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exp123mon · 7 months

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Watched more Digimon Frontier~

12 - Roar, Vritramon! Defeat Gigasmon! -like I said before, seems like Koji can now control (or better control) Garmmon. I guess when the stakes are higher you better control raging crazy monster spirits. -Little more snippets of Tomoki's history and he snaps Takuya out of his craziness! I like that their relationship is two ways and not just the "big brother" constantly protecting or bailing out the little one -Vritramon's vision actually perceiving things as more scary/dangerous than they are is a nice touch; anybody would freak out if the world suddenly just didn't look right -OOOOH so those puzzle things are called amidakuji--Amida Forest in DW1 makes more sense now lol. -Takuya learns how to control Vritramon AND slide evolution. I guess it just comes naturally once you can evolve. Why wouldn't it? -HMM. "Defeat Gigasmon"… he did. But Grottomon escaped somewhere and DUN DUN DUN the other villains appear at last! That entire scene actually gave me the vibe of a like 80s/90s isekai for some reason. Maybe the environment and the moons? -I knew about Ranamon (in the sense that I knew she a. existed and b. is a villain) and I'm pretty sure I've seen Mercuremon before (I always thought it looks like if Rapidmon had a baby with an NGE angel haha); Duskmon is the Darkness warrior and a loner so he's gonna be the Koji analogue or foil I suppose -Not the most massively entertaining episode but it feels like a HUGE turning point plotwise so it was interesting. The threats have expanded, two Beast Spirits are actually usable now.

13 - Awaken, Seraphimon! The Secret of the Ten Warriors! -OKAY SO I don't think I've mentined before but I did notice that Seraphimon in the intro getting killed/destroyed/whatever since episode 1. So from the title alone I am intrigued. -We finally arrive at Forest Terminal, and all that's there is a Derumon making terrible noodles… wait. It puts an egg on everybody's ramen… where do EGGS come from in the Digital World? Meat grows out of the ground, so are there egg trees? "Egg plants"??? Do they grow in the ground, too, but like potatoes? Or are there just Chickenmon somewhere being mass exploited like the Kokuwamon lol -Mysterious stairway to heaven on the tree… with a super cool looking castle on top. I always love how Digimon does whatever it wants with aesthetic. So many other shows or franchises would be like "digital world… must always look like The Matrix or the inside of a computer!" Digimon's like "nah whatever looks cool" -incidentally the interior of the catle also looks very nice, love these old style painterly/crayon/pencil coloured backgrounds from older anime -I like the kids mentioning Sorcerymon looks like Wizardmon but a different colour. They're both a little antsy around one another. I dunno I feel like Frontier is doing a good job at having interactions be sensible and stuff and doing things kinda subtly. There wasn't some huge freak out or confrontation because "oh he looks like a former enemy!" or whatever, but naturally both parties are a little wary. -Seraphimon! Oh and he gets busted out of crystal prison. Oh and he drops some lore on us. Then Grottomon shows up with the gang!! oh shi--WAIT SERAPHIMON GOT EGG'D -Aww, the episode ends with the gang having their first big taste of Adventure-style trauma. "Wait people who are our friends and allies are going to die for us. :(" yep sorry kiddos that's what you get for being Digimon protags heehee -Okay but HOLY CRAP, so much happened this episode but, again, the pacing just felt so nice? There was a load of plot progression and stuff but it never felt like it was rushed or like it dragged too much. -to finish off there was a really cool shot when Ranamon first used her attack and the camera panned to the targets. She was rightside-up then it panned to the boys upside down, so it looked like the water from her attack was going "up" from the camera's perspective. It stuck out to me as a cool and creative shot.

14 - Lightning, Smash the Rock! Bolgmon's Do-or-Die Challenge -Oooooo new spirit!! -Bokomon taking care of the egg omg and Tomoki's like "looks like you're pregnant" lol -The Trailmon goes flying off a huge gap in the tracks wtf and Bokomon being all "THIS ISN'T GOOD FOR MY BABY!" had me cracking up -So it seems like the other evil dudes don't care much about Grottomon. Not surprised, seems like a consistent attitude these big anime villain groups have haha. I suppose their shtick is serving Cherubimon, though, not being bound to one another. -Mercuremon seems like the biggest asshole of them all though. He's one of THOSE characters. I dunno the name of the archetype. But all like "I'm a nasty evil bastard with no sense of fealty ohohohoho" I dunno lol -WHAMON. WHAMON IS ALWAYS FRIEND. -Arbormon's Beast form is Petaldramon, who… does nothing this ep whoops. -Bolgmon is pretty cool but feels really similar to Blitzmon, moreso than Garmmon or Vritramon do to their human counterparts. -Oh I love that Junpei gains control of his Beast spirit with the power of BEING PISSED OFF at Grottomon haha. Also GROTTOMON GETS BLASTED. He's straight up DIGITAMA'D. -It was nice that Izumi genuinely appreciates Junpei fighting so hard to get her Spirit back. No tsunderes here, thank goodness. -Once again chuckling when Bokomon is all "MY BABY!!" when the cave gets flooded haha. -WHAMON SAVES THE DAY. WHAMON FRIEND. ALWAYS. -Side(ish note), I HAVE seen there's a Patamon in Frontier… so, like, I'm assuming that's who Seraphimon's egg hatches into. Makes sense haha but we'll see.

15 - A Squid Beast Evolution! Calamaramon -Ranamon has a li'l SQUID as her computer cursor. That's such a cute detail. -IT'S A BEACH EPISODE -Bruh if those Toucanmon served me up that food I'd let them do whatever they wanted to me and my Spirit. -I dunno why but I find the whole thing with Bokomon and the egg-nancy funny. "I am eating for two" yeah me too bro but I'm just greedy haha I do feel like Neemon is just here so Bokomon can talk to somebody though. He should've hidden the digivices in his pants lol -I do feel like it's weird the kids let their guard down so much. I guess they're just tired from all the BS going on though. But. Like. YOU COULD DIE if you get caught without your Spirits!! -Oh no. The. The sexualisation. of the. 11 year old. got worse D: D: D: D: She even calls one of the swimsuits she tries on "sexy" something… wretching noises -Okay on the one hand Calmaramon being "defeated" by her own incompetence/lack of experience was super funny (not like I'd expect Ranamon to be TRULY defeated like Grottomon just was in her first battle with the kids) … but also, REALLY. REALLY. Izumi FINALLY gets her Spirit back, is the ONLY kid with her Digivice, and her first battle after not being able to fight for ages she's knocked down again. :| Like I said before this is a pattern at this point but still disappointing THIS moment of all they let it happen again… -The Toucanmon being like "lolnope not a Ranamon fan no more" at Calmaramon was def funny though.

16 - Strength Alone Isn't Enough! The Beautiful Warrior, Shutumon -OH BOY IZUMI SPIRIT EP I AM SO SCARED -The Toucanmon are pretty fun. I like that they're actually planning to sell the Digivices rather than just going "oh um sorry for being evil here's your stuff back" to the kids then vanishing forever -GOMAMON -GOMAMON -SO MANY GOMAMON EEEEEEEEE -Izumi is knocked down again D: -Izumi finds her Beast Spirit and has control over it instantly like a badass :D -Moral: strength alone isn't enough. You also need to verbally denigrate your opponent. -Oh Calmaramon leaves by… the same joke as last time… okay. Weakest two episodes so far to be honest. Like I didn't HATE them but they just felt kinda eh. A shame because I really like Izumi as a character, she just seems to get screwed over in episodes focused on her. -Ranamon is by far my least favourite character in the show so far, no contest. I like all the kids, Grottomon was pretty cool, Mercuremon is a bastard but in that kind of "love to hate" villian way. Arbormon hasn't had enough screentime for me to have a stance either way and Duskmon has literally just looked static and edgy in like, one or two still frames haha. Ranamon's just grating at this point. (I do love her voice as Calmaramon though, sounds like a character who'd be super fun to act) -ONTO AKIBA TOWN… to buy loads of weeb shit... or maybe a frosty beast spirit?!?! (I'm not watching the previews at the end of each ep btw) -YOU KNOW though Ranamon being an idol makes me suddenly wish we had a slice of life Digimon series. Like set in the Digital World, Digimon characters only, no HUGE or overarching plot of menace and fate and stuff, if if there is it's relegated to the background and a handful of important episodes (a la MLPFIM). Just these silly monsters living their day-to-day lives and the mundane drama that unfolds. That'd be cool.

#not art #digimon frontier #frontier watching

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wangxiians · 3 years

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in every adaption, wangxian are all about the ~little touches~

#these took forever to colour until i simply Gave Up and ended up with this lol #wangxian #mdzs #mdzsnet #mo dao zu shi #mdzs donghua s3 #mdzs donghua #donghua #*#mdzs spoilers #the colouring is terrible but also the scene was so dark so lol #wangxian's love was just too powerful that i had to gif it

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swimmingleo · 2 years

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The Wizard of Oz: yet another conspiracy

It's about the infamous spinning around parallel, this one:

Why... would they do this.

Point is I've gone too far, Harryween happened, I fell into a Wizard of Oz rabbithole and found this that for some reason I've missed all this time, which happens to be mf Pink Floyd related because why wouldn't it be.

I promise it kind of adds up in the end, but it's mostly me... clowning.

The Dark Side of the Rainbow:

It's an old Pink Floyd theory and one of the most well-known in the band's lore: it started around the 80's with the popularization of videotapes. One day, someone just had the idea to mute the Wizard of Oz (1939) and play The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) over it right at the beginning of the movie (the third roar from the MGM lion). A scarily accurate synchronization resulted, to the point where one could ask themselves if the album was indeed produced as an alternate soundtrack to the film.

cut, im pouring mercy on the dash

Just your average fan theory, which really took off in the 90s and surprisingly received a lot of response. The album's audio engineer called it "eyewash" and an impossible thing to do with the technology they had back then. (which is. really not true. You could do it, it was just terribly impractical. then again if you're crazy enough..)

David Gilmour and Nick Mason, guitarist and drummer of the band, also vehemently denied the theory: total non sense and a waste of time.

basically everyone got real pressed for no reason lol it's a cute fan theory guys not gAy rUmOuRs cmon

HOWEVER, there is one person who never denied it and it's the guy who literally conceptualized the entire album. Indeed, Roger Waters found the theory "amusing" and had even referenced Over The Rainbow in later album The Wall (and seeing how frustrated he gets when the audience doesn't engage with their music the way he'd like, it almost feels like he was encouraging the theory but then again. pure assumption idk shit)

So yeah, make what you want of this dysfunctional band's response to the theory.

Okay but does it really work ?

There have been psychological explanations of the phenomenon: the theory has been dismissed as the brain always finding connections and parallels between different elements: if you're looking for something, you find it. Yes, this explains various fan theories like the Beatles' ''Paul is dead'', or crispy audios we have around here (pReTtY uNfoRtUnaTe) where the perception is influenced by what we're told to hear or what we want to see. If you play any random music over any random movie, you will always find synchronized moments. But I think the Dark Side of The Rainbow goes beyond that: you can actually make out obvious interpretations and patterns that make sense with the rest of their discography or what they said about certain things/songs. The album actually matches the movie’s narration or the transitions between scenes. But once again, the theory has been associated with crazy delusional fans on acid who live on conspiracies so... (so larrie of em)

Here you have the full movie, with the album playing on loop over it (cuz it's an album designed to be played on loop). Most little moments feel like those funny coincidences I mentioned before, like a character moving, dancing or speaking on beat, but some others are like... too much for me to dismiss as coincidences, because they carry some deep PF-esque meaning. I won't get much into it here cuz we don't have time for that~ but if you're a PF fan interested by the topic feel free to send me an ask and we'll rant about it it's honestly so cool ffgeifzji

Still, I really recommend to watch this specific part:

youtube

There isn't any kind of edit to make it fit. It just naturally goes smooth like that.

CMON IT'S. IT'S WEIRD.

Also the front and back cover of the album:

...No colour > Colour > Back to no colour // Sepia > Technicolor > Back to sepia.

If you're wondering why Roger Pink Floyd would go this far to hint at a movie which had a massive impact on queer culture ever since WW2, and how it could be even more relevant to Larry, here <3

AND LARRY BITCH??

Do we know other weirdos with too much time on their hands who do weird shit with synchronization in their art yes we doooo.

So, the shot of them filmed by a camera spinning like a tornado, in an already spinning setting (twirling dancers) in MVs loaded with queer symbolism.

last one just because... SOTT sounds a lot like The Great Gig in the Sky to me. Also he's flying passing by a rainbow at some point so.

The tornado scene is the core of the Dark Side of the Rainbow theory. The music and image go incredibly well together: the piano starting on the first gust of wind, the music gradually getting louder with the chaos on screen until it suddenly calms down when Dorothy’s unconscious in the eye of the tornado. Music ends when the tornado stops for good. But also the symbolism of that song and that scene combined: The Great Gig in The Sky is part of the transition between the first and the second part of the album and it evokes death. The tornado in Oz is the transition between sepia and technicolor, two different worlds and technically.. it's Dorothy's departure from earth to somewhere over the rainbow.

