#I cry as my fandom contributions are the only notable thing about me and not any of the creative writing bits I did

[shayberri789]

I posted 6 393 times in 2021

45 posts created (1%)

6348 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 141.1 posts.

I added 602 tags in 2021

#mha - 103 posts

#show meep - 90 posts

#deltarune - 88 posts

#aftg - 81 posts

#loz - 56 posts

#tloz - 47 posts

#pjo - 41 posts

#shay posts - 34 posts

#pied piper fic - 31 posts

#deltarune chapter 2 - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i’d do the tag but what i last wrote was character profiles for oc’s lmao i don’t even know what the last bit of creative writing i did was

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Okay but also, what if in the rwrb movie we get shots of Henry’s point of view during events? Please for the love of god I want to see henry Doing some royal bullshit in the palace or eating Jaffa cakes or whatever the fuvk they are at 3am and losing his shit at the weird texts Alex sends him.

OR OR OR. Henry’s reaction to the emails during meetings

And the TURKEYS. From an outside perspective. JUST IMAGINE

Like the directors don’t even NEED To change the plot to make the movie interesting to ppl who’ve read the books 6 times. Just make it the rwrb from Henry’s perspective. It’ll tick all the boxes for a great adaption:

- faithful

- yet new and interesting

- fulfill the undying desire of the entire fandom

- two hours of gay pining and panic

Like I would seriously kill for it sidndkdnd

108 notes • Posted 2021-10-20 02:54:51 GMT

#4

Ok but this shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone (but for some reason I have yet to see someone else say it) BUT.

Andrew’s love language is acts of service.

I don’t think I need to make a case for this; look at how/what he gives ground:

the halloween party

helping neil with his injuries both after christmas and baltimore

the time he spent with neil at the police

how much effort he goes through to keep his promises

his quietly doing things for people he cares for without a word 

80% of what he does for kevin

giving up crackers

I think a similar case could be made for gift giving. I know Nicky says that “Andrew isn’t one for giving gifts” in tfc but like. 

the keys. Come on. 

he gives neil cigarettes without being asked

the clothes he buys neil

bee’s figurines

he gives renee the keys to help jean

I’m blanking but there’s more, feel free to add lol

155 notes • Posted 2021-08-10 01:15:25 GMT

#3

Alright it’s been about 2 months since I read Carry On because Life but anyway from what I’ve seen the fandom is COMPLETELY sleeping on that part in CO when Baz returns to Watford after being kidnapped and he is LITERALLY like “I’m gonna announce myself before anyone else does and I’m going to be a Dramatic Gay™️ about it” and used magic to fucking FLING the cafeteria doors WIDE FUCKING OPEN while dressed all fancy like “I hope Simon notices me” Boy PLEASE

163 notes • Posted 2021-11-02 19:13:54 GMT

#2

If you think about it, the scene at the Hemmick’s house and Nicky’s relationship with his parents is a lot sadder when you consider what the foxes stand for.

In tfc, wymack said (paraphrased Bc j can’t remember it word for word) “it s about given you another chance - second, fourth, sixth, seventh I don’t care so long as it’s one more than you would’ve gotten otherwise”

That’s the foxes’ thing; second chances, they know they’re all fucked up and messing up and triggering each other left and right but they have faith in one another and even if they don’t always forgive they do give new chances. Nicky sees the benefit of it, he does it with his teammates and it rewards him, and they give him.

But he kept giving his family second chances, more than the other foxes would’ve, more than I would’ve (I would have never given them a second chance if they sent me to conversion camp, even if I had to live in the same house as them) because he hoped they’d do better like the foxes did, because surely they’re not as screwed up as the foxes right? But he didn’t fully realize that being fucked up is not the same as being filled with hate, and he didn’t realize they didn’t deserve his chances until they did something that made that fact apparent: they hurt Andrew, the person who Nicky gave second chances to and Andrew made them worth it, while all his parents ever did was hurt him further. And the parallels are just sad, ya know?

171 notes • Posted 2021-09-09 07:29:03 GMT

#1

My favorite thing about the aftg fandom is that we collectively decided Andrew has pierced ears and the twinyards have freckles.

266 notes • Posted 2021-09-22 20:46:30 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[utilitycaster]

I find it interesting that people see Ashton and Laudna and are like "They must be in pain all the time and are suffering" because Ashton and Laudna have the physical scars of their suffering. They are sympathetic to them. But they do not afford the same sympathy to Imogen, who is also suffering. It's not visible with her, so therefore, even though she has to actively repress other peoples thoughts and doesn't really get much sleep, she be fine Fine and therefore is OK. When she is very much Not Fine and Not Ok, just practiced at having to deal with it every damn day (at least, that's how I have interpreted Laura's RP. Please correct me if I am wrong).

I think you are correct about Laura's RP - it's quite obvious that Imogen struggles a lot with her powers. While I haven't seen it as much lately, there was also a lot of focus early on about Ashton, with a lot of headcanons regarding disability that I haven't seen as much lately - possibly because there's been nothing confirmed in canon - and it's true that the character design probably contributed to that.

Here's the thing though: early on? People loved focusing on poor Imogen and her headaches and how tiring it is for her to be around people and oh won't Laudna kiss it better...until Imogen got mad at Laudna. (And, to a lesser extent, when Imogen got mad at FCG, because that set off an alarm that Imogen was going to be played as a person with feelings and thoughts who might deviate from the set plan they had in their head for her).

I think a lot of people have decided who their favorite character is, and they pick that for all kinds of reasons. The problem is many of those people then say "my favorite character is correct, all the time, and here's the character who should be their romantic partner, and whether or not I have any scrap of sympathy for other characters is entirely conditional on whether they are worshiping the ground on which my favorite character walks and only serving my favorite character's story." Design doesn't enter into it. Backstory gets thrown out the window. In the end, that is their only motivator.

I realize how incredibly cynical this sounds but I have, on some level, done the math. I've spent all day saying "ok, so you're saying a warlock who has undergone severe trauma may have made made a pact under circumstances in which they could not freely give consent, and they have complicated feelings about this, and you are citing that as your reasoning for why they are the most sympathetic person here. Cool. So where's your meta about how hard things were for Fjord?" And notably, no one has taken me up on it, because they don't have it, because the facts don't matter. And it's not limited to that; I've been using Fjord as an example both because he often got a very raw deal from the fandom and because of the very obvious warlock parallels, but like, people were mad that time was spent on Keyleth's Aramente (because they didn't like Keyleth), or that the Mighty Nein didn't drop everything to take Caleb to Duasad Keef (a person only revealed at the time in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount).

If it the reason were that Imogen doesn't have physical markers of her pain (which...in and of itself is not a great way to be given the sheer number of not-readily-apparent mental and chronic illnesses that do not have clear visible indicators), then you'd think the response to Imogen, you know, literally waking up gasping and crying from nightmares would serve the same purpose as a physical scar, and that would be taken into account. But it's not. Because it's not about who's experienced pain or trauma, visible or no. It's barely connected to what's happening onscreen after the first few episodes when they imprint on this character like a baby chick who sends dumb anon messages. It's "she is disagreeing with Laudna and pulling focus from Laudna and therefore she is bad."

Here is the thing in the end: the post I made that kicked this all off ended with a follows: "these [Imogen and Laudna] are two fully realized people with feelings and priorities of their own." And people found that inherently invalidating, because they are threatened by the idea that Imogen is a fully realized character with feelings and priorities of her own, because then she can be a fully realized character with priorities separate from Laudna's. She can be a character with feelings that are not positive towards Laudna. She can be a character who gets angry at Laudna. And they hate that, and it's that simple.

[gunnerpalace]

It is Time to Kill The Common Understanding of the Dome of Las Noches Fight Once and for All

I’ve been thinking about @starrdustcrusader​‘s post making fun of BBS’s interpretation of Full Hollow Ichigo, and while it is very good and covers a lot, I felt that I had something further to add. Please go read that post first so you are on the same page.

I also invite you to go read chapter 350, The Lust 4, and the next few chapters as well.

Now, like I said, the post in question does a very good job of pointing out what’s happening here: Full Hollow Ichigo has less than zero concern for Uryuu or Orihime. He is not interested in protecting them whatsoever. Indeed, he directly attempts to kill Uryuu, with that attack being very likely to kill Orihime as well. It is only stopped by Ulquiorra’s intervention.

And why did Ichigo attack Uryuu? Because he was a threat.

When you are doing dispassionate threat analysis, whether that be tactical or strategic, when you are thinking with an essentially military mindset, motive stops really mattering, because it cannot be taken for granted. What matters is capability. What someone says their intentions are, or what their intentions seem to be, often matter less from this perspective than what they can do, or are doing.

What is Uryuu doing in this fight? He is interfering with Full Hollow Ichigo killing Ulquiorra. And that is Full Hollow Ichigo's only goal. Thus, Uryuu is an enemy and is also to be killed.

And so is Orihime (if “merely” as collateral damage).

It's that simple. This is again pointed out in the original post. In the same way that Ulquiorra earlier said to Ichigo that, "Killing you is synonymous with protecting Las Noches," killing Uryuu and Orihime at this point is synonymous with “protecting,” because they are in the way and are actively impeding the mission. (”Protecting” what? We’ll come back to that.)

I haven’t said anything new yet, now have I? So let’s get to that.

Here is Orihime demonstrating several flavors of hubris, and also completing failing to do anything to save Uryuu from his imminent demise. What do I mean? Well, let’s take apart her statements:

“Because I said that, Kurosaki-kun is trying to help me.” This is an assumption on her part, and it is wrong.

“I trained because I didn’t want to be a burden to him.” Mind you, she also says this in both the Xcution and TYBW arcs, and is a burden and fails in both as well (the infamous ”Why am I crying?” and “Her shield didn’t work” moments). This should have been a learning moment for her and it was not.

“I came here because I wanted to protect him.” There are other meta posts that detail the selfishness of Orihime’s actions in Hueco Mundo and in general. I would also like to point out that this was also her exact same logic in going to Soul Society. She didn’t learn anything from that experience either.

“So why? Why at the very end did I depend on him?” A great question. One that she never truthfully owns up to, given (2). But there was a reason Kisuke told her to stay out of the war. You may recall Rukia's statement to Orihime in chapter 228, Don't Look Back, that "In a battle, the ones who get in the way are not the ones that lack power, but the ones that lack resolve." She went on to say "Of all the battles in Soul Society, no one was a burden to anyone else. Not Ichigo, nor Sado, nor Ishida, and neither were you, Inoue. If any of you were less than who you are, I wouldn't be where I am today." This was very charitable of Rukia, because Orihime's contribution to her rescue was negligible and was, to reiterate, not why she was even there. Furthermore, Orihime didn't listen to her here either: she is once again demonstrating a lack of resolve, as she will continue to.

