#i'll. i'll choose a title later. have to commit to it.

[lloydfrontera]

so. i already have some interesting results just by trying to translate the title lmao

so there's a king. and depending on whether you translate it to spanish or english, he can be a demon or not. considering there's a lot of horns and a pentagram on the cover, i'm going with demon king. which. aaaaaaaAAAAHHHHH

[theamityelf]

About Makoto in sdr2 AU how would his dynamic with Hajime would outside and inside trial? Also, I think Makoto would realized he from different class from others because he checked his class ultimate beforehand. Specially when there are two lucky students so they at very least have one year difference because they choose one lucky students per year. Like, why does he and togami here with other teen from different class? What makes Monokuma single both of them? Where are their other classmates? And maybe monokuma still hinting the change of title but Makoto doesn't realized it but some other students would. Like the impostor, if they still alive, would realized Makoto being the only person from different year. Or maybe Komaeda because he's observant. And how about Chiaki? Like, it must be awkward for her because she knew him but couldn't do anything because maybe her program made her register him as student rather future foundation member.

(Yeah, I think the case where he doesn't know he's in a different class than them is the one where he loses the memory of being invited to Hope's Peak at all. In the case where he does remember being invited to Hope's Peak, he knows he's in a different class, but they still have to be told that it's specifically the class right after them.)

I totally agree that it would be great if those students (Imposter, Nagito, etc.) picked up on Monokuma's hinting more than Makoto. I mentioned Nagito specifically, in the other post, because I think Nagito would be the most intrigued by the idea of Makoto having once been a luckster but now being something else. I think Imposter would notice the implication but wouldn't care as much about it. They'd just kind of log it away in their mind, in case it becomes important.

And Chiaki definitely knows everything that's going on with Makoto but just can't tell him.

As for how Makoto and Hajime would interact in and out of the trials, I think (and this isn't even a manifestation of my shipping agenda! I really mean this!) that Nagito would play a big role in that. Especially in the first investigation, which I will get to later.

When they first arrive at the island and Hajime passes out, I think that would be the first meaningful interaction between the three of them. I think both Nagito and Makoto would express concern, but when Nagito commits to waiting with Hajime, I think Makoto will leave.

Presumably, introductions happen very shortly after Hajime faints, and when everyone is dispersed and doing their own thing, I think Makoto would end up paired with Mahiru.

After all, Makoto didn't pass out, he tried to be there for Hajime, and when Mahiru says "It's the boys' job to protect the girls," I can imagine Makoto saying something like, "Oh, right, I'll do my best!" Basically, I think Mahiru would tentatively consider Makoto pretty reliable, at least relative to the rest of the guys. Just a normal, sturdy guy. I could see Mahiru deciding she wants to look around for good photo spots or something of the sort and Makoto tagging along to help her carry stuff.

All of this to say, when Hajime wakes up and goes around meeting people, I think Makoto is with Mahiru, helping out with whatever she's up to.

Makoto introduces himself, like, "I'm Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student. And, that's about it."

Hajime says, "I thought Nagito was the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"Yeah, I think I'm from a different class or something...I looked up the Ultimates from my class when I got my letter, and I don't remember most of you."

"Did everyone look up the other Ultimates?" Hajime asks rhetorically, with a glance at Nagito.

"Hi again, Makoto," Nagito says cheerfully. "Nice to see you're making yourself useful. What are you up to, Mahiru?"

And so on.

I think they would stay in that dynamic (of Nagito and Hajime as each other's first friends on the island and Makoto separately friends with Mahiru or whatever other friendship he forms; I think he would definitely also try to spend time with Imposter, assuming he's Byakuya Togami from his class) for most of Chapter 1. When Monokuma appears, I think Makoto would say something like "There's no way anyone here would kill each other!" and Hajime and Nagito would both think he's pretty naive, but I think Nagito would also encourage Hajime to "Try to think more positively. Like Makoto!"

And, like we've said, sometime between Monokuma showing up and the first murder happening, Monokuma starts hinting at something different about Makoto, which Nagito clocks immediately.

Now, as for the first investigation. (I'm not saying who dies first or how, because if I'm going to think through that exact chain of events, it'll be in a different post.) In the first chapter of canon SDR2, Nagito kind of insists on investigating with Hajime, and that's Hajime's first/formative experience in investigating the murders. In THH, Makoto's first investigation happens the way it does because he's the one under suspicion, so he has to investigate to avoid being the one they vote for. (Of course, I don't think Makoto would have been complacent about the investigation if that hadn't been the case, but those conditions are still important to acknowledge.)

What I'm imagining is a scenario where Nagito has noticed both Hajime and Makoto separately and is kind of trying to test both of them. He thinks they both have protagonist energy and wants to see which will prevail. So while Nagito does still probably play a role in the first murder and help the killer to confuse things about the crime, I think he would also specifically frame Makoto.

After all, if there's a mere lucky student who has ascended to the ranks of the true Ultimates, as Monokuma implied, Nagito wants to see him prove himself (...under a great deal of pressure, because also Nagito is kinda jealous).

So he frames Makoto and investigates alongside Hajime. Pushing Hajime toward actual clues and confusing Makoto as much as possible.

And then in the trial itself, I think Hajime will have found more physical clues and will supply more of the just-knowing-stuff-beforehand answers (like what an octagon is), but Makoto will have more testimonies from witnesses and gathered more spot-the-difference type evidence (like the Hifumi glasses thing in THH). They both do great with their respective areas.

Chiaki and Makoto are the best at keeping things going when the conversation lulls, and Chiaki and Hajime are the best at cutting through the noise when people get a little too set on a single argument. Chiaki is very involved for both of them.

(Nagito is awed at the teamwork and competency. Makoto has fully won him over, and of course he still adores Hajime.)

And I think when Makoto finds out Nagito was deliberately framing him, his feelings would be hurt, and Hajime would still feel betrayed, also, by Nagito turning out to have plotted to start the killings. And I think they would talk to each other about that. It would drive them together as friends. I think Makoto would maintain that it was all Monokuma's fault, even if he feels hurt by what Nagito did, and Hajime would agree that Monokuma is the real enemy but still very much not let Nagito off the hook.

And in subsequent chapters, when Hajime tries not to care about Nagito, I think Makoto continuing to openly care would kind of give him permission to actually deal with the hurt and anger and care he still feels for Nagito. (Chiaki would be right there with him, in that regard; these two care about everyone, and Hajime is the one who, while he does care about the others, doubts them a lot, too.) Makoto kind of slides incidentally into the role of Hajime's optimistic friend once Nagito loses his trust, and I think Hajime doesn't trust Makoto quite as much, as a result, but they still gravitate together.

In future investigations and trials, Hajime, Makoto, Chiaki, and Nagito are the main players.

(Boy, I hope this brainstorm answered your question, but you can send another ask if it didn't, lol!)

[as-the-stars-foretold]

रे दानवीर​—

कस्य धर्मम् अनुसरति?

भवान् कार्यं कस्य कृते करोति?

भवत: कर्तव्यं किम्? कर्तव्यं कस्य कृते?

O, generous one Whose path of life do you follow? For whom do you do your work? What is your duty? Who is your duty for?

(Alternate shots and thought process/explanation under the cut!)

(Click for better quality – Tumblr kills it </3) Free to use/save with credit and/or a reblog!

OKAY. YAP TIME. This is a Hindu mythology/Mahabharata AU, and this art specifically is of Wolfwood as Karna. I'll explain who Karna is first + give context about his role in the Mahabharata, and then explain the symbolism and everything.

Who is Karna and what is his role in the story?

Karna was the illegitimate son of Kunti and Surya, the sun god. Due to being unmarried and young at the time, Kunti put Karna in a basket of sorts and allowed the river to carry him away where he was later found by his adoptive mother and father.

Thanks to his divine heritage, Karna was born with a kavach and kundal— a chest plate and earrings. These were immensely strong, even to the point of being unaffected by celestial weapons, and, most importantly, they were inherent to his being. I mean that very literally: the chest plate and earrings were literally parts of him. Taking them off would leave him bloodied and vulnerable (cough cough).

Eventually, through his prowess with archery, he made his way to the Kaurava palace–the Kauravas being the corrupted, power-hungry side of the conflict (oversimplification, but the Mahabharata is way too long for me to summarize here)–and became fast friends with Duryodhana, the leader of the 101 Kaurava cousins. Now, the issue with that is that his half-brothers, the Pandavas, were technically the rightful heirs to the kingdom, Hastinapura. This is where Karna's conflict begins: who does he have a responsibility towards? The family that housed and loved and fed him, despite the wrongdoings they were committing, or the family that was his birthright?

In the Mahabharata, Karna chooses the family who raised him, hurt by the fact that his mother gave him up. While this seems like a perfectly logical decision, the fact is that the Kauravas were cruel and deceitful— adharmi, or straying from the path of righteousness. In enabling and aiding them, when he had a responsibility to his blood family AND to keep the Kauravas from committing evils, Karna damned himself.

