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#about creators creating a story with characters in it obviously
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No. Frankly I don’t care what Tommy’s opinions on Dream’s character are, or the people who actually bother to pay attention to Dream’s character.  Frankly all his tantrum and name calling inspires in me is a conviction that Tubbo’s weird behavior has nothing to do with regression of Tubbo’s character progress and everything to do with Tommy not being great at writing for other people’s characters. Dream doing a pretty fucking exelent job rescuing his character from repeated character assatination at the hands of Tommy’s sloppy self centered plotting holy fuck. 
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firesnap · 1 month
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What really sucks about the dsmp content, particularly how fandom reliant the actual content was for both animatics and vods and recaps and art and things, is moments like right now. Fans and artists are obviously very upset about finding out many of the creators were shit people.
So they delete or unlist all the content they made for it(which they have the right to do).
In any other media, when you find out someone involved with it was awful or something else problematic about it, the media itself still exists and begins to exist outside the behavior of those involved in it. You can still go back and consume the media as a whole and relive either that time period or story without having to think about the people involved with it. I can watch Glee without thinking about how many bad people were in the cast. I can watch a movie without worrying about how the director or producer was outed for being scum.
But the DSMP? It's just gone. It becomes lost media. The vods slowly disappear. The animations that inspired things in the canon (and fanon) become unlisted.The fan arts that gave silly scenes emotional resonance disappear. It becomes nearly impossible to piece together everything that was part of the story experience.
It just makes me sad. Like, I still enjoyed the story. I still enjoyed the characters. But losing so many of the things the fandom created makes it clear you'll never be able to relive it again.
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fllnordr · 5 months
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So… I have a lot to say about this post I saw on my feed today. I took screenshots and blocked out the username for the sake of the OP. I didn’t want this to be a callout post for one specific user, and do not wish them any hate or harm. I DO have a whole heap to say about this and the treatment Charles gets from the rdr fandom as a whole, not only the OP in the screenshot.
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I have a lot of problems with this post, and I have been wanting to talk about this issue and pattern I’ve noticed in the rdr community. Again, I do not mean to send any hate in OP’s direction or suggest that OP is racist in any sense. With that being said…
It’s an inherently racial stereotype to assume that Charles, a black and native man, is illiterate with such a lack of evidence or real reasoning behind it. He was isolated for most of his life after the age of thirteen, and he’s been with a gang for only six months. He is very private, and he is shy. He doesn’t talk much at all, much less about reading. I have never seen this sort of assumption made about any other character, claiming they’re illiterate, because they’re never seen reading at camp.
This is the most ridiculous take I have ever seen. Charles is the one who buried Arthur with his own two hands and created his gravestone. He was the only person who knew where Arthur was buried, hence being the sole creator of Arthur’s final resting place. Charles’ handwriting is the one we see on the gravestone. Charles is the one who wrote the inscription on the cross. He is not illiterate.
I think a problem I have with a lot of Charles fans is that they see him as a blank slate. They see Charles, a physically attractive man, who is quiet and take him for that alone. He is often seen as a blank canvas to project their own ideas onto and sort of mold to their own use and convince. And often times, whether knowingly or not, Charles is consistently watered down to racial stereotypes. Race is obviously a part of who he is, and it affects a lot of his actions, as it does with everyone, but that is not all who he is.
Charles is clinging to the fringes of what little of his culture that he does have. His mother was taken from him as a boy, and he holds onto what little he does have and that absence of his mother, and both of his cultures (because people also tend to ignore the fact that he is also black) is a huge part of who he is. But a lot of folks would rather see his shyness as blankness. He is not levelheaded, but he is moral. He is not always morally correct though. It’s frustrating to constantly see who he is being ignored for the sake of the false persona that’s been created for him.
I think a lot of folks need to listen to the one dialogue of Charles opening up at the campfire. Yes it is a relatable speech for a lot of reasons, but it is also about his race, how he experiences the world, and how he feels as though he has no place because of the loss of his mother, the lack of knowing who he is, his culture, and a whole host of other things. He is one of the best written characters in the game, and to brush that aside to make him into this ‘softhearted super caring ideal s/o’ is so frustrating. This is the same man who was ready to kill Uncle if the need arose. He is moral, but they are morals of his own, and he is not always correct. He is also flawed, just like everyone else. He is not a saint. He is a flawed and conflicted man.
To disregard Charles for who he is, is such a great disservice to the character and to all the work put into him, his story, and other people who have and continue to share the same experiences as he does.
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multireese · 10 months
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Yandere Roommate x male reader
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Your new roommate seems nice enough but a string of unfortunate events lead you to rely on him financially. (WARNINGS: financial abuse, dubcon, sex mention obviously
Yandere!Roommate who drops you off and picks you up from work since your car was in the shop due to mysterious damage. Youv’e tried to report the vandalism to the police but they are not of any help. This is fine because your roommate doesn’t have a 9 to 5 so he will drive you everywhere.
Yandere!Roommate is bothered when you try to leave the apartment alone without telling him. He will drop everything to walk with you to grab a coffee or to a convenience store, even to meet up with friends. He likes to know who you're with and make sure there’s no competition. 
Yandere!Roommate is an only fans creator. This man is built like a Greek statue and is always wearing sexy cosplay and outfits. He walks around the apartment in the hottest underwear you have to force yourself not to stare. Your roommate asks you to oil him up and give your opinion before he films. He is adamant it's purely business so you help.
Yandere!Roommate offered you an opportunity when you were laid off at your job. You can wear a mask and not show your face if he can fuck you in some of his videos. He explains that it's just a business agreement but more importantly the money was too much to say no too.
Yandere!Roommate fucks you for your first time ever on camera. He played a nurse and you were the patient. After loosening your tight hole with his tongue and fingers for almost an eternity you were still not prepared for his big dick to stretch your hole the way it did. He talked you through the process which lined up with his character. The video got the most views to his page. 
Yandere!Roommate thought he would be proud to show you off but the disgusting comments about your beautiful body actually angered him. He was fine with strangers sexualizing him but you were his and his alone. No matter how hard his fans begged they would only get that one video of you. This did not stop your roommate from filming more content with you and paying you out of his own pocket. The difference being these videos were for him alone.
Yandere!Roommate convinced you to sleep in his bed together at night to create a more natural chemistry for your videos. This usually led to off camera sex which you had realized you liked a lot more than you wanted to admit. The two of you agreed it was just practice for videos but you both craved each other’s bodies. His constant praise and amazing sex made it easy to fall for him
Yandere!Roommate you were too shy to look at the posts and see what people would say but after you were more comfortable you got curious. Scrolling through his promotional page there was no sign of your body. Only that one original video. When confronted, your roommate was honest.
Yandere!Roommate was probably too honest in admitting he fell in love with you and the subsequent damage to your car, firing at your job, and tricking you into becoming a pro at riding his cock. You weren’t dickmatized enough to not realize what he did was crazy. 
Yandere!Roommate wasn’t going to just let you walk out of his life. He had ruined your career and you needed the money. “Do you really think someone else would provide you with a better life?” He directed your attention to the Richard Mille diamond watch on your wrist, then stroked your ear adorning the diamond stud you were wearing. “Will anybody fuck you like I do? You can have a good life with me or nothing at all. I promise I won’t let anyone else have you and live to tell about it.”
did this in 20 minutes let me know if you want a part 2 or expand story with this guy
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comicaurora · 3 months
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These have been pent up for a while, so there's a whole list lol. Some are Aurora, some are not.
1) Can lacrimas carry out multiple purposes at once? Or will they blend them? I'm assuming that this is possible, considering that the automaton in the ruins was using a lacrima as a brain
2) Has anyone tried to make tools or weapons out of lacrimas? I'm talking like chisel that needs no hammer. Or maybe a Fire lacrima on a bow that sets your arrows on fire
3) Can you engrave runes on lacrimas to make them affect themselves?
4) Where can I read more about the Twins? If I'm not wrong they're the creator gods, aided by the Light dragon and the Void dragon to create life, but I might be getting a wrong read on that
5) Since we see Erin successfully become the first Void mage, does that now mean there's potential for him to make a Void lacrima? The dragon probably won't allow it, but still
6) What exactly does elemental corruption of each element do? Fire literally burns you up, as we saw in Arc 1. I can infer that Life likely makes you a chimera. Void corruption makes you a cave crawler. But what do the other one do? Does Earth make you a statue? Does Wind disintegrate you, Thanos style?
7) Now onto the non-Aurora questions, is your art vector or raster? I believe it's vector, but it's always better to confirm
8) What are your opinions on reading into the environment and the character design to infer things about the character themselves? In any type of media
9) Have you played Baldur's Gate 3?
10) Do you have any music that you'd recommend? I've listened to every song I liked so many times that I hate them now.
11) I'm new to Tumblr, anything that I should know? You don't have to answer this one if you don't wanna. I think I know some of the basics already. Reblog what you like, and avoid the terfs, right?
You might be able to tell that I like the idea of the lacrimas a little bit. Just a teensy bit. The artificer in me definitely isn't obsessed. I appreciate any answers you can give :3
Cheers!
Ooh, lots of stuff!