So Orihime doesn’t learn. Great. But maybe you’re thinking about (1). What do I mean she was wrong? I mean, doesn’t the manga confirm she’s right?

This is the crux of that argument. And this is also one of the cruxes of IchiHime as a whole. The thing is... it’s complete and utter bullshit.

This is the exact same scene in the original Japanese:

Now, I don’t speak or read Japanese very well at all. I’m still a novice at it. What I can do, however, is use optical character recognition and translation tools.

(よ)呼んでる - Yonderu - Calling

(よ)呼んでるんだ - Yonderunda - They’re calling

(き) 聞 こえる -  Kikoeru - I can hear

(た)立てよ - Tateyo - Stand up

(た)立 て - Tate - Stand

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

俺が護る - Ore ga mamoru - I will protect

(The parentheticals are furigana used as a pronunciation guide.)

Now do you see a single instance of “her” or “she” in this dialogue, particularly when it comes to the final line of “I will protect”? No, you don’t. Because it’s not there. It was never there until a biased translator inserted it into the dialogue. I’m not alone in this analysis, by the way.

Quite some time ago, @kodoku-no-maria​​ did a wonderful analysis about Ichigo’s instincts (”Mistranslations that Created the IH Fandom”) that also covered this (using anime quotes instead) and came to a similar conclusion. It’s a great post and you should read it. 

This isn’t the post she mentions in hers, but there is one done specifically of the manga by a deactivated account. You should read this post too. (This also notes other things, such as how Orihime says “Help, Kurosaki-kun!” and not “Help me, Kurosaki-kun!” so we can take it that the Mangastream / Mangareader English translation is just generally dodgy all around at this point. Which may well impact the points I made above about Orihime’s character; but I think given the events of the Xcution and TYBW arcs that it is evident she did not in fact learn anything, so I will stand by the basic thrust of them.)

Okay, so I’ve marshaled my evidence on the battle and provided corroborating analysis. (I have also reblogged all three of these posts because they’re good, although the links are to the original sources or as close to them as I could get.) 

Ichigo didn’t turn into Full Hollow Ichigo because of Orihime. She had nothing to really do with it. Great. So what?

Well, let’s now move on to my theory.

Now, you might be thinking that it is fairly obvious that all of those lines are Ichigo’s inner monologue. But I don’t think it’s so obvious. In fact, I would suggest to you that it is actually a dialogue.

On the second page, with the third panel, it suddenly zooms in to the wound in Ichigo’s torso. This notably later becomes Full Hollow Ichigo’s Hollow hole. You notice here the dialogue changes, from commands (e.g., “Stand”) to personal pronouns (e.g., “I”).

I would submit to you that the first three lines are Ichigo’s. But I don’t think the last five are. I think they belong to two other entities. Especially the last three. First, let me steal two of Maria’s highlighted panels to make a point:

So who is talking? It’s simple:

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Zangetsu (Hollow Zangetsu) shows up wearing the exact same outfit as ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ after Tensa Zangetsu gives a speech about how:

I don’t think so. Ichigo "fell into despair and halted [his] progress" and Zangetsu, as 'Full Hollow Ichigo' is "the "source of [his] despair." (This is the same despair that Rukia noticed when Ichigo came down from the top of the dome to confront Yammy.) As has been previously pointed out in the linked posts, we see this despair on the dome after Ulquiorra’s defeat in Ichigo’s attitude. Starrdust covered these, but let’s go over them again:

He’s doesn’t seem all that shocked or concerned here, to be honest.

He’s a lot more shocked at what he did to Uryuu.

But the thing that really gets him is that he’s gone and killed Ulquiorra. That’s his despair.

This is the first time he’s out and out killed somebody. (And yeah, Ulquiorra is dead because he had his bits vaporized with a cero, not purified.)

He finally has to learn this isn’t all fun and games, that you can’t turn everyone to your side and redeem them and be friends with them afterward, as he did with Ikkaku, Renji, Kenpachi, Byakuya, and even to an extent Dordoni and Grimmjow. This is exactly what Dordoni was warning him about. This is the lesson he will be forced to learn again after weakening Aizen long enough for Kisuke’s kidou to work on him.

And it is why later, his determination to “save everyone” in the Xcution arc by cutting Ginjou down and killing him (even if he turns into a Plus as revealed in TYBW, undermining the whole symbolic importance of the act) is a big deal for his character development, and one of the few redeeming aspects of that arc: it shows that Ichigo learned a lesson from this fight: sometimes to protect you have to kill.

And who taught him that lesson? Zangetsu.

Who was speaking in the 4th and 5th lines in that transformation sequence? My bet is “Zangetsu” (Quincy Zangetsu) or Tensa Zangetsu. And who was speaking in the 6th, 7th, and 8th lines? Zangetsu.

What was Zangetsu protecting? Ichigo. That’s his instinct. That’s all he cares about protecting, just like Tensa Zangetsu. He sure the fuck wasn’t protecting Orihime or Uryuu. And the mask of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is there to protect those instincts. And the mindless rage of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is Zangetsu’s rage at Ulquiorra for trying to kill Ichigo.

We of course know from much later, in TYBW, that zanpakutou spirits aren’t some separate entity from the wielder, but are the wielder (hence why we go from “The Blade and Me” to “The Blade IS Me”) which Ichigo will affirm in the reforging of his into the “two Zangetsus.” So this can ultimately be read as self-preservation instinct. These are the aspects of Ichigo that were willing to do what he himself consciously wouldn’t in order to stay alive.

(Also, Uryuu was an idiot and wrong to stop Zangetsu as Ulquiorra still clearly constituted a threat, so he frankly got what he deserved, if a bit harshly.)

In summary, not only did the fight above the dome in Las Noches not have anything to do with protecting Orihime, but it was entirely about Ichigo’s character development and relations with the personifications of his powers, and everyone has been reading it completely fucking wrong for years and years.

If you don’t know, now you know.

[coliverxxx]

I just want to say that not all “fanfictions” are PWP

You know, it's funny. I recently began watching Haikyuu!! By recent, I meant I began watching yesterday only (despite the constant pestering of my brother to watch it because apparently it's that good and it's the sort of anime you'd love all characters, not just the protagonists). Well, I am actually currently watching a historical drama but the Internet connection sucks for two days and I have seasons one and two of Haikyuu!! already downloaded anyway. That's why yesterday I decided to give it a try (also to save my mind from not knowing what's happening next to said historical drama). And what can I say, so far, there's no anime suggestion from my brother that failed me.

Anyway, because of the situation brought by the pandemic caused by COVID-19, I had an online meeting last night with people from work, and as I was not the best employee and because meetings like that tend to be monologues by our manager only, I was reading fan fictions while the meeting was on going. Well, Haikyuu!! fan fictions. It was interesting because apparently, Haikyuu!! fandom is the second most written about anime fandom after Boku No Hero Academia. At least, that was the case in Archive Of Our Own when I searched for fan fictions last night. (Please correct me if after reading for years there now I still don't understand how it properly works.) I was on my second story when the meeting adjourned and I just couldn't stop reading until I finished it even when we were about to have dinner. My brother caught a glimpse of what I was reading and told me in an accusing tone, "You're reading those? I know already... If it's fan fiction, I know already.”

I wasn't even reading something explicit or mature! (But I knew that's what my brother was thinking given his accusing tone and expression.) I filtered all stories so that it wouldn't even show those tagged explicit or mature since I was reading outside the safety of my room for my family to see. (I'm not sure my parents would appreciate certain stories that might be involving specific toys, or polyamorous exercises.) But when I was reading and my brother saw me, it was sort of the part when Hinata and Kageyama kissed. That didn't help since my brother was sort of an anti-fan fiction type of anime fan. He questioned me why I read "those kind of stories" that he said "he knew already" what those were about and I wasn't stupid. I knew he meant like all fan fictions were porn without plot, just sex, dirty, explicit, whatever. And I just couldn't let him say that but I also didn't want a debate since both of our parents were also within hearing distance. That's why I said, "What do you mean, I read fan fictions? I also write them. I contribute to the community." That was quite... well, my brother didn't say anything anymore. He was probably shocked that I wrote “those kind of stories” as well.

I began writing fan fictions when I was in college. It was strange actually at first to write about certain characters or certain people because you'd want how you write them to be as precise as possible, or in-character, if I should say, but then, when you get the hang out of it, it's pretty much like writing with your own characters, excruciating and fulfilling, except you still don’t own these characters. I have published online more than a hundred stories now and have written probably about five hundred unfinished ones all hidden in the drives of my laptop (I’m so sorry, stories, I failed). If I would categorize my published stories, out of the hundred, probably fifty were sad or angst, twenty have one or two characters dying, about seventeen have happy endings, and only three were explicit or mature (but I really think they're all just failed smuts to be honest).

Now I know I'm speaking for myself here and my own experience. I have seen authors online who were great in writing explicit and mature content which sort of consisted almost a hundred percent of their writing portfolio that a lot of people enjoyed. But what I was trying to say here was, it wasn't all like that. I wish people could not have closed minds because it really wasn't all like that. Fan fictions were just like every book collection, or library, for home authors, student authors, unpublished authors, people who just wanted to write and leave something in this world, and people who just wanted to connect through words. We have adventures, love stories, stories about friendship, and even horror stories just as much as we have for adult stories like what you would see in an actual book store. I've read my fair share of those explicit and mature fan fictions as well, some of which were incredibly well-written and have actual plot. They weren't all just porn, trust me. And if I could just tell you how many stories have tugged my heart, made me cry, made me realize a lot of things, that I read from fan fictions, we wouldn't end here.

I began reading fan fictions pretty much the same time I began writing them. It was just like what they say, if you can't find the story you want to read, write it. I pretty much applied that all through college and honestly, it was a good way to pass college days — through reading and writing (also I wasn't the party or studious type of person anyway). I couldn't remember how many stories I've read through college until now because there were so many amazing authors online that deserve their works read. Until now, I can still remember my favorite Super Junior fan fiction and it wasn't even explicit. It was just Jongwoon losing his voice and Kyuhyun taking care of him even though at that time, Jongwoon was wary and irritable of him because that was the time when he first joined the group and Jongwoon thought he had another competition for song parts. It was just... warm, if I should describe the story. It made you feel warm and I really liked it and I never really forgot about it even though I couldn't find that story now. Another story which I really like was an EXO fan fiction about best friend Baekhyun setting up best friend Jongdae with almost everyone but it didn't seem to work until they figured out why no one was working and the reason was obvious. That story was both funny and sweet when realization both hit them. From the recent stories I've read, one of the many notable ones was a Seventeen fan fiction about best friends Mingyu and Minghao who talked with what they call flower language. I don't even like daisies that much but after that, I began liking daisies. I even left a comment for the author which went like, "I'm not even that happy right now but this story made me so happy." You could say I enjoy reading these best friend stories ending happily because I often write them in angst. (I'm so sorry, beloved readers.) However, the one story that affected me the most recently was a fix-it Naruto fan fiction and it wasn't happy. It explained how the hell Sakura ended up with Sasuke. That story stressed me the same way it gave me relief and it shook my existence to the point that I had to ask the author to let me create an epilogue while at work. (I sort of read it during lunch break at work and I just had to message the author immediately.) Fortunately, the author was kind and gave me permission to do as I pleased and even commended my epilogue when I published it. None of these stories I just mentioned were porn without plot type fan fictions but I love all of them nevertheless.