Meanwhile, TPWK is in black and white, Walls is colorized. Both songs represent a significant milestone in their respectives careers. That theme of "I used to feel bad, but I've made peace with myself and now I feel better".

The TPWK/Walls parallel starts at 1:41. Solely based on that film video I linked earlier, The Wizard of Oz is 1:41:47 long. So like. If they wanted to be little shits and choose a precise timestamp that would hint at the Oz synchronicity theory...

... I just like the idea of Harry and Louis scanning the internet for some rbb/sbb ideas, stumbling upon (or already knowing) the Dark Side of the Rainbow and being like.. aha, we could do that at some point. Because in the end, whether it's intentional or not, it's a pretty big pop culture fan theory, and they've both already hinted at PF and Oz.

All in all, the first person who had the idea to play Pink Floyd's album over the Wizard of Oz would have made an excellent delusional larrie and I wish they were here.

#Youtube #oof #for real the dark side of the rainbow is a great fan theory #so much to say about it #really sus #anyway #i feel like this post is connecting tons of shit dots lmaooo #i do that a lot these times #but its fine cuz just like i really wanted to talk about 60s boots i really wanted to talk abt that wizard of oz madness too #its just that larry happens to be everywhere all the time #my analysis #terrapin

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eloves-writes · 3 years

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stormy weather

[spencer reid x reader]

summary : reader doesn’t like flying in a storm & spencer distracts them

a/n : i wrote this whilst tipsy at a family bbq, talk about queen of socialising‼️ this talks about macbeth a bit & i’m sorry if that bores you lol the first draft of this had a huge long section of reader & reid discussing lady macbeth’s character development but i figured no one would actually want to read that💀 anyways hope you enjoy, requests open as always!

couple - spencer reid x gender neutral reader

content warnings - m*cbeth😩

——————————

“did you know that flying in a thunderstorm is no more or less unsafe than flying in good weather, since most modern airplanes are built to withstand lightning strikes and harsh wind and rain, what’s interesting is-”

“reid, i swear to god,” emily complained from the seat opposite him.

the boy genius stopped his ramblings. “what?”

“emily’s far too busy for your science lessons today i think, spence,” you joked, looking up from your book.

as you spoke, lightning cracked somewhere in the distance, flashing through the jet’s windows. you involuntarily flinched, off-set by the sudden light.

“woah,” morgan remarked. “you sure about that science spiel, reid? that was pretty intense.”

“don’t set him off again,” prentiss moaned. “you’re a little jumpy today though, y/n.”

“i’m not jumpy,” you replied monotonously, not looking up from your reading this time.

“you sound like hotch,” rossi teased. that, of course, set off a not uncommon round of crude impressions of the team members. hotch glanced up disapprovingly but chuckled under his breath at emily and reid’s version of a morgan and garcia phone call. the jest was interrupted by another loud crack of lightning amongst the ignored rumbles of heavying thunder. you flinched again.

“you are scared, aren’t you y/l/n?” morgan inquired. he wasn’t trying to belittle you, but you were embarrassed nonetheless. it wasn’t like no one else on the team had seemingly childish fears; reid was scared of the dark, but everyone did take the piss out of him for it.

“i’m not scared!” you exclaimed stubbornly. “but, for unrelated reasons, i’m going to go and take a nap until we land.” you dog-eared the page of your book and placed it on the table before getting up to relocate to the jet couch. spencer picked up your book and began to inspect it; a harmless habit he had of being constantly interested in other people’s literature choices. sometimes he offered meaningless insight to the hidden metaphors of the story, or accidentally spoiled the plot before you could finish it yourself. you thought it was quite sweet really. today, you were re-reading macbeth- perhaps an odd choice for a bit of light reading as emily so often told you. admittedly, you were a fan of shakespeare’s work since you studied it for your linguistics degree.

you comfied yourself on the couch, curling up with a pillow under your head. you doubted you’d actually be able to sleep with all the noise of the storm but it was worth a try (and a break from the incessant chatter of the team). only a few minutes passed as you lay listening to the on pour of rain on the roof and distant thunder; the white noise in itself was quite relaxing, but the remembrance of flying through the tempest wasn’t so. it felt like it had been much longer than it had and you willed the time to pass sooner so you could get your feet onto some solid ground.

“heyy,” spencer purred, sitting at your feet with your book in his hands.

“hey,” you replied. “reading my book?”

“i was reading your annotations actually,” he smiled. you liked to take a biro to the margins of your books, but it was more for your own enjoyment of the story than for other people’s eyes. “i generally don’t approve of the defacing of classic literature, however you have some really interesting comments on the nature of the gender role reversal in the play. see here, act 2 scene 2, ‘my hands are of your colour but i shame to wear a heart so white’ you wrote that lady macbeth is calling him a coward. well, you didn’t write coward-”

“i wrote pussy,” you smirked.

he smiled back awkwardly. “yeah, you did. you also wrote lady macbeth is a ‘girlboss’, i’m not entirely sure what that means.”

“my notes aren’t exactly of academic standard.”

“content wise, i would have to disagree. i forget how smart you are sometimes.”

“smarter than you, dr know-it-all?”

“in some fields i’m sure. you should use that brain more in the field instead of messing around with emily.”

“mmm, i’m good on the messing around with prentiss but maybe i should offer some more of my,” -you gestured dramatically- “profound intelligence.”

spencer laughed, tucking his slightly-too-long hair behind his ear. “well if we ever need an analysis on lady macbeth’s ‘girlboss energy’ i’ll know who to call.”

“you sure will. so then doctor, macbeth- victim or villain?”

you sparked up an enthusiastic discussion about the writing, forgetting completely about the raging storm that had bothered you so much earlier. the conversation lasted the whole rest of the flight, spencer’s mission of helping you through it very much achieved. you somehow hadn’t clocked on that he only came over to distract you, despite the fact that he frequently slated shakespeare’s writing. to him, it was worth talking about even the most terrible book in the world if it meant he was talking to you. he felt a burning sense of pride for making you smile, catalysing the fire in his heart. of all the knowledge in his head, the knowledge that he had single-handedly made you feel just the tiniest bit better was all the knowledge the young doctor ever really wanted.

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader #emily prentiss #spencer reid criminal minds #criminal minds fic

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iressails · 2 years

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Content creator 2021 wrapped tag game

Cut this into what works for you. Want to do only one instead of five? Do it. Tag 2 people? Do it. This game is not your mum or the Apple App store to tell you what to do. But there are a couple of rules:

RULE 1: Review your creations over 2021. Tag some gifmakers/creators, friends and strangers to get them to do the same.

RULE 2: Link to the content, commentary optional.

Countdown

5 (or more!) creations from others that made you smash the reblog button hard, closely followed by your ‘insp’ tag or 'fave tag'. Link to sets that started conversations, outstanding composition, colouring, etc.

4 creations of which you’re proud. These are goals you scored. Nothing to do with notes.

3 creations others loved. Include the one that one that got most notes, great comments, or the classic ‘how dare you!’

2 creations that stretched you as a creator: style, colouring, blending, text, etc. include the one that should have got more notes.

1 creation of yours that you find most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and self AND 1 creation that broke and (maybe remade you) as a creator – we all have that one.

0 the creation that never was because nothing was working that day.

Overall comment on your creativity year 2021 ->

5 (or more!) creations from others that made you smash the reblog button hard, closely followed by your ‘insp’ tag or 'fave tag'.

In no particular order I tag:

@olincino's Middle Aged Husbands AU I love this one because it's so soft, and also really really clever.

@lmillers Ruth Wilson on talk show being ... Ruth, I guess! This set is so thirsty lol. The colouring and sharpness too.

@lordbelacqua I'm the best weapon you'll ever have I love this style. The last compilation one in black though, no words. (I love the ccss one, but this set wins by a hair!).

@robinsonjudy Isaac McAdoo. Content, style everything. He is a great character and this set highlights it so well.

@significanceofmoths with elf!Yibo. I love how nice it is the sparkle, and he is so cute. You get across so much with his personality with the last one.

@liquidsnvke with Finley and Sophie Dying gasp of s2 and fingers crossed. I love how clear and luminous this set is considering it is in the dark.

@roifernandez with El desorden que dejas kids. I love the first gif the b&w and the color with the portraits.

@elenas with that ghost one that everyone knows, so cool.

@lady-eleanor-vane with the Eleanor one so sharp and dark and textured you only get on a video editor!

@femadols Itzy Yeji the smooth movement in this one.

These really aren't in order just me fishing though my mass post editor on a laggy laptop.

4 creations of which you’re proud. These are goals you scored. It has nothing to do with notes.

Tess from The L Word in b&w. It really pays to fiddle with the colours on this adjustment to make it pop. It looked so much better in b&w compared to the original coloured one.

Brian Molko from Placebo. This was from a grainy youtube of a 90s music video. I changed colours, removed grain, and pushed it to the limit. I like it even if he looks a bit smooth and alien.

Tess in a shimmery silver top. I don't know if it's because of her or because of the colouring but I liked how I cropped this, except for one iffy one I didn't notice, haha. Will I change it? No. Flaws are okay.

Deran Cody being sad. I am not a text person so this one was a challenge, but the words are mine, and I think apt.

3 creations others loved. Include the one that one that got most notes, great comments, or the classic ‘how dare you!’

This one everyone loved of Tess pulling faces. I don't know why they liked it. I can see the colouring is off in some.

Patrick Kitten Braden on Breakfast on Pluto. These were nice gifs and I spent ages choosing the scenes. Movies do my head in seems more high stakes compared to TV.

The in-the-rain Tess/Shane kissing one. Lighting and the angles were terrible (thanks tlwgq) but I did my best with so many levels layers. Even a year ago I couldn't get it to look so nice and light.

2 creations that stretched you as a creator: style, colouring, blending, text, etc. maybe include the one that should have got more notes

Dexter New Blood where I tried doing monochrome with red, harder than I thought it would be. Results mixed but I wouldn't mind trying it again.

Hello cutie Tess again it was dire and yellow a good scene so I added a gradient map of blush pink. Based on one that an old fandom friend had gifted me. I felt like an embalmer here. Take colour out, put colour in. Probably one of my favourite sets ever.

1 creation that you find most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and self

Jules from Euphoria The cropping and colouring was nice warm and cool

AND

1 creation that broke and (maybe remade you) as a person – we all have that one

The Haunting of Hill House. Twas an attempt to write an eng. lit essay via gif. Should have got more notes lol. But can see why it didn't, it's a lot happening. I did get a lot of comments 'this is insane' though, so yay.

0 the creation that never was because nothing was working that day. -> No link, but it was an Outlander Jamie with Black Jack Randall. Eff the red coat, and prison gloom lit with bilious dungeon yellow.

Overall comment for creativity year 2021 -> Didn't have time except for Tess from The L Word: Generation Q.

#creator meme #creator tag game #tag game #i made this because i've not seen one go around and there usually is one?#tlwgq

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highly-flammable · 3 years

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Reacting to Legacies 3x03 (SPOILERS):

1. So ARE we FINALLY getting to some proper firstborn Mikaelson witch breakdowns?

2. Oh well, apparently no. They'll just try to wave it off as some one time thing probably.

3. So Hope and Landon are on a break. Okay. TBH watching them sass each other is interesting.

4. The guidance counselor is pretty much a compulsion monster, is that it? Well, I do like his wardrobe.

5. Alyssa's concern for MG is so fake I can't.

6. Nobody other than Jed read for Stefan? THE DISRESPECT.

7. Lizzie playing Caroline makes total sense but them asking Josie to play the lead without even an audition looks a bit bad TBH. Like, give the other interested people a chance, at least.

8. I find it a bit repetitive how there are mind-controlling monsters popping out again and again.

9. So MG is basically going through a phase similar to what Cami was going through when Klaus used to compel her at the beginning of TO. Considering Quincy's fondness for Cami, he must have liked playing that.

10. I understand that Landon is supposed to be a capable songwriter in-universe but it takes more than that to write and direct a musical and it's very weird that they didn't even find a guest star to pose as a Drama or English teacher who is guiding him or something. WHERE ARE ALL THE TEACHERS?

11. I kinda feel like some of the lead characters in this show are colour-coded. I see Hope and Landon in red and blue a lot (the two gowns we have seen Hope wearing also fall into this pattern) and Josie wears yellow in like, every other episode. If I recall correctly, Lizzie wears a lot of white, too. I wonder what the reasoning behind these choices are.

12. Well, I liked Hope and Landon's relationship in S1, I have no idea what was going on with it in S2, and I still don't know what to think about it.

13. Lizzie casts herself in Caroline's role and then chokes at rehearsal. Not totally unrealistic but still feels a bit forced to me. Would have been better if Landon cast her because she's Caroline's daughter and Lizzie was a bit apprehensive in the first place because she didn't want to mess up the role.