Yes, it's possible. A lacrima can be engraved with multiple spells, set in a casing engraved with commands, or some combination of the two. Typically, all spells engraved directly on a lacrima will activate at once when the lacrima is "switched on", but a spell can be quite complex, and conditional activations are possible - "if-then-else" statements, basically.
Yes, magic items exist.
Generally no. If the lacrima is disrupted or broken, the spell generally stops functioning, so a self-affecting lacrima will run only as long as it takes for the lacrima to distort or break.
There's an extra lore page about them!
He probably could if he wanted to (and the Dragon allowed it) but Void energy is very dangerous, so he likely doesn't want to.
Each form of elemental corruption agitates the presence of the element in the mage's body. Earth corruption can damage or alter bones, encourage unhealthy petrification of soft tissues, etc. Wind corruption can have physical effects but it often most obviously produces breakdowns in the person's ability to speak or understand language. Lightning damages, numbs or intensifies a person's physical senses.
Raster, I draw with CSP's digital pens. I've only very briefly experimented with vector art - I don't like how it simplifies the lines.
I think it's a fun school of analysis but, like all literary analysis, it runs into trouble if it tries to lock down exactly what the writer was thinking or intending (which is an objective fact that one can be incorrect about) rather than trying to analyze the story on its own and what meaning might, intentionally or unintentionally, be factoring into it.
Nope
don't trust my taste in music it's 90% nu metal and sonic OSTs
Like what you like, reblog what you want, generally it's considered dubious form to add a comment to a reblog unless you have something profound to contribute (commenting in the tags is fine), steer clear of discourse and callout posts and generally the sectors of the site that are constantly on fire, blocking someone for any reason is 100% fine
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obae-me · 5 months
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hiii i saw ur lucifer post and u talked about the brothers having a role in their family, can u elaborate??
Of course! I'd be all too happy to explain! Note: I'm not an expert on this topic obviously, but I do a lot of research on personalities and character archetypes to help build my stories, so it's something I always have on my mind! I highly recommend doing research into this on your own (if you're into this type of thing). Warning: This response might get kind of lengthy, I apologize. I've got a lot of thoughts, but I'll try to break it down as best as I can. Also warning for potential Shall We Date and Nightbringer spoilers.
So, in writing and storytelling, it's commonly told that there are 12 different character archetypes. Those being:
The Lover: Led by the heart/emotions.
The Hero: Overcomes a challenge to save the day.
The Magician: Masters the ways of the universe to use for good/evil.
The Outlaw: Fights against society/control.
The Explorer: The curious one that seeks beyond what they know.
The Sage: The wise one to guide or advise.
The Innocent: Morally pure, naïve.
The Creator: Someone with ambitious goals for their creations.
The Ruler: One with power/influence over others.
The Caregiver: Protects and sacrifices for others.
The Everyman: The most relatable to the common man.
The Jester: The comic relief, but also known to drop heavy truths when it matters.
So, we have 12 characters in Obey Me (not counting the three new additions) and 12 archetypes. And even just glancing over them all, it seems to fit everyone almost perfectly. Of course, most of them are mixes of several different personalities, but all-in-all, from a writing perspective, they all fit into their assigned slots. Also, everyone might have their own differing opinion on where they fit, but these are my personal evaluations of each character.
Starting from the most obvious, we have:
Mammon: The Jester. Clearly written as comic relief in the games. Clearly the jokester of the family. Tougher moments in the game are often diluted by making a jab in Mammon's direction. However, like in many old plays, the Jesters are often the ones that come in and tell the characters or the audience the hardest truths. Mammon has been one of- if not the most- honest characters in the game. And despite being comic relief, it's clear he's got a firm head on his shoulders when it really counts. He is needed to help his family get through tougher times, and he knows how to have fun and make his brothers smile, even if most of it is written at his own expense.
Luke: The Innocent. Most characters in this archetype tend to be children, so he naturally fits that role. He's young, unaware of what the world is really like. Sticking to what he's been taught, afraid of the unknown, and in need of constant guidance.
Satan: The Explorer. Even from the moment he was first created, he knew he wanted to know more about the world around him. He felt there was more to him than his Wrath, more to the world than just what he can recall from Lucifer's memories. His entire character is based around his pursuit for knowledge, his drive for getting out there and exploring and learning about anything he can. He doesn't want to be confined to the label he was made out to be. He's always seeking something else.
Barbatos: The Magician. Even from the very beginning of Shall We Date, we all knew there was more to the butler than it seemed. He's extremely powerful, extremely intelligent, and if he's not quite all-knowing, he's surely as close to it as it gets. Without a doubt, he has mastered his powers, only turning them 'off' or restricting their use at the behest of Diavolo. When everything else fails, Barbatos is usually the one to save the day.
Belphegor: The Outlaw. This type fits him more so in Shall We Date rather than Nightbringer, but I still think he's the best fit for this role. The rebellious youngest, doing everything he can to fight against Lucifer and to get his own way. Plus, of course, the whole bit about quite literally wanting to fight his family and Diavolo for his opinions on the human realm in the first game. He's also Sloth, so no matter what situation he might be in, even if he agrees to do it, he's not going to do it 100% willingly. Or, at least, get some compensation out of it.
Solomon: The Sage. Even though MC being Solomon's apprentice is on the newer side of things, even in season 1 of Shall We Date, Solomon was always giving us little tidbits of advice. He's human, MC is human, he was always guiding us in the proper direction, even if interactions were minimal at the very beginning of Shall We Date. Now, in Nightbringer, the Sage role has come in full force. He's our guide, teacher, human companion, time-traveling confidant, he's it all. Plus he's chock full of the vague mysticism that Sages seem to have in fiction.
Asmodeus: The Lover. I know, it seems cliché, but I had to do some hard thinking before I put Asmo here. If you take away the word "Love" and focus on the aspect of being controlled by emotions, it makes sense. Now, I'm glad Nightbringer has given us a little bit more depth into his character rather than the peppy dramatic demon everyone knows him to be. Asmo is impulsive, almost as much as Mammon. He's caught up in the winds of trends and excitement, but more than that, he's not afraid to outwardly gush over his siblings. He craves love and acceptance, which we see more in Nightbringer, when he's worried he's only loved for his beauty. He's more compassionate than people give him credit for, and he craves that affection back.
Now, for the rest of them, the roles get a little more complex. They seem like they should be obvious, but I think they're a little more switched up than they seem (which is why I started talking about Lucifer's character in the first place).
Again, this is my personal opinion, but I believe that:
Diavolo: The Creator. Yes, he's a prince in title, and yes he's literally 'a ruler' but the trope doesn't quite fit him. When do we really see him demanding something? When do we see him utilizing his power to get exactly what he wants? Hardly ever. What has his entire goal been since the FIRST lesson of Shall We Date? To create a change. To cultivate a better world for all three realms. All of his actions, all of his power is going towards that goal, towards that ambition. This is the most important thing to him.
Lucifer: The Ruler. I almost put Lucifer in the caretaker role, but the ruler as an archetype is defined as a character with the biggest influence over others. Some sort of control or leadership that hinges on their actions an choices. Lucifer is the one who always has to lead the others and tell them what to do, even Diavolo, making sure the prince is keeping up on his own tasks. Even if he is not responsible for an entire kingdom, he is responsible for nearly everyone around him. For better or for worse, his character focuses around control, and all the pros and cons that come with it. He's the one with structure, the one with plans, the one that isn't afraid to say no or turn down ideas.
Levi: The Everyman. This might be completely subjective, but I believe out of every other character in Obey Me, Levi might be the most relatable. Video games, anime, tv, idols, figures, collecting, comics, manga, etc. He covers a wide demographic of things modern people enjoy. That's not even mentioning connecting to people on a mental level. Social anxiety, jealousy, low self esteem, stage fright, hyperfixations, panic attacks, stuttering, general neurodivergence, I know a TON of people in this fandom connect to Levi. Most of the time, he seems more human than even Solomon. A lot of the struggles he goes through are similar to what a ton of other people go through, and thus makes him one of the more popular characters.
Beel/Simeon: The Caregiver. I struggled with both of these two for a very long time. But eventually I came to the conclusion that they both exhibit the same character role. In Shall We Date, it was more obvious when they were in separate dorms, but in Nightbringer, I feel as if we haven't seen Simeon much at all. Both Beel and Simeon exist as characters to help others, and both have lost much because of it. They're both very giving and kind, and while they do of course have their own interests and selfish moments, most of their actions are for the better interests of others.
MC: The Hero. I originally wasn't going to put MC as an option, but it's true. We as the main character fill a role that would be empty otherwise. We are the ones constantly overcoming trials and challenges and overall doing basic protagonist stuff, so it's only natural that the best suited for the role is MC, whether it be yourself inserted or an OC that's been made. But seeing as it is an otome game, everything does revolve around our actions (even if most of those actions have been made for us).
NOW, a second thing I wanted to mention specifically about the brothers and their family dynamic. There is a second list I know of that focuses on a functioning group rather than individual character tropes. Which is what I was discussing in the post you are referring to. They exist better as a group, they are stronger as a group, and the reason why I think they fit together so perfectly as a family is because they all have their "roles" that keep them functioning.
The Driver/The Fun/The Energy: Mammon is always striving for something, always passionate about something. Even going so far as stealing things. He's the energy, the passion, the fire lit under his brother's feet. There's nothing that will stop him from getting what he wants, and I think that in turn encourages his brothers to do the same. Also, Mammon is the second oldest, he works in tandem with Lucifer to make sure his brothers are happy and safe.
