#it is not helped by the reveal of who she actually is. it makes it worse

[foodfightnovelization]

ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight

Holy chips! It's an exciting time to be a Foodfight! fan, because ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight is finally out! This really is THE definitive documentary on the insanity behind the movie, and it finally answers the question of just what was going on behind the scenes during production. Since I helped out with research (and I even get a short line of dialogue at 45:19) I've already seen everything that was shown off, but had to keep quiet until all the interviews were conducted and the documentary was finished. But now it's out and everything has been made public, the cat's out of the bag (the Fat Cat Burglar?) and I can talk about all the production material that's been shared.

Before I get into any of that though, I'd highly recommend you watch the documentary for yourself. It's insanely well researched and put together, and having worked together with Ziggy Cashmere (the documentary's creator) I know how hard he dedicated himself towards making this all possible. If it weren't for him, the most interesting Foodfight! discovery would've been finding the novelization, and we would have never gotten any real insight into how this movie came to be. It's also a documentary that really speaks for itself- I don't want to say too much about what it reveals since it's all expressed far better through its narrative and the interviews with people who actually worked on the project. My favorite is the interview with texture artist Mona Weiss- she tells such horrifying stories about how she was treated by Larry and other crewmembers, yet does it all with a sense of humor that makes it clear she's enjoying getting to talk about her crazy experiences. It's clear Foodfight! was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish, and there's nobody to blame for that but Larry Kasanoff himself. The movie was rotten from the top down and despite the countless talented animators and artists working on it, nothing could fix the fact that it was fundamentally mismanaged in the worst way possible. I think the quote from producer George Johnsen summarizes it best: "Foodfight! was a good idea that unfortunately lost its way during production. The technology, the art, and the direction were not in sync. Many very talented people gave their all to make the picture, but more understanding of process from the top was needed for it to succeed."

But if you saw the documentary, you already know all that, right? So instead, let's talk about the behind-the-scenes material that's finally been shared! You can find everything I'll talking about HERE on archive.org-

It's worth following the link and checking it out for yourself- there's so much it'd impossible to discuss everything. Artwork, storyboards, bloopers, models, a nude render of Lady X, an interview with Larry Kasanoff, the list goes on and it's still being updated! Despite the documentary already being out, people who worked on the movie are continuing to share new material! It's pretty incredible- for the past year I've ran this blog all I've really had to discuss are two tie-in books, and now there's so much Foodfight! material I can't even keep up with it.

I mean LOOK at all this, isn't it fantastic? The character art by Jim George showing off just how much better these designs originally were, the countless environments showing off just how stunning Marketropolis could've looked as well as the strength of the core idea "what if a supermarket came to life at night", and insanely detailed storyboards for a 7-minute pitch reel that was used to sell the movie to investors. Normally, I'd be ALL OVER this because it's all just incredible, but there's something far, FAR more fascinating than any of it.

There are even multiple drafts of the script (one from 2005 and one from 2007 respectively) and normally I'd be insanely fascinated by those too, making extremely detailed posts explaining the differences between the drafts and how they compare to the novelization, but there's something else that was found that blows ALL of this out of the water and is easily one of the most monumental lost media discoveries of ALL TIME.

That's right, a rough cut of the ENTIRE movie from 2005 has been found, containing nearly ALL the completed animation from earlier on in production. I mean, that's mindblowing right? We first got sent this around a month ago, a little while before the documentary came out, and I literally stopped everything I was doing at work to just sit and watch this. This is the closest we're ever going to get to the "original" version of Foodfight! after all- only 7 minutes of footage was ever actually made before they switched to mocap, made solely for the aforementioned pitch reel, and this workprint contains practically all of it! On top of that there are some great storyboards in here, as well as some truly hilarious ones cobbled together from 3D renders, and the plot is far better than what we ended up with, a lot of the more inappropriate jokes being absent. This rough cut is actually pretty similar to the novelization in that regard, and it also contains scenes that we'd previously only read about in there.

For example, in the novelization there's a snowmobile chase through the mountains, with Brand X soldiers on snowmobiles and a heavy avalanche close behind. This scene was completely left out of the movie itself, but in this workprint it's here! ALL the previously novelization-exclusive scenes are included, and this rough cut is seemingly based on an even earlier draft of the script than that- here Brand X are still defeated by a flood, whereas by the time of the novelization it'd been changed to a lightning storm. There are SO many exciting differences in this workprint, the snippets of original animation we get to see are SO good, and it's SO much better than the movie itself that I think it by far deserves the crown as the DEFINITIVE version of Foodfight! There's so much in it I want to discuss, that there's no way I can fit it all into this one post...so stay tuned, because in the next few days I'll be doing a FULL analysis of the 2005 workprint, pointing out all the extra brand mascots not in the finished film, and generally just gushing about how amazing it is.

I mean, this is it. Just take it all in for a second- the original footage was considered lost media for over a decade, and now it's practically been found in its entirety, embedded in an early cut of the whole movie...isn't that just phenomenal? All the mysteries have been unraveled, all the questions have been answered, and now we can relax, take a deep breath, and watch Foodfight!...the REAL Foodfight! Make sure to enjoy it, and join me next time for my analysis!

#Youtube #foodfight #dex dogtective #lady x #daredevil dan #polar penguin #rotten behind the foodfight

[bethelighthalazia]

Coachelly, Baby!

Summary:  Mingi gets the call of his beloved girlfriend going into labor. While he's performing at coachella on the big sahara stage between two songs. Will he make it to the hospital in time?

Genre: fluff

Pairing: dad!mingi x fem!reader

Word Count:  1566

Warnings: none? mentions of pregnant reader (water breaks and labor mentioned)

networks: @newworldnet 

[note: the purple bold italic text is spoken english, every other spoken word is korean]

© by bethelighthalazia. Do not repost, copy or translate. Unless stated otherwise, those works are mine and born from my own ideas. I don't have any claim on the mentioned real existing Idols whatsoever.

Mingi and you had not planned any of this. Of course, both of you were completely in love with each other, and Mingi already had gotten a ring to propose to you, but then, all of a sudden, life happened. It wasn't supposed to be a big thing, neither of you would have thought that this little quickie you two had backstage on their tour, yet a month after that, you had been staring at the positive pregnancy test. Mingi had accompanied you to the doctors and they also confirmed: You´re pregnant. 

Now, almost ten months later, you were sitting in the hotel room in LA. Your best friend, one of ATEEZ´s staff members, is lounging on the sofa. She actually had been on vacation, but didn´t want to leave you alone while the boys were performing on the Sahara stage. so, that's how the both of you ended up in the hotel room, when you felt it. A sharp pain caused you to curl forwards a little, Seonghwa´s Switch dropping from your hands. You knew this pain, fake contractions were normal in the last weeks already, but this time, it felt different. 

“Fuck…I need Mings-” You groan, feeling the wetness of the sofa and your sweatpants. Your water broke. Your friend quickly grabbed the bag that you had prepared and helped you up to lead you down into the foyer of the hotel, where one of Mingi´s bodyguards already waited to bring you to the hospital. You vehemently refused to call an ambulance, yet your legs gave up on the way to the car and the bodyguard quickly caught you, carrying you the last few steps. “Mingi- I need my Mingi!” You repeated, tears in your eyes while you tried to be strong and hold back. The ride to the hospital was quick, only a few blocks down the street from the hotel you stayed in. Unfortunately, since neither your best friend, nor the bodyguard were family, they weren't allowed to accompany you inside. Although, when you basically screamed at the nurses, they did let your best friend come with you. 

A few miles away, Mingi and the others just finished the second to last song and Hongjoong was talking to ATINY and the crowd again. That's when Mingi´s eyes went wide, because through the earpiece, he heard staff tell the group what happened. For a moment, they all were frozen in place, seven pairs of eyes directed at Mingi, who just stood there, mouth agape. “Aish! She really couldn't have waited?!” Wooyoung joked, trying to lessen the tension a little, but in that moment ATINY cheered loudly. Mingi had not kept the news of your pregnancy a secret, he was very open about it, but never revealed your name or picture, to keep you safe, of course. Before any of them could really do anything, the music for the last song started and they all performed Wonderland. Even though their thoughts were with you, Ateez performed fierce and powerful once again and, before the last note actually finished, Mingi ran off the stage. He didn't even stop to get changed, only grabbing Hongjoong´s arm, dragging him to the car to make them drive him to the hospital where you were having his babies.

During the drive, Mingi was basically vibrating on the seat, still feeling the high from the performance mixed with the excitement and anxiety of the infamous ‘dad-panic’. “Hey!” Hongjoong yelled after the fourth attempt to get the younger one´s attention, causing him to look quite startled. “Calm down, she's in the best hands. We´re almost there, Mingi-ah. Take a deep breath, okay? You can't rush in there and cause Y/nie to get even more stressed than she already is, okay?” The captain said calmly and gave his younger member a worried glance every now and then while also focusing on the road. “What if i´m too late? She´ll be upset with me…I promised to be there for her during birth.” Mingi mumbled under his breath, his fingers drumming the dashboard of the car. When Hongjoong parked the car, Mingi already jumped out before the engine was turned off, drawing a chuckle from the captain. The older male also got out and quickly followed Mingi, which was easy, since he towered over most of the people there. 

“Song Y/n, where Song Y/n?” The blonde asked, almost climbing over the counter to take a look at the registry himself, because the nurse was just staring at Mingi. Who could blame her though, he was in the full coachella attire after all, mic monitor and all still attached to him. Stepping in to pull Mingi back, Hongjoong took over the talking, Mingi´s english too butchered by his excitement. “We´re looking for my friend´s girlfriend, Y/l/n /Y/n.” The captain said, after all, you weren't married yet, but the nurse looked a little confused. “Uhm, we only have Song Y/n here, her friend put in the information while Miss Song was rushed to the maternity unit. Just follow the hallway down there and wait there please.” The nurse explained, even gesturing for Hongjoong and Mingi to follow the signs and hallways. The short male didn't have much time to thank the nurse, already being dragged after Mingi, who had spotted your best friend waiting for you. When the two men joined your best friend, Mingi was not able to sit down though, your bestie quickly helped Mingi to take off his earpieces and the microphone monitor when the doors swung open.

“Who's the father?” Another nurse asked, looking at Hongjoong, who nudged Mingi forward a bit, and Mingi was led to you. When he stepped in though, he froze in the doorway, looking at you with his usual boba-eyed pout. “I- I missed it?” He asked, the adorable expression on his face completely opposite to his rockstar outfit. You just smiled at him, your hair sticking to the sweaty skin and you looked exhausted, but to him, you always would be the most beautiful being in the world. That is, until his gaze shifted when he noticed movement on your chest. Very slowly, Mingi stepped closer, leaning in to kiss your lips before looking at the small bundles in your arms. Hold on, bundles? There was more than one moving bundle, but that would mean-

“M- more than one?” His voice was quiet, slightly hoarse as he tried to stay calm. You just nodded, watching him very carefully take one of the bundles out of your arms as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “A boy and a girl.” You whispered, seeing the smile on his lips grow wide, unable to hold back his tears as he held his newborn daughter in his arms, her whole body almost fitting into his hands only. “Welcome to the world, ChanHee and Yujin…” With a choked chuckle, Mingi kissed the baby's forehead gently, your son instinctively grabbing your finger as you carefully poked his nose. After a while, the door to your room opened again and the other seven members came in, Hongjoong and Seonghwa had talked to them beforehand to not be too loud and to behave, or else they´d be in trouble. 

The moment they laid eyes on the babies, Seonghwa and San couldn't stop themselves, tears running down their faces already. “You know…I do hope they'll grow to look more like you, Y/nie, and not like Mingi-'' Wooyoung said in a teasing manner, but is soon shut up by Jongho, who drags his hyung out of the room again. The captain congratulated you and Mingi, he even snuck in a bag with your favorite treats, and then shushed and hurried the others out again as well, so you and Mingi could enjoy parenthood for now. 

