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The full story of Island of Wakfu

The introduction sequence shows an egg-like planet, the color of Stasis, from which a large meteor is seen shooting through space, hurtling toward the Eliatropes' planet.

A Thousand Mysteries

"The joy of a sweet summer afternoon for our Mysteries. rejoice, Eliatropes! The day has finally come!" - Pulva

These sacred rites, bathed"s with solar flares, complete our work in honor of your glory, Goddess." - Mina

Chapter 1: The Sanctuary

Stook

Sent to look for Waki Wa on the sacred Goddess island, Nora and Efrim meet Stook on the way, a "former Eliacube" who tells them that Master Qilby has disappeared and that something is going on between him and the king (Yugo). They then meet Glip for their Wakfung trial, after which he sends them on their way to the Goddess Shrine.

At the shrine, Mina announces that the Goddess has called them. The statue of Eliatrope beseeches them to pass her three Veils in order to meet her in her abode. To begin, she requests an offering for her face – a feather from a blue Tofu –, one for her tears – a cup, made of the bark of a singing tree – and one for her hair – a comb made of a silver scale from an Oracle fish.

They gather the first two items without difficulty, then meet the Oracle fish at the pond:

« I need to show you something; in a distant place, across dimensions... On an island in time, your fate hangs in the balance. I need you to understand how to change it. — Oracle »

He warns them that everyone's Wakfu will be eaten by an unknown force, that they are their last defense, and gives them "the dream power to fight." To hand them a scale, he introduces them to the mighty Platypus, who will assist them later.

Having collected all three offerings, they present them to the shrine. The Goddess warns them that doom is already upon them. They must pass the three Veils and are sent to the forest to learn teleportation with Glip.

Chapter 2: The Forest

« Learning is a game. When you play a game, you learn the rules and logic, while trying to be the most creative and free under its constraints. This, my children, is the true way to learn ». - Baltazar

« We are not the only inhabitants of this world. The Goddess is at the origin of everything. We are all brothers and sisters, but we must not stagnate. for Wakfu is movement, and stagnation sin. » - Chibi

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Glip teaches Nora the basics of teleportation, but as they progress through the forest, they find Prespics. This link will take you to our sister Wikia, Dofus Wiki made aggressive by the Stasis that has fallen in the forest. Nora and Efrim fight their way through and rejoin with Glip deeper into the forest, near a Stasis meteorite. Glip explains that Stasis was forbidden by Chibi the prophet, but that this rock is somehow different. For now, he will only tell them that Stasis is "anti-Wakfu." A little further, they find Chibi's Great Hall, a sanctuary where Stasis is forbidden.

« Chibi was the first to cross the third Veil. This is where he died. His body is here, a tiny spark of Wakfu still trapped in his bones. » — Glip

Inside, a skeleton rests on a rocking chair. Nora's Eliacube comments:

« Stiff, smelly... Yep, seems like a corpse, all right... Look closely. Is it real? I wonder how the prophet REALLY died... And aren't Eliatropes supposed to be immortal? Chibi was our Prophet, but he was also a great poet. He left many poems, known as Mysteries, behind in this world. This Iwak is a plug-in allowing me to decode Chibi's Mysteries. » — Nora's Eliacube

A tooltip adds that "Mysteries are pages from Chibi's secret Herbarium. Each mystery tells a long-lost tale."

Chapter 3: The Meadow

« These flowers that we call Manolia, each of them is an individual, a singular being. Their roots feed on the core of Wakfu: the heart of our, a whirling vortex, breaking its waves on our shores. » - Mina

« All Manolias are linked to a network called Wik-Fi, a precious gift. We, Eliatropes, use it to connect our Eliacubes and communicate. And so we talk with flowers, and through flowers. » - Chibi

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"He has no time for the dark roots at his fingertips; the buds on the roots, their promise, not time. It is the most beautiful flower of the field he desires." - Shinonome

Back in the meadow, Mina shows Nora and Efrim how to interact with Wakfu creatures and flowers using Wakfu and Stasis. She then sends them on their way to Vili Summit for the ritual of Chibi's rebirth. The ritual is a symbolic representation of Chibi's resurrection in his Holy Egg. There is a legend that says maybe, one day, the Prophet will be reborn... and this may be the day. There is a large egg and a Dragoturkey This link will take you to our sister Wikia, Dofus Wiki, which according to Mina is too weak to crack the egg. Efrim forces the egg open, but "as always," the Prophet is not reborn. They proceed higher up the mountain to find Tina, their "most precious flower."

« It is Chibi's soul, his gift, an heirloom for us to tend. We must see Tina bloom. Then, perhaps, Chibi will come. « — Mina

Efrim breathes on Tina to make her bloom, to no avail, and Grougaloragran calls out to Mina, saying he must speak to the initiates at once. Mina opens an Eliatrope path (similar to a trail of successive portals) to the lake for them.

« Something has happened to the King's Palace. Qilby has betrayed his people! We're at war with invaders from the sky. Soon the threat will be upon this Sanctuary. The King is dead... but all hope is not lost. He will be reborn in his Royal Egg, his Dofus, along with his Dragon, Adamai. The King's Dofus is in the forest, in the hands of our ancestors. » — Grougaloragran

Badly injured, the Dragon sends them to retrieve Yugo and Adamai's Dofus. Before they can leave, a rain of Stasis stones falls from the sky and Mina takes the other children to the temple. From the craters, Rozens sprout, Stasis-charged flowers that corrupt their surroundings and damage characters who get too close. The Goddess speaks to Nora and Efrim:

« An ancient galactic threat coming back to haunt us. They want our Wakfu. They will drink it all. The threads of this world unravel, revealing the truth of our Origins. My children are doomed by mistakes of the past. I am sorry. I am so sorry. Something... draining my soul... My voice... fading out... » — Eliatrope

Fighting through the Rozens, spiders and Prespics, they make their way through the forest and defeat a large, corrupted Prespic. Grougaloragran contacts them through a Drake Stone, beseeching them to secure the king's Dofus right away. The twins take down the protective field around the Dofus, and thus pass the first Veil.

Stasis Rising

« A secret Lab ? What kind of accusation is that ? How can I keep a secret from the King ? I am honest and truthful ! I would never, never, ever do something behind your back, your Majesty. » - Qilby

« The smell of the dark Rozen de Stasis is a breath of tartar, do not be seduced by its beauty. - Grougaloragran

Chapter 4: The Crater

As more meteors hit the planet, Orgonax is seen walking in the distance. The Goddess speaks once again:

« Our people were cursed, long ago, in another world. We escaped a terrible doom, and we built a new world. Who amongst our people betrayed us and awakened the past? My... voice... is running out... Help me, I'm disappearing... But not fast enough... Pain... » — Eliatrope

Nora and Efrim rush back to the Sanctuary, but passing through Chibi's Great Hall they find the skeleton has fallen off the chair and down the stairs, and the room is dotted with Stasis. Nora's Eliacube makes an intriguing comment:

« Well, look at that... It actually doesn't look like a real skeleton. Why would someone place a fake Chibi here? Why would they lie to us? « — Nora's Eliacube

They find a trap door on the floor and head down, while the Eliacube warns them that this place is sacred and forbidden. They find an underground laboratory, with a replica of Mount Zinit in the center. The Eliacube recounts that Chibi heard the Goddess's voice when he was napping on the summit and that the Council has forbidden access to the mountain ever since. On the replica, Nora finds a way to activate a hologram of Qilby:

« Qilby speaking. I'm afraid time has already run out. I can't stand it anymore. Someone has to unveil the secrets, the taboos. The King doesn't want to listen to me, the fool. All he wants is a false heaven. I want to go back. I want to avenge our fathers and our sons. Nothing can stop me now! I leave this message for history. I will climb Mount Zinit, into the forbidden zone. I will open the gates of Wakanu. I will expose the parody that is our Eliatrope Goddess. I will save us all. I will make us true warriors again. « — Qilby

Coming out of the lab, they find more craters and the tracks left by Orgonax. Reaching the lake, they see Lu-Fu invaders tearing down the Goddess's statue while she calls for help. By the time they get to it, the statue is already in shambles, but the Goddess leaves them musical notes to invoke her beyond the Veils. A tooltip describes the Goddess Song as "a devastating Hymn from the First Veil. None but Eliatropes can hear it without instantly being consumed." She begs Nora to use the Song against her (the statue), as she can take the pain no more. As the initiate complies, she thanks her and tells them that this soul, this voice, are gone only for now, and to find her in Intiwakana, her abode.

Chapter 5: The Temple

« Qilby? Ah, the poor fellow... if only he’d listened to me doing what he did. What was it? Uh... Look... You’re so young. You might one day understand. » - Glip

« Yes, yes, yes, I passed away a long time ago, by Chibi himself, when he created our technology here in this earthly paradise. According to Chibi, his inspirations were divine, the Goddess had helped him create his wonders. If that’s true, and I’m convinced of it, then I’m of divine origin. So that’s not cool? » - Stook

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In the nearby forest, the Treechnid This link will take you to our sister Wikia, Dofus Wiki Amalami's voice and song are being corrupted by "the song from space," sung by Rozens. He becomes Amalama:

« GIVE ME YOUR SONG! LET ME TAKE YOUR TONGUE! I WILL FREE YOU FROM YOUR ABSURD GOD! I AM THE TRUE MAESTRO! I AM THE PRIMO UOMO! ELIATROPES ARE LIARS! DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH? YOUR GODDESS DOES NOT EXIST! HAIL, ORGONAX! » — Amalama

Unfortunately, defeating the corrupted tree also kills Amalami.

Nora and Efrim reach the temple and find the Wakfu Fountain encroached by Stasis flowers, draining its energy. They destroy the flowers and find Stook hiding underground. He gives Efrim a power-up and as they return outside, Baltazar calls for them and asks for immediate help. They head to his rescue but are caught in the middle of rampaging beasts running away from some unseen threat. They escape and fight more Lu-Fu with the young Redmo, who is killed by troopers. They then come upon Glip facing off against their leader Odo, but he is quickly struck down. Odo thirsts for Wakfu and orders his troops to set up the "Extractor" to take samples from this world. He then returns to his Frigate, letting them handle the busy work. Before passing away, Glip begs the twins to save the children hidden in the temple.

Chapter 6: Vili Valley

« Our library is the memory of our people. Everything we have done is here. Books are precious, they are life, and our memories. We need them, without them we could not survive with abstract information. We need to give them substance. » - Chibi

« As the invader approaches, our way of life is threatened. This paradise we called home is gone. The king is dead, his palace on fire. Everything seems lost. We were betrayed, but we could have done something. It’s my fault... it’s... » - Glip

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Nora and Efrim fight more Lu-Fu in the temple and rescue the young Kiri. They find an Eliatrope path to the upper levels and come across Chibi's testament.

« Chibi left his belongings to his lover, Mina. And he crowned Yugo our King. Oh boy... Master Qilby must have been so angry. » — Nora's Eliacube

Trivia: One of the children to be rescued is Zora from Wakfu: Les Gardiens, and freeing her unlocks the achievement Guardian.

Once all the children are rescued, Baltazar calls for a meeting in the Dragon Hall. Since the children cannot yet teleport by themselves, he takes them "to a place where [they]'ll be safe forever" – the timeless dimension Emrub. He leaves after imparting another power-up to Efrim, after which the Eliacube comments:

« Those kids you saved... Baltazar's children, we call them... They are younger than anyone else, but no one remembers their births. Where did they come from? » — Nora's Eliacube

It is likely that they were the children sent to another dimension during the first Mechasm attack on the Eliatropes' original planet, but it is curious that no one else seems to be aware of it.

Later, Mina says she must make a sacrifice, now that Qilby has betrayed them. She must find the Pow Wow, their most secret place of ritual, and needs their help. They must go to the Zaap portal outside the library. But before they can follow Mina, Orgonax appears and destroys the portal, forcing the duo to head to the beach and find the backup Zaap suggested by the Eliacube.

On the Beach

« You talk about education. Well, I think education is the responsibility. We cannot drown our children in the news. They have to use them to get to where they can. We’re just watching them, so they don’t get hurt. » - Mama Conch

« Time will be born from the hourglass, a grain of sand after another. Cause and consequence, brothers jumaux from the will to change the world. » - Goddess

Chapter 7: Pliyi di Bili

Nora and Efrim reach the beach and see Prissy the Conch being attacked by crab-like creatures she calls bad krabbies. They rescue her and she asks for their help finding her sisters – Ellie, Evvy, Kelly, Marcy and Mary –, who were affected by "red fumes" that made them say bad words and terrible things. Near the beach, they find another of Qilby's holograms:

« Ah... If only the Council were honest people, I wouldn't have to do this... The truth? So simple: The Eliatropes are not what they seem to be. This society is not our first. This planet is not our home world. A long time ago, we escaped. Now, we must pay the price. I will be the redeemer. I will make things right once again... Because I'm the only one who can understand Chibi. » — Qilby

After all the Conch sisters have been found, Lu-Fu arrive on a ship and storm the beach. Nora and Efrim dispatch them, then pay a visit to Mama Conch in a nearby cave. Pleased that her girls are safe and did not pick up any bad words, she gives Nora one of her pearls, which will allow her to reflect projectiles.

Chapter 8: Club Platypus

“Many Eliatropes were disappointed by the Goddess. They joined cults to forget her. She and her Veils. It is a tragedy, because if no one believes in Her, then she will leave this plane of existence. It is a fact." - Baltazar

“I don’t understand. Why walk away from the Goddess? She is gentle and caring. What reasons can justify such an affront?” -Glip

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A little farther on the beach, they meet Yama, who says a giant flower (a Queen Rozen) is sucking the light away and driving everyone mad in the nearby village. Nora and Efrim immediately provide assistance but are stunned by the cry of the dying flower. They awaken in Yama's hut, where he tells them that his leader probably won't be happy even though the flower has been taken care of, and will probably still sacrifice his sister Zoe to his "stupid Egg."

In the village, they see the Shamipus, local leader, proclaiming that the sacrifices are working since the light has returned. To continue to receive protection from the Platypus Egg, he commands more sacrifices, as expected.

Attached to a totem surrounded by dancers, they see a Dofus protected by a force field and start looking for a way to deactivate it. Sneaking into the Shamipus's hut, they deactivate the force field and Nora dresses herself as another Shamipus. The villagers are confused and Efrim uses the distraction to cause the egg to hatch, freeing the Platypus. All the villagers immediately rally to him and therefore to Efrim and Nora. The Shamipus teleports away, promising to have his revenge. Immediately after, more Lu-Fu arrive and destroy the gate to come after the Eliatrope and Dragon. They drive them back and Yama thanks them for saving his sister and the village, then reveals the location of the secret Zaap on the beach.

Ancient Questions

« Wait a minute! There’s nothing logical about it!" - Stock

"Pow Wow is a special place. An ancient place where Chibi came when he was old. He went there to die, it was his choice; offer his soul to the Goddess." - Glip

Chapter 9: Pow Wow

Mina warns Nora that the Stasis is disrupting the Wik-Fi and making teleportation unstable. Because of this, Nora must reach the Pow Wow through a secret path below the canyon. Finding the place by herself will be her last initiation rite. Mina also says that she has a very hard decision to make, but not to judge her, as it is their only hope.

Islands of Wakfu - Mina's sacrifice

Mina's sacrifice

Finding their way through a bamboo forest, they find a Lu-Fu excavation site. They kill the invaders and find an Eliatrope path to the Pow Wow. Mina tells them that she needed privacy for the hardest decision of her life: she offered her Wakfu in this holy place in order to create a bridge to Chibi's soul. That was the only way for Nora to pass the second Veil. Activating a Zaap, Nora and Efrim reach the heart of the Pow Wow and find Mina dying. She tells them that Qilby has betrayed them and brought back Stasis. Her Wakfu has gone into a flower that Nora must plant in the temple of Wakanu, atop Mount Zinit, in order to find Chibi's island and save the Dofus.

