#THIS IS WHY WE DON'T LET POSSESSED COMPUTERS WRITE STORIES!!!!!!

[rearranged-fanfic]

(Update 6/3)

Sit down a spell, weary traveler. Come and sit by my fire; bask in the warmth of the flame and rest your aching scrolling finger. You'll be sitting a while, for I have a tale to tell:

Okay, so I've had a Toshiba laptop for the better part of ten years. Maybe a little longer. That laptop has survived being struck by lightning, submerged in a bathtub, and literally having a whole bookcase topple down onto it. I thought it was immortal...

I was sadly mistaken.

About six months ago, I noticed that the typing was getting sluggish. I'd patter away at the keyboard and the letters would appear with a bit of lag. That's fine, since I use Dragon to talk-to-text for quite a bit of my writing. I really only use the keyboard for final assembly, editing, and doing quick rewrites. So, it really didn't bother me. Fastforward to April, which we will call The Great Depression. The time discrepancy between typing and having letters appear on screen became a whopping 40 seconds. Yes, I timed it.

But that was okay, because I could still use my Dragon headset.

Until I couldn't.

It would connect, but the words wouldn't appear on screen. I made sure that all of my programs were up-to-date, and that everything was working. The headset connected to my family's computers just fine. So that meant it was something wrong with mine.

Without being sure if it was the hardware or software at fault, I backed everything up to OneDrive and Google Docs.

I factory reset.

Twice. To no avail.

Over the next few days, my laptop stopped registering any keyboard input at all. It got to a point where I wasn't able to turn it on or off.

Taking it to an electronics store to get repaired didn't help, either. No luck. They said that it would be more cost effective to just buckle down and get a new one, since the age of the laptop meant that I would probably be constantly maintaining it.

My poor Toshiba died kicking and screaming, putting up a fight worthy of an epic ballad.

I saved up for a few weeks, got a new laptop, and went through the rigmarole of getting all of my programs back on it. My files are in order. My life is in shambles (but that's normal, LOL).

I DID do some story work without my computer, but... it's bad. Like, I'd die in shame if I posted anything that I thumbed in. So. Many. Spelling. Errors. How people write on their phone is beyond me. That's a talent I simply don't possess.

At this point, I'm thinking of renaming this story "HIATUS" lol. JK. But I'm seriously peeved that this happened after my last big break. Why couldn't the Depression and laptop breakdown coincide nicely? I guess that's too much to ask of the universe *Shakes fist at the sky*.

I'm creating a damn bingo card for every stupid thing that happens to me while I try to write. Because this is getting ridiculous. I broke my fingers, there was a total solar eclipse, I had a major-ish mental breakdown, and my computer bit the big one. With a free space, that's a bingo. Let's hope I don't get a blackout before the end of 2024.

I doubted the fanfiction curse. I really did. But it's apparently real. And this writer's curse has teeth, people. It bites hard.

I have my MerMay two-shot pretty well done (because I was typing it during The Great Depression), but the next chapter for REARRANGED is still rough. Crimson Chapter 3 is halfway done, but who knows how long that'll take.

The bottom line is that I'm alive and still working on the stories. The next update on this blog will be the posting of several chapters for a few different works. Fingers crossed.

Also, I'm very, very slowly answering the comments in my AO3 inbox. Some of them were pretty lengthy, so it might take a bit. Oof.

If there ever comes a time that I drop this fanfiction or am unable to continue for whatever reason, either I or my husband will be posting the entirety of my outline, as well as anything that's been pre-written for you guys to enjoy. That way there are no questions left unanswered or mysteries unsolved.

[dreaming-twist]

2. WEB

Some random oneshot for TwstOBer ~ Enjoy please xD

“Sebek, you need to find some other hobby. Do you want to try playing with my PC?”

“Human inventions that have nothing to do with magic? Hmpf! Sounds disappointing.”

“Well, well, at least give it a try, okay? It maybe surprises you.”

“... If you say so, Lilia-sama...”

That was how it all began. A simple proposal from Lilia had been his first and until now last contact with that world. And he still didn't know how he had gotten to the point where he was right now.

That day, in Lilia's PC, he found a program on the web that caught his attention. "Pass on your thoughts or knowledge!" It said. Sebek arched an eyebrow, and ended up creating an account outnof curiosuty with the first nickname that came to mind (Best Bolt) until he came across a recording function. Then he realized what this must be.

“I understand. It should be something like a journal, but instead of writing it by hand, you speak directly to it. Interesting invention, not bad for humans...”

And then, after clearing his throat and hitting the 'Record' button, he began to speak.

“... Hello? ... I don't know how this works, but I will try to adapt. This is my first time using one of these... inventions. It's interesting, but... Hm? Wait, why is there a light that is blinking on the side? Okay... I'll try to fix it. I don't know how the recording is turned off...”

Sebek began to investigate what happened to the computer, and in that time he wasn't seeing suddenly the counter of 0 that appeared on the side of the recording screen went up to 1, then to 2, and thus it began to rise. increasingly.

Once he finally fixed it, he returned to his starting position.

