#don't even know the show where this quote comes from but credit to them

[universalitgirlsblog2]

💗🍓SHE IS A MYSTERY💗🍓

🍓BEING MYSTERIOUS IS MESMERIZING ✨️

💗People should feel that they are lucky to get to know you. It should be a luxury to know you. That's how you should act. Be very picky when it comes to sharing private things with people. People can manipulate you to get what they want if you share too much . When you over-share you can often embarass and make a fool out of yourself. Make people work hard to get to know you.

🍓We may over-share to seek validation. If we feel fulfilled and trust ourselves , we won't over-share. If you feel fulfilled , you won't feel the need to be fearful or over-share.

💗I watched a video by Kelly stamps about over-sharing, she said " don't be yourself guys, lie a little bit ." I agree , when I wouldn't share too much with others, talk about random stuff , I felt that I was being " fake " and not connecting with people . Later , I realized that I am not being fake but protecting myself. We need to AWARE and CAREFUL when it comes to sharing anything about ourselves with anyone. When I solved my problems on my own , I didn't seek advice from anyone , I noticed that I became confident too.

🍓Over-sharing can get you into trouble too , those words can get twisted against you. Sometimes we may over-share because you have this belief that the only way to connect with someone is by giving yourself away so much that they think they know everything about you. Find a balance where you share things with people , not over-share.

💗Sometimes people are being kind, it doesn't mean that they are your friends. If someone is being friendly, it doesn't mean they are your friends. Understand the difference. Sometimes you may confide in people because they seem friendly but being friendly doesn't make them trustworthy.

🍓There are certain people for certain topics. Share intimate things with your inner circle. If you don't have a inner circle , then journal.

💗People should think that they know you but in reality, they don't know anything about you. Talk about your interests and allow them to talk about their interests but don't share anything that can get you into trouble.

🍓You must have heard about this quote , " Show , don't tell " the quote is very real. Evil eye does exist. Of course , it's okay if you don't believe in it. Show your goals , don't tell others about your goals. People can often get jealous , they can use it against you. Sometimes if you tell others about your goals, they may demotivate you by imposing their limiting beliefs on you. Don't talk about your plans , show them your results. Immature exposure of one's intention often brings failure in it's trail.

💗The benefits of being Mysterious ( credits to Alessia / Persephonesmind)

Your security will increase so much more .

People will value you more.

🍓To be honest , don't fully trust your friends , there are certain secrets in one's life which should never be discussed with anyone , even with your best friend who might embarrass you by exposing them in a fit of rage. Also see this post - click me

💗Advice by Song Jia

🍓More advice by Persephonesmind

🍓💗✨️Stay a mystery , it's better . I hope this post helped you !!YOU GO GIRL! 💗✨️

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 3.2

The thing is Paul just physically can't say what he feels. It's just an impossibility for him. So if he says reading a negative article about himself “doesn't help” or “it's not good” but it “doesn't get home” I just assume he means ‘It hurts, but I can't think about that too hard or I'll go into a self-hate suicidal spiral again’. 

I always love how Paul says Linda. “Linder is er, nature mad.” 

She!!

Hearing Paul talk about watching Mary be born makes me wonder if John was there with Sean? Also I wonder if Linda would talk about the experience so glowingly. Probably. She's tough as nails. I had a lovely experience, personally, after the epidural lol

“Dear friend . . . I'm in love with a friend of mine.” This is such a strange and beautiful song. It's a man who has to apologize to his friend for falling in love with someone else. At least, that's my interpretation. What's everyone else's?

I understand why he's so closed off. I do. But when John is going off every five seconds, we're missing half the picture here and it's turning out warped. They really are such a good study of attachment honestly.

“Nothing will ever break the love we have for each other.” White-knuckling my way through this section with this quote clenched in my fist.

Yoko, talking about John fighting with Paul: any couple will go from swearing to kissing and it's like that. What favors are you doing yourself here, babe? Maybe John's the PR mastermind between the two of them.

I find John's comparison of working with his romantic partner to being ambidextrous very confusing. Does he mean just doing two things at once?

“If I can't have a fight with my best friend, I don't know who I can have a fight with.” -- Intro slutty gender-fluid Wings Paul my beloved -- “Tell me why, why, why do you treat me so bad? So bad? When you're the best friend a man ever had?” I heard on some podcast somewhere. Someone was going on about how forward-thinking the Beatles were to refer to the women in their songs as “friends”. And I was like, nununununu do not give them that credit.

This is just soooo. In this era? 90 minutes in the middle of a recording session?

John: Sorry, my estranged fiance is calling, gotta take a break. Guitarist: again? Drummer: how estranged can they be if they call every three minutes? Yoko: should we just record the other parts or . . . John: (receiver cradled to his cheek, lovesick grin on his face) Hey, how was Heather's school program? Haha, yeah, I bet she was.

Okay, so you've made up with Paul and now you're done being homophobic? *Cardi b voice* well that's suspicious. 

The fact that John's asking Paul to play on stage with him in 1972?? Ugh! If it was just about legalities and money and shit I would be genuinely so pissed at Paul for not going. If only because Come Together sounds incredibly lame without his bass and piano. But also for the obvious fix-it reasons. I have to remind myself of how truly awful Klein was. By being the only one to stand firm against him, Paul actually ended up saving them all from a lot of trouble. But gosh would this have been good!

Things normal people say, for sure, for sure.

Okay in my head it went like this. John calls George and bitches about what an egomaniac Paul is because he won't do anything with him as long as Klein is involved. George gets off the phone and calls Ringo and they make a bet as to how long it is until John decides they should get rid of Klein. 

“Where's your audience, Paul?” “In the theater, Dave.” As he should. The cuntiness is unparalleled. Yeah, maybe people like to see a family friendly eclectic magic pixie sexy hard rock floor show? Ever thought about that, Dave?

Anyway, he seems genuinely pissed when the interviewer even mentions the other Beatles and he refuses to even admit he still talks to any of them. Why? 

John's just so benevolent and selfless. He's completely straight, of course, but he's always offering to do gay shit. You know. To be nice. 

I forget that not only was May their literal employee, but she was ten years younger on top of that. And yet, she managed to do so much good in that relationship. I have so much respect for her. 

There's obviously a lot going on behind the scenes that they don't say in interviews. Duh. But I wonder what it is that caused Paul to be so open and happy in this interview where he's asked about the other Beatles compared to before. I wonder if he and John had a really lovely talk, or if he's heard a demo of “I know, I know.” Or maybe it's just he's so reassured that they've got rid of Klein that he feels safe acting open to a reunion on record. Who knows, Yoko. 

So so smart to pair “In My Life” handwritten lyrics with the matching lyrics of “I know I know” playing at the same time. I forget about that connection (“I love you more”) because it's so overshadowed by the “than yesterday” right after. I seriously wonder if John thought he was being so obvious with this one the way he was with HDYS and half hoped people would ask him if it was about Paul and he could make up for the whole thing. Because it's just so heavy-handed. It's beautiful. I love it. I'm sure Paul loved it. But yeah. John's just beating us over the head with the references here. 

I also wonder (very tentatively!!!) if Paul was maybe a bit more emotionally vulnerable with John than we usually think. I would never think this except for the “you know I nearly broke down and cried” “I'm sorry that I made you cry” and “no more crying!” I don't know. What do we think? 

His little baby smirk. It's so silly and cute. He's being very positive about getting back together, and the interviewer asks if John would initiate that. Just a very coy, “a, well, I couldn't say.” I wonder if at that point if he'd said on live tv that he wanted to get together again if it would've happened. Seems like it might have, but I understand him being scared. 

Elton John taking pictures like a fan and John: I wanna impound all those photos till I get me green card. What a random idea for a commercial. I love it, obviously, it's hilarious. I wonder who thought of it. 

This doc is so good at implication. The smirk as “loving in the palm of my hand” plays. That's not a reference to hand jobs, is it? Certainly not talking to someone with beautiful hands?

Everyone go look up Nineteen Hundred Eighty Five on YouTube. The singing sex is something else, yeah, but I'm always so blown away by the piano part. The fact that he's self taught and doesn't read music and this man will go on to compose symphonies. 

[occasional-drabbles]

“The worst thing is, that even after all of that, I’m still in love with you.” + “I don't know how to exist in a world without you.” with luke and/or kieran? whoever you feel comfier with hehe <33

Thank you so much for the ask!! This was a lot of fun to do! And as a little treat, I did both twins, each with one of the quotes! Same starting prompt, but each one goes a little differently.

Prompts found here!

Warnings: These ended up kind of angsty, with mentions of some stuff that happens in the latest chapters of the main story, but no major spoilers? Let me know if there's anything that needs to be tagged!

Length: About 1k for each of them, including the starter

~

You knew that this was going to happen. You knew. Yet you still weren’t prepared for the consequences. You didn’t expect for it to hit you so suddenly. 

Sylus was doing everything he could think of to earn your favor. Lavish gifts that cost more than any house in Linkon, beautiful clothing tailored exactly to your style and form, for you and you alone. He did his best to give you his full attention, to prioritize you without jeopardizing either of your goals. He tried, and you had to give him credit for that. But knowing that it was all with the end goal of you being able to resonate with him, to convince you not to hate him… None of it had the full effect. You couldn’t even find yourself completely grateful for the effort, since you still vividly remember the anger in his eyes when the researcher had told him that it was because you were so disgusted with him that you had a mental block keeping you from resonating with him. 

And even as you learned to appreciate him more, as you realized he wasn’t completely awful, you still knew that his efforts to win your heart would be in vain. Someone else already had it. 

LUKE

“Well that’s quite the sad face.” A voice spoke, startling you out of your thoughts. Once you registered who the voice belonged to, your shoulders sagged slightly in relief. 

“Hey, Luke.” You greeted quietly, looking over to him from where you were sitting. Sylus was busy with something or other, you don’t really remember what he said, and you were taking the opportunity to do a little bit of thinking while he was gone. So you’d settled yourself in a chair by one of the windows, looking out over the N109 Zone. Sylus didn’t really like having you near windows so much, especially without him there as a precaution, but he’s not here to stop you and you like the view. It made you feel a little less trapped. 

Luke hummed as he leaned against the wall in front of you, noticing the glittering necklace you were wearing. Beautiful rubies in the perfect setting to show off their brilliance, dainty enough to be elegant but sturdy enough that it wouldn’t be easily damaged. Clearly his master’s taste. 