Making their way to Mount Zinit, they find another excavation site where the Lu-Fu are forcing moles to do their labor. After fighting numerous foes, they are told by a mole that the entire mountain is collapsing, but they head into the mines, driven by necessity.

Chapter 10: Rizi

"The heart of our world is a heart of Wakfu, blue as the yolk of a timeless egg, before the cosmic omelette occurs." - Glip

"Beebee loves wakfu. Mmmm, you love wakfu..." - Beebee

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They quickly come out of the mines and fight their way up through more ranks of Lu-Fu, all the while feeding their new companion Beebee the bee with Wakfu to make her glow. With her help, they navigate through dark caverns and continue to make their way up. They find a Wakfu-extracting machine, pumping tirelessly to feed Odo's insatiable appetite. They destroy the machine and face Odo's general in battle.

On Top of the World

Chapter 11: Mount Zinit

« Why all these secrets? Something is wrong. Would the council have lied to us? Does the Goddess really exist? What would be the point of inventing such a story?" - Eliacube

"O ancient mountain, venerable spirit presiding over the material plane, you will not weep. Like insects, we cling to your sides. We dare not look upon your summit. Our eyes fall when we cross the path of your deep caves, and the intimate and dark secret of your origins." - Qilby

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Climbing ever higher, they make their way to Wakanu as Orgonax climbs Mount Zinit. On the way, they find a new hologram from Qilby:

« Mount Zinit is a place of corridors, of dark corners. Here lie the secrets of our kind. Halfway through my journey, I rest in this tomb to contemplate my choices. I may doom our way of life, our dreams, but I cannot endure the lies we tell ourselves. Eliatropes were born of the Stars, and we came here to escape our Fall. We need to confront ourselves with the truth. We need to avenge our people. The King is a liar and a coward. I will not stay silent. Not anymore. May you who find these words forgive me. » — Qilby

In the same room, they find schematics and drawings that resemble Orgonax, and the Eliacube comments that he is big enough to walk inside, and that there seems to be a hollow spot in his right hand.

Chapter 12: Wakanu

"Why did I do this? Because the king did not want to do anything! He wanted to stay here with his lies. We are supposed to move forward! We are supposed to feed on other systems to progress to the end of time. That is the real reason for Wakfu." - Qilby

"It seems unreal. Like we’re in the bowels of a whale perched on top of a mountain, like an ark from a distant past." - Eliacube

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Nora and Efrim undo the seal to the temple Wakanu and find Lu-Fu already inside. The temple is a maze designed by Chibi, and the Eliacube suspects that he may have a flower nearby, since according to Mina he performed the Pow Wow ritual. Inside a strange machine, they find the Oracle of Waki Wa. They wake him up and he tells them that he is not real, not really there. He used to be Chibi's personal assistant, but he is only a projection reactivated by Qilby when he was last here. Nevertheless, he has the power to activate a Zaap leading further inside the temple.

There, they find Lu-Fu that have drilled their way into the mountain, as well as Stasis deposits. They dispatch the creatures and reach the first chamber, first part of Chibi's puzzle. They are met there by Modo and Podo, Lu-Fu leaders looking for Stasis for Odo, who has gone to the top of the mountain to meet Orgonax. The Lu-Fu attack the characters, hoping to use them to force their way inside the Inner Sanctum, but they are no match for Nora and Efrim.

The next puzzle is a large room filled with tubes carrying Wakfu. Using the Platypus, they deactivate the force field that blocks the exit and proceed to the next room after collecting the original Eliacube. The last chamber contains statues of the Eliatrope Council, and strangely, a Rozen grows in front of Qilby's. They find Chibi's flower in front of his statue, proving that he sacrificed his Wakfu at the Pow Wow, and plant Mina's flower before her statue as she asked. Solving the last puzzle, they find an Eliatrope path to Mina's island.

Chapter 13: The Islands

"Chibi, my love, I am by your side now. I can see your face beyond the waves, like a lighthouse, which attracts me. We will be reunited in this world where souls are connected. I will be the bridge that joins you." - Mina

"Islands? You mean paradise? You really think there’s something after death? Do you think what we are looking for is a holiday? The islands are a lie, the Goddess is a scam. The Platypus is the one and only god." - Chamipus

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On Mina's island, they meet with the Oracle, who explains that her soul came here when she sacrificed her Wakfu. Since the Wakfu of Council Eliatropes and Dragons return to their Dofus upon death until their reincarnation, it may be that these islands are small planes of existence contained in those Dofus, where their souls remain conscious.

According to the Oracle, "to get to Chibi's island, you must uncover Mina's secret love for him." They find fragments of her soul, and open the way to Chibi's island. Grougaloragran meets them there for the Ritual of Ages, and to take the king's Dofus to another dimension where it will be safe. He instructs them to find the Goddess Beacon atop Mount Zinit.

« Pray for her to take you with her. In her womb, children, you'll live forever. Your soul, protected. » — Grougaloragran

*The Eliacube picked up in Chibi's maze appears on a pedestal while Grougaloragran takes the Dofus from Nora, but no mention is made of it and it simply disappears after the scene. In the animated series, Grougaloragran does however mention that Nora entrusted him with both the Dofus and the Eliacube.

Odo's Frigate appears in the sky, and as the Oracle instructs her that letting go will be the quickest way to reach Intiwakana, she lets the Lu-Fu take her aboard without resistance. There, Odo demands the king's Dofus, but Nora and Efrim attack him and his crew and gain the upper hand. Before it is too late, Odo drinks a full jar of Wakfu and becomes an even more powerful beast with the ability to teleport around the ship. But ultimately, he is still defeated, along with the rest of his crew.

Chapter 14: Intiwakana

"It’s not a lie if you believe it." - Glip

"Well, it’s time to go home now!" - Stook

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The Frigate crashes near the top of the mountain, where Nora and Efrim must face a Crackler guardian appointed by Chibi, who decreed that no one was allowed to pass. They then make their way to a small cave where they consult the Oracle one last time:

« You have saved the last Eliatrope, now this world is coming to an end. These invaders you've fought were once like you, innocent. They were seized, enslaved, brought to despair. Behold, this is their world, still alive in their dreams. » — Oracle

He shows them a vision of the Lu-Fu's world, of their Imperatrix giving up the fight after so many of her people have been taken away. In their last hour, they send a warning in dreams:

« Don't fear the loss of the material world, but embrace the pure bliss of dreams. In dreams, invisible waves become vessels. To believe is to feel. Sailing an endless ocean... to surf, but never to sink. Believe in the invisible. As it believes in you. »

— Lu-Fu Imperatrix

« This world is doomed. Mount Zinit is waking up. If you reach the top of the mountain, the Goddess may take you with her. Close your eyes, let yourself go. »

— Oracle

As they reach ever higher, Orgonax catches up with them and they are forced to fight him off to buy some time. They find a weak spot in his right hand and blow it open, creating an opening for the Platypus. Inside, he uses drops of Wakfu to tinker with the giant's internal mechanisms, making him lose his grip on the rock face. They quickly reach the top of the mountain and find a large flower that speaks with the voice of the Goddess (her last words are not transcribed for the player). Nora communes with it while Orgonax resumes his ascent. Channeling the Goddess's power, Nora launches a devastating attack against Orgonax, an explosion seen from space that wipes all life from the planet for millenia.

*The final attack against Orgonax had cataclysmic proportions and destroyed all life on the planet, and several millenia later, when the gods of the World of Twelve discovered the barren planet and recreated life on it, the process also involved highly destructive forces. Yet, mentions of Eliatrope artifacts abound in the world, such as Zaap portals, Eliatrope ruins and the book found by Karibd and Silar (mention in Dofus mmo and Dofus manga.

Source :

* https://krosmoz.fandom.com/wiki/Islands_of_Wakfu

* https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe_N8_H2VbTULBoBL65OY7VYRIUbC-fU7&feature=shared

#island of wakfu #iow #ankama

58 notes · View notes

rinelica · 1 year

Note

i have really enjoyed your yuki and mai analysis but because tumblr likes to mess up image resolution a lot of the smaller text was quite hard or even impossible to read on much of it

id quite like to actually read all of it because i really enjoyed what i could read. all the art are very cute aswell. your work is really fantastic.

Thank you very much!! Ah, this really is what I was scared of... I'll drop here everything that might be hard to read, hope it'll help :

Original post :

ZUN's comment :

In case the pic still is unreadable, here's the link to the wiki page, use the search tool on this page by typing "Yuki" to find the ask faster :

Part I :

Shinki : "I am the god of Makai. Therefore, little Yumeko isn't a golem or anything like that, she's an ordinary Makai person."

PCB phantasm stage, Sakuya : "Hell is not as scary as Makai. Oni, compared to devils, are nothing at all."

IN profiles, Remilia : Devils, including vampires, are a race unconditionally hated by both humans and youkai. That's because all these girls are self-centered and selfish. (note : Reimu's MS ending confirms that)

MS, Marisa

Shinki : "Do you think bogus human magic can stand up to me?"

Marisa : "Isn't calling it "bogus" a loser excuse?"

Shinki : "Hmph, how impudent!! I'll show you real magic."

Marisa : "Oh, I'm so happy ♥"

UFO, Sanae B

Shou : "Makai is, with such a terrible demonic atmosphere, a world unsuitable for most living things. However, some youkai train there and humans can learn magic."

I wonder what Alice told to Akyuu (speculation) :

Akyuu : "So what kind of magician are you?"

Alice : "Oh I just learned magic as a kid."

Akyuu : "Ah, that makes you a human magician!"

Alice : "... Haha, yes..." Better not scare Gensokyo's humans off...

Part II/

Yuki : "You bastaaard! You bastard, how dare you!! I'm serious now!!"

Before fight :

Mai : ......?

Yuki : We'll be your opponents ♥

Yuuka : I see, two at once. Sounds fun ♥

Yuki : Whether it'll be fun depends of your skills ♥ Of course I want it to be fun.

Yuuka : Oh my ♥ Go on, give it a try.

After fight :

Yuuka : Thank you ♥ It was fun in its own way.

Yuki : Who exactly are you...

Yuuka : I ended up pretty far into Makai. I wonder how long the way still is.

Yuki : Right here is...

Left :

-> shows no care about your rampage or you reaching Shinki

-> simple bullets

*taunts*

just want to have "fun" (beat people up)

"the stronger the enemy is, the longer the fight will last, the funnier it'll be" mentality

as a result, she lacks seriousness

-only gets mad when she takes things personally (her ego or Mai hurted)->

Right :

-> impulsive, act before thinking

-> very passionate about what she cares

but is quick to forgive if showed some respect (Yuuka)

Part III

Mai : "... Not bad, you."

Protag : "!?"

Mai : "Now that the burden is gone, I can finally be serious. And this time, I'll definitely beat you bastard!!"

Marisa = magician. average in Makai.

Reimu = weird human on a flying turtle.

Yuuka = what???

Yuki : "Welcome, guest from another world ♥"

Mai : "......!"

Yuki : "I will guide you to a world where you shall rest for eternity ♥"

(totally a spirit who should in theory be able to deal some spiritual damages ->)

Mima : "Alas, that's the world I come from..."

Mai : "...!? I see, is that so..."

Mima : "Therefore, I will on the contrary be the one who'll take you there."

Mai : "Yuki, stop saying nonsense, I'll beat her..."

Mima : "You sure look eager to go."

Yuki : "How irritating! Mai, let's beat her!!"

Mai : "Understood... ♥"

Later...

Mima : "As promised, I'll guide you to the other world."

Yuki : "Mercyyy"

Mima : "But the other miss is waiting for youuu ♥"

(Yuki cries)

Mai's only sentence unique to Mima's scenario has nothing to do with death :

Mima : "Let's leave the weaklings alone."

Mai : "That's super frustratiiing!"

Left :

-> doesn't talk much

-> at least shows concern about you trying to reach Shinki (Reimu script)

lets Yuki do whatever she wants

cautious

somewhat analyses the situation

-"I can finally be serious"=> sounds like she, unlike Yuki, would rather be serious from the start->

Right :

-> can actually be pretty talkative

-> is salty when Yuki's plan backfires

sounds saltier toward you

is she only quiet against new foes?

Part IV

Speculation on why they weren't serious :

Mai : "It sounds serious... Maybe we should go all out this time."

Yuki : "Nooo, there's barely any intruder who manages to go this far!" It's been ages!

Mai : "...... fine."

#lore post #clarification #not the actual original post

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scramble-crossing · 6 months

Note

23-26 with Coco please!

Haha weee Coco time (sorry this took so long lmao I'm in late-stage semester hell :)))

23. Favourite picture

I was going to make a comment about how much I like all of her A New Day sprites but I got distracted by her wiki page

I dont like this. I feel like she's going to hurt me.

24. What other character from another fandom of yours reminds you of them?

Honestly none I don't think? She's so unique I don't think anyone's doing it quite like her. The closest comparison I can think of is Iono from pkm ScarVo!

Not the most original observation but I do think if you swapped them absolutely nothing would change. I would watch Coco's twitch stream. Iono can and would kill if provoked.

25. What was your first impression of this character? What about now?

I did not like Coco at ALL at first

I was first getting into twewy during the Final Remix + Anime era right so I had no context for A New Day and didn't know Coco was a new character. I watched the anime. Waited for Coco to show up. Honked my stupid little clown nose when she didn't.

But then I figured "Weeeelll maybe the anime left her out. The ended seemed a little rushed so it's probably just game-to-anime translation weirdness. I'll play the game. She'll totally show up there!"

PINK GUMBALL SON OF A BITCH PULLED A FAST ONE ON ME TWICE!!!

EVENTUALLY I played A New Day and everything made sense but it sucked too so I was pissed off at Coco for a while 😔 sorry girl it's not your fault I was just bitter

It's really you talking about her that made me appreciate her more so thank you for that :]

#shes a blorbo-in-law to me #asks #coco

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lefemmerougewriter · 2 months

Text

A Red Moonstone Burns Brightly

Cass thought about her past as she walked across the rolling hills on the edge of the last kingdom in the Ever Realm she hadn’t visited yet, Enchancia. Suddenly, a wormhole opened in front of her. She walked through without realizing it...

In a new world, Cass finds an unlikely companion, a former (and well-known) international thief. Both bond with one another even though they come from vastly different circumstances.

Characters: Cassandra, Carmen Sandiego, Player

Friendships: Player & Carmen, Cassandra & Varian (implied)

Romantic pairings: Cassandra / Carmen Sandiego, Cassandra / Rapunzel (previous)

Words: 4400+

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52789294

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/1411151258-a-red-moonstone-shines-brightly

Quotev: https://www.quotev.com/story/16277474/A-Red-Moonstone-Shines-Brightly

Authors note: The interest in the Red Moonstone ship, of Carmen and Cass, on Reddit, fanart, and a mention of this on the Shipping Wiki fandom page for Cass got me interested in this ship, and made me want to write this story. The same ship is also mentioned on Carmen’s page. I believe this is the first ever Red Moonstone fic on AO3. For a similar fic, see my “Cassandra and the Catgirl from the Sky” fic which came out late last year. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Text:

One year has passed, but... I am riddled with guilt every day. It sometimes feels like I do not age and that time has not passed.

Yet my suffering continues. While I still feel I was in the right, I know what I did to Rapunzel and that I hurt her. I had to get away from it all. I couldn’t let her toxic positivity get to me... I had to get away... away from her, away from Corona, away from it all!

I need to find my own way in the world, my own way in the universe.

Cass thought about her past as she walked across the rolling hills on the edge of the last kingdom in the Ever Realm she hadn’t visited yet, named Enchancia. Suddenly, a wormhole opened in front of her. She walked through without realizing it. She hummed to herself and closed her eyes, happily skipping as she went. Everything seemed like it was going her way.

