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junk-heart · 1 year

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do you have any creepypasta headcanons for some of them? And are there any ideas for them or versions of the characters around the fandom that you like?

I have so many headcanons, it's not even funny:''')

Had so much time to get attached to these characters ( 10 years to be precise ಥ_ಥ ) , so I like multiple interpretations of them

Mainly 3 universes: found family of weirdos, "realistic" version and something in between

In this post I'll be talking about the headcanons connected to the versions I drew on this blog

I'll separate them by characters, and I won't talk about all of them or this post is gonna be so long:'''')

ALSO: feel free to comment your headcanons, I love hearing other people talk about these bozos

Jtk

he's emo for sure

has attempted giving himself piercings on multiple occasions, most of them failed and got infected

og story is an urban legend in his universe, the incident went down differently

his current look came about during a manic episode, he regrets what he has done to his body

he also regrets what he did to his family, although he doesn't remember much from that night

homeless, currently on the run, has been living like this since he was a teen

among other things, he's on the run because of the Operator, doesn't want to be under it's control again

16 during the case, currently 23

(I mean, I already have a post going in depth about my headcanons for him)

ex med student that got possessed by a Slavic deity (Chernobog)

he sees things in a way different way than us, something between echolocation or the way Toph sees in atla

is forced to eat people cause the deity he's possessed by finds his reaction amusing (it also prefers human flesh cause it sees people as most of us see farm animals whose products are meat and fear)

that's the reason why he lives away from any human contact, deep in the woods

when Chernobog takes control of their body, Jack is either forced to look at what happens, or he blacks out

he used to like cats, now is too scared to have any pets

after some time they start getting along (as much as a human and an eldritch horror can)

he isn't having a fun time in this version, sorry:'''/

21 during the incident, currently 25

Toby

mostly the same as in his original story personality wise

he was sheltered while growing up (homescooled until high school) and for the time he wasn't he was bullied, so he doesn't know how to interact with other people normally

malicious twards most people upon meeting them, took a long time to even start talking to Tim and Brian

once he warms up to someone, he's willing to die for them

often gets too close when talking, even when he isn't trying to intimidate people

second tallest proxy (I do count Tim and Brian in this story, yes I know they're from mh, but I grew up with them as crp so ssssh)

scrawny, built for running

big mood swings

has tics from time to time, they're more intense when he's exited, but they stop completely when he's under the Operator's influence

doesn't remember anything from his life prior to the giant fire "thanks" to the Operator

works in the interest of it cause that's all he knows, but he would disobey it if that meant helping people close to him

is interested in internet, but since he doesn't have a phone/computer he learns about it via stolen phones from people who have passed

arsonist

17 during the incident, currently 21 give or take

Brian/Hoody

Brian died in entry #86 of mh, but got revived (??) as a puppet to the Operator cause it likes tormenting Tim (idk how to explain, unlike characters who experience being influenced by it during the arg, he ends up being completely tied to it after death, even though he wasn't under it's control while alive)

so he's basically a zombie, but not really

the brains of the group

also the tallest

doesn't remember what happened during the duration of Marble Hornets, but does remember he was close friends with Tim

still, he feels uneasy around Tim, like he (Tim) has done something that can't be forgiven, but tries to brush it off

can cook, but doesn't

under his winning smile he's plotting everyone's demise

if you looked at him, you'd probably think that he's the one who's got everything under control, but that's not the case, he's just a tad bit fake

I'm basically trying to say that he's mostly a persona, and that he has no idea of who he really is or what his goals should be

very good at any ranged attacks and scouting (more like stalking)

the one who tied Toby down to a chair for a week until his brainscrambles got a bit more bearable

has a computer at one of their hideouts, doesn't let anyone near it

idk how old he is tbh, I guess his mid to late twenties

Tim/Masky

please give this man a rest already aksdhadklaj

watched all his friends die, and now works for the thing that caused that + tremendous amount of mental strain and horror

why you may ask? well it's very complicated, let's just say it promised to bring someone else back if he did what it wanted

shortest U_U

common sense of the group, and the leader

he's the only one that kept most of his memories (cause it's easier for the Operator to control him like that)

when Toby joined them as the new hire, he was the one to insist that they try and deal with him, cause he saw himself in Toby

has a hard time getting out of bed

only drinks coffee, has no idea what water is

very much old man energy

grumpy for most of the time

can(?) cook canned food (that's what they eat anyways, so it doesn't really matter)

wants to have a normal life so bad it's not even funny

really hates what he's stuck doing

again, no idea what age he is, but I'm guessing he's a year or so older than Brian

monochromatic clown who's trying to find his passion again

I don't like how the whole Isaac thing went down in the original, I think it could have been more scary, not just gore:///

he isn't connected to the whole Operator plotline so idk how to put him in the same place and time as other crp

to me he's off to the side with Candy Pop, Jason and other imaginary friends/fiends

who knows how old he is???

Jane

similar to Jeff, her story is mostly an urban legend

although she did suffer major burns and lost her family

she used to be obsessed with finding Jeff and making him suffer, but she's mostly over it now

found out about the Operator stuff and quickly noped out of there

probably attending group therapy with Liu and Nina/j

very much a goth

I think her and Clocky would be a great pair, and if not that, at least best friends

I can see her turning around in a spinning chair while petting a cat and saying something ominous

currently 23

Liu

survived his brother's frenzy

after all Jeff couldn't bring himself to finish him

no nurse, thanks

Sully developed after the event cause of the trauma, but he isn't a demon or whatever, he's just an alter that can't forgive his brother, and who's there in place to protect Liu

he actually saw the Operator that night, and again from the hospital bed, but by having Jeff run far away, it didn't stick to Liu properly

after years in therapy and meeting other people connected to the incident, he decided to try and find his brother, so he's currently following closely behind Jeff

like in the og story he's very kindhearted

he hasn't found Jeff in person yet cause every time Sully is in charge he tries to sabotage his plans

has a sweet tooth, and is always chewing on something

his current worry is that his brother hasn't eaten any fruits in years

14 during the case, currently 21

Nina

oh boy, this character has so much untapped potential

she was probably a true crime obsessed girl, and was very much into the Woods case

she thought he was just like her, and so she started to idolize him, or should I say, the version of him that was sensationalized

as the time went on she got more and more wrapped up in a fictional world she made in her head, to escape her everyday life, so she started plotting how to find and meet him

basically imagine a cyberstalker, but for someone living off grid

made and executed her plan (aka a copycat murder) right after she found his location

Nina is like 2-3 years younger than Jeff, and she was expecting an emo prince charming who will accept her as she is and whisk her away to a manor full of weird kids who live together

she just got an emaciated guy who hates everything he's done (and himself), and has literally 0 interest in her

you can just imagine how that conversation went down...

he was very brutal, laughed at her, told her she was an absolute idiot (was overly harsh cause of all the guilt of what he did in the past)

scene, even on her jtk e-blogs

used to get into heated arguments, cause drama and then block everyone involved

she was 13 when the Woods case happened, 15 when she met Jeff, and she's currently 21(?)

Don't feel like writing any more, sorry:'''')

I mean, this is already too long, and I haven't even explained all the characters in this universe

It's even funnier when I remember I have at least 3x as many different interpretations of these characters in my head, if anyone's interested feel free to ask me about them

Really sorry it took me so long to answer this, I didn't even know where to start

#creepypasta #creepypasta headcanon #jtk #jane the killer #liu woods #jeffery woods #ticcy toby #laughing jack #nina the killer #eyeless jack

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sirjuggles · 1 year

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Worm Reading - Part 4, Arc 4 Shell

Ok, I didn’t get a chance to take notes on Arc 4 as I was reading it, but here are some retroactive thoughts glancing back through the Arc:

Honestly, great to see Taylor laughing in Emma’s face at the start. As I’ve mentioned, the bullying sections are the least enjoyable for me to read, but this was some nice catharsis. I’m sure there will be repercussions later, but at some point these high school bullies are going to learn that they’re screwing with the wrong person, even if she’s traumatized enough by it to not want to hit back.

Actually, let’s stop and look at the bullying angle for a sec. In this world it’s established that some people just randomly get superpowers, and those people keep their identities a secret. I’m assuming the ratio of powered:nonpowered is extremely low, but I’m surprised there’s not more of a social impact on how people interact. How dumb is it to bully someone, or mug someone, or commit any sort of abuse or crime, when the person you’re bullying might end up as the next Clockblocker, or worse, Lung? Sure it’s unlikely that any one person is powered, but you don’t know! And while most people don’t seem to know about the whole “being pushed too far can activate powers thing,” the fact of the matter is that people who are bullied or abused are more likely to end up superpowered! I’m a little surprised that doesn’t have some impact on how people navigate social hierarchies.

Nice to spend some time hanging out with the crew in the street market, opening up about her past and doing some shopping. I will admit I like the Undersiders as a group of characters, so this was some nice development. I am slowly warming to Brian, I’m no longer convinced that he’s intentionally manipulative. (I do still think he’s got abusive tendencies that he’s inherited from his father)

We get an explanation of who one of the supposed “murderers” in the crew is, and the details about definitely soften that blow. I’m still team #JusticeForRachel #GiveRachelABreak!

Who is our murderer #2? I could still make a case for it being anyone. I think Brian is more hardened by his past than he lets on, and he could justify killing someone as “doing what I had to do” to keep his goals from slipping away. I think Lisa has a cold streak in her, and we also have established that she just straight-up carries a gun, which is really funny in a superhero universe but also speaks to a level of lethal pragmatism. I still straight-up think that Alec could have a sociopath streak, and it’s possible he’s taken things too far in the past because he thought it was funny or because something made him snap. This one’s still up in the air.

Speaking of Lisa, I don’t believe that her power hasn’t tipped her to the fact that Taylor is planning to sell them out. After what we saw she could do just from standing in a room with Glory Girl and Panacea, I fully think that Lisa knows that Taylor thinks of herself as a double-agent. At this point my headcanon is that not only has her intuition told her that Taylor intends to sell them out, it’s also told Lisa that Taylor won’t actually go through with it. Taylor is feeling at home with this group for the first time in a long time, and she needs that connection and community. When the time comes, I don’t believe that Taylor will be able to sell out her friends. And Lisa knows it too.

The whole fight in the storage locker facility with Uber and Leet and Bakuda is wild. I don’t have a ton to say about it specifically.

Uber and Leet are such odd characters. They’re obviously bottom-feeders, and it’s a little amazing that they’re hanging on and surviving in this whole parahuman scene. I can totally picture them as ineffective Teen Titans villains. There is some interesting dynamic in why a parahuman with such potential as Uber sticks with an apparent loser like Leet. His comment of “because he’s my friend” speaks to some depth there, a real relationship between them, which is fascinating. I kinda get a vibe similar to Theseus and Asterius from the game Hades, except in this case Theseus is ineffective as well as annoying.

Bakuda, on the other hand, is just a straight-up psycho. Blow stuff up, kill people, try to hold on to power. Cool bombs though. Great villain.

Interlude 3.5: Purity - Ok, from literally the first line of this I got a sketchy vibe from Purity. Annnnd sure enough she’s a recurring member of the White Supremacist villain team! Whoooooo fun! She makes some token comments about not agreeing with Kaiser’s methods, but honestly it seems like she objects more to him as an abusive/narcissistic leader than any issue with his racist worldview, and she drops some super gross comments herself soooooo not gonna give her any credit there.

God I feel bad for this Theo kid. It’s pretty apparent that his whole parenting situation is absolutely a mess, there is basically no way he comes out of this well-adjusted. Seems like a nice kid too from the brief glimpse of personality we get. I hope he finds some way to break out from whatever his home situation is and become his own person but, uh.... doesn’t seem likely.

God basically everything we’ve seen about Max/Kaiser and Empire 88... barf. They make for effective villains though. Definitely seem to be at a power level above what the Undersiders are capable of operating at.

That actually reminds me that we still have basically no information on the secretive “Boss” behind the Undersiders. Could it be Kaiser? He clearly has resources and an interest in pulling strings in the city, he could be using the Undersiders as pawns for plausible deniability. I don’t see it as likely but it’s possible.

My original theory was that Tattletale was actually the Boss, pretending to just be a member of the team. It would require her to not be around whenever other members of the crew talk to the Boss, and then she would just be faking each time she pretends to call the Boss in front of them, which is a stretch but not impossible. This theory isn’t totally scuttled yet and is currently my favorite, even if I suspect it will get scuttled at some point.

We’ve now glossed over a few indicators about Taylor’s powers that I think are quite worrying, and no one in-universe seems to have questioned it: 1) We have not yet seen any sort of limit to Taylor’s power as far as how many bugs she can control and how long she can continue using them. Other characters get worn out when they use their powers too much, but in the Bank Robbery job Taylor harnessed large amounts of bugs with a high level of control with zero apparent power exhaustion for the entire time. She thought her power was wearing down but it was actually Panacea messing with her, and as soon as that was fixed Taylor’s power came back in full. What are her limits? Does she HAVE limits? 2) When she got knocked out during the Storage Facility fight her powers continued working while she was unconscious, with bugs responding to her last command. So Taylor is basically a walking bug bomb, and in a worse-case situation she could send out some incredible dangerous instruction like “multiply” or “devour people” and then get knocked out or killed(?) and all bugs in her radius would continue following that command. That’s a PROBLEM!

We’ve also not questioned the exact limits of WHAT Taylor can control! She generally just says “bugs.” But then we saw that she can control a crab, and she said “oh basically anything with a simple brain.” Does that mean any Arthropod? But she said she can control worms! That’s an entirely separate Phylum! And “worm” is a HUUUGE category! How simple does a brain have to be for her to control it?? I am very worried about how far her reach could extend with some practice and exertion.

