#I notice my Dream is different than most I see depicted

[topazshadowwolf]

for the growing up gooptales would Dream or anyone else know about what happend to the gang? i remember you saying gooptales takes place a lil bit after a truce i think. If so then I would assume Dream eventually finds out. although i'm not sure nightmare would tell him very willingly. But if not then it would be very very suspicious that all of your brothers henchmen are nowhere to be found... food for thought...

Yeah, everyone will eventually find out. How Dream does will be 1) first answered later in GoopTales, then 2) answered in this ask I answered earlier. These asks can in about the same time. There will be more bitter-sweet feelings, as Epic best friend is now a "little dude." And Error finds it absolutely hilarious that the pains in his coccyx are now babies. (And he's not above punting children.)

But since this was mostly answered and it deals mostly with Dream, have some more Uncle Dream. :3

---

"uncle dream!" Killer squealed happily as he ran over and hugged the golden-clad skeleton around the legs.

Dream smiled and grabbed the kid up, tossing him in the air, hearing another happy squeal from the child before catching him. "Greetings, little one!"

"me too!" Cross said as he hurried over before lightly tugging on Dream's tunic. "toss me too, please?"

"Well, since you said please!" Dream said as he flipped Killer over and carefully set the child down upside down as the boy giggled away. Arms now free, the positive skeleton scooped up Cross, ignoring the glare from his brother as he gave Cross a toss and caught him. "Are you ready for a four-day camping trip?"

"yeah!" Cross cheered and giggled.

"They better not return to me brain damaged...," Nightmare said as he watched Cross be flipped and held upside down. The worry wort. Dream had no idea his brother would be this protective of a father. It was amusing, really.

"Please, we all know bumps and bruises are part of learning and growing. Right boys?" Dream asked as he flipped Cross right-side up and set him down.

"yeah!" Killer and Cross said as they ran around Dream's legs excitedly.

"is that, like, learning from mistakes?" Horror asked.

"Yes... though they better be mistakes you learn from," Nightmare sighed. He then looked down at Dust. The child was hesitant to leave Nighty's side, and Nightmare would be inclined to the the kiddo stay with him because that's the way he is with these kids. But NOPE! Dream wanted Nighty and Lyra to have four days to just... being a couple and grow their bond.

"Hey, Dust," Dream said, squatting down. "Ferrous is coming with us, right?" The child nodded. "That is wonderful! I think you and him are going to learn a lot in the woods."

"there's things to learn?" Dust asked nervously.

"Yup! Your dad, Mr. Night, already gave me a list of things to try teaching you while you are out there. Why don't you be the one in charge of writing down what we learn so you can show Mr. Night when you get back," Dream asked, and Dust looked up at Nightmare and then back to Dream.

"okay," Dust replied, and Dream held his hand out to the boy, who made his way over to take it. Ferrous, the blue-guy pit bull with tiny nubs for ears followed along behind.

Both Lyra and Nightmare went over everything Dream already knew, including the little bonnets Lyra made to protect Ferrous' ear holes from rain. Whoever owned him before Dust found him thought the dog didn't need ears. The poor thing. Still, even though he heard this all before, Dream pretended this was all stuff he needed to hear again for their sake as Blue, Stretch, and Epic grabbed the boys' things.

#Since I already answered most of this ask #Have some more Uncle Dream #I notice my Dream is different than most I see depicted #This Dream is ready to get his hands dirty to help others #then spend a relaxing afternoon running around and napping in nature #picking up dirt and leaves as he goes #He loves his naps #but a nap outside #the best #10/10 #he will always recommend #Growing up gooptales #Uncle!Dream #Dream!sans

[burningvelvet]

a post in honor of lord byron's 200th death anniversary —

the greeks were very fond of byron, who when he died in 1824 was a military commander and notable influence in their war of independence. as one of the most (if not the most) famous members of the philhellenist movement, byron used his poetic platform to try to remind people of greece's reputation as the source of western traditions in art and culture. the greeks then honored byron by decorating his coffin with a laurel wreath (below). they also erected statues for him, like this one below in athens depicting him being crowned with a laurel wreath (a symbol of greatness, especially in poetry/music [which historically overlapped]) by a female personification of greece. to this day, some statues of byron are annually wreathed in tradition, and the names byron/vyron/vyronas are still used in greece for roads, towns, and people in his honor.

"’Tis sweet to win, no matter how, one’s laurels,

By blood or ink; ’tis sweet to put an end

To strife; ’tis sometimes sweet to have our quarrels,

Particularly with a tiresome friend:

Sweet is old wine in bottles, ale in barrels;

Dear is the helpless creature we defend

Against the world; and dear the schoolboy spot

We ne’er forget, though there we are forgot.

But sweeter still than this, than these, than all,

Is first and passionate love — it stands alone,

Like Adam’s recollection of his fall;

The tree of knowledge has been pluck’d — all ’s known —

And life yields nothing further to recall

Worthy of this ambrosial sin, so shown,

No doubt in fable, as the unforgiven

Fire which Prometheus filch’d for us from heaven."

— excerpt from Lord Byron's Don Juan, Canto the First (writ 1818, pub. 1819).

"The mountains look on Marathon –

And Marathon looks on the sea;

And musing there an hour alone,

I dreamed that Greece might still be free;

For standing on the Persians' grave,

I could not deem myself a slave."

— excerpt from Lord Byron's Don Juan, Canto the Third (writ 1819, pub 1821) — this stanza is part of a section often published on its own under the title "The Isles of Greece."

"Byron was at once a romantic dreamer, who wanted life to square up to his illusions, and a satirical realist, who saw what was before him with unusual clarity and found its contradictoriness amusing. The clash between the two Byrons is nowhere more noticeable than in his last writings, done on Cephalonia and at Missolonghi during the months before his death. There we see the Greece he dreams of, and the Greece which, in different ways, destroys him."

— excerpt from Peter Cochran's "Byron's Writings in Greece, 1823-4."

"Oh, talk not to me of a name great in story;

The days of our youth are the days of our glory;

And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two and twenty

Are worth all your laurels, though ever so plenty.

What are garlands and crowns to the brow that is wrinkled?

'Tis but as a dead-flower with May-dew besprinkled.

Then away with all such from the head that is hoary!

What care I for the wreaths that can only give glory!

Oh FAME! - if I e'er took delight in thy praises,

'Twas less for the sake of thy high-sounding phrases,

Than to see the bright eyes of the dear one discover,

She thought that I was not unworthy to love her.

There chiefly I sought thee, there only I found thee;

Her glance was the best of the rays that surround thee;

When it sparkled o'er aught that was bright in my story,

I knew it was love, and I felt it was glory."

— Lord Byron's "Stanzas Written on the Road Between Florence and Pisa" (November, 1821). What is illustrated here, and what I try to illustrate all throughout this assortment, is Byron's conflation of love and glory, and the idea that poetry and politics are both ways to deserve and achieve — not fame, but what fame seems to promise — love.

"But 'tis not thus—and 'tis not here

Such thoughts should shake my Soul, nor now,

Where Glory decks the hero's bier,

Or binds his brow.

The Sword, the Banner, and the Field,

Glory and Greece around us see!

The Spartan borne upon his shield

Was not more free.

Awake (not Greece—she is awake!)

Awake, my Spirit! Think through whom

Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake

And then strike home!"

— excerpt from Lord Byron's "On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sxith Year" (1824).

"What are to me those honours and renown

Past or to come, a new-born people's cry

Albeit for such I could despise a crown

Of aught save Laurel, or for such could die;

I am the fool of passion, and a frown

Of thine to me is as an Adder's eye

To the poor bird whose pinion fluttering down

Wafts unto death the breast it bore so high –

Such is this maddening fascination grown –

So strong thy Magic - or so weak am I."

— although the much more popular and published "On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sxith Year" is often believed to be Byron's last poem, the above is likely Byron's actual last poem. Like the former, it wasn't solely written for Greece, but for his page Lukas Chalandritsanos who he was in unrequited love (or lust) with. It is sometimes titled "Last Words on Greece" (named so by his friend and sometimes-editor Hobhouse).

#queud #literature #english literature #lord byron #romanticism #history #dark academia #poetry #aesthetic #greece #greek #greek history #poems #lit #on this day #byron #byronism #academia #greek war #war #web weaving

[witheredoffherwitch]

I can't help but cringe when I see some people trying to push Aegon v. Aemond or Helaena v. Alys in these online spaces. Each character in the show has their own role in the storyline--and it's absurd to think they could be pitted against each other. It's just too weird.

Aegon v. Aemond isn't a thing because despite these two hating each other's guts, they fight besides each other till their last moment. Aemond fights this war in Aegon's name -- and despite him thinking his brother is nothing more than a drunken wastrel, this fool still offers this challenge to Luke by asking, "did you really think you could just fly about the realm trying to steal my brother's throne at no cost?" In F&B, the conflict is mainly panned out between Aegon v. Rhaenyra and Aemond v. Daemon. Helaena's role is much more passive all while being extremely crucial to how the Dance ultimately ends. Many are quick to point out that Lucerys' death was the catalyst that jumpstarted this whole civil war (even though in truth, it had been simmering since that Driftmark incident) but fail to notice that Halaena's end is what cements the final conclusion of the war.

I have acknowledged my hesitation in discussing Helaena-centric topics on my page because I have always felt like I understand her the least out of all the Green characters. But the way some of y'all go ahead and make assumptions about her relationships with her family -- and make up fake conflicts to justify your own crackship is truly bizzare.