When she opened her eyes, she was astonished. She stood on top of a black gooey substance, embedded with pebbles, which covered the ground. It had white and yellow markings. It was nothing like anything that she had ever seen before in her entire life. A metal monstrosity came hurtling toward her. She drew her sword and took a defensive stance.

“Stop, heathen! You shall not pass!” Her movement did nothing to stop the horseless chariot from speeding toward her. A window opened by some miracle, perhaps even by magic, she gathered. She heard a deafening shout. “Get out of the road, lady!” The tone was angry. Cass was confused and unsure what she had done wrong. She decided to ignore the yelling person.

She stood her ground. She started to sing that she had nothing left to lose. Out of nowhere, a lady in a bright red trenchcoat and fedora grabbed her off the street. Before she knew it, she was in the air, flying through the skies thanks to a glider backpack on the woman's back. She had no idea why this lady had grabbed her from the ground. Something seemed different. There were tall buildings with windows which stretched into the sky, almost like they were scraping clouds. She put her sword back in its sheath. This woman did not seem to be a threat.

The glider soon came to a stop. It gently reached the ground. In the past, the lady had crashed it when carrying her former crime school buddy. That scenario did not replay itself this time.

Cass looked up and saw a ramshackle building. The name “Carmen Outerwear” was emblazoned on the front. Collapsing her hangar backpack, the lady turned toward her. Her fierce blue gray eyes stared at Cass. She came closer. Her auburn hair was blowing in the wind. In some ways, this woman reminded her of someone she used to know, someone she had grown very fond of over the years, someone she felt she had hurt, someone she wanted to reconnect with, in a healthier way that involved re-building trust, not treating another person as second-best, and without hierarchy.

She was not aware that in this world, thousands of miles away, in a densely populated strip, thousands were being murdered by a militarily superior force. These brutal attacks resulted in massive displacement and a shattered society, and were paired with spread of disease, electricity blackout, food insecurity, and three land border crossings to come and go. This now-hellish place, known as Gaza, was many times worse than anything she had caused in Corona. It would baffle her mind if she knew about this genocidal butchery happening thousands of miles from where she currently stood. Since she didn’t know about those horrors, at the present, only one thing concerned her now: who was this person before her? Why do they seem so...familiar?

“Who are you?” the lady insisted. Cass did not know how to answer. She stepped back warily, unsure of what to make of this woman. The woman was the epitome of fashion and beauty. Cass couldn’t help but be drawn toward her, although she wasn’t sure why. Conflicted with what she should say, she fumbled. “I...uh...am Cassandra...I have a sword and...I’m not afraid to use it!”

The lady laughed heartily. It had been one of the funniest things she had heard. A person she had saved from the street was threatening her? How absurd! She attempted to calm down the situation. “Ah, yes, swords, the weapon of choice for a lady with black hair. It suits you well. But I do not want to fight with you, not today.” Cass nodded. She continued to be uncertain of the intentions of this woman. Without a doubt, she could have drawn her sword right then and there. Considering her options, she decided to stand down.

“Fine...I’ll follow you...but if you do anything sneaky, I’ll have to strike back...with force!” Whether she would act on this threat was questionable. More likely than anything else, it was a bluster to put this woman on edge. However, It didn’t work, not in the slightest, if that had been her intention, in the first place.

The woman laughed once again. “Oh, Ms. Cassandra,” she began, “come inside into my former hideout...but don’t you tell anyone about it.” Continuing to be wary, she followed behind, but kept her eyes open. This could be a trap. Maybe, this was all a nightmare. Nothing made sense. The woman stopped and turned around. She outstretched her hand. “Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I’m Carmen Sandiego. You can just call me Carmen.” As she smiled, Cass shook her hand, although she remained skeptical of this mysterious woman.

Taking out a metal key from her pocket, Carmen unlocked the door and walked in. The ground floor had a workshop for Ivy, a laundry room, and a gym. She led Cass through the building and to the living room. In the back of her mind, Cass believed that someone had planned this whole thing to trap and deceive her. Every day, she suffered from the residual effects of Zhan Tiri’s mental manipulation, leading to a level of paranoia.

What happened next was something she didn’t expect. Carmen felt relieved. She put her keys on a table and pointed to a puffy, cushioned piece of furniture. “Make yourself at home, Cassandra...I have to change out of these clothes as it's hot as the blazes today. But I’ll be back in a second. Don’t go anywhere.”

Stunned at the hospitality, Cass smiled weakly in response. She wasn’t sure what to think about this woman or her posh hideout. She had no idea where she was. But she knew one thing for certain: she wasn’t in Enchancia anymore.

As Carmen went into the bedroom, she changed into more comfortable, and casual, clothes. Discreetly, she slipped into the study/storage area. She talked to her hacker friend in hushed tones. “Player, I need an assist here.” Not sure what she meant, the Canadian kid asked, “What is it, Red?” Now fully dressed, in almost record time, perhaps as a side effect of having to get dressed quickly when she went to crime school, she took out her earbuds. She then turned on the video call feature, surprising Player. He hadn’t expected to see her face.

“I uh...rescued this woman from being hit by a car this morning. She had drawn a sword and was about to fight it? I found it bizarre.” Player didn’t know what to tell her. Why had Carmen even rescued this woman? How did she know this woman could be trusted? Player shook his head. “Red, I’m dumbfounded. Couldn’t you have just dropped her off at a police station or something?” Carmen rolled her eyes. Didn’t Player know that the police couldn’t be trusted? She grumbled. “Come on, Player, don’t ya remember when it was revealed that cops in this city were sending racist, sexist, and homophobic texts to each other, and a bunch of cases were compromised?” Exasperated, she added, “I’d trust a pig rolling in mud more than these damn cops. They are corrupt to the core.” Player backed off. The last thing he wanted was for Carmen to be angry at him. He tried to move the conversation back to the original subject.

“So...Red, did you call me because you want me to look up more about...this woman?” Carmen nodded. She surreptitiously snapped a quick photograph of Cass, who was lying on the couch in the living room. Player teased Red. “She totally seems like your type, Red...” Carmen looked at him with a scowl. Her face was red as a tomato. How could he even say that! It was so embarrassing! “Yeah sure, Player.” She then said, as an aside, “oh, and her name is Cassandra. Let me know if you find anything. I’ll keep you posted if I learn anything else.”

After getting off the video call, Player realized something odd. Carmen was back at the hideout again? He found it weird because he thought that she had taken a break from all of that. Hadn’t she gone out on her own, wanting to forge her own path? He shrugged. He expected her to call him back. He kicked himself for not bringing this up. One day, he wanted to go to the hideout as well. But he knew that wouldn’t happen unless he made an excuse for it.

Meanwhile, back on the couch, Cass saw a black object with a bunch of colored buttons on it. In all her time in Corona, and traveling across Ever Realm, she had never seen such a device. Curious, she pressed the red button. She heard a sizzling sound. A picture appeared in front of her eyes on a rectangular black box with a screen of some type. Sound blared out of it, screaming into her ears. She turned away and gathered enough courage to face the noise. She pulled out her sword and raised it. “I will not let this infernal box dictate my life! Stop at this instant!” Her words had no effect.

As she was about to strike the final blow and cut the device in half, Carmen bolted out of the door. She pulled Cass down. “Unhand me, woman!” she yelled. Shaking her head, Carmen could do nothing but laugh. Cass continued to struggle, attempting to escape, like a house cat that didn’t want to be held. Annoyed, she asked, “why are you laughing! This isn’t funny. This...device...whatever it is, is hurting my ears! I want to make it stop.” Carmen carefully pulled the sword from Cass’s hand, put it on the ground, and breathed deeply. This woman was more trouble than she had anticipated. Where had she come from, anyway?

“Ok, I’m gonna need you to calm down a bit, Cassandra.” She then pressed the red button on the controller. The screen went dark. Cass felt a little better now. Even so, she remained perplexed. What was the strange black rectangle on the wall? How was it connected to the device? She had no idea. Before she could say anything, Carmen pointed to the rectangle. “That’s a television.” She then picked up the controller, adding “and this is a remote. It turns on the TV. You can watch movies, shows, and whatever you want on there...it's the ultimate entertainment device.”

Although Carmen’s explanation helped, Cass still had no clue how any of it worked. She sighed. She lay down on the couch. It was as comfortable as anything in Corona. For everything that Raps put her through, treating her as someone who was second-best, someone whose identity was subsumed within her own, and everything else, she couldn’t forget the luxurious accommodations within the Corona castle. Although there was no doubt that Raps had devalued her in many ways, she knew that Raps, on some level, still cared about her, even when they were apart. What would Raps think of her now?

“I’m sorry,” Cass began. “Everything about this world is new and different from what I’m used to. I’ve never seen this device you call...a television...or the remote that controls it.” This made Carmen concerned. Where was this woman from anyway? Could she be someone brainwashed by VILE to take her out for the last time? Had she made a mistake in letting her into the hideout? She had to know more. “So, Cass...can I call you that?” Cass nodded. “...What is the place you are used to? Where’s your...home base?”

Processing the questions slowly, Cass responded carefully. Just as Carmen was unsure about her, she was not completely convinced she could trust Carmen, at least not yet. She decided to be honest, in hopes she could get home. “I’m from the kingdom of Corona...it’s ruled...or should I say will be ruled...by a girl with auburn hair, Rapunzel...and her husband Eugene.” Carmen started to say something. Cass interrupted her, and continued. “After some...things happened, I don’t live there anymore...I’ve been traveling on my own for about a year to get my head straight...and forge my own path.”

This made Carmen even more interested. She almost seemed to be doing the same thing as her! Maybe they would have more in common. She decided to ask her more questions. Instead of telling Player secretly about Cass, perhaps she could introduce her to him, virtually. “So, where is this Corona, located?” Without much thought, Cass responded “why, in the Ever Realm, of course. Don’t you know about it?” Carmen shrugged. She had never heard of either one before. Had this woman been living under a rock?

“I’m...not familiar with...that place...can you point it out to me?” she asked, remaining inquisitive. She picked up a wooden stand near the window, which had a brass metal footer. It was designed for a globe to sit on top of it, and mobile enough to carry around a living space. While the electronic maps that Player could come up with were helpful, she liked this globe better sometimes, especially since elevation was built into it. You could, with your hands, feel how low, or high, an area was. Also, it could be used to play the globe-spinning “where your finger lands game” or what her friends called, in jest, “where in the world is Carmen Sandiego” game.

Cass stared at the globe, spun it around, searching intently. What were all these lines, borders, and symbols? Why were they there? Where was Corona? She started to panic. “Corona isn’t on here...are you absolutely sure this globe is the right one?” This puzzled Carmen. How could she not point to her homeland? Who was Cass anyway? This woman worried her, more than anything. “Yeah, it's right. It's a globe of Earth I bought at an antique shop last year.”

This scared Cass. What did Carmen mean by “Earth”? What was this world she spoke about? To make sure her ears weren’t deceiving her, she asked a follow-up question. “Are you sure it's Earth?” Carmen looked at her strangely. Why would Cass ask this? Didn’t she live on the same planet as her? “Yes, it is,” she said matter-of-factly.

Not wanting to bother Carmen with any further questions, she accepted what Carmen said as the reality. She had no idea how she had come to Earth. While she would have asked Varian about it, he wasn’t there. She felt lost, untethered from reality. What if she never saw her dad again, or...even Raps? How in the world could she even get back to Corona...or even the Ever Realm?

There was a long, uncomfortable silence between Cass and Carmen. Each of them waited for the other to say something. An idea came into Carmen’s head. Maybe they could relax in the sunroom on the roof of her former headquarters. It was only two floors up.

She quickly grabbed Cass’s right hand, and ran toward the elevator. It was old and had a metal screen which you had to close manually. “I’m gonna show you one of my favorite rooms of this warehouse.” Hopping inside the moving metal box scared Cass, but...it also amazed her. What were the systems that caused it to move? Why were the dials lighting up like there were candles hidden behind them? It fascinated her. Although she might not act like this normally, her keen interest in technology came from spending time with her good friend, Varian. Although some people may have thought she had romantic feelings for him, she never once had feelings for men, including him.

Carmen stepped out of the elevator, still holding the right hand of Cass, and sped up the stairs. Not surprisingly, although the building was somewhat accessible, thanks to twin elevators from the ground floor and third floor, no elevator reached the roof. That could only be accessed by climbing the stairs. They soon reached the lush sunroom, an enclosed space filled with daylight. It had many views of San Francisco.

Alternatively called solariums, conservatories, sun parlors, or sun porches, these rooms had the advantage of bringing in outside light while serving as a shelter from adverse weather. They often featured passive solar heating, with the sun’s rays easily illuminating the room. In some cultures, these rooms were secluded and partially enclosed within a garden. In the case of this hideout, the sunroom had the dual purpose of collecting sunlight for warmth and offering scenic views. Most of the walls were composed of framed glass. There were also internal climate controls to make sure it was the right temperature inside the room.

Cass was amazed. The views, the design, and the layout were one thing. But when entering the room, she felt calmness rush over her. She bowed her head and kissed Carmen’s hand. “Thank you for bringing me to such a wonderful place...This is the first time I’ve ever stepped foot in a room...like this.” Carmen’s face, often a rakuda brown color, became warm and flushed, even a little reddish. She was totally unprepared for something like this. Starting to stutter, Cass interrupted her. “I’m...sorry...it's a royal habit. I was a lady-in-waiting for a princess, you know.”

Hearing that made Carmen perk up a bit. Who was Cass, really? She knew that Cass came from the Ever Realm, and, more specifically, a kingdom named Corona within it. She surmised that Cass had some feelings for this princess she served in the kingdom. Otherwise, her life was a mystery. She wanted to learn more.

At the same time, she wanted to put her new friend at ease. Who was she to ask Cass about her life in this other world, as she termed it? She saw in Cass someone trying to find their place in the universe. That really resonated with her. “I can relate...I grew up on an island of thieves...and I later realized they were only out for themselves.” Unsure of how her new lady friend would react, she glanced over at her. The hazel eyes of Cass were intently staring at her.

Clearing her throat, she continued. “I became a thief who steals from other thieves.” Cass chuckled. What she had experienced was much worse. She almost acted like it was a bad memory. “Oh, that’s small potatoes. My mother kidnapped this princess, Rapunzel. I was raised by the royal guard.” She breathed deeply. She felt a weight lifted from her chest after confiding in Carmen. She felt comfortable around her. “And, well, she had the gall to say we were sisters or some shit. I fucking hated that...and she devalued me.” She then shook her head and sighed. “So, I tried to make my own destiny, but the rage, anger, and hate I felt for her was manipulated by a fucking evil sorceress, Zhan Tri. Luckily, she was defeated, but I couldn’t stay in Corona anymore...not after what I did.”

Carmen didn’t know exactly what she was talking about, or who “Rapunzel” or “Zhan Tri” were. But she could sympathize. Surely, she hadn’t been involved in anything like what Cass went through. She hadn’t tortured, kidnapped, extorted, vandalized, blackmailed, or been otherwise cruel to people. However, when she had been mind controlled by VILE for many months, she stole for them repeatedly. Since then, she had worked hard to make amends for what she did. She imagined that Cass did the same thing, in her own world, in her own way.

Just then, a thought came to her. She snatched her phone from the nearby table. Turning her head to Cass, she asked, “can I take a photo?” Cass shrugged. She had no idea what was happening and shrugged. Carmen took that as an agreement, and quickly snapped a photo. Rubbing her eyes, Cass was baffled by this tiny lighted box. She picked it up, studying it intently. What was this infernal device? And what is a “photo”?

“Uh, Carmen, what is that…thing?” she asked, pointing at the phone. Carmen chuckled. She really worried about Cass. Where had this girl been living? “It can take photographs…call people…send messages…and other stuff.” Cass continued scratching her head. The only word that she recognized was the word “message.” She had heard it before. She said innocently, “so I could write a letter to someone with that…device?” Carmen nodded. There wasn’t time to teach her digital literacy or anything like that. Instead, she wanted Player to see her.

