#i guess making up a story about them??

[2008hondacivic]

hiiii here are some drawings for a Yellowjackets/The Shining AU. Basically just YJ characters in outfits from The Shining / stills from The Shining (+ the symbol in lieu of “redrum”). There’s a lot more I wanted to do with this - maybe when I have more time I can draw the rest of the characters?? I have ideas for Tai and Laura Lee and Van and Misty…

anyway here’s my thoughts on what the story would be like:

(also note that I read the book more recently than i’ve seen the movie but the two have kinda blended together in my head)

So Lottie has similar abilities to Danny in The Shining. premonitions, etc. she “shines”

Tai (and maybe Laura Lee?) also has supernatural abilities. I say maybe Laura Lee bc in The Shining, Danny’s mentor also “shines”. Laura Lee is definitely a bit of a mentor to Lottie… but Laura Lee would have a Catholic™️ explanation for Lottie’s abilities

Tai would repress her abilities the most, being as rational as she is

I think Shauna is the most like Jack in The Shining (but not really bc that's such an insult to her)… I can see how the hotel’s evil vibes would impact her the most because she holds on to a lot of resentment

ok, so how did the girlies end up at the Overlook hotel?

Like Danny, Lottie had an imaginary friend as a child (who turns out to be her adult self, just like Danny's friend "Tony" is actually adult Danny). Recently, she's been seeing this "imaginary" friend again in her dreams, and seeing a strange symbol... (I really gotta draw this so I can draw Simone Kessell as a cool vision)

I was thinking that during the Nationals qualifying game, Lottie has a bad feeling about what would happen should they go to Nationals... so she interferes and stops Jackie from scoring (I guess she'd be close enough to block the shot)

Everyone is mad at Lottie, and her rich ass dad decides to fund a training trip for the team to make it up to the school/team. He gets a good deal to send the team to the Overlook hotel for a week during the beginning of the time period where the hotel is typically closed to guests (the hotel would have to have a good soccer field in this AU, but also bc its up in the mountains they could do altitude training there).

The coaches would have to tend to the boiler room / perform Jack's caretaking duties from The Shining while they're staying there. I think Shauna would help out, and she'd find the scrapbook documenting the hotel's murderous history. As a journal girl herself, she'd be interested in the scrapbook and the hotel's history (like Jack, that's how she'd get corrupted by the evil hotel).

I could see Van also taking an interest in the hotel's history, because she loves a good story. She'd drag Taissa around the hotel to explore and try to uncover its history.

Of course, the snow storm from The Shining would come early, unexpectedly trapping them all at the hotel. Shining shenanigans ensue, etc.

Like Jack, Misty would sabotage their attempts to escape the hotel bc she's having so much fun with the girls... she'd dump the fuel to the snowmobile, etc.

#ok didnt mean to go off in the bullet points but i was making these drawings and #i guess making up a story about them?? #its a bit unhinged and maybe doesnt make a lot of sense. oh well #also the drawing of Nat as Wendy has nothing to do with anything. i just drew that first before i thought of making a series of drawings #yellowjackets #yellowjackets spoilers #the shining spoilers #jackie taylor #shauna shipman #natalie scatorccio #lottie matthews #yellowjackets fan art #yellowjackets art #shauna shipman art #jackie taylor art #natalie scatorccio art #lottie matthews art #my post #my art

[ahaura]

im sure its been said already but as the election draws near more and more liberals will come out of the woodwork to shame people with a conscience to give away their vote to the democrats for free. i'm already seeing posts saying "why aren't people more concerned about a trump presidency?" you want to know why? it's because people already know he's bad. everyone already knows what he is and what he's done and what he'll do. there's nothing to discuss. he's a racist despotic worm of a man. there's nothing else to say.

