#and I've already done all the character setup and everything

[party-gilmore]

(Spoiler Free) Reasons Why "Violent Night" DESERVES to be the Breakout Blockbuster Hit of the Holidays

I haven't laughed that fucking hard or consistently through a movie in my fucking life. My throat and chest are both actively hurting right now from all the yell-laughing and the breathless wheezing I was reduced to by the midway point.

I knew it would be entertaining, but I was in no way shape or form prepared for it to be that good.

Seriously this movie was a technical masterpiece. Every single actor brought their A game. Every scrap of script was perfectly tailored to each character. The corniest lines imaginable on paper delivered with such conviction they immediately get launched into the stratosphere of Coolest Thing That Could Possibly Have Been Said In That Moment. The way Alex Hassell (Jason) did literally every facial expression he makes throughout the entire movie? But specifically how he looks at Alexis Louder (Linda) from behind the [SPOILER] when she's [SPOILER]? Effervescent. The COSTUMING???? The details in Santa's Coat ALONE I will be obsessing over for the next three months.

On a more technical side, the LIGHTING! Perfectly able to see everything even in dark rooms/scenes! The SETS? Full environments completely utilized! A masterclass in Chekov's Gun! Every single set-up had a payoff, and every single payoff had a setup.

And PRACTICAL EFFECTS!!! HHGNGDNWHNG some of the BEST blood work I've ever seen! And the prosthetics! Like, I know gory stuff hasn't been hit as hard by the Replaced With CGI curse as other genres but still it was so fucking refreshing and well done.

And the way the gore slowly ramped up!!! The gore and violence starts off a little light (comparatively) and just sloooowly and steeeaadily ramps up and up and up until it peaks PERFECTLY at the climactic moment! And the individual scenes themselves were crisp, perfectly timed, not unnecessariliy drawn out of lingered on for shock value - in fact, more often, they were kept short and quick to emphasize how fast these fights were moving, realistic and delightful little BURSTS of grotesquery and then already carrying you away to the NEXT swing and spray of blood! It kept the violence constantly fresh and fascinating, building not only momentum but the audience's tolerance/expectations to the cresting point.

Seriously I got so fucking worked up by how good and funny and action packed it was that I had to take off my fucking sweater and NOT (just) because of the shirtless Santa scene they put in there just for me.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BUDDY holy FUCK. That scene. Th. The bloodiness and th. The [SPOILER] and the [SPOILER] and the girth. The thickness. The titties and the stomach and the little bit of overhang and the [SPOILER]. HOOOOOOO santa treated us GOOD tonight boys holy FUCK david harbour bless you bless you bless you bl-

-ahem- sorry anyways uhhhhhhh where was i...

I think that was pretty much it, without getting into blatant spoilery stuff. So. Fuckin uhhhhh watch this movie.

#violent night #such a good fucking movie holy shit #a MASTERPIECE #AND a masterclass.

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Just a Little Something about What a Person is Worth in Season 5 - Ninjago | Ronin, Kai, and Morro

Anyone else ever think about the fact that Ronin literally went:

Ronin: Trade offer. You get, your life. I get, half the shares of your teacher's tea shop.

And Kai, ya know, kind of had to accept because he was being strangled and would have been dragged into the ocean and drowned.

Ronin over here is really leaning into the whole, it's just business angle when it comes to trading people.

I mean consider.

Zane and Pixal, sold to Master Chen (literally the setup for Season 4, which actually does quite a bit to setup Season 5)

Then Kai having to buy his life with half the tea shop shares.

(Granted, for the Nindroids - I've heard that the reason the writers had Ronin go through with the transaction was to keep his wife and daughter safe. So, in that case it was more like trading two lives for two lives; but, the Kai thing still stands as something Ronin technically did of his own volition.)

Then, and I definitely know people have already said this but, then you have Morro:

Morro: Trade Offer. You get, your traumatized little brother. I get, the Realm Crystal.

Honestly, add to that, the fact that the Soul Archer has Ronin in a contract that basically says, if he doesn't pay up then his soul belongs to the Soul Archer.

Season 5, when you think about it, kind of became the season of lives and what their worth.

I know I already mentioned Morro, but, think about how Morro is an orphan who thinks that he doesn't belong anywhere, only to be taken in by Wu.

Wu then gets it into his head that Morro was (I guess) destiny sent to be the Green Ninja, tells Morro who then obediently does everything asked of him to become this person of worth to the man who took him in.

Then the day come and Morro is told he's not the Green Ninja, he's done everything that was ever asked of him to become what Wu wants only to be told that it was all for nought and that there is nothing Morro could ever do to be this person of worth that Wu wants.

~~~~~

IDK, this post was just supposed to be about how Ronin basically just said that Kai's life is worth half a tea shop (that belongs to the younger son of the FSM) and forcing said red ninja to buy his own life back because there is some really good angst involved when you realize that Kai's life is now part of a business transaction, and ...

Ugh!!!!! (Translation: the life of a writer is such that you eventually realized that you must write the hurt/comfort ANGST for your favorite character that you want to see in the world)

(This was the original title of the Post:

Just a Little Something about Kai and Ronin in Season 5 - Ninjago

Now it had to change because Morro loves find his way into everything as he's my favorite guy whose not one of the Ninja)

~~~~~

Bonus angst:

Ronin gave Kai the Airjitsu info about Yang's Haunted Temple as a bonus.

Kai, meanwhile, when ask how he got the information makes it sound like his life was never part of the deal (a lie of omission).

Then Ronin does the same thing when asked as he's looking over the tea shop for the first time.

Both Ronin and Kai are keeping hush about the real terms of the deal about how Ronin came to own half the tea shop.

(Then the guy goes and forms a bond/friendship/mentorship with Nya as if he didn't just play with Kai's life)

#Ninjago #Kai Jiang #Kai Smith #Kai Jiang Smith #Kai Ninjago #Ninjago Kai #Ronin Ninjago #Ninjago Ronin #Ronin #Morro #Morro Wu #Morro Ninjago #Ninjago Morro #Wu #Sensei Wu #Master Wu #Wu Ninjago #Ninjago Wu #Ninjago Season 5 #Ninjago - Possession #Ninjago Season 5 - Possession #Hostess Analysis #Hostess Analysis - Ninjago #Ninjago - Analysis #Just a Little Something #Just a Little Something - Ninjago

[cherrymoonvol6]

i honestly don't mean to dogpile on ASIAS more than i've already done BUT. lately i've been thinking about this pointed visual parallel near the end of ASIAS and hollow mind:

even beyond the visual similarities, one can understand both of these moments as hunter's parental figure about to decisively harm the battered-down hunter's female companion of that episode. so obviously it's interesting to see that both of these moments end very differently.

in hollow mind, hunter uses magic to straight up stop this attack by figuring out how the glyphs works by himself. the focus is, then, on luz's reaction and surprise as she sees hunter is the only reason why she's still alive.

this is completely different in ASIAS: hunter instead puts himself in harm's way, banking on darius stopping the attack because of his physical presence. he doesn't attack nor use magic.

it's also very fascinating to me that hunter is doing the same gesture as willow here. mainly because their reasons are wildly different: willow will do everything to protect her team because of her being a good leader. but narratively, hunter's intentionality has the need to protect his team in the background, because another reason is on the foreground. there's a reason hunter stays in harm's way here and not with belos: because the emotional core of this moment is on hunter and darius's connection.

(and i'm 100% reaching here but the posture of their hands is so telling too. willow's hands are facing the team, using every inch of her body to cover them as much as she's able to; yet hunter's hands are twisted in a gesture that screams "time-out")

and this is why the focus of this moment is on darius, instead.

which, you know, checks out. this was established at the beginning of the episode, and after this darius mentions that he's now worthy of his ancestry, yadda yadda.

willow's bearing in this is that hunter asks his leader for some agency and he finally gets it. which, you know, it's a step up for hunter, but this doesn't mean anything for willow, who leaves the scene in near-tears and refusing to mention hunter by his real name.

(and that's why the episode ending with willow and hunter chatting via message is just SO dumb lol. they just want their dumb crackship to be cutesy so badly.)

on the other hand, hunter's guardian is completely sidelined in hollow mind because the emotional core of this moment is in hunter's relationship with luz. hunter chooses to use luz's magic against his uncle to protect her.

i also really love the imagery of hunter creating a wall separating both luz and belos, while he stays in luz's side - exacerbating the fact that hunter's initial gesture is mostly significant for strengthening his connection with luz. and my personal favorite difference between this moment in both episodes: whereas willow sadly continues to refer to hunter by "caleb", this is the first time hunter calls luz by her name (because i am useless lunter trash).

this marks the third time hunter goes against his uncle's wishes (first time was also influenced by luz; second time was him keeping flapjack a secret), the first time hunter has ever used magic against belos, and also the shift when belos realizes that yet another golden guard has chosen to betray him...

...by being led away by a wild witch. what the fuck is up with this episode my god.