“I´m sorry, jagi…I really came as fast as I could, but-” “Mingi, please. You are here now, and that's what counts.” You cut him off, smiling gently at him, the babies by now laying in their cribs next to the bed. Mingi had taken off the jacket he wore and replaced it with a plain black shirt, so he couldn't possibly hurt you or the babies with the zipper and buttons of his jacket. You had made him lay down on the bed and cuddle with you, needing his warmth and comfort now, while he had asked you about almost every detail of the birth. It wasn't really the most casual talk, yet you did try to tell him everything, even though it mostly felt like a blur for yourself. It didn't take long for your head to drop against his chest while talking, the exhaustion finally taking over your body as you fell asleep. Mingi however felt wide awake, holding you tightly and peppering you with kisses. He felt so grateful that you walked into his life and now even blessed him with the two most beautiful babies. With a smile on his face, he carefully climbed out of the bed when Yujin started to make sounds. He very gently lifted her out of the crib and rocked her in his arms, humming the melody of Wonderland, the first melody that came to mind, to make her fall asleep again, a content smile on his face when he looked at his son and then you, his wonderful little family. 

taglist: @mingis-mizu, @tinyelfperson, @hotteokkay, @minkilicious, @bunnliix,

@gong-fourz, @yeosangiess, @dinossaurz, @scuzmunkie, @h3arteyes4mingi

(if you want to be added to a taglist, follow the taglist-link in my pinned post)

#kat writes <3 #newworldnet #ateez #ateez fanfiction #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez scenarios #ateez mingi #ateez fluff #ateez imagines

[cat-napsss]

I think we might all be wrong about Jax (Chekhov’s Bowling Ball Theory)

I posted this on tiktok but I feel like I should post it here too. so I literally stumbled my way into this realization while having a bunch of unrelated thoughts about TADC, and it felt like a moment in those murder mystery movies where the detective is standing by the board and suddenly flashes back to that *one* clue that didn’t make any sense and suddenly it ALL makes sense.

lemme ask you something, did you notice in episode two that no one died or had any sort of concern of death? Ragatha gets stabbed through and gets a knife in the head, while Kinger takes like eight of them. then they drive off into a ravine, and Gangle (one of the more anxious characters) has absolutely no reaction to their possible demise. As for Jax, he stands on the truck as it falls much like a Looney Tune (keep that in mind). With this evidence I fully expect an episode in the future to reveal to Pomni that they can’t die (via her own death and respawn or another character’s, who she panics over before finding out they come back) with this reveal we would establish that the players won’t die while playing these levels, no matter the damage done to their bodies. Now I have two questions.

Why was Ragatha so afraid of the Abstracted Kaufmo if they would all just respawn? And HOW exactly does someone Abstract?

all we know for certain about Abstraction is that it’s the terrible thing that happens when you “reach your breaking point” your breaking point is vague, but what if it’s how exactly it sounds? What if unlike in the games and levels, the circus is a place where you don’t respawn (because as a “safe-place” in the game, that programming was never put there to begin with) so when your character for whatever reason dies (like if you were to “reach your breaking point” and end your life) your file corrupts and creates an Abstraction?

when they found Kaufmo they were surprised, and Zooble comments that they didn’t expect him to have “given up”. Implying that Abstraction to some degree is a choice. Like the only way to do it is to do purposeful harm to yourself while in the circus.

now, to finally get to my point.

who was the one to volunteer themself and others to go check on Kaufmo? Leading three of the five available people to find him, instead of sending more man-power to help Zooble, who arguably needed them a lot more?

it was Jax. Jax volunteered himself Ragatha and Pomni. He then proceeded to reveal he had a key to Kaufmo’s room, and successfully avoided explaining why. Then they opened Kaufmo’s door and found him Abstracted.

why did he (uncharacteristically) volunteer himself and the anxious new girl to check on him?

Well, what does Jax see on the floor and pick up? A bowling ball. HIS bowling ball.

why was his bowling ball in Kaufmo’s room? Why was that something that was added? What purpose did it serve?

and why did Kaufmo run after them? Why did he abandon Ragatha after she was down? Why did he abandon the search for Pomni after that too?

why did Jax dive into the gloink cave?

why did Jax make that expression at the end of episode two when Ragatha invites Pomni to Kaufmo’s funeral, before leaving completely with no sign of him anywhere at all during the actual funeral?

and lastly, lemme ask you how you think someone who behaves much like a Looney Tune, might kill someone indirectly to get away with it?

I think it will be revealed that Jax killed Kaufmo with a Looney Tunes’ style trap, one using that bowling ball.

Because why the hell else was it there.

#the amazing digital circus #tadc #tadc jax #tadc pomni #tadc ragatha #tadc theory #tadc jax theory #Idk ignore me #or don’t #be kinda nuts if I was right tho

[elementroar]

A.B.A is an experimental clone of the real Dr. Paracelsus (fan-theory)

(I made the distinction in the title but to be clear - I mean Paracelsus her creator, not Paracelsus we all know and love but the one A.B.A renamed him after. To differentiate, I'm referring to them as Dr. Paracelsus)

So, this might not be common knowledge watching Guilty Gear from the outside, but there's actually two Asukas currently 'active' in STRIVE - the original Asuka R. Kreutz and his clone Asuka R♯. In fact, it's the clone that's the main playable character, and the arcade mode is from the clone's perspective as he is his own character separate from the real Asuka.

Asuka R# was created based on Asuka admiring the construction of the Valentine sisters, and the "Frasco specimen" and creating his own clone based on that research. The 'Frasco specimen' is currently assumed to be referring to A.B.A (and was potentially a teaser for A.B.A's eventual inclusion into the game at that point in time).

Asuka (R#): No? Well, I beg to differ. Otherwise… I might never learn why you created me. Asuka: …Um, well… About that. The Valentine sisters, formed by the Universal Will, were perfect beings. I hadn’t seen such immaculate synthetic life since the Frasco specimen. Asuka (R#): So you wanted to try it for yourself. At least you're honest... if ethically bankrupt. Asuka: Let me guess... Do you resent me? Asuka (R#): No need to worry about that. Unless you resent yourself. Now, why don’t we kill a little more time?

What if I tell you there aren't just multiple examples of artificial lifeforms like A.B.A that are all clones of someone, but even in the current official Guilty Gear World entry for 'Homunculus', it's explicitly mentioned there are multiple homunculi in the world and that A.B.A could have 'siblings'?

All the Valentine sisters are clones of the original Aria Hale. So everyone here is technically, on some level, genetically the same person:

And R# is also a near identical clone of Asuka, down to possessing the same memories and experiences but programmed by Asuka to be more socially active than he really is, and also to lack a moral compass (which doesn't seem like a good idea but ok).

So if A.B.A is a similar experiment to the two examples we know, then it follows she is likely an experiment into synthetic clones as well.

And then there's the official entry under "Homunculus" in the offiical Guilty Gear World database (link goes to the online wiki copy of the entry).

That's right, there's confirmation there's multiple homunculi out there, with it explicitly hinted that A.B.A is simply the only one to appear in the games "so far". And either they are going to be unique homunculi, or possibly 'clones' of/like A.B.A that vary like the Valentine sisters do.

And this may be a superficial design coincidence, but original Asuka's eyes are golden while his clone R#'s eyes are green, and quite a similar if not the exact same shade as A.B.A's

But note that the original Aria's eye color was green, and her four clones all have very different eye colors (Elphelt's seems close but hers is actually light blue). It prolly does mean that even when making a near-identical clone like Asuka did with R#, the clone's eye color being different is one of the main differences that appear.

And this leads back to my previous theory that Dr. Paracelsus could be revealed to actually be a woman, and that A.B.A is her genetic clone. As the name 'Paracelsus' is actually a made-up name that's a portmanteau of the words 'para' (meaning 'beyond') and the name 'Celsus' and just meant 'beyond Celsus' and was the historical alchemist's way of dissing another alchemist called Celsus. So there's no inherent gender related to the name 'Paracelsus', and can be a nickname for a woman alchemist/scientist.

This would also help explain all the perfectly sized shorts that A.B.A found around Frasco in the first place to wear. They could belong to her 'mother' who would be exactly the same size as her.

I'm rooting for a future introduction of an older woman scientist that gets to be revealed as A.B.A's creator, because I think the visual would be so cool. Cos her 'mother' would be her but aged normally. And can you imagine if Dr. Paracelsus treats Paracelsus as her son-in-law!?

#a.b.a guilty gear #aba guilty gear #paracelsus guilty gear #asuka r kreutz #jack o valentine #guilty gear strive #ggst #my post

[kochi999]

I always draw only Arcade porn, but today I really thought about "why I like Arcade" and drew it seriously.

Below is the monstrosity I drew on pixiv. I haven't scrutinized the document after the English translation, so it's probably weird.

　My shit-decker feelings (mainly inferiority complex) for Dr. Arcade have finally calmed down after about 10 months of falling for him, so here's one thing I'd like to summarize (give birth to) why I can't help but have such a fussy heart for this guy. I guess the screen turns red when I put my feelings into it. I know it's not popular to capture long sentences nowadays, but it's the last time I'm drawing, so forgive me, I don't have anywhere else to put it.

　I've tried to put all the elements of why I like this guy so much into this one picture, but the part that people who don't know me won't get from the picture and the part that made me fall for that point in the first place is that this guy is officially gay. The other deciding factor that drove me crazy was the fact that there is an ending where he commits suicide by circumcision for the sake of his own pride.

　This guy, who had been running away from the secret of his origins, who was worried and lost, who couldn't tell anyone about the secret of his life, who couldn't make up his mind in that ephemeral world, who had been moping and sulking until he was 35 years old, makes a decision based on the words of a random courier (the main character) and chooses to live while helping others with his special skills, He can either choose to live for his father's redemption, or he can choose neither and be enslaved until he commits suicide. How can you come up with such a setting? The game is so full of elements that mess with our emotions that I can't help but project myself onto the brain-destroyed (physical) courier and the brain-destroyed (metaphorical) me.

↓I can't help but project myself onto him. 　Why is Arcades set up as gay? It's just a setting that has nothing to do with the story. It is really a mystery. Why did they set him up that way? Is it because he doesn't know his father's face and is a fatherfucker? It's a wise decision. Thanks to you, a lot of nerdy women have been swamped. The fact that a man of such a serious character and nature was naturally homosex active drives me crazy again. There is also the mysterious statement that he had a few boyfriends in the past, but that doesn't play into the main story at all. Are you saying that I couldn't even confide my origins to my boyfriends? I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend who confided in a past man about his origins…and then they finally broke up because they couldn't share their life together, but he never revealed the secret of his origins to anyone…that would be fine. I'm a big fan.

　Please, give me an Arcadian ex-career selection setting. What kind of guy she was dating and at what age, and if possible, her favorite position, etc. No, that's too much to ask. I'll have dinner with that. I'm ready to eat. I'll cook a pot of rice for now. Give me that. Give me a piece of Arcadian life. I don't care if it's too late. Give it to me. Hey. If, at the height of the drama, there are now statements like, "Actually, Nate, the fourth master, was in that movie," then why not have a leak that says, "Actually, that was Arcade's ex-boyfriend," or "Actually, that man at Navarro base is Arcade's father. Give it to me. I'm sure you have some secret settings that you can't reveal to the public anyway. Give it to me. Give it to me in a fanzine. Please. I don't care if it's a fabrication by a fan, please give me a doujinshi of Arcades' ex-boyfriend…someone please draw me a doujinshi…I'll do anything…tumbler prohibits sexually explicit pictures, so if you can, please draw me a sexually explicit picture on pixiv. I don't care if it's a cartoon. I have two new friends on pixiv recently. Thank you I love you and I won't miss you.

#arcade gannon #fnv #fallout fanart #fallout nv #fallout new vegas

[nychthemeron-rants]

Butch Chilchuck AU Pt2

(Pt. 1)

As I mentioned in my previous post, the only real difference in this AU is that Chilchuck is a butch woman who uses he/him pronouns instead of a man.

No one in the main party knew he was a woman because he couldn’t be bothered to correct their assumptions about his gender when he’s busy trying to be treated as an adult.

He revealed that he was a woman after the bicorn when Marcille accuses him of keeping more secrets. “Its not a secret but I guess I should clarify that I'm a woman since I don't think any of you have caught on yet.” type thing. Cue everyone's shock, especially Marcille.

Since there's been at least one woman in the party who's been uncomfortable with Chilchuck bathing with other women (because they think he’s a man), and he's doesn't give enough of a shit to argue, he’s been bathing with the men instead (because again, he simply doesn’t give a shit)

Senshi thought he was trans (though I'm not sure he knows about trans people as like an actual identity, he just saw him bathing with the men and being treated as male and ran with it. Thats Chil's business after all.)

