for multiple fandoms! 😱)

Find most, if not more, of these fics on:

Fanfiction.net | Archive of Our Own | Wattpad

(~AU’s, *Finished, ❤️Author’s Favorites)

Kingdom Hearts

~❤️Rage Awakened AO3 | FF.net- Ten years ago, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus lost their fellow apprentice, Sora, in Deep Jungle. Now, they are to return with two new students, Riku and Kairi, to lock the heart of the world. All the while, something watches from the trees. Feral!Sora AU

My Kingdom for a Heart AO3 | FF.Net - The curse of being one of the Princesses of heart, is that there’s always someone out to get you. As Xemnas looked failure in the face, he reached out in a last ditch effort and destroyed Kairi’s heart. Now her friends must travel the worlds again. Sora, to find a way to recover Kairi’s heart, and Riku, to make amends to those he has wronged. All the while, the darkness grows.

Miraculous Ladybug

One Shots

*❤️Amalgam- When an young man is rejected for being ‘incompatible’ he turns into the akuma ‘Amalgam’ able to fuse two people together. And later Adrien and Marinette would debate if it was lucky or unlucky that they got hit. (Also Available in Russian)

*Sing We All Noel- After receiving the worst Christmas present ever from his father, Chat Noir finds himself out on the streets with nowhere to go on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, Ladybug finds him and brings him home.

*Speechless- In a world where everyone has a soulmark, the first words their soulmate will say to them, Marinette is born without one. But Adrien Agreste has two. Curious, considering he’s mute.

*❤️Tunnels of Love- The night started out with an accidental kiss from Adrien Agreste, and ended with her bleeding in the Catacombs of Paris. Ladybug, the wielder of the miraculous of good luck. Yeah right. (Some blood)

*The Reveal That Wasn’t- First Parts My ending to kittybug’s Tumblr Prompt

*What A Mess We’re In- Ladybug has a lot on her mind, and when Chat Noir bugs her enough, she tells him she’s going to confess to her Crush, Adrien Agreste. Chat’s reaction is not what she’s expecting.

*Oblivi-oh no! - A retelling of Oblivio, except Ladybug is the only one to lose her memory. How will Chat deal?

*Bad Day (3 chapters) - Marinette was Ladybug! This was Adrien’s luckiest day ever! Except it wasn’t, because all his good luck was used up in one go. Turns out this might be the worst day of his life.

*One Win, So Many Losses- Marinette was forced to break up with Adrien. It had been a low blow from Gabriel, to be sure. But she was Ladybug. She’d find a solution…right? An alternate ending to Chat Blanc, where Adrien doesn’t Cataclysm the akuma.

*Five Minutes- Gabriel has had enough of all these girls fighting over Adrien. He decides it’s high time Adrien picks one, and arranges the perfect opportunity for him to do so. Each candidate has five minutes to present why they’d be a good girlfriend. Marinette decides to take this opportunity to shoot her shot.

~*Panache- Every eligible maiden was invited to the Prince's ball. That included Marinette, scullery maid in her own household. But her stepsisters destroyed her dress, and she can't go to the ball in rags. Or can she? (Cinderella!AU)

*Perfect, No Matter What-In which Gabriel sets the bar even lower for himself, a reveal happens because of pain medication, and the new guardian actually goes to Chloé for advice.

Long Fics

*❤️Longest Night- (FF.net | Ao3) - The day started out sucky to begin with. Her crush ousted to the class and Adrien. Lila taking pride in exacting her revenge. But by the time patrol was over, a young man was dead, and Ladybug’s identity was at risk. Lila was the least of her concerns. Good thing Adrien was taking it all like a champ. (Rated M for scenes of torture)

*❤️Nine Lives- (FF.net) When Adrien Agreste is scheduled to go to a Military School in Germany, Chat Noir must make a critical decision. Does he give up his Miraculous? Or does he give up his life as Adrien? I’ll save you the trouble of guessing, he gives up being Adrien.

*Tender Words- When Marinette finally gets the guts to confess her feelings for Adrien, some things go so wrong, and other things go so right.

*Integrity- Overwhelmed with her responsibilities, guilt, and drama, Marinette has an emotional breakdown in front of everyone, and even hands over her earrings in a moment of weakness. Only for a few seconds, but the damage was done. Adrien’s pretty quick on the uptake like that.

~Much Obliged- Everyone deals with grief differently. Some take to drinking, others devote themselves to charity. Adrien Agreste? Well, he became a cowboy. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a witch, one of very few in the world. She knows what it's like to be doubted, and assumed delusional. Maybe that's why they got along so well. Or maybe it's just because they both like big hats. AU where everything is the same, except instead of superheroes, Adrien is a Cowboy and Marinette is a witch. (Unfinished) (Based on a AU by @bugaboo-n-bananoir)

I'll Handle This- “I’ll solve all your problems,” Plagg had said. “You just have to agree to it.” A fixed relationship with his father, Lila to stop bothering him, and Ladybug to fall in love with him? Who wouldn’t agree to that? Except Plagg was the God of Destruction and Chaos and had a more…hands-on approach. Adrien just wants his body back. (Body swap fic)

How To Train Your Dragon

One Shots

The Vikings Have Their Tea (FF.Net | AO3)

Arranged Marriage- Takes place at the beginning of HTTYD

❤️Breathe- Survival of the fittest

~Childhood Friends- At the Sandbox

❤️Easy Fix- In which Hiccup has a bad day

~Fashion Designer- Astrid needs a fill in

❤️Frozen- In Which Astrid takes a Dip and things get frisky (Rated M)

❤️Headache- In Which Hiccup hits his head….really hard

❤️Heir- In Which Hiccup is Picked (Longer version by FateCharms)

Illness- In Which Stoick is a dad

~Illusionist- Trick gone wrong

~In the Walls- In which there’s a poop ghost

~Knocking On The Wrong Door (2) - A chance encounter

❤️Messages- Astrid is Frustrated with Hiccup’s obliviousness

~To Mirkwood- Hiccup is not a dwarf

~Monster Falls- Hiccup and Astrid take a dip

❤️Mute- In which there’s a quiet stranger

~Music Video (ImgHS)- He didn’t expect it

❤️Operation: Lovebirds- In Which the gang makes a plan, and Hiccup gets Drunk

~Over- Too many nightmares

~Partners in Crime- A normal day at work

~Pirate- Astrid is the greatest treasure

~Prince- He doesn’t want to be a broken King

❤️Sorting Things Out- In Which Astrid gets her ducks in a row

~The Dragon and The Dame- Beauty and the Beast Au

The Pit- In Which Hiccup is rescued

Hide and Seek- Part 1

Lost and Found- Part 2

Long fics:

*❤️Infernal Responsibility- Being the son of the chief takes brains, courage, and a lot of patience. But at his father’s the request for marriage, Hiccup decides he has had enough. When he seeks out a life of ease, he runs into more than what he bargained for.

*❤️Roses and Lilies- “Astrid, you and I both know you’re much tougher than I am. You’re more brave, and a better fighter…but just for a little while…could we pretend that I’m the one protecting you?” “Oh gods yes!” (Also Available in Spanish!)

*~What the Water Gave Me- The sea is a wild and dangerous thing, something that cannot be foretold or predicted. Hiccup discovered this many years ago, in human naiveté. Yet, what was meant as a sacrifice became a new life, one like no one could comprehend. He now finds himself once more in the unknowing hands of those that sentenced him to death. He only prays things will be different this time. Merman!AU

*Parasite- Soulsnatcher Dragons are rare but deadly. But, As Hiccup finds out, it’s the eggs you have to watch out for.

*~320 State Street- Gobber’s Goods. A Hardware Store that was rumored to have everything you needed. She thought she only needed a job. Turns out, she needed a lot more than that. (A Modern AU no one asked for)

*~❤️The North Tower- When Finn Hofferson died, Astrid inherited his castle in Wales…and a whole lot more. Something sinister lurks in the North Tower.

*~❤️Boy Toy- AO3 - At the age of 21, Princess Astrid lawfully has to pick a husband. But when the perfect groom is nowhere to be found, she requests the toymaker to create one for her. It’s safe to say that everyone in the kingdom is a little concerned. (Pinocchio!AU I guess?)

No, You Go First- AO3 - The Chief of Berk was a headstrong viking, stubborn and full of pride, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep his village safe. But for a moment, he puts that aside, and listens to his son. In which Hiccup convinces his dad not to make him go through Dragon Training, and the subsequent changes that follow.

*In Due Time- AO3 - As another illness sweeps through Berk, Gothi needs another ingredient for her medicine…one that doesn’t exist anymore. Fortunately, she kept that old spell book around for such an occasion. Big Hiccup is sent to five years into the past, and his younger self sent to take his place in the future. But it’s only a few days, what could go wrong?

Trollhunters: Tales from Arcadia

❤️Arcadia or Bust- In Which Arcadia welcomes back it’s underground citizens.

Teen Titans

Oneshots:

~Big Brother- Don’t turn out the light (Horror)

Dear Jason- Bruce Writes a letter

Just Drawing- Bruce thinks about Robin

The Prisoner- Starfire is Guilty

Of Mustard and Three Foot Purple Tongues- A collection of Oneshots and Drabbles

Long Fics (*Finished):

*~❤️Carol of the Bells- High in the dark Bell Tower of Notre Dame, there lives a mysterious bell ringer. Legend tells of the angel who fell from the sky, and the curse she bares. There are few who know her true identity though; her master, the priest, and the acrobat that performs on the streets below. Based loosely on ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ RobxStar and slight BBxRae

*No Escape- Three years ago, Starfire escaped an Alien race called the Gordanians, to arrive on Earth. They’re back, and ready to put Starfire back where she belongs, behind reinforced Titanium bars. Robin’s not about to let her go…if only he hadn’t got captured first. How does it feel to be the alien, Robin?

*Now you Know My Pain- When the new Villain, Gender Bender, comes to down, the Titans find themselves in an odd situation. They’ve been turned into the opposite gender against their will! Now in order to change back, they must learn to understand the gender they’ve turned into. Rated T for obvious reasons. A great read if you’ve ever wondered why girls or guys do [blank].

*Paint it Black- Robin disappeared three months ago. Now, Jump City’s crime rate is mysteriously being taken care of by a normal, albeit strange, teenage boy who goes by the name Black. As the Titans befriend this lunatic, they begin to see a relation between him and their missing leader. Will they be able to find Robin, or will Black turn them all insane as himself? Actually, contains NO OC.

*Saving Grace- “When I’m done with you, you won’t be able to walk upright or speak coherent sentences and all you’ll see is my mask and my voice repeating in your head…Weak. Richard Grayson, I am not tough, I am everything that you fear.” Happy Ending! Smudge of RobStar. NO Slash!

Other Fandoms

Final Fantasy XV

❤️Requiem for Pitioss-“O King. The god’s have heard your cries. Know that we weep with you. The Oracle’s calling has not yet been fulfilled. But…Lunafreya as you know her cannot return the way she was.” Noctis looked up, hopeful. “But she can return!” Canon divergence from Chapter 9. Happy ending. Some spoilers.

Beauty and the Beast

*❤️Behold the Beast- A Oneshot alternate ending to the Animated Film

Cinderella

*❤️Midnight- “When the clock strikes twelve, the spell will be broken,” the fairy godmother had warned. A retelling of the story, when Cinderella doesn’t escape the ball in time. Oneshot

*So This is Love- What if Jaq and Gus hadn’t made it in time to help Cinderella? A new twist on the ending of the classic Fairytale, and what lies beyond the story. She still gets her happy ending and her Prince, and her step family gets their just deserts.

Sleeping Beauty

*❤️A Love Song Back To Me- Maleficent saw the loophole that stared her in the face. Prince Phillip would break the curse in time, for sure. After all, he was betrothed to Aurora. So in an effort for her evil plan to stay in action, Maleficent takes care of the young prince herself. Phillip never imagined having to live off the land like the birds above. Alternate twist on the classic Disney tale.

Escaflowne

Down Feathers- Hitomi’s depressed. She’s been away from Van too long, he comes back to visit her…but what if something went wrong with the transfer? (Not finished. Never will be finished. Mwahaha) Circa 2012

*Angel’s Wounds- Fanelia’s been victorious in their most recent battle with Basrum. Unfortunately, someone is wounded and just seeks solace in his love that lives so far away. Post Anime.

Momma Look Sharp- With the war between Fanelia and Basrum finally coming to a close, the kingdom is celebrating. The young king, however, is suffering from an experience unlike any he had before. Van finally seeks solace in his wife.

#kingdom hearts #miraculous ladybug #ml #kh #disney #httyd #how to train your dragon #Teen Titans #sleeping beauty #cinderella #escaflowne #trollhunters #toa #beauty and the beast #fanfiction

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365days365movies · 3 years

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March 17, 2021: Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) (Part One)

Éirinn go Brách! Ireland forever!

Who doesn’t love St. Patrick’s Day? Other than snakes, I guess. Although, for the record, that’s never made any sense. There have NEVER been snakes in Ireland, like, at any point in the geological record. And yeah, I know, “that’s because St. Patrick chased them all away”. Yeah, OK, whatever, hand me a green beer (or a Shamrock Shake; either works for me, gonna be honest).

This is the day where everybody in the USA is an honorary Irish person. And this is coming from a Black dude with distant Scottish ancestry, don’t ask about that last part THAT’S WHERE THE DARK HISTORY IS

...Slavery. ANYHOOOOOOOOOO

Every major city in the USA has a St. Paddy’s Day celebration. Chicago colors its river green, NYC has a massive parade, Boston gets FUCKING DESTROYED every March 17. It’s an American tradition. And you may be wondering why I’m talking about the USA, instead of talking about Ireland. Well, uh...I’m not Irish. And I don’t know enough about their SPD rituals to comment accurately, so I’ll erring on the side of caution, to be honest with you.

Plus, given today’s movie, I actually think it’s somewhat fitting that I’m talking about the American perspective of Irish folklore and traditions. So, with that said...leprechauns.

In Irish folklore, the leipreachán is...barely a thing in early mythology. Yeah, the first appearance of the leprechaun was in a medieval story called Echtra Fergus mac Léti, where a man named Fergus is nearly dragged into the water by three leprechauns, who are water spirits, and tricks them into giving him three wishes. So, uh...WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?

Well, whatever it was, the leprechaun eventually transformed into the green-wearing, gold-hoarding, shoe-fixing, prankster sprite that we know it as. In Irish folklore, it’s one of many MANY different spirits and supernatural beings, but it’s one of the only ones that made it over to the USA. And BOY DID IT. Other than Lucky from Lucky Charms, you’ve also got Warwick Davis’ horror movie version.

There’s also the mascot for the Boston Celtics and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, not to mention the less-than-great borderline racist association with Irish people by assholes. Honestly, it’s not even borderline. But despite that, it’s still an internationally well-known part of Irish folklore. And part of that renown lies in today’s film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People.

I really should watch more live-action Disney movies one of these years, but this was always going to be the first. A friend of mine always talks about this movie, alongside the film The Happiest Milionaire. You know who you are. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. ALLIGATORS.

But OK, let’s get into it! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We begin in Rathcullen, a small town in Ireland. A young woman named Katie O’Gill (Janet Munro) is visited by an old woman, the widow Sheelah Sugrue (Estelle Winwood), who impresses upon her the need to get married, as she’s a young woman, and that’s all you can do as a young woman in this time period, other than cleaning house and raising children, of course.

