#((basically short answer I'm projecting on her

[maria-bli]

[ 🌪️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat’s the one choice they regret (not) making ?

((not sure if this question is meant for "not making the choice" or "making the choice" or "could be either or depending on what you can come up with" but I'll roll with it.

Maria deeply regrets opening the door to Felix Holloway, the guy who kidnapped her and beat her up. She knows it's not her fault but she still thinks about it constantly. How would she be if she hadn't opened the door, if she had checked who was behind it before she opened it, any number of situations she can think up on how it could have gone differently. What if she hadn't been alone in her room for so long? What if it was Alex on the other side of that door instead of the one who hurt her?

safe to say she thinks about it a little too much. it eats her up sometimes. if she sits for a little too long it starts to consume her every thought. and she hates that she still thinks about it and it still effects her.

[welcometohellfilm]

Congrats to everyone who has been working on W2H2! 🎉 If it's alright, I'd like to ask to ask 2 questions:

Is there by chance an official ref of colors for Debbie, or is it still up to interpretation at the moment?

Would you say that your personal, real life experiences within the 10 years moving from W2H to W2H2 shifted the tone/story of the series in some way? Something that I've always been fascinated with when I started looking more into W2H was the shift in Sock's character from the original comic -> first film -> second film, and Jonathan's character from the first film -> second film.

Thank you! ✨

I actually just made some 'official'-ish colors for Debbie! Her voice actor Kaitlyn wanted something to use on a banner for conventions haha... so here you go!

2. I'm not really sure how to answer this one, haha. I mean I've definitely changed as a person over the course of making each iteration of W2H. I started the comic while I was at community college, before I went to art school. I adapted it into an animation for my graduation project. And I started W2H2 a couple years after I graduated college. So there's a good 2-3 years between each attempt at W2H I've done, haha. I think a lot of my original ideas from the comic had to change because it needed to be condensed into a short film. I didn't even GET to Jonathan yet in the comic! Some things just didn't make sense to me anymore, like the idea of Sock already having a human body count. It'd just be absurd for him to be able to hide it for so long! Plus, if I made it so that Sock has only ever entertained the idea of murder, it makes his new job that much more appealing-- it's a chance for him to really lean in to this thing he's always had to hide. Between the first and second films though, I mean... I think there's been some tonal shift, for sure (I don't know about a character shift? We'll get to that haha) But basically, when I was first thinking about W2H2, my idea was "Sock and Jonathan hang out and attempt to figure out touch physics, also there's some drama about a journal Jonathan keeps." All of the hell stuff is something that came from bouncing ideas around with my friends, Michael and Neil. I was worried that sending Jonathan to hell would be too bonkers for a "2nd episode", but we all kinda agreed that enough time had passed that the fans would probably enjoy something higher stakes, so it would be fine. (I'll give everyone a moment to realize this conversation would've been happening in 2015-16... ha.)

We also kind of thought, y'know... I have no idea how many more of these there's even gonna' be, so why not go a little bigger with this one? W2H2 is a higher stakes story than what I set out to make in the beginning, that's for sure. It is interesting to compare all of them.. the employee handbook was actually from the comic and I cut that because it wasn't helpful for W2H... but then it became helpful for W2H2, so it came back! Haha. I'm curious to know in what ways people think the characters have changed though. (And is that a good thing or a bad thing?) Especially a character like Jonathan, no one's really even seen that much of him yet, I think most of the characterization comes from fandom, or like... art I've drawn, I guess? Haha... I'm not sure! I guess Sock's a little more confident and antagonistic in this one (though he'll have his moments of hesitation... we're only at Part 1 right now!), and Jonathan has had to become a more vocal/active character, just by nature of the kind of story it is, I suppose. But yeah, I'm not sure! Happy to hear your guys' thoughts though!

[genericpuff]

say sike right now, she's actually going back to The Doctor Pepper Show-

Like, this is just "What if The Doctor Pepper Show and LO had a baby?" Because at this point it's very clear Rachel only knows how to write from inside her own head, which is full of unresolved salt towards her childhood and medical fetish shit. The imagery in the first panel is very LO, and the imagery in the second is literally The Doctor Foxglove Show-

Evidently she's been reskinning the same shit for years-

Listen, I've been, for the most part, keeping my lips sealed on a lot of Rachel's old projects and what I've dug up on her previous works, for a few reasons:

1.) We were all cringe on the Internet at some point in time and a lot of these older works, such as Freak Scene Surgery and The Doctor Pepper Show, would have been from when she was in her late teens / early 20's. I'm not here to judge Rachel's personal preferences or whatever kind of fetishes she's into. It's totally normal, expected even, for a lot of creators to have older works they're trying to bury or disconnect themselves from because it's simply not them anymore.

2.) Ultimately I've been focused on discussion around Lore Olympus and Rachel as she currently operates as a creator, so I don't want to go digging up her old skeletons as any sort of "gotcha" towards LO today. Ultimately a lot of these works don't have anything to really 'do' with LO as it exists today.

That said, the reason I'm bringing it up now is because these new series... are bridging that gap that I've been avoiding for ages now. The gap that's filled with skeletons of Rachel's past that she's trying to both disconnect herself from but now fall back on with LO come and gone. It almost goes to show that her being a one-note pony goes back since far before LO - these are literally the only ideas she's able to come up with at this point, and it's painfully obvious in how both these new "graphic novel pitches" are pretty much the exact same and could apply to the same character, and that character may as well just be Persephone, i.e. Rachel, all over again.

Like, I'm calling it now, Patients in the Dark is just gonna be more "moms are bad" rhetoric, and Eleanor's Deathbed is gonna be Hades and Persephone, but replace Hades with some death god and Persephone with a training mortician, which is basically also still just Foxglove training to be a doctor, and Icy Shaw bragging about fondling corpses.

If anything, now that Webtoons is no longer carrying her around on their shoulders, this is gonna be Rachel's moment of "put up or shut up". She can either actually put in an active effort to write something that's decent, or she can flounder under the weight of her own tired mediocrity that's been knocking at her door for years now. As much as she's using her labels that were bought for her to sell these books which aren't even in real development yet-

-Webtoons isn't gonna be there to buy her Eisners forever. This is entirely on her and the imprint that Webtoons shoved her into. Her process is still the same, she's learned nothing from the experience of making LO, she's just got the money and awards now and is trying to run with it, but all she has are the same tired pitch lines that she's been using for decades now and just so happened to work with LO because LO had both Webtoons and the appeal of it being a Greek myth "retelling" to carry it into fame.

I'm gonna go into a bit of a tangent here, but it's been weighing on my mind since I found out this news and have been discussing it with pals within the ULO circle. Rachel once said in an interview that she wanted to use her platform to raise awareness of issues regarding sexual assault, mental health, and "the patriarchy":

"Who do you know that hasn’t been sexually assaulted? The number is depressingly low, right? Why is that? There is no short answer or an easy fix. I have a platform. I can tell a story that will hopefully educate and help others feel acknowledged and vindicated." - Rachel Smythe, Interview with Gossamer Rainbow

"...obviously I'm very feminist, and that sort of stuff really matters to me, um, the best way to approach this question is… I began, the pilot was written in sort of mid-2017, and I think what I wanted, what I wanted to achieve, and I don't even know… probably in 5 years time I don't know how I'm going to feel about this but I'm taking the risk, I really wanted to write a story where, uh…this female character goes through these things and I think what I wanted to do, what I wanted to achieve, was like a really common, I can't speak for like, men, but I can definitely speak for like, you know, if you're sitting in a group of your female friends and you're like "Hey! Who's been sexually assaulted?" … The response is going to be really depressing… Most female people that you know have probably experienced sexual assault to, on one level or another, and I'm like, for me I'm like "Why is that? Why?" And is it because there is a lack of information, lack of education, like what is it? And I'm lucky enough to have a platform and I'm like, if I could just provide some information in story format, would that help? Is this what I can contribute? So I feel like, especially, when writing sexual assault in media often it's… it's a way for the main male character to be, like, uplifted to hero-ness by, usually like, violence is the way to fix the problem, and that's not the approach that I want to take… um, I think [sighs], oh god, sorry I've lost my train of thought, [sighs], yeah, I think a lot of the time in movies when they, like, show rapists or something it's generally someone who's jumped out from behind the tree at a lady in a park and it's not really how it is like 90% of the time [laughs], so I just wanted to make something realistic where people could at it and be, like, "hey, nagging someone into sex isn't cool" or like removing all of their opportunities to say no isn't cool, or for someone to look at it, and just like feel validation, this is me trying, trying my best to make a difference with the platform that I have, and yeah, this is my roundabout answer for it" - Rachel Smythe, Interview with The Comic Source

And yet not once has Rachel actually used her platform for good outside of herself. She just asks the question, "Sexual assault?" and then writes off the answer "yes, it's bad!" and it especially shows in LO where the resolution to the one plotline she kept around to draw in readers was "assaulters are sent to the timeout corner!" Sure, it works for the readers who are simply seeking validation that their experiences aren't unique to themselves, but is it actually doing any real work to talk about the systems in place that leads to people like Apollo being created? Is it doing anything to address purity culture as it exists and the double standards that exist for women who are navigating sexual relationships? Is it doing anything to take the discussion outside of the narrative and put it into action through support of women's shelters, charities, mental health support for men, etc.? Not really. Like many of Rachel's ideas throughout LO, she simply goes, "Men, amirite?" and the answer is "yeah men suck!" and nothing more. The answer to the entire SA plotline is "rape is bad, don't do it" when anyone who could even relate to that conclusion in the first place already knows that.