“Done. It was not a problem for me. What could I talk about today... Huh?”

As he was thinking, he suddenly saw an alert glow red on the screen, next to a speech bubble. Sebek brought the mouse to it and opened it, finding the words: "You can talk about anything you want."

“I understand. It even gives you suggestions... What a useful program... I'll talk a bit about myself in that case.” Despite this, Sebek decided not to speak the names of anyone he named... for his own sake. He didn't want to be embarrassed later if he listened to his own diary... “Right now I don't live with my family, so to speak. It's not that I get on badly with them at all; I went away to study and to fulfill my duties and my work. So now I'm living somewhere else, surrounded by... ahem, people. However, the ones I am closest to are... the family of a person I have known since childhood.”

He leaned back in the chair.

“One of them treats me almost as if I were his son, and sometimes I think he cares too much about me and pampers me too much. He has taught me so many things, and I feel that every day I learn a little more from him. I respect him a lot... although he sometimes takes advantage of me and plays practical jokes on me. I don't know if he wants me to feel comfortable and enjoy all of this despite being away from my family... or he just wants to play with me. He left me all this... equipment to test it and 'have fun'. Hum. I think once again he was right. His advice is always helpful.”

He made a mental note that he should thank Lilia.

“And then there is... the one who is the only person my age who has always been by my side. He is a very decisive... person, and too calm, I'll say. That is what makes him fail so much in many things. However... he is the person I have been with the most since children, and despite his failures and the fact that we argue so many times... he is very important to me. We do not consider ourselves nor have we called ourselves 'friends' before, rather it is that in addition to being one of the same rank as me, he is my rival and someone I like to continually surpass. I think he may feel the same way.”

For some reason he was saying things that surprised even him. He had never spoken so openly about Silver. How was this happening? Was he so comfortable talking to himself...?

“And there is someone else, who is who I am doing all this for and for whom I strive every day. He is the most incredible being I have ever met. Always correct, with the greatest power I have ever seen, diligent, perfect... It is directly my reason for being, I am SURE of it. I want to become stronger for him and be by his side to serve him whenever he needs me. I'm lucky that someone like him recognized my worth. He is my role model... Although...”

He bit his lip.

“... I think I'm not good enough to help him, protect him, and still be worthy. But I will be. Not because I started showing results later than others am I going to give up. That is something I am not going to do. I want to make the world see that I can become the best in my course... No; the best ever. And prove that he was not wrong with me. It doesn't matter where you come from, whose son you are, or if your power came to light sooner or later... WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS YOUR PASSION, AND STRIVE EVERY DAY TO KEEP WALKING!”

After blurting that out with a big smile and clenched fists, he soon realized that he had lost his composure a bit. He returned to his starting position, clearing his throat.

“... Ahem. For now I feel like I'm on the right track to achieve that goal. The first step is to be the best in my course. Or so I think. The people I... hang out with, from the same course as me are... peculiar. There is one who seems to be pursuing the same goal as me. But he still has a lot left. I notice conviction in his words but I don't see any improvement in his studies. However, he is stronger than I expected at first, and he excels at P.E. There's another... thing who wants to become the best too, but... I'm not even going to talk about him. That one is a lost case. There are two more who instead appear to be quite normal, but one only seems to have an interest in one thing, and the other... honestly, I don't know what to think of him, but he's very strong. And besides the four of them there is a... person who does not seem to want to improve on anything at all. Or rather, he doesn't seem to have an interest in it. But he is not an idiot, rather he seems like one, and I have learned from other sources that when he proposes it to him, he is capable of being the best student in his class. Perhaps he is the most suitable to call him a 'rival' among them. Although as long as he continues to seem so bored of everything that comes his way, there should be no problem... He also shouldn't like me too much. Although he keeps talking to me. He is an interesting guy.”

Sebek then took a breath to talk about the last person he was missing, after talking about Deuce, Grim, Epel, Jack and Ace.

“And lastly there is this… ahem, person, that came along all of a sudden. They doesn't have the capacity to be here, but they somehow got in and we're on the same course. When I learned of their existence, I felt that I had tried very hard to get here, while they had a special ability, although not the one that everyone else possesses, was able to enter without problems. It was unfair. I have ever thought that they were making fun of everyone.” He paused. For some reason, even though he had blurted it out, he didn't feel good about himself... Was that the whole truth...? It was then that he recalled certain moments that he spent with them from then on. “... But they are very clumsy. I feel like I have to be there to hold them if they falls. Studying with them is not unpleasant, they are capable to follow my advice and understand things quickly. I do not dislike those who strive to achieve their goals...”

Another notification appeared on the side of the screen. Sebek stopped speaking, a half smile adorning his face, and looked at the message, taking advantage of the stop in his monologue. Would it be another suggestion from the program...?

“How beautiful is love.”

The boy jumped.

“WHAT?! NO!!” He yelled at the screen, totally flushed. “H-How can a program say these things?! This is a joke?!”

The notifications came out again and Sebek managed to read some.

“Program? What are you talking about man?”

