#pluma's writing thoughts

[plumawolf]

The Fallout Who Regenerated mod adds so much more to the story of Fallout 4 than I first thought.

For context, I haven’t played much of the game myself. I dabbled in it a bit a few years ago, didn’t progress all that much, but I know the story because of playthrough and general curiosity. But recently I’ve had major Doctor Who brainrot again, and only just found out about Fallout Who Regenerated. I thought “A mod for a game I already have where you can repair and fly your own TARDIS? Sign me the fuck up!”

Yes, flying the TARDIS is cool. The new Doctor Who themed tracks added are just *chef's kiss.* Go look them up on youtube.

But holy shit.

The premise of this game is already so angsty. But here’s a bit of how I imagine my character’s experience from her pov went when I started a new game with the mod installed. Beware: this part is long and will contain spoilers for both Fallout 4 and Fallout Who Regenerated.

My husband has been murdered, my son kidnapped. I’ve been frozen for who knows how long. I get out of the vault, desperate to see my baby again. Right away, I see Codsworth, still trying to clean a house that’s been abandoned for what he tells me has been two centuries, and he gives me a holodisk from my husband. I don’t listen to it immediately. I'm too desperate to find at least one other person in this desolate hellscape. But I pop it into my Pip-Boy anyway, for later.

I find a stray dog, the first friendly face I've seen in this place that isn't made of metal. I find the Minutemen not long after when I follow the sound of gunshots. I help them out with the raiders, defend against the Deathclaw attracted by the gunfire. The old lady with them says she’s psychic and that my son is alive, and I’ve never been much of a believer in that kind of thing, but I’ll take anything at this point. We all head back to Sanctuary, a not-so-merry band of survivors armed only with pistols and a rifle scraped together out of junk.

We arrive back at Sanctuary and set up camp. It's not much, but the little life returning to my old neighborhood gives me some comfort. I am not alone.

I'm cleaning out the root cellar of another wrecked house, searching for anything that could be scrapped and repurposed, because we still need a way to purify water. And that is when I hear it. Whispers, in a language that I don't understand, but I get such a familiar feeling. Something compels me to look down at the shelf I just searched, really look at it. And there, glinting in the dim lamplight, is a golden pocket watch, and a silver key.

Curiosity overwhelms me. The key looks rather unassuming, but the pocket watch is decorated with many circular designs, overlapping and intertwining in intricate patterns. It feels familiar in my hand, and is surprisingly warm to the touch. The whispers grow louder, and it's almost as if they're inside my mind itself...

The moment I open the pocket watch, it's as if I'd been looking through a pinhole my entire life, but someone has just ripped it wide open. And I remember everything.

I am a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous. I came to this planet to hide, hide so well that I would forget my true identity. It takes a few moments to recover from the sheer flood of memories and information, but when I am, it's like I've been reborn. And the first thing I must do is find my TARDIS.

It's not hard to hook up the TARDIS key to my Pip-Boy so I can create a homing signal to its location. Anticipation clogs my throat, my hearts beat faster as the signal gets stronger. I rush past the other settlers, ignoring their worry and questions. And I see it. I see it.

The Chameleon Circuit is completely busted, judging by the exterior, which has reverted to the generic silver cylinder shape. But when I open the door for the first time in centuries, I can feel her in my mind. She hums, pleased to see me again after so long. As I check on her systems and assess the damage (and there is quite a lot), I find myself smiling again. In fact, as I step into the TARDIS depths to look for the instruction and repair manuals (I always lose the damned things... an infinite ship with infinite possibilities, but I'd never thought to use any filing cabinets...), I feel almost giddy. I trail my hands along the walls, passing by rooms I haven't visited in years.

Finally, I reach the library. It's much more bare than it used to be - the TARDIS had to clear quite a lot of space to preserve her systems while I was away, mostly due to the damage she sustained upon landing. When I approach the writing desk in the middle of the room, I see that the TARDIS has already taken the liberty of presenting the instruction manual, in holodisk form for my convenience. I smile and thank her for it. She hums jovially in return.

However, when I open my Pip-Boy, there is already a holodisk inside. My stomach sinks when I remember that it is the one that Nate, my human self's husband, intended to give to me. Against my better judgement, I play it. When it is over, Nate's "We love you" and the last of Shaun's gurgles leave me feeling hollow. I feel the vastness of the TARDIS. Vast, but so very, very empty.

Even after I repair my TARDIS, I cannot leave. I will not, not yet. Because even though I am my true self again, that human version of me still grieves so deeply for her murdered husband, and cares so fiercely for the son that she lost. Even though I am not his mother anymore, I still feel the love that she felt for him. I cannot run away from this. I must find Shaun again.

#fallout 4 #doctor who #fallout who regenerated #fallout 4 mods #angst #i am absolutely gutted by the implications of this mod in the context of the story #or is it just me #i just wanted to fly a tardis dammit #now i'm just emotionally damaged #oops this got long #pluma's writing thoughts

[inlezaar]

Ecos del silencio

No sé si vivo o sueño en este mundo de sombras y luces donde el tiempo se desliza sin ruido y la muerte acecha tras las esquinas.

No sé si soy yo misma o una copia de alguien que fui cuando el amor llenaba mis días y la esperanza brillaba en mis ojos.

No sé si hay algo más que este vacío que me envuelve que esta soledad que me acompaña que esta angustia que me oprime.

Pero sé que hay una voz que me llama desde lejos que me susurra al oído que me invita a seguir su camino.

En la quietud de mi habitación, yo me sumerjo en la soledad, como si fuera una inmensidad que envuelve mi corazón.

La pluma es mi mejor amiga, el papel mi confidente, y en cada palabra ardiente, mi alma se deshace y se abriga.

Mis pensamientos son libres, mis versos son mi verdad, y aunque la vida a veces es crueldad, yo encuentro en la poesía mi alivio.