The Organizer/The Structure/The Realist: This one is Lucifer. He's the one who keeps the others on task and in line so that the things that everyone is striving for can actually get accomplished. He's the straight and narrow that everyone must walk across, which can come off as rude or controlling, but most of the time he's the foundation that everyone is settled upon. He might be pompous, but he's reliable. Everybody knows that they're safe with him around. Which is essential to keeping everything together.
The Dreamer/The Visionary/The Design: Asmo definitely loves to come up with ideas. He's always trying to come up with something new for his family to do, something exciting, something fun. He works well with Mammon this way, which is why an extra firm hand is required on Lucifer's part to keep the whole thing from getting out of hand. He has an end goal in mind and knows exactly what he wants it to look like, even if he's not quite sure how to get there. He's sharing his dreams and hopes and projects with the others all the time, and a lot of them join in with dreams of their own.
The Pessimist/The Worrier/The Naysayer: While poor Levi might be an anxious mess and a self-proclaimed bummer, sometimes this can be a good thing. Of course, not when it's gone to dangerous extremes, but it's good in some circumstances to think about possible failures. Working on the other hand of Lucifer, they can both see the weaknesses in ideas or functions and come up with backup plans to ensure everything runs smoothly. Because he lacks the confidence to rush into things, he's able to more tactfully plan something out.
The Optimist/The Mediator/The Diplomat: Beel is often the one trying to quell fights between his brothers. Everyone has a special place in their heart for him and it works the same the other way. He knows how to use empathy to relate to all his brothers, and more often than not, he can work them into some sort of compromise. He fulfills a SUPER crucial role in this group/family dynamic and unfortunately he's one of the more underappreciated characters in the fandom.
The Brain/The Expert/The Researcher: Satan always brings his knowledge to the table. Even if Lucifer is implied to be more knowledgeable, the eldest's efforts are more focused on structure and order rather than education. Satan is more than happy to keep his brothers informed, and a lot of his brothers tend to turn to him for answers. And even if they come to a dead end, out of everyone, Satan is the most eager to do the research about the query they're facing.
The Unexpected/The Wild Card/The Outside Look: Belphie is a rather jack of all trades. Depending on what is needed in the moment, he is capable of fulfilling any of these slots. But more than that, he's the clever one that usually blurts out that out-of-pocket response that is the final key to the puzzle. He does things on a whim, when the mood suits him, but even so usually ends up being successful anyway. With him sleeping and (like in the first game) not being around his brothers too much, he can usually bring in a more outside perspective and catch things that the others miss.
(This was so long, I'm very sorry, but this is my full elaboration ^^)
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iicheeze · 1 year
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Subtle, yet hidden
context: What if you were just a normal person who likes genshin impact, but keeps getting hints of a God, more powerful than the Seven Archons combined, sleeping in the depths of Teyvat from the Archon quests, books, characters, and more?
cw: cultism, yandere behavior, possible archon quests spoilers
edit: I just finished the Archon quest and corrected some stuff
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You were just a normal student in college, trying to get by and survive until graduation. But of course, you've been working very hard, you deserve some relaxation time, no?
You always use that time to play your favorite game, Genshin Impact. It's element of RPG styled game attracts you, let alone the story! It captivated you to the point you'd sometimes put some money here and there. (Though, you'll have to eat less due to that problem..)
But as you progress more and more to the story, and exploring the nation, you couldn't help but see some... hints? Hints about a God. It's called.. The Divine One, you guessed. Many names were heard. Their Divinity, Their Grace, The Divine One, The Creator, etc. You heard that they are the one to create Teyvat from dust, and its people.
You decided to dig some more information, curious of this ‘ Divine One ’. As you explored the Knights of Favonius' library, Liyue's Book store, the Jade Chamber, Inazuma's Publishing Store. But you also found out that the Divine One is also talked about from the NPCs! Even from the playable characters!
All you can hear is that they treat them like their saviour. And even heard about a prophecy that the Divine One is going to awaken soon and ‘ purify ’ the dirty, wretched world they have stained. Maybe they were talking about the Fatui that stained Teyvat.
You hear nothing but good things from the playable characters, some are obviously devoted worshipers, some are more.. closeted.
“ The Divine One? Why, of course. I know them. Their Divinity is the one who created Teyvat from scratch. Liyue is nothing but a piece of their Divinely work. But yet, I'm glad that over the years, I have grown Liyue to civilization. I'm proud of it. I just have to wait for Their Grace to finally be awoken from their sleep, for I can finally show them my work. ”
“ The.. Divine One? Oh! You mean Their Grace! Of course, of course! I know them. They were very nice. And knowledgeable too! Obviously that's what's expected from the Creator of Teyvat, of course. Haha! But not only that, they're the reason why I'm very attached to this lyre here. ..Tell you the story of how I got attached to it? No way! Keep that to your imagination! ”
“ Ah, Their Grace. ..I apologize. I'm not interested in talking in this topic. I do not believe that I have the right to speak about Their Divinity. Without their own consent. ”
“ Oh! Their Divinity! If I remember correctly, they passed Greater Lord Rhukkadevata their knowledge for the ‘ greater good ’. I don't know what it means, but perhaps she saw things that were meant for Their Grace's eyes, yet they spared her knowledge when in need. I wish that I can be like her someday. ” (Before Archon Quest)
Though, what interests you is Kaeya's response.
“ The Divine One? Why are you suddenly asking me this question? Well, I do believe in them, of course! Although, Their Divinity have been sleeping for thousands of years.. A lot of people have been taking advantage of that. A certain city.. Up in the sky. ”
You figured out that he was talking about Celestia taking advantage of The Divine One's sleep to destroy Khaenriah, as a reasoning of ‘ breaking the Heavenly Principles ’. But sooner, you found out that The Divine One wasn't the one who made the Heavenly Principles.
Celestia made the Heavenly Principles not long after The Divine One fell to their sleep. It isn't fair, you thought.
But really, you can't wait until the next nation update! You're really curious about the Divine One. You can't wait to finally get to meet them!
But of course.. What they didn't know is that Their Divinity is you. You are the one playing this game. You are the one who chose the Traveler as your vessel to ‘ purify ’ each Nations' problems. The Archons aren't stupid. In fact, none of the Playable characters are stupid!
They know that it's you behind the Traveler. They're just informing you of your position here! They're just preparing you for what's about to happen soon. You won't mind, right? After all, they've heard several times that you wished that you lived here. Don't worry! For they are going to make your wish come true.
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project-sekai-facts · 7 months
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Hatsune Miku broke space-time and here's how
a somewhat off-the-wall theory by tumblr user project-sekai-facts
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SEKAI are... mysterious, to say the least. They're worlds made out of the emotions of teenagers, only accessible through a song on a phone that cannot disappear, and most importantly, inhabited by the main 6 Crypton VOCALOID characters.
So, what exactly is a SEKAI? For one, they're not magical or supernatural, as confirmed in Len's Street SEKAI 2*. According to Len, SEKAI are just mysterious, as previously mentioned. He also mentions in that card story that the Virtual Singers that inhabit SEKAI are not that much unlike humans, although they have the innate ability to help people discover their true feelings, and nurturing those feelings is at their core.
That's the thing, how are they able to maintain a humanoid form if they're not magical or supernatural, and not holograms either? Well, with magical worlds and the concept of people teleporting inside of their phone ruled out due to the phones going with them, the only option I can think of would be an alternate dimension. A parallel universe, if you will.
An alternate, parallel universe actually makes a lot of sense. Because there's still the big question of how a selection of characters came to be physical, sentient beings. It's made perfectly clear that in the world the main human characters live in, the Virtual Singers are simply Virtual Singers. They're just characters designed for vocal synth software, exactly as they are in the real world. So to me, the most likely explanation is that the SEKAI exist in an alternate universe where the Crypton VOCALOID characters exist as real "people".
It's not a perfect explanation, and doesn't really account for the fact there are several SEKAI, and several incarnations of the VOCALOID characters across those. While the SEKAI are presented as planet-like objects in a void (the "Between SEKAI"), as the game calls it, there's also the fact that SEKAI continuously grow, in a similar style to a universe. To be honest, I don't think the writers care that much about the physics behind SEKAI and the contradictions present.
They actually play with a bit of a "god" dynamic with the Virtual Singers. They aren't tied to a specific SEKAI, instead residing in the void between SEKAI and watching over "themselves" and the humans who inhabit the SEKAI.
All of that aside, how did the SEKAI come to be, and what's so special about the Virtual Singers? Why are they playing god in this alternate dimension?
Well, it's well-established that SEKAI are created from feelings. Specifically strong and unwavering ones, that have to maintain their strength in order to become a full fledged SEKAI, and not just a small fragment of what could be. But, where do the Virtual Singers come into this?
Well, it's hard to say. Considering how closely tied the Virtual Singers are to the SEKAI, I'd say it's pretty safe to say that they have an impact in the creation of them. Which places 2006 as the earliest a SEKAI could form, the year MEIKO was released. Although, considering how Miku is put at the forefront of it all, 2007 might be more likely. Perhaps the SEKAI were created by staff at Crypton, who were happy with Miku's outcome, and that's why she's at the forefront? It's plausible, though I think there's a more likely theory.