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with you liking someone, I support you!!!”

“Is Story Time over? I was really enjoying listening to you, Best Bolt”

“I have become a fan of yours! Will you talk about more things another day?”

“Your words are very inspiring!♡”

“Best Bolt u r the BEST!”

Sebek began to check the screen, and saw that next to a symbol that represented an eye appeared the number "5000".

5000... eyes?

WERE THERE 5000 PEOPLE LISTENING TO HIM AT THAT TIME ?!

“Hey. Did you listen to Best Bolt the other day on this popular app with podcasts that premier live?” Ace asked, as he ate his burger.

Sebek stopped eating when he heard that.

“No, but I have heard people talk about him to class people. He seemed interesting” Said Epel.

“I had listened to podcasts, but few that talked about personal life... And he spoke so calmly and in such a sincere and focused way... I wish I could do something like that” Deuce commented. Epel smiled at him, he felt the same way.

“I don't know who you're talking about” said Jack confused. (Y/n) and Grim were just like him.

“He cut the recording suddenly the other day, something may have happened to his PC... But hey, if he comes back I'll let you know for sure.”

Sebek ate without saying anything, next to them, who were talking so happily about Best Bolt, until...

“Sebek, youuuu... well, I don't even know why I ask, in Diasomnia you all are very old-fashioned, right? You don't use technology much... except Lilia-senpai.” Ace started to say, looking at him.

Sebek tried to avoid him as best he could.

“HUH?! A-Ah... No, n-no, I don't have interest in that kind of human-made things...”

“Heee... Well, I'll let you know when Best Bolt comes back anyway. Maybe it surprises you.”

“Y-Yes, okay, thank you” He replied, looking away... where he met the watchful gaze of (Y/n), quite close to his face.

“Sebek, are you okay?”

That was the last straw. Sebek quickly rose from his chair.

“PERFECTLY! AND NOW IF YOU ALL EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GO SEE HOW THE YOUNG MASTER IS!”

And with that said, the boy ran towards the exit, while everyone else looked at him.

“... Hey now that I think about it, doesn't Best Bolt look a bit like Sebek? That way of speaking, and everything he said...”

“Ha, ha. Good one, Deuce.”

[bobbyshaddoe80]

Liberated Audio Reviews

Introduction:

The cult Sci-Fi series Blake's 7 has seen great admiration and appreciation in the 40 plus years since its initial broadcast in the UK., continuing to enthrall audience old and new alike. Despite its rather low budget, it possessed some pretty impressive writing and acting from its rotating cast of characters. Despite it being yet another Terry Nation brainchild, the series would evolve beyond the initial proposal/concept of 'Robin Hood in Space' under the direction of Chris Boucher to become something more than just a Star Wars clone.

Over the years, the show's devoted fanbase have poured over the show's 52 episodes and have long clamored, demanded, begged and pleaded with the Powers That Be for some sort of continuation or revival... In spite of the show's rather unorthodox and controversial ending.

After numerous rumors and false starts, which even included a full on audio reboot/reimagining by B7 Media back in late 2007/early 2008, it would be Big Finish Productions that would take up the daunting task of reviving and expanding the Blake's 7 universe starting in February 2012 with the Liberator Chronicles and the Classic Audio Adventures in January 2014.

The Liberator Chronicles are essentially enhanced audiobooks often told in the first person by whichever character is chosen to be the focus of the story. Often they are supported by one or two other cast members in order to help keep things from falling completely into standard audiobook monotony. Before tackling the full cast audios, I shall endeavor to present my thoughts and views on all twelve volumes of the Liberator Chronicles.

Please bear in mind that these reviews are based on my own opinions and no one else's. While I shall endeavor to be as fair as possible, I am not claiming that my opinion is the only one that matters and you are free to agree or disagree with me as you see fit. Just try to keep it civil. So, without further ado, let's get started by examining volume one.

Blake's 7 - The Liberator Chronicles Vol. 1

RELEASED FEBRUARY 2012

Recorded on: 23 September, 11 and 14 October 2011

Recorded at: Moat Studios

Review By Robert L. Torres

The Turing Test by Simon Guerrier

'After evading an attack by Cassini Pirates, the Liberator heads to the rogue moon of Quentil, where Avon and Vila infiltrate a top secret Federation science facility. 

Vila assumes the guise of Dr. Yarding Gill, an expert in digital memory. And Avon is his "creation" - a super-advanced android that could pass for human. In fact, he does...

Can they maintain the ruse long enough to complete their mission? And will the Cassini Pirates catch up with them?'

Chronological Placement:

Series A - set after the events of LC Vol. 7's Disorder, between episodes Mission To Destiny and Duel.

This is a very well written story starring the late Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon, ably supported by Michael Keating as Vila Restal.

I love how the story is structured with Avon recounting these events AFTER the fact, like he was recording then for posterity into a dictaphone. I loved that Guerrier's writing didn't fall into the trap of having Avon try to do other voices or say 'said Blake', 'said Jenna' and so on. Nothing felt disruptive to the narrative and having Vila around never felt intrusive.

