#anyway i think i'll finally write meta today

[drconstellation]

What the Tartan Tells Us

Or, Tales from the Tartan

(I wanted both titles!)

Updated 10 Nov 2023

I've been reading up a bit about tartan today to what it can tell us, and it seems its not too hard to do. The clues are more in the colours, and the overall pattern, there aren't any particularly rigid rules that need to be stuck to.

For the colour analysis, I'll be referring to my recent colour meta All the Colours of the GO Rainbow for interpretation. I need to tweak the interpretation for red on it, though, based on what I'm seeing here, and some other information I just got. That's OK, red and yellow are the two hardest colours to pin down, they are quite complex in their meaning and perhaps not what you expected them to be, and I expect that it will be a meta that evolves a bit over time anyway.

So for a warm up, let's start with the tartan blanket Aziraphale provides to cover the naked Gabriel on the first day he arrives at the book shop.

Lets lists the colours we can see:

White - for his base angelic nature that is showing since he misplaced his memory.

Oystershell gray - for his high angelic ranking as Supreme Archangel Gabriel.

Teal* - Blue mixed with green, Heaven mixed Hell, Lawful mixed with Chaos; which is one of Aziraphale's signature colours.

Black - that hint of a mystery in play. What is being hidden?

Dark Gray - the thick cross stripes, which are interesting. "Shades of gray" are something we associate with Aziraphale and Crowley. That's the world they walk in on Earth together, where their two sides blend together. Another hint that Gabriel was starting to see something else than the one-sided thinking of Heaven?

[*I've bounced around a bit on this colour while writing this, but I'm going back to my original thoughts on it. It's not Heaven blue, its tainted with green, and its the same colour Saraqael and Muriel wear (see below) so its something else.]

Next, let's look at Aziraphale's own tartan. We mainly see it in his bow tie, but it also appears on the bike rack he miracles onto the Bentley when they give Anathema a lift back to Jasmine Cottage in S1E2. I'm going to use the examples from this older post by bluebandedagate back in 2019 called A Discourse on Tartan, as they make it quite clear, and when I looked at it closely again after doing my colour meta I actually gasped. Because it tells us there is very little of Heaven left in Aziraphale, despite what he openly says, and one other very revealing fact.

Here is the tartan swatch. It's called "Heaven's Dress Tartan," despite there being next to no Heaven in it.

For a start, there is no white base, which we night expect with an angel. Its all been removed.

We have a beige base instead, which is one of the working angel colours, probably there as part of his Earthly duties.

There are some wider dark gray stripes. My interpretation here is this is the work of Crowley, who has made him question the morality of Heaven over time - the shades of gray.

Then we get the thin black stripes - the mystery of his unpredictable nature. You never quite know what he's going to do next... Plus the constant effort to hide what he is doing with Crowley.

And finally the red. Red is never a colour associated directly to angels in the present day, so it can only mean one thing - a declaration of his bond to the one who does wear that particular shade of red - Crowley.

Red is not necessarily a demonic colour per se, its more a colour of devoted passion. Shax also wears red, usually a darker red, and she is devoted to climbing the ranks of power in Hell with a passion. And the Red Team in the paintball battle at Tadfield Manor represented the faction devoted to management and following the rules.

The other noticeable thing about Aziraphale's tartan is the tightness and intensity of the pattern. The stripes are quite thin and they repeat often.

Saraqael's tartan is:

Purple, for royalty. they rank high, somehow, or they're aligned with Gabriel's office.

Oyster-shell gray, for the Archangels.

A pinstripe of primary blue, for Heaven.

White for angels

A wide stripe of dark gray (on the collar.)

Wow. That's some heavy hitting in combinations of colours there. We've recognized them as one of the "dark horses" in the series, and their Tactical Turtleneck backs up the idea that they are now involved with surveillance and spy work in Heaven (eh, they were certainly watching and spying on Crowley and Muriel during their little jaunt in Heaven in S2E6. And I sooo wish I could get a good look at their ring, but there just isn't high enough resolution to do so.)

Muriel's tartan is very similar to Saraqael's but has a pattern with a teal theme in it as well. It's a bit hard to tell the shade of blue-green here, but a closer look at Saraqael's trouser leg reveals all the colours in their tartan displayed in a strip down the outside seam. Purple and silver-gray dominate, but the teal-blue pops out as well. It looks very similar to the shade of teal in Jimbriel's blanket above. Yep, a dark horse, indeed. I wouldn't trust Saraqael, if I were you.

There is some question as to whether Muriel reports directly to Saraqael, but I am wondering if this marks them as one Saraqael has to keep their eyes on as well - because of something that happened in the past. How does one become a lowly 37th ranked scrivener? I mean, c'mon, doesn't that just sound...ridiculous? What did they do to get demoted so far down? And how many others were demoted before them? Questions for another day, perhaps.

Edit: I missed this example in my original post - Jimbriel wearing a dressing gown with a similar tartan to Saraqael and Muriel. This occurs right at the beginning of S2E3, if you are looking for it. It's all the same colours - royal purple, archangel silver-gray, white but also a cross stripe of black and a wider cross stripe of dark gray. He only wears it in this one upstairs shot. There is some metaphorical context here - Jim is looking out and down over the "Outside" as everyone moves about on Whickber street below, much like an angel looking down from Heaven at humans moving about on Earth (yes, you should think about the upper level of the bookshop as corresponding to Heaven...it is "upstairs" after all.)

The other tartan I saw was on the kilts of the angelic soldiers behind the quartermaster in S1E5, when Aziraphale has discorporated in the portal and gone up to Heaven. The tartan there is just in two to three different shade of working-angel beige and off-white, in big wide stripes. Fairly ordinary, run-of-mill stuff. Rank and file, if you will.

