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superthatguy62 · 11 months

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The Differences and Influence of the Final Fantasy 1 manga

While Final Fantasy is certainly no stranger to adaptations and alternate media, it’s mostly towards the later entries such as VII or XV depending on how you feel about such media, this may not be a bad thing.

When it comes to the first three entries, their adaptations are the most mysterious: Final Fantasy III got an absolutely insane manga, Final Fantasy II got a somewhat insane novelization and Final Fantasy I has an obscure manga. As these came out long ago in Japan and were rarely, if ever, re-released, knowledge on these media remains scarce.

However, TrafalgarScans on MangaDex has translated the entirety of the Final Fantasy I manga, allowing english readers to experience it for the first time.

And, while a straightforward retelling of the original game, there are a few interesting elements in it. Elements that may seem somewhat familiar if you’ve Dissidia or Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin.

Before we begin, I’m going to be doing something different from my previous discussions: Rather than doing a summary/play-by-play of the manga, I’m mostly going to be talking about things I noticed, whether they be different... or indirectly indicative of where Square would take FF1 in the future. As that implies, I will be discussing spoilers for Dissidia and Strangers of Paradise.

For context: The manga was written Kaimejii Yuu and was released in 1989: 2 years after the first game landed on Famicom, one year before it arrived on NES and the same year as the MSX port. So rejoice Space Station!Flying Fortress fans.

Let’s start with one of the obvious ones:

The Party

The original Final Fantasy centers around four Warriors of Light who mysteriously appear, each with a crystal fragment.

In the manga, we are introduced to the members of the party bit by bit: First, there is Puffy who seems to be a traveling Warrior.

Puffy later meets Flitz/Fritz, a Monk who was kicked out of his monastery for his vices.

A Monk and a Warrior. Seems standard so far. But then there are the other 2 members.

Matoya, a witch who is skilled with black magic.

And the fourth party member... who isn’t introduced until quite a ways in. While Sarah and Bikke both join the party, the true forth member turns out to be none other than

Bahamut, the king of dragons.

Naturally, this is a pretty big deviation: Matoya and Bahamut are NPCs in the game after, but here, they’re main characters. Matoya would go on to be a prominent character in FF1, even being playable in spinoffs for what it’s worth. However, I don’t think there are many FF1 interpretations that put the NPCs in the WoL roles.

They’re not the only ones different, however

The Villains

The Final Fantasy manga follows a somewhat condensed version of the game. It’s actually kinda close to how Memory of Heroes did it, with the focus largely on Garland and the Four Fiends, concluding with a bout against Chaos.

Garland generally keeps his overall role, including his infatuation with Sarah (which makes me wonder what was the first media to touch on that aspect of him) but also has some significant differences: He doesn’t wear armor, he doesn’t seem to die before vanishing and the manga more blatantly sets up the plot twist by showing Garland entering the Dark Crystal. Only Flitz notices though, so he’s the first to realize that Garland’s behind everything once the Warriors learn about the whole she-bang from the Lufenians.

There’s also his name, but we’ll get to that.

The Warriors are promptly attacked by the Four Chaos/Fiends. There’s the Lich, who is looking positively Mobius!Chaos today.

Then we have Marilith, who looks about how you’d expect.

Then we have Kraken... Who is...

And last but not least, we have Tiamat, who has both a monster form and a humanlike form.

And then there’s Chaos, whose design is vaguely reminiscent of how Garland’s armor would evolve from Dissidia onwards mixed with traits from his Chaos form.

Oh yeah, Garland. Did you know that’s not his full name in this adaptation? Yup, long before “Jack Garland” would use the last name Garland, this Garland had the full name of “Red Garland”.

And here’s where we start to get into the influence that this manga may or may not have had on Square-Enix’s future interpretations of Final Fantasy 1.

The Backstory

In the games, the Warriors of Lights’ backstory is left unexplained. This plays into the role-play/”create a party” aspect of the game: It’s up to the player, if they so chose, to fill in the blanks about who their characters are and where they came from.

Memory of Heroes, being a close adaptation of the games, leaves its characters’ backstories ambiguous outside of tying a further connection to Garland as his time shenanigans “unchained” the Warriors of Light and wiped their memories, explaining why they can remember nothing and why nobody recognizes them.

Dissidia Final Fantasy, while not directly touching upon the events of FF1 itself, gives a backstory to its Warrior of Light: He’s a perfect manikin created by Cid of the Lufaine and placed within the cycles of conflict. Over time, he grows into more of an actual person and continuously comes to blows with Garland, who already knows him from the cycle back home. In the end, WoL ends up in the FF1 world and sets off on his journey, determined to not only save the world from Chaos but to free Garland from the endless cycle he unwittingly trapped himself in.

The manga, however, gives a more detailed backstory.

Early in Chapter 2, Puffy explains that she is not actually from that world; In another dimension, she worked at an inn and was just an ordinary girl. However, on her way to visit her friend Matoya, she winds up slipping through a dimensional barrier. When she wakes up, she’s surrounded by the circle of sages who explain the situation to her and send her off to fight Chaos, despite her attempts to argue otherwise. Puffy later meets up with a different version of Matoya, and soon after the manga begins.

This is largely forgotten about until climax, where it becomes much more important:

As one of Lufenia’s Knights of Gaia/Sky Warriors, one of the bats in the Chaos Shrine explains a bit further: It’s not just Puffy, all four of the Warriors apparently hail from other dimensions. The Knights figured that the best way to stop Chaos was to get four people from parallel worlds that Chaos did not exist in, resulting in heroes with fresh perspectives from worlds in which the crystals were not compromised. Thus they set up barriers that would link the five worlds together and the four Warriors of Light seen in the manga wound up being the four that were chosen (the manga mostly focuses on Puffy, but the implication is that Flitz, Bahamut and that version of Matoya all hail from similar parallel worlds). After Chaos is defeated, the four end up being sent back to their own worlds with no memory of their adventure. Puffy in particular goes back to being an innkeeper and serves drinks to various patrons... including Garland who, although rejected by Sarah yet again, has not turned into Chaos and is an overall decent guy.

What makes the dimensional stuff even more surprising is the meta aspect: Either great minds think alike, the parallel world stuff was in the Japanese FF1 or Square Enix took inspiration from this very manga.

Dissidia Final Fantasy is a big fat crossover featuring the protagonists from the first couple games. While the first game was somewhat ambiguous, Dissidia 012 (the prequel) would establish that the game took place on World B: A destroyed parallel counterpart to World A, which is the world of Final Fantasy 1. The reports in 012 would also establish that Onrac stumbled upon a dimensional gate which would be how they acquired the ore that allowed them to produce manikins.

Stranger of Paradise takes the parallels even further. The concept of Lufenians drawing in people from parallel worlds to function as Warriors of Light was embodied in the Stranger Project. However, it turns out that the manga beat them to the punch with Knights of Gaia’s dimensional barriers. Of course, the KoG were benevolent compared to the SoP Lufenians who were malevolent. The concept of summoning warriors from other worlds would naturally be used there too, although in 012′s case, it’s due to Shinryu’s influence creating gateways.

And speaking of...

The Lufenians

The Lufenians are a simple, standard “Ancient Civilization with advanced tech (TM)” that was common in fantasy stories and would become a recurring trend in Final Fantasy, one that still remains even to this day. As far as plot significance go, they remain primarily in the background: They’re one of the civilizations the WoLs encounter their space station is the Semi-final dungeon and their champions were turned into bats that infodump a number of aspects about the overarching plot.

Then there’s Cid. In the original Final Fantasy, while the airship is said to be a Lufenian creation I think, I need to fact that that, there’s no mention of any particular Lufenian who created it. Later versions would name the Lufenian “Cid”, in keeping with series tradition of naming the prominent airship engineer “Cid”. Memory of Heroes gave a Cid a more prominent role, leaving behind video projections to show what happened to the Flying Fortress, entrusting the warp cube to the robots and burying the airship that the Warriors of Light find and use to travel in the later half of the story.

However, Cid’s actions are actually somewhat familiar.

In the manga, a Lufenian (not Cid, though with the benefit of hindsight and how SE would’ve handled it, he may as well be) features prominently in the intro, leaves one of the robots to gather the warp cubes in preparation for the day the Warriors of Light arrive and leaves behind a video projection, with the man himself being long dead by then. Not!Cid’s exposition is different though, tying into how the energies from the four shrines can be seen converging on the Chaos Shrine from the Space Station as well as discussing the Knights of Gaia for a bit.

There’s also the dark crystal. In Final Fantasy, Garland is seen in front of a dark crystal in the Chaos Shrine. When the Warriors travel back to the past, they play the lute in front of the shrine, transforming the crystal into a portal. Stranger of Paradise would explain the crystal as being a “Dimensional Crystal Matrix”, sent to them by their unnamed collaborator.

Again, however, this is not the first time this has happened.

Turns out, the Dark Crystal in the manga is a “Time-Space Transfer Device”. The Knights of Gaia had used the device to set up the barriers to summon warriors from other worlds. However, Chaos took control of the device soon afterwards and used it to set up the time loop that would bring him to power. Coincidence or not, the manga Lufenians’ usage of the device would be echoed in the aforementioned two different aspects (the Dimensional Crystal Matrix and the Stranger Project). SoP would also echo the element of Garland taking control of the device for his own uses.

Conclusion

In the Stranger of Paradise Confidential Files -Secret Chapters- (An official complete guide - Thanks ChrysalisThoughts for the clarification! ), one of the questions posed to the developers is why Jack’s station is known as “Station 19″. While the final game has its own independent time loop, apparently it was named after SoP being the 19th time Final Fantasy 1 was ported/remade at the time, with the idea of different strangers being dispatched from different stations for each of the remakes.

While that plan ultimately didn’t fully pan out, the implication of Final Fantasy 1 having parallel worlds or a connection to other worlds in general is one that has echoed throughout the franchise.

- The Final Fantasy manga utilizing the concept of parallel worlds for its protagonists.

- The Souls of Chaos dungeons featuring prominent bosses from the other 5 Nintendo-era Final fantasy games.

- Dissidia introducing “World B” with 012 establishing it of being a parallel world to the world of the original Final Fantasy

- Memory of Heroes implying that the Warriors of Light of its three adaptations (and perhaps beyond) either inherit the will/souls of the previous ones or are the previous ones reincarnated in another world.

- And Stranger of Paradise’s original intentional of having parallel worlds, along with its hinted connection to World B

It’s looking more and more like a DC multiverse, especially if you flub things to suggest that each interpretation is its own parallel world.

But, in a way, it’s oddly fitting. Final Fantasy is a game that has you make your own party. The game gives no detail as to their character or backstory. You’re encouraged to fill in the blanks yourself, hence why fanfics and such can vary wildly with how everyone ca reinterpret the story. In a way, it’s fitting that SE themselves get in on it. And it’s interesting how, almost every time, multi-dimensional shenanigans manage to get involved.