Laios just thought half-foots had internal “equipment” until it was needed. Wanted to ask about it but even he has the social grace to not question co-workers about that.

Shuro fully suspected Chilchuck was a woman but was too awkward to say anything

Namari knew almost immediately and has been the only one in the party to fully understand whats up with Chilchuck because she was respectful and understanding. (Plus they're drinking buddies)

Falin thought he was a man but also didn't really give a shit when he tried bathing with the other women. It was the marriage seeker who threw a fit before Marcille.

Post reveal, Marcille is just pissed he didn't say anything so she didn't have to go through this adventure up until Izutsumi joined the party feeling like the only woman.

Laios asks if he needs to change anything about how he treats him in the same vein as asking if he should call him Sir when he revealed his age

Senshi is just trying to process how wrong he was about literally all of his assumptions about Chil, as he is a middle aged woman and not a little boy. Feels embarrassed about his misunderstandings, no judgement towards Chil.

Marcille has questions post reveal. She gives me the vibe of a sheltered cis woman who has never questioned what makes her a woman, so when she’s presented with a woman who is more comfortable with mostly masculine presentation, uses “male” pronouns, and has even voluntarily removed his breasts as a woman, she is confused. She initially struggles to understand how a woman can be so against femininity and still be a woman. Chil, while reluctant to answer questions about his personal life, explains that he isn’t against femininity but simply feels more comfortable presenting more masculinely. And that he simply can’t be fucking asked to correct people when they guess wrong. He also ends up helping Marcille understand that gender isn’t expression and connect to her womanhood in a new way that isn’t necessarily linked to her femininity.

Laios does ask why he had facial/ body hair as a tall man and dwarf. Chil gets annoyed about him basically asking about his medical history but answers that he has PCOS and is also menopausal.

This causes Senshi to get annoyed that he didn’t mention this earlier as those conditions can lead to different nutritional needs (I.E. PCOS diet to manage symptoms or extra calcium and vitamins after menopause.)

Senshi and Laios start getting weird around Chil, no longer worrying about him being a kid, and are instead trying to be respectful of the fact he’s a woman (such as being less touchy, trying to give him privacy when changing as if they hadn’t bathed together before, etc.) Chil gets annoyed because while he appreciates the lack of touchiness and the added privacy, he’s pissed that they’re acting different after discovering he’s a woman and overthinking how they interact with him. They also start fucking up his pronouns because they’re ingrained in “women = she/her” mindset and feel like they need to “correct” themselves.

Izutsumi doesn't care and fails to see how Chilchuck being a woman instead of a man changes anything. Chil really really appreciates this.

Chil has to sit them down and explain that LITERALLY NOTHING has changed. They get better after this. (Senshi decides to go ahead with making sure he adjusts Chil’s meals to his needs.)

Post canon, Chil and his family goes to a dinner at the castle, and he shows up in a dress because A.) he wanted to match his wife and B.) kinda wanted to fuck with his friends. He succeeded as everyone was very taken aback by the sight of Chilchuck in a dress and “actually dressed as a woman for once” (a comment that annoys Chil because he is always dressed like a woman because he is always a woman who is dressed.)

#i can also see Chil and Marcille developing something of a beer aunt - neice relationship #Im debating if I want Chil to stay with his wife in this AU or if I want him to get with Senshi... #regardless they 100% still co-parent Izutsumi #the dynamics otherwise don't change long term because his personality is still identical #& everything in the canon up until the bicorn is the same #unless he refers to himself as a man #then just change that line to be more ambiguous #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #butch chilchuck AU #butch Chilchuck #dunmeshi au #dungeon meshi au #chilchuck tims #chilchuck dungeon meshi #chilchuck dunmeshi #marcille dunmeshi #laios dunmeshi #senshi dunmeshi #shuro dunmeshi #namari dunmeshi #falin dunmeshi #izutsumi dunmeshi #long post

[synergysilhouette]

Disney's revival era: an Alternate Timeline

A bit of a weird idea; I wanted to write an alternate universe where the Disney revival era made different choices with their films, and whether or not it paid off for them. I'm starting with "The Princess and the Frog" since I consider it the start of the era more than "Bolt."

The Princess and the Frog--In this timeline, Disney catches onto the "If we put 'princess' in the title, it'll reduce our box office" thing faster and changes the title to "Frogs." This outrageous the black community, who also criticizes Disney for making the two leads frogs for most of the film. This results in a story overhaul, with the story being renamed "Cursed," and Tiana no longer turns into a frog when kissing Naveen, but she does gain the ability to speak to animals. This version of the film doesn't reveal his identity until the end, with Naveen going by Lawrence and the human "Naveen" we see is actually Lawrence working with Dr. Facilier to scam Lottie as well as woo Tiana to give them back Naveen. Naveen himself cannot discuss the curse, and must promise to help Tiana when he becomes human again by kissing a princess. Naveen's treatment as a frog also draws parallels to the treatment of people of color at the time, since Naveen is depowered here.The film ends up making about $400 million and still getting Disney out of their creative slump. "Tiana" becomes a Disney+ series that helps to promote the platform when it first debuts. It also got a Broadway adaptation in 2013, with Anika Noni Rose reprising her role when it debuted.

Tangled--In this timeline, Glen Keane's seminar on the benefits of 2D and 3D tilts favor in 2D's way, and he persuades Disney executives David Stainton and Dick Cook to make it by making the art style fuller akin to the Roccocco paintings the film was inspired by (check out Lisa Keane's concept art for it). Kristen Chenoweth is kept on as Rapunzel, making some discourse on the internet later on when it was revealed Idina Menzel also auditioned for the role. The movie also finalizes Bastion instead of making Flynn Rider, due to concern that he'd be too similar to Naveen, and Beneditch Cumberbatch is cast as him (apparently he was supposed to be British, so I kinda jumped on this opportunity). "You are my Forever" and it's reprise are never cut here, and the movie also utilizes the darker original concept (no idea what it was; I heard about it and it sounds intriguing), with fans and critics likening it to "Mulan," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and "Pocahontas" for it's tone. The film makes about the same amount of money the original did, and makes Disney reconsider retiring 2D. The success inspires a Broadway production MUCH earlier, which makes many report that it's at home with Disney's renaissance adaptations on Broadway (with Mandy Moore making her stage debut as Rapunzel), and a TV series (with tighter writing) on Disney+ in 2019, which also helps bring in subscribers with "Tiana."

Winnie the Pooh--I wouldn't change much, other than the fact that it got promoted more and made about $200 or $300 million at the box office, prompting Disney to make "Goodbye Christopher Robin" a bit earlier.

Wreck It Ralph--Similar to "Tangled," WIR goes through the "2D or 3D" discussion, with 2D winning out in order to give it a retro vibe and appeal to a wider audience, taking inspiration from 90s video games and TV series. Critical response likens it to Pixar, and praises Disney for a particularly successful original film, making Disney open to more original stories in the future.

Frozen--Disney can hold back the 3D desire any longer, and believes that the winter atmosphere makes "Frozen" the ideal film to showcase it. They keep Elsa and Anna as sisters while still making Elsa the villain, though redeeming her at the end by using the mirror from the original fairy tale to explain her villainy. Hans isn't a twist villain (I liked it, but this wasn't necessary, imo), and Kristoff's design draws comparisons to Bastion, and the producers lean into the theory that they're long-lost brothers. The film still becomes the phenomenon it did IRL, and it POSSIBLY leads to Disney discussing a sequel much sooner.

Big Hero 6--The film has some significant changes: Fred and Wasabi are of partial Japanese heritage, (with the film attracting attention for having a predominately Asian cast, and Honey Lemon might have some Chinese ancestry mixed with her Latin roots; plus "My Hero Academia" debuting the same year in Japan helps boost both in popularity), head of story Paul Briggs and co-writer Robert L. Baird reading the entire run of the series, and inspiration is taken from X-Men and Teen Titans for the show, with Wasabi, Fred, and Gogo being superpowered individuals (Fred's draconic powers, Wasasbi's qi manipulation, Gogo's superspeed) while Hiro and Honey Lemon are human nerds. Yokai is also more present, with the plot twist of his identity being revealed earlier. It's also noted that Yokai took inspiration from Amon from season 1 of "The Legend of Korra," which has earned both praise and criticism for what some consider copycating. Baymax is Hiro's creation like in the comics, and Tadashi dies a little later in the film for more dramatic effect (the longer you know someone, the more it hurts). It's production goes smoothly, and it's moved up to a Spring release to better coincide with "Frozen" and it's success with it's message of sisterly love. The directors also advocate for it to be 2D, but Disney making $1 billion with "Frozen" makes them hesitant to do so, so they reach a compromise, making the film a hybrid style (somehow developing the tech earlier). This art style, combined with the superhero craze and positive reviews, pushes the film to make $1 billion, or something close to it.

Zootopia--The decision to make the film about a dystopian future where predators are oppressed ends up being the final cut. The film ends up being a bigger sleeper hit than the OG version, since it received controversy in certain countries for the USA making what was perceived to be a propaganda film about human rights and a jab at those specific nations. Of course, the controversy only heightens interest in the film, though Disney tries to smooth this over by clarifying that it wasn't meant to be a propaganda film, though some criticize them for not speaking up for oppressed people in said countries.

Moana--This version makes a few changes: "Moana" takes place in a specific land, (though I personally haven't decided it it's Samoa or Tahiti), Moana is a grown adult by this point and has a couple brothers, but not as many as in the concept art, and Maui isn't portrayed as obese and is more athletic, with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Mamoa's figures being a primary inspiration. Moana also practices wayfinding and navigating the seas under Tala's supervision before she goes to find Maui. Moana also isn't as headstrong about seafaring; she still wants to do it, but her mother tells her the story of her father much earlier in order to quell her, and her own accident makes her more hesitant. Maui also isn't a catalyst for all the bad events of the film; Te Fiti's heart is instead taken by selfish seafarers, with the overall message of the film mirroring a love for nature and others. There is also a bit of flirting between Moana and Maui, but the crew wants Moana to focus on her self-finding journey (plus Auli'i is still 14 while Dwayne is 44, so they wanted to avoid controversy), so nothing is concrete. Originally it had the "2D or 3D" crisis, but reached a reverse-"Tangled" situation, now being made as predominantly 3D with 2D watercolor elements. Dinah Jane (who auditioned for Moana IRL) sings the commercial version of "How Far I'll Go" instead of Alessia Cara. It meets the same financial success, with some saying that Moana took all the positive qualities of Ariel and Pocahontas without being held back by her predecessors' flaws. The film also gets a Broadway adaptation, being seen as a standout for it's diversity on the stage, as well as postponing news of a remake and resulting in the sequel being greenlit earlier rather than a show being considered in the interim.

Ralph Breaks the Internet--No major notes, but the references do heighten the Disney princess films and ignite conversations about whether or not critics have treated them unfairly. The film was also argued to be hybrid or 3D animation, but the concern of disconnect made them keep it 2D. It makes about the same in box office.

Frozen II--POSSIBLY released earlier if Disney didn't wait 3 years to greenlight a sequel (I'd put it at 2017 if they decided IMMEDIATELY to make a sequel), but Disney didn't make the mistake of using super young kids for test audiences, and production is MUCH smoother. As such, the more serious aspects of the film are kept, and Hans joins the gang here. The Northuldra are more characters than plot devices, and are diverse in terms of phenotype and genotypes; originally Disney had them mirror Indigenous Americans, but in my version, their Sami influence made some members of the tribe also have European features. Queen Iduna comes from these European members (I feel like that's easier to believe than her coming from the members who appear more Native American), and Elsa doesn't stop living in Arendelle; Anna still becomes queen, but Elsa travels. Agnar and Iduna get their flashbacks to show their relationship, as well as reducing Agnar's criticism as a terrible father. Plus there are FOUR songs marketed: "Lost in the Woods" is made more theatrical than rock-influenced (not that I hated it; it just wasn't right for this film), while edited versions of "Show Yourself" and "The Next Right Thing" (ie an Anna and Elsa duet of "Show Yourself" and lyrics that suggest Anna has been separated from the group in TNRT rather than suggesting the loss of certain characters) are exhibited to be the award contenders. Of course, "Into the Unknown" is still an exec favorite, with "Show Yourself" being a last-minute submission to awards. The film earns significant praise and is still a phenomenon, albeit less of an underrated one. The success of this film leads to the Broadway show being retooled in order to include some elements of the plot and the Northuldra, as well as making about $1.5 billion at the box office thanks to more positive reviews than the OG timeline "Frozen 2" and COVID not being a factor if it was released in 2017.

