#but mostly it boils down to enjoying it *because its interesting.*

[majorshatterandhare]

Okay, accent/pronunciation post.

In Hereward the Wake, Tim pronounces “duty” with a /j/ (yod) which creates a pronunciation something like /ˈdjuː.ti/ in the IPA or “dyoo-tee” in English phonetic spelling. From what I can tell, this is one of two common pronunciations in English accents, the other being /ˈdʒuː.ti/ in the IPA or “djoo-tee” in English phonetic spelling. This second pronunciation features coalescence of the d and yod to create a dj sound. This can be contrasted by Rachel’s pronunciation of “duty” in Alice, which features yod dropping, and can be written as /ˈduː.ti/ in the IPA or “doo-tee” in English phonetic spelling. Although Tim is doing a very odd accent in Hereward, it doesn’t really matter in this case. In Riddle of the Sphinx he pronounces “introduced” with a coalescence of the d and yod (/ˌɪn. trə ˈdʒuːst/ or “in-truh-djoost”) and regardless of whether it is coalesced or not, as long as it’s not *dropped* it works for our purposes.

Okay, now we get into why this is funny to me. The yod-close back rounded vowel pair (/ju/ or “yoo”) comes to English from French. The French close front rounded vowel sound (/y/, I have no idea how I’d write this in English phonetic spelling, but make the inside of your mouth like you’re gonna say “ee” and your lips like your gonna say “oo” and that’s how you make it) came into English and was separated into /i/ and /u/ (or “ee” and “oo”) but then the /i/ was replaced with yod. This was not only applied to words that came from French, but also some pre-existing English words as well (and is now applied to foreign words once they’ve been in English long enough, like “Cuba”).

Now, when did the yod-close back rounded vowel pair enter English? Well, when was English heavily influenced by French? That’s right, when the Normans took over. And who fought the Normans? Hereward!

This lead me to the idea of an Anglish translation of Hereward the Wake. Has anyone done that yet?

[Note: information on the yod-close back rounded vowel pair came from this video by Dr. Geoff Lindsey; IPA representations were taken from the online Cambridge Dictionary and Wikictionary and adjusted where necessary (such as making “introduce” into “introduced”). Also I’m not actually positive that Tim doesn’t coalesce the d and yod in “duty”, it sounds kinda like both to me, but either way it comes from the French which is the important part for this post.]

#baaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh #okay so nothing i state in this am i sure about. this is my understanding based on what little i know about linguistics etc etc #also the point was using pronunciation that we ultimately have because of the normans in a song about a guy who hated the normans. #i fucking love the accent he does for hereward. i could just talk about that. about what i like about it. #but mostly it boils down to enjoying it *because its interesting.* #i do not know *why* he does such an accent for it. but i like it. #the mechanisms #hereward the wake #gunpowder tim #tim ledsam #accent discussion #i guess also part of the point is that i suspect it was not intentional and thats just part of his accent #but i dont know. i havent specifically listened to everything i can to search for another instance of consonant-yod coalescence from him. #well. consonant-yod coalesnence that isnt present in my accent is what id be looking for. because some words have it in english generally- #speaking. like ‘picture’ (pic-chur or sometimes pit-chur) and ‘actually’ (ack-choo-lee or ack-choo-uh-lee)

[slashingdisneypasta]

Squip x Reader || Drabble

Plot: You boldly admit that you wanna be with your Squip, and 'he' struggles to face his own... 'feelings'.

Warnings: The Squip is RUDE.

"-I dont want any guy at my school, I want you!" The words fly out of your mouth before you can have any say in the matter, buy you don't back down; maintaining a serious look on your face directed at the SQUIP.

All day he's been pestering you about going on a date, or hooking up - it's college culture, after all. And people enjoy it! - and you had reached your boiling point. Every guy that he suggested was disgusting, you didn't like any of then. You knew you wouldn't. You've never been interested in guys your own age,.. or who are nice,.. or your own species-

If you could even call the SQUIP a species, anyway. He was a computer. A very, very smart one who seemed... at times... to have feelings. Mostly irritation and pride but feelings all the same. That gave you hope.

You recognise how dumb your having hope was but, well, you couldn't help it.

You also don't get how Squip didn't see it in you, he has access to everything - your every thought, - but he never let on that he had any idea of your feelings toward him. Maybe he was trying to ignore it? That would sure make sense.

"... excuse me?" The Squip's voice is deadpanned while his face looks unamused, and dubious, and about a million other things you never want to see the guy you like look at you with when you tell them, and it makes you roll your eyes.

"You heard me." You don't have to repeat yourself to him! The asshole.

"You're being irrational." He sighs eyes rolling upwards into his skull. Then he rolls his shoulders, shakes his head in disappointment, and regains his composure; twisting his cufflinks that are always perfectly anyway considering he's a computerised image. "Honestly, if your period wasn't coming up in two days then I'd say you were crazy."

Jaw dropping, you suddenly wish you could touch him without his authorisation (he needs to access your nervous system to make it feel as if you're touching)- so you can hit him. "Low blow- and you know it." He's a computer- other dudes may actually think that periods impare women's thinking but the Squip knows that's just something you say to hurt someone. And you're not going to demean yourself explaining your bodily functions to him.

"No, menstruation doesn't impare your thinking," He admits, nodding matter-o-factly as he agrees with your thoughts, but not-at-all looking sincere. "But it does make you hormonal. You're just horny- it'll pass. I recognise that you've been having these thoughts for most of our time working together now but its your hormones causing you to voice them; trust me. Maybe I should switch to a less pleasing appearance?"

"Wh- no- "

"Hm, you know how I could help you relieve that horniness?"

Oh no. You know exactly where this is going. And it's not 'I can quickly fuck you'. No- "Don't you dare."

"Helping you hook up with Zack, yes."

"Squip!" You exclaim, frustration laced in everything about you; your tone, your eyes, your mouth and jaw, your hands- "It's not happening." You sat sternly. "I don't care if you don't want me back, you great asshole chip, but I'm not going to hook up with a frat boy like - "

"Reed then?"

"- Or a self righteous nerd like Reed. I'm not. I got you so you could help me be more comfortable in my own body, not have sex with random guys. And you know that! I don't know why you're constantly trying to get me in a guy's bed! Its- I- It defies reason!"

The Squip's form flickers, a snatch of his voice attempting to say 'reason' slipping out fuzzy as he seems to glitch at those last words. It only lasts for a few a moment, but it surprises you. Your face softens, and you reach towards him, not to touch him because you know you can't but just... because you have to- and- he actually looks at it as he returns seamlessly to his put-together air and appearance.

Theirs a curious look on his face as he grimaces at your hand. His eyes seem to be holding something back, but he's thinking about it.

"... your care for me defies reason. I'm a computer."

"I know." You shrug, gentle. All the frustration from before gone from your shoulders and everywhere else.

"Not a man." He reiterates, and you shrug.

"Well- you're a man a little. A computer wouldn't get so worked up."

"I'm an extremely superior computer."

"You are." You agree softly. "Alexa's got nothing on you. But you're also a man a little. Feelings cant be programmed." You insist, not pushing him but just stating a fact. Wanting him to believe it.

"I believe it." He growls, an annoyance in his voice thicker then humanly possible as he actually admits it. "Trust me, I... Its been a thought on my mind for a while, now." You open your mouth to ask him what he means by that, but he waives you off (rudely) and goes on. "You're right in saying feelings can't be programmed. Reactions can, but,.. not feelings. And the feelings you've been inciting in me, have not been programmable. I even tried to program them out, but- mm." Eyes growing slightly wider at him, you watch his jaw set and pop; frustration absolutely clear. "The only thing I can think is that its your fault. And, maybe, if I made you a little less available- a little less open to me- whatever virus is in me would lose interest. But... you're so fucking stubborn." Theirs actual anger in his eyes when he looks at you then, almost rage. Wow.

Your lips make an 'oh' shape. "Thats why you tried to get me to hook up with- "

"All those idiots, yes. But you just had to act like an obstinate little bitch and refuse every suggestion I made."

"Yeah, well, we know why that is- and don't call me that."

"Bitch." He growls, causing you to sigh in frustration (asshole, asshole, asshole- ), before he rolls his shoulders back and straightens up properly again. "... but you're right. You are. I know exactly why, and now you know my feelings- This interaction's been unprofessional as hell. It's gone too far. If I'm going to continue to assist you, help that you absolutely require," Gee thanks. "then I'm going to have to do a complete system reboot."

"You- " ??? "This is the most dramatic responce in history to being in love."

"I'm NOT in lo- " He cuts himself off before the word can come out, even if he was a full-man he would hate the word. Theirs nothing cool about being in love. To him it would be pathetic. "Thats it. In 5 minutes when I return post-reboot, this will be over and you will stifle your feelings about me- got it? That's how it should be. Now... " His appearance begins to flicker again, more frequently this time until he flickers completely out of existence like a TV switching off.

... you're about to panic, when the Squip touches back down onto the ground in front of you. He looks exactly the same as before except better posture, and when he looks down at you there with your wide eyes and your concerned frown, he immediately scowls.

"GODDAMNIT."

"Didn't work??" You light up. Quickly a mischievous smirk slips across your face, though, realising you're right when that pretty face scowls deeper. That means... oh, this computer must really have it bad for you. Ha. "I see... "

His eyes flash, actually flash - a blue light turning on inside them for a moment and making him looking almost demonic, - , and you suddenly appears directly in front of you, an unnaturally strong hand slamming you by the shoulder into the wall behind you. "You don't see... anything. This is a virus. I dont have feelings, for you."

Looking straight back at him in defiance, you nod. "It is a virus. I think everyone in the history of the world can agree on that."

He falters, so annoyed he almost can't decide what to say to you. "That doesn't even make sense, Y/N. Most people in the history of the world didn't even know what a virus was. It was first used 1898- " When you reach up and curl your fingers gently around the back of his neck he falters again, breathing in slowly and deeply- so sexy. "You're... what are you doing?"

... "Whatever you want me to." Its up to him. If he wants you to let him go, you will. If he wants you to keep going, you will. It's all up to him. You remember the first time you and the Squip kissed; he was just teaching you how (said it was completely okay because he was just in your head), but that was the start of your feelings. That was the start of this mess. You wonder if he was struggling before that and thats why he suggested it in the first place all those weeks ago.

When warm, firm lips slam into yours, forcing your lips to part and allow a forceful but exceptionally skilled tongue to take what it wants you're shocked and let out a squeak. The Squip's hand takes your throat now instead of your shoulder, squeezing shortly to tell you no, don't squeak. Not like you didn't ask for this, he thinks directly into your brain. Now what did I teach you then? If you remember so well? Don't sit there like a dumb statue. Kiss me back.

... when you do, tilting your head and giving a slow moan when your tongues touch, the Squip let's out a growl right into your mouth that feels so real, and drags you in tighter against him by the hips. You know it's just him activating your nervous system, and he's not really there, but you're miraculously okay with that. When something feels this good you don't question it.

#first time writing the squip 😅 #just a little something i types out on my phone in bed this morning- i hope its not terrible 😅😅😅 #SQUIP x Reader #SQUIP #Be More Chill SQUIP #Be More Chill SQUIP x Reader #Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor #Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor x Reader #Musical Villains #Musical Villains x Reader #Drabble #SQUIP x Reader Drabble

[chronosh0t]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‘‘……꒱.*ೃ. ;; 〔 ☁️ 〕 `𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

‘‘ 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝙲𝚄𝙱, 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚢...? ’’

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈

…… a day off in the lounge, after who knows how long, the team was finally granted a few days of freedom. The Commandant had already put aside every single paperwork, left his exosuit to be repaired since it was heavily damaged from the last encounter with Ascendants, wearing nothing but comfortable clothes fitting his style, he was resting on one of the sofas.

Liv and Lucia had go to visit some places they wanted to go after the proper papers were signed (constructs are not allowed to leave if it's not for mission unless the Commandant signed a notification and was approved by Hassen), and so the only one was him, enjoying the silence and letting his mind drift to the world of dreams.

A knock on the door. He groaned and walked to the door, before he could even try to open it came another knock. How impatient was the one behind it? A metallic sound, the person behind was none other than Lee himself. With him, there was a small box-shaped CUB, a screen showing an emoji. Zenas thought it was the same deadpan face of Lee. How cute.

