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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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The media spectacle of generative AI (in which AI companies’ breathless claims of their software’s sorcerous powers are endlessly repeated) has understandably alarmed many creative workers, a group that’s already traumatized by extractive abuse by media and tech companies.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids

Even though the claims about “AI” are overblown and overhyped, creators are right to be alarmed. Their bosses would like nothing more than to fire them and replace them with pliable software. The “creative” industries talk a lot about how audiences should be paying for creative works, but the companies that bring creators’ works to market treat their own payments to creators as a cost to be minimized.

Creative labor markets are primarily regulated through copyright: the exclusive rights that accrue to creators at the moment that their works are “fixated.” Media and tech companies then bargain to buy or license those rights. The theory goes that the more expansive those rights are, the more they’ll be worth to corporations, and the more they’ll pay creators for them.

That’s the theory. In practice, we’ve spent 40 years expanding copyright. We’ve made it last longer; expanded it to cover more works, hiked the statutory damages for infringements and made it easier to prove violations. This has made the entertainment industry larger and more profitable — but the share of those profits going to creators has declined, both in real terms and proportionately.

In other words, today creators have more copyright, the companies that buy creators’ copyrights have more profits, but creators are poorer than they were 40 years ago. How can this be so?

As Rebecca Giblin and I explain in our book Chokepoint Capitalism, the sums creators get from media and tech companies aren’t determined by how durable or far-reaching copyright is — rather, they’re determined by the structure of the creative market.

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

The market is concentrated into monopolies. We have five big publishers, four big studios, three big labels, two big ad-tech companies, and one gargantuan ebook/audiobook company. The internet has been degraded into “five giant websites, each filled with screenshots from the other four”:

https://twitter.com/tveastman/status/1069674780826071040

Under these conditions, giving a creator more copyright is like giving a bullied schoolkid extra lunch money. It doesn’t matter how much lunch money you give that kid — the bullies will take it all, and the kid will still go hungry (that’s still true even if the bullies spend some of that stolen lunch money on a PR campaign urging us all to think of the hungry children and give them even more lunch money):

https://doctorow.medium.com/what-is-chokepoint-capitalism-b885c4cb2719

But creative workers have been conditioned — by big media and tech companies — to reflexively turn to copyright as the cure-all for every pathology, and, predictably, there are loud, insistent calls (and a growing list of high-profile lawsuits) arguing that training a machine-learning system is a copyright infringement.

This is a bad theory. First, it’s bad as a matter of copyright law. Fundamentally, machine learning systems ingest a lot of works, analyze them, find statistical correlations between them, and then use those to make new works. It’s a math-heavy version of what every creator does: analyze how the works they admire are made, so they can make their own new works.

If you go through the pages of an art-book analyzing the color schemes or ratios of noses to foreheads in paintings you like, you are not infringing copyright. We should not create a new right to decide who is allowed to think hard about your creative works and learn from them — such a right would make it impossible for the next generation of creators to (lawfully) learn their craft:

https://www.oblomovka.com/wp/2022/12/12/on-stable-diffusion/

(Sometimes, ML systems will plagiarize their own training data; that could be copyright infringement; but a) ML systems will doubtless get guardrails that block this plagiarism; and, b) even after that happens, creators will still worry about being displaced by ML systems trained on their works.)

We should learn from our recent history here. When sampling became a part of commercial hiphop music, some creators clamored for the right to control who could sample their work and to get paid when that happened. The musicians who sampled argued that inserting a few bars from a recording was akin to a jazz trumpeter who works a few bars of a popular song into a solo. They lost that argument, and today, anyone who wants to release a song commercially will be required — by radio stations, labels, and distributors — the clear that sample.

This change didn’t make musicians better off. The Big Three labels — Sony, Warners, and Universal, who control 70% of the world’s recorded music — now require musicians to sign away the rights to samples from their works. The labels also refuse to sell sampling licenses to musicians unless they are signed to one of the Big Three.

Thus, producing music with a sample requires that you take whatever terms the Big Three impose on you, including giving up the right to control sampling of your music. We gave the schoolkids more lunch money and the bullies took that, too.

https://locusmag.com/2020/03/cory-doctorow-a-lever-without-a-fulcrum-is-just-a-stick/

The monopolists who control the creative industries are already getting ahead of the curve on this one. Companies that hire voice actors are requiring those actors to sign away the (as yet nonexistant) right to train a machine-learning model with their voices:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d37za/voice-actors-sign-away-rights-to-artificial-intelligence

The National Association of Voice Actors is (quite rightly) advising its members not to sign contracts that make this outrageous demand, and they note that union actors are having success getting these clauses struck, even retroactively:

https://navavoices.org/synth-ai/

That’s not surprising — labor unions have a much better track record of getting artists’ paid than giving creators copyright and expecting them to bargain individually for the best deal they can get. But for non-union creators — the majority of us — getting this language struck is going to be a lot harder. Indeed, we already sign contracts full of absurd, unconscionable nonsense that our publishers, labels and studios refuse to negotiate:

https://doctorow.medium.com/reasonable-agreement-ea8600a89ed7

Some of the loudest calls for exclusive rights over ML training are coming not from workers, but from media and tech companies. We creative workers can’t afford to let corporations create this right — and not just because they will use it against us. These corporations also have a track record of creating new exclusive rights that bite them in the ass.

For decades, media companies stretched copyright to cover works that were similar to existing works, trying to merge the idea of “inspired by” and “copied from,” assuming that they would be the ones preventing others from making “similar” new works.

But they failed to anticipate the (utterly predictable) rise of copyright trolls, who launched a string of lawsuits arguing that popular songs copied tiny phrases (or just the “feel”) of their clients’ songs. Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s got sued into radioactive rubble by Marvin Gaye’s estate over their song “Blurred Lines” — which didn’t copy any of Gaye’s words or melodies, but rather, took its “feel”:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/robin-thicke-pharrell-lose-multi-million-dollar-blurred-lines-lawsuit-35975/

Today, every successful musician lives in dread of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit over incidental similarities to obscure tracks. Last spring, Ed Sheeran beat such a suit, but it was a hollow victory. As Sheeran said, with 60,000 new tracks being uploaded to Spotify every day, these similarities are inevitable:

https://twitter.com/edsheeran/status/1511631955238047751

The major labels are worried about this problem, too — but they are at a loss as to what to do about it. They are completely wedded to the idea that every part of music should be converted to property, so that they can expropriate it from creators and add it to their own bulging portfolios. Like a monkey trapped because it has reached through a hole into a hollow log to grab a banana that won’t fit back through the hole, the labels can’t bring themselves to let go.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/08/oh-why/#two-notes-and-running

That’s the curse of the monkey’s paw: the entertainment giants argued for everything to be converted to a tradeable exclusive right — and now the industry is being threatened by trolls and ML creeps who are bent on acquiring their own vast troves of pseudo-property.

There’s a better way. As NAVA president Tim Friedlander told Motherboard’s Joseph Cox, “NAVA is not anti-synthetic voices or anti-AI, we are pro voice actor. We want to ensure that voice actors are actively and equally involved in the evolution of our industry and don’t lose their agency or ability to be compensated fairly for their work and talent.”

This is as good a distillation of the true Luddite ethic as you could ask for. After all, the Luddites didn’t oppose textile automation: rather, they wanted a stake in its rollout and a fair share of its dividends:

https://locusmag.com/2022/01/cory-doctorow-science-fiction-is-a-luddite-literature/

Turning every part of the creative process into “IP” hasn’t made creators better off. All that’s it’s accomplished is to make it harder to create without taking terms from a giant corporation, whose terms inevitably include forcing you to trade all your IP away to them. That’s something that Spider Robinson prophesied in his Hugo-winning 1982 story, “Melancholy Elephants”:

http://www.spiderrobinson.com/melancholyelephants.html

This week (Feb 8–17), I’ll be in Australia, touring my book Chokepoint Capitalism with my co-author, Rebecca Giblin. We’re doing a remote event for NZ on Feb 13. Next are Melbourne (Feb 14), Sydney (Feb 15) and Canberra (Feb 16/17). I hope to see you!

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[Image ID: A poster for the 1933 movie ‘The Monkey’s Paw.’ The fainting ingenue has been replaced by the glaring red eye of HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.]

#pluralistic #luddie #chokepoint capitalism #generative ai #artificial intelligence #voice acting #labor #creative labor #exclusive rights regimes #copyright #copyfight #careful what you wish for #machine learning #ai #ml #blurred lines #melancholy elephants

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taranida · 1 month

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The loops and spiral of the first game

Airight, I’ve written extensively about Thomas Zane the Poet, 70’s and what happened, to my belief, at the time. All of it accessible through this post with links on every expanding theory. I will not even try to claim that I was consistent with my conclusions and views, since with each dive I was finding new things, rethinking everything and looking at what’s presented in the games and extras from a different perspective. Some theories (like who wrote the eruption) never changed, some (like is Thomas Zane this benign man, who cared about the future and the world) did — a lot. But that’s alright, I’ve created this blog to make sense of everything meself in the first place; theories will evolve, change and grow as I sink deeper into madness.

Now I want to talk about loops. Without making sense of them I can’t even start to talk about the Bright Presence (who literally scratches on my brain), since his actions cannot — in my opinion — be explained without explaining the loops of the first game. I’m not sure there is even one moment when the Bright Presence acted on his own volition, but we’ll see how this belief will change later.

Let’s start with the in-your-face evidence:

just like in the second game we have things that change on your “final draft 0.1” playthrough on nightmare, that you can unlock only by finishing the game on any other difficulty — nightmare only manuscripts.

at the end of the game, right after the famous line “it’s not a lake, it’s an ocean” we hear Alice’s voiceline “Alan! Wake up!” from the moment on the ferry.

in the Well-Lit Room Alan claims “the last page is still in the typewriter. I need to read it first. Everything needs to be just right. Zane tried to cut some corners, and it didn’t end well.” Yet the page in the typewriter is about the last fight between Alan and Alice, right before she was dragged into the lake.

the cutscene that follows Alan writing the ending to Departure, repeats what happened after his fight with Alice in the Bird Leg Cabin.

although little bit less obvious, but the nightmare in the prologue and the monologue of the Hitchhiker also points on Alan already being in the loop: “you’re in this story now”.

I’m going to unpack those points a bit.

The nightmare manuscripts pages might be written off as a game mechanic, of course, a reward to the player for tackling the highest difficulty in the game, but they simply do not appear on your first playthrough. The first loop doesn’t have those pages. On the nightmare difficulty, however, they appear on their own places, not replacing anything, and given that the Bright Presence outright spells that he’s delivering the right pages in the right time, they are as crucial part of the last loop as the simple ones. The guide explains that the Nightmares might be particularly difficult:

This little thing in the guide, presented as in-universe book, also hints that those so-called Nightmares are not one and done occurrence. Each of them is yet another loop and not all of them are “particularly difficult”.

Other question is: do those pages even matter? Well, for the most of them the answer will be — no, not really; they expand on the story and characters, give you lyrics of both songs by the boys of OGoA and Thomas’ poem, but it’s just flavour text. There is one, however, that affects the story in much more significant way; it changes or defines the Dark Presence’s power and intentions at the start (of the loop):

It also so happens to hint that the writer is already in the Dark Presence’s web, jerking and kicking, although the incentive is still needed. When exactly Alan was in this situation? His “jerking and kicking” starts after the Dark Presence kidnaps Alice, as it’s shown in the game. So, does this page point to the dream Alan had on the ferry or is it another confirmation of the loops?

The Alice’s voiceline, I believe, is self-explanatory. What’s interesting in it is that it sends us to a point in time where this particular loop starts. The loop, not the struggle against the Dark Presence; after all, Alan’s main objective is to save Alice, and to do it perfectly, how he put it:

“Everything needs to be just right. Zane tried to cut some corners, and it didn’t end well.”

The Dark Presence or Place might’ve been involved way before the ferry. Here I will jump to the Hitchhiker point. His monologue is sus. He states that Alan is being trapped in the story, talks about Alan playing god and killing people off for the sake of drama, all of which is actually true. And he’s the first Taken that we encounter.

Now let me return to the previous points. Alan claims that the last page of the Departure is in the typewriter, and there is a page, alright:

The page that reads:

…by Wake and Alice, Barbara Jagger stands in the shadows in the cabin. As soon as it began, the flickering stops and Jagger is gone. Alice is startled by the flickering lights. Wake is too angry to stay. He needs to cool off, to clear his head. Wake storms out of the cabin. He is certain that…

Looks familiar, isn’t it? When Alan sits to write the camera shows us the clock, they move properly to 12 am/pm and then start to go back rapidly and we’re thrown to the cutscene where Alan returns to the cabin, following Alice’s cries for help — direct continuation of what was written on the page. He jumps and the scene ends. Just like in the beginning.

That’s quite in-your-face, let’s add a bit more subtle things into the mix. Alice in the second game says about her time in the Dark Place “the same events and images, looping again and again”, whole second game hammers down the point that this is exactly how the Dark Place operates. And the cutscene, that follows Alan’s jump after Alice, now shows us how from that moment the time moves on again to the morning when Alice is resurfacing from the lake — another loop ends there; ultimate or penultimate, depends — if you completed the game on nightmare or not.

Back to the dream. Here was a huge chunk of text, that was growing and growing, as I wanted to touch on everything in there, and I’ve decided to move it into another post. But for the sake of this theory we need to know that Clay Steward, the man we encounter, in his in-universe book The Alan Wake Files, claims that dreams like that started two years prior to the events of the game and were loops in which both him and Alan died to the darkness or men consumed by it over and over again. Alan, how it comes out in the game, forgot all others, except for the one that was invaded by the Bright Presence.

So, when exactly did this dream happen? Contrary to the game, I would say: we don’t really know. You see, aside from Alan’s lack of recollection about other dreams like that, there is an interesting detail, that comes with one of the extras. In the game Alan is awakened by Alice on the ferry and she also lets us on the details of how the vacation was arranged:

“Come on, slowpoke. You get the full service here. I’ve made all the arrangements. I drive the car, I’ll even carry the bags. All you have to do is drag your cute butt into the car and enjoy the ride.”

But in the Bright Falls mini-series, prequel to Alan Wake, the final scene shows Alan driving the car to Bright Falls with Alice on the passenger seat and no ferry involved:

In the second game in the song Herald of Darkness we have the part, that is a bit questionable. The ferry is there, but we see Alan being prepared with flowers and a bottle as if this vacation was not Alice’s idea, which is also hinted in the first game’s second flashback, when Alan says “once this is over, let’s go away together — a vacation, just you and me. Some peace and quiet”. Taken together with the words of the song, the clear picture of how the Wakes ended up in Bright Falls starts to blur.

