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pastelpaperplanes · 3 years

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Big Ol’ Ask Post

Crusade goes by them/them!

And let’s see—I don’t think that Optimus would ever let a medic touch his baby with intent to reformat them, I think he’d sooner rather dive into a smelter than even let Crusade know that the Council planned to do that to them.

But for What If’s sake, sure here’s what their reformat would look like:

Crusade would have been the equiv. of 16 to receive these changes. looks a little too much like a wind-up toy soldier. it’s creepy.

Same as Op, Megs would absolutely recognize or at least suspect something is up with Crusade—but in this timeline, their meeting would not be on the battlefield—rather they’d meet when their Carrier threw them through a space bridge into Megatron’s arms before blowing the whole bridge to hell.

Crusade as you can imagine in this timeline is even more blindsided than our OG Crusade, you can imagine the fear, denial, and betrayal they’d feel in the rushed time between when a frantic Optimus told them they had to run and never come back. oh and the notorious Warlord you were told to never ask about—he’s your Sire. you have to trust him now

QUEUE THE DRAMA

HA no. I don’t have an ao3 for writing, just one I use to keep tabs and give kudos and cry over other’s fics.

I don’t have enough confidence in writing to consider a fic! I like playing off of scenarios, writing dialogue/backstories rather than considering piecing a whole ass fic lmfao. One day I may try! But art is my trade for now ;D

the best I can offer you is to read all I have on Crusade would be to check out the crusade and cybertron’s legacy au on my tumblr! There I have all the asks/art and lore for them, have fun!

HAHOUUHOHUNGHG NooOOOOOPE.

‘who needs another sparkling when they have me? I’m perfect ✨’

that they are for sure. but they know they’d get stuck w babysitting duties for the rest of their life, plus (after I figure out the whole fiasco that is the true reunions) theres tentaive trust just beginning to form between their Creators, another sparkling to worry about my blow up in their faces,,or not. we just don’t know.

but man this ask came soon. at the rate we’re going Crusade may not get a CHOICE

hhh I don’t know! so the way I have the CLau laid out—it takes place roughly 20 years after The Trial of Megatron. A little soon for other member of say Team Prime to settle down, hell their careers have just begun, that and if there were other Sparklings in the AU born from our favs, they’d be itty bitties.

I’m thinking it may be so much more fun to have Wormholes Gone Horribly Wrong and Rips In the Timelines—queue the clashing of AUs so Crusade can meet the lot! lol I can’t wait for Crusade to meet the SAR team I’m practically shaking

yeah

sweet

among

other things,,,

their child*

and yes it was not fair at all, Megatron on will realize this eventually—but the level of fear this reveal invoked trumped over rationale—which is what exactly what happened when Megatron realized just how vulnerable this sparkling would be should the Autobots even remotely know of it’s existence.

The Autobots would have every motivation to simply take the information from Optimus by force should he have told him of the sparkling. Megatron’s interests lied in protecting all parties. He made a tough choice as a Carrier, but an even harder one as a former lover.

HAHAHA

YES THEY WOULD FOR THAT EXACT REASON. The rhymes, the quips during battle—or Crusade is a little bit too like their Sire when they’re in the zone. ‘an angry opponent makes for a stupid one’ like Sire like Sparkling

But after A Little Too Familiar, Megatron didn’t let them near any active field so long as he could help it. Too risky, the Magnus would suspect more than anyone, Crusade was compromised and most of all nearly taken down, or worse taken. But Crusade was stubborn—they found a way—more on that eventually aksjsksjd

They didn’t get to meet Team Prime on any field, now on a base or in a brig,,,,hmm we will see ;3

No one. There hasn’t been a carried sparkling in the ranks in Primus knows how long, their existence alone was an anomaly—and one that put Megs through the ringer emotionally ofc but physically as well

there was no How To book (easily accessible to the Cons at least) so everything Megs performed was out of instinct alone,,with some assistance from Shockwave of course—theyre the most versed in watching over ‘little things’ and most of all what could possibly be ‘Autobotish behavior’ and how to care for one (that doesn’t exist you dumb FUCK it’s just a Cybertronian BABY)

Carrier protocols are extremely powerful on a bot, some go soft, some go on the attack, some have a mix of both—either way the base line coding just screams protect, which is exactly what Megatron did for whatever reason Crusade should need him for.

Whether it was by being a warm perch to nap on, giving reassurance, providing a firm hand on their shoulder when supporting them through announcing their new chosen titles, showing them the proper way to fight, or simply just letting them know that they can do no wrong because they are his and they are perfect, Megs was there to protect them—and he did his job well.

#WHEEZE #THAT WAS A LOT #my art #cybertron’s legacy au #transformers #asks #megatron #tfa optimus prime #tfa megatron #Optimus prime #megop #transformers animated #crusade

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galaxylohnce · 6 years

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VUD paladin headcanons!!!!

BTW this is based off of @voltronuniversaldefender ‘s reboot!!! CHECK THEM OUT THEYRE DOING GOD’S WORK

also i have read approx 2 headcanons and baRELY understand this AU so if there are similarities to anyone else or inconsistencies iT IS AN ACCIDENT AND IM SORRY

anyway this is just about the 4 confirmed paladins BET ill be doing more about Fa’rah/Takashi/Zahi/Ashanti once i know a bit more about their roles in the team!!

