#goes off the rails

[ahb-writes]

Writing Problem: The Story Goes Off the Rails in the Third Act

Problem: The Story Goes Off the Rails in the Third Act

Solution: Weaving a compelling third act necessitates a guarded understanding of how to view and interpret a story on the micro and macro levels. That is to say, an attention to detail is essential, but equally valuable is the opportunity to take a step back and view the whole narrative as the sum of its parts. Do individual characters achieve their personal goals? Are relationship arcs incomplete? Is the drama, humor, or sense of mystery that drove the story in the first two acts, present or validated by the third act?

If one thinks of the whole of a story as a tapestry of sorts, then one might also view each chapter, arc, or act as a meaningful shape, pattern, or attribute of that greater tapestry. These attributes cue the readers as to what facet of story (or character) to focus on, depending on the moment. These attributes can also expose consequential divergences from established narrative designs.

How should readers interpret and process, or otherwise organize, these complex stimuli? For example, an author who purposefully generates tonal proximity between characters or events will ensure emotional continuity from scene to scene or from act to act.

Writing Resources:

5 Ways to Surprise Your Reader (Without It Feeling Like a Trick) (Writer's Digest)

Writing Great Beginnings and Endings (Writing Questions Answered)

How to Pace a Story (Writing Questions Answered)

How to Write Exceptional Endings (September C. Fawkes)

What Is Pacing in Writing? Mastering Pace (Now Novel)

What Is Rising Action? Building to an Epic Climax (Now Novel)

What Is the Dénouement of a Story? Your Guide (With Tips) (Jericho Writers)

How to End a Story Perfectly (Jericho Writers)

❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)

[trekkerac]

it does not matter who you are! stanley will lie to your face! and trick you into following some rando who's not even dead or gonna die for miles out of town!

👻💀All Frankenghost drawings💀👻

[bobabirdd]

S16E11 | takin a break from drawing comics to doodle a comic

[stealthetrees]

Commander Fox: and then we had to expand to the store room because they all had so much shit we can use, but we have a solid filing system. I’m gonna have to pull out the GOOD blackmail to get the clone rights bill passed though. Maybe even a bomb threat or two, perhaps kidnap a spouse

Captain Rex: I asked why Fives is alive I don’t care about your involvement in politics

[watchfuldeer]

last night i went to a really fun and informal fundraiser evening with jesse and lucy at westminster school, where they were interviewing each other. i got to ask a question which i’ve mused upon for some time about tom, shiv and greg. enjoy! full transcript under cut

Transcript

me: so i’m gonna have to look at what i wrote down.

jesse: that’s alright, you’re highly in credit since you know more about the show than us. more about john berryman.

(laughter)

lucy: tell us what we’ve done wrong so far!

me: god, no. i wouldn’t! so my question, this is a character based question, and one thing that probably got a bit subsumed in the fourth season just because everything was happening. but i’d like to know more about tom and shiv, and also greg. because my read on the situation between the three of them is that greg is a source of marital strife (laughter) that shiv never noticed, and what would it have taken for shiv to notice the depth of greg’s presence in their marriage.

jesse: uh huh.

me: and tom’s attachment to him.

jesse: uh huh. sometimes you get little bits in life or you see something and you’re like, i wish we were making the show, because i suddenly do want to hear shiv say ‘greg you’re a source of marital strife’.

(laughter)

jesse: that’s like, when you’re like, that’s gonna be in, we’re not gonna cut that.

lucy: absolutely.

jesse: (doing greg voice) wh-wh-what?!

(laughter)

lucy: yeah. well we enjoyed that, didn’t we. we had a scene in america decides, which was the only scene between shiv and greg.

jesse: oh yeah.

lucy: the election episode in the final season where she takes him into a little room and threatens him.

me: ah, but it’s jealousy over lukas, over the greg and lukas thing, and it’s like, have you forgotten your husband, who is also very attached to this limpet?

lucy: yeah. i would also say that there are marriages in which a third party is not an unuseful thing, as well. not in a forgiving way about infidelity, but i would say that there are things that tom can express with and at and on greg (laughter) as it were, to greg, that are useful because he’s both a - you know the great, the interesting thing about tom is that he’s both a courtier and a bully. he’s that rare combination of someone who you totally believe as being almost like (mimes bowing and doffing cap) ‘oh yes sorry thank you yes ma’am’ and also like, ‘i’m gonna kill you’ and that juxtaposition is what makes him so interesting.