Ultimately the activism she claims she's trying to do doesn't actually service the issue at hand - it just services herself and her own insecurities, her own unresolved trauma, her own need for validation through Eisners and merch sales. She asks the question, "Who hasn't been assaulted?" so that when she responds to the women who come forward and relate to Persephone, it's with the intent of getting them to read LO and buy her merchandise. She winds up making herself the center of other people's experiences, even ones that she cannot relate to. At BEST her attempts to "use her platform" as a means of starting discussion around ongoing societal issues like the patriarchy and sexual assault towards women is about as effective as Bell #LetsTalk, it's purely performative, self-profiting, and offers nothing of real tangibility.

If she just wants to write her own self-empowering personal works, that would be fine. Plenty of creators do it. Art is, at its core, self-expression. But it's extremely telling that she's built a platform off her self-expression, and twisted it into what she believes to be "activism" and "feminism", so that she can continue to profit off it in her future works such as this, which, again, are just reskins of her previous projects which were largely centered around the fetishizing of abuse towards women.

I don't want to claim that this is what it is, but... how much of the "feminism" in LO is done purely through the lens of victimizing women? Why is there more effort put into torturing female characters like Hera, and Demeter, and Minthe, and even Persephone to a certain degree, than there is into actually addressing the larger issue that she's claiming she wants to shed light on and resolving her questions with actionable answers?

That is the only question I will leave you all with. I am absolutely 100% not planning on touching these works with a ten foot pole, even if they should come to fruition. With the recent realization that she was into artists like Trevor Brown, alongside the fact that we've known for a long time she's into Lolita and there are very clear parallels to draw between it and LO, I think it's safe to say at this point that Rachel's work is not something I want to continue to support even when it's "hate reading". Again, I'm not going to outright accuse her of anything, but I feel like the writing is clearly on the wall here and I'm taking that writing as my warning to steer clear.

I didn't want to discuss the elephant in the room - her older works as they exist in the distant past of the early 2000's - but she's now riding the elephant.

[theseerasures]

(obligatory note that the footage does not usually look like this; i'm trying to reduce the washout on Laurel's face to make a point)

every time we watch Wicked Leah and i play a game of "how gay is it" during this part, because it does feel pivotal for Gelphie to fumble toward acknowledging what their relationship actually is here, before everything goes to shit. in my head the way it goes in the Original Cast Recording is that Elphaba takes the leap: Idina says two good friends so hesitantly, like she's worried just by calling it anything she's ruining what they have, and Cheno's Glinda responds with a warm reassurance. that's basically how it remained for some time, with Glinda's answering affirmation being on the whole more platonic, if equally emotional.

then at some point the onus shifted onto Glinda to Make It Gay. my intellectual self wants to say Kendra or Annaleigh started this trend, but since my insanity began with Katie (and Willemijn) she comes to mind first. there's always a moment right before friends where she wavers, which communicates two major things. the first, which is constant no matter her scene partner, is that Glinda feels the weight of this moment. all Glindas have to seriously acknowledge Elphaba's feelings to some extent here so they can assure/assuage them, but Katie always seems to extend the fragility her Elphaba displays rather than dispelling or shifting it. instead of Glinda assuring Elphaba that Elphaba is doing this right, we get the sense Glinda equally wants to get this right--but she's not certain how to do it either.

it can get lost because she's a serious Glinda in general, but what's unique about Katie's Glinda is how seriously she takes the project of understanding Elphaba. the most obvious example is with "i told you a really good one" during Popular, where Galinda is so fixated on WHY Elphaba would have these feelings she ends up neglecting them altogether, but there are some additional subtler moments in One Short Day. you just get the sense that Katie's Glinda is constantly on the verge of asking ten million followup questions about Elphaba, TO Elphaba, at this point in the show. she was wrong about Elphaba when they were enemies, which culminated in her being so cruel while Elphaba was kind; now she's going to learn everything about her new friend, so that whatever Elphaba does in the future she can respond in kind, with equal magnitude. (which, again, reads SO autistic for me.)

the second thing, which feeds from the first, is that if Glinda is as serious and vulnerable as Elphaba here, then the exact nature of Glinda's hesitation before friends alters depending on the Elphaba. as Wicked has aged (and Glindas have gotten gayer) Elphabas have accordingly shifted two good friends towards a statement of overwhelmed gratitude. she's still tentative about their friendship, but friendship is the sole realm she can even imagine at this point. in those cases Glinda's pause before friends turns into this neat reversal, where GLINDA now wants more (romantical) things out of their relationship but is shy about revealing her hand, because she's not sure Elphaba will reciprocate or because it's not fair to put that on Elphaba per the terms of their relationship. it's a super nice reading if you want a pining Glinda for a straight/oblivious Elphaba...

but that's not really what's happening here, because Laurel's Elphaba isn't just in love with Glinda. she seems pretty cognizant of it, too, so two good friends becomes a retreat from them being more than "good friends" in two distinct ways. it's an echo of Idina's hesitation with more explicit romantic intent, and her face afterwards betrays this very heartbreaking certainty that nothing Glinda offers back could be enough, because SHE wasn't brave enough in the first place to tell Glinda how she really feels. which would be bleak enough in itself, but played against Katie's Glinda--this empathetic tryhard who studied the Elphaba while she was supposed to be heterosexual--it becomes downright tragic. because Glinda KNOWS Elphaba is holding something back here. she knows that when Elphie makes that face she's worried about being hurt. and she knows, by now, that asking why immediately might make Elphaba hide more and ruin everything, so she's just going to have to guess. she says two best friends, because that IS what they are, but it doesn't feel like enough. she wants to acknowledge the thing Elphie can't say, even if she hasn't figured out yet what it could possibly be. she's going to try, though; not just for Elphie, but because she feels it, too.

and how could that not feel like a revelation for Elphaba? even the best case scenario she refuses to let herself think about, where Glinda reciprocates her feelings, would have come with the painful rawness of being seen through. but Elphaba could have never imagined this incipient possibility: that uncertainty can be something you relish, as opposed to something you fear. that she could be relished and not feared. they're not there yet, but that's the thing, isn't it? yet. and Glinda is going to try--Elphaba is certain of that much, now. they might get there, which feels like everything. they might, with time.

and why wouldn't they have enough time?

[raccoon-crown]

DREAM LAND AU: The Haltmann's

Sorry I got delayed with this references!

But here is the 'Haltmann's reference', with the exception of Maria of course, and I finally had the chance to show the full design of Metal as the Star Dream!

Sage here is no an alien or human but s robotic IA and in some way Haltmann (Eggman) daughter. Also the Star dream originally looked more like the OG one but after they captured Meta Sonic the machine got invested in the hedgehog and tried to Mimic him naively trying to find the source of his resistance).

Also the Star Dream (Metal Sonic) is actually as high as the OG one but since I needed to show the details he looks tinnier that how he really is in the reference (he's much taller)

More info about Sage and Haltmann relationship under the cut:

Ya know what Happened with Gerald from Maria's backstory, the old man let Maria go with an star to Popstar only to never see her again. But that never changed his determination to create his own 'Comet Nova' in hopes of finding her one day (He didn't)

The Project Star Dream eventually passed to Gerald's Grandson, Ivo, when he passed. And having known basically nothing of his grandfather because of the old man's obsession with Maria, he went on a different route with the project. Eventually getting a success on creating the machine.

The thing is, Haltmann (That's how I'm going to call Eggman for short) did had a family and Sage was his biological daughter and successor (Don't ask who is the mother, I can't imagine an answer). And by the time he completed the Star Dreams Project she already was a child old enough to try to go to the lab with her father.

Remember what happened to Susie? It happened to Sage, the day the Star Dream had it first experiment the kid got inside of the lab and because of the machine she got sent to a different dimension.

And Trying to rescue Sage, Haltmann eventually lost his memories of her and with time he solely focused on the Project. Eventually one day Sage returns but even if for her just a moment passed for the rest of the world many years passed.

The worst part was that little girl returned not as one but as a kind of Robot and got classified as an useful IA by her own father who didn't remember her... And it was heartbreaking, even if she really didn't had a heart anymore.

It was then when Sage decided that one day, she might give a lesson to her own father and if it was possible to do so using his priced Star Dream it would be all the better.

[putschki1969]

FictionJunction Radio vol.#22 ~ About Kalafina's Reunion and Yuki's Official Statement

A couple of days ago, Yuki announced that there would be a new FJS Radio broadcast coming up soon so fan club members were asked to submit questions. It was all done in quite a rush and fans only had one day to send their messages. Obviously, everyone (including myself) was thinking that Yuki would use that opportunity to do some further "damage control" after her official statement regarding Kalafina's reunion concert went viral and caused quite a lot of turmoil among fans. HERE's my translation of her statement. It reflects pretty badly not only on the organisers of the event but also the members of Kalafina which has led to many fans seeing this project as a sort of betrayal from Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru. It has since been very quiet on the social media front and there have been no updates from either Keiko or Hikaru.