ㅤㅤㅤ“What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to visit your brother.” Zenas said while resting on the sofa, again. He couldn't take his eyes from the small buddy.

ㅤㅤㅤ“I already did.” As usual, his face did not change, but Zenas noticed the emojis on the CUB did. For a split of seconds, it looked... happy? before it returned to the serious one.

Lee noticed his Commandant eyes not leaving the small thing beside him, so he handed it to him. It seems that everyone thought Punchy was rather an interesting CUB, and not only an amazing combat partner but very useful in other aspects.

Zenas eyes beamed in excitement. He held the CUB with utmost care, he definitely didn't want to break it. Observing how detailed it was but also speechless at the fact, despite looking quite small in size, it could turn itself into an entire fist and destroy some corrupted without sweating a bit. It was indeed interesting.

He looked at it for quite a while, smiling every now and then, patting its "head", or rubbing its "chin", like he would do with any other dog or cat. Punchy did give the feeling of a pet more than a cub, even Bianca's or Karenina's one that had animal shapes didn't make him go this wild. Maybe it's because of the "face", or because it was owned by Lee. Perhaps both options were valid.

On the other hand, sitting in front of him, was the blonde construct. Zenas was too oblivious to notice, but the blue eyes that would hold kindness for him were showing some annoyance. For some weird reason Lee could not understand, there was a strange emotion forming in his chest, a bit heavy, but mostly he felt.. angry?. The more he looked at Zenas being close to the CUB, giving it so much attention made his mechanical veins boil.

Abruptly Lee took Punchy out of Zenas' hands. Startled by the sudden action, it took him a moment to form a sentence.

ㅤㅤㅤ“Why did you do that? Give Punchy back, he's cute” Zenas complained, frowning. He extended his hands, waiting for Lee.

But that last word, cute, made Lee even more annoying. What was this feeling he was experiencing? Weirdly enough he didn't want to see Punchy now, he was even mad at the small CUB. The only thing that happened was Zenas being overly excited to see it and, after a few minutes of observing, Lee started to feel that way.

ㅤㅤㅤ“... no” Lee answered, but his voice was barely a whisper, almost inaudible.

Zenas was taken aback. Was he... sulking? He looked down at Punchy and the emojis on the screen changed so abruptly, as if it was hard for the tiny pal to discern what its owner was feeling. It suddenly clicked in Zenas mind, but it sounded so ridiculous, maybe he was wrong and there was something else going on, but nevertheless he had to take the shot and ask.

ㅤㅤㅤ“Lee...” he had to take a pause, what would he do if it was actually that? he was going haywire already. “Are you... jealous?”

Lee didn't reply, but Punchy did. Who would've thought that his other partner in battle, the one he himself created to make things easier, would betray him this way? The screen showed a specific set of emojis, lines between parenthesis. Lee was feeling embarrassed. So that only meant what Zenas said was true.

Lee's face was partially hidden by his blonde hair. But Zenas could see his ears, they were so red, he thought if it was possible, his entire face and neck would also be tinted with the same colour. He chuckled, not to mock him, but because that fact made him extremely happy.

#sae pgr writings #pgr #punishing gray raven #pgr lee #lee hyperreal #pgr fanfic #oc x canon #canon divergence #punchy #lee is silly #pgr global #i love lee so much #help me

[spaceorphan18]

I feel like I should also clarify - Kevin and Jenna, despite their podcast not being great on what I think is a production level, are not the ones I really have a problem with. I do share a lot of their opinions on things (even if I'm disappointed they skip over things I love), and I am interested to see if they like or not like Season 3, because I get a sense they won't like it the way a lot of the fans do.

When I went down the rabbit hole I should haven't gone down - it was more so to understand why Season 3 gets more love than I think it actually deserves. A lot of it boils down Naya and Brittana - and that's fine. People are going to enjoy what they enjoy, and I'm not here to argue people's personal opinions. And a lot of it is also tied into more casual watchers not liking all the changes in Season 4, which fine.

There is also a lot of unwarranted Blaine hate out there for some reason. Though, one youtuber went after Kurt's voice and ooff the rage.

But mostly, and maybe this is because its younger people finding the show? a lot of discourse seemed to missing a lot of points - of the show, of the characters, of arcs, etc, etc. It reminded me a lot of when the show aired and people complained without any kind of nuance or reflection.

Which, fine. I'm older and know better and have had so much time with this show that I'm softer about its ups and downs. I shouldn't have gone down the rabbit hole.

But I'm sorry - no matter how you spin it, Santana's coming out story is not the crowning achievement of the show.

[widgenstain]

Alright, almost a week later, here is my review of Vanya and the night I saw it. Autocorrect didn't let me type this on my phone in my grimy bunk bed and that cold got me good, but here are my thoughts! @itsathingialwayssay , @shegottosayit , @illfayted17 this might interest you. Be aware, there are spoilers for the play as well as the production behind the read more.

I saw the play on Monday September 25th, so my opinions are based on that evening, can’t say anything about other nights!

I’ll start with some negatives:

The theatre. Not so much the interior or the personnel, who are absolutely lovely, but why oh why did I have to hear the trains throughout the whole performance?! At first, I thought it was on purpose, with it being the Russian country side, so you might hear some trains here and there, but no, it’s Charing Cross that you hear. Also it’s freaking expensive, but we knew that.

Secondly, I was annoyed by the audience. It was a surprisingly large number of classic elderly theatre goers, who all seemed to enjoy themselves a lot (except for one guy who snored), some teenagers dragged there by their parents (or the promise of seeing Moriarty) and some assholes, like the ladies next to me. One came in after the first act, prosecco in hand, they whispered to each other during weird moments and generally seemed bored and/or disappointed. Which is their prerogative, you don’t have to like everything I do, but with these two it seemed… performative.

Also, about the standing ovations: I get Andrew’s critique, it’s dumb if you feel like you MUST do it, but the fact is, that in a theatre that small, you don’t get to see the person bowing, if you don’t stand up. So yeah, people stood up, I did too (because unlike in Austria where you clap for like 5 minutes if you DIDN’T like it and for like 30 if you did, in the UK they only come out to take a bow once or twice and I wanted to see him), but these two ladies just left with sourpuss faces.

Thirdly the cigarettes. I knew he was going to smoke on stage, what I wasn’t prepared for was them smelling this bad. They’re not normal cigarettes, they’re of the self-rolled, cheap student tobacco kind, that you only really use for blunts. They reeked. If you’re in the first few rows, I’m sorry.

Fourthly, I don’t know if the play really lent itself to a one man show. Don’t get me wrong, I loved what Simon did with it, the way he mostly cut out the love rivalry between Vanya and the doctor, and shifted the focus more on Helena was a great decision. It made the play more cohesive and boiled it down to its message quicker. Loved the modern language and the Britishisms (could have dealt without the name changes, no one is called Vanya in a play named Vanya) and it was truly laugh out loud funny at times, which is great, because I’m depressed enough without listening to depressed Russian people for a full show.

But still, while it all worked in the end, I think there are plays better suited for this treatment. I have spoken to shegottosayit about this, but I also think they kinda expected a familiarity with the play, because it helps you following the plot. I talked to two girls in the queue outside though and they weren’t familiar with the play and understood it well, so what do I know.

Which brings me to the great stuff. The whole thing starts with Andrew just wandering on stage, smiling into the audience, switching off our lights and turning them on on stage. As if to communicate, ok, we’re in the theatre, you’re here to watch a play, I am an actor doing that play, like we’re all in on a joke. He starts with the different characters and they all have an identifier. For example, Vanya has his sunglasses, Helena her chain, Sonya her dishrag and it’s all nice, haha, see the actor is using props, so you know who is who, it’s simple and harmless. That’s how he gets you. Because he doesn’t need them and over the course of the play he starts playing and fucking with them and it’s SO GOOD!

He doesn’t change his voice much between characters, except the two “funny” ones (and maybe Alexander), there he goes a bit into more comical registers, but for the main characters he pretty much uses the same voice. And you still can tell them apart! Because he changes posture, his body language, yes, his tone, but not his voice and the levels of masculinity and femininity (in a traditional sense), yet he never veers into camp or offensive (that aspect really fed into my unpopular opinion on the whole “straight actors in gay roles” discourse, which I will never talk about). It’s incredible to watch how fast and seamlessly he does that and how effortless too. That’s the craziest thing about watching him act, he makes it seem easy, as if it’s nothing to him.

And the faces. The theatre has opera binoculars you can rent for one pound, I forgot my glasses (mild myopia, objects further away get blurry after a long day, especially if they’re an actor I’m watching from the second to last row), so I was super glad to have them and look at his face close up. What did I see? He changes faces. I’ve seen him do it before, but in this it’s instantly and so quickly! I’m not gonna lie, it’s a bit creepy how he can change his facial shape somehow and go from sweet Sonya to hardened Ivan Vanya. It’s not just countenance or expressions, it’s something else and wow is it impressive! But a bit scary too once you think about it. ^^’

Also “zooming in” on him really cleared up something I’ve been wondering about ever since I’ve seen King Lear: One of Andrew’s biggest shortcomings on film can be that he sometimes comes across as too much, as a bit over the top. It is a theatre actor thing and he’s not the only one doing it (especially not in King Lear) and yes, that completely disappears live on stage. He acts for the whole house, but it always feels natural.

The one thing that felt a little bit forced was the singing in the end, he's right, he’s not a good singer (sorry!) and it took me out a little bit. The ending of Vanya is beautiful and heartfelt, I get what they wanted to achieve with him singing “If you go away”, it was a pause, a mood setter, but I think there are better ways to do this than through a musical interlude. That said, I saw A Little Life the other night, which is by the same production company, they made poor James Norton sing too and compared to him Andrew sings like an angel. So maybe I’m just a massive snob (hint: I am).

The other things that took me out a little were the sex scenes. Yeah, sex scenes in a one man play where the original play has none (at least not explicitly so). Damn, it’s been almost a week and my mind is still reeling from them. Did I like them? I have no fucking clue! I seriously need to talk to someone who didn’t have Andrew star in all her lonely sexy fantasies for the past 4 years, because I need to know how they affected someone with a normal, working brain who is not me.

I was torn between “wtf is going on” “JESUS HE TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF” “…you’re watching a dude make out with himself…” “…the sounds…” “don’t look at his naked back while he’s humping the stage, that’s rude, OH GOD YES LOOK AT HIS NAKED BACK, LOOK AT IT MOVE”. The second scene was even worse, because he’s standing up against a door, entangles his fucking impressive arms and moans as the lady while you see him move as the guy. Which was, yes, hotconfusingweird too, but I could have dealt with it, if he hadn’t mimed the penetration literally two seconds before and my brain just short-circuited and disappeared downstairs. The third confusingly hot thing happens in the end, when the doctor says his goodbyes. It’s actually a very good and touching scene, it has been set up that he’s falling into alcoholism and now that all his endeavours are nil, he downs more than half a bottle of vodka. We’ve all seen Andrew chug that beer in The Town and he does it here as well, but it takes a while and it’s so quiet in the theatre that you can hear him swallow and cry all the way through. Yeah. Yeah, I know.

Seriously though, there are more than one moment when the whole theatre is just stock-still. I mean, people laughed and reacted, again, one guy snored, I sighed a lot at Sonya (#ohlookitme), but in the important moments the theatre was dead quiet. Except for Charing Cross, of course.

When I left the theatre, my brain was buzzing and I walked out right into the backstage area. I read “backstage to the right” and was ready to walk to the right, even though no one was there. Except that stupid me HAD to ask the security, who I recognised from pics and the Cyrano backstage, if that was the way to the signings. And no, it wasn’t, that’s literally in front of the theatre (and honestly, probably why there are no selfies allowed this time, if they were, people would block that busy street for hours), I was walking towards the actual stage door. If I had had just one ounce of more self-confidence, I just could have kept on walking into the dressing rooms, God damnit!! (I’m kidding, I would never do that, and it would most likely get me banned for life, but still, it was a funny situation and that security was actually really nice and cool).