Katie’s a catch, and the talk of the boys of the town, but hasn’t chosen anyone in particular to be wooed by. As they’re having this conversation, the household is visited by Lord Fitzpatrick (Walter Fitzgerald), who’s come to look for her father, the eponymous Darby O’Gill (Albert Sharpe). She goes to get him, as he’s at the inn telling stories. Fitzpatrick walks around the estate, which is his. Darby and Katie simply mind it. When Fitzpatrick comes in, he speaks with widow Sugrue, who IMMEDIATELY BAD TALKS AND BETRAYS THE O’GILLS, in order to promote her own son! FUCK OFF MS. SUGRUE YOU’RE A BAD FRIEND

Her son, Pony Sugrue (Kieron Moore) is a strapping young man, a known brawer, and...well, kind of a dick. In the pub, Darby’s telling stories of a leprechaun that he met once, and Pony mocks him for it. The bartender tells him off, and tells Darby to continue his story. And the story turns into a flashback soon enough.

On a dark night, on a mist-covered mountain, Darby is speaking with the king of the leprechauns, Brian O’Connor (Jimmy O’Dea), having trapped him there with naught but his gaze. He forces Brian to give him three wishes, and he’ll let him go. The wishes are first for his health, then for a large crop of potatoes, and finally, of course, a pot of gold.

However, King Brian asks for his fourth wish, and claims to be a generous man. He asks for three additional pots of gold for three friends. However, this was a trick, as making a fourth wish undoes the rest of them all together. This ends the story, as King Brian does a merry jig and all that. One of the friends that Darby wished for says that he’d never accept the gold, as it comes from the devil himself. Darby says that he’d donate it to the church in his stead.

But that’s a little awkward, considering the presence of Father Murphy (Denis O’Dea), who’s actually there to get some help in carrying a new bell for the parish. Pony offers his services, but only for cash. Kind of a dick, that Pony. Murphy changes tactics, and kinda manipuates Darby into doing it. But just then, Katie comes in to tell Darby of Fitzpatrick’s visit, and hauls him away from the pub. On the Fitzpatrick estate, the Lord gives a tour to the replacement for Darby, one Michael McBride (Sean Conn...noooo...it can’t be.)

HOLY SHIT IT’S SEAN CONNERY! He was in a Disney movie? Holy shit! And this is before James Bond! So, before playing an English spy, he played an Irishman...and he’s Scottish. Dude, did Connery ever actually play a Scotsman in his career, what the hell?

OK, so Darby and Katie are basically getting kicked out, with Michael set to replace them. After some negotiation of retirement terms, Darby agrees, but doesn’t tell Katie right away. She was born in the house that they’re now being forced to move out of, in about two weeks time. In that time, Michael will stay with them to smooth the transition fully. That night, after dinner, Michael pleads with Darby to tell Katie, but he’s still putting it off for now. Darby goes to his horse, Cleopatra, and heads up a mountain, back to where King Brian was first seen. Cleopatra runs away, though, and Darby goes up the mountain alone. When he catches up to Cleopatra, she’s already at the summit, next to a well glowing gold. And then, uh...she starts to glow.

Cleopatra rears up, and Darby falls to the bottom of the well, which is where he’s found by the eponymous “Little People”, who take him to King Brian himself. There’s a dance going on in front of a large golden throne, with all of the little people in attendance, and King Brian playing a giant bagpipe on the throne itself.

Darby is welcomed in by the king, and allowed to survey the various treasures collected by the little people. The throne, fun fact, once belonged to the throne of King Fergus, from the original myth that originated the leprechaun! Very cool! However, that’s tempered by the new information that he can never leave. This was apparently a favor by King Brian, for spreading the stories of the leprechauns throughout the town, and bringing them fame. This was all meant to prevent Katie from finding out about Darby losing his job.

Seeing that Darby’s upset, King Brian offers him a chance to play a Stradivarius violin, which Darby reluctantly accepts. He plays “The Fox Chase”, a lively tune that’s genuinely quite fun and pleasant to listen to. The little people agree, and dance along with the music as Darby plays. The whole sequence is actually quite impressive and fun. Then, Darby shouts “Gone away”, prompting the lot of them to go on a fox chase on their own tiny horses, in a VERY impressive shot! Seriously, it’s very cool, considering that this is from 1959!

The little folk, tricked by Darby’s music, leave the lair of Knockasheega on the mountain, leaving Darby alone. He attempts to steal some of their gold, then takes off out of the mountain, escaping the lair. But holes in his pockets cause all the gold to fall out, leaving him with nothing. He finds Cleopatra waiting outside for him, then the two head home once and for all.

Fully expecting Brian to find him again, he prepares for his arrival. Sure enough, King Brian shows up, angry that Darby seems to have spurned his good favor. But Darby, ever the suave talker himself, once again tricks King Brian into drinking an alcohol called poitín, which is also called Mountain Dew. Which is amazing.

As Darby and King Brian Do the Dew, Darby gets King Brian to participate in a singing and rhyming game, called the Wishing Song. And honestly...I’m having a really good fucking time with this movie. It’s folksy, and very heartwarming in tone for whatever reason. I’m just having a real good time with it, y’know?

So, Darby gets Brian good and sozzled, distracting him entirely until the morning. See, in the daylight, leprechauns lose their powers entirely. Darby, decisively with the upper hand as well, uses his cat Ginger to trap Brian. Trapped once again, Brian agrees to grant Darby three more wishes. Having anticipated this, Darby uses his first to make King Brian stay with him while he decides on his wishes. And, to fully ensure that the little king goes nowhere, Darby produces a sack, which he puts the leprechaun in, before shoving him into a chest in the barn.

Great place to pause, so we can start the second half! See you there!

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platsy · 4 years

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Frozen 2 has entered my top 5 worst movies list after one watch.

This is going to be a long one, so buckle up.

I don’t think I’ve seen a movie that’s made me more passionately angry than Frozen 2 has. It entered my top five worst films I’ve ever seen immediately after my first viewing. There’s a lot of reasons, but I’ll break down the aspects and concepts that I found particularly problematic, which is character, plot structure, themes, and corporate greed.

I’m going to break down each character in order of annoyance.

Olaf

Olaf is absolutely the worst part of this movie. Olaf offers nothing of thematic importance besides being the classic comic relief character that Disney will always shoehorn into their films. They did it in The Hunchback of Notre Dame with the gargoyles, they did it Moana with the chicken, and they’ve done it in countless other films.

They try to tell me that Olaf has aged since Frozen and try to show this by having his dialogue be purple prose philosophy and by saying (keyword is saying) that he’s grown up, but they undercut all this by having him sing a song about how he’s not old enough to understand why strange things are happening around him. Also, Olaf has several instances where his immaturity is in full swing. There’s several jokes that are very obviously targeted at five-year-olds that he spouts throughout the movie. The line where he says, “I don’t even know a Samantha” and then he giggles for a while is the first instance that comes to mind. There’s also the problem that at any time in the movie, Olaf can grab the camera, focus it on him, and he can do whatever he wants to. He gets a musical number, he recaps the entirety of Frozen 1, gets a fake out death scene to emotionally manipulate the audience into thinking there are stakes (and oh boy, will we get to that.)

So they establish that Olaf is more mature now, but they take that away from him as soon as the writers realize that they still have to make a movie for toddlers. He’s learned nothing and hasn’t grown since the first movie. Got it. However, the problem gets worse as you go along. And that’s a point I’ll get to later on.

But since I want to be constructive, I will also offer my two cents on how to fix the movie. Since the main idea behind the film’s production was to grow up with the audience, have Olaf actually grow up. Keep the philosophical musings and have him be one to ask questions. Question why things in the world are the way they are. He is actually a toddler, technically speaking. And when he asks questions, have him be the vehicle to have questions regarding the plot and themes directed to the audience. “Should the actions of your grandpa be reflected on you?” “Is it really worth it to abandon your family so you can pursue something out of your grasp?” “Does a kingdom built on slaughter and violence need to be torn down so we can repent for the sins they’ve committed?”

This way, the movie can actually be grown up, which I know is super important to the filmmakers.

Christoff

Why was Christoff in this movie? He made no impact on anything, he was entirely used for a plotline that stretched out for the entire movie. Olaf might have been insufferable to watch, but the handling of Christoff has tied Olaf in terms of pure agony that I sat through. Basic writing tip. If a problem can be easily solved by simple communication, then the plotline doesn’t need to be there. There’s an entire song dedicated to his mourning over the fact that he can’t propose to Anna. It adds nothing to the themes of the movie, it gets really annoying immediately, and doesn’t showcase Christoff’s positive qualities at all.

Why do sequels have to break up the love interests? Why are there so few stories that develop the chemistry of a couple after they’ve gotten together? It always revolves around the hero trying to win back the girl. Why do people always have to go back to this plotline?

I’m going to diverge from the movie slightly to go into a semi-related topic. Divorce rates are rising and so many things are being blamed for it. I’m not saying that movies where they don’t go into the relationship of characters are the ultimate cause, but as a firm believer that art is a tool used to help people understand life and to make sense of things, I think movies can help people in small ways learn to grow with their spouse. How about a movie sequel in which a newly wedded couple must now operate through life together instead of individually? Whatever the obstacle, whether it be working together as one, making sacrifices to better gel with your loved one, helping your loved one through personal flaws or tragedy, or an evil space-lord is destroying the world and the two of you need to stop him by flying a plane into the spaceship, there are plenty of avenues to explore.

But I digress.

If it were me writing the script, have Christoff and Anna spend more time together outside of Christoff’s attempts to propose. As a matter of fact, we start the movie with knowledge that Christoff has already proposed. Anna has said yes, and now they’re all giddy and excited to get hitched. I’ll admit that there’s a bit of ret-conning in here, but we realize that Christoff isn’t exactly squeaky clean. He had some shady dealings with bandits and was responsible for ruining lives and stealing from people. But he had a change of heart and helped a lot of people. He’s a better person. But when they go into the enchanted forest, Christoff meets a corrupt knight who Christoff had previously been very involved with in stealing from a lot of people. We can’t have this be PG-13, there’s a demographic of kids who are going to see this movie as well. But once Anna finds this out, she starts to doubt the marriage. Christoff struggles with whether or not he deserves to be forgiven or not, and Anna wonders if their relationship should continue. They’re forced to be together, so no going off and figuring things out on their own for most of the movie. They do have some alone time to think about it, turn it into a duet of duality, and then Anna realizes that just as Arendelle needed to be burned away and rebuilt, Christoff has adopted that philosophy and truly grown as a person. She can forgive him. This fits in with the theme of the movie, that being historical revisionism and sins of the father. Or in this case, Grandfather’s sin. Or more rather, does somebody or a group of people deserve to be forgiven despite the things they’ve done in the past.

Elsa

This movie is a really big fan of keeping their characters the exact same. Elsa is still needlessly isolated from everybody. Even though she’s now closer with her sister and has a couple new friends, she’s always dragging herself away from them. She makes Anna stay behind and watch Olaf pretend die just so she can take on self-imposed challenges for... nothing really. Just because she wants to be a strong, independent woman.

Remember when Elsa realized that connection to loved ones was the thing that she really needed to help control her powers? Frozen 2 sure doesn’t remember. I know the first movie was six years ago, but it’s not hard to find a copy and watch it again. I does hold up pretty well and would have survived fine without a sequel. But again, we’ll get to that.

Another problem I have is that Elsa’s ultimate decision to leave the kingdom to Anna and go off on her own adventures came out of nowhere. I don’t think I ever got that vibe that she didn’t want to be queen anymore. It never seemed like a concern for her, or even a big problem in the movie. Elsa was more concerned about some voice calling after her. I’m still not confident that we got an answer for what that was. But whatever. Also, the plot about Arendelle and the forest people being at odds with each other felt pointless and didn’t add anything substantial to the plot. The main reason this movie existed was to get answers for why things are the way they are and to bring new ideas to the franchise. But none of that matters to the movie. It’s brought up for nothing and goes out like a fart.

I’ll give Elsa the same treatment I gave the other two. Her problems mimic the themes. Instead of the grandfather being responsible for the fighting going on between the two kingdoms, it’s actually Elsa’s mother. She hated Arendelle for having things that she never had and she believed Arendelle was responsible for her parent’s murder. Which, it was. Arendelle saw the forest dwelling people as monsters and attempted to destroy all of them. So Elsa’s mother decided to start the fighting between both factions, but had a change of heart when she met Elsa’s father. She got amnesia and didn’t remember that she started the war. She married Elsa’s father and she forgot she had powers at all.

It’s revealed that neither faction is as squeaky clean on the surface. I’ll fully admit to stealing what Pocahontas had going on, but it’s a poignant message that doesn’t get as much attention as it should. Both factions have good points and bad points, but they’re both responsible for doing awful things. And when they are frozen (heh) in the forest, it makes us think of grudges. When you hold onto them, they stay there for a long time. You’re left in the same place, unable to let go of your pride and take a step back and recognize the wrong that you’ve done.

Elsa is also struggling with her past, wondering if she can be forgiven for almost sending the kingdom into a devastating winter. I mean, she seems to get away with it scot free and becomes the queen of Arendelle. We should at least acknowledge it. Not everybody is down for her rule, and she finds ruling a people that don’t trust her very taxing. But since she’s so deep into it, she can’t exactly abandon everything.

As Elsa attempts to be a better ruler, she does a lot of research into the past and learning about the kingdom. She even learns about the river and some more mystical things. She finds that the two factions have never gotten along, and she’s saddened about it and hopes to unite the two factions. But pretty soon, the voice calls after her and she is called onto an adventure to learn the truth about the kingdom. Not her powers. We don’t need an answer for that. It’s just something that she inherited from her mom. There’s no deeper reason. It’s a kids movie, we don’t need to have these big reasons that somebody gets their powers. Says the guy who’s trying to put historical revisionism and forgiveness topics into a kid’s movie, but Inside Out managed to condense complex psychological functions into an understandable and easily digestible format for everybody to understand, then you can simplify this for the kiddies. I digress. Elsa realizes that the only way to fix all the problems is to destroy both faction’s kingdoms and build them up from the ground up. The two kingdoms unite together, and Elsa let’s Anna rule Arendelle while she rules the kingdom with magical powers.

Anna

Make Anna less of an idiot, give her more to do than be oblivious to Christoff, have her stop telling Elsa that she’s there for her over and over again, and I’m good. I have less about her than everybody else. What do you want from me, this is getting to over 2,000 words.

PLOT

But that’s just the characters. The plot is fundamentally broken. We were supposed to be told how Elsa got her powers, where her parents were going when they died on the boat, but none of that happened. We got vague answers and nothing explicit. We got just enough information to justify more Frozen sequels for the foreseeable future.

Why was destroying Arendelle pulled out of the movie’s butt? How did that come into play except to copy Thor Ragnarok? I think it’s a good idea, but it felt like it wasn’t properly built up.

Elsa comes out of being frozen learning... nothing, I don’t think. She sees the past and present and learns that her grandfather killed a man. Man, that revealed so much that I care about...

SELF-INDULGENCE

I told my little sister that my prediction for Frozen 2 was that it was going to rely heavily on callbacks to Frozen 1. She told me that I would be surprised at how my expectations were going to be flipped on their head. And I’m proud to say that my expectations were exactly right and that my little sister is wrong.

Every character is a tool for bathing in Frozen 1’s success. Everybody points out how cool and fun Frozen 1 was, to the point where I start to think that nobody in this movie wants to be in this movie. You have to acknowledge events from previous films, but if you spend more time making callbacks to previous movies, why are you bothering making a sequel? Olaf literally recaps all of Frozen 1 for no reason just to remind us of what happened. But that’s basically pointless for both audience members and the characters who have to listen to Olaf talk. We’ve all seen the movie enough times to have the movie ingrained in our mind forever. I remember the movie backwards and forwards and I wish I had my memory erased.

Are you so insecure of your movie that you have to remind people of something that was better so you can feel good about your efforts? The screenwriter, Jennifer Lee, is a one-hit wonder, can’t recapture any kind of magic that the first movie had. I applaud her efforts to tell a new story, but she just couldn’t do it.

