#but the overall message is the same and its something so many of us can relate to regardless of sexuality

[miquellaluciscaelum]

A bunch of brainworms about dlc. Speculations, theories, my personal opinion, which I think I will stick to until the release of dlc.

Miquella.

(1) The main plot is that we go after Miquella. It is not yet very clear for what purpose and who sent us there, but judging by the voice at the end, it could be Ranni or Melina, or even Miquella himself. Voice is quite feminine.

(2) Miquella is likely to be our companion, as Melina was, or we will follow some messages from him, maybe meet his followers who will guide us, since the announcement says that we will be "guided by Miquella" and "meet others who follow in miquella footsteps".

(3) I'm not sure if we will have the opportunity to fight with him or not, but the last scene where we see the first shot of him where he's literally SHINING, can be both the ending cutscene of the dlc and the beginning of the bossfight.

(4) It's likely he will look the same with his first concept art appearence, because the hairstyle with braids and his skin, they are very similar.

(5) If this tree in the Shadow realm is the Crucible of life that I explain below in my theory, it is quite possible that Miquella came to this world for obtaining its power or something like that, it is also quite possible that he goes there because he knows that Marika has hidden something in this world, something very important.

(6) Overall, Miquella's trip to these lands seems like a pretty desperate move to me. He literally commits a very terrible sin by "divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage. Of all thing Golden". It sounds like he finally broke all his connection with the golden order and his family, including his blood connection with MALENIA that sounds crazy, and he also renounces his power, as I understand, magical and which is hidden in his blood. In my head, it looks very similar to what Ranni did, killing her body and moving her soul into a doll. It's just that Miquella killed his body or left it and moved his mind into this hidden world with the help of the power of sleep and dreams. I repeat, it seems to me some kind of desperate last step, perhaps he felt that his transformation was interrupted by Mogh and was no longer possible to complete because of his poisoned body, maybe he felt that his tree had died or something like that.

(7) Most likely, based on the words that Miquella is "awaits the return of his promised Lord", he cannot leave this realm on his own, either because he is captured by someone, maybe Messmer, either because his initial plan failed and he simply does not have enough power to return. So he's waiting for the promised lord. Here we have at least two options:

- This opens for us consort ending, but with Miquella, he will essentially be an alternative for Ranni, because he is also an Empyrean just with other purposes. And can replace Marika as a vessel of the Elden ring like Ranni. This is also supported by rumor that From software wanted to make another extra ending - the Age of Abundance, but either they cut it out at the end, or maybe abandoned the idea.

- I also saw the option that it could be Godwin as promised Lord, to whom Miquella could bring the true death, it can be the reason why he came to this world initially.

World.

(1) We are going into the world of shadows and it seems that this is not Miquella's dream or the Erdtree afterlife or something else, as many assumed earlier, but some kind of hidden realm that is not accessible to ordinary people and may be either under the map, or as some people suggest, either be at the intersection of all towers where we activated great runes, behind a large cloud on the map.

(2) Very important, some kind there once was Marika in this shadow realm, as mentioned in the summary of the game's plot in the announcement: " a place obscured by the Erdtree where the goddess Marika first set foot". Perhaps this world was her home before she became a goddess, or she ruled these lands before they were hidden, apparently during some kind of war: "a land purge in an unsung battle". It was quite possible that it was the war with giants, given some of the symbols hinting at it in Messmer + flame magic.

(3) Looking at the baldachin over the tree and keeping in mind its similarity to Marika's chambers in the capital before Morgott, I think that perhaps Marika herself made these lands forbidden or closed from others with this baldachin barrier, so the theory that Messmer may be an unwanted or forgotten demigod-child of Marika, left in this shadow world, as Marika's dark secret, has some basis. This is also hinted at a special dungeon in Leamgrave, Impaled Catacombs, thanks super lore guys in twitter!

(4) Speaking of the secrets of Marika, the tree at the center of this realm. I have a lot of thoughts about this. It may be wild, but I assume that this could be the Crucible of life or what's left of it. That golden liquid that flows down is the power of the Crucible that goes out into the world. In the Lands between, due to the overwhelming influence of the Erdtree and the Golden order, its power is almost not felt, and can only manifests itself in the birth of Omen children, but in THIS world, the world of shadows, we see signs of the influence of the Crucible: horns, spells and etc in almost all creatures. Thus, Marika could lock the tree in a separate dimension, hoping that it would soon die on its own and its influence would finally dry up, but it is still alive. Or, of course, it can simply be a reflection of the Erdtree in the dark world, if we consider the theory that the world of shadows is a reflection of the real world. I definitely don't think it's Miquella's tree, because it has absolutely no reason to be one.

(5) I also want to note the time in this story, chronology is quite a mess in Elden ring in principle, but according the trailer, a significant place in this shadow world is occupied by some faction associated with Saint Trina, and therefore with Miquella. That suggests that either Miquella came to this world quite a long time ago to be able to organize and build his own order or something like that, either time goes faster there than in the main game, which is quite interesting.

(6) Speaking of factions in this world, there are at least a few: the faction of Saint Trina (we saw a knight who fought with some kind of sleepy magic, although it could be a gravity spell because of lightning🤔) but there were lilies on his armor🤷), we also saw someone very similar to a Carian woman in a room similar to Raya Lucaria, more than that there are architectural elements of the Carian architecture and the architecture of Sellia, which means Kariya faction. Almost forgot, we also can see Moon in one shot.

Perhaps Messmer has his own faction, most likely ruling in this dimension. And also there are some coincidences in how the branch that the elderly man pulls out of his body looks, with the shape of candlesticks that some enemies fight with and the symbol on the black knight in the form of a pointed branch or rune. These all symbols are black and golden. Probably this is some kind of pro-erdtree faction, followers of the Great order and Marika. The color scheme echoes Marika and Maliket at least. From the voice lines we can assume that in this shadow realm there are followers or Erdtree faithful and those who opposite them, perhaps it can be even active conflict in present time and wars in the past.

Messmer.

I see for myself two working variants of his origin:

(1) Marika and Radagon. Since he has a rather distinctive appearance, the theory of butterflies in the game, where the smoldering butterflies actually refer to him, and not to Melina; more than that when he addresses to his mother and talks about Lordship, I don't think anyone other than Marika has the authority to make a man the Elden Lord; and in the scene with him, there is a statue of a woman with a child behind his back, the woman is difficult to see, but by the location of the bracelets on her arm, you can compare her with the statues of Marika in the main game;

(2) Gloam-eyed queen. The portrait of a woman with an elderly man refers to this, the woman in the picture with dark hair, she holds her hand on her stomach as if she is pregnant; Messmer has some similarities with the "children" of Gloam-eyed queen - the apostles; he uses a very strange black and red flame.

(3) The theories that Messmer is some part of Miquella or he himself look strange to me, considering that we have known for a long time from the main game that there was some other child of Marika that we don't know about, we just used to think this was Melina. According to the announcements, although indirectly, we can assume that this shadow world and Messmer existed for a long time, perhaps even before the birth of Miquella and Malenia, probably Messmer was exiled there for blasphemy or something like that.

(4) l also don't think Messmer is Miquella's son or Mogh and Miquella somehow had a child together. I think all the influence of Mogh in this dlc will be directly related to his influence on Miquella. I don't think he's affected the world around him, everything that happens in this world, I think should be the influence of the Crucible of life and Messmer directly, perhaps some other forces, but not Mogh.

I'm sorry all of this is such a mess, like in my head after trailer. I'd be glad to see your comment and theories too, maybe you can challenge some of my theories, it gives them extra development and I could add something later. So thank you for attention.

#shadow of the erdtree #elden ring #elden ring dlc #elden ring miquella #miquella #miquella the unalloyed #lore

[kanansdume]

I've recently been watching these very interesting Star Wars video essays on YouTube (yeah I know, a rare breed) and it brings up these comments Lucas has made about how he views Star Wars as almost like a silent film in terms of how important the visuals are to him in comparison to the dialogue. But this essay also points out how important Lucas finds all of the "rhyming" moments in his trilogies and the way he utilizes them to remind you of something else for emotional or thematic reasons. And there's so many of them, both in visuals and in dialogue, and it's interesting to consider how important this is to him, the repetition for a purpose as well as the storytelling through visuals above everything else and then to look at Star Wars since the Prequels came out and realize how little has really been able to match up to those ideals since then.