I couldn't get a good look at the colours of the tartan on the thermos of holy water Aziraphale gives Crowley in S1. When you enlarge the images they go a bit blurry as they are not high-def enough. I can't tell if its green or gray stripes running vertically, and if the horizontal ones are black or red, or both. If so, that's an interesting colour choice for Aziraphale to give to Crowley, and it's certainly not the same pattern as his bow tie. I could understand if it was just a wider pattern of the beige-grey-black-red. If anyone can help out I'll update with a description and analysis.

[essentiallyleaf]

UNBELEAFABLE! EDGY BOYS WRITE USING CAPS LOCK AND LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS JUST LIKE GREAT JOURNALISTS DO! [META!] [TEMPORARY TITLE!] [PIC FOR ATTENTION!]

HELLO AND WELCOME TO 'UNBELEAFABLE!'! THE ONLY NEWS OUTLET WHERE THE PLAUSIBLE AND THE FACTUAL ARE TREATED FAIRLY AND EQUALLY! TODAY WE ARE ONCE AGAIN SPREADING INFORMATION* AND FACTS* IN THE ANNOYING AND UNCURATED FASHION THAT SETS US APART! STARTING OFF WITH!

. LEAF! HITS PUBERTY AND WANTS TO TURN THE PAGE AND THEN BURN THE WHOLE BOOK! COINCIDENTALLY! KEVIN ABSTRACT COMPLETELY REVAMPS HIS STYLE IN 4TH SOLO ALBUM BLANKET! NOW! IS THIS ALL PART OF THE GREATER EVEREVOLVING STATE OF NATURE?! DOES FATE HAVE ANY REGARD FOR OUR DESIRES AND CONCERNS AT ALL?! AND DOES THE MOVIE MOTHER! JUST KINDA SUCK?! [HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE JAVIER BARDEM IS A POET WHEN EVERY LINE OF HIS SOUNDS LIKE IT CAME OUT OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLER'S TINY SKULL?!]

. LEAF! ANNOUNCES HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO WRITING MORE NARRATIVE FICS IN THE FUTURE! SURELY HE'S NOT COMPLETELY SACRIFICING THE SMUT FOR THAT?! THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE SAYING BUT IS IT ACTUALLY?!

. #NOTSPONSORED! #SERIOUSLY! #NOTANAD! AND NOW! A SEGMENT TOTALLY LIKE THE OTHERS! NOT ANY DIFFERENCE WITH ANYTHING WE USUALLY DO! JUST NEWS! NOTHING ELSE!

QUIT WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING AND GO LISTEN TO THIS ABSOLUTE MOOD OF AN ALBUM! NOW! #WESWEARWEARENOTGETTINGPAIDFORTHIS!

. LEAF!'S REMAINING KINKTOBER FICS FOUND DEAD IN THE DRAFT DUNGEON! WILL THEY COME BACK FROM THE DEAD WHENEVER LEAF! FEELS LIKE WRITING A PWP FIC OR REMAIN FORGOTTEN FOR GOOD?!

. WE JUST NOTICED AFTER AN ENTIRE MONTH OF POSTING THAT ALL OF LEAF!'S FICS HAVE THEIR TITLE IN BOLDED BECAUSE THAT'S HOW HE WRITES IT IN GOOGLE DOCS AND THEN HIS LAZY ASS JUST CTRL+C-CTRL+V'S THE ENTIRE THING WITH NO SECOND THOUGHT! WILL HE CHANGE THAT FOR AESTHETIC PURPOSES?! WILL HE LEAVE THEM LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S TOO MUCH OF A HASSLE?! IS THE REVIVAL OF Y2K FASHION AND VISUALS ALREADY A DEAD TREND?!

. LEAF! ANNOUNCES HE'S THINKING OF UPLOADING ALL HIS WORKS ON AO3 DESPITE THE TAGGING PROCESS BEING INCREDIBLY AND NEEDLESSLY TEDIOUS ON THAT SITE! WOULD THAT BE ANY HELPFUL FOR ANYONE?! AT ALL?! IS HE JUST GOING TO DO IT ANYWAY?!

. AND FINALLY! RUMORS OF WHAT WOULD BE A SHOCKING BREAKUP BETWEEN ADVERBS AND LEAF! WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN?!

LEAVE YOUR VERY NECESSARY AND APPRECIATED THOUGHTS DOWN IN THE COMMENTS FOR ENGAGEMENT! WE'LL MAKE SURE TO READ ALL OF THEM! THE EFFECT OF YOUR OPINIONS ON THE COURSE OF HISTORY IS WITHIN THE REALMS OF POSSIBILITY! BUT NOT GUARANTEED! UNBELEAFABLE! MORE NEWS! AT SOME POINT DOWN THE LINE!

*the claims can only be found in unreliable sources or cannot be found in any sources at all. as of 2023, UNBELEAFABLE! does not require, and has never required, an inline citation for all material. uncited does not mean unverifiable.

[distant-screaming]

Thank you for the tag @waitmyturtles beloved <33 glad to be considered part of the ephemerality squad despite being inactive recently :')

Current time: 10:14am

Current activity: having lunch with friends!

Currently thinking about: morning rehearsal... I need to work on the new piece we got today!

Current favourite song: asking my favourite anything is so cruel </3 anyway either CHANGGWI by Ahn Ye Eun, Psycho by Mia Rodriguez or ICHIDAIJI by POLKADOT STINGRAY!

Currently reading: oooh, last night I finished Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke and I LOVED it, so fun! I adore reading atypical formats and the book itself was so good. I'm going to start The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu later tonight - it looks good!

Currently watching: Home School (ended on ep 14 yesterday and I am only strengthening my poly agenda), Hidden Agenda (Louis and AJ have my whole heart <3) and Racket Boys with my mom (it's such a heartwarming show I love it so much!).