Just one shot, one more chance For him to save their marriage Away from the city A romantic getaway

Whose idea was it? Alice was sure set on Bright Falls because of Dr. Hartman, but was it her desperate attempt to fix their marriage or was it Alan’s? And how did they get into the town? On the ferry or drove the car? Given the loops, I’d say all of those things. Therefore, we have no way of knowing when exactly the dream occurred. Alan was looping and looping, trying to fix Alice’s disappearance, he might’ve written dozens of stories of how exactly they got to Bright Falls and how nothing happened to her in the first place, only to fail over and over again.

And that’s when Thomas Zane comes in. I’ve taken apart everything I could (remember) on what happened in the 70’s and I think that the true story is simple. Barbara drowned, Thomas wrote her back, after some time realised that it was not his Barbara and took her for a last dive, creating a private island in the Dark Place, where they are living their happy ever after. The meat on those simple bare bones — the eruption, the shoeboxes, even Cynthia’s ruined life — was added by Alan. He needed a guide, someone, who already ventured this path and broke some rules here and there for Alan to learn those rules when he will forget. And those tools worked splendidly; even the Clicker, that was in Alice’s possession (let’s not mistake Zane’s Light Switch for Alan’s Clicker, we have pictures of both of them and they could not be more dissimilar), was now safely tucked away in the Well-Lit Room with clear instructions on what to do next, while the shoebox in the cabin filled Alan on the gaps in his knowledge and understanding of the Dark Place and Presence. Cynthia’s articles pushed him in the right direction, not mentioning how helpful were her stashes. Everything fell into place, we got the final loop, that perfectly served Alan’s purpose: Alice is safe and well, the Dark Presence is no more, collateral damage such as people who died in the hero’s journey Alan had to complete or Mr. Scratch going out to play — all could be the lesser evil than what Alan witnessed in his previous attempts (we can count the dream where the darkness took over the world with the last safe place being the Light House as a clairvoyance or a fading memory of another failed loop).

Fist game is not at all unlike the second or AWAN, where loops and spirals play a major role. If the player goes into the Bird Leg Cabin before turning the generator on, in the writer’s room Alan has a vision of the Dark Presence and says “for a moment, the oppressive feel of the nightmare I had seen on the ferry returned”, he senses the danger, recognises it, yet cannot escape it. As I said before, despite all Alan’s ramblings about threading on reality, he writes pretty unreal events right and left — honestly, his own reaction to what he encounters during the first game can be summarised in his go-to phrase: “what the fuck?” — but he believes in it while writing, so it comes true. He cannot simply “cut some corners” and write that he and Alice were never in Bright Falls, because he won’t believe in it, it’s a paradox; as well as he won’t believe in nothing happening to Alice and them just having a nice vacation together. He might’ve tried that at first, but ultimately failed, until the story became how we know it from the game (yet, there are still things that hint on the story being a bit different). But how the Wakes got in Bright Falls, what were Alan’s previous attempts and how many of them he went through will remain a mystery. Time means nothing in the Dark Place and Alan’s memory — even less.

The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it’s what we’ll remember in the end.

#alan wake #alan wake 2 #alan wake game #alan wake ii #alan wake remastered #rcu theory #remedy connected universe #remedy entertainment #remedy games #thomas zane #it's not a loop it's a spiral

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ywpd-translations · 10 months

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Masterpost of everything you need to know about this blog!

Hello, I'm Fyki and I created this blog to post the tranlsations of the Yowamushi Pedal manga. I know many of you have been following me for a long time, but I decided to make this masterpost so that new user can know everything they need!

You can also find me here:

Main blog

AO3 for my writing

And if you want to support me, you can buy me a coffee!! ☕ That would mean a lot <33

So! (under cut because it's a bit long)

First things first: I am NOT a professional translator, nor am I a professional Japanese speaker. I learned Japanese precisely to be able to read Yowapeda, and then since no one else was translating it and I love this manga so much, I decided to use what little knowledge I had to translate it. This is to say that these translations contain errors, especially those of the older chapters.

2. You can find everything in this Google Drive folder: LINK

3. Translations start from chapter 422, which corresponds to the end of the fourth season of the anime - basically, translations start from the start of the third day of the second Inter High. Chapter 424 has only the last few pages translated, and chapter 425 is not translated - for both it's because I didn't tranlsate the scenes that were already in the last episode of the anime.

4. Some chapters are typesetted, but mostly they aren't. When I first started I was trying to typeset too, but it was too much work; then during the years some people offered to give me a hand and that's why some chapters are typesetted. For the non typesetted chapters, in each folder there's the raw pages and the translations file.

5. Everything is also here on tumblr at @yowapeda-translations. That was my first blog, but then tumblr for some reason flagged it as containing mature contents, and that created some problems with the search and the visibility, which is why I made this new blog.

6. I post the new chapter every week, usually during the weekend, so you expect it between Friday and Sunday, depending on how long it is, how difficult, and how much time I have.

7. I LOVE talking about this manga, it's the reason I started doing this in the first place! So if you wanna chat, share theories, fangirl together, please do!! I am extremely slow in replying to asks and messages, but that's because I have little time, but I promise you I will reply!

8. Please if you want to use my translations to typeset or for anything else, ask me first!

I think this is all, but if you have any question feel free to send an ask or a message!! <33

#i finally organized the drive folder properly!#there were so many problems with it im so so sorry it took me so long #i spent the last two days doing it lmao #please lemme know if it works!!

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atopvisenyashill · 1 year

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🇵🇸 🇵🇷🐢🏝️ i got tired of complaining constantly on my main blog (@thewingedwolf is me!) about how sansa and rhaenyra did nothing wrong and also i needed a way to organize my theories and stuff. yes i have read all the books. yes i have (unfortunately) seen the whole show. yes i have seen all of hotd as well. so here we go. my stances are this, so you have an idea what to expect:

i am a catelyn, sansa, brienne, elia, and rhaenyra stan FIRST and a person SECOND

i would die Gaemon Palehair, Lady Essie, and Sylvenna Sand, those are my canon OCs, and that’s why they’re my header.

Sansa and Bran are my favorites! I am a Sansa will be Queen in the North truther and a Bran will be the King in Harrenhal conspiracy theorist, It Is Heavily Foreshadowed In The Text and I stand on that!!

I'm well aware Rhaenyra has plenty of faults, I am simply saying that the greens (as in, the characters) do not like her because of her gender, and not for stuff she does that’s actually wrong, also, idc that she did all of that i simply think she’s neat.

Helaena really IS the one who did nothing wrong tho.

i am a Dark Daenerys believer. no, i don’t hate her - in fact, i really love her, although i do hate her show counterpart - I just think her arc is heading towards a dark path and being a villain protagonist is the more interesting route for her character.

House Martell will rise or I will piss in old man germ’s cornflakes.

I Will talk about the racism Dorne faces in the text and outside of it and neither your favorite house nor my favorite house is exempt from this. If you have a problem with that, keep it to yourself bc i do not care 🙏🏽

i multiship!! just bc i ship it doesn’t mean i think it’s gonna happen in the series, i just like the dynamic!!

i am in fact the annoying book jonsa truther they warned you about. i will Stay bitter about this. argue with the wall.

with that said, i also like theonsa, throbb, daemyra, laenyra, rhaewin, nedcat, braime, briensa, and a million other ones. faves listed here. several of them are dead dove-esque; what can i say, that's just george's style.

you decide whether it’s romantic or platonic when it’s an incest one, my opinion changes by the hour & im gonna fight grrm for making me think this much about incest.

i don’t like jonerys!!!!!! i'm sansan & sanrion ambivalent and i simply do not care about littlefucker like that. i would say i’ve thought positively about basically every other ship.

i’m in the middle of a reread, as of this moment (april 2024) i’ve kinda stalled on the beginning of a dance with dragons but i Have started a rewatch of the tv series as a form of torture.

i first read this series when i was 16 in like 2012-2013. i love to bitch about the takes i’ve seen. i sometimes reblog really old ass graphics bc they deserve new life even tho the creators are long since deactivated. i sometimes make graphics that look like they’re from 2014 bc we should bring that style back dammit i hate the typography movement going on rn.

big on tagging triggers so lmk (i’ll tag for all characters & major triggers but i’m fine with adding a specific one if asked and don't worry about it being a "weird" trigger - if sean bean's face or knives or wolves or whatever trigger you, i'm happy to tag for that!).

i have a tag page that is more organized than the slapdash nonsense on this post, feel free to check it out here.

i may sound angry but i promise i am genuinely just here for a laugh. i just have resting bitch voice and no feel for tone and use the word fuck too much. it’s fine and unserious.

#getting on my soap box #some of my more commonly used tags are-#gender politics in asoiaf #lyanna and the starklings #smallfolk rise up #jon lyannason first of his name #the ghost of elia martell #the curse of visenya the conqueror #ados speculation #twow speculation #true knights #knighthood and oath keeping #ashford tourney theory #alysanne of harrenhal au #dreamer aegon au #there is always a lighthouse. there is always a man. there is always a city.

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beardedmrbean · 3 months

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You know the whole 'Hi we have the cure for cancer but we're not going to share it with the world' awful, literally. Mythos thing about Wakanda made notice something

The cure was cancer was definitely not a silver age thing

It stated Kirby made Wakanda (though their advance technology was a later on addition) because he was tired of poverty porn Africa

And Wakanda xenophobia was acknowledged, because I learn there a page in a silver age comic where an African American character went “what’s up brother!” to a Wakandan

And the Wakandan him a “mute”

Now here my theory because when your…ancestors went to Europe for the world wars

Actually I think a lot of white Americans (especially poor ones) had a fetishized view of Europe. And they probably had they until WW1 where many had a one in a lifetime experience to meet Europeans

Then the Europeans immediately pointed out that Americans are foreign to Europe as a Chinese person.

Which definitely broke the illusion of Europe and lead to our modern American identity

Make sense?

So sliver writers probably took that account with doing black panther Mythos

Now the cure for cancer thing, oh I got my suspicions but I think older comic readers can help

But in the 00’s there was two black writers one named Houdini and the other Christopher Priest

Now I vauge on Houdini, but him and priest had that “WE WUZ KINGS” mindset

So they pushed the advance Wakanda shit…while saying that it’s a okay that Wakanda is xenophobic as fuck.

Actually I’m going to do a part to, but I notice something with black Americans writers when they get their hands on stuff.

Oh btw for Priest, well MCU Wakanda was heavily based off his run….

But Priest and the creator of boondocks had a falling out

To the point McGrunder took a piss out of him in a boondocks episode

Oh, priest had black panther beat silver surfer by using a wrestling move….so you can guess his mindset….Im not better with some crazy shit he tried to pull at dc in the 2010’s…no sir ree…

Actually I think a lot of white Americans (especially poor ones) had a fetishized view of Europe. And they probably had they until WW1 where many had a one in a lifetime experience to meet Europeans Then the Europeans immediately pointed out that Americans are foreign to Europe as a Chinese person. Which definitely broke the illusion of Europe and lead to our modern American identity

Never thought about it that way, though there is a lot of genetic memory in Americans we have tried to keep where we came from with ourselves to a degree, or at least some of us do.

Go find the local Greek community or little Saigon, Chinatown, Little Italy, and so on.

(relevant tangent time)

Guy named Andrew Doro (looked it up) made a splash several years back by chronicling his journey to eat food from every country in the world without leaving NYC, got his blog, and IG, looks like he's still going most recent post is from 5 days ago.

Older interview here

Not something you can do in Billings Montana but it's a cool project.

But ya some of us have done our best to keep the "old world" alive in our new home, you also get the families that came over and assimilated themselves forcibly.

Or you get mutts like me who's family roots go back before the revolution in some parts and while I know what my DNA says I also know that I'm American and not Irish or German.

Probably a good deal of what you were talking about going on in the aftermath of WW1 and 2 for sure, GI's staged in England before D-Day which was close enough to the US to not throw them but I'm sure folks had some culture shocks seeing the "old world" first hand.

We also can't forget

I imagine some weebs have a similar experience.

As for the comic stuff I am not well enough versed in those to even say which is golden or silver age, I just recall that there was a deal with them holding on to the cure for cancer.

Mostly brought up when you'd get people talking about how great Wakanda was and their only experience was MCU, which is lots of people for lots of the characters in the MCU.

Had someone spouting off that Captain America wouldn't use guns, just his shield like steven universe, double dumb because he was shown using guns in The First Avenger.

But I'm sure I have a fair number of followers that will have the information on that and hopefully one or more of them adds it here or if they want to send it as a ask that works too.

Honestly my biggest issue with MCU BP was people thinking that either Wakanda was real or it's what Africa would have been like if not for colonialism.

Which both things are insane just for different reasons.

#zoomer huey anon

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benschwartzcinematicuniverse · 10 months

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Here’s the intro post that no one asked for! Hopefully I’ll figure out how to pin it to the top 😆 💕🎉🤝🎭👻🐸📝🌱🖤🎶

Edit: adding a break because this post is so long. I ramble fyi

Scroll to the bottom for one of my favorite Ben interview answers 💕

I am leading, yet again, with the fact that I am a child of the 80s friends, so please remember that. I won’t be posting any 18+ content, but it’s always good to know who you’re talking to online. My kids are on here and I want them any everyone to stay safe. That being said, always feel free to engage. Some days I’m chatty, somedays I’m a ghost

I’m a communications major, a writer, I work retail, and I volunteer. LGBTQ+ family. Pantheist. Leftist. My birthday is on Halloween. I have ridiculously shitty music taste. I love the rare times it rains here in AZ and would happily move somewhere where it rained all the time. I love space and good conversation and my kids more than anything. I live with bouts of depression and anxiety. I also picked up grief at a young age and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone

I have no creative links to share, but I do have a private portfolio, a music blog I abandoned, and an ao3 account that hasn’t been updated in yeeears

Fun stuff

This blog is 99% Ben Schwartz content. I love him. I respect the hell out of him. And he’s just so, so silly. I cherish the things that make me smile when it feels impossible. He’s also super cute?? The other 1% is the socialism that’s on the label. More on that later.