Today, the new radio episode was posted on the fan club site and yes, Yuki is dedicating a large portion of it to this topic. Bless her! The latest mail magazine also includes a brief message from Yuki Kajiura. I'll go through some of the important parts of that before I tackle the broadcast. Please note that I will not be providing full translations. This will be more of a round-up of all the highlights.

Regarding the statement I posted on X the other day (I apologise to those who have not seen the post. A proper explanation is provided on the radio broadcast.) I tried my best to convey everything to FJS members as honestly as possible. This is a decision I made after much deliberation, I was worried about whether or not I could be causing further distress by repeating all of it again. It goes without saying that everything I am talking about in the broadcast is true, but to be honest, there were some questions that I intentionally chose not to address. However, this was not because of "adult matters" but because I wanted to avoid hurting anyone more than necessary, so I hope you will understand.

I think I've said everything I wanted and felt like I needed to say about this matter on the radio episode. I'm grateful that so many wonderful musicians and singers have been involved in the music I've created up until now. Even if we are not always on the same stage, I always hope that each and every one of them will continue to make music in a bright, fun, interesting, and cheerful way, in their own way and on the path they have chosen.

Once again, I apologise for causing you all trouble and concern.

Yuki Kajiura

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FJS Radio Vol.#22 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗

At around 24:00, Yuki starts talking about all the questions she has received regarding her statement in response to the Kalafina Reunion Live announcement. Yuki appreciates that everyone was very careful/kind in their phrasing and clearly tried to not step on her toes. To clear up some confusion and in order to answer a few questions, Yuki is doing a more in-depth discussion of the situation. Initially, she just wanted to write a short text for the fan club mail magazine but she didn't feel like it was enough so it ended up becoming a main topic of the radio episode. This way, it was easier to eliminate uncertainties. 

When she first saw the announcement, her reaction was to ask herself "why??". She was basically in shock. After all, she had not been informed of the project so it was complete news to her. Soon after, it got very awkward for her when she started to receive a lot of inquiries and messages of fans congratulating her on Kalafina's comeback. Naturally, this made her feel very uncomfortable since she had nothing to do with it. Additionally, there was some confusion among fans about the extent of Yuki's involvement because the official announcement from Kalafina Staff did not mention her name at all but both Keiko and Hikaru mentioned her in their statements. For these reasons, Yuki felt like she had no choice but to make her own statement in order to clarify a few things.

She still does not know all the details, for example the exact reasons behind the secrecy and why the members were not able to talk about this to her in advance. Or if this is going to be a one-time thing or if Kalafina will resume their activities.

Yuki says that her statement might have been perceived as quite "angry" because of her usage of certain "strict" phrases (like Kalafina-san, ございます/gozaimasu", etc) but she wants to clarify that she is really not the type to be angry, it was more a sense of shock that made her write like this and the fact that she wanted to stick to very precise/formal language in this "official statement". She wasn't angry or trying to scold anyone. The main focus was actually supposed to be on the latter half of her statement but due to her phrasing, everyone was focusing on that first part (to a point where people were starting to draw false conclusions). She thinks that even the Kalafina members themselves must have been quite taken aback when they read the statement. It was never her intention to create so much backlash for the project/the Kalafina members and she doesn’t approve of it. To avoid further misunderstandings, she posted some follow-up tweets and ultimately decided to record the radio episode. Yuki wants us to know that the sentiment she was trying to convey was fundamentally positive. She does wish the members of Kalafina all the best and she knows that they will do an amazing job. She repeats this several times.

Of course she would have wanted to do a live concert together with Kalafina, it was always a dream she pursued and something she had discussed with Keiko and Hikaru during their activities together. But there were a lot of hurdles and it was going to take a long time. There was no way of knowing if it was ever going to happen (especially with Wakana still being signed under Space Craft) so she completely understands that the girls would look at different options just to somehow make this concert happen. They were undoubtedly presented with a good opportunity so it would have been unwise of them to not take that chance, especially since it offered a faster solution. With an appealing offer like that, it's only natural that the Kalafina members would have agreed to the project. Despite feeling sad, Yuki knows that sometimes things like this happen in life. When things don't work out one way, you need to try other options. She doesn't fault the members for going down a different path. In fact, she wishes nothing but luck to the girls. She supports them all the way and highlights their splendor as singers (especially Keiko who she admires for her discipline). They all continue to have a good relationship and Yuki will always see them as her "music nakamas".

She is also looking forward to working with Keiko and Hikaru in the upcoming Asia tour. She is sure they will have fun together so there is no need to worry. The same applies for the summer tour next year.

Yuki then goes on to talk a bit about Satoshi Takebe who she highly respects as "senior/senpai". He actually reached out to Yuki after this whole debacle and they talked about how he kinda ended up bearing the brunt of fan hatred which Yuki found very uncalled-for. She is sure he will do a great job as music director for the concert. And it's not a matter of him stepping in to replace her as producer because his role as music director is not the same as what Yuki did in her role as producer. He is just doing his job. And he always wants to do the best he can so he will make sure to make Yuki's music shine.

Last but not least, Yuki actually addresses the infamous BLOG that I wrote about HERE. She read through it and she wants us to know that all the "supposed facts" are fabrications, complete fantasies, especially all the conspiracy theories regarding Sony wanting to get rid of her and trying to control her.

All right, this was really insightful. Love that Yuki is pretty frank. I think this is her basically clearing up the tension and offering an olive branch to the members of Kalafina (and Satoshi Takebe). She is putting out all the stops to convey a positive message and she is using every opportunity to hype up this project. Her fondness for the girls is also very apparent, she uses the chan suffix almost all the time when she refers to them and she praises them frequently throughout the entire episode. So there is no doubt that they are still on good terms with each other. There has been no falling out or anything!

Now is honestly the best time for the three of them to become active on social media again and release some genuine and heartfelt statement. I feel like this is the only way to salvage this current disaster of a situation. I mean, they can't let this drag on forever. I am actually a little sad that it seems like the girls haven't already talked the whole thing through with Yuki but now is their chance.

They all have events and concerts coming up and the general lottery for the reunion live is about to start soon so they need to come out of their hiding place asap.

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PS: There's no need for people to bombard me with tons of messages about stuff like this. Of course I have seen it! Of course I've read/listened to it! Of course I'm going to post about it! Of course I will be providing all the info! Rest assured that I will always try my best to keep everyone updated. But please, give me some time!! I have a real life with a full-time job. Running this blog is not the only thing I do in life so I can't always post about everything right away (even though I would like to).

[tumblingxelian]

"Are we discussing the writers intentions with Jaune, Jaune as a general character or the audience reception to Jaune and are we singling out a specific audience or the collective?"

All three really. The collective.

To start, I'm fascinated by how Jaune seems to contrast the girls in terms of their development. His growth is very loud and in your face in specific moments like Jaundice or the prom or Volume 3's finale.

Hell, his moment in the Battle for Haven has him not getting the trauma induced power up to punch Cinder hard but rather to heal Weiss. After that, he's to the side healing those who need it. It's a big moment but his only moment aside from a small passing mention of his semblance.

It feels like peaks and valley when it comes to the times when he gets the focus.

All while the girls have each of their journeys spread across the whole show's intended run. Ruby's arc of trying to move forward too much has always been there but with weekly episode releases and hiatuses between seasons, it's causes even those who are well meaning to overlook it.

I don't know if that came out right so make of my thoughts what you will.

OK so its too hot for me to do any recording or other projects but I can answer asks, so let's get to this (Cracks bottle of cold water over my head) Let's do this!

So, Jaune is certainly a divisive character and while I have warmed up to him somewhat over the years, and while I adore RWBY I often feel he can be a disruptive element, but also one that does in fact serve a purpose. Keep that in mind for my response going forward.

So, touching on your stuff first, it is interesting, though I would argue against the idea that the girls don't also at times have very loud character development.

Weiss's shifter after talking to Port, her summons, the Atlas party, ETC. Blake running away & confronting Roman, her everything with Ilia, the final confrontation with Adam and the Bees kiss as just some examples.

Interestingly Ruby and Yang are on the more quiet end of character development scales with stuff building up slowly and quietly. Though not without their big moments, Ruby's eulogy and explosion, Yang's confrontation with Raven and the bees kiss, ETC.

Still, I think I see what you mean in how these things tend to be framed and handled in a much more varied way than media usually does.

IE, Jaune losing it at Cinder in V5 is basically him lacing the temperament of a Huntsmen that his allies have and it accomplishes nothing on his end as far as "Badass confrontation" goes and instead he only starts to grow after leaning into the role of support & healer, even defaulting more to Yang as leader in V7 during their rescue work.

Overall and I said this in my Bees essay that CRWBY like long form story telling, and that influences a lot of how RWBY is written.