Kudos to Michael Keating for slipping back into the role of Vila Restal with relative ease. He will be quite reliable in a support capacity during many of these audios, and even get a chance at the spotlight... Which we will examine in due course. Right now, he lends his exceptional charm in this undercover mission posing as the scientist responsible for "creating" Avon.

Still, this story belongs to Paul Darrow, and he does a great job. It was a great story about what it means to be alive, what it means to be human and even serving as an examination of Avon himself. It was a nice inverse of the usual sort of questions regarding machine life wishing to be more human. Here we have a human considering himself to be more machine than man.

That is the interesting thing about Avon. Most scifi programs that deal with space travel tend to have an archetypical character known as the 'royal smart person'. For Star Trek TOS it was Spock, for Star Trek TNG it was Data, for DS9 it was Dax (and to a certain extent Bashir), for Voyager it was Seven of Nine, for Enterprise it was... Who the hell knows since everyone on that show was an idiot. As for Discovery... I honestly don't know cuz I haven't watched Discovery yet, but that's beside the point.

Avon is exceptional in his characterization only in that his desire to focus on pure logic and suppress his emotions does not come without its own drawbacks. Despite his intellect and skill with computers, he is someone that is also socially and emotionally cut off from others due to an inability to trust. He is also someone that sees the futility in giving over to emotional and irrational hysterics in order to showcase that he cares. Avon's intelligence also comes with a certain amount of ego, as he knows that he is smarter than many of his contemporaries, and much of the logic he embraces stems from a certain degree of self-serving self-interest.

His desire to assist in the situation with the AI android 14 stems from having an affinity with another creature of pure logic, and not wanting such a creature to be exploited and corrupted to further the aims and agendas of the Federation. This story is a great reminder of why Avon is a great antihero, as he is still willing to do the right thing in spite of himself.

Final Score: 8 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

Solitary by Nigel Fairs

‘Vila is in solitary confinement. His friends have abandoned him, his only contact with the world outside is Nyrron, a scientist from the planet Auron.

Amnesiac and confused, Vila attempts to piece together recent events... A mission to Dulcimer 4. An important meeting. And a visit to the jungle world of Terrulis Major.

In the depths of the foliage, the truth is waiting. And it's more terrifying than Vila could possible have imagined...’

Chronological Placement:

Series B - between episodes Redemption and Shadow.

I really do not have much to say about this story as it is profoundly unremarkable and is a major clunker in terms of execution of its concept, as well as the first person narration.

It has some interesting ideas, there is a central mystery that is interesting, with Vila finding himself in solitary confinement and abandoned by his friends, and we are introduced to a semi recurring guest character in the form of Auron scientist Gustav Nyrron, played by Anthony Howell ('Dr. David Keel' of the The Avengers: Lost Episodes range). 

Nyrron himself is an interesting character as an ally for Blake and the Resistance, which begs the question why Cally wasn’t involved in this story as well.  Because for an Auron scientist, he actually spends most of the time acting like either a reasonable interrogator or a benevolent psychiatrist for the imprisoned Vila. 

The whole story itself is not executed terribly well.  The Vila character spends a good chunk of the first few moments talking to himself, and then when Nyrron comes into the narrative, Vila spends the rest of the runtime being asked if he remembers certain events, and then goes on to basically recount events that lead up to meeting Nyrron and then goes on to tell Nyrron things that he already knows about. 

As a Vila centric story, its also not terribly good, not even with certain unexpected revelations made. This story does Vila no favors and we don't learn much about Nyrron either.  Fortunately, those are issues that would end up being rectified in later stories.  Definitely give this one a miss.

Final Score: 4 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

Counterfeit by Peter Anghelides

‘The Bovee Mining Facility: A Federation slave camp worked by disgraced scientists.

The planet shouldn't be of interest but it is: Avon's investigations reveal that it's rich in Illusium, a mineral that can change from one substance to another. With it, the Federation could be invulnerable...

Blake teleports down to Bovee, but gets more than he bargained for. There's another visitor to the facility - and his presence changes the whole game...’

Chronological Placement:

Series A - set after the events of LC Vol. 1's The Turing Test, between episodes Mission To Destiny and Duel.

This is not a bad Blake focus story, with added support from Avon. However, what we get is a pretty standard adventure with Blake hoping to obtain certain materials and destroy the means of that material being reproduced in another effort to cripple the Federation's power. We even get in an appearance by Travis, Blake's personal nemesis, to lure him into a trap.

There isn't a whole lot to say about the story because of how standard and basic it all is. The fact that the story is done on audio does play in well into certain revelations and surprise twists made within the narrative. Many of which I will not speak on as it goes into spoiler territory. Other than that, the story itself is not bad, it is definitely worth a once-over. Its just unfortunate that it is also pretty average and fairly unremarkable.

Final Score: 5 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

Final score for Volume One of The Liberator Chronicles in its entirety is 6 out of 10 Plasma Bolts.

It isn't the best start to the Blake's 7 audio range as it really only has one story out of three to recommend it. Its great to hear the original actors back again, and thankfully they will be served better stories in the volumes to follow.