He didn’t even have to verbalize his thoughts before you were speaking again. “Sylus’s latest gift… It really is beautiful.” 

“But you don’t seem satisfied.” He pointed out, moving to come closer to you, sitting on the arm of the chair. There was still a little bit of space between you two, and oh how you hated it. 

You let him reach out to touch the necklace, leaning closer to examine it. If it weren’t for where your thoughts have been, the guilt knotting up your stomach, you’d be inclined to kiss the beak of his mask to tease him. Just the thought made you turn away from Luke, catching his attention. So he reached up, gently cupping your cheek and turning your head towards him. You reached up to take hold of his hand, relishing in the familiar warmth of it. You opened your mouth to try and answer, to explain, but found your voice stuck in your throat. 

Luke hummed a bit, tilting his head slightly. “Is it an issue with the style?” He asked, earning a small shake of your head. “The gemstone, then?” He tried, earning another head shake. 

You took a slow breath to try and collect yourself, finally finding your voice again. “It’s a beautiful necklace…” you started, reaching up to touch the necklace yourself. “But… I feel bad.” 

Luke waited patiently for you to explain, though you could feel the curiosity radiating off of him, even with his mask blocking his expression. “He’s doing all of this, going so far out of his way, spending so much money, trying to get on my good side… Trying to make me fall for him… But I know it’s just so that I can Resonate with him… So it’s not going to work” You swallow hard, trying not to panic at the thought of what might happen when he loses patience with you. “Plus..” You started, then hesitating again. 

“Plus…?” He encouraged gently, his thumb rubbing against your cheek soothingly. It was the most he dared to offer for the moment. 

“The worst part of all of this, with all of the gits and the attention and the care,” you started, your free hand gesturing vaguely to the room to indicate this entire deal with Sylus, “I’m still in love with you.” 

Luke’s thumb paused, and you couldn’t tell what emotion it was from. Did you fluster him too much? Was he mad? Scared? You both knew that this was dangerous, for both of you. Sylus could kill either of you, or even both of you, for this seeming betrayal. You’d never forgive yourself if you got Luke hurt because of your own selfishness. 

It was only when your eyes started to water that Luke moved again, shifting his hand up to gently wipe under your eye, ready to catch the unshed tear. 

He moved closer, setting his chin on top of your head. The best comfort he can offer without risking stabbing you with his mask. “It’ll be okay.” He reassured, his voice quiet, but the way his chest rumbled your entire body helped your muscles relax ever so slightly. “We’ll figure it out… and I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.” 

You shifted to put your arms around him and hold him closer, no matter how awkward the position was. “I’m more worried about you.” 

Luke chuckled as he wrapped his arms around you in turn, giving you a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be fiiiine.” He teased, his tone more playful now. “You know better than anyone just how slippery I am~.” He added, and you could hear the grin i his voice and oh how you needed this. 

You laughed and moved away just enough to smack his arm, a few tears finally falling that you were quick to wipe away. “Luke!” You scolded, even though there wasn’t the slightest heat to your tone. 

Luke still seemed proud of himself, reluctantly letting you go so he could sit up on the arm of the chair more properly. There it is, that beautiful laugh he loved so much. The laugh that makes whatever punishments may come worth it. 

KIERAN

You’d found your way to one of the rooftops in the N109 zone, high up and out of reach of most people. Yet you’re still not surprised when you can feel someone watching you from nearby. You were sitting carefully on the edge with your legs dangling, kicking them ever so slightly. Tilting your head back to look towards your company, you offered a small smile when seeing Kieran. “I knew you’d find me eventually.” 

“I’d find you wherever you go.” He commented, walking closer now that he knows he won’t risk spooking you. “You know that.” 

“I do.” You answered, lifting your head properly again to resume staring out over the skyline. Honestly, that was part of what’s been going through your head. How, in Sylus’s efforts to ensure your safety, you had to give up your freedom. 

Sure, you could leave and go about, do pretty much whatever you wanted… but you were always watched. Monitored. No real moment to yourself. 

Though… sometimes, you don’t mind it. Because it means more time with Kieran, when he’s the one tasked with watching you. 

Kieran sat down beside you, within easy reach, but still giving you some space. He didn’t say anything, but you didn’t need him to. You scooted over to him, hesitating for a moment. “Where’s Luke?”

“Boss sent him to follow up on something.” Kieran answered quietly. 

You didn’t waste a moment before leaning against him, your head against his shoulder. 

Kieran waited just a moment before wrapping an arm around your shoulders, holding you close to him. “What are you thinking about?” 

You chewed your lip anxiously, trying to think about how to verbalize it. “Sylus. And you.” 

Kieran hummed to show he heard, but didn’t press for clarification. It was up to you if he needed to know. Oh how you loved that about him. How he accepted what he was given, especially when it came to you. You were both aware of the risks, of how bad of an idea this all was. How every little affection, every locking of your pinkies when you stood near each other, every passing glance, all of it just dug you two deeper into a hole you weren’t sure you could climb out of. 

“He’s trying so hard to convince me to Resonate with him… So much harder than I think I deserve, but… I also know it’s not going to work.” You admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “And I don’t know how to handle it… I don’t want to make him mad by telling him, but I don’t know how long I can put up with all of this either.” 

Your voice cracked, and Kieran pulled you closer against him, his head tilted down slightly towards you. He was careful not to risk poking you with his mask, no matter how badly he wants to nuzzle into you and smother you with affection, to try and dispel your sorrows. 

“I didn’t want to deal with all of this…” You mumbled, your eyes watering. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough for this….” 

Kieran hummed softly, resting his chin on top of yours and scooting away from the edge of the building to pull you into his lap. 

“I know that it’s a lot, especially when you didn’t ask for any of this…” He admitted quietly, “But… I’m glad that you’re here, all the same. I don’t want to know how to exist in a world without you.” 

You looked up at him, surprised by such outright affection. While it wasn’t as though he wasn’t capable of verbal reassurance, he tended to prefer actions over words. Perhaps he could tell that you really needed to hear it right now. Just that thought alone had your emotions spilling over, pulling yourself against him more as you tried to keep from having a complete breakdown on this rooftop. 

Kieran kept you close, gently pressing your head into his chest. “No one can see you, up here.” 

You gripped onto his shirt, trying to thank him, but instead what came out was a small sob. So there you sat with him, finally safe enough to let out some of the emotions you’ve kept bottled up for far too long. 

As much as he hated to see you cry, Kieran can’t help but be glad that you trust him enough to let your walls down with him. He wishes that you didn’t have to be so distressed thanks to your feelings for each other, that you didn’t have to have such a heavy weight on your shoulders. At least he can still be here for you… 

When you had finally managed to stop crying and lifted your head, Kieran gently ran his fingers through your hair. “Better?” 

You nodded, rubbing at your eyes to try and get rid of any lingering tears. “I’m sorry about that…”

“Don’t apologize.” He ‘scolded’, his tone gentle with no heat to it whatsoever. “You needed it. I’m glad I could be here to take care of you.” 

You offered Kieran a small smile, still lacking your usual energy but grateful all the same. “You always take such good care of me…” 

“Of course,” he hummed softly, “I’m always here for you.” 

[gffa]

I made the mistake, after episode 7 of the acolyte, to look through the tags (I’ve given up on Reddit for sw discourse lol) and there are so many bad takes out there. It’s like people watched a different episode. I’m glad there are some good meta takes from people like you, or I’d be lost! I think nuance is dead in fandom and people just can’t see things as more than “Jedi Bad!” When there’s so much more nuance than that. Were the Jedi perfect? No! Of course not. That would be so boring. If all Jedi were always perfect, SW would be dull. It’s because they aren’t perfect that they are so compelling. That they try to do the right thing, even if it doesn’t always work out.

A quote that came to mind by Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Anyways, thanks for your continued good meta and cultivating a nice pro-Jedi space!

Hi! I hear you, it can be tough going into the tags sometimes (and I've given up on both Reddit and Twitter for any kind of discussion, I just do not have the time/energy for that when sometimes I still have to fight for my life on Tumblr) but I will say that the best remedy I have for that is to start posting the content you want to see! It's so satisfying to write down your thoughts just to have fun in your own space, I don't need other people nearly so much because I'm having a great time just making myself laugh or cry over my faves or nerding out over worldbuilding. It's a bonus that I've collected a bunch of really great people around me, both ones I vibe with and ones who are chill when our vibes don't match and we disagree on stuff. I've been having an absolute joy of a time after episode 7 of The Acolyte because I've seen some great posts, I've had some hilarious conversations, etc. And part of that is just. Letting go of a lot of fandom. I'm a lot more relaxed about the Star Wars media I consume because it's not Lucas' Star Wars, I can take or leave it as I will and, most importantly, I don't need the Jedi to be perfect to be good. So much of my need for the Jedi to be perfect once upon a time came from that any little mistake they made, ones that were completely reasonable, ones that were simply just "didn't solve everyone's problems instantly", ones that were present in other characters who were allowed to just be instead of being raked over the coals for it, and how fandom would use those as a bludgeon against the Jedi. And that wasn't fun! So, instead, yeah, the Jedi are flawed, because any character ever is allowed to be flawed. The most cinnamon roll character ever is flawed and that's okay. Luke Skywalker is flawed. Padme Amidala is flawed. Bail Organa is flawed. Yoda is flawed. Obi-Wan Kenobi is flawed. Mace Windu is flawed. Ahsoka Tano is flawed. Leia Organa is flawed. Han Solo is flawed. Lando Calrissian is flawed. Ezra Bridger is flawed. Kanan Jarrus is flawed. Hera Syndulla is flawed. And on and on and on. If those characters can have flaws and be seen as good, well, then that's how I'm going to proceed with my Jedi faves, too. Oh, Mace wasn't bending over backwards to smile and be soft when he was having the worst day ever? That's what you're bringing me to show that he was bad actually? Babe, please, Luke started out as whiny and annoying and he's amazing, so Mace is amazing, too. The Jedi were in a no-win situation, not fighting would mean people would die, fighting meant compromising themselves, they had to make a choice, there was no third way out, there was no secret magical answer in Star Wars, so they did what they could to the best of their ability. And it's not on them to fix everything in the galaxy, they're peace-keepers who were drafted into a war, they're not the whole of the government, they're not there to be social service agents, that's not who they are or what they're equipped for. And yet they still tried to help whenever they could. Everyone fucks up sometimes and that's okay, it doesn't suddenly mean they're the real villain all along, because otherwise they would have to be literally be perfect to be "good" and that's just bad writing imo. Ultimately, just take a break from scrolling through the tags if you can and join me in writing your own stuff, it's hard at first to get the words to come out the way you want them to, but with some time and energy put into it, I've found it to be so much more rewarding. <3

[aways-and-forever-alone]

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[Trust Me]

[Jeremy Frazier x reader]

[Summer: just as Jeremy Frazier thinks he's failed at a second life, he's give another chance. But at what cost.]

