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azalea-in-wonderland · 3 years

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Daniela/Carla Interview Quotes

This is a compendium/compilation of interview quotes from both the writers and the actors about the Daniela/Carla relationship. Some of them are just so beautiful, I hadn’t read all these before I started hunting them down. Favorite part might be Stephanie talking about how it wasn’t hard to pretend to be in love with Daniela bc she had such a huge crush on Daphne already, lol. I’m also gonna add this to that massive “little details” post, just to have everything in the same place for easy reference. And I went back and edited in a few more things to that list that people mentioned in the replies, and some random little things I forgot before. As always, please tell me if I missed anything important!

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With Camila, I just wanted to be able to focus on Nina's story a little bit more. So if she was in conflict with her dad [Kevin, played by Jimmy Smits], it helped focus that story. When we lost Camila, I therefore had to balance it out and really do work to elevate Abuela Claudia [Olga Merediz] and Daniela [Daphne Rubin-Vega] to even more powerful matriarchal positions on the block.

Speaking of Daniela, was her and Carla's coupling always meant to be more of a wink, or was there more initially intended for them as queer representation in the film?

It may sound counterintuitive, but actually it's like marriage representation because when I cut the character of Camila, I just didn't want any critic anywhere to be able to say they all come from broken homes. So I was like, I need a married couple because I don't want anyone to try to spin that on me. And so I was like, oh, Daniela and Carla. They're the married business owners, and they've invested their relationship and their marriage in building this business together. And so that just felt very easy.

https://ew.com/movies/in-the-heights-writer-quiara-alegria-hudes/

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From In the Heights: Finding Home (book)

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LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA OPENED UP ABOUT HIS NEWEST PROJECT, IN THE HEIGHTS.

Gayety editor Caitlynn McDaniel sat down with the cast and creators to discuss filming in New York City, authentic representation, and a few new queer characters.

“Really it’s nothing more dramatic than Daniela and Carla, the women who co-own the salon, we just send them home together at the end of the night.”

In the original stage production, Daniela and Carla do not have a romantic relationship. But after Camila Rosario was taken out of the film adaptation, the creators wanted to make sure there was a healthy family dynamic still in the show. Miranda credits the change to the screenplay writer, Quiara Alegría Hudes, who chose to make Daniela and Carla a couple.

“It was a relationship that was already strong and already wonderful in the stage version of the show and we just kind of canonized that relationship and made them life partners in addition to business partners.”

https://gayety.co/lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-cast-talk-queer-characters

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The two characters were portrayed as close friends in the original musical, though the sexuality of the two characters was not explored.

Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays Daniela, told Broadway.com of the additions: “Carla and I are girlfriends; we’re partners…. we cohabitate, it’s safe to say.”

Jon M Chu, who is directing the adaptation, confirmed to the outlet: “We’re doubling and tripling down on that [storyline]!”

Referencing a song from the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted: “Tell ‘em something they don’t know…?‍‍?‍?”.

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/13/hamilton-creator-lin-manuel-miranda-lesbian-twist-in-the-heights-film/

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MW: In the Heights has so much to say and show about community as a family, the family that you’re born to as well as your chosen family. What is the message that you take away from the film about the families that we make and love?

BEATRIZ: Well, you actually said it best, the families that we make and love, because some of us are lucky enough to be born into families that accept and love us as who we are, and some of us have to find our way to those families. But I think for those of us lucky enough to experience unconditional love from, whether it be blood relatives or friends or people that you’ve invited into your life that love you unconditionally, having that community, that family, that chosen family, really buoys you up as a human being.

The thing we all recognized after the last year and a half of struggling globally through this really difficult time was how much we really rely on human connection and other human beings. And so this film, it’s so strange, the timing of it, but I guess it’s a universal and timeless theme, this idea of family, connection, humanity, and how much we need and rely on each other. I’m so excited for audiences to see this film at this moment in time.

MW: Carla and Daniela obviously are a family unto themselves. Something I appreciate about their part in this story is that they’re fixtures in the community. They’re not in need of refuge, they provide refuge, they provide comfort to people.

BEATRIZ: Many times in media we are presented stories that are about queer characters that automatically connect with dramatic events or sometimes traumatic events, and just one way of seeing people is not all that they are. For example, as someone who is bisexual and grew up with not that much varied bisexual representation in film and television and media, what I thought of as bisexual was, “Oh, no.” I had this idea that, “I can’t possibly be this, because this is over-sexualized, hyper-sexualized, villainous, duplicitous. I’m none of those things, and yet I feel that I am and identify as bisexual, and yet the characters that are presented to me in the media that I’m consuming reflects back to me that I’m bad. That somehow, at my core, there’s something wrong with me.”

What’s really cool about [In the Heights] is that in this very subtle way, you see these characters that are this functioning, happy, loving pair that are pillars in their community, and, in each other’s company, they are the best version of themselves, and other people actually flock to them because they make other people the best version of themselves. How lovely and thrilling to have that be gently sewn into the fabric of this entire community. Abuela Claudia accepts and loves them, Usnavi accepts and loves them, all of the characters take them for who they are. There’s no judgment, there’s no questioning, there’s no, “Eew, I don’t know.”

There’s none of that, which is so refreshing to see that on film, because that’s what my life is mostly like. Most of my friends accept and love me just the way that I am, there’s no questioning or weirdness. Maybe there’s some curiosity, but there’s never any drama or trauma around it for me in my chosen family. In its subtlety, it’s so special.

MW: It seems subtle to me because I wake up with a man, but it won’t be so subtle to everyone that we meet Carla and Daniela waking up together, which is really great.

BEATRIZ: Waking up together, yeah. It’s so lovely to see. It’s so, “Oh,” it establishes it so perfectly, so beautifully, so quickly, and so clearly.

MW: The film diverges from the stage musical in several ways that we won’t spoil here, but one way is that Carla and Daniela were not presented as a couple in the stage show. So, especially as somebody who identifies as queer, how important was that change in the film for you? Would you have been as interested if Carla and Daniela were cousins or best buddies?

BEATRIZ: I didn’t know that that decision was made until I was already cast, so it was something that I was really excited about once I heard that Quiara Alegría Hudes, the writer [of both versions], was thinking about this idea that, “Well, they’re already partners at work, what about if they were life partners as well? They’re such a unit.” It made sense to her in this new iteration of the story to make them a couple. And, like I said, I was already cast. I wanted to be a part of this film really badly because it is such an incredible piece of art, and it was like a dream to think, “I could work with Jon M. Chu.” I just think he’s such a special, incredible filmmaker. I saw Crazy Rich Asians too many times in the theater. I just think what he does is so special, and only he does it that way. He’s got such a magical lens through which he views the world. And so when I found out that Quiara was thinking about making this change, I was so excited and so supportive, and just fucking pumped that there was a possibility that they might be a gay couple, and the fact that they ran with it, it speaks volumes to the filmmakers, the producers, everyone at Warner Bros. that trusted that [the] storyline fit in this world.

MW: How much did it help that for a lot of the work you were doing, you’re in partnership with a master of musical theater in Daphne Rubin-Vega?

BEATRIZ: I found out that she was cast the same day that I found out that I was cast. My agents told me on the phone, “Daphne Rubin-Vega is going to be playing Daniela,” and I lost my shit. I mean I absolutely lost it. I had pictures of her all over the back of my bedroom door when I was a teenager. Rent was one of the first times that I really understood that there was a possibility that I, too, could be an actor, that I could do this as a profession and succeed, because she was so phenomenal in that role, and it was this worldwide moment where her talent — the talent of everyone in that show — but her talent and what she brought to the role by being herself, everyone saw it. Everyone acknowledged that that was a seminal moment in American theater and in American theater history, and it just made me feel like it was possible for me, too. She was an idol of mine.

I was a fucking mess the first day of rehearsal. I was just like, “Oh, no,” because I was so — I don’t want to say intimidated, because she’s not an intimidating person, but I was just so nervous to meet her. It was meeting one of my idols. And then to work with her was so amazing, awe-inspiring, eye-opening. She has a very different process than I do, but I learned a ton by watching her. She’s incredibly professional, and her voice sounds just amazing in this film.

I’m so excited for her to have this moment on film because she is so good, and she’s so good in this role. It’s really amazing. It’s like watching a priestess or something at work. You’re just watching something that you’re like, “I don’t understand how you’re doing this, but I can’t take my eyes off of you.”

MW: The word that came to me as you were describing that was “undeniable.”

BEATRIZ: Undeniable, yes. She’s an undeniable talent, presence, human being. She’s incredible.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/06/stephanie-beatriz-brings-queer-representation-to-in-the-heights-and-bids-farewell-to-brooklyn-nine-nine/

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Stephanie Beatriz is intimately familiar with the power of media representation. Growing up, she was inspired to become an actor by Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was the first Latina on Broadway she connected with. Now, because the universe has a wonderful sense of humor, she’s starring as Rubin-Vega’s partner in what’s sure to be the movie of the summer, Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights, based on Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony Award-winning musical about a Latinx community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

“The soundtrack of Rent [in which Rubin-Vega played Mimi] really provided me a doorway in to see the musical,” Beatriz remembers. “My family didn’t have money to go take a trip to New York so I could see a Broadway show, but I could get the soundtrack at the library and listen to it over and over.”

Unlike in the stage version of In the Heights, in the film, Beatriz’s character Carla is in a lesbian relationship with Daniela (Rubin-Vega), the owner of the salon she works at. For Beatriz, it was a full-circle moment.

“I grew up with a poster of [RubinVega] on my wall,” the bisexual actress confesses. “I had the cover of Newsweek that she was on with Adam Pascal taped to the back of my door in high school. And to me, she’s really legendary. So to make the jump as an actor to being in love with her was not hard for me at all, because she’s charming, very distinct, specific, beautiful.”

Beatriz adds, “I layered that in as much as I could, especially if Daniela is talking.” So it wasn’t difficult for Beatriz to portray her character Carla as “enraptured, glued, like it’s a master class, just watching it all unfold, watching Daniela’s personality take over the space of a room and the ambiance.”

She continues, “Any time Daniela might have a doubt, it’s Carla who steps up to the plate and tells her, whether it’s in her ear or out loud to everyone in the room, ‘You got this.’ I just loved that very much because I think that’s a real characteristic of a healthy relationship — one in which your partner sees the possibilities in you, sometimes when you don’t even see them yourself, believes that you are incredible, amazing, talented, the Lady Gaga list.”

Beatriz is especially excited to play a queer character in a movie where there’s no homophobia. When you see scenes with Carla and Daniela together, especially in the salon, you see, “lots of different shades of people, lots of different shapes of people, and different sexualities, and different expressions of self. That’s a safe space,” she says. “I think in many communities, the beauty parlor is a safe space, especially in Latino communities.”

It’s refreshing for the film to invite viewers into the life Daniela and Carla have created where everyone around them is accepting, “whether or not we know about their extended families is not the point of this,” Beatriz says.

“It’s really the family that they’ve created, the home that they’ve created in Washington Heights, is an accepting, loving place where they thrive.”

https://www.out.com/print/2021/6/09/stephanie-beatriz-helping-queer-latina-visibility-reach-new-heights

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But Chu and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes have also crafted another new, inclusive element with two beloved characters.

Beauty salon owner Daniela and hairdresser Carla, while portrayed as coworkers and gossip buddies in Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hudes’ stage musical, will also be romantic partners on the big screen. Rent Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz play the two, respectively, in the movie.

Chu and Rubin-Vega had previously confirmed the evolution of the characters’ dynamic. At a recent press event celebrating the release of the latest two trailers, Beatriz discussed the significance of the decision. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community,” Beatriz says, “and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continues: “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/in-the-heights-stephanie-beatriz-on-introducing-queer-element-to-the-movie-with-2-fan-favorite-characters

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Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

https://encoremonthly.com/hitting-new-heights/

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Let’s talk about your characters, Daniela and Carla. In the original Broadway production they ran the beauty salon together but their relationships has changed a bit for the movie hasn’t it, what do they mean to each other?