As for the signing, it’s a straight-forward affair, you line up, you move forwards, he signs your stuff, you move on (except if you’re an old lady, but more of that later). I soaked him in in all my manic brain overloaded happiness while waiting for my turn though, and the first thing I noticed was that he isn’t as short as people pretend he is. Yes, he wore some trainers with a thicker sole, but with them he wasn’t that much shorter than I am. Perfect height, for eye-contact, just saying.

Second thing was that he’s in the shape of his life, dear Lord! I always read him as wiry, which can look buff on screen, but no, he’s genuinely, proper buff. Those are some serious arms and just generally he’s wider than I would have expected. Other than that, he looks pretty much exactly like he does on screen. Some actors don’t, they’re either plainer or prettier (Anne-Marie Duff, she really was fucked over by some cruel form of unphotogenicness) in fact, the second night I went there I saw Sam Yates (he shook my hand :D) and he does not look like he does in pics for example. Andrew does. He has a fascinating and alive face and looks just like he did in that Vanity Fair video, except without the orange goo.

The first night I saw Simon Stephens coming out the stage door too and I literally hopped over to him, beaming like a loon. He and the people he was with were SO nice and so helpful, he signed my version of Vanya (the German edition) and I could actually voice my thoughts (which I couldn’t with Andrew) and tell him how much his interviews have helped me through the lockdowns and how I admire his writing, bla bla bla.

Anyway, I made him laugh, he shook my hand and said “it was a pleasure meeting you [widge’s real name]” in which moment my jaw literally did that looney tunes thing and dropped to my chest. Night was MADE, you don’t understand how much!

[Here I cut out a large chunk of extra thoughts to allow myself to post this in the tags]

Anyway, back to the old lady, she was the one who made Andrew laugh during the signing (LOVE that laugh), I passed her on the way back to the train and had to talk to her. She was a proper lady, dressed elegantly and she was the first damn person outside the theatre who understood my need to DISCUSS the play! Everyone else in the line was talking about other things, I had to PROCESS what had happened. She and her assistant were so cool, and she said she’d absolutely loved it and had a ton of other well thought through opinions on it. Big fan of her, no idea what her name is, but we all should get some cool older ladies to talk about theatre with, when our brains are buzzing with so many new impressions!

I aimlessly wandered on over the Thames after that, sat down in some red paint on the way, which made my jeans look interesting for the rest of the trip and had to just move for a while to cool down. I did go to the queue the next day too, just to be a little less tongue tied around Andrew (it did not work, whatsoever xD), but that was the day Joe Alwyn and a fox made an appearance, so it was totally worth it. As was the whole international camaraderie in the queue. Honestly, I’ve missed that, just people being excited about something together, I got hugged by a tiny Indian (?) girl and a Russian lady, all because we’re a bunch of excited nerds outside of theatre. It felt fucking great.

#andrew scott #vanya #simon stephens #anton chekhov

[sailorstarr-chan4]

Of Kisses and Treasures

I meant to post this weeks ago.... Oh well lol. Here's part 2 of my 12 ship fics for 12 years of friendship project! @risingfire17-the-weeb-trash, here, you can finally share my Amuto trash on your blog lol. ❤

Posted on: ff.net and AO3 Fandom: Shugo Chara! Pairing: Amuto (Amu/Ikuto) Word Count: 2,609 Rated: K+ Genre: Romance & Humor Setting: Post Shugo Chara! Doki Warning: Dubcon kissese (at first)

Disclaimer: Yes, this fic features Amuto. I am deliberately vague about their ages, so you can imagine them as closer-in-age teenagers, if you wish, but their dynamic is still inspired by canon. This fic was written out of love for my best friend, who adores this ship and has every right to. Don't like, don't read.