(this image is burned into my eyelids i want to escape from this pain)

you know, for all the negative stuff i spout against h/ntlow in this episode, here's the thing: i believe this is sufficiently good of a setup to build on hunter and willow's dynamic. after all, having an episode focused on hunter's bond with darius is very important for his character. the problem is that in the next episode where hunter and willow get to interact with each other, TOH decides to build hunter's dynamic with GUS.

and i think about all the time about how the premise of labyrinth runners (gus' powers going haywire when he's on very stressing situations) is such a willow thing. this episode could've easily gone the same route FTF did by having willow's powers get out of hand and force her to put up with hunter's company for a while. this means willow and hunter get to build their dynamic by being vulnerable to each other, willow gets to know the real hunter, hunter goes through a little redemption arc for what he did to willow, yadda yadda. it sounds perfect in theory. but instead, willow gets the B plot with amity and she's just supposed to be cool with hunter now because gus is. and then we don't see either of them until COTH where again, hunter has strengthened his bond with gus and he and willow just don't talk to each other ever. why would you do this TOH. you had a perfectly okay setup to have a B- couple in this show and you still managed to mess it up.

#toh critical #anti huntlow #lunter #it's insane how perfect the canon material works to boost up the wrong couple #oh well

[theeeveetamer]

Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (extended thoughts)

@saficswrites asked me to go a little more in depth and I've actually been planning on talking more in depth anyway, so this is a good opportunity! I'm also going to throw in some of the resources I used while playing because there's a lot of great ones but they're kind of scattered.

So I will start by saying that I started on the series with RF4 back when it originally came out for 3DS and I played the heck out of it. Like, tried taming every single monster in the game levels of played the heck out of it. I've since played all of RF1, RF2, most of RF3 and RF5, and now RFToD. I chose to go back and play 1, 2, 3, and ToD after RF5 was announced. The only one I haven't touched is Frontier.

And yeah, Tides of Destiny does have some quirks and I can see why some people don't love it as a Rune Factory game. Just starting with some of the criticisms (because they lead into one of the things I actually really like about the game): The farming is very pared down and it's entirely reliant on the monsters you tame. Basically you just plant generic seeds and the monsters you put on the seasonal island determine what they grow into. Different monsters can grow different things.

That is somewhat annoying because you can't see what the monsters are called or what they plant before you tame them, the game doesn't really give you a clear list of everything you can plant, and you only get to tame 30 total so you're going to be doing a lot of swapping. It is possible to get everything with some planning tho (I borrowed the monster setups from this GameFaqs thread).

That said, I personally kind of prefer this? Micromanaging the farming has always been my least favorite aspect of the Rune Factory games. In Tides of Destiny you don't have to worry about that. There's no watering, no harvesting, no spreadsheets keeping track of exactly what seeds you need to buy, and the crops grow so fast (most are done in 1-2 days when you have your monster friendship maxed out) that you don't really feel the randomness. I'm in summer of year 2 and I've already got a storage full of full stacks of basically every crop in the game. That means you can focus 100% on the exploration, dungeons, making friends, etc.

And the exploration is. My god. I love it. It's basically if you threw Rune Factory and Legend of Zelda Wind Waker into a blender. For reference, Wind Waker is one of my favorite Zelda games ever so that colors my impressions of the game. The exploration is 100% riding around through the ocean on a giant golem, fighting giant monsters, and digging up islands and salvage points. The quests usually point you toward specific islands to unlock and there's no point where I felt like I needed an external tool to explore, but if you want help someone made an excellent, detailed map of the stuff you can find in the ocean. You also eventually unlock a fast travel and there is a way to speed up getting from point A to point B, so I never felt like wandering through the ocean was too intrusive.

I also really, really, really like the characters. Each one has a little required "friendship event" you need to watch to unlock their next friendship level, and each of the main island inhabitants has at least 6. All the friendship events are connected to a little character arc which is completed with level 6. The bachelor/ettes get an additional 3 event arc if you unlock their love events as well, though you can't access that until after the main plot is over (and gender locked unfortunately). And there's actually a reason to get them up to the max (level 6) before the endgame, since you get a benefit in the final boss battle.

IMO they're all just really likable, funny characters. Some of the events actually made me laugh out loud, and I was usually smiling the whole time any of the them were talking!

I also really like they way they handled the main characters (Aden and Sonja). The plot of the game is that Sonja gets trapped in her childhood friend Aden's body, and the story is about figuring out how to separate them again. You can play as Sonja once they're separated at the end of the main plot, but you do have to do the entirety of the main story as Aden. Initially I was kind of miffed about this, since I vastly prefer playing as female characters in games, but I actually really like how they did it. For two reasons.

One, I just really like Aden as a protagonist. I was expecting him to be kind of the goody two-shoes amnesiac like a lot of Rune Factory protags are, but no. He's sassy as hell. There was at least one point where one of the characters (I think Joe) is like "hey buddy ol' pal" and Aden is just like "Yeah we're not friends sorry you thought that tho."

Two, initially I was thinking that the whole "my best friend is living in my head" thing was going to be some secret they kept. Like Sonja was going to be there, but she was going to be quiet most of the time or not really interact with the world. But no. The first thing that happens is the obligatory RF starter girl (Odette) finds Aden, and the first thing out of his mouth is "Sonja is stuck in my head, isn't that weird?" and EVERYONE just goes with it. I love it. They really lean into the wackiness/silliness of it all. Sonja is very present in the dialogue and the plot. On her birthday characters wish Aden happy birthday to pass it along. The writing frequently plays around with the dynamic of them being stuck together (such as the two of them arguing over how Aden is going to take a bath), and they frequently swap off in dialogue and give different perspectives. They each kind of have their own relationship with the various characters around town. Most of the friendship events feature both of them in some way. It's also really nice how they'll talk to each other throughout gameplay. They'll say good morning to each other, Sonja will warn you when your health is getting low or what time it is, etc.

Despite playing as Aden (physically) I really feel like you're actually playing as both of them to some degree, and I really like that. It actually feels kind of lonely once they split at the end of the main plot and you don't get Sonja's little quips in your head anymore.

I think those are the big things. There's also lots of little things I enjoyed. I love the aesthetic of the world, and the gameplay systems relating to RP management and stuff are much more refined than the older games. I'd say the only mane difference between it and RF4 is that swinging your weapons still costs RP. The crafting is a little annoying until you get the hang of it (you can craft anything up to 20 levels higher than your current level, so it doesn't suck to grind too badly). There's a bizarre amount of spelling errors, which isn't super intrusive but it is kind of funny lol.

On the negative side, the story is pretty short. You can easily beat it in less than one in game year if you're rushing. I'm also not a huge fan of the main story needing to be 100% completed before you can do marriage and the like, since the game is basically done at that point. I don't think there's much post-game other than the goals you make up for yourself. I do think playing as Sonja was a bit of an afterthought. She has like a quarter of the romance options Aden has and there's some odd mistakes I've noticed playing as her (like trying to knock on Sierra's door while she's asleep will have Sonja saying a line about how the bath is closed ???) but it doesn't bother me too much so far.

Those are pretty minor negatives though. I still had (and am having) so much fun with the game!

I also heavily used this website as a guide. The only thing is that I wish they had pictures of the monsters because I think they have slightly different names from the rest of the series, and it can be confusing cuz some monsters have different colorations and therefore do completely different things.

#rune factory #rune factory tides of destiny #RFToD #long post

[softlyspector]

i remember you saying you don't like the show/fandom interpretation of tlou. is it okay to ask why? im just curious because i was going to get the game soon and wanted to hear your opinion

Sure! You guys are determined to have me tarred and feathered it seems lol

I want to start by clarifying that I do like the hbo show. And when I first saw it, I loved it. It's what made me want to play the game in the first place and got me into gaming at all. After having played/watched both, I just prefer the game.

Before I get into the why of that I want to say that this has nothing to do with the actors. I love Pedro and Bella and their performances. I want to get that out of the way because people are really, really protective of Pedro in particular, and even though it has nothing to do with him it still ruffles feathers and gets me in trouble whenever I talk about preferring the game/game characters.

After playing the game, though, there was no going back for me. Especially after being spoiled for everything in tlou part II (which I won't go into, in case you're avoiding spoilers). It was apparent that a lot of the characterization in the show is retcon for the anticipated criticism. The creators looked at the crit of part 2 and made some changes so that things that happen later make more sense.

The characterizations of both Joel and Ellie in the show are different to their game counterparts. I, personally, find that there is more nuance and depth in the game for the characters, which is what's most important to me as a player/viewer. I talked at length here about what's different between show and game Joel. And @elliespuns talked recently here about what's different between game and show Ellie here.

They go to great pains in the show to portray Ellie as much more violent (relishing in violence more than once, David's comments about a violent heart, etc.) and more hardened than she is in the game. She's a child and I think the game does a better job of showing us that, that she's scared and needs Joel. She's a smart ass in the game but she's not an asshole. Similarly, Joel is annoyed with her in the game, too, but you can tell it's all superficial, which is not the same as in the show, where Joel does seem to genuinely feel contempt for her at times.

