#this set doesn't do the concept of them and this line justice

[bellamysgriffin]

We've been through a lot together, you and I.

#bellarkeedit #bellamyblakeedit #clarkegriffinedit #the100edit #the100daily #* #bellarke1989 #addys-beth #tuserheidi #usersmia #usershale #rogerhealey #tuserjen #this set doesn't do the concept of them and this line justice #bc in my mind it's like way more sickening #bellarke #the 100 #bellamy blake #clarke griffin

[unhelpfulfemme]

This may be a Bad Take but I think a lot less people would have issues with Padmé Amidala's RotS characterization if they realized that her role in that movie is largely symbolic and that Anakin's attitude towards her is meant to represent the inherent tension between liberty and security (which is clearly one of the main themes in a movie that has Anakin quote George W Bush as he falls to the Dark Side).

Padmé represents the best of democratic values: the capability to perceive everyone's inherent worth, the trust in state institutions, the morality, the benefits and drawbacks of resolving issues in a democratic manner and within the system (she often finds herself helpless in the face of corruption, for example). Padmé's ideals are the core of her character, to the point that she basically is her ideals. Basically, Padmé is to the Galactic Republic what Marianne is to the French Republic.

Now, you may have issues with a female character being used as a personification of a state or a political system, but not only is this a millennia-old narrative tradition, I also feel like you're probably barking up the wrong tree, because George Lucas LOVES using characters as symbols for abstract concepts: Luke as the Hero with a Thousand Faces, the Good vs. Bad Father dynamic with Obi-Wan and Vader, etc. This is completely on brand for the way George Lucas in particular constructs characters.

Even Padmé's most famous line, "So this is how Liberty dies," is indicative of this (and I love the concept of a former slave boy falling in love with Liberty herself).

Padmé dies because Liberty dies, not because she's a weak useless woman.

And Anakin's relationship to her potential death is very much... an indictment of reactionary politics and the War on Terror?

Anakin loves Padmé because she is fair-minded and understanding even when he doesn't deserve it, because she is tolerant, because she is kind, because she fights for justice, because she uplifts people. This is what he is in love with and what he is trying to preserve.

But in the face of nebulous threats, some real and some manufactured, he tries to save her by trampling all over what she stands for. And what she stands for is her. Therefore the very act of trying to save her is what ends up killing her, just like trying to keep your democracy safe by increasingly cruel and authoritarian measures inevitably kills it. Anakin claims that he loves her, that he's protecting her, but he is unwilling to listen to anything she has to say about it, just like plenty of people whose mouths are full of freedom but don't want to think about or apply the values that they are supposedly defending. What she believes no longer matters as long as she loves and comforts and uplifts him (and when she doesn't he goes into a rage).

Everything Padmé stands for, her very way of life and her very way of doing things, no longer exist at the end of RotS. She was becoming increasingly static and helpless during the movie because her way of doing things no longer works as the Republic becomes mired in cruelty and corruption, she cannot do anything but set foundations for an eventual rebellion and hope that a spark of hope survives. She can no longer survive in this new system, and it is in her nature to rather die than compromise herself in order to work within it. In a symbolic way, she quite literally cannot survive if she has to exist within it. She IS Liberty, and it would be a paradox if she survived. She dies and their children - another thing Anakin is fighting to protect, like many people who are "defending freedom" "for the children!!1!" - are made orphans, left to their own devices, forced to fight and rebuild things from scratch because she can no longer nurture them or protect them. This is a political metaphor y'all.

And in this reading, even Shmi's death ends up working better if you squint? Because even though Anakin's anger over her death stems from clear injustice and is fundamentally righteous, the fear and rage that this creates in him, and his inability to cope with it, is what directly causes him to both fear for Padmé's safety and to eventually smother her due to that fear. And to eventually become what he fears, killing Liberty, depriving himself of liberty in the process by becoming Sidious's blind slave, and literally destroying the future of an entire generation of (Jedi) children.

Now, I'm not saying that this makes a more psychological analysis of Padmé's character invalid or that this is the only role that she plays (for example, while Obi-Wan is the "good father figure" in ANH, he's clearly many different things across all the movies and clearly has an established characterization beyond that, and so does Padmé), but I think looking at it through this particular lens does make the choices made for her character less baffling and more indicative of the larger themes of the prequels.

#star wars #star wars prequels #padme amidala

[goosemixtapes]

max's favorite short stories & articles!

to be updated as i read new things! "articles" could be anything from political points to philosophical musings to fascinating stories. obligatory statement that i don't necessarily agree with everything in every one of these stories/articles, but i think about them a lot and want to share :)

short stories

Avi Cantor Has Six Months To Live by Sacha Lamb (@kuttithevangu) (novella) (so says the writing on the bathroom mirror. of gender & judaism & magic and t4t trans guys. cw for suicidal ideation and bullying)

Epistolary by Sascha Lamb ("The [stuffed] frog you are selling on your blog is MINE and he is NOT HAUNTED and his name is MOSHE not BILLY HOPPER.")

Chokechain by Andrew Joseph White (a trans man discovers his parents have replaced him with a robot version of his pretransition self. cw for transphobia and violence)

Sandrine by Alexandra Munck (the tagline for this one is "I dated a sun god in college" but that doesn't do justice to the sheer concept here please read this)

The Traveler Wife by yves. @yvesdot (an astronaut writes to the wife she left back home)

You Wouldn't Have Known About Me by Calvin Gimpelevich (set in a hospital ward where patients are recovering from gender-confirming surgery)

No Flight Without the Shatter by Brooke Bolander (novella) ("After the world’s end, the last young human learns a final lesson from Earth’s remaining animals." cw for climate change/extinction)

And You Shall Know Her By The Trail Of Dead by Brooke Bolander (what if you had to death-match-fight a virtual version of yourself at your meanest made by your boyfriend whose life you're trying to save would that be fucked up or what. cws for guns and violence)

Hell is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang (stories that clock you in the fucking teeth in the religious trauma.)

A Serpent for Each Year by Tamara Jerée (microfiction) ("Our relationship is almost a year old when I ask Nal why she is covered in snakes." cw for animal death)

The Front Line by W.C. Dunlap (microfiction) (cited as one of the world's finest attention-grabber openings. cws for police brutality, racism, and SA)

Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse (step into the simulation and gain an authentic experience! cws for anti-Native racism and alcohol)

articles & essays

Lockhart's Lament (on how math is taught in schools. that is, badly. one of the most cathartic essays i've ever read on education)

Against Cop Shit by Jeffrey Moro (on adversarial education)

I Am A Transwoman. I Am In The Closet. I Am Not Coming Out. by Jennifer Coates (do you have to be out to be a woman? cw for transphobia, homophobia, and eating disorders)

Debunking "Trans Women Are Not Women" Arguments by Julia Serano (comprehensive, well-written, good to have as a reference point)

On Liking Women by Andrea Long Chu (and on the politics of desire)

Turning a Unicorn Into a Bat by Josh and Lolly Weed (on Mormonism, love, and whether a gay man and a straight woman can marry happily. cw for homophobia)

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price (musings on motivation from a social psychologist and professor)

How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Peterson (how come everything happens so much?)

White Women Drive Me Crazy by Aisha Mirza (on the harm caused by white women. cw for racism)

Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong by Michael Hobbes (should be required reading for everyone at this point. cw for fatphobia and eating disorders)

Becoming Anne Frank by Dara Horn (on the cultural fascination with Anne Frank. cw for antisemitism)

The Ecstasy of Influence by Jonathan Lethem ([on/a] plagiarism)

On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People by Patricia Taxxon (video essay) (ostensibly what the title says, but actually a detailed musing on the essential properties of furry media and the freedom of dehumanization; changed my life a bit)

#max.txt #yayayayayay :) #i've decided i'm going to start doing the 'what i read this month' thing #so this is like #my base to come backt o and update when i find new favorites #readings

[nardos-primetime]

There's so many different ideas I have for a Leo and Donnie Fusion bc of LED. Like none of them rlly fit him canonically, but the various concepts could be such interesting fics, like.

Leo and Donnie having to use their ninpo so close to each other during a stressful situation and it backfires in a way and they wake up confused in one body.

