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bigblueoctoling · 2 months

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So, Side Order

Thoughts and theories below. I'll be getting into Everything.

I think Side Order sets off with a very bad first impression, but the story shortly develops. Side Order's biggest fault is simply in placing the Finale at the end of the first run; Of course one naturally should assume that more content would come after beating your first run, since this was very obviously marketed as a roguelike, but a roguelike generally shouldn't present completing your first run as completing the game. Any contemporary roguelike like Hades or Isaac will also have the credits after the first run, but the conclusion given is typically that Your Job Is Not Over. The way Side Order does it is as if Isaac's first ending was The Beast. I can't really blame people for mistakenly believing that the "Story" was over after that.

I also have to mention that I LOVE the Final Final Phase with collecting All Of The Color Swatches, but it really really cheapens how cool of a moment it is for Eight when the FINAL ATTACK is just... Pearl doing the killer wail a second time. Like, could you really not come up with ANYTHING else? I like Pearl's killer wail, it's cool, but it just felt like Eight got completely robbed of a moment.

With those two things out of the way I can safely say that Side Order was overall very good. It was kind of a rollercoaster for me, initially.

For a lot of it, I was really irked at how generic the whole Evil AI Story was, but it really develops as time goes on without really outright spelling things out for you.

I was deeply worried when I got Octavio's palette; one of my biggest fears for Splatoon currently is the idea of them trying to redeem Octavio, who is blatantly just a war tyrant who grooms child soldiers. That's not me reading too deeply into subtext, that's just what the text is. But as you keep going through it it becomes pretty clear- Marina in particular is the one who's phrasing everything like it's Really Not So Bad.

One of Side Order's major themes is Marina repressing trauma.

Smollusk is never really given an outright explanation on their origin, but I think it's fairly clear if you pay attention to how Smollusk acts- Smollusk is, in part, a manifestation of the "weakness" in Marina's subconscious Order used to infiltrate her mind. As far as evidence goes, it's pretty clear with how Smollusk swoons over Pearl- but additionally, I feel a lot of their notes from clearing palettes are relevant to this. In particular, in relation to the theme of Marina's repressed thoughts, there's Sheldon's info- The fact that they outright condemn Sheldon for taking "two young, impressionable children who've known him since they were babies and raised them to inherit his legacy", and "drill a love for weapons into them" seems to outright be a condemnation of Octavio's treatment of Octarians, while also skirting around directly condemning Octavio of such due to repressing what she went through.

In addition to that, I feel Acht's presence is a key part of this theme as well- it is extremely in character for someone as empathetic as Marina to downplay something she herself went through, especially in the context of being around someone who went through something much worse, with Acht's sanitization. Marina consistently refers to it as her Job, and Octavio as her Boss, while Acht will outright describe it accurately as conscription.

There's also the aspect of the other octarians- namely, the concept of Octarians who "didn't want things to change". At first, the concept reviled me- but I came to realize that this wasn't really about blaming Marina for leaving- after all, this wasn't an active desire of the Octarians involved, this was a shared subconscious feeling. It's less that Marina "abandoned the Octarian Military", but rather, that the people left behind felt abandoned by Marina's leaving. They surely wouldn't actively express this, but... it left an impact all the same.

Most clearly this is expressed by Acht. With the final notes unlocked from Eight's palette, I feel like it paints a very clear picture- Acht cared deeply for Marina. After Marina left... Acht fell into a complete depressive spiral. They used music to fill the void left by her absence, eventually to the point that they were willing to let themselves be sanitized. I feel like a lot of people are kind of distracted by the idea of Acht's irritation of Pearl and Marina's flirting being funny to realize that their discomfort is coming from the fact that Acht had very Heavy feelings for Marina. Acht, possibly more than anyone else, represents the idea of wanting things to stay the same back then. The ultimate conclusion being that Acht moves on from everything, accepts the change, but is happy to be able to be here, in the better future Marina created by making the risk to change everything.

I honestly feel like this is the intended story, but at the same time, that it's going to go over a lot of peoples' heads. But it really paints a very dynamic plotline that I think they handled masterfully.

For context for people who don't know me, to put it bluntly, I kin Acht and Eight pretty fucking hard. I can't say enough how thankful I am that Acht is written largely how I've always envisioned her. I wrote a fairly extensive fic myself on how I imagined sanitization worked, and the way Acht made their way to the surface, and how Marina worked to cure their sanitization. Suffice to say, while my interpretation was different, I'm deeply, deeply pleased that the canonical direction was largely similar to my own, in that Marina would absolutely be way too empathetic to not try to rescue the sanitized octarians from the NILS statue. And for what it's worth, I'm kind of glad, albeit mostly as a writer and less as a player, that they left a lot of the details open-ended, so I have MOUNTAINS of material to work with in writing another, more accurate fic. I'm also very happy that Eight is very heavily relevant! Acht is characterized perfectly. Very emotionally reserved, but has a lot of feelings hidden behind that wall.

As for Eight and Acht, let's talk about them, because I feel they are very intentionally linked, beyond the similarity of their names. It stands out very heavily that Eight's palette is here, but Acht's is simply missing. The idea that Acht's palette was simply already configured doesn't quite track to me- it feels more like an excuse Marina cooked up to keep Acht from worrying. I came to a realization of a theory shortly after completing the game that I was mortified at being true, because it was a worst-case-scenario I thought of shortly after Acht's reveal, which is:

Acht is Eight.

This upset me a lot because, well, I kin both of them- I have a lot of self-perceptions tied to each of them. If they're both the same character, to put it bluntly, it feels like I'm basically having one of them get forcibly removed. Some people get confused when I say this upsets me, but simply put, it just doesn't gel with my brain.

The most upsetting thing is how many holes in the plot it seems to fill in perfectly.

Eight, Marina, and Pearl were the only ones who initially entered the spire. Why was Acht already there, 'physically', as opposed to everyone else who merely got their soul sucked in through the sea cucumber phone?

Where even is Acht, physically? They're presumably still in the NILS statue, since it's pretty heavily implied that the memverse is what made Acht in control over their body.

Why doesn't Acht have a palette, even if it was already somehow automatically complete? Pearl and Marina just sort of have theirs with them. Why doesn't Acht?

Why is Eight's palette so huge and fucked up?

Why does Eight's palette unlock notes from Acht?

Why do we not actually see Acht physically in the real world? On the news, rather than just showing the three standing together, they show Pearl and Marina standing next to the old album art of Acht.

Why do we not get much of any feedback to explain if Eight gets their memories back?

Upsettingly, it even kind of goes to explain why Nintendo would give Acht they/them pronouns- as happy as I am for Acht to just be nonbinary, the explanation that Acht is Eight would explain why Nintendo would do that.

Most upsettingly, it seemed like nothing really hard countered this evidence- Eight and Acht look completely different, but that's kind of a nebulous hurdle to get over when everything else seems to line up so perfectly.

...However, thankfully, I came to learn that, of all things, TABLETURF BATTLE would save me from this theory being real. Acht is real, physically. Logically it doesn't track that Acht would exist physically after Eight, since, you know, you're definitely playing as Eight in Octo Expansion, so I think it's safe to say that this theory is a non-starter. Huge relief to me.

That being said, I still feel like this theory has legs- it certainly would make a very good super depressing fic where Acht has to come to grips with the fact that they don't exist anymore, but I'm not in the business of making that kind of fic.

On the other hand, I do think the fact that so many things line up does imply a lot about Acht and Eight, if not strictly canonically speaking. I think it's very possible for it to be something like:

Eight is a clone of Acht.

This, for the most part, explains the plot holes listed above, and explains the weird green goo that we initially find Eight in. It also adds more fun to work with for writing the two. We get a lot of language like "Who am I?" with Eight in particular, and giving Eight an identity crisis on top of everything else sounds fun. It also explains the visual discrepancies, a clone can look different from the host, but clones sharing souls tracks. I'm keeping this headcanon.