The show also goes to great lengths to paint Joel as uncaring and even cruel, and, at the same time older and weaker than in the game. I've already had asks about Joel's supposed 'lack of humanity' in the game which I just fundamentally disagree with and could probably write essays about.

It feels calculated, that they changed them the way they did in the show, so that part 2/seasons 2&3 will make more sense. They're recognizable in the show as Joel and Ellie but they are at the end of the day, almost entirely separate characters.

Also, we spend a lot of time with side characters in the show (not that I would take that away from the show or change it) but Joel and Ellie's bond does feel much more rushed/not as strong because of it. It does not have the same development as in the game and the relationship (to me) is fundamentally different and changed because of it. When you only have 9 episodes in a season and 4/5 of the episodes are focused on other relationships or other characters entirely, and the first episode is mainly setup without the main characters really knowing each other, it becomes a little bit of an issue.

The subtlety of the game, the setup and pay off, are all just better done, in my opinion.

Again, I want to reiterate that I liked the show! It's just that after playing the game and seeing what the original story is, how developed the characters and relationships are, what the set up and pay off of the plot and relationships were, the show does fall to second in my mind.

In terms of fandom interpretation. . .I'm not sure I actually want to get into that too much. Interpretation is subjective and fanfiction is, at the end of the day, a read and write whatever you like situation. I'll never be the person to say don't write something that way/ don't read that, etc. HOWEVER. I will say that interpretation is often just projection. I said it before but, in particular, by virtue of Joel being played by Pedro Pascal in the show, there are a lot of tropes commonly associated with show Joel in the fandom that are just not my cup of tea and, in my opinion, not even close to in character. But as I said, that's not always the goal when people are writing and that's fine, it's just not for me. I do have trouble when people posit fanon and those common tropes as universal truths.

Again, this is all just my opinion and interpretation. I understand why people like the show better. It's not justifiable that I regularly have to defend my love of the game characters.

Anon, thank you so much for sending me this ask. I could talk about his kind of thing all day long and I love doing analysis and comparison.

#bec talks #tlou #tarred and feathered i fear #didnt reread this before posting sorry if it doesn't make sense

[totaldramafan-lauri]

Make Use Of Me (chapter 1, preview)

Dec. 7 EDIT: ONCE MORE, WITH BRAVERY THIS TIME. No more chickening out. You can read this thing FOR REAL now. Sorry for being weird, and now....sorry if this wasn't worth it. XD

O-OK...here goes....

First thing's first: I am not expecting a lotta people to read this. I'm not asking people to read this. At this point, I'm making this mostly as a passion project, and if anyone enjoys it, it'll be a really cool bonus. My writing style isn't gonna be for everyone, and the characters I write aren't the most....popular characters in the CRK X Reader community, and I imagine this isn't really something a lotta fans'll be demanding more of.

This is LONG. This one chapter is 56 pages long. I am a VERY wordy writer,

So......why'm I posting this preview? Well....partially as an interest gauge for people who WOULD wanna read it, but...mostly as a motivator. As something to remind myself of whenever I get lazy. After all....I can't quit after I made the first chapter public, right? By doing that, I put myself out there...And, hey, I even tagged it, so, if by the off chance, someone did read it, I'm basically promising them more eventually.....

But, again, I'm not forcing anyone to read this.

Not only is it long, but.....This first chapter is probably my least-favorite thing I've ever written. By posting this chapter by itself, I'm testing to see if it does its job of making people wanna read the rest, cuz....right now, I'm not so sure how well it succeeds at that.....

This is the boring part of the story. It's a bunch of setup, and me jumping through hoop after hoop after hoop to just get everything started. I know setup is important and all, but....I'm already a very wordy writer, so....oof....There is some interesting stuff that happens, but it takes a while to get there.

I-I....kinda hate it, actually. The only reason I didn't scrap it is that I didn't realize I hated it until I was about halfway through it and the "good part" hadn't started yet. And I still spent a month writing the thing, so....I finished it.

I'm tagging this...as an experiment. If you wanna read this, go ahead. W-well, read my tags first, THEN go ahead. XD

All I can really say in this chapter's defense is that....I do try my best to salvage it. It's just setup, but I TRIED to make it interesting. And everything that seems like it didn't go anywhere, will later. This isn't the whole story, it's just the beginning of what's gonna be a BIG story. Anything that seems weird in this chapter, gets explored in the other chapters. This does set up a bunch of stuff that becomes important later (The friend character shows up later, the Colosseum becomes relevant later). This chapter is boring, but I tried not to make any of it pointless.

For the future: I'm aiming for five chapters. Chapters 2 and 3 will be a series of smaller vignettes that take place over the course of a few years, chapter 4 will be the climax, and chapter 5 will be something of an epilogue. After that, there will be two endings to choose from (which will make sense when we get there).

This probably won't be my favorite thing I've ever written, but it will be the most ambitious thing I've ever, and probably will ever, write. I haven't written something like this before, and it's all to flesh out this story and make it believable.

Right now, I.....I want to finish this. I'll probably still be writing this in February at the rate I'm going, but...at this point, I've put too much into it to give up on it. However, I'm STILL not completely ruling out the idea of my motivation dying before then. It COULD happen. So, what I'm planning to do is...setting a short-term goal of finishing chapter 3. After I do that, I'll post the first three chapters on AO3 together, and work on the rest. That way, even if I don't finish it, I'll at least have it over half done, and chapter 3 will end on a somewhat high note.

So, yyyyeah....Not a lotta people will read this preview. Overly wordy writing style + boring setup part of story + 56 pages long + assumed lack of interest for X Readers of this character (At least, I haven't SEEN many simps for her, m-maybe I'm wrong, I might be, I-I haven't checked any tags cuz I've been nervous, b-but it doesn't make my writing any better. In that case, this is my first time writing her so I'm trying super hard to do her justice >//////<)

I-if you wanna read this, and see if this first chapter does a good job of making you wanna read the better chapters, then...Go ahead.....

Some notes:

-This is still not the final draft. It's finalized enough for me to share, but I'm still not considering it finished. Even tho I'm working on chapter 3 right now, I STILL go back and edit this, even very recently. So, chances are, even if the story is finalized, small details and sentences are still subject to change. I know for a fact that there are still SOME placeholder bits in here that will change after I get some stuff cleared up. Recently, I even considered chopping off an entire section to make it shorter. I decided not to, but hey, it could still happen. I don't wanna waste anyone's time. The first chapter of a story, even if it's boring, is still very important, and I wanna make sure it's the best version of itself.

(A-and yes, this means that I've finished chapter 2 as well. The reason I'm not sharing it is that, unlike chapter 1, it was finished VERY recently, so I might still need to give myself time to edit it. From what I have, tho, I do like it a LOT more than chapter 1. There are some parts of chapter 2 that I'm legit proud of.)

-Even tho this first chapter is completely clean, I-I should mention that....this fic is for adults. The full version, at least. Chapters 3 and 4 are gonna contain some light N/S/F/W moments (the "fade to black" variety, so nothing explicit) and there'll be other slightly racey comments here and there. Just a heads-up. I'm gonna be uncomfy with minors reading this.

Th-that's all? I-I think that's all.......O-OK, so......h-here goes..... E-enjoy....

#fics by lauri #fanfic preview #WARNING: UNFINISHED #THIS IS JUST THE FIRST CHAPTER #......AND ITS STILL A LONG READ #cookie run x reader #crk x reader #golden cheese cookie x reader #gender neutral reader #also contains a gender neutral 'friend' character you can do what you want with #basically i got inspired by that part in her bio that mentions how... #....shes always looking to add more loyal subjects #and it made me imagine the story of an outsider who gradually integrates into the kingdom and earns her approval #so its an underdog story basically #and there a LOT that the reader gets put through #reader is shy and socially awkward but can also be a bit more sarcastic than the other reader characters ive written #im aiming for a BIT more comedy than usual since its my first crk fic that doesnt take place in the humorless dark cacao kingdom XD #but yeah reader is a ball of anxiety #they get panic attacks later on #pre canon #VERY VERY VERY pre canon #takes place DECADES before canon #before um....the lost city became lost #its not virtual #no errors no avatars #just a technologically advanced city #power imbalance and god complex stuff all over the place cuz fghdhgfhdhfgh im weak for that part of her #also contains some themes of verbal abuse (from nameless characters toward reader) #and like i said it has some adult moments later on #contains a lot of time skips

[sullina]

hey

are you someone who would like to write but can't seem to get started? Despite being at no loss of ideas?

Here's a tip. Especially for your first work and especially the first draft.

forget originality

that sounds mean now, but listen: every concept imaginable has been done by someone before. There will always be unoriginal concepts in every single work.

But that doesn't make these concepts bad

Because what actually matters is how you use them.

So if you're trying to write something, one of the best first steps you can take is probably just getting laid out what you want to write. Like, what concepts do you want in your work? What things did you like from other works? What characters from other works do you like, and why?

For your very first draft, when you're just starting out, it's perfectly fine to borrow building blocks from others.

Because here's a little secret: unless you're copying one single media word for word, those building blocks will rarely look the same after you've written down your idea and trying to fit everything together.

it's 100% fair to take concepts from other works and use them in your own writing. Because over the course of actually writing your own story, you will also make those borrowed concepts your own.