The game places a heavy emphasis on what VOCALOID means to people, the way a community has formed around it, and creators will put their feelings into music that can then be enjoyed by people worldwide. From an out-of-universe perspective, I think this provided the inspiration for the idea of SEKAI, though I think it works from an in-universe perspective too. By some reality-shattering phenomenon, when VOCALOID (particularly Miku) started to really explode in the late 2000s, the feelings that people entrusted to these Virtual Singer characters managed to create entire worlds based on their feelings. Obviously Miku being the most popular and well-know VOCALOID character ended up being at the center of it. Thousands of people conveyed their true feelings through her, and probably hundreds of those people felt strongly enough for SEKAI to be born from their feelings.
And that's all it is really. SEKAI are just a metaphor for the worlds that Vocaloid producers create with their songs, and the feelings they put into those songs, the feelings they entrust to the VOCALOIDs. It's a very literal representation of it.
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bigcowboydyke · 9 months
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about your disability pride month post: is there anything important/significant you think people should take notes on when writing a character with an upper arm prosthetic? (like starting from the elbow if i phrased correctly)?
Yeah! I think the biggest is that you ought to consider first, esp if its an OC, your reasoning for making the character disabled- you wanna make sure you're not fetishizing or exploiting their disability to prop up abled characters. I've got a list of questions for authors to ask themselves along those lines that I can post or dm
Secondly, you have to consider what level of realism you wanna go with. If you have a character where, in universe, the prosthesis functions in exactly the way an arm does, you could just go with that if you want - it's the path of least resistance, right? BUT you ought to consider that most prostheses in media exist in that way AT THE EXPENSE of good representation of disability. Erasing disability or "curing" it with magical prostheses IS a form of ableism that is so pervasive it just goes unnoticed by most. I believe personally that disabled bodies are worth portraying well even when the creators of the source material did not do that. SO if you want to go with real well thought our representation, here are some common things I think authors and artists often miss (specifically as it pertains to upper limb prostheses):
1) I already said this, but seriously, I cannot emphasize enough that upper limb prosthetics ain't cheap and are usually uncomfortable. Your character, if they are poor, or even like middle class, won't have access to multiple high tech popular mechanics cover story type robo arms. Even if they did ...
2) Not all limb different folks use prosthetics! I personally have used multiple and I disliked them. I tried very hard to learn, but there are multiple requirements to be able to use each model and sometimes, a lot of times actually, limb different people - especially people without a hand or an arm function Better without prosthetics. Be aware in your art that limb different people are Whole. How you ask can somebody without an arm, say, do all that stuff?
3) Consider the idea of adaptation in your writing and art instead of relying only on magicking disability away with prosthetics. Disabled People live in a world full of barriers and tend to be Very creative about navigating it, adapting to our environment through just being a little clever about how we do things is the biggest way i see other people with upper limb differences interact with the world. There are three main ways that we go about this without prosthetics: Using adaptive equipment, Finding an alternate method, or as a last resort, asking for help.
Example 1: I have like 1.5 arms ok so obviously only 1 hand, and I need to clip my fingernails every once in a while. The obvious solution to me, while it may seem gross, is just to bite them off. Bad habit, but efficient. I could use those horrible little nail clippers, with my remaining stump and a little finagling but it takes forever. I could also get some adaptive nail clippers - they make great big handled ones for ppl that can't grab the little ones. Or, I could ask my partner to trim them, but I'm usually too proud to do that. Let disabled people have their flaws too lol!
Example 2: I love to rock climb. This is where adaptive equipment comes in. I could slip off a rock climbing wall pretty easily right? So bouldering (rock climbing without harnesses) is totally inaccessible to me. But if I go to a gym that has harnesses, then that's fine - they catch me if I fall and that's adaptive for me.
Adaptive equipment comes in many shapes and sizes and can be regular items repurposed.
3. If after all that you Must create art or write about an OC or preexisting character that uses upper limb prosthetics, consider that in general, limb different people's prosthetics are not equivalent to having two arms. Prosthetics are only practical for limb different people if they enhance your life or are useful in some way, however, getting one high tech enough to do that is unlikely because they are expensive. There are different groups, clinics, and charities that make lower cost options but they tend to be much lower tech than is depicted (and often are clunky). My first prosthetic was a long flat piece of metal, similar to a doctors tongue depressor, attached to a plaster cuff velcroed around my stump. The idea was that since I had a little bit of stump poking out, I could pin objects against the metal and it would work like a crab's pincers. It was okay, but I did accidentally smack many. Many. Things with it, including my own face and since it was metal, that was unpleasant. Obviously hindered more than helped. Also it did not look even remotely like a hand.
4. Which prosthetics you can get generally depend on what you got on you. Literally. Bodily. With upper limb prostheses, If you don't have an elbow or wrist, your options are almost exclusively limited to the pricier electric options that are both super futuristic, unavailable to many, and also like new car priced. Many of the manual, non-electric models depend on the ability to flex a wrist or elbow, so if you have those things are a little more accessible overall. It also matters whether you are born limb different like me, or if you are an amputee. Amputees are more likely to be candidates for prostheses than people like me because they have all those preexisting muscles and nerves for prosthetics that are higher tech and require surgical attachment Also prosthetics might be an easier learning curve, and more useful for somebody who has been abled bodied than it would be for somebody who never had that limb in the first place.
5. This is a little thing and ... Not to get too medical with it ( and neither should yall) but limb different people often have physical changes associated with lack of or loss of limb. If you do not have a limb, you are not going to be developing the muscles that are surrounding it in the way an a nondisabled person would. Again for example I have 1.5ish arms which means I've got plenty of stump on my "affected" limb. Even when I did Varsity sports and everything, I was never able to get beefy on that side. It is a pet peeve of mine that many people do not seem to get this - Most art I see of vash the stampede has him with two super beefy shoulders and like yeah i get it that's hot, but if hes got roughly the same amount of stump as me, he probably shouldn'tlook like that. Another thing in this vein is chronic pain is associated with limb loss and limb difference- I have it and its reasonable that any prosthetic user or nonprosthetic using limb different person is more likely to have it. Again these are little things but if you're looking to do good representation you need to consider that limb difference is not just a cool little stylistic choice to make a character look tough or what have you - limb loss and limb difference mean that that character will not only think differently than abled bodied people, but move differently, pose differently, have different routines and preferences than are ever represented in most media. Disability is not a style, and it's not a diagnosis, it's an identity. It's important above all to be respectful of that by letting go of centering able-bodied expectations and aesthetic in your art and writing. Hard to do but i believe in y'all!
Hope that helps! I've also got a bunch of links to go along with these points, if you want them lmk! I'm always happy to take asks about this stuff!
Tl;dr please consider making characters that don't use prosthetics, or don't use them excessively because it's more realistic, better representation, and makes me, a disabled dyke on the internet, really happy.
Lastly if y'all liked my advice and appreciate my time you are always welcome to tip me for it - my c*sh*pp is $neptunedrive
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jewishvitya · 1 year
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Rowling had nothing to do with Legacy and I think most people forget that. She wasn't even consulted. WB bought the license and the devs did whatever they wanted. "Sirona" is a beautiful, feminine Celtic name associated with healing, and "Ryan" is an extremely common Irish surname. I feel like people are looking for reasons to be offended, especially when it comes to trans characters and antisemitism. The goblins are not and have never been Jewish stereotypes. They're a fictional race. They're based on Tolkien's goblins and old English folklore dating back to the 1400's, where they have always been depicted and small, ugly, and greedy. Rowling herself was shocked by the antisemitism rumors and staunchly stated they weren't true. Just like the rumors saying lycanthopy is a metaphor for AIDS. Just... who thinks of this stuff?
What's really sad is people have argued that Sirona was never meant to be trans, but a male character that the devs rendered to look "more feminine" at the last minute. People have made fun of her voice and said it's "too masculine", so obviously WB just hired a man to voice her and changed her gender later. But that's not true! Her VA is actually a trans woman and the backlash against the character must be devastating to the VA.
Okay, so, I don't think you're here in good faith. You're here to be dismissive. But I'll reply anyway, just in case I'm wrong.
One thing at a time.
I'll start with the one point you made that I agree with: the VA. She doesn't deserve to have her voice scrutinized and criticized. That's horrible, no one deserves that. I did see - and share - the misinformation that Sirona Ryan was voiced by a man, and I regret that. I edited it out of my post as soon as I knew, but this is tumblr and unedited versions do go around. I hope more people will see that corrected, and leave the VA's voice alone.
Now for the mess you threw at me.
Hogwarts Legacy is related to Rowling by virtue of existing within the world she created. It's still her goblins, since she gave her permission to create this, and she let it be added to the canon.
Rowling's world is the context.
I don't care that she wasn't consulted about the details, that just means the other creators are bigots too. When you build within a world that has such large issues, where so much time and effort was devoted to highlighting and criticizing those issues, and you create a story that continues all the problems from the original canon and adds to them - that's a choice that I have a right to criticize. They had the benefit of being a google search away from knowing how to be respectful about all of this, and they did the opposite.