Annanke

#poesía #escritura #reflexión #existencialismo #soledad #esperanza #amor #muerte #alma #voces #confidencia #pluma #pensamientos #versos #poetry #writing #thoughts #spilled ink #writers on tumblr #tumblr poetry #emotions #personal #inner thoughts #creative writing #heartfelt #deep #meaningful #philosophy #spirituality #ily

[markhersonhuelgas]

Kumapit Ka

"KUMAPIT KA" Nayayanig ang mundo mong binuo Pagitan niyong unti-unting namumuo Lumilipas na ang mga araw at gabi Na salita ay mas bumibigat sa inyong labi

Apoy na dinadarang sa rumaragasang tubig Luhang hindi na lamang nangingilid Hiningang hinahabol ng hindi pasadya Madalim na kalangitang tila nagbabadya

Saang lalim huhugutin ang nawawalang lakas? Saang ibabaw titingala para sa mga bukas? Ang kaliwa ba ay hahayaang kong mali? Ang kanan ba ay tamang sa akin ay magtatali?

Lakas na galing sa mga magulang at anak Tibay ng loob at lawak ng kaisipan ang tanging hawak Sa kinabuksang patuloy na tatanawin At sa kaparehang sa araw-araw ay aking pipiliin

Kumapit ka aking puso, sa sakit pang darating Kumatik ka aking isipan, sa mga aayusing suliranin Kumapit ka aking tiwala, dahil hindi pa naman tuluyang basag Kumapit ka aking pangarap, dahil hindi ko ihihinto ang mga lakad

#tula #sabi ni makata #tinta #isip at pluma #tagalog at likha #poetry #poets on tumblr #writers on tumblr #spilled ink #spilled thoughts #spilled poetry #poems #creative writing

[cosmicflw3rr]

omgomg can u write singer!r x dom hcs? 😵‍💫

dominik x singer! reader headcanons.

a/n: I’ve never done headcanons before so idrk if this is accurate😭 lmk how I did

- dom is SUPER supportive like there’s no way he’s not.

- he loves all your songs but has a playlist for his favorites.

- always makes it to your concerts when he doesn’t have shows raw or press to do.

- he'd repost all your concerts/performances on his story.

- is legit MESMERIZED by your voice.

- he doesn’t let you give yourself a hard time when you’re having trouble writing songs.

- he’s always there to help you. hanging out at your apartment, over facetime,anytime. he’ll help you brainstorm lyrics.

- goes crazy finding out some of your songs are made about him.

- loves that you’re fanbase is so positive and supportive.

- he’s always amazed by the amount of people at your concerts.

- if you’re nervous before going onstage and he’s there, he’ll comfort you.

- “you’ll do perfect out there amor, you always do.”

- either stands backstage, or in the vip section to watch you.

- him watching you sing and preform is the literal human version of ‘😍’

- you going to monday night raw, or ppv’s he’s in.

- surprising him at his shows when you get the chance.

- “I thought you were busy?” “never too busy to come see you.”

- him blowing you kisses from the ring during his matches, or when he’s ringside.

- the rest of the judgement day absolutely love your music.

- whenever dom goes to your concerts they beg to come with.

- btw they’re the ultimate hype ppl.

- if you're in a band, he loves your bandmates and they all love him, they all get along really well together.

- always watching your concerts no matter where he is in the world or what time it is.

- gives you ALL the reassurance when you’re upset.

- he always wants to come to the studio with you, which some of the time you decline because when you two do get the chance to be at home together you just wanna enjoy your time together,

- having to reassure you about the long distance thing, but you two make it work.

- showing him your music before releasing it. he loves it ofc 🤗

- one of his favorite artist is peso pluma.

-with a few strings being pulled, thanks to your manager, you were able to get dom and peso to meet.

- “babe tell me your lying.” he says with his mouth dropped, seeing you stand next to peso pluma as you laughed softly.

#dominik mysterio #dominik mysterio imagine #dominik mysterio x reader #fanfic #the judgement day #the judgment day x reader #wwe #wwe fanfiction #wwe imagines #aew #aew x reader #dom dom #nxt #nxt x reader #wwe fic #wwe imagine #raw

[esuemmanuel]

I found with you the light I lost, the light that was taken away from me when I was most innocent, and I recovered the taste of peace, the warmth of love, the tenderness of life and the passion of the heart. I thought they had stolen my eyes, because I could not see, but you came, you looked at me and suddenly I could see. You gave me back my vision and, with it, the reason for my life. All that tenderness and love that I see in you is in me, and you have come to remind me of it. Today I thank you with emotion filling my eyes, my hands and my throat. Today I take up again this love that makes me sail the seas of dreams and I take the pen, and the leaves of my soul, to write them in your name, because this is the kindness that heals, that cares and protects, that prays and professes unconditionality; this kindness is the one you give me.

Encontré contigo la luz que perdí, la que me fue arrebatada cuando más inocente fui, y recobré el sabor de la paz, el calor del amor, la ternura de la vida y la pasión del corazón. Creí que me habían robado los ojos, porque no veía, pero, llegaste tú, te asomaste a mirarme y, de pronto, veía. Me devolviste la visión y, con ella, la razón de mi vida. Toda esa ternura y ese amor que veo en ti está en mí y has venido a recordármelo. Hoy te lo agradezco con la emoción embargando a mis ojos, a mis manos y a mi garganta. Hoy retomo este amor que me hace navegar en los mares de los sueños y tomo la pluma y las hojas de mi alma para escribirlos en tu nombre, porque esta es la bondad que sana, la que cuida y protege, la que ora y profesa incondicionalidad; esta bondad es la que tú me das.

#poets #writers #authors #2023 #writeblr #writing in solitude #poetas en tumblr #writers on tumblr #the man of solitude #poets on tumblr #poeticstories #pensamientos #escritores en tumblr #escribiendo en soledad #el hombre de la soledad

[leftistfeminista]

I never thought I'd see the star of Gilmore Girls, play the role of Miriam Lewin. A survivor of the Argentine torture camps, and an author of the book Putas y Guerrilleras. Which is a very revealing title as the goal of the Junta was to turn Guerrilleras into Putas and sadly even some of their own comrades saw them as such. Perhaps her role in the Handmaid's Tale is more fitting and relevant. As Margaret Atwood has said that the stolen babies of the Argentine Junta influenced her writing.