Leo and Donnie arguing in Donnie's lab while he's working on some shit and Leo gets a little heated and shoves Donnie just a little but it breaks something or they're in the line of fire of something that sets off and now Donnie has no clue how to undo it and they're still pissed so they're trying to desperately coordinate themselves.

A Fusion who for whatever reason is ran off after fusing and has somewhat of his own consious while Leo and Donnie argue over his shoulders half of the time. He's just depressed and carrying out any vigilante justice he can, so he doesn't feel like he's letting Mikey and Raph down while they try and fix their situation.

Fusing to save one of their lives in the doomed timeline or something but it goes wrong, resulting in a fusion who knows its about to die any day soon but using the infection in his own body as a way to test and hopefully find a cure before he can't go on anymore while also acting as brave of a leader he can.

Alternatively a Fusion that dies in a similar situation as the last immediately, resulting in Mikey and Raph having lost two brothers instead of one and having to watch as their shared, half-and-half body is used against the same people they wanted to protect.

Also badass Fusion directly in the midst of battle whole Raph and Mikey are somehow out for the count, yes PLEASE? Donnie's bo staff with a spear from Leo's sword at the end? Mixing their ninpo? Whoever the fuck messed with their family is DEAD on the spot this man has guns and teleportation.

Fic of Raph and Mikey having to get used to a Fusion of Leo and Donnie, Leo and Donnie also having to get used to themselves. It's a little awkward but sweet overall.

A Fusion of them having a Leo breakdown or a Donnie breakdown and from the first time they're actually feeling how the other feels and hearing what the other hears and they finally are put in each others' shoes and do their best to calm the other down.

There are SO many possibilities its SO COOL more fusions PLEASE PLEASE PLEAASE I'm gonna make like 5 different Fusion designs for different stories because I just love coming at the same concept from different angles it's FUNNN

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rise leo #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #rise donnie #rottmnt au #fic ideas

[imagitory]

Do you think Wish would have been better if they kept the concept of romance between Asha and the star boy, and the kind and queen being a villainous couple?

TL;DR...maybe.

I admit, I do really like human!Star and Magnifico/Amaya being a villainous couple as concepts -- but I don't think adding those ideas alone would've fixed Wish's shortcomings. Because I strongly believe the main reason so much of the Wish fandom has latched onto the idea of a romance for Asha in particular comes down to people feeling more for their mental AU concepts of Asha and Star than for Asha and the rest of her canon cast in the real finished product. There are no relationships in Wish -- ones featuring Asha or otherwise -- that I feel really prompt much investment or emotion in the audience.

Asha's mom and grandpa really don't have much time devoted to them, especially early on when we could establish some real history and pathos in their relationships with Asha. (Positive examples of this would be Ember and her dad in Elemental, Tiana and James and Eudora in The Princess and the Frog, or Mama Coco and Miguel in Coco.) We never even learn Asha's mom's dream even though it's picked up multiple times and the narrative makes such a big deal about Magnifico crushing it. The few lines discussing Asha's deceased father could've been cut from the story altogether and we would've lost nothing. Asha's friend group gets so little focus as individuals that it's hard to even remember most of their names. They were clearly envisioned as just "the Seven Dwarves but as teens," and honestly, them being vaguely like the Dwarfs is the only real impact they leave on a lot of people by the end. Or did a bunch of kids that went to go see the movie beg their parents for dolls of Simon and Bazeema after the movie was over? Asha and Star's dynamic can't be that interesting because Star doesn't spark any real character growth or change in Asha, nor does Asha really bond emotionally with Star. Star honestly just floats around looking cute for most of the movie, rather than doing that much of consequence. Valentino doesn't provide any significant emotional support for Asha, the way that even other cute Disney "pets" like Pascal or Pua do for isolated characters like Rapunzel and Moana. He also doesn't advance her journey in any meaningful way like Sebastian or Jacques and Gus do for Ariel and Cinderella, respectively. Asha and Magnifico's hero-villain relationship has no teeth because they have no real history prior to the events of the story (unlike Ursula using Ariel as a way to get back at her father Triton or Mother Gothel raising Rapunzel in isolation in an attempt to use her hair's magic to keep her young) and they don't serve as any kind of narrative foil to each other (unlike Jafar, who like Aladdin also uses magic and deception to try to advance his own goals, or Scar, who like Simba at the beginning of the movie "just can't wait to be king" and is focused way more on the perks of kingship rather than the responsibilities). Even Amaya and Asha can't have much of a relationship because there's no time set aside for it, and even if Amaya put in a good word for Asha with Magnifico, she didn't speak out on Asha's behalf after Magnifico vindictively cast her aside and really only decided to fight alongside Asha after Magnifico "went too far" by threatening Amaya herself (as opposed to, say, anyone else).

When my mum and I went to go see Wish, we came out of the theater feeling oddly blase about the whole story. My mum even -- upon me asking her about her thoughts on this topic before I sat down to write this -- admitted that although she "wanted to see evil defeated," and all that, she honestly just hadn't cared about any of the characters that much. She wanted Magnifico to lose because it was justice for Magnifico to lose -- not because she was actively rooting for Asha, her friends, or Rosas overall. She wanted good to triumph and evil to fail, but none of the characters and their relationships had made her that invested in seeing how that came about. And considering that every single character in every story ever written is largely shaped by the relationships they have with other characters, that means that Wish's primary failing is not a lack of romance, either for its main lead or its villains --

It's a lack of love.

Any kind of sincere, selfless, development-inducing, chemistry-fueled love. Not necessarily romantic love -- Disney's Revival work has actually shown just how diverse love can be through films like Zootopia, Encanto, and Frozen -- but real love between the characters, built on the back of history and camaraderie and meaningful screen time. Love that adds layers to their personality, fuels their choices and actions, and ultimately helps them bloom into better, more complete people. Instead I would argue that the only "love" in Wish is with ideas from past Disney projects -- that's why there are more Easter eggs and overt meta references to other projects in this movie than there are scenes that actively stir your emotions. You know -- the way Mulan does when she decides to steal her father's armor, or Marlin does when he gingerly picks up Nemo's cracked egg in his flippers and cradles it, or Cinderella's stepsisters do when they rip apart the dress the mice made for Cinderella, or Pinocchio does when he watches in horror as Lampwick turns into a donkey, or Tarzan does when he comforts Kala after he comes out dressed in his biological father's old clothes and she starts to cry.

The reason a lot of fans love these two ideas -- villain!Magnifico/Amaya and human!Star/Asha -- so much is because these two relationships, even just in concept art, prompted more emotion out of them than any relationship in the entire finished film.

Perhaps if that same level of emotion was brought out in these relationships in a real movie, that would've helped, but only if the rest of the film had also been trimmed down and edited so as to help tell a story with those two elements. Slim down the overstuffed cast. Have Asha's family actually have a point, or cut them. Give Asha and Magnifico some sort of real history and/or compare-contrast dynamic. Develop Star as a character. Give both Star and Asha character arcs. Make the music more essential to telling the story.

Without a lot of additional changes on top of those two concepts being used, I think the ideas of a hero and villain couple would've only just made the list of ideas that were only half-baked in the final product longer. After all, if Star was Asha's love interest, you'd still really have to have good writing and a lot of chemistry between the two characters in order to sell your audience on a love story between them. Not saying it can't be done -- Tangled and Elemental both did it quite well -- but just throwing the two characters together as is (namely, rather underdeveloped) and making them romantic partners by itself isn't enough. Honestly, I think a platonic or even familial-esque relationship between Star and Asha could've been just as powerful, if that love between them really came through. Just look at the bonds between characters like Judy and Nick from Zootopia or Miguel and Hector in Coco. Even keeping Star as less explicitly human could've been fine, if the relationship between them and Asha was strong enough. Stitch and Lilo's relationship is rock-solid in Lilo and Stitch, and Stitch isn't even remotely human. Even Soul did something kind of interesting with Joe Gardner and his relationship with 22 by giving them something of a mentor-student bond. Maybe a quasi-"young parent/child" relationship between Asha and Star could've even been interesting, if it was written well!

I do think both ideas had great potential in giving Wish more of an identity that could help set it apart from its predecessors -- I mean, we've never had a human character have a romance with a supernatural being or a villainous couple in a Disney animated film before -- but including them wouldn't have fixed Wish by itself.