That isn't to say that he was a horrible person, however— he was notoriously humble and generous (which is the epithet that I used in the title!), incredibly dedicated to his cause and his family, and burdened with the knowledge that his birth mother gave him up. Karna is a morally grey character: put into his shoes, we, too, would struggle with choosing a side.

Leading up to Karna's death, during the war, Lord Indra, disguised as a brahmin, asked for his kavach and kundal. Karna gave them away without hesitation, leaving himself bloodied and vulnerable. This tremendous, selfless display of generosity is the main sticking point for so many people; how can a person so devoted and so generous be wholly evil?

I'm sure that idea rings true for many of you, since it's a point of contrition in Trigun, too. This leads me to the next part:

Why is Wolfwood Karna? What does this imply?

If you're familiar with Karna or you read my explanation up there, I'm sure you can see the connections now. Both Wolfwood and Karna struggle with choice— who do they have a duty towards? Karna has to choose between the two sides of his family and, symbolically, between right and wrong. Wolfwood has to choose between his obligation to Hopeland Orphanage (and, by extension, Knives as his contractor) and the obligation he brought upon himself in regards to Vash's ideals/quest. The conflict is near analogous: he's stuck between the people who raised and loved him, and the people who are working for a better future.

Another important thing to consider is Karna's generosity and how he, quite literally, gave someone the skin off his back. Wolfwood, too, is unerringly generous— he posits himself as selfish and mean, but he gave up everything for the people he cared about: his adolescence, his morals, his basic nature, his life. They are both so, so generous, and it leads to their downfalls.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is that neither Karna not Wolfwood are inherently good or bad. They're humans making very human choices. They're both selfish, yes, but they're also generous and kind and caring. In the end, Karna recognizes his mistakes and regrets what he's done, and Wolfwood, similarly, is forced to make peace with what he did and how his life has come to an end.

Artistic choices!

Wolfwood's arm bands and bracelets are gold and mimic both the Eye of Michael's insignia as well as the sun(s), which is a nod to Karna.

He's shown holding his kavach instead of wearing it to symbolize both his dedication and generosity (again, a nod to the original story), as well as to serve as his cause of death. He's forsaken his protection for what he believes in and wants to protect. In my original planning, the kavach and kundal were actually way more analogous to the EoM juice lol.

I replaced the Punisher with a crossbow because a giant cross-shaped gun would, unfortunately, be even more idiosyncratic than a crossbow (apparently ancient mainland India didn't have crossbows! Assam did; however, the Kurukshetra War happened in Haryana so boo hoo). Despite that, I tried to keep the coloring similar to the Punisher from Trigun (1998) as well as including a skull motif under the bow.

The pose is referenced from Wolfwood shooting up at the rubble during Badlands Rumble! I just modified it for the drama lol.

Wolfwood is pointing the crossbow at the sun for a purely Wolfwood reason (meaning it is NOT a reference to the Mahabharata). Despite his best efforts, he ended up backstabbing both of the twins in one way or another; you can imagine the sun as either brother, but I'd probably imagine it as Knives, since he "remade" Wolfwood, so he'd step into the role of Surya (Karna's father).

[silent-moons-camp]

OC Introduction

Tagged by @silurisanguine from the Coemancer Crew - thank you!

Introducing: Kanan McCarthy

Fandom: Starfield

Role: Spacefarer, Captain

Basics

Full Name: Kanan McCarthy

Nicknames: Cowpoke, Kane (really only ever referred to as such by their twin sister)

Pronouns: They/them, not strict on pronouns though.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Occupation and Titles: Freestar Militia Infantry (formerly), Shaw Gang Outlaw (formerly), Argos Extractors Miner (formerly), Smuggler and general criminal (currently), Constellation Member (currently)

Birthday and Age: At the beginning of the game (May 7th, 2330) Kanan is 37. They turn 38 shortly after. They were born on May 27th, 2292 in Akila City.

Physical Description: Kanan stands at exactly six feet tall (about 183 cm). They are physically active and as such have a sort of athletic build.

Clothing Style: Kanan wears masculine leaning clothing and mostly sticks to more "wild west" themed apparel. They are often seen in their signature red poncho and cowboy hat.

Background

As I don't want to spoil things, I'll keep this vague. Kanan was born and raised on Akila in Freestar space. Them and their family lived on the McCarthy Homestead just outside Akila City walls.

Kanan took part in the Colony War at a young age, having gotten caught up in the war propaganda. As such, they lied about their age in order to fight for the Freestar Collective. The Colony War took a huge toll on both Kanan and the McCarthy family as a whole.

Kanan went to college after the war and earned a bachelor's degree in engineering, having majored in engineering and minored in astronomy. They fell into a life of crime afterward, having joined the Shaw Gang for some time and then branching out on their own.

As seen in my fic titled The Man in Red, Kanan joined Argos Extractors about a year before the story of Starfield after encountering an odd bounty hunter in the Red Mile who wanted them alive.

They joined Constellation after encountering the Artifact on Vectera, and their story is currently being written in my fic titled Event Horizon.

Combat and Skills

Preferred fighting style: Kanan prefers mid to close range combat with guns, though they are not against getting very close and engaging in close quarters combat with melee weapons or hand-to-hand.

Favorite Weapon(s): Kanan carries a modified razorback revolver named "Penumbra." Kanan also carries around and prefers shotguns, but also keeps a sniper rifle handy as well as small blades.

Special Skills: Like any wild west gunslinger, Kanan is highly skilled at using pistols. They also use Starborn abilities (although they are not Starborn themself). Kanan is charismatic and knows just the right buttons to push when it comes to enemies, but also which words to choose when trying to de-escalate a situation. As they went to college for engineering, Kanan is well versed in various means of engineering, which includes spaceship building and design, outpost construction, weapon handling and management, and spacesuit technology. They are an excellent pilot as well, capable of coming out on top in even the most dangerous dogfights.

Relationships

Family: Kanan's father is James McCarthy, a former Freestar Ranger and former member of the First Cavalry mech division. Their mother is Charlotte McCarthy, a scientist and astronomer. They had an older brother named Owen who was also apart of the First Cavalry mech division during the Colony War. He was killed in the later years of the Battle of Niira. Lastly, Kanan is a twin; their twin sister is named Senya, a ronin by trade who currently lives with and takes care of their father at the McCarthy Homestead.

Kanan would later consider Constellation as their own "found family."

Love interest: Sarah Morgan. Before Sarah, Kanan rarely ever had any serious relationships out of fear of commitment. Instead, they often wandered from lover to lover and held many "friends with benefits" type relationships. One night stands are not uncommon for Kanan, though their more promiscuous behavior settles down once they end up in a serious relationship with Sarah.

Best Friend(s): Kanan is very close with all the members of Constellation, but finds a close friendship in both Andreja and Matteo.

Personality

Positive traits: Passionate, caring, ambitious, loyal

Negative traits: Stubborn, tends to isolate, reckless, greedy

Likes: Nature, animals, astronomy, books, Old Earth relics, exploration

Dislikes: Most governments and politicians, corruption, spacers, high-horse attitudes, cops, Neon

Fears: Being lonely forever, losing their family (both found and blood family), losing those they care about, another war

Guilty Pleasure(s): Smutty novels, Old Earth spaghetti western movies, whiskey

Hobbies: Playing guitar, exploring, reading, collecting Old Earth trinkets and relics, listening to music, cleaning weapons and armor, building spaceships, and somehow managing to herd ashta.

[aliensupersyn]

An Ajin Manga Review: Discussing the Art

Part 1: Art Style in Relation to Storytelling

I entered this manga not knowing the first thing about it. I was scrolling through Manga4life after catching up on Hunter x Hunter and came across Ajin on the highest rated filter. I read through the comments and saw the praises for the story. I was collecting a number of different titles to read through and chose Ajin to begin my series of readings.

Why did I choose Ajin as a starter? What stood out to me about Ajin was its art. For many mangaka, the art begins somewhat immature and the artist hones their skills throughout the serialization. For example, there's a noticeable change in Tokyo Ghoul, Bleach, Naruto, HxH, etc. Ajin began with a recognizably polished art style thanks to Gamon Sakurai. The lines were confident and the scenes were already challenging in a way a veteran artist might be expected to execute. I was grabbed immediately!

These two pages are both from the first chapter. Note the details on the folds of clothes, the sneakers, the officer's ear, and his uniform even. I have not come across many manga who's art begins with dramatic detail in the most mundane things such as clothing, at least not in such a way. I'm reminded of how in sports manga, the mangakas take a lot of time to detail a player's shoes, because those have importance to the sport itself.

To clarify, Ajin still went through a maturity in its art. Obviously, there was a change when the original writer Tsuina Miura left. With Sakurai having more control over the story, it's clear his change in story affected the characters and art style as well. For example, Kei Nagai goes from a rounder more doe-like appearance to sharper and straighter lines. His original design fit alongside his character portrayal as an innocent kid unfit for the severity of the story's premise; Kei was perhaps meant to be pitied in the original story.