I dunno.

I just think it’s neat.

#Final Fantasy #Dissidia #dissidia final fantasy #Stranger of Paradise #Final Fantasy Origin #Long Post #Longpost #Memory of Heroes #Puffy Tolte #Flitz Stewart #Fritz Stewart #Garland #Matoya #Bahamut #Chaos #FF1 #FFI

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leixwhite02 · 4 months

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the night we met

synopsis: when rafe shows up at your doorstep to apologize there’s nothing you can do besides be reminded of the times before all hell broke loose.

warnings: angst, no fluff in this part, suggestive content, fighting (verbal) if there is anything else please let me know!!

a/n: this is the second part to how do you sleep so please read that before you read this to understand the context of this story!! this is also kinda long so my apologies 😎 i am also turning this into a series 🙏

part 1 part 2

masterlist || taglist

“hey can we talk?”

you look down at the message… what could he possibly want to talk about, you have nothing to say to him. your body betrays your mind and immediately starts to reply to the text.

“sure…”

you’re not actually sure you want to hear what he has to say, but a part of you misses him and wants to figure out if this situation can be fixed or not.

after a while of getting your apartment together, you hear a knock at your door knowing it’s him. shaking your hands with nerve you go and open the door, when you open the door your met with someone you almost don’t recognize.

he looks so much different from three days ago when you saw him last… his hair wasn’t its usual tamed look and his eyebags were dark and sunken in, making him appear more dead than alive. half of you felt bad but what he did to you the other half couldn’t care less.

“hey…” rafe looks down at his feet, almost like he’s lost all of his confidence with you.

your mouth twitched into a small smile at the sight of him again but soon went away when you realized the real reason that he’s here. as you let him into your apartment all the memories come flooding back.

FLASHBACK

it was a sunny day in the outer banks, you decided to take a walk to your favorite coffee shop instead of driving today. you were a kook, but not like the others who were snobby. no, many people called you the “golden kook” because of your sweetheart and kind soul.

midterms were coming up at school so you thought it would be a great day to go to the coffee shop not too far from your house and study. on your way, you were watching the scenery.

spring was your favorite time of the year, the flowers were blooming to their fullest beauty, the birds were singing their songs and everything was just beautiful. when you’re walking you aren’t paying attention to what was in front of you, causing you to run into someone on the way.

you look up to see who you ran into, apologizing profusely. when you look up you’re met with rafe cameron himself, you’ve heard many things about him, and none of them are nice.

you’ve never seen him in person before, only hearing about him. he was very attractive in your opinion, that day he was wearing a blue polo paired with a nice pair of cargo shorts. looking up at him you get a good look into his eyes. beautiful blue eyes gazing back at you, those same eyes you fell for that day.

END OF FLASHBACK

“y/n, you okay? you kinda drifted off there a bit…” rafe waves a hand over your face to gain your attention back. you didn’t know how much time passed when you were thinking but you’re assuming it was enough to loose your attention.

“oh, sorry… i was just thinking, you have my full attention now” you say picking at your fingertips. you want this to end as soon as possible, you’ve never felt so awkward and nervous around rafe.

time goes by a little making you think, but before you know it the simple talking with rafe turns into an argument. you couldn’t really tell what your arguing about, it’s all over the place at this point.

“rafe! you cheated on me… i’m not just going to let you back into my life like that, you have to give me a little! i don’t think i could love you like i did.” you scream inches away from his face. “you hurt me, really bad.” tears are streaming down both of your faces, yours of anger his of hurt.

“y/n… i know i hurt you i know! but if you let me i can fix this… we can be back like we were, i can swear to you it will never happen again. i was drunk and not myself i shouldn’t have ever done that to you im forever sorry!” rafe grabs your hand trying to bring you as close as you’ll let him, you yank your hand away… to angry to deal with physical touch right now.

“rafe. i loved you i really did, in fact i still do… i never stopped but you really hurt me, it’s going to take some time for me to forgive you.” you look down at your feet, tears continually falling down your face and onto the floor by your shoes.

“i know, and i will do everything in my power to get you to forgive me, i promise i will wait for you as long as you need my love.” the nickname fell off his tounge like the past, bring you back to another memory.

FLASHBACK

you and rafe fall on your backs against the bed panting and breathing hard. recovering from a night filled with love making. rafe gets up and heads to the bathroom connected to his room to get a cloth.

grabbing the cloth wetting it, he walks back to the bed ready to clean you up. with love in his gaze he starts wiping of your thighs and gently kissing up her legs he goes.

“how are you feeling my love? did i go to hard?” rafe starts asking his questions he always does with you after sex. you couldn’t be more in love with him at that moment.

END OF FLASHBACK

“y/n? you keep drifting off… are you even listening to me at this point?” rafe asks with a stern voice.

“i can’t do this right now rafe… i need you to leave, please.” you beg, wanting to be alone with your thoughts to think about what’s is going on.

“okay, please text me when you’re ready… i’m not going to force you to talk to me if you aren’t ready.” he says walking to the door “i love you y/n” and with that he walks out the door.

#leis thoughts #rafe cameron #rafe cameron fluff #rafe cameron angst #obx angst #rafe obx #angst #obx

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acourtofthought · 11 months

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Do you think these hardcore E/lriels (like your last anon who tried to pick a fight about "faerie racism" 💀) are longtime fans who just refuse the acknowledge where Sarah is going with the series?

I'm a new reader, finished the last book a few weeks ago and for me Elucien and Gwynriel seems the most likely outcome. I'll share my reading experience if you don't mind, maybe it will be a bit long.

So, I started reading acotar because I saw some pretty fanart of Az on instagram and became interested in his character. :D I saw that there are two possible ships for him, many liked his dynamic with Gwyn better, many liked the aesthetic of him and Elain together and I also saw the comments on how they have "4 books of build up" so I was interested to see for myself which one I will prefer.

So after acotar, I went into reading acomaf with the mind paying extra attention to all Elain/Az moments, and when I finished I literally was like "that's it??". Apart from that dinner scene where they had one polite conversation, it was very clear Az is in love with Mor, and Elain is with Graysen.

So then I went straight to Az's bonus chapter because I could not understand the hype about these ships and I wanted to see. :D Obviously I had no context, so all the bonus chapter did for me at that point is that I became interested in Gwyn's character. :D

Then I read acowar, again paying extra attention to all Elain/Az interactions. There were cute moments in acowar that I think had a possible romantic coding, but again I just found them lacking. Simply because it was clearly established they were still in love with other people.

Acofas was the first where I personally started to see them develop some romantic feelings (Az and Rhys's talk about how he refuses to check on Lucien's whereabouts for the sake of Elain's privacy - idk that whole part suggested to me Rhys kinda knows whats up //the infamous potato scene where Elain runs back to the kitchen to rebraid her hair - I interpreted it as her having a crush and wanting to look more presentable //he starts a conversation with her// she gives him a present and he laughes and blushes etc.) and we can also see Elain and Lucien's relationship kinda hit rock bottom. But, still there were mentions of lingering feelings for Mor and Graysen for both of them.

And then came acosf and Gwyn quickly became my new favorite character of the series. Since I was paying extra attention to Gwyn bc I was interested in her from the start, I picked up on all the cute moments she had with Az, but personally I don't blame anyone if it flew over their heads because they were subtle. None of them is ready for a relationship right now and that's fine. However reading the bonus chapter again, now in context, I was just stuck wondering: where the heck all these sexual thoughts came for Az about Elain?? I really don't see 4 books of build up, as I said for me acofas was the first I started to see them in a romantic light, but even that was more platonic. So that means, in the 9 months between acofas and acosf, Az started to fantasize about Elain instead of Mor. Offpage.

Although E/riel does have cute moments, I just really don't see the endgame potential based on everything we know about Sarah's writing style. She likes the mates to be equals, and Gwyn was made carynthian like Az. She and Az have banter, a lot of similar personality traits, even hobbies (singing). I think it's pretty clear she is set up to be Az's perfect match, not to mention the mate language in the bonus chapter (those theories blow my mind actually! :). Meanwhile all I see for Elain and Az is attraction (even that is questionable for me since it happened offpage somehow), they made zero effort to really get to know each other in the past two years, even though Lucien was not around.

Now Elucien is another question, since we know so little about how Elain feels. But I fully believe they will become a couple in the end, simply because otherwise Lucien's storyline makes zero sense :D. Lucien suffered the loss of his first love, and was given a mate who rejects him, only to find love with a human queen who will again die after 60-70 years while he lives on for centuries alone?? No thank you. Give my boy Lucien a chance for his happy ending. With his Mate.

Sorry this was so long, I just think when you read all 5 books after each other, it is clear what direction Sarah is going. (Which is the mates being endgame since she writes about fated mates) But I also understand that there were 2-3 years of waiting for acofas and acosf, so the picture might be different for people who joined the fandom back then. To be fair, of course Sarah can also decide to go with an E/riel outcome, although in my opinion that will just mess up the whole plot she established so far.

I appreciate all your thoughts and I think a lot of Eluciens and Gwynriels would agree with everything you've said.

What I find the strangest is not that anyone ships E/riel because I absolutely understand the specific scenes that have led them to that conclusion and they did receive validation in the knowledge that Elain and Az wanted to kiss so it's not like there's nothing there.

The part that I find strangest is that they do not also acknowledge it as a very real possibility that despite that, Elucien CAN still end up together and so can Gwynriel.

Feyre and Tamlin shared a very real relationship. They kissed, they had sex, they were engaged, he wanted to protect her and she was WILLING TO DIE FOR HIM. They were leaps and bounds ahead of whatever E/riel has shared after their supposed "multiple books of buildup" yet they still did not end up together. Not to mention Feyre was not in love with anyone when she first fell for Tamlin while the entire E/riel setup has coincided with her not being over Graysen while he has not completely gotten over Mor.

SJM eventually drew attention to the major red flags in the Feylin relationship and she also wanted to be sure that we knew that Feyre and Rhys were always destined to be together because they were mates, the most sacred of relationships that two characters can have.

But before that happened, Feyre hated Rhys at times and considered him her enemy.

Rhys always knew they were mates (proving that just because a character knows about the bond doesn't mean the love is less meaningful).

Yet they both came together, loving one another equally, regardless of where they each started from.

Nesta hated the fae at first and treated Cassian with absolute disdain. She then all but admitted her undying love for him only to turn around in the novella and tell him to leave her the hell alone while sleeping with other males. Then in SF, she began sleeping with him, even started falling in love with him but refused to call him her mate and proclaimed that she didn't know what she wanted because she didn't have a choice in any of it.

Elain was engaged and in love with Graysen when she got the shock of her life and found out Lucien was her mate. She still had not processed any of that and was holding out hope for a reconciliation with Graysen in ACOWAR only to be rejected. Though she hadn't full recovered after the war, we got glimpses that maybe there was hope for Elucien when she invited him back to Velaris.