I also just think the color swatch system, and the design for Dramatic Days in Orderland as a whole, are very Neat and very Cute and line up with my autism very very very well. It makes me very deeply happy how autism-coded Marina is in this, and frankly, this being her solution to curing sanitized octarians is even more indulgent to my own interests than my own self-indulgent fan fic was. I cannot WAIT to write more and think about Marina's silly virtual worlds. Especially with how power-trip-y this one is; the fact that she envisions herself as the final boss is really a lot of food for thought.

As a whole, all of Side Order is an enormous amount of food for thought. This is EXACTLY what Splatoon 3 has been missing- fodder for theorycrafting and fanfic-writing and so forth. The world of Splatoon 3 has felt so stagnant and all of this is an enormous breath of fresh air that makes me excited for the future of the series.

In closing:

Smollusk is a product of the subconscious of those who worked on the game.

Acht loved Marina but lacked the self-esteem to express it to Marina. Marina left and Acht took it pretty hard, but they're okay now.

Eight is a clone of Acht and they share one huge fucked up broken soul. Whoops!

#bluetext #splatoon #splatoon headcanon #splatoon 3 #side order #acht splatoon

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utilitycaster · 1 year

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FYI, I'm away for the weekend and shall have very limited availability once I reach my destination but here is WoTC's first official statement re the OGL. It is short and in fairly simple language, and I recommend under the strongest terms you read it for yourself and draw your own conclusions from it rather than relying on others.

Takeaways I have are:

They will be clarifying that this is specifically about the creation of TTRPGs. Livestreams, cosplay, etc. were always unaffected but given the response from the community I think this is a useful statement to make. They have also stated that this is not intended to touch on VTTs. I will admit, I feel like the conversation surrounding VTTs has been by far the most poisoned by unfounded speculation, and I also have not liked VTTs when I've used them, so I'll wait for the final OGL 1.1 to have any conclusions, but at the very least this is what they are saying now.

It appears the royalty structure is not being pursued, which was one of the biggest legitimate concerns.

The OGL 1.0 will not be invalidated for existing content. I would presume that this does imply it will not be permissible for future content the moment that 1.1a is released.

The registration system has not been mentioned, and I am keeping an eye on that. It seems that if royalties aren't going to go forward this would not make any sense to have and would almost certainly cost them money to pursue, but I'm waiting for 1.1a to make that clear.

The language surrounding content that uses the SRD as being something that can be used by WoTC at any time for free will be clarified to indicate that this is a provision to prevent lawsuits over unintentional coincidences rather than as a means for WoTC to use commercially available unofficial content for free. (This is part of what was widely stated by people more familiar with IP law to be boilerplate. Basically: let's say a third party publisher came up with the idea of a fire-based druid class shortly before the Circle of Wildfire came out but after it had legitimately already been in development at WoTC. This would basically say "hey, we did not steal your IP; both of us came up with fire-based druid subclasses independently and neither of us will sue each other and both of us can continue to sell our material.")

Obviously this went through PR for a large company, and, you know, sounds like it. The responsible thing to do is to wait for the final document. With that said I do not think it's unreasonable to consider things with a measure of good faith, which is to say: the leak was a draft, it was not intended to be released as it was, and there was intended to be a (far more controlled) comment period for creators once a public-facing draft version was ready.

For what it's worth: More generally, I do recommend being very thoughtful about what subscriptions you maintain, which is why I use D&D Beyond in a fairly limited fashion and only because a DM of mine requested it - I do not use it for DM planning nor did I use it for previous characters. Part of that is because, as you can see in the film/TV industry and music industry, your favorite show or song can be taken off a streaming service on the whim of said service or at the behest of the artist or for many other reasons, but content you actually own will still exist. I think it's worth criticizing this as an ongoing business practice, and I do suspect WoTC will be pushing it for D&D Beyond.

I also think a lot of opportunistic people preyed on people's fears regarding games or shows they have deep emotional attachments to, and that multiple parties in all of this ongoing mess (one of which, to be clear, is WoTC/Hasbro) can all be wrong at once. Also more generally, I do not think this kind of fearmongering is productive, and I do think it's outright harmful to genuinely pragmatic anticapitalist efforts. Lies or even the not necessarily malicious wide dissemination of misinformation are far more dangerous when they validate what you already believe, because you're far more likely to fall for them.

#ogl 1.1 #clownery will as prior be blocked w/o comment

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maxwell-grant · 5 months

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Are the any superhero type characters from Brazil you wish got more attention internationally?

The ones I create, hopefully I don't really want specific characters to get more attention internationally, so much as I want more interesting characters to be developed, because most Brazilian superheroes (and that goes for a lot of other international superheroes) tend to be stuck on creative dead ends. I can elaborate more on that and the history of Brazilian superheroes if asked but if you want a specific answer, I'll give three, first one being, Tales of the Orishas by Hugo Canuto.

Tales of the Orishas fuses the pantheon of the African diasporic religion of Candomblé with the Silver Age comic aesthetics of Jack Kirby into a riveting tale of high adventure. The story centers around a celestial battle between the gods of Brazil, who are worshipped by the Bahia people, and a fearsome conquering force led by a dark and malevolent overlord. Only Shango, the god of fire and thunder, can lead his people into victory while the fate of creation hangs in the balance.

It is considerably popular already and even used for didactic purposes in classrooms overseas. but I can say very comfortably can say that this is a thing that should reach as large an audience as possible by any means. I mean, fucking look at it.

I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I've seen enough pages of it that I can very comfortably call it the best Jack Kirby tribute I've ever seen, even though it's ambitions are way higher than just doing that, and It's been heavily recommended by everyone I follow within the Brazilian comics scene for very self-evident reasons. Gets my strongest recommendation out of all these as proof of concept for what can and should be done with Brazilian superheroes.

Danilo Beyruth is one of the biggest names amongs the local comics scene, and has done several works with superhero-esque characters like The Necronaut, which is about a Spectre-esque "lifeguard of the dead" who wanders the world helping spirits carry over and resolve their unfinished business, and Days of Horror, which is a showcase piece for 50 major names in Brazilian comics, in a story about a Dr Doom analogue named Doc Horror standing trial for his role in an alien invasion that murdered his world's Trinity as well as thousands of civilians. He's done five books on the Astronaut series, which are a space-opera superhero-esque revamp of Monica's Gang character Astronaut, more in line with their more adult-themed Graphic MSP line-up.

The power to change the world lies in his hands...but he only wants to play king.

Rei de Lata is set in a world ravaged by war that faced it's worst disaster: a biological weapon that practically drove an entire country extinct. Unexpectedly, however, all children born after the attack developed some kind of abnormality, some kind of power generated by a survival instinct, trauma or extreme situation. Due to their immunity to the toxic air, the surviving adults detest and fear them, and wish to hunt and study them, and so the super-kids must battle for their survival in a post-war country.

And I'm also gonna be including Rei de Lata (I think you can loosely translate it as The Can King but that is way too clunky and isn't quite right for what the name is supposed to mean and sound like), which is available on Webtoon. It's more along the lines of a shonen battle manga, but it is about distinct, superpowered characters, it's invited enough comparisons to MHA and the main character is a supervillain so I feel comfortable putting it here. It's been ongoing since 2017 and I think it got a physical release, it rules and rises above a lot of it's inspirations, the protagonist and side characters are all great opposite perfectly detestable villains. Very strongly recommend it, really excited to see where it's going.

#replies tag #superheroes #brazil #brazilian comics #brazilian superheroes #contos dos orixás #danilo beyruth #rei da lata #international superheroes

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unlikelyarcadefire-blog · 4 months

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When I was 16, I randomly watched (if I recall correctly) the 1996 version of Jane Eyre, with Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt as Jane and Rochester. This is the only version I have been able to watch, as all others have off-put me in some way or another. I recommend it to anyone! It is incredibly sweet. I'll probably post more about that later.

After I watched, I was so emotionally moved, I rushed to read the book over the following four days. It was life changing! It made me think like a story never had before.