Current favourite character: AAAA making me pick favorites again! They're all my beloveds, hmm.... okay, Palm for sure, he's one of my all time blorbos! Also currently spinning White from Home School in my brain at exponential speeds, I love her :)

Current WIP: okay, so:

Metas - I have a nlmg meta cooking in my drafts that I will eventually post but I need time to finish writing, and an old soundwin one

Fics - currently? absolutely nothing, your girl is Tired after writing 62 fics (count em!) for October so I'm taking a short break ((but I doubt I'll be able to stay away for long sjfkdk))

Art - working on crocheting a pillow for my sister! I'm using one of her doodles (she draws) to tapestry crochet, so the front of the pillow will look like this:

but lilac purple!

And, finally, tags - @jojotichakorn @akawrites000 @cornflowershade @soundwin @vegasandhishedgehog @mutlishipperfangirl @ieatwoodchips @welcome-to-the-shit-library and anyone else who sees this! <3

[inkofamethyst]

March 13, 2024

Happy covid-iversary, yay. "Two weeks to stop the spread," is a saying that will haunt me my entire life, I think.

I didn't actually journal on March 13 which is a shame in hindsight, but I remember not doing much. I lounged around my house because classes were cancelled, I picked my sister up from school, and we went to get ice cream. A lot of other people from my/her high school had the same idea, so the line was long, and I was too awkward to say hi to the people I kinda knew (but I always thought they were cooler than me (I genuinely think most people are cooler than me... which might be a problem in some respects, but I'll deal with that later.)).

Anyway I coded for 5 hours straight and got a working encounter system, a working character creator, and a working opponent set generator. There's still a lot to move from my note to the script, but, the game works, and everything I've written runs as intended. Is it fun? Well, right now, it's all the same. Name yourself, fight one-fight two-fight three (each only requiring one or two inputs), game ends. It was exciting the first couple of times, but now I want to add more for more variety, of course.

[edit: wrote the above a couple days ago and after a break it has returned to being kind of fun. I've also learned that instantaneousness kills all tension, so I wrote a few basic functions to delay and separate lines in various ways. Anyway I'm going to hold off on doing much more transcribing/coding from my pseudocode, since I don't want to get too far ahead of the final project timeline, and I don't even really know what the expectations are, so I could be way outside of bounds here and I just wouldn't know.]

[edit 2, next day: New plan. Going to write more detailed pseudo/update poorly-detailed pseudo, do some story planning for the secret ending that I don't intend to get to but hey yaneverknow, and try to balance mechanics/come up with items/do a bunch of the little things that sap a surprising amount of creativity.]

I also binged She-Hulk, and I loved it?! I thought it was going to be awful and cringey the way people online (dudes?) talked about it, but it was genuine, and meta, and actually had me laughing at times. I mean, that last episode? Come on!!! Sure, some of the vfx were just alright, but it's a show, and after six-odd years of AOS, I'm used to it. I'm glad they leaned into the unseriousness. Also,,,, Matt Murdock is such a hottie. The quips, the law banter, the violence, ahhhh. My dnd-friend strongly endorses Daredevil, but I've held off because I was afraid of the violence, honestly. But I'm a big girl, and I'm very good at closing my eyes.

Today I'm thankful for a successful antiquing run!!!! Early last semester I heard about this antique market, and I finally put in the effort to get there today, and it was amazing!!! I was looking for shared housewares (found the specific item I was looking for!) and unique vintagey jewelry. Didn't quite manage to find anything truly vintage, but I got a darling piece of simple costume jewelry and the most fantastic mug that's shaped like a head of lettuce (this description does not do its beauty justice). The necklace will be perfect for when I finally make my way to the opera, and the mug is like something a fairy would drink from. I stayed within my budget which means I have just a little bit left in my allowance to thrift for clothes, maybe on Friday or Saturday (since I'll be in lab all day tomorrow).

By the way, the antique store was amazing. It has at least five floors (I got tired after three and a half) and is filled to the brim with some of the most eclectic stuff you could ever find, with old-timey radios playing music from various eras throughout. Magical. I could waste a lot of money there.

Oh wait, before I go, yesterday was such a busy day that I didn't even journal but I:

Met up with a lab/classmate and their partner for a lunch and a stroll in the city which was fantastic. My original plan was to go see Dune and also to pick up some (red, short, block) heels I'd ordered, but I didn't end up liking the heels on me very much, and I was enjoying the pair's company too much to cut the time short with a three-hour movie.

Went to a paint night through a diversity org I'm in which was also fantastic. I painted a cute little mushroom scene! I don’t really consider myself a visual artist and I’m not a huge fan of acrylic but it was very relaxing so I’d love to try watercolor sometime. Also like,, because this isn’t my "preferred medium" it was SO nice to not be stressed about perfection and just go for it.

[gisellelx]

Twilight Advent, Day 4

Masterpost/prompts

Dec. 4 - Pick a Twilight couple (canon or AU) and tell us/draw their favorite way to snuggle.

Well, that intriguing parenthetical opened up a rat's nest of intertwining (and kinda nsfw? and also slashy--you've been warned) headcanons, here, so, sorry, please buckle up. I've been meaning to write about the role headcanons can play in fic writing for awhile, and at some point an even longer writing meta is due, but today I'll get straight to the point even though this will in no way be brief--I enjoy writing fic precisely because it lets me think about characterization in a deep and complicated way. I'm always writing fic to get at the characters first and the situation second. It's even embedded in the title of my tumblr.

When I write an AU, I don't consider myself to be writing a different version of the characters. I consider myself to be writing the same characters, with all the same personalities, motivations, concerns, and fatal flaws, just having gone through or going through different circumstances. Kairos Carlisle is "Sensitivity" Carlisle is Patroclus Carlisle is Ithaca Carlisle; same guy, different situations. It’s why all my AUs have a clear point at which they’ve diverged from canon—I’m experimenting with the character by changing their world and letting their world change them.