Sirona Ryan IS a beautiful real name, that's not the issue. I already wrote this post where I tried to explain the reaction, but I accept that maybe my feelings about this name come from cultural ignorance. If that's the case, I apologize, and I'd love to be corrected.
My real issue with the game is the antisemitism.
You say "folklore dating back to the 1400's" as if that's far too old to be influenced by antisemitism. Fun fact: antisemitism is older than goblins. Antisemitism is literally millennia old. At least as old as Christianity, which is the root of many antisemitic ideas. It's older than many European mythological creatures, and it infuses a lot of European folklore and mythology, down to the depictions of witches with their pointy hats. Stories about goblins being used as a way to dehumanize Jewish people is not new. And using a fictional race of non-humans as stand-ins for real groups of marginalized people - either intentionally or not - is a very common practice in storytelling. Most fantasy races have those roots to them. But even then, where, in the original lore of the goblins, did they control the banks?
It doesn't matter if Rowling was shocked by the claims of antisemitism and it doesn't matter if she denied them. The reality of her story is that she created an antisemitic depiction. I can believe that it wasn't her intention, but that doesn't mean it's not what she did.
You don't get to look at an antagonistic group that embodies EVERY SINGLE TRAIT THAT WAS ASSIGNED TO MY PEOPLE TO DEMONIZE US and tell me that's not antisemitic.
I already made this list, but let's do it again. All antisemitic traits that can be found in Rowling's goblins. I'll break it down to the original book canon, the movies, and the game.
Books - Rowling's actual canon:
Short, with clever swarthy faces, sallow skin and pointed beards
A guttural language
Ruthless and known for their greed
Pursue someone who owes them money with violent threats
Have cultural differences that make them impossible to trust
Harmed by dark wizard but still suspected to support them
Only worth associating with for their metalworking and control of the economy
She placed a goblin's rebellion in 1612 - the same year as the events that led to the Fettmilch uprising, which resulted in pogroms and Jewish deaths. Rowling stated that wars and political unrest parallel between the muggle world and the wizarding world as the two societies influence each other
The most prominent named goblin character, Griphook, betrays Harry. Harry is a Christ allegory - literally sacrifices himself to save everyone, and then comes back to life
Movies:
Hooked noses - the best known antisemitic feature
A six pointed star in the building they chose for the bank - I don't believe this was intentional, but it's an unfortunate choice and they could have covered it
Here end the parts I blame on Rowling directly. And the game was built on these foundations.
Game:
A historical time frame of pogroms, where our people were murdered in large massacres that often had support from authorities
Explicit ties between the goblins and the dark wizards
Aiming to undermine wizard society - the goal assigned to us in every antisemitic conspiracy theory
Kidnapping of children for their magic - literally just look up blood libel
A character says the goblins can't appreciate art. It’s absurd to say considering the quality and coveted status of goblin-made artifacts. In the real world, this is a claim that was made against Jews by the Nazis (and it targets other groups hated by white supremacists as well)
A ram’s horn artifact that strongly resembles a silver plated Shofar - a Jewish ritual item. Said horn is from 1612, from the same rebellion mentioned above. According to the item’s description, it was blown to rally the goblins and to annoy witches and wizards. It was stuffed with gorgonzola to mute it, a specifically non-kosher cheese (most kinds of cheese are kosher). It's so disrespectful I still don't have the words to fully convey it
Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, those traits became associated with Jewish people as a group through hateful propaganda. Putting all of them on a non-human race isn't better. It just adds to the dehumanization of it. It's not just Rowling's fault. That's shared by every single person who had a hand in the creation of this story. For the issues in the game, I blame the people named here more. I see no reason to extend grace to far-right bigots.
But to focus on Rowling. You brought up lycanthropy. You seem to think we made up the idea that it's a metaphor for HIV. We didn't. She said that. In the ebook Short Stories From Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship, and Dangerous Hobbies - she said that. She said it before that, on Pottermore.
Lupin's condition of lycanthropy (being a werewolf) was a metaphor for those illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS. [...] The wizarding community is as prone to hysteria and prejudice as the Muggle one, and the character of Lupin gave me a chance to examine those attitudes.
This is a quote of her thoughts. It still exists on Lupin's page on her Wizarding World website.
And it's actually a pretty good example of how it's absolutely possible to be awful about depicting a stigmatized minority through a fantasy stand-in.
HIV+ people are stigmatized through no fault of their own. But in her books, it seems reasonable for the wizards to fear werewolves. And she did that, she made prejudice reasonable. We have: Remus Lupin, a named werewolf who is good and kind, and tries to avoid hurting people. Even then, he nearly does cause harm more than once. He turns in front of our heroes and spends a night loose in the forest. He tells the heroes that as a student, he almost bit people while out with his friends. So even while well-intentioned, he's a danger. That means we don't have a single safe HIV+ allegory in her work. The other named werewolf is Fenrir Greyback, who intentionally targets children to turn them young and raise them to hate the society they came from - which is fucking homophobic, whatever she intended, because of the way HIV gets associated with homosexuality. And the rest? A whole community of werewolves who side with the Death Eaters.
Did she mean to make a whole community of marginalized people into wizard Nazis? I DON'T CARE. SHE DID THAT.
I don't care to argue about her intentions while writing the text. I can't read minds. I can read the text she wrote. I can see what was put into the game that was added into her world. I can read about the history of my people and their persecution. I can see how disturbingly similar this game's story is to the propaganda that led to my grandparents suffering through the holocaust and losing their families to it.
If she cared about the antisemitism in her works, she wouldn't just act horrified and say "No, of course I wasn't being hateful to Jews!" - she'd look at whatever she lets people put into her IP, to prevent further harm. I do blame the other writers of the game more than I blame her for that plot, but it's not better that she gave her approval without being consulted. It's her IP, it carries her name, she gets royalties, it's her responsibility.
And at the very least, she doesn't care about antisemitism enough to worry about minimizing harm. I know that, because I know her friends. I know TERFs and Gender Criticals. Rowling saw an anti-trans event with white supremacist speakers, and she chose to criticize the counter-protesters. She went out to eat with Maya Forstater and Helen Joyce, who participated and spoke in events organized by Posie Parker - who explicitly includes far right groups in her events, and shares platforms with white supremacists. Rowling bought merch from Posie Parker. She wrote about Magdalen Berns as a "brave young feminist" - as if she didn't push the antisemitic George Soros conspiracy theory and share Breitbart articles. She praised MATT WALSH. The people she associates with now, read from Mein Kampf in their rallies.
She didn't put the antisemitism in the game, but she's very comfortable with antisemitism. Don't tell me she was horrified by the idea that her goblins could be called antisemitic. She just didn't want the label applied to her. If you willingly associate with Nazis, you're a Nazi. And enough of her friends don't seem to mind that.
I stand by what I said: playing this game, even pirated, is like printing out an antisemitic caricature and hanging it on your wall, saying “well, I didn’t pay the artist, I just like this art.”
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Vivzepop will always be the biggest issue with her own show if she doesn't change. And i'm not saying that because I desperately want to shit on her but rather because it's so clear that her attitude is what made Hazbin Hotel be so dissapointing after the long wait. The pilot released four years ago and Viv had these characters for much longer than that. One could assume that with this much time on her hands she would have a concise plan for how a series of her story would play out (I can imagine that having an own show is a dream for lots of creative people out there). And I get that that plan might get screwed up by a shorter episode count then expected, but she should be the one who knows her story best and who should know what stuff could also be cut out. The first season of Hazbin Hotel is so incredibly overstuffed with characters and plot that it completely looses the main premise the show was originally pitched with (the idea of a hotel were sinners are redeemed. As it is now the hotel is really not important at all). People have talked endlessly about how Viv can't handle criticism and it really sucks because criticism is one of the best ways to improve your writing, drawings, music etc. Without criticism you won't refine the thing you're working on in a meaningful way. Of course it feels bad when you put something out there you wanted to share and then people critique it, but that's part of pretty much every creative journey, or atleast it should be and Vivzepop shouldn't get a pass from this just because she doesn't like it. And there are great shows, movies or books that are rarely or almost never criticised. But the artists behind these works probably went trough years of honing what they do by being criticised for the stuff they put out. And I don't want to say that Vivzepop didn't work hard to make Hazbin Hotel, but it is hard to claim that she improves in her craft, when everytime someone says they don't like her show she throws a hissy fit. She wants the same reactions that these other amazing pieces of media get without ever listening to criticism. Which she sees as a personal attack rather than a tool that could help her to achieve the same level of writing prowess the creators behind media like that have. She believes she is already on the same level as them, just because she basically shuts anyone out who disagrees with her. There's this clip at the end of a Drew Gooden Video which I think sums up the situation with Viv pretty good (the Video is called "Leaving the YouTube Bubble"). He is talking about Lily Singh and her talk show but I feel like a lot of the stuff he says about handling criticism applies to Vivzepop as well.
(you might have to turn up the audio).