Alvaro Garcia Valladares

he has a twin. i don't make the rules, but he has a twin.

he has a big family. the biggest family. we’re talking, his mom has 8 siblings and his dad has 9 and there’s a 10 year age gap between him and his oldest sibling and he loves them all so much

natia is his best friend. i repeat, NATIA IS HIS BEST FRIEND!!!!

he’s also quite close with kiki. Natia and Kiki are the only two that he met before their great space adventure

he wasn't really sure of his sexuality at first. (i say this because i wasn't sure of my sexuality at first - im bi btw - and all the media i saw told me that any lgbt+ character was 100% sure of their sexuality form the day they were born, which made me doubt myself bc i didn't figure it out till recently, so i wanna see that in some media!! sometime!!) he probably figured it out halfway through having a crush on someone

the someone is akio, and he definitely tells Natia about it first

“natia... natia listen.... I have a crush on akio. freakin akio.... what do i do??? I’m bi, natia... I'm bi. what does this mean -”

“alvaro, I'm so proud of you, but this is a public bathroom and akio is right outside -”

GUARANTEE that the first time he saw Akio he just basically wanted to fight him but also flirt with him and had a slight moral crisis and ended up doing nothing

he is a goddamn sharpshooter, okay. he straight up becomes famous for it throughout the galaxy.

yet despite that he’s still insecure, and those insecurities prevent him from really getting together w akio until much later

he comes off as very suave and extroverted when you first meet him, but underneath it all, he’s actually really warm, personable and funny: not that anyone outside the team know that

aliens on social media, probably: god, the blue paladin is so cool... i bet he’s amazing and awesome and eloquent...

meanwhile, alvaro: do u guys think i could fit my whole hand in my mouth or nah?

enjoys memes, and shares this love with kiki

basically an all around great guy. because he often felt like a seventh wheel at the beginning of the formation of the team, he always tries to include everybody as best as possible, going way out of his way to ask after people, even if they forget to ask about him sometimes :’)

Natia Nanai

first off: what a gorgeous name. seriously. incredible kudos, my dude. anyway on to the head canons for this gorgeous girl

probably alvaro’s soulmate. already mentioned this, but it needs reiteration. they are best friends

had a large family too (not as big as alvaros tho) and probably major relate to him with that big family dealio

v close with kiki. they complete each other on a technological level.

natia is very, very creative. she and her sweet engineering know how are always instrumental in getting the Team out of tough situations

Akio: theres no way out of this we’re going to die -

Natia: bet?

she does say “bet” a lot. like, almost too much? but she's always right and valid when she says it

the villain: i’ve got you now!!!!

natia, under her breath: bet

the paladins, thinking: thank god, we’re saved

very soft but also badass as hell. she has a unique duality.

pulls a violet baudelaire: she puts that GORGEOUS hair up in a ponytail when doing work or whenever she has an idea

everyone on the team, regardless of sexuality, is low-key in love with her because she’s just so nice. no one can hate her. she's way too solid of a friend

speakinG of being a great friend: natia is 100% the secret keeper up in this bitch. everyone comes to her because they know she’s got the best advice around and will take their secrets to the grave

akio: idk man... alvaro is just rlly cute, u know?? but i can't tell him...

natia, thinking of alvaro literally whining to her about akio not even five minutes ago: christ

the mom friend. she always has all the things everyone needs on hand or in her lion, and she’s got it all going in terms of chore charts and family meals. she is the queen of figuring out times for team bonding and everyone loves her more for it

definitely started a board game night asap

she has a silent bravery about her that no one else can match. despite her trepidation, natia will always do what has to be done for the greater good.

she is guided by her heart and her morals, and is easily the kindest person on the team

bc of this kindness, she is often the diplomat when conflicts arise between people on the team

she is seen by the general public (aka the galaxy) as a strong, morally righteous woman. kind of like rosie the riveter-esque??? she’s the symbol of justice and fairness.

aliens: she's so... peacekeeping :0

natia, at kiki: throw me that wrench, or so help me god -

basically, a queen who always considers everyone and works really hard to create a family, even when they're all so far from home :’)

Kiki Evans

generally over it tbh

“always tired, but always inspired” - kiki, on being asked why there were dark circles under her eyes

kind of standoffish. she’s not really about being nice, she's about getting the job done, and that can rub people the wrong way, since she is always the first to offer up the cold, logical solution

but underneath that, she’s just a computer science nerd who is loyal to a fault

she really is loyal. its almost dangerous sometimes, because she would put the universe in danger to save her friends, which actually comes into conflict with her typical cold, logical approach.

she has 0-1 sibling. she's every bit the single child. she cannot relate to living in a big family setting, and at first its hard for her to deal with before she warms up to everyone else on the team

she's a genius, and thus found school to be tedious. in fact, she got fairly bad grades, as she wouldn't do the work that she saw as pointless and boring

she is a meme connoisseur, and loves to quote vines, often assisted by alvaro

kiki, as they approach a giant black hole: HZZK

alvaro, catching on immediately: is... is that real???

she is a conspiracy theorist, for sure. the government is watching us all, trying to make sure we don't learn too much.... she’s sure of it, and akio is too

tbh, the first proper conversation she had with akio was about cryptids and how the government had hidden them from the public

she was friends w natia and alvaro from before, but it is akio she becomes closest with the fastest. in some ways, she feels more distant from natia/alvaro bc of how close they are with each other and bc all of them have known each other for so long while akio is someone she got to know recently: he has no preconceptions about who she used to be, and she has none about him

plus, she and akio relate on many levels: both trans, both gay, both autistic, both theorists, and both loyal to a fault. she finds a real blood brother in akio :D

very openly gay. very. she's a space lesbian, and theres no denying it

kiki, meeting some random space girl: oh

kiki, moments later to akio: god I'm gay

akio, downing a glass of water but acting like its vodka or smthg: god, same

the public sees her as the cold and calculating techie, the brains of the operation

natia is her partner in crime. they finish each others sentences. they've got a tech connection going, babey

kiki: if we just cross-reference the zaiforge tunnel with the -

natia, nodding: particle consummator, of course we’ll get the perfect -

them, together: amount of energy!!!