You see, it wasn't all just porn. Sure, I wouldn't say there wasn't a lot of it. I know there was a ton of mature and explicit fan fictions out there and I just couldn't understand what was so wrong with it. If you don't like it, I'm not forcing you to bleed your eyes reading them. I guess I'm just saying let it be, let people who enjoy writing them write them and let people who enjoy reading them read them. I just couldn't understand how some people are still bothered by the mere existence of things even though they have all the power in them to not read or even see these things that are bothering them because some people do enjoy them and these are not going to go away just because they couldn't deal with that. And also, don't generalize that everything there is in fan fictions is porn because there are a lot more, I am telling you. There are a lot more. Don't — I don't even know how to stress this enough — freaking generalize all stories you know are fan fictions to one or two genres. Believe me, there are a lot of talented authors out there and they don't all just write one or two genres.

Ultimately, I also wrote this post to thank everyone in the community in every fandom for your contribution. You don't know how many people across the globe (or even your closet neighbor fan) you are making happy, you are making smile, or you are saving their life with the words you are writing, the pages you are drawing, all the craft you are creating, so please continue to do so. We don't own these characters but we still have a voice, through the words or strokes we're putting together to create another form of art, another form of life. (How can that be so wrong?) Also, I read this somewhere in Pinterest but it fits so: Art, like love and life, must always be free.

[lady-of-rohan]

My sincere and honest thoughts regarding The Evil Within 2:

So, I'm finally sitting down and writing out ALL my thoughts on TEW2... at first, I was kind of nervous. After all, I mean so many people are going to love it, right? Well, to put things into perspective, @detective-joseph-oda and I literally returned the game. I've never taken back a game in my life.

It's been a difficult rollercoaster for me. TEW fandom is my everything... so, it's not like I'm leaving, or going to stop being mama or shipping or cosplaying or anything like that. I love this community and I want to contribute and continue to support my kids. I also would never want people to not play a game, or not get enjoyment out of it by voicing my opinions. A lot of people have asked me what I thought ... so here's my honest write-up, as someone who picked up TEW1 on its release date back in 2014 and has been in the fandom ever since.

MAJOR SPOILERS naturally.

Let's start out positive with things we actually liked:

Stefano! He was a super cool character, a total flamboyant psycho, and I adored all of the artsy, musical-inclined deaths with the slow-mo blood. That was really aesthetic, and really gorgeously done. Like, I couldn’t get enough of it.

Obscura is also amazing, though her moaning noises were a bit odd.

Anima (the singing enemy) was nicely done.And probably the scariest thing in the game.

The graphics are beautiful.

Gameplay controls are good.

Music is also nice.

Save kitty and Tatiana are back, which was a brief treat, but awesome ones.

Green gel and syringes are back (eyyy~).

Getting to walk around KCPD in Seb's old office.

The beginning fire sequence with Seb entering the house. GORGEOUSLY and amazingly done... it really built it up and started out strong... but then... well...

General things I sincerely disliked:

Firstly, the OPEN WORLD SEGMENTS. Ugh... this was the worst part of the game. Hands down. It was unnecessary, and not remotely horror at all. It was easy to see where this game drew influence from other games recently, and quite honestly , it didn't work for me. It was wicked distracting and out of place. This does not belong in this genre, making the game feel like it was torn in several different gameplay directions. It couldn't decide whether it wanted to be linear or open world. The tracker was annoying, and straight out of Silent Hill Shattered Memories which is certainly nothing new.

The game also sometimes flipped from third to first person. Very distracting. To be fair, I think a lot of this game mechanic confusion happened due to the following reason:

It's American horror transformation from Japanese horror. I won't lie, I'm a Shinji Mikami fangirl. I find him to be brilliant.  Always have... and I stopped liking Resident Evil as soon as 5 came out, and he left as director. TEW was supposed to be his love story to horror fans. Something he could leave us, as he described in one interview, that didn't suffer from "sequelitis." So you can imagine my true horror when I heard that Johanas was the new director.

The jump from American horror from Japanese is stark, and shattering if you're a big horror gamer like I am. Japanese horror isn't afraid to leave things up in the air or neatly explain everything. They often leave you confused, and often in high anxiety or suspense. They don't give straight answers.  In TEW2, though, nothing is really scary any more. It also relies HEAVILY upon mechanics, plot devices, and gameplay from other games... most notably The Last of Us but also Uncharted, Resident Evil 7, The Division, Outlast, SIlent Hill and SH Shattered Memories, Layers of Fear. Of which TEW was nothing like ANY of these. And yes, I know the new director, Johanas, is the same as the DLCs... but at least the DLCs provided some sincerely terrifying moments.

(side note: I was the most peeved that the ending of both TLOU and TEW2 is literally carrying your daughter or daughter figure in your arms... and that the emotional moments between them take place in a vehicle as they gaze at one another. Influenced much?).

Which brings me to... the main thing a survival-horror game should have. Horror.

This game is not scary. Nor was it difficult in any sense of the word. Unless you count... actually getting through it, which was very painful at times.

We honestly didn't die once during our 12-hour stream. This was absolutely disappointing. And confusing. Why wasn't this game more difficult? Sometimes I still die in the beginning sequence of TEW1. It's still terrifying as the Sadist comes at Seb, he injures his leg, and Seb limps for his life.

Furthermore, the utter sense of isolation, confusion, and abandonment is gone. In TEW1, you literally have no idea what the hell is going on, left in the dark figuratively and at times, literally. That's what makes it scary, aside from the hideous creatures out for blood. With so many Mobius NPCs, you always know a safe house, or a safe room, is well within running distance. It's so easy to use avoidant tactics and not fight much, rather than fighting for your life every few minutes.

Which leads us into...

The NPCs. I'm sorry, everyone was so cardboard and generic. Also boring in my opinion. Their interactions with Seb felt awkward and forced. I didn't give a damn about any of them ( @detective-joseph-oda, liked Sykes, which is fair because he had the most personality out of all of them). Again, the isolation and terror is gone. You have friends... and not just Kidman in your ear telling you what to do. Unlike the first game, where you were absolutely alone 90% of the time, with increased anxiety every time Joseph left your side and you were left to your own devices again.

On that note, this game provides way too much information as you work with Mobius. TEW1 left theories in the online community for months. No one knew what truly went on behind Beacon. It was fascinating to theorize about the character's fates. Mobius was just a terror in the distance, vaguely mentioned and yet their symbols were emblazoned on doors every so often leaving a sense of intrigue and mystery.  What was real and what wasn’t? Not something to worry about any more, as everyone directly explains everything to you, every step of the way. Even the DLCs added more information than answered questions, and the fandom was, well, for lack of a better word, shook.

The DLCs suddenly made Mobius, and Kidman,  Administrator, etc... the main focus. Suddenly, Beacon wasn't so spooky any more because they were tugging the strings. Which brings us to our next point...

The importance is suddenly almost entirely placed upon Kidman as a side character (she's the only other one you play as, after all).  I get it. People love Kidman. She’s a familiar face. This was obviously shifting this way in the DLCs. Not only was this Seb's story arc (unless you count the DLCs) but it felt out of place seeing as you only get to be her a few brief segments.  It seemed to me like the game wanted to neatly tie up BOTH of their character arcs in one game, rather than provide another Kidman DLC to see how things went down on her end again. It felt like a bit much going on.. not to mention Joseph was Seb’s actual partner and his focus in TEW1. More on that later. On that note, The Administrator was such a wasted opportunity. Instead of being a creepy monster influence like he once was inside of STEM, he just sits in his chair like a typical Bond Villain and has agents do his evil bidding. He sits back and "MWAHAHAS" rather than actively playing a part in the events around him.

And now we get into the nitty gritty, and the things I am most passionately outspoken about with this game.

Stefano is HARDLY in it, and the game has far too many antagonists. I was so disappointed to see Stefano ended by chapter 9 because he was the best part of the game. That's only halfway through that he makes it, and he is the character they used on all of their promotional material, and even their art contest. Super disappointing.

New Seb... isn't our Seb. He's down on his luck, sure, but he's almost at peace with it given his other behavior. We only really see that Seb is downtrodden because he's written in a bar at the beginning of the game and he has a beard of sorrow. Everything else leads to Seb seeming pretty high functioning and generally in better spirits. It almost feels like invasion of the body snatchers. His facial features are different (rendered to be more classically handsome, perhaps). He's suddenly more sassy, and infinitely more talkative, making him far from the near-silent protagonist he once was. Instead of playing his cards close to the vest, he wears his heart on the sleeve, often openly emotional. Which, given the contrast between he and Joseph in the first game, is not his usual style. Joseph was the "emotional" of the two. He also hardly swears or even says his token trade-marked 'FUCK.' You can't get through five minutes of the game without him making some kind of snappy, cheesy one-liner or talking to himself. It’s hard to take the game seriously as horror this time around.The obviously new voice actor for him, compared to Anson's experience, is also a rough transition.

Is it because he's after his child, who he thought was dead that he's so different? I dunno... I don't buy it. And speaking of, Lily's crying was some of the worst voice acting I've heard in a game in a very long time. I won't say much on her, other than I was severely disappointed by the overly-happy ending, neatly tied up in a package with a bow. TEW isn't The Last of Us. It was never a "father saves his daughter" game. It was horror. Lily and Myra were there for backstory only.This seemed like a money-making gimmick to me, given the popularity of such series that have gone the familial route, rather than sticking to their original genres (Uncharted for example). Family sells. Saving your family sells. Although I'm happy for Seb, I truly am... it's absolutely jarring to see the end of this game compared to the first.It’s almost alien.

The characterization, and dialogue writing... overall was bad. Especially between Seb and Myra (O'Neal, too).

Myra... well, again, I won't say much. I was very disappointed that she had a redemption arc, and that she wasn't out against Sebastian from the start as the DLCs perhaps hinted at. She was a good wife. A good person. Very clean for a horror game. It was an easy out. And her design was a direct rip off Ruvik and honestly really reaching. Shoutout to the fact that she looks like literal cum.