While puta is the ultimate insult for women, Miriam writes about how actual prostitutes showed sisterhood to women political prisoners in a revealing anecdote. Something as simple as underwear with feathers meant a lot to them. And while the panties with feathers worn by Argentine strippers might have been embarrassing for proud companeras to wear, it provided them with the clean coverage they needed in trying circumstances.

"recibio muestras de solidaridad de un grupo de prostitutas que estaban demoradas alii. Le hicieron llegar ropa interior «con plumas» recuerda Marta sonriendo"

"she received signs of solidarity from a group of prostitutes who were delayed there. They sent her underwear "with feathers" recalls Marta smiling"

In another article Miriam reveals something that might sound shocking for a political prisoner of the Junta, that she hadn't even realized she was a victim of sexual violence until later. It shows how far we have come in recognizing unequal power relations, that even a sexual relationship with a Junta guard was seen as consenting. This was part of the systematic mindgames of the Junta to take away the revolutionary viability of leftist women prisoners.

I ask Miriam at what moment she realized that she had also been a victim of that sexual violence.

“Having investigated sexual abuse of boys and girls helped me a lot to understand why women remained silent for decades. There are many points of contact, because the absence of physical violence is played out in some cases, the fantasy that there could have been a place for consent even within the clandestine detention center. The feeling that you received something in return: a privilege, or even survival.”

In another book she reverses the usual narrative that a woman falling in love with her captor is a moral failing on her part. As he puts it "just because there were relationships, doesn't mean the oppressors deserved our love!" It is a patriarchal narrative that woman's love is some kind of moral reward.

#argentina #political prisoners #the handmaid's tale #Alexis Bledel

[plumadesatada]

Hi Pluma! I was wondering, what got you into writing, and what are you writing now? Is there a specific trope you enjoy writing more than others? :)

aw honey!

i.... cant remember what got me into writing lmao i wrote my first fic at hmm i want to say 11 or 12 but i can't actually remember. it was a harry potter fic with an OC self insert of course. i guess i just thought "everyone is doing it so why not" hahaha

i....haven't actually written anything since i think civil war?? because it hated it so much i just NEEDED to let it out

*5 minutes later*

yeah no actually since Ragnarok (2017). ""coincidentally"" 2017 is when i entered the workforce in earnest, so you can guess where all my free time is going.

as for tropes... well, i certainly have a thing for Age Difference + experienced/inexperienced. but narrative-trope-ly speaking? i don't have a fave. i can (...could) write any trope (even those i hate like omegaverse) so long as i Make It My Own™.

lmao i just rememebered a post i made from a million years ago with a list of what, 50 tropes/common AUs from that time? and it was a challenge for myself. i told people "pick 3 tropes and i'll write something"

hold on, lemme find it

[cervicrazed]

Tagged again by @fvriva ! Aren't I popular

The game this time is to shuffle your On Repeat playlist & pick 10 of the randomized outcomes (gulp)

1) LADY GAGA - Peso Pluma, Gabito Ballesteros, Junior H -> Been trying to listen to more music in my target language & this one has those bittersweet melodies that hit just right. Perfect for evening yearning

2) Master of None - Beach House -> oughh I love beach house...always puts me in my feelings & this song is no different. Using it as character inspo

3) No Facade - Carter Ace -> one of my favorite artists rn tbh. Hard to pin down his genre but it's somewhere between neo-soul & indie rap (if that makes any sense??)

4) i - Kendrick Lamar -> Self Confidence Anthem for me. I listen to this song whenever I need to replace self loathing w/ self love!

5) Deep Conversations - Khary -> Go-to smoking song during the twilight hours. "Isn't that kinda on the nose?" You may ask. I do not reply bc I can't hear u over the song

6) Drink - Destroy Boys -> Destroy Boys is a huugee guilty pleasure band for me. Nothing wrong w/ em (to my knowledge), it's just very poignant sapphic grunge & being transmasc I sometimes feel like it shouldn't resonate w/ me as much as it does (still blast it whenever the songs come on, dysphoria be damned)

7) The Perfect Girl (Instrumental) - Mareux -> I have only ever heard the instrumental & true fans can die mad ab it. Stuck this on loop while writing up story drafts at night. Idk somethin ab the spacey melody just puts me in a mood to write

8) sever the blight - hemlocke springs -> fans of my blog (that is to say, my friends) will recognize this song instantly. What more needs to be said? It goes hard as fuck

9) KRUSH ALERT - shonci, HR -> saw this guy on Instagram make a phonk song out of Colombia's emergency alert system & thought it was a banger so I immediately saved it. Listen to it when I draw fucked up body horror creatures

10) 16 - Baby Keem -> this is 100% a spiderverse song to me. If I slipped this song into the album would u even notice. I bet u wouldn't

Tagging:

@hawthorneee @duckdotcom @rootintootingoosin @psygull

Participation optional as always! (+ you can always lmk if you no longer wish to be tagged!)

#tag i'm it #peanut gallery #just a quick glimpse into my twisted (normal) musical tastes 😈

[wordsandrobots]

Thoughts on the Urdr Hunt (Eps 1-5)

As of writing, five episodes (each in two parts) of the Iron-Blooded Orphans tie-in game campaign ‘Urdr Hunt’ have been released on the Iron-Blooded Orphans G App. This is currently only available in Japan; I’ve been watching it subbed by Youtuber Trafalgar Log. I thought I’d summarise my impressions so far, since we’ve now had every character who shows up in the opening sequence appear at least once. Spoilers etc below.

The Set-Up

The titular Urdr Hunt has been revealed as a chase to recover data from various landmarks of significance to the Calamity War in general and the Seven Stars in particular. So far, the participants have visited a wrecked ship belonging to Angelica Elion, an Ariadne Beacon/resupply station administered by Kalf Falk, and an orbital satellite marked with the coat of arms of Gargin Bauduin. It seems probable that places overseen by the other four founders will be next on the itinerary.