CORPORATE GREED

Let’s face it, the real reason Frozen 2 was made was for merchandising. It’s a tale as old as time. Marvel movies keep getting made because people keep watching and buying the merchandise. The difference between the two is that Marvel is a lot more well thought out and smart. Frozen 1 is the highest grossing animated movie of all time. It would be stupid not to capitalize on it and make more money from it. From a business perspective, it’s a smart move. I just wish the movie was better.

TL;DR: Frozen 2 is deeply flawed, its characters haven’t grown at all and are even worse than when they started. The movie could have been better with some more apropos theming and better characters, but the fact that the writer is one-hit wonder makes me think that she can’t move forward from her past victory.

#frozen #frozen2 #idina menzel #movie critique #kirsten bell #disney #disney olaf

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vulpesvulpesjenna · 5 years

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Rank-king; Disney Princesses

Inspired by the Try Guys’ Eugene I want to rank the official Disney princesses in my opinion from worst to best! He made a YouTube video ranking them, and since I disagreed with so many of his decisions, I wanted to make my own list. Justice! So, here is my own list of official Disney princesses from least favourite to my favourite. Like Eugene, I will count Elsa, Anna and Moana as official princesses, even though Disney has them separate.

14. Snow White Snow White, the first Disney princess from 1937 reflects her time’s ideal woman; she’s cheerful, innocent and loves housework. Which is exactly why I dislike her. Her character is built on being cute and virginal, cleaning up the dwarves’ house just because... why does she like cleaning up the filthy home of strangers so much? I don’t know, I just find she lacks personality. She’s simply the embodiment of the “perfect female” of her time, and that irks me more than anything. Blah, she doesn’t have a personality, so she’s my least favourite.

13. Aurora Very much like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty is just a pretty, innocent and virtuous girl. She’s almost an extra in her own movie (I mean, she *is* asleep almost half of the time). I like her design and the fact that she walks around the woods barefooted and is a countryside girl; otherwise she doesn’t have a lot of personality. Her finding her prince is a tad better than Snow White: at least Aurora meets Philip once before he comes along and kisses her while she’s sleeping.

12. Cinderella CInderella’s supposed to be amazingly kind, patient and understanding, and sure, that she is. To the point of being a mat that everyone is welcome to walk over. I think she tries to change her own life a bit more than Snow White or Aurora, but in the end, Cinderella is still dependent on her prince saving her. Otherwise she’s, again, this perfect, virginal woman of her time at the cost of having a personality of her own. At least she has a dream and cute little mouse sidekicks.

11. Ariel I think this is my first truly controversial pick; Ariel is loved by the masses, and people will surely be appalled by my choice. But to be honest, even though I love mermaids and red-haired princesses as much as the next girl, I find Ariel to be a bit of a... brat. I mean, she sees prince Eric from afar once and decides she wants to be with him. She’s even willing to abandon her family for him. Seriously? Not to mention acting very childishly and making some very stupid and outright dangerous life decisions by signing Ursula’s contract. And it very nearly ends in her complete demise! She put her whole family and people in danger just because she felt she was not like the other girls. I know people love her, and I do too, but I can’t fool myself into thinking she’s very smart or mature. Gotta give her props for 1) having a personality and dreams of her own and 2) being imperfect, which is what earlier princesses lack.

10. Jasmine Princess Jasmine is painted to be this rebel in Aladdin. But to be honest, I don’t know if she really is. I like her and I understand her, but again, I wish she was a bit more level-headed. Yes, it is charming how out-of-touch she is having lived in the Palace her whole life, and I do admire her will to explore. I also like how she says what she thinks and doesn’t try to sugarcoat things just because she’s a princess. She has a fighting spirit, which I like. I am a bit bothered by the fact that her most effective weapon against Jafar is her sexuality (nnnggghh), which is one of the reasons she’s this low on my list.

9. Tiana I love Tiana; she’s exemplary in her drive and hard work. But I can’t help feeling like... that’s it? I don’t know, I guess I hope she had something more going on for her. Because at the end of the day I find her to be a little boring. Or I guess she does have personality, but I think it could have been brought up in more interesting ways. It could also be that I’ve only seen The Princess and The Frog like twice. But anyway; she’s great but I kinda wanted something more.

8. Pocahontas I *loved* Pocahontas when I was a kid. She was so graceful, but wild (yeah, yikes...). These days I see the aboriginal-glorifying (also known as racist) undertones in her depiction, and can only cringe. Anyway, she really is a wonderful character none the less; she has wanderlust but also enough maturity to reign it in. She’s curious and non-judgemental. She has a close relationship with nature, which is something that resonates with me personally. She’s wise. She also has flaws; overly independent, reckless etc. I always thought she was a lot older than the character is supposed to be. But yeah, the racism and sexualization can only be escaped so far, which is one of the reasons she’s my number 8.

7. Moana Okay so I’ve only seen Moana once (I know, don’t eat me). From what I remember Moana was a great character; driven, imperfect, brave with a big heart. Anything one can hope for from a Disney princess, really. She really is great. But tbh, her movie just didn’t do it for me. Maui was great, but for example the (other) sidekicks were kinda meh. The music was a bit boring too, IMO. I know I’m alone with my opinion, but this is my list so here we are.

6. Elsa I know she’s really a queen and not a princess, but following Eugene I’ll put her as one of the princesses for the sake of ranking. Elsa is amazing and I relate to her a lot. Comparing her hiding her powers to depression really hit me as someone who��s been struggling with depression for more than 10 years. I get her. She’s very, very imperfect, but also very powerful. I’m pretty sure she’s more powerful than any of the Disney princesses, which is cool as heck. I know she was supposed to be the villain of her movie at first, and honestly I kinda love the sass and confidence and the IDGAF attitude she has at the end of her Let It Go number. She’s also responsible and sensible, which are rare characteristics in a Disney princess (queen).

5. Merida Oh, Merida! Bow-and-arrow wielding, horse-riding, apple-stealing princess with a charming accent! I can’t not love her. She has a lot of the same themes that Jasmine does, but I think they were handled better with Merida. And again, I just love these outdoorsy type princesses. Shes’ capable and determined. She also makes mistakes, even if her mistakes were very frustrating watching the movie. People say Brave didn’t have a real plot or conflict and complain about the Mother Bear thing (yes I’m looking at you Keith of Try Guys), but I disagree. I liked that the movie for once focused on the relationship between a princess and her mom. I’d like to be friends with Merida.

4. Anna Anna is just delightful! Helps a lot that her voiceactor is Kristen Bell, whom I adore. But anyway, I really like Anna; she loves her sister more than anything, she’s brave and willing to face the freezing wilderness to bring Elsa back. SHe’s weird and quirky (though to be completely honest the quirkyness is sometmes a bit forced). Just all around a great gal.

3. Mulan These last three are just arbitrarely in some order; I pretty much love all of them equally. Mulan is like the best female character from Disney ever, period. She’s willing to do anything to save her dad and her country. She’s strong and smart and daring but also sweet and understanding and kind. They succeeded in making her a woman character who possesses a lot of masculine traits without losing her heart, and still being very relatable. Also Mulan is cool as hell. She also has the best sidekick, Mushu.

2. Belle I always get the result of being most like Belle from online quizzes. Because yes, I do have brown eyes and hair (naturally), love books and knowledge, and dream of a brighter future in the great wild somewhere. I related to her ever since I was a child; one of my dreams has always been having a library like Beast’s. Her whole movie is amazingly pretty and has the best music. Also Belle’s Finnish voice (which is the one I heard as a child and still know best) is perfect. Yes, all of this comes down to my personal taste, and I’m not sorry. I love how Belle is a strong female character without being a bad-ass fighter. She does her best for her father, she’s independent, she doesn’t let gossip bother her, she stands up to Beast even though she’s scared, she stands up to Gaston, she stays truthful. These days people like to claim she’s suffering from Stockholm Syndrome; to those believing that, please watch Lindsay Ellis’s video on YouTube on the matter. Also, Emma Watson is not my Belle and I try to pretend the whole live action version never happened.

1. Rapunzel Rapunzel is my idol. She’s crafty and independent and joyful and a dreamer. She’s really imperfect and in my opinion most like a real person out of all the princesses. She’s genuine and wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s amazingly brave, witty and kind of a bad-ass. She breaks out of her narcissistic kidnapper’s grasp. Her romance feels real and organic. I just really think Rapunzel and Tangled as a whole movie are very underrated. Go watch it.

Honorable mentions to non-princesses - Megara from Hercules, one of my favourite films. Meg is great, and rare with her cynicism and world-weary attitude. She’s so cool and I love her. - Kida, who weirdly is the princess of Atlantis but not included in the DIsney princess line? I’ve never understood that. She’s amazing and beautiful and ugh. - other women of Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Helga Sinclair, Audrey Ramirez, love them. It’s seriously such a good, underrated movie - Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, another one of my childhood idols. Rare a Disney woman in that she’s not ashamed of her sexuality, but not dependent on it, either. She kicks ass. - Jane from Tarzan, she’s silly and cute, and so stylish!

I’m right, you’re wrong, shut up!

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jq37 · 5 years

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Let's go final bloodkeep ep breakdown!

**spoilers for the tomb of ultimate evil**

I was originally kind of annoyed that dropout wasn’t working when I wanted to do this originally, but it’s actually kind of a blessing in disguise now that I think about it because it means I get to rewatch and discuss the ep in light of the bombshells Brennan dropping in the BTS video.

As I watch the Previouslies, I realize I’m still not over the fact that Maggie named her kid after Leiland. It was so sweet an unexpected.

So, at the start of this episode, Brennan must have realized that his plans are pretty much jossed because the 4 baby blessing was *very* not on the docket

“Absolutely, Lilith’s got 25 strength.” Idk why that’s so funny to me. Maybe because I think Rekha was asking whether Lilith was allowed to carry her, not if she was physically cable but Brennan was like “Of course she can carry you. She’s an absolute unit.”

Leiland’s first move? Drawing all the enemy fire. Markus’s first move? Immediately hiding. In fairness, my dude is a rogue.

Lol, spiderweb baby bjorn.

“We’re evil but we understand communication and consent.”

Nat 20 from Old Pickering! Finally he’s useful!

Watch a bitch call lightning! A different bitch, but still.

Amy’s childish delight at the prospect that there might be a bomb in the goblins is so good.

I love how on board everyone was for the mystery potion.

Did Hork exist before this episode? I have no memory of him existing.

Nat 20 for Sohkbar!

Brennan is really so good at all of his on the cuff J'er'em'ih nonsense.

Erika yelling, “Sanctuary!” a la Hunchback of Notre Dame.

I like that Lilith calls her spider kids to defend them by going, “Get ‘em ladies!” and then Brennan decides one of the kids she summoned is Jason.

“I really am sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done…and everything I’m about to do.”

Leiland Jr. MVP!

I love that Lilith treat’s Sohkbar as if he’s also a parent.

Two words I’ve learned to fear since I’ve started watching RPG shows: Lair action.

Leiland just BARELY not being on the falling chunk of floor.

Brennan really faked me out on that Jason fall. Man really was about to make me cry over a fictional spider for the SECOND TIME in my life (Charlotte’s Web).

I love Erika screaming over Jason in and out of character separately.

“Guys, this is our element! Knocking people off of things!”

Leiland’s affirmations. Who is doing counseling at the Bloodkeep.

AOE spells are so boss.

“Everyone look at Leiland! He’s doing it!” Aww, everyone finally gets to see him be cool! It’s really wild how much of an arc these guys went through in just 2 days of play. It’s very narratively consistent.

“Oh you fucking freak, you’d love that.”

“Tell him something is gonna happen to his bones but don’t explain it.”

Rekha loudly announcing her ridic amount of hitpoints is on of my fave things

I love how in both campaigns so far, Brennan has had a moment of, “You’re not bad at magic, you’re just depressed.” What an oddly specific thing but also, relateable.

Cell Block Tango ft. Leiland.

Leiland curses one of the Vingury. I’m sure that won’t be important later (I’m lying).

Ify/Markus just refusing to learn Hobbert and Frod’s names.

Ify: *Trying to do a shenanigan*

Brennan: I see what’s happening here.

DOOR LORE. DOOR LORE. DOOR LORE.

So I guess the real lesson of this season of D20 is always commit to your running jokes because you’ll get free nonsense out of it. (A 19! That’s so painful!)

Jessa just straight eats not-Gollum.

Both Jason and Jessa are very protective of their mom and I love it.

Maggie All elves look the same. (Maggie said F elf rights)

The full 6 seconds of silence from Matt between his saying he loves J'er'em'ih more than any other animal companion and looking directly at the camera and saying, “Except for Trinket,” very seriously.

Amy: I must become the necro boatman.

Brennan, whose plans have now been entirely womped: :O.

I truly didn’t even consider attacking the boatman. I feel like this is such a good DM moment, because I feel like my reaction would have been, “That’s not how this works,” but Bren just let it happen, which is better both for the story and player agency. I’m taking notes.

Efink getting validation on her chosen name by the evil statues.

“Kick his ass and you get the power!”

“I’m like a setpiece, not like a guy!”

Sohkbar claims the baby as his ward. This baby is gonna have so many godparents.

“MY DAD SHIT IN A BAG?”

What a wild improv.

I love the ancient evil statues have Lilith’s back on the fact that she should have gotten the promotion.

When Leiland Jr was born Brennan was like, “He’s not gonna do much. He’s a baby.” One ep later this baby is taking turns and fireblasting enemies and talking like he’s the Godfather.

OK so there’s a lair action. Leiland rolls a NAT ONE to not plummet into the Bloodkeep. Brennan clearly is ready to bring out the ghost figurines we saw in the BTS.

The statue Lilith JUST got the blessing from falls which means if she hadn’t gotten it that turn, they would have been screwed. Sidenote: Brennan says it was an instant lose condition for them which is part of why I was surprised that this wasn’t his plan to begin with. He just readjusted everything on the fly and set new parameters. What a good, confidence projecting, quick thinking DM.

It’s Leiland’s turn. He is once again falling to his doom. This time, without the bossa nova music and soothing apathy because he actually has something to live for.

AND HE USES HIS HEX TO TELEPORT TO THE VINGURY HE HEXED BEFORE.

It was JUST close enough. And he almost cursed Olag instead! That decision saved his undead ass!

I love that Leiland is Uncle Leiland to Jason! And later Jessa calls Efink Aunt Efink. I wanna see evil Thanksgiving so bad.

“You’re really killing it today Leiland!” My boy finally getting the praise he deserves. (Also, wild that this is all still THE SAME DAY)

“oKAY, okay, OKAY, oKay.” –Brennan having a moment

“You wanted us to play evil characters but we’re actually playing evil players.”

Man this episode is truly how Leiland got his groove back, huh?

Boatman rolls a 4 to resist fear. Go Leiland!

“I take off my mask to reveal…I’m sexy as fuck.”

Everyone including the evil statue is hot for Markus.

“Shut the fuck up, Olag. Go kill yourself.” Maggie just has no patience for nonsense (that’s not the kind of nonsense she enjoys anyway).

“Do I take psychic damage from that?”

Lilith gets a nat 20!

Maggie, upon Leiland calling her 'my queen’ for the second time: Just call me Maggie, please.

“THAT’S AN ABILITY J'ER'EM'IH HAS?”/“I guess.”

“Lilith, you’re my girl! Lilith, my girl!” They grab hands over the table. It’s such a pure moment.

Brennan after they kill the Boatman: I mean, fuck me I guess.

Leiland goes down. Leiland Jr. goes, “Nah, get up, you’re fine,” and he gets back up. (Brennan at this point has clearly fully leaned in to the direction his players dragged him).

Leiland comes back as Leiland the White. And I just realized! That’s the ghost figurine! I thought that was the figure Bren got for when Leiland inevitably completed his story arc. No! It was the figure for in case Leiland DIED.