Finally, and here we go... the original story arc was about Ruvik. His pain, his motivations, his invention of STEM to bring Laura back. As far as we know, he's still out there inhabiting Leslie as a vessel. This... was just dropped in favor of a retconned Seb saves Lily story. Ruvik was so much more interesting. They could have at least given him a little bit of screen time. I really feel like they dropped the actual horror ball, shifting the focus from the mind of a madman, as the original game called it.. to a very Umbrella-esque organization. Seeing Seb face Leslie/Ruvik in the real world was a HUGE missed opportunity.

And last but certainly not least.. the fandom's beloved Joseph Oda. Going back to Kidman who was the Junior Detective, and not Sebastian's actual partner of 9 years like Joseph was, it just hurts to see him discarded. Yes, we got our confirmation that he's alive which is something the fandom has theorized for years. Johanas himself had left Joseph with a heartbeat in the DLCs, hinting at his state of life. But you also have to work for it. HARD. To even see this happy information flashed on your projection screen, you need every single photo slide and side quest finished. It isn't even remotely satisfying, and again, it's another tease. Kidman gives you an excuse and dodges questions about his whereabouts, or how he is, or if he's just a brain in a jar...

The ending hints that someone is now running STEM again as the Core. Is it Joseph? Who knows... DLC perhaps? If so I'm not sure I'm interested. Joseph may not be who he once was if he gets the same treatment of the other characters.

Going back to Seb's characterization, (I think @debussyj will agree with me on this) his partner for most of his detective career has been supposedly "dead" in his eyes for three years.  He was willing to believe Lily was alive again, but why not Joseph? The care that they showed for each other in the first game was so apparent. All shipping aside. They cared for each other so much and yes, Lily is his blood, but Joseph was part of his life far longer. And now Joseph is just a footnote in Seb's life, because he got his daughter back. Blood is thicker than water I guess, but boy Seb, that's no way to treat the man who helped you through your personal tragedy, as the DLCs went out of their way to mention, and the partner you came to work beside, admire and respect. This more than anything felt the most disappointing and OOC for me. It felt downright disrespectful, especially since Ruvik pointedly mocks Sebastian by using Joseph in the first game ("poor little Joseph") and Seb's motivations throughout the first game are first and foremost, helping his partner get through it, too. It's like the two almost never existed as partners.

The TLDR version; this game is not an actual horror game, is a far cry from its original genre, theme, and atmosphere... it uses a heavy reliance upon other popular games, the writing isn't good or consistent, the characters feel entirely different, and no, Joseph is not in it.

[my-arya-underfoot]

Debunking the Sansa-Lyanna Parallels

For whatever reason, the Lyanna = Sansa interpretation has been getting increasingly popular in the fandom. There’s this growing theory that Sansa and Arya are both equally like Lyanna and represent the different sides of her. In the extreme, there’s arguments Sansa is actually more like Lyanna than Arya.

“Arya and Sansa represent two faces of Lyanna.” “Denying one is actually denying Lyanna’s story in complete.” “Sansa’s romantic soul and Arya’s wild nature.”

Which, honestly drives me crazy – because you have to twist all three women out of character to justify the parallels.

There are way too many Lyanna/Arya parallels to explain here. If anyone wants a summary here are some good ones. But tbh, it’s not even something you need meta for – the books are incredibly explicit about the parallels, from their personalities (“wilful”), Stark-ness (wolf blooded), skills/interests (sword fighting and riding) and appearance (Northern beauties). Ned, Harwin and Bran all compare them outright.

Meanwhile, here’s the one explicit Lyanna/Sansa comparison: “He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once.” – Ned, AGoT.

Btw, this is not an anti-Sansa meta. Sansa has multiple parallels to other characters and inherits traits from many family members. (Ned, Catelyn, Jon, Sandor, Dany, Lysa, Cersei, Littlefinger, Brienne etc.) And there’s obviously overlap in characters she and Arya share connections with. But Lyanna Stark is not one of them. This is a debunking of the general Lyanna = Sansa evidence (book based).

Sansa/Joffrey = Lyanna/Rhaegar 

1. Sansa was blinded by love for Joffrey, Lyanna was blinded by love for Rhaegar

A. Don’t know how anyone missed this but – we don’t know the full Lyanna/Rhaegar story. The whole point of the event is how murky it is. We can't assume it was as simple as Lyanna being blinded by "love" Rhaegar and losing all common sense like Sansa did around Joffrey. That’s one of many interpretations. It could have been about the prophecy, closer to a straight kidnapping, Rhaegar being the one blinded by love, Lyanna running away by herself initially. Using the most unreliable story in the entire series as a basis for this theory is headscratching.

B. Lyanna is presented as perceptive and realistic about men, not idealistic. From actual quotes: Lyanna “Robert will never keep to one bed.” Lyanna “love is sweet dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man’s nature”?? That girl was blinded by infatuation for Rhaegar? Blinded in the way Sansa you-literally-tried-to-kill-my-sister-in-front-of-me -but-I-repressed-it-to-keep-my-fairytale-alive, was by Joffrey? Doesn’t line up.

C. A far better comparison to Sansa/Joffrey is Lyanna/Robert. Both Sansa and Lyanna were faced with marrying a young, handsome noble who was friends with the family and would give them status and a comfortable life. Sansa was overjoyed and Lyanna was unhappy. Both were faced with unpleasant truths about their betrothed: Joffrey was a monster and Robert was unfaithful. Sansa, the romantic rewrote events, idealized Joffrey and convinced herself he was wonderful and she loved him. Lyanna was clear-eyed, cynical and stated the facts. Completely opposite reactions.

D. Fun fact. What character saw Joffrey for what he was, is good at reading people's true character and isn't blinded by looks or status? Arya.

2: Both Sansa and Lyanna fell in love/had romances with Princes

We’ll put aside the question marks over R/L. Let’s say it’s a straight love story. It’s still starkly different from Joffrey and Sansa.

A. Sansa/Joffrey was an arranged marriage – Rhaegar/Lyanna was a forbidden affair. For most of the time Sansa was “in love” with him, Sansa’s relationship with Joffrey was fulfilling expectations of what she should be doing. Only at the eleventh hour did Joffrey become "forbidden.” Meanwhile, Lyanna and Rhaegar fell in love while they were both betrothed/married. It was always a rebellion against acceptable behaviour. Again, Lyanna/Robert is a much better parallel to understand the characters.

B. Even if R/L was a love story…then the argument is Rhaegar did love Lyanna and it was mutual. Sansa and Joffrey wasn’t mutual because he certainly never loved her.

C. Apart from being Princes I’m still waiting on similarities between Joffrey and Rhaegar. Aerys? Sure.

3: Lyanna and Sansa both betrayed their families for love/infatuation and started a war

A. We still don’t know what went down between Rhaegar and Lyanna. Certainly, not enough to parallel Lyanna running off with him to Sansa betraying Ned to Cersei.

B. Again, Sansa’s “betrayal” of her family was to uphold her arranged marriage. Lyanna’s “betrayal” was to turn her back on society and arranged match, and vanish for months with a married man. Vastly different circumstances.

C. Sansa going to Cersei was notably out of character for "eager to please since she was 3" Sansa vs. "wilful, wild" Lyanna and Arya. In the same book (chapter?) Sansa even compares her disobedience to feeling "almost as wicked as Arya."

D. The causes of both wars were complex and Sansa at least played a pretty minor role in hers. Her actions in contributing to the War of the Five Kings aren’t given nearly the same weight as Lyanna’s disappearance.

4: Sansa is more likely to run away for love than Arya

A. Um. No. Sansa is repeatedly characterised as dutiful and living by society's standards. Her causing the scandal of the century by running off with a married guy/someone unsuitable? No way. Not if she was in Lyanna's situation with a comfortable future before her. We see Sansa persuade herself her situation/match is fine –  rather than flee from it – with Joffrey.

B. You know who is known for running off? Arya. In her first chapter, she runs away from being a lady, she runs off after the Trident incident, she fantasies about running home while in KL, she’s literally on the run for ACoK-ASoS, she runs from Harrenhal, the Brotherhood, Westeros itself. If one of the Stark girls has a *screw all this, I’m outta here* attitude, it’s Arya. And a teenage Arya running away from an arranged marriage? 100% plausible.

C. Also, falling for someone unsuitable? How about that infamously wilful younger Stark daughter? Arya falling in love with someone forbidden - *cough* bastard blacksmith *cough* -  would be totally in character.

5: Both Lyanna and Sansa were held prisoner in the South during war

A. This parallel undermines the previous basis for Lyanna being a romantic. (I.e. The argument that she wasn’t a prisoner but went willingly with Rhaegar).

B. Let’s say Lyanna was kidnapped – still starkly different from Sansa. Sansa was held as a political pawn and on show. Lyanna was kidnapped for unknown, possibly personal reasons and hidden away from society. Sansa has more parallels with Elia’s role in the war than Lyanna’s.

C. If we start making a list of every character who is held prisoner during wars – Jaime, Tyrion, Ned, oh look Arya! – we’ll be here forever. Very weak parallel.

Lyanna and Sansa are romantics – Arya is a realist/cynic

To reiterate, everything we see of Lyanna’s reaction to Robert indicates she’s a practical realistic, not a romantic. But let’s break down the evidence.

1: Lyanna cried over Rhaegar’s song so she’s sentimental like Sansa not Arya (“The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle…”)

A. Yes, Sansa's more sentimental and loves songs. But interpreting the scene as a Lyanna/Sansa parallel, blatantly discounts the rest of the sentence: “…but when her pup brother teased her [Lyanna] for crying she poured wine over his head.” NEVER in a million years would Sansa do that. Not at a public Southern tourney and feast. Man though, you know a Stark girl who would do that? Who is far more wild and playful with her brothers? Arya. The Sansa parallel lasts Iess than a sentence before we’re back to Lyanna/Arya.

B. The fact Benjen bothered to tease Lyanna at all suggests it was out of character for her. I can't see the Stark boys teasing Sansa for crying, as it's the kind of thing she'd be likely to do all the time and wouldn't be ashamed of it. No point in teasing her. Teasing gutsy, sighing-over-songs-is-stupid Arya for crying though? Sure.

C. "Sang a song SO sad it made the wolf maid sniffle." The point is the song was exceptional in being able to make Lyanna cry. It’s “man, that’s unusual” not “oh, typical Lyanna sniffling away”. That comment is more about the Lyanna/Rhaegar relationship, not Lyanna’s allegedly sentimental personality.

D. Arya likes songs and Arya cries. That’s not exclusive to Sansa and Lyanna. This great meta goes into more detail both about the significance of songs for all characters in Asoiaf and how emotional Arya can be. But enough to say, Arya may not love songs as much as Sansa does, but she likes them and has favourites – Nymeria, Wenda the White Fawn etc. For all we know Rhaegar was singing a Nymeria/Wenda fanfic. And Arya cries a lot throughout the books, right from her first chapter over messing up her needlework.