Stephanie: “They live together, they’re partners at work, they’re life partners, they love each other. To put a real clear stamp on it, they’re gay as all get-out! They’re gay, they’re queer, and they love each other and they’re this functioning, happy couple that work together, live together and have made a home with each other, for each other, and in each other. I personally love that it’s layered so subtly into the film because I think many times when we see queer characters, gay characters, we’re focusing on the stuff in their lives that’s hard for them and in this film, I think we’re focusing on the fact that, there’s hard stuff in the community for everyone, but there’s also joy and the ability to celebrate life, even though that hard stuff is going on around you.”

Daphne, as Stephanie mentioned it is quite subtle and I like that about it too. As their relationship isn’t explicitly addressed in the dialogue how did you express their love for one another and that intimacy through things like the body language and the dance as well?

Daphne: “Like Stephanie said, we were just a couple who care about each other so I think that that reflects in the body language. It was really wonderful to be able to have the freedom and ability to portray a character that loves who she loves without all of the sort of social stuff around it. They had to deal with adversity and challenges but being gay is not one of them.”

“Their gayness is also is not an issue for Abuela Claudia or Usnavi, or anyone else in the community. These are women who are loved and trusted, and respected; they’re protectors of their community, and kids are allowed in the salon, as are trans folks, whoever you are, if you want to get a weave, you can get a weave or nails, and who you sleep with, it’s so not about that.”

https://thequeerreview.com/2021/06/08/exclusive-interview-daphne-rubin-vega-stephanie-beatriz-on-their-queer-in-the-heights-characters-lgbtq/

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Daphne Rubin-Vega is Daniela, the pint-sized ruler (with a massive-sized voice) of In the Height’s Washington Heights block. Perched from the top of her five-inch tacones as she delivers hot gossip and a loving touch in equal measure. In the original stage production, Carla (Beatriz) is Daniela’s comedic sidekick, working alongside Cuca (Orange is the New Black’s Dascha Polanco) in Daniela’s beauty salon. In the film, Cuca and Carla’s antics remain, but Carla is also re-developed as Daniela’s romantic partner with quiet, lived-in moments across the week of one block’s summer heatwave.

So the three of us got together as the sun was setting on the East Coast to talk about the history of Latinas and lesbians in musical theatre, welcoming the ancestors into our space, and finding love in the small moments of the everyday. (We talked over each other a bunch, but if you’ve ever sat across from a table of your tías and primas on a Saturday night in the summer, you already know the vibes.)

Carmen Phillips: First of all, I just wanted to say before we got officially started, I mean, I’m just beyond myself to be able to meet both of you! It means just the most to me. Daphne — I saw you in Rent when I was 12 years old and it was something that changed my life, which I’m sure you hear all the time and it’s not unique anymore, but it did.

Daphne Rubin-Vega: [brings hands together] Thank you. It’s a pleasure.

Carmen: Hi. Okay. We can start!

Daphne: Hi!

Stephanie Beatriz: Carmen. I’ve literally done the same thing to her. I feel I might’ve done it on the first day I met her. I was just… [is at a loss for words]

Carmen: I feel probably lots of people tell you that, but I will never get a chance to tell you.

Daphne: No, you’ve gotta tell me! Yeah.

Carmen: Thank you.

And obviously, Stephanie. I mean, you’re a huge… Autostraddle is just a very big fan, all the time, so you already know that. Thank you both.

I wanted to start this interview at sort of the beginning of the process. I’ve been trying to read what you have said thus far about playing Daniela and Carla but I haven’t seen anyone ask this.

Obviously both characters are presumed straight in the original stage production of In the Heights. When you auditioned or otherwise introduced to the roles, were you already aware that they were being re-imagined as queer women? Or was that something you found out after? What was that process like?

Stephanie: I found out after!

I found out that it was even on the table — it was, “This might happen” — And I was so excited! And I voiced how excited I was IMMEDIATELY! I was like, “I think this is a great idea. I absolutely support it 100%. If you try to do that, I’m 100% in support.”

Daphne: Yeah. Yeah. For me, I had already gotten the role and so Daniela’s sexuality didn’t factor into a performance at all. Her humanity certainly did.

So after I got the role… Quiara [Alegría Hudes] called me and said, “How would you feel if Daniela… Instead of Carla just being her business partner, she’s her life partner as well.” And I remember being jolted by the change and thinking, “Yeah, fuck yeah. Of course.”

Quiara never ceases to amaze me with her elevation of the storytelling and humanity in its different incarnations.

Carmen: I think this really brings me into this next question. Daphne what you were just saying — for you, it was about elevating this humanity. And in one of the interviews I’d been reading, Stephanie had the chance to talk about [the relationship between Daniela and Carla], and she said “So much of the film is about where home is. And for Carla, Daniela is home.”

Stephanie: Yes.

Carmen: That got me thinking about what a moment this is that you’re both of entering into.

I did some research in our database and from what we can tell, in all of film history, there’ve only been 18 movie musicals that have had lesbian or bisexual characters. Period. Not even 20!! And of course, when you start thinking about…

Daphne: I was in three of them.

Carmen: Oh You sure were.

Daphne: Oh, whoa.

Stephanie: That’s… I just…

Carmen: And there’s nothing like In the Heights, when we shift our focus to think about the history Latinx film. And I’m sure you all know, the entire community’s buzzing, right? My mom is going, it’s the first movie she’s going to see in a movie theater in 18 months.

People are just dying for it, and I think going back to the conversation about what home is… I’m wondering what it feels like, for both of you, to be kind of sitting in this historic intersection, right?

This is going to be a film that really is going to exist on a planet of its own. And we’re going to see queer Latinas represented in that moment. I wondered if that’s something you’ve thought about? Or if it’s not even a thing that’s on your plate at all.

Stephanie: I’ve thought about it a lot!

I’ve thought about how this moment means something — but it will be so much more meaningful in 5, 10, 15, 20 years, when even more titles are in that database. Even more of these films have been made, even more of these stories have been told. Even more of these characters have been represented on screen, in television, in film, in all types of media.

It’s very exciting to think that we could possibly be a part of… a moment of someone looking at these performances or this film and going, “Oh, of course. Oh yes, yes. Of course. Why not? What was I thinking? Of course that exists in the planet.”

That’s a really thrilling thing to have the privilege of being a part of.

Daphne: Yeah. I fully agree. I mean, as an actress, it’s what we do. It’s my calling to embody characters that are not like me, to represent the humanity of who they are. And I think, that’s a really loaded thing for me, in my culture [Rubin-Vega is Panamanian]. Not my culture, in Latino culture, in particular.

In my country of origin, I find it’s struggled very much with homophobia and racism. Colonization, it changed the entire country, right? That’s our history. So without putting judgment on it, I think it’s really incredible, what we’re able to do here.

And Stephanie said it before, how queer stories, or stories of people who were marginalized, are made to be othered in certain ways. The stories of those who aren’t centered are then either shown as dramatic or traumatic, she said.

And in this instance, it’s neither dramatic nor traumatic! It’s so regular, it’s so basic, it just is. It’s just… “Yeah.” Yes, and it’s really not that deep and so we’re not playing queer characters, we’re playing human.

Stephanie: Also queer.

Daphne and Carmen in unison: Yeah!

Stephanie: There are people who miss it, honestly! I’ve definitely had the experience where I’m perhaps reading a review or I’m listening to someone’s experience about watching the film and they’re not even… They’re not even… [gestures like a plane flying overhead]… “Whoop.” It just flew by their face.

Whereas, for those of us who were paying attention because we’re trying to find ourselves on film, we see it immediately.

Carmen: I mean, this interview will run the day movie comes out, so I don’t want to reach too far into spoilers. But there’s a scene! It’s before the opening number, right? It’s before “In the Heights” begins. It’s intimate, playful. And I zeroed in right away, I was like, “Oh, we’re really here.”

And I think… so much of the movie is moving in ways you don’t expect, because it is so the everyday. But we never get to see OUR every day on screen. You know what I mean?

Daphne: Yes.

Carmen: And Stephanie, the question I wanted to ask you is, obviously you are very aware of how, again revered — which is why I say these last two questions for last! — you are in queer women’s communities. There’s the iconic Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And I think one of the things that everyone, at least everyone I know, is really excited about is to get to see you play a queer Latina again.

I was personally excited because it’s just a different way to use your comic timing. Carla’s very different from Rosa. I was very curious about what that felt like for you to create these two really distinct queer Latina characters.

Stephanie: That’s really kind, first of all. So thank you for saying that.

I think, one of the things that’s been really fun for me about the process of shooting In the Heights — and creating my iteration of that character — was that it brought me back to the feeling that I used to have in Repertory Company, when I did a lot of theater. And I’d have a season where I was playing a bunch of small roles in a funny, new comedy by Culture Clash. And then I also was playing Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Carmen: wow.

Stephanie: And then maybe the next season I was Isabella in Measure for Measure and also playing another… I mean, Rep Company really teaches you… It can teach you how to use yourself in all of these different kinds of ways. And it’s one of my favorite things about being an actor is kind of using different facets of myself to help create these characters and bring them to life. And turning up the volume on certain parts of my personality and turning it way down on other parts, right?

I’m really excited for audiences to see me in a different way, I guess, it’s cool.

And I’m pumped at the confusion factor that comes along with that, right. Because I think people get confused when they meet me in real life sometimes because they expect Rosa Diaz.

Carmen: Right.

Stephanie: And I’m excited for the confusion factor that will come with, “Wait, that can’t be the same person that plays that character, right?” I love that, I live for that. I live for the confusion of, “Wait a minute, what?”

Carmen: I knew you were going to kill it. When I heard you got cast as Carla, I was, “Oh, that’s perfect.” Because, I mean, I really think your gift for comedic timing, it’s unparalleled.

Stephanie: [mumbles to self] Thank you very much.

Carmen: And Carla’s a small part that, I mean, is already memorable. It’s a small part with a big bang. You know what I mean? Like that is… [Carmen and Stephanie crosstalk, there’s never enough crosstalk].

Stephanie: I’m lucky, I’m very lucky.

https://www.autostraddle.com/daphne-rubin-vega-stephanie-beatriz-in-the-heights-interview-daniela-carla/

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Beatriz’s career is soaring to even greater heights this June, as she’s stepping into Carla’s shoes in In The Heights, which sets itself apart from the musical with a few key changes such as the decision to have Carla and salon owner Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) be in a committed relationship. Beatriz considers it a “brilliant shift” to the original storyline. “To have Carla and Daniela be gay and layered into that community and be totally accepted, not struggling to be heard, or fighting because they’re out, or not being accepted by the people they love, but just part of the family, I just love that,” Beatriz explains.

It’s through LGBTQ+ representation in TV and film that Beatriz believes art can usher in positive change. It’s a discussion she is trailblazing with her refreshingly honest and nuanced portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters, like Rosa and Carla. “Art is the way to move humanity forward,” she says. “When you create art, there’s a possibility for creating empathy in other people. That’s really what it’s all about. You can’t start to see someone as your equal, or as a fellow human being that deserves all the same rights as you do, if you don’t see them in the first place. If you don’t see them anywhere around you, how will you know that they’re just the same as you? ... We really want all the same things in life: to feel happy, to be seen, to feel safe, to feel love. And we all deserve them.”

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/stephanie-beatriz-pride-advice-pregnant-brooklyn-99-in-the-heights

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Rubin-Vega says that incorporating the queer story, emphasizing the plight of Dreamers, and focusing on brown and Black communities is “decolonizing cinema" and she's here for it.