So the underlying headcanon. Carlisle is badly, badly touch-starved. His nurse cuddled him and snuggled him—and he was with her for a long time—but he eventually left nurse and went back to London and to his father, who was much more concerned that Carlisle be saved than that he feel loved. They had little to no physical contact. Just at the very moment when he might have married, become sexually active, and had children of his own to cuddle, he gets stripped of his human life and for his own safety, has to separate from humankind altogether for many years. Then, he finally finds friendship and companionship, but in a man whose touch violates every snippet of his privacy. And still he stays, far longer than he ought, before setting out again for another century and a half, until he brings home a seventeen-year-old boy and spends three entire days just holding him.

Carlisle craves physical contact with those he loves.

Edward does not care for this. He's turned at the very moment in his development in which he is perfectly primed to be absolutely mortified by parental physical contact (and there's no small amount of gay panic on both their parts about it anyway). So it's still mostly just the occasional shoulder pat; the joy and surprise when Edward hugs him on occasion.

It's not until Esme arrives, and after they navigate their collective fears and traumas, that he manages to actually be touched. To have someone who hugs him, and strokes his back, and runs her fingers through his hair, who kisses not just his lips but his head, his shoulders, his chest. Sexual intimacy is his first real physical intimacy of his very long life.

So. For this prompt, a canon snuggle, and an AU snuggle for this guy for whom touching those he loves is his source of highest joy:

He could lie naked with Esme forever. And he tries to, a lot. Although they know their children are a little squicked out by the idea of hearing or sensing them having intercourse, and of course that's one reason they go to great lengths (islands!) to be separate from them, a big part of the reason they often totally relocate in order to have sex is that Carlisle really wants to just lie there, with both their clothes off, for as long as he can possibly get away with it; days if they can manage it. So they leave so that nobody has to worry about having to scramble back into pants or a dress at an inopportune time, so that he can just place his head on Esme's breasts and they can interlock legs and he can just get lost in not being entirely certain where his skin stops and hers begins. In Kairos, he finally gets to have the physical intimacy with Edward he's always longed for. This AU takes place in a world in which he had a sexual partner for eighty-five years and so his intimacy with Edward takes a different form, not to mention that Edward is still quite bashful about it all. Their favorite snuggle is to sit on the floor, with Carlisle's back against the couch and Edward using him as a recliner as he sits between Carlisle's legs. Clothes, no clothes; doesn't matter as much to these two. From there, Carlisle can run his hands through Edward's hair, kiss the nape of his neck or behind his hear, and bury his nose next to Edward's scalp to inhale his scent. They're not altogether very different things than what he would prefer to do in a fatherly way in canon; the difference is that in the AU world, the chips have fallen such that this time, Edward is willing to let him.

[give-soup-please]

I am absolutely tickled pink as the saying goes - it seems like Munchies is becoming a detective and trying to figure out who I am. (It's me, May again if that wasn't obvious)

Just a few responses to things: So I think "Home" was denied, but they DO have Book, Face, and Workplace are copywritten! They do have specific things in relation to that (not the word itself but them being apps and whatever) but here's a comprehensive list of all of their trademarks and how they're trademarked: https://about.meta.com/brand/resources/meta/our-trademarks/

Having self care/accountability partners is probably the only way I'm actually alive and semi-healthy today, so I'd be honored to add you to the list. I forgot to drink water today before I went to make this response, so I'm drinking a whole water bottle now, starting while I write this.

I honestly find all discourse on Tumblr or any other social media platform to be particularly annoying and frustrating. If it's not about something genuinely problematic then just... stop. Thank you for that writing, I've re-read it at least six times at this point, honestly. Anyways, I just wanted to talk about Munchies being curious and I figured I'd use it to respond to your own response... to my responses... because I found that curiosity absolutely hilarious. I'll give her a hint, though - she messaged me. Take care, please, I'd be terribly sad if you hurt yourself. Your slightly anonymous friend, ~May

curiouser and curiouser... a small favor, May- if i can ask it. please don't tell me who you are just yet. i enjoy having a mystery friend. munchies definitely knows who you are as far as i can tell, and when she put in what your username on discord might have potentially be, i asked her to delete it haha

i like the spice of a good mystery, it adds flavor to life. you're very intriguing, and i'm basing that off your writing style and the content of your messages. of course, if you wish to reveal yourself to me directly, go right ahead. but i'd hate for things to get revealed too soon. (as a side note, i am incredibly loopy from tackling final projects, and i have no idea how my tone is coming off here. i'm hoping it isn't too 'disney villain'. my brain is very fried. i'm trying to say that wondering who you could be is a source of fun for me, even if we've never interacted in places besides tumblr before. you're welcome to reveal who you are on your own time, if you wish.)

pretty entertaining stuff from facebook, i'll say.

good on you for drinking water. i'll try and do the same.

i hear you on tumblr discourse, my friend. i've seen people write dissertation length arguments on stuff that isn't that important, and it's exhausting. i use this phrase a lot, but i do cultivate who i follow and who i pay attention to very carefully.

i will... do my best to not self sabotage, but not without sighing and grumbling about it. i have nine days of school left before summer, and it's just a matter of not doing anything too self destructive during that time. this is something that happens every year around this time, and i do my best to make smart choices and keep out of trouble. my friends are being kept up to date on how i feel, and they know what to do if i start to spiral or head down a bad road. (for friends who have known me in the long term, 3+ years, we have systems built in place for this kind of thing. my support network is strong, even when i'm not.)

but! then summer will start, and i know what will happen. a week or two in, the stress will shed off, and i'll return to my usual soft and happy self for the duration of the season. i'm looking forward to that version of me reappearing, because here's the secret.

that's the real me. and that version is my favorite one.