“Can I introduce you…virtually…to my friend, Player?...he’s a hacker.” Cass didn’t know what words like “virtual” meant. She thought that Carmen’s friend must be either a chump who does things without any skill or a person who cleared brush in a wilderness. Quickly, the screen flashed. A young teen with deep brown hair, wearing a gray-red jacket, navy blue shorts, and gray sneakers stared back. This is not what she thought a hacker would look like.

“Hey, Red,” the teen answered. Cass had no idea who this person was, or how in the world he could be talking with them. She looked at him with an expression of utter confusion. Player could tell. “So...you are the Cassandra that Red told me about,” he said. She quickly became defensive. How could this...damn kid...know her name? Who the heck did he think he was? “How do you know that? Who told YOU?” Carmen held Cass’s hand, then whispered in her ear. She told her that Player was her friend. She added that she had told him about her, in hopes of learning more about her. This put Cass at ease, although she remained a bit wary.

“Sorry for that…,” she said. “I’m adjusting to this strange place, with all these devices you call phones, televisions, these glass fixtures with weird metal pieces inside, photographs, and mechanical horseless chariots.” She added, “I didn’t think a so-called ‘hacker’ would be a person sitting in a chair and looking at a bunch of glowing black boxes.” Player didn’t know what to say. He had never met, virtually or in-person, anyone like Cass. She almost seemed to be, in his estimation, from another time or place. His supposition was completely correct.

He started asking questions. “So, Cassandra, I searched across a bunch of databases and found nothing about you…it's almost like you are a ghost.” Cass took extreme offense to that. First of all, he knew her name. Now, he was saying that she didn’t exist! Suddenly, Carmen interjected, surprising not only Cass, but Player. “She’s from some kingdom named Corona, in the Ever Realm and was a...uh...servant...I think...for this princess named Rapunzel.” He nodded. With them both staring at him intently, he quickly typed on his keyboard. He sighed and put up his arms in defeat. He was missing something, but did not know what.

“I can’t find anything...no country or world named Ever Realm...no princess named Rapunzel...there’s a bunch of coronas out there, either outer atmosphere of the Sun, a type of beer, a software company, a carbonated drink, a card game, some songs, a type of virus, and the name of a car...but no kingdom.”

Cass grumbled. What Player said confirmed her suspicions: that she had come to this strange planet named Earth, as Carmen called it. She shook her head. “I guess I’m stuck here then. I was near this kingdom called Enchancia and suddenly ended up in front of some horseless carriage riding on some weird black gooey surface. A person yelled at me, I pulled out my sword, Carmen brought me here...and well, that’s it.”

Player tried to reassure her. He didn’t want her to lose hope. Maybe they could get her back to Corona, somehow. “I’ll do what I can to help. I’ll ask around.” Cass smiled. That’s exactly what she wanted to hear. “Thank you, Player.” The video call ended. Carmen shut off the screen and stashed the phone in her pants pocket. Cass leaned in close. She had to thank her new friend somehow. Without much thought, she gave her a loud smooch on the cheek. She whispered, “I’m glad you talked to your friend. I hope he can help.”

Carmen’s body became warm, and her face became as red as a raspberry. Her heart began beating faster. Her pupils began to dilate. Her palms became sweaty. She felt weird, feeling differently than ever felt before. This seemed different. As her left eye turned to Cass, she knew what this all meant. She put her arm around Cass and softly replied, again without thinking about it too much, “I’d do anything for you...I’m so relieved you are here...with me.”

Cass would have, in the past, shirked away, but she did not. She had, even when she was controlled by the Blue Moonstone powers and manipulated by Zhan Tri, one goal: to gain more respect and self-worth, something which had been denied to her. She had unloaded her frustrations into actions that seemed irrational but were justified. In a moment of deep longing, she hugged Carmen back and said, “you are my Red Moonstone, grounding me with your love and protection...and for that, I am forever grateful.”

They continued to embrace one another and enjoyed one another’s company. While they had only met, their personal connection became deeper with each passing minute and hour, even though they came from different worlds. The challenges ahead for them they would approach together, and their lives would be intertwined more than either could have imagined.

End note: The opening of this fic is a very loose adaptation of the season 5 opening of Samurai Jack, which is spoken by Jack himself. Used this guide by Moooooshier to help with tags for this story. Also summarized information from the Sunroom Wikipedia article. And yes, people with darker skin can blush, but it isn’t, from the various web pages I read, not always as noticeable as it is in lighter-skinned people. The pages for Cassandra and Zhan Tri on the Tangled wiki were helpful, along with the Villains Wiki page for Cass. I also used different definitions of hacker here, to add to the confusion Cass is feeling, and the page for Player on the Carmen Sandiego Wiki for other information. I’m also assuming, with this fic, that Elena of Avalor, Sofia the First, and Tangled are all in the same realm same realm. I mean, why not? I also used the International Gem Society’s “Moonstone Symbolism” page for the ending part and will probably try and add more symbolism about it in later, possible parts of this story, if I choose to write them and this fic really catches on. I was thinking, originally, of making this fic a slow burn, and perhaps it sort of has some characteristics of that, but I also could see them connecting to each other early on. I didn’t think I could write over 4,000 words for this story, but here we are. Inspiration for locations and such is the eighth chapter of great fic entitled "Sandiego's Seven" Funny enough, I wrote much of this fic before I moved into my new place which... has a sunroom!

#red moonstone #carmen sandiego #cassandra tangled #cass tangled #tangled #tangled fic #carmen sandiego fic #fanfiction #fanfics #ao3fic #wattpad #quotev #samurai jack #quotes #gaza war #i stand with gaza #gaza genocide

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richardsondavis · 4 months

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I started playing Bayonetta and I am loving it. A lot of things about that game.

Anita Sarkeesian and how Bayonetta is an example of why using sexuality as empowerment is not a great thing.

How I think it is like DMC and started playing it as such only to realize that that was a terrible idea.

Listening to Bayonetta's voice reminds me of the drama that her old VA got herself in. I was expecting to actually get flashbacks to the toxicity of it all but to my surprise, she does one hell of a job that I kinda forget tbh. That and her speaking moments are sparse and in-between.

The sheer amount of combos. Like so many combos. I like the variety but I'm gonna master a few ones first before moving on.

I love how in one mission. There's this moment where you fight Jeanne and it's just Dante v Vergil from DMC 3. Epic moments right there.

But I wanna focus on the VA thing as that's the most recent, she wanted more money, more control and when it didn't happen she threw a fit. That's a yikes but I don't like those that say LMFAO or let's mock her. The fact that she already lost the opportunity is already a mockery in and of itself. Perhaps those that do have the same mindset as I do would one day see that in the end, talent is everything. Checking Tumblr, the posts about Hellena Taylor are just few and sparse. Kinda meh tbh but it ain't a sitch worth losing sleep over. I love the wiki's neutrality. It just says that she left, two most recent comments from '22 though references the drama. So neat and it's not Know Your Meme levels of toxicity and I know how that can be.

I shall update this when I play 2, 3 and the child game. I was right to go to this game blind. The epicness is just off the charts.

I'm doing the old DMC thing where I have an entire wiki open and just browsing it. Currently just got it on the page where I can find the disks for the weapons. The whip and the katana are my two most favorites. Best weapons so far.

So that's all I have tbh. I rarely post here these days on account that I got a Switch and I am enjoying myself. With that said. Thanks for reading. Updates soon and will be a reblog. Bye-bye.

#blog #thoughts #opinion #bayonetta #bayonetta 1 #voice actress #hellena taylor

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blackbat05 · 3 years

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I need a break

Shangqi x Reader (Platonic)

A/N: I feel like I’m loosing steam towards the end of my placement and wow I have never needed a break this badly before. Perhaps a short Shangqi x Reader imagine where they are both University students. Seriously at this rate I’ll just be solely a Shangqi writer HAHAHA. Doing this on my phone because I don’t want to open my work computer. Let’s see where this impromptu idea takes me to. Hope you enjoy it and as always like and comment if you wish!

Genre: PG-13

Warnings: None really, just friends supporting each other! I guess there’s an inaccurate timeline if you look at the MCU but hey this is an imagine plus if you look at some of the wiki pages, Shangqi is actually born in 1998/1999. So appreciate if you’re kind enough to go with the flow to read this comfort fic!

‘Y/N!’ Shangqi rushes to catch up with you after class. You made an effort to conceal your tiredness but he saw it right through. ‘Gosh…you alright?’

You think to yourself. Were you really alright? The answer was pretty obvious. You were ten weeks into your placement and your emotions were a jumbled up mess. Having to deal with work responsibilities was one problem, school assignments were another issue all together. At this point, you felt like you were just getting through each week for the sake of it.

At first, you believed that what you were going through was simply a transition to becoming an adult. You thought that naturally, you would be able to persevere through the stressful periods by yourself. But of course, it has been hard.

You were a social work intern at a neighborhood youth centre, thirty minutes away if you took the train and bus. The work was fulfilling in it’s own ways, but recently there were self-doubts filling your brain, if you were really cut out for the job in the future. If you weren’t, what else could you do?

As you sat with Shangqi in the school’s student-ran cafe, you found yourself pouring out the exact same concerns to him. Credit to him, Shangqi never interrupted your monologue, he just simply listened. That’s what best friends were for. That’s what you did for him to when he ran into issues with his family.

Even then, he couldn’t deny that hearing you doubt yourself broke his heart. He had known you since high school. You mostly kept to yourself and one or two close friends. Despite joining the school’s athletic team where you were one of the main athletes, you preferred to stay in the shadows unlike some of your teammates. That didn’t stop you from going out of your way to help other students in need; like helping the girl who was in an arm cast to copy the social studies notes, even if it meant you had to do it twice. Or maybe just talking to a friend who was stressed out about their results.

Basically, you had studied your ass off to get a secured spot at this university who were only one of the few that offered the degree. He remembers you telling him the moment you got your offer, ‘I’m finally good at something. I don’t have to worry anymore!’

Shangqi wasn’t stupid. The pandemic had done some crazy things. And by crazy, it affected the self-esteem that you had been working so hard on by participating in various projects and events, with you being in charge of a drama production that was promoting on mental health. That was a big deal considering that you were a major introvert.

Online engagement was never easy. In fact he has heard some of your struggles that you’ve shared with him regarding this and it only makes him admire you even more. For someone who preferred to keep to themselves, stepping out of one’s comfort zone, to take on a role that wasn’t just simply about helping people - that took guts.

‘I’m sorry I’m just loading you with all this. I just feel…’ You trailed off, suddenly becoming emotional again. Again, Shangqi does not pry. ‘That I can’t do anything right.’ You emphasize that you had ended the statement for you were unsure that you could keep your cool if you had tried to continue on.

‘If I hear you saying sorry another time,’ he chides, ‘you’re paying for our meal later.’ Your lips curved upwards slightly before returning to its somber position. Shangqi decides that a meal won’t cut it. He needs to deploy ‘Operation Y/N’. Standing up with your buzzer to collect the food, Shangqi whips out his phone. There will be a few changes for today.

Food was definitely a cure in this situation, but it was only a part of the solution. After inhaling your ramen at light speed, Shangqi tells you that today will be a different Friday. ‘And you can’t complain! It’ll be a weekend tmr,’ he tells you. So why not? You figured that even if you went back home early, your head wouldn’t be in the right place to complete the essay for your English module.

‘Hold up! The VR studio that Katy was talking about?’ You look at the tickets inside the taxi that was taking you and Shangqi to the location. ‘How did you even, it was so hard to get these tickets!’ From the time Shangqi met you outside the classroom, he had yet to see you so ecstatic. Until now.

‘Well,’ Shangqi gives his best shrug. ‘I called in a favor from a friend. Said that it was for emergency purposes.’ He raised his fingers to make connotations in the air much to your amusement.

‘Wow… just how much do I not know about you Mr Popular?’ You teased. Shangqi decides to leave the fact on him having to persuade the Wakandan Princess in giving him free tickets.

‘Please! I swear whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it! It’s for Y/N!’

‘Ey well why didn’t you say so? If it’s for that nice friend, of course!’ Shuri leaves the entrance of the compound, an exasperated Shangqi trailing behind.

Yeah, the VR studio that Katy told them about was also funded by King T’Challa himself. With stunning life like visuals thanks to Wakandan technology, the VR studio was located in a middle class neighborhood. T’Challa believed that no matter where kids came from, they should have the right to enjoy and to explore the world. For now, he wasn’t ready to share that he was on the way on becoming a full-fledged Avenger yet - you just had too much on your plate. He’ll just have to settle with this white lie.

‘Is Katy coming?’ You were on the verge of vibrating off your seat. ‘She would love this place!’ Even when you were struggling, Y/N still manages to think about other people. Today, Y/N will put her needs first.

As if to answer your previous question, you can see an equally excited Katy waiting for the two of you at the roundabout. ‘HEL-LO EVERYONE! LET’S GET OUR FRIDAY STARTED IN PROPER SHALL WE?’ Her loud voice had attracted stares, some very displeased looks too but at this point in time, you didn’t give a damn. Katy was right, it was time to enjoy!

You wished that you could slow down time, or even replay it continuously when you needed cheering up because the only thing you felt was pure happiness - euphoria even. Your stomach was in knots for laughing hysterically together with Katy when Shangqi jumped in shock from a surprise scare from a zombie. ‘I’m keeping that for leverage,’ she tells you, quietly slipping her phone into her fanny pack.

The Wakandans had really outdone themselves this time. Your favorite VR was the paradise VR. Slipping the headgear, you say goodbye to the smiles of Katy and Shangqi, whisking away to a beach that oddly reminded you of your dream destination - Hawaii. From where you were standing, you were surrounded by green and majestic islands. Despite their sheer size, you weren’t intimidated. In fact, you were healing.

Your mind was no longer in the room of the VR studio. How could it when the sun kissed your skin, giving you the much needed energy that you were lacking for so long? In the room, the two sees you kick your shoes to the side, going barefoot. It may have seem strange, but with the monitor beside you, your actions were perfectly logical.

As a kid, you used to despise the prickly feeling of sand in between your toes. But now, you grew to love the sensation that each grain of sand had on your skin. It made you feel grounded, that everything was going to be ok. You raise your virtual hand to touch your face - were you crying?

‘She must have been really stressed huh?’ Katy whispers to Shangqi who nods in return. How he hated the fact that you were giving so much to your work but still felt underappreciated. Forget the Avengers with superhuman abilities, you were the true MVP. The VR ends and you remove your headgear. ‘I’m ok,’ you automatically reassure them despite the dry tears left on both cheeks. You step down the platform slowly, trying to regain sense of the real world.

What you didn’t expect was the two embracing you in a hug, squishing you in between them. Maybe that had set off the waterworks. For someone like Katy, she had sage advice.

‘Life can be pretty shitty right? But I’m so proud of you fighting it Y/N. Just remember that it’s ok to be weak. I mean, I’ve seen worse from Shangqi,’ she jabs her finger towards his direction, earning a glare from him. That’s Katy, always trying to add a bit of humor to this grey world. Calming down, you let go of the both of them. ‘Thanks guys, for everything.’

‘Hey,’ Shangqi responds, slinging his arm over your shoulder. ‘We’re friends, so we don’t leave each other behind.’ Phone beeping, he retrieves it to check the message. ‘And look at that, nice timing. Who wants Korean BBQ?’

Trailing behind them, you get an amusing view of Shangqi bickering with Katy on how many Soju bottles she’s allowed to order later. As San Francisco welcomed the night, you were just thankful that you had the two of them to walk through this crazy maze called life.

‘Last one to the shop is paying!’

‘Oh you’re on Mister!’

A/N: I really just think that this was also an imagine for me to cope too. So I can only hope to finish my placement/assignments/exams well! To anyone who does studies and work simultaneously, I fucking respect you (allow me to use expletives for now, these people deserve the respect). If you’re going through a stressful time, I hope this brings the slightest comfort for you and remember… YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Again, thank you for reading!