14. I appreciate the show taking a moment to talk about Lizzie's bipolar disorder though. It's been a while.

15. "Bonnie just disappears for long periods of time"? Dude, she's still super important and you're putting her in the play. Right? RIGHT?!

16. Landon, THANK YOU for pointing out how weird Caroline and Alaric's relationship was. The guy deadass got engaged to her and had a pissing contest over her with Stefan, that will never not gross me out.

17. So the monster is mind controlling Landon to put Klaus into the play. Saw this coming IG.

18. Hope is painting again, like her dad used to do when he felt things were going out of control. I've been rewatching TO and this is making me so emotional. I MISS KLAUS AND HIS SHENANIGANS. And not a single character on Legacies comes close to Klaus, Elijah and Hayley for me. (Sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings but Legacies really is a downgrade from TVD and TO)

19. Ugh, why would he use the contents of the letter as lyrics? Dude, is it because you're mind-controlled? No, I don't like this. Klaus loved Hope to the ends of the earth and wanted everyone to know but Hope wants to keep things private, and her wishes should have been respected.

20. So apparently Landon tries not to put Klaus' villainous antics into the show. Well, okay, it's definitely a copout but since he is Hope's boyfriend, makes sense. But I don't understand why the musical HAS TO BE about the Salvatore school. The accreditation excuse is lazy, writers! Also, Landon, my dude, Klaus was a major donor of the school. Put that in instead of the other things, stop pissing off your girlfriend FFS. Even if you're mind-controlled 🤦🏻‍♀️

21. I do find it funny how Landon is all gaga over Klaus' use of language though. The guy really did have the best lines, didn't he? (Tied with Elijah, I suppose, for me)

22. The other singers of the first song are really good so Kaylee sounds a bit rusty in comparison. Also, she reminds me too much of Dark!Josie with the hair and makeup. From a distance, she can be mistaken for Nina though.

23. I love that the backstage activities are being shown.

24. I'm digging Jed as Stefan and I really like his singing voice. And the Hero Hair wig cracked me up. Kaleb is obviously good at singing at it's nice to hear more from him. I also like how Chris Lee didn't try to exactly emulate Ian and played Damon how someone who has only heard about him might play him.

25. Is Hope painting herself before the pit or something? Or is this supposed to symbolize her despair at her parents' loss? ALSO, I WANT SOMEONE TO MENTION HAYLEY :( Why is Hayley so ignored?!

26. The same person probably wrote MG's notes and Caroline's letter IRL and therefore, in-universe, MG has Caroline's handwriting and it's funny to me.

27. Jenny sings well, I like it. I don't understand the song though, was Caroline actually ever feeling this insecure? I feel like the song became a lot more about Lizzie than her mother. (It's been forever since I watched TVD, if anyone has yet to guess, I prefer watching TO)

28. The doppelganger thing cracked me up.

29. Wait why did the monster attack Josie?! Ohhhh he's forcing Landon to improvise and put Klaus' song at the end. Well, I guess it makes it seem a bit less like Landon's fault. But would Hope know that?

30. It's hilarious how they lowkey make a call back to Nina leaving TVD and them having to put Elena in a sleep spell though.

31. Landon having a hissy fit is funny to me. Aria needs more comedic scenes.

32. Wait, where did Jade come from? Has she been in the school all these weeks?

33. While the scene seems a bit shabby to me, Klaus talking to Hope reminds me of their scene from TO 4X03. I needed more of Summer Fontana and Joseph Morgan together. Also, the donation did get mentioned, YASSSS. Man did some horrific things but he did fund the school so maybe a little less badmouthing in the presence of his daughter now that you know the story, eh, students?

34. The fact that the guidance counselor actually wore a leather jacket and a henley is cracking me up. It's really bizarre.

35. "Terrible painter" XD Klaus would have eaten you for saying that if he were alive.

36. Um, Hope, wouldn't you ask your family if you are doing enough to make your father proud, instead of this random bloke who supposedly met him once?! Maybe call Freya or Rebekah.

37. Why is this monster being nice to Hope? Doesn't it try to break people up or something? You'd think he'd try to piss her off even more and ruin her relationship with Landon.

38. Stefan was trying to be more like Damon by sacrificing himself? Um, what?

39. Well, this musical at least gave Stefan and Caroline a goodbye scene. I wonder how much the twins remember Stefan, must have been a bit emotional for Lizzie to play that. Jenny's singing was gooood, really liked it.

40. JED WAS GONNA KISS LIZZIE AND I WANTED IT TO HAPPEN. But a forehead kiss does work.

41. Hope's playing Elena now? What?

42. Ngl I want Hope and Jed to be friends. She needs more of a connection to her wolf side. Both of her parents wanted her to be surrounded by wolves and she's barely interacting with the wolves in this show, which always makes me sad.

43. So this monster can also do little spells and move physical objects eh? Whatever, this is random.

44. And this monster brings people back together? Why?

45. So when Hope is singing, is she doing it as Elena or Hope? She came on stage as Elena, but I thought the song is about Hope. So WHAT IS IT?

46. Oh Damon's on stage, so Hope is singing as Elena and it's a call back to the graveyard scene from the TVD finale.

47. Danielle sings pretty well. It's good she decided to perform this time.

48. Okay, that lifting up scene was adorable. I feel like Hope and Landon are at their cutest when they're a bit spontaneous. But she's Elena on stage and it lowkey looks like Landon crashed her romantic scene with Damon to kiss her so I'm cackling.

49. How much older is Jade supposed to be than Josie?

50. So is Josie going to leave the school for a while and that's why Ethan will be back in the picture?

51. Jade used to babysit Josie? Okay, it is hella awkward.

52. Josie why, don't do this, yikes. Kissing her once doesn't make it non-creepy.

53. The Sheriff feels kinda shoehorned to me. Also, I don't care for Matt Davis or his character.

54. So Candice did the voiceover for Caroline's letter. That's nice for the show. I still don't understand why the letter showed up in Hope's fireplace though LOL.

55. This episode should have spent more time exploring the aftermath of the loss of Rafael. The abrupt shift from the last episode wasn't nice.

56. Yeah, kids, talk out your problems, thanks.

57. I feel like Klaus is too much of a controversial figure that Hope's conflict about her father's reputation would be resolved in one day. This is feeling undercooked. Speaking of, when is one of Klaus' or Hayley's enemies coming after Hope, because she did inherit all of them. Would make for better storytelling than this monster of the week nonsense. And yeah, still no mention of Hayley, I hate this.

58. The monster's characterization was really odd to me and I am so tired of this format SMH.

59. So they toyed with MG for weeks to get a vampire for the spell? That sounds like too much effort. There are tons of vampires from Klaus and Rebekah's bloodline, they couldn't find another? Also, I wonder who is the wolf that they will use.

Well, I felt like this episode was mostly okay, but not that well-cooked or epic or whatever. What is horrific is that they didn't show Bonnie, though. They could have at least gotten a female black guest character who is one of the witch students or something. This is very offensive.

Also, I don't think it makes sense for the show to do any more musicals in the future. This ain't Riverdale.

#legacies #legacies cw #hope mikaelson #landon kirby #lizzie saltzman #josie saltzman #kaleb #jed #milton greasley #alyssa chang #jade #klaus mikaelson #hayley marshall #elena gilbert #damon salvatore #stefan salvatore #bonnie bennett #caroline forbes #cami o'connell

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vaguely-concerned · 3 years

Text

The Mandalorian Chapter 13 rewatch thoughts; the reduced salt edition

or at least I’m trying to be more constructive with the salt in this one let’s goooo

- god I miss the armourer so much. look at how fucking cool she looks, this is the mando design I hunger for so deeply, WHY would you give me boob plates back instead haha

- I will say with the way it’s presented this place feels way too small to be called a city lol (and I think that limited scale hurts how much I’m willing to accept the magistrate as a credible opponent to go toe to toe with ahsoka freaking tano. maybe if we’d seen directly the extent of the magistrate’s power and influence and not just the burned out wasteland that power leaves behind I’d be more on board with it. canonically she’s clearly been extremely rich and influential on a galactic scale, while the aesthetic filoni takes from samurai movies in this has a lot more to do with local warlords and smaller stakes. this is not the only time the adherence to that aesthetic without adapting it for the emotional story at hand or giving it a spin for novelty hurts the episode #hot take. it’s empty homage without quite understanding why the moments you’re emulating work so well in the context of the story they serve.)

this might be because how it’s filmed makes it seem like there’s just one big main street towards the magistrate’s palace, it’s implied to be quite a bit bigger from the establishing shot as the crest comes flying in?

- LOVE the implication that din lets baby play with the silver ball pretty freely while they’re on the ship but sets the (completely sensible tbh) boundary that he can’t bring it with him somewhere outside where he might lose it for good. that seems like reasonable dad-ing, din, well done.

anyway my heart is hurting because that silver ball is like a comfort item for the kid and it’s pretty clear from the very start that he has some kind of understanding of what might happen on this planet and so does NOT want to go out there, but also... that thing is narratively introduced as the baby’s way of saying ‘dad, don’t forget me, don’t go’. it’s what made din go back for him the first time, and that’s a connotation it still has both in the audience’s mind and for the characters. and I need to go cry in a corner for a while be right back

- not for nothing but in this scene of the baby being faced with din and a jedi standing side by side as if to present a choice, din literally has the sun right behind his head like some kind of fucking halo

gee I wonder what the baby’s choice is going to be fsadfjkhasdkjfhs. (he! loves! his dad! so much!!!!!!!)

- I wish they’d done more with the bored punch clock villain, hey-I’m-just-here-for-the-paycheck-man vibe of the guard captain guy and maybe given his nonchalance a bit of a darkly comedic tint, I think it would’ve made a better moment when he’s facing off with din towards the end if he had more... character. make him a bit more of a dark mirror of the soulless gun for hire people have seen din as in the past (and as the magistrate seems to now), do something interesting here. maybe even make it more of a mexican standoff with him holding a gun on an innocent or something so there’s something here for din to lose, it still does the western thing and lets you have that ramping tension you need for when you cut between the sword duel and this. hell, have him actually give up and walk away to show that he doesn’t fucking care about any of this, he did evil for money without any driving passion or conviction behind it, and let din decide if he’ll let him walk away scot free or not after what he’s been part of, that’s a neat subversion of the trope as well! as it stands it’s just so... empty

- baby says ‘mada! mada!’ again when they try to approach the vendor who appears to be serving foodstuffs! so maybe a word he has for food or maybe something like ‘lady person!’? (he says it when frog lady is gone on the ice planet and also as she’s walking into the razor crest for the first time. he did seem more interested in the eggs at that point, sooo lol)

din reacts to him speaking too, he glances down at him <3<3<3

- the baby seems to sense ‘ooof this is scary, time to hide’ on his own before they go into the magistrate’s place, din doesn’t appear to signal anything to him

- there’s a lot of deliberate silence in this episode, but the sound design that gets space away from the music somehow isn’t as immersive to me as it usually is on this show? I have no idea why, though

- ‘a jedi plagues me’ is somehow so fucking funny to me. the tl;dr for a lot of star wars villains through the ages

it also still cracks me up that din is immediately like ‘ma’am you can’t afford me’ fsdhfaskf

- I’m so happy din talks to and reassures the baby when he puts him down in these situations now, I remember being SO SAD when he didn’t back in chapter 7. he’s learning all the time!