In these regards Jaune does feel interesting/odd because he does have several... Archetypical moments of character growth as you say. What's interesting to me and what I think the writers are going for is that how good some of these even are for him can be questionable.

What I mean is like...

Jaune went to Beacon with a very "Idiot Shounen hero" attitude towards things. He cheated his way into an elite school and kind of just assumed it'd work out. He didn't try that hard in classes till he was being blackmailed, rejected help out of pride and even when he did seek it out it was only after he had a "win" under his belt that wasn't even wholly his but he doesn't know that.

The thing is, very little ever went Jaune's way on these things either in the short term or long term.

IE, he short term he showed up at Beacon and nearly died and or failed (Subversion of his shounen expectations.) But then he was helpedby a cool girl who ineplicably liked him and said he had a lot of Aura! (This falls in line with his Shounen expectations!)

But then it turns out he still sucks at classes and having what a girl who has a crush on you says is a lot of Aura doesn't mean much when surrounded by other people who also have a lot of Aura and have been training all their lives (Subversion again)

He then manages to retain his pride and defend his team and wins a battle "All on his own" except he ignored Glynda's advice and only won because Pyrrha guided his hand. Though after this he did swallow his pride and get help, its sort of net neutral?

Moving forward he wasn't that involved in the plot, but his stuff in V2, was very "Standard" school stuff, but then it was followed up by his love interest also being his mentor being a problem because Pyrrha fulfilled the trope of the mentor dying. Jaune was also cut out of that entire conflict (Wisely) because he's not actually the main character and he'd only get in the way. (Subversions all round! Be it for the cool girl liking the Shounen loser, him not being the MC, Pyrrha being his mentor and the tragic "Brightest of their generation" before she was his love interest and so on!)

Just within the first three volumes we see that there's this dichotomy of Jaune trying t and sometimes even getting to play much more standard story beats "Straight" that RWBY usually avoid. Only for them to then get blindsided by RWBY's more subversive elements.

But the key thing here is you only notice the latter if you pay attention to the whole, and not the individual moments. This is a problem I had with Jaune till about V6/7; because despite my insights here I do think the execution has been murky more often than not.

Still, with the above in mind, I think one can easily where how things flow out from there, with Jaune trying to play these self assigned roles and getting these moments of "Standard storytelling."

Only for something to come along later and put a spin on it.

V4 Jaune gives a nice speech to Ruby but it ultimately just serves to reinforce her burgeoning issues because he also missed her tendency to repress and when placed in a scenario like he would have been with Pyrrha he froze up and couldn't act, IE Tyrian almost getting Ruby.

He finally got his big speech and rage at Cinder, but was actively being told to chill by Qrow and Cinder gives near zero fucks and rather than getting a power up he gains a power that assigns him a support role over a "badass" role.

We also get to see something in V6 which I thin is often neglected in Jaune analysis, that boy has a fucking temper!

We've seen it with him shouting at Pyrrha, at Cinder and then outright attacking Oscar. But he always calms down afterwards and no one seems to hold it against him, but the thing is this means he never really works on it. The only thing that can shut it down is his own sense of shame rather than actual self control like say, Yang has.

But I digress, my interpretation of the writers intent but I basically think Jaune is meant to serve four purposes in the narrative:

1: Counterpart & foil to Ruby as leaders with very different skills & roles in universe. 2: Counterpart & commentary on shitty male authority figures who needs to unlearn toxic masculinity. 3: A longform subversion of the typical "idiot Shounen hero" who gets by on gumption and lots of natural talent. 4: The closest person we get to a wholly normal person in universe, as even Oscar has an ancient wizard in his head.

These are all interesting things and I can see what the creators are aiming for, or so I believe. However, I do think the execution of all this is often murky.

The short form stuff I mention above is some of the hardest to grapple with cos until you see it pay off it just seems like standardized story tropes, and even then the emphasis these ideas require to work can be disruptive to other characters narrative importance.

What's more while interesting and impossible to fully comment on until the story is wholly done, it is hard to say how strictly necessary some of these ideas are to explore given RWBY's limited run time. & the fact some of them could be divided up and given to more temporary characters who don't need as much narrative real estate.

Thus I can definitely get why people often find Jaune frustrating. Hell, I can often find him frustrating, especially because I think some of his traits are meant to evoke a degree or irritation with him. But all of this also feeds into why he can be such a divisive character.

As for people who just project onto Jaune and make him super harm big badass, ugh, idiots unworthy of consideration who frankly shouldn't be watching RWBY, I have nothing to say to them.

Anyway I hope this was coherent, thanks for the ask, sorry it took so long!

[weebsinstash]

I wanna be best buds with Lucifer. All my brain cells r now fixated on the short munchkin dressed like a haunted puppet with depression who CLEARLY needs a new passion project in his life.

Depressed Dad is clearly in need of something or someONE to kick him out of his depression funk. Y/N could be just the ESA he needs. The hell equivalent of those little marimo moss balls parents buy for kids who are too irresponsible to remember to feed fish.

What I'm saying is, the platonic yandere potential is off the charts. We go to Valentino to get hungover and fucked, but we go to Luci for a hangover cure and a comfy couch to crash on.

Honestly I was thinking of something, like

Lucifer just wants to assume everyone down there is the worst, but imagine he comes to the Hotel to see Charlie and Reader is there as a guest and, SOMETHING happens

Like I was imagining it would be really cute if Lucifer's first visit to the Hotel went significantly worse and Charlie and him are arguing and Reader is the one who tries to help them make amends. Constantly fighting the feminine urge to put musicals in these fucking fics or posts but you wind up singing a tune about how WAIT, please don't go, the two of them have to make up, and clearly he's a good person and an even better dad because CHARLIE is like rhe nicest sweetest bestest person you've ever met

and then after you're done Charlie is like BAWLING like when Angel forgave her, just grabbing you and her Dad, "this is the first time they've saaaaang, they've been too shy and they did it for US, that's so beautiful!!!" just like HARD CRYING and you're basically like Honorary Child 2 at that point

I can just. mmm, imagine if you knew Val first and then befriended the Morningstars. Valentino tries to force you to do something one day and you're just like, picking up your phone, staring Val dead in the face as you text someone. FIVE MINUTES LATER, there's a knock to the door of the set, and you rush to open it, and everyone starts losing their fucking MIIIINDS as LUCIFER HIMSELF walks in

You give Valentino a grin that would have made a demon proud as if to say "fucking try me bitch" before turning back to Lucifer, "heeeeeey short king! I'm sorry for messaging out of the blue but I missed you! Hey, i think my friend Mr Valentino was about to like, give me a job or something?"

Lucifer's just all, "oh, you mean like working the lights or, helping mop the floors cause, I don't think that suits a young lady/man/whatever like yourself!"

Like can you imagine Val was having you read some AWFUL like NAAAAASTY script before Luci came in and it's still in his hand and you point at it, "hey isn't that it right there?" And Valentino and potentially even Vox have to SCRAMBLE, "No no not at all, this is, uh, my laundromat receipt!" *shoves the entire booklet into a nearby shark demon's mouth

Lucifer is standing there being, kinda judgy like he was with Charlie's hotel but otherwise being friendly and YOURE the one being the "silent" menace. Valentino is GRINDING his teeth, "soooo, Mr Morningstar, sir, big fan, excellent work, uh, what can we do for you?" And you're just slinging an arm around THE DEVIL "oh, me and him were gonna go grab lunch and I was maybe gonna crash at his daughter's new place where Mr Lucifer here is gonna be visiting all the time. You don't mind right?" and Vox has to step in and answer "yeah, sure no problem!!!" because Valentino is about to devolve into nothing but furious squeaking

This is an idea I'm prolly gonna wind up using for a platonic Husker thing but, Reader having an abusive childhood and Lucifer becomes aware that YOUR dad was a mean piece of shit, definitely down in Hell too or previously exterminated, and Lucifer just finds you like DRUNK IN THE GUTTER, "I'm a looooooser just like my dad". Like. Yandad Luci here is probably the type where he sees you having ONE bad hangover and he's concrete convinced you're a hardcore alcoholic and need rehab STAT. Which may be true but what I'm saying is is that, he sees you at your weakest ONCE and he's suddenly like "Oh no, duckling! cmon, let, uh, let ... Daaaaaad help you? 🥺" and you find out his idea of help is like. Extremely well intentioned but horribly well executed as he's over here, "you know what helps MY depression? Inventing things in my workshop" and you look around to 4000 versions of the same rubber duck and you're like "s so.... is it working" and he just emphatically declares "No! :D but I think it's getting a little better with you here!" and your fate is fucking sealed and wait until Lilith moseys on back into town and finds the "savior" of her goofy little husband and best bud of her daughter and now you've got every Morningstar on your side in totally The Most Normal Ways Possible :)

[softonshanks]

Which character in one piece do you think has the best design?

hey! thank you for the question, I think it's very interesting. As someone who as a degree in literature and also in creative writing I can't help but give you two different answers, a short one and a more articulated one, hope you won't mind! Short one: Brook (i just think he is super cool), Ace (I'm in love with his freckles, sorry not sorry) and Luffy (I'm a sucker for those who are kind and I think Oda in his design was able to project an unusual and adorable kidness for a draw). Long one: The one thing you learn over time, whether it is studying fiction or any other piece of media, it's the importance of developing a character whose characteristics are evident not only by his words or actions, but also by his appearence. One of the reason I really appreciate One Piece, not being a particular anime or manga fan myself, is especially the symbolism.