Leiland FONZES at Leiland Jr.

Nat 20 from Maggie to avoid falling into the Bloodkeep!

Leiland lets Markus convince him to not kill Olag (for future shenanigans). Leiland instead owns Toby and rolls a 29 to convince Oswald back onto their side. Toby also comes as a zombie on their side. Everything’s coming up Leiland!

Except no, he goes back down immediately and falls face first into the blood pool.

OK, check it. Markus bargains with one of the evil statues to make Olag alive and undead for eternity. The statue is kinda on board but wants to make a trade. Markus basically goes, “Watch this,” and STEPS INTO THE VOID.

Go back and watch Amy’s reaction. It’s so genuinely shocked and concerned. Matt’s is good too.

Sidenote: That is apropos of nothing goal wise. He just wanted to torture Olag.

Maggie gets the final blessing with a quiet, heartfelt speech Brennan doesn’t even make her roll for. The statue tries to get her to put in a good word w/ her dad for it and steps all over the moment.

Ify, about to pull out shenanigans part two, electric boogaloo: I never got a chance to attack on my turn.

He attacks himself and warps back up!

Amy: Is that how you play a rogue????

Why sneak attack damage? Can you sneak attack yourself?

“You’re a liar!”/“I’m a rogue.” Beautiful.

We’re evil!

Oswald dies and Leiland comes back! Hexing Oswald really panned out for him

“It’s all spiders from here!” I wanna start saying that.

Efink cancels out a nat 20 on Sohkbar!

Lilith telling her kids to go find safety is a small thing but sweet.

“You know you live near Goblin Island and you always say you’re gonna visit.”

Markus swashbuckles over to the bloodkeep before he falls. Leiland is ready to jump his bones.

Nat 20 from Leiland! Is that his first one?

AND THEN HE ROLLS TWO NAT ONES!

Classic Leiland.

I love that Leiland is pro J'er'em'ih now.

John Feathers comes back for the epilogue. Rehka is more excited than anyone.

Lilith is voted queen regent of Gorgar! Go girl! And Jessa opens her fashion firm while Jason sets out to the forest. Good for them.

Scream beast babies!

And little Leiland asks big Leiland to get him the head of Galfast Hamhead! Full circle, I love it.

OK so Brennan said this and he was right. Leiland and Maggie have such a wild ass arc. She goes being “that whore” in ep 1 (idr what he actually called her but that’s the vibe he gave off) to “my queen” in episode 6. And like, man. Imagine planning a game where the goal is to lead the players into a PvP free for all and, instead, the only two characters with a legit grievance mend fences so much that one names their child after the other and that one swears fealty to that mom and her child. Imagine failing so hard at your original goal. Wow.

Anyway, that’s it for Bloodkeep! Thanks for hanging in there for me to write this up! I want to say something about the teaser for T.U.S. too but I’ll save that for another post.

Sidenote: So Matt has been on D20 and Brennan has been on Naddpod. I think this means Brennan or Murph gets to be on Critical Role now. I’m a lawyer and I’m pretty sure that’s how the law works.

#asks #a-salty-alto #escape from the bloodkeep #bloodkeep #dimension 20 #i know this is typo riddled but this is a 3 hour episode and I don't have the patience to edit this rn so...

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kiroh4918 · 5 years

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The Terms of Writing Fanfics, Reading Stories and Watching Movies… According to a Lazy Teenager.

Fellow Humans and non-Humans from Fandoms Near and Far,… I welcome you to read a document I basically just made. This is:…

“The Terms of Writing Fanfics, Reading Stories and Watching Movies… According to a Lazy Teenager.”

Firstly, I would like to address The Different Types of Ships…

Now, this isn’t about how different relationships interact, that will be discussed later in The Hogwarts Guide to Relationships. This is discussing what happens to the ships.

Firstly, we have a sailing ship – obviously, this means a ship that is canon. Examples: literally everywhere mate. Most ships are sailing ships. (This is the un-original term).

The Sunk Ship (The other un-original term). A ship that doesn’t work out. They move on. The ship starts to sink, and they get on little dinghiess and sail to shore for a bit, before preparing to start sailing again. Sometimes the ruins of these ships are found and excavated (they become friends), sometimes they can even sail again (They get back together).

Then we have our Battle Ships. This is the canon ship that is a constant battle with non-canon ships, I like to call Pirate ships. These are the two ships we get major shipping wars with. Fans are fighting all day and all night to prove their ship is superior. It’s nasty stuff man. Examples of these kinda ships are Romione (Ron x Hermione) vs Dramione (Draco x Hermione) or Kataang (Katara x Aang) vs Zutara (Zuko x Katara.) There is nothing wrong with the pirate ship, it’s just not canon, and that’s fine.

Also, who else is back on the Avatar train because Netflix is releasing a live-action.

Next, we have the ghost ship: both characters have or will die during or before the story. Permission to cry about these kinda ships – granted. Examples include Jyn and Cassian, from Rouge One.

Now we come to the greatest and most painful ships of all. The Titanic. These are the ships with heartbreak. These are the ships where the characters love each other, but one has to leave. The ships where they just don’t work, but they still love each other. And these are the ships, where one character dies, and the other is left broken. They never move on. Or should I say, their heart will go on? Obviously, an example of this is Titanic, but other examples are The Hunch Back of Notre Dame but not the Disney version, the Victor Hugo one where Esmeralda hangs. And Captain America, the first one, where he dies and wakes up like 70 years later.

Secondly, The Worthy Death…

Okay, so we have all cried watching a character die before. It’s just hard man. But have you ever watched a show where a really cool, strong character that’s gonna save the day, just chokes on a cashew and dies? No, you probably haven’t, why? Because it's dumb. But, have you watched a movie where they ride into battle on their white stallion and save the day, but they end up dying after they have won the battle? Yes, most probably. Because they are worthy of a good death. Maybe, they have been living in boundaries and they finally break free. Or the figure out how to win and then die in the arms of their first love, (I’m still in mourning over the second last episode of Teen Wolf season 3). Or maybe this character dies saving their child, and then the child goes on to save the day. RIP Stoic.

Now most writers will always give their characters appropriate endings, because well. We authors love our characters. Only a few authors don’t do this, and even fewer don’t do and the story is still pretty good. So, I’m here to tell you that if a character that is really cool and strong, that dies too quickly and it just doesn’t seem right, then it probably isn’t. Okay. That character just might show up again. Especially if this is in a supernatural world and the character that died is supernatural.

This is also relevant to villains. Because they come back sometimes too.

Thirdly the Spark…

Killing off a character is hard, especially when we have put so much effort into shaping and developing the character, giving them some of our own traits. It hurts authors a lot more than it may hurt you. Trust. But sometimes, we can’t do anything about it. Why? because of the spark! The spark is the original idea. It’s the thing that makes you write the story. If this means that a character has to die, or the ship doesn’t work. Then that means it’s gonna be a sad story. Changing the spark is like changing the constitution. You need to really think hard about it.

Now here is a warning, playlists are useful as well as dangerous. I am the kind of person who likes to make a playlist for every story (and sometimes every chapter) I write and listen to it while writing. Playlists have gotten through many a writing block, and they are great for inspiration. However, if you add the wrong song, all hell can break loose. Let me give you an example where I almost killed a character. We all have a sad Viking funeral song, right? Well, I was listening to mine, (The Sun in the Stream, Enya) and, well, the ship almost hit an iceberg. Luckily, I was saved by a happy love song, (Dreams, The Cranberries).

You could kill or save characters, going completely against the spark. You could add fluff where there is supposed to be a fight scene. You could add angst in a perfectly good and healthy relationship. Music is a powerful influence, so I beg all of you, be wise with your Spotify playlists. And consult a friend before changing a spark.

Moving on, I bring you the Hogwarts Guide to Relationships…

Each relationship can be categorized into Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. And please don’t be offended by this. If you are a Gryffindor in a Slytherin relationship than good on you. I’m not the sorting hat.

Let’s start off with a good ol’ Gryffindor relationship. This is usually canon. It is the main character and the main character. They’re high-school enemies. They hate each other because they are rivals, they are both exceedingly attractive. Then they are put in a difficult situation and they have to work their way out… together. And they fall in love and yeah. It's cliché. They are the super-heroes. They both are really nice bubbly people. They cannot be bad guys, they just can’t. Okay, it’s not in the job description. They will go through at least one difficult situation, but they will come out on top.

Moving on, Ravenclaw relationship. It’s simple, it can be canon or not. They like each other. They are the main character’s older sibling and their partner. Either that or they are the bad guy. They are kinda great because they are genuine with each other. They are also goals. They may break up once, but they got back together so it’s fine. Not many people ship them, but that’s only because they want to be in the place of one of them. They have a strong trust and are very close. They have some kind of telepathy, and it’s not even creepy. You’re not sure if you can trust them, but you know they would die for each other. They are oddly wise and are constantly giving good advice. They can get you out of any situation, cos they know people. If they are good, then they kind of live in the grey area. They play cards and both have a good polka face. They could be evil, but they are evil together. I ship this, this is my OTP, leave me alone, pls.

Hufflepuff relationships: cute, fluffy, friendly, cute. They are happy, they love each other. These are two content individuals who are on their first and only relationship because they are hardcore canon and they will be married. One bought the other a dog for their birthday. Either a dog a cat or a turtle. Everyone ships them, even though they can be kind of annoying because they are so cute. You want the best for them. One does medieval sword fighting and the other does every martial-arts and you are impressed…. and very surprised. They are all the love languages, and teasing isn’t a love language, so it’s forbidden in their cute Christmas log cabin. This should not be taken as an offence to any Hufflepuffs, I am a Hufflepuff, and TBH I would never be able to sustain a relationship like this without losing my mind.

I’m sorry I lied, there are two more. Endo-Slytherin and Exo-Slytherin.

Endo-Slytherin is basically where they are only together because it benefits them. And both know it. That’s it, they are just there for the ship name, and the milkshake they get from winning the dare. They may learn to love each other, it is possible. But for that to happen they have to develop something called feelings and love and they don’t know what that is yet.

Exo-Slytherin, the world is thrown at them and they are trying to stay strong. This is more the crap Slytherins first years throw at Gryffindor first years. Their parents hate each other, their friends hate each other. One of them is forced to leave but they hold it up long distance. Then one of them is drugged and the other one sees a picture of them cheating, but they actually aren’t, and their strong trust is tested, but they get through. This ship could sail or hit an iceberg its really up to the writer. But I feel sorry for them, they just wanna be a Hufflepuff relationship, it is really not their fault.

That’s it.

Please note, most of these points are completely original. Some of them I have discussed with my friends, @just-me764, @nana-akishima, @strawbeari2, and @dest-ai-ni. And some are just known to all. But otherwise, I put an amount of effort into writing this and I would appreciate if you used any of the terms to credit me.

Thank you for reading this!

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iliveinprocrasti-nation · 5 years

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I would like the tea

Ok let’s fckin GO MATE

So, picture this: theres the Anyplace Academy School. For some reason it’s in a different city than Anyplace, but no one talks about that. It’s a private school that starts at like two years old and once you get to first grade you gotta wear uniforms.

So this school likes to say it’s all inclusive. It’s a pretty good school, good teachers and all, and small classes which is nice. The fact that they have a lowkey morning prayer/announcements but isn’t a “Christian School” makes it a big pick for some families. One issue: it’s not really all inclusive and is basically one or two steps away from being Christian. Some things that happened during the three years I went there:

My social studies teacher told us all about his divorce with his first wife and how that caused him to leave the Catholic Church. This teacher also occasionally went on Jesus rants (y’know the ones, “whoever your G-d is, He has a plan for you” and occasionally he forgot my friend and I and just told us “Jesus has a plan for all of you” which we found hilarious (as a Muslim person (her) and Jewish/pagan person - I had phases, it’s in a rant I posted earlier - telling us Jesus has a plan for us just makes us crack up)

There’s like... a Christmas wreath or something we did that I’ve only ever seen in churches and not really in peoples houses - I think it’s called an advent wreath. We’d light those and my principal would talk about Jesus. It was an experience. She talked about G-d and Jesus a lot now that I think about it

Of course during that same time we had the hannukah ceremony where one of the only Jewish teachers would bring up a few Jewish kids, have them say one prayer, and then light the menorah. Me and the only other Jewish kid in my grade found this hilarious because neither of us had ever done only one prayer, the teacher in charge of the ceremony would sing a song (never in Hebrew, always an English one about the holiday) for one of the days, and then all the kids on stage always looked so uncomfortable and it was funny because our little siblings were always up there

We had to write prayers for morning prayer. Every student did and then we’d have to read them in front of the whole school (they were also not great prayers so like,,,). During my pagan phase I wrote “Dear Gods, Goddesses, and Deities” for one of them because screw everyone else I do what I want. My teacher literally crossed it out and was like “we’re just gonna say Dear G-d, ok?” Little me was pissed but also a goody two shoes so I followed ehat my teacher said. Looking back, there was a kid two years above me who was Hindu (I think- I’m pretty sure but correct me if that’s not the religion) and I feel so bad for him having to go through the very much monotheistic morning prayer every day. Also kids were allowed to say “in Jesus’s name we pray” at the end of speeches but no one could address them to multiple gods so like double standards much

The one time where they went on about Easter or Good Friday or some holiday like that and Passover was literally the same day but no one mentioned it at all ever and I was pissed like it was the only thing I spoke about for two days my friends were so tired of me by the end

The dozens (literally dozens) of times I heard my principal tell other students hat their Jewish friends either wouldn’t be at school or would come late because it’s a Jewish holiday and they’re at the synagogue. She never even went into what holidays they were

The time my social studies teacher (same one with the Jesus thing) shut down the class discussion about a synagogue shooting with “whatever” - note that he didn’t even know it happened (although we had a 45 minute discussion about Notre dame and other big events during the years). He wanted to get over the topic and shut it down like that.... (ok this is random but also when he taught about the Spanish Inquisition and such he just offhand mentioned that it was bad for some people and that what happened wasn’t fully right but then just plowed through and never mentioned it again)

And, my favourite example, the time they pulled one of my best friends up (the one I mentioned earlier, she’s Sunni Muslim) to speak about a holiday she doesn’t celebrate (I think it was an Islamic new year holiday that another kid, who was a different type of Muslim, celebrated). They had her read a poem after the other kid explained the holiday and introduced her by saying “__________ wanted to read a poem about the new year” as if she celebrated the holiday and they hadn’t just handed her a random poem they’d found and printed

That’s all I can remember off the top of my head (btw this is unedited soo it’s gonna be a wreck sorry it’s late and imma pass out after this). But like these things are bigger than I might make them seem - also the breaks we got there were insane and for every Christian holiday while Yom Kippur wasn’t even spoken about once and I legit had to explain to people why I could have pizza during Passover ok yea I’m bitter about that can you tell also I’m always up to spill tea about my old school (especially my coach like that man lost all my respect in my last year there) so yeah thanks for asking and I’ll add on if I remember anything more. Also if you wanna find my rant you can look in my “judaism” or “jumblr” tag and it’ll have a note at the top with something like “long rant from frustrated Jewish girl” if you wanna read that mess

#thats the tea #our perceptions of echoes #me #my post #personal #ask #judaism #jumblr

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heliosphoenix · 5 years

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State of the planet: 2018 edition

Well here we are, it's time once again for my now annual review of the year we just finished up. When we take some time out of our New Year's celebrations to recognize that while it seems like we just went through 365 days of pain and frustration, there was a smattering of good things that happened as well.

Here's some of them:

Scientists in China cloned two monkeys via Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, a major development toward's the potential for this technique to be used for regenerative cloning in the future

A new drug designed to combat Ovarian Cancer has begun clinical trials. Early results show that half the patients taking the drug are now Cancer free with no sign of the Cancer returning

Chinese scientists have developed rice that will grow in drought conditions. They plan to cover about 10% of the desert in the UAE with this rice for farming use.

