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#but it is really not scary or compelling to me so far
carlyraejepsans · 2 years
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You've mentioned multiple times now Sans canonically switching fonts if I'm not mistaken? What/when are the instances of those?
To be precise, he switches from comic sans to the standard Determined font, so you could also technically call it "turning off his typeface".
there's four notable examples that come to mind
When we first meet him:
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he even spaces the letters apart sightly, which implies he's talking slowly and deliberately. this fits two explanations, one doylistic: we don't know him yet, nor do we know the connection between skeletons and fonts so suddenly seeing dialogue in comic sans would break the tension in the scene; and one watsonian: he's trying to scare the crap out of you, so he uses the most terrifying voice he can make.
At the MTT Resort date
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Yup. This one pretty much cements the interpretation that he switches fonts to sound scarier. He even does the creepy "music cuts out, speaks slowly and spaces the letters apart for maximum effect" he did in Snowdin Forest. But moving on,
In the Final Hallway
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While it's definitely meant to mirror our first meeting, what with the foreground elements hiding his appearance/disappearance, our being backlit throughout the whole scene, and the complete lack of music... there's no way that the player doesn't recognize his silhouette, and knowing the whole speaking in fonts shtick, seeing comic sans shouldn't break the scene anymore.
he's not spacing the letters apart like the previous occasions and he's speaking at normal speed, so I'd rule out that he's trying to sound scary, but he still drops his font in favor of the standard one, right until the moment his actual judgement begins (ie when he checks your EXP and LV). while you could still make a compelling doylistic argument re: comic sans just looks stupid in this scene, i think the font switch makes perfect sense if you read it as sans just being solemn for once. his judgement will inevitably get lighter-hearted*, and he'll go back to his font and soudfont, but it really feels like he wants to open the matter setting a serious tone. this is the end now. enough messing around.
*speaking of the tone of the judgement getting lighter. know what font he uses when it doesn't?
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....yeah.
The Lost Soul fight
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now THIS. this is an interesting one. because not only does it happen in battle, but there are three VERY big differences when compared to the occasions i listed above:
he's not capitalizing his sentences
he's not silent when he speaks. on the contrary, he's actually using a different soundfont: the standart one you hear with the narrator and secondary NPCs.
his text moves like a wave, much in the same way as napstablook, the heavily depressed ghost who's constantly crying, and the amalgamates (all bar endogeny, who doesn't speak at all) who are... well. you can assume what emotional state they are in.**
honestly I could talk about this detail alone for HOURS, especially when you consider that as soon as his memories are returned, he immediately goes back to his usual font AND soundfont
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our friends during the lost souls fight are supposed to be at their lowest, confronting their character flaws and their demons. and considering the nature of what sans says, well... i think it's fair to assume he's either straight up crying or in otherwise extreme emotional distress.
aaaaand that's it! that's all the occasions that come to mind. from what we're shown, we can gather that sans switches off his font for occasions where the mood is far from light, either because it's serious, solemm, scary, or just plain sad.
there's a couple notable occasions that fit these criteria but still use comic sans, such as the "do you wanna have a bad time", threat the "heya. you've been busy, uh?" monologue before the genocide fight, and the genocide fight itself, though all of them can be explained with the fact that the pacing of the dialogue was far too fast for it to be effective.
but yeah. the lost soul segment is the one that makes me tear my hair out. hope this answered your question!
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comradekatara · 18 days
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okay i just finished reading the yangchen novels and i need someone to talk to me about yangchen/kavik 🙏 does it count as a rarepair because nobody has read the yangchen novels 😭
ikr there are like 5 yangvik fanfics on ao3 which is crazy you guys should be going insane over them. like it should NOT count as a rarepair it’s literally the central romance of these books and it’s hetero (hetroooo jessica that’s her name) how is it so unpopular. i mean kyoshi/rangi being popular is good tho bc i do love to see dykes winning but yangvik fucking rules i am sorry to say. like i think they might be more compelling than the lesbos i can’t believe i am saying that but.
they’re both so insane and in really similar ways (extreme younger sibling complex) and sooo smart and manipulative and scary it’s awesome. i love that yangchen is always making kavik her bitch and she refuses to admit that it’s because his skills are useful to her and she likes having him around so she’s always just like “im doing this to make you suffer >:D” and he fully believes her. and then once he’s finally fulfilled his contract (by literally getting stabbed for her) he’s like “ok well i think i am going to move back home and become a healer now” and she’s like “omggggg NOOOO you CANT go I NEED YOUUUU” like she simply did not consider the being nice and honest approach until she could no longer extort him to get him to work for/with her she’s so fucking funny for that. also I love the line where she’s like “well. he has nice teeth.” what a strangely horny thing to think about someone, like okay you dentally-minded freak.
meanwhile kavik is constantly oscillating between “she is the all-powerful avatar” and “she’s just a sopping wet poor little meow meow. why won’t anyone help her????” and that scene where he tries her tea and it has like. amphetamines in it is so fucking funny. he’s just like damn bitch you live like this???? also that scene where they’re playing sparrowkeets and yangchen is like “oh my god kavik is actually so bad at this game he totally oversold his abilities he’s literally a fucking fool and i was a fool to trust him” meanwhile kavik is sitting there like “wow this is so obvious and i am in complete control of the situation. i love how we are both on the same page about how i am totally fucking playing this guy rn :)” when he spins her around in the air and the rest of their team gets so fucking mad that he’s treating her like a girl and a friend instead of the supreme leader of the universe and they’re just like “um. what. we’re literally buddies. and yes we are also extorting each other. what about it.”
they’re so fucking crazy. and the fact that they never even so much as kiss is even crazier. kyoshi and rangi are like so much more confident with each other and yangchen and kavik (literal heteros) who are constantly dancing around their latent feelings and sublimated desires and for what. they’re both young and attractive the world is literally their oyster. what’s with all the fucking secrecy. oh right. they got that spy grindset. can’t even admit you have feelings because that’s a card that can be played against you. gotta act like you don’t even care about your best friend in the world because they’re a really good liar so what if they’re just faking their affection as part of a long con. never act on your feelings because that’s a weakness that can be exploited. they’re like the gay people of m/f ships but also what they’ve going on goes far deeper than that like they’re literally certifiably insane. both of them.
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rosiethedragongeek · 1 year
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Rating HTTYD antagonists/villains because I can
Stoick the Vast
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8/10
He was an antagonist in the first movie change my mind. His conflict with Hiccup was super interesting and compelling, definetly one of my favorite parts of the movie
The Red Death
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6/10
It did it’s job ig? It felt like a video game boss lol
Mildew
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-100/10
I hate this greasy shit stain of a man and I have no clue how he got three wives
Fungus deserves better tbh
The Whispering Death
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7.5/10
Fucking terrifying dude, absolute nightmare fuel, I love it (and it’s history w Toothless is a cool addition)
The Screaming Death
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6/10
Not as scary as the whispering death, honestly, it was alright
Alvin the Outcast
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7/10
Pretty basic, but he was solid. Really enjoy most of the episodes he’s in and I like the tie in w his history with Stoick
Savage
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3/10
The greasiest man alive. He discovered free will halfway through Race to the Edge and even then he succeeded and literally nothing he tried. He’s kinda funny sometimes ig.