Unprofessional behaviour like that might be excusable when the creator is pretty young or they are interacting with publicity for the first time really. But neither of that applies to Viv. And Hazbin Hotel isn't just an indie animation pilot on youtube anymore. It's now a fully realized show created with a pretty prominent studio on a major streaming network and it should be held to the same standards as other shows or movies alike (not saying indie animation or animation on youtube doesn't have a standard but with more budget and support, there's obviously going to be different expectations for the show now). There have been issues in Helluva Boss and the Hazbin Hotel pilot ever since their release which could've been handled with more time and the new show. But Vivzepop shows time and time again that she isn't willing to listen to people who criticise her, which could actually lead to her show getting better. I don't like Viv or her work a lot. I think she is incredibly unprofessional and she has done her fair share of questionable or problematic stuff, which often leads to issues in her shows. There have been some characters I like, some songs or scenes that were pretty well done, very cool animation and an actually interesting premise on paper in HH and HB. There are things that make me come back to these shows to watch the next episode. And i'm obviously passionate enough about these shows to make whole posts about what I think was done badly and what could be changed. But for the aspects of HH or HB I enjoy, there are soo many more problems I have with it. Problems that won't go away unless Viv stops seeing every criticism as a personal attack. Because if Vivzepop doesn't stop acting like her writing is some unreachable stuff that needs no changes I don't really see a point in assuming that these shows will ever get better.
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olivsie · 1 month
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Something I like about epic the musical is that it Gives it's changes to the original text an actual Purpose
( The first couple paragraphs are basically a rant regarding retellings. If you only want to hear about epic Skip to paragraph 4)
1. I am a bit annoyed by the lack of. Understanding as to why RETELLINGS aren't the most historicaly accurate things in the world. Sorry to break this to you, but that's both just how they work and I would guess how they reach success. Ancient Greece is a much different culture than our own, And most of us would be terrified to actually live back then. When you are Trying to create content That is based on ancient Greece And you want it to be successful/ At least reach a wide, and notably, MODERN audience. You're likely going to have to take some creative liberty And change a few things. Don't get me wrong, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE RETELLINGS KNOWING THAT FACT ( Me personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Miller's novels Even though I do like epic) BUT IT IS SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF. And because of that I don't think I would ever expect a retelling to be perfectly accurate And I don't. I had interest in mythology LONG before epic the musical But I didn't actually read the Odyssey until getting into epic. I did not expect it To be just like the musical, I knew Odysseus was going to be much more of an asshole, along with other characters. The odyssey and epic are different pieces of media to me And I am not less of a mythology nerd for liking epic ( Though I will admit that sometimes I take tiny little fun facts of mythology And like to think of them in the context of epic, but that's just for fun.)
2. The Only time being a fan of retellings is wrong as if you genuinely believe they are perfectly accurate And refuse to listen to anything else ( Which has definitely happened, And mythology nerds have the right to be annoyed at that)
3. Some people only like to consume real mythology media, Others like both real mythology and retellings, Others only like to engage with retellings (I would hope they have the self-awareness to know It's not real mythology, From what I've seen some do and some don't, Unfortunately)
4. Ok. now on to what the title of this long ass rant says
I like that epic the musical Retells the story, Not only to both cater to modern audience But Also with its OWN purpose of man versus monster.
Obviously, this is not the point of the original text. Mythos Odysseus does not give a single fuck About the stuff that epic odysseus does. I don't know why the creator Decided to rewrite it this way, (If he's ever said why let me know) But I would assume he wanted to make something about the oddessy And this was simply a very creative way to Translate that for modern audience.
I like this because, yes, holy damn. It does have changes from the original text. But it's not JUST changing it. It's changing it with a purpose
It feels reminiscent of some kind of Dramatic play. the way that epic characterizes.
Polites' kind nature is Representative of the Concept of being merciful Represented in his lines such as " This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms" /"There is so much guilt inside your heart, So why not replace it?"
While in contrast you have eurylochus with more ruthlessness and cautious nature, this is Found in some of his lines such as "You rely on wit, and people die on it" /"we don't know what's ahead" / "I say we strike first. We don't have time to waste so lets raid the place-" /"Let's just cut our losses, You and I and let's run"
And then you have Odysseus, the man/monster. The first act of this Musical is his internal struggle With what He should be On that scale. And the other characters Represent this struggle in the song monster
" Is the cyclops struck with gilt when he kills, is he up in the middle of the night? Or does he end my men to avenge his friend and then Sleep knowing he has done him right?
When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs, is she going insane? Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain?
When a God comes down and makes a Fleet drown Is he scared that he's doing something wrong? Or does he keep us in check So we must respect him and now no one dares to piss him off"
He then Applies this to himself
" Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping trojans cause he is vile? Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile?"
And this marks his turning point of deciding that Ruthlessness It's ultimately worth it if it means Getting home, as aeolus says "The end Always justifies the means"
It's in my opinion, a very creative way to go about retelling a myth. Is it accurate? Absolutely not. For example, circe (From what we know) is not protecting When she turns men into pigs, For all we know, she could just do it because Shits and giggles.
Her character and most others in epic is changed from the original. But it's not ONLY changing for the sake of apeling to the modern Western audience and being successful like Many other retellings. It is also and mainly changing for the sake of influencing the plot that Jorge Rivera herrans crafted For the sake of Retelling epic. It is creative and I enjoy it despite knowing it's not accurate.
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catnippackets · 6 months
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My sister in law and I once had a very deep chat where she told me she's a bit jealous of how I'm "capable" of obsessing over interests; I got the feeling that to her it seemed like a specific type of joy she would never really know. In turn, I told her that even though I sometimes wish it had an off switch, I rlly can't imagine a version of myself thay doesn't get joyfully hyperfixated on things, since it's so intrinsic to my personality/neuro-chemistry.
Anyways, I totally relate to that feeling of detached embarrassment, but it was eye-opening to talk abt it with her and see that A) some people really admire the capacity for such "passion" and B) some people genuinely just can't have that experience, which seems both unthinkable and obvious lol
I genuinely can't imagine a life like that for myself either. I've gone through periods of time before where I wasn't hyperfixated on something and genuinely I felt like...deeply empty the entire time. As soon as something new entered my life to fixate on I felt like myself again. I definitely have interests and hobbies that I enjoy in a very normal non-obsessive way but it feels so different and they don't feel like...sustainable. like I'm just living off of bread and milk. idk how else to phrase that. because the things I always hyperfixate on are tv shows and fictional characters I kind of just assumed it came with the territory of being an artist, cuz as a creator it's like...this is what I'm meant to do with my life, right? I know I'm supposed to be telling stories and creating characters and exploring concepts through fiction so it makes perfect sense that I'm depressed without any source of inspiration or rejuvenation. Cuz it's inspiring as hell to be hyperfixated on something!! it gives me endless energy and inspiration to create and that makes me feel amazing.
most of my friends are ND too but I know some of them aren't the same as me in this regard and they've even expressed similar jealousy that they're not someone who obsesses over things. it's both understandable and so weird to me cuz obviously you can't pick and choose what your brain is gonna latch on to but like...you haven't even had ONE time in your life where you spent years only thinking about one thing? not even once? that's unfathomable to me, that's like my entire life.
and while I definitely do not enjoy the embarrassment of having feelings and how upsetting it can be to constantly be distracted from real life tasks that take priority and also feeling self conscious and wondering if I even have a personality sometimes beyond my fave video games/shows/movies, I'm really glad that I'm someone who can experience it cuz it really does feel like I'm just sitting around and waiting if I don't have a story to think about all the time. sometimes I hear people talk about how stressful and sad it is that they feel so deeply and I'm like yeah I mean sometimes but like...what about the joy. what about all the love. there's nothing sad about it! embarrassing sometimes yeah but that's worth it if it means I get to be so deeply happy and excited! I'll complain from time to time but never in a THOUSAND years would I ever want to change this about myself. I will take all the embarrassing annoying feelings if it means I get to experience pure wild autistic joy haha
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bloggingboutburgers · 2 months
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First of, I'm a big fan of your work. I love your comics and art and was happy to hear about the engagement 😁
As for my question, I love writing stories and creating OCs/characters. In your recent comic you called out that the only ace/aro rep always seems to be "the creator said so on Twitter" (a problem with a lot of rep. in media).
So I was curious, if I wanted to create an aroace character (and write a story with them), how could I naturally show them being aroace? Do you perhaps have any idea?
Thank you so much for the kind words!^^
Arguably my complaints are ironic because I myself haven't done proper aroace rep in my own fiction thus far – though I guess I'm compensating for that with my current comics, haha 🙈 But also, I've said it before and I'll say it again cus I'm annoying like that – Bojack Horseman did it, in my opinion, so that gives the rest of the media less excuses I guess.
So, again these are my personal views, and they're possibly demanding, but this would be my checklist for ideal aroace rep:
The aro/ace character needs to... BE a character. Actually have arcs, that matter within the story. Whether they're about being asexual or not doesn't really matter as long as THEY matter as a character.
...Ngl I feel they need to matter BEFORE they're revealed as aro/ace too, and obviously after. If they don't, they'll just feel like a placeholder who's just there to tick a box to me.
The fact that they're aro/ace needs to be addressed and not pushed under the rug or left up to interpretation. Leaving things up to interpretation will have so many people interpret them as allo for sure (just like in real life). And conversely, saying they're aro/ace may spark some curious questions and possibly awkward conversations (just like in real life). (...Again tbh Bojack Horseman was great at doing it naturally. The confusion from the ace character themself, the ace character's friend assuming they're gay because yeah that always happens, the MC having a friendly yet clueless "haha you're lucky that'd save me so many problems if I didn't have sexual attraction"... I could go on.)