So Danny has now met a few of his daughter’s new friends. I think Lisa and Brian did a perfect job of handling that situation, they had a solid cover story, they displayed responsibility and care, basically seemed like model friends for Taylor to spend time with. I feel like from Danny’s point of view this was a scary situation (especially after the phone call he got when his wife died, god I can’t imagine getting a phone call about his daughter being hurt with that trauma in mind), but overall it showed him that his daughter has good friends now and things are getting better. It’s a real shame this is all going to come crashing down on him at some point soon.

Interlude 4: Brutus - OK LOOK OK I HAVE ONLY KNOWN THESE DOGS FOR 24 HOURS BUT IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THEM I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL STAB EVERYONE IN HERE. Brutus is the goodest of boys and Judas and Angelica are good doggos too and they’re sweet and perfect and they love Rachel and nothing bad can ever happen to them (ughhhh I know it’s gonna).

Look I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Is Rachel a messed-up person, violent and unstable? Unquestionably yes! But based on what we know about her life, frankly, I GET IT! I too have days where I like dogs more than I like people! Should she have commanded her dog to put that little girl’s arm in his mouth as a way to scare that mom? No that was super fucked up and not ok! BUT she had a point! That lady let her little kid harass random dogs in the sketchy part of town! That’s just irresponsible! Basically my stance on Rachel is that her responses are invariably disproportionate, but I don’t disagree with the logic behind pretty much anything she’s done (ok attacking Taylor on sight was uncalled for, but like I’ve said it makes sense for Rachel to be territorial based on her history). And wrecking that dog fighting ring was probably heat that their crew doesn’t really need right now, but I’m not gonna lose too much sleep over it. Also she has specifically trained her pups not to kill, even to the point of not using things like claws that could be accidentally fatal! And, I will say this again, they are Very Good Dogs and Perfect Sweet Puppers and I love them.

Honestly I just want Rachel to leave the city and start a Canine Sanctuary on a nice farm out in the countryside, rehabilitate abused dogs, don’t deal with people. That sounds nice let’s do that instead of whatever bad thing is inevitably going to happen here.

#parahumans #Worm #Wormblr #Wildbow #Worm Readalong #Mine

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lyril · 10 months

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i hadn't seen the original show when i started watching the clone high revival, unlike most people's experiences, i'm sure, so it was kind of an interesting first perspective, i think?

i saw someone say that people only don't like the new stuff bevause it's not exactly like the first season, but, from someone with no nostalgia ties or even connections at all to the characters, who had never seen the original episodes outside of like a couple clips, i also found the new season to be pretty unfunny, not very well written, kind of boring, and it didn't feel like the parody i was told it would be. i did, however, like the new characters a lot, as well as some of the old ones, like abe and mr butlertron, so that got me curious in the reverse direction -- was the original more funny than this? did it actually feel like the parody it's supposed to be? is it actually worth a watch, in comparison to this? and so far, i am actually enjoying things quite a lot more and maybe am able to appreciate it more than i would've, too

i agree with a lot of criticisms brought up, really, even if for different reasons. the character designs, for example -- i actually think they're good in concept, but my personal main criticism is that most of them need a bit more simplification in their outfits (and harriet's shapes need a massive overhaul, but anyway -- i'm working in some redesigns myself)

the first season genuinely does feel like a parody because its so over the top and stupid, there's constantly jokes and things don't usually last longer than they need to (and if they do, like abe taking all season to realize joan likes him, that's like, the entire making-fun-of-teen-dramas thing!) and even emotional moments are usually played for laughs. there's so many scenes you could just clip to death because of how well they're written, with jokes that are still relevant today. they just take it so seriously in the new stuff that my immediate thought after watching wasn't that i had just watched a parody of teen dramas, or even modern stuff now, but that i was just watching a teen drama in cartoon form. and that's pretty much how everyone treats it too, which doesn't help. really, the unfortunate thing about it to me is that like, it doesn't even stand up as all that good on its own, unconnected from the first season... if this was it's own show, unconnected from people's enjoyment in the original, it would be just as mid, if not even more so.

i think i just find it interesting that instead of enjoying the original show driving me to check out the new stuff, i had to find bits and pieces in the new stuff to drive me to check out the first season, and somehow it's turned into me actually kind of giving a shit about both seasons of the show as i finally go and watch the first season -- i didn't expect to become a fan of this show in general, and i do think it's pretty shitty in some places and in certain jokes, but, here i am i suppose

#talk #cartoons #clone high #apparently some of the people who worked on the new episodes even agree that the mark was missed #which i find interesting...#and well. it sucks that it's also exactly like the spiderverse situation #where they had to redo so much stuff last minute due to the creators

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poolsidescientist · 2 years

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How I Almost Became an Evangelical

I’m not American but as someone who a) watches the news b) knows people in the US and c) is capable of basic compassion the Roe v. Wade overturning is deeply disturbing. The American Supreme Court has six members responsible for (including other rulings such as preventing gun control, etc.) more loss of life than even the most prolific of serial killers. And it only feels like the beginning of the hard-fought rights they hope to overturn. They’re able to do this because the right, especially Evangelicals have fought for it so hard for so long. I’ll never forgot how I almost became one of them.

Unlike many, I wasn’t born into an Evangelical family. I actually have an interfaith background (half-Jewish and half Christian). I had family on both sides but only a handful of them were in any way reliable and/or in the area. Both my parents were treated kinda terribly by their siblings and we didn't really have a religious or ethnic community aside from a few family friends and my grandparents. My dad’s family was Jewish but not religious and we spent the Jewish holidays with a few family friends but the few times I went to the synagogue I found it stifling (I hated the whole women sitting in a separate box thing) and because my mom wasn’t Jewish I wasn’t really part of that community unless I went out of the way to convert which kid me, was not really into. My mom’s parents never really went to church. We had our ethnic Christian traditions but weren’t Protestant or Catholic like all the other Christians around me. I wasn’t the right kind of white person. I learned this early on. I also learned to tic whichever box on the Protestant/Catholic form that the people around me valued most.

When I was around 8-9 my mom and I started going to church. It was pretty liberal and accepting and honestly, that aspect of it was great. I really wanted to learn about Christianity and connect with people, especially as I grew into a teenager. People were nice but nobody really cared and again, I felt like I was the wrong kind of person. I tried to get involved and tried really hard to find a way for them to value me. It was a brick wall. By my teen years there were several serious illnesses in my family and a lot of instability. I desperately needed support and thankfully I had a few nice neighbours but overall it was empty. I was there physically but with all the other stresses in my life I was a mess. I was a good student, I worked hard in my extracurriculars and to help my family out but it was never enough.

I think I was 15 when I ended up going to some Evangelical convention for some reason. It was silly, ideologically a bit empty but I remember doing something I had yet to do at a church before. Make friends. So, I ended up going to my friend’s church and youth group. It was in the area and I didn’t know anyone. I had no baggage and honestly, the youth group was great and part of me is forever thankful for it. I learned that I could be funny, and charming, and outgoing. I got to be a teenager. I didn’t have to perform or prove I deserved to be there. It was one of the few places in my life I actually let myself have fun. And I wasn’t alone. I made friends with my friends parents, we shared jokes and baked goods. When my mom was late as she always was picking me up one of the youth group leaders would stay and chat with me. I did activities at my other church and I spent a lot of time alone in the parking lot. Here, I wasn’t left out in the cold. I wasn’t left out at all.

I would go to that church and sometimes it would be amazing sermons but other times there would be homophobic or anti-abortion/sex education rants. A roll of the dice. But at the same time people would make sure I was okay or bring food if my dad was in the hospital. Everything they stood for was against my values, but they loved me whereas the good people with the good values didn’t. Maybe I didn’t deserve the love of good people and this was all I could ever hope for. This was the community I could get. I loved them. And in spite of everything, a part of me will always kinda love them.

One of my youth group leaders, the one who waited for my mom with me, died on my 20th birthday. I still think of him sometimes. The funeral made me sick. It wasn’t about him. It was an infomercial about becoming an Evangelical. I’m surprised it wasn’t a hotline. I think that was the first big crack in my thinking that caused me to reevaluate my life. I loved the church enough to live with but not die for. But on and off I came and went from both places. A year later my father died. The good liberal people came to the funeral but the Evangelicals were the ones who really showed up. In spite of everything I could still talk to them. The next few years were back and forth. I tried a new church on for size. I finished my bachelor’s degree. I job hunted. Everything was back and forth. I did a Master’s degree. I made friends in all the places. I couldn’t commit but I couldn’t let go. Somehow I’ve learned enough diplomacy to have everyone like me but nobody be too attached to me. I’ve kept their politics from being my problem. If someone had fallen in love with me I would have stayed and never looked back.

I think the turning point was getting into my current field of study as a PhD student. At this point being an Evangelical is bad for my career but honestly, it’s more than that. I’ve made friends from so many different backgrounds. They are filled with their own loves and fears and hopes and dreams and I cannot commit to a community which sees them as less than human. They deserve better, not just because I love them but because they are people. I also have enough education, enough social support, enough of a career potential that I can step forward. I’m still a Christian, I still believe in God but I can do better. I have to do better. I know now that I can.

So, you might be at the end of this novel asking what this has to do with Roe v. Wade and the Evangelical right? Well, the thing is, they’re successful because they let people in. At least in my experience, and I’m not speaking for anyone else, my experiences probably aren’t anywhere near universal and I have my share of privilege, they want you to be one of them. With those churches I didn’t hit the brick wall of not having the right family or right ethnic background or was good enough to deserve love and support. No. They encouraged me to join in their beliefs and share their community. They called and brought food and listened and put effort into raising their youth. The Evangelical right, cruel as they are support their community. If you don’t take care of people’s basic material and social needs nothing you have to say matters in the end. And they know this. And they are consistent. If hadn’t gotten into grad school, or had someone fall in love with me, or I was just a little more vulnerable I would never have left. And there’s always someone just a little more vulnerable.

#such is life #religion #politics #christianity #boy howdy did I write a lot #I don't usually share this much #but I guess I had so much to say so uh #here it is

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ace-trainer-risu · 3 years

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what are your fave diana wynne jones books that aren’t howl’s moving castle??

Oh whattt a lovely and fun question which I was definitely not secretly hoping someone would ask!!!! Yay!!

Hm okay so, not specifically in order, probably my top fave Diana Wynne Jones books would be:

Deep Secret! Deep Secret is not just one of my favorite books by DWJ but one of my favorite books full stop! It’s so good. Basically, the premise is that there is an infinite series of interconnected worlds, some of which have magic and some of which don’t, at the center of which is a vast interdimensional magical empire. Magic in the multiverse is overseen by an organization of magicians called Magids and there must always be a specific number of Magids in existence. When Rupert, a young Magid living on Earth, discovers that his mentor has died (ish) he becomes unexpectedly responsible for finding and training the next Magid, which is extremely inconvenient timing for him because the aforementioned magical empire is on the brink of civil war and chaos and its his job to stop it. And also almost all of this takes place at...a science fiction convention. It’s amazing. I have read this book minimum four (probably more) times and every time it’s absolutely delightful and hilarious. I would like to go to the sci fi convention in this novel more than anything. It’s such a good read and its one of her few novels which is specifically aimed at adults, so I would EXTREMELY recommend it. Plus the romance in it is extremely good...not exactly enemy-to-lovers but more like ‘annoys-the-shit-out-of-each-other’ to lovers. (**One note about this one...there’s a few very briefly mentioned side characters who are gender noncomforming and even tho they are actually portrayed very positively, it’s not necessarily ideal and 100% respectful (basically the protags comment on them being very beautiful and nice but also keep trying to guess their “real” gender). Additionally there’s a different briefly mentioned side character who is fat who isn’t portrayed very nicely. Both of these are brief incidents, just wanted to provide a warning for them)

Dark Lord of Derkholm - Okay this one is weirdly hard to summarize but it’s about this magical fantasy world which has been taken overy and is being used as a tourist destination by a non-magical world (heavily implied to be Earth) for people who want to role play at being in a classic high fantasy story, including fighting and killing THE DARK LORD...who is really just a random magician pretending to be evil. The inhabitants of the fantasy world do not enjoy this and are trying desperately to stop the tours, but unfortunately according to a magical oracle, their best hope of stopping the tours is this year’s Dark Lord, a hapless farmer magician named Derk, and his, um, eccentric family consisting of his glamorous wife, seven children (of whom five are griffins and one is a bard) and a simply improbable amount of magical animals. And also there is a very good dragon. I think Derkholm is so great as a novel b/c it’s a very funny, loving but sharp, parody of high fantasy stories...but a lot of the time parodies only function as parodies but not as good stories in their own right, you know? But this novel completely functions as a story too, and in fact the first time I read at maybe age nine or ten, the high fantasy parody went completely over my head...but I still loved it. I also really love that this novel is very accessible to all ages, I think I enjoy reading it as an adult just as much as I did as a kid, which is rare. For anyone who has read Howl’s Moving Castle but nothing else by DWJ and isn’t sure where to start, I think this is a great place to start. (TW: There’s a brief, non-explicit scene which has implied sexual assault.)