But just like Nesta, Elain does a 180 in the novella and suddenly, she's pushing Lucien away (for reasons unknown), just as Nesta pushed Cassian away.

Elain suddenly shows interest in another male in the novella, just as Nesta showed interest in many other males in the novella.

In SF, Nesta starts the series with another male in her bed but ends up happily mated to Cassian by the end of it.

So why then, according to E/riels, is there absolutely no chance that Elain can start off her book at odds with Lucien (and either interested in Az or not interested in anyone after what happened on Solstice) and end up with her mate (just as every other SJM main character has done across all series) by the end of it?

It doesn't matter that Elucien's setup looks somewhat different than Feysands or Nessians (no one would expect them to be identical because that would just be weird) but there are enough similarities in their initial hesitation toward their mates and 2 out of 3 have so far ended up with the same outcome.

We don't know enough about the Gwynriel setup to see what sort of tension will exist between them however introducing her to the series as Nesta's best friend (meaning she's always going to be within Az's orbit) as well as having Az be the only one who saved her and the first male we've ever see her act a bit flirty with after her trauma seems a bit intentional, does it not?

It's not that I begrudge anyone for shipping E/riel but the problem is when they call us misogynists, stupid, clueless, "delucien's" (which I'm guessing is "delusional Eluciens?", lacking reading comprehension, etc. for shipping Elucien and Gwynriel.

I have to believe they can't be that blind to the patterns in SJMs writing and the reason they've resorted to name calling is because they're worried that E/riel won't be happening rather than them really thinking Elucien and Gwynriel aren't just as much a possibility.

#elucien #gwynriel

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himehikoshrine · 7 months

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Himehiko Timeline

This is my best attempt to gather the information we get about the Tamasaka Himehiko line and thus the game universe timeline. It is based on what I've found in the game and bonus material, but it may yet be incomplete. If you have any information I'm missing, please let me know. It's also always possible we get more lore drops in extra material.

It'll be behind a cut, so I will edit any additional information into the post. If I add things, I'll try to keep track here of when the last edit was. This will obviously contain spoilers for the full game (especially Kisa's route - major spoilers for Kisa's route) as well as bits of side material. Specifically the First Anniversary Short Story and the Summer Light Novel, though also the pre-release short stories on the website and others.

Shout out to the other people who seem to have independently attempted the same project, including Anemone (@ snowblossom_jj on twitter) for something to double check myself against. Before I go right into the Himehiko Timeline, I'm going to put in some Japanese Theater History for context, though it's worth noting none of this is referenced specifically in the game and may differ within the Jack Jeanne universe.

As always, happy to answer questions via asks or elsewhere if you have them.

Japanese Theater History potentially of note.

1374 - Kan'ami (観阿弥) and 12 year old son Zeami (世阿弥) perform what would become known as Noh for the teenage shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満) who is so impressed by Zeami he gives him patronage. Zeami is educated in court and eventually becomes the Shogun’s lover. At 22, after his father’s death, he takes over the family troupe and begins to integrate his classical education and Buddhist instruction into the art. He goes on to formalize Noh, write plays for it, and treatises on acting and the Philosophy of Drama that continue to be informative to this day.

Of note, the idea of “hana” 『花』 is one of his core tenants, and his formulation of “the flower of youth” vs “the flower of experience” is referenced in game, though not credited.

1603 - Izumo no Okuni (出雲阿国) creates Kabuki. It is originally performed by a troupe of all women.

1629 - Women are banned from Kabuki for “morality” leading to the form being taken over by “young men” who are later also banned for being too sexy, in moves through the next several decades.

Probably by the timeline we are given for Tamasaka, in our world, Kabuki would have been established as an all male form of theater, with men playing women’s roles referred to as “onnagata” as they are to this day. It is unclear if this history happens the same within the Jack Jeanne universe, as no mention of Kabuki itself happens in game, and Tamasakaza isn’t placed within it as a larger tradition, despite being described in much the way Kabuki is, suggesting perhaps in the Jack Jeanne universe, history diverges at some point.

1680s - Bunraku, (then known as Jourui) a form of Puppet Theater takes on something close to its modern form and starts becoming increasingly popular. Many famous Kabuki plays were originally written “for the puppets” and the literary tradition is considered overlapping.

1683 - Chikamatsu Monzaemon (近松門左衛門, 1653 – 1725) has his first verified play produced. He is sometimes called the “Shakespeare of Japan”. He would continue writing plays for both puppet theater and kabuki, until around 1715. He was a writer, but did not act. He is most famous for his lovers’ suicides.

HIMEHIKO TIMELINE

1st Himehiko - His name was Chuza Tsukihiko (中座月彦), and he lived sometime in the “mid-Edo period’ about 300 years before the present. Specific dates are hard to pin down, but we’re looking at around (or maybe a little before or after) 1700. It is likely not exactly 300 years ago, give or take a few years, as no one in the game mentions any kind of anniversary, and you’d assume the 300th (or 200th of the established settled troupe) would be marked and mentioned.

He’s canonically called a "bishonen" and was known to be able to play both male and female roles. At this time, in our universe, no women would have been allowed on stage. We know his troupe was all male.

He receives the patronage of a local lord (much like Zeami) - the lord of the castle in Hiraki - Hiraki Matsubara (開松原). Matsubara was considered very talented and is credited with the town flourishing under his rule as well as the creation of Tamasaka and Tamasakaza.

He is given the name Tamasaka Himehiko 玉阪比女彦 which he takes on, and which becomes the title passed down. (The name "Tamasaka" is mentioned to maybe be a play on the word 『偶さか』 implying a "rare, unusual kind of talent")

Though the troupe itself will be considered a traveling troupe for the next 100 years, it seems to have a sort of home base on that lord’s land. They are given land for a stage there, the forebearer of the Tamasaka theater that exists to day.

We know little about him, but one thing we know is that he was quite fond of the story of the catfish god in Ayahama (which is historically near where Hiraki Castle is), and used to dance in tribute there. The relationship between Tamasaka and the hot springs goes back all the way to him.

There is one Wisteria tree on Mt. Oodate, and he is said to have been fond of it. (Fuji Musume - 藤娘- is one of the most famous Kabuki dance/plays, though technically it would have, in our universe, postdated the first generation Himehiko, it is likely a reference).

He dies of “severe, violent emotional suffering”.

He is enshrined in Himehiko shrine, and may actually be buried there. He is worshipped there as a god of theatre, and a bringer of fortune in other endeavors as well. This would imply the shrine is established well before the troupe settles.

2nd - The next Himehiko is the elder brother of the first. We don’t know if the rule that was later in place that the title be passed to someone under the age of 30 was in place yet. It may imply that the troupe, like Zeami’s was a family affair at least in part, from the beginning, if his brother was considered the natural next head.

3rd - The eldest son of the 2nd.

History that happens at an unclear point in the timeline after this --

At some point after this, though it does not seem to be specifically after the 3rd, in the way it’s told, one generation of Himehiko will choose to pass the title onto an adopted son. Rather than the adopted son taking the Chuza name as well, this son becomes the start of a new branch family, known as the Tamasaka branch. From this point on, the title will occasionally pass between the Tamasaka and Chuza branches, eventually developing into quite the rivalry. The Tamasaka branch became known as “true flowers” or the more talented of the two branches. The exact timeline of all of this unclear.

At some point, after several early, tragic deaths of people carrying the Himehiko name, both branches of the family begin to speak of a “Himehiko Curse” - which causes those who take the title to die young. They believe in this so strongly that people from both branches will sometimes pass up the title, or defer it, to try to avert the fate. However, it doesn’t seem to be something that affects every Himehiko. Just enough of them for it to be considered a threat in the family.

How it operates and if it is one of the genuine supernatural forces in the Jack Jeanne universe is unclear. The first Himehiko dies of severe mental suffering. The cause of death for others is not established.

It is possible that, either supernaturally or non-supernaturally, it is the distillation of the stress, politics, rivalries, burdens, and expectations of the theatre.

All of this happens and is well established between the 3rd Himehiko and the 10th Himehiko, but specifics are vague.

At some point, a rule is added that the title is past to a young man under the age of 30.

It seems some people may pass the title down before they die, rather than it only transferring via death. It is unclear the effect this has on the curse within the narrative of it. At another point, rather than taking the full stage name of Himehiko, each generation takes only half as their stage name - either Hime or Hiko, plus an additional character. This was done to try to avoid the “curse”. It does not work.

4th - A tree in the courtyard of Himehiko Shrine, which contains many trees, including many fruit trees, is said to have been planted by him. All we get is that the tree is “planted in the lucky direction.”

It is possible this is an Ume tree, which apparently can be considered a protective charm against evil and is traditionally planted in the northeast corner of a garden. Other than this, I can’t find much — the other mentions of lucky directions change by year, and don't seem to be what’s being referred to.

5th - nothing is known

6th - nothing is known

7th - Established Tamasaka Drama School as per random Neji encounter. Neji says he ‘fell in love with…’ and is then cut off. We get no other info from that encounter, or elsewhere.

It’s possible that the establishing of the Drama School coincided with the settling of the Troupe from a traveling one to a stationary one, but that’s not mentioned directly. If so, that would put 7th at about 100 years after the 1st, and about 200 years before the present.

It is unclear if from this point on all Himehiko’s also serve as Principal of the School or not.

At some point “several generations back (from present)” the principal of the school plants Night Jasmine on Mt. Oodate.

(About 200 years ago, the Takashina Style of dance is founded as a family dance tradition. It has no association with Tamasakaza, but given it’s part of the timeline we get, plus the Kabuki/Nihon Buyo overlap in our universe, I’m putting it on here.)

8th - The tree he planted at the shrine is the most prominent one. No other info is known.

9th - nothing is known.

10th - From the Tamasaka Line. Very likely the older brother of the 11th - According to the Anniversary Short Story, he dies a shocking and tragic death (that would fit within the narrative of the Himehiko Curse). The title would then be passed to his younger brother.

11th - Real name Tamasaka Shikitoshi 玉阪志木年 - stage name unknown. He is the current head of the troupe during the Meiji era merger of Hikari and Tamasaka, as depicted in the Anniversary Short Story. That takes place in 22nd year of the Meiji Era - 1889, giving us our first firm date.

According to Tancho, the lead Hiko actor at the time was rather critical and nagging of him, but in the events depicted in Neji’s play, ultimately is willing to almost give his life to protect 11th.

In Neji’s telling of the events he is described as innovative, as well as a very shrewd politician. And rather indifferent or reckless about threats against his own life.

He has two daughters and no sons. Presumably no one else in the Tamasaka branch has any sons of eligible age either. To prevent the name from passing back to the Chuza branch, and perhaps as a test on the limits of the Himehiko Curse, to see if it would spare women, Shikitoshi passes the title to his second daughter.

We have no information on why not the first daughter - whether she was over 30, or less skilled, or didn’t want it - all we know is that he passed it to his second daughter.