Let's take Fujitora for example, which - in my useless and humble opinion - is a perfect type of character with a design that serves more than its basic purpose.

Fujitora’s design is one of understated power and humility. His blindness is an immediate link to the Roman goddess of Justice. Iustitia (her latin name) was introduced by emperor Augustus, and even if she was not a very old deity in the Roman pantheon, was one of the most celebrated. She had a bandage on her eyes, thus representing her impartiality. Fujitora’s blindness is a key symbolic element of his design, representing his commitment to true justice—justice that is not swayed by appearances or prejudice.

His sword cane is another important symbol; it signifies both his power and his restraint. Fujitora could easily wreak havoc with his gravity powers, but his cane suggests that he chooses to walk a measured, careful path. The traditional elements of his attire, combined with his Marine coat, indicate his respect for tradition and order, in the sense of the true and old values they have to follow to be righteous. His design aligns perfectly with his character as a man of deep conviction and moral integrity. His calm, composed appearance belies the immense power he wields. Fujitora's simple, dignified appearance allows his actions and words to take center stage, making his character memorable not just for his power, but for his profound sense of duty and morality.

Sorry for the long reply, I just liked to dive in this question, I love talking about narrative techniques way too much

[dokidokitsuna]

RWBY: Next Steps

This is just a design collection (remember when I used to do those? 'Winter Mission', 'Summer Tour'?? Fun times~)...and it may be my last. Its only real purpose is to give me something fun to draw for the NeverFell Projects wrap-up series. The recent Adam and Cinder designs are technically part of this collection, too. ^^

These were much harder to do than those two, though...I've spent ~2 months chipping away at this set, trying and retrying to address several different RWBY design criticisms while still making the girls look good. ಥ_ಥ I've finally begun approaching success, though, so I wanted to talk a bit about these ideas.

Ruby The only one I managed to design in one try. ^^; This was my answer to the question I felt was posed by Ruby's Vol. 7 design: i.e. "how do we do a new Ruby design that feels more 'mature'??" Because I never liked how the V7 design attempted to do that. :/

Between the new hairstyle and the new 'generic adventurer' clothes, it felt less like they were trying to evolve Ruby Rose and more like they didn't like her original design and wanted to get as far away from it as possible. V1-Ruby was such an iconic look (and STILL IS), and yet there's no trace of it in V7-Ruby. None of the goth-lolita style or playful edge that even V4-Ruby managed to preserve...instead they just scrubbed everything out to start from scratch, with a new design that's honestly 'meh' at best.

So what I did was stick closely to V1-Ruby, while adding just a few big changes to make the look distinct. You say a 'combat skirt' is too childish for an older Ruby? Well then we'll make it shorts...but shorts that are just as frilly and cute as the original skirt, with a similar overall shape. You say her original hairstyle is too boring and 'safe'? Well, then we'll change it...by simply shaving half of it off. It's a much edgier look that simultaneously preserves the original shape of her hair: from every angle except front and back, her silhouette will remain the same.

You say you want to give her new shoes, but don't want the fandom to make fun of you for covering them in dozens of belts again? Here's a wild idea: cowboy boots. ^^ A totally unexpected, unique item that still fits in with the antique-ish vibe of her goth clothes.

Basically, I just wanted to prove that you can do something dramatically different with Ruby without completely abandoning her fashion sense.

Criticisms: The details are still lacking; I think I should work some red accents into her corset and boots. Also, I originally designed this outfit with a white shirt, and I kinda want it back (she had the team colors! R, W, B, and Y! ;_;)...the problem is that it clashes with the sheer thigh-highs. One must go...I'm sure I'll figure it out

Weiss The toughest of the bunch: I did three different Weiss designs before landing on this one. ^^;;; The big epiphany came when I realized that Weiss looks her best when she mirrors Ruby. The girls' original design concepts share a lot of features; I feel like the characters were designed to look like they belong together, and figured I might as well honor that.

ALSO-- and this was the biggest priority for Weiss' design-- I firmly believe that she should not look like a princess anymore. From a character designers' perspective, it is ludicrous that they gave her the giant Disney ballgown in the same volume where they put classism at the center of the plot and have her send her bourgeoisie father to jail. That right there is the definition of mixed messages...

I thought the whole point of Weiss' character arc was to distance herself from the uber-rich parasites of her family and fellow 'Atlas elites'. I thought we cemented that when she officially lost her "heiress" title in V4. o_O I expected her next look to ditch the crown and visually show that she's past the point of 'rebelling'-- there's no more authority in her life for her to rebel against; she's free now! But alas...

So as usual, I had to do it myself. This Weiss outfit is definitely still fancy, with the coattailed vest and ruffled sleeves, but there's a lot less 'decoration'; fewer jewels, fewer details. The construction is straightforward and simple. And of course, no more tiara. Instead I decided to give her a li'l snow pea flower and ribbon, which ended up inspiring her new periwinkle purple-y color scheme. Like her original design, it's actually fairly colorful, but does its job and puts the emphasis on the white elements.

Criticisms: ...Not many, this came out pretty good. ^^ I might reconsider the black coattails, but if I do I'll probably just switch it out with the indigo inner vest. I like the idea of her outfit construction mirroring Ruby's, but her color scheme mirroring Blake's, since they have a closer bond in NeverFell.

Blake Blake designs are notoriously difficult; if you wanna hear some great reasons why, I suggest you check out this old Twiins iink RWBY design ranking video, which always helps guide me when I do redesigns for the main 4. Anyway, this phenomenon makes it hard to describe what I did...I guess you could say I tried to combine all the best elements of all her outfits, while clinging to the 'fancy action girl' vibe of her original design.

I'm most proud of her new hairstyle-- I dunno why, I just enjoyed working on it and making those decisions. ^^ It's hard to tell, but it IS shorter; now shoulder-length instead of back-length. We make up for this with additional volume, emphasizing the waves in her hair texture by pushing them outward. And most notably: she keeps the ribbon. She just wears it differently, using it to accentuate her ears instead of hiding them. This way, we keep the point of interest on her head while still showing her character growth.

Criticisms: Infinite, countless. This is a good look, but something is definitely still off. ^^;;; I think some additional detail in certain places (not sure where yet...) might help 'finish' it, so to speak. Maybe some extra yellow accents...? Also, the bow obviously gets lost in her hair this way. I've tried several color changes and don't like any of them; I think I may just have to texture it differently in the final product. Fingers crossed...

Yang Another tough one...I only made 2 design drawings, but the colors took several rounds of trial and error. I think my excitement over finally arriving at a good color scheme TODAY was what spurred me to make this post. ^^;

Anyway...there is a specific piece of Yang design criticism I hear fairly often that drives me up the wall: people commonly complain that she doesn't wear enough yellow; that she doesn't represent her character color well because all she wears is a yellow shirt. And the character designer in me wants to rip my teeth out whenever I hear this, because it blindly ignores the giant fairy-tale-inspired mass of yellow that is her hair, and the purposely attention-grabbing pops of yellow that make up Ember Celica. They're not "clothes", technically, but they're still part of the design! It's like saying a character with green skin can't represent the color green if all their clothes are black...without realizing that maybe their clothes are black BECAUSE they have green skin, in order to draw your attention to it...!! (╬▔皿▔)╯I just jifjkdsnfksahujknsjnfufh

...Anyway, anyway...the point is, it's difficult to take a character design with so much natural yellow in it and add yellow clothes and still have it read well. But because I like a challenge, I decided to take it on. I think the difference between the mustard leather and neon yellow hair is large enough to make it work, while still feeling casual enough for everyday wear. The champagne off-white she wears in her 'Hunter' outfit (which heavily inspired this) looks great, but it feels too 'classy' to me; like something specifically meant to dazzle the audience with her beauty for one special adventure, not for her to wear often.

On that note, my secondary mission with this design was just to make Yang look cute again, by following the structure of her V1 look, and even adding a little skirt on top of her battle shorts, which looks surprisingly natural considering she almost never wears one.

I don't know what happened in the canon to make the character designer forget the 'Yellow Beauty' part of her character concept; tbh even if her gender presentation gets more masculine she can still look pretty. Designs like Ozma, V7 Qrow and V4 Ren show that they understand this, but choose to cover Yang up in flavorless sheets of beige anyway. :T Making sure she always has a boob window isn't enough; the clothes themselves need to say something too.

Criticisms: ...Honestly, none? I think this might be solid. :> We'll see what happens when I draw it properly. I hope the white socks work out, because then she'll successfully be wearing the RWBY color scheme, which fits her (former, implied...) role as the glue holding the team together.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Why do u think ttpd was mostly about MH if they only dated for a few months? We're they in a long secretive relationship that no one knew about? I am just asking and trying to understand how she wrote basically a whole album about someone who supposedly she was in a short relationship with

Sorry if this sounds curt, but I'm assuming you're asking this is good faith, so I'm going to give a short but multi-part answer.