“What other way are we going to address the structural oppression that has been perpetuated? How are we going to move it?” Rubin-Vega says of storytelling as a tool. “It’s an honor to play a character that has a lot of life,” she says of Daniela. “As you know, when I was just starting in theater, these roles didn't exist.”

“To play a woman that loves another woman is an honor to me. The symbolism of the salon. It's like the spiritual liberal hub. It's also like the gossip hub,” she says.

“We're just finding the language with how they would dress. You know, having to stop the stereotyping right [of queer women and queer Latinx people]? Musical theater is so extra. What a wonderful way to have extra-ness. And you know, and not be offended by tropes that use tropes as a way in,” she adds.

“We [Daniela and Carla] love each other … [it’s] ordinary, not extraordinary. It's just normal that these women get to be fully unapologetically in a community that we know has baggage around all the phobias, baggage around all the cultural trauma.”

Miranda’s story has always been about the beauty of a community and home — Rubin-Vega likens his rhymes to the impact of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter.

In an interview with Broadway World, Beatriz says, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home.”

Rubin-Vega concurs. “I could not put it more beautifully than Stephanie. We didn't talk about our relationship. We just had the relationship,” she says. “Not only am I a fan of her work, but I'm a fan of hers. After knowing Stephanie, it's just like, Yeah, that's my girl. That's my boo. I feel that relationship ownership. I do have that I can honestly [say].”

A theater and film veteran who’s starred in Rent, Jack Goes Boating, Anna in the Tropics, and so much more, Rubin-Vega discusses the role of LGBTQ+ allyship.

“People in my life are [the] gay people in my life, like, a lot of people. I also have a bit of a hard time with the word ally because it is a verb, it's not a static noun. And [being an ally] is a constant behavior. It is a way of being in the world that is like breathing. And it's a consciousness for some of us more than others who have had been in so much privilege and living in supremacy.”

Daniela is presented as an integral piece of the Washington Heights community in Miranda’s story and Chu’s film. But the implications of that representation run deep. And Rubin-Vega has thought long and hard about it.

“Playing a lesbian — I can honestly think [about] my family legacy and just wonder how many unhappy ancestors I had,” who perhaps couldn’t live their authentic lives because of stigma, she says. “It's not something to get depressed about. It’s something to live toward when we represent our fullness.”

https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2021/6/10/heightss-daphne-rubin-vega-ushering-queer-characters

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In “In the Heights,” Rubin-Vega plays Daniela, co-owner of a neighborhood hair salon with her life partner Carla (Stephanie Beatriz). The two were made queer for the film after being portrayed as straight co-workers in the stage show. Screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes called to tell Rubin-Vega about the updated relationship. “She’s like, ‘How do you feel about that?’” Rubin-Vega recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m loving it.’

“Daniela is a high priestess of bad-assery,” she continues. “She’s a part of the person that I aspire to be, which is fully herself, making no apologies for who she is. She probably has earned her right to claim her fullness — self-empowered, self-employed, she has her own business. She touches other people’s heads, which is kind of a sacred thing in our culture, that we let people touch our heads.”

https://variety.com/2021/film/columns/in-the-heights-daphne-rubin-vega-1234991860/

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“Yes. Carla’s my life partner. There’s not a plot line about us being partners, but it’s very evident. Like, we’re just human beings that have chosen each other. So that there’s a representation."

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/new-york-live/dishing-with-daphne-rubin-vega/3063551/

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Beatriz is also playing salon worker Carla in the new film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning musical, In the Heights. Beatriz, who is openly bisexual, is excited that her character is in a same-sex relationship with fellow salon worker Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), in the film -- a change from the Broadway show.

"In the original production, Carla and Daniela were simply work partners, but in this iteration, [screenplay writer] Quiara [Alegria Hudes] and [director] John [M. Chu] and [original playwright] Lin-[Manuel Miranda] all felt really strongly that they should be life partners are well," Beatriz shared. "What's really great for me as someone who is queer, as a member of the queer community, who is bisexual, is to see that rep in a film where it's just layered into the community, sort of in the background. And they're this really functional, fun, happy, funny couple that just happen to be gay."

https://www.kmov.com/stephanie-beatriz-teases-what-brooklyn-nine-nine-fans-can-expect-in-shows-final-season-exclusive/article_208dd9b5-dde4-5814-9c17-2b5e3e8defac.html

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What do you find most interesting about Daniela?

Every shred of me was excited about playing this role. I'd worked with Quiara in Miss You Like Hell, and because of my history with Quiara and Lin, I knew about In the Heights and saw it. Daniela is such a powerful character. She's diminutive, but you can feel her presence whenever she walks into a room. It was interesting to further explore her relationship with Carla, her life partner and business partner, and her dynamic with Cuca and the rendition of the salon in a filmic way. There were no restrictions with Quiara, Lin, and Jon.

Women often have an ambivalent relationship with ambition, so it's interesting to think about it within the context of the movie. Was that something you thought of when you were shaping your take on Daniela?

I don't know if ambitious people call themselves ambitious. I consider myself ambitious, but what's the ambition? The ambition is to live a full life. The ambition is to live a complete, free, unapologetic life where I can love who I want to love and live where I want to live, do what I love to do, wear what I want to wear, and have friends I want. If that's ambition, isn't that the American way, the pursuit of happiness? I think that Daniela, because of her appearance, her attitude is amplified, but if she looked different, she'd be a regular strong chick. Her choices wouldn't be questioned; she'd be pragmatic. She's priced out of the barrio that she loves. She'll be present in some ways, but her business will be gone.

https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/interview-daphne-rubin-vega-on-portraying-daniela_92380.html

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MW: Yeah, Carla is not Rosa at all. I would also say that your characters tend to sound distinctly different. How do you find a voice for a character?

BEATRIZ: I think that’s part of the fun. I spent a long time, as a kid, with lots of time on my hands. My parents worked a lot, and my sister and I would often come home and watch ourselves, and one of the things that we did at home was we had this Fisher-Price recorder. It was a little tape deck, and I don’t know where we got it, but you could put a tape in and record yourself. We had a few blank tapes, but we also taped over a lot of my mom and dad’s music — sorry, Mom and Dad — but we would record ourselves doing shows, like radio shows, where we would do different voices, we would interview ourselves, we would interview each other, we just screwed around.

But, in doing that, it was us finding funny and weird voices and stuff. That was the beginning of me acting, I think, playing around with that tape recorder by myself. And I think it’s just a really fun thing for me to do voiceovers and voices, and find my way into a character through sound. It’s one of the things that was so fun about being in In the Heights, was the music and finding my way into the character musically, and basing character choices on what Lin had already written in the music. I think that’s so fun. And the musicality of language is something that I’ve always been drawn to and interested in.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/06/stephanie-beatriz-brings-queer-representation-to-in-the-heights-and-bids-farewell-to-brooklyn-nine-nine/

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The beauty of upper Manhattan is on glorious display at a hair and nail salon featured in the movie musical “In the Heights.”

Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco help capture the culture and values of a Latino neighborhood in Washington Heights through the women who run the popular salon.

“They provide an example of how people in your community can become part of your family, really your chosen family, and that those people are deeply invested in not only seeing you succeed, but really seeing you thrive as a person,” Beatriz, 40, told the Daily News.

“They also provide this incredibly safe, loving space, particularly for the women in this story, but really for all of the characters. ... It’s this incredible place of celebrating beauty of all kinds.”

The salon serves as a central hub of the film premiering Wednesday at the Tribeca Film Festival before arriving Thursday in theaters and on HBO Max.

Adapted from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, “In the Heights” brings back the fan-favorite salon ladies Daniela, played by Rubin-Vega, and Carla, portrayed by Beatriz, while introducing Polanca’s Cuca as a new character.

The stars agree the salon represents much more than a place to get a makeover.

“It symbolizes dreams,” Polanco, 38, told The News. “Small-business owners. What we like to call iconic figures within our community. They’re like hood celebrities, legends, what can I tell you? They’re there, and they have everybody’s back.”

“In the Heights” takes viewers inside the colorful salon during the lively song “No Me Diga.” But the women are also depicted outside the salon as significant figures within a neighborhood where every resident strives toward big goals.

Daniela, Carla and Cuca kick off the standout song-and-dance number “Carnaval del Barrio,” during which characters sing with reverence about their homelands.

“It’s a celebration of life in the face of all kinds of adversity,” Rubin-Vega, 51, told The News. “This determination to be joyous, and how powerful that in itself is. Yeah, it is beautiful to see flags flying and everybody going, ‘Oh, there I am!’ But more than that, it’s just that feeling of belonging.”

The “In the Heights” stage musical introduces Daniela and Carla as work partners, and the movie updates their relationship to be life partners as well.

“It’s just part of the background of the film, and that’s really vital, I think, for [LGBTQ] audiences to see themselves be part of the fabric of the film, and not necessarily have their stories always be coming-out stories or always be tragic stories or always be stories that are fraught with drama,” Beatriz said.

The actors felt personal connections to their characters. Beatriz, who was born in Argentina, remembers her mother befriending fellow customers and staffers at the salon she went to after moving to the U.S.

Polanco recalls her visits to a local salon when she was young, and loves how “In the Heights” covers that aspect of the community.

“It’s what instills confidence. It’s what instills trust, and amongst these three ladies, that’s what they give back to everyone else,” Polanco said. “In this community of Washington Heights, this is where they go to release, to motivate, to express, to get advice, to make harsh decisions, to console. It’s a revolving door of what I [call] noncertified therapy.”

https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/movies/in-the-heights-stars-share-what-the-movie-s-salon-ladies-represent/article_e2f853ed-978a-562d-8aaa-fc48b73b709f.html

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(Not specifically about the romantic relationship, but a great article about Daniela, Carla, and Cuca.)

Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, and Daphne Rubin-Vega Are the Holy Trinity of In the Heights“

We were the witches with a cauldron, stirring the pot,” says Rubin-Vega of the trio, who reunited to chat about dance numbers, bodega orders, and the best kind of gossip.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/in-the-heights-stephanie-beatriz-dascha-polanco-daphne-rubin-vega

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I love that your character is a part of this trio of neighborhood divas that are just so much fun. What was your relationship like with Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco and how much fun did you guys have together?

RUBIN-VEGA: Oh my goodness! Doing nothing with them was fun. Ad-libbing was fun. I don’t think anyone’s funnier than Stephanie and Dascha, and when they’re together, it’s just nonstop. There’s also a realness. We all come from places and spaces where we had to outlast the negativity to get where we got, so that creates a certain energy in a human being that is irresistible because we’re really happy to be here.

https://collider.com/daphne-rubin-vega-in-the-heights-interview/

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Salon Squad

“I could do those costumes for the rest of my life and still find new things to do with them,” Travers said about designing for Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Carla (Stephanie Beatriz), and Cuca (Dascha Polanco). This adaptation has added a romantic dynamic between Daniela and Carla, which Travers incorporated in costumes he envisioned Carla had borrowed from Daniela’s closet — “maybe it was a windbreaker she had from 20 years ago; now it’s vintage to Carla.” One reference point for the salon owner, he says, is Sex and the City designer Patricia Field. “Pat is such a fearless risk-taker when it comes to her own personal style and also her body of work is quite fearless,” Travers explains. “We took a light inspiration from Pat herself, just in terms of that risk-taking and the combinations of high and low.” Daniela’s powerhouse status includes a nod to Rosie the Riveter for her biggest musical number and Travers also points out that while this character’s wide-leg leopard print pants felt like a risky move at the time, “of course, now, fashion is all about the big pant.”