#disney #wish #disney wish #wish (2023) #opinion #analysis #ask me #writing #oh boy here i go

[fr-wiwiw]

well, to indulge myself i'm writing this post to ramble and share a bit of my Gahan barbarian!au. it's going to be a bit of a long post i think, we'll see.

i saw noel's post about their gladiator!yohan & prince!gaon (check it here!) and it makes me miss writing the arranged marriage barbarian!au i have, it only has what.. 3 or 4 chapters I think. you can read it here.

i've always been fascinated by the visuals of medieval, historical, period era. even post apocalyptic future settings like Horizon Zero games franchise.

i think i started au bcs i've played too much Assassin's Creed Valhalla— i haven't finished it yet, too preoccupied with Monster Hunter World— but i have sketched my female Eivor several times in my sketchbook. this was when i'm curious and interested enough to draw human but haven't fully grasped the gesture, anatomy, shapes and all. i usually draw what i take interest on and it helps me tremendously, to keep on learning and push through my frustrations.

and of course.. my Gahan brainrot picked it up. hence the barbarian!au for TDJ born

i have sketches of Gahan in this au, i think i've shared them here too but i'll re-share here. it doesn't catch many eyes, i admit it's a bit of a bummer but I like the idea anyway. I used to imagined them before I went to sleep, now it's idol/celeb!gaon x mysterious husband!yohan that's occupying my mind. but anyways! here are the sketches.

1st sketch is me trying to see his body proportion in viking/barbarian attire. the upper left sketch was me wanting to see modern Yohan stripping off his clothes ig haha.. anyways, between Gaon/Jinyoung and Yohan/Jisung, it's VERY difficult to nail down his face. less lines doesn't resembles him at all and add some more lines he looks too realistic to my simplified version of Gaon/Jinyoung. it was hard trying to find the balance for these characters to be in the same picture and look like they belong in the same style. i want to do Yohan/Jisung's pretty face justice but i still struggled in this sketches. i think this was 2021? 2022?

2nd sketch— his long protruding neck lmao i haven't fully grasped how a person can pose naturally but it came out as if he has turtle neck syndrome going on. well done Yohan! you are a turtle apparently according to my hand. all jokes aside, this was me attempting to paint his face bcs i never really attempted to paint gahan. i doodled and sketched more than i paint/rendering and i'm on my way to learn more of rendering daily if possible, alongside with my daily sketches. you can also see i've tried to give some color to his attire and some medallion or such. do you see a braid there? i will get there, the braid is something significant in this story ;)

3rd sketch is basically me planning out his character design as a barbarian/viking chief. you can see bits of references cuts here and there, took me quite some time bcs i just started to really try my hands on concept character design properly— i love cloaks and capes and vikings has exactly just that, and the winter times are especially my favorite type of attire on them so i thought why not give Yohan polar bear fur as his official formal attire while still flaunting his wonderful body to the world be it summer or winter lmao. here's where you know it's fantasy. i'm sure people back then drink ales and what not to keep their body warm so they can go bare-chested in winter even but i'm sure the day after that they will regret it. but i make Yohan and his clan to have special abilities for living in cold places. doesn't mean i don't make them wear winter attire but this is only bcs i want him to be bare-chested xD the one I post here was before i dabble on the sketch a bit more. hopefully one day i can share it again with more updates for this au.

now.. onto Gaon's sketches.

he's a Prince in this story. his parents, the King and the Queen, arranged a marriage for him for political reasons. but they have special reasons as to why they pick Yohan, aside from political purposes, to be their son's betrothed and gave him away to Yohan's barbarian clan.

1st sketch (ignore the upper left, that's Jinyoung from his other drama). i want to see him in medium and long hair length. there's a purpose to this. he has his canon Gaon hairstyle when he was the Prince in the palace. but with time and some adjustments living with Yohan and his barbarian clan rubs off on him. perhaps it's due to that, or he's grown tired to cut it off again and again (he has no one to groom him properly now unlike in the palace), practical reason is to maintain heat around his neck while in winter, or it's his idea of adapting and blending in with the enemy. you can't blame him for being wary. he's whisked away from his comfort place and home and married off to a fearsome and famous barbarian on the land at that time, almost willingly got raped by Yohan on 1st chapter (yes, you read that right). other reasons why he grows his hair, as i mentioned the culture rubs off on him, is something to do with the hair braiding too. and personal reason is that i want to see pretty Gaon in long hair lol

2nd sketch on the left was him on early days on Yohan's fur beddings. the right was him perhaps laughing out loud by some surprising and amusing thing Yohan said after living with him for some months, you can see the different hair length there. gosh he looks unalive in here lol idk why.. my sketches were still rigid here

3rd sketch is them after establishing a genuine intimate relationship and Yohan has to be away to fend off some unexpected visitors. unfortunately it cost Yohan some of his men's lives. but he made it back to his clan and his betrothed. i make it as if Gaon was anxious waiting for him and one of the barbarian shouted for Yohan's arrival and he ran immediately. lunged at Yohan perhaps, the barbarian Chief managed to catch him but didn't quite have the strength to carry them both upright as the weariness sinks into him post battle & adrenaline wearing off of him. he's home now, in Gaon's arms.

now.. the hair braiding.

barbarians/viking has long hair and braids on their hair. styled cascading down or up into a pony tail or a mohawk and such. idk if this is historically correct but i'm winging most of this anyway but the idea of braids in this story is that it's significant to lovers. it's a mark between special intimate relationship (like lovers, spouses, soulmates). one can have a braid or braid their lover's hair should they wish to, it's very intimate and special for them. jeweleries might have certain status symbol for them and their ranks but I also prefer these barbarians have something simple to symbolize their intimacy. something that can get overlooked but enough for their significant other to know (and some people) what it means.

I like the idea of Yohan having accessories for his attire but his hair is clean from braids. clearly it's saying something if you've read this far and seeing my sketches for their different stages of relationship. over the years of them finally developing feelings and genuinely established a relationship, despite already being married an Gaon almost got raped by Yohan, they are lovers.

yet Yohan never really initiates anything about him wanting to have braid(s) or braiding Gaon's hair. he might have explained about what braids are to Gaon when the bambi was curious or off-handedly commented something about it. Gaon really finds out the real meaning from Yohan's ppl and he wonders why Yohan never asks or wants braids from him. then he realizes Yohan has always been respectful to him, even years after that night he almost raped him. always keeping healthy distance, outside of their sex and other intimate physical affections, he usually waits until Gaon ask first regarding intimate things. not that he never initiates things, he figures something as serius and committed as this is something Gaon wants to have an option to bail out from. they were arranged to have marriage for political reasons after all, Gaon has the freedom to not have feelings for him as long as he stays within the wedding pact rules Yohan make with the King & the Queen ( for Gaon's sake too). He never expects to have feelings for the Prince and he always keeps the option of Gaon falling out of love of him one day. it is only fair, he thinks.

but then Gaon asks him if he wants Gaon to braid his hair. the Prince never ceases to make him falter. it still shocks and amuses him, to have someone have this much effect on him. even with nervousness and blushing state Gaon is in now after uttering those words.. Yohan wonders what he has done to have this kind of luxury to have someone this precious in his arms.

and if his people noticed a single braid just near the back of his neck when wind swept his hair or if he pulls his hair into a ponytail on hot summer days? they will all grin smugly.. Yohan likes to keep it a bit hidden from view mainly bcs it's practical and he doesn't want ppl to accidentally graze it off when he's having friendly wrestle matches or axe practices. or even having people cut it off when he's at war. he doesn't hide it per se, it's visible when it's visible. Gaon smiles sweetly and adoringly when he finds this out bcs to him, it feels as if Yohan is unconsciously protecting it. protecting their relationship, protecting Gaon.

and if Gaon walks out of Yohan's tent, that days when he asks if he can braid Yohan's hair, with a braid or several on his hair? visible to everyone? the people cheer and roar in celebration. they throw a huge feast and toast to their relationship, congratulating the power couple. wishing the gods to give these two their blessings and to protect them. they're finally able to see their Chief have a partner that is equal to him. it's a memorable day

but if you think this story doesn't come with heavy angst, tears, pain and betrayal.. well think again ;))

i will stop here. thankyou for reading! i hope i can pick up this au again in my drawings & writings

#artists on tumblr #the devil judge #digital art #fris #fr wiwiw #digital illustration #gahan #kim gaon #kang yohan #fanart #tdj #the fawn and the chief #arranged marriage #i miss this au #i want to indulge myself more in this au again #but i have to focus on my drawings & commissions for now #i will come back to this au

[watatsumiis]

hey! ty for liking my tsaritsa so much!!! i'd love to hear more of your thoughts on her, if there are any!

omg of course, she's absolutely stunning, your art style does her so much justice (and honestly is just an awesome gorgeous style in general!!) and tbh your design is how I picture her in my head now !!