I cannot even comprehend how stupid this forced competition between Helaena and Alys is. People really need to stop injecting Aemond into Helaena's storyline. Her loss, grief and trauma is separate from her brother's struggles -- and Helaena's tragic end is one of the turning points that change the tides against Rhaenyra. Infact, I suppose in this Aegon v. Rhaenyra clash (where Rhaenyra is unbashedly favoured in the show), Helaena's presence might be offered as a false positive for Team Black after the fall of King's Landing. Helaena's death comes right before the Storming of the Dragon Pit that ultimately sealed Rhaenyra's fate -- what remains to be seen is how the show is going to depict the events leading up to that point? In the book, Helaena is more or less a passive figure who is reduced to a grieving queen after the culmination of B&C. I had previously suggested that Helaena's role is going to be bigger than what was depicted in F&B - and given the fact that she has prophetic powers in the show, I assume she will be playing a much bigger role! Helaena is a seer who can see into the future -- and since the show is already exploring the 'song of ice and fire' (a la the long night), it needs to be seen how else are they going to use Helaena beyond season 1. Does she see her line ending after the Dance? Is she aware that dragons might cease to exist after the war? Does she see the eventual demise of her house? Does she see the Dance's conclusion as some sort of inevitable truth that must follow to achieve Aegon's dream?

Alys on the other hand has a completely different role all together. She is either Aemond's high-calling or his partner in chaos. Much of her story is shrouded in mystery. We don't even get a full account of how her story concluded; what happened to her and her child during Aegon III's reign. She becomes the witch queen of Harrenhal but for the next thirty years, we do not know what happened before the castle was eventually given to Lucas Lothston.

In conclusion, I will once again remind folks that each character serves a distinct purpose in this war. The common denominator between these character is unfortunately their father, Viserys -- and this story is essentially a run-down on how the prophetic king himself dooms his entire family (and eventually his house) into the path of self-destruction. For most of his life, Viserys' main aim was to ensure both stability and longevity for his line, and despite his efforts, he failed at that task quite remarkably. Each one of his kids possessed that distinct Targaryen 'trait' and yet this is a king who places his oldest daughter above the rest out of the guilt for killing his first wife. In the end, it was his choice that ultimately doomed his own house.

#hotd discourse #aegon ii targaryen #helaena targaryen #aemond targaryen #alys rivers #helaegon #alysmond #pro team green #team green #anti viserys i targaryen #hotd analysis #fandom bs

[mirroredmemoriez]

Werewolves designs and other shit

Got bored- Remembered I have free choice to make posts on anything I want... So here I am with opinions no one asked for. As the title suggests, it's about werewolves. Starting off, I don't believe I need to explain what a werewolf is. However, I'll put it out there that in most descriptions and depictions it's meant to be a humanoid wolf. I say this because you'll find that in some movies or books it's just a person turning into a giant wolf with no human features or movement such as standing on two legs. (Or like a minotaur situation where the body is a human, but the head is a wolf.)

Here I've collected just human references and anatomy- This is so I can make comparisons and such. Humans vary heavily in the way that we look, due to things such as lifestyle and genetics. At base level, of course we're HUMAN. However, things like our body types, hair texture, eye colour or shape and yada yada all can change the way we look and create differences between us and somebody else.

This is the same for wolves, though maybe not as noticeable compared to humans? Mostly things like their size, coat colour or thickness and etc is what separates them from one another. Looking at their head shapes also can show what species they may be. Generally, they're a pretty lean animal seeing as wolves are known for their running endurance to hunt prey. Being too big would slow them down... I mention this because some depictions of werewolves people make them too muscular in my opinion? It's like they're hairy body builders. Speaking of werewolves- Let me try draw this post back to where I started it! First I wanna look at almost shifted werewolves, so not fully transformed.

(Also I will be using depictions and characters which aren't labelled necessarily as a ''werewolf'' but share many features or similarities. For example, Bigby from The Wolf Among Us.) The common things we usually see is an increase in hairiness, canine growth and eyes becoming highlighted- Usually yellow, though sometimes the werewolf maintains their natural eye colour. We also have ears becoming pointed and the area around the eyebrows and forehead starting to protrude more. All of these things when done right I enjoy in a werewolf design! Though, it's a given that some do it better than others... One of my favourite werewolf designs and transformations has to go to the movie An American Werewolf In London.

This to me is one of the PEAKS of werewolves in media. I could probably make a full post on just this movie... It's one of the most iconic designs and for good reason. Not to mention, I love practical effects, especially in horror. One of my dreams is to make a movie with them. Enough gushing though. What do I like? Well, it's grotesque nature really. A transformation shouldn't just be BAM you're a ball of fur in my eyes. The amount of change is crazy and so glossed over.

The transformation literally has bones extending along with all the muscles and tissues alongside. Don't even get me started on what the organs may have to be doing? A human heart could not support a werewolf body, it just wouldn't be big enough... That muscle would literally have to increase in size to be able to deal with the power behind the body of a wolf. Yes, I'm aware they're supernatural and I shouldn't try heavily to apply science to them... However, I don't care? A TRANSFORMATION WOULD BE HORRFIC AND PAINFUL, SO IT SHOULD BE SHOWN AS SUCH! It's also why I headcanon that turned werewolves have the chance of just dying straight up with their first transformation, compared to ones just born as a werewolf because of how extreme the change is. Anyway! Some more designs.

I think what some suffer from, is leaning either too close to a human and or leaning too close to a wolf? They can't find a balance and at times it's like a worse rendition of the Cats movie.

Like here, the werewolves from The Quarry almost lean into some classic vampire depictions. The teeth I like! But the lack of hair and flatter snout just means it's not really screaming WEREWOLF at me.. More so a general mutant. (QUICK ADD! A flatter snout doesn't always break a design. It's just when other features such as hair are also lacking that it starts becoming less wolf in nature to me.) We've also got a more recent werewolf to look at... Which is Enid from the Wednesday show. Because fucking hell, that was a disappointment? She ended up looking like a mix between the Ice Age baby and Diego the saber tooth tiger.

They did her so fucking dirty... And it would actually be very simple to fix! This could be salvaged- It just wasn't. Somebody saw that design and green lit it and whoever you are, why? I think I'll end this here now because I've reached the image limit... If anyone has any questions about certain things I've mentioned, feel free. I also want to state that this is pure opinion and by no means supposed to spread hate towards anything? It's your world, if you wanna draw your werewolves like the Sims 4, who am I to stop you? THIS IS MAL OUT! AND IF YOU'VE READ ALL OF THIS YOU'RE SOMEHOW MORE UNHINGED THAN I AM CURRENTLY. (I MAY MAKE A PT 2 AS I DO HAVE MORE THOUGHTS AND MENTIONS TO MAKE.)

#werewolf #werewolves #werewolf designs #teen wolf #the wolf among us #the quarry #wolf blood #an american werewolf in london #the wolf man #wolf man #the howling #van helsing #nosferatu #enid sinclair #wednesday netflix #remus lupin #lycanthrope #the cabin in the woods #fenrir greyback #headcanons #wolf study #horror #horror movies #tw gore #blood tw

[the-real-maglev]

Dream BBQ Analysis & Speculation: the Reveal Trailer

Hoo boy, at least I can get this one out of the way early. This trailer was a massive piece of whiplash when it was first posted and its still very engrossing to this day. I dread covering this one because there's a lot of stuff shown here but there's virtually zero clues towards what any of it could be at all. There's so many things packed into 25 seconds that it's almost overwhelming. I'll see what I can unpack though.

[Flashing lights warning, this is a bit redundant since the trailer also has the warning, but I felt like it'd be courteous]

The Japanese text just reads Dream BBQ, nothing of note there, even with the wierd backgrounds. Speaking of which, we see minimal scenery in this trailer due to the backgrounds instead primarily consisting of gradients and other such designs. There's also a bunch of misc clips during the opening that don't seem to bear any particular significance (like the wall of Froggy talking and Taski's anxiety dance), so I'll trim it down to only the scenes I deem important enough to cover.

The first notable scene is the rotating ENAs with the changing background color. Something I notice is that the uniform is rendered in grayscale here, but that's not the most interesting thing. First, one of the ENAs here has the season 1 colors despite wearing season 2's outfit and hairstyle. Maybe this is hinting towards them being one in the same rather than different characters like most people assume? The language the staff has used in regards to BBQ ENA's relation to season 1 ENA seems to point to that as well. Very interesting indeed, but that isn't even the most interesting part of this clip.

Thats right, four brand new color combos: green+eraser pink, yellow+orange (who looks like cheese personally), purple+tan and wierd color I can't identify+cyan. Whether these are hinting towards us meeting more ENAs or are just funky trailer visuals, only time will tell. I think the purple+tan one looks cool though. Very miniscule detail, the ENAs on the left have their torso color reflect the right side of their face, while the ENAs on the right side have their torso color reflect the left side of their face, something that goes for BBQ ENA and season 1 ENA as well.

That's not even all from this clip, since it gives the first look at Broken ENA. She curiously doesn't have her hat here, but that's probably just because she's upside down and gravity is active. I'll get into Broken ENA more when we get to the Steam trailer, there's a lot to say about her there.

This may be a reach but I feel like this shot may imply a casino area. My main thought is that this may be linked to the neon alleyway shown in the screenshots on the Steam page, but I'm basically just spitballing here.

Here we have the debut of a character I'll be dubbing Orca, since they bear resemblance to Peruvian orca carvings. Its details cannot be made out here due to the angle, however a clearer view of this character has appeared in the Fangamer merchandise, so I'll get into it more when I reach the merchandise. From this shot, though, I can assume this character isn't the most hospitable, considering our first impressions of them are them devouring ENA.

Here we have this headless blue horse made of... threads? Some sort of winding material. I feel like this character may be based on Leghorse from Space Funeral, but I'm willing to accept wrongness there. It's also surrounded by these root pants characters that I have a feeling will be recurring minor NPCs throughout the game. Interestingly, they seem to be bowing in worship to this horse character. I have a bit of a theory as to why

This here is a beta screenshot of the quest board, which was shown off in the 2022 ENA Day livestream (and archived on the ENA Wiki). I have far more to say about it when we get to the Steam trailer, but for now I want to draw attention to the icon beside the quest title on the left side, which depicts the horse character. Perhaps this horse will be responsible for quests? That would explain why the roots were bowing down to it, since it seems to give orders to others if it's a quest manager. The opening of the Steam trailer gives me other ideas though, which combines with the fact that the quest board has changed design to make me doubt that this is the case. Still an interesting prospect I think.