12th - The second daughter of the 11th. Member of the Tamasaka Family. First and only female Himehiko. The tree she donated to the shrine is marked with an actor’s crest of clappers — something recognizable as specifically belonging to her.

Despite being a woman, she was not just a figurehead, and actively acted in Tamasaka Plays. There is at least one that she was quite fond of, that involved a Kimono salesperson and a woman walking around on “Izayoi” - a play that the troupe stopped performing after her early and tragic death.

Tagane was involved in a revival of this play at some point, likely a pretty clear sign of his loyalty to the Tamasaka Branch faction.

At some point, it is likely that she placed a platinum Kanzashi bearing her crest in a wooden box in a tree hollow near Himehiko Shrine, following the superstition and custom born out of the Tamasaka play “Tearful Kanzashi." “Tearful Kanzashi" depicts a young woman (the fourth daughter of a man with no sons, who is abused and locked away by her father in anger after her birth also kills her mother) putting the Kanzashi her lover gives her into a tree by a shrine she stops at to pray to be reunited with him in the next life, before throwing herself off a cliff. (For more, see the Summer Light Novel chapter).

This also takes place on the 16th night of the lunar cycle. It is unclear if the play is the same one — but since the summary is given to Suzu and Kisa by a Kimono salesman, it seems unlikely that it wouldn’t include that detail if it were the same — rather it seems likely Tearful Kanzashi predates the 12th, and Tamasaka just has a lot of plays that use "Izayoi" in them.

This may indicate that the 12th takes her own life like the woman in the play, but it’s all speculation beyond that her death fits within the narrative of the Himehiko Curse.

After her early, tragic death, the title passes back to the Chuza Branch, and the whole incident/experiment is considered a disaster.

12th's older sister, and thus the surviving Tamasaka Branch go into hiding of some kind. She has children, thus continuing the line, under an assumed name. The Tamasaka branch retains supporters both in the troupe and the town, who believe that the Tamasaka branch have true talent that the Chuza branch lacks.

13th - Chuzu Dairi (中座内吏), stage name Uchihime (内比女).

After the death of the 12th, the title passes back to the Chuza line for the first time in 80 years. He quickly makes a new rule, reserving the Himehiko title for the Chuza branch, further pushing the Tamasaka branch into hiding and out of power.

We know he was born in the Meiji era (ended 1912) and lived until Showa (started 1926).

He had a strong interest in western style plays and musicals, and is the one who renamed the Tamasaka Drama School to Univeil Drama School, as well as changing the roles from Hiko and Hime to Jack and Jeanne within the school.

(For what it’s worth, Takarazuka is started in 1913. It was based heavily on western, particularly French musical Revue in direct contrast to Kabuki. It was started by a businessman in the city of Takarazuka as an all women’s theater company. Much of Jack Jeanne is based on a gender swap of Takarazuka as inspiration, but its timeline and the actual style of Tamasaka do not match Takarazuka. But this is a Himehiko Timeline so no more on Takarazuka for now.)

He apparently made a good deal of innovations to the troupe as well, and seems to have been quite active and hands on in both.

It’s hard to pin down how long and exactly when he lived and was in charge.

Kisa’s class being the 78th class would put the first numbered class in 1942, which is a particularly strange year for a traditional theater school in Japan for young, fit boys to be rebranding to a western aesthetic. It would literally be months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and several years into a war that greatly disrupted all forms of theater, calling most able bodied men to arms, rather than dance - so that’s something to consider when trying to fit the timeline. Perhaps there are years missing - a reversion to the old name, a pause in the numbering, but for some reason they pick up from where they left off, rather than restart? There is no indication in any material of any of this, either way.

14th - Takahiko (鷹彦) - the grandfather of Chuza Shuri, the current/18th Himehiko. Written with the character for “Hawk” and is noted as having very sharp eyes, but otherwise looking very much like Shuri. The game’s timeframe puts him taking up the title some time when black and white portraits were still most common, but recent enough that an old lady alive and walking around Tamasaka remembers him as a young man.

Apparently, he married a wealthy local family’s daughter after taking the position of Himehiko - and this old woman remembers having a crush on him at the time, and being disappointed - so one could guess that she was at least in her teens then.

The game’s menu actually says he’s the one who designed the school, rather than 13th - so perhaps Takahiko is the one who designed it architecturally - even if the rebrand happened before hand.

15th - nothing specifically is known

16th - nothing specifically is known

17th - nothing specifically is known

We know nothing about these or the order they were in, but one was almost certainly Shuri's father. In the anniversary short story, Tancho mentions Shuri's father by name. His name seems to have been Chuza Osamu (中座倫). From what Tancho says, the implication is that Shuri's father maybe have been principal before him, whether right before or not is not clear, or if he served this role concurrent with the title of Himehiko or not is also unclear. As previously stated, it's unclear if Principal of the School and Head of the Troupe are jobs all Himehiko's serve as part of the title, or if only some do. So it's possible that he held one and not the other or one for longer than the other - i.e. continued running the school after passing the name down or something.

All we get is the name, and that Tancho both knew/knows him and what his preference for incense was/is (and that its different than Shuri's).

It is possible an uncle and/or brother of his also held the position, as there is a nephew of his in Tamasakaza right now, which means Shuri has at least one (almost certainly) older sibling.

18th - Chuza Shuri (中座秋吏), stage name Akihime (秋比女) (Written with the character for Autumn, a kanji from his given name).

Currently the principal who is not well liked by Tamasaka Elders. Still seems to technically be the head of the troupe, but displays no desire to actually do anything onstage and finds his obligations to the Troupe to be a chore. Considers himself decent enough at both dance and singing (apparently singing is something Chuza branch is usually considered weaker in, or so he says).

He is in tension with the board over many things - Chui says the situation around him is “worse than you know,” implying there may be far more going on than anyone tells Kisa, and thus the player.

The Tamasaka Elders seem, from what we’re told, to want to make Univeil into more of a training school for Tamasaka (again?) - and Chuza is resistant to the idea.

19th - In a weekend event, the old lady in Tamasaka who tells Kisa about the 14th seems to state Akihime is the previous rather than current Himehiko (at least in the English). But everyone else seems to refer to him as the current one. Maybe she’s misremembering, maybe she’s got Opinions on his lack of participation and how much the board hates him - which she also mentions. Who knows.

The two candidates for the position seem to be Chui - the Tamasaka branch heir, and already seen as kind of a god, and Shuri's nephew (mentioned in a VERY missable Sou event on 8/1 - who is currently a Hime actor in Tamasaka, who is “treated like a king” as part of the Chuza family there. He apparently doesn’t resemble Shuri much.)

One presumes the Tamasaka board has its factions on which one they support, and, regardless, are preparing them to hold the position more to the boards liking than Shuri.

#jack jeanne #jack jeanne lore #tamasaka himehiko #lore hunting #timeline #reference #the brainrot is bad #really bad

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circesoracle · 16 days

Note

6 (or 8. I find 6 intriguing but I want a spoiler however you're most comfortable) 14, 17 (😄), 18, 25, 29, 32, 44, 58, 66 for eternity's embrace, 79

Just a couple of questions for the fanfiction writing asks. I promise I tried not to ask too many but I couldn't help it ^-^

6/8. What’s the last line you wrote?/Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip.

These are functionally the same thing right now, so:

How like a saint she stood, back to the glass mural of the Martyr Sabrine, wings spread in holy dignity which did appear to sprout from the shoulders of the asari princess. From on high was the light brought down to shine upon her alone. So like an angel painted upon the sky did she stand, resplendent in the rainbow streaks of sun caught in the stained glass of the cathedral windows. Cast across her scales in prismatic patterns she was as otherworldly - as ethereal - as any who in Heaven’s Halls did walk.

14. What is your favorite location and position to write in?

Scrunched up in bed or sprawled out, I struggle to focus if I'm sitting up or at a table I have to be able to lounge. Gotta have my legs bent funny or I simply can't write.

18. Do you enjoy research? Which fic of yours required the most research?

A little bit, but I find it easy to get overwhelmed by things. None of my fics have really required *research* more just double checking things.

My novel however requires massive amounts of research even if almost none of it pays off. I am a genius who decided to write a book about street racing and cars when I myself can not drive and know nothing about cars. I spent a week doing so much research about cars just so I could make up fake sci-fi parts and manufacturers. I wanted to get stuff right even though it's all sci-fi and made up, yknow?

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

Writing for sure! Outlining is a pain, I do worldbuilding mostly as it's needed off a rough outline, and I never edit. If it's a one-shot there's no planning at all. So even though I take damage whenever I write it's still the most enjoyable part of the process because a lot of the time it's the only part of the process for me. Where's that defunctland tweet about the only thing worse than doing [creative pursuit] is not doing it. That's how I feel about writing a lot of the time.

29. What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of?

Including this one is an act of psychological warfare.

I am proud that I do it. I'm proud that despite how much doubt and loathing I feel about my writing I still do it. Even though I think I could sit here for hours trying to pick something, trying to lie and pick out something other people tell me I'm good at but I don't believe, I still write, and I still want to write. I can't say I'm good at it, or that I think I do anything particularly well, but I write, and I'm proud that I do. I might never be in a place were I like my writing or can pick something I'm good at. I'll also never be in a place where I stop writing for good.

32. Do you take fic requests? Why or why not?

Nebulously, yes! I ask for requests and simply never get a response from people, so I stopped saying I take requests uhh about a year ago. There just isn't enough interest I guess. I wish I was someone who could take writing commissions but even for free people don't want it 😅

44. What is your favorite genre to write?

Fantasy, easy. My writing works best for fantasy I find, something I didn't give much thought until I was writing a sci-fi novel and realised how strange my prose are in that context. I don't even particularly like fantasy, on balance I like sci-fantasy, and in media I prefer sci-fi, but fantasy has always just been where my writing goes, and what my prose seem to match.

58. Do you have a favorite piece of figurative language you’ve written?

Any of the scenes in The Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania that allude to the specific art pieces. The Great Wave Off Kanagawa and The Birth of Venus sections in particular, which I'll include here for the sake of the question.

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

In blue silks she splayed upon the floor of her own gallery. White-capped waves upon the crashing seas of bunched silk was her flesh, and her body pulled upwards, upwards, yearning, needing, craving the touch of her sickening unseen moon. With sexual need and the heat of a churning sea, she tipped the boat of Marika’s hand, pushing and pulling her with the force of a storm beyond tides and nightly whims. She screamed with a siren pitch. She moaned with muffled pleasure, head under her own waves as she was conjured tempest-like into howling climax. The great wave crashed and with it came her hips upon the silks and her cry of pleasure into the cream night.