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas about the Tsaritsa, a lot of them are just kind of ~vibe~ based and hard to convey, but i'll toss them beneath the cut!

I really like the theory that her 'ideal' is love, like it's such a fun and interesting concept

like, to begin with i imagine she was a very kind deity, not in a familiar way, but in a general sort of .. benevolent to her subjects and open to those that sought an audience with her. Not exactly 'warm', but not entirely shutting them out either

though i imagine that sort of hollowed out as time wore on and she realised that even being an actual deity didn't give her the power she needed to be able to make any real tangible changes to things or help those who were doomed from the start (which is probably a big part of why shes so anti-celestia or whatever)

despite her despair and attitude towards romantic love sort of withering, she places a heavy emphasis on familial love (including found family) and on forming bonds that will stand the test of toil and time

she comes off very aloof, especially to those beneath her, and will actively try to avoid being around others if she can help it. She dislikes forming close attachments

this isnt to mean that she doesn't care. she just cares so much that the only way she can deal with it is by distancing herself, or else she's just setting herself up for repeated heartbreak when her loved ones inevitably die.

the exception to this ? pierro.

pierro is cursed with undeath, and even before that he was someone with a fiercely loyal (and stubborn) streak.

they both told themselves theyd never allow themselves to become attached to someone else after all the losses theyd been through, but in making this pact alongside one another they basically sealed their own fate

there are no simple words for the kind of intertwined, codependent, epic-spanning love-hate they have for one another.

their bond was one forged in the fires of loss and hardened by the ice of grief. despite what they both may say, they're in it for the long haul. Tsaritsa has slowly become accustomed to this idea. Pierro has not and will still vehemently deny it.

i guess to really shave it down id call it a queerplatonic relationship. something unholy and gorgeous. two flowers holding onto a cliffside by the tips of their roots and growing around one another.

the second 'exception' is columbina. i imagine she's like a weird nibling to the tsaritsa. she was picked to be amongst the harbingers because of her ability to light up any room she's in (i imagine tsaritsa secretly has a nickname for her that's somewhere along the lines of 'songbird' because of her voice ngl)

outside of this, the tsaritsa is cool and aloof and works very hard to maintain her composure, especially when under scrutiny. she is brilliant at keeping this facade in place.

until she's no longer in the public gaze, that is.

i like to think she's a tiny bit of a goofball, she has a soft spot for 'dad jokes' that make pierro roll his eyes and rub his temples, and she quite enjoys wine (im sorry but if she were a facebook mom her page would be minion memes and posts talking about how its wine o-clock)

she also rather enjoys slapstick humour - there are a few dottore clones running around who have perfected it enough so that she has to cover her mouth with a hand to stop her subjects from seeing the way her lips twitch upwards as she holds back her laughter

she's also really, really petty. not that she'd ever do anything about it, but more than once pierro has found himself in her chambers late at night, watching as she paces back and forth, her sixth glass of wine in hand, and complains about how that 'brick-brained geo archon just won't sign the damn contract! isn't that his entire shtick?!'

she also has a soft spot for kids, or people who have a youthful energy about them. it reminds her that maybe not all is bad in the world, and that she's going to change it for the better for their sake.

I like to think she's extremely good at various sports - i love the idea featured on the asker's blog about her having an elk instead of a horse. that's so cool and lives in my brain rent free and forever tbh. her and pierro on their steeds racing through a snowy forest on a rare free afternoon

i think she would've once been the type to enjoy prosey, flowery words, long poems, romantic tales of star-crossed lovers, that kind of thing. she read a lot and even wrote some. not any more though.

she has a very stern and strict air about her and won't hesitate to play into that if she feels like she needs to, but honestly she's got a good sense of humour on her. things that pierro scolds the other harbingers and such for are often things that she secretly finds really funny

though ALSO she's a stickler for good manners. i like to think that has extended to the snezhnayans , who are, when dealing with those outside of their immediate familial circles, are super duper polite (even if their tones may come off as abrupt). there's also a very heavily laid-on vibe of 'respect your elders' in snezhnaya.

she has such motherly vibes, but in a really standoffish way. she wont tell someone directly that she cares about them or what happens to them, but it'll be rerouted through like three other people like a game of telephone. like, yeah, that one person she caught shivering while on guard is gonna get a nice new pair of gloves but it will be from an anonymous donor (or just shoved into their hands by pierro with an annoyed grunt)

honestly now ive started im kind of finding it hard to stop but i just adore the tsaritsa so much and i love love love how you draw her so much, she's just so amazing and feels so like.. real, y'know? thank you so much for this ask, i really enjoyed rambling and thinking about the tsaritsa some more. i think your design and ideas should be canon actually

#asks #general barks #(uses this ask as an excuse to go look at the milfy tsaritsa art on your blog for like 40 minutes) #SHE GIVES ME VIBES OF. THAT FROST QUEEN FROM NARNIA. #SHE TOTALLY LIKES TURKISH DELIGHTS I THINK #the tsaritsa #headcanons #my writing #tsaritsa #gosh golly gee darn tootin Arden (is it ok if i call u that. its a banger name btw) i think your take on the tsaritsa is simply swell (/ge

[wawamouse]

big fan of this expanded alignment chart i found on reddit.... this guy gets it.....for the most part. I don't agree with some of these, for example Glynn—absolute good? don't make me laugh—but I think that's more an issue of there being 6 seasons and the fact that the characters sort of change.

Definitions below the cut in case you're unfamiliar:

Other thoughts:

Lawful impure and anarchic neutral are the funniest possible descriptors for Chico and Miguel so A+

Big fan of the concept of impure in general; 1) funny name, 2) the concept of almost pure evil but whoa! Hey!! Some lines shouldn't be crossed!

I think the exalted row is well chosen especially

Rebel/chaotic/anarchic evil is a close call tbh but it's true that they do all just barely get one over the other, so well placed again

I think Glynn should be in the Moral category rather than the Good but Basil is already there so I understand lol

Poet as true neutral makes sense! And Omar as the (often poorly ascribed) chaotic neutral is good too

(Taken from various sites/explanations):

Absolute - Total and complete devotion to following and enforcing a code of conduct

Lawful - Following a set list of principles

Social (civil) - May have lines that they don't cross, or a general sense of what they should and should not do, generally more disciplined than Neutral, but not as strict as Lawful.

Neutral - Apathy towards most situations/maintaining equal balance within one's life apart from all others or all else

Rebel- Acting against what is socially accepted or appropriate, either out of choice, apathy, or one's own ambition. Not as out there as Chaotic.

Chaotic - Living free and without restraint, whether self-inflicted or imposed by others, and living only for one's own ambition and goals

Anarchic - Going beyond what's possible or acceptable to meet one's goals, no matter the cost

--

Exalted - As good and pure and selfless as you can possibly be; more of a symbol of what one can inspire to.

Good - Acting selflessly for the betterment of oneself or others and trying to uphold integrity and justice.

Moral- Doesn't go out of their way to do great deeds and adventures and such, but still has a sense of right and wrong, and will definitely throw hands with a bad guy.

Neutral - Apathy towards most situations/maintaining equal balance within one's life apart from all others or all else

Impure- May do bad things, but only because they don't know right from wrong, or only do bad things because of the situation they find themselves in. Acting selfishly and with darker/malicious intent with enough restraint to keep them from pure evil.

Evil - Acting selfishly to meet one's personal goals even--or especially--if it means hurting others or destroying those/that which would stand in your way.

Vile - As evil and selfish as one can possibly be with no regard for anyone or anything; so evil that it repulses even EVIL ITSELF.