Fire and Hemlock - This may be the most controversial one since it features a romance with a significant age gap where the two characters meet when one is a child and the other an adult. And I fully agree that that’s :/ and normally that trope is NOT my thing but it doesn’t come off at all creepy in this story imo, and if you think you can deal with that then this is a very weird, atmospheric, cool book about storytelling and fairy tales and growing up. The short summary (this is another hard to summarize one) is that as a child, Polly encounters and strikes up a friendship and correspondence with a young man, Tom, which mainly consists of the two of them jointly making up a silly, ongoing fairy tale type story...but things get weird when parts of their story start to come true in real life. I’ve only read this one twice but it really stuck with me and in fact just describing it here...really makes me want to read it again!

The Chrestomanci Series - So all of the above are either specifically aimed at adults or a general audience whereas the Chrestomanci series is aimed at children, mainly a middle grade type audience. And tbh I started reading them as a kid (fond memory - I bought an omnibus of the first two with my allowance money...b/c it had a cat on the cover!) so I don’t know what it would be like to first read these as an older teen or an adult. BUT. Honestly they are really good and would be a quick read so I do still recommend them. There’s seven overall, with th seventh being a collection of short stories, and they’re only semi-chronological so the reading order isn’t vital. My recommended order (b/c this the order I read them in, haha) is Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant, The Magicians of Caprona, Witch Week, The Pinhoe Egg, Conrad’s Fate, and then Mixed Magic you can read whenever you want so long as you read it after Charmed Life and The Magicians of Caprona. So the very core premise of it is not dissimilar to Deep Secret - there’s an infinite series of worlds/universes and there’s a magician, called the Crestomanci in this case, who is responsible for making sure magic isn’t abused across the multiverse. The Chrestomanci is an extremely powerful enchanter who has nine lives, and the novels are various semi-connected stories about the adventures of Chrestomanci as an adult and child. Chrestomanci is a title so it’s not always the same person, but for the majority of the stories it is the same guy and he’s...the best/worst...He’s this extremely handsome, charismatic, powerful enchanter who is very good at his job, loves his wife a lot, wears very beautiful clothes and makes, um, questionable life choices and is very annoying to everyone. I’ve thought about this very hard and I believe that he’s what happens when you take a fundamentally chaotic good person and make him do a fundamentally lawful good job; yes, he’s going to do it and do it well, but he is going to do it in the most chaotic, ridiculous way possible, and he IS going to die at an ALARMING rate, doing things that would not normally kill a person, such as playing cricket and trying to catch stray cats. He also, as previously mentioned, frequently wears very dramatic silk dressing gowns with elaborate embroidery, which the protag of Charmed Life finds deeply alarming. It’s very odd to me how these books don’t seem to be well known, because the Chrestomanci books were some of my absolute favorite books as a child. I still have my omnibus editions of the first four novels and they are very worn and very beloved. And it’s so WILD to me that I don’t think I have ever talked to someone who also read those as a kid! Like I’m not saying those people don’t exist, I’m sure I just haven’t met them, but that’s so weiiirddddd to me. If I bring up Tamora Pierce or Garth Nix or other authors of weird, eccentric children’s fantasy novels to other avid childhood consumers of fantasy, people usually know what I mean, but Chrestomanci and its just..crickets. Is it b/c she’s British? Anyway all of the Chrestomanci books are very degrees of good, but if I had to pick a favorite, I think, controversial choice here, it would be Conrad’s Fate. Particularly in terms of recommendations to others, Conrad’s Fate works as a standalone and, unlike the other books in the series, it’s aimed more at a YA audience, so if you wanted to read a Chrestomanci novel without getting into the whole series, that’s a good way to go. It’s about a boy, Conrad, who is told that he has a terrible, possibly fatal Fate awaiting him unless he goes to work as a servant at a wealthy, and weird, estate neighboring his town, at which place he encounters things including color changing livery, an extremely annoying teenage Chrestomanci, and the greatest liminal space house EVER. It’s like a combination of an upstairs/downstairs Downton Abbey type social drama with bizarre fantasy shenanigans. How could that not be good??

Also as Honorable Mentions - A Sudden and Wild Magic and The Time of the Ghost. A Sudden and Wild Magic is fun b/c it’s one of her few works aimed specifically at adults and it’s (gasp) a little bit NAUGHTY which I was very surprised and delighted by when I read it. (This may seem like an unfair statement considering that Deep Secret fully has an orgy in it, but Rupert is so fundamentally unnaughty of a character that he completely unnaughtifies the whole novel, whereas Sudden and Wild Magic embraces being a (little bit) naughty.) The Time of the Ghost on the other hand is weird and haunting and creepy and atmospheric. I only read it once but it’s one of those novels you just think about periodically and go “wait what the fuck that was a weird novel” (Also known as the “Garth Nix” effect)

#the ask and the answer #i spent...too long writing this out but i love talking about her novels soo muchhhh #that i couldn't help myself!!!!!!!!#diana wynne jones #things you didn't care to know about veronica

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alexsfictionaddiction · 4 years

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8 Ace Books Everyone Should Read This Pride Month

I often think that those on the ace spectrum are amongst the most misunderstood in the LGBTQ+ community. Asexuality is an absence of sexual attraction but that doesn’t necessarily mean an absence of romantic attraction. There are also people who identify as aromantic but who do experience sexual attraction. The ace spectrum has what is known as a ‘gray area’ which includes sub-identities such as demisexuality, a sexual attraction only to people with whom one has an emotional connection. I think that the ace spectrum is one of the clearest indicators that sexual and romantic orientations are completely different things and therefore they don’t actually have to match up within the same person. For a while now, I’ve been considering the fact that my own sexual and romantic orientations do not quite match. I’m pretty sure I’m actually heteromantic bisexual and I honestly only have the relatively recent dismantling and separation of sexual and romantic attraction, largely spearheaded by the exposure and discussion of the ace spectrum, to thank for the realisation of that possibility. Anyways, here are a few books with characters who fall somewhere under the ace umbrella. -Love, Alex x

1. Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann.

When Alice comes out as asexual, her girlfriend dumps her and she swears off dating for good but then handsome Takumi enters her life and she can’t seem to ignore the rom-com level of feels. It’s funny, cute and so thoroughly readable with a very relatable protagonist, making it a fantastic book for normalising asexuality.

2. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp.

When Corey’s best friend Kyra dies, she realises that their small Alaskan town is behaving very strangely and keeping secrets. I’ll admit that this book doesn’t have particularly high ratings on Goodreads and that’s probably because it promises to be more atmospheric and eerie than it is. However, Corey’s asexuality isn’t a driving factor of the plot -she simply is, which I find wonderfully refreshing. She is also questioning which I think will provide a window for people who are still figuring things out.

3. The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow.

Ellie and Morris live in a dystopian world, devoid of emotional and creative expression, but they both risk their lives for their love of the forbidden arts. This is a wonderfully unique sci-fi with both main characters displaying demisexuality. It’s definitely one for bookworms and pop culture nerds who would die to protect creativity and emotional freedom.

4. How To Be A Normal Person by T. J. Klune.

Gus is an eccentric soul and he’s fine with not fitting in until he meets asexual bohemian Casey and he vows to become as normal as possible. It’s funny, heartwarming and incredibly queer with an array of fantastic side characters. This is a great book for learning more about the ace spectrum and a lovely positive depiction of a loving, respectful ace relationship.

5. Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire.

When children return from other worlds, they are forever changed and Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children is there for them until they can fall back through their door. These whimsical novellas are brimming with diverse queer characters and this first instalment is narrated by asexual teen Nancy. The clear distinctions between asexuality and aromanticism are talked about but I love how identity and sexuality is never a plot point or defining characteristic in these stories.

6. Upside Down by N. R. Walker.

When recently dumped Hennessey moves to a new town, he sets up a support and social group for LGBT+ people, which is where he meets socially awkward Jordan. There is a lot of asexual education without being too preachy and I learnt so much from this very sugary gay romance. If you like a bit of tension or drama, it’s probably not for you but if you’re looking for an easy, funny, cute read, pick it up!

7. Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman.

When her sister dies, Rumi is sent to live with her aunt in Hawaii where she makes some unlikely friends and eventually finds the courage to return to the music that she and her sister loved so dearly. Rumi is asexual and aromantic and she’s terrified that she’ll never find anyone who understands her like her sister did. As you might expect, this book is devastating but so beautiful.

8. Loveless by Alice Oseman.

When Georgia starts university, she’s sure that her love life will finally begin but she is about to learn what true love really entails. Loveless isn’t actually released until next month but it’s a HIGHLY anticipated book charting an asexual aromantic’s learning and self-acceptance as well as being a true celebration of platonic love. Pre-order it now!

#ace books #pride month #lgbtq #book recommendations #books #bookworm

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ophelliate · 2 years

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Victory for the Comic Muse Takes Because I Can't Torture My Friend Any Longer

So for the past week I've been listen to The Divine Comedy albums (skipping Liberation and Promenade) since I entered a whole of analysis about Casanova that was a trainwreck (for me at least), and in the meantime I wrote down/sent what I thought of the songs to a friend of mine, @honeylavendermilktea

But at this point I've just been sending paragraphs after paragraphs of thoughts about the work of some Irish guy so I thought might of well post on here since the Neil Hannon tag is deprived of anything other than Doctor Who

Victory for the Comic Muse will be short since I've actually listened to this album for months unlike others, Victory is actually my favorite album so far when I think of the albums by personal enthusiasm instead of anything critical, but I'm hoping that writing this down will help me put some perspective on the songs

songs/thoughts under the cut

1.) To Die a Virgin

Divine Comedy's horny songs are just really funny to me I can't understand anything otherwise tbh. I actually really enjoy this song since the tone manages to actually fit the lyrics. You can somehow feel how pathetic this horny little soldier really is all while still being a relative banger. I don't really understand how this was considered an iffy single according to the documentary... then again now saying that, this was like 2006 people were calling Happy Feet leftist propaganda.

2.) Mother Dear

While I don't listen to this on the regular, I love this song all the same for the lyrics alone. I find it incredibly sweet that the song is just about a guy realizing that his mom was great and that she deserved much more respect than he gave her in the past. I can't say it's relatable (probably since I'm still a teen), but it has an earnest energy that gives such a lovable feeling despite any personal connection. Similar to what I said in the beginning, lyrics are cheeky and pleasant as usual, though a bit too much banjo for me.

3.) Diva Lady

I don't think there's any actual reason I like this song. I just think it sounds nice. It's about a girl, who's a diva, and has a quirky nose. Seriously, I don't actually know why the nose is so prominent in this song. Who knows, maybe there's more to this song than I can read into, but the most I get is that this song is kinda like A Woman of the World, just without the dramatic jazz (which should be a negative but again, I think it sounds nice). I am very amused that she dated a guy to make him "look hetero" tho.

4.) A Lady of a Certain Age

My god, what can I not say about this song? From the gentle guitar and strings to the beautiful, distinctive storytelling, this song is a surprising classic by every angle. Hannon's lyricism is at its peak here with the details the song is able to tell and the fact that it hold the power of making me feel horrible for a rich person. I listen to the song to feel a very refined sort of depression, because I mean she chased the sun around the cote d'azu–

5.) The Light of the Day

I'm not sure how this is supposed to make me recover from the last song, but okay. Since I don't listen to this song often I'm reading the lyrics right now and well I guess that's an F in the chat. Honestly this is just a nice song to hear in a concert or something and you just turn your flashlight on in the crowd to wave it slowly at the beat. That's the entire vibe I get from this song.

6.) Threesome

This is very short so my thoughts will be very short: I think this is very cute, and I think the pun is mainly the reason it's cute. I thought it'd be a horny song at first but no it's just a three-part piano piece, and I love that for it.

7.) Party Fears Two

This song started to grow on my like just two days ago. The main melody is just very fun and gets stuck in my head a lot. The beat oddly enough reminds me of horses which now makes me need to search up the lyrics to confirm something– oh wait this is a cover give me a second... ah this song just got Divine Comedy'd. One thing I can say thought is that both versions are not in either singer's vocal range, though at least with Hannon, it's mainly just the slide that sounds rough.

8.) Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World

Is there actually a TV show called that– oh there was, and yet again this guy was a novelist so this is going on the list of oddly placed literature/pop culture references. Anyways the song seems to just be about a guy not understanding but still loving his wife. Not too keen on this one with the lyric execution.

9.) The Plough

Yes, yes, YES– I don't think people talk about this song enough. It's literally so sexy (not-horny). The dramatic strings; that damn crescendo that increases with every chorus, it's all SEXY. Deadass, I listened to this song without even looking at the lyrics for months because I got carried away by the music alone for so long. That may be a negative in this case though, since I looked up the lyrics for once last week and holy shit. The story told in this song was so #epic that I audibly gasped by the end. Respect this damn song because I love it.

10.) Count Grassi's Passage Over Piedmont

Ngl I thought this was boring every time I listened to it, so I was surprised to see so much love for it in certain websites. The only time I was entertained by talking with music accompaniment and some singing as a song™ was Atlantis by Donovan. This apparently is just another one of "Neil Hannon is a weirdo™ (and a bookworm)" songs to the point that there's like dozen's of references that go over my head, but at least I should have them go over my head while enjoying the song.

11.) Snowball in Negative

I also love this song. I think it's simply because it's able to make such a vivid sound. The serene echo of the voice, the tickle of the plucked strings, the rounded, circling aura of the chorus, all until we reach the singular piano, where you can truly hear the pure sound of snow in that enchanting melody. Once that piano forms into that beautiful orchestral sound, I just feel giddy, like I'm watching some sort of snow spirit dancing with another 'til they wither by the wind. It's definitely an experience I enjoy hearing again and again.