The Birth of Venus

Like Venus exalted in newborn ecstasy upon her scalloped bed, Marika arched for her and laid her naked body before her in the wanting of a child. She cried out like she was experiencing the pleasure of touch upon her body for the first time, new virginity pried from between her pearl-dropped salt-slicked thighs, split open upon her birth. An opening of her own shell, a spreading of her downy dove wings, the blooming of her tear-stained red rose, before she would be spoilt and numbed to pleasure through her own lust for it ever onward.

66. What’s a fun fact about Eternity's Embrace?

Besides the two earlier versions of it I've talked about before and the working title it had when I was drafting it, the version of Eternity's Embrace that got posted started life as a hybrid Breath of the Wild AU for Liara x Femshep that got heavily reworked. Tali took the place of Urbosa hence her remaining a close ally of Liara's in Eternity's Embrace despite there maybe not being a huuuge amount of justification for that in canon (they are best friends in my imagination)

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

I suck so bad at writing advice! I just write and that's the honest truth, I have no tips, I have no advice, except don't listen to anyone purple your prose if that's how you want to write please I'm begging you. And read more, and not just fic. Read books, and read lots of them, and make sure they're varied! But that's really it, read more and write exactly how you want, if someone says no write more like this. kill them.

tysm bestie <3

#fanfic ask game #I don't care how long this is #look at my asks boy

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beesandwasps · 16 days

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A Confession of Digital Mess

I’m looking for citations to back up a post I made, and I am having just a bit of a problem. This is kind of boring, but since @deepfriedinfant deserves some kind of update, here it is (hidden because it’s long).

Google is rather notoriously starting to get bad at finding things. And the thing I’m looking for is something which… well, unless I already had the specific details which I’m looking for, there are way too many things out there which basically share all the possible search terms.

That’s not the problem; that’s a thing that everyone online encounters these days. If that were all, we’d be done; it would just be a matter of me either admitting defeat or doing a search and examining every single one of hundreds of results.

The problem is searching my own stuff.

I keep files. When I see an image I may want later, I drag it to the desktop. (For those using other OSes/browsers which don’t behave the same way as the Mac: this saves the file to your account’s Desktop folder.) When I see text I like, if it’s just part of a page I select it and drag the selection to the desktop. (A feature Apple created years ago and kind of seems not to like any more — this creates a .textClipping file containing the text in rich text format, unfortunately using an archaic storage mechanism that is otherwise almost completely abandoned for the last 2 decades.) If it’s an entire document, I save the document to the desktop.

Every so often, I go through the huge mass of files on my desktop (right at this moment: 516 items — I’m overdue), get rid of anything which has outlived its usefulness, and throw all the remains into a folder named “To Be Filed”.

Which is all well and good, but:

I very seldom go into the “To Be Filed” folder and actually file things. It contains many, many thousands of items, some of them dating back to the GWB administration. (And many of them now completely lacking context — I’m now, IIRC, two computers on from what I was using back then, and when you copy files from one computer to another, the modification date is changed and some of the filesystem metadata is lost.) And I actually have an even older “To Be Filed” folder which I thought I had lost, causing me to create the current one, which also contains vast numbers of files.

Many years ago, I did do a bunch of filing, at least in the sense of separating text and images out a bit. I have a folder named “Random Text” which really ought to have subfolders already and will absolutely need them if I ever get around to adding more stuff to it, and an “Images” folder containing subfolders with the names of topics and/or sources. So not everything that I might want to search is even in the “To Be Filed” folder(s), some of it is elsewhere.

Much to my delight, a while back Apple added OCR software to the Mac OS. This is very useful, and the last time I used OCR software, which was at least a decade and a half ago, it was ludicrously bad, so the accuracy they have in their freebie version surprises me. But this does mean that any image sitting around which has identifiable text in it is indexed for searching, so now I get huge numbers of results for practically everything by default. (And while you can restrict search results by type, you can’t do a negative restriction — you can’t search for “not images”, and there are multiple types of files which contain text so you can’t do a single search for all text types.)

I have periodically downloaded big collections of things. I have complete runs of comics. I have that archive of game walkthroughs that somebody compiled from GameFAQs a while back. All kinds of stuff. Now that Apple indexes images, all of it can pop up in search results — and none of it is typically what I want. (Okay, yes, every once in a while I end up looking for a walkthrough of an old game or a specific comic strip. But that’s genuinely a rare thing.)

Just to make things even better, it turns out that Apple’s text indexing system does not index .textClipping files. This is something which has been true all along — Google shows that people were complaining about this all the way back in 2008 — but recently it has begun to dawn on me that, given the number of clipping files I have around, many of which are exactly the kind of thing I might want to use as a citation, this is very specifically my problem. These have to be searched manually every time I want to find something, unless I can remember the location of the file and the name (which is automatically created from the first few words of the text). Ouch.

So right now I am taking some steps to ameliorate the problem while I keep looking. First, I’m looking for things which are giving me large numbers of results I don’t want, like the aforementioned GameFAQs archive, and changing them from folders into compressed read-only disk image files, the contents of which are not part of the general search index. (If space was an issue, it would be better to use compressed archives files like 7Zip, which get somewhat better compression levels, but that obviously isn’t a problem if I’m already holding on to the uncompressed files — and a disk image file can be mounted, searched, and used directly without any hassle if I do want to find something in that specific collection, whereas archives can be problematic no matter how much effort is put into making them act like they’re just a special type of folder.) I’m also looking into some kind of scheme to convert all my .textClipping files into an indexable format, but this turns out to be a more convoluted operation than you would assume.

This may take a while. It will speed me up in future searches, but it may take a while.

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wartakes · 9 months

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What’s Going On in Ukraine?: An Explainer (OLD ESSAY)

This essay was first posted on April 7th, 2021, and seems somewhat quaint now in retrospect.

This essay was written in response to the then-ongoing Ukraine crisis where it looked like a war might kick off in the Spring of 2021. Little did we know that it was pretty much just the pre-gaming for what would happen NEXT Spring.

(Full essay below the cut).

So, this is another one of those essays I didn’t originally plan on writing for the month. But then the darndest thing happened about a week ago: Russia got back on its bullshit.

Now everyone is wondering if the war in Eastern Ukraine is going to reignite or potentially escalate even further than the heights it reached after the initial outbreak of war in 2014. Now I don’t think time is a flat circle, but I do think the idea that “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” has some merit here.

As this conflict is a bit of a hobby horse of mine, I’ve been keeping a close eye on it (perhaps too much for my own good) ever since things started to escalate at the end of March. As more of my friends and peers have started to ask questions and express concern over what’s going on and what may happen next and certain parties have started to spread bad takes or downright misinformation and lies, I decided that maybe a little explainer and synthesis of current analysis was in order for folks on what the situation is currently with Ukraine and Russia.

I was going to write about Iran this month, but I guess we’ll save one piece about a potential war crisis and trade it for a separate but different one.

Just up front: this is a situation that is changing every day, so I can only make this as current as the moment I post it – but I’ll do my best in this regard. Also, I’m going to make no illusion about my biases in this case (spoilers: I’m not on Russia’s side, and if you have a problem with that, I dunno: cry about it, tankie). Also, a lot of my sources for this are Tweets and threads by analysts and observers that have been popping up as things have been going on and have the potential to suddenly vanish – as Twitter is want to do – so I apologize for any broken links or lost sources.

What’s Exactly Is Happening?

Over the past week, we’ve seen an extensive Russian military buildup along its border with Ukraine. Now, that in itself is not unusual. Russia holds large-scale military exercises – including both planned and snap drills – on a pretty regular basis. None of that specifically is new or shocking. But analysts have pointed out that there are several factors that make this occurrence different in a worrying way.

First there’s the context. This military buildup happens in the midst of a sudden and sharp escalation in hostilities along the line of contact between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebels in the Donbas region. While the war in Donbas has remained very much active since reaching a stalemate in 2015, it has been relatively quiet and low-level until now. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has registered a sharp increase in violations of the ceasefire previously agreed upon between the belligerents in July of last year. As of April 6, 2021, two more Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the previous 24 hours, with four having been killed by enemy shelling in late March (it is unknown how many rebel troops have died, if any). It is against that backdrop that Russia is now flowing additional military forces into the region.

Another part of the context factor is the timing. While Russia does undertake large, seasonal exercises, analysts and observers have noted that these drills have taken place outside of the typical schedule. And while Russia has been known to undertake snap drills and exercises, again, experts note that they’ve never seen a sudden callup or mobilization like this one outside of scheduled wargames before. Its not an understatement to say that its pretty unprecedented. For what it’s worth, Russia has now declared a combat readiness check across the entire Ministry of Defense (after all of these movements had already been going on for several days, of course).

This leads into the second major factor, which is the sheer size of the buildup. Over the past week, social media has been flushed with photos and video of large amounts of Russian military equipment flowing west into illegally annexed Crimea and the western regions of Russia bordering on Ukraine. So far, it shows no sign of stopping, with train load after trainload of armor and other vehicles heading west. The Russian military has been using so many railcars that agricultural machinery manufacturers reportedly haven’t been able to ship their goods to farmers for the spring harvest season – a story that state media entity TASS was even reporting on. Other civilian passengers have also noted disruptions.

Closely tied to the size factor is the scope of the mobilization. Not only is Russia flowing large numbers of troops and vehicles to the border, but it’s also bringing them from far afield, all across the country. Some enterprising OSINT practitioners on Twitter were able to identify the original locations of some Russian military units by the numbers on their license plates that indicate which military district they are based in – that is, until the Russians seemed to get wise and start covering those numbers up, along with other identifying markings. Before the Russians started practicing better OPSEC, however, it was identified that many forces were coming from the Central Military District, which covers the Ural Mountains and parts of Siberia and doesn’t even border Ukraine. More questions abound.

The nature of the equipment and units being sent towards Ukraine is also notable and worrying. Main battle tanks with fuel tanks for extended range offensives and plows for pushing through minefields. Artillery and heavy mortars designed to try and break through tough defensive lines. Elite airborne units with high levels of readiness that already have a history of involvement in eastern Ukraine. Both short and long-range air defense systems. These are all also worrying signs. They once again, could very well be explained away by large scale offensive wargames, but combined with everything else it raises the blood pressure and anxiety levels of defense analysts such as myself.

Ukraine appears to be reacting to this increasingly tense situation as well. Aside from issuing strong statements and calling for support from the United States, NATO and the West – and receiving at least some military support thus far, it now also appears to be flowing its own reinforcements towards Donbas. It’s well within its right to do so and I can‘t blame it for doing that, but this in itself is a worrying sign that this all could potentially lead to a resumption of fighting not seen since the height of the initial Donbas war – potentially even surpassing it.

Why Is This Happening?

That is the million-dollar question on most Russia and/or military watchers minds right now and everyone on the internet has been offering their two cents as to why Russia is undertaking this buildup. My answer for now is a resounding “we don’t quite know yet.”