#text

[bonesandthebees]

Let the intense grilling begin [“Really? You wanted a third option so you went with the thirteen year old who has zero clue what the fuck he’s getting into?” Schlatt jumped in,] perfectly establishes how stupid this decision is and Schlatt’s exact personality. This scene establishes all the characters really well btw.

Sam is short-sighted and living in his own head, he doesn’t think things through and based on this line [“And between those two, who would you say I should choose as my heir?”] has no idea who to pick.

Schlatt is brash and overconfident, yet he perfectly knows his own value and what power he holds. He’s rude, because he knows that Sam can’t do anything about it when push comes to shove. He needs Schlatt’s family’s money. He’s probably also the only person actively backing Quackity (as a first choice that is), and I am looking at that and the cannon dsmp interactions (especially the nickname).

Hannah is more reserved, but definitely backing Niki. She’s also clever enough to figure out the implications and speak up about them (also I forgot what he title was already. Was it economics?). Anyway, Hannah supporting Niki says more about Niki than her.

Phil nor Techno show there cards, I think they are backing Niki, but I can never be sure even if they were to outright tell Wilbur. [Don’t speak without thought. Stay quiet. Observe.] This line sums both of them up pretty well. They hold their cards. Phil and Techno do prod Sam, but they also know perfectly when not to do so, either because it will piss him of or if they know that someone else will ask.

Wilbur pretty much does as he’s told, he’s there to observe and learn. He holds his tongue and does not share his opinion like he has been taught. Also, Phil knows exact when Wilbur needs to be held back and can do so with one look. Very interesting compared to the start where Wilbur was trying to catch his eye, but al Phil’s attention was on Sam.

Then there’s Bad. He knows Sam the best and has the Lea way to call him out on his bullshit (and does so without being harsh like Schlatt) [“Okay, forgive me if this seems… upfront, but I have to ask. Are you actually considering Tomys as an heir, or are you just trying to make a point?”] he nails it right on the head (minus possible buying himself time) yet Sam doubles down.

I wonder if Phil figured this out but couldn’t say anything because Sam’s rebelling against him (like a teenager or a little child). Phil calling him out would not help the situation at all, but Sam does need to be called out on his bullshit, so it!s good that Bad and Schlatt are there. It’s also good that Phil knows when to rein everything in and get to business.

(3/3)

-🎄

aaa thank you, I definitely wanted to use this scene to establish everyone like you said. especially schlatt. he's such a fun character in this and I was so excited to really show how crass he can be even in very formal settings like this. he just doesn't give a shit because he doesn't have to. he's a nepo baby who inherited his role from his father, and sam can't do shit about it because he's rich. schlatt has always known just how far money can get you, and he's not afraid to push that to its limits.

hannah's role is lady of justice, meaning she's the person who oversees laws in the kingdom and the management of criminal trials and things like that. her entire thing is focusing on what's best for the public as a whole, so yes, to have someone like that backing niki shows just how competent niki is perceived to be.

techno for the most part tries to stay out of the heir debates. he's not really a politics kind of guy (in fact he definitely has a few choice opinions on the entire concept of a monarchy but that's neither here nor there), he's just there to take care of the library and talk about history if sam needs counsel in that sense. while he definitely has his opinions, he'd rather not get involved. that's phil's job. and even if in theory techno's role is to serve sam like the rest of the council, he's really just here for phil and pretty much everyone knows it

and of course phil keeps his cards close to his chest. even if he were to support one heir over the other you'd never know if he was actually telling the truth, or if this was just another attempt to move more pieces around the board.

yes, wilbur struggling to catch phil's attention in the beginning contrasting with phil knowing exactly when to shoot wilbur a look reminding him to shut up was intentional but I'll let you guys draw your own conclusions about that :)

bad knows sam extremely well and he also knows how delicately he needs to go about calling him out on this. of course it still doesn't work, but at least he tried. bad is kind of like techno in that he usually chooses not to get involved in the court drama. he's the head of sam's royal guard. he's more focused on keeping sam alive than anything else.

#ask #spruce anon #rose ch 3

[autisticdelinquent]

I'm sure this is a weird concept for people who haven't pondered it before but how is there not more non-European white people out there feeling soul crushing emptiness not knowing what it will ever feel like to know the physical land or the culture/people of the places their ancestors come from? I'm mixed Native and Caucasian with maybe a few stray Asian and Polynesian lines further in my ancestry. I am mostly white but am integrating with the local Native tribal community and have since I was a child. I'm currently in the adoption process. I am profoundly grateful to know them and to at least live on the ancestral territory of my Native side. I can't help but feel so lonely and alienated on a soul level though because I will likely never be able to patch that side of my family in the same way for my European ancestry. I recognize how much more important it is to focus on the culture more at risk of going extinct, I just wish I could explore them both with the same ease. I grew up without and still don't really have any friends but online I'd always find myself being most at home feeling when talking to Scandinavians but more so with English and even more than that with Irish and Scottish people specifically. Obviously I got along with tribal relations fine but I mean as far as relationships go like in school or otherwise white dominated areas. I am 21, never been kissed, and most of my relationships have been online/LDR. The best one ever actually was with a Scottish person and we were together for years but he dumped me out of nowhere one day without even a fight and he's never been back in contact with me since to my worst dismay. I truly feel like if my white ancestors never left hundreds of years ago I may honestly have had a better childhood with more of a chance of having a social life. Even if I didn't I would've at least had sacred wells and hills and ancient monuments to explore and meditate in to connect to my ancestors. I love my Native ancestry and by all means I agree with their values and relate harder to their culture on every level because of how close I was to it growing up, but I can't help but feel people who are completely white with absolutely no historical connection to their current lands should have at least a little feeling of unease never knowing where they come from? I understand if I was only white that I wouldn't be me and genetically I'd be a whole different person but I mean hypothetically if I were to be the same personality/consciousness I'd probably be a lot more well off socially and emotionally if I'd at least grown up in a more Celtic setting. I really hate when I see Americans trying to be all in people's faces when exploring Celtic and honestly European culture in general for "ancestry" reasons because I am fully aware of how objectifying and detached that comes off and I really don't want this to sound like something from one of those Americans. The feelings in my head and heart are just too big for my autistic ADHD brain to even begin to process in a way that words can do justice to. At the risk of sounding like a loser- I crave a deeper connection to the Earth around me and with people who are familiar with my ancestral cultures. I'm not saying they actually have to be from them, reincarnation exists in Celtic belief so just because you're not from that place in this life doesn't mean you weren't connected to it before. Idk. I'm rambling at this point. If you're a druid or otherwise passionate about Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Celtic Britain, Aisle of Man, Cornwall, Brittany, etc please DM me I'm begging. I've recently enrolled in the OBOD so I'm really hoping to find people to learn/talk about bards with and just general friendship ;-;

#paganism #pagan #spirituality #ancestors #ancestor work #uk #england #english #ireland #irish #scotland #scottish #native #nativeamericans #indigenous #druid #druidism #druidic #druidry #celtic paganism #celt #celtic

[thebreakfastgenie]

Just out of curiosity, if you feel like it, what's your critique of the "war is war and hell is hell" line (outside of it being a bit corny to modern viewers).

Okay!! So I left some nuance out of that post for the sake of brevity. I do have critiques of that scene, but I also like it. It's emotionally effective and it has a nice rhythm to it and "War isn't hell. War is war, and hell is hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse." is a good bit of writing. It's always fun to refute a saying. I agree with the conclusion, here, but my reasoning would be that war is worse because war is real and hell is not.

Before I get into Hawkeye's reasoning, I do want to say that since the first time I saw this scene in the full context, I've felt it was one of the less elegant set-ups for a long Hawkeye speech. The way Frank blurt out "Oh, everybody knows war is hell." feels a bit awkward to me, and not in his usual way. Mulcahy is in full "tell us more" mode and it's not bad but I've seen this show do a lot better.

"Tell me, who goes to hell?"

"Well, sinners, I believe."

"Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in hell. But war is chock full of them--little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for a few of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander."

I like point about almost everyone involved in war being an innocent bystander. "There are no innocent bystanders in hell" sounds great but when you stop and think about it... is that true? Who or what determines who is a sinner? God? The standards of Christian theology? I've had conversations about this scene with a couple of people, and something that's come up is queer people. A lot of Christians believe queer people are going go hell (Mulcahy probably would, historically speaking). Are those people not innocent bystanders? What about adulterers? Thieves? Whose theology are we following, anyway? Different denominations have different ideas about who end up in hell and how.