[TW: death, yelling, violence. Reader is called pale but not in "your white way" in a like your blood is gone, and is called thin but its because of how they died, sad ending, a very small talk of killing, ones self]

[Credit: Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Larry Wilson, Danny Elfman, Seth Grahame-Smith, Miles Millar, Justin Theroux, Danny DeVito, David Katzenberg]

[Note:kinda prove read, i have dyslexia, spoilers! Had Mitski playing sooo... yea itll be a bit sad]

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P.O.V. Jeremy Frazier

One second I'm going to the human world the next I'm falling. I close my eyes and hope it doesn't hurt to much when I fall, but it is hell so it probably does.

But the impact never comes, instead I fell someone grab my hand, then pull me up...... out of hell.

I look up theres a person, they has slightly blue lips like they had ate something with blue die, and there skin looks pale like there blood was drained. There face was hollow.

"If you don't sign this I'll push you back" that the first thing they say, pushing a paper in my face. "What?" I ask I know what they said, the question was more about the paper they handed me "fine" they said reaching forward and starting to push me "wait, WAIT! ILL SIGN IT!" They pulled me back "I'll sign it" I say out of breath, trying to calm down.

"Good, here" they push the paper to my face and a pen. I rech forward. "What is this for" I look over the paper but there's nothing. I feel them start to push me, "Ok! God!" I mean it's this or hell. So I sign, the ink of the contract shows up. It bleeds on to the page, It says I need to help them kill someone.

"Who do you want dead?" I ask. "Someone you shouldn't mind killing" they answer.

They walk off leave me sitting where I one fell. I started falling in them, disappointed they didn't slow down for me.

P.O.V. reader

I led him away from the boarding pass, plays. As we walk I gave him the plan "Ok so, all I need is to find him, you won't worry about the rest" I say, the less he knows the more he be useful.

"I might worry, I don't even know who I'm helping kill" he said. Like I didn't know he's killed before.

"What did this guy do, is he your ex or something " he talked again. I laughed "I said it's someone you should want dead that implies you know him, tell me who could you have a problem with" he thought for a second "Real estate, the police?"he asked.

"What? No...... I'm not even going to ask, forget it"

"can I ask another question" he asked. "You just did" "what do you need me for, and why me" he ignored my comment and asks anyway. "I can track people, plus other things, I mean I did drag you from hell. He knows this, so he trick me to sign something making,I can't use my soul to find him. But if I use the eyes of someone else's soul-" he cuts me off finishing my sentence "you want to use my soul to fined him" I nod. "And it just so happens your desperate for life, and I'm willing to post pone your death" I put quotes around death with, my hands, because he already died.

"And when were done. What will happen to me" I what a moment then answer "you can't avoid hell" and that was the end of the conversation.

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We've stop for awhile. I tell him how we need a extremely high level of Spiritual energy, "Isn't all of netherworld spirituality" he said, and I explained that some areas had more energy like, the waiting room. The newest spirits had that just dead/closest to living energy. And it was very powerful.

And Regretfully so, I started likeing his Company. I even tried figuring a way to keep him alive. If I killed beetlejuice like pland, they I get him to fully trade lifes with the girl, that was with beetlejuice. He'd be alive like pland.

I would have find somewhere different then the waiting room, to meany witness, this will definitely go against the laws of death. And when I brake them I can't be somewhere obvious. So i have time escape.

As we walk, the silence is ended by another question."How did you die" after the question he told me how he died as I can only assume a attempt to make me more susceptible to sharing. And It work "poison" I answered, but came no reply so I filled the silence "the person we're killing, he tormented my family but left me alone, they.... got bad I guess and in self defense I killed them. The cops showed up. I knew they won't listen, so I took the poison."

"It was beetlejuice, that who where killing!" He said figureding it out. "Don't say him name, especially when talk of his down fall"

"Are you sure you can do that" he asked "we're all ready died" I stop finding a spot with a lot of energy. "Some more then others" he Whispered, but i was to buys make a plan "Ok, so I will touch your soul. Now if my calculations are right, witch most likely are because I've been working on this for 146 years, 3 months, 12 day, it shouldn't you at all. Any last wish before we do this." He think for a minute. he seems, Conflicted "I would like say good bye to my dad and mom, one last time" I think for a moment. "Yeah ok"

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He left on his owe, he would have to return because of our contract so I trusted him. I think of how I would never of know him if it wasn't for beetlejuice, maybe that clown wasn't all useless. Even if I can't track beetlejuice fiscally I'd watch him, wanting for a moment to attack, but him getting involved with the real world again mad it had, I only knew so much after that. It's funny how are greats blocks can fix the problem. I wouldn't even call Jeremy a problem. I'm happy I have him.

I made up my mind, I'll tell him that I'm going to get us free, and if he wants we can live together. And if he doesn't want me at least I helped. I use to call beetlejuice my unfinished business, but maybe it was being loved.

I waited and waited, I was getting worried what if the death force got him and he's back in hell, or what If beetlejuice knows and killed him. But just as the thought got worse he shows up again. "Hey sorry, mom talks so much" he laughed a little, he seemed a different. I couldn't plays my finger on it. Maybe he's scared of going to hell.

"Ok so-" I go on explaining what will happen and what to expect. "I won't be conscious, it'd be like I'm full energy" I go on. "Stand here" I reached forward and push my hands in to his soul, grabbing it. "This doesn't hurt right" I doble check, I know it shouldn't, but just to be safe "no.... no it's just weird" I smile "I can only imagine" I joke "Ok, I'm going to start, but I need to tell you something. I fond a way for you to live when we're doen, and maybe we can live together" he looks panicked, he stared talking but I cut him off "wait, it's a tra-" "Don't tell me your answer, think about it in till were done, I want you to want us" I smiled, unsure and scared, but hopefull.

The next few seconds where werid. My eyes rolled back and then I could see him, beetlejuice. He's in the human realm, at some kind of wedding. I pull out of the vision, the longer I'm there the more chance he'll find out. "Ok let's go" I say opening the door to the liveing world "wait-" he tried again "look I'm sorry if I made it werid, but it now or never. We can talk later" I say pushing him through the door, we open to a church, and I walk down the aisle, I could but find it ironic, this place was for heaven and life, but her I am with someone from hell about to kill for good.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejui-" Summon him, but he's already in front of me. "Here's real fun" he said, randomly pulling out popcorn, then spiting it out on my face. "They burnt my popcorn, oh well" he said throwing over he had "this way darling, It's time to die" I was so lost. How did he know I did everything to keep this under raps. How could he kno- oh. Jeremy. He wouldn't, right. I look over, he looked sad, he did. Is that what he was telling me, that I'd been out started again. Of course, maybe it'd be better if I just went to hell.

Beetlejuice Burped, and then made the officiant of th wedding move, probably because he, him self couldn't touch, the hole water. As it burned me I didn't scream. I felt nothing. "Stop with that face you'll make me feel bad" Beetlejuice said, with a laugh that said how "sad" he'd be. This were my last moments, I could only hope Jeremy made the right decision.

P.O.V. Jeremy Frazier

They're gonna and maybe if I wasn't selfish, we could live together.

That option seems better know........

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Don't know what this is, but I put a lot of effort in it so. I know it's not to long, I have dyslexia so it's hard to write long Pieces, but I'll get there :> have a good day

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[skylathescholarly]

My brain has been struggling to support Newsies brainrot and Batfam brainrot, and the result shouldn't surprise you.

Two words: Batfam Newsies AU.

I was struck with it halfway through watching a live production of the Broadway version (amazing), but it would probably be more based on the 1992 movie (childhood favorite, I know it better. As in I can quote it all to you.)

So hear me out- I think Jason as Jack Kelly. In 92sies, Jack Kelly is a fake name, so his real name revealed at the end can be ✨Jason Peter Todd✨! But like, grew up on the streets, no living family, watches out for the younger/newer kids, frustrated with the system. For him, I think, Santa Fe would be a lot more metaphorical, since I can't picture him wanting to leave Gotham, but Santa Fe (the song) just is Jason, you can't tell me otherwise.

Tim as Crutchy, and here's where more of the Broadway comes in, because I love their sibling dynamic in it, and it's a little less so in 92sies. Still there, but not as much. The live show I saw had a younger girl as Crutchy, and their dynamic was just amazingggg. Anyway. Maybe he ran away, maybe his parents died early, maybe they just ditched him, whatever. He does this now.

Dick as Davey, Damian as Les. Now their personalities don't match up quiiiite as well, but I think it could be done. If Dami's a little younger, perhaps. I'm thinking Dick got shuttled into the orphanage and met Dami, and bc it's still Gotham, the orphanage sucks and they're supposed to go make money or whatever. I dunno, that's the tricky bit.

We can keep Snyder, Medda (unless you wanted to put Selina there, but I don't really see it.) the Delanceys and Weasel, and the rest of the gang of newsies as is, unless anyone has suggestions for them. I'm all ears!

I'd go by the movie for this and have Clark Kent be Bryan Denton, the reporter, mostly because I can't really think of anyone to fit the role of Katherine, and definitely not someone I'd ship with Jason. Plus then, Pulitzer can be Lex Luthor and that's amazing to me lol.

And finally Bruce as Governor of New York Gotham, Teddy Roosevelt! I'd definitely have him play a larger role. You have Jason/Jack hitching a ride on his carriage from the Refuge, and then maybe trying to steal his tires or something later on, they talk, blah blah blah, strike stuff.