Heather the Unhinged
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3/10
She was just so slimy and annoying in rob I didn’t like her at all lol
Beast (The Skrill)
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8/10
I love all of the Skrill episodes so much omg. She’s so cool, I wish there was more of them
Dagur the Deranged
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20/10
He’s actually insane and for that he’s my favorite. He’s just so good he’s so much fun
Berthel
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1/10
He adds nothing to the story and I don’t particularly like him
Amos
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2/10
His first episode is meh but I like some of his lines in Sandbusted
Ryker Grimborn
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5/10
He’s alright. I like him well enough, but he’s certainly not my favorite HTTYD villain
Viggo Grimborn
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15/10
Obsessed with this man. Easily the best HTTYD villain in the franchise and he creates the best conflicts in the series by far. I love the way he mirrors Hiccup’s character, I could honestly go on for a while about how much better he is than all of the other villains in the whole franchise lol
Krogan
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7/10
His overall vibe is super cool and I really enjoyed that episode where he and Viggo were looking for ways to kill each other. His design is awesome
Trader (Traitor) Johann
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10/10
Ruined the way I looked back on the hours in my childhood I spent watching ROB/DOB, I have never felt so betrayed in my life and I never will again, this man gave me trust issues
Drago Bludvist
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3/10
He was alright, but I was never really scared of him. I liked how he killed Stoick, and he put Hiccup in an interesting situation, but other than that, he just didn’t do it for me
Grimmel the Grisly
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0/10
Knock-off Viggo Grimborn. ‘You’ve never seen anyone like me’ yeah, alright. I hate his face and did not care about him. He shouldn’t have been the last straw for sending the dragons away, honestly
Spitelout Jorgenson
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-100000000000000000000000/10
I hate him. This garbage man is an antagonist and you can’t change my mind. The Worst.
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Yay, yummy new character. Also slight zezevine content.
I
v
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He's still holding the damn fan even when working, how iconic.
The first panel made me laugh ngl.
But hey, at least Zeze had somewhat of a good manner in front of women. Still, lot of potential here. Those two being partners would be hilarious and also really fucking interesting.
I hope them both get more screentime because holy fuck, they are underrated af.
They looked amazing in the student council uniform btw, just wanted to point that out but alas is it a surprise that Nishi Osamu makes breathtaking designs of characters?
New. Character. YES.
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She's so cute I love her already. Her character design is compelling, the showcase of her personality is pretty cute.
Also her and Iruma's army with the kouhais? FUCK YEAH, MORE FUCKING YUMMY FLUFF DYNAMICS LET'S FUCKING GOO.
I am so damn excited to see what's next. The arc is starting pretty nice so far in my opinion! I forgot to say this but-
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My live reaction:
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YES PRAISE HER M O R E.
Chima complimenting Silvia made my multishipper heart flutter. They are so adorable I swear to god. Yabashi, ( de-man guy ) is like the guy I want to see more in the story. He is so cute, seriously he went to Scary Bad Boy -> Cute Socially Awkward. It's so damn funny I can't-
Anyways besides all that, I hoped you somewhat enjoyed my rant of the recent chapters of Mairuma, I hope you have a good day or night guys, gals and non-binary pals!
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songwings · 5 months
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Deaf AU, or: Why Miriam Is Deaf and How This Changes Very Little
(Shard) Ok so! We've only posted art of this AU thus far but i feel compelled to ramble about it, so here we go. Also disclaimer that while this could be any sign language, we're more familiar with American Sign Language and the deaf culture in the United States, so that's what I'll say for this post.
The basic premise is that Miriam is deaf (born that way) - and not much else changes, besides a few things:
The mode of communication between her and Kiwi, and later Audrey (sign language.)
Kiwi already knows some ASL, there be deaf and hard of hearing residents in Langtree!
Audrey loses her hearing and becomes deaf over the course of the game's story, thanks to her very loud sword.
This AU manifested as a result of us seeing Miriam's loneliness and the isolation that seems to be inherent to being a Scary Witch - that's the same for deafness! You might not believe it, but many people see deafness as something horrifying and look away and ignore it. Witches seem to have this exclusive, closed-off culture in Chaandesh - particularly Mohabumi, where Miriam barely feels at home despite being around what should be her own people. That's a very familiar feeling to us and we felt like it'd be nice to explore in her character.
Act 1:
The AU centers around Miriam being deaf and Kiwi is annoying by singing to her until she notices them and tells them she's deaf. Funny doodles from Rostrum.
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Here's how Rostrum thought it'd go in Acts 2-5.
Act 2:
The introduction goes just the same, with everyone fingerspelling their names first, then Miriam and Saphy giving their sign names. Kiwi doesn't have one yet - they know enough ASL to communicate well with the witches but they weren't given a sign name back in Langtree. Art and sign names by Kyka.
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In the caves, Miriam will warn Kiwi about the trolls, but doesn't hear the troll when he jumps up right behind her and roars. Kiwi is bowled over, but I thought it'd be funny if Miriam just stayed right there, completely immune to the troll's auditory screaming.
"i can explode him right here"
"NO MIRIAM!!! let me try singing!"
"i have magical powers and i'm not the one getting bowled over by some screeching kiwi."
She just narrowly misses the troll's attack with a visual warning from Kiwi and lets the bard sing to him.
Later into Act 2, Miriam does everything just the same - yes, even getting a ride with the Coffee Pirates. Just because she's deaf doesn't mean she can't communicate with like, a pen and paper, or basic gestures recognizable to the Delphi locals.
Act 3:
Not much changes, either. (Miriam in regular Wandersong is always annoyed with singing in this act, anyways.) Though for ease's sake, the mermaids would know sign language, so they could teach Miriam the Overseer song in order for her to reach Kiwi in the collapsed Chaoscape. We haven't exactly decided yet what the songs would look like if they aren't exclusively spoken songs, but the mermaids would teach Miriam a different version that doesn't involve singing.
Also she'd shake Kiwi by the shoulders instead of yelling at them to wake up. This is just how deaf people wake up :)
Act 4:
Essentially the same. If we go with characterizing Peter as a nice guy, he'd know some ASL already and would sign to her on that date as opposed to playing music. Ooooor depending on how a balalaika works, he might show her how the instrument feels to play, and that might be Miriam's first introduction (in-game) to instrumental music.
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(The deafness doesn't really make her feel any worse than she already does in-game. I imagine Ira, Kiwi's mother, would be very curious about her deafness and ask her to teach the old lady a few signs.)
She would definitely enjoy playing the drums in the factory strike.
Meanwhile, Queen Order's castle. We meet Audrey. She's losing a little of her hearing at this point and is angry at the two for blocking her way. I haven't decided yet if she already has prior knowledge of ASL or not (leaning towards "no" but learns after she sees Miriam). She fights Miriam and actually can't speak to her, if she doesn't know ASL, but at least recognizes that she is deaf. After they finish fighting she yells and storms off - Kiwi would interpret for her after, I think.
Act 5:
Part One - Rulle
Night Sky
(Shard) I realized from this point onwards (after watching a playthrough) there's dialogue on the broom. I'm pretty sure you need at least one hand to steer a broom, but you can also sign with one hand, so let me just draw how I think that conversation would go.