I need you to really take in this egg, it will be crucial to understanding Dream BBQ

Now we have a rather interesting character who hasn't been seen since. I feel like this might actually be a different character manifesting out of the clothes like how Phindoll just lives in and ophanim-esque residence. I'm thinking those birds could coalesce into a different NPC.

After those incredibly dense 25 seconds, the trailer thankfully slows down dramatically for the next two thirds of its runtime, spent mostly on this screen here. There's still plenty to dissect here, though. I will be going over each panel left to right in the bulletpoints below.

• First up, Froggy makes his debut here. A bit strange that Taski Maiden was revealed before him when he's meant to be the secondary protagonist, but I digress. Speaking of digression, the ENA Wiki says that he bears a resemblance to Tsubakura Enraku from Len'en Project (mainly in sharing key colors in key places) and the comparison is bizarrely sound so I just have to share it. The visuals definitely seem to paint a laid back, possibly slacker picture of him, which lines up with how he was described in ENA Day 2023, being a foolish comic relief sidekick with a high opinion of himself. He was described as being based on comic relief characters in old Japanese detective dramas, which makes me feel like he shares an origin with Gumshoe from the Ace Attorney series, though his only two known lines (from the Steam page and the delay announcement) seem to imply that he's going to be rather commanding and rude. I must also draw attention to the docks he sits at. The green sky and gray terrain make me think this may actually be a more dreary version of the overworld from season 1, which was depicted with a green sky in Temptation Stairway and always had gray grounds. Quite a neat area regardless.

• This is the first time we see BBQ ENA with her iconic megaphone and the first hint towards Meanie ENA's personality. Not much to say about this panel other than I find the pose to be amusing. I'll take the opportunity to say that BBQ ENA and Teto in Mesmerizer wear incredibly similar outfits and I'm taking my followers down with me. I'll take this time to spout my 10000 years theory, as I call it, which states that Dream BBQ takes place... well, 10000 years after Temptation Stairway. Reason I say this here is because the very insistent terminology of the team makes me think BBQ ENA actually IS the same person as season 1's ENA after all, it's just that she's matured after spending eons in the realm of Runas. Likewise, the world and other characters have changed a lot in that time a well to a point of unrecognizability, going with the statement that we might be seeing familiar faces but very different from when we last saw them. I find it to be a very interesting prospect personally. I'll be getting back to this theory soon in this post.

• Here marks the debut of the little guys that Taski Maiden lugs around. I'll say that I see Taski being a child and thus they aren't her children, no idea what relation they could hold though. I have a feeling there will be a quest involving bringing Taski's little guys back to her. I have some other misc things to talk about with Taski while I'm here though. First, I just love how free-form her design is. Like, it seems that every pattern on her body and even those wierd whisker outline bits are able to move independently and I feel like that will lead to some very expressive animation. I'd also like to note an insane theory I had that I heavy doubt will be true but I must still share because of the strange amount of evidence: Taski Maiden could be connected to (or straight up *was*, following the 10000 years theory) Moony. Both have gray skin (with Taski's skin tone looking like a middleground between the halves of Primal Moony), a single rounded eye (with Taski's being on the right side of her face, just like with Primal Moony), some other iconic attribute in place of a second eye (Moony's geometric inclusion and Taski's mask thingy) and are voiced by Lizzie Freeman (this is admittedly the weakest point because Lizzie also voices Sad ENA but it's an existing similarity so I've got to say it). Taski's little guys are even split into dark gray and light gray halves, with the darker side on the left, just like Primal Moony, with their body shape resembling a chibified Primal Moony too. If there really is a connection, it'd explain why Taski seems to be quite a major character. This even ironically plays into the 10000 years theory, with Moony getting less mature being an amusing contrast to ENA getting more mature. Nonetheless, it's a bit of a crack theory, but it's there.

• Then we have the noteface guy, who I nickname Henoheno due to that being the start of the long name that kanji face has. He's always struck me as looking like sort of boss, however there's like nothing to go off of. All I can assume is that his appearance in ENA Day 2024 means he'll be in Lonely Door and he'll be more important than the average NPC.

• And lastly, the sea of blood area. This area has appeared in just about all the promotional material, likely due to just how strange and creepy it is. Curiously, the eye in the sky changes colors in the Fangamer lenticular poster. I wonder if that'll happen in-game or if that's just something Fangamer did to give the poster more movement. This area seems extremely important and I'm sure we'll be spending plenty of time here, as disconcerting as the area may be. Possibly we'll even be revisiting this area in multiple chapters.

Not even gonna bother talking about Clown anymore because I already said a ton about him in the teaser analysis. This post has been in my drafts for days and it feels amazing to finally have it posted. I hope you all like my insane theories. The next post will be about the Steam trailer... or more appropriately, only part of it, since the Steam trailer is so loaded with information that I'm splitting its analysis into multiple parts.

#ena #ena dream bbq #dream bbq #rambles #that egg will be very important #trust me #i asked john ena #Youtube #ena theory #fan theory #analysis

[archivalofsins]

@seariii I want you to know this is the most wholesome thing I've read regarding someone liking Kotoko in a while.

Also, you were right, the points we're seeing being made are from different places. Most of the defenses for Amane's mother's actions I saw were on twitter directly after the release of Purge March. The misogyny point has come up on multiple platforms though. I do know that people can be very insistent/aggressive when it comes to Amane being Innocent, but I've only heard of that happening. I haven't seen it myself because I'm not in the tag often on here due to reasons.

Although I must admit some of the times that I personally have discussed Amane I've been pushy about it and discussed her case in a way that can come off as self-righteous while comparing it to other prisoners' cases. However, that was directly after seeing people defending her mother's behavior while voting her guilty. Something that is ultimately not a thing I feel should be supported.

Her mother was wrong and it's really unfair to me that the depiction of an abuser is being sympathized with and given more leniency than the person they are portrayed abusing. So, I ended up being more aggressive than I should have been at times as well.

It is stressful to hear things like Kotoko may be beaten up during the intermission. It's a very valid concern for people who care about her character to have but it's a worry that everyone in the fandom shares when it comes to the safety of the prisoners that they care about. Ultimately, we can't really control what the prisoners do after the trial which can be very anxiety inducing for everyone involved. Especially since no one wants any of the characters to be lost before trial three. It's really complicated.

I haven't seen much about Kotoko being attacked outside of the context of Shidou with his "extract that fang" line. Which to be fair given how some within the fandom have discussed Amane's during her second trial he'd probably cease to be a threat to Kotoko's safety if she were voted Innocent. So, in that since Kotoko enjoyers and Amane enjoyers should probably just form an alliance. Logistically it'd be a reasonable course of action even if a bit unfair.

It would also be a better outcome than what occurred with Haruka and Mu this trial. Plus, could have fun narrative implications if brought to the writer's attention I mean this was said in the trial two commencement notice after all-

As they literally made visual allusions to trading and bargaining. Literally this is what comes up when you search bargaining in google.

Milgram isn't really being subtle or slick about it. They're just waiting to see which prisoners' fans are most successful at it at this point. Milgram has sort of been tempting guards to make deals with each other since the start of trial two. Well at least to me that's what it seems like.

The prisoners have even formed some alliances of their own or attempted to do so since the beginning. Milgram has implied we have more of an impact than we know and that some prisoners will change their behavior if they know it will benefit them.

Like this answer of Kotoko's for example,

How would that impact prisoner relationships? The prisoners can hear us after all if they know that we're in support of certain relationships and not others. I wonder how that would go especially attached to positive reinforcement. It could be wild and interesting.

What's a bit of harmless discussion between guards after all? Things like this are much better than going back and forth for each other's throat's tit for tat. Outside of that bit of deluded talk- Because coordination like that in this sort of situation is a pipe dream at this point.

Please keep talking about Kotoko because it's literally restoring my faith in humanity it may be difficult to fully understand but- I thought I was losing it there for a minute.

#gunsli rambles

[shadysadie]

Prediction for Watching and Dreaming

I’m not going to kid myself into thinking I can predict how The Owl House will end, honestly, I have no idea how everything will end up. But I am pretty confident that Luz is going to get impaled some how, probably by Belos. 

I’m not the only person to notice this foreshadowing, not by a long shot, but I am genuinely surprised that more people aren’t talking about it. Considering how much of the shows major events are hinted at in the literal shadows, I can not believe that this silhouette is an accident. And yes, I know this is the shadow of her baseball bat, but there are an infinite amount of ways she could have carried that bat that would have made more sense that wouldn’t have cast this shadow. Remember, in animation every detail that is drawn is drawn for a reason. 

Add to that the fact that the shadow of Belos towers over the shadow of Luz in spite of the fact that the height difference between Hunter and Luz is not that dramatic. Of course, Hunter is taller than Luz, and of course shadows are elongated, but the height difference still shouldn’t be this sever. So I think we can pretty safely conclude that while these shadows belong to Luz and the newly possessed Hunter, they are actually depicting a future scene between Luz and Belos. 

Now, I don’t think Luz is going to die, but it’s not for the same reason I see a lot of people saying, “Disney wouldn’t kill a kid” Disney has killed kids in the past, Disney has killed a lot of kids in the past, I’m working on a master list of the ones I can remember growing up but a few notable mentions come from Suzy Q, Tarzan, Miracle in Lane 2, Hocus Pocus, So Weird, Boy Meets World, and most notably Bridge to Terabithia (does this list make me seem old as hell, yes, yes it does, but I digress) Disney has killed kids in the past and considering the Owl House has gotten away with showing stuff like flesh rotting off bone, and actually having red blood on the dagger hanging above Caleb’s head (seriously I have never seen red blood in a kid’s cartoon before, for sure not in connection with a fatal injury) I am not banking on “Disney wouldn’t kill a kid”.  Because I do think a kid is going to die, I just don’t think it will be Luz.