everyone else: sorry wot

basically, she's a tech goddess with a splash of genius. she's uneasy and a bit awkward, but thats just bc she’s never been in a situation like this before. after literally 1 second with her, she opens up and is such a loyal friend. :’)

Akio Himura

wow this boy is gay and he knows it

he loves his parents (zahi, takashi, and ashanti) but god he will never admit it. not ever

alvaro, after listing his parents, 20 aunts and 100 cousins: and i love them all so much, with all my heart. what about ur family akio?

akio, not wanting to show weakness: they're nerds.

alvaro: um okay cool good talk haha :)

akio, internally: but i love them nd would die for them tbh... but i can't show weakness

he's so guarded after his biological parents left/died/disappeared. poor boy

definitely a single child, and definitely adopted

his parents love him SO MUCH. so much.

akio: why do i have three parents, dad?

takashi, almost crying: its simple. u deserve so much love, that it couldn't be contained in just two people. we needed three. its how its gotta be, my beautiful, sweet summer child

a yeehaw kind of guy. he grew up in the midwest riding horses before his biological parents died and theres a piece of him that will always be a southern boy

the kind of kid in school that pretends he’s a delinquent, but actually just has the aesthetic of a delinquent, and is truly soft

akio: hell yeah I'm a rebel. i logged onto disney.com without my parents permission

kiki, choked up: so brave

mothman is his love. his passion. all cryptids, for that matter. kiki is more of an all around conspiracy theorist: akio is in it for the cryptids

he’s a bit awkward, and doesn’t totally understand all social cues/jokes. because of this, he stays away from memes, and is very guarded when meeting new people, especially after experiences with light bullying for not only his social ineptitude, but his upbringing.

considering that, his first meeting with alvaro was supremely awkward, and akio accidentally fought with him multiple times before they established a solid friendship

akio, having a gay panic: you are the light of my life

alvaro: sorry what??

akio, panicking more: I said, you wanna fiGHT WITH A KNIFE???

he pined after alvaro from basically day one, but had the foresight to actually know that he was pining, unlike alvaro who just floundered

of course he would never say anything

he is a stabby boi. he is unrivaled in swordplay, and enjoys routine. his natural affinity for picking up new skills plus his unrivaled work ethic basically DESTROYED everyone else when it came to swords

he’s loyal af and is always the first one to take action. akio is a “do something. do anything, but do it fast before we lose a chance to do something” kind of guy

the general public sees him as the fiery one: he’s the one with the fanciest footwork in a fight, and he’s very good with battle tactics. he can come thru with that strategy at the perfect times

he's a low-key emo. for sure. he loves MCR, but strangely dislikes other similar artists like p!atd and fob.

kiki: but...brendon urie, akio....

akio, sipping tea: as a gay, i can appreciate the aesthetic. but no one can compete with MCR

kiki, exasperated: its not a competition -

basically, a slightly guarded boy with a real talent for defending the universe and his friends, but also an emo cowboy mess who is in love with alvaro and loves everyone :’)

WELL THAT ENDED UP LONGER THAN I EXPECTED. I HOPE U ENJOY AAAA

ALSO FOLLOW @voltronuniversaldefender !!!! its amazing, guys, really check it out :D

#vud #voltron universal defender #i love them asadjkdflkKL #vud headcanons #I HOPE YALL LIKE THIS #alvaro valladeres #natia nanai #kiki evans #akio himura

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renamusing · 7 years

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reuenthals replied to your post: reuenthals replied to your post: ...

in the folder re: konhiji like we’re not told how old toshi was when he met kondo but probably a teenager considerin sougo was 6-8 so i always thought toshi’d place kondo in a place similar to tamegoro but misunderstand those feelins as smth else bc he’s just a baby + kondou’s the first to show him real (or any) affection outside tamegoro n not fear or resent him in any way but actually want to help him (he later in life realizes hed just misplaced/misunderstood their

nature). from that same era, i think his feelins for mitsuba would fit a similar narrative as in bc of circumstances she HAD to be the woman he loved bc all men must love a woman plus she had feelins for him (tho tbh i also dont think hers were any different from the familial love she had for kondou and it was also a matter of circumstance but thats another matter) so it was a done deal but still easy to leave behind for a new life n have as backup/excuse for any other

woman hed meet or more like a shield from havin to open up w/unravel to any feelins of love of a non familial nature for anyone. his take on love is rly naive n pure (contrasted to ofc my baby whos smart n no fool) bc it also serves as shield n hes also said to be unable to relate/open up to women multiple times but is defenseless towards men (n sorachi loves that trope esp w toshi n gin chan in which theyre ‘men that are more attractive to other men than women’) which

i think is why hes so well defenseless towards gin chan durin their duel in the rooftops like for gin chan thats just a ‘crazy cop attacked me again’ moment but for toshi it like shakes the foundations of his whole bein he like lies there all wistful like wtf…..im gay? no… w a blossomin crush that only gets worse the more he interacts w gin chan (cant blame him tho gin chan is an angel) but like the way hes constructed specifically as an archetype hes too set in

performin masculinity (kyuchan says this but he also says this abt himself also multiple times) n sorachi is aware to an extent (plus hes drawin from men who were practicin mlm themselves) what this trope entails wrt sexuality n its expressions like for toshi its comfortable not to think abt love or any of that bc he has a goal n the excuse of a dead woman but its impossible to read him as anythin but not straight no matter the degree to which he is aware of it (which

tbh i think its a lot more than what ppl in fandom give him credit for) i have more detailed backed up analysis of this somewhere but i cant find them but basically at the end of the day i think toshi meetin kondo n at least havin some mixed up feelins abt what he feels towards him that hes able to resolve as bein brotherly later on in life set the path for him realizin he can love other men not in a brotherly way n in the way he (as a man) is supposed to love women