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...yeah, this wouldn't work with ASL. For so many reasons. It's akin to being in the driver's seat and turning your head around to see the other person signing in the backseat. While balancing precariously on a broom that you yourself are steering. While the other person has to practically lean sideways so you can see them. While you are less than a foot apart. In the dark moonlit night or while the sun is glaring at you.
Talking on the broom is a no-go.
...but I really don't want these conversations to be missed out on, so I'll say Kiwi convinces Miriam to land a little sooner so they can talk while walking to their destinations. Also, maybe a flame or light spell so they can actually see each other. Though it'd still be hard to talk.
Frontier Inn
(Shard) My wingmate skipped over the border towns part in hir earlier notes! I'll fill in this part.
The deaf witch would gesture for a pen and paper, but the innkeeper would be confused and speak to Kiwi first. They would interpret for Miriam and redirect the talking to her and it should go on the same from there, albeit with that bit of inaccessibility in mind.
Also, she has to be shaken awake after sleeping on the floor.
Lumber Town
In the forest just before, Miriam wouldn't notice the quietness - but she would notice the absence of the animals. Just pointing out how this is kind of a trope in horror, that something is going to be silent before it's scary, but it would not be scary to Miriam. Until she sees the ghosts.
Xiatian
(Rostrum) Lightning strikes are LOUD.
At this point, Audrey's hearing loss becomes noticeable to her and she finds that she struggles to understand people. She remembers the silly bard and witch using those weird flappy hands during her fight. Out of sheer spite she tries to learn the local sign language, but has to ask Eyala to basically give her the knowledge the same way the Dream King did for Kiwi, so she's ready and actually excited to sign with Kiwi and Miriam when they arrive in Xiatian.
and next time they see her in Rulle Miriam is like "wait YOU know how to sign??? HOW MUCH TIME DID WE SPEND IN CHISMEST"
Audrey's like heheh it's no biggie i want to be accessible to everyone <3
But in truth she's losing her hearing - and is half freaking out about it - and that is possibly why she trusts them to get the Potion of Power then and there. She sympathizes with Miriam. she's still arrogant though lol At the King's palace, the King might be a little suspicious of Kiwi interpreting for Miriam, but not as suspicious as he is of the witch herself. Interpreters can't be at all that uncommon in royal settings as they do need to negotiate with other countries. But Miriam would feel a little left out by the ghost singing through Kiwi - it depends on how the Spirit Language manifests and whether or not that's visible to deaf people. (I like to think it might be. But if Kiwi is the medium for the ghosts to speak through...)
... For a long time, we struggled to write this part where both Audrey and Miriam would learn the song. In the end, Vesta said this is how it would go:
(Vesta) Audrey is losing her hearing and tells the King to sing louder. He does. She says there has to be another way. The King sends her away and she's like RAAAUGHHH! Miriam follows her still, evading the palace guards.
Audrey stomps and Eyala appears. "Bestie, there IS another way!" She teaches her a different version of the song, with sign language, maybe, or a dance, but I like sign language better. It should be ASL poetry.
(Rostrum) And Miriam is able to memorize this after following her! Again, and unfortunately, the sunset sky scene doesn't happen. Though there might be a different scene where Miriam flew up to that "???" place Mask was at, with all of the butterflies, and is found tending to Kiwi when Kiwi wakes up and Miriam explains to her what's going on.
It's two days now.
Sky Temple (Sun Overseer's Song)
Instead of using a piccolo at all, Miriam has to sign the song that was given to Audrey. And instead of telling Kiwi to not listen too closely, she'd ask Kiwi to turn away so they can't see her awkward signing. Whether or not Kiwi actually does this is up to your imagination.
Part Two - Chaandesh
Before I go on ahead, a reminder. Chaandesh - and especially Mohabumi, and Miriam's reactions to feeling left out as a witch - that's the part that made us relate so strongly to her. And that is what inspired this AU.
One major difference in Chaandesh in this AU - though I don't think it changes the game very much - is that many witches do know ASL there, so some of the NPCs would sign to Kiwi! There would be a sizeable Deaf community in the city of witches especially. This isn't to say that all witches are deaf, but I wanted to point that aspect out as large Deaf communities do exist in most cities in reality.
And it'd also contribute to how left out Miriam feels, out of both the witch and deaf communities. It's difficult to get information about either if you just aren't part of them.
Mystery Forest
I'll say Vivian and Sandra know sign language, and would recognize that Miriam is deaf and sign normally to her. Everyone fights the monster and things go on as usual.
In the following sky ride scene where the Spell Squad flies them to the ferry... this IS the one scene where they could sign because someone else is flying the broom! Unfortunately there's very little dialogue in this scene.
The Ferry
I just want to point out this huge nugget of dialogue:
"This whole kingdom… feels like a big club, that I was never invited to."
The inspiration for this whole AU. This one line sparked all this. I'll explain more because I'm actually watching a playthrough just so I can get this AU as accurate as possible, so...
When Audrey appears, she'd probably talk in simcom, which is essentially a variant of ASL where you both sign and speak at the same time. Some might consider it offputting, but she'd be skilled enough at it - and she'd sign SO dramatically!
Mohabumi
Only going to speak on scenes where I think Miriam's dialogue OR actions would change.
In the academy, when Kiwi sees her struggling on the broom... I mean, there's no way she can both sign AND re-learn how to fly on the broom. For hilarity, I say she falls the first time Kiwi gets her attention, and more sensibly, hops off the broom every other time Kiwi talks to her there. I don't think the conversation about music would change at all.
The Crater...
... we've thought about this so many times but it's only now that I actually see the conversation that I realize we don't need to rewrite this at all. It's strange, because before this game, and ESPECIALLY before this part, we just didn't like music. We didn't know what it meant. We didn't know how it could motivate people and be compelling. It felt like a big club that we weren't invited to. Sound familiar?
It's hard to describe how the game changed our feelings on music. In some ways they stayed the same - it's still a little exclusive, but it felt like it opened our eyes to how influential it really could be. The emotions behind playing an instrument, or singing, or dancing. And dancing is a physical form of music! It reacts to vibrations! So Miriam would feel right at home here no matter what her hearing status is. The drumbeats of Manny's music, and potentially the speakers amplifying the music in general, would reach Miriam if this was a loud enough space. In that moment she'd feel like she belonged, being brought back to home where music too was played with drumbeats.
Broom Ride
This necessitates its own section because it's an important conversation and it breaks my heart that, again, in this AU it can't be had on the broom. But I want to give this conversation justice because it hit close to home for us.
Miriam: "It was weird being in a city of other witches. I thought it'd be a place where i fit in. But I didn't."
Kiwi: "That just means you're special!"
Miriam: "Well. Maybe... I don't want to be so special. I've been special my whole life. Around Delphi, me and Saphy were the only witches. I never knew someone else like me. And I guess I still don't.
It doesn't feel good to be different like this. I feel like I'm just messed up. And I'll never fit in anywhere."
Exactly what being deaf or any kind of disabled feels like. It feels like a very specific part of being autistic, too... we're autistic so we know this well.