It also made me write. I began penning my own period novel, and worked at it for perhaps 3 years. I abandoned it mostly due to personal life events that made continuing it difficult and unappealing.

However, now I am 27. I decided to try NaNoWriMo after seeing John Green mention it in a video (at the tail end of November '23!) and was delighted to find... I loved it! And I wrote every day, every free moment. I stayed up late into the night. I was hooked!

I originally (11 years ago) had written my story on the notes app on my iPad -- I know, I know. I likewise kept a notebook as a hand written key for OCs backgrounds. That has been since lost -- I believe I discarded it, as I did many things in my college days. But I had emailed copies of my Notes to myself and was able to use them as a starting off point.

Let me tell you -- a lot of it was discarded, but some parts surprised me! It can be invigorating to rediscover your old art -- and be impressed or moved by it. Though, I am arguably better at writing and plot development now, with experience (English degree) and just life stuff.

Anyway, it's been like two months and I already have around 350 pages -- with lots more to write. I didn't think I'd ever actually write a book, but this is one of my biggest projects yet. And it's been a joy to create something! Since I graduated, I have slowly fallen out of my love and dedication to art -- it lingers but is overshadowed by daily life. I'm married and have a toddler now. But I believe I can have both! I am seeing inspiration and beauty everywhere -- I cannot escape it! I initially feared writers block but I have found myself to have the opposite problem. I can't turn my writers brain off. My OCs conversate in my head all day. Not being able to write down their ramblings is agony.

I'm rereading Jane Eyre, revisiting old artistic inspirations (music, period romances, books, poetry, etc.). I feel like I'm in my art-girl renaissance.

I even returned to Tumblr, if that tells you anything.

The point of this is mere unloading. To share my obsession somewhere safe. Bc I'm afraid of seeming silly or bugging anyone with my interests (introverts be like). Thank you for listening. I hope I finish my book, and make art that makes me feel something. That's it for now.

I hope you know there is a story in you.

#writing #jane eyre #books #nanowrimo #john green #charlotte bronte #writing inspo #art #artists on tumblr #writers on tumblr

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ladyfromaspookyforest · 1 year

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Scott Clarke is an NPC (I'm dead serious)

Scott does So Much (yes, I'll be capitalizing often in this post) for the story in season 1 and yet is developed more or less not at all. He's a side character. Do I expect to get to know him on the level I know Mike or Joyce? No. It's the fact that he does So Much and yet we know So Little that's odd. I know more about Vickie than I do about Scott despite how much more screentime AND impact Scott has had.

I’ve been looking at some Suspicious Behavior surrounding Scott, which I’m writing a separate post on. So in this post, I won’t be theorizing about anything we don’t know about him. I want to talk about the role he plays as we see it.

I had this thought and once I had it, I couldn’t get rid of it. See, my thought was, “Huh, Scott’s kind of like the chorus in a play.” And I keep thinking about that. The role of the chorus (historically...like Greek historically) is to provide information the audience needs that the actors cannot themselves give. Sometimes they offer commentary on what the actors are doing. Sometimes they offer foreshadowing. Sometimes they announce a tonal shift.

You know when you read a book and there’s a conversation like,

"Are you hungry?" "No, I’m good. I doubt I’ll ever feel truly hungry again now that I’ve lived through the Four Year Famine." "That’s true. Those were a hard four years after the Leprechaun Army of Willyfilly Forest turned all our crops to marshmallows, and when the marshmallows melted on the hottest day of the summer and ruined the soil etc. etc."

and you’re just sitting there like JFC nobody talks like this? The chorus makes it so you don’t have to listen to characters over explain things to each other in abominably unnatural ways. But they aren’t characters whose independent arcs are explored.

In season 2, Scott literally introduces us to Max and in doing so, also reveals to us that she is MADMAX. His first lesson is about the human brain, and he tells us that there are 100 billion cells inside working together as one. This foreshadows the hivemind. His second lesson is about Phineas Gage and how his behavior dramatically shifted after the rod incident. This foreshadows Will’s possession. His third lesson is about instinctual fear and this one is literally given as a voiceover on top of Mindflayer Will approaching the hot bath. It couldn’t be any clearer. Scott’s role in season 2 is very blatantly the Chorus role. He delivers information to the audience and that is all.

In season 1, it isn’t that he’s speaking TO us to provide us with the information we need, but that his EXISTENCE provides us with the information we need.

Example: Instead of suffering through something along these lines—

"The Heathkit is so cool. It’s amazing that it’s able to reach so much further than a regular radio."

—we have Scott teaching the boys about it because it’s just arrived. This is pretty much storytelling 101, basic Show Don’t Tell. But what has me stuck on it is that this is ALL Scott does. The only reason Scott needed to be in the woods searching for Will that first night was so that he could strike up a conversation resulting in the revelation that Hopper lost a daughter.

But here’s how I look at it: Scott’s like an NPC. He just appears while you’re on your important mission to communicate with Will and says, “I’ll give you the key to the Very Important Radio but first you have to do something!” and then you have to go to this assembly and there’s this minor bad guy you fight there and then you get to go use the radio. Or you’re on the Scour the Woods quest and NPC Scott pops up and says “I found this piece of cloth! Looks like it’s from the lab!” And you have to go on your Scour the Lab quest.

Scott Clarke is the true NPC of Stranger Things. There is one instance of Scott Not Furthering the Plot in season 1 and it’s when he’s at home, watching a movie with a ladyfriend (the biggest plot twist of season 1) before Dustin interrupts to make sure he doesn't get too comfortable and gets back to his job of Driving the Plot. So Scott tells him how to make a sensory deprivation tank.

I said that like a joke, but it’s actually so fascinating to me that we don’t just see Scott picking up the phone when Dustin calls, which would have been in line with everything else we’ve seen from him all season. This includes when Connie comes to wrangle the party’s identities out of him. We don’t see what he was doing before she arrives. We see her knock and only then do we see inside as he answers the door. But in this scene, we catch this brief glimpse of Scott’s life before Dustin interrupts and that interruption genuinely feels like it’s saying, “No, no, Mr. Clarke. You’ve misunderstood the assignment. You’re supposed to be helping, not relaxing.”

This happens again in season 3. We actually see inside his garage as he paints a little DnD figure while Joyce is knocking on the door before he hears her and gets up to greet her. It’s just a brief glimpse of his life outside of school. So what we know about Scott is that he likes science, he likes film, and he likes DnD. We actually already knew he liked DnD because he knew what the Vale of Shadows was in The Flea and the Acrobat and we could have guessed he liked film because he’s in charge of (and enthusiastic about) the AV Club. But what we know about Scott is, in short, his interests and that he cares about his students.

I think I need to take a moment to talk about why Scott is different from other side characters. Let’s keep on with season 1 for now. Barb is only in two episodes, but she’s developed enough that we see her emotions. We understand her worry that Nancy is outgrowing her. We see her frustrations as she’s dragged to a party where she doesn’t feel comfortable and then as Nancy abandons her. But ultimately, Barb IS the plot. She’s the instigator for Nancy’s journey. Similarly, Troy is the plot, serving as an obstacle for the boys. Tommy and Carol are antagonists to Nancy and Jonathan and offer Steve a self-growth arc. All of these side characters further the characterization of a protagonist. Scott only furthers the plot. (Don't @ me, I'm not implying he wasn't a great influence on the kids, I'm talking about what we see onscreen)

There are also side characters who don’t really do anything most of the time but maybe have a scene or two where they actually do something relevant. Like Holly. She’s just around most of the time, but then she notices the lights. Or Flo. She’s just at the office doing her job until she offers up some words about love and stupidity to Nancy.

No other side character consistently furthers the plot Every. Single. Time. they are on screen. And yet Scott is totally undeveloped. It’s his complete lack of independent journey combined with the way he appears solely to reveal information the protagonists require that makes him like an NPC. If he did not exist, the plot would halt. He is a destination the protagonists need to arrive at in order to achieve their goals. This is true of both seasons 1 and 3. In season 2, the plot actually would have been fine without him (I wouldn’t. I would not have been fine without Scott, FYI) but he was there to offer us foreshadowing and themes. His Chorus Era, as I am deeming it.