Now, I’m of the opinion that one of the best things about IBO is that it’s not a ‘war is hell’ story so much as about how the peace afterwards is as well. The great big space war is three hundred years in the past and everyone is still living with the consequences: the unjust systems it created, military technology that has encouraged the use of child soldiers, powerful relics buried across the solar system like landmines waiting to be stepped on, etc. I think a series actually focused on the Calamity War would be considerably more generic than the one we got. That being said, it’s an obvious and perhaps irresistible narrative hook. The idea of some rich personage (the prize is a 100 billion meria, one of the two in-setting currencies in IBO) instigating a search for data and even artifacts from a by-gone, technologically superior age is a cool set-up for an episodic game.

Moreover, the central mystery here actually has little to do with the War -- only one of the competitors so far has voiced interest in the what the data they are collecting actually means -- but concerns the identity of whoever set up the Hunt in the first place. All we know about them is that they are wealthy enough to offer such a huge prize and that they go by the appellation ‘N’.

Now, given that Naze Turbine pops up in one of the trailers for the Iron-Blooded Oprhans G app, in the section pertaining to the Urdr Hunt (and in conjunction with Shino flying an updated version of the Season 1 Ryusei-Go) suggests he and indeed Tekkadan may well be putting in an appearance at some point. And certainly, the all-female team of Hunt guides might be an indicator that this is the doing of IBO’s premier harem-haver. However, there are three reasons I think it’s unlikely Naze is ‘N’. First, it seems wildly out of character: Naze shows zero interest in the Calamity War over the course of the show and this is extremely elaborate for Teiwaz, whose interest would be purely material in the sense that they have uses for old equipment. Second, the Hunt has already intersected with drone weaponry and some actual pluma sub-units of a mobile armour. If this is building to Naze being responsible, why didn’t he freak out when the half-metal mining operation uncovered Hashmal? We know Eco didn’t have a clue what a pluma was at the start of that arc in Season 2, so it would seem a continuity goof for Naze to have previously collected loads of information on the War. Finally and most importantly, there’s the presence of the Rakou Pirates as one of the entrants in the Hunt. They are explicitly described as the Turbine’s black-ops team, so if Naze wanted to know more about the War an the Seven Stars, why didn’t he just ask them to visit all the way-points and collect the required data? After all, the risk faced by the competitors has been entirely caused by the other competitors. Even the drone missiles wouldn’t have been a problem if Cyclase hadn’t turned them on. It would just be a case of bopping along the trail and downloading some files.

Basically, I don’t think it makes much sense for Naze to be ‘N’. Plus I really don’t want him to be? That’s too much of a tie-in to the main show and makes Naze out to be too much of a scheming jerk. But if not him, then who? A single-letter pseudonym implies a reveal of some kind, so who are the other options?

One who springs to mind is scheming jerk Nobliss Gordon. We know he likes byzantine plots and is rich as Croesus, plus being an arms dealer would give him a reason to want to dig up Calamity War relics for his own gain. That being said, it does seem a bit . . . fanciful for him and certainly a massive investment for potentially little gain. Still, not one to rule out.

A better fit might be Nemo Baklazan. ‘Who?’ you’re probably asking -- well, Nemo is another member of the current Seven Stars, the old, possibly blind gentleman who exists primarily to fill out the table and tell McGillis ‘no’ at the worst possible moment. The biggest evidence I can see for the Hunt being set up by someone in Gjallarhorn, aside from the Calamity War being the whole impetus for their existence, are the rings that serve as the means of entry. Each competitor has been given one and they appear to be highly advanced technology for the setting, basically being a wrist-sized computer capable of holographic projection. Nowhere else in IBO have we even seen that holograms are a thing. To me, that suggests they are War-era tech and since Gjallarhorn have controlled such technology for 300 years, I’m going to apply Occam’s Razor. Plus, it would make sense for a Seven Star to see what happened in Season 1, look at his fellow council members and go, ‘hmm -- wonder what other massively powerful weapons are lurking out there. Maybe I should do some digging into that . . .’

Of course, ‘N’ might not be anybody we have seen before. But if I had to bet, Nemo or someone else connected to the people who already know most about the War is where I’d put my money.

The Protagonist

I’m going to admit straight up that I don’t find Wistario Afam as engaging as either Mikazuki or Argi Mirage (lead for the other spin-off, a manga) which I think is partly due to him being a protagonist.

Let me explain. Neither Mikazuki nor Argi are precisely ‘protagonists’ in their own right. They are, broadly speaking, where the narratives are centred but both have complex relationships with other characters that mean they cannot be taken on their own. You can’t talk about the story of IBO-proper without making it about Mikazuki AND Orga, and indeed, Mikazuki AND McGillis. Similarly, the events of Gekko/Moon Steel happen to Argi, but while he has a more concrete personal aim than Mika (getting revenge for the death of his family), the narrative drops him into things that mostly have nothing to do with it. He’s a sullen grump, who’s nevertheless easily spurred into helping other people and as a result, it’s generally their stories (Volco wanting to restore Astaroth, Liarina taking over her father’s business, Mina running from her family) that we follow.

By contrast, Wistario’s quest to win the Urdr Hunt and use the money to buy Radonitsa Colony is where we come in and broadly speaking where we continue to go. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, of course, but it’s structurally shallower.

Wistario himself is by turns a slightly-spoiled, slightly-sweet kid, lonely as the only youth not to have left his home town, swaying people to the side of his big dreams with a charismatic earnestness I’m not sure the game has sold as effectively as it could. Broadly inoffensive and not as grating as I’d feared going in, but not as striking as his peers.

Also there’s his attitude towards killing -- always significant in Gundam fiction -- and, look, I feel I’m being unfair picking on this given we’re talking about a game where battling enemy mobile suits to destruction is the core mechanic. All the same, it’s a bit jarring to have a hero positioned as a *civilian* -- the teenage heir to a maintenance and administration company -- who gives less of a damn about shooting down enemies than Mikazuki Augus.