Raya and the Last Dragon--Right off the bat, the film again goes through the "2D or 3D" question, with 2D winning out, particularly thanks to Scott Watanabe's concept art (not shown here; this is Ryan Lang's). Rather than an amalgamation of Southeast Asia, Kumandra is a land made of five lands inspired by distinct cultures. Raya is the daughter of an emperor influenced by the Vietnamese empire, and the guardian of the dragon gem. Raya originally seeks to restore her land and the others as one nation of unity when the gem is broken and stolen, but recognizes the new nations as independent after realizing that her land (nicknamed "Heart" mockingly by the other regions) may have been too oblivious to the suffering of other people. This film is a musical, and while Kelly Marie Tran still plays Raya's speaking voice, the film takes inspiration from "Tarzan" and "The Lion King: The Gift" by having songs placed over the scenes rather than the characters singing themselves, representing their thoughts. Sisu also comes off a lot more serious and wise, being a mother-like figure to Sisu rather than a sister. The voice cast better reflects the SEA culture, and a tighter world/message allows for better word of mouth--plus it's amazing music makes it an instant classic. The diversity and positive reception actually puts it's box office at similar figures to "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train."

Encanto--Mostly the same, except tighter in story. Antonio, Isabella and Luisa spend more time with Mirabel throughout the film to emphasize the family bonds (rather than just Mirabel with Alma and rushing through her relationships with everyone else), and we see more insight into Pepa and Julieta's dynamic. The film makes a bit more money given that it's a phenomenon, but COVID keeps it from doing anything too record-breaking, sadly. "Raya" and "Encanto" being released in the same year to massive success is marked as a legendary year for diversity in Hollywood. It still remains a 3D film.

Strange World--Overhaul, overhaul, overhaul. The story and visuals are more ambitious, and is more science-fantasy than sci-fi. Firstly, the film goes for the hybrid style, since it fits sci-fi (or sci-fan in this take) so well, and Ethan is older and is almost the main character instead of his dad (I wanted to make him the main character, but a Disney protagonist in their 40s is pretty rare). The main cast are humanoid aliens that take influence from comic books and anime, mainly the Kree, Tamaraneans, and the Saiyans, with the main theme being rejuvenation and family, essentially a cross between "Moana" "Atlantis," and "Encanto," (with a touch of Fox's "Avatar") with Avalonia's culture being influenced from lesser-known European and Afro-Asiatic cultures. The Clade family works as mercenaries hired by a mysterious benefactor to destroy a rebel group that seeks to threaten Avalonia--but when the truth comes out, they may find themselves rogues in order to save their world. Disney actually promotes this movie like CRAZY due to COVID, and it makes around $300 million, with praise going for it's plot being unique among Disney films. Disney's sequel fever is a bit altered due to this (ie Zootopia 2 being released in spring of 2025 instead of fall, mirroring the first film's release date).

Wish--Disney utilizes MANY original concepts, such as human Star (who's the son of Magnifico and Amaya here), while Amaya is the evil queen from the get-go, while Magnifico struggles between good and evil due to his trauma. Asha's friend group is more prominent, and she's a much more shy and reserved protagonist. Asha's design is influenced by the Mowry sisters, who both have their own past with Disney. Disney uses the Anderson-Lopez team for the music since they already were working on a Spain-inspired film for Disney (not sure if Julia is entirely to blame for the music, though, and should their use in "Wish" affect their work with the "Frozen" franchise? Julia still sings the end credits song, though) The filmmakers EXTENSIVELY watch classic and modern Disney films, as well as "Enchanted" (because duh), and try to use abandoned concepts from other Disney films to use for "Wish." They opt to make the film 2D with 3D elements (ie magic and effects) to acknowledge Disney's history. The film achieves over $600 in box office, and Asha is inducted into the Disney princess line, as well as the movie earning praise for it's depth and tackling of complex themes such as wishes, dreams, and loss, including how what you want and what you need aren't synonymous. Currently undergoing a stage adaptation, something Disney wanted to keep under wraps but was eager to announce to carry over the 100 years celebration.

I know this is a bit of an odd post, and I'm sure others would have more creative ideas on an alternate timeline, but I wanted to utilize what we had. Perhaps I'll come back and edit this to include scrapped Disney movies.

#disney #disney animation #disney princess #the princess and the frog #tiana #naveen #tangled #rapunzel #flynn rider #wreck it ralph #winnie the pooh #frozen #anna #elsa #encanto #strange world #frozen 2 #moana #zootopia #big hero 6 #wish #asha #star #magnifico

[slashthrashandcrash]

Ohhhhhh I'm so obsessed with daddy!Ghosty and his daughter! Imagine what would happen if Ramona was send to the fog but as survivor ahhhhh!!! The chaos!!!

What I love about this is that there's two scenarios for this:

A) Ramona is 18 (as per BHVR), meaning it's been at least 10 years in her time since she's seen her dad. As a teen, she probably just accepted the reality that he was a deadbeat and had finally abandoned her for good, maybe holding resentment towards him in her broken heart, or maybe tricking herself into believing something awful must have happened to him because no way would her daddy ever leave her forever. Now she's in this strange new world, confused, terrified as she's hunted for sport by a slew of monsters and killers, including the elusive Ghostface.

He'd be the first one to recognize she's his daughter before she ever realizes this masked psychopath is her long lost dad. But now, there's an even further parental disconnect for him -- this isn't his baby girl anymore, she's all grown up, she's just another teenager with a pretty face, he's missed out on more than half her life at this point. They may as well be strangers. Yet, as little as he seems to care about her getting hurt during trials, he never finishes her off. The knowledge that other killers are brutalizing her doesn't bother him, but as soon as one of them makes a direct mention about it he loses his mind.

He avoids her like the plague yet continually stalks her from afar to learn every little missed detail about her. Kicks medkits towards her when she's down, chases her through maps to ever so conveniently corral her towards the hatch exit, just happens to drop rare perks in passing for her to pick up. As long as he can help it, he'll never reveal the fact that he's her father. It wouldn't do either of them any good. It's just as much for her protection as it is to keep his dirty little secret, but that doesn't mean others aren't going to start getting suspicious of his apparently "favoritism", killers and survivors alike...

B) Ramona is 8 and is the one and only child to be taken by the fog (excluding Victor). That complicates so much right off the bat. There's not really such a thing as a killer having morals, but there's more than a few who would be hesitant or downright refuse to kill a kid...just as much as there are killers who wouldn't care. No one is happy about this, it seems too far, too cruel of the Entity. It must be a mistake. The survivors are beyond protective of her, always ensuring she's the first one out regardless if it means the rest of them get slaughtered.

But the real kicker is when Ghostface finally comes across her, either during a trial or because he wanted to scope out this new rumor of a child survivor. He can't contain his shock, the way he uncharacteristically freezes and says her name is disbelief. What is his baby doing here, she shouldn't be here?? Yeah, he's not a great dad, but Christ he likes to think he's a good enough father to not want his child in a murderous pocket dimension. The second she hears his voice though, she's all over him. That's her daddy! Her daddy is here, he knows how to make everything better!!

Now that's when the real chaos begins. Ghostface has a daughter?? Ghostface has a daughter that loves him??? Ghostface has a daughter and is actually pretty decent with her???? Everyone on both teams are blindsided by this news, it's like ten bombshells just got dropped on them at once when they had barely recovered from the first one. Everyone has so many questions and he's not answering a single fucking one, thank you. This is like the ultimate cosmic karma; after 8 years of being a semi-absent dad, now he's very much being forced to be an active parent. Except he's still going to pawn her off to the survivor group more often than not. At least he's...there?

Definitely more protective of her, doesn't mind showing the same affection he's always given her, and as a result there's at least a handful of killers who are soft on her too (Legion and Pig, for example). Kinda hard to hide the fact that he's a bloodthirsty serial killer and has been her whole life, especially since 8yos aren't dumb and survivors love to shit talk, so he omits or bends the truth as much as he can so that she doesn't lose that idolized image of him. It's just a game, it's not real, see, daddy even makes sure she wins every time, if he doesn't play right then more bad things will happen and she surely doesn't want that, right?

#ask #utaxnanami

[agentrouka-blog]

Saw an old ask you answered about Mya and had to ask your thoughts on Myranda Royce. Like, she’s the character I’m the most curious about re: the winds of winter. We know from Dumb and Dumber that the Vale plotting for Sansa won’t actually be very long (I’m assuming she gets out of there right after the tourney and leaves for the wall /possibly with the help of Brienne and or Brynden/maybe after some shenanigans from the mountain clans) but from what we can assume Bronze Yohn will be on Sansa‘s side and help her out (like in the show). Now, Myranda's Nestor dad is indebted to LF (and friends with him!) and I find it unlikely that she would pick her father’s cousins side over her dads? With her being lady of the gates too. And at this point everyone is in agreement that Myranda knows that Alayne is Sansa (very obviously highborn, educated, not interested in the new high septon despite allegedly training to be a septa, knows Ned starks bastards name, LOOKS like Catelyn Tully whom she has met not even 2 years before). IMO what’s pointing towards Myranda actually being on our girls side is 1) LF warning Alayne about her, 2) Myranda herself introducing herself as wanting to be wicked, 3) the fact that Myranda being just another Margaery would be lazy and boring, 4) The failed Myranda/Harry betrothal being revealed almost immediately by her, so it can’t actually be a major point of contention for her, right? I don’t want to put too much stock in what the show did but them naming their annoying evil fucked up Ramsay–simp Myranda Royce does sometimes make me hesitate in putting my faith behind Myranda. Ultimately I think she will look out for herself most of all but I feel like her interests aline with Sansa and it will be a net positive. I mainly just want Sansa to have actual allies! Do you think the two branches of the Royce family could end up in agreement/be scheming against LF? After all, besides Bronze Yohn's friendship with NedCat, the Royces share blood with the Starks and their house motto is "We Remember“!

I think you hit the nail on the head with the concept of aligning interests.

Nestor, I don't think he's that good of an actor to be actively fooling Littlefinger himself while appearing to be flattered into complicity, but Myranda is sharp as a knife and clearly not quite satisfied with her lot in life of marrying old men her father picks out for her. But she seems too invested in Sweetrobin to really care that much about marrying Harry for his potential title, as opposed to simply a handsome dolt her own age. So whatever she cares about, it's not in opposition to either Sansa or Sweetrobin. She's capable of subtly interrogating Sansa without her even realizing it, and she has sat on this information for months now without making a move yet. Littlefinger considers her a threat, which is the greatest compliment imaginable, and he wouldn't do that if he thought she was easily manipulated or had goals he could easily assist her with.

If the show paid lip-service to Sansa's Vale plot by naming Ramsay's invented lover after her, I don't imagine it's because Myranda herself is secretly evil, but because she's one of the key figures in the Vale arc.

I imagine she is part of a larger conspiracy connecting her to Bronze Yohn and Anya Waynwood. She would be ideally placed to be a spy for them, and they have the resources she lacks to act on her own behalf and without her father's knowledge. A Myranda who assists the Lords Declarant in removing Littlefinger from power (the mark of a true patriot, honestly) is a Myranda who may yet be rewarded with a better marital match than Harry The Obsolete Heir. (Roland, the Waynwood heir? Andar, the Royce heir?)

#myranda royce #vale arc #vale conspiracy

[moistvonlipwig]

so how many of these little hearts am i allowed to send you :D (maybe we can start with 💖)

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

I'll assume you are asking about Supergirl. ;) I kind of have 3 that I couldn't pick between and I have a Lot to say about all 3, so this is going under a cut for anyone who doesn't want to see me kvetching about one of the worst-written CW superhero shows for *checks word count* 3681 words.