[fourcolour-ace]

I realized just now that so much of my reading of Gohan in Super stems from that one episode where Future Trunks visits him... Also like ~1 second of footage in I think the following episode??

I guess that's just a testament to him being *not there* in the Super anime.

[telamonaut]

with the context that luther often hurt himself when feeling super overwhelmed ,  i’m honestly really fucken happy he’s taken to punching holes in walls instead

[darkqueenofshadows85]

Sonic Unleashed (2008) Story Review

Disclaimer: I will be judging this game by the plot and writing, not the gameplay.

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! For today's review, we'll be looking at what is arguably one of the best Sonic game stories ever written, Sonic Unleashed.

This is part of a series of reviews in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the main series Sonic game storylines, and why I think they're either well written and engaging, or an absolute trainwreck (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on the character portrayals, visuals, soundtracks, voice actors, and what themes/messages they had to offer. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Plot

Dr. Eggman finds out about Dark Gaia, so to harness its power, he used the Chaos Emeralds that Sonic had to awaken the beast, which would cause Earth to break apart. The Chaos Emeralds get de-powered and Sonic becomes the Werehog from Dark Gaia energy. Sonic finds a small creature with amnesia, names it Chip, then they go on a journey around the planet to the seven continental Gaia Temples, fixing the planet and the Chaos Emeralds.

Characters

Sonic is portrayed exceptionally well here. In addition to being the cocky, adventurous hero that we all know and love, he also has a wide emotional range. When he first turned into the Werehog, he felt insecure about his looks, and in one scene, he felt sad that Amy couldn’t recognize him. It's nice to see Sonic feel genuine emotions. It helps him grow and develop as a character. Sadly, this was one of the last games where Sonic's personality was written properly...

I like Chip for the same reasons I like Silver. He's cute, he has a very likable, endearing personality, and he's a real BADASS, if the final battle between him and Dark Gaia during the climax is anything to go by. I love how well the story develops not only Chip individually, but also his relationship with Sonic. I feel like their relationship is a huge part of what made the story so important. And it's revealed later in the story that he's actually the antithesis of Dark Gaia... Light Gaia. Overall, I think Chip is an awesome character and one of the best parts of Unleashed next to the Werehog in my opinion.

Professor Pickle is a somewhat amusing character. By day, he's a professor at Spagonia University, and by night, he's the Gordon Ramsay of the Sonic world.

“How dare they call this culinary concoction food? Look here, do you see this sorry excuse for a sandwich? The bread should be no less than 3/4 of an inch thick. Upon it, one tablespoon of mayonnaise and a pinch of black pepper. The contents, FRESH cucumber, sliced THINLY if you please! Am I quite right, Tails?”

Also, he told Sonic and Chip where the Gaia Temples are in order to save the Earth by putting it back together, so he did contribute something important to the plot.

Tails didn't really do much in the story. His main purpose was to take Sonic places and provide information. Also, he was portrayed as somewhat of a coward, being cornered by the Gaia monsters and too scared to defend himself. While it wasn't as bad as his infamous portrayal in Forces, it still seemed a bit out of character for him. Then again, it's kind of natural to start freaking out if there's some crazy dark monsters that you've never seen before, so maybe I could excuse Tails from that. But I'll give credit where it's due, at least his personality is written well. He's humble and kind, as he should be.

I have mixed feelings towards Eggman's portrayal in Unleashed. In the opening intro, he was somewhat threatening, but for most of the story, he's closer to his Meta Era version, but at least here it's easier to tolerate because he does have some genuinely funny moments. And he tested his luck a bit too much with Dark Gaia, so there's that too.

Visuals

I think Unleashed has the best visual presentation out of all the five main Dark Era games. Every CGI cutscene in this game is amazing and even the in-game cutscenes look great.

Soundtrack

Like the other Dark Era games, Unleashed has a great soundtrack. The main theme, Endless Possiblity is a very emotional and inspiring song, and the ending theme, Dear My Friend is a beautiful song as well.

Voice Acting

I think the 4Kids voice cast was truly at their best here. Jason Griffith's performance as Sonic was amazing. In fact, I personally consider it to be one of his best performances yet, next to Black Knight of course. Amy Palant (Tails) has significantly improved since the previous games, at least in my opinion. Mike Pollock does a great job voicing Eggman as always, and Tony Salerno (Chip/Light Gaia), Lisa Ortiz (Amy) and Dan Green (Professor Pickle) were all great as well.

Theme/Message

The main theme of the story is how to overcome and accept the darkness and stay in the light. The Werehog represents Sonic's inner darkness, and Light Gaia (aka Chip) and Dark Gaia represent the duality of light and dark. Unleashed's theme of light and dark is what makes the story as spectacular as it is, and without it, it would be lackluster.

Conclusion

Overall, I think Sonic Unleashed has a wonderful story that was thrilling, engaging and emotional all at the same time. I personally consider it to be one of the best Sonic game stories next to SA2, Black Knight, Riders: Zero Gravity, 06 and ShTH.

My final score:

5.8/5 (Amazing)

[lordeasriel]

ATTWN: A Look at Miss Brent

I keep circling around the idea of writing And Then There Were None meta, like a full, proper analysis of the novel, but I just can't settle down on how to do it, cause I do have many thoughts, but I can't seem to organise them in a way it will make sense. But-

I was thinking about Miss Brent today, and she's not exactly a character I have that many thoughts compared to Vera or Armstrong, but she certainly has my interest. What strikes me stronger about her is her complacency, in a way.