The ONLY thing that's come out since the Prequels that I think really hits these two things the same way is, in fact, Andor. One of the things I noticed about the way people discussed Andor as it was airing in a way I haven't really seen for any of the other shows or films was the visual SYMBOLOGY. So many times I saw people noticing the Imperial cog everywhere, from the aerial shot of Narkina 5 as the prisoners escape to the architecture of Mon Mothma's house. There were people picking up on the use of items in Luthen's shop that are familiar from other things to give this idea that Luthen is from another time, he's attempting to preserve this world he lost, that if you're not looking closely enough you won't notice what he's really saying or doing with this shop. The color choices for the different locations and people got analyzed because the people involved spoke about how they intentionally utilized color to SEND A MESSAGE about the characters and the world. We know that the people who made the costumes and sets really worked hard to treat Star Wars almost like a period drama and study the history of the franchise as if it were a real place so that the things they came up with felt like they belonged in this world everyone knows so well even if it's completely new. And of course there were all of the myriad references to things from Rogue One, the constant repetition of "climb", the sunset on the beach, etc.

Nearly EVERY SHOT in this show was created with so much intention behind it in order to say something meaningful about the characters, the world, this specific story they're in, and the overall saga of Star Wars itself. It's insane how much greater impact this show was able to achieve through the incredibly careful usage of visual symbols and thematic repetitions, much like Lucas did before them. It feels like they didn't just study the history of the galaxy far far away, but they studied the history of STAR WARS and what Lucas was trying to do and say with this story. They peeled back his onion a bit more and were able to create something that really has that same visual feel even when it's not created for a child audience. It also is experimenting with its narrative style through its structure and through Cassian's character being allowed to be somewhat more reactive than proactive, and while that didn't work for everyone, it does feel like it's following in Lucas's footsteps of experimentation through Star Wars. Push the boundaries of what Star Wars is and can be and what you can say with it.

But this only works because they peeled the onion back enough to TRULY understand all of the messages Lucas was sending with it. They got the heart of Star Wars and despite its lack of space wizards, despite the lack of most major characters in the Saga, this was a show that honestly got the message more than just about anything else Star Wars has put out since the Prequels. The choices between selflessness and selfishness, the themes about how you always HAVE to make a choice even when it feels like you don't have any (sometimes ESPECIALLY when it feels like you don't have any), and how important it is to make sure to choose the path of compassion above everything else. The themes of connection to others, the symbiotic circle and the impact even the smallest person can have on world around them, it's RIGHT THERE and it's CENTRAL to Andor's storyline.

So yes, it experiments a little with narrative structure, but it's possibly the most Star Wars thing to exist Revenge of the Sith because it honestly truly GETS what Star Wars was about, both in its themes and in its filmmaking. A lot of people said that Andor didn't feel like Star Wars to them, usually because of the lack of space wizards and the fact that it's not a story aimed at children. But to me, Andor is EXACTLY what Star Wars is and has always been. They're stretching the boundaries of what Star Wars can be, but it's saying the exact same things Star Wars has always said, it's just saying it slightly differently. This doesn't feel like fanfiction to me, not really. Unlike things like the Mandoverse or the books, Andor isn't just taking some of the toys out of the sandbox and going to play with them somewhere else. Andor is IN that sandbox. It's building a slightly different sandcastle, but it's still within the sandbox, using the same sand that Lucas did.

#star wars #andor #star wars andor #i GET why some people feel like andor isn't star wars #but quite honestly that feels like not just a superficial reading of andor but a superficial reading of star wars as a whole #the only other show to come anywhere near andor's level was the obi-wan kenobi show #there's tons of visuals that are intended to link back to both the pt and the ot #from obi-wan and leia's costumes to things like the fire obi-wan is burned in and that flashback scene #i'm placing andor above owk still because i think andor takes it an extra level higher but owk is also in that sandbox #owk just got stuck with the fucking volume and the disadvantage of going from a movie to a miniseries #but it did far better with those disadvantages than just about anyone else and still told a VERY star wars style story #the fact that it feels like the prequels is exactly why everyone hated it #and it's exactly why i loved it and think it's the 2nd best thing to come out of star wars since rots #i'll give 3rd place to rebels since it tries once or twice to do some visual and dialogue repetition #but those kinds of things aren't something i see analyzed about rebels all that much tbh #everything else is just fanfic that made a profit #some of it is really BAD fanfic that thinks a cameo is the same as a visual motif. it's not. they suck. stop doing them.

[rabbiteclair]

more Girls' Last Tour thoughts, which are admittedly mostly thoughts I had for the first time about five years ago only to resurface today upon having a long conversation about the series with a friend. this one is fully spoiler-y

as far as emotional suckerpunches go, I personally think it's like... [the entire Silence chapter] > [Chito's breakdown after she realizes the Kettenkrad's bricked] > [the end of the Art chapter] > [the end of the Life chapter] > 'the planet will finish life's long work and go to sleep as well' > [the actual end of the series]. This isn't a criticism of it, since I really like the end. I just find it kinda funny.

similarly I find it funny that this series, where every named character is strongly implied to die either during or shortly after its events, which is about 40% ruminations on death, containing the line "currently, you two are the only surviving humans of whom we are aware," is categorized as an Iyashikei. H E A L I N G. I mean I don't even necessarily disagree but goddamn.

One of the core dichotomies of the series, I think, is... it repeatedly makes it clear that people have done horrible things here, and the amount of deliberate destruction that's gone on is absolutely monstrous. They stumble onto nukes and giant war robots that can blow up a city, and there are destroyed tanks and giant craters everywhere. Basically everywhere they go is a former war zone. But it takes a really positive view of humanity. Outside of the attack on their hometown in the flashback, every single person they meet is nice and helpful. Any time it delves into human nature, the message is 'actually humans are pretty cool most of the time, and our basic drive is to take care of each other, not this survival of the fittest bullshit.'

which is one thing that I think sets it apart from a lot of fiction in this space? It never tries any kind of 'humanity is doomed in the long run because we're all violent animals beneath the facade of civilization' message or anything. Humanity rules, and it's a genuine tragedy that things have come to this.

kinda related, the series does a lot to make it clear how all of this is an unfathomably large tragedy. There are tons of background shots of entire abandoned cityscapes, there's the chapter with the mass grave, the gigantic library full of books, and so on. The actual scale of 'no, really, everyone and everything has an end sooner or later' gets driven in repeatedly. At the same time, it spends a lot of time on how something as small as destroying a single diary can be a tragedy in its own right, too. I guess I'm just kinda used to media that takes that kind of grand high-level view dismissing the small stuff as trite and unimportant when we could be putting up another number with lots of zeroes to say how many people died.

there are a lot of different ideas floating around on things like what it all means in the end, and whether it's meaningful to leave anything behind. The AI is overjoyed when she gets her chance for oblivion. The people in the graveyard have a statue to watch over them. Chito's attempt to leave something in the form of her diary is ultimately futile, and while she learns to find other meaning, destroying her diary and the books still isn't portrayed as a good thing. Other people are recorded forever in images and videos, and it's wonderful. Ultimately I don't think there's any one answer or message. Keeping with the general existentialist kinda themes, what matters is what the people involved find meaningful in that context, but that drive to create and preserve meaning for the future is both universal and noble.

while there's a lot to be said about the visuals overall... the fact that basically the only thing on the upper layer is a spiral staircase leading up into the air with no destination sure is some symbolism, huh.

similarly, while it wouldn't change the events any, symbolically I think it's very important that their long, ultimately pointless meandering journey that ends in death was upward, not downward.

on another level, though, it's kinda implied that the higher strata are newer/more recently maintained. So it's also essentially them moving through (and revisiting a lot of) human history to take their position at the very end.

Yuu's gun is never used for anything but target practice, and then she chucks it aside as soon as it's too much effort to carry. They use an old tank for a shower. They find a working military sub with nukes inside, and it's only useful because there's chocolate and a way to look at the storage on a camera. The one time they really fire a weapon, it's horrible, and the one thing they kill is portrayed as a tragedy. Even their helmets are mostly a running joke of 'oh my helmet totally would've stopped that falling building.' For a series that includes a lot of military stuff, it regards military stuff somewhere between 'disdain' and 'indifference.' Very 'the world is ending and you think a rocket launcher is going to be useful? Put that thing down and help me look for food.'

that said, the choice to give them a vehicle from WW2-era Germany is still a pretty damn unfortunate one. Considering the series's consistent stance against violence, disinterest in war, and casually disdainful treatment of weapons and military stuff, I'm comfortable saying that Tsukumizu almost certainly isn't a closet nazi, but still. At best it gives the wrong impression to anybody who hasn't gotten about a dozen chapters in and started thinking about the themes, and there's nothing the themes do with it that wouldn't work basically as well with any other military transport anyway.

the fungus things apparently being the inspiration for the god statues is clear enough, but just what their deal is remains surprisingly undefined. I've always figured they were genetically engineered or something, made specifically to clean up the environment. Which is itself a hell of a thing if so, deifying the creatures that basically symbolize 'maybe we can undo the harm we've done, and if that takes longer than we live, at least we'll leave something behind.'