So... yeah, majority are pretty much bangers

I think this album is where Divine Comedy was truly able to define itself again after... whatever the hell happened with Regeneration. And while Absent Friends is considered the recovery from that album, I'd say Absent Friends doesn't really hit the highs that this one reaches wonderfully. I'd still say this one is my favorite by personal bias, even if on a technical level Casanova is probably the best.

I'm excited to listen to Bang Goes the Knighthood, as it seems to be a favorite for Tumblr (likely correlating to the Doctor Who thing one way or another), and actually I'll likely be listening to it tomorrow blindly so it'll be a tad bit different compared to these more organized thoughts.

But anywho, these are the current album rankings from worst (affectionate) to best (more affectionate) (and note I listened to Absent Friends literally just yesterday so the placement is subject to change):

6.) Regeneration (2001)

5.) A Short Album About Love (1997)

4.) Absent Friends (2004)

3.) Fin de Siecle (1998)

2.) Casanova (1996)

1.) Victory for the Comic Muse (2006)

If any of you want me to post my thoughts of the other albums on here, lmk

#neil hannon #the divine comedy #music #will i get attacked for the doctor who jokes? we'll see #i never watched dw and neither did the guy who made your favorite songs from the show #gizl reviews

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brandybradyrandyandyndy · 3 years

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Mark Forster's role in the Ace Attorney franchise

Okay, first off:

I'm not a fan of Mark Forster's music, please don't take this post the wrong way

There might be some aa trilogy spoilers

Also, I admit this title is pretty bold for what I'm going to say on this topic, but I watch The Voice of Germany with my sister every week and one of the coaches is Mark Forster who I only know like five songs of in total, but his song "Au Revoir" (which is actually a terrible song btw. It's so catchy, I've had it stuck in my head since I woke up this morning and it ruined my day.) kind of reminded me of the whole "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death." thing, because the only thing I knew about this song was the refrain:

which would be roughly translated to:

"There is nothing that's holding me back, au revoir / Forget who I was / Forget my name / It will never be the way it was before / I'm off / Au revoir"

But as I looked further into the lyrics I found out there is a "rap part" which tells you about the places the lyrical I will go to when they're away and it contains a passage that adds a beautiful twist to my theory/headcanon (I'm not sure what to call this yet).

"I'm sitting on the Mayan throne in the jungle / [...] / The phoenix is taking off now"

You see where I'm going with this? I know, it's not Phoenix who's leaving and I know the lyrics refer to the Maya Civilization from Mesoamerica, but I thought it was a funny coincidence, that not only does the word "Phoenix" appear in the lyrics of this song, but so does "Maya".

So when I first saw this part of "Au Revoir", I started imagining how Miles Edgeworth would listen to this song and like dramatically sing along to it and start crying or something, but this only posed another question:

How could this scenario happen? How and why would he even come in contact with this song?

My first guess was, Miles probably went to Germany after he left his note, because he grew up there (I think), when he had been adopted by Manfred von Karma as a child, and he heard the song somewhere in the radio because in Germany they blast Mark Forster's music in almost every public space, so there is no escape from it ever. I tried to find out, during which timespan Miles left America, just to make sure if there was a chance that he actually could have heard it on the radio.

In the Ace Attorney wiki this timespan isn't clearly mentioned, but since the last case (Rise from the Ashes) from the first game is set in February 2017 and Edgeworth returns to America in March 2018 I'm guessing, this is exactly the time window in which he's in Germany* (minus some days/weeks of course, because I don't think he'd just leave on the exact same day he had his last trial in America). *to make this easier for me I'm just assuming he spends the entirety of his travels in Germany

But this brings me to my problem, the German Charts of 2017/2018.

As you can see, the only songs by Mark Forster that were in the charts while Miles would be in Germany are the ones above. This means that it is highly unlikely that he knew of "Au Revoir" from the radio, because why would they play this old song if they could also play Mark Forster's more recent songs that are popular right now?

But when exactly was "Au Revoir" popular enough to be in the German Charts?

During my research I looked up these years, too, and it came down to 2014 (the year "Au Revoir" was released) and even a year later in 2015. So there is no way he could have known of this song if his most recent stay in Germany was in 2017, right? (I mean, unless the German people he met then, had literally no taste and forced him to listen to it.)

But I have a pretty simple and logical explanation on how he could have still known of this song, even though he probably wouldn't have heard it in Germany in 2017.

I tried really hard, but I couldn't for my life find real data on Mark Forster's demographic, so just believe me if I tell you that his demographic is mostly preteen and teenage girls. Also, it's worth mentioning that Mark Forster's music is pretty much only known in German speaking countries like Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Now, let's take a closer look at the years, in which Au Revoir was most popular: 2014 and 2015

Who could Miles Edgeworth possibly know, who in 2014/2015 is 1. German, 2. a teenager and 3. a girl? The answer is quite obvious:

His younger sister Franziska von Karma.

Considering that she was either 14 or 15 when "Au Revoir" was released, she fits Mark Forster's demographic perfectly and although I'm not 100% sure if she was in Germany then, I still believe, she must have had at least some connection to Germany in some way, maybe a German friend who she still was in contact with or maybe she had access to German tv, maybe German YouTube channels or social media. And don't get me wrong, I love Franziska von Karma and I wouldn't wish anything bad on her, but at the same time I strongly believe that she'd be the kind of girl who'd have gone through a Mark Forster phase as a teen.

Now remember that I, myself, have a sister. I know what siblings do to annoy each other and I just know from the bottom of my heart that if Franziska really was a fan of Mark Forster's music, she would blast it on any opportunity she'd get. Or she would at least talk about him and his songs with her brother. Believe me. If Franziska really listened to Mark Forster, Miles would have known of him, too. There is literally no other way. (For reference, I know every 1D member's name, birthday and relationship status, although I literally do not care about any of them at all, only because my sister is obsessed with them and talks about them 24/7. Meanwhile the only MCR member I know, is Gerard Way, even though I listen to their music on the daily.)

So here is my conclusion.

Miles Edgeworth definitely listened to "Au Revoir" by Mark Forster on the plane from Japanifornia to Germany and he also definitely cried, after he made sure nobody could see him (especially during the part "Der Phönix macht jetz 'n Abflug"/"The phoenix is taking off now"). Also, he probably listened to the song multiple times during his stay in Germany and you literally can't prove me wrong on this. I mean you could try, but I invested way too much of my time in this to actually care about another person's opinion on my shitty headcanon.

Also, the moment Franziska met Phoenix and Maya, her memories vaulted her right back to her Mark Forster phase and her hatred against Phoenix wasn't solely based on the fact that he was accountable for the conviction of her father Manfred von Karma, her hatred was also ignited by the fact that she probably had "Au Revoir" stuck in her head because of these two for the rest of the day and I just know that this must have completely ruined it for her.

Also, unrelated to anything I've said prior:

Klavier Gavin would definitely collaborate with Mark Forster on at least one song and however severe Franziska's Mark Forster phase might have been, I am convinced Klavier would have outdone her by far. I haven't played AJAA yet, but as much as I've gathered from the fandom, he's like a weeaboo but with Germany, I think? I'm absolutely sure, he wouldn't ever miss a chance like this.

Finally, here is the song this whole post is about:

#ace attorney #aa #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #manfred von karma #narumitsu #wrightworth #phoenix wright #maya fey #german #german culture #mark forster #klavier gavin

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kendrixtermina · 3 years

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Appreciating the Range of Type 6, or, one stereotypical example, and three that aren’t.

I want to tell you about some type 6 ppl that I know in my personal life.

Exemplar #1: F. B.

Complete Stats

Wing: 5 p or cp: largely phobic – lots of safety worries, outright authoritarian follower personality Instinct: sp/soc Trifix: 613 - 6w5 1w2 3w2 (“The Taskmaster” or “The Middle Manager”) jungian: ISTJ / SLI-Te oldham: Conscientious & Aggressive Essence Type: Mars Temperament: Pure Choleric

What he’s like:

Not pleasant.

Every “strict conservative middle aged guy” stereotype in the book. Control freak, makes a mountain out of every molehill, sees the world as full of axe murderers, judgemental as fuck, horrible temper and yet completely impersonable, all his opinions are copypasted from right-wing news sites. When they say war is good he’s for war, and when they say war is bad he’ll be like “At least Trump did not start any more wars” without perceiving a contradiction. Despite this, he believes is very hot, principled and funny. He is none of these things. He puts people down nonstop. My knowledge of neurochemistry tells me that he must have emotions somewhere or he couldn’t function, but I ain’t ever seen a single one of those emotions. They’re all for his job and a few trusted mentor figures. And his mom. At least he loved her.

If you say anything he doesn’t like, he “throws the sofa out the window” as his wife once put it.

How he’s a Type 6:

Well, he’s pretty much every negative stereotype in a nutshell… other than distrusting his partner. But that might be cause hes sx blind, or cause the wife is big on monogamy & wouldn’t ever cheat.

The one positive trait of 6 that he has is that he does his research. Before moving anywhere he googles the crime rates and if you need a doctor he might find you the best one. But even that can be overriden by ideology (hydroxychloroquine!). And if you don’t take his exact advice, there goes the sofa out the window again…

And I guess the work ethic from all 3 parts of the trifix really comes through – he hasn’t had a single bad grade in his life and always keeps collecting new certifications, and will make sure you hear about it...

Exemplar #2: I.

Complete Stats

Wing: 5 P or cp: pretty much an even mix of phobic and counterphobic Instinct: sp/soc Trifix: 614 - 6w5 1w2 4w3 (Would prolly call herself “The Big Pain” rather than “The Philosopher” ^^°) jungian: INTJ / ILI-Ni oldham: Serious & Conscientious Essence Type: Saturn Temperament: Chlor-Mel

What she’s like:

I’d describe her as serious, mature, discerning, focused and passionate about her friendships, if perhaps somewhat forceful at times, with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.

Comes across like someone who knows what she’s talking about, with well-articulated points.

Often the Responsible Sibling, Designated Sanity Checker or Bullshit Detector.

Prefers to plan everything in advance in typical Ni dom fashion, even amusement part trips. Gets somewhat anxious without a future plan or shedule.

Often mistaken for a whole lot more sociable and confident that she really feels inside. (even I kinda bought it and got her whole darn trifix wrong on my first typing attempt, though that was when I was new to typology) She can act the boss act temporarily to get the situation over with, but she actually hates making decisions.

She does however have the occasional cute/pure moment where that lower function block comes out.

How she’s a Type 6:

She has saved our family from many a terrible restaurant by making sure to check the reviews. The preparing for all possible dangers is very 6, the acting tough outwardly when youre inwardly anxious, the intellectual problem solving & some tendency towards organization/responsibility/ “logistic” intelligence.

One online test she took gave her 5w6 instead of 6w5 but that’s probably just the ITxx-ness leaking in. I remember this one time we were discussing this artsy-fartsy theater play to which we’d had fascinatingly different reactions, and at one point I half-jokingly said something like “But does anyone ever really feel connected to others, or is that a myth?” to which she wrote, “[Name], what the fuck? Yes I do.” and then immediately deleted it. That’s more of a 6 reaction innit?

Nonetheless the wing does feature in significantly – for example she got very well informed about a lot of topics because she researched them to assuage a random survival-related fear, like, “How to make sure I have enough retirement money”

Exemplar #3: M.

Complete Stats

Wing: 7 p or cp: largely phobic Instinct: sp/sx Trifix: 692 - 6w7 9w1 2w1 (Fortunately very much a “Good Samaritan” rather than “The Stockholm”) jungian: ISFP / SEI-Fi oldham: Sensitive & Devoted Essence Type: Lunar-Venus Temperament: Pure Supine

What she’s like:

Precious! Sweet, nice, good listener, friendly, gives all the best gifts. But also perceptive and good at understanding people, eg. mediating to the parents when one of the younger sisters is having An Emotion™ or winning the trust of problem children.

Unlike I. Who has some soc that helps her keep track of a larger circle of friends despite her introversion, M. tends to enjoy the closeness with her family and have just a few very close friends. Excellent friend material all around! The sx and Se also come out in enjoying art forms involving the body like theatre or dance.

She can be a bit shy, conflict-avoidant and occasionally a lil bit panicky though.

As a small kid she used to be super duper shy but then a wise english teacher encouraged her to play a big role in a play, and since then she’s a lot more confident and doesn’t let ppl push her around without limit, though she’s still a quiet, helpful person. There you see the difference that a good teacher can make.

How she’s a Type 6:

For one thing she moves and emotes faster than a core 9 would, and she fits the body language – big eyes that move around a lot, stands a bit lopsided, talks in a shrill voice on the rare occasions where we exhaust her patience etc. As a xSFx and a w7 she shows mostly the “warm, friendly, likeable” side of type 6. She also has a very 6-ish tendency to very frequently ask people’s opinions & feedback before making decisions. (the other fixes probably add to this)

Alas, she also has a little bit of of the fear/insecurity.

Also she has a social/care job which might be seen as 6-ish desire to serve the community.

Exemplar #4: J.

Complete Stats

Wing: 7 P or cp: largely counterphobic Instinct: sx/soc ?? definitely not sp first. Trifix: 638 - 6w7 3w4 8w9(?) (Shall she be a “Justice Fighter” or a “Kyle”? Only time will tell.) jungian: ISTP / LSI-Se ?? Oldham: ? some Dramatic & Serious, perhaps ? Essence Type: Definitely Mercury Temperament: San-Mel

What she’s like:

The first adjective that usually comes to my mind is ‘cool’. Sassy, energetic & a little bit tough, but also affectionate when she wants to be. (though in admiring way rather than a mushy one)

She says the coolest things, has a certain sly sort of cleverness, and an astonishly good poker face. Bit of an occasional prankster. Hilarious. Knows all sort of cool science facts. Avid gamer.