With that out of the way... Enjoy!

~~~

The showdown and aftermath of the final battle against Easter was so swift and confusing that Amu Hinamori collapsed on her bed in her clothes, finding it impossible to motivate herself to change. The revelations of everything, from Dia’s reappearance to Ikuto’s freedom from the corrupted violin, to the boss’s motivations…. It was all too much! 

Sitting up in bed, groggily kicking off her socks in a half-hearted effort to at least start getting ready for bed, Amu tried to wrap her mind around every major revelation. 

“This is all too much for my mind to hold in….” she grumbled without thinking. 

Luckily (and rather uncharacteristically), Amu’s three Guardian Characters intuitively understood her meaning. The three nodded to each other and flew to their Bearer, each with their own methods of helping her cope. 

“No worries, Amu-chan! Su will go fix you a nice, warm cup of tea!” Su squeaked cheerfully. She flew out of Amu's room (Amu didn’t bother closing her door, she was so out of commission after the battle).  Distantly, she wondered if her parents would notice floating ceramic tea cups and water boiling by itself, then dismissed it, remembering her parents were gone for the evening for their respective jobs, Ami in tow. Smiling wryly, Amu called out her thanks to Su. 

“Also, here!” Miki helpfully presented her Bearer a notepad and pencil. “Why don’t you write down everything that we found out tonight? It’ll help with the process of understanding it all.” 

“Go, go, Amu-chan! Amu-chan saved the dayyyyy!” Ran sang out in her usual fashion. 

“Thanks, Ran, Miki.” Amu sighed deeply, feeling Easter’s dismantled power and her Guardian Characters’s support lift a heavy weight off her shoulders. Regardless of how confusing the night’s events were, at least it was all over. She pulled her knees up to her chest, using them as support for her notepad, and jotted down a list: 

Easter’s “boss” was a seven-year-old boy, the grandchild of Ikuto and Utau’s stepfather

Said “boss” had been collecting shiny valuable jewels and demanded the Embryo because it looked interesting

Easter made countless X Eggs, tormented Ikuto, and nearly destroyed so many children’s dreams all for this petty reason. (That was something Amu could never forgive, but she mostly blamed the “boss’s” grandfather)

The “boss” (whose name was Hikaru, Amu needed to remember that) tossed away the long sought-after Embryo when its shine waned

Hikaru lost his own heart’s egg long ago and the “Embryo” they had spent the last year chasing was actually Hikaru’s heart egg, trying to return home?! 

Hikaru got his heart egg back and finally cried, something he had never been allowed to do since he was a baby 

Easter finally stopped all their nonsense and conceded defeat

Ran and Miki peered over Amu’s shoulder after Amu paused, pressing the eraser end of her pencil against her chin.  

“That’s a lot of information to take in at once,” Miki commented dryly. 

“Tell me about it,” Amu groaned, rubbing her other hand through her hair. “I feel like my head won’t stop spinning!” 

Her two Guardian Characters hummed thoughtfully, then Ran gasped. 

“But wait! Amu-chan! You forgot something very important!” 

“Huh? I did? I’m pretty sure I got the basics, at least when it comes to Easter-rrr….” 

But Amu trailed off as Ran took hold of another pencil and clumsily sketched out a large but distinct addition underneath Amu’s list. 

Ikuto kissed Amu-chan!! (★^O^★) 

“EHHHHHHHH?!?!” 

The notepad, pencils, and Guardian Characters went flying as Amu shrieked at the top of her lungs, flailing her arms and legs. Ran and Miki squealed in alarm as they went spinning, but Amu paid them no heed, her cheeks burning as she flusteredly snatched the nearest pillow and burrowed her face into it. 

“D-d-d-doesn’t count! He– he was only t-t-teasing me! Like he always does! The pervy cat! The stupid stray! That creepy jerk–!” 

“Now, now, if you’re gonna insult me, at least get more creative.” 

Amu froze. A shiver of horror slid down her spine. She knew that voice. She knew that voice quite, er, intimately, considering she spent many, many, embarrassingly long days holding him up in her room…. 

But that didn’t stop her from freaking out. She jerked up her head to glare at the object of her ire, mortification written all over her face. 

“IKUTO?! Wh-what are you doing here?!” 

Par of the course, Ikuto was leaning casually against her patio door, shamelessly smirking, like he owned the place! In just mere hours after gaining his long-awaited freedom, he looked healthier than he had been for months. His eyes no longer had the telltale bags underneath, and he was much steadier on his feet. In which, he was far too steady as he strode across the threshold and picked up Amu’s notepad from off the floor—

Leaping out of bed, Amu scrambled to snatch it back, but Ikuto, the cheating bastard, held it high out of reach, using his other hand to hold a flustered and angry Amu in place as she fruitlessly pushed against the palm firmly on her forehead. 

“My, my….” he purred in that despicably knowing way he always did whenever he teased her. He pretended to consult the list carefully, ignoring Amu’s shrieks and groans of effort to free herself from him holding her back. “You are such a kid. One little peck on the cheek and you added it to your special list–” 

“DON’T PATRONIZE ME, YOU-YOU-YOU SONUVA—” 

 “Ah, ah, ah, language. Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?” Ikuto was grinning openly now. If Amu had been paying attention (as if she could, through her utter humiliation!), she would have noticed that Ikuto’s eyes were surprisingly soft and tender looking down at her. 

As it stood, she was too busy blushing furiously and stammering to even notice Ran and Miki in the background, consulting with Yoru, who looked thoroughly amused. 

“I bet you’re glad you’re back with your Bearer, Yoru-kun,” Miki said. 

“Nya! Yoru is beyoooond glad-nya!” Yoru beamed happily, looking away from watching Ikuto teasing Amu. “But other than missing Ikuto, I always knew he was okay, deep down.” 

“Really? How come? You always seemed awfully worried…” Ran asked curiously, tilting her head. 

“Well, ya see-nya, if Ikuto had really gone to the bad side or had given up, I would have disappeared, right? Or at least got an X on my egg. But I didn’t! Nya, I searched for Ikuto and never once felt like I was gonna disappear or anything, cuz Ikuto is a good guy-nya!” Yoru spoke with so much pride and happiness, that even Amu was temporarily distracted from her fight for her dignity. 

“Really? You never gave up on Yoru, Ikuto…?” 

Ikuto removed his hand from Amu’s forehead, ruffled her hair, and handed her back her notepad. He put his hands in his pockets in his usual Brooding Fashion, and spoke in a would-be nonchalant manner, but his words sent Amu’s heart racing. 

“Yoru was staying with you, wasn’t he?” 

Did…. did this mean what Amu thought it meant….? Did Ikuto essentially Amu with his heart—? 

Shaking her head abruptly to get that thought out, Amu blustered and crossed her arms, putting on her Cool and Spicy act. “Well, I had no choice! Yoru is just like his owner, always crashing in my room without a word of consent from me!” 

Ran, Miki, and Yoru sighed discontentedly. Why was Amu so stubborn? 

At that moment, Su came flying up with a tray magically floating, holding several evening time snacks, a steaming teapot, and two cups, plus four miniature doll cups, no doubt borrowed from Ami’s dollhouse. 

“I heard Amu screaming and a boy’s voice and thought we must have company from Ikuto-kun and Yoru-kun!” Su announced happily to the room, oblivious to Amu’s furious blush and Ran and Miki’s giggles. “Here we go! Please, have some tea, Ikuto-kun! It’s been far too long!” 

“Thank you, Su-chan. You are far more reasonable than your loud-mouth owner–” 

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING LOUD-MOUTH?!” 

“Ugggggghhhhhh, this is getting painful….” Miki groaned, running her hands over her face. She turned to her fellow Character Guardian. “Ran, can you please do us all a favor and make Amu tell the truth?” 

For a moment, Ran blinked in confusion. Then, Su, who already set down the tray while Ikuto and Amu continued bickering, joined the conversation. “Oooh, yes, Ran! I don’t believe you ever Character Changed in front of Ikuto!” 

Something finally clicked into place in Ran’s head, and she gasped excitedly. “All right! Here we goooooo! Character Change from a Stubborn Girl to a Girl Who Expresses Her Feelings!” 

Sure enough, Amu’s hair clip magically changed into a heart shape with a cute “popping” sound. 

“Ikutooooooo, why didn’t you kiss me on the lips?! You had the perfect opportunity and you waaaaaasted it! Pleeeeeease gimme a real kiss!! Oh please! Oh please! Oh please!” 

Amu danced about the room, laughing joyfully, squealing, and running over to the very visibly startled Ikuto to lean down and give him the most eager puppydog eyes in existence. 

But of course, because her Character Change was with the enthusiastic Ran, despite her requests for kisses, Amu couldn’t stay still, hopping and jumping about the room, shouting out her love, squealing and spewing heart shapes everywhere. 

“Amu-chan….” Miki sighed. Su could only blush and hide her face in her apron. Ran, on the other hand, was so caught up in Amu’s physical hyperactiveness that she seemed to not notice her Bearer’s exceedingly bold and shocking confession, and only continued to cheer her on. 

(Yoru was busy drinking tea and munching on snacks to notice anything out of place.) 

Ikuto was the first one to snap out of it. He smirked. 

“If you insist,” he said in his usual smooth tone, standing up and catching Amu by the wrist and pulling her close…. and kissed her! 

Ran, Miki, and Su all screamed, causing Yoru to choke on his drink. 

Amu’s Character Change disappeared instantly, her eyes widening as she realized how close Ikuto’s face was to her own…. 

And wait….. was something…. against her mouth…..? It was warm and soft and….. Amu’s eyes fluttered closed, lost in the moment to comprehend anything alarming. 

The room around them disappeared, shimmering with a thousand radiant stars and hearts. Ikuto’s arm snaked around Amu’s waist and tugged her closer. Amu felt as if her legs were filled with jelly, only held up by Ikuto’s embrace. Who knew kissing would be so…. 

WAIT, WHAT?! KISSING?!?! 

Quickly she broke the kiss, gasping for breath. “I-I-I-Ikutooooo! How did — how dare you–?!” 

Further protests were smothered by another kiss. Amu’s whole body seemed to light on fire, but in… a pleasant sort of way. She only felt that way whenever Ikuto did other things to her in the past: biting her earlobe, holding her close in bed, lifting her up bridal style…. Amu whimpered against Ikuto’s lips (against Ikuto’s lips!) and found herself clinging to him, sliding her arms up his chest and clasping behind his neck as the kiss deepened, wondering how on earth she was supposed to live on knowing what this…. this…. this adult feeling was like! 

Finally, their kiss ended, and even Ikuto looked rather flushed. They stood, panting a little, gazing into each other’s eyes. 

“There. You finally came back down to Earth.” Ikuto’s tone was unusually hoarse, his indigo eyes burning intensely. 

“Th-thank you, I guess,” Amu gasped, feeling rather shaken by the intensity of his stare. Her knees wobbled heavily, threatening to give out any second. She clasped her hands tighter about Ikuto’s neck, longing to taste his lips again, but feeling far too flushed to do anything other than stare at the glistening moisture on his lips, knowing that she had caused that. “I— I don’t know what to say.” 

“If it makes you feel better, that was my first, too.” 

“Oh, was it —- EHHHHHHHHH?!” 

“Well. Only if you don’t count Utau being weird last year, which I really rather not count—” 

“W-W-W-W-WHOA WHOA WHOA, HOLD THE PHONE!” Amu shoved Ikuto away so hard, he toppled over one of her cushion chairs. 

“Your first kiss?! YOU?! Ikuto Tsukiyomi?! Y-y-you womanizing, perverted, flirtatious—” 

“Nice, insulting the guy who just kissed you within an inch of your life.” 

“---- all those times!! Flirting with me! A-a-and touching me! And m-making me f-feel things–!” 

“Oh, really? Do tell me more.” 

“SH-SHUT UP! YOU GET MY POINT, RIGHT?! How?! HOW?! Can that possibly be your first–?!” 

“Oh, just get over here,” Ikuto stood up and scooped up Amu in his arms, crossing over the room and sitting on her bed, positioning Amu so she was straddling his lap, her hands on his shoulders, looking down into his face. “Yes, you are my first real kiss, and yes, people can do other things besides kissing to know how to flirt, and I believe you are hot as hell for me right now, so why don’t you shut up and kiss me the way you want to?” 

Amu didn’t think it was possible to be more shocked, or to feel her body blaze up with that pleasant fire even more so, but gazing down at this mysterious, hot (yes, she could at least admit it now, after… everything), confusing, frustrating, lonely boy, she found herself ready to find out anything. 

“Ikuto…” she sighed, leaning down and meeting his lips, settling herself firmly in his lap as they expressed themselves at long last. 

~ 

Meanwhile, Ran, Miki, Su, and Yoru left the lovebirds alone, utterly embarrassed and unsure of how to respond. They eventually settled in the living room downstairs, hovering over the coffee table by the TV. 

Finally, after an uncomfortable silence, Miki spoke first. “W-well, Amu-chan is finally being, uh, honest….” 

“Y-y-yeah! Amu-chan spent too long being uncertain and confused and now she’s growing into the person she wants to be! Hehe…. yeahhhh….” Ran said in a half-hearted attempt of her usual boisterous mood, but trailed off, blushing furiously. 

“I think it’s so romantic, having her first kiss!” Su said happily. 

(The others sweated nervously, realizing Su was the only one oblivious of just how hot and heavy those two were getting it on.) 

“Ya know-nya, this is a lonnnnng time comin’,” Yoru said at last. “Ikuto has wanted to kiss Amu since the day they met.” 

“EHHHHHHH?!” Amu’s three Character Guardians exclaimed, all rounding on Yoru. 

“And you never told us?!” 

“Imagine how much heartache we could have avoided!” 

“Oh my! A kiss the day they met! How exciting!” 

“Ha!” Yoru scoffed. “Like telling y’all would’ve gone over well-nya! Amu-chan,” he added thoughtfully, “Amu-chan is…. Ikuto’s treasure. The only girl for Ikuto. So he was willing to wait, no matter how long it took. It just so happened that YOUR Character Change,” he rounded on Ran, who babbled nervously, “sped things up and now Ikuto is gonna feel bad!” 

“Ehhhhh?! B-b-b-but Miki told me to!” 

“Yeah, cuz I expected a confession, not a make-out session!” 

The three bickered and squabbled, while Su looked up towards the stairs leading to Amu’s room. Sure enough, another joined them, Dia, who had been resting in her egg during the earlier events, now looked far too pleased with herself to be anywhere near as embarrassed as the rest of them. 

“What makes you look so happy, Dia?” Su asked, flying up to greet her. 

Dia smiled serenely. “It’s more than just kisses going on upstairs. Amu-chan is opening her heart to Ikuto, and he, in turn, is doing the same. Her radiance is healing his heart.” 

#Starling writings #Shugo Chara! #Amuto #Amu x Ikuto #cw dubcon #(sorta) #StarlingChild4 #OP

[malewife-yoomyeongwoo]

Had an idea for an tsctir au where dungeons never happened, but the magic and mana within born s classes still lingers. The fact that theyre different and that people have skill aptitudes that affect their surroundings is still present, but no ones really aware of it (the born s classes Feel it but cant do anything about it)

So HYH is still Like That and HYJ still has the effects of the “caregiver” title, just- kinda watered down?

So the fic idea that i had that takes place in this au would be centered around the fact that HYH still has to deal with the feelings and things he feels in the manhwa/LN with his nature being (spoilers) that of a flame. He still wants to fight and grow stronger; he still wants to consume that which is precious to him (HYJ); he still gets unusually protective and jealous with HYJ.

And, HYH is getting increasingly frustrated cause he wants HYJ all for himself and cant explain why and, while his hyung is confused about it, he mostly indulges his dongsaeng but, because HYJ doesnt really understand what it is HYH needs to be happy, he keeps pushing HYH away and telling him to hit milestones that are relevant for human beings (like getting a spouse or getting a good job)

But all HYH really wants is to just be with HYJ and the conflict is centered around HYH not really understanding why hes Like That and trying to conform for HYJs sake and HYJ just wanting HYH to be happy and live a good life, but failing to really understand HYH enough to be okay with the actions HYH takes in order to live a happy and good life