Instead I think in the final battle, Belos is going to expose himself and try to attack the Collector, and Luz being the self-sacrificing little martyr-nugget that she is, is going to jump in front of them and take the blow herself. Everyone is going to absolutely lose it and just WRECK BELOS’S SHIT killing him all the way dead. Meanwhile Luz will be left dead or dying, surrounded by her friends and family. The Collector, touched by the fact she saved him, and seeing everyone’s grief will sacrifice himself to bring her back kind of like Flap sacrificed himself to save Hunter. With the Collector gone, the Isles will revert back to normal and all the puppets will become people again. 

There have been multiple parallels drawn between Luz and the Collector through out the show from the color scheme, to the story arc, to the fact the Collector is basically Larping Luz’s life in FTF, though in my opinion the least subtle moment of connection is this shot from TtT

So I think it is inevitable that they are going to become integrally connected by the end of the series. While there are a lot of different ways that could happen, I think the Collector giving Luz his life-force would make the most sense.

But hey, that’s just my theory, what do y’all think?

#the owl house #toh #toh luz #toh theory #toh collector #watching and dreaming #watching and dreaming theory

[acearohippo]

Have you ever thought about how weird Xuan’s abilities are? Like, I could be missing something, but they don’t see very connected to the monkey king? He’s got the cloud and staff, and maybe even the super eyes. but the glowing orbs? The paper explosions? What’s up with those? Even Yun got clones, but Xuan just? Goes boom? Idk maybe I’m overthinking, but it’s been bugging me

Well, be bugged no longer! Tang Xuan’s move set and appearance are all connected to Sun Wukong and make sense. HaHA! @justanotherwanderingone, you do NOT know the can of worms you just unleashed with your ask :’D I already recognised most of the connections listed below, but you gave me the wonderful opportunity to research even more!! >:D Prepare for an essay! I was going to devote tonight to writing up about Li Ling, but this was way more fun!

I’m going to list out everything that I’ve noticed that is connected to SWK, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, below, in no particular order.

Tang Xuan’s glowing eyes during his third move: SWK, after being refined in Lao Tzu’s crucible (sometimes referred to as simply a furnace, but containing the 8-way trigram), gained the ability to perceive evil no matter the form it takes by activating Fiery Eyes, Golden Gaze (火眼金睛 (Pinyin: huǒ yǎn jīn jīng)). Fun fact: SWK was refined (as in, made tougher, more invulnerable) because he is made of stone. Also, he hid in a corner where the flame was the weakest.

Tang Xuan’s long hair: Monkey tail. SWK, no matter the form he takes, will always have his tail present. Same deal with Tang Yun, tis a monkey tail.

Tang Xuan’s jacket: Represents the golden chainmail armour SWK threatened for was gifted from the Dragon Kings. Bonus, the lotus on the jacket is another reference to SWK’s Buddhahood as lotus flowers are a symbol of Buddhism

Tang Xuan’s floating orbs: I have three theories for this one.

First, my least favourite but can see the justification: It’s a nod to Dragon Ball, as most Western audiences are introduced to Sun Wukong, known in Japanese as Son Goku, through this series. The Dragon Balls do not exist in the mythos, but using that as a reference doesn’t seem to be too far of a stretch.

Second, the one I’m leaning towards the most although am iffy about it: They’re symbolic malas, or prayer beads. SWK is a buddha and thus would, theoretically, partake in Buddhist prayer, chants, and other forms of ritual. Lots of artists include large, sometimes glowing-gold, malas around his neck in their depictions of him. However, I am iffy because there are only 6-7 orbs ever shown with Tang Xuan (6 in his story art, 7 on his album art) while malas tend to keep their bead count divisible by 9. If you come across any that are smaller than 18, these are most likely intended to be worn as bracelets. The malas don't actually represent anything (usually, although some will be made with specific materials or anointed with oils and perfumes to be used in different situations), but are used to keep count during mantra repition.

Third, the one I really want it to be and am heavily biased with: The 7 (I’m sticking to this being the correct number of) orbs represent the 7 ways Sun Wukong achieved immortality before becoming a buddha. This one fits the nicest, though I have to question why glowing orbs specifically?

Extra: I briefly contemplated if they were chakras, but waved it off as not likely. 1) They aren’t colour-coded, 2) Chakras are practised in Hinduism, and 3) balancing his chakras is not something SWK is ever seen needing to do.

Tang Xuan’s move set:

Righteous Anger- Self-explanatory, but to refresh- SWK, before he received the golden headband of restraint, was quick to anger and take offense at the drop of a pin.

Enchanting Dream and Shattering Dream- I’m shocked/impressed? Because this seems to be a call to the Supplementary side story (a FANFIC), written later by Dong Yue, where SWK is afflicted with Desire for the first time and becomes susceptible to a dream curse. In the dream, he lives in an alternate reality and tries to figure out what is why he is there and how to return to his timeline. Only by shattering the dream during a battle does he escape in time to kill the one who cursed him. The names, specifically, seem to be the reference, while the actual abilities reference something else. Fun fact: In this fanfic side story, SWK had to cross-dress for a bit as a consort to the emperor. :D

Tang Xuan’s abilities:

Creating a shield- SWK has a power that lets him draw a circle around himself (literally, DRAW IT, think Spongebob’s Sea Bear tactic) and it is completely impassable.

Death, Scorch, Shackle Enchantments- The three ways SWK was pseudo defeated. 1) His soul was captured and brought to the World of Darkness due to his time on Earth being up. This also jump-started his strive to become super immortal because the only thing SWK feared was death. 2) After eating Lao Tzu’s immortality pills, he was put into the crucible to burn in an attempt to distil him and, thus, get back into the immortality pills. 3) After causing all sorts of Havoc (the Immortality x3 fiasco) and being undefeated by the many heavenly beings under the Jade Emperor’s jurisdiction (Nezha being one of those beings!), the Buddha himself was called upon and, after making a bet with SWK (who lost), shackled him under a mountain for 500 years (until Tang Sanzang frees him in order to take him on as a companion).

The Paper Talisman: 1) In Buddhism, these are called Sutras. Sutras are also the holy texts that Buddhists chant and meditate on, and are what Sanzang and Crew were on a quest for. 2) When the Buddha trapped SWK underneath the mountain, he also wrote an Om Mani Padme Um mantra on a sutra (paper talisman) and slapped it onto the mountain to keep him bound in position. It sort of makes sense that Tang Xuan would use it to inflict the debuffs while under the three enchantments.

Elements: Why they focused on making Tang Xuan fire-y, I’m unsure as SWK has more control over the wind than he does fire (he is just immune to fire). I think, partially, it’s more of an aesthetic reason to make him go boom so that we can tie the enchantments to a physical, powerhouse move.

And there you have it! Everything I could currently dig up that matches with Tang Xuan’s character appearance and/or abilities! I think, what doesn’t make it specifically clear is that, other than being a monkey and his staff, SWK doesn’t have an iconic appearance or visual ability/power, that makes him instantly recognisable. But, he has so many abilities and has done so much in his lifetime, that Lillithgames just had to rely on us recognising the references from his story :D I hope this settles your mind and makes you appreciate just how much thought went into Tang Xuan’s character!

I got all my information from:

Sun Wukong Myths and Folklore wiki

Mythopedia: Sun Wukong

Good ol' Wikipedia and the many rabbit holes I went down.

#the hippo responds #the hippo speaks #dislyte tang xuan #tang xuan #tang xuan dislyte #tang xuan character analysis #this was a lot of fun #hope this helps op!

[lancerious]

Ok so I watched the YT series of DHMIS and there's really only one way to describe it. It's a literal fever dream.

To start, I like how the series tries a different approach to horror! Most horror is depicted as being mature and serious, but DHMIS appears innocent and seems like it would cater to a younger audience, but gradually collapses and deteriorates over time. It starts as a silly little series about learning things and gets more disturbing in each video. It's a very unique concept, and I like what it accomplishes!

Even though the YT series is over eight years old, it still holds up. The unique styles in each episode are always refreshing. And the character designs are cool! Speaking of characters, the teachers are very unique and distinct from one another. My favorite teacher is probably Computer.

Now, for the main trio: Red Guy, Yellow Guy, and Duck. Duck is my personal favorite of the three. I like his personality the most. He seems a bit cynical at times, but it fits him well. And in DHMIS 5, he's the only one of the two--it's just him and Yellow Guy in that video--who starts to notice something is wrong, VERY wrong. And because he's aware of that, he gets killed off. And I like Duck's voice too! Again, it fits him well.

Red Guy is my second favorite, albeit Duck isn't far ahead. Red Guy seems very mellow and monotone, but has a very creative mind hidden behind it. His action of messing with Computer in DHMIS 4 is believable because he kept getting cut off and only wanted a chance to speak. His action of unintentionally harming Yellow Guy in DHMIS 6, while it may be questionable to some, honestly makes sense to me. He's slowly coming to terms with everything, realizing he can make his own show and not rely on others, and he's realizing firsthand how the current situation is affecting him and his friends. Him literally "pulling the plug" is a great way to end things off, even if the series did continue after. I know I had more to say about Red Guy than Duck, but I do like Duck more lol, I promise.

And now, Yellow Guy. Yellow Guy's all right! He's not my personal favorite, but that's okay. I feel bad for him though, since he seems to be the primary victim. I wouldn't say he's a child--I doubt anyone in the show is--but I do think he's the youngest of the main trio, and is therefore the most impressionable.