By that I also mean... Actually NAMING the orientation at some point. If it's not named people who consume the media and don't know such an orientation exists will be none the wiser. (I'm guilty of that myself tbh. In one of my webcomics I had an alloaro character but never had the orientation mentioned within the story, I left it at showing he has sex and him having a conversation with his family explaining he doesn't have a favorite person because he just can't, but I feel like that's not enough, and I've been feeling a bit bad about it.) A good way of bringing that up fairly naturally would be to have the character figure out their orientation within the story, as a way to have the audience learn alongside them; but it could also be played for drama, which I don't think I've ever seen and would like to dabble with myself at some point – like, imagine you have a friend you hold dear who's key to your personal development and suddenly you find out they see you as sex / romance prospects and not as a friend like YOU do? That'd be crushing but that could definitely make for a good conflict. I should try writing that. I'm rambling anyway. Bleh.
Another thing that, to me, is key to the aro/ace experience is that the character may have some moments of questioning their place in the world. Our world is obsessed with sex and romance and fiction exacerbates that to the point where some characters barely even exist if they don't have romance. This could range from "Do I NEED to even identify myself as something" (again, Bojack Horseman did that great) to "Friendship is the most important relationship to me but not to my friends, what if they all abandon me once they find the one person they consider 'more important'". I dunno. I feel like there could be some interesting storylines there. I definitely would love to dabble into that myself a bit more, though I lack the time and talent – those concepts and the lack of things that are done with it live in my head rent-free.
...Actually I feel it could be good to show aro/ace characters as full of heart (if it fits their personality), having their own feelings and emotions outside of the usual romance spectrum, to show that they're just as human and compelling as the other characters. (...AGAIN Bojack Horseman did that great imo, I feel bad that I'm only ever quoting that show but that's still the best example I can ever think of.) Like – betrayal, loneliness, grief, kinship, literally ANY other form of love than romantic love... We feel all of those too, and those deserve to be addressed in stories just as much (if not more) than the pining or simping that's kinda everywhere.
Oh yeah and speaking of being human... Yeah, human. We need more human aro/ace characters. Making it so that only the aliens/gods/demons/robots/whatever are ever allowed to be aro/ace only serves to dehumanize these orientations.
...IIIII think that's it. I might be forgetting some things I'd wanna add on later but I think that covers everything that would make for ideal rep in my own opinion
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themissinghand · 1 year
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Genshin Impact: The Overworked God
Summary: In which one of the lore writers who help write the world of Genshin Impact was suddenly thrusted in the very world they created. He doesn't know how this happened and the way home seemed like a pipe dream.
Well, testing characters is one thing, but playing God?
Oh boy.
Note: SAGAU if you squint but not really. Mainly fluff and healing mainly between a tired worker and the oldest Archon.
Male OC!
Warning: Genshin themes with mentions of war, and death. And OC needs some rest.
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"Good morning, your Grace." 
"5 more minutes..?" 
"You are the Creator."
It took approximately one hard pinch to the elbow and 55 seconds later that Kai decided (albeit begrudgingly) that this was his reality.
Always negotiate the terms and pay for any job.
Payment is obviously going back home, but also monetary compensation, enough to retire early as a billionaire. And maybe a nice villa. Or bed.
Until Kai goes home, he might as well get an easier life here.
Which clearly did not go as intended.
"I will not be the babysitter for any Archon." Kai already has countries to run, royal families to manage, and human relationships are ever so complicated. He doesn't have the time nor desire to babysit gods for goodness sake.
And besides, the 7 Archons comes so much later in time! 
He's a game writer, not a politician or babysitter! It's only because he played kingdom simulation games before and read too many fictional works that he could figure things out. 
Celestia is supposed to be his assistant since he's the Creator, but isn't he working too hard!? At this point, he's gonna retire early! 
"But your Grace, you cannot manage the world yourself. Archons can help manage them for you!" 
Yes, Celestia gave up in speaking in elegant and ambiguous ways after their first negotiation session. 
Kai thought about it for a bit before agreeing, anything that spelled less work for him, he'll take it! 
"But, I'm not going to be a babysitter!" 
Archon war? 
Stop making me do more work! 
What happened? It was peaceful for such a long time! 
Was it because there were too many gods or powerful creatures? Damn Celestia, you're supposed to keep it under control! 
Kai has a migraine everyday, so this wasn't surprising, but did the gods have to fight each other, just so only 7 left?! 
Celestia!
"It must be done your Grace! Isn't this what you and your team wrote?" 
"Well I changed my mind." 
"Your Grace! If you go out there now, they will use you and your powers!" 
"But I can't watch people die just because some stupid god or creature that wants power!"
Celestia remained silent at his outburst. 
"Tempus. It's too late, it had already begun." 
"Celestia!"
"Everything is your will after all. You wrote the story, didn't you?" 
It was then did Kai realize that Celestia didn't follow him, but rather the words and designs set by his team in the real world. 
Celestia is like an AI robot, one that only acts in accordance to the wishes of it's Creator. 
But isn't he the Creator right now?! Does this mean he needs more power to be recognized, or overthrow the set system? 
Kai stomped out in fury and for the first time, not as Kai, but the God of Time and Creation. 
Tempus.
Tempus never thought he would play God, but here he is, relying on his godly powers to save what's left of his creation. 
"Tempus." 
Kai sent his final message to his country's royal family before turning to greet the rude guest.
"Morax." One of the 7 victors of war, a newly appointed Archon, entered without announcing anything beforehand and immediately strides towards Kai. 
When Morax stops in front of him, there's an awkward silence between them, and Kai knows this man is waiting for something.
"No." But Kai declines. He's got why too much things to deal with and he's not going to do something he's done too many times. 
"Guizhong is dead." Kai frowns, ah, of course. 
"Please." Morax pleads, and Kai is put at odds when seeing the Lord of Geo so weak, so desperate.
"Morax. You know I cannot."
"Kai." He almost hisses, and Kai could care less.
"I'll do anything to bring everyone back."
"They will die no matter what."
Because I wrote it.
"Shut up!" Kai does not flinch when the God of Contracts claws at him. He simply stares into those golden eyes of fury and desperation.
"Turn back time! Do it!" The entire world quakes at his call, and Tempus is stuck. 
Stuck between pity and reality.
"If I do, what will you do? What can you do?" Tempus responds, tired of this entire show. He groans when he felt strong claws around his neck.
"I'll save Guizhong! I'll stop the Archon war!"
"You'll only suffer and regret." Like him.
"I will not." The resolve in his voice is undeniable. 
"If only you had been there with me then Guizhong-"
"Will die. If not by the war, then by her people."
"What?" Morax freezes, and Kai could hear the bitter realization hit him. 
"If not by her people, then by fate. If not by fate, then by Celestia, by YOU! You of all people know even Gods die, Morax. It's a war." Kai is sick of it. 
Tempus tried everything, but he is a powerless, useless god against his own pen in his home world. 
Morax inhales, then exhales.
"Do it. Turn back time."
Tempus sighs, a distant memory of a determined, hard-working, and adorable adepti resurfaced in his mind. 
He remembers laughing and writing Zhongli's character-
"One chance." Then the Lord of Geo lets go and bows.
"Thank you." Tempus puts a hand on Morax's bloodied shoulder and closes his eyes. 
This conversation turns into one of the past.
The Archon war occurs, and Tempus watches Morax fail.
If he prevents one red flag, another arises.
Everything repeats, like a never-ending cycle of torture.
"Morax." 
"Tempus." The God of Time stops behind his sitting figure in front of Guizhong and many of his colleagues' graves.
Tempus puts a glazed lily on each of the graves and offers his own condolences.
"Morax. It's over now. Return."
"And where would I return?" Tempus holds out his hand. 
"Then, come with me." 
Morax accepted and followed. 
For some reason, Morax holds onto his hand like his lifeline, and Tempus allows him.
Just like that, the two Gods made their way to Temporium, a land where time moves differently than in the rest of the world. 
Temporium is a wonderful nation.
Old as time, this country is the first nation Tempus raised from the ground. It is also the country that he chose to call "home". 
The royal family is the one that manages the country and Tempus is merely a guide and protector, helping them navigate the dangers of the past and the future.
His protective shield around this land slows down or speeds up time within the shield, creating a safe haven that is immune to any outside influences. 
Kai wants to make this country similar to his real home. 
Before he was thrown into this madness. 
Tempus leads Morax into a transparent dome known as a green house and stops. 
"Morax. Time is limited. So cherish it."
Surrounded by flowers and greenery, there stood a woman with a gentle smile.
"Morax?" 
Tempus watches them reunite and thinks that losing sleep is worth it. 
Looking up into the skies, Tempus thinks that since he was able to change fate, just slightly, it means Tempus is stronger, but not enough. 
Celestia is wavering. 
But he's too late.
Too many died, and too many suffered due to his hand. He can't just turn back time, for he will also revert to the past "him".
Nevertheless, Tempus swore to change the plot, and maybe, just maybe, end this never-ending madness. 
Seeing as to how Morax and Guizhong are fine, Tempus disappears and reappears under a cherry blossom tree.
There was another person he saved, a sister and leader to many. There, two sisters cried in each other’s arms like no tomorrow.