After Sakurai became the writer, Kei changed into an untrustworthy character who could shift personalities, utilizing both the younger look of the first volume, and the more confident and mature appearance Sakurai had created. Sakurai says that after volume 1, he "tried to move the art gradually closer to [his] own style" (ch.83, pg. 82). I recognize Kei's purposeful tonal changes as a creative method to transition the manga into Sakurai's own style and design changes that he had decided for the story.

Below, this series of pages illustrate first the differences between Kei in volume one and two. Then, the ways Sakurai uses both the softer and sharper designs to convey a transition of his character.

Finally, in chapter seventeen, page seven, Sakurai commits to the shift and reveals this new design and characterization to be the "real" Kei all along. Nakano comes to the same realization as the reader.

Sakurai used Kei's earlier more pitiful appearance to show Kei's softer mask that he wore to hide his true, more cold and calculative nature. After the moment between Nakano and Kei, the later design remains more consistent and total. Personally, I enjoy the later design more than the first and what it implied for the story. Along with a change in Kei's character was a change to the story's tone as well. Sato became more devious, and so did Kei. These character changes, in a way, foreshadowed the extremes in which the plot would take as well.

Though, still I would have enjoyed the closer relationship that was foreshadowed for Kei and Kai. I mean, look at these pages and tell me you don't see a budding homoerotic romance on the rise!

To round out my thoughts, I enjoyed the first premise, but overall enjoyed the second premise even more. In the next review, I'll dissect Sato's character and how he was handled from an authorial point of view. I just needed to discuss the art style change and what it implied for the story, especially Kei, as he plays an important role for the overall tone of the story.

[fictionaldeity]

hi G, happy Storyteller Saturday!! I haven't done these in a long while, so I'm gonna use this opportunity to catch up/learn about my fellow writeblrs' current projects >:)) so, tell me, what are you actively working on right now? how far along are you? what are you most looking forward to in the project?

Hi, Cee!

I… had no idea Storyteller Saturday was a thing. Shame on me 😅 Thanks for reaching out though!!

Let’s see. At any given time it’s fair to assume I have at least 6 WIPs simmering in my head. But the ones I’m working on most actively, could be narrowed down to 3, currently.

1. Keep It Between Us (#WIP: KIBU)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Status: Revisions

It’s an enemies to friends to lovers romance. The current working pitch I have for it is:

After a one-night stand that ends in an explosive fight, Cliff and Samantha are forced to plan a fundraiser together. Samantha, to win back the love of her life and ex-boyfriend, who dumped her on the night of their anniversary, and Cliff to save from bankruptcy the art school he volunteers at.

I’m most looking forward to finishing these revisions already so I can get other eyes on this thingggggg!!!!😭😭

But in all seriousness, I really want to get to the actual nitty-gritty of the revisions (right now it’s more what I’m planning the revisions themselves). My hope is to cut down at least 50k words from the first draft (don’t ask me how long it is). And with my CP’s comments I do think I can manage it, so that’s exciting. This is the first draft I’ve written with an actual outline I managed to stick to, so I’m very proud of it even if it came out monstrously long

2. Ready or Not (#WIP: RoN)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Status: Plotting/pre-drafting

Also enemies to friends to lovers because they couldn’t pry this trope away from my dead shriveled hands. It’s the sequel to KIBU, with a secondary character turned main character

It’s in such early stages that I don’t have a pitch. The best way I can describe it is:

Competing in a tournament for his favorite videogame, River discovers his idol on the gaming scene is none of other than Wolfgang, also known as the Ice Prince, also known as his jerk coworker and the most arrogant and inconsiderate man on the planet. But when they’re forced to share a room together on a trip only a few days later, all it takes is one weekend for them to begin seeing how badly they’ve been misunderstanding each other for years.

I’m most excited about… honestly everything! I haven’t started drafting, I only have the vaguest idea of the major plot points so far, so everything with this WIP hangs in that magical zone of everything is awesome. Buuuut, if I had to choose one thing only, I really, really, want to get to drafting a particular scene near the beginning, which is an inflection point on the plot. And if I’m honest I’m most excited about that scene because there’s a pun at the heart of it I really, really want to commit on paper 😂

3. No working title yet, I’ve just been calling it Glennwick’s Short Story

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Status: Plotting/pre-drafting

This one is even less further along than RoN. I’m thinking of it as a short story or novella if I can keep myself from overwriting (and I don’t have a lot of faith in myself tbh) or maybe even a graphic novel. Not sure yet. I'll know when I start drafting.

I won’t even bother trying to pitch this one. Basically, it started as a way to give a fitting backstory to a character from another WIP. My idea for this one is very straightforward, classic hero’s journey type of thing, focusing more on the aesthetic than anything else and with an unlikeable and very vain protagonist on their way to get a rude wake-up call that the world doesn’t revolver around them.

With this one, because I know who Glenn (the main character) will be much later in their life, I’m really looking forward to getting to know them when they were much younger and even brattier than at present lol. Glenn is one of my pettiest and most melodramatic characters and I love that for them.

And wow this came out too long, sorry🫣

Again, thanks so much for asking!!

[feelingpure]

Fellow Travelers Rewatch Party | You're Wonderful

Favourite moment(s) or scene(s) of the episode

It's still the whole chicken noodle soup scenario, from Hawk's entrance up until the radio gets brought up. I like how it sets up their starting dynamic. And to link with that, the whole dynamic filp when “I wanna go to the party” happens. Tim's hones his seductress powers, and we get to see Hawk be the flustered one caught off guard for once.

I also really like the opening scenes 🥹 and the election night meeting and the 1st time at the Cozy Corner and and and–

Favourite quote/dialogue

There's so many too choose from 😭 I'm gonna list a few;

For funsies:

“I'm your boy, right?” - I mean, it's the blog title for a reason - the moment the tables turn. (I made an edit of this moment as a bit of episode appreciation, as suggested in the master series rewatch post 🫶)

“I'll spend the afternoon picturing you kneeling in prayer.”

For feelsies:

“When I committed this sin, I felt pure. More pure than I felt in my entire life. So how can I be sorry for it?”

“I want to hold you tonight. If you'll let me.” - it's just so 🥺

Something new you noticed after the rewatch

Joe Alsop is talking about turtle soup that smells like feet (but taste great) at his party. 👀 And Tim's just stood there, then the camera goes back and settles on Hawk in the background talking to Lucy and someone else. Tim's smile fades at first for a lil bit, but then he has this like sneaky smile when it goes back to him. Given what happened in the previous scene, it's very... 😈

And just some more of this bit, Tim then goes to grab a drink for Mary and as he's walking away we see Hawk tracking him with his eyes (and of course he then follows him). I knew the major beats at this party, but there were certain little things that I definitely did not pick up on before. 😆 (Probably too brrrrrrrr from the previous scene)

The MVP of the episode

I think I'm gonna have to go with 80s Tim, even though we only catch a glimpse of him. It's the decision he makes, to allow Hawk back in, that makes the rest of the 80s timeline possible. 🥲

You general thoughts on the episode

It just perfectly sets everything up for the rest of the series. There's so many bits of dialogue that calls back to things later on, or is just more interesting with them in mind. Also all the anticipation at the end, even when you already know the while story, some bits still had me holding my breath like an idiot hahah.

My main feelings coming out of episode 1 is just always wanting to protect 50s Tim at all costs. Though after seeing the whole show and softening on Hawk, I also wanna protect him; from himself. But yeah - screaming crying etc.

Thoughts on soundtrack of the episode

I'll spare you the essay about when each part the score comes up in the episode and how it makes me feel (😭), but it's just brilliant. Hawk's main theme at the election party, and Pull Them Off at Tim's apartment being notable.

The Waiting for Tim theme especially is just. 😚🤌 He's waiting for his call back at that cafe/diner in the 80s, while he was also waiting outside his apartment in the 50s, and it's just full of anticipation. 🥺

While you're here, go listen to the composer talk about this particular piece.

[roxannepolice]

This is one of those "ranting so maybe I'll sleep and stop spilling salt on other people's posts" post, and I'm also setting out on a dean hunt tomorrow which is unnerving, but I guess I have thoughts about episodes that are 1-16 years old.

I'm not going to link that lovely gifset of the Masters talking about being a/the Doctor because I don't like to associate my negativity with other people's hard work, but damn if that didn't leave me gritting my teeth. Not the gifset, of course, just the idea that this is somehow a logical development.