Special thanks to Craig Brawley of the Big Finish Listeners Facebook Group for his tireless efforts in mapping out the chronology of the audios and determining how they fit in with the established TV continuity.

[painted-starlight]

It's an interesting contrast how the recent princesses needed to be of royal origins while the first ever black princess needed to be poor. It's a tendedcy where some characters just need to get a short end somewhere while other favorables don't. Also I do kind of think Gothel would posses every trait of a strong competent heroine but we live in a bizarre world were a status like that is shifted on a meakly passive female characters. Also shows recently p.often exploit the anti-parentalism, they

(Continued) 

need not be one for children to readily pin against their parents. Barbie Gothel was someone of a mentor I guess. And mother figures are never considered to be worthy in stories, any other mom was bland at best, or murdered for overdone selfless reasons. Also there was a part in Beauty and the beast where there's beautiful sweet Belle swings around in town wanting more in life whilethere is that brief scene of an exhausted pathetic mother carrying theirchildren. Don'tbe mom kids they kinda suck. and unattractive.

Warning: Long Post, Anti-T//angled, Anti-Frozen, Talking about sexism and racism in Disney Princess Movies

White Disney Princess Movie’s Don’t Have to Be Good. They Just Have to Be There 

The discrepancy between the first black disney princess and the rest of the white princesses is that a lot of princesses of color tend to be representations of their culture, while white princesses often are not.  Tiana’s movie tries to encompass the black experience, but it has a lot of problems mostly because of white filmmakers trying to not hold their white audiences accountable (I severely dislike Lottie and wish they focused on Tiana only instead of letting Lottie steal the show). 

The next time we get a black disney princess might not be for a very, very long time. But Elsa and Anna and R//apunzel get to have spinoffs, their settings get to be vague, because they are allowed chance after chance to be good. Well, next time.  

It wasn’t good the first time? Your white princess movie sucked mighty ass? Well, we’ll just give them a spinoff no one wanted. And a sequel to fix the problems of the first movie.

The Bar is Very Low For White Princesses

White Princesses and their movies t are often boring and uninteresting. The bar for their movies is actually very low. Movies like Frozen and T//angled don’t even have to be good. They just have to be there. They can be barely finished with the weakest writing possible. There to be projected upon, make cute toys, and to fill up space for princess merchandise. But they have to be there so white disney customers can feel superior for having even more princesses that look like them. 

But princesses of color, despite being more compelling characters who interact with their culture, are exoticised, fetishized or rely on outdated stereotypes to fill in the gaps. 

A majority of these movies are mostly made by white filmmakers. If Tiana’s movie was handled by a majority black staff, the movie would definitely be a much better representation of the black community. 

However, Disney only allows movies through the perspective of white people looking in on a culture, and they often impose a lot of stereotypes in the process because of their unwillingness to give nonwhite staff a chance. 

Mother Gothel’s Role in T//angled

As for Mother Gothel, her role in T*angled personally always came across as a shallow character, though that is my own interpretation and more a frustration with the filmmakers lack of introspection on her character’s real motivations. Why does she want to stay young? How is it beneficial for her? What makes youth so important that she resorts to abusing a child? 

I haven’t seen Barbie’s Rapunzel other than a few previews (but knowing how much Disney liked to lifted from it’s aesthetic I definitely know they wanted in some way to compete with it) but maybe they did the main villain better? Maybe I should check it out. 

Important answers about Mother Gothel cannot be guessed by her behavior like other disney villains and is unfortunately left up in the air. I can speculate Scar’s, Maleficent’s, and Ursula’s backstory without supplemental material because it is shown in their dialogue and character. But we know NOTHING about Mother Gothel’s story. When they did this, it robbed the audience of true tension in the main conflict. 

But it’s important to note that this is only because of bad writing. The male filmmakers completely devote her characterization to her looks and condemen Gothel for aging while having the audacity to deliver a “don’t judge people by their looks” message. 

Female Characters and the “Acceptable Female Protagonist”

It is true that female characters who possess ambition and confidence--such as Ursula-- are often placed in villainous roles as opposed to heroic ones. They are in direct contrast with the female main characters. The only exception I can really think of is Sleeping Beauty’s fairy caretakers, but even then they still have a degree of femininity that is considered socially acceptable (aesthetic wise). 

This is mostly due to male filmmakers deciding which kind of women they consider “acceptable.” Passive, cute, fiesty but no too fiesty. I think in a twisted way, a lot of male filmmakers think mother characters are supposed to be self sacrificing and pretty because they cannot imagine mothers being anything else. Which is why they almost always end up being dead, have limited speaking roles, or off screen. 

An interesting and somewhat disturbing fact about the creation of Rapunzel is that she was created as a means of “capturing” the idealized notion of physical femininity. :

Accessed from Wikipedia with link to interview:

“With Rapunzel I did an enormous amount of drawings and I wanted to keep a sense of asymmetry in her. I read a book about feminine beauty and it said the key to beauty is strangeness in a woman's face. There needs to be something slightly off, some element; it might be her nose, her lip, her tooth, or one eye higher than the other, but something. Even in Rapunzel's teeth, the way she talks, there's something a little bit wonky in the placement of her teeth, and things like that were designed so that she was more real, true and appealing.”  