wow long but yes like toshi’s archetype in other manga/literature is easily read n can be coded as mlm/gay n is often the case but his issues run too deep for him to even consider that part seriously (at least tbh until 551 maybe baragaki but i dont think that early) so he has to suffer for it he deserves the worst the only reason gh is okay is bc he provides economically for gin chan n would be willin to pay any outstandin debts as shown in the soul switch arc. the end

i feel like this was just a sneak peek into that folder, but I loved it 200%! it’s super hard for me to reply without going into my own headcanons about gh and how they relate to one another, cause the way toshi relates to gin is so different from kondo in my perspective; in fact, it’s why i can’t get romantic konhiji at all, though i admit you make a fair point when u address the transition of toshi’s “most important person” from tamegoro to kondo (at that young age mixed feelings would be acceptable) plus, i always saw kondo as the character that ‘saved’ toshi, while gin was the one that ‘healed’ him. ofc both relationships go way beyond these dynamics, but without any actual canon romantic proof it’s difficult to postulate from toshi’s limited pov.

so, while the shinsengumi became his substitute family and kondo tamegoro’s substitute (the family core), it’s a given that toshi perceives this love as unconditional, would-die-for etc. however, it would be interesting to explore his feelings for kondo back then in relation to mitsuba; like in an effort to answer the love of a woman (as you so brilliantly put, that in those circumstances toshi HAD to love a woman) he tried to shift his romantic feelings/attraction to kondo’s masculine figure to her ? (IM ONLY REALIZING NOW THAT THIS WAS PROBABLY WHAT YOU MEANT BEFORE? IM SORRY) tho i don’t agree that mitsuba’s love for him was familial cause ponytail toshi, mack, like pls, she had to be blind ???

then we come to ginchan, whose whole relationship with toshi is based, imo, in the fact that they not only see a part of themselves in each other (the guilty, self-hating, rebel part) but that in seeing it they understand themselves better and are able to open up, share their experiences and encourage one another; not to mention protect what’s dear to them. aka they love each other. there is literally no other explanation for ginchan waiting in the rain for toshi so they could go out for a meal? i mean, sakata gintoki sat in the rain, under his umbrella, looking all complacent & shit. ALRIGHT.

btw i bolded some of your bits cause i rly relate to them in the way i see toshi, especially the ones about him putting up a shield. toshi has always had problems dealing with his feelings, even before we knew of his past with his brother (which for continuity’s sake was probably what triggered him to bottle everything up), he had always been written/regarded as a cold, level-headed character who doesn’t let emotions get the best of him. his rank in the shinsengumi further emphasizing this (and his otaku persona as well). so, without disregarding ginchan’s merits, i think that kondo’s influence (and even mitsuba’s to some extent) may have contributed to lowering toshi’s shield enough that he was able to give himself a chance to connect with someone outside his comfort zone/past. the fact that that person happened to be a man only makes more sense given his background and the hints that tell us he was never able to relate to women or feel like he could make them happy. it’s Tough on my heart to say that ginchan is basically ideal because, even though he is the mc, it’s like he was made to play that role in toshi’s life. he doesn’t bring all the answers but rather more questions cause there’s no way toshi can be confused now because his attraction to ginchan cant be excused with the role of ‘brother’ or ‘fated woman he was supposed to love’, gh bond is their own, their closeness in canon SHOULD raise suspicion cause it sure doesn’t seem straight.

well, i digressed WAY more than i should, but yeah that’s it, kudos on that folder.

#reuenthals #lost my track a couple of times #\sigh

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comicteaparty · 6 years

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October 18th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on October 18th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT. The chat focused on The Origin Story by Carolin Reich.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing The Origin Story by Carolin Reich~! (https://tapas.io/series/The-Origin-Story)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

one of my favorite scenes is actually really depressing XD but i really like the small part of a scene after cosima beats joreal and velver passes by her looking for her. https://tapas.io/episode/974705 something about the illustration on this page is so expertly crafted. like, you can just take one look and see cosima is in shock and kind of dead instead, and the fact its conveyed in such a brief and brillaint way amazes me.

Superjustinbros

Hi there!

RebelVampire

hey SJ

Superjustinbros

Glad to be here

RebelVampire

feel free to share any scenes that you were found of.

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1182515

Here's a pretty silly one

RebelVampire

yes! i really liked the relationship between chaze and his brother. theyre so different in personality. and you kind of have to wonder what happened in the past that caused his brother to leave home and essentially leave chaze in charge. cause chaze is not exactly whod i was as a king necessarily XD

Superjustinbros

Heehee X3

Pretty much

RebelVampire

did you just like it for the silliness or was there something else?

Superjustinbros

the silliness

RebelVampire

any part of the silliness that particularly entertained you or just the whole package?

Superjustinbros

I'd say the "head shake" bit

RebelVampire

yeah thats definitely a great illustration right there~!

Superjustinbros

Indeed

And giant draco daddy

RebelVampire

yeah i liked how the dragon was treated more like a pest than as a dragon XD

Superjustinbros

Dragon jsut wants his pumpkins for Halloween

RebelVampire

in the meantime, another scene i liked was in the elven court where velver did manipulative mumbo jumbo towards nocturne by playing to her fears on being the proxy for chaos. that was just some beautiful a-ok emotional stake driving right there. though i do wonder how much of it was on purpose or if velver was being a jerk. but i like the fact that i dont know for sure because it keeps velver as a bit enigmatic

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1152958 Ooh, so there's some type of modern tech in this world too?

RebelVampire

ummm, well in that part of the world its just cause cosima brought her phone

Superjustinbros

lol right

RebelVampire

another scene im fond of is when nocturne she tells Chaze "nope you gotta figure out how to get yourself out" after freeing him. Chaze has some really great expressions. But i also like the story itself turns my expectations on their head by having Chaze really actually mostly figure out how to escape himself.