Sure, it's been done before...

but no one's done it like you yet.

And here's a second tip: if an idea you had or concept you like doesn't work for the thing you're writing anymore, it's okay to let go.

You don't have to throw it out completely, but maybe put it on the shelf for now. Once you're further along with your writing, you might just see the perfect opportunity to reintroduce it in a new way.

I wouldn't call myself an experienced writer just yet, but if there's one thing I've learned already, it's that crafting a story is NOT a straight line. There's bumps and sometimes you go in circles, and then there might be a point where you have an absolute genius idea or you realize that something you already wrote is an amazing setup for this next thing.

So it's not linear. At all. But you have to keep going.

Not everything you write is gonna make it into the final work, but it's still important that you write it. Because you can't make a thing without going through the process of making it. Fails and dropped ideas are as much part of this process as every success and genius idea.

And one final tip for you. Choose a medium to write in that you actively like doing, and doing a lot. By this i mean: writing on your computer is convenient for sure, but it's not the only way to write.

I've found that I fucking love writing by hand with a fountain pen, and it's something that I can do for hours at a time. And don't get me wrong, I do like typing on a computer and I'm not half bad at it, but going back to fix typos? Super annoying. it's fine if I'm making a short tumblr post like this (though i probably have a different definition of "short" than most people), but the outline of my current work in progress is almost 80 pages now. if that were digital, it would probably be more like... 40 pages or something, depending on the font and size, but my point is that digital typing, while convenient, is also annoying to me, personally.

And, ironically, also too quick. I like to think as I write and with digital typing, i have to focus too much on actually typing, but when I'm handwriting, i don't have that problem. I can go relatively quick and it's not like I don't make typos while handwriting, but crossing out one letter and putting the correct one over it is much faster than having to backspace and re-write an entire word (I could use the arrow keys but like. who has the damn time. too fiddly.)

My point here is not that digital writing is terrible and sucks, my point is that if you're gonna write, then you're gonna be doing the action of writing a whole damn lot, so make sure you can do it as comfortably as possible. For me, that's handwriting, for you, it might not be.

...if there's anyone who WILL spring for handwriting though, let me give you one final piece of advice: it might be wise to not go for pretty notebooks, for fear of "ruining" them. I knew this from myself already, so i instead went for regular notebooks, the kind that i used to use for school. The paper is good quality and the fountain pen that I have feels so nice when writing on it. You might think "but that's just small stuff!" and yeah it is, but small stuff can quickly become very very big stuff if it's building up over months or years.

#writing advice #i hope it's good advice #but either way that's my take on it #i see lots of advice on how to best write a story but not so much for how to do the actual action of writing #as in physically (or digitally) putting words down #because i think that's just as important #or maybe that's just me idk #but something to consider i guess

[imthepunchlord]

Ok, so I'm just gonna apologize in advance, I'm sorry, I know you're probably sick of these types of asks. I was gonna wait till call the polls were done, but since you've been talking about how you've already started brainstorming ideas, it like I should probably just say this idea sooner rather later. So, have you considered using the power system you used for your A Declaration of Love and in your old "Miraculous Fox and Peacock powers" post. I felt it would be fitting since these new powers (like the ones in that fic and post) are based on the animal's symbolism, and this setup could allow for multiple powers. Plus, these new versions of the miraculous feel much like a return to back to how we thought the miraculous would be before season two so it could feel fitting.

Nah don't worry about it. And votes seem to be slowing down for the polls, and I've been itching to get brainstorming so might as well get into it.

With these polls, and plans being made to change, I've actually been gradually rewatching Miraculous, taking notes on eps and on characters to refresh myself and it's just taking me back to that time before s2, and just how creative and fun it was to get into ML fanworks. As it gave us so little info we had to get creative.

Like, on artist who used to do really cool ML art suspected Wayzz was a Grasshopper before we got the confirmation of him being a Turtle.

And man I found I enjoyed those days more, as what a lot of people thought of was far more interesting and fun than what we got. And everything that came post s2 really kinda railroaded us and stifled that creativity.

And a lot of the things brought in were:

Frustrating, like Miraculous are more powerful for adults, which why did Fu pick 2 kids and not do anything to help even the playing field? And we got the confirmation he has 16-17 Miraculous on him, why did he release the very two Gabriel needed? Especially as, arguably, Cat's just not that necessary for facing the Butterfly. Also! There's honestly more powerful perks to misusing a Miraculous, why are they so easy to misuse? And according to Paris Special, why is it that Miraculous are willing to gradually kill off kids misusing them, but won't do anything to adults who misuse them? This is all rigged.

Pointless, like the potions, which aren't really "power ups" but just suit changes. Changes that Miraculous already naturally do as the suit comes down to the user. If someone loves ice skating and it's naturally integrated into their suit, the Ice Potion is pointless.

And just entirely baffling: the entirety of the Rabbit, and Alix, a 15 yo girl, being made to be the Timekeeper, live away from her family and friends to manage the timeline, which, why is that being given to a human? Who are going to be biased and not neutral, made worse to be given to a 15 yo who's not fully matured, and clearly we see her involving herself in the timeline which I'm not sure she should be doing as that's influencing outcomes. And why did they even think a time traveling Miraculous was a good idea? That power is so OP and can get so easily complicated you can get a headache trying to make sense of what they rolled out with it. And honestly, what does time traveling have to do with Alice in Wonderland? If they wanted to really reference AiW with Rabbit, I would've voted dream hopping, cause dreams are wild, imaginative, chaotic, and nonsensical. And that could've worked in ties to the moon as people sleep at night, and that could've been tied to healing too, as dreams can be tied to the subconscious, and you could've done something with dream influence and help people face what they're dealing with. Or if Rabbit had to be another time related Miraculous, do something with influencing the flow of time, either slowing it down so the user appears to be going fast, or speeding up the motion of the user and others and objects.

Tangent aside, I am going to be aim to dismiss and change a lot of what canon has brought in and just kinda go back to working off those old days. I am planning on working off a lot of animal symbolism and myth, and some details that Thomas has rolled out I'll consider (like Pied Piper was a Fox, which suggests Fox should have also have a power tied to hypnosis/subconscious suggestion through music). And just go back to those days where we were more creative and better worked off the possibilities with animals. And ideally do some uniqueness that's not going to have a lot of similar powers, aside from healing and mass restoration, as I feel if there's going to be any repeated powers, those would make the most sense.

I will give ADoL a reread (cause it's been years and typically when I get a fic done, it goes out of my mind as I'm not giving anymore attention to it, so I don't remember everything with it); and it's just a little funny as this is the fic that gets brought up to me the most on relating to Miraculous and kwami changes. Like, Nobody has mentioned to me that Juuno was their favorite take on the Peafowl kwami's personality before canon rolled out ditzy and emotional Duusu. Which maybe got toned down post fixing? I'm not sure. Either way, it gets brought a lot and I don't remember everything so I'll be giving it a reread to refresh myself.

#ask Punchie #ml salt #miraculous changes

[tails-artwork]

Gaming Thoughts - October 2023 - Xenoblade Chronicles X

Ever since the announcement of the Wii-U's internet being discontinued, I had found myself going back to this game after so many years. Also, knowing me as a small disclaimer, you may be seeing this game a bit from me as well. XD

I had actually picked up XCX back at Launch and played it quite a bit, but because things got busy and also there was a point that I was stuck in the game, I had put it down for a period of time and said that I would come back to working on it later when things calmed down a bit. Well...now became that later so I may be a little scrambling to get things in it somewhat gone through. At least get some of the online-only content in there at the least before it is no longer accessible. (I know that Pretendo could be an option in the future, but I'm not 100% confident on if they will be able to get XCX up and running through their service since looking at their roadmap it isn't quite a priority yet and also I just have great skepticism on fan projects of this large of a scale ever getting finished as well, so it is more or less a 'I'll believe it when I see it deal')

Though coming back to this game now, I've been enjoying it a LOT more now that I'm finally able to understand certain mechanics. The game does jack-shit to explain how some mechanics with the battle system works (ESPECIALLY Overdrive most of all) and the digital manual is like a pain for me to even go through as well (and why I miss physical manuals in games, dammit) either way, after a bit of research and such I've been finding myself highly enjoying it more and more now at this point. It already was my favourite game as it was even with how difficult it was being before, but now only just cemented it even further.

Just as a note for anyone that may want to try to get into the game, DON'T ever approach it the same way you do with normal JRPGs, if you do and just try to go at it entirely for the main story and only hit the side missions here and there, you will find yourself disappointed since the main story itself doesn't present a lot of development for the other characters as it was with the exception of one. You get more of your development of the characters and even of the world itself through the affinity missions and the side missions most of all. Even most of the sidequests have a lot of their own little storyline to them as well too that helps expand more on the world and everything.

I actually wish this game will get at the very least a port to the modern consoles, though. Or even at least Nintendo's next console since because it was on the Wii-U it hardly got a lot of attention as it was and not a lot of people would have played it, but more of all, I would actually also would love to see there be a sequel as well considering there are so many things that are still unanswered as well that I would love to find some resolution to.