Meanwhile, Carla has “much more of an Instagram sensibility” with a Nikita Dragun influence. The streetwear-inspired sneakers, bike shorts, and crop top athletic spirit go further than “dress for likes” on social media, “there is heart in it.” Rounding out the trio is Cuca who wears a “head-to-toe [look] Monday through Sunday.” Describing this character as “unbelievably fun to dress,” he explains that if she is wearing a printed dress then her fanny pack, socks, and scrunchie will match. Travers’ favorite salon squad costume moment was creating a weekend nightclub look that resulted in a strong unifying motif: “Three women in jumpsuits — no dresses — just jumpsuits going out. I had such fun as a costume designer getting to express a similar idea through three very different sets of eyes.”

https://www.vulture.com/article/in-the-heights-costume-designer-interview.html

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Who was your first celebrity crush?

First celebrity crush was actually Daphne Rubin-Vega, from Rent. That was a cool, NOT AWKWARD moment when I met her for the first time ever, in real life. I was sweating, I was like AHH YOU’RE SO AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL I USED TO HAVE A PICTURE OF YOU ON MY WALL, I’M SO SORRY THIS IS WEIRD. But it was also awesome. Of course I mentioned to Daphne that she was my crush. And I did it in the most awkward way possible, which is just, you know, right up my alley. I was like DAPHNE I LOVE YOU, right in her face. Which was awesome, and made for a really, really NOT AWKWARD rehearsal environment, at all. She likes me now, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK7YLaUULG8&ab_channel=BuzzFeedCeleb

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#daniela and carla #daniela x carla #in the heights #stephanie beatriz #daphne rubin-vega #i told you i was obsessed #i can't ever just be a normal shipper i have to do THE MOST #i have to be THE BEST at shipping #such an idiot

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unsettledink · 2 years

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I am just.

I am very cranky about tags right now so there is just a bunch of ranting about the new tag limit under the cut. Feel free to completely ignore my meltdown. I'll get over it eventually.

I went to go update my tags now that we've hit the sex for real, because I didn't want to falsely lure people in with all these smut tags when there was not even a one kiss yet, and wouldn't be for about 200k. But hey, I'd like current readers to have a better idea what they're getting into!

I took my original list of tags (around 150ish) and worked to whittle it down – I lost some of my favorite tags in the process, but I tried to focus on things that either

a) are a huge component of the story in a way that's non specific and pervasive

b) are a large part of the fic but restricted to one area

c) something I personally would want to search for or avoid and that happens in more than one chapter

And then I went back through and removed things that were more specific under a larger umbrella. No, I probably don't need five different tags when I can just put come play, but it still hurts because I'll be honest, I have searched specifically for each of those tags and had to resort to the umbrella tag, full of things I did not want. And those are tags I wouldn't have put if it wasn't for that fact that, once the sex gets going, they happen a LOT. Like, I really hope you aren't grossed out by come play cause Peter is 110% there for it, RIP Quentin.

I ended up with about 110, which isn't great but it'll do, and more like 100 once I take away the spoilery ones I'm waiting to add.

I spent entirely too long typing them in the way I wanted them to look and organizing them, and then -

I fucking forgot about the new tag limit – I knew it was a thing at some point, but didn't realize it had happened and didn't realize it was only 75 and didn't realize that it counts fandom, character, and pairing tags within that.

So suddenly I've got a warning that I have get rid of 42 tags, and I can't even edit the ones already there because it was grandfathered in.

Considering that I had already massively cut down on the tags I wanted to use and now have to figure out what more to cut, this is going to take some thinking. I may do some weird tagging that combined things so at least they can be read and hopefully correctly synced with parent tags, but I hate that because I want to tag things in part for people searching for those specific things. I may add a block of tags in the notes, but that's really difficult to search accurately. I may throw something up on tumblr, I don't know. I dislike all of those options.

Funnily enough, I've never needed more than maybe a dozen or so tags? But for fuck's sake, this sucker is mostly like going to be a solid 800k, allowing me less than one tag per 100k is not fun. It'd be one thing if this was a simple, straightforward, non kinky fic. But it's really not. It's complex and messy and there's a lot of plot and emotional stuff before you even get into the sex, which is kinky in specific ways that I want to tag for, both as warning and enticement.

And reading reading a bajillion comments on the news post that are mostly

a) yay everyone is so tired of tags good job AO3 you should have made the limit smaller

b) this really sucks if you're a long fic or smut writer

c) well you're just bad at tagging aren't you. Stop abusing the system by tagging every character that breathes and you'd be fine. Besides tags are just for warnings, not searching or enticement, and we couldn't possibly consider giving more words more tags - won't someone think of the poor podfics (that you never care about the rest of the time lol) who would be hurt like you are currently being hurt?

(Which is nonsensical because it's not like anyone is suggestion that 'oh you only used ten words? Sorry, you may have tag and one tag only!'.)

And I'm seriously cranky, because you know what? I have two fandoms tagged, and seven characters. All of which will feature significantly in this fic. I'm not abusing those areas, so what do I delete now?

No, tell me. What do I delete? Bye Ned and MJ, you're taking up space, but hey I guess anyone that clicked on this for you wouldn't have been happy, so whatever, I don't need to hint that this fic does not set Peter's friends aside completely for the relationship.

The sex tags? I already reduced oral sex by five things, just leaving rimming and bj's, but I guess I should only put oral sex instead, because that's what people search for, right? Never mind that that's a useless tag that won't help filter anything, and that both bj's and rimming hold a special significance within the fic, as weird as that may sound from the outside.

Maybe I should drop a bunch of my trauma healing tags, except one of the most important factors of this fic is exploring how both Peter and Quentin heal or have failed to heal from their assorted varied traumas and how those affect them throughout, so yes, I do feel like nightmares and ptsd and grief are all significantly different things that I want to make note of!

I guess I can just cut all my... mood/vibe tags, because... Idk, they're too general or specific to be useful for searches, and probably not would draw people in? But when I'm reading, those give me a much better sense of how the author thinks of the fic and whether I might get easily annoyed or not.

And no, I really don't use tumblr style random chatty tags for the most part, because that's what author's notes are for. But a few have their place and author's notes don't show on the page when I'm browsing. It's like... I read the book flap (summary) and now I want to flip it over and see the blurbs from other authors?

I feel like this really misunderstands how a lot of people use tags? They're fucking searchable, so if I want only the fics under one small weird obscure tag, I can click on that and get them! I don't have to fuck around with search terms and exclude this, reword that, refine refuss redo, I can just click on the goddamn tag. Which people might not bother to tag with anymore, because of limits.

No, listing the tags in the summary and using the search within results is not acceptable, because I cannot tell you how many times I've searched for a work knowing something from the summary, and not been able to find it until I start flipping through whatever tag I was originally browsing when I found it, even if exactly what I searched for was in the summary!

Tags are meant for warnings and the main AO3 warnings cover most stuff? Are you fucking kidding me? Were you not around for the endless wanking over using 'warning' vs 'contains' before just 'tags' was a thing?

I don't use tags for warnings 90% of the time, because I seldom warn! There's an 'author chooses not to use archive warnings' on most of my fics for a reason! And I'm using tags to find readers, because a lot of people have found my fics not because they desperately want, say, Tony/Quentin, but because they wanted come inflation or slapping kink or hand feeding or what have you. Eliminating those sorts of tags helps no one!

As a reader, I care so little about those warnings that I have them default hidden – I want the content tags that tell me if I might like the vibes of this fic beyond what the summary might tell me. A fic with a promising summary can be instantly ruined for me by, say, daddy kink, but if that's tagged, even with the intent of getting the attention of people who like it, I can nope out before my eyes have to see those words. And if I'm in the mood for one specific weird unpopular kink, I can just click the tag and explore stuff in other fandoms I wouldn't have ever even found.

And I get that this is primarily because of some stupid fic that everyone was seeing all the time and a couple of assholes, but if that was such a problem, why couldn't there be a hard code to hide tags (oh wait there is?? in addition to add-on scripts and skins that do the same thing??).

But hey, why deal with the problem makers when you can punish everyone? Gosh am I back at a job with an incompetent manager again?

Last time I complained about a change I was told AO3 is an ARCHIVE for AUTHORS, not a library for readers, so too bad, our priority is making the authors feel safe, which, fair enough, that was the original mission. Yet now it's 'you can't have as many tags as you want because the readers shouldn't have to scroll that much!'? Nice mixed message there.

I hate all of my options and have a serious case of crankies over getting 70 tags for a plot and kink heavy 600k+ fic, and I really just... don't know what I want to do. Aside from throw a little fit and then get over it, I guess.

(If by any chance you made it this far and want to offer an opinion or help decide which tags aren't important, I've got them all listed with why I want them over here. I don't know, maybe there are things I think are important that no one reading cares about or would have been enticed by!)

#gotcha

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ackermanshoe · 3 years

Text

Edited lmao: warning this is kinda pointless and alot of farfetched theory and a veryyy long post please read at your own risk 🤡

Edit again: my analysis when I started it 1 month ago: 👩‍💼🖨️📇✒️🖋️✏️

My post now: 🤡🤡🤡🕯️🕯️🤡

Edit: I started writing this like ages ago but I don't see my own point with this writting and I'm editing it after reading @nini14 's Ackerman breaking the cycle analysis and I feel like both of these go hand in hand. So without further ado:

Triangles

Let's see as we all are made aware that aot significantly revolves around trios of friends such as the following :

Although these are the main trios that is noticeable, other trios can be made out by taking some characters from their original trios to make trios based on looks / character and dynamics. And this is where my argument comes in with this trio:

Their dynamic has always been mother father and son. Now let me explain, idk if anyone has heard about the drama triangle but here

These terms can be applied to MLE trio, Levi being the persecutor, Mikasa is the rescuer and the victim being Eren. In the first 3 seasons at least, Eren was being taken away and his decisions constently put him in danger, Levi being the persecutor who always gives Eren what he deserves for being a pain the ass and Mikasa being the rescuer always siding with Eren and protecting him no matter what. Do you see it?

This is Mikasa to a T.

The following is an example of the dad being the rescuer and the son "junior" being a victim, and much like Eren, could possibly refuse the hand that is helping him.

So that being said now that we have an understanding of their dynamics in the relationship, let's get back to understanding a triangle. Did you know triangles are one of the strongest shape because it has three sides that rely on each other hence shifting their energies on to each side and it makes the perfect shape for a bridge, architectures favourite. Why am I tell you this?

Because these dynamics that every trio is made up of in aot is because they have strong relationships.

Someone mentioned isayama loves putting move triangles and I couldn't help but agree, look at how many times he has placed Eren historia and an angry Mikasa? And subtly he has always ( to me at least) hinted the love triangle between Levi Mikasa and Eren, outside of their father-mother-son dynamic. Personally this makes sense to me the most, fueled by mikasa's dream. A choice was there to make and she unknowingly chose Levi.

Now this brings me to the death of all the trios Levi has been part of, from Isabel & Farlan to hanjo & Erwin to where we are now. Our situation before S4 was EMA+Levi = 4 people but we all know that a square isn't as strong as a triangle so something shifted. Eren, even with him in it Armin and him were more connected as for Levi and Mikasa as a pair it was more obvious. Especially in the conversation EMA had in that stare place as depicted on @gilly-bj 's analysis on similarities between rivamika and Mika's parents. Not only was Mikasa placed directly next to Levi although being feets apart in reality but her lines "another conversation only you two understand" it. Visually and verbally divided Mikasa from Eren and Armin and connected her to Levi. Both alone.

Yet another triangle placed by isayama intentionally or not is Armin Mikasa and Levi.

Because a triangle represents the process of recycle and reuse it also represent the cycle of life, an on going thing that doesn't stop, a history that repeats itself. And going back to Ackerman finally breaking this cycle of tragic fate, will they?

The fact that the whole manga series start at chapter 0 is very suspicious in it self. Why does it isyamaa? A 0, a circle that comes back around? A 0 which represents both the ending and the beginning? Why is the 1st chapter called "to you, 2000 years from now"? ( That's such a fucking impactful chapter name gives me chills )

Before my theory start I just wanna add that the story started from a narrative perspective makes me wanna believe in rivamika even more. Did eldians share the same fate in 2000 years? Who knows, but I know for sure Erens and mikasa's dynamic as the impulsive hotheaded doer and their protective calm but strong friend thinker will continue forever just like the never ending triangles.