but in his marriage to shiv he has no real way, until quite late i guess in the final season, where we explore it, to hold power over her and to use that part of himself. so he’s accepted the acquiescing, he’s accepted the role of courtier in that marriage, and greg is quite a useful place where he gets to express all of that, the bully in him so that maybe it doesn’t have to come out in the marriage. which might be bad, because perhaps it should do and then the marriage would’ve ended much earlier, yknow, when shiv would just be like ‘i’m not dealing with you challenging me in any way’. so it’s not until that balcony scene i think where he really challengers her much at all. possibly the beach scene, where he sort of says that he’s considered leaving her, and how that would feel. but with aggressive challenge? it’s all directed at greg, and greg is allowed to be the place where all those feelings go.

me: but the affection - there’s also affection between them.

jesse: YEAH. and i think that’s the other thing maybe you’re alluding to is like, she… i think, some things you know you’re putting in the show because you talk about them and other things just naturally occur, and audiences and people tell you what the show is and what you put in there and you didn’t even realise, but i think we were aware of this - she’s oblivious. her obliviousness is a big part of her wealth and her upbringing and… so there’s something homoerotic going on between greg and tom.

me: i mean it’s not for me to say.

(laughter)

jesse: and does she… i think there’s two ways of reading that, either she’s oblivious, and that’s intriguing and possible. the other is that she sort of - there’s a scene in, you know that one, in the sun valley media conference in argestes, where we wrote a bit where shiv shows up unexpected and tom’s sort of flirting with someone, and it never really landed that much. i think we were like, oh this really gonna, shiv’s gonna spark up when she sees him flirting with someone. and it’s one of those things where you were like, you know what? i don’t think she gives a hoot, really, does she.

(laughter)

jesse: it’s like, she hasn’t got that, that’s not in her belly, that fear of loss.

lucy: no.

jesse: so i think that goes, that probably goes for a same-sex relationship or flirtation as much as it does for with a woman.

lucy: i think that’s true.

jesse: like she really… even if he was like - and this is not the way that tom would be like - ‘i think i’d like to sleep with greg’, i think she’d be like (mimes looking at watch) ‘when?’.

(laughter)

jesse: (as shiv) ‘not when i’m in the city, that’s weird, tom’.

(laughter)

jesse: i don’t think she’d have any fundamental objection to that.

lucy: that’s true. i think jealousy is quite a low status emotion.

jesse: yes.

lucy: and i think that she would struggle to feel it.

(jesse laughs)

lucy: even if it was present in some way, she would never be able to access it because it would put her too much at a disadvantage. so i think yeah exactly that, it would be like, ‘oh i guess you’re going to fuck that boring woman now are you, tom’ or do that, like… she has to be here (mimes one hand above another hand) so jealousy can’t really be accessed by her. so she might be irritated by greg, but in the way you would be by a mosquito.

me: to her detriment.

lucy: to her detriment, sure, ultimately yeah.

[roguekaiju]

Vincent and Thomas are the type of pairing to get together after a long ordeal being stranded in the freezing tundra where they have to cuddle together for warmth unfortunately there's nothing within the actual canon where that would make sense as a thing to happen to them

[asbestos-11]

uni stole me away and this is all i could manage >0< back to the ether i go.

ref found below:

[boldegoist]

Rhysothy Week 2025 Day 2: Second Chances Ickah here - I has a mini comic series planned for this, but didn't have enough time off the holidays to get all the assets on place for this, so this illustration concept is very last minute. Rhys as Tim's fix-it angel, here to heal baby's hurts. (He gets his freckles back!) After Tim was removed from the map on The Handsome Jackpot, I felt a lot of trepidation (a lot of my favs get killed off randomly-) and a lot of the energy that I have for BL3!Rhys x Tim is out of a desperate desire to see Tim happy and cared for. And who better to undo one CEO's traumas than another CEO? (Dear Rhys, I write, please pay someone to remove a bomb from his face. And get him whatever reconstruction he wants. And a cat.)

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 406 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

1 セントラル病院前鎮圧完了！ セントラルびょういんまえちんあつかんりょう！ SENTORARU byouin mae chin'atsu kanryou! "Suppression in front of Central Hospital complete!"

tagline 1 各地の奮戦が希望をつなぐ‼︎ かくちのふんせんがきぼうをつなぐ‼︎ kakuchi no funsen ga kibou wo tsunagu!! The struggles of various places connect hope!!