Let's look at the novel first: here's this sixty-something woman, a spinster who takes on girls from local charities/orphanages to train them into proper maids or whatever. It's not an unusual thing for that time based on the rest of Christie's novels, it seemed like a common occurrence for the period. At any rate, she's very righteous, uptight, her belief is almost borderline fanatical, she never hesitates over her "innocence" in front of the accusations, and the thing is: she doesn't deny shunning the girl away.

Unlike the others, who remain resilient on their innocence (Lombard the exception cause he literally confessed right away), Miss Brent never denies that she did refuse to help Beatrice. In her own mind, she didn't do anything wrong - and if we're going there, in its fucked up way, she technically didn't do anything wrong. She had no familial attachment to the girl, she didn't have to do anything for her legally speaking; morally, of course, she should have but we don't arrest people for being morally corrupt lmao Let alone death sentence them. *coughs*

But what gets me it's her complacency. You know, I'm blaming this on the windy day, but thinking about her, sitting by herself almost all the time (including when she died), she never does anything. Unlike the others, Vera included considering how Christie often writes the women isolated, Miss Brent never gets involved in either investigating or helping them to find a way out; she just sits and knits and eventually bosses Vera around or say some mean stuff to someone. She doesn't act, which is odd for us as a reader; I mean, if I was in her spot I would have already made a signal for help, even with the bad weather lmao This book heavily traumatised me anyway--

Miss Brent doesn't act, that's my main point. In her head, I suppose she expects some sort of divine intervention, in its way; not a miracle, but you know, she expected her righteousness guaranteed her safety. She sees the other deaths as punishment, she thinks them all guilty, perhaps not the General or Wargrave, but I've no doubt she considers the rest of them wicked and deserving of the punishment, but never herself. She didn't do anything wrong, she has got nothing to feel sorry for. There is a whole section, where Vera asks Miss Brent if she is not afraid or if she simply doesn't mind dying. To which she reacts exactly like I said before, like she was above them all, like death wouldn't come for her.

Now, I will just vaguely go over the show because I think their choice of handling her was an interesting one. I like most of the choices made by show, except the ending which I'll save for another day of ranting, but Miss Brent in the show behaves similarly, but her background gets deeper. For one there was two key things - I say two because I've seen two different interpretations of this - and they were 1) repressed lesbian and 2) predator. Now, these two could coexist with each other, she could have been taking in girls to take advantage of them, but I don't know, I think it would be hard for her to do that always, so I like to think if repressed lesbian was it, then it makes more sense for her crime and her reaction. It would be related to a feeling of betrayal - "I've given you a home, a job, affection and you still went behind my back to be a whore" - and it's something Miss Brent would probably not acknowledge. She was always too religious, too righteous, so Beatrice probably haunted her more in death than she did in life: no one would believe this ragged girl over any accusations - even if there was consent on her part. But that's just beside the point.

What I mean for the show is, they go in a different direction. Miss Brent's reactions over the murders are a little more in line with her religious dynamic for the show: when Tony dies, she makes a little prayer, she worries about Mrs. Rogers state when she sees her passed out (despite the fact she humiliated her earlier over being meek and weak and so on), she has a judgemental attitude towards Vera, but even that comes from a place of almost understanding? She still judges them harshly, but she is a lot less harsh to the ones she consider less harmful (aka she is absolutely distasteful about Lombard, whose crime is easily the worst crime in the show and she thinks so).

Of course, all of her views and beliefs and behaviours are based on her own lifestyle, so she is a bit blind and biased - when Lombard points out about the missionaries crimes in Africa, after she calls him out; or when she states she couldn't imagine crossing paths with a man like him, despite the fact she knows well enough they're all there because they're guilty - so she is bound to hypocrisy every now and again. But her fanaticism from the book is turned into a proper, religious attitude; she does abide by the Bible, she condemns very little her other companions (I mean, she still judges Vera over her youth and her inertia, she judges Armstrong's lack of calm, she judges Lombard because well, because of his Existence™ lmao) She is, of course, judgmental and vain and arrogant, but this is less cartoony and more realistic. More importantly, because her beliefs are much more ingrained in her life, she is afraid. She is genuinely afraid and that is an important, key change that I genuinely like.

Miss Brent has faith, at first, that they will leave the Island, so she stills acts very coldly at first and of course, she still denies her guilt, she still claims she did the right thing and Beatrice caused her own undoing. But, the show pursues the idea that Miss Brent, upon being reminded of the event, starts to feel guilt: when she is praying she hallucinates Beatrice (hallucionation was a choice they did to convey these feelings, but you could just claim that's a memory in her head); and more importantly, before her death - which happens the day after she hallucinates - her demeanor changes entirely. She goes from trying to stay calm and resolute before the tide, to feeling weary. That's important because unlike Book! Emily, she is fully aware she has committed a sin, and now whether that is her neglect of Beatrice's pleas or her own feelings for her, that's beside the point. The point is this woman realises she is very close to meet her maker and the burden of having sinned wears her down.

Miss Brent also adds "It's only wool" when Vera is pouring her coffee (which I had to crop cause Gif size), which is her redirecting her distress to something mundane (in another scene later, Vera mentions how doing the dishes is a mundane task, which she finds soothing. In fact, seeking a sense of normalcy is a recurring theme for the show, but also for the book) and ordinary. Vera, of course, notices her distress over being hunted; she shares the feeling, and I don't want to focus too much on Vera because I'll talk about her eventually later, but this shows how Miss Brent changes drastically.