Kiwi: "We're outsiders... together!"
Sky Temple (Eclipse Duet)
Another strange part of this AU we've thought about for a while! We imagined them dancing, or signing together, or such... but if the order of events demands that Miriam learned the signed version of the Sun Overseer's song, and Kiwi learned the spoken version of the Moon's...
I think the way Kiwi sings by pointing their hand, Miriam could see it visually and perhaps her own hand movements would even mirror Kiwi's. Or the other way around. I think Kiwi would make an effort to visually convey the nature of their half of the song to Miriam, strengthening the harmony... the same way the moon reflects the sun.
The Eclipse
Miriam gets hurt. She obviously can't hear or see Kiwi, so Kiwi would shake her in a desperate attempt to wake her as Audrey walks up - and Audrey at this point has lost a lot of her hearing, but I guess if Miriam is unconscious, there would be no reason for her to sign as she's only talking to the bard. Albeit by now, her speech is inflected with numerous gestures to emphasize her points.
Kiwi is angry enough to raise their voice. It's not enough for Audrey. Either she doesn't hear them and turns around to pay attention to them, or she never does because she never picked up the habit to pay attention to the things around her. When you grow up as a deaf person, your senses overcompensate for the one you never had or lost - this AU's Audrey doesn't have that advantage just yet.
When they carry Miriam down from the Sky Temple... there's no way you can sign to someone while carrying them at the same time. So that little snippet of conversation doesn't happen.
No other changes. Also, this part breaks my heart, I want you to know this.
Act 6:
Audrey's Introspection
Miriam isn't here, and technically this AU is all about her and how her deafness affects small details in the game. So if this AU was only about that we'd stop here and skip ahead to Act 7.
However, Audrey is deaf by this point. And she has to contend with that while ALSO dealing with a singing bard.
In her first appearance in this act, I think she'd monologue with her voice. She wouldn't hear Kiwi's complaints as she drinks the false Potion of Power and collapses in that same hilarious way. When they're in the cave, she continues speaking with her voice until she falls to her knees contending with her mortality.
The bard tries speaking to her at first. Then they sign to her. Audrey looks up and signs back. "Not without my sword. And hearing."
(Brief author's note: I gave Eyala the sign name of "EYE-la." This is a very fun sign name and she would introduce herself with it when she discovered Audrey was losing her hearing and taught her sign language.)
The conversation in the cave goes roughly the same... Audrey seems like the sort of person to shrug off even losing her hearing, thinking that's what she has to do to be the hero. It matters a LOT to her, deep down inside - Eyala told her it was necessary, that she wouldn't need her hearing in the end anyways - but it stings to gain a disability in exchange for being the hero, doesn't it?
Is it a blessing or a curse that she doesn't hear the wails of the Overseers and monsters she slays? That she can't hear the Bard's songs anymore?
But then, Miriam simply being there disproves all of that. She's another person who doesn't necessarily connect with music in the traditional sense. It took her a long time to truly feel comfortable with music as a foundation of the world. Being deaf doesn't make you ignorant to the world, after all... it makes the world ignorant to you. Being deaf her whole life means Miriam's had to grow up fighting to feel like she fits into the world at all. She carved out her own path in life.
The Beast
Theoretically, the Hero and Bard could sign to each other even at that distance where Kiwi is on the cliff and Audrey is down on the platform above lava. If you have good sight, ASL goes a long way.
Act 7:
I like to think this is when Miriam gives Kiwi a sign name after they both return to Langtree. Unfortunately, I still haven't thought of a sign name for the bard, so that's on hold for a while.
Kiwi wouldn't have to interpret for the fairies, I think they can speak any language they need to communicate in. And that includes sign language.
We neglected to say what the spirit language would look like to Miriam who has been trained to understand it, but I think it'd be symbols. Literal visual symbols. Up in the air. Since it's mentioned that Kiwi speaks in strange symbols, which is a visual element, I think Miriam can see or sense the symbols and understand. Which also means she understands what the Dream King says as his last words.
The boss fight goes on as usual. Audrey signs VERY angrily to them after having her sword taken - with aggressive body language, faster signs that the bard and witch just barely pick up.
The Choir
... I'll be honest with you, we agonized over this particular scene for a long time. In the original game, the highlight is Miriam singing in front of everyone.
A singing Miriam would undermine this AU. It isn't vocal chords that deaf people most naturally turn to for communication - it's hands. I don't think a deaf Miriam has any reason to use her voice to sing here, even when she can use her voice.
So a change I'm making here in order to make myself feel more comfortable with this scene is that more of the crowd would dance - in fact, I think all of the people of the world would harmonize in their own way, be it with their voice, an instrument, dancing, or whatever other funky way they like. Thusly, Miriam dances in the end. It shouldn't be only singing that saves the world.
It's sad that the creators of this game didn't put in other means of singing, or explain how deaf people would harmonize with a worldwide auditory song, but that's okay. I know how we can harmonize in our way.
...
And that's the end of this long-winded post about how Miriam could be deaf and that'd change very little about the story. Also, I'm very tired from writing half this dang post and I hope it makes sense to people who aren't deaf.
I hope you enjoyed reading! And don't be afraid to ask questions if you're curious about this AU!
- Rostrum
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altocat · 6 months
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The OG “Sephiroth should forever be a mysterious scary villain with no elaboration on his human side” fans are being so frustrating lol. Guys he has been “super mysterious” for 26 years now, let’s get to know him a bit better finally. Especially in this modern day where people like to explore villain motivations better and not fall into the trap of dehumanizing them to separate ourselves from their “monstrosity.”
If millions of people could be heavily moved and made to think about say, the Joker of all characters, because of one well-written movie about his story, then we can do the same with our anime katana villains.
And actually, let’s also just admit that Sephiroth has always been the same character, but these fans truly did not know it, as EC insists on saying. Insightful fans did and yet they were accused of “woobifiying” his character by doing that. Now the one-dimensional Sephiroth fans are accusing Square of doing the same thing lmao.
What did they think was happening or being imploed about Sephiroth with the remnants in Advent Children? What did they think Crisis Core showed for Sephiroth? What did they think Sephiroth’s very specific obsession with his “mother” even as a villain implied? Or what DOC was doing when it showed how Lucrecia lost her baby after committing to a horrible experiment surrounding his birth?
Even OG FF7 Sephiroth in Nibelheim, cold as he was, implied he had no hometown, that he had parental issues and Hojo issues. This character was always the same. We are just having it more clearly spelled out and it hurts even worse than we anticipated. But it’s not ruining Sephiroth by any means. Those “fans” don’t know him at all.
All of this!
Hate to say it...but the Compilation is mostly what is currently drawing in new fans. And fans are the blood of keeping a fanbase alive. More content. More analysis. Etc. If more people are drawn to Sephiroth because he's now more compelling and relatable, that's a good thing. And he WAS always like this. Even as far back as the OG, lots of his unused dialogue paints a really different picture that what we'd come to expect.