2 怪我人のトリアージと逮捕者の移送中！ けがにんのトリアージとたいほしゃのいそうちゅう！ keganin no TORIAAJI to taihosha no isouchuu! "Triage of the injured and transport of the arrested in progress!"

3 奥渡島制圧完了‼︎ オクトじませいあつかんりょう‼︎ OKUTO-jima seiatsu kanryou!! "Suppression at Octo Island complete!"

tagline 2 No.406　摑め‼︎おまえの"個性"　堀越耕平 ナンバー406　つかめ‼︎おまえの"こせい"　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 406  tsukame!! omae no "kosei"   Horikoshi Kouhei No. 406 Grasp*!! Your quirk  Kouhei Horikoshi (*Note: This "grasp" can mean both to literally hold something and to comprehend/wrap one's head around something.)

4 分断作戦決起点制圧完了！ ぶんだんさくせんけっきてんせいあつかんりょう！ bundan sakusen kekkiten seiatsu kanryou! "Suppression of the division strategy's starting point complete!"

5 怪我人の救出継続中！ けがにんのきゅうしゅつけいぞくちゅう！ keganin no kyuushutsu keizokuchuu! "Continued rescue of injured persons in progress!"

6 国立多古場競技場継戦中‼︎ こくりつたこばきょうぎじょうけいせんちゅう‼︎ kokuritsu takoba kyougijou keisenchuu!! "National Takoba Arena continued battle in progress!!"

1 Mr.スケプティック確保！移送中です‼︎ ミスタースケプティックかくほ！いそうちゅうです‼︎ MISUTAA SUKEPUTIKKU kakuho! isouchuu desu!! "Mr. Skeptic secured! His transfer is in progress!!"

2 避難システムによる士傑への避難完了！ ひなんシステムによるしけつへのひなんかんりょう！ hinan SHISUTEMU ni yoru shiketsu e no hinan kanryou! "Evacuation to Shiketsu by way of evacuation system complete!"

3 停止したブロックの避難民保護に出動中！ ていししたブロックのひなんみんほごにしゅつどうちゅう！ teishi shita BUROKKU no hinanmin hogo ni shutsudouchuu! "Dispatch to protect the evacuees of the stopped blocks in progress!"

4 蛇腔病院跡地制圧完了！ じゃくうびょういんあとちせいあつかんりょう！ jakuu byouin atochi seiatsu kanryou! "Suppression of the ruins at Jakuu Hospital complete!"

5 黒霧！イレーザーヘッドとプレゼントマイクと共に消息不明！ くろぎり！イレーザーヘッドとプレゼントマイクとともにしょうそくふめい！ Kurogiri! IREEZAA HEDDO to PURESENTO MAIKU to tomo ni shousoku fumei! "Kurogiri! And Eraser Head and Present Mic with him, whereabouts unknown!"

6 この総力戦は最終的に このそうりょくせんはさいしゅうてきに kono souryokusen wa saishuuteki ni This all-out war will eventually

7 緑谷出久を信じる戦いになる みどりやいずくをしんじるたたかいになる Midoriya Izuku wo shinjiru tatakai ni naru become a battle of believing in Izuku Midoriya. (Note: As per what I wrote in chapter 379, I would probably contextually read lines 6-7 as something like “This all-out war will come down to us trusting in Izuku Midoriya.”)

8 緑谷… みどりや… Midoriya... Midoriya...

9 出久… いずく… Izuku... Izuku...

1 疾い…！ はやい…！ hayai...! "[So] fast...!"

2 あいつは死の間際… あいつはしのまぎわ… aitsu wa shi no magiwa... "That guy was on the verge of death..."

3 瞬間ではあったが… しゅんかんではあったが… shunkan de wa atta ga... "It was [for just] a moment, but..."

4 死柄木すら翻弄する動きを見せた… しがらきすらほんろうするうごきをみせた… Shigaraki sura honrou suru ugoki wo miseta... "He showed movement that made sport of even Shigaraki..."

1-2 あいつは何かを摑みかけている途中だった…！ あいつはなにかをつかみかけているとちゅうだった…！ aitsu wa nani ka wo tsukami kakate iru tochuu datta...! "He was in the middle of grasping* something...!" (*Note: Again, this is that word that means "grasp" and "comprehend.")