I’m not talking capacity here. I mean, Wistario goes from worrying about leaking pipes to efficiently murdering attacking pilots without really remarking on it and later proves completely OK with launching himself into fights to the death. With Mikazuki, we’re shown he understands what he’s doing. It’s one of the most scary things about him, that he isn’t killing people under the impression it’s not serious but out of a fundamental belief it’s the only way to survive. As for Argi, he goes from wannabe hit-man to frantically trying to save the life of the man he was there to shoot in, like, the first two pages. Looking back, I’m not sure he kills anybody over the course of the manga and many of his fights end with him demanding the defeated party give up. In their own ways, these are both characters in dialogue with the necessity of fighting and killing.

Yet it’s not been a part of Wistario’s story at all. He’s just . . . fine with it.

Maybe we’re building towards something here. This is the problem with making judgements halfway through a story. It could be that Wistario is being set up to be just as psychopathic in his own way as probably-main-villain Cyclase, willing to do anything for his dream.

And there is certainly *something* up with him, in regards his connection to his Gundam, which has been shown operating at Alaya-Vijnana speeds despite him not having one. I suspect we might be headed for the reveal that he’s our first non-Gjallarhorn descendant of an original Gundam pilot. Which -- eh. I guess that’ll be fine too.

I still prefer the other two.

The Supporting Cast

I have to say, I’m also rather ambivalent about Wistario’s direct subordinates. Demner Kitaco Jr basically exists to dote on him and Dexter and Sinister are fairly one-note old geezers. They’re well-designed and work OK in the story, but mostly, they’re just there. Even if Demner keeping a Gundam in the basement hints at more backstory for him in particular to come.

Katya Inoshi, on the other hand, intrigues. She provides a necessary extra element to the crew, which is otherwise made up of Wistario’s lackeys, offering common sense observations and asking questions the audience might be thinking. She is also clearly on the run from Gjallarhorn and her similarities to Carta Issue (hair, eye colour, eyebrows) may offer some hint as to why.

That said, while her joining the Erda II crew after they help bust a human trafficking operation (and she raids their fridge) works well, I do wish she hadn’t been relegated to ship’s dogsbody. It feels rather rote for the girl to get lumbered with the cooking and cleaning, and she lacks the framing that helps with alleviate the feeling over in the main show. Atra is supremely at home in her chosen profession as Tekkadan’s cook (as competent as her comrades, just along a totally different axis) and demonstrates a core of iron-toughness that makes it clear she belongs alongside them. By contrast, Katya essentially begs for the roll in order to stay aboard the ship, making her far more subordinate to Wistario as a result. It feels like a step down, though her personality offsets it somewhat.

I want to deal with the Urdr Hunt guides later, so let’s skip to the next member of Wistario’s gang, Range Dubrisko. Oh, Range. Well first off, he endears himself by being the kind of mook who wears his poncho over his normal-suit.

Beyond that, he has the most involved backstory we’ve seen so far, as the son of a human debris-trader who grew sickened by family business and took a job with the Omden Colony Company instead. His aim in doing this was to gather the power necessary to build a paradise where people could be free and equal. Unfortunately, Range is . . . how to put this . . . a bit of a chump. A well-intentioned chump, but a chump nonetheless and it’s clear there was no chance of him pulling off his grand design -- which was in truth not so much a design as a dream chased to ease a guilty conscience. With the loss of his loyal followers Andy and Bito (who exist to believe in Range unto their deaths), he has thrown in his lot with Wistario, drawn in by the teenager’s unwavering conviction in his own big dreams. I’m interested to see where that dynamic goes. And he’s certainly fun to watch, in a ‘cutely flailing disaster’ sort of way.

The Friendly Rivals

Speaking of flailing disasters, time to discuss my favourite character: ex-ish human debris and Tekkadan wannabe 598. Now I have to confess, I primed myself to like this kid from the get-go, having adored his character design since it was first revealed. Just look at this doofy gremlin child.

He is absolutely dying horribly before this is over. Indeed, 598 is the most typically IBO character in Urdr Hunt. A kid sold as human debris before getting abandoned on the street, he was taken in (in both sense of the word) by a pirate who convinced him to fight and steal by spinning stories about Tekkadan’s success in Season 1. The prospect of becoming a similarly-powerful gang blinded 598 and his numerically-named comrades to their exploitation until a fight with Wistario led to the revelation their boss had a cargo hold full of young girls he was planning to sell off. 598 ended up taking control of the ship, freeing the prisoners, and setting off to join the Hunt as head of a new group named Foundling. There are a lot of things I like about 598, from his boisterous enthusiasm to the fact he’s both more worldly than Wistario and much less smart. But mostly, I like his stubborn refusal to live on anyone’s terms except his own (even when he doesn’t quite understand what those terms are). While Wistario gets him thinking (and later comes to his aid in battle), it’s the discovery of those human trafficking victims that spurs 598 to change and he takes responsibility for actions he took as a pirate, finding dignity in owning his mistakes. He even refuses to take a new name, not seeing what’s wrong with the one he’s got. As I said, I suspect this attitude is going to get him killed but in the meantime, he’s the highlight of the game.

The second friendly rival takes the form of a pirate captain by the name of Tamami Rakou, head of the single most unsubtle black-ops team you could imagine.

Yep. Yep, that’s literally just the Turbines’ logo with a skull painted over it. Tamami self-describes as someone who was once a lot like 598 in the sense of being extremely reckless, before being brought into the Turbines by Naze and Amida. She learnt how to run a business under their tutelage and took on the kinds of missions that would reflect poorly on the company. Eventually, this led to her crew becoming known as pirates and they just sort of ran with it. It’s a nice, straightforward backstory that fits well with what we know of Turbines, and as I mentioned above, speaks to a separation between the Hunt and our favourite Teiwaz subsidiary. Tamami comes across as a fairly reasonable woman, albeit one who turns fierce when confronting threats to her family. She had to be drawn into the Hunt via pursuing 598 over his attacks on Teiwaz shipping, but now she’s involved, I’m looking forward to seeing more of her teaching him the ways of the Jupiter mafia. It’s a nice means of taking their stories forward.

Thirdly we have Mendou, a treasure hunter with very different priorities to the other two.