2: Sansa and Lyanna both loved flowers. Lyanna was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the tourney at Harranhal = Sansa was given a rose by Loras at the Hand’s tourney.

A. News to me that “flowers” are a motif exclusive to Sansa’s character. Not only are flowers sprinkled all over the series, they’re more present in Arya’s story. In Sansa’s first chapter, Arya brings Ned purple flowers (Ned who brings Lyanna's statue flowers) and is excitedly discovering new plants while Sansa is sitting in her carriage. Not to mention the heck ton of nature imagery in Arya’s chapters. This is a weak link.

B. Lyanna gets a crown from a prince who spurns his wife? Sansa gets a rose from an implied gay guy? Much love. Much romance. Much parallels. If GRRM wanted that parallel, he’d have actually crowned Sansa QoLaB. There are hundreds of tourneys in the series, both of them attending doesn’t mean anything.

C. This is the same tourney where Lyanna first beat up a bunch of squires and may have gone on to dress up a knight and compete in the joust. Go ahead anyone who wants to argue that’s a Sansa not Arya move.

3: Arya has no interest in romance, Sansa and Lyanna do. Arya thinks love is stupid and Sansa is silly for liking it

A. Still very little evidence of Lyanna being some diehard romantic.

B. We cannot compare a 9/10yo Arya to a 15/16yo Lyanna. That’s skipping Arya’s entire puberty a.k.a when girls start to explore romance, love and sex. You can't take a few lines from a child as a blanket statement of Arya's views for love forever. It’s also comparing a Lyanna who grew up in a secure environment until she hit her teens vs. Arya who was thrust into a warzone as a child. Sorry Arya isn’t thinking about romance while starving on the run.  

C. Arya’s dismissal of romance is entwined with her own insecurities about failing as a lady, her ‘ugliness’ and being inferior to her sister. It’s a defence mechanism for something she worries she can never have. Also, she rejects Sansa’s versions of idealised love and conventional expectations of romance – not love full stop. Lyanna didn’t seem sold on the conventional marriage set up either.

D. Despite her age and circumstances, Arya still manages to have a ship tease with Gendry – a relationship more genuine and straightforwardly romantic than anything Sansa’s had. (Not discounting her complex dynamics with Sandor, Joffrey, Willas, Harry and Tyrion).

E. For the record, in the same conversation Arya told Ned Dayne "love is stupid" that people like to cite, she was mortally offended by the suggestion that her father loved anyone else ever other than her mother.

Sansa represents Lyanna’s “beautiful and feminine side” and Arya her “wildness and rebellion”

These aspects are not exclusionary and there's no indication Lyanna had these two opposing sides. In the same conversation that Ned tells Arya that she's like Lyanna, he refers to Sansa and Arya as "different as the sun and moon." (Not “two sides of the same coin” as is commonly quoted - that’s about the Targs).

So really. "Arya, you're the opposite of your sister! And almost exactly like Lyanna!" = "Sansa is like Lyanna". But let’s go through.

1: Lyanna and Sansa the beauties  

A. Arya is beautiful as well. For more detail go here – she’s growing into her looks. She doesn’t think she’s beautiful but other characters are commenting on it. Trying to imply Arya is “too ugly” to parallel Lyanna, so Sansa has to fill that part is gross on multiple levels.

B. Arya is explicitly describe as looking like Lyanna. By Ned. Lyanna’s brother and Arya’s father. If Arya isn’t beautiful, then Lyanna isn’t either.

C. Lyanna wasn’t a conventional Southern beauty. She was a “wild” beauty, Northern looking and even boyish. None of which matches with Sansa’s appearance – but all of which tallies with Arya.

2: People saw Lyanna and Sansa’s beauty but not “the iron underneath”

A. Ned's comment about Robert not seeing Lyanna's iron seemed far more about Robert’s blindness than Lyanna hiding her iron. The conversation was about Robert’s version of Lyanna, not how Lyanna herself behaved.

B. Nothing suggests Lyanna “hid” her iron. She publicly tipped wine over Benjen, she beat up the squires in the open. There's little indication she hid her strength under courtesy and ladylike behaviour like Sansa did.

3: Lyanna and Sansa were feminine

This may be the argument that raises my hackles the most. For a start this bizarre use of ‘feminine’ gets thrown around without defining what it means. So, just what.

A. Let’s assume ‘feminine’ refers to Westerosi ideal of the perfect lady that Sansa embodies: Girly, concerned with appearances, gracious, a submissive wife etc. Then…everything tells us Lyanna was the opposite to that. She was off wanting to carry swords, squabbling with her brothers, resisting marriage proposals and possibly entering jousts. None of that is traditionally “feminine.”

B. If we take a wider view of feminine as women owning their gender, femininity and role as a woman – Arya isn’t a genderless blob. Her being disguised as a boy and Faceless Men training is about how desperately she clings to her true identity…including her gender. She constantly corrects people about being a girl, takes on a caring and even maternal role (Weasel) and has female heroes.

C. Suggesting Arya is less “female” than Sansa – and thus unworthy of paralleling Lyanna – because she has traditionally boyish interests and fails the Westerosi ideal is pretty appalling tbh.

Random Parallels

1: Lyanna and Sansa were betrothed to a Baratheon

A. Not sure how anyone missed this – it was kinda a major plot point way back – but Joffrey wasn’t a Baratheon. He didn’t act or look like a Baratheon. He was a Lannister through and through.

B. You know who did have a major connection to a Baratheon? You know a Stark girl, Robert’s son legitimately fell for? Oh whoops, Arya. While Robert and Gendry are very different and the Arya/Gendry relationship is more genuine than Robert’s infatuation with Lyanna, it’s a more concrete parallel than Sansa/Joffrey.

C. Don’t know how many times I can say this, but the Joffrey/Sansa vs. Robert/Lyanna parallels highlight Sansa and Lyanna’s differences not their similarities.

2: Lyanna and Sansa Defend the Weak (Howland Reed and Dontas)

A. Yes, Sansa does defend Dontas, that was a great moment. But "defending the weak" is a recurring theme for Arya, while it’s a one off for Sansa. Arya has Mycah, Weasel, going back for Gendry, saving the Northernmen, hanging out with the defenders-of-the-helpless Brotherhood without Banners, saving Sam in Braavos, "they should have killed the masters not the slaves" etc. Arya's story is entwined with defending/befriending the oppressed and downtrodden. Sansa's is not.

B. Arya and Lyanna had much more similar approaches to defending Mycah/Howland scenes in physically beating off the attacker. Sansa's approach differed in using diplomacy and flattery. And "saved someone once" is a pretty loose thematic parallel.

3: Lyanna rejected Robert = Sansa rejected Tyrion

A. Sansa was horrified at marrying a dwarf old enough to be her father after she'd been a prisoner of his abusive family for months. Lyanna didn't want to marry a young, handsome lord who was a good match and arranged by her family.

B. Sansa resisted Tyrion yes, but she didn't reject him and she didn't run away. She endured. Again, going with the Lyanna-went-willingly-with-Rhaegar/ran away version of events – Lyanna rebelled in a much more blatant way.

C. Sansa/Joffrey is a much better parallel to Lyanna/Robert, than Sansa/Tyrion. How Sansa reacted to that situation – an ideal, arranged match – is an accurate point to compare her character to Lyanna. (Man, people really hate these Sansa/Joffrey vs. Lyanna/Robert parallels).

This Ended Up Very Long and I’m Sorry

Ultimately, the problem with framing Sansa as an equal half of Lyanna is you have to mischaracterize all three characters to get there –  Claiming Sansa is more likely to rebel, that Arya has no soft side and Lyanna was a blind romantic. Until we get more book details on the Rhaegar/Lyanna relationship, the main argument falls apart.

If we're talking parallels, it's less that "Sansa was one half of Lyanna" and more "Sansa was the inverse of Lyanna." One was dutiful and one rebelled, one went for her arranged marriage, one rejected it. Which makes sense as Sansa is a foil to Arya…a character who, as the books made clear from the start, does parallel Lyanna.

There are plenty of characters who connect to both Arya and Sansa. Ned and Catelyn reflect different aspects of their daughters. Brienne has two sides that reflect the two of them – both a romantic idealistic and unconventional woman. Let’s talk about those parallels instead.

[robotnik-mun]

Robotnik Art Historia- Part Three: A World Without Robotnik

Hello and welcome to the Robotnik Art Historia, where we chronicle and examine Robotnik’s visual depiction throughout the history of the Archie Sonic comic! 

In the aftermath of Endgame, the comic was left to deal with a massive shift in the status quo- Dr. Robotnik, the central villain of the book and the cause for almost every single conflict that had occurred within it, was gone now. And unlike the last time it had happened, he wasn’t coming back any time soon. Furthermore, thanks to the events of Endgame, Echidnapolis was now returned to Mobius, revealing a surviving population of Echidna and prompting Knuckles to uncover the mysteries of his own heritage. The landscape was changed for our heroes- rebuilding the kingdom, confronting other menaces trying to fill the void left by Robotnik, and the issue of Robian Rights now took up the book’s time. 

Whether any of this was executed well is a matter of opinion (in the case of the Echidna? Not at all), but the point of order is that Robotnik was gone now, but his actions continued to influence the book despite his absence. His presence would still be felt though via flashbacks and Pro-Art, and it was during this time that the details of his past would finally come out, all leading towards his eventual return... or WAS it? 

This time gave us a lot of variety when it came to bolt boy, and also gave us what was in my opinion the best artist ever to draw Robotnik. So, let us dive into Robotnik during the Post-Endgame days! 

12. Nelson Ribeiro

A man with a somewhat sporadic career at Archie, Nelson Riberio’s take on Robotnik was definitely one of the weirdest looking ones. First showcased in a Pro-Art piece, his Robotnik was noteworthy for turning Robotnik’s belly symbol into a harness worn on his body, making Robotnik’s hands REALLY tiny, and for giving his robotic arm a hyper-technological texturing... and I have no idea why he would wear a glove OVER the arm, but there you go. Oh, and then of course there’s the fact that his ear implants are *literally* bolt shaped, and the fact that his cranium is especially tiny and pointy here. There’s a Pinhead Larry joke in there somewhere... but yeah, what else can be said? Ribeiro’s take on the doc is definitely one of the stranger ones out there. 

13. James Fry

James Fry’s first contribution to the book would be not as a regular artist, but as the creator of a piece of Pro-Art, which happily enough managed to feature Robotnik himself. Possessing an expressive, heavily anime influenced art style that jived well with the book, he would be a worthy addition to the art staff in the Post-75 era of the book. As such, his own take on Robotnik was quite stellar- interestingly he seemed to make Robotnik’s mustache much more wild and frazzled and wild than it was normally depicted, taking up his entire upper lip. 