I have ranted way too many times about how there's nothing logical whatsoever about POTD, but really, this isn't the case of a good idea poorly executed, this is the case of the author not understanding what his idea even is. This wasn't supposed to be just a body swap (which would have been SO GOOD, just imagine Whittaker and Dhawan having an occasion for acting tour de forces, imagine Yaz having to say all that sanctimonious stuff about the Doctor having people who love her in the face of the woman she loves rather than a guy who left her on a crashing plane, imagine Whittaker!Master exposing all of Yaz's feelings and mocking her with infos about all the previous companions left behind, something the Master explicitly plays at in the episode, but it wasn't pulled to its full potential, damn it's like Chibs was actively avoiding good ideas!), this was supposed to be the Master somehow becoming everything the Doctor is. And the effect is so so so bloody empty? Like, my first thought was, huh, so will this be about how the same experiences do not shape the same people? As in, now that the Master knows all the pain the Doctor went through, but also the wonder and the beauty, and yes, also their ongoing affection for him, he'll still choose to be evil? Kinda pessimistic, but interesting. Then the episode started pushing the idea that the companions make the Doctor who they are, and my interpretation... could still work, but there the message becomes somewhat messier - again, if the love of people around the Doctor made them who they are, then shouldn't those experiences affect or at least be acknowledged by the Master?

And then I had an oh. right. moment as I realised none of this was thought of - the Master simply doesn't have the Doctor's memories or else he would know who Fugitive!Doctor is. So, what exactly happened in that episode? Genuine question, because the episode sure acts like there was some subjective difference for the Master? Damn, it's just so empty.

I don't think there's much to say about Missy's scene, because it oozes irony, which is great and badly needed, but I might as well commit sacrilege and say I never understood the Doctor's logic in putting the have you thought about the fact that you'll die into his speech, like which one is it: be kind without witness or reward, to thy own self be true or remember thou art mortal?

Which leaves me with the Saxon introduction. And look, I understand it's tiresome when people pander to RTD and I'm not saying his era is flawless but it does do one thing later eras avoid: it doesn't tell you what to think. With his writing, I feel like interpretation is really an act of communication, rather than explanation of a thesis. There just plain is no preaching. And the Master isn't there to tell me stuff about the Doctor, he's there on his own terms. He's not trying to aggrevate the Doctor when he uses the title, he doesn't even know he's there for his election speech. No, he's there to act as proper dark mirror, to show how all of that genius can be used for evil, to be the baddie Doctor. He doesn't aspire to be the Doctor, he's already in the process of "saving" humanity by bringing the Toclafane over with a paradox. This is a gortesque parody of the whole concept of sustaining life! The Toclafane are humanity cannibalising itself, just as the Master will in EoT, exposing the darkness of maintaininig existence at all costs. At this point in the writing the Master isn't just defined by the Doctor, he defines him in return in a beautiful dialectic dalliance, keep in mind this trilogy is when we find up just how fucked up changing history is, this is what the Doctor holds against the Master, it's not "but you're killing people :(", it's "but you're changing history"! I know the tempation of reading the Wonder what I'd be without you in a purely shippy way, but ffs let it not cloud the fact that this is post-TLV Doctor talking, he knows the villain he could have been IF HE DIDN'T HAVE SOMEONE TO DEFINE HIMSELF AGAINST ALL THIS TIME.

Since I'm venting I might as well say this: this "development" is why I would really prefer the show to take a break from the Master for a while. Yes, a cameo in the 60th would be great, but until the show has a need for THE MASTER rather than A DIFFERENT TIME LORD TO EXPLAIN WHY THE DOCTOR IS AWESOME, idk, just resurrect the War Chief or sth.

This isn't just about sentiments, this is about two completely different perspectives on the universe. Let that ring out again.

[lunarscaled]

companion codex. ( DA: I )

I forgot I had filled this out forever ago so I wanted to repost it. feel free to steal it / modify it for other fandoms ( i'll probably do a bg3/d&d version too )

RACE, CLASS, & SPECIALIZATION:

Human / Rogue / Tempest / Mage / None

VARRIC’S NICKNAME FOR THEM:

Snowflake

DEFAULT TAROT CARD:

EIGHT OF SWORDS: Sickness, Calumny, Criticism, Blame

ROMANCE TAROT CARD:

TWO OF CUPS: Trust, Deep Friendship, Romance, Commitment, Bonding

HOW THEY ARE RECRUITED:

Lyric’s recruitment is a side-mission DURING wicked eyes and wicked hearts, automatically unlocked after collecting 15/30 secrets in the great blackmail hunt. The quest title is "Patron of Blood Arts." The Inquisitor’s interest in the scandals of the court uncover a ploy to poison one of the guests of the ball–an esteemed noblewoman by the name of Aceline Durand. Conversing with Empress Celene’s ladies-in-waiting reveals that Lady Durand is a well-known supporter of the arts, withholding an extensive collection from the public. If she were to be removed, her works would be forfeit to her eldest son, a greedy man named Léo, who has long since been trying to persuade his mother to sell the works at high prices. Questioning the nobles in the garden will hint that someone was seen sneaking into the library in a rather crumpled guard uniform and that Lady Durand has disappeared. Lyric is one of three masked cohorts in the library who have cornered the lady patron. Entering this area will trigger a brief cutscene of Lady Durand crying out to the Inquisitor for help, startling the trio and triggering a fight. Defeating all 3 enemies will cut to their attempted escape through the balcony and over the palace roof, with Lyric choosing to help their injured allies over obstacles and leaving last. Unable to move both their allies and themselves, they are captured by the castle guards who deflect to the Inquisitor for judgement. Lyric, revealed to be no more than a young adult, begs for the Inquisitor’s mercy as they were only doing what they were paid to do.

OPTION 1: Conscript Lyric (Lyric will become an available companion and romance option)

OPTION 2: Give Lyric to the guards (Lyric will not be recruited later and hung at the gallows for treason)

CONSCRIPTING Lyric makes them an available agent option following Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts and earns slight approval from mage-sympathetic party members and Varric. It earns slight disapproval from Vivienne, Cassandra and Cole.

WHERE THEY ARE IN SKYHOLD:

Lyric can be found in one of Skyhold’s library alcoves, near to where Dorian is. If the Inquisitor is in a romance with Dorian, they will comment “Not to get the books messy.” Responding to this positively or with sarcasm increases their approval.

THINGS THEY GENERALLY APPROVE OF:

Tempest Specialization, Herb Garden Upgrade, Sarcasm, Diplomacy, Red-Lyrium Studies, Completing Companion Quests, All Codex Entries feat. Mage History, Expressed an Interest in their Studies

THINGS THEY GENERALLY DISAPPROVE OF:

Aggressive Responses, Death Sentences when Judging, Anti-Mage Responses, Cruelty to Animals, Cruelty to Refugees, Refusing to Assist, Templar Specialization, Sexual Advances

MAGES, TEMPLARS, OTHER?:

LOW/NEUTRAL APPROVAL: Neither HIGH APPROVAL: Mages (revealed in conversation at Skyhold)

FRIENDS IN THE INQUISITION:

Cole, Varric, Dorian, The Chargers, Sera

ROMANCEABLE?:

Romanceable by any race or gender; High approval required for Templar Specialization; CANNOT BE ROMANCED IF THE INQUISITOR DEMANDS A SEXUAL ASPECT TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP.

SMALL SIDE MISSION:

Lyric’s Lament

Lyric wants to hear a song their brother favoured when they were children. Go to Val Royeaux to purchase the music and deliver it to Maryden for Lyric to hear.

COMPANION QUEST:

The Note Desolation Plays

Lyric has received a letter from their father claiming their mother is soon to pass and that Lyric must return home to see her before her death. Lyric, troubled by their tempestuous family history, asks that the Inquisitor come accompany them to Lydes to see their family. If the Inquisitor agrees, Lyric will be waiting for them by the gate to Skyhold; dialogue options concerning their past, their brother and his death will unlock. The mission can be continued from the War Table, under the quest name the note desolation plays. In Lydes, Lyric will firstly be greeted by their two younger siblings, Marianne and Claudia, before being confronted by their father. He will immediately recognize the Inquisitor by the Anchor and tell Lyric they are wasting the Herald’s precious time by dragging them into family matters. The Inquisitor can choose to SUPPORT or SCOLD Lyric, gaining approval or disapproval respectively. Regardless of the answer, the Inquisitor will be invited inside to meet Lyric’s mother and bare witness to her final moments. As the scene progresses, it is revealed that Lyric’s brother was actually their twin and was meant to secure the family a higher social standing by marrying the daughter of a recognized merchant, while Lyric was to be sent away to the Circle to tame their harsh magic. Privy to the true plan–to send Lyric away for fear of their volatile magic, whereas Kamille was a gentle mage–Kamille wore Lyric’s clothes and switched places with them, willingly going to the Circle to prevent his twin from being sentenced to sure death. Despairing at the loss of their only son and left with a stubborn, vicious daughter, Lyric’s parents became distant for many years before sailing to Kirkwall to abandon them far, far from home after learning of Kamille’s death. Lost and afraid, Lyric stumbled the long way back to Orlais, barely surviving. They smothered their magic, refusing to ever use it again. They blamed it for both Kamille’s untimely demise and their parent’s spite. Lyric’s mother will repent for every abandoning their child and ask to make amends. Lyric, clearly quarreling with their feelings of the past and wanting to forgive their family, will look to the Inquisitor to decide.

OPTION 1: FORGIVE HER.