I forgot all these ppls names on chaoter 0 so PLS bare with me.

The main dude who heavily resembles Mikasa even tho he is a man, has a incredible power just like the Ackerman's as a human AND he can shift into a titan???? Last time I checked weren't Ackerman's the bio product of titans? Remember is science is on a ongoing journey and forever progressing towards the impossible ;)

Hmmm

The little girl who resembles Gabi, who has the same dynamic as Eren, the girl also looks up to his inhumanly powers, a little too much alike Eren's idolisation of Levi ( and looking up to Mikasa's strength I think )?

Lastly, chapter 0 makes me believe it was set in the future. Look at the buildings, 2 story buildings I don't remember seeing buildings like this in the pre time skip era have you? I could be wrong tho.

If Isayama is as smart as we think he is then he might have related this chapter to the whole plot of aot. 🤷 Or it could mean something. And here's where my theory comes in and it may not be the most favourable for eldians. Let me start with the good part tho, the guy who looked like Mikasa is could be a descendant from the Ackerman clan, but he isn't half and half like Mikasa and Levi, he's full blooded. Which might be why he has the power to shift ( idk this kinda don't make sense since Mikasa and Levi can't buy hush )

So let's say rivamika got married had a family they always wanted and had the peaceful life and 2000 years from then this guy^ existed. Oddly familiar to great great great grammakasa 💀💀.

The cycle never ended for eldians, the whole world could still be mad at them for Erens action and has the prejudice against them for a long time. And the fact that they can shift is never going to change even 2000 years in the future. And the guy ( omg I keep calling him the guy cause I literally can not be bothered figuring out his name ) who lives in a far more developed society with richer civilization within the wall. It could be possible that Ymir or someone erased the eldians memories ONCE AGAIN after the rumbling ended. Because Mikasa levi weren't effected they probably were excused and got to live as they pleased. This dude is also the reason why I believe isayama does not consider the Ackerman's as side characters at all. In the end the story might have actually started with them, alluding to "the ending is just the beginning" as said by kingsama himself. ( Wtf am I saying lol )

So yeah in conclusion as I said yes story is weirdly really influenced by a large amount of triangles and loops. And yes ackerman probably would break the cycle of death after all living through hell fighting hell all for what? If not recreating into a heaven, giving it new life. I do believe in rivamika living the life they are destined for with each other but eldians fate might just be too tragic for me to see them as truly free people who gets to roam around outside the walls as they please.

I guess my point is that everything that goes around will come around, that will bring good karma for the Ackerman's and maybe a repeation of the past for the rest of the world. 😩😩 I think I fully somehow believe Eren is gone for good. Unless isayama draws him waking up from a long dream on his bed then 💀👀👀 I will throw myself away.

Thank you for reading 💞 once again I'm so sorry this post isn't as good as I'd like it to be I am sleep deprived right now and it isn't worded as well as of like it to be. But hope my delulu ness was enjoyable at least. ✌️💀

#rivamika #levi x mikasa #rivamikacanon #rivamika analysis #rivamika theory?#bullshit

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unforth · 3 years

Text

A Non-Definitive and Certainly Incomplete List of the Differences Between the Qianqiu/Thousand Autumns Danmei Novel and the Donghua

@blacktigersprings commented on one of my Thousand Autumn Liveblog posts, asking about the differences between the donghua thus far, compared to the book - they'd seen the 16 episodes, but hadn't read it yet. After I wrote down what I could remember I was like...ya know what, I should just make all this into a post.

This is non-exhaustive. I am a tired person with a bad memory and a lot going on, so I am sure I forgot things. I'm gonna ping @baoshan-sanren since they're the main person I know who is in Thousand Autumns fandom also, and I'm willing to guarantee they will think of things I didn't, and also probably be able to correct me if I mixed anything up. I'll try to edit this based on new info, if I have the time, and I might post it as meta on AO3? I did that with my list of differences between CQL and MDZS and people found it helpful so...yeah. I'll add a link if a do.

Note that all posts like this rely to some extent on interpretation; what I write reflects my interpretation and understanding of events (...to the extent I remember them...) and others may have read/watched the same sequences and reached different conclusions. I've made specific notes where I think I'm raising a point that's more subjective than others.

This contains spoilers for all 16 episodes of the donghua, and for the equivalent parts of the novel. I did my best not to put in novel spoilers for past when the donghua ends, but there are allusions to subsequent events.

Anyway - vaguely in chronological order of when they happen?

(read more)

Overall, the basic premises of the donghua and the novel are pretty different. In the donghua, there are several primary conflicts - the intrusion of the Beimi/Tujue, the competition over access to the Solarity, the competition between different sects' top masters, and the search for that ring that Yan Wushi has. In the novel, these are all things that exist, but they're not the primary plot, and they're all at least somewhat difference. While the novel has multiple plotlines that focus on different things, looking at it as a whole, the main plot is a political one about control of the Empire, and how different sects are pulled into that conflict as a result of how the Emperor relates to Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist sects. Which tradition each sect follows is much more important and relevant in the novel. The Beimi/Tujue plot is still relevant and involved, but it's just one thread in the political milieu. The Solarity, which has different and long name in the novel that I never remember - it's like, "the complete works of (some master who's name isn't in my brain" - is in six volumes, and it's definitely still important, but it's importance kinda fades as the novel progresses (though it's still a main piece at the point where the donghua leaves off). The ring is basically non-existent in the novel - instead of it being in Yan Wushi's possession, it's in the possession of the woman who's birthday party Shen Qiao goes to (...Madam Su? Might be her name? I'm sorry, I'm not great with names, and I usually rely on fandom wikis but this one is sparse) - in the novel, she was a disciple of Hulugu, and then she stole the ring and returned to the Empire. That other Beimi/Tujue disciple (...Dong something??) takes it back and returns with it to his clan, if I recall correctly, so it can be used to unify those clans to make war against the Empire.

In the donghua, Yan Wushi is just...generally portrayed as pretty nice, and the YanShen vibes start pretty early - there's an early sign of playful flirting from Yan Wushi that actually seems sincere? At least it did to me. As a result, the YanShen vibes feel a lot stronger than they do in the novel at a similar point in the narrative. In the novel...I'd personally say Yan Wushi has zero interest, romantically or sexually, until well after where the donghua left off, and their relationship isn't canon until nearly the very end, and is always left more implied than...outright. I would personally say that in the novel, Shen Qiao has some feels for Yan Wushi pre-Sang Jingxing, but Yan Wushi doesn't reciprocate (except maybe at a deep level he refuses to acknowledge). It's not until he's healing post-almost-dying (as in, during the time immediately after when the donghua leaves off - I'm trying to be vague to avoid giving spoilers to people who haven't read it) that there start to be some real clear signs that Yan Wushi may have caught some feels, and even then it's complicated. They're complicated. They're also complicated. It's part of what I love about them, lol.

In the donghua, the fight between Shen Qiao and Kunye is shown "on screen" instead of only being described afterwards, and it's revealed almost right away that Shen Qiao was poisoned. Also, a lot of people help Kunye and they all fight Shen Qiao together. In the novel, this fight is off-screen. It's strictly a one-on-one battle between Shen Qiao and Kunye, and the reader doesn't learn that Shen Qiao lost due to poisoning until Shen Qiao goes to Mount Xuandu to confront Yu Ai.

In both the donghua and the novel, when Yan Wushi is trying to turn Shen Qiao evil, he sets up a mission for Shen Qiao and Yu Shengyan, The object of this mission is to kill a family that serves the Hehuan Sect. Shen Qiao refuses to participate, and helps them escape. In the donghua, they don't actually escape, and the "they serve Hehuan" thing turns out to be a ruse; they actually serve Yan Wushi. In the novel, they're actually Hehuan spies, and Shen Qiao still helps them, and they actually escape.

(RAPE MENTION TRIGGER WARNING) In the donghua, Chen Gong betrays Shen Qiao when that jerk noble whose name I can't remember right now (and it's not in the wiki, god the wiki is so slim, I wish I had time to help with that) hunts him for sport, and he doesn't want to die. In the novel, Chen Gong betrays Shen Qiao when that same jerk noble, who as a reputation for using pretty boys as sex slaves, tries to kidnap Chen Gong as a sex slave, and Chen Gong is like, "no no you don't want to fuck me, I know someone WAY prettier for you to rape." (The fall out remains the same in both - Shen Qiao beats up the guy, nothing bad happens to him, and he and Chen Gong part ways).

In the donghua, Shen Qiao goes to confront Yu Ai at Mount Xuandu by like. Literally walking up to the front gate. And then all the disciples for some reason get mad that Yan Wushi comes, even though he...also walked up to their front gate. Why do they even have a gate??? In the novel, Shen Qiao uses a super sneaky back way, only known to disciples, and so it actually makes some kind of sense when Yu Ai et al are like SHEN QIAO WHY ARE YOU SHOWING THE EVIL GUY OUR BACK DOOR?

(NOTE this one relies more on subtext and thus is very open to interpretation. What's written here reflects my personal interpretation, and others may disagree). In the donghua, when Yan Wushi hands Shen Qiao over to Sang Jingxing, they have a chat that heavily implies that Yan Wushi is kinda-sorta-not-so-secretly thinking that Shen Qiao could win a fight (and is probably expecting Shen Qiao to do so by using the demonic core that has been implanted in him). Sang Jingxing also says things that indicate that he thinks that Yan Wushi is setting a trap for him. In the novel, while it's never all that clear what Yan Wushi's motivations are, it becomes pretty clear by the point of the Sang Jingxing fight that Yan Wushi was serious when he said he didn't care about Shen Qiao, didn't consider him worthy, and doesn't care what happens to him. He definitely handed over Shen Qiao with every intention of Shen Qiao getting tortured and raped, and had no interest in saving him. Shen Qiao only becomes interesting to Yan Wushi afterwards. Yan Wushi is never only playing one game, so he may have thought that being pushed into a corner would force Shen Qiao to use the demonic core, but it also seemed to me like he genuinely didn't care - he'd gotten bored, and was done playing with the "new toy" that was Shen Qiao.

In the donghua, there is a shot of someone - the clothing is pretty unmistakably Yan Wushi's purple robe of ultimate purpleness - pulling Shen Qiao out of a river after he plunges to his almost-demise in the fight with Sang Jingxing. In the novel, Yan Wushi doesn't pull Shen Qiao out of the water, after Shen Qiao destroys his meridians in the fight against Sang Jingxing. Instead, Shen Qiao collapses in the mountains, where he is found by Shiwu and brought back to the monastery for treatment.

In the donghua, Yan Wushi is fighting the four masters who have it in for him, and before the end of the fight, Shen Qiao arrives and tries to help him; he fights the four masters solo to try to keep Yan Wushi from using his powers and harming himself, and when he's about to lose, Yan Wushi...uses his powers and harms himself. In the novel, Shen Qiao doesn't arrive until after Yan Wushi has been defeated; he finds Yan Wushi almost dead and brings him to a small village nearby, where he stays with a nice girl and her...grandfather, iirc...and tries to keep them safe while nursing Yan Wushi back to health.

In the donghua, it's kinda implied that Shen Qiao goes to rescue Yan Wushi because, like...he likes him? There's not really a reason given, just that he wants to, or maybe to keep the ring from going to the Beimi/Tujue? In the novel it's pretty explicit that Shen Qiao goes to save Yan Wushi because he believes Yan Wushi's position in the Empire is critical to the stability of the world - and he wants the world stable, so that there won't be more refugees, starvation, etc. That he also may like Yan Wushi is the case but is almost incidental; Shen Qiao is focused on doing the most good for the most people, and that means saving Yan Wushi, because Yan Wushi is critical to the Empire, and the Empire is critical to the common people. (this is a major part of the political themes that are more prominent in the book than in the donghua).