On their first conversation after the dinner, Vera's impression of Miss Brent is of an uptight, self-righteous, straight-up cruel woman and she avoids her if she can help it, and truth be told, Miss Brent does act very badly and says bad things, Vera is not being touchy about it. So when Vera lays the coffee tray, she is ready to walk away before Miss Brent addresses her (she even makes a dry remark on "There is no milk, I'm afraid", which is meant to spite Miss Brent's earlier attitude over asking for perfect eggs after Mrs Rogers died and so on), and Miss Brent talks so unlike herself, a weariness that makes Vera reconsider and come back, to pour her coffee. She feels sorry for Miss Brent, because she finally cracked like the others; Miss Brent knows now that no amount of faith might defend her from this killer, because this killer has got nothing to do with a justice kill.

She stays seated, knitting again, but when she reaches for the coffee she hesitates. She realises Vera could have poisoned it (before entering the room, since she watches Vera pouring the coffee), and then she puts it down. There is a sense of danger in her, and she has no desire to die, unlike in the book where she so casually just stays behind, unafraid in her own attitude of superiority. I like this change a lot; I think showing her fear before her God enhances her religious mania a lot more, because she truly fears Divine Judgement, because she understands, deep down, that she did a bad thing; maybe not murder - I mean, it wasn't murder after all - but she still did a morally bad thing. If there is a Heaven, it won't be for her.

[mimisempai]

I love you more than words can say

Summary:

5 times where TK failed to say I love you and one time where he succeeded

I just finished watching the first season of 911 Lone star and I fell in love with these two. I've been gorging on gifs and meta on tumblr so here I am, with my first fanfic on this ship. It's nice to write about a ship which sails... I hope I didn't write them too OOC.

🌈 Happy Pride month ! 🌈

To celebrate, 1 day, 1 story.Be ready for smiles, laugh, fluff, tooth rotthing fluff, positive vibes and a lot of love!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31861114

2230 words - Rating G

1

While Carlos was in the kitchen,TK was desperately trying to concentrate on what he was reading. But after reading the same paragraph for the third time, distracted by Carlos softly humming, he decided to stop. He listened idly for a few seconds before getting up to see him. Like a sailor attracted by the song of the sirens.

Arriving in the kitchen, he stopped, the breath cut by the show which offered itself to him. Carlos moved to the rhythm of the melody he was humming, completely oblivious of the effect these movements had on TK.

He must have heard him coming, because he turned to TK, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"I made you some coffee," he said, handing him the cup. TK looked at Carlos and then contemplated the bottom of his cup, trying to control himself because if he looked up at Carlos he was going to jump on him.

He took a slight breath to give himself some composure and stammered a thank you.

"You looked focused, so I didn't say anything and was going to bring it to you." Carlos smiled slightly and TK had the words at the edges of his lips

"Carlos, I really... I... I don't deserve you."

Carlos looked at him a little oddly but did nothing but smile softly at him before leaning in and giving him a light kiss.

He whispered, "You're welcome." before leaving the room, unaware that he was leaving behind a completely smitten TK.

2

The next time, TK decided to take a different approach. Carlos liked flowers judging from the first time he invited TK, who in retrospect was ashamed of the way he had behaved this time. He had a lot to make up for.

He looked for a florist on the internet and a few minutes later he walked through the door of a store and ordered a bouquet of white flowers.

"How mad is she?" the florist asked, "Should I put a little card in it for you?"

TK smiled with a confidence he was far from feeling and shaking his head, he replied, "I'm just not good with words so I want to try to make him understand in other ways."

He paid, took the flowers and left the store under the fond gaze of the florist.

Back home, TK carefully placed the flowers in a vase and put them on the living room table. He was a little nervous, after all it was the first time he had given flowers to a lover in his life.

He waited and stood up suddenly when he heard the keys in the door, he tried to take a natural pose and waited to see Carlos' reaction.

"Hey handsome! Oh wow, pretty flowers!"

He walked over to TK, kissed him then hugged him for a moment before sighing sighing with contentment,  "Haaa... work day finally over. Anyway it's nice to come home and see these flowers. It's really nice of you to take the trouble to decorate! It makes a big difference."

TK stared at him and opened his mouth. "Yeah, I think it does too. Actually I... I." and once again the words didn't come out.

He forced himself to continue "Yes, I thought it would brighten up the room, I like... well I love..."

Carlos looked at him with the same slightly strange look but simply said, "Thank you!" before adding, "I've been sweating like crazy today, I'm going to take a shower."

Once Carlos exited the room, TK slumped onto the couch, and sighed, "It won't be for this time..."

3

Carlos arrived at the scene of the fire at full speed, flashing his lights, and drove right up to the fire truck.

He ran to TK who was sitting on the side of the road as the rest of the crew finished putting out the fire.

"TK!"

Tk looked up at him, looking completely defeated.

Carlos sat down next to him, "Hey, you okay, are you hurt?"

TK whispered, "We didn't get everyone out."

"Oh babe, I'm so sorry." Carlos put an arm around his shoulders.

"Why didn't you save him!" a voice shouted from behind them.

They stood up and turned to face the voice owner, Carlos still had his arm around TK's shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry, I did everything I could to get your husband out, but it was too late."

"Ah you're sorry! But you'll be able to go home with the one you love! You'll be able to sleep peacefully in the same bed tonight."

Tk didn't know what to say in response and Carlos tightened his arm around his shoulders before saying in a gentle yet firm tone, "Ma'am I'm sorry for your pain, you have my deepest sympathy, but I'm sure TK and his team gave it their all. And I can assure you that tonight the guilt will keep him awake, because for TK and his colleagues, losing someone in the line of duty is an ordeal they don't forget once they get home."

The woman just nodded before turning on her heels.

TK leant even more into the arm around him. He turned to Carlos to tell him when Carlos whispered, "TK, I don't know if you need me to tell you this, but don't take what she said to heart, it was grief talking and you couldn't have prevented what happened, ok sweetheart? "

After a few seconds of silence TK, his throat tight, replied, "Yes, I know that, but thank you for saying it."

