#before the training begins ><

[reginrokkr]

I failed to be productive IC-wise today, but at the same time I think that it is for the best that I make an announcement concerning the short term activity of this blog. This Wednesday I have one last partial left to do and next week I'll start with the waves of finals. So in advance, I'll say that my activity will decrease significantly from 5 to 12 of February. It's true that until then I have a little bit more of spare time, but I also don't want to stress myself for being unable to write anything, as having proper rest is also important for the intense time that it's about to come.

#◟༺✦༻◞ what lays behind the mantle of faux stars ┊ooc.┊ #this post came earlier than I intended it to be #but I was feeling a little bad for being unable to write #even a single thread #due to low energy levels; the burn from classes; etc #so I think it's better this way for the time being #thank you peeps for putting up with me #just a little more and I'll have almost an entire month of freedom #before the training begins ><

[lunaicfantastic]

fav part of gideon the ninth is for the first pre-canaan house chunk of the book, she's all "ugh I'm so normal surrounded by all these weirdo goth freaks when I blow this popsicle stand everyone will see how cool and normal and charming I am" and then she gets to canaan house and realizes that while she might have been a normie jock in the ninth house she is not exempt from being a goth weirdo who hides important doors behind tapestries and sneaks around in the dark so she doesn't have to talk to people. like we talk about her being a jock forced to be goth but nature v nurture babey she's not shedding that bone freak skin anytime soon

#gideon the ninth #and she realizes this its really funny #every time she does some ninth house shit shes like damn this is some ninth house shit :/ #and then she does it anyway #i actually think its a cool piece of character work: gideon goes from seeing herself outside of/in opposition to the ninth house #in the beginning of the book #to feeling a part of/a soldier for the ninth house (and harrow specifically who gideon sees as the epitome of the ninth) #even during her brief backslide where she goes and talks shit with the eighth she can't really separate herself the way she could before #and when the chips are down and isaac and jeannemary are dead she wants two things: her longsword (a relic of aiglamene's training) #and harrow #so #yeah shes a jock but shes a goth weirdo freak jock #and shes a jock of the ninth #shut up anna

[blueskittlesart]

do u have any navi thoughts from your oot replay

i've been waiting to answer this until I actually beat the game in my current playthrough because navi is another one of those characters that i think of in like a "set" with several other characters who serve relatively the same thematic purpose; in this case that purpose being the "mother" character, and i wanted to have all the characters in that set fresh in my mind. it's notable that while oot shows us very clear and consistent instances of the ways in which the adults of hyrule fail to protect their children, there ARE several adults who DO go out of their way to both oppose ganondorf and protect and nurture the children under their care. All of these characters are adult women, and all of them explicitly help the children out of some sort of parental responsibility or sense of duty towards them. in this group I include link's late mother, impa, nabooru, and navi.

all 4 mother characters, despite being adults or adult-coded, reject the inaction mentality which characterizes other adults in the game. they become either direct supports or shields to their children from the conflict the world has to offer them, and they are always explicitly punished for their interference--link's mother is killed trying to protect her son, impa's village is burned, nabooru is brainwashed. The mother's fatal flaw is that she will protect her child above all else, even in a world in which children cannot truly be protected. however, with the exception of link's mother, these characters manage to persist even in the face of her punishment, and this is where I think navi becomes the exemplary character.

Navi, after a lifetime of being link's only support system, the only adult in his life he could truly, consistently count on, receives her punishment at the hands of ganondorf--in the final battle, she is pushed out. she is unable to reach her child. she cannot protect him. However, BECAUSE link has grown up with her at his side, he is strong enough to take ganondorf down. and when ganon rises again, navi is there to support link, promising not to leave his side, and the intuitive targeting of that battle (a mechanic which navi is inherently tied to!!) makes it a cinch to win. Navi, and the other mothers we meet, are a reminder to the player that the world doesn't HAVE to be the way it is. Their persistence when punished, their insistence that their children ought to be protected, is a reminder that good adults do exist, and that good adults raise good children. link and zelda are able to win in spite of the adults who refused to help them, but also BECAUSE of the adults who DID. It's a reinforcement of the core theme of oot--that childlike idea that the world SHOULD be good and fair and if it isn't, it should be changed until it is. The mothers of oot are examples of what the world COULD be, reminders that it is possible to grow up without losing hope or growing bitter, and they are examples of the next step for the children they've raised to change the word--to continue fighting even in the face of punishment, to refuse inaction, and to foster that same hope and persistence in the generations to come.