On Schwartz:

Favorite character: Anthony Scarapiducci (don’t ask me why, I still don’t know. So much of him is such a facade. Ben said Tony “wants to show that he's not just a piece of s*** and that what he's doing matters.” I’ll do a whole post on Tony someday ILHSM

Favorite movie: I am a huge Sonic fan (since the 90s!), so those movies are huge. Standing Up, Falling Down is way up there

What made me a fan: he’s always made me laugh, but sharing some videos with my kid had me falling down the IMDb rabbit hole. It’s hard to watch so much content in a row and not fall in love with the guy. I’m also a big fan of ridiculous stories with authentic characters. Give me a good work of fiction with the most believable people running around in it. Ben is so endearing that, no matter how over the top he is, I totally buy what he’s selling every single time. Plus I’m a big improv fan and that boy can sing, so whats not to love

I also randomly started tagging “any excuse for a Josh Bath gif” and have had a few people tell me they watched the Earliest Show because of that and I cannot explain how happy that made me

On Socialism:

Socialism is the framework of a government that takes care of its people. I could break off into facets of leftism and talk theory all day - but my stance is literally “take care of each other.” The phrase “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” (popularized by Karl Marx) means a lot to me, as does the Spanish idiom “hoy por ti, mañana por mi” (today you, tomorrow me). I volunteer with a kindness organization (feel free to ask me which one). I have been working together among local folks to build and strengthen mutual aid hubs in our communities. I also do water distro and deliver other Heat relief supplies to unsheltered folks

This space will not be used to preach (but I am an ordained minister if you’re needing one 😆), nor will or be used much to educate. The socialist side of this page is more about being actively present in the world I believe in

Tl;dr

I’m always up for meeting new comrades. Asks are open. Feel free to chat and also definitely tell me what your favorite favorite Schwartz moment is

And finally

I’ll leave you with this moment from Ben’s Mythical Kitchen Last Meal interview that I hope makes you smile

#intro post #who am i #i love ben #nice to meet you #pinned bios #are you happy?#ben schwartz last meal

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historyhermann · 2 years

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Quirky Mature Comedy "Inside Job" Lampoons Conspiracy Theories

Reagan and her team

On October 22, the first ten episodes of Inside Job aired on Netflix. The show is not only irreverent, witty, and quirky, but its well-developed characters, voice acting, animation, and plot make the show captivating enough to watch, from episode to episode. Its interlinking stories lead to a devastating "resolution" that will shake you to the core.

Reprinted from The Geekiary, my History Hermann WordPress blog, and Wayback Machine. This was the ninth article I wrote for The Geekiary. This post was originally published on October 23, 2021.

Inside Job, a mix of workplace comedy and paranoid fiction, is the first animated series by Shion Takeuchi, a former writer for Gravity Falls, writer for Disenchantment, and former storyboarder for Regular Show. The creator of Gravity Falls, Alex Hirsch, is an executive producer, as is Takeuchi. It is the first series created by her as part of a deal with Netflix to produce animated content. Hirsch said that he was inspired by the X-Files while he and Takeuchi were inspired by pages of the Weekly World News, an outlandish tabloid.

Inside Job has six main characters: tech genius Reagan Ridley (voiced by Lizzy Caplan), yes-man/fratboy Brett Hand (voiced by Clark Duke), biochemist Dr. Andre (voiced by Bobby Lee), humanoid dolphin/supersoldier Glenn Dolphman (voiced by John DiMaggio), PR officer Gigi Thompson (Tisha Campbell), and psychic mushroom organism Magic Myc (voiced by Brett Gelman). Supporting characters include current CEO J.R. Scheimpough (voiced by Andrew Daley) and Reagan's father Rand Ridley (voiced by Christian Slater). Reagan, J.R., Andrew, Glenn, Gigi, and Magic work at Cognito, Inc., with Reagan managing her co-workers and wanting to make the world "a better place," while dealing with her paranoid father, the former company CEO. Reagan herself is multiracial as her mother, Tomiko (voiced by Suzy Nakamura), is Japanese. In this world, every conspiracy theory is real, with Cognito as a shadow government entity that makes this all happen, working for those in the shadows.

The ten-episode first season of Inside Job introduces viewers to Cognito, Inc., where all manner of conspiracies are afoot. In the first episode, Reagan tries to replace the president with a robot after the previous one was "too dumb" to manipulate, while her goal to become the head of the team is squashed by her boss, J.R., who brings in a man named Brett Hand to co-lead the team. In the second episode, Brett and Reagan are confronted with the difficult task of figuring out who to fire as Cognito makes cutbacks, while her team tries to kiss up to her, thinking they will be fired, and having to fight off a powerful monster.

Later episodes feature a reptilian/lizard people gala, Reagan attempting to get a boyfriend, selling outdated and dangerous products to a town stuck in the 1980s, Reagan attempting to stop her dad from learning about her mom's wedding, ghosting a flirty secret agent, a free love commune on the Moon, a mole inside of Cognito, and trying to stop a robot by delving deep into her mind, while learning the truth about her father.

Weirdness and mature subject matters are at the center of Inside Job, with nothing held back. The show has characters cursing and blood being spilled, even in the first episode. Curse words fly right and left, mostly out of Reagan's mouth, and for good reason! Clearly, due to this, some people may not like the show or find it "too mature," or even sexual at times, in par with other mature animations that have been released recently, whether by Netflix or on other platforms.

While reviewers rightly described this series as mocking "our brain-fried reality," having a "lot of energy," being "emotionally wise and sincere," there is more to this show than that. It uses, in Takeuchi's words, comedy to "process difficult emotions, and... a way to explore these kinds of topics [conspiracy theories] and the ridiculousness of them." This is made clear from the fact that at first Reagan feels threatened by Brett. He comes to her for help, as he is under too much pressure. And both work together to control the rogue president and help each other. Although it reminds me a little of Mr. Robot, which focused on a group of hackers trying to bring down the "elites," Inside Job is the opposite of this, as the protagonists of this series are the same elites that those characters were attempting to take out by any means necessary.

youtube

One of my favorite parts of Inside Job is the weirdness and quirkiness, whether it's the human-hybrids, the lizard people, assassins (like one who shot JFK, who is voiced by Alex Hirsch), or something else entirely. The animation, music score, and background art are superb as well, with all sorts of easter eggs linking to other shows and topics, for those who wish to delve deeper. Like the highly-enjoyable Disenchantment, drinking, alcoholism, and drug use are some of the show's themes. On the other hand, it is more comedic than Disenchantment, although its comedy isn't constructed in the same way as it is in shows like Star Trek: Lower Decks.

One of the funnier episodes is when they show all the people said to be reptilian, like Al Gore, Taylor Swift, Mark Zuckerberg, Guillermo El Toro, Ellen DeGeneres, Judge Judy, Anderson Cooper and so on. I chuckled a little when they made fun of the Jason Bourne series and how ridiculous it is, or the joke about the Bechdel test. The show references series like Stranger Things (set in the 1980s), Ghostbusters, Star Wars, The Terminator, The Goonies, Harry Potter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and E.T., along with Blockbuster, Jeff Bezos, and the James Bond films, to name a few references.

Inside Job has a better spy episode than anything that Q-Force could come up with and reminds me a little of a Phineas and Ferb episode, "Live and Let Dive," where the evil doctor has a lair, although Inside Job ups the ante to something that is even more hilarious than either one of those shows.

Similar to other shows, broken families and having friends are also themes featured in Inside Job. This is noted in the show's third episode, when the audience learns that Reagan's parents are divorced, with her mother writing erotic stories. Reagan tries to make sure she has a group of friends among her co-workers, so they all support her, no matter the mission they have to undertake, although Brett is the most loyal and supportive of them all. This happens when her social anxiety comes to the fore in the show's third episode, when she is told to hug people at a reptoid gala, while she remains socially inept, learning it is because of a robot her father invented. It also happens when she has relationship problems and attempts to get someone with toxic masculinity, and has issues with codependency.

Some fans have even speculated that Reagan might be autistic. Having someone who is socially awkward and anxious is not unique to Inside Job, though. Cleopatra, the protagonist of Cleopatra in Space, has ADHD, Luz Noceda, the bisexual Afro-Latina protagonist of The Owl House, is neurodivergent, and Entrapta, the socially awkward (and morally grey) sciencey princess, in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is autistic. In addition, Peridot, a non-binary Gem woman in Steven Universe has been described by some fans as autistic, since Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar said that none of the Gems in the series can be considered neurotypical.

Apart from Hirsch and Takeuchi, the others working on Inside Job are a talented bunch. They include animator Mike Hollingsworth, one of the show's executive producers, who was the supervising director of BoJack Horseman, Pete Mitchels, an animator who directed the first two seasons of Rick and Morty and episodes of Family Guy, and Chantal Hennessey, who was a supervising director for 24 episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Additionally, the series art director, Jeffrey M. Thompson, was an art director for Rick and Morty, and an animator and artist on Gravity Falls. Two of the show's animators, Andrew Bomo, the technical director, and Justin Schultz, worked on shows such as Harley Quinn, Invincible, Big Mouth, Onyx Equinox, Milo Murphy's Law, and DuckTales, to name a few. The opening theme is performed by Bronze, featuring BBRC, and is titled "Pa$$ the Time (Part 2)" while Ryan Elder and Steve Reidell are composers of the show's electronic music.

Inside Job seems to have been accepted relatively positively, including on the show's subreddit, which currently has over 800 subscribers, and has an official account with over 6,000 followers on Twitter, coupled with a fake website for Cognito, Inc. for interested fans. I expect there will be fanfiction as well, but currently, there is a good amount of fan art of Reagan, noting the show's references to other popular media. It is nothing like the documentary of the same name which focuses on the causes of the 2007-2008 global economic crisis. All in all, I am hopeful and optimistic that this show will be popular, although some people will undoubtedly sneer at it for one reason or another, probably the same people who dislike shows like Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, and the like. Currently, it has high marks on sites like Rotten Tomatoes.

The inside of Cognito, Inc. shown in the first episode

The second half of Inside Job's first season will presumably be ten episodes long since 20 episodes of the series were ordered in April 2019 by Netflix. This show is unique in its own way and despite its strange nature at times, the characters, especially the protagonist Reagan, are relatable. It is unlike any other show I've ever seen. It doesn't fall into the usual animated sitcom model that mature animations sometimes tend to end up in, which began with the premiere of The Simpsons in 1989, and bolstered by shows like South Park, Family Guy, and American Dad!, to name a few that fit into the sitcom format.

Inside Job has the themes of togetherness and chosen family, with Reagan telling Brett that she and the rest of their team are his "business family forever" while she temporarily reconnects with her dad after feeling, rightly, that he is a poor father, before learning his terrible secret, all while he gaslights her repeatedly. Her relationship with her father is toxic and seeped in deep-seated trauma, which affects her daily life, personality, and everything else, while serving at the center of the show itself. The series shares some similarities, on a very limited basis, in terms of locations, to Futurama, as the characters traveled to the Moon in that particular series, and some visual jokes, but that's about it, as Inside Job goes to darker places and confronts issues that Futurama didn't.

The story, which Hirsch described as Takeuchi's "hilarious bizarre fever dream of a show that could only come from her unique vision of the world" will undoubtedly continue with support from Netflix. Hirsch also said that since Inside Job is for adults "keep all them Disney-babies far away."

Caplan described the show rightly, saying it serves as a public service, "reminding us of a time where they [conspiracy theories] were niche and maybe reserved for a guy who lives in a cabin in the woods alone and not half the population" and joked she could get behind the lizard people conspiracy, while saying that the theories the show tackles are vintage but fun at the same time. She additionally praised her character as not falling into existing tropes or archetypes while lamenting that "it’s depressing where the modern conspiracy theories are going." I think all of us can agree with that, as some theories are downright dangerous, leading to death, violence, or whatnot.

In the second part of season 1, it would be wonderful to have openly queer characters in the main cast of Inside Job. The current episodes have some queer vibes, like the orgy of reptilians or how all of the team (including two who are male) have crushes/like Brett Hand. Additionally, Andre identifies as "always sexual" with men and women around him as shown in the show's fourth episode, the same episode which shows a polyamorous couple in the background. There are also the vibes between the British secret agent, Rafe Masters, and the nemesis in one episode, vibes that are clearly homoerotic and are over the top, parodying the James Bond spy films. The astronauts are drawn in by space sex. Glenn has sex dreams about everyone on the team.

As for Reagan, based on the interpersonal conflicts she has been a part of in the first part of Season 1, it seems that in future episodes she will have to face her dad, who has become an obstacle to her progress and moving up the ranks of Cognito, instead of any LGBTQ+ focus on her part. Even so, the series could have an episode where she meets someone, just as Bean did in Disenchantment or Ash in Final Space, who she connects with on a deeper level without taking away from her main arc, although I find that to be unlikely.

In any case, I would highly recommend Inside Job for its hilarity, quirkiness, uniqueness, strong animation, character development, and wild plots.

#inside job netflix #mr. robot #netflix #conspiracy theories #x-files #gravity falls #disenchantment #alex hirsch #shion takeuchi #inside job #Youtube #subreddits

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handcalfieetherington · 1 year

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well this was bound to be brought up at some point.

Team fortress 2 released in 2007 by Valve was a trailblazer of the multi class shooter and possibly remains one of the longest lasting online games to ever exist with the game having an active community 16 years on from it’s initial launch in the orange box.

the story of the game is a surprisingly in depth one despite the games reputation of being the “ha ha funny” FPS with all of it’s over the top characters and quirky weapon concepts.

A rich Englishman known as Zephaniah Mann was convinced by his two Idiot sons Blutarch and Redmond to buy a large sum of land over in new medico, not only was the land comedically useless but the trip over somehow managed to get him every disease known to man-kind, on the will and testiment he had made using his own skin (yes I’m not joking there) he left his company Mann Co to his aide and ancestor to a character who will be very important later on Barnibus Hale, to his two sons still bitter as hell that there stupidity resulted in him buying a useless wasteland and knowing how much the two brothers hated each other left shared ownership of the wasteland they had convinced him to buy fully knowing they’d fight over it until the day they died, he was completely right.