biden is currently president. the genocide is happening under his watch. he's the one funding isra*l and arming them; he's sidestepped congress more than once to give them weapons. by oct. 27, the biden administration already knew that "Israel was regularly bombing buildings without solid intelligence that they were legitimate military targets." the state department/biden have engaged in atrocity propaganda, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the death toll recorded by the gaza health ministry, and so on. the united states is currently in the process of trying to pin the "war in gaza" on netanyahu (see sen. schumer's speech) after months of backing blatant genocide as a means to act as if they're "doing something" about the genocide (Instead of, say, threatening to cut off all aid to israel with the condition that all hostilities in gaza, the west bank, and occupied jerusalem are halted immediately and permanently, allowing palestinians freedom to travel, allowing aid into gaza, etc etc etc.)

the long and short of it is that liberals view their own lives as being worth more than palestinians'. that's it. they'll vote for another 4 years of the guy ushering in genocide and supporting apartheid + settler colonialism because he isn't outright attacking them (despite various laws and rulings happening both at the supreme court level and at the local level all over the country that will endanger people). they'll settle for the illusion of safety and security and shame anyone with a conscience and accuse them of "supporting the republicans" when in an actual democracy you would be able to use your vote as leverage to extract concessions from those who want to be elected. that's how it's supposed to fucking work.

democrats are not owed people's vote. if biden loses, it will be biden's fault; it will be his campaign's fault; it will be the democrats' fault. trump is bad; the republicans are bad. we already know this. this is not an endorsement of either. but if democrats are too cowardly and feckless and servile to the motivations of the american empire and never do anything for their constituents then why the fuck should anyone vote for them. you want to get mad at someone, why don't you do something useful and stop worrying about team-sports with a purely selfish basis and start hounding the people in power who are supposed to serve you, the voter.

#i think i already said this and frankly idc #uspol #📁.zip #to me personally it's abhorrent and vile to tell palestinians 'biden is facilitating the murder of your people culture and history but you #still have to vote for him!!1' like how is that not unbelievably callous and ghoulish #frankly speaking. a lot of this 'you should be concerned about trump' is going to turn into #blaming palestinians and arabs and muslims and anyone remotely with a conscience for biden's loss #instead of doing something productive like pushing for people in power to do something they'll nitpick and belittle #and tell palestinians + arabs and muslims + everyone who understands that genocide is bad that they SHOULD #settle for a decrepit genocidal monstrous freak who is CURRENTLY facilitating genocide because #it makes THEM feel better and they aren't personally threatened (yet) by the guy currently in power #any and all 'you're not taking trump seriously' comments should be met with extreme skepticism #because i promise i PROMISE that the vast majority of people unhappy with biden are not going to turn around and vote for trump #and if they do? well guess what THAT'S BIDEN'S FAULT! nevermind the vote uncommitted campaign that was very successful and #will be replicated in the near future. but liberals only care about asthetics and superficial and not #about real material change which is why they'll dress up their callousness and racism in a 'you hate gay people if you dont vote for biden' #like this country is already going to shit we are rapidly descending into fascism and i dont see biden doing anything to even remotely #challenge it do you???? once agian. NOT an endorsement of the republican party but my GOD when the 'lesser evil' #is DOING the evil or normalizing the evil then you cannot settle for 'the lesser'! end of story.

[jojo-schmo]

Just Admit It- Part 1

I've been playing around with possible friendship dynamics of the Beast Council for fun!! I love imagining what kind of childhood they could have in the Forgotten Land all together.

What if Carol and Sillydillo are the fun-loving extroverts? Leon is the introverted one who's been smitten by Carol for a really really long time but he's too shy about it? And Gori is the friend who is an excellent observer and will bluntly tell you what he thinks (and maybe has a tendency to get grumpy when things aren't easily going his way).