14. Ramona Fradon 

Ramona Fradon did only a single piece of art for the book, but her history outside of Sonic is actually quite incredible- her career goes all the way back to 1950, having worked as an illustrator for Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and she is particularly notable for being the co-creator of DC’s own shape shifting superhero, Metamorpho! Her work on Sonic would only be limited to a single image, but it was a good’un- her Robotnik is veeery well drawn. Dig the turkey neck the guy’s got going on there!

15. Mike Kazelah 

Another for whom Sonic was but a speedbump in a much more distingushed career elsewhere, Mike Kazelah worked extensively in comic adaptations such as Futurama, the Simpsons and Ren & Stimpy, as well as working in animation. His sole Sonic contribution was a bit of Pro-Art showcased in Knuckles #22, and here the Ren and Stimpy influence really shows itself as he gives us a particularly egg-cellent take on the doc. Definitely would’ve been a great fit for the old gag comic days, that’s for certain! 

16. Jim Valentino 

Jim Valentino is one of the most noteworthy individuals to work on the Sonic comic, but not for his work on the comic itself- rather, he is noteworthy for being one of the founders of Image comics, a former Marvel Artist who banded together with his fellow hotshots Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and (most infamously) Rob Liefeld to form their own company due to dissatisfaction with Marvel’s policies. Valentino himself evidently wanted to work on the Sonic book because his son was a fan, and started out on the Knuckles comic. His frantic art style was not entirely good for the book, and his association with Ken Penders would later give birth to the abortive Image/Sonic crossover. His take on Robotnik (technically the Underground Robotnik, but still, the design is identical) none the less was competent if not especially noteworthy. 

17. Steven Butler 

I’ve never been shy about this- Steve Butler drew the best Robotnik, in my opinion. While somewhat controversial with the fandom due to his artistic style, I will forever maintain that Butler none the less was legitimately a very talented artist, and his design for Robotnik was second to none. Perhaps the most massive and menacing take on the doctor yet, Butler’s Robotnik struck a fine balance between realism and cartoonishness in terms of proportions and details, causing him to stand out as a figure of intimidation while keeping him consistent with the rest of the book. Which makes it a rather bitter pill to swallow that not only did he not have many opportunities to draw the doc, but half the time it wasn’t even the REAL Robotnik, but Robo-Robotnik in disguise. Still, unfortunate as that was, Butler still managed to give Robotnik a visual depth and dimension that was unmatched, and it’s a crying shame he didn’t have the chance to do more. 

Oh, slight aside- 

This is awesome. It will always be awesome. It doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of this, I just think it’s super neato, and I find it interesting that out of all the bodies there, only one of them is better looking than how Robotnik normally is and one of them is actually even *uglier*. The implications fascinate me. Man it would have been nice for some of these designs to at least cameo in other zones. Ah well. 

And with that, the third installation comes to a close! Two more to go folks, as next time we take a delve into the Sonic Adventure era of things, which would lead directly into what I call ‘The Dark Ages’ of the comic. Buckle up folks, because from here on out it’s a wild and rather bumpy ride!

[rivermoose-vlogs]

I’ve done this award twice already (The SunShine Blogger Award and Sunshine Blogger Award#2) but it changes each time due to its nature, so here it is again.

Sorry this took me so long to get to…

I was nominated by two lovely humans this time Alex @ Lord of the Trekkies and Raquel @ Rakiodd Books. Go check out their blogs! And thank you both so much!

The Rules

Thank the person/persons that nominated you and link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions your nominator has given you.

Nominate 11 other people and give them 11 new questions to answer.

List the rules and display the award

Questions From Alex @ Lord of the Trekkies

What is your favorite part of blogging?

I’m not sure. I like connecting with people. I like talking about books. I like having a hobby. I’m not sure I have a favorite part.

Do you like to read? Why?

Yes I like to read.

I have a book blog…It’d be weird if I didn’t.

And I just do.

What is your favorite song?

I can’t pick favorites of ANYTHING. I have lists of favorites – not all times.

I’m currently listening to:

What is your OTP?

Again – I CAN”T pick favorites.

I have an OTP per book/fandom, not in general.

What is your NOTP?

Ditto above.

Though the Harry/Hermoine pairing particularly annoys me.

What/Who is your spirit animal?

Well, my patronus is a dolphin.

And I’m a Moose.

Take that as you will.

If you could have one famous author (living or other-wise) to write your biography, who would you choose and why?

*Paniked screaming because I can’t make decisions*

JK Rowling – just so my name would always be used in conjunction with Harry Potter.

Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune?

Jeopardy! I love that show!

And I’ve never seen Wheel of Fortune…

Who is your favorite villain of all time?

Again. Not great with favorites. You need to give me a context. In superhero films? In books? What?

BBC Moriarty is great though.

And Crowley.

      Do you like Disney?

Who doesn’t?

What is your opinion on Loki? (From The Avengers, Thor, etc.)

MY PRECIOUS CHILD!

Seriously though, his comic redemption arc in Young Avengers/Agent of Asgard is one of my favorites!

  Questions From Raquel @ Rakiodd Books

Which do you spend more time watching, TV or YouTube videos?

TV probably. But I do watch a lot of Youtube…

What’s something your parents lied to you about when you were a child?

SO MANY THINGS.

Though the best all came from my dad. He told me things like “You’re mother is your stepmother” – I think because Cinderella made me cry. He also told me I was adopted from an alien family (and that I was found in a trash can).

If you could be in any band, what band would it be and what  instrument would you play?

Listen. I have absolutely no sense of rhythm/music. And lack the ability to read sheet music on a fundamental level.

I took Guitar as my elective in Sixth grade and it was the worst thing ever. Mind you, being left handed and forced to learn right handed as the school had no left handed guitars probably contributed to that, but still.

I have always wanted to learn the drums though. Though I wouldn’t want to join any of my favorite bands because I’d just mess them up (but can I still meet Brenden Urie?).

What mythical creature would you want as a pet?

A hippogriff. Or alicorn because my sister and little cousin would die.

I’d say a dragon – but it’d probably eat me…

Do you have any weird body skills, what are they?

Okay, get ready.

*Stretches and cracks knuckles*

I am double-jointed, which means I’m the Queen of weird body skills.

Notably:

I can shift my knee-cap out of place, and bow my leg in the opposite direction than its meant to go, and manually move my kneecap. More so in my left leg, since thats the knee I sprained, popped out of place, popped back in myself, and walked on for a week before going to the doctor about two years ago. If freaks people out.

My shoulder is also weird. I can twist my arm so my elbow is in the front – my dad says it makes my arm look like a chicken wing, and my shoulder is visibly out of the socket (at least partially). I once fell off a stool in class, and my (Biomedical/Anatomy) teacher thought I broke my arm because it was twisted all the way around from how I fell. I stood up, twisted my arm back, and kept doing my work and I think I scared her.

What’s your favorite 90s song? Or early 2000s if you’re too young.

I’m probably technically too young – I was born late 1999, and have a soft spot for more early 2000’s than 90’s music.

But reading this question, a song popped into my head. Not my favorite if I think bout it, but the one that popped into my head:

What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

I can’t think of one of the top of my head. Though, I find really terrible movies hilarious.

I will say I hated Plague Town – one of the few movies to ever give me nightmares, and it was terrible. Every character was stupid beyond even horror movie standards and it wasn’t even a good horror movie. Not sure why it freaked me out so much.

Do you have a giggle trigger? Something that always makes you giggle or laugh, a certain word, joke, funny face, etc.

I mean, a lot of things make me laugh. But I’m not aware of a specific “giggle trigger”.

If you ruled a country, what would your country be known for?

100% literacy, great Special Eduction programs, and a functional Healthcare system.

I can dream right?

If you had a time machine, but it could only go from the past and back OR to the future and back to the present, which would you prefer?

Future – it would be cool to see things! But like, REALLY FAR into the future.

Which are you less likely to “survive”, no coffee or no internet?

I have to say no internet, because my GPA would no survive sans google.

Though seriously, I’m non-functional if you try and talk to me without caffeine.

  Questions For My Nominees:

What’s a series with a cover change you love? A series with a cover change you despise?

Most currently anticipated book?

What book on your physical TBR causes you the most shame?

Give TV recommendations based on 5 of your favorite books!

How do you take your coffee/tea?

What were your favorite books and TV shows as a child?

Show us a picture of your bookshelf!

Favorite video game/visual novel?

What have you learned from book blogging? What advice would you give new book bloggers?

Favorite and most hated YA book tropes?

What do you think are your best blog posts? Link so we can check them out!

I Nominate:

Louise @ Genie Reads

Casey @ Adopt-a-Book-AUS

B @ Icebreaker694

The Orangutan Librarian

Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek

Sophie @ Blame it on Chocolate

Kayla @ KDrew The Bookworm

McKenzie @ Bookish Things and Tea

Lashaan and Trang @ Bookidote

Megan @ Bookslayer Reads

Danielle @ Books, Vertigo and Tea

Ryann The Reader

  Sunshine Blogger Award #3 I've done this award twice already (The SunShine Blogger Award and Sunshine Blogger Award#2) but it changes each time due to its nature, so here it is again.

[sapienveneficus]

Not Gone

I also wanted to re-post my “end of run” ramblings. It’s been a year, and this show still has a special place in my heart. It’s truly not gone. 

For my last entry in this series, I thought I’d share a collection of some of my favorite Spring Awakening related memories from these past few months. This entry will be a bit more of a hodgepodge than the others so I wanted to apologize right up front if it seems disjointed. I suspect it will also be very long. You’ve been warned!

Best overall show experience:

Now, obviously, Closing Night has this award locked up. But there’s another night that I want to preserve and remember in this little online journal of mine. As far as incredible audiences go, it comes in at a very close second. Let me set the scene. On Thursday, December 10th, one of the Spring Awakening cast members tweeted that all fans should do their best to attend that next night’s (Friday, December 11th) ticket lottery. We were promised we would not regret it. He didn’t come out say that something special was happening, but he heavily implied it. He also shared a link to a Facebook post written by a guy named Jamie Grayson. The post was about how much he, Jamie, loved theater growing up, but that when he was younger he couldn’t really afford to go see the shows that he wanted to see, but now that he was older and had made a name for himself, he wanted to give back by giving fans the opportunity to see Spring Awakening. Then the post encouraged fans to attend Friday’s ticket lottery because he had “a few surprises in store for us” that night. So, naturally, I went. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t the only one.