— Keane, on designing Rapunzel and the concept of "feminine beauty"

These “off” qualities of Rapunzel’s character design are all superficial in nature and barely noticeable. I feel like this is more to keep her from venturing into the uncanny valley. 

For example, the computer does things perfectly symmetrical. Symmetry is easy, and typically the way you would design a CG character is that you would model half of it and duplicate it. 

 It's done and it's perfect, but what you've done is you've created create this robot and everyone goes, "Ew, something's weird." With Rapunzel I did an enormous amount of drawings and I wanted to keep a sense of asymmetry in her.

— Keane, on designing Rapunzel and the concept of "feminine beauty"

Now, this is just my interpretation, but it seems like they looked at Rapunzel’s design and went “ew” (like any normal person would) but instead of changing her design to be less uncanny, they seemed to blame the perfect symmatry of the computer rather than it being a design flaw. She’s still uncanny, but when working closely with her character model it becomes slightly less now with superficial adjustments. 

 Something that only someone looking incredibly closely would be able to know. And still, Glen Keane’s design of Rapunzel is still conventionally pretty and even infantilized. Rapunzel is meant to represent the “ideal” girl. With Mother Gothel and her aging being the direct contrast. 

[tempo-takoyaki]

I wanna ask!! 1) Of all the fics you’ve written, which one your favorite and why? 7) Who was your favorite character to write in your fav fic, Love List, & Can You Hear the Sea? 8) Which usually came first, the title or the fic? 10) What are some facts readers may not know about your fav fic, Love List, & Can You Hear the Sea? 11) This isn't in the question list, but if you don't mind, who's your fav in your monster AU??

Wow that will be long ! Okay here I go !

1) Of all the fics you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

Tricky question. Currently my fav one is actually one I still haven’t finished. So I’m going to choose the closest to it in the ones I posted which is “Sing me a song about a happy Goodbye”. It had been a while since I wanted to write Something similar to “Can You Hear The Sea?” and “1cm per month” and Something about Isabella and Ray’s relationship that had this kind of… “It seems alright but it’s not” feeling. Btw I actually wrote the whole fic listening to celtic music!

I do love each of my fics very much since I only post those I really like (I have a bunch of unused drafts in my phone and computer) so it is a though choice… Also I need to choose something other than “Love List” which is the most self-indulgent fic for me. I really have a lot of fun writing it. 

7) Who was your favorite character to write in “Sing me a song about a happy Goodbye”, “Love List” and “Can You Hear The Sea?” ?

I loved writing Isabella as in Sing Me a Song about a Happy Goodbye. (Which is nice since she is the focus)

In Love List, Barbara is SUPER FUN to write. She has to have this kind of seductive but absolute dumbass energy while being super horny at the same time it is hilarious. (Good thing again she is the protagonist) 

For Can You Hear The Sea? I would say Carol. It’s kind of biased since I had to imagine her whole personality since she currently is a toddler so of course I made her act how I wanted and not how the character would be. But I still really like the little story I made for her and her teenage crush on Ray. (In all the other stories I want to make her appear in she still is very close to him)

8) Which usually came first, the title or the fic?

It’s very specific for each one so I’ll make a small summary.

Can You Hear The Sea? : The title came first (though I still had some part of the plot in mind) and actually comes from two things ! The first one is a movie (and novel) called Umi Ga Kikoeru (Ocean waves) that I had watched with my father before writing it and it stucked in my mind (though the scenario has absolutely NOTHING to do with what happens in Can You Hear The Sea?) and the second one is L’Etranger (The Outsider) by Albert Camus, I studied the book in class before writing the fic and it was my main inspiration for it. There’s a recurrent theme in the book which is the sea and how it reminds of good things. the writing style is what inspired me for the way I write in Can You Hear the Sea?.

1cm per month : The title first definitely ! (since the title directed every part of the fic) Like Can You Hear The Sea? The title comes from another japanese movie called 5cm per seconds (which is the time a cherry blossom’s petal takes to fall on the ground). Again I just thought it sounded cool.

Magia and Another Heaven : The songs inspired me the titles. So the titles came first.

Caster’s Master, Let’s Play Werewolves! and Sing Me a Song about a Happy Goodbye : I needed a title. The fic came first (for most of them I had a completely different title written in my drafts, I even changed the last one a hundred times)

Yellow Tulip : I wanted flower language. I needed to find which flower. Boom. Title. But the plot came first. So fic first surprisingly.

Love List : This fic is pure self-indulgent and I wanted a title that sounded cool. And Love List came immediatly into my mind… But fic first anyway. (I actually wrote it in a draft on my phone where the input title was the serie’s one because Love List was intended to be a one-shot… oops)

Pretty? No, Cute. : Fic first surprisingly. The fic was originally called Princess, but then the last dialogue came out. And I was like… Nah.