Anyways, when I played this game, I made my primary OC, Conrad, being my custom character as well. So I tried to draw him with at least the equipment that I have currently in-game. Out of the weapon types that there are, because of some of the prior things that I have done with him, I felt that out of the weapon options in the game, the Sniper Rifle was still the best one that did fit him as well and I'm still keeping that as being the main weapon that I'm basing my build around. (You have a LOT of options of how to make your build and a few different weapon options to use. You have to have one ranged and one melee weapon in your setup, but with how the game is designed, you really cannot balance your build between the two and it becomes more of one being your main damage dealer and the other being essentially there for support because of the arts that are available to it.)

Either way, odds are likely I'll be playing this game quite a bit either until I get a lot of things finished up finally or after the end of April, whichever comes first so if I end up needing to cover this game again because of this, I'll try to at least make it more on that month's summary as opposed to the game as a whole. XD

(All in all, I don't think I will ever see this being dethroned as one of my top favourite games anytime soon)

#Xenoblade #Xenoblade Chronicles X #my work #my OCs #conrad strasburg #Gaming thoughts

[demonslayedher]

Things that ran through my head while watching this episode:

--Here are at Gurenge's last use, and I am lip-syncing with passion as the credits roll.

--If this episode comes in three parts, it's setup for their big movie announcement, Muzan's slaughter of the Lower Moons, and Tanjiro Tanjiro-ing all over the place. The only one immune to getting Tanjiro'ed is Genya... for now. Your time shall come, child. Soon.

--The Infinity Fortress gets its first appearance and hearing those twangs of the biwa is sending my brain back to those sounds playing at the Infinity Fortress display at the Gotouge art gallery. It really is a cool setting, though... I am... I am so not ready to see animated everything else which happens there.

--Hate to say it, but the CG is kind of rough on Muzan's flesh and I hope that'll get improved on before the big showdown with Muzan.

--These scene should be used in corporate training courses about power harassment, complete with discussion afterward about how how each Lower Moon was harassed in a different way.

--Very interesting that the Lower Moons, at least according to Kamanue, have never been gathered. Maybe not that group of them since Kamanue has joined, anyway, since they keep getting plucked off. That said, in the Spider Sister filler, they made mention of being able to escape Mt. Natagumo when Rui is called away by "that person" and I had assumed this was a meeting, but I guess not. Muzan just liked Rui's company??? Or maybe he was conducting meetings but felt like bullying Kamanue and didn't invite him.

--Enmu really does make such an entrance as a character, we learn all we need to know about his personality through this scene. He also makes a great display of how Muzan's blood has such a pronounced effect on those who are already demons, too.

--I wonder if Rokuro was alive just long enough, like Wakuraba, to see Enmu receive Muzan's blood, seeing as he had just begged for that blood.

--Nakime really just lets Enmu go "plop"

--And Muzan's arm really did belch after eating up a Lower Moon.

--Back to Tanjiro & Friends, at some point they moved out of the hospital and got to stay in a regular Japanese style room together with futon! They really do just live here now.

--Something I liked but forgot to note in the previous episode is that the title card being Kanao's name had a chrysalis design, implying that she's not yet ready to spring forth as a butterfly. Awwww. <3 But here Kanae's prediction totally comes true and Ufotable left no question of the exact moment Kanao fell in love. To do that, though, they had her standing instead of sitting, and therefore had to sacrifice the part when Kiyo startles her and she falls off the engawa. Tee hee, oh well.

--I feel like I've already done extensive analysis of these scenes with Tanjiro and what they mean to Aoi & Kanao, so I'll move on and say "HAHAHAHA Tanjiro moved out of Genya's way and Genya STILL bumped him." Genya, with Himejima's influence, is probably mentally reciting sutras and doing his darndest not to turn around and break Tanjiro's arm as payback. Growth, in more ways than one.

--No, no, back to Kanao a second. You know something that hit me really hard the other day? All that stuff she says to Douma about how he doesn't actually feel a thing? KANAO WOULD BE THE ONE TO KNOW, WOULDN'T SHE.

--So, Shinobu recommending Tanjiro (& Friends) to accompany Rengoku on his mission is an anime filler moment, and it's really sweet that she is so supportive of Tanjiro's growth as a Corp member (unlike a certain Water Pillar we all know). However, then we get her flat-out telling Oyakata-sama about how Tanjiro's father used a Breath of "Hi" of some sort, and Oyakata-sama's "Oh?" is so very obviously meant as "ohhhhhh???? As in the original Breath, Sun Breathing? That must be while Muzan targeted him, ohohohohooooo, ooohhhhhh~"

--Oh hey, speaking of filler giving us more character interactions, who could that be out at the Butterfly Mansion?

--Giyuu, what business brought you out here? My newfound inner GiyuShino shipper wants to poke and tease, but I suppose I could also poke and tease him for just being curious about the future Water Pillar's progress. Sure, maybe he was out there on Pillar business or something and leaving because Shinobu wasn't there, but Ufotable really just made this whoel interaction as a way to provide a nice bookend to the beginning of the series--

--and then they just up and make Giyuu disappear

--WHOOSH

--he's gone

--Giyuu... why

--It's daytime. There's no demons. Why can't you just walk like a normal person.

--Speaking of having to deal with someone who can't act like a normal person, Inosuke. Inosuke and Tanjiro. Poor Zenitsu, it is his turn to hold the brain cell but it's hard to do that when you already have your hands full keeping your country bumpkin friends from getting arrested.

--Inosuke really flat up quiets Zenitsu by planting his hand across his face.

--The image of Inosuke posing with the swords down his pants will forever be burned in my mind, but the SOUNDS. I forgot about these sounds he makes.

--I've always loved how Zenitsu takes a moment to ask Tanjiro a serious question about Nezuko's welfare, which not only makes me happy because I love Tanjiro & Zenitsu friendship, but it's a clever device for Ufotable to wrap this "determination" themed season up by giving us a well-deserved flashback to some of the greatest Kamado sibling moments to remind us of their bond.

--We also really needed because we've hardly seen Nezuko lately and perhaps have forgotten what she looks like.

--On my first watch, I was so hooked by this point, and very saddened about having to wait for more Kamaboko trio interactions especially--that train platform scene left me pining for so much more of them. I wanted more so bad, but didn't want to read the manga because it didn't look appealing to me. But I... I wanted more... and I peeked at the Wiki... and ran into spoilers... and sooner or later got back into Tumblr... AND FOUND MORE SPOILERS.......... and I sure didn't last long before the binge-read began.

#kny rewatch #my art #kamado tanjiro #kamado tanjirou #agatsuma zenitsu #hashibira inosuke #and if you squints there's Muzan and Nakime and what's left of the Lower Moons #and technically Nezuko is here too #I feel bad that among my sketches I haven't drawn her face since the Swamp Demon fight #I'm sorry Nezuko

[emblazons]

hi marie, its me again <3 the anon with byler doubt haha ... you made such great points! and tysm for such a thorough response.

I am SO CURIOUS how do you think they'll get Mike and Will together? I think that's the aspect that has me doubting the most because it feels so so MESSY and they can very easily mess it all up if they aren't careful.

Explaining Mike's internalized homophobia etc might be something too difficult to unpack in just one season, on top of everything else going on as well with the world literally ending. I also don't know what the point was of having Mike say he loved Eleven if it wasn't true, what do you think they were trying to achieve with that?

Do we truly think she'd be okay with breaking up with Mike? And if the answer is yes, how will that affect Mike and El's dynamic going forward, you think? Will they really not only break up milkvan, but leave elmike underdeveloped in favor of Byler?

I look at the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle and that has been a mess for seasons now and still no resolution, so I don't know how they'll do it for Mike and Will. I fear they'll go for the "easy route" (aka milkvan endgame) to focus on the supernatural and other characters more. Because if Byler is endgame I feel like they'd need to devote a great chunk of the season to them in order to explain wth is going on with Mike specifically + giving him closure with El.

I suppose something else that gives me doubt is how Mike and Will have been sidelined in these last few seasons to give more screentime/protagonism to other characters and dynamics, so I don't know if I can fully believe the Duffers care THAT much about romantic!Byler if that makes sense.

Hopefully this all doesn't sound overly pessimistic or something, I am genuinely curious about your thoughts in some of these more like looking for reassurance tbh! Especially after reading your response to my first ask <3 TYSM once again!!

hello again!

To be honest, you've got a lot of questions that require separate (and equally detailed) responses, but...let me see if I can briefly explain each, and maybe link to other analyses I've done that might help make sense of why I say.

note: some of these are just my frankest opinions unfiltered, but I do have analytical reasons for all of them. Your questions are also asking things it's taken several rewatches and a year to sort through so...apologies if you just get the simplest version of the idea delineated here haha. also, a cut, because this got really long.