Superjustinbros

Yeah that's a good scene

RebelVampire

speaking of head turns, and not so much a scene, but i like that cosima orchestrated her own escape from the brothel and noped out. like im used to stories where the protagonist misbehaves only a fraction (like explore the brothel after being told no dont do that). but cosima just nopes out of there and heads for home, which is a fitting reaction for someone her age.

Superjustinbros

Yeah.

At least it's appropriate for Cosima's age.

Since I see lots of story make the young characters far more intelligent/capable for someone their age

RebelVampire

yes, so i like that she decided to try and nope after all. granted it backfired as it should have, but still the attempt was made

mathtans

I will be another... 15-20 minutes. FYI.

RebelVampire

kay take your time. well be here but i hope you can make it.

mathtans

I liked the rattling off of "chosen one" artifacts like mascots and silver crystals and then be all, if I don't get those, then nevermind.

Superjustinbros

Oh hey Math(edited)

RebelVampire

oh yeah i forgot about that moment in the larger scheme. but that was a really great moment. and again, kind of a more realistic reaction in a sense. cause i think those sorts of things are what ppl expect if they get told theyre the chosen one.

QUESTION 2. Throughout the comic, Velver seems to be up to his own sorts of goals. What do you think Velver’s goals even are? Are they personal, or is this the will of the supposed Church? What do these goals have to do with manipulating the elves to war with the merpeople? What outcome do you think people are hoping to achieve by starting it? Who is Kader, and what’s their intent with Cosima/Riga? Do you feel Velver is loyal to Kader, or is Velver playing the field to achieve his own ends? Lastly, how does Velver know Jorel, and why did Jorel call Velver a traitor?

i will try and tackle the last one first. i feel as if velver must not have always been part of the church by the fact hes a traitor. instead, he joined the church later when he saw the people he was with were "evil." though personally i feel like jorel's group wants to stop the prophecy a different way versus what the church is up to? but this is mostly based on the fact i cant necessarily picture jorel as part of this so-called church

i could be wrong and its totally opposite and the hunters dont realize velver is a double agent who hates the church

im gonna go out on the limb and say i think velver is playing both fields and trying to decide for himself what the best outcome is. and that while he's doing kader's bidding for now, he ultimately is after something else that makes following kader necessary.

Superjustinbros

I second the "prophecy a different way" part, seems like a possible reason.

RebelVampire

i definitely also feel that kader is definitely for sure evil. cause something about the breaking of strings and velver's reactions makes me pretty sure they're a tyrant. XD which makes me pretty sure that they actually dont care about light beating the dark. they just want cosima's powers to do cool power things. maybe take over a kingdom

actually thatd make sense for why they want the elves and the merpeople to war

let the elves and the merpeople tire themselves out

then swoop in with cosima/riga saying "were here to take over"

insta win

Superjustinbros

I mean who doesn't want to rule over a kingdom

mathtans

Okaaaay, hiiii. Busy week, didn't get all the way through "Destiny", but very impressed by the German origins here. Gonna scroll up and make random remarks now.

Re: The scene after the dead parents, yeah, that whole section somehow rang really true, the whole "my parents will be so annoyed I don't want to have to deal" morphing into the "what is even my life now". Also, kudos on illustrations in general.

RebelVampire

yeah. i like that it continues as well to when cosima got caught by the hunters. and she just sits there like "what is life what do i do"

mathtans

I'm not at the brother scene yet. ^.^ Did not expect the dragon thing. I wonder how people who do the swimming/water thing end up with dragons, that we associate with the air.

Yeah. I mean, not only are your parents dead, you come face to face with their killer. Yipes.

Yeah, Cosima's portrayed well as a teenager.

RebelVampire

i did wonder that too. we havent seen the merpeople yet in the sense of their city, so maybe they actually live above water unlike all past precedent merpeople or something

i did think it was ironic

but i also thought it was ironic anyway cause how does chaze of all ppl have a dragon XD

mathtans

Velver's an interesting cookie. Joining up later makes sense, particularly if that made him a "traitor" to some. I feel like he's his own agent, rather than working for anyone else... not necessarily that he's trying to engineer the best outcome either, just that he thinks he has some role to play, prophecy wise.

Superjustinbros

I wonder what the merpeople even look like

unless they already appeared and I jsut missed it

mathtans

Seahorses are called dragons of the sea, right? Maybe that's how they hatch.

RebelVampire

chaze is a mer person

Superjustinbros

ooh

RebelVampire

as is his brother XD

Superjustinbros

Okay then X3

RebelVampire

and i guess thats possible if the dragons are secretly just sea horses

mathtans

I think Velver's been reading the ancient runes. I also have my own crazy theory...

Namely that which one of them is good/order or evil/chaos hasn't necessarily been decided yet. Velver's pegging Cosima for the former, but it could be the other girl, so he's goading her too.

RebelVampire

oh thats a really good theory. that either one is capable. cause i mean tbf chaos doesnt have to be evil nor does order have to be good

mathtans

It's like, "I'm going to start a war, and let's see which of them handles it better".

Superjustinbros

lel

mathtans

It also might explain why Jorel wanted Cosima dead, he (or others of his kind) have pegged her as the chaotic one.

RebelVampire

could be

tbf maybe jorel wasnt even ordered to kill cosima

maybe hes just like velver and think he has his own role to play

Superjustinbros

Maybe so

RebelVampire

and he chose the psycho role

mathtans

Could be. I'm not sure I totally buy he's a psycho though... he's strangely ordered in his thinking. It's like, I gotta do this, and this, and tie up loose ends. He just, I dunno, has no soul?

(Maybe that's the same thing.)

RebelVampire

i mostly label him psycho cause he heartlessly killed her parents XD

mathtans

OH, hmmmm... what if Velver and Jorel were originally the rebirth of order and chaos, and they messed it up, so now it's up to the women? How old are they anyway?