Season 2 also contains the only instance of Scott Not Furthering the Plot AT ALL in a scene. It’s at the Snow Ball. He’s briefly seen tacking up a banner and then again greeting Dustin. Nothing is revealed about him or his life through these moments, but they don’t serve the story in any way and frankly, that’s refreshing. Good for you, Scott. It isn’t like in seasons 1 and 3 where his peace is interrupted. Although, technically, Dustin still has to interact with Scott here in order to get into the Snow Ball.

I’m trying very hard to wrap this up without going into Theory Mode because I’m saving all that for my other post, but I feel like I just shat out a bunch of nonsense if there’s no Great Point I’m making. Conclusion: this character was written with a very specific purpose in mind. The writers made sure he was essential in every scene he is (has a speaking role) in except for one quick non-character-building interaction. And for a character so Important, he is left unusually underdeveloped. I don’t think this was an accident, that’s all. Scott Clarke for ST5.

#scott clarke #stranger things #I have no idea how to tag this one this is about to flop so hard #my dumbass post

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ciaossu-imagines · 2 years

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Hello so nice to see you back ☺️.can I ask pros and cons of dating xanxus?

Hello, my lovely anon! It's so nice to be back! Thank you for sending in an ask for me to write and I hope you'll enjoy!

Pros of Dating Xanxus

Okay, but Xanxus? So used to only the finest things and refuses any less. He will have the best of the best when it comes to anything - food, beverages, clothes, toiletries...shit, even probably his toilet paper is stupid expensive and unbelievably plush. Now, while Xanxus is a lot of things, the one fault he does not have is greed, in the sense that he won't make those around him suffer with scraps. And especially not his partner. They will get the same fine meals, the same nice clothes, the same luxuries that he allows himself and his subordinates...in fact, they'll probably get just a bit better than his subordinates. He is wealthy and he will use his wealth to keep his partner in a situation he feels befits a lover of the mighty Xanxus. They normally won't even need to ask.

Allow me to be crass here, though I'll keep it short and to the point. The sex will be absolutely insane and he will make you swear you saw God by the end of it. Sex is a language that Xanxus can speak and it's honestly an important way that he shows his love to a romantic partner.

Okay, I know I've mentioned this in several other posts, but as with any other Mafia boss...you get a whole new built in family just from seriously dating Xanxus. Sure, they're all insane. Sure, you're pretty certain that Levi might dream sweetly at night about a gory, unbelievably painful death for you. But the Varia members will take you in, they will protect you, and they will make you one of their little crazy family.

Cons of Dating Xanxus

I'm going to get the biggest con and the one that is likely to be the most controversial out of the way first. As much as the whole 'power of love can change anyone' cliché has been heavily romanticized (and if you enjoy that, please don't let me stop you because my view doesn't invalidate yours), I personally do not think that simply falling in love with someone or developing romantic feelings for someone is enough to drastically change anyone and especially not Xanxus. While he would be a bit kinder or softer to his partner than he would to most people and they're probably one of the few people he tolerates, he's still exactly who he has always been. A spoiled brat with one hell of a nasty temper. He will get pissed at his partner. They will fight, he will throw things (though I hesitate to say he'd actually physically harm them but wouldn't be above scaring them and, in the moment when he's pissed, would actually enjoy doing so), he will say harsh and rude things. His temper has always been volatile and while age will make it slightly easier for him to control, he's always going to have a short fuse. It's who he is and his partner will have to be in for a bumpy road.

Xanxus has a reputation and honestly, he's rather proud of his reputation and of being feared. He wants to keep that image and that will really suck for his partner if they are someone who needs public love. It's not that he won't be seen with them. Rather the opposite in that, if Xanxus does actually lower his guard enough to romantically love someone, they are likely going to be kept in close vicinity to him almost all the time. It's simply that he will not be seen being anything more than tolerant to them in front of others, barring maybe the other Varia members and even then, it would be more lust on Xanxus' side than softness. Any softness, tenderness, physical affection...of which Xanxus will give his partner, I'm not saying he wouldn't...is saved exclusively for when the two of them are alone.

Let's be completely honest. Any partner of Xanxus' will have to be exceptionally mentally and emotionally strong for one reason - there is always a huge chance that they could die or that someone they'll get close to, like the Varia members, or even Xanxus himself could die. It's a very real probability and one they'll have to deal with mentally every day. The life the Varia leads, and especially Xanxus, is one of violence and danger and by being with Xanxus, they'll have to accept that sort of life for themselves as well.

#replies #katekyo hitman reborn #khr #reborn headcanons #khr headcanons #headcanons #xanxus

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thesherrinfordfacility · 7 months

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(last anon= me, was a bit anxious it might not go over well for some reason- off now bc changing the capitalization was a pain)

i agree on the human aus! love their flexibility, the sorta "yeah, may as well happen" you get clicking on something (with love) completely ridiculous. it's also so much fun to see what people do with crowley's eyes and his relationship to the glasses.

i'm very very early in planning this, but i want a&c to be as close to theirshow characterizations as i can possibly get them (book boys are amazing but i want the drama). i don't know that i'll do a very good job at justifying it with their backstories, but i'm gonna try. (idk. people have different opinions on personality being nature vs nurture. i can claim majority nature if it's more convenient)

i'm thinking here that crowley, personally, would have had to kill somebody or a couple somebodies, in an absolute (it at least appeared so, still does), life or death, them or him scenario (only his life saved). said somebody or somebodies would have attacked first, and out of desperation-- not totally their choice either. i'm assuming for the sake of the fic that he'd be able to do it at all, and then survive a couple decades after, so there's... something.

i just can't figure out exactly how he'd have coped with it, and whether he'd, later, think of it as justified, like how much guilt there would be. don't know what's even plausible.

my biggest problem is that framing him as 100% Good and Pure (and weirdly helpless?) like ppl do sometimes is literally my biggest fear writing this (huge mischaracterization in general). i don't want to go for the exact same indifference as in the show, for reasons you mentioned (and also that level of apathy would fuck up the entire rest of the fic), but not too far in the opposite direction, either.

tysm for the first response and considering a second, this seems a whole lot more solvable- and sorry if it's a lot to ask to go over all this (although your ability to hold a shit ton of information at once and then respond eloquently is impressive asf, looking at like every chain with LWA), i just drew a bit of a blank. also my bad if it's got a little heavy for your blog, just realized looking at the tags 😭

oh @aq-uatic you silly goose!!!✨ im absolutely fine with asks like that, please feel free to sling them my way anytime!!! ultimately tho, that's what the tw was for; just in case it was a bit heavy for someone else, but for me, personally? there's not a lot of themes that i feel uncomfortable discussing, almost all topics are welcome and i'll soon say if they aren't!!!💕

ooooh okay, so a self-defence angle!!! i think that that could be interesting to explore, because - well, you could take it from the perspective that crowley is initially very righteous in defending himself, rightly thinking that he deserved to protect himself, and the use of force was proportionate. he could initially come across as quite dispassionate and apathetic about it, "me vs. them? well of course it was going to be me!", and ultimately not want to address the whole concept of having committed murder because, on face value, it was justified. and maybe he privately doesn't want to examine it bc he's apprehensive about what he'd find?

but then as plot (and character) develops, turns out that because the whole thing was so fast, fuelled by adrenaline and the instinct to survive, crowley ends up... not being able to remember much of it? and as details start to come back, i think that's where the cognitive dissonance element would play - that he then has to reconcile himself as being someone who he feels is morally sound, 'would never harm another human being', a good person... but then is starting to remember his fear in the situation, confronting his own mortality, and what it says about him to be able to take another life with little thought other than his own self-preservation? as well as remember the specific physical details of what happened? the sounds, the smells? looks in the mirror afterwards and sees a different person looking back?