As the years went one of the brothers hired mercenaries to take the land from the other only to later realise the other had done the exact same thing starting up the start of what would become known as “The gravel wars”

Zephaniah’s theory that his sons would fight over the worthless dustbowl till the day of there deaths was about to proven correct as the two were at this point very close to death, that was until the intervention of Radigan Conagher who was hired to make a machine to extend the lifespan of Blutarch to ensure he’d outlive his brother and fully inherit the land upon his brothers death, only problem was that Bradigan had been bribed to make a life extender for Redmond as well, through bribery of a character known as Elizabeth in trade for 100 pounds of a substance known as Australium, seemingly able to grant those who have extended exposure to it heightened intellect or even the ability to extend there lives, after all was said and done Blutarchs plan to outlive his brother had been foiled and resulted in yet another stalemate over once again, the useless pile of dirt they were fighting over.

the war of there’s ended up lasting so long that another group of mercernaries were brought in to continue fighting over the land, the group here are actually the characters from the first team fortress or Team fortress classic, a nice piece of history to acknowledge

and at last cut to the current events of gravel wars in which the group of 9 mercenaries we know and love from the game get hired to continue the fight over this completely useless wasteland, with weapons being sent in and provided by Barnibus’s grandson Saxton Hale with the war being coordinated by The administrator as well as here Assistant Mrs Pauling who work for both sides but keep this a secret from both the red and blu brothers as well as the mercs themselves, likely to prolong out the fight.

and that, was the basic summary of in universe pre game history and lore of team fortress 2 you’d think that’d be all to the story but nope there’s still a lot I missed out for the sake of this blog not turning into an autobiography, as well as that were breaking this up into multiple parts, with this going over basic history and other upcoming posts going over the designs of the Mercenaries and other characters as well as the idea of classes and characters with different roles on a team, and finally an extra part of the story that I left out for another time, this posts creation took scouring wiki pages and several comics so those will all be linked down here with how helpful they were to summarise this pre game history.

https://www.teamfortress.com/catchup/#f=17

https://www.teamfortress.com/loosecanon/

https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Non-player_characters#Zepheniah_Mann

(no date) Team Fortress - catch-up comic. Available at: https://www.teamfortress.com/catchup/#f=17 (Accessed: March 5, 2023).

(no date) Team Fortress 2 - Loose canon. Available at: https://www.teamfortress.com/loosecanon/ (Accessed: March 5, 2023).

Non-player characters (no date) Non-player characters - Official TF2 Wiki | Official Team Fortress Wiki. Available at: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Non-player_characters#Zepheniah_Mann (Accessed: March 5, 2023).

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disemboweled-fish-pastry · 2 years

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It's on my mind so I thought I'd let those peepers who follow my little blog here know I've been working on an analysis/theory post about what specifically happened when Yoosung lost his eye sight for the last few months.

I dunno who all enjoys those posts I make, but you guys aught to see the crazy ugly messy page I made so far trying to put my clues together. The few writing while thinking posts I've made.

This mystery has been so fun trying to get to the bottom of, but the further I get, the more loose ends I find. I aught to share all my sources once I finish or something.

I've read so many pages about different kinds of eye injuries, seen so many horrific documented eye injuries, watched quite a few educational videos about different eye surgeries, watched the proper way to wrap bandages over eye injuries that need them.... and as I researched, there are a few potentially dead ends I've found without satisfactory answers.

Ok, OK, I hope no one feels frustrated wanting to say "ITS A GAME CALM THE FUCK DOWN" lol, obviously I know that. But if I could find a legit condition to tie Yoosung's injury to, It'll make me feel so excited! Like, my imagination is begging for this too. I'm thinking in my head "What would aftercare look like? What would a doting partner do to help him every day? What struggles would he face? What would it look like?" Things like that.

I'll share a couple of my current biggest questions that seem so "duh" but I realized while studying.

1. What does a blind man need glasses for? Like prescription glasses, I mean.

- the game/Saeyoung says "he may go blind", but he seems pretty blinded by the after story. I even tried to look into if there was a potential for that "milkiness of the eye" to happen even without complete blindness, and as my finding seem to suggest, sure, but not in the way you'd need prescription glasses. It's more like... parts of vision could be blinded, while parts are not. Prescription glasses are for... refractory problems. Blurriness due to the inability to focus on details pertaining to distance. Ya feel me? There aren't really any prescription glasses for complete blindness. You can only really just perform surgery if it's even possible.

Also

2. If Yoosung had surgery to correct his vision, why is he still wearing glasses in the Valentine's after ending?

- Honestly, this is one of those "duh" things, but also... maybe not? There is one very key phrase said in the first after ending... ~'Oh, you like guys who wear glasses?'. This could imply that those famous red glasses that he always wears... not even real prescription glasses. Just for fashion, just to please his love. ... duh. 🤦‍♀️ Wow, I'm slow.

- However... maybe not?? It's actually not uncommon for eye surgery to result in other complications post-op, actually. I'd need to read up more on it, but there is a chance that maybe the surgery fixed the total blindness, but may have caused new refractory problems, causing him to keep needing glasses afterwards. Dunno yet. 🤷‍♀️ Not really enough evidence to suggest this either, so it's low on the list.

3. Yoosung is able to mask his eye injury by only closing his eye, no blood, no bruise visible at all, no swelling... so the kind of injury he may have incurred really must have been internal, and most of those are correctable immediately in surgery, in fact, most of those can actually heal on their own without surgical intevention. (Holy moly, the body is amazing!) There'd be no need to wait 5 years to have it done. It would have been fixed by the time he got to the party.

4. Speaking of, why did he wait 5 years to have surgery to correct his eye blindness?

-It is stated in the After Ending he was finally getting his eye surgery, but he already finished his post graduate doctorate degree. Apparently 4-5 years is the absolute minimum someone might be in school for that, well... I mean also accounting for the fact he was just a Sophomore in his pre graduate schooling by the main story timeline. I guessed there was a chance he was unable to completely fix the blindness with a surgical complication, like I said before but... I dunno, twice? If he didn't go into surgery to fix the potential for blindness, then for what? There was seemingly nothing to have removed. Ya feel me?

-- I'll say this much. I have a really hard time letting go of this one thing given to us by the game, and that's the empty field image on Yoosung's status early in his route. Seeing it kept making me feel unsettled and uncomfortable, I couldn't put my finger on why... but then I realized, it reminded me too much of that farm house 🏠 image used in the glaucoma tests. Yes.. those who actually visit the optometrist yearly know what I mean... it's uncomfortable to see it because that's the eye puff test. The one where you have to sit there and anxiously wait for a puff of air to sting your eyeball. That's the glaucoma test. At first sniff, most would think that must not be related because glaucoma is most usually an age related condition and most of the time just develops on it's own... however, as I read into it, it actually is possible to develop glaucoma due to trauma.. more likely blunt force trauma however. Meaning Saeran wouldn't have dug his finger into Yoosung's eye socket, though that is still a potential, it would have more likely meant he hit him in the head with a blunt object instead. You see, glaucoma causes blindness due to pressure being put on to the eye from behind due to fluid or blood, causing swelling in the eye. The swelling... ugh I'm no good at explaining this part on memory because of terminology and details, so I'll have to go back and quote it, but essentially a milky fluid will start to leak into the lens of the eye, causing the blindness. If caught early enough, it can be alleviated with minimal damage, but with glaucoma, any damage done cannot be reversed. In that case, it could be the reason Yoosung would still need glasses, but then I can only presume then Yoosung was mistaken somehow on what the results of the operation would be. Which I guess is possible, but Veterenarians are a lot like general care physicians, but also trained surgically. Just, it's animals and not people. A lot of people don't realize Veteranary school is among the most difficult schools to get into in the first place because the scope is so large. I'm not sure Yoosung would make such a misunderstanding, but you never know.

Damn... the irony is, the whole reason Yoosung went to school for Veteranary care is the same thing he ended up needing surgery for... Y'know.. due to the fact part of why Sally died was because she was blind. Perhaps it was glaucoma, who knows? But eyes are a huge theme in Mystic Messenger, and I've also been drawing comparisons between the characters' relationship to eyes while playing. (Quick preview of my current working hypothesis; Rika is to V as Saeran is to Yoosung, but I'm still working on that too. I'm still trying to get a screen from what I so felt I saw in Ray's after ending, I think. My memory keeps telling me Zen once said in a joking manner like "haha, no one's going to go start a purple eye now, right?" But until I find that screen, it could have been a faulty memory for all I know... Hmm.. isn't Teo's eyes purple? lol) There is just so much I can try to dig into with this game and that's part of why I love it so much.

"Mystic" isn't just the name, it's so much more than what's been on the surface, I feel like.

I just get sooo excited, heehee ~

Anyway, that's just a snapshot of what's been on my mind... it's probably all wrong, but I don't care, I'm having fun~

There's so much more, but I dunno if I should post unfinished work...

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dourpeep · 3 years

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IT WAS 2AM WHEN I SENT THAT SO I HELD BACK MY SIMPING FOR COLLEGE ALBEDO A LITTLE. tried not to send all my brainrot so I didn't just send a wall of text into your inbox LOL. Some others I thought of were:

- Mona giving astrology forecasts and compatibility readings in this au and Albedo may have asked her about the two of you

- Going to botanical gardens or museums with Albedo but for some reason it feels like a date even when it didn't intent to be. You tug on his sleeve now and then when you see something he might be interested in or even when it's something that excites you, and Albedo can't help but have a soft look in his eyes that he can share this moment with you! Somehow it results in the two of you holding hands - just so neither of you stray from each other of course - and eventually, intertwined fingers. You hear someone say that the two of you seem like a cute couple and you know Albedo heard it too, but neither of you say anything. You feel his hand squeeze yours a little tighter and respond in kind. The two of you are too embarrassed to look at each other but can't help the smiles on your faces.

- Lending Albedo some of your favourite books for pleasure reading and you've left tiny tabs on lines that you like. Perhaps this is before Albedo realizes his feelings so when he reads particularly romantic lines, he wonders if this is how he feels about you. Or did you mark these pages because you feel this way about someone? His stomach is in knots to the thought that you may be intrested in someone that isn't him and he settles for it just being prose.

WHAT YOU WROTE WAS SO CUTE AAA. THANK YOU FOR SIMPING FOR COLLEGE BEDO WITH ME!!

Tugging his hand and not letting go omg . . . you tend to just intertwine pinkies or play with his fingers absent-mindedly that Albedo becomes so accustomed to it so he starts to offer you his hands without a second thought.

WAIT. I gasped at Albedo being a cuddler. He's a little delirious when he first wakes up but you're so comfy that he hugs you a little tighter, asking if you've slept well. You try to reply while worrying about whether or not he can feel your heart thrumming in your chest.

What if Klee is staying with Albedo one night and the three of you fall asleep cuddled up together. Alice comes back early in the morning before any of you are awake and takes a picture. She sends it to Albedo later and he sets it as his phone's wallpaper.

Albedo staring at your lips winded me, thank you.

YES TO THE SWEATERS. I bet Albedo would have the softest and coziest sweaters too! Imagine it being a little cold out and you see Albedo across campus so you bound over to him and give him a hug. You nuzzle into him and mumble out a little 'hello' and say he's warm. You feel his laugh rumble through his chest while he greets you back, wrapping his arms around you

And I LOVE ALL YOUR HEADCANONS! I believe I found your blog around the time you posted Albedo's snort headcanon and it was too much for my heart!! I held tight to that headcanon and never let go lol. I also thought the science + college headcanons you had of him were really nice despite not being necessarily romantic!

Side note: I looked up that lobster fact and that's so cool!!

The Lobster Fact(tm) is my go-to ice breaker and it always fails. I'd imagine it's normally the same w/ Bedo OTL so sad...not many wish to know about potential lobster immortality.

I'm glad that you love the headcanons though!! I enjoy writing for Albedo so so much as you can tell ehe

That being said--if it makes you more comfy to send stuff in a few bursts of asks, I don't mind :DD I'll answer them as usual nodnod

OKIE DOKIE

"...Mona, yes?"

"Ah, I was expecting you to come around sooner or later, Kreideprinz."

Really, Albedo didn't mean to stumble upon the Astronomy major, but for some reason the thought of you has been on his mind and the campus' observatory just so happened to be on the way. With the meager hope that...maybe he'd find some sort of answer (in what, he wasn't really sure himself), there she was.

Luckily, she knew just what he was there for.

The moment that she twirls her hand with a wave, telling him that there isn't anything to worry about, the apprehension creeping within his chest at the thought of seeing you next-

disappeared.

It's not often that he turns to less orthodox methods, but he wouldn't lie. Knowing that--at least in Mona's opinion (which tended to be correct, anyway)--the two of you were undoubtly compatible? Something about how your constellations were intertwined...

In fact, Albedo turns a little theory around in his mind. Though based in old folktales, the idea that you gravitate towards those who are made of the very same stardust as yourself, suddenly made sense.

Or, perhaps he was just being hopeful.

Little does he know that you most definitely asked Mona about the same thing earlier that day.

AHHHHH BUT OF COURSE-

Any of those kinds of places--Botanical Gardens, Art Museums, Aquariums, Zoos, Museums in general--Any place where you're able to utterly lose yourself in your surroundings and look around in awe, really, are your go-to date outing destination!

Usually, it's just the two of you, maybe with Sucrose or Timaeus if it's for a particular class, as well as the occasional Klee in tow whenever Alice is busy with work.

But in this case, fingers interlocked, it's just the two of you on a impromptu trip to the art museum downtown after seeing a promotional banner about a new exhibit. Once inside, you rush along, Albedo trailing close behind with a light squeeze of your hand. The large area used for temporary exhibits isn't far from the entrance, so it's not long until you skid to a stop.

All along the walls are incredibly detailed oil paintings, the thin layered strokes glistening in the light. Albedo takes a moment to whisper to you about how oil paint works.

Due to the thinness of the paint and it's transparency, light passes through every carefully placed stroke, allowing for a unique sort of depth that isn't achievable with other painting media. You smile, the artificial light of the art exhibit making your features glow and Albedo can't help but wonder if you are like those paintings.

So complex, so carefully created in an image perfected with time. Your eyes search his and you say his name and Albedo clears his throat when he realizes he's been staring.

"Do you like this one?"

Ah, you must've assumed he took a liking to this particular painting.

His eyes shift back to it, taking in the sight of the balance of color, the composition, then back to you. He only stares a second longer before nodding.

Whether or not you realize the view he likes is you is something that he dwells on as you both make your way to the next painting.

If you had a penny for every time that someone comments on the way you compliment each other, you'd probably be able to pay off your tuition for next semester.

Okay, perhaps not, but the idea still stands.

You're only just at the end of the art exhibit when the security guard wishes the two of you a lovely date. Something about how young love is something to be treasured, something about how the two of you already seem so natural and comfortable in each other's presence.

Before you can mumble out an explanation, Albedo just squeezes your hand, gentle as always, and smiles.

It's a compliment, right? For someone to see how close you are, even if you really are just friends, is a good thing.

Ignoring the warmth that spreads over your cheeks, you smile and turn your head away shyly. Squeezing his hand back, the thought of what it'd be like if you were together crosses your mind.

Just as you lend books to him, he lends books to you. Surprisingly, this time it just so happens to be a poetry book--something that you expressed interest in a week ago but ended up not getting.

Within, he's left colorful notes with his neat, slanted writing.

Short discussions (presumably questions to himself) of what the poet must've been thinking, different possible scenarios, are peppered throughout the book. But one just so happens to catch your eye. Rather than a question, it's a statement. Simple, short, and...sweet.