And now, we have Roy. Oh boy...this guy definitely seems to be the antagonist behind everything. Based on the hints in the TV series (and what I've seen on Film Theory, lol) I'm assuming Roy is the one behind what Red Guy, Yellow Guy, and Duck are going through. Red Guy came to Roy so Roy could support his show, but Roy took complete control. Red Guy "pulling away" from Roy was the best decision he could've made in my opinion.

Anyway, overall, it's a really good YT series! I think the TV show has been uploaded to YT by someone else--at least according to the playlist I used to watch the YT series--so I'll get to those longer videos later on!

I'm really glad I decided to dip my toes into DHMIS. Is it going to become an obsession of mine? Probably not, but we'll see! Even if I don't become utterly obsessed with it, I can still appreciate it for what it achieved, as well as all the hard work the creators put to make the series possible :).

#dhmis #dhmis spoilers #def worth the watch #i may come back to it in the future once i finish :)

[meimi-haneoka]

{theory time} Where's Momo right now?

My commentary/translation differences posts are always so long (to read and to write too) so I always end up leaving some theories or considerations behind.

Since I'm missing Momo a lot, I find myself often wondering "where is she now?" because I'm sure that she's not just watching as events unfold but actually carefully moving her own pieces on the chessboard. It's just that we can't see her yet.

(under the cut)

Well, first of all, I think the Clockland world we've been witnessing these past chapters was built up by her, with the power of the Clockland Book. After all, we perfectly know she's capable of creating worlds like fairytales, as we have witnessed in that emotional journey that was depicted in chapter 50 and 51.

It's pretty clear by now what she meant with "I'm going to give you a hint of who's behind this and what he wants to do" when she sent her there (before being interrupted by Kaito). Back then, the "characters" (once again, Sakura's loved ones) were the ones who forgot about her, who were not recognizing her.

This time around, the real deal, it's Sakura the one who doesn't recognize her loved ones.

However, the one who prepared the story and wanted her to create this world to put his plan into effect is Kaito. And as we all know, Momo is a magical creature tied to Kaito's will by a magic contract that she cannot betray.

But, that doesn't mean that she won't try however she can (however she's allowed to) to prevent things from ending up in tragedy, because she's definitely not agreeing with part of this plan. After all, she warned him: "This story doesn't belong to a person alone, it'll move forward basing on the feelings and wishes of each character".

So my idea is that she has to move stealthily to not go blatantly against Kaito, but also provoke some kind of effect.

And so I cannot help but think about the characters of this made-up "story": Alice (whom we know is Sakura, although without her sense of self), the Cat (which in chapter 66 became pretty apparent is Kaito with some trick), the Red Queen (Akiho, same situation as Sakura) and the Clear Cards. Particularly, the humanoid Clear Cards that were created with her loved ones in mind.

Have you noticed? All the humanoid Clear Cards that have appeared till now were talking pretty cryptically to Sakura, yes, but it's fundamentally clear that they're trying to guide her in her own interest. They seem to be actually trying to wake her up from the spell she's under, rather than guiding her deeper into it (as I imagine Kaito's will would be).

Therefore, I'm naturally inclined to believe that those humanoid Cards are put there by Momo, as her own personal attempt to stop all of this and make Sakura regain sense of self through the advices the Cards are giving to her.

Notice Shade's behavior here. It literally destroyed the scenery with the Repair Card as she, with the appearance of Tomoyo, was giving Sakura an advice about not forgetting the one thing she should never forget.

We're talking about Shade, the Card that the fake Syaoran/the Cat/Kaito will use later to bring Sakura to the Red Queen.

It clearly looks like the Cat wasn't appreciating the interference Repair was making on Sakura, and dispelled that to take control of the situation on his own.

Again, here we have Promise, with the appearance of Yukito, "distracting" Sakura along the way, prompting her to make questions, something the Cat is clearly not happy about.

And so he tries to "drag" Sakura away from that other distraction. He prompts her to proceed forwards twice. Especially after a couple of observations that seemingly agitated him.

But what I find is the most ironic thing is that these Cards seem to be appearing in situations that apparently come from Kaito's subconscious (because, again, I think the dream intertwined with this world is Kaito's).

Synchronize and True or False appear sitting at a table, having tea (but this could be just because it's Alice-based).

Repair appears sitting at the gazebo where he had that important conversation with Lilie about finding his one and only "like/love".

Promise appears at the most important place, the rose garden where he met and spoke with Akiho for the first time, and also the place where he made that decision.

If there's really Momo behind these Cards, it almost looks as if she is messing with Kaito. Which is so in character for her.

Forcing him to pay attention to those important pieces of his memories.

And the Cat clearly didn't like that Sakura noticed the garden is a very important place for someone.

Again, trying to run away from facing some important matters.

He just wants to take Alice to the Queen, make her do whatever she has to do, and get it over with. No room for emotions. The more he dwells on those, the more his plan becomes unstable.

Of course, all of this might not be Momo's doing but simply be the Cards taking a role on their own.

However, we don't have to forget Momo is in possession of Lilie's engagement ring too, given to Akiho's mother by Akiho's father in order to protect her. Lilie passed that ring to Momo, only CLAMP and the guardian herself know what for and what kind of magic there is in it.

So I think Momo's turn to show up and intervene openly will come very soon.

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #clear card arc #momo (cardcaptor sakura) #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #yuna d. kaito

[lunarmote]

Why you should watch “extreme” films

(image from Enter the Void, Gaspar Noé)

I would consider myself a pretty open person when it comes to viewing art. I try to be aware of the expectations and lenses through which I view pieces and let go of what a good piece of art “should” be like. This does not mean I like everything I see. It does mean that I usually do not turn down a chance to watch a movie because it has a strange premise/storytelling method/genre.

In discussions with people about films, I find quite often that I will suggest a piece of media which has gore, nudity, or a controversial theme as a component, and have it immediately be rejected or dismissed on the basis of that. I have never really understood this attitude since the moment I decided to acclimate myself to film culture because of the idea that I can’t know my true preferences unless I give the vast majority of films a try.

This holds for nudity, overt sexual content, gore, violence, and “dark themes” including: themes of mental health, films depicting depravity and paraphilia, rape, suicide, ambiguous endings where nobody wins, etc.

Nudity

Let’s start with nudity because it’s the lowest-hanging fruit. It’s old news that films that offend typical American sensibilities are a bit different from films that offend (e.g. French) sensibilities. For some reason a lot of international films with uncensored body parts appearing on screen, make the fact that they show on screen the one talking point. (Ironically, in the 3 months that I had Netflix I couldn’t help but notice almost every episode of some popular show, including Black Mirror, had to have a heavily implied sex scene.)

What’s stranger is that nude is associated with erotic. If the director is not particularly well-liked, the film is charged as “exploitative,” e.g. exploiting the female body for the male gaze. I think the degree to which a film is exploitative is highly depend on context and execution, not on whether it has unclothed bodies per se.

The response is often some kind of squeamish arousal.

Gore and violence

Not much to say about violence for now; there are a ton of debates already on whether anti-war films can truly be anti-war films.

Dark themes

For this section I do have a director in mind and that’s Darren Aronofsky, the director of Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. I was asking myself why Aronofsky is so successful (other than him being a masterful storyteller), and thought it was because of his mastery of visual storytelling. Horror seems to be excusable when it is accompanied by brilliant cinematography, when the sound-mixing is top notch, when there is enough exposition to make you sympathize with the character’s moral failings.

Anything else, which includes:

Movies with a shitty character

Movies where a character’s backstory apparently doesn’t justify their actions

Movies in which a “bad” character does not receive their expected comeuppance

Movies where you don’t know enough about the characters to revel in their payoff or their victimization or revenge (see Michael Haneke’s Funny Games for a deconstruction of this)

...are not seen as redeeming themselves of their dark subject matter. Quotidian grittiness is not appreciated and is seen as null, pointless, exploitative (violence must serve an end, otherwise it is exploitative — I actually agree with this, but probably not for the most obvious reason).

Bizarre, “weird” stuff

The strangest category for me to write about. My two examples are Jumbo and Titane, which both contain objectophilia. The same thing about these movies is that the fact that they contain something is distinct grounds for their rejection as unserious or too weird to be worth watching. You go into My Strange Addiction with the preconceived notion that everything featured on the show is a strange addiction; same for these movies. I think this kind of thinking can lock us in. Maybe I’m different in that I’m curious about everything and my immediate thought on something like Jumbo is “How would that even work? I want to find out.”

The expectations we have for films

Here’s the thing I find confusing about our attitudes towards films. It’s absurd to me that we have certain subject matters and content we deem as “extreme” simply because of a tradition of not seeing them on the big screen, while in real life they are incredibly common and justified without effort.

Nudity. Changing into and out of your pajamas every day. Not erotic. When nudity is shown on-film, it automatically attracts either positive or negative attention; rarely is nudity allowed to just be.

Long takes where a character sits in an environment and does nothing. (I wrote about this in my post on Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere). Incredibly common. Charged to death of “pacing issues” when put in films.

Senseless violence and death. Michael Haneke’s oeuvre centers around this, setting up a fake hostage thriller which the viewer expects to go one way and make it completely frustrating and anti-thriller-like to watch. It’s frustrating because the killers never receive their comeuppance. And you never even learn anything about the killers anyway so you don’t get the thrill you expect.

What does this say about our relationship with media if it’s supposed to be a creative, escapist force, when in fact, a lot of us expect it to conform. To a series of beats?

#gaspar noe #enter the void #art analysis #opinion #aesthetics #michael haneke

[canyouhearthevoices]

Oh dear, it’s here.

The epic (or maybe a little more toned-down) dystopian storyline first introduced (slightly) in ‘THANXX’ and in earnest in ‘The Awakening of Summer,’ which, coincidentally, has also been used in promotions for ‘THE WORLD.’ 