Not especially popular or over the top sociable, but she gets sad if no one pays attention to her a while. Will act visibly moody where ppl can see sad or worried and can catastrophize a bit in such situations.

How she’s a Type 6:

I first though we might be getting an ExxP type 7 since she was a pretty energetic child, but once puberty hit and independent thought manifested, she turned out a whole lot too reactive and ‘edgy’ for this, and more on the ‘moderate introvert’ side of things.

Since then the sisterly dynamic has been like one fluffy golden dog and 3 hissing black cats. Hissing Cats #1 and #2 are very proud of her, but cat #1 was forced to conclude that she’s probably not a positive outlook type.

Out of all the reactive types 6 fits best because she does broadcast group identity (like wearing merchandise of her favorite media and wearing buttons in solidarity with ppl she likes.) & has a big case of Big Sibling worship for M, I, and someone else who isn’t on this list due to being a 9. (a 4 or 8 might like their older siblings but probably wouldn’t constantly stress the admiration.), but she can also show lasting, pouty displeasure with authority figures who have slighted her. (Like that one time I went too far in teasing her...)

I’m just assuming the 8 fix because that tends to make 6s more bold, louder & more shameless.

Basically she is the “punk teen” type of 6. She can be a bit dramatic & over-the top but still come to her family on advice (even advice on pranks!) in ways that xSTPs of other enneagrams prolly wouldn’t.

She also tends to use self-deprecating humor in tough situations and deflects compliments to present herself as ‘ordinary’.

...

This may sound like I’m really getting down on my first example (I won’t pretend that I’m not) but the point in bringing him up is that the reason he’s like this is: He was subject to really bad parenting that put a lot of fear into him, there was no good parenting to teach him broader coping strategies, he lived in a crappy environment that crushed his dreams, in a sense ‘confirming’ those fears and making him double down, resulting in a person who is just always rigidly following the same predictable pattern or jumping from one automatic reaction to the next with very little pausing and thinking. That goes for the other types too: A ‘stereotypical’ person is a desperate person ruled by fear, who cant stop or soften up even for an instant cause they constantly feel this fire of threat under their arse.

A lot of descriptions say that 6s ‘Follow authority’ but most would balk at the notion – ‘I do the research!’ they might argue ‘I don’t just trust anyone’ or ‘I’m actually a rebel’. There is of course such a thing as denial that’s more like the extreme case.

But with a more average, functional 6 it’s not so much ‘obedience’ as that they just like to bounce their ideas off of others to get feedback, or that they feature in other’s viewpoints. So you might get someone who can naturally use feedback (something other ppl may have to learn first) or who is very considerate of others (which others might have to consciously remind themselves to do.)

Those are sometimes pretty good traits actually.

On the other hand this is probably part of what makes decisions hard cause they consider all these possible scenarios of how things might displease or cause harm to everyone involved.

Being able to naturally snap into Action Mode under stress looks a bit enviable from the outside, but I. assures me that it’s actually super stressful & exhausting, even for someone who doesn’t get to a point of just being unreasonably aggro at you.

Though even an extreme case like F.B. would probably claim that he ‘did the research’ even as he’s 1:1 quoting the Pope at you, and then saying that you ‘have to be respectful’ even if you don’t even believe in Christianity. Hence why you get a lot of authoritarians talking about “disrespect”. You didn’t “fail to obey”, you “disrespected the flag” or “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”. Because they’re still trying or inwardly thinking that they’re doing the consideritation & considering other’s PoV thing when they’ve long since crossed from respect and consideration into mindless obedience, all while still thinking that they’re very sceptical and discerning cause after all they really distrust the other political party or whatever.

In a way you get this obsession with ‘mind control’ cause they’re not unaware of & very much looking to guard the blind spot. They’re adults trying to do adult things.

For example, if I voiced an opinion to F. B. which he didn’t like, his reaction was often to ask “who told you that”

That’s just how he seems to think opinions work, somebody tells them to you.

Makes one wonder how he thinks new opinions start.

Yeah - Nobody told me that. I concocted it myself in some corner of my head. And in the interest of objectivity, I should stress that you can also end talking out of your ass that way, if you’re not basing it on enough outside data. Making up new shit has more of a quadratic than a linear learning curve – at least with copying you get something semi-useful right away. In making up your own you might be really off a long time before you stumble on something useful.

Also, I was young at the time and it’s not wholly unreasobale to think that an inexperienced person might be duped. I reacted really badly in part cause he hit my own ego buttons cause I was of course proud of this epiphany that I had concocted by myself, and now he says (or so I perceived it, being sensitive to accusations of incompetence) that I’m too dumb to form an opinion, so of course I launched into full Obnoxious Reddit Dude Mode.

In I. It manifests more on a reasonable useful level like “Oh wait, should [young cousin] be on TikTok? I don’t want him to get sucked into some cultish BS.” which is at least something the parents should have on the radar/ warn him about even if they do let him use TikTok, because for all that it is vital for him to get his experience with independent socializing & experimentig with sel-presentation, people do sometimes get suckered into cults or goaded into unsafe tests of courage.

And in a sense… maybe they overamphasize it but to some extent they’re also simply consciously aware/ mindful of it. The rest of us are not immune to propaganda after all, solong as it’s presented in a way pleasing to our egos. Any type structure can become a ‘hook’ if you’re not careful.

#enneagram #enneagram 6 #ennea 6 #6w5 #6w7

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crystal-moon-101 · 3 years

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Sentient Omega AU - Relationships

Since people seem to be liking my Sentient Omega AU, I thought I’d give you an insight of her relationships towards other characters other than Rex and Alpha, as I thought it would be interesting and give a feel what she would be like in the series. Thought before I go into it, I should note something to clear things up. I like to think that on the day of the nanite event, much like Rex, Omega also kind of gets amnesia. However, she remembers a little bit more than Rex does, things like knowing that they’re friends, that he does have family, that they use to be in a lab somewhere with other scientist, but she doesn’t know the finer details unfortunately. This still keeps the mystery of who Rex is and what happened during the nanite event. Also, during the series whenever they can across something from their past, Omega does actually get flashes of the past, only bits and pieces though, rebuilding her memories like a puzzle over the course of the series everytime they run into something familiar. E.g Rylander or the Hong Kong Gang. Normally she would tell the others what she learnt, but there would be times where she keeps it to herself for sometimes, either because she wants more details in case she makes a miscall, or she fears it might harm the present, like Rex’s relationship with Caesar. But anyway, into the relationships! If you want to see another character dynamic with her and someone I didn’t mention, feel free to request that! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rylander: Omega has a lot of respect to the man, and even refers to him as father, mostly because he was the one leading the project of her creation, unlike Caesar who originally lead the Alpha project. His wise and kind personality helped teach her to understand the idea of what ‘gentle hands’ meant, especially early on in her life when she was getting use to being something alive. Much like Rex, he treated her differently than just another project, and even saw she was something more through the way she looked after Rex. When they meet again, you can imagine it was somewhat emotional for Omega, even if she couldn’t quite convey it. It was hard for her to see how broken Rylander seemed to become, always worried, on edge and failing to tell Rex or her anything, even if he was happy to see the two was ok. It hurt to see him ‘die’ after what happened to him and Van Kleiss, but she wasn’t one to dwell, instead taking on the things he taught her to keep going. When they meet again in season three, after he’s brought back, there’s a strange connection between them for a while given his new form was technology base, but they eventually get use to it. Caesar Salazar: Their relationship is...quite complicated. Omega finds him to be a fascinating human being, being different from the people she’s known. But that detail about him can be hit or miss half the time, as while he’s intelligent, can do amazing things and is quite funny, he’s also distance, eerie and impulsive, often known to endanger people without realizing it until it’s too late. Many times she had to stop an emergency in his lab back before the nanite event, like if he almost set his lab on fire or something. She didn’t think much of it at first...until she started bonding with Rex. She doesn’t think Caesar is bad, but doesn’t excuse the danger he makes when not thinking of the consequences. It doesn’t help that he’s not easily sociable, and was known to neglect his brother because of his work. Omega does understand he can’t help some of his habits, but also knows he could be a lot better if he tried hard enough. When they finally meet again in season 2, she is happy to see him, but returning memories reminded her of his negative traits, many which seemed to have stayed, and even gotten a little worse. It doesn’t help that Rex is dying to connect with his brother, which isn’t easy, and...she starts to remember that he and their parents were the ones to start the nanite event, something Omega doesn’t tell Rex until Van Kleiss admits to this. It isn’t until season 3 where things get pretty bad between them, as while she is unsure if Caesar is working with Black Knight because he’s turned evil or because of something else he has in mind, she can’t excuse the danger he’s doing and how he’s hurt Rex. She’s very much not afraid to speak her mind whenever Caesar does things she disproves of. Perhaps in someways, his ties to Alpha’s creation is a hidden reasons for her unsure nature with him too... Doctor Holiday: Omega and her have one of most civil relationships, as they both respect each other for what they’re trying to do, their motherly outlooks over Rex being something they bond over. It was somewhat surpising, as Rex thought Omega’s overprotective nature would get the better of her with Holiday, but Omega understands that while she may view Rex as her child, he does need an actual human to take on a proper motherly role, and has openingly voiced this to Holiday before. While she doesn’t outright let Holiday experiment on her like a guinea pig, she does allow tests or research moments to help Holiday better understands Omega, nanites and Rex. The two have had debates about EVOs, has Omega has stated that in concept the idea of EVOs isn’t an entirely bad thing, thinking if they were more like Rex and his nanites, it could provide a great set in humans and connect both technology and people. Holiday does disagree with this, but the two are calm about these debates, Holiday very much understanding that Omega isn’t human, and does see things differently. Agent Six: Despite Six’s moments, Omega has a lot of faith in the man actually, knowing very well he will take care of Rex. She had been unsure at first the moment Rex and Six first met, especially after what White Knight tried to pull, but after Six risked so much to keep Rex alive, something in Omega just knew she found a safe place for her boy, and someone able to provide so much more for Rex. Personally, the two don’t interact often, but when they do they have this aura of respect, but slight wariness of each other. However, some of that faith cracks a bit when his memories vanish, and he changes. She gets nerves that he will never be the man that protected Rex the way he did before, but Rex’s hope and Six’s wanting to be like his original self does restore some faith in Omega. She does keep an eye on him for a while though. Noah Nixon: She didn’t think much of him at first, believing him just to be a nice human who was willing to be Rex’s friend, which was good enough for her. However, after it was revealed that Noah was working for White Knight, it takes a good while for Omega to trust him again, even after Rex forgives him. She knows how much hard deal Rex has gone through in terms of his friendships and families, and it pains her everytime they get ruined by something. She does get over what Noah did eventually, but does make it clear to him he has a lot to make up for. But once they’re on better terms, she does tease him here and there. White Knight: Omega really doesn’t like White Knight for a good while. He’s nearly killed and hurt Rex many times, treats Rex quite awful, and the two clearly don’t trust each other, given she is a nanite part of what’s going on. Though, while the two might push each other’s buttons some time to time, they try and remind civil around each other...mostly because they know what the other can offer if they stay on their good sides. Omega knows it’s good for Rex, as this is his home and they need Providence’s help, and White knows that Omega is something valuable and could be a key to many answers. That doesn’t stop the occasional snarks or remarks thrown at each other. But as Rex and White start to pack things over time, Omega does eventually grow to respect the man. By the time of season three, she really sees how much White has changed and grown, especially during the Alpha fight where he backed up Rex and Ben. Van Kleiss: Much like Caesar, the two have a...complicated relationship. She knows that, in the past, while Van Kleiss wasn’t much of a socializing person, he wasn’t all that bad. He came off as off putting to others, but people were quite harsh on him, giving him a negative view on humanity. So when he turned out the way he did after the nanite event, latching onto the idea of EVOs and power because of how people treated him before, she can’t say that she’s surprised, and even pities him. She knows he could have been better, someone good, but things didn’t turn out that way. However, that does not mean she excuses all the cruel things he does, and will always be vocal about what he’s become. She does admit that, like him, she sees the ideas of EVOs being the next step in humanity, but both of them want to do it in other ways. Whenever they get the chance to talk to each other, it’s often them debating each other, mostly the future of Rex, EVOs and nanites, Van Kleiss even noting that once they figure out how to either destroy, remove or shut off nanites, the humans are mostly likely gonna do the same to her (Which she does admit deep down...does scare her, especially if it means Rex doesn’t need her anymore...). But she does often mention to him that just because the world was cruel to him, doesn’t mean he gets to be cruel back. Throughout each of the seasons, they dynamic will always be complicated. Bobo Haha: Omega really wasn’t sure on how to feel about Bobo at the start, but had to get use to him when Rex started hanging out with him. She does get annoyed when he convince Rex to do something dumb or dangerous, and often tries to be the reasonable voice out of the three, but she does have a slight playful side that Bobo has a way of getting to show. Plus, she can’t lie that it’s nice to see Rex unwind and just...get to be a wild teen. Black Knight: A very frustrating relationship for her with this one. Because Black Knight is somewhat and EVO like Rex, she’s has this desire to be better than him, in terms of what they are. She wants the stronger powers, the better control over nanites, to be the EVO the world talks about. However, there’s a big problem there, in that while she has the potential to be better than Rex, she can’t for some reason. There is a reason she only showed her true powers once near the end, and that is because she can’t do them for long, and lack many of the powers Rex has. The most she can do is summon her powerful weapons, but they don’t last long. That’s when Omega comes into the picture, as Black Knight is convinced she is the missing piece needed to be better than Rex, the main difference between the to and why Black Knight can’t do what he does. Because of this, Black Knight is very open about the idea of taking Omega, often trying smooth talk and sometimes even bride or softly threaten Omega into joining her. She almost always uses her sickly sweet voice when talking to Omega, as if they were good old friends. However, Omega wants none of that and always rejects Black Knight, stating many times she doesn’t like her, doesn’t trust her, and knows she’s planning something bad. That doesn’t stop Black Knight though, who has made it clear that she will resort to darker means if things don’t go her way. Ben Tennyson: Omega really didn’t have good opinions on the boy when he first showed up, fighting Rex, wreaking buildings and putting Six endanger. The way he behaved and acted, with so much power, it made her think he was nothing like a prideful childish teen who didn’t understand consequences. But then he started helping, standing by Rex when it was clear of the dangers happening, what Alpha was doing. The fact Ben was willing to help a world that wasn’t his own, Omega had to admit it was noble of him. At the time Alpha’s presence was making her stressed, so she was glad that Ben was there to support both her and Rex during this troubling issue. She was most grateful for when he helped Rex when she was taken, going Upgrade to provide Rex the needed power he lost when Alpha took her. And since Ben helped the two reunite, she will forever be thankful for his help. Still, she does think he needs to calm himself of the cocky attitude, but she knows it’s not her place to speak.