Shortest, most distilled version: Because she blew up her life as a result of his actions and that caused a series of very chaotic and tumultuous events in a very short period of time, which resulted in a lot of material to write about.

Slightly longer version: Because he was the vehicle for a lot of serious issues she was dealing with, both personally and within her long term relationship. So even the songs "about" him are really about many other things in her life, and in many cases he turned out to be the person she projected these things onto. The MH story is less about him as a serious love interest, and more about how her life was crumbling and his presence became an exit strategy that she fell for due to what a seriously desperate state she was in. Basically, most of the songs about the short relationship in essence are about the long-term relationship that disintegrated, in that she uses the short one as a foil for that. All the hopes and dreams she conjures up in the songs about him are there because they're the ones she had in the LTR that were dead, and she was seeking an escape hatch to avoid dealing with that painful reality. But the flip side is that: he knew what those dreams were and deliberately used those to seduce her and conquer her, and when he satisfied that need he discarded her. Which meant that she was dealing with both the violation of the new person she trusted AND finally feeling the crash of the end of the LTR in one fell swoop. And THAT is why much of the album is "about" him.

But really, the album is about HER. Through the various people she writes about, she's processing her own: grief, trauma, loss, vices, actions, desires, reflections on life, visions of her future, place in society, constraints within society, womanhood, parenthood and personhood.

Besides, artists can create entire albums about fleeting moments. Taylor herself says she can write a whole song about something she experienced in a fleeting moment. And in the moment of time she's describing, she went through very high highs and low lows and was pulled in a million different directions, so idk, that sounds like plenty of fodder to me for a genius songwriter.

So no, they were not in a long secretive relationship. Sometimes a short time can be full of so many emotions and events that they lead an artist to delve into many topics at once in their art. Which is what happened on TTPD. Besides, if you take the entire Anthology into account, there are songs about so many other things involved that it's not "just" the short relationship, even if it sets the stage for everything else.

[joannerowling]

do you think they'll ever go for another HP spinoff? Both Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts received poor or mixed reviews at best and were not that popular (I don't think anyone has ever referenced them IRL in my experience) so I doubt they'll be trying another spinoff anytime soon. Perhaps after the HP show is over in a decade? I really hope not lol, I found both CC and FB incredibly uninteresting and basic (Ezra Miller and Johnny Depp really turned me off too lol) and I figure any other spin off would be just as disappointing.

I also think the terminally online fans going "No one wants this! we want a spinoff about the founders or marauders!" are so incredibly out of touch. the HP show everyone will watch, however no one would care about either of those except super duper HP fans. If I said "marauders" IRL I highly doubt anyone would even know what I'm referencing. Also why on earth would they take a gamble on a new show after CC and FB flopped? and these terminally online JKR haters complaining about the show and screaming for a Jegulus spinoff instead also hated and complained about CC and FB for the most part? it's such a bizarre reaction that is based exclusively in 'I hate jkr and want to complain' instead of any actual desires on their part IMO

Will there ever be another HP spinoff?

Short answer: probably not.

Long answer: they can only greenlight a project with JKR's approval, so it really all depends on her. She's clearly not interested in writing more original Potter books right now, but she's ok letting others play with the IP in various media and/or commercial forms (except novels; duh, she's not stupid), so long as her specific wishes on some topics are met. So far, pretty successfully:

Theatre : Cursed Child, while hated by a vocal minority of (essentially book) fans, is a commercial and critical hit, winning several awards and touring in multiple countries while playing non-stop on the West End.

Video Games : Obviously a quite successful format, from the popular smartphone mini-games to Hogwarts Legacy. Nobody cared that much about HL's story, its success came down to the fun of actually getting to explore Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc.

Park theme(s) : Very successful and not to be underestimated creativity-wise, between decors, costumes, ancilliary products, etc. Again, the appeal is immersion and exploration rather than rides.

Supplementary non-fiction material : The "Hogwarts Library" supplementary books deepening the universe's lore have always been hits, hence WB using them as a base to develop FB.

Fantastic Beasts movie series (and the whole "wizarding world" brand) : The big disappointment. It didn't start so bad, the first was a success and well received. The second was too complicated and lost the GP, but still made money; and the third was better received but not well enough to save it. Still, even Secrets was more of a flop than a bomb (it made back its Covid-inflated budget twice after all, not enough to make a profit but better than nothing).

At some point, if i'm a WB exec and i'm a little smart, i start to notice patterns:

Normie fans and GA don't want new "wizarding world" stories: they want an immersive experience. Movies are a bad format for that. You just can't cram too much stuff in a movie without shit becoming real expensive real fast.

Book fans hate everything new in general, even with Jo's involvement it's getting touchy after FB and CC. (I'm sure an original novel would work but even that's risky and she's not interested anyways.)

On the other hand, book fans also famously disliked the movies, so a new, more faithful adaptation might interest them. Normie fans and GA too: they already know the story, so it's accessible, and parents would love sharing it with their kids.

Sales show that people in general are definitely still massively attached to Harry Potter, so it's worth investing.

TV adaptations of books following disappointing movies have been pretty successful recently: BBC/HBO's HDM, Netflix's Series of Unfortunate Events, etc.

TV's not a bad format for immersive story-telling. Not the best, but you have more screen time and it's usually cheaper to produce than films and more character driven, meaning more opportunities to add details and play with them. Enough "new" elements to stand apart from the movies and excite fans, but no risk of messing with canon.

For WB, a remake is a great middle ground to work with JKR in spite of her controversies: she's involved, but not too involved, because the story isn't a new one. It's not like she's writing an original script for them, she's just consulting to make sure they're not messing up. And for Jo? Also greatly convenient! She gets to make money with minimal work. She's a very busy woman you see, and she's got expenses (those rape crisis centers aren't paying for themselves).

Conclusion : Spin-offs = bad, expensive ideas almost bound to fail, unless they were adaptations of a new, critically acclaimed original novel by JKR, which will not happen any time soon. Remake = safer, actually something people want to see (or could be persuaded to watch if initially unconvinced, for the hardcore movie fans). Movies are (kinda) out, shows are (still) in. Carpe Diem, etc.

Will there specifically ever be a Marauders spinoff?

With the disclaimer that i'm not JKR so i can't actually know that but: no. Never. Not even a remote possibility, won't ever happen in a thousand years.

[echantedtoon]

Obsession 憑 Ch42

(WOW! It's been a long time since I posted something for this story. As promised I didn't abandon this fic and I do plan on finishing it even though it'll be very short. Other projects have just been getting finished up or I have a few things I wanted to work on. Again updates will continue to be slow until A Lovers' Circle is completely finished.

Warnings for Y/n's injuries.)

Tagging: @lavenderdropp @supernovacoffeestop @gilded-sunrays @crescent-blades @yumakutagawa

Remember if you want to be added to the taglist lemme know

                               Part 5 Dawn 

You were loosing count of days which was bad.

A routine of yours fell into  place while you stayed there. Twice a day Shinobu would come in, sometimes with Mitsuri sometimes not, and would treat and dress your wounds twice a day. Once in the morning and once more before sundown. You'd then just basically sit down in your room all day doing nothing but stare at the ceiling and move around to get your body used to moving again despite the physical pain.

You suffered worse during the war. You could handle this. The pain lessoned with each day anyways thanks to Shinobu's treatment. Twice a day you'd be delivered food by confused looking guards wondering why they were delivering food to an injured maid but knowing that it was probably Yoriichi that ordered them, their fear of him meant they didn't question anything. Whatever. You didn't mind. After months of nothing but a poor excuse of vegetable stew to eat, you'd happily take rice and beef. 

Once you got curious and tried to leave your room. You had just opened the door but you hadn't even been able to step a foot out when a guard right outside the door pulled out his sword to block the way by holding up the sharp weapon diagonally across the doorway.

"Prince Yoriichi has ordered you to stay inside until he sees fit," was his only answer to you. "Get back inside."

Great. You couldn't even step out of your own room either. A prisoner all over again. However just when you were wondering about how long you'd be staying there, a surprise knocked on your door. Shinobu and a man you've never seen before but he wore the garbes of the guards walking around the estate. 

"Prince Tsugikuni wants your prescense at the grand hall," he bluntly stated, "I'm to take you once you're treated by the doctor."

That was all he said which confused you. Oh so now Yoriichi wanted to see you? What did he want? Shinobu had no idea either, just there to do her normal duty of bandaging you up again. But she at least had good news.

"You're almost fully healed! You'll be better in no time!"

That was one good thing at least. When you finally got out the guard was already waiting for you. Without a word from either of you, you followed him through the halls towards the grand hall. From what you came to know from your time as a maid that the grand hall was where the royal family usually ate, hosted important meetings and ceremonies, and conducted business with important figures. Wonder what kind of 'meeting' Yoriichi was planning. 