Opinion number one is that I like Lena/James as a ship. I think they had good chemistry and the thorny history between them makes for an interesting launching point for a relationship. I prefer them as a ship to Kara/James (which is fine and cute, but it doesn't compel me -- plus it's much more in the vein of modern rom-com romances vs. Lena/James which is written more like a screwball comedy romance which I infinitely prefer) and to any non-Supercorp Lena ships. While I admit the build-up in 3A isn't particularly well-done and the implosion of the relationship in S4 didn't do it any favors, I think they're really good in 3B and there's a lot of potential there for a super interesting relationship. (And, I mean, when it comes to Supergirl, which is Very Bad at romance and honestly not even particularly good at friendship, I think 'they have good chemistry, some great scenes, and there is solid potential for them to have an interesting relationship' is kind of the best you're gonna get. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

And to turn this into more of a kvetching session: I truly don't begrudge people for not liking them as a ship -- as I said, there are some serious writing problems afflicting their relationship. But I will say that, even putting aside the more egregiously and blatantly racist strains of the fandom and how they talk about the ship, I get frustrated with the way a lot of fans (even nominally pro-James ones) tend to dismiss the relationship (and Lena's feelings for James in particular) out of hand.

A lot of fans love to talk about Lena "not caring" that James was Guardian, but, like, she did care? She didn't get mad at him because she had no actual reason to. She and Guardian had no beef! He did not maintain two separate relationships with her as both himself and his alter ego Countess Boochie Flagrante! Wild how NOT doing that can greatly improve an alter ego reveal, lol. And the scene with James telling Lena he's Guardian ends with Lena opening up to him in turn about the fact that she herself manufactured the kryptonite. And then they kiss about it and they have sex. That, uh. That is not the reaction of a woman who does not care what her boyfriend just told her, that is the reaction of a woman who is deeply touched that he trusts her (which, it's both sad and telling that that kind of trust is not something she just Expects from a significant other) and who wants to share part of herself with him in return.

And a lot of fans also love to talk about Lena breaking up with James as if it were something she did on a whim because he ethically disagreed with one of her projects. But, um. She explicitly did not break up with him because of that. She told him that was why they were breaking up, but several episodes later she explicitly tells Lex (and thus the audience) that she actually broke up with him because she was scared of him breaking up with her once he found out she was helping cure Lex. Again, this is both a sad and telling moment about her character, that she would rather not give someone the chance to respond to her with grace because she so greatly fears that they will fail to do so, to the point that she would rather sabotage a relationship she treasures with her own hands, so that at least she will be in control of the loss she suffers. And it's a character beat that you miss entirely if you are dead-set on pretending that Lena didn't really care about James.

What's, shall we say, interesting is I don't really see this kind of casual, pervasive dismissal of Kara's relationship with Mon-El, which was much more of a trainwreck on all fronts. Even people who hate that relationship generally take Kara's feelings about it seriously. They don't deny that Kara felt strongly about Mon-El (whether they take the position that she was actually in love with him or that she just convinced herself she was). Why the difference in approach, when if anything, Lena's feelings about James are made more blatantly clear by the text than Kara's often extremely contradictory feelings about Mon-El are? ...Well. I can certainly think of one reason.

Opinion number two is that I don't care about the Danvers sisters relationship. I think there is a potentially interesting set-up to their relationship, where Alex was essentially parentified as a teenager and forced to rearrange her whole life around keeping Kara safe. The inevitable consequences of this -- that Alex has neglected her own happiness and devoted her life unhealthily to protecting her sister, and harbors some unspoken resentment over this fact, and similarly that Kara has had to contend with her older sister trying to manage her life and control her choices well into adulthood, and harbors some unspoken resentment of her own over that fact -- are touched on somewhat in S1 and S2 and then summarily dropped by the show. As the show went on it became clear that the Danvers sisters relationship was one in which no consequences existed: they could do anything and say anything to each other and by the end of the episode they would have a feel-good Danvers Sisters Couch Scene.

There are flaws in how the Kara & Lena friendship was written but one thing I will praise about it is that every interaction they had mattered and had tangible consequences to their relationship. Kara's massive fuckup re: the kryptonite debacle mattered two seasons later in a show that sometimes struggled to remember what happened in the previous episode. I might object -- strenuously, in fact -- to how their conflict was resolved and framed in S5 but at the very least they didn't outright ignore the things that happened between them. When one of them did something that hurt the other, that impacted the relationship. This is in sharp contrast to how the Danvers sisters relationship is written from around S3 onwards.

Two story beats in particular really stand out to me here. Firstly, there's the S4 plotline in which Alex forgets that Kara is Supergirl -- which is an actually rather clever storyline with some great emotional beats...while it lasts. Then Alex gets her memories back and it's like nothing ever happened. People complain a lot about the writing of Once Upon a Time, and rightly so, but at least on that show, when characters had their core memories magically erased/replaced with other memories, and then had their original memories returned to them a season or half a season later, it actually affected their characters. They had to grapple with who they were with their fake memories, and who they were with their real ones, and which self they liked better, and which aspects of their selves they wanted to embody going forward. Not so with Alex Danvers. If you watched S5 without having seen S4 you would not know she spent the last half season not knowing that Kara was Supergirl.

Secondly, and even more egregiously to me, is the events of 5.08 "The Wrath of Rama Khan" and the emotional aftermath, which is to say, the complete lack of an emotional aftermath. Not only does Alex spend a good chunk of 5.08 wanting/trying to nuke Kara's best friend -- which is significantly worse than anything Lena does to any of Kara's friends, and you can imagine that if Lena had indeed done anything on that level then the show never would've had Kara let it pass without comment -- but she manipulates Kara in the process, and specifically in a way that echoes one of Kara's fundamental traumas from her backstory. By using Kara's genuine attempt to reach out to Lena as a Trojan horse to lower Lena's shields (so, again, she can point a nuke at her), she not only thoroughly sabotages any possibility of trust and reconciliation between Kara and Lena for the foreseeable future, she also uses Kara in the same way that Alura used Kara to capture Astra, which Kara was rightfully furious and heartbroken about when she found out about it.

In the hands of better writers, this could've been a stroke of storytelling genius, the catalyst for the long-awaited collapse of the Danvers sisters relationship that was so desperately needed so that they could build it back up again from a better foundation. But you've seen the show, you know what happened: Kara barely blinked. Alex might as well have just eaten the last hot pocket instead of, you know, betrayed Kara like her mother did in order to nuke her best friend, for all that Kara reacted to it. To me, that was the ultimate death knell for the Danvers sisters relationship, the moment that cemented once and for all that this was not a relationship in which actions had consequences or in which anything the characters said or did to each other mattered in any way. So...why should I care?

And thirdly and finally, my hydrogen bomb of an unpopular opinion: I don't like Cat Grant. Which is nuts, because I SHOULD like her on paper. Her character archetype is usually my FAVORITE character in a line-up. Cordelia Chase, the self-proclaimed "nastiest girl in Sunnydale history," is and has always been, from Episode 1 of Buffy, my favorite Buffyverse character. (And my second favorite Buffyverse character is Lilah Morgan, who is basically just "Cordelia but an evil lawyer".) Regina George is an indisputable legend no matter what bizarre format they turn Mean Girls into next, and I always root for her and am kinda sad when Cady successfully sabotages her. Regina Mills of Once Upon a Time fame is even more of an indisputable legend, a badass mass-murdering HBIC who took no bullshit and coddled no bitches. Miranda Priestly, on whom Cat Grant is clearly based, is an amazing, iconic film character -- and despite what Supergirl 5.01 "Event Horizon" would have you believe, she was not the '''villain''' of The Devil Wears Prada. Discworld's Granny Weatherwax is one of the greatest characters ever written and is also, like, my idol. I love me a good bad bitch. So...why don't I like Cat Grant?

Part of it is that I don't find her as purely entertaining as a lot of the other characters on this list -- I just don't think the Supergirl writers were skilled enough to craft a character who is mean in a way that delights and amuses me as opposed to rubbing me the wrong way. I think she is frequently cruel in a way that I just personally struggle to find humorous or iconic, particularly given her status as Kara's boss, and it doesn't help that Kara often seems so affected by Cat and invested in what she thinks of her. I think if Kara were written in a way that gave her more power in their interactions, where she didn't truly need or care about her job at CatCo and thus, while she might not snark back at Cat in the workplace, she was also unaffected by Cat's barbs, I wouldn't mind their interactions so much. (This is why I enjoy Andrea and Kara's back-and-forth much more -- they seem to genuinely be on equal footing.) But the way Kara and Cat's dynamic is written, Cat really does have all the power, and the fact that she often uses it to emotionally terrorize Kara grates on me.

One of my biggest gripes with Cat is how so much of the '''humor''' around her character is her deliberately mispronouncing people's names. And, uh, as someone with a non-Anglo name, I don't think that's fucking funny! (And once Cat realizes Kara is Supergirl, I actually think it becomes extra ghoulish to do this, since she must then surely also realize that "Kara" is a name given to her by her dead family from her near-extinct culture. Like I know this is just a case of the writers not thinking the implications through, we're not meant to look so deeply into it, but the implications are really bad.)

Consequently, I don't think it's '''sweet''' when Cat finally deigns to call Kara by her actual fucking name at the end of S1. That moment honestly reminds me so much of that time in S1 of "The Good Place" (aka back when I liked "The Good Place" lol) when Eleanor repeatedly mispronounces "Senegal"/can't bother to remember that's where Chidi grew up, and then at the end of the episode she's like, "I have a present for you: Senegal." And Chidi is like, "Um, that's not a present, that's basic human decency." Like...exactly!!! Cat pronouncing Kara's name correctly is the bare minimum, it is not something that Kara should have had to earn, and it is extremely grating to me that the show itself seems to think otherwise.

Which ties back to one of my fundamental problems with Cat Grant, which is the framing of her character. All the other characters I listed above are framed as very complicated characters (Granny Weatherwax, Regina Mills, Miranda Priestly, Cordelia Chase eventually) or as outright antagonists (Regina George, Cordelia Chase in S1 of Buffy, Lilah Morgan, Regina Mills as well because she contains multitudes). Their status as difficult, proud, not-very-nice women is part of their complexity and/or antagonism, and as a defender of women who are not very nice, I gravitate to them in all their messiness. To quote phoukanamedpookie, one of my favorite meta writers, in this excellent post: "I genuinely find ['difficult' female characters] likable, often specifically because the narrative doesn’t tell me that I’m supposed to like them." (Emphasis mine.)

But you ARE supposed to like Cat Grant. And Cat Grant is not actually portrayed as particularly complex -- she is instead framed as an aspirational feminist role model for Kara. I wouldn't go so far as to say that her meanness is not portrayed as a flaw at all, but I think it's telling that every time the show allows Kara to actually get mad at her for her cruelty, the episode ends with Cat giving some speech about how women have it harder than men and Kara realizes that actually Cat, by being mean to her, was being a great feminist girlboss mentor the whole time. Which, like. What. And there's a scene where Cat talks about the double standards between men and women and she complains that Perry White can get away with throwing chairs at his employees but people call her a bitch or whatever. And, like, double standards are real, I'm with you there girlie, but, you verbally abuse and disrespect your employees on the daily, often to the point of tears, and you still have your high-powered influential well-paying job -- what more do you want?

There's a great line in the Mean Girls musical -- which is weird to type out, because it is not on the whole a very well-written musical -- where at the end, Regina tells Cady, "I know I was harsh. And people say I’m a bitch. But you know what they would call me if I was a boy?” And Cady enthusiastically chimes in with, "Strong." And Regina says, "Reginald." That line is so stellar precisely because it acknowledges the double standards while also poking fun at the obviously false idea that Regina was actually some kind of amazing feminist this whole time. That sense of humor about her status as a 'mean girl' is what I think was missing from the framing of Cat Grant -- we're meant to really take her seriously as a character who is legitimately a good mentor and feminist, whose critics truly are just sexist.

Which leads me to another major issue I have with Cat's character. Supergirl as a whole is very much in line with, like, 2012-era pop White Feminism™. It never really stops being like this; even when it tries to pivot to discussing other issues, it never goes beyond mainstream understandings of those issues to make any serious structural critiques, even when it doesn't get mired down in allegories that don't quite work and trip over its own feet in the process -- presumably because said structural critiques would call into question the fundamental assumptions upon which the show is built. (Much love to Azie and the effort she and J. Holtham put into 6.12 "Blind Spots", which was easily the show's best attempt at tackling any social issue, but by nature of only being one episode, it could not result in meaningful structural changes to how the Superfriends operate beyond "thinking about racism more", and the episode ends with a promotion of Robin DiAngelo's insufferable pop anti-racism self-help book White Fragility aka my villain origin story.)