I completely understand OG fans' frustration, but these are the original writers and creators of the OG working on the Compilation. It's their characters. They can flesh them out into whatever they want. Sure, there's going to be some clunky writing and some no-so-great retcons. Hell, I'm PREPPING for ones that will seriously piss me off. But making a villain more complex and less cliche? I'm all for that. Pure evil villains are boring. There's nothing in there. Seph has always been sympathetic. We're just finding out why. 26 years is enough time in between to wait before we finally dig into it.
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courtmartialme · 21 days
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two questions that can be as related or unrelated as you want :P have there ever been other characters u love as much as riza over the course of your life or is she in a league of her own? & do you have any non-fma characters u think would be fun to crossover ship w riza
i never did actually!! before i got into fma i've had different obsessions across the years(one of which included a different traumatized blonde lady who is talented with guns... i'm predicable...). i got to love other characters a lot before but then riza showed up and grabbed me by the larynx LMAO my hyperfixations tend to last like 2 years or so, but i've been obsessed with riza for almost 6 years now...! i love her so much that even though i don't really have any say on what fictional guy my brain decides to latch onto, the thought of eventually moving on from riza is actually scary to me, since so far i haven't ever felt compelled into getting back to old interests, it's as if the time i was obsessed with other stuff didn't exist LOL i don't want to move on from riza she's been in my life for so long and the mere thought of her has helped me through life so many times wehhhhhhhh i love her lots
AND also.... the aforementioned blond lady ... one time i drew her and riza together because i was like hehehe my two blonde wives then i was like hey..what if.... LOL but that's as far as it went... i could take it further if i wanted though :^) but it's embarrassing i don't want you to know what the other character is because it's from media i don't respect LMFAO i don't think of crossover ships unless as a joke but if you threw me a character and say "make it work with riza" I PROBABLY COULD ... i already do it with fma characters who have never interacted with her anyway COUGHS
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mewguca · 1 month
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10 and/or 14!
10: ok this is a bit tricky bc i have a very big problem of being too absorbed in my own little world and thus the OCs i know most about end up being the ones i interact with most / hear about the most (as in. get told about the most bc im very bad at seeking stuff out on my own im very sorry)
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anyways i could list a LOT of OCs here but to save my hand i will not list them all.
from left to right:
Twenty Long Spears Pierce The Sky (@prismsoup) He's really fun to bully interact with and he is a very compelling antagonist (yay!!) and also rlly cool and scary
Enduring Calls Of Vices (ECOV) (@fauxbia) Honestly all jade blorbos could go here but ECOV is the most fun to interact with bc i love arguing as a fictional character and ECOV is very argumentative, LOL. also im huffing copium that one day PU and ECOV will get along </3
Counting Strings Of Beads (CSOB) (@cloverlady) Once again I could put all clover blorbos here. crazy how that works out. Anyways Beads' arc is womderful and Beads herself is also wonderful and i wish she was real and I could give her a hug
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ok ALSO to add variety uhhhhh...
Distant Frontier (@daszombes) Honestly Twisting Roads is still the best written so far, but DF has such a striking and instantly understandable concept that I'm sure his rewrite will be peak. tho maybe I'll end up liking UP more idk
Absolvent of Sins (@distant-frontier-simp) AOS is my friend and i love them and also im a sucker for characters with horrific backstories that are still unstoppable balls of sunshine
And for question 14 - modern AUs are fun and comfy i should draw them more i think. modern AU for luna OCs is particularly funny tho bc the MIPs still have the same origin and just go about mundane life anyways which is Very Funny To Me for Reasons!! (im very normal and can be trusted)
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matan4il · 5 months
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what makes me saddest is that almost everyone speaking up and condemning the global pogrom is jewish or has jewish or israeli heritage. jews in far away countries who have never even set foot in israel are being othered and attacked simply for being jewish. and their countrymen are mostly silent or worse - actively cheering it. (there are exceptions of course for which im grateful. but yeah.)
especially upsetting is that of the non jews who are condemning this it's mostly middle age to older adults. the younger generation is overhwhelmingly silent or actively supportive of the hate. that's my generation and those younger than me. and it scares me about what happens as that generation becomes the majority.
Hi Nonnie! I feel you and am sending lotsa hugs! I do wanna acknowledge the exceptions, the non-Jews who ARE speaking up for Jews and for Israelis. They're so important. There's some here, online! And there have been some non-Jewish celebs who have done the same, stood up with the Jewish people. Take this American actress, for example, who posted this incredibly succinct message:
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But you are right that it's a minority in comparison to the majority of those who have spoken up for Israel and the Jewish people. To a degree, I can understand it. Even as a Jew, feeling compelled to speak up for my people, this has felt scary, and I have been repeatedly attacked and sent the vilest of messages, even when all I did was just post the daily updates with info. Just... informative posts and that's it, no commentary, and my humanity was immediately denied. And that was one of the kinder messages I had gotten. If Jews are scared to fight this fight, why wouldn't non-Jews be scared to do it?
I thought in 2023, it wouldn't be this hard to be the non-Jewish person doing the right thing, standing by Jews, as the Righteous Among the Nations did during the Holocaust. They risked their lives to save Jews by hiding and saving them. Surely it would be easier in 2023 to just speak up for the Jewish community, right? But it seems like it isn't. In a sense, it makes me appreciate those who stand with us even more. So I guess I just wanna take a second to applaud the people who do this. You're amazing. And you matter so much!
As for the generational gap you've noticed... I hope someone does a poll on this at some point. And if it turns out to be true, then I hope someone also tries to figure out how the generation that's supposedly the most in tune with human rights, turned out to be the same one that fails to see that ANY massacre is a gross violation of that. That there is NO justification for the beheading of babies, or for raping people so brutally, that their bones break.
If I try to hypothesize why that might be, all I can come up with is that there is some severe failure of empathy at work here, where empathy has been abandoned in favor of righteous rage, and the sense of moral superiority it brings with it. Really, if in the past people used to tap into a sense of superiority by being of the right race, religion, nationality sexual orientation or such, now they're tapping into a sense of superiority by holding the right (meaning socially sanctioned on Tumblr and Tiktok) political opinions. They won't let facts get in the way of that. If the conflict is more complicated than what Tiktok and Twitter have told them, they're not interested in learning about it.
(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)
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ms-scarletwings · 4 months
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Off my chest but I hate that Cthulhu is the flagship lovecraftian figure I hate that all eldritch horror icons get to be compared to Cthulhu in our timeline now that it’s all called the “Cthulhu Mythos” and what for???
I got into HP for the short stories, but I did eventually get around to the bulkier, connected stuff, and honestly? “Call of Cthulhu” is one of the weakest and underwhelming examples of the guy’s work that I’ve gotten through. THIS is the monster that in huge part made Lovecraft a pop culture name? THIS story?
Like sorry not sorry but Cthulhu is a little bitch boy stuck in timeout. Yes yes, I admit he’s pretty cool in a vacuum and I guess the “that is not dead which can eternal lie” quote does go pretty damn hard. But put into context it’s just…. Eh… like, I’m not going to even touch the overflowing can of worms that is the racist overtones since it’s already-taken low hanging fruit at this point. I honestly just found CoC boring and anticlimactic because I made the mistake of chomping through so many of huge other monster stories first. Once you’ve inoculated yourself into the stakes of At the Mountains of Madness or gotten in the know on Innsmouth or Yog-Sothoth, you feel like squidboi doesn’t really throw much punch even for the amount of suspense that he does build up to. He’s the first and only otherworldly deity so far I’ve even read to be defeated and shooed back by mere mortal men- mortal men, ones that didn’t even know wtf they were doing or facing, mind you.