#shang chi #xu shangqi #shangqi x reader #shangqi imagine #katy shang chi #shang chi x reader #shangqi #simu liu

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faunusrights · 3 years

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what is going on with all the bias on robyn hill’s wiki page, anyway? - an aside

As someone who uses the RWBY wiki with some degree of frequency - often because I’m looking for art references, or Semblance and weapon names - I’m used to... some amount of bias in the articles for different characters? Like, let’s be real, it’s not a perfect wiki! Community-maintained stuff isn’t easy to all keep on the same track! But, generally, it gives the facts well enough and doesn’t do too bad a job keeping all the balls in the air when it comes to new information from all four corners of this franchise.

Well, until you open the article for Robyn Hill, and realise it’s an absolute disaster. Like, really; the impartial voice just plain doesn’t exist for her, and almost all of her wiki is written in such a way that she reads as being an absolutely insufferable, hostile, hard-to-like character. Even if you aren’t a fan of Robyn personally, you have to admit that if you hadn’t seen the show yourself, you might very well come away from her article presuming she’s a major antagonist of Volumes 7 and 8.

Like, for instance, let’s take a look at the first paragraph of her Personality section:

Robyn has a direct and confident personality, having no trouble being confrontational with Atlas personnel, including the Ace Operatives. Robyn also seems to suffer from overconfidence and arrogance, shown in her encounters with Ruby and celebrating her election victory before it was verified. She is aggressive and hostile in nature, quickly jumping to conflict without thinking through consequences. However, she is also shown to be reasonable when the situation calls for it.

And, for good measure, here’s another paragraph from the same section:

In "With Friends Like These" Robyn displayed a rather impulsive side of her personality, when upon hearing that James Ironwood's plan to abandon Mantle and arrest those against him, she started a fight between herself, Clover Ebi, and Qrow Branwen onboard a Manta with Tyrian Callows in custody. Despite the fact, there was no order or her arrest. Her brashness led to Tyrian breaking free and crashing the Manta as well as her becoming unconscious.

(Taken from Robyn’s RWBY Wiki page. Bolding is mine.)

In every instance here, all of the “negative” aspects of her personality take centre stage; she’s confrontational. She suffers from arrogance. She is aggressive and hostile. She started the fight. Her brashness led to the crash. All of this is only compounded when her positive traits trail behind as an afterthought; she’s direct and confrontational, overconfident and arrogant, aggressive and hostile, impulsive and jumps to conclusions... but hey! As least she’s reasonable when the situation calls for it.

The way that this information is presented to the reader is quite literally on par with how the wiki presents the personalities of the actual literal villains who appear throughout the show. Let’s take, for instance, the Personality section of Cinder Fall:

Cinder is ruthless and sadistic, as demonstrated when she delivers a killing blow to a clearly defeated Pyrrha Nikos in "End of the Beginning" and when she throws a spear at a defenseless Weiss Schnee in "The More the Merrier." She is relentlessly driven to gain power and determined to cross any line to obtain it. Cinder demonstrates a cunning that shows in her successful manipulation of events and people throughout the first three volumes. Cinder is also arrogant and egomaniacal, and as such, relishes in dominance and gloating, displaying shameless pleasure in the misery she has caused others.

Or, the Personality section of Raven Branwen:

Raven is cynical, patronizing, selfish and stubborn. She believed her act of "kindness" of saving Yang's life from Neopolitan was sufficient despite having left Yang at a very young age and refused to protect her daughter when in need after that.

Raven is also very prideful and hypocritical, refusing to acknowledge her faults and always trying to justify her actions both to others and to herself, often putting the blame on others for them even if she feels real guilt about them.

It makes sense that for an antagonist, the primary faults and flaws of their personalities will come first, as to better represent them as the villains to clarify to the reader who they are and why they act as they do in their storylines. However, the fact that Robyn arguably has an even more caustic write-up then Raven, despite not being an antagonist, goes to show the lengths this writer has gone to present her in a significantly more negative light than she ever appears in the show.

If this doesn’t seem convincing, let’s look at a more direct comparison; what does the wiki say about Ironwood? He’s present in the same seasons, and has now become more of an antagonist in the latter episodes; is the wiki quite as blunt about his flaws?

Ironwood is courteous to his allies, as shown by his first onscreen interaction with Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. He is also far-thinking and tactical, wondering about the future, as seen when he speaks to Ozpin about Qrow Branwen's message. He also has a jovial, friendly, humorous and proud public persona, which he uses as a spokesman for the weapon manufacturers of Atlas.

However, as courteous Ironwood may appear, he can also be incredibly blunt, often preferring the direct approach. When he feels necessary, Ironwood is not afraid to bring the full might of his military command to bear, which sparked disagreements with both Glynda and Ozpin. Nevertheless, Ironwood is extremely loyal to his comrades, and however questionable his methods may be, he seems to have genuinely good intentions behind them.

Uh, no.

Instead, when his flaws are mentioned (for example, being blunt), it’s written in a significantly less... abrasive manner. It’s referred to as the direct approach, versus Robyn who is described as confrontational. Even then, his flaws are folded in to his (alleged) positive traits; he is not afraid, extremely loyal, and has genuinely good intentions, despite the fact that the show has now proven that Ironwood’s flaws greatly outweigh these. It reveals how thoroughly all of Robyn’s actions are presented as the work of an arrogant troublemaker, whilst Ironwood’s actions are presented as the efforts of a man working towards some greater good.

Also, I’ll add that in both examples, I used the first two paragraphs of their Personality sections. These are both the first two things you read about these characters, yet look at how differently they’re summarised.

What is interesting, however, is that despite this bias being extremely self-evident, the comments on her page generally chime agreement, referring to her as “overconfident, arrogant, impulsive and hotheaded to the point of being unlikable”, and claiming that she’s “literally the worse character in the show next to cinder, blake and yang”[1]. Someone mentions that Robyn has earned quite the hatedom... but why?

Broadly, my experiences of Robyn Hill’s writing in the fandom has been through a queer lens, and the vast majority of writers who’ve covered her and the Happy Huntresses have been women, or queer, or trans, or all the above... basically, the people who are usually responsible for a vast majority of fanfiction, let’s be real. These writers love Robyn, and have explored and extrapolated on her character to marvellous degree. Yet, at no singular point have any of these flaws ever been written quite as strongly as the wiki implies they are, nor have I seen much evidence of them myself in the show. For instance, let’s take one of the more serious points in her Personality section; she started a fight between herself, Clover Ebi, and Qrow Branwen [...] her brashness led to Tyrian breaking free and crashing the Manta as well as her becoming unconscious.

When we watch this scene again, Robyn did initiate the fight... because she was rightfully aware that Clover would obey his orders, even if they were wrong. Despite everything that happened prior in the entirety of Volume 7, when given orders to bring Qrow in alongside RWBY, it was clear that Clover fully intended to follow it through, which Robyn knows from prior experience with the AceOps:

[image ID: two images of Clover, Robyn and Qrow in the dark-grey interior of the Manta ship. Robyn has her weapon aimed at Clover as he stands in front of Qrow. Clover is saying “Only Qrow is under arrest [...] please don’t make me arrest you too.”]

Her knowledge of the AceOps means that she reacted accordingly; trying to stop him from taking Qrow in and obeying Ironwood’s plan the only way she knows the AceOps respond to. Her reaction isn’t unwarranted. However, my point isn’t to argue that Robyn was right or wrong, but rather that regardless of who started the fight, the way the wiki explains this specific incident is that it’s solely Robyn’s fault that Tyrian escaped and crashed the Manta, but we know this isn’t the case. Robyn and Qrow both fought Clover, and it was Clover’s good luck (or Qrow’s bad luck, depending on how you view it) that allowed for Kingfisher to break Tyrian’s bonds. Her brashness is blamed for the outcome, but in reality, this outcome could have been avoided together if Clover had not chosen to follow his orders and bring in an innocent man. Also, she didn’t crash the Manta! That was all Tyrian! The intentional tying together of these two events as her fault, however, are a neat package of blame.

In these instances on the wiki, Robyn’s personality appears amplified, focusing specifically on her flaws and exaggerating them to the extremes that, as noted earlier, matches the language used to define the very villains of the series. Yet, the people who enjoy her and the Happy Huntresses often perceive those same flaws to a significantly lesser extent, or even see those flaws as actually being boons of her character; for instance, reading her alleged arrogance as passion. So, why such division?

Before, I mentioned her “negative” traits, and I put this into quote marks because traits don’t always align nicely into good and bad. All aspects of a person can vary on how positive they are based on context - even the show proves this, with protectiveness becoming paranoia (Ironwood) or loyalty becoming subservience (Winter). Even a character that is broadly composed of more unfavourable traits can have this contextual shift; Cinder’s stubbornness to her goals makes her a fast learner and a tenacious opponent.

Yet, why did the writer (or writers) choose to highlight almost every aspect of Robyn’s character as a bad thing? Why did they frame her decisions as such? I have a suspicion it’s to do with her character at large; she’s a bold socialist politician who believes in equality and fairness for all, who refuses to stand for incompetence and obedience towards evil causes. She’s outspoken in her views, and reacts strongly to those who threaten to overturn her work. Also, she’s a woman, in charge of a group of other women, at least one of whom is canonically trans. To those who agree with her in real life, Robyn appears as a great character! We admire her work ethic and we support her ends. To those who may not... well, it’s not hard to see how they might perceive her as more of a cocky, authority-defying upstart. Of course, the core text of RWBY doesn’t quite believe the latter; RWBY has always placed Robyn as the direct counter to authoritarianism, whether it be Jacques, Clover, or Ironwood, and even the article admits that she is a potent voice for the people of Mantle. Still, it’s clear that there’s plenty of people in a vocal minority who are deeply dissatisfied by Robyn, and aren’t afraid to make their stance on the matter exceedingly clear.

So, what does this all mean? Well, here’s what we can say for sure; Robyn’s article is, and has always been, stringently biased against her character, and often misconstrues her motives and decisions. This is maybe the more obvious part, but how should her article be worded to make this less so? Likely, I’d rephrase a lot of it to be less damaging to her character; she isn’t hostile, she holds people accountable. She isn’t quick to jump to conflict, she is familiar with how Atlas responds to anti-authority with violence. She isn’t arrogant, she believes in the power of the people as being the right thing to fight for. Even this makes it clearer that her character is about resisting the oppression inherent in Atlas, and is a much clearer outline of her personality as a whole. People may disagree with this phrasing and summary also, but given her character is based on Robin Hood, it’s also not far from the mark in terms of what she should represent.

TL;DR: Robyn’s wiki page is written with a deep bias against her character and what she represents, acts upon, and chooses to do in the show; I have no doubt that in canon, this sort of language would probably be used by Jacques himself as a smear campaign, haha. Whilst I can’t speak for the author and their motives, I have a distinct feeling that this article was written, or edited, by someone who is either:

not a fan of Robyn

not a fan of a new female character

not a fan of a new female character in a position of power

not a fan of a character with socialist/communist/antifa ideals

all of the above and then some???

Even though I’m not going to edit her wiki page (I’m very shy and I’ve never done it before), I think it’s worth analysing this if only as a reminder of the inherent biases of an author even when people are trying to present a character’s information impartially. This isn’t the first wiki I’ve seen misconstrue - or even make incorrect assumptions on - facts about a character, and it won’t be the last. In the meantime, though, I leave you with this fact:

Robyn Hill slaps huge nuts and I love her.

[1] I’m not naming the users who posted these things here, because it’s unnecessary. You can find them for yourself at the bottom of Robyn’s wiki, but there’s no need to respond; some people just don’t like Robyn, and that’s fine - I’m just explaining how bias leaks into wikis like water into a sponge. It happens!

#rwby #rwde #robyn hill #murphy's thoughts and vibes on this shit (again)#is this a new tag #i haven't really written this well and it was sort of off the cuff so sorry if there's mistake #*mistakes #LMAO #i just wanted to lay my Thoughts out #i swear if even one person msgs me like 'but robyn DOES suck' im banishing you to the Spray Cheese Hell Dimension #also im tagging as rwde but its not rwde against the show (FOR ONCE??) so

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persephoneflouwers · 2 years

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I still have some hard time believing this actually happened lmao

Alright, it could have been because it was snowing. Maybe he was in his goofy mood and played Do you want to build a snowman because he thought it was funny. Ha-ha-ha But then I realised… wait a minute isn’t Elsa INSIDE a closed door? Inside high walls? She can’t or won’t leave her room because she is scared and her sister knocks on the door and asks her to come out and play??

Why is Elsa scared? She has this superpower that she can’t control (sounds like a peculiar boy we all know). She is too young to know the danger and to understand her ‘role’ as a princess. God, this is going deep deep.

This is a metaphor, obviously, of someone who was forced to hide, to become cold and rigid, to be in control of this superpower (the flamboyance?? Idk this a rant and I’m literally still in my bed with an eye closed).

But look what I found on the fan-wiki page of the song:

«Despite the song's cheerful title and tone in the beginning, the song is quite sad and tragic, as many sad events took place during this song: the deteriorating friendship of Elsa and Anna, their growing loneliness due to being isolated from society and each other, and the death of their parents, which left them both orphaned, sad and alone.»

It sounds… familiar. I am absolutely over-reading this? 100%, but Idk when you go to a show the last song you would expect to listen to is a song from an old disney movie… especially if that song is a brit pop/rock show. Or it is me maybe. Maybe it’s something that happens but I don’t know of? Maybe these songs play at the venues and I don’t know.

Okay now a bit of lyrics, I guess god this is weird it’s disney and I really should study:

Young Anna: Do you wanna build a snowman?

Come on, let's go and play!

I never see you anymore

Come out the door

It's like you've gone away!

We used to be best buddies

And now we're not

I wish you would tell me why!

Do you wanna build a snowman?

It doesn't have to be a snowman...

So Little Anna doesn’t even understand why her sister never leaves the room. She doesn’t know what Elsa did when she was little and she doesn’t know Elsa is afraid of hurting her again. “We used to be best buddies”… I think it’s pretty self explanatory I guess.

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Or ride our bike around the halls?

I think some company is overdue,

I've started talking to the pictures on the walls!

(Hang in there, Joan.)

It gets a little lonely,

All these empty rooms,

Just watching the hours tick by...

(tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock)

After this part, Elsa’s parents help her control her superpower. It’s not easy… she is a kid and progressively she starts losing her sparkle, she is growing up and she is not a little girl anymore. The walls part gives me strong SOML vibes, but also the closed doors, the loneliness! These are themes we often see in their music.

15-Year-Old Anna: See you in two weeks.

18-Year-Old Elsa: Do you have to go?

King: You'll be fine, Elsa.

…. No comment.

Elsa? Please, I know you're in there

People are asking where you've been

They say, "have courage" and I'm trying to

I'm right out here for you,

Just let me in

We only have each other,

It's just you and me

What are we gonna do?

Do you want to build a snowman?

It doesn't have to be a snowman...

Go away, Anna.

Okay, bye.

This is so so so sad? arrrrrrgh! You can’t misinterpreted this.

Young Elsa: I'm doing everything you said, Papa! The gloves are helping!

King: Good, but there will come a day where you will have to stand before your people without them. You must be prepared for anything, Elsa. Now, again.

Young Elsa: Conceal it, don't feel it.

Both: Don't let it show.

Young Elsa: It's getting stronger! I can't laugh, I can't cry, I can't dream! I can't live without it bursting out!

Queen: This is too much for her. We shouldn't go. Come here, my poor child.

Young Elsa: No! Don't touch me! Please, I don't want to hurt you.

Queen: Anna, it's time.

Young Anna: I'm going to miss you.

Queen: We'll just be gone for a couple of weeks, my sunshine.

Young Elsa: I can't do this on my own.