3 この"副作用"を活かせ この"ふくさよう"をいかせ kono "fukusayou" wo ikase Take advantage of this "side effect"

4 もっと！ motto! more!

5 まだ！もっと‼︎ mada! motto!! Still! More!!

6-7 もういい… mou ii... "Enough..."

8 後にする あとにする ato ni suru "Leave him for later."

1 …いいさ ...ii sa "...It's fine."

2 壊すだけだ何度でも更に こわすだけだなんどでもさらに kowasu dake da nando demo sara ni "I'll just break him however many more times even further."

3 距離を取って"危機感知"で何とか凌いできた きょりをとって"4TH"でなんとかしのいできた kyori wo totte "4TH (kanji: kiki kanchi)" de nan toka shinoi dekita I started to somehow pull through by keeping my distance with the "4th (read as: Danger Sense)."

4 再生＋即死持ち＋前より強化されている肉体にどう対処するか…答えは見つからなかった… さいせい＋そくしもち＋まえよりきょうかされているにくたいにどうたいしょするか…こたえはみつからなかった… saisei + sokushi mochi + mae yori kyouka sarete iru nikutai ni dou taisho suru ka...kotae wa mitsukaranakatta... As for how to deal with his regeneration + instant death[-inflicting ability] + his body strengthened more than it was before...I couldn't find an answer...

5 "変速"は発動したら最後…発動時間に関わらず切った途端反動で体が動かなくなる "2ND"ははつどうしたらさいご…はつどうじかんにかかわらずきったとたんはんどうでからだがうごかなくなる "2ND (kanji: hensoku)" wa hatsudou shitara saigo...hatsudou jikan ni kakawarazu kitta totan handou de karada ga ugokanaku naru If I activate the "2nd (read as: Gear Shift)," it'll be the last time... Regardless of the time for which it's activated, as soon as it's turned off, my body will stop moving due to the immediate recoil.

6 発動した以上は… はつどうしたいじょうは… hatsudou shita ijou wa... Now that I've activated it...

7 今度こそ最後ーーー… こんどこそさいごーーー… kondo koso saigo---... "This time is the last---..."

1 更に さらに sara ni Go

1 向こうへ むこうへ mukou e beyond

1 まだ mada "Am I still"

small text 更に向こうへってか さらにむこうへってか sara ni mukou e tte ka "[They] say 'Go beyond,' right?"

2 モブか…！ MOBU ka...! "an extra...?!"

3 エンデヴァーや"黒影"程の圧力も無い エンデヴァーや"ダークシャドウ"ほどのあつりょくもない ENDEVAA ya "DAAKU SHADOU" hodo no atsuryoku mo nai It's not as much pressure as with those like Endeavor and Dark Shadow.

4 後にすればいい あとにすればいい ato ni sureba ii It's fine to leave him for later.

5 オールマイトと比ぶべくもない オールマイトとくらぶべくもない OORU MAITO to kurabu beku mo nai He can't compare to All Might.

6 これ以上　巻き戻しを進行させてまで係う程の価値も これいじょう　まきもどしをしんこうさせてまでかかずらうほどのかちも kore ijou makimodoshi wo shinkou sasete made kakazurau hodo no kachi mo To let the rewind proceed more than this, there's no value

7 意味も いみも imi mo nor meaning

8 縁も えにしも nor connection* (*Note: This is the same word All Might uses in chapter 396 to refer to a connection between him and Dave in the USA; it's a word that refers to some mysterious force such as destiny that binds two people together.)

9-10 あの石塊にはない あのいしころにはない ano ishikoro ni wa nai!! in it with that pebble!!

(Note: For speech bubbles 6-10, you could combine them all together into something more cohesive like this: "There's no value or meaning or connection with that pebble to merit letting him rewind me any more than this!!" And yes, Katsuki is the "pebble," which is a reference back to chapter 7 when Katsuki called Izuku a "pebble in his path.")

1 わかってきた wakatte kita I've come to understand.

2 痛みだ いたみだ itami da It's pain.

3 掌に溜めた汗粒が てのひらにためたあせつぶが tenohira ni tameta asetsubu ga [The pain of] the beads of sweat that collected on my palms

4 全身を駆け巡ぐる痛み ぜんしんをかけめぐるいたみ zenshin wo kakemeguru itami running through my entire body,

5 吹き出る痛み ふきでるいたみ fukideru itami pain that spouts* out, (Note: This word to describe the pain can mean: "gush out, spout out, spurt out" but it can also mean "send out shoots" like for plant roots. I feel like that description is relevant given the imagery we see on this page. Considering the next line, I think he's referring to pain that erupts from different individual points on his body.)