- I think we should all be very happy this fight is cut off almost as soon as it begins, because I’m pretty sure ahsoka could kick din’s ass real bad and that would be terrible because I love him (listen din definitely has his moments, but up against a force user for the first time and said force user being one of the most powerful and battle-experienced jedi alive? probably not huh, if he survives that it’s on pure fatherly love and desperation and nothing else)

- this seems to be the baby asking ahsoka to carry him back to be with din (mando certainly seems to be what they’re ‘talking’ about right before) and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen

din’s fingers are also doing the nervous curl-uncurl thing as she puts the baby down, and it remains the sweetest goddamn character tic, he’s adorable

in the long pause after he tells her “he needs your help” he’s sitting SO TENSELY, it’s only when she at least promises to test the kid that he relaxes a bit

baby (well, grogu, but he’s also baby) recognizes yoda’s name and seems to almost ask ahsoka ‘yoda is here???’, and her blink in response is like ‘no, I’m sorry’

- I still deeply dislike how it’s actually done in the episode, it’s so clunky and it annoys me on a craft level, but I do like the overarching thematic narrative of both mando and the baby being on this journey towards specificity and remembering themselves, of reclaiming the particular nuances of an identity that make up a self after a series of traumas have stripped it away from them. at the start of the show neither of them has a name (and din doesn’t even have a face) and they’re basically presented as broad archetypes, The Mandalorian and The Child. and now we’re slowly unearthing things that make them this specific child, grogu, this specific mandalorian, din djarin. it’s rediscovering parts of yourself you might have thought lost as you heal from trauma and I do like that very much, it’s touching and the emotional throughline this show should never lose sight of

- oooooh no baby glances over at din when she asks him to push the stone back ;______________; it’s so awful because you can just tell... he understands that if he does this thing din might leave, but also people have clearly tricked him into using the Force before and given him this traumatized kneejerk association that if he uses it where people can see him Bad things might happen

oh okay so I think din just subtly misunderstands the baby’s appeal to him here, he thinks that look towards him means ‘dad help I don’t understand what’s being asked of me’. I guess he doesn’t have any way of knowing how complicated the baby’s past is with this yet, it’s a good try

- I’ve seen people take ‘he understands’ as baby understanding everything that’s said to him all the time, which is patently not true haha. he understands quite a lot, in the way toddlers actually understand quite a lot of what’s going on around them, even a bit of words spoken to them before they’re especially verbal themselves, but he clearly mixes up his colours still sooo

I also suspect he’s played this game before -- surely that must be one of the most obvious activities the jedi would do with the smallest children, playing Force catch basically? but he still doesn’t trust it, or her. (on the other hand he does trust that din would never hurt or trick him. help me I’m drowning in my own tears)

- personally and from anything else in this show I don’t think din would be this impatient with the baby after hearing, less than half a minute before, that he’s terrified

but hey I’m not the man in the cowboy hat what do I know (yes I’m bitter characterization matters okay lol)

- it’s both funny and so sweet that the same music plays during this father and son playing catch scene as when baby lifted that mudhorn fkdfha

- for my money din reacts exactly perfectly to grogu finally Force pulling the ball -- he’s excited and happy, signalling that this thing doesn’t have to be scary and dangerous and that when shared with the right people it can be a good joyous thing, he moves over to the baby so they can share in this victory and attune, and crucially he doesn’t demand more afterwards, which the baby must have gotten before from some of the assholes who’ve been experimenting on him. it’s just the celebration and satisfaction of having done the thing without demands or threats or any ulterior motives. HIM!!! DAD!!!!

tattoo this straight onto my heart... the way baby cheerfully offers it back to din... sdkjafhksdfhsakdjf

- din breaths out roughly and unevenly through his nose almost like it’s been punched out of him and starts fiddling with the silver ball (which is still his primary tell for anxiety/stress!) when ahsoka says “he’s formed a strong attachment to you” :) listen if I have to know that all of you fuckers are going down with me

- see the thing is... if you don’t know who ahsoka is in pretty deep detail, you might take her at face value here instead of understanding that she’s actually projecting her own feelings and traumas onto this. if you absolutely have to use this character for this part of the show you have to set her up better specifically so someone who’s never seen a single episode of clone wars can grasp the basics of where she is emotionally and what her motives are, so that her role in this story makes sense. as it is it’s sort of a compromise between pleasing old fans (who can do quite a bit of inferring to figure it out) and approaching audiences who don’t know anything, and it falls flat

(for the purposes of this show I aggressively do not care where thrawn is, and so I’m just annoyed when we find out what this was actually all for haha)

- still feel reluctant to discuss too much about ahsoka because of the whole... situation with dawson, but I do like that she lets one of the guards leave after disarming him because he’s cowering and giving up, and that she still has her padawan braid wound into her belt. also I think the effects on her and her outfit are completely fine, my problems with her this episode are all writing craft and real life stuff

- when you get first the jet pack sound, then din coming down kicking that dude in the face, then the mando flute kicking in as he lands properly... the only time the action in this episode made me go ‘fuck YEEEAAAAH’ it’s awesome

- again, just like with the idea of having a samurai/ronin movie standoff and a western standoff at the same time: having the scene be mostly silent except for the almost musical sounds of the light sabers hitting the beskar spear is such a cool concept, and it does not work in action. I don’t know enough about filmmaking to tell you why it doesn’t, but it doesn’t.

there’s also something about... the ahsoka vs. morgan scene apes the deliberately staged, ritualized, exaggerated almost like how you’d perform it in live theatre aspect of the duels in the genre, but in an empty way? why are they acting like this, what’s their relationship to each other, what’s their individual code of honour that makes them let the other person slowly theatrically disrobe before going for them? just plucking the aesthetics out of a tradition and plopping them down in your own thing without thinking about the whys or original context of it leaves it without meaning

(also let morgan express something of her own character other than I Am Evil rather than having ahsoka drop the entire exposition on her. maybe you could have her snarl some illuminating lines while they’re fighting so you get the feeling of the bitterness and brokenness that has fuelled her and burned the woods of this whole planet. in some ways she’s not that unlike din and ahsoka, she lost everything in the clone wars too and was motivated very differently by it than they were, play that up so the situation’s relevant to our protagonists! I’m sorry for all this nitpicking but I HAVE to figure out how this could have been done better for my own sake haha)

- ooooooh the way din says “I can’t accept” when offered the spear is in fact almost an exact echo of when the armourer offers him the signet in chapter 3! I thought it sounded familiar, it’s delivered in such a similar way. huh. din has some Feelings about earning things and when he hasn’t earned something, doesn’t he

- din also cares A LOT about not breaking his word, to the point of being willing to stoop to some quite dishonest methods to avoid giving his word in the first place, and I find it utterly delightful

- baby closing his eyes again after din wakes him like he’s thinking ‘maybe if I don’t wake up dad won’t go’ or even ‘at least this way I won’t know it happened until later, when it’s over’... pure emotional torture :) thank god din’s entire soul is clearly howling in protest and he took the slightest chance ahsoka gave him to not actually go through with it

- so this is the second time we get someone telling din he’s like grogu’s father. well, the armourer gives it more like a command/almost a religious obligation, ‘until it is of age or reunited with its kind you are as its father’, ahsoka is stating what’s obvious at this point but says ‘you are like a father to him’... maybe they’re doing a rule of threes thing and the last time it’s ‘you are his father’ and it sticks?

- anyway din cradling the baby so close to his chest with both arms all the time instead of the more practical way he carries him around in the crook of his arm sometimes... my suffering is deep and endless

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta

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mousehole5000 · 3 years

Text

tgcf chapters 107 - 120 this is one where i give some Opinions. i do overall like hualian a lot but i have some quibbles

wait why am i still taking screenshots? i can copy/paste again afskldfjasad

It really was hard to tell whether people would feel happy after watching such performances. However, in truth, slaughter and the sight of blood did create excitement in people. Whether or not there was fear, after the initial shock was over, a rush of adrenaline would be produced in the heart- me watching horror movies

“Shi Qingxuan said. “Then, Your Highness, Crimson Rain Sought Flower! I order you to—to immediately strip each other’s clothing!” - djslkadjlsd WHY DID HE SPECIFICALLY SAY THEY HAD TO STRIP EACH OTHER THISALSKDJ is this a normal thing is it a wingman attempt what is happening

“I’ll tell you what it is,” he said softly. “To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed, yet be unable to do anything. That’s the worst suffering in the world.” ... “Ming Yi asked, “What’s the biggest regret of your life?”- when truth or dare gets a bit too real

On the side, Hua Cheng was still only observing, and was already bored to the point where he’d changed back into his red robes. Then he changed to black robes again. Then to white robes. Almost every time Xie Lian looked back, he would be donning a different appearance, and with every new look there were different hairstyles, and different accessories, and different boots, and so on; sometimes playful, sometimes elegant, sometimes deadly, sometimes glamourous. Xie Lian was growing dizzy from all the colours and kept looking back, unable to look away. - THIS ISNT THE TIME HUA CHENG. YOURE PRIMPING. THE WINDMASTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED AND YOURE PRIMPING

obsessed with xie lian not being able to figure out to use the windmaster’s fan and just. using it to SMACK

also windmaster??? whats going on??? :( i know some things from spoilers like who is not to be trusted but i really have no clue whats happening rn

anyways back to puqi shrine lets check on those kids also can we PLEASE get some funds for this restoration smh. hua cheng and xie lian doing mundane hard labor together to fulfill prayers.... :pleading:

jailbreak in the heavens 2: dig a tunnel

Sure enough, the moment Ming Yi put pressure on his shovel, a hole opened up before them. With the shovel raised, he burrowed crazily ahead while Shi Qingxuan, in the middle, cheered him on crazily. As the only non-crazy person, Xie Lian brought up the rear. That treasured shovel of the Earth Master was indeed magical, and with only a few strokes, a new tunnel of over ten meters was dug. - anybody remember mulch diggums from the artemis fowl series? this is much more dignified than that but i think this is only the second time ive read a character just starting digging a tunnel as a plot point

okay so much is going on i wish i hadnt spoiled who certain characters actually are for myself but i have no one to blame but me for a) not blacklisting spoilers at all and b) just having a little freefall through the tags. oh well. anyway heavenly college admissions scandal except way worse. the corruption extends to the heavens and the windmaster is having a very bad day

i guess we’re having a high seas adventure now?

im gonna keep it real im getting tired of how often we get told how handsome hua cheng is. i know its all xie lian’s pov and while im not terribly familiar with it i know what genre we’re working with and im assuming thats pretty typical. its something i dont much care for in general and idk maybe it sounds better in the original but ngl its starting to make me roll my eyes. love you goth king but god okay we get it.

i guess what i will say about hualian so far is that overall i like them and i like how they interact in general they have a lot of nice moments and they just genuinely seem to like each other which is really nice to see EXCEPT for when it actually comes to things that could be romantic or sexual which is a shame bc i dont think it has to be like this. again disclaimer that im only reading a translation and dont know everything might not have all the knowledge necessary to accurately criticize etc etc and im assuming a lot of this is expected from the genre (disclaimer to this disclaimer that i cant say that for sure its just based on things ive picked up about the bl genre over the years) but idk like xie lian was so distressed after their underwater kiss scene. it was kind of uncomfortable to read and maybe im being unfair i know his cultivation is based around abstinence or whatever but idk i dont care for it. and that scene alone doesnt have to be a bad thing like idk i guess its his first kiss ever (?) and it would make sense if he feels weird about it but i just have my doubts thats going to be addressed or resolved in a satisfying way. also im like. dude everyone is like centuries old. xie lian’s been on earth for 800 years. has he really never met or heard of a gay person during all this time? maybe he hasnt idk what he got up to yet maybe that’s actually a thing. also same thing with the reactions from the immortals to xie lian in a dress and characters like the windmaster like again you’re all centuries old and its not uncommon to be able to just completely change gender presentation. why are you all weird about a man wearing a woman’s dress? i just feel like that shouldnt be a big deal to these characters idk

also again not going to lie part of this that im not really a big fan of reading romance in general. yes i am reading this book. yes i do read and write a lot of fanfic that includes or centers romance. im multifaceted. but really what im talking about is the like physical side of it and descriptions im extremely picky about it. ill give an example. early on in the torture pit (or whatever it was called i cant remember lol) when xie lian kind of accidentally felt up hua cheng in the dark when he was being carried. i dont think thats a bad thing to have happen between the two romantic leads i think thats fine and good to include that early but i just did not enjoy reading it when it happened idk maybe it was the wording and i do think that moments like these work better in a visual medium. ive definitely read het romance that reads like this and i wasnt a fan of that either lol same with fanfic i get tired when writers go on and on about how hot one characters finds another character. this isnt a huge criticism of it like i said im picky but again like with the way that hua cheng is described it just makes me roll my eyes sorry kings

okay back to the reading. this whole saving the fishermen thing feels like a big set up for something narrative-wise. hua cheng specifically insisted on coming and i know one of the characters involved ends up dying im wondering if thats now it would be a good time tbh if things get just a bit too unfortunate during this heavenly calamity... and the brothers are notably not having a harmonious time... also tho it feels very likely we’ll just have another Hualian Moment (tm)

In such a situation, Pei Ming still acted the same. In the evening, when they rescued a few fishermen girls, so scared their eyes were blurry from tears, he held them in his embrace and soothed them with a gentle voice; a true show of honeyed romance, affectionate and charming. - pei ming please get pickled again.

also its funny that hua cheng is just kinda hanging out and everyone else just has to deal with it

Looking down from above, the entire area was painted in a terrifying black. It was easy to see the collision between the two different-coloured currents. Their fierce battle was what formed this enormous whirlpool. As the eye swallowed the ship whole, the two currents of water separated. However, the battle was far from over. Like two venomous vipers, they continued to snap at each other. Each collision was followed by a mountain of angry waves. - this pretty dope ngl. also love our wind and earth masters just chilling on a shovel i dig it. hehe