obviously without knowing the full motive of the person attacking him, who they are, what their story is etc.,... i think crowley could end up dealing with it in a way that he accepts that he cannot control others' actions, only his own. that that person chose to put him in the position of having to defend himself, and whilst, yes, that person may have had a family, friends, potential... when he's in a position of ensuring his own survival, he may have actually made the best decision he could have at the time. idk if you're planning to explore the attacker's circumstances in any depth, but if - for example - they were trying to rob him out of their own desperation (e.g. homelessness/austerity, fund addiction, peer pressured/gang context, mental health), maybe crowley would deal with that by exploring charitable work, or good causes, that seek to alleviate that very desperation? and that's how he heals from the experience?

again, hoping this might be some food for thought!!!✨💕 please do link me your fic when you've posted anything, i really admire how you're exploring this concept and it sounds really interesting and promising!!! i'll reiterate that i love getting asks, especially when they explore topics like this; i feel the LWA ones are a little bit of an anomaly, for being really analysis-heavy (which i love, let me clear), but getting to be a bit creative is exciting for me too!!!✨

#good omens #ask #tw: death #<- again adding this just in case!!!💕

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d34dlysinner · 11 months

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Beel mysteriousness really intrigues me even though he seems like one the loudest

Why he left his kingdom and never once return back ,anyway he should be thankful that he has a friend like Bael that could cover and take his place for that long.I’m worried Bael might have a identity crisis 😰

And his power is just WOW ,know everything about a person just by the smell

It would be awesome ,if he couldn’t sense us and we are now mystery for him .

He looks like someone that would leave you after his done his fun with you so this is gonna fun.

Okay let's talk about his ability to smell you and what you've done first. I'll be honest that is one of my biggest fears. Absolute nightmare material for me. I always feel like I need to smell good, so having someone that can know what you've done and eaten makes me scared. I can imagine him thinking that something isn't right since there's someone that smells different from the usual demons he interacts with and he sees that it's the MC.

Now about Beel's bestfriend.

Honestly I love Bael eventhough we don't really know him. We just know that he fills in for his friend.

And yes, this man definitely must have some identity issues. I can't imagine someone being able to impersonate someone else since B.C.931 without having issues.

Bael probably needs like... a few centuries to find his own interests and be himself again.

Now about Beelzebub himself and his country... atleast some theory.

So Beel's ability is something special. He defies logic and theories and makes special phenomena happen in Hell. He wanders around and is sighted everywhere except his own country "Avisos".

Solomon and God disappeared B.C.931 the same time that Beel abandoned his country.

The texts mentions that Beelzebub or his country is developing whereas the other countries are already set according to the preferences of the king. If Beel is developing it may actually mean that he gets interested in things and as quickly abandons them, because he wants to try stuff out.

It could mean that Avisos never was a stable place to begin with. Beel leaving just means that it would crumble more.

The text also mentions that Bael is the one who since then "ruled" over Avisos as a fill in.

On top of that Bael's info mentions that he fills in for Beel mostly because the angels are hunting him.

I don't believe that Beelzebub is weak and that he needs to leave Avisos because of some weakness he has. His ability to create things that defy logic could be very strong. On top of that Stolas, who thinks that he himself is the strongest in Avisos, fears Beelzebub.

I want to theorise that Beel helped in the disappearance of God and Solomon or that the angels atleast think he did. He then abandoned Avisos for safety reasons. Bael maybe filled in since he's Beel's bestfriend and didn't want the angels to bother Beel. Probably stalling the actual encounter between Beel and the angels.

#what in hell is bad #whb #whb thoughts #whb beelzebub #whb beel #whb asks

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theflyingfeeling · 7 months

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Hi hi helloooooo!

There has been a scenario/headcanon/thought whatever this is that I've been thinking for the past two days and it's stupid but I want to share it now 😭

Due to lack of Olli/Allu content (you know they have been in the US for a week already and what have we gotten? Only one pic of them 😤 (and this is a joke btw)) I've had this headcanon that during/after Aleksi's streams Olli realized "oh shit I actually have feelings for him" and that it's not normal to stay awake waiting for the other to text or rewatch the streams when you can't sleep🤧

or vice versa (I'm pretty sure I've talked about this before??) the chat makes Aleksi realize that it's, in fact, not normal to smile so widely when getting a text from Olli or check his phone every minute waiting for an answer 😭 (and maybe Aleksi sees the cute tiktok edits all the kids make and the comments and he realizes that it's not really that platonic after all)

and maybe Aleksi gets scared and thinks he really shouldn't fall for his bandmate and oh no it CAN'T be happening and it's his biggest fear andandand- it leads to Aleksi avoiding Olli and making up excuses why he wants to room with someone else and poor Olli gets so confused and sad and aaaaaaa 😭🥺

I think there was even more to this but I can't remember now 🧍‍♀️ also now when I have written this I realize we actually talked about something like this didn't we?? Well now I talked about this more sorry 🤧

(and once again sorry for all the grammatical errors I'm just writing whatever comes to my mind 😭)

Hello there hiiiiii!! 🥰

Yeah I think we discussed something similar not so long ago but guess what!! I'm absolutely down for talking about this some more because hell yeah feelings realisation and pining and angst and all that heart-wrenching stuff!! 😌

I see your 'one of them realises they have a crush and get scared and proceed to avoid the other because that'll sure solve the issue' and raise you 'what if they both did' because 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 that would be even more terrible, with both of them having the oh shit moment (simultaneously, unbeknownst to each other), thinking they shouldn't be having feelings for the other and start avoiding each other, yet they get sad when the other is avoiding them as well, because even though they avoid each other they still want to be together and they miss each other so much and maybe Aleksi cries about it against Niko's shoulder (without actually telling them what it's about) and Olli does the exact same with whoever he's rooming with and-- 🥺🥺🥺🥺

But yeah, ngl I've been thinking about something similar a lot as well recently. It's just too easy to imagine Aleksi in his studio at ass o'clock with a stupid smile on his face every time he gets a new notification from Olli, and omg Olli watching Aleksi's streams when he can't sleep? Because he misses him so much and then he realises he misses him maybe a little too much? Yeah okay great thanks, I'll be thinking about this for the rest of week probably 🤧😭💕

(okay hiding my final thought under a cut because of reasons 😅)

And like. All that^ is obviously just headcanoning and very much Not Real, but at the same time, we've got to remember that Aleksi choosing Olli as his ghost story buddy for his spooky stream - because he knew Olli would 1) be awake, and 2) be totally down for it - and that Olli was, in fact, down for it and just abandoned whatever he had been doing to do even more than what Aleksi asked of him, way past midnight (!!!!), is something that actually happened and is thus Very Real, and that's gotta tell you something, I mean hellooooo?!?!?! And no I will NOT shut up about this already because it's still the cutest shit ever, and so I'm asking you, is it really so far-fetched and impossible that two friends and bandmates who clearly enjoy each other's company a lot develop some feelings for each other? Like, just teeny tiny feelings?? I for one don't think so 😤😭

To conclude, your honour, they're in sweet bisexual love and probably don't even know it yet 😔

#the main reason why i rather ship band dudes with each other rather than with myself #is that it's much more realistic for THEM to get together than for me to get together with any of them 😅#i'm not saying it's realistic. i'm only saying it's MORE realistic #since they already know each other and probably like each other a lot. me? they barely even know i exist 🤣#but yeah in case someone thinks i actually believe any of this is real: come on 🙄#(...unless 👀)#also! in this house we stop apologizing for grammar errors immediately!! bold of you to assume i notice any 😂#thanks for the olli/allu thoughts of the day <3 #ollixallu #answered asks #sparfloxacin

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devilbrakers · 10 months

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13, 26, and 35 for the couple questions! Your choice of couple. :D

since you often get me thinking of helena and lucien, i'll answer for them! sorry this took me so long, brain has not been braining fdjskl.

couple development questions

What is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

Their love languages overlap a fair amount, those being physical touch and acts of service primarily. With some gift giving from Helena since she used to be a noble and still is a big spender though I can't see him caring for anything super expensive dsjfkls.