We still follow a group that I can only assume are HALAteez, as they grew up in their dystopian world. Looking back at the previous era (FEVER), I assume that they grew up with a pretty positive view of the world, and that the cracks and oppression only began to show after a considerable amount of time. In ‘INCEPTION’ and ‘THANXX,’ we saw them rebelling against the expectations of the world, but still able to enjoy their youth to an extent. Then in ‘FIREWORKS,’ everything went out the window a bit. In ‘Eternal Sunshine’ and ‘Deja Vu’, introduced after ‘The Awakening of Summer’ on KINGDOM, we saw as they saw the full extent of the corruption of their world, and the level of oppression, especially in the arts, enacted by the government. 

Don’t even ask me what was going on in ‘The Real.’

Anyway, now we see their actual efforts to take down this government. A very common theme that I seem to have been noticing in kpop lately (especially with ENHYPEN and JUST B...). I think you could trace the origins of this particular variety of music video to BTS and ‘No more Dream’ and ‘FIRE.’ There were certainly videos like them before, but BTS were the ones who seem to have popularised it. 

Anyhow, now that I have had opportunity to actually look at the MV, between work and uni and fencing, what even happened in it?

I managed to do this on a computer, so it got quite long in one piece. Full analysis below the line.

Here is our dystopian setting. I think the airships were a good choice - for a lot of history students, I think they remind us of Nazi Germany - so very sinister.

We’ve got the city that we saw several times in ‘The Awakening of Summer,’ ‘Deja Vu’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ etc. The sky here is a bit darker than in ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ probably for the obvious dramatic effect.

We also have the dudes working on whatever this sphere thing is. I think they use it later to disrupt communication networks and highjack the government’s brainwashing of people? But I haven’t been paying good attention to the gadgets in this comeback.

I was wondering why in the teaser the main dude overseeing the work on the sphere was white - 

But it turned out to just be Joong wearing a skin-suit. Very odd of you, my guy. Are you a 60s villain or something?

Which, speaking of, is probably actually partially what they were going for - most modern depictions of dystopian settings are heavily influenced by the novel ‘1984,’ which was released in 1949 and had significant cultural impact on representations of alternate or future societies over the following decades, including the 60s-70s. 

Typical shots of our leader looking upon his future domain.

And then he leaves.

This shot mostly serves to show that this is a whole bunch of speakers which will, presumably, broadcast ATEEZ’s message to the world.

And we’ve got our buddy Joong. I really like the different style they went with for the opening and other parts of the MV - it’s snappier and has a more artistic feel, with the fisheye lenses, greyscale, and the blurred/painted-over borders of some shots. It has an old-school hip-hop vibe, which I think is why they used it - it’s unusual and unique, and shows how ATEEZ are going against society and producing something artistic and unique. 

Greyscale has also been used commonly with HALAteez. At this point I will also note - the gloves and the racing jackets, which were used in HALAteez content.

Also - Hongjoong’s megaphone is back! I can’t remember the last time I saw this - was it perhaps in the promotions for ‘Answer,’ or has it been as long as ‘Say My Name?’

Hongjoong, and, by extension, ATEEZ and their message, are on the screen in this place we saw in the promos for the comeback. I’m not entirely sure what it is - either a school or a workplace. Here is my thought process;

It looks like the same kind of typical dystopian school we saw in MVs like BTS’s ‘NO’ and JUST B’s ‘TIK TOK.’ This is the typical representation of a dystopian school - all white, separated desks, with the students looking blankly forward

But we know that schools in HALAtee’s world/Stictland look like normal schools - we saw this in ‘INCEPTION’ and ‘Turbulence.’

Okay, so it might be a workplace, which is possible. But that would be odd - usually the only workplaces shown in dystopian media are the lairs of the evil government, and the evil government doesn’t need to use the screens, lights etc to indoctrinate their workers - the workers are either evil and working for them on purpose, or are already indoctrinated.

We know that FEVER followed one version of the group, but there were very different representations of the world throughout - for instance, ‘FIREWORKS,’ ‘THANXX,’ and ‘Deja Vu’ don’t all seem like they came from the same world

In which case, perhaps they all did come from the same world, and the shift in representation is more about a shift in the characters’ knowledge - they initially see the world as an imperfect but okay place, and then over time they come to see how truly horrible it is. 

So, from the admittedly little time that I have spent looking into this, it seems like it is a school.

But take that with a grain of salt

Anyway, people are getting their message, and that’s what matters.

I just like this Yeosang. It’s a funny shot and I have no idea why they decided to include this shot of Yeosang jumping.

Ahh, the classic dark alleyway/shed/club/wherever else that they plan their attack and gather their allies at to have mosh parties and rallies and things.

I don’t know why they included this - are they trying to show that Joong is going insane? Is it another hip-hop aspect that shows how they subvert the masks the government pushes onto people? Or does it just look cool?

I find it interesting that they gave Joong a staff in the actual choreo - the only time I recall seeing the staff (a representative symbol of Joong) was in the promo pictures for ‘Answer.’

They’re bringing a lot of things back, it seems. As befits a new (and possibly hybrid) era.

I’ll also note that, from what I have been able to catch by watching the MV very very slowly, the outfit he wears when in the white/greyscale space doesn’t have his captain’s mark/armband, but the outfit that he wears in the choreo shots does have the armband.

All of the stage and other promo outfits I have seen him with so far have had it this comeback.

Yunho in the phone booth - phones, voices, communication, and sound have always been important to ATEEZ, but especially so this comeback. 

Also, note the ‘Hearts Awakened, Live Alive,’ anarchy poster in the background.

We’ve got Yeosang being the tech guy in the van. I like how Yeosang and Yunho were cut together here - it implies that they are working closely together, which is in line with their positions on the ship - Yunho as the Second Mate and Yeosang as the Pilot.

Seonghwa’s in the lift with this wonderous range of posters - we’ve got the ‘Guerrilla’ posters, the anarchy posters, the ‘Wake up world’ posters, the ‘HALA HALA’ posters, etc.

Oh, to be the set designer for ATEEZ.

Anyway, I like to think that Seonghwa is leading the ‘attack’ on the ground, like in ‘Don’t Stop.’

San is packing this bag - I think I saw posters/money, and a change of clothes?

And our magnificent shot of Hwa. I don’t know why people don’t like this hairstyle on him - I think it makes him look unique, majestic, and a tiny bit crazy.

I also like how one eye is shadowed - not only does it make him look a tad unhinged, it also makes up focus on his eyes - we want to see if there is some reason for one of them being hidden.

Hwa going forth on his journey.

Classic TV shots. And a very dramatic Joong.

He’s my bias, and he’s the most central to the storyline, but by this point even I am kind of irritated at how much screen time he’s been getting compared to the other members. We haven’t even seen Jongho, Wooyoung, and Mingi yet.

Also on the TV - San is running from these dudes with masks.

And Jongho is with the speaker sphere.

I guess Wooyoung is leading their band/music production and broadcasts. Is he in charge of the radio?

Our second dance set is this city with ‘Guerrilla’ on it.

It’s hard to tell, but the yellow/gold symbol behind Seonghwa in the centre of the screen is a sun medallion with the Cromer on it. 

The fact that the Cromer is inside the sun (a common symbol of power, leaders etc), is on an elevated platform and in a place of prominence, and is in the centre of the screen, rather than the dancers/ATEEZ themselves, almost makes it look like ATEEZ are worshipping it.

And here we have them highjacking the screens in the school/whatever it is.

Apologies for this very blurry photo of Yunho yelling into the mic. But I’m sure we can all see his beauty through the blur.

And here is everyone else doing it. I’m pretty sure everyone is here. Hongjoong’s sitting at the back and I think Yeosang + Wooyoung are on the seat behind San.

Joong is running towards the smokestack things. I don’t know what exactly their purpose is. These aren’t the ones we saw in the trailers for the comeback, because these ones are in a grassy field and the others were on the outskirts of the city. Anyway.

He also throws his jacket away. Maybe revealing his identity to the world?

Nothing to say here, except that I love Yeosang’s hat and hate Hongjoong’s hairstyle.

Mingi also gets to be in this greyscale, rotoscoped world. I wonder if it’s a rapper thing?

He also gets to be in the van with Wooyoung. It’s the same van that Yeosang was in, but I can’t see him. Interesting - are they working together, or did they kick him out?

More of the gathering.

Woo and Mingi distributing the fliers.

Yunho alone in the radio room. Interestingly, it still says ‘on air.’ 

This shot reminds me of Yeosang in ‘Turbulence.’

This time the white guy was Wooyoung!

He looks like he’s trying to highjack some board full of controls and things. At the same time that Yeosang is turning on the radio.

And we have more of the radio spheres. Very sinister-looking.

Destroying stuff - very HALAteez. Especially mirrors.

OMG WTF is going on here?

Alright, first of all, we have the ATEEZ flags back, although some of them are anarchy flags and some of them have the ‘THE WORLD’ logo. They also have the fliers everywhere. They’re clearly in some kind of conflict involving smoke bombs and things.

I don’t think there’s anything particularly exciting that the individual members are doing.

Dang, ATEEZ got control of the airships!

I mean, if there was ever a HALAteez airship, this is pretty close to what I imagine it would look like.

The backup dancers are all dressed in their black pirate/HALAteez costumes.

ATEEZ have growing support.

They also die like in HALA HALA.

And we have ATEEZ in their hideout with their mentor dude. I wonder why the dude never showed up in the MVs before - were they waiting for the perfect person to cast?

There’s a kid trying to get into their hideout, who came from the same school that they went to, and which, based on the outfit, I presume is the same school as the one they highjacked. 

It seems that the school changed over time, and used to be pretty normal, like in ‘The Real,’ then became a dystopian mess here.

And that was ‘Guerrilla!’

I liked it, although I’m still not entirely sure what is going on exactly in the storyline. I mean, it in regards to everything else. On the bright side, both KQ and I can cite multiple dimensions, dream states, and time travel whenever we need to assimilate anything.

It’s fun, I like it, but ‘Sector 1′ is still better. 