That being said -- I think S1 and S2 are kind of the worst offenders when it comes to Supergirl's pop white feminism, not necessarily because the show gets any better about it later (although it was surely an improvement when they actually started incorporating women of color into the main cast starting with Sam Arias in S3), but because S1 and S2 are really fucking obnoxious about it, especially S1. And Cat Grant is THE mouthpiece for Supergirl's shallow, grating, capitalistic, overwhelmingly white understanding of feminism. While the single most cringey pseudo-feminist one-liner in the show is probably Alex's "No touching without consent!" from the series finale, most of the others come from Cat.

Just as an example, there's the bizarre monologue about how Kara is wrong to be offended by the obviously infantilizing name "Supergirl" (in contrast to "Superman"), because Cat is a girl, and girls are cool, and are you saying you don't think girls are cool? If you think it's wrong to call women "girls," you're the real sexist! Or, again, all her speeches about the double standards she's faced in her career -- and yet no interrogation of how Cat herself makes things so much harder for the women working for her (and, largely due to Supergirl's cast line-up at the time, absolutely no lip service given to the fact that women of color have it even harder). Or the egregious line about how Barry, Kara, Winn, and James look like the "attractive but nonthreatening cast of a racially diverse CW show" -- which isn't about feminism but does speak to the show's total lack of self-awareness about its racial makeup. And you could say these are structural problems with the show, not just with Cat, and you'd be right -- but given that Cat is so often situated as the mouthpiece for what the show thinks feminism is, and that we are meant to see her as a wise, progressive mentor, it becomes very difficult to separate her character from those structural problems.

And speaking of having trouble separating my feelings about her character from the structural problems with how the show uses her character...let's talk about Andrea Rojas, and how S6 thoroughly demonizes her with the end-goal of propping Cat Grant up. Andrea Rojas/Acrata is a Mexican hero in the comics; in Supergirl, they randomly make her Argentinian and they introduce her in S5 as more of a grey hat. Then in S6, the demonization begins.

The show (even in S5) emphasizes over and over how obsessed Andrea is with "clicks" and yellow journalism, which the show (and fandom) insists isn't what CatCo Should be about. Except...that was also Cat Grant's vision for CatCo! She also ran the magazine based on celebrity gossip and sensationalized reporting! It was James and Lena who took the magazine in a more serious direction. Andrea is shown to engage in increasingly unethical business practices throughout S6, culminating of course in William's narratively pointless death due in part to her actions, and Cat taking over CatCo again in the last episode is seen as a righting of this wrong (because, you see, Cat cares about turtles now, for some reason). This is despite the fact that Andrea is consistently shown to be a better and kinder boss than Cat was; not only does she actually call people by their real names, but when Nia falls asleep in front of her, Andrea very nicely tells her to take a mental health day. Cat would not have done that! So we have this bizarre storyline where we are meant to see Andrea as essentially this unethical interloper into Cat's rightful position -- even as they have literally the same goals, and even as Andrea is objectively a much better person to work for.

And look, I don't know how Julie Gonzalo identifies racially -- I know enough Argentinians to know that many of them who look like Julie do actually ID as white -- but even if she doesn't identify as a woman of color, the Latina identity is still a deeply racialized one in the United States. And it just does not sit right with me that one of Supergirl's only Latina characters -- and the one who is most consistently and strongly identified with her Latina heritage, and is based on one of DC's few Latina heroes -- gets demonized and 'put in her place' to prop up a blonde white Anglo woman as the one who should 'actually' be in power, even with her history of abusing that power at every turn.

Fandom doesn't help in this regard -- many (NOT all, fandoms are not monoliths) Cat and Supercat fans, and even a significant chunk of Supercorp fans, do NOT like Andrea and consider her much like the show does, as a usurper of the rightful throne of CatCo. I try not to let fandom affect how I view characters if I can help it, but when it's a narrative the show itself falls into, it gets a bit harder. Again, this isn't Cat's fault in-universe, but it is very difficult for me to extricate my feelings about how the storyline played out with my feelings about Cat -- especially since I'm already disinclined to be favorable towards her character. If I already liked her, I'm sure I'd be more forgiving, but, well, I've never claimed to not be a filthy hypocrite.

So yeah. I don't like Cat. Whoops. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#this got so damn long and i went on so many tangents lol #sideguitars #up up and away

[thefirstknife]

The God-Wave and the Witness

I've recently been seeing an increase in confusion in regards to the new lore from The Witch Queen about the Hive siblings, the God Wave and the new reveals that all of it was orchestrated by the Witness.

Some even go as far as to say that this was a retcon from how it was described in the Books of Sorrow. That is incorrect. The accusation of retcons comes from a misunderstanding of both old and new lore. I want to clarify this for people who might be genuinely confused. People were confused at the time of release as well, but I thought that with time, this would become clearer? Apparently it didn't and there's still confusion about it.

The new reveal in the cutscene with Ikora and the worm is here. The same dialogue is repeated in Resonant Fury Plate lore, but with additions that I will highlight:

—-It delays our desires so that it may seek its own. These frail siblings… will soon be claimed by the Light. Unless we claim them first. Our whispers were fed to a weak mind. But we have watched these siblings. These children of the king. They are brave minds. Clever minds. Ambitious minds. Yet unsullied by the weakness of aging that plagues their kind.—-

"Then what compels them to hear our whispers?"

—-Desperation. We will tell the most cunning sibling of a cataclysm. A prophecy… of great loss. We will feed her fear. Her pride. We will say… Young Sathona. The end is coming. A great cataclysm. A God-Wave. In the Sky… there is only death. But salvation… lies in the Deep. Lead your sisters down. Your cunning will spare their short lives. And you… will be reborn. The Witch Queen… Savathûn.—-

People seem to be interpreting this as if there was a retcon about which of the siblings first spoke of the Syzygy, aka the incoming apocalyptic event on the Fundament. In Books of Sorrow:

My father died afraid. Not of vile Taox or the Helium Drinkers, but of his orrery. He screamed to me —

“Aurash, my first daughter! The moons are different! The laws are bent!”

And he made the sign of a syzygy.

Imagine the fifty-two moons of Fundament lining up in the sky. (It wouldn’t take all fifty-two, of course: just a few massive moons. But this is my deepest fear.) Imagine their gravity pulling on the Fundament sea, lifting it into a swollen bulge…

Imagine that bulge collapsing as the syzygy passed. A wave big enough to swallow civilizations. A God-Wave.

In Books of Sorrow, the Osmium King learned of the syzygy from the worm familiar and then told Aurash, the eldest sibling, about it. Aurash became obsessed with it almost as much as the Osmium King, but didn't know when the syzygy would come:

I have to find a way to stop it. Before the God-Wave annihilates my species. If I could only get back into my father’s orrery, I could learn exactly when!

This is important. At this point, nobody knew when the syzygy would strike. Osmium King was later assassinated and his children had to flee. These bits are important.

You see, the Witness acknowledges that the whispers were first fed to a "weak mind." Aka the Osmium King. The worm familiar was first his and he was not able to fully understand the whispers of the worm and he never fulfilled what the Witness wanted. The knowledge of the syzygy is still coming from the Witness, via the worm familiar, first to the Osmium King. The Witness also acknowledges that it watched his children and that they are brave, clever and ambitious, but also desperate. The Witness shifted its words to them now.

The same Books of Sorrow chapter also has Aurash acknowledging that Sathona always has a clever plan and "mad ideas" that get them out of trouble. Weeks into their travel away from home, Aurash says:

But more and more we have come to rely on Sathona’s wit. She will go off to be alone (she insists she must be alone) and return with some mad idea — steer into the storm, throw down a net, eat that strange beast, explore that menacing wreck.

Somehow Sathona seems to manufacture good luck by sheer will.

Aurash doesn't know it at this point, and the readers don't know it either, but Sathona has taken the worm familiar. She is getting these "mad ideas" from the worm. She is not manufacturing good luck by sheer will, she is being led, by the whispers of the worm. Sathona reveals this in her own chapter in the Books of Sorrow, immediately following the previous one:

1. It was my father’s familiar. I ripped it from him as we fled. It is a dead white thing, segmented, washed up from the deep sea. 2. It’s dead, but it still speaks to me. It says: listen closely, oh vengeance mine…

She also specifies that everything she told her sisters to do was directed by the worm: she says that she "knows where to find secrets," "knows where vast slow things with long memories live," "knew it [the needle ship] would be there," and that she "knows its purpose" and "what happened to the crew." She also lies to her siblings and contradicts Xi Ro who wants to sell the ship. Instead, Sathona insists that they should use it to dive into the Fundament. This is in agreement with Aurash who wants to get into the ship and command it. Sathona says:

Aurash wants to open the ship and see if we can take command of it. I know this is the right thing to do. I know because I asked the worm…

Another important part is at the start of this chapter where Sathona specifies that at the point of her writing her chapter, they've been traveling for a YEAR:

This year of wild voyaging, these lightning nights and golden days, these forays into ancient wrecks and windblown flights from monsters: these are the happiest times of my life.

Next chapter of the Books of Sorrow also states the following (Sathona speaking):

“We three will die here, in exile. Taox will outlive us. And Aurash, brilliant-eyed Aurash, you will die of old age long before you have proof of your God-Wave, or any way to stop it.”

Why does this matter? Well, a full year after the death of the Osmium King and after a full year of traveling, Aurash still doesn't have either proof of the God-Wave or a plan to stop it. Yes, Aurash first heard of the God-Wave from the Osmium King, but didn't have proof, had no clue when it would happen and had no idea how to stop it or escape it.

For a full year of voyaging, it was Sathona who was talking to the worm. The worm was telling her all sorts of things, things that Aurash believed were just good luck that Sathona was manufacturing by "sheer will." For a year, the Witness was speaking to Sathona, giving her directions, telling her how to survive, where to find the needle ship, where the Worm gods live and to dive into the Fundament.

Obviously, in Books of Sorrow we didn't know that it was the Witness speaking through the proxy of the worm familiar. But we knew, from the Books of Sorrow, that Sathona, aka Savathun, was being given instructions on the syzygy, the God-Wave, where to find the Worm gods and how to reach them in order to escape both the God-Wave and their own mortality through that worm familiar.

It's really confusing to me why people think this is a retcon. Yes, Aurash, aka Oryx, was the first sibling to hear about the syzygy from the Osmium King. But Oryx didn't engage with the syzygy or the God-Wave further; he wanted to go back to their father's orrery to learn more and for a full year still had no new information about the God-Wave or how to stop it. Savathun did. It's directly explained in the Books of Sorrow that she spent a full year being fed whispers telling her where to go.

This was further clarified in The Witch Queen, but not changed. Nothing was changed, it was just expanded that in the year of Savathun being given instructions, the Witness was feeding her fear and her pride and telling her more and more about the syzygy. The Witness also fully mentions that it tried the same with the Osmium King and that it didn't work.

Simplified order of events from the Books of Sorrow: Osmium King acquires the worm -> Osmium King learns about the syzygy from the worm -> Osmium King tells Aurash about the syzygy -> Osmium King dies -> Sathona takes the worm -> Sathona keeps the worm a secret for a year while it feeds her information the siblings need to survive -> Sathona uses the knowledge gained from the worm to lead her siblings to meet the Worm gods

Simplified order of events from the POV of the Witness: Osmium King acquires the worm -> Osmium King learns about the syzygy from the worm -> Osmium King dies and fails to fulfil the worm's purpose -> Sathona takes the worm -> The Witness uses a year of Sathona's time to feed her information and additional knowledge about the syzygy because she's smarter than her father -> Sathona fulfils the worm's purpose

Had Oryx thought to take the worm from the Osmium King, then the Witness would've told him all of this. But he didn't take the worm. Oryx simply heard about the syzygy from the Osmium King, didn't have time to learn more before his death and then Savathun secretly took the worm for herself.