6-7 その位置間隔！ そのいちかんかく！ sono ichi kankaku! and the space between those positions! (Note: He's talking about recognizing the physical space between the different points of pain on his body.)

8 痛みで摑め いたみでつかめ itami de tsukame Grasp* it with pain, (Note: Again, this is that word that means "grasp" in the sense of "comprehend.")

9 誘爆のタイミング！ ゆうばくのタイミング！ yuubaku no TAIMINGU! the timing of the secondary explosions! (Note: I think he's saying he can predict when and where the little explosions that surround his body will happen by paying attention to the locations of the pains on his body and thus he can utilize those explosions too.)

1 何なんだ なんなんだ nan nanda What is this?

2 痛ったァハハハ疾っ いったァハハハはやっ ittaAHAHAHA haya "It hurts-A-HAHAHA so fast!" (Note: Yes, he's breaking into maniacal laughter at the end of his words. Also a fun phonetic bonus: the Japanese word for "so fast" here is "haya," so he's saying "hahaha-haya!" He sounds battle-crazy, or just plain crazy.)

3 すぎて止まんねえ〜〜〜‼︎ すぎてやまんねえ〜〜〜‼︎ sugite yamannee~~~!! "Too fast, can't sto~o~o~p!!"

4 何なんだこいつは なんなんだこいつは nan nanda koitsu wa What's with this guy?

1 なぁ　出久　俺まだおまえに追いつけるかな なぁ　いずく　おれまだおまえにおいつけるかな naa Izuku ore mada omai ni oitsukeru ka na Hey, Izuku, can I still catch up to you?

2 なんでだろうなあ nande darou naa I wonder why?

3 なんか今追い越せる気がする なんかいまおいこせるきがする nanka ima oikoseru ki ga suru I feel like I can surpass [you] now.

4 あんた… anta... "Honey..."

5 勝己が…！ かつきが…！ Katsuki ga...! "Katsuki is...!"

6 ダメだ…見れないよ…‼︎だって相手は… ダメだ…みれないよ…‼︎だってあいては… DAME da...mirenai yo...!! datte aite wa... "No...I can't watch...!! Because his opponent is..."

7 見なきゃ… みなきゃ… minakya... "We have to watch..."

8 だって…！ datte...! "because...!"

1 だってあの子きっと だってあのこきっと datte ano ko kitto "Because that child is surely"

2 いつもみたいに笑ってる筈だから…！ いつもみたいにわらってるはずだから…！ itsumo mitai ni waratteru hazu dakara...! "smiling like he always does...!"

3 さっきから…！何故この石塊に さっきから…！なぜこのいしころに sakki kara...! naze kono ishikoro ni Since a while ago...! Why is this pebble...?

4 何故僕はオールマイト以上の なぜぼくはオールマイトいじょうの naze boku wa OORU MAITO ijou no Why am I...even more than with All Might...? (Note: The verb at the end of the sentence is cut off here making this sound awkward in English. He's basically wondering how Katsuki is irritating him even more than All Might did.)

1 そうだ… 似ている そうだ… にている sou da...nite iru That's it...he resembles [that guy].

2 与一ならもういないぞ魔王… よいちならもういないぞまおう… Yoichi nara mou inai zo maou... If it's Yoichi [you're looking for], he's already gone, Demon King...

3 おまえが殺したんだ おまえがころしたんだ omae ga koroshitanda Because you killed him.

4 憎しみを宿した事で鮮明に蘇る… にくしみをやどしたことでせんめいによみがえる… nikushimi wo yadoshita koto de senmei ni yomigaeru... By harboring hatred, I recall it clearly...

5 そうだ　こいつだ…こいつだったのだ sou da koitsu da...koitsu datta no da That's it, it's this guy... It was this guy.

1-3 こいつが手を差し伸べなければ こいつがてをさしのべなければ koitsu ga te wo sashinobenakereba If this guy hadn't reached out his hand...

4-5 僕が最も憎いのは ぼくがもっともにくいのは boku ga motto mo nikui no wa What I hate most of all is...