I really don't know how to feel about the whole Shimeji Simulation connection. (if you aren't familiar) On one hand I feel like it undermines a lot of the series' messages to go 'oh but just kidding, everyone's fine and nobody really dies for good.' On the other hand, as somebody who's read/watched through the series about half a dozen times and really marinated in the despair, my primary immediate reaction is 'oh thank god they absolutely deserve this.' And it isn't like I haven't written multiple stories about characters embracing their imminent demise only to turn out okay against all odds in the epilogue.

Yuu's gay little run. this is still a thought

#girls' last tour

[first-edition]

Fox and the Hound

Sum-Joffrey wants to send a message to your family after your brother embarrasses him, so he marries you off to his most unwanted man in his court, the hound. But will this marriage truly be a statement for an eyesore, or will it grow into something more. 

Cw for chapter- mention of animal death (horse), mention of pregnancy, 18+ words and themes overall. Slight angst.

// A/N: just wanted to apologize for the broken links since i changed my username they haven’t been working but i assure you ill get to fixing them so you all can access all of the chapters i will also end up making a goggle docs with the entire book for downloading when this series ends//

Previous chapter here

Chapter 14

“Sandor!” Beric speaks holding the reins of the largest horse leading it through the many other men who saddle up their horses with gear for trip. 

Sandor turns to see beric with the horse looking normal sized next to himself. Sandor takes the reins of the stroking its muzzle and nods. 

“Why don't you join us for the whole trip then, to lys and back?” Barrack asks. 

“I told you dondarrion I'm parting my ways at lys.” Sandor gruffly speaks as he tightens up the straps on the horse that are supporting the saddle bags. 

“Yes you did…but there is much more than a woman and squire is there not? A man so brute as you couldn't be bothered with little things such as that no can you..” Beric speaks again, getting back on sandors nerves.

“Keep talking and rip off your lips.” Sandor barks at the other man. 

“Right then…heading east to lys it is…” Beric says finally dropping the subject only to plan to revisit later in the journey. 

“Lets go!” Beric yells everyone mounts their horse before taking formation and doing last check overs of their horse and gear including Sandor whose mind now runs wild the thought of you and the babe that resides in your belly. He wonders of the names you've thought about, if you've even thought of any. He wonders if he had made the right choice in sending you off with the horse and not letting the other men capture you as well, maybe, just maybe, you'd still be by his side. He’d still be able to hold you in his arms right now as you both rode to the edge of the sands to acquire on to lys. Sandor mounts his horse and kicks it up to the front next to Beric as they begin the journey. 

—-----

Riding next to Beric isn't the worst of the trip nor is the fact that the horse keeps spooking at every rustle of a tumbleweed. But thoros singing the shitty off key tavern songs is the worst. 

“Will you shut the fuck up! You've been singing for 12 bloody miles, if you can even call that pig squealing singing." Sandor retorts at thoros who rides just a few men behind him. 

“Come on now clegane a song cannot hurt on a journey.” thoros chuckles leading other men to have a laugh as well. 

“It is when it's 12. FUCKING. MILES OF IT!” Sandor yells out causing them all to wipe the smile off their faces. 

“Come on thoros as much as i enjoy the voice the lord has given you cease it for now a bit of quiet to listen to nature with do us some good.” barrack says. ‘There's not an ounce of much nature around. Sand and more sand’ sandor thinks. Finally some quiet. Until Beric begins speaking again. 

“Your girl then clegane? The princess of volantis, i have only heard stories mere tales of her beauty, kindness. Of course they say the same of Joffrey's handsomeness and courage but he's quite average and weak-” Beric goes to speak but Sandor cuts him off before he can continue what will be a monologue. 

“Do you really want to know why so badly!?” Sandor snaps at the barrack who just nods. Sandor scoffs, tightening his hold on the reins before continuing. 

“A babe.” Sandor speaks. 

“Ah…yours then?” Beric asks, Sandor nods in return. 

“An heir to the Volantian throne with veins surging with Clegane blood. A boy?” Beric asks 

“Don't know. When your band of hogs ambushed us we got separated.” Sandor says. Beric stops his horse leading Sandor to do so as well. 

“You want to get back to your family..I understand that. I never had any family but these men who follow me are as close as it gets.” Beric says. 

“If you want them to stay that way, you’ll get me to sunspear.” Sandor replies. Beric nods as he dismounts his horse. 

“We camp here for the night.” Beric speaks, holding the reins to the horse.

“What are you doing?” Sandor asks. 

“Resting.” beric answers as he ties the horses reigns up on a near by dead tree. 

“We can do well now and make it to the vaith in the morning.” Beric says. 

“We can very well make it to vaith now!” sandor barks out at beric.

“Have you got any coin, Clegane? We’d need a pretty penny to give away to the innkeeper to house us all. Especially your large self.” Beric speaks. Sandor Huffs getting off the horse and heading for Beric. 

“You said-” he began but Beric put his hand on his chest. 

“-and I'm keeping my promise. I will get you to your wife and child. I'm keeping my word.” Beric replies. 

“Come now clega-” thoros begins but before he can continue sandor pulls himself back up on the horse and kicks off forcing the horse to run and leave the others behind. Thoros is about to draw his bow and arrow when beric holds up his hand. 

“Let him go. I think it’ll be best." Beric says and shakes his head. 

“WE SHALL MEET AGAIN CLEGANE!” Beric yells his word barley notable as the horses hooves are heavy in the mountains dusted pas

Sandor rides through the mountain pass to the vaith annoyed with beric delaying his journey even further. He had a plan, and he intends to stick to it. The sound of screeching overhead stops him as he looks up, slowing down the horse. Vultures circling above he moves the horse over down the rock patch to see the cumulative birds feasting on a dead horse. A glint of something hits his eyes as he gets off the horse and bends down seeing the emblem on the horse's reins. A king's landing horse..your horse. Or at least the one he stole when you both left. 

“Fuck!” he huffs looking around seeing a cloth that has been dirtied. He picks it up, seeing it's a part of your dress. 

“Shit! Fuck!” he stands and gets back on the horse riding down the rest of the way and finding his way to the vaith.

His mind runs wild with the scenarios of why your horse is dead on the mountain pass. Robbers, the kinglanding raiding party caught up to you and joss, anything and everything worries him. His mind only running with thought of you and your safety his only hope to know if you're okay is too skip sleep in the vaith and head straight for sunspear. 

Next chapter here

+++

ALSO I will be updating every other week so if you want special treatment I now have a patreon. Just for 2 dollars a month you can access drafts, unfinished and unposted works, ideas, blurbs, inspirational scenes and pictures, and early releases of the chapters all for Fox and the hound as well as a newer series that will be in the works after this one! My patreon will also be open for free on easter Sunday! March 31st!

Tag list- if you want to be added comment below!

@stephyshadows@germansarechill@urfavbiscuit@daphneyblue@takemeaemond@holb32@allison-119@pxstelink@imsolonelyimissyou@myshitaccount@broadsdrinkwhisky@@evie-beanie@eulysa23-2@greeknymph18@rudiruds@ex160-blog1@im-an-assho1e@chompwoman@heartb8k2@lovely--lover

#sandor x reader #sandorclegane #sandor the hound clegane #fox and the hound #sandor clegane x reader fic #sandor clegane #sandor clegane x you

[millepara]

about waccha primagi.

it's ending.... (mega long who cares-type post)

once again, I've seen this coming for a while so I don't have a particularly big emotional reaction to it now. the anime not continuing immediately -> at all, the huge spotlight on idol land at the same time (and--bearing in mind that I don't know anything about anything--possible lack of people/time/money to support primagi as a result), the decrease in original coords and content in the game.... this alone was enough for me to start mourning primagi's loss way before it ended.

I haven't played for over a year, but I hope I can play again before it's over. I'd like to record a vid for each of the new songs I like at least... but I'm busy with yet another cross-country move to god knows where and possibly changing jobs so sadly this is very much on the back burner. maybe after work...? I'm so tired though (ｉ _ ｉ)

I've seen people wondering if the machine will be updated for the new series' game. but: recall that in the past, the new series was teased in pvs and stuff as the next step of pretty series, and that was it. yesterday's sort of stoic text discontinuation of service message is not a normal part of the change to a new series. and it's bad business practice to make us all depressed about the series ending without giving us something new to get excited about first. I think the cabinets will be removed from arcades eventually. I also think that will be the end of idol games in arcades period.

BUT--there is a new series coming. and I cannot imagine any possible reason for them to make an idol anime without an idol game for it to advertise. so that means... surely there must be a new game coming as well!! that leaves 3 possibilities as I see it:

1) actually the cabinet is just changing over normally and they're announcing it in the most disadvantageous way possible. why would they do this

2) another new cabinet?? what a waste of money that would be!! why not set it on fire instead??

3) a game on another platform?? likely smartphone, right? but then look what happened with idol land--how can they manage two apps at once? how can they expect anyone to trust them to do so?