Of course, the conflict within HYH would only get worse as HYJ continues to meet people and make connections and have less and less time to spend with HYH

And HYH cant help but feel guilty for being how he is cause his hyung is happy! Hes finally getting to live his life now that HYH can help with the finances! But HYH has to fight the urge to sabotage everything in order to have his hyung focus on him again cause he still wants his hyung to be happy

So hes simmering in frustration and self loathing and, because its hard for him to continuously keep getting brushed off by his hyung, he starts limiting contact because he Cant Take the small and fleeting interactions he has without feeling a sense of deep yearning for the way things used to be (just the two of them)

Maybe it reaches a boiling point for HYH when its his birthday or something?? And HYJ has a bunch of people over to celebrate with him and hed brought over a girl that he thought HYH would be interested in (and the icing on the cake is how everyones being touchy and HYHs already in a bad mood but now it’s worse) and all HYH had wanted for his birthday was for it to be just him and his hyung spending time together and now theres all these people and he, of course, acts cold and petulant and HYJ is like dude wth and HYH cant explain himself in a way that makes sense so he just storms out and leaves HYJ dealing with an awkward atmosphere but HYJ ultimately asks everyone to go and apologizes to them so that he can hang out with HYH and see whats going on

And thats where theyd start to re-assess their dynamic and try to understand each other better so they can co exist in a healthier way. HYJ would learn that HYH doesnt want a relationship or to be great or anything like that, he just wants to live comfortably with his hyung. And HYH would learn that he doesnt need to repress his nature and conform for HYJs sake cause what HYJ wanted all along was for HYH to be happy (and if that means theres a lot more hugs and quiet leisure time spent between the two just enjoying each other’s presence then so be it)

HYJ gets to go out and be the extroverted single dad he is and HYH gets to be the kid who gets doted on extra from HYJ

I imagine that HYH would be in college during this time and would probably be a doing some kind of fighting related martial art (taking out his frustration on his opponents a little too much during tournaments or something); hes gotta be at least a little violent and intimidating to be around cause its HYH; he may have been an angel around HYJ growing up but i like to think that he was the worst to deal with for any other person who had to deal with being in a position of authority over him; the most petulant child ever; never did enough to warrant his hyung getting notified (and if he did he was too intimidating to actually do anything against)

#tsctir #the s classes that i raised #tsctir au #no dungeon au #fic ideas #han yoojin #han yoohyun #character study #han bro dynamics

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-07-03

There's situations but I'm handling it and everything will be fine

Listening: Missed the latest song from We Kill Cowboys, Pink Codeine. I love We Kill Cowboys but they do most of their music live and release albums almost never, and even when I still lived in South Africa they mostly play around Cape Town, so I have not heard much of their new shit barring what lands up online.

They changed labels to Mongrel Records recently. Mongrel handles a lot of the heavy rock stuff around ZA, some good bands including Acid Magus, Springbok Nude Girls, All This For Nothing, and Ruff Majik.

Reading: Kaiju Preservation Society, sci-fi fluff from Scalzi. A guy down on his luck during The COVID gets recruited to go along as grunt labour on a scientific expedition to parallel universe Greenland, where there are giant kaiju roaming around in tropical forest.

Very loose spec bio that is nonetheless fun to read about, Kaiju are giant nuclear-powered walking biomes covered in various parasites, commensalists, and mutualists that scour the nearby area for food and give some to the Kaiju in exchange for mobility and protection. Like if mycorhizzal fungi were wolves.

At its best it is a light workplace comedy on a research base, and a moderate action romp. There is a story but it's not anything special. It is fun that our Protagonist has a literature masters and is there mostly to move heavy objects. I enjoy the feeling behind scientific expedition living and I'm still a little bitter about not getting on the Antarctic expedition so I enjoy reading stories about similar environments.

Very much "I wrote this in COVID when all I could think about was COVID and I wanted to imagine a guy for whom pretty much everything goes okay." I enjoyed it enough, with modern sci-fi style snark and snappy one liners.

Watching: Nothing, fell behind on the Fast and Furious watch because it's hard to write about #4, since it's just #1 again.

Also assembling a bunch of Ikea furniture, I have a home office desk now and more than the bare minimum space to stash clothing. In a month or two I'll also have a desktop computer, but that's future me problems.

Making: Made bread as part of what will hopefully be an ongoing project to improve my breadmaking. I can almost always make something vaguely serviceable but it's always pretty random whether I can get bread to behave the way I want it to.

Playing: Also very little, did another bonus level or two in Terra Nil. The challenges are much more interesting in the bonus levels, they force you to consider some much longer view tasks like "leave enough low lying soil intact for wetlands" and "manage river access for your cleanup" but still not too challenging on normal mode.

Tools and Equipment: When I was choosing a kettle I insisted on one that had a minimum boil volume of no more than 500ml, the one my parents have has a rated minimum of 800ml which is positively wasteful when I mostly boil a single cup for tea. Anyway the one I got has a 250ml minimum boil which is so good. You can do one cup of tea and drain it basically dry. Winning. Great for my sense of accomplishment.

#last monday of the week

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Soooo,, that one piece live action huh?? Thoughts? Headcanons? If lucky were in there how would she fair??

I have so many thoughts about it, I'll say some spoiler free stuff first and keep the spoilers under the cut.

I have genuinely never cared for live action remakes and saw them as pointless, so no one is more surprised than I am that I wound up loving this one so much. The amount of heart and passion that went into it was insane, and I am praying for more seasons because I want to see what they'll do from here.

I loved that it was different enough to stand on its own because it helps to keep people from trying to compare the anime/manga to it. The more mature theme is interesting, and I do like how the Straw Hats were depicted in this. Nami was probably my favorite because Emily Rudd killed that role oh my god. It handles the emotional scenes well, but I will say that it hasn't made me cry as much as the anime did.

Other things I liked was the sound track that I've been listening to a lot. The thing they did with the bounty posters was so charming I loved it. The opening scene was literally perfect, and so were the sets and costumes. I also love that they got the japanese voice actors to dub it and have been rewatching it in that language just for that experience.

I give the series like an 8/10 overall. I have some gripes, but they're all minor and mostly boil down to feeling a bit rushed which was inevitable with the number of episodes given. I really want at least one more season because I NEED to see live action Ace and Robin.

Spoilers from here on out

All of my issues with it count as spoilers so here they are:

No Loguetown Arc, which was really frustrating since they already had the set built. Maybe if we hadn't of spent what was honestly too much time with the marines they could have included it.

Since this was more serious, I can understand killing off Merry, but why did Kuro get away??? The marines were there, there was literally no reason for the writers to let him get away with it.

No Hachi. I get that he would have been difficult to depict, but leaving him out entirely was a bad call because he makes several reappearances and is kinda important. It also makes me a little nervous for future seasons because if they aren't even willing to show Hachi my god do they have some much bigger problems ahead of them.

They really didn't need to spoon feed Garp's motivations to us, it was self evident enough without Koby stating it. Also rather than letting the world building speak for itself, they had Garp openly discuss the corruption. Show, don't tell.

All that being said, none of these ruined it for me, I still really enjoyed it!

As for how I would fit Lucky into it... I'm not sure? As much as I enjoyed the live action, I can't say that I feel motivated to write for it. I like the anime/manga characterization better. Sorry, this probably wasn't the answer you were hoping for!

#one piece #opla spoilers

[urcharactersclasspect]

do you have any musings on the light aspect? you mentioned at one point that people tend to misidentify its presence in their lives, and i feel like it would be an interesting subject to hear you talk about

- maybe an heir of light

This is VERY true. People might be light players, but often times they completely misread how Light works into what they might be.This is, of course, when we are discussing people who ACTUALLY care at all about thinking too deep into Andrew Hussies nonesense enough to wanna classpect themselves seriously for the fun of it like me or others.

I clarify that partially because there are obviously a lot of people who dont try to think too deep into classpects, just get the Light result on a test, and super commonly blanket themselves as Witches of Light or sometimes Sylphs, and it stops at them just liking Aranea or Jade in the comics and slapping their possible aspect on their titles. Theres nothing wrong with that, and people should have fun with classpects and titles and the concepts Homestuck brings to the table however they want to. really, what I have to say shouldnt inherently matter at all if this kind of thing doesnt suit your tastes.

However it should be acknowledged, still, that often times this is the case.  this is also a reason my absolute least favourite classpect is Witch of Light in particular - Its very much the MOST popular classpect you will see around for Light players as a whole, whether it be for an oc/character classpecting or a person blanketing themselves as a Witch of Light as some sort of generic Default Light Aspect Haver classpect. You see it, a LOT, and this is acknowledging the fact I also have an OC with the classpect too. Its still an interesting classpect to mess with. So most people could definitely see the appeal of a Witch class, mixed with something like the Aspect of Light.

But its mostly how people see “manipulator of Light” Witch class, and think “i have light aspect, therefore i am manipulator of light aspect” without considering HOW they tend to manipulate the Light around them and what they are really “bent” towards structurally with the aspect in mind.

The biggest issue I think when getting deeper into it, is that, obviously - Most people think their outward interests are actually inherently tied to their classpect. Which I hate to sound like a broken record about this, but its just not true. Not every light player is going like the topic of Psychology and Cosmic Horror like Rose or even enjoy things like History & Theory Speculations like me, Classpects are based on the Archal Type system of how a persons “Story” goes and what “role” they play inside their own personal narratives and which directions they are most likely to pick for themselves and how they interact with a certain aspect that might cling to them as people. in a vague sense, Its how you walk and your reasoning for why you have walked a certain direction, not what food you like and how you enjoy the taste.

Classes are a skeleton structure of a persons character development into an Adult or where theyve gone in their story. This is a very complex way of thinking of it, because humans are complex. Boiling them down into only their interests or just “if you are nice and peppy enough, you are a heart player!” would be not only boring to mull over but it’s just generalizing human beings. Even Andrew Hussies characters have a lot more facets to them the more we learn about them outside a few cliff notes and a handful of their interests in the beginnings - thats for a reason.  Its also why, while classpectors can give their 2 cents on a few things, and we can squint and try to squeeze things out of a few different traits, we will never be able to really figure out what your classpect is for you. As Homestuck itself, is, in the end, about kids growing up into adults through different choices and paths theyve taken, the different ways of living theyve had and then they start to see the results of that come alive around them, and even how they effect other people.

An aspect on the other hand, is an aspect in your life thats stronger than the rest of them. Which can be pin pointed a bit easier, sometimes. Which one becomes easier or harder kinda depends on the person in question. Theres lots of variables to this, in the end you will always have only one aspect that trully matches up to you; on the other hand, we have theories of how people can Invert into the oppositional aspect or class, they can mimic and try to “roleplay” another persons class (Vriska does this, Rose does this, Tavros tries and failes to do this) and we also have the fact someone else can rub off on us, causing further confusion as sometimes somebody elses aspect sync can be so strong it masks our own real selves’, overshadowing us.  The key thing is, even with real people, there WILL be commonality between someone who shares a full Classpect and the reality is - there are a few general genres of interests that certain people drift towards; With LIght players its blantantly Knowledging seeking and obsession with things of the grandiose; Things like dark Gods or a life as a member of a pirate crew. There will be. and there often times, almost terrifyingly so, are a lot you will probably have in common with someone with your inversion classpect and the same classpect as you as well. There is bound to be common ground. Whether it be experiences, choices youve both made, and sometimes, yes,  This means you might share the same interests, but it also means you might have some common ground in how you act more as a whole, how you get A to point B inside your head through subconscious means, and certain choices in your life too that arent all that dissimilar even if there’s still some fracturing as you are still, of course, two separate individuals. Because thats the Character Arch typing root; how commonly some people tend to behave or form into the arch types in question. Similarity and commonality in a story that can be compared and be close to something else that exists but still be something unique in its own contexts. its how you get terms like “herculean story” and the like. Theres commonality in many things between certain kinds of people and how they go about things.

Im being a little vague in some ways - And thats because I dont really specialize in Classpecting real people. Its not particularly the point of the blog. But I obviously deep dive into all this hooplah enough to get opinions on if I think someones godtier appears accurate enough or not (this mostly with those that ask me in private, or people who im actually friends with who i could even give a genuine opinion on)

But the main issue is people boiling themselves down to just small amount of traits they have, or counting exclusively their own interests into certain things, and then deciding thats all there is.

The aspect of light can be kinda tricky, so I dont exactly blame anyone who has difficulty deciphering what the fuck they could be even if they know they are a Light player, and they for sure seem the part at that. I personally went from Maid of Blood > Sylph of Breath > Knight of Space > Maid of Mind > Thief of Heart > Mage of Mind > (almost) Knight of Life > Mage of Light. Trust me, the classpect identity crisis is real. and part of my own was frankly me just hating the light aspect cause Vriska was my least favourite character at the time, even tho Light aspect has always unsettlingly fit me too well no matter which description of the aspect I read. I kinda just tried my damnest to get out of it.Same with mage, I for some reason had this weird distaste for the mage class for no reason at all for the longest time, likely because I knew it was actually painfully fitting given what I had read and I didnt like the call out.