Somewhat of a prequel to this other doodle comic about Leon and Carol- everyone here is still a kid ^_^

Part 2

#I know beast pack headcanons are so wildly up to interpretation! there's a few canon personality traits and lots of space to fill in betwee #I also just love stories about a group of lifelong friends all doing their best! #so why not play around with them and see what kind of stories about love and friendship they might experience? heehee. #and not all of them are about just Leon and Carol I have other plans!! this is just one of the first ones I have :P #these are quick and very self indulgent but I hope they can still be enjoyable hehe #friend squads for the win!! #also I feel like I draw the beast council a little differently every time I try lol. I'm getting used to them okay they are all so so shape #you should see the first drawings I ever tried to do of them. they are a little rough xD #I'm starting to understand why there's not a TON of content for them. Pretty much everyone except Carol are BUILT DIFFERENT #LEONGAR. WHY is your body and head proportioned like that?! you made me make up my own rules for drawing you!! #sillydillo and your funny little snout! I learned so much studying you! and I have so much work to do with all of you adjakflja #but I guess that's the definition of developing personal art styles huh? #so I guess these funny little stories have the added benefit of getting me more comfortable with the beasts! #ANYWAY that concludes this round of Jojo's director's commentary. like and subscribe #beast pack #clawroline #leongar #sillydillo #gorimondo #beast council #Kirby and the forgotten land #Kirby series #art #caroleon #???? #sHOOT I still don't know the ship name I can't commit to one someone please tell me what it is I don't want to make one up ahh #ask me to tag it and I will happily do so sdjakfljdsla

[crown-ov-horns]

Right, then. The sick part of my brain is terrorizing me once more, and taking an idea from it is like taking a bone from an angry rottweiler.

Who wants a fucked up Michael Langdon x Reader oneshot?.. I really do not feel like making a yet another OC, and adding a yet enother epic to my endless list.

#diary pages #ahs #ahs apocalypse #american horror story #michael langdon #michael langdon x reader #could be my offering to... you whoever saw this if you're into that? #tho i only do mf with male characters #eh as in mxf nothing about them being motherf-... #because what i'm about to write i'm not turned on by #i'm just an oracle the characters will do what they wish to do #and sometimes a part of me goes “let's do fucked up things 🤪” #and i'm just sitting here like “judy pls we already have 587 other wips can you just -_-” #then if i heed “judy” a third part of me bursts into the scene like an angry wooden spoon wielding grandma ywlling what the hell am i doing #🤣 #pestilence speaks #i guess i'm so insinstent on making things clear because people always assume your smut is what turns you on #and i really don't want to be associated with that #they have an easier time grasping when you're writing like gore that's not what you want to happen #people will not assume i actually want to butcher a pregnant woman for a satanic ritual #but will assume i'm turned on by dubcon or smth #how do people write short stories

[bibbumblebee]

Sorry, honey, I’m getting my lanky, dark-haired men who wear lab coats and khakis, develop a god complex, and are obsessed with changing reality after losing a loved one confused. Hate when that happens.

#okabe rintaro #okabe rintarou #takuto maruki #p5r maruki #persona 5 maruki #p5 royal #steins gate #steins;gate #I get them mixed up #okay? #I guess this is my type #give me a sad genius #I’m sold #like their stories are so similar #if you think about it #might make a longer post

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

i havent followed the manga in several months and im not interested in catching up again but has bakugo un-died yet. has deku saved him yet with the power of gay love. or is he still getting open heart surgery. has this boy been getting open heart surgery for the past 8 months.

#shut up pandora #bnha #boku no hero academia #katsuki bakugo #izuku midoriya #bakudeku #i guess #the first time bakugo Fucking McDied was pretty romantic #and i guess the second time deku did get pretty mad about it so fuck it im down #its shounen so dekus will they wont they with uraraka is so misogynistic #that his relationship with bakugo has become the greatest love story of all time #i jest ofc #even if they became canon RIGHT NOW the rest of the story is too mid for them to be even a particularly good love story #but its also the only relationship in bnha that i still care about after the disrespect they showed my girl momo #and the direction they went with the todoroki family #and the general plot progression #imma stop talking about that bc this is not a complain about bnha post this is a 'is bakugo still dead' post #but yeah although this is the only bnha ship i still care about i dont think horikoshis brave enough to make them canon #but if all the tjlc-ing from the bakudeku fans come true and they really do pull a fakeout and bkdk gets together #i will stomach the poor plot progression and hatred towards women and start following the manga again #but yeah if hes still dead horikoshi get on it??? #it was dramatic the first few chapters but if you drag it out for several months ppl (me) are going to get tired of it and drop the series