I also would not trust them to do two separate idol apps at once without tanking both, but 3 is still my first choice here because it means people outside of japan can play too, and I don't have to dig out space for yet another card collection. but who knows what will happen. and we'll find out more about the new series soon enough--feb 2 is when the next Ciao with more info is out.

even though a new series is guaranteed, I still don't feel great about it. there's no guarantee yet that it will even be a full anime and not some piddly little webseries that's predestined for death. even if it is, there's still some stuff I feel primagi seriously whiffed on that could have helped its longevity, and some other circumstantial stuff that they had no control over, but which also hasn't been resolved. in the whiff category, the main thing I can recall atm is--why did they never make toys for this kids' anime? kids still want toys, right?? overall, the game felt a little less accessible for kids... or like they weren't pandered to enough? (not nearly to a degree as bad as Planet, though.) I mean, as with everything else I talk about ever, I don't know enough about the topic and am just saying things, but this always stuck out to me a bit. I remember commenting on it a couple times.

the circumstantial stuff is more significant, though. the big one is covid. of course Japan is business as usual by now, like everywhere else I know of, but I just have not seen as many people playing in arcades since 2020. that is especially true for aikatsu and pretty series. the other one: I wonder if idols in general are losing their appeal? I know of a few idol game apps that have ended in the past couple years, and then of course there's aikatsu... recently even Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, a game I have played religiously for years, has been making suspicious movements that have really put me on edge. is no one interested in idol series anymore? more broadly speaking, does it seem like there is less anime oriented at young girls overall today as compared to several years ago, or is it just me...?

with that as the backdrop in my mind, though, primagi ending feels more tragic. I may not be drowning in tears, but I am really, truly going to miss it. I honestly think that it had the best story of all of pretty series. I know Rainbow Live is everyone's fav--I like it too!--but it did have this soap opera level of drama that felt facetious and silly if you thought about it too hard. I think there is a certain type of person that will say "but that's why it was the best!! primagi would never!!", and don't get me wrong!! I just said I like it and I think it's fun too!! but I am not talking about opinion, or which was more tongue-in-cheek so-ridiculous-it's-good, which I think is another way to like something ironically. I am only interested in liking things genuinely (bc of the mental illness), and I think primagi was a more genuine example of storytelling with less drama for drama's sake. it also had interesting and unexpected and heart-warming character interaction in the same way RL did. it wasn't perfect, but it was very good. I wish it was longer.

and god, the game looks SO GOOD. I still can't believe how good it looks. I miss notes in the game all the time bc I'm too busy staring with heart eyes at how cute and cool and pretty my idols are in it. the music is SO GOOD, and I know that's very much a matter of opinion, but even by a vaguely more objective metric: I don't find myself thinking "discount kpop" like in Aikatsu Friends sometimes or feeling absolutely, totally unimpressed like in Planet always. the songs were unique for idol anime and kids' anime, and different from the popular stuff my students listen to as well. even if you didn't like the music, it was certainly interesting.

and the coords are AMAZING... they really took advantage of the game's graphics to do fun things with textures and shapes, and even the most fantastical outfits are designed realistically, by which I mean, I know exactly how I can recreate them irl to look exactly like they do in the anime AND ALSO look pretty... given access to enough money. (this was true for pripara as well. but it was something that bothered me a lot in prichan, bc there were a lot of coords that looked like bad papercraft or just plain bad, and would be impossible to recreate irl, and might look awful even if you could.) even though the game is ending and I have to save for the move, I want to buy up all of the cards for coords I like just to have them! and don't get me started on how cute the cards themselves are!!

...but primagi is still ending. I'll live. I don't expect much from the new series in terms of longevity or how much I like it, but I do still hope to be proved wrong.

and in the end, you know what? I never got a decent hairstyle for Biscuit. I'm stuck with the starter twintails to this day. they never released a DARKER SKIN COLOR. maybe primagi had to die all along.

#milk idol diary #praying so hard to be able to meet tapioka in whatever the next pretty series entry is. please please please

[hearts4jean]

=^..^=≽ܫ≼⋆˚🐾˖°

jean - cats - modern au

❥ A subject that constantly resurfaces between a friend of mine and I is whether Jean is a cat or dog person. Both! However for the sake of this headcanon let’s just say he prefers cats more hehe

❥ This man, no matter how dirty, how many diseases and infections a cat has, he will take it home to take care of. For how long? Depends on the cat’s state and if he is willing to let it go back into the streets; he would get attached very quickly especially if the cat has stayed with him for more than one night. He’d already have cats so his mum wouldn’t let him keep the cats he takes home, sadly.

❥ “But what if [cat’s name he came up with] gets into another scuffle with the other street cats?” He’d whine endlessly.

❥ By force, he’d let the cats go. Due to his acts of kindness, the past cats will sometimes pay him a visit via his windowsill and endless tapping until Jean comes back from school and finds a past furry friend waiting to be let in. Cats would be attracted to his gentle demeanour like they instantly take a liking to him by being all curled up in his lap as he does his homework before his mum catches him with another cat. Of course, hiss mum is a sweetheart she wouldn’t have anything against it, its just that the same cats are always coming back to their house and by the time where it gets to be a little too out of hand there’d be like 20 cats outside their doorstep.

❥ Never take this mf to Turkey he’d try to sneak a bunch of cats with him back home like he’d start squealing seeing that many cats all in one place and instantly stop and clear his throat when someone like Eren or Connie catches him doing that. (Definition of “born to haiii!! :3 Forced to hey.) i can just imagine him standing up right and clearing his throat.

❥ He would absolutely adore those cat videos on instagram; If he sees a video of two cats cuddling each other or something cutesy like that, he would send it to his s/o with the following message of “us”

❥ Please take him to a cat café he would absolutely love it.

❥ I can imagine Sasha working as someone who works with animals like in a farm or animal shelter and you know damn well Jean is visiting everyday just for the cats.

❥ Overall, Jean is just a silly little guy he just loves cats so much hehe

#attack on titan #attackontitan #jeankirstein #jean #jean kirschstein #jean kirschtein x reader #jean kirstein #jeanaot #attack on titan season 4 #shingeki no kyoujin jean #jean x reader #snk jean #jean kirstein x fem reader #jean x you #jean x fem reader modern au #jean x y/n #jean x reader modern au

[resizura]

hi, i am putting this on anonymous because i am shy. what are some themes you would like/wish the remakes to expand on?

I'm answering this late I am very sorry

SO this is a lot for me to think about and hopefully i can keep it concise because I tend to ramble

Put under a 'Read More' because this will be super long

To start, I think that I just wish Capcom wouldn't be so lukewarm with its themes. This is probably the biggest problem because (to me, at least) it can't focus on what it wants to tell the audiences.

They are obviously trying to make the series way more "serious" and yet they completely tone down its foundational messages. Sure some of that has to do with the more actiony tone it took after RE4, but let's just back up to the original trilogy.

RE1, RE2, and RE3 were essentially a three-part and yet self contained story that followed a small cast of police officers (save claire and carlos) during the zombie apocalypse. An apocalypse that was caused by corporate greed and the need to capitalize and profit off of scientific research for militarization purposes. While a little silly and outlandish in the final product, the three games (especially 2, IMO) have great storytelling and execution of its themes. Umbrella and Raccoon City Police are corrupt, and there are terrible ethics surrounding BOWs.

Now compare that to the remakes. Now, RE1make is my favorite remake because it kept the original feel and look to the game, kept the story relatively the same, and improved on it in terms of voice lines, graphics, and gameplay. The only major change is adding Lisa Trevor, who I think is a great addition because we get to follow the Trevor family through the game and get a look at how Umbrella exploited them and made them into monsters, a personal touch on something hard for us to comprehend.

RE2make and RE3make on the other hand.... well now we have around 20 extra years of Resident Evil to influence these and if you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that story wise, I do not like these games (especially RE2make). These games changed so much of the original story to make them more "realistic" and in the process, sort of lost the plot. Too many times in the modern remakes, things happen that hint to something from the original games but overall? It's not there.

As an example, I want to go over specifically how the police chief Brian Irons is portrayed. In the original game, the player learns little bits about him through files. We know he's dangerous, violent, and has been taking bribes from Umbrella. The bribes are to help him have control over the city. He was highly influential in the Spencer Mansion cover up, where his main role was shutting down STARS so they wouldn't be able to investigate the incident. He worked directly with William and Annette Birkin and took bribes to prevent police from investigating the sewers so their lab work was undisturbed. In RE2, we see him spiraling because "Umbrella destroyed his beautiful town." He traps and kills police officers and innocent civilians, basically rants to Claire about how power hungry he is and he is the one who gets to choose who lives and dies in his police station. Basically, we see point blank that Irons is egotistical and wants nothing more than to keep that power for himself. A corrupt police chief who shows how money and power twist a person for the worse.