Lyric will forgive their mother, despite how it hurts, in order to give her soul some resemblance of peace. Her mother will pass with Lyric at her side. Lyric will ask the Inquisitor for some time alone with their family and meet the Inquisitor back at Skyhold. At Skyhold, they will express their thanks to the Inquisitor, saying they feel as if a weight has been lifted from their chest.

OPTION 2: DENY HER.

Lyric will refuse to accept their mother’s request, causing the sickly woman to begin to cry and beg them to reconsider. Lyric will call their mother a traitor and a heretic, leaving the house without resolving their past or their emotions. The party will return to Skyhold where Lyric will again express their conflicting emotions to the Inquisitor, but vow to never forgive their family or return to Lydes. ( CHOOSING THIS OPTION WILL MAKE LYRIC UNROMANCEABLE. )

TAROT CARD CHANGE

OPTION 1: Two of Swords: Courage, Friendship, Affection, Choices

OPTION 2: Death: Morality, Endings, Loss, Alteration for the Worse

[ear-worthy]

A Reminder: Here Are The First Annual Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Award Winners!

 Just in case you missed it, here is the announcement of the first annual Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards (EWIP) from early July. I know that I have to work on a snappier award title!. The Ear Lobes? The Earies? I'll work on it for next year.

Anyway, check out these well-deserving award winners and listen to their podcasts. They are the best of the best.

There are a lot of podcasts. Understatement of the year, right? In podcasting's brief history, the industry has also found itself awash in awards. The Ambies, iHeart Podcast Awards, People's Choice Podcast Awards, The Webbys, The Signal Awards, British Podcast Awards, and others. These awards do not yet attract the media attention like the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys (EGOT).

In the future, there could be a podcast award ceremony broadcast on a major TV network (Sorry, TLC) with distinguished achievement award names like the James Cridland Legacy Award, the Bryan Barletta Career Achievement Award, or the Arielle Nissenblatt Podcast Stewardship Award.

Yet, with few exceptions, these awards either don't recognize independent podcasts or have them do battle against their well-financed, network-supported brethren.

Even the film industry has an award platform for indie filmmakers. The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers.

In fact, the music industry has an award for indie music. The Hollywood Independent Music Awards (HIMA) is the premier global platform for independent music. Emerging and established artists, songwriters, composers, and audio recording professionals around the world are recognized for outstanding contributions and content creation.

Based on the continued neglect of indie podcasters and their legacy of excellence, Ear Worthy is announcing its first annual Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards, or EWIPA.

The Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards are sponsored by lenny.fm. It works like this: Listeners contribute US$4 a month, which is split between the top 4 podcasts they chose.If a podcast in their top 4 doesn’t publish an episode that month, the preferences reorder to 4 that have.The podcast can choose how best to reward listeners supporting them via lenny.fm, if they choose to.

While not exclusively for independent podcasts, lenny.fm offers a monetization option that was not previously available for independent podcasters.

Courtney Carthy of lenny.fm says: "We want to get podcasters to be rewarded for their work by people who value it, and help drive an overall increase in listeners supporting podcasters."

Many bootstrapped indie podcasts have paper-thin budgets and are led by overworked and underappreciated podcasters.

What will award winners receive? I know that question is uppermost in the minds of the award winners and the jealous network-financed podcasts that are intentionally excluded from these awards.

First, recognition from Ear Worthy via Blogger, Substack, Medium, and Tumblr -- and social media -- in an article announcing the award winners.

Second, each award winner will receive a .png image of the EWIPA with their name emblazoned on it.

Third, each winner will have an article about their podcast in Ear Worthy about their indie podcast. These articles will run from now until Labor Day.

Fourth, a press release with the award winners podcasts and names will be issued on July 9th.

Fifth, the winners will receive all the media hype and attention commensurate with winning such a prestigious award. If Good Morning America calls requesting a live interview, please accept.

Sixth, this award is in recognition of their outstanding achievements and commitment to excellence. Indie podcasters wear more hats than any network-supported podcaster. They are creator, writer, producer, sound engineer, I.T. troubleshooter, researcher, host, distribution pro, marketing guru, public relations professional, and, most important of all, financial backer for the podcast. This award is that voice in the wilderness that calls to them: "Keep going. You're on the right track."

Here are the first Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards. Each winner will have a link to their podcast, and I encourage anyone reading or listening to check out these excellent podcasts and support these indie podcasters.

Best Indie Podcast of the Year

The Life Shift -- "Candid conversations with people about the pivotal moments that changed their lives forever. The Life Shift podcast highlights life-altering moments and humanizes the struggles and triumphs through them all." Indie podcaster / Host -- Matt Gilhooly.

Best Interview Podcast

Preconceived -- "Preconceived exists to question the current state of affairs. Why are we groomed to accept norms as they are? Are we all destined to go to school, find a stable job, get married, have kids, then enjoy our retirement and older age? Do we hold certain beliefs because we value them, or because someone else told us to?" Indie podcaster / Host -- Zale Mednick

Best Life Lessons Podcast

Multispective -- "We believe each person has a unique story to tell. Experiences, both good and bad, shape our everyday lives. Many of us go through similar things, yet our stories are never the same." Indie podcaster / Host --Jennica Sadhwani

Best Health Podcast

Salad With A Side Of Fries -- "What to eat and when to cheat! Let's decipher between all the “diets” out there. You know what to do, but it isn't working. Talking wellness and weight loss for real life, because most of us are going to drink, eat out, skip the grocery store and who wants a life without fries or dessert?" Indie podcaster / host Jenn Trepeck

Best Workplace Podcast

Surfing Corporate -- "Our goal is to help you not only navigate the corporate waters, but to surf the hell out of them, and all without throwing fellow employees to the sharks or promising your firstborn to Satan. It CAN be done."

Indie podcaster / co-hosts Aileen Merciel & Glenda Pacanins

Best Young Adult Podcast

Seraphina Speaks -- "This award-winning family-friendly show inspires tweens and early teens to examine social norms and ordinary, everyday things. Everything from happiness, being a tween, chores, school, Race, toys, & more." Indie podcaster Danusia Malina-Derben / Host Seraphina Malina-Derben

Best Business Advice Podcast

Bippity Boppity Business -- "No one makes magic in business like Disney! On this podcast, we are focused on teaching business leaders and entrepreneurs Disney storytelling magic. You will learn how to infuse wonder into your brand. You will uncover the secrets to immerse your customers and convert them from passive follower to super-fan consumers." Indie podcaster / host -- Rita Richa

Best Podcasting Success Podcast

Leverage Your Podcast -- "This show is for podcast hosts and guests, bringing insider secrets from podcast industry experts and entrepreneurs who have created a successful lifestyle business through podcasting." Indie podcaster / host -- Lyndsay Phillips

Best Movie Podcast

Verbal Diorama-- "Movies are tough to make, and Verbal Diorama is here to celebrate the coming together of teams of extraordinary cast and crew, bringing us movies that inspire us, delight us, make us laugh, make us cry and frighten us." Indie podcaster / host -- Em

Best Film History Podcast

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever-- "This podcast looks back at more than a century of films, beginning in 1902 and working towards the future. Each episode focuses on a film, director or theme and brings in experts to discuss its history, politics and influences. Each episode focuses on a film, director or theme and brings in experts to discuss the history, politics, and influences." Indie podcaster / host -- Ayesha Khan

Best Music Podcast

Watching The Covers Flow -- "This podcast dives deep into covers of, and by, the most covered songwriter in rock and roll, Bob Dylan. The show explores covers across era and genre, from a hip-hop "Subterranean Homesick Blues" to a bluegrass "Ring Them Bells" to Dylan's frequent detours from writing his own songs to singing other people's." Indie podcaster / host -- Ray Padgett

Best LGBTQIA+ Podcast

Because The Boss Belongs To Us-- "If someone asked you to name a queer icon, who would you say? Cher? Britney? Whitney? Mariah? What about…Bruce Springsteen? Two queer nerds try to get Bruce Springsteen recognized as the queer icon they know that he is." Indie podcaster / co-hosts Jesse Lawson & Holly Casio.

Best Politics Podcast Ken Rudin's Political Junkie -- "Each week, veteran political analyst Ken Rudin explores policy debates, campaign strategies and the newsmakers making it happen in Washington and in state capitols across the country. Politicians, journalists and experts join Ken to share smart analysis and rich historical context behind the issues shaping our national dialogue today." Indie podcaster / host Ken Rudin

Best History Podcast

Music History Monday -- "Exploring history through music history with Professor Robert Greenberg one Monday at a time. Every Monday Robert Greenberg explores some timely, perhaps intriguing and even, if we are lucky, salacious chunk of musical information relevant to that date, or to … whatever." Indie podcaster / host Professor Robert Greenberg.