Of course, at the end of the strike and all, the brothers are closer than ever, and the nice old Governor is like "mine"

I don't know if this is even coherent, but please feel free to add your ideas!! If you use this to write a fic (please someone, I want to but I'm so busy, maybe eventually) just make sure to credit 😊 if there are any Newsies x Batman fics, PLEASE link them!!! I'd love to see it!

[eerna]

How is the hate watching going? Love your rants 😭

Dhshshsh thank youuu~~

I finished the show, but I was so weak from how dumb the ending was that I forgot to blog about it. God. God what is this show. I will sum up my opinions here.

This isn't an adaptation, it's a totally different alt history with a fantasy twist story. There isn't a single plot point that happens the same way in both the book and the show, including the actual historical guidelines. I don't even think I noticed any book quotes (aside from a few remixed ones, like Jane inventing the "you come here often?" line). Idk why they didn't just call it something else, it's not like MLJ has a big fandom they could mooch off of.

I already whined about this but I need to re-establish it. All the changes made were to make the story into tiktok romantasy brainrot. The book was already super sweet and silly with the horniness appropriate for a YA romance, but these guys went full "booktok authors advertising their romantasy works" with it. It has tropes just for the sake of tropes a la Bridgerton, where it doesn't take its time to relish in any bc it has to sprint to the next one to check the box. How you mess up an arranged marriage plotline is beyond me, I think that Jane and Guildford called each other "wife" and "husband" like??? Twice???? Bc they were too busy holding each other at knife point or looking at each other's showering butts or whatever. They didn't even TRY to include the shared curse, apparently that was too boring and vanilla for them once they wrote in that Ethians keep their clothes on when transforming.

The plot is simply wack. The pacing is off because they stretched the first half of the story across 8 eps 50 minutes each, so a lot of the time everyone is pointlessly meandering waiting for the next plot point/reveal so everyone can move on. And this usually happens in the form of sex scenes. It is actually hilarious how many plot relevant sex scenes there are, at LEAST one per ep, where characters are discussing the plot and/or convincing each other to reveal their secrets. Do the writers know there are other situations that allow characters to talk to each other??? Even Jane and Guildford have sex and she goes "So about your dead mother"

The writers keep forgetring previously established stuff. Edward and Henry can imprison/execute anyone without trial, but Jane has to "find evidence" that these guys are trying to kill her. It is established Ethians absorb their clothes and any items they are holding into their animal form, but then Guildford is running around with a shackle around his neck claiming it will break his spine if he turns into a horse while it is on him, BUT THEN later he gets out of thick ropes that couldn't be cut by turning into a horse??????? Did they forget their own rules of magic??????

The dialogue isn't as bad as something you'd see on CW, but it still isn't good. I hate it when you can tell a show is trying to be edgy by constantly swearing and saying and doing shocking things, it feels unnatural and dumb. Mary in particular is the worst case of this, I don't think she has a single character trait there that isn't there for humor edgyness. She keeps licking and chewing random things, doesn't bathe, keeps getting turned on when her father and brother are mentioned, and has meltdowns like a spoiled child (at one point this is a plot point, as in "Jane gets her to get upset in public so she loses her political credibility", but there are 0 consequences and Mary keeps acting like a child in front of the entire court and NO ONE does anything and she is STILL QUEEN when credits roll on ep 8). This is the MAIN VILLAIN why is ANYONE afraid of her is beyond me. Also the cursing, murderous, racist, genocidal 10-year-old was so annoying and I kept imaging her parents and all of the writers getting sent to the salt mines for putting that little actress through that.

The lead actors are stuck in this mess. Jane and Guildford had good chemistry, in a "these actors clearly know what they are doing even if no one else in the production does" way. It went a step further and Jane had strange charged chemistry with others too, to the point where I was like "... Did she ever smash Susannah???" and "Are we adding Archer into the mix????". Lady Frances and Lord Dudley also made me think "I wish you were in a better show".

Around the midpoint of the show when I realized Jane is not yet gonna be deposed I was like "Oh no, are they splitting it into two seasons???" But then Edward finished up his portion of the story to join the finale and Archer joined Jane so I was like "Oh, they are just changing the culmination to happen during the execution". But THEN the show ends with a cliffhanger and a promise to dethrone Mary. S2 will look even less like the book, but maybe that's a blessing.

The soundtrack sounded so cheap and digital. Amazon do not lie to me and say you couldn't get an orchestra to record it. The tracks were on loop you literally needed like a few days tops to record it.

All in all. This show sucks man I am so annoyed at it

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Fan Fiction: Final Part

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: canon angst and violence, extra angst

Summary: Not only did Chuck write books about your lives, but a damn musical theater is putting a play on about your goddamn lives. You try to let them handle this one on their own but they're not letting you go, and it's time to bring insurance to make sure you never leave them.

Season Ten Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. I love seeing any and all comments <3

x

Marie and Maeve are back in the auditorium but Marie is panicking.

"Hey!" Dean exclaims and rushes over to Marie. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," she gasps.

"Why don't you guys calm her down and I'll find wooden stakes in the trunk."

Sam leaves and Dean kneels down to get on Marie's level.

"Is Marie gonna get eaten?" Maeve asks.

"If we're lucky," you glare.

"Nothing is going to happen. Don't listen to her. Marie, look at me." When she does, he continues. "As soon as that curtain rises, we're going to be there to take out Calliope."

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't written this dumb play, none of this would've happened."

"First of all this play isn't dumb." You open your mouth to say something when Dean glares at you. "It's not dumb."

"I thought you didn't believe in this interpretation?"

"I don't. Like, at all, but you do. I need you to believe in it with all you've got so we can kill Calliope and save your friends. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "If Sam, Dean, and Y/N were real, they wouldn't back down from a fight. Especially my sweet, brave, selfless Sam. There's nothing he can't do."

"I'm not touching that subject," Dean shakes his head.

"Okay, let's do this!" She grabs a dark wig that the young woman was using who was playing Sam. "I understudy Sam. I used this for my one-woman Orphan Black show, last year. it's gonna have to work for Sam." She puts the wig on her head. "Writer. Director. Actor. I'm gonna Barbra Streisand this bitch."

Guess it's time for a fucking show. People pile into the auditorium once the show is about to begin to see this either rock or go up in flames. The curtains are closed so no one sees what's happening backstage. The girl who plays Dean walks past Dean wearing the amulet that Sam gave him all those years ago. You're not sure what happened to that necklace.

"The Samuelt?" Dean asks Marie.

"That amulet is a symbol of the Winchesters' brotherly love."

Sam comes back with three wooden stakes he's prepared for the fight that will happen. He hands you yours, and you yank it from his grasp angrily. All the girls line up and Sam scans them with a frown.

"Wait a second, where's Chuck?"

"Oh, I love him, I do, but the whole author introducing himself into the narrative thing is just not my favorite. I kind of hate the meta stories," Marie says.

"Alright, listen up, girl," Dean announces. "Now, you're all here because you love Supernatural. I know I have expressed some differences of opinion regarding this particular version of Supernatural. Tonight is all about Marie's vision. This is Marie's Supernatural. So, I want you to get out there, I want you to stand as close as she wants you to, and I want you to put as much sub and add text as you possibly can. There is no other road. No other way. No day, but today."

"Did he quote Rent?" Maeve whispers to Marie.

"Now, you get out there, and you kick it in the ass!"

The girls cheer from the pep talk and encourage each other. They all separate to either go backstage or on stage as they get ready. You and Dean stand on one side of the stage while Sam stands on the other side, all with stakes in hand. Marie slips through the curtain to address the audience.

"This is stupid," you hiss at Dean.

"Shut up and keep an eye out."

"Good evening, everybody! Welcome to our production of Supernatural. I'm not gonna lie. It might be a full-on Gallagher show opening up this piece. Uh, those of you in the front rows may want to use the ponchos we provided for you under your seats. You may, in fact, get wet on this ride. Um, I would like to thank the cast and crew--"

"She's stalling. Let's do this," Dean says to Maeve.

"Copy that. Curtain, kids. It's showtime."

The music starts playing, making Marie jump in surprise.

"That concludes our introduction for the night. Everybody sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

Marie scurries on stage as the curtains open. The beginning number of singing your life introduction sounds and the girl who plays Dean steps forward. The song you heard when you first arrived starts playing, and she goes through the song about how John and Mary got together, had Sam and Dean, your mother dying, blah, blah, blah.

Dean seems to be enjoying the song while you're absentmindedly playing at the thing on your neck. You can't fucking believe Dean did this. When did he have time to search for something like this? Has he been planning this for a while? Was Sam in on it? You look over at Sam in time to see the big scary scarecrow appear behind him. Apparently, Dean sees it too because he starts warning his brother who is confused.

"Turn around!" Dean yells slightly lower than the music playing. Sam turns to face the scarecrow who grabs him. This is all happening while the girls on stage act and sing. "Come on."

"Do we have to," you complain. Dean drags you along backstage to get to where Sam is, but the younger brother is nowhere to be found once you get to his spot. "Where the hell did he go?"

The first act ends and goes straight into the next one where Fake!Dean and Fake!Cas are having a conversation on fake phones.

"Okay, you can pop in tomorrow morning."

"Yes. I'll just wait here, then," Fake!Cas sighs.

Another song starts playing which is a solo moment for the girl who plays Cas. You and Dean rush over to Marie who is already backstage. Apparently, she saw the moment Sam was taken.

"What do we do now?" she panics.

"Just, stick to the plan, okay? Keep singing until the scarecrow comes for you."

"Don't die, okay?" you grin and pat her back as you walk away from her.

Marie walks on stage as soon as Cas' part is over so she can begin singing her part as Sam. She is nervous about what's about to happen but is acting like a professional. The scarecrow appears behind Marie to consume her, and that's when Dean jumps into action. He jumps onto the scarecrow, forgetting he's on stage in front of a large audience. Both Fake!Sam and Fake!Dean keeps singing as if this isn't happening behind them. You look to the audience to see one of the members in the front row put his poncho on.

The scarecrow and Dean wrestle before the monster throws Dean across the stage over to you. He slides right in front of your feet, and Dean glares up at you.

"Help!"

"Fine," you roll your eyes.

You twirl the stake in your hands as you walk onto the stage. You're not fucking scared of this thing. You'll fucking take it down before it realizes what's going on. The scarecrow runs at you to tackle you but you quickly move out of the way before he can touch you.

"Missed me!" you laugh.