Rebel: Fair.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Many of the events of the comic come about for one reason: Cosima and Nocturne are destined to fight according to a prophecy and past precedence of their past selves. Do you think The Origin Story about Riga and her sister is true, or do you think there’s some critical information missing from it? Do you believe the prophecy is destined to come to pass, or are Cosima and Nocturne going to find a way to avoid fighting each other? Why do you think Cosima was kidnapped as a child but not Nocturne? In present times, what do you think will happen when Cosima catches up with Nocturne? Do you think Cosima will learn to control her powers inherited from Riga better, or will they ultimately be her undoing? What about Nocturne? Will she overcome her own issues regarding the prophecy?

i dont think that old. but i mean i guess its possible. though they must of messed up real bad cause neither velver or jorel killed each other.

so im saying it now cause of that flashback cosima had at some point (which i dont remember where). i think this is one of those situations where what ppl believe is a lie. someone else hurt riga and someone kept turning the new incarnations against each other. and eventually it devolved into a myth and such, as myths tend to do

mathtans

Well, the killing each other is just how things are now, once it's all escalated. ^.^

There's probably key missing information... maybe they're actually TRIPLETS.

RebelVampire

dun dun dun without the 3rd sister there are no negotians. jsut blind filled rage

mathtans

Yeah, there has been some interesting flashback/imagery stuff. Like when she reached for someone, and the image shattered and it was Velver (if memory serves).

I wonder if Cosima's friends have a role to play too. Maybe in a big twist, it was really one of them.

RebelVampire

they definitely have a role to play. they are suspicious af, though idk if you got to that part yet

mathtans

Ahh, if they appear in "Destiny" then no. I only got to the bit after Velver and Jorel talked. (I feel like they're related, incidentally.)

Speaking of though, the plot has been very clever in rolling out it's cast. Gradual enough to come to terms with each new character, but teasing others that end up with bigger roles later on. I'm reminded of an early scene when Velver was spying on Cosima - and Nocturne was spying on him. Layers.

RebelVampire

yeah i really like the pacing on it too. i dont have to spend an immense time memorizing a billion names at once.

Superjustinbros

At least the names aren't too hard to memorize.

mathtans

I'm still horrible with names. It's a gift.

I imagine it scans differently too when you're seeing it as it comes out versus binging, but I felt like the pacing was done well for the cast.

Superjustinbros

i feel ya Math (edited)

RebelVampire

on the side topic of nocturne, i feel like left to their own devices she and cosima wouldn't fight it out to the death. instead theyd be all sister bondy bond, have some tea, etc. so i think for sure its not they themselves who bring the prophecy to pass, its the plans of others who try to grab at the power and turn them on each other. but i also think cosima and nocturne will be obstinate and keep hugging each other screaming no

mathtans

I'm not so sure about that. Mainly because they might not always have control over their bodies. Like when Cosima went crazy on Jorel for self preservation. Could happen again with unintended consequences.

Nocturne probably also resents Cosima for growing up without so much responsibility, maybe also for having actual parents who aren't apparently trapped in crystals.

(...is reading a bit further in the background btw...)

RebelVampire

idk if nocturne would resent cosima for it. cause i mean, at least nocturne's parents are still probably alive in their crystals and werent viciously murdered. though youre right that riga may have other ideas about their bonding and just take over. but then again riga seems to know what velver is up to so riga might not act either.

the bigger danger on seeing nocturne i think is seeing the queen of elves

cause shes the one who might not take kindly to cosima XD

mathtans

Well, yeah, once Nocturne learns of the murdering that might change things. ^.^ There's a lot of variables in play I suppose.

That said, I will willingly ship Nocturne with Cosima's friends.

RebelVampire

LOL i dont think i can get behind that ship. mostly cause i expect cosima's friends to die. :"D

mathtans

That light haired girl is kind of precious though, with her theories.

I wonder what she'd make of seeing the town.... ... and now I'm picturing her at the brothel, I shouldn't do that.

Also, shipping all the girls in the brothel.

RebelVampire

yes those are more acceptable ships. the brothel girls are probably safe. and head brothel girl has a whip.

also i found it, that scene with cosima's friends being super suspicious. it was actually in puppeter

https://tapas.io/episode/915705

mathtans

Right, the fact that they knew Jorel. I thought that was weird.

It's fine though, I'll still ship them with each other! All the ships!

RebelVampire

yeah. whatever organization jorel is from theyre clearly from

QUESTION 4. Among the larger threads rests a plethora of other possible curiosities to be solved. Who exactly were Cosima’s parents? Were they working for someone from the beginning, or did they somehow get wrapped up in everything? Who are Cosima’s friends considering they lament that their comfortable lives have changed since Cosima left? Who is Jorel, and why are his orders to kill Cosima? What is the deal with the elves trapped in crystals? As far as the plot goes, how might the Hunters affect what’s going on in general? What about Chaze? Will he be able to stop the war, or is his destiny meant to be something greater than that? In general, what are your theories for the future? What do you think or want to see happen?

mathtans

Are they from that organization though? Because if so, they know where Cosima is. Why bother sending Jorel.

RebelVampire

i think jorel is more firmly acting on his own

since the friends didnt know of any death order

mathtans

He was saying he couldn't go back without being sure she was dead though, or someone would be upset.

I think.

RebelVampire

so maybe the friends didnt get the message? and theyre going to show up going wtf guys

mathtans

Holy Hannah! Kader's more psychotic than Jorel, she doesn't even kill directly. (Just got caught up.) Like geeeeeez.

Rebel: Maybe. There was the implication that they could return as well.

I suspects events will prevent that, but they thought it was an option.