#one thing i've really been noticing this time around is the specific way in which navi's targeting works #because even though other 3d games have that targeting mechanic navi's targeting is noticeably different #in two ways. the first being that she specifically targets weak spots in enemies almost as if she is pointing them out to link #and the second being that she is capable of targeting things link himself doesn't see #whether it be invisible enemies or triggers that are out of his reach or scarecrow points or whatever #it's really reminiscent to me of the way you teach problem solving skills to a kid. you see them struggling with something and beginning to #get frustrated and you say 'hey let's look around. do you see any solutions?' and if they can't see the solution themself you might point #and say 'hey what's that?' just to get their attention on it and help facilitate that train of thought for them #because like in most other games targeting is sort of assumed to be link's own intuition in battle #and therefore it will usually allow you to focus on one enemy within a swarm of them but it won't explicitly light up the weak spot for you #navi does that for link because she's essentially the mother teaching her kid how to problem-solve. #and when she's taken away in the final battle link is able to fight anyway BECAUSE she put so much time and effort into raising him #that he no longer needs her to facilitate that problem-solving process. he already knows how to beat ganondorf #because he's done it with her before. and that's exactly the mother's role in her child's life #protect him and raise him as best you can so that when you can no longer be by his side he isn't afraid. #foster that sense of justice and encourage him to keep fighting to change the world even when it seems unchangeable. #god. ocarina of fucking time #zelda analysis #asks

[comradesaucegay]

— Karl Marx, Capital Vol 1, Ch. 15 / Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project, convolute F "Iron Constructions."

#idk why but the image of the horse train and the granite tracks has stuck with me since i first encountered the arcades project at uni #rn i'm currently organizing my notes before i begin on the baudelaire convolute #enjoy some train posting #walter benjamin #arcades project #karl marx #capital vol 1

[zetsubobu]

"…but someday, Lloyd, there might be people who are after you for all kinds of reasons. Whether it be for money, to assert dominance, to use you, to stop you, or to try and take something from you… [...]"

@weekend-whip @the-ninja-legacy-whip

A ninjago legacy whip fanart woooooooo

I really liked this part of koko's quote and wanted to draw something for the fic anyways!

I really wanted to emphasize on lloyds eyes here too not only because of the green color but also with the white pupil from the lore in the legacy au

Also I tried to draw the dagger that he hides underneath his coat!

Also our young naive lloyd here isn't aware of the hands that want to use his power and heritage yet

#lloyd garmadon #ninjago #legacyverse #the ninja legacy whip #also can I just talk about how well it is written?? #i especially like how lloyd is written in this fic and how it doesn't make him into a stupid brat at the beginning #really annoyed me in season 1 #i mean he is basically the grandson of god so he should atleast have been powerful in some way before he trained with the ninja #also the eye lore is so cool #part of why I also added the red eyes over his head #since red is a complementary color of green so basically its opposite which also means that red eyes are not from his friends #if that wasn't obvious #ceces_art #ceces_ninjago_art

[abirddogmoment]

Bird dog activities

#dogblr #rory borealis #dead bird #tw dead bird #cw dead bird #this was her second session on quail and third on birds and she was sooooo good #i can def see the beginning of resource guarding though #need to strategically work on that while its cold before we go out on birds again #the birds are TOO VALUABLE she does not want to share #i mean it is tiny little baby beginning stages #she was offleash and i could still get her and the birds #but i would hate for it to escalate #reminder to put meatballs and sardines on my grocery lisy #need some better trade offers for her while we train #hot dogs and dried chicken arent quite cutting it when shes in bird drive

[mus1ca1]

my earliest sketches and studies of rusty, drawn slightly before this post back in september 2022

#stex #starlight express #rusty the steam engine #back when i drew trains with ears and skin and stuff #the “cat nose” contour was really present from the start #you can see i fell into the “BIG GAUGE ON CHEST?” trap there in the beginning before i studied his actual firebox #bc my real introduction to the show was the somewhat low quality press reels

[fallstaticexit]

I feel bad for Noa ngl, I wonder if he does have any magic or some supernatural abilities. Also is Noa the first male in his magical bloodline?