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

To Shape A Dragon’s Breath

YA fantasy

a young Indigenous girl finds & bonds with a dragon hatchling - the first time in many generations for her people - and is required to go to the coloniser’s dragon academy in their mainland city, to learn how to raise her dragon and the science of its magic

historical inspired setting on the cusp of industrial revolution with steampunk vibes

bi polyamorous MC, Black lesbian SC, nonverbal autistic SC

#To Shape A Dragon’s Breath #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #this is really really good i loved it! #the chapter titles are all like snippets of a story. or like sentence fragments that match up. which is cool #it is definitely more about being indigenous in a coloniser institution than Dragon School - not Super dragon heavy if you want that #I suspect the subsequent books will get into that when she gets big enough to ride and stuff #t’s also def YA! i’ve seen a few ppl assume it’s adult and be like its very young :( but like. I mean its perfectly reasonable for a 15yo m #definitely a Lot of racism and colonialism which is not fun to read! though it's still through a YA lens. there was def a part of me that #was imagining consequences of the narrative as if it were an adult novel #on that line of thought - at the end a lot of it is kind of solved by them going to the king and he's is like. oh no racism is happening? #that's bad i'll deal with those people! which felt like. a little simplistic. but maybe the easiest way to end the narrative for book 1 - #I don't think the author ACTUALLY is going to portray the king as a Good Guy throughout the series - it just felt conveniently like - #a simple YA solution to some very big and complex elements? if that makes sense? (but again - it is YA so it's allowed I suppose!) #some of the worldbuilding (like all the science learning) is probably setup for next books - we don’t really see any practical application #the romances are also subtle and not Overbearing In Book One which i like - leave some space for the series! #also her getting fanmail from a 10yo mixed race girl who looks up to her 🥺 #anyway. i really loved it! #oh also it reminded me a little of leviathan. i guess just the steampunk/time period/european culture.... #To Shape A Dragon's Breath

[almostshamelesspenguin]

OKAY ace attorney no dl6 au where something happens to mvk (convinced of another murder maybe, he's bound to snap sometime lmao) and Gregory sees he has a very young daughter who's now an orphan and adopts her and franziska and miles grow up as SIBLINGS and in a HEALTHY HOUSEHOLD and they get all the good things and life is great!!!

#idk incoherent thoughts about the von karma siblings #thinking about how they wouldnt/might not consider each other siblings in no dl6 aus #i thought this up to fix that lmao #i dont think ill make a fic or art of this au because. i am not confident in my abilities in either #or in making a good story #or in keeping them in character while dealing with such a drastic change #so this idea is free real estate for anyone who wants ro borrow #anyway time to tag #ace attorney #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #gregory edgeworth #manfred von karma #i guess #ace attorney au #no dl 6 #no dl6 au

[cometrose]

sometimes i don’t like family hcs cause i think the relationship between the two characters is a little more fucked up that and i don’t think you’re giving it enough credit

“look they’re just like father and son!” and then i look and it’s two immortals with a messed up master servant dynamic where they would do anything for each other and slowly trying to overcome a relationship dynamic that is 1000s of years in the making

#LISTEN #xiao would do anything for zhongli and they both know this but zhongli would never ask him too and they both know THIS! #also i saw a post critizing zhongli for how he treated xiao like with the whole karma thing but that’s not his child #why are you mad at zhongli for being a bad dad to xiao when he’s not his father??? #or i see posts where it’s implied zhongli pushed or forced xiao into fighting for him #but that’s not true either?? #zhongli never forced xiao to do anything xiao does all of this because of his dedication to morax #zhongli let xiao suffer? WHEN??? WHERE #i’m not saying he’s perfect but damn did he fucking try #or that xiao states the yaksha’s were proud people who regardless of how their stories ended never wanted pity #newsflash idiot it was war they all fucking suffered look at all the adepti and you can still see they’re still fucked up a bit #anyway whatever i guess #zhongli #xiao #genshin impact #woman yells at wall more at 8 #i think looking at their relationship through a familial lens undermines all my favorite things about their relationship #like their wonky power imbalance and loyalty issues #or scara and nahida like people try to make her his new mom and i don’t like it lol #i think them as two oddballs in life becoming close companions and associates feels much better than making nahida his mom #people nowadays only know romantic or familial dynamics and often ignore a secret third thing which is literally every other type of bond #i don’t even hate the hc i just hate when you criticize or analyze these characters WITH A HEADCANON