The light aspect is exactly what it says on Andrew Hussies Extended Zodiac Quiz. I hate to say it (not really) but the description of a Light player is me to a T as a person, generally speaking and once this quiz came out I was just straight up called out on it (i was sent the whole description and told its me by several people lol, take with that what you will). While interests themselves can be whatever - one thing every single light player shares is the desire to Discover. They WILL love knowledge for knowledges sake, they will be fussy on the details of things that interest them. Thats stuff thats a given. Our propensity for knowledge is true. So are the facts that most light players probably will be the types of people to chose the least popular “moral” or socially acceptable thing, to possibly get the route they want for the results they might want, making us look self centered or eccentric to most around us. 

They might not always be popular, but the things they do tend to get or be to get the results they want when they are pushing for it, as they tend to be correct in their hindsight of what might produce these results. These results are usually knowledge based, or to “get the best outcome possible” in whatever situation they are in. But in a more specific manner I always have some trouble coming up with words to really describe it with. 

Its Fortune, Knowledge, Discovery - self awareness, situational awareness of things, Hindsight that others around you might not have, or noticing  the little things people miss to point A to point B. Its how bad luck and good luck play into your life.Its literal light, its enlightenment, becoming knowledgeable, etc.

what relationship do you have with Luck? Good? Bad? Do you believe in Myths and such? Like if you walk passed a black cat, do you believe somethings really going to happen to you? do you look at the cat with indifference? Do you air on both sides and take it with caution but say you dont really believe in it, but would “rather be on the safe side” or secretly worry about it inside your own head, but walk passed it anyways? Do you do this about Fae circles/Mushroom rings? Would you take the Fae memes to heart and/or be the type to say “i wouldnt fuck with that real or not”? Would break mirrors on purpose to fuck around and find out? Have you ever broken a mirror, and actually did get a streak of horrible luck thinking nothing of it at first, but now your paranoid of everything superstitious? Theres a lot more questions outside the topic of superstitious beliefs I could ask, but, how you answer things like this, as just an example, can put a more simplistic aim towards what category of class you might have as a light player.

How do these things - The aspects general focus of knowledge seeking, Fortune and misfortune, Awareness, even literal Light or the sun, having attention or spotlight on you in some fashion - play a part into your life? How does it effect the things youve done? your choices? your interests? your thoughts? Your beliefs on folktales or the like? How has Light, impacted you? How much of these focused on things seem to appear or be an occuring theme in your life and how youve grown up? Do you feel a solid connection to the obtuse and figuring things out? thinking abstractly? Or would you rather keep things obtuse and a mystery? Have you ever been on a metaphorical or literal stage for others to watch and criticize you? What part of your life thats influenced how you are now, was surrounded by these themes? when it comes to the types of attention youve been given, would say thats large part of why youd make a choice? Attention, the spotlight? - a result of treasure or a reward you wanted? Have you always breezed through things, being weirdly lucky, but never really noticed till something has jarred you out of it? Do these effects seem to weirdly always rub off on others?

For me, as a Mage, while not special for others when generalizing like this, has always been a mixed bag. Im very conflicted about the spotlight no matter how little of it that i receive, Ive been metaphorically burned before and I easily lose my spoons to be in front of others, and completely isolated myself as a result in the past. Its why this blog is pretty crazy to even have as a Mage of Light, no matter how inactive it gets sometimes cause im focusing on other things. The spotlight is not my natural forte by any means, you could say, but at the same time I crave the attention on the good things Ive done, or something Ive created to have the spotlight. I want success in my endevours and I keep trying. I have a lot of goals to accomplish. LIke comics, to help produce art for a game, to have my concept sketches used for something big some day. Maybe do something with all these ocs I have. But Im also deeply anxious about too much attention at the same time and its stopped me more times than I can count from ever putting the really big things just out there no matter how bad or good the ideas are, Im also talking both good and bad attention, as they are both very overwhelming to me personally, and you can see how that can be a massive problem that conflicts quite a lot with goals like those.

You need to allow the spotlight to be placed on you for better or for worse if you actually wanna do something big. “You need to try in order to succeed”. You have to just push stuff out sometimes to ever get anywhere, otherwise they are all just drawings and ideas in your head and dont exist.

Theres more reasons than that, obviously, that Mage of Light fits me personally. Theres small things too, things that if you were to look up Mage of Light you could easily see on the descriptions people tend to give - My eyes sensitivity to sunlight, my displeasure at getting my photos taken by others ive had since I was kid, the fact Im paranoid about sunburns even if I rarely get them ever, even my sensory issues adding hyper awareness to things im experiecing or touching, noticing things others might miss often or a lot actually, and my absolute sometimes unhealthy hyperfixations / hyper focus/attention on certain things because of my autism could be a pinpointer for me. Along with the negative unwanted attention you get, whenever your behavior or attitude is outside the “norm”.  Theres bunches more, some being even more personal I wont be putting here. But how Ive classpected myself is through a fuckton of self reflection on where these themes of the aspect seem to bend around me and my life.And while this all seems very extra, to me, its just done for fun because i AM extra and like thinking hard about these sorts of things, as is my nature to just do so.

As a mage, this means a lot of mixed signals and a lot more negative attention thats screwed me over that ive had to learn from, or a lot of situations where Id have to reconsider how I went about handling the attention Ive received in a way thats more managable for me for the future. I am, however, a pretty “stereotypical” example of what people think Light players are. By far the funniest comment is still being tiold my classoect is “Rose Lalonde, but more depressed”. Admittedly Im pretty default mode, so im not exactly the best choice of example for how each light player can still be “unique” past some commonality or outside the cookie cutter molds most people use for them. But its the best one Ive got for the sake of this topic as I only know myself and what brought me to my own conclusions.

Witches tend to invert, they think they know best about things, and they will pretend to be the opposite of the classpect in order to get what they want or before they are given full access to their Aspect. Jade Harley inverts into a Seer of Time BIG TIME, and its barely discussed in classpecting in my opinion. Witch of Light for instance, for a good portion of their lives could act like a Seer of Void, believing in anti supertitious things or having the mentality of someone who disapproves of thinking of beyond what they see as a blank slate of reality, keeping things at a stand still or “inside the void”. Maybe they have, heaven forbid, a history of certain things like Roxy or Equius do, maybe being ignorant at one point and extremely stubborn with some less than savory beliefs,“I know this thing, so no other variables are real unless I agree”, maybe being elitist or substances played some part in their lives where they intentionally blinded themselves from the truth or decided to stay ignorant until something pushed them out of it.

Heirs are the types to breeze through their aspects and let it lead them on, sometimes without noticing until later. Maybe their the types to have a really really strange amount of luck in really weird ways, and they really never noticed it till some friends pointed it out. Something like “they got struck by lightning....but they survived and won the lottery” cause the reason they were struck by lightening is cause they were somewhere they shouldn't have been during a storm that they dismissed as nothing and had picked up a random ticket on the floor. (could take this metaphorical for various situations, or literal! heirs are weird) Heirs are the opposite of a mage. So there's even less I could say about this one. It gets a bit weird when you're talking about your own inversion with the context of your actual aspect.

Theres a million different ways beyond these.

And so much you can look at for commonality, but obviously I wouldnt realistically be able to go off on EVERY SINGLE thing Ive noticed about certain types of people with these classpects or titles- Thatd be sheer insanity, and Ive already made an essay instead of just giving some musings.But you can see how someone might misinterpret even their own way these sorts of things can be bent for which.

#incoherent rambles #light aspect #classpecting #Classpect Analysis #long ass post #i am warning you all #i am so sorry oh my god

[kaleidosouls]

SU reclaimed pearl rambles

im gonna use some annoying comments i got on my reclaimed pearl as a springboard for what i think could be interesting discussion because i think its good to engage with criticism/different opinions. but also if you talk to me like an asshole i want you to fuck off and i promised i wouldnt engage in that kind of stuff bc its not good for me and it doesnt Look good for me either.

so i can talk about my thoughts but not engage directly, win win. its been months but im still really fond of the pearl i made specially this art. like it coudl be better but i like it well enough. just a little header so this isnt a boring post with only text

i think like, its good to establish ground rules that like, i think most of the poor reactions ive seen towards my art were missing, mostly in bad faith probably but in case theres ppl who earnestly want to understand. actually maybe i can format it like a little FAQ even though theyre not frequent or asked lskdjg just for outlining my points. ill put it behind a cut but ill frontline w this: if youre a fan of pearl in the show, this content is not for you. youre allowed to like whatever you want and so am i. if you like her, we probably wont get along and you probably will feel very personally irritated by how i FEEL about her, so just walk away now. im not gonna engage with petty shit taht juts boils down to 'im mad you dont like what i like'

onwards to more rambling / sorta responding to some criticism

i scrolled back and i guess i sorta never have actually done a proper full explanation post about this AU have i? or maybe i have and deleted it, i forgor

why did you change pearl?

because i hate her, simple as. i went from a huge SU fan to hating watching it (i did finish) and pearl is probably The biggest reason why, as like issues with her character seep into other aspects of the show that i also hate. like i mean i Realyl hate her. she makes the experience of watching the show really irritating and miserable for me. if you dont feel taht way about her thats totally normal and whatever but no one is gonna change my experience and feelings that i had watching SU since the 1st season was coming out.; anyway answering. there is a Lot i love about SU and want to engage with, so i had the idea of like,maybe ill just change pearl, cause i wanted to delete her, really, but she is one of the main characters and she hasa function as a character that you cant just do away with. essentially im just like, some guy, who draws, coping and trying to reclaim his teenage investimetn in this show. literally its just for ME. but if anyone else feels like i do, then they can enjoy it too. if somoene doesnt feel like i do, go watch like pearl fancams or smth. like ill never be able to literlaly change the show as it is, like its happened, and its a tragedy im trying to move on from (begrudgingly)

why do you hate pearl?

the long laundry list of reasons are probably apparent in the ways i remade her lol (theyre not i can tell ppl are gonna project whatever worst bad faith reason for any change i make) but tbh the core of it is this, which is like, beyond whatever traits she has and whatever: she reminds me of my abusers. always had, from season 1, but like it became worse as the series went on. its like really infurating and upsetting to watch SU bc of her. had my abusers been a different kind of person, maybe i wouldnt hate her so much (kinda doubt tbh). like her personality and behavior are like hough disgosting!!

why did you change (some physical trait about her design)?

i dont really necessarily have a PROBLEM with canon pearls design. over the years ive come to like SU's style less and less but like, gestures, whatever. like i didnt like it or anything but its not like a bit deal compared to the actual offender that is her personality and behavior. the reason i redesigned her at all is bc like, if i hadnt, i would still be thinking about the way she is in canon all the time. like ive visually associated her like, appearance with all the shit about her thta makes me upset so i had to so she didnt look like the same person anymore, and i can try to let go of some of the hatred in my heart. like i want to think about the thigns about SU that i loved and also the potential i always saw in it and canon pearl is like, an active obstacle to that, to the point taht i cant even see her without getting like irked. i tried to keep enough similar traits so from a glance youd be like, who the fuck- is that pearl? rather than like. completely change her entirely to whatever i wanted. i do want to like, its a creative exercise. i want to try and change the things that would make me happy to see gone but try to work within the constraints of the SU we Did get as much as i can tolerate. bc like.... if the sky was the limit then at this poin wed just have to throw the whole thing away and start from scratch. like its kinda not really very salvageable, like im not rewirting SU to be like a Good show or fix Everything, its kinda too broken. im just chnaging enough so i can look at the actual show, screenshots, songs etc, and not feel overcome wtih like the grief and irriatation of how much it sucked ass. its just so i can enjoy more of it again

i dont like your redesign for (insert reason)

cool. thanks for your input. youre welcome! eat my asshole. seriously though, like, shrugs. i didnt make it for anyone other than myself. tbh im not fully satisfied with it either bc i think the SU style is kinda ugly, so im at a crossroads. should i mostly abandon the SU style? ive like, tested out tweaking things, it mightve been noticeable in screenshot redraws. drawing within the SU style is to create that coping 'oh it was totally like this haha' vibe but maybe im old enough to not need that anymore lol. like ive heard ppl say shit like shes ugly, or like sneakily trying to imply im like, got some agenda over beauty or racism etc. like whatever, think whatever you want, its not for you. go back to sucking up to rebecca or smth like i cant take the og pearl away from you still i am open for like that kind of criticism like, do i have personal biases affecting my design decisions? probably. i do try to keep aware of why im choosing certain things, but really in this case i cant emphasize enough how like, irritating it is that i have to change her design at all. like its hard to come up w smth else when the rest of the cast ahs already been design to balance off the og pearl. i probably wouldnt change almost anything if the sight of her didnt piss me the fuck off! most of all i kinda wouldve preferred to keep her hair short bc it messes up the sillouete but it makes me think too much of canon pearl so i made it long :/ i was like let me tell you my design thought process: -im gonna try to keep as many recognizable traits about her design while taking away bit by bit until she doesnt look like the og pearl to me anymore and i dont feel angry seeing her. pearl is lanky, tall, spindly, with a gem on the forehead, blue white pink yellow pastel colors, large pointed nose. i kinda tried to keep these traits while slightly tweaking their design until she looked different enough. is it a good design? eh idk. like the purpose is to make me not hate her and it does that job