You jump onto the scarecrow's back to strangle him but he grabs both your arms in retaliation. He uses all of his immense strength to flip you over him and to the front of the stage. You quickly get up and ram your stake into his chest. You turn him so his back is facing the audience and yours is facing the backdrop of the set. You step back from the scarecrow when you see it start to tremble.

The scarecrow explodes in a purple goo substance, covering almost everyone in the audience. A bit of goo gets on your jacket to which you huff out in annoyance. You walk toward Dean and shove the stake into his chest.

"You're welcome," you scoff and walk off.

Silence falls on the audience until the guy wearing the poncho stands up and begins clapping. Everyone in the audience follows suit, and Dean steps next to a starstruck Marie.

"Take a bow, Sammy."

Marie, Dean, and Fake!Dean takes a bow for the audience. It's a good time to take an intermission for the rest of the crew to get ready for the final act. Sam suddenly appears with Ms. Chandler and the other young girl who went missing. It's time to finally get out of this shitty town and back to the Bunker, so Sam and Dean are saying their goodbyes.

"You did good out there, kid," Dean says to Marie.

"You're not so bad yourself."

"You know what? This has been educational to see the story from your perspective. Keep writing Shakespeare."

"Even if it doesn't match how you see it?"

"I have my version, and you have yours."

The light starts flickering to signal it's almost time to go on again.

"One minute, folks. One minute," Maeve announces.

You and Dean walk away from Marie, but she stops him from going far.

"Dean?" She must believe you're who you say you are. "You should have never thrown this away."

She gives him the prop Samulet he noticed earlier. Dean chuckles as he takes it, and he admires it.

"It never really worked. I don't need a symbol to remind me how I feel about my brother."

"Just take it. Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean automatically says.

He quickly realizes it's not Sam he's talking to and blushes in embarrassment. Marie laughs at him before turning to you.

"Y/N, look, I don't know what's going on with you, but the Y/N I read about has a love so strong for Dean that nothing can break it. I just thought you'd want a reminder of it."

You take two steps closer to her before Dean has a chance to do something.

"The last thing I'd want to remember is my lame-ass excuse of a husband."

You turn and walk away, not missing the way Dean's eyes fill with sadness and hurt. What you're saying to him and about him is really hurting him, and that fact brings a smirk to your face. Dean pushes back the tears and walks to Sam.

"You know what, Dean? You were right. Staying cooped up isn't helping us. We need--"

It's as if the universe aligned perfectly because the next scene starts with Fake!Sam and Fake!Dean in the car. They're having a conversation that perfectly fits with what Sam was about to say.

"We need to get back on the road, Dean. Doing what we do best."

"What is that?" Marie asks.

"You're right, Sammy. Out on the road. Just the two of us."

"The two of us against the world," Fake!Sam says.

"What she said," Sam smiles and nudges his brother.

The scene moves onto a different one where all the characters get on stage to sing a cover of Carry On Wayward Son. Characters you know in real life. A girl steps on stage that you're not sure you recognize, but when you do, a smirk grows on your face.

"Who's that?" Sam asks Maeve.

"That's Adam. John Winchester's other kid. He's still trapped in the cage in Hell with Lucifer."

Poor son of a bitch.

"Carry on my wayward son / There'll be peace when you are done / Lay your weary head to rest / Don't you cry no more / Once I rose above the noise and confusion / Just to get a glimpse behind this illusion / I was soaring ever higher."

The song continues as Sam and Dean watch with raw emotion in their eyes.

"Masquerading as a man with the reason / My charade is the event of the season / And if I claim to be a wise man / It surely means I don't know / Carry on my wayward son / There'll be peace when you are done / Lay your weary head to rest / Don't you cry no more / Carry on."

You grab both of their shoulders and fit your head between theirs so they both can hear you above the singing.

"I am so glad I don't have a soul because that was painful to watch."

When you leave, Dean turns to Sam with tears in his eyes.

"Purifying her soul better work because I need my wife back."

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[krindor]

Jewish Life Pre-Diaspora: Women's Hair

back in april @mylight-png made a post expressing a desire to learn about small details of "ancient Judean" life such as clothes, jewelry, hair, etc. and I've found the idea of addressing what I, as a Jewish archaeologist, could in that post intriguing. these types of questions are some of the most interesting, but also the most challenging, for archaeology.

Defining "ancient Judeans"

In this, I'm looking for ancient Judeans as defined by Light's quote "I wish to know what traditional, pre-occupation, pre-exile Jewish life was like." which I'm taking as before the babylonian diaspora in 586 BCE, because anything after that date is post-diaspora, and while there were occupations before 586 BCE, I want to be able to give some answers.

Women's Hair

The only definitive visual depiction of Judean women I could find came from the Lachish Relief, a wall decoration in Sennacherib's Southwest Palace in Nineveh, which is in modern-day Iraq. It depicts the outcome of the siege of Lachish in 701 BCE, where the Assyrians sacked the Judean city as a part of Sennacherib's campaigns into Israel and Judah (the same campaign that led to the diaspora of the 'ten lost tribes')

In the relief, women are displayed as wearing long headscarves (below) so unfortunately this tells us little about their hair (in the relief, children are shown as miniaturized adults, so we also learn nothing about girls hair from the relief).

(Image credit: Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)

Hope for learning anything about women's hair isn't lost though, thanks to a type of artifact called a Judean Pillar Figurine (or JPF's for short). These figurines are split into two groups: those using well detailed molds, and handmade, more abstract pieces.

(Deutsch, 2022)

Hundreds of JPF's have been found, with over 50% of them coming from the Jerusalem area and all dating to the 9th-6th centuries BCE, which is the time period we're looking for. The primary issue is that we don't know what exactly they were used for, or who they represent. They could be depictions of Judean women, but it's also likely that they are depictions of Ashera, a local fertility deity that was worshiped alongside El/Hashem in domestic settings (religion in pre-diaspora Israel and Judah is messy, I should probably do one of these about it), and it's even been theorized that they are children's toys. The two types may even be used differently, we just don't know. So while I'm going to show the JPF hairstyles, keep in mind that these may not be the actual hairstyles Judean women wore.

The mold-made faces consistently have "voluminous cheek- or chin-length hair framing a face with full cheeks, a mouth that may smile slightly, a chin, nose, and almond-shaped eyes." (Ben-Shlomo and McCormick 2021, 27, image below from the same, 29).

This hairstyle is seen in the area as early as the 12th century BCE, on an ivory flask "bottle figure" from Lachish, which is pre-Israelite, so this hairstyle has been in the region for a while. (Niditch 2008, 44), and may resemble an Egyptian wig in its form, owing to Egypt's cultural influence over Canaanite and early Israelite culture (Deutsch 2022).

This consistency and longevity in the features is also used as an argument that they represent a single individual (again, Ashera), rather than this hairstyle being ubiquitous among Judean women.

Among the handmade, pinched face JPF's, there is naturally more variety, and a possible hairstyle can be seen in them from Tell en-Nasbeh. Some of these handmade JPF's have a headband that has two side locks coming from underneath it (below), and while none displayed side locks without a headband, the reverse isn't true, though exceptionally rare (2 of the 37 JPF's found had a headband without hair).

(Ben-Shlomo and McCormick 2021, 29)

Conclusion

Due to the undetermined nature of the JPFs, and the lack of other evidence at the moment, it's impossible to definitively say "this is how ancient Judean women styled their hair." That being said, I hope I've presented some current ideas from my field that are interesting, and shed a little light on such an ephemeral topic.

TLDR: I couldn't find much, but there is ongoing research into this topic in archaeology.

[amemberoftheosc]

Thoughts on TPOT 13

I thought it was a really great episode and I was glad to see all the character development and interactions that they had! It was silly and stuff and I liked that I think they did my favorite characters pretty well and the character arcs are going well!

[Spoilers ahead!]

It was great to see Firey and Leafy on their Dreamier Island! Aha, oh my gosh, it's ever dreamier than OG Dream Island! It was sad however to see that the storm that One brought to the island, perhaps a test before doing the real damage(?), kill Leafy yet somehow spare Firey And the end credit scene! He looked so sad :< Like, his head going down told it all We needed no words, he is alone and I don't know how he's supposed to get Leafy back! Is her supposed to just travel to the mainland to recover her? That sounds even more lonely than just being there on the island I hope that Leafy somehow is able to come back to him They really seemed like they were having fun together and putting the past behind them!

Now onto the meat and bones, the challenge! Sweet little challenge and I loved what they did with the dragon dodging the fireballs using that classical dodging movement! And oof! That conversation between Golf Ball and Donut? Man, they both had some good points I must say Someone has got to show Golf Ball that she needs the support of her team in order to win! Her statements about wanting victory and feeling as though her efforts are in vain are good to hear It shows that she does care, it's just she doesn't know how to show it Reminds me of Nickel from I.I before S3 and S2 ep15 came actually However, I believe she has gotten some character growth! After all, she seemed to care about finding Basket Ball and even said to her team that they should go to Basket Ball's factory, not hers! Lastly, I found Golf Ball thinking that Tennis Ball was going to save her was sweet I've been taking a liking to Tengolf and I just found that sweet of her to think Now the rejoiners! Thanks to One for making it so TWO contestants rejoin! And yippie! Pencil and Liy made it out on top and that's amazing ^^ I find them kind of like foils of each other really Because, even though Liy didn't choose to rejoin her old team, everyone on her old team is glad to see her back She is also mostly vibing and chilling with her team Meanwhile Pencil out here, getting rejected from Ice Cube and Book, getting sassy, and then putting Ice Cube's and Book's team UFE! Talk about revenge, maybe Ice Cube could learn a thing or two from Pencil Ah that reminds me, I found Ice Cube taking Book away from Pencil and stating that they would rather be on separate teams from Pencil and actually conversing with Book made me happy! Since they had a nice bond during the beginning of BFB but then eventually drifted, even into TPOT But now, they're talking again!!!