#ateez #atiny #ateez theories #mv analysis #the world #the world ep 1 #the world ep 1 live #the world ep 1: movement #movement #guerrilla

[poppywriter]

❀ Pansy n°1 = F*cking writer’s block.

I really enjoy writing.

Like a lot.

I think it’s because I have a lot on my mind and I thrive to get it out of my head. Like I don’t want to lose the ideas I have so I try to write as much as I can somewhere, everywhere. I literally have a note on my phone titled ‘Story ideas’ , and up to this date (the time I’m writing this) I collected twelve ideas without counting this book, or whatever this is. I have some ideas that are way more developed than others and some that are just fun things I thought about, but I feel like I could do so much with each of them. And I want, I really want to use all those amazing ideas and make them into the novels they deserve to be, but sadly… It always ends the same.

You see, dear reader, there is some sort of pattern that seems to come back in my life as a wannabe writer. Most of the time it starts with me having a dream or a daydream about whatever came to my mind this day. Then I realize that I really like what I’m imagining, that it’s actually really interesting and maybe it could grow into something more. So I continue to think about it for days, weeks, months, sometimes years and I end up with a full on story of ten novels and even a sequel (I may exaggerate a bit, but only a bit). And here I am, attached to this universe I created, to these characters I watched growing up and all the important events of their adventures I want everyone to know about, and I’ll be heartbroken to just leave it at that. To just leave it as a simple fantasy, a dream, a figment of my subconscious. I cannot possibly let it be forgotten, because I’ll inevitably forget it if I do not act and do something to keep it somewhere, anywhere. So comes the time to write, to finally put into words this story, this scenario that was entirely made up by myself and my creative mind.

Yet, when I finally have the motivation to write something, anything, this so-called motivation never comes alone. It always comes with it. You might be confused as to who or what I’m talking about dear reader. Well, I am talking about this horrible realization that writing is difficult as f*ck.

In fact, I always end up being lost in all the details of my stories. I always end up realizing that I thought of things, but not everything, and that I have now to choose the right words, the right grammar, the right phrasing to accurately depict the world, the characters and the adventures I have created. And this dear reader is so very hard.

Then I also have to think about all that’s in between the big events of the story to tone down the dose of action in the script, to show the character development, to exploit the characters' relationships and make the readers like them as well as relate to them. At this point, writing seems like a chore, a big task that is too hard for me to actually be able to finish.

Admitting that I actually started something and didn’t give up just messily writing down notes on a random notebook, I never seem to end up writing things that I like. Writing becomes stress inducing because I constantly think about what I have to write down after this exact moment for it to make sense and how I have to make some details pop out but not too obvious for the reader to notice them but not understand their importance. All in all my thoughts, ideas and anxiety create this jumbled mess in my head and I am incapable of writing.

To this date I have three started and unfinished projects. One that I started when I was like 12 or 13 and actually finished (well at least the first book or season because it was written as a screenplay) after having started at least four or five different versions of it. But as time flew by I ended up hating what I wrote so I decided to start it all over again this time as a novel. Yet I didn’t get far because I started questioning the originality and interest of this story that was in fact kind of childish. It was very important to me because it was the first ever thing I wrote down and I loved it dearly, but I inevitably left it aside.

Then much later I started thinking of this thriller based on a nightmare I had. So with one of my sisters we wrote everything down about the plot, the characters, the universe, etc… I even started writing but I never went past the first chapter. I was just unable to. I wanted to, really, because it has a lot of potential and I wanted it done but I dreaded writing about it because I couldn’t come up with correct phrasing and ideas of filler chapters. I was also so far ahead in my mind, already thinking of what could happen in the second book of this saga. I’m always thinking too far, too fast. So I have a second draft lying around on my computer.

Finally, recently I decided that I wanted to truly finish a book, that I was going to do it, and in order to do just that I thought of a simple love story which could fit in a tiny and single book. Like that no thinking ahead and finishing with ideas for an infinite number of books. So I took notes of ideas as they came, created the characters and found their visuals, all of that in a very short amount of time and I loved doing it. I was thrilled! It felt good to be able to do things so fast and smoothly. Then I started writing, it went well, I was inspired and I liked how I wrote, but came chapter 7 and I stopped completely because I was once again starting to complicate the task at hand. I was either distracted or not inspired or just lazy. So I stopped and a third unfinished draft joined my computer.

Whenever I want I could go back to either of those drafts and continue them, because deep down I know I am capable of doing it, of writing but I can’t seem to do so. I am just stuck with overflowing ideas but the incapability of fully writing things down. It s*cks… And it makes me feel incapable.

So I just have one thing to say: f*ck writer’s block.

✿❀✿

🔺Original work, please do not steal or copy. Thanks.🔺

- notify me if there are typos ;)

#writers on tumblr #writing #writing project #author #aspiring author #aspiring writer #new books #journal #journaling #my diary #diary #personnal #self growth #self healing #my thoughts #thoughts #freedom of mind #creative expression #self expression #self exploration #opinion #train of thought #writer’s block #writer’s life #blank page #fuck it #english

[therubyreader]

My Review of Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 759 Review Word Count Total: 1,755

Trigger warning for the contents of this book: mentions of death, dismemberment, graphic depictions of surgery

If you've been on my blog before you'll notice a bit of a theme with the books I've been reading a lot of recently: historical fiction. Extra points if you've ever read any of my other reviews and noticed I'm a nerd who loves history, so this book was immediately right up my alley.

I will preface this with saying I'm not an expert on Scottish history, I knew very little about the time period going into this read, but I am always a sucker for learning about new time periods in countries that aren't studied (for the most part) in the good ol' USA.

This book is about a rich girl from the Scottish nobility, Hazel, who wants to be a surgeon which is not allowed because she's a woman but also at the time (1817 Scotland) surgery wasn't seen as a respectable career for anyone ever. When Hazel is kicked out of an anatomy (roll credits) class at the local university despite giving them her money, she needs to essentially teach herself surgery in order to be able to pass the doctor's exam at the end of the semester. Conveniently for her she meets our resident impoverished corpse boy, who, as the name I gave him alludes to, digs up corpses and sells them usually to medical schools (technically he's called a "resurrection man" but that's not as fun as corpse boy) named Jack. Hazel uses her rich people money (if you think about it she's kind of stealing from her parents) to pay Jack to get her bodies for her to practice on. Romantic.

And, like any good fiction novel, they of course fall in love despite them being in different social classes and also Hazel is betrothed to her cousin. Also, side note, is no one going to talk about how Hazel is betrothed to her literal blood cousin who she grew up with. I get that cousin marriages were more tolerated back then but like no one is even a little weirded out by this. I had a moment where I had to think about putting myself in Hazel's shoes and honestly I would literally vomit and die.

Graphic depictions of medical procedures aside, this story was cute. I'll give it a female empowerment out of ten. Hazel decides she's going to take her life into her own hands and become a doctor, and does everything in her power to achieve her dreams despite quite literally the entire world being against her. Contrary to popular belief the "love story" mentioned in the title is more about Hazel falling in love with medicine and learning to love herself as she is despite society wanting to put her in a box. Of course there is romantic love, what novel would not give the protagonist a love interest, but it comes second to Hazel's own personal love.

Overall the book is pretty good, there's a sequel coming out a little less than a month from now which I'm considering reading because in my opinion Hazel's story could've wrapped up after one book but I guess the author has bigger plans for her. My main complaint, which I've noticed is also the complaint of most other people who read the book, is how the ending was kind of bad. Now it wasn't bad writing-wise, but (trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible) there are elements of magical realism thrown in out of no where, and up until that point the book had stayed pretty grounded in reality. Sure, all of the events, even the disease that's impacting the city, are fictional but they're realistic, based in science and history. Then right at the end when we see the resolution to the climax we find out that this whole time there was an almost magical element to the conflict. Sure the magic thing is more or less grounded in science to fit the theme of the story but it is also way beyond the capabilities of medicine at the time, and also medicine in our time. I would've enjoyed those fantastical elements having been better established so it wasn't like a slap in the face when they happened but I'm a fan of magical realism so honestly I wasn't mad at it.

If you don't mind the trigger warnings listed at the top then I recommend this book to you, I will warn you though there is a good chance you will be disappointed with the ending so don't come back here crying when you are.

Spoilers Below!!!

Hello. Welcome.

As is common place here in my book reviews your resident "grossed out by romance" and "thinks romance is cringe" book reviewer (hint: its me) is once again giggling like a teen girl despite being a manly man (adult cis woman) over the relationship between Jack and Hazel. I love the "rich person falls in love with poor person" trope in media because I fancy myself a poor person capable of bagging a rich man. So I say to Jack, get that bag my guy.

In all honesty their love story is cute. Hazel is essentially being told no by the whole universe and here comes a boy who is the first person to tell her yes, and also be an extra pair of hands when she needs help being a doctor despite having no medical knowledge. And on top of that he's the only person who cares for her, outside of Hazel's staff who get paid to do that but I'm sure they care about her as a person too. I mean Jack is the first person to call her beautiful, he takes her seriously, and gives her the affection she isn't receiving from her family. Of course this is a two way street but we honestly don't get a look at the root of Jack's emotions about Hazel's emotions for him, if that makes sense. Either way, having their first kiss in a grave next to a corpse is among the most unique first kiss spots and gives "Mary Shelly losing her virginity on her mother's grave" vibes.

Another complaint I had aside from the weird ending is how Hazel is able to open up a hospital for the poor in her castle and word about it doesn't get out to upper society. Sure she asks the poor people she treats to just not tell anyone about it but like she has so many patients at one point that someone should've gotten suspicious. I mean her mom not knowing about it because she's (conveniently) in England is passable, but her uncle? It doesn't occur to him to go visit her or at least send Bernard to check up on her while she's alone to, at the very least, put on the guise of a concerned uncle/future father in law. Another point, in high society, which to my understanding, is fueled by rumor shouldn't rumor have spread to the upper class that a female doctor is working out of Hazel's castle? Even if Hazel isn't the main suspect at first, the fact that her castle is being used as a hospital means, to a certain extent, that she's allowing it, and someone would've gone to investigate.