The ticket lottery that night was more crowded than I’d ever seen. (this was, of course, before closing night) Now I’m not a crowd size expert, but I’d say there were easily 300 people there. When the time had come to draw the winners’ names, the crowd had completely filled the sidewalk and had spilled out rather far into the street. At 6:30 on the dot, the lotto girl climbed up on her step ladder and started yelling instructions through her megaphone. She first went into her well rehearsed speech about how the Spring Awakening lottery was the first on Broadway to be done in both ASL and spoken English as the man next to her signed for the crowd. She then announced that this lottery was unlike any they’d had before. She explained that Jamie Grayson had loved the show so much that he wanted to make it possible for fans to see it, for free. So he’d bought out the entire lottery (all 28 tickets) plus 12 more for a grand total 40 tickets. The winners, she explained, wouldn’t be getting discounted tickets; instead they would get to see that night’s show for free. Well, with that announcement, the crowd went nuts. Who doesn’t love good news? After sharing this exciting development, she quickly began calling out names. When the last winner’s name was called, I hadn’t won, but I wasn’t feeling too bad because it had been a fun lottery experience. Besides, I knew I could just try again another day. But, then, the lottery girl told the crowd to stay put for a second. She got down from her ladder to consult with one of her colleagues. She then got back up and told us that the box office had just gotten a call from the show’s producer, Ken Davenport. Mr. Davenport had been so moved by what Mr. Grayson had done, that he had decided to release any available seats that night for the lotto price of $35. In short, the entire crowd had just won the ticket lottery. With this announcement, the crowd really went nuts. People were cheering, strangers were hugging, it was an incredible moment!

I won’t go into too much of what that show was like because I would just be repeating a lot of what I’ve already said about Closing Night. There were many similarities between the two. That night, just like Closing Night, the theater was full of incredibly enthusiastic fans. I sat next to a lovely group of students from Wagner College, Alex Boniello’s alma mater. They’d all been to see the show multiple times, and were thrilled to get to see it under such unique circumstances. The audience’s response to the show that night was a lot like Closing Night, the applause breaks were long and enthusiastic. I don’t want to go into all of that again, but there is one last moment I’d like to share. Just like during Closing Night, after the cast performed Totally Fucked, the crowd jumped to its feet to give them a standing ovation. Being in the 6th row of the orchestra, I had a pretty good view of the faces of each cast member. So I was able to see, as the standing ovation went on and on, as everyone in that audience had their hands raised in the air to applaud in ASL, I was able to see that one of the deaf actresses, Amelia Hensley, was crying. It struck me, in that moment, how amazing this must all be for the deaf members of this cast. To receive a standing ovation in their own language, from a Broadway audience, that must have been an incredible feeling. In an industry where they must receive one “no” after another, this moment, this moment was a resounding “yes!���

Best show companion

One of the great things about seeing this show multiple times has been meeting other fans. It’s great to have people you can team up with for the lotto (double the odds of winning) but it’s even better to have people you can text at 3am because you want to discuss tree symbolism, compare cues you’ve noticed, or share crazy stage door experiences you’ve had. Though I’ve met and seen the show with many great new friends, I think my favorite show companion has been my brother. I wanted to give him a special shoutout as I bring this series to a close because he has weathered my Spring Awakening obsession like a real trooper. He has seen the show with me not once, not twice, but three times. He’s also listened to me blather on about how much I love this number or that actor’s interpretation. He’s also been super cool whenever I’ve sent him behind the scenes videos that the cast has posted on Periscope, or Snapchat, or Instagram, or YouTube. In short, my brother has put up with a lot these past few months. I think I may have turned him into a Spring Awakening fan by sheer force of will. Well, that and he has excellent taste in music. So thank you, Jack, for putting up with my unique Spring Awakening brand of crazy. Now I just need to get you in to see Hamilton! J

Best show-related event

In addition to performing 8 shows a week, the cast of Spring Awakening has put on or taken part in a variety of activities in and around town to promote the show. They appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the performed at the White House, they hosted an Ovation Series panel discussion at The Strand, and they performed a concert at 54 Below. It’s this last even that I want to talk a bit about. For those who don’t know, 54 Below is a cabaret club in midtown Manhattan. It’s a great place to see Broadway performers try out new material while having a nice meal. On January 3rd the cast performed two evening shows and as the later one was cheaper, that’s the one I attended. It started at, wait for it, 11:30pm; on a Sunday night! Those who know me know that that is ridiculously late for me, but trust me when I say the show was worth it. Almost the entire cast performed a number, and the best part was that each performance was sung and also signed. Each hearing cast member teamed up with a deaf cast member to perform a song. Some chose Broadway songs, others chose pop songs, and several in the cast, who happen to be singer songwriters, chose to perform songs they’d written.

Here are my favorite numbers from the night (in no particular order):

1)      Krysta Rodriguez and Ali Stroker singing Boom Clap by Charlie XCX with Josh Castille interpreting for them (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGazeWeeje8)

2)      Sandra Mae Frank and Josh Castille signing along to I Think I Got You Beat from Shrek the Musical (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiWsixkxTLA)

3)      Austin McKenzie singing and signing Valerie by Amy Winehouse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MK8_AhZCB4)

4)      Sean Grandillo singing Love Yourself by Justin Bieber with Ren interpreting (hilariously) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh6lSd5arpY)

5)      The cast performing Song of Purple Summer (with Sean Grandillo hilariously trying and failing to sign along) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--UE0XLlfkk)

It should also be noted that Alex Wyse hosted the entire event and performed a number of his own. While his performance of Better Than I by John Bucchino was excellent, Alex’s best contribution to the event, in my opinion, was a joke he told at the top of the show. You need to understand that one of the running jokes in the Spring Awakening fandom was about cast member Andy Mientus and how much older he was than the rest of the cast. Now while this was not actually true, he’s in fact close in age to several members of the cast, it was something that he was a little sensitive about so that made it something the cast liked to tease him about. In a loving way, of course. So at the top of the show, Alex said, “You guys, I know you’re sad that Andy isn’t performing tonight. He really wanted to be here to sing for all of you. But they have strict rules about curfew at the nursing home.” Game, set, and match to Mr. Alex Wyse.

Notable Stagedoor experiences

I hate getting my playbill signed at the stagedoor. I like the end result, having a keepsake to help remember an incredible night of theater, but the actual process is the worst. Let me set the scene, you exit the theater after seeing a show, fight the crowds to secure yourself a spot near the stage door, spend several moments agonizing over what you should say if the Broadway star you’re wanting to see actually comes out to sign. Should you say anything at all or just hold your playbill in their face? No, that would be rude. You have to say something, but what? “You were incredible!” Duh! They know already know that! What about listing every single thing you love about their performance? No! That won’t work. First, you’ve only got about 10 seconds to say something if they stop and talk to you at all, and second, you don’t want to sound like a crazy person. So what about, “Thank you.  That was a fantastic performance. I loved the show!” That sounds reasonable. Not too long, but not too short. Then you can hand them your playbill, smile, and it’s all over and done with. Only once you’ve simultaneously psyched yourself up to say something and calmed yourself down so you don’t say or do something idiotic, then suddenly find yourself face to face with the actor or actress whose talent you so admire, and all your best laid plans to come off as a mature, intelligent, and sane person go right out the window! So yeah, I had stagedoored a few shows before Spring Awakening, and while I was (and am) glad to have those signed playbills, I don’t exactly look back on those experiences fondly. (I made such an idiot of myself in front of Josh Gad)

I will say, that while stagedooring is still not a favorite activity of mine, it did get a bit easier for Spring Awakening. The first time I stagedoored was, I believe, the second time I saw the show. I wanted to have the entire cast sign my playbill so that I could have it has a keepsake. I practiced signing, “Thank you. You were wonderful,” before the cast came out so I felt pretty confident that I wouldn’t say or do anything embarrassing. I mostly succeeded. I didn’t say anything terribly interesting or profound, but I didn’t make a fool of myself either. The second time I stagedoored, it was Halloween. I decided to give it a go for two reasons. First, I wanted to ask a member of the cast a question, and second, I was curious to see what everyone would dress up as for Halloween. Well, the best costume went to Ali Stroker and Andy Mientus, hands down. Andy went as Elliot and Ali went as ET, I saw a picture of them at the party they attended right after, and he was pushing her around in a shopping cart instead of in her wheelchair. So that part was fun, but the question asking proved disastrous. You see, I was asking a question for a friend, and when the actor, after answering my question asked if I wanted to take a selfie, I couldn’t think of a way to say no that wouldn’t hurt his feelings so what resulted was the world’s most awkward selfie. He’s smiling happily, and I look like I’m being tortured.

So after Halloween, I swore I was done with the stagedoor. I had my signed playbill, and I was good. But as I started making friends with other fans, I started getting invited to stay after shows and stagedoor. Turns out, a lot of people do it just for fun. This revelation rocked me to my core, because stagedooring for me had always been the opposite of what I would call fun, but I was curious to see why others enjoyed it so much. So I tagged along and after observing the pros, I’ve picked up a few stagedooring tips. Follow any one of these, and even if you’re most awkward person on the planet, you can make it through a stagedoor experience unscathed. You might even have fun.

Tip #1 – Bring a pet. A fan buddy of mine would sometimes bring her dog to the stagedoor. Now, for this to work, you have to live nearby as pets are obviously not allowed in the theater. But if you can bring your pet, do it. Cast members will stop and want to play with or cuddle your pet. This will give you a little extra time to think of something to say if you’re feeling up for it. If not, a cute pet can completely remove the awkwardness from any awkward silence, freeing you up to simply smile and hand the cast member your playbill.

Tip #2 – Be the photographer. Find a stagedoor buddy who loves having his or her picture taken with cast members, and then volunteer to be their photographer. That way you can happily stand there and take their picture, while not having to worry about saying a single thing the entire time. This is the perfect stagedoor hack for those feeling especially nervous or shy. You literally don’t have to say a thing apart from, “1,2,3, smile!”

Tip #3 – Avoid the crowd. One of the worst ways to stagedoor is from the middle of a crowd of screaming fans. Avoid this at all costs. The cast will typically exit the stagedoor and then move either right or left away from the theater, signing playbills as they go. So, the best thing to do is find out which way they typically go (left or right) and then go that way. Go down to where the line of fans thins out. The actors have to pass by you eventually because, at some point, they have to go home, and it’s much better to be as far from the maddening crowd as possible. This is a great strategy for those feeling brave enough to strike up a conversation. There’s less pressure to get your question out in 10 seconds as there aren’t screaming girls shoving you from behind. Usually, there are just a few people at the end of the stagedoor line, and they tend to be much more relaxed. I actually managed to have a few decent conversations with cast members by employing this particular strategy.