1: How do you think they'll get Mike and Will together? Transparently? I'm not really all that into specifics, because expecting specific things means I'm going to fall into the trap of thinking I'm the one writing it when I'm not and then say The Duffers "lied" or "messed up" because I expected something they never put in there. That said—in terms of plain setup, they will need to address the painting because that was a critical plot point from damn near minute one of S4, and now it's become fully integrated with not only Will's feelings for Mike, but Mike's own sense of El's feelings for him.

Beyond that...I think El will need to be the one to initiate the "complete" breakup, because she's the one who wanted space in the first place, the one who is repeatedly having her romantic partner paralleled to parental and tragic figures, the one refuses to be vulnerable & who built lies into their relationship...and the one whose general arc centers around reclaiming autonomy and choice from the men in her life. I also think Mike will be the one to initiate the romantic aspect, if its not a bit mutual.

2: Mike's internalized homophobia etc might be something too difficult to unpack in just one season - I disagree. We managed to sort through introducing Will's romantic feelings and sense of his queerness in a single season just fine...and Mike has had queer-coding show up throughout every season if you know what you're looking for.

The fact that this boy already has a one way sign into his closet, has repeatedly yelled about "boys only" every season AND shows clear signs of male attraction already has most people (even the supposed 'GA') suspicious of his sexuality, and combined with his devotion to will + the wider context, there are plenty of ways to introduce the idea of him liking boys explicitly that don't require any intense delineation...unless you expect them to say "he's gay" out loud, which they didn't do when Robin came out, and still haven't done for Will either...despite everyone knowing damn well they're gay.

3: I also don't know what the point was of having Mike say he loved Eleven if it wasn't true - I think that most of the breakdowns I've done of parentified!mike make clear that the love he has for her is somewhat genuine...though its being written as misplaced familial love, because he spent so much time believing he needed "a girl" to assuage his insecurities.

While I absolutely lean toward a gay!Mike reading myself, it's still clear even without a label that Mike's love mirrors Hopper's more than it resembles any of the love given by potential romantic partners to other women across the show—and Mike, given that he was being told by Will that El needed him to say he loved her for her to win, did what he thought was necessary to help her.

I do not think his love for her is a lie—I simply think it isn't romantic, and has now been so conflated with something negative in El's mind that it wouldn't matter if he mean't it romantically anyway. That said: narratively, Mike had to say he loved El because unless the fullness of what was expected (an I love you) was accomplished, it would hang over the story and any relationship Byler might have. El needed to hear it...so she could reject it, which she did.

4: Do we truly think she'd be okay with breaking up with Mike? yes. I think El will be absolutely 300000% just fine being broken up with Mike lmao. She has Hopper back now (who she was mourning the loss of, and therefore looking to fill with Mike emotionally), on top of having Max's "there's more to life than stupid boys" at the fore of her mind saving her.

Mike is also paralleled to parental and abusive figures in El's mind, on top of the fact that she has been keeping him at an emotional distance for the entirety of S4. Given that she and Lucas will probably also get closer in the search for Max...I'm quite sure she's not going to take it as hard as people imagine, especially given the fact that we already know she was happiest in S3 when they were broken up.

I also don't have any expectation of ElMike being super close friends (beyond party bonds + civility) either, which...I mean if you are I apologize but. I don't see that happening in canon, so them being developed deeply as friends before the show ends is not important to me as a plot point, and doesn't really have any canonical backing considering their ongoing lack of platonic connection outside of the necessary + lack of common interest. That's even a note thematically in the show...which means its makes sense for them not to be that close by the end of the narrative.

5: Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle and that has been a mess for seasons now and still no resolution, so I don't know how they'll do it for Mike and Will. Truth be told, that love triangle has a resolution—Nancy has chosen Jonathan, and continues to, even though she flirted with Steve when she felt lonely. Nancy's arc has always centered around choosing something different than her parents and has from S1—her brief flirtation with Steve aside, her loyalty to Jonathan hasn't changed, though they are absolutely not a perfect couple.

If anything, the end of S4 set up Jonathan and Steve learning to be friends less so than anything implying Nancy might choose Steve instead—Jonathan is finally in a narrative position to choose something for himself now which frees him up to be honest with Nancy, and even outside of that, Nancy is far more likely to end up with single than she is with Steve—which is the exact opposite of how they've set up Mike to be with Will rather than El over the course of the season.

6: I fear they'll go for the "easy route" (aka milkvan endgame) to focus on the supernatural and other characters more. I don't agree. The supernatual plot has always been well-integrated with the romantic elements in every couple across the board, from Mike's "first love lost" energy happening when El disappeared in S1, Lumax bonding in S2 in a fight with demodogs, Jancy's bonding across S2-3 happening in the lab seeing the gate, while Will was un-possessed, and while they fought the thing monster in the hospital....and Jopper in Russia fighting a demogorgon in S4.

The Duffers have never slacked in setting up their romances in conjunction with the supernatual plots, and there's no reason to think they're gonna start with Byler, especially given Will's mirroring of Vecna/Henry, the way the day his disappeared is the day the UD is frozen, and how he's the one who can sense him...while now having Mike glued to his side.

7: if Byler is endgame I feel like they'd need to devote a great chunk of the season to them in order to explain wth is going on with Mike specifically + giving him closure with El. The 5th season is going to bring all of the characters together again, and they've already said Will is central to that. I've written before about the reason why they had to sideline Will in their plot to make a narrative point, but regardless...like I said before, if you know how to read subtext, Mike being queer won't come as all that much of a surprise.

Note: I've done several (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) analyses on Mike and his arc, which might help.

Beyond that...again, I honestly don't think The Duffers care much to make ElMike besties like fanon seems to think they should be (they haven't done it with any of the other romantic couples they've broken up) so...closure can include civility and acceptance for them the way it did S2 Steve with Jancy, imo. What Mike needs most is to gain the courage to accept himself and realize he doesn't need a girl to assuage his insecurities—and him being casual friends with El the same way he is casually supportive canonically with Max makes more sense than trying to skirt over all the mess of their relationship for the sake of an attached fandom ☠️

—that was a lot to cover, but hopefully that cleared up my position on a lot of your questions? I would also encourage you to take a look at my ST commentary tag & analyses highlights list (soon to be updated again) and even my asks for more context, on top of maybe giving the show a rewatch in its entirety if you can.

Sidebar: I also encourage you to dig into my Duffer Brothers tag and commentary (see bottom of the page), because knowing who made the show is just as helpful as understanding the show itself.

Its really easy to get caught in other people's wants and headcanons for the show if you don't keep going back to it yourself, so—as lovingly as possible, I really do encourage you to just sit and watch it with the "byler knowledge" you have from users like me, your other fave analysts, and maybe some of the "old guard" like @kaypeace21, who was integral in my own development of opinions before I dug in for myself. If you're ever doubting, that's always your best bet.

That said: It's literally impossible to summarize a framework crossing nearly 37 hours of TV in a single ask (or even 20)...which is why I've got almost a year worth of posts about it (and have evolved my depth of understanding dramatically over time).

The same way you can't spark notes your way through a degree without missing a lot of context, even me saying this with evidence won't help a lot if you haven't dug into it yourself—and doubt will repeatedly creep in if you're trusting me over the show itself, even though the show is where I've pulled all this from lmao.

—this got really long, but....I hope it helped. And again, sorry if I seemed short anywhere lmao. This was a lot to cover. Still, as always, thanks for the ask!

#this got so long lmfaooo #and I'm sorry if I answered bluntly anywhere in my trying to get through all your questions lmao #but also...like. I don't have doubts about the duffers ability or the story direction because I've spent a lot of time with the show #not just with the fandom or scenepacks. Like. all 37 hours of this thing LMFAO #and honestly...that is the only way to truly get a sense of it as a whole entity. It literally exists as a whole unit #we're just waiting on the last piece! #asks

[sycamorre]

You know I gotta get my girl Ledo! Also Wisteria, please. I barely know her, but I love her already.

[send me a character]

Another long one!

Ledo —

Favorite thing about them: It's a hard tie between her design elements and her passion for what she cares about. I love how her design has come out, in part because of how long I've picked away at her over the years waiting for a chance to play her, and how everything fell into place with the campaign's setup, but I also love how passionate she is about things: her work, her goals, and even her problems. Coming off of playing Oriana, who has a tendency to downplay a lot of her emotions due to her anxiety, it's been a good change of pace. Ledo is pretty calm most of the time but won't hesitate to say what's on her mind if she thinks it's important.

Least favorite thing about them: She's really hard to pinpoint morally/alignment-wise. I've settled on lawful neutral, but she flip flops between wanting to actually do some good and not caring about others at all and it's one of those things that will probably either go one way or another as her story develops, but for right now is just hard to feel out without regularly writing or playing her.

Favorite line: "If the universe wanted us gone so bad, it should have done a better job at killing us." for a specific line. But I'll echo your sentiments about their little campfire talk. I had never gotten a chance to show Ledo angry and when a little bit slipped with her "I am no damn pirate," comment, that was satisfying.

brOTP: Already adoring the vibes between Ledo and Char, they get shit done. But honestly I can't wait to see where the relationships with the other characters go, too. Especially Celeste once they get to really talk about Twalan one on one and maybe even Foaly at some point if they ever get to swapping war/battle stories.