RebelVampire

maybe. idk. i need more data in this case. i still think jorel is working more on his own though. cause maybe the person who was gonna be upset is actually gonna be upset regardless. and be like wtf jorel why did you kill riga you dolt

but yeah kader is psychotic, or at the very least tyrannical

velver did not necessarily make a good switch

i really want to know whats up with the elves in the crystals. like was there a spell that backfired and the queen just doesnt care O_O

mathtans

Maybe, yeah... also that mention of having the same problem in another 10 years makes me think once again that if the battle doesn't happen the spirits move on again. Or something.

Yeah, maybe the elves in the crystals had a disease? So it's like suspended animation? Because it was mentioned that there were fewer elves than merfolk.

Or maybe they just couldn't make enough food for the city, so this means fewer mouths to feed. Swords apparently grow in the crystals, but I guess vegetables don't.

RebelVampire

maybe it is a disease. or maybe this is actually why riga was kidnapped. cause riga caused it and jorel's group was like "welp we found riga. did you see that giant crystal explosion?"

im not sure what mention youre talking about with the 10 years thing tho

i must of missed it

mathtans

The most recent update. Third panel from the end.

Riga likes making crystals. Everyone needs a hobby.

RebelVampire

hmmm from the phrasing i feel like the implication is more that nocturne will kill riga? and kader will have to wait a decade for riga to be reborn again so they have to restart the kidnapping process. but i could be wrong.

mathtans

As to the future, I really don't think I can call it. Too many moving pieces. I also wonder a bit if maybe the Circle's hiding elements of the prophecy, accidentally or otherwise.

Ahh, I see... no, that's possible. Doesn't necessarily negate the Velver/Jorel reincarnation issue though, maybe the host doesn't need to die.

(Yes, I'm back to that theory.)

RebelVampire

its a possible theory. though like i say theyd really have to mess it up for this to be a thing. i do think parts of the prophecy are hidden

though maybe its a bit of both

in that theyre purposefully hiding some of it

but then theres parts that they just missed

and are gonna go through their archives and go "oops"

mathtans

It was censored by the clerics.

Incidentally, just want to shout-out here too for the translator. I noticed the comic's originally in German, and gets translated. Can't be simple coming up with the terms like for the "virtual loop" forest.

(Maybe the original German prophecy got translated so many times it's being misinterpreted. )

RebelVampire

i am curious what the original german says now XD

mathtans

I can't speak German. They have neat words for things though.

Okay, final theory. In a massive plot twist, Cosima's cat app saves the day. All the outside world needed was technologies to unify the different groups.

Oh! And shout-out to some of the fun cartoony poses. I feel like those would be fun to draw. (Or maybe not draw, but see once drawn?)

RebelVampire

haha i did kind of hope it would go that way tbh. that by the end the worlds recombine and they figure out that technology is awesome and puts less pressure on the whole magic business.

so i mean if cosima's cat app requires this to happen, so be it

mathtans

I wonder if there's anywhere for her phone to charge. Or if she can use magic for that.

RebelVampire

i wonder if vampire guy we saw briefly who seemed to be from cosima's world has the cat app

that would be hilarious. has all these great goddess powers, uses them to recharge her phone

mathtans

It's the simple things in life sometimes.

RebelVampire

well if cosima visits the brothel again, she cant disappoint. theyll want to see that cat app again

mathtans

Yis. That will be after the Origin Story... the Sequel Story.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Carolin Reich, as well, for making The Origin Story. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Carolin Reich’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/The-Origin-Story

Carolin Reich’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CarolinReich

Carolin Reich’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A212D0X

Carolin Reich’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ensyis

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about A Drift of Souls by Davpow. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, October 25th, from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: https://adriftofsouls.com/

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #bookclub #book club #webcomic bookclub #webcomic book club #comic tea party #ctp #the origin story #carolin reich

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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The lure of tall buildings: A guide to the risky but lucrative world of rooftoppers

The ultimate selfie can bring kudos and cash to urban rooftoppers

When teenager Harry Gallagher clambered on to the roof of Canary Wharfs highest building his exploits went viral. Gallagher, 19, aka Nightscape, is a rooftopper, someone who gains access to buildings and restricted spaces to take photographs of themselves, often hanging in precarious poses. To the uninitiated, it might appear to be a new phenomenon, but rooftoppings genesis lies in the long-established urban explorer movement, known as urbex.

An early exponent was Jeff Chapman, or Ninjalicious, the late Toronto-based explorer who in the early noughties infiltrated buildings and underground systems, recording his adventures in his zine, Infiltration. Chapman tended to shun the limelight, but now rooftoppers are aiming ever higher in their quest for personal glory and reward.

Urban exploring is beginning to splinter into different practices, said Theo Kindynis, a criminologist at Roehampton University. What was traditionally thought of as urban exploration, fetishists exploring abandoned mental asylums, that sort of thing, is mutating. Youve now got subway explorers and youve got rooftoppers like Nightscape doing the foot-dangling thing. As a result, youve got new attitudes and etiquettes evolving. The old take-nothing-but-photos-leave-nothing-but-footprints adage is increasingly irrelevant.

Gallagher has previously targeted Robin Hood airport in Doncaster, the roof of West Hams new stadium, and the London Olympic parks Orbit structure. His exploits are posted on his YouTube channel and promoted through Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. His latest hack, released online last week, will have helped send his reputation soaring. Gallagher and a friend can be seen climbing on to the roof of One Canada Square and scaling its pyramid.

At the start of the video, already viewed 450,000 times and liked by 45,000 people on YouTube, the pair describe the challenge as almost impossible and express astonishment that they were able to pull it off. But Kindynis is not convinced. These guys are notorious within the scene for poaching other peoples spots. I highly doubt they were the first people to get on to the roof of One Canada Square. They were probably told how to do it by someone else. Within the urbex community, these things tend to be kept hush-hush, but now its on YouTube and they will have changed their security measures so nobody else will be able to enjoy that rooftop.