Best True-Crime Podcast The Murder Sheet -- "We take a journalistic approach to covering true crime. We have broken national news on major cases, like the Delphi murders and the Burger Chef murders. We also cover plenty of other subjects, including high-profile murders, cold cases, legal topics within the criminal justice system, restaurant slayings, historical crimes, and wide-ranging interviews with authors and experts." Indie podcaster / co-hosts Aine Cain & Kevin Greenlee

Best Society / Education Podcast Impostrix -- "Impostrix Podcast affirms the lived experiences of (smart, talented AF, and often over-qualified) people of color by challenging imposter syndrome narratives and validate people navigating racial toxicity in their career. Here, you will learn ways to overcome and leverage imposter syndrome, you will be better able to identify when and why your work culture is working against you." Indie podcaster / host Whitney Knox Lee

Best Short-Form Podcast Arielle & Ned's Daily Tips… -- "Arielle Nissenblatt and Ned Donovan on their daily adventures to bring small, possibly insignificant tips and advice into the world. No tip is too small, all are helpful to someone (we hope), it just might not be you that day." Indie podcasters / co-hosts Arielle Nissenblatt & Ned Donovan

Best Celebrity Accountability Podcast (Tie) Trashy Divorces -- A Good Podcast About Bad Relationships. Every Wednesday and Sunday, Alicia and Stacie take you on a comedic ride through stories of marital misconduct and love gone wrong, blending biography, pop culture, history, and politics. Indie podcasters / co-hosts Alicia & Stacie

What A Creep-- "Hosts Margo and Sonia chat about Creeps. We talk about Creeps of the past and the present: It's the who's who of who's the worst.

Indie podcasters / co-hosts Margo Donohue & Sonia Mansfield

Best Audio Fiction Podcast Hobo Code -- "Hop a freight train with two hobos, a little girl, and her best friend who lives in a coffee can. Hobo Code is an epic journey spanning from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Depression, all the way to the Great Recession of 2008." Writers: Shane Portman & Paul Pakler Producers: Ruth Gamble & Shane Portman

Best Entrepreneurial Podcast

Nerdpreneur -- "At Nerdpreneur we have fun conversations with people turning their weird passion into a successful business! We interview entrepreneurs from around the world to discover the hacks, tools, and mindsets that turn nerd passion into full-time income."

Indie podcasters /co-hosts Frank Bailey & Chris Saunders

Best Food / Restaurant Podcast "Fine" Dining-- "The hilarious search for the most mediocre chain restaurant in America. Host Michael Ornelas hits popular spots like IHOP, Texas Roadhouse, & Chili's to find the perfectly average 5-out-of-10 "fine" dining experience."

Indie podcaster / host Michael Ornelas

Best TV Podcast

Double Take-- "There’s nothing worse than endlessly scrolling through all of your streaming service apps, right? Join Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen as they give their thoughts on new streaming shows in the form of episode-by-episode reactions, reviews of new shows, and more."

Indie podcaster / co-hosts Jess Spoll & Jenni Cullen

Best Career Podcast

Who Made You The Boss? -- "is a podcast for recovering workaholics. Listen as Lindsey Epperly, CEO of Jetset World Travel, interviews leaders from executives to creatives, entrepreneurs to innovators, teach how they tackle imposter syndrome, turn obstacles into opportunities, and prove that we can pursue careers we love without sacrificing our whole selves." Indie podcaster / host -- Lindsey Epperly

Best Arts & Culture Podcast

The Art Career -- "candid, straightforward conversations with leaders in visual arts, writing, music, theater and film. The show dives deep into topics like self development, career trajectories, mental health, and social justice. Expand your journey through the arts and feel empowered about what you do." Indie podcaster / host Emily McElwreath

Best Business Processes Podcast

Streamlined Solopreneur -- "Each week, host Joe Casabona talks about how you can build a better business through smarter systems and automated processes. He does this by bringing on expert guests, and sharing his own experience from years as a busy solopreneur parent — so that being a solopreneur feels…less solo." Indie podcaster / host -- Joe Casabona

Best Podcast Tips Podcast One Minute Podcast Tips-- If you're looking to be a better podcaster, but you don't have time to listen to hours and hours of advice, One Minute Podcast Tips is the show for you. I'll let you know what hardware and software you should use, and how they'll help you and your show no matter where you are in your podcasting journey. Indie podcaster / host -- Danny Brown

Best Americana Podcast

Vanishing Postcards -- "invites listeners to ride shotgun on a road trip exploring the traditions, hidden dives, and offbeat attractions that can be found by exiting the interstate.It is a touching, humorous, and enriching experience that is part travelogue, oral history, and valentine to American culture." Indie podcaster / host -- Evan Stern

Best Pet Podcast

Six Degrees Of Cats-- "the world’s #1 (and only) cat-themed culture, history and science podcast to join cat worshipper Amanda B. as she investigates these and other hard hitting questions with a diversity of guest experts from across the globe."

Indie podcaster / host -- Amanda B. / Captain Kitty

Congratulations to all the winners. These indie podcasters went on the noblest of journeys -- the search for excellence.

If you are a passionate podcast listener, support your favorite independent podcasts with a donation or membership, or check out lenny.fm.

[jellicle-chants]

Jemima for the Valentine's thing!

Ask and you shall receive!

Double Entendre

(This fic is rated G I promise I just wanted to have a joke title)

Jemima's got a crush on the one and only Rum Tum Tugger. But will her confession work out as she planned?

"Hi, Miss Cass!" Jemima pounced at the tire and landed on all fours next to Cassandra, who was in the middle of enjoying her afternoon stretch.

"Hello starlight, what's on the horizon today?"

Jemima beamed at the pet name. "Nothin' much, what about you?"

"Oh, I'm just taking a little rest here. Care to join?"

If some cosmic force asked Cass to pick a favorite kitten, it would be hard to choose against the tabby-and-white blur of energy currently trying her best to settle down at her side. After pacing back and forth trying to decide which was the best way to lay down, Jemima finally seemed to relax.

Of course, all that was for naught when Tugger sauntered into the junkyard clearing a few moments later.

"Miss Cass, Miss Cass, look! Isn't he so cool?" Cassandra obligingly turned her head towards where Tugger was showing off a new move to Plato — who, she noted, seemed nearly as enthralled as Jemima was. "I wish Tugger would talk to me like that. But he never pays any attention to me at all."

"I'm sure that's not true, dear."

"Is so!"

Cass had to hold back a laugh, looking over at the kitten with as much wisdom as she could muster. "Well, why don't you tell him that you like him, then? It is the season for love, you know." Either that, or she had wildly misinterpreted her human's sharp increase in having people over in the past few days.

"Oh, you really think so?" Jemima's little face scrunched up as she considered her options. "But... he's always going on about how he doesn't like things to be given to him. So maybe I should tell him that I really don't like him, and then that'll work!" She was practically squirming around on the tire now, kneading her paws into the rubber to work out her nervous energy. "Could you call him over here please, Miss Cass? It won't work if I do it."

"Sure, sweet pea." Cass stretched out to her full length and called out across the open junkyard. "Tugger! Jemima has something she wants to tell you."

He looked over, confused, and Cass waved him over with a subtle head nod. "So, what's all this about?"

"Rum Tum Tugger! I want you to know that I actually don't like you at all. Ever. And... I think you shouldn't hang out with me, and you should spend all your time with the boys instead. Ok?" She crossed her arms and puffed out her chest in a perfect harrumph gesture that Cass made sure to commit to memory.

"Uhh..." Tugger looked over at Cass for some kind of explanation, but she just raised an eyebrow at him and offered a knowing smirk. "... okay. No need to make such a big deal out of it. Guess I'll go now."

Jemima, to her credit, held up the pose for a few good seconds as he strolled off, before absolutely flopping back against the tire in despair. "Oh no, that didn't work at all! Now he probably thinks I hate him. Why did I do that?"

"Just remember, this is Tugger we're talking about, dewdrop," Cass said, ruffling the fur between Jemima's ears. "He always does the opposite of what one expects."

"Aww, now I'll never get to hang out with him ever!" She flailed around on the tire some more, completely in the throes of her anguish.

"Don't say that." She gave Jemima a boop on the nose with her tail, and that seemed to break the kitten out of her spell. "I'm sure he'll come back around to you sometime soon. Just you wait."

Jemima snuggled up alongside her, having finally tired herself out enough to stay still. Cass, for her part, was perfectly happy to soak up the afternoon sun for a few minutes more.