In RE2make, he is reduced to just a sick man who physically beats up the young female characters and just wants to torture people. While the bribes are still (briefly) mentioned in this game most of Irons' character is now "Look at how sick this guy is! Isn't he scary? Wow! He's so scary isn't he?" There's nothing about his need and desire for power and control over his city and police station (hell, he leaves the police station 3 seconds after he's introduced!). Sure, you could argue it's implied, but this is a perfect example of Capcom not really committing to something it strongly depicted in the past.

Looking at RE4 Remake, a similar issue occurs! The original game was vehemently anti-American. The file "Our Mission" is the most explicit you can get. Yet the remake tiptoes around it and honestly ends up more patriotic! Leon's role as a government agent is glorified, Ashley wants to be an agent, Krauser gets told off by Leon for not trusting the American government, and the lack of Saddler appearances all contribute to this! Death Island and Infinite Darkness had similar problems of Capcom calling out the American government but then backtracking at the last second. I want them to just stick to a theme for once! Not alluding to one or tiptoeing around it. Say it!

Next on the list is one that I've stated before but the actual ethics and humanity that organizations like Umbrella toy with. A lot of the BOWs feel just like monsters you fight when a lot of them were real people with their lives taken from them. This is also why I liked Lisa Trevor from the first game's remake since she was a human experimented on and we got taken through her and her parent's journeys. OG William Birkin and Remake William Birkin are also perfect examples of this. In the original game you feel like you're fighting Birkin, but in the remake it just feels like a depersonalized monster.

Similarly, I do wish some of the themes were done more tastefully, such as the whole eugenics stuff with Spencer and the Wesker projects. I don't think it should be completely scrapped but I feel like you can't just throw that into your games and barely talk about what it means lmao

This is not really a theme but better perspectives on the female characters. This is purely a personal opinion but I think horror with female protagonists is way cooler than ones with male protagonists, and weirdly enough I think this shift happened when RE4 came out. Jill and Claire were more fleshed out and important characters than Leon and Chris when the OG trilogy came out, but now their roles have been greatly reduced to practically nothing. And why was RE6, a game where a creepy man cloned Ada Wong more about Leon, Chris, and Jake than it was about Ada herself? Also, I wish we could've had either of RE7 or RE8 actually have Mia be the protagonist instead of Ethan because I think either of those games from her perspective would be super cool to experience.

Now that I think about this, I blame this purely on the action shift because even for the male characters, I greatly prefer OG2 Leon, OG2/CVX Chris, CVX Steve than OG4 Leon, OG5 Chris, and DSC Steve (although Remake Carlos is definitely above OG3 Carlos). I want to learn more about Jill, and Claire, and Ada, and Rebecca, and Mia, and pretty much most of the female characters, and I'm so sick of seeing the male characters who are only there because they're cool action heroes.

I wish RE focused more on small communities and small isolated things. I think RE is too big now. Like starting out in a small suburban town affected by murders and experimentation and now like we've gone to multiple parts of the globe and now there's a mold baby with mold superpowers in the future and that mold is actually what started everything (totally not retconned)?? Like let's dial it back.

For the last thing I'll mention is that I wish the remakes focused on the themes of horror rather than just the aesthetics of it. Like yeah, the games are a bit darker and scarier, but they're still more action games now. I loved RE7 because of this, because the Bakers were a good horrific family both in the looks and what they represented!

I think all in all I have a lot of wishes for the franchise and I know it's completely unrealistic to wish about them and sorry for bombarding everyone with this huge wall of text! I have a lot to say lmao

#ask #whoo this was a lot #im sure i missed something too #i wanted to keep talking about re4r's themes and why they make me mad #but! maybe another day #i have a lot to say

[inaweek-project]

March 23, 2024                                      

About the “‘In a Week’ Project”

I get stuck every time I try to write this because all the details beside the main message seem so frivolous.

The song “In a Week” has always elicited strong images whenever I listened. The same movie would play in my head, but with slightly different details each time: skeletons laying peacefully in an open grave at the top of a hill; no, there was a picnic first, then the slow decay; actually, the scene should play in reverse, so the bones grow flesh and skin…

Two months after October 2023, I was getting high in a bath on my birthday and listening to the song. The story was no longer about the passing of time or decomposing next to a lover. The persistent imagery that played in my mind from then on morphed into a story about a choice a young fictional couple made while facing a horrific situation that no one should ever have to go through, but many real people did and many still do.

Everything in my life is now about Palestine.

I’m Palestinian, born and raised in America after my grandparents (that’s how recent this all is) were displaced due to settler colonialism during the Nakba in 1948. I gave up on the dream to visit the area where my family is from a long time ago. (In fact, I don’t think I ever seriously dreamt of it because it felt so impossible.) Gaza has reignited that dream and gave me the determination to dedicate my life to fighting for our right to return. I will do anything to take advantage of this unprecedented support we now have from around the world.

I’m constantly learning horrors, both new and of the past. There is always something new to learn in the worst way possible. There is nothing Zionists can do that will shock me; they have shown they are capable of doing things rooted in the deepest levels of evil. What makes everything so much worse is the lack of accountability and how they have the audacity to act like the victims. I often get frustrated in my efforts to help on the American front; I let my shyness and anxiety get in the way of doing even the simplest of things to help. This project is a way to use my strengths (writing) to help spread the truth about our history and show the abject horrors that have been overlooked for decades. They benefit from the denial of the Nakba and from the overall lack of knowledge.

I hope this “‘In a Week’ project” is interesting enough to get people to read it and at the same time learn the details of what ethnic cleansing looks like (and the deplorable people who do it with pride.) The one takeaway I want to make sure is known is that even though this was inspired by a heartbreaking love song and has elements of the romance genre, it is not a romantic story.

The reference page (to come) that lists what parts of the story are based on real events that Palestinians have gone through is the most important part of this whole project.

The true face of Zionism is rearing its ugly head and is finally starting to fall, all by their own doing. There is no argument to be made; I only have to show what has already been done.

Again:

This is not about romance or romantic love.

Every detail shows a bit of truth.

The Project:

I call this a “project” because I wrote this story two different ways, a short story and script. The similarities will be obvious at first, but then the script goes deeper into the horrors of ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism. This is where the majority of the historical context comes in. I think I went further with the script than the short story because I see this project in terms of imagery that should unnerve people, and I think the best, most direct way to do that would be on-screen visuals.

I will probably do 3 versions of each: one with no callouts or notes, one with endnotes and references, and one with annotations where I explain everything (just because I love to do that.) There are 3 important dates coming up that I will (hopefully) use as my deadlines: March 30th is Land Day, April 9th is when the Deir Yassin Massacre took place, and May 15th, the day the Nakba is commemorated.

What’s making me drag my feet on this project is having to look up the sources and read more about the Nakba. I don’t know how much more I can take.

Fears:

I’m actually not helping.

This story only comes off as romanizing the Nakba and fucks up the narrative of Palestinians and the history in a way I didn’t see, and I become a disgrace.

People’s only take away is the romantic tragedy element.

#palestine #free palestine #jerusalem #arab #creative writing #gaza #arab art #hozier #hozier album #hozier music #hozier lyrics #andrew hozier byrne #in a week #short story #script #scriptwriting #palestinian #free gaza #unreal unearth #unreal unearth tour #lyrics #wasteland baby #the hoziest #writing #arab writing #nakba #al nakba #ethnic cleansing #settler colonialism

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

An in-text rumor rating does sound interesting!

For example, WWX being a ‘playboy’ is something believed by everyone, even JC, and fandom even has a tag for it. But!there are lines about WWX saving his first kiss, he never follows up on his flirts, he actually dies a virgin himself, and a lot of those rumors came from ‘yllz deflowering virgins’ and other propaganda to turn WWX into a public target by the clans. And at the time WWX was stuck on a corpse mountain burying a giggling radish.

So the RUMOR is true but it’s not ‘true’ for the character.

And, JC killing DC cultivators as a ‘rumour’ is interesting. Cuz one of the first thoughts we get from JC is him thinking to take away ‘MXY’ to ‘confirm’ and this is from his first opening appearance. When JC feels sure and WWX is finally cornered, JC just gives a gesture and his disciples act immediately, bribing and cordoning off the inn and absolutely no one intervenes as WWX screams in terror from inside.

Jin Ling is the most important character witness for JC, as he the closest to him and also the one who defends JC the most. And he confirms that JC ‘doesn’t let any of them go even if they’re innocent’ and actively helps MXY escape, saving him from his own Uncle. Even if the specific statement about JC whipping people to death is false, there is enough to say that there is some credibility to it overall. And JC’s overall violent behavior, even to his own nephew, doesn’t do him any favors.

This is getting a bit too long sorry, but I need to point out a problem with mo dao and gui dao. Just in case you don’t know, the official translation messes up these extremely important words which leads to a lot of confusion about WWX’s actual cultivation and fanon claiming that it is evil. WWX practices gui dao and other than one time, uses this to describe his cultivation. Xue Yang uses mo dao and all its horrors as seen in Yi City and the Villainous Friends extra.