Despite the increasing number of concerning factors and unanswered questions raising doubts about the Russian intent behind this buildup, the safe money is still (probably) on this being an attempt at posturing/signaling/intimidation. Russia has many reasons to want to intimidate and posture against Ukraine given their acrimonious relationship since 2014 and far before, but chief among them is discouraging Ukraine from any attempt to retake the rebel-held Donbas or annex Crimea by showing that Russia is willing and able to mobilize its military might to defend their pro-Russian allies. Likewise, it doesn’t hurt to demonstrate to the rest of the world – including other potential adversaries – that you’re able to mobilize and rapidly transport a significant portion of your military across vast distances to meet a perceived threat.

That being said, while posturing is still the most likely outcome, enough unusual facts and elements have emerged with this build-up to raise questions as to whether its only posturing. This is the opinion of Russia analyst Michael Kofman from the Center for Naval Analyses, who was initially far more certain about this being a posturing exercise by Russia. As of today, while still leaning towards posturing and intimidation as the explanation, says there’s still too much uncertainty and concerning factors to be sure of the motive and that the situation still merits cautious and careful observation and analysis before being too sure about what is going on.

None of this is helped by the fact that Russia is notoriously opaque about its intent when it comes to these things, more so than even the usual song and dance of geopolitics that states and nations engage in. Further alarm bells are raised by the way the Russian propaganda machine appears to have suddenly gone into overdrive, both in terms of spreading disinformation on social media, but also in the sudden bellicose tone taken by state-run media as well. All of this raises deeper questions about Russia’s intent in this situation, with no real satisfactory answers so far.

What Might Happen Next?

That’s the next big question on everyone’s minds, after “why this is all happening.” If this is all just posturing, the most likely outcome is Russia decides it has enough forces in the region for its liking, does a series of drills and exercises along the border to try and intimidate Ukraine and the West, and then wraps everything up and sends all the troops back to barracks without incident. The war in Ukraine resumes its Frozen Conflict status – until the next crisis of course – and everything goes back to “normal”.

But what if it’s not all just for show? Could Russia launch a wholesale invasion of Ukraine? That’s not impossible, but it would be a significant escalation on Russia’s part and is probably the least probable of all the outcomes if you were to ask any Russia watcher. If Russia openly launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine, it could at best further isolate and cement its international status as a pariah among nations. At worst, that could even bring NATO fully into the conflict, escalating what was a regional, internal conflict, into a full-scale European or even world war. Again, none that doesn’t mean such an escalation is impossible (unfortunately), but Russia would be taking an exceptional risk – one that I don’t think it would take on a whim and with the eyes of the world on it unless it suddenly had an excellent excuse fall in its lap or it felt it had no other choice in order to defend some vital interest or its very existence as a state.

What might be more likely – and what Kofman lays out in one of his previously mentioned twitter threads – is that a significant escalation of fighting within the Donbas might be in store. We may see fighting of the same intensity as the early days of the war but limited to skirmishes and clashes in that region and not spreading beyond it. That’s not great, sure. But its not as bad as the war spreading beyond the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and escalating. He also points out that if any escalation happens, it may not be in our immediate future, but could happen later in April or even in May (guess I better strap myself in for a month of anxiety then).

But, even if Russia’s intent is to simply posture, or only to go on the offensive within Donbas, there’s always the possibility that events on the ground could get out of theirs – and Ukraine’s – grasp and escalate of their own volition. When you pump up the propaganda machine, there’s always the possibility that things can take on a life of their own. Add in the fact that the number of both Russia and Ukrainian forces in the area are increasing, tensions are rising, and additional stress and pressure are being put on everyone involved and you may have problems. Even if neither party wants outright war, its important to remember that states and governments are not single, monolithic, rational actors. They are made up of multiple elements with different – sometimes conflicting – interests and goals. This means that even when its absolutely in a state’s best interest to avoid war and its leaders know that a comedy of errors and missteps can potentially lead them right to that war anyway (Full disclosure: there are some decent arguments against this very idea of “accidental” war but I still think its worth mentioning as an aside).

Isn’t Ukraine Fascist Anyway?

Ok, this one is starkly different in tone, but I want to address this claim in particular because it’s making the rounds by tankies and campists alike to basically justify whatever Russia may or may not end up doing in Ukraine. So, let’s deal with it right now, bluntly.

Does Ukraine have a problem with the far right? Absolutely and undisputedly, it does. Has it done a great job at dealing with that problem? Nope, it has not – as some recent evidence shows. However, it does Ukraine and the regular people living there hoping not to become engulfed in fresh fighting a disservice to simply write the entire country off as a fascist state in its entirety. This thread on Twitter does a far better job than I at addressing some of the tankie talking points being used to try and paint Ukraine as a whole of being in the wrong and worthy of destruction while putting Russia up on a pedestal. To put it simply, while the far-right has been a persistent issue in Ukraine since the 2014 revolution, its power and influence is often overstated for propaganda purposes and the far right is more often than not at odds with the government rather than a full integrated part of it – with many Ukrainians protesting against it as well.

Again, I’m not trying to excuse any behavior here. Ukraine continues to disappoint me in not more effectively dealing with this problem – much as the United States and most of Western Europe does. But this is not a reason to simply abandon the country or actively root for Russia to rip it to shreds. Plus, the same people who are likely to promote these kinds of narratives are also the same ones who are likely to ignore that more than a handful of far-right Russians have found themselves fighting on the opposite side of the conflict. You ever wonder why the infamous Russian mercenary group Wagner got its name? Well that was from its founder, who fought in the early stages of the war in Ukraine and took the nickname “Wagner” because he was fascinated with Nazi Germany – Wagner being one of Hitler’s favorite composers – and would wear a World War II-era German steel helmet into combat. So, take that home with you I guess.

There are plenty of things you can criticize the Ukrainian government about. But I don’t think any of them rise to the level of painting Russia as being the ‘good guy’ in any of this. What Russia has done to Ukraine since 2014 is inexcusable and illegal, whether it be the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of Donbas, and other forms of interference and undermining. I have no problem taking a side when I think someone is in the right or in the wrong, as I did with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Whatever you think about Ukraine, its not in the wrong for defending itself.

Why Should I Care?

I usually end these with a mix of “what happens next” with “why should I care”, but seeing as I already hypothesized a bit on what might happen next, I’ll focus on what this should matter to you (though if you’re reading this I’m going to assume you already care somewhat).

From a national security standpoint, what’s going on in Ukraine is important even if it doesn’t escalate. It shows a continuing pattern of concerning behavior by Russia that, even if it doesn’t culminate in a disaster today, could do so another time. The fact that the media seems to hype up any Russian action as potentially being the harbinger of World War III – especially since the 2016 election interference – may make some people numb to Russia’s activities or even actively push back because of a not-unfounded mistrust of mainstream media narratives. Obviously, we shouldn’t treat every suspicious Russian action like the greatest threat to civilization, but we should be able to view them broadly and recognize a pattern of bad behavior that is becoming increasingly more threatening and could eventually spill over into outright conflict if not responded to properly.

If some kind of war does actually emerge from this crisis, then I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain why you should care. If the conflict spreads out from Donbas and draws in surrounding countries or even NATO, obviously we should care as it may become a threat to us. Even if it remains limited to Donbas in particular or Ukraine in general, we should care because of impact it will have on a people who have already been suffering from the effects of over seven years of on-again, off-again warfare – potentially affecting even more.

This is where the leftist angle comes in, and the spirit of internationalism – and part of why I felt I wanted to write this piece, aside from it being an issue that’s important to me and being current. If leftists are going to take a stand against imperialistic attitudes and actions by the United States towards the rest of the world, or those by any of its allies, then it can’t turn a blind eye to imperialist adventures by other states as well. What’s going in in Ukraine is only the latest event in a long and tortured history between Russia and Ukraine going back to when the Tsars first marched into the region and eventually annexed it into the Russian Empire in the 18th century. Whatever you can criticize Ukraine for, you can still support its people wanting to fight back against an imperial power that simply will not leave it alone. Its one thing to simply not be aware of it, but if you actively reject it, then you’re quite simply just a tankie or a campist and are unknowingly – or knowingly – carrying water for Russia and its own brand of oppression.

To be fair, can we really do anything about this? No, I suppose not. I guess if you really want you could go in fight in Donbas but I wouldn’t recommend that (and probably, legally shouldn’t). I realize it’s a lot to ask people to devote mental and emotional energy to caring about this when A.) we have our own pressing concerns at home; and B.) there is virtually nothing most ordinary people can do to have a direct impact on what’s going on in Ukraine. That being said, a point I often return to is you can’t be a leftist without some empathy, and that includes the plight of people in other countries. Being a good leftist means being a good internationalist and caring about the rest of the world and what happens to it and at least offering some words of support.

Likewise, if we ever hope of actually governing and changing anything some day, these are issues we need to be aware of and have actual policies and plans to address with should we ever (hopefully) get to that point. As much as some people might lead you to believe that if the United States ceased to exist that imperialism and war would suddenly vanish, Russia and its history with its neighbors – the vast majority of which predates the founding of the United States – is a pretty good reason to point out why that’s bullshit.

As I said before, this situation is changing day to day, hour to hour. As of writing this, Russian tanks and vehicles are still heading towards Ukraine and there are (unconfirmed) reports of more skirmishes in Donbas – such as around Donetsk airport, the site of previous battles. For the time being, all we can do is remain aware of what’s going on, not jumping to any conclusions but also preparing ourselves for the unexpected and undesired. Simply put: “watch this space.”

While I’m a student of war and fascinated by it, I certainly don’t hope war happens. That’s not something anyone should wish for. As much as I think war is sometimes unavoidable or even necessary, I don’t think this is one of those cases. I don’t have the magic solution to what’s been going on in Ukraine, but I know an intensified war would only mean more suffering and death for everyone involved. Hopefully, the most likely course of action will play out and this will all amount to nothing. If not, we should hope that any conflict that emerges is short, does not escalate to highly destructive heights, and ends in a way maybe buys some stability. We’ll see.