Oryx still spent time trying to understand the syzygy and the God-Wave and tried coming up with a plan to stop it, but he didn't have access to the primary source of information about it; the worm. Savathun had it secretly. Oryx even noted that Savathun was often going off alone and insisted on being alone and then returned with "mad ideas." Meaning, she was off alone to secretly commune with the worm.

This is communicated fairly clearly as a sort of an early mystery in the Books of Sorrow and then explained by Savathun herself in her own chapter (which she also starts with "My secrets").

I feel like this bit in the Books of Sorrow about Savathun secretly communing with the worm alone for a year is often ignored or missed or misremembered. It's very direct in how it's told, specifically about how she suddenly appears with knowledge about the needle ship and the Worm gods and insists that they should dive, while in the meantime, Oryx is despairing about not even having proof that the God-Wave is happening. So yeah, Oryx was first of the siblings to be told about the syzygy by their father, but he had no connection to any of the actual important information about it because Savathun stole the worm and kept it secret. As she does.

Also note that the Witness' speech never says anything about Savathun being the first to ever find out about the syzygy. In the extended version from the lore tab, it states that the first to learn was the Osmium King, who failed, and then the Witness moved on to influence his children. Due to Savathun stealing the worm in secrecy for herself, the Witness couldn't reach Oryx so Oryx was left with only what his father said, which wasn't enough. Books of Sorrow specify that it wasn't even enough to know the basics, such as proof that it's happening at all. Savathun was always the sibling with the most information on the God-Wave.

Another point that's vaguely adjacent that I want to address as well is that this reveal... didn't feel like a true reveal to me. I loved the cutscene and all, but the point of the cutscene ("The Hive were lied to") was an obvious reading of the Books of Sorrow. I didn't expect that to be contentious, even in-universe. Yes, obviously, Books of Sorrow saying that the Traveler is causing the syzygy is bonkers. Traveler doesn't destroy entire planets. The Darkness does.

Furthermore, the Darkness has been consistently depicted as having gravity powers. Where there's gravitational anomalies, there's Darkness. The connection between Darkness, gravity and the Fundament has become exceptionally clear once Last Days on Kraken Mare released which went into out first proper view of what the Collapse was like and what exactly happened. Specifically, it details how the Darkness warped the moon Titan, then released it, causing it to undergo a devastating tidal wave that destroyed the Arcology. My post from 10 months before WQ released that mentions the Fundament as the first recorded instance of Darkness using gravity to destroy.

Like, that is a direct parallel to the Fundament. When this released, it was the final nail in the coffin for what really happened with the God-Wave. I genuinely didn't think that this would be treated as a huge reveal for The Witch Queen. Like, obviously, yes, the Darkness did that to the Fundament and blamed the Traveler to galvanise the Hive into destroying it.

I still loved the whole full official reveal with an absolutely incredible cutscene that still gives me chills. I think revealing things plainly and in an accessible way for everyone is the best course of action for something so important, instead of leaving it to connections between lore books that not everybody will read. I really loved that this was finally fully explained, unambiguously, as was the whole story of how the Hive were tricked. It also curbed all the edgelord theories about how the Traveler is actually evil and the Traveler did that to the Hive.

This confuses me even fruther then when people are saying there's a retcon or that it's a contradiction. The lore around the Books of Sorrow, the Fundament, the Hive and their connection to the Darkness' lies (as directed by the Witness) is one of the most solid pieces of writing in the entire game.

It's the type of lore that has always been written so well and so clearly in line with other lore that it was really easy to take hints from it and understand where the narrators were deceived. Yes, the siblings were told by the Worm gods that the Traveler is causing the destruction of their home and they forced the siblings into an eternal pact in order to make them go hunt down the Traveler for all eternity.

Meanwhile, every other lore ever is showing that the Traveler is not the type to destroy anything and clearly the Darkness it the bad guy here so obviously, the Worm gods lied to the Hive. It's what made reading Books of Sorrow so tragic and ultimately, well, sorrowful. You're kinda expected to conclude that the Hive were the victims of their circumstances who were tricked by malicious forces into doing the bidding of someone else.

I'm glad The Witch Queen fully confirmed that and explained it so beautifully and tragically. It's a fascinating piece of Destiny universe history that ties the power and intent of Darkness across time and space, from the Hive to humans and beyond.

#destiny 2 #hive #witness #darkness #lore vibing #long post #every so often i genuinely see this take #and often it's just people being confused. which is normal! there's a lot of stuff here #and books of sorrow are big and also old #but they're still relevant! and they help us fill in the blanks with this specific event #the new reveal worked directly with the books of sorrow. it didn't contradict them #i'm baffled to see people claim otherwise #you're fine if you just didn't know. that's expected and i hope anyone who didn't know understands things better! #my confusion is with people who claim to be experts and say this. especially books of sorrow enthusiasts #like i've seen self-proclaimed lore experts saying that this is contradicting books of sorrow #and no? it clearly isn't? like. it's right there in the chapters. savathun was always in charge of the worm familiar #oryx only knew what his father said #my guy didn't even have proof that it's real. meanwhile savathun was having secret zoom meetings with the worm for a year #it's actually adorable that he believed his sister is so smart that she was just manufacturing information and good luck for them #oryx vc: 'yeah my sister goes off alone and then comes back with strange instructions that make no sense. she is so smart :)' #savathun: 'get a load of this guy. i am talking to a worm bro. our father's worm! i took it! it's telling me things!' #honestly if they just listened to xivu arath none of this would've happened. absolute dumbasses (complimentary)

[telafel]

I hate when I'm reading an incredible work of science fiction that evokes so many emotions and thoughts within me and then boom misogyny

#like... idk man #the first book made me go 'ehh maybe its just the characters perspectives on women bc its short stories' #the second book made me go oof no the author is just weird #but weird in the way it's not terribly overt but it shows in the overarching narrative #but i feel like i'm being unfairly harsh bc of my biggest issue of the story #which is a woman being a sex object through most of the narrative and she has zero agency in the story #it is not helped by the reveal of who she actually is. it makes it worse #god i cannot stop the absolute ICK this character gives me

[poptartmochi]

i think that i will never be able to rid myself of Magdalena, despite my disdain for her source material, because she's just such a fun little inversion character 🤧

#not to say that im trying to actively get rid of her! but like.. i have bnha ocs that will probably never see the light of day again because #i dislike bnha 🕴️ and i dislike the reboot way more than i dislike bnha so You Would Think that maggie would have disappeared by now but #nauuur. the inversions will keep her in my brain forever babey 🍻 #it's something about the way gioia and vergil knew each other for such a short amount of time and were on completely different journeys but #still managed to Get each other.. the same hatness of it all. and from that we got nero who saved both their lives #meanwhile in nightmare reboot world‚ magdalena and vergil have known each other forever + run parallel to each other basically. and you #think that the whole time they're in lockstep that they get it! they get each other! they're in lockstep so they must be in sync! #but then it turns out the goal vergil has been obsessively dedicated to all along is actually Super Contradictory to the goal magdalena has #been obsessively dedicated to. and instead of their lives being saved by their connection‚ the sudden dissonance is the root of their #downfalls. that's like my own personal fuckin percolator man 🤧🤧 #it's fun that she and gioia are both driven by loss and the desire to mitigate it. they both live in these societies where you're constantly #watched and revealing your cards could spell out your doom. ignorance and guilt cause gioia to build up this marble facade of cold #nonchalance because she cannot engage in society Without revealing her cards yk. it hurts too much. so the poker face it is 🗿 #meanwhile magdalena Knows Too Much and the knowledge of it all eats away at her. she's boiling with the need to act‚ so a poker face could #never work for her. so she channels the energy into this larger-than-life persona to navigate through the world #and both of these methods work! gioia's facade makes people think she's cold or uninteresting so they ultimately disengage with her. #magdalena dazzles everyone and they're too distracted by the show to notice what she's doing behind the scenes. #but wearing the mask all the time takes a toll on both of them + ultimately leads to a loss of identity‚ where they only keep themselves #grounded by their secret work. gioia's run in with vergil helps her break free of this and reestablish herself #whereas magdalena's departure(s 😐) from vergil sets her down this path... it's just so 🌋🌋🌋 to me #also. it's fun to me that gioia was meant to become a demon but never did. meanwhile maggie detests demons but was forced to become one... #gioia dodged a bullet but it traveled through dimensions and shot her anyways lol 😭🤧 #there's something to be said about the flipped family dynamics between the two but ngl I'm still working on Maggie and Isaac's relationship #so. i will leave it alone for now 🕴️in the future though I hope that I can figure out how to make Isaac as relevant to Magdalena as #Benedictus is to Gioia 🤔 right now he's kind of a mystery variable 🙈 #sriracha.txt #long post #💃🏻

[starlooove]

On the note of some of y’all wanting confident characters to always have some secret insecurity sometimes the mean tough as nails bitch is just a mean tough as nails bitch

#this is about pizzazz #BUT ALSO #here’s my thing right #like i do think pizzazz cares about the other misfits but I also don’t think she has this like. secret soft side #i think it’s a lot more fun if part of her thinks she should #which caused her to double down and be herself to the fullest #am I making sense #like when the asshole character reveals they like cocktails and strawberries #pizzazz doesn’t have that. she’s rowdy and arrogant and loud and rude (she can say it but nobody else can! especially not Jem!) #and she does care for the misfits but that’s how she cares #she throws money at them because that’s what her father did but she doesn’t want them to go away or leave her alone like her father wanted #her to do when he spoiled her #so she makes some kind of effort. and sometimes she sees the looks on their faces as if they’re waiting for her to…open up or something #but there’s nothing there. this is who she is. pizzazz is ALWAYS who she is. and they love her for it but she knows they’re slightly shocked #which is fine. it’s good that they get over this early on instead of wasting their time on it (on her) #she doesn’t expect for them to fall for her harder to be her ride or dies and come out stronger #she’s pleased but she’s genuinely surprised but maybe some surprises are okay actually #BUT WHAT ABOUT HOW SHE ACTS TOWARDS HER DAD?! u May be asking #well I think she’s very aware that that’s out of character for her #i think she hates when she’s like that but she can’t help it #she can’t help shunning pizzazz who she KNOWS daddy doesn’t like and becoming Phyllis #begging for a scrap of attention and throwing a tantrum when she gets a band in return #at least as pizzazz she has some power. people are scared to fuck with her and they’re terrified to fuck with her friends. bandmates. #(btw this was all like stream of consciousness how pizzazz sees herself kind of in my mind. to me she does have kind of a soft spot - for #her band obviously for stormer moreso but also the way this manifests isn’t really in a sickly sweet slow ballad kind of way. more desperate #possessiveness and mowing down anyone who’d make her slightly upset. it can get real toxic real fast but it’s real) #anyways the post itself is real to me but not very related to these tags just wanted a segue sowwy

[daddyricsdoll]

Vanilla? ✭ Oscar Piastri

Summary: It's always the quiet ones that are the freakiest. But that wasn't what every other driver on the grid thought as they teased Oscar and you for being too innocent to know anything beyond vanilla sex. So when you guys didn't put up a fight, they figured they were right... until someone was lucky enough to see you and Oscar on the other end of the spectrum of "plain sex".

Warnings: not vanilla sex! fingering, oral (male receiving), bondage (hands tied together), spreader bar (if that even what it’s called), unprotected sex, rough because how else would you have it? Gagging and deep-throating Oscar’s huge dick 😩

Word Count: 1.6k

A/N: Oscar is the man who makes me wanna wake up in the morning and I love it!! I'm so obsessed with him it's making me go insane, but if I'm going insane it's fine because I'm going insane over him. Everything about him is beautiful and I wanna call him pretty and gorgeous and watch as he blushes. Then ride him and take control of him until he wants to teach me lesson and makes me pass out. (I’m just a girl) Based off of this request.

“Oscar, how would you say relationships outside of F1 have helped you grow in this sport as a driver and as a person. If they had an impact, and if not then why?” Oscar’s PR manager testing questions on him, posing as one of the many journalists trying to break Oscar’s wall that he’s been perfect at keeping up so far. He finds it amusing that they have so much interest in his life, only encouraging him to keep his words to a minimum. Well as long as you don’t come up– his cheeks immediately flush and he starts every sentence with “my girlfriend” before he looks at others and silently begs them to say something to shut him up.

“Well, everyone’s been supportive of my career. Which only makes me want to do my best, and better than that.” Keeping a straight face as he answers until he looks at you beside him then Lando with a proud grin on his face.