OTP: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You've seen him. I've only let his name slip once, but you've seen him on this here blog. That's all you get.

nOTP: You've also seen him but do not yet know his name. There's a lot of people in the world she would sell to satan for a corn chip, but she would pay for Satan to take this fellow.

Random Headcanon: In-character, her steel guardian Drache is based on a drake for one primary reason: a joke between her and her father. One day he asked her what she might want as a pet, and she said a dragon. She eventually learned that this was not possible, but the family in-joke remained. Out of character, the reason he's a drake is because I didn't want him to be a dog or a bear, and nothing else felt right. I originally was going to make her an armorer or artillerist artificer and she was gonna have a small monkey automaton, but after reviewing the sub-classes and realizing neither of those actually felt right and battle smith felt like the most useful sub-class, that automaton eventually morphed into Drache.

Unpopular Opinion: I doubt this technically counts, but I honestly think looking back that Ledo would have been better as a Pathfinder character. The inventor class is perfect, and I very well might replay her one day if I do ever get to join a Pathfinder campaign. But she feels like she fits well into the current party so I don't dwell on it too much.

Song I associate with them: OH boy. Currently her main song is "Queen of Kings" by Alessandra, but specifically this cover by Annapantsu for thematic reasons. "Runaway" by AURORA was her main theme before that. I have... a very long playlist for her I am still fine-tuning.

Favorite picture of them: I still think this is the best headshot I've done of her, even if I need to update the horns:

Wisteria —

Favorite thing about them: She's just fun! Half of my enjoyment when it comes to thinking about Wisteria is considering the fun things like what she might wear, how her spells might appear since she's a dancing-based bard, or what kind of shenanigans she might get into.

Least favorite thing about them: Intelligence is absolutely her dump stat and hoo boy is that gonna be hard to get used to if I ever do get to play her in some kind of game. She also has no sense of personal space and is the worst kind of nosy.

Favorite line: We'll come back to this one day. One day...

brOTP: Her little eladrin bard gang back home. The tightest clique of court ladies and performers the fey have ever seen.

OTP: This gal's not looking to settle down or just pick one... but I could be convinced if the right opportunity presented itself.

nOTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Random Headcanon: Since Eladrin can change their "season" willingly, back in the Feywild she would do it on a whim or based on which court she was performing in, but she heavily preferred spring since that is the court she originates from. However, once she enters the material plane and the idea of the courts is no longer looming over her, her "season" tends to change depending on her overall mood for a while, at least until she starts understanding that seasons in this plane are a set timespan and then she starts adhering to that a bit more as she settles.

Unpopular Opinion: Probably gonna need to actually play her some to get an idea for what this might be.

Song I associate with them: A bit of a cop out if I'm being honest because I haven't worked on her playlist yet, but "The Willow Maid" or "Round and Round" by Erutan because they feel like songs she would perform to

Favorite picture of them: She's ready for mischief and other nonsense

#soartfullydone #dnd!ledo #dnd!wisteria

[worddevourer]

Anyway, I never watched that show they made with the characters from DotA, but whatever they did, I guarantee it was nothing compared to the story they could have done using Vengeful Spirit and Skywrath Mage.

Let me lay this out for you:

First off, they've got wings, which is already a win for aesthetics.

But actually important to the concept...

We have, on the one hand, an immensely skilled mage (Dragonus), who delved so deep into his studies that he missed the signs that his dearest love, the princess first in line for the throne (Shendelzare, who would need some nickname that's not so many syllables), was going to be betrayed by her own sister. Worse, after her wings are broken, taking her firmly out of the line of succession, he's still locked into the same position he held in the first place. His magic is tied to his service of the throne, meaning everything he's studied for, all his ability to do anything could be shattered at a whim, if the new queen catches a hint of his dissatisfaction.

On the other hand, we have the fallen princess, raised for power and vicious action, let down by someone who should have had her back, betrayed by her own sister. She makes a deal with the goddess of vengeance, becoming a revenant with the singular goal of getting payback for what has been done to her.

Like... Imagine seeing the person you care about most, stepping into the throne room, and your new queen telling you to destroy her. Do you follow your duty, even when it forces you to fight someone you love? Fall to your knees, and accept whatever vengeance she wishes to enact on you?

And what if you were a being of crystallized vengeance, and one of the people your goddess whispers deserves the worst you can give them kneels and accepts it? Believes, wholeheartedly, that if hurting them gives you the slightest peace, then it's worth it?

As for what exactly the plot would actually be, I don't know, because you could do it any number of ways.

However, I do know that I would desperately want the ending to be the princess breaking free from the hold of vengeance over her, even if she still never gets her wings back, and for the two of them to stay together, if for no other reason than that it would make the AMV for Everytime We Touch by Cascada so unimaginably easy.

No, seriously, I've had the theoretically video for Everytime We Touch in my head for years, and just... the setup is so simple, but it just causes neuron activation.

Rant done.

#Dota #Dota 2 #vengeful spirit #skywrath mage

[bourbon-ontherocks]

unfortunately all of [gros canard]’s scenes (in this ep at least) are tainted by his turning violent during that one interrogation. it’s like they flipped a switch without a warning. et on tombe dans la caricature, comme tu disais… I knew they didn’t make david’s character sharper than your average suspect for nothing, and I figured it was for the dinner party, but turns out they were just setting him up to be the perfect outlet for anger and jealousy--il fallait un mec à l’air coupable et capable de balader la police. which makes it really hard to pretend that scene was simply some bad, ooc writing. (could’ve been different if there had been amends of some sort afterwards, when the guy is released… and tbh céline should’ve suspended him for real) bref roxane called it, [gros canard] est un flic border 🤷

now everything he does or says, I’m just like… yeah. wouldn’t expect any less from a grade A scumbag. and the GALL to stare at morgane and the end and leave without a word, as if to say ~you’re dangerous and I’m removing myself from the situation? that’s ice cold. and buddy, you’re the dangerous one here, if you can’t be normal around your crush or your antagonist of the day then take a fucking hike. 😡 pardon mais ça me débecte tellement cette fin ! I feel bitter. anyway. rant over.

(je note au passage que c’est la 2e fois que morgane se fait ~quitter dans cet épi 🥲)

Okay. So now we're getting to the unfunny part, and while I definitely didn't like this scene either, it might be for different reasons, or at least for me it didn't paint the rest of the episode as bleak as it did for you 😨

So. Adam's outburst of violence this ep felt clearly ooc, I agree, and especially considering what we've been given so far re his behaviour at work and in general. However, I gave it a lot of thought, and while it definitely does not add up with the image we have of him, it might not be *so* OOC from the show's point of view. After all, we've already seen Adam doing ooc stuff out of the blue, starting with kissing Morgane at the end of 208, and perhaps he's one of these people who bottle up their feelings and are in control 99% of the time but just happen to ~snap once in a while.

In that regard, his snapping after days of anger and jealousy (that he's unaware of) slowly building up makes sense, although not necessarily in the way they set it up, and not to such a dramatic extent. I'm not excusing him for what he did, just saying that from a characterization point of view, it *can* tie up not so terribly.

Now my problem with that scene has more to do with its setup than whether or not it makes Adam less likable. This was a textbook example of police brutality over an innocent Black suspect, guided by personal motives, but was never addressed as such. If the show was actually trying to make an extremely disturbing statement, they wouldn't have done better. I mean, Adam could have fought David during the dinner party for instance, it wouldn't have changed his own jealousy arc, but that would have made things much more palatable imo than him attacking his antagonist while on duty and during an interrogation.

In a more general way, I feel like the show has flipped a switch regarding violence and action this season that wasn't really called for. We went from des enquêtes pépouzes in early seasons to hostage situations where guns fire (depuis quand c'est la PJ qui gère ça d'ailleurs ? Il y a pas des équipes spécialisées ?), and I've never seen Adam's weapon more than during this season, so I guess this is all part of a more global agenda of darkening the show and the characters (I bet Audrey is missing her Engrenages era... But at least they had the decency to film police brutality in a smarter way back then 🥲)

Ngl, it makes me sad that you're now calling Adam a grade A scumbag 😭 I'm not gonna say he's got excuses for acting like he did, and like I said before his characterization this season is terribly written, but also I get where he comes from even though he's clearly hit rock bottom this episode... I mean, had he been a tad more self-aware these past 4 eps, we wouldn't have had to endure his surprised Pikachu beardless face upon discovering that Morgane dating someone else actually hurts him, nor would he have acted like a complete asshole. Sigh. What I'm trying to say is that for me this was more of a one-time fall, no matter how despicable he got, rather than a complete redefinition of who he is. At least I want to believe in that 🥲 (and send him to an anger management support group asap 😅) even though violence, possessiveness and jealousy are massive red flags imo 💔😰

I'm going to assume that his entire personality and set of, you know, human skills, was actually stored in the beard, because now that I'm thinking about it, it's mostly in the beardless episodes that he's acting nonsensically... Please Beardie come back! 🥹 Oh and I agree with you that Céline should have gotten him suspended! 100%! That's time-out for grownups and it would definitely have done him some good lol!