[peprallyataroogas]

Regarding the new Hazbin Hotel trailer

There's good pacing

Then there's bad pacing

Then there's "Give away your midseason twist in the first official trailer for your cartoon coming out in a month" pacing

#hazbin hotel #hazbin critical #why should i even care about the earlier episodes #where they establish the heavenly redemption plotline #when they're just gonna up and say that heaven doesn't care and they're gonna go to war #i mean i guess it's kinda predictable anyhow #but you don't just show them bracing for a fight before they're supposed to have anything to fight for #you gotta leave some room for plausible deniability on where the story's gonna go #people do lose interest in the journey when they know the destination #it's fickle sure but broadway musical numbers and elaborate animation can't save you when you make a tvtropes article of your own trailer

[forgetful-river]

Darling, it's the end of the world! We've reached the end of our usefulness and now we're doomed, let's waltz into the grave together!

#fdjakfhdasjkfhkjlsah!!!!! #tumblr user gingerslapnotion had some Really Good thoughts on my post scratch damara & doc scratch post :3c #the handmaid & snowman play similar roles in the story but the handmaid is Mad As Fuck about it and snowman revels in it #but both of them are looking for the release of death #snowman so she can fuck shit up and the handmaid so she can finally get out from under lord english #those are some good fucking parallels!!!!!!! #also mean old women hot!!!!!!!! both of them would stab me in the eye with no hesitation & I would thank them!!!!!! #what the fuck would their ship name be???? #the handmaid x snowman #I fucking guess. handman or snowmaid don't make much sense. #the handmaid #snowman #damara megido #hs #homestuck #my art #also the way the handmaid's dress flairs makes an upside down aries symbol!! i thought it was a cute touch >:3c

[szappan]

university.. university leave me alone

#heres the situation: for my cognitive literary studies class (quite fun) we had to pick primary material and a cognitive angle to analyse it #from. and the deadline was coming up and i who have been thinking very intensely about robots for the last half a year picked #yeah you guessed it. fucking PIERS PLOWMAN. which is not fun for me but i panicked about the deadline #so now i have to do something about piers plowman and its cognitive literary properties #and im in hell this is hell i have been extremely stressed about piers plowman for a month. to the point where ive been in physical pain #AND I CANNOT. THINK OF ANYTHING. ABOUT PIERS PLOWMAN. #and the teacher for that class is so nice and chill and she was like you can pick anything at all. and i went with piers plowman #like it's interesting but from what COGNITIVE angle can i approach piers plowman. #ive been thinking about saying exactly this that piers plowman is more for historical linguists and theologists than narratologists but im #also positive plenty of scholars read piers plowman for the plot #so then i thought about the characters and whether you can Connect with them and whether they help you Immerse yourself in the story and #other terminology i learned in cognitive literary studies class. #theyre allegorical and very 1 dimensional and there could be something about whether we from 2024 understand them in the same way #people from the 14th century did. like this was what i put in my proposal when i made it #but now i actually have to make the slides and use cognitive literary papers for this and it's just not going at all. i cant do it. #i cant do anything i cant enjoy the daylight and the warmer weather i cant think about anything other than im not making progress on this #and it's bad for me!! it's bad for my health i feel bad. why did i go with piers plowman why did i not pick watership down #my post #i have plenty to say about watership downm cognitively. #also about old possums book of practical cats #maybe i could email her and tell her id like to change it.. no #ive also been reading the tombs of atuan which is incredible

[emmodii-mode]

Just finished my first playthrough of BG3. Romanced Lae'zel, but ending up turning into an Illithid because the idea of making Orpheus or Karlach do it didn't sit well with me (or my character).