Helena isn't terribly fond of kisses, mostly receiving, but does like to at least keep a hand on him if he's nearby, play with his hair or even wash it for him if he'll allow it. Helping each other with projects, training together and working on weaknesses, etc etc. And of course, carrying out contracts together should the opportunity arise <3. One of my fave murder couples fr.

They have an argument with their partner—what is it about? Do things stay respectful, or is there some shouting and accusing going on?

Hmmm. I can't see them arguing too often but if they were to, it'd likely be over Lucien thinking Helena isn't as devoted to Sithis and the night mother as he is. She's not but she won't admit that out loud, she has different motivations for being in the brotherhood but does respect them. On the contrary, she sometimes thinks that he's overly dedicated. Similar to your post with tatiana/lucien, she wouldn't be able to kill him if the night mother/sithis were to order that like he would be able to do to her and that scares her a lot. Not only because he's her partner and she loves him but death is her biggest fear.

But for the most part, they are respectful. Neither party is terribly gentle or empathetic (especially Lucien <3) but I can't see them yelling insults at each other. If things get too heated, they just leave and come back to it later. Apologies are like pulling teeth but Helena is more likely to cave.

Would they get a pet? What kind? Who brings up the idea, and who takes a little longer to convince?

I don't think they'd ever really own a pet together? I go back and forth on Helena owning ravens but I think that's something he'd leave as her own thing though I imagine he'd grow at least somewhat fond of them over time.

#thank you!!!!!!!! i haven't rly talked abt them much on here i don't think #ask #my ocs #helena

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retrob0t · 8 months

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i finally pushed through my fears and watched the first 2 episodes of Ahsoka... I have thoughts™️

LA Ahsoka is still quite flat for me, sadly. Ahsoka use to be my absolute favorite character, and now I barely recognize anything about her that I use to adore. There's small, small bits and pieces here and there, but she feels so boring and emotionless at times. Is there a reason for this? I honestly cannot think of one, especially not after how quippy and sweet she was in Rebels. Not to mention, physically she just defaults to standing with her arms crossed and looking judgey. I'm hoping this can be expanded upon and maybe show us why she's now so different, but I'm nervous that there wont be any, since most of the Mando related shows & such lately has just been so devoid of any actual interesting character work. I'm not asking for much when I say I want character work, I just want her to feel like a character again, if that makes sense. 2. The music was quite good! Nothing wowed me, but I liked it! 3. Another thing that breaks my heart is just how bad Hera looks. Her eyes take me out of nearly every scene she's in. MEW is doing a decent job at Hera, but with how cakey her makeup is mixed with the contacts and rubbery lekku, it's just a bit jarring and depressing. 4. I'm also just not a fan of the makeup/prosthetics for MEW or Dawson, I honestly can't believe this is the best they could do. 5. Sabine being Ahsoka's Padawan is... is just so odd to me. Maybe as it goes on it'll make more sense and they'll tell us why Ahsoka started training her in the first place, but it's not entirely my jam. It doesn't help that I can barely remember a single line of dialogue between them in Rebels, so it feels even more out of place. 6. biggest nitpick in the world but they perfected the visual look of lightsabers in the sequels, I honestly don't understand why they decided to regress here. like legit, the blade doesn't have much energy to it. I know it's such a small thing but like, I just rewatched the sequels and man oh man did those blades look glorious. 7. My last thought because my heart can't take this and I really hate being negative, but thankfully this is like, a half positive: I adore Baylon & Shin and would absolutely read a book about them. No joke, I'm way more interested in them than Ahsoka & the gang, which makes me horrifically depressed, but at least I get some more edgy/mysterious force users to obsess over (as long as they turn out to be interesting in the end, but we only have 8 episodes, which is ALWAYS a perfect amount of time for characters to grow and develop) and they will probably be the main reason I continue to watch, just due to how rad they are. I truly wish I didn't feel so negative about these first 2 episodes, especially since Ahsoka & Hera (and Rebels) has been so precious to me for years. it just feels so blank with the returning gang. I dunno, man. maybe I'll rewatch the episodes soon and I'll probably try and stay up to date, but I'm more nervous then anything...

#Ahsoka Series #LA Ahsoka #retro rambles #star wars thoughts

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katyobsesses · 2 years

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Sam Evans and "Speak Now" (2010)

Sam Evans is Taylor Swift's biggest fan (he totally sung one of her songs on the show, Disney+ just cut it out for some reason) so I've tasked myself to go through her discography and relate her songs to Sam in someway (an AU idea, when he could sing it in Canon, or when someone else could sing it to or about him)

Feel free to use any of these as prompts for fanart/fanfic and let me know if you do!

Here's Speak Now (2010) to continue our journey (lyrics linked)

Mine

I know this is Brittana's song but lets just pretend it's not for a moment.

Hevans vibes from the very first line. a NY AU where Sam, idk, moved to NY instead of Ohio but his family still had money troubles and he developed trust issues for some reason... This could really fit my fic Welcome To New York

You were in college working part-time waiting tables // Left a small town, and never looked back // I was a flight risk with a fear of falling // Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts

Sparks Fly

S3 Hevans from a Pining Kurt POV. Him and Sam have gotten closer as Sam lives with The Hudmels, Or in the Summer between S3 and S4 (simply just for the Fireworks <3)

Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down // Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around // 'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

Back To December

this could work well for Samcedes in some ways

And I think about summer, all the beautiful times // I watched you laughing from the passenger side

Or a Hevans AU of some sort where Kurt and Sam had a falling out at some point after dating

I'm so glad you made time to see me // How's life? Tell me how's your family? // I haven't seen them in a while

Speak Now

This feels Blam like, like Blaine is about to Marry Kurt and Sam just wants to stand up and say-

Don't say "Yes", run away now // I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door // Don't wait or say a single vow // You need to hear me out

also works reversed as Hevans, mostly for the line:

And her snotty little family all dressed in pastel

which could be The Andersons depending on which fanon you subscribe to

Dear John

Definitly Sam after the Samtana breakup!

Well, maybe it's me // And my blind optimism // To blame // Or maybe it's you and your sick need // To give love then take it away

Mean

In my Taylor Swift instead of Justin Bieber Comeback AU, this is the last song instead of Sing, with everyone singing in a group. I know this isn't Sam centric, but it's Sam making everyone in the New Directions Swifties so... close enough. It's just such an ND song, very Loser Like Me-esque!

Someday, I'll be living in a big old city // And all you're ever gonna be is mean

The Story Of Us

Samcedes from Sam's POV, especially after Mercedes Graduates, then when Sam moves back to Ohio after trying it in New York.

It's not The End for them, though, at least not in my mind. It's just a few chapters in their story, maybe just the first book of a set

Oh, I'm scared to see the ending // Why are we pretending this is nothing? // I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how // I've never heard silence quite this loud

Never Grow Up

Obviously Sam to/about Stevie and Stacey, especially after he leaves Kentucky, or when he moves to New York.

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger // And it's so quiet in the world tonight // Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming // So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

Enchanted

I have an unreleased fic for this, an outtake from my fic One More New Direction where Kurt and Sam sing this in Silly Love Songs.

But apart from that, maybe a S3 AU again for Hevans, where they dance around each other for the season (while Sam is also confused about if he likes Mercedes or Kurt more) and unfortunately they get together at the end of the year/start of the summer and then have to be either long distance or break up before Kurt goes to New York for college.

This is me praying that // This was the very first page // Not where the story line ends // My thoughts will echo your name // Until I see you again // These are the words I held back // As I was leaving too soon // I was enchanted to meet you

(this also fits so well with a storyline i have for OMND 'verse omg... like so perfectly)

Better Than Revenge

Sam to Finn after the Fabrevans breakup, like just switch the pronouns and it's perfect. Or Sam could not switch the pronouns and Finn would just be confused as all hell

Soon she's gonna find // Stealing other people's toys // On the playground won't make you many friends

Innocent

Maybe someone (Kurt/Mercedes/Blaine/Rachel??) singing it to Sam when he's kinda lost and unsure of himself and his path in life in S5?