I do too and unfortunately Noa doesn’t have any magic abilities whatsoever and this contributes to his coming identity crisis. He is the first male to be born in this family which can be traced back to around the colonization of Selvadorada. Nora will eventually explain their culture to Adie pretty soon and on the why and how they preserve their matriarchal magic. (In order to continue their bloodline, a witch will find a suitable male of her choosing and cast a spell on him to ensure she conceives a female child- which clearly Adelina did NOT DO when she had Noa- The fact that Adie was even born with this magic was a miracle to Nora especially since this tradition should have severed the moment Noa was born. Adie’s special honestly and they’ll all learn eventually just how special she is)

#cotf tag #the briar legacy #we learn a lot along side Adie as she begins her dark magic training #I’m VERY exciting to share Adelina’s backstory #I’ve been excited for that since before I even wrote Fallen Angel

[takeyourcyanide]

I’m beginning to think that I live in a dollhouse of a world. I think it’s an experiment. How long until the one they created finally collapses under the failure that is supposed to be the guidance of real humans. Where is the real world? How do I get out? Are they the ones who are observing me closely? Is everyone around me just a prop for the experiment? Are they all in on it? Why post this on here? What happens if they know I’ve become aware? Will that all become a part of the experiment too? Was that the plan from the beginning? Are the people I interact with on here a part of it? Something’s just wrong and I could feel it since I woke up and days prior

Is this a glimpse into the real world? Real non involved people

#I’ve wondered this before #I’ve felt it before #I’m not beginning to think am I #am I supposed to put a tw #if everyone’s in on it though #perhaps I’ll leave this train of thought behind and pretend to myself as though I’m not aware of the obvious reality #never entirely #I still like writing though what am I supposed to do #shall I be happy to be a part of science #did they put shadow people demon things where I live #am I one myself #the chirping birds are fake I think #if anyone tried to convince me this is real is it because they’re in on it #are the mirrors portals to the real world did they want me to figure it out to see what would happen #aversion #or maybe they watch me from the mirrors too #not just cameras

[hyperfixationhell25]

*slams hands on desk*

Alright you fucking nerds I need y'all to do some math for me

theoretically how fast would the Polar Express have to move to get from Grand Rapids Michigan ( starting point for kid in blue robe) to the North Pole in less than 24 hours. I get that its a magic train and it stops time but work with me here Please.

Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas or winter holiday for those that don't partake in Christmas and for those travelling stay safe.

#the polar express #christmas #help me please #my ADHD brain wont let me sleep till I get some answers #my aunt had only seen the beginning of the film before and didn't understand the hype for the epic train drift scene.

[prettyboykatsuki]

fang i couldn't find ur meta blog but i wanted to ask ur opinion/analysis of bakugou's "what part of her was frail" from season one against ochako if u have any <3

@fangs-animereview thought i havent posted anything on it in ages.. rip all my half-baked hxh meta posts about shounen trope subversions

i dont know if i have any particular analysis of that but i do think that scene highlights an interesting element of bkgs character which is that he is decidedly not very shallow

i think often his arrogance or projected arrogance makes his fandom image a guy who is shallowly obsessed with appearances. but i think for him to say what part of her was frail kind of speaks to the fact that the opposite is true. that bkg doesn't see people as their appearance but measures them by what they're capable of

#return to sender #people always write bakugou to be this arrogant and shallow wad which is such an interesting projection of his character #because even at the worst of his arc at the beginning #his obsession with deku didn't have as much to do with deku being quirkless as it did with deku himself #bakugou used dekus quirklessness against him but i dont believe that it was really bc of that #he just. was deeply intimidated by dekus character and pointed out his weakness #but that speaks to the fact that bakugou is an immensely good judge of character #he sees people specifically for their quality and capabilities #and ochako isnt the first or last example of this #he does this with shindo yo and accurately assessing him as a fake and shallow snake. and again #when he's talking to kirishima pointing out how his greatest strength is being a wall and encouraging him #and again in season five where he utilizes the individual talents of his team to win the training match #bkg sees people as their qualities before he sees their appearances #so this projected idea that he would care about appearances is truly very bonkers to me lol #katsuki <3 #its one of those things about bkg i love very much tbh

[cleargreyskies]

7 months, 7 days, and I have finished campaign 2 of Critical Role.