1 おまえのせいだ駆藤‼︎ おまえのせいだくどう‼︎ omae no sei da Kudou!! "It's because of you, Kudou!!" (Note: Because of the order of words in Japanese, you can also read this like the end to the last sentence on the previous page: "What I hate most of all is YOU [Kudou].")

2 ボケが来たかよ‼︎ ボケがきたかよ‼︎ BOKE ga kita ka yo!! "So an old geezer is here!!" (Note: This is the same grammar as All Might's "I am here!")

3 俺ァ爆豪のかっちゃんだバァアカ！ おれァばくごうのかっちゃんだバァアカ！ oreA Bakugou no Kacchan da BAAAKA! "I'm Kacchan of the Bakugou clan*, moron!" (*Note: "Bakugou no Kacchan" literally means "Kacchan of Bakugou/Kacchan of the Bakugous," but the grammar is an archaic style from before Japan's family registration system created family names in the late 1800's. The structure would read as "[Name] of the [clan name]." The literal word "clan" does not appear in the sentence above, but I've included it to get the archaic style to make sense in English. I should also mention that it's possible Katsuki is introducing himself here as "Kacchan" as an insult to AFO's intelligence. Like, "Oh you're a little kid/senile old man? My real name's probably too difficult for you. Here, call me Kacchan, dumbass.")

tagline 今、世界が少年を見る‼︎ いま、せかいがしょうねんをみる‼︎ ima, sekai ga shounen wo miru!! Now, the world sees the young man!!

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Maybe it's because I watched all of Arcane after the series was finished and didn't have time to develop theories in between episode drops, or in between seasons. Or maybe it's because I've been on my Paul Atreides bullshit for most of a year (character who undergoes a transformation that alters his experience of reality to something incomprehensible to a normal human, but still maintains a human understanding of and responsibility for his actions). But it never once occurred to me that Viktor was doing the things he does in S2 out of anything other than his own free will. The idea that he was being controlled or manipulated by the Hexcore (beyond it giving him the power to amplify his worst impulses way beyond what would have been possible otherwise) was not a theory I even considered until I started reading meta about S2. It's way more interesting, and imo thematically and tonally consistent, if my man did all that shit himself.

Damaged people spiraling to extreme actions is like the driving force of the plot of this show. Vi and Vander both lash out at someone they love in a moment of shock and grief, in a way that defines the life of that person for years to come. Caitlyn, with her guilt and her need for vengeance and her longing for respect, becomes a military dictator when given unchecked power. Jinx, with her impulsiveness and suicidal self-hatred, becomes a nihilistic vigilante when encouraged to indulge her violent urges without thinking about the consequences. In both of those cases they had someone (Ambessa and Silco) who nudged them onto that slippery slope for that person's own ends. But they still did all that shit themselves.

With Viktor I don't think the force is a person. (And I don't think it's the Hexcore either. Whether the Hexcore is sentient to the degree of having plans and goals is also something I have thoughts on but that's a subject for another post.) I think it's terror at his own powerlessness in the face of his impending mortality. He escaped the conditions of his birth, clawed his way up out of the undercity using nothing but his brilliant mind, and it doesn't matter. The conditions of his birth are gonna get him anyway. He's dying of poverty. If suddenly given the power to Fix Things, of course he is gonna take it. And if he can Fix Things for himself then why not others, who no more deserve to live in these conditions than he does? Of course he's gonna start out from a completely understandable and sympathetic position and take things WAY too far, one seemingly logical step at a time. That's how everything in this show happens.

[fukutomichi]

Rings of Power Cast Watchlist ➤ Theme: 🎃 Halloween 🎃 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) directed by Timur Bekmambetov Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln For @thequeensjester ❤

[avaritia-ffxiv]

Maailma on minun Maailma on sinun

[bogos-bint3d]

random thought bc i was making alphyne sims LOL, do you think undyne would ever want to have children? how do you think she’d be as a parent?

While I personally don't quite have a "definite yes" or "definite no" answer for this I personally think that, yeah, possibly! I think it's a question with a lot of layers to it, "is it something the character would want?" "Is it something the character should do?" "How much thought would the character put into it all beforehand?" "How long would the character wait before making that choice?" And first of all I think I should talk about fandom culture's view on kids in general. Why? Because I'm obsessed with validating my opinions like this

It's been said many times by many people now how there are a lot of times where fans end up writing completely out of character for the purpose of placing characters into positions of stereotypical familial structures- ESPECIALLY forcing women into the roles of motherhood where it doesnt fit or make sense for them to the point where I don't think I can really add anything substantial or important to the topic. The pros have very much said what needs to be said.