Carlos smiled at him and hugged him for a moment before leaving and walking away.

Tk called out to him, the words at the edges of his lips.

"Carlos!"

Carlos turned and looked at him.

TK couldn't do it. Once again.

"No, it's okay, I'll be there soon."

Carlos nodded and went on his way.

Maybe next time he'll be able to say the words...

4

It was a Sunday morning, peaceful, neither of them had to work.

They were having breakfast together, and Carlos still looked half asleep and TK couldn't help but stare at him as usual.

His boyfriend was too cute for the sake of TK's heart rate, and when he stretched, his shirt riding up over his perfectly shaped abs, TK thought he was going to have to bring his dad in to be reanimated.

"What's the matter, I have a pimple on my nose?" asked Carlos, having caught the look on TK's face.

TK thought, the matter is I love you, I love you, I love you .

But the words didn't pass his mouth.

Carlos waved his hand in front of TK's eyes, snapped his fingers and said, "Hello Moon, this is Earth, someone's here?"

"Sorry," TK bit into a piece of toast to give himself some composure.

Carlos brushed his cheek before asking, "Well, you seemed lost far away in thought, care to share?"

TK shook his head, the moment had passed, it was a dead end again.

"Nothing. Nothing important. It's about work, sorry..." TK took on a sheepish look.

"TK, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes Babe, don't worry, everything is fine."

He gently kissed Carlos to prove to him what he just said and they continued their breakfast with a relaxed conversation..

5

"I swear to you Paul, I am cursed, cursed, cursed! Every time I want to tell him, Bam! I get stuck and the words don't come out of my mouth."

Back at the fire station, in the break room, TK was circling.

"Don't worry TK, I'm sure he knows that actually, and just let it happen, if you push too hard it's sure to get stuck."

"What the hell!" continued TK, following the same path, to the point that Carlos thought he was going to dig grooves in the ground. "It's not hard to say three words!"

Paul stood up and stopped TK, holding him by the wrist. "TK, calm down, okay? When was the last time you said those words to someone else?"

TK took a deep breath before answering, "Alex, my ex. The one I proposed to and who told me he was with someone else. He's actually the only one of my exes I've said those words to."

Paul took him by the shoulder, "I understand better... I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself and subconsciously blocking because the one person you said those words to, betrayed you. Just calm down, and before you try one more time, take the time to think about your relationship, about Carlos, about why you love him."

"... okay..."

Before leaving, Paul added, "And you know TK, if you can't tell him, I'm sure you've already made it clear without the words. Anyone can see that."

He winked at him before leaving.

TK went home and sat on the couch with his head in his hands and began to think, to remember.

Carlos always there for him, always caring, how could he not love him. He loved his eyes when he smiled. No matter what he did he was sexy, even when he was doing the laundry. He loved the look in Carlos' eyes when he laid eyes on TK, like he was the most important person in the world. He loved his sense of family and his dedication to those he loved. Carlos had never judged TK for his past and present mistakes and always tried to understand him. They were never bored together. With Carlos, it was the first time that TK wanted to be a better person every day, to excel and to get out of his father's shadow. In fact it was simple, if he compared it to Alex and God knows he didn't like to compare his exes, but what he had felt for Alex was not a quarter of a third of the love he felt for Carlos."

He had reached this point in his thoughts when the door opened, he quickly got up and ran to the entrance, he wanted to tell him right away, now.

Carlos stepped through the door and TK was stopped in his tracks. His lover looked exhausted and sad.

"Hey babe, what's wrong?"

Carlos moved forward and sighed, "It's been a hell of a day." So TK simply took him in his arms.

"Come on, let me take care of you."

He pulled Carlos along with him, he told himself that the next time would be the time and for now he was going to take care of his lover. If he couldn't say the words, he was going to prove it with his actions.

+1

The next morning, TK woke up with the feeling of being watched.

He opened his eyes to find himself facing Carlos who was smiling tenderly at him.

"So the sleeping beauty is awake?"

TK stretched and replied with a smile, "Hm, I don't know, his prince hasn't kissed him yet."

Carlos leaned over him and getting closer, he whispered, "I definitely have to fix this mistake" before kissing him.

TK made a sound of surprise before clinging to Carlos' shoulders and responding to the kiss.  He chest heaved, his breath coming in gasps as Carlos finally released him and took a moment to look at him.

TK's legs automatically spread as Carlos climbed on top of him and pressed his body against his.

"Wow," TK gasped. "I think the Sleeping Beauty is awake."

Carlos smiled and leaned in to kiss him again, more gently this time.

When they separated again to catch their breath, with what little sense of clarity he had left, TK forcefully pushed Carlos and reversed positions. Then he took Carlos' surprised face in his hands and said simply, his lips against his, "I love you."

Carlos immediately replied, "I love you TK, I-"

"Shhh'' TK put a finger over his mouth, and continued, "If I stop, I won't be able to continue, I've been thinking a lot lately, about how to tell you I love you and how and why, and the list is so long. So let me tell you the most important points. I love you because life is so fun by your side. You encourage me to be the best version of myself. I feel strong with you by my side. I love you because whenever I am in your arms, I feel true happiness. I love it when you dance like nobody's watching. I love you for everything you have made me discover about myself. You share your strength with me when I am weak. You let me sing even if I'm terrible at it. You are always ready to defend me and stand by my side. I love you because when we are together, silence is never uncomfortable. But most of all, I love you because you are you, Carlos, the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love you."

Carlos smiled amidst the tears he made no attempt to hide and then drew TK's face to his neck and whispered over and over again how much he loved him.

They stayed a long time like that, tasting the happiness of shared feelings, because if it was true that actions often said more than words, sometimes words were necessary as much for those who heard them as those who said them.

__________

Not beta'd (as always) I hope you enjoyed it 🥰