#i am crying while typing this #holy shit what an experience. how do i begin to describe any of this! #personal log #critical role #the mighty nein #caleb widogast! i watched this whole thing just because he seemed like he was made just for me! #and to follow all of these characters! in so much detail! holy shit! #i started this in the middle of winter on a snowy hill in sweden. got hooked on a night ferry to finland. relistened to favourite moments on #my night train back home to germany. spent the rest of winter and the coming spring with the mighty nein. having them keep me company in #loneliness and physical pain. then sharing some of the experience with my flatmate first and then my girlfriend! #whose live reactions were so amazing to follow! #@jojo: to think you finished the campaign a day before me...! #holy shit (i am repeating myself) this was an experience of a lifetime #(i am sappy and still crying but my point stands) #and omfg caleb widogast and the absolutely insane storytelling from all of them #matt mercer! what a fucking mind and talent you have. and all of the creative people playing rpgs with friends: #this is such a beautiful way of storytelling.

[nexus-nebulae]

rewatching god of war 2018 and it's actually so wild how they make it feel like there's an actual person holding the camera. like there's movements in the camera that indicate taking steps or shifting your weight slightly

#like when atreus pauses at the front door of the house in the very very beginning you can see the camera moving #in a way that very much emphasizes atreus's hesitation before walking in #the camera shifting slightly as if the person holding it is also hesitating to move forward #and when atreus first shows up and like tries to walk around his dad to try to look him in the face but kratos moves away #the camera is wobbling like a moving cameraman trying to train on a moving target #that must have taken so many hours to perfect all the little camera movements

[aroacehanzawa]

lore drop

#that poll just now reminded me of my Toxic Homoerotic Codependent Female Friendship in high school #there was something obsessive going on between us because 1) i wasn't even in her friend group 2) everything she said or did was annoying #there was some stockholm syndrome situation going on. also a very succession tomgreg dynamic #you know how you invite a friend somewhere and they're like 'we're on our way' and you're like who's 'we' #and it's because they're a package deal with their partner apparently. yeah that was us but platonically. if you could even call it that #anyway her sense of humour was like that of a mean girl ie backhanded compliments and jokes at other people's expenses #always saying something that would subtly put others down. i got fed up with that at the beginning of our final year #and called her out on everything that Wasn't Good. which ultimately culminated in the Divorce #well there's more to it too but i could be here the whole day #i was so obsessed with her i misstook it for romantic feelings too and confessed to her in the middle of an argument LMAO #and then proceeded to ignore all her follow up questions. but in hindsight it clearly wasn't romantic anyway #except about a year after the Divorce she retrospectively confessed to me AND THEN REFUSED TO ELABORATE WHEN. as revenge i guess #actually the downfall started when we went to another city for an event and on the last day before the train back we were supposed to go #explore the city in what was essentially a (platonic) date except she ditched me for Some Guy she just met and claimed she had to go back #home early for a family situation and that he was giving her a ride because the train would arrive too late #that wasn't the only time she would just. abandon me like that. but it was the final straw for me #anyway. defining high school experience 👍 #the only good thing to come out of it was that she thoroughly insulted a classmate of ours that i stood up for and so i gained a new friend #who is still my best friend to this day

[why-even-ask]

Uhhhh you wear SUSpenders? What are you, an impostor?

#has this been done before? #bioshock atlas #atlas bioshock #frank fontaine #bioshock #im also playing bioshock 2 at the moment and i know sinclair also wears suspenders too #but i think i misjudged him a bit in the beginning by thinking he's a bit sus. he's a good guy!!! #sad that he doesnt do anything other than talk from inside the train at the moment. im at the part where i face Father Wales #i want to see him more!!!

[eliias-bouchard]

holy shit.

#normally the 'villain and hero talk casually before the beginning of a fight' trope is like #just a bit of fun yknow but. i really like how its utilised in frieren #thats really fucking cool #and frieren training fern to defend specifically against what she knew qual would do .... #god. #frierenposting