Where 598 and Tamami are, like Wistario, in the Hunt for the massive cash prize, Mendou is here for the historical knowledge. We’re introduced to him braving danger in the name of uncovering information on the Calamity War, and I suspect we’ll see more of that. He seems pleasant, but his off-putting reaction to hearing the Erda II crew are from Venus and cryptic hints about Wistario’s Gundam make me think he might not be as much an ally as he currently appears. Certainly he seems the sort to press a big red button that should on no account be pushed . . .

The Antagonists

On to the unfriendly rivals, we should probably start with the Zan brothers, Rome and Aiko, who reflect that thing about it being very clear when an anime character is intended to be American.

Their theme music is literally named ‘Gangsta Bros’, they’re members of a crime family from the SAU (the fictional country comprising the Americas), and leaning into this set of stereotypes doesn’t feel like the greatest choice, honestly. But it’s what the makers of the game went with, so here we are. Rome is a self-important blowhard, puffing himself up as the natural successor to his father while being not nearly as smart as he thinks and a bit of a cowardly lion, retreating when it’s clear he’s not going to immediately get his way. Aiko gives the outward appearances of subservience, while muttering under his breath about his brother’s shortcomings, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this relationship is headed towards fratricide. Their role has been to show up intermittently trying to kill the competition. For all their flamboyance, they’re presented as basically rich bullies, happy to send human debris out as cannon fodder, and a threat through force of arms rather than anything else.

Far more dangerous, it appears, is Cyclase Mayer, the most villain-coded git you could imagine.

Cyclase starts out as Range’s superior in the Omden Company, coldly demeaning the hapless poncho-wearer, before graduating into full-blown bastardry by abandoning him, Andy and Bito to an automated weapons system simply to ensure the destruction of a Hunt way-point. Indeed, this has been his overall modus operandi, demolishing artifacts of historical significance to make sure nobody else can extract the precious data. Such single-minded ruthlessness has put him firmly at the front of the pack, with barely any interaction with Wistario to get in his way. All this said, we haven’t really had much hint as to what drives Cyclase yet. He gives a big speech to Range about being a cog in Omden’s machine, so he clearly has no belief that he’s valued by the company. On the other hand, he’s been diligent in pursuing their goals. I guess time will tell if he has an agenda of his own (the character profile describes him as a former Gjallarhorn officer who killed his commander -- he even flies a stolen Schwalbe Graze -- but this is yet to come up in-story). He’s working well as the competent opposition and I look forward to seeing that expanded with an actual confrontation.

Finally, a note on the minor antagonists. First up, we have the nameless prisoner from the very start of the game who is the intended recipient for the Hunt ring that Wistario ends up with, who I mention chiefly because it’s a point that’s gotten lost in the shuffle.

Wistario isn’t meant to be involved, and the fact the guy who is was sprung from a Gjallarhorn prison seems like it might be notable with respect to whoever’s running this thing.

Then there’s Torrado Omden, the man at the Omden Company in favour of continuing with the hunt (and presumably the owner of said company?).

We know absolutely nothing about him, but the fact he has a character model suggests we haven’t seen the last of him yet. I do wonder if we’ll dive deeper into the corporate side of things, something IBO has gestured to in the past but largely evaded in favour of your actual mafia.

Then there’s this arsehole.

Kimball is the pirate who 598 originally worked for and was, it turns out, a member of the Dawn Horizon Corps who struck out on his own. He’s probably not all that notable, save that he rivals Jasley for awfulness and has a fairly striking design. It was extremely satisfying to see him get his comeuppance. Which is kind of what you want in a villain, right?

The Urdr Hunt Guides

So far, seven guides have appeared, all helpfully providing the bare minimum of exposition required to get everybody involved in the Hunt. They are:

Korunaru Kousa, with Wistario;

Berose Kousa, with the Zan Brothers;

Parstai Kousa, with 598;

Tagging and Bana Kousa, with the Omden Company;

Kenshal Kousa, with the Rakou Pirates;

And Slice Kousa with Mendou.

Out of these, Tagging and Bana have had the least screen-time and precisely zero lines, appearing only in the background of an Omden Company board-meeting. Berose, meanwhile, has been relegated to the Zan Clan’s battleship, bemoaning her lot in being stuck with the brothers.

Kenshal, by contrast, seems to be having a nice time with pirate crew, albeit a rather boring one until Tamami gets drawn into the Hunt. She’s the youngest, a literal child, with the attitude to go with it, partial to sweets and loudly overruling an exasperated Tamami on competition matters. It’s actually kind of refreshing to have a kid in IBO who freely acts like it. Huh. I’m not going to dwell too hard on that, if you don’t mind.

Parstai might be my favourite of the lot, working as she does to directly help 598 out of his situation with Kimball and going on to administer his new company, despite being barely more literate than he is. She offers us possible hints about the Kousas’ background: she more or less says outright that she used to be human debris and doesn’t seem too far removed from that existence. She’s clearly come to care about her brash young charge and I do wonder if that’s going to creat a conflict with her mission. Generally calm and quiet, 598 does say that she’s utterly terrifying when she’s upset, as she certainly is with him offering up his arm as collateral and then signing away his life to a pirate captain.

I like Slice quite a lot too. She’s obviously invested in doing a good job and frustrated with both Mendou’s side-tracking and the dodgy comms system that have meant her hard work going unreported. (With her completing the set, I draw your attention to the fact that for all the guides, their hair-colour matches their eyes, though Berose’s character page shows that in her case at least, it’s dye.)

However, I can’t say that I’m too enthused by Korunaru, nominally the most important of the guides since she’s palling around with Wistario. It’s fine for a character to be meek and quiet, but I don’t think we’ve gotten much of a personality from her beyond her love of making tea. She mostly exists to gesture towards the plot, without really doing anything. Again, I hope that’ll change as the story progresses. Certainly there’s plenty of directions to go, including maybe giving us the full explanation for what the guides’ deal is. That would be the logical path for getting to the bottom of who ‘N’ is and what all this is in aid of. But for the moment, there’s not a great deal of connection established between her and Wistario, despite them having spent a lot of time together.

Closing thoughts?