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shuuenmei · 3 years

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we were two- reflect

TWST OC Week Day 4: Mirror

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

This is connected to “We were two-Prelude”.

For a TLDR of “We were two-Prelude”, the canon MC existed together with Yuu (Rei) and their presence is connected to how Yuu (Rei) got to Twisted Wonderland.

A colored version of this piece will be posted on a later date.

Due to length, the piece is placed under the cut.

Here we go!

“You know, I’m rather jealous of you.”

The reflection in front of her spoke. The teenager with raven hair spoke.

Their meeting is only possible through this dimensional rift.

The teen’s circumstances are a separate matter from her own, her lone connection being that the teen’s soul imprinted on her while their actual body lies dormant, sleeping among the many coffins in the Hall of Mirrors.

“What brought this on?” She wondered.

“Honestly, I went through the same experience as you do, from the entrance ceremony, the overblots, the daily lives with my new friends… everything. And even then, I was too blind to notice what’s going on behind my back, too afraid and too weak to consider seeking answers for myself until it’s too late.”

Their lips curve to a mirthless smile. “I didn’t have the same willpower or bravery as you do to question what is happening around me until it’s too late. I didn’t have the courage or initiative to find a way to defend myself without depending on my friends either. I’m just… me. A regular teen who wound up in a whole other world and blindly followed what I’ve been told to, like a sheep in a herd.”

Pausing to take a breath, they soon continue. “My ignorance and blindness kept me from noticing that I should’ve tried to stop Grim from eating those black rocks that did him more harm than good, and it prevented me from realizing that the Headmaster had his own plans so I’m under his complete mercy when I finally realize what is going on. And my weakness and lack of initiative costs everybody, and even then, I had to sacrifice them for Grim.”

“...You know, I don’t care about Grim as much as you do.” She interjected.

“I have my own priorities, and I was far more interested in finding out about what role I had in the centerpiece of the scheme that the Headmaster is likely playing at when I noticed it, and just because we experience the same thing, doesn’t mean that we had the same backgrounds.”

“I know, and I was told of it.”

“...By the one that imprinted your soul on me?”

“The very same.” They nodded and continued, looking down to the ground (Or what constitutes as a ground in this dimensional rift). “A life where society always seems to put you down no matter what you do, your trust in people that should’ve helped you lost, your relationship with people who once supported you strained… That person also showed me that I had other counterparts, each with their own motivations that are different from mine… and it made me feel small in comparison since unlike all of you, I’m just… average. Just a regular kid thrown into another world without a clue to what’s going on.”

She stayed quiet, listening to them speak before she gave the teen her piece.

“Just because I did differently from you, doesn’t mean that the things you do are completely worthless or irrelevant.”

The teen looked up to her. She gave no heed as she continued.

“Just because you and I do different things doesn’t mean we’re any less irrelevant. We may have different relationships with those we met along the way, but it doesn’t turn or make it any less worthless. Grim and Tsunotaro still care about you, and so does Ace and Deuce back in your world.”

She stepped forward, closing in the distance and held the teen by their shoulder. “No matter what we do, the fact that we’ve become an irreplaceable presence to the people we met doesn’t change. Even if our relationships are different.”

“...But you’re still going to sacrifice Grim, right?”

She pursed her lips, slowly nodding.

“My relationship with Grim is different than the one with yours. I may accept him as someone under my care, but ultimately, I don’t depend on his company all the time, and he still needs more growing to do. And he wouldn’t be getting what he wanted out of me.”

She lifted her hands from them.

“Once upon a time, my mentor and uncle told me that it’s often a better choice to end them first than to take the slim chance of saving them, since saving them and granting them peace may prolong their suffering instead, so I believe that he’d be better off given a swift end.”

“...And I can’t accept that.” They confessed.

“...I know.”

She learned enough about how much the teen cherished Grim and how they are willing to sacrifice the people of Twisted Wonderland, their new friends in this strange world.

Because to them, Grim’s the only one who would care about them the most, because they’re partners, two in one.

The same can’t be said to herself, who sees Grim as his own individual, separate from herself.

And completely independent from needing him, with a life and groups of her own. Away from Grim.

Regardless, she still offered. “But we can make a compromise, if you’re willing to hear that.”

________________________________________________________________

“Morning Yuu-san! Ace-kun! Deuce-kun!”

Without turning back, she returned his greeting. “Morning Epel.”

Ace yawned as he said his greetings as Deuce smiled.

“Morning Epel.”

Epel noticed the drowsy white cat on her shoulder and greeted. “Morning Shiro-san.”

The cat familiar gave a drowsy purr in greeting.

“He’s a lot sleepier than usual today.” She told him.

Epel nodded.

As they walked together, a teen, accompanied by a familiar gray furred cat-monster with blue flames adorning his ears resting on their shoulder zoomed past the group.

“Fnaaahhh, we’re getting late!”

“I know Grim!”

‘Isn’t there still time for homeroom?’ She mused inwardly before she turned back to see the figure.

She saw Grim and the teen. The original Yuu who was meant to be here, now renaming themselves as “Ray”, running ahead with two unfamiliar students waiting for the duo.

“Come on Ray!” They beckoned the teen as they started running forward, their figures fade in the distance.

She stared at them for a moment.

“Yuu-san? What’s wrong?”

She turned, shaking her head at Epel. “Nothing.”

She looked ahead, joining her friends. Suggesting, “By the way, what do you think of a group cafe outing after school today? That new cafe that opened downtown was pretty good.”

“Sure Yuu-san! I should call Jack-Kun about it!”

“I’m gonna get our class E duo later.”

“That leaves me getting Kasper then.”

“So you guys are leaving Shiro and I to get Sebek?”

“Hey, you’re the only one who can convince him to join our hangouts easily and make him tolerate coffee some more.”

“Not funny Ace.”

She made her decision to choose her friends, and by extension, the people of Twisted Wonderland.

They chose to stay for Grim.

The friendships they made may have changed in some ways, but they made their choice.

Like a mirror, they are the same, but not.

#Shuu's fics #Shuu art #Twisted Wonderland #Twst OC Week #Shiina Yuu (black or white)#Of things to come #Yuu (Rei)#Ray (black or white)#twst mc #twst grim #black or white (fanfic)

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whackmewithwhump · 3 years

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Intro to The BoxCutters

Okay guys, for once I promised something and I'm gonna deliver. This is a band of OC's that I created and very much would like to put into compromising and fun whumpy situations. This is a brief overview of the band members, and their personality, but I do have quite a bit of worldbuilding and other details all in my head about this stuff. So without further ado, meet the new crew, and don't hesitate to tell me what you think!!

Chante: (26, asexual, panromantic) okay so Chante is our lead man. He sings and plays lead guitar, but sometimes he plays the keyboard, or will hop on and surprise the crowd with some other instrument.

He actually has a degree in engineering, but has always loved music. Many people would describe him as a bit of a prodigy, he's the sort of guy who can pick up and play most instruments, but the credit goes to his hard work more than anything else. He's dedicated to his craft and it paid off big time over the years.

He's incredibly friendly and open. The sort of guy who sees a room of strangers as a room of future friends. He's great at networking and making connections for the band, and is well loved by most people. He can be a little bit of a control freak sometimes if people aren't taking things as seriously as he is, and can also wear himself down by not knowing his limits.

He absolutely rocks crop tops, is a total morning person, collects guitars and treats them like his babies (can unintentionally be a bit of a snob about it), and he gives music lessons as a side hustle.

Keiko: (25, straight) Keiko is our bassist, she's a huge stoner, and an original member of the band. She's a pretty good songwriter, and has written a lot for them over the years. She's got a wicked sense of style and a wicked sense of humour. Probably the ultimate memelord of the group. She's messy in all senses of the word, gets distracted and ends up in drama. She's not afraid to stand up for herself or for others, but is very much a sweetheart. She's just a sweetheart that is incredibly blunt.

Keiko makes herself at home wherever she is. She can get comfy and take a nap anywhere. She's incredibly artistic, and usually has several projects on the go. She's got big ambition but little follow through. She has two pet rabbits, Peter and Apple Juice, and she would die for either of them and gives them the best life possible. She's a big lover of animals, including all of the critters that people are generally scared of, and would scold anyone who dare even think about squishing a bug. She's got a tattoo sleeve inspired by the Great Barrier Reef.

Lastly, she lives in a house with Tyson, they've been roommates for years, along with a rotation of various strangers. The two of them are the big trouble makers of the group, and often have a rather annoying friends with benefits thing going on with each other while they're bored. It doesn't even cause friction, because they have zero romantic interest in each other, but it's definitely not the best use of either of their time.

Sadie: (26, lesbian) Sadie is a guitarist and singer and the newest member of the band, introduced to them by Chante after he'd graduated from university. It was the two of them that really got the band up and running again. She's incredibly organized, and with Chante's executive skills, they whipped thing back into shape.

She doesn't usually sing lead, but on occasion she will. Whether she's leading or being a second vocalist, she has a really powerful and beautiful voice that brings a lot of texture and life to the sound of their music. Out of the group, her stage presence is the most different to her everyday personality. On stage she unleashes this monster of a performer, and always gives her all to put on a show. She'd be the most likely to stage dive and crowdsurf.

Otherwise, she is the most subdued and lowkey of the gang. She's not quiet or shy per se, but she has lots of intention behind what she says. Sadie is also a massive flirt, and a bit of a hoe, but we don't slutshame her. She's always getting with the ladies, and has many short term relationships, but things never get too serious before she sorta gets scared and dips.

Her style is very simple and clean cut (my drawing is kind of extremely casual compared to what she'd usually wear). She's the sort of person to iron all of her clothes, and buttons her shirts all the way to the top. She makes this very put together look seem incredibly edgy, but the mullet helps with that. Unlike Chante, she doesn't collect guitars, but has two that are reliable and that she cherishes and will use till they're falling apart. (Oh and she's a total lightweight)

Tyson: (25, bi) Tyson is our drummer. He has been a percussionist since a young age, and ended up being quite the band geek in high school because of it. He loves to mess around with the toys (percussion toys, you sickos) but his passion has always been drumming in its various forms. He gets to whack things, what's not to love? The Boxcutters were his idea, and it was his humble garage where the band got its start as angsty teens. A classic origin story.

His parents were mostly happy for him to be engaged in anything that kept him out of trouble, since he has ADHD that leans very much towards the hyperactivity side, as it often does with males, and he struggled a lot throughout his childhood with being quite disruptive. He is very competitive, and sometimes takes things too far because of this, and will never turn down a dare. Fortunately his friends are around and are pretty good at reining him in when they need to. Being the third out of four children in his family, he's always felt the need to get attention, which he usually tries to get by being a class clown sort of character, but he often doesn't know when is the right time for that stuff. On top of it all, he's a chronic oversharer. He unintentionally is rude a lot of the time, or can sometimes snap and be mean, but he almost always is willing to accept responsibility and apologize once he's cooled down.

He's great at a party and fiercely loyal, a sweetie that sometimes tries to be tough but it just ends up being very funny.

#feel free to send asks abt them #especially if it's about sick stuff #i didn't include much abt that here #the boxcutters #new ocs babey #lmk what you think #are you team apple juice or team peter

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freddyfreebat · 4 years

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Introducing the cast of Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are

article taken from The Face volume 4 issue 004

We Are Who We Are follows a group of kids growing up on an Italian army base. The début TV series by Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino is a show unlike any you’ve seen before: a teenage snapshot of fucking and fighting, with all the internal tugs of war that make us who we are. Meet the cast, before the whole world falls for them.

Around 2013, film director Luca Guadagnino met the actor Amy Adams to discuss working together on one of the dozens of projects the director had in the incubator. Adams happened to mention that she’d grown up on a US military base in Vicenza, Italy, which sowed the seed in his mind of telling the story of a micro-America – a petri dish of patriotism – hidden in plain sight in his native country.

WRWWR is the result – a drone’s‑eye view of American culture which follows six kids and their families living and working on an army base. As their parents (two of whom are played by Chloë Sevigny and Kid Cudi) wade through their own problems, the kids are cut loose to grow up. They straddle a culture that isn’t their own, eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the mess hall while surrounded by some of the world’s best food. They fuck, they sing, they splash one another at the beach and in pools, edging ever closer to discovering who they truly are.