HOWEVER. I ALSO LIKE TO HAVE FUN WITH FUCKING CHARACTERS. I LIKE TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT TOPICS AND SITUATIONS WITH THEM. I WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO SHAMELESSLY ENJOY THEIR RIGHT TO INTERPRET CHARACTERS WHERE THEY THINK NESCECARY. WHERE THEY THINK FUCKING FUN!!!

So with that said, while demeaning female characters to singular sad and one dimensionsional traits of "Mother" is very clearly to me Not A Good Thing, people should stop acting like it's a fucking sin to imagine the possibility of a character having a child while still retaining all their accurate attributes, because it is a very possible thing that can be and IS done!!!!!

What are my thoughts on Undyne with all this?

Hehhaahehehaa....... strap in.

Where do I BEGIN. How about the inspirations behind the character of undyne herself.

Ok so see this wonderful lass here. That's a sculpture by Chauncey Ives of the mythical water spirit, Undine. Thinking about it, you all probably know this anyway because I do fairly often reblog Undine themed stuff too. Because I'm just like this. But how about the interesting stuff?

The original myth, created by Paracelsus, an alchemist and philosopher born in the 1400s, I believe comes from his work "A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, And Kindered Spirits". I think that's what it was called. I'm too tired to talk fully about it specifically and we need to get to the point so have a video of some guy reading it here

Yay :]

It's pretty much what it says. Paracelsus essentially believed that elemental beings (whom he had adapted and reimagined from ancient or traditional at the time sources) were simply part of the strangeness of God's natural creation and should be studied, as part of appreciation of the Bible etc. And we know ALL ABOUTTTTT utdr and its biblical links/imagery. But back to undine :]

Paracelsus named his takes on the classic concept of elementals: gnomes for earth (YES HE INVENTED THE WORD GNOME!!!!!), sylphs for air (yeah he also invented the word sylph), salamanders for fire (he didn't invent that :[), and of COURSE! UNDINES FOR WATER! He believed undines to be fairly similar to humans, a significant difference being the lack of a soul. Which surely means nothing when talking about Souls Are Important the Video Game. And anyways according to him they were apparently fairly capable of getting a soul through love. Wikipedia also says that Paracelsus says that a child from this love will too have a soul which is nice

Blablabla Wikipedia says undines are like fucking desperate to get a husband or whatever but dudeeeee she can do whatever she fucking wantssssss. I think she can and should be enjoying her life with alphys rather than it being a thing just for a living soul or whatever. They're just happy, no mythology attached

Onto the most iconic interpretation of the myth, 1811s Undine by Friedrich De La Motte Fouque. When you think of the tale of Undine it's almost always that it's this specific story you pull from. Apart from another one I'll briefly touch on later (please hope it's brief). In it, Undine is a woman adopted by a fisherman, who was taken in by the fisherman after his own child died. Hmmmmm wow hmm sort of like how asgore took in undyne after his children died HM BACK ON TOPIC. Personality-wise, Undine is described by Wikipedia (because I don't have the book) as "erratic", and "capricious", which Google dictionary describes as "given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour", which again sounds quite similar to the Undyne we all know and love.

It mentions that when married to Huldbrand (the main guy in the book he's not important tho) she is "kind and gentle" and yeah imo the writing with this IS kinda shit HOWEVER I think if were simply using this as inspiration for undyne I can definitely imagine her *eventually* becoming a calmer and more thoughtful person with A: the presence of someone like alphys to mutually love and understand her for her and B: the absence of having to worry about a war to fight and always sort of being on edge and just being. Like that. And again this would all be a *progressive experience*, rather than in the book where undine literally switches up over night. I do like to consider character and stuff

There's this line from the Wikipedia summary which jumpscared me

I 0% believe this has any significance to deltarune whatsoever however it was so funny out of context I had to add it

Another completely unrelated thing here but there's a fucking guy called "Kuhleborn" and I just. Can homestuck leave me alone. FOR FIVE MINUTES.

Sorry back to cherry picking the story to fit undyne.