Honestly, I have rambled quite long enough but if I had a closing remark to make, it’d be that I’m not sure how to evaluate the story in comparison to the main show yet. I don’t know how many episodes there are going to be, so I’m not sure how far in we are. We’re gotten through most of the trailer footage excepting that showing Gundam Hajiroboshi‘s original form and the aforementioned Naze and Shino cameos. Time wise, we’ve had at least 10 episodes of the anime, but structurally, I’m not sure it’s quite that much content (though neither is it just 5 so . . . hmm).

But with the next part showing Cyclase and Wistario coming face-to-face, a mobile armour’s reactivation and bloody Iok putting in an appearance, it seems things are about to start moving very quickly indeed. Hopefully there will be enough space to expand on the parts I’ve been meh on and this will all cohere into a satisfying tale!

#GUNDAM #Gundam Iron-blooded Orphans #gundam ibo #g tekketsu #Tekketsu no Orphans #Iron-Blooded Orphans: Urdr Hunt #Urdr Hunt #notes #thoughts #more rambling

[lilyblackdrawside]

So, Lingering Echoes. It was pretty good. I liked the story, especially since it didn’t drag its feet. Recent events have been very heavy on the word-count, even if Kal’tsit wasn’t present, and while I like Arknights’ writing there’s always this conflict of me wanting to play the next stage and being “held up” by the plot. Anyway, LE didn’t do that and even aside from this it was just a good story.

As for gameplay, I thought it was alright. I like the idea of the beams, but in practice it didn’t excite me much. I mostly did my best to play around the mechanics instead of with them, by using Hexers and Ambushers for their flexibility in where they can be pointed and also using operators who have on-attack charging. A core of La Pluma, Archetto, May and GreyThroat worked very well. The description says that being in the flux “restores natural sp regeneration” but I am absolutely sure that you actually had accelerated regen. Got no evidence for that but my feeling though.

The enemies were fine. I didn’t find any of them too challenging, annoying at best since I never felt like optimizing flux-layouts. While I found it easy, I didn’t dislike it. It was still fun and the overall themes were nice. Good atmosphere.

Gertrude and Worldly Remains as bosses were fine. Gertrude never did much of anything. Offensively she’s weaker than one of the Spire Casters, so she’s just pretty tanky. Can’t fool Pinecone with your clones. Worldly Remains ... I don’t know. I know that there’s something about him losing health with one of his attacks, that you’re “supposed” to out-tank him, but I just kinda really never felt like doing that. In both stages he had enemies that would spawn after him and he appeared in locations where he was easy to attack so I found it best to remove him with brute force.

This may read a bit negatively, but I came out of it with an overall positive feeling.

#arknights

[plumawolf]

Writing is deciding to reteach yourself chemistry bc you need to have a more nuanced vision of the magic system you’re making for a fic you haven’t even started

#pluma's writing thoughts #really tho this is kind of a problem #writing #just writer things

[neglectedbond]

Pluma,

I wanted to let you know I won't be able to come to this cafe for lunch anymore. The crowds have been growing, so it's a matter of time before my presence catches on, if it hasn't already. However, if you end up looking for a conversation again to pass the time, I have my number at the bottom. Don't worry, Her Majesty is perfectly aware of this. I know you'll find no issue ignoring this if you would rather. Lunch might not feel the same without your stare judging and dissecting every word out my mouth. Who else won't hesitate to put me in my place when Kyouko isn't there?

Please enjoy your meal, Hibiya

This man surely knew how to make an 'entrance', or well, a letter delivery. She certainly didn't expect a well-mannered & impeccably dressed young man to deliver a mere letter to her. But, ah, no matter. As she read it, she couldn't help but lift a brow & almost laugh at it all. Kyouko. . . that must be his wife. Pluma wondered how Kyouko didn't feel jealousy or worry toward his husband who was developing a relationship with some random woman. So far, he had proved he wanted conversation rather than a physical relationship. Yet, Pluma still had her guard up.

Then, her gaze focused on the phone number. Hm. . . .

❛ Pencil. ❜ The well-dressed young man tilted his head, providing what she had asked for. Pluma wondered why he was still there, near her table. She supposed he was awaiting a response. Oh, & she will deliver one. She grabbed a napkin & began to write, a small grin pulling at her lips.

❛ Give this to him, will you? Don't open it, yeah? ❜ The young man bowed his head, took the nicely folded napkin & left the premises. In a matter of seconds, she then began to tear the letter apart, throwing it on her now empty coffee glass as she thought of what he might do with this small, yet harmless act of retaliation.

& what did the letter say? Well . . .

Hello, Hibiya. Call me yourself.

-Sincerely, Pluma. * * * - * * * - 4 5 3 2

#୭ 🕊.⋆﹙ 𝓟 ﹚: in character. #royaletiquette #ooc. i thought having someone deliver it would be ok #let me know if i should change it tho! #also pluma's such an asshole jkdhfgwefwe

[markhersonhuelgas]

Kasi Lalaki Ka

"KASI LALAKI KA"

Utol pakatatag ka, kalma lang kapatid Tama ka, puwede kang umiyak sa gilid Puwedeng alak sa gabi o kape sa umaga Puwede rin kung babaliktarin mo na

Hindi sa lahat ng oras ikaw ay matatag Hindi lahat ay kontrolado mo sa iyong palad Hindi lahat ng plano mo ay matutupad Hindi lahat ay mabilis, madalas lahat ay makupad

Mali ka sa mata ng asawa, mali rin sa mata ng iba Tama ka sa iisa at mali sa isang- daan pa Matatabunan ka ng pagod at daing Sa bukambibig araw-araw kang ililibing

Trabaho sa labas at tulog lang ang pahinga Pag-uwi sa bahay ay may sermon pang kasama Alas nuebe, alas singko, at alas dos ang kaibigan Ang pag-alis at pag-uwi, minsang inuman

Ikaw ang salbabidang sasalba sa mga lulubog Ikaw ang sasakyang aandar kahit sa bubog Ikaw ang haliging magtataguyod kahit na inaanay Dahil sabi nila'y mas mahirap pa rin ang maging nanay

Sinong titingin sa'yo kapag lahat ay nakapikit? Sinong magpapakain kung bugong ay wala ng init? Sinong mag-aalaga kung siya'y sa mga bata nakatunganga? Kabaong lamang ang sa dulo ay nakahanda