This can get very confusing when getting into details and singular incidents, when seeing how the narrative treats WWX’s cultivation, how the public is made to see it, how clans like LQR assume it to be, how JGS tries to recreate it, and of course, how it’s treated when compared to the Nie cultivation and how its users always canonically Qi deviate but doesn’t face such scrutiny cuz Nie is a Great Clan.

But obviously you can’t just believe my words, so perhaps there might be a need for a direct Chinese text confirmation, maybe from a trusted friend or online if you can find a trusted source (very hard in this fandom sadly).

Thank you for your time. I hope this blog is fun for you, I love MDZS and having even more people analyzing this amazing book and text is wonderful.

i really appreciate your second ask, and there's no need to apologize! i did in fact ask for correction on that claim about jiang cheng, and i'm happy to get constructive feedback. thank you for messaging me! (and if these aren't sent from the same person...... whoops)

to your second point: if i'm understanding it correctly, you're saying that the "demonic cultivation" we know from the english translations is actually two things mistranslated as one; wei wuxian's branch "gui dao", which he invented, and the actual "mo dao" of Mo Dao Zu Shi, which is the more... harmful/evil of the two, and which maybe existed before wei wuxian came along? (or he invented both but only uses gui dao?) the implications i'm getting here are that the fandom (and many of the characters) misconstrues wei wuxian's actual method for the "evil" method and so thinks wei wuxian is committing more harm than he actually is.

that's a really interesting point, and i'm glad you brought it to my attention. unfortunately, i don't have any preexisting trusted friends/sources that would be able to help me with the chinese raws. in general, my unfamiliarity with these nuances (and chinese culture as a whole) means that i'm much more likely to make mistakes if i rely on that knowledge base on this blog. as i mentioned in my pinned post, i'm only using the english translation of the novels for this reason, and the english versions don't differentiate between different forms of demonic cultivation.

in future posts i will likely not be making a distinction between "gui dao" and "mo dao" without extra help; however, i also don't intend on answering any submissions that would require me to make the distinction anyways. i'm trying to be as objective as possible on this blog (with the exception of some clearly labeled analysis), and i don't exactly feel qualified to rate something as subjective as morality. i can rate the canon or fanon status of specific actions such as "wei wuxian digs up graves," but submissions that make generalizing statements along the lines of "wei wuxian's branch of cultivation is evil" will be ignored.

thank you again for the ask! i'd love to continue this conversation, especially if you (or anyone else) wants to clarify something here. i love MDZS too and i'm really happy that so many people are coming along for this ride with me :)

#asks and answers

[valeriefauxnom]

Euden's Moral Confusion of Self

Let me introduce this rant/analysis (rantnalysis?) in a more humorous way: did you know that the act Euden did for the circus event never was specified? No, it never was, but I have a pretty good guess what he excels at: mental gymnastics!

Jokes aside, Euden had a very... robust set of tendencies that were not quite so healthy, and sometime in the future I'll probably go over more of 'em. First, though, I'm attempting to tackle his deceptively-poor self-image. Of course, long post ahead!

To start framing what I'm getting at, I'd like to cite the scene I used in a previous rant, wherein Euden declares his efforts to continue the path he's pursuing 'selfish.'

It's a very small footnote of his overall character, but it is consistent. He, in short, has flipped his (well-known) tendencies toward self-sacrifice and otherwise protecting other people from a 'virtue' to a 'vice'. We can see this in anything from Jurota's to Mitsuhide's stories, the latter wherein he wins her otherwise unwinnable game by framing his act of saving villagers as 'selfish' instead of 'selfless' to beat Mitsuhide's "no acting for others' sake rule" in her Uprising Game.

Taken to its logical extreme, this means that pretty much all those times Euden was being recklessly selfless or otherwise sacrificial, he himself views it as a completely selfish action. There is something to be said, in that he's not entirely incorrect: he is acting because acting that way makes him feel good/reaffirms his moral code, but past a certain point this view is...harmful.

For Euden also outright will raise a rare criticism to those being selfish to the point of endangering others. It is a 'bad' thing to be selfish in his mind, especially when it starts endangering others, and understandably so. I think largely that's a view many cultures share.

Still, it is a twisted little part of a psyche when you can frame any degree of self-sacrifice as being selfish in my view. In what probably will be another rant/analysis someday, Euden seems to have a lot of trouble with identifying himself as his own person, on his own merits, even before Nedrick entered the picture. Even in a bit of a lighthearted note, he rarely identifies himself as a prince or otherwise someone held in esteemed position very quickly, often leading to miscommunication and surprise on many people's behalf to learn that this teenager is actually lord of the land, like Elisanne experienced first when she took him as Zethia's manservant.

But I digress. The end result of that is the same: Euden seldom voices thoughts about himself as a person, but even rarer are positive ones, and this is a prime example of it. He's cultivated an self-image of mediocrity, 'nothing special', and with him flipping 'virtue' to 'vice' with his extraordinary (say, supernatural) selflessness, he can't even take some esteem in "I think I'm kind/generous/good at giving back" we might throw around in a 'introduce yourself to the class' introduction.

We can see the overall message I'm trying to get across plain in Gala Leif's story. Here's two notable highlights for my ideas:

(Oh, Luca, yes they do have 'unique personalities', and they're all their own unique messes. I love them, though, disasters that they are.)

Ahem. Here, Euden lays out plain that he views his desire for a future to be built without sacrifices and making everyone happy as selfish, himself as arrogant instead of kind, and otherwise unremarkable in any other sense.

All in all, though, this starts to paint a sad picture. What good qualities Euden does have, he flips to negative attributes instead (Selflessness=selfishness, developed sense of right/wrong/kindness=arrogance, etc) and what negative attributes he does have are kept as-is, and neutral attributes are viewed as standard for anyone and not something that should be praised (he sometimes flips 'positive' to 'neutral' attributes instead, though, sometimes attributing his selflessness to nothing special or something expected of everyone).

So...yeah. Euden doesn't hint to it often, but he's got a bit of a twisted view regarding himself, something I'm sure has no negative repercussions in any other aspect of his life...(not foreshadowing at all, no, no...) He goes beyond modesty and into self-deprecation. Even worse, he has it perfectly straight when it comes to dealing with other people. Self-sacrifice is a virtue, even if it was done out of duty or pride, etc. This mess of morality is all for him and him alone. And that's kinda messed up.

If you've stuck around this long, though, thank you! I hope I'm not spamming the tag or anything. I guess all this new access to be able to articulate my many non-fanfic thoughts on Dragalia where people will actually understand them has been too tempting of late! I'd also like to reiterate that I'm always down to discuss Dragalia (I miss it!), so if you've questions/comments/rants you want to ask about it (or Tales of the Abyss, a lot of other JRPGs I'm not listing here, or my fanfics) feel free!

#dragalia #dragalia lost #character analysis

[koreanstudyjunkie]

Korean Self-Love Quotes/Proverbs & Life Lessons

남의 떡이 더 커보인다.

Literal Translation: The other person’s rice cake is bigger than yours

Meaning: don’t compare yourself or your life with someone else’s

Life Lesson:

Especially on social media, you only see the parts that other people choose to show - the highlights, but not the behind the scenes. You’re life is not better or worse than another persons. The grass always looks greener on the other side, but you never know what that person is going through behind the scenes. Don’t try to trade your life in for another person’s just because of how things appear on the outside.

Vocab from proverb:

남 - another person, stranger

의 - possessive particle (‘s)

떡 - rice cake

더 - more

크다 - big

아/어 보이다 - to look, appear, seem

엎질러진 물이다

Literal Translation: It is spilled water.

Meaning: There is no use in crying over spilled milk.

Life Lesson:

A lot of things in life aren’t worth crying over, especially if it’s something that happened in the past. The past is the past and we have to learn to let go of the past. If you dwell on your failures, your shortcomings, your embarrassing moments, or any other terrible things you may have experienced in the past - It will keep you from living in the present. You Can Not Change The Past - no matter how much you think about it, so there’s no use “crying” over it. Don’t let the past determine who you are today. Whenever you catch yourself worrying too much about a past occurrence, tell yourself, “It already happened and I can’t control that, but I can control what I do today”.

Vocab from proverb:

엎질러지다 - to spill

물 - water

똥이 무서워서 피하니? 더러워서 피하지.

Literal Translation: you don’t avoid poop, because it’s scary. You avoid poop because it’s dirty.

Meaning: you should avoid certain things and people in your life, not because you are scared, but because it will disrupt your peace and happiness.