Ok so truthfully I don't find anything else from that specific story that I find particularly helpful to undyne, the rest of it's kinda just useless to my point. Re-establishing the fact here that I skipped over a most of the actual significant parts of the story because I specificly want to talk about how I see it parallel to undyne. But that's it really. I just especially wanted to mention this adaptation of the story as it is pretty much the most iconic interpretation of the myth.

That is, interpretations that specifically refer to its source by name. Because by far the most well known media to draw influence from the myth of undine is the iconic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, "The Little Mermaid". I don't have much to say on how the little mermaid does take much inspiration from undine, other than the way andersen himself interpreted the story. Simply, the fact that Hans Christian Andersen, a man who based this story off of his own feelings at the inability for another man to reciprocate feelings of romance for him, and resonated with the story of undine so much that it was a source of inspiration for the little mermaid itself is so crazy to me. Like. Here is a queer man who read the tale of Undine and understood it so much he wrote his own story inspired by it and made it tie in with his own experiences of homosexuality! Like that's so crazy to me! Because it just makes the undertale character of undyne being sapphic so much better to me! It took the sad story of gay tragedy and took it and made it a story of gay joy!!!!!!! We are all so happys forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok ummmm. I got carried away because we are steering very far away from what this post was originally about. Umm. Point is. Original story was of queer sadness but undertale is now of queer joy + the story of queer joy being based on story where being with this person who you really love and being truly and properly bonded in an undeniable and magical way is enough to give you a soul that will live forever. I think that's somewhere near the point I'm trying to make but at the same time it's not quite the point I was trying to make. And this is absolutely just one interpretation of one relationship and this is by no means in any way supposed to be the end all be all of what ANY relationship should be. I really don't think this is what the definition of love is. However for these characters I feel it can be a huge aspect of it for them

NOW FINALLY MOVING ON TO THE ACTUAL CHARACTER FROM UNDERTALE THANK FUCKING GOODNESS!!!!!

Oh undyne. With some of the implications in game that she lost her family, I very much imagine her being cautious with this sort of situation. Would she be able to handle is for example? Would she know what to do. Given its something she might not even have real first hand experience of, is it something she would even want to risk forcing upon another person? I think she struggles so much with responsibility as it is. She wants nothing more than to protect people and cheesus if she had a kid of her own you know she would be doing every single thing in her power to make sure that kid never has to face what she did. Undyne says at one point in game (if you kill her in neutral i believe) she never told alphys the way she felt because if/when she died in battle, she wouldn't want alphys to deal with that. And again, she really would not want to have a kid if she worries that one day that kid would have to worry about someone they truly care about not being with them anymore

So *would* she want them? I don't really think it would be an overwhelming innate desire or anything like that, but really not against it. Sged need a lot of time beforehand first. Some time to live her life to the fullest, time to make sure it's something she can handle without guilt, time to make sure it's something that does bring her joy. And then yeah, 6 or 7 years minimum I can see it happening. And I think it would be nice

"Now let's talk about susie, can we talk about susie? Please stun (and other readers) I've been dying to talk with you about susie all post, okay?" /ref

I don't really have anything to add I just think alphyne should adopt susie. In every timeline. Undertale deltarune I just think ok. Because she doesn't have a good home life to the point where she's like just Not Safe and hm young couple with no children in her area? Undyne would want to help her soooo bad because she understands just what it feels like to be young and alone not really cared for and she would NEED to fix it. That's defo how it is for undertale at LEAST. Idk entirely with dr if it'd be exactly like that cause we don't know what undynes got going down in dr yet.. but even so that's nothing to stop them

Anways yeah I think you mightve been waiting just a wee bit long for the answer to this ask I uhh.....m.....mmmm. yeah man I... yeah. I really do genuinely hope you enjoyed his tho cause uts currently quarter to 2 in the morning and I'm going on a train & to the aquarium tmrw so my ass CANNOT be waking up at 11 am again. Shits fucked. But when I tell you when I'm locked in on an undyne topic I AM LOCKED IN. IT TOOK A WHILE BUT I FINALLY DID IT. MORE THAN HALF OF THIS WAS WRITTEN WITH NO BREAKS OF CHECKS BUT THATS THE BEAUTY!!!!!! FLY MY SCARAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[waltzing-rats]

[psymachine]

an episode where mac starts making money on some OF knock-off and then dennis convinces him that *he* should be the director and manager of mac's videos/account

[bad-holmes-impression]

If Varian and Ulla aren’t the creepiest parts of vat7k for you, you’re imagining the wrong show.