'You carry the aura of the stars.'

The little yellow sticky note pasted beneath a love poem to the night sky stands out. Suppressing a flutter in your chest, you continue reading through the poem book with a few giggles at Albedo's musings until you find a note with most of the words crossed out.

It's entirely unlike him, the way that the dark ink scribbled over the words, making them illegible.

But at the bottom was a continued attempt--one you presume he was satisfied with by the way it lay pristine on the colorful paper.

'You look. I fail to speak.

Your mind, so brilliant as it is I wish to see behind To further appreciate the one I love.

I can only hope one day you shall let me in, So for now I wait patiently by your side.'

Who could he have written this for? You can't help but stare at the poetic attempt, knowing full well that Albedo seldom does something without meaning.

The book closes and you tuck it back on the shelf to ask about later.

AAAAA YESYESYESYES I LOVE THAT CUDDLE PILE W/ ALBEDO AND KLEE

Even though Albedo's a grade A student and certified genius (he's adamant in his denial, shaking his head and mumbling about how he just studies hard), he's not entirely a stickler for rules.

Well, that is, Aunt Alice's suggestion that Klee goes to bed by 9.

Instead, the three of you settle in the common room of Albedo's place in a bundle of pillows and blankets at the demands of a pillow fort.

The tv blinks on accompanied by the near silent click of the remote.

"What should we watch?"

Klee always ends up picking the movie. This time, she wants Alice in Wonderland, commenting on how the bunny is like her best friend Dodoco and the blonde girl on screen is named after mommy. Albedo doesn't bother correcting her, even though he knows quite well that dear, sweet Dodoco is a chinchilla.

Between sips of juice and a few mouthfuls of popcorn, the three of you fall asleep, Klee curled up besides you and Albedo's arm draped over you both.

Even when the sun is up in the sky, you sleep peacefully.

So, naturally, Aunt Alice has a spare key just in case something like this happens.

Immediately she's met with the sweetest view--her two kids (she's practically adopted Albedo as her own at this point) and--

Hiding a cheeky smile behind her hand, Alice can't help but sneak a little closer when she spies the way that you and Albedo somehow gravitated closer, his face buried in your hair and yours resting against his collar. Wedged between you with tousled hair, Klee snoozes peacefully.

She snaps a picture, followed by another, and another, and a fourth for good measures before meandering into the kitchen to prep something for breakfast.

Might as well let her three favorite people enjoy the comfort of sleep for a little longer...

You wake up the moment that Klee wiggles her way out of the blankets, nuzzling against the warmth radiating under your cheek.

Nice and cozy. Smells nice...wait.

Eyes fluttering open, you're met with a familiar birthmark and the nearly gone scent of Albedo's cologne.

You nearly pull away until the arm, now wrapped around your waist, pulls you closer accompanied by a satisfied sigh. Ah. You shut your eyes tight when you realize that Albedo's going to be asleep for at least another thirty minutes, resigning to your fate gladly.

Of course, Alice takes the opportunity to snap a few more pictures when you've finally fallen back asleep.

YES ALSO ALSO

Speaking of Albedo and sweaters and warm and also the just mentioned cologne. A little fun tidbit--not only are you familiar with the scent of his cologne because he wears it often, but it (in this au) is actually one that you picked out some time back. You probably were at the store together smelling some of the perfumes when you came across one that you were pleasantly surprised by.

Specifically, something that's lightly floral, a little warm but sweet with a hint of earthiness.

The pros? It fits Albedo perfectly! It also kinda sticks well and his place faintly smells of it.

The cons?? Well...you're embarrassed to say that hugging Albedo tends to drag on a little longer than anticipated because it's just such a comforting scent-

Not because you associate it with Albedo or anything-

Ehe

Man I really went to town again, didn't I?? Well, I'm glad that you enjoy my headcanons :DDD Albedo just seems like such a sweet person??? Like endearing in a way that just is...him. If that makes sense.

Brain go brrrrrr

I'll admit that my favorite headcanons for Bedo are mundane and domestic ones though! Like these! Just the little moments where there's nothing really going on except for him and you and ahhhh yesyesyes

Okay that's all-

#anon asks #albedo #albedo headcanons #genshin impact albedo #albedo x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact fics #genshin impact drabbles #modern au #college au #modern au albedo

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srbachchan · 3 years

Text

DAY 4815

Jalsa, Mumbai May 4/5, 2021 Tue/Wed 2:34 AM

... the lamentations for the loss of the text that was written and then disappeared last night , has been lost too .. they were in reference to years and thoughts of the years gone by .. of times and some remembrances in , as one of my readers of the Blog put it, in kgb mode .. secretive , non understandable , like most secret services of all nations .. 🤣

If they come back to me in that refrain I shall reconsider .. else they go down with me .. some matters and minds should .. their relevance shall be naught .. for they hold hands with them that either have left , or were never interested in the first place .. they could have had value for the self .. but that would be a most selfish exercise .. un exercice égoïste .. eine egoistische Übung .. تمرين أناني tamriyn 'anani .. эгоистичное упражнение ..

... but the mind is a relentless tortoise winding its limitations of speed and destination in its sincerity .. unlike the hare .. determined to nose the tape .. and for some peculiar reason the refer to the previous strikes in the silence of the early morn now .. as the slightest of vibrations on the shutters behind , alert you to the cctv .. they be blank, but not the desire .. ehh hrhh .. not desire .. such a vacant word .. supposed to say it all but never does .. maybe it does for others , maybe not .. but there ..

.. so in the last we were at -

“Leave it , leave it mrB .. you behave like those fact formative early years of self independence when the evening parties were spent in ‘bring your bottle, bring your girl’ and sit aside and debate .. the ‘adda’ of the times which exists in its maturity to date .. and those that resented the thought minds of mere talk for the sake of talk would sneer and snigger , as they danced to the …

GONE .. again .. an entire page of writing as I posted a picture ..

Shall not remember to write again .. it is so damaging .. to destroy and steal my process and think .. TUMBLr .. 😡”

yes .. those that resented the thought minds of mere talk for the sake of talk would sneer and snigger, as they danced to the .. 👆🏾 .. 👇🏿

strains of the popular at the time Pat the Boone, Cliffy baby , and often the holding the traditional waist and hands in ballroom fashion would be freed by the ‘rock of the jailhouse ‘ in the ‘lis Presl shakin all over his blue suede shoes .. Bobby the Darin the sweetheart of the school and the Humperdinck .. maturing on with great swoons and screams to the mop headed at HDN .. the ‘night so hard’ .. and the yaay ya of loves me yayaya .. till the sudden surprise of the wood in Norway .. the Norwegian .. the indian instrument , the haridwaar, the meditational spell of bearded gurus who swore to walk on water and sank at Juhu beaches .. to submarines painted ‘yellow’ .. and the livings of the evenings in the raj infested cultural left overs still predominant to make the burra sahib and the burra din existence in the prominence of the blue decorated Park by the street of a million jams on one .. sundays at trincasjam, pam crain and the Louis Banks of the Fox that was Blue .. mocambo not the ‘gambo’, ??? moulin rouge .. and the solo drum hours of the drummer .. as you ended up in the high end hoteliere Grand and drove back intoxicated with the first era feel of INDEPENDent SELF .. drove walked taxied or trammed to the million residences changed due paucity and capacity of the earning - the clac of the tons with 8 the high gates of the friendly family at Tolly , the chowrings shared with the other in adjoining , and closer to the new rd the Pore of the A .. the NEW of the pore ending up the pgied highest towered , peering at the late night highlights of the neighbourhood .. in gasping views , through parted curtains ..

Left .. left it ..

So .. thoughts and time devoted to the wants and needs for the others .. in distress and in saviour mode for help .. something collected , some on the way , some delivered , some in operation .. BUT ..

.. lots to be done ..

.. this we give in the times of trouble .. the 3rd .. the 3rd wave be in preparedness already and there is the planning in the city at least of the eventuality in the coming few months ..

.. each nano second come the suggestions and research and opinions and statistics of the fraternity , and nothing remains authentic for more than a nano second for the reverse or the opposite come about immediately ridiculing the first .. belief and follow is shattered .. is the T and FB and insta follow the true follow , or manufactured .. every theory has a theory to a theory of another ..

.. never has there been uninterested doubt of one from the other .. believe one and the disbelieve comes hammering through .. say one and unsay the other in immediacy ..

SO .. hehe .. (I use the SO with so much dignity and respect) .. ok away .. simplify the narration mrB ..

RIGHT .. that sound alright ?

RIGHT .. in these conditions then I share thought with the Ef each day .. DAY .. speak to them as one .. as one that sits before me in isolation .. I see them before me .. at my writing location .. up late , up from days work , up after leaving household or office and read .. my rubbish that I pour out ..

BUT .. if I were to ask of a job duty .. a service to be rendered .. naaah .. service and job are wrong .. if I shared and asked for it to be shared further .. would you .. ?

Haha .. I see many hands raised .. screaming all at once “of course .. how can you ever think we would not .. I mean how can you even ask such a question ..”

etc., etc., etc ...

So I shall ask you .. to .. to ..

Forget it ..

Good night ..

surprisingly I felt sleepy by 8 pm and went to sleep in my tracks .. got up by 11 .. and now after the repeats of the postponed IPL , am just not wanting to get back to bed ..

.. there shall be consternation and scoldings and high voices .. and expressed, exasperated dismay .. which I shall of course bear with shielded smile .. but they be right as do you in the many here ..

.. you know the distraction is not the rarity of slumber .. its slumber itself .. it has different manifestations now .. a dimension that cannot be explained ..

earlier it was hit the pillow and the dreams or the sleep went on the ON mode immediately ..

NOW .. there is a process, which if not followed pesters the life out of you .. what to think of when the pillow be hit so as to induce the sleep .. that ladies and gentlemen of the jury takes about the time you normally need for the completion of the hours for rest .. so in the end you actually never sleep sleep as such .. you comprehend .. ?

no .. you did not .. OK ..

Fine ..

GN .. thats good night .. said in all sincerity .. but may it be known that for some its too late to express it and for some that wait it shall be a limited night .. and for me the goodness just leaped out of the window ..

O heavens the morning bird chirps now begin .. its 3:41 a of the M .. soon it shall be 4 .. then 5 .. thats like morning ..

so ..

Good Morning ALL ..

Amitabh Bachchan

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curioskitty · 3 years

Text

THE・Rarest Bakugou

Given Bakugou-kun's description as a "juvenile delinquent" (Horikoshi sensei uses the term 不良少年, or furyou shounen, meaning juvenile delinquent boy), it's expected that he wouldn't conform to standard. So obviously, it's not possible to find Bakugou-kun wearing a tie properly................

What is up with this perfectly tied nonsense right here?!

Bakugou-kun, I thought I knew you!!! THE LIES! THE BETRAYAL!!!

But, it's probably just a fluke. You didn't mean it, right Horikoshi-sensei?

WTF?! WHY?!!! Horikoshi-sensei?!

Yep. Contrary to expectations, Bakugou-kun wearing a tie correctly only ranks at Ultra Rare status: difficult to find, but not impossible.

So, what's rarer than a tie-wearing Bakugou-kun? Go Beyond, Plus Ultra Rare Bakugou!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In fact, it's even harder to find Bakugou-kun wearing a tie improperly. Given proto-Bakugou's loose tie design, I would have expected that to be the likelier delinquent-esque tie option. But I've only seen Horikoshi-sensei draw him like this once:

(Horikoshi-sensei's one year celebration illustration. This is still fairly early in the publication.)

On top of that, Bakugou-kun consistently wears his uniform tie-less and with at least one button undone on his shirt collar. His pants are always slung low on his hips and legs bunching up at his feet (except when he had to wear jeans for Best Jeanist). You can even see panels where Horikoshi-sensei drew in the rips at the hems near the heel where they drag on the ground.

So why the inconsistency, Horikoshi-sensei? I see you over there, stop pretending you didn't notice. I know you're paying attention.

Horikoshi-sensei gave proto-Bakugou a loosened tie, so what is the reasoning for taking Bakugou-kun's tie away?

Some No-Tie Theories

Fan Theory #1: HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW

//Like Midoriya-kun, Bakugou-kun came from a middle school with gakuran uniforms. They never learned how to tie them. Midoriya-kun messes up his tie, while Bakugou-kun doesn't even bother to try.//

I actually think this is the least likely reason. Bakugou-kun was designed to be a naturally talented genius. I think this applies to anything he wants to do. If he does something, it's always perfectly done.

Bakugou-kun can (and does if you look above) tie it perfectly when necessary.

CONCLUSION: If Bakugou-kun doesn't do something, it's completely out of personal preference or because he doesn't see a reason to.

Fan Theory #2: REBELLIOUS NATURE

//Bakugou-kun is a delinquent and maintains that image because he thinks it looks cool. Or maybe he is rebelling against fashion designer parents. Either way, because of his family background he knows how to tie a tie, but wants to be a rebel.//

I'd give partial points for this one. I'm pretty sure he wears his pants loose at least partially because he thinks it looks cool. However, Bakugou-kun's parents were noted to be designers and not specifically fashion designers.

Despite appearances, this is the kid that sleeps at 8:30pm, doesn't break school rules, and yells at his friends for smoking.

He zips up the collar on his gym track suit all the way. Both the summer and winter versions get the same treatment. He doesn't feel the need to "make a statement" by wearing his track uniform incorrectly. Outside of class, he can and does sometimes wear his track jacket unzipped, but during class he always wears it properly.

So then why does Bakugou-kun refuse to wear the band T-shirt and Christmas party Santa outfit? Because he isn't cooperative. In Ultra Analysis, his Cooperativeness Stat was the lowest rank: E.

CONCLUSION: Bakugou-kun may be non-conformist and uncooperative, but he isn't a rebel.

Fan Theory #3: TRAUMA/PTSD

//This is one of the more popular theories. Between Dabi grabbing his neck, the Sludge Villain and being restrained at the School Festival, our boy has been through the wringer. As a result, he just doesn't like stuff around his neck because it gives him anxiety.//

The Western Fandom is definitely concerned about the mental health of the kids. But I don't actually think this is the reason. Not that I don't think they all need some therapy and self care, especially right now, but there just isn't evidence for this specific trauma in Bakugou-kun.

He wears scarves and even turtle necks without a problem.

On top of that, Bakugou-kun ALSO unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and gakuran in middle school; even from before the Sludge Villain incident. There isn't any evidence Bakugou-kun changed his dressing habits due to trauma. He wore a scarf to the entrance exam for UA, too.

CONCLUSION: Bakugou-kun has ALWAYS worn his shirts with the top button unbuttoned.