It's sort of tangential, but I start to wonder from where Hawkeye is invoking the concept of hell. Is it just a metaphor? An abstract philosophical idea? Hawkeye is agnostic and doesn't seem to be a particular believer in sin. He could be attracted to the idea of cosmic justice, and imagine that people like the generals he meets, who enjoy killing other human beings, will go to hell and deserve it. But that speaks to a dark side of Hawkeye we only rarely see. I don't know that I see him endorsing a system of objective morality that sends some people to hell. I mean, I think the one thing we can say for sure Hawkeye believes is immoral is killing. But most of his patients have taken lives. I don't think he believes they belong in hell.

MASH in the early seasons also takes a sort of pro-sin slant, where Hawkeye and Trapper as well as most of the supporting characters are shown freely enjoying sex and booze while being our moral champions. There's a sense of hedonism as life, I think, vs strict obedience to the institution of the army as death. It just seems a bit at odds with this to invoke the Christian concept of hell.

I'm definitely overthinking this to get here, which is why I think the scene works fine.

#this is kinda rough sorry hope it makes sense #mashposting

[peppermint-chocolate-cherries]

How about Russia for the asks

Wow, that sure ended up in my inbox very quickly, thank you!

Pick a character I’ve written and I will explain the top ~three to five ideas/concepts/etc I keep in mind while writing that character that I believe are essential to accurately depicting them.

A disclaimer to start, I have yet to write any actual nationverse, with the exception of a couple Valentine ficlets where he's a side character with a few brief unnerving remarks to make. All my stories have been Cardverse or humans AUs, currently working on my second human fairy-tale setting human AU. And yes, the first two stories I wrote him into had him as one of (if not the) top villains.

Cautious/Secretive/Wary - Russia is not the type of character who's going to spill the beans. When he knows things that might influence his position in the future, when information about a possible threat is known, he's keeping those secrets hidden until the opportune moment. You'll only know ahead of time that he knows something if you're an ally working with him. He will wait to see if this information will give him an advantage, he's not going to talk easily if it can give someone that advantage over him.

Unnerving/Sadistic - This fucker will absolutely drop lines that put people on the edge of their seats in fear. This is usually in the form of remarks that come across as threats, indicating that extreme measures might be taken if people don't do what he wants. Hence the menacing aura that the fandom knows all too well that he has, especially when he makes these comments with a smile on his face that must makes it that little bit creepier.

Questionable Relationships - This is a tougher one to explain and to apply, and definitely depends on the setting and AU being written. I do support the canon implications that Russia does want friends, that he doesn't want to be alone, but he also does not know how to form healthy relationships. The friendships we see throughout canon and through fandom, as well as his relationships with his sisters, there is this toxic element where he's been the one in control and does not use that power in a beneficial manner (to the point of abusive behaviour).

This is a very difficult grey area to address in writing, and I've read enough abusive Russia on FFN over the years to know it's not my cup of tea. In the stories I've written, which are all not-nation AUs as mentioned at the top, I've had his relationship with his sisters be a key driver of his behaviour, as the extreme steps he takes end up being either in defense of his sisters or impacting them negatively by mistake where he must ask for forgiveness after. This sibling relationship is quite fun to write, especially with a little sister as rebellious and head-strong as Belarus.

Thank you for the ask, I hope I did this justice.

#hws russia #aph russia #answered asks

[arcplaysgames]

gurl me too the fuck

okay the next palace is really starting to get on my tits so lets stop and catch up and gloat about how i'm right about everything (i.e. am able to pick up on obvious narrative tells and extrapolate blah blah)

Ran into Kasumi and got lunch. Apparently she totally bombed her gym conference because she's still working to get over the very recent loss of her sister. Like, she says it was this past Spring she died and I'm like wow uh that's. really recent for you to be acting all plucky and optimistic.

So that kind of explains her severe Stepford Smiler vibes, goddamn. I'm certain that the recent loss of her sister definitely won't come up again in a traumatic way that reveals she's been plastering on a happy face to cover her pain, nope.

POINTS AND LAUGHS

stay mad, phuckboy.

Do you think Matt Mercer ever has to ask for a shot of whiskey before straight-facing lines like this or is he such a professional he just powers through?

Everyone tries to go see the summer fireworks but it's hard to see them in a crowd, the tall buildings are in the way, and then it starts raining.

Sucks. Poor Ann, you looked so nice, Ann!

One, sad boy hour is every hour when you are Reverie Vantas the Fifth.

Two, Ryuji can you fucking locate the brake pedal in your vehicle and apply some pressure, goddamn.

I'm prob not gonna show EVERY screencap of it because there are SO MANY but a third of the things Ryuji says are along the lines of wanting to be famous and dramatic, and it's a repeated refrain so much that I can only imagine that's going to be important later. But it chafes so fucking hard in the meantime.

I actually hate the Phansite and the entire concept of the Thieves being famous. I think they should be working silently, not for the fanfare. Not actively seeking out targets (which would lead to overeager mistakes) but waiting to build a case and then striking when the situation is dire enough to warrant their intervention, because the level of power they have over people is tantamount to an ego death and should be treated as such with the needed gravity.

Obviously there are mitigating factors, like how the very presence of a Palace indicates a severe situation, but also: I hate the current MO so much, I hate unilateral action without oversight.

(Hi, yes, I was Team Tony for the five minutes I cared about Marvel. Fuck Captain America.)

Every glimpse the game gives me Sojiro's secret daughter makes me pull my chair in and sit up straight, lmao.

also why do ppl wear their headphones like that, ain't that heavy on the ears

So there's a lot going on so summary: Medjed, which is basically Anonymous in MegaTenland, has threatened the Thieves and calls them fake prophets of justice and says Japan needs to drop the idol worship. wait i thought japan loved idol wor--

fucking crying laughing. IF YUSUKE HAS ONE FAN I AM ONE OF THEM, IF HE HAS NO FANS I AM DEAD.

So while Medjed is making threats against the Thieves, "another" hacker reaches out to Reverie and is like "I will help you with Medjed but you have to steal someone's heart, her name is Futaba Sakura."

So: Sojiro's daughter is named Futaba Sakura, she is setting up her own heart-theft, and I believe she is also Medjed and the entire plot is a set-up to make the Thieves do what she wants.

I don't have proof of the second half of that yet but I am pretty confident in it.

An unmarked envelope for Reverie shows up but thankfully Adachi is still probably in prison somewhere so its a blank calling card like the Thieves tend to use.

"Alibaba" is like "that's what you need, right, a calling card?" And Reverie informs them he needs the targets name. Alibaba reluctantly says its Futaba Sakura. Because Alibaba is Futaba Sakura, obvsly.

Going to Sojiro for deets doesn't go well.

BUT EVEN FUCKING WORSE

Sae wants info on someone named Wakaba, and when Sojiro says no she threatens to pull his custody of Futaba from him until he yields.

And then smiles and says she'll be back for coffee.

Wow, so its just the whole Nijima family, huh? Do what they demand or they will fuck you over aggressively and then pretend like it ain't no thing.

Meanwhile, Akechi is laying the groundwork to blame the mental shutdown cases on the Thieves, which is just fabulous. You need a haircut, Beige Boy.

THEN HE SHOWS UP TO BE VAGUELY INTIMIDATING TO THE TEAM AND BE ALL WINKY AGAIN. If this boy has not already done a murder before, he will have done a murder by the end of the game and we just gotta make sure it doesn't end up being Reverie.

LE BACKSTORY: Sojiro and Futaba's mother Wakaba were friends for a long time. Wakaba was a single mother (the game takes a moment to gasp about this to remind us This Is Frowned Upon) raising Futaba. It's obvious Sojiro was incredibly fond of her. When she died suddenly, Sojiro adopted Futaba and raised her.

She's always been a reclusive genius type but lately Futaba's been losing it, talking about hearing her mother and hearing voices. She blames herself for her mother's death though we don't know why.

Sojiro is doing his best with the situation but mostly is trying to give Futaba a place she feels safe.

8C

Sojiro I'm sorry I made fun of your hat, you're a really good dude. Don't worry, we will use the power of demonic smartphone apps to help your daughter.