As you both walked you noticed something. The maids that you had usually seen walking around doing jobs around the large estate were looking at you. Some gave you looks of hatred which you returned and others looked away from you looking pale. Ah. Most likely Yoriichi's punishment had caused quite a fear amongst them all. Because now they knew one thing, if they tried anything like that again...Well Yoriichi might not be as merciful as last time or worse, Michikatsu might catch wind of it and...Well...The older prince was less likely to spare mercy. A quick death or hard labor of they're lucky. You did feel bad a bit, couldn't help but feel a bit bad, but in the end they shouldn't have been so cruel to you. 

You both eventually stopped by the sliding door leading into the grand hall to which the guard slid right open before bowing. "The girl, My Lord."

You didn't bother bowing instead looking in and being taken aback by the two figures in the room. One was obviously Yoriichi who's eyes visibly lit up upon seeing you but you ignored it in favor of looking at the second figure standing there with him. It was another woman.

A very beautiful woman.

Her body was adorned in long flowing layers of silks, her silky black hair tied up in a hard to manage hairstyle with many decorative hair pieces, and her pale face was done with makeup. Her yellow eyes looked like amber turning to look at you. If you had to guess her age she was twenty five maybe twenty six?

"Y/n." Your body flinched being addressed by Yoriichi as beckoned for you to come in. "Please come in. I have someone I'd like you to meet." You hesitated raising a brow looking between them before slowly walking in and cautiously approaching them. "You may leave." He waved off the guard whom quickly dispersed before kindly gesturing to the woman next to him. "Y/n, this is Lady Mia. She's going to be staying with us until the marriage ceremony."

Marriage ceremony?! Your red eyes turned back to the other woman smiling at you. Holy Buddha. He was really serious about this whole marriage thing wasn't he? You had doubted he was telling the truth but it looked like you were wrong..But you were still going to keep your guard up around him. 

Biting the sword you stiffly bowed to her(not him-) in greeting. "It's..a please to meet you, My Lady."

"So you're the famous woman warrior I've heard so much about!," she piled up in a cheerful voice, her voice being slightly higher pitched than you expected. Her eyes filled with curiosity and wonder. "How unorthodox! Dressing up like a man to fight in the war! I heard stories about you but I thought you were just a fairytale like the dragon that sleeps under the mountain temple!"

Your head raised to her brows rising. She heard about you? Well then again with your bad reputation you weren't too surprised. "Trust me. Sometimes I wish I was just a fairytale... Ma'am."

Yoriichi looked worried however the woman, Lady Mia, looked amused laughing at you. "Yoriichi had told me all about you! " You bet he did the loudmouth. "I'm going to have a very fun time getting to know you before he comes back with me!"

That got you surprised, straightening back up to stare at her. "He's.. leaving?"

"Well not now. Our wedding isn't for another six months. There's still things to work out. Final arrangements, wedding planning, and all that." She waved you off. "But I have no intentions of staying here when I already made it clear that I won't live away from my family. Which means that any husband of mine is going to be coming with me whether he likes it or not."

Red eyes widened at the realization of her words before looking at Yoriichi whom only stared back right at you. Yoriichi was..leaving? Leaving...As in..LEAVING TO LIVE FAR AWAY FROM YOU IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TERRITORY!! He'd be far away, married, and away FROM YOU!! It was like one of the things you wished for most fell from the sky and dropped into your lap. THIS WAS THE BEST NEWS YOU'VE EVER HAD IN MONTHS!!! 

"While Lady Mia stays with us, I-...I-I'd like you to act as her personal lady in waiting." He spoke softly gesturing to the beautiful woman. "You'll be tending to her every need from this moment until her departure. "

"Oh..Alright." 

He nodded. "Then it's settled." He said nothing else to you as he turned back to whom you supposed was his fiance now. "I'll be leaving you in her care. If you're in need of anything then please don't hesitate to come find me or ask the head maid. She'll arrange it for you."

"Oh you don't have to worry about me." She waved him off. "I'll be perfectly fine. Especially since I have such a strong woman taking care of me."

"Then I'll bid you good bye for now. I must speak with my father about finding a general suitable for my replacement soon."

"Of course! You go find away, Darling.~"

You watched as Yoriichi bowed deeply in respect to his fiance before turning around and walking past you without a second glance. Which surprised you. He'd always give you one last look at you before he left to go anywhere but he said nothing. Did nothing except silently leave through the door you had just walked in through. Well..that was weird. Good but very very strange. You slowly turned back around-

"GAH!?" 

A pair of bright yellow eyes and a wide smile was inches away from your face when you turned back around and found Lady Mia literally just four inches away from your face. Instinctively you jumped back and raised your arms as if to block an attack but none came as she just smiled widely and excitedly.

"So you're Y/n. I've heard SO much about you!," she repeated. "Your eyes are so lovely. They're like rubies!"

"Uh-..I-.." You stammered out flabbergasted not sure what to say as she pointed up a finger.

"Now first thing's first! Tell me about the men of war! Is it true that men on the battlefield are more handsome when fiercely fighting for their countries?~"

"Uuhhh- "

Good Buddha. What did you get yourself into this time?

[straightcraig]

Random Nine Sols scenarios

"The one who lifts"

Goumang pov:

As always around this hour I went to get a drink from vending machines around the tiandao research center but this time I see a very peculiar sight.

"PIECE OF NAILED GARBAGE MOVE"

It's not everyday you see the ever stoic Yi so angry. One of the last times Goumang remembers is that time her experimental pest eating plant went out of control and tried to eat her small colleague. Now as much as she wanted to avoid him, that's a place she wanted to get her coffee from. And she's not leaving until she gets it, and if she gets to tease the diminiutive solarian well it will make her day just a bit brighter.

"What happened Yi, lost some spare change"? I asked with as much of false concern as I could muster.

Yi chose this exact moment to shut up and compose himself as much as he could.

Yi was strugling to reach something under the vending machine with his short arms. Not for the first time he cursed his genes and stunted growth due to the explosion he survived.

"Well if you're so concerned maybe you will use those unnaturally elongated arms od yours to help". He said, while still trying to reach something in the darkness.

"Well its unlike you to ask for help. As rudely as you did. I have matters of importance but if you ask nicely I may help you". I was having too much fun.

Yi only rolled his eyes before answering not so simply. "would thou kind upperclasswoman help me get my phone out of its dark confines"?

Goumang stilled at the weird way Yi worded the request and had a question she needs to word. "How did you get your phone under the vending machine"?

Yi's face hardened but from Goumang perspective it looked like a tiny kitten that tasted lemon for the first time. He answered all the same. "I tried to write while getting a drink and my phone fell. And I accidentally kicked it under the machine".

I covered my malicious smile with my feathered wing and from Yi's expression I could guess that he knew what awaited him. "Ohh you poor thing, let me get your phone from the dark place but first, I'll take the photo of you trying too reach couse it looks hilarious".

As quickly as I could I reached out to fish out my phone from my pocket but I did it too quickly and feathered hand don't help at all. It fell from my hand and while trying to reach for it I kicked it under the machine.

"..."

"Not a Word"

Spongebob narrator voice:20 minutes later

Kuafu pov:

(Finally im done, with the project I was do absorbed I almost missed the break). I just finished very important piece of engineering for Eigong, all that needs to be done now was sending it to her but I deserve a little break right?

"ehh"? Was my only exclamation as I looked at truły confusing sight.

"Would you look at that, bigger doesn't always mean better as you can see"!

"Well now you just sound as if you were compensating for something you don't even posses"!

Two of his colleagues arguing next to vending machines while kneeling. Bizzare situation not the bickering itself tho. But he wanted some of that opto Berry jam sandwiches and for that they needed to move. And for that he needed to get their attention. "... Ok, what is going on"?

They turned around both with angry faces albeit Yi's face always looks as if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

""Nothing""

"... Right becouse you guys aren't hounding this vending machine like a bunch of animals. What happened did something got stuck?"

"Her fingers did" "His arms are too short"

"You aren't helping"! I know that i'm not the most outspoken person but there is only one hour of lunch break. And people around here treat Ilit very seriously.

"...Our phones are under this piece of scrap". Yi finally chose to give him a straight answer.

"...can't you just lift it? Its tied by rails so you can lift it without possibly toppling it".

"He's too short".

"Those wing aren't exactly made for lifting either chicken".

I could basically see all of her veins throbbing. That cannot be healthy. (And they're bickering again).

*bickering*

Kuafu could only sigh, well look like he will do this the old fashioned way.

Kuafu took a step towards the machine while looking at small space right under it. It was big enough for fingers of your avarage solarian to fit but not an entire arm the fact that Yi's arm fit is honestly concerning. (Well he wants that sandwich and they aren't living until they get their phones so)

3rd person view.

Kuafu grabbed vending machine it was put right in between the others but all of them were nailed to the wall. The only way to remove them was by basically pushing them upwards until they get derailed. May I also add that on avarage those vending machines weight around 300 to 400 kilo. Kuafu put one hand on the bottom of the machine he needed a free hand to get the phones from under it and just lifted the entire thing by about 4 feet. It was by that point that he notes the lack of sound of arguing of his colleagues. "Oh, can you guys like help"?