I told Lae'zel to leave with Orpheus in the end (I heard she wouldn't stay with a ghaik anyway, which she's valid for, but also, it doesn't feel right to ask her to stay when I know how much her people mean to her). And like-

Her face before she flies off---

She looks so heartbroken and sad.

#emmodii rambles #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate series #lae'zel #spoilers #i don't regret my choices and i do love a good angsty story. but at the same time... OOF. #may you find a new source of joy in the astral realm my queen :'( #for anyone curious- i played a githyanki which i heard is the only race that can fly off with her or something? #but well. again- didn't quite fit my character to have someone else turn instead pfffft #ALSO HE'S A CLERIC OF ILMATER AND A REDEEMED DARK URGE. self-sacrifice is kiNDA TO BE EXPECTED HAHAHA. #anyway- do give romancing lae'zel a shot guys. she may be a hardass at first but it's really because she cares a lot #also slightly off-topic but as a dark urge gith... durge grew up in a city so like. wonder how out of place they woulda felt with the #other githyankis anyway. i think i read somewhere that a gith durge realises they don't really feel connected to creches and stuff #which is interesting and makes me curious about how exactly they were made. cuz they have the traits and knowledge of the race but didn't #grow up with them. i guess the easiest answer would be 'god magic shenanigans' but STILL. #trust me to overthink things hahaha XD #if anyone's curious what happened to my guy in the end--- we followed wyll and karlach to avernus hahaha #what are the devils gonna do? steal the soul we don't have?? TRY IT BITCH #of course i did reload multiple times to have my character kill himself. because that was another option that felt possible for his charact #...and also because i wanted to see how companions would react to it. krewfjewlkrjewklrjewl- although the narration for durge suicide #is also quite interesting! of course maybe that's just me being mentally ill eff (/lh) but having a kill that isn't going to murder daddy? #gives a redeemed durge some control and a final say at last. which is still sad but a nice way to tie up their death methinks #ANYWAY- time to go find a way to convert him into a full-on OC. elves and dwarves are one thing but giths are blatantly dnd so i'mma have #to figure that out for my own story lore and universe--- some kinda new species? humanify him? or convert to another existing general speci #hmm hmm hmmmmmmmmmm-

[rongzhi]

What are some censorship rules that you feel you could most comfortably poke fun at without feeling like you could get in some kind of trouble or ending up on some watchlist for doing?

I guess the FOSTA/SESTA censorship law is a pretty miserable piece of legislation that has had a net negative impact on society since day 1. If I could find something funny about it, I'd definitely go for that one.

Although, you can make fun of it directly without being put on some watchlist, though keep in mind this is the law that laid groundwork for online surveillance/suppression of sex workers, and is basically the blueprint for some anti-abortion legislation proposals that would make it illegal to discuss obtaining abortions online. so if some people have their way, someday you COULD get put on a list for giving tips and info online to those seeking abortions. but i digress.

#yes i know anon was prob asking about china but i don't have an answer to that as i'm not at risk of ending up on any chinese watchlists #and i don't have a direct line to the NRTA to find out what gets you on any watchlists anyway，surprise surprise #You probably wouldn't get put on a list anyway #you'd probably just get perma banned from whatever platform you were posting on if you kept breaking their rules about what you can mention #the most basic of censorship rules for most sites i don't think anyone would have a problem with anyway bc most ppl in china agree w them #[these rules usually include no nazi flags or imperial japanese (rising sun) flag depictions， adhering to 1 china policy in discussions #not spreading superstition #or promoting belief in the superstitious] #I see netizens openly complain about topics being suppressed from search trends all the time it's probably (i'm guessing) not as sensitive #as you think #like you'd have to really be causing a scene to get taken note of #anyway sometimes i get what are essentially like. idk. essay prompts. in my inbox #and i just need you all to know i'm dumb as bricks and i don't keep up with international politics in any significant way #answered ask #text #...I guess to actually answer the question I think you could probably make fun of censorship of ghosts and witches a lot #the film censor bureau really shoots itself in the foot with the censorship laws. the chinese film horror genre is a fucking joke #and i see chinese netizens complaining that the domestic movie censorship has gone too far all the time #It's really a shame bc it's stifling some great story telling and everyone knows it

[presiding]

What is your favourite thing about Billie Lurk?