I have less than nothing against people who enjoy the story and Cthulhu, but I just want to know… why? More specifically why this one got so famous and influential for a whole genre of horror. Cthulhu is just not really even scary to me. Ephraim Waite is scary. Shoggoths are fucking terrifying. The lore of Elder Things are everything I never knew I wanted in eldritch horror, and their story was genuinely compelling. The Deep Ones I thought I got their gist and wasn’t so interested in before reading, and they actually pulled me in past expectation. Cthulhu’s like…. A “safe” to “euclid” class scp at worst. The Innsmouth plot is the real setting for the theme of serious danger that is plotting and bubbling just beneath the uncanny surface.
I’m not telling anyone to not read Call of Cthulhu, but if you already have and you didn’t really get the appeal and hype for Lovecraft, Don’t be afraid to try explore down a different branch of the Mythos. You might be surprised. If you did read and enjoy CoC, make sure you check out the other stories because in my opinion it’s pretty uphill from there.
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v3nusxsky · 1 year
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Helloo </3 🤗 can I just first say that that u are realy talented and i love reading ur fics...
Could I please request a platonic fic between Lady Lesso and Never reader where Rafal is after the student and she changes and becomes mean and starts acting out... At first Lady Lesso gets angry and tries to punish her but then she finds out Rafal is troubling the reader, just anything angsty and hurt and comfort... maybe u could make it that the reader came from an abusive family and that's why it was hard for her to tell someone about Rafal... U can change any details to ur liking...
Thank u </3 🤗
Manipulative Bastard
*Authors note~ really I mean who really likes Rafal? But I can appreciate how much of a important character he is to the plot*
Trigger warnings~ manipulation past abuse
Prompt ~ see ask^^^^^
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The first time he appeared you were terrified. You didn't know who he was, he seemed to know exactly who you are tho. The only instruction was to not mention his appearance to anyone, he would tell you things from the past or what was current. Why would this stranger lie? You tried to argue at the start, looking for any reasonable explanation for his words but you came up empty. You felt compelled to do as he wished. Even though it felt wrong, you followed his every word.
Your behaviour was changing and that much was obvious to everyone. You couldn't take the pressure, the things he was telling you hurt yet all you could do was bottle it up until you lashed out. Your past coming back to haunt you, you were stuck in this horrid catch twenty two. On one hand you wanted to tell someone but you didn't want to risk angering the man, he seems scary and powerful. In your experience with men, you were nothing more than a toy. Something to use and abuse as they deem fit. If you did as they wanted then they would more than likely go easier on you. Truthfully, you couldn't deal with that pain again.
Lady Lesso, noted the dramatic change in your behaviour and couldn't work out while you changed. This wasn't like you, your shy plaint nature had been replaced by this defiant, angry student. Truthfully, she wanted to help you and get to the bottom of this issue. Your misbehaving had gone too far today, that's why she ordered you to be taken to the doom room, if you hadn't willingly come to her then it was apparent she would have to force it out of you. She knew your past so she wouldn't be unnecessarily cruel but this needed to stop.
She gave you a speech about how she was disappointed in this behaviour you were exhibiting and how confused she was by the change. You felt tears stinging your eyes, knowing that you'd disappointed her hurt, lady lesso had become a sort of mother figure for you and now knowing you'd upset her really bothered you. Suddenly it all became too much and you snapped, rambling about everything Rafal had said and how scared you were. He flaunted his blood magic and told you all the ways he could hurt you with it, told you how no one in the school truly cared for you. How you're own parents didn't even love you, the only one who could truly love you was him.
You broke down as you finished your explanation, finally feeling like a weight had been lifted off your chest and you could breathe again. Leonora was quick in her efforts to come and hold you, whispering words of comfort and praise, she knew first hand how scary it was to go against Rafal. "Hush dove, he's a manipulative bastard, I won't let him hurt you darling. You should've come to me love. You did the right thing telling me,I'll keep you safe now my dove" she murmured stroking through your hair. She held you until your tears dried noticing how your shaking didn't subside and your eyes seem to glaze over as you starred in the direction of the only window.
"Is he here my dove?" She murmured watching as you nodded before his voice rang out through the room, "Leonora such a long time it has been, you may have taken my pet but we both know it's unlovable just like you. I'll be back and I will win" he all but growled before leaving. He was gone. But the words he said were confusing and they hurt. Did people really see you as unlovable? It would explain why you've been treated so poorly most of your life and by the people who were meant to care for you from day dot.
Leonora held you until you both felt calm the words of comfort not only reassuring you but also herself. She wouldn't let him hurt anyone and she knew that she would do anything to protect anyone from his manipulation. She's only regretting not being able to save her little dove. She saw you as her very own adopted child, if your parents weren't going to protect you how they should be then she was going to make damn well sure she stepped up. You'd never be alone again, left susceptible to anyone else's warped ideas and methods of using you. Not with her around.
Word count~ 907
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peachy-panic · 9 months
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What Happened Upstairs? (Pt. 1)
Two posts in two days baby!!!
Part of Fifty-Eight Days. Follow up from THIS CHAPTER. 
Longer continuation coming soon to a screen near you.
WARNINGS: Therapy, early recovery, aftermath of captivity
“You haven’t spoken about that before.”
Grayson blinked, coming back to himself a few seconds too late. He looked up at his therapist, with his pen hovered over his notepad and his eyes boring into his from across the room with interest. 
Grayson had been talking, rambling—something he didn’t normally do well in these sessions—but he was so tired, so fucking sleep deprived, it just... slipped out. 
Of course Dr. Collins wasn’t letting it go.
“You went upstairs with Myles? In Elijah’s place?”
He hated the way it sounded in his tone; like Grayson had done something noble, something brave.
A beat passed. Grayson wondered how long he would have to wait him out in silence before he would give up and move on. He sighed. “Once,” he relented. “Elijah was sick.”
There was a brief pause like Collins might have been waiting on further elaboration, then he blinked, pushing the bridge of his glasses up with his pen. “Sick how?”
Grayson shrugged; a decidedly petulant gesture. “I don’t know. Sick. Throwing up, fever. He slept for so long, I…” When he could only shake his head, Dr. Collins met him with an understanding nod.
“That must have been scary for you.”
Grayson shrugged again. He didn’t feel compelled to tell him he was right. That those days had been some of the most terrifying moments in the whole two months they spent in that basement. Watching Elijah deteriorate before his eyes. Being forced to reckon with the probability of his death if the sickness continued to get worse. The idea of being left behind without him. Being helpless to do anything about any of it.
“What happened?”
Grayson had started to drift again. When he came back to himself, he could feel the adrenalin spike in his chest, in his fingertips. “What?” he asked numbly.
Dr. Collins’s gaze was centered on his, pen abandoned on his lap. “When your captor took you upstairs that night, instead of Elijah,” he said softly. “What happened?”
“Does it matter?”