There are too many happy accidents that occur in Hazel's life that conveniently allow her to slide on by undetected. The only realistic part of the whole ordeal is Jack being charged for murdering all of those people and then getting hanged for it, despite the magical immortality potion that I've already discussed my annoyance about. But honestly, if the book was even slightly realistic, Hazel would've probably been found out almost immediately and arrested. She wouldn't have been put to death because she's the niece of a viscount but she for sure would've done prison time for being a woman practicing medicine without a license.

Adding onto that, why are all of her patients super chill with the fact that they're being treated by a woman? Sure her castle is better than a poor hospital but they are all very much products of their time, in the early 19th century people still very much believed women were stupid and incapable of complex thought. If I were a grown adult man and I was told that I could either go to the hospital or get treated by a woman who I believe has the intellectual capacity of a shrimp I don't think I would be super keen on going to see her. But I get the desperation of the situation, some people really said "well how bad could a woman be compared to the hospital?", and I get it, but I don't think we realistically see enough backlash or sexism from Hazel's own patients about her capability to be a doctor.

Now I will say that none of these things take you out of the story itself, they're easy to overlook in the moment but once you stop reading and take a second to really think about it there are too many elements in the story that can be attributed to sheer luck that make it seem incredibly unrealistic.

I am not even going to touch on the immortality potion because I stated what I had to above. Genuinely I didn't like the inclusion of it in a story that was, up until the very end, pretty scientifically accurate to the time. I am mildly annoyed by the whole ordeal of it, but in all honestly the self-frankensteining of Dr. Beecham was pretty cool. I will accept that piece of it since it's not super far fetched in the sphere of the story if we're gonna add some aspect of magical realism. I am still very very annoyed by the immortality potion but I am going to shut up about it because everyone and their mom has already stated my opinion of it in much nicer language than I am able to muster at the moment.

I will say I am interested to read the sequel because I genuinely enjoyed Hazel's character and her storyline of becoming a woman doctor but I am also intrigued about how the author is going to address the element of including actual historical figures in an extremely fictional universe. I will let you know if I do read the sequel, because as stated above I am pretty content with how Hazel's story ended with just this book but trust if I do read the book you will get a review.

#val’s book reviews #anatomy a love story #dana schwartz #book review

[kyyuis]

The fandom and it's double standards with c!Clingyduo and c!Crimeboys

.....And some c!Tommy and c!Wilbur critical. Trust me it's not that bad

All of this is /rp /dsmp!! This is about the character's, not the CC's! Ignore this post if you just wanted another au idea from me/j

Wilbur and Tubbo are treated like side characters and even villians by the fandom.

Whenever people talk about how Dream is a abuser it's always about Tommy and not Tubbo or, I may get flamed for this, Wilbur?

I always see the same overused tweet where it's like "aweeeee Tommy was manipulated to believe Dream was his friend in exile and Tubbo still didn't visit him!! He's such a bad person for leaving his friend behind!!" When the exact same thing happened to Tubbo?

There was a whole bit during the exile arc where Tubbo literally said that "people don't want to hang around me, they just want a laugh" and "Dreams my only friend"? Even if it was meant as a lighthearted bit it's still fucked up to see people baby Tommy but villianize Tubbo for the same thing told in different povs.

I've also seen videos upon videos where Tubbo is the 'mean one' and he 'always insults Tommy' just so people can have a crumb of Alliumduo comfort, when it's actually switched? We've seen multiple times in season one where Tommy would actually insult Tubbo in a non playful way, even calling inanimate objects worth more than Tubbo. Notice how the fandom always quotes that line, but they never criticize Tommy for saying it? It's always "the disks were important to him!", then what was L'manberg?

I think we as a fandom need to realize L'manberg was Tubbo's equivalent of the disks. And that he was manipulated by Dream.

He chose L'manberg over people, Just like Tommy did. He kept fighting to to keep it, just like Tommy did. He would not let L'manberg go buried because it was his only source of freedom he felt, just like Tommy did. He used it as somewhat of a comfort blanket for him, just like Tommy did. He lost L'manberg multiple times, just like Tommy did.

The difference is that Tubbo matured and moved onto new things, while Tommy still clung to the disks.

Their trauma is the same font but their reactions to it are different, and it really shows how the fandom only acknowledges characters if they can woobify them. Same goes with Wilbur. Tubbo and Wilbur are victims, but the fandom loves to depict them otherwise.

Wilbur is a little more tricky and I can see people not liking his character for doing actual bad things as good reason, but slandering him for showing signs of clear mental illness and even villanizing it? Yes, mental illness is a reason, not a excuse, and from the outside it seems like the fandom knows that, but the thing is they praise Tommy for the same signs.

Insulting people without reason and pushing people away? He's just a child! Calling his best friend worthless and not even apologizing for it? That's just little old Tommy! Originally planning to blow up L'manberg along with Wilbur? He's not like Wilbur! He was manipulated!

Wilbur was a victim of Dream, even if it isn't your run-of-the-mill victim. Just because he agreed to be Dream's vessel doesn't mean he was not one, he was just a willing one. And I think that is what indicates his mental health back then the most. He was so unwell back then he wanted to be used, not treated like a person. Only a vessel.

Can victims like this do bad? Yes, Wilbur and Tommy and even Tubbo have made bad choices in the past. But that's not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at is that the fandom refuses to consider this with them like they do Tommy.

I myself am a Tommy apologist, but the fandom has to acknowledge that in season one he was a horrible friend. People love to point out Tubbo's and Wilbur's flaws but turn around and say that Tommy's actions are excused because "He's a child!"

You know who else was a child? Tubbo. Yet, when you mention that the fandom goes dead silent. When you mention that Wilbur was also a victim, the fandom goes dead silent. The only time the fandom only mentions it is so they can center it around c!Tommy in some way.

Another point i think needs to be brought up. Whenever someone mentions Wilbur's apologies to everyone, it's always how Tommy never got one, not Tubbo. Where is his apology for Manberg? For Pogtopia? For when Wilbur outright said he forgave Techno for it Infront of him? For being blown to bits when Wilbur could have helped?

In conclusion, Wilbur and Tubbo are just as much victims as Tommy and I want to see them treated like such

#they're morally grey!!! #dream smp #dsmp #tubbolive #dsmp tubbo #tubbo mcyt #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #wilbur critical #tommy critical #analysis #/rp /dsmp #quirky duo #analysis of sorts? #I dont know the fandom is weird #random rant #it needed to be said #discourse #dsmp fandom critical #fandom discourse #Hot take but maybe the fandom needs to actually learn the term morally grey #i could go on #like...Maybe lets not force non-grey terms on them like hero or villian??? maybe just let them breathe as their own person??? #dsmpblr

[arlenianchronicles]

Lately, I was inspired to return to my Silver Stars AU, with a depiction of Elurín’s inner conflict. I probably mentioned this before in another post, but while writing more Silver Star fanfics (now shelved), I noticed that I was nudging Elurín into some form of depression, borne out of clashing feelings with regard to his foster-family.

I feel like the reality of Elrond and Elros’ situation with the Fëanorians is often explored more realistically in fanfics than art XD So I thought to try and draw it for the silver stars since I’ve been having trouble with finishing my written works.

I ended up going on a ramble about my AU, so feel free to keep reading if you’re interested in my thoughts about this piece ^^;;;

For context: I’ve written Eluréd and Elurín to love Maedros as their foster-father, and the three of them have a close familial dynamic, but the same can be said for the twins and their birth parents. The twins’ trauma from the Kinslaying resulted in repressed memories for the twins; during their youth in Maedros’ care, they can’t remember anything about the event, but flashes of it appear in their dreams. As they grow older, they start to remember more and more of what happened, especially the duel between Dior and Celegorm that they witnessed.

Knowing all that Elurín does now, I believe there would be some inner conflict to come with that. He loves Maedros, but Maedros is a Kinslayer, and to consider himself Maedros’ son (even through fostering) feels like a betrayal to Dior’s memory.

And more on the Kinslayer part -- Elurín may love Maedros, but he also harbours a lot of anger towards him. Anger for leading the attack on Doriath and killing Elurín’s people, and for destroying Elurín’s family. But Elurín is also angry at himself for what he deems as a personal failure: he has thus far been content to live with the Fëanorians and consider them his family, and this feels like a betrayal to Doriath at large.

His love for Maedros is probably what hurts him most -- he wants to love Maedros freely, but feels guilty about it. Likewise, he feels guilty for being angry at / hating Maedros. He wishes that their relationship was something simple and formed under different circumstances. He believes that he should hate the Fëanorians more (and sometimes he does during his low points), and that to love them means not caring enough about their crimes.

In all of this, I think, he just wants Dior and Nimloth back, but he knows that he won’t see them again until he dies (and even then, he won’t see Dior because Dior was mortal and would’ve passed beyond the World by now).

So this whole internal conflict is what I wanted to portray here, a whole whirlwind of emotion that he wants to let out but can’t. I’m sure Eluréd has his own conflicted feelings as well; I just haven’t thought out how he’d deal with them in comparison to Elurín.

(Second version of the last panel because I like both, and it was tough to decide which version of eyes to go with):

#i've had this idea in mind for a while now #conveying his emotion while using my two current styles #i tried drawing it some time ago #but i couldn't get the third and fourth panels right #had to wait until i had more practice with realistic faces XDD #yaayy for portrait studies! #art #my art #tolkien #silmarillion #fanart #elurin #elves #sindar #silver stars au #feanorians #grief #i don't know if i'll be able to surpass this emotion in my art #but i'm super happy with how elurin's expression turned out #hopefully i'll be able to achieve the same results #if i ever try to draw these types of intense emotion again