Yet, other than discovering Hua Cheng had a fine body, there were no other finds. Xie Lian was at his wit’s end and started to worry. - okay see this one’s funny im just also irritated bc im like WE KNOW!!! WE GET IT HE’S HOT AND XIE LIAN THINKS HE’S HOT OKAY GOT IT

okay kiss #2 again its not the kisses themselves its xie lian’s reaction it just bothers me idk im not saying i need him to be super into it and completely unconflicted about it rn but he’s just so freaked out about it and idk i just dont really like it just feels weird i dont care for that aspect of it. also dude hua cheng is a ghost and he did this exact same thing for you before just chill. i wish instead of xie lian literally running away while screaming that hes sorry he was just like “oh haha youre fine thats cool im gonna go look around the woods i dont feel weird about this at all haha” like idk its kind of funny but when its literally our two romantic leads i just feel like its confusing like it kind of makes me feel like they shouldnt be together if one of them freaks out this much again considering the fact that they are both CENTURIES old. i know i know xie lian is an 800 year old virgin but. he hasn’t been like this about anything else so yeah idk like it still could have been awkward and funny i just dont think it needed to be so :/ that being said it was funny that xie lian was then internally like “oh i did it wrong? perhaps i should ask him for more.. instructions....” if that actually happens i might like it bc it would complete this little watery theme

Before he finished, he immediately remembered. Coffin wood. There were trees here everywhere; and a deceased? There was one right before his eyes. Sure enough, Hua Cheng smiled. “Won’t it be fine once I lie inside? - love that hua cheng just sat on the fact that he can turn anything into a coffin. that would have been really useful information earlier but no he just waited until everyone but xie lian was gone afjaklsdjf

also i do think that oblivious xie lian thinking “wow whoever it is that hua cheng fancies is an idiot for not liking him back theyre totally taking him for granted :/” is kind of funny and sweet. actually the whole conversation they have at the campfire is good and im bookmarking it to think about later

“...You on top and me on the bottom,” Xie Lian replied. “Isn’t top and bottom the same?” Hua Cheng asked. - okay im sorry but. mood whenever theres discourse about top/bottom dynamics for a ship im just like jesus christ i dont care. tbh i rarely read fanfiction if its just sexual and ngl if i see a fic specifically tag characters as top or bottom i wont read it lmfao. especially when people have really strong opinions about this stuff when theres nothing canonical to back it up like headcanon all you want but whenever i see people argue about it im just like no offense but go work out your own sexual issues and dynamics instead of arguing with strangers on the internet about who’s a top and who’s a bottom. sorry to be mean but just thats how i feel lol

this was mostly a ramble with a few excerpts but im getting sleepy im going to TRY to take a break from this for like a day but we’ll see how that goes i do very much want to know what happens. anyway if you read this whole thing hiiiiii sorry for subjecting you to my opinions on top/bottom discourse

#minors dni #reading this is weird its like wow this is pretty great actually im having a blast #and then there's these moments that are like...... hmmmm.#idk they havent been awful i just think theyre :/#still funny tho ill give it that #tgcf liveblog

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johaerys-writes · 3 years

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I and F for the asks, please! :D

Thanks for the ask BB!!

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Oooh that’s a tough one! I don’t think it’s so much a guilty pleasure, in the sense that I wouldn’t necessarily hide the fact that I like it (isn’t that what a guilty pleasure is?? Lol, I’m getting stuck on semantics😂) but I do really enjoy reading dark and twisty fics; the darker the better. I love angst, whump and hurt/comfort, and something I really absolutely love reading (and writing on occasion) with a feral passion is complicated or even downright unhealthy relationships that sometimes border on abuse, possessiveness or codependency (think Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights- one of my favourite books of all times!). There’s something about the darker side of the mind and the heart that fascinates me, but I know that many people don’t enjoy or are triggered by content like that, so I don’t always share or talk about it. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the fluffy, funny and lighter stuff, but I do love the darker and perhaps more “problematic” or controversial stuff too.

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Omg that’s such a good one too, thank you for asking it! One of my favourite scenes I’ve written is Tristan and my Hawke’s conversation in Chapter 24: Mud and Crushed Mulberries of my DAI longfic A World With You, after they met Loghain, who was Hawke’s Warden contact. This was tough to write because I had to get them from being at each other’s throats to actually liking each other in the span of an evening, and it took a fair bit of revising and editing. It also has a special place in my heart because during that quest I got to write and flesh out my Hawke a bit more, who is my chaotic disaster son. I simply love the chemistry between him and Tris.

The snippet is under the cut:

Hawke’s face was pale and drawn, his mouth set in a line, his brows furrowed; but behind the irritation and the blunt remarks, and perhaps even behind his usual mocking smiles and his scathing jokes, Tristan thought he caught a glimmer of the same sadness and weariness in his dark brown eyes that must have been lurking behind his own.

He closed his mouth and looked away, embarrassment stinging his cheeks. He took a long draught of the whisky, feeling his insides twist as he swallowed.

Hawke was evidently irked by his silence. “Oh, and now he’s brooding again. That’s grand.” He huffed and bit on the stem of his pipe. “Tell me, if you distrust me so much, why did you accept my help? You could have ignored me. You could have sent me away. You could have ordered your people to interrogate, or kill me, even. Yet, you came here. Why?”

Tristan gritted his teeth. “Because, as you said, I have no other option.”

“Then, what in the void is your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem.”

“Bollocks.”

Tristan’s heart was racing when he turned to look at him. The mark in his hand flared and crackled, in tune with the waves of anger rushing through him, but Hawke’s eyes never left his, as if oblivious to the bright green light that coloured the side of his face.

“I’m surrounded by people whose intentions I question more and more with every passing day. Every fucking day.” His nails dug deep into his palms when he curled them into fists. “You think it’s easy for me, to simply suspend my disbelief because I have no other choice? This is worse than having a choice. Worse still than having to choose between two terrible things. I’m stuck in a corner, yet I need to make decisions that might undo the world. Everything I have achieved, and everything the Inquisition has achieved will have been for naught. If I fall, the Inquisition falls; and it will not fall gracefully.”

They stared at each other for a long while, Tristan’s heated glare meeting Hawke’s thoughtful gaze. There was no anger in his eyes now. Only something that resembled sympathy.

Tristan couldn’t look at those deep, considering eyes any longer. He glanced away, downing his drink, wincing and coughing as it burned its way down his throat. He brushed his knuckle over his lips, feeling Hawke’s gaze on him still. It vexed him to no end.

“If you keep staring at me like that, Hawke, I swear I’ll bash your skull in.”

Hawke laughed, a loud, booming laugh that reached every dark and cold corner of the room. “”Bash my skull in”,” he said, still chuckling. “I’d like to see you try. I don’t pity you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just happen to understand you.”

Tristan’s laugh was bitter and sarcastic. “I doubt it.”

“I do, though.”

#fanfic asks #johaerys answers #thanks for the ask friend!!

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trans-cuchulainn · 4 years

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bored bc of quarantine, got back into irish mythology, long story short I read all of in loco parentis in one feverish sitting and was wondering how you picture the characters in that modern setting, design-wise?

ahhh i’m glad i could be your pandemic distraction! i thought i might actually write more of in loco parentis during lockdown but that has. not happened.

anyway i don’t really have a visual brain?? probably because i’m faceblind as fuck lol. i have been known to write entire novels without ever describing the characters and when asked why, have had to admit that it’s because i don’t know what they look like. i usually have a vague sense of colouring or like. one facial feature.

but ferdia looks like a young jamie campbell bower i know that much, like.....

a baby!

he’s like 19 or 20 in that picture and ferdia is supposedly 19-ish in the fic so yeah seems about right. anyway that’s what i’m picturing in my head when i describe him.

but he’s basically the only one i have a faceclaim for so he’s the only one i’ve actually.... described.

láeg is tall and thin and ginger and has poor fashion sense, but like, in a gay way. likes plaid. has been known to wear triple plaid. (so have i, so i can’t really talk.) wears lilac occasionally and really shouldn’t.

cú chulainn is small and his hair is mostly dark?? but catches the light in weird ways and seems to be multiple colours and maybe secretly has highlights who knows. he also has poor fashion sense but in a very different direction to láeg, he is all about the cut-up t-shirts and a shitton of random layers and basically live in dance clothes anyway

that’s about all i know for appearance tbh!!! if anyone wants to draw how they imagine them i’d be super duper excited by that but i will not be able to tell you if it matches my mental image because... i don’t have that kind of a mental image of them. i sort of visualise scenes in terms of like.... where people are existing in space to each other, rather than what they look like. basically i choreograph scenes rather than paint them in my head. if that make sense.

also yes all of the terrible outfits in this fic were intended to roast the characters but i’ve more than once found that i’m.... wearing that exact outfit, by coincidence, several months after writing it. so there are multiple self-burns in this fic.

(except for cormac’s amazing slogan t-shirts. i lack these in my life.)

also if you go to the #ilp inspo tag there are a bunch of ballet clips and pictures that like.... may not visually match the characters but give off the right vibe so there’s that as well

#it's a shitty college au of the tain and i love it #answered #galway-bae

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mogwaei · 4 years

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10, 2, and 1 lol

Okay so, I decided to do 10 & 1 and excluded 2 because otherwise this was going to be MASSIVE. THANKS NONNY FOR THE PROMPT >:DDD

I drew a Veilfire Rune Codex…tarot thing [wow what a mouthful]

10: a description of your OC by someone who hates them

Codex: [The Seeker’s thoughts on the Second Survivor]

Cassandra liked to think that she did not have room in her heart for things like hatred, envy, or greed. The world was already steeped in so much of it. She strived to stay within the Maker’s light, channelling it through herself as a beacon of justice, lending her sword and shield where the cause was righteous, as best as she could judge it.

Still. She was only human.

The elf, Maordrid, tried her on various levels. When the mage joined the Inquisition, Lavellan had pulled her straight into the middle. And Cassandra did not like how easily and quietly the Arcane Warrior had slipped into their ranks. Or how swiftly the Herald had taken a liking to the female apostate. If not for Yin’s charming and trusting demeanour, Cassandra might have ordered Maordrid kept in a cell for interrogation. For a time, Cassandra had been rather unnerved by Solas and his quiet. His uncanny knowledge of the Fade and easy use of magic. But Maordrid kept to herself and watched with those hawkish eyes of hers, always filtering to the back of the group as though she did not trust any of them at hers.

She could not see what Lavellan saw in the other mage. Yin was bright and cheerful, charismatic, and before Maordrid came along, Solas had been the quietest and even he had quickly warmed to Lavellan’s shine.

Maordrid was like a rift into the Abyss, resisting all light cast into it. She only seemed to know how to scowl, though her rare smiles were too sharp, like warnings carved into stone. Even something about her voice grated at Cassandra. It was like a dark, twisted version of Solas’ whose voice she found herself enjoying when he regaled the company with intricate tales. Maordrid’s voice was somehow a song without life. It was as though the woman was putting the bare minimum into being alive.

Save for one thing.

When Maordrid joined the fray of battle, she came to life. Like a bellows pumping air into a forge, the fire roared and Maordrid danced and her magic sang. It was as though whatever spirit lay tucked deep within served the express purpose of killing – and protecting. And when the fight was over, the fires abated and the storm retreated.

For a brief amount of time, Cassandra almost felt admiration for the short witch-warrior. How the woman had thrown herself in front of each of them without batting an eyelid and never leaving their backs unguarded until the battle was turned to their party’s favour.

That was until the dreams began. What little trust she had for Maordrid dwindled to dregs and her suspicion rose to dangerous heights.

She knew that Lavellan had night terrors and that Solas was doing something – hopefully–to remedy the situation, and even she had a few nightmares herself, but nothing close to what she’d heard overheard in regards to the mysterious elven witch.

And that was the problem–no one would speak of it. Solas was tight lipped and sombre–Lavellan was…worried, but put his focus on their mission, reassuring her that Solas had it under control.

Cassandra was not convinced.She started to reexamine Maordrid with a critical eye.

The protective behaviour she exhibited on the battlefield became Casssandra’s focus point, for that was where she was strongest herself. At first, she did not think she would find much fault in the way the witch fought, but then the moment came, just outside of Redcliffe. Maordrid saved Solas’ life, throwing herself before him in path of a terror aiming for his throat.

She’d believed it brave at the time, even told Maordrid such herself. But when the elf turned down healing or assistance from those who offered, Cassandra realised something else–the elf was no guardian, she was a reckless, walking hazard. A liability and a weak spot in the armour of their core group. An unpredictable apostate wielding unpredictable magic with a penchant for disobeying orders.

But it was Cassandra’s voice against the majority. And so the Seeker watched and waited, keeping her blade sharp and loose in its sheath. She kept her eyes and ears sharper. She would not be taken unawares again.

Maker help us all.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1: an overheard conversation about your OC

Codex: [The Bridge Between Worlds]

“What is that Elvhen doing with the mortal outsider on our hallowed grounds? Why has our Dhruraje'lin not expelled them both? Or at least the quickling.”

“The Dhruraje'lin knows her from the time Before. Or knew of her.”

“She wears no vallaslin.”

“I know. That is why I am wary. Perhaps that is also why the Dhruraje'lan has not banished them–she could be nobility, or one of the Wolf’s rebels.”

“Hark, they approach.”