At which point did you though it was a good idea? : Fic first. The title is me talking to myself. (But I have no regrets)

10) What are some facts readers may not know about Sing Me a Song About a Happy Goodbye, Love List, & Can You Hear the Sea?

Here I go ! (It’s long)

Sing me a song about a happy Goodbye

It was supposed to be a multi-chapter fic that was an alternate universe to Can You Hear The Sea? Where Ray and Norman stayed with Emma.

The story is set in Europe ! I didn’t specify the country but for me it was in England. 

Ray was supposed to get a girlfriend who came from Glory Bell. She was a few years older than him and was about to accept to become a Mama when she was sent to the human world with the others. She is not particularly pretty but very cute.

It’s not because Isabella was a “number” that she couldn’t get a job, but because she was a “mama”. 

All other facts are kept for the sequel with Norman POV. ;)

Love List 

I... uh… was just horny… but not too much… huh… I needed girls and sexual tension okay?! I was in a phase when I really wanted a girlfriend so I decided that I should help myself by writing this fic. Now this phase is kind of gone (lie, I still want a girlfriend but there’s school), hence why I haven’t wrote much.

Norman was supposed to be a COMPLETE ASS in this fic at first (I even wrote some of those parts). He was manipulative, possessive and jelaous as hell. Then I thought : “Norman is a gentleman. Norman wouldn’t do that.” And I re-wrote him so that he is the nice and helpeful dude he is now.

I never, and won’t, I think, published a whole dialogue between Norman and Barbara when he is forced (because of her puppy eyes) to explain to her how two girls have sex. (one of the reasons why I changed his characterization, that scene was too funny for him to be an ass)

I literally drew EVERY scene before writing them! I have sketches for all of them!

Can You Hear The Sea?

I drew most of the scenes before writing them.

“Actually, I think I would have preferred you two being dead.” is the first real replica I had thought about in the whole fic. It’s in my very first drafts. Though back then it was written as a simple “I hate you two”, followed by a “I know” from Ray.

I knew the end since writing chapter 1, but I didn’t know what would exactly be in the middle (I just thought : I want to write that, and that, and that... And we will see how it goes)

One of the cut scenes is Emma cutting her hair in front if Phil at the beach before telling him that she won’t leave him alone anymore.

A whole part of the plot that was cut was Emma’s alcoholism as well as her having her first time (understand here : sex) with her best friend at the time who was a delinquant boy, and the only person who would dare approach her. There was no feeling, and it actually was pretty lame, like a first time. 

SHELLY IS A FREAKING GYARU

Except Phil, most of the GF kids who have the legal age to work works in the family restaurant where Emma herself used to work before her illness forced her to quit. The manager loves them.

Carol’s past is light compared to the other GF kids… But it still used to be hard enough for her that she attempted suicide a year before Ray and Norman came back (yes, 12, like Ray). When she meets Ray, she is actually coming out of a heavy depression that lasted during most of her childhood.

To answer an unanswered question “Why 8 years?” Fufufu... I needed Phil to be 16. That’s it. That’s the reason. 

There was supposed to be an epilogue, and then I thought that an open end was cool.

11) This isn't in the question list, but if you don't mind, who's your fav in your monster AU??

I’m going to guess that you are talking about their monster’s type and how well I thought it would fit them. There’s two, Nat, who is a Tengu (because of their long noses) and Barbara who is a Wendigo (her design is a mess but God I’m proud of that one).

As for who in terms of how they act with their monster nature… Yuugo. Because… huh… Look up “Tanuki” in google. You will understand. *snorts like a dumb teenager* You will understand.

Thank you for all the question ! (^^)/

[asiryn]

oh my god.......this is an even worse trainwreck than i could have ever anticipated......how could you possibly remember the new “lines”.....??

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S1 Ep 47: Man I wish this was episode 69 so I could just write “Dice.”

Lets see how our favorite Pharaoh is faring, starting up with a duel against this guy who was making a game, and then got hella distracted and ended up shoving five games into one game like he has game designer ADD.

Duke Devlin is the most sane person we’ve dueled but also the most obsessive human we’ve met, if that makes sense. Because I’m that type of person, here’s a little chart I made to explain what I mean.

(read more under the cut)

So, this is just how my brain has been cataloguing the people we’ve spent actual time with. I separate them first into “are they a guy or are they a god?” (Yugi and Ryou kind of being in a vague area in the middle, but I didn’t feel like making a third row for 2 people)

Then, my brain separates them into three categories

the psychopaths, AKA people who cannot let go of a grudge and so live in a near constant state of rage and/or a superiority/inferiority complex. Not necessarily a BAD person just...youknow...

the normies, AKA people who are kind of just there and for the most part hold it together really well.

and the "OOPS! I screwed it!?!” category AKA people who are generally harmless but, for reasons largely out of their control, have a trigger that will send them right off and into the obsessive-cray zone. They don’t want to derail the whole show/get abducted for the millionth time/have yet another complete melt down, it’s just that there was a huuuuge misunderstanding. They’re not really WANTING to murder anyone, it’s just...sometimes people are there at the wrong time and its just gonna happen and what do you do? They probably deserved it? They probably deserved it.