Robot Flower's arc has been something I can't recall that well but she changed a herself a little bit to be like how Flower was in BFDI and then One worsened it! Oh the mayhem and destruction And then Basket Ball agreeing to One to get Robot Flower back and Robot Flower seeing who they were on the screen, thinking: "Huh, that was me?" And then Basket Ball going: "No, that wasn't you. I missed you" And Robot Flower appreciating the sentiment The quotes aren't quite correct but I tried lol Also, side notes, Pillow locking Golf Ball and Donut outside on the hotel roof time just reminded me of a reverse Seven Minutes in Heaven lol And now it reminding me of a fic where two people get trapped in a closet so they can work out their bickering and differences (it was a DDLC fic lol, Sayori and Monika trap Natsuki and Yuri inside it if I remember correctly) When I saw the Game Cube Book picked up I was like :O I thought it was pretty cool seeing it! Also, I saw someone comment that what One wants is Two's powers, which makes sense The "not powerful enough" comment and stuff I think that's all I have for this episode and I'm glad to have done my thoughts on an OSC episode again ^^

[funishment-time]

🔵 Kodaka BlueSky Q&As: Misc Rain Code & Other Questions

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: Please be advised! Translations of all Japanese answers derive from a combination of Google Translate and my manager's three-quarters-remembered Japanese. We've tried our best to work out what he's saying, but there will be mistakes here and there. Do not take this as gospel!

To avoid spreading too much misinfo, where we're completely boggled about an answer, we've decided not to even make an attempt. We'll still list the post, but mark it accordingly.

💕 FEBRUARY 2024:

Q: While I'm at it, could you please tell me where to send fan mail for Rain Code and Danganronpa?

A: Please send it to Spike Chunsoft.

/////

Q: What's your favorite furikake?

A: The ashes of the dead.

NOTE: Furikake is a type of Japanese seasoning. Kodaka is a weird guy.

/////

Q: Is it okay to send a New Year's card to Too Kyo [Games] as a fan letter to you?

A: That's fine. I'll watch for it.

/////

Q: Can I send a birthday present for a character to the company?

A: Please send it to Spike Chunsoft!

/////

Q: Please tell us what games you've played! What movies and shows have you watched? What books, manga, and comics have you read? What media have you consumed?Please tell us! We want to know what are your inspirations. I don't know what media I should consume. And we all want to know more about you!

A: I am inspired by all kinds of games, comics, novels and movies. I used to work part-time in a video game store. I love Tarantino.

/////

Q: Do you have a favorite line or phrase from Danganronpa or Rain Code?

A: When I search for "Danganronpa quotes" and look back at the lines that come up, I think, "This is a great line!" For Rain Code, it's any line that Shinigami-chan says that helps Yuma get back on his feet!

/////

Q: Sorry for the second question! I have a lot of questions about Rain Code, but I'm hesitant to ask them here because it would be a total spoiler for the main story... I'd love to have the opportunity someday to ask questions with full spoilers OK. Are there any plans for that at the moment?

A: That sounds great. I'd love to do it. But I don't think I'd be able to reveal spoilers openly unless it's a real event.

/////

Q: Excuse me for the second question!! Previously, there was a Danganronpa collaboration with Identity V, but are there plans for a Rain Code collaboration...!!!!!

A: We would really appreciate it if you could send a persistent message to Identity V!

/////

Q: I'm sorry it's not Danganronpa or Raincode... I love both series, and I'm really looking forward to the release of Tribe Nine. I have a question about Tribe Nine. Sonoda from the Oota Tribe could kill Haneda at any time, even though he has murderous intent towards him, so why does he keep him alive by just beating him up until he's on the verge of death? Also, why is Sonoda the only one who is a little better dressed (in a suit and tie) than the other members?

A: When it comes to Tribe Nine, to be honest, Akatsuki has a much higher weight than Too Kyo Games, so only Akatsuki can answer that question...!

NOTE: Akatsuki is the company publishing the upcoming Tribe Nine game.

/////

Q: Are there any other Rain Code characters besides Dr. Robot that are favorites of Mr. Komatsuzaki? Also, I would like to know more about Mr. Komatsuzaki and would like to see more media exposure for him.

A: Basically, I think they are all my favorites. I'm very particular about it, and I've made many drafts over the years. But I'm sure ramen store owners would love him [Akira].

NOTE: We're pretty sure "Dr. Robot" is the character listed as "Akira" in the credits, but we're not 100% certain. Also, Komatsuzaki is the artist behind Danganronpa and Rain Code.

/////

Q: What is your favorite foreign movie?

A: Tarantino!!

/////

Q: Is there ever a character that you liked so much that you thought it would be a shame to kill them off, but you still ended up killing them anyway?

A: On one hand, I want to get to know them better. If the character isn't well-defined enough to the point where I want to get to know him or her better, there's no point in letting him or her die… So, I let them die while wishing I could depict more of them.

/////

Q: Mr Kodaka, can I please ask another question? Persona 3 RELOAD came out recently. Have you played it yet? Did you play the original Persona 3, including Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable? Have you played all of the Persona games, including the spinoffs? Are you a fan of the Persona series?

A: i have played all the persona series, from 1 to 5. I haven't played any of the spin-offs though, I'm waiting for the release of 6.

🍀 MARCH 2024:

Q: How did you and Mr. Komatsuzaki meet and start working together?

A: We met in the smoking area at work.

/////

Q: Please tell me how to cook delicious rice🍚

A: Mannan rice is great for dieting.

NOTE: Mannan rice is a (usually) microwavable kind of rice that's part konjac (you know, the thing Kirumi has trouble cutting). It's low-calorie. The joke here is probably that Kodaka doesn't cook, he makes things in the microwave. Relatable, really.

/////

Q: What are your favorite indie games? Have any indie games inspired and/or influenced your own games and works? If so, what are those indie games that inspired you as a creator? Are there any indie games that you recommend we should play? Or what indie games should more people play in general? 🙏 🙏 🙏

A: If Hotline Miami is an indie game, it is Hotline Miami. I love it the best.

/////

Q: Can I please ask another question?🙏 I really enjoyed watching Akudama Drive, so I would like to see the concept art and character and setting materials, but I don't know where to find them. I especially want to see drawings by Rui Komatsuzaki, Cindy H. YAMAUCHI and the staff. Is there a book? 📖

A: The artwork for Akdamadrive has not been released. Maybe not much is made in the case of the animation. Please submit a request to Studio Piero for Komatsuzaki and Cindy's designs, as well as Kansai's designs, which are awesome!

/////

Q: i'll ask another! piggybacking off another question on here, what games have you been playing recently? what games are you excited for coming out in the future?

A: I've been too busy lately to play games. I want to play cruel games.

/////

Q: I love games with interesting stories like Danganronpa and Raincode, but Mr. Kodaka, who writes the scenarios for such interesting games, is there a game whose story you thought "this wowed me!"?

A: Resident Evil Code Veronica, FF7, and Killer 7 are fun. When I first played Persona 3, I thought that Megaten [Megami Tensei] killed it.

/////

Q: if you had a forte which would you want to have? i want to have desuhiko’s disguise

A: me too!!!!!!

🥬 APRIL 2024:

n/a

🌺 MAY 2024:

Q: Are there any plans to make a Happy Rain Code where the train incident never happened?

A: I'm sure Melami would solve the first clock tower case. No, she won't wear those clothes…

NOTE: A reference to Melami's forte, which allows her to summon the soul of a deceased person by wearing their clothes.

/////

Q: Mr. Kodaka, you often respond to illustrations drawn by your fans on Twitter, but do you also watch the hand-drawn videos that your fans post on YouTube?

A: I don't watch YouTube because it takes a long time. I can see the pictures right away [on Twitter], so I just respond to the pictures and hope that people who like them will follow me.

/////

Q: Which do you prefer, liberal arts girls or science girls?

A: I like both!

/////

Q: Was Mr. Kodaka a super high school level film director when he was in high school?

A: During my time at university and as a part-time worker afterwards, I was a really low-achieving film director.

☀️ JUNE 2024:

Q: I have a question about the world of Rain Code. I heard that there are about 1000 super detectives in the world of Rain Code, but are there detectives with the same abilities and titles?

A: There are similarities, but no exact matches.

/////

Q: Regarding Raincode's special detective abilities. In the story, it was stated that if one acquired special detective abilities during his two-year training period, one would be registered as a super detective. If one were to express an ability that could be considered a special detective ability while working as a regular detective, would one be re-registered as a super detective?

A: Abilities often depend on innate talent, but that's a possibility.

/////

Q: Is it decided how old the characters in works such as Danganronpa and Raincode are? If so, how old are they?

A: Of course, Danganronpa is mostly in their teens. Raincode has a wide range, but even Yakou is in his 30s.

NOTE: This is kind-of hilarious, because I'm pretty sure it's canonically stated Yakou is actually in his late 20s...in something that Kodaka himself wrote. I'll have to go find evidence.

/////

Q: Why do you have so many cats in your work?

A: Because Komatsuzaki likes cats. I like dogs.

NOTE: Komatsuzaki is Kodaka's usual artist. He's worked on Danganronpa, Rain Code, and the upcoming The Hundred Line.

/////

Q: There have been various spinoffs for Raincode and Danganronpa, but can we assume that the interpretations and character settings discussed in these spinoffs are official?

A: I'm not sure about the official take [from Spikechun], but if you enjoy it, enjoy it, and if you don't want to accept it, don't accept it. I think it's all up to the player's freedom.

NOTE: By "spinoff," this probably means the anthology mangas, light novels, audio dramas, etc.

🎇 JULY 2024:

Q: Do Rain Code and Danganronpa take place in the same world? Do any of your games and works have a shared universe with another? Or are they all separate? 🤔 💭 I'm asking because I just had a dream about Rain Code today!

A: I won't make a clear statement. I am not sure what will happen in the future. Anyway, please spread the Rain Code around the world.

/////

Q: Can I change my clothes before changing into the Final Defense Academy uniform in Hundred Line? I like the original clothes because they are so unique... Or do you wear uniforms only during battles?

A: We'll give you more details later, but they usually wear casual clothes and change into their uniforms when they fight!

NOTE: I'll start a Hundred Line section when the game comes out next year. For now, I'll put Hundred Line questions in here or in Game Development.

[jmdbjk]

BTS: Beyond the Story

These are just my personal thoughts and opinions after finishing the book. I don't quote the book in this blog post. I don't talk about specific topics so I don't really give any spoilers. But I do talk about my thoughts on what I've read. If you don’t want to know ANYTHING about the book, keep scrolling.

My overall impression: Wow. Amazing.

I have learned so much. If you've been with me a while on this blog, you may already know that my BTS journey began right before the release of Map of the Soul:7.