An effort is underway to save the Northern White Rhino from extinction, using frozen sperm implanted in eggs from Southern White Rhinos, the hope is that this process will be able to revive the species in the future

A Ukrainian company is placing Solar Panels around Chernobyl to generate Solar Power. They plan to use the existing infrastructure to eventually generate up to 100 Megawatts of energy

101 cities around the world are now getting 70% of their power from renewable energy sources. In a related story, 56 cities in the United States have committed to going 100% renewable by 2050

The World Health Organization reported that Paraguay has now completely eradicated Malaria, other Latin America nations are close to doing so as well

The Ocean Cleanup Project has begun an initiative to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They're aiming to remove at least 50 tons of garbage from the ocean every year

The Ozone is beginning to repair itself. At current rates, the Northern Hemisphere should be fully repaired by 2030, with the Ozone Hole in Antarctica sealed by 2060

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was opened, it's the world's longest sea crossing bridge

Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he's modified the DNA of twin infant girls in an attempt to make them resistant to HIV

According to a report by the International Telecommunications Union, 51.2% of the world's population is using the Internet

Qantas launched the first commercial non stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom, the route is flown by their 787 fleet

Cinemas opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983, the first movie shown is Black Panther

Diplomatic talks took place between North and South Korea, with both nations committing to the removal of land mines from the Demilitarized Zone between the nations

The Basque separatist group ETA announced its dissolution

The Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality

Ireland citizens voted to repeal the nations ban on abortion in a national referendum

Voting turnout for the US Midterm elections was at a 50 year high

Michigan was the latest state to legalize recreational use of Marijuana, Canada also voted to allow sale of Marijuana.

The overall crime rate for the year is expected to have dropped by 2.9%

11% of the US Population is expected to get a boost to their credit scores

Homeownership rates for Americans under 35 are now at just over 36%, the highest since 2013

Americans gave over $400 Billion to charity this year, a record high

The 2018 Winter Olympics were held in South Korea

The 2018 World Cup was held in Russia with France claiming their second title. It was also announced that the United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 World Cup

The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl over the heavily favored New England Patriots

Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament since 2013

The Michigan Basketball team did so much better than anyone could've expected, winning their second consecutive Big Ten tournament, and making their second Final Four appearance in 5 years

The Michigan Football team had a decent year as well, posting their third 10-3 record under Jim Harbaugh as well as winning a share of the Big Ten East division title (but because two of those losses were to Notre Dame and Ohio State, Michigan fans will be forced to spend the offseason being miserable twats again)

Justify won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the second horse to win the title in 3 years (rather remarkable considering the previous title drought was nearly 4 decades)

SpaceX launched 21 Falcon rockets this year, including the first Falcon Heavy rocket which sent Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster into interplanetary space

NASA had a busy year as well, launching the TESS spacecraft to search for ExoPlanets, the Parker Solar Probe to explore the Sun's atmosphere, and the InSight lander which successfully touched down on Mars in November

ESA launched the BepiColombo spacecraft to explore the planet Mercury, the first mission to the planet in over a decade

The OSIRIS-REx sample returned spacecraft arrived at the Asteroid Bennu.

Finally, the New Horizons spaceprobe will conduct a flyby of the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule just after midnight tonight!

Remember all that? Good. Because that's where I'm at right now: December 31, 2018, with just over 11 hours left in this year.

You, dear reader, are in the future. And by the time you read this, it's very likely that for you 2018 will be over. Relegated to the books. And you've probably read a bunch of articles and blogs and tweets about how we just went through a year of infinite pain. Which is why I'm hoping that this missive finds you after you've already read all those other things.

Because our minds tend to place the most emphasis on the last thing we experienced, and I want your lasting memory of 2018 to be that all those things I listed above happened this year, and nothing can ever erase them.

Now this is the part where I say something nice and worldly to tie up the events of this last trip around the ol' Sun. I try my best to come up with some theme or other that brings it all together into a coherent picture.

I think the word I would use to describe this year is "Revelation." Because I think we can all say that this year, it's not so much that we learned things, but things were revealed to us.

We've all been in this situation before. We think that we've got everything figured out, we have all the answers. And then all of a sudden we uncover something that completely shatters our perceptions and kicks our foundation out from under us. And based on all that's happened this past year, I think it's safe to say this happened to all of us at least once in the preceding 12 months.

Perhaps someone did something you never thought they would do? Or something that seemed to be amazing turned out not to be as good as you thought? Or maybe your way of viewing the world now looks totally alien to you?

Revelation can be a very traumatic thing to deal with, and I can tell you from experience that when your entire perception of reality is challenged, you become unsure about everything else. Doubts creep into your mind, and you start wondering what else it might be that you're wrong about? It's the kind of feeling that can make you feel completely alone even in the middle of thousands of people.

But Revelation can also be a good thing.

Sometimes something turns out to be even better than you were expecting. Or you discover that you actually are much more respected and valued than you thought you were. Or maybe you look around and realize that things aren't actually as bad as they seem.

Even if you have to deal with the Revelation of a harsh truth, you can still find the positive out of that. Sure you can choose to become cynical and jaded and let it consume you, or you can choose to be proactive about it.

Sure, things weren't what you thought they were, but that's okay. The world didn't come to an end, you still have much to be thankful for, and you can now use the knowledge that you've learned to become wiser about how to live your life.

So this is the part where I usually say that there's one more awesome thing that happened this year, but you're going to tell me what it is. Tell me something good that happened to you during 2018.

This time however, I'd like to try something different.

In addition to telling me something good that happened to you this year, I'd like you to give me the biggest Revelation you've had this year. What was the most surprising thing that was revealed to you?

Now I understand that it probably won't be as pleasant of a memory as whatever awesome thing that happened to you this year was, it may even cause you distress just thinking about it.

If that's the case, embrace it, because you are distressed. But not over whatever it was that you were forced to confront, but rather the loss of what you thought the world was.

But don't let it consume you. Take the truth that was revealed to you and apply it. Learn from it and resolve to use that truth to strengthen your resolve for this next trip around the Sun.

Things aren't always what they seem, and they often don't work out how you planned, but that's not always a bad thing. Because the amazing thing about this world is that things have a way of working out anyway.

So remember the good times, but learn from the Revelations. When you do that, you'll be that much closer to being the person you want to be.

Have a good day, a great month, and an AMAZING 2019.

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whateveradjunct · 5 years

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When I was heading to France last week, I considered taking my Nikon d750 with me, because I thought, not unreasonably, that France might be a photogenic country and that I might want to get some high quality photos of the place. I decided against it for a number of reasons, but one of the major reasons was that a couple of weeks ago I got myself a Pixel 3 phone, which reviewers have suggested may have the best camera on a phone out there. I’d previously had a Pixel 2, the former “best cell phone camera out there,” so I was curious as to how the Pixel 3 would improve on the camera.

So I left the Nikon at home and used only the Pixel 3 to take shots while I was in France. I ended up taking something around 500 pictures while I was in country (many of the best of which I have collected in this Flickr photo album), and can now tell you what I think about the experience. Here are my notes, in no particular order, with occasional art. Please remember that these thoughts are from someone who loves taking pictures but is not a professional photographer, so I’m not going to go into the weeds with technical issues and jargon. I’m mostly noting the experience of just trying to take pictures.

1. Overall I was very happy with the quality of the photos and the intelligence of the camera — the latter perhaps being a weird thing to say, but the fact is what separates the Pixel line of cell phones as cameras is not the hardware (which is mostly high-end but standard issue for a cell phone), but the processing Google applies to the photo data once the photo is taken. The camera makes choices, basically, about how it interprets the data you give it once you snap the photos.

And those choices are generally very good! There wasn’t a situation where I thought the Pixel 3 wasn’t capable of handling itself. As with nearly all cell phone cameras (and, honestly, nearly every camera, period), the Pixel 3 works best when it has a lot of good, bright, natural light, but it did very well inside and also very well in visually challenging environments with a lot of contrast between bright and dark (like, for example, the interior of the Notre Dame cathedral). Not every picture I took was perfect or even good, but the reason for that had as much to do (and perhaps even more so) with operator error as it did with the camera itself. Which is to say I can’t blame the bad pictures on the cell phone camera; a lot of it was me.

2. What do the photos look like coming out of the camera? Here are five, which I’ve not done any post-processing to (i.e., no tweaking with the various photo editors I have). These pictures were taken with the settings the Pixel 3 has right out of the box, including the HDR+ processing turned on, without zoom, and recording to jpg. Right-click on the pictures to get a larger versions of them (choose the “open image in new tab” option), and see the various details.

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Right out of the camera, the Pixel 3 a pretty good job of things. The colors are correct and not overly saturated, and the HDR+ mode does a good job of bringing out details in shadows without making them look overly processed. Note in particular the picture of the musicians in the conference room; the light’s behind them and their faces are shadowed, but the Pixel 3 does a pretty good job of balancing the data so you can see their faces clearly. In the rose picture there’s decent depth of field — not a lot, but the Pixel 3 knows what it’s looking at. There are limits, and you can see some of the choices the Pixel 3 has to make in the photo of the Notre Dame alcove, but those limits mostly show themselves in challenging situations where most any camera would show limitations of some sort.

I personally do a fair amount of photo-editing of my pictures, both to bring up details and for aesthetic effect, and the Pixel 3 gives me a fair amount to work with, even as it records the data into a lossy format like jpg (there is an option to have the camera record in RAW — the lossless format that gives photographers the most information to work with — but I didn’t turn that on and don’t really plan to except on very special occasions, because the files sizes are huge). It’s a fact that for a lot of photos, I don’t really have to do much editing at all — I merely straighten out sightlines or crop for better composition as much as I tweak colors or bring up shadows.

Out of the box, the Pixel 3 takes pictures that are better than “good enough,” and that’s a good thing. For people who like fiddling with photos like me, what comes out of the camera is even better than that.

3. One of the — perfectly reasonable — knocks on the Pixel 3 is that where other high-end cell phone cameras have an optical zoom function, the Pixel 3 doesn’t, Google instead opting to try to deal with zoom through processing (involving the minute unsteadiness of the human hand, or something, to help fill in interpolative gaps). I used the zoom function a lot while walking around and trying to get details that would otherwise be too far away. My verdict on the zoom is: well, it does something, but razor-sharp details isn’t it.

This is again probably best viewed, so here are four photos at or close to full zoom, three of statutes or architectural details at the Louvre, and one, of that tower they have there in Paris. Again, right-click on the picture for details (or in this case, lack thereof). Again, these pictures are straight out of the camera and otherwise unedited:

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My impression of these zoomed in pictures is that they don’t look like photos, they look like pastel drawings, or what happens when you use a very light “oil painting” photo filter from Photoshop or some other photo app. They don’t look bad? But at the same time, this is not what I want when I zoom in. I zoom in because I want a closer look at something, not an artful, detail-smoothed representation of that thing.

I read in a review of the Pixel 3 where a reviewer notes that the zoom works as intended up to about a 1.5x zoom, and after that things start getting overly interpretive. My experience has been that this estimation is largely correct. I have some pictures that are moderately zoomed in that are perfectly good. But too much zoom means you’re getting the AI version of impressionism. My thought on this is that this iteration of AI zoom is only the first, and that Google will probably get better at it as it goes along, because that’s what Google generally does. So two Pixel generations from now, this will likely be a solved issue (or alternately, Google will throw up its hands and just put an optical zoom on future Pixels). Here with the Pixel 3 and today, however, be aware that the zoom works up to a point (1.5x or so), and then it gets kind of wacky.

4. The only other real issue with the Pixel 3 that I’ve noticed is that it feels a bit slower than the Pixel 2; sometimes there seems to be a lag between when I press the button to take the picture and the camera registers the picture being taken. It’s a relatively small issue but it’s been noticeable to me, and I wonder if other people have been experiencing it as well. I’ve not missed any photos because of it, fortunately. But be aware of the possibility of a bit of shutter lag.

5. On the selfie front, the Pixel 3 features a “wide angle selfie” mode — an optical zoom out, if you will, thanks to two cameras on the front of the phone. This actually is very useful for when you’re trying to get a lot of people into frame while taking selfies:

Do be aware the the wide-angle selfie mode has some distortion. But then, selfie cameras have distortion anyway (it’s why your nose always looks big in a selfie), so I guess you pick your poison with selfie distortion. What I do know is that I’ve used the wide-angle selfie function several times already, so this was a smart add-on on Google’s part.

6. This is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the Pixel 3 camera, but one that touches on how I’ve been using it. I’m not covering a lot of the functionality of the thing — I haven’t used the video mode, or the panorama mode or tried the “HDR+ enhanced” mode, or sideloaded the apparently super-cool but not-officially-released “night mode” into the phone to try it out (the night mode apparently makes it possible to take super clear pictures in very low light, and the key as far as I can tell is a long exposure time, which, well, yes, it would be, wouldn’t it). I’m not covering any of those things because, as noted, this is not how I’ve been using the camera. I’ve been using the camera in a pretty straightforward fashion, as I suspect most people will.

And as a “daily driver” camera, the Pixel 3 really works. It takes great pictures and in all sorts of circumstances, and with the exception of the zoom above a certain point, steps up when you need it to (also, as an aside, the fact that the Pixel 3 comes with unlimited storage in Google Photos is a point well in its favor, since you can store your photos there and keep your phone’s memory relatively uncluttered). We’re now well past the point where the average person has to wonder whether they’re missing out on really excellent photos if they only have their cell phone with them. With the Pixel 3, the answer to that is definitively “you’re not missing out.” This phone will get that great shot for you, most of the time.

7. Does this mean I’m ready to ditch my dSLR for the Pixel 3 full time? No; the dSLR still has a better sensor, better lenses, and does specific things much better than the Pixel 3 does or will (like, sorry, Google, zoom). But this isn’t an either/or situation; this is a “this, and” situation. I no longer have one excellent camera and one camera that I just happen to carry around; I have two excellent cameras whose use cases overlap but are not a perfect circle on the Venn diagram. I don’t suspect I’ll ever stop using a dedicated camera for particular things where a high-end, single-use piece of machinery makes sense. But, as noted above, when I have my Pixel 3 with me, I don’t worry that I don’t generally have enough camera with me.

8. Does it make sense for people to upgrade to a Pixel 3? I’m very happy I did, but I also acknowledge I’m a tech geek with a particular interest in photography, and I have enough money to indulge in this sort of thing (my other phone stopped working, which prompted me to get the Pixel 3, but let’s not pretend there wasn’t a good chance I would have gotten one anyway).

If you already have a Pixel 2 (or the first generation Pixel), some of the new capabilities of the Pixel 3 camera are going to be available to you with software upgrades. So unless you’re already at the part of your upgrade cycle where you’re getting a new phone anyway, you can probably sit tight and be fine. If you have the latest generation of “flagship” phone from Apple, Samsung or any other high-end phone manufacturer, you’re also probably just fine. Cameras are the new hotness on phones and every manufacturer will tell you why their iteration of cellphone camera tech is the best. It’s getting a little silly (some upcoming phones will have up to five cameras on the back of a phone, which seems much of a muchness), but on the other hand if you’ve got a high end, recent phone, you probably have a very good cell phone camera no matter what. Finally, if you just don’t care about photos, either from your cell phone or in general, the Pixel 3’s camera capabilities won’t matter regardless.

But if you are looking to upgrade, do like taking pictures and want to have the possibility of taking genuinely good photos with your phone, are fine with Google knowing everything about your digital life, and (not trivially) have between $800 and $1,000 to splash out on a phone (or have Verizon, which will let you slide it into your existing plan for a monthly fee), then I can really very highly recommend the Pixel 3. Aside from (yes) taking some of the best photos possible on a cell phone, it is also otherwise a very solid high-end phone, with some features (call screening, I’m looking at you) that are amazing differentiators, and an operating system upgrade cycle that means you always have the best, most recent version of Android first.