Now this isn’t a good to evil type of scaling, especially since in this show a lot of our characters are morally gray, but it is a bit of a scaling of “what type of far gone are they?” And off the top of my head here’s where I classify them.

Also, I’m in S1 so all of this will probably change. Joey isn’t like super Psychopathic or anything, it’s just that he acts a lot like Kaiba sometimes in how he gets pissed off and holds a grudge against people he barely knows so I feel like he crosses the line enough in my brain to lump them together. I’m on the fence about Bakura. He’s just sort of too random at the moment.

I realize now that I have Panic on here for some reason. I dunno why, I guess I really liked that guy.

And so, of our humans, Duke really freakin screwed it this episode. Like he was really far off the mark, but I don’t think he’s a psychopath or anything. He’s just some guy who screwed it. And Duke, because he’s kinda obsessive-cray is just diving all in on those dice. I mean, when you have a single dice dangle earring, you gotta commit all the way.

But in the meantime, Duke is still dragging Joey, and Pharaoh is still freakin pissed because youknow...that’s sort of his natural state.

My brother tells me this game is actually a very fun GBA game but it really doesn’t seem like my thing. Seems kind of like Megaman Battle Network, if that makes any sense? But with a Carcasonne aspect to it?

Anyway, last episode Joey just really wanted to get close to these girls, and this episode he gets his wish granted, only to realize that this school is about 85% bullies.

How is it playing a game your competitor has never heard of before and then purposely not telling him the rules NOT counted as cheating? Not like it mattered.

And so then we find out the reason that Duke Devlin is out to get Yugi--and it’s a humdinger.

That’s right, he’s a Pegasus apologist--and it’s like are you SURE there, Duke? Are you certain that this is the cliff you want to die on before you oops! duel an actual god?

I feel like you could just swim through all of the paperwork that is all of the evidence we’ve dug up on Pegasus, as if it were Scrooge McDuck moneypit amounts of evidence. That’s how much evidence we have. And yet, here we have a Pegasus apologist.

Duke was inventing this game on a computer--which makes you wonder why he made it into an actual board game since with all those moving dice parts, it would just be waaaaay better on a computer but...youknow. He emails Pegasus, as you do when you have a game idea, and for some reason, Pegasus actually responds.

You’d think that this dice game which operates entirely on RNG would actually be real effective against the psychic but...I guess the eyeball still made him win? Anyways, Duke is so enamored, he’s decided Pegasus is his new best friend, and just jumps into that helicopter thinking this will be the first day of the rest of his life and he couldn’t be more excited and that nothing could ever ruin it. Alas, look at this timing:

Apparently, after the tourney ended, Pegasus became unreachable...because I mean, he’s got a lot to digest after years of being possessed by a millennium item and killing a whole ton of people. (not to mention the staggering realization that, in this state, he painted his spooky dead wife like 400 times always in the same exact dress) After about...only 2 days or so of not being able to reach Pegasus, Duke decides “I know what I’ll do, I’ll clear Pegasus’ name by dragging his victims on national television! That always works!”

Pharaoh hears this story, unblinking, and is like “WTF”

Normally in kid’s programming, you have to tell some sort of moral, and there must always be some overwhelming positive reward for good behavior. But Yugioh doesn’t do that, they show that you can do good things, be a hero and save the day and that despite all that you will get dragged through the coals for it. That’s just life. you can’t ever be the hero without also being someone else’s curse.

So, it’s a play on a normal quest formula, where beating the villain usually means that you did it, the quest is over. The season is done. Everyone’s happy. But, there’s a pretty strong underlying theme in all of Yugioh, that beating a villain isn’t an “end”, it doesn’t actually solve the core problem if everyone else still acts and operates the same way as they did before. You have to unlearn being an asshole and damn, that’s a hard habit to break.

Like how Kaiba didn’t know how to solve his problems after Pharaoh wiped his mind, Duke doesn’t know how to solve this problem without Pegasus. Now that Pegasus is removed, Duke is reacting similar to Kaiba loosing half his brain (which was a hell ton of anger and lashing out).

So, even though Pharaoh decided he’s not gonna do that mind-wipe thing anymore, he’s still that power-reset force that no one asked for. Like Kaiba, Duke has to start his business model over from square one, and much like Kaiba was, he’s in complete denial and desperate to see what he wants to see.

And then, it’s been a while, how’s that splash screen action looking?

Ah. For once it’s not spooky. Did we even get a splash screen for Rebecca? Or like any of the digital arc? Hm. I don't’ remember. Feels like years ago.

Next week, on Yugioh:

Yugi’s normal jacket is just at the dry cleaners, right? Like Grandpa was like “listen, son, it’s growing moss, please let me sanitize this”

So did Bakura just take that eyeball and bounce or is he just busy doing makeup homework? Maybe he’s secretly intending to graduate.

Did anyone clear this with Grandpa or did he just turn on his TV just now and go “Oh Hell, Yugi.”