King: You can, you must. I'm proud of you.

Young Elsa: I'll try not to let you down, Father.

The king is proud of her daughter. Well I bet! She has been struggling with herself since she was a literal child because that superpower was born with her. She should be proud too and not hate it because it could turn out to be a good thing right?

Anna: Though everything's in pieces

We've got your back

Kristoff: Even better, we've got your butt!

Olaf: You've built a snowman

A handsome, feral, humble snowman

Look, this snowman is weird and when I think of it i don’t think of a snowman at all.

Elsa in let it go builds her snowman. That’s her answer.

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oh2e · 3 years

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I have decided to describe the saga that is Ho-Tan’s fandom wiki page (with images!) It will be a long post so I have added a read more.

The basic gist is that the fandom wiki uses he/him and people kept changing the pronouns to she/her which escalated.

So first of all a bit of background for those unsure.

Ho-Tan is played by a male actor and never referred to individually by name or pronouns - except once in the Christmas special where they are called Ho-Tan (though they may also be referred to as Alfie in episode 5 of season 2 by Flowers). In one episode when given the option to make a wish they wish for longer eyelashes then immediately follow it up with “oh and I want to be a woman”. Ho-Tan is then played by a female actress. At the end of the scene the wishes all get undone and Ho-Tan is once again played by the same actor as always. That scene though has caused most people to believe Ho-Tan is a trans woman and so I will use she/her for Ho-Tan from now on.

On the fandom wiki Ho-Tan is referred to as he/him though there is a note that she appears to suffer from gender dysphoria and that she makes the wish to be a woman. I know that at least one person in the past had changed the pronouns to she/her but they were reverted. Here is her page as of February 5th 2021:

On a whim I made an account and changed her pronouns, curious to see how long they would stay. The answer was one minute before the administrator for the Yonderland wiki changed them back. The only comment on the page was someone asking for the pronouns to be she/her but the administrator Tommi86 had replied that since Ho-Tan only appeared as female briefly the use of he was correct on the wiki. Here is the comment and reply:

I then tinkered around and added some more general information because it turns out I am actually interested in this kind of thing. I went to change the pronouns one more time to see what would happen and found a message left saying that anyone who changed the pronouns would be banned. Not wanting to be banned I left it. Here is the message:

Then three days later two people changed the pronouns and Tommi86 changed them back. There were also a handful of comments left saying that Ho-Tan was a woman to which Tommi86 removed the option of commenting on the entire Yonderland wiki. Here are the comments that were left:

Shortly after this Tommi86 locked editing of her page to only administration:

Undeterred people left comments on Tommi86′s message wall

A friend tweeted at Them There asking for clarification but so far has no response.

On the 22nd two people left suggestions on Tommi86′s message wall as how to reconcile this issue. So far he has not responded.

I have watched, read and listened to every interview I could and not found a single instance when Ho-Tan is referred to at all. In the series two commentary Ho-Tan’s hair was briefly discussed but everything said was about Larry and him playing her, nothing to do with Ho-Tan herself. In series 3 episode 2 after the Elders come through the portal to Debbie’s kitchen doing the victory dance Vex says "wait boys where are we going to live?" and in episode 4 about 40 seconds in Flowers appears nude and says "chill out brothers we've all got one". The only other gendered word to refer to the Elders is in the Christmas special when Johnny Cash calls them all ladies.

Just for clarity here are the edit logs for Ho-Tan’s page. There are a few general edits adding information, including the following but most are just editing the pronouns.

(Those highlighted red are edits to do with saying Ho-Tan is a man while those highlighted yellow are edits to do with Ho-Tan not being a man.)

I am aware that at least one fan is making frequent edits to the Yonderland fandom wiki in order to become an administrator and override Tommi86. I will add any further information as I find it.

#my own post #scribe elder ho-tan #yonderland #larry rickard #laurence rickard #them there #the six idiots #jim howick #martha howe douglas #simon farnaby #ben willbond #mathew baynton

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dearingbooks · 3 years

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The Difference one Woman can make.

Late Friday night in June, we had stopped for a burger on the way to the cinema, we used to do family movie nights at the cinema when a new film came out that the majority of us wanted to watch, this time I was the one who was reluctant to go, sadly we do this significantly less now. So, stubborn 2015 me, rolling her eyes and dragging her feet up the cinema steps to find our seats to watch the new Jurassic World movie. Pathetic! I thought, why pay money to watch a movie about a dinosaur theme park! My parents had completely lost it! Huffing and puffing I took my seat on the aisle and sipped my blue raspberry slushie and looked up at the big screen. Ugh! I wanted it to be over, quickly. I sat down and shut my mouth, despite not wanting to watch it, I wasn’t going to spoil it for the others; but I didn’t get why they would want to watch it, I watched the trailer before going, was not impressed, it looked dumb!

However, as much as my pre-Jurassic self would not like, I found who I was during that movie, I discovered a whole new admiration for actors and movies. I found that I related to the main female protagonist, Claire Dearing. She did not need a man, or children, she was so focused on her career and let no one boss her around. She was top dog, and I completely fell for this fictional character. I evolved through that movie with her character, I felt content with being a strong female who put career over family. I wanted to embody this fictional woman; I wanted to be her.

On the journey home I typed ‘Claire Dearing actress’ into google and saw this stunning redhead- Bryce Dallas Howard. I immediately recognised her from movies I had watched prior, and I was completely astounded at her range of characters she can portray and portray them well. After scrolling through her Wiki page and reading news articles about her, I learned that she is the daughter of Ron Howard, one of my parents’ favourite people in film.

“Dad, that woman in the movie is Ron Howard's daughter”, I needed to inform my family that my now favourite woman in film is the daughter of my parents’ favourite people in film. My parents were shocked that I enjoyed the movie despite my loud vocalisation of not wanting to watch it.

Googling ‘Bryce Dallas Howard’ became my new after school routine, learning that she applied to acting school as Bryce Dallas to avoid people knowing she is the daughter of an already famous actor and director, and she had met her true love at nineteen and is still happily married to him. Yet what most stuck out to the self-conscious, body hating 2015 me, was that Bryce wasn’t a skinny twig of a woman that you see in most movies, she had classy curves and promoted body positivity despite some backlash the media gave her. I made a connection with this woman I had never met because I too received negative comments about my figure, yet Bryce took that on the shoulder and learned to love herself. I wanted to feel that self-love about myself that she acquired.

After watching Jurassic World, I explored many more fandoms, and from there I became obsessed with movie franchises and TV shows, actors and directors. I could not give you a full list of all of the fandoms I am in, there are too many to count, and they have all played a role in helping me evolve to who I am today. All because I latched onto one character from one movie I did not even want to watch, one film got me hooked on this life: it’s like a drug. I cannot stop. I also went back and forth with my hairstyle due to this woman; in the movie Bryce has a stunning ginger graduated bob with a fringe, however I never had the guts to go ginger until now; shame the hairdressers are all shut.

Now, almost six years later Bryce Dallas Howard has had great success in directing two episodes of The Mandalorian. Over the Christmas break I watched the show with my dad, sat on the sofa, fire lit, the chocolate Labrador curled up between us, peach vodka and diet lemonade in my hand, hot cup of tea in my dad’s. We binge watched both seasons in a week (it’s amazing) and he was shocked to see ‘Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard’ at the end of one, let alone two episodes. “Shit, she’s come far in the past few years” he said putting another episode on.

Bryce allowed me to find my best friend, Iz, through Instagram; Bryce has brought so many people together it is so surreal. And when I found out that Iz was going to Southampton University in 2019, a 20-minute drive from my house, I was finally able to meet her, because of one woman we both adore. I was friends with Iz for three years before I was able to meet her, I asked my school friend to come along with me so she could film the moment Iz, and I met! We got pancakes and watched the second Maleficent movie at the cinema, it was one of the best days of my life. I was so thankful that I met a truly hilarious and loving girl through this one actress! Because of Bryce Dallas Howard, I have made so many other friends from all over the globe as they too idolise Bryce and together we have created the ‘BDH online family’. A small group of us do regular zoom calls to catch up and chat about the recent photos and updates that Bryce has posted on Instagram, talk about Covid-19 and the types of restrictions and lockdown rules each of our countries has. During one of our calls, we had the craziest idea- Invite Bryce to one of our zoom calls. Bryce said yes! And after a few months of organisation, we had the date. The date was-

My.

Birthday.

The day came around and I was so nervous, it was 11pm exactly. The Wi-Fi had cut out fifteen minutes before the call. I was in tears. Mascara down my face, puffy eyes, I joined the call with a few minutes to spare before Bryce joined it. My mum hung around off camera for the first 5 minutes to double check the Wi-Fi was stable, luckily it stabilised. The other girls had never been so glad to see me, everyone was panicked for me; I could not miss it for the world (despite telling my parents, in floods of tears, that I cannot join and that it’s the end of that).

“Kat! You’re here!” “Happy birthday!” “Are you okay? The Wi-Fi sorted?”

They all chimed, happy to see my little face in the bottom right corner of their computer screens. Luckily Iz was there, otherwise it would have been extremely awkward with only one of us since we are known as a duo in the online family, we have to do everything together, we come in a pair and there can’t just be one of us.

“Shit girls, that was stressful”

I hadn’t realised I was holding my breath until I exhaled the large breath when my Wi-Fi settled, and I was on the call, I fixed my makeup and was ready to meet Bryce.

The few minutes we had before Bryce joined were intense, two of the girls left to get a drink and we weren’t sure if they would be back in time, luckily they did return.

“No way!” One of them, Anna who was hosting the call, gasped “Bryce is in the waiting room!”

We all freak for no more than 10 seconds, we compose ourselves then our faces are reshuffled, and we see this stunning glowing face that we all admire smiling at us. Omg, it's her.

“Hi girls!”

I have never smiled for so long in my entire life, my cheeks hurt afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all, it just hurt as I thought I would only be smiling for half an hour, since that is how long we were told Bryce had. However, we were speaking to Bryce for nearly an hour and a half, she just kept talking and asked us questions! She was so lovely to talk to, so relaxed; it was if I was talking to a friend that I had known for years!

“Before we go I want to all sing Kat a happy birthday!”

My idol wanted to sing me a happy birthday! The other girls were really ecstatic for me, I still can’t believe to this day that The Bryce Dallas Howard wanted to sing to me!

It was both the best and the worst happy birthday song that has be sung to me. It was the best because, well my idol was singing to me! And proposed the singing! It was the worst in terms of the actual song as they were all out of sync and lagging, it was bloody hilarious!

At 10:27pm the next evening, watching a rerun of Game of Thrones on Sky, I got a notification ‘Brycedhoward just posted’, I clicked the notification then see our smiling faces on her page, she posted a screenshot of our call on her social media! The call was supposed to be a secret so other fans weren’t upset. There’s a few snotty comments on the post, but they’re just jealous and to be frank, I don’t care! My smiley face is on her page forever! All ten of us have printed the screenshot of Bryce’s post off and put it in a frame, one day all ten of us hope to congregate somewhere, most likely in America, and sign the backs of all of our photos. I’m still in utter awe and shock- How many celebrities have you seen that would do a free zoom call with some fans? Not a lot, and that amount is even slimmer when they talk for an extra hour than scheduled. Bryce truly is one of a kind and the best idol anyone could ever hope to have.

Compared to a zoom call with Bryce herself, the few times she has liked my comments on her posts feel like nothing in comparison! I remember being so excited, running downstairs to my parents.

“Mum! Dad! Bryce liked my comment! She knows I exist!”

“Was it actually her? Remember when you got a Facebook request from Robert Downey Jr and it turned out it was a fake account?”

I rolled my eyes at her, it was Bryce, it was her verified account. The comment was a book recommendation I had for her, she posted on her hashtag BDHbookshelf and I thought I’d take a chance and comment a book recommendation I had for her, and the chance paid off.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds with Bryce, she has been such an inspiration to me for the past few years, and she promotes such wonderful causes and body positivity! I hope to one day meet her and thank her in person for changing my life for the better, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect opportunity to meet her- Iz and I have decided to travel up to London for the Jurassic World Dominion premiere in 2022 (if Covid lets us!), we’d get a hotel and actually meet Bryce in person, as well as meeting other members of the online family!

Words cannot fully contain the admiration that I possess for Bryce, her soul is utterly and truly exquisite, she has been such a visionary while I’ve been transitioning from a girl who had no idea who she was with no dreams or aspirations, to a woman who has now found so many new friends and now knows who she wants to be.

#bryce dallas howard #claire dearing #jurassic park #jurassic world #jurassic #blog #owen grady #chris pratt #marvel #Claire Dearing fanfic #bdh #bdh online family #writing #celeb #Jurassic fanfic #june 2015 #film review #favourite films

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englishlaboratory · 3 years

Text

What was Vergere?

I'm about to crack open a very niche, very hotly debated topic regarding everyone's favorite Fosh from 2007-2012. My personal answer is 'Grey Jedi', but I'll list all the arguments here using the books, ancient forums, and Wookiepedia. Refutations to each of the 3 theories can be found at the last point of each theory. Page numbers and sources will be provided when possible. Page numbers will not be used if the source/quote appears more than once throughout a book. Please note that I am biased.

1. Vergere is a Jedi

-This theory only works if you only use Destiny's Way, Cloak of Darkness, Rogue Planet, and Outbound Flight. I have not read CoD or RP.

- RP and CoD make references to her time in the Jedi Order. OF refers to her as a missing Jedi.

- She tells Luke she's a Jedi from the Republic in chapter 11 of Destiny's way.

- DW and Force Heretic 3: Reunion establish Vergere's been either on Zonama Sekot or with the Yuuzhan Vong for 50 years. CoD and RP make it closer to 60 to accommodate for the prequels. Regardless, it's established she was a Jedi prior to leaving. She couldn't have encountered Sith teachings on her trip, as she was outside the known galaxy for most of it.

- Nobody actually believes this; it just shows up in forums as a joke argument. Vergere's ideals and allegiances contradict this In Traitor (this book will be cited heavily), Force Heretic 3: reunion, The Unifying Force, and any book that mentions her by Troy Denning (see the Sith evidence). It still has better evidence and makes more sense than the Vergere is a Sith argument.

2. Vergere is a Grey Jedi

- This theory is most supported by fans of the New Jedi Order series.

- Vergere tells Jacen "There are no Jedi here" when asked point blank on page 9 of Traitor.

-She gets angry when Jacen calls her a Sith on page 65 and 66 of Traitor because she hates the binary.

- In page 31 of Traitor, Nom Anor thinks about how interpretation is synonymous with propaganda and lies. This mirrors Vergere's repeated ideals throughout the book ("Everything I tell you is a lie," "Questions are more true than answers", and "[Wisdom/Truth] Is there any other kind?").

- On pages 145 and 146 of Traitor, she asks how to identify the dark side. Answering with 'intent' or 'action' fails to satisfy the question.

- Across Traitor, Destiny's Way, FH3: Reunion, and The Unifying Force, she is established to believe that the Force is one; the light and dark sides are social constructs. She still maintains that the Sith are evil; this evil just doesn't stem from their powersource.

- She repeatedly expresses disappointment when Jacen Solo takes the Jedi Mantle in Traitor and DW.

- This theory has some trouble explaining her torture of Jacen Solo, and it requires a VERY specific interpretation of a scene in the Legacy comic and a dismissal of evidence found in books in both the Legacy of the Force series and the Fate of the Jedi series (Both by Troy Denning).

3. Vergere is a Sith

- Troy Denning really wanted to make Vergere a Sith, and fans of his work are more likely to use this theory.

- Vergere is not a Jedi, so Sith is the only other "canon" option. [Grey Jedi laugh in the background]

- In pages 415-417 of Betrayal, Lumiya tells Jacen Solo that Vergere was her former Sith Master.