Every one of us has messed up too // Lives change like the weather // I hope you remember // Today is never too late to be brand new //// It's alright, just wait and see // Your string of lights is still bright to me // Oh, who you are is not what you've been // You're still an innocent

Haunted

Mercedes about Sam leaving for Kentucky and starting to date Shane

Stood there and watched you walk away // From everything we had // But I still mean every word I said to you // He will try to take away my pain // And he just might make me smile // But the whole time I'm wishing he was you instead

Last Kiss

Samcedes Duet about Sam leaving (most of these seem to be about Sam leaving!) The first verse is obviously Mercedes, the second could be Sam (and makes it espcially sad as my headcanon birthday for Mercedes is July 10th!). I can 100% see this in my head, like split screens and sadness as they both walk though the halls of McKinley when Sam comes back. Maybe instead of Sam being all "leave Shane for me" he thinks Mercedes has moved on, and because Sam isn't doing everything to win her back Mercedes thinks Sam has moved on. Mutual Pining vibes.

Or possibly (because of the I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are) it's mutual pining after Sam moves back to McKinley after New York

just a lot of Samcedes Mutual Pining

I'm not much for dancing // But for you I did

Long Live

Another song for the Comeback AU - there are just so many anthems for Sam to choose from! (this is the one I chose for OMND) This one just feels so New Directions to me

When they gave us our trophies // And we held them up for our town //// And the cynics were outraged // Screaming, "This is absurd!" // 'Cause for a moment a band of thieves // In ripped-up jeans got to rule the world

Or Sam sings it when they win Nationals? or at his Graduation? I'm seeing a Blam AU

Ours

Hevans feels, so many Hevans feels omg. There is so much queer allegory in these lyrics! I can totally imagine a Hevans Duet, while Kurt is in New York maybe. I feel like most of it is from Kurt's POV with little bits from Sam's. I am having all of the feels right now.

But this love is ours //// And it's not theirs to speculate // If it's wrong and // Your hands are tough // But they are where mine belong and // I'll fight their doubt and give you faith // With this song for you

If This Was A Movie

this once again feels like a Samcedes song, for either time they broke up.

Come back, come back, come back to me like // You would, you would if this was a movie // Stand in the rain outside 'til I came out

Superman

Sam sings this in my Hevans Bodyswap Soulmate AU in Chapter 4

could maybe also be sung about Sam by Kurt after he stands up to Karofsky for Kurt.

I watch superman fly away // You've got a busy day today // Go save the world, I'll be around

#seatss #sam evans as taylor swift songs #sam evans #glee #katy creates #katy writes #?? ish #glee meta #katy writes meta #samcedes #hevans #blam #fabrevans #sam evans meta #glee fanart

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juniperhillpatient · 1 year

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The Avatar State Re-Watch

Watching this episode is really stressful because I have to pretend I care about what's happening in the plot & with all the characters as if it's not the episode when my personal Blorbo of All Time is introduced.

(Yes I got excited about the flashback, & the end of Book 1 as well. Her Royal Highness Princess Azula is just that special that she gets three Offical Introductions™ okay)

Anyway...

Okay, so, the Gaang is heading for Omashu where Aang is planning to learn earth bending from King Bumi. That's when we meet one of the most unpleasant side characters of the show. Boo, Fong, me & all my homies hate Fong. Right after we learn about the nightmares that Aang is having about the power he wielded during the Siege of the North Part 2 while in the Avatar State/soul bonding with the ocean spirit, this asshole uses peer pressure to try to force Aang into the Avatar State again to defeat Ozai.

I had honestly forgotten that the show does a decent job of exploring Aang's fears regarding his own power. This episode is where we see that he's becoming affected not just by the burden of his responsibility, but by fear of what he's capable of. A big criticism I've had so far along this re-watch is that the Gaang is continuously responsible for the deaths of Fire Nation soldiers - 'Imprisoned,' 'The Northern Air Temple,' & 'The Siege of the North Part 2,' are the biggest examples so far, yet Aang is shocked & horrified at the thought of killing Ozai in Book 3. This is not because I'm on team "Aang should've killed Ozai," again, I just think the show can be hypocritical about the whole "no-kill" rule. That said - I think this episode comes close to handling the issue well, & it certainly does a good job of exploring Aang's inner motivations & fears. Aang is terrified of the amount of power he wields, & not just because of this great responsibility he has, but because the Avatar State can be quite destructive. He's having nightmares about what he did during 'The Siege of the North Part 2,' he's struggling with reconciling this scary destructive force with his own nature as a pacifist, & also just a kid.

Katara & Aang's conflict in this episode is pretty engaging because both sides make sense. While Aang ultimately realizes that 1. Fong is an insane asshole & 2. Fong is wrong that the Avatar State is the only way to win this war - it makes sense for him to consider Fong's arguments at the start. After all, on a logical basis, they are running out of time for Aang to learn the four elements. On Katara's side, we have her knowledge that discipline & hard work are the way to master the elements & her care for Aang as a person, not just the Avatar. It's a well-done conflict & we ultimately realize that Aang needs to master the elements on his own. Oh, & we get the fun little info from Rokku about the Avatar's potential destruction. I'm sure that won't be important later! I'll be honest, I don't love what they did with Sokka in this episode. After a lot of development in Book 1 & experiencing a devastating loss in the season finale, Sokka is back to being the comedic relief with no real inner conflict of his own as of this episode which is a bit disappointing. I did like him bonking Fong on the head though.

So, Book 2 has a new villain to be More Eviller & Scarier™ than Zuko & Iroh now that Zhao has been sucked into Hell where he belongs. I'm sure this is a villain I'll be completely normal about. But she sure does have an iconic introduction!

I just feel like Azula's level of badassery can never actually be underappreciated.

The Fire Hazard Siblings reunite in this episode & it's crazy to think that 2 years ago I was watching this cartoon thinking "this is a kinda interesting dynamic, hm" & now I still care a completely normal amount about these dysfunctional evil siblings in a kid's cartoon & I definitely don't spend 28 hours a day 366 days a year thinking about the stupid imperialist family of assholes.

Anyway, Azula shows up & Zuzu is filled with joy to be reunited with his baby sister. Not. Zuko greets Azula with disdain even without knowing her intentions, which is interesting because he's pretty ready to trust her. Iroh is mistrustful from the get-go, which makes a lot of sense because he knows his brother & he knows this probably isn't the reconciliation mission Azula is claiming. Zuko's attitude toward Azula is unrelated to whether he trusts her. We saw in 'The Siege of the North Part 2' that Zuko has a hate boner for *ahem* is harboring a hell of a lot of resentment for his sister. He thinks everything comes easy for her. He sees her as having taken his father's affection, something he is desperate to obtain. So, right off the bat, we have some extremely complicated & fascinating family dynamics at play.

Azula gets a lot of praise for "do the tides command this ship" & she absolutely should because it's an iconic & terrifying introductory speech BUT I think MY personal favorite Azula moment in this episode is when the wool is pulled from Zuko's eyes & he yells "you lied to me!" & she responds "like I've never done that before?"

This is where the mask is lifted - but only partially. Azula isn't one of my favorite characters of all time for nothing - this girl has so many layers to explore. There's the calculated politician who is always playing a mind game & never telling the truth - that's who we see at the start. Then there's the mean & twisted bully who immediately starts insulating & belittling Zuko once the gig is up, playing at his worst insecurities to get under his skin by reminding him that their father sees him as pathetic & a failure. Later, we'll meet the scared & lonely girl hiding deep down, but she's buried pretty deep, so not yet.