These 3 theories are inadequate, too. Even if they did explain the reasons Bakugou-kun doesn't wear a uniform tie, they don't factor in the reasoning for why he DOES wear his other ties properly sometimes.

HC#1: Bakugou-kun's preference

Bakugou-kun doesn't seem to care about his image and how "extras" see him. Even during the press interviews after his hero debut, he wore the same style of open collar look. He's not shy about being nude or taking his shirt off.

But what he hates is being uncomfortable.

He is "explosively brawny". Just look at how thick Bakugou-kun's neck is when compared to Midoriya-kun's. It isn't just that Midoriya-kun is supposed to be scrawny, but also that Bakugou-kun has a thicker than average neck.

Bakugou-kun doesn't like to button up his shirts all the way because it's uncomfortable. It's reasonable that he zips his track suit and everything else up because those are looser at the neck or made of stretchier materials.

As for why he doesn't wear the uniform tie at all... Don't forget Bakugou-kun is a perfectionist and a bit of a neat freak.

He always tucks his shirt in. For the band performance he wore a collared black dress shirt. From what we saw of his room, it's minimalist and clean. I don't see him wanting to look like a slob.

A sloppy loose tie would probably irritate him more than just not wearing it (which is even funnier when you think about Midoriya-kun's chonk tie. It probably makes him want to strangle Midoriya-kun, or maybe just tie it himself...)

Bakugou-kun has difficulties compromising when it comes to his high standards. So if he has to wear it, it's going to be either 0% or 100%.

HC#2: Explosiveness

Why draw Bakugou-kun with either 0% tie or 100% tie? If Horikoshi-sensei is going for a delinquent image, wouldn't the 50% tie option make more sense?

Taking a look again at Bakugou-kun's profile page, Horikoshi-sensei describes him to be explosive in every way. That includes his whole body being "explosively brawny", but also adds a note that he looks slender in clothes.

Horikoshi-sensei put an effort to make every element of Bakugou-kun's character in some state of either fully compressed or explosive.

His slimming clothes, general appearance and even his speech patterns are highly compressed (blunt/terse) and loud. The extremes of his attitude are compressed too; if Bakugou-kun is not loudly raging, then he's quietly observing.

This contrast is key to his character. You can't explode if you aren't compressed first. It's supposed to be shocking to see how brawny he actually is under his slenderizing clothes. And I always feel shocked whenever I see this kid compressed into a tie.

HC#3: Deku & Kacchan

These two are set apart from the class by design and very much on purpose. Horikoshi-sensei designed them to be at opposite ends of the same spectrum.

If Bakugou-kun has muscular arms, then Midoriya-kun needs muscular legs. If Midoriya-kun buttons up his shirt all the way to the collar, then Bakugou-kun's collar has to be loose. Their designs reflect their connection.

So if Midoriya-kun has a poorly tied tie, the opposite of that is either non-existant or perfectly tied. If it's perfectly tied, he'd just blend in with the class.

The no-tie option just makes more sense.

Plus Ultra Rare Bakugou

Horikoshi-sensei only ever draws Bakugou-kun with a tie in specific scenarios. Costume events that require the neck tie as part of the costume or "fancy" events where everyone is in formal wear. And even in those, Bakugou-kun manages to not wear his tie 90% of the time.

So, I just imagine that when Horikoshi-sensei makes Bakugou-kun wear his tie, he's super grumpy! Just look at his face in every illustration he's wearing a tie in. He's probably hot, uncomfortable, and really not enjoying himself at all.

Ultimately, the "Plus Ultra Rare Bakugou" is a Bakugou-kun who wears the tie and SMILES while doing it.

(Yes, I know that's NOT actually a tie. Shut up Bakugou-kun. You're only smirking in this one because you won the Popularity Poll for the 5th time in a row...)

(Well that's random, you say? Welcome to my blog. Considering the stuff going down on canon, I figured I should give fans, and myself, a break from angst to talk about something silly.

Please note that this applies only to the manga. I've found that the anime isn't quite so strict about how Bakugou-kun looks.

Regarding the headcanons, I just want to clarify that everyone is free to think whatever they like. I enjoy all headcanons and support your right to have them.

I wrote this a while ago and then debated posting it because it's such a huge meta about... Bakugou-kun's tie. I had regrets. But now it's become my new years post. Regrets were for 2020, it's already 2021!

Demons out, fortune in!!! I know it's not setsubun for another month, but 2020 was such a demon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!)

#why did i write this #does this even qualify as meta #bnha headcanons #bakugou katsuki #bnha randomness #bnha spoilers #bkdk #bakudeku #decchan #if you squint #bnha meta #boku no hero manga #Bakugou Katsuki's tie

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twopoppies · 2 years

Note

Hey Gina, hope you're having a good day! 😊

what's your opinion on this? As far as I know the wayback machine can't be faked? What do you think?

Hi sweetheart. What has been debunked, as far as I recall, is that it was Harry's Tumblr, not that those posts exist. It's been shown that the photos had most likely been backdated on Tumblr (which used to be allowed), so Wayback picked up the page as being from 2010, but it's not, actually. Most likely it's an old post from a fan trying to create "proof".

Look, people keep bringing this up over and over and if it was real, larries would be all over it. I have no reason to want it to be fake. But I do think it's important not to just accept every tidbit because it fits your narrative. And it's just gross that people create "evidence" to prove their theories. All that does is make the real stuff less credible. I really don't understand the insistence from new fans on dredging up all this old stuff even though it's been said over and over that it's not real.

Here's a post from @daisiesonafield-blog with details about it all.

#harry's tumblr #debunked #debunked or not?

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lucky-sevens · 4 years

Text

mechs deep lore compilation post

so! maybe you’ve read the other compilation post i made of basic lore/how to get into the mechs! maybe you want to know more! or maybe you’re a fan already and want to see how deep down this rabbit hole you can get!

well, good news for you: i have gone down the rabbit hole and hit bedrock only to find maki yamazaki standing by my side with a pickaxe! it is time for mechs lore part 2: electric boogaloo also known as ‘wow blue have you considered sleep’

rest under the cut!

i’ve tried to organize this, but given how many random facts there are, it’s hard! decided to start off with lore for each character (in order of them joining the mechs in-universe), including all the carmilla lore at the end; then move into general world lore/a bit of album lore, and finally more obscure/unknown facts, such as explaining the whole scuzz thing! also, citing the sources has been difficult, as a lot of things are from, say, old twitter posts and the like. there might be less links here than you all would like, but bear with me- compiling all this lore is quite difficult!

disclaimer: unlike stuff like the wiki, this includes a lot of my own theories and red stringing, and while i’m noting if something’s fanon or canon, the fanon may occasionally make its way into my theories!

links to the songs will be mostly TheVoidSings’ youtube lyric videos, as i don’t want to find the links to all the different platforms they’re on and the videos are lovely and accessible!

also- i’ve done some significant editing on the mechanisms wiki, as have other talented people- go check it out! it’s a good source of lore!

now on w/ the actual post!

crew

jonny d’ville

his lore is fairly concrete, but since he’s an unreliable narrator, we don’t know what bits can be trusted! his backstory song is one eyed jacks, which gives a pretty clear picture of events, but here in his crew bio he says that he made up new texas, and doesn’t have a very good memory of events in general. (it’s implied that he didn’t lie about killing his father, but we don’t even know that for sure.) a note: unlike the others, we don’t know what happened to his heart in order for him to be mechanized.

the aurora

the aurora’s lore is a mess. here’s what we know for sure, which is an edited version of what i have on her wiki page, (where i have also given a list of her known physical attributes);

she started off as a moon, but was weaponized and turned into a ship. she initially was a navy ship, but mutinied and joined the rebellion, participating in the october revolution, in which nastya died and was mechanized. this may have been her choice, but it is more likely that carmilla and/or jonny forced her into it, as they are the ones who won her from the cyberian navy.

when they stormed the ship, a woman was trapped inside- specialist 278 tereshkova, presumably aurora's programmer. What her and aurora's relationship was like is unknown, but aurora did not make any attempt to save her, so it may have not been positive. before dying, tereshkova managed to program a final distress message into aurora, as well as coding the mechanisms' blog.

she’s likely to be based off of the historical battleship aurora, like nastya is based off of the historical russian princess anastasia.

now, it’s time to get into the main theory about her: that aurora used to be briar rose! i’m collecting all the evidence on it, as well as all the evidence that can disprove it.

here’s a refresher on briar rose’s whole deal, taken from ‘the aurora strikes’-

The Rose Reds were the most effective of the soldiers created from Rose's genetic material, but they were not the first. Rumours spoke of an early prototype, known as the Briar Rose, that had malfunctioned and slain everyone on the desert moon of Briar, where she was being grown. But she was not dead. As the Mechanisms discovered, instead, she slept, at the heart of the defence grid that surrounded New Constantinople. The grid was composed of Thorn-class gun emplacements and was virtually impenetrable. And in its centre, the Briar Rose slumbered, plugged into the system, her anger, her rage, her hatred and her fear, fueling the machines, and focusing their gun turrets.

the main support for the theory here is that over time, briar rose could have fused to the moon, which is one of the very few conditions in which a biomechanical weaponized moon seems plausible and not just like a collection of vaguely cursed words. however, in the fiction ‘by any other name’, which is some collected lab research on briar rose, there’s this line- “During transportation and integration of the specimen, take all precaution and care.”- key word here being transportation. so she must have been moved off the moon.

the fiction i cited to disprove the theory actually has something that further supports it, though- the presence of a mysterious woman in king cole’s lab, who could be carmilla. hood, the revolution’s hacker, notes on a picture of her ‘[No idea. The others I’ve been able to find evidence of, but she’s a fucking ghost]‘. the description is a bit off, though, as she’s described as a short, pale, woman with hair long enough to be pulled back and carmilla is quite tall and has short hair- as well, in a later part of the fiction, the woman is killed and does not revive. however, there’s also another who could plausibly be her, noted here- ‘A tall woman sits opposite Prof. Root with a tray of her own. From her stature, it is conceivable she was one of the figures in the chemical suits. They talk sporadically, but the audio is heavily corrupted.’ she isn’t one of the ones killed later on, either, so that’s possible.

we know carmilla knew aurora when she was a very young moon and raised her practically from birth, so if she is one of those two people, it would make sense.

in ‘the aurora strikes’, aurora pushes to save briar rose- nastya explains this as ‘she can not bear to see another biomechanical organism in pain’. in my own writing about aurora, i interpret that as her having very high empathy, but there could be a more personal connection here. this is also notable as the only time aurora is mentioned in-album beyond jonny calling the mechanisms ‘the crew of the starship aurora’.

nastya rasputina

nastya’s backstory song (cyberian demons) was only performed when they were still dr. carmilla and the mechanisms, so it’s harder to find! thevoidsings has made a lyric video of it here, though, and it gives another very clear picture of her backstory! there’s also the fiction of the same name, which i didn’t understand upon first read-through but is basically a nastya character study, covering different points in her immortal life.

her performer went on hiatus for a while, and as an in-universe explanation, the cyberian sequence was written! in which nastya flies aurora to cyberia, infects herself with a computer virus, and transmits it to the entire planet, causing it to explode. this is all in the cyberian demons fiction i linked above, and with it are two other tangential fictions- one presumably just before those events, and one that’s an outsider pov.

there’s also out, which i’d suggest reading rather than just looking at my summary; basically, nastya has a crisis over aurora changing so that it’s harder to recognize her love, and ends up leaving the ship to float away into deep space- this is presumed to be her death, but that is never confirmed and nastya seems to assume she will wake up at some point.

ashes o’reilly

ashes’ whole deal is quite straightforward, which is a nice break from aurora and (to a lesser extent) nastya! their backstory song is lucky sevens, and it’s elaborated on further in their crew bio; interestingly, ashes was the one most into the idea of immortality at first, and also gave clear consent to carmilla.

ivy alexandria

we don’t know that much about ivy, which is fitting, as she doesn’t either! the most clear information we can find about her is in her crew bio, which can be summarized as: she grew up in a library!

archive footage explains more about her memory situation. she has no memories of anything before she was mechanized, according to this line ‘[...] she can tell you dates, and places, and body counts, she can list for you the exact circumstances of each event of her long, long life (at least, every event since that time, long ago, among a maze of bookshelves in a library that, awake, she can no longer describe to you, though once she knew its every turn by heart, when a woman stood over her and offered her eternity: before that, there is nothing at all).’ she also processes her memories differently than most people- they’re more like records, instead of things that affect her emotionally. (archive footage is also beautifully written and very much worth reading!)

the toy soldier

would say it has concrete lore, but it’s also almost solely responsible for fucking up my timeline and the album lore, so i’m rather angry at it. nevertheless, its entire backstory can be found in the fiction ‘the story of the toy soldier’. additionally, there’s a short story about its time fighting in the revolution of once upon a time (in space); presumably, this is the first time it did so, though it was likely in the war at least twice and possibly even three times. the mechanisms were only watching the second time, though it’s not out of character for it to have participated in the war again, and there’s also the dr. carmilla song, eleven, (which is about a war and uses a lot of rose symbology so it’s likely the revolution) where it is present. notably, carmilla had left the mechanisms by the time once upon a time (in space) takes place on their timeline, and the toy soldier is the only one there. at first, i interpreted that as carmilla meeting the toy soldier before it had met the mechanisms, but there’s two inconsistencies there: firstly, it doesn’t recognize her when it joins the band, and secondly, in the song they leave together. this increases the likelihood of it having been in the war three times.

we actually have a recording of the toy soldier’s first time joining the band- the mechanisms @ lashings! (part one / part two / transcript) there’s also a note of that show in the story of the toy soldier! they bought it because jonny was in jail (x). interestingly, that show is the first recording of rose red, and it’s later noted jonny was in a rose red prison!

now it’s time to get into the main theory regarding it, which also will factor into the write-up of ulysses dies at dawn later! i personally subscribe to this theory, or at least, most of it.

here is frankie @byron-von-raum‘s post- the theory here is that the toy soldier is the rebodied mind of the widow’s fiance. i’m not going to get too into that part, as i don’t personally incorporate it into my lore and more importantly frankie already has a post on it! read that if you’re more interested!

the most important bit here is the evidence it collects regarding the toy soldier living near labyrinth; in one of the pictures from the toy soldier’s backstory, there’s a dionysus brand wine bottle. the consensus he comes to is that the toy soldier lives in a colony of earth that trades with labyrinth, and while i think that’s possible, the all-encompassing nature of the city makes it more likely that they would have a minimum of outside communication, so the toy soldier would just be from the city proper. i will get into the impacts of this/expand on it more in the world lore section!