For me, in any event, it’s been well worth the upgrade, and not just for the photos, although the photos probably would have been enough. I really like this camera, and I really like this phone.

Taking Pictures With the Pixel 3: Some Thoughts When I was heading to France last week, I considered taking my Nikon d750 with me, because I thought, not unreasonably, that France might be a photogenic country and that I might want to get some high quality photos of the place.

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kcrabb88 · 2 years

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I posted 1,662 times in 2021

442 posts created (27%)

1220 posts reblogged (73%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.8 posts.

I added 1,689 tags in 2021

#les mis - 312 posts

#gifs - 255 posts

#kcrabb rambles - 232 posts

#pirates tag - 168 posts

#people's awesome fanart - 166 posts

#canon era - 156 posts

#sea tag - 113 posts

#enjolras - 101 posts

#black sails - 93 posts

#phantom of the opera - 93 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#also why do people always bring up notre dame when other bad things happen as if i was not allowed to care when that terrible fire happened?

My Top Posts in 2021

This Vox article, about the new episode of Ted Lasso, absolutely COMING for me:

381 notes • Posted 2021-09-11 00:34:34 GMT

I’ve seen a couple of retellings of Persuasion coming up soon that clearly haven’t??? Thought about how to transfer it over to a contemporary setting. Like, Wentworth isn’t just some ex of Anne’s that she broke up with because they fought, or something, she was convinced to turn down an offer of marriage by her mother’s best friend because of classism and his “lack of fortune” and then a lot of years passed and she was considered a spinster with no real prospects and was still harboring a broken heart. There is real angst and pain there, and, also you know, social commentary dealing with real issues of the period. Stakes are high! There is grief between them. Anger on Wentworth’s part and major regret on Anne’s + fear she’ll be stuck with her horrible family. So, if you’re transferring it to contemporary, you’d really need to think about these aspects, imo. It’s not just “ohhhh Anne’s ex is back!” it’s more complex than that. Anne has to learn to stand up for herself and trust her instincts--it’s a whole journey for her!

I feel like one way to do this in a modern setting would be to queer it, honestly? What if Anne was a lesbian, and she fell in love with girl!Wentworth? What if her family was really conservative, and Lady Russell convinced her by saying that her deceased mother would be disappointed in her? What if Anne felt herself trapped between being kicked out of her family, and Wentworth? I think this would especially work if you set it maybe in the 90s or early 2000s, rather than current day, when public opinion was not the same as it is now (and marriage equality was also not a thing yet!) I’m not exactly sure of all the details, but it would somewhat match up to the level of angst.

Anyway, I am not at all opposed to good modern adaptations of historical novels! They can definitely be done well but just having an ex return is not Persuasion?? Like you can’t just dump historical characters into a contemporary setting without thinking about how things transfer.

441 notes • Posted 2021-05-11 02:30:06 GMT

THIS THOUGH. You can’t get into federal buildings you’re not supposed to be in!! Especially not in the Capitol Complex! Shit, I work for local DC government a mile from the Capitol and I can’t get in my building without scanning my ID 3 times.

And yet today a mob of white supremacists just stormed inside the Capitol!!! CURIOUS.

1178 notes • Posted 2021-01-07 02:01:28 GMT

Grammarly: you don’t need a comma here

Me: I DO need a comma here, it’s about the RHYTHM

1265 notes • Posted 2021-11-11 23:42:33 GMT

“D.C., especially around the Capitol, contains some of the most overtly armored public spaces in the world. There are little reminders and big ones: signs, barriers, checkpoints, and probably a whole host of weaponry and invisible countermeasures that you don’t see. What you feel the most are those security negs: the bike rack-style barriers and the forever-closed streets and the bollards. Meanwhile, you encounter the people involved with securing spaces. Most of them are fine and some are jerks who seem to take glee in barking out orders at hapless passersby. Eventually you come to accept the whole set-up as necessary, even if you grumble about it while climbing Capitol Hill. You think to yourself, “Sure, this is a pain in the ass, but there’s a good reason for it.

“Like, what if something happens?”

Then it’s Jan. 6, 2021. Something did happen, not just a minor something, but a full-on breach of a purportedly impenetrable building by extremists trying to overturn the results of a presidential election. And you’re left completely shaken and angry, wondering what the point of it all was. You feel like a sucker. The trap didn’t spring.”

I’ve lived in DC for 10 years and I feel this article in my BONES. You just live with tons of security theater in the background, you live with what you’ve been taught, what you’ve heard a million times--what if something HAPPENS? And then something happens, and you realize the system built after 9/11, didn’t take the most dangerous threat of all seriously, the threat everyone has been SAYING was far more prominent than anything else-- white supremacist terrorism coming from inside the house.

4873 notes • Posted 2021-01-09 17:07:33 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #This is honestly SO on brand for me #Long post #About me

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harpermiller · 6 years

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so, why do each of those songs remind you of those characters/ships? Musical theatre is my jam, and so is the 100, so colour me engaged...

Ask and you shall receive! (this got pretty long so i put the rest under the cut - it kinda turned into a bunch of mini metas)

Gold - Once: Lincoln

Lincoln and his heart of gold. His want for peace, and his love for Octavia. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice everything for Octavia and to help her people survive and make treaties with his people. The fact that he fought for peace and protected the innocent even until his dying breath. That’s what this song is.

Still Hurting - The Last Five Years: Clarke

This song for me is Clarke’s inner thoughts after the 6 years. Bellamy’s back but it’s not the same - it may never be the same again - and she feels like he’s giving up on her, on them. And that the two of them are keeping each other at arms length. Basically Clarke’s reflection on how things have changed.

Breathe - In the Heights: Raven

This song may not seem like a Raven song but i think it really fits. She has so much pressure (youngest zero g mechanic, the smartest delinquent and member of skaikru, etc.) and sometimes shes gonna feel like she’s failing - like she’s letting everyone down. Also, when she was taking her zero g mechanic’s exams you bet your ass her little community in Mecha Station was rooting for her, to succeed, to be better than the rest of them.

The Life I Never Lead - Sister Act: Octavia

This is more season 1 Octavia than anything. It goes in hand with the whole living under the floor and in secret her whole life, she missed out on so many things. And when she gets to the ground she’s anxious and excited to experience everything, no matter how crazy or dangerous.

Proud of Your Boy/Reprise - Aladdin: Bellamy

Bellamy just wanted to make his mom proud ok? This song goes hand in hand with him thinking his mother would view him as a monster and would hate who he became. He holds both his mom and what little memories he has of his father in very high regard and he just wants to do right by them. Even with the actions he is faced with making.

Bare - Bare a Pop Opera: Briller

OKAY this song is so briller to me that i cannot even explain why??? Like the two of them were always fighting for each other, to be together, and everything seemed to turn out okay as long as they had each other. The only time we’ve seen Nathan Miller so vulnerable was with Bryan. The song is even if they aren’t together they’ll always love one another.

You Matter to Me - Waitress: Bellarke

Okay i have found a lot of bellarke songs but this is probably the most bellarke song ever. Simple and straight forward, they matter to each other so much. They’re always reassuring one another that. The words are not asking much, but they are enough to let the other know that they are important. I barely have the words to say why this is a bellarke song, so let the lyrics speak for me lol

If I Could Tell Her - Dear Evan Hanson: Jasper/Octavia

Octavia and Jasper are such a sweet pairing and i think this song really reflects them - especially in season 1 when Jasper was so infatuated with Octavia and wanted to (but never really got the chance to) tell her how awesome he thought she was. It also plays into my headcanon that Jasper remembers details about people and it pays tribute to the quirky teenager that Octavia used to be.

Words Fail - Dear Evan Hanson: Murphy

This song is every season of Murphy. Season 1 where he tried to be with Bellamy and be apart of the delinquents but everything blew up in his face. He didn’t mean for it to go that way. And then seasons 2-4 when hes trying his hardest to make amends with not only the others but himself, and to try and accept the love that Emori is giving him. And then season 5. Where he’s isolated himself because he’s scared he’ll mess up and that the others will hate him and think he’s a screw up - and he ends up screwing himself over anyways because Emori leaves him. He isolates himself over the 6 years because suddenly he has a family again, a family that cares about him - and he doesn’t know how to handle that. Okay I could talk about Murphy in relation to this song for ages but this post is long enough - so again let the lyrics speak for me.

Tell Her - 13: Marper

Marper have always been the sweet little side romance that always gets over looked - and as much as we see them in their honey moon phase, they have their disagreements and Tell Her relates to that because the two of them work things out, they apologize, they give each other another chance.

God Help the Outcasts - The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Emori

This is pretty self explanatory, its Emori and the Frikdreina. There’s obviously solidarity there, and if you think about it, Emori is probably the last one. There’s no way that the other grounders would choose them to enter the bunker. Emori is obviously a religious character (as seen when she was amazed by the temple) so i kinda associate this song with her asking Bekka Pramheda for safe passage for her people.

When the Sun Goes Down - In the Heights: Linctavia

This again i don’t really have a reason other than the fact that it fits perfectly. So i’m citing lyrics to do the talking for me: “When you’re on your own and suddenly without me, will you forget about me?” “I couldn’t if i tried” - we all know Octavia will never forget Lincoln. “You are going to change the world someday” “I’ll be thinking of home.” - He was her home, and she holds him with her. And she did change the world, not for the better, but she did.

Superboy and the Invisible Girl - Next to Normal: Bellamy and Octavia

This song relates to the Blake siblings and their life on the Ark i guess - even melding into their life in season 1. There’s Bellamy, handsome, smart, a cadet, a leader. And Octavia, a secret, a person who doesn’t exist. Aurora could only love Octavia so much because no one else could know. What that must have done to her mental health i have no idea. And then they get to the ground and suddenly people can see her and are allowed to see her so quick look at me before i wake up back under the floor!

Dispensable - Edges: Bellarke

Season 3. Hakeldama. Miscommunication and betrayals. Thinking they’ve lost the other person for good. Thinking the other one has given up on them. Think that they don’t matter to the other person anymore when they so painfully do.

You Will Be Found - Dear Evan Hanson: Jasper

This is so Jasper that i cry every time. It’s Jasper suffering with his depression and ptsd and feeling so so alone, but there’s Monty, and Raven, and Octavia, and Bellamy, and Clarke to help pick him up. To help him heal. He’s not alone. This song is what Jasper deserved from the actual show.

A Little Fall of Rain - Les Miserables: Gina/Bellamy

Ever wonder what it would have been like had Bellamy been there when Gina died? Well that’s this song. I loved Gina and i always thought that she would be the one to tell Bellamy that what happened in Mount Weather wasn’t his fault, in Clarke’s absence. And that Gina would be trying to reassure Bellamy that it wasn’t his fault that she was dying, had he been there.

Seventeen - Heathers: Bellarke

This song is so season 1 bellarke to me. Two kids faced with impossible decisions and forced to become adults in a world that would kill them if they didn’t. And i always thought if the two of them had gotten a soft, quiet moment, that they would look at each other and think ‘huh. If we didn’t have to keep everyone alive all the time, we would be good together. We could be normal. I could love you.’

Lifeboat - Heathers: Harper

This song i think relates with Harper at the end of season 4, she’s depressed, shes suicidal, its the end of the world, and her friends are dying around her. Only so many of them can live, she knows that, so why should it be her? Clarke said it herself - with her father’s medical history she’s not worth the risk, not worth saving. Harper thinks she may as well just save everyone the trouble and stay behind with Jasper. The song really reflects her inner thoughts.

Bring Him Home - Les Miserables: Kane

This song is very straight forward i feel, its Kane and his relationship with Bellamy. This young man with the world on his shoulders and Kane sees that. This boy that has turned into somewhat of a son to Kane. Kane praying to whatever god his mother believed in to bring Bellamy home safely, every time, to those who love him - because Bellamy deserves that.

This is Life - Bandstand: Bellarke

If Seventeen is season 1, then This is Life is season 2-4. Its both of them accepting that they mean a lot to each other, that they love each other, but there’s not time for them. There’s too many people to save, to many wars to fight, the end of the world. Maybe in another life, or if they had more time. They can’t afford to be reckless, to take a pause and be happy. They have accepted that all they are ever going to get are fleeting moments - but maybe, maybe when life settles down and they aren’t fighting for their lives anymore.

Stay, I Pray - Anastasia: The Grounders

Go listen to this song. Picture the grounders, being filed into the bunker, staring out over the waste land of Polis as the death wave creeps closer. The beautiful bight colours of Earth are long gone. Left behind only dust, death, and ugly red sores. Forced to say goodbye to their home, all that they have ever known, and to enter into the bunker for six years surrounded by the unfamiliar hum of machinery - promised that they will see the ground again, but not guaranteed. The grounders lost so much more than Skaikru.

No One Is Alone - Into the Woods: The Delinquents

This song is so the delinquents it hurts. Even though they have lost so many people, even though they’ve all been through so much, they will never be alone because they have each other. Shitty parents, and governments, and dictators, and wars could never change that.

Dyin Aint So Bad - Bonnie and Clyde: Clarke

Clarke has lost a lot of loved ones, and was always the one left behind. Has had to suffer through the memories of this person who was no longer there. And looking at Bellamy - back from space after six years - she cant do that again. She decides that the only way Bellamy Blake is dying is with her, side by side.

Welcome Home (Finale) - Bandstand: Clarke ft the delinquents

Clarke has watched all these kids evolve from when they first opened the dropship doors to the end of each war. She’s seen their injuries, their ptsd and depression, their coping mechanisms. And she’s helped them all the best she could all while carrying her own burdens. Because they are her friends, her family.

#this is basically a follow up to my original post ft my opinions #sorry its so long lol #asks #the 100 #the 100 au #musical theatre au

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hellfire-bright · 5 years

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( JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER || 25 || GENDERFLUID || THEY/THEM ) NICOLAE TROUILLEFOU the (ADOPTED) child of CLOPIN TROUILLEFOU and (BIOLOGICAL) child of CLAUDE FROLLO. they’re currently a FRESHMAN & a PHILOSOPHY major at auradon royal university, where they’re described by friends as +OPEN MINDED. however, others sometimes complain that they’re -SECRETIVE. maybe that’s why they’re called the WILD CARD around campus.

//History//

Nico was born in the shadows of the Notre Dame, to a man who only found fleeting interest in their mother and turned away from her the instant she disappeared. Months later Frollo was horrified to see her return with an infant in hand and pleading for refuge for the two of them. She was a Traveler, a Roma of Irish descent rather than those in Paris, so she had no family to go to. He wanted nothing to do with the problem but fear of damnation was enough to force his hand, taking in both and claiming the woman and child were lost souls.

While Frollo wanted the child, named Jean by his own insistence, to be gone he quickly saw an opportunity to gain more favor in the eyes of the church by saying that he would raise and teach them, guide them on the path of righteousness. The man’s anger was still resounding though, time and again taken out on both the child and mother, until she finally decided to flee rather than take the risk of that anger turning deadly. Nowhere to go and with the Church willing to condemn her for the theft of an innocent child, she was forced to take up her plight with Clopin.

At first it was more to humor himself, even with Frollo shortly after banished to the isle it was still a wonderful joke to drag his child around the streets knowing whose blood was in his veins and what a mockery to the Church his bold choice was. Clopin treated them well enough, but it wasn’t until after Nadiya perished in an accident that he was left with the choice of turning them out to the streets or taking responsibility for them.

Clopin choose the latter, gave them a proper Roma name, Nicolae, and took them under his wing. Without children of his own at that point a bond grew between the two and it wasn’t long before Nico was every bit their adopted father’s pride. They were a brilliant child, sharp of wit and tongue, and time and again proved their worth to the Court. While everyone else was hesitant to accept at first it didn’t take very long before they came to see them as what they were; the Prince of the Court.