My journey could be described as: if you will, visualize opening a Google map and dragging that little Street View dude/dudette to the middle of a huge city and dropping him/her/them there and then just moving along in street view as you explore. I was that little guy going this way and that trying to consume BTS content and trying to make sense of it all but I was zig zagging backwards and forwards in time with no view from above to see where I was going or where I had been. I'd watch something that would lead me this way and then the next thing I watched would propel me back in time and then I'd have to stop and watch the current Run BTS (show) as it dropped and I was ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE. consuming content back and forth chronologically and it was difficult to put it all in order because there is so much content available on so many different platforms.

But this book lays it out all nice in a straight line with the visual, musical and information references to go with everything. I LOVE IT! I feel like I graduated from Bangtan Academy with an undergrad degree in BTSology.

And now in their own words I have a much better understanding of their process as they worked on specific albums and songs, what their motivations, fears, happiness and goals were. And what the songs, albums and concepts were about, what the lyrics meant to them.

My personal takeaways:

• The members struggled with imposter syndrome as they experienced success and the more popular they became. A lot of times they were unsure if they deserved the success they were achieving. Each success made them work hard for the next goal but the sudden overwhelming global recognition was hard to handle.

• They consider this their job. They understand its a business that exists to make money. And most of the time, they love this job. And they work very hard at it.

• At the same time, they also define themselves strongly as members of BTS. They are a team who know each others strengths and weaknesses.

• Their bond with each other is rare in the entertainment world.

• They each describe themselves very clearly.

• I am seeing JM and JK in a new light here. Jimin and Jungkook's words and thoughts impressed me. Their poise and awareness and eloquence even when they were explaining how they were struggling and wondering if what they were doing was right and going to work. Their determination can be felt in their words as they explain how they wondered if they would make it, and once they did, how would they survive the pressure. Jimin was always tuned in emotionally to what was going on.

• Jungkook is wise beyond his years. His baby image is not real. Many are not giving him the credit he deserves when it comes to knowing what he’s doing. He grew up fast in a world we know nothing about because we don't live in it.

• The fact that Jimin and Jungkook's trip to Tokyo has its own section under the title "Real" Love is mind blowing.

• The relationship of the group and the company working together to make it all happen was one of the reasons they made it. Their mentor Bang Si-Hyuk, nurtured their art and pushed them until they soared. And every one of them speaks highly of Bang PD.

• The haters, the amount of hate and the types of hate aimed at them was unbelievable. I always thought there was a little exaggeration in regards to that but no. Some form of hate/backlash/bullying/efforts to discredit them, was there from the beginning, from all sides. It is a fucking miracle they are still with us. I am in awe of their ability to walk through that fire.

• I feel like my habit of looking at the "big picture" gained a wider scope into their world.

I will re-read and refer to some of my favorite content not included in the QR codes in the book so I can see if what I know now changes how I feel. Hopefully I will come away with a post-grad degree in BTSology after that.

The vernacular in translating Korean to English is not a smooth word for word translation so I think some of the passion and emotion in what the members were trying to convey does not easily come across with as much emphasis as it probably was said during their interviews but it does not diminish the meaning of what they said. When I re-read I am going to really concentrate on hearing their own voices as I read the member's words again.

The only real issue I had and it is very minor: the method of using italicized all-caps for the lengthy album titles became burdensome to read. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE: PT. 1; THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE: PT. 2 and THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN LIFE: YOUNG FOREVER were a lot for my eyeballs and brain to handle when they were repeated again and again in paragraph after paragraph.

[oneatlatime]

The Boy in the Iceberg

58 seconds in and I can already see why people say this show is gorgeous. Look at those colours! Although the double image around some of the line art is distracting.

Can water do that? Just have random fast currents in an otherwise pretty still ocean? Also, Catara couldn't have grabbed a spare paddle and helped? Actually they seemed screwed anyway. If they were going any faster they probably would have landed harder, or not on ice at all.

Judging by Sokka's lack of reaction to Catara's temper tantrum, I'd say she has that exact rant at least three times a week.

It's a face!

Maybe the giant orb created the current to summon them there?

Catara has no self-preservation instincts at all. Giant glowy orb washed up in front of you, don't poke it!

Tiger seals.

Solitaire. Neat.

That haircut is not good. Also a very unique choice for a voice. Wait this is Zuko? The guy everyone's obsessed with?

I love Appa already.

"this is Catara, my flying sister." A man after my own heart.

They really would have been stuck without Aang to offer a ride. What was their plan to get home?

Zuko is a prince? Hunting the avatar to reclaim his honour. Not sure how those two go together but ok. I guess 100 years ago the avatar stole a time-travelling Zuko's honour.

Appa can swim through the night? Why does he have six legs?

I didn't know this was a dream sequence at first and I was wondering where Sokka and Catara were. For future reference: dreams are brown.

Aang should have frozen to death by now. That's nowhere near enough clothes. And Catara can't be only just noticing the blue lines now.

Seems like the village has hit a rough patch.

If this is how catara reacts to a bald child, she's gonna spontaneously combust the first time she meets a teenage boy who isn't her brother. And how is an air bender going to teach her water bending?

Between the Appa snot and the watchtower gag, I sense Sokka will become the butt of many jokes.

You know, if you want him to actually learn, maybe tell him what he did wrong rather than reciting philosophical stuff and then shooting fire at his face? His presumably scarred face? Scarred presumably by fire? Kudos to Zuko for not flinching.

Is there a stick in Zuko's hair that's supporting it upright or does his hair just do that? Does Zuko have Pippi Longstocking hair? Speaking of hair, why does Catara have her hair like that? Surely that gets in the way of seeing stuff? It does look good when her hood is up though.

Good sneaky exposition dump Zuko. Didn't notice it until I thought about it after.

There's something hilarious yet tragic about Sokka spouting the wartime equivalent of live laugh love quotes and losing the battle with potty breaks. He has no idea what he's talking about but he believes in what he's saying so much.

Did Aang spend an hour in there?!?

So pretty.

Appa has six legs and penguins have four wings. Is the rule in this show that animals have 50% more appendages?

Last airbender smothered by penguins, more at 11.

"I haven't done this since I was a kid!" "You still are a kid!" That line feels like something that's going to come back.

Was the whole 'being a bender is showing no fear' or however that line went actually about bending, or do you really just want to explore the ship, Aang?

Gerbils at the south pole?

Would the fire nation send people back to rig a lost ship or are all fire nation ships rigged at all times and the crews are just used to working around the traps? Actually that would be a great way to catch spies.

I would jump to brain-damage induced amnesia from being trapped in an iceberg for a few hours before I'd ever think of a century long cryo-sleep. "it's the only explanation." Really?

All of these backgrounds are so pretty.

Air bending gets you some serious air. Those hops are stupid big, even accounting for cartoon physics.

I really like the end credits music. And according to the credits, I've been mispelling Katara's name this whole time.

Some final thoughts:

Katara (with a K) is too idealistic and trusting and Sokka is too cynical and suspicious. A perfect sibling pair. Also I love Sokka's sense of humour.

I like Aang's specific flavour of goofiness. He seems secure in himself and genuine. He has attention issues though.

Appa is a sea bison actually. Common misconception.

I like that they introduce the antagonist like 10 minutes into the first episode, but they're going to have to flesh him out way more before I read Zuko as anything other than an asshole. Also the voice is going to take a while to get used to. It's not that it doesn't fit the character design, it's just that I've never heard an actual human talk like that naturally. It's kind of muppet-like. Maybe he damaged his throat when he got that scar?

The voice acting is just superb. Even single lines like Gran Gran have distinct character. I did have to rewind a couple of times to catch what the old man with Zuko was saying.

The shading on the snow, the clouds and the skies, it's all so beautiful. You could watch this episode on mute and still be satisfied.

Katara is the only waterbender in the whole south pole, Sokka is the only man in the whole village, and Aang is the only air bender in the whole world. Gonna be a lot of lonely kids in this show. I sense a theme. I bet Appa is the only sea bison too.

Sokka is my favourite so far, but I think Aang is going to grow on me. Katara is a little bit too much of a Little Sister (TM) and Zuko just feels flat. But that just means more room to grow for both of them as characters. Of course Appa reigns supreme. I hope there's more of him in the next episode.

Even though this was half of a two-part episode, the cut off didn't feel abrupt. Maybe not a full self-contained story, but they left off at a perfect place.

Rereading this before posting, I asked a lot of quetsions. That's good! So many hooks to get me into the show, all in the first episode. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[yesimwriting]

I don't know if you have any thoughts on this one but if so, can I ask for the "directors cut" on the blurb where reader and the boys were fights and they went to her window to basically suck up am she was on phone, I think it was called "Billy and Stu scare away guys" or directors cut on chapter 5 of the final girl fic or both of you'd like to. I love hearing what you have to say about them and it adds so much insight on how you characterize them, thanks :)

omg hi

"Billy and Stu scare away guys" blurb:

okay so i have a lot of thoughts on that blurb bc there were some details i wanted to work in but couldn't bc they didn't fit

so my main one is the gummy thing at the end, where Stu gives reader a bag of gummies, but the gummies are just the ones that are her favorite flavor and he plays it off by saying that he hates that flavor

in my head, he definitely does not hate that flavor of gummy ( i don't think i've ever met anyone that hates red gummies lol) and that's just another way of him being secretly nice to reader

ik stu's pretty openly affectionate and loves getting credit for being nice, but i feel like when it comes to smaller things that show just how much attention he pays to the reader, he plays it off as much as he can

i talk about this in the actual fic but another detail i feel like keeps coming up is that i headcanon stu as being kind of a textbook early psychopath child and not shying away from taking apart small animals just bc/morbid curiosity,

i don't see billy (even as a kid) going out of his way to do those kinds of things, partially bc i feel like he would've been more hyper aware of the adults/general perception of what's perceived as "normal" as a way to cover himself and stu, but i def don't think he was bothered by it

anyways all of that is background to explain that one of my favorite details is billy being aware that y/n would rather watch a person die in a movie than see an animal get hurt and then knowing to edit the story

okay! now onto the biggest part of the story!! billy dropping the background information on his mom, ik that seemed extremely manipulative, and it definitely was on billy's part, but it was also kind of an accidental admission

you know that quote "the best lies have some truth in them",, well it was kind of like that, while billy just doesn't want y/n to talk to guys at all out of general possessiveness/jealousy, that insecurity about losing her the way he lost his mom is real

that's why i also mention stu being surprised, bc billy rarely alludes/mentions the truth of what happened to his mom, and the situation still felt relatively under control so stu was like ?? now? lol and then after thinking about it stu starts worrying a little bc maybe billy is that upset, it's another one of those moments where they just read each other and manage to work through things they can't say in front of other people