[dreamboundedstar]

I wanted to have a little fun and make a Zekina playlist. I didn't want to put in all the songs I have in other playlists that vaguely fit them though. So, I made a story out of this playlist. I even specifically used some songs that Steven Davis sang (a producer on Bob's Burgers) to hopefully make it have a better feel to the play list. So I'll just list the narrative of the songs that I'm intending to tell. 1. The song is basically my way to start off with vaguely similar vibes to the Zeke quote, "I'm gonna getcha". 2 - 6. Tina's pov for her relationship with Jimmy Jr. 7. Jimmy Jr.'s pov of the break up (get used to this one JJ because you're not getting anymore from your pov sorry lol) 8. Tina's pov of Jimmy Jr trying to get her back but it fails. 9-10. Tina dealing with the fallout of being single. 11. Tina's pov of her getting ready to move away to wherever she decides to go. 12. Tina and Zeke's pov of them both choosing to stay friends and go off to be free to see what life has for them. Though both secretly hope that they both will eventually come back to each other. 13. Tina and Zeke's pov of them reaffirming they are good friends. 14. Zeke's pov of feelings resurfacing again. 15. Zeke's pov of him taking action and getting it right this time. 16. Zeke's pov of him trying too hard. 17. Tina's pov of being worried if Zeke really is commitment trustworthy. 18. Zeke's pov of the same song that played for Tina about Jimmy Jr because callbacks are fun. 19 - 20. Tina's pov of her not being ready for diving deep into love again. 21 - 22. Zeke's pov of him being a stubborn, little gremlin. 23. Tina's pov of her finally giving in. 24. Still Tina's pov I just wanted a cute song to end the playlist. It's not the most smooth ending but the title is fitting for the whole "getcha" thing I mentioned earlier. It's also the intro song to a movie I used to like, "Letters to Juliet" in which someone made a Zekina connection to in a post (though I still honestly say some personalities don't completely fit but the concept is still good) https://www.tumblr.com/laterpaladudes/695583610873561089/ok-it-might-be-this-greeceitaly-vacation-that-im?source=share That's it but here are some bonus songs that didn't make the cut because they didn't quite fit the narrative I was going for. Your Stupid Face by Kaden MacKay

I'm so sad this didn't make the cut. I felt the beginning really was good for her original resentment towards Zeke but later the lyrics didn't really fit Tina's character. So now it's better for RudyxLouise, Shortaki from Hey Arnold, or any ship with an enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I Like You More Than I Thought by Maggery

Another song that fits Louise more than Tina, unfortunately. Best Friend by Laufy It could have worked for ZekexTina but it works so much better as a BobxLinda song in Bob's pov. Make it by Cody Fry Speaking of Bob, this song just really speaks to me for Bob and I wanted to share it.

Finally, that's it. Hope you found some new songs you like in the playlist or in the bonus links.

[animepopheart]

Your blog is the absolute coolest (as well as your Beneath the Tangles blog)! If you have the time, would you mind sharing how you choose which anime you watch every season (or from the older ones that have been out for awhile) or suggestions on how to minimize a watch list to "essentials"? I know everyone's interests are different, so the titles/genres might be different, but just a way of how to choose which series would be best to spend time on? I've been an anime watcher for well over a decade now, and I'm a little bit better about not getting overwhelmed by all the available titles, but I was just curious if you have any further suggestions. Right now, the only things I use to "filter" the anime I watch would be that (as of right now) I only watch shows in English dub, try to take a look at super popular titles (unless it's One Piece which I'm sure is great but a scary longtime commitment for me to make to watch), and avoiding shows that might go against my personal convictions as a Christian and make me too uncomfortable to watch (I know everyone's convictions may vary or be completely different on this). Anyway, thanks for your time!

Aww, thank you sooo much! ;_;

I'll tell you how I approach each season further down, but just in general, I've lived by this dumb motto for the last decade: life's too short to waste on bad anime. With this in mind, I rarely invest in long-running shonen anymore because the payoff is for me never worth the effort. They're not bad (most are pretty good!), but even with a series that's great like One Piece, I could have instead invested so many other show (I could literally watch 90 other anime series during that time and find many that equivalent or better).

I also drop anime pretty quick. I give them a couple episodes and move on. Sometimes, I like a show enough to get 5, 6, 7 episodes in, but if I decide then that they're not keeping my interest, I don't complete them. My time is precious. If I hear great things about a show I dropped, then I might return later.

I also trashed my watch list. It was expanding and expanding, and I felt it was a weight on my shoulders. So I deleted it, and feel freer since then.

All this has helped me from under the feeling of being overwhelmed.

I would definitely also watch older shows more often—ones that friends those whose taste I like or trust from Twitter recommend, or I suddenly remember I once wanted to watch, or I want to watch again (often a better experience than streaming a mediocre new series)—except that I need to focus on new series as I develop content. So feel free to jump back into those based on your tastes, what others say, and maybe through filtering and searching (I like Anime Planet's filters).

Regarding new series—this is how I approach those:

When a season begins, I'm open to almost everything. I type up a list before the season with the shows I don't want to miss, based on the types I generally prefer or produced by staff that I'm a fan of, and then I pick up all sorts of series, watching a couple dozen opening episodes at the very least. If I have to be a little selective, I look at our writers' first impression posts to help me pick which ones to try.

And then I whittle away. I usually end up completing maybe 7-8 series a season, but there are some season, like this one, where I finish far fewer. In the time I would normally use for those shows, I might rewatch something (like I currently am for Re:Zero), go to one of those older series (I'm trying out Kurau: Phantom Memory), check out movies for review (an older one recently with ReLIFE and a screener copy of Jujutsu Kaisen 0), or read manga and light novels (a BUNCH right now, and also a memoir related to anime).

So, lots of details, but in summation—feel free to try lots of things out—perhaps shows that are new or which you hear about from trusted influencers, writers, etc., but develop that habit of dropping series. The FOMO becomes less and less the more and more you see the positive in not completing anime that doesn't affect you.

[aliatori]

A Fanfic Writer Interview

Thanks for the tag, @runicmagitek. <3 Sorry I'm slow at responding to this one, it's been A WEEK (a month, a year, two years, etc.)

This got long, so it's under the cut.

Name: You can call me ali!

Fandoms: Forever interests that operate like run-on-startup background processes in my mind: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, FFXV, Sailor Moon, Kushiel's Legacy, Legend of Korra, Transistor, the Wheel of Time (though tbqh I mostly love the worldbuilding from WoT and applying it to my own nefarious queer purposes). Current full speed ahead hyperfixations: Hades, The Locked Tomb series, Mass Effect gets a double mention because ME:LE violated the fandom's DNR order, and original work (does it count as fandoms if I am the creator in one case and co-creator in another case? I'm going to be kind to myself and say yes).

Two-shot: A one-shot with two chapters, says Google? I don't have any. I DO frequently write things with the intention of it being one and done and then continue them.

Most popular multichapter: Artificial for sure, a.k.a. that one cyberpunk AU no one asked for that will probably only ever get finished if it's re-tooled for original work, but who knows.

Actual worst part of writing: FINISHING. I have a million ideas and almost as many started Google docs or Word docs, but having the focus and commitment to finish is an actual struggle. I have the utmost respect for people with multiple longfics marked as complete.

How you choose your titles: If I manage to write a line I love that fits thematically with the story, that. Sometimes I'll come up with a title reflecting the story that isn't a direct quote. In all other cases... so many song lyrics. So, so many.

Do you outline: Yes! As a reformed pantser... who knew having a game plan of where your story is supposed to go helps? My outlines typically don't look like the structured, roman numeral style formal English jams, but rather me writing in a document as if I am screaming enthusiastically to a friend about what will happen in the story and where it's going. My worldbuilding outlines are more structured simply because I want to be able to find and reference information easier.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?:

The transmasc Kaidan Alenko/Shepard canon-adjacent thing I have sitting in my drafts

A Hades Megaera/Aphrodite E rated one shot involving a bratty Aphrodite, Meg having a lot of emotions despite herself, ambrosia consumption as a sex-pollen adjacent thing, inappropriate use of whip handles, and so, so many orgasms.

Transistor!AU, but make it Megthanzag. You get to guess who is the traumatic weapon.

A Gen FFXIV fic with a conversation between the WoL (my WoL, even though I know how fandom feels about OCs) and Emet-Selch about the burdens of carrying a world, a people, a cosmic fate on your shoulders.

An Amos-centric fic for the Expanse exploring one of the significant relationships later in his life (book Amos, not show Amos)

Callouts @ me: You can write fic all you want, but you are not allowed to post ANY multi-chapter thing until it's done. Also, a reminder fic is for fun, damn it. Relax.

Best writing traits: I have been told I am a deft hand at characterization and action scenes. I like to think my prose is improving and that I have a style I can fit into multiple genres. And of course, I feel like I'm known for obsessive worldbuilding at this point, which I am glad people enjoy as much as I do.

Spicy tangential opinion: I will borrow several bullet points from Runic first because they have some great ones that align with my views (which shouldn't be considered spicy, and yet!):

"Unless the author explicitly asks for feedback, no one gives a shit about your ~profound critique~ on a fic you actually didn't enjoy at 3am on a Sunday" - x1000. I have betas and critique partners when I want critical feedback; I do not need or want it from strangers on the internet (with the exception of not minding typo corrections or other minor stuff).

"If at any point you feel the need to be hostile towards another human being online over Fandom Things? Just turn your computer off, walk outside, and find a new hobby." - I get we are all a passionate bunch in fannish communities, but fictional characters are not worth hurting real people's feelings over, full stop.

"You don't magically abandon all the things you love when you turn 23 or whatever people think is old these days. Honestly? The best fics I've read are from "older" people, probably because they have more experience with both writing and life."