now this hate comment im gonna grace with keeping it intact except removing the person bc its not about them. its like, a very stupid ass headed comment but im actually kind of interested in like,jumping off of it to ponder some things

im not heterosexual or cis enough to know what exactly wife bate means in this context so im gonna like guess, that maybe i could extract this q from that reply (also not looking like shes from steven universe is a compliment thanks)

you took away her personality and made her boring

the only thing i can assume is that like, some people must interpret the absence of an assholey personality or like abusive behavior is 'boring'. i know thats a really bad faith assumption but like, if ive written down a bunch of personality traits and you still come out saying thats 'no personality' what am i to make of that lol. based on my experience like Existing online, people tend to often call nice characters 'boring', like dude ive done it before, but i think im kinda over that edgy phase. also again, its for me and not for you so if you think shes boring, thanks for your input i dont care. but thinkign about it earnestly, i dfeintely dont want to make a character thats just no flaw and not interesting ofc, i havent done that with reclaimed pearl. that being said i havent like, probably written a lot demonstrating what i want her to be like instead of the canon pearl so, maybe ppl just are feeling lost with the lack of information.

personally, if i hear someone thinks a character is boring bc theyre not abusive anymore like, nothing of value has been lost. but characters do need flaws in order to create conflict and cause things to happen, like in a way canon pearl is like All flaw, which wouldnt be a problem except she gets away wtih all the horrible shit she did. heres some traits i want to explore with reclaimed pearl, some are similar to canon i just wanna go about it a different way: being overprotective/possessive to steven in a smothering way, projecting abandonment issues, not reaching out/communicating her emotions properly, lacking indepedence/self worth, depending on others to avoid confronting her own issues, being very passive and insecure and lacking initiative (this being the totally opposite trait that canon pearl has), stunting stevens development due to her not being ready for him to grow up and not need her anymore. and more, this is just from the top of my head. maybe thats still too 'boring' for ppl because shes not being selfish and inconsiderate enough to others so you can relate to her but i dont care :p

gosh how do i go about like, presenting the content i ahve in my head for this AU).. i cantjust remake the whole damn show. i would if i could, tbh

i have concerns about racist implications wrt (insert thing here about my redesign)

imma be frank. i dont know how to compltely 'clean up' any possible bad associations wrt pearl as a character given how like, rebecca has literally like, made her to be a slave in love with her slave owner and made it to be like, an uwu ideal lesbiab thing for most of the show until they tried to pretend no we understood the flaws in this dynamic all along and its bad actually , uhh, anyway shows over haha

ill say the main reason i changed her skintone is, bc that would be the like most instant way to make her look differnt from canon (which is vital for me for the reasons said above), and i did consider like, does this make the whole thing worse, or, ?? like, as they made it in the show, techincally All the gems are slaves to the diamonds, arent they? including all the very totally progressive poc based gems including and specially the ones who are made to be understood as black women. bruh like idk what to tell you this show is just fuckig bad sdlgkj like its just way too like, pervasive in my teen years forme to throw the baby w the bathwater entirely. and ill just straight up say it, like, im not a specialist on these topics nor do i hav ea position of authority to speak on about it. like the pearls read more clearly as slaves (very intentionally by the showrunners) bc they are meant to be subservient to gems Other than diamonds. and also bc they like fit in the stereotype of housemaid servant. like the rubies being made to just be forced to go and fight like they are slaves too, they have no rights and no like, authority to disobey or autonomy. but fsr like, slavery as in physical labor just doesnt immeidately set off ppls alarms as much as housework slavery does fsr.

i can only rly like change the canon so much and try to like, tweak things so it doesn feel as gross but i think for it to be cmpletely not insneistive at all youd have to throw away the whole show. and like i said, this isnt like me saying like im making the show good or as it shouldve been, im making it so I (and ppl who share my feelings about the show) can feel less shitty just thinking back to it. its just an exercise. im not like mass media im just one independent artist and shit will come out insensitve sometimes and im sorry but im also like, my art isnt meant to be representative and like, responsiuble for fixing all of society and racism like i actually cant do that. ill just do the best i can as an asian dude but like, if my work makes you upset, im sorry, but also just block me. like i cant please everyone. or like, even better, make YOUR take on pearl taht you feel would be better, like make the art you feel should exist.

this post is too damn long and id be surprised if anyone reads all of it but if you do, tahnk you! i felt kinda like ready to fight tonight so im triyng to redirect it from aggression to like, thinking. i cant guarantee im making new content for su reclaimed anytime soon but i would really like to, tbh

#su critical #steven universe reclaimed #ranting whatever blah blahb lah sdkjg

[dittolicous]

i guess unpopular opinion, but i cant say im a big fan of trans mtf sanji.

it might mostly be because of how the fandom approaches it, like, oh sanji is a soft boy who likes being clean and fashion and likes cooking, and he praises women too much, so he must actually be a woman! like, why does he have to be a girl because he showers every day and takes interest in fashion or w/e? theres more than one way to be a man

it honestly feels more of a disservice to draw those lines, saying hes clearly not a man because of them, instead of like.... embracing the fact that 1) gender is a spectrum its not just girl or boy instead of using toxic gender roles to trans someones gender and 2) toxic masculinity forcing sanji into being a different kind of man then what he fully wants to be - you can still be a man and enjoy wearing dresses or make up, you can have soft hobbies and it doesnt make you lesser gender wise

it just rubs me wrong to boil him down like that instead of looking into all the grays that make up sanji and making it black or white. he can be both, neither, go back and forth depending on his mood, or whatever. he can be a man who likes dresses, a woman who likes suits, etc etc. lets not literally reinvent toxic gender roles to make these claims

if zoro can have the biggest boobs of the crew than sanji can still be a man and enjoy dressing up in pretty dresses idk

#ditto rambles #i see him more as enby with male leanings #and maybe i didnt word thos great #but i just keep seeing some pretty weird sexist takes to justify trans sanji #when its like #so very unnecessary and uncool #theres more to gender than the roles we play #and sanji has a lot of repression issues to work thru #he can be more then what either judge or zeff have laid out for him #does any of this make sense?

[runephoenix6769]

There's a trend I've been noticing a lot lately to do with tagging, and culture around it. We all know that its a system that goes both ways, in that you tag stuff so its easier for other folks with similar interests to find, and also folks can be responsible for their own online experience (like you're supposed to do) and block tags they don't wanna see. This becomes really difficult when folks don't have common courtesy. I've seen numerous posts lately where an anon has politely asked if someone can tag their shit, and the replies have been quite frankly hostile. I've seen replies where the OG poster have said that they don't see anything wrong with their posts or its not that gory, or and in a good few cases what boils down to them saying they cannot be arsed. (paraphrasing) ''sucks to be you, you didn't want to see spoilers' <- on things that haven't been released yet. "I'm gonna be posting about this for while, and I'm not gonna tag my shit so go ahead and block me!" <- says you can't be bothered., and you're a bit of a dick. An explanation for your posts is not the point, folks don't have to explain or defend what they are posting, but you are not the arbiter of what someone else can or cannot handle. If someone is coming to you and politely asking for you to tag things correctly, that's not a judgement or an attack, its a polite request that says "Hey, I mostly enjoy what you post, and I want to keep following you. Its cool you've got another interest, thumbs up, no judgement I'm not great with <insert whatever here> and I'm trying to responsibly curate my own space, as fandom/internet etiquette encourages." Its becoming increasingly difficult to do the thing we've all been harping on about and encouraging people to do when the push back is folks refusing to tag their stuff because they can't be bothered, or being plain rude about being asked. (I'm 100% certain those same people would be frothing at the mouth if they came to read a fanfic and found it incorrectly tagged.) Is tagging and being responsible for your own experiences, and common courtesy not the backbone of shared fandom spaces? We've all seen the posts over the years to do with tagging on fics etc, an if you ignore the tags on a fic then be it on your own head if you get triggered/butt hurt. Well, it goes both ways. Folks cannot responsibly curate their own internet experience if shit ain't tagged. What makes it even more vexing is often the bloody tags were put there previously by someone else, and reblogger just cannot be bothered to scroll down, and take a few seconds to click a few things. We're all here in the same wonderful space, sharing wonderful things, it costs nothing to tag stuff correctly. Think of it as a shared public space, and ask yourself, are you the asshole on the bus playing music through your phone's speaker full blast?

#tagging culture

[kristyvscrochet]

We need to talk about the term Crochet Girlie bc it's important.

A lot of people who crochet use the term crochet girlie to talk about themselves and others. I think this is mostly because there is no cute, easy way to call yourself a crocheter or to identify ourselves as a group with a common interest and hobby.

Crochet is a French term, so using English grammar to modify it into an identity (crochet -> crocheter) is just clunky. While it still works perfectly fine, we still started using crochet girlie. As English speakers on the internet we define ourselves using short hand, in group language.

So what gives? Why are we calling ourselves crochet girlies instead of crocheters or simply saying "I crochet"? Almost none of us are "girls" with nearly everyone who crochets being a late teen or adult woman.

Well, consider these 2 interactions.

"What do you do for fun?" "I am a runner."

vs.

"What do you do for fun?" "I go on runs."

When you're able to answer a question with "I am a"... I am a runner I'm a graphic designer I'm a mother... you're giving your conversation partner an insight into what you do in your day AND your relationship with that activity-- how you identify with it. 'Going for runs' is fundamentally different than 'being a runner'.

Being a runner implies a long history of running, that you have in depth knowledge and a lot of experience, that you enjoy it and schedule activities around it, and that it's an important part of your life. This type of answer is a lot more illuminating, personal, and quite frankly more interesting. It tells your conversation partner who you are as a person and what your values are.

It's really natural, especially as women who are socialized to create and value more intimate connections, to want to answer a question about yourself with an "I am a" statement. Think of every female empowerment pop song ever. They rely heavily on "I am a" statement lyrics and it works. We WANT to have an identity like that.

Combine this need for an easily stated, one word identity with a societal obsession with youthful femininity and you get the term crochet girlie.

The popularity of the _____ girl (that girl, tomato girl, clean girl) or girl _____ (girl dinner, girl walks) language is a symptom of our societal obsession with youthful femininity in general, but that's a broader conversation. Crochet girlie is a bit different than those other examples, as I'll get into. Every ____ Girl trend is designed to be accessible to anyone, easily relatable, and easily emulated.

I'm not trying to say that the term crochet girlie is bad or shouldn't be used anymore. WE as individual crocheters should keep using it. As I have explained, we want and need to make "I am a" statements about ourselves. For a lot of teenagers just 2 or 3 years into their crochet journey, its an incredibly accurate and endearing term. It's cute if a friend calls me a crochet girlie. It's not cute if that's how people think of people who crochet.

Crochet girlie (specifically the term girlie) is inherently juvenile. It is a cute, friendly term that isn't offensive or abrasive. And I've got a huge problem with it.

The point I really want to make is that the term shouldn't be used to describe the community of people on the internet who crochet as a hobby and post about it online, gender inclusivity issues aside.

In my opinion, the public perception of the craft cannot be "I buy my silly little yarn and sit down with my tiny little hook and I do crochet girlie things." Quite frankly I find this humiliating.

Years of practice. Hundreds of hours of work. Thousands of hours worth of knowledge and experience that have been passed down mother to daughter over centuries can't be boiled down to "crochet girlie." Again, its fine if my friend calls me that. It's humiliating if that's in the headline of an article.

See this article calling crochet "knitting's funky little sister." Between DMs and comments on an Instagram post, this language is fun, familiar, and accurate. From a national news outlet, this is downright disrespectful. I truly don't think we should tolerate giant corporations using our friendly, personal language that we use to describe each other as content to put ads on, but that ultimately does nothing to spread interest in learning the craft. Imagine how offensive an article describing ballet as "hip hop's slowmo tip toeing cousin," would come across. A statement like that shows no respect to the history, dedication, and talent within the art form. It actively belittles interest.

So why is crochet getting the trendy ____ girl treatment? And why does it matter?

Firstly...

Society has always undermined the interests, hobbies and work of women. In an effort to strip us of our power and prestige, society will continue to associate what we do for fun as childish, passing interests.

And secondly...

The algorithm has no soul and cannot distinguish fleeting fashion micro-trends chased for clout from genuine human interest.

And it matters because crochet is a genuine human interest.

After all, crochet isn't just a fashion trend, new video game, or something that you can buy. It can never be marketed and sold back to us. It will always belong to us and, more importantly, be defined by us. A yarn store will never be a crochet store, just a blank slate for us to use to create what we want.

Crochet girlie is a symptom of a misunderstanding of why the craft is popular, why 10 second videos of it get 6 million views, why thousands of new crocheters have flocked to craft in the past 4 or 5 years. But again, I'm not asking you NOT to use the term crochet girlie.

What I'm really asking you to do is demand the respect you deserve from news outlets, brands, and corporate accounts. I want you to value the work that you put into your craft. I want you to feel proud to carry the knowledge of generations of women before you in your head and on your fingertips. I want you to feel like the master and expert of an art form (well, eventually).