(Answers are obvious possibly but i love when people talk about her👍)

thanks for the ask!! YEAH ME TOO I love when people talk about Billie! I can't say I have a favourite thing specifically, but I can explain why she's my fav. apologies for not taking this qn literally, but -

short answer: she’s really cool

& you can stop reading there, or, for the maybe 2 mutuals who might have time to read this my thoughts on her as a character, her meta, and her character as raw potential...

long answer:

i considered making this entire thing a gush so you could read a gush about Billie. but, part of what draws me to her is that she’s not always well written, and in fandom she’s underrated for a literal protagonist.

since you ask...

billie is a cool character

when I played Dh2 (hadn't played Dh1), I was excited to see a black woman with disabilities who was captaining a massive ship by herself. wow.

then I discovered Billie’s backstory with Deirdre, the way she responded to that, then having to survive while living on the run, and her bisexuality. as well as her history with daud & delilah. fascinating!

she’s an outsider who has so much to lose, and knows what it's like to lose everything - having lost everything not once but three times - but nevertheless speaks truth to power. she's so brave! she went and helped Emily & Corvo and she must have known they might kill her! plus, she’s smart, she’s funny, she gets shit done, she’s gorgeous.

but... the meta

mild critique of fandom & arkane incoming.

skip this bit if you want - you've been warned twice now - jump to tired Hayao Miyazaki and read from there if you'd like my thoughts on writing her.

i thought Death of the Outsider was going to be amazing and then... well. *sad trombone* i've written about that before so i won't keep banging on. i figured others must be disappointed too, so I joined a few fandom spaces in hopes of finding camaraderie.

most people with complaints about DotO didn’t like how the Outsider and Daud were handled. which is valid & I agree. but it seemed like most paid no attention to Billie; when people talk about her it’s with respect to Daud, as opposed to in her own right. you could argue for fandom misogyny because people don’t talk about adult Emily Kaldwin that much either, but in Billie's case, it’s misogynoir (compare & contrast with the popularity of thomas, particularly the popularity of thomas portrayed as a white man for no particular reason that i've been able to discern - i keep asking around, is it in the books???).

i think this is a LOT better now than it used to be, which is fantastic. or perhaps i have found the correct echo-chamber? ha.

ultimately, The Fandom is a fraction of the entire picture, and not even the important bit since The Fandom is not who these games are made for. you can't make money relying on only your hardcore fans even if all of them spent a fortune on merch, this is true for any AAA game.

while it's true that Billie is underrated from a fandom perspective - but Billie as an underwritten protagonist is squarely Arkane’s fault.

it was reasonable when she was a side character - the lack of info in Dh2 makes perfect sense (if anything there was more lore in Dh2 which is kind of wild)-

- but as a protagonist in Death of the Outsider?

.... there’s lousy writing, and there’s whatever is going on with Billie Lurk, a black woman who mostly exists as a foil or saviour for light-skinned characters. In her own game there’s barely any of her own lore except where it's relevant to saving two dudes.

lore hints at, but barely touches on what race means in the Dh universe (xenophobia is stronger in Dh1; separate essay i guess), but Arkane has patted themselves on the back for portraying non-white characters, which feels like the same thing as the aesthetic of diversity we're seeing in advertising currently because it’s in marketing trend guides. it's self-congratulatory and it's a missed opportunity for deeper storytelling.

you can see an example of diversity at its most shallow in the way that Billie’s written: there’s little engagement with her as an entire person with history & wants & preferences, and the world she walks through in that game feels like it has nothing to do with her. you could make a case for alienation as a theme, but then, how do you handle the titular premise of 'Dishonored' without ever letting Billie make changes in an environment without a chaos system? it's disappointing from that angle too.

in my opinion, whatever it's worth, it was an accident Arkane created such an awesome character - they needed someone to betray daud. congrats billie.