Now for this final scene of silent treatment with Morgane, I have a slightly different interpretation? At this point in the ep, Adam has gotten uncontrollable, violent, angry, and Céline rightfully reminded him that this is not the kind of behavior she wants to see in the team. I think it's the turning point when he finally connects the dots and realizes where all this rage comes from. He's finally admitting that he has feelings for Morgane (hence the 'we need to talk' to Roxane -> just saying, but if he dumps her next Thursday he'll definitely be the biggest asshole in the history of assholiness btw), but since he's still down that jerkland rock bottom, he puts it on her. He's sort of mad at her that she made him catch feelings that are clearly ruining his perfectly rounded little life, and that's, imo, the reason for his silence and closed face, and while that's still not cool, it's not exactly the same as the way you interpreted it.

Now, this will be a hit or miss, but there's a fic out there that actually explores Adam's violence during this ep by making it worse, and while it is based on this ooc premise of a scene, the execution actually makes a lot of sense and brings an interesting light to his characterization (also it is resolved in an extremely satisfying way lol), so perhaps it will be a cathartic read for you, idk! Anyway if you're interested, it's Rouge by PlumeDeChien

This post got super long so I'll spill over the next one to talk about Morgane's break up, okay bye!

#julia's adventures with the hpi anon #hpi #ask #anon #hpi season 3 #hpi analysis

[tallsc]

Aftermath AU Masterpost (AvA)

Okay so I've done some stuff on this AU already but I wanted to give my AU a proper name and organizational setup cause I'm starting to do a lot with these versions of characters XD Plus, asks are still open if people want to ask the Aftermath characters anything.

Basically, the Aftermath AU is the context that I put most of my AvA work in (excluding analyses and such.) Everything that happened in canon happened here too, it's not an alternate universe of that sort, but it does go a lot into what happened afterwards to the point where I don't think I can just call this a headcanon.

In chronological order, here are the main stories I've made for the AU so far, and I'll add to this later, though first the Headcanon list.

Gold Journal Story (WIP, 2/3, after Gold's death)

Seeing Ghosts (Completed, Gold re-meeting Mango)

Cold Thoughts (WIP, 12/13, Vic powers...? Updating Saturdays)

I coulda sworn I had one about the group meeting Vic and one about stuff after the Showdown but I cannot find them if someone knows where those are can you let me know? And if not I'll probably try to rewrite them at some point to make them a little better and send them here, I promise I don't only write about Gold, everyone else is in this AU too XD

Speaking of who's in the AU, here's a really brief summary of what's going on.

The Color Gang are still doing their thing in the computer, they're on relatively good terms with everyone.

The three ghosts have all met each other and they tend to either hang out in the computer (where Vic can be visible to translate for everyone) or go around other places.

Chosen and Dark are most of the time on their own, they're on tense terms with everyone (and a little bit with each other) but they're doing alright. Less violent, at least.

Purple and Mango are living together in Purple's old desktop (the villagers moved away)

As of Seeing Ghosts, everyone but Dark and Chosen know the ghosts are around.

I will link any other important updates that I find or post above. Thanks for reading!

#alan becker #animator vs animation #animation vs minecraft #aftermath au #headcanons

[yuniemaki]

A peek into my workflow for canon fics!

Got quite a few questions lately about how I plot longer fanfics, so here's a proper writeup on my current workflow.

One thing to note is that canon is always easier to work with because the worldbuilding has been done for you, and you really only need to focus on setup and payoff as well as the narrative themes. With an AU, you need to build the world and supporting characters as well in order to deliver a similar impact. An AU is closer to plotting an original story, except you don't need to work so hard on the character dynamics.

As such, my plotting differs slightly from canon to AU fics. Since I haven't finished an AU fic yet I'll share my process for canon fics for now (using Trust in the stars - mind the spoilers!).

Hope this helps other fanfic writers out there :) And remember, all these "rules" exist to be broken, as long as you find a way that works for you.

Fics based in the canon universe have no need for worldbuilding aside from your own headcanons, so I typically focus on driving impact through the narrative itself.

First off, I note down the characters that will show up in this fic and try to summarise the main theme in a one-liner (the one liner can be done after you finish everything, that's why I highlighted it in yellow - I only wrote this after I finished a first plot. This one-sentence summary will guide your main theme and ensure your story ends on the right note).

This is how Trust in the stars began:

No details at all at this stage. After this, I used the three act structure to nail down the key moments of the fic. These are usually scenes I've been brainrotting on in full detail; they are usually drabbles or rambles for epic/emotional scenes I envision.

Using the structure, I slot them into the right places and then figure out how to build up to it. Because, as we all know, there is no impact without setup and payoff. And for setup and payoff to work, we need to step back and see the entire story from an organised perspective.

I'm not a fan of breaking down stories into percentages - I prefer to just look at all the acts and its key points, and see if they make sense and build up to each other. Act 2 can be the shortest act for all I care as long as it successfully sets up for the "crisis" that leads into the climax.

(If you have other key scenes that you were brainrotting on, write them down on a separate doc first or at the bottom of the plot doc, but keep the plot by itself for now.)

You'll notice that there are quite a few differences in the final fanfic from this plot, and that's normal. This simple structure just helps you to see the main climatic moments in each act and how it builds up to the final climax.

Again, no details - don't know what kind of poison, don't know what kind of sus activity, no idea what trap Ningguang sends Beidou to.

This is basically my "first draft".

From this draft, I can already tell that there may be issues with "prototype modified ruin guards" in act 2 because:

The climax, where Liyue is defended from a ruin guard army, doesn't seem linked to Ning & Pantalone negotiating

It also doesn't satisfy the aftermath of Ning & Pantalone accepting each other as equals,

Nor does it fully tie back to the one-sentence summary ("rekindles passions for Beidou").

That means I'm missing the central theme I want the story to have - ultimately Trust in the stars is a story of Ningguang and Beidou daring to trust each other, to fall in love.

So just looking at this, I know I need to:

a) rework the climax and potentially make it less epic (so that it becomes personal)

b) after reworking the climax, adjust act 2 to build up to it

After I'm happy with the key moments, I stay on this doc and start fleshing out main story beats for each section of the act. This is an example of how the beats for Act 1 go for the first 2-3 chapters:

These beats help to iron out the smaller questions - for example, what are the characters doing and thinking? What's their motives for each arc of the story?

I never believed in "giving" your characters obstacles to overcome; they will meet and become obstacles simply because of their motivations and beliefs, that are shaped by the circumstances they experience, just as we are shaped by our experiences in life.

That's how they will drive your story towards its ending. Things happen, but all things happen because someone willed it to happen.

Ruin guard army? Dottore was building it because he loves his little experiments. The law is his obstacle; he's doing it in secret. To build experiments, he needs funding, too, and that's why he has an interest in working with Pantalone.

Pantalone beefing with Ningguang? He must want something that she has. Wealth, power - whatever floats your boat. Ningguang is his obstacle because she's gonna say no.

Beidou running errands for Ningguang? It's part of their contract that's been ongoing for years, never mind her interest in Ningguang. The contract itself is an obstacle to the story's goal: falling in love. Business partners to... lovers?

Ningguang ordering Beidou to collect intel? It's part of her vested interest in knowing what's going on in other nations, because she needs to protect Liyue from political threats. The potential danger Beidou faces becomes an obstacle for Ningguang, as she struggles between needing to send Beidou out and fearing she doesn't return.

Ningguang baiting the Fatui? The intel her network delivers has alerted her to suspicious ongoings and she wants to remove this obstacle asap.

Yelan investigating the Fatui? Ningguang ordered it, and Yelan is working for her (plus she likes her job and danger). What Yelan finds also becomes an obstacle for Ningguang as they try to figure out what's going on.

Ningguang ordering Yelan to do that? She must suspect the Fatui are making moves. And she's trying to clear the obstacle of "lack of knowledge" so that she can make her move.

Why does Ningguang suspect the Fatui is making their move? Because Pantalone wants something from Ningguang and has made it clear through sending Dottore to take the bait. Obviously she won't want to give him anything. She becomes his obstacle.

Dottore getting involved? Pantalone got Dottore to work with him with the promise of gaining knowledge or making experiments, which is Dottore's passion anyway.

Not the most flawless example, but see how each character's motivations is based off what they know from another character's goal, and how their reactions drive the plot forward?

I digressed. Anyway...

After I've finished the beats for the whole fic, I build out the points into actual chapters. Having the beats fleshed out for the full story helps immensely with weaving forewarning into early chapters, because I already know what's going to happen in xx chapter and I have all the turning points in mind.

I find that if I start writing without finishing the plot, I find it hard to continue because I simply don't know what the ending is going to be. It's like driving a car on a road without a destination.

I made this mistake once, and that fic is gonna stay at 1/? for a very long time, I assure you...

Anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk. Let me know if this was useful ily 😭

#writing tips #writing advice #plotting #three act structure #fanfic advice #writeblr #writers of tumblr #writing help #writerscommunity #yuniewrites