Life Lesson:

If at all possible try to remove or minimize contact with toxic people in your life - even if that just means distancing yourself from them mentally. Also avoid overtly negative and toxic situations whenever you can, because it can improve your mental health and overall happiness. Holding on to grudges, anger, sadness, etc. can also be harmful to your mental health - It may be hard to hear but some things you have to let go of. For yourself and your peace of mind. Forgive yourself of any past mistakes or failures and allow yourself to move forward.

Vocab from proverb:

똥 - poop

무섭다 - be scared of

아/어/해서 - because

피하다 - to avoid

니? - informal question ending

더럽다 - to be dirty

지 - shortened form of 지요 / 죠

(when speaker confirms something they thought the listener already knew)

말을 냇가에 끌고 갈 수는 있어도 억지로 물을 먹일 수는 없다

Literal Translation: You can lead a horse and go to a stream, but you can’t make it drink water through its own will

Meaning: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink

Life Lesson:

You can’t force someone to do something that they don’t want to do. You can’t change someone who isn’t willing to change. You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. There are many ways to say it, but the overall message is the same.

On the opposite side of the coin, It’s a great idea to be open and willing to positive changes and to growth. In life you want to always be growing and not static - unless your perfect (which no one is). Sometimes we may feel static and like we are going no where no matter how hard we try to move. In those cases, either you need to make a change and do something a bit different or you are moving forward but it’s just so slowly that you don’t notice it - taking a step back and looking at your situation objectively can sometimes help.

Vocab from proverb:

말 - horse

냇가 - stream (of water)

끌다 - to lead

고 - and

가다 - to go

ㄹ 수 있다 - can do

아/어도 - even if

억지 - force

(으)로 - by (explain methods)

억지로 - by force

물 - water

먹이다 - to feed, make eat/drink

ㄹ 수(는) 없다 - can’t

(the 는 adds emphasis)

That's all for this post! Which proverb is your favorite?

#study korean #한국어 #korean langblr #korean language #한국어 공부 #korean proverbs #korean quotes #korean phrases #korean culture #한국문화 #속담 #한국어 단어 #korean vocab

[everyendeavor]

Sagittarius New Moon

December 2023

Intuitive Astrology by Tanaaz

The Sagittarius New Moon falls on the auspicious twelfth day of the twelfth month and is the last New Moon for 2023. Mercury also stations retrograde shortly after the peak of the New Moon, making it a potent day in our cosmic skies.

Let’s break down the incredible cosmic offerings of the Sagittarius New Moon and how we can make the most of it.

2023 is fast coming to a close, and many of us will be scrambling to get things done. While life may feel extra busy this time of year, the Sagittarius New Moon is our chance to set our final intentions for 2023. While it can be tempting to jump ahead into the new year, see if you can channel your intentions into the last remaining weeks of the year.

How would you like the next three weeks to flow? What do you want to focus on?

If this time of year has brought some challenges your way or you know some stressful situations are on the horizon, this would be a good time to create some reminders for yourself. Create one intention for each of the three weeks left in the year and fill them with supportive words for all you have going on.

One of the most profound cosmic energies working with this New Moon is Chiron, the asteroid of healing. The energy of Chiron is harmoniously flowing with this New Moon, helping to bring strong healing energy our way.

Mars is also beautifully intertwined with Chiron and the Moon, making us feel more motivated to get to the root of our problems. Something that has been troubling us for some time may finally begin to feel manageable, or the results we have been looking for may come about quicker or with greater ease.

When Mars is involved, we need to be proactive and take action, and under this energy, our actions are going to be supported and amplified. So, even if they are small, think about some steps you can take to instigate a deeper healing for your mind, body, and soul.

Mercury stations retrograde shortly after the New Moon peaks. Mercury is the planet of communication, and ancient astrologers believed that when it traveled retrograde, our more subtle senses and forms of communication were heightened.

On the surface, Mercury Retrograde can bring foggy mental thoughts, miscommunications, and technology mishaps, but on deeper levels, it is a powerful time for trusting our intuition and paying attention to our senses beyond the typical five.

Mercury Retrograde, happening on the same day as the New Moon, will heighten its energy and thin the veil. We may feel a little indecisive or confused, or instinctually feel that all the facts have not been presented to us.

When Mercury Retrograde is involved, moving slowly and methodically and trusting our intuition is important. With the veil thin, we have the potential to receive clearer guidance from our dreams, intuition, and higher self.

The New Moon in the fire sign of Sagittarius is a time when adventure and excitement can be triggered. Many of us have a lot of responsibilities, especially at this time of year, but use the energy of this New Moon to push yourself out of your comfort zone and to find some playfulness in your daily routine. Shaking things up, trying new things, and exploring new worlds are all powerful ways to channel this Sagittarius energy.

The New Moon falling on the sacred 12/12 also creates powerful waves of energy that support the vibration of this number pattern. 12 is a number of understanding and wholeness. It represents coming full circle with a complete and clear picture of all that has unfolded.

Even though Mercury is in retrograde at this time, and there is new energy flowing from the New Moon, we also have the energies of 1212 reminding us of completion, wholeness, and greater wisdom.

It seems that just like the archer, we are being called to line up our arrow, take our aim, and then trust in the wind! Life is a ride, there is only so much we can control. So perhaps overall, that is the message this New Moon has for us.

Set your intentions, focus on healing, acknowledge your intuition, move slowly, but ultimately, trust the ride!

#astrology #by Tanaaz #December 2023 #sagittarius new moon

[luminous-letters]

hihi~! oml i love your writing so much <3

could i request with a visual kei reader (g/n) with rook, sebek, azul, idia, and cater? i'm not sure how many characters you take, so feel free to pick and chose from those options

like, they dress the part, they love the music, both to listen to and sing (maybe they play the guitar too :))

just some general headcanons are fine!! thank you so much, have a great day~

TWST boys with a visual kei reader (Rook, Sebek, Azul, Idia, Cater)

Note: assume that TWST has never heard of 'visual kei'. also, i had to do some research on this since i'm not too familiar with the term. apparently, it's a japanese fashion movement who's overall aesthetic is influenced by glam rock, goth, punk and traditional japanese clothing. i've also seen some with a sort of regal look, with lace and gold patterns. so we can add those to the pile of influences.

source

side note: omg 🛐 i'm so happy that you enjoy my writing 🥺

He is intrigued by your style.

It's new, even for Pomefiore's standards.

He's gravitated to your hair.

He wonders how much time did you spend perfecting its shape and color.

He'd ask questions about it from time to time, trying to understand how you do the look.

He admires what a striking aura you impose, and the message your sense of fashion wants to convey.

Beauté 100!

Your getup is reminiscent of his dorm's uniform, save for the makeup and hairdo.

It reminded him of the various rock bands he had the fortune of listening to.

Speaking of which. When you made him listen to a song you like, he was delighted— he means impressed...it was good, yes good. Nothing more nothing else. He swears. (He loves it)

He'd ask you to play it again, and ask for more songs with the same genre.

Sometimes, you'd hear him blasting the music in either his earphones, his phone or in his room.

He swears he does it discreetly. (not really)

Your style is what would he consider to be exotic.

Then again, he's not yet too familiar with the land's sense of fashion. There's only so much one could decorate themselves with under the sea.

He's not too fond of the music either. He prefers a more soothing and jazzy atmosphere. But he does support your taste.

He's contemplating on using your style and music on a few Lounge events, specifically when the atmosphere needs to be dark.

He's curious of it.

He did some research and found a few similarities with music, but your look is still very foreign.

He decides to ask you about it, without offering you some incentives of course.

Idia doesn't hate your style.

It's not overly pop and rainbow barf-ey

Although he likes the music, no one could ever steal the throne from his biases.

He'll send you a few he found that has the same style.

It became some sort of bonding between you two.

Bingo, he found an old song from his biases that highly resembles your genre.

He learned you could shred and sing very well.

He brought out some microphones, some speakers and a guitar he's had collecting dust in the closet.

Karaoke night, baby.

He absolutely adores your look!

Not only is it so rad and edgy (it's a compliment), it's also very very Magicam-able!

It's nice to see something that looks so fresh and new.

It's like a pinch of salt after a spoonful of sugar to him.

He wants to do your style too!

He's kind of jealous since Riddle would never allow that sort of look on a Heartslabyul student, poor him.

He bombards you with questions about...well everything. Your look, your music!

Oh and you can sing? So cool!

He invited you to hang out on their club's meetings, maybe shred and shriek with Lilia while your at it.