all this said, it makes her an underdog as far as characters to enjoy & create art & stories for. it's nice to find so many like-minded, switched on people! <3

billie's character potential

she’s got a wealth of unexplored lore, being deeply intertwined with both Karnaca & Dunwall’s fates & criminal underbellies, as well as her connections to the witches & whalers, and three Empresses.

she’s lived a few distinct lifetimes and in the games we get to meet her at two peaks (KoD & DotO) & a low (Dh2 as Meagan).

her voice is very distinct, her dry & often dark humour is entertaining & fun to write. her perspective is really interesting - she’s had the widest variety of void-powers of anyone canonically, and she’s also lived through the highest highs and lowest lows.

she's got everything going for her :) i couldn't really pick a fav thing!

#i assume my followers are cool enough to let me give a brief measured critique on fandom trends and DotO #thanks for the anon question!! what fun! #i love billie lurk <333 #jumped on the opportunity to rant n rave #what part of billie isn't my fav! (im a guy who likes the bad stuff too. mmm interesting meta) #trying to be not unfair or mean- i'm not targeting anyone but rather trends. and it's ok to be disappointed with something you love #fuck it. make it part of the appeal! her writing sucks! plenty of room for me & other creators! #its easier for me to indulge my billie brainworms when it sorta feels like she's not getting as much love as she deserves #you know? i want stories where her history is explored and her agency is important so i guess i'll roll up my sleeves #tumblr is a terrible place for this sort of critique IMO- lots of nuanceless empathy-free guilt-trip-ish rhetoric #so i hope i avoided that. but not so much that i seem forgiving. #that said i'm not tagging this one with fandom tags! no thank you. #i am blaming arkane yes. but that is also not without games industry context #i could complain about amateurish writing but that also never happens in a vacuum. industry problem(s) for sure. #people love to blame writers for things #and yeah a couple really fucking good writers can push a boulder uphill #but its usually a company problem #hire lots of diverse people in your company. give them authority and respect and reasonable workloads. and no crunch. #ah fuck this is a separate essay in tags. again #THIS WAS A SIMPLE QUESTION #*clutches head in hands* #uh if you're still reading at this point im SO sorry and thank you and i love you

[fluffs-n-stuffs]

Pokémon Horizons Episode 24 spoilers under the cut!

HEY AMETHIO BESTIE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN . WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

#fluff binges !!! #GUESS WHO'S OFFICIALLY CAUGHT UP WITH HORIZONS AND GOT TO WATCH THE LATEST EP FROM YESTERDAY !!! 💥💥💥💥💥 #I have a bunch of posts to make about the previous eps because I enjoyed them a lot but first oh my g o d #adding an extra tag here before spoiler talk --------------------------> #I was still reeling from finding out that Hamber was Diana's old friend I like genuinely jumped from seeing that #butler jumpscare /lh #Hamber's essentially Gibeon's righthand at this rate and considering how Onyx and Sango were even scared of him that spells out bad news #NO BUT WHAT WAS UP WITH TERAPAGOS BEEFING WITH AMETHIO AT THE END I'M.................................................. #AMETHIO HAVING AN EVEN BIGGER ROLE IN THIS STORY ASIDE FROM HIS OWN PERSONAL VENDETTA?????????????????AMEN AMEN AMEN #it's so funny for the past few episodes I was thinking to myself “man I miss Amethio I miss my edgy son where is he :(” #AND HE NOT ONLY CAME BACK BUT POSSIBLY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PAST CONSIDERING TERAPAGOS' REACTION................... #my current theory is like - maybe Amethio's a descendant of someone who knew Lucius? #and maybe they're the reason why he's been missing all this time? because that was anger Hatenna was sensing I feel #and terapagos was acting so aggressively thinking that Amethio was that same person from before /insane /insane /insane #I thought that Liko could possibly be a descendant of Lucius as well but it seems like Diana only knew him through his journals- #-not by relations like I initially thought #OOOUGHGGHGNNGG I NEED MOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE #next friday come soon huhu #pokemon horizons #anipoke #pokeani #amethio #amethio pokemon