The two elves crouched down on a tree-sheltered precipice high above a cove. Below, bridges spanned singing pools like fine lace, their paths gleaming white in the golden sunlight and their underbellies swimming with the glittering reflections of the waters. Two more elves walked upon the widest of the paths, one clad in flawless armour that bent and molded to muscles like water–the other was garbed in leathers and cloth worn and coloured like the earth.

An imperious voice issued up from the pools from one of the elves, disturbing the tranquil scene, “I do not trust her.”

There was a trilling laugh from the other elf. It was full of fondness and true mirth, not mockery. The elf in armour came to a stop in the middle of the bridge, arms crossed. The other stood several paces away, hands extended over the edge of the bridge. Suddenly, water flowed up from the pools, swirling about the smaller elf’s hands in mesmerising patterns. The armoured elf scoffed and turned away.

“That’s not an uncommon reaction with her,” the second elf said. The first one gaped slightly but then quickly recovered when the second looked over, assuming a mask of scowling condescension.

“You dismiss the warnings as though brushing dust from your cloak.” It was a statement, not a question. The second elf snorted again and lifted the cloak at their shoulders. Upon first glance, it looked as though it were dyed an ombre of green and sunset-orange. But a closer look would reveal that it was in fact stained with clay.

“What, like this?” The water whipped through the air and streaked across the mud, wiping it clean of the cloak.

“Such insolence. You will be the cause of your own demise.”

“You’ve something to say about her, then say it. I can’t make much from vague claims.”

“And yet an entire people have based their lives off–” The voices went too low to hear, made no clearer when a particularly obnoxious avian creature began blaring its mating call in the trees above the cove.

“So?” the second elf’s bright voice became audible once the bird moved on.

“She’s manipulative; a murderer,” the deep, lilting one answered with vitriol. “And an emotion-blinded fool. She is lucky that she was permitted to continue living.”

“You say that as if it was once a privilege to draw breath.”

“For what she did, it was more than what she deserved,” the first one dodged, “She has some nerve stepping into this place, despite her claims of atonement. If not for–” the voice cut low once more, “I would have turned her away. Perhaps I still should.”

“I don’t believe that’s the entire reason you don’t kick us out.” A tense silence filled the air between the elves. They seemed to be having a staring contest.

“There are not many of my kind left. Even though she has done many terrible things, those who live here were better than that. In memory of what once was, I offer a piece of it. It is what is demanded of me.”

“And I thank you for your hospitality. I’d gladly extend same service and more to you in my home,” the second one said with a bow, whose bright and cheerful voice softened into something akin to the tranquil pools around them. “Still, I think there’s something else you’re not sharing. You know her - more than just the reputation that has apparently preceded her for millennia.”

The one in armour shifted, but only settled back into a stiff, cross-armed stance.

“As I said, she was shown undeserved favour. I have seen others executed for simply staring at a Divine One at the wrong moment.”

“And…why was that?”

“You told me of this…Red Jenny. She was not unlike the one you know, striking in uncoordinated, chaotic patterns. An antagonist to the wrong people. Because of her hunger for vengeance, she caused an irreparable amount of damage.”

“Was this before the Rebellion?” the other elf asked. There was a pause. “Oh. How many others were like her and…” Whatever was said, it was spoken too quiet to hear from upon the precipice.

“Countless. And only one was successful,” the first answered. “She was known amongst us for a time as a bellasalin. Such as we called those who were spoils of war. Elvhen who passed hands too many times, these bellasalin were believed cursed. Believed that there was something, some flaw that rendered them worthless and for that reason had not found themselves a permanent House. Fewer knew that in the right hands, they made for formidable weapons. To those with spy networks, they were the bellainan.”

“I…can only parse one translation from that. Both of them, really.”

“Predictable.”

“Asshole.” There was a seething silence this time.

“Are all of you like this? Crude of tongue and of appearance?”

“I know where this is going. I’m supposed to answer ‘why?’ so you can say 'so I can avoid wasting my time with any others’.” The first one scoffed again, turning away entirely in favour of striding toward the sloping archway on the other side of the bridge.

“I do not like you. I think it is time to return you to your bellasalin.”

The smaller of the two swore in a strange language and chased after the armoured one, calling the other elf by name, though it was steadfastedly ignored.

#dragon age codex #cassandra pentaghast #solas #lavellan #maori #evanuris #DisapprovesWriting #dragon age inquisition

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bravadoseries · 4 years

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tell us about your braudrey wasteland baby analysis

this ended up being long and angsty i am sorry . if u want i can analyze songs from his other album in a happier way to even it out lol

“nfwmb”:

“when i first saw you / the end was soon” - audrey and bruce met on the helicarrier and i think when they fought in new york they both knew they might not come out of it. audrey was inexperienced and way out of her depth, bruce was really against turning back into the hulk again.

“Give your heart and soul to charity / ‘Cause the rest of you, the best of you / Honey, belongs to me” - they both give parts of themselves away for the greater good and feel most human with each other

“Nothing fucks with my baby / Nothing can get a look in on my baby / Nothing fucks with my baby / Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing” - when hozier wrote this song everyone thought it was about how nothing fucks with his baby because he protects her but he said actually nobody fucks with her because she’s extraordinarily powerful and scary. i think both of these apply to braudrey—nobody fucks with bruce because audrey protects him, and nobody fucks with the hulk because he’s giant and terrifying

“moment’s silence (common tongue)”

“When stunted hand earns place with man by mere monstrosity / Alarms are struck and shore is shook by sheer atrocity / A cure I know that soothes the soul, does so impossibly” - this is related to an upcoming ~chapter~ lol but basically audrey and bruce go on a retreat upstate that’s supposed to give him the opportunity to hulk out and like scare some squirrels in the woods but while they’re there, audrey and the hulk become good friends ? and so that’s why she’s able to reason with bruce when he turns

“almost (sweet music)”

i would place this one as post aou when audrey thinks bruce is dead.

“i’m almost me again, she’s almost you” - after a bit, she starts dating again but she’s still very much grieving and hung up on him

“i wouldn’t know where to start / sweet music playin’ in the dark / be still my foolish heart / don’t ruin this on me” - audrey becomes good friends with wanda and pietro after age of ultron and they haven’t been around long but they ask her to talk about it because she sits in her room playing the same song every day and crying and they’re like … ?

“I got some colour back, she thinks so, too / I laugh like me again, she laughs like you” - i think this is just audrey letting herself be close to people again. it’s not the same but it’s not so lonely

“movement”

“I still watch you when you're groovin’” so this song i think is about like someone dancing and being really seductive and sexy but this reminds me of bruce watching audrey dancing really terribly w tony at every avengers function. audrey literally cannot dance for shit and it’s endearing to bruce

“When you move / I can recall somethin' that's gone from me / When you move / Honey, I'm put in awe of somethin' so flawed and free” - i think bruce gets kind of fixated on watching audrey spar and fight; like partially because it’s hot but also because he sees her as very powerful and finds it magnetizing

“no plan”

i’m gonna go ahead and place this as ragnarok/infinity war

“for starts / what a waste to say the heart could feel apart / or feel complete, baby” - audrey and bruce reunite on sakaar and it’s a very emotional scene; it’s a waste to say the heart could feel apart because she knows she’s not less without him but there’s this understanding, this thing that’s been off that’s finally righted when they’re back together

“My heart is thrilled by the still of your hand / That's how I know now that you understand” - this applies to a very specific moment in ragnarok before they go to fight hela where audrey puts her hand over bruce’s and he looks at her and she’s unable to tell him that if they die right now she loves him but he knows anyway

“There's no plan / There's no race to be run / The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun / There's no plan / There's no kingdom to come / I’ll be your man if you got love to get done / Sit in and watch the sunlight fade / Honey, enjoy, it's gettin' late / There's no plan / There's no hand on the rein / As Mack explained, there will be darkness again” - so this is all very apocalyptic and not to flex but i was at a concert and hozier talked about this line and how the whole song was written about the doomsday clock and a time when it was closer to zero than ever; it’s a song about throwing caution into the wind at the end of the world and i think that’s fitting. there’s a period where audrey realizes that they’re not gonna beat thanos, and that the snap is gonna happen, and she takes a breath and notices everything around her and just thinks about how she’s lucky to have had it at all.

“nobody”

“You know when it's twelve o'clock in Soho, baby / It's gin o'clock where I'll wake up, I don't know / And I think about you though everywhere I go / And I've done everything and I've been everywhere, you know” - this just reminds me of when audrey is away on missions and bruce is still at the base; she’s been everywhere in the world because she’s been alive for so long and she’s been around for a lot; the one thing she’s most grateful for her lifetime to have coincided with though is bruce

“i’ve had no love like your love / from nobody” - this is just them lol they understand each other on another level

“I'd be appalled if I saw you ever try to be a saint / I wouldn't fall for someone I thought couldn't misbehave” - this is audrey 2 bruce … she would be appalled if he ever tried to get rid of the hulk for good; i think that it’s such a significant part of how they see and understand each other

“If I had the choice between hearing either noise: The excitement of a thousand or the soothing of your voice / At first chance, I'd take the bed warmed by the body” - they just choose each other. they choose to be with each other. this reminds me of the “give your heart and soul to charity” line in nfwmb because it’s like if they had to be heroes without each other they wouldn’t be happy

“as it was”

there’s a conversation bruce and audrey have at the safehouse in age of ultron where bruce is saying he doesn’t feel the same since wanda fucked with his head bc of the vision he had, and he’s worried abt whether or not audrey can continue to care for him when the chaos the hulk created wasn’t for any good or if she’s changed her mind and she has to assure him that she hasn’t; there are a lot of lines from this song that remind me of that

-“whatever’s here that’s left of me / is yours just as it was”

-“Just as it was, baby / Before the otherness came / And I knew its name / The drug, the dark, / The light, the flame”

-“its holds had the fight of my baby / and the lights were s bright as my baby / but your love was unmoved”

-“the sights were as stark as my baby / and the cold cut as sharp as my baby / and the nights were as dark as my baby / half as beautiful, too” (unrelated sidenote but this line gives me chills always)

then the second verse of this reminds me of audrey and bruce in ragnarok:

“Tell me if somehow Some of it remains How long you would wait for me How long I've been away The shape that I'm in now Your shape in the doorway Make your good love known to me Or just tell me about your day”

“shrike”

so audrey has a really really hard time saying i love you after bruce leaves at the end of aou, to anyone—she says it to steve maybe once, but she can’t say it besides that one time, and it’s part of why she’s so torn up about peggy dying because she didn’t tell her she loved her enough in the months leading up to her death.

but also, when bruce comes back, audrey still can’t muster up the ability to say them out loud, and so at the end of infinity war, she’s left without telling any of the people she loves that she loves them. when she comes back in endgame, she’s able to overcome that to tell them. this song reminds me of that

“I couldn't utter my love when it counted / Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now” - this is when she comes back

“The words hung above / But never would form / Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn / Remember me love when I'm reborn / As the shrike to your sharp / And glorious thorn” - this is both; she couldn’t say it, but she’s “reborn” during endgame and she realizes that the worst has already happened countless times; there’s nothing else to be afraid of that she hasn’t survived

“Then when I met you, my virtues uncounted / All of my goodness is going with you now” - this is just audrey when bruce leaves

“talk”

ok this entire song is just both audrey and bruce when they like each other but don’t wanna say anything about it.

I'd be the voice that urged Orpheus When her body was found Hey yeah I'd be the choiceless hope in grief That drove him underground Hey yeah I'd be the dreadful need in the devotee That made him turn around Hey yeah And I'd be the immediate forgiveness In Eurydice Imagine being loved by me

I won't deny I've got in my mind now (Hey, yeah) All the things I would do So I try to talk refined For fear that you find out (Hey, yeah) How I'm imagining you

I'd be the last shred of truth In the lost myth of true love Hey yeah I'd be the sweet feeling of release Mankind now dreams of Hey yeah That's found in the last witness before the wave hits Marvelling at God Hey yeah Before he feels alone one final time And marries the sea Imagine being loved by me

“dinner & diatribes”

i think…..this doesn’t match up exactly but the new year’s eve chapter…..Yeah

“Let there be damage ensued and tabloid news / And that kind of love / That's the kinda love / I’ve been dreaming of”

“would that i”

okay buckle up this one is a lot

“True that love in withdrawal was the weeping of me / That the sound of the saw must be known by the tree / Must be felled for to fight the cold / I fretted fire but that was long ago” ok this i think is bruce’s perspective; love in withdrawal was the weeping of me = the isolation he put himself in following becoming the hulk was a very bad spot for him even though it was safest. the sound of the saw must be known by the tree = gotta risk it for the biscuit! must be felled for to fight the cold / i fretted fire but that was long ago = i used to be afraid but now i’m not; it’s worth the risk

“Oh, but you're good to me / Oh, you're good to me / Oh, but you're good to me, baby” bruce is just continually confused and surprised by the fact that audrey isn’t scared of him

“With each love I cut loose I was never the same / Watching still living roots be consumed by the flame / I was fixed on your hand of gold / Laying waste to my loving long ago”

-with each love i cut loose i was never the same = bruce has cut off everyone he’s been close to since the hulk happened and he’s not the same when he’s alone; he thinks he can make it by himself and he probably can but he doesn’t have to

-i was fixed on your hand of gold / laying waste to my loving long ago = this is actually nice bc the gold imagery specifically matches up with what audrey’s powers are, and so there’s that connection to be made

“And it's not tonight / Where I'm set alight / And I blink in sight / Your blinding light” this also just matches up really nicely w audrey’s powers lol

“sunlight”

“I had been lost to you, sunlight / And flew like a moth to you, sunlight / Oh your love is sunlight” i think this would be bruce after age of ultron ? he’s been lost to audrey, but when he sees her he gravitates back toward her immediately; he sees her love as sunlight

“the tale is the same / told before and told again / soul that's born in cold and rain / knows sunlight, sunlight, sunlight” - bruce is the soul that’s born in cold and rain and audrey is sunlight

“Each day you rise with me / Know that I would gladly be / The Icarus to your certainty” - i think he’s just devoted to her

“wasteland, baby”

okay going line by line for this one lol buckle up!