“Who’s everyone…? Your girlfriend?” Lando’s voice teases, like every schoolgirl talking about their friend's crush.

“I- yeah. She does a lot for me, helps me let off steam before and after races, she also-”

“Let off steam, huh? Is my Oscar making his girlfriend cum to let off steam?” Lando’s mouth wide open, making an ‘o’ shape. Both you and Oscar have mixed emotions– heat coursing through you remembering just this morning, but also shock from Lando’s unhinged question.

“You’d be surprised?” Oscar’s answer broad, but you knew. Letting Lando believe that Oscar lets you cum, when his favourite thing is edging you until tears roll down your face.

“Oscar, you probably just learnt what a clit is.” Lando having nothing better to do than tease him as his pale cheeks turn pink. 

“Believe whatever makes you happy.” Oscar shutting down the conversation before he reveals too much, a little smile on his lips as he chuckles and moves his hand further up your thigh.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘⋆

It wasn’t just Lando who would have a say about you and Oscar’s sexual life, but any driver who happened to walk into the conversation at the perfect time.

“Oh yeah, Oscar you’re vanilla.” His fellow Australian, Daniel Ricciardo, says. Joining them on their walk to wherever they all had to be next. 

“Well actually I think Oscar is a little more than vanilla. He’s vanilla but not vanilla.” Logan pops in too.

“No. Oscar is sooo vanilla. Like he’s too scared to choke his girlfriend because she’ll die and he’s never marked her so she knows she’s his.” Lando expresses his words with so much passion it makes Oscar roll his eyes but know exactly what Lando’s doing when their hotel rooms are beside each other and he’s invited a girl over. 

“Wow. Calm down Lando, I think we learnt a little bit more from you than Oscar. You definitely need a girlfriend.” Daniel spoke the words everyone was thinking. Letting Oscar finally breathe and have all the attention over to Lando and his desires.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘⋆

“Fuck, I needed you.” Oscar groans out, thrusting himself ever deeper into your mouth. “Talking ‘bout how vanilla we are. But look at us.” The position you were in was unimaginable. You lay on your back, head on the edge of the sofa as Oscar rammed into your mouth with his fingers opening you wide and making you cum. But still, that wasn’t enough, your hands tied together and a spreading bar made sure your legs couldn’t be shut, always ready for Oscar, but with a blindfold over your eyes how would you know? Each of your moans were muffled by his cock and as one of his hands played with your clit the other toyed with your nipple.

Blood rushed to your head from this position and it filled in for the loss of his hand around your neck. Oscar pounded into you, his dick making you gag as you deepthroated him. An explosion of fireworks inside of you as he continued making you cum, a loud scream trying it’s best to flee your puffy lips, but Oscar couldn’t help but enjoy hearing you struggle to make out any coherent sounds because of his cock. 

By now it was impossible to remember the amount of times he had made you release. From his mouth, fingers and dick, all you did know was that that number was only going to increase. 

Each of his moves were so intense, Oscar had you spellbound. Unable to notice anything other than him. Well that was until he pounded himself as deep as he could into your mouth and then stopped. Everything went silent.

“Oh fuck! Oscar?!” Those words certainly didn’t come out of your mouth, and when you realised who did say that, oh you couldn’t have been more embarrassed, but somehow aroused. Seconds later the door finally shut, and you could only think about the uncensored view Lando had of the both of you. 

“Fuck, I’ll deal with him later. But for now…you need to cum.” Pulling out of your swollen mouth and grabbing you off the couch to lay your shamelessly sinful body on the floor. Oscar doesn’t take his time, manhandling your legs so your feet are nearly inline with your head and then making your arms keep them back by going in front of the spreader bar.

Leaving your pussy so exposed and vulnerable that Oscar could do whatever he liked between those drenched folds. It was always a gamble with Oscar, sometimes he’d take his time to tease you, others he wouldn’t even give you time to catch breath. This was just as unpredictable as others, by now you would either be covered in your own tears from his edging or on the verge of passing out because you could feel him in your throat after coming in you repeatedly. 

You felt less of an advantage, not even being able to lay eyes on him, so you listened to your own heavy breathing until he touched you again. Fingers going between your folds and spreading them apart with his index and ring finger. Lightly teasing you with his middle one. “Looks like you’ve had enough today huh? Or can you take one more?” 

You nod your head as an answer, but it’s never enough as he asks you for words.

“Y-yes. I can take more.” You force out between breaths, in shock of how you even managed to say those words. 

“Oh really? Well that’s great.” Oscar holds your pliant body up even further and then makes a swift move of ramming himself deep inside of you. Once again it pulled all of the oxygen from your lungs and the stretch from the position couldn’t be compared to the stretch from his cock. You couldn’t complain as he thrusted in again and hit your g-spot. Bringing more tears to your red eyes.

Grunts and groans slipping past his lips and making his actions such a godly sensation. 

Oscar pounds himself into you with no mercy, finding pleasure in your moans and cries. You wish to hold him, dig your fingers into his shoulders and mark his back. Adorn his pale skin in love bites and make his lips swollen. Thinking about the way his body flexes with every thrust and how divine he would look from this position that you’ve been in many times but each new one has a different effect.

“What’d you think Lando’s telling them?” Oscar grips your thighs tighter–fingers certainly making bruises– keeping you in place as he vigorously rams inside of your overstimulated pussy. Never losing pattern or momentum.

“You think he’s telling them about how you took me so well? Your hands tied up? And how fucking good you looked between my legs.” Each of Oscar’s words having such an effect on you it could've been a trick of hypnotism. Your legs shaking and lips parted as you came. Oscar savoured the beautiful sounds leaving your mouth and he worked harder to fuck your high out and bring his in.

You clenched around him, forcing a moan to finally leave his lips and bless your ears. Oscar spasms and releases inside of you. Pushing himself so deep and his cum even deeper. He thrusts a few more times, easing both of you out and spreading his cum inside your walls. Oscar sits in you for a while before pulling out. “Fuck, that was so. Fucking. Good.” He starts untying you and helping you come undone from all of the restraints. Letting you lay flat on the floor as he did all the work.

“I would’ve been in you for hours if he didn’t come in. Can’t imagine what he said to them”

Oscar crawls up your body and plants a kiss on your lips. 

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘⋆

Finally leaving Oscar’s room you both didn’t know what to expect. Well definitely not drivers surrounding a small table as Lando spoke to them all with hand actions and his face even worse. 

“Y’know vanilla isn’t even that bad. But wow Piastri, I didn’t think that.” Daniel brings all the attention to you two. Every driver turned their head with a series of reactions on their faces.

“You are freaky Oscar.” Logan couldn’t hold back and somehow Fernando was there to agree with him.

“I have to tell Charles! Now I know what you two do.” Pierre smirks, making you blush and look at the ground.

“Well I guess I was wrong, but Oscar why didn’t you tell me you sneaky boy. Because then I had to see it.” 

“It seemed like you wanted to join.” 

“No I-”

“The way you’re speaking about Lando, it seemed like you wanted to join.” Daniel once again kind of saving Oscar from these unfortunate topics.

“What? Guys this is about Oscar and how freaky he is with his girlfriend!”

“If you want to join, just ask.” You finally speak, teasing Lando and watching the way his face changes. 

“Oh you guys are so not vanilla!”

#f1 smut #f1 x reader #f1 #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #formula 1 #f1 fic #f1 fluff #oscar piastri x you #oscar piastri smut #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri #oscar piastri imagine #oscar piastri fanfic #mclaren f1 #op81 smut #op81 imagine #op81 #op81 x reader #op81 fluff #op81 fic #f1 one shot #f1fic #formula 1 smut #formula one #formula one smut #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 x reader #f1 drivers #f1 drabble

[3hks]

How to Write REALISTIC and SMOOTH Dialogue

In a story, dialogue is quite important, it helps the readers paint a picture of what's happening and the characters themselves. However, it can be difficult to avoid the unnaturalness and choppiness that comes with a lack of experience. But luckily, I have put together A LOT of advice on how you can get over that rockiness and improve!

*** KEEPING YOUR DIALOGUE REALISTIC, AND PACING ***

>> Keep your characters in character:

Dialogue is a remarkably quick way for readers to determine your character's personality. Thus, you want their speech patterns to remain fairly consistent so the audience won't get confused. If your character is more serious, then they will use less slang and perhaps a more impressive vocabulary. If your character is more relaxed, they will use more slang and compress the words. (such as "dunno," "kay," "y'know," etc.)

Basically, you want their tone to match their traits so the way that they talk is more realistic and personlized to themselves. If the way all your characters speak is the same, there's something wrong. A strong tip is to put yourself in your character's shoes and imagine how they would respond!

>> Take the situation into consideration:

This is another part of keeping your characters in, well, character. Different emotional situations will have a different effect on separate people, so make sure that you have an idea of how your character will act during stressful, irritating, and sad times.

If your character is normally cold, they will struggle if it comes to comforting other people because they have less experience in that field.

>> Don't take too long with their words:

Unlike when narrating something, most people talk just to get the idea across. They will be more specific and quicker with what they say. (This excludes any character who likes to talk a lot.) Unless it's on purpose, they won't dance around the topic. Think of when you casually chat with your friends; you're pretty unlikely to use certain words and/or phrases that might be common to use while narrating.

If you want to explain something complicated, instead of writing out a paragraph of just one person talking, use a question-and-answer prompt! This is where another character continuously asks related questions that get answered by another person, so you can indirectly reveal your explanation.

*** HOW TO WRITE A SMOOTHER CONVERSATION AND DIALOGUE TAGS***

>> Having a variety of dialogue tags:

This is a pretty basic thing to look out for if you're new to writing conversations. Using words like "said," every other sentence can easily make it feel choppy and robotic. Instead, use words like "murmured," "smirked," etc. to paint some emotion into their words. Additionally, vary the location of the dialogue tags! They don't all have to go after the statement, you can include something in the beginning or even the middle, too!

Examples:

Beginning - She tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"

Middle - "Oh," he blinked, "I actually never thought about that."

End - "Wait up!" She exclaimed loudly, waving her hands around.

>> Using no dialogue tags to create a smooth conversation:

Having too many tags can also overwhelm your reader--remember, sentence variety is a crucial part of writing--so you can always drop them if they're unneeded. This applies when your characters (two is the suggested amount) are talking back and forth in a pattern straightforward enough for the reader to understand who's talking without it having to be labeled.

Dropping dialogue tags in these moments can create a smoother atmosphere during the conversation because the reader only has to focus on the talking present.

*** USING SLANG, STUTTERS, FILLER WORDS, AND PAUSES ***

Human speech is often not perfect; when talking, we often make mistakes such as filler words, grammatically incorrect phrases, etc. Hence, for more natural-sounding dialogue, it's important to incorporate some of these.

>> Pauses and stutters:

When reading dialogue, we read it at a steady pace unless it's written otherwise. However, that steady pace can soon get too robotic and too smooth. Luckily, there are several ways to change this! You can use dialogue tags, (ex: she quickly spoke) commas, and ellipsis (...). These are often integrated when the character is hesitant, nervous, answering something, or when they need to admit something. The same idea applies to stutters--they're mainly used to demonstrate anxiousness, which can be found in varying situations.

>> Filler words and slang:

Filler words can really just be used where you see fit. They may be used in the situations I previously mentioned (because it shows someone stumbling over their words) but it's ultimately up to you!

Slang, just like everything else, should not be used too often, or it will seem forced and exaggerated. The point is to sound natural, and increasing amounts of repetitiveness can ruin it. It's also important to remember that in real life, our conversations move slower; when someone speaks, another person usually doesn't respond quite literally, right after. However, in writing, dialogue can actually often seem that way, which is why using tags and these imperfections of speech is pivotal for building a realistic conversation!

*** CONCLUSION ***

Lastly, a key point when writing dialogue is to ALWAYS read the conversations! Whether it be in your head or out loud, it can often help you catch anything that seems off! Additionally, like I mentioned at the very beginning, write dialogue from your character's perspective! Imagine yourself as them and how they/you would talk. Try to keep your dialogue tags, sentences, and word use varied to create a natural conversation!

If you were struggling before, I hope that this (extra) long guide was able to really offer you some insight and useful tips! If you read this far, thank you!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

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