Tempus watches solemnly, and repeats the same disappearing and reappearing, many times.
Tempus shouldn't be at this tea party. 
"Morax. Let's rebuild Liyue."
"Guizhong. They betrayed you." Morax clearly looks like he was withholding his rage. 
"I know." Guizhong acknowledges, but isn't afraid. 
"But even so, I understand their reasons. To protect their land from an unwanted war."
Her kindness knows no bounds. Truly, no one deserves her. 
"Thus Morax, this time, we will rebuild Liyue with the adepti, and we will stand together. As always."
"Guizhong. I...cannot afford to lose you again." She smiles wistfully, and then looks at Tempus. 
"I too am afraid of disappearing, and without Tempus, perhaps I would have perished. It was he who saved me and led me to his realm to heal. For that, thank you." 
Morax too bows in gratitude.
"I apologize that I cannot save everyone." 
"That would be too much to ask from you, Tempus. For you are not an omnipotent, omniscient or omnipresent God." 
For the first time, Tempus feels slightly relieved at someone's words. 
"I'm sure you did your best and already changed so many people’s lives."
Huh. A soft smile blooms on his face and the two seemed surprised. 
Truly, no one deserves her.  
Eventually they leave, and Tempus, sends them off peacefully, wishing them the best.
Then, Liyue is built once again.
This time, they build the foundation and protect the city together.
But again, even the gods cannot go against time.
When Guizhong dies, she dies as she scatters her wisdom all over Liyue, to her people, to her country and to her loved ones.
This time, she dies without regrets.
This time, she dies because Celestia told her it was time.
There was no forewarning, but it looked like she knew. 
She spent the last of her time with Morax and Tempus before she fades and flutters away like dust.
Again, Morax receives a stone dumbbell, challenging him to unlock.
But this time, there was one thing that changed.
"Morax, I hope you can befriend Tempus. He's the oldest of all gods, the one who has drifted the longest among all. Yet, he is perhaps the one that is the loneliest and wisest, or perhaps that is why he acts the way he acts." She says after she gives him her dumbbell.
"If I have one regret, it would be that I have never gained his trust."
"Guizhong, that's impossible-"
"Morax, he has never shown us more than courtesy and kindness. Maybe I am greedy, but I want to become a friend to all." She smiles.
"That is why, I hope you can be his friend in place of I."
"Of course. By your gift, I pledge to fulfill your will." Morax holds her hand as she disintegrates.
"Thank you Morax. I hope only happiness and prosperity follow you."
Like dust, they slip through his fingers and disappear.
Like all of his comrades, friends, and loved ones.
And Tempus could only watch from the distance like a powerless God he is. 
"The loneliest and wisest huh..." 
He could only laugh bitterly.
"Tempus."
"Morax." The god replies with a low hum, "What brings you here?"
"I want to give you my gratitude."
"No need." Tempus does not turn to greet him, but simply continues to write. Morax watches him write with a mysterious utensil, a pen.
Tempus truly is worthy of being called a genius amongst geniuses.
A god who built a country, and protected his realm despite the Archon War, and survived. No wonder he is heavily respected and worshiped by his people.
"Teach me."
The god stops.
"What are you talking about?"
"Teach me how to build Liyue."
"It's already built."
"How to govern as a God." Without Guizhong and his friends, Morax is incapable of running a country. His hands were made to fight and seal monsters, not to care for people. 
"You do not need to govern a country. Barbatos-"
"He's a fool." Morax heard a muffled laugh.
"But his country is still functioning quite well isn't it?" Tempus turns around, his azure eyes meets his golden ones.
"Tempus."
"What will I get in return? God of Contracts?" Tempus smiles before he stands.
"What do you need?"
"Trade." Morax blinks.
"Free trade amongst civilians. No taxes or barriers." Morax doesn't quite understand his terms, but he's willing to learn.
"I accept."
"You don't even know what I said didn't you?" Tempus crosses his arms and shook his head.
"I believe you are a fair person and one who will teach me what I need to know.”
“Just like old times isn’t it?”
This was Morax's first contract, and certainly won't be the last. 
Time passes quickly, and soon, Morax and Barbatos become the two of the original seven left. 
Despite this, Tempus does his job as both a Creator and babysitter job well. 
He ensures Gods fulfill their duty and if they need help, they can seek him out. If Tempus ever saw something worth his time (which is like...every time), he too would interfere, gaining the Archons' favour. 
He realized the power of the butterfly effect. From saving Gods such as Guizhong and Makoto, even with what little power he had during the Archon War to extend their life, it played an immense part in changing the Archons themselves.
Again, too much work, and too little time. 
Even if he slows down time, he could never get enough sleep. 
It's also blatantly obviously the Archons are treating him too well, but he originally thought it made sense with all the effort he put in to change the plot. 
But their affectionate gestures increased after they found of he was the Creator.
Tempus really shouldn't have told Morax this a while back and allowed him to tell the other Archons. Luckily, he prevented them from telling anyone else under the pretense that it was his order. 
Even so, Kai finally feels a little more at ease. He could finally get some sleep. 
Could he really complain about the children (Archons) when they gave him the most premium material to sleep on? 
Or hear a private concert from a certain bard?
Or try out the best food in the jungles?
Or let him sleep under the giant cherry blossoms whenever he wants?
Or take him out to a hot springs in Liyue?
"Kai. How are you feeling?" Zhongli asks from behind him, who is washing his long, long hair. 
"Good...Thanks...Zhongli."
Kai can finally relax a bit and it’s well deserved. Taking care of kids is hard. Much less 7 at once.
At least they’re paying him back with interest.
Zhongli couldn't help but smile proudly when the sleepless God fell asleep in his domain.
He'd be sure to brag about this at their next Archon meeting. 
Not knowing it would be their last.
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Good Omens, staying skeptical, and the mystery and the lie at the heart of Gravity Falls
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-Neil Gaiman, 29 June 2023
I recently came across this post by @apathetic-revenant, which goes into extensive detail about a whole secret meta lie generated by Alex Hirsch, creator and head writer of Gravity Falls, midway through the show.
It went like this: the show was very focused on mysteries, codes, ciphers, etc, and early on a character discovered a mysterious journal with an unknown author, and this drove the plot. There were clues placed in the show so that people could solve the journal author's identity, or more probably so that it would all make sense in hindsight after the big reveal. However, the show ended up with a larger-than-expected fandom who started organizing online in a way the creators hadn't expected or planned for, and they were worried everyone would collectively solve the mystery too easily, too soon, and the suspense and appeal of the story gradually unfolding would be lost.
So they took a fake BTS photo that appeared to reveal the journal's author and "leaked" it online. To give it credibility, the show's creator posted "Fuming right now" and then deleted the post soon after, once they were certain it had been seen and screenshots taken. The Gravity Falls fandom then stopped trying to solve the mystery, as they believed the answer had already been revealed. It was a solution "targeted toward delaying that group problem-solving, without actually affecting the experience of any individual person watching the show."
Ok, Good Omens fandom. Are we Gravity Falls all over again? Are we also experiencing meta lies?
Is it possible that Amazon's marketing department has just released a new promotional video about Aziraphale & Crowley's "timeline of interconnectedness" (discussions here and here ) where they honestly:
got several of those timeline dates wrong, including labeling the entirety of seasons 1 and 2 as belonging to the same year?
mixed all the season 1 and 2 clips together so they're completely interconnected and out of the order they were presented to us so far?
didn't consult with Neil Gaiman for even a moment to be sure they had their facts straight? (Or literally anyone else who's spent years working on it? Or even someone who has just watched it once while paying attention?)
didn't understand the way most series tell a story by moving through time in a realistic linear fashion?
When Neil said today that "time is fine" in response to questions about the timeline of interconnectedness video, was he trying to misdirect the fandom away from the mystery that's clearly hidden throughout both seasons (and especially season 2)?
The Good Place seems suddenly more relevant than I'd imagined:
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Neil has told us that his Tumblr posts aren't canon. He's also said:
"Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story."
"Writers are liars, my dear, surely you know that by now? And yet, things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." -Both quotes are from The Sandman [link]
So here's my plea to whichever part of the fandom might read this: Stay Skeptical. It's wonderful to talk to Neil about his characters, the worlds he's created, his writing process, his views on world events, his sense of humor, his kindness, his compassion and empathy, and his good advice & encouragement for the entire range of the human experience. I respect him very much, and I'm thrilled he's here on social media talking to all of us. (Except he doesn't have social media, obviously. He's like Schrödinger's Social Media Neil-cat.)
I'm looking forward to all the surprises I'm certain are in store for us (and Aziraphale and Crowley) in Good Omens season 3. I trust Neil (and Terry!) to deliver our beloved characters to a very satisfying ending. But I don't trust Neil to honestly answer all of our questions on social media - and neither should you.
Especially not when he's already blamed obvious season 2 changes to the Bentley on the "lighting" (as just one example).
With lots of thanks to the members of the @ineffable-detective-agency - including @bbbitchvibbbez, @kimberleyjean, @maufungi, @noneorother, @theastrophysicistnextdoor, and @thebluestgreen for all their excellent fact-checking, ideas, and discussions!
Interested in diving further into all the Good Omens mysteries? I have more posts plus Clues and metas from all over the fandom, here.
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