“All the fear and fire of the end of the world / Happens each time a boy falls in love with a girl” - when they’re fighting thanos audrey is actually reminded of bruce; how losing him felt like the world ending, now it’s for real

“Happens great, happens sweet / Happily, I'm unfazed here, too” - when audrey goes at the end of infinity war, she goes smiling

“Wasteland, baby / I’m in love, I'm in love with you” - they just love each other

“All the things yet to come are the things that have passed / Like the holding of hands, like the breaking of glass / Like the bonfire that burns / That all words in the fight fell to” - everything that has happened has led them to this moment; loki, ultron, hydra, etc. without that they wouldn’t have each other, but they also probably wouldn’t be dealing with this mess. it’s not good or bad, it’s just the way things went.

“Wasteland, baby / I’m in love, I'm in love with you”

“And I love too, that love soon might end / Be known in its aching / Shown in the shaking / Lately of my wasteland, baby” - they know it’s over before it’s over; they can tell what’s going to happen before it happens, and they’re just paralyzed in that moment

“Be still, my indelible friend, you are unbreaking / Though quaking, though crazy / That's just wasteland, baby” - when audrey goes bruce pleads with her to stay

“And that day that we'll watch the death of the sun / To the cloud and the cold and those jeans you have on / And you'll gaze unafraid as they sob from the city roofs” - in the years after the snap, bruce has the most vivid dream almost every night where audrey’s . like . ghost comes to him and takes him to the top of a hill and they watch the world end around them. it’s terrible and every time he wakes up he misses it.

“When the stench of the sea and the absence of green” - ok lol this just reminds me of how the hulk wouldn’t come fight at the end of infinity war

“Are the death of all things that are seen and unseen / Are an end but the start of all things that are left to do” - the world ends; half of everything is dead; but they’re still left. bruce and steve and everyone have to go on living still.

“Wasteland, baby / I'm in love, I'm in love with you / (That's it)” - this abruptness just reminds me a lot of the snap; that’s it. there’s no going back.

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xwaterice · 5 years

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“Gray and Juvia” episode final thoughts

I wanted to make a video review but I do not have time for it so I’m gonna write it instead haha anyway... I LOVED THE EPISODE.

“Gray and Juvia” as the title was a blessing. I didn’t expect it tbh because I was sure they’d choose “Fire and Ice” instead... I am so glad I was wrong! SO GLAD. An entire episode focused on Gruvia just like the manga chapters... amazing.

Before commenting the actual episode I’d like to say that, yes, I had high expectations but I also kept in mind that the new season of fairy tail is... sloppy? in terms of animation and adaptation. The pacing is too fast, things get resolved too quickly and I barely felt the “hype” each time the focus was on a huge fight or moment (I mean, when the balcony scene was animated I didn’t even have the time to flutter my eyelashes that it was over already 😂 ). Another negative note is the “still frames” which are very annoying. We definitely aren’t here to see the coloured version of the manga lol but somehow the animation studio has a thing for still frames.... -_- I was also worried they would completely censor the suicide... this to say that I didn’t watch ep 307 expecting something better than manga (that will never, never happen) nor something terrible.

The previous episode about Invel’s introduction and the first part of his fight vs Gray hyped me so much though, I was over the moon because!! THE BLIZZARD!! THE SCENERY! I LOVE IT! It looks so epic, so violent, so DYNAMIC, everything was completely frozen and compared to the previous spriggan fights it looked to DIFFERENT. I felt like it was a completely new world! The OST they played was on point as well!

It just screams “WINTER IS HERE” lmao I loved it. I could talk about this iced background for hours, hahaha if you notice it’s also different than the bg in 499 (Mashima used snow + ground, not actual ice for the floor) and it’s epic. I say it again... EPIC.

Moving on to the actual episode, I was extremely moved when we saw Invel’s portrayal of Gray’s dark side and I think it was a nice extra, scary lol, but surely nice because Gray’s darkness is something we’ve seen building up ever since Ur’s death (“I will seal your darkness”) and now someone is using JUVIA to unleash it.

Gray vs Juvia was good. I like focusing on details and I must say they did a good job in animating water and ice and their respective attacks, as they did with the most important part of the episode: the suicide.

They could have censored it. They really could have. Yet we saw: Juvia’s water blade piercing her (SIDE NOTE: totally love that it starts as ordinary water just to change its properties and harden as Juvia gets ready), BLOOD, more BLOOD, Gray piercing himself, Gray coughing BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD!!! Bloodiest FT ep (and chapter lol)

I think the animation was good; the pacing was ordinary in my opinion. I know that lots of people said it was too fast but I honestly don’t really think it was?... I actually had the time to flutter my eyelashes this time. It could have been slower and that would have been better to build the pathos and make it more dramatic but it wasn’t thaaaaat fast or “rushed” as many say. I think we are too used to the manga that we forget how anime actually is, it’s my problem at least, but I firmly believe this has something to do with the way we perceive this last season.... I take lots of breaks when I read the dialogues to focus on details, and I cannot do this when I watch the anime as it goes on its own. That’s something I forgot because I hadn’t seen the anime in... years lol so yeah I understand where people are coming from, but they spent 12 minutes to anime 499 which is HALF of the episode and the other 10 to animate 500 which was longer than usual and it counts as two chapters in one. 307 was really all about “Gray and Juvia” and all the frames were beautiful drawn.

There was a debate about Invel’s chains years ago and the anime made it clear that as he dispelled the blizzard he also undid Ice Lock freeing Gray and Juvia (lmao he literally miscalculated everything and even helped the enemy... to go after him :))) ). The blizzard is gone and so is the epic scenery, sadly. The still frames from now on... ugh. The random people talking without moving their mouths got me laughing lmao that was so awkward... but... thank god we have Gray and Juvia’s voice actors!! GIVE THEM AN OSCAR PLEASE, Gray’s scream was AWESOME. BREATHTAKING. It was so moving that the still frames weren’t so still anymore, it truly was divine... and I have chills remembering it. I wish they had animated the way Gray got closer to Juvia’s body and held her in his arms more clearly... it wasn’t even shown :/ it’s just still frames and the dynamism is gone. Same for that big Juvia panel, it’s just still while she talks and I didn’t like that... it didn’t need to be still. Anyway, Gray’s va saved this with his broken yet soft “Juvias”, such a beautiful interpretation.

^ this one frame broke me, just saying.

I will say a very unpopular opinion now but I’m honest: I didn’t like the flashbacks. Some were unnecessary (the butt touch one) and lasted too much (413 days) but I won’t complain about those because as many blogs said they wanted to show us how Gruvia’s dynamic has changed over the time from being comedic to romantic (416, 453) and they also confirmed that THIS IS GRAY’S ANSWER. Gray and Juvia went from enemies to lovers and seeing their first encounter was a must imho, but I get why they didn’t add scenes from the oldest season.

Last but not least, I liked Gray kicking Invel’s ass better than in manga lmao Gray looked even SCARIER and more violent imho it was so satisfying to watch. We all know that Invel would have died killed by Gray’s owns hands if he hadn’t to reveal END’s identity. This bitch is in prison now. ;)

That’s all. Enjoy and remember: Gray loves Juvia!

#gruvia #fairy tail #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #my thoughts

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laufire · 4 years

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Roswell NM 2x05

My thoughts of this episode could basically be summed up on “Extremely Mixed Feelings” lmfao.

Let’s start with Rosa, obviously. Gosh, I adore her. ADORE her. She feels so lively and real and colourful among... well, everything and everyone else xD. She did even in death. She makes this show better by being the point of contention in the narrative. The mixed feelings come when she interacts with anyone else, because though she remains her incredible self, (almost) everyone else isn’t and I keep chaffing against the dominant narrative :P. She’s also hilarious lmao. I love every one of her zings xD. The “bitch-ass aliens” was obviously the winner, but her calling Max & Isobel’s nonsense “psychic twincest weirdness” was close LOL.

Like, I don’t know how I feel about the show even JOKING about Rosa possibly forgiving Max & Co. The scene itself with Rosa DEMANDING her own room was perfect, but. Yeah. Don’t even joke about that xD. To add that, I actually really love her scenes with Max, both in previous episodes and this one, when he briefly convinced her of stopping his resurrection (I kind of love that the episode was so close to Easter, btw, it’s so on the nose xDD). The energy between the actors works REALLY well and I find myself suddenly paying attention to Max, which hadn’t happened so far xDD. However, I’d enjoy those scenes even more if I could be reasurred that Rosa is always going to have mixed feelings at best about him, and will never be reduced to prop him or Liz/Max (like in the moment where Rosa almost has to comfort Liz about Max loving her. Leave my kid out of this pls). But. Yeah. I also have some guesses as to where the Rosa vs. Max storyline will go now that a.) she has more control of her new powers, and b.) his resurrection is the one that’ll follow the Came Back Wrong pattern, but they’re half-formed/half-wishful thinking so far lol.

I love love love the physicality of Rosa’s scenes with Liz too, even if sometimes I’m bothered by other elements. I’m just amazed by how the actresses manage to make it come across that despite the obvious visuals, despite how ~youthful and reckless Rosa feels... she’s the older sister, still. That’s how she feels, and Liz gets ~swayed by this. Like how she bundles herself agaisnt Rosa’s chest for comfort (and in the second one, the transition to that after Liz holds Rosa’s face in her hands), or how Rosa talks about her “sweet little sister”, etc. It also helps making the relationship feel less proppy than it would otherwise --younger sisters doing something for their older ones feels different than the reverse, idk. I have Thoughts about this but they’re all tangled up with myself projecting stuff on them, so idk what I’m trying to convey here xDD

I’m less conflicted about Rosa/Isobel. STAY AWAY FROM HER ISOBEL. Seriously, I full on despise her now. Fuck her. At the beginning of the season it looked like I might start finding her interesting, but nah. That’s over. And in particular I want her as far away as possible from Rosa. I’m even surprised by the strength of my reaction lol, but I wanted to yell at her to take her dirty paws off Rosa xD (seriously, the scene where she puts her hand on Rosa’s chest felt so so creepy? Was that just me? Add that in Isobel’s comment about having a “threeway” and deugh. GO AWAY ISOBEL). And frankly, it’s hard to miss how Isobel is always at her worst with women of color (I’m wary of her attitude to men of color, after the blatant sexualization/mind control thing with Kyle or all her bullshit with Arturo, too). Her comments on Rosa’s addiction (let alone assaulting her or locking her body in a closet ofc) didn’t help her case. I really, really wish Rosa had chocked a bitch xD. BTW, I’ve seen people attribute Isobel’s shittiness to her connection to Max and his darkness when a.) we saw NO SIGNS of this, and b.) she’s been terrible from day one, okay xD. If the show goes there to absolve her of responsibility like it did in s1... ugh.

My connection was crappy af last week and I somehow missed Michael’s “help me move a body” scene until I saw the parallel done with the one this week and... did this bitch really joke about desecrating Rosa’s body in front of Liz’s face?? (who said nothing because she’s now completely on pod-people’s POV land, ofc. I had flashbacks to Delena joking about Caroline’s rape right there, too). Seriously, the pod-people, ALL of them, have an enourmous debt with Rosa (EVEN MORE NOW), and I really, really wish she collected.

I wish we’d seen Arturo & Arturo-Rosa stuff this episode. It’ll still be tainted by the circumstances (*hates Isobel even more*), but I’m very curious about them. And about how Rosa’s bio-father ties to this stuff --that side of Rosa’s family is being left out of things so far and I don’t like it, tbh. It seems to be simply because it’s too far from the pod-siblings circle of influence ¬¬. Or about how Arturo is processing all this (he still thinks Rosa drove and killed the two other girls and that Max is A Very Nice Boy *barfs*. I seriously resent the very real posibility that Rosa’s story will never be untangled, to her father and to the town).