The concept of coming-of-age is one Guadagnino has explored in his films Call Me By Your Name and his remake of Suspiria, but he didn’t just want to tell a story about youth for youth’s sake. It made more sense to place his first HBO series against a backdrop of political turmoil, so he set it during the 2016 US presidential election, creating an eight-part experiment in jingoism.

This is what happens when you tell a European arthouse director to sift through American youth culture, to see a torrid landscape through the eyes of those who have not truly felt its ramifications – young outsiders who don’t even understand themselves yet. We are who we are, Guadagnino proposes simply in the show’s title, but who that is, is up for you to decide.

Jack Dylan Grazer

Age: 17

Character: Fraser is the newcomer on the army base. He loves to stare for much longer than appropriate and can entertain himself just as easily as he can be the class clown.

Sucking on a pregnant Chloë Sevigny’s fingers like they’re pork knuckles might not have been what Jack Dylan Grazer had in mind when he was cast as Fraser, the male lead in WRWWR. Yet it didn’t faze Sevigny at all, who plays his character’s mother. Pre-finger-suck, Grazer could think only of the 1979 Bernardo BertoluccI film La Luna, in which a mother masturbates her own son.

“We were preparing for that scene and it was all I could think about,” he tells me from his Los Angeles bedroom. Five seconds before the cameras started rolling, Guadagnino asked him if he had seen La Luna? “I was like, ‘Oh my God, no way, I was just about to ask you that!’ I swear to God, it was so synchronistic.”

The relationship between Fraser and his mum is “beautifully disturbing and gross”, as Grazer puts it. He gets jealous when she dances with a male friend, and brutally slaps her when she doesn’t prepare his meal the way he likes. “I felt baaaaad!” Grazer jokes. “It was real – a practical slap. Luca was like, ‘Chloë, do you want to make it a real slap like the Bertolucci movie, or do you want to play it fake?’ Chloë was like, ‘Let’s do it for real.’”

After each take Grazer would ask, “Are you OK, Chloë? Do you want me to get you some ice?”, feeling bad for slapping one of cinema’s most iconic indie actresses. She responded, as you might guess, by shushing him.

When we first meet Fraser in WRWWR he has no friends but shoots lingering stares at a group of young teens who live on his same army base, a group headed up by Britney (Francesca Scorsese). He is “universally relatable… the embodiment of questioning who you are”, Grazer says. “I was really drawn to how blatant he was in regards to transitioning from childhood to adolescence.”

Grazer has previously been in the films IT and Beautiful Boy (where he played a younger Timothée Chalamet), but this is his best role to date. Fraser short-circuits with awkward energy and walks with a confident gait that suggests – as his new friend Britney says behind his back – “he’s got a big one”.

Grazer is, at age 17, the most experienced of the younger set on WRWWR, but he still had to fight to win his part. “I auditioned like everyone else. “I hated my audition, I thought it was the worst audition I’d ever done in my life. I walked out and I was like, ‘Fuck!’ because I wanted to get it so bad. I was in Chicago, and Luca FaceTimed me like, ‘If you want the part, you can have it.’ I was like, ‘If I want it?! Yeah! I want it!’”

Part of that audition process required him to answer some personal questions for casting director Carmen Cuba. She asked if he’d ever questioned his sexuality. “I was like, ‘Of course, as every human being should.’ She said, ‘This show has a lot to do with teenage identity, so are you in touch with that side of yourself? Do you wanna explore it more?’” He did.

As Fraser, Grazer goes to great lengths to keep you hemmed to your seat, talking to real Italian strangers caught on camera, or sticking his fingers in a cake – not because it’s in the script (he did several things without Guadagnino asking), but because it’s who he believes his character is. “I don’t act for my fans,” Grazer admits. “I act in movies because I want people who don’t even know who I am to be like, ‘Oh cool. Who’s this guy? He’s good.’”

Before WRWWR Grazer didn’t think much about fashion, but in the show his character loves Raf Simons. To make him more enthused Guadagnino connected him with an unlikely close friend: the streetwear influencer Mike the Ruler. “Before, I was like, ‘Ew, fashion – fucking assholes always trying to show off.’ I talked to Mike and he was like, ‘Fashion isn’t about showing off how much money I have. It’s the opposite, I’m dressing up for myself, it’s my own artform.’” Just the other day, Grazer says, he stepped out in a skirt, a “really obnoxious” yellow sweater, a corduroy vest and a neon sun hat. He likes the fact that people look at him funny.

Grazer loves being the grub twisting in Hollywood’s apple, but more than pleasing his millions of fans or aiming for top-billing, he is taking difficult roles to flex his muscles. “I just want to express myself, and if people like that, that’s awesome.”

#jack dylan grazer #fraser wilson #we are who we are #wawwa #luca guadagnino #hbo #hbo max #sky atlantic #wawwa press #the face

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tev-the-random · 4 years

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What it Ursa took her children with her? - Pt.2

As we were saying:

Little over year has passed since the family arrived in Hira’a, and fateful news gets to them: Ozai remarried. His new wife is someone who is honoured to marry the Firelord and doesn’t mind the fact that his head is so deep up his own arse- anyway, and they are expecting a child, who is to be the Firelord’s legitimate heir.

Azula’s hopes and dreams are shattered. At age ten, she is quite literally being replaced in her beloved father’s life. It’s like she’s never even existed, and she can’t help but wonder what she did wrong.

Zuko is also upset, of course. All those years when Ozai told him he was unfit and worthless come flooding back. But somehow, he already expected things to turn out like this. Unlike Azula, he wasn’t so deeply feeding on hopes that things would go back to normal. He sees it more as a situation that was out of everyone’s control.

He convinces Azula it’s not her fault, and these kids will still be trying to understand and defend their father later down the road. There must be a reason for all of this, right? They start thinking of a reasonable scenario…

Ursa just feels sorry for the poor woman who has to deal with Ozai now.

So we get a timeskip: about three years came and went. Zuko and Azula – treated as kids and not as weapons – lead a peaceful and happy life whenever they’re not thinking of their father and everything they could be doing out there.

They have become known local troublemakers in their spare time. Kids know better than to challenge them, people know not to leave flammable goods out in the open – a strict policy regarding fireworks has been established after a chaotic incident – and failure to keep an eye on them this one time led to… well, let’s just say that the town is still unsure of whether or not they’re is being haunted by evil spirits.

They aren’t allowed anywhere near Forgetful Valley, but bold of you to assume they never tried. In-jokes arise.

‘No, I’m serious: that tree’s face looked exactly like yours, Zuzu. You really should befriend it,’ Azula mocks, remembering a particularly ugly tree they encountered in their adventure.

‘Sorry, I wasn’t looking at it. I was busy looking for whoever it was that asked you,’ Zuko retorts. ‘Since Forgetful Valley has all the kinds of crazy stuff.’

‘Maybe we should go back and look for your impulse control, then.’

‘None of you are going back in there,’ Ursa reprehends. ‘It was very irresponsible of you. Forgetful Valley is a dangerous place, you could have gotten hurt!’

‘Your mother is right, you know?’ Noren comments. ‘I’ve been to that jungle before, and it’s definitely not a playground. But I swear…’ He makes a dramatic pause. ‘I once saw Ursa’s sense of humour in there.’

The kids burst out laughing while Ursa sighs. ‘Since you can find such amazing things in the valley, dear, why don’t you go back there and find yourself actual funny jokes? I’m sure my sense of humour will be around the same corner.’

*More laughter*

(IDK, I write crappy comedy, ok?)

They still have a bit of a hard time making friends. I wouldn’t say they are shy, but they definitely have a talent to say the wrong things at the wrong times, and it’s hard to make deep connections. Sure, they would play with other kids from time to time, but in the end, Zuko and Azula are each other’s best friend.

They’ve cleared an area by the beach that any Hira’a resident knows to stay away from when they’re training.

Azula discovered a great passion for theatre. Not only are her acting skills fantastic, she also seems to be naturally aware of what makes a good scene. People say she’s Noren’s Little Assistant.

She hates being called Noren’s Little Assistant. She would much rather be called Ursa’s Little Star, because goddamn is she a good actress and she needs everyone to know that.

Zuko is more of a plant-lover guy. Unfortunately, he hasn’t inherited his grandmother’s green thumb, and despite Ursa’s best efforts to teach him, it seems like everything he touches dies.

He has grown to show a way with animals, however. Any variety of frogs and toads love him; lizards of all kinds are attracted to him like he’s a magnet; furry animals big and small adore him and any type of bird-like creature seems to think he is the best human being in existence. But his favourite animals are still the turtleducks.

Back in the palace, Iroh eventually learns of Ozai’s bullshit and how he got the throne in the first place. And you know what? The time has come for Iroh to draw a line in the sand. He confronts his little brother, who confronts him back by telling him that, should he try to tell anyone in the Fire Nation the truth – that Ozai was a top-grade traitor who actually had no right to the throne –, no one would believe him. Since his brother won’t be sensible, Iroh decides that’s it: he’s fucking out.

Now a fugitive from the Fire Nation, he somehow winds up owning a lovely traveling tea shop called the Jasmin Dragon. Most people don’t even suspect he is the fearful Dragon of the West, because he’s just so nice?

You can bet he serves blends of tea from all across the nations.

The tea shop is also a good cover up for his exchanges with the Order of the White Lotus. He gives and receives information, and does his best to help villages to either defend themselves or evacuate during Fire Nation attacks.

One day a member of the White Lotus travels to Hira’a for one reason or another and finds Zuko and Azula. This person then sends a letter to Iroh.

Iroh comes to Hira’a to visit the family. He’s glad to see they’re ok, even if he can’t stay for too long. But long enough for some Quality Time – these kids have grown so much!

Iroh doesn’t know of Ursa’s part in Azulon’s assassination, and only assumes she knew of Ozai’s plan. But now, it’s time that her children learned a couple of things, and he is willing to teach them, so that when the time arrives for them to meet their destiny, they should be able to choose wisely and face whatever comes their way. So he asks the children to accompany him in his travels.

Ursa doesn’t want to let them go. They’re children, they should be here living a peaceful life, not meeting some grand, dangerous destiny! What if something horrible happened to them?

Iroh understands the pain of losing a child. He doesn’t want to make Ursa spend her time worrying about losing two, so he respects her decision and soon leaves the town.

But the siblings are not about to just sit here when they know they’re destined for something greater. What incredible knowledge did their uncle hold? Did their father have something to do with this? They always knew there was more to their fate than just living in Hira’a for the rest of their lives, and this is their chance; it’s now or never.

Zuko and Azula are about to sneak out and follow Iroh when Noren spots them. But instead of trying to stop them – he is well aware that he can’t – he gives them two masks and some advice about never forgetting who they were.

Why yes, I am saying that they eventually take the masks and become partners in crime, Zuko as the Blue Spirit and Azula as the Red Spirit, because parallels.

They catch up with their uncle and adventures and shenanigans issue as Zuko, Azula and Iroh cross the Earth Kingdom.

Now imagine this trio: two of the most awkward firebending teenagers travelling with their old tea-loving uncle, who spits proverbs like he’s made of them. The possibilities for both hilarious and heart-warming moments are endless.

Iroh thinks himself a matchmaker. Whenever he thinks he sees some romance going on, he encourages his nephew or niece to make a move. His flaming cupid arrows do more damage than good, yet he only has good intentions at heart. Teens all around the kingdom encourage you to stop, sir.

Their new life is even more humbling than in Hira’a, since they are constantly travelling. But they manage, and they know their uncle is nothing but wise… even if Azula is still quite arrogant and manipulative, and Zuko is impatient and hot-headed, which can lead to a lot of conflict.

Iroh teaches them both how to create and redirect lightning. Zuko is better at redirecting than Azula. Creating it, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated, and both of them get their fair share of explosions while learning. Neither of them really gets a hang of it – although Azula is better at it than Zuko, that’s not saying much – for they still have a lot of identity-related turmoil inside them that won’t let them grasp the energy.

Guess who else teaches them? Other members of the White Lotus. Both Zuko and Azula get some swordsmanship Skills™ from Piandao, some different (and somewhat unwillingly taught) firebending technics from Jeong-Jeong and a lot of things from Bumi, including but not limited to: creative thinking, the art of patience, strategic planning, dealing with pirates and a surprising amount of rocks-related knowledge.

Bumi adopted Zuko and Azula and gave himself the role of Second Uncle. You cannot convince me otherwise.

So one day, little over a year after the siblings joined Iroh, they wind up in a city where this big circus is performing. Uncle Iroh decides to take his niece and nephew to see it. And oh, aren’t they surprised by who they see performing?

Even though Ty Lee was essentially the only one between her sisters to befriend Azula – and consequentially, the only one to periodically spend time in the palace with her –, Zuko and Iroh still have a hard time distinguishing her from the six other girls who look exactly like her, uncertainly calling her all different names before Azula snaps ‘you idiots, that’s Ty Lee!’.

The acrobat is so glad to see her friend again, because damn: it’s been nearly four years since they last saw or even heard from each other! And Zuko, I thought you were dead? This is such a neat reunion, there’s so much for them to talk about! And sure, the circus has to leave soon and so do the siblings, but Ty Lee reassures them that, if they ever needed her, she wasn’t hard to find. This isn’t the last we’ll see of Ty Lee.

Azula doesn’t let it show, but she resents Ty Lee a little bit for choosing to abandon her noble life. She really wishes she could have had a choice.