I can't actually remember when Bian Yanmei was introduced in the novel? But I was pretty sure it was around when Yan Wushi sends Shen Qiao to that birthday banquet? Anyway, Bian Yanmei isn't in the donghua at all thus far; in the donghua, Yan Wushi's only apparent disciple is Yu Shengyan.

#thousand autumns #meta #or something #unforth rambles #thousand autumns spoilers

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geekgemsspooksandtoons · 3 years

Text

I finally played more RE8

This was copied from my DeviantArt journal when I finished it before I posted it.

Yes...after a week of a lot of crap going on. Personal stuff and whatever else. But also me focusing more on playing NethterRealm games. Mainly MK11 and MKX. I finally decided to play more RE8 and some spoilers ahead. I got distracted from making this right away. It's been many minutes and was on the internet for a bit. Just gonna talk more about my experience.

You know, with all the complaining from people who expected more vampire MILF's...which they shouldn't have. I mean, I am trying to play without looking online for stuff. And my game time has been 4 hours and 36 minutes...

Despite all that complaining...gonna say...it felt like I took forever in Castle Dimitrescu so I can't really complain. And the fact those ladies scared me despite all the fame they get. Really, I kind of want to get this done with and talk a bit more about the game itself.

So I finished Castle Dimitrescu. I killed Cassandra and Daniela(The other daughters), and later one, I got me a bigger briefcase to hold this sniper rifle. I used my sniping skills to do a lot of damage on Alcina's final form. Mainly ended it with a shotgun that I recall. I wanna joke about that I used my 360 no scoping skills...but I'm not a person who does 360 shit lol.

Will admit because I felt intense in Castle Dimitrescu. I hoped to see the Lycans again and luckily after that castle part, they came around again. Honestly, Castle Dimitrescu was a pretty solid area. One of my favorite sections of the game honestly...

After that, experienced the part Hotdiggedydemon made a animation about(Yes, I have seen it and I don't mainly like the guy) in the game, was in the village for way too long trying to get to the home with the red chimney, got me a new pistol that I decided to sell anyway. Which was the M1911. Even this special ammo I found for other weapons I don't have yet. And after I got back to the Duke, sold some stuff, even decided to add that Mr. Everywhere charm onto my pistol...that's gonna be amusing to have as I play the game. Just gonna have fun with that.

And I still haven't sold Alcina's remains...from what I know, there's a special pistol that you can get if you I think sell them...but I'm not sure...I'm not selling her crystalized remains in case.

Also forgot to mention during that village part as I looked around. Such as finding Luiza's necklace, and remembered she was that older lady...but also, the most amusing thing is that I got scared by a pig that hit me...a pig scared me like a pig scared Mac in Predator...and I still didn't kill the pig. Didn't even kill the other pig I saw. Mainly protected it from these new flying enemies.

Now I'm just gonna talk more about the game. While I haven't been more in depth of why I dislike this game. To be honest, my experience has been nice. I do feel like the journey of just playing the game is something I like. I get to experience myself. The gameplay is fine, and a lot of things work well.

It's just I'm disappointed to know how the story will end up. And why I have such this dislike towards it...and this all started because I hate the fact Jill isn't brought back. Time to sound negative, I hate how in these new main games. I hate how many of the characters that I grew up liking are just straight up ignored or forgotten. I mean, when RE7 was still new. I liked seeing Chris come back as a surprise...but I'm just sick he's the only old character that came back and why I'm disappointed that Ada wasn't even included in this. Because she was in the concept art. Also the fact he acts like a fucking asshole from what I know. Yes, I know the reason, but I'm not spoiling that.

I'm also upset of how Capcom or...the writer decided to approach this story and it again, makes me not want to have Resident Evil 9. Seriously, I like a lot of stuff from RE8. I love the introduction of the Lord's and other crap. But I fucking hate how these new games don't have a better connection to the older games. It's strangely a reason why I kind of disown them from canon.

There's other criticisms such as how they approached Ethan and Mia in this game's story. And I just feel like...the problem started with RE7...it's a weird experience for me. I get and do like what Capcom tried to do...but I dislike how they handled the story aspect mostly.

Sorry to sound negative if you really liked this game. There is no problem with that. It's just I really wanted to delve a bit more of why I have some reasons to dislike 7 and 8. And that I felt they both could of benefited from some changes. I'm saying that as someone who REALLY liked the first half of RE7 and even didn't mind the ship part...but REALLY DISLIKED of how they handled Eveline as a character and even the Bakers in a way. Mainly Eveline is the one that bothers me the most.

Also gonna admit and I'm taking this idea from someone. Maybe to get people less complaining, that you could have had the choice to go to Castle Dimitrescu first or not...but it's the writing and whatever the Hell. Looks like I have a choice between Donna's place and Moreau's. Which I liked. But Heisenberg's factory didn't show up on the map that I saw. And Castle Dimitrescu had a big X on it.

Anyway, I think that's all for now. I may of forgotten some shit. I have wondered of trying to be funny and negative...but I guess I decided to just be honest about what I felt without sounding mean or whatever.

Trying to remember what else. Love the fact I get to meet my favorite Lord possibly of this game which is Donna. Haven't seen much of her in game and didn't wanna spoil much for me of her part. I wanna experience that shit. It's just that Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters got the most attention for understandable reasons. Basically folks thirsting for them which is fine.

Man, listening to RE8's save room theme while making this gets the feeling right. Yet I'm just recalling how goofy and scared I was in Castle Dimitrescu. I appreciate this game making pretty looking and scary women basically making me feel terrified ha! I'm taking to long to remember what else. I should just post this.

Edit forgot to mention him. Hey bro @kaijuguy19 look what I did man. :) I kind of fulfilled a promise or so lol.

#GeekGem Rambles #resident evil #resident evil 8 #re8 spoilers

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mcgregor · 3 years

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Bro wait, can you go into more detail about what ben was like? Like what was the situation and how did he act and stuff? Also how tall are you, and how tall was he in comparison? Sorry to be absolutely nuts but I am... going through a hyperfixation 😅

Welp, I kinda forgot about this ask, sorry !

I made a post about this, here I don't know if you've read it. It was pretty thorough and I don't know if I have much more to add that I didn't originally write in that post tbh, but I'll try :)

Edit: turned out I had things to say, so I'm putting this under a read more, because it got long 😅

Prior to this meeting, I had zero experiences with conventions and meeting celebrities, I signed up for this one because Ben was added last minute and I didn't live very far. I wasn't prepared at all! I remember, I arrived a bit late (because trains and stuff), and when I got there, the opening ceremony was about to end so I stayed close to the door and didn't take a seat, and then boom they came out in the hallway and he was right there !! I think, it's the moment I realized that I was gonna meet him for real yk? I was pretty nervous tbh but ....

He was an absolute sweetheart! I think I've said it several times, but there's no better way to describe him imo. I went there on my own, but quickly formed a little group with other girls who were there for him as well and we all were unanimous about this: he's an angel.

So genuine and kind. Listening patiently to what we had to say, joking with us, giving hugs when asked,... his attention was really on the person in front of him! And it didn't feel fake yk, he seemed happy to meet his fans. Plus, we pretty much all had different interests when it came to his work, so he wasn't stuck talking about the same things: I was really into the Punisher, but others knew and loved him for Narnia, and of course, it had just been announced that he was gonna be in Shadow&Bone !

I remember very well waiting in line till it was my turn. The autographs sessions happened in a very big room and the other actors present for the con were all lined up against these huge windows. He was on the far right of the room, and the walls on that corner were weirdly shaped; meaning that for most of the line, you don't actually see him. And then, when you get to maybe 5 people before you, you turn a corner and THERE HE IS, less than 2 meters in front of you. It was so weird, I think my eyes went very wide for a moment lol But it's also nice because you can hear (a bit) what he says with the other people, these moments include a lot of staring lol and also frantically searching what the hell I was gonna say to him 😂

Right before my time, one person from the staff gave him some books, it was the S&B books in french, and he took the time to look at them, opened one of them and started to read out loud ^^ or well tried to, because while he spoke a bit of french, I think it was a bit difficult for him lol And then he put the books down, turned his head towards me, and it was my turn A.SJSKFSJKFSLFLS Not gonna talk about this much because I can barely remember what I said, and it went so fast! Not that we were rushed or anything, some people talked with him for a really long time actually, but it always seems fast when it's you, right?

He was obviously really gorgeous ❤️ But I may be biased because I believe he's one of the most beautiful man out there lol When you get very close to him for the autographs sessions, it's woooowwwwww~~ I mean, there's only a small table separating us, and he's leaning in and I'm also leaning because it was a big room with lots of people, so very noisy yk? And then you can really admire his beautiful face ROFL He really is charming, and there's something about his voice, it's really smooth and he's quite soft spoken, it's pretty captivating (but that, we all already know)

For the height question, I'm quite small! Barely 1,60m and on the pic I took with him, he's a good head taller than me! and I had heels! He gives really good hugs and really didn't mind making different poses. On the contrary, he wanted to do different things, he said something about it at one point. In my case, I wanted a hug and nothing else (sorry to disappoint, Ben!), even if it's quite classic and maybe a bit boring for those who are used to attend conventions, it was (and still is I guess) a once in a lifetime occasion for me and what's better than a hug with a person you really love to immortalize meeting them?

Talking about this also made me remember that a person who was able to attend a meeting with him recorded the whole thing and later contacted me and sent it to me !! I don't know if I can repost it though :/

If you have more questions, you can always ask me, but like I said, it was almost 2 years ago, and it's getting pretty difficult to remember all the details. Plus, you're kinda in a daze during the whole thing 😂

#ask #anon #ben barnes

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skylerfurmaniac-deactivated · 1 year

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Rules and Description :P

Hi! I"m Skylerfurmaniac! Or Skyler/Sky for short (if you wanna ask me a question). And welcome to my blog (also sorta ask blog but it isn't really much of one anymore, but you can still do it! I love getting asks)! This blog is where I reign and spread my chaos and love to people lol. I'm just a chaotic little rainbow furbean >:3! My pronouns are they/them, and I'm omnisexual/romantic!!

I LOVE IF YOU MAKE ART OF ME OR MY OC'S OR MY SPAMTON YOU HAVE FULL PERMISSION TO DO IT, NO NEED TO ASK I LOVE ANY ART THAT IS FOR ME <3

Rules of the blog:

things you WILL get ban for:

NSFW asks or stuff that are similar. You can make jokes, but nothing too weird

Being rude to any community in the asks. Such as furry community, lgbtqia+, or black etc.

Asking for personal information

faking to be someone famous and try to make them look bad/ if you start to not respect my distance or stuff. If you aren't my friend and start asking for a lot of stuff or stuff I don't share with strangers

pls, if you want to vent to me or something, you can dm me, but pls don't do it in the asks or send like self harm photos

And that's everything! If you follow these, then you will have a very fun time here! I will make sure to respect everyone who asks something in this blog, but I may tease you, just a warning.

*BYE!!

Edit: I kinda forgot to put some stuff about myself, soooo

Hi! You already know my name and pronouns, But I want to put some personality stuff in here

I also will not be doing commissions, too much work for me right now. But, if you want, I love to do an art trade! But at some moments, I may not be able to due to what's going on, or I have too many art trades.

Secondly,

BRO HE'S COOL (and cute) OKAY

And thirdly, I have a second blog that interacts more with @drowninnoodles, @thenocturnenarrator, @tranquil-slaughterhouse, @ludrii-alt, & more! Some people didn't really like what I was posting with them, So I made an alt. account. If you want to follow that one, it's called @hellagang

edit:

I really like making new friends, so don't be shy to ask!