- An unnamed Sith Lady tells Alema Rar that Vergere was a Sith trained by Palpatine and that the purpose of her Zonama Sekot trip was to escape him after betraying her. The lady also corroborates Lumiya's story.

- I haven't read the books, but Luke apparently makes a comment about Vergere being a Sith in the FOTJ series.

- Legacy Comic #18 part 5 has an interaction between Darth Krayt and Vergere on a Vongship that mirrors Traitor. He senses darkness in her and asks her to teach him; Vergere agrees to do so.

- The Vergere wiki article and Behind the Threat: The Sith by Wizards of the Coast attribute her to the Sith faction.

- Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force states that characters who never met Vergere also believe her to be a Sith (from Wiki, I haven't read it). (How this is evidence is beyond me, as the characters never met her and so are irrelevant to the debate.)

- This theory falls apart with the timeline; Vergere didn't have the time to be trained by Palpatine and betray him before her odyssey. Lumiya also became a Dark Lady after Vergere left but before Vergere returned with the Yuuzhan Vong. Critics will readily point out the unreliability of an unnamed Sith Lady and Lumiya as sources on the matter, the aforementioned timeline, and the fact that the Legacy comic scene never actually uses the word 'Sith'. Behind the Threat can be disregarded because it says Vergere trained Lumiya during the Legacy Era, at least 5 years after Vergere died. The Wookepedia article does not acknowledge the timeline but does acknowledge the flaws in the evidence but still decides to ignore the ambiguities and call Vergere a Sith.

#I think this is a theory blog now #sorry for the long post #Vergere #star wars legends #jacen solo #jaina solo #yuuzhan vong #lumiya #denningverse #new jedi order #fate of the jedi #legacy of the force

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dreamersleeps · 3 years

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Hey, have been reading your blog and it is the kind of goldmine I’d brave the dangers of the Klondike for. It is SO GOOD. But I’m also curious on your thoughts on Endeavor playing god, but not understanding the science behind his creations? He seems to think Shouto has an Icyhot Quirk when it’s more likely Shouto is a Chimera. He has two phenotypes, thus one side can only use Icy and the other can only use Fire. Shouto like has TWO Quirks instead of a combination of both. And Enji seems to think Touya inherited Rei’s constitution, yet that might not be the case as according to the Singularity Theory, humans’ Quirks are evolving at a faster pace than the body can keep up with. So Touya might not even HAVE his mother’s constitution but Endeavor just THINKS he does. Also, there is his rivalry with All Might that is completely one-sided. Allmight as All For One which is the Quirk of not a single person but more eight Quirks in one. Endeavor thinks he’s going up against a single man when in reality he’s facing eight men in one.

Hello! First of all I’d like to give a huge apology for how late my response is. Due to the start of the spring semester and some other unexpected life events, this took way longer than expected.

Thank you so much for your kind comments! 😩💕 It really did put a huge smile on my face and it made my day! It makes me feel very giddy~ When I first started posting on Tumblr, I wasn’t expecting people to actually like or even read the stuff I was writing about or send messages to my inbox since most of my posts kind of make me look like the guy in this meme here:

I very much appreciate all the comments and asks I receive in my inbox, so thank you for sending yours in.

Anyways, I’d like to address this from the beginning but, unfortunately when it comes to quirks and how they work, I’m not too sure if I will be able to answer your questions properly. For example I am aware of the Quirk Singularity Theory but I don’t know if I have a good enough understanding of it to form a response I am confident in.. That being said, I will try to answer your other questions and comments the best I can.

Endeavor Playing God

So, what are my thoughts on Endeavor playing god, but not understanding the science behind his creations? Back when we had the Touya reveal and we got more information about the Todoroki household from the perspective of Todoroki Enji, there were a lot of differing thoughts and opinions about the flashbacks that were floating around Tumblr. I think if I were to give a simple answer to your question, I’d say it was Endeavor’s youth and stubbornness. Looking back at Chapter 291, we can see that Endeavor looks quite young in the flashbacks with Touya, but I’m going to attempt to do the math.

Seeing that we know that Fuyumi is currently 23, and that Dabi is older than her (I suck at guessing ages) and I’m guessing here that he’s going to be four years or older, since quirks normally manifest around four years of age. That being stated the youngest age Dabi may be currently is 27? Maybe 26.

Keep in mind that I may be off with the “math” I’m doing here but let’s guestimate Dabi’s age as being 26 or 27. Endeavor is currently 46 years old so that means he was 19 or 20 years old when he had Touya. For comparison, Natsuo is currently 19 years old as well.

At that young of an age, he already had his eyes set on wanting to surpass All Might. His hero name, Endeavor, summarizes his career pretty well: an attempt to achieve a goal.

With the hellflame quirk he has, and the wealth and power that came with his family name, he really was given a position to act as a “god.” For the sake of his ambitions, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shouto were born, as his “creations.”

Touya’s “Weak Constitution” and Shouto’s Quirk

I’m not going to say that his youth was the main factor for why things happened the way they did because the answer is more complex, but I do think that a combination of his youth and stubbornness fueled Endeavor’s recklessness. He essentially bought his marriage with Rei in order to pass down some sort of combination of the hellflame quirk and Rei’s ice quirk to his children. I think when it comes to the question of whether he understood the science behind what he was doing, I think I can confidently say that he didn’t know in the beginning, or at least it was not something he really looked in to. I think he just saw it as hellflame + ice quirk = child with both quirks as we kind of see in the panel below.

As you state, Endeavor does see the combination of the two quirks as one. We can see below that he refers to it as, “the ideal quirk.”

I think that it is also important to point out that Endeavor was, I guess you could say, content when Touya was born even though he only had the hellflame quirk. From the first panel, Endeavor states, “the fire power he possessed was greater than my own.”

He continues to say, “He didn’t have a way to overcome the inescapable downside of overheating but... I nevertheless sought to raise the boy to be a hero.”

That was until it was revealed that Touya’s body could not handle the extreme heat which came with the hellflame quirk. This is when Endeavor began to refer to Touya’s “weakness” as inheriting Rei’s weak constitution.

Now, the Quirk Singularity Theory and just the genetic science behind quirks has always been kind of difficult for me to wrap my mind around so because of that I do not think that I will be able to give an opinion on it that I would be confident in. However, @/redphlox has a post which has some opinions that I agree with that have to do with Endeavor’s belief that Touya had “a weak constitution and Shouto’s quirk. I will link it here.

As for Shouto’s quirk, unless the actual meaning and its nuances was lost in translation, his quirk is referred to as “Half-Cold Half Hot” in the English official translation which I think further reinforces the idea that it is not really a singular quirk but a combination of two separate quirks. I agree that Shouto is most likely a Chimera.

According to Britannica, a chimera is:

In genetics, an organism or tissue that contains at least two different sets of DNA, most often originating from the fusion of a many different zygotes.

The term is derived from the chimera of Greek mythology: a fire-breathing monster that was part lion, part goat, and part dragon.

As seen below we can see the white hair, gray eye and ice quirk on his right side (our left) that he inherited from his mother Rei, and then on his left side (our right), the red hair, teal blue eye and hellflame quirk he inherited from his father Enji. He can only use his ice quirk on his right side and his fire quirk on his right side.

Shouto’s appearance reminds me of a particular tortoiseshell cat named Venus from a while back. You may have seen her back when photos of her went viral. Tortoiseshell cats are usually chimeras, however Venus was nicknamed the “Chimera Kitten” or “Chimera Cat” even though it is most likely that the chimera mutation isn’t the cause behind her unique (and cute!) appearance.

Another definition of a chimera is:

“A chimera... is a composite individual that was made up of cells from at least two different original embryos. If they fuse together early enough, they will become a single organism whose genetic input is from two completely different individuals. In a mosaic, there’s only one individual and it just happens to have different genetic components active in its cells. A chimera would be a much more unusual and unlikely event. - Columbia University Professor of Genetics and Development Virginia Papaioannaou

The image above depicts Venus the cat however the original source of the photo is unknown.

Considering that in real life, a chimera is an individual made up of cells from at least two different embryos I think we could kind of apply that sort of argument to Shouto although this is all speculation. To our knowledge, the other Todoroki children were born with only one of their parents’ quirks while Shouto was born with both.

On Shouto’s fan wiki page, it states:

If he overuses one element without utilizing the other, then his own body temperature will suffer; the ice half will cause frostbite and the fire half will cause heatstroke, Until his bodily limit is reached however, neither has any visible effect on his body. Shouto can easily negate his weakness by alternating between ice and fire.

Endeavor had been training Shouto to use his fireside and I think he mostly saw the ice quirk as something that could be used for temperature regulation however, as you suggest Shouto has two separate quirks, both equally strong in their own right. If he used his ice quirk too much, he may have to rely on the hellflame quirk to regulate his body temperature. Both quirks have very high potential on their own and with the aid of the other.

Anyways going back to the Chimera stuff, I think that although the movie, Heroes Rising isn’t canon, I do think that the inclusion of the villain, Kon Chojuro going by the name of “Chimera” with the quirk of the same name was interesting. He also fits the second definition of the Greek mythological chimera that we had above.

Even more interesting was that it was with the team of Tenya, Kirishima, Asui and Shouto that took Chimera on, with Shouto making the last blow using his ice quirk. He takes his ice quirk to the extreme and we see his body covered in ice (frostbite?) as a result before he passes out.

All Might and Endeavor’s One-Sided Rivalry

Whenever I write about this particular character I feel that I must include a little note like this but everything you see above is not an excuse for what Endeavor has done but a little exploration in to the complexity that is Todoroki Enji. I personally think that he is a very interesting character to look in to.

As you mention, the rivalry between Endeavor and All Might was completely one-sided. I think a large part behind it had to do with their differing ideas of what it means to be a hero. It is from All Might where we tended to see the more ideal-focused concepts of a hero. He was the symbol of peace, the light of hope and an inspiration for children and people all across Japan. In simple terms, a hero is someone who saves, kind of like how we saw Midoriya throughout most of the series.

As for Endeavor, he fits more in the role of the concept of a hero being an occupation. He had a hard time trying to figure out how to portray himself to the public after All Might retires and even asks him for some advice of what it means to be the number one. Endeavor wanted to be the number one because that meant he is the strongest man/person in Japan. He was constantly training and he was so focused on wanting to achieve his goal that if he was not able to then he wanted to make sure that his own blood would surpass All Might. For him, simple terms a hero meant someone who surpasses and wins. This is kind of like how we saw Bakugo throughout most of the series until recently.

(I’m not going to go too deep in to this as many other blogs have written amazing analysis and meta posts on Tumblr already but the adults they are often compared to Midoriya and Bakugo’s storylines have been slowly changing to incorporate both saving and winning in to what it means to be a hero.)

With this one-sided rivalry came Endeavor’s recklessness. I do not think that before and early stages after Touya was born that he really considered the science behind his “creation.” However as soon as it was revealed that Touya could easily get harmed by his quirk, Endeavor definitely should have recognized the consequences of his actions.

As his hero name suggests, one of his main goals and purposes of being a hero was to accomplish his greatest endeavor, to surpass All Might, which he calls his “eternal goal.” There is an implication here that at the age of 19 Endeavor already believed that there was a good chance that he may not be able to surpass All Might with his own quirk and strength. That is why he sought out a Quirk marriage.

“Because Toya had more potential than me... I placed my ambitions on his shoulders.”

Endeavor has a bias towards his own quirk as he wanted an heir with his quirk and blood to become number one. Fuyumi was born and she had inherited Rei’s ice quirk but unless we get some sort of explanation, I think we can assume that Endeavor did not bother trying to training her. I think the same can be said about Natsuo.

Then Shouto was born and this changed a lot of things. It seems that there was a highly likely chance that Endeavor either greatly diminished his focus on or halted Touya’s training and turned his attention towards Shouto. After all, he was born with what Endeavor believed to be “the ideal quirk.” He probably saw more potential in Shouto carrying his legacy than he did in Touya to become number one. It is likely that it was during this time that Touya “perished” in the fire.

Now that Endeavor had lost Touya, he was only left with Shouto. Driven by grief and desperation he put everything he had now onto Shouto. Looking back to Chapter 252, Endeavor tells Natsuo:

“Believe it or not... I was never trying to neglect any of you. But... all I could do was blame others and dodge responsibility.”

His actions and the past state otherwise however if we take his word, then I kind of visualize a man who was aware of the consequences and hurt caused by his actions and cruelty but had refused to actually acknowledge it: whether it was because he was afraid to confront reality, a mix of his stubbornness and desperation, the desire to become number one surpassing every other desire or a combination of all of this.

I always got a feeling from his character that he was someone who chose to believe that “the end would justify the means” as he “lost more” if that makes sense. “Everything that happened could not be all in vain” (although I’d like to point out that acting in this way is very selfish of him) which is why he continued to keep his eyes on the horizon at his goal instead of towards his family.

As you state, Endeavor was going up against All Might, the carrier of the One for All quirk, and yes, it is interesting that kind of like All for One, it is the carrier of multiple quirks. One of the main differences between how the two quirks function is that one has the ability to pass on quirks and power while the other is the ability to take other quirks and powers. Unfortunately, unless the secret of AFO and OFA come to be known to the public, Endeavor would have never known what he was truly up against and in a nihilistic view, one can say that everything he was and did ended in vain.

Although I would argue otherwise as this implies the assumption that the birth and existence of the Todoroki children would then had also been “in vain.” This is not true. This would imply that they would only be an extension of his legacy. We see the struggle to separate ones’ identity from their parent and their “destiny” through the contrasting stories of Shouto and Touya.

In the end, Endeavor did become the number one hero although it was not in the way he envisioned it to be: it was given to him as he was the next in line as the number two hero due to All Might’s retirement. He didn’t win the position by surpassing All Might hence the embarrassment and anger he may have felt when the news was announced. Now that he is (ehhh maybe was? considering where we are in the manga) the number one hero, it seems like that everything he’s been doing and thinking keeps going back to the thought of “because I am the number one hero.” The position he worked hard for, trained hard for and hurt his family for across the decades of his life, forfeited to him by the previous symbol of peace.

I always return back to the High End vs Endeavor fight whenever I talk about him but that is because there are great symbolic and narrative points that are made during it. Again, it is what establishes him as the number one hero but this is also where he acknowledges the past (however to what extent is debatable).

I remember when the episode first came out back in 2020, anime watchers were going crazy. It felt like with some viewers, they focused more on the action than the narrative that was taking place. The reason why Endeavor flies so high and captures the hearts and support of the people of Japan in BNHA and a wide majority of us, the watching audience, is so that we can feel the blow later on when he plummets down. Even when I was watching it, I couldn’t help getting goosebumps while listening to the ost and seeing the way the manga panels were interpreted and animated.

While I had been reading the chapters which I did first, I did not even really care about what was going on. I just kind of brushed Endeavor off to the side at the time. However when I was watching it I even got a little emotional, although I’d like to blame that on the fact that I had just finished a really difficult semester and watching the episodes felt like a cathartic release of stress (hahaha). It was only afterwards I went back to actually re-read and look at what was going on in the manga.

I hope that I gave the answers, thoughts and opinions that you were looking for. Again, huge apology for answering your questions and comments really late. Thank you @thewilderstorm for sending your thoughts in, I truly appreciate it and loved responding to them!

#todoroki enji #endeavor #todoroki shouto #bnha analysis #bnha meta #mha meta #luna answers

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proxyflans · 3 years

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Novel Excerpts Compilation and More!

Happy Magical Girl Monday!

I’ve been a bit busy with classes, but as I promised on the previous Magical Girl Monday, under the cut I’ve created a compilation of excerpts that were prompted by Tumblr users. (And my ask box is still open, so if you want you can send in more prompts!)

Before we get into that, though, there’s a few things I want to go over!

First, here’s a link to a Trello board that I made so you can follow along with my progress on the light novel! I will update it whenever I make major progress. At the moment, it’s organized so each list represents a chapter, and each list has one card that has the chapter’s current word count out of my goal (8000 words). However, I might change the way it’s organized if I think of a better way.