Nico continued to grow and learn, aware of where he began in life but it no longer matter; he was Roma and would accept nothing else. As the walls between the isle began to break much of the Court turned a blind eye to it; life was hard enough without concerning themselves with outsiders. But Nico was different, they wanted to see what lay beyond the streets. When they stepped forward to ask their father for a favor the Court King was hesitant to allow it. The Court had always looked after its’ own, the thought of one of them venturing out into the world was a strange one.

Eventually Clopn relented and set about finding a way to see it happen, it came down to a delightful game of manipulation when he approached Frollo with the promise of exposing his secret if he would not use his hand to aid Nico. So the Prince of the Court left home behind, for a time, to test the idea of what lay be waiting ahead.

//Personal//

Attempting to get an honest answer out of Nico is damn near impossible at times; they enjoy running circles around people in conversations and love to play those games. Charming, true, and a bit of flirt, also very tactile by nature so isn’t shy about contact, but nothing gives them more amusement than out-talking another person. Someone who can match wit and sarcasm is a worthy playmate, so to speak, and all the better a friend for it.

They are pansexual by nature, hardly something unheard of in their home. They also assume sooner or later someone in the Court will also try to arrange a marriage for them. Tradition dictates most couples end up together that way, but time has begun to wear down some of those rules. They doesn’t really give that much weight though since their own father has had many companions but has never married.

Much like their father Nico uses hand gestures when speaking, paces and moves around a great deal, very animated. Also sometimes when frustrated rambles off in one language or another and forgets that people cannot understand what they might be saying.

Nico has a bit of a habit of stealing random things. Often useless little trinkets that catch their eye, it’s almost a compulsion of sorts. It’s for that reason their personal space is bound to be cluttered with objects that seemed important at the time but are all but forgotten just as swiftly. .

Another thing to contend with is Xari, the rather large rat that Nico is so very fond of. The creature’s name literally means ‘one who eats a lot’ and it’s very fitting to the rodent who likes to perch on their shoulder or hide in a pocket to reach and snatch food from anyone who happens to get close enough.

He’s a solid black rodent of the common sort seen in the streets and sewers of the city, Nico took him away from a rangy old cat who had already eaten the rest of the litter and raised him.

Unlike some in the Court of Miracles, father included, Nico has embraced the modern changes that outsiders have begun bringing into the city. Used to make a game of slinking about and listening to the stories tourists recounted of other places, feeding that longing to see more of the world. Phones and other devices they swiftly took to stealing, curious, and quickly learning how to use them. They have tried to encourage others of the Court to do the same but many of the older Roma dislike the idea.

That was in part one of the reason Nico left, knowing that seeing the larger part of the kingdom would allow some insight on how best to help their own people adjust to changes ahead.

Nico has a handful of skills that served him well back home, but not so certain they will in new places. Sword-swallowing, fire-breathing, a rather good singing voice and of course, their cousin Esmeralda taught them how to dance. Not as strong as some people but fast, both on their feet and with those sly hands that do so well at picking pockets.

Surprisingly well educated, always curious and cousin Esmeralda urged them to learn as much as possible. They has a stockpile of books lifted from strangers on all sort of subjects. Fluent in French, of course, but also in English and the native tongue of their Roma clan.

Some in the Court whisper that they might just be a demon, it’s no secret that they are the child of Frollo, even if Clopin has threatened exile from the Court to any who speak that secret outside of their family.

//Court of Miracles//

While raised mostly traditionalist there are areas of their family's Romanipen that Nico doesn’t strictly follow. It gives Clopin some grief that the they shrug aside most views of religion but Nico has a tendency to be as stubborn as their father at times so there’s little arguing it. They stay respectful of most of the traditions, it’s just a few they feels are painfully outdated.

To that point, they are cautious of outsiders but perhaps a bit more accepting of them due to their own background. After all, they was adopted, so who’s to say that they can’t find people to act as a family outside the Court? It’s not likely to be an easy title to gain; loyalty is absolute so not given easily and to earn the bond of someone like Nico it’s bound to take a real connection, and someone who can look past their..less than lawful outlook on life.

Rules, of course, belong to the lands, and those laws Nico feels little need to follow. They knows they must out of necessity with some of them but like most any Roma lives by their own code. The first rule of that being look after your own above all else, the next being do not suffer the actions of a fool to ruin your plans.

Names are something sacred, they shares their full name with none outside family; there is power in names that most people no longer believe. A name, much like one’s word, is something with meaning and gives neither away easily.

While holding the title of Prince of the Court those there do recognize that Nico identifies as genderfluid, just as they will one day be King of the Court once Clopin steps down. The title is not really considered a gendered one to the Roma of the Court and more one of respect, a rule can be male, female or anything else and may choose to be called what they wish, Nico has decided to keep the title of Prince and later take King as a nod of respect for their father’s current title.

Isn’t exactly moral by nature, nor believes that anyone is strictly good or bad; both exist in all people. So it’s easy enough for to shrug off the idea that someone might have had a parent who was considered a villain of sorts, assuming they do nothing to cross them. Or worse, harm those under their care. Not exactly forgiving either if lines are crossed; by nature friendly enough but make an enemy of them and Nico will torment the poor soul to the point of madness and make a game of it. Has a temper, it’s true, get them riled up too much and they won’t easily back down.

Since they were brought up in a community of sorts rather than a single home, most everyone had a hand in helping to raise them, Nico is surprisingly good with children. Enjoys looking after them, playing games, and does one day know they’ll likely have their own to look after. For all those rough edges there is a softness to how they deals with kids and is very protective of them.

When Nico went to his father with the intention of traveling to enroll in school Clopin was somewhat at a loss at first. It was less a matter of being unwilling to turn loose them loose for a few years and more that poverty was still the undertone of the life they all lived. But, true to his serpent-sharp wit, Clopin came up with a solution in the form of going to Frollo and threatening to expose the truth to his church if he didn’t agree to tend to the matter.

It’s for that reason that some of the generous donations the church receives no longer pads the pockets of those in power there but is slipped into a trust fund that Frollo waves off as a fund for the poor. He detests being blackmailed in such a way but with so many people already suspicious about the matter he can’t afford to take the risk of refusing.

Nico does still live on as little of the money as possible though, often coning or lifting money for their little vices, the rest they sends back to the Court every month in the care of Clopin for everyone.

Nico has only tried to approach Frollo once when the man was released from the isle, out of the need to know if Frolo had any regret in abandoning them. When greeted with cold words and called a monster for a sinful life Nico never looked back; Clopin raised them and they views the man as a real father. The two share a deep bond, no matter if it wasn’t one of blood.

#nico intro #aruintro #aru intro

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dancekickboxcardio · 5 years

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I looked 👀 so much better morning ☀️. Exact words to BFF, “I was cuter.” Afternoon, you can see the weigh of the day on my face. I am run down. My eyes 👀 is kinder and not mean looking like I can kill you with my icy 🥶 stare. It’s not fresh for sure. It says more like what do you want, I have no time of the day, I am done ✅ . It’s more approachable in what do you want way. At least it’s not don’t talk to me. I took a picture 📸 of the dino 🦖. I try to capture a photo even of little things that I found magic ✨. They caught my eye 👁. I found art 👩🏼‍🎨 in them. There was something interesting. Most of the times it is to take a better memory of what happened. Something to cue and go by. It could tell a story. But my favorite is random.

I should have had a terrible day yesterday. However, it didn’t get a meltdown from me. Ugh 😑, I hate it. I was god darn straight up reasonable and level headed. Why don’t you like combust like a desperate lunatic loser who can’t do anything but spew bogus stuff. Then, that would make not totally me. That’s what people admire about me. They know that they can believe what I say. It is reliable and accurate and they won’t make a fool of themselves repeating it. Although if you want to own my ideas 💡 it is lovely that you can’t defend them and not better than I can.

By the end of the day I was exhausted 😩. I was a little depleted. I had this feeling of giving up given the enormity of the drama of the day, my physical exertions and lack of anything to give ⚡️ anymore. Somehow, in that time of unsureness, I found it in me to keep going. It was almost automatic. What makes me scary 😨 is when most would shrivel into smallness, I am able to let out a confident courage that anchors itself in my coping mechanism, my ability to evaluate a situation, find the solution and follow through without doubt what I believe is the best way to go about it. Sometimes it is scary that I could be automatic that I don’t pay attention and not notice I am there and the little things. Perhaps, I have some other things going on in my mind. You can’t possibly remember every small detail of your life. Like, we were dancing 🕺🏽 in Zumba right. As we were grooving it out 💃🏼 I was actually making some figuring out decision. I don’t ever do that. It was easy going in class yesterday. It wasn’t packed. The energy was there. Everybody seems happy 😃 to put in work. I don’t know 🤷🏼‍♀️ where they were coming from but I just talked to the activities desk about a problem and it was my fifth exercise 💪🏾 🏃🏼‍♀️ after AMP which is high velocity, intensity spinning 🚲 . It was like a party 🎊 too. The reason I don’t give much credit to whatever people think 🤔 I am and it’s not that I don’t know 🤔 they are basing it off themselves, I am more, I weigh it based on where I am. I basically know where I am coming from. You are full of strength. Well, I have excess weigh all over my body and also I am having my shake dinner 🍽 . You can’t judge a person based on you. You put it in their shoes 👠 . Like duh 🙄. Some people are more like others and they can relate better which means they easily form friendship 👭 👬 👫 bonds. But in adulthood, there is a healthy way of going about living.

Wamesy gave me toe kisses 😽. I have achy 😖 tightness in my back. My legs are sore. My stomach too. Yes, tea cup table abs progression 📈.

I had some yogurt 🍦 coming in to the gym 🏃🏼‍♀️ 💪🏾 and I didn’t feel like having my full breakfast 🥞. I blow dried my hair and form it to my fancy. I was pretty cute with my tress. I spend time on my phone 📲 until it was time for Pilates. I missed the Monday class and glad to show up Wednesday. Well, it wasn’t as easy as the last time with April but it was manageable. I wanted to tell her I got out energized and limber. Many people where schmoozing and I am on a clock 🕰. I was able to pull myself lying down to reach my legs 🦵🏾 sitting. I had to hold on to my knees but strength is build up. I was wobbly and I was ok with where I was. I’ll keep on working on it. I love 💕 the part where you are folded in front and one on the side legs and you reach up towards the opposite side for the stretch on your torso and inner thighs. It was complex and a great pose 😊. I felt so womanly 👩🏼 . It was a joy to express myself. Although I am not saying it is a girl’s only class. You take these classes because you know you get something from it. Mary, the Ashtanga Vinyasa yogi 🧘🏼‍♀️ does tiny muscle exercises on the floor. It tickles me. I thought 💭 it proficient. April was great. She was being funny 😆, loose and she’s great with instructions.

I went for breakfast 🍳 after the class. I changed in my bathing suit 👙 and there was an Aqua class. I felt Pilates was for me morning. Another time and not this day. It was nice to see the ☀️ sun shine as I quietly nourish myself. I spend time on my phone 📱 again and that’s because I felt like it. It was something to be done ✅ and I had the option and really the wiggle room in my schedule 📅 to allow for it. Tit for Tat. I do it now, I have free time later. About 30 minutes before suntanning was over at 77 the heat 🥵 was unbearable for me and I was worried 😟 that I might get a heatstroke. I moved to the shade to get my nap 💤 for the day. I went back to switch my lunch 🍴 from breakfast on my food 🥘 bag. I had a leisurely meal at 100p.

I went back to the locker 🔒 room. I showered 🧼, I changed and I opened my stuff to grab my work 📚 to find me freaked out. “Where the hell is my black Vince Camuto purse 👜?” I reported it and they were going to investigate what had happened like check the security cameras. I am like, “What the heck.” Thank God, my laptop 💻 was spared. I checked in with Keya through out the day if there were updates. If someone turned it in. I don’t need the bag 💼 . Heck I am more than happy 😃 to use one of my new designers. But my lipsticks 💄, my Tahiri sunglasses 🕶, my chargers 🔌, my book 📖, my IDs and credit cards 💳. I would love 💗 to get a new wallet. I know I seem funny 😄 about it. It fuels my retail 🛍 enthusiasm. I have had the Badley Mischka wallet since graduating from Notre Dame. It was as old as I was an undergrad graduate 🎓.

I continued with my day like a pro. Ugh 😑 and I wrote ✍🏾 on my journal and I studied 📑. I wish I had my plug for Apple Watch ⌚️ and phone 📱. I wasn’t able to log my activity starting AMP 🚲 .

The room was not volatile. It was of course full of bullying. Yet my impression was it was calm relatively. It was also not pressure packed like I told Laura and you feel at ease to move about like you are safe. I may have low anxiety stepping on the floor because I know many of the trainers 👟 and I have friends in the gym. I also spend my entire day when I am training in the building. I eat my lunch 🍴 and dinner 🍽 there and sometimes breakfast. I use the sauna 🧖🏼‍♀️ and relax 😌 🧴 by the pool 🏊🏻‍♀️ . It’s not that I am not on my toes sharp. I just have lower threshold in my defense and I have a good relationship and a pleasant one with most of them and I feel that I am aware what it’s like during bottlenecks and low attendance moments. There was room to maneuver yesterday working on my lower body using the equipments. It wasn’t as busy. I told Lane seeing him downstairs that there was nobody on the floor. He was like, “I like it.” Mmmmhm. Something that he would say.

My Mom was making me do more over my lost bag. I did what was reasonable. She wanted me to check the garbage 🗑. I am like Mom, I am not going to go crazy over my lost purse 👜. If I remember putting it in my bin, then someone must have taken it from there. I don’t know what that person did to it. She told me like what Morgan said if I brought it to the poolside. I did not. She was like, “Maybe you just brought it with you not thinking 💭.” That’s the thing even with automatic routine behaviors I still account for what I need. What are extra I store. She stopped 🛑 her scenarios and insistence when I said hypothetically if I did bring it outside the camera shall have shown I did. End of discussion.

I was not too bad in the cycling 🚴🏼‍♀️ studio. There were many colleg 📚 kids in club and it is great. I remem using the Notre Dame gym which is open in limited hours and I told an advisor, “The guy was staring at me like he has never seen a girl use the treadmill before.” Yeah, strict stringent conservative. The handle bars where wobbly but I keep my seat 💺 because I wanted to get that after session report. I don’t believe I pressed the right end button 🖲. I had to leave and that’s where I saw my Mom and I got a lecture and I talked with Keya. It was a fun 🎊 class. The instructor was so bubbly . She beats me. I enjoyed her towel exercises. I thought 💭 they were great. I liked the mechanics 🧰 we did on the bicycle. I had to think 🤔 peddling and moving my arms at the same time without falling off the machine. It was great. I felt my inner thighs doing work and I was happy 😃 . Ballerina strength bod.

Zumba 💃🏼 I couldn’t move my legs anymore . They felt like a heavy brick 🧱 . I was able to bust it out on some easy Latin like music 🎶. But squats. It was a feel good work out 🏋🏼‍♀️ and as always the case L’Tan was great in getting us all into it and with various dances from 🕴🏻all over the world 🌍 . Some of them I knew by heart already. I was ready to pass out by the end of that last exercise routine. This was me.

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ruffoverthinksthings · 7 years

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Let Ben Rest: Disney’s Opportunity to Explore Auradon, Encourage Youth Involvement in Politics, and Encourage Healthy Leadership Habits

Many thanks to @screaminginternallyalleternity for pointing this out, and making wonderful writing besides about all the ways Auradon is incredibly messed up.