Both of them were silent and their faces look like alien doubters when they meet aliens meme. The fact, he could see Yi's mouth quite clearly was honestly hilarious he wanted to take a picture but he didn't want to risk dropping the giagantic metal box. "Will you help now?" He asked with more force then necessary in his opinion. Yi automatically still on shock quickly picked up his phone of course leaving Goumang's. She wasn't any better she looked like a robot doing menial tasks. After making sure nothing of value is left Kuafu slowly put the machine down.

"Well if you don't mind, but I'm pretty hungry and this machine has something I want"

Yi and Goumang went back to watching him as he was buying a sandwich.

"Hey somone left a yogurt in here and it's still good"!

Kuafu looked at his Dazed friends shrugged and simply left he still has 20 before he has more work. If they miss the break that's on them also not like they're gonna stare Yi Has basically office job he just has to watch not to spill his drink on anything and Goumang is surrounded by food.

Yi and Goumang stared into a place where Kuafu used to be for a minutę before both turned towards its other for the first time in maybe years since they became Eigong Students something akin to understanding flashed though their minds ""...What the $#@& just happened""!?!

[itslouisan]

Talk about Urahara: does he fit the mad scientist archetype?

Short answer: yes

Btw shout-out to @uraharashouten and @saranel since some of their posts gave me inspiration and in general how they handle his character in their posts

Elaborate answer: What forms the mad scientist archetype/why it fits Kisuke Urahara, can a mad scientist be good or morally gray?

Ok let's start for the recipe for our mad scientist according to portrayal in media as well as writing discussions, ALSO note that these are tropes and they can be adapted and written differently

1- need to be antisocial/isolate themselves socially from others, not get how social interactions work

Kisuke ACTUALLY shows this, such as his initial time as a captain in the 12th division, shy, not knowing to what direction take, and generally not the best with social interaction and relationship with others, in fact, I always saw Kisuke as someone who's introverted and doesn't ACTUALLY want to interact, you need to talk abt his interests and things that he is passionate about to begin with, otherwise it's a raw and empty talk (btw I 100% picture him as autistic, there's no way he doesn't have hyperfocus) so yeah, checks out perfectly

2- they need to have questionable morals

*cough* Hōgyoku *cough* Rukia *cough* some notes on Ururu *cough* that Yoruichi form

Like ME as a Urahara enjoyer and someone who literally dreams abt Kisuke daily and as a hobby analyze him, I understand ALL of the examples set above, but from other people perspectives and character perspective it's acceptable to think he has questionable morals, especially when he's so passionate about his work, plus he always does what's necessary to achieve his goals so...check

(3-5 are PRETTY self-explanatory if you ever watched bleach or paid attention to kisuke at all and his doings to the plot so..yeah, maybe when I'm not tired I'll edit everything with neat examples and explanations jvj)

3- mad scientists aren't always bad, they just have a passion for a specific subject

4- dedicated hours or more in projects that usually are important to the plot

5- usually mad scientists are also used as a important character to the overall plot

6- at least have 1 artificial being created as a companion

I mean Kon was basically his doing indirectly so check, filler but...also these 3 useless bounty arc dolls that I forgot the name of because I despise the bount arc fall into the same category, plus Ururu I'm pretty certain falls into this category and I'd be delighted to make a post with hcs and interpretations on her as to why I classify her as such like Nemu but Kisuke equivalent

Verdict? Mad scientist 100%, though I think he falls into the neutral chaotic scientist vibe

[majimasleftasscheek]

'The Majima Dilemma' Anon here, looking for some feedback on how would one write Goro Majima's other half Goromi so that it doesn't sound offensive or cringe-worthy. I have the basics - like some stuff noted from the game, but would like to hear someone's idea on Goromi-chan - how she acts around Kiryu or other people etc.

ohoho so I think that the best way to write her (subjectively of course) is to treat her sincerely. of course there's the elephant in the room depending on how you interpret her - I'm going to be viewing her as genderfluid cuz that's my thing so for my purposes, she's an amab dude in a dress. as such, I don't point out said elephant unless the point of my story is to talk about that specifically and with it often comes discussion of gender, etc etc. if I'm not talking about that, I talk about her as if she's any other woman doing her thang.

example: if I had a basic scene where she's putting on lipstick, I'm not going to write her as if she's struggling or being incompetent "because man unga bunga." I'd just have her put on lipstick. that same scene could change depending on the "when" too. maybe early Goromi did struggle but! it's important to portray that struggle with sincerity. write her being anxious, clumsy, etc. don't try to make it comedic tho as it'd be inappropriate imo. if there is anything funny, it shouldn't be at her expense.

so, the game treats the Goromi encounter like a joke, basically just a reason for Kiryu to fight her on the basis of "haha man in dress doesn't that just piss you off." so if you take anything from the game, the conversation they have in the minigame is where it's at, in regards to how Kiryu feels himself around her, how he doesn't have to put on airs, how Goromi's genuinely surprised, things like that. with such a short encounter, you really have to rely on your own imagination to expand upon it but even just that lil bit of exchange is a good base. beyond that, I wouldn't take away from the game that much tbh.

I write Goromi pretty much how I write Majima, with all the usual vulgarities and mannerisms since the way I see Goromi is that she's still very much the same person but with a femme flair. I know some do like to write her significantly different as a personality of her own so that too is an option if that's your thing. I project a lot of my genderfluid experience onto her so when I'm personally feeling flip floppy, I'm not really anyone new, but the way I act, the way I carry myself does differ to varying degrees.

so when Goromi's around Kiryu, for example, she's still up to kicking his ass and being a rude lil shit but she'll carry herself a bit more refined, generically ladylike but surface level - some of it being playing the stereotype of a woman, another part her actively trying to be someone else or "removed from being a typical man." for example, if I wrote Kiryu flirting with Majima, I'd make him get embarrassed but in a sort of aloof way with performative confidence typical of Majima. flirting with Goromi tho is different as she's being very vulnerable, very open about herself and when you love her, you love a part of Majima that he may feel self conscious about.

speaking of the previous mentioned elephant, if you wanna talk about Goromi being a dude, I think that's fine tbh if done with tact. I make it a point in my art to portray her as masculine because for me, the cis part of being genderfluid is just as important as everything else. so I like to see Goromi with her beard and muscles and dick bulge cuz fuck it. I don't shy away from that stuff but I don't make fun of it either. one of my best friends is a transwoman and respecting her as a woman no matter how passing she is, is very important to me. but it's not sunshine n rainbows either. if you do talk about that sorta thing, it does come with baggage and handling that doesn't always have the most right or the most appropriate answer. comes down to respecting people as people imo and I think with common sense and empathy, you can certainly write something well intentioned.

interaction-wise, I think she would try to act the part around most people, maybe being at odds with herself because she's not ignorant to how to she looks or behaves so she tries to be more elegant, more ladylike in order to be likeable, acceptable. but at the same time she's still very much Majima and that crassness doesn't just bleed but hemorrhages out of her. it's a battle within herself to decide how to behave so when people are being genuinely nice, she fumbles. I think it'd be normal even around people she's close to cuz even tho she knows she has their respect, it's almost unreal and she gets very flustered 😌 to an extent, I like to think she even rejects some of that kindness cuz her self doubt makes her think she doesn't deserve it or that people are being dubious to get on her good side.

she's good at faking it too. if you need her to be a perfect lil peach or put up with a lotta crap, she can do it. she'd more so do this if the situation required it so I can see her being polite around those of a higher status or if she was in a situation where she shouldn't be a goblin. she'd be pleasant but cold towards strangers, cautious you can call it, until she can place their vibes. there's an RGGO story (idk if you know what that is but it's basically yakuza gatcha on mobile) where Goromi (before Kiryu ever gets to Club Shine) very seriously plays the part of a hostess and wildly excels so she can very much be a totally different person if need be.

whenever I write an upset Goromi, I like to make her revert to tough guy Majima strats where she'll do her damnedest to not let anything get under her skin but it never goes well, especially if it's personal. if she's not crumbling under depression, she'll be snappy then pissy, handling anything with a fight over pouring her heart out. she's prone to spiraling and holding grudges, preferring to suffer in silence alone which is very much how I'd write Majima normally.

a happy Goromi is bombastic, moreso than Majima if that's even possible. and depending on the context, very very sincere. because the theater in my brain never stops replaying the same scenes over and over, I always have this mental picture that Kiryu says something sweet about Goromi and she's just on the quiet side smiling in a sad sort of way like she can't even believe he actually means what he says. and he looks at her worried like he said something stupid and she has to reassure him she's just happy to be so lucky and that tough exterior opens up just a lil more each time. Majima is a big softie and as Goromi, I feel he can explore that a lil more freely if hesitantly.

I hope this stuff helps! it's my own thoughts so of course take things totally subjectively. I think writing Goromi sincerely does rely on taking considerations of femininity, especially in regards to how a man would approach them and how society would view that. it's a lotta reactionary stuff and I think if you can empathize with that, you can write her well enough. Goromi is a divisive topic for people so you're not going to please everyone but trying to write her in order to please everyone wouldn't be sincere imo. she's a mixed bag of things, some good some ugly, so write her in ways you feel good about while also being considerate/respectful of course.