another thing: the angel has an out of character explanation! if you look at photos of old mechs gigs, jessica law looks similar to the drawing of the angel in the story of the toy soldier! their voice being stolen was most likely a reference to that.

drumbot brian

brian’s backstory is laid out in his crew bio! i’d summarize it, but to be honest, it’s already a summary, so i’d suggest just taking a second to read that! sadly, this is all of what we know about it. the priest from his backstory was apparently made almost immortal in some twisted form of mechanization, and has never forgiven brian for it/is still trying to hunt him down (x).

his bio is also where his morality switch is introduced! (interestingly, it takes a far lower role/is mentioned far less in canon than in fanworks.)

there was originally going to be a backstory album about him called indistinguishable from magic. this never happened, but ben below is working on a new one called the wanderings of drumbot brian! no more knowledge on this currently.

the main theory about him is that he had some kind of alliance/is lying about something to do with carmilla! we know from maki that carmilla didn’t go out of the airlock (more on that in her section), and when brian is questioned on what happened to her, he doesn’t give a concrete answer. this is in contrast to all the other mechanisms, who assume she fell out an airlock. here’s what he said:

I will not point fingers and lay blame. I do not know how it came to pass that Dr. Carmilla left this vessel, whether by fair means or foul, and so I will not engage in this painful discussion. I hope she did not suffer, and that we may forgive the perpetrator of this deed.

he’s speaking very formally here. (fucking nerd). well, no; legitimately, this is not the normal way he speaks in other contexts. he could be masking something. we know that even when he’s lying, he’s not good at it, and this comes off as clearly odd. in support of this, i believe one of the songs on his unwritten backstory album was called ‘the doctor’s demise’ (though i could be remembering incorrectly).

there’s not much more evidence we can draw on here to come to a consensus, though!

something else to note- i’ve written this other meta about his prophetic powers! feel free to read if you’re interested in that aspect of his character!

gunpowder tim

of course, tim already has a whole mini-album to himself (gunpowder tim vs the moon kaiser), but there’s a couple more niche things about him, though not as much as aurora and ts!

mainly, the implications that he destroyed the sun. there’s an old mechanisms tweet that states he 'was floating in the wake of a detonated star’. additionally, there’s this old blog post, which turned into a bit of a fiction! the figure speaking is not named, but given the other mechanisms who speak (therefore knocking them off the possibilities list) and the fact that the post was made around the time tim joined, it’s likely that it’s him. now, he says this:

“It wasn’t the deep space that drove me crazy,” he said, his voice low, calm and polite. “It was the sudden realisation that I was entirely responsible for the destruction of my entire civilisation, and happy for it.”

though destroying the moon and his other actions in gptvtmk could possibly count for this, it would fit more if he had destroyed the sun.

both those posts also imply that he was floating in space for an incredibly long time. i don’t know how he survived if so, but it seems very likely that’s what happened.

i considered these posts being too early/having a changed canon now, like the odd use of different pronouns for some characters in the earlier fiction, but they seemed to have gunpowder tim vs the moon kaiser mostly worked out by the time tim ledsam officially joined, as they perform it at the only recorded gig from that year with him (port mahon 2011), which was around when the second blog post was made!

marius von raum

we don’t have a written backstory or backstory song to go on for him, but kofi young (his performer) is working on a full album about him called ‘the death of byron von raum’!

the blog post kofi made about it as a summary is the main source of marius lore that we have! i’d highly suggest reading it, but the main points are:

1. it’s going to be very dark and tragic, and shows that marius at heart isn’t really the kind of comedic figure that he comes off as in the band! ruth @thedreadvampy (the mechanisms’ official artist, as well as morgan’s sister and kofi’s partner) has also made a tumblr post that connects to this!

2. the world he’s from used to be high-tech, but has devolved over time into 18th century levels of technology! what this boils down to is; what we assume is marius and an unknown friend (more on this in raphaella’s part) manage to discover ancient technology and attempt to use it! all we have here is this quote om the blog post- ‘In the middle of this, two kids hiding from the soldiers discover an army of ancient mecha and use them to fight back, but only end up plunging the world into further chaos.’.

3. anime protagonist marius!

we also have this small piece of writing, screenshotted here (monogoggle...)-

[image id: a screenshot of writing, most of it out of view/hard to make out. it’s also in the middle of the line, so the breaks are off. however, it looks to say ‘at the controls of RISML/cockpit is cramped and d[...]/has his monogoggle over his/controls are uncomplicated/the neural interface. They [...]’ end id.]

raphaella la cognizi

i’ve been very deep down the mechs rabbit hole for over a month now, and yet i’ve found hardly anything about her!

there’s a small theory i have, though it doesn’t have too much supporting evidence! in marius’ backstory, it mentions two kids, and raphaella and marius joined together (first mention of either of them is together, in this facebook post!) when questioned about marius and raphaella, nastya says a story instead of stories (x). (that post also clarifies that carmilla was not involved in either raphaella or marius’ backstories!) this could potentially point to raphaella being the other person from marius’ backstory. the evidence against it is that if raphaella featured that heavily, r. l. hughes would have said something about the album as well instead of it just being kofi talking about marius, but it’s still interesting to think about!

there’s also a theory that she was the preacher’s daughter from brian’s backstory, but the only real evidence there is that she could have used his tech to mechanize herself (which her doing is only fanon!) and that she performs ‘lost in the cosmos’.

dr carmilla

this is most likely going to be the shortest section, as it’s basically another crew member; that being said, there’s a lot of lore here!

if you haven’t listened to the carmilla albums, i’d really suggest doing that! there’s two- exhumed and (un)plugged and ageha prototype edition! the story there is harder to put together than in the mechs backstories, especially because the songs are mostly out of order, so i’ve decided to just straight up summarize my interpretation, along with what we have to go on from maki, instead of framing it like a theory, as that’s the easiest way! still, please bear all this with a grain of salt- it’s most likely to be contradicted in the new album maki is working on.

carmilla and her girlfriend loreli lived on a planet called terra. for their childhoods, it was a fairly okay place to live (though i elaborate on this a bit in the world lore section!) however, it was bombed; most likely taking the role of an alternate universe hiroshima, as the blurb on her bandcamp says ‘Dr. Carmilla tells the twisted tales of a dystopian future following WWII having ended very differently.‘ after this, the planet sunk into a nuclear winter.

loreli got sick and died; or, she should have, but carmilla saved her by turning her into a vampire as well. this resulted in loreli losing her morals and becoming abusive towards carmilla. carmilla was too deep in love to see this, and stayed in the relationship for several years.

we don’t know what happened to make her strike out on her own, but eventually she did, and created the mechanisms. while with them, she recognized her own failures with loreli, and left the mechanisms (which they all believe was caused by jonny d’ville pushing her out an airlock, rather than her own volition.)

from there, she traveled back in time to the point where loreli was dying, and let it happen- potentially burying herself and loreli alive, which she survived due to her immortality and loreli did not.

however, she was trapped underground for a hundred years. when she is finally found and dug out, she starts enjoying herself (i.e. committing murder). for some unknown reason, she clones herself multiple times, creating the in-universe version of maki yamazaki.

the mechanisms assume she pursued them after she was pushed out of the airlock, and that that was what eleven was about, but i’m not sure why she would do that, given that she left them of her own volition. because of time shenanigans, it could have been far later on her personal timeline; maybe she simply wished to reconnect with them after all those years.

that’s all we have; we don’t know if she died, or anything like that!

world lore

all the folktales and normal history the irl mechs work off of also exist in-universe! (for an example- the toy soldier and ivy start reciting the walrus and the carpenter together in lashings, and the mechs also do alice in wonderland as a song.)

we know the alternate universe theory is correct, mostly because of this piece in the fiction on kofi’s blog-

In those burning instants, he’d feel the weight of it all, and know it was true. The golden age that never came; the city that stood at the dawn of a world instead of in its dying embers. And beyond – to a myriad of Camelots and a thousand thousand Arthurs, unfathomable worlds apart, each different, each fighting the same hopeless battle.

He’d feel the burden of that task pressing down until it felt like it’d crush his chest, and he’d wake every day gasping for breath, feeling older than he ever had, older even than Ector.

And as he screamed inwardly, Galahad would meet his gaze with those crazed eyes of his and grin, and Arthur would know again that whatever had spoken to Galahad was moving him too.

the mechanisms are most likely traveling between several alternate universe versions of folktales, and occasionally alternate versions of earth! (cyberia, tim’s earth, terra...) this is likely why everyone in their stories is human, and is actually low-key evidence against drawing them as aliens (though ofc feel free to have fun!)

i was initially going to put all the album lore in its own separate sections, but a large amount of it is how it intersects with other pieces of lore, and the rest isn’t necessarily niche enough to cite here? my personal advice is that if you want to learn more about the albums, read the fiction! i have a compilation post of all the fiction up on this blog, and you can find it on the website here!

let’s start with the mechanisms’ roles in ulysses dies at dawn, though! we know for sure ashes is hades, brian is the oracle of delphi, and the toy soldier was a nymph (which is actually quite worrying, considering what that means and the inherent issues with consent there, but i digress.) tim most likely took on the role of achilles (more on that here). then, we know some of the mechanisms’ activities and can guess their roles from that. raphaella was helping athena on her research, marius was psychoanalyzing the olympians, and jonny was committing mass murder. it’s a common theory that one (or three) of the mechanisms was cerberus, but sadly i couldn’t find any evidence towards or against that.

i said in the toy soldier’s section that i would talk more about the implications of it being from labyrinth here! the main thing is the fact that, for it to join the rose red war, the city must have interacted with king cole at some point. it’s a risky thing to pose a theory on the toy soldier’s allegiance towards a certain group, but the fact that it seemed to stick with the rose reds here might also mean that the city was, in fact, under king cole’s power. this fits in nicely with the greek mythology aspect of it all; king cole, in that universe, could have been a stand-in for the figure of kronos/saturn!

a few other theories on how the lore intersects:

1. high noon over camelot takes place after the bifrost incident! in terminus, we see communication breaking down, and that could have been the reason the station was isolated. the mechanisms go from it to the bifrost incident, but as they canonically travel in time, that’s not enough to disprove the theory!

2. arthur becomes king cole eventually! this is mostly going off of the fact he’s called ‘the once and future king’, but also the fact that cole used to be considered a good king.

a few loose pieces of worldbuilding:

people from new constantinople seem to be longer lived, and their culture is built around age as a concept. the older you are, the more wise and important you are. specifically, in this fiction, snow is dismissively noted as ‘barely fifty’ and king cole’s age is held up as evidence to why he’s a good ruler.

terra, carmilla’s planet, has two major languages; high terran and low terran! high terran is a more regulated, formal way of speaking, specifically something that only the rich and privileged tend to know. there are many dialects, but the grammar is dictated by the capital. low terran is a creole language formed from several others, including high terran, that most children are taught in school as the baseline. (though they might speak a completely different, less widely spoken language at home!) carmilla speaks low terran but not high terran (although she pretends to know the latter.)

the mechanisms were all (or mostly all) at fort galfridean at one point; don’t have the source to hand, but marius apparently became a prophet to the saxons for staring into the sun for a very long time.

if you’re looking to draw album fanart, there are a few things i know aren’t as widely known; the ones i can think of off the top of my head is orpheus having a ‘foppish haircut’ (the type of thing that falls under that definition is narcissus’ undercut), and snow’s disfiguring scar. there is also official album art; i, personally, have not seen much of it, and i’d encourage coming up with your own character interpretations.

one last theory- it’s highly likely carmilla was involved in the events of the bifrost incident. in the mechscord (sadly, invites are closed due to the difficulty with handling the boom in the fanbase) maki yamazaki has mentioned that part of the criteria for picking a mechanism is ‘good friend for lyf’. at first, i assumed that she meant good friend for life, but when asked on that she was worryingly cryptic (as tends to happen), and she made a joke earlier in character as doc c about accidentally calling odin. though immortal lyfrassier edda most likely became fanon just so they could become a mechanism, this is a piece of evidence towards them actually becoming immortal.

my personal headcanon is that to gain true immortality (which maki has said king cole and the olympians do not have) you have to have some kind of eldritch component, so carmilla had to go to odin for aid. this is supported by the fact that in drive the cold winter away and cyberian demons, their mechanisms are noted as having a rainbow sheen to them!

other lore

scuzz nishimura

scuzz has built up a bit of a reputation for being the ‘cryptid mech’, but her lore is really quite simple! she was a member of the band back when they were doctor carmilla and the mechanisms, but left before they became more popular, so there’s not too much knowledge about her. she appears in this fiction and the only two recorded gigs from that era (lashings and homesick). she’s also visible in several photos!

i know i’ll get people in the notes asking for photos of her if i don’t include any, so have this;

[image id: a cropped picture of scuzz nishimura, looking tired and resting her head on her hand. she looks to be wearing white gloves and some kind of sweater or waistcoat, and her hair is cut short. her cello is also visible, as is someone else’s hand. end id.]

we don’t know too much about her; all we really have is that she was their cello player!

assorted things with no explanation

there’s this old piece from the wayback machine-

[image id: a screenshot of what looks to be the fiction page from a old site for dr carmilla and the mechs. the writing reads;

Writing

( The Aldwich Horror } A short story in which Dr. Carmilla attempts to solve the mysteries of the Aldwich Horror, the strange appearance of a new crew memeber and several zoologically dubious pets.

( Disinterration } A cautionary tale about exhuming corpses.

end id.]

‘disinterration’ is most likely a reference to the carmilla song exhumed, but i’m unsure about ‘the aldwich horror’. the most intriguing bit there is ‘the strange appearance of a new crew member’. i’ve researched the other aspects in an attempt to figure this out. aldwych is a closed london tube station- it served as a bomb shelter during the blitz, which is interesting as both carmilla and tim have backstories involving the world wars (though only carmilla’s is world war ii specifically; tim’s is wwi). the zoologically dubious pets are most likely the octokittens, which we know the toy soldier brought on board, so it would have to be in a place on the timeline after ts joined and before carmilla left. the only mechanism that joins in that space is gunpowder tim, so it’s possible that he is the new crew member.

the mechanisms blogs have a lot of incidental lore, so if you’re this deep in i’d suggest looking at my compilation post of some of my favorite posts of theirs!

and that’s it! we did it! i can finally go to sleep now. i’m so tired. please. i am going to die. i have homework. thank you all so much. please consider coming to my funeral service.