Within certain elements of the community, these guys are not liked. They are seen as a problem. Cranes and construction sites and rooftops are getting locked down because these guys are prostituting it to social media.

The high-profile stunts of Gallagher and his cohorts seem a world away from urbexs original ethos and its political overtones. In an article for Domus magazine in 2011, Dr Bradley Garrett, an urban explorer and a geographer at Southampton University, suggested that urbex practitioners were reviving the practice of usufruct which basically means that someone has the right to use and enjoy the property of another, provided it is not changed or damaged in any way.

But Kindynis suggests the selfie generation are not in it for the philosophy.

For the people doing it, its all about the image, getting the cool, exclusive YouTubable footage. Its about building their personal brand, all about the image, all about the spectacle.

Harry Gallagher. Photograph: @night.scape

And why not? Building a rooftopping brand can be lucrative. Gallaghers Nightscape website sells original T-shirts for 24.99 and hoodies for 39.99. Not that he is unique in turning his exploits into cash. Urban free climber James Kingstons website sells posters of him balancing precariously in a variety of places as well as a range of T-shirts.

But selling merchandise is only one element. Gallaghers highly stylised video of the One Canada Square hack has its own soundtrack, which carries links to promote the featured songs. He recently appeared in a short film for fashion brand Palladiums new range of waterproof boots.

As Gallaghers mother, Amanda, told the Times: We come from a modest background and never had any financial stability. The day he went up West Ham [stadium], we couldnt buy a jar of coffee that morning. By that night, hed gone viral. Thats when he came to me and said: Now, you get it, Mum. Now you see what this is, what its allabout.

Milo Hale, a photographer and rooftopper with 15,000 followers on Instagram, believes the movement is coming out of the shadows and into the mainstream. The whole Instagram scene has helped it develop over the last few months, Hale said. It has completely blown up around the world. It was definitely one of those things that was quite underground and people didnt really know about it and now its come out to the wider audience through social media.

Hale, 20, who got into rooftopping through parkour, or free-running, acknowledges that its growing popularity poses new challenges. Brands are gravitating towards rooftoppers as social media influencers because they cut through to younger audiences far more effectively.

One survey suggested that 70% of teenage YouTube subscribers trust influencer opinions over traditional celebrities. But the rooftoppers risk losing credibility if they are seen to be too commercial.

Theres a lot of companies Im in talks with, Hale said. But for people like me and rooftoppers on Instagram, theres this desire to want to keep your work authentic. Obviously, I want to work with brands and create content for them, and to be able to fund what I want to do, but at the same time I think theres a sort of caution from creators and rooftoppers, particularly to not sell it off in the wrong light and not just sell out just because they can.

Not everyone seems to have such qualms, and there is a sense that many rooftopping images are in danger of becoming cliched. Every day I look at Instagram and there are literally hundreds of kids doing it, Kindynis said.

The surge in interest also brings problems. I get a lot of messages from people asking, oh can you show me how to get up on that rooftop blah blah blah, and I always say no because I dont want to be responsible for someone going up somewhere theyre not comfortable with, and if that goes wrong, thats on my conscience, Hale said. Its difficult finding that balance between sharing it and not not forcing people to do it but not pushing people into it when you know they shouldnt be doing it.

A rooftopper in Dubai. Photograph: Keow Wee Loong/Barcroft Media

The UKs burgeoning army of rooftoppers is unlikely to eclipse the success of Viki Odintcova, a Russian model recently snapped in a precarious pose leaning out of Dubais Cayan Tower skyscraper the worlds tallest building when it opened in 2013.

The 22-year-old, whose Instagram account now has more than 3million followers, uses her social media presence to promote a bewildering variety of brands. Visitors can click on tags in the images that take them to other Instagram sites promoting everything from teeth-whitening products to bracelets and underwear.

Odintcova is not the only Russian model to use outlandish rooftop stunts to promote herself. Angela Nikolau, 23, was photographed on a crane at the top of a 640m tower under construction in China. With around 450,000 followers on Instagram, she is fast carving out a reputation for taking the most dangerous selfies in the world. Like Odintcova, her account is tagged to a growing range of brands. One of the stunts was sponsored by a Russian travel insurance company.

Unsurprisingly, the major fashion brands have also clocked the trend. In 2014 Nike launched its All Conditions Gear range, complete with a promotional video in which a hooded figure is poised dramatically on a roof edge. Gallagher has promoted Converse Chuck II trainers in an edgy urban explorer montage. Red Bull TV has an urbex section featuring a group of urban explorers [who] risk life and limb to get inside, above and around some of the most forbidden places onEarth.

But the appropriation of urban exploration by the selfie generation is triggering a backlash. Kindynis said that some within the movement, especially the subterranean explorers who roam sewers and subways, were going offline because they dont want to attract the same attention and dont want it turned into a spectator sport the way rooftopping has been.

They are, however, likely to be outnumbered by the many others who know that taking the ultimate selfie can earn them kudos and cash. Kindynis is worried about where rooftop mania will end. More and more risks are being taken. I dont think anyones died in London, but its only a matter of time.

YOUTUBE STARS

November 2014 Cosmo Calisse explores the rooftops of Toronto with two parkour enthusiasts: 17,000 views

February 2016 Jimmy Cheung films the view from the One World Trade Center in New York: 20,000 views

September 2016 Harry Gallagher, aka Nightscape, sneaks into West Hams stadium in London: 4m views

9 February Angela Nikolau climbs one of Shanghais highest buildings with boyfriend Ivan Beerkus: 41,946 views

26 February Russian model Victoria Odintcova hangs off Dubais 1,005ft Cayan Tower: 5.4m views