Not-Rosa-centric stuff under the cut, I guess, because this is getting long xD

I also have mixed feelings about Maria’s scenes with Alex (and Maria’s scenes in general). OTOH, she looked amazing (this is important, js. It’s such a shame we didn’t see Michael’s reaction to that last outfit of hers *-*); I love the actor’s easy chemistry, too; and I think it’s very, very interesting, that Alex basically nudged Maria towards Michael and Miluca. OTOH, I dislike how the conversation immediately turned to supporting him, and especially the false equivalences between Maria falling for Michael and Alex contributing to the lies to her (though I don’t find him as responsibly for that as Michael and especially Liz --since it was Michael’s secret and he planned and struggled to tell her, while Liz was pretty comfortable keeping her in the dark except for her own emotional needs, and knew too well why those secrets could cost), or between looking at your mother’s search history and forgiving someone for keeping you in the dark and endangering your life, js. That he guilted her into forgiving Liz (and so fullfilling Maria’s prophecy about how Liz only struggled to tell her because she wanted support, and my own about how little her anger was allowed to last) made it worse.

I feel terrible for Kyle. You could feel the toll he’s taken smh. My heart broke a little when he told Liz “you called, I broke the speed limit”, too :/. His relationship with his mother is hanging on the balance after all his lies too, which doesn’t bode to well for him either. I liked the scene between him and Alex, at least, though I still don’t think I could ever ship them, given Kyle’s romantic history with someone that ALSO was hung up on another person, js.

Other people have talked about how Alex’s scenes with Michael often highlight his classism and how little it’s talked about in this fandom, but yeah. His comments about Michael’s “wasting” his life... I Felt that.

Related to that, Max’s comment about how someone “has to clean up [Michael’s] messes” is part of why the pod-siblinghood thing is never ever ever going to work for me, sns xDD. Sure, it’s mostly because I don’t like Max or Isobel at all, or Michael 40-50% of the time, but yeah, things like that, or Isobel assuring him of the BLATANT lie that Michael means as much to her and Max as each other... they make it harder to get into the ~spirit lol. Another issue is how TERRIBLE the editing to make them appear younger looks xDD

I had to, HAD TO, roll my eyes at Max’s martyrdom. Ooooh, he’s not doing this for HIMSELF, he would NEVER care about being in PAIN, he’s doing this for US. And the narrative conveniently doesn’t take him at his word and saves him, ofc, because’s he’s a lead and that’s what’s up. It was interesting seeing the other characters coming to acceptance at first, however --I hope it’s a Sign. There are other Signs (of Max’s narrative maaaaaaybe weak spots) that really *pop* in this episode. Like the fact that there’s doubt over who is more important to him, Liz or Isobel. In a show with a really strong male lead, the answer would unquestionably be Liz: she’d know it, Isobel would know it, we’d all know it. And sure, I know a lot of people would say that it’s “better” (?) for a show to acknowledge the ~importance of familial and platonic bonds~ and what not, but c’mon. I don’t doubt that if Liz had been white things would be different. But that’s not the case here. And there are strong arguments for Isobel being number one... like the fact that this amnesia plot in the promo seems to ONLY involve Liz? I mean, he seems to remember Isobel just fine. A male lead forgetting the love of his life is very, very tricky. OTOH this is good in the sense that I’m all for anything that makes Max take a fall... but his & Liz’s stories are too tangled up and I’d fear she’d surely go down with him :/

#roswell: new mexico #rosa ortecho #maria deluca #ortecho sisters #roswell thoughts #roswell spoilers #my thoughts #talking to the void #antimaxevans for ts #antimalex for ts #except not but i Say Something Negative so *sighs*#antiisobelevans for ts #kyle valenti #liz ortecho #antilizmax for ts #antimichaelguerin for ts #antipodsiblings for ts #bitter lau tag #favourites: soul siblings

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askmissjoker · 5 years

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AKIRA’S PALACE.

For the last several months, I had a palace campaign developed for a group of rp friends. Now that the campaign has long since reached its completion, I figure I can show people everything I did in regards to it!

The palace was focused on Akira’s guilt for her friends deaths during her first timeline, as you saw from this ask. In the roleplay, Akira tried to take care of everyone in her group of ragtag friends but they kept getting into trouble and got hurt over and over again. She felt immense despair, slowly blaming herself for things not going right-- and eventually, gave birth to a palace where she was the prisoner, locked away by her own choice to protect everyone else.

Keywords:

Target: Akira Kurusu

Place of distortion: Cafe Leblanc

Distortion: Prison

Player characters:

Mona

Crow

Panther

Arsene

Oracle

Megiddo (a different male akira)

Map designs, original persona, and details under the cut

Entrance

The players found themselves standing on the street outside of Leblanc, everything looking pretty normal and standard-- expect for the building. In its place stood a blue building the colour of the velvet room and a tall metal fence that prevented them from progressing. Speaking to Lavaneza, who stood outside the real Velvet room’s door, told those who asked: "I do not have any methods nor information to assist you with, young trickster, for those who enter are already dead.”

Through some investigation, the players were able to find a broken piece in the surrounding fence. Someone clearly had been there before them, taking a literal sledge hammer to the metal and bending it upwards so the thieves can slip underneath and get inside. Two security towers loomed over the area, however one seemed to be damaged-- another indicator that they likely weren’t alone.

Floor 0-- The fool

After making their way into the palace and dodging out of the light of two search towers, they find themselves in a room that holds a strong resemblance to the velvet room. 3 cells each line the walls, labeled with a name plate and hand scanner: looking at them closely, the players can see that they hold the names of the Phantom Thieves: Ann, Futaba, Haru, Makoto, Yusuke, Ryuji... Is there a name missing?

In the center of the room is a huge hole covered by thick glass that allows you to see downwards to all of the palace.

The cell doors only opened depending on who the players had in their party. Since they had an Ann and Futaba, they were allowed entry into their respective rooms and spoke to the cognitions there. It was revealed that the cognitions weren’t of themselves, but of the Phantom Thieves’ Akira lost in her own timeline.

After exploring the two cells, Shadow Akira showed herself to the group, asking them to leave. The group refused, and she gave one of the players (Akechi), a folder with a keycard to progress further into the palace before she allowed herself to fall through the glass, descending to the floors bellow.

Floor 1-- The Chariot

On the next floor was two smaller towers with spotlights on them, shadows manning each tower on the lookout for intruders. The players sneaked past and took out each shadow, Akechi causing a small blackout after shooting his gun at a electric socket. The group also stumbled upon a treasure chest, retrieving a special sword for Akechi.

Making their way past a puzzle, they overheard shadows speaking to someone called Miss Kurusu-- Akira’s mother. Tricking these shadows, the group got the keycards needed to move on to the next floor.

Floor 2-- The Lovers

The group was starting to get worn out from their leader’s constant need to fight every shadow, so they took a small break to recoup as they weighed their options. They ended up making it further through the floor and found a large screen and two doors. A cognitive Futaba of one of the muses hacked through the feed to talk to the players--and they promised to meet up to exchange notes as it’s revealed there was a cognitive group of phantom thieves trying to get into the palace--the same friends Akira was trying to protect.

The group manages to solve a puzzle and get through to the next room, which is divided in half by a wall of glass.

In each room, there was shards of glass with masks painted on them--masks of the phantom thieves. However, when two members of the group went into the opposite room to try and get the rest of the shards, both exits locked and the room on the left began filling with water. Fun! That’s when they first met the Lupeux--a shadowy being with sharp white teeth that could melt into shadow. It almost took out the leader of the party, but when the group on the other side figured out the puzzle, it escaped to the next floor.

This is where the group took a break and returned back to the entrance of the palace to talk to the cognitions of themselves. That was a time LOL

Floor 3-- The High Priestess

On this floor, the players were given two options. Go through the first door, or go through the second door. First door was a puzzle involving tarot cards that ended up being unused, and the second door was a logic puzzle. Only thing is, that logic puzzle was 500% hijacked by a certain persona that the group let escape...

Fight: Lupeux

To be honest, the Lupeux wasn’t supposed to be such a big deal. In my concept writing, it was just another shadow--but I ended up going all out with it! Here’s a little excerpt:

Bullets lace into the mirrors, easily shattering any surface that comes into contact with the barrel of a gun. The cracks of the mirrors extend the length of the hall, growing in intensity before giving out and sending thousands of sharp shards flying. Not to be one left out, Mona draws his slingshot and joins the fray, aiding in the shattering of more mirrors.

Laughter fills the hallways as gunfire threatens to drown it out, however Lupeux is loosing places to play it's game. Distorted images of the Phantom Thieves don't even remain anymore-- only showing the backing wall that held the mirrors up. Bullet holes lay scattered across its surface, growing the cracks in the very foundation of the walls and leaving very clear exit marks.

"Here! Here! Let me help you!" It giggles, voice of Crow melting and shifting until it became almost unrecognizable.

All at once, the walls cave and crumble, remaining mirror walls left in shambles as everything falls to the ground. The group is left standing on the thin pathway, now exposed to the open air. All around them is only darkness, and a giant pit that leads downwards that you cannot see the bottom of. You can see the exit, now clearly visible and lacking any tricks, and the walls of the other path you could have taken very far away from you.

Lupeux is nowhere to be seen for a short while, though the darkness around the group shifts and bubbles as if it's alive. A long leg of shadow climbs out from it's depths, familiar toothy grin spiraling and clicking as it reforms in front of the group's eyes. A red, beady iris flickers and hones in on the group as it pulls more and more darkness into its body, consuming shadow in seemingly infinite supply. It perches itself on the other path, growing in size as time goes on, and laughs silently. The only way you're able to separate it from the backdrop of nothingness is it's sharp teeth that it clicks, as if in challenge.

Check out Quire’s art from the scene! It was fun tormenting them :))

Floor 4-- Justice

This floor was a Bit of a Time(tm). Two player characters ended up in some of the jail cells due to them almost dying, and Akira’s mom and Sae ended up talking to them. After a terrible roll in trying to knock Sae out (it was eventually successful) the united group went to the main room where a trial was said to be held. There they fought the midboss of the campaign, Akira’s mother.

Midboss:

Maragarethe [Null Curse. Resist gun]

way too many moves ngl. she just wanted to brainwash the party though

Akira’s mother was probably one of the concepts of the palace that never really changed? Her design remained the same throughout all my concept art and at this point it’s quite clear i have a certain Aesthetic haha. Those eyes especially were my favourite...

After beating her up, there was only a couple floors left.

Just a pretty empty foor--a transition to the next. In order to get through you needed a Morgana and Akechi in the party. Which, this group happened to have :)

Leblanc

After going through the prison the players opened the final door and... found themselves right where they started--inside Leblanc. Only this was clearly still a cognitive version of Leblanc, and had a lot of things about it that felt ‘off’. For one there were doors on the side, for another the windows were replaced with mirrors. Oh, and when the whole group went inside the Akechi of the group had a gun pointed at his head by Akira’s original Akechi. The one that died in her first timeline.

I’ll keep what happened a secret unless people asked, but the group secured the infiltration route and sent the calling card (it was an emotional time).

Boss floor

After the calling card triggered and the group was inside, they made their way to the treasure room (Leblanc’s attic). The treasure however was gone, and Shadow Akira found them, this time with her mask on.

The whole room collapsed around them, revealing a room no one could escape. And so, the fight began.

Boss Phase 1: Lady

Lady’s first phase was more on the easy side to handle--all she had to work with was a mirror of the personas I had originally played with during other campaigns. This meant she had a limit to what she could do, especially since I nerfed her early on with her persona choices. After being knocked down to around half health, she shifted into phase 2.

Boss phase 2: A̮̯̙̬͎͓̥̦̕r̡̖̩̩̣̲̪͢s̪̳̰̝̜̝͘͠ͅe҉͙̠̳͉̗̞̻̙n̡͉͘e̶̦̼̪͚?͏̪̭̀͞A͉̹̟͟k̶̟͖̟͈̩̼̰̞̯͟i̭͉̣r͔͓͠a̶̲͈̺͍͙

Phase 2 was rougher--I gave her a wide move pool with some original moves that if the group didn’t guard, they’d be automatically knocked down (and susceptible to an all out attack). Luckily that didn’t happen though! The group won, the treasure being Akira’s mask.

In the real world the treasure remained her mask, however in hindsight it should have been her original rounded glasses--since she only got her square ones in her second timeline, not the first.

Notes:

There were originally 7 floors planned, and I still have the designs for them! Each floor was based off of one of the PTs, but it turned out to be too long to reasonably go through in a campaign.

I have a book that is 30 pages of planning and plotting for this palace. I really wanted to make it personal to my players and to cater to their characters and give them content to allow them to explore sides of their muses they haven’t been able to do before. Because of this, I had several events planned just for each muse in mind. Not all of it got used in the end, but it was fun!

Some players had to duck out of the RP for their own health, so the palace was modified after their departure to accommodate such!

Original Shadows

Where would a Palace be without some exclusive shadows? Nowhere that’s what! All of these designs were inspired by french folklore and stories