THERE IS ALSO A SMALL THREAD BUILDING UP AROUND MORGANA. When Reverie and the team go to investigate Futaba, Morgana gets left behind in the commotion and they don't notice until later.

There is this small wind up happening with either the Thieves not appreciating Morgana enough (which: agreed) or maybe with so many people joining the team and everyone kind of up to speed on how the Metaverse works, Morgana is beginning to feel his importance slipping? Maybe he's afraid without some kind of usefulness, some kind of leverage, no one will be motivated to help him look for his memories.

Which is absurd, I would drop literally any party member for Morgana.

The team goes and asks Futaba for her keywords to get into her Palace. She's fully nonverbal but talks via chat and says she's going to die here, it's her tomb.

Off to the Palace!

#p5 #persona liveblog

[3vocatio]

the thing abt one of the most <3 solomon scenes being copied word for word for diavolo is just so. it's not even insane or unbelievable to me it's just extremely irritating like these are genuinely such wonderful characters in a wonderful setting how are the devs messing up on the writing bit THIS bad.

idm the fan service because like... otome game & all that but also that doesn't mean that they can't have a compelling plot and good writing to go with it????? especially in events like clearly they keep trying to include every single character and it just. doesn't work. and there are just SO MANY events too like if you're playing for non-plot purposes it's still so goddamn annoying because let the players breathe 😭

idk i just wish the writing quality in the game would improve at the very least. like it's fine if it's 'cringe' or wtv at least come up with original and decent plots instead of just repeating the same things over and over again yk?

sorry about the rant i've just been really pissed about this lately in the game 😭

oh my GOSH raaz solomon is the last person the obm devs haven't messed up (+ the new side characters, specifically mephistopheles) and i'm so terrified of the obm devs ruining him like they did everyone else...

in this new steampunk event, the locked route is SPECIFICALLY being catered for whales. unlocking the chapters was easy to build up to, but now you need 15 keys off the bat to continue, and i feel like it's heavily reflective of how indifferent the devs are towards actually doing their own characters justice. everything is meant to serve their whales, bring in more revenue, and sit comfortably even when they know they're angering their own fanbase by rubbing salt in the wound (i.e. making satan self-aware of his cat obsession, solomon outwardly expressing discomfort for the erasure of his humanity from other characters).

the devs are growing to completely disregard their own story, slapping together some fanservice in the main story when most of their fanbase can't even reach that point. why not serve your veterans & those who financially support you with consistent & cathartic story arcs? why not balance everyone, everything?

so i share your frustrations: obey me has been spiraling down in quality for a long time. i think that the last time i've been satisfied with the story was during season 2, when the fandom wasn't as big, and people were invested in figuring out what'll happen next because everything was cleverly panning out to a huge event: the dagger scene with lucifer. people didn't know what to make of simeon's play, and i remember when people theorized that the play would parallel a huge event near the end of the season... and we were right! and so many people were genuinely happy with the story being able to keep their interest and keep them on their toes.

now, there is a severe lack of anything reminiscent of holding anyone's interest, even the veterans, even me. i would woefully log onto tumblr as season 4's lessons rolled around every week, and would share everyone else's disappointment when we gradually accepted the fact that the story was easy to predict given how lazy the devs had become. i want them to take their time so badly, to give us quality over quantity, but with solmare now becoming so big with their new cash cow, obey me, compared to their previous cliche otome games, i think they've allowed the success to get to them.

thoughts of “it's an awful game, i hope no one plays it” and “it's a nice game to play, i can't wait to share my thoughts” are two things that can coexist, albeit shaped into something more along the lines of “it's a horrendous game that i can bond over with friends” once you find yourself being sucked deeper into it.

i don't think i'll stop playing anytime soon, because as i told someone in the past, “[it has] flavor in all of its terrible, atrocious glory”. i'm able to use concepts & ideas that the story gives me and, in my eyes, i get to make it better. i get to share my thoughts with like-minded people like you, and everyone jumps on the inspiration bandwagon. people bond over the same failures that makes us frustrated, and that's one of the few reasons i have any semblance of gratitude for obey me.

#﹒❝ birdsong #raazberry #obey me #omswd #obey me shall we date #obey me spoilers #obey me rant #obey me solomon #obey me diavolo

[writingonesdreams]

AU tag game

Rules: I dare you to make an AU of a WIP on the spot and fill in the following intro categories

AU title: Demon Deal AU

Setting: A country with a dimensional rift that allowed magic in also divided it into four parts: magical, demonic, post-apocalyptic and modern.

Concept:

The main cast of Tears of Iron made a deal with a demon god for a special power in exchange for a supernatural price that can't cost them their life. They all made the contract to get out of the demonic dimension. Now they are in the magical dimension, but as brainwashed slaves of an organisation that wanted to use those powers for themselves (god powered magicians are a jackpot).

Zephyr erased everyone's memories to make them work for the organisation willingly (less risky resistance), so they would forget their contracts and couldn't use their powers (and therefore wouldn't have to pay the price).

If you don't remember the contract, you can't be paying for it.

Zephyr is the only one who remembers and uses his power to the max to spare the others, since he doesn't consider his price to be as high (he pays in internal bleeding and pain in equal time he uses his magic. He can't die from it, so it's cool, right?)

Aesthetics: white sandy beach by a steel grey sea, a giant rusty red bridge leading nowhere, a great forest with neon green luminescent spots on the bark, dark blue smog over a city cast in eternal twilight, the invisible pillars of shimmering power at the boarders

Tiny scene/line:

Leander looked at Zephyr's pristine black suit and stony face and leaned on the wall as far away as possible.

"You know, Skye keeps telling us you aren't a traitor. That you did all of this to protect us. In your own sick way, but still."

Zephyr leaned against the wall opposite him, burying his hands in his pockets. Not very stylish, but he was so tired of pretending and keeping strong. His friends has always been his source of comfort, their joyful expressions, their carefree laughts, sparkling eyes.

The beautiful painfree lives he had provided them in the best world possible.

But since they found out the truth, they have become endlessly tiring to be around.

"I'm trying to understand it, I really am," Leander continued, "but it's freaking insane. The more I think about it, the more I hate it."

Zephyr sighted and looked at his wrist watch. How long still? How many of these lectures is he going to suffer through?

Suddenly he was yanked by the collar. Leander's eyes were dangrously close, flashing like lighting before the storm starts.

"Excuse me, for not being thankful, that my best friend has erased and filled me with aritifical memories of his own choosing and regularly bleeds himself dry in his own twisted version of justice. In what hellish universe is this okay?"

"I really don't know what bothers you so much."

"The control! The pain! The pain you choose for yourself, for us, without us having a say! That you made this deal about us, without us and you are even freaking damn proud of it!"

Leander's voice broke at the end and he leaned into him, hands shaking, forehead against Zephyr's shoulder.

"What's my part of the deal? Why won't you let me find out?"

The raven just pressed his lips together and looked to the side.

"What if there is a way to find out? If I had chosen a deal,... wouldn't I have chosen to spare you from this?"

Zephyr winced.

A mistake.

Leander was still holding on to him, watching him from under his eyelashes like a hawk. He felt it.

"I would, wouldn't I." The blond rised his head. "That's it. That's what I would choose now, and that's what I would have chosen back then. And that's why you can't let me find out. It would counterattack your wish, your deal."

Zephyr didn't manage to stop himself from shaking his head in horrified denial, pushing Leander away from him. But the blond held on tight, clawing his fists in his clothes.

"And if the deal is countered by the means not of your doing,...you will be free."