#the mechanisms #the mechs #my posts #compiliation post #meta

523 notes · View notes

jamaiskookie · 4 years

Note

i would like more soundcloud rapper yoongi x idol y/n please it’s so cute

v-live alert! -myg

pairing: idol! y/n x soundcloud rapper! yoongi

wc; 2.9k

a/n: lots of you asked, and so you shall receive. ps, i wrote this really rushed but i kinda love it. lmk what you think, love you guys <3

[V LIVE] Surprise LIVE!

the v-live notification. or, more accurately, the sound of war. alternatively, you dance around your studio on a livestream and yoongi has a mental breakdown.

masterlist PREV

“i miss you too!“ you say, replying to one of the first comments that pop up on the live.

you probably should’ve showered before going live... and you probably should’ve changed out of sweats.

whatever.

it’s not like your fans haven’t seen this before.

half of your pre-debut pictures are just downright disgusting.

the number of viewers on the top of your phone begins to climb up to the thousands, increasing every half a second.

it always amazes you how many people show up to your lives. sometimes you wonder if your fans genuinely have nothing better to do. how do they always show up so fast?

the comments begin to flood with greetings and exclamations of ‘oh my god i’m so early!11!1’ and the multicoloured heart pop up on your screen, building up an impressive stream of likes.

“where am i?“ you read through the comments and look around, as if you forgot where you were. “in the studio.“ you grin when the comments flood with questions asking if dreamcloud is getting new music.

you can’t answer, of course, but it’s fun to see. you squint at your phone, which is propped on an elaborate setup that you spent the past twenty minutes preparing.

(three books on one eyeshadow palette and a selfie stick gingerly placed on a small stool)

((you pray to every deity out there that it won’t fall))

“i was just bored,“ you shrug, speaking to the screen. “so i decided to come on here and talk to you guys. how have you been?“ you ask.

hundreds of comments answer.

“i’m alright“

“i’m good!“

most of them contain some form of sappy declaration like ‘my day is much better now that you’re here!’ it makes you smile. how cute.

the v-live notification.

or, more accurately, the sound of war.

that cursed, terrible ding! haunts yoongi’s darkest and most terrifying nightmares. the sheer amount of panic that rushes through his veins when he hears that godforsaken noise, god.

the number of lives he’s missed- yoongi can’t even bear to think about it.

so maybe it was a blessing in disguise that yoongi put his phone on do not disturb so he didn’t have to hear that disgusting sound. instead, he found out the news via a gorilla’s screech.

“Y/N’S LIVE RIGHT NOW STARTED FOURTY SECONDS AGO HURRY UP YOONGI GET YOUR ASS UP AND STOP STUDYI-“ jimin yells from his room down the hall.

yoongi almost falls out of his chair scrambling to get to his phone. it’s not like he was really studying anyways- more like using his pencils to tap out a cool-sounding beat on his desk out of boredom.

watching your live > passing his music theory class.

priorities.

with shaky hands, he grabs at his phone, slumping onto the floor and he sees the familiar blue icon with the notification popped up on the screen.

[V LIVE] Surprise LIVE! Y/N: let’s chat <3

an unnatural squeak that slightly resembles the sound a mouse slips out of yoongi’s mouth.

even when he was a baby starrie and was glued to his phone at all times, he’s never been this early to a live. he unlocks his phone, cursing his momentary clumsiness. he clicks into the live, smiling when your beaming face blasts up on his screen.

you haven’t gone live in so long- it’s nice to see your face again.

“- how have you been?“

“good.“ yoongi types out in the comment box, mumbling the words as he’s typing. “way better now that you’re live.“ sometimes yoongi cringes at himself when he types these things. i mean, who could possibly guess that min yoongi, resident scary-emo-couldslapyouintheface bad boy socially un-responsible simped over a k-pop idol?

he can already see his reputation go down the drain.

he also wonders what it says about himself that he’s a 20-something college student who’s life practically revolves around you, an idol who’s just about a year younger than him.

but dreamcloud is a part of his identity now. he identifies as a starrie no matter what. you know how the old saying goes-

once you stan, you can’t unstan. or something like that, he’s honestly not sure.

you tuck your head onto your hand, diligently trying to keep up with all the comment. with a gasp, you nod at something. “oh, you’re right, user yoonalova98!” - that’s another thing special about you. whenever you read out comments, you also read out the username of whoever wrote it.

you explained in one interview- that it’s cooler to give credit and talk to your fans as if you’re just chatting as friend. saying the username feels like you’re saying their names.

what kind of lucky fan would get their comment read aloud by Y/N?

ugh.

yoongi blinks when he remembers that technically, he’s sort of part of this group of elite, recognised fans.

his twitter stan account got almost five thousand more followers after Y/N replied to his selca. the post itself has tons and tons of likes and retweets.

insane, that Y/N- Y/N herself- knows of his existence. Y/N- the love of his life, has seen his FACE. she commented three HEART emojis below a selfie that he took.

if he thinks about it too much, he’ll start feeling faint again.

“our anniversary is coming up soon! i can’t believe it’s been three years already. time does pass by when you’re having fun.“ you say. yoongi thinks that it’s rather ironic that you would forget your anniversary, when yoongi’s had a calendar countdown to January 14th since the beginning of september.

“ahh,“ you say, leaning in closer to the screen. “from user lialiarach, ‘did you watch jisoo unnie’s acting debut’ - i did! we all watched it and cheered her on during the premiere!“

jisoo’s new drama is good. it’s a fantasy-horror blend, and he, jimin, namjoon and jin finished all 16 episodes in two days when streaming hit Netflix.

your head tilts and you smile. “song recommendations?” you wonder aloud, and yoongi scrambles to get a pen and notepad out. you don’t do ‘y/n’s listening parties’ as much anymore, but your taste in music is impeccable and he collects all the songs in a playlist.

it’s called ‘wedding tunes’ (jimin named it, not him, yoongi swears)

everytime he tries to change it back, it somehow switches back to wedding tunes the next day.

it’s disturbing how good jimin is at this kind of stuff. hopefully yoongi won’t have to bail him out of jail one day.

“okay!“ you say, pulling your laptop open. you hum as you scroll through some page that yoongi can’t see- and he anxiously waits for the first song to be played with twitchy hands and a strong grip on his pen.

the first bar plays out and yoongi’s already in love.

“this is,“ you say over the music, double checking just to make sure. “don’t need your love by NCT...“ you squint. god knows there are too many NCT members. “dream! NCT dream featuring HRVY.“

“NCT dream...“ yoongi mumbles to himself, writing the song down on the notepad.

“you know,“ you say over the music, spinning in your chair and nodding to the beat. “i’ve only met the NCT guys a couple times at music shows and such but they’re all so nice. i can’t remember all their names, but i’m decently familiar with their faces. how do they even have 23 members? how does it all work??“

you dance around the studio, singing along nonsensical lyrics that don’t make sense but sort of fit the rhythm of the song (??)

“don’t need your loo-ooove-!!! dum dum duhhhh duhros noya!!!” yoongi stifles a laugh. there’s a reason why you constantly forget lyrics on stage.

which is quite ironic, actually, because half the time you’re forgetting the lyrics to a song you wrote yourself.

afterwards, you play all the hidden gems- and yoongi’s proud to say he’s familiar with quite a few of them.

airplane by j-hope (a youtube star turned successful rapper-vocalist-dancer)

sweet night by v (the internet’s resident eye-candy)

and then you continue to scroll through your laptop, biting your lip and murmuring quietly to yourself. you glance once back at your phone screen.

okay, listen.

yoongi knows that he’s delusional, okay?

but everytime you look straight in the screen it’s almost like you’re looking directly at the camera it’s almost like you’re staring into his soul. which makes zero sense, but it still makes his heart skip a beat.

let him dream, please

“what am i scrolling through?“ you say, reciting a question from the chat. “soundcloud, user chachachae.“

soundcloud?

oh.

that’s pretty cool.

he didn’t know you had a soundcloud account!

you usually post all your covers and random shorts to instagram or another one of your personal blogs.

for a moment, yoongi indulges himself by wondering if you’d ever listened to his music. his soundcloud account is linked in his twitter bio, after all...

but he shakes those thoughts away as fast as they came. he doesn’t need to entertain himself with such silly thoughts.

“ooh, this one’s good!“ you say, clicking onto something.

still with you by JAYKAY (pffftt haihdkahjd) starts playing and you lean back, humming along. yoongi knows this one too!! now he’s 3 for 3!! he and you do share a similar taste in music, so maybe it does make sense.

even though you’re actually main vocalist and lead dancer, you do listen to a lot of rap music. but the music you make is nothing like the old school hip hop tracks that yoongi is partial to.

the music you make- how can he explain it?

sweet like honey with a little bit of tang.

like barbecue honey!!!!

ok that was a bad analogy.

all of his favourite dreamcloud tracks are written by you- cloud nine, up in the sky, are u still here, quicksand- the list goes on and on and on.

it’s like listening to your voice solves anything he goes against. bad day? dreamcloud. something to celebrate? blast your debut song. in need of a party song? easy fix. he gets aux cord rights? (granted, this doesn’t happen very often, since seokjin insists that his music taste is superior to his friends.) but anyways, y/n can fix it.

listening to your voice feels comforting. it invokes something in him that he honestly cannot explain with words. you’re his inspiration. not just in music- but in life. he admires how you’re able to smile through anything, how you take responsibility for your own actions.

he admires your kind heart, which offers generosity and forgiveness to even the most underserving people.

he admires your passion, for music, for your members, for the smallest things. he admires how you’ll love everyone and anyone.

even though he’s never really met you, he feels like he knows you. he wishes he could, anyways. he wants to thank the person who’s gotten him through such bad days.

yoongi curses himself again for being so delusional.

he keeps telling himself that he can’t get so attached. then he’ll end up like one of those creepy fans who are convinced their idols actually like them.

blech.

“okay, next song!“ you exclaim cheerfully. “i really like this one, guys. he’s this soundcloud star. he makes really cool music.“ yoongi readies his pen. if this person really is a soundcloud star, then there’s a high chance yoongi knows of him. a smaller chance that he actually knows the guy personally; either online or from real life.

you press the space bar almost obnoxiously, like you’re about to reveal something grand. you look into the camera, and you lock eyes with yoongi- through that cursed, horrible screen.

the first note plays and yoongi thinks that it sounds... oddly familiar, actually. for a moment, he sighs in disappointment. this one doesn’t sound as great as the previous few songs. almost like it’s incomplete, imperfect. something about it bugs him at the very bottom of his gut.

jimin figures it out before he does.

“AHHHHHHHHH YOONGI!!! OH MY GOD-!!!! YOONGI ARE YOU SEEING THIS? YOONGI!! HYUNG!“ yoongi grumbles, wondering what the hell jimin is screeching about now.

“oh, for fuck’s sake,“ he mumbles. the difference between him and jimin is the way they express their emotions. while yoongi bottles it all up, choosing to deal with things alone and slump around, jimin has no other choice but to scream things out. it’s a wonder they’re such good friends, really. “what is it now?“ yoongi mutters to himself.

“yeah yeah, a gentle breeze- “ and then it hits him. all at once.

“holy fucking shit.“ he whispers to himself, slumping down on the floor. he can barely hear what you say next.

“this song is called people by agust d. he goes by the name suga on social media-!“ yoongi falls down, gasping for air. “i’m a fan,“ you remark casually. “mr. suga producer-nim!! i’m your fan! please continue to make good music!“ you chuckle. “what am i doing right now? he probably isn’t even watching.“ you stare innocently at the phone camera, as if you don’t even know that you’re changing someone’s life right now.

out of his peripheral vision, he can see jimin rushing into the room, crouching next to him and placing a hand on his back, murmuring something yoongi can’t hear through the sound of his sobs.

huh. when did he even start crying?

“he makes rap and really cool hip hop music. you guys should give him a listen. his lyrics are really meaningful, too.“ you nod along, reciting the lyrics word for word- even though you really can’t rap.

“what kind of person am I? am I a good person? or a bad person? many of ways to judge just a person. everyone will live on, everyone will love, everyone will fade away“ you headbang along to the beat.

yoongi slides down the wall inch by inch. he wonders if he’ll faint or vomit first.

other people seem to make fun of people like him- people who find solace in idols, in music. that’s partially why he doesn’t like disclosing the fact that he’s a diehard fan of an idol girl group.

but in hindsight, that’s so stupid. who gives two fucks about his interests? hell, yoongi’s been depressed half his life. and if a group of girls who sing songs and perform make him feel better, what’s so wrong with that?

jimin’s voice is a little clearer now, and so is yours. you’re singing along to the lyrics- the lyrics that he wrote. the lyrics that he spent hours agonising over, wondering whether his shortcomings and anxiety in his life were worth posting on the internet for his measly following to see.

wondering if the music he made had any impact at all, if one day he might see his dream come true, to see his music being played in public. wondering if anyone might hear his songs and think that it helped them get over a bad day. just like you have for him.

yoongi’s sobs wrack through his body, tears flowing freely on his face. he’s crying hard. ugly crying, like a baby throwing a temper tantrum. his cries echo through the room. if he could see himself right now...

well, he doesn’t want to think about it. he’s sure it’s not a pretty view.

jimin looks over him, smiling proudly. his eyes are glassy, and he tucks yoongi’s head in his chest, putting his arms around him and embracing him.

yoongi’s shoulders shake. if it was any other day, he would usher jimin out the room. he hates it when people see him being vulnerable. even his own family hasn’t seen him cry that much.

but right now, he can’t bring himself to do anything but cry. other people may ask why this is such a big deal, why someone emotionally constipated like min yoongi would cry like this for such a small matter.

this, he doesn’t know how to explain either.

all he can think about is how much it means to him. that someone he admires so much is now, in turn, saying his music- no, his life- is good. nothing much else. but just knowing that you’ve listened to his work, that you know of his alter ego’s name...

his crying sounds grow larger.

jimin pets at his hair. “shh,” he murmurs. “it’s okay.” jimin’s voice also grows a little shaky. he tears up, but continues to comfort the crying boy in his arms. “you did it, hyung. it’s okay. you made it. you did it. why are you crying? this is good news! this is so great! i’m proud of you, we’re all so proud of you.”

yoongi tries to speak; it doesn’t go very well. but when he tries again, he manages to choke something out.

“i did it.“ he says, before burying his face back into jimin’s hug. the two boys sit on the ground, crying together. an hour passes, then two.

slowly, yoongi drifts off to bed on the ground, the melody of his own song blended with sound of your voice echoing in his head.

my ordinary became your special, my special became your ordinary. so what? what if you just brush by? what if you get hurt? sometimes you might get hurt again, sometimes you might shed tears. so what? so what if you live like that?

~ people by agust d

tags; @jksbbyfacebunny @extremeobsessions101 @dwcljh @stonyiscanon @bishuthot @s0seo @cecedrake2217

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