Chapter 5 of final girl:

okay so at the beginning, when stu's still asleep and billy's explaining away how touchy and pushy stu was in chapter 4, it's a key example of the way billy likes to 'get ahead' of things

we all know he's a planner, and so even though y/n's complaint was small, billy's already covering all the bases, emphasizing that stu would 'never hurt her' and framing stu's attention as a good thing while also painting him as sympathetic bc of his parents

also i feel like i've implied this but part of the reason they're always pushing that he'd 'never hurt her' narrative is bc it's meant to assure stu as much as it assures y/n, only stu knows that by 'hurt' he means accidentally kill her or something,, and y/n thinks it's more emotional/in a play fighting way lol

i think this is the first chapter that touches on how much y/n relies on them for a social life, like it was so easy for them to exclude her from that part even though all of her other friends where there

omg and y/n briefly thinking billy was ghost face, i feel like if she had had that train of thought while more sober, billy and stu would have had a much harder time getting through that one

i considered adding a scene where billy calls stu and tells stu that he needs to pull out the voice modulator and call y/n's house QUICK bc i thought it'd be fun to write and i still kind of want to write a scene like that at some point, but i felt like it broke up the suspenseful energy i was going for so i decided not to

[comparativelysuperlative]

What was the book? With the Definitely Real Banishment

Spoilers (obviously) but it's the Lightbringer series. That villain was pretty good! The word-by-word writing is fine! The plot is, for several books' worth, aimed at being Very Generic Fantasy (for reasons that will make sense later). Incoming long post about its philosophy, with even more spoilers.

It's not often that I read a book and immediately go "I can tell you what kind of middle school this author went to." In this case, it was drawing on the author's experience of exactly the theology I grew up with, which was almost eerie.

(I read book one years and years ago, and didn't retain much other than "cool magic system." Probably everything in this post is true about book one as well, but I wouldn't know.)

Google will tell you that the series gets gradually very Christian, to the point where the climax of the last book contains a sermon. But it's more specific than that. These books scream "Protestant, American, classically educated, does not travel internationally very often, male, straight, probably white, the kind of person who would vote straight-ticket Republican until that meant Trump at which point all bets are off." I did not bother confirming most of those. They're just obvious.

The loudest part--to me at least--was the "classically educated." (If you're not familiar, it's this thing.) The series would mention quotes from fantasy medieval Catholics or fantasy ancient Greeks or whatever, and I'd recognize the quotes or the names because they'd be real people I ran across in school. Sure enough, author went to Hillsdale.

Lightbringer is interesting for having an actual vision of a conservative society, not just about hating the right/wrong people. Not being on that team anymore I don't actually like this vision very much, but compared to current conservatives, credit for having one at all.

Differences between people obviously don't affect your value as a person, they just might make it easier or harder or mean you have to specialize differently to accomplish as much For The Group.

(That opinion makes perfect sense for characters in an elite military unit/training for that unit. But that context is mostly specific to book two, and the philosophy really isn't.)

This applies to everything. Physical condition, including strength/weight/gender. Color-blindness. Superpowers. Being straight. (I'm genuinely not sure if that part was intentional. Characters kept getting distracted at terrible times, and the narration outside their head sounded exactly the same as when someone can't run a mile without Trying Very Hard.)

It does not matter whether your mental illness turns out to be literally demons in your head. Either way you've still got to either work through it or specialize around it.

Tradition matters, even when we don't understand the reason behind it.

If you happen to be in a fantasy book and have access to magic, consorting with demons is evil but fancy physics is fine. You can just BET this author got into fights with other Christians about whether Harry Potter was anti-Jesus.

"Irredeemably bad" isn't really a thing. "Not in fact going to be redeemed" is, but it's worth trying to show mercy if you have the chance. If you don't have the chance, kill 'em. Don't enjoy it, though.

Forgiving people for actually-bad things is hard, can't just go "idk, they're good guys now," but it's also important. (I do think this is underrepresented in secular fiction, where it's either depicted as "how could you work with THEM" or "come on, get over it already and team up against the whatever.")

One of the big reveals at the end is "the Christian God is real." The answer to the problem of evil is indeed the popular answer in the denominations I grew up with. Human choices something something mumble free will.

Very incrementalist. You do as much good as you can as fast as you can, but obviously without overthrowing the entire order or anything. Only evil opportunists would want to do that. Yes, even if the existing order is corrupt all the way through.

Speaking of which, you know that organization/political entity claiming to represent God? Corrupt all the way through. God is more personal than that. Protestantism!

Personal morality matters. Your leaders absolutely must be good people, or at least trying to be, or you're screwed.

Personal morality matters. It is safe to assume you'll end up as exactly what your peers expect of you, so pick good peers.

A man should be faithful to one (1) wife. Viewpoint characters speedrun figuring out the philosophy behind this.

(IMO monogamy was a legitimate human rights win by early Christianity, relative to what came before, and I think something similar applies in this setting. But since the real-life alternatives today are so much better than women being property, giving this a lot of screen time sounded like the book is fishing very hard for things historical Christianity did right.)

Also, once you are married you Are Married. It's not that changing that would be unthinkable, just that if you do treat it as an option you're obviously doing it wrong.

Gay people don't exist. Any variety of non-straight, really. Nobody says that it should be that way. It just doesn't come up. Characters are written in enough detail that I can tell you how they'd react if you asked them, and it's mostly the "not my business" + "prefer not to think about it" kind of low-grade homophobia. A few would be explicitly okay with it. But it does not come up. If there were a gay relationship depicted, I'd expect it to be "coincidentally" problematic in some other way.

(I guess there's that one slaver-antagonist whose sexuality is just "sadist." Yeah, one might call that problematic.)

Practically dripping with Great Man Theory of History. There's a scene where the protagonist has a self-affirming/emotional moment about not relying on his family name and meritoriously earning his first kingdom. This is played completely straight.

Don't worry, he uses it for good. At least as much good as he can without overthrowing the existing order etc.

If there are end times prophecies, they might well be true but you can't trust any specific interpretation so it's wiser to just do your best without reference to the prophecy. (This is an interesting take! And not heresy but also not common! I bet the author's reacting against some interesting strains of fundamentalism there.)

A cool idea where angels and demons can be anywhere in any world at any time in history, but are very reluctant to actually do that because they can't pick the same time twice. You can just tell it's the author's Christianity headcanon.

You win by doing your best and having faith in God. The villains are very much a sideshow.

(I think if everyone followed this book's philosophy more it would be a mostly bad thing. Let's not do that.)

(But wow, I wish modern conservatives were only this bad.)

It probably sounds like I didn't like this series. But I did read five doorstoppers' worth. This post is just about the opinions, and the opinions sucked.

Anyway. This has to be on purpose, right, and 10 or 15 years ago I was pretty much the target audience for this. Guess I'm old.

I used to explicitly think "I'm Christian, but atheist fiction is more interesting," and this book is the kind of thing that...tries...to counter that. Fails, because resolving major conflicts with divine intervention is tricky to make interesting. But you'll see why it's going for Every Other Book, But Christian. (Also, the amount of sex in these books is much higher than you might think, given everything. I wish I knew less about what body types the author is attracted to.)

Anyway, I can't really say I would recommend it. But if you're interested in what would happen if Card or Sanderson tried to be Evangelical Lewis for adults, Lightbringer isn't bad.

[karenandhenwillson]

I keep thinking about this quote from Aisha's interview (where she skillfully managed to say barely anything):

Last season ended with Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) taking in Mara (Askyler Bell) after Hen and wife Karen (Tracie Thoms) were denied approval to become her foster parents. How is that working out? This was such a beautiful idea, until it wasn’t. Hen and Karen being lucky enough to have their friends Chimney and Maddie step up for them and for Mara was clutch. It afforded Hen and Karen the opportunity to still see Mara, care for her and love on her, instead of her being sent back to the group home. As mentioned, the plan seemed sound and sensible but it proved detrimental.

I think we can assume from this that there will be conflict between Hen and Karen on one side and Maddie and Chimney on the other side. It's a very logical direction to take their story at this point, and I hope they'll give the idea the credit it deserves.

We have Hen and Karen on one side, who already created a family with Mara because they were sure they'd be allowed to adopt her. Until that adoption was ripped away from them days before it should have happened. And now they have no legal rights over Mara anymore, no matter how they and Mara feel about each other. In fact, they could be in some kind of violation of some rules for having any contact with Mara at all. But the Hans are their friends, so of course they will help them stay in contact, right?

On the other side, we have Maddie and Chimney, who stepped in to help their friends. (And we'll ignore the horrible breaking of all suspension of disbelief of how fast they managed to become foster parents and then how they also managed to have Mara placed with them out of all the children who'd need a foster home.) They have all the legal obligations and rights concerning Mara now. They are also at risk of getting Mara taken away again if they're ordered to not have her let contact with the Wilsons at all. The Wilsons might be their friends, but their first obligation now is to Mara and provide a stable environment for her.

And from other interviews, we also know they are starting to think about extending their family. Maybe they are starting to think about adopting themselves. (Might they even revisit the PPD and how Maddie thinks about that time now a couple of years later? How it influences how she feels about a possible second pregnancy?) What if they are offered to adopt Mara? What if with that offer comes the understanding that a different permanent home will be searched for Mara if they don't want to adopt her?

Then there is Mara's situation in all of that (though I'm pretty sure the show won't explore that much at all). How does she feel about any of it? We saw her being happy about being at the Hans and seeing the Wilsons again at the end of s7. But that was one very short moment. She'll understand at one point that it doesn't solve all this chaos around her adoption. She might come to resent any or all of them, might develop behavioral problems because of that.

This might lead to some very painful storylines. It might fundamentally change their friendship. (And I know I'm biased but I'm rooting for Karen and Hen to get Mara back and be allowed to adopt her, even if that leaves Maddie and Chimney heartbroken.)