Also, tell me if you like picrew, cus i do them here and there, and I would like to tag you!

link to all my art repost! (lol don't use that its kinda weird, I have an art tag now XD)

Edit: lol I forgot about my tags I know this is a newer edit then the next one, but I feel like it should be put here

sooo my tags!

#skyler's art: my art!

#sky's chaotic reblogs: my reblogs from other people lol

#sky's random rambles: just random stuff I say

#sky's serious reblogs: the more serious of reblogs

#not my art: reblogs I make that aren't my art

#skyler/Skyler art!!!!/skyler's ref/FANART!: lol art of my persona that other people made of me or stuff that I made of my persona :D

#skyler's gremlin mode activated: IM REALLY HAPPY AND EXCITED OR HYPERACTIVE OF THIS POST AND I REALLY LOVE XDD

yeah :3

Edit:

immmm just going to add these

(PLATONICLY)

anyways, feel free to use these!

edit:

I made a server for tumblr undertale/deltarune artists!

my discord username is skylerfurmaniac, dm me if ya wanna join! (And if you want, you can add tumblr friends!)

also, that's if the link doesn't work (which is it doesn't can someone tell me pls?)

anyways

here is the link!!

#delatarune/undertale blog #yeet the child #hiii #UNDERCOOOORD #sky's random rambles #skyler's art #sky's chaotic reblogs #sky's gremlin mode activated #skyler's ref #skyler #sky's serious reblogs #asks #Skyler art!!!!

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fishylife · 3 years

Text

Street Dance of China, Season 4, Episode 4

- I’ve had issues with Tumblr not saving my posts again v.v I’ll just save often and hope that that does the trick.

- Latrice and Ibuki reenacting HB’s performance haha. From the behind the scenes clips I’ve seen, Ibuki does speak English, so I like to think they are now friends :D

- Hilty & Bosch have known each other since they were six years old T_T That’s cuuuute. Apparently they don’t get into arguments a lot because they always keep a distance between them XD Good strategy.

- San’er’s performance was great! He definitely brings the entertainment in his creativity (including incorporating a story line), but he doesn’t forget about the technical parts of dancing (the popping).

- Bouboo cheering on Rochka when he challenged Jianyan :P

- This spinning move he did was neat

- 不咋地 is going to be the recurring inside joke between Yibo, Rochka, and Bouboo ^^;;

- Yixing singing the SDOC theme song again XD With his super low energy voice XD

- Yibo was tipping the bench which was why Yixing and Henry were like, rocking back and forth at the same pace lol.

- Admittedly George vs. C-Lil was kind of rough. George tried to include Chinese elements in his performance, but he was injured, so he couldn’t really showcase them, and the latter part of his performance became just a typical contemporary dance. C-Lil’s performance was alright, but I think the judges were expecting something more impressive. While break dancing is very impressive to watch, I am starting to see the limitations of it, because if a dancer is not impressive, they are just kind of mediocre. George and C-Lil weren’t able to bring anything superbly impressive, which I think it was difficult for them to vote. Yibo abstained, and C-Lil got two votes, so C-Lil advanced.

- Zyko was incredible as always. It fascinates me how he’s mostly performed with these ballad type songs that don’t really have a beat. Also his flexibility is insane. I’m glad he got through with four votes because we need to see him more.

- I really liked Chika’s performance! I feel like women’s dancing is sometimes a bit limited in the mainstream because people just expect them to look sexy. It isn’t as much the case on this show because all of the ladies on this show are dancers and not idols or pop stars. But anyway, I just love seeing women dance without their bodies being sexualized. Chika’s dance showcased not only control over her body, but POWER. I loved her big movements. Compare the power that she shows vs. the power that say, Ibuki shows. Ibuki is a much smaller lady and it shows in her proportions, so how she expresses power looks different from how Chika expresses power, and Chika’s is the sort of power that I’ve really looked forward to seeing.

- Rochka fanboys over everybody, I love it. Keep spreading the love, dude.

- Ok, Xiaoji’s performance was pretty entertaining. I am not kidding when I say my jaw dropped, at the same time that all the captains went OH SNAP. But this guy definitely has charisma and stage presence. His confidence made up for his lack of ability to improvise XD I was CACKLING when this guy thought the song was done and Yibo was like “bro there’s more” and Xiaoji had to come up with something to end it off lol. I wouldn’t say his challenge was as good as Xiaohai’s, mostly because he hadn’t memorized the music like Xiaohai did. In terms of technical stuff, his performance did seem more impressive than Lai Wei’er’s, but he also did less “stuff” (like, there were a lot of pauses in his dance probably because he didn’t now the music). But Xiaoji’s was definitely more entertaining, though that may just be because of who he is and not his dancing. (By the way, Xiaoji’s real name is 林森. I thought the name 林木森 was just a joke because of how much wood was in it. I never guessed that someone would name their kid 林森 X’D Guess his 八字 indicated that he had a weakness in wood or something lol)

- Have some laughing captains, it’s good for the soul.

- Acky-san acknowledged that he’s probably not going to beat the younger dancers in terms of technique, so what he brought instead was style. The “robot” style of popping is pretty old, but no one else has done it in this competition probably because it’s so old school, and he definitely delivered in a way that only he could.

- Henry singing Frere Jacques with the French contingent X’D

- Thoughts on Han Yu vs. Boris. I can imagine what Han Yu was going for in his original performance, but I don’t think it worked. I don’t have the vocabulary to explain it, but basically the way his performance was choreographed just didn’t really impress. As Yibo mentioned, Boris was impressive in his dance to Han Yu’s music, but his dancing didn’t suit the song as much as Han Yu’s did. So the original dance + challenge was a matter of impressiveness vs. whether the dancing suited the music. Han Yu shone in the battle. I think he seemed a lot more impressive when back in a hip hop sort of groove, music that has a lot of major beats, compared to the piano music that was less grand an epic. As for Boris, I think that seeing a few of his performances in succession showed that his toolbox is a little limited in comparison to Han Yu. It hate to see Boris go because I loved his battle against Zyko but alas. I also wanted him to stay because he’s one of the few non-Chinese contestants who speak Mandarin relatively well. He had no issues speaking in Mandarin with most of the Chinese people on set. The ending was hilarious, when he was asked whether he had any last words, and Boris was like “well, I’m literally going to see these guys in two seconds when I’m back in the audience, I’m not dying” lmao.

- I don’t know how I feel about how the show has decided to deal with the last 29 contestants, of which three would be chosen to join the 49 dancers advancing. They’re competing fairly with the other contestants that haven’t performed yet, but they’re at a disadvantage compared to the previous contestants that were judged individually. For example, what if the fourth best dancer was better than a dancer that had already entered the 49? It would only be fair if the judges were allowed to take out people from the 46 contestants that had passed. It would’ve been a bigger problem if there were still a lot of big names to go though. Most of the best dancers have already secured a spot for themselves, so I think that’s why I’m not like, the most perturbed.

- I was low key waiting for Xiao Jie’s performance because his audition performance during episode 1 was so amusing. I thought his individual performance was fun! He managed to add some creativity and story telling (Chinese dude getting drunk) but also showcase some of his specialty skills (locking).

- I forgot to mention this before, but it amuses me that so the editing team will so diligently put in a “don’t try this at home” warning message whenever a dancer does a dangerous move haha.

- So the captains are doing a dance battle for the reborn event, but I’m not really sure how this is all gonna work. I’m digging Yixing’s look for the battle btw.

- Anyway, pre-battle hugs for all.

- KRUMPMASTER. Also I think he did some of the routine that he did back in Season 3.

- Not gonna lie, I wasn’t super impressed with Han Geng’s first dance but his second dance was pretty hype.

- Lol Yibo feels most comfortable challenging Yixing during his battles. He did move where he dropped onto his back right after Yixing did it (i.e. being like you can do it but I can do it better). Based on what I saw of season 3, I think Yibo would call out Yixing in his performances then too.

- Yixing was definitely heavy on the krump side, though I actually thought his first performance was really interesting because there was barely any krump in that one. He mostly stuck to other elements. As we got through the other rounds, he became more krump heavy, and I think he lost a bit in terms of variety there.

- The thing about Han Geng is that he’s no longer as athletic, so he relies more on power and control, but he needs to make sure he does the right moves that showcase that.

- I think Yibo impressed me the most. He had a lot of variety in his arsenal and he was very entertaining. He is also quite athletic, so as long as he can imagine it, I think he can do it haha.

- As others mentioned, Henry was extremely creative. He used a lot of dance moves to show a certain action, like tugging a rope or playing pool and such.

- Anyway, big hugs.

- Baby needs a nap.

- Yibo won the most points in the four rounds of the battle. This hug with Han Geng is uwu. Anyway, Tony Gogo mentioned that Yibo interpreted the music very well.

- Of course, Tony Gogo as well as the Gogo brothers praised Yixing for his krumping energy

- Philip said that Han Geng had a really good ear, and that was how he was able to take advantage of the best moments to unleash certain dances.

- The five contestants that were saved were A-wei, Boris, George, JC Jun, and Kelo & Uwa. I definitely think the editors purposely showed us more clips of them so that we’d grow attached lol. The only one of these five that I don’t quite remember is A-wei though. Anyway, very pleased that Boris is back haha.

- Pouty boi

- Yibo, Henry, Han Geng, and Ibuki getting really into 煞科 lol.

- I think next episode is going to have some team performances, which I think will be fun. Some of these teams are STACKED.

- Previews for Hot pot!

- They were talking about songs they listened to in their childhood. Han Geng started singing a song about an Office Black Cat? XD I’m guessing it’s a cartoon haha. Yibo listened to Leehom Wang and Jay Chou. Henry mentioned that he looked up to Leehom because he was also an overseas Chinese, plus he played a lot of instruments (just like Henry). As expected, Yixing looked up to Jay Chou (after all, Jay Chou was one of the earliest artists to popularize using Chinese elements in pop songs). Yixing said he also liked Leehom Wang, JJ Lin, and Khalil Fong (I legit have not heard the name 方大同 in a long time so that took me by surprise lol).

- Yibo mentioned Li Ronghao and Yixing was like OH WAIT YEAH HIM TOO. We know from Idol Producer that Yixing and Li Ronghao are bros haha. The captain says “不榮藝組合” which pronounced the same as “不容易組合” which is something like “unlikely duo,” except the the 榮 is from Li Ronghao’s name and the 藝 is from Zhang Yixing’s name lol.

- The robot spilled all the tea! Bad bot!

- I think they later played a listening game that Henry kept losing? lol

#thinking out loud #cvariety #street dance of china #screencaps

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thegeminisage · 3 years

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hey! I'm loving broken road and i just saw your pinned post. I'm curious as to how your spread sheet works - I've tried to track process / outline with spread sheets before but I'm always kinda stumped as to how to optimize it, so i was wondering if you wouldn't mind explaining how yours works a little bit, and what the columns refer to, maybe? No pressure, and it doesn't have to be detailed, of course I'm just curious!

Also - it looks pretty.

(also when i saw ch 6's only going to have two scenes i immediately thought "ha ha. I'm in danger". looking forward to it.)