Tip #4 – Bring something. Now, this can quickly get out of hand, so keep in mind the three S’s: small, sensible, and sincere. If you’re an artist, drawing a picture is always nice. Or if words are more your medium, you can write a cast member a letter. On Halloween, a fan made little bags of candy to give out the cast, and they really seemed to enjoy that. But don’t go overboard. I doubt a cast member would appreciate a life-size bust of his or her head sculpted from a block of real Wisconsin cheddar cheese. Even if the cast member is from Wisconsin and loves cheese, no one wants something like that.  

On Closing Night, I wrote out little thank you notes for the cast. I stayed after at the stagedoor to hand them out. I took my own advice and stationed myself down towards the end of the line, and, you know what? I had an okay time. I was able to hand out my cards, say thank you in person, and get everyone who came out that night to sign my copy of the play. The best signer that night, hands down, was Alex Boniello. Under composer Duncan Skeik’s name, Alex wrote, “is nice” with a smiley face before signing his own name. The most simultaneously uncomfortable and sweet moment came when I gave Russell Harvard his thank you note. He took it, I signed thank you, he signed my copy of the play, and just as he turned away and I was starting think that I’d successfully completed another exchange, he leapt forward and hugged me. Now, anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of hugging. Especially hugging people I don’t know. But while this made me a little uncomfortable, it was also a really sweet moment. Here was an actor, overcome with the emotion of closing night and the outpouring of support from fans of the show, saying thank you in his own way. Even I can be okay with that.

Well, we’ve come to the end of my Spring Awakening series. Spring Awakening will always be my favorite musical, and I know I’ll always treasure the memories of being in the city and getting to experience so much surrounding the Deaf West revival. I hope you’ve enjoyed my ramblings!

[erenjaegur]

Snk Positivity Day 6: Love Your Series

Im gonna put this under a read more because I cant think of express my feelings on something without turning it into a full length incoherent ass essay so!!

I’ve been in the snk fandom since I was like 12 lol - Im 16 now so that’s like, five years?? I can still remember like I’d see a lot of gifs n stuff of it going around tumblr and for some reason I just really felt I wouldn’t like it like I had smthing lowkey against it?? But then I decided to watch it one day, n i still remember, I was just chilling on my laptop watching it in the sitting room, my family around me and stuff and goddd it was soo good... but it made me tear up... n bITCH I was NOT! about to cry in the sitting room around my family. I was not! prepared for that. That night I stayed up till possibly 1 or 3am just watching it, I must’ve gotten to like around episode 6 I think? I loved it so much I rlly fell in love, I finished it all in just three days.... three days of which I also went to school and stuff and had to go to my friends party.... bitch i was pissed i didnt even like that person....i just wanted to finish snk lmaooo 😭

Im pretty sure Id spend sm of my time invested in snk and looking through snk tumblrs and stuff and other fandom stuff of it, I loved it so much!!! like!! thats all I did and even then I was still forcing my friends to read/watch it. I was really cringey in 6th class wow lmaoo I would literally go around during break with the snk manga like xD!!! eren is my baby!!! saying shit like that yikes.... bitch first of all hes 4 years older than you...your literally 12.....

Especially then, when I was younger it brought me sm happiness like when little me was going through shit then little insecure young me, you know how people say u use entertainment to escape or whatever, a distraction, idk.... like that was rlly it man idk ho to describe it without sounding weird i swear it was like my main source of happiness omg lol

Almost always, its very rare like I’ll be watching a movie, listening to music, anything like that just consuming some piece of media or literally just like. living my life and I see something and im like. omg snk au in which.... or I just somehow relate it back to snk or some of its characters lol. Like even when I was on holiday in Venice last year I was literally like thinking of a fanfic of like, the 104th on holidays in Venice like how wholesome...

Like I really do love snk I think about it every day without fail, and I honestly think I’ll always always always love it, and even if I don’t, it’s always gonna have a special place in my heart. Like, I liked it since i was literally 12 years old and it helped my through shit and I just have so much good memories associated with it. I honestly rlly do picture myself being like a 40 year old woman and still loving snk but like the fandom is dead or something... 😭 I rlly hope that never happens.....bc that will happen my 40 year old ass will b like boiis whens season 10 coming out ? Like I really hope snk is one of those series that kind of just lives on forever, or atleast for a very long time - Like Harry Potter for example

Okay, all that was really personal and I’d be surprised if anyone is reading this anyway, but I love looking back on it and talking about snk like this, I love it :) Butttt, getting to one of the reasons why I think I might love snk so much, and I mean, I can’t really pin it down why I love it so much, I dont think anyone can pin down EXACTLY why they love something, especially a series, but I think one thing I really like, and it becomes really apparent when I look at other series is like, they have a good balance between male and female characters if that makes sense. Like theres not way more men in the show than there is women, like how it is in some series or like, theres not way more men in the show than there is women, and the female characters in the show aren’t just like background characters pretty much, and they’re all good fleshed out and developed characters n shit. I think people have talked about this before but yeah.. And the female characters aren’t sexualised or anything like that and like, theres basically little to no fanservice at all which is nice. Supereyepatchwolf said something about it in his video about snk, how it can appeal to everyone because anyone of any age and gender and such can be in the survey corps n stuff... :P

And the characters just in general of course :) I honestly think the characters is one of snks strongest points, like... im not about to do a full on character analysis on anyone here lol but they’re just so amazing. Like I think on first glance it can probably be easy for people to sort most of them into like a trope or something or just write them off as cliche - mostly eren is victim to this bc people are like typical shounen boy !!! but like. you know anyway. I wish I was better at expressing my feelings and thoughts lol. Like god idk i feel like its so easy for someone who idk might just be a casual fan or smthing to just kinda see the characters on their more surface level without seeing how much depth they actually have - and I feel like that could also easily happen with anime only ppl. Like snk really does have so much great n complex n developed characters, especiallyyy now with the timeskip, more so now than ever. Like you know when you love something so much that you cant just pin point one thing about it... because its like.... everything about it i love n everything within it works to like compliment everything in it if that makes sense u get me?? like i cant just pinpoint ONE THING its the whole thing.... why i love snk? *directs u to link of readsnkmanga.com* or something lol

as for the characters themselves, obviously u can tell, with my url, u can take a guess at who my favourite is :) since the timeskip, i dont like him as much - not that i dislike him, i could literally never - but timeskip eren is basically a whole new person - and im not saying that in a bitter tone or anything, if anything its cool and i appreciate it and i understand why eren is like this now, all the shit hes been through- stuff so singular that barely anyone else would be able to understand, no one, if anything. So i understand why hes like this, and as i said earlier, this’ one of snks strong points its complex and rlly developed characters... The things I admired about Eren is just like... his good and bad, everything. How passionate he is, how he wears his heart on his sleeve - that of which being his most notable quality imo, and he expresses himself in an unapologetic manner like.... the courtroom scene... he rlly shouted that in front of all those people... how headstrong, stubborn and impulsive he is. I relate to Eren alot, thats part of the reason why I love him so much because I think I can kinda see myself in him.. but on the same hand, I think it’s also because he possesses a lot of traits I admire. Eren never backs down even when the whole world seems to be against him. He holds on firmly to what he believes in and never gives in, even when literal guns or canons are being pointed towards him. He’s full of determination and will power and he knows what he wants, and he’s also not afraid to express his opinion, even if he knows that he’ll be laughed at or be largely disagreed with.. And I admire his impulsiveness too. Those are all things I admire and other things I didn’t mention.. like me, I’m a very non confrontational person, I always feel things out before getting to it, and even then a lot of the time I just don’t at all. I might second guess my emotions and feelings when it comes to relationships with people especially, and I can a lot of the time stifle or keep quiet about my own beliefs, not completely keeping quiet, but not speaking them out as firmly as I believe them in my own mind, yielding? more I guess, if people disagree with me, I might step down a little - Which isn’t a completely bad thing, it’s good to be openminded and to see other sides, but when it’s coming from a place of embarassment or insecurity, not so much. So I really admire those traits in Eren :) I relate to him a lot, but I also know that in a lot of ways too, we are veryy different. I’ve even thought before, if I knew someone like Eren irl would I even like them lol?? Who knows lol. But as a character, I love him :) My other two favourtie characters after Eren, Levi and Jean, I won’t go into them as much as I did Eren but with them, and not just that, all of the other reasons they’re my faves.. I have like more of a ‘crush’ on them lmaooo like with them i could read so much /reader fanfic lol... but even though Eren is my #1 I could nEVER...god NO lol. And I think thats also down to the fact, as I’ve been saying I seen myself in Eren... rather than the other way around :))))))))

Like god there have been so many times I’ve laughed, cried at stuff in this fandom, made good memories as a result of it irl too... bullied my friends into watching it.... Like I have nothing but good memories. I really can’t express enough how positively snk has impacted my life like I genuinely can’t, it’d be impossible.. I seriously love it :) I’ve made friends bc of it, gotten closer to friends bc of our mutual interest in it, stuff like that...:) And even if those things didn’t happen, I’d still love the series and its fandom itself. :) I seriously can’t thank enough, the ppl that contribute to this fandom, I really can’t. Everything, and everyone to small and big creators, thank you so much. Well known and lesser known creators, like just everything and everyone, seriously. Everyone is just why this fandom is so great and!! Like I just think how lucky am I to have smthing like snk have such a big fandom and stuff and so many great people in it. Like y’know when you see your favourite fanfic update, you see your favourite artist has put out smthing new, even just see a funny snk text post or something, it all can really brighten and even make your day, and its so good :) There are so many amazing creators in this fandom, fanfics that are honestly better than published books I’ve read - like seriously, some of this stuff seriously deserves to e published or something!! And the fact that so much of these creators are putting their work out there and sharing with us for free, is just so great, and I’ll never not be grateful for it :)

Like seriously, returning back to when I was like 12-14, some days back then when I was younger it really felt like y’know the only things I could take comfort in was this series and its characters and stuff yknow.... and maybe im just being and emo teen but im getting kinda emotional thinking about it just now :’) Like seriously... I feel like im maybe being too much in this post lol but seriously this series means a lot to me.. as I said, I can honestly really picture myself being like 40 and still rlly loving snk like no matter what, whatever happens, wherever the series goes, whatever the hell, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart, because its helped me through a lot, a lot of bad days, I have nothing but good memories associated with it, made friends, seen some of the most beautiful art and read rlly great writing!! Just like yeah. Thank u Isayama and this entire fandom.....

and I was gonna peace out but I also want to appreciate and throw some love @ Isayamas art and art style. Obviously, Isayama was a bit infamous in the earlier days for his art not looking so great (Which also is amazing bc like a manga with not so great art like his in the beginning... grew to become so BIG!! like who would’ve thought) - even so the character design and stuff was all really good?? Like I also think thats a strong point he has too!! And all those years of practicing really shows, because damn!! look at his art now!! It’s really damn nice and im not just saying that lol :P

Anyway!! :) Thats all lol