“Does it?” Collins echoed in that infuriating way he had about him. “Is it intentional that you’ve avoided talking about this particular night so far?”
“It wasn’t intentional.” Grayson was pretty sure that was true. He tried to avoid as many specifics as he could, this was no different.
There was a certain look he had come to recognize as Dr. Collins calculating Grayson’s own thoughts against him. He was looking at it now.
There were several beats of silence before he said, carefully, “We’ve talked about how you knew what was happening to Elijah when they took him upstairs. What they were doing to him.”
It wasn’t a question, so Grayson didn’t respond. Dr. Collins kept pushing.
“You knew that when you told them you’d go in his place.”
Angry pinpricks of heat rose in his cheeks, but he wasn’t exactly sure why. “What are you saying?”
“Not saying anything. I’m asking. And you can tell me if you really don’t want to talk about it today. I will let it go,” Dr. Collins said. “What happened upstairs, Grayson?”
Pt. 2 coming soon...
***
TAG LIST: @mylifeisonthebookshelf @hold-him-down @distinctlywhumpthing @diyalogueS @finder-of-rings @dont-touch-my-soup @wicked-whump @scp-1296 @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @melancholy-in-the-morning @whumpcereal  @reflected-pain  @pigeonwhumps @canislycaon24 @flowersarefreetherapy @there-will-always-be-blood
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theoverseerau · 2 months
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Uber's Hard Mode Part 5
for the sake of moving the plot along, we have skipped the first breaking floor puzzle and the first rock puzzle. leaving FRISK and CHARA in a large open room of the RUINS. a silver slot nearby them just large enough to crawl through. The majority of the floor before them is covered in cracked stone that the two are more then aware is unstable enough that they would fall through it if they don't step on the exact right spots. Of course, they don't care about this right now, because they are currently in the process of being jumped by a small armored figure with wings.
CHARA: *Whimsalot rushed in!
FRISK: Frisk sighs, the reality of how difficult things are going to continuing be is proven with this new encounter, it's not just funny changes anymore, it's actually much more deadly then before. looking at the CHECK options before them, they know there's two ways to approach this. but their mental state makes them feel compelled to press 'Pray' and go on one knee CHARA: *You kneel and pray for safety. FRISK: "Please... everything here is so scary now... I don't... know if I can make it though... please... stand down... CHARA: *Whimsalot remembers its conscience.
WHIMSALOT: "There's still hope." A ring of butterflies starts to circle around Frisk, two of them appear to be green in color. FRISK: Frisk smiles with relief and grabs one of the green butterflies, nodding with appreciation at the armored being before them.
CHARA: Whimsalot doesn't want to fight anymore.
FRISK: They happily press the SPARE option and watch as the color returns to the room around them "Ahh... with that done... I guess it's on to the big cracked floor puzzle." CHARA: "Yup... but you already know how this one goes." FRISK: "Indeed." They begin to walk confidently onto the cracked tiles.
CHARA: "Unless this puzzle is-" Frisk falls through the floor. "-Different then normal..." Because Chara is tied to Frisk, Chara ends up yanked into the bottom room after them
FRISK: "Ow... oh, the leaves are really different... probably should have seen that one coming.
CHARA: "Yeah, you should have. but hey, lets just try again."
FRISK: They turn to a silver colored shoot nearby and climb up, exiting out of the slot that they passed by earlier. they are caught off guard by seeing a Froggit nearby them
FROGGIT: "Ribbit Ribbit"
CHARA: "Give me a moment to translate... 'Watch your step next time, I don't want to fix another hole'"
FRISK: "Wait..." Frisk looks out at the cracked floor, and as it turns out, the hole they fell through is fixed. "Well... this is going to take a while..." They step onto the floor again, trying to remember where the leaves were located... but naturally, this takes more then just two attempts.
(attempt three) FROGGIT: "ribbit, ribbit." CHARA: "ehem... 'Puzzle maintenance isn't a joke you know.'"
(Attempt four) FROGGIT: "Ribbit."
CHARA: "err... 'the puzzle is doing its job just fine, but this thing is an antique, can you please solve it soon so I can take a break?'"
(Attempt five) FROGGIT: "Rib...bit."
CHARA: "dum-dee-dum... 'clearly, you have no respect for history.'"
FRISK: "do you have to translate the Froggit every time?"
CHARA: "yes. yes I do."
Luckily for Frisk, Chara never has to put that statement to the test more then they already have, as the next attempt at this puzzle goes swimmingly. The two enter the next room, which has a spike wall blocking the far exit and three rocks nearby buttons on the floor.
FRISK: "so, how do you think this one has changed?"
CHARA: "all three rocks will be sarcastic and resistant?"
FRISK: "yeah, that's what I think too." Frisk pushes the first rock, and it seems to act normally, then they push the second one and it does the same. while somewhat confused, they go to the third rock, touch it, and... instantly, the color drains, the buttons appear, and a fight starts.
CHARA: *Rock refuses to budge!
FRISK: Frisk is understandably caught off guard by this, but goes to ACT, followed by Check.
CHARA: *Rock: ATK 0 DEF 30. In soviet hard mode, rock pushes YOU!
ROCK: "Thought I'd just let you push me around, ehh?" No attack comes after this, oddly enough.
CHARA: *Smells like stones.
FRISK: Going back into the ACT menu, Frisk sees two options other then Check; Reason and Push. Frisk hovers over the Reason option, before instead deciding to see what happens if they just try to shove the rock.
CHARA: *You push the rock. it moves partway to the button.
ROCK: "Alright, you got me to budge, I'll give you that. But lets see how you like it!" The Rock uses magic to make smaller rocks that slide forward at Frisk.
FRISK: Frisk sidesteps for a few seconds, but one of the rocks catches the human off guard, this does no damage, but the attack ends right after the hit.
CHARA: *Rock has pushed you back where you started.
FRISK: Frisk understands how this fight works now, and pushes the rock again. Chara and the rock say the same things as before, but this time, Frisk is able to dodge the attack.
CHARA: *Rock keeps a stone face.
FRISK: With the rhythm now established, Frisk shoves the rock again.
CHARA: *You push the Rock. it is most of the way to the button.
ROCK: "Alright, more impressive. but you still got to prove yourself before I get shoved around without a fight!" The attack is the same as before, albeit with more rocks in a denser spread, unfortunately for the Rock, Frisk is prepared, and dodges this barrage just like the one before.
CHARA: *All rock, and no roll.
FRISK: You know the drill, Frisk shoves the Rock again.
CHARA: *You push the Rock, it is on the button now.
ROCK: "Alright, alright, you got me here, but can you keep me here?" Final round of stone attacks, denser then ever before, one close call... two close calls... and Frisk makes it through just barely!
CHARA: *Rock has accepted its fate.
FRISK: After breathing the second sigh of relief in the past few minutes, Frisk goes to MERCY followed by Spare, and backs away as the color returns to their surroundings.
CHARA: *You Won! you got 0 xp and 0 gold FRISK: They look at the Rock, which is now silent and on the button. "My goodness... that was something... and Napstablook is coming up too, not looking forward to that." Frisk walks past the place where the spikes used to be and enters the next room, staying on guard. the room is small and only contains a table with cheese on it, and a save point. which Frisk gladly places their hand on.