I don't want you to just accept that your skill is viewed as a frivolous modifier. I don't want you to internalize the dismissive conversation around crochet at large. I don't want you to view corporate media as an accurate reflection of the crochet community.

This challenge doesn't exist for women alone, all people who crochet should be respected in the same way for their skill. You do have to acknowledge this craft exists and persists because of women, which is why businesses are flippantly trying to sell it back to us without any looking any deeper. They don't know what genuine human interest even is and they don't care.

I encourage you to call out overly familiar language by brands and corporations, especially news outlets. I want you to confront them with the deep and rich history of crochet and the level of dedication and commitment it takes to be a part of this history. Even learning how to chain for the very first time can take hours. It's not a passing trend.

Crochet is not another aesthetic that just anyone can buy, take a pic in, then leave at goodwill in pursuit of the next trend. It is not something that can be capitalized on or exploited for money, unlike old trends like e-girl, it girl, clean girl, that girl. Crochet simply can't be bought or sold.

It is a learned skill. It takes hundreds of hours to just become competent. Respectable, talented people use this skill to create works of art. And how dare anyone try to characterize crochet as anything less.

#crochet #crochet girlie #long post #crocheting

[vipetriol]

Get’cha Head in the Game. 

About Jamil & the Basketball Club〈 Part I : Club Choice 〉

Disclaimer: Raffles is more of a fútbol (⚽) fan than a basketball one and isn’t super knowledgeable on the sport. This meta mostly revolves around my interpretation of Jamil’s feelings towards the club and his reason for choosing it over other options. A small head’s up: this makes small, passing references to Jamil Clubwear voicelines, not yet released in EN.  It will be split into three parts: Part two will discuss Jamil's position in the team, his behaviour during and after practice, and general gamestyle. Part three will handle his dynamics with other club members and his feelings towards them.

Overview

Despite the fact he might not be fully aware of it, Jamil is closest to acting like his authentic self during the time he spends in basketball practice. It’s not that he’s specifically driven by a deep love for the sport or that he is especially fond of his teammates— rather, it just so happens to provide an environment where he can loosen due to the absence of his usual stressors and responsibilities. Because Kalim isn’t part of the club, he doesn’t have to worry about prioritising his safety or undermining his own abilities; in other words, he doesn't have to play for anyone's sake other than his own, allowing him to present a part of himself rarely on display prior to Book 4 in canon.

[ Continued below. ]

Why Basketball?

Jamil’s choice of a club can most easily be boiled down to the sport being an enduring hobby of his. He played basketball with his middle school friends prior to his arrival at NRC and remembers the experience fondly (Jamil Clubwear Voicelines). However, given other major interests and the wide array of skills he has —namely, dancing, cooking, and Spelldrive— make the choice appear a bit unusual. 

On one hand, Jamil not choosing a culture club revolving around dance or performance can be easily explained: Kalim is also musically-inclined. Jamil believes that, had he chosen a club with some tie to music, Kalim would’ve been likely to follow, therefore defeating any purpose of genuine leisure during club activities. To top it off, the Pop Club Music is too lax for someone like Jamil, who highly values structure, order, and feeling a sense of accomplishment.   

Then, there’s the Science Club. Jamil has an aptitude for alchemy and has a higher motivation in that class than he does in other courses (Magical Archives). Despite the fact that he tries to undervalue his own interest in cooking (Dorm Uniform Voicelines) his actions and comments towards food across different stories  (Master Chef Vignette, Dorm Uniform Vignette,  Fireworks Event, etc.) show that he cares more about it than he initially lets on. Parallels between his experience with cooking and his performance in alchemy are drawn often  (Jamil Labwear Vignette, Alchemy Lesson Voicelines), meaning that participating in the Science Club would appeal to both interests simultaneously. However, Jamil is a highly competitive individual at his core. He holds victory over others as a way to affirm his own abilities close to his heart, despite the fact that his circumstances won’t allow him to freely pursue it. Therefore, even if it had helped him hone his skills and knowledge within the field, the Science Club wouldn’t have provided an outlet for Jamil to appease that side of himself. 

Out of the culture clubs, the one which would’ve best fulfilled Jamil’s needs would have been the Board Game Club. It would’ve provided ample opportunity for him to engage in friendly competition and appealed to his interest in strategy and planning ahead. He is shown to be good at mancala (Book 4) and would’ve likely enjoyed other 

But the club still poses its own set of problems. First, there’s not a lot of space for him to hide; Jamil tries to conceal his own cunning nature from others, but this part of him would be easily made clear to those playing strategy-based games against him for an extended period of time, even if he attempts feigning defeat. Second,  is a need for physical exertion. Jamil finds it easiest to relax and forget his worries whenever he’s dancing or playing a sport— physical activity overrides his tendency to overthink. The Board Game club, on the flipside, would exacerbate that quality of his.  There’s a third, final reason he’d avoid the club at all costs, but it goes without saying. Have a guess at what that is. 

When it comes to other sports clubs, the Equestrian Club and the Track & Field Club are easily discarded by virtue of being solo sports without a focus on strategy. Not only does Jamil avoid  the limelight and defer it to other people whenever possible to conceal his own abilities, he also thrives on executing carefully laid out plans that allow him to exert control over others and goad them towards playing into his ploys. Neither of these two clubs would allow him to do so.

Had Jamil arrived at NRU under different circumstances and without a need to worry about appearances, it’s  likely he would’ve joined the Spelldrive Club, or at least highly considered it. It’s a competitive team sport relying on magic mastery, agility, flight, and strategy, and Jamil has a knack for it: he plays as part of Scarabia’s team and is considered to be a key player (Book 2), as well as being proficient in flight (Azul PE Uniform Vignette). But, Spelldrive is THE sport on campus, meaning he’d have to take it as a serious commitment rather than a passtime, and it’d be significantly more difficult to maintain a low profile. Much as it would in the hypothetical scenario with the Board Game Club, the skills he tries to maintain hidden would make themselves known, and Jamil, prone to self-sabotage and stifling his own ambitions, would not be comfortable with the scrutiny. Speaking of self-sabotage and outside scrutiny just so happens to tie in with the final reason he’d avoid Spelldrive— guess what that is x2. 

Therefore, when first choosing a club, Jamil settled for something that would provide four main factors: physical exertion, competition, teamwork, and leisure.

Now, with all that said, the biggest reason for his choice of a club: The Basketball Club is described as a meritocracy (Floyd PE Uniform vignette; Ruggie Outdoor Wear Vignette Part 2) where members are judged on their skill, rather than seniority. Their standing as freshmen, sophomores, and seniors is less important than their ability to play the game, and this is what earns them a spot in the starting lineup. Therefore, being a servant of the Asim family or Scarabia's vice housewarden are irrelevant within the basketball court; he's a player first and foremost, judged on his own merits. In that sense, the members of the basketball club are the closest thing he has to peers of equal standing, resulting in Jamil displaying a significantly more sincere side of himself whenever around other club members as compared to other people.   

#raffles drops a pointless essay at 3 am #as per usual #I started writing this when his clubwear card got announced and then got progressively more out of control #metas

[gear-project]

My "Gripes" with GG

So, @vork---m was asking me what I don't like about Guilty Gear's story and a lot of people (over the years) seem to be deeply interested in my negative takes for one reason or another.

I guess, if I had to boil away all the fat that is my interest (and that's a LOT of fat)... it boils down to the gaps and half-baked shoddy efforts that have been made to sew the story together at times.

VastEdge itself was a "certified" cardinal sin in my book, from inception to conclusion, and even promotional materials related to it (Dizzy cosplayers spoiling the plot of the game itself? How low can you go?).

In general, almost all the games that were "made" to cash in on Guilty Gear as a "popular" franchise instead of respecting it as a venerable fighting game saga are guilty of this (not just VastEdge but GG RoA, Dust Strikers, and GG Judgement to an extent post-Isuka days).

Pro-Jumper Guilty Gear Tangent could technically be forgiven for this, since it at least had the sincerity to point out that it was a "tangent" and had more to do with Chimaki, the series' "arbitrarily named" mascot.

Even if you went so far as to say Guilty Gear Puchi was among those, Puchi (Petit) is still a really good fighting game on its own, even as a portable fighting game, and its story (though simple) was at least consistent with what was known of GGX's plot at the time. The same goes for GGX Advance as well (released long AFTER GGXX was gaining popularity in arcades, making it a somewhat alien title).

And while this is more technical/gameplay related... I took great issue with how Guilty Gear Xrd Series was handled on the whole... the localization was poorly handled after Xrd Sign, and the game itself offered a News-based tool but only promised it in Japanese modes of the game, otherwise all you got in the main menu were copy-pasted errors of old DLC that were irrelevant to the current content (in fact it still hasn't been fixed to this very day).

Going further back in GG's history though, I also took issue with how Accent Core Plus R was handled... not just the rebalance choices, but also how the sprites and stages were mismanaged. A lot of this could've been fixed if their sprite assets were taken better care of... instead, A.B.A. and Kliff's stages caused a lot of game-crashing errors among other things (to say nothing of the game crashes we continually got from I-No's Fortissimo glitch during Accent Core's inception on the PS2).

It took a whole year before Accent Core Plus R was given a stable build on the PlayStation 3 back in the day (and even the PC version is technically a toned down version of the PS2 version of the game which had upscaled sprites by comparison). Developing GGXrd simultaneously alongside ACPlusR was a poor decision on their part, as it just increased their workload to crunch levels.

I should also mention the transition from "Red Reload" to "Blue Reload" (the patch updates for the original version of GGXX). Not only did they completely "scrap" the original version of Robo-Ky, but they essentially locked out all that version's assets to the "vanilla" versions of GGXX and GGX, meaning you could only play THOSE versions (pre-Reload) to enjoy the character! Talk about mismanaging DLC. They could've at least given the game a rollback option to the previous stable version.

Of course, much of these issues are gameplay related... but it's still an "aspect" of the story that is mostly lost to history because of poor decisions made (even the Story Mode "clash" intros were modified, meaning you can only see CERTAIN clashes on the original version of vanilla GGXX). That's a complete inconsistency right there!

Oh yeah, speaking of inconsistencies... not only was the majority of the GGXX series NOT handled by Ishiwatari himself, but even the design choices of the characters were continually changed and messed up (they couldn't decide on what color to use for some of Ky's back belt sprites depending on what game you were playing, as an example, but there are other issues too, like Testament's hairline sprites which were misaligned).

Obviously sprites are different from 3D models, but even 3D models have a ton of mistakes on them if you know where to look (I'm sure the people who tinker with Unreal Engine know exactly what I'm talking about here).

I'll take a step back here and just say that... as a longtime fan... these feelings of mine are usually tucked a way in the back of my mind as a not-so-fond memory.

These are still "lessons learned" in the development process, but that also depends on who is manning the ship. I can't speak about other members of Team Red, but Takeshi Yamanaka (for as much work as he has done) is probably the most infamous of the crew for making mistakes throughout the series (which has made him not one of my favorite developers as a result). He's probably done a lot better in recent years... but still, there's a lot of things I'd love to yell at him about (especially the decisions made to nerf Justice in ACPlusR... that was just cruel, Testament and Zappa buffs in PlusR were equally as cruel and unreasonable).

And while I was somewhat "complacent" with how EX Mode was handled in the GGXX Series, I was not mentally prepared for Ishiwatari completely nuking all that came before in Guilty Gear Strive.

Like a bizarre mid-life Crisis, Ishiwatari just arbitrarily decided to boil down every character to their absolute essence (even if that meant making some characters extremely powerful, like Bridget is currently enjoying or Ramlethal)... of course, we're still expecting another rebalance as more characters get added... but it was definitely a rocky start to say the least...

I am, of course, still enjoying the GGStrive Plus Mods that Wistful Hopes (a legend of a modder) has brought back to the table for this game... but that is parallel to a lot of the ideas they COULD have used on the developer's end of things... meaning they could have done even more if they had made that decision in the first place.

I should also mention my gripes about how Arcade Mode in general was handled between GGXrd and GGStrive respectively in terms of story content... there is no way to revisit some aspects of the story in an archive format once you've observed them... instead you still have to jump through all the flaming hoops again (unreasonable bosses included) just to see "that one" cutscene.

Not only that, but the "date structure" of Xrd in particular is egregious for being inconsistent. Certainly Ramlethal declared war on the world in October 2187... but when Justice attacked Illyria Castle, they couldn't decide if it was October or November in the story (the timestamps say October, but the Newscaster says NOVEMBER)!

And they even "gave up" on timestamps for GGStrive. Even the so-called "world map" you see in Mission Mode has absolutely NOTHING to do with the story... they just made it to make the game landscape look neat and connected.

*SHRUG*

Oh goodness... I'm tired just thinking of all the half-baked ideas GG has had over the years.

Normally... I do not voice these thoughts of mine, simply because I am constructive and HOPEFUL that things will be BETTER!

And I am still convinced they WILL BE!

I mean, c'mon, these are the same people introducing ROLLBACK for a lot of their fighting games, AND CROSSPLAY... it can't be all that bad, even if they flub a story or two (or abandon previously used voice actors for totally arbitrary and ludicrous reasons).

Okay, I'm done...

The broad strokes of this that you need to take home with you are TO BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR WORK... DO NOT FLIPFLOP, stay faithful to the source material, unless there's something absolutely major you need to change for stability reasons or appeal reasons (though even that is questionable to an extent), at least do it with the fans paying attention to the story in mind!

Also for goodness' sake DON'T BE GREEDY... don't make half baked content just for the money.

#GP talks Shop #GP Rants #Long Post #Inconsistencies #Inconsistent Info