Auradon’s power is far too concentrated at the very top. We see that Beast, despite being one man and ruling over such a diverse and massive union of states, has the power to:

Completely, utterly ban Magic, one of the most powerful tools (and means of living) for its citizens, what brought a lot of the Royals into power in the first place and let them keep it, and united these states together in the first place,

Exile a gigantic portion of their population into an island prison, whilst bringing some of them back from the dead specifically for this, with inhumane conditions, no government supervision or aid, and literally dumping all their trash on them, and

Oppressing pretty much all non-human minorities so efficiently that most people aren’t even aware of it happening, and they had to wait for a change in administration to have their grievances aired and actually redressed, rather than getting yelled at and threatened until you shut up and sit back down.

I headcanon a lot that the decisions such as the Magic Ban, the Isle of the Lost, and the numerous oppressive laws weren’t entirely his fault—there had to have been civilian support, along with allies with the other royals—but as Kanye West sang, “No one man should have all that power.”

I can understand why the power structure came to be: in majority of the States’ time periods, royalty was seen as divine, infallible, and absolutely deserving to do whatever they pleased, because they couldn’t be sitting on the throne if they weren’t the true, right ruler for the kingdom. Even with London bringing with it the ideas of democracies, liberalism, and secularism, religious beliefs and long-held truths like that don’t die easily, nor do they fade away within the span of 20 years.

They may have compromised with the elective monarchy they have right now, but the point still stands: we have one man who has far too much power, and as Alex wrote about, far too much responsibility than any one person should ever have.

I understand that Ben is basically the Kim Possible of the Descendants Universe sans fighting evil villains on a regular basis,* that he is perfect in every way, with superhuman time management skills, intelligence, and energy stores to be a star athlete, captain and president of pretty much every club under the sun, and straight A grades plus numerous colleges and professionals courting and asking him for his opinion.

But like Kim Possible the show frequently used as a dramatic plot point, even if you can do anything, that doesn’t mean you should, because you are still human and you have limits.

It’d be a massive opportunity for Disney on all fronts to show Ben being overwhelmed by all his responsibilities and duties, and doing what responsible and successful leaders do:

Delegate responsibility to others.

It’d be a great way to point out the flaws of Auradon’s political system of entrusting so much power into a very small elite (or just two-three individuals) surrounded by advisers (who may or may not be corrupt, like Jafar), and are both oftentimes blind and deaf to the needs, the desires, and the realities of the people they serve.

It’d serve as an excellent critique of our current world, with how so many people put far too much trust in their politicians and leaders, believing them to be the actors of change rather than just the people coordinating the effort; having more sway over matters than they really have (such as with the economy, or massive, complicated crises like poverty); and more often than not, giving them too little supervision and accountability, content to disregard their duty as citizens to watch over the people watching over them, and just let them take the wheel.

Whether that leads to them to greener pastures, or off a cliff, too many people think their civic duty ends once you cast your ballot.

It’d be effective in teaching kids this most valuable lesson of adulthood: you can’t do everything by yourself. You need the help of other people. Even if you can take the weight of the world on your shoulders, you shouldn’t, because you’ll get tired, you’ll get sick, and you’ll eventually get crushed by your load, if you don’t have someone who can help take some of the weight off, or tag out for you while you recuperate.

It’d be a wonderful, convenient, and lore-friendly way to put attention into the various aspects of Auradon outside of the Isle, Auradon Prep, and parts of Auradon City, and develop individual characters—have Ben make new committees, initiatives, and departments, and delegate a student representative for each of them.

Hell, just make them the official Secretary, as apparently this society is perfectly fine with handing over absolute executive power to 16 year olds still in high school, why not his alter-egos in his cabinet?

Have Jane and Mal team-up as the Secretaries for the Magic, Sorcery, and Mystical Matters Committee, trying to find out some way to slowly, safely, sanely undo the magic ban without causing widespread chaos and discontent, have us see how exactly the Fae population have been affected by having the very essence of their existence made illegal, and how Auradon’s regular population had adapted with science and the consequences of getting rid of magic.

It wouldn’t be strange of them to go visiting the cells and settlements of expatriated Fae and magic users like the Stars (a headcanon of mine), interview the other Faeries of the realm and how they’ve been adapting or more often than not, suffering, and explore magic and the effects of the Ban deeper because that’s their job.

Have Jay be in charge of the “At-Risk Children Athletics Program” and explore the concept of Auradon Villain Kids (AVKs): the children of pardoned criminals or “not THAT evil” individuals that have avoided the Isle, but have a massive stigma anyway. Have him find out how the Romani (“gypsies” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame) have been doing, hang out with his fellow street urchins in Agrabah, London, China, and so on, introduce to these kids who think they have no future and nothing to live for that there is hope for them in sports, and getting into education.

Have Carlos and Evie be part of the Department of Science and Technology, exploring how education is still faulty in Auradon with parents perceptions that their kids are not going to benefit from it, the horribly mistaken belief that girls belong at home and not in college, along with the flaws and issues that technology and science have wrought with Auradon.

How many blacksmiths were put out of business when mass-produced products from automated factories came about? Why does Auradon such a huge throw-away culture where they can’t seem to use anything more than once or to the last drop, and is this because they live in such a time of abundance, they have stopped caring about the environmental and societal costs because “there’ll always be more?” How was technology adapted by these mostly medieval fantasy universes, and what the hell is going on with London right now?

You can also rope in the other AKs and give them the spotlight, like making Lonnie, Audrey, and Doug into the trio in charge of the Rural Development Initiative, exploring the people that have likely been left behind by Auradon’s move into a very automated, information-based economy: farmers, small, out of the way villages, and people who thought they’d be working the same well-paying, low barrier-to-entry, low-skill jobs all their lives, until they suddenly disappeared.

Expose us to the plight of the minorities through Doug’s experiences as the son of the Dwarves, how he thought there was no future for him but the mines, and how Snow White and his family fought damn hard to get him the education he deserved.

Have Lonnie explore how the middle class is better off, but not that much, and how certain societal problems have remained like arranged marriages because singles are so overwhelmed by how much choice they have, along with how Feminism still has a long way to go in that you’re still very much expected to quit your career at some point and become a full-time mother in Auradon.

Get Audrey’s hands dirty, have her interact with her people outside of parties and formally arranged meetings where everything is staged, shiny, and clean, and let her see the reality of the people that she’s going to govern, how things REALLY are outside of her gold-and-jewel-studded bubble as a 1% Royal, and that her luxury always comes at the cost of someone else’s prosperity, as there’s only so many resources to go around.

For far too long, Disney has been perpetuating the myth of “Divine Right” with their royals and the people who marry into the monarchy: that they deserve their positions because of them being inherently better, smarter, and more ethical people, that they deserve to rule because they are obviously good rulers and the bad ones are deposed in short order, or that it’s only the kings and queens who can actually enact any sort of change in the world, the commoner’s job is to make that happen like they were horses pulling a cart.

Having Ben delegate his tasks, admit that he needs help, and spread the responsibility around not only makes him a more realistic and sympathetic character and less of a Marty Stu, it empowers the other members of the cast and gives them importance in the world, AND it shows real life kids that you don’t need to have been born into royalty or have a crown put in your head to take charge, and lead the way for change for the world around you.

Plus, it can be a great opportunity to show the kids a HEALTHY, sane, safe way to have a high power, high responsibility executive job, that even if you are at the top, you’re still relying on the people below you holding you up just as they are on you, that you will inevitably need several hands of help, and that you need vacation days, breaks from your work, and time to yourself, away from the crush of paperwork, demands, and people demanding hearings.

That you need to and can make a system where the colour of this year’s ball is handled by your Royal Event Planner, you have a clear chart and system of if you really need to take this call or hear out this plea or can have someone else do it for you, and that your primary job as a leader isn’t to do all the work, it’s to figure out how to get everyone to do what they’re best at or can do, so you can all achieve more than if you were all working by yourselves.

I’d also LOVE to see a scene where Ben is kicking back in his room, slowly working through a giant pile of books, interspersed with the VKs and AKs running around, trying to keep this dystopian disaster we call Auradon from imploding.

* I actually have an AU about this. More on it Later.(TM)

Interested in financially supporting my writing habit? Consider donating to my Patreon!

#descendants #disney #headcanon #let ben rest

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ice-cream-beat · 7 years

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master-logan004 replied to your post “I’m officially opening this can of worms”

Wow. Very well said. Honestly though, it didn't seem like it was hard for Xehanort to posses Terra's heart. He got his heart and body just fine, it's the Lingering Will, if you will (get it 😏), that Xehanort could never put down. Now the different parts that make up a human are still hard for me to understand so I may have this wrong, but I don't see Xehanort not at least trying to get Terra back, unless one of two things has happened: he is still using the body that Terra had. It is said that the heart shapes the body. So maybe it's just been long enough for Xehanort's heart to shape Terra's body back to the way it thinks it should be, or (second option): Terra escaped somehow. Maybe Terra is finally back and didn't need our help (honestly though i have no idea how to get him back). I think there are still way more things pointing towards Xehanort talking about Ventus. In addition to what you said, Venitus is still inside Ven, which obviously gives Xehanort an easy entry point.

Now, since you clearly know your stuff, do you think that losing control of Sora has made Xehanort lose hope of controlling Ven? And what do you think of the possibility of Lea being the a guardian?

I’ve been wondering why this post has started making rounds again. XD But anyway, to break down your questions...!

Honestly though, it didn't seem like it was hard for Xehanort to posses Terra's heart. He got his heart and body just fine, it's the Lingering Will, if you will (get it 😏), that Xehanort could never put down.

Lingering Will is an extension of Terra. It’s referred to as his “mind,” yes, as opposed to his body and heart, but it’s still Terra, so Terra’s resisted nearly from the moment he was possessed. But as for Terra’s actual heart: in the Final Episode, Terra is constantly fighting back against Xehanort; it’s bad enough that Xehanort tries to forcibly expel his heart with his Keyblade. Also, during the bossfight, you can trigger a quicktime event as Aqua that shows her and Terra working together to harm Xehanort from the inside. In Blank Points, Xehanort admits that he’s dumbfounded by Terra’s continued presence inside his heart, when his possession should have smothered (killed) it at the get-go.

And then fast forward ten years to 0.2, where we see Terra literally wrestling with Xehanort to protect Aqua and Ven, and even subduing him using the same chains that were seen in the Lingering Will fight. Terra has always fought against Xehanort in both heart and mind; it’s never been easy for Xehanort to keep a hold of him because every time we see Terra-Xehanort, we see him struggling to control Terra in some form or another.

he is still using the body that Terra had. It is said that the heart shapes the body. So maybe it's just been long enough for Xehanort's heart to shape Terra's body back to the way it thinks it should be

I’ve seen this argument before, and I don’t really get it, tbh? When Apprentice-Xehanort removed his own heart, he still looked like Terra, so we know there was no physical change. Xehanort wasn’t reborn until that moment in DDD where we literally see it happen -- so Xehanort’s heart hasn’t been in contact with Terra’s body for over a decade. There really hasn’t been any time for it to “mold” Terra’s appearance, assuming that’s even possible. Also consider that Xemnas, as their joint Nobody, should technically be in possession of Apprentice-Xehanort’s (Terra’s) true body. This would seem odd since Xemnas died and appears to be present only through time travel, but Nomura hinted in an interview (can’t remember which, bah) that he and Ansem SOD are both actually alive at present -- and considering DDD seems to have been the end of the use of time travel (with the exception of Young Xehanort, who still has those powers), this would make sense in order for Xemnas and Ansem SOD to be present in KH3. If so, Xemnas should have Terra’s true body, which leads to your second option:

Terra escaped somehow. Maybe Terra is finally back and didn't need our help

I don’t think he’s near Xehanort at all, but I don’t think he’s fine, either. I don’t want to get into it too much because my thoughts come from a lot of speculation and complicated hints in the series, but I’ll just say that I think Terra’s heart is currently stuck somewhere and it can’t leave to be reborn in his body like Xehanort’s was. Even if Terra’s heart WAS free, however, Xemnas may well have his true body, so Terra’s heart would have nowhere to go. This potentially goes back to Ansem the Wise’s remark in DDD:

“Sora was the only one able to return to his human form without destroying his Nobody. That is a statement to the love in his heart for other people, and the bonds that tie them together. Perhaps...he has the power to bring back the hearts and existences of those connected to him -- to recreate people we thought were lost to us forever.”

It’s my thought that Xemnas has Terra’s true, aged body, so Terra’s heart will be saved in KH3 and, like Roxas and Xion, he’ll be given a new body -- which would allow him to retain his original, physical end-of-BBS age along with Aqua and Ven. (Also, I just can’t see Terra being the only one who’s aged while the other two get to keep their youth.)

Venitus is still inside Ven, which obviously gives Xehanort an easy entry point.

I actually don’t believe Vanitas is inside Ven. He wasn’t one of the lost hearts that Namine discovered in Re:Coded, he wasn’t seen by Sora along with Roxas and the others in his sleep at the end of DDD, he wasn’t present in Sora’s heart when Riku entered it at the end of DDD -- but he was seen alongside Young Xehanort in Notre Dame. I’ve just assumed that Xehanort already has Vanitas’ heart and was (or will be) able to recreate his destroyed body somehow.

That aside, though, even if Vanitas was inside Ven, he would be in Ven’s heart. Xehanort would want Ven’s body as a vessel, which is currently empty inside CO. He wouldn’t need any help taking over it, because it would just be a matter of putting a piece of himself into an empty body.

do you think that losing control of Sora has made Xehanort lose hope of controlling Ven?

Sora and Ven are different cases -- as I said above, Ven is just an empty shell, presumably no strings attached. Sora was a more complicated case. And even when Xehanort lost Sora, it wasn’t through any fault of his own other than failing to predict Lea’s involvement -- so Xehanort never “lost control” of Sora, he just lost Sora himself, haha. So no, I don’t think that’s crippled his confidence at all. But that said, I don’t think he’s after Ven anymore, either. He counts Terra and Ven among the Lights, and only refers to “having” Ven in the sense that he “had” Sora at the time, i.e. accidentally because Ven’s and Sora’s hearts came as one package.

And what do you think of the possibility of Lea being the a guardian?

I think I pretty much covered that in my description of what I believe is required of a Guardian of Light in my original post, all of which are qualities that Lea lacks. But I’ll paste my response to a similar discussion from further back:

I admittedly didn’t want to be the first to bring up Lea (since fandom has decided to come up with this rather heated and ridiculous Lea vs Terra rivalry that borders on the level of politics with Things You Don’t Talk About), but I definitely agree that he just doesn’t fit in with the other Lights as a group, and that’s not even taking my analysis of Light requirements into account. We know Lea/Axel has never really been a team player, and while he’s definitely turned over a new leaf in helping Sora and friends, I personally doubt he’s doing it solely because it’s the right thing to do; most likely, getting Roxas back is at least part of his motivation. But that’s just a total guess on my part, and I have nothing to back that up.

And I don’t mean any of this as an insult, because it makes Lea stand out from the other good guys – it makes him unique, which I admire because it’s good to have an ally who’s not Lawful Good like the rest. I’ve been hoping that he’ll be that cool guy who does stuff in the shadows, the ex-assassin with a more greyscale view of life who’s not afraid to bend the rules to do what’s necessary – basically, I want him to keep doing what he did in DDD. And he can’t do that as a Light, because that’s not what they stand for if you compare him to the rest. (And, contrary to what some fans think, you don’t have to be a Light to be important. We have a ton of allies at this point, and it’s not just going to be seven people pulling all the weight here. The Lights will probably be the most important people at endgame, sure, but that’s just one part of a very long plot. Status as a Light =/= canon relevance.)

And again, no offense to Lea, but if you can just pick any newbie wielder off the street to fill in as a Light, then that’s not very meaningful as far as the “fated battle” is concerned. In my opinion, at least.

#two cents #tl;dr #kingdom hearts #terra #xehanort #master-logan004 #text post

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