Giyera mo'y walang nakakakita sa sa labas Ni sa mga mata mo'y hindi aring mabakas Sapagkat kahinaan ang magpakita ng panghihina Ikaw ang templo at sa kalusugan ay taga-pangalaga

Lalaki ka, bawal sa mga mata'y may pumatak Itikom ang bibig, bawal ka ring marinig tumalak Sa likod mo'y anino lamang ang tutulak Hanggang sa makamit ang ibang mga pangarap

Malamig na lubid ang kayakap sa leeg Dalawampung tabletang bumubula sa bibig Mainit na tinggang tatagos na lang sa utak Mga demonyong araw-araw kang pilit hinahatak

Kalaban mong hindi nakikita, bigla na lang madarama Utak mong umiisip ng solusyon nang mag-isa Masuwerte kung may iisang kaluluwa Ang handang tumawid sa kawalan kasama ka

Kaya utol pakatatag ka, kalma lang kapatid Tama ka, puwede kang umiyak sa gilid Mapaalak o kape sa gabi o umaga Lahat yan ay pagdadaanan mo kasi nga lalaki ka

#tula #sabi ni makata #tinta #isip at pluma #tagalog at likha #poetry #poets on tumblr #writers on tumblr #spilled ink #spilled thoughts #spilled poetry #poems #creative writing

[magmuni-muni]

an old friend

sadness is an old friend. sometimes you'll pass by them in the most unexpected places; like in the grocery, aisle 3, where the cereals are located, only for you to find out that they've run out of stock. sometimes you'll meet them at the park, where you spent most of your childhood playing in swing, while you find your life swinging back and forth. you cherished your friendship but hated the bitter aftertaste of your conversation left in your mouth. it was fun, except for the gnawing feeling eating your insides, thawing away your sanity with every bite. you've realized a long time ago, on one of your planetarium date with friends, that your relationship with sadness was a parasitic one. they feed off your soul while you're left with nothing more than emptiness. yet you can't help but simply coexist. they're your constant, thus you can't shrug them off easily. besides, who would turn down an old friend for a nice, little chat?

#filipino #writing #creative writing #spilled words #spilled thoughts #poetry #papel #Pluma

[esuemmanuel]

A ti, niño.

Tomé la pluma pensando escribir alguna tontería, pero me topé con que hoy es "Día del Niño" en México… y, de pronto, pensé en que debería escribirte, porque eso es lo que eres… Un niño. Y te pregunto, con toda la apertura que pueda concebir mi espíritu, ¿a qué has venido? ¿Qué te ha traído a mi vera? ¿Acaso vienes a ayudarme a recuperar la luz que, en algún lugar, abandoné? Niño… ¡Sí, niño! Aún no llegas ni a la veintena, pero ya pareces andar como un hombre de mediana edad. Tu alma es tan vieja que me hace llorar, porque me recuerda… ¡Sí, me recuerda! Eso mismo que me has mostrado con tus manos para poderme mirar… y así convencerme de que sigo vivo… de que aún siento y respiro… y tengo, todavía, mucho que dar. ¡Oh, niño… dulce niño… ¿cómo me has venido a mirar?! No obstante, y con todas mis aflicciones, agradezco tu diáfana presencia… Mi pluma jamás te olvidará.

To you, child.

I picked up my pen thinking about writing something silly, but I found out that today is "Children's Day" in Mexico… and, suddenly, I thought I should write to you, because that's what you are…

A child.

And I ask you, with all the openness my spirit can conceive, why have you come? What has brought you to my side? Have you come to help me recover the light that, somewhere, I abandoned?

Child… Yes, child!

You are not yet in your twenties, but already you seem to walk like a middle-aged man. Your soul is so old that it makes me cry, because it reminds me of… Yes, it reminds me! That very thing you have shown me with your hands so that I can look at myself… and thus convince me that I am still alive… that I still feel and breathe… and have, still, much to give.

Oh, child… sweet child… how have you come to look at me?

Nevertheless, and with all my afflictions, I am grateful for your diaphanous presence….

My pen will never forget you.

#writers #authors #2024 #el día del niño #el hombre de la soledad #escribiendo en soledad #escritores en tumblr #the man of solitude #writing in solitude #poeticstories #pensamientos #poets on tumblr #poetas en tumblr #writers on tumblr #ai image

[palaging-sumasaiyo]

"Bakit kapag nagpaparamdam ang mga taong matagal nang wala sa buhay mo e gabi nila napipiling gawin ito? Alam mo 'yon, mga mensaheng alanganin oras dumarating na dalawa lang ang kahahantungan: gisingin ka sa kalagitnaan ng pagtulog mo o magisnan mo pagmulat ng mga mata mo sa umaga. At sa isang iglap, babalik sa iyo ang lahat. Sa isang iglap, hindi na babalik sa dati ang lahat. Magbubukas na naman ang pintuan ng nakaraan."

"Dahil umaasa sila na tulog ka na? Dahil iniisip nila na sa kabila ng ilang taong paghahanda ng sarili ay baka hindi pa rin sila handa at natatakot silang tumugon ka agad dahil baka isang maling tugon lang nila e magresulta sa ilang taon na naman ng katahimikan? O hindi kaya dahil ang mga oras sa magdamag ang pinakamalulungkot na sandali at doon natin madalas naiisip ang ating mga pagkakamali; mga pagkakamali na sa kasagsagan ng pagsisisi ay nanaisin na lang nating bigla na itama, at kikilos tayo nang walang kaplano-plano, susunod lamang sa puso at bahala na kung saan tayo dadalhin nito?"

— Charina Clarisse Echaluce, 2019

© Minsan Okay Lang Ma-traffic

#minsan okay lang ma traffic #charina clarisse echaluce #sad poetry #poets of tumblr #writers #writers on tumblr #writing #writeaway #excerpt from a book i'll never write #writblr #readers on tumblr #readers #a good read #sadness #sad thoughts #sadboy #pluma #literature on tumblr #literature #books and libraries #lit #philippine literature