YOU ARE IN DANGER. not to sound self-important but i really REALLY like that chapter. there’s, uh, a lot going on. also thank you i looove rainbow spreadsheets they are my Fav. if i am making a spreadsheet then by god it is GOING to be pleasant to look at. why would anyone look at rows upon rows of black and white text if there was another option!!!

so okay re: the spreadsheet (linking it for posterity cuz it won’t be pinned forever, i was celebrating Finishing), if you are asking HOW i actually make these kind of spreadsheets in general and make them track percentages and make the ticky boxes do that thing etc etc, i actually wrote a little post on them awhile back when someone asked me about the one i made for my merlin fic. this covers like, instructions on how to make your own, if that’s what ur into.

about this PARTICULAR spreadsheet: i am definitely pro-outline, and so this spreadsheet isn’t the only tool i use - i also have open an actual outline doc (which means this fic takes up 3 tabs on my browser at all times lol, because i also have the fic doc itself - also i have posts on outlining too here if anyone wants to read about that). this functions mostly as a checklist to make sure i remember certain plot elements, and also to help me zoom out and monitor the status of my scenes. (w stands for needs Writing, r for needs Rewriting, e for needs Editing, * for basically finished but may still need extremely minor tweaks, and a checkmark stands for posted - don’t touch it unless absolutely necessary; in that screencap i actually forgot to update for having posted ch5 lol.) that way i always know what needs most attention.

as for the columns themselves, they’re, oh god what did that other anon call them, LITERARY ELEMENTS. that makes me sound very smart. they’re literary elements that usually involve either foreshadowing, character arcs, or characterization. it’s hard to explain so lemme just go thru em one at a time (under a cut to spare ur dashes, nobody is obligated to read all of this):

abuse arc - this is the biggie which is like...obviously every scene has to be about the abuse in some way because that’s the point of this fic. it has to address the abuse or the aftermath or move character development around it etc

john’s “case” - john’s case is dean. he spends every moment from the second he comes back trying to figure out why he’s here and what dean is hiding from him. in, uh, scenes where he may have already figured this out, we get a checkmark anyway so that there’s no holes in the spreadsheet - gaps imply there’s something i need to fix, and i don’t need to add john working on his case to a scene where he solved it already, if that makes sense?

background michael - self-explanatory. i never want us to forget there’s an archangel rattling the bars in dean’s head because he sure as hell doesn’t. for scenes where that’s not applicable (like john pov scenes) we again get a checkmark anyway.

“deanisms” - this is about the way dean speaks, which is utterly batshit insane. if i don’t have at least one of these for every scene dean is in then i’m doing it wrong. again, scenes dean isn’t in get a checkmark anyway, though i was a little surprised how natural it felt to have john also use deanisms. it kind of creeped me out, actually. i think dean would get hives if he knew.

destiel - so i originally conceptualized this fic as a gen story bc i thought there just wasn’t ROOM for dean’s gay thing alongside the abuse thing, though i have changed my mind now and think they are actually not only inextricable from one another but also from dean’s status as a sexual violence survivor (for anyone clicking thru the links: mind the content warnings on those posts, they both discuss very heavy topics). so i wanted to avoid a feeling of it being a gen fic with a few dean/cas scenes shoved in. when dean and cas shared a space they should be acting like two people in a new and secret relationship, and even if cas wasn’t there, he should to some degree be on dean’s mind.

talking heads - basically making sure i didn’t do all dialogue with no supporting details. wrote a post about it here.

“funny” - this is a VERY serious fic, so i wanted to take opportunity i could to break that tension up a little so it’s not wall-to-wall angst because 1. that gets exhausting to read 2. nothing endears people to characters like making them do something funny. even john was funny once of twice when seen through dean’s eyes, because dean not only loves him but actually likes him, and that’s something i wanted to keep reminding us of. for scenes that are just too serious and important to ruin with forced comedy, they get a checkmark anyway cuz there’s nothing there to fix.

so yeah, i can’t actually use this as an outline by itself, but it is very helpful for keeping things cohesive, it is helpful for juggling multiple plot arcs and foreshadowing, all of which are a LOT harder to do for especially long projects (the merlin fic was 54 scenes compared to this fic’s 40...it was enormous lol). that doesn’t mean it can’t also be used for small projects tho! it’s really quite a versatile way of doing things once u get into it. sorry for the super long answer i hope that is at least in the ballpark of what you were looking for!!!

#liz answers asks #wulfrann #broken road #br meta #spn for ts #sorry i always get carried away when people ask me stuff like this #the tldr is that it's more of a checklist than an outline in and of itself #also #writing spreadsheets #there isn't one in here but the description counts

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just-like-playing-tag · 4 years

Text

A totally self indulgent compilation of my favorite works on this blog of the year June 13, 2019 - June 13, 2020

I wanted to do this for the blog's first anniversary but then completely forgot about it lol.

The following lists are all in chronological order according to the date each post was first published.

Top 10 panel edits:

#1: Don and Gilda - Chapter 138: Demon serch (1)

Date: Jun 14th, 2019

Time: ~ 1:30 h

My very first redraw from my very first edit posted here, so it deserves an honorable mention. Back then I was young and inexperienced, I didn't even apply a gray filter (lmao I was so unskilled I even unintentionally scratched the picture, I hadn't realized until today). I'm actually very happy my first redraw was of Don, boy deserves all the love.

#2: Emma and Ray - Chapter 140: I’m Here!

Date: Jun 28th, 2019

Time: ~ 1 h

Back then this looked like so much work to me!!! And to this day, I think it turned out pretty well. I'm particularly proud of how the bow turned out. This is one I was really proud of right after having finished it; it gave me the confidence to try redrawing bigger areas. Also, the edit were I first applied the opacity of layer / opacity of brush for the gray filter that would have stuck with me.

#3: Krone's birthday edit

Date: Jul 15th, 2019

Time: 15 mins

I don't know I just really like how Krone's hair vanish to a more sketch-like style here– and consequently, how I managed to replicate such effect. I think Krone's beautiful.

#4: Emma, Norman and Ray - Chapter 153: Coward

Date: Oct 4th, 2019

Time: 4:07 h (and 67 layers lmao)

Probably the single panel redraw I'm the most proud of. That Norman panel was beautiful and very poignant at the end of a chapter I adored, so I believe it deserved all the time I've spent working on it. It's far from being perfect - the back of his head is too plain, and the difference between my brushes and the original brushes is pretty visible - but I still like it very much and am extremely attached to it. The horn looks kinda big but I honestly believe it to be more of an issue with the original than with what I had redrawn lol. Funny enough, the whole picture didn't make it to the final edit and had to be trimmed.

#5: Full Score Trio - Chapter 154: A Breakthrough

Date: Oct 11th, 2019

Time: 29 mins

I don't have a particular reason for this I just think Emma's hair turned out amazing. It took just half an hour and I didn't even use references like. Wow. @Redrawing skills where did you go please come back

#6: Mujika and Queen Legravalima - Chapter 158: The Reason I Was Born

Date: Nov 17th, 2019

Time: 2:09 h

Sis I love this so freaking much. The shift from redrawing almost exclusively people and clothes to redrawing this mess was so fun and refreshing. Even though it's a mess I think it turned out very clean and overall it looks beautiful? I remember after finishing this I felt so powerful, like now that I had redrawn this thing I would have been able to redraw anything I set my mind on lol.

#7: Emma - Chapter 161: Never Be Alone

Date: Dec 13th, 2019

Time: 57 mins

Again no particular reason except this is a very cute Emma and I think the redraw turned out pretty well. There's this big lock on the left that doesn't make a lot of sense but overall I really like it. Cute Emma is cute, and I love her determination.

#8: Emma - Chapter 166: Going Back Home

Date: Mar 9th, 2020

Time: 3:45 h

I'M SO FREAKING PROUD OF THAT RIFFLE I have not the slightlest idea why this took so damn long BUT I'M SO PROUD OF IT

#9: Norman's birthday edit

Date: Mar 21st, 2020

Time: 1:04 h

This is cool! I didn't know I could manage to draw this, but I did it! The feathers were particularly hard to clean but I think they turned out fine.

#10: Full Score Trio - Chapter 174: A New World (part 1)

Date: Apr 6th, 2020

Time: 2:11 h

I just think they're very pretty? I can't understand if I like Ray's face a lot, or not at all, but I think overall there was a lot to redraw and it turned out pretty cute! Sorry Gillian.

(Also insert pretty much every panel from the chapter 177 Isabella edit– I've spent so many hours on basically every panel there's no way I could choose only one).

Top 5 edits as whole:

#1: Emma and Ray - Chapter 140: I’m Here!

Date: Jun 29th, 2019

Complessive time: 2:57+ h

The very first edit I'm actually proud of; I'm really attached to it. It's the first edit I had put all of my effort into, and I remember feeling anxious people would have left it without notes. It kinda feels weird to think about it now, because I really don't care about notes anymore; yet, it somehow makes me happy to think that past-me wasn't let down. Thank you @neverlandstrio for your support, you may not remember but it really meant a lot to me back then! And it still makes me smile. You're the best!!!!!!

#2: Mujika and Queen Legravalima - Chapter 158: The Reason I Was Born

Date: Nov 20th, 2019

Complessive time: 7:12+ hours

This whole edit was an hella wild ride. It's midnight before a school day, when I think: "Mh, it's been a while since I last made an edit, why not make one about Musica and the queen from the last chapter?" And seven hours after this was born. I'm particularly proud of the queen's redraws on the 3rd, 7th and 9th picture (ofc), the areas which have been redrawn are pretty huge yet I think the difference with the original is almost impossible to notice?? @Redrawing skills where did you go please come back (part 2)

#3: Emma - Chapter 174: A New World (part 1)

Date: Apr 12th, 2020

Complessive time: 6:53+ h

I think the panels that were selected work very well together, especially considering the close-up / full body alternation. I love Emma, and I've always been kinda sad noticing that edits that focus one her take the less notes... She deserves all the love. Also, fun fact: for the last but one panel, I had redrawn Emma's whole left ear before remembering she doesn't have one, so I had to redraw the panel from the start. Besides from the error with the ear, the reason why this (and all the others after) took so long is because official panel take way longer to clean.

#4: Isabella and her children - Chapter 177: Mother

Date: May 22nd, 2020

Complessive time: 13:41+ h (ahah.)

Lmao tbh I can't understand how this has so few notes it's like. Technically speaking, probably the best edit I've ever done. I don't even like Isabella that much, I haven't got the slightlest idea why I decided to spend so many hours on this. Anyway, I find the composition (full body on the left / headshots on the right) really good looking in this as well! And I think the redraws turned out fine, especially Isabella's.

#5: The Promised Neverland manga ending countdown→ 1/7 chapters: chapter 1 - Grace Field House

Date: Jun 9th, 2020

Complessive time: 1:59+ h

I don't know how I came up with that idea for the composition but I find it really beautiful??? I think it does a pretty good job conveying the sudden, terrific shift of atmosphere from the first chapter, and I think that sharp bridge is very nice. I'm very, very proud of this.

Honorable mention #1: Full Score Trio - Chapter 154: A Breakthrough

Date: Oct 13th, 2019

Complessive time: 3:44+ h (+ 1:13 h of working on a panel that ultimately didn't make it to the final edit)

A very good chapter, and the edit turned out surprisingly amazing??? All the redraws look great and make it almost impossible to distinguish them from the original; honestly I feel like I'll never be able to redraw so neatly again lol.

Honorable mention #2: Don and Gilda (+ Norman) - Chapter 160: Shackles

Date: Dec 11th, 2019

Complessive time: 3:14+ h

That one is really one of my favorite scenes; I'm telling you peoples, Gilda and Don are a blessing to the earth. I think I've never mentioned it, but Gilda's hair is a nightmare to redraw??? More specifically, it takes me h o u r s to fill the texture without making it look too weird, it's the worst.

Honorable mention #3: Norman and Ray - Chapter 179: Compensation

Date: Jun 6th, 2020

Complessive time: 4:16+ h

I was so glad to finally be able to make a Norman / Ray edit, and it turned out it was just in time before the series' finale. I like how it turned out and I'm pretty satisfied with the redraws (even though my sister helped me with the lineart of some panels - it was exams time and I really couldn't afford to spend more time on it), too bad we didn't have more chapters that focused on the boys. Ray sweetie one day I'll fix your ear it's just today's not that day.

Btw, I justed realized I have never done an Emma / Norman centered edit? I'll have to make one eventually. I remember considering focusing on them alone for the chapter 154 one, but then I thought "even if the manga is gonna ignore Ray, I will chose to do not" lol.