The 8000 words per chapter isn’t a hard goal—I want to get close to it so the chapters are roughly the same length, but I’m fine with it being a little under or a little over. For example, chapters one and four are very close to 8000, but aside from a little editing, I consider them to be pretty much done since they hit all the points I need them to.

Once the story is written and edited, I’m going to design the cover and maybe a few single page illustrations, work on the interior formatting, and sell the final product in eBook formats on Itch.

What about the game itself?

The game is currently on the back burner until the first novel is finished, since most of the cutscenes will come from the novel. Doing this will improve my workflow, since I’ll have a collection of chapters to use as reference for the game instead of working on them side-by-side.

However, I’m highly tempted to switch over to a version of RPG Maker for the main game, most likely MZ. Creating cutscenes from scratch in GameMaker Studio is very frustrating. I downloaded the trial for RPG Maker MZ (RMMZ), and while I wasn’t able to utilize it every day that I had access to the trial, there was a big difference in the workflow when it comes to creating cutscenes—really wish that I had used a version of it from the start, especially for my Capstone.

One major difference may be the battles—I know I’ve said before that the current iteration of the battle system will be the last one, with no more changes, BUT this was when I was coding the entire thing from the ground up.

The built in system in RMMZ is very similar to what I currently have in GMS, but the issue that I’m seeing is I wouldn’t be able to use my current sprites without a lot of JavaScript behind the scenes. I’m familiar with JavaScript, but a little rusty when it comes to creating my own stuff. That being said, I feel like my focus with TMGiP has been with the story more than the battle system, so I feel that as long as the story branches properly and the cutscenes work, I’ll be happy with the outcome.

Thank you for following the stories’/games’ development! If you like what you see, reblog, comment, and share with your friends and anyone else who you think needs some magical girl positivity in their lives!

You can find all links on the PROXYFLANS Linktree! (Until all the download keys are taken, I won’t make The Magical Girl in PROXY a public download.)

Thank you all, and I hope you have a flantastic day! 🍮

🍮PROXYFLANS🍮

Rose emoji responses (out of context lines):

“Ya mean, after wanting to be a magical girl—for, like, my entire life—I get a piece of paper?“

“Takako. Why are we here? Why is everything teeth?“

“Your name is Takako! So I shortened it to Tako, ’cause your hair reminds me of an octopus!”

“Trinket machine’s broken.”

“Until she shows up again and hurls a rock at a villain, I’m calling it that her power is over plants.”

“Call me when there’s someone who has the power to rip out their heart and throw it at someone. Ha, that’s the closest you’d get to the ‘power of love’ in real life.” “Wow, what a romantic,” Tsubasa chimed in.

I had given Tsubasa my flan cup, “out of the blue” as she put it—and now I regretted not bringing another cup to distract me from socializing.

Before Tsubasa could answer, Masuyo placed their pad down on my desk and hugged Miku from the side, nuzzling her neck.

Character type submission:

An oddball with a heart of gold. This could describe a few of the characters from The Magical Girl in PROXY to some extent, but if I had to choose one I’d say… Minami Tsubasa, the magical girl of wind (later named “Wind Mystery”) A former member of the Paranormal Club, Tsubasa left because she is a firm believer that aliens are real, and that they’ve visited her and told her that they don’t like being lumped in with the paranormal. Tsubasa also has a lot of strange dreams that she talks about extensively with no filter to her friends, to the point that in the first episode Nana says the water droplets are like “something out of one of Tsubasa’s weird dreams.” She is the first one to stand up to Aki and her clique when they close in on Takako. Tsubasa is determined to befriend everyone she comes across when possible, but is most loyal to her small circle of friends. When Takako tells her about her Flan Girl theory (that Tsubasa might be Flan GIrl), Tsubasa accepts that she may have a past life that she doesn’t remember, and wants to help Takako regain her memories.

Song lyric submission:

You were always by my side, not anymore / Now the distance between us, is that of 3 meters (I miss you no 3 meters, translation via the Boueibu Wiki) I’ve been thinking about how to answer this: There are two separate scenarios in The Magical Girl in PROXY that this could relate to, but I don’t want to reveal the singer and the subject of the lyrics for both groups, since that’d reduce some of the tension for future plot developments… So without saying if they’re the singer or subject, and without saying who the other character in the scenario is: This lyric reminds me of Hikari and Chou.

#magical girl #anime #video games #indie #gamedev #mahou shoujo #magical girls #magical girl anime #mahou shoujo anime #videogames #video game #indie game dev #indie gamedev #light novel #novel #writing #The Magical Girl in PROXY

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roc-thoughtblog · 3 years

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Sense and Sensibility Readthrough Part 25

Chapter 28, Pages 151-155

Previously, Marianne's emotional state deteriorates as Willoughby continues to ghost her. Meanwhile, rumors of their engagement spread to Brandon, whose heart it falls upon poor Elinor to break.

Today I went on a big tangent learning what hartshorn is and what it is used for. It’s been a while since I went a big tangent.

Readthrough below.

Chapter 28

Another half-week passes and still no Willoughby. The Dashwoods are off to attend another Middleton party, a hot and stuffy one, which must imply an amazing number of attendees considering it's still winter. Marianne is throughly depressed and completely out of it.

Oh.

Well, here is the man at last. Elinor spots Willoughby a few metres away and makes eye contact. Willoughby bows in greeting and then continues to ignore them, in favour of the another young lady he's currently speaking to. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions yet.

Margaret sees him too, glows, and is ready to run him straight down but Elinor stops her. "Do not betray what you feel to everybody present." Hmm, I dunno if Marianne can manage that. She tries though, sitting with an "agony of impatience". I like these lines.

Willoughby finally approaches and... greets Elinor while avoiding eye contact with Marianne. And the first thing he asks is how Mama Dashwood is doing. Look, we all love Mama Dashwood, but please man, what is going on with you? Elinor is absolutely speechless.

Marianne is not.

"Good God! Willoughby, what is the meaning of this? Have you not received my letters? Will you not shake hands with me?"

You know it's serious when God's name is invoked. I don’t remember that Marianne’s done that before. She's tearing straight to the heart of the matter, demands to know why he's avoiding her so much. Seems to try to hold his hand too, but he lets her go.

Willoughby tries to excuse himself by saying that he did try to visit and missed them while they were out, but that's obviously not enough. Marianne still wants to know why he never wrote to her. Did he miss all her letters?

Apparently no. Willoughby just looks really embarassed, mumbles something about having received all the letters, and then hurries back to the other lady with no further comment. O-okay.

Marianne, now looking dreadfully white, and unable to stand, suck into her chair,

Oh dear. Elinor's worried she'll faint. She's definitely close to causing a scene. Marianne begs Elinor to make Willoughby come talk to her. Elinor won't, as the middle of a party is not the time or place; Marianne is inconsolable either way though and it's all Elinor can do to stop her from finding Willoughby and messily interrogating him herself in public. Willoughby's probably noticed all this and has escaped the room.

With no Willoughby left to chase Marianne just begs to be taken home. Understandable. Lady Middleton hands over her playing cards to a friend (I just like this little detail, I want to play cards with my friends now) and finds them a carriage and the sisters go home immediately.

Marianne was in a silent agony, too oppressed even for tears;

Gee, Marianne can't even cry. .__. That's something alright, poor girl.

hartshorn restored her a little to herself.

... What is this? Some kind of old plant-based antidepressant drug?

I looked it up! Hartshorn here refers to Salt of Hartshorn, which was used a smellingsalt. And also as a precursor to baking powder, but here it's a smellingsalt. Rather than a plant, it's literally made from the horn of a hart. Distilled horn. How do you even distill a deer antler?

I can't find any videos of people distilling deer horns or animal bone in general, but I imagine it probably resembles this wood distillation. That produces the oil of hartshorn, but I can't find much more information on how the salt of hartshorn is produced. Wiki says its a dry distillation of the oil (and has no citations for it), but everything I can find on dry distillation says its a process applied to solids. I'm just going to assume the oil was distilled again until only some kind of ammonium powder remains. I spent too much time looking this up but it was really cool.

Given it is a smellingsalt, "restored a little to herself" would be referring to how she was feeling faint earlier, as opposed to her emotional state like I initially thought. I guess emotional state just isn’t easily fixed.

It's really neat to find every now and then while reading this book, the odd random reference to something that needed no explanation back then, that is completely foreign to me today. Hartshorn seems to have been a household enough item that it wasn't necessary for Austen to even specify that if it was the salt, oil, spirit or jelly. I think it's just extra fascinating that it just blindsides me out of nowhere and leaves as soon as it appears. It's completely mundane.

A-anyway.

Marianne goes straight to bed early while Elinor ponders the events of the night. Her assessment of Willoughby as he appeared, is straightforward:

Some kind of engagement with Marianne did exist, and with genuine attachment.

He's "grown weary" of Marianne. Absence made the heart grow weaker?

He may already have somebody new.

He does feel guilty, so he's probably not entirely devoid of conscience.

Elinor finds she no longer as anything to envy in Marianne, as whatever happens, she can stay good friends with Edward. Marianne's relationship with Willoughby on the other hand, is probably irreparable. Welp.

Welp. That's two chapters, two broken hearts. What a mess. =I

Guess there'll at least be no more reason not to expect answers about Willoughby anymore, so I imagine that's the natural next chapter. Not even sure how though, if he's trying to avoid the sisters.

#1000 words #i have learned about hartshorn #and distillation #Jane Austen #Sense and Sensibility #readthrough #novels

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volkswagonblues · 3 years

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for @elilim, because we were talking about gold standard fanfics

Romance of the Age, nimmieamee (Harry Potter):

“Snape did his best to comfort her. He did not want to do this in the usual and boring way, which was sure to leave her limp and un-excited. He saw an opportunity to enflame and arouse her. So, instead of assuring her that her parents had not suffered and were probably in a better place, he ended up delivering a passionate and truly stirring oratory on the insignificance of Muggle transportation and the worthless, banal horror of hospital authorities who hungered for identification. It involved a great deal of sneering. This was not what Lily really wanted. She was rather desperately hoping for some assurance that her parents were in a better place.“

this is by nimmieamee, whom i ADORE. I don’t think she’s ever super famous in any fandom because none of her fics become huge fandom “blockbusters”, which is just proof that talent never gets the recognition it deserves and readers are morons. (I’m not normally this mean, but I do get like this when it comes to writers I really admire). I think she is basically the gold standard plot+style+characterization. Her prose is so fucking musical and clever; reading this after reading a lot of, idk, “normal” fanfic is like chugging Veuve Clicquot after sipping on toilet bowl water for a week.

Romance of the Age is just...everything that a fic should be and shouldn’t be. For one thing it’s HARD to read. The author uses a very neat stylistic device where characters’ names are intentionally withheld to be revealed later at the right moments, and it’s so incredibly smart on a plot and a thematic level. It’s a social satire about rich, bored people that uses your knowledge of HP canon as part of its arsenal to make a satire about rich, bored people. I read it about three times before I understood who all these people were, but everytime I come across a new turn of phrase, a new clever insight, a new way of thinking about an old thing. This is like the opposite of emotional candy. It’s dense and difficult and intellectually nourishing.

I think the best way to read it, if you’re not up with all the details of HP canon, is to skim through the wiki articles for characters like Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Regulus Black, and Walburga Black. Yes, it’s fic that has homework attached to it. I KNOW.

The Mountain King, mldavies (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy):

There was a secret second story in the Circus, as there is most places men work, or live, or do business: you might even call it a second society. The women of the Circus walked through the same door that the men did every morning, and came out the same door every night; they sat under the same ghostly lights and trod over the same grey floors. And yet when the shopkeepers and postmen and vagrants watched them coming in and out of the brick building they usually took no notice: “Secretaries,” they said, if they said anything. If they were feeling particularly lurid they imagined what might happen if someone captured one of those secretaries and tried to extract secret information from her, but they were really only interested in the especially beautiful girls, and there weren’t many of them passing through the Circus doors. When they did, the men watching perked up, and started spinning theories about spies, and double agents, and imagining, depending on their particular proclivities, Lauren Bacall or Rita Hayworth or Ingrid Bergman in a sleek dress and some kind of fur garment—they were men; they didn’t bother with these kinds of details—stealing state secrets and then doing unspeakable things, for reasons that didn’t really require explaining, as these narratives were only the morning or evening fantasies of middle-aged men with rather dull home lives.

So TTSS was a John Le Carrre book turned into a 2011 movie with Gary Oldman and John Hurt and also Tom Hardy. The chances are...slim that you’ve read this book or seen the film, but this is basically a novella that I constantly think about. I follow mldavies on twitter: she hosts a podcast and she’s basically a Real Novelist, and my god the difference is real. You can tell the second that you open up this fic that it was written as “lit fic” and not “fanfic”, and not to say that fic isn’t valuable, but there are tangible differences that have nothing to do with quality. Literally the length of the paragraphs and the way line breaks are set up tells you that the author was thinking about writing for the page and not the screen.

Again, it’s everything that a fic should be and shouldn’t be. It expands the world of the film and the book by exploring the lives of the silent background characters, it uses your knowledge of canon as part of its DNA to tell a richer story that builds off a story that you know already. The prose is just...again, chugging Veuve Clicquot, you feel?

(she also has a few HP and Marvel and Teen Wolf fics, if you want to read her style in a fandom you’re more familiar in. https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189122)

Prince of Apple Towns, kvkindi (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

In California, it doesn't matter so much. California is like someone sanded the earth down, just came along with a neat hard edge and wiped out everything out, and started from scratch. A fresh clean world. The sunlight hits the ground at strange angles. The trees smell like trees from the Paleozoic. The sea isn't old like the sea off Long Island. There's no history to it. He saw a campus exhibit on Polynesian navigation. There were maps made out of twigs, maps that look like geometric figures. Wooden maps of ocean swells, from the Marshall Islands. Howard didn't know how to read them. He doesn't like this idea, that some knowledge is secret.

Okay, so I know you’re not a MCU fan, but again, this is an actual novel that has worked some strange feat of alchemy to far surpass the base metals that it was forged from. I don’t know if you need to even know anything about MCU or Howard Stark or the Iron Man movies to appreciate this novel about WW2 and the invention of the atomic bomb and the way that science has eclipsed man’s ability to control it. I don’t know what to say. I think I left a hysterical comment on it back in 2016 that was basically just me having a breakdown

...i just checked. I left THREE (3) SUPER hysterical comments. Let me quote from one of them:

“I'm incapable of speech. The world is empty. Our future is only a gun's recoil of the past. I'm walking into the Atlantic and the only thing I'm leaving behind is a shadow on a wall and the scent of burning. From now on I will cease speaking. I will only communicate via notes written on bar napkins. These notes will only be mathematical equations of special relativity. My sole caloric intake will come from coffee and lemons.My hair smells like sea salt. I think I just broke my hand punching through a wall. I'm a broken husk of a woman. I'm going to conquer the world. Holy fuck, this fic.”

Yeah, basically. also, this fic only has 225 kudos and very little fandom footprint, which again - TALENT IS NEVER RECOGNISED. I”M MAD.

#untagged #these are focused on white characters which is not ideal but romance of the age is such a perfect satire #that it HAS to be about white people #oh man now its been a while since i actually felt so excited and alive when it comes to fanfic #like going through these makes me actually...want to read fic now??#I forgot how fucking exciting it is to read a clever piece of writing that really KNEW how to use canon like a tool #or how inventive and creative writers are #like there's so much DEPTH out there and not all fics have to be the same five tropes rehashed over and over again #and people are so GOOD at writing and it's actually inspiring #that quote from prince of apple towns #look at the rythmn the pacing the absolute crispness of the imagery and killer last line #California is like someone sanded the earth down just came along with a neat hard edge and wiped out everything out and started from scratch #fuck like sorry that one paragraph is already dropping me to the floor again

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