Tagging if you want to play: @thewalkingnerdx @sleepyowlwrites @bloodlessheirbyjacques @catharticallysarcastic @myhusbandsasemni @avrablake @circa-specturgia @muddshadow @sharraus

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writeblr community #tag game #au tag game #my writing #scene doesn't have to he as long as mine #this is just what I got and it only fits here #I have been watching lots of fantasy show trailers what can I do but an AU with my cast XD #open tag btw

[dairy-farmer]

Hi, this might be kind of a dumb question, but would you ever write about sasuke as tim drake again? Ever since I read "heroes come back," I've been pondering what Sasuke's relationship with the batfam would be, especially after dropping the "I've learnt my lesson about following strange men who offer me things in exchange for my body" line. And how your Sasuke!Tim lines up with the Tim you write about and in what ways that changes his relationships, and in what ways it doesn't.

not a dumb question at all!!!!! i have a fondness for all my fics including this one which i consider to be one of the most 'out there' concepts simply because of the whole crossover mashup haha!!

unfortunately i don't have any real or concrete plans about a continuation but there is a big door open for lots of possibilities that i never put down!!! simply because i couldn't find a way to incorporate them.

i do feel like sasuke's relationship is a lot like canon tim's- in that it's very unique in the nature of it.

by the time that sasuke aka "tim" comes into their lives he's had about a decade to really grind down and process A LOT of the trauma he carried over from his last life. (tim's therapists know that tim is traumatized from the events he witnessed as a child and they know that healing is slow but tim also presents with a lot of neuroses- anxiety, antisocial tendencies, paranoia, ptsd. sasuke's issues run deep and i think they pick up on it). sasuke, for the most part, died untreated from a lot of what he suffered and endured. in fact, it's the reason for his death because he never truly allowed himself to open up and let others in. when he's reborn and realizes he's on his own it's sort of the kick in the ass he's always needed to begin the journey to get better (along with the fact that the world he's in now has the facilities to help treat someone like him, i imagine that bruce has been petitioning for better mental health safety nets (especially ones for children) for a long time and sasuke is one of the many people to now benefit from it). sasuke in this verse truly does want to heal and get better and his relationships reflect that.

his relationship with the bats isn't quite strained, there's no coldness between them. but it took a while to get to the familiarity level of comfort. sasuke first respects them and their work and comes to genuinely love and care for them second. but it's his decade of work that ultimately helps him let them in and bond with them as a family through that also takes a while it's what allows him to be 'friendly' enough to befriend young justice. sasuke isn't good at things like socializing or interpersonal things but that's okay because batman isn't either and dick is more than willing to bare the burden of carrying on a conversation with his new little brother. but i feel like their road definitely is a long one because sasuke comes to them incredibly independent.

sasuke has still maintained his internalized maturity as an adult even though he has the mental processing and reactions of a teenager. sasuke is someone who was only ever responsible for himself and when in a team he was always the commander or the one directly under the commander. he definitely is set in his ways like an old man (read: like bruce lol). and while he admired the work bruce did he also had a...bit of a hard time adapting to it. ninja, i believe, kind of have an honor code when it comes to civilians. like only the worst kind of ninja throw their weight around with civilians and sasuke, who is still recovering from poor self-image and self-hatred, wouldn't really feel comfortable doing it. hence him adapting 'civilian' styles of fighting when dealing with most people, fighting like how he'd see farmers in disputes or bar owners would with drunks. the bats see that as him not really wanting to hurt people- until the opponent is someone clearly trained or a threat well then the gloves come off.

sasuke is definitely not fighting at the level he did before though. mainly because of differences in his body's muscle-skeletal structure but also there's no chakra present in the world. sasuke could be thrown through a wall as a genin and yeah it would hurt but he'd live. if that happened to him as robin he'd just die. his bones would break, organs would rupture- chakra provided a kind of padding to protect from hits but also help him hit harder. sasuke also notes how his perception is slower. the closest that a 'normal' person has to ninja perception is deadshot- like that's the level that the lowest ranking genin was at. so sasuke is definitely experiencing a big power descale. as a result he'd rely really heavily on techniques he's mastered, espionage, trap laying, etc. like tim, he's definitely not the strongest or fastest on the team- he has to plan ahead and outsmart many of his opponents, pulling trump cards and tricks. i had this idea that never ended up in the fic about the family catching tim constantly working at a kind of 'signature move' where he'd throw batarangs and then try to change their trajectory while they were still in the air- a trick notably developed by itachi that i believe sasuke had once asked him to teach him (?) but he never did. so sasuke is reverse engineering it as a kind of homage to his brother, eventually, he's successful and it becomes sort of quirk about his fighting style that's recognizable along with his bostaff.

among the bats sasuke is a very quiet and patient person, that anger that he'd had all his past life has more or less simmered down (which is why his 'rivalry' with damian isn't met with mutual aggression and more annoyance from his end when damian gets mouthy). which is different from tim who you can see on occasion has bouts of anger. he's also remarkably forgiving because he's developed more empathy for people- something that tim also had.

sasuke also has a policy of never referring to wanted people by their 'monikers' slash villain names. on one hand, because one of his therapists had told them that it just reinforces then delusions of grandeur many villains have but also i imagine it's mostly a cultural reason. as a ninja only specific people got monikers and it was never for a good reason (usually it meant they had killed a lot of people or because of some bad notable trait about them ). ex. the white fang, sharingan kakashi, friend killer kakashi, the legendary sucker, the yellow flash. using someone's moniker means you know them solely by reputation and are lending them a degree of respect by acknowledging that the other person is well known. sasuke does not want to offer that kind of respect, inadvertent or not. i imagine it really annoys some of the rogues. especially joker and deathstroke (i had a funny scene where sasuke was going to refer to harley and poison ivy as dr. quinzel and dr. isley and then joker as just 'jack' but i never managed to find a way to work it in).

for deathstroke it just irritates him because he feels like he's fighting one of joey's little league friends because sasuke keeps referring to him as mr. wilson. for other rogues they all kind of pause the first time it happens a few of them even freak out because they realize that sasuke knows their secret identity. sasuke's family all just accept that it's a weird little quirk of his

ultimatly i think that sasuke has a pretty good relationship with his family, not really any better or worse than canon tim's but it's one that sasuke never really managed to have before which is the biggest change for him.

but that doesn't mean he shares every part of himself with his family. sasuke at first thought that maybe one of the many magical, psychic, or telepathic people would be able to sense he doesn't belong, that he's not "from" their universe. it was a quiet sort of fear he had because he'd grown to love this life. but he gets reassured that he belongs because no one detects anything off about him. once while he was alone with martian manhunter he'd asked him to read his mind and tell him what he was thinking of. sasuke tried showing him his old life, his old home, his family but martian manhunter had just told him that he wasn't thinking of anything. it's like the tradeoff of being in this new life was that his old one was no longer congruent with reality.

i definitely feel like sasuke struggles with that for awhile. that he's the only one that can continue to remember or mourn that world. so he tries his best to bring in and incorporate parts of that past to his new life. using recipes kakashi taught him to soothe his summons, using moves rock lee taught him, tracking techniques he'd seen kiba use, herbal medicines that sakura had developed, etc.

but despite all the healing that sasuke experienced i feel like there's a few things that cause him real distress. one of those is orochimaru. i don't fully agree with how naruto ended with regard to orochimaru, out of all characters i don't believe he deserved a redemption arc. sasuke's time with him in this verse was a lot darker than it was in naruto. his line of "i've learnt my lesson about following strange men who offer me things in exchange for my body" was definitely a thinly veiled admission of what he'd endured under orochimaru. that is that sasuke endured an unspoken sexual abuse or coercion under orochimaru. maybe orochimaru rewarded sasuke the same way he did many other officers by letting him (read: making him) engage in sexual relations because orochimaru views people the same way he does lab rats (the viewing people as lab rats is also why sasuke despises scarecrow because he reminds him too much of orochimaru's experimental nature) and that meant that his rewards for performing well were limited to food and copulation opportunities. there's this really great sasuke time travel fic that i highly recommmend that goes more into the sexual abuse trauma sasuke endured under orochimaru because it's a take that i've only ever seen one other time and it was that fic.

jason definitely does worry and deliberate over telling someone but sasuke had told him he was getting better. ultimately he decides to tell bruce about it and sasuke i think would hit a bit of a rough patch because this wasn't something he'd ever brought up in therapy or truly processed- hence his big reaction over the fear gas when "orochimaru" appeared. it's this that catalyzes sasuke confessing what occurred over the year he went looking for bruce and also about what had happened to him with orochimaru though sasuke refuses to acknowledge his name because sasuke doesn't want orochimaru to have the dignity of also existing in this new world.

ultimately i think sasuke settles in more. he has the realization about his sexuality he never had in his old life and basically just lives a fulfilling with his family that he finally let in. beyond this i'm afraid i don't really have much more inspiration but thank you so much for your interest!! i'm happy you enjoyed my weird little fic about sasuke being reborn as tim!!!

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