CHARA: *Knowing the mouse might one day leave its hole and get the cheese... It fills you with determination.
FRISK: "who knows, things are different this time, they might actually get it."
first: Here!
next: to be continued...
prev: Here!
the comic this blog is actually about: Here!
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birchbow · 8 months
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Hey birch! Quick ask for your writing on POF. What do you like the most about your Kurloz and Gamzee? If you could pick a few favorite things or traits from the versions of them you created, what do you think those would be? It's ok if you skip, I just got curious. I love your epic clown sagaaa 🥰🥰
!!! :Oc oh huh! My favorite traits are almost always the ones that create friction--some of those are neutral but create drama and some of them are outright negative, lol. Short answer, PoF Gamzee's a reckless coward and PoF Kurloz is incredibly dangerous and proud over top of a deep well of insecurity. Long answer.....under the cut, lol.
The Gamzee I write is, and I say this with authorial love and tbh no moral judgment, kind of a coward. He's not scared of the same stuff as most of us would be, he's good at combat and he likes pain, but also he's hugely, deeply afraid--of lots of stuff, but especially being left behind, and that drives a ton of his characterization.
Being left/abandoned is a pretty returning theme for a reason! From the very first chapter, when Gamzee's internal monologue is basically, "Well, time for the thing that made me happy to Go Away again. Hopefully if I'm good and I wait well enough, it'll eventually come back." He's been captured on his first mission, is his family going to leave him to die? Karkat's cocooning, is he ever coming back? Kurloz is poisoned and the family is turning on him as a suspect, are they done with him forever? He's the lynchpin of the Cult of Flesh's heresy, are his gods going to turn their faces away from him?
And when he feels like he has been abandoned, he goes through cycles of rage and then retreating from the rage, because being angry is holy but being angry is bad and drives people away, but being angry feels right, but-- It drives him to be overly obliging, trying not to drive people away, and it pushes him to be vicious when somebody seems to be interfering with his grasp on the things he values. It makes him a very sweet guy who'd do just about anything for the people he cares about, and it makes him clingy and dependent and blindly devoted, and prone to lashing out when he feels like they don't care about him as much as he cares about them!
I identify with a lot of that as an author, but I also just feel like it dovetails pretty neatly into the scant amounts of canon characterization we get for Gamzee, so I find it very compelling to read/write!
-
As far as Kurloz goes, what I like most about him as a character is probably like...his pride? And (especially because this is a kinky sex fic) the shame that goes along with that.
On a very surface level, the concept of the Grand Highblood as a grumpy, proud old guy who's getting reluctantly dragged in the direction of a still terrible but less hemoist society is very funny to me. Make up a bigoted old man and then force him to knuckle under repeatedly to the people he's bigoted against. But also on a more-plot-less-humor level, a character who's made himself a very strict code of "this is what's expected of me and I will fulfill it no matter what it does to me" is RIPE for drama. Especially when the plot of the story is then giving that character something that suddenly he finds he values at least as much as that code and pride, and making him struggle with that.
The counterpoint to that being; it's fun to set up a character as a proud, badass, dangerous son of a bitch, and then give the POV/the readers a shot straight into the shit that he's hiding behind that "I'm untouchable, don't fuck with me" pride. Sadism, especially as extreme as I've written into Kurloz, can be an intimidating thing! On the surface it's part of the mask, part of the scary persona--but it's really compelling and interesting to me to then sidestep that mask and go into the roiling mess of sexual shame and religious guilt and uncertainty and self-loathing. MAN I love writing the Brother Immortal scenes, you guys.
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sorry if you already mentioned it and if you did you can link it np, but what is the significance of the chiron conjunction?
its no problem i havent rly talked about it other than today ^^ but its an energy thats been building for months since they're both slow moving. chiron is an asteroid named after a mythological figure who was a centaur exiled at birth. tho later in life he became a great teacher & mentor due to his experience & compassion. so chiron is nicknamed "the wounded healer" the asteroid represents that part of ourselves. childhood wounds (and past life pain) that hurt the most usually something to do w rejection or abandonment, but its where u have the most capacity to heal others.
north node is a mathematical point in the sky & directly opposite it is the south node. north node shows where our highest destiny lies, the lessons our soul needs to embrace in order to really Level up in this incarnation. south node shows what we're comfortable with, the type of role we already mastered from past lives, most ppl subconsciously cling to habits from their SN because it's too hard & scary & new to move towards their NN. but usually the NN says a lot for someone's secret ideal life they fantasize about at night.. the NN represents the future & how its ultimately ur choice to follow ur dreams or not.
so for them to be conjunct in aries rn on a collective scale has ppl addressing & healing their personal wounds (aries represents Self, the body, root chakra) but also feeling compelled to take action, since aries/mars really is about Doing It. And on a global scale in the past few months we've seen ppl working relentlessly hard to free palestine, as aries/mars also rules over war.. to me i feel the escalation of the genocide is part of the chiron wound, & people all over the world finally being unable to deny the reality of the carnage, the awful realizations the lead to action in ending this decades long nightmare once and for all.. that's how i see it. obviously its not over yet but seems to be at a boiling point. this is very simplified explanation so i hope it doesn't come off as insensitive, not my intention
u can see more about how it's effecting ur personal life by looking at the house placement of aries in ur chart, and any planets in ur chart being aspected by 16 degrees aries. if you've already been taking direct action in your life to heal your wounds, this day/few weeks might b rly nice for u ^^ if you've been avoiding It, there may b a reality check thats ultimately meant to steer u in a better direction for ur future. my advice.. dont try to hide from your pain or push it away, confront it n learn to live with it, forgive yourself, don't feel ashamed or embarrassed, nobody wants u to be perfect ! ! ! give yourself a hug for making it this far.. alchemize new ways to be courageous in the pursuit of your best Self. cus by being your best self you can do the most the help others, thats the highest vibration of aries enRgy. aries is so sincere & innocent & encouraging i rly love it.
Sorry for wall of text i probbly shouldve just made a video, hope it helps tho... Ganbatte anon !!! fearlessly heal your heart and keep your dream alive ! ! ! PMD9<3
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echoes-fandoms · 1 month
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My Top 100 Ships (#93: Zuko/Katara)
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Source: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Fanfiction Rating: A- Over 6000 works to choose from on AO3, and I have very few complaints! There aren't a lot of fics about them that have really stuck with me as much as other pairings, but maybe I didn't get far enough into the niches of the fandom.
When Did I Start Shipping Them? I'll be honest, I do remember the exact moment: there's some scene where Zuko is being intimidating and Katara backs up against a tree and I was like 'aw shit' and that's the Moment.
Why Do I Ship Them? They've kind of both been scariest to each other in the show, and I think scary people are sexy, so I clearly like the scenes when they're together?? But also that makes their consideration of each other (Zuko saving Katara's necklace, Katara backing off when she needs to) that much sweeter. I just thought they were kind of a compelling ship in the canon content!
Favourite Fanfiction Tropes/Staples? Uhhh, basically anything other than the arranged marriage fics?? Shapeshifter fics, Modern AUs, and fics where they get stuck in the wilderness alone together are my special favourites.
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