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #gn!mc #gender neutral reader #twst headcanons #twst imagines #rook hunt #sebek zigvolt #azul ashengrotto #cater diamond #idia shroud #twst x reader #answered ask #rook hunt x reader #sebek zigvolt x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #cater diamond x reader #idia shroud x reader

[vorpalfae]

coffindollie copied your intro post

" copied this copied that "

i've gotten so many messages accusing ppl of "copying" me. or accusing me of "copying" others.

literally just let ppl do why makes them happy. if it looks similar to mine then who cares??? i think its cool that they like similar things as me. thats why i follow her. im not here to dictate what ppl can and can't like or can and can't post on their OWN blog. if it makes her happy then thats fine!!

idk if u genuinely were trying to warn me with good intentions or ur just trying to cause drama, but just know:

i do not care. i do not care what other ppl do online, i do not care what ppl do with their lives or how they choose to dress, portay themselves, etc. i do not care if they have a similar aesthetic or vibes as me. i LOVE meeting ppl who i have stuff in common with💜

i'm going to be 26 years old in a matter of days and i don't have the time, energy or desire to put others down or make them feel bad because they like my aesthetic or like the same aesthetic as me. its just childish. everyone takes inspiration from everyone. its very, very hard to find anything that is 100% unique and hasn't been done before. its 2023. what is the point of accusing ppl and being mean just because they like something that you also like? when u could literally just be friends with them and have a community where u can share ideas and bond over interests. i love @coffindollie and her blog. i love all her edits and her overall aesthetic. i love that we post a lot of the same stuff. i share her posts all the time because i like them.

just be nice to ppl. let them do what they want. the accusations and drama are so unnecessary and ugly and i don't want any part in it. i've had more than my fair share of having to deal with bullies and ppl just wanting to be cruel to others and i don't care about that shit anymore.

unless someone blatantly plagiarized my art, like my crochet, or my writing, or original artwork, then i don't care. and edits don't count as original artwork. because if we are being honest, 99% of the posts and edits ppl make on tumblr are NOT made with their own original photos and artwork. ppl post stuff from pinterest, google, deviant art, web archives, ebay, etc. and i like that. i love that tumblr allows ppl to share things they've found and give others the opportunity to make pretty edits or share them again on their own blogs. if i like something then i post it. nothing i post is with the intention of wanting to be like anybody else. it just means i genuinely LIKE that thing. and im almost positive that anybody doing something similar as me is doing it because they LIKE it. not to "copy" me.

thats just a weird, negative, and creepy way of thinking. ive seen plenty of stuff that looks almost identical to what ive done. and when i was younger and immature, it USED to bother me. but now i know its because i inspire ppl, or i may have introduced someone to something, or because i have good taste in a lot of things! its actually a compliment! if someone does the same thing you do its because what ur doing is obviously appealing to them in some way, or they wouldn't have done it in the first place.

trigger warning for this next part:

sorry for the rant, but im just so over it. im tired of ppl trying to start drama with ppl they don't even know. or trying to bring me into drama. i don't hate anybody or have issues with anyone. it makes me have so much anxiety when ppl are unnecessarily mean. i myself have been a victim of bullying to the point of harming myself or attempting suicide. its not okay. and i still don't understand why ppl are fine with making others feel bad about themselves.

im just here to post what interests me and what makes me happy. im not by any means a gatekeeper of my style or my interests. if u love the same stuff as me then lets be friends💜🖤 i would love to meet u and discuss our interests together 🥰

#ask #be kind #fuck drama #drama is for the miserable

[vivi-the-goblin]

We really did go through a lot to find pokemon in gen 3, didn't we? Especially since this was the days before consistent internet access, reliable guides, and solid coverage. You want Milotic? ok, so there are 6 random unmarked tiles in this entire river which have a 50% spawn rate, and it re-randomizes if you talk to an NPC on the other side of the map. You find it? Cool, go to the contests and raise its beauty stat to max with pokeblocks, remembering that if you don't raise it to max within a small number of pokeblocks it will just refuse to eat more. How many pokeblocks? depends. Anyway, Congrats! Oh, you want the regi's? ok, in the middle of a swirling maze of sea tiles that shove you, off in the middle of nowhere, find a small Diving spot and go to wall. There's a message in braille for you there saying to dive again, hope you know what braille is. Inside are many more braille tablets. go to the back wall, use dig, which I hope you have, and also I hope you have a waillord in the last slot of your party and relicanth (5% spawn in underwater grass on 2 routes) in the first. Do that, and 3 random rocks in the middle of nowhere all over the map will open, your hint to this is "a door opened somewhere far away." Find those obscure caves for more obscure braille hints like "wait twice" (don't move for 2 minutes). Congrats! careful not to knock them out though, only one chance. Oh, look the TV's flashing, but it's not the name rater show like it has been the whole game, it's a news report! It's somewhere, and it's red! What is it, and where? Red! Unknown to you, it's a different somewhere every time you enter a door, but good luck! Especially since it immediately runs and keeps the same HP between encounters, make sure not to knock it out :) Wynaut? Well this random tiny town has an old man saying whether he can see an island today. In the  1/10923 to 1/65536 chance that he can (depends on how many pokemon you have with you), go in the direction of that window and you'll find a new island with them. Bagon? previously unreachable section in a midgame cave, very back room, chance to spawn. Hope you aren't wearing repels! Beldam? Yeah it's in the champ's house in a corner of the map, a building and city you've otherwise looted already. Spheal, Snorunt? Yeah there's a cave whose tide changes throughout the day, go there at different times and there's different parts available. solve puzzles at both times and you can get a shell bell! And remember, this was 2003. Parents were either very controlling of your internet or outright banning it in fear of you getting kidnapped or getting their info hacked. Internet safety was taught in schools because it was a wild west where you could easily stumble onto anything, less corporate sanitization than a run down subway system. So running to it wasn't most people's first thought, and there was a good chance nobody would have what you were looking for, if you even knew how to find the right people. There's something wonderful to be said for those days. If you DID manage to get the regi's, you were likely the only kid at school to, and you felt like an ADVENTURER! You found old ruins in hidden untouched corners, with a language you may have never heard of before! You deciphered it and solved thier riddles to find something ancient and unlike anything you'd seen! And all by yourself, or the forum you stumbled on to figure it out with other explorers! It felt amazing! That said, they were right to dial it back in the future. Gen 4 probably had the best overall balance on these. Still, every time people get upset over a Malamar or Runerigus, I can't help but smile. That was part of the appeal, once upon a time. It always feels like they're saying "this one's for you, thanks for sticking around."

[mindmeltonabun-blog]

First, let's do a reality check. Who wrote Alchemy of Souls? The Hong Sisters. Just remember this, ok? Also, remember that you all did not write this drama, ok?

Now, did the Hong Sisters explain to you all how soul swapping/shifting worked? Yes they did through characters' dialogue as well as multiple soul swaps now. They told you that you have to cast the Alchemy of Soul spell a total of 2 times in order to go to another body and then return to your original body. They also showed you soul shifting/swapping is a 1 for 1 exchange of souls.

Did the Hong Sisters introduce the notion that 2 souls can reside in 1 body during soul swapping at any point within the drama? No they didn't. The whole 2 souls/1 body idea was something that the VIEWERS CREATED, it was not something the Hong Sisters developed nor introduced in the series. Yet somehow, this 2 souls/1 body idea developed into a "matter of fact" instead of a "theory", leading many viewers to become pretty closed minded.

Throughout my many posts, I tried to look at things through the Hong Sisters perspective and understand their mindset. I attempted to see where they got their inspirations from (i.e mythology, science, literature, dramas, etc) by doing a lot of research. I sought to see what the Hong Sisters' big picture and overall messages were. I also kept in mind that the Hong Sisters are writers who like to use many literary devices in their screenwriting. After every scene or whatever, I would think to myself, "why are the Hong Sisters choosing to do this in a certain manner?". I also asked myself, "what are the Hong Sisters trying to communicate?". Collectively, these are things I think many did not consider before they started to spew their nonsense which spread faster than Covid.

If I were to ask any AOS viewer what are the themes or underlying messages of AOS were, many probably couldn't even tell me. This would require some actual thinking. I'm not even sure if many could even tell me what the Hong Sisters' big picture is. It's easy to say things like, "Naksu is the constellation mage's daughter, not Mu Deok", it's harder to provide a thorough explanation why you think this. Saying things in response such as "Because we saw her memories which showed her as a little girl" is not a thorough explanation.

Instead of trying to think like the Hong Sisters, many viewers just wanted to think how they wanted to. The Hong Sisters were perfectly aware of this. The Hong Sisters knew many would take things at face value and go to social media to spread their "intelligent" ideas. However, they wanted to teach you all a lesson: if you judge a book by its covers, you're going to be the one who ends up looking like a complete idiot. Wow...it's like the Hong Sisters called you stupid without directly calling you stupid...pretty ingenious!

If it does turns out that my theory (Naksu's soul is Jin Bu Yeon's soul) is wrong, I would gladly admit it! I have no fear of doing such things because I know I'm not always going to be right. I am willing to be wrong so I can learn from it. With the people who have been devout believers of the 2 souls/1 body idea, I'm not so sure if the same could be said about them. Who knows though, people can sometimes surprise you!

#alchemy of souls #thoughts #AOS #analysis #there's probably grammar mistakes