Uncle Iroh tells the siblings stories about the war that would have some day mesmerized them. But now, his opinions about those events and what he did as a prince general have changed; that, along with what the family sees in their journey – all the horrors brought to innocent people – gives Zuko and Azula a new perspective on what they used to think was a greater good. It will still take a while for Azula to understand that no, these people are no lesser than her and for Zuko to understand why any of that matters.

Iroh eventually tells them the truth about Azulon’s death. Or at least, what he knows of it: their father killed Azulon, banished them, took the throne by force and planned to gain more power at the expense of everyone. This is a lot to take in, and the siblings don’t quite believe it.

After four years thinking about it, Zuko and Azula decided to take their mother’s early words – they went to Hira’a to be safe – and formulate what for them was a reasonable scenario. They believe that Ozai never actually wanted any of this to happen. The whole family had to have been in danger, be it due to some political, social or personal threat, and Ozai wanted to take it all by himself to protect them. So he sent his wife and children away, concocted a plan with Azulon to cover for them and, once Azulon died and left him the throne, remarried to keep appearances. To Zuko and Azula, this makes perfect sense. And they thoroughly convince themselves of that.

They initiate an argument, thinking that Iroh is jealous of Ozai.

Their uncle sees these children are starting to stray from their path, but he knows this is a necessary journey for them. They will never be able to deal with reality unless they face it.

The siblings leave Iroh, planning to head straight to the Fire Nation capital and find out what really happened. Maybe now that they are older, it would be a perfect time to come back home; they surely could defend themselves from any threats.

Of course, they’ll be very disappointed to know that Ozai was just a bitch and never actually cared for any of them.

I don’t have a full formed idea about how their reencounter with their father would go down, but I say Ozai would officially banish both his children from the Fire Nation for trying to cause a commotion – which could easily be perceived as a threat. Not only that, but Zuko and Azula are the children of a traitor; cue for Ozai revealing what happened that night four years ago, confirming that he was the one to kill Azulon with Ursa’s help.

I also think that, after that day, the Firelord would have discreetly helped spread rumours about Ursa that would drag her name through the mud in the Capital – was she cheating on Ozai? Was she selling Fire Nation information to the Earth Kingdom? Was she planning a coup against the Firelord? Her crimes change from mouth to mouth. In the end, no one would take Zuko or Azula back unless Ozai wanted it. But he doesn’t. Not now, at least…

But Ozai also decides to play with his options: he plants a seed of doubt in his children’s minds; should they prove themselves useful later on, it would only take pulling a few strings for them to come crawling back to him. So he tells them that they needed to prove themselves for everyone to see that they weren’t traitors like their mother. They needed to prove their worth so that he could accept them.

Ozai goes a step further with Azula and tells her that, before his demise, Firelord Azulon had a plan. A plan to bring her back and put her in the leading, prestigious role she was always meant to get. But they needed to wait for the right time. There is a right time, Princess Azula. Your hopes were right all along, they will come for you eventually if you prove yourself.

The siblings have a lot to think about while they’re leaving the Fire Nation. They idolized Ozai so much all these years. But the undeniable truth came crashing down on their heads, spoken by the man himself. What would they do now? They didn’t think it possible, but their harsh actions made things so much worse: they couldn’t come back to their mother, they didn’t have many hopes of running into Iroh again, they can’t even set foot in their homeland anymore; Zuko and Azula are all on their own.

Maybe it’s time to turn a new leaf. It starts with them being fairly neutral, not completely loyal to either the Fire Nation or to the rest of the world. During this period, they would argue a lot about what to do or where to go next, getting separated and going their own ways before destiny makes them stick together again, over and over.

They manage to get a few deals and own a few favours here and there, become known thieves as the Spirits, and maybe meet up with Ty Lee’s circus every now and again. Life is hard.

But there is one thing that is about to be a beacon in their darkness…

Time to catch up to the show. Oh, you thought I wouldn’t go there?

Part 3 coming right up!

(I know I said this would be a two-parter, but it got ridiculously long, so I split it again. Three-parter now.)

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 4 years

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Episode 138: Kevin Party

“Did you guys break up? Can seven-year-olds even do that?”

Remember Doug Out?

The 125th episode of Steven Universe is a small but very fun story about Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran, two best friends who work as a team to solve a mystery. Steven is already a teenager, and if Connie isn’t thirteen yet she’s awful close (she’s twelve and three quarters on Steven’s midsummer birthday, and school has been in session since Mindful Education), but this feels like a pair of children on an adventure. They’re chaperoned by Connie’s dad, they wear silly disguises and use sillier aliases, and they outright say that their goal is to “ruin some teen’s night.”

Doug Out ends in a cliffhanger, which leads directly to Steven’s abduction, which leads directly to Steven’s journey to and escape from Homeworld, which leads directly to the Breakup Arc, which ends here. That’s fourteen consecutive episodes telling one long story, which happens to be the same number of episodes between Catch and Release kicks off Peridot’s conversion and Hit the Diamond ends our barn adventure. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Act II and Act III of Steven Universe have similar sweeping midpoint storylines: both see a radical change occur, and while our middle act’s is more obvious (two new Gems join our crew and Steven saves the dang planet), Act III has the more important development for Steven himself. Because at the beginning of its sweep, Steven and Connie are kids, and at the end, they’re teenagers.

Granted, I see anyone under the age of 25 as a “kid,” but Kevin Party is a distinctly adolescent episode. The Breakup Arc as a whole covers new ground that a typical kid’s show wouldn’t, and even the one episode without much angst for Steven is about a bunch of teens starting a band. But it’s a whole new step to set an episode at a high school party, complete with drinking (age-appropriate drinks, I’m sure) and no adult supervision.

After five episodes watching Steven either stressing about Connie or working his way through his guilt, it’s wonderful and devastating that when we finally see her again, she's having a blast. Her new look is one thing, but her effortless mingling with strangers is my favorite thing about Kevin Party. This isn’t a new aspect of her personality. She’s probably been like this for a while. But it’s the first time we’re seeing it, because it’s the first time Steven is seeing it.

In Bubble Buddies, Connie started out so shy that she feared dying without making a single friend, while Steven was so gregarious that he couldn’t help befriending everyone he met. Now he’s the awkward one, reduced to asking the likes of Kevin for advice, and she’s bloomed out of that social anxiety. And it’s not just a matter of her friendship with Steven changing her, even though that’s a major inciting incident: after he helps her come out of her shell, she’s able to practice interacting with peers on a regular basis in a scenario that’s way more helpful in understanding normal human interactions than anything in Steven’s life, because Connie goes to school.

There’s an unstated and uncomfortable truth that Connie needs Steven to have access to his magical world, creating an uneven power dynamic that’s easy to ignore because it fits into the general role of how a main character and side character work on a show like this. But Kevin Party‘s biggest reveal is that just because she needs him if she wants to have cosmic adventures, she doesn’t need him to have a fulfilling life, and she doesn’t need his friendship to be happy.

Thank. Goodness.

Codependency isn’t something to aspire to, and while Steven isn’t intentionally possessive of Connie (yet), their fight boils down to him treating her like a sidekick, someone who gets to do magic stuff with him under his terms. We don’t get to see what she was up to during the Breakup Arc, but I’m so glad her laughter here isn’t performative. She has enough self-worth to not define herself by the boy she likes or the adventures they share, and even if she’s upset that they’re in a fight, we know from our first look at her that she’d be okay if they never ended up reconciling. And that makes her choice to reconcile so much stronger than just shoving them back together because they’ve been apart long enough and the status quo demands it. She doesn’t need Steven in her life, but she wants him in her life, and that’s the difference between an episode about Connie remaining a sidekick in Steven’s mind and an episode about Connie establishing herself as an equal.

Steven and Connie’s affection has always bounced between platonic and romantic, and I love that even now we keep it ambiguous. Steven wears the shirt Connie got him in Steven’s Birthday, which is a gesture of friendship but occurs in an episode that dances around their mutual crush (complete with actual dancing). The moment of seeing each other again is shot like running into an ex, with time slowing down to let the absolute horror set in as the rest of the party fades, but Steven still refers to her only as his best friend. Kevin makes some of the subtext text through his confusion over the status of their relationship, but even if they’re teens now, these two are still young enough that don’t know how to express their deeper feelings.

Sadie Killer gets our guard down just long enough that Kevin Party’s new surge of drama hits like a truck: this is the original show’s most direct predecessor to the tone of Steven Universe Future’s latter half, where the anguish of watching Steven flounder in his relationship with Connie comes to a head. He makes the same mistake here that he’ll make in Together Forever: he’s so desperate for advice that he doesn’t question its source. Which is doubly frustrating because Greg Universe, who has told several stories on-screen about navigating a new relationship, is just a phone call away! I’m not saying I wish Steven actually called him, because all teens make mistakes and there’s any number of reasons he wouldn’t want to ask his dad in the moment, but it speaks to Steven’s inability to think straight when it comes to Connie.

In his final appearance, Kevin shows the closest thing he’s got to depth by helping Steven the only way he knows how. And unlike Beach City Drift, where he makes up a tragic backstory just to be a troll, it’s clear that the mysterious Sabine did a number on Delmarva’s biggest jerk. But I’ve got no patience for the notion that this episode is anything near redemptive for a guy whose idea of being helpful involves emotionally manipulating a vulnerable fourteen-year-old boy into emotionally manipulating a vulnerable thirteen-year-old girl.

Here more than ever, Kevin contrasts Steven’s self-destructive selflessness by being a black hole of self-importance. He only cares about Steven inasmuch as Steven can help him be more popular, not even bothering to ask for his name until it serves his needs. He’s so oblivious to his surroundings that he confuses Lion for a dog (saying that he’s allergic to dogs is a somewhat funny joke, but talking up Connie’s new life by saying she has a dog now is hilarious), and goes out of his way to antagonize his guests. To Steven, other people exist to be helped, which has noble roots but is catastrophic for his self-image. To Kevin, other people exist to admire Kevin.

“Psychopath” is a strong word, and I don’t wanna exaggerate Kevin’s villainy because that takes away from what makes him so insidious: unlike the Final Boss feel of the Diamonds, there’s an abundance of regular people who do the same awful stuff that Kevin does, and acting like he’s some extreme case detracts from the mundanity of everyday evils. Moreover, I remain unqualified to be an armchair psychologist, and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist has plenty of valid criticism, so take any diagnosis using it (or really any psych profile that involves a checklist you can do from home) with a grain of salt. But with all that said, I’ll just leave a link to it right here and let y’all do what you will with it.

The Big Talk gets five and a half episodes of buildup, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s so perfect that Connie’s reaction to negging is to do what she always does when she sees someone behaving badly: she gets mad and calls it out. Steven’s typical approach to unkind behavior is to double down on his friendliness, but Connie will always put her foot down and demand kindness, whether you’re her best friend or a galactic tyrant. New hair aside, Connie isn’t the one that changes over the course of the Breakup Arc: it begins with her making it clear that she’s hurt while Steven ignores her, and it ends with her making it clear that she’s hurt while Steven listens.

I love that Connie requires no prompting to explain why she didn’t text Steven back, because Full Disclosure shows that she understands how much it hurts to try and connect with a friend who won’t respond. I love that she did go back to talk with him in person while he was on vacation (meaning all of this could’ve been worked through way sooner) because adolescence is suffering and we needed one last little twist of the knife in this arc. And I love that Steven is wise enough to just admit what he did instead of try and defend himself, because their whole fight hinged on his refusal to acknowledge the gravity of his actions, both to Connie and to himself. He doesn’t say the word “sorry” until the very end of his admission, because he means it and wants to provide context for the apology rather than just say “I’m sorry” a bunch.

And it’s so perfect that they don’t end up forming Stevonnie during their reconciliation, and not just because that would’ve given Kevin a win. They make up, but it still takes time to let the lingering pain go away, and it makes Stevonnie’s reappearance in our next episode way more meaningful. After one last display of their fundamental contrast—Steven expresses sympathy for Kevin’s situation with Sabine, while Connie shrugs it off because having a backstory doesn’t mean it’s okay to be a toxic douche—they leave the world of teen parties behind, at least for now. They’ll go back to more adventures right away, traveling to space in Lars of the Stars and Jungle Moon, but they’ll never truly be the same.

Thank goodness.

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

I love that Stevonnie’s disdain for Kevin is here for us even when Stevonnie doesn’t show up in the episode.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

It’s not just the catharsis factor that gets this in my Top 25. Kevin Party is incredible at capturing the dread I associate with this type of teen party as someone who often felt like Steven as a kid (three traits that don’t work well with teen parties, even if like me you were a fairly social teenager: clinical depression, teetotalism due to the double whammy of that depression and family history of addiction, and having a bad ear that makes it impossible to hear people talk when the music gets loud enough). Beyond the personal connection, we also get one last look at the show’s greatest villain, and an episode that respects Connie so much more than a normal cartoon would. This is how you end an arc, folks.

Top Twenty-Five

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Back to the Kindergarten

Steven’s Dream

Kevin Party

When It Rains

The Good Lars

Lars’s Head

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

That Will Be All

The New Crystal Gems

Storm in the Room

Room for Ruby

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Doug Out

Are You My Dad?

I Am My Mom

Stuck Together

The Trial

Off Colors

Gemcation

Raising the Barn

Sadie Killer

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Rocknaldo

Dewey Wins

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

Tiger Philanthropist

No Thanks!

6. Horror Club 5. Fusion Cuisine 4. House Guest 3. Onion Gang 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

#kevin party #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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