Azula & Zuko's fight is just iconic. We get to see both of their fighting styles & how they work against each other as well as Azula using her keen ability to get under Zuko's skin, something only a sibling could do so effectively even after years apart. Zuko is an aggressive fighter, while we see Azula deftly dodging his attacks more often than fighting back, even choosing to scratch him rather than burn him - which is a tiny hint at something more going on under the surface - Azula doesn't want to kill her brother. This claim doesn't come with some great declaration that Azula is actually a softie, I just think that she's an incredibly skilled fighter & it's impressive to see the way she maneuvers to avoid doing worse damage than necessary to Zuko. She wants to take him prisoner, but not strike a killing blow herself.

At the end of the episode, we get a pretty significant moment from Iroh & Zuko. They severe their hair & their ties with the Fire Nation, cutting off their royal headpieces. This represents a pretty huge shift in their role in the story & I'm so excited about re-watching their journey & where they go from here!

#the avatar state #atla book 2 #atla re watch

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mvnicagellers · 2 years

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I used to eat up romance books to fill my loneliness, trying to dull the pain because I never felt truly loved - and this included friends and family - out of someone's free will: not because I was born from them and now they felt obligated to take care of me and try to love me, or because once we got close they realized they didn't like me that much but it was too late to drop me. I read those books because I wanted to know what it felt like to be someone's favorite person, and not the second (or third) choice. You see, I did have friends, but they were always my best friends, while I was never theirs even if I tried to do everything to please them. Don't get me wrong, I did those things because I loved and wanted to make them happy, but also in hopes that one of them decided that I was worthy of love. Books gave me a bit of hope. "Well, if these characters can be loved, maybe one day I can be loved too."

I think I didn't hate my appearance on most days, but I surely was hyperaware of it. And this is embarrassing, but sometimes I practiced dialogues I knew would happen the next day in the mirror to see if I would look ugly while talking, and what facial expressions suited me best, because I was desperate not to be seen as unattractive.

Perfection was always my goal, especially in work and academia. I recall feeling so out of place my first semesters in college. Everyone had read so many authors, they knew so much and I could only think "I'm never gonna make it". I was terrified of being behind on things, of not knowing enough. My biggest fear was not being able to develop a good research project when the opportunity came - if it came.

I was afraid of everything, everyone and mainly of myself. The world seemed so big and ready to shatter me to pieces if I took the wrong step, like I could fall off the tightrope I constantly walked on at anytime.

And I did. I fell right into the arms of my biggest fears. The fear of opening up, of being truly known by someone (and expecting they would run away as soon as showed them all of me), of talking a bit louder and trying to make connections, of putting myself out there even if the possibility of failure scared me to death.

I wish I could give that girl a hug and tell that it was ok to afraid. I wish I could show her how it all turned out, that in the end she gets everything she longed for since she was a child. I wish she could see how this morning I woke up next to the most handsome man in the world, holding me like he always has, through the good and the bad. How he makes me feel appreciated and beautiful even without makeup, how he finds my body gorgeous and on days I can't see it, he loves it until I'm able to. How smart he is, the way his eyes light up while talking about what he works with. How heart warming it is to watch it. Yes, please explain the world to me, I would love to learn everything about it with you. Even if I already gave you mine, with the certainty that you are never going to shatter it, because you taught me to trust again. I want to tell her how he supports me through everything, how he doesn't let me doubt myself not even for a second. How he believes in me. How I believe in him too, how this man can achieve anything he wants to. And I'll always be on the front row, clapping and bursting with pride, just like he does for me. How he kisses me until I forget my name, loves me so damn good there is not a single doubt our bodies where made for each other. I wish I could tell her we found love and it is so much more than she could have expected.

That girl should see how after waking up with him, in my beautiful apartment downtown, with simple yet elegant decor and a window that shows me all the city lights every night while my baby holds me, I head to work in the university she has dreamed of teaching at. How I'm a incredible professor. How it was so worth all those restless nights, because I was able to develop that research project I dreamed about since high school. How that grew into a more complex version for my master degree, and how I can call myself a doctor now because she didn't give up. How I still do research besides teaching, and my job fills me with so much joy and excitement it still feels like a dream sometimes. How we are learning more and more every single day, the absolute pleasure I get from it. I want to show her that thrill, the feeling of almost combusting from happiness and curiosity after connecting the dots, is still here. That it has unraveled a whole new world to me, and I have all the possibilities to go further into it. She should know that my old teachers are now my colleagues, and we even partner up for projects. I am 100% fullfilled in not only doing what I love, but being succesful at it.

I wish I could tell my younger self she is safe. That I still read those books, but not wondering when it is going to be my turn. Instead, I read them and can finally understand what it feels like. I get what the characters meant by the butterflies in their stomach, because I get them every single time I take a look at my life now.

-The kind of thought I will have in a few years.

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celine-song · 1 year

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You said you had thoughts on how they handled wesper and honestly I would love to read them!

ok i'll try to organize my thoughts but i'll probably just end up rambling incoherently im sorry!

a lot of people have said this by now, but the soc storylines were super rushed and it really harmed the character development imo. a lot of things happened way too early to make sense or have the emotional impact they could. and a lot of the flavor that wesper has in the books is due to how long it takes them to get there, similarly to how the tension between kaz and inej is what makes them so compelling and interesting to watch.

instead we have jesper whine a little about wylan being too green, then see him blow some stuff up and be like ok nevermind you're cool now. where's the gradual build of trust where's jesper grilling and messing with wylan because he has a crush but isn't super aware of it and also they completely erased jesper's unrequited feelings for kaz which i think is boring bc in the books it's like a really tragic thing because jesper tries desperately to prove himself to kaz and he doesn't feel good enough and maybe secretly fears that he is unlovable and masks that with his bravado and him learning to be vulnerable with wylan, especially about being grisha, is SO IMPORTANT and we just didn't quite get to experience that. not to mention i think his feelings for kaz were stopping him from realizing how he feels for wylan, because he's so used to longing for something he can't have that when there's someone waiting for him, he doesn't realize it.

in the show we get a speech about jesper not really doing relationships that's supposed to sum up the character development that leads him to embrace his feelings for wylan but it just doesn't work when he says he got to know wylan and it changed everything bc DID WE SEE THEM GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER??? THIS IS EPISODE FOUR. if jesper is so afraid of intimacy why is he doing this in episode four then. what changed. wylan played the piano? come on now.

to me it just doesn't make sense with both of their personalities to jump into this so fast. jesper is afraid of intimacy, he's hiding a pretty big part of himself, he doesn't trust wylan at first, and it all stops mattering in 4 episodes. wylan is in completely new territory, he doesn't know these people, kaz is being really scary, wylan isn't brave, or doesn't think he's brave,and he is also hiding a very big part of himself, IS SO SO INSECURE, and he still manages to master the courage to kiss jesper? it's too easy. and it doesn't feel earned and they just become another tv couple to me like there's no flavor. kanej was rushed too but at least they still kept their spice skdvnsdjkvn

also it's kinda a waste of the chemistry kit and jack have like those few episodes of longing glances were so good jack was giving it his all. i wish they did more of that like the subtle "oh no i'm falling in love with this mess of a human being" on both sides is so fun to observe.

i think wesper were kinda their biggest fanservice-y point, like even in the interviews before the season dropped they leaned into it so much and they just had to show them in bed together as soon as they could and i get not knowing if season 3 is even going to happen and wanting to give the fans as much as you can but i'd still rather have more buildup and have the boys acknowledge their feelings in the season finale or something so it HITS. i hope people who haven't read the books are having fun but they don't know what they're missing sdkvjnsdjkv it could be so much better it could be fireworks and the soft oh and everything! ugh

#ask #im scared im just pointing out the differences because i really don't think being faithful to the books is everything #like it doesn't have to be a word for word adaptation (although i did cheer at 'i will have you without armour')#but i do feel like simplifying the books makes the story less interesting #i don't know if i'd still think that if i only watched the show though #also it would probably work better in an episode-a-week format

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