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zombiethingy · 10 months

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20 Questions for fic writers

I've been tagged by @leollyen in this post. Thanks for tagging me and giving me an excuse to ramble a bit! And yeah, that's gonna be an interesting one because I wouldn't necessarily say I am a fic writer. But here we go: 1. How many works do you have on AO3? 2 (both complete, one is anonymous) 2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 4'733 (like I said, not really a fic writer) 3. What fandoms do you write for? Both published works are for Stranger Things but I do have a WIP for Sense8. 4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Uhm well, the anonymous one has less kudos than the other one... 5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I think I would or at least try to because as a reader I like to get answers to my comments! 6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Definitely [redacted], that one's anonymous for reasons 7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The other one obviously. And I think that it would also keep up if we considered my WIPs too - but then again, none of those really have an ending... 8. Do you get hate on fics? Not so far. 9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I'm thinking about it. I've definitely written smut in original things but not yet in fanfic. But one WIPs chapter is literally titled 'horny' so far - so either I'll remove that idea/story line somehow or at least write fade to black... (Or the most likely scenario happens and I'm never finishing that fic...) 10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Nope. 11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of. 12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No. But I've thought about translating my own writing - the things I've written (over) ten years ago in my first language. I actually like the ideas behind them! But also none of them are finished and it's been a while. I'm also not sure how well the language switching would work out. Rewriting in English would probably be easier. 13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No. 14. What’s your all time favorite ship? In general or to write for? In general it'd be zukki (Zuko, Sokka, Suki from Avatar: the last Airbender). To write for is harder... I've written the most for steddie (Stranger Things) but my heart would probably go with Nomi and Amanita from Sense8. 15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? A longer steddie fic that's been a WIP since the beginning of the year. It's supposed to be kind of a slow burn and therefore needs to be longer and chaptered. But I've only got 1.5 short chapters so far from the 5 or 6 I think it should be at... 16. What are your writing strengths? Funky little ideas, vibes and OCs. 17. What are your writing weaknesses? Writing - as in it's so slow going that I don't really write at all. Research - don't really have the spoons to do that which makes my writing really vage whenever I should have research something. Names - I've got all these OCs but most of them stay nameless... 18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I love to read it! Especially if it's one of the languages I understand or it's translated/made clear by the context. 19. First fandom you wrote for? First published: Stranger Things But I started writing the Sense8 one first and I may have written other stories as a kid/teen before I really understood the concept of fandom 20. Favorite fic you’ve written? It would probably be either the Stranger Things or the Sense8 WIP but since they are WIPs I'll go with the one that's published and not anonymous 🙃 I'd like to tag @lostghosts and @csinnamon-fox - only if you feel up to it and no pressure! But I'd be interested in your takes on those questions :)

#tag game

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laminy · 2 months

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I was tagged by @onehelluvamarine. I’ve done this before but I’m too lazy to go see what my answers were so if you’ve already read this before oh well lol.

How many works do you have on AO3?

75!

What’s your total AO3 word count?

2,178,935

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. I'm breathing in the chemicals (Teen Wolf)

2. and you know you don't have to go (Ted Lasso)

3. Fear and Self-Loathing in Beacon Hills (Teen Wolf)

4. you're the sunflower (Ted Lasso)

5. into the blue and sunny morn' (BoRhap Actor RPF)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

For sure! People took the time to comment and I really appreciate it so I always reply.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

None of my fics have angsty endings! I’ll do all the angst in the story itself, I’ll make them cry and be angry and break up and whatever but there’s gotta be a happy ending.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

When all the endings are happy, it’s kind of hard to compare, but probably a new life grows. It was the last part of ITBASM so its ending had to some up years of me writing and years of their fictional lives and put them all in a fantastic place.

Do you write crossovers?

I wrote a couple Midsomer Murders x 6 Underground fics.

Have you received hate on a fic?

I’ve gotten some rude anons. I didn’t realize until I was almost done posting ITBASM (the original story) that I didn’t have asks open on here. I imagine I would’ve gotten a lot of hate about one chapter if I had. Back when I was first posting fanfic (like, almost twenty years ago) I found out that people in some private group were making fun of a fic that I’d posted. that was great.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I certainly do. For the longest time, just m/m, and that’s all I’ve ever posted. But for my original novel I’m working on now, it’s my first m/f and it is an experience lol I find it more awkward to write at times but it’s fun too. I’ve had to get used to writing wet a lot. And clit. And cunt. A whole new world!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also not that I know of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I find it hard to comprehend writing as a team event.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I genuinely don’t think I could ever pick. There are so many I’ve read over the years. Some I will never touch again, some I will probably still be reading on my death bed lol. Favourite ever??? No way.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I wrote a 6 Underground fic with Four and Seven that had a couple parts. I intended it to have another, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Same with the Midsomer Murders x 6 Underground fic (I guess I gave up on Four lol), I still have the exact scene that I want to write in my mind, I picture it, but I doubt it will ever go anywhere. Unless I just write that one scene.

What are your writing strengths?

I love writing dialogue so I hope it’s a strength. Also, way too much research and detail and background stuff that will never make it onto the page, it’s just for me.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Overwriting, and flat description, A couple years ago I took a writing course and I submitted the first chapter of a fic I had written (one name changed lol), and they really hated it and it was really demoralizing. They said it read more like a screenplay instead of a book because there was no emotion, no thought, it was just “he did this and this and this.” I’ve tried improving since then, I hope I have.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I have done it! to varying levels of success. I wish I knew Egyptian Arabic so I could have included it more in ITBASM. I only ever include small bits in other languages, and I don’t bother to translate. I assume based on context people can figure it out or check for themselves.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Friends, in the fifth grade. it was handwritten in a notebook, which is possibly still somewhere in my parents’ house, but not with me.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I would still like to finish one of my Gran Turismo fics but I don’t know if that will happen.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

ITBASM as a whole. I know that by the end I was pretty much doing it for me and a handful of other people and I don’t know if it’s as good as it could’ve been but I felt really proud of it and what I did manage to accomplish. It felt more mine than other fics I’ve written.

#i was tagged

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oof-ouch-yikes-stripes · 10 months

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Yknow, if I’m on Tumblr, I may as well use it to shout my many thoughts into the void. Today’s topic is Nesting Instinct, my theoretical submission for Halbarry Week 2023 (if I finish it) and companion piece for Bluer Skies, which is topgun but like. Whatever!! TG characters don’t even show up in this one, just get referenced a couple of times. I do what I want, and what I want is to turn my favorite characters into birds.

For context, this is a Wing AU where those with wings are called avians. 98% of characters in NI will be avians. All avians have inherent magic since avians are inherently magical creatures, but one avian from each flock got extra magic powers that helped that flock escape human persecution a few hundred years ago, and that magic is passed down from one Protector to another.

Alright, let’s bullet point.

- Fun fact!! It’s hard to write two pieces in one world for different audiences!! How much do I worldbuild if Bluer Skies contains all of my worldbuilding but is also miles away from being finished!! Does it even matter if I don’t anticipate that much audience overlap!! Or maybe I should anticipate audience overlap and I shouldn’t spoil things too much? Decisions decisions. It is fun for my POV characters to learn the same things in different ways though. This is definitely the Less Crucial piece to read though.

- Because of The Way Things Are For Hal (he got born into Hell for Avians ((Project Angel)) and as such didn’t get a real name, watched his best friend get nearly killed by and escape from Satan for Avian ((Morningstar)) and had no idea what happened to him afterwards, and then lived as Morningstar’s replacement pet for the next ten years), he is decidedly written as according to these circumstances, which some will see as OOC. To that I say, this is an AU. There is not a Character to be In.

- My darling dearest Barry, on the other hand, got stuck as Protector of one of the last terrestrially migratory flocks, with his special super speed magic, and has to deal with the challenges of being practically in charge of keeping his flock on the move and safe from the many, many things that would do them harm. This is especially hard when the main anti-wild avian force is on the verge of war with the wild avians.

- Circumstances cause them to meet!! Wild!!

- Hal is a violet-green swallow. They’re incredibly aerial and acrobatic birds, which fits with his prowess in the air. Their wings are also green. I considered making him a green heron, since his power set kinda matched with heron’s tool usage, but decided flying was more important to Hal’s character.

- Barry is an Allen’s Hummingbird. I was always going to make him a hummingbird, it was just fortuitous that I stumbled across one that is the Allen’s and is also reddish orange. I’m hilarious, I know. Hummingbird since, while they’re not the fastest in stoop or horizontal flight, they’ve got mad BPM and can be made Faster with Fast Magic.

- Wally’s a white throated needletail and Iris is a treeswift. Swifts, treeswifts, and hummingbirds are all in the same order, which I thought was appropriate, since none of them are directly related but they’re a family anyways. It’s not confirmed, but allegedly needletails have the fastest horizontal flight speed, so shoutout to Kid Flash for that one.

- On the other hand, swifts and swallows are not that related, but had a bit of a convergent evolution moment, and I Do Intend on using that to influence the dynamic between Wally and Hal.

- In case it wan’t clear, each day will be a chapter, so it’s so cool of you guys to pick prompts that work really well with the story I wanted to tell. Also shoutout to all of the DC vs Vampires quotes! Barry and Hal had like five pages together before The Inevitable, and they were five very gay pages.

- It was also very cool of DC to make Hal a pilot, which means that he fit into my preexisting au where pilots are avians when I got into DC after I got into Top Gun. He’s even got a call sign, which is extra convenient since avians born in Project Angel only get their canon call sign as a name since they’re seen as tools and less than human and all that.

- The thing is. Barry is a Fundamentally Nice person. That’s why Earth 2’s Johnny Quick is the furthest thing from a direct parallel you can get; Barry is not allowed to ever be evil. This is very good for Highball, who has never received a kindness ever.

- On the other hand, Nesting Instinct Highball is a survivor and trauma-hardened, which gives him the ability to be Not A Nice Person. Barry needs somebody like that to balance out his Niceness, lest he be overrun by the many strong personalities in his flock. Highball is also skilled and adaptable, and there’s something about a person who will do anything you say without complaint, probably.

- Anyways I have many more Thoughts but I don’t want to spoil any of the good bits. Hopefully I’ll finish it in time for the Week, and hopefully you’ll then read it. Maybe then I’ll even finish Bluer Skies so that everything in Nesting Instinct will get put into context. Wouldn’t that just be wild?

#halbarry week #halbarry week 2023 #im scared to tag this I don’t actually want people to perceive me on tumblr #however if you do happen to perceive me and do want to know more I will happily talk forever #nesting instinct #avian verse

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procrastinatorproject · 6 months

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So, I was just mercilessly roasted by @regionalpancake, and it reminded me that I had opened tumblr a couple hours ago to write a post about the exact same thing she roasted me about -- but then I was good and put tumblr away because i need to do SO MANY UNI THINGS 😱

But now that it's come up again, I'm gonna just write this and then get back to Productivity™

Basically, I have this huge collection of semi-finished, mostly plotless Star Trek: La Sirena whump stories. And I do mean huge! On the order of 200k+ words, in fact. None of which I ever intended on sharing, because it's all daydream-adjacent and OC-centric (because my daydreams are pretty much exclusively self-inset. 'tis how the brain rolls, and always has).

If I ever wanted to share any of them publically, first of all, it would require a whole bunch of editing and/or added context to gloss over the parts where you'd need about ten years of daydreamt worldbuilding to understand what the fuck they're even talking about! And even with that smoothed over, there is still the issue of having a non-established and somewhat non-descript original main character, which can really put people off. And while I primarily write for myself and only secondarily for my friends, if I put something out into the world for others to see, I do wnat it to be semi-decent, so I do think about these things a lot.

But I've been rereading these stories, and goddamnit, there is some excellent writing in there! And some of it has already showed up in some of my main feed fics, but a lot of it hasn't, and actually, I really want to share it!