"If I take the time to put up tags and warnings on my fic, it's not my fault if someone stumbles on it and doesn't like it." - with an addendum that operating on 'don't like, don't read' and 'your kink is not my kink and that's okay' will save you so much heartache in the long run.

You get out of fandom what you put into it. If you spend most of your time obsessing over your kudos/hits/notes/engagements, tearing down other creators, and ranting/venting about what you don't like instead of supporting what you do like... you're gonna have a bad time.

I'm a multi-shipper at heart for every fandom because exploring a variety of character dynamics excites me. In addition to wishing fandom would sometimes take the shipping goggles off, I wish some monoshippers wouldn't take the existence of every other ship besides their OTP as a personal threat to both their personhood and fandom experience.

Not gonna tag anyone but if you made it this far, write fic, and want to answer, please do so and consider me tagging you!

[doitwritenow]

I'd ask all 35 of the ask game, but I feel that might be a little too much. Instead, I'll choose: 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 23, 29, 31, 33, and... oh that's way too many. Uhhh, feel free to not answer some if you feel overwhelmed. If not, go ham! I'd love to read more about your writing/writing process. :)

Oh WOW thank you! These are so fun. Hm...

2. Why do you write fanfiction?  Recently answered this one! Here’s what I said: I write fic because of the spaces between the lines of a story. The gaps and unanswered questions in canon encourage me to come up with deeper mechanics, more complicated lore, and complex character motivations in order to explain. Sometimes, one of those pieces will click into canon so well that it becomes inspiration. And then there’s nothing else to do but write! Lol. Stories are so wonderful because of what we can do with them, individually and all together, and I really like being a part of that. 

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of? While EoI is kind of my magnum opus, I really really adore Sunrise Loves To Go Down. Something came together in that fic, some tone and some thread of style, and I am immensely proud of how it turned out. I started writing it when I had been evacuated from my house due to a wildfire, lying on a hotel bed and typing on my phone in the middle of the night, and so it felt different to write than my other works. Maybe that’s why it feels different to read, too.

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily? Easily? I have to say dialogue. It’s often my favorite part of any scene, and I love the way it determines tone and establishes character. Though it’s not my absolute favorite part of writing, I dance through dialogue scenes feeling like I’m on a caffeine high. Of course, lots of times getting dialogue right is a lot of work, but there’s an ease to it that some things don’t have. 

7. What element of writing do you struggle with most? Hnnnngk the answer is pacing. It’s pacing. I struggle to pace things. I do enjoy long projects and feel proud of my ability to commit to them, don’t get me wrong. But I’d love to get better at structuring a plot to allow for the same tone without needing an overly generous amount of words. My go-to answer with pacing is always ‘write more’, but I don’t think that’s always strictly necessary. I want to be able to use the other tools in my arsenal to tell a story that’s just as complete but even more gripping.  Me: *challenges pacing to a death battle* Me: *dies*

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about. Okay so a friend and I were laughing about how funny it could be to write about what happens to Odin after Loki sticks him in a retirement home on Earth. The Mystic Artists would obviously know he was there, what with all that cosmic threat sensing bullshit, and things would devolve from there. Like, can you imagine? The Adventures of Odin Allfather and the Home for Elderly People. Series of one-shots. Each titled something like: Odin vs. Thursday Bingo. Odin vs. His Roomate. Odin vs. the Grumpy Wizard. Odin vs. the Craft Store. And slowly other characters start to show up. Ned’s grandma is in the same nursing home, and he and Odin hit it off, so obviously Ned introduces him to Peter. Stephen comes to check up on him occasionally and Odin stages the most dramatic escape attempts of all time with no real intention of going anywhere. Now I dislike Odin in canon but how comical could that be I’m serious--

23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas? I like prompts and challenges, but generally I work best with completely independent ideas. I can’t force my one-shot muse, so whenever it strikes I buckle down and write there and then. So yeah, prompts and challenges are really fun, but the inspiration has its own plans for my hapless self.

29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out? Comfort zone? What comfort zone? Lol. I suppose I do have bounds of what I’m willing to write and share, but they’re not particularly limiting. Each story I write extends the limits of what I’m used to; I try not to hesitate. And most of the time, I like where things end up! 

31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them! OCS YES I DO HAVE OCS THANKS FOR ASKING. Most of my Marvel OCs show up in EoI or were created specifically for it. But I have some other lovelies floating around, my three favorites being: - Silas Ewyn, a necromancer detective. He’s basically a vigilante archeologist, using his abilities to interact with bones to solve the mysteries of foul play victims. Silas doesn't care about politics or reasons; all he cares about is facts and bringing voices back to the dead. In the lawless Roughs (yeah, he’s a cowboy, fight me) he takes that justice back into his own hands. Though he doesn't kill, he'll go to great lengths to punish perpetrators, and he always takes a bone of the murder to bury with the bones of the victim to ensure the victim gets their justice in the afterlife, too. Which bone depends on the severity of the murder. During one of Silas’s investigations, however, he was murdered himself. Oops. But he woke up three days later with his soul rattling around in an entirely different body with no memory of the event. The only way for him to discover the truth is if he finds his old bones and solves a whole new murder... His own.  Anyway I love him and I could talk forever about the truth behind his murder and all the details of the Roughs and everything but we’ve got a limited amount of time and I still have to tell you about: - Sohcahtoa and Pemdas! If their names look like math acronyms, that’s because they are. Sohcahtoa and Pemdas are kind of children’s comic book characters in my mind? Sohcahtoa is a superhero; she travels through the Sciverse bringing people together and solving scientific and mathematical problems between others who are concepts come to life. With her meter-stick sword and her protractor throwing star, she’s a force to be reconed with!  Pemdas is her trusty sidekick. He’s a cuttlefish with immense knowledge of operations and formulas, and Sohcahtoa keeps him in a cube on her belt. Pemdas checks her math and gives her any theorems or formulas she might need.  Lol I’m a nerd next question.

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process? Just want to say: I’m not some sort of warlock, I promise! The reason I can post so consistently for EoI is not always because I write consistently; it’s because I have a cushion of chapters between what I’m writing and what I’m posting. Sometimes I’m completely barren of words and I can’t write for days on end, and sometimes I just fly through things in hours. But all that inconsistency balances itself out in the end and keeps the chapter cushion intact, so my readers get to see only me looking like I have everything under control. I’m just as chaotic as you, I promise.  (Prophets is not like this with the chapter cushion. I am a bad girl when it comes to Prophets. XD instant gratification is my arch nemesis.) 

Anyway! This was super fun Ish. Thanks for the ask! 

[i-am-the-wayward-traveler]

So a lot of people have been talking about the end of the new Star Wars Trilogy lately I thought I'd share a few my thoughts as I used to do a nice little review column called Making it better which two friends of mine The Wayward traveler and The Technocrat have been talking to me about bringing it back in podcast forum.

1) Every Story Trilogy needs to be planned out in advance first movie or book can be a standalone and sometimes that even works to its advantage, but you have to have the second and third sequel follow its lead and be planned out together as one movie broken up into two parts.

2)Finn's character needs to have a lot more development and would work a whole lot better if he was a forse-sensitive. This could be used to explain or at least give rise to reasons for certain actions like when made his decision to leave and betray the first order after the villagers were slaughtered.

3) forget the ragtag group of rebels and the super weapon a lot of the more interesting stories of the Star Wars extended Universe took place when both the Republic and the Empire we're on equal footing with near equal forces forcing them to fight smart and Tactical which gave a greater rise on a multitude of single characters in their own stories completing one or more missions to give one side or the other the upper hand. Then let the first order get the upper hand using tactics and unrest in the Republic due to their terrorist activities.

4) the force in Star Wars has been used as a plot device to show future events or give premonitions of impending problems even guide people through places they've never been. Give me a better reason for Luke's Exile other than he was running away and that the only person that could find him was a force-sensitive that new how to activate R2 D2 and retrieve his location.

5) Finn Rey and Poe are the three characters we spend the most time with or at least the three Heroes we spend the most time with. Finn has been a stormtrooper all his life he was bred and raised to do one thing it would make sense that he would form an attachment to both Poe and Rey even an attraction being the first people he's ever emotionally connected with. Have Finn pursue both of them romantically ultimately learning he has both an attraction to male and female but have him ultimately rejected by both because Poe does not have an attraction to males and neither does Ray a fact she ultimately finds out about herself when she has to reject Finn and his affection. Letting them all become better friends in the process.

These are just five general ideas I had about the movies as a whole and I am taking an account that a lot of the story for each film is pretty much a hot mess and some of these ideas don’t fix any thing they just change things around a little. Despite this the actors were great they did their characters pretty well under the circumstances and good portion the action was fun and exciting.

At a later date I might choose to do a full and very detailed review of each movie on this formation podcast titled making it better, but at this point in time that's a pretty big maybe I'll have to see what the Wayward traveler and the technocrat will commit to.

({ I changed The original image I posted here for reasons... ])