So, now I'm faced with a conundrum, because my choices basically are:

Only slightly edit the existing stories to smooth over the bits that really need additional context to make sense to a reader who hasn't lived in my head the past decade, but otherwise leave them as-is

Only take the best bits and pieces from the existing stories and create new original stories out of them that feauture canon characters (or maybe one or two OCs but make them fully-fleshed characters by including the required establishing passages to bring new readers on board)

Search-and-replace the OC with a canon character and do the required editing to make it work.

And I'm honestly torn 😅 Because I've been attempting approach 2 over the last few years, and nothing has been happening. Approach 1 is the "Fuck it, I write for myself and have a right to archive those stories, too!"-attitude I aspire to, but it's also fucking scary 🙈

But coincidentally, I was re-reading one of these stories earlier, and my brain kept going "Hm. If you shuffle these characters around a tiny bit and then make Agnes the main character, you'd only have to do some minor editing here and here for it to work really well for her, actually 🤔"

And just now, when I lamented to Pancakes that I really want to write more Agnes, her devastatingly accurate reply was: "Just search replace some of your whump with Agnes! That should fit, right?"

(Which... There is a reason I identify with Agnes so hard it makes it difficult for me to actually write her 🙈🙈🙈)

So yeah. That's what I've been mulling over this fine November day.

Serious question: Would you read a story that is fairly clearly marked as "OC main character with minimal establishment" if it containted characters and tropes you enjoyed? Or is that a huge No-no for you?

And second question: can you tell me why you feel either way? Is it nice to have a more-or-less blank slate to slot yourself into? Does it feel too personal if you suspect you're reading a writer's self-insert, whether they confirm it or not? Do you not care as long as the characterization of canon characters and the whump are good? Is it "I'm going to fanfic so I don't have to do the hard work of connecting with new characters"?

And if it were a properly established OC, i.e. not just "this person exists, already slotted into this crew, don't worry about it", but "this fully fleshed-out character has a backstory and a history of how they met these characters and they will be introduced accordingly" (like, say, Xyr in A Night at the Opera), does "OC" still make you think "must be self-insert and thus must be shit?" 🤔

#writing #fanfiction #whump #self-insert #ocs #original characters #lili's writing adventures #why does everything have to be so hard? 😅

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wordsofwilderness · 4 months

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Hello Wild, fancy to see you here. ❌✨🤡

Hi Dawn! Fancy seeing you here indeed :D

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

If there is one thing I've learned so far in my writing journey it's to never say never. When I started a bit over a year ago I told myself I'd never write smut. And well... That didn't exactly go as planed. There are also several tropes I've before thought was just not my thing, that I've now either already written for or are in the process of writing for. Omegaverse and daddy kink for example, and knowing me they won't be the last tropes to push the bounds of my writing

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

Aww, alright, I'll try. I really like how my dialogue flows. But maybe that's cheating because it doesn't really feel like I'm the one writing it, I'm just noting down what the characters say. But well, I guess I'm really good at that then 😅

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Oh wow YES, so many! Most of them are built upon many chapters of context though. But here is a snippet of Jegulus texting in one of my upcoming fics:

James: Well, what do you do? Regulus: Let’s see: countless emails, pointless meetings, making decision I’m in no way qualified for James: I’m starting to think we have the same job Regulus: You’re telling me I’m wasting my time with a corporate drone James: A well payed corporate drone Regulus: How well payed? James: Is that important? Regulus: Yes. James: You have zero shame, do you? Regulus: None

#ask game #fic: buy me your world

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stereopticons · 1 year

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I don’t watch 911 but apparently everyone on my feed does. Can I request the tea? What happened that everyone is upset about?

Oh, anon. Are you sure you want to take the lid off of that box lol?

Well, everyone has their own opinion about this, but you came to my blog, so I'm going to give you mine with the caveat that this is my personal opinion about what went down.

I don't know how much you know about 911 Lonestar (or if you know that there are two 911s--911 and 911 Lonestar--sorry if you do, it took me way too long to cotton on to that before I started watching) but TK and Carlos are main characters, and have been one of the main couples on the show, which is notable because they are a queer couple on a prime time drama. We've spent three seasons getting to know these two characters.

TK and Carlos got engaged at the end of the last season so we were all eagerly anticipating some nice wedding planning content, but instead what we got was finding out that Carlos is secretly married to a woman and has been for years and never mentioned it to TK. The only reason he mentioned it in this episode was because the wedding venue they wanted suddenly had an opening. And his wife is someone who was mentioned in season 1 but never in the context that they were more than passing acquaintances (it's a long story, but basically she was missing and Carlos was friends with her sister Michelle, but neither her nor Carlos ever indicated that he knew her?). Idk it was a whole thing.

It's bad writing. Really bad writing. And for me, personally, I thought we could expect better from this show.

This is all my opinion, but none of it makes sense. It's all out of character for both Carlos and TK. It feels like these are entirely different people than the Carlos or TK we saw in the previous three seasons and not in a good character-growth kinda way.

Personally, I am so fucking sick of shock value writing like this. Particularly when it comes to queer characters. I admit that I have absolutely been spoiled by Dan and Schitt's Creek. A few years ago, I never would have dared hope for getting to see a queer couple just get to be happy on TV, much less on a primetime drama. But I did hope for it, and instead we got this. That is the primary reason I am so upset by this. We deserve better.

That's also the primary reason why I think I won't continue to watch the show. As a queer person, I have been burned so many times by media like this. And I'm sick of it. I don't want to wait it out and hope for tiny little scraps of happiness. I want them to get to be joyously, incandescently happy with each other. I don't want them to have to be strong. I want them to just be.

Anyway. Sorry for soapboxing a bit, but there's the tea, I guess.

#911ls spoilers #911 lonestar

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m-r-levine · 9 months

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Happy Sunday Ask-A-Thon, week 4 for @ask-a-thon . How are things going? What gave you the idea to work on your current wips, where did you get the ideas from?

Thank you so much for the ask and happy belated* Sunday!

As far as how the work is going:

Slowly. 😭

Life is still a bit too chaotic for regular creative time, and when i carve out a quarter hour to write, i am struggling with the blank page and restlessness of needing to make words go and also needing to do and make ten million other things, all at the same time.

Mi hijo maldito remains with me, and i jot down notes whenever I can, usually in moments stolen while computers load or microwaves hum. But… I have this feeling that everything with the changes is soon to settle. That when the house is unpacked the calm will finally return, and all the pent up pressure of so many stories clawing to get out will finally stitch the fragments together into functional prose for Malados - and maybe everything else in the wip basket too.

As for the original ideas driving these many wips… that part will get long, so I will tuck this behind a little cut. ☺️

Firstly, the easy answer:

Malados came about in the simplest and most dangerous fashion, enabled by my dear friends @ensrensage @saphoblin @onwardnary and @drsteggy .

I took a bottle of 1825 and put it on the table, mentally sat Teca down and asked him what happened next. He stared back at me like a cat, but I have rather a fair amount of experience with such contests. I held him in that moment and I said what happened when you refused to let the hero ride into the sunset alone mi hijo and he squinted away over the garden and said Vishan was not happy to see me.

And so we began, writer and narrator returning to courtyard of the sprawling stone house in my mind, to that little table of battered black pine where he told me the story that became La Mala Suerte, sheltering from the heat of many afternoons with that bottle between us.

The most recent work I’ve touched in the Dark Tapestry world is one I really ought not to be writing at all right now. It’s a Keris story… sortof. She’s only half the equation of the arc @saphoblin named Unspoken. The other half is Davrush mej Nakun, oggish warrior and smith, Legatus Artifax on the high council of the Trinae Amicae, trusted advisor to the Fire Praetor… and desperately in love with her. None of that means anything or carries any weight without the essential context and history behind and around both of them. As of last time I outlined it, we need at least four solid Keris stories (and that few only if we take great liberties with time-jumps) after Darkly Woven before we can even think of sharing Unspoken… but those are the images and fragments coming to me when i try to cast my mind in Keris’ direction. Davri’s longing rises with such visceral power it’s downright frustrating.

Why and when did Unspoken begin to nag me? Oh some years ago now when my old CP and I were talking frequently. We sometimes spoke about the (interesting) problem of the power dynamics within Trinae and how that necessarily crosses threads with Keris’ nature and her personal arc… including her difficulties with close relationships in the contexts of her profession and the surrounding culture.

A prompt crossed our radar at that time for short fiction dealing with the theme of home as a visceral state and what evokes it (rather than the physical or literal placeness or even the abstract concept) and I sat down to write a snippet about Keris and what makes Trinae home for her in contrast with things from Udea evoking home in a way she has neither words nor context to explain. That little writing exercise involved a snapshot of a council meeting… wherein Keris confessed: Ironic that she relied on the voice and personal loyalty of the shortest-lived of all the peoples the Trinae embraced.

Naturally, I tried first to prod Keris about it. She said nothing.

So I asked Davri.

He confessed his heretical pining in such vivid terms I couldn’t help but transcribe it. I shared it with my CP who seemed to think well of some parts but agreed it was an impossible premise: their ranks divide them forever. His crush can only mature into love in silence and perfect discretion, and she must never openly return his affections - the tension between them vibrates in every scene, but the moment she yields, she loses all credibility and honor - because at the end of the day, she ranks him, and it’s her duty to maintain that division or else step down. And if I handwave it anyway, then I the writer lose all credibility for putting forward this inherently abusive unrealistic pairing as romantic.

Clearly, I cannot resist such a steep challenge, as I have continued for years to noodle on Unspoken against my better judgment.

I really ought to be working on the Spun Shadows rewrite - Keris’ second arc. Recasting it as a dual POV with Rokoval gets us a much more interesting frame, popping between the gothic faction politics of Libertalia and the risks and rewards of the wilds with Keris and the Trinae, but I got myself thoroughly stuck in what was supposed to be the fun little solstice scene with convenient play-within-a-play recap - it worked so well in outline but I cannot for the life of me turn that into prose and I don’t know why. The entire idea still makes me laugh, so it should follow that words come easily.

I don’t know that I can tell you where that arc came from anymore, it’s just a tangle of answering the question of how she goes from point A at the end of Darkly Woven to point B (no longer even as far in her personal arc as originally planned, but merely holding Significant Rank™️ within Trinae) by way of Z(chaos but in the good way, building her connections to significant people and plotlines for the Long Red Thread), and Keris herself came largely from the eternal desire to read More And Better Strong Female Characters In More Flavors In Rich Fantasy Settings and the all-important epiphany that I have the power to make the content I want to read.

Which is also a primary motivator for the fic side too - I write it because I want to read it, I just also happen to enjoy sharing it.

When, you know, I can successfully whack more words out of the recalcitrant brain to get it.

*(Yesterday was unexpectedly full with more errands than scheduled and crafting session with a local friend that ran late, so I didn’t have time to finish my reply. But work is stupid so I stole some downtime to work on it through the day. 😅)

